Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 127

Author: Bowen, A.W., & Co., firm, publishers, Chicago
Publication date: [19-?]
Publisher: Chicago : A. W. Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 1092

USA > Montana > Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2 > Part 127

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FREDERICK CONNINE .- Among the young

and progressive farmers and stockgrowers of Choteau county Mr. Connine, who has had the pres- cience to discern and take advantage of the op- portunities here presented, is now winning his way to a position of prominence in connection with the industrial activities of the state. Mr. Connine was born on a farm in Cass county, Mich., on June 29, 1867, the son of Abner and Emma ( Bramer). Con- nine, the former a native of New York, where he was born in 1846, while the latter was born in Cass county, Mich., in 1851. Abner Connine engaged in farming in Cass county until his death in 1891. His widow now makes her home with her son, Fred- erick, who accords her a true and unselfish filial · solicitude.

Frederick Connine received excellent educational advantages in his native state, where he attended the public schools of Traverse City and Dowagiac, being graduated from the high school of the latter city as a member of the class of 1883. Within the same year he came to the west, and was engaged in stockherding in the Dakotas for one year. In 1884 he came to Montana and took up land in Choteau county, near the head of Big Sandy creek and in proximity to the Bear Paw moun- tains. Here he now has a fine ranch property of 420 acres, under excellent improvement and devoted principally to the raising of cattle and horses, though large yields of hay also are secured each year. The home of Mr. Connine is twelve miles distant from the Great Northern Railroad and his postoffice ad- dress is Big Sandy. In politics he is a stalwart Re- publican and he takes an intelligent interest in the questions and issues of the day, being prominent in the local work of the party. He is unmarried.

ILLIAM COWGILL .- By well directed and consecutive effort Mr. Cowgill has gained a point of distinct vantage as one of the successful farmers and stockgrowers of Teton county, his excellent ranch property being located five miles north of Dupuyer, which is his postoffice address. Mr. Cowgill is a native of Lancaster, Schuyler county, Mo., born on November 30, 1863, the son of A. K. and Mary J. (Bunnell) Cowgill. The father, who was born in Ohio in 1823, removed when a young man to Iowa, where he remained for a short time, and then located in Missouri, where he was engaged in farming and general merchandising until his death in 1882. During

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the Civil war he served for two terms as sheriff of Schuyler county, an office then involving much re- sponsibility and no little danger, His wife, who was born in Ohio in 1824, is still living at the old home in Missouri. .

William Cowgill secured his education in the public schools of Lancaster, Mo., and at Bozeman, Mont. He early came to Montana, where he was employed on ranches in the vicinity of Melrose and Bozeman, attending school as opportunity af- forded. Thereafter his services were utilized for four years in a stamp mill at Elkhorn, Jefferson county, and in the spring of 1887 he came to that part of old Choteau county which is now Teton county, took up homestead, pre-emption and des- ert claims in the vicinity of Dupuyer, and located on Sheep creek. He sold this property in 1889 and bought his present ranch of 800 acres on Cart- wright coulee, and he has leased adjoining lands until he controls 1,640 acres. He has fifty acres under effective cultivation, and is engaged in the extensive raising of sheep, having an average of from 3,000 to 4,000. In politics Mr. Cowgill is an ardent Republican, and takes an active part in pro- moting its cause in a local way, while he is highly esteemed in the community by reason of his wor- thy labors and upright life. In the vicinity of North Liberty, Ind., in 1892, Mr. Cowgill was united in marriage to Miss Belle Geyer, a native of that locality. They have three children, C. Geyer, Lester Blaine and Glenn E.

JOHN R. COOLEY .- On his 800-acre ranch near Musselshell, Mont., where he has an excel- lent residence and other good buildings and is erecting large barns, John R. Cooley conducts a profitable and extensive stock industry. He is one of the most enterprising and representative men in his section of the state, and was one of its first settlers. He was born at Brunswick, Eau Claire county, Wis., in December, 1858, the son of Nelson and Mary (Davis) Cooley, the former a native of New Hampshire and the latter of Lowell, Mass. They were married in the east and became pioneers of Wisconsin in the early 'fifties, where they engaged in farming. They had a family of six sons and one daughter. John R. Cooley at- tended the district schools and remained on the homestead until 1882, when he came to Montana and, after remaining at Miles City some months,

located on his present ranch where he immediately went into the sheep business, having one of the first flocks in the section. Cotswold has been his favorite breed and of them he has raised large numbers. He also has fine Norman horses and Hereford cattle. He was married in April, 1882, to Miss Carrie Cartwright, of Wisconsin, a daugh- ter of Ezra W. Cartwright, a native of New York, a stonemason and farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Cooley have five children, Mina, Kittie, Edna, Earl and Burt, all living at the paternal home. A large portion of the Cooley ranch is under irrigation and in a high state of cultivation. It yields large crops of hay and alfalfa, and fine fruit from a vig- orous orchard. Mr. Cooley has been school trus- tee for a number of years, is active in every public interest, and is a good and eminently useful citizen.

W TILFRED DALE, of Courts, Gallatin county, one of the most highly esteemed farmers in the valley, was born in Staffordshire, England, on March 17, 1850. His father, Joseph Dale, born in 1815, was also a native of Staffordshire, his mother, Elizabeth (Kane) Dale, having been born in Ireland in 1810. In 1869 the family came from Staffordshire, England, to the United States and located ten miles from Salt Lake City, Utah, where the father continued farming until his death in 1886, his wife died in 1877. The early days of our subject were passed in Staffordshire, where he was em- ployed in the coal mines of that vicinity. In 1869 he came to this country with the family, and was, until 1879, engaged in farming in the east. Wil- fred Dale and his wife, Annie Courts, came to Montana in 1879 and in 1889 he took up 160 acres of land on Reese creek, Gallatin county. He took up 160 acres more in 1891, making his proofs in 1894 and 1899. To these 320 acres he added 400 acres in 1901 by purchase, and the same year sold his homestead and tree claims, 320 acres, to his old- est son, John James Dale. This land is well im- proved and thoroughly irrigated. The principal crop raised is wheat, although he is an extensive cultivator of hay and oats. On November 4, 1873, Wilfred Dale and Miss Anna Courts, daughter of John Courts, well known in Gallatin county, and for whom the town of Courts was named, were married at McDuffs, four miles north of Salt Lake City, Utah. She is also a native of Staffordshire, England. Her father came to Montana in 1864,

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and located on Reese creek. To Mr. and Mrs. Dale have been born fifteen children, of whom three, Wilfred William, Sarah Jane and Zinda Ade- laide are dead. The living are John James, George Alfred, Emma E., David Frederick, Wil- fred Andrew, Lydia Ann, Caleb Milton, Rosa Maria, William Absalom, Cyrus Mahlin, Carrie and Alice Ellen. The father of Mrs. Dale, John Courts, was born September 2, 1818, and died on March 19, 1887. Her mother, Elizabeth Courts, was born on February 7, 1824, and died on September 25, 1893, leaving four children.

A RTHUR W. DELANY .- This cultured gentle- man descends from the best French ancestry. The DeLany's have been prominent for many generations in the noble and knightly circles of France, the name being conspicuous as early as the time of the crusades. The American branch dates back to the Revolutionary period, when some of its members accompanied Lafayette to the new world to aid the struggling colonists in their fight for freedom. The war over, the charm of the new land was so attractive that they made permanent homes here. They and their descend- ants have been representative Americans from that time to the present, ably filling places of honor and trust, and giving patriotic service in the subse- quent wars of the country. The habitat of the paternal forefathers of A. W. DeLany was in Vir- ginia, where his father, James DeLany, was born. He married Elizabeth Honore, a native of New York, and in early pioneer days emigrated from Oswego, N. Y., where Mr. DeLany was born on November 6, 1834, to Wisconsin. Here the family was prominent and influential, the father, a skill- ful civil engineer, engaging in large contracts and farming operations, while the sons became eminent in professional and official life in the state. It has been well said of James DeLany that "he lived up to the terms of every contract and obligation" and that "his word was as good as his bond." The family were communicants of the Episcopal church and Mr. DeLany was a pronounced Jeffersonian Democrat. Blessed with strong vital powers he accomplished much labor and lived to the patri- archal age of eighty-two years, dying in 1869 and surviving his wife for seventeen years.

Arthur W. DeLany had an excellent academic education under teachers of fine ability ; and, de-

ciding upon the profession of law as his life work, he pursued the necessary course of study and was duly admitted to practice as a lawyer in Wiscon- sin. His three older brothers, men of mark and distinction in the state, were at this period residing at Mineral Point, and here under the supervision of George W. Bliss, editor of the Tribune, he fa- miliarized himself with all" departments of the newspaper business, acquiring such a love for it as to abandon the legal profession and devote himself to journalism. That he possessed unusual busi- ness qualifications is evidenced by the fact that in 1852, when he was but nineteen years old he was appointed to succeed his brother James (whose death caused a vacancy in the office) as clerk of the circuit court of Columbia county, to complete his brother's term of office. It is needless to say that the office was ably and satisfactorily filled. Up to 1861 Mr. DeLany conducted various news- papers in Wisconsin with conceded ability, his edi- torial work showing mental powers of a high order and a broad grasp and comprehension of na- tional and state affairs and of politics. From 1861 to 1862 he was in newspaper work in St. Paul, Minn., his trade broadening his experience and gaining him new and influential friends. Other and higher duties were now devolving on him, for which his previous life had been a fitting educa- tion. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company H, Seventh Minnesota Infantry, with which he served on the Minnesota frontier during the military oc- cupation of that state subsequent to the Sioux massacre and war. Then the regiment joined the Army of the Cumberland at Paducah, Ky., and with this historic organization he was in active ser- vice until 1864, when he was transferred to the Forty-seventh Wisconsin, receiving in this new regiment a commission as first lieutenant and the ap- pointment of adjutant. He was the first officer of the regiment to be mustered into service. After satisfactorily filling his new office for a few months, Lieut. DeLany was appointed judge advocate on the staff of Maj. Gen. Milroy, and held this respon- sible judicial position until the close of the war. Many important, abstruse and complicated cases came to him for adjudication, and his decisions be- came known as clear, cogent and pronounced vin- dications of the interests of justice and equity. He participated in many. of the noted and historic contests of the wars in Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi, and today bears wounds received in battle. During the memorable first day's fight-

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ing at Tupelo, where the Union troops were op- posed by Fitzhugh Lee in a hotly contested battle, Mr. DeLany was one of two men who volunteered for the dangerous service of carrying cartridges to the troops under a galling fire from the enemy. Many of the cartridge boxes were perforated by the enemy's bullets, but Mr. DeLany was almost miraculously preserved unhurt.

Judge DeLany was mustered out of service as first lieutenant and adjutant, and later passed some time in traveling through the west in search of a suitable location to establish a newspaper. After various experiences, in 1888 he purchased the "Sun River Sun" plant at Sun River, Mont., and for six years was actively engaged, not only with his gifted pen but in other efficient ways, in further- ing the interests of the Sun River valley and Mon- tana in general, and was one of the strong expon- ents of the Republican policy in the state and nation. His newspaper work stands unexcelled among the newspaper writers of the state. He is incisive, vigorous and brilliant in his writings, a strong element of humor and pathos underlying many of his miscellaneous articles, while his polit- ical editorials were always trenchant and logical, and oftentimes keen and caustic.

In the midst of most successful and appreciated labors came the breaking down of health, causing the abandonment of journalism. He sought renewed strength for a time in the mountains of Colorado and then returned to Sun River. He could not re- main idle, and accepted the commission of post- master of the Sun River office, and is now in office, receiving a second appointment in McKinley's sec- ond administration. His home circle has been graced since July 9, 1889, by a cultured, loving and appreciative companion, his marriage with Miss Mary Achsah Thorp occurring on that date. She is a native of Dansville, N. Y., where her father, Capt. Andrew Thorp, was long an honored citizen. His title as captain came from his service as cap -- tain in the United States navy during the war of 1812. Fraternally Judge DeLany is identified with the Masonic and Odd Fellows orders, and both himself and wife are communicants of the Episcopal church. They have an extended ac- quaintance and enjoy the warm friendship and esteem of a large circle of the best people of the state. It is not too much to say in closing that not even the bitterest political opponent could ever say aught against the high integrity of Mr. De- Lany or in the slightest degree impugn his per-

sonal manliness and honor. As a man he ever has been manly and courteous, as a soldier patri- otic and brave, as a judge, his ermine was untar- nished, as a citizen he is generally beloved.

FRANK F. DAACKE .- One of the able and progressive young farmers and stockgrowers of Teton county, the success of Mr. Daacke is indi- cated by the attractive appearance of his finely im- proved ranch on the Burton bench, not far from Farmington, which is his postoffice address. He was born in Grant county, Wis., on August 28, 1868. His father, August G. Daacke, was born in 1816 in Lippe-Detmold, Germany. On the pater- nal side a genealogical record of the family has been preserved from 1310, the eldest son in each succeeding generation giving entry. to his sig- nature, place and date of birth, etc., and the record has thus been kept for nearly six hundred years, being ever retained in the possession of the eldest son. The only family relic owned by F. F. Daacke, however, is a die-cutter made in 1835 in Germany by his father, it being then a government require- ment that a mechanic should make some article in his line to demonstrate his skill. August G. Daacke came to the United States in 1848, locating at Cassville, Wis., where he followed his trade of blacksmith until his death in 1893, at the age of sev- enty-seven years. His wife, Dora Sopha, was born in 1827 at Schwerin, Germany, and her death oc- curred in Cassville, Wis., in 1895.

Frank F. Daacke attended the public schools of Cassville until he attained the age of fifteen years, and was thereafter employed at the wagonmaker's trade in Wisconsin, and in the car shops of the various railroads in St. Paul, Minn., being an ex- pert mechanic. In 1895 he came to Teton county, Mont., and located his present homestead. Here he has made improvements of the best order, bring- ing to bear discrimination and judgment, and spar- ing no effort in placing his ranch in the highest possible condition. He secures excellent yields of oats, barley and hay, and his range shows fine specimens of high-grade cattle. He has been suc- cessful, and it is gratifying to note this fact, for he has realized the value of consecutive application and has ordered his life according to those high principles which beget confidence and esteem. In politics Mr. Daacke exercises his franchise in sup- port of the Republican party, and is regarded as

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one of the representative citizens of the com- munity. In 1896 Mr. Daacke was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary N. Austed, daughter of N. T. Austed, a prominent farmer of the Burton bench. They have had three children, two are living, Au- gust F. and Otto G. Dora S. was killed in a run- away in 1899 when eight months old.

H ON. WILLIAM H. DEWITT .- One of the ablest lawyers that ever honored the bar or dignified the bench of Montana was the late Judge William H. Dewitt, of Butte. Coming to Mon- tana in its territorial existence and more than ten years before it became a state, he did much to shape its jurisprudence and form its institutions. He was born in the city of New York, on March 16, 1853, the son of James R. and Alletta (Hedges) Dewitt. His parents were of Holland-Dutch extraction, and for six generations his ancestors were residents of New York and New Jersey. In 1871 W. H. Dewitt entered Hamilton College and was gradu- ated from that school of high repute in 1875 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then pursued a full three-years course in the law department of the Columbia University in New York city and in 1878 was honored with the degree of LL. B. He was at once admitted to practice by the supreme court of the state, opened an office and entered upon his professional life in New York city. The desire to seek his fortune in the far west took pos- session of him, and, leaving the great metropolis, he came to Montana, arriving at Helena on May 24, 1879. Here he established his home and en- tered upon active practice in the profession in which he was destined ultimately to hold distinction and prominence. For a time he was associated with the well known firm of Chumasero & Chadwick, re- maining with it until he removed his residence from Helena to Butte, in May, 1881, and formed the law firm of Randolph & Dewitt. This firm was en- gaged in the successful practice of the law in Butte, having an extensive clientage in Silver Bow and adjoining counties, until its dissolution in 1884.

In March, 1883, Mr. Dewitt was tendered and accepted the appointment of United States district attorney for Montana, and discharged the duties with distinguished ability until the expiration of his term in July, 1885. The law partnership of Dewitt & Bach was then formed, he continuing a member of that firm until the appointment of Judge

Bach to the supreme court of Montana. In 1886 Mr. Dewitt was elected county attorney of Silver Bow county, being re-elected in 1888. In 1889, upon the admission of Montana as a state, he was elected one of the first three justices of the su- preme court of the state, receiving the only seven- year term provided for by the constitution. At the expiration of this term of office, he declined a re-election, and resumed legal practice at Butte. An able and upright judge, he was widely known and admired for his ability, fairness, judicial acumen and equity. He never did an unjust act in his private, professional or judicial relations of life, and his written opinions while serving on the bench of the highest judicial tribunal of the state are a lasting monument to his learning, research and intellectual strength. He was one of the fore- most citizens of Montana, and his memory will long be honored. Judge Dewitt was a loyal member of the Republican party, and for many years was one of its most trusted leaders in the territory and state. An able and convincing public speaker, he participated in many campaigns, and was highly respected by his party associates. In 1900 his dis- tinguished services to his party found fitting recog- nition in his selection as the Montana member of the Republican national committee. He held that position until his death, on January 18, 1902. On August 29, 1883, at Helena, Judge Dewitt married with Miss Julia C. Rumley, a daughter of Hon. Charles Rumley, for many years a prominent resi- dent of that city. Their son, Rumley, is now ap- proaching manhood and is attending school in New Hampshire. Mrs. Dewitt retains her home in Butte.

C HARLES E. DAVIS .- A young man who has attained success in the sheepgrowing industry of Montana, and who has an excellent ranch prop- erty in the Pondera basin of Teton county, where he is conducting operations with ability, Mr. Davis was born on a farm near Darlington, Pa., on Octo- ber 20, 1869. His parents were natives of Penn- sylvania of English lineage, and both died when he was but three years of age. He was reared by his paternal grandmother, Mrs. Barbara Davis, and at- tended the public schools of Darlington until he was fifteen years old, after which he worked on the old homestead farm until he was twenty, and was then for a year identified with butchering and the meat business at Darlington, and also conducted .

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a hotel there for six months. Mr. Davis came to Montana in December, 1892, locating in Pondera, Teton county, and in the following spring taking up a homestead claim of 150 acres, later improving upon it and selling it to E. H. Morrison. In 1897 Mr. Davis associated himself with Eldridge Rose in leasing a band of 5,000 sheep, for two years, run- ning them on a range on Spring creek in the Pon- dera basin. Mr. Davis sold his interest in this business to John Joiner, and was thereafter em- ployed on an extensive sheep ranch until April 1, 1900, when he purchased John Joiner's ranch of 320 acres, and a band of 1,800 sheep. He has since added 480 acres to his ranch, by purchasing adjoining tracts, and also utilizes large ranges of contiguous land for grazing, running an average of 3,000 sheep. Mr. Davis has been unswerving in his allegiance to the Republican party, and at the election of 1900 he was elected constable for the Marias district. Fraternally he is a member of Columbia Lodge No. 47, A. O. U. W., at Pondera, which is his postoffice address.

E DWARD DENNIS, who has thoroughly dem- onstrated the possibilities of successful stock- growing in Montana, is a well known and highly respected resident of Teton county, residing near Choteau. He is a Southerner by birth, the place of his nativity being Knoxville, Tenn., where he was born on August 1, 1845. His father, Levi Dennis, also a native of Tennessee, removed to Sullivan county, Mo., in 1844, where he died two years later, having been a lifelong farmer. His wife, Sarah (Crippin) Dennis, was born in Tennessee and passed from earth at Fall River, S. D., in 1883. In the public schools of Sullivan county, Mo., Edward Dennis obtained his rather limited education. With him it was a work-a-day world all the time, and in 1863, at the age of eighteen, he came to Montana, locating first at Alder gulch, then at Helena, where he secured employment as a freighter with Capt. Parkinson, making trips to Fort Benton and Milk river. The winter of 1865 he passed in Squaw gulch, and in the following spring assisted in the building of the old toll road of Messrs. King and Gillett, in Prickly Pear canyon. During the month of October, 1866, he worked in a sawmill in Straw- berry gulch, and in March, 1869, he removed to Confederate gulch, where he engaged in the con- struction of a mining ditch on Hunter's bar, while

during the fall of that year he assisted in hauling grain and stores to the Judith basin for the Diamond R Company.

Returning to Sun river in the spring of 1870 Mr. Dennis was employed on the farm of James Strong until fall, then in company with O. S. M. Main he then purchased a ranch on Sun river, which they sold in 1875. They then bought a herd of cattle and drove them to the Teton valley, locating on the Emerson place, seven miles from Choteau, where they remained until 1878. Mr. Dennis was the second white man to locate in this vicinity, Mr. James Gibson having been the first and Samuel Burd the third. From 1878 until 1884 Messrs. Dennis & Main were engaged in filling contracts to furnish the Canadian government with beef, Mr. Dennis purchasing the cattle in Montana and Mr. Main attending to their disposal in Canada. Mr. Main is now engaged in mining on the Blackfoot ceded strip. During the fall of 1878 Mr. Dennis se- cured a homestead claim of 160 acres on Spring creek, two and one-half miles from Choteau, and his wife purchased an adjoining property of 160 acres in the spring of 1900. These two claims com- prise the ranch upon which the family of Mr. Den- nis now resides and are profitably engaged in stock- raising. On December 12, 1899, Mr. Dennis was married to Miss Lucy Callahan, at Choteau. She was born at New Market, Canada, on August 19, 1867. They have one child, Chester Callahan Den- nis, born on March 22, 1895. Mr. Dennis is quite an active worker in the circles of the Democratic party.

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 127

Author: Bowen, A.W., & Co., firm, publishers, Chicago Publication date: [19-?] Publisher: Chicago : A. W. Bowen & Co. Number of Pages: 1092

Author: Bowen, A.W., & Co., firm, publishers, Chicago
Publication date: [19-?]
Publisher: Chicago : A. W. Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 1092