Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 177

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 177

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

EDWARD L. BONNER .- The sudden death of Hon. Edward L. Bonner, which occurred at the city of Missoula, where he resided, on the morning of the Ioth day of July, 1902, was a shock to all the people of the state of Montana.

Few men in the state were better known, and none were respected more highly. Coming to Mon- tana when a young man, and when the territory was practically a wilderness, he has done much to develop its resources, and to build up great in- dustries which have contributed in no small degree to the prosperity of the people. Always an or- ganizer and a planter of great enterprises, his fore- sight and judgment of men were such that he was enabled to surround himself with those who would carry to successful completion the vast schemes which his brain had conceived. His was a busy life, filled with adventure, adorned by achievements far beyond the fortune of most men, and crowned by a success as deserved as it was

splendid and exceptional. He was a progressive man, enterprising, intrepid, undaunted, quick to conceive and swift to execute.

All his life he was an argonaut, a pioneer, break- ing the way for others more timid than himself. This was true of him in mercantile pursuits, as well as in the great lumber and railroad enterprises to which he turned his attention. Essentially, how- ever, Mr. Bonner was a great merchant. He founded the mercantile establishments of Bonner & Welsh, E. L. Bonner & Co., at Deer Lodge, Mont., now the E. L. Bonner Company, incorpor- ated, which is still doing business there under the latter name; E. L. Bonner & Co., which was after- ward merged into the Bonner Mercantile Com- pany, and now the M. J. Connell Company, of Butte City, which is still one of the leading com- mercial houses of that place; the house of Eddy, Hammond & Co., of Missoula, which later was merged into the Missoula Mercantile Company, which has been for many years the largest concern in the northwest and the Montana Improvement Company, afterward merged into the Big Black- foot Milling Company, which was disposed of to the Amalgamated Copper Company. This milling company has supplied the greater portion of the mining timbers used in the mines of Silver Bow county.

Mr. Bonner was a native of the state of New York, where he was born at Orwell, Oswego county, N. Y., on the 18th day of August in the year 1834. He grew to manhood in that state, receiving only a common school education. When a boy, he accepted a clerical position in the original store of Lord & Taylor in New York city, where he remained for some years, and had charge of one of the departments. At the age of twenty-two he determined to seek his fortune on the Pacific coast. Taking a steamer for Panama, he arrived in 1857 at the Dalles, Ore., leaving there he went to Walla Walla, where he made his home until 1867, spending his summers at Bonner's Ferry on the Kootenai. At this time, the territory of Wash- ington included both Idaho and Montana. Later he came to Montana soon after the territory had been organized. He established a ferry on the Kootenai river in Idaho at a point which still bears his name, known as Bonner's' Ferry, and for many years no man has been better known from the headwaters of the Missouri to the mouth of the Columbia. During those days there were few gold stampedes in which he was not a conspicuous figure,

wer

921

PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MONTANA.

but always in a commercial way. He was a man of boundless energy, and he bore a large part in the upbuilding of the commonwealth.

In later life, he turned his attention to railroad building, and in association with others he built considerable portions of the Northern Pacific Rail- road in Montana, including the Bitter Root branch from Missoula to Hamilton, the branch from Drum- mond to Philipsburg, and the Rimini and Red Lodge branches. In the year 1893, when receivers were appointed for the Northern Pacific Railway, Mr. Bonner was one of those appointed to take charge of the operation of the property of the company in Montana.

Mr. Bonner was a man of large wealth. He had made his fortune in Montana, and had invested it here. The enterprises which he originated and in which his estate is still an owner, employ large numbers of men, distribute each month many thous- ands of dollars in wages, and have contributed in the largest measure to the prosperity and well being of Montana. He loved this state and made it his permanent home. Although somewhat withdrawn from active business during recent years, owing 10 failing health, and spending his winters mostly in New York city and in travel, he still retained his interests here, and each summer found him enjoying the ease and comfort of the beautiful home which he maintained in the city of Missoula. This hand- some city, the metropolis of western Montana, and beyond question the most beautiful city of the entire state, owes its growth and present prosperity largely to business concerns which he founded, and business blocks built by his enterprise and public spirit. He has seen it grow from a straggling vil- lage to its present proportions, and has ever taken peculiar pride and pleasure in the city of his resi- dence.

Perhaps the most striking characteristic of Mr. Bonner was his unerring judgment of men. He seldom made a mistake in that respect. He seemed to read men by a sort of intuition, and having once associated himself with them in business, he gave to them the most unbounded confidence and the most loyal support. It may be said of him that he never, under any possible circumstances, de- serted a friend. The almost unparalleled successes of all his business ventures, whether at Deer Lodge, Butte City, Bonner, or Missoula, where he left the details of management almost entirely in the hands of his associates, attest the unfailing shrewdness and accuracy of his judgment. This characteristic

of his mind was a rare gift. In this respect he bore a striking resemblance to Andrew Carnegie, and had the circumstances of his life left him at the east to work out his ambition there it is not improbable that his strong and organizing mind, combined with his extraordinary judgment of men, might have resulted in a much larger measure of success than that which he achieved amid his western environment. In every respect Mr. Bonner was a remarkable man. Quiet and modest, even gentle in his manner and habits of speech, there was a reserve power, a force and strength of char- acter which made itself felt by all who came in contact with him. He was a strong man, a man who planned large enterprises, and left the details to be worked out and carried into execution by other men. His was the inception. He was the archi- tect. In his brain the magnificent structure took form. His name will not soon be forgotten, but long years after he has gone the enterprises which owe their origin to his thought will continue to benefit mankind. Hundreds of men today owe their fortunes to his great qualities of head and heart.

Politically, he was in recent years a member of the Republican party. He was active and foremost in the advocacy of every legitimate measure for the promotion of the principles of that party, believing that they were for the best interests of his coun- try and his state. He was, however, tolerant of others, and some of his warmest personal friends were among the leaders of the opposite party. He was never an office seeker, desiring nothing for himself. While his name was often mentioned as a candidate for governor of the state, and for United States senator, either of which positions he would have filled with honor, he always declined political preferment, finding his pleasure in placing others in positions of public trust rather than in serving himself. But for many years he had been · deeply interested in national politics, and at the time of his death was the member of the Republi- can national committee from Montana.

Fraternally, Mr. Bonner was a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, to which he was much attached, and he was buried under the auspices of Missoula (Hellgate) Lodge No. 383. The cardinal principles of that order, "Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love and Fidelity," he often mentioned as the highest influences, according to his view, that could govern the life of the individual.

On the 27th day of January, in the year 1865. at the city of Walla Walla, Wash .. Mr. Bonner was

922

PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MONTANA.

united in marriage to Miss Carrie S. Kenyon, daughter of Mr. Derrick S. Kenyon, one of the prominent residents of that city. Their home life has been almost an ideal one. To their union have been born five children, two having died in infancy, Charles, who passed away at Dubuque, state of Iowa, on the 28th day of March, 1902, aged thirty- four years. The two daughters, Miss Lenita J. and Miss Bessie A., are residing at home with their mother in the family mansion at the city of Mis- soula. Mr. Bonner was a kindly and affectionate man, home-loving in his tastes, and was devoted to his family. On all his travels, which during recent years have been very extensive, he was invariably accompanied by his wife and daughters. He was very hospitable in his disposition, and nothing af- forded him more pleasure than to gather his friends and the members of his family about him in his pala- tial home and dispense the generous and gracious cheer for which he was noted.

Mr. Bonner was a liberal man, as broad in his sympathies as in his business plans and views of life. No cause that was worthy, no individual who was deserving, ever went away with empty hand. He gave and said nothing. No one ever heard any mention of his many benefactions. He thought nothing of it; it was merely the generous expres- sion of his kindly nature. Thousands whom he helped by the generous use of money, and thous- ands more whose lives he cheered by helpful word or friendly pressure of the hand, mourn his death as a personal loss. Out of his abundance he gave to those in need. Out of his wealth of heart and gracious charity he gave to every soul that hungered and despaired. His was a useful life, filled with good deeds. To many a man when hope was failing came his word of helpfulness. To many a man he has gone unsolicitated and made the offer of financial assistance to bridge over the tide of misfortune, and many of these people are now . living to mourn his loss.

Such a man was Edward L. Bonner. His name will live in the affectionate memory of thousands whom he knew and helped in life, and it will be honored by all the people of the state of Montana.

SILAS S. HUN "LEY .- In an editorial a lead- ing daily of the state capital referred to the death of Silas S. Huntley as a "public loss." Mr. Huntley had to do with affairs of great scope and

importance, and his life has a value in its every transition. The Montana Daily Record of Sep- tember 12, 1901, said : "In the death of Mr. Hunt- ley one of the picturesque types of the Montana pioneer has been removed. His genius for the promotion and successful management of great western enterprises was recognized throughout the broad west years before the iron horse entered as a factor in the vast transportation business of the Pacific coast." When we state that Mr. Hunt- ley and his associates established and controlled every original stage line in Montana, some idea may be formed of the extent and importance of his business operations; but, above all this was the personality of the man, who "stood four-square to every wind that blows," and won the abiding friendship and regard of all with whom he came in contact, by the integrity and loyalty of his char- acter, by his sympathetic and genial nature and by his inflexible honesty. He was a distinct man, a true man, and none is more worthy of a tribute of honor. Such lives as his offer both lesson and incentive.

Silas S. Huntley was born in Ellicottville, Cat- taraugus county, N. Y., May 2, 1831, the son of Daniel Huntley, who was a native of New York and married a Miss Hawkins, of New England. Both represented old families of the early epoch in our national history. Daniel Huntley occupied a high position in the community, owned much real estate, and in his church, the Episcopal, held the office of senior warden. His wife was, how- ever, a Presbyterian. This worthy couple lived useful lives and both died at their New York home. Their son Silas was a student at Springville ·Academy when the dark cloud of civil war rose from the national horizon. Ever responsive to the call of duty, the young man abandoned his studies to participate in the greatest internecine strife in history, enlisting in the Thirty-seventh New York Volunteer Infantry. He was rapidly promoted, served on the staffs of Gens. Berry and Kearney, and was with each of these officers when he was killed. He was in service in the first and second battles of Bull Run, the conflict at Will- iamsburg, the sanguinary Seven Days' fight, and other early battles of the contest. At the close of the war he was mustered out of service, a valiant and loyal veteran, and returned to New York.

In 1867 Mr. Huntley came up the Missouri river to Montana, and here his initiative and progressive spirit was soon in evidence. He or-

923

PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MONTANA.

ganized the stage lines between Helena and Fort Benton, from Helena to Diamond City, Lincoln, Virginia City and Bannack, also from Helena to Fort Abercrombie, and those between Missoula and Walla Walla, Wash .; Virginia City to Bozeman, and from Bozeman and Helena to Tongue river. He and his cousin, Charles C. Huntley, and Brad- ley Barlow, then president of the Vermont Central Railroad, controlled all stage lines in Montana save that from Helena to Salt Lake City, and held all mail contracts over the great stage lines of the west, the longest being between St. Louis and Walla Walla via Boise, Idaho. The stage line be- tween Missoula and Walla Walla was sublet to Senator W. A. Clark, and through its successful operation was created the nucleus of his immense fortune. The most important line in both pas- senger and freight business was the old Shasta stage line, which handled all travel between Ore- gon and California. These partners originated every stage line in Montana and controlled an im- mense business until the expiration of their mail contracts, when occurred the failure of Mr. Bar- low, entailing great financial loss to the Messrs. Huntley. They were then making arrangements with the Emperor of Brazil to operate stage lines in that South American empire, but abandoned this project after their losses.

Mr. Huntley retired from the stage business in 1878, and in company with P. B. Clark, now of Helena, engaged in raising standard-bred horses near Toston, Meagher county. The Huntley and Clark ranch soon became famous for its fine grade of horses, and a number of them soon made con- spicuous records on the turf in the east. When the depreciation of the horse market came, Mr. Huntley directed his great energies and executive abilities into other channels of enterprise, though he still retained his ranch property. In 1891 he became the organizer and manager of the Yellow- stone Park Transportation Company, which lie conducted until his death. He advanced this en- terprise to the important position it now holds, that of providing transportation and other accom- modations for the greater portion of the tourist business in this spendid "Wonderland." Early in 1901 this company acquired from the Northern Pacific Railroad all its hotels in the park and con- ducted them in connection with the transportation business.

In politics Mr. Huntley was from the first a Re- publican, deeply attached to the principles of his

party, and believing in the beneficence of their ap- plication in the government of his country. He was a faithful follower of President Mckinley, with whom his personal relations were intimate and tender, so much so, in fact, that the violent death of the President profoundly affected Mr. Huntley, it being to him a keen personal bereave- ment. He was also warmly interested in his sol- dier comrades, being a zealous member of Wads- worth Post No. 2, G. A. R., at Helena, and also of the Loyal Legion. Some twenty years before his death Mr. Huntley was united in marriage with Anna Dean, who was born in Madison, Wis., a daughter of Simeon and Ellen (Watson) Dean. Simeon Dean belonged to the prominent Dean family of Massachusetts, where he was himself born. Ellen Watson Dean was a native of New Hampshire. The eminent ancestors of both came from England.

Mr. Huntley's executive ability was almost phe- nomenal, and his name is indissolubly connected with Montana history from early pioneer days un- til death placed its seal upon his brow. He was well known and honored by many eminent public men of the nation, had a wide acquaintance in the national capital and counted among his intimate friends such men as Whitelaw Reid and Murat Halstead. His last illness was of brief duration, and his life ended at his cottage, at Mammoth Hot Springs, in the Yellowstone National Park, on September 11, 1901, from whence his remains were brought to Helena for interment. His death came as a personal bereavement to his hosts of old-time friends in Montana who deeply appreci- ated his noble and useful life. He had to an emi- nent degree the quality of making steadfast friends, and the memory of his life rests as a benediction on those nearest and dearest to him.

Į UDSON WARD HUSE .- At the opening of the twentieth century we find, to a greater ex- tent than ever before in the history of the world, that the young man is a dominating factor in all fields of human activity. This is peculiarly true of America, where cognizance is taken of ability and no depreciation is made on the score of youth. Given a province in which to manifest his power, the young man has not failed, and his influence is a most potent one. Recognized as one of the rep- resentative young business men of Fort Benton,

924

PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MONTANA.

Mr. Huse is prominently concerned in industrial undertakings of importance in connection with the natural and acquired resources of the vigorous young state of Montana. Through his own efforts he has advanced step by step, and has not flagged in energy. Such men lend vitality and strength to the state, and upon them her future in large meas- ure depends. Mr. Huse is primarily the general manager of the local interests at Fort Benton of the well-known firm of T. C. Power & Brother, whose operations rank among the most important business concerns in this section of the Union, their operations including mercantile, banking, stockgrowing and other industries, with headquar- ters maintained in various towns and cities throughout the state.

Mr. Huse is a native of Michigan, having been born in the beautiful little river city of St. Clair, October 10, 1869, the son of Charles B. and Helen Huse, the latter being the daughter of Judson Woodbury, who was born in Illinois. Charles B. Huse was born in New Hampshire, whence he re- moved to Michigan, locating in St. Clair. He was for many years a sailor on the great lakes, and was well known in maritime circles. Our subject re- ceived his educational training in the public schools of his native town, and at the age of seven- teen years, April 1, 1886, went to the lumbering town of Oscoda, located at the mouth of the Au Sable river, in Iosco county, Mich., where he en- tered the employ of Pack, Woods & Co. as a porter, one of the most extensive lumbering firms in the state, with whom he remained until July I, 1890, having advanced through faithful and capa- ble service to the position of bookkeeper. He then accepted a position as bookkeeper and salesman in the great wholesale grocery establishment of Sprague, Warner & Co., of Chicago, where he re- mained until April 1, 1892, when he came to Mon- tana and entered the employ of T. C. Power & Brother as bookkeeper in their office at Lewis- town. On January 1, 1893, Mr. Huse was trans- ferred to the firm's main offices at Fort Benton, in the capacity of bookkeeper, and in May, 1898, he was advanced to the responsible position of manager, in which capacity he is still retained. He is also personally engaged in sheep and cattle raising, is a stockholder of the Benton Sheep Company, one of the most extensive establish- ments in the state, and of which he is secretary and treasurer. His executive ability is pro- nounced, and his capacity for the handling of man-

ifold details and the management of large interests has been put to practical test and never found wanting, which assures still farther progress in le- gitimate industrial activities.

In politics Mr. Huse gives support to the prin- ciples of the Republican party, in whose ranks he has been an active worker since coming to Mon- tana. He was called upon to serve as secretary of the Republican state convention in the fall of 1900, and discharged his duties with characteristic ability and efficiency. He is always ready to lend his influence and aid to any enterprise or project tending to conserve the interests of his town and state, and is held in the highest esteem in local business circles. Fraternally he holds member- ship in Helena Lodge No. 193, B. O. P. E., and in Benton Lodge No. 25, A. F. & A. M. On Sep- tember II, 1895, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Huse to Miss Fay Aline Turner, daughter of the late Dr. N. E. Turner, one of the eminent mem- bers of the medical fraternity in the state. Of this union one child has been born, Irene F., a win- some lassie, whose life began on March 29, 1897. Mr. Huse was reared in the Protestant Episcopal church, at the services of which he is a regular attendant, though not a communicant. He and his wife occupy a prominent position in the social circles of Fort Benton, and their pleasant home is a center of refined hospitality.

G EORGE E. HUY .- Born and reared in the great Empire state, spending a few years in her imperial city, removing to the west in his young manhood and stopping for a period in Min- nesota, sawing lumber on the site of Minneapolis for homes wherein to house the growing popula- tion, rafting the logs for his business down the river himself, serving the people of the county in a civil capacity and aiding in developing their ma- terial interests for more than a quarter of a cen- tury, then moving westward with the tide of emi- gration, which in this country never stops, and finding at last a permanent home at Great Falls, George E. Huy has seen many phases of American life, and profited by the lessons of his extensive and varied experience. He was born in Steuben county, N. Y., on December 19, 1819, the son of John and Susan (Minier) Huy, both Pennsyl- vanians, who were taken to New York by their parents in early life. The paternal grandfather,

PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MONTANA.

Abram Huy, was a rich landholder of Pennsyl- vania, owning the ground on which stands the city of Harrisburg. The father was a prosperous farmer of Steuben county, where both he and his wife passed their lives. He was killed by a rail- road train.

Mr. Huy was reared in New York and educated in its primitive country schools. After passing his youth and some years of his manhood on a farm, he was in business for two years in New York city. In 1851 he determined to come west, and left at once for Minnesota. He went first to the Winnebago Indian agency at Long Prairie, Minn., where he was employed by A. M. Fridley, the agent, with whom he remained one year and then returned to New York. The following year he came again to Minnesota, and to the site of Min- neapolis, and engaged in rafting logs down the Mis- sissippi and manufacturing them into lumber. This he continued very profitably for two years, and made himself so strong in the community that he was elected register of deeds for the county, and held the office for four years. He then became part owner in the Minneapolis Mill Company, which built the river dam in 1857, and was occupied with its affairs until the Civil war. In 1865 he engaged with others in building and running the large stone planing mill still in operation at Minneapolis, and later built the Dakota flouring mill, which he operated for a number of years, residing in Min- neapolis until 1879, when he went to the Black Hills and operated a stamp mill at Central City, selling his interest after a few years' successful operation.

Mr. Huy first appeared as a resident of Montana in 1884, when he located at Great Falls, taking up a claim which is now within the city limits and which he has platted as Huy's addition. He is one of the fortunate men in America who expected to quietly enjoy a rural home and soon found an unexpected city growing up around them.

Mr. Huy was early married to Miss Mary E. Ticknor, a native of Connecticut. They had one daughter, who is now the mother of a prosperous family at Deadwood, S. D. Mrs. Huy died after a few years of wedded life and in 1858 he married with Miss Coralene Taylor, a native of Painesville, Ohio. They have five sons, all now in profitable vocations, and showing that they have inherited the admirable business traits of their sire. George T. is the general western freight agent of the Wis- consin Central Railroad; Frank is mining near

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 177

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