Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 95

Author: Bowen, A.W., & Co., firm, publishers, Chicago
Publication date: [19-?]
Publisher: Chicago : A. W. Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 1374

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signed in 1854 and located in Chicago, which con- tinued to be his home until the close of his long and useful life. At the outbreak of the Civil war he again entered the service of his country ; first as paymaster with the rank of major. In Feb- ruary, 1862, he was made colonel of the First Il-

linois Artillery, and became chief of staff of Gen. Grant. He was present at the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson, receiving the highest com- mendations in Gen. Grant's official reports. He was on detail service for a time, and on Novem- ber 29, 1862, was commissioned brigadier gen- eral of volunteers. He served as military gover- nor of Memphis, Tenn., and later as Grant's chief of staff during the Vicksburg campaign. In 1864 he held a similar post under Gen. W. T. Sherman. On March 13, 1865, Gen. Webster was brevetted major general of volunteers, and continued in ser- vice until Nov. 6th, when he resigned and re- turned to Chicago. He served as assessor of in- ternal revenue, as assistant United States treas- urer, collector of internal revenue, and held the high prestige as one of the successful busi- ness men of Chicago. He was a man of distinguished ability and conferred honor upon the state and nation which honored him. Mrs. Wickes, who was born in the old barracks on Chicago river, received her education in her native city, where she was reared to ma- turity. Mr. and Mrs. Wickes are the parents of three children : Edwin Dana, who is a mechanical and electrical engineer ; Annie, who is the wife of Rev. William W. Love, rector of St. Peter's church in Helena ; and Lewis Webster, who is studying to become a mining and chemical engineer.

J R. WIDMYER .- Coming into the world an orphan, his father having died three days before he was born, and with no specially favoring cir- cumstances to aid his progress through life, Mr. Widmyer is essentially a self-made man. His life began in the rich and enterprising old city of Lancaster, Pa., January 10, 1860. His parents were Joseph and Mary (Gantz) Widmyer, both natives of Drumstadt, Germany, where the former was born in 1821, and the latter in 1835. They came to the United States when they were young with a colony of eight families, and in Lancaster the father industriously pursued his trade of cab- inet maker until his death, on January 7, 1860, where his wife also died in 1896.

Mr. Widmyer was educated in his native city, and then learned the printer's trade there. From 1880 to 1882 he worked at this in Philadelphia. In the spring of 1882 he came west to Minneapolis and worked on the Tribune of that city until fall,

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then came to Montana, settling at Glendive, in Dawson county, and entering the Times office, where he remained a year. On the 14th day of June, 1884, he started the publication of the Glen- dive Independent, which has been successful from its inception and has attained a large circulation and an excellent advertising patronage. In 1889 he opened a furniture store in connection with his printing business, and in 1901 built a large block in which his business establishments use the ground floor, and an opera house, with a seating capacity of 750, occupies the second story. This was opened to the public in September of that year. He is also a member of the firm of Haskell & Wid- myer, real estate and live stock commission brokers. In all lines of enterprise in which he has ever been engaged Mr. Widmyer has been suc- cessful in making steady gains and continually increasing his profits. He is independent in poli- tics, and keenly alive to the best interests of the community. He was postmaster during Presi- dent Cleveland's first administration, serving four years. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of the Maccabees, being a member of Busy Bee Tent No. 24, at Glendive. In social as well as in business and official life Mr. Widmyer is highly esteemed. Mr. Widmyer was married first at Detroit, Minn., in 1892, to Miss Maud Brown, who was born in Canada in 1872. His second marriage was in 1900, his choice on this occasion being Mrs. Mary Coleman, of Glen- dive, Mont., a native of Hastings, Minn., where she was born in September, 1865.

ONTANA HARDWARE COMPANY. -

Among the principal business enterprises of the state is the Montana Hardware Company, of Lewistown, which was organized and incor- porated as a stock company in 1892, the capital stock represented being $25,000. £ The original incorporators were T. C. Power, J. W. Power, A. W. Warr, N. M. Erickson and G. J. Wiedeman, while the original executive officers were: J. W. Power, president ; John Warr, vice-president ; Aus- tin Warr, secretary, and G. J. Wiedeman, treasurer. This official corps remained unchanged until 1900, when T. C. Power was chosen to succeed J. W. Power in the presidency, while A. N. Warr be- came vice-president and secretary and Mr. Weide-

man, treasurer and manager. The capital stock and surplus of the company now aggregates $100,000, implying marked increase in the scope and importance of this enterprise, which has been extended to include other mercantile con- cerns, notably the Benton Hardware Company, the Gilt Edge Mercantile Company and the Utica Mer- cantile Company.

George J. Wiedeman, the treasurer and man- ager of the Montana Hardware Company, is rec- ognized as one of the most progressive young business men of the section. He was born in New Bremen, Auglaize county, Ohio, on the 22d of February, 1860. His parents, Frederick and Mary (Stroh) Wiedeman, emigrated from Ger- many to the United States in 1835, settling in Ohio, where the father engaged in agricultural pursuits, and where death came to them. They became the parents of six sons and four daugh- ters. Two of the sons are now residents of Montana-B. C. and George J.

George J. Wiedeman was reared and educated in Ohio until he had attained the age of eighteen, when he went to Chicago. Here he remained un- til 1881, when he came to Montana and located at Utica, and gave his attention to the sheep busi- ness for two years. In 1883 he came to Lewis- town and soon afterward located a ranch on the east fork of Big Spring creek, where he was associ- ated in the sheep business with his brother until 1886. He entered the employ of the T. C. Power Company, in Lewistown, in the latter year, and was thus engaged until 1892, when he effected the or- ganization of the Montana Hardware Company, and has ever since been here located as the man- ager of this corporation, whose success has been largely due to his capable efforts and discriminat- ing methods. He assisted in the organization of the Lewistown Electric Light Company, and is a member of its directorate, while he maintains a public-spirited interest in all that tends to the progress and material prosperity of his home city, and the development of Fergus county. He is a stalwart Republican, but has never sought public office. Fraternally he holds membership in the Masonic lodge and chapter and in the Benevo- lent Protective Order of Elks. He is well known and enjoys distinctive popularity in business and social circles.

On the 10th of April, 1890, Mr. Wiedeman was united in marriage to Miss Anna Weydert, who was born in Helena, the capital city of Montana,

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the daughter of Paul Weydert, who was one of the pioneers of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Wiede- man have two sons-William A. and George J., Jr.

H OWARD B. WILEY .- The cashier of the First National Bank of Miles City, Howard B. Wiley is certainly one of those meriting recog- nition as a careful, conservative, yet progressive business man, of Custer county. He comes of Revolutionary stock in New England, where the families on both the paternal and maternal sides were established in Colonial days. He was born in Cambridge, Mass., on the 24th of May, 1859, the son of Abraham S. and Susan (Brewer) Wiley. Both of these were born in the old Bay state, and his father was for many years a druggist in Cam- bridge, while his father's father was the first treas- urer of the Fitchburg railroad. The maternal grandfather was a druggist in Boston. In his fa- ther's family were six children, of whom Howard B. was the eldest.

Mr. Wiley was educated at private and public schools, the celebrated Chauncey Hall school of Boston, and the Detroit, Mich., high school. On leaving school he secured a clerkship in the office of a dry goods establishment in Detroit, and a year later was made cashier, and he continued with this house for four years. In 1880 he went to Fargo, N. D., held a clerical position one win- ter, and was associated with others in taking up land in that locality. In May, 1882, he came to Billings, Mont., where he held a clerkship until the fall of 1883, when he was given a position in the First National Bank, holding this until 1884, when he came to Miles City as assistant cashier of the Stock Growers' Bank. In the summer of 1886 he took a similar position with the First National Bank, became cashier in 1890, and has ever since been in tenure of this office, having the practical management of the affairs of the institution, and proving himself an able financier.

Mr. Wiley, as a loyal Republican, takes an act- ive interest in public affairs, and has the best inter- ests of the community closely at heart. In 1890 he was elected city treasurer, and two years later the citizens of Miles City showed their appreciation of his character and business qualities by electing him to the chief executive office. As mayor he gave a clean and business-like administration and fully justified the trust reposed in him. Fraternally

he is a member of Yellowstone Lodge No. 26, A. F. & A. M., of which he was worshipful master for three years; in the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks he has filled some of the principal official chairs, and is a popular member of Miles City Lodge No. 537. He also holds membership in the Miles City Club and the local gun club. He is a devotee of hunting, has made a special study of geology and greatly enjoys making excursions into the unsettled country. In 1882 and 1883 he made tours through the Yellowstone National Park and shot some fine game, there being then no restrictions to the sport. On the 15th of May, 1889, Mr. Wiley was united in marriage with Miss Jennie L. Hodges, who was born in Vermont, the daughter of Julius Hodges. Her mother is deceased, but her father is still living in Vermont. Mr. and Mrs. Wiley are the parents of two sons, Russell B., born in 1892, and Arthur W., born in 1899.

P ETER WILSON .- The value of the mineral deposits of Montana constituted the entering wedge in the magnificent development of a great state, and in the early pioneer period one of the first practical and expert miners to take up his location here was Mr. Wilson, for many years prominently identified with this line of industry, and is now one of the prosperous and influential farmers and stockgrowers of Beaverhead county.

Mr. Wilson is a native of England, having been born in the town of Wigan, the center of an exten- sive coal-mining district of Lancastershire, on the Ist of April, 1835. His father, Peter Wilson, was born in the same town, and there passed his entire life, being a weaver and operating the hand looms in use at that time. He married Hannah String- fellow, of Wigan, and of their eleven children Peter Wilson is the eighth in order of birth and one of the four who still survive. He received a common English education, and in early youth was apprenticed to a blacksmith, becoming an ex- pert workman. In 1860 Mr. Wilson immigrated to America, and located in the copper mining dis- trict of upper Michigan, on Lake Superior. Here he was employed in the mines until August, 1862, when he started for Denver, Col., outfitting at St. Joseph, Mo. He arrived.in Denver in September and found profitable employment in the quartz mines. As practical miners were scarce at the time he received high wages, and remained in Col-

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orado until February 28, 1864, when he joined the throng of gold-seekers who were wending their way across the plains to the new gold fields of Montana, that time a part of the territory of Idaho. He arrived in Alder gulch, now Virginia City, on the 27th of April, and engaged in placer mining. In January of the following year he went to Last Chance gulch, now the capital city, and after passing the summer in mining he joined a party of ten and made an unprofitable prospect- ing trip to Blackfoot creek. Returning to Helena he remained until August, 1866, and then went to Bannack, where he operated quartz mining for one and one-half years, but abandoned it to en- gage in placer mining. In 1871 Mr. Wilson took up a tract of land which is a portion of his present fine ranch estate, hiring men to cut the timber for and erect the fences, while he worked at black- smithing to secure money with which to pay for the work. He finally located on the ranch, and by discrimination and good management has at- tained a high degree of success, now owning 1,040 acres, well improved and devoted principally to general farming and stockraising. In politics Mr. Wilson exercises his franchise in support of the Democratic party, but has never been an aspirant for public office. He is a member of the Montana Pioneers' Association.

In Colorado, on July 7, 1863, Mr. Wilson was united in marriage to Miss Mary Britten, who was born in Illinois, and of this union five children have been born : Helen, who is the wife of Asa A. Kennison, a successful ranchman of Beaverhead county ; Thomas, who lives on the homestead ranch, located four miles south of Dillon; Will- iam, at home ; Anna, who is the wife of Carl Bond, of this county, and Charles, who is at the parental home.

JOHN NOYES was born in lower Canada on March 21, 1828. His father, John Noyes, Sr., was a native of New Hampshire, and removed to Canada when he was twelve years of age. He became a prominent and prosperous farmer and contractor there. His wife, mother of Mr. Noyes, was Lydia (Dexter) Noyes, a native of Montpelier, Vt. Both parents died in Canada. The Noyes family is of Revolutionary stock, and its members gave a good account of themselves in many sanguinary battles during the great struggle for independence, and wherever they have been located

the Noyes have well borne their part in the duties of citizenship. Mr. Noyes was the third of the seven children born to his parents. He obtained his early education in Canada, and later attended Newburg Seminary at Newburg, Vt. When he left school he engaged in business with his father, but at the age of twenty-three the California gold ex- citement and the prospects of wealth which held out induced him to make a trip to that territory. He went by the way of Panama, and reached his destination after a long and tedious passage. He there followed placer mining until 1859. In that year he joined a stampede to what is now Virginia City, Nev., then known as the Washoe country, and passed the winter in that neighborhood. In the spring of 1860, the Piutes and Shoshones being on the warpath, a man came into camp and re- ported that eight prospectors had been killed, whereupon Maj. Ormsby, a retired army officer, raised a company of 115 men, and with Mr. Noyes as lieutenant started after the Indians. They came up with them about fifty miles from the camp and had a sharp engagement, but were greatly out numbered, there being 2,000 or 3,000 of the Indians. It soon became apparent that for any one to escape alive he would have to look to his personal safety. Of the 115 men only 17 escaped, and Maj. Ormsby was among the killed. In the retreat Mr. Noyes had his horse shot under him, losing his coat and gun by the event. At that moment a man rode up on a fine horse and Mr. Noyes re- quested the favor of riding away with him, but was refused. He then took the horse by the bridle and drawing his revolver, told the man that he would either ride with him or without him. He was then allowed to mount and they rode away at breakneck speed for three or four miles. They then came up with Dr. Eckelroth, and the man on the horse with Mr. Noyes dismounted, got on another horse and rode off. Mr. Noyes and the Doctor were obliged to proceed on foot as the horse the two had been riding had collapsed. After traveling about three miles they came to a river bank some eight feet high, undermined by the current. They hid under the bank for safety, and not long afterward the Indians appeared above them, but not being able to see them concluded they had swum the river and got away. They re- mained hidden until dark and then started for the Doctor's home, which they reached about noon the next day. Mr. Noyes arrived at Carson City a day later, and two weeks after that he was second

John Noyes

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lieutenant in a force of 1,000 volunteers under Col. Jack Hayes and 200 regular soldiers, who returned to recover the bodies of the men slain in the former engagement. They met large numbers of Indians, and a battle lasting from early morning until late at night followed, in which twenty-eight whites were killed.

In the fall of 1861 Mr. Noyes went into the present state of Washington and continued mining. He remained there only a few months, however, and in the spring of 1862 went into the Boise country, Idaho. Three years later he came to Montana and located at McClellan's gulch, where he again engaged in placer mining. In September he went to Fort Benton, took passage on a Mackinaw boat down the Missouri to Omaha, and from there went to Canada on a visit to his old home. He returned soon after to St. Louis via New York, with the intention of buying a farm and locating on it, but finding the farming community in straightened circumstances, gave up the idea, and, purchasing a large stock of goods in St. Louis for the Montana market, he shipped them on the steamer Grant on the ist of March. On the fifteenth the Grant sank with all on board. Mr. Noyes had, however, taken the precaution to insure his goods, and promptly received his insur- ance. Duplicating his purchases he shipped on the steamer Waverly, and landed at Fort Benton in June, 1866. He immediately took his goods to Elk Creek and disposed of them at wholesale. He then went to Butte to look after and sell a quartz lead. There he bought an interest in the placer mines, and has since been engaged in mining operations in that vicinity. In 1865 he traded a ranch in California for quartz mines in Butte, No. I and No. 2 on the Original. When he came to inspect them he found placer miners at work and bought them out. In 1881 he, in company with Mr. Upton, laid out two additions to Butte, one of twenty acres, called the Noyes and Upton ad- dition, and one of thirty acres, called the Noyes and Upton railroad addition. Mr. Noyes still owns considerable real estate in Butte, although he has laid out five additions to the city and sold the lots. He also has real estate interests of considerable value in Seattle.

On July 20, 1871, Mr. Noyes was united in mar- riage with Miss Elmira Meiklejohn, who was born on the Atlantic ocean. Her parents, David and Ann (MacGowen) Meiklejohn, were natives of Scotland who emigrated to America and located

in Missouri. During the last year of the Civil war they crossed the plains to Montana, settling at Virginia City. Two years later they removed to Butte, and there died. Mr. and Mrs. Noyes have four children, all married : John, Thomas, Alice and Ruth. One son and one daughter are living in Butte, the other son is in Alaska, and the other daughter in New York. Mrs. Noyes was one of the organizers of the Associated Charities of Butte, and has taken an active interest in the affairs of the organization, devoting much time and energy to its workings. She served as one of its first officers and aided in giving form and trend to its operations. She was also prominent and influential in the order of the Eastern Star. She was one of the organizers of the chapter and its first worthy matron. Her long residence in Butte, and her activity in all good works affecting the welfare of the city, have made her one of the prominent and forceful figures in social circles, and given her a warm place in the regard of the people.

In politics Mr. Noyes is a Democrat, and has always given the affairs of his party his close and intelligent attention. He was a member of the territorial legislature from Deer Lodge county in 1878. At the time of the Nez Perces uprising he was appointed captain of a company of volunteers by Governor Potts, and led his company after the Indians. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to the blue lodge, the chapter and the commandery. He is a good citizen, whose aid to public enterprises and whose bounty in private charity are substantial and appreciable, although in no wise ostentatiously bestowed. Whatever tends to the improvement of the community enlists his active support, and his public spirit has been mani- fested so generally and so serviceably as to have secured for him the universal and cordial esteem of his fellow citizens, not only in Butte, but throughout Montana and adjoining states.

For some time Mr. Noyes had been quite a suf- ferer, and with the hope that he might be restored to his former health went to Hot Springs, Ark., but without avail. He died March 21, 1902, a sad blow to his bereaved family, and mourned by a host of friends who will miss his genial, kindly counsel.

T HOMAS A. WILLIAMS, residing in Bill- ings, Yellowstone county, is the present clerk of the district court for that county, and school trustee for the city schools. He is a native of

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Wisconsin, born in Milwaukee on October 16, Madison, Wis. In 1866 he crossed the plains to Gallatin, Mont., where he operated flouring mills until 1870, and thereafter resided in Utah until 1876, when he removed to the then territory of Washington, where his death occurred in 1896. His wife is still living and is a resident of Helena. Of their four children three survive, Eugene T. and his sisters, Mrs. F. W. Agatz and Miss Mande Wilson, all of whom make Helena their home. Receiving his early education in the public schools of Wisconsin, and thereafter accompanying his father to Montana, later to Utah and Washing- ton, in each of these states Eugene T. Wilson con- tinued his studies as opportunities presented. In Utah he began his individual labors in life, being first an assistant in smelters, and later engaging 1859, the son of Evan T. Williams and Ann C. Williams, whose maiden name was Roberts. His father was at one time deputy surveyor for Waukesha county, Wis., private secretary to S. S. Merrill, president of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company and afterwards for eleven years purchasing agent for the Northern Pacific Railroad. Mr. Williams received his edu- cation in the public schools of Milwaukee and St. Paul, and after leaving school in 1877 he followed civil engineering for three years, working for the St. Paul & Duluth Railway Company and the Northern Pacific Railway Company, being a mem- ber of the locating party, under command of Gen. Rosser, which crossed the Missouri river in 1878, working westward; he afterwards worked for vari- . in farming and merchandising in Washington. He ous persons and companies until May, 1889, when he located in Montana, where he has remained since. He is fraternally identified with the Wood- men of the World, being a past consul commander in the Billings camp. In politics he is a Democrat and was elected to his present office for a second term without opposition. On June 17, 1884, at Du- luth, Minn., Mr. Williams was married to Addie R. Wilkinson, daughter of John J. and Rosetta (Mill- er) Wilkinson, her father being a contractor and builder of that city. He is the father of five chil- dren now living, named Katharine, Harold, Thomas, William and Dorothy.

'UGENE T. WILSON .- "Earn thy reward ;

E the gods give naught to sloth," said the sage Epicharmus, and the truth of this admonition has been verified in all human affairs and in all the ages which have rolled their course since his day. Successful men must be live men in this age, brist- ling with activity, and thus the lessons of biography may be far-reaching to an extent not superficially evident. Eugene T. Wilson holds high rank as one of the well-known business men of Montana. His career has been marked by con- secutive endeavor and consecutive advancement, and he is recognized as a man of broad business capacity and executive force. He was born in Madison, Wis., on December 11, 1852, the son of John T. and Sarah (Tallmadge) Wilson, natives of Maryland and Ohio. In 1832 the father removed from Maryland to Illinois, where he remained about fifteen years and then took up his abode in

turned his attention to newspaper work in 1881, purchasing the Pomeroy Republican, a weekly publication of Pomeroy, Wash. Three years later he purchased the Columbia Chronicle, at Dayton, Wash., and successfully conducted it as a Repub- lican newspaper for four years. He then removed to Ellensburg, Wash., and was a merchant there until 1889, when he was elected to the senate of the state, serving with signal efficiency and being president pro tem. of the body within his term of office. Mr. Wilson had clearly shown his po- tentiality as an executive and financier, and thus his appointment in July, 1892, as national bank examiner for Washington, Idaho and Montana, was recognized as a merited tribute to his ability and integrity. He has since been incumbent of this important office, and his services have been such as to fully justify his retention in the posi- tion. In June, 1897, he was appointed receiver of the Merchants' National Bank, of Helena, where- upon he took up his residence in this city, which has since been his home. In September, 1897, he was appointed receiver of the First National Bank, of Helena, the aggregate liabilities of the two institutions being $4,000,000. He still has control of these financial interests and has so han- dled affairs as to render the maximum returns to creditors and to husband the resources through wise and effective administration. For a number of years he has been on the directorate of the Helena Light & Power Company, and of this corpor- ation he was elected president in 1900.

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 95

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