Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 103

Author: Bowen, A.W., & Co., firm, publishers, Chicago
Publication date: [19-?]
Publisher: Chicago : A. W. Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 1374

USA > Montana > Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1 > Part 103

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A LEXANDER H. BEATTIE .- A life of ear- nest and persistent endeavor brings a true ap- preciation of the real value of human existence ; a condition that must be prolific of good in all its relations. Mr. Beattie rendered to his country the service of a loyal and patriotic son when her integrity was menaced by armed rebellion; he achieved distinction in his chosen profession of the law ; he served the state of Montana in posi- tions of trust and responsibility ; and he was con- spicuously identified with those practical enter- prises which conserve the public welfare while promoting individual success. He was honored

as a representative citizen of Helena, and the record of his life is so closely interwoven with that of the state that her history would be incom- plete by any omission of his public services.

Alexander H. Beattie was born at Rockford, Winnebago county, Ill., on March 23, 1839. In the public schools of his native state he received his preliminary education and then began the tech- nical work of preparing himself for that vocation which he had determined to adopt as a life work. With this end in view he entered the law office of Hon. William Lathrop, of Rockford, who af- terward represented his district in congress, and, under his effective preceptorship, continued his studies of the law until 1861, when he was admitted to the bar of the state. But a higher duty soon devolved upon him, and instead of engaging in the practice of his profession his intense loyalty prompted him to tender his services in defense of the Union, then menaced by open rebellion. He enlisted May 6, 1862, as a private in the Seven- ty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, which be- came a part of the Army of the Cumberland. His regiment was mustered into service on the 4th of September, proceeded to Louisville, Ky., and assigned to the Army of the Cumberland, under Gen. Buell. He participated in the cam- paign against Bragg, in Kentucky, taking part in the battle at Perrysville on October 8, 1862. He was also in the engagement at Nolensville, Tenn., and the five days' battle at Murfreesboro, or Stone river. During the summer of 1863 he was with his regiment in the Tullahoma campaign, and in September of the same year participated in the movement against Chattanooga. At the battle of Missionary Ridge, Nov. 25, 1863, Mr. Beattie was wounded in the shoulder, breast and foot, and though disabled by these injuries remained with his command. He recovered sufficiently to be in active service in the Atlanta campaign, which was instituted May I, 1864, and partici- pated in all the engagements in which his regi- ment took part, including the memorable battle of Kenesaw Mountain and the various engage- ments around Atlanta. In the fall and winter of 1864 he was under Gen. Geo. H. Thomas in his defense of Tennessee from Hood's campaign of invasion, and thus was in the engagements at Franklin and at Nashville, and those move- ments which resulted in the almost annihila- tion of Hood's veteran soldiers. On Novem- ber 17, 1864, Mr. Beattie was commis-

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sioned by Gov. Yates as first lieutenant, and on October 13, 1865, President Lincoln honored him with a commission as brevet captain of volunteers for gallant and meritorious services in the battles of Stone River, Mission Ridge and in the At- lanta campaign, his rank of brevet captain to date from March 13, 1865. He was mustered out of the service on June 10, 1865, at Huntsville, Ala., the war being over. Returned to Rockford, Ill., he turned his attention to "the arts of peace, whose victories,", as the well known statement of Sum- ner intimates, "are no less renowned than those of war." From Illinois Mr. Beattie came to Mon- tana, becoming one of the pioneers of this section of the Union, and where he afterward became known as a distinguished citizen and successful business man. On May 26. 1869, Hon. James Tufts, secretary and acting governor of the territory, appointed and commissioned Mr. Beattie as ad- jutant general of Montana with the rank of brig- adier general. Until the time of his death he was familiarly known throughout the territory as Col. Beattie.

After locating in Montana Col. Beattie was ad- mitted to practice in the courts of the state, but gave his attention more largely to business enter- prises, in which his ability and discrimination brought to him abundant success. He was ever a stanch supporter of the Republican party and its principles, and held various offices of import- ance in the gift of the people. He served in two sessions of the territorial legislature, and was twice honored by being appointed national committeeman. He acquired extensive business interests, and through legitimate enterprise did much to further the development and material prosperity of the bud- ding state. The following is from the Helena Herald, published on the day ot Col. Beattie's death :

"Coming to Montana when but a young man, in 1866, he settled at Virginia City and engaged with John S. Rockfellow as bookkeeper. In 1867-8, and until the transfer of the Montana Post to Helena and its subsequent suspension in 1869, he was its local editor. After his removal to Helena he was twice elected to the Montana legislature and council, and served as a member of the house, at Virginia City, for two sessions. About 1868 he was appointed deputy clerk under B. S. Wade, who was clerk of the Third judicial district court under Chief Justice Wade. In De- cember, 1871, Col. Beattie was appointed clerk

of the Third judicial district, by Chief Justice Wade, a position he held and honorably filled for thirteen years, until his death, which occurred at Helena, December 20, 1884. In an early day he com- menced the loaning of money, and his operations extended to almost every county in the territory. It is true of Col. Beattie that, while suffering, even unto death, from wounds received in defense of his country and his flag, but few of his most intimate friends knew that he had been in the army."

He was a man of ability and integrity, and as one of the sterling pioneers of a state for whose ad- vancement he labored, it is well that this tribute to his memory be incorporated in this volume, for his name is most worthily inscribed high on the roll of the progressive men of Montana.

S AMUEL FORD .- Leaving home at the age of nineteen and since then making his own way in the world, enduring all the hardships of frontier life and winning out of adverse circumstances a comfortable competence, Samuel Ford, of Great Falls, is entitled to the rest he is now taking. He was born on June 29, 1833, near Montreal, Canada, the son of Abraham and Mary L. (Bourdien) Ford, also natives of Canada. His father, a pros- perous farmer, never left the place on which he settled in early life. The son stayed with him until he was nineteen, and then, in 1852, he came to St. Paul, and after two years went to St. Louis and from there to New Orleans. In 1861 he went up the Mississippi and Missouri to Montana. At the mouth of the Yellowstone the steamboat on which he was traveling "blew up," and crew and passengers had to walk the remaining distance to the fort. The following from a Great Falls paper tells the story well :

A CLOSE CALL.

The old trail-blazers of Montana are growing fewer and fewer in number every year, and when they meet they delight to talk over old times, when the Indian was the principal man in the country and when it took nerve to go into what was then a wi !-- derness and try to carve out a competency. A few days ago a group of these old-timers were in the lobby of the Park hotel, having accidentally met there, and the stories they told of their adventures

Samuel Ford

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PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MONTANA.

were well worth listening to. In the group were Ira Meyers, who came to the territory in 1863; Sanı Ford, who showed up in 1861; Robert Vaughn, who wandered out here in 1861; T. F. Healey, who graced the year 1865 with his coming; A. B. Hamilton, who blew in in 1863, and the patriarch of them all, Ed Lewis, who is one of the oldest settlers of the state, having come here in 1857 from St. Louis, as an employe of the American Fur Com- pany. Just before the party broke up R. S. Ford, who came to what is now Montana in 1865, and Robert Coburn, who claims 1863 as the year of his coming to the state, showed up. The "pilgrims," many of whom had just arrived on the westbound train, stood with their mouths open listening to the tales of the old-timers, wondering and awed as each spoke of his experiences in the days when a man's life was worth but little in this then new country. Each of the little group had told the story of how he came to this country, what impelled him to come, and what he did when he got here; but Sam Ford's story was the most inter- esting of all. When he was a boy, Sam had always had a notion of coming west, but the lack of money always prevented him until the spring of 1861, when, being in St. Louis and determined to reach Fort Benton, he stowed himself away among the goods on the steamer Chippewa, bound for the upper Missouri. He remained hidden for one day and one night before he made himself known to the deck hands, but when he did they treated liin kindly and agreed to see that he went wherever the boat did. Fortunately, as future events showed, they were unable to carry out their promises, but they did their best. Everything went along well and Sam would probably have reached Fort Ben- ton undiscovered by the officers of the boat had it not been that somewhere above Fort Union the boilers exploded and everything was in the air for awhile. Happily, although all the cargo was lost and the men all had narrow escapes, not a life was lost. However, this was not known immediately, and at the first opportunity the captain gathered everyone on the bank of the river and proceeded to call the roll. As each man's name was called he stepped to one side and to the captain's satisfaction all were present. Greatly to the captain's surprise, how- ever, after the calling of the roll there remained one man over, standing alone on the bank, look- ing forlorn enough to please an undertaker, and wlio had never moved during the roll call. It was Sam Ford. How the party reached its destination is 34

another story. That it did so is proved by the presence of Sam Ford in the flesh today, but this is the first time the story has been related of how Sam Ford started for Montana, but came very near going to a better country via the air line.

Mr. Ford remained at Benton for a year, then drove a drove of cattle to Sun river, where he stayed for two years working for the American Fur Com- pany and in 1864 he opened a store and boarding house at Sioux City which he conducted for a year, then went to mining at McClellan's gulch, but soon took up a homestead near Prickly Pear canyon, and began operations as a farmer and stockraiser. The first year grasshoppers destroyed his crops and made him lose almost everything he had. He suc- ceeded, however, in saving one cow for a time, but was compelled to sell that to get supplies. She left a calf which he kept, and from that small be- ginning he went on raising cattle until he had a herd of 5,000 head on a ranch of 7,000 acres. He sold both the cattle and the ranch in 1898, and since that time he has lived a retired life in Great Falls. Since coming to Great Falls Mr. Ford has erected several fine dwellings and a handsome business block on Central avenue.

Mr. Ford was married in 1872 to Miss Clements La Pier, a native of Minnesota. They have five children, Joseph, Louisa, Mary, Samuel and Jose- phine. Mr. Ford has never taken any active part in politics and has no ambition in the way of official life. He and his family are members of the Catholic church.

JOHN BEATON .- Among the successful farm- ers and stock growers of the beautiful Camas prairie district of Missoula county the dominion of Canada is well represented, and by men of sterling character and marked ability. One of them is John Beaton, who was born in Nova Scotia in 1859, the son of Daniel and Sarah (McDonald) Beaton, both of whom were born in rugged In- vernessshire, Scotland. Daniel Beaton came to America at the age of eighteen, locating among the people of his race in Nova Scotia, the Scot- land of the new world. He was a shipbuilder but turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, and lived the remainder of his life in Nova Scotia, dying in 1893, at the age of seventy-nine years, his wife having passed away when her son John was but a few weeks old. They were folk of

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sterling character, and Mr. Beaton may well re- vert with pride to his long line of Scottish fore- bears.

Receiving his education in the schools in the vicinity of his home, John Beaton early assisted his father in his work, and made his home in Nova Scotia until October 27, 1882, when he started out to seek his fortunes in the west. He made brief stops in Massachusetts and Wisconsin and arrived in Montana early in 1883. He passed that year in the Yellowstone country and in 1884 took up his abode on his present ranch, four miles southeast of Potomac, Missoula county. Here he has 320 acres of fertile and productive land, having considerable timber, while he has also another ranch of 310 acres, two miles south of his home ranch. It is merely truth to state that no section of Montana is more attractive or more eligible for general farming and stockgrow- ing than the Camas prairie. Mr. Beaton devotes his attention to both these lines of industry, and has been signally prospered, having shown marked taste and ability in the improving and cultivating of his ranch and in the growing of live stock. He is also interested in several mining claims in this vicinity. In politics he gives an unwavering al- legiance to the Democratic party and its prin- ciples. Mr. Beaton was married on June 26, 1901, to Laura Pelkey, a native of New Brunswick. His sister, Miss Sarah Anne Beaton, who presided over the attractive home with graciousness and ability for many years, died on June 15, 1901. Like her brother, she was a fine type of the Scotch character, unassuming, open-hearted and hospit- able, and had the esteem and confidence of all.

JOSIAH FRANCIS BECK, of Butte, was born in Indiana county, Pa., on December 16, 1834, a son of William and Elizabeth (Rowe) Beck, also natives of Pennsylvania, naving German ancestors who were among the earliest settlers. His father, a prosperous farmer, lived and died on the homestead, as did also his mother. Mr. Beck was reared on the farm with the usual education provided at the district schools. He was able, however, to take a higher course at a good academy and special busi- ness training at Duff's Commercial College in Pitts- burg, Pa., where he was graduated in 1856, having earned the money to pay for these advantages by

teaching, beginning this when he was sixteen years old. From 1858 to 1861 he taught in Kentucky, then expecting to make law his life work. But more by accident than design, he found himself soon after the close of his last school term at Pike's Peak. He had gone to St. Louis on a vacation, from there went up the river to Rock Island and over to Ster- ling, where he met a brother who was preparing to go to the peak. With the vagrant impulse of the tourist to have an outing and see the country, he joined the expedition. They went down the Missis- sippi and up the Missouri to Nebraska City, and there joined a wagon train bound for Denver. The trip took twenty-six days and had no incident worthy of note. The Indians were a source of anxiety but gave them no trouble. Denver then was but a hamlet with a straggling street or two, a few rude stores and two or three primitive hotels. After resting a few days they went on to Central City and Russell's gulch, then the principal mining camp of the state. Seeing a good opportunity for employment which would pay him fair wages, Mr. Beck went to mining in Spring gulch at $1.50 per day and board. The board consisted of underdone sour bread, bacon and black coffee, with an occa- sional dish of stewed dried apples. He worked there two weeks and afterwards at various other places at mining and prospecting until the autumn of 1863, and traveled many times along the trail over the hills to the site of Leadville, little sus-

pecting the existence of the rich ore deposits hidden there. In the fall of 1863 Denver had a disastrous fire in which the hotel where Mr. Beck was stopping was burned. He lost everything he had in the hotel except the clothes on his back, barely escaping with his life. Having been fairly successful, he went back to "the states" and spent the winter of 1863-4. In the spring of 1864 he outfitted at Omaha with two yoke of oxen and a wagon loaded with sugar, bacon and flour, got safely to the mining camps and sold out at prices that now seem almost fabulous. There was then great excitement over rich discov- eries at Virginia City, Mont., and catching the fe- ver, he took stage to Salt Lake City, thence to Vir- ginia City, which he reached June 11, 1864. In com- pany with E. H. Lockwood he bought a claim at Summit at the upper end of Alder gulch, which they worked that season and in December he and Charles Reed went to Butte and worked all winter on several lode claims in quartz located by his brother during the summer. In the spring he and Thomas Hall worked at dry digging, hauling

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PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MONTANA.

the proceeds to the creek, on the ravines and ground which Butte now covers, and in less than three months cleaned up over $5,000 before the water failed and work was stopped. Silver Bow was then county seat, and, as Mr. Beck was one of the best penmen in the neighborhood, he was appointed deputy clerk and recorder for the county and held the office several years. On removal of the county seat to Deer Lodge in October, 1865, he transfer- red the office fixtures (one plain board table and two common chairs) to their new home. Finding that the confinement of office work was impairing his health he resigned in 1866, returning to Butte. In July, 1886, the rich field at Highland gulch was reported and he and Thomas Hall were among the first on the ground. They selected land for them- selves and staked for others. Mr. Beck's land proved worthless for mining, still he continued work- ing here until 1870, but with such poor luck that he was then in debt $300. Thereafter he worked in various places for four or five years and returned to Butte and went to work for William L. Farlin, building shaft houses, timbering shafts, etc. After Mr. Farlin's failure in 1875 Mr. Beck worked at carpentering and other occupations, investing as much as possible of his earnings in real estate.

When the first local government for Butte was organized he was elected marshal and followed his term with other official service such as deputy sheriff, deputy county treasurer, city treasurer, etc., and was regarded as a leading politician. It did not take him long to learn that being a "good fel- low" does not pay and, quitting politics, he went to dealing in real estate and loaning money and in these vocations he has been very successful. He is now in the sunset of life, resting from his former arduous labors and enjoying the companionship of his numerous friends. Of Butte Lodge No. 22, A. F. & A. M., he is a charter member and was the first worshipful master, serving for several terms, and he is also a charter member Damon Lodge, K. of P. Mr. Beck is liberal in his religious views and has been a generous contributor to all churches, and munificent in his support of public enterprises and worthy charities. No one can truthfully say he ever refused a benefaction that he deemed worthy of his bounty. To use his own characteristic ex- pression, he "was born a Democrat and expects to die one," but for many years he has taken no active part in party work, while in local affairs he is not a partisan. A human life such as is here briefly out- lined presents themes of elevating, inspiring contem-

plation. Mr. Beck has risen to the altitude of every duty, recognizing the right of all men to an equal chance in the battle of life and willing to help any- .one get it.

ILLIAM BECK .- John R. Beck was a na- tive of Kentucky, but his parents came there from Virginia, where the family had lived for gen- erations; his father, the grandfather of William Beck, was a faithful follower of Washington through the Revolution. John R. Beck was a farmer and merchant in Kentucky, where he also conducted successfully one of the early distilleries of the state. Later in life he removed to Tennessee. The mother, Tabitha (Stockton) Beck, was also a native of Kentucky. They had six chil- dren, of whom William was the third. He was born in Wayne county, Ky., in 1832. He attended the public schools until he was eighteen, when he went to the Tennessee farm, whither the fam- ily had removed. At nineteen he went into busi- ness for himself as a dealer in horses, driving them to Mississippi and Georgia for sale. Three years later he settled down to farming near Bowling Green, Ky., intending to make that his life busi- ness, having at the age of twenty married Miss Sarah J. Huffman. But he soon removed to Mis- souri and began operations on a larger scale in the same business. In a short time, however, he returned to Kentucky and engaged in mer- chandising, first at Albany and later at Glasgow. He was in this business at the time of the Civil war and, being a slave owner, was a southern sym- pathizer. Continuing in business until 1865 he re- moved to Sedalia, Mo., and engaged in packing pork, but a year later sold out and went to farming in Vernon county, Mo., doing much also in rais- ing and fattening stock.

The failing health of his daughter induced him to take her and his wife on an overland trip to Colorado Springs. She did not improve, however, and died after their return to Missouri. In 1878 he repeated the trip for the benefit of his wife's health, but instead of going to Colorado he located at Bozeman, Mont., and remained there eight years. In 1886 he changed his residence to Butte, where he has ever since resided, engaged in mining and in real estate operations, in which he has been very successful. He has three children living of the six born to him. John H. and Alonzo M. are farmers in Gallatin valley, Mont., and Charles L.

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PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MONTANA.

is a farmer in the state of Washington. In church relations Mr. Beck is a Baptist and in politics a Democrat. He is faithful and zealous in each, but seeks no prominence in either. His business oc- cupies his time and energies and fills the measure of his desires. He is actively engaged in handling mining properties and other real estate. In 1893 he started merchandising, but was soon burnt out. He has lived in numerous places, and has had dealings with many people, and it is high, but just, praise to say that he has had the good will of all who have known him, and that he has deserved it.

G EORGE BENJAMIN .- Among the honored pi- oneers of Montana is George Benjamin, one of the representative citizens of Boulder, Jefferson coun- ty, and one who has been prominently identified with the industrial activities of the state for many years, while he has not failed to have his share of pioneer experiences. He is a native of DuPage county, Ill., born on November 13, 1834, one of the eight children of Robert Y. and Nancy (Grove) Benjamin, natives of Ohio and Kentucky. His paternal grandparents were Daniel and Martha (Young) Benjamin, the former having been born in Pennsylvania, of Welsh parentage, while the lat- ter was of Scotch-Irish lineage. Daniel Benjamin removed from Ohio to Illinois, his family being pio- neers of DuPage county, where his wife died in 1861 and he was engaged in farming and hotel keeping until his death in 1893, at a venerable age.

George Benjamin passed his youth in his native county, receiving education in the public schools and remaining with his father until he had attained his legal majority, when he entered the office of the Galena & Chicago Railroad at Nevada for two years. In 1857 he went to Shelby county, Iowa, going up the Missouri from St. Louis to Kansas City, then by stage coach to Topeka, Kan., where he purchas- ed a horse, which he rode the greater portion of the way to his destination. He remained in Shelby county until the spring of 1859, and then went about seventy miles on the way to Pike's Peak, Colo., when he met a party who gave so unfavorable news that he returned to Shelby county and took an ex- tensive ditching contract, completing it the same fall. He was then elected county treasurer and re- corder, which offices he filled six years, resigning near the close of his term to come to Montana. He made the trip with a horse team and about 150

miles west of Fort Laramie his party met J. M. Bozeman, then the captain of a train and receiving five dollars per wagon for his services as guide. Mr. Benjamin joined Bozeman and arrived in Vir- ginia City on July 25, 1864, his being the first team to arrive over the Bozeman route, on the first trip of Mr. Bozeman after he had located it.

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 103

Author: Bowen, A.W., & Co., firm, publishers, Chicago Publication date: [19-?] Publisher: Chicago : A. W. Bowen & Co. Number of Pages: 1374

Author: Bowen, A.W., & Co., firm, publishers, Chicago
Publication date: [19-?]
Publisher: Chicago : A. W. Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 1374