Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 154

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

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M ARTIN PAULSON .- Born in Sweden No- vember 10, 1863, and coming to America in his youth, the subject of this sketch has worked out in the land of his adoption the promise of his child- hood exhibited in that of his nativity, and shown in every emergency the sterling qualities of mind and character for which his race is noted. His parents were Andrew and Josephine (Anderson) Paulson, also natives of Sweden, where the former was born in 1825 and the latter in 1835. They came to the United States in 1891, and lived here with their son in Rosebud valley for a number of years. The father died in New Haven, Conn., in 1897, and the mother is still living in that city.

Mr. Paulson, our subject, was educated in the schools of his native land and those of Brooke county, W. Va., where he located in 1881 and lived six years, working as a farm laborer. In 1887 he moved west as far as the Black Hills, and a little later in the same year came on to Montana, and worked for a year on the ranch of James Hay in Rosebud valley. In 1888 he bought a ranch twelve miles from the town of Rosebud, on which he was engaged in farming and stockraising until 1895. The two years next succeeding he lived in the town of Forsyth, and in 1897 took up a homestead on Antelope creek which he worked on for two years, but relinquished it in 1899 and located a tract by special permission near Rosebud station. He still retains his ranch, but is at present assistant farmer at the Cheyenne Indian reservation.

In political affiliation Mr. Paulson is a Democrat, and takes an active interest in the campaigns of the party. For fifteen years he was identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, but has re- cently withdrawn therefrom, finding enough to oc- cupy his time and energies in looking after his busi- ness. He is unmarried, but is none the less inter- ested in whatever concerns the welfare of the community, and exhibits in relation thereto all the elements of good citizenship.

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F 'RANK J. PELLETIER, one of the able young business men of Butte and who served with dis- tinction in the last legislature of Montana, is, as his name indicates, of pure French extraction, and was born in the little city of Ste. Anne de la Pocatiere, County Komouraska, province of Quebec, Canada, on November 17, 1863. His parents, Henry and Domitilde (L'Etoile) Pelletier, were likewise born in the province of Quebec, where they still main- tain their farm home. Of their seven children Frank J. was the fifth.

Frank J. Pelletier was early taught in the paro- chial and public schools, and then completed a commercial course in Ste. Anne's College in his native town, from which he was graduated with the class of 1878. After leaving school he located in Matane, where he held a clerical position and was assistant postmaster. Here he became proficient in telegraphy, and this led to his becoming identified with railroading. In 1881 he entered the employ of the Canadian Pacific Railroad as station agent and telegrapher at Pogomosing, retaining the in- cumbency until 1884, when he came to Montana, lo- cating at Anaconda, where he was for three years employed at the concentrator, and then became bookkeeper for the Anaconda Mercantile Company. In 1890 he took a vacation of a year, visiting his old home in Canada, and eventually returning to Montana, on his return locating in Butte, where he became foreman in the Montana Meat Company, and later was in charge of the office affairs of the business and so continued until 1899, after which he was in the employ of the Armour Packing and Provision Company until September 1, 1900.

In politics Mr. Pelletier has ardently espoused the cause of the Labor party. In the fall of 1900 he was elected one of the representatives of Silver Bow county in the legislature, and in the Seventh general assembly he was an active working mem- ber, assigned to important house committees, in- cluding the committees on engrossment, fish and game, and manufacturing and improvement. He was a stanch champion of the bill providing for the eight-hour day of labor, the company-store bill, the fellow-servant bill and the meat inspection bill, while his interest in all measures tending to pro- mote the welfare of the laboring classes was con- stant and lively. Mr. Pelletier became identified with organized labor in 1890, and was president of the Butchers' Union from 1893 to 1895 and later served two and one-half years as its record- ing secretary. For two terms he was recording

secretary of the Silver Bow Trades and Labor Assembly, and for two years was secretary and treasurer of the Montana State Trades and Labor Council. At the convention of the Western Labor Union, held in Denver in 1901, Mr. Pelletier was elected a member of the executive board. He has ever been unflagging in his efforts to advance the interests of the laboring classes. His religious faith is that of the Catholic church, in which he was reared, and fraternally he is identified with the National Union, the Knights and Ladies of Se- curity and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. in 1888 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Pell- etier and Miss Melanie Joncas, who was born at Matane, Canada, and they have three children : Raymond, Florence and Gracia.

T THOMAS H. PENDERGRASS .- A native of Vermont, and born June 19, 1864, at Rutland, in the shadow and amid the free breezes of the Green mountains, where his father's and his mother's families had lived. for generations, Thomas H. Pendergrass came honestly by the qualities of thrift, keen business foresight and adaptability to circumstances for which he lias been distinguished. He is the third of the five children born to Thomas H. and Margaret (Dunn) Pendergrass, both natives of Vermont, and at- tended the public schools of his home town until he was nineteen years old, when he went to Utah, where he passed seven years mining, principally at Park City and Bingham. From there he came to Montana and to Butte, where he followed the same occupation for three years, then, after min- ing a short time in Idaho, he returned to Mon- tana and went to work at Martina, where he has been mining ever since, as a foreman or superin- tendent. In 1900 he bought a desirable ranch at Carlton, where he and his family make their home. In his business operations Mr. Pendergrass has had almost unbroken success, and in social life he and his wife are well esteemed. In public affairs he is most interested in local matters, and gives them close and intelligent attention. But his vision is by no means narrowed to these, everything that affects the welfare of the state and the country securing his thoughtful and considerate attention. He was elected a representative from Missoula county in 1900 on the Fusion ticket, although pre- viously a Democrat, and in the session of the legis-

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lature that followed he distinguished himself by steadfast adherence to the principles and promises on which he had been elected, and by a courageous and skillful defense of them. He was married on September 1, 1889, at Haley, Idaho, to Miss Ellen Ryan, then a resident of that place. They have three children, Margaret, Mamie and William.

W ILLIAM E. CORT .- Among the repre- sentative lawyers of the bar of Montana is Mr. Cort, the senior member of the firm of Cort & Worden, who are established in the practice of their profession in the thriving little city of Lewis- town, Fergus county.

Mr. Cort is a native of Iowa, having been born in Dubuque county, on the 29th of July, 1859, the son of Albert and Maria (Eisaman) Cort, both of whom were born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, of "Pennsylvania Dutch" parentage. They removed to Iowa in 1854, where the father engaged in agricultural pursuits and passed the residue of his long, useful and honorable life, dy- ing in 1898, aged seventy-six. His wife is now living at that place. They were the parents of ten children, all of whom are now living.

William E. Cort was reared in his native state, receiving educational discipline in the public schools and thereafter entering Cornell College, at Mount Vernon, Iowa, where he completed his literary course of study. He thereafter put his scholastic acquirements to practical test, by de- voting his attention to pedagogic work, proving a sticcessful teacher.

Mr. Cort began preparation for the profession of law by commencing its study in 1885, under effective preceptorage, and in 1889 he ma- triculated in the law department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, from which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1891, being soon afterward admitted to the bar of the state upon his completion of the full course and graduation from the university. After his admis- sion to the bar Mr. Cort went to Chicago, entered the office of a leading law firm and began the prac- tical work of his chosen profession, continuing in practice there for one year and then removing to Dubuque, Iowa, where he successfully estab- lished himself in practice and remained until 1894. In the month of February of that year he located in Lewistown, Mont., where he forthwith associ-

ated himself with Edgar G. Worden, under the present firm title, and this alliance has since con- tinued. Mr. Cort has won distinctive prestige as an advocate and a safe and conservative counsel, hav- ing that most essential quality of taking infinite care in the preparation of his cases and never pre- senting a cause until he has gained a mastery of the salient points therein involved. He is a close student of his profession and possesses a gratifying familiarity with precedents in both the civil and criminal codes. Mr. Cort has the distinction of being the first city attorney of Lewistown, having been appointed to this office in 1899. Mr. Cort has won distinction and marked attention in legal cir- cles throughout Montana by his action in the noted Howell case in 1901, whereby he saved his client, convicted for murder and sentenced to execution, from death, securing from Gov. Toole by his action a commutation of the death sentence to imprison- ment for life.

Mr. Cort is an active and zealous supporter of the principles and policies of the Democratic party In 1896 he was nominated for the office of county attorney, but was defeated by reason of the normal political complexion of the county, but such is his personal popularity that when he appeared as the candidate of his party for representative in the lower house of the state legislature, in the election of November, 1900, he was defeated by only seven- ty-six votes. He was chairman of the Demo- cratic central committee of Fergus county from 1898 until 1900, inclusive. He has taken . a deep interest in educational affairs and has served on the board of education of Lewistown since 1895; for the last three years he has held the chairmanship of the board. His religious faitlı is that of the Presbyterian church, and fraternally he is identified with the Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen of the World. He has mining interests in the Judith mountains.

On the 29th of June, 1892, Mr. Cort was united in marriage to Miss Grace Dodds, who was born in Illinois, the daughter of Capt. William T. Dodds, and they have three children, Sidney A., William E., Jr., and Dorothy B.

JOSEPH PENNINGTON .- One of the repre- sentative farmers of Madison county, where he has a finely improved ranch in the vicinity of Pageville, and a pioneer of the state, Mr. Pen-

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nington is a native of Kentucky, and his parents were Joseph and Letitia (Owens) Pennington. The former was a teacher in early life, and he re- moved from Kentucky to Missouri and there de- voted the remainder of his life to agriculture. He was a slaveholder and died some time after the close of the Civil war. His mother was a native of Maryland, in which state her father was prominent and influential and an active participant in the war of 1812. Joseph Pennington was able to attend the common schools in a somewhat desultory way, and the scenes and duties of his earlier years were those incidental to the carrying on of the homestead farm in Missouri.

In 1854 Mr. Pennington started for California, following the trail of the 'Forty-niners, and made the long and weary trip across the plains and over the mountains with eight oxen. He was five months on the road and arrived in California in the fall of 1854. He engaged in mining, staking out claims for himself and meeting with good success for three years, and returned to his old home in Mis- souri for a short visit. He then started for Pike's Peak, Colo., and after engaging in placer mining near the site of Denver for six months, he once more returned to Missouri. Here he re- mained until 1860, when he started for Oregon, but stopped in Iowa, where he was engaged in trading for two years, and in 1863 he once more turned his face westward, this time making Mon- tana his destination. Arriving here he located in the Ruby valley, and engaged in ranching during the pioneer days, which were not lacking in dangers and exciting episodes. At the height of the crusade of the vigilance committees information given by Mr. Pennington led to the capture and hang- ing of the notorious renegade and outlaw, George Ives.

In 1865 Mr. Pennington came to the Big Hole river and took up a ranch, to which he has since added until his landed estate now aggregates 315 acres of a most fertile character. In addition to general farming he is giving special attention to the raising of fruit. He had 125 trees in bearing in 1901, and his intention is to greatly augment this branch of his ranching. It is worthy of note that he has on his place apple trees that were planted fully twenty years ago. Mr. Pennington has been prominently concerned in prospecting and mining, having invested in this full $11,000. He sold the Pennington mine, in which he held the controlling interest, at a good figure, and holds

interest in a number of promising prospects. In politics he is independent.

In Missouri, in 1858, Mr. Pennington was united in marriage to Miss Delia Fine, who was born in that state, where her father was a prominent far- mer. They have an adopted son, Thomas J. Pen- nington.

M ERRITT W. PENWELL .- The pioneers of Montana are passing away and comparatively few are now left to tell the stirring tales of life in early days. The memory of Mr. Penwell, how- ever, links the past, when this section was the bor- derland, with the present, when the advantages of the civilization of the older east are enjoyed by the people of this region. The traveler today sees the richly cultivated farms, the herds and flocks on a thousand hills, substantial homes, thriving towns and villages, industries, commercial interests, churches and schools and he cannot realize that less than two score years ago Mr. Penwell and his con- temporaries were endeavoring to open up a wilder- ness to the advances of civilization, that the Indians still disputed dominion on every side, that furrows had not yet been turned on the fertile plains and prolific valleys. He has witnessed the various stages of transition, the advent of the railroad, the telegraph and the telephone, and watched the on- ward march of improvement and progress until Montana is now occupying a leading position among the states that form the Union. Mr. Penwell was born in Fayette county, Ind., on September 24, 1840, the fourth of the nine children of David H. and Samantha (Carver) Penwell, natives of Indiana and New York. The father devoted his attention to carpentry and farming and died in Shelbyville, Ill., on Christmas day, 1864, at the age of fifty-six. His widow attained the age of eighty-four, her death occurring in Kansas. Seven of their children are living. The great-great- grandfather of Mr. Penwell, John Hyde, was born in England, married a French lady and died in the French war about 1755. His son, also John Hyde, a farmer, married near Trenton, N. J., a Miss Smith, in 1760 and died about 1800. Esther Hyde, youngest of their five children, born July 29, 1771, married on September 20, 1788. John Penwell, a farmer who was born in New Jersey on March 7. 1763, and died in Fayette county, Ind., on June 9, 1842. The seventh of his nine children was David Hyde Penwell, born on March 18, 1809. He

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became a farmer, married Miss Samantha Carver on August 8, 1830, and this worthy couple were the parents of M. W. Penwell.

Merritt W. Penwell was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm, and such educational ad- vantages as were his in his youth came from the district schools; this, however, proved an adequate basis for the broad fund of knowledge and informa- tion which he has gained through his practical as- sociation with men and affairs. In 1863, at the age of twenty-two, he left Illinois and joined a party of emigrants preparing to travel across the plains to Montana. The usual vicissitudes were encountered on the trip, which was three months in duration, and Mr. Penwell arrived in Bannack on July 3, 1863, thus being one of its early pioneers. Passing a short time at Bannack, he went to the great placer-mining camp in Alder gulch, there devoting his attention to mining for one year, then going northward into the British possessions, after which he returned to Montana, and, in the spring of 1864, located on a tract of government land, which is now a portion of his present fine estate. Here he has made his home ever since that early date, and the years have crowned his well directed efforts with prosperity. His first home here was a diminutive log house, 16x28 feet in dimensions, but he laid a floor in it, and this was the first cabin thus equipped in the Gallatin valley, He later made additions to this primitive domicile and it was the family home until 1868, when he erected a more pretentious dwelling, which has been ex- tensively remodeled and enlarged, and is the pres- ent residence of the family, the building being com- modious, and an attractive farm residence. To the original claim entered by Mr. Penwell he has since added until he has a landed estate of 1,445 acres of most arable and prolific land, all capable of effective cultivation. The owner is a practical and progressive farmer, and his success has been most gratifying, arising as it does from his discrimina- tion, correct judgment and enterprising methods.

Mr. Penwell has devoted special attention to the raising of live stock, and here his facilities have been of the best, his ranch having every improve- ment which will aid economy in the various branches of the work. He has built for his own use a packing house which is one of the most mod- ern and complete, and he is thus independent of the market, as he is enabled to keep his own meats in storage should market prices entail a sacrifice in the selling of stock. Mr. Penwell is

essentially and unequivocally a business man, and his marked success stands in evidence of his abil- ity as an executive. He belongs to the Republican political party, having cast his first presidential vote for Gen. Harrison in 1892, in the first general election after Montana was admitted to statehood. He takes no active part in politics, however, his business interests demanding his entire time and at- tention. He is a member of the Gallatin County Pioneers' Society, in whose work and affairs he takes a deep interest. In Shelbyville, Ill., on April 25, 1867, Mr. Penwell was united in marriage to Miss Marianna Biggs, who was born in Kentucky, the daughter of Robert H. and Martha (Young) Biggs, the former being a farmer, and both of whom are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Penwell, after their marriage, came at once to Montana via the Mis -· souri river to Fort Benton, thence overland to their present home. Of this union eight children have been born and all are living, their names and date of birth being: Florence Isabel, born Feb- ruary 19, 1868; William Parker, March 21, 1869: Robert Guy, September 19, 1873; Martha Grace, March 2, 1876; Della May, May 5, 1877; Caroline Cook, October 1, 1882; Clyde Chamberlain, Janu- ary 22, 1886; Jean Paul, December 8. 1889. The family attend the Methodist church and are promi- nent in the social life of the community, the home being a center of true pioneer hospitality, while the children have been afforded the best of educational advantages.

NDREW PETERSON. - Since coming to A Montana the record of Mr. Peterson's career illustrates what may here be accomplished by a young man willing to apply his energies and utilize his judgment in the industrial resources. Mr. Pe- terson is recognized as one of the representative sheepgrowers of Park county, where he has a well improved ranch of 650 acres and where he is held in high estimation as one of its successful men. He is a native of Schleswig, Germany, where he was born on February 15, 1857, the son of Andrew and Margaret (Lorenson) Peterson, both of whom were born in Schleswig, and the parents of four sons and three daughters. Andrew Peterson was educated in Germany in the excellent government schools and assisted his father in farming until 1880, when he emigrated to America, coming di- rectly to Iowa, where he remained eighteen monthis, after which he started for Montana, stop-

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ping at the mouth of Powder river, where he en- gaged in railroad work for a few weeks, thence pro- ceeding to Rosebud, Custer county, where he re- mained one year, thereafter spending six months in Miles City and thence coming to Park county, and taking up land on Greeley creek, to which he has added until his ranch has an aggregate of 650 acres, located five miles west of Springdale, his postoffice address.

Here he first engaged in the raising of cattle, continuing in this until 1898 and usually wintering from 100 to 200 head. In the year noted he dis- posed of his stock and turned his attention to sheep-growing to which he has since devoted his attention with marked success, having now a band of about 2,500. He holds the Shropshire as his favorite but also raises some Merinos, having su- perior specimens of both lines. He is alert and discriminating in his methods and his ranch gives evidence of care and wise judgment in its opera- tion. Politically he supports the Democratic par- ty, while fraternally he is a member of the Sons of Hermann. On December 1, 1894, Mr. Peterson was united in marriage to Miss Martha A. Bron- slaw, born in Germany, whence she accompanied her father, August Bronslaw, on the emigration of the family to America and Livingston, Mont. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson have three children, Grace, An- drew and William.

TILLIAM G. PFOUTS .- This enterprising miner, merchant and promoter is a typical western man, having passed forty-four years of his active and useful life in Colorado and Montana, and witnessed thier phenomenal growth and develop- ment from a wilderness into the comeliness and stature of great and productive commonwealths. He was born at Mount Eaton, Wayne county, Ohio, December 8, 1842. His parents were George and Sarah (Clark) Pfouts, natives of Ohio, from whence they removed to Holt county, Mo., in 1867, and later to Oregon, that state, where the father was engaged in raising stock and practicing law until his death. The mother died at St. Joseph, Mo., in 1892. Mr. Pfouts received a lim- ited education in the public schools of his native county, and when sixteen years old, in 1858, he left home on a small pacing mule, and in eastern Kan- sas joined a large party of emigrants bound for Colorado. After many thrilling encounters with

hostile Indians the party arrived at a point twelve miles from Denver in the winter of 1858. Denver at that time consisted of only a few log houses, and did not seem a very promising place for the bud- ding hopes of our young adventurer. In the spring Mr. Pfouts went to Arapahoe, where he was later joined by John Gregory, and from there they went to what has since been known as Gregory's Point in the main range of the Rockies, where Cen- tral City now stands, being the first white men to arrive there. There a promising mine was located by several persons, claim No. 7 falling to Mr. Pfouts. This he worked with profit until the de- composed quartz ran out, and in 1861 he sold it for $5,000. In 1859 he secured an interest in the Bobtail mine, and one in the Gregory extension. The former he traded for an ox team and wagon and exchanged the latter for a Mexican mule and a lariat. About his time Ben. Burris, who was try- ing to develop a claim, offered him a half interest if he would help to do the work, but he refused the offer. The mine afterward made Burris a large fortune. In this same year the residents of Arapa- hoe, in order to prevent other parties from starting an opposition town, laid out in town lots all the land for six miles up and down Clear creek, each taking 160 acres. In the division the land on which Golden City now stands became the proper- ty of Mr. Pfouts. He sold it the same fall to David Wall for $5.00. It is now worth many millions. After selling claim No. 7, at Gregory's Point, in 1861 he bought 300 head of cattle and located on a ranch on Monument creek, within whose limits was included the "Garden of the Gods," near Manitou, now a famous health resort. He made extensive improvements there, and en- joyed great prosperity until the cold winter of 1863, when he lost most of his cattle. He traded the remnant for a stock of merchandise and re- moved with it to Virginia City, Mont., and there sold the goods to Pfouts & Russell, for whom he worked as clerk and salesman for several years. In 1867 he bought the business, and until 1872 con- ducted it at Virginia City, when he sold out and re- moved to Pony, where he was engaged in mining until 1880. In 1878 he and Morris & Elling bought the Strawberry and Keystone mines, and a third interest in the Boss Tweed mine, all of which later became valuable. In December, 1880, he sold all his mining interests at Pony and came to Butte, where he bought a half interest in the gro- cery store of Beck Hamilton, at the corner of

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 154

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