Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 53

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 53

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In 1890 Mr. Talbot purchased his partner's inter- ests and continued alone in the business until 1900, when he sold his sheep and turned his attention to the raising of cattle, in which he is now successfully engaged, having an excellent grade and employing

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marked discrimination in the enterprise. He has a ranch of 2,000 acres on Little Belt creek, the entire tract being under fence and well improved, while a considerable portion is under effective cultivation. In politics Mr. Talbot is a stanch Democrat, and in 1901 he rendered efficient service on the board of ap- praisers of Cascade county. Fraternally he is a member of Daggett Lodge, A. F. & A. M., in Mont- gomery county, Mo., and of Willow Lodge, A. O. U. W., of the same place, while he is also identified with the Woodmen of the World and the Modern Woodmen of America.

JOB THOMPSON, SR .- Among the sterling pioneers of Montana is Mr. Thompson, one of the prosperous farmers and stockgrowers of Broad- water county. He is a native of Yorkshire, Eng- land, where he was born on March 10, 1834, the son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Arran) Thompson, both natives of Yorkshire, and of old English lin- eage. Joseph Thompson emigrated to America in 1844, accompanied by his family of seven sons and two daughters. His wife's brother had located near Belleville, Ill., in 1830, and Mr. Thompson also set- tled there, engaging in farming for about eighteen months, his wife dying there in the fall of 1844. In April, 1845, he removed to Lafayette county, Wis., and followed farming there until his death in 1852.

On May 2, 1862, Job Thompson went to Colo- rado, where he located in Central City and mined until February 17, 1863, when he left Denver for Bannack City, the only mining camp then existing in Montana. In the party there were five teams and later Dr. Steele and others at Fort Bridger joined them. Mr. Thompson had become well acquainted with Dr. Steele in Colorado. At Fort Bridger, WVyo., the party encountered Gen. Connor, who had just had a fight with the Snake Indians in Cache valley, and considered it unsafe for the company to proceed farther until its number was largely aug- mented. They accordingly remained at the fort ten days, when the party had increased to about 170 individuals. The company was organized in military form by Capt. Hugh O'Neil, well known to old-timers, and they proceeded on their journey, and arrived in Bannack City on April 7, 1863, with- out unusual experiences. Here Mr. Thompson and three others purchased mining claims which they worked with fair success. On November 5, 1863, Mr. Thompson started to go to Wisconsin to bring

his family to Montana. He drove his ox team and had one companion who made the original trip with him from Denver. Provisions were very scarce at Bannack, and at the time of starting they had very little food, their expectation being to secure supplies from incoming trains. Train after train, however. refused to sell them provisions, and at last they found themselves without food, and for two days and three nights their only sustenance was pro- curred by cutting strips from their rawhide lariats and chewing them. They traveled day and night, and one night they discerned a light which they found to emanate from an Indian camp.

So exigent was their demand for food that they visited the camp, finding the Indians friendly, but unable to supply them with any provisions except a peck of potatoes, for which they paid in shot and powder. They were so hungry that they did not wait for the potatoes to boil, and all of the party were made very ill for a time by the practically 1111- cooked food. The Indians informed them that af- ter one more sleep they would find white men who would supply them with food, and before sundown they came to Box Elder settlement and here Bishop Lovell entertained them with the utmost generosity, providing a supper that Mr. Thompson declares was better than any other he has eaten in his life. The party again paid the penalty for over-indulgence in another temporary illness, but then completed the journey without further difficulty. They sold their outfit at Salt Lake City and took Ben Holli- day's stage to Denver, the fare for the trip being $110 each, and they worked their passage. This was the holiday season and while en route the drivers would unharness the teams and start off for a dance in some primitive settlement, leaving the passengers in the stage to endure the intense cold as best they might.

Mr. Thompson finally arrived at his destination and made ready for returning in the spring. In 1861, before starting for Colorado, Mr. Thompson had gone to Shellsburg, Wis., to enlist for service in the Civil war, but as the Wisconsin contingent for the first call for volunteers had been filled, he found no opening, and therefore went west. On his return Mr. Thompson came by the Bridger route, and settled in Virginia City, where he engaged in mining during 1864, and in June, 1865, removed to Blackfoot City, in Ophir gulch, where he continued mining with varying success. On October 23, 1865, he removed to the Missouri valley, being the first to take up a homestead there, and this place is still

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in his possession. He has here devoted his attention to very successful raising of horses and cattle, his ranch being well improved and one of the best in this section. The home ranch is located within one and one-half miles of Townsend, his postoffice ad- dress, and he has another ranch in Dry Creek ba- sin, also in Broadwater county.

In the spring of 1866 Mr. Thompson was cor- ralled by eighteen Blackfeet Indians, who shot a number of arrows about him, hoping to cause him to abandon his horse, but he refused to take this re- course, and they finally designated him as a brave white man, and rode away without molesting him further. The Indians manifested no little hostility during the years from 1865 to 1870, and alarnis were of frequent occurrence, but they did little dam- age in their marauding trips except to steal horses and cattle. Large bands of Nez Perces, Flatheads and Pend d'Oreilles used to pass through in large numbers each fall to the Musselshell and Yellow- stone rivers, in search of buffalo, and they would return in the spring laden with jerked meats, hides, furs, etc. They gave little trouble, but occasionally they would secure "fire-water" in Helena, and they would then become turbulent, and steal whatever articles they could carry off. While Broadwater county was yet a part of Meagher, Mr. Thompson served for some time as county commissioner, be- ing chairman of the board for one or more terms. He has been a Republican since 1856, and frater- nally holds membership in the Order of United Workmen. It is a matter of fact that in Broad- water county no citizen is held in higher esteem than this honored pioneer. On May 18, 1858, at New Diggings, Lafayette county, Wis., Mr. Thomp- son was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Calvert, born in County Durham, England, whence she had accompanied her parents to Wisconsin. Of their children we enter brief record : William T., whose marriage to Isabella Andrews was solemnized in 1888, has five children and resides within a few miles of the parental homestead ; Isabella died in in- fancy; Joseph is at Dillon, Mont .; Job, Jr., Henry who died in 1868; Charles C., F. Leslie, Lizzie O., who is the wife of Fletcher Sparling, of Red Lodge, Carbon county, and Benjamn F.

RUFUS THOMPSON .- One of the honored pioneers of the state who has attained success as a farmer in the beautiful Gallatin valley, Mr. Thompson well merits representation in this vol-

ume, though it can scarcely be said that he stands as a type of the farmer so quaintly portrayed by his own cousin, the eminent comedian, Denman Thompson, the creator of the title role in the well known drama, "Josh Whitcomb." Our sub- ject, though advanced in years, is a man of strong intellectual force and progressive methods. He is a native of Cheshire county, N. H., where he was born on January 16, 1829, the son of Otis and Polly (Hunt) Thompson, the former born in Con- necticut, whence he removed to Pennsylvania and later to Green county, Wis., where his death oc- curred in 1900 at the patriarchial age of ninety- two years. He devoted his active life to agricultural pursuits, and at the time of his demise was a resi- dent of Brooklyn, Wis. The mother of our sub- ject was born in Vermont, and died in Wiscon- sin in 1891, aged seventy-eight years. Otis and Polly Thompson became the parents of seven chil- dren, of whom three are now living. The paternal grandparents of Mr. Thompson were Timothy and Polly (Aldrich) Thompson, who were born in New England, whence they emigrated to Pennsylvania and thence, in 1845, to Wisconsin, becoming pion- eers of that state and there passing the residue of their days. His son, Otis, father of our subject, took up his residence in that state in the succeed- ing year.

Rufus Thompson received his education in the common schools, and accompanied his parents on their successive removals to Pennsylvania, New York and Wisconsin. He devoted his attention to farming pursuits in his youth and early manhood, and thus became familiar with life on the frontier. He was with Col. Donovan when that officer crossed the plains to do service in the Mexican war, and when they arrived at Santa Fe, N. M., Kit Carson brought them the information of the close of the war. Mr. Thompson then accom- panied Carson on the return trip to St. Louis, where he remained for a time, going to the parental home in Wisconsin in the spring of 1848. He was thereafter in that state, Minnesota and Iowa, at different intervals up to 1859, when the gold excitement at Pike's Peak, Colo., drew him to that section, which he had visited twelve years previously, and where he recalled many places on his second visit, especially points where sol- diers had been buried. Mr. Thompson remained in Colorado until April, 1863, when he started for Montana, attracted by the reports of the great gold deposits discovered in Alder gulch, the present

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site of Virginia City, arriving on the 22d of July, and engaged in placer mining. In 1865 he joined the stampede of miners to Grizzly gulch, near the present city of Helena; two years later, in 1867, he took up his abode on a ranch in Gal- latin valley, having entered claim to the same in 1863, while on a prospecting tour. His first house, built of logs, was 18x24 feet in dimensions and had only a dirt floor. He had been married but a few weeks when he brought his wife to this primitive home. Here they lived four years, when a frame house was erected, and later a more pretentious residence replaced the second one. He still retains the old homestead, and in 1891 pur- chased adjoining land, so that his estate now com- prises 840 acres, all improved and under effective cultivation. The ranch is located four miles north of Belgrade, his postoffice address.

In matters political Mr. Thompson maintains an independent attitude. His first presidential vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln, for his first term, and he voted for Harrison at the first presi- dential election held (1892) after the admission of Montana to statehood. Thus in national affairs he supports the Republican party, but in local mat- ters is independent. Mr. Thompson is a member of the state and county pioneers societies, and is honored as one of the sterling pioneers of Mon- tana. November 6, 1865, Mr. Thompson was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. McDonald, a sister of Mrs. Jacob Weaver, to whom reference is made elsewhere in this work, and we refer the reader thereto for the genealogy of Mrs. Thomp- son. Our subject and his wife were the parents of sixteen children, and all living with the excep- tion of one daughter, Clara E., who became the wife of Henry Barrett, and who died at the age of twenty-eight years, leaving six children. Five of the children of our subject are married, and he and his wife now have thirty-six grandchildren, the eldest of whom is about fourteen years of age. The names of the surviving children of Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are: Benjamin F., Dora C., wife of Wm. F. Miller, of Gallatin county ; John Edwin, Floy E., wife of Reuben Johnston, of Flathead county ; Olive May, wife of Solomon Murray; Amos Walter, Warren A., Rufus B., Frederick A., Henry O., Charles A., Herman E., Polly E., Martha Ida and Laura A.

The maternal grandparents of our subject were William and Mary Hunt, both of whom were born in New England, and both died in Cheshire county,

N. H., from the infirmities incidental to advanced age, both nearly four score years old at time of death. The paternal grandfather of Mr. Thomp- son was an active participant in the war of the Revolution, and our subject still has the old flint- lock gun which he carried in that conflict. The father of our subject, though in advanced years at the time, showed his loyalty by serving in the war of the Rebellion, responding to the first call for volunteers, and becoming a member of the Eighth Wisconsin Infantry, his company being commanded by Capt. Ellsworth. He served under Gen. Grant, and was discharged in 1864 on ac- count of impaired health.

W D. TALBOT, now at the head of the Jeffer- son City, Mont., postal system, first came to the state in 1887, and his has been a busy and not uneventful career. In the prime of life and thor- oughly equipped in a business and social way for all its duties, he is in a position to enjoy the un- doubted success that he has achieved. He was born at Marengo, Iowa, January 3, 1854. . His father, Joseph Talbot, was a native of Indiana and became a pioneer of Iowa under most distinguished circum- stances. During the Mexican war he served as color bearer, for which he received from the United States government a grant of land in Marengo township, Iowa county, Iowa. The land he im- proved and successfully farmed and was elected county treasurer, but he died before the time when he was to take his office. In 1853 he was married to Miss Sarah A. Hench, also a native of Iowa, and to them were born four daughters and one son, W. D. Talbot, who received his education in the public schools and at the close of his school days engaged in the hardware business, dealing in ag- ricultural implements also. In 1885 he removed to Nebraska and turned his attention to the purchase and sale of horses. Two years were passed in that state, and then, in 1887, he removed to Montana, coming direct to Helena. Here he was employed by the Bald Butte and other mining companies un- til 1894. Mr. Talbot then went to Jefferson City in Jefferson county, and opened a general store. In this business he lias met with unqualified suc- cess and still conducts it, carrying a large and well selected stock. In 1895 he received the appoint- ment of postmaster, which position he still retains. Mr. Talbot is a man of superior business abilit ..

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This has been demonstrated in a variety of success- ful enterprises which he has undertaken and carried to successful completion. He is a man of sterling worth and the highest probity, so acknowledged by a host of warm personal friends. He has one daugh- ter, Sarah A. Talbot, at present attending the high school at Helena, by his marriage to Miss Nettie Weeks, who was also a native of Iowa. Politically Mr. Talbot affiliates with the Republican party, in whose campaigns he manifests a lively interest. He belongs also to the order of United Workmen.

JOHN C. TINTINGER .- One of the most attrac- tive ranch properties in Carbon county is that owned by John C. Tintinger, situated five miles west of the village of Absarokee. Mr. Tintinger is a young man of progressive and successful meth- On February 27, 1901, Mr. Tintinger was married ods in farming and stockraising, which have made . to Miss Sidney F. Hinton, of Kossuth county, Iowa, the daughter of R. A. Hinton, of that state. Their married life was brief, as Mrs. Tintinger died on October 8, 1901, mourned by a wide circle of friends who had been won by her gentle, womanly character.

him worthy of being associated in a work devoted to the annals of other builders of our commonwealth. Mr. Tintinger is of French lineage, and was born in Peoria, Ill., on December 17, 1860, the son of Nicholas and Marie (Ludwig) Tintinger, both of the province of Lorraine, France. In 1856 Nicholas Tintinger removed with his family to America, lo- cating first in Connecticut, and shortly after in the state of Illinois, remaining in Peoria until 1862, after which he made several changes, coming finally, in 1885, to Montana and locating on Big Timber creek, Sweet Grass county, where he has since en- gaged in the cultivation of sheep and in general ranching, occupying himself diligently.

John C. Tintinger received a common school ed- ucation up to the age of sixteen, when he made his way to the northwest territory, remaining about two years. He then located in Pine county. Minn., and was employed in the lumber camps of that district during the winters, going thence to Minneapolis, his headquarters until 1885, when he came to Mon- tana and entered the employ of Urner Brothers, working on their extensive ranch in Sweet Grass county for two years. Securing a band of sheep he began operations on his own responsibility, de- voting two years to the enterprise, when he disposed of his interests, the venture having proved very suc- cessful. He then entered into partnership with his brother and engaged in the hotel business in Big Timber, under the firm title of Tintinger Brothers. He closed out this business in one year and passed the ensuing summer as clerk in the Big Timber

hotel. He then, in partnership with W. E. Ander- son, engaged in the sheep business, locating on Still- water creek, where the business was conducted until 1898, the partnership being dissolved by mutual consent, Mr. Tintinger continuing the business on his own account. Mr. Tintinger has a valuable ranch property, well improved and supplied with effective irrigation. He is known as one of the up- right and progressive farmers and stockgrowers of this section of the state, raising chiefly the Merino type of sheep, and securing large annual yields of hay from his ranch, whose area is 160 acres, from which, in 1900, he raised eight tons of alfalfa to the acre. Fraternally he is a Freemason and a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. His course has been such that he commands uniform confidence and esteem in the community, and he is recognized as one of the representative men of this section.

J D. THOMPSON .- Born at Wilmington, Ill., May 9, 1858, and coming to Montana in 1884, Mr. Thompson has given nearly all of his mature life to the development and improvement of his adopted state. His father, David C. Thompson, was a native of Wigdonshire, Scotland, who came to America when he was fourteen years old, and from 1851 to his death in 1894 was engaged in manufacturing carriages and wagons in New York and Illinois. His wife, the mother of the subject of this narrative, was Helen M. Resley, a native of Syracuse, N. Y., who died at Lockprot, in Ill- inois, February 9, 1895. Mr. Thompson attended school at Wilmington, Ill., until he was seven- teen years old, and then worked with his father eight years in the carriage and wagon manufactory. In 1884 he removed to Sun River, Mont., where he worked two years on a ranch near Augusta. In 1886 he and his brother, F. W. Thompson, went to Washington territory and bought a flock of sheep, which they brought to Sun river. They were engaged in the sheep business for six years on Symme's creek, and then sold their ranch and divided the sheep, J. D. locating on his present ranch, seven miles from Havre on Bull Hook

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creek. There he has 800 acres extending for a distance of five miles along the creek, his ranch being one of the finest in this part of the coun- try. His average flock of sheep numbers from 10,000 to 12,000, and the breeds and quality are of the best. He has a handsome residence in Havre, where he lives with his sister.

Mr. Thompson is an active Republican in polit- ical faith, and neglects no opportunity to advance, as far as he can, the welfare of the party. He is recognized as a man of excellent judgment and common sense, and has great influence in party counsels. In the fall of 1896 he was elected county commissioner of Choteau county for a term of four years, and discharged the duties of the office with credit to himself and advantage to the county. In fraternal relations he owes allegiance to three orders-Masons, Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. In the first he belongs to Havre Lodge No. 55, having been transferred to it from Chinook No. 50; in the second he is a member of Assin- niboine Lodge No. 56, and in the third, Allen- dale Lodge No. 35. He is an active and useful member in all, and in other relations is well es- teemed.

ACOB TITMAN, of Toston, Broadwater county, J is one of the early pioneers of Montana who fought their way across the plains in 1866, sleeping in rifle pits at night and engaging in occasional skir- mishes with Indians by day. He is now a prosper- ous ranchman, with the evidences of financial suc- cess and solidity all round him. He was born in December, 1837, at Hope, N. J., where his father, Barclay Titman, was also born, and where he mar- ried, in 1833, Miss Ellen Hagerty, a native of Sus- sex county. Shortly before his marriage Barclay Tit- man purchased 150 acres of land, three miles from the Titman homestead, and here engaged in agri- culture until his death. He was a son of Jacob Tit- man, born in Warren county, N. J., who was a son of George Titman, also a native of Warren county. The father of George Titman came to America in 1737 when he was eleven years old, with his father, Loadwick Titman, a native of Saxony, Germany,who purchased 480 acres of land in New Jersey where he located and developed a fine estate, which remained in the Titman family 107 years and was sold in 1844.

In 1775 Jacob Titman, grandfather of the exem- plary Toston resident, purchased 300 acres of land in New Jersey which is now in the possession of

his descendants. A quiet family of industrious and peaceful tendencies, it is probable it took no active part in the Revolution, but one of its members was a valiant soldier in the war with England in 1812.

Jacob Titman, of Toston, received his early edu- cation in subscription schools, public schools not having been established, and he continued his studies at the famous academy at Blairstown. Following his graduation he removed to Lancaster, Pa., where he taught school two years. He then went to the Pennsylvania oil fields, in which he took an active interest in the summer of 1865: In 1866 he started from Iowa for Montana with ox teams. In the party were 144 men and a few women and children. In the Yellowstone country they had a number of brushes with the Indians, but excepting the loss of seven horses they did not suffer. As soon as the day's "trekking" was over and the wagons and teams "outspanned," as they say in the South African veldt, rifle pits were dug, and each man took his turn on guard as the train was never left without protection. Mr. Titman accounts for the slight trouble they had by the fact that the Indians were then receiving their supplies from the United States government, and the most of them were at the gov- ernment posts and away from the overland trail. On August 5, 1866, the party arrived at Bozeman. From here Mr. Titman went to Helena, where in summer months he engaged in mining, while in the winter he taught school.

In the spring of 1870 he removed to Townsend, purchased 160 acres of land, which he cultivated onc year and sold, then rented the 160 acres where he now resides. This property he subsequently bought and has increased in acreage from time to time until he now has 980 acres and, while engaged in general farming, he usually winters 100 head of stock. On June 22, 1881, at Lancaster, Pa., Mr. Titman was united in marriage to Miss Hannah Scott, a daugh- ter of Franklin Scott, a prosperous farmer. A strong Republican, in 1886 Mr. Titman was elected to the Montana legislature, serving one term. In 1898 he was a candidate for county commissioner of Broadwater county, and received a large compli- mentary vote. In 1900 he was a candidate for county treasurer and led his party ticket by fifty votes. Fraternally he is identified with the Ma- sonic order. Mr. Titman is a gentleman of upright character and highly respected. There were only three children in his father's family, one sister is deceased, while the other lives in New Jersey, three miles from the Titman homestead.

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LJAROLD TILLISON .- Mr. Tillison was born in Norway, December 3, 1855, the son of Ga- briel and Caroline (Peterson) Tillison, of the same nativity, both born in 1814. The former was a fore- man on farms and in iron foundries in his native country, and died there in 1895. His wife had pre- ceded him to the other world one year, having died in 1894. Mr. Tillison was educated at the town of Beerum, Norway, and came to the United States when he was nineteen years old, locating first at Eau Claire, Wis., where he followed the trade of a blacksmith for five years. In 1880 he came to Montana, locating in that part of Custer county which is now Rosebud, where in 1881 he took up a homestead on the north side of the Yellowstone river, nearly opposite the town of Rosebud, where he engaged in farming and stockraising for seven years, and still owns the ranch. In the meantime, in- 1884, he built the second house put up in Rose- bud, which was a blacksmith and wheelwright shop, in which he carried on a profitable business from 1884 to 1889. In the spring of 1889 he went to Alaska and engaged in mining on Forty-mile creek, Stewart river and Six-mile creek until 1891. Re- turning to Rosebud, he continued blacksmithing for two years, and in the fall of 1893 removed to the Tongue river agency, Cheyenne reservation, where he has since been government blacksmith.

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 53

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