Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 107

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 107

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JOHN BRADY is one of the most successful stockraisers of Jefferson county, Mont., where he resides near the town of Finn. He was born in County Cavan, Ireland, in August, 1824, the son of Philip and Mary (Rouke) Brady, both natives of Ireland, and farmers. John Brady remained with his parents in Ireland until he was twenty-one, re- ceiving his education in the national schools. In 1845 he came to the United States, landing at New Orleans and soon going into the northwestern coun- try, first stopping at Kansas City, Mo., where he re- mained until 1861. Great excitement then existed in reference to gold discoveries in the vicinity of Denver, Pike's Peak and California gulch, now Leadville. Mr. Brady made his way thither and remained two years, mining and prospecting with indifferent success.

In 1863 Mr. Brady came to Montana, locating at Alder gulch about the time of the richest discoveries

at that famed Eldorado, and here he remained five years, diversifying his mining operations by con- ducting a hotel. In 1868 he located on the fine ranch near Finn, in Jefferson county, where he now resides, and here he has been very successful. In 1861 Mr. Brady was married to Miss Ann Gillick, daughter of Philip and Catherine (Nelson) Gillick, both natives of Ireland. The father was a farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Brady have two children, Philip and Sarah Ann, now Mrs. D. D. Twohey, of Anaconda. Mr. Twohey is a railroad conductor, and also pro- prietor of a drug store and of a livery. They are the parents of two beautiful young twins.

F M. BRICKER, prominent as a rancher, and successful as a business man, was born in Jackson county, Ind., also the birthplace of his mother, on March 22, 1845. He is the son of An- thony and Melinda (Sullander) Bricker, the father a native of Ohio. They had four sons and six daughters, and the family removed to Iowa in 1850. F. M. Bricker, in 1864, at the age of nine- teen years, enlisted in Company K, Forty-seventh Iowa Infantry, and served with his regiment on garrison duty, at Helena, Ark., where he was hon- orably discharged in the fall of the same year. He then engaged in mining until 1866, and in that year started with an ox team for Montana, hav- ing joined a train escorted by Col. Black. The journey was monotonous, but not unpleasant or dangerous.

Mr. Bricker arrived in Virginia City on August 3, 1866, and engaged in mining and freighting, continuing so employed for ten years. He then removed to Madison county, and took up govern- ment land as a homestead near Jefferson Island, and began ranching on rather an extensive scale. Later he purchased 400 acres of land and two other ranches a few miles up South Boulder river. One of these he recently sold to the Borthwick Bros. Mr. Bricker usually win- ters 200 head of cattle and horses. His properties are in fine, eligible locations, supplied with sub- stantial and modern improvements, and are in ex- cellent condition for the carrying on of the business he so successfully conducts. He is highly es- teemed in his community, enjoying the confidence of a large circle of business and personal associ- ates.

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D ANIEL BRION .- Driven from the siniling March, 1865. They were also in the hight near green valleys and vine-clad hills of their native . Blackwater, Va., and the terrible general assault France by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes on the intrenchments before Petersburg, which they carried at the point of the bayonet. They then followed Lee to Appomattox and were present at the famous surrender of his army to Gen. Grant. Soon after they were honorably discharged from the service at Alexandria, Va. After his discharge he returned to Pennsylvania and engaged in farm- ing for a time. He made a trip to Montana to see the country, and being pleased with it and its prospects, he returned home to close up his affairs so that he could settle in the northwest. He was detained there some four or five years, however, and in the meantime was appointed census enumer- ator in 1890. In 1892 he returned to Montana and engaged in farming, first on state land which he leased. in 1685, the Brions, a Huguenot family, belonging to that oppressed people who formed the most moral, industrious and intelligent part of the French population, immigrated to America, and settled among the peaceful and liberty-loving Quakers of Philadelphia. From that time forth they have been among the pioneers of the country, always ready to brave the dangers and hardships of frontier life in order that they might see the work of their hands growing into fruitfulness and beauty around them. George Brion, the great-grandfather of the subject of this review, took an active part in the war of the Revolution as a member of the Pennsylvania line which followed the great commander of the Colo- nial armies and shared his triumph at Trenton and on many other hard-fought fields. He was a tiller of the soil in times of peace, and extracted a good livelihood from the ground on which some of the most aristocratic residences and most pretentious business houses of Philadelphia stand today. His son, George, was a pioneer in Union county on the Upper Susquehanna, and his grandson, Jacob, father of our subject, was one in Tioga county, on the border of New York state. Here Daniel Brion was born, January 1, 1834, his mother being Han- nah (Ranck) Brion, a native of Lancaster, Pa., where her family had lived from early times. The father lived to the age of eighty-eight, and then died in 1896 where he had spent all of his mature life, among the picturesque hills of Tioga county. He was a prominent man in the county and took a great interest in public affairs.

Daniel Brion spent his school days in this county, finishing his education at the academy at Wells- borough, the county seat, where he was graduated in 1853. He then taught school for some years, clerking in a store between the terms, always in his native county. This he continued until the Civil war was well under way, when he enlisted as a member of Company E, Two Hundred and Seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers, under command of Col. Robert C. Cox. He was mustered into service at Harrisburg as sergeant of his company, and then marched to Bermuda Hundred, where his regiment was assigned to the Eighteenth Army Corps, under Gen. B. F. Butler. After two months' service in that corps they were transferred to the Ninth Corps, under Gen. Parke, and saw active service at Fort McConihe and the battle of Fort Steadman, in

Mr. Brion was married January 26, 1861, to Miss Sarah Sechrist, a daughter of Christian Sechrist, who had come into Tioga county, Pa., as a pioneer from Union county. Mr. and Mrs. Brion have nine children, namely: Margaret Jane (now Mrs. Martin Rising), of Columbia Falls, Mont .; Morris L., mining at Arnot, Pa .; Daniel, Jr., and George O., mining in Gebo, Mont .; Sarah E. (now Mrs. Samuel Owens), of Gebo; Lucy (now Mrs. Charles L. Hughes), of Arkansas; Alice (now Mrs. James P. Kent), of Iowa; and Jacob J., who came to Montana in April, 1891, to engaged in farming and was joined by his father and family the next year. In 1894 they bought 480 acres of state land four miles from Bozeman, on the Fort Ellis reservation, which is all bench land and produces fine crops of spring and fall wheat, hay and oats. They usually have some fifty head of cattle and numbers of fine horses. In Pennsylvania Mr. Brion took an active part in public affairs, having been assessor, tax-col- lector, school trustee and director of the Liberty Mutual Home Fire Insurance Company. He is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. Since coming to Montana he has retired from active life and placed the management of his af- fairs largely in the hands of his son, who is caring for the property and profitably. All the family are highly and universally respected.

E T. BROADWATER .- In a new country like our great northwest, where development fol- lows fast on the foot of discovery and events crowd one another in a jostling procession which makes

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history rapidly, men often and quickly change their ambitions, their pursuits, their very natures ; con- ditions surrender to the law of sequence between the rising and the setting sun; and even words vary from their long established import and take on new significance or shades of meaning. The term pioneer, for instance, has for genera- tions in American thought, especially in the older states and cities of the country, im- plied something remote in time as well as distance. Here, however, it is foreshortened by the pace at which we move and loses, in a measure, its sense of age. E. T. Broadwater, of Havre, the interesting subject of this sketch, has been less than twenty years a man, and yet he is properly accounted among the pioneers of Montana, the makers of Choteau county, the founders of the prosperous and promising little city of Havre. He was born at Memphis, Scotland county, Mo., No- vember 22, 1861. His parents are Thomas and Martha A. (Smoot) Broadwater, both of whom are still living at the family homestead in Memphis, where the father was long prominent in business but is now retired. He is a native of Virginia, but removed to Memphis at the age of twenty-one, and has there lived ever since. He was an architect and builder by profession, and was also engaged in the stock business, furnishing the Diamond R Freighting Company with mules under contract. The mother was born in Scotland county, Mo., where she still resides.

Mr. Broadwater attended the schools of his na- tive town until he was fifteen years old, and then entered a clothing store as clerk, remaining five years in the employ of the same firm. May 15, 1881, he went to Fort Assinniboine, Mont., where he was engaged for ten years as bookkeeper and cashier in the post-trader's store at Broadwater, McCulloh & Co. In 1891, in company with Simon Pepin, he inaugurated a general mercantile business at what is now the city of Havre. They conducted business in a tent for a time on the ground where the Great Northern Railway yards now are, but do- nated the ground to the railway company on condi- tion that the point should be made a division head- quarters ; and this was the real start of the city. The firm then put up a substantial store building, and this and Mr. Broadwater's residence were the first buildings of the town. The firm has won the due meed of its nerve and enterprise. For ten years past, with its stores at Havre and Browning, it has ranked among the largest and most imposing me .-

cantile concerns in the state ; but its affairs have not absorbed all the energies or activities of either of its members. Mr. Broadwater, like his partner, Mr. Pepin, is extensively engaged in stockraising, they being jointly interested in ranches near Havre con- sisting of about 19,000 acres, he sharing with his brother William the ownership and products of another of about 1,000 acres near Pacific Junction.

In politics Mr. Broadwater is a consistent Demo- crat, and while he does not seek office, he is always deeply interested in the success of his party. In October, 1890, he was married at Cape Girardeau, Mo., to Miss Sadie Moon, a native of that place and daughter of Dr. Henry B. Moon, one of the prom- inent dentists of the city. Her brother, Maj. H. G. Moon, of the Twentieth United States Infantry, now recruiting officer at Philadelphia, Pa., was stationed at Fort Assinniboine several years. He was in active service in the Cuban war, and was seriously wounded at the battle of Santiago. Mr. and Mrs. Broadwater have two young children : · Marian and Kathlyn. They are highly respected people and have hosts of friends.

L AFAYETTE S. BRIGGS .- One of the influ- ential farmers and stockgrowers of Madison county, Mr. Briggs was born in Clinton county. Mich., on August 24, 1846, the eldest of the three children of Artemus and Sarah (Tyler) Briggs, both of whom were born in New York. The father went to Michigan about 1840, becoming a pioneer of Clinton county, where he developed a fine farm. Now venerable in years, he is passing the evening of his life on the same place where he made his home more than half a century ago. His wife died in 1851.

In 1852 Mr. Briggs entered the Lansing Acad- emy, in the capital city of Michigan, and there completed a three-years thorough course, and this attendance was supplemented by a year of study in the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor. Mr. Briggs then became a teacher in his native state, where he taught successfully for several years. He was for three years superin- tendent of schools for Eagle township, Clinton county, and his interest in educational affairs has ever been intense. He was also identified with the farming interests of Michigan during his resi- dence there. In 1882 Mr. Briggs disposed of his property in Michigan and came to Montana, locat-

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ing on a tract of 1,000 acres in Madison county. This estate is now a part of his present valuable ranch property, which is located five miles north- east of the village of Ennis, his postoffice ad- dress. He controls about 3,000 acres of land and is one of the prominent sheep growers of the county, running an average of 10,000 head. He also raises cattle upon a moderate scale and keeps about seventy-five horses. He secures large crops of hay annually. He uses advanced methods in his industrial operations, employs scientific prin- ciples and labors to promote the best interests of the sheep husbandry of the state and he is now sheep inspector for Madison county. He is a Re- publican, and a public spirited and enterprising citizen and capable business man.

On the 9th of March, 1871, Mr. Briggs was united in marriage to Miss Lydia Imes, who was born in Morrow county, Ohio, her parents being pioneers of that state, while three of her brothers rendered valiant service as Union soldiers dur- ing the war of the Rebellion. Mr. and Mrs. Briggs have one son, Arthur, who was born De- cember 26, 1877, and who assists in the manage- ment of the homestead ranch, being one of the prominent and popular young men of this section of the state.

W ALTER BROWN .- The land of "brown heather and shaggy wood," prolific in song and romance and in all that goes to make up sturdy manhood and noble womanhood-bonnie old Scotland-has furnished a valuable element in the complex social makeup of the great Ameri- can republic. A Scotsman and a typical represent- ative of his sterling race, Walter Brown has been successfully identified with the industrial and pro- ductive activities of Montana, and is well worthy to be classed among the progressive men of this new and vigorous commonwealth.

Mr. Brown was born in picturesque old Lanark- shire, Scotland, the date of his nativity being May 30, 1856. The family had been established in that section for many generations and there, in the year 1821, was born John Brown, the father of the subject of this sketch. There he passed his entire life, devoting his attention to agricultural pursuits ; and there, in the fullness of years and well earned honors, he passed to his reward in the year 1900. His ancestors were prominent in the history of Scotland for several hundred years, and the

name is one untarnished by shadow of wrong. El- len Brown, the mother of our subject, was born in 1820 at Dumbartonshire, Scotland, and her death occurred in 1899.

Walter Brown was afforded good educational advantages in his boyhood, pursuing his studies in the public schools of Stonehouse Lane, Scotland, until he reached the age of twelve years, and this discipline served as the foundation for the broad fund of knowledge and valuable information which came to him in later years through personal appli- cation and active association with men and affairs. He continued to assist in the work of the home- stead farm until he reached the age of twenty-two years; when, in 1880, he severed the ties which bound him to home and native land and set forth to seek his fortunes in America. From New York he came westward to Minneapolis, Minn., where he worked at farming and carpentering until 1882. He assisted in the erection of the Union Depot at Minneapolis, the Hotel Lafayette, at Lake Minnetonka (destroyed by fire a few years ago and eventually rebuilt), and the fine building on the Minneapolis and St. Paul fair grounds. In 1882 Mr. Brown came to Montana, making Fort Ben- ton his destination, and for a year he was em- ployed on the sheep ranch of John Patterson. The following three years he was engaged in running sheep on Shonkin creek, and later was identified with the same industry on the Teton river. In 1889 he came to Box Elder and took up a claim of 320 acres on Big Box Elder creek, the ranch being located six miles distant from the line of the Great Northern Railroad. He has since made additions to his landed estate, having secured 160 acres on Duck Creek and 320 on Dry Fork, and is engaged in raising sheep and cattle upon an extensive scale, meeting with much success in this branch of industry. His property is supplied with adequate irrigation facilities and much of it is available for cultivation. He devotes about 100 acres to wheat and oats, securing excellent yields, while each year he harvests enormous crops of hay. He has made excellent improvements upon his . property and is one of the substantial and highly honored ranchmen of the county, his home being located six miles southeast of the village of Box Elder, his postoffice address.

In politics Mr. Brown exercises his franchise in support of the principles of the Republican party, taking a deep and intelligent interest in the questions and issues of the day, but not seek-

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ing public office of any kind. Fraternally he is identified with Benton Lodge No. 25, A. F. & A. M., at Fort Benton. In the city of Minneapolis, on May 15, 1883, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Brown to Miss Ellen Gray, who, like himself, is a native of Scotland, her birth having occurred in Renfrewshire. Of their union six children have been born, namely: Belle, John, Nellie, William, Walter and James, all at the parental home.

JAMES C. ADAMS .- The dramatic story of the brave men and noble women who endured hardships innumerable, dangers ever insistent and privations now hard to realize, never loses its inter- est. Here lay Montana, a wilderness in the very heart of an unbroken wilderness, with savages on every side and savages in her every pass and val- ley. And so it was that among the first no man ever set foot here who was not in some sense a soldier-a veteran soldier who had mustered and marched, and battled, and bivouacked, endured hunger, cold and heat, and all that the bravest and most unselfish soldier endures. There is no story more dramatic and interesting than that of the Montana pioneer. James C. Adams is a pioneer of 1863, and lived up to the full tension of the events in incidents typical of that epoch. He is now recognized as one of the representative mer- chants, farmers and stockgrowers of Cascade coun- ty, and has won success by his industry and well directed effort, having large mercantile establish- ments at Sun River and Augusta. In the latter place his store buildings were burned in March, 1901, at a loss of nearly $20,000, but were imme- diately rebuilt. He has since sold the stock there, but still owns the real estate. Mr. Adams is a native of Morgan county, Ky., where he was born December II, 1846. His parents were Lot and Rebecca Adams, born in the same state, the father being a millwright by trade. He removed with his family to Missouri in 1854, locating in Bates county, where he devoted his attention to agricultural pur- suits until his death, in February, 1856, his widow. surviving him only a short time, her death occur- ring in March of the succeeding year. They were the parents of seven children, of whom only one is living-James C., the immediate subject of this sketch. As James C. was but ten years old at the time of his father's death he was early .thrown upon his own resources. Prior to this time his

educational advantages had been such as were afforded by the common schools of Kentucky and Missouri. At the age of ten years he began to work on the farm, receiving $16 a month for his services, and was thus engaged until 1862. The Civil war being then in progress he was taken prisoner by the First Iowa Cavalry, under Col. Warren, and was held for a period of six weeks. In 1863 Mr. Adams secured employment in the freighting business, driving bull teams and freight- ing near the Platte river and to the various min- ing camps. The Missouri river boats often stopped at Fort Carroll and Fort Peck, but the desired destination was Fort Benton, a point which they were unable to reach at times, owing to low water ; thus Mr. Adams was frequently compelled to meet the boats at points further down the river and thence transport the goods and supplies by means of the freighting teams. Food was plentiful the greater portion of the time; but there was con- stant menace from the Indians, and on one oc- casion they stole the horses of the freight train with which our subject was identified, the stam- pede occurring on Milk river, causing a lively skirmish in which he took part and in which a number of the redmen were incidentally hastened to the "happy hunting grounds," while one of the men in the freighting party was killed. Mr. Adams' life at this time was full of danger and vicissitudes, and he recalls the fact that he had to keep his rifle constantly at his side, as did all others who ventured away from the towns or camps. He was a fine shot, and held prestige as a "mighty hunter," taking great pleasure in hunt- ing expeditions. While in the freighting business he handled ten teams in each train. On one occa- sion, in the roundup of cattle, out of 100 men only seven volunteered to assist in the work of assem- bling the stock owing to the hostility of the Indians, who were ever on the alert to attack the white men, and Mr. Adams was one of the seven, his spirit and experience having made him intrepid and ready to take the risk involved. From 1865 to 1875 he was connected with the firm of J. J. Roe & Co., of St. Louis, better known as the Diamond R Com- pany. In the spring of 1866 he was promoted to the position of wagon boss, and was paid $150 a month for his services; and in 1868 his salary was increased to $200 a month. He continued to be identified with the freighting business. until De- cember, 1874, when he located at his present home, a mile and a half east of Sun River Crossing,

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where he took up a homestead, pre-emption and desert claims to the amount of 520 acres, and to this original tract he has since added until he now has a valuable landed estate of 3,000 acres, 300 acres being well adapted for cultivation. Here he has been extensively engaged in stockraising, hav- ing given special attention to sheep growing from 1883 to 1888, when he found the business not sufficiently profitable to justify its continuance ; ac- cordingly he disposed of his stock and has since given his attention to the raising of cattle and horses with the most gratifying returns. Mr. Adams is a man of marked executive force and ability, and his judgment in regard to the most effective methods of ranching and stockgrowing is held to be practically authoritative, while his genial personality has gained for him a large circle of friends during the long years of his residence in Montana. For several years past he has success- fully conducted a general merchandise business at Sun River and in Augusta, and is also interested in a quartz mining property which shows excellent prospects. His postoffice address is Sun River, Cascade county, and he makes his home on the ranch, maintaining a personal supervision of his other business interests. Upon his ranch he has a beautiful residence, and his solid stone barn is a model building of modern architectural design and equipped with the best conveniences. This attractive home is located only a mile and a half east of the village of Sun River.

In politics Mr. Adams is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party ; fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Perhaps no man in this section has done more or better work in the development of the state, and none has a larger circle of valued friends. On the 5th day of January, 1875, Mr. Adams was united in marriage to Miss Evangeline Strong, a native of Illinois, the daughter of James and Orpha Strong, who came to Montana in the early days and now reside at Sun River, Mr. Strong always having devoted his attention to farming and stockraising. In politics he was a Republican, and a strong man in the community in many ways; and both he and his wife were long time members of the Methodist church. (See sketch of H. B. and M. L. Strong.)

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 107

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