Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 87

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 87

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Mr. Stevenson is one of the leading men in the company which is building a dam at Mystic Lake

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to irrigate a number of nearby farms. The dam is to be thirty feet high and 200 long, and the reservoir will cover about sixty acres. Mr. Stev- enson was the originator of the plan and the or- ganizer of the company. In fact he is active in all enterprises of public utility and quickens every- thing he touches. He is an elder in the Presby- terian church and gives it and its associate benef- icences his close attention and cordial support. He was married on September 1, 1880, to Miss Mary C. Fox, of Chapin, Ill., who died on June 22, 1892, leaving three children, Arthur M., Sam- uel H. and Minerva F., all born at Gilman, Ill.

A LOUIS STONE, cashier of the State Bank of Dillon, is a native of the state of Kansas, having been born in Auburn, Shawnee county, Oc- tober 16, 1860. His father, Lewis A. Stone, was born in the vicinity of Niagara Falls, N. Y., and became prominently identified with educational work, being a man of scholarly attainments and lofty ideals. He completed his educational training in Oberlin College, Ohio, where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1856, and thereafter conducted an academy for young ladies at Raleigh, Shelby county, Tenn. In 1860 he removed to Leavenworth, Kan., was a member of the faculty of Leavenworth College until 1863, when he re- moved to Fulton, Whiteside county, III., where he was superintendent of public schools of the city until 1866. He purchased a farm in the vicinity of Leavenworth, Kan., and has there continued to devote his attention to agricultural pursuits until the present time, being one of the representative men of that state. The maiden name of our sub- ject's mother was Martha A. Hotchkiss, a native of New York, whence she removed with her parents to Michigan within the pioneer epoch. She re- ceived excellent educational advantages, having graduated in the academy at LeRoy, Genesee county, N. Y., and then turned her attention to pedagogic work, following it for many years; she was an able coadjutor of her husband. By her union to Mr. Stone she became the mother of two children : A. Louis, the immediate subject of this review : and Eva L., now Mrs. J. M. Gilman, of Leavenworth, Kan.

Our subject received his early education in the public schools, with superior advantages afforded by a home in which exceptional culture and re- finement were in distinctive evidence. Under the

direction of his father he devoted four years to the study of the higher branches, including physics, Latin and mathematics, and at the age of eighteen he put his scholastic attainments into practical use by teaching in the public schools of his native state. While thus engaged Mr. Stone acquired an interest in a general store at Loring, Kan., his place of residence at that time.' After devoting two more years to pedagogic work he assumed the management of this mercantile enterprise, con- ducting the same about one year, after which he disposed of his interest in the business, coming to Montana in 1885, locating at Butte, Mont., wherc he accepted a position as bookkeeper for the gro- cery firm of McMillan & Cluett. He eventually secured an interest in the business, but disposed of the same in 1888 and came to Dillon, where he became secretary and treasurer of the Dillon Im- plement Company. He did much to advance the interests of the concern, which soon gained pres- . tige as one of the most important business enter- prises in the county, and continued to be identified with the same until August 1, 1899, when he dis- posed of his interests and became associated with other representative citizens in the organization of the State Bank of Dillon. He was chosen cashier at the time of its inception, and has continuously served in this capacity, the bank being known as one of the substantial and ably conducted mone- tary establishments of the state and retaining a representative support. In addition to his banking interests Mr. Stone is the owner of valuable realty in the city of Dillon.

Politically Mr. Stone gives stalwart allegiance to the Democratic party, and since taking up his residence in Dillon has been called upon to serve in positions of public trust and responsibility. He has never abated his interest in the cause of educa- tion, and served for three years as superintendent of schools for Beaverhead county, and a member of the board of aldermen of Dillon for several terms.

On April 8, 1896, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Stone to Miss Albina Smith, who was born in Oblong, Ill. Her father, Eden Smith, was a na- tive of Ohio. He died when she was an infant. Mrs. Stone came to Montana in 1893, went on to San Francisco in 1895, where her marriage oc- curred. Our subject and his wife are prominent in the social life of Dillon, and their home is brightened by the presence of a winsome little daughter, Irma, who was born April 18, 1897, and a son, Robert Malcolm, born May 23, 1901.

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C 'LARENCE H. STROWBRIDGE, the present efficient postmaster of Wisdom, stands among the representative young business men of Beaver- head county, is concerned in many enterprises of im- portance, and also manager of the Wisdom Mer- cantile Company. He is a native of Kansas, born in Rush county on May 12, 1874, the eldest of the four children of William Henry and Mina (An- drews) Strowbridge. Both of his parents were born in Michigan. William H. Strowbridge re- moved to Kansas in 1870, and for two years en- gaged in hunting buffalo for Howard Brothers. Later he took up the sheep business and in 1886 removed to California. He now resides in the maritime city of Seattle, and has large property interests in and about Nome City, Alaska. The mother of C. H. Strowbridge is deceased.

Clarence H. Strowbridge received his education in the schools of Kansas and California, and in the latter state entered the employ of the Pacific Coast Railroad Company, at Nipomo, where he remained three years. In 1894 Mr. Strowbridge came to Montana and was engaged in teaming until 1898, when he located in Wisdom and became an interested principal in the organization of the Wisdom Mercantile Company, of whose affairs he is now manager. This enterprise is the principle mercantile house in this locality and the company has a well-equipped store, in which is carried a complete line of general merchandise. Mr. Strow- bridge is also manager of the Big Hole Meat Company, and is the owner of a fine ranch prop- erty of 800 acres in the Big Hole basin, devoted principally to the raising of hay.

In his political faith Mr. Strowbridge takes ac- tive interest in political affairs as a Republican, and in 1898 he was appointed postmaster at Wis- dom. Fraternally he is a member of Wisdom Lodge No. 9431, Modern Woodmen of America, and is now (1902) filling the office of venerable consul. On June 14, 1899, Mr. Strowbridge was united in marriage with Miss Lillian Stanchfield, who was born in Silver Bow county, Mont., the daughter of W. B. Stanchfield, one of the oldest settlers in the state, now a resident of Fox, Mont.

THEODORE S. STILES .- Gallatin county claims the subject of this sketch as one of her progressive and representative farmers, and Mr. Stiles is uniformly esteemed in the community. being a man of broad intellectuality and sterling

character, and while a member of the bar his ap- preciation of the advantages afforded for success- ful agricultural enterprises in the Gallatin valley was sufficient to deflect him from the practice of his profession.

Mr. Stiles is a native of Steuben county, Ind., born July 26, 1857, one of the eleven children born to David and Clatena C. (Shaw) Stiles, natives re- spectively of New York and Massachusetts. In 1856 the family removed to Indiana, and two years later to Wisconsin, where they maintained their home until 1862, and then took up their abode in Minnesota, arriving just one month prior to the memorable Sioux Indian outbreak. In 1880 David Stiles made another change of residence, locating in South Dakota, where he devoted his attention to farming until his death, which occurred in 1895, his wife passing away in 1878.

Theodore S. Stiles received his early educational training in the public schools of Minnesota, sup- plementing his studies in the normal school at St. Cloud. Upon leaving the normal he utilized his scholastic acquirements by engaging in pedagogic work, continuing to teach for a period of about three years, devoting his spare hours to the study of law and was admitted to the Minnesota bar in 1878, at St. Cloud. He immediately entered upon the prac- tice of his profession in Chippewa county, Minn., gaining a representative clientage and being suc- cessful in his efforts. He continued in practice there until 1883, when he removed to Montana, lo- cating in Gallatin county, where he engaged in teaching school until 1888. In 1886 he took up a homestead claim in Gallatin valley, the same being a part of his present fine ranch, which comprises 800 acres. He took up his residence on his farm in 1888 and has since devoted his attention to its culti- vation. A portion of the tract is under irrigation, and is devoted to the raising of hay and oats, while the balance of the ranch is given over to the raising of fall wheat. The place is well improved, and the progressive methods brought to bear by Mr. Stiles have enabled him to attain success in his opera- tions. His ranch is located in Valley View, ten miles north of Belgrade, his postoffice address. In politics Mr. Stiles gives his allegiance to the Re- publican party, and has served for a number of years as school trustee, and takes a lively interest in all that tends to conserve the progress and ma- terial prosperity of the county and state. Frater- nally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Modern Woodmen of America.

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On September 30, 1888, Mr. Stiles was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Miller, who was born in Montana, being a sister of George L. Miller, to whose sketch, appearing on another page of this work, we refer the reader as to the family gene- alogy. Mr. and Mrs. Stiles have three sons : Ralph A., and Ray J. and Roy F., the last two being twins.

C HARLES F. STORK .- He to whose career we now direct attention has served with distinction in the lower house of the state legislature, as a representative of Cascade county, and has attained precedence as one of the leading agriculturists and stockgrowers of Montana, his fine ranch being located seventeen miles south of the city of Great Falls. Mr. Stork is a native of the beautiful little city of Geneva Lake, Wis., where he was born on the 30th of March, 1851. His parents were Wil- liam and Angeline Stork, the former of whom was born in the state of New York, and the latter in Connecticut. The father was a hatter by occupa- tion while a resident of New York, all the work at that time being done by hand, but upon the in- troduction of machinery into the processes of manu- facture he found that with his hand labor he could not compete with the new methods and gave up this work, removing to Geneva Lake, Wis., where he engaged in farming until 1855, when he re- moved to Minnesota, where he died in February, 1901, having attained the venerable age of over ninety-three years. He always maintained a lively interest in political affairs, and was an active worker in the cause of his party. The mother of our subject passed away in 1889, at the age of eighty-three.

Charles F. Stork was educated in the public schools of Fillmore county, Minn., assisting his father in carrying on the farm work until 1872, when he purchased forty acres of land, which he cultivated with marked success, accumulating an excellent property. This he sold in 1878, at a net profit of $8,600, after which he purchased an in- terest in the H. C. Marsh wheat farm, at Lime Spring, Iowa, and the Spring Valley wheat ele- vators in Minnesota. He was identified with these enterprises until 1879, realizing a profit of $10,000 at the time of disposing of his interests. He then purchased two large mercantile establishments, lo- cated in Lime Springs, Iowa, and here cashed all checks for grain and stock buyers at that place,

handling over $600,000 in the year mentioned. Finally a disastrous fire swept through his estab- lishment, entirely destroying it, and leaving him without a dollar after he had settled with his creditors. In 1882 Mr. Stork was given charge of the large grain elevator of W. W. Cargill & Broth- ers, at Delavan, Faribault county, Minn., and was thus engaged until 1885, when he took charge of the business of the Delavan Operative Warehouse As- sociation, retaining this incumbency until 1889. In that year he came to Great Falls, Mont., and, at a point seventeen miles south of the city, became the pioneer farmer on the bench lands, where his wise provision told him crops would grow without irrigation. This he did in the face of the opposition of all the old settlers of the valley who assured him that he was going to face starvation by so do- ing. He, however, trusted to his own judgment, and took up pre-emption and homestead claims com- prising 480 acres. To his claims he has since added by the purchase of 1,320 acres. On this well im- proved ranch he has since devoted his attention to- farming and stockraising on an extensive scale and demonstrated that the lands of his choice were the best farm lands of the west. He has directed his efforts with such discrimination as to attain a full measure of success, being recognized as one of the representative ranchmen of the state.

Mr. Stork has been a zealous worker in the in- terests of the Democratic party, and at the election of 1896 he was the successful candidate of his party for representative in the lower house of the Fiftlı legislature of the state, and was one of the active,. alert working members of the session, rendering effective service to the commonwealth and his con- stituency. His personal popularity was shown in the fact that he received a majority of 2,200 in his county. At the election of 1900, Mr. Stork was a candidate for re-election, on the Independent Democratic ticket, but met with the defeat which attended the party ticket so largely throughout the entire Union. Fraternally he is identified with the Ancient Order United Workmen.

In 1872 Mr. Stork was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Wagner, a native of Minnesota, and to them were born two children: Byron C. and Idelett V. (Mrs. K. Jackels). He was divorced from his wife in 1882, and on the 4th of July fol- lowing was married to Miss Fidelia G. B. Clark, daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth Clark, who were born in Minnesota. Mrs. Stork died on the 28th of November, 1889, leaving two children : Charles-

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A. and Bessie. On the 6th of February, 1890, Mr. Stork consummated a third marriage, being then united to Mrs. Lucy J. Murphy, who was born in Arkansas, the daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Lee, who were natives of Illinois. Her father was a farmer by occupation, and met his death while serving in the Union army in the Civil war, his widow dying in Kansas in 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Stork have become the parents of two children : William L. and Franklin P. Stork.

On his ranch of 1,800 acres Mr. Stork has at the present time eighty head of cattle and about sixty- four horses, while 1,400 acres of the place are available for cultivation, 600 acres of it producing large crops of grain in 1901. The property is valued at $30,000, and is one of the valuable places of the county, being well improved and showing evidences of the care and discrimination of the owner. Mr. Stork takes a lively interest in the agri- cultural and stockgrowing affairs of the state, and has been particularly prominent in connection with the various county fairs. He was one of the or- ganizers, and the president for several years, of the Cascade County Agricultural Society, and in furthering its objects gave largely both of his time and money.

M ARGUERITE M. STRANG .- The expansion of the province of womanhood as touching the opportunities for personal effort and accomplish- ment has been given a proper recognition in the virile young state of Montana, and thus we are permitted to direct attention to Mrs. M. M. Strang. who is the incumbent of an important and distin- guished official position in the gift of the people of Yellowstone county, where she is superintendent of the public schools of the county, an honor which has been worthily bestowed, since she has shown marked executive ability and has been and is prominently identified with educational work. Mrs. Strang is a native of Missouri, born in Johnson county, on November 3. 1871, the daughter of Thomas H. and Mary M. (Golden) Jones. Her mother also was born in Missouri. Her father, who was born in Canton, Ohio, received a medi- cal education but, disliking the profession, engaged in educational work. In 1849, under the gold ex- citement, he went to California and remained in the west until after the Civil war, having been in west- crn Montana when its present cities were only mining camps. Returning as far east as Missouri,

he located upon a farm, and in October, 1870, was united in marriage to his present wife. After a few years he again took up his profession as teacher. and it was under his instruction that Mrs. Strang received her early education.

In February, 1884, she removed with her parents to Montgomery county, Kan., where she continued her studies in the public schools until the spring of 1888, when she put her scholastic acquirements to a practical test by engaging in pedagogic work, in which she has ever been exceptionally successful. She may truly be classed with the list of self-made women. Her parents possessed very limited means, and she, the eldest of their family of eight children, realized that her desire for knowledge could be attained only by her own effort. By perseverance in her plan of teaching and going to school alter- nately, she secured a very thorough education. In 1891 she finished a term in the Kansas Normal College, at Fort Scott, Kan., and in 1892 still further supplemented her education in a practical way by completing a course of study in the Southwestern Business College at Wichita, Kan., teaching during the winter of that year. In the spring of 1893 she came to Montana, locating in Billings, and secur- ing a position as teacher in the school at Canyon Creek, seven miles west of the city. In 1896 she taught in the school at Allendale and thereafter retained the incumbency in that district consecu- tively until December 19, 1900, having been elected to her present office in November preceding, her name having appeared on the Republican ticket. Mrs. Strang has justified the choice of the people, and has taken up her work with zealous interest, administering its affairs with great credit to her- self and to the distinct improvement of the edu- cational work and facilities in the county. She has her home and business headquarters In Billings.

On July 29, 1894, she was united in marriage to Charles D. Strang, of Billings, and is the mother of one child, Willis Bertrand.

NELSON STORY. JR .- The city of Bozeman is fortunate in having so many young, progres- sive business men, and Nelson Story, Jr., is not among the least of that representative class, and enjoys the distinction of being a native son of Montana, standing as he does at the head of one of the leading industrial enterprises of Bozeman.

Mr. Story was born in the city which is now his

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home May 12, 1874, being the son of Nelson Story, Sr., to whom individual reference is made elsewhere in this volume. He received his pre- liminary education in the public schools of Boze- man, became a student in the Shattuck Millitary Academy at Faribault, Minn., where he remained three years, supplementing the training there re- ceived by a commercial college in St. Louis, where he continued his studies one year. He left school at the age of twenty years, and for six years was employed in his father's flouring mill in Bozeman. In 1900 he gave inception to his business career by erecting the Story Iron Works, located at the cor- ner of Main street and Grand avenue, the plant being completed in September of that year. The structure is 50x125 feet, completed at a cost of $10,000, and its equipment includes the most im- proved machinery and accessories for general iron- working business. The enterprise meets a dis- tinctive demand in this section of the state, and under Mr. Story's able and discriminating man- agement its business is certain to be cumulative in character and have an important influence upon the industrial and material prosperity of the city.

In his politics Mr. Story is a staunch Republican and a zealous and active worker in the local politi- cal field and has been chairman of the Republican central committee of Gallatin county since the spring of 1901. Fraternally he is a prominent member of Bozeman Lodge No. 463, B. P. O. E., and takes a deep interest in its affairs.

At St. Louis, Mo., on June 10, 1894, Mr. Story was united in marriage to Miss Etha L. Mayo, daughter of William H. Mayo, secretary of the Missouri grand lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, in which fraternity he has attained the thirty-third degree, the highest in the Scottish rite. Mr. and Mrs. Story have a little son, Nelson Story, III, who was born in January, 1900.

THORNTON STREET .- In the personnel of - those prominently identified with the indus- trial life of Montana it will be noted that nearly all the older states of the Union have contributed some of their best and ablest young men. Here no man need feel that he is segregated ; he stands exactly for what he is. While the honored subject of this review is one of the pioneers of Montana and a representative farmer of Gallatin valley, he is a native of the state of Iowa, and his genealogy

runs back to old southern stock, his grandfather, Joseph M. Street having been born in the Old Dominion, a son of Anthony Street, an influential planter who married Mary Stokes, a sister of Montfort Stokes, at one time governor of North Carolina. The father of Anthony Street was Capt. John Street, of Bristol, England, who came to Virginia early in the eighteenth century. Anthony Street, great-grandfather of our subject, volunteered as a private in the Continental army during the war of the Revolution, and participated in the bat- tles of Guilford Court-house and King's Mountain. For gallantry displayed he was promoted from time to time, holding rank of colonel at the close of the war. Joseph Montfort Street studied law in the office of Henry Clay, and was a prominent attorney before the courts of Kentucky and Tennessee, later he associating himself with John Wood, a Scots- man, in the publication of the Western World, at Frankfort, Ky., the journal being independent in politics and issued weekly. The firm title was J. M. Street & Co., and through the columns of the paper Mr. Street charged Aaron Burr with conspir- acy against the government, which caused much discussion and bitter animosity. The paper met with violent opposition on the part of Burr's friends, who determined to silence it, and Judge Innes sued the proprietors for libel. The editors pleaded justi- fication and proved that the Judge had transmitted to New Orleans sealed documents received from Burr. It may be that Innes did not know the na- ture of the papers, for when their treasonable character was shown he fainted and was borne out of the court room. Others sought personal satis- faction, many challenges being sent to Mr. Street, and he was menaced in many ways. He paid no attention to the challenges except to acknowledge their receipt through his paper and to state that the same had been placed on file and the writer would be duly attended to. He was covertly at- tacked several times, bat made short work of re- pelling his antagonists. Finally George Adams, a young attorney, was selected to dispose of Mr. Street. He stationed two strong men in an alley, and as Street was about to pass they seized him and held him until Adams advanced, pistol in hand, and ordered his vassals to stand aside. He then shot at Mr. Street, but the ball struck a button on his gar- ments and was deflected from its direct course to the heart, but broke the lower portion of the breast bone. Street drew a dirk and pursued his assail- ant, calling for aid in capturing him and tearing the

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would-be assassin's coats into shreds as they ran Street laid for months on the verge of dissolution, but finally recovered. He married Eliza Maria, daughter of Maj .- Gen. Thomas Posey, of the Con- tinental army. Gen. Street took a most active part in the Blackhawk war, raising a number of com- panies of Indians and equipping them at his own expense. Blackhawk was finally captured and Gen. Street treated him with utmost consideration, hav- ing implicit confidence in his honor.

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 87

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