Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume III, Part 7

Author: Stout, Tom, 1879- ed
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 1144

USA > Montana > Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume III > Part 7

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

the "Lazy J-C," are Herefords and Poland China hogs. His cattle is sheltered with windbreaks and feed racks, and his hogs are housed in a building 20 by 50 feet.

Mr. Patterson's political views were formed as he approached manhood and he began voting as a republican, casting his first presidential vote for Major Mckinley at Marshall, Minnesota. During the years which have followed he has never missed voting at a presidential election nor has he failed to support the republican candidates. He also joined the Masonic fraternity in the City of Marshall, re- ceiving his first degree there, but he finished the Master's work at Glendive, Montana.

He was married at Marshall, Minnesota, October I, 1896, to Miss Tressa Ada Shake, who was born . in that city, and she was reared in the same com- munity in which her future husband grew toward manhood. Her birth occurred on the 13th of Octo- ber, 1877, and she is a daughter of Fred and Mary (Cloves) Shake and one of their three chil- dren, a son and two daughters, namely: Mrs. Pat- terson, Elvia, the wife of Dr. H. E. Cleveland, of Burlington, Washington, and George E. Shake, of Minneapolis, Minnesota. One child has been born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Patterson, a daughter, Mildred, a sophomore in the University of Montana.

FRED W. SCHMITZ. The county attorney of Broad- water is a man who brings to his profession, along with those qualities indispensable to the lawyer, a keen, rapid, logical mind, plus the business sense and a ready capacity for hard work, those rarer gifts of eloquence of language, strong personality, an excellent presence and earnest, dignified manner, a thorough grasp of the law and the ability ac- curately to apply its principles, and all of these characteristics go to make Fred W. Schmitz one of the commanding figures before the bar.

Fred W. Schmitz was born at Brooklyn, Iowa, on February 4, 1886, a son of John Schmitz, who still resides at Brooklyn, Iowa. He was born in Ger- many in 1850, and came in young manhood to the United States, settling at Brooklyn and going into the shoe business, which he is still successfully operating. In politics he is a democrat. Mr. Schmitz is an Episcopalian and a very active supporter of the church. A member of the Odd Fellows, he has served his local lodge as noble grand. He was mar- ried at Brooklyn, Iowa, to Miss Mary Glixner, born in Indiana in 1854, who died at Brooklyn, Iowa, in 1906. Their children were as follows: Emory, who resides at Brooklyn, Iowa, is a dental surgeon graduated from the Iowa State University with the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery; Florence, who married W. D. Keefe, manager of a piano house of Chicago, Illinois, was graduated from the Brooklyn High School; May, who was also graduated from the Brooklyn High School, married O. H. Gallagher, a dental surgeon, lives at Grinnell, Iowa; Fred W., whose name heads this review ; Marguerite, who was graduated from the Brooklyn High School and Drake University, is a primary and kindergarten teacher and a Chautauqua teacher during the sum- mer months; William, who is a locomotive fireman, lives in South Dakota; and Albert, who is a resi- dent of Chicago, Illinois, enlisted in the United States Navy and served all during the World war in the transport service, was mustered out after the close of active fighting.

Fred W. Schmitz attended the public schools of Brooklyn, Iowa, and was graduated from its high school in 1903. He then entered the law office of U. M. Reed, of the old and well-known law firm of

679

HISTORY OF MONTANA

Scott & Reed of Brooklyn, with whom he remained from 1903 until 1906, and then matriculated in the law department of the Iowa State University, from which he was graduated in 1908 with the degree Doctor of Laws. From June, 1908, until February, 1909, Mr. Schmitz was in the law office of Tisdale & Heindel of Ottumwa, Iowa. Severing those con- nections Mr. Schmitz came to Townsend and became a member of his present firm of Kanouse & Schmitz, the leading law firm of Broadwater County, with offices on Cedar Street. Mr. Schmitz is a republi- can, and was elected on his party ticket county attorney in 1916, and re-elected to the same office in the fall of 1918. He took over the duties of his office in January, 1917, and his present term expires on January 1, 1921. The Methodist Episcopal Church of Townsend holds his membership and he is serving it as a trustee. Mr. Schmitz belongs to Valley Lodge No. 21, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Townsend, and he is now its treasurer. He is also a member of Helena Consistory No. 3, Scottish Rite.

Few people recognize the importance of the office of county attorney. It has immense possibilities for good and evil, and its powers have not infrequently been abused for personal or political ends and at a serious cost to the community, but fortunately for Broadwater in Mr. Schmitz the county has a man beyond reproach and one whose legal abilities are way beyond the ordinary.

JAMES E. KANOUSE. In the early days of the world's civilization the task of a lawyer was an easier one perhaps than at present. The necessities of the people did not require complex laws and the general probity was sufficient security in the ordinary tran- sactions of life. Contracts requiring time for ful- fillment were few, as most of the business was done through barter, and the prices of commodities were fixed by the common agreement of the people, and therefore contentions were fewer. However, from the beginnings of history there have been courts and advocates, and as early as 1681 definite mention is made of lawyers at Plymouth, Massachusetts. As business became enlarged there was more de- mand for men who could give advice and direct the people in the way of keeping the laws, and to defend those who broke the regulations. Gradually more and more of the leading young men began to enter the profession and by the time the American Colo- nies were ready to throw off the yoke and become independent the most brilliant of their men were enrolled among those who were devoting them- selves to the practice of the law. Since then no other profession has given the country so many of its statesmen and leading citizens as has the law, and one of the attorneys of sterling integrity and decision of character of Broadwater County is James E. Kanouse of Townsend, senior member of the strong law firm of Kanouse & Schmitz.

James E. Kanouse was born at Woodstock, New Jersey on December 18, 1845, a son of Jacob Ka- nouse, and grandson of Rev. Peter Kanouse, a Pres- byterian minister, who went into Wisconsin as a pioneer and became one of the best-known clergy- men of the Northwest. His death occurred in Wisconsin. Jacob A. Kanouse, the father, was born in New York State in 1825, and died at Fort Ben- ton, Montana, in 1905. Going to Newark, New Jersey, he was married in that city, and lived there until 1849, when he set out for California in search of gold, and also went to Mexico on that trip, meet- ing with gratifying success as a prospector. Return- ing home in 1853, he found himself dissatisfied with conditions, and so in 1855, came as far west as

McLean County, Illinois, where he bought land from the Illinois Central Railroad, and remained, engaged in farming, until 1865, in that year crossing the plains to York Gulch, Montana, eighteen miles from Helena. There he prospected as a placer miner, but later became a school-teacher of Helena. Still later he went to Fort Benton and practiced law, having studied law and been admitted to the bar of New Jersey many years previously. In his politi- cal faith he was a republican, and stanch in his sup- port of party principles. Jacob A. Kanouse was married to Hannah Hall, who was born at Hingham, Massachusetts in 1828, and died at Newark, New Jersey, in 1853.

James E. Kanouse attended the public schools of Newark, New Jersey, and Waterbury, Connecticut, being graduated from the high school course of the latter city in 1859. He then went to McLean County, Illinois, and from there enlisted in 1861 in the Union army as a member of the Eleventh Illinois Cavalry under R. G. Ingersoll. Mr. Kanouse participated in the engagements at Pittsburg Landing, second battle of Vicksburg, the battle of Lexington, Ten- nessee, was in one of General Sherman's raids down through the Mississippi Valley to Meridian and back to the Tennessee border. He was then in the battle of Jackson, Tennessee, against Generals Price and Van Dorn, and in other minor engagements, and was mustered out in 1864, after a full three years of service at Memphis, Tennessee. During this period he was sergeant and acting sergeant major on detached telegraph service under General Grant at Vicksburg and in Tennessee, and ever proved himself brave and capable.

In 1865, finding old associations too dull after his years of military experience, the young man set out in search of a broader field, and crossed the plains with his father, but he chose Bozeman, Montana, and for a year he did farm work. He then became agent for the A. J. Oliver Express & Exchange Line at Virginia City, but after a year came to York in the Missouri Valley, and in the spring of 1868 bought out a homesteader, which property is located five miles south of Townsend. On it he was engaged in farming until I910. In the meanwhile he and J. R. Marks bought, in 1900, several ranches and engaged in the sheep business, which connection was maintained until the death of Mr. Marks in 1908. At present Mr. Kanouse owns two ranches, one of 701 acres and the other of 320 acres, both of which are five miles south of the county seat of Broadwater County; and he also owns a 320-acre ranch in Madison Valley, Montana.

While giving attention to his business interests, Mr. Kanouse found time to develop his intellectual faculties along another line, studying law in his spare moments to such good effect that in 1900 he was admitted to the bar and established himself in a general practice at Townsend, he now being senior member of the firm of Kanouse & Schmitz, as before stated. He is also extensively engaged in mining as one of the owners of the Iron Mask Mine near Townsend, which is a lead and silver quartz mine, and of the Silver Wave Group. Mr. Kanouse owns the Vulture Mine, which like the other prop- erties is a lead and silver proposition. From the time of the organization of the Townsend State Bank in 1899 until 1905 he served it as president, and was active in firmly establishing this oldest financial institution of Broadwater County.

A democrat, Mr. Kanouse served in the Terri- torial Legislature, and was a member of the consti- tutional convention. He is a Knight of Pythias, and belongs to Myrtle Lodge, Grand Army of the Republic of Helena.

680

HISTORY OF MONTANA

In 1905 Mr. Kanouse was married at Helena to Miss Margaret T. Willett, who was born in Kansas.

WILLIAM ROWE. Nearly eighty years have dis- solved in the mists of the irrevocable past since William Rowe, venerable pioneer, first saw the light of day. He has lived through one of the most re- markable, and in many respects the most wonderful, epochs in the world's history. There will never be another like it, for it embraced the period when the strong-armed homeseekers from the eastern states and from the western countries of Europe invaded the great West (he being among the num- ber) and redeemed it from the wilds, bringing it up through various stages to the present high state of civilization. To all this he has been a most in- terested, and by no means a passive, spectator, hav- ing sought to do his full share in the work of prog- ress in the locality which he finally selected as his place of abode. He talks most interestingly of the early days, when customs and manners were dif- ferent, everything, in fact, unlike what our civiliza- tion is today. Because of his sterling qualities of character and his splendid record he enjoys the re- spect and esteem of all who know him.

William Rowe was born in Cornwall, England, on February 2, 1840, and is the son of James and Julia (Williams) Rowe, both of whom were also natives of Cornwall. The father was born in 1801, and died on April 28, 1877, when seventy-six years of age, while the mother, who was born in 1802, died on December 29, 1876, when seventy-four years old. Of the thirteen children born to this worthy couple but two are living, the subject of this review and Mary Ann, the widow of William Davis and who lives in Fort Benton, Montana. James Rowe was reared and educated in Cornwall, England, and later went to work in the mines. After his marriage he went to Honolulu, and still later to California, whence he drifted into Mexico. In the spring. of 1844 Mr. Rowe returned ' to England, and then brought to America his wife and their children, seven or eight in number, landing at Quebec. Their trip was made by a slow-going sailing ship, between ninety and a hundred days being consumed on the voyage. On the way across one of the children died and would have been buried at sea had it not. been for the protestations of the mother, who was per- mitted to bring the body the rest of the way. From Quebec they continued their journey up through Montreal to Detroit, Michigan, thence to Chicago. From there they proceeded to Elizabethtown, Jo Daviess County, Illinois, the entire trip from Quebec having been made with a four-horse team and wagon. Mr. Rowe engaged in mining, in which he was pros- pered and was soon enabled to build a home for the family. He was an adept with many tools, being not only a carpenter and shoemaker, but was even able to make his own clothes. He later engaged in farming and stock-raising for a time, but after the death of his wife and while on his way to Mon- tana to visit his son, the subject of this sketch, he died on the steamer Benton during the trip up the Missouri River. His remains were buried at Fort Beaufort. He was a faithful and honored member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

William Rowe was a lad of four years of age when the family immigrated from England to America. settlement being made at Elizabethtown, near Galena, Jo Daviess County, Illinois. The schools of that place he attended in winter, but at the early age of eight years he became a wage earner, his first work being dropping corn, for which he re- ceived twenty-five cents a day, working from sun- rise to sunset. He was but a small boy at a small

job, but he stuck faithfully to his work, and in that way earned enough to pay for a cow. In December, 1849, he left home and obtained employment at watering horses, but in the following spring he went to work for his brother-in-law, Henry Roberts, at farm work. Later he was employed at cabinet work in Galena for a time, but later went to work again for Henry Roberts, with whom he remained until seventeen years of age. Then he was employed to mix mortar and carry a hod, for which he received one dollar a day, but later obtained a chance to work for his board and opportunity to attend school. He then entered the employ of a Mr. Coleman, who was to pay him $160 for a year's work, but at the end of nine months he went to British Hollow, Grant County, Wisconsin, where he drove a team, hauling lead for Hymar & Vance. He was sent to Fairplay, where he bought lead for that firm, and later he went to Portage Lake, in the northern penin- sula of Michigan, where he obtained work in the Franklin iron mine. From there he went to Detroit, Michigan, thence to Chicago, and to Galena, Illinois. During the following year he was engaged in driv- ing for the Wisconsin Stage Company, after which he took eighty head of horses to LaCrosse, Wiscon- sin, for the Minnesota Stage Line, the J. C. Burbank Company. After breaking the horses, he took them to Winona, Minnesota, where on October 1, 1861, he put them to work on the road. During the following win- ter Mr. Rowe drove on the river between St. Paul. Minnesota, and LaCrosse, Wisconsin, but in the fol- lowing spring he was sent to St. Cloud, from which place he drove the route to Elk Creek or Bailey Station. His next location was at Abercrombie, Minnesota, then at Campbell's during the summer of 1862. He was then called back to St. Paul with his teams and drove the stage between Henderson and St. Peter, Minnesota. In the fall of that year he witnessed the hanging of thirty-nine Indians who had been convicted of murdering white men, women and children during one of their uprisings at or near Mankato, where the hanging occurred. During the winter of 1862-3 Mr. Rowe drove stage between St. Paul and Redwing, and the following incident shows somewhat the character of the route he drove. On March 23, 1863, on his way up from Redwing, he was compelled to cross the Mississippi River. The ice had broken up and a ferry boat was used to transfer them to the other side. This time he did not want to cross on the boat, as it was exceed- ingly dangerous, but two of his passengers were very anxious to get through to St. Paul, so they decided to attempt the crossing. The stay line on the boat was made fast to a big boulder on the shore and Mr. Rowe drove his team onto the boat. The horses were on board, but as the wheels of the coach struck the edge of the boat they pushed it from the shore and the coach went into the icy water, the two men being drowned. The other six passengers were rescued. Later Mr. Rowe drove between St. Anthony and Anoka, Minnesota, and between Clearwater and Mantoville. Then Mr. Rowe changed his vocation and for a time engaged in the operation of a saloon and billiard hall in St. Cloud. In the spring of 1864 he bought a team of horses, harness and a wagon, and loading up with eleven

barrels of flour, he headed for Selkirk, Canada. There he sold his flour and his watch and returned to St. Cloud, where he found his partner in the business there had sold his interest. Mr. Rowe then sold his own interest and went to St. Paul, where he entered the employ of the Minnesota Stage Com- pany. About this time he met with a serious mis- fortune, losing the sight of both of his eyes for about two years. He went to visit his family in

W3Rows

681

HISTORY OF MONTANA

Illinois and while there had his eyes treated, with successful results, the sight being restored.

For one year Mr. Rowe was in business in Grant County, Wisconsin, but in June, 1867, he landed at Fort Benton, Montana, having come up the Missouri River from Omaha on the steamer "Deer Lodge." From there he went to Helena, walking the greater part of the distance, and there bought a horse, with which he went with the stampede to Blue Cloud Gulch, where he engaged in prospecting and min- ing. Eventually he gave his claim away for a tincup and a butcher knife and returned to Helena, where he engaged in mining. Later he drove a six-horse stage outfit between Helena and Canada Ranch, but a year later returned to Fort Benton and engaged in the feed stable business. In the spring of 1869 he bought a span of mules and started for Silver Creek, but his mules got away and he chased them to Wolf Creek, thence to Helena, where he engaged in hanl- ing dirt for $20 a day. He sold his wagon for $125 and neck-yoke and whiffletree for $25, and went to Pioneer City, where he worked in the mines as long as the water lasted, after which he engaged in pros- pecting and mining on French Gulch, where he was successful in finding gold and mined there for about a year. He then sold out and spent the winter at Arkansas Springs, Arkansas, in the hope of recov- ering his health. He then went to Deer Lodge, Montana, where he was appointed under sheriff, under West Jones, and night watchman. After two years' service he opened a billiard hall, which he later sold and in the fall of 1872 returned to Fort Benton and engaged in the hotel business. He was appointed sheriff of Chouteau County, serving two years, and then was elected for a similar period. He then was appointed United States deputy marshal, serving about six months, following which he was appointed United States mounted revenue inspector for Montana and Idaho, holding that position for about one and a half years. He then continued the operation of the hotel at Fort Benton and at the same time took a contract to carry the mail between Fort Benton and Helena daily for four years at $8,000 per year, also a special contract to carry the mail between Fort Benton and Fort Assiniboine for two years at $6,000 per month. He soon afterward sold his contracts for $26,700, and in the fall of 1884 he began buying horses, having his headquarters at Fort Benton. Then for about one and a half years he was engaged in the livery business and in the operation of a cattle and horse ranch, in which he has continued ever since. He is the owner of 340 acres of splendid land near Fort Benton, of which about 200 acres are in cultivation. At one time he was an extensive breeder of English shire horses, having paid as high as $3,500 for a stallion of that breed. He also bred Shorthorn. cattle, and in all his operations has been progressive and enter- prising. He also owns a number of pieces of city property in Sioux Falls and elsewhere.

On January 18, 1876, at Fort Benton, Montana, Mr. Rowe was married to Katie Jane Babbage, who was born on May 1, 1860, in Vancouver, Washing- ton. Her parents were John and Catherine (Culli- nane) Babbage, the former a native of Devonshire, England, and the latter of the city of Limerick, Ire- land. These parents were married in San Francisco. California, on May 24, 1858, and to them were born six children, of whom four are living. Mr. Babbage was a clerk in the United States Mint at San Fran- cisco, but at the outbreak of the Civil war he en- listed in the United States Artillery, being first sent to Vancouver, Washington, thence to Washington, D. C. He participated in the second battle of York- town, and then was detailed as a clerk in the war department at Washington. He re-enlisted, but was

retained in that position to the close of his life, in 1870.

To Mr. and Mrs. Rowe have been born sixteen children, seven of whom are deceased, all passing away in infancy except Harry, who died at the age of twenty-four years. The children living are as follows: Grace E. is the wife of Richard J. Pen- nock; Wilbur Garfield was married to Jessie M. Jenkinson, who is now deceased, and to them were born five children; Emma A. is the wife of William Jenkinson; Leslie Charles married Philemon Dupee and they have four sons; George Francis enlisted on October 6, 1917, in the United States service at Fort Benton, was sent to Camp Lewis and was transferred to Camp Mills, New York, where he was assigned to the Signal Corps in December, 1917. He was sent overseas, landing at Brest, France, and participated in all the drives in which the American troops took part. Edward Harrison enlisted on May 24, 1917, at Great Falls, in Company D, One Hundred and Sixty-Third Regiment, United States Volunteer Infantry. He was transferred to Fort Benjamin Harrison, then to Camp Green, North Carolina; Camp Mills, New York, and finally to Camp Merrill, New Jersey, whence he was sent overseas, landing at Brest, France. He was de- tailed for duty at Longres, France, having been promoted to chief cook. He was mustered out at Camp Mills, New York, on July 17, 1919. John Mckinley enlisted on November 18, 1917, at Great Falls, in the Aviation Corps. He was first sent to Fort Wright, Washington, then to Kelley Field, Texas, and on January 14, 1918, he started for over- seas. He landed at Brest, was later sent to England, being located near London, but after the armistice was signed he returned to Camp Logan, where he was mustered out in January, 1919. Mary Catherine is the wife of Josiah F. Lester, who enlisted at Spo- kane, Washington, in 1918, was commissioned a lieu- tenant, transferred to Camp Dodge, Iowa, and later to Camp Lee, Virginia, where he was finally mus- tered out in January, 1919. Minnie N. is at home.

Politically Mr. Rowe is an earnest republican. while fraternally he is a member of Chouteau Lodge No. 25, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of which lodge he has served as master two terms. He also holds the distinction of being the first Mason raised in Chouteau County. Quiet and unostentatious and ever attending strictly to his own affairs, he has made better all who have come with the range of his influence, so that his career is eminently worthy of being recorded on the pages of the history of the state of his adoption.

JOHN THOMAS NEESE is a business man of Savage. He has been identified with this community for a period extending over many years, for he came here as a youth and his success and achievements have been contemporaneous with the development of Montana.

Mr. Neese was born in Barren County, Kentucky, near the town of Glasgow, November 10, 1874, a son of John and Elizabeth (Nichols) Neese and a grandson of Elias Nichols. John Neese was born in Tennessee, and was a Kentucky soldier on the side of the Union in the war between the states. He was wounded during that struggle, and after the close of the war he received an accidental injury, which hastened his death. He was about sixty years of age when his earthly career ended, and he survived his wife, who was a native of Kentucky. Their children numbered the following: Henry, of Daw- son County, Montana; Lucy, who died at the age of seventeen; Nancy, who married T. Spencer, and died in Kentucky; and John Thomas, of Savage.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume III, Part 7

Author: Stout, Tom, 1879- ed Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Chicago, American Historical Society Number of Pages: 1144

Author: Stout, Tom, 1879- ed
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 1144