Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 22

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 22

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On February 14, 1879, Gov. White was united in married to Miss Elizabeth Davis, who was born in England, the daughter of Hon. Emrys J. Davis, a prominent and influential citizen of Idaho and a member of the legislature of that state, now de- ceased. Mr. and Mrs. White became the parents of four children, all of whom were born in Dillon : Carrie is with her parents at Dillon; Emrys is at- tending school at Faribault, Minn .; Ralph is also at school at Faribault ; and Greta is at home. The Governor and the members of his family are com- municants of the Protestant Episcopal church, be- ing. prominent in the parish work of St. James church, of Dillon.

ANIEL P. CLONINGER .- The beautiful Gailatin valley is one of the garden spots of Montana, and among the enterprising and highly esteemed farmers of this favored section is num- bered the gentleman whose name initiates this re- view. Mr. Cloninger is a native of Madison county, Mo., where he was born December 17, 1857, being one of ten children born to Lawson and Catherine (Ryan) Cloninger, natives of North Carolina, as

was also the father of each. Lawson Cloninger re- moved to Missouri after his marriage and there engaged in agricultural pursuits. He devoted some attention to teaching school during his earlier years in Madison county. He is a man of promi- nence in his section, having served as district judge and also as assessor of the county. He still main- tains his home in Madison county, being seventy- six years of age at the time of this writing. The mother of our subject also is living.

Daniel P. Cloninger, our subject, received his early education in the public schools, growing up under the invigorating environments of the farm and under the influences of a cultured and refined home. He devoted his attention to farming in Missouri until 1891, when he sold his personal ef- fects, but retained his real estate interests and in that year came to Montana, first locating on the Coley ranch on West Gallatin river, where he re- mained three years. He then returned to Mis- souri, disposed of his real estate, and after a visit of several months returned to Montana, leasing the Menifee ranch on Middle creek, Gallatin county, which he operated for two years, and then pur- chased the Brady ranch, located in Cedar View, seven miles north of Belgrade, his postoffice ad- dress, which is his present home. Here he has 360 acres of arable and prolific land, a large proportion of which is under effective irrigation. He controls a water-right of 300 inches, his principal crop being oats, the yield of which is large. Mr. Cloninger also gives con- siderable attention to diversified farming. Since locating upon his ranch Mr. Cloninger has made many improvements, is known as one of the enter- prising and public-spirited citizens of the commun- ity, commanding the respect of all who know him. In politics he exercises his franchise in support of the principles of the Democratic party. He served as school director while a resident of Mis- souri, and has also been called to a similar position since taking up his abode in Gallatin county.

On Christmas day, 1878, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Cloninger to Miss Talitha A. Lue- allen, who was born in Madison county, Mo., the daughter of William C. and Sarah (Stevens) Lueal- len, natives respectively of Tennessee and Mis- souri. Mr. and Mrs. Cloninger were the parents of the following children : Henry L. married Miss Lizzie Ballard, and resides on a ranch three miles north of Belgrade; William and Minnie are at the parental home; Lawson is deceased; John is at

PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MONTANA.

home; Ida Elizabeth is deceased, and Ernest is at the homestead. Our subject and his wife are devoted members and zealous workers in the Baptist church, and are held in the highest esteem in the community.

TILLIAM M. COCKRILL, of Great Falls, Mont., has the honor of having been the first clerk of the Fourth, now the Eighth judicial dis- trict of the state. He is now one of the leading at- torneys of Great Falls, having been admitted to practice in 1889. One of the prominent pioneers and leading landholders of Barren county, Ky., was Joseph Cockrill, paternal grandfather of William M., and a Baptist. He had removed from Vir- ginia at an early day to Barren county, where he made his home, reared his family and passed the . residue of his life. He had four sons and two daughters. On the old homestead in Barren county Travis Cockrill, the father of William M., was born in 1822. In Columbia, Boone county, Mo., he was married to Miss Elizabeth Maupin, a native of that state. He brought his bride back to his old home in Glasgow, and for years there- after he was engaged in the practice of law and be- came eminent. He was clerk of the county court for many years and at the time of his death, on October 26, 1868, he was the candidate of the Dem- ocratic party for a prominent position. His widow still survives him, residing in Great Falls with her son, William M., who was the fifth-born of ten children, six of whom still survive. He was born on June 17, 1856, in Glasgow, Barren county, Ky. In private schools and at Bethel College William M. Cockrill was educated. Following his gradua- tion he was offered a position in the county clerk's office at Glasgow, which he accepted and here his leisure time was given to close application to the study of law, and in April, 1876, he was admitted to the bar. Subsequently he served as county attorney and also as master in chancery of the cir- cuit court of Barren county.

The latter position he retained until 1888, when he came to the new city of Great Falls. By Judge Thomas C. Bach he was appointed clerk of the Fourth judicial district. This position he held un- der the territorial government until Montana was admitted as a state. He was then elected clerk of the Eighth judicial district, which embraces Cascade county, and in 1892 he was re-elected. In Great

Falls he has made a number of judicious invest- ments as well as in the county of Cascade. Polit- ically Mr. Cockrill affiliates with the Democratic party, to which he has rendered valuable aid in its campaigns. He is a member of the Odd Fellows and of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Mr. Cockrill began the practice of law in Cascade county in 1897 with J. C. Huntoon, as Huntoon & Cockrill. The firmn existed until August, 1900, and in September of that year Mr. H. S. Green was taken into partnership, the firm name becoming Cockrill & Green. Mr. Green is a native of Bloom- ington county, Ill. He has been in active practice of law since his admission to the bar in 1891. He is a rising young attorney and well known through- out Cascade county.

H ENRY A. CAYLEY, M. D .- This able and progressive young physician and surgeon of Butte, was born on January 18, 1868, in the seigniory and county of Beauharnois, Canada, the son of Lawrence and Virginia (Poirier) Cayley, the former of whom was born in Kilkenny, Ireland, and the latter in Canada. Lawrence Cayley, at the age of five years, started with his parents on their emigra- tion to Canada, but they died from typhus fever while en route and were buried at sea. Their or- phaned boy was reared and educated in Canada and became a skilled civil engineer, devoting his attention to his profession until his death as the result of an accident at the untimely age of thirty- one years. He was identified with canal contract- ing on lakes Champlain and St. Peter, and recog- nized as an exceptionally capable engineer. His wife survives him and resides in Montreal.

Henry A. Cayley passed his childhood days in his native county, and after attending the paro- chial schools until he was ten years old, he was placed in the Montreal Jesuit College for seven years, completing a thorough course of study and graduating with the class of 1885. He immediately began the study of medicine, and was graduated on April 3, 1889, from the Montreal School of Med- icine and Surgery, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, simultaneously receiving a diploma from Victoria College of Cobourg, Ontario. In August, 1889, Dr. Cayley came to Montana and to Butte, where he has since been successfully engaged in medical practice, for which work he had so amply fortified himself. His practice has extended rami-

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fications and is of representative character ; his un- doubted skill and kindly nature have gained for him public confidence and affection. The Doctor is a member of the Canadian Medical Institute and was one of its founders, and he is the physician of the Butte Aerie of the fraternal order of Eagles. In politics he gives his allegiance to the Democratic party, and his religious faith is that of the Catho- lic church, in which he was reared. On August 24, 1893, Dr. Cayley was united in marriage to Miss Mary Mueller, born in Tennessee, the daughter of Edward Mueller, formerly superintendent of the Colusa smelter at Meaderville, Mont., and who is now engaged in mining operations at Rochester in this state.

AMUEL CHESTNUT .- Among the many beautiful ranch properties in famous Gallatin county, there are few that will compare with that of Mr. Chestnut. Aside from its fertility and gener- ous yield of heavy harvests, it possesses attractions in the line of fishing and hunting which augment its prominence. It is situated near West Gallatin river, a mile and a half from Central Park in Galla- tin county. Its highly esteemed proprietor, Sam- uel Chestnut, was born in Pulaski county, Ky., on October 16, 1859, the son of Benjamin and Bettie (Tomlinson) Chestnut, both natives of Laurel county, Ky. The paternal grandfather, Edmund Chestnut, was a Virginian. Benjamin Chestnut has always resided in Kentucky, engaged in farm- ing and is now living, a well-preservea man of sev- enty-six years.

Samuel Chestnut, one of a family of eight sons and two daughters, remained until his early man- hood on the old Kentucky homestead and attended the public schools. In 1882 he left for Montana, taking the Northern Pacific to Dillon, and thence going by stage to Virginia City, and on to old Cen- tral Park, where he purchased the Hank Wright ranch, the nucleus of his present valuable property. To this he has since added until he now has 480 acres. His principal and a most profitable crop, is hay, although some acreage is devoted to cereals. The ranch is thoroughly irrigated and at times stocked with a herd of 400 cattle, principally short- horns. Mr. Chestnut also raises very fine horses, at present writing having five young animals of thoroughbred running stock. The family home is an elegant modern residence, surrounded with the

conveniences necessary for comfort and the profit- able prosecution of the industries to which the ranch is devoted. Broad-minded, liberal, enter- prising and manly, Mr. Chestnut is highly spoken of by every one with whom he is acquainted. His outbuildings are substantial and commodious and he is the owner of a pack of thoroughbred stag hounds, showing his sportsman tastes. On March 4, 1882, Mr. Chestnut married Miss Eliza Cowan, a native of Kentucky, daughter of Daisy Cowan, a cousin of John Cowan, a sketch of whom appears in this work. They have five children, Fannie, Frank, Ide, George and Bessie.

CI HARLES K. COLE, M. D .- Greater than in almost any other line of work is the responsi- bility that rests upon the physician. A false pre- scription, an unskillful operation, may take from man that which he prizes above all else-life. The physician's power must be his own; not by pur- chase, by gift or by influence can he gain it. If he would attain professional precedence it must come as the result of superior skill, knowledge and ability, and these qualifications are possessed in an eminent degree by Dr. Cole, one of the distin- guished representatives of his profession in Mon- tana and an honored citizen of Helena, where he has maintained his home for years. The Doctor has been prominent in public affairs in the territory and state and has contributed in no small degree to the advancement of the commonwealth. Dr. Cole was born in Plainfield, Will county, Ill., on April 5, 1852, the son of Charles N. and Louisa V. (Wood) Cole, both natives of Lewis county, N. Y. The former completed his education in the Lowville (N. Y.) Seminary, and after his graduation he was en- gaged in successful teaching for a number of years. Later he followed contracting and building in the Empire state until about 1850, when he removed to Will county, Ill., which was his home until he came to the northwest, where he took up his resi- dence in Wyoming and here he was engaged in government work at Fort Fetterman at the time of his death in 1870. The paternal grandfather of Dr. Cole was Harvey N. Cole, who conducted agriculture in Lewis county, N. Y., where he was born and where he died in 1896 at a patriarchal age. The emigrant ancestors of the Cole family came from Holland to New York as early as 1678, thus founding one of the old Knickerbocker fami-

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lies. The Wood family, of which his brother was a member, was early established in Vermont, in whose annals the name figures conspicuously. Pro- fessor Ezra Brainard, president of the University of Vermont, at Burlington, has compiled a careful and exhaustive genealogy of the Wood family. Charles N. and Louisa V. Cole had two sons and three daughters, Charles K. being the eldest. His brother, Howard W., is now a resident of South America, and their mother is still living.

After attending the public schools of his native county Dr. Charles K. Cole was matriculated in the Lincoln (Il1.) University, where he continued his studies and began the study of medicine in 1874, under Dr. David Prince, of Jacksonville, Il1. In 1875 he entered the Miami Medical College, at Cincinnati, where he was graduated with the class of 1879. He engaged in practice at Jacksonville, Ill., for a brief interval, but the same year came to Montana, taking up his residence in Helena, which has since been his home. Here he entered upon medical practice ; his thorough equipment as a phy- sician and surgeon soon gained him a pleasant reputation. From 1882 to 1884 he was associated in practice with Dr. Charles G. Brown, now of Spokane, Wash., and since that time he has con- tinued an individual practice, and he is recognized as one of the leading medical men of the northwest. He is identified with the state and county medical so- cieties, in each of which he has served two terms as president, and he was president of the state board of medical examiners for three terms. His interest in the advances made in medicine and sur- gery is unflagging, and he is a member of numer -· ous professional organizations, such as the Ameri- can Medical Society, the American Surgical Society (of which last he is the only mem- ber residing between St. Paul and the Pacific coast), the Rocky Mountain Inter-state Medical Association (covering seven of the northwestern states, of which he is now president), the Ameri- can Academy of Railway Surgeons (in which as its chief surgeon he represents the Montana Cen- tral Railroad), the American Gynecological Asso- ciation, the New York Medico-Legal Society (of which he is vice-president for Montana), and the Mississippi Valley Medical Association. In all of these bodies Dr. Cole maintains an active interest, and through them and assiduous study and per- sonal investigation, he keeps in close touch with the highest professional thought of the day. He has made timely and valuable contributions to lead-

ing medical journals on pertinent subjects. One of his articles on "Emergency Surgery" has had a specially wide circulation and has proved of value alike to the profession and the laity. Dr. Cole has been county physician of Lewis and Clarke county and also a United States pension examiner. He takes a yearly course in the New York Post-Gradu- ate Medical College in connection with hospital work, and has attended the post-graduate school in Chicago, while in 1886 and in 1892 he made trips abroad, on each of which he passed a number of months in study in the principal colleges and hos- pitals of London, Berlin, Vienna and Paris. No physician in Montana is more thoroughly qualified for medical work, and his signal services dignify the profession of which he is so honored a member. Here we will give a somewhat unique incident. One night in 1880 Dr. Cole was "held up" while re- turning home from the bedside of a patient, and when he refused "to deliver" to the robber the lat- ter shot him through the left wrist. He returned the fire, sending a ball into the bowels of his as- sailant. The peculiar feature of the case is that Dr. Cole was soon called to operate on the man and saved his life, and that for several months thereafter he retained him in his employ as hostler.

In politics Dr. Cole gives his allegiance to the Republican party, and served as a member and speaker of the territorial senate in 1888-9. The state medical bill was enacted while he was in the senate and he was one of the most potent factors in promoting its passage. He was a member of the original capitol commission, which inaugurated the erection of the new capitol building, and he has also been a mem- ber of the city council of Helena. He has valuable real estate holdings in Helena and is known as one of her most public spirited citizens. Frater- nally the Doctor is identified with the Masonic order, the Odd Fellows (of which he is past grand of the grand lodge of the state), with the Knights of Phythias (of which he is past grand chancellor and supreme representative) and with the Benevo- lent Protective Order of Elks and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. On June 22, 1881, Dr. Cole was united in marriage to Miss Harriet G. Gillette, of Jacksonville, Ill., a daughter of Dr. Philip G. Gillette, who until recently was at the head of educational work for deaf mutes in America and who served for forty years as superintendent of the Illinois Institution for Deaf Mntes.

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H UGH K. COLEMAN .- The offspring of good old Scotch-Irish ancestors, who settled in America early in its history, and who for genera- tions have been contributing to its growth, develop- inent and prosperity, Hugh K. Coleman, of Bozeman, exemplifies in his record and character the sterling virtues of his family and the best elements of thrifty American citizenship. He was born in Marion county, Ohio, on August 28, 1834, one of the four sons and one daughter in the family of Joseph H. Coleman, also a native of Ohio, and Fannie (Kerr) Coleman, of Pennsylvania. His, two grandfathers were Joab Coleman, of New Jersey, and Hugh Kerr, of Ireland, who emigrated to America at the age of seventeen, and later was married to Miss Margaret Riddle, a native of Scotland. The father, Joseph H. Coleman, when a young man purchased a good farm in Ohio and started a tannery, continuing in the active management of both until his death in 1880. He was wide-awake and progressive, and a leading man of his section. For many years he was justice of the peace and at various times post- master. He had an elevated idea of citizenship and was deeply and intelligently identified with all plans for the education of the young, and gave every enterprise for the betterment of the com- munity his serviceable support.

Hugh K. Coleman was educated in the district schools and after he left school was employed in his father's . shoe store. In the spring of 1865, he started for Montana to gratify a longing for the frontier and its adventurous life, traveling to St. Joe, Mo., by rail, thence to Bozeman by a mule

team which he drove for Cover & McAdow, his . aiding the colonies in throwing off the British load being machinery for the grist mill at Boze- man. The train had little difficulty with the In- dians, the only fight of consequence occurring at Cottonwood, where the train halted for rest and re- freshment. They arrived in Bozeman on August 5, 1865, and Mr. Coleman remained there until fall when he staked a ranch on Sour-Dough creek, about five miles from the city, a property he after- wards sold and repurchased. Since then he has held it continuously and added to it until he now has a ranch of 320 acres. He was married on June 3, 1858, to Miss Mary E. McElroy, a sister of Joseph A. McElroy, of Bozeman, of whom a sketch ap- pears on other pages of this work. Their only child, Harriet Bartlett Coleman, died at the age of four years. During the first few years of life on his ranch Mr. Coleman gave his attention to rais- ing grain, then made hay his specialty, and he has

since produced large crops of excellent quality. He has also an attractive residence in Bozeman where he and Mrs. Coleman pass the winters. The country residence is beautifully located and highly improved and is one of the most desirable in the eastern section of the valley. Like his father, Mr. Coleman takes a deep interest in all public matters and has rendered valuable service as county com- missioner and as city councilman of Bozeman. He is looked upon as one of the wisest and most progressive citizens of the county, and is highly and universally esteemed.

C OLUMBUS C. COLLINS .- While the citizen- ship of the commonwealth of Montana repre- sents nearly every other state in the Union, as well as foreign countries, it is probable that no state has contributed as great a portion as the state of Mis- souri. Among her sterling pioneers, and one who has been conspicuously identified with her industrial and productive activities, is Columbus C. Collins, who was born in Platte county, Mo., March 19, 1841, being one of the twelve children born to James and Cordelia (Carpenter) Collins, natives of the city of Lexington, Ky., and representatives of staunch old southern stock, it being recorded that the paternal grandfather of our subject, Robert Col- lins, was born in Virginia, as was also Jonathan Car- penter, the maternal grandfather, while the great- grandfather in the agnatic line was an active par- ticipant in the war of the Revolution, valiantly yoke. Robert Collins was a member of the com- mittee who received Gen. LaFayette on the occasion of his second visit to America. The father of our subject was numbered among the early pioneers of Missouri, to which state he removed when the Platte district was thrown open to settlement, and there devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits until 1863, when he passed to the great beyond in the fall of the succeeding year.

Columbus C. Collins was reared and educated in Missouri, and grew to manhood under the sturdy discipline of farm life. In 1859 he joined the stampede to Pike's Peak, Colo., making the trip . with an ox team. He remained but a few months and then returned to Missouri, and was there residing at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted in Company C of a regiment commanded by Col. Childs, the same

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having been recruited at Rochester, Andrew county. He was with the regiment during an en- gagement at Blue Mills, Clay county, Mo., and at Lexington, where Mulligan surrendered. Our sub- ject started to return with a recruiting party, but was taken prisoner and held in captivity at St. Joseph, Mo., where he was confined for five months. Finally he managed to escape, having plied, his guards with liquor until they were sufficiently in- toxicated to neglect their duty, and he quietly stole away from the prison in May, 1862. He then made his way to Jackson county, Iowa, where he resided until 1866, engaged in farming. In that year Mr. Collins started for Montana, pro- ceeding by railroad as far as Omaha, where he was employed in a brick yard, and later joined the Crich- ton Company's party engaged in constructing the first transcontinental telegraph line, and remained with it until reaching Virginia City, Mont. The telegraph party was a large one, and though sev- eral skirmishes with the Indians occurred no se- rious difficulty was encountered. Mr. Collins en- gaged in mining in Virginia City, and there con- tinued operations until 1873, meeting with fair success. In the year mentioned he came to Gal- latin valley, took up a tract of land, to which he has since added until he now has a fine estate of 320 acres, the greater portion of which is under effective irrigation, rendering it possible to se- cure large annual yields of wheat, oats and hay, the principal products. The ranch is located within six miles of Belgrade, our subject's postoffice address. In politics he gives his support to the Democratic party, but has never aspired to political prefer- ment, although he has served with ability as school trustee, taking a lively interest in all that touches the welfare of the community.

On January 6, 1871, Mr. Collins was united in marriage to Mrs. Levina Tribble, who was born in Platte county, Mo., the daughter of Solomon and Polly Yates, the former a native of the Old Do- minion. Mr. and Mrs. Collins have three children, namely : Cordelia, who is the wife of James Lewis, of Helena; Annie, the wife of Thomas Bruington, of Gebo, Mont .; and Frank, a successful young rancher on Dry Creek, Gallatin county.

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 22

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