Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 169

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 169

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his arduous labors, and it was no more than right that he should have it. So in June, 1889, he located on his present beautiful ranch two miles northwest of Helmville, where with his devoted wife he lives very happily. Both are consistent and valued men- bers of the Baptist church, and enjoy the respect and good will of a wide circle of friends.

M c. C. WININGER, one of the representative business men of Flathead county, Mont., traces his ancestry back to the old Saxons. His paternal and maternal lineage emigrated from Ger- many prior to the American Revolution, and settled with the early pioneers in southwestern Virginia. His grandfather, Stephen Wininger, married a las- sie of Scotch descent, and later, with his family, moved to Barren county, Ky., about 1848. His parentage were farmers of a stout, hardy race, and a great many of them passed the age of the cen- tenarian, and, up till the time of the Rebellion they were . slaveowners. McClellan Wininger, the son of Michael and Nancy (Tartar) Wininger, was born on a farm near Glasgow, Ky., on January 24, 1862. There he was reared and educated at the Glasgow State Normal School and Business College. Having obtained a business education, with a fair knowledge of the sciences, classics and modern languages, he was a successful teacher in that coun- ty for four years till he came to Helena, Mont., in 1887. Shortly afterward he was appointed one of the guards of the then territorial penitentiary at Deer Lodge, managed by the Hon. Robert S. Kelley. He thereafter came to the Flathead coun- try in April, 1889, where he has since resided.

Being connected with various spheres of activity, practising law in justices' courts, dealing in real estate and loans, and possessing good business acumen, he was soon recognized as one of the val- ley's successful business men. He was admitted to the bar in 1893, and as a business lawyer ranks among the best of his associates. Among his busi- ness achievements was the settlement of the affairs of the defunct Globe National Bank And as an outcome of this, he became associated with Mr. V. Simpson, a capitalist of Winona, Minn. They made loans and invested in real estate, owning at one time over 30,000 acres in this productive re- gion. They have now the finest farm in Flathead county, and are raising a good class of livestock, principally shorthorn cattle.

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PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MONTANA.

Mr. Wininger has a sawmill of 40,000 capacity at Lakeview, Mont., and owns a large tract of tim- ber lands. He owns valuable city property at Kalis- pell, some of the finest business sites. He was an official charter member of the Kalispell organizations of the Knights of Pythias and the Elks. He has been representative to the grand lodge of the former and holds an official chair in the latter. In politics he is an adherent of the old Democracy, and in re- ligion he is a Liberal. In his various vocations he is active and energetic, doing a great deal of mannal labor. He is a thorough advocate of physical de- velopment, theoretically and in practice. Mr. Win- inger prides himself on having the finest private library in the county. Most of his time is passed on the farm, with a systematic amount of reading and study.

JAMES I. WINSLOW, deceased, was a leading citizen of Whitehall and an enterprising ranch- man of Jefferson county, Mont. He was born at Buffalo, N. Y., on April 23, 1836, the son of Seth T. and Caroline (Paul) Winslow, natives of New York, whose marriage was consummated in Coop- erstown, N. Y., where the father conducted black- smithing and carriage manufacturing. James I. Winslow passed his youth in Cooperstown, N. Y., and was educated in its public schools. In 1857, at the age of nineteen years, he removed to Omaha, Neb., where he was a clerk for Poole & Jackson, he remaining in their employment until 1859, and he then removing to Fairplay, Colo., where he was en- gaged in different occupations until 1863, when he came to Montana, arriving at Bannack on May 17, and soon departing thence for Alder gulch, where he mined for eighteen months in the placer mines. Mr. Winslow then purchased a ranch on the Stinking Water, in Madison county, and en- gaged in stockraising a few months, then returned to Whitehall, and bought the Jefferson tollbridge in Jefferson county. This he conducted profitably for a year, disposed of it and made a trip east. On his return a year later he purchased his present lanch on Fish creek, known as the Z. D. Foster ranch, a most eligible and valuable property. Here he continued engaged in farming and stockraising until his death, on June 20, 1898.

Mr. Winslow was married, on June 1, 1862, in Fairfield, Colo., to Miss Ellen Christine Linn, of Stockholm, Sweden, born on January 14, 1841, a daughter of Jonas and Mary ( Peterson) Linn. Her

father was engaged in farming and stockraising in Sweden. Miss Linn had come to the United States from Sweden in 1860, going to Minnesota. Later she was in the hotel business in Fair Play, Colo., and, after her marriage, she started for Mon- tana with a horse team. They were attacked by In- dians near Bannack and two of the savages were killed. On her second trip to this country, there were 200 wagons in the party, and they came via the cutoff. At Green river their horses were stam- peded by Indians, and one of the red skins was killed, but the horses were never recovered, and in their rage at the loss of so much valuable stock some of the men dug up the body of the dead Indian and burned it with the now useless wagons. The rest of the journey was made in safety, they, however, at Castle Pool passing the bodies of two white men who had been killed by the Indians. Mr. and Mrs. Winslow's four children are: Harry J., born at Alder gulch on April 26, 1864; Charles William, now in charge of the homstead ranch; Carrie E., now Mrs. L. C. Dean, of Butte, and Alice M., now Mrs. E. J. Davis, of Fish creek. For many years Mr. Winslow was a school trustee, while frater- nally he was a member of the United Workmen. He was highly respected and had strong friends and a large number of business associates who esteemed him for his true worth. His business judgment was of a high order, and he possessed the strictest probity.

JOHN D. WINTER, while not one of the earliest settlers of Choteau county, Mont., is to be num- bered among those who have won success by dili- gence and sound business judgment. He was born in the city of Zwlhmahn, Westenslade, Oldenberg, Germany, December 15, 1859, the son of Earnest Henry and Helen (Hanckenfrereys) Winter. His father, who was a tailor by trade, died in 1899. The widowed mother is still living. John D. Win- ter, our subject, came to the United States in 1881 and settled in Otter Tail county, Minn., where he engaged in farming. The eldest son of a family of seven children, he had received a fair education in the public schools of Germany, and acquired con- siderable proficiency in agricultural pursuits. His principal employment while living in Minnesota was in working for various farmers and on rail- roads. The west-the greater west-offered allure- ments which Mr. Winter found it impossible to re- sist, and, accordingly, he came in 1889 to Mon-

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PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MONTANA.

tana and located on Cow creek, Choteau county, the winter months. He was very successful at mining, and after working out a claim which he had bought he went into contracting and building on a large scale, and has continued in that business ever since, although he is still interested in several mining properties. where he secured 200 acres of land and there en- gaged in growing sheep. In 1901 he removed to his present ranch of 320 acres, six miles from Chi- nook, where he has built a handsome residence and made many other valuable improvements. He is principally and profitably engaged in sheepgrowing and general ranching. Mr. Winter was married, December 25, 1895, to Miss Mary L., daughter of Carl Schirmacher. They have five children : Lydia, Arthur, Margaret, Alfred and Henriette. . now serving his second term as a school trustee, and The parents are members of the Lutheran church ; politically Mr. Winter is a Republican.

`ONRAD WIPF .- Having lived in Montana, C nearly a third of a century and seen its develop- ment from an almost unbroken wilderness into a mighty commonwealth, wherein civilization and ev- ery form of human culture have sway and plant the land with beneficent activity and enduring joy ; and having contributed the full measure of his use- fulness to the production of this gratifying result, Conrad Wipf, of Philipsburg, is justly entitled to rank among the progressive men of the state.

Mr. Wipf was born at Marthalen, Canton of Zurich, Switzerland, December 24, 1843. His par- ents were David and Susanna Wipf, natives of Switzerland, where the father was a farmer.

The subject of our sketch spent his school days in his native land, but at the age of seventeen went to work on his father's farm and continued in that occupation until he was twenty-one. He then spent three years in learning the carpenter's trade, and ill 1868 he emigrated to America, located at Chicago, where he worked at his trade a year and a half. From Chicago he went to Dubuque, Iowa, and passed eight months in the employ of extensive lumber dealers there. He then spent a year at Monticello, Iowa, conducting a furniture business for himself, and in the summer of 1871 started for Montana, arriving at Deer Lodge during the first week of July, working for a time in the lumber . yard of Kleinschmidt Brothers. From there he removed to what is now New Chicago, and entered the employ of Gilmore & Saulsbury, stagemen. In 1872 he located at Philipsburg and engaged in mining, working for wages at the Speckled Trout mine, and afterward engaging in placer mining on Willow creek for himself. This he followed for about fourteen seasons, working at his trade during

Mr. Wipf has always had a keen interest in pub- lic affairs. Before leaving Switzerland he served in the army; and since his arrival in America has been useful in a variety of civil capacities. He is is one of the board of aldermen of Philipsburg. In politics he has always been a Republican ; and when the party divided on the silver question he adhered to the wing known as the Silver Republicans. In religious affiliations he is identified with the Epis- copal church, and in fraternal relations with the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

In 1885 Mr. Wipf was married to Miss Elise Huber, a native of Zurich, Switzerland. The cere- mony was performed in New York city, where she arrived May 19, 1885, and where Mr. Wipf met her. They have one son, Conrad, Jr., who was born July 26, 1886. They have a very pleasant home, which is a center of refined hospitality and the seat of 'a peaceful and happy domestic life. This Mr. Wipf enjoys all the more because of the early hard- ships and privations of his Montana experience, now an interesting and treasured memory.

H JENRY WINTERS is numbered among the prosperous and extensive stockgrowers of Cho- teau county, and has brought to bear that industry which insures success in any line of endeavor. He claims the Fatherland as the place of his birth, and is imbued with those sterling characteristics which have made the German-Americans so important a factor in the development and progress of our re- public. He was born in Oldenberg, Germany, on February 14, 1866, the son of Ernest and Eleanor Winters, who came to the United States in the year 1880. His father purchased a farm in Minne- sota, and has since devoted his attention to its cultivation and improvement. He and his wife are of utmost integrity and honor in all relations, and are the sort which ever prove a desirable acquisi- tion to our citizenship. Henry Winters was reared in his native land, receiving his education under the discipline of Germany's unexcelled public school system, while his youthful duties were those con-

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nected with the cultivation of the paternal farm. He preceded his parents to America, having come to this country in 1878 and settling in Minnesota, where he remained until the following year. He then turned his face to the more distant west and came to Idaho, where he engaged in mining; thence to Washington and Oregon, being variously em- ployed for three years. In 1889 Mr. Winters came to Choteau county, Mont., and settled on a ranch forty miles south of Chinook, where he engaged in the raising of sheep and cattle, a line of industry he is constantly expanding and meeting with grati- fying success. He has added to his landed estate by the purchase of 1,000 acres on Bean creek, fifteen miles south of Chinook, while in 1898 he took up his residence on his eighty-acre claim in the im- mediate vicinity of Chinook, and from this head- quarters he manages his extensive business. At the present time he owns and utilizes ten different ranches, having an aggregate area of more than 4,000 acres.

In politics Mr. Winters maintains an indepen- dent attitude; fraternally he is identified with the Chinook Camp of the Woodmen of the World. He is well known and highly honored in the com- munity, and his success attained through honorable efforts is well deserved. In 1886 Mr. Winters took unto himself a wife in the person of Miss Henrietta Schirmacher, and they are the parents of three children : Ernest, Lottie and Karl, and one unnamed.

H ERMAN J. WITT .- With a good ranch and convenient modern residence, ample corrals and other outbuildings and appliances for his business, a spirit of enterprise and progressiveness, great in- dustry and foresight in his work, Herman J. Witt, of near Columbus, Yellowstone county, is a repre- sentative stockman of Montana and has the re- spect of all who know him. He was born in Hol- stein, Germany, on January 19, 1865, the son of F. L. and Dora (Bebensee) Witt, prosperous farmers of the province. He attended the govern- ment schools in his native land, and in 1885 came to America, locating in Iowa, where he had a mar- ried sister with whom he made his home for a year and a half, being engaged in farming. He then came to Montana, and locating in Sweet Grass county, engaged in sheepraising and other ranch- ing pursuits. He remained a year and then re- moved to Lock basin near Billings, and buying a

small flock of sheep, began operations for himself, remaining there three years and then transferring his base of operations to the Musselshell, where he was successful and after a number of years sold one-half interest in his sheep. He retained his half interest until 1901, when he sold out. During this time he had usually more than 10,000 head. In 1900 he bought his present ranch about a mile east of Columbus. He has a homestead of 160 acres and about 20,000 acres of grazing land, with a large portion well irrigated which produces excellent crops of hay. He has again gone into the sheep business on an extensive scale, having some 10,000 head, Cotswold being his favorite brand. On June 10, 1898, he was married to Miss Augusta Schmidt, of Holstein, Germany, he journeying to Europe for that purpose.

ILLIAM F. WOOD .-- Born at Welchpool, Wales, the descendant of a family who had lived in that neighborhood from time immemorial, William F. Wood, of Choteau county, Mont., is far from the land of his fathers in longitude, although not so far in the suggestiveness of his surroundings. His life began on March 26, 1860, on the farm of his father, David Wood, where the family had been of long tenure, and where his father died in 1873, when he was thirteen years old, and his mother, Elizabeth (Williams) Wood, died in 1879 Mr. Wood was educated in the public schools of his native town and emigrated to America in 1880, the year following his mother's death. He passed the first two years of life in his new home working on a farm in Wisconsin, then removed to the Sun River valley, Mont., and, in 1883, located a pre-emp- tion claim twelve miles from Great Falls. He sold this in 1887 to T. C. Power, and then took up homestead and timber claims near the Great Falls fairgrounds, on which he was engaged in raising cattle until 1895, when he sold to the Cascade Land Company. In the spring of 1896 he went to the Sheep coulee in Teton River valley and bought the ranch on which he now lives. It contains 320 acres, and he has leased and scripted lands ad- joining to the extent of 1,200 acres. On this large tract he is extensively engaged in stockraising, which by close attention and intelligent application of business methods he has made very profitable. The ranch is well improved with good buildings of sufficient number and suitable character, and what he has under cultivation is in a high state of

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fruitfulness. In politics Mr. Wood is a Republican. While not strictly partisan in local matters, he is too honest and firm in his convictions to let any opportunity pass unimproved for the advancement of his party. He served with great credit as road supervisor of District No. 2 in Cascade county.

G ALLIUS WUERL, whose excellent ranch is located four miles west of Eden, Cascade county, where he devotes his attention to the raising of livestock, is a native of Austria, where he was born October 15, 1858, the son of Anton Daniel and Anna Wuerl, both of whom passed their entire lives in Austria, where the father follows his trade of stonemason. He and his wife are members of the Catholic church. Their son, the subject of this review, attended the public schools of his native land until 1872, when he began an apprenticeship at the stonemason's trade under the effective di- rection of his father, and continued to devote his at- tention thereto until 1882, when he immigrated to the United States, and in various cities made an attempt to secure profitable occupation in the same line ; but his success was so meagre that he went to LaCrosse, Wis., and accepted employment at farm labor until 1885. He then resumed work at his trade until 1891, when he came to Great Falls, Mont., and found employment as a stonemason until the spring of 1893. He then took up a homestead claim of 160 acres, which is a part of his present ranch. In November, 1900, he took up a desert claim of an equal amount, devoting the greater portion of the ranch to the raising of cattle, al- though eighty acres are well adapted for cultivation. He has been successful in his ranching and is well satisfied with Cascade county, having here attained a satisfactory prosperity.

In politics he supports the Democratic party. In 1883 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Wuerl to Miss Johanna Guentner, a daughter of Albert and Elizabeth Guentner, natives of Austria, the father being a carpenter by trade. They emigrated from Austria and located in La Crosse, Wis., where the father died in 1889, and where his widow now resides with her daughter, Theresa. She is a mem- ber of the Catholic church, as was also her hus- band. To our subject and wife ten children have been born, namely: John, Johanna, Elizabeth, An- ton D., Rudolph, Stephanie, Frederick A., Bertha, Maxie J. and Leo Vanderlin Wuerl.

VEGEN BROTHERS. - These enterprising gentlemen, Christopher and Peter Yegen, who conduct perhaps the largest mercantile business in Billings, which they have built up entirely by their own energy, industry and business capacity, are na- tives of Klosters, Switzerland, where Christopher was born on November 19, 1857, and Peter on Au- gust 7, 1860. Their parents, Considine and Amor- etta (Prader) Yergen, were also natives of the ster- ling little republic of the Alps, and after a long and useful career died there. Their family consisted of four sons and three daughters. Christopher came to the United States in 1879, and, traveling direct to Bismarck, N. D., there established a grocery store for his brother. He remained there until the fall of 1881, and then came on to Glendive and to Miles City, where he remained until the spring of 1882, at which time he proceeded to Billings in company with his brother Peter and his sister Doro- thy, who had joined him at Bismarck in 1880. At Billings they opened a bakery in which the sister did the baking and the boys sold the products. From that small beginning their business has grown to one of the most extensive of its kind in Mon- tana, being valued at thousands of dollars. It em- ploys about fifty men and is conducted on both wholesale and retail lines. In 1895 the brothers purchased their sister's interest and from that time the firm has been the Yegen Brothers. For a number of years they have also conducted branch stores at various places. Christopher Yegen was married in August, 1893, to Miss Laura B. Clark, a native of Montana. They have four children, namely, Laura and Dora (twins), Mildred and Christopher. Peter was married in December, 1891, to Miss Margaret Tripp, a native of Switzerland. They have two sons and one daughter, David, Peter and Margaret E. Christopher has taken an ardent interest in politics as a member of the Re- publican party. He was a member of the legisla- ture in 1895, has been a city councilman of Billings, and is now mayor of the city. His administration of every office has been highly commended by his constituents, and has brought him the approval of all classes of his fellow citizens. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic order.

A BRAM N. YODER is recognized as one of the prominent business men of the exceedingly busy city of Butte, Mont. He is a man of great force of character, full of western enthusiasm, and

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of sterling integrity. He was born in Ohio on July 8, 1856, the son of Abraham and Elizabeth (Nold) Yoder. The father, a farmer, was a native of Bucks county, Pa., born in July, 1818, and died in 1888. Mrs. Elizabeth Yoder was born in Ohio in 1822, a daughter of Jacob Nold and is still living. Her father was a farmer and was engaged in mil- ling for a considerable portion of his life. The superior education of Abram N. Yoder was ac- quired in Ohio at the public and normal schools of Lebanon, and Mount Union College, near Alliance, which he attended in 1877. The following two years he taught school and then for eighteen months he was a clerk in Columbiana, Ohio. In 1881, at the age of twenty-five he went to Denver, Colo., where his first employment was that of a helper in a ma- chine shop for a year. Subsequently he went to Salt Lake City, engaged in the livery business and also worked in a smelter. During the trip from Denver to Salt Lake City they had to ford the Platte river, then overflowing its banks. The party lost everything except the teams and wagons, and were forced to sleep without blankets on the bare ground. The rest of the way, 200 miles, was traversed afoot.

Mr. Yoder went from Salt Lake to Blackfoot, Idaho, where for six months he was employed in railroad work and in the spring of 1883 he came to Glendale, Mont., and thence to the Sheep mount- ains, where for several months he prospected and worked in various wood camps. Coming to Butte, for ten months he was employed in the grocery of Alexander Cohen. Following this he was em- ployed in the grocery of York & Anderson and was then with John Stanley and he then engaged in the loan business with J. M. Albiez as his partner. On February 24, 1898, Mr. Yoder was united in mar- riage to Miss Hattie C. Libby, who was called from earth on June 10, 1899. During the past six years Mr. Yoder has been largely interested in mining operations and in 1900 made a trip to Cape Nome, Alaska. As a Republican he has always been active in politics, and while in Alaska he was nominated for secretary of state, and defeated by a very small majority at the polls. In 1895 he was elected treasurer of Butte, and served two years. His fraternal relations are extensive. In the Ma- sonic order he is a member of Butte Lodge No. 22, A. F. & A. M., and of Deer Lodge Chapter No. 3. He is past chancellor of the K. of P., of Butte, and has filled all the other chairs. For several terms he was state president of the Sons of America, and he has also served in all of its other offices.

JOHN R. YOUNG, who is numbered among the

progressive and honored farmers and stock- growers of Teton county, where he has a well im- proved and valuable ranch, has attained success entirely through his own industrious and well di- rected efforts. He is a native of Hydetown, Craw- ford county, Pa., where he was born on February 14, 1859, the son of James and Barbara (Ranck) Young. They are both natives of the Keystone state, where they maintained their home until 1866, when they removed to St. Joseph county, Mich., where they now reside as farmers.

John R. Young attended the public schools of Pennsylvania and Michigan until he attained the age of twelve, when exigencies arose which ne- cessitated his becoming self-supporting, and he was thereafter employed as a farm hand in Michigan until he was twenty-one. In 1884 he came to Mon- tana, locating in Choteau county, and was for five years in the employ of the Sun River Sheep Com- pany. In 1889 he located on the north fork of Wil- low creek, in Teton county, where he now has a finely improved ranch of 480 acres, and is devoting his attention to the raising of cattle upon a quite ex- tensive scale, and also securing good yields of hay. In politics Mr. Young gives an active support to the Populist party, keeping himself well informed on political and public questions, doing all in his power to forward the interests of his county and state. His postoffice address is Saypo. On October 17, 1900, in the village of Choteau was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Young to Mrs. Lena M. Richards, who was born in Ohio, the daughter of William and Barbara Kountz. Mr. and Mrs. Young have a pleasant home, where their many friends always receive a hearty welcome.

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 169

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