Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 48

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 48

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he returned in 1860, being yet but a boy of six- . teen. Two years later he again directed his steps toward the setting sun, going to North Platte, 'Neb., where he secured an engagement as a clerk in a store. In 1863 he went to Denver, Colo., but again turned back to Omaha. From there he came to Montana, making the journey with a mule team and arriving at Bannack in July of that year. He at once proceeded to Alder gulch and there located a mine. He did not, however, de- velop it, but instead went to Biven's gulch, where -he remained until 1865. Not meeting with the desired success in this venture he spent the next year at Ophir gulch and then returned to Ban- nack. From there he went to Leesburg, in the Salmon river country, prospected during the sum- mer and then transferred his energies to Deer Lodge, where he was engaged in the restaurant and saloon business until 1874. Disposing of his interest in this enterprise he made a journey to Cedar creek, in the Coeur d'Alene country, re- turned to Missoula for the winter, went to Deer Lodge in the spring and from there to Butte, where he arrived in 1875. Here he located the Little Mina quartz mine, which he worked for a number of years, taking out a large quantity of silver and gold. Since then he has located several valuable mines in the vicinity of Butte which he has disposed of at remunerative prices. He has also invested to a considerable extent and to good advantage in Butte real estate.

In 1893, in company with W. A. Smith, he organ- ized the Smith Piano Company, which was engaged in the sale of musical merchandise on a large scale until 1898, when Mr. Steward disposed of his interest in the business and has since devoted his attention principally to mining. In 1878 he was married to Miss Emma Bogk, a native of Oshkosh, Wis., and of German ancestry. They had nine children, all born in Montana, of whom four are living-Walter F., Arthur W., Araminta and Della. As indicating the general popularity and good standing of the family, it should be stated that on the occasion of the great street fair and carnival held in Butte in 1901, Miss Ara- minta Steward was chosen queen of the festivities over a number of very active competitors. It need scarcely be added that she discharged the duties appertaining to the exalted and dignified position with a grace and delicacy of manner which won her universal approbation. The political sym- pathies of Mr. Steward have always been with the

John o Steward

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Democratic party, in whose ranks he is conspic- uous for his devotion to the cause and his skill and influence in promoting its welfare. He is es- sentially a self-made man. His natural ability and the strength of his mind enabled him to triumph over the deficiencies of early education and take his place among the potential factors in the trans- formation of Montana from a wilderness into a garden, a treasure-house, a hive of industrial en- terprise, a great and growing state.

F M. and BENJAMIN SMITH are prosperous and enterprising ranchers, residing near Ra- dersburg, in Broadwater county. They are the sons of James and Nancy (Copeland) Smith, both natives of Overton county, Tenn. The father, a Tennessee planter, removed to Illinois in 1828 and engaged in farming, and here F. M. Smith was born, in Morgan county, on February 12, 1835. He remained with the family, worked on the farm and attended the Morgan county schools until the fall of 1863, then went to Nebraska and for nearly a year worked at blacksmithing. In coming to his understanding that there were more alluring pros- pects further west he joined an ox train for Mon- tana. He encountered no serious trouble with Indians on the way, although they were then quite hostile, and arrived at Virginia City on July 27, 1864. Here he passed a year working profitably at his trade, and removed to Jefferson City, and carried on the same industry for two years. He then engaged in freighting for a year and removed to Radersburg, where he has since resided, pros- perously engaged in stockraising.

Benjamin Smith, younger brother of F. M., was born in Morgan county, Ill., on December 14, 1848, and was there reared and educated. He as- sisted his father on the farm until he, in 1867, at the age of nineteen, removed to Greene county, Iowa. Here for fifteen years he was profitably occupied in farming. In 1882 he joined his broth- er at Radersburg, Mont., where they have ex- tensively conducted stock operations in partner- ship. They have a large number of horses and cattle, and are the proprietors of a steam thresh- ing machine. Both are members of the Methodist church, in which they take an active interest.

In February, 1868, in Greene county, Iowa, Ben- jamin Smith married Miss Sarah E. Smith, of Dewitt, Ill., born on October 9, 1848. She is a

daughter of Thomas Smitli, a pioneer of Iowa, settling there in 1855. Three of their eight chil- dren, Pleasant, James and John, twins, are dead. The former died in 1882, and the twins at the age of four years. The surviving children are : Thomas, now adjutant in the Salvation Army at Portland, Ore. ; Hattie, now Mrs. James Rawlings, of Townsend; Sarah, Frances, Verna, Walter, married and living near Radersburg; Arthur and Verna Stella, both attending school. Both broth- ers are Democrats and Benjamin has been several times elected a judge of elections. Since coming to Montana the Smith brothers have been highly fa- vored with the prosperity that has blessed this state. They are highly esteemed as men of up- right character and sound business judgment and valuable citizens.

E 'LIAS S. SMITH .- One of the prosperous ranchers and stock-growers of Fergus county is the gentleman whose name introduces this arti- cle. He is a native son of the west, and has passed the major portion of his life in Montana.

Mr. Smith was born in Siskiyou county, Cal., on the Ist of January, 1861, a son of Christian B. and Mary E. Smith, natives respectively of Pennsyl- vania and Illinois. His father was one of the Cali- fornia argonauts of 1849. The early life of Chris- tian Smith was devoted to agricultural pursuits, but he labored at mining in California with fair success. In 1868 he removed to Montana, locat- ing near Helena. After living in various places, in 1883 he made his home three miles west of the village of Cottonwood, and lived there until his death, which occurred on the 5th of May, 1896, his wife having passed away on the 19th of July, 1887. Of their three children one, Newton W., died on the 27th of March, 1879; the survivors are Walter B. and Elias S.

Elias S. Smith received such educational advan- tages as were afforded in the primitive schools of California and Montana in the earlier days, and from the age of twelve years he has been contin- uously with ranching and stockraising. He be- came an interested principal in the firm of C. Barr Smith & Sons, and they were engaged in raising horses on an extensive scale until 1895. Since then Mr. Smith has conducted his operations in- dividually. His ranch, which includes the old homestead, now comprises 800 acres and the place

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is one of exceptional fertility. He gives, however, his special attention to the raising of cattle. In politics he gives loyal support to the Republican party, of which his father was one of the original adherents, and he maintains a public-spirited atti- tude in regard to all that touches the interests of his county and state.

On the 23d of September, 1897, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Clara F. Sipple, who was born in Madison county, Iowa, the daughter of Frank J. and Hannah E. Sipple, the former of whom was born in Germany and the latter in Pennsylvania. The family removed to Illinois and thence to Iowa, where he thereafter was engaged in farming. He was a Catholic and his wife a member of the Evangelist denomination. Of their seven children, one died in infancy, the sur- viving children being: Emma L., John E., Joseph F., Clara F., Mary L. and Maggie J. Mr. Sipple died on the 13th of December, 1888. His wife survived him until the Ioth of June, 1898. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have two children-Hazel J. and Frank S.

G EORGE W. SMITH, aside from being a typ- ical Montana pioneer, is one of the most prominent and successful ranchers in the Sun river district of Lewis and Clarke county. He was born in Spencer county, Ind., November 4, 1850. His parents were Bernard and Hilca Smith, natives of Amsterdam, Holland, who had come to the United States and located in Indiana in 1848. The father followed the blacksmithing and wagonmaking trade. The parents were both members of the Lutheran church. They, together with one son, died the same day from milk poisoning, in 1855. Our sub- ject, then a lad of five years of age, was taken in charge by his uncle who moved with him to Kan- sas. Awakening to the fact that his uncle was inclined to be harsh and cruel, George Smith ran away at the age of nine years and struck out into the world for himself. He first went to Clinton county, Mo., where he worked for his board and clothes. He had received but little in the way of education, but was determined to make the most of his opportunities. He remained with his em- ployer, C. V. Ditmiss, until the summer of 1861. The Civil war broke out, but his employer advised him to keep out of the impending trouble and gave him a horse and $100 to assist him in leaving the state. Young Smith got as far west as the Mis-

souri river, which he found almost impassable. He finally found a boat, and tying his horse at the stern managed to ferry the turbulent stream with no great difficulty. On the opposite side he met a crowd of home boys with whom he was well ac- quainted, and they persuaded him to enlist. Ac- cordingly he accompanied them to Arkansas, where he joined a regiment of Confederate sol- diers. During the battle of Perry Grove, in which he participated, he was captured, relieved of his horse and all his money and then paroled. An- gered by such treatment he immediately re-en- listed, joined a scouting party and was again cap- tured. This was serious business, as he had plainly broken his parole. He was brought before a court martial, which decided that he was a member of a guerrilla band and sentenced him to be shot at 9 o'clock the following morning. However, he suc- ceeded in making his escape at daylight, but while doing so he was grazed on the hip by a rifle bail and another shot passed through the rim of his hat. He then went to Leavenworth, Kan., and engaged for $35 a month and board to care for mules which were being shipped from St. Louis to Sioux City, Iowa. Following the termination of this employment he went on to Omaha and joined a freighting outfit bound for Salt Lake City, Utah. It was while at Salt Lake that Mr. Smith learned of the famous gold strike at Alder gulch, Mont. He secured employment with a party bound for the mines, and was paid $35 per month for his services. In November, 1863, they reached Alder gulch, having been on the road eight months. On his arrival our subject began herd- ing cattle for $75 per month, and continued at this business for three years.

It was in 1866 that he went to Deer Lodge. There he engaged in taking care of horses for the firm of Hardenbrook & Walker, who at that time conducted a livery barn. Subsequently he en- gaged in the lumber business with Walker & Brother, who conducted a lumber yard at Helena. He remained with them until 1868 at a salary of $75 per month. The same firm soon afterward organized a freighting enterprise and Mr. Smith was given the position of wagon boss at $100 per month. During the winter of 1872 he wintered cattle at Sun river on government land, above Fort Shaw, and in the spring of 1873 he turned the freighting outfit over to Henry Garth. Owing to ill health and by the advice of a physician Mr. Smith devoted some time to hunting and fishing

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in the mountains. Subsequently the markets fell to pieces and he lost everything he had in the world in the way of financial assets. It was then that he again turned to ranch work for the firm of Cox & Flowerree, with whom he remained one year, working for $60 per month. During the summer of 1876 he rented a ranch of 160 acres located four miles south of Augusta, and engaged in farming. In 1877 he purchased 160 acres of land for $450, situated three miles south of Augusta, continued farming with fair success, and in two years closed it out for $500. In the spring of 1879 Mr. Smith took up a pre-emption claim located one mile east of Augusta ; improved the same and sold it for $150. Following this he engaged in timber work in the mountains, which he continued until 1884 and saved considerable money. The four subse- quent years found him herding sheep for D. C. Holbrook, at a wage of $40 per month. He con- tinued on the same ranch, which had been sold to R. H. Wellman, until 1895. Then the ranch and stock were turned over to Grand Christian, with whom he continued until 1898. The ranch was again disposed of to P. B. Christian, but still our subject remained with it until the fall of 1900. In that year Mr. Smith moved on to the ranch where he at present resides, comprising 160 acres, a homestead claim, which he has wonderfully im- proved and practically made it blossom as the rose. He raises hay and cattle. It is located eleven miles southwest of Augusta. During the early days of his pioneer life in Montana, and else- where, our subject had many serious encounters with hostile Indians. One of these episodes is worthy of note. In company with five others he went to Sixteen-mile creek for the purpose of hunt- ing buffalo. A body of twenty-five Indians cut him off from his camp. Dropping into a buffalo wallow he ordered the redskins to stop, but they failed to do so, and he shot one of them. On hearing his shot the rest of the company came to his assistance and between them they killed nine of the hostiles. Mr. Smith is a member of the Lutheran church; politically he is a Democrat.

[] ILLIAM SMITH, an enterprising stockman of Cascade county, Mont., first came to the state in 1889. He was born at Nassau, Germany, on April 19. 1859, the son of William and Cather- ine Smith, both natives of Nassau, where the father

was a farmer and where the mother died in 1889, at the age of sixty-nine years, and the father at the age of seventy. William Smith attended the public schools in the place of his nativity and as- sisted his father in work about the farm until 1879, when he enlisted in Company I, Regiment Eighty- eight, of the German army, remaining in the service four years. In 1883 he worked as a painter in a ma- chine factory in Neviges. In 1886 he sailed for the United States, landing in New York, immediately went west to Fergus Falls, Minn., and remained one year, working on a farm. In 1887 he removed to St. Paul, where for two years he worked as a plasterer. In 1889 Mr. Smith came to Great Falls and assisted in building the Montana Central Rail- way to Monarch. In 1899 he took up a homestead claim, improved his land and is now successfully cultivating it. Since his arrival in Montana he has been eminently successful in all his business ventures.

T `HE SILVER SMELTER .- This plant is lo- cated in Great Falls, Cascade county, Mont., and is owned and operated by the American Smelt- ing & Refining Company, a corporation organized and incorporated under the laws of New Jersey, with a capitalization of $1,000,340. The local man- ager is Frank M. Smith, a sketch of whose life im- mediately follows this article. The works in Great Falls were built entirely by New York capital, under the name of the Montana Smelting Company, the ground for the crection of the buildings having been broken by Hon. Paris Gibson on March 5. 1888. The original officers, and who were also the principal owners of its stock, were Hon. Abram S. Hewitt, president; Anton Ellers, vice- president ; W. S. Gurnee, treasurer, and H. W. Child, general manager. The first superintendent of the metallurgical department was Robert Sticht, who died at Pueblo, Colo., in August, 1893. The Helena & Livingston Company were operating a silver-lead smelter at East Helena, and, owing to the fierce competition between the two smelters, both were losing money, the eventual result being that, in 1891, a consolidation of the two enterprises was effected under the name of the United Smelting & Refining Company.

Recognizing the value and expediency of own- ing its own plant for the refining of the bullion produced at the two smelters, the United Smelting & Refining Company combined with the National

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Smelting & Refining Company, of South Chicago, Ill., where all the bullion for both plants is now shipped for refining. In 1896 Barton Sewell was elected general manager of the United Smelting & Refining Company, succeeding Anton Eilers, who had resigned. On the first of May, 1899, was effected a combination of the silver and lead smelters in the Union under the title of the Ameri- can Smelting & Refining Company. The concerns represented in this combination comprised practically all of the silver-lead smelters in the country, ex- cepting three plants on the Pacific coast and the plants owned by M. Guggenheim & Sons, but on January 1, 1901, the Guggenheims identified their interests with the company and the following of- ficers were chosen : E. W. Nash, of Omaha, presi- dent; Barton Sewell, of Chicago, vice-president ; Edward Brush, secretary, and Isaac Guggenheim, treasurer. The general offices are located at 71 Broadway, New York city. The operating depart- ment is managed from New York and is controlled by an executive committee, consisting of eleven members, of which Daniel Guggenheim is chair- man. The immediate direction of affairs in Colo- rado, Utah and Montana is under the control of the western executive committee, with headquarters at Denver, Colo.

The ores treated at Great Falls are principally lead, silver and gold, the lead ores of the Barker and silver ores of the Neihart districts forming the bulk of those treated. These are supplemented by shipments from the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, dis- trict and by large quantities of high grade silver- lead ores from Fort Steele, Kootenai lake and the Slocan district, in British Columbia. The works were planned and laid out with a view to treating a large tonnage of ore. The plant is located on the sloping ground on the south bank of the Mis- souri river, just below the famous giant spring. The loaded cars arrive at the track scales, situated at the highest point, and after being weighed are switched to the sidetrack leading to the sampling works, the crusher house, or placed directly at some ore bin, discrimination being made according to the character of the ore. The roaster building is an immense structure, 150x600 feet in dimensions, and here the sulphur is extracted from the ores before undergoing other processes. There are twenty roasting furnaces and four blast furnaces. These furnaces have a capacity for the output of about 100 tons each per day, and are of the typical lead-furnace style. The engine house is a brick

building 60x205 feet in dimensions, with an iron roof. It is equipped with two engines of 150 horse-power each, one being held in reserve to meet exigencies. A neat machine shop is connected with the engine room, and this has a ten horse-power en- gine, with bolt-cutter, drill and lathe. The boiler house has a battery of five steam boilers, sixteen feet long and sixty inches in diameter, which sup- ply the requisite steam for the operation of the plant.

A very complete assay office is located in juxtaposition to the general offices. The laboratory proper has boiler, sand bath, five Becker balances and all other essential equipments for the exact and facile handling of the work. The general offices are in a handsomely appointed brick building, three stories in height and of pleasing architectural de- sign, in the early French style. The manager's residence is of the same architectural design as the general office building, and is one of the most at- tractive dwellings in the city. The entire smelter and its contents have a perfect system of fire pro-

tection. A large Worthington pump raises the water from the river to a height of 160 feet and along a distance of 3,500 feet into a reservoir whose capacity is 2,500,000 gallons, the pipe line being tapped wherever required and hydrants being lo- cated at almost every corner. The local officers are : Frank M. Smith, manager, and P. A. L. Mann- heim, superintendent and metallurgist.

F RANK M. SMITH .- One of the representa- tive business men of the state and an honored citizen of Great Falls, where he is the incumbent of the responsible position of local manager of the American Smelting & Refining Company, whose operations are of gigantic scope and have been an important factor in forwarding the development of the great mining industry which figures as the chief of the resources of the state. Frank Mar- shall Smith was born on August 16, 1866, in Phila- delphia, Pa., the son of William and Mary (Beath) Smith, both of whom were born at Boothbay, Me. The father has for many years been in the em- ploy of the American Express Company and is now located at Brooklyn, N. Y. Frank M. Smith is one of five children, and he and his brother, Montgomery B., are the only representatives of the family in Montana.

The early boyhood days of Mr. Smith were

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passed in Buffalo, N. Y., where he received his preliminary education. In 1881 he went with his parents to Brooklyn, where he attended the high school, graduating with the class of 1884. In October, 1885, Mr. Smith matriculated in the school of mines at Columbia University, of New York city, where he graduated in June, 1889, re- ceiving the degree of engineer of mines. Thor- oughly fortified for the work of his chosen pro- fession, Mr. Smith was soon accorded preferment in the employ of the federal government on the United States geological survey. He was thus en- gaged in Virginia and Maryland, and in hydro- graphic and triangulation work in Idaho and east- ern Oregon, clearly demonstrating his capacity for the effective discharge of these important duties. In January, 1891, Mr. Smith became assayer for the Colorado Smelting Company at Pueblo, and in October, 1892, was appointed assistant superin- tendent, retaining this incumbency until October, 1893, when he removed to Great Falls, Mont., where he had been given the superintendency of the United Smelting & Refining Company, in which office he showed such distinct executive abil- ity that he was promoted to manager in January, 1898.

In this capacity he has since been retained, and its importance and responsibility may be inferred from the preceding brief description of the enter- prise under his charge. Mr. Smith is interested in mining properties near Barker, Mont. He is a young man of decided force of character and busi- ness discrimination, while his scientific attain- ments are of wide scope and marked exactitude, and he is manifestly one of the progressive men of the state. He is a member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers and also of the Montana Society of Engineers. In June, 1893, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Clara Everhart, who was born in Martinsburg, Pa., the daughter of Marshall H. and Mary Everhart, and she presides with gracious dignity over the beauti- ful home assigned to the manager of the important company he represents in Great Falls.

HARLES H. SPRAGUE .- Among the hon- C ored veterans of the war of the Rebellion is Mr. Sprague, who also figures as one of the pro- gressive and highly-respected citizens of Bozeman, in the immediate vicinity of which place is located

his fine residence, which is a center of refined hos- pitality, the family enjoying marked popularity in the county. Mr. Sprague is a native of New York city, born on June 2, 1847, the son of Theo- dore Sprague, a native of Rhode Island, removing thence to New York. His death occurred in the city of Albany; the mother of our subject died when he was an infant, and he has no recollection of her.

Charles H. Sprague became a resident of Illinois when he was a lad of eight years, and there at- tended the common schools in a somewhat irreg- ular way, devoting his attention to farm work un- til the age of sixteen years. During the Civil war his patriotism and loyalty led him to tender his services to the Union, and in October, 1863, he enlisted as a member of Company C, Seventh Illi- nois Cavalry, with which he served until the close of the war, being practically on duty every day dur- ing his entire term and participating in every en- gagement in which his regiment took part. After the close of the war he was employed in various lines of occupation and in divers sections of the Union. In 1873 Mr. Sprague moved to Inyo county, Cal., where he remained until 1882, when he went to Idaho, remaining there until his re- moved to Montana. In 1884, some twelve years after his marriage, he came to Montana with his family, arriving in June of that year and renting a ranch in Madison county, where he was suc- cessfully engaged in farming and stockgrowing until the fall of 1890; he then disposed of his inter- ests in that section and purchased his present fine ranch home near Bozeman. Here he has about 300 acres well improved, and in addition to his live stock interests has a considerable portion of his place under effective cultivation.

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 48

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