Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 73

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 73

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T THOMAS W. POINDEXTER, JR .- In the official service of Montana since its admission to statehood have been enlisted men of peculiar eli- gibility for the duties of the various incumbencies, and among those who have won confidence and re- spect through their official efforts stands T. W. Poindexter, Jr., who was for four years incumbent of the responsible position of auditor of the state. The name which he bears has been conspicuous in the annals of the nation, and he comes of the promi- nent old Virginia family which has there had title to this patronymic from the early Colonial epoch. Thomas W. Poindexter, Jr., is a native son of the west, having been born in Canyon City, Ore., on February 1, 1864, the son of Thomas W. and Margaret (Pipkin) Poindexter, both of whom were born in the Old Dominion. The father removed to St. Louis, Mo., and thence, in 1856, to California, where he engaged in mining with a due measure of success until 1860, when he located in Canyon City, Ore., where he combined mining and stockraising, driv- ing cattle across the plains and realizing excellent profits in this field. He was for two terms clerk of 24

Grant county, and he was there also honored with other offices of public trust. He left Canyon City in 1879, and in 1881 located in Dillon, Mont., where he is now one of the representative merchants of that section of the state. Thomas W. and Mar- garet Poindexter are the parents of five sons, all residents of Montana. Mrs. Margaret Poindexter accompanied her parents from Virginia to Mis- souri about 1830, and her father was an extensive planter, both in Virginia and Missouri.

T. W. Poindexter, Jr., was reared to manhood in Oregon, where he received preliminary education in the public schools, and then attended the Christian Brothers' College in St. Louis, Mo., subsequently completing a thorough course in a business college in that city. He accompanied his parents on their removal to Montana, and was identified with mer- chandising in Dillon until 1892. He filled positions in the official administration of the affairs of Bea- verhead county, and served in the common council of Dillon. He was engaged in mining for three years in the state, after which, in 1896, he was made the Democratic nominee for auditor of state, and was elected to the office by the notable majority of thirteen thousand votes, defeating A. L. Love, of Bozeman, having the endorsement of the Populist party. He served in this capacity with signal abil- ity until the expiration of his term and since then he has been engaged in the grocery business at Dil- lon. In politics Mr. Poindexter has ever been a stalwart advocate of Democracy and has been an active worker in its cause. He served as a member of the Democratic state central committee for two terms, and was a member of the county committee of his party in Beaverhead county. Fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order, in which he has taken the royal arch, or capitular, degrees, and also with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In 1889 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Poindex- ter and Miss Jessie Cattanach, who was born in Iowa, and they are the parents of two daughters, Jessie and Margaret.

C 'HARLES A. PERRIN, M. D .- Among those who have made their professional labors a distinct power for good, and who merit honor by their devotion to them is Charles A. Perrin-a man honored in all the relations of life and recognized as one of the prominent physicians and surgeons of Helena. He is a native of Canada, born in the

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province of Ontario, on November 14, 1853, the son of Thomas and Esther (Westbrook) Perrin, natives of Canada, where the father was a merchant and died in the fullness of years and honors. The American founder of the family was of French na- tivity, and, coming to the United States as early as the opening of the sixteenth century, he settled in New England. Thomas Perrin, grandfather of C. A. Perrin, was the first of the family to locate in Canada, which he did in an early day perma- nently. Dr. Perrin has two brothers, residents of California, where one is a physician of prominence, the other a druggist.

Dr. Charles A. Perrin was reared in Canada, where he received his preliminary education and be- gan the reading of medicine when seventeen years old under effective preceptorage. In 1873 he came to the United States and to northern Michigan where he enjoyed a successful medical practice for some time. He later attended the Michigan College of Medicine at Detroit, now the Detroit College of Medicine, where he completed a thorough course of study, and then continued in his practice in Mich- igan until 1889, which was the year of his arrival in Helena, where he has since been established in general practice, and has won the confidence and supporting patronage of a representative class of citizens, his professional ability and sterling charac- ter gaining him recognition. He was a member of the Michigan State Medical Society during his resi- dence in that state, and also served as acting assis- tant marine surgeon of Marquette harbor on Lake Superior, and was a member of the pension board. He is now serving as United States examining sur- geon for pensions. His political faith is Demo- cratic. He is a zealous member of the Masonic fra- ternity, in which he is a Knight Templar. In 1881 the marriage of Dr. Perrin was solemnized, when he was united to Miss Laura C. Rose, who was born in New York. They have one child, Nellie.

THOMAS J. PORTER .- There are many in- teresting features connected with the career of this representative member of the bar of Custer county, both in a genealogical and personal way, which we will here preserve as matters of interest in the record of a worthy and useful life.

Thomas Jefferson Porter is a native of the Buckeye state, born near Gallipolis, Gallia county, Ohio, on the 17th of November, 1858. His father,

James V. Porter, also a native of Ohio, passed his life in farming and stockgrowing. His pa- ternal great-grandfather was Clinton Porter, who went from the north of Ireland to England, and from thence, during the American Revolution, came to America in company with his brothers. They left the English port as stowaways in pork barrels, which were supposed to contain nothing but pork. They emigrated to America because they were in sympathy with the colonists in throw- ing off the British yoke. They were discovered on the voyage to New York and one of them was pressed into service on a British ship, from which he deserted shortly afterward and both brothers eventually were able to give their aid to the cause of the colonists. The family subsequently emi- grated to Marietta, Ohio. They were shipbuilders by vocation, and after coming to Ohio built two small vessels for Aaron Burr and Harman Blen- nerhassett, with which they started down the Ohio river, the great-grandfather of Mr. Porter losing his life on this trip, while attempting to pass over the falls of the Ohio. He is buried in Louisville, Ky. The other boat was delivered to Col. Burr, and it is a matter of record that this traitor to his ' country's cause never made payment for the ves- sel. The great-grandfather of Mr. Porter left two sons, Thomas J., grandfather of our subject, and James D. (who was known as the "Kentucky giant," and resided at Louisville in that state). The maiden name of our subject's mother was Mary A. Leaper. She was born in Steubenville, Ohio, a daughter of John L. Leaper, who was a steamboat captain up to the time of the Civil war, when he entered the Union army as captain of the Seventh Ohio Cavalry. He was mustered out as colonel of his regiment, which served under Gens. Hayes, Garfield and McKinley.

The eldest of eight children, Thomas J. Porter received his preliminary education in the public schools and at the State Normal School, at Leb- anon, which he first attended for three years. He then, in the fall of 1876, engaged in teaching, fol- lowing this profession for three years in Ohio, when he returned to the normal school and com- pleted the prescribed course, graduating with the class of 1882. His success as an educator resulted in his soon becoming superintendent of the public schools of Jackson, Tenn. Here he organ- ized and perfected a methodical and properly graded school system and also conducted the first summer normal school of Tennessee. He. re-

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mained at Jackson two years and returned to Ohio and taught two years more in Lebanon. Deciding to prepare himself for the profession of law, to the preparation for which he had already devoted care- ful attention for some time, he entered the office of John E. Smith, a prominent attorney at Leb- anon, and continued study until the fall of 1886, when he was admitted to the bar of the state. The same year Mr. Porter came to Montana as principal of the Miles City schools, and brought with him a letter of introduction from President Mckinley to ex-Gov. Potts, who had for twelve years been the incumbent of the gubernatorial office in the territory of Montana. At the end of his second year at Miles City Mr. Porter resigned the superintendency of the schools and entered into a legal partnership with Judge J. W. Strevell, who is elsewhere mentioned in this work. This pleasant and profitable alliance still continues, and the firm ranks as a leading legal one in this part of the state, and the members hold prestige as men of professional skill and ability, both as advocates and counselors.

Mr. Porter is a stanch Republican, active in his advocacy of the cause. In 1896 he was elected county attorney and rendered excellent service during his term of four years, and as a result was chosen his own successor in 1898. In 1900 he was the Republican nominee for attorney-gen- eral, but met with defeat at the polls, owing to the well remembered political conditions then ex- isting. He made a thorough and vigorous can- vass, speaking in every city and town of appre- ciable population in the state. Mr. Porter has been intimately connected with much important litigation, both civil and criminal. He was pros- ecutor in the Indian cases growing out of the murder of John Hoover, and also in the Geddes case, while he was assistant prosecuting attorney at Glendive in the Hurst murder case. To a con- siderable degree through his efforts was secured from the millionaire steel magnate, Andrew Car- negie, the contribution of $10,000 for the estab- lishment of a public library at Miles City, and in many other causes and ways has he shown his deep interest in the progress and prosperity of his city, county and state. Fraternally Mr. Porter is prominently identified with the Knights of Pyth- ias, and served as grand chancellor of the grand lodge of the state in 1897. He also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks.

On the 23d of January, 1901, Mr. Porter was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Hawley, who was born in Northumberland county, Pa., the daughter of John B. Hawley, an influential citizen of that county and state.

G E. POOL, sheriff of Broadwater county, Mont., resides at Townsend. He was born in Mexico, Mo., on May 19, 1858, a son of John Q. and Lucy (Kelly) Pool, both natives of Frankfort, Ky. The paternal grandfather was Abram Pool, a native of Germany. The maternal grandfather was John Kelly, born in Ireland, who came to the United States early in the nineteenth century. Af- ter a public school education Mr. Pool attended the University of Columbia for two years, and com- pleted his education in the state normal school in Kirksville, Mo., being the valedictorian of the class of 1879. Mr. Pool then became the principal of the schools of Centralia, Mo., remaining two years in this pedagogic work, and then deciding to come to Montana. On his arrival he engaged in teaching at Confederate gulch, where and at Duck creek he remained three years. He then was principal of the Radersburg schools for four years. He then turned his attention to mercantile pursuits and bought the drug store of E. M. Bachelder, at Ra- dersburg, which he conducted until the formation of Broadwater county, when he was appointed sheriff. December 25, 1882, Mr. Pool was united in mar- riage to Miss Eldora Morgan, daughter of Wal- ter R. Morgan, one of the prominent pioneers of Montana. Their eight children are: Laurence, Louis, Chester, Lucy, Florence, Laura, Verna and Stella.

The political affiliations of Mr. Pool are with the Democratic party, in whose campaigns he always takes a lively interest. In 1886 he was appointed postmaster of Townsend, serving four years; in 1894 he was reappointed, serving four years more. Following the admission of the state to the Union Mr. Pool was elected to the first and second ses- sions of the state legislature, and on the formation of Broadwater county he was appointed sheriff. His excellent administration of the office brought about his election to the office in 1898 and his re- election in 1900. He is still serving in that posi- tion with great acceptability. He is an influential member of the Democratic central county commit- tee. He was formerly clerk and trustee of the Ra-

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dersburg school board and is now chairman of the school board in Townsend. Fraternally Mr. Pool is a member of the Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen of the World, having passed the chairs in each of these orders. The financial and political success of Mr. Pool since his arrival in Montana has been eminently gratifying. In the coni- munity of his home city and in various portions of the state where he is well known he is highly es- teemed. As a citizen he is built on broad gauge lines, always an optimist, generous to a fault. No man, woman or child ever asked his help in vain. He, perhaps for this reason, has more friends and acquaintances than any other man in Broadwater county.

H ON. WILLIAM G. PREUITT, one of Hel- ena's most esteemed citizens, is secretary of the Montana stock commission, an important and responsible position. He comes of Colonial ances- tors, his grandfather, Solomon Preuitt, born in Ala- bam, removed to Illinois in 1800, settling in Madi- son county, where he lived to be eighty-nine years old. He was a major in the French and Indian wars and an active participant in the war of 1812 and the Black Hawk war, where he was present at the capture of the famous Indian chief Black Hawk. Always an active man he was an enthusi- astic hunter and sportsman. One of his twelve chil- dren was James Preuitt, a native of Madison coun- ty, Ill., where he married Miss Melinda Starkey, of Tennessee. They had two sons, Elias K. and Wil- liam G. The latter was born in Madison county, Ill., on March 31, 1843, and was reared in the coun- ty of his birth and educated in its schools. In 1866 he came to Helena, Mont., coming hither from Fort Benton on foot. He first engaged in driving oxen on a ranch, but soon secured a clerkship in a whole- sale house and engaged in this and other occupa- tions until 1870, when he returned to Illinois and was married to Miss Willie M. Hundley, daughter of Col. W. B. Hundley, whose sketch appears on another page. Mr. Preuitt returned to Helena and from 1879 to 1887 was engaged in business with Mr. Hundley. He then engaged in the breeding of thoroughbred horses and graded cattle, which busi- ness he still successfully follows, being one of the largest cattle owners of Montana, and he was for a time a member of the firm of Sturrock & Preuitt, the largest hardware house in Helena.

Mr. Preuitt is a Democrat, not occasionally, but

every day, and also an active and influential worker in its campaigns. In 1876 he was elected county commissioner and in this office served two years. In 1887 he was appointed by Gov. Hauser treasurer of the territory and was the last one to fill that office, serving most efficiently for three years. In 1891 he was secretary of the Democratic state convention. At present he is secretary and treas- urer of the Montana Stockgrowers' Association and he is also quite extensively interested in valuable mining properties. Hundley Preuitt, the eldest of Mr. Preuitt's four children, has charge of his fath- er's cattle interests, and the others, Elias K., Willie M. and Payton, reside in Helena. Mr. Preuitt is the owner of an 880-acre stock ranch, fully equipped for a profitable handling of the enterprise. He has an elegant city residence at Eighth avenue and Rodney streets, one of the finest homes in Hel- ena. His business and social life has been success- ful and prominent. He is a man of integrity, exten- sively and favorably known. From the first day of his pioneer life in Montana he has steadily ad- vanced.

RSON B. PRICKETT, one of the representa- tive business men of Billings, Yellowstone county, and who stands as a leading exemplar of osteopathy, is at the head of an infirmary in Bill- ings devoted to the practice of the beneficent reme- dial science just mentioned. Mr. Prickett is a native of Marion, Grant county, Ind., where he was born on August 16, 1866, the son of Milton and Regina Magdalene Prickett, the former of whom was a blacksmith. Orson was but an infant when his par- ents removed to Hastings, Mich., where he attended the public schools until he was fourteen, when the family came to Montana, where Orson eventually engaged in the service of the government, having charge of a pack train operating for the Fifth United States Infantry at Fort Keough. Later he was associated with Benjamin Mason in the mer- chandising at Powderville, and subsequently he was employed by Joseph Scott, a stockman, until 1886, when he went to Missouri and entered the state nor- mal school. In 1890 Mr. Prickett became a wagon and carriagemaker at Kirksville, Mo., thus con- tinuing until 1896, when he became a student in the American School of Osteopathy at that place, where he completed a thorough course, graduating on April 1, 1898. He then returned to Montana, and located in Helena where he, associated with

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Herman T. Still, son of the discoverer of oste- opathy, established the Helena Infirmary of Oste- opathy, and was connected therewith until Novem- ber, 1899, when he founded the institution in Bill- ings over which he now presides. The infirmary has gained an excellent supporting patronage, and its business is sure to be greatly augmented as the advance made in the field of osteopathy has been most remarkable in all sections of the Union.

Mr. Prickett is a gentleman of strong mental and physical power, is genial in his intercourse with all, and enjoys a marked popularity in his home city. He was for a time chief of police at Kirksville, Mo., and vice-president of the State Firemen's Asso- ciation for one term. He is president of the Mon- tana State Association of Osteopathy, and in April, 1901, was appointed by the governor as a member of the state board of osteopathic examiners. Fraternally he is identified with the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen, the Lincoln Legion of Honor and the United Workmen. In 1892 Mr. Prickett was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Townsend, of Kirksville, Mo., a daughter of Alphus Townsend, a successful farmer. Her mother's maiden name was Lydia Hazzard. Mr. and Mrs. Prickett have two children, Everett and Harry, both of whom are attending the public schools of Billings.

C LARENCE R. PRESCOTT, the present sher- iff of Missoula county, was born in Calhoun county, Mich., on October 27, 1862. His parents were Frank and Rebecca (Higgins) Prescott, the former born in New Hampshire and the latter in Ireland, she being a sister of Capt. Christopher Higgins, of whom specific mention is made in this work. In his native county Mr. Prescott attained maturity under the invigorating discip- line of the farm and secured his education in the public schools. In 1878 he came to Missoula, entered the employ of Worden & Co., and la- ter engaged in mining and stockraising. He is a man of vigorous mentality and mature judgment, and he has been called to public trust and responsi- bility.

He served four years as city marshal of Mis- soula and later was for two years county assessor. He was elected sheriff on the Democratic ticket at the election of November, 1900, and he was ac- corded a satisfactory majority and by his wise ad- ministration he has amply justified the support

given him. He has been successful in his business efforts in the west, is well and favorably known and is unmistakably numbered among Montana's pro- gressive young men. In politics Mr. Prescott has rendered unswerving allegiance to the Democratic party, and has been an ardent supporter of its prin- ciples and policies. Fraternally he maintains mem- bership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. On July 7, 1892, at Missoula, Mont., was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Prescott to Miss Julia Marsh, a native of Pennsylvania, and they are the parents of three children, Clarence R., Jr., Ernest and Doris.

CHARLES C. PROCTOR, ex-sheriff of Cas- D cade county, Mont., is a resident of Great Falls. He was born in Belleville, Canada, on May 25, 1857. His parents were Amos E. and Mary A. (Covert) Proctor, the mother a native of Ontario, Canada, and his father of New Hampshire. Amos Proctor passed his life, after the age of sixteen, in Canada until his death in 1880. The mother died in July, 1901. Charles C. Proctor was reared and educated in Canada until he was seventeen years old and then went to Wisconsin where he resided .until he came to Montana in 1889. In Wisconsin he thoroughly learned the printer's trade, and he was proprietor and pub- lisher of the De Pere News for six years. On his arrival in Montana in 1889 he located at Helena, and was employed on the Independent and Journal. In 1890 he came to Great Falls and was associated with the Great Falls Leader until 1894.

He then entered political life, and was ap- pointed deputy sheriff under Sheriff W. R. Dwyer, and in this position he served a year and a half. In 1896 he was elected sheriff of Cascade county, receiving a re-election in 1898. In 1897 he was united in marriage with Miss May Gal- lagher, a native of Wisconsin. Fraternally Sheriff Proctor is a member of the Odd Fellows, the Freemasons, the Royal Highlanders and the Elks. Politically he is a Republican and is ever active in his influential work in the interests of that party. He nas frequently served as delegate to state conventions, and he is well known in political circles throughout the state. In his home city and the county of Cascade he enjoys the esteem and confidence of a wide circle of ac-

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quaintances, and is extremely popular. Finan- cially, politically and socially Sheriff Proctor is one of the successful men of Montana, whose views are broad, liberal and comprehensive.

AVID PROSSER .- Among the worthy men who fought their way to success through in- dividual efforts is the old and honored citizen of Helena whose name is the caption to this biograph- ical sketch. In youth only those advantages in- herited from sturdy and worthy stock were his, but during his long and active life he has shown an appreciation of the value of persistent endeavor, and thus attained success by well directed industry. In his declining years he is living in comparative retirement within his pleasant home in Montana's capital city. David Prosser is a native of Yates county, N. Y., where he was born July 26, 1821, the son of John and Permelia (Conklin) Prosser, the former a native of Wales, the latter of New England. Evan Prosser, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Wales, and there was cele- brated his marriage, through which he became the father of two sons-John and David. His wife and son David died in Wales, and sometime prior to the opening of the nineteenth century Evan and his remaining son, John, came to America, taking up their abode in New Jersey, where the father fol- lowed his trade of carpenter. Later he removed to the state of New York, where he passed the resi- due of his life, dying at a venerable age. John Frosser, the father of the immediate subject of this review, received rather meagre educational advan- tages in his youth. He worked with his father during his younger days in New York, learning the carpenter's trade. After his marriage he re- sided in Yates county, and became the father of four sons : David, Albert G. and Andrew J., twins, and Louis. The latter, serving as a soldier in a New York regiment during the war of the Re- bellion, was with Sherman on his famous "March to the Sea," and sacrificed his life in defense of his country, being killed in battle. The twin brothers of our subject, Albert and Andrew, are now dead, the first died in Yates county, N. Y, and the latter at Janesville, Iowa. John Prosser, the honored father, died of cholera, in 1832, be- ing in the prime of a useful manhood. After the death of her husband Mrs. Prosser, aided by Evan Prosser, the father of the latter, devoted themselves

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 73

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