Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 174

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 174

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C 'HARLES E. CONRAD .- The clash of re- sounding arms and the pomp of martial array are the methods used in acquiring popular fame, but true distinction in the busy world of affairs is won by patient and persistent industry and active

and honorable dealing. The record of a life well spent, of triumphs over obstacles, of perseverance in the face of opposing circumstances and of per- sistent advancement from moderate beginnings to affluence and distinction, present to young men, with their future awaiting them, an example wor- thy of emulation. Such a life is that of the distin- guished business man and prominent citizen whose career is here but briefly outlined. Charles E. Conrad is distinctly one of the foremost busi- ness men of Montana and as a member of the largest and most important commercial and indus- trial firm in the west has achieved a reputation al- most national. It is familiarly known in every western state and territory, and its rise and re- markable achievements form an exceedingly in- teresting and important chapter in the history of this great region. He is a son of James W. and Maria S. (Ashby) Conrad, and the younger brother of Hon. William G. Conrad, and was born on May 20, 1850, in Warren county, Va. He de- scends from old Colonial stock, tracing his family history to an early period of his native common- wealth, his ancestors on both sides having been distinguished in various spheres of life. For a succinct account of his lineage and the parts his immediate and remote progenitors bore in the Old Dominion the reader is referred to the interesting life story of Hon. William G. Conrad elsewhere in this volume.

To the early years passed in a true Virginia home under the tutelage of parents whose high ambition was to implant upon the minds of their offspring such principles as would insure lives of honor and usefulness, Mr. Conrad is indebted for those ster- ling traits of character that have been demon- strated in all the movements that have shown him a capable leader of great enterprises. The stu- dent of biography will have no difficulty in recall- ing many other instances in which proper instruc- tion during the plastic days of youth has left its indelible impress upon some of the most exalted characters known in history. Young Conrad at- tained manhood in close touch with nature, in field, orchard, forest, stream and mountains, and amid such scenes developed that independence of spirit and self-reliance which has been a promi- nent characteristic in his life's work. In the com- mon schools he acquired a practical knowledge of the fundamental branches of education and at the early age of sixteen severed the home ties and went to the state of New York, where for eighteen

lo E Conrad

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months he was a. clerk in a general store. The monotony and narrow limits of this life becoming irksome to his ambitious nature, he resigned his position, and, in 1868, in company with his brother, started west in quest of fortune. From Cincinnati they went to St. Louis, thence by the river route to Fort Benton, reaching their destination in safety after journeying over 4,000 miles. This trip, which presented many difficulties and privations, occupied three months' time, and is remembered by Mr. Conrad as one of the interesting ex- periences of his life. At Fort Benton the brothers entered the large mercantile establishment of I. G. Baker & Brother as clerks, continuing in that capacity until purchasing the interest of Geo. A. Baker, the junior partner, four years later. The business was continued four years longer as I. G. Baker & Co., when the brothers became its sole proprietors. How the enterprise continued to ex- pand in magnitude and importance, extending farther and farther into the states and territories of the northwest and also the British possessions un- til its ramifications reached nearly every part of the northern Pacific region, by largely controlling its business and financial interests, is told in the sketch of the elder brother. The brothers are yet partners, mutually interested in far-reaching lines of business, banking, cattleraising, merchandising, manufacturing and real estate enterprises, their personalities touching nearly everything of an in- dustrial nature in the great west.

In the management of his department of this immense business Charles E. Conrad has demon- strated a rare executive ability. He possesses a remarkable soundness of judgment, far-reaching sagacity, and a remarkable ability to mold circum- stances to his purposes and the power to create opportunities where they do not exist. He has a capacity for large undertakings and is splendidly endowed with those practical and substantial quali- ties which enter into successful leadership and financiering, looking searchingly and compre- hensively into the nature and probable results of all enterprises to which he addresses himself. In- defatigable and with earnestness of purpose, he easily superintends undertakings before which the man of ordinary business caliber would shrink in confusion, and, when he once addresses himself to an enterprise, he never hesitates until it is pushed to successful conclusion.

It is eminently fitting to here pay a tribute to Mr. Conrad's private record which will be readily

endorsed by all who have come in touch with him in business or socially. He is one of the most genial and companionable of men, accessible alike to rich and poor, meeting all in a truly democratic spirit. Generous to a fault, his hand is ever ready to contribute to worthy and benevolent ob- jects, the recital of misfortune never failing to en- list his sympathy and gain his prompt assistance. He is entirely without pretense, and utterly devoid of that supercilious spirit which some in his posi- tion would take delight in exhibiting. He be- lieves that religion is a matter of conscience, and therefore not to be interfered with and that poli- tics is a matter of principle, upon which the wisest may honestly differ. · As a citizen he is popular with all classes and in all relations of life he is an upright, honorable, broad-minded man who aims to do his whole duty and make his life conform to the right as he sees and understands it. Mr. Con- rad is an unswerving Democrat and has been and is a forceful factor in his party. He was a mem- ber of the convention that framed the present con- stitution of Montana, and took a distinctive part in its deliberations, acting prominently for his par- ty's interests. He has absolutely no political aspi- rations, and never allows his name to be used as a candidate for office, preferring private citizenship to public distinction. He is a member of the Ma- sonic brotherhood, holding membership in the Kalispell Lodge. On January 4, 1881, Mr. Con- rad wedded Miss Alicia P. Stanford, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, a daughter of James Stanford. Three children, Charles D., Catherine and Alicia, are the fruits of their marriage. The oldest, a young man of nineteen, is prosecuting his studies at Phillips Andover Academy, in Massachusetts; Catherine, a bright miss of sixteen summers, is attending the cultured schools of Boston, and the youngest, now in her tenth year, is the sunshine of the home cir- cle. To see Mr. Conrad at his best it is necessary to meet him in the family circle where his easy dignity, generous hospitality and cordial manners show him the true gentleman.

JOHN T. HEMPSTEAD .- Among the pioneers of Montana few have lived more closely to the strenuous life of the frontier than Mr. Hemp- stead, now one of the extensive stockgrowers of Powell county. He has been identified with the industrial activities of this section of the Union

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from the early days when he endured the mani- fold vicissitudes and encountered his quota of the dangers of the formative epoch of Montana. In any work purporting to accord recognition to the representative men of the state specific mention should be made of him. He was born on March 18, 1846, in St. Charles county, Mo., the son of Frank and Elizabeth (Moore) Hempstead, who were born in Maryland, where they attained ma- turity and their marriage was solemnized. In

an early day they emigrated to what was then the far west, locating in St. Charles county, Mo., where the father engaged in farming and stockraising until his death in 1847, his widow surviving until the latter part of 1861. Of their eight children, five are supposed to be now living, John T. Hemp- stead being the youngest of the family and only a year old at the time of his father's death.

John. T. Hempstead was reared amid the sturdy labors of the farm on the old homestead in Mis- souri, and his early educational advantages were limited, owing to the exigencies of time and place. During the Civil war and at the age of sixteen years he became a drummer boy for three months in a regiment of home guards, organized and com- manded by Col. Krakel for the protection of the railroads of that section. After his discharge as a drummer he endeavored to enlist in another regiment, but the recruiting officers refused to accept him, by reason of physical disability. He, however, became a teamster for the government in Missouri and Arkansas until the close of the war, being stationed at Fort Smith and Fort Scott and having his headquarters at Fort Smith, Ark., for three years. Henry Hempstead, a brother and about ten years older, left home at the same time going east to enlist in the Union ranks, and no trace of him has ever since been found. The supposition is that he met death in the service of his country.

After the war Mr. Hempstead proceeded from Fort Smith to Fort Scott and thence to Fort Leavenworth, Kan., where he joined Hugh Kirk- endall's freighting outfit and drove a mule team across the plains to Helena, Mont. They left Fort Leavenworth in May, 1866, and reached their destination in August of that year. At this time Reno was on the plains with his troops, and the new route of Bozeman and Bridger had but recently been established, and while making the trip by this route their company had some thrill- ing adventures in fighting the Indians away from

the corrals, the wily savages making numerous attempts to capture their horses and mules. Mr. Hempstead, our subject, after a short time passed in Helena, devoted a year to mining operations at Homestake, near Pipestone, in the Jefferson valley, about twelve miles above Jefferson Bridge, where one Miller conducted a small store, carrying gen- eral supplies. During the winter of 1866-7, while thus located in his lonely cabin at Homestake, Mr. Hempstead had some rough experiences in fron- tier life, as he had no money and had exhausted his credit at the little store mentioned. He had there purchased such supplies as were absolutely necessary, paying $24 for 100 pounds of flour and packing this on his back to his cabin twelve miles distant. His resources were now so reduced that he was unable to secure more flour, save in very diminutive quantities. He thus learned in a most practical way that even the so-called necessities of life are not absolutely necessary, for he lived the greater portion of the winter with only rabbits and occasionally a little flour for his diet. His cabin was near the top of the Rocky Mountain divide, and much of the time the snow was so deep that it was impossible for him to sally forth in quest of even the rabbits. He waited his time and at last shot one of the little animals from his cabin, and then would roll himself along over the snow until he could secure his game and thus ward off starvation.

In the spring of 1869 gold was discovered in Little Dry gulch, tributary to Homestake and dry the greater portion of the time, so that water had to be brought in to carry on the placer mining. Mr. Hempstead and three others located claims in this gulch, and his was the only one that proved a paying proposition. He generously divided it with the three other men, William McDonough, William Cooper and a so-called John Britt, and they worked the claim successfully during that season, cleaning up with good profits. Mr. Hemp- stead passed a part of the next winter in Helena, then for two and one-half years drove a team in a freighting outfit owned by John T. Murphy. Succeeding this, Mr. Hempstead associated him- self with William McDonough, Thomas Closeau and Philip DeRouche in placer mining in Last Chance gulch. They purchased a claim which soon developed great richness, and worked it dur- ing the winter of 1870-71. This claim was lo- cated on what is now Bridge street, in the city of Helena, and in August of 1871, on account

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of litigation as to its ownership, they were com- pelled to abandon it, but during the time they did work it they developed very rich ore. From the summer of 1871 until the spring of 1875 Mr. Hempstead was employed by the Rock Creek Ditch Company, and assisted in building the dam on Rock Creek lake, about sixteen miles northwest of Deer Lodge, and thereafter was employed in measuring the water for the miners.

During the summer of 1875 Mr. Hempstead had an interest in a placer claim on Elk creek which did not yield appreciable returns. In the fall of that year he and Patrick Boyle purchased a ranch of 160 acres, located just north of the postoffice of Racetrack, in what is now Powell county, and they also bought 750 sheep. Thus commenced the extensive stock business now con- ducted by Hempstead & Boyle, which has been since maintained with mutual satisfaction and profit, the enterprise having largely developed and being conducted with marked ability and success. From the start Mr. Hempstead has devoted his attention to live stock, principally sheep, and the firm now owns 680 acres of fine hay land, lying along the Deer Lodge river and including the bottom and bench lands, and they also own 3,500 acres of grazing land. At the time of this writ- ing they have 4,000 sheep on their ranch, 100 head of cattle and twenty horses. Mr. Hempstead strongly holds to the principles of the Republican party, but while he takes public-spirited interest in the prosperity and progress of his county and state, he has never been an aspirant for political preferment. On March 25, 1879, Mr. Hempstead wedded Miss Mary Peterson, who was born in Utah, the daughter of Nels and Christina (Olson) Peterson, natives of Denmark, whence they emi- grated to Utah and later came to Montana as early settlers of that part of Deer Lodge county now included in Powell. They now reside on a valuable ranch five miles east of Deer Lodge, being folk of sterling character and held in high regard. Of the eight children of Mr. and Mrs. Hempstead three died in infancy, the names of the survivors being Annie, John, Mary, Austin and Joseph.

H T. HOADLEY, of Basin, Jefferson county, is the assistant secretary of the Basin and Bay State Mining Company. He is pre-eminently a man of affairs and a western pioneer, having

gone to the Pacific coast soon after the Civil war, in which he took an honorable part. He was born at Naugatuck, New Haven county, Conn., in September, 1844, the son of George H. and Fannie M. (Twitchell) Hoadley, both na- tives of Naugatuck. George H. Hoadley was a carriage maker, and later became master me- chanic of the Goodyear Rubber Company, and was intimately acquainted with the eminent Charles Goodyear, the noted inventor of the wonderful pro- cess of preparing rubber which brought him wealth and fame. Both the emigrant Twitchell and Hoadley families came from England to Con- necticut in its early days as a colony.

H. T. Hoadley was educated in the Connecticut schools and in 1862, while yet a schoolboy, patri- otically enlisted in Company H, Fifteenth Connect- icut Infantry, and served with distinction under Gen. Burnside at Fredericksburg, and was in a number of less important engagements. During the yellow fever epidemic he was on provost duty in Virginia and North Carolina. On March 8, 1865, he was captured in one of the fierce battles in North Carolina that marked the closing strug- gles of the Confederacy, where his regiment lost a large number in killed and wounded. Young Hoadley was sent to Salisbury prison and later transferred to the horrors of Libby prison at Richmond. Subsequently he was exchanged as a prisoner of war and owing to disability resulting from a severe wound which he had received, was mustered out of the service, June 4, 1865, having at the time the rank of orderly sergeant and one month later his company was mustered out.

On his recovery from his wound Mr. Hoadley removed to New York city and engaged in the silverware business, remaining there until 1869. In that year, at the age of twenty-five, he came west, Nevada being his first location. Here he was employed by various smelting and mining companies, and here he acquired a general knowl- edge of banking. He remained in Nevada until 1888, when he went to San Francisco, where he became associated with the Market Street Rail- way Company, with which he remained three years until 1891. He then went to Spokane, Wash., in the interests of the Brown National Bank. In the spring of 1894 he entered the service of the Montana Ore Purchasing Company, of Butte, continuing there until he accepted his present position with the Basin and Bay State Mining Company as assistant secretary, with headquarters

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at Basin, his present residence. In April, 1874, at Salt Lake City, Mr. Hoadley was united in marriage with Miss M. Jennie Mason, a native of Brooklyn, N. Y. They have two children, George Willoughby, one of the managers of Coop- er's stationery store, in San Francisco, and Her- man M., employed in the Crocker-Woolworth National Bank. Mr. Hoadley is a loyal and active member of the Grand Army of the Republic, a progressive man in all senses of the word, and highly esteemed among a large circle of friends and acquaintances. Though but a few years in the state he has made for himself an enviable posi- tion among its leading business men.

A RTHUR J. HILLS occupies a prominent posi- tion in connection with the business activities · of Great Falls, where he has his headquarters as agent for the Continental Oil Company, his ter- ritory comprising the counties of Cascade, Fer- gus and Teton. Mr. Hills was born in the par- ish of Swaffham Prior, Cambridgeshire, on April 24, 1867. His father, Carter Hills, was born in Burwell, England, in 1841, and followed his trade as a master blacksmith until his death in 1890. He was a son of George Hills, likewise a master blacksmith, who was born and reared in the same parish, and where he died in 1877. The maiden name of his wife was Caroline Brand, and she was born at Elmdon, Essex, England, in 1841, her parents also being natives of the same parish, where they passed their lives, the father being a farmer. She now maintains her home at Ham- mersmith, on the Thames, four miles west of London.

Arthur J. Hills received his education in the parish schools, and in the national school at Swaff- ham Bulbeck, graduating in the class of 1883. He went to London, where he was for two years salesman in the commission house of Payne-Walk- den & Co., and later was with the commission house of Prince & Sons, in the same city. In 1887 Mr. Hills came to America, locating first at Aurora, Ill., where he passed eight months on the stock farm of George E. Brown & Co., and for one year was with Charles Neinstedt, an extensive stockgrower at Rudd, Iowa. In 1889 he came to Montana, locating in Helena, where he entered the employ of the Continental Oil Company, he and his brother having charge of its warehouse in the

capital city. He thus continued until 1896, when he came to Great Falls as agent for the same extensive corporation.

The company has a fireproof building on Eighth avenue and Second street, and the business con- trolled by Mr. Hills is extensive in its ramifi- cations. He is recognized as one of the alert and enterprising young business men of the city, and is esteemed in both commercial and social cir- cles. He supports the Republican party, but has taken no active part in its affairs. Hr. Hills is prominently identified with the Knights of Pythias, being time-keeper of the records and seal of Prog- ress lodge, of Great Falls, where he is a member of the grand lodge of the order in the state. He also holds membership in the Woodmen of the World. In January, 1895, in Helena, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hills to Miss Jeanette Beaupre, of Sauk Rapids, Minn., of French origin and the daughter of Philip and Theresa Beaupre, the former of whom was a farmer and a sheriff of Stearns county, Minn. Mr. and Mrs. Hills have two children, Philip and Evelyn.

SAMUEL HOBBS, who came to Montana ten years prior to its admission into the Union, is at present located near Bozeman, on Middle creek, Gallatin county, on a handsome ranch, supplied with every convenience necessary for the profit- able prosecution of business. There is no family more prominent in the country than that of the Hobbs; their advent in New England dates from the middle of the eighteenth century, when they came from England. Samuel Hobbs was born in Rutland, Vt., on November 30, 1826. He is the son of Samuel and Carry Hobbs, natives of Rutland, but the paternal grandfather, also Sam- uel Hobbs, was a native of England. Both the father and grandfather were blacksmiths in Rut- land for many years.

Samuel Hobbs, now of Montana, attended the schools of Vermont until 1844, removed to Bos- ton at the age of eighteen and engaged in draying until 1847, when he returned to Rutland and began to learn the carriagemaking trade, when he had just attained his majority. In this business he remained eight years, until 1855, when he de- cided to go west to the Lake Superior district, where he was associated with the Fairbanks Com- pany, then engaged in prospecting for timber and

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mineral lands. With this company Mr. Hobbs remained one season, returned to Vermont and resumed business at his trade. In the spring of 1856 he again went to Wisconsin and worked at carriagemaking for three years. Taking his fanı- ily to Boston he organized a line of drays in that city, which he conducted until 1863. Then going to California by the Panama route, Mr. Hobbs there engaged in farming until 1879, when he came to Montana and followed the same business, but added to it a sawmill which he operated suc- cessfully. In 1883 he purchased from George Nichols 160 acres of land near Middle creek, on Dry creek, Gallatin county, and here he has since been profitably engaged in ranching, wheat, barley and oats being his principal crops. The ranch is supplied with an unexcelled system of irriga- tion.

On January 10, 1857, Mr. Hobbs married Miss Cornelia Davis, of Saratoga Springs, N. Y. Reu- ben and Lenora were the children of this marriage, the mother passing away in 1868. His second marriage occurred August 1, 1870, when he wedded Miss Emeline Melina Gates, a native of Missouri, who died in March, 1893, without issue. His third marriage was in May, 1900, to Mrs. Emeline Green, of Kansas, the mother of two children (Harvey and Ruth Green) by her first marriage, now residing in Oregon. Mr. Hobbs is highly respected in Gallatin county, where he is well known, and is a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

' ILLIAM HODGSKISS .- After wandering over a great part of the world in a life of interesting adventures and experiences, the sub- ject of this review found a peaceful and satis- factory anchorage in the thriving little town of Choteatı, Mont. He was born in Staffordshire, England, April 12, 1852, where his parents, John and Ursula (Yardley) Hodgskiss, were also born, and after a successful career as small farmers there died, the latter in 1883 and the former in 1898. Our subject attended the public schools in Horton Parish, near his home, until he was fifteen years old, and then worked on his father's farm until he reached the age of twenty-nine, during which time he was for six years a member of Leek Troop, Yeomanry Cavalry. He was lieutenant and

wore badges for marksmanship and swordsman- ship. In 1881 he left the parental rooftree, dear to him from filial associations, and went to Aus- tralia and New Zealand, following in those dis- tant lands his trade of sheep-shearing for a period of six years. He returned home in 1887, and in the spring of 1888 came to the United States, landing at New York city, and from there made a prospecting trip to California, stopping at the principal cities on the way. Arriving on the Pa- cific coast in the summer of 1888 he spent about a year at his trade in California, gradually work- ing his way into Nevada and later to Beaverhead county, Mont. In the fall of 1889 he removed to Choteau, and in 1890 purchased the Choteau Hotel, on Main street, at the same time buying an entire block of adjoining land on which he has since erected buildings which are now rented for business purposes. Among the improvements he has made are an addition to the hotel, a town hall, a large livery stable and a number of dwell- ings in different parts of the town. In addition to his real estate in the town he has a large amount of ranch property. He first bought a farm of 120 acres at Rawlston Gap, seven miles from Choteau, in 1892. Six years later he took up a · homestead claim two miles south of Choteau, to which he has since added 720 acres by purchase ; and in 1898 bought 120 acres on Muddy creek, eight miles from Choteau. All of these ranches are devoted to rearing live stock, in which he is largely interested and eminently successful.

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 174

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