Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 66

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 66

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thought have manifested themselves in all her doings of life. She is naturally adapted to leading society and moulding the opinions and tastes of others, and she is pleasantly recognized by all as being well equipped for establishing a high stan- dard of moral excellence ; her home life is sunny and cheerful, and the spirit of gladness pervadcs all circles favored by her charming presence. Mrs. Davis is a most devoted companion for her hus- band and enters with enthusiasm into all the busi- ness enterprises that enlist his attention. To Mr. and Mrs. Davis have been born four children, two boys and two girls. The eldest son is a graduate of Yale College, and both of the sons have made the tour of the world. One daughter is married to Dr. McFarland, residing at Dawson City, Yukon territory. Mr. Davis is a man of strong character and great will power, contribut- ing his best efforts to any business matter in which he may be engaged. He is five feet eight inches tall, with a well developed frame, a large, well poised head, and an earnest, determined facc, strongly marked with individuality of character. He began at the initial point in his career with comparatively nothing but a strong constitution, a well developed mind and a character that could not be contaminated. Step by step he has risen, until now he occupies the proud position of one whose great ambition is that of doing what seems to him proper and right, regardless of all selfish interests. In all of the various positions of honor and trust which he has occupied there has never been a breath of suspicion against his integrity and fidelity to duty.

R ICHARD P. DEAN, one of the Montana pioneer mine prospectors, who has been emi- nently successful in this line of work, is now recog- nized as a leading stockgrower in Teton county, located on a valuable piece of property in the vicinity of Dupuyer. Here he is surrounded by all the comforts of a well-ordered home, with every convenience necessary for the lucrative pros- ecution of his business of cattleraising, and throughout the county he is regarded as an influ- ential citizen and a man of high integrity and great force of character. He was born at Black- burn, England, January 23, 1861, the son of Thomas and Margaret (Everett) Dean. The father was born at Blackburn in 1833, coming to the

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United States thirty years later, and settling at Troy, N. Y. He was a wheelwright by trade, and this occupation he followed in the Empire state until his removal to Montana in 1891, since which period he has been residing on a ranch near Dupuyer, Teton county. His wife, the mother of our subject, was born in County Connaught, Ire- land, and was united in marriage to Mr. Dean at Blackburn. She accompanied her husband to this county and died in Teton county in February, 1901.

In the city of Troy, N. Y., Richard P. Dean, our subject, attended the public schools, where he improved his opportunities to the best of his ability, but at the age of thirteen years, in 1877, he came west with his parents. During one year he remained in Minnesota, going thence to Wis- consin, and here he engaged in a variety of pur- suits, principally prospecting for ore among the iron ranges of that state. It was while he was employed by the Bad River Mining Company that Mr. Dean made the valuable discovery of the original iron mine on the Penoka range on Lake Superior. Man has been denominated by a cer- tain philosopher as a "bundle of habits," but his might readily be paraphrased as a "bundle of greed," for it is certain that soon after his import- ant discovery of so rich an ore bearing locality, Mr. Dean was discharged by the very company that subsequently profited so largely by his for- tunate "find," and he received no benefit from it whatever. After-developments proved the mine to be very valuable. During the year 1880 our subject came to Old Miles Town (now Miles City), Custer county, having previously passed a portion of 1878-9 in Dakota engaged in stock ranching. Soon after leaving Miles City, in 1880, Mr. Dean encountered some rather hazardous traveling ex- periences, including Indian troubles and difficulty with road agents, the latter being at that period almost as dangerous as the most hostile savages. On his arrival in the vicinity of Fort Maginnis he followed prospecting for a period of three years, and in 1884 discovered the celebrated Grouse creek placer mines in the Little Rockies, and worked the same during the greater part of a year. Going to the Sweet Grass hills in 1885, he discov- cred in the course of his industrious prospecting the Beefsteak Bar placer mines. Subsequently he spent some time in that locality hunting and trap- ping in company with the old Montanian pioneer, Louis Revera, a notice of whom will be found on another page.

In 1886 Mr. Dean came to Teton county and purchased the Jack West ranch, on Dupuyer creek in 1887. It is a fine property, comprising 320 acres, and he has since devoted his attention to the successful growing of cattle. The first marriage of Mr. Dean occurred in 1893 at Dupuyer, where he was united to Miss Maud M. Meyers, and who passed away in 1895. On July 29, 1897, he was married to Miss Ella May Morton, daughter of Bartlett Morton, a cousin of ex-Vice-President Levi P. Morton, the family being natives of Ver- mont. They have no children.

H ENRY H. SAPPINGTON, of Gallatin coun- ty, Mont., was born in St. Louis, Mo., Janu- ary 21, 1846, where he spent his early life until responding to the call to arms, becoming a mem- ber of the Second Missouri State Militia under Col. Stafford, and served in the state during the fall of 1864. After the war he returned to the old homestead where he remained until he came to Mon- tana, arriving in Dillon in 1869. From there he went to Idaho and engaged in mining, but being un- successful he returned to Montana and secured work on a stock ranch owned by Poindexter & Orr, where he remained until 1871. He then went to Oregon, bought a small band of stock, returned to Montana and took up his present location on the Butte belt, nineteen miles from Logan, where he now has a ranch of 4,000 acres, several hundred being under irrigation; also a fine herd of Here- ford and shorthorns, well protected, supplied with water, etc. In the summer of 1874 Mr. Sapping- ton drove 500 head of cattle from Montana to Cheyenne, they being the first cattle sent to Chi- cago from this state via Cheyenne.

In 1893 Mr. Sappington was elected a member of the state legislature, as a Democrat. On September 29, 1875, he married Miss Ruphena Van Camp, daughter of Isaac Van Camp, of New Jersey, who came to Montana in 1864 and resided in Dillon until his death in 1900, his loss being greatly felt by the community. Mr. Sappington's home is ele- gant and its surroundings a delight to the eye, situ- ated as it is in a beautiful valley with undulating mountains on every side, the Jefferson river enter- ing through one canyon and flowing out through a lower one three and one-half miles beyond.

Mr. Sappington traces his ancestry back to his great-great-grandfather, who was born in England,

H. He Sappington

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a great man in his day, and who, accompanied by his brother James, came to America and settled in Maryland. His son, John Sappington, II, was born in Maryland, served under Gen. Greene and was noted for his bravery at the battle of Brandywine. His son, John Sappington, III, born May 28, 1790, in Madison county, Ky., made his home in Missouri, where he became one of the prominent men of his time, having been chosen a presidential elector. During his life he engaged successfully in various pursuits, besides owning a farm of 2,000 acres of land. In 1815 he entered quite extensively into the tanning business and continued in that indus- try until 1845. In 1857 he received from the St. Louis Agricultural and Mechanical Association a premium for a model farm. He volunteered in the war of 1812, served under Col. Nathan Boone, so11 of Daniel Boone and, like his father was noted for his bravery and valor. He was also elected a member of the state legislature for three terms, always taking a lively interest in the advancement of his state. He was the father of eighteen chil- dren, seventeen of whom settled in different parts of Missouri. Next in succession comes Tyrie Sap- pington, father of the subject of this sketch. He married Miss . Frances Sale, of Caroline county, Va., and made his home in Missouri, having a farm adjoining the old homestead. A man of marked influence in his own community, he was prolific in finding means to forward each worthy enterprise presented to his notice. His family of seven chil- dren were all worthy representatives of such a father, who died in 1883.

The majority of the interesting children of Mr. and Mrs. Sappington are still enjoying the bless- ings and pleasures of the parental home. Tyrie married Junita Piper and is located at Sapping- ton; Charles H. married Maud Deascy at Sap- pington, and resides at the mouth of Antelope creek; Mattie E., Fannie Pearl, Jennie and Hen- ritta are attending school; while Harold and Harry round out the happy family circle.

`HARLES M. DORRANCE has gained prestige C

as one of the prosperous farmers and stock- growers of Lewis and Clarke county, and his suc- cess is the more gratifying when the fact is taken into consideration that it has been attained entirely through his own efforts, while his attitude in all the relations of life has been such as to gain to him uni- form confidence and esteem from his fellow men.

He is a young man of sturdy character and indus- trious habits and is thus well entitled to mention in this volume as one of Montana's progressive men. Mr. Dorrance was born in Jackson county, Wis., on the 20th of March, 1867, the son of Tully and Margaret Dorrance, the former of whom was born in the old Green Mountain state, Vermont, and the latter in Pennsylvania. The father devoted his life to farming and stockraising, and his death oc- curred in September, 1899. He exercised his fran- chise in support of the Republican party, and fra- ternally was identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The mother of our subject is now a resident of Jackson county, Wis.

Charles M. Dorrance, to whom this sketch is dedi- cated, had rather limited educational advantages in his youth, but attended public schools as occasion permitted. He early became inured to the work of the farm and continued to assist his parents until he had attained his legal majority, when, in 1888, he came to Montana, making Fort Benton his des- tination. There he secured employment on the ranch of J. O. Patterson & Co., with whom he re- mained, working for wages, until 1891, in the mean- while acquiring an intimate and valuable knowledge of the various details of stockgrowing in this sec- tion of the Union. At the expiration of the period noted Mr. Dorrance removed to the vicinity of Sun- nyside, Cascade county, where he entered into a partnership association with Hon. T. C. Power, of Helena, taking charge of a band of 2,200 sheep. At the time when the stock in this line was sold, in 1893, the natural increase had brought the number of the head up to 5,500, and Mr. Dorrance realized a fair profit from his association with the enterprise, the partnership being dissolved by mutual consent .. Our subject then engaged in cattleraising and also in freighting from Great Falls to Fort Shaw and Augusta, excellent results attending his efforts in both lines of industry. He also operates a thresh- ing machine during the season, and finds ready de- mand for his services and equipment in this direc- tion. His two ranches are located twelve miles northwest of Augusta, which is his postoffice ad- dress, and here he has 700 acres of good land, of which 250 acres are adapted for cultivation. He has on an average about 200 head of cattle, and maintains his stock at high grade. In political adhierency we find Mr. Dorrance arrayed in support of the Republican party so far as national issues arc involved, but in affairs of a local nature he main- tains a somewhat independent attitude. Fraternally

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he is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America as a valued member.

On the 13th of December, 1892, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Dorrance to Miss Ida M. Reinicke, who was born in Connecticut, the daugh- ter of Edward and Ida Reinicke, natives of Ger- many, who came to Montana in 1876, where they have ever since maintained their home, the father being a prominent farmer and stockgrower in the vicinity of Sunnyside, Cascade county. In politics his proclivities are strongly Democratic. To the union of our subject and his estimable wife, five children have been born. Of this number Idella is deceased, the others being Tully, Edward, Mar- garet and Ida May.

JOHN DOWLING .- All parts of the dominion of Canada have contributed good material to the personnel of Montana's population and thereby added force and quality to the productive powers which are developing her resources and building up her name and stature among her sisters on the plain. Mr. Dowling, of Stevensville, the enterpris- ing, wide-awake and fertile merchant, with whom these paragraphs have to do, is one of the contribu- tions from Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he first saw the light of day November 10, 1859. His par- ents were James and Helen Dowling, natives of the same province. They had ten children, of whom he was the fourth.

Mr. Dowling was educated at the public schools of his native city, attending them until he was six- teen years old, after which he worked on his father's .farm until 1880. In that year he went to California, where he engaged in the lumber business for two years, and at the end of that time came to Mon- tana, locating at Butte and there giving his atten- tion to contracting for five years. In 1887 he re- movd to the Bitter Root valley, bought a ranch and put out 4,000 fruit trees. In 1894 he was elected treasurer of the county, and in 1896 bought an inter- est in the Amos Buck Mercantile Company, at Stevensville, with which he was intimately con- nected for a period of three years of activity. At the termination of this period he sold out his in- terest in the concern to Edwin P. Woods and began operations in a general mercantile business for himself, but after a year of successful experience with this he sold it to the Stevensville Mercantile Company, which hie and the May brothers

organized. The new company then bought the Missoula Mercantile Company's branch at Stevens- ville where they consolidated the two enterprises into one large institution, of which Mr. Dowling has been the general manager from its organiza- tion, and under his management it has thriven and prospered wonderfully.

In politics Mr. Dowling was an active Republican, always manifesting a lively interest in the success of his party, its policies and its candidates. In fraternal relations he is identified with the Masonic order and has the rank of past master in Oriental Lodge No. 28, of his home town, Stevensville. He was married at Butte, in October, 1885, to Miss Mary A. McHaffey, a native of Halifax, and they have seven children, namely, Minnie E., Helen, Lewis, Grace, John, Eva and Fred.

Mr. Dowling is easily one of the leading citizens of western Montana, and is influential in financial, mercantile and social circles, as also in political affairs. Conducting large interests skillfully and successfully and speaking candidly his convictions on all subjects of public concern, he has yet borne himself so uprightly and fairly in all relations of life as to have won and held the regard of his fellow citizens of all classes.

AMES H. DUFFEY .- The son of two prosper- ous families of County Meath, Ireland, where he was born May 10, 1845, and where his ancestors had been for generations carrying on the cultivation of the soil on a large scale for that country, his paternal grandfather owning some 200 acres of land, James H. Duffey, the subject of this review, has in the new world, to which he came as a young man of nineteen, kept up the occupation of his forefathers and surpassed them all in the extent and progress of his operations. His parents were Owen and Margaret (McIntyre) Duffey, of County Meatlı, Ireland, where he spent his childhood and youth, attending the schools of the neighborhood and working on the farm until he was nineteen years old. At that age, in 1864, he came to the United States, and after spending five years in New York city, engaged in a variety of occupations, he came west to California, making the trip by way of the isthmus of Panama. Arriving in the land of his ardent hopes, he located in Marin county, but at the end of the first year removed to the northern part of the state and engaged in cattle-

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raising on his own account. He continued this busi- ness until 1873, when, owing to bad weather, he lost all his herd. He then bought some sheep on credit and occupied himself with them until 1880 with a fair degree of success. In 1880 he drove his flock into Montana and located them on the Big Timber, where he entered into a sort of partnership with Messrs. Veasey & McDonnell, who bunched their flocks with his, making about 5,000 in all. The winter was hard on them, and they lost a large number by scab, having left to them in the spring not over 300 apiece. After this disaster he took up his residence at American Fork, where he has lived continuously since that time.

Here Mr. Duffey has a ranch of 15,000 acres, well situated for sheeprearing, American Fork and Fish creek running east and west through his property and supplying him abundantly with water for irri- gation and other purposes. He has usually on this land about 9,000 sheep, Merinos, crossed with Cots- wolds, being his favorite product. He is a very progressive, enterprising and skillful farmer and rancher and shows in the general condition, com- pleteness and convenience of the improvements on his property that he is satisfied with nothing short of the very best and that he knows how to get and how to enjoy it.

Mr. Duffey was married October 29, 1883, to Miss Sidonia Wells, a native of Montana, and daughter of John Wells, of Canada, who made his home in this state for a time and then returned to Canada, where he died. They have six children liv- ing and two deceased. The living are : Charles G., at home ; Maggie, at the Sisters' school in Helena; and May, Sadie, James and Martha, at home. The two deceased are Owen Emmet and Ann.

The life of Mr. Duffey has been an inspiration in the community. Every enterprise bearing on the welfare of the section has had his energetic and in- telligent support, and in business relations, domestic affairs, social circles and all educational and moral interests he has been a model of propriety, a helpful aid and a wise directing force.

THOMAS J. FARLIN .- However . courageous, enterprising and successful the physical forces may be in the development of a new country, it is necessary to its proper life, growth and ultimate salvation that the moral elements also commingle in its behalf. The work of the church, the school, the

fireside and the lecture hall-lessons in general in- dustry, sobriety, temperance and moral purity, are as essential as mining machinery, smelters, agri- cultural forces and commercial energies. Among the laymen who have contributed to the moral and religious sentiment, the educational agencies and the temperance cause in western Montana, the im- mediate subject of this review, Thomas J. Farlin, of near Stevensville, has been conspicuous and po- tential in the good he has done.

Mr. Farlin was born January 20, 1856, at St. Louis, Mo., a son of Jefferson K. Farlin, a native of New York. His mother died when he was an in- fant, and although his father, who was a prosperous harnessmaker, was indulgent and attentive, his life was necessarily one of privation and irregularity owing to the want of a mother's care. He attended the public schools until he was thirteen years of age, when his father removed to Crawford county, Mo., and began farming. From this time our sub- ject worked on the farm until 1881, at which time he left home and came to Montana, locating at Stevensville, where he worked in a sawmill for two years and afterward at blacksmithing for three years, learning the latter trade. At the end of his apprenticeship he took up an Indian claim and went to ranching. Later he purchased the claim and has been living on the land ever since. It contains 120 acres and is under good cultivation, Mr. Farlin being a skillful and industrious farmer. He has recently built a new house, which is comfortable, commod- ious and well finished, and the herd of cattle which he has started is of superior breed and very prom- ising. A special feature of his farming, which is highly commended on every hand and in which he finds great pleasure as well as profit, is an advanced line of truck gardening, the products of which have won prizes at many county fairs.

In politics Mr. Farlin is a steadfast Republican, but he is an independent voter, particularly in local affairs. His only connection with the fraternal or- ders is as a member of the Independent Order of Good Templars, in which he has been an active, co11- sistent and serviceable worker for many years. He is also a zealous member of the Baptist church, to whose work in various channels he gives a great deal of earnest and helpful attention.

Mr. Farlin was married November 22, 1888, at Corvallis, Mont., to Miss Effie Gibbins, daughter of T. H. and M. A. Gibbins, of that town. They have two children, Clyde T., eleven years old, and Anna- bel, four years old.

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A NDREW DUNSIRE .- Born and reared in Fifeshire, Scotland, and trained to the dry goods business, Andrew Dunsire, county assessor of Flathead county, Montana, has wandered far from his home and somewhat from his first business intentions, but has shown in the land of his adoption the sturdy qualities of manhood and thrift that dis- tinguished his race in the land of his birth, and in every line of activity the same studious attention to business that characterized his first engagements. His life began June 24, 1865. His parents, Thom- as and Catherine (Anderson) Dunsire, were also natives of Scotland, where the father has been in business as a colporteur for many years. His wife died at Buckhaven, in her native land, in 1899, in the same house that she was born in.

Mr. Dunsire attended public school at Cross Roads, near his home, and was graduated from the eighth grade at the age of thirteen. He then served a four-years apprenticeship in the dry goods trade, after which he removed to Glasgow, where he held a salaried position as a drygoods salesman from 1883 to 1888. In the year last named he came to Montana, arriving in the Flathead valley on May 23 and this section has since been his home. In the summer of 1890 he was purser on the steamer Crescent on Flathead lake, and in the summer of 1892 occupied the same position on the steamer State of Idaho on Kootenai river, running between Bonner's Ferry and Kaslo, British Columbia. From 1892 to 1897 he was employed as a clerk and sales- man, first in the store of Mr. Gale, and later with James Conlon, of Kalispell. In the fall of 1897 he was elected assessor for Flathead county, and was re-elected in 1899. In politics he is a Democrat and takes a lively interest in the welfare of his party. Fraternally he is identified with the Order of Elks, holding membership and office of esquire in Kalis- pell Lodge No. 725. He also belongs to the Mod- ern Woodmen, to Dundold Castle No. 214, Royal Highlanders, in which he holds the office of illus- trious protector. For the past four years he has been secretary of the Kalispell volunteer fire depart- ment. He was married at Missoula May 27, 1892, to Miss Isabella A. Ritchie, who was born in El- gin, Scotland, September 21, 1863.

In his various business enterprises Mr. Dunsire has been successful, and in his office has discharged his duties in a way that has won him universal com- mendation from the citizens of the county. He is looked upon as one of the progressive and wide awake men of his section.

L EONARD FERTIG .- Whether the causes of success in life emanate from essential elements in the individual or are quickened by extraneous influences and circumstantial development, it is difficult to determine with exactitude, but there can be naught but praise for the man who at- tains success by worthy means, commanding con- fidence and esteem by reason of his integrity of character and honest endeavors. Such an one is the subject of this review, who merits place in this compilation as a successful farmer and stock- grower and honored citizen of Meagher county.

Mr. Fertig comes of stanch German lineage, and is himself a native of the state of California, having been born in Plumas county, on the 6th of May, 1856, the son of Valentine and Margaret Fertig, the former of whom was born in Ger- many and the latter in Cleveland, Ohio. The father was one of the argonauts of 1849 in Cali- fornia, settling first in San Francisco and later being identified with various pursuits in divers sections of the state, in which he passed the re- mainder of his life, being an honored pioneer of the Golden state, where his industry and integrity brought not only a financial reward but the high esteem of its foremost citizens. After his death his widow became the wife of Gotfried Sarter, and she is still living, maintaining her home in Meagher county. Our subject was reared and educated in his native state and is a true son of the west. He remained in California until 1877, when he came to Montana, passing the first year at Fort Logan, Meagher county, and there devoting his attention to dairying. He next went to Thompson gulch, where he was identified with the sawmilling business until 1880, when he located upon his present ranch in the Smith river valley, five miles west of the thriving village of White Sulphur Springs, where he purchased a tract of 640 acres, and here he has since been en- gaged in raising cattle and hay, having made good improvements on his ranch and having an at- tractive home. He has been discriminating and industrious and his success is sure to be cumula- tive in character, for his efforts are indefatigable and properly directed. He has now an estate of 640 acres and gives special attention to the breed- ing of high grade cattle of the Hereford and shorthorn types. His political support is given to the Republican party, with whose principles and policies lie is in hearty accord and to the cause he gives willing and active support.

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 66

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