Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 163

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 163

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Rosco V. Tucker, the immediate subject of this review, received his educational discipline in the public schools of Westfield, N. Y., and after leav- ing school he engaged in farming, stockraising and dairying in his native county, continuing operations in these pursuits for a period of more than a quarter of a century. In the meantime his father had taken up his abode in Montana, and in 1895 our subject joined him, and from that time until 1898 had charge of his father's hotel busi- ness in Malta. In the year last mentioned the two engaged in the sheep business under the firm name of E. W. Tucker & Son, conducting their operations on a fine ranch on Beaver creek, at a point sixteen miles southeast of Malta, the same comprising 800 acres, well watered and available for cultivation when desired. The best of im- provements have been made on the- estate, and the firm engaged in the raising of sheep on an ex- tensive scale, our subject assuming entire control of the enterprise after the death of his father. In politics he gives allegiance to the Republican party, taking a deep interest in all that concerns the material prosperity and advancement of this section of the state, and is recognized as one of the representative men of the county.

In Chautauqua county, N. Y., August 10, 1883, Mr. Tucker was united in mariage to Miss Julia Walcott, who was born at Sherman, that county, the daughter of Merritt and Marguretta Wal- cott. Our subject and his estimable wife have two interesting daughters, Mabel and Grace, aged respectively sixteen and twelve years (1901). The family are prominent in the social life of the community, and their pleasant home is noted for the cordial hospitality which is ever in evidence.

W TELLINGTON S. TOWNER .- The state of Montana has been signally favored in the class of men who have constituted her bench and bar, and among the worthy young representatives of the legal fraternity is Mr. Towner, established in the practice of his profession in the thriving vil- lage of Chinook, Choteau county, Mont. He was born in the city of Elgin, Ill., June 16, 1874,

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the son of Ithiel C. and Mary W. (Switzer) Town- er, natives of Canada, whence they removed to Elgin in 1852. There the father of our subject is a retired carriage manufacturer, being one of the representative business men of the city.

In his native city Wellington S. Towner re- ceived his early education, attending the public schools and completing the high school course; he then entered the Elgin Academy and con- tinued his studies until 1893, when he matricu- lated in both literary and law departments of the famous University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he graduated as a member of the class of 1898. Thoroughly grounded in the learning of his chosen profession and fortified by the best of preliminary discipline, he came west the year that he graduated and located at Fort Benton, Mont., where he opened an office and engaged in the practice of law until December, 1900. Remov- ing thence he located in Chinook, where he has gained distinct recognition, is building up an ex- cellent business and securing a clientage of rep- resentative character. He is thoroughly alert, is a ready and forcible speaker, and as an advo- cate is able to present a case with distinct ability ; being a careful student and ever faithful to the interests of his clients.

In politics he renders allegiance to the Re- publican party; fraternally he is identified with Riverside Camp No. 7658, M. W. A., and Benton Lodge No. 59, I. O. O. F. His religious faith is that of the Methodist church, in which he was reared. Of pleasing personal address, and ever courteous to all with whom he comes in contact, he enjoys special popularity in Chinook and vicin- ity, and is one of the rising young attorneys of the county. On April 18, 1900, Mr. Towner was united in marriage to Miss Margaret N. Taylor, daughter of Dr. George H. Taylor, a represent- ative dentist of Fort Benton.

HARLES C. TURNER is at present located C

on a fine and profitable cattle ranch three miles west of Belt, in Cascade county. He was born in St. Louis, Mo., on December 2, 1847, the son of William J. and Jane Turner, natives of Ireland and stanch Presbyterians. They came to the United States in 1830, and for many years the father was a steamboat clerk on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Mr. Turner died in December,

1859, was survived for one year only by his wife. Charles C. Turner attended the public schools of St. Louis until he was thirteen there making good progress with his studies. He then became a clerk in a large dry goods store, and afterwards collector for the Memphis & St. Louis Packet Company, beginning at a salary of $10 per month, which within five years was increased to $50. Fol- lowing this he engaged with the Mississippi Barge Company, and on the termination of his contract he came on the Missouri to Montana, and to Fort Benton, and from there to. Helena, and after a short sojourn, he was employed on a ranch in the Gal- latin valley. In 1872 he began freighting in Utah and Idaho, his outfit consisting of two ten-mule teams. This enterprise he successfully continued until 1880. He then became interested in the sheep business. He began in partnership with William Cresap, his first flock numbering 2,000 head, and the band was soon increased to 5,000.

On the dissolution of this partnership Mr. Turner managed his share of the sheep on a rented ranch, finally disposing of them to J. W. Leland for $2,000. Shortly after this he settled on his present homestead near Belt, where he has en- gaged in cattleraising and general farming. He cultivates sixty acres, upon which he raises boun- tiful crops of wheat, oats, hay and vegetables. Mr. Turner was married on June 21, 1888, to Miss Ella Kennedy, a native of Henderson county, Ill., a daughter of Stephen and Sarah Kennedy. Stephen Kennedy was a brother of John J. and James Kennedy, of Columbia Falls. See their sketches elsewhere in this volume. Another brother, William, lives in Missoula. Stephen Ken- nedy was a member of the Baptist church and politically an active Democrat. He died August 22, 1897, and his widow resides at Belt. Of the five children of Mr. and Mrs. Turner, one died in infancy. The survivors are Dora, William, Jessie E. and Sarah E. Their parents are members of the Baptist church. Fraternally Mr. Turner is a Freemason and politically he is in active sym- pathy with the Democratic party.

R OBERT E. TUCKER .- In a compilation of this nature due recognition should be given to those whose labors have been so directed as to enable them to gain the goal of prosperity and independence, and of this number is Mr. Tucker.

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PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MONTANA.

He was born in Saline county, Neb., in 1867, the second of the eleven children of John S. and Frances (Evans) Tucker, the former of whom was born in Ohio and the latter in Texas. His father located in Nebraska about 1863, and there en- gaged in agriculture and both himself and wife are now living. In the public schools Robert E. Tucker received his early education, but he as- sumed the practical responsibilities of life at the early age of eleven years, as a herder of cattle, and he continued this vocation for a number of years in Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, the Dakotas and Montana, having come to this state in 1882, locating in Custer county. Here he was employed on the range until 1893, when he engaged in the cattle business for himself, taking up land not far from the little town of Ashland, where he has a valuable and well improved ranch of 200 acres, much of it being eligible for cultiva- tion, yielding large crops of hay, the greater por- tion of which is used in the feeding of stock. Mr. Tucker has been energetic and discriminating in his operations and his success is certain to in- crease in scope and importance, for he has the capacity and determination which insure this end. He gives a loyal support to the Democratic party and fraternally holds membership in the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He was formerly a member of the state militia and always held him- self in readiness for active duty in suppressing Indian uprisings or in otherwise maintaining law and order. His career has been such as to gain him the friendship and good will of his fellow- men, and he must be counted as one of the progressive young men of our great common- wealth. In 1894, Mr. Tucker was united in mar- riage to Miss Lena Lynch, who was born in Ire- land, and they have four interesting daughters: Frances M., Beatrice R., Alice V. and Mabel Annie.

W ILLIAM P. TURNER, JR .- Within the pages of this work will be found specific mention not alone of those who have been the founders of the great commonwealth of Montana, but also of those who have carried forward the work inaugurated by these noble pioneers and are gaining recognition in connection with the state's industrial life. Of the latter class is Mr. Turner, who is recognized as a discriminating young busi- ness man as well as a prominent stockgrower of

Choteau county. He was born in Davidson county, Tenn., on August 6, 1861, on the parental farmstead in the vicinity of Nashville. His father, William P. Turner, Sr., was born at Carthage, Tenn., in 1826, and in Davidson county he became an extensive farmer, devoting especial attention to thoroughbred shorthorn cattle, 300 head of which he brought to Montana in 1882, locating in the Marias river country, and here continuing the cattle business until about 1890. He is now liv- ing in Choteau county, where his two sons con- tinue in the enterprise he thus inaugurated. By his discriminating efforts and careful selection of the stock he brought to Montana Mr. Turner did much to improve the grade of cattle of north- ern Montana, and his prestige in the business was marked. His wife, whose maiden name was Ophelia Cartwright, was born in Gallatin, Tenn., in 1837, and she died at the Tennessee home- stead in 1878.

William P. Turner, Jr., had the excellent edu- cational advantages of the public schools of his native county, and he began his individual efforts in the practical affairs of life at the age of four- teen, when, in addition to study in the schools, he engaged in raising thoroughbred cattle on his own responsibility, his father aiding and encour- aging him in this independent effort. Thus it eventuated that when he was nineteen years old he had a fine herd of high-grade cattle, with which he started for Montana in 1880. Finding transportation difficult and expensive after reach- ing Bismarck, he drove his herd through on the overland route, arriving in the Sun river valley in good shape, wintering there. In the spring of 1882 Mr. Turner located in the Big Bend of the Marias river. This bend was a famous resort for buffalo and a great rendezvous for buffalo hunters in the early days, the one seeking the shelter and water here afforded, and the latter camping by hundreds in the valley in order to engage in slaughtering the buffalo.

Here Mr. Turner took up the allowed claims of government land, and to these he has added by purchasing contiguous tracts until he now has a valuable estate of 1,500 acres, and access to the surrounding free range of most extensive area. For some time he raised cattle and sheep, but in 1892 he sold his sheep, engaging exclusively in cat- tleraising until the fall of 1900, when he again turned his attention to sheep, having now five bands of 2,500 head each, and thus he is making

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PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MONTANA.

most marked and successful progress in his stock- growing, which is conducted on an extensive scale and with that discrimination and care which make for greater success. Along the river bottom of his ranch is most arable and prolific land, which has been put under effective cultivation, so that his estate is one of the valuable properties in this section of Montana. In politics Mr. Turner gives an unwavering support to the Democratic party and its principles. His brother, James G. Turner, is also one of the successful young ranchmen of this section, and to him individual reference is made on another page. Both are held in the highest esteem in the community.

JAMES J. UNDERWOOD .- If the United States had no other claim to real greatness and the admiration and esteem of the civilized world, her advances in the domain of mechanics and in- dustrial activity would entitle her to honorable mention everywhere. Among her "heroes of construction," may be mentioned with high com- mendation, James J. Underwood, now of Carbonado, Mont. He was born on August 6, 1839, in North Carolina, the son of Joshua Underwood, of that state, and the grandson of Joshua Underwood, the English emigrant, who in Colonial days set- tled in the Old North state, married a German lady and was conspicuous in the service of his adopted land in the war of the Revolution, distin- guishing himself for gallantry on the bloody field of Martinsville and many another. "When the war drum throbbed no longer" he returned to his peaceful plantation, which he conducted during the rest of his life. His son Joshua removed to what is now West Virginia when he came to man- hood and there he passed his life as a farmer, rearing in comfort and with proper training for useful citizenship his twelve children. His seventh son, James J. Underwood, when he was but seven- teen years old, in 1856, started in life for himself, going to Missouri, then the remote west, and in Cooper county engaged in farming and stock- raising. He was in the employ of the United States during the Civil war until 1864. In that year he took the overland trip to Montana. His train was once attacked by Indians, but they were repulsed with some loss and thereafter did not molest this company, which arrived in Virginia City, Mont., August 6, 1864. Our subject made

his home in the vicinity of Alder gulch until 1894, being principally engaged in farming and raising cattle and horses. He witnessed the troublous times of the Vigilantes days and saw the good re- sults of their vigorous administration of justice ; but his agricultural ventures were not at first suc- cessful, the grasshoppers eating all of his crops for two or three years. In 1894 he took up land, removing to his present property at Carbonado, where he now has a fine ranch, well improved with good buildings, under a high state of cultivation, and on which his earnest labors have brought success. He carries on general farming and stock- raising on a large scale.

Mr. Underwood was married on January 14, 1863, with Miss Mary Taylor, of Missouri. Faith- ful and devoted as a helpmeet she thereafter ac- companied him in all his journeyings and cheer- fully shared fully his pleasures and his hardships. Their children are: James Alfred, a furniture dealer at Red Lodge; Mattie C., the wife of Will- iam Willis, of Sheridan, Madison county; Isaac H., married to Miss Cressie J. Ball, a daughter of John W. Ball, who came to Montana in 1880, and located at Dillon. Five children have blessed their union, of whom two, Frank and Jackson, are living and Harry E., Lloyd W. and Joseph are deceased. Isaac H. was educated in Madison county, Mont., and has been owning stock and horses almost from his childhood. In 1885 he started in business for himself, and in 1893 took up the ranch he now occupies, where he has since devoted his energies to successfully raising cat- tle and horses, his favorite breed of the latter being Clydesdale. His stock operations are con- ducted on a large scale, he usually having about 300 head on hand. He has a fine ranch and is a progressive and enterprising man. Other chil- dren of Mr. and Mrs. Underwood are Hugh T., of whom more extended notice follows, and Edwin R. and Judson, who are still at home. Charles, William F., Charles E. and Lily are deceased.

HUGH T. UNDERWOOD, the fourth child and third son of James J. Underwood, was born on November 24, 1871, near Sheridan, Madison county, Mont. He spent his school days in Sheri- dan and Beaverhead, remaining on the home- stead until he was nearly sixteen years old. When he was but six his father gave him and a brother the privilege of planting small patches of po- tatoes for themselves, thus stimulating them to

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PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MONTANA.

industry and thrift. From the proceeds of their crop they bought horses and cattle, and when Hugh reached his fourteenth year he sold the larger portion of his stock to his father for $800, still retaining three saddle horses and one work horse. In his sixteenth year he went to Butte and bought two city lots, the west half of numbers 7 and 8 in block 4 of the Rice addition, and drew from his father the money to pay for them, his father having had the use of it at 10 per cent. interest. On these lots he built a two-story build- ing and soon had a comfortable revenue in rents from his investment. He kept the property until 1894, and sold it at a good advance over its cost to him. He remained in Butte until 1893, en- gaged in various lines of business, clerking, the grocery trade and in mining. In all his ventures he met with a fair degree of success; but feeling a desire to return to the business of his family for generations, in 1893 he purchased a ranch on the Rosebud, which he worked for two years and then sold. He next took up a ranch near Car- bonado and conducted a profitable business in raising stock until 1900, when it was sold to the Anaconda Company. Mr. and Mrs. Underwood then passed about a year in travel for the benefit of her health, after which he bought the present home ranch. He here continues the cattle busi- ness and makes a specialty of the Durham breed, and he has been eminently successful. Mr. Un- derwood wedded Miss Lulu M. Allen, of Mis- souri, on January 23, 1892. She was the daughter of a prosperous Missouri farmer and her parents both died in that state. This worthy couple have three children, Pearl Elaine, Ethel and Thomas Edgar. Mr. Underwood has adopted the plan of his father of giving his children property of their own to look after and care for. Each of his little girls has the full ownership of a finely bred calf.

COURTLAND VAN ALSTINE .- The life story of the hardy pioneers, whose courage, industry and common sense transformed this great northwestern country from savage wilderness to systematic productiveness, is ever an interesting theme to listen to or to tell. That of Courtland Van Alstine, of Avon, is peculiarly interesting from its strong contrasts of lights and shadows. He was born at Clyde, Wayne county, N. Y., on March 25, 1835, the son of Peter and Hannah

(Brewster) Van Alstine, both natives of the Em- pire state, the former of Oneida and the latter of Saratoga county, and both taken in early life to Wayne county by their parents, where they were reared, as was their son, Courtland. He at- tended the public schools during the winter ses- sions until he was fourteen, and then went into that more exacting educational institution, the print- ing office, where were passed the next five years in thoroughly mastering the trade. Finding the work injurious to his health he went to farming near Morris, Ill., and two years later removed to Chi- cago and entered the service of a distilling com- pany, for which he worked ten years. But neither the life of the farm near Morris nor the life of the aspiring western metropolis satisfied his restless spirit. He looked with longing and with hope toward the gold fields of Montana, distant and difficult to reach, and in February, 1864, turned his eager steps toward them, going by rail to Grin- nell, Iowa, at that time the end of the railroad. There he joined Creighton & Brown's freighting outfit, and drove a mule team over the plains to Virginia City, Mont. The outfit consisted of for- ty-four wagons each drawn by four mules, and a number of reserve animals. The route led by Fort Kearney, Laramie Bridge, etc., and they were three months on the way. After arriving at Vir- ginia City Mr. Van Alstine went to work for an old-time Georgian named Jerry Smith, receiving from $6.00 to $7.00 per day in the placer mines, and this amount was required to meet the high price of all of the necessaries of life. Flour was $1.25, sugar seventy-five cents and tobacco $8.00 per pound. In the winter of that year, owing to deep snow the freight outfits were stalled about ninety miles from Virginia City and the Jew mer- . chants of the place raised the price of flour to $1.50 per pound. Then the famous Vigilantes took a hand in the game and distributed flour in ten-pound lots to families, allowing the merchants $1.25 a pound.

In the spring of 1865 Mr. Van Alstine removed to Blackfoot City where he followed mining in the extensive placer mines for twenty years. In 1873, however, he pre-empted a claim on Nevada creek, where he had sixty head of cattle, which he sold that spring for $10 a head. In mining he was prosperous and wealthy at times, broke and in debt at others. In the summer of 1866 the net profits of his claims averaged over $10 per day, and he paid to workmen from $550 to

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$600 per week. A page of one of his account books for 1866 shows: I pr. rubber boots, in gold dust, $27; I doz. shovels, @3.00, $36; 2 picks @ $10, $20 ; 50 feet of lumber, $3.50. His accumu- lations at times were large; and then all would go in mining speculations. After twenty years of this life, he quit mining without a dollar as the result of all liis toil and worry, although he had more than once fully $10,000 laid by. In 1886 he took up a homestead of 160 acres in Three Mile valley, about six miles north of Avon, and upon this he has since made his home, expend- ing his energies in improving his property, which is attractive and valuable. He has also taken up 120 acres of desert land for a range, and has brought water to it in sufficient quantity to make it serviceable. Mr. Van Alstine married in Chi- cago on July 24, 1860, Miss Amanda Gilbert, a native of Oneida county, N. Y. He has one son who bears his father's name and resides in Nevada creek valley. Mrs. Van Alstine died on June 17, 1894, and since that time the old gentleman has lived alone, performing his own domestic and house work, besides looking after his stock and ranch. He is a very active and vigorous man for his age, active life seeming to have given him great toughness of fibre.

LBERT VAN BUSKIRK .- Tracing his an- cestry back to one of the most prominent Colonial families of New York, living there when the metropolis was a village of insignificant pro- portions, and yet a Canadian by birth, having been born at Oxford, County Cumberland,. N. S., on May 29, 1860, Mr. Van Buskirk is now com- . fortably located in Teton county near Dupuyer, and has a fine sheep ranch in a community that is one of the most prosperous in Montana. John Van Buskirk, the father, was a native of County Yarmouth, N. S., and he died in County Cumber- land. During the earlier years of his busy and eventful career he was a sea captain in the mer- chant service, trading to all portions of the world then charted on the maps, but for several years previous to his death he was engaged in farming in Nova Scotia. His wife, Jane (Miller) Van Buskirk, was born on Prince Edward Island, and after a long life of varied activities in her de- clining years she resides in Oxford, N. S. The paternal grandfather, Gabriel Van Buskirk, mar- ried a Miss Van Norden, and a direct descendant

of William, Prince of Orange, who married the daughter of the Duke of York. This grand- father came from Holland to America and set- tled on Manhattan island, the present site of New York city, where his father had lived before him. At one period the Van Buskirk family owned the greater portions of Hoboken and Staten island. During the American Revolution the British gov- ernment promised to reimburse them with valu- able lands in Nova Scotia if they would relinquish their right and title to the New York properties, but Gabriel Van Buskirk, after his removal to Nova Scotia, attained the age of 100 years without receiving a penny in the way of reimbursement, which certainly indicates that monarchies as well as republics are ungrateful.

In the public schools of Oxford, N. S., Albert Van Buskirk was educated in the elementary principles of scholastic lore. Subsequently he went to Rotterdam, Holland, and pursued a two- years course in violin instruction, and at the same time attended a night school of physiology. He is a most accomplished violinist, having also a superior education, much of it being self-acquired. Following his school days he followed the exam- ple of his father by going to sea, where for two years he served before the mast on merchant vessels. In 1881 he came to Montana and with Robert Morrison built a planing mill on Wolf creek, near Helena, which they operated for two years successfully. Mr. Van Buskirk then dis- posed of his interest to Mr. Morrison and invested his capital in cattle, going to Teton county and locating a ranch on Dupuyer creek, ten miles from the town of Dupuyer. He here secured a home- stead claim in 1883, and in 1895 desert land, mak- ing a total of 320 acres, where he at first engaged in the cattle business, but later directed his at- tention to sheep, in which he has been quite suc- cessful. The political affiiliations of Mr. Van Bus- kirk are with the Republican party, and he keeps thoroughly posted on the issues of the day. At one time he was a member of Dearborn Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Dearborn, Mont. He is a most valuable citizen, having the confidence of his as- sociates.

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 163

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