Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 129

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 129

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M AJOR JOHN E. EDWARDS .- From Colon- . ial days no family in New England has had more prominence in civil, social, military and theo- logical life than the distinguished Edwards family. It has impressed itself upon all events of import- ance, held political and civic trusts, and produced the greatest theological writer America has ever known, Rev. Jonathan Edwards, D. D. It has given of its best blood in the service of the country in every war from the Revolution to the de- liverance of Cuba from Spanish domination. One of its representatives in the great Civil war was Oliver Edwards, a native of Springfield, Mass., who served throughout the contest in the sanguin- ary career of the Army of the Potomac, going out with the Thirty-seventh Massachusetts, losing an eye in one of the fierce battles by the bursting of a shell, and by his courage and gallantry attaining the rank of brevet major-general. In private life he was eminent as a civil engineer, and in 1880 went to England as the general manager of the Gardner Gun Company, of London, which for two years held contracts for the manufacture of ordnance for the British navy. Returning to America he retired from business and made his home at Warsaw, Ill., of which place his wife, Annie Johnston Edwards, was a native. Her father, a north of Ireland gen- tleman, came to Baltimore when the Protestants were expelled from his country, his ancestral prop- erty in Ireland being confiscated according to family tradition. He was twenty years old when he re- moved to Warsaw from Maryland. Marrying there he established a fine home where his useful life came peacefully to an end in the fullness of years.

Major John E. Edwards, son of this worthy couple, was also a native of Warsaw, Ill., where he was born on July 17, 1866. His education was acquired at a college at Hanover, Ind., and at a

commercial school at Quincy, Ill. When seven- teen years of age he came to Colorado and passed eighteen months in the free life of a stock ranch in the northern part of the state, and he continued this life in the Indian Territory and northern Texas until 1888, thoroughly familiarizing himself with the stock industry in all departments and in detail. His qualifications for the position caused his se- lection as the superintendent of the large Thomas Cruse outfit of sheep, cattle and ranches in the eastern part of Fergus county. This responsible station he held for nine years, the length of service demonstrating both his ability and the satisfaction of his employer. He then engaged in merchandis- ing at Junction, Mont., for two years, when his ability to understand men and conduct business af- fairs systematically and with tact, and also his agreeable personality, caused him to receive ap- pointment to his present responsible government of- fice of Indian agent at the Crow reservation in 1899. Upon the acceptance of this position he closed his mercantile establishment, and, removing to the agency, assumed the management of its affairs. In 1892, in Fergus county, he married with Miss Julia Anderson, daughter of one of Montana's oldest pioneers, Reese Anderson. They have two children, Annie and Eunice. The family is Presbyterian in religious affiliation, and fraternally the Major is a member of the Order of Elks in the lodge at Billings, while his politics are strongly Republican. The genial Major has a large acquaintance and many cordial friends.

W R. H. EDWARDS .- This gentleman was born at Chambersburg, Pa., on March 9, 1833, and is therefore in the seventieth year of his . age. He is, however, still active and vigorous, as young in spirit and appearance as many twenty years his junior, still giving his personal attention to the management of his extensive business. The Edwards family has been long closely identified with the history and growth of America. His father, Hon. James S. Edwards, one of the early settlers of Mercerburg, Pa., born in 1792, led an active life in the state of his nativity and later in Indiana, where he died near Fort Wayne in 1860. In early life he was a mail and dispatch carrier for the United States government on the frontiers of Penn- sylvania, Ohio and Indiana, and had many thrilling experiences and narrow escapes from the savages

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who then infested that section. He was a descend- ant of Gen. Arthur St. Clair, the president of the first Continental congress, and one of the most prominent of the heroes of the Revolution and the early American republic. His wife, Elizabeth (Beaver) Edwards, was a daughter of George W. Beaver, one of the noted Beaver family, which has been so prominently and intimately identified with the growth and development of Pennsylvania. She was a remarkable woman, and many of her strong traits of character have descended to her son.

Born of such parentage Mr. Edwards inherited a strong love of country and correct notions of the duties of citizenship, and attained manhood among the best traditions of American life. He received an academic education at the Fort Wayne Seminary, where he took high rank, then, accepting a position as a teacher, he followed that occupation for a time. Later, having an ambition to become a lawyer, he became a student in the law office of Hon. James L. Worden, who was for eighteen years a learned justice of the supreme court. In 1852, having thoroughly equipped himself by study for admission to the bar, he passed a successful examination and was duly admitted as a member of the bar of Indiana, at the early age of nineteen years. The news of the wonderful discovery of gold in the streams of California by one Marshall in 1848 having been brought to Fort Wayne, the imag- ination of the young lawyer was fired by dreams of riches and he left his home in Fort Wayne for St. Joseph, Mo., then the principal outfitting point for overland California trains. Here he outfitted and joined a large party starting for the golden sands of the new Eldorado. He drove his own team from St. Joseph to Shasta City, Cal., arriving at the latter place in August, 1852. Such a journey, across thousands of miles of desert thronged by hostile Indians and beset by unknown dangers, might well appall a youth, but Mr. Edwards under- took it with that indomitable spirit which has ever marked his career. He enjoyed its adventure, laughed at its dangers, and arrived in California tull of enthusiasm for the new life which lay before him in that new world. He remained in Shasta City until 1858, engaged in mining, packing, mer- chandising. etc. He was successful in business, and accumulated a fortune for a man so young. In 1859 he returned to Fort Wayne and here he heard of the discoveries of gold near Pike's Peak, Colo., and he joined in the rush of fortune seekers thither and was soon afterward elected a member of the

constitutional convention which had been called to frame a constitution for the proposed new state of Jefferson, but this proposition was defeated by a vote of the people. In 1860 Mr. Edwards returned to Fort Wayne, and married with Miss Olive A. Fairfield, a daughter of Hon. Charles Fairfield, a descendant of the famous Fairfield family, of Ken- nebec, Me., Mr. Fairfield was one of the foremost among the pioneers of Indiana, where he lived to a great age, dying there at ninety-two years.

In 1863 reports of the wonderful discoveries of gold in Idaho came to Indiana, and Mr. Edwards was again seized with a desire to win Dame Fortune in the far west, and in that year he organized a large wagon-train of which he took charge and brought overland successfully by way of the last crossing of the Sweetwater river in Wyoming, into the camp of Bannack. This was the first wagon- train to enter Bannack and its arrival was before the discovery of gold in Alder gulch, and Bannack was then the chief settlement in the future state of Montana. He established his residence in Ban- nack, where he remained successfully engaged in business until February 22, 1865, when he located a number of valuable placer mines in German gulch, which he has owned since that time and operated with satisfactory results. He discovered the Twin Mountain mines in 1888, where is situated his valuable property, the Edwards carbonate claim, which is very rich in gold and copper. He is also the owner of a fine hay and stock ranch in the Deer Lodge valley, about six miles from Anaconda. .

Mr. Edwards is a Democrat and in 1867 and 1868 he was a member of the territorial legislature from Deer Lodge county, and took an active part in the deliberations. Many of the laws enacted at that session which are now a part of the Montana code were the fruit of the foresight. wisdom and good judgment of Representative Edwards. He is an able and ready speaker, and from the first has taken a prominent part in state and county conventions, and his sound judgment has been instrumental on many occasions in guiding his party successfully through difficult places. While possessing many of the characteristics that would have brought him success at the bar, Mr. Edwards has never engaged in the active practice of law. Its exacting and frequently harsh and disagreeable duties were irk- some to him, and he preferred to devote his time to business affairs which to him was a more in- viting field. He is a great reader, is familiar with the standard authors, his own contributions to

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literature being not inconsiderable. For many years he has been a contributor of poetry and liter- ary sketches to leading publications, especially in the west. His poem, "The Prospector," published in 1897, attracted wide attention and received fav- orable comment in literary centers. Mr. Edwards' domestic life has been a happy one. All of his eight children, four sons and four daughters, are still living. His eldest son, Charles W., is a prosperous business man of Coffeyville, Kan .; George is re- siding in Indiana; German M. is a miner in Butte City, and Leo R. is a street car conductor in Butte. Of his daughters, Mrs. Theodore Hartz, resides in Anaconda, and Mrs. J. M. Steele and Mrs. Olive .1. Nelson reside in Butte. Belle, the youngest daugh- ter, is still with her parents.

L UCIUS A. ENDERS .- One of the important enterprises of Great Falls is that of L. A. Enders & Co., dealers in wall papers, paints, etc., their establishment being the second largest in Montana. Mr. Enders is the active manager, and the marked success which has attended the busi- ness is due principally to his progressive methods and pronounced executive ability. Mr. Enders was born in Williamsville, Genessee county, New York, on February 3, 1861, and was but one year of age when his parents removed to Michigan. His father, Samuel Enders, was born in Pennsylvania of German parentage, and has been a lifelong farmer in Pennsylvania, New York and Michigan. His last location was in Oakland county, Mich., where he still makes his home. His wife, Nancy (Rhodes) Enders, is likewise of German ancestry and a native of Pennsylvania.

Lucius A. Enders attended the district schools in the vicinity of the homestead farm in Oakland county, Mich., then in the high school at Fenton he continued his studies until the age of sixteen. After this education he engaged in teaching school during the winters and assisting in the work of the farm during the summer seasons for about three years. In the meanwhile he had devoted careful attention to the reading of law and when nineteen years of age he took a law course in a private col- lege at Valparaiso, Ind. He has, however, never become an active practitioner at the bar, though the legal knowledge acquired has been of inestimable value. From 1881 until 1883 Mr. En- ders sold books and various lines of merchandise

in Michigan, Indiana and Illinois and in 1883, while in Jackson, Mich., adverse fortune gave him a somber greeting, and he was forced to take the first work that was offered him, and thus found employment in that city as a painter and paper- hanger, the exigencies of the case thus leading him into an industry in which he has since at- tained marked success. He soon became an ex- pert workman, and followed the business as a jour- neyman until 1895, within which time he visited al- most every state in the Union.

· In November, 1895, Mr. Enders came to Great Falls, Mont., where he was for three months em- ployed by Amos Desilets in his wallpaper and paint establishment, and then, by the purchase of a half interest in the business by Mr. Enders, the firm of Desilets & Enders was formed. This co- partnership existed for two years, Mr. Desilets then selling his interest to O. F. Wadsworth and the present firm of L. A. Enders & Co. coming into being. The establishment figures as one of the largest mercantile concerns in the city, and the business has extensive ramifications, reaching an average annual aggregate of $35,000, while a large corps of employes is retained. The stock in all lines is complete and select, while the high reputa- tion of the house in the line of artistic work in inter- ior decoration gives it a reputation far excelling competition. Mr. Enders maintains a public- spirited interest in all that concerns the progress and prosperity of his home city and state. Fra- ternally he is identified with Cataract Lodge, K. of P., being a member of the uniform rank of the order. He is the master workman of Great Falls Lodge No. 33, A. O. U. W., and is a member of Camp 67, W. of W. In 1894 Mr. Enders was united in marriage with Miss Mary A. Flanagan, and their daughter, Lulu Agnes, was born on February 16, 1901.

CHARLES D. ELLIOTT .- Among the early Colonial settlers of New Hampshire were the paternal ancestors of Mr. Elliott, they later re- moving to Maine. They bore a conspicuous part in the affairs of the colonies and were never absent from the roll call of duty. Mr. Elliott's great- grandfather was a gallant soldier in the Colonial army and fought under the heroic Putnam at Bunker Hill. The Rev. John Elliott, the father, was a native of Nottingham, N. H., and his mother

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was Arabella (Berry) Elliott, of Lisbon, Me., and his birth occurred at Auburn, Me., on July 2, 1855. The father was a Congregational minister, who served a congregation at Rumford Point, Me., con- tinuously for twenty-five years, dying in 1880, se- cure in the high regard and confidence of his flock and all who knew him. Charles D. Elliott received his education at excellent schools, among them the North Bridgton Academy and the Wesleyan Semin- ary at Kent's Hill. After leaving school he went to Boston and entered the employ of the Barstow Stove Company as bookkeeper, remaining in this service ten years. At the end of that time he came to Montana, locating at Willow creek, thirty miles from Great Falls, and, in partnership with B. P. Buchanan, engaged in sheepraising until 1897, when he retired from the firm and removed to American Fork. Here he purchased of Samuel A. Shaw an interest in his extensive sheep business and they organized the American Fork Livestock Company, its headquarters being three miles south of Harlowton, where, with Mr. Elliott as sec- retary and resident manager, they conduct one of the most extensive industries of its kind in the state. Mr. Elliott was married on December 5, 1900, with Miss Ella Tracy, a native of Mansfield, Ohio, and daughter of John Lynd Tracy, who died in 1880. He is proud of the ancestry that has given him the right to become a Son of the American Revo- lution, and is deeply interested in everything that concerns the welfare of his native land, contribut- ing his share to the development of every good en- terprise. Mr. Elliott resides on the home property of the company, which consists of 8,000 acres of land, improved with a fine residence and modern appliances for the business of stockraising. Here they have usually an average of 10,000 sheep and 200 head of cattle.

W ILLIAM T. ELLIOTT .- In Franklin coun- ty, Va., on February 27, 1846, occurred the birth of Mr. Elliott, who is the son of Philip C. and Mary (English) Elliott, and in Virginia had been born his ancestors on either side for many generations. In his earlier manhood the father was a tailor, but after his marriage he removed with his family to Sauk county, Wis., in 1857, be- coming one of the pioneer families of that section, where he permanently located on a farm. In the early days his nearest market was Madison, forty

miles away, whither he was compelled to haul his wheat and other produce. His wife died in 1868, but he is still living in Sauk county.

While living in Virginia William had attended school regularly, but after locating in Wiscon- sin he assisted in the farm work during the sum- mer months and in the winters was a pupil in the somewhat primitive schools. At the age of nine- teen he left the parental home and drove an ox team from Wisconsin to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he joined a freighting outfit and drove cat- tle across the plains to Salt Lake, and thence continued his journey to Helena, Mont., where he arrived in November, 1865. The following sum- mer he was employed in freighting between Helena and Fort Benton and from the latter point to Virginia City, and had many experiences charact- eristic of the stirring frontier life. In the fall of 1866, in company with Henry Frederickson, who had been his employer from the time of leaving Council Bluffs, Mr. Elliott came to Deer Lodge county, where his employer took up a ranch and Mr. Elliott continued in his employ for three years. In the summer of 1869 he purchased an interest in the Powell ranch of 640 acres, located in that por- tion of Deer Lodge county, now Powell county, and his partner in the enterprise was the Mr. Pow- ell whose name is preserved in the new county. After two years existence the partnership was dissolved by mutual consent, and the ranch is now owned by N. J. Bielenberg. Mr. Elliott then filed claim on a homestead of 160 acres of government land, which is an integral portion of his present fine ranch. On the place was a diminutive log cabin, and this was his domicile for some time. He has here since maintained his home, his landed estate now comprising 1,920 acres, and being located near Racetrack, which is his postoffice address.

The ranch is one of the most valuable in the Deer Lodge valley, and is devoted principally to the raising of cattle and horses, having an aver- age of about 500 head of cattle. it is all under fence, and the permanent improvements are of the best, including a commodious and attractive resi- dence, and Mr. Elliott finds that his estate is located in the new county of Powell. Though not an as- pirant for public office at any time, he gives his support to the Democratic party, and, taking an active part in the work of its local contingent, he has served for many years as a member of the Democratic central committee of Deer Lodge county. On November 6, 1870, Mr. Elliott was

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married with Miss Eliza Birum, who was born in Sauk county, Wis., the daughter of Ialiff and Caro- line (Sutvit) Birum, both of whom were born in Christiana, Norway, where their marriage was solemnized and whence, about 1840, they emi- grated to the United States and to Sauk county, Wis., where they were numbered among the earli- est settlers, Mr. Birum having assisted in the erection of the first dam and the first mills that were placed on the Sauk river. He died in Sauk county in 1889, and his widow has now attained the venerable age of eighty-six years. To Mr. and Mrs. Elliott three children have been born, W. Yancey, Inez, who is a young lady of marked intel- lectuality and to whom came the distinction of being appointed county superintendent of the schools upon the organization of Powell county, and Ialiff, who is also at the parental home.

E RASMUS ESTILL is worthy of specific rep- resentation in this volume as one of the pro- gressive and highly respected stockgrowers of Te- ton county. He was born on June 30, 1852, near Barnesville, Clinton county, Mo. His parents, Will- iam H. and Elizabeth Estill, were born in Ken- tucky, whence they removed to Missouri in 1847, and where the father followed farming with success up until the Civil war, when he met with reverses, from which, however, he later somewhat recovered. He was an active Democrat, and both he and his wife were members of the Presbyterian church, the latter passing away in 1857, while he survived until 1886. Erasmus Estill received the educational advantages of the common schools during the win- ter months and the remainder of the year his services were in requisition on the homestead farm. He remained with his father until 1873, when he rented 120 acres of land and began farming on his own responsibility, but his crops were destroyed by grasshoppers. In 1875 Mr. Estill went to Colo- rado, and was employed on various ranches for two years, being industrious and economical and saving his wages. His experience in that section had awakened an ambition to engage personally in the raising of cattle, and in 1877 he returned to Mis- souri and entered into a partnership with his brother, Moses H., in the cattle business, so con- tinuing until 1879, when he resumed farming, in which he was successful. In 1863 he sold his farm and business at a profit and invested his money in

the mercantile business in DeKalb county, III .. where he continued to be until 1884, losing all he had invested. He then again associated himself with his brother in farming in Gentry country, Mo., later returning to De Kalb county, where he rented a farm of 120 acres.

His health having become seriously impaired in 1892 Mr. Estill came to Montana, where he found employment on the ranch of J. H. Carmichael until 1894, when he took up a homestead claim of 160 acres and later a desert claim of equal area, the claims being located twelve miles southeast of Augusta. Here he engaged in farming and stock- raising for five years, and then sold the property for $1,000, after which he purchased 480 acres of land eight miles west of Choteau, Teton county, where he has since been successfully devoting his time to the raising of cattle and horses, his ranch being well improved and eligibly located. In poli- tics Mr. Estill supports the Democratic party, and fraternally he is a member of the Woodmen of the World and the I. O. O. F. His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church. On December 23, 1879, Mr. Estill wedded Miss Mary L. Garvin, born in Kentucky, the daughter of David and Mag- gie Garvin, likewise natives of the Bluegrass state. The father is a prominent farmer, a Democrat in his political proclivities, and both he and his wife are members of the Baptist church. Mrs. Estill died on April 18, 1900, leaving six children : Alice M., Clara D., William P., Walter C., Eupha E. and Lola. Mrs. Estill was a woman of gentle refine- ment and kindly in her intercourse with all, and her death was deeply lamented. She was a devoted member of the Christian church.

W ILLIAM R. EMBLETON .- A native of County York, New Brunswick, Canada, and born on February 14, 1852, Mr. Embleton is the son of Robert and Elizabeth (Wilson) Embleton, both natives of England, who emigrated from their native country in early life to Frederickton, New Brunswick, where the father engaged in the occu- pation of farming, and where William attained manhood in County York, receiving his early edu- cation in the schools of Frederickton, but being able to attend only during the winters, as he was obliged to assist his father in the work of the farm. He continued on the farm, assisting in the labors and the management of the property until

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he was twenty-eight years old. Leaving the land of his nativity in 1880 he went to Winnipeg, Manitoba, and obtained a position with a govern- ment surveying party engaged in making surveys west of Winnipeg for the Canadian government, and remained in that employment during the suc- ceeding summer. In the fall, however, he went to Fort Walsh, Canada, and in the winter of 1880 and 1881, from Fort Walsh he came to Fort Ben- ton by means of a dog team over the snow, this being the only means of transportation. In 1881 he purchased the right of a squatter to the land where his ranch is located, and entered upon a suc- cessful life of ranching and stockgrowing. Mr. Embleton was united in marriage in County York, N. B., to Miss Agnes Nesbit, a native of that coun- try and the daughter of George Nesbit, who was a native of England, and who had established his home in early life in New Brunswick. Upon founding his new home in Choteau county, Mr. Embleton sent for his wife and two children, who had remained at their home in New Brunswick, and they came to Bismarck by rail and then by steamer up the Missouri. They were met at Cow island by Mr. Embleton, and the remainder of the journey was made by team. Mr. Embleton is counted as one of the substantial business men of his section of the county, and the family is highly respected. He is a stanch member of the Repub- lican party, a loyal supporter of its principles, al- though he has never desired public office.

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 129

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