Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume III, Part 91

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 91

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).

James O'Boyle was born in Ireland and is a son of Charles and Margaret (McNeil) O'Boyle. He was reared under the paternal roof and secured what education was possible in the schools of his home community. However, he had a longing for larger opportunities than were afforded by his na- tive land and so he followed the example of thou- sands of his countrymen and set his face toward the western republic across the sea. At the age of twenty-one years he set sail from Liverpool and in due time arrived at New York City, whence he pro- ceeded at once to St. Joseph, Missouri, where he was employed for two years. He then came to Mon- tana, making the trip by boat up the Missouri River to Fort Benton, thence to Helena, where he ob- tained employment in the mines. That was in the true pioneer period, before the advent of railroads

and other modern conveniences. He then went to Butte, where he worked in the mines of the Ana- conda Company until 1884, when he came to the Flathead Valley and pre-empted 160 acres of land located three miles northwest of where Kalispell now stands. The nearest town then was Missoula, which also was the nearest postoffice and county seat. He took part in the first activities incidental to the or- ganization of a new community, and in this con- nection it is worthy of note that he assisted in cut- ting the logs for the first schoolhouse erected in Flathead Valley, the county then being called Mis- soula, and this school was on the farm of Robert Ball, while its first teacher was Hank Robinson. Mr. O'Boyle entered actively and energetically on the task of improving and cultivating his new home, and at length had the satisfaction of knowing that he had one of the best ranches in the Flathead coun- try. He has since made many substantial and artis- tic improvements on the place and today it is still considered one of the best ranches in the com- munity. Here he has engaged in general farming and stock raising, in which he has uniformly met with a satisfactory degree of success, so that today he is considered to be in very comfortable circum- stances.

Mr. O'Boyle was married to Mary La Velle, who also was born in Ireland, a daughter of Edward and Ellen (Curran) LaVelle, and they have six children living, Alice, Charles, John, Henry, Francis and Walter.

Politically Mr. O'Boyle is a strong supporter of the democratic party and an ardent admirer of President Woodrow Wilson. His fraternal relations are with the Knights of Columbus, while he and his wife are faithful members of the Roman Catholic Church. That Mr. O'Boyle possesses the confidence of his fellow citizens is evidenced in the fact that . he was elected school director of the Springcreek district. To the discharge of the duties of that responsible office he gave his best efforts, for he is a firm believer in the best education possible for the young, as the best basis for good citizenship.

Of the early days in this section of the state Mr. O'Boyle tells many interesting things, some of which throw additional light on recorded history. Thus he speaks of the great Indian uprising and the subse- quent campaign in which General Custer was killed, and tells of the universal fear which filled the hearts of the settlers, who were scattered at wide intervals over the country. Many of the women and children in the Flathead country were hastily put in wagons and driven to Helena, forty miles away, for safety. Mr. O'Boyle remembers one incident of three white men being caught by the red men and burned to death. Later several $20 gold pieces were raked out of the ashes. General Howard, with a body of troops, came over from Oregon, ostensibly to punish the Indians, but as a matter of fact he was afraid to attack the redskins, keeping about two days be- hind them, in consequence of which the Indians, who knew he was afraid of them, called him "General Behind Hand."

Through subsequent years Mr. O'Boyle has con- sistently given his support and influence to every movement for the advancement and improvement of his community, and he has lived to see it develop into one of the choicest and most picturesque sec- tions of the great Treasure State. He has never regretted leaving his native land, for he has found opportunities here not possible in his native land, and he has proved an honor to his adopted coun- try, enjoying to a marked degree the confidence and good will of all who know him.

MR. AND MRS. JAMES O'BOYLE

977

HISTORY OF MONTANA

KOSCIUSKO HAMILTON, M. D., the pioneer physi- cian of Dodson, identified himself with Montana in June, 1908, and established himself at Dodson two years later. He came to the state as physician and surgeon in the United States Reclamation Serv- ice, beginning his work at Fort Shaw. He was next at Babb, and then Malta, where he completed his services to the Government, following which he came to Dodson, and is not only engaged in a medical practice but is also conducting a drug store.

Doctor Hamilton was born in Union County, Ten- nessee, near Maynardsville, January II, 1873, a son of Ezra A. Hamilton and grandson of William Hamilton, a member of an old established American family of English origin. The Hamiltons were orig- inally farmers, and were always loyal in their sup- port of the Government, participating in all of the country's wars, and during that between the North and the South espoused the Union cause, and some of them served in the Federal Army, although in order to do so were forced to leave their native state.

William Hamilton was born in Union County, Tennessee, and was there reared. He married Miss Pauline Buckner, also a native of the Volunteer State, and a member of a family of English an- cestry and agricultural proclivities. Their children were ten in number, six sons and four daughters, of whom Ezra A. Hamilton was the first born. William Hamilton was an active man in the Baptist Church, and in his political opinions was a repub- lican. His death occurred when he was about seventy years old, and his widow survived him un- til she also reached the age of seventy.

Ezra A. Hamilton was born, reared and educated in Union County, Tennessee, and when he was a young man he embarked in a mercantile business at Esco, Tennessee, and conducted it for fifteen years, and remained actively engaged in business as long as he lived, dying in 1906. Like his father, he was a republican, and he was one of the leaders of the Missionary Baptist Church. Well known in Ma- sonry, he rose high in that fraternity. He married Pernina C. Smith, a daughter of John A. Smith, who married a Miss Buckner. He was a native son of Tennessee, and one of the most influential church workers of the country outside of the ministry. He went into the newly developed portion of East- ern Tennessee and did pioneer work there. Mrs. Ezra A. Hamilton survives her husband and lives at Pratt, Kansas. Their children were as follows: Artemas, who is a farmer of Pratt, Kansas; Doctor Hamilton, who was the second born; Charles E., who is an attorney connected with the Panama Canal Commission at Washington, District of Columbia ; Lillian, who is Mrs. Frank Miller, of Pratt, Kansas; Doctor Lee and Dr. Swan Hamilton, both of whom are dental surgeons and served during the late war in a professional capacity at Chickamauga Camp.

Dr. Kosciusko Hamilton spent four years in lit- erary work at Carson and Newman College, Jeffer- son City, Tennessee, leaving it in his junior year, and spent six months in Eastman's Business Col- lege, Poughkeepsie, New York. Following this he entered the Bureau of Construction and Repair in the Navy Department at Washington, District of Columbia, and was made head of the Division of Records, remaining in that branch of the service until he had completed his medical studies, which he pursued in night sessions. During the latter part of his course he attended the George Washington University, and while there did hospital work as well as the regular course, and was graduated there- from in June, 1906.

Upon coming to Dodson, Doctor Hamilton built

his own store, stocked it with drugs and sundries and opened the first pharmacy in the town. His permanency as a settler was demonstrated when he proved up a half section of land near Dodson and developed quite a valuable stock farm out of it. Doctor Hamilton is one of the charter members of Liberty Lodge No. 99, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Dodson. When the First National Bank of Dodson was organized Doctor Hamilton was active in the work, was elected its president and held that position until 1919; when the First State Bank of Dodson was purchased and consolidated with the First National, the same name being con- tinued, and Doctor Hamilton was placed at the head of the expanded institution. The original capi- tal of the bank was $25,000, but when it was reor- ganized the capital stock was doubled.

Doctor Hamilton was medical examiner of the Dodson locality for the Selective Service Board dur- ing the late war, served on the' several committees connected with the various drives, and contributed most generously to all of the war activities.

On September 18, 1901, Doctor Hamilton was married at Fredericksburg, Virginia, to Miss Wil- helmtina Williams, a daughter of William A. Wil- liams, an ex-Confederate soldier who had served under Gen. Robert E. Lee. He took part in General Pickett's famous charge at the battle of Gettysburg, was taken prisoner during the war, but later ex- changed, and resumed his duties as a soldier in time to participate in the strenuous closing conflicts of that war. The Williams family located in what is known as the old "Northern Neck" in Virginia, one of the shires granted by the British Government, out of which Essex County was created, and it was in this county that William A. Williams was born February 27, 1840. All of his active life, save that portion of it spent in the army, was passed on the old Williams plantation in Virginia, and there he died in 1918. He married Miss Sarah Frances Watts, a daughter of Henry P. Watts and his wife, Mrs. Frances (Brown) Watts. Henry Watts' sister mar- ried William A. Clark, who was a brother to Roger Clark, a lieutenant in General Washington's army during the American Revolution, and through him Mrs. Hamilton has gained her membership of Liv- ingston Manor Lodge, Washington, District of Co- lumbia, Daughters of the American Revolution, and she is also a member of the Robert E. Lee Chapter, Daughters of the Southern Confederacy, of the same city. Mrs. Williams, mother of Mrs. Hamilton, died just prior to the passing away of her husband, having been the mother of the following children: Dr. C. G. Williams, who is practicing at Oak Grove, Virginia; Henry, who is a resident of Iraville, Vir- ginia; S. J., who is a teacher of modern and mediaeval English in The Citadel University of Charleston, South Carolina; William A., who is a resident of Baltimore, Maryland; Mrs. Hamilton, who is the wife of Doctor Hamilton of this review; Sarah, who is the wife of David Vosburgh, of Oak Grove, Virginia; Mary Pryor, who is Mrs. Dr. N. P. Rucker, of Bedford, Virginia; and two daughters who are deceased.

Mrs. Hamilton was born on her father's planta- tion near Fredericksburg, Virginia, March 4, 1882, and was educated in the Woman's College of Lynch- burg, Virginia. For the subsequent two years she taught school, and then took the training course for nurses at the Columbia, George Washington and Children's Hospitals at Washington, District of Co- lumbia, and was graduated in nursing in 1901. She met Doctor Hamilton while she was in training in Washington, and came to Dodson after Doctor Ham- ilton had established himself at this point. Both

978

HISTORY OF MONTANA

Doctor and Mrs. Hamilton are very popular, and they have gathered about them a delightful social circle of congenial friends.

DAVID V. DUTRO. The possibilities of Montana are such as to awaken a strong interest in the heart of everyone who comes into the state, and if they become enthusiastic over these opportunities it is easy to see that a native son of the commonwealth cannot be convinced that another section of the country can offer him anything to induce him to leave. At any rate this is the attitude of David V. Dutro, United States land commissioner and a prom- inent citizen of Dodson, who was born at Helena, Montana, December 10, 1878, a son of Daniel Dutro.

Daniel Dutro was born on the Miami River in Ohio, and accompanied his parents to Bloomington, Illinois, when a child, living there until he was fifteen years old. His father died about the time of the outbreak of the war between the states, and he offered his services to the Union, but his widowed mother would not give her consent to his entering the army. At the time the family was living at Pleasant Hill, Missouri, and Daniel Dutro, animated with a flame of patriotism, decided to become a soldier in spite of opposition and so went into Illi- nois and enlisted at Springfield in Company B, 150th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was made drummer boy of his company. After a service of a year he was stricken with pneumonia, fatally, as it seemed, and was sent home in a box car to die, but recov- ered so thoroughly that he was able to join the Vigilantes in Missouri and assist in waging war against the depredations of the bandits of the state, comprising the outfits of the James boys, Bill Ander- son and the Quantrell gang. In company with his fellow members of the local Vigilante Committee Daniel Dutro captured one of this coterie of out- laws, and in that connection rendered a more effective service than he had as a soldier.

In 1867 Daniel Dutro came to Montana, and from then on identified himself with this part of the country and because of his long residence here was made a member of the Montana Pioneers Associa- tion. He made the trip by steamboat from St. Louis, Missouri, to Fort Benton, Montana, and from there made his way to Helena. His first employment at Helena was as a hod carrier. At that time he was so slender that it seemed impos- sible that he could carry the heavy hod, and his fellow workmen watched him to see that harm did not attend his praiseworthy efforts to "make good." As they expected, his strength proved unequal to the effort and he was caught as he fell from the ladder. The contractor, appreciating the grit of the lad, changed his job to that of stone cutting.

By the time he had learned the trade of stone cutting he was an expert and he added a knowledge of mechanics and decorating to his other trade. Probably he worked too hard, for he was attacked by a trouble which was the result of his army service, and this confined him to his bed for two years. When he was able to leave his bed he realized that he must keep out of doors, so began prospecting and went to the Neihart district of the state and found the Benton group of mines and a number of others, which were developed into the best silver producers of the region, and his family still retain an interest in these properties.

Subsequently, on account of his health, he was forced to seek a lower altitude, and in 1881 moved to Fort Benton, where he took up photography and developed into an artist and practical photographer, and was also an expert mineralogist. Had he not been hampered by his lack of early educational

training he would have made his mark in the latter science. After twenty years' experience as a pho- tographer his uncle, George McBurney, builder of the McBurney House, the first hotel in Deerlodge County, lost his eyesight, and Mr. Dutro devoted himself to the care of his afflicted relative until the death of the latter. He then resumed his mining operations, and operated a mine at the mouth of Nelson Gulch, where he built a small stamp mill and foundry. Later he discovered the "Arrow Head" Mine.of rich ore at the grass roots. Until his death, on May 8, 1918, when he was sixty-eight years old, he continued to operate his mill and take an active interest in affairs. Considering the state of his health Mr. Dutro was a remarkable man and his achieve- ments stand out as a practical demonstration of what a man can accomplish if he only possesses suffi- cient ambition, no matter what his physical disabili- ties may be.

Daniel Dutro married Caroline McBurney, a daughter of George McBurney, who came West from Farmington, New York, where Mrs. Dutro was born on October 17, 1849. She survives her husband and lives at Central Park, Gallatin County, Montana. The children born to Daniel Dutro and his wife were as follows: Alice, who is the wife of Rev. H. E. Clowes, of San Diego, California; Flora, who is the wife of Arthur P. Knadler, of Central Park, Montana; George, who is mentioned below; and David V., whose name heads this biography.

Taken in early childhood to Fort Benton, Mon- tana, by his parents, George Dutro was reared in that place and attended its schools until he was nineteen years old. At that time he came to Dodson and became a clerk, and in 1908 established himself in business as proprietor of the Dodson Mercantile Company. In addition to his mercantile interests Mr. Dutro was one of the promotors of the First National Bank of Dodson, and was placed on its board of directors. After taking an active part in securing the incorporation of Dodson as a city he was elected its first mayor, but refused to qualify. Like the majority of the residents of the county, and in fact of this part of the state, Mr. Dutro availed himself of the opportunity offered by the Government of acquiring a homestead, and proved up his claim two miles east of Dodson, and while he was doing so lived in a little house on his property, and at the same time conducted his store. It was not an easy matter for him to do the necessary amount of farming, owing to the drouth and his inexperience, but he succeeded, for he inherits much of his father's praiseworthy persistence, and now has a farm that will, in time, be very valuable.

On February 22, 1900, Mr. Dutro was married to Miss Helen Culbertson, at Fort Benton, Montana. She was a daughter of Robert and Lydia (Smith) Culhertson, and was born at Fort Benton, the eldest of the nine children of her parents. Her death occurred at Dodson on November 5, 1917, and she left a daughter, Mabel.

Mr. Dutro took an active part in the bond and other drives during the late war, and was very gen- erous in his contributions. Well known in Masonry, he belongs to Dodson Lodge, Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons, and to the Consistory and Mystic Shrine of Helena, Montana. A strong republican, he began his connection with that party by casting his first presidential vote for William Mckinley in 1900, and has continued to support its candidates ever since.

David V. Dutro was only three years old when his parents moved to Fort Benton, and so he was prac- tically reared in that city. His educational training was acquired there, and he learned in a practical

979

HISTORY OF MONTANA

manner the printing business, so that he was able to engage profitably in newspaper work for ten years. In 1906 he went to Chester, Montana, and for three years was occupied as a postoffice employe and clerk in a mercantile establishment, but at the expira- tion of that period came to Dodson, and, like his brother George, homesteaded in the vicinity. This action led him to turn his attention to real estate, and he became very active as one of the realty operators of this region and has continued in this line ever since. In 1912 he was appointed United States land commissioner, and since that date prac- tically all of the land in this region has been filed and proved up through his court. Although a strong republican, his services have been so valuable that he has been continued in office through two demo- cratic administrations.

David V. Dutro was married at Dodson, Montana, to Anna Vaughn on February 18, 1914. She was born at Belfast, Ireland, September 11, 1892, a daughter of Hugh and Margaret (Cotter) Vaughn. Mr. and Mrs. Dutro have two sons, Vaughn Daniel and George Ferdinand.

The Dutros, father and sons, have always been constructive citizens, and the services they have and are rendering to the state cannot be easily over- estimated, and their names will be associated with some of the most important history of the common- wealth.

GEORGE T. CHAMBERS. For a number of years George T. Chambers has been one of the active business men and public spirited citizens of Malta, and prior to that for many years was identified with the history of Montana, into which state he came in 1883. He has always been associated with con- structive citizenship and has earned the right of be- ing numbered among the most representative men of Phillips County.

The birth of George T. Chambers occurred at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, October 8, 1846. He is a son of Abraham Chambers and grandson of David Chambers. One of the Chambers ancestors moved from Maryland into Pennsylvania, and the family traces back to the Chambers who laid out the Town of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and still further back to Maj. James Chambers, the emigrant from Ireland, who received a land grant from the king of England and established himself and his four sons and four daughters along the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, and from that location the Chambers . descendants have scattered to the four winds.

It is believed that David Chambers was also born in the Keystone State, and he certainly spent the major portion of his life in it. His son Abraham Chambers was born at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, De- cember 12, 1819, and was sent to Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, to learn the process of extracting gas from coal, and when he had done so, was placed in charge of the Lancaster gas works at Lancaster, Pennsyl- vania. In. 1853 he moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, and was there connected with the iron moulding industry. Still later he went to Poweshiek County, Iowa, where he began farming, and continued that calling in Greene County, Iowa. After some years spent in Iowa he moved to South Dakota, proved up a homestead in Faulk County, and there his wife passed away. Following that sad event he broke up his home and lived among his children who had settled in that state, and died at Faulkton, South Dakota, in June, 1905, aged eighty-five years.

Abraham Chambers married Ann Mary Atkinson, a daughter of John Atkinson, born in England, who became a contractor on the Pennsylvania Railroad while it was in process of construction, and while

thus occupied he contracted cholera and died of the epidemic. Mrs. Chambers died in December, 1889, and she and her husband had the following children: George T., who was the eldest born; Charles B., who is a resident of Faulkton, South Dakota; Mary E., who is deceased, was Mrs. Jacob Vader, of Formosa, Kansas; James. A., who is a resident of Carroll County, Iowa; and Louisa B., who married John Harrington and lives in Faulk County, South Da- kota.

George T. Chambers was only six years old when his parents moved to Indianapolis, and he was edu- cated in that city and at Lafayette, Indiana. On March 31, 1864, he enlisted at Indianapolis, Indiana, as a member of Company B, Eleventh Indiana Volun- teer Infantry, under Col. Lew Wallace, which regi- ment was known as Wallace's Zouaves. He joined the regiment at Indianapolis when it was home on veteran furlough, and with it went down the Mis- sissippi River to Memphis, Tennessee, and from there on down to New Orleans, Louisiana. The next point to be occupied was Thibbedeau, Louisiana, from whence after a brief stay the command was ordered to Washington, District of Columbia, and made the trip in the steamer "Cassandra." From Washington it marched into Maryland and thence into the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. Mr. Cham- bers participated in the battles of Fisher's Hill, Ce- dar Creek and Winchester. When the Shenandoah Valley campaign was completed the Eleventh was ordered to Baltimore, Maryland, by its old com- mander, Major General Wallace, and did guard duty there until the close of the war, and he received his final discharge at Indianapolis, Indiana, on August 8, 1865. During all of his service he was not wounded nor taken prisoner, although he was made color corporal, and thus occupied a somewhat dangerous position.

When he was still a schoolboy Mr. Chambers had the honor of seeing Abraham Lincoln as he passed through Lafayette, Indiana, on his way to Washing- ton to be inaugurated as president. In the years that followed he held him close in his heart as his hero, and then, at the close of the war, he was one of the broken-hearted throng to view the body of the martyred president lying in state at Wash- ington, and formed one of the guards to escort the body in the funeral procession.

When the railroad entered Livingston, Montana, Mr. Chambers came to the new community, and for the subsequent twenty-one years was identified with its business history, first as senior member of the hardware firm of George T. Chambers & Company, and later as a member of the Livingston Hardware Company. During this period he saw Livingston grow from a hamlet to a community rivaling Clark City, which was the metropolis of that region when lie entered it. Mr. Chambers was very active in public affairs, serving as county commissioner for six years, and as county treasurer for two years. When he was on the County Boad the courthouse was erected and extensive bridge building plans were started and the problems relative to the voting and funding of bonds were handled. Mr. Chambers was chairman of the board when a test suit was brought against it to test the question of the amount of money the board could spend on any one bridge, and the court rendered a decision to limit the amount to $10,000, and this established the law for future boards, While he was county treasurer his office handled a part of the "slush" fund which was cir- culated in the interest of the campaign fund of a United States senator. This part was the amount that was thrown over the transom into the bedroom of State Senator Whiteside, who brought the matter

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 91

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