Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume III, Part 86

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 86

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Mr. Blackwell votes the democratic ticket, and both he and his son are active Masons. For the past ten years he has been deputy sheriff of Lincoln County, and he also served on the City Council two years at Libby. Besides his comfortable home in Libby he owns a valuable ranch of 161 acres on the Kootenai River opposite Jennings.

Mr. and Mrs. Blackwell had three children : George M., Carry Elebith and Vera Lorena, but the daughters died in childhood.

George M. Blackwell, the only son, was well reared and liberally educated, and while a student in the State University of Moscow, Idaho, entered the army, being mustered in September 24, 1918. He was assigned to duty in the Tank Corps Training Camp at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and received an honorable discharge November 13, 1918. For the past nine years he has been in the Government service as a forest ranger at Libby and is also an expert timber cruiser.

JOHN K. BRAMBLE. In the history of Montana as applying to the professional interests the name of John K. Bramble of Havre occupies a conspicuous place, for through a number of years he has been one of the representative men of affairs-progres- sive, enterprising and persevering. Such qualities al- ways win success, sooner or later, and to Mr. Bramble they have brought a satisfactory reward for his well directed efforts, and while he has benefited himself and the community in a material way he has also been an influential factor in the educational, polit- ical and moral uplift of the community. Mr. Bramble exhibits an unusul versatility in his abilities and accomplishments, for not only has he earned a well- established reputation as a successful lawyer, but he has also proved his ability as a newspaper man, thus exerting a double influence in the community.

John K. Bramble is a native son of the old Buck- eve State, Having been born at Oak Hill, Meigs County, Ohio, on February 3. 1867. He is the son of Lafayette and Angeline (Blaine) Bramble, both

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of whom are deceased, the father, who was a native of Virginia, dying in 1912, at the age of eighty- three years, and the mother, who was a native of Ohio, dying at the age of fifty-two years. The subject of this sketch is the sixth in order of birth of the ten children born to these parents and of whom seven are living. Lafayette Bramble was en- gaged in the general mercantile business at Portland, Ohio, for many years, but for some time prior to his death was retired from active business affairs. In politics he gave his support to the democratic party and for fifty-five years he was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

John K. Bramble was reared under the paternal rooftree and received his educational training in the public schools of Ohio, completing his studies in the Southern Ohio Normal School at Hockingsport, where at the age of sixteen years he had prepared himself for the pedagogical profession. His studies did not cease at that time, however, for he has ever been a wide reader and a close student and has al- ways kept well informed not only on the leading questions of the day, but possesses a technical knowl- edge of a wide range of subjects, such as the sciences and the classics. At sixteen years of age Mr. Bramble began teaching school, following that vocation for fifteen years. In the meantime he had given serious study to law, and at the age of twenty- five years he was admitted to the bar of Ohio. He engaged in the active practice of that profession at Pomeroy, Ohio, but about a year later, in 1892, came to Montana, locating at Marysville, Lewis and Clarke County, where he remained until 1904, in which year he removed to Havre, where he has since practiced his profession. He enjoys the esteem of his profes- sional brethren to a notable degree and is considered a lawyer of sound judgment and well-rounded knowledge. In 1912 Mr. Bramble acquired the own- ership of the Hill County Democrat, one of the strong and influential papers of northern Montana, and of which he has occupied the editorial chair with pronounced success. Mr. Bramble has spoken in no uncertain wisdom on the leading questions of the day, and in local affairs he has ever given his support to every measure which has promised to ad- vance the best interests of the community. He has been prosperous financially in his business affairs and is the owner of the Bramble Block, which he erected in 1915 and which is one of the popular office build- ings of the city. He is also the owner of other valuable real estate here.

On July 13, 1918, Mr. Bramble was married to Vallery Rainault, a native of the Dominion of Canada. Politically Mr. Bramble is a strong sup- porter of the democratic party and takes an active part in public affairs, though not in any sense a seeker after the honors or emoluments of public office. Fraternally he is a member of Havre Lodge No. 1201, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Ever since coming to Havre Mr. Bramble has played a leading part in affairs, and through his persist- ent efforts he has made for himself a place in con- nection with the professional energies and activities of life, so that his career offers both lesson and incentive. Because of his success and his high per- sonal character he enjoys to a notable degree the confidence and good will of the entire community.

ALBERT S. NEWCOMR. While he was reared in the atmosphere of a Red River Valley farm, Albert S. Newcomb has spent his adult life in commercial and banking affairs, and for eleven years has been a citizen of Montana and a resident of Mondak. He is vice president of the Mondak State Bank.

Mr. Newcomb was born at Hallock in the Red River Valley of Minnesota January 8, 1882. His parents were Thomas B. and Margaret (Thompson) Newcomb. His father, a native of Ontario, Canada, came to the United States about 1877, was married in Minnesota, and for several years was a merchant at Hallock. His only son and child, Albert S., was eleven years of age when the father died, in No- vember, 1882, a young man. His death occurred at Las Cruces, New Mexico. The widowed mother is still living at Hallock, and is one of the oldest residents of that town.

Albert S. Newcomb lives with his mother on a farm, attended country schools, and a short time before reaching his majority left the farm and after two years as a law student at the University of Min- nesota he became a clerk in the Kittson County State Bank at Hallock. He was fortunate in finding thus early the business for which his talents seems to have adapted him. From the Hallock Bank he went to the Farmers and Merchants State Bank at St. Vin- cent as assistant cashier, remaining a year and a half, and for another year was in the collection de- partment of the International Harvester Company, traveling out of Grand Forks as headquarters. This experience he has always considered invaluable to him as a banker.

In January, 1909, Mr. Newcomb came to Mondak and became associated with the organization which at that time took over the old private bank of De- laney Brothers, known as the Yellowstone River Bank, and reorganized as the Mondak State Bank. Mr. Newcomb became assistant cashier. The bank was capitalized at $20,000, and its first officers were David H. Beecher, president; George E. Towle, vice president; R. S. Nutt, cashier; and Albert S. New- comb, assistant cashier. A change in the official personnel occurred in 1910, when Mr. Towle and Mr. Newcomb bought the interests of Mr. Beecher and Mr. Nutt, Mr. Towle becoming president and Mr. Newcomb cashier. Since 1918 Mr. Newcomb has been vice president, with L. W. Thompson, cash- ier. The bank at the close of business in 1919 had surplus and undivided profits of $5,000 and average deposits of $150,000.

Mr. Newcomb has other financial and business connections in Montana, being vice president of the First National Bank at Savage and of the Sidney National Bank. While a land owner and to some extent engaged in stock raising, he does not regard himself as a practical farmer. He has used his position as a banker and business man to promote the civic welfare of his community.

Mr. Newcomb married at Minneapolis, Minnesota, August 12, 1909, Miss Florence Kelso. She was born at Grand Rapids, Michigan, though her parents at that time lived in Minnesota. She is one of the four children of William F. and Emma (Kusterer) Kelso. Mrs. Newcomb was educated in the public schools of Hallock, Minnesota. Mr. Newcomb was chairman of the Roosevelt County campaign for the Victory Loan and was also chairman of the home branch of the Red Cross, Mrs. Newcomb being its secretary. He became affiliated with the Masonic Order at Hallock, and is now a past master of Kotana Lodge No. 79 at Mondak, and is affiliated with the Scottish Rite Consistory and Algeria Temple of the Shrine at Helena and has sat in the Grand Lodge of Montana Masons. He is a member of . Williston Lodge of Elks in North Dakota and be- longs to the University of Minnesota Chapter of the Theta Delta Chi. Mr. Newcomb was reared in a republican home and cast his first presidential vote for Colonel Roosevelt at Hallock. He attended

Vol. 111-20

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the state conventions of the party in 1912 and 1916, and is the present state committeeman for Roosevelt County.

ROBERT E. RICE is one of the modest ranchmen of the Kingsley locality of Powder River County and the first public administrator of the county. He came into Montana as a settler in September, 1888, at which time he was entering upon his career as a man, and, as he says, "was almost naked." His cash capital at the time of his arrival consisted of $1.50, but since that time his finances have greatly im- proved, as he has also in position, and today he is accounted one of the substantial men of his com- munity.

By birth Mr. Rice is a native of Cincinnati, Ap- panoose County, Iowa, born December 27, 1868, and as a child lived in that town, where his father, David Rice, was a carpenter. David Rice was a sergeant and Union volunteer in the Civil war, and for a time was stationed at Rock Island, Illinois. He was one of three brothers in the service, one of whom, James J. Rice, is a resident of the Soldiers' Home at Sawtelle, Los Angeles, California. The father of these soldiers crossed the Atlantic from his native Ireland, it is believed, and settled in Pennsylvania. In the family beside the soldier sons there were three daughters, two of whom died in Appanoose County, Iowa, and the third, Mrs. John Biddison, passed away near McPherson, Kansas. David Rice passed his later life at Cincinnati, Iowa, where his death occurred in 1871, it having probably been hastened by his army service. He married Sarah McDonald, of a Scotch Presbyterian family of farm- . ers- and bankers in Iowa, who died about the same time as her husband, leaving: John M., of Los Angeles, California; Mrs. A. J. Ralston, who died recently near Kingsley, Montana; Lincoln, who died in Iowa as a child; Robert E., of this notice; and Flora, who passed away in girlhood.

Robert E. Rice was but a child when his parents died and his educational advantages were of a limited character. When still a mere school boy, in 1878, he went from Iowa to Kansas to live with his sister, Mrs. Ralston, and at the age of seventeen took the responsibility for his own maintenance. For a time he was engaged in freighting out of Arkansas City, Kansas, into the Indian Territory, as far south as Fort Reno, and then went into the Black Hills coun- try, where for two years he occupied himself in mining between Hill City and Rapid City. It was from that locality that he came to Montana in 1888. Here he sought employment as a cow puncher and found it with Carpenter & Robinson, the old Dia- mond Cow Outfit, on the Rosebud, and after spend- ing a year with them changed to the "J. O." Ranch on Tongue River. A year later he went to Johnny Burgess for the Northern Cattle Company, and spent six years with them on Powder River, and then laid out on the grass with his saddle for a pillow with the rest of the boys while riding the range.

About this period Mr. Rice took up a claim on Powder River and out of the savings of his wages accumulated a bunch of cattle. He took possession of his claim as a ranchman in a log cabin, one of the first good ones built on the river, and ranched and batched there for nine years, selling out his cattle before he acquired title to his land and came up to his present location and entered the sheep and horse business. Here he has proved up on a half section of land and is situated in one of the best grass regions of Montana. The cutting off of the range made the cattle industry crowded, and he closed out his interests in this direction and is

handling only horses as his industry, in addition to which he does some dry land farming. His best wheat yield has been twenty-five bushels an acre, and his corn has matured well, the Lakin White Dent corn having demonstrated its adaptability to this region and yielded abundantly. Irish potatoes have also yielded well, and measure extra size and are solid through and through.

Mr. Rice's first official service was as chairman of the School Board, District No. 28, and was sec- retary of the Council of Defense of his district and active in all the drives for war work and funds. His politics is normally democratic, but he cast his first vote for Benjamin Harrison and supported Colonel Roosevelt in 1908, but was a Wilson voter in 1912 and 1916. He was appointed public adminis- trator and qualified for office in May, 1919. Mr. Rice has passed his life unmarried. His home has always been open to his neighbors as well as to strangers, and accommodations have always been dealt out to them with the best in his possession. His only fraternal connection is with the Odd Fel- lows, Mr. Rice having his membership at Ekalaka, Montana.

WILLIAM PARENT. One of the prosperous busi- ness men of Whitefish is William Parent, now con- ducting a successful real estate business, but at one time very active in Flathead County as one of its deputy sheriffs. He was born at Pierre, South Da- kota, a son of L. N. and Josephine (Leanis) Parent, and was reared and educated in his native state. In 1900 he came to the City of Seattle, Washington, with his father, and still later to Flathead County, his father establishing himself as a blacksmith and wheelwright at Kalispell.

After coming to Kalispell William Parent was married to May Gregg, a daughter of William Gregg, a pioneer of the county and an Indian fighter during the early days in this region. He located in this county long before Kalispell or Whitefish were thought of, or settlers to any number had come here. Mr. Gregg and his wife had six children, of whom Mrs. Parent was the youngest. After com- pleting the high school course at Kalispell Mrs. Par- ent specialized in music and became a teacher of that art. She is a woman of lovely character. cultured and refined, who has developed a beautiful and elevating atmosphere in her home that is felt throughout her circle of acquaintances. Mr. Parent adopted his father's calling and conducted a black- smith shop at Kalispell for some years, and then about 1906 came to Whitefish and carried on the same business for seven years, when he was ap- pointed chief of police of Whitefish, serving credit- ably under its first mayor, A. E. Long, who for a time was superintendent of the Great Northern Rail- road, but resigned and went into a general merchan- dise busine'ss at Whitefish. His successor, H. E. Snyder, reappointed Mr. Parent, and he also served as constable. Sheriff W. H. O'Connell then ap- pointed Mr. Parent one of his deputies, and during his administration Frederick LaBore was hung for the murder of a Mr. Yocum and his son, which was one of the most cold-blooded crimes in the annals of the state. The partner of Frederick LaBore, George Hobbinger, was sent to the penitentiary for life.

One of the most stirring experiences of Mr. Parent's official life occurred in connection with the robbery of the Great Northern Railroad at Rondo, Montana, by two notorious desperadoes. Frank Howser and a McDonald, who had terrorized all of the western country by their boldness and utter contempt of official interference. William

Robert . EsRice

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HISTORY OF MONTANA

Parent, with his associates, set out, determined to capture these men, and it was Mr. Parent who suc- ceeded, arresting the men in a dining car after they had boarded the train at Bonner's Ferry for Spo- kane, Washington. At the time of the arrest the train was just pulling into Spokane. Excitement ran high, and it was found necessary to take them quietly out of Spokane rather than wait for extra- dition papers, and deliver them to Flathead County, from whence they were taken to Helena, Montana, by United States Marshal Merifield. The men man- aged to escape from the jail, but Howser was re- captured. The other man is still at large. When Mr. Parent captured these men $14,700 of the $40,000 they had stolen was found on their persons, in the original packages. It took courage of the highest order to arrest these men, but Mr. Parent was never lacking in this characteristic, and took the event as part of his day's work.

He served Whitefish as marshal for twenty-eight years in addition to his work as chief of police and deputy sheriff, and is one of its most enthusiastic boosters. As an operator in real estate he is now rendering an equally valuable service along other lines to his beloved city, and many who have homes of their own owe them to Mr. Parent's activities, which made it possible for them to acquire them upon easy terms. It is such men as Mr. Parent who develop a community and place it among the worth-while regions.

MAX SKLOWER. Nearly all those experiences which bind a man's memory and affection to one locality connect Max Sklower with Montana, where he was a pioneer and where he has lived for more than half a century. He knows many localities of the state, and many communities know and esteem him for his honest and upright career and the en- terprise that has brought him success in business and citizenship. Mr. Sklower is now a retired busi- ness man, and since 1903 he and his family have been prominent in the Town of Malta, where his sons are among the most prominent citizens and business leaders.

Max Sklower was born in Prussia, Germany, March 30, 1842, and grew to young manhood in his native country. He had a common school edu- cation and served an apprenticeship at the baker's trade. Following an older brother, he came to the United States, and passing through Castle Garden in New York soon reached St. Louis. Not long after the close of the Civil war he embarked as a passenger aboard a Missouri River steamboat bound for Fort Benton. He had no capital, but his knowl- edge of a trade enabled him to find work. During his ramblings he drifted into Utah, but soon returned to Montana and for a time was a pastry cook, under Chef Charles Rinda, in the old St. Louis Hotel. He and Mr. Rinda later bought the Imperial Restaurant, and later purchased the International Hotel in Hel- ena, when he sold out to his partner Mr. Sklower, engaged in the billiard hall business. It was out of those early experiences that he acquired the modest capital that enabled him to undertake his first individual enterprise as proprietor of a billiard hall at Helena. Leaving Helena Mr. Sklower leased the Springs Hotel at White Sulphur Springs, and was proprietor of that popular hostelry for fifteen years. His management gave him more capital than any other experience, and when he left White Sul- phur Springs he supplied the money for a hide buy- ing concern in Helena. At the same time he was looking about for a proper place to resume the hotel business, and his investigations led him to Malta, where he erected the Great Northern Hotel, which

was completed and opened for business January 15, 1904. He continued as its active proprietor until he was succeeded by his sons in January, 1919, and then having spent fifty active years in Montana he was satisfied to retire and enjoy a well earned pros- perity.

Besides giving Malta a hotel that is a credit to the town, Mr. Sklower has exercised a public spirited influence in other directions. He took stock in the flour mills and in the Malta-Zortman telephone line. He was a member of the first board of aldermen of the town and was active in the administration which installed the sewer and water systems and other- wise has co-operated with his fellow citizens in all movements for the advancement and best in- terests of the locality. He was identified with the movement to divide Valley County and create Phil- lips. Mr. Sklower completed his naturalization at Helena in 1889, and has always been a republican in politics. He holds a twenty-five year medal for continuous membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, is a past master of Diamond City Lodge of Masons at White Sulphur Springs, is a member of the Scottish Rite Consistory at Helena and also the Temple of the Shrine. He was one of the early members of the Ancient Order of United Workmen in Montana.

At Helena May 15, 1880, Max Sklower married Miss Bettie R. Silverman. Her father, Morris Sil- verman, was born in Kalvria, Polish Russia, and came to the United States about the close of our Civil war. He was also a Montana pioneer, reach- ing the territory in 1866 and settled at Helena, where he has resided since. He became a prominent citi- zen of the state. In his early career he was a ranch- man, later a merchant, then in the coal and fuel business, and is still living at Helena, one of the venerable pioneers of the city. He served on the City Council, is a republican in politics, and pos- sesses a fifty year medal of membership in the Odd Fellows.

The two sons of Mr. and Mrs. Max Sklower are Joseph and Emanuel, the former born May 28, 1881, and the latter November 24, 1884. They are associated in the firm of Sklower Brothers, pro- prietors of the Great Northern Hotel at Malta, and are also interested in ranching and other business enterprises. They acquired their early education at White Sulphur Springs. Joseph attended the Helena High School, spent one year in the School of Mines at Golden, Colorado, and two years in the University of California at Berkeley. Follow- ing that he was in the reclamation work of the Gov- ernment as a topographical engineer until he en- tered the hotel business with his father at Malta. Emanuel is a graduate of the White Sulphur Springs High School and was a druggist's apprentice at Helena with Emil Starz until he came to Malta as an associate with his father in the Great North- ern Hotel.

Joseph Sklower during. the war was county di- rector of war savings. He is treasurer of Malta Lodge No. 57 of the Masons. Emanuel Sklower, whom everybody knows as "Mannie," was elected mayor of Malta in 1918 as successor of Harry Cos- ner. His administration has been signalized by the installation of street lighting, building of concrete sidewalks and crossings, and a thoroughly economic and efficient administration of city affairs under war and post-war conditions. He is a director of the Malta National Bank and one of its original stock- holders, served as local chairman of the Four-Min- ute men during the war, is a Scottish Rite Mason with membership in the Consistory at Helena, is a past master of Malta Lodge No. 57, a member

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of Algeria Temple of the Mystic Shrine and be- longs to the Elks at Havre.

At New York City, October 20, 1917, Emanuel Sklower married Miss Rose Sternglanz, who was born in Greater New York. Her father, Joseph Sternglanz, a native of Vienna, Austria, is a New York manufacturer. Mrs. Emanuel Sklower grad- uated from Hunter College at New York City, and for several years was a teacher in the city public schools. Mr. and Mrs. Sklower have one daughter, Ruth Ida.

E. C. PRESTBYE. One of the best known of the younger attorneys of Flathead County is E. C. Prestbye, of Whitefish, an honored native son who has always tried to measure up to the standard of correct manhood, and this locality is proud to num- ber him among its progressive and representative men. Having always maintained his home here, he has the interests of the community at heart and has sought to promote the same in every way pos- sible. In all the relations of life he has proven true to every trust reposed in him and no one is worthier of the high esteem in which he is held.

E. C. Prestbye was born in Kalispell, Montana, and is the son of Christ and Methilda Prestbye. He secured his elemental education in the public schools of his home city, and then became a student in Spokane College at Spokane, Washington, where he took a course in engineering. Later however, he determined to make the practice of law his life work, and to this end he took the law course in the Montana State University at Missoula, where he was graduated. He immediately upon being ad- mitted to practice located at Whitefish, where he has ever since remained and where he is now en- joying a large and representative clientele. In 1918 Mr. Prestbye was appointed to fill a vacancy in the office of city clerk of Whitefish, the duties of which office he is discharging to the entire satis- faction of the voters of the town.

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Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume III, Part 86

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