Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 34

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 34

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an assault or withhold the same," in his discretion, etc. On the morning of July 14th Admiral Samp- son's fleet was prepared to cover the landing at Cabanas of Gen. Henry's command on the Yale, Columbia and Duchess, but Gen. Toral surren- dered his forces to Gen. Miles that day, and ag- gressive action was unnecessary. Gen. Miles authorized Gen. Shafter to appoint commissioners to draw up articles of capitulation, and instructed him to isolate the troops recently arrived on healthful grounds to keep them free from infec- tion by yellow fever. On the same day Sec. Alger advised Gen. Miles to return to Washington as soon as matters at Santiago were settled, and go to Porto Rico with an expedition that was being fitted out ; but after some delay Miles obtained per- mission to proceed from Cuba to Porto Rico. On July 2Ist he sailed from Guantanamo with an effective force of only 3,314 men, whereas the Spanish regulars and volunteers in Porto Rico aggregated 17,000. The objective point was Cape San Juan ; but it was finally decided to go direct to Guanica, near Ponce, on the southern coast ; and there, on the 25th, a detachment of troops was landed. Ponce surrendered to Gen. Miles without resistance on the 27th, and the troops were received with enthusiasm by the citizens. A proclamation by Gen. Miles, issued on the fol- lowing day, assured the inhabitants of Porto Rico that the American forces came not to devastate or oppress, but to give them freedom from Span- ish rule and the blessings of the liberal institu- tions of the United States government. Town after town was occupied, the army proceeding northward, Gen. Brooke with his command ar- riving on August 3d to aid in occupying the island. On the 25th Gen. Miles was instructed to send home all troops not actually needed, and soon after he returned to Washington. Gen. Miles was married, in 1868, to Mary, daughter of Judge Sherman, of Ohio. They have one son and one daughter.

J AMES H. MOE .- This gentleman, whose death occurred in 1895, at the early age of forty-nine, accomplished within a limited compass of time a business record which would be creditable to any man even if it were the product of a long life of earnest effort. He was born in Oswego, N. Y., in 1846, and attained maturity in his native state. In 1867 he came to Nebraska and was for five years in

railroad business. In 1875 he took up his resi- dence in Helena, as register of the United States land office, a position which he filled for several years. He then removed to White Sulphur Springs and as a member of the firm of Potter, Moe & Co., opened there a private bank. This enterprise later merged in the First National Bank, of White Sulphur Springs, of which Mr. Moe was the founder and cashier.

From White Sulphur Springs Mr. Moe removed to Lewistown, and here he was the principal factor in the successful operation of the Fergus County Bank, aided in putting it on a high plane of financial activity and prosperity, and drawing to its counters a large and loyal body of patrons. In addition to this interest he was connected with sheepraising and other profitable enterprises. He was an active Republican, taking interest in the success of his party and to its policies and candidates giving earnest, hearty and helpful service. Fraternally he was prominently identified with the Masonic order, filled many of its important offices and had at- tained to the thirty-third degree. He was also al- lied with the Knights of Pythias and the Odd Fel- lows. Mr. Moe was at the front of every good enterprise for the benefit of the community. His bank was the first bank of Fergus county, and was made one of the strongest of its rank and capacity in the state. He was a wide-awake, energetic and progressive citizen, whose death was keenly felt.

PETER MICHELS .- One of the influential and progressive men of Sweet Grass county, Mont., is Peter Michels, a German-American who has won the confidence and esteem of all the residents of the Boulder river district. He was born in Fond du Lac county, Wis., on Septem- ber 28, 1861, the son of Peter J. and Katherine (Nickoli) Michels, both Germans, and he is one of a family of four sons and three daughters. His father, accompanied by his father, immigrated to the United States in 1840, settling in Wis- consin, where he took up government land and engaged in farming until his death in 1889. Until 1878 Peter Michels remained on the homestead and attended the Wisconsin schools. He then went to the Lake Superior iron regions in com- pany with a brother, where for two years they were employed in the mines, securing lucrative contracts for the delivery of ore. In the spring

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of 1881 the brothers removed to Montana and worked in the amalgamator at the Drum Lum- mon mine at Marysville. This employment Mr. Michels discontinued in 1889, although his brother John still continues as foreman of the mill.

Peter Michels then came to Boulder river, pur- chased the claim of James Reid and engaged in cattleraising, which he later changed to sheep- growing. In 1895 he made another change, dis- posing of his sheep and engaging almost exclus- ively in cattleraising, Herefords being his prin- cipal variety, and wintering about 100 head. His ranch comprises 300 acres, mostly under irriga- tion, being supplied with two ditches, one car- rying 1,000 inches of water and the other 800. In 1889, after his father's death, Mr. Michels re- turned to Wisconsin, and, settling up the es- tate, the other members of the family, two sisters and two brothers, accompanied him to Montana. One sister, Mrs. McComb, lives on Boulder river and the other, Mrs. Smidelkofer, is the wife of a prominent rancher. The two brothers, Joseph and Matthew, have also fine ranching properties in the same neighborhood. On February 26, 1889, Mr. Michels was married to Miss Emma Hensgen, of Wisconsin, daughter of Anton Hens- gen, a native of Germany, now living in Fond du Lac county, Wis. Their children are Amelia and Ida. The political affiliations of Mr. Michels are with the Democratic party, and in 1900 he was its choice for commissioner of Sweet Grass county. He is recognized as one of the pro- gressive citizens of the district and is highly re- spected.

H JENRY MONFORTON .- Man's usefulness in the world is judged by the good he has done; and, determined by this standard of measurement, Henry Monforton occupies a position of distinction among the citizens of Gallatin county. His life has been noble and upright, over which falls no shadow of wrong, and long after he shall have passed away his memory will remain as a benediction to those who knew him. He is distinctively one of the pioneers of Montana and has witnessed and been identified with the various stages of her develop- ment from the wild frontier to a dignified and prosperous commonwealth. Mr. Monforton comes of fine old French lineage on both sides of the family, his paternal grandfather having been an ac- tive participant in the French and English war, in

which he was taken prisoner by the British and sent to Canada, and through that circumstance the Monforton family became established on American soil. Henry Monforton, of Bozeman, a retired ag- riculturalist and stockgrower of Gallatin county, was born in upper Canada, on March 22, 1829, the son of William and Catherine (Cabana) Monforton, who lived and died in Canada, where they were born. The father attained the venerable age of more than four-score years; his wife passed away at the age of forty-five. They were the parents of eleven children, only two of whom are now living. For several generations the family has been identi- fied with agricultural pursuits. Henry Monforton grew to manhood upon the homestead farm, secur- ing his education in the district schools. On at- taining his majority he left home and traveled through Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, and worked as a fisherman on the Great Lakes for three years. In 1863 he came to Montana, located on Horse prairie and engaged in mining, one of his fellow laborers being W. A. Clark, the pres- ent United States senator from Montana. He fol- lowed placer mining for two years, when he sold to advantage, and being quite well fortified in a finan- cial way, came to Gallatin county and engaged in farming in the valley of West Gallatin river. After two years he abandoned his claim and took up another on Middle creek, where he erected a log cabin for his hired man, and later built another, which he dignified with a shingle roof, probably the first building in the county to have this superior equipment.

Mr. Monforton returned east for a visit, and on July 21, 1869, was united in marriage to Miss Ma- lina .Goyeau, who died the following year, as did also their infant child. On March 31, 1872, he consummated a second marriage, uniting his des- tinies with those of Miss Anna I. Boyle, who died January 1, 1890, having been a cherished and de- voted companion and helpmeet during all the years of their wedded life. Concerning her ancestry more definite information may be found in the sketch of her brother-in-law, Christopher H. Waterman, ap- pearing on another page of this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Monforton became the parents of five chil- dren, namely: William H., who is married and has two children; Catherine A. is the wife of Mr. Telesphore Menard, and the mother of two chil- dren ; Mary A. is the wife of Mr. Arthur O. Jones ; Zoe and Jolin who are still at the parental home. After our subject's first marriage he located at

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Spring Hill, Gallatin county, where he lived about two years, and then returned to the homestead ranch, located about seven miles west of Bozeman, where he devoted his attention to agriculture and stock- growing for a long term of years, being progressive and honorable in his methods and realizing a grati- fying success. In 1897 he retired from active la- bor, removing to the city of Bozeman, where he built a comfortable home wherein he is spending his declining years, honored and esteemed for his many excellent qualities by all who know him. He has a considerable amount of valuable realty in Bozeman, renting his properties and personally giving his attention to all business interests. He still owns his fine ranch, managed and operated by his son-in-law, Mr. Telesphore Menard, and others operated by his son and son-in-law. In the early days of Gallatin county Mr. Monforton served as county commissioner. He has ever been a stanch supporter of the Republican party; in religion he is a consistent member of the Catholic church; while he is an honored and valued member of the Gallatin County Pioneer Society.

D R. PETER S. MUSSIGBROD .- The Doctor was born at Muskau, Germany, on October 3, 1856, the third of the five children of Charles F. and Elizabeth Mussigbrod, the former of whom died in Berlin as the result of a surgical operation in May, 1896, and the latter at Warm Springs, Mont., in November of the same year. Their creditable record is set forth at length in the history of the pioneers of the state. The Doctor was thoroughly educated in the schools of his native land, having followed his graduation from the Latin school at Goerlitz by a thorough course of study in natural science and philosophy at Halle and Koenigsberg, which he finished in 1881, after which he was a successful teacher for eight years and then attended the University of Berlin, where he was graduated as a doctor of philosophy in 1890.

He then engaged in practical mining at the Mansfield Copper Works at Eisleben, and was at the mining academy at Clausthal for one year and the academy at Freiberg, Saxony, for six months, to perfect himself in the technical knowledge of the branches of his intended profession, and in ad- dition took an educational journey to the mines of Austria and Hungary. In the spring of 1892 he emigrated to America, arriving in June at Montana.

From July, 1892, to July, 1893, he was assayer for the Poorman mine at Burke, Idaho, and then, on account of the serious illness of a brother who was the manager of the insane asylum at Warm Springs, he was called thither and himself became the manager of the asylum for the firm of Mitchell & Mussigbrod, serving the establishment in this capacity until July, 1898. He then went to Garnet and started the Lead King mine with three men, a force which he has since increased to fifty. He also has a sawmill and a ten-stamp mill, and has been very successful in the opera- tion of all his properties, and yet is seemingly just now entering upon the enjoyment of their full pro- ductiveness. In addition to his mining interests he has a stock ranch in Big Hole basin in Beaver- head county, and is a partner of Mrs. Mary Mitchell and a half-owner of the Warm Springs insane asylum, for which he is also the present con- tractor. His brother, Eric, its former manager, died there in October, 1893.

The Doctor has always been deeply interested in public affairs. In the Fatherland he rendered his portion of military service, being enlisted in the regiment of the Crown Prince, and promoted ser- geant with the qualification of serving as an officer. He was in the service as a reserve and on the active list for twelve years. In American politics he has been a constant and consistent Republican, but has never sought office, or assumed a leading position in his party. In religious affiliation he is identified with the Lutheran church.

The career of Dr. Mussigbrod is a record of suc- cess well earned, of duty always faithfully per- formed, of unvarying courtesy and sincere polite- ness toward all men, and of a genuine, soulful and considerate hospitality, springing from the heart of the man and not begotten of any rules of formal social life.

DETER MILLER, who with his two sons, Hen-

ry and Christopher, comprise the firm of Mil- ler Brothers, of Lloyd, Choteau county, is one of the most extensive sheepgrowers in the vicinity of the Bearpaw mountains. At present he resides in Crawford county, Iowa, the sons having full charge of the 2,000-acre ranch. He was born in Ger- many in 1848, the son of Christopher and Sophia Miller, and up to the age of eighteen years availed himself of such educational advantages as were afforded by the public schools in his immediate

Dr. Then I. Mussigbrod

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vicinity. In 1864 he came with his parents to the United States, and the family settled in Crawford county, Iowa, where the father purchased a farm. Peter continued to reside with his parents until their death.

Our subject came to Montana in 1890 and in- mediately located on a branch of Smoke creek, among the Bear Paw mountains. Here he secured 160 acres of land, the nucleus of the present exten- sive ranch. Later he took his two sons, Henry and Christopher, into partnership with him in the sheep business and the firm name became Miller Brothers. They now own and operate eleven ranches, comprising 2,000 acres, and their band of sheep sum up a total of 12,000 head. Peter Miller married Miss Lizzie Claussen, daughter of Henry Claussen. They are the parents of three children, Henry, Christopher and Lilly.

Henry Miller, the oldest son, was born in Craw- ford county, Iowa, December 23, 1875. He was reared on the old homestead and educated in the district schools of that vicinity. In 1891 he came to Montana and became one of the firm of Miller Brothers. He was married March 15, 1900, to Miss Sophia Hofeldt, of California. Fraternally he is a member of Chinook Lodge, I. O. O. F., and Chinook Lodge, A. F. & A. M.

Christopher Miller, the younger member of this enterprising firm, was born February 28, 1877, in Crawford county, Iowa. He received a fairly lib- eral education in the public schools, attending them during the winter months and devoting the sum- mer seasons to farm work on the homestead. He came to Montana with his father and brother. Po- litically his affiliations are with the Republican party, and fraternally he is a member of the Im- proved Order of Odd Fellows and Modern Wood- men of America. Himself and brother have sole charge of the ranch in Choteau county, Peter Mil- ler, the father, residing in Crawford county, Iowa. They are in every way successful in the sheep in- dustry, to which they devote the major portion of their attention.

CAPT. JOHN E. MORAN .- Until the out- break of the Spanish-American war many years had passed since there had been the sound of war in the United States, but that the youthful Americans inherited the valor and loyalty of their forefathers was promptly shown. Forth went

many veterans of the Civil war, alike from north and south, while the younger blood of the na- tion was quickened to active zeal. Among those who upheld the honor of Montana was the pop- ular Capt. John E. Moran. He is a native of Vernon, Windham county, Vt., born on August 23, 1856. His father, William Moran, was born in County Kerry, Ireland, about 1825, and came to America in 1845, locating in Windham county, Vt., where he was a farmer until his death in the fall of 1897. His wife, whose maiden name was Nora. Brosman, was born in County Kerry in 1830, and their marriage was solemnized in Brat- tleboro, Vt., in 1852, where she still maintains her home.

Capt. Moran secured his preliminary education in the schools of Brattleboro, graduating in the high school with the class of 1874, after which he completed a commercial course in Bryant & Strat- ton's Business College, in Chicago. He then clerked four years in the shoe store of his uncles, the Brosman Bros., of Chicago, and in 1878 went to Minneapolis, Minn., and opened a shoe store as Brosman Brothers & Moran, being thus asso- ciated with his uncles for four years, after which he conducted the business for himself until the spring of 1890, when he came to Montana, locat- ing in Great Falls, where he was employed in the Boston store for one year, and the next year was in charge of the shoe department of the store of Jo- seph Conrad. He then became identified with the police department of Great Falls as a sergeant, retaining this incumbency two and one-half years, thereafter serving four years as under sheriff of Cascade county, under Sheriffs Hamilton, Dwyer and Proctor, his long retention in this office giving unmistakable evidence of his efficiency and fidelity.

In 1898 Capt. Moran was commissioned to raise a company of eighty-one men for service in the Philippines, he being then the captain of Com- pany A, National Guard of Montana, which com- pany, with its new recruits, was mustered into ser- vice. Proceeding to San Francisco, they em- barked for Manila in May and reached their des- tination on August 23, 1898. Capt. Moran served consecutively as captain of Company A, and from April to June, 1899, as commander of the Third Battalion of the First Montana Infantry, while in August he was assigned the captaincy of Com- pany L, Thirty-seventh United States Infantry. His company was mustered out of service at San Francisco on February 20, 1901, having rendered

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valiant and efficient service in the Philippines, and Capt. Moran, on arriving in Great Falls, on February 25, met with an enthusiastic reception and was royally entertained by his friends who feted him for several days with banquets and receptions. After a period of rest, Capt. Mor- an identified himself as a c clerk of the B. & M. C. C. & S. M. Co. In politics the Cap- tain gives support to the Republican party, and for a number of years he has been prominently and actively concerned in local political affairs. He was one of the first members of the volunteer fire department of Great Falls in 1891, and still retains his affiliation with it. He is a member of Rainbow Lodge, I. O. O. F., Great Falls Lodge No. 33, A. O. U. W., Camp No. 67, of the W. of W., and Rocky Mountain Camp, M. W. of A.

DOBERT O. MORRIS .- On the roll of Car- R bon county's honored and representative citi- zens is to be found the name of the subject of this review, who owns a fine ranch property on East Rosebud creek, twenty miles northwest of the city of Red Lodge, the county seat. He is recog- nized as one of the leading cattlemen of this sec- tion of the state, and has been somewhat promi- nent in public affairs of a local nature, ever main- taining a lively interest in all that conserves the progress and material prosperity of the county and state. Mr. Morris comes of stanch old Colo- nial stock, and his genealogical record is one of which he may be justly proud. He is a na- tive of the old Keystone state, having been born in the city of Bradford, McKean county, on March 9, 1850, one of the six children of William and Eliza (Seamans) Morris, both of whom were born in that same county. Simon Morris, the grand- father of our subject, married a French lady of dis- tinguished family, she being a descendant of Gen. McCreery, who came from France with Gen. La- fayette at the time of the Revolution, in which he rendered gallant service. The ancestry in the agnatic line is of English derivation, and the original American ancestors came to this coun- try in the early Colonial epoch. The father of our subject passed his entire life in Pennsylvania, en- gaged in farming and stockraising. He died when Robert O. was a lad of eight years, having been summoned into eternal rest when but thirty-six years of age. Robert O. Morris received his early

education in the public schools of his native county, and continued to reside on the old homestead until 1874, when he became identified with the oil industry in Pennsylvania until the spring of 1883, coming thence to Montana and locating in the valley of the upper Yellowstone river. There for three years he devoted his attention to farming and stockraising, fair success attending his well di- rected efforts. He then disposed of his interests and moved to his present location, where he has continued the cattle business and developed one of the finest ranch properties in this section of the state, the permanent improvements being of exceptional excellence. He raises principally short- horn stock of high-grade type. At one time he kept an average of 1,000 head of cattle, but owing to the curtailment of the open range he has found it expedient to diminish the number.

In politics Mr. Morris has ever been a zealous supporter of the Republican party and the prin- ciples for which it stands, and has served for a number of years in the office of justice of the peace. In 1895 he was the candidate of his party for county commissioner. He has been active in the cause of the party in a local way and is a member of the Republican central committee of Carbon county. A postoffice is maintained on his ranch, and is named Morris, in his honor.

On November 7, 1884, Mr. Morris was united in marriage to Miss Nancy E. Brown, who was born in Missouri, whence she accompanied her brother on their removal to Montana. Mr. and Mrs. Morris have no children.

J H. MURPHY, of Boulder, Jefferson county, Mont., is one of the leading attorneys of that city. Though young in years he presents results in life which show him to be on the high road to success and material prosperity. He was born at Sidney, Iowa, on June 3, 1865. His father, Joseph Murphy, has a remarkable legal record in Sidney, having there practiced law for thirty-five years. He is still living, but retired from the active business of his profession several years ago. He was born in Ireland in 1831, was reared in his native land and educated at Trinity College, Dublin. In 1852 he came to the United States and settled in Indiana, where he taught school and later read law under the direction of Hon. Oliver P. Morton. He was admitted to practice in that state and just

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before the Civil war located at Sidney, Iowa, and began the practice of his profession. His wife, formerly Miss Elizabeth Richards, was a native of Ohio. Sometime in the early 'fifties her family removed to Iowa and settled near Sidney, where she still lives at the age of sixty-five years. Her father was Milton Richards, commonly known as "Squire" Richards. He was born in Ohio, where he was a farmer, and died in 1881. J. H. Murphy has three brothers and one sister now residing in southwest Iowa.

Mr. Murphy was married at Weeping Water, Neb., on December 28, 1892, to Miss Louisa E. Torrence, daughter of Barnum S. Torrence, an agriculturalist, who lived in Nebraska twenty years and returned to Tabor, Iowa, in 1899. The mother of Mrs. Murphy was before her marriage Miss Harriet A. Smith, daughter of James L. Smith, of Tabor, Iowa. Mr. Smith was a member of the first class to graduate from Oberlin ( Ohio) College. and subsequently he was one of the founders of Tabor College and of which he was a trustee for about forty years. He is still living and has ever taken a deep interest in all educational matters. The Montana history of Mr. and Mrs. Murphy dates from 1893, when they located at Boulder, and where their three children have been born: Ralph Torrence, on November 3, 1893; Raymond Rich- ards, on August 5, 1895, and Alice Eugenia, on April 24, 1900. Politically Mr. Murphy has al- ways affiliated with the Democratic party. In the November election of 1900 he was a candidate for county attorney, the first office he ever sought, and was elected. He is one of the chief officers of his lodge of the Modern Woodmen of America, and for five years he has been secretary of the Order of Pendo. He enjoys the confidence of a large circle of warm personal friends, not only in Boulder but throughout the state.

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 34

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