Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 169

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 169

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removed to Iowa when Malphus was a mere child, and here he received his education in the public schools. The family were pioneers of Montana in 1865, and they located then on the ranch which Mr. Switzer now owns, and he assisted in the develop- ment and the improving of it. Here the parents passed the remainder of their lives, the father pass- ing away December 21, 1900, and the mother Feb- ruary 16, 1897.

Mr. Switzer now owns a fine ranch of 440 acres, which is principally devoted to the raising of hay. He also raises cattle for the local markets. His labors on the homestead have been earnest, and regulated with good business judgment, so that his success has come as a natural sequel. He gives his allegiance to the Republican party.

On December 22, 1897, Mr. Switzer was mar- ried with Miss Lena K. Gilmer, born in Missouri, whither her parents, Campbell and Catharine (Shannon) Gilmer, came as pioneers from their native state of Kentucky in their childhood. Mr. and Mrs. Switzer have two children, Lester, born on May 17, 1899, and Ruth, born June 15, 1900.

EDWARD H. TALCOTT .- In all ages the bank- ing business has served as an index to the financial and material prosperity of every com- munity, and whether the system has been that of the primitive money changers or the magnificent operations of these latter days, the elemental basis is the same and the influence of paramount importance as touching commercial transactions. A representa- tive member of the banking fraternity in Montana, and one who is recognized as an able financier, is Edward H. Talcott, president of the National Park Bank, of Livingston. Mr. Talcott is a native of the city of Chicago, where he was born on December 10, 1859, being the son of William Hart Talcott, who married Miss Emma A. Beers, of Boston, and who died at Wolcottville (now Torrington), Conn., being survived by his widow and four sons and one daughter. The genealogy of the Talcott fanı- ily has been traced by S. V. Talcott, of Albany, N. Y., and published (1876) in a neat volume. This record shows the family to have been originally residents of Warwickshire, England, the earliest known of the name being John Talcott, who re- sided in Colchester, Essex county, England, where he died in 1606, the family coat of arms which he bore dating back to 1538. John Talcott was a gentle-

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man possssed of a considerable landed estate, as is shown by his will, admitted to probate on November 12, 1606. His son, John, of Braintree, died in 1604, leaving a son John, who emigrated to America in 1632, being one of the 123 passengers on the ship Lion, which arrived in the new world on Sunday, September 16, 1632, the passage having taken three months. After a short stay in Massachusetts, where he took a leading part in the affairs of that colony, John Talcott removed to the town of Hart- ford, Conn., and served as chief magistrate of the colony until his death in March, 1660, his name being inscribed on the monument erected by the citizens of that place to perpetuate the memory of the founders of the colony of Connecticut. He was possessed of considerable property, as is shown by his will, dated August 12, 1659. He left three children, the youngest of whom was Capt. Samuel Talcott, of Wethersfield, from whom the line is traced directly to the subject of this review. Capt. Talcott graduated from Harvard College in 1658, and succeeded to a large amount of property devised to him by his father; and that he materially in- creased the same is evident from the provisions of his will bearing the date of November 10, 1691. He left eight children, of whom the sixth in order of birth was Benjamin, who. became known as Deacon Benjamin, progenitor of our subject, the line thence tracing through his second child, who like- wise bore the name of Benjamin, and was designated as Deacon Benjamin II; thence through the eldest of his eight children, Deacon Benjamin III; thence through the second of the latter's eleven children, known as Deacon Elijah, who was twice married and who left ten children, the third of whom was Rev. Hart Talcott, the grandfather of Edward H., of this review. The name of Talcott is prominent in the annals of New England, the family being of the old patrician stock. Joseph Talcott was for seventeen years governor of the colony, 1724-41; Lieut .- Col. John Talcott was in command of the army in the King Philip war, holding the rank of major and was very successful, gaining a great reputation as an Indian fighter. His estate, val- ued at over $12,000, was left to his son, Gov. Joseph Talcott. John Beers, an ancestor of our subject in the maternal line, was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, while a large number of descendants in both lines were participants in the war of the Rebellion, many of them being commissioned offi- cers. The family have been prominent in the an- nals of American history from the early Colonial

epoch, and each generation has stood exponent for sterling character and deepest patriotism and loyalty.

Edward Hart Talcott, the immediate subject of this sketch, accompanied his parents on their re- moved from Chicago to Wolcottville, (now known as Torrington) Conn., in 1861, and after they had resided there about six years the father died, where- upon the mother of our subject removed with her five children to Amherst, Mass., where Edward H. attended the public schools until 1872, within which year he went to Talcottville, Conn., a town named in honor of his cousin, who had there established large woolen factories. Mr. Talcott found em- ployment in the woolen manufacturing · business, and continued to be identified with the same for a period of six years. In 1878 he removed to South Manchester, Conn., having been tendered a position in the mercantile house of W. H. Cheney & Co., and there passed the following five years. The encouragement and opportunities for personal ac- complishment in the overcrowded east not being in keeping with Mr. Talbott's ambition to make a place for himself in the commercial world, he heeded the admonition of Horace Greeley "to go west," and it is beyond peradventure that he amply fulfilled the second tenet of the advice and has literally "grown up with the country," since at the time, when he reached Livingston, in December, 1883, its only claims to being a city were indicated in the fact that it had just left the surveyor's hands. Here he primarily entered the employ of G. H. Carver & Co., as manager of their mercantile house. In 1887 he severed his connection with this concern to accept the more desirable and lucrative position as assistant cashier in the National Park Bank. After a faithful and efficient service of two years he was promoted to the position of cashier, in which office he showed such marked ability that, to further show the confidence which the stockholders had in his tact and executive powers, they elected him president of the bank in 1891, and he has since held this responsible office. The National Park Bank is recognized as one of the most solid and prosperous institutions in the state, and its prestige cannot be other than gratifying to its stockholders and to the people of Park county, for its condition is an index to the general prosperity of this favored section of the state. To afford an idea of the condition of the bank, we enter a few items from a report issued as to its earnings and dividends for the year ending December 31, 1900. The gross earnings for the year aggregated $42,635.37, while the net earnings

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and profits for the year were $22,270.56. The bank is capitalized for $100,000, and at the date of the report at hand had a surplus of $20,000. Since its organization, in January, 1887, the bank has paid in dividends $103,000, while its total profits since organization, less expenses, premiums, losses, etc., aggregate $126,002.36. Mr. Talcott has gained the confidence and respect of the business commu- nity, and by his courteous and genial manner has endeared himself to the people of Park county, while, owing to his deep interest in any and all matters appertaining to the advancement and wel- fare of this section, he is looked upon as one of the upbuilders of this prosperous, though compara- tively new portion of the state. Mr. Talcott makes frequent trips to the east in the interests of the bank, and only recently returned from an extended business tour, during which he visited the financial centers, including New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago, and he is usually successful in induc- ing capitalists to invest in the many enterprises which offer large returns in this section and which, in a reflex way, make for the further advancement and material prosperity of the same.

In politics Mr. Talcott gives his allegiance to the Republican party. He has served two terms as mayor of Livingston, filling the chief executive office of the municipal government with signal abil- ity, and in his course gaining the endorsement of all classes, irrespective of political affiliations. He was a member of the first executive board of the State Agricultural College, at Bozeman. Fraternally is identified with the Knights of Pythias, in which he has filled the chair of grand chancellor of the grand lodge of Montana, while he is at present grand master of the exchequer, which position he has held for six years. On January 21, 1886, Mr. Talcott was united in marriage at Livingston, Mont., to Miss Eliza Ballinger, who was born in the state of Illinois, the daughter of Merrill S. and Jane Bal- linger, her father and mother now residing at Bus- ben, near Livingston. Mr. and Mrs. Talcott have three sons : Robert, Warren and Kenyon, all of whom are students in the Livingston public schools. The family are prominent in the social life of Liv- ingston, and their home is a center of gracious and refined hospitality.

EDMOND R. TANDY .- The great state of Kentucky has contributed in many ways to the glory and development of America. Her fair daughters have dignified and adorned many a

stately public function, and have blessed countless homes with grand specimens of the highest type of domestic virtue. Her sons have won renown and left their bones to whiten on many a bloody battlefield, and in the domain of peaceful pro- ductiveness have rendered valuable service all over our broad land; as statesmen they have honored the halls of legislation, and as merchants have made the marts of commerce known and potential throughout the world. In truth her men of brain and brawn have helped to redeem the western wilderness from barbarism and make it blossom as the rose. In the class last named, the pio- neers of civilization, an honored place must be ac- corded to Edmond R. Tandy. It was in Fayette county, in the old Blue Grass state, he first saw the light of day on March 18, 1831, his parents being Willis and Martha H. (Read) Tandy, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Kentucky. The father was a prosperous farmer, having left his native state in early life and taken up his residence in Illinois. He was an active old-line Whig up to the death of that party; fraternally lie was identified with the Masonic order. The mother held membership in the Methodist church. They were the parents of twelve children, of whom seven are living, namely: Andrew J., Annis P., Edmond R., George W., Henry, Walter and Charles.

Edmond R. received a very limited education and at the age of fourteen began to work for wages, continuing to do so until he was twenty years old. In 1852, in company with fifteen others, he crossed the plains en route to California. He secured an engagement to driving sheep for a Mr. Clark, making a trip of 800 miles to Independence Rock, in what was then the territory of Nebraska. There he left Mr. Clark and took charge of an- other band of sheep which he drove to Salt Lake City, a distance of 500 miles, a trip that was full of hardships and danger, but ended at length by his arrival at his destination, where he remained until he earned enough money to purchase a sad- dle and pack horse with which he continued his journey to California, five months being consumed to make the entire trip. On September 3, 1852, Mr. Tandy arrived at Hangtown, now known as Placerville, Cal., and there engaged in mining for wages at $5.00 per day. He continued to reside in California for nine years, making interesting but not remunerative trips to Valparaiso and other places in Chili, and to different points in British Columbia. In the fall of 1860 he made a visit to

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PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MONTANA.

the east, remaining two years, and in 1862 again came west, crossing the plains and reaching Elk City, Idaho, after four months tedious and haz- ardous travel. After a short stay he went to Oregon, and from that state to Idaho City, Wash., where he remained a year. At the end of that time he removed to Salt Lake City, and there engaged in prospecting and mining, being one of the crew who discovered Meadow valley. A portion of this crew moved on to Paraugat, now called Reese river, where they met with loss in their venture. Twenty of the company, our subject among them, returned to Salt Lake City, he being on the sick list before and on the trip. After spending the winter of 1864-5 at mining in Idaho, in the spring of 1865 Mr. Tandy came to Montana, locating at Helena, where he followed mining at various places ever since. He has a large interest in the Jumbo, Dry gulch and Copper gulch mines, and is interested in other mining properties. He is also engaged in raising sheep and horses on his ranch, located four miles northwest of Helena, and in all his business operations has been suc- cessful.

In politics he is an active Republican, not seek- ing office but interested in the welfare of the com- munity and the proper government of his county and state. He was married September 19, 1869, to Miss Almyra M. S. Smart, a native of Penob- scot county, Me., the daughter of Robert and Martha (Tracy) Smart, also natives of Maine. Her father was a farmer on the Penobscot river, and prospered in his business. The mother was a zeal- ous member of the Episcopalian church. Mr. Tandy is a genial, companionable gentleman whom everybody likes, and whose useful life is a credit to the community and the state in which he lives. Wherever he has been and whatever has befallen, he has stood firmly by the best principles of sturdy manhood and good citizenship, and has shown himself to be above the temptations of pride or ambition except so far as they could be made serviceable to his fellow men.

DWARD W. BULL .- Among the prosperous

E and progressive farmers and stockgrowers of Cascade county, Mont., is Mr. Bull, who has practically passed his entire life in Montana, his parents having located in this state when he was a child of six years. Mr. Bull is a native of the

state of Indiana, having been born in the village of Bridgeport, on September 6, 1860, the eldest of the four sons of Charles A. and Cornelia Bull, na- tives respectively of Connecticut and Indiana. The other sons are Frank W., George R. and Charles A. The father of our subject is a painter by trade, and has devoted the greater portion of his active life to work in this line, although he has also been employed in clerical capacities and as a book- keeper. He came to Montana in 1866 and was engaged as a clerk in a general store at Fort Shaw, while in 1868 he removed to Sun river, where he opened a store and also conducted a hotel, meeting with excellent success and thus continu- ing until 1881, when he disposed of his business interests and removed to Idaho to look after cer- tain placer mining claims in which he was inter- ested. There he remained until 1898, when he visited his mother at Terre Haute, Ind., later re- turning as far west as Leavenworth, Kan., his present home, devoting his attention to his trade. In politics he is a stanch supporter of the Demo- cratic party and its principles ; fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order. The mother of our subject, who was a devoted member of the Episcopal church, passed away on November 9, 1898 ..

Edward W. Bull grew to maturity in Montana, and his educational privileges were somewhat lim- ited, but he attended the public schools as oppor- tunity presented, and thus laid the foundation for the excellent fund of information which has come to him through his active participation in practical affairs. At the age of sixteen years he began life by riding the range and assisting in ranch work. Eventually he was enabled to start operations for himself, and is now the owner of a fine ranch property, located five miles north of the village of Cascade, which has an area of 320 acres, of which 300 acres are well fitted for cultivation. In addi- tion to this he has 320 acres ten miles north of Cascade, just east of Square Butte, and his wife has also filed on 320 acres adjoining. Mr. Bull has made excellent improvements of a permanent nature, and since 1882 has devoted his entire time and attention to stockraising, especially in the line of cattle, though he also raises horses upon a quite extensive scale. Being active and pro- gressive, and conducting his business upon cor- rect principles, he is esteemed in all the relations of life and is known as one of the representative men of his section of the state.

Ed. W. Bull

Frank In Bull

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PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MONTANA.

In politics our subject accords allegiance to the Democratic party ; fraternally he is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America. Both he and his wife are communicants of the Protestant Epis- copal church. On June 6, 1883, Mr. Bull was united in marriage to Miss Sophie Wiegand, who was born in the old Empire state, the daughter of Augustus and Wilhelmina Wiegand, natives of Germany. The father was a shoemaker by occu- pation in his earlier life, and in 1859 came to Amer- ica and settled in the state of New York, where he made his home until 1878, when he came to Sun river, Mont., and worked at his trade until fail- ing health necessitated a change of occupation. He therefore engaged in farming and stock rais- ing, to which he continued to devote his attention until his death, which occurred in 1883. His widow still continues to conduct the ranch, which comprises 320 acres, located one and a half miles east of the village of Sun River. She is a member of the Methodist church, and is a woman of ster- ling character and business ability. She became the mother of ten children, only one of whom, Emma, is deceased, the others being as follows: William A., Sophie H. (Mrs. Bull), Ernest A., Albert P., Henry P., Elizabeth M., Caroline W., Edward E. and Minnie. Mr. and Mrs. Bull have had eight children, three of whom are deceased, Ida M. and two who died in infancy. The surviv- ing children are Flora E., Frank E., Maria E., Robert W. and Arthur R.

FRANK W. BULL, one of the prosperous and progressive young farmers and stockgrowers of the Sun river district of Cascade county, has practically been a resident of Montana during his entire life, has attained success as the direct result of his own efforts, and is a worthy son of the state. Mr. Bull was bornin the beautiful little city of Terre Haute, Ind., on March 18, 1863, being the son of Charles and Cornelia Bull. Charles Bull was a native of Connecticut, while Mrs. Bull was reared in Illinois. Mr. Bull's maternal grandmother was a Miss Maria Rausdell, a typical New Englander, noted for all the virtues pertaining to that class. She was born at Hartford, Conn., August 8, 1811, and died at Terre Haute, Ind., June 6, 1901, hav- ing nearly attained her ninetieth year. The year of her birth saw the birth also of Edgar Allen Poe, Horace Greeley, Wendell Phillips, Charles Sum-

ner, Elihu Burrett and other noted Americans. She was a year old when the retreat from Mos- cow occurred; three years old when Napoleon abdicated; four years old when was fought the battle of Waterloo and Napoleon banished to St. Helena. When Lafayette visited America in 1824, Mrs. Bull, then fifteen years of age, was one of the children who threw flowers under Lafayette's carriage as it passed through the streets of Hart- ford. Mrs. Bull never tired of telling of that day when she was dressed in white with a blue sash, carrying red roses. Her marriage to Charles A. Bull occurred in Hartford, Conn., where he died nearly fifty years before her removal to Terre Haute. Within his active career our subject's father has followed various pursuits, being a paint- er by trade, but having been employed as a book- keeper and clerk for many years. He became a pio- neer of Montana, whither he came in the year 1866, locating at Fort Shaw, where he secured a clerk- ship in a mercantile establishment, and later on con- ducted a hotel, being successful in this line of enterprise. He eventually removed to Wakefield, Kan., where he now resides, his cherished and de- voted wife, who was a zealous member of the Episcopal church, having passed away November 9, 1898. He is a member of the Masonic frater- nity, and in politics has ever given stanch support to the Democratic party and its principles. Charles and Cornelia Bull became the parents of four sons: Edward W., Frank W., George R. and Charles, Jr., all residents of Montana.

As a child Frank W. Bull became a resident of Sun River, and in this locality was reared to ma- turity, receiving the somewhat limited educational advantages afforded by the pioneer schools. As the years crept on he and his elder brother be- came the main support of the family, and were ever ready to do all in their power for the comfort and well-being of their parents and the younger brothers. In the year 1888 our subject purchased the homestead of 145 acres, located immediately adjoining the village of Sun River, and later added to his ranch by the purchase of 150 acres. He has made and is making excellent improvements on his place, and by effective irrigation has made it possible to cultivate 150 acres of the tract. He was for a time engaged in raising horses, but find- ing this not sufficiently profitable, has turned his attention to cattleraising, in which his inde- fatigable industry and well directed effort must en- tail excellent results.

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Politically he exercises his franchise in support of the Democratic party, while fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and the Modern Woodmen of America. On January 27, 1898, Mr. Bull was united in mar- riage to Miss Josephine E. Farr, who was born in the old Green Mountain state, being the daughter of Archibald and Elizabeth Farr, likewise natives of Vermont, where the father is engaged in the lumber business. To Mr. and Mrs. Bull one child has been born, Frank W. Bull, Jr.

H JON. CORNELIUS TAYLOR .- After many wanderings and a wide variety of useful and interesting experiences, Judge Cornelius Taylor is finally settled in Butte, among friends and neigh- bors who have a cordial regard for him, enjoying the honors and emoluments of a responsible and im- portant official position which gives scope for his legal learning, superior judgment, sound common sense and accurate knowledge of human nature. He was born on November 24, 1837, at Lexington, Holmes county, Miss. His father, William Taylor, a native of Tennessee, emigrated to Mississippi in 1827, and, being one of the few men in his neighborhood who had a technical education, was soon after his arrival appointed surveyor. In this capacity he laid out and founded the town of Lex- ington, near which he was afterward a planter and merchant, and for more than ten years he looked after the peace and order of the community as a magistrate. In 1852, impelled by a high sense of right and duty, he liberated as many of his slaves as the laws of the state would allow; and the same year he took some of the others across the plains to California with him, settling in Grass valley, Nevada county, where he bought and conducted a stock farm for some years, later engaging in mer- chandising at North Bloomfield, being practically the founder of that town. In 1854 he returned to his farm in Grass valley, which was his home until he died in 1891. His first wife, who had borne him two sons and three daughters, died in 1830 and he was married again in 1832 to Miss Catherine Cam- eron, who had nine children, of whom the Judge was the third.

The duties and responsibilities of his father's large agricultural business, and the insight into public affairs which he obtained in the office where court was periodically held, gave Mr. Taylor an

early mental development and preparation for his life's work, aiding materially the preliminary educa- tion he received from the limited school facilities of the day. So that when his father, on the occasion of his first trip to California, left him at the age of fifteen in charge of the plantation and some forty slaves, he was able to carry on the business with the skill and success of a veteran, and when his father returned after an absence of more than a year he expressed his gratification, remarking that he could scarcely have found an overseer in the state who would have done so well. The Judge accompanied his father on his return across the plains to California, arriving in Nevada county in September, 1853. Soon thereafter he engaged in placer mining and was very successful. Three years later he sought once more his old home in Missis- sippi and for the next three was a student at the State University, from which he would have been graduated had not his eyes given way under the excessive strain to which they were subjected. Leaving the university he went back to California, and after some rest entered the law office of McConnell & Gauber in Nevada City, and, pursuing the study of the law with as much diligence as his eyes would permit, he was admitted to the bar in 1861 and began at once the practice of his profes- sion. He continued legal practice in California un- til 1884 when he changed his residence to Portland, Ore. Here for three years he was city attorney of East Portland and a partner of J. Todd Bingham, a nephew of Hon. John A. Bingham, United States attorney-general in one of President Grant's cab- inets.

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 169

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