Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 64

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 64

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As Elder Buck is very much interested in and has faithfully maintained his peculiar religious be- lief at the sacrifice of money, position, pleasure and even friends, he desires to have a few words expressive of his faith published in connection with his biography. He is a firm believer in con- ditional immortality, which view, while it is not popular, has been held by some of the most learned men of the age, such as C. L. Ives, presi- dent of Yale College ; Prof. Hudson, author of the Greek concordance used by the recent revisers of the English Bible; Prof. White, of London Uni- versity, and Mr. Tyndal and other great translators of the Holy Scriptures. His views may be stated as follows :

I. Man, made to live forever if obedient, lost the opportunity of living forever by believing Satan's lie, "Thou shalt not surely die" (Gen. iii :4), instead of believing God's "Thou shalt surely die" (Gen. ii:17), and thus, becoming a sinner by dis- obedience and unbelief, was shut away from the tree of life "lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever." Therefore the Lord sent him forth from the gar- den (Gen. iii:21-23). Thus God would avoid the responsibility of having immortal sinners whom he could never destroy, for even sinners would have eaten of the tree of life and had an everlasting life of misery and woe. So God shut

man from the tree of life and made him come to his Son by faith and obedience in order to secure eternal life. And thus only the good can live for- ever; and the wicked will consequently be cut off from eternal life, as expressed by Jesus in Matt. xxv :46, "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal." Their punishment will indeed be everlasting, with- out end, lasting as long as the "eternal life" of the righteous. But they are opposites. One class receives the "gift of God," which "is eternal life through Jesus Christ" (Rom. vi:23), and the other class the "wages of sin," which "is death," and this causes their "everlasting destruction from the presence of God." And as God is everywhere "the wicked shall not be" (Ps. xxxvii :10).

The word punishment is a translation of the Greek word kolasis, which means to cut off, prune, etc. And as the English word punishment has for one of its first meanings, loss of life, it is used to render kolasis, the word used by Jesus. So the wicked are cut off from life as long as the right- eous enjoy it, that is, eternally. So Jesus tells us the wicked are to be destroyed in Gehenna (hell) which was burning on earth during his life here, and is described as the place where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched (Mark ix :44), and which Jesus taught would be rekindled at the last day on this earth, and as a great "lake of fire" would be the receptacle of all the wicked (Luke xvii :28-29, Rev. xx :15), "which are to be burned up with unquenchable fire" (Matt. iii :12), "which is the second death" (Rev. xxi :8). If the person dies, the worm lives; if the person lives, the worm dies. 2. "The earth shall be made new" (Rev. xx :5), "and be the eternal abode of the saints, or the meek shall inherit the earth" (Matt. v:5). "We, according to his promise, look for a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth right- eousness" (II Peter, iii :13). A pattern of the new earthly kingdom was given to Peter, James and John, when they saw Moses in his resurrected capacity, to represent the resurrected dead, and Elias, changed without death, to represent those who will be alive when Jesus comes again, and the mountain shining with glory to represent the future home of the saints.

3. The resurrection was the hope of God's people in all the ages; and Jesus taught it to the Sadducees, who had hitherto denied it, by quoting what God said to Moses, "I am the God of Abra- ham, Isaac and Jacob," and as God is not a God of

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the dead, Jesus taught their re-living, beginning his argument with "now that the dead are raised" (Luke xx:37), showing that he was proving a resurrection, not a present immortality.

4. While there are present blessings while in the church, which is Christ's body, of which we are all component parts, as explained by Paul in Rom. xii :4-5, "We being many are one body in Christ," yet we desire to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven, viz .: immortality, "that mortality might be swallowed up of life," that is, changed to immortality. If absence from the physical body were required in order that we might be present with the Lord, there could be no resurrection of the physical body; for while we are in the body we are absent from the Lord. The church militant is the body; the church triumph- ant, immortalized, is never so called.

5. We must have a present assurance of solu- tion. As Jesus said to the dying thief, when asked to be remembered when Christ shall come again, "Verily I say unto thee today, shalt thou be with me in Paradise." (Commas should follow the verbs they modify; and as commas are not inspired and were not in the Scriptures until the sixteenth century, they should not be allowed to mar the meaning of any text. Sec Jolin xx :17, for further explanation.)

In short, the Elder has spent his life in trying to show the people that they must lay hold on eternal life, and seek immortality; and in teach- ing them also that the signs of Christ's second coming are around and among us-the angered nations (Rev. xi:18), the raging of the sea (Luke xxi :25), the fears of science (Luke xxi :26), the darkening of the sun May 19, 1780, the falling of the stars in November, 1833, the cry of labor against capital (James v:4), the follies of the church as described in II Tim. iii:1-8, and many other things are premonitions of the return of Christ to reward his people, when the spirit which returneth to God at death, by way of possession, will be given back to man, so that he will again be able to think and act and be conscious of the glory which God will give to his people (Ezek. xxxvii :14).

EDWARD CHRISTIAN .- On the ancient and picturesque Isle of Man, in the Irish sea, the subject of this review was ushered into the world, on the 2d of July, 1866, and his career has shown

him to be possessed of the energetic ability and sturdy integrity so characteristic of the Manx- men. Mr. Christian is one of the progressive and successful sheepgrowers of Choteau county, and as one of the representative young men of that sec- tion of the state, is well worthy of consideration in this connection. Mr. Christian is a son of Silas and Elizabeth (Clucas) Christian, both natives of the Isle of Man, and here the family has been es- tablished for many generations. The father of our subject was born in the year 1804, and he is a prominent merchant in the city of Douglas, being also extensively concerned in agricultural enter- prises in his native isle. The mother of our sub- ject was born in 1814 and is now deceased. The Isle of Man was long held as a feudal sovereignty by the earls of Derby and later by the dukes of Athol, from whom it was purchased for the Brit- ish crown in 1806, but the ancestors of our sub- ject purchased land from the dukes of Athol at the rate of two cents per acre.

Edward Christian received his educational dis- cipline in the parochial schools of the city of Douglas, where he continued his studies until he had attained the age of twelve years, when he en- tered upon an apprenticeship at the trade of plas- terer, serving four and one-half years and becom- ing a skillful artisan in this line. In 1884, at the age of eighteen years, he determined to try his fortunes in America, being convinced that here were afforded superior opportunities for the at- taining of success through individual effort. Upon arriving in the United States he made his way to the city of Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained but a short time, locating in Helena, Mont., in May of the same year. There he remained until 1887, when he went to California, where he was en- gaged in the work of his trade, at Los Angeles and Ventura, for a period of one year. In June, 1889, he returned to Helena, and thereafter was en- gaged in the work of contract plastering in that city and in Bozeman and Deer Lodge until 1891. He passed the winter of that year in Los Angeles, and the following summer at Deer Lodge and Anaconda, Mont., while in the winter of 1893 he visited his old liome on the Isle of Man. In the spring of the following year he came to the region of the Sweet Grass hills, in Choteau county, locating two miles from the village of Gold Butte, Here he now has 1,500 acres of land, which he utilizes as a sleep ranch, conducting operations upon an extensive scale, usually running on the

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range an average band of 3,000 to 7,000 sleep, the same being of fine grade and of the type best adapted to the climate of northern Montana. He also raises catttle, though not in large numbers. Mr. Christian is a man of energetic and progres- sive spirit, has shown excellent discretion and business acumen, and is known as one of the rep- resentative young ranchmen of this locality, where he is well known and highly esteemed.

In his political proclivities Mr. Christian is an unwavering supporter of the principles and pol- icies of the Republican party and he maintains a lively interest in political affairs and in all else that touches the advancement and material pros- perity of the county and state. Fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order, being a member of Deer Lodge No. 14, A. F. & A. M., and Valley Chapter No. 4, R. A. M., at Deer Lodge.

In the city of Great Falls, on the 4th of August, 1898, Mr. Christian was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Monahan, who was born in Arkan- sas, and they are the parents of three children, Edward Gordon, Margaret Elizabeth and Helen.

R OBERT CHRISTIAN .- In the sketch of the life of his brother, just preceding this, due reference has been made to the genealogy of this sterling Manxman, who is duly entitled to repre- sentation in this compilation. Robert Christian was born on the Isle of Man, England, on the 20th of August, 1859, and there received his educational discipline, after which he learned the trade of mason. He continued to follow his trade in his native land until 1882, when he came to the United States, locating in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, which continued to be his home and field of oper- ations until 1883, when he came to Montana, lo- cating in the capital city, where he made his home for a period of eleven years, during which time he followed his trade. In 1894 he came to Choteau county and located in the Sweet Grass hills dis- trict, near the village of Gold Butte, where he now has a valuable ranch of 1,300 acres, and here he has since been successfully engaged in the rais- ing of sheep, being pleased with the results of his efforts since identifying himself with this import- ant line of industry, to which the northern part of the state is so particularly adapted. In politics Mr. Christian gives his support to the Republican party. He is unmarried.

H ON. WILLIAM A. CHESSMAN .- Coming to Montana in 1865, and living continuously in the state and territory since that time, the subject of these paragraphs has long been recognized as one of the leading business men and developers in this sec- tion of the country, being identified with many com- mercial enterprises of moment and importance, and being active and prominent in political circles and in connection with many public improvements. He was born August 19, 1830, at Weymouth, Norfolk county, Mass. His early education was obtained in the district schools of his native state, and while he was yet in his 'teens he was attracted to the far west, landing in San Francisco December 21, 1849. He soon afterward began operations as a miner, which he continued in that state until April, 1865, when he came to Montana, locating first at Alder gulch and subsequently at Helena, where he settled in Novem- ber of that year. He secured by purchase several claims, to which he added from time to time, work- ing them all to advantage and later selling them at a handsome profit. Some time afterward he pur- chased water privileges and began re-washing the tailings of the first workings of the placer mines for which the place was famous. This proved to be a very profitable business and he kept at it until he had acquired title to some 200 acres of land, and as the Montana Central Railroad was built about this time, his land became more valuable for building purposes than for mining.

Mr. Chessman was one of the originators of the Consolidated Water Company, and for a long time was vice-president of the Helena Electric Street Railway Company. Besides these interests he has been for many years largely engaged in mining and stockraising. He is president of the Bald Butte Mining Company, of which he owns the bulk of the stock, and is also interested in quartz mining. He has borne a leading and very helpful part in improv- ing Helena and developing its resources. As a busi- ness man he is enterprising and progressive, but is at the same time conservative and careful.

In politics he is a Republican and has been promi- nent in the service and councils of his party. He served five terms in the territorial legislature and was also a member of the constitutional convention of 1889. Fraternally he is a thirty-second-degree Mason and a member of the California Pioneers. He was married in 1875 to Miss Penelope New Hall, of Galena, Ill., the daughter of a prominent and successful physician of that city. They have two children living, Susan B. and Frank N.

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G EORGE CHRISTY .- A Scotchman in ances- try, a Canadian by birth and a citizen of the United States by adoption, George Christy, the sub- ject of this review, has used his opportunities to ad- . vantage and demonstrated in his successful and creditable career the fineness and strength of the fiber from which he sprang. He was born April 6, 1836, in the province of Ontario, Canada, the son of John and Isabel Christy, natives of Scotland and pa- rents of eleven children, of whom our subject was the tenth. His education was secured in his native land, where he attended the public schools until he was sixteen years old. He learned the trade of a cabinetmaker at Ottawa, where he served an appren- ticeship of four years and worked one year as a journeyman. He came to the United States in 1856, three years later went to South Dakota and in 1879 came to Montana and located near Stevensville. He was a tenant on a ranch for three years, after which he took up a pre-emption claim of 160 acres a mile north of Woodside, where he has been ever since, do- ing general ranching and raising cattle with grati- fying success.

In political relations Mr. Christy yields allegiance to the Republican party, and takes an active interest in its success. In fraternal relations he is identi- fied with the Masonic order, being a Master Mason. He was married in 1871, at Elk Point, South Da- kota, to Miss Louisa Wilson, and has seven children, namely, Elmira, Martha (now Mrs. Thomas Por- ter), William J., Charles, Frederick, Alexander and Thomas. He has a pleasant home, an interesting family, an abiding interest in local affairs pertaining to the welfare of the community, and a lofty ideal of citizenship which has won for him the esteem of all his fellow citizens.

F RANK E. SMITH, ex-county attorney of Fer- gus county, is a native of Saratoga county, N. Y., where he was born on the 16th of January, 1863, being the son of Elias H. and Elizabeth (Jen- nings) Smith, both of whom were likewise born in the old Empire state. Elias H. Smith was a mill- wright by trade but devoted his attention to farm- ing for a number of years, while still later he fol- lowed contracting and building. He passed his entire life in the state of New York, and there also his widow is residing. They were the parents of four sons and two daughters, all of whom reside in New York, except Frank and his sister, Mrs. J. M. Vrooman, who also resides in Lewistown.

Frank E. Smith was reared at Schenectady, N. Y., there securing his educational training in the public schools and the noted Union College, at Schenectady. In 1883 he matriculated in the Al- bany Law School, and was graduated therefrom as a member of the class of 1884, and was admitted to the bar of the state in the same year. He there established himself in practice and remained for two years. In March, 1886, he came to Helena, Mont., and thence, shortly afterward, to Lewis- town, where he has since been in active practice, controlling a large and representative business. He is a close student, and careful in the handling of his cases. In the office of county attorney he has served a greater number of years than any other incumbent of the office, having been first elected to the position in November, 1886, and by consecutive re-elections continuing in the office until 1892. In 1894 he was again chosen county attorney and served until 1896, when he became the candidate of his party for judge of the district court, meeting with defeat at the polls. In 1897 Mr. Smith was once more county attorney, having been appointed to fill a vacancy, and was elected as his own successor in 1898 and held the office un- til 1900. In 1900 he was also a candidate in the Republican convention for attorney-general of the state, an office for which he was ably equipped, but did not secure the nomination. From the offices he has held it will be seen that Mr. Smith com- mands the respect and confidence of his profession- al confreres and the general public.

Mr. Smith has ever been a zealous supporter of the Republican party, and has ably stumped the state in various campaigns. He is a prominent and popular member of the Masonic fraternity, be- ing the right worshipful grand warden of the grand lodge of the state in 1900, and in 1901 he held the exalted position of right worthy deputy grand mas- ter of the Grand Lodge. He is also grand master of the third veil of the grand chapter of Royal Arch Masons. He has advanced to the chivalric de- grees in York Rite masonry, and holds member- ship in Black Eagle Commandery No. 8, Knights Templar, at Great Falls. He is past high priest of his chapter in Lewistown and past master of Lewistown Lodge No. 37, A. F. & A. M. He is also identified with the Knights of Pythias, being a past chancellor of Judith Lodge No. 30; with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, in which he is past exalted ruler of the Lewistown Lodge; and with the Woodmen of the World, in which he

.. .

Frank & Smith

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is past counsel commander. Mr. Smith enjoys distinctive popularity in professional, fraternal and social circles throughout the state.

On the 20th of January, 1890, Mr. Smith was united in marriage with Miss Nathalie Belanger, who was born in Montana, the daughter of Louis and Nathalie Belanger, who were among the early pioneers of Montana, whither they came in 1863, locating in Silver Bow county, where she was born. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have five children-Gerard J., Nathalie, Eloise, Frank and Otis.

twenty-one years, was admitted to practice at the bar of the state of New York. He forthwith removed to the west, locating in Peru, Ill., and being numbered among the earliest practitioners of law in that section, where he early formed the acquaintance of Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, Judge David Davis, Lyman Trumbull and the hosts of others whose distinguished names lend perpetual lustre to the history of the bench and bar of Illinois. In 1864 he made a trip to Atchison, Kan., which was then a small frontier town, and after remaining a short time in the little village he continued his journey to Salt Lake City, making the trip on one of the coaches of Ben. Holliday, the veteran stage man of the northwest. He did not tarry long in city of the Latter Day Saints, but continued his journey westward to Montana and establishing him- self as a pioneer lawyer in old Virginia City, where

TILLIAM CHUMASERO .- In one of the most exacting of the learned professions the sub- ject of this memoir attained marked distinction and he was for many years the leader of the bar in Montana, while the present capital city of the state was his home for a period of nearly thirty years. . he remained about one year, within which time he At all times he was known for his absolute integrity of purpose, his lofty principles and his strict ad- herence to the ethics which govern all human exist- ence. These qualities won him an exalted place in the esteem of his fellow men, and as a lawyer and a man he was honored as one whose career was un- shadowed by any esoteric phases, challenging the closest scrutiny. Thoroughly versed in the science of jurisprudence, having a deep appreciation of the dignity and responsibilities of his profession and ever ordering his life upon an exalted plane, it is imperative that a tribute be here accorded to his memory as one of the pioneers and most distin- guished legists of Montana. served as district attorney. In 1865 Mr. Chu- masero located in Helena, which continued to be his home until his death, which occurred February 23, 1893. Here he entered upon the active practice of his profession and his distinguished talents and forceful personality soon gained to him marked prestige, which proved of cumulative order, since he became a leader at the bar of the territory and state, retaining a large and representative clientage and being ever animated by a fidelity of purpose and inflexibility of integrity that commanded the respect of all classes. In 1868 he associated himself in prac- tice with W. F. Chadwick, under the firm name of Chumasero & Chadwick, and this alliance obtained William Chumasero was a native of England, where he was born in the year 1818, the son of Isaac and Frances (Chamberlain) Chumasero, both representatives of sterling and influential old fam- ilies. Isaac Chumasero was by vocation a banker and broker, conducting an extensive business in both London and Nottingham, in which latter place his wife was born, he himself being a native of Hol- land and a scion of one of the influential families of the Netherlands. In 1829 he came with his family to America, locating in Rochester, N. Y. In this beautiful city of the Empire state William Chu- masero, the immediate subject of this sketch, re- ceived superior educational advantages, and here al- so he began the work of preparing himself for that profession in which he was destined to attain so much of eminence and honor. Under effective pre- ceptorage he devoted himself assiduously to the technical study of law, and in 1839, at the age of until the election of Mr. Chadwick to the territorial legislature, in 1877, subsequent to which time he conducted an individual practice. His clientage included some of the largest mining and other cor- porations, whose legal business he handled with a skill and fidelity that gained to him the plaudits of his professional confreres and the highest of repu- tation as a successful corporation lawyer. His ca- pacity seemed unlimited and his individuality was of that forceful order which holds no obstacle as insuperable, while he was duly conservative and possessed of an intuitive judgment and a broad knowledge of the law which made his council in- variably safe, while his powers as an advocate werc of equal potentiality. His career was one of signal honor, and in his death there passed away one of the most distinguished members of a bar which has been known from the early pioneer epoch as one of exceptional strength and ability in legal talents.

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On January 30, 1845, at Peru, Ill., was solem- nized the marriage of Mr. Chumasero to Miss Mary E. Brown, the daughter of Amos D. and Cornelia (Leonard) Brown, pioneer citizens of Illinois, whither they had removed from near Utica, N. Y. Of this union three children were born-Mary E., who became the wife of J. K. P. Miller ; Julia Kate, the widow of Col. C. A. Broadwater, also one of Montana's most distinguished pioneers, and one to whom due reference is made elsewhere in this work; and Miss Antoinnette, who is still with her wid- owed mother in the family home in Helena, as is also Mrs. Broadwater, both standing high in the esteem of the best people of the state.

married Matilda A. Price, of Albany, Ore. The family has been prominently connected with the development and upbuilding of the Willamette re- gion and all of the four children of the last marriage are residing in Oregon. The father died on July 18, 1895, at the venerable age of eighty-six.

An older brother of our subject, O. H. Churchill, resided for years at Sun River, Mont. He was one of the first extensive stockmen of the state and drove a band of cattle from Texas as early as 1870. He was active and influential in the settlement of the Sun River valley. A man of wonderful energy, he was an acknowledged leader in all popular move- ments. He emigrated to Los Angeles, Cal., in the 'eighties and engaged in banking. Another brother, David H. Churchill, located at Ulm about the same time. He was also a stockman and possessed, at the time of his death, in 1895, a large landed estate and was sheriff of Lewis and Clarke county about 1885, having been previously defeated as a candidate for the same office by James Gillpatrick by one vote. He was also well known and prominent in all pub- lic matters.

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 64

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