Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 152

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 152

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Fred J. Parker was reared in Montana, and his early educational advantages were those of the primitive schools maintained on the frontier in the pioneer days. In 1886 he located a claim of 160 acres on Grant creek, Missoula county, and to his original claim he has since added until he now has a fine ranch of 800 acres, where he de- votes his attention to the raising of fruit, hay and live stock, his success having been the result of his well directed efforts, while he is held in high esteem as one of the representative farmers of this section of the state. In politics he gives his alle- giance to the Democratic party.

W ILLIAM PARROTT .- From the shipping business on the Thames to the quiet pur- suits of rural life in the wilds of America ; from farming in merry old England, where a few pliant acres form a liberal patrimony, to ranching and cattleraising in Montana, where the unit of mea- sure is a mile rather than an acre, seems to be a big jump. It is one, however, not larger than that which many a good man has made, to his own advantage and the benefit of the new land which he graces with his presence and improves with his labor. Among this number is William Parrott, at present (1902) postmaster of the town of Stuart, in Deer Lodge county, Mont. He was born in Yorkshire, England, November 18, 1835. His father, Thomas Parrott, was a sea captain and ship owner, also a native of England, where he died after a long life of adventure and pro- ductive usefulness. His mother was Ann Bullass, also a native of Yorkshire. They had seven chil- dren, of whom William was the youngest. He was educated in the common schools, and after leaving school followed farming as an occupa-

tion for twenty-five years. He was then engaged in the shipping business until he came to the United States in 1883. He proceeded direct to Montana, locating at Stuart, and began his new life as a rancher. This business he has followed continuously since that time, and now has a ranch of 440 acres, on which he raises enormous crops of hay every year, along with some of the other staple products of the soil. Before leaving Eng- land he was married to Miss Jane White, a York- shire lady. They have had seven children. Four are living, two of whom are married and residing in Butte.

Mr. Parrott has closely identified himself with every public interest in his neighborhood, and has contributed liberally of his means and energy to the advancement of every enterprise of merit. His influence for good in the community has been potential, and has been freely acknowledged by his fellow citizens, who seek his counsel and rely on his judgment in many important matters of business and public policy. He has served them well as a school trustee, and in other subordinate capacities ; and is now their courteous and oblig- ing postmaster, having been appointed to that of- fice in 1899. He is also the proprietor of a hotel and store at Stuart, both of which are held in good esteem and well patronized. In politics he is an ardent Republican, always supporting the nominees of his party, and bearing his share of the burdens of the campaign-doing his part, too, to secure in such nominees men worthy of popular ap- proval. In all the relations of life he has borne himself worthily, and approaches the decline of his years with the assurance that his efforts for the good of his fellow men are appreciated, and that he has their hearty good will and esteem.

CHARLES M. PARR .- Devoting his attention closely to his profession, Mr. Parr is recog- nized as one of the representative members of the bar of Silver Bow county, where he has gained professional reputation. He was born in Jefferson county, Iowa, on September 2, 1859. His father, William Parr, born in Pennsylvania, removed to Iowa about 1841 and there was an excellent type of a pioneer farmer, although in early manhood a bookbinder. He married Susan Rider, like- wise born in Pennsylvania.

Charles M. Parr, the eighth of the nine chil-

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dren of his parents, attended school until he at- tained the age of fourteen, when he became a clerk in a stationery store in Burlington, Iowa, and two years later secured the position of mailing clerk in the postoffice of that city, where he was employed until he reached his legal majority. In the meanwhile he had become a skillful stenog- rapher. He left his position in the postoffice to accept employment in that line with Cyrus H. Mc- Cormick, of Chicago, and later took a position with a large grain commission house in St. Louis. In January, 1885, he came westward to Pocatello, Idaho, as private secretary to the superintendent of the Oregon Short Line. and retained this in- cumbency until 1887, when he resigned to take a place in the general express offices of the Pacific Express Company in Salt Lake City. Nine months later he was tendered the position of express agent at Anaconda, Mont., which he promptly accepted.

Upon the organization of the courts of the state in 1890, Mr. Parr was appointed official reporter for the Fifth judicial district, and his reportorial services undoubtedly led to his adopting the pro- fession of law. He entered the law office of Forbis & Forbis, in Butte, and continued his tech- nical reading until 1895, when he was admitted to practice in the state and federal courts. He has since been engaged in active legal practice in Butte and has gained a valuable clientage, being known as a safe and conservative counseler and a discriminating and capable advocate. Mr. Parr, while a strong Republican, has not entered ac- tively into politics. Fraternally he is identified with the Woodmen of the World and the Mod- ern Woodmen of America, in both of which he has held official preferment. On July 1, 1890, Mr. Parr was united in marriage to Miss Olive May Sweet, who was born in Alder gulch, the site of Virginia City, Mont., the daughter of Oliver Sweet, one of the pioneers of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Parr have one child, Chadwick G. Parr, born on March 7, 1893.

G EORGE PARROTT is a brother of William, and is also a substantial farmer, ranchman and real estate owner. He was born and reared in England, and for a number of years after he grew to manhood followed the vocation of farm- ing there. In 1869, however, he was induced by

the promise of greater opportunity and better rewards for his labor to emigrate to the United states. In doing so, he made no halt on the At- lantic slope, but came at once to Montana, locating in the neighborhood of his present home, and en- gaged in freighting with provisions from Utah to Montana. After a few months of this work, he settled on the ranch of 160 acres which he now owns near Stuart, and which he has brought under cultivation to such a degree that it yields him annually large crops of hay, and furnishes prov- ender for large herds of cattle, which he has con- tinually on it. At this writing (1902) he has more than 100 head, and expects to increase the num- ber steadily. In addition to his ranch, Mr. Par- rott has extensive interests in mining properties and owns valuable business houses and other real estate in Anaconda, among them the Parrott block.

In politics he is, like his brother, an ardent Republican, and has firm faith in the principles of his party and abiding interest in its welfare. He has not, however, sought any of its honors or emoluments. His business occupies the most of his time and satisfies his aspirations.

RULLASS PARROTT, another brother of Wil- liam, and a brother of George, who was also born and reared in England, and was engaged in the shipbuilding business over there, and who left his native land and emigrated to America, was cut down in the midst of a useful and prosperous career by a cowardly and dastardly crime. He ar- rived in Montana in 1872, and began operations near Stuart as a farmer and cattleraiser, steadily increasing his holdings and the profits of his busi- ness, until he was a man of considerable real estate and other wealth. On his ranch he kept a small store and house of entertainment; and here on the evening of September 5, 1900, he was at- tacked by robbers and strangled to death. The criminals got away with what money he had at hand, and left his dead body unattended in the store. At the time of his death he owned a mine in Butte, and other property of value. In politics while he lived he was a Republican, but not an active worker in the councils of the party. He was, however, universally esteemed for his sterling qualities and his obliging disposition.

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C HARLES SUMNER PASSMORE .- In his origin, his family history, the extent and variety of his work at different places and the substantial business results he has achieved, Charles Sumner Fassmore, of Butte, presents to the biographer a theme replete with interest. He was born in Cecil county, Md., on July II, 1858, a son of Ellis Pusey and Mary E. (Lincoln) Passmore, natives of Chester county, Pa., of good old Quaker stock, whose children have a birthright in the old William Penn church, which Mr. Passmore jealously re- tains. His father was a prosperous dairy farmer in Maryland for many years, but after the death of his wife at Rising Sun in that state in 1889, he retired from business and i now living at Westchester, Pa. The Pass- mores came originally from Normandy in the tri- umphal expedition of William the Conqueror, and settled in Berkshire, England, whence they emi- grated to America in 1717 and have been here, as they were in France and England, people of consequence. The maternal grandmother of Mr. Passmore is an aunt of Hon. Wayne MacVeagh, United States attorney-general under President Garfield, and one of his brothers is vice-president of the Union League Club of Philadelphia, an or- ganization of power and influence in local politics. He is also manager for I. M. Parr & Sons, the heaviest grain shippers in the city, having ascended to this position from a service bringing the meager salary of two dollars per week.

Mr. Passmore was reared on his father's farm and received his education from private instructors, the public schools and the Friends' Academy at Rising Sun. After finishing the course at that in- stitution, he taught public schools to earn money to pay for a course at the Millersville (Pa.) Nor- mal School. In 1880 he secured a position in Philadelphia in a wholesale cracker house, leaving this soon after for a better one at the Marine Exchange. He next went to New Jersey and took charge of extensive improvements at what is now Lake Como, a fine coast town and summer resort, then only a rugged and undeveloped possibility. He laid out and graded streets, arranged for sewer- age, etc., superintending about thirty-five men. After a year's labor at Lake Como he removed to Fargo, N. D., in 1883, and was here joined by Walter Brown, a former schoolmate, and at Page, about fifty-four miles distant from Fargo, on a branch of the Great Norffthern Railroad they bought lots, erected buildings, engaged in mier-

chandising, and operated with great success for four years. During this time Mr. Passmore met the lady who is now his wife, and after their mar- riage he sold his interests to his partner. He ar- rived at Page with less than $100 and left with more than $4,500. Returning east he bought an interest in a hardware and roofing business at Salem, Ohio, where his brother John was living. He remained there two years and a half, sold out and came to Montana, locating in Butte in September, 1889. Here he purchased the interest of S. V. Kemper in the real estate firm of Kemper & Jeffries, the firm becoming Passmore & Jeffries. and seven months later he bought out Mr. Jeffries. From this time excepting short periods of part- nership, he has conducted the business alone as Passmore & Co. In this business he has been very successful, but before engaging in it he had re- verses. He arrived in Butte with only $10 in money and borrowed $100 to make his first payment on the business. But the opportunities were excellent. He reached Butte just after a dis- astrous fire had destroyed a large part of the city, and by close attention to his work, giving it fully seventeen hours a day for several years, he reaped a golden harvest and firmly established himself on solid ground. He believed in the future of Butte and invested every available dollar he had in real estate, and his present fiscal condition is unanswer- able proof of his wisdom.

In addition to dealing in real estate and making loans, Mr. Passmore does an extensive architectural business, employing accomplished architects as his assistants. One of these, George E. Snell, of con- siderable local eminence, has been with him seven years. Mr. Passmore also reaps handsome returns from a good fidelity insurance busi- ness. He represents the American Bonding and Trust Company, and the Maryland Casu- alty Company, both of Baltimore, Md., and two of the largest and strongest companies ir the country, which carry every feature of the liability and surety business. He also represents the Patent Title and Guaranty Company, of New York, the only organization in the United States which guarantees on patents. He also inaugurated in Butte the plan of building on installments, and he has been a leading factor in developing this method of making homes, which has been an extensive and important part of his business for the last seven years. A conspicuous item of Mr. Passmore's real estate holdings in Butte is in the Maryland

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Block, at 23 West Quartz street, a three story and basement modern building which he erected in 1898. He has also many residence properties which he built for renting purposes, in different portions of the city, and owns a fine ranch of 400 acres up the canyon south of the city, to which he has recently acquired patents. He has always been a Republican, but takes no active share in party work, and has no aspirations for official station, being strictly a business man and seeking no prefer- ment outside his work. He has been an ardent temperance worker for years and is now grand chief templar of the state. He was a delegate to the international convention of the organization which met at Toronto, Canada, in 1899, and to the semi- centennial reunion at Utica, N. Y., in August, 1901. He is also a member of the Royal Arcanum, and is the present deputy supreme regent of the state. Mr. Passmore married at Andover, Mass., on De- cember 8, 1887, Miss Susie M. Came, whom he met in North Dakota. She was born near Portland, Maine, a daughter of Joseph and Nancy F. (Blair) Came, natives of Scotland, who emigrated to Amer- ica while they were young and married in this country. Mr. Came died in Maine when Mrs. Passmore was of tender age, and Mrs. Came makes her home with her daughter in Butte. Mr. and Mrs. Passmore have four children, Blair S., Paul B., Linnie E. and Abigail. They are all active members of the Presbyterian church.

JOHN W. PASSMORE .- It is as true in human as in any other form of animal life that "blood will tell." There are families so strong in their original force that the strain is recognizable wher- ever it appears, and amid any circumstances its products dominate conditions and take leading po- sitions among their fellows by inborn and legitimate sovereignty. This is eminently true of the old Quaker Passmore family of Pennsylvania. Its scions have thriven and flourished on many soils, and have always exhibited the forceful and con- trolling spirit of their ancestry. John W. Passmore is no exception to the rule. He was born at Rising Sun, in Cecil county, Md., in 1848. His father, Ellis P. Passmore, a native of Chester county, Pa., descended from one of William Penn's colon- ists when he settled in America and laid the founda- tions of the mighty commonwealth which bears his name.

Ellis Passmore removed to Maryland in 1848, and there married Mary E. Lincoln, a granddaugh- ter of John Lincoln, a prosperous cabinetmaker and large farmer of that state, also a Quaker, a relative of the martyred president of 1865, and the father of eleven children, all of whom he reared to maturity. Mrs. Passmore died at her Maryland home in 1889, since which time her husband has lived a retired life at West Chester, Pa. He long carried on very successfully dairy farming on a large scale in Maryland. His grandfather Passmore was a rich iron manufacturer, the owner of Pleasant Garden Forge, of Pennsylvania, and gave his children every advantage in their education. He died just as his sons were finishing their collegiate courses, and by some means a brother-in-law secured the es- tate. His son, grandfather of John W., was a carpenter, having learned his trade as a means of development and for the gratification of his taste. But he gave his attention to farming and public affairs, and rose to local eminence in politics.

John W. Passmore was the eldest of the eight children of Ellis and Mary (Lincoln) Passmore. He attended the schools of his native county until he was eighteen years old, and then took a course in Chantilly Academy, where he was graduated in 1869. He taught in the public schools for two years, thus gaining the admirable training teaching gives a young man, and then, for physical im- provement as well as the profit it might bring, conducted a farm on shares for a year. In the fall of 1873 he started in Lancaster, Pa., a mer- cantile business which he continued there and at Rising Sun, Md., until the spring of 1881. Then he sold it and removed to Salem, Ohio, as the western representative of the Warring Fertilizer Company, in whose service he remained ten years. In the fall of 1891 he came to Butte and went into the real estate business with his brother, Charles Sumner Passmore, a sketch of whom appears on another page of this work. Subsequently he was with the Standard Publishing Company for two years, and then, in 1897, started for himself a wholesale paper business, conducting the only strictly wholesale paper house in the state. His success in this venture has surpassed his expecta- tions. He has built up a large trade which is con- tinually augmenting in volume and in profit.

Mr. Passmore was married December 23, 1869, to Miss Alice Martindale, a native of Bucks county, Pa. They have had eight children, but only five are living, Elma, now Mrs. A. A. McMullin; Ed-

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ward S., secretary and treasurer of the Passmore Paper Company; Ellis P., Jr., proprietor of the Citizens Coal Company, of Butte; and Alice and Dorothy, who are still in school. Of the fraternal orders Mr. Passmore belongs only to the Masonic, being a member of a lodge in Salem, Ohio. In religious affiliation, although raised a Friend, he is now a Presbyterian, having joined this denom- ination in Butte. He is an elder in the church and much interested in its Sunday school work, and is an active member of the State Sunday School Association. In politics he is a Republican, and has accepted office at the hands of his party. In Salem, Ohio, he was elected to the city council, and in Maryland, at a time when his county was hopelessly Democratic, he was one of two successful Republican candidates, being elected county sur- veyor. Mr. Passmore has lived a full decade of his life in Butte, and by his strict integrity, pro- gressive spirit, devotion to the general welfare of the city, and genial disposition, he has won universal approbation and esteem.

DELL W. McCONNELL .- Among the able 0 and representative members of the bar of Montana is the junior member of the law firm of McConnell & McConnell, of Helena, Odell W. McConnell, who has the distinction of being the present countv attorney of Lewis and Clarke coun- ty, where he has won reputation through his thor- ough knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence and as an advocate of distinctive ability. He is a native of Tennessee, and he was born on Independ- ence day, July 4, 1868, the son of Judge N. W. Mc- Connell. (See biographical sketch elsewhere in this volume.) He received excellent educational ad- vantages, attending the public schools, the Ma- sonic Academy at Hartsville, and Vanderbilt University, at Nashville, where he completed the literary course, graduating in 1890, with the de- gree of bachelor of arts. During his senior year in the university, in addition to keeping up his curric- ulum studies, he took up the work of the junior year in the law department, and in 1891 completed his technical studies, graduating in June with the degree of bachelor of laws. This dual work shows unequivocally that the young barrister was an indefatigable student, while his keen powers of analysis and assimilation enabled him to make sure and rapid progress.

Immediately after his graduation from the law school Mr. McConnell came to Helena and was here admitted to the bar of Montana in the same month that witnessed his graduation. He at once entered upon the active practice of law as a mem- ber of the firm of McConnell & Clayberg, the senior member being Judge McConnell, his father. Later the firm was McConnell, Gunn & McCon- nell, this professional alliance obtaining until 1896, when the present firm of McConnell & McConnell was formed by the father and son. In 1898 the Democratic party placed Odell as its candidate for prosecuting attorney of the county, and he was duly elected to this important office, of which he has since been the incumbent. He has given the strongest allegiance to the political party of his choice, and has been an active worker, having not only taken the stump through the state in favor of making Helena the capital city, but also delivering many effective addresses in favor of the Demo- cratic cause in the state in 1896, while in 1898 he made a similar campaign in Lewis and Clarke county.

Mr. McConnell is identified with numerous so- cial and fraternal organizations, among which may be named: Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, Knights of Pythias, Woodmen of the World, An- cient Order of United Workmen and the Ancient Order of Pyramids. In 1891 Mr. McConnell was united in marriage to Miss Annie Seay, who was born in Tennessee, the daughter of Chancellor George E. Seay, who presided on the bench of the chancery court of Tennessee for sixteen years. Mr. and Mrs. McConnell have two children, Clara E. and Odell Seay. Although Mr. McConnell is one of the younger members of the bar of the state, his reputation is one of which many an older barrister might well be proud.

D AVID D. PATTEE .- A descendant of an old Welsh family, long locally distinguished in the annals of that country for force of character, originality of mental operations and superiority to circumstances, but himself born at Cassburn, Can- ada, February 21, 1836, of a branch of the family which had come to America and settled in Maine in the early days of its history and afterward re- moved across the line into the Dominion, David D. Pattee, of Bozeman, exhibits in his character and record all of the admirable traits of his ancestry,

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improved by the broader cultivation which comes from travel and an extensive knowledge of men. His grandfather was a prominent man in the af- fairs of the province in which he lived, represent- ing one of its most intelligent constituencies for a number of years in the provincial parliament, and being otherwise a representative man of command- ing influence in his locality. His father, John Pattee, also bore a conspicuous part in local affairs. He was educated at the State University at Bur- lington, Vt., and after his graduation returned to the homestead and followed the quiet pursuit of farming in an advanced way until the voice of his countrymen called him into public life as county clerk, a capacity in which he served them well for twenty years or more. He also was a native of Cassburn, as was his wife, Eliza Ann (Daggett) Pattee.

Mr. Pattee attended the public schools of his native town, and later spent two years at an ex- cellent academy at Coburg. When he left the academy he went back to the farm and remained there until 1864. At that time he determined to go west, and started for Minnesota; but on his ar- rival in Wisconsin he was told of the intention of some of his friends to go to Montana, and he decided to push on and join them. At St. Paul he met a number of persons from the eastern states who were making up a train for the mountain ter- ritory, and purchasing a team he became one of the party. They came west under the care of Gen. Sibley who was coming through with 5,000 mounted troops. They therefore escaped all trouble with Indians and fared better in many ways than emi- grant trains did generally. Their route was by the mouth of the Yellowstone, then to Fort Union, now Buford, in North Dakota, and on to Last Chance, which then consisted of only two or three cabins in the way of habitations. Here they arrived Oc- tober 9, 1864, and after a short rest Mr. Pattee made a trip to Frenchtown and brought back a load of flour which he sold at $28 a sack. Later he re- turned to Frenchtown, sold his outfit, and went to Virginia City, where he remained three months prospecting. In the spring of 1865 he joined in a stampede to Helena, and put in a few months mining there. From there he went to Nelson gulch for three months, and then to Blackfoot City, where he engaged in storekeeping for several months, but returned to Helena and spent the winter. In the spring he went to Bear gulch and mined during the summer, again returning to Helena for the winter. After spending two or three

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 152

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