Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 128

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 128

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R OBERT DIXON .- One of the progressive stockgrowers of Teton county, Mr. Dixon was born in the old town of Galashiels, Scotland, on February 26, 1859, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Brown) Dixon, both of whom were born in the town mentioned, the father being there an extensive manufacturer of woolen goods, as were also his brothers, Andrew and Robert, the family having been established there for generations. He passed his entire life there, and after his death his widow is now making her home in Edinburgh. Robert Dixon attended private schools in Galashiels and Innerleithen until he had attained the age of sixteen years, when he gave inception to his connection with the practical activities of life, by entering a grocery establishment, in which he served an apprenticeship of four years at Innerleithen, a popular watering-

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place, which figures as "St. Ronan's well" in the writings of Sir Walter Scott. From 1878 until 1884 Mr. Dixon held a clerkship in a leading gro- cery in Edinburgh, and in 1884 he removed to Liverpool, where he was employed for two years in a wholesale grocery house. In 1890 he came to the United States, where he was clerk in a grocery in Philadelphia for four years. He then visited Toronto and other places in Canada, after which he came to Montana, where he arrived in 1894, taking up a homestead and a desert claim on the Dry Forks of the Marias river, twelve miles from Pondera, Teton county, the area of his ranch being 320 acres. Here he has since been successfully en- gaged in the raising of sheep and cattle, having made good improvements on his place and being held in high esteem in the community. Mr. Dixon gives his support to the Republican party, though he has never been an aspirant for public office.

R OBERT A. DUNCAN .- The scion of a re- nowned old Scotch family, some of whose branches moved to Ireland generations ago, from whence his grandfather came to America in his young manhood, Robert Duncan, of near Rock- vale, in Carbon county, Mont., has exhibited in his character and career the salient points of the Scotch character, and has done credit to his an- cestry. His grandfather settled at St. John, New Brunswick, when the town had but two buildings. He took up land about twenty-five miles from the town, cleared it and went to farming, making the place his home until his death at the age of eighty- three. His son, the father of our subject, con- tinued in possession of the place and is still living there, and there Mr. Duncan was born on October 29, 1863. His mother, Mary Ratliff, was a native of St. John. Mr. Duncan passed his school days in New Brunswick, remaining on the homestead until 1880, when he removed to California, after residing for a short time in Boston. He located at Dixon, Solano county, Cal., where he remained four years engaged in farming. He then took a trip to Mexico and went to work at mining in Sonora, but remained only a short time, remov- ing from there to Montana and locating at Wickes, where he engaged in burning charcoal. Later he made a visit to British Columbia, leaving his business in the care of a supposed friend. Dur- ing his absence his friend sold the business and left the country with the proceeds.

Mr. Duncan remained some time in British Columbia engaged in coal mining at Wauima. He then returned to Montana and passed the win- ter at Anaconda. From there he went to the Judith basin, where he was living during the hard winters of 1886 and 1887, and lost all he had ac- cumulated. He passed the next year at Alhambra, and again returning to the Judith basin he worked for J. C. Walker until 1898. In July of that year he located his present ranch, which is about half- way between Billings and Red Lodge, seven miles north of Gebo. The land is practically all under irrigation and yields large crops of hay. Mr. Duncan's favorite breeds of cattle are shorthorns and Herefords. He has a fine ranch residence and other necessary buildings and appliances, and as his location is near the railroad station of Edgar, he has good shipping facilities. Mr. Duncan was united in marriage on February 14, 1892, with Mrs. Katie Magin, a native of Illinois, who came to Montana in 1875, where she contracted her first marriage. Her first home in the state was at Helena, and after residing there for a time she removed to Fergus county, locating at Lewis- town, where she was married to Mr. Duncan. She is a lady of excellent business capacity, well esteemed in the community, and looked upon as a helpful force in the neighborhood.

A1 LBERT H. DOWNING .- Comfortably settled on an excellent farm of 160 acres of land a mile and a half west of Hamilton, in Ravalli county, and owning another of the same size near Darby, on both of which he is conducting a successful and profitable business, Albert H. Downing is an ex- ample of what thrift, industry and frugality can accomplish in this part of our country, where there is opportunity for every productive faculty, and all sorts of enterprise. He was born March 26, 1857, at Andover, Mass., the son of Samuel and Rebecca Downing, also natives of Massachusetts, and the sixth of their seven children. He was sent to the public schools until he was sixteen years old, and then learned the trade of a machinist and worked at it for three years in his native state. At the end of that time coming to Montana, he worked as a carpenter and stonemason, and at various other occupations, including mining at Butte, for some years. Determining then to devote his energies to farming, he settled on his present

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ranch near Hamilton, on which he has since resided, and which he has brought to a high state of culti- vation and improvement, as he has also his ranch near Darby. In politics Mr. Downing is an earnest Republican, although not himself an office seeker, or active party worker. Fraternally he is identi- fied with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was married in July, 1886, to Miss Mary Bald- win, daughter of William and Margaret Baldwin, of Corvallis, and has five children, Margaret, Alma, Gertrude, Susie and Samuel, who make an interesting and entertaining family, and the home is a popular resort for their hosts of friends.

EDGAR E. DOTY, M. D .- Among the able and representative young disciples of Esculapius in Montana is Dr. Doty, who is established in the successful practice of his profession in Red Lodge, Carbon county. The Doctor comes of stanch old Colonial stock and may well take pride in his sterling lineage, having been born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in February, 1870, the son of Charles W. P. and Jennie (Kyle) Doty, both of whom were born in the Buckeye state. The Doctor traces his descent in direct line to Edward Doty (the original name being Doten), who was born in Scotland, whence he came to America as one of the honored pilgrim fathers of the Mayflower in 1620, establishing his home in Plymouth colony. Daniel C. Doty, grand- father of the Doctor, was born in Ohio, the son of Daniel C. Doty, whose full patronymic he bore. The latter was born in New Jersey, whence lie emigrated to Ohio, becoming one of the pioneers of that state, where he secured a large grant of government land. His son, Daniel C., Jr., passed his entire life in Ohio, where he was extensively engaged in cultivation of the soil until his death in 1897. He married Miss Catherine Crane, born in New Jersey, on June 9, 1812. She accompanied her parents west in 1820, making the trip overland to Ohio, where she thereafter made her home until her death, on November 13, 1901, at the venerable age of nearly ninety years. Her husband was the largest landowner in his county, and in the early days he was prominently identified with freighting on the canals in that section, operating a line of packet boats, while he also conducted a successful business in the manufacture of brick. John Kyle, the maternal grandfather of the Doctor, was born in Ohio, the son of John, Sr., a native of Pennsyl-

vania, who became one of the early pioneers of the Western Reserve, there rearing his family of fifteen children. His son and namesake passed his life in Ohio, devoting his attention to the great basic art of agriculture. The father of the Doctor still retains his residence in Cincinnati, where he is engaged in business, having an extensive trade in vehicles and farming implements. His wife also is still living.

Edgar E. Doty received early educational discip- line in the public schools, and thereafter he was identified with the drug business in Cincinnati and Toledo for a number of years, within which time he devoted much attention to the study of medicine, preliminary to preparing himself for a proper con- tinuation of his teclinical discipline. In 1891 he assumed the position of apothecary at the Cincin- nati hospital, retaining this incumbency one year, after which he was matriculated in the Medical College of Ohio, where he completed the prescribed four years' course, being graduated as a member of the class of 1896, with the degree of M. D. His technical and clinical discipline had been of the most effective order, but the knowledge was sup- plemented by a year's service as house surgeon in the Jewish hospital in Cincinnati. At the expiration of this period Mr. Doty came to Montana, locating at Carbonado, Carbon county, where he was engaged in the practice of his profession until March, 1900, when he located in Red Lodge, where he has built up a good practice, and is enjoying marked personal popularity. He is physician for the Rocky Fork Coal Company and surgeon for the Northern Pacific Railroad in this county. He holds membership in the Rocky Mountain Inter- State Medical Society and keeps in touch with the advances made in his profession. The Doctor is the interested principal in the Red Lodge Drug Company, under which title he conducts a successful drug business, having a finely equipped establish- ment in the business center of the town, and fra- ternally is identified with the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks.

C H. DRAKE .- Mr. Drake, the postmaster of the village of Choteau, Teton county, is known as an able young business man. He was born at Rossville, Iowa, on July 8, 1871, the son of Dr. S. H. and Celia J. (Henderson) Drake. His father was born in Boston, Mass., in 1838, and after ren-

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dering valiant service in the Union army during the Civil war, he removed to West Union, Iowa, where he engaged in medical practice for eight years, then removing to Jamestown, N. D., where he owned two drug stores and continued the practice of his profession. In 1880 he removed to Butte, Mont., was in medical practice until 1887, then lo- cated in Choteau, where he opened a drug store, which he conducted in connection with his pro- fessional labors until his death, on May 31, 1899. He was a man of fine ability and inflexible integ- rity, gaining and retaining general confidence and esteem. The mother of C. H. Drake, with whoni she now makes her home, was born in Buffalo, N. Y., in 1840, and her marriage to Dr. Drake was solemnized in Fayette, Iowa, in 1868.

C. H. Drake received his educational discipline in the public schools of West Union, Iowa, and Jamestown, N. D., and in 1886 he located in Butte, Mont., where he engaged in the drug business, for which he had received thorough training. He con- tinued the enterprise four years, and for the en- suing four years was similarly engaged in White- hall, Jefferson county. In 1896 he came to Choteau, and was employed in his father's drug store until the death of the latter, when he assumed control of the business. He was appointed postmaster in the year of his arrival here and has since officiated in that capacity. Fraternally he is identified with the Choteau lodge of the A. O. U. W., and the camp of the Modern Woodmen at Great Falls. On August 11, 1895, in Butte, Mont., Mr. Drake was united in marriage to Miss Jessie C. Dobyns, born in Nebraska, the daughter of Dr. L. R. Dobyns, who is now a physician of Whitehall, Mont.

JAMES DRINKWINE is one of the enterpris- ing and successful young farmers and stock- growers of Teton county, his well improved ranch being eligibly located on the Burton bench, not far removed from Choteau, which is his postoffice ad- dress. Mr. Drinkwine was born in Lesueur county, Minn., on March 14, 1868. His father, Albert Drinkwine, was born in the Dominion of Canada, whence he removed to Swift county, Minn., about 1858, and has since then engaged in farming, having been prospered in his efforts. In 1856 he was united in marriage to Miss Florence Mitchell, who is a native of Michigan. James Drinkwine secured his educational discipline in the public

schools of Lesueur county, but after the age of fif- teen his services were demanded on the homestead farm, while prior to this he had aided in this way during the summer months, so that his scholastic advantages were limited. He remained at the par- ental home until he had attained his legal majority, then for five years was engaged in farming on his own responsibility in Stevens county, Minn. In 1895 he cast in his lot with Montana, and upon ar- riving in Teton county he filed entry on two claims of government land, under the homestead and desert provisions, and thus established his present fine ranch of 320 acres, the same being fenced and well improved. Here he secures excellent yields of grain and hay, and devotes particular attention to the raising of cattle and horses. Mr. Drinkwine has by his own efforts made his success, and it has been worthily achieved. In politics he is a Populist.

H ARRY DUFFIELD .- Born and reared in Ontario, Canada, well trained for the battle of life in her excellent public schools, inheriting from a sturdy ancestry winning qualities of head and heart, and holding firmly to his determination to omit no effort on his part which might be neces- sary to succeed in his undertakings, Harry Duffield, of Joliet, Carbon county, has made his way in the world by his own exertions and is well esteemed as a citizen in the community in which he lives. His life began in Wellington county, Ontario, on March II, 1854, he being the son of Emanuel and Sarah (Benham) Duffield, both natives of England. His father came to America as a boy with his parents, who became prosperous farmers in Ontario, and when he attained mature years he followed the same line of enterprise, continuing it until his death, which occurred in 1894, after a long and creditable career as a good citizen and leading man in the community. Mr. Duffield spent his school days in his native province, remaining on the homestead until 1877, when he removed to Nebraska. A year later he went to the Black Hills, where he remained four years prospecting and mining. In 1882 he came to Montana, and locating at Billings, worked at the carpenter trade, which he had previously learned. He also served as city marshal for a year, and then engaged in sawmilling in various parts of the country, spending six years in the business. In 1894 he took up his present ranch at Joliet, and began a successful career in farming and stock-

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raising, which is still in progress, with very grati- fying results. Here Mr. Duffield devotes his at- tention principally to rearing Durham cattle, of which he usually has about 100 head. Much of his land is under irrigation and produces excellent crops of hay and grain. In 1888 Mr. Duffield was united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Hobbs, a native of Wisconsin, who came to Montana with her parents when she was young. They have four children, namely, William Albert, Elva Lucy, Ethel Ada and Bessie. Mr. Duffield takes interest in public affairs, being a public-spirited and progress- ive man, and always solicitous for the advancement of the community. He served as a justice of the peace for a number of years, and as a county com- missioner from 1898 to 1900. He has also been and is now a member of the school board. In all of his official positions he has so demeaned himself as to win the approval of his people.

A LEXANDER DUVAL .- Twenty years of in- telligent application to business in Montana has resulted in placing Mr. Duval upon a firm financial footing. This fact can be easily substan- tiated by a visit to his comfortable and well equipped ranch near Wolf creek, Lewis and Clarke county. He is a native of Clinton county, N. Y., and was born twenty-five miles west of Lake Cham- plain, the son of Antoine and Angeline Duval. His parents were also born in New York and the father followed the trade of a millwright. They were members of the Catholic church, and in politics the father was a Democrat, holding the position of constable and also at one time being a license inspector for the revenue district in which he resided. Alexander Duval received only an ele- mentary education, for at the early age of nine years he began working for himself, determined to make an independent living and with a firm reli- ance on his ability so to do. Accordingly he com- menced to learn the cooper's trade, his first em- ployment consisting of sorting barrel headings. Wages were $1.00 a day, and he remained in the business until he was fourteen years old, his sal- ary being increased until he was paid $2.25 per day. At the age of sixteen he enlisted in the navy and was stationed on a United States rev- enue cutter which visited the various ports of Lake Ontario. For this service he received $25 per month, and his board and clothes. When he was eighteen years old he worked one season in a sawmill at Peru, N. Y. The stock of logs

becoming exhausted he next found work in a flouring mill, and here he remained two and one- half years.

He then removed to Hancock, Mich., in the copper district, and was for a time employed by the Sturgeon River Company in a sawmill. From here he went to Minneapolis, Minn., and until the fall of 1878 was connected with the saw- mills in that city, where the prevailing wages were $3.00 a day. He then returned to Hancock and drove a team for the Quincy Mill Company for $45 a month. The following spring he returned to the Sturgeon mill, worked on the double edger for $3.00 per day, and was eventually advanced to the position of head sawyer where he received $4.00 a day. He remained here three seasons and in 1881 came to Montana. The first employment he secured here was cutting cordwood for Thomas Cruse, near Marysville, receiving $2.75 per cord. He then began work in a stamp mill but thirteen days later the mill suspended operations and he came to Helena and entered the employment of A. M. Holter & Bro., working in a sawmill for $4.00 a day and board. Later he became the fore- man, and he remained with the firm until 1897. After a short experience with a mill of his own on Wolf creek, Mr. Duval purchased the im- provements on his present ranch and twenty-four head of cattle from Harlan Woodworth. The ranch comprises 360 acres and is located nine miles north of Wolf creek. It is stocked with a fine herd of cattle, and has proved a most prof- itable investment. Mr. Duval's marriage union with Miss Josephine Shatraw occurred on April 27, 1873. She is the daughter of Antoine and Lucy Shatraw, natives of Canada, and was born in Franklin county, N. Y., where her father was engaged in a successful soda manufacturing busi- ness. He was a veteran of the Civil war, and died on October 25. 1881. Her parents were both mem- bers of the Catholic church. To Mr. and Mrs. Duval have been born eight children, two of whom have died. The living are Alexander, Frank, Edward, Lillian, Flora and Lucy. The family are members of the Catholic church.

H UGH EARLY .- Reaching Montana in 1869 and having passed nearly the whole of his subsequent life on her soil, Hugh Early has been serviceable to the state and made good use of the opportunities she has offered him. He was born at Lockport, N. Y., on August 9, 1849, the

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son of Hugh and Celia (Monyhan) Early, natives of Ireland who emigrated to the United States in 1826, and after a number of years, located in St. Croix county, Wis., where they were success- fully engaged in farming, and where the father is still living, the mother having passed away in 1901. Their son Hugh received a common school education at Brodhead, Wis., and in 1869 came to Montana, traveling up the Missouri by boat to Fort Benton and remaining in the service of the steamboat company as a boat hand until 1871. At that time he entered the employ of the Diamond R Freighting Company and remained in its service for a number of years. In 1876 he went to the Black Hills, and in the same year accompanied the Custer expedition into Montana as far as the Rosebud river, then left the troops and went to the location now the site of Miles City. There he lived from 1876 to 1886, being engaged five years in freighting for J. B. Hubbell & Co., and five in operating a cable ferry across the Yellow- stone. In 1886 he went to Red Lodge and was for seven years outside foreman for the Rocky Fork Coal Company, and in 1894 came to Anaconda, where he has since been with the Anaconda Cop- per Company as foreman of a sampling mill. In politics Mr. Early has always been a Democrat and has been very active in the service of the party. His loyalty to his Irish ancestry and his ever-pres- ent public spirit led him to take a prominent part in the Fenian raid into Canada in 1867, when Fort Dufferin was captured at Manitoba. In fraternal relations Mr. Early holds membership in the Cath- olic Order of Foresters and the Lower Works Fire Department in Anaconda, and at Miles City, Mont., in 1886, he was united in marriage to Miss Anna Hogan, a native of Ireland, where she was born in 1865. They have three children, Patrick Henry, Winifred and James Emmet.

JOHN W. EBERL, of Augusta, Lewis and Clarke county, is one of the most enterprising business men of the place. To whatever he has turned his hand, and his occupations have been numerous, he has invariably devoted his undivided attention to the work in hand and made himself master of all the details. That he should be des- tined to achieve success in Montana is, therefore, not in the least to be wondered at. John W. Eberl was born at Zanesville, Muskingum county,

Ohio, on August 25, 1854. His parents were John and Maria Eberl, the father a native of Munich, Bavaria, and the mother of Strasburg, Germany. They came to the United States in early years, and ultimately located in Ohio in 1844. In the Fatherland the father had been a locksmith, and in the United States he became a machinist. He was a strong Union man during the Civil war and invariably voted the Republican ticket. He was a · member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Both himself and wife were adherents of the Cath- olic church. John W. Eberl received what would now be termed a meagre education, for at the age of twelve he was removed from school and placed at farm work. Later he was placed in a hard- ware store where his work was weighing nails and tieing them up in packages. He was later placed in a drygoods store at a salary of $1.50 per week, but here he stayed but two months, as he secured employment in a wholesale millinery establishment at a wage of $3.00 per week, and he continued with this firm until he reached the age of sixteen years. He then entered upon the trade which he has since made his life work, be- ing apprenticed to a blacksmith, receiving $4.00 per week the first year, $5.00 for the second and $6.00 per week for the third and last year.

Mr. Eberl had now reached the age of nineteen and was ambitious to travel and accept all op- portunities that might present themselves to a lively, wide-awake youth. At first this was a difficult proposition for the young man, but he was of resolute character and triumphed over all obstacles. Ten years of this life was passed in various lines of employment in which his knowl- edge and experience were broadened in every way. In the trade that he had adopted he soon became quite proficient and at one time he was made a business manager of a shop. In the spring of 1884 John W. Eberl came to Montana. He im- mediately settled at Helena, where he secured em- ployment as a blacksmith with August Weisenhorn for $3.00 per day. At the end of six weeks he determined to look up a location where he could go into business on his own account, and removed to Wolf creek and located at Au- gusta. This was on August 25, 1884. He experienced some difficulty in securing the log cabin in which he desired to open a shop, and until it was vacated in November he engaged in ranch work and as a waiter at the Walrath House. In November Mr. Eherl took possesion of the cabin

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at a rental of $10 per month. He remained in the cabin one year, by which time he had built a new shop and added some other property to his hold- ings. Since that period he has been quite suc- 'cessful in all his enterprises, particularly horse and cattleraising. He now owns a ranch of 320 acres and it is well stocked with cattle and horses. Fra- ternally Mr. Eberl is a member and the secretary of the local lodge of Odd Fellows, and politically he is a Republican. He is held in high estima- tion by all with whom he is acquainted.

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 128

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