Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 93

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 93

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Mr. Wampler came to Montana in 1872, as has been noted, traveling by rail to Corinne, Utalı, and from there by stage to Butte, where he found

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eighteen or twenty inhabitants. He formed a part- nership with his brother John, which continued until the death of his brother in 1885. He sold out his interests at that place in 1894 and removed to Pony, where he now resides. Here he organized a company for the purchase of property which he considered valuable and on which he had secured an option. The company is known as the Levi- athan, and Mr. Wampler, after making the pur- chase, was for some years its general manager. Recently the company has given an option on the property to other parties, but Mr. Wampler is still interested in it, and it justifies his early hopes. He is also interested in other properties in the vi- cinity and in other sections. Mr. Wampler was married December 7, 1873, to Miss V. J. Jordan, daughter of Harrison Jordan, of Pleasant Valley, Jefferson county, of whom extended mention is made on another page of this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Wampler are the parents of three children, one of whom is still living, Nina Aileen, wife of Charles Morris, of Pony. Those deceased are Irma E. and Walter Audley. Mr. Wampler's resi- dence in Pony is one of the most attractive in the place. It gives evidence of good taste and progressive ideas on the part of those who own it, and is only one of the indications, numerous and conclusive, that the high place held by the family in the regard of the community is based on real merit and substantial claims.

his family to Wisconsin, where he made his home until his death; his wife also dying in that state.

Dwight N. Weber was reared and educated in New York, receiving his preliminary training in the public schools, supplemented by a course of study at an academy. He accompanied his parents on removal to Wisconsin, and was there devoting his attention to agricultural pursuits at the time when the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion roused his patriotism to responsive protest, and he promptly tendered his services, enlisting in 1861, as a private in Company B, Eighth Wiscon- sin Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Col. Mur- phy. The regiment was first assigned to duty in southern Missouri, thence to Kentucky, and later into Tennessee and other sections of the south. Mr. Weber participated in the engagements at Fredericktown, Mo., and Farmington, Miss., and took part in a number of skirmishes. On October 6, 1862, he was honorably discharged from the service on account of physical disability, and in the spring of the following year he started for the western frontier, making Montana his destination, the long and weary journey across the plains be- ing made with an ox team. The party of which he was a member had no trouble with the Indians, though they kept constantly on the alert, as pre- ceding trains had encountered serious difficulty with the savages. Mr. Weber arrived in Bannack, the original capital of Montana territory, July 15, 1863, and remained in that locality two months. He joined the rush to the great placer mining district in Alder gulch, the present site of Vir- ginia City and one of the greatest mining camps known in the history of gold seeking. There he gree of success in his mining ventures. He was a resident of the place at the time the vigil- antes took matters into their own hands and suc- ceeded in driving the desperadoes and. outlaws from the country. The excitement at the time was intense, and contemporary history records that many of these ruffianly characters, a constant menace to the honest miners and settlers, expiated their crimes by swinging in the air from im- promptu gallows. For a number of years after leaving Alder gulch Mr. Weber devoted his atten- tion to prospecting and mining in Madison county, meeting with varying success. He continued operations in this line until 1882, when failing health necessitated a change of occupation, and he removed to Gallatin valley, having previously

D WIGHT N. WEBER .- Among the popular and successful farmers of Gallatin valley is Dwight N. Weber, who enjoys the distinction of . remained for five years, meeting with a fair de- being a Montana pioneer of 1863. His recollec- tions are replete with the stirring scenes and events of frontier days, and can appreciate the advantages offered by the young commonwealth at the opening of the twentieth century over the trials of forty years ago. Mr. Weber comes from stanch old Knickerbocker stock on the paternal side, and he is a native of the Empire state, having been born in Allegany county, N. Y., on June 29, 1838, the so11 of Peter S. and Maria (Norton) Weber, both born in Oneida county, and who became the parents of six sons and five daughters. The paternal grand- father was Peter Weber, whose ancestors came from Holland to America during the early Colo- nial epoch. Peter S. Weber retained his residence in New York until 1858, when he removed with

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secured an interest in lands in this section. Here he has since made his home, and has seen the valley develop from a section where there were few settlers and but primitive facilities into one of the richest agricultural districts in the north- west, and adorned with fine modern and im- proved country estates and attractive homes. He now has a ranch of about 250 acres, all under ef- fective irrigation and a high state of cultivation, the principal products being wheat, oats and bar- ley, bountiful harvests being assured each sea- son. He has a commodious and substantial farm residence, with permanent improvements of the best order, and is known as one of the wide-awake and progressive farmers of the valley. His ranch is located about two miles southwest of Manhat- tan, Gallatin county, his postoffice address. In politics Mr. Weber supports the Republican party, has served for many years as a member of the board of school trustees and takes a deep in- terest in educational and church work.

On January 4, 1896, Mr. Weber was united in marriage to Mrs. Lillian Wolcott, nee Davidson, who was born in Wisconsin, the daughter of Jo- seph J. Davidson, a native of New Jersey, who removed thence to Wisconsin and engaged in ag- ricultural pursuits for a term of years. He came to Montana as a pioneer of 1864, and was thereaf- ter a resident of this state at irregular intervals for a number of years. He now makes his home in the state of New York. Mrs. Weber has one daughter (Josephine) by her first marriage, who is now attending college at Bozeman, a young lady of grace and refinement. The family occupy a position of prominence in the social life of the community, and their home is a center of refined hospitality.

H ON. FREDERICK C. WEBSTER .- That the personnel of the Montana bar is the equal of that of any other American state is unques- tioned, and in the front rank of this array of judicial talent stands Frederick C. Webster, judge of the Fourth judicial district of Montana, com- prising Missoula and Ravalli counties. He was born in Litchfield, Conn., on October 17, 1850. His family was originally of the north of England. His ancestors came to New England in early Colonial days, and in every generation the name has been prominent in the history of the country, while Noah and Daniel Webster

are perhaps the most conspicuous members of the family. The early Connecticut an- cestors blazed their way from Hartford to Litchfield, Conn., through the primeval forests which then resounded with the growl of the wolf and the whoop of the Indian, and were mem- bers of the first Litchfield colony. The selection of land was by lot, and the Webster allotment contained Chestnut Hill. Here has since been the family home, and here successive generations of the family were born and reared and the farm is still owned by Websters. At Chestnut Hill Ben- jamin Webster, the paternal grandfather of Judge Webster, was born and passed his life, dying at the age of ninety. Charles B. Webster, his old- est son and the father of Frederick C. Webster, was born there in 1823, and he too passed his life at that place, reaching three score years and ten. He married with Miss Lucinda Baldwin, also a native of Connecticut, and they had two sons, Frederick C. and Wilbur E. The latter still re- sides on the old homestead near Litchfield.

In the superior schools of Litchfield Frederick C. Webster received the rudiments of his edu- cation. This he followed with a course at Gen. Russell's school at New Haven, Conn., and then he passed the qualifying examinations, and ma- triculated at Yale in 1873, from which celebrated institution he was graduated with the degree of B. A. He then took the course of the law de- partment of Yale, and also read law one year with Judge Edward Seymour, judge of the supreme court of Connecticut. Subsequently he studied the distinctively technical principles of law in the of- fice of Judge Charles B. Andrews, one time . governor of Connecticut and now chief jus- tice of that state. In June, 1875, he was admitted to practice in the courts of Con- necticut, and soon afterwards, in 1877, came to Minneapolis, Minn. While here he was associated in legal practice with Judge Atwater until 1880. Judge Webster then removed to Denver, Col., and there became interested in mining at San Juan and in various other enterprises. At Grand Junc- tion, Col., he again entered the ranks of his pro- fession and was elected and served as city attor- ney.

In 1884 he came to Montana where his first location was at Butte. Here he remained a short time and then came to Missoula. Here he formed a law partnership with Judge Woody and the firm was continued until the election of the latter

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to the district bench. For the two years following he was associated with Jos. K. Wood, and this firm obtained until the election, in 1900, of Mr. Webster to the office of judge of the Fourth judi- cial district, a position he is now filling with distinction. At an earlier period Judge Webster served as county attorney of Missoula county four years, from 1888 to 1892. He also served two terms as mayor of Missoula. Judge Webster is a Republican, and in local, state and national af- fairs lie is at all times a prominent factor in his party's movements. On June 1, 1889, Judge Web- ster was united in marriage to Miss Anna C. Bye, a native of Norway. Their four children, Lucy B., Fred B., Charles N. and Anna I., are all mem- bers of the parental home circle. Judge Webster stands high in Masonry and has served as grand master of the state. He is also an Odd Fellow and belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Throughout Montana none is more highly respected. As a skillful lawyer, as a judi- cial officer of the highest integrity, and as a man of affairs with rare executive ability, Judge Fred- erick C. Webster holds an enviable place among the leaders of public opinion in the state.

C HARLES M. WEBSTER is of Vermont par- entage and of early Colonial New England ancestry. The family in America sprang from John Webster, who came from County Suffolk, England, and settled at Ipswich, Mass., in 1634. His grandfather, Hon. Alpha Webster, was in his day one of the leading citizens of Vermont. Hon. Charles Carroll Webster, born in Vermont in 1824, was the father of Charles M. Webster, and Elizabeth Drew, also a native of Vermont, was his mother. She was a woman of refinement and of great energy and ambition. She was born in 1831, and died in Montana, at the home of her son, in 1897, surviving her husband, who died at Min- neapolis in 1893. They reared and liberally edu- cated five children, whom they lived to see well established in life.

Charles M. Webster was born at Zumbota, Minn., on April 12, 1858. He was educated in the public schools of Red Wing, Minn., the prepara- tory department of Oberlin College and at the State University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn., where he was graduated in the classical course with the class of 1882. While in the University he helped to pay his way through by newspaper

work and teaching. He studied law and was ad- mitted to the bar in Minneapolis, in December, 1883, and became a member of the firm of Keith, Thompson & Webster. In October, 1884, he was married to his classmate and friend of his youth, Miss Addie Pillsbury, daughter of Gov. John S. Pillsbury, of Minneapolis. She died before she was six months a bride. Mr. Webster with- drew from the law firm in April, 1886, and came to the then new town of Great Falls, Mont. In 1886 he edited the Great Falls Tribune. From 1887 to 1890 he was secretary of the Great Falls Water-Power & Townsite Company. The town grew rapidly and Mr. Webster made an ample fortune there, principally in real estate. He or- ganized many business enterprises and erected numerous buildings.

He was one of the founders of the Great Falls free library and one of the builders of the splendid opera house there. In the fall of 1890 he, with others, organized the Security Bank of Great Falls, and was made its president. During the panic of 1893 Mr. Webster kept this bank open by the sacrifice of his private fortune and put the bank through voluntary liquidation in the fall of 1895, after paying every obligation in full. Mr. Webster has always been a stanch Republican, as his father and grandfather were before him. In 1888 he was made chairman of the Cascade county Republican committee, the party's first Republican organization in that county. In 1889 he was a member of the constitutional convention. From 1889 to 1891 he wa's president of the Great Falls city council, from 1891-2 school trustee, from 1892-3 mayor, and mayor again from 1895 to 1897. In 1896 he was the nominee of his party for the office of state treasurer. Though defeated, he ran from 1,500 to 7,000 votes ahead of his ticket. In 1897 he was appointed collector of in- ternal revenue for Montana, Idaho and Utah, which place he resigned in July, 1901, to accept the collectorship of customs for Montana and Idaho, with headquarters at Great Falls. In May, 1892, he married Miss Helen Eloise Pettitt, daughter of S. I. Pettitt, of Faribault, Minn. They have two children, a girl of seven and a boy two years of age.

J OTIS WATSON, of Butte, is a descendant of two prominent Maryland families, distin- guished for generations in the civil and military

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annals of that old commonwealth. His father was Roderick D. Watson, a kinsman of the fearless lucro of Monterey, who gave his life as a tribute to valor on that bloody field, and his mother was Miss M. Z. Posey, a daughter of Isaiah Posey, an eminent merchant, politician and publicist, also of Maryland. The former was born in 1834 and the latter in 1838. The father removed to the Federal capital in mature life and engaged in contracting for works of construction on a large scale. This he continued until the time of his death on June 20, 1901, in the city of his adoption. In this city, Washington, D. C., Otis Watson was born on May 5, 1877. He attended the public schools of the city, and then was appointed to a clerkship in the United States postoffice department, a posi- tion which he held for more than two years. But feeling the necessity for a more active and out-door life he resigned his clerkship and opened a grocery store, which he conducted successfully for about a year and half, when, finding even this too confining, he sold it, and went into partner- ship with his father in contracting.

At the end of two years failing health compelled him to relinquish this, and he removed to Mon- tana, where he has found both health and oppor- tunity for a successful career. He located first at Boulder, and was a pharmacist with the Boulder Drug Company until September, 1900, when he re- moved to Butte and engaged in business with the Hennessy Mercantile Company, with which he is still connected (1901). Mr. Watson's whole life has been one of energy and productive usefulness. In business he is accurate, skillful and progressive, in social relations, urbane, entertaining and con- siderate, and in citizenship, broad-minded, toler- erant and conservative, yet demanding lofty ideals and correct methods in public affairs and govern- mental policies. Until 1900 his political affiliations were always with the regular Democratic party. In that year he became an Independent and or- ganized the Independent Democratic party in Jef- ferson county. It need scarcely be said that he is a young gentleman of such character, intelligence and enterprise as to give him influence among his fellow-men.

H ON. ELBERT DURKEE WEED, ex-United States district attorney for Montana, and a brilliant member of its bar, was born in Allegany county, N. Y., on December 1, 1858. He is of

English and Dutch descent, and most patriotic services were rendered by his ancestors in the several wars of the country's history from the Revolution to the Civil war. His great-great- grandfather, Reuben Weed, settled in Connecti- cut early in the history of the colony, and from there his descendants emigrated to Cayuga county, N. Y. Mr. Weed's maternal great-grandfather, Jacob Schaffer, fought valiantly in the Revolution, as did his paternal great-grandfather, Reuben Weed, and his grandfather, Reuben Weed, took an active part in the war of 1812. Seth H. Weed, the father of Mr. Weed, was born in Allegany county, N. Y., in 1832. In July, 1861, he enlisted in the First New York Dragoons, and was with his regiment in the Army of the Potomac until the second day of the historic battle of the Wil- derness, when he received a gunshot wound which severed an artery in the thigh, and cansing his death. He was survived by a widow and two sons, Elbert D. and Henry I. In 1866 the widow, whose maiden name was Nancy E. Foland, and her two children, accompanied her father to Wiscon- sin, where she settled on a farm on which her sons were reared. At present she resides in Osh- kosh, Wis.

Elbert Durkee Weed was educated in the pub- lic schools of Wisconsin, and by assiduous study prepared himself for the Lawrence University, of Wisconsin, from which he was graduated in 1880. He followed this by a thorough course in the law department of the University of Wisconsin, at Madison. Duly graduating in that famous school and being admitted to practice in the courts of Wisconsin, he began legal practice at Oshkosh. In 1883 he came to Helena, Mont., and with E. D. Edgerton formed a partnership for the prac- tice of law. This firm continued two years and from that time Mr. Weed has been alone in practice. He has been, since he came to Montana, then a territory, in the enjoyment of a lucrative practice, and has been connected with much im- portant litigation in the state and federal courts. Mr. Weed is a stanch and patriotic Republican. In 1888 he served as secretary of the Republi- can state central committee, was temporary chair- man of the Republican state convention of 1892, and was prominently mentioned as a candidate for governor. He has held the offices of deputy district attorney, and assistant United States dis- trict attorney for Montana, and in 1889 was ap- pointed to the office of United States district at-

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torney, serving with distinction until the expira- tion of his term in 1894. In 1894 Mr. Weed was elected mayor of Helena by the largest plurality ever given up to that time to a candidate for that office. In his profession Mr. Weed has met with more than ordinary success. His brilliant abilities, diligence and conscientious devotion to his cases and causes have won for him the confidence of all with whom he has been associated either in a business or a social way, and he has been retained as counsel for some of the heaviest corporations in the country, such as the Mutual Life Insurance Company, of New York, the United States Mort- gage and Trust Company, of New York, the Mon- tana Ore Purchasing Company and others. As a forcible and eloquent public speaker Mr. Weed is widely known, and he has done much efficient work in the interest of his party on the stump in this state.

J L. WEITMAN, M. D., who is one of the leading members of the Montana medical pro- fession, is a resident of Great Falls. He was born at Millersburg, Holmes county, Ohio, on July 21, 1855. His father, John Weitman, a native of Ber- lin, Germany, came to the United States when a young man and first settled in New York city. Later he came to Ohio, where he married Anna Henry, a native of that state, reared his family and still resides.

Dr. J. L. Weitman has three brothers and one sister now living. Through his boyhood days he was reared in Ohio, and after attending the public schools of Millersburg his desire for a higher education caused him to avail himself of an uni- versity course of learning and subsequently he entered the university and he was graduated in 1880. The same year he began reading medicine at his home, and in 1881 he entered the service of the Northern Pacific Railway as surgeon, his district lying between Spokane, Wash., and Hel- ena, Mont. He remained associated with the com- pany six years, residing at Spokane. In 1887 Dr. Weitman came to Great Falls, and has lived here ever since, having a large and lucrative prac- tice in the city and immediate vicinity. In 1890 Dr. Weitman took a course in the Jefferson Med- ical College, of Philadelphia, and has since fol- lowed the practice of physician and surgeon with eminent success. He is a member of the State Medical Society of Montana, The Inter-State Med-

ical Association of Montana, Colorado, Utah and Arizona, and also of the Rocky Mountain Inter- State Medical Society. In 1894 he served as cor- oner of Great Falls. He has a most excellent prac- tice and has won the confidence and esteem of the inhabitants of the city and vicinity. In politics he takes little interest, and has never aspired to official position.

PROF. EWALD WEBER .- The influence which music has exercised in all ages and over all peoples has made it a dominating element in the history of the world, since it stands sponsor not only for the greatest emotional exaltation. inciting to worthy thoughts and worthy deeds, but has also done more to uplift humanity than all other arts combined. One of the most worthy exemplars of musical art in Helena is this gifted gentleman and he has contributed in a marked degree to the development of art life in the cap- ital city.

Prof. Ewald Weber was born in the historic old city of Cologne, Prussia, in 1870, his par- ents, Albert and Elizabeth (Lenz) Weber, being likewise natives of that city. His father was a volunteer in the war of 1866, between Prussia and Denmark, there rendering loyal service for three years. He is a piano-tuner and a musician and a critic of fine ability. He came to America in 1887, locating in San Francisco, Cal., where he is engaged in business in the musical line.

Prof. Weber attained maturity under the in- spiring influences of a distinctly musical home at- mosphere, and completed a thorough course in the celebrated conservatory of music in Cologne, graduating in 1891 and receiving a diploma as a violin soloist, in recognition of his talent, both technically and artistically, this diploma being es- teemed a great honor in Germany, where such tes- timonials are not indiscriminately bestowed. He came to the United States in 1891, stopping for a time with his parents in San Francisco but lo- cating in Helena before the close of that year. He gained immediate recognition in the capital city, where he is the acknowledged leader in music and the most able exponent of his art. Here he devotes himself to teaching piano and violin in- terpretations, securing patronage from the lead- ing families and enjoying a distinguished popu- larity. He is a cultured musician, equally strong

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in theory and technique, while he is thoroughly read in musical literature. He has been musical director of Ming's opera house ever since his ar- rival in Helena, and is doing much to elevate the standard of musical taste here and in other cities where he frequently appears in a professional way. In 1894 Prof. Weber was united in marriage to Miss Alwine Vollrath, who was born in Geldern, Germany, and is a lady of gracious presence and gentle refinement.

JOHN R. LATIMER .- One of the pioneers of Montana and one who has contributed in a large measure to the development of her material in- dustries, while he has also been prominent in con- nection with public affairs, John R. Latimer is among the leading farmers and stockbreeders of Missoula county. He was born in Summit county, Ohio, on August 25, 1841, his father being a native of Connecticut and his mother of Pennsylvania, but he has little knowledge of his ancestry as his father died in Ohio when he was but three years of age and his mother sometime later at Decatur, Ill. Their two children are John R. and Permelia, the wife of Harry Knox, of Missoula, a Union soldier of the Civil war who served four years in an Illinois regiment.

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 93

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