Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 135

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 135

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Of the limited educational advantages received in Canada, John Keenan has made good use. In 1871, at the age of twenty-four years, he came to Montana, locating at Pioneer, Powell county, where he at once engaged in placer mining and soon owned a number of very productive claims. These he successfully worked for eight years, and it is to be noted that during his entire lifetime Mr. Keenan only worked for wages three months, always operating for himself. The evolution from a successful miner to a successful rancher is by no means a rare circumstance in Mon- tana, therefore the case of Mr. Keenan is not exceptional. In 1879 he took a pre- emption claim of 160 acres in Deer Lodge, now Powell county, lying in the "Hell Gate" val- ley, one mile west of Gold creek station, where he has resided, engaged in farming and stock- raising. He has greatly improved his ranch, built a comfortable house and is in every way situated to enjoy life to the utmost.

Mr. Keenan has constructed five miles of ditch, and besides his original 320 acres of homestead and pre-emption claims he has purchased two sections of railroad land, the whole devoted chiefly to the rearing of cattle and horses.

On April 28, 1879, Mr. Keenan was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Connolly, a native of Ireland. She came to the United States in 1871 with her parents, Martin and Mary (Harvey) Con- nolly, the family locating in Philadelphia, Pa., where her parents died. To Mr. and Mrs. Keenan have been born four children, namely : Mary Mar- garet, Arthur M., John R. and Joseph C.

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H TON. JACOB M. KENNEDY .- The story of Mr. Kennedy's life is the oft-told story of brilliant success in a public career in the United States through high natural endowment, great energy and thorough training in the use of mental faculties secured in continuous newspaper work .. He is a native of Hamilton, Canada, where he was born in 1864, the son of John and Mary (Murphy) Kennedy, both natives of Ireland, the latter of whom died at their Canadian home in 1868. The father came to Canada in 1856, and a few years later crossed the line into the United States, where he served as a soldier in the Union army until the fall of 1863, when he returned to Canada and passed the rest of his life there, dying at Hamilton, Ontario, in 1891. Although Mr. Kennedy was left an orphan by the death of his mother when he was four years old, and was thereby deprived of the careful training he might have received from her, nature had implanted in his mind faculties which needed only the voice of duty and fair opportunities to call them to activity and make them potential. He attended school at Hamilton, until he was eighteen years old and then entered the profession of journalism, into which he put the whole of his mental power, his force of charac- ter and the ardor of a man in love with his work. For six years he owned and edited several influ- ential newspapers in his native land, always ably and persistently advocating home rule for Ireland, the home of his forefathers. At the age of twenty- one he went to Detroit, Mich., and became a citi- zen of the United States. His zeal for the cause of larger liberty for Ireland was the result of earn- est, honest conviction, and he was ready to follow it almost over burning plowshares. It did bring danger and violence on more than one occasion. During his newspaper career in Canada, he was president of the Ontario branch of the Irish Na- tional League during its most prosperous and aggressive days, and was frequently abused and assaulted by Tory opponents on account of his prominence and force as a home rule advocate. In 1888 he came to Montana, locating at Helena, and the next year became connected with the Anaconda Standard as its first business manager, rising by rapid promotion to a place on its editorial staff. His work on this paper was prolific and most serviceable. It was a large factor in making the Standard a great newspaper success. In 1891 he began the publication of the Butte City By- stander, the first labor organ in Montana. A

year later he disposed of this to establish the Evening Mail at Boise, Idaho, at that time the only Democratic daily paper in that state. In 1893 he sold this enterprise and resumed his con- nection with the Anaconda Standard, with which he remained until the spring of 1895, when he pur- chased the New Northwest, a weekly paper at Deer Lodge, which he successfully conducted un- til the fall of that year and then sold it. He re- turned to Anaconda and was appointed to pre- side over the municipal court as police judge.

Judge Kennedy has had an active, honorable and brilliant political career in Montana, and has met every responsibility in this connection in a masterful manner. At the general election in the fall of 1896 he was elected on the Democratic ticket as a member of the Fifth legislative as- sembly of the state, and at its organization was made speaker of the lower house, being chosen by the Democratic members over H. G. McIn- tyre, Republican, and Charles A. Whipple, Popu- list. In 1898, when the Spanish-American war began, Gov. Smith appointed him second lieuten- ant of Company M, First Montana Volunteer In- fantry, and later he was transferred to Company K and promoted first lieutenant. He went to the Philippines with his regiment, but after several months' service was invalided home with a serious attack of peritonitis, through which he nearly lost his life, which was despaired of for months. In the spring of 1900 he won a notable political con- test in Anaconda. Being defeated in the regular Democratic convention for the nomination for police judge of the city, and feeling that unfair means had been used to secure his defeat, he ran as an independent candidate for the office and was elected by an overwhelming majority, carrying every ward in the city. After a service of two years in this office he was called to lead the Democrats of Deer Lodge county in another great battle. In the fall of 1901 he was nominated as their candidate for state senator from that county, and triumphed over the combined opposition of Elmer D. Matts, the candidate of the Independent or Daly Democrats, and T. C. Davidson, the Republican nominee. The contest was a mem- orable one, and Mr. Kennedy ran more than a thousand votes ahead of his ticket. At the time he was the leader of the forces arrayed against the Amalgamated Copper Mining Company. In the Seventh legislative assembly he was chairman of four of the most important committees of the sen-

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ate and a useful member of nine standing com- mittees. Senator Kennedy is now engaged in con- ducting a successful wholesale and retail drug business in Anaconda under the style of the J. M. Kennedy Drug Company. He is also presi- dent of the People's Publishing Company and the principal stockholder in the enterprise, which is a large general job printing and engraving es- tablishment in Butte. In addition he holds an important and responsible position in the legal department of the Montana Ore Purchasing Com- pany, of Butte, and is closely connected with F. Augustus Heinze in business matters. In fra- ternal relations he is connected with the Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America, holding membership in Anaconda lodges of these orders, and being state lecturer for the Woodmen. He was married at Chicago on September 19, 1884, to Miss Julia Sullivan, a native of Peterboro, Ontario, born in 1863, and daughter of Michael Sullivan, a prom- inent resident of that place. They have two charm- ing daughters: Pearl, aged sixteen, and Hazel, aged eleven. Senator Kennedy is yet in the prime of life, and with his strong mental powers, his facility for using them, his industry and tireless energy in physical labor and his high character, it is to be expected that the state he has served so faithfully will have still higher honors for him in almost any forum that he chooses to enter.

A. KENNEDY, D. O .- An enthusiastic but conscientious and highly intelligent devotee at the shrine of osteopathy, and securing by per- sonal influence and persistent effort the necessary legislative enactment to legalize the practice of this branch of medical science in the state, Dr. Syl- vester A. Kennedy, of Butte, deserves special consideration at the hands of the people of Mon- tana, and special mention among any chronicles of them and their achievements. For whoever becomes the herald of a new evangely to any peo- ple is to them, in proportion to his gift, a helper and a benefactor. The Doctor was born April 3, 1879, at Rochester, Minn. He was the son of Peter S. and Julia (O'Rourke) Kennedy. The former was a native of Pennsylvania who emi- grated to Minnesota early in the 'seventies, and con- ducted there a wholesale and retail liquor store

until his death in 1894. The mother was a native of Iowa of Irish descent. The fruit of their union was six children, the Doctor being the fourth. The public schools furnished the groundwork of his intellectual training, which in the academic line was finished in the Rochester high school, where he was graduated in 1891. The next year he entered the University of Minnesota with the view of pursuing a full classical and scientific course of study, but failing health rendered this imprudent if not impossible and he turned his attention to the mastery of a profession which would open a life work for him. Selecting osteopathy, he gave this earnest and exhaustive study, and was graduated from one of its best schools, the American, at Kirksville, Mo., in 1896, with the degree of D. O. He practiced in Corydon, Iowa, for a year. Then, desiring the larger opportunities afforded by a new state and rejoicing in the inspirations en- gendered by a "hustling" and rapidly growing population, he determined to locate in Montana, which he did, arriving at Butte in 1899, and at once entering upon a practice.

Finding that there was doubt of the virtue of osteopathy and a disposition to question his legal right to pursue it in the state, he went to work with characteristic energy, and secured the pas- sage of a law, known as House Bill No. 38, which put his department on the level with others of the science and guaranteed it the same legal rights as they enjoyed. Since then he has been very successful in his practice, which has continually expanded until it now almost more than fully occupies his time. He has also made for osteop- athy an intelligent and zealous body of patrons and a permanent place in the regard of thought- ful and inquiring minds. While refusing his ser- vices to no suffering applicant Dr. Kennedy has given his special attention to the treatment of women and children, for which his sympathetic temperament and cultivated manner render him particularly well fitted. Although yet quite a young man, he has shown a wealth of learning in his business and a skill in the application of it which mark him as a practitioner of unusual apti- tude and expertness for the present and promise for the future. In politics he is a Democrat, with ardent desires for the welfare of his party, but leaving to others the active control and man- agement of its affairs. Socially he is urbane, en- tertaining and full of good spirits-the life of any party.

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PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MONTANA.

W ILLIAM R. KERMODE, now one of the prosperous farmers and stockgrowers of Park county, has been prominently identified with the material upbuilding of Montana as a skilled mason and builder, and has been concerned in the erection of many edifices in various cities and towns of the state, structures which stand as per- manent monuments to his artistic workmanship. Mr. Kermode was born in the beautiful Forest City, Cleveland, Ohio, on November 29, 1854, the son of Daniel and Esther (Farquhar) Kermode, natives of the Isle of Man, England. Mr. Ker- mode was born in the United States while his mother was on a visit to her brother, and shortly afterward she returned to her English home, where she passed from earth. The father came to Amer- ica, became a permanent citizen, and died in Liv- ingston, Mont., in April, 1899. Mr. Kermode had much traveling in his infancy, since he was brought to America by his aunt when but three years of age, and thereafter attained maturity in Cleveland, receiving an education in its excellent schools, and then serving an apprenticeship at the brickmason's trade, becoming an expert workman and following this occupation in Ohio until 1877.

In1 1877 also Mr. Kermode, at the age of twenty- three years, came to Montana, by boat from St. Louis to Fort Benton, the journey lasting forty- seven days. At Helena he found profitable em- ployment at his trade until 1879, when he went to Fort Assinnaboine, to superintend the erection of the post trader's building. In the spring of 1880 Mr. Kermode went to Bozeman, where he did the mason work on the court house and remained two years, then entered into partnership with W. E. Davis, and at Helena they erected the fine resi- dence of John Ming, which stands to-day as one of the most attractive buildings in the capital city. After its completion they returned to Bozeman, where they remained until 1892, meeting with success as contractors and builders and in general work at their trade. In the year mentioned they purchased John Work's ranch, located four miles below the old Crow mission on the Yellowstone river, comprising about 400 acres. In the same locality Mr. Davis took up homestead and desert claims of 320 acres, and thus was afforded excel- lent range for the successful sheepgrowing en- terprise which the partners inaugurated, their flocks at times reaching 5,000 head, while there are now about 2,000 head of sheep on the ranch.

In 1901 Mr. Kermode purchased the interests of

Mr. Davis, and he is now individually conduct- ing the ranch with the same ability which distin- guished their operations from the inception. His place is a valuable one, eligibly located and well improved, and Mr. Kermode is recognized as one of the progressive and representative men of this section. He has been concerned in the erection of some of the finest buildings in the state; among them are the elegant mansion of Nelson Story in Bozeman, in which city he has erected the larger portion of the brick and stone buildings, including the opera house and city hall, while in Helena his skill is shown in the Parchen block, the Gans & Klein block, Ming's opera house, St. Peter's Epis- copal church and other pretentious buildings, while in Livingston he erected the city hall and the Miles block. Politically Mr. Kermode supports the Re- publican party, while fraternally he is a Master Mason. On May 8, 1876, Mr. Kermode was united in marriage to Miss Ida Loeper, born in Buffalo, Scott county, Iowa, the daughter of Albert and Aline (Hoffbauer) Loeper, both natives of Ger- many. The father died at Dubuque, Iowa, and the mother lives in Park county, Mont. Mr. and Mrs. Kermode have two children, Charles and Clara.

R )OBERT A. KETCHIN .- Almost any form of memorial tribute in stone that affection rears to commemorate the memory of the dead can be had of Robert A. Ketchin, of Butte, who con- ducts in that city an extensive and popular busi- ness in the line of artistic and superior stonecutting and kindred work. His taste has been cultivated and his hand has acquired skill by intercourse with craftsmen in the business in many states, and it must be said to his credit that he has had the sagacity to observe ideals and methods wherever he has been and the wisdom to apply the knowl- edge thus gained in a practical way for the benefit of his customers. He was born in Connecticut, on November 9, 1858, of a mingled Scotch and Irish ancestry, his father being John Ketchin, of Scottish descent, and his mother, Margaret Moore, of Irish parentage.

The father was a wide-awake and energetic stonemason of Connecticut, who devoted his time and strength to his business and used the fruits of his industry to give his children a better start in life than he had himself. There were nine of these, of whom Robert was the sixth. He was able to get

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but little schooling from books, the few oppor- tunities he had being snatched from necessary toil for a few weeks in the winter and occasionally from the hours due to repose at night. But he has acquired in his migrations a fund of that worldly wisdom which comes only from the hard school of experience. At the age of thirteen he began a four-years apprenticeship in a marble yard, and at the end of it worked at the trade, as it was until he idealized it and raised it to a profession, or an art, in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and on through the west.

He went even to our remote hyperborean terri- tory, Alaska, in search of that gold which has since come forth from her mines with such prodigal abundance. But throughout this merely mercen- ary venture in the polar regions he heard the voice of his art calling him back to her shrines and, in obedience to her summons, he returned, locating first in Kansas, then in Missouri and finally find- ing rest in Montana, where he oscillated between Butte and Helena a few years, carrying on the marble business sometimes in one place and some- times in both, for a period manager of a yard in Butte for A. K. Prescott, of Helena, and at last settling down to a business on his own account, seeing the hard stone grow generous under his persuasive touch, assuming the shape his fancy ordered, and filling his coffers with coin as well. In his work he has not only met a growing public demand, but has raised the standard of taste in his community and educated the people up to it. Mr. Ketchin is a member of several fraternal orders, the Woodmen of the World, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Royal Neighbors, and the Women of Woodcraft. He was married in 1892 to Miss Frances Godfrey, a native of Ireland, whose father, Thomas Godfrey, of English descent, emigrated to America when he was a young man and made a good record as a miner and a butcher in various places, securing a comfortable com- petency.

AMES E. KEYES .- In the business circles of J Butte are many young men who stand expon- ent of that alert and progressive spirit which has had so marked an influence in accelerating the nor- mal advancement of the west in all lines of indus- trial activity. Successfully conducting a drug busi- ness at No. 35 West Daly street, is numbered among the representative young business men of

Montana's metropolis James E. Keys, who is clearly entitled to consideration in this publication. Representing in his lineage both French and Eng- lish genealogy, Mr. Keyes is a native son of New York, where he was born on January 7, 1870, the son of James H. and Adalisa (Lane) Keyes, both of whom were natives of New York. James H. Keyes was born in 1836, and his death occurred on May 2, 1901. He was a member of the bar of New York and for many years was engaged in legal practice in Oneonta. He was also influential in political affairs and a strong supporter of the Democratic party. His father, Harvey Keyes, was a farmer and merchant in New York state. The mother of James E. Keyes, now deceased, was a representative of an old New York family, and a daughter of Elihu Lane, who there devoted his life to agriculture.

James E. Keyes received his education in the public schools of New York and a busi- ness college in Philadelphia. He then secured a position in a drug store in that city, and was em- ployed in a clerical capacity for four years, making a careful study of the business and gaining valuable experience. He then in the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy completed his technical and scien- tific course of pharmacy, and was there graduated with the class of 1891. After his graduation Mr. Keyes went to New Jersey, there working in his profession and incidental clerkships for a few months, and thereafter he held positions in various towns and cities of the Union as a registered phar- macist. In 1895 he came to Uinta county, Wyo., and was engaged in merchandising and mining at Jackson's Hole for about six months, after which he made a trip to San Francisco, remained a short time and then came to Montana and to Butte, where he secured a position with the Newbro Drug Company, with whom he remained for thirty months, and then was engaged in mining opera- tions for six months.

Mr. Keyes in 1897 purchased of L. J. Williams his drug business, an eligibly located and well equipped establishment, and has here since suc- cessfully engaged in the conducting of a profitable enterprise. During his residence in Butte he has gained a wide acquaintanceship and personal pop- ularity, and thus his business proved successful from its inception. He also owns a valuable ranch property of 1,120 acres in Idaho. Mr. Keyes ex- ercises his franchise in support of the Republican party, and fraternally he is identified with Monitor

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Lodge No. 35, A. F. & A. M., in which he was raised to the master's degree. On May 2, 1899, Mr. Keyes was married to Miss Bessie Parker, who was born in Ireland and came to America in com- pany with her brother. Her father still has his home in the Emerald Isle, having now retired from active business. Mr. and Mrs. Keyes have one child, Mary, born on August 2, 1901.

ILLIAM E. KNOWLES, proprietor and manager of the Chico hot springs and resort in Park county, is peculiarly one of the progressive men of Montana, and it is his good fortune to have here acquired a valuable property, the Chico hot spring having already gained a high reputation for its remedial value, while the popularity of the re- sort is certain to be cumulative in character. Mr. Knowles was born in Bradford county, Pa., on June 28, 1851, the son of Henry and Eliza (Rad- burn) Knowles, the former of whom was born in Derbyshire, England, of which "tight little isle" his wife likewise was a native. They came to the United States in youth and wedded in Philadel- phia, their offspring being six sons and four daughters. Henry Knowles died in 1866, survived by his wife until 1900. The family removed to Illi- nois in 1856, when William was but four years old and located in Henry county, where the father con- ducted agricultural operations until his death. In Henry county William E. Knowles was reared and educated in the public schools, assisting meanwhile in the work of the farm until 1876.

In the centennial year Mr. Knowles journeyed to the Black Hills of Dakota, where he both mined and freighted for four years. He then continued his trip to Montana, arriving in Miles City on No- vember 1, 1880, and engaging in hunting and trap- ping until 1884, duly enjoying the free life these vocations granted. In 1884 he removed to Chico, where he followed mining with fair success. In January, 1899, Mr. Knowles effected the purchase of the Chico hot springs, then but slightly devel- oped. Here he erected a commodious hotel, with fine plunge bath and private baths, also opening later a large and well-equipped restaurant and dancing hall in a fine building on the hill side. He has since added twenty extra rooms to the ac- commodations of the hotel, and spared no effort to make the resort attractive to invalids and those seeking rest and recreation.

His labors have been attended with excellent results, the resort has attained a marked populari- ty, being visited by citizens from all parts of the state, and gaining a constantly increasing support from outside. The curative properties of the waters are almost marvelous, having an effective power over skin diseases, rheumatism and disor- ders of the stomach and kidneys. Chico hot springs thus bids fair to become one of the great health resorts of the country. Mr. Knowles en- joys a distinctive popularity among his guests, be- ing genial and courteous, and taking a personal interest in his patrons. He is progressive in his methods and is admirably fitted for the develop- ment of so valuable a property as that which he now controls. On October 13, 1891, Mr. Knowles was married to Miss Percie Matheson, a daughter of John I. and Anna (McPherson) Matheson, of Woodstock, Ontario, Canada, and of this union one child has been born, Radburn Campbell Knowles.

G EORGE L. KING .- Lying midway between Fort Benton and Great Falls, Choteau county, is the handsome ranch of George L. King, a prom- inent and successful cattleraiser, having in a few years built up a most profitable business in this line, although his attention is not wholly confined to this industry. Throughout that portion of the country he is well known as a thorough and enter- prising contractor and builder, and many of the homes in the surrounding territory were erected by him within the past few years. He was born on a farm near Rockford, Boone county, Ill., May II, 1849. During early infancy his parents moved to Buchanan county, Iowa, and in this locality he was reared and educated. His parents were John N. and Adaline (Eddy) King, the father a native of Vermont. Until he attained his majority our sub- ject remained in the state of Iowa, in earlier years attending school during the winter months and assisting his parents on the farm during the sum- mer seasons. At the age of twenty-one he re- moved to the state of Kansas, where he profitably employed his time as a carpenter and builder. At that period this employment was quite lucrative, and Mr. King at all times found that his services were in demand. At the termination of eighteen years' residence in Kansas he came to Fort Ben- ton, Mont., and at once entered upon the same line of work. This employment he has since diversi- fied by cattle and horseraising on his ranch.

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 135

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