Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 41

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 41

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Politically Mr. Pew is a Republican, but has not been very active in party work. He has lived a modest, useful life performing faithfully every duty of a good citizen, and exemplifying in public and private the best traits of American manhood, for all of which he is much esteemed by his friends and acquaintances.

AMUEL C. PHILBRICK .- This excellent cit- S izen, good farmer and generous friend and neighbor, was born in the state of Maine, county of Kennebec, February 2, 1853, the youngest of five children born to Jesse L. and Louisa J. Phil- brick, also natives of Maine. The father's early

years were devoted to school-teaching, merchan- dizing in various lines, and hotel keeping. But later in life he retired to a farm and thereafter fol- lowed the peaceful pursuit of the patriarchs. In all of his ventures he was successful, and with use- ful productiveness filled the measure of his days on earth, which ended in 1870. His widow survived him thirteen years, and died in 1883. They left five children as their survivors, namely : Robert C., William H:, Helen L., Lavin C. and Samuel C. The latteriwas sent to the public schools of the dis- trict as there was opportunity, and finished his educa fon at a good commercial college. His scholastic energies were, however, interrupted by the requirements of the farm, on which he was obliged to work when he was twelve years old. He did his part with cheerfulness and zeal until he was twenty-three, when he sought to satisfy a longing for something different from the life he was accustomed to, and gratify a feeling of inde- pendence which impelled him to make his own way in the world. He left the home of his child- hood for the wilds of the distant west, locating at Benson's Landing on the Yellowstone river, now Livingston, in Park county, Mont. There he be- gan operations as a hotel keeper, at the same time conducting a ferry across the river. He was thus engaged for two years. Then he rented the prop- erty and went to the Black Hills, which had just vaulted into fame as a mineral region of untold possibilities. Here he began mining for wages, and after two years at that labor he passed five years in running quartz mills. He then returned to Benson's Landing, disposed of his interests and removed to the National Park, where he opened a restaurant, bakery and produce business, in which he continued for a year and a half, achieving moderate success by hard work, constant attention to business and the most economical management all around. From there he removed to Helena and for a year conducted a general produce busi- ness. But not succeeding as he desired, he went into the Sweet Grass hills and engaged in prospect- ing. Tiring of this, because of its small returns, he left that part of the state and in 1888 located on his present ranch of 960 acres, twenty-two miles east of Belt, and has since given his whole atten- tion to its necds and possibilities. About one- third of his land is under cultivation and doing well, producing good crops of oats and providing abundantly in the way of grain, hay and pasturage for the cattle and horses he raises in large num-

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bers. He is also gradually increasing the acreage for general farming, and secures good results in better and larger crops. He follows the political faith of his father before him and supports the Re- publican ticket, but is not an active partisan 'or a seeker after office or station of any kind. His farm and the needs of his neighborhood, in which he takes an intelligent interest, give him plenty to do, and he shirks no duty in connection there- with, being constantly occupied.

JOHN G. PICKERING, of Canton, Broadwater county, is one of the Montana pioneers of 1866 who have won success and personal prominence in the state. His journey to Montana and his life in the new commonwealth would make an inter- esting chapter in an extended history of the state. He was born in a small town in New Hampshire on July 22, 1831, a son of Thomas Pickering, a native of New Hampshire, and Lydia W. (Ham) Pickering, a native of Kittery, York county, Me. "In the list of the inhabitants of Portsmouth, N. H., who, in 1640, made a grant of forty acres for glebe land for the use of the ministry, is the name of John Pickering, who, in himself and his descend- ants was to play a conspicuous part in civil, mili- tary and ecclesiastical matters. He appears in Portsmouth as early as 1635, perhaps as early as 1630. He came from Massachusetts and was prob- ably one of the early settlers of Cambridge. He was of English birth, a man of great wealth and business capacities. He was an old man at his death in 1669. His sons, John, of Portsmouth, and Thomas, of Newington, were molding forces of so- ciety, and the family has ever been prominent in the state."-[W. A. Fergusson's History of Carroll county, N. H.]

John G. Pickering received his education in the public schools of New Hampshire, and in 1849 went to sea. Touching on one of his voyages at Mobile, Ala., he found the wild ducks so plentiful that he quit the ship and engaged in shooting them .for profit and found the business very renumer- ative, and the second winter he engaged in it he cleared over $1,000. In 1852 he inherited the old homestead and returned to New Hampshire.

In 1853 he married Miss Hannah Goodwin, a descendant of one of the oldest families of New Hampshire, where it has ever been prominent, fur- nishing legislators, governors and other public men in its various generations. The original Ameri-

can ancestor of the name was of English stock. On September 19, 1853, Mr. Pickering removed to Albany, Green county, Wis., and engaged in farm- ing and fruit growing.

On January 3, 1864, he enlisted as a musician in the First Brigade, Third Division, Fifteenth Army Corps, joined Gen. Sherman in his historic march to the sea and continued in service until the sur- render of Gen. Johnston in Raleigh, N. C., where he was one of the hospital corps employed in gathering wounded soldiers from the battlefield. After this they marched to Washington, D. C., from whence they went to Parkersburg, W. Va., and went by steamer to Louisville, Ky., where Mr. Pickering was discharged on July 12, 1865.

He then resumed farming in Wisconsin, and in the fall of 1865 returned to Louisville and pur- chased mules which he brought to Wisconsin and on April 15, 1866, he began the journey to Montana.

Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Pickering: Annie, now Mrs. Kline, residing at White Sulphur Springs; Frank G., located in Car- bon county, Mont .; Lola, now Mrs. William Christ- mas, also of Carbon county; Ida, now Mrs. Ben- jamin Halford, living in Butte, and Carrie, now Mrs. Halford, living in Boulder, Mont. Mr. Pick- ering has been a county commissioner and a school trustee for twenty years, while fraternally he is a Freemason.

F "RANK G. PICKERING .- This representative farmer and horticulturist of Carbon county is a native of Green county, Wis., where he was born June 2, 1856. His father is John G. Pickering, of Broadwater county, Mont., of whom extended mention is made upon this page.

Mr. Pickering was reared in Wisconsin and at- tended her public schools until he was fourteen years old. Then, in 1871, he accompanied the rest of the family to Montana to join his father, who had come to the territory some time before. He remained at home until the spring of 1885, when he took up his residence in the White Sulphur Springs district, and engaged in ranching and stockraising on his own account, also running a sawmill. In these various enterprises he was suc- cessful, and continued them until the spring of 1897, when he sold out and removed to his present location, half way between Joliet and Silesia, where he has a fine farm, all under irrigation and brought, by his industry and skill, to a high state of cultiva-

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tion. A special feature of Mr. Pickering's estab- lishment is a fine and vigorous orchard of some 1,800 fruit trees, consisting mainly of apples, plums and cherries. These are just coming into prime bearing order and are very promising. He also has a large acreage in small fruits, and is hopeful of making fruit-growing one of the leading enter- prises among the farmers of his section. He raises excellent crops of alfalfa, grain and other farm products, finding his land adapted to almost every variety of agricultural fruitfulness that the climate allows.

In fraternal relations Mr. Pickering is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a genial and companionable gentleman, as well as a progressive and enterprising farmer and a useful and public-spirited citizen.

JOHN PILGERAM, a prosperous rancher and farmer of Cascade county, came to Montana in 1868. His birth was at Nassau, Germany, on De- cember 7, 1852. His parents were John and Kate (Scartt) Pilgeram, also natives of Nassau. Here the father was a farmer, a grocer and had a saloon. His wife was the daughter of Jacob and Mary Scartt, natives of Richwine, Germany. Her moth- er died at the age of twenty-eight, and her father at the age of seventy-five, at Talheim, Germany, and she herself died at the age of twenty-one. John Pilgeram re-married with Kate Lahnstein, daugh- ter of Joseph and Lizzie Lahnstein, of Nassau, Germany. Her father died at the age of fifty-six, his wife at seventy-six, and she is still living at Nassau.

John Pilgeram early began to assist his father on the farm, attending diligently the public schools in early life, and in 1868 came to the United States and, having landed at New York, pushed on im- mediately to Montana, locating first at Helena, where he hauled wood and stone from Kessler's brickyard for the construction of the court house with his own team, and also worked on other prominent edifices. In 1871 he removed to East Helena, for two years working in the smelter, and in 1873 removed to Great Falls, where for five years his services were engaged at the Silver smelter. In 1878 he went from Great Falls to Boston coulee and took up 160 acres of homestead and the same amount of desert land, and devoted himself to farming. He cultivates thirty-six acres and util-

izes the rest for pasturage. On December 9, 1878, at Nassau, Germany, Mr. Pilgeram married Miss Katie Habel, daughter of Anton and Katherine Habel, natives of Nassau. Her mother died in 1898 at the age of eighty-three and her father passed away in 1892, at the age of seventy-nine, both dying at Nassau. Their eleven children are: Anna, Emma and William, all deceased, and Rosie, Katie, Mary, John, Tony, Flora, Frank and Jo- seph. Mr. Pilgeram and his family are very much in evidence in social circles and are highly esteemed by their associates.

DETER C. PILGERAM, one of the prosperous

sheepmen of Cascade county, came to Mon- tana in 1886. He was born at Nassau, Germany, on November 23, 1862, the son of John and Katie (Lahnstein) Pilgrim, both natives of Nassau, where the father was engaged in farming and in the saloon and grocery business. He died in 1891, and the mother, born in 1839, is now living in Ger- many. Mrs. Pilgeram was the daughter of Joseph and Lizzie Lahnstein, of Nassau. Joseph Lahn- stein lived over half a century and his wife attained the age of seventy-six. Until he reached the age of fourteen years Peter C. Pilgeram was in the paternal home at Nassau, receiving tuition in the public schools. He then attended college until 1880, and later assisted in his father's store and on the farm. Landing in New York in the fall of 1884 he visited friends in that city for a month and then came to Columbus, Ohio, and was employed for eight months in the brewery of Born & Co. Fol- lowing this he was for fourteen months engaged with the Great Western Marble Works at Cincin- nati. In 1886 he came to Helena, Mont. His first business in this state was hotel keeping, and, after some experience in it, in the spring of 1888 he be- gan conducting the Commercial Hotel at Great Falls, whither he removed from Helena.

About this time Mr. Pilgeram took up a pre- emption claim at Boston coulee and began his pros- perous career in stockraising. In 1889 he took up a tree claim, in 1890, a homestead claim, in 1894 a desert claim, and his wife took a desert claim in 1898. The total amount of their holdings now is 900 acres of excellent stock-grazing and agricul- tural land. Between 1890 and 1898 he confined his attention mainly to cattle, and then engaged in sheepraising, in which he has been successful, hav- ing a band of 2,200 and keeping enough horses

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and cattle for his own use. Since he came to Montana he has been quite prosperous, valuing his property at over $16,000. On September 25, 1888, Mr. Pilgeram married Miss Matilda Weigand, daughter of Albert and Lizzie Weigand, natives of Fulda, Germany. Her father, a farmer, died at Essen, Germany, at the age of fifty-six, and in 1886 her mother came to the ranch of her son- in-law, in Montana, where she died in 1892 at the age of seventy-two years. Mr. and Mrs. Pil- geram have had six children, of whom one, Alma, is dead and the others are William, Emma, Jennie, Lizzie and John.

W ILLIAM PILGERAM is one of the indus- trious ranchmen of Cascade county, now re- siding on a ranch near Evans. He was born in Nassau, Germany, on December 31, 1868, the son of John and Katie (Lahnstein) Pilgeram, both na- tives of Nassau, where the father was engaged in farming and the grocery and saloon business. He died in 1891. The mother of Mr. Pilgeram was the daughter of Joseph and Lizzie Lahnstein, born at Nassau. The father lived to be over fifty, and the mother attained seventy-six years. Until he was fourteen William Pilgeram attended the Nassau schools and then learned the baker's trade, which he followed until 1886, when he returned home and assisted his crippled father until April 5, 1888, when he sailed for New York on the steamer Westerland of the Red Star line, and at once came to Helena, Mont.

Three weeks after his arrival he pre-empted 160 acres of land near Great Falls and began to raise cattle and horses, starting with twenty-four head of cattle and four horses and placing fifteen acres of his land under cultivation. On December 16, 1893, he took up a homestead claim of 160 acres, of which he profitably cultivated forty until De- cember, 1899, when he sold his homestead for $1,150 and thirty head of cattle for $600. He then pur- chased forty acres of railroad land in the Black Butte district and took 160 acres as a desert claim, in addition to which his wife took eighty acres. Of the railroad land he cultivates twelve acres, and this is now his home. Mr. Pilgeram considers that he has been very successful since coming to Mon- tana. He now has 200 acres of land improved, twenty-five head of cattle and seven horses. He also has 240 acres upon which he will soon prove

up. On December 2, 1892, Mr. Pilgeram was married to Mrs. Margaret Steele, widow of Jacob Steele, of Nassau, Germany, who died at the age of thirty-one in 1891. They had one child, Anna Steele. Mr. and Mrs. Pilgeram have two children, William and Flora. Mrs. Pilgeram manifests the best form of the proverbial hospitality of the Ger- man nation and is a lady of kind heart and like her husband possesses many admirable traits of char- acter.

T `HOMAS THEODORE PRATHER .- One of the progressive farmers and stockgrowers of Sweet Grass county and one of the honored pio- neers is Thomas T. Prather and he has attained a due quota of success through his own efforts, being held in the highest estimation as a man among men. He was born in Clermont county, Ohio, on December 21, 1843, the son of Ennis and Melva J. (Judd) Prather, both of them born in Clermont county, the families having been among the pio- neers of Ohio. His parents dying of typhoid fever when he was an infant of ten months, he was cared for by relatives in Ohio, receiving a con- mon-school education until he was sixteen years old, when, in the spring of 1859, he accompanied his uncle on the overland trip to Douglas county, Ore. In January, 1862, at Canyonville, Ore., he enlisted in Company C, First Oregon Calvary, under Col. Moray, and after the first winter in camp in Jack- son county, they went in the spring to Klamath county, where he assisted in building Fort Klamath, and passing the summer in scouting duty, having little trouble with the Indians and serving in that section of the state until January, 1865, when he was sent to Vancouver, Wash., where he received an honorable discharge.

Mr. Prather then returned to Douglas county, Ore., where he devoted his attention to agriculture for one year, then engaging in the cattle business, driving to Grant county, Ore., and continuing in this line for a year, when he sold out and returned to Ohio for eighteen months, after which he again came to Canyonville, Ore., and resumed his opera- tions in cattle, driving his stock through to Wash- ington territory, where he sold them in the fall and returned to Canyonville, where he secured another herd of cattle, which he drove to the northeastern part of California and sold. Returning to Oregon, he made a venture in an entirely new line, that of manufacturing buckskin gloves and taking 3,000 pairs to White Pine, Nev. The venture was far

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from successful, as he "went broke." Returning to Oregon, he again resumed the cattle business, was successful in his operations, and recouped his financial losses. In 1872 he made a permanent lo- cation in Grant county, Ore., where he was success- fully engaged in the raising of cattle and horses for full ten years. In 1882 Mr. Prather started for Bozeman, Mont., and purchased land on the Yel- lowstone river, seven miles above Big Timber, where he has since resided, having a finely im- proved ranch of 1,600 acres. He first brought a drove of horses from Oregon, and in December, 1882, purchased a band of sheep, and continued to raise this line of stock until 1900, having at times as high as 5,000 head. He was not successful with horses, and eventually abandoned this branch, de- voting his attention to cattle and sheep, in which he has been successful, wintering more than 400 head of cattle in the winter of 1900-1901. He has given special attention to Hereford cattle, and has done much to improve the grade of the stock of this section.

About 200 acres of his ranch is under effective irrigation, producing large quantities of alfalfa and timothy, putting up an average of 500 tons. In 1898 Mr. Prather erected an elegant residence of modern architectural design, and it is one of the most attractive ranch homes in the county. Mr. Prather gives his support to the Republican party, and has served for a number of years as school trustee, but having no predilection for official preferment. Fraternally he is identified with the Knights of Pythias and is regarded as one of the representative men of Sweet Grass county. On February 22, 1872, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Prather to Miss Lucinda Jane Merriman, of Jackson county, Ore., the daughter of William H. and Artimesia (Riddle) Merriman, natives of Kentucky and Ohio, the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Prather being a native of Scotland. They have two children : Kate, wife of A. J. Bryant, of Big Timber, and William Thomas, who has prac- tical charge of the home ranch.

JOHN L. PRICE .- A young lawyer of fine natural oratorical ability which has been carefully cultivated under the direction of a master of the art, and being also of industriously studious and reflective habits, John L. Price, of Red Lodge, Carbon county, Mont., has before him a promising

future in the profession he has chosen as his life work, and a career in public affairs if he should decide to enter that field. He is a native of Janes- ville, Ill., where he was born July 9, 1878, the son of Joseph and Susan (Wall) Price, of the same nativity. His paternal ancestors were residents of Pennsylvania for many generations, and from that state his grandfather removed with his family to Coles county, Ill., where he engaged in farming. His son, the father of our subject, always resided in his native town of Janesville, and was there a prosperous farmer and a leading man in the com- munity, serving his people for many years as a justice of the peace and in a number of other county offices. He was highly respected and had the confidence of everybody who knew him. His death, which occurred on March 30, 1901, was universally regretted. John L. was the fourth child of the family. He was educated for the bar and no effort was spared to properly equip him for his profession. After finishing the course of instruction in the public schools of Janesville, he took a preparatory course at the Northern Indiana Normal College at Valparaiso, and following that was privately tutored by Prof. R. B. Barr, A. M. Later he took a two-years course in the law de- partment of the University of Michigan, and con- cluded his professional training at the Northern Indiana Law College at Valparaiso, being gradu- ated in the year 1900. He practiced for a short time in Illinois, but in June, 1901, came to Mon- tana, locating at Red Lodge, where he has been successfully engaged in practicing ever since. Throughout his school experience Mr. Price was an industrious student, and always finished near if not at the top of his classes. In addition to his academic and professional courses, he pursued a special course in oratory under Prof. Trueblood of Michigan University, and made such progress in the art that he has been in demand as a speaker on public occasions wherever he has lived long enough to become acquainted with the people. He delivered the oration of the day on September 2, 1901, on the occasion of the annual labor celebra- tion, and his speech was not only highly spoken of by the leading citizens, but was copied verbatim in a number of the papers of the state and favor- ably commented on by all, which at once gave him standing as an orator throughout the common- wealth. Mr. Price is one of the young men who do not think their days of study are over as soon as they leave school; on the contrary he is, if possible,

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more studious and diligent than ever, giving him- self up almost wholly to his professional duties and the severe lines of mental work which they involve. He takes an abiding and intelligent inter- est in the affairs of Montana, although he is com- paratively a new arrival in the state, and is es- pecially active in behalf of every good enterprise for the advancement of the county in which he has cast his lot. In 1897, during the intervals between his sessions at the law colleges, he was a student in the office of Hon. A. L. Chezen, one of the legal lights of central Illinois. In the state of his adop- tion he is rising rapidly in his profession, having a constantly expanding practice and winning his way steadily in the respect and regard of his profes- sional brethren. In political relations he is an ac- tive Republican, and always deeply interested in the welfare of his party. His father was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war, being a member of Company I, One Hundred and Twenty- third Illinois Volunteers, and saw active service at Perryville, Murfreesborough, and a number of other places where hard battles were fought. He was honorably discharged at the close of the war, and returned to his former home in Illinois. Young Mr. Price, our subject, enjoys an extensive ac- quaintance throughout Carbon county, and has the high respect and cordial esteem of all classes of the people.

JOHN D. RICHARDS .- Even the briefest res- ume of the life of this honored citizen can not fail of interest, for it has been replete in interest- ing experiences, and his career has been one typical of the deepest loyalty and the inflexible integrity which ever commands respect and high apprecia- tion. He is a veteran of the Mexican war, in which he served with distinction in the United States naval service, and this alone should entitle him to honorable mention in this, work, for the survivors of that conflict are now notable for their scarcity, while in all the relations of life he has been true to himself and his honest convictions. Mr. Richards, now one of the successful farmers and stockgrowers of Missoula county, and familiarly known as "Dick" Richards, is a native of West Point, N. Y., born on August 15, 1826, the son of Benjamin M. and Anne (Comfort) Richards. His father was born in Canada of Cornish lineage, and came to the United States in his early youth, becom- ing an able civil engineer, to which profession he de-

voted his attention until his death, which occurred at Newburgh, N. Y., in 1839. The mother was born in Pennsylvania, the daughter of a Hollander who came to America as a Hessian soldier during the Revolution, but deserted from the British army and joined the patriot forces, with which he served until the close of the war, and then he located in Pennsylvania, where he passed the remainder of his life. The maternal grandfather of Mr. Richards attained the remarkable age of 104 years.

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 41

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