Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 69

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 69

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we revert to the fact that he came hither before he had attained either his legal majority or the full prime of his active and useful life, it is self- evident that his mind contains a fund of interest- ing information as linking the pioneer epoch of Montana's history with the present days of en- lightened advancement and material prosperity.

A native of the beautiful city of Kingston, prov- ince of Ontario, Canada, Mr. Gibson was born on the 23d of May, 1840, being one of the five chil- dren of Richard and Mary (Nichols) Gibson, both of whom were born in Ireland. The father of our subject emigrated to America early in the nine- teenth century, locating in Kingston, Ontario, where he passed the residue of his life, as did also his cherished and devoted wife, both being folk of sterling character.

Alexander Gibson attended the schools of his native town and there remained until the spring of 1859, when he joined the stampede of gold seekers making their slow and dangerous journey to the new Eldorado on the Fraser river, in British Co- lumbia. He proceeded as far as the Red river to the point where the city of Winnipeg now stands, and there spent the winter. The party of which he was a member then set forth for the west, and while en route came to the vicinity of Fort Union, then a post of the American Fur Company, and now known as Fort Buford. In this locality the Indians raided the company and took possession of their teams, holding the seven men prisoners for some time. Upon being re- leased they made their way on foot to Fort Union, arriving about July 1, 1860, the post being then under command of Malcolm Clark, well known in the early annals of the northwest. Shortly after the arrival of the jaded and adventurous little band of emigrants, a war party of 500 Sioux at- tacked the fort one morning at daybreak. They killed the stock, burned the hay and the old saw mill and cut loose the boats, but were unable to take the fort, or perhaps it might better be stated that they feared to make the attempt, for when we recur to the fact that the little band of defenders numbered only seventeen individuals all told, it may be imagined that the crafty Sioux could have accomplished their fell designs had they made the attempt. None of the besieged men were injured, but several of the Indians fell before the well directed shots from the isolated fort. After the savages had withdrawn Mr. Gibson and one companion left at night to notify the people

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at Fort Benton, about 500 miles distant, making the trip on horseback. They had several narrow es- capes, being compelled to fight on several occasions and to seek concealment on others, but they finally arrived in safety at Fort Benton, duly reporting to Major Dawson, who was then in command. Mr. Gibson passed the winter at that point, and in the spring of 1861 he joined Maj. Thomas Irving's company and went over to the Bitter Root valley, where he passed the summer, while the following winter he was stationed on the Jocko Indian reser- vation. The next spring he went to the Florence mines, in Idaho, of which Montana was still an integral part, and there remained until the sum- mer of 1865, devoting his time to prospecting and mining and meeting with varying success. He then returned to Montana and thereafter we find him identified with prospecting and mining in vari- ous sections of the state for a period of more than a decade, having all the experiences that attended the career of the average miner of the place and period in this section.

In 1873, in company with Charles Jeffries, he opened a blacksmith shop on the site of the pres- ent and imposing Bailey block, in the capital city of the state, and there conducted a successful busi- ness until 1876, when he sold out his interests and went to California, where he remained one year. He then returned to Montana and opened a gen- eral store in White gulch, Meagher county. There he conducted a successful business for a period of nearly three years, and then purchasing a ranch and turning his attention to diversified agriculture and stockraising. This vent re was attended with success of rather negative quality and after an interval of three years Mr. Gibson came to White Sulphur Springs, where he has since maintained his home and where he is held in the highest con- fidence and esteem as one of the pioneers of the state and as a citizen whose character demands this objective attitude of appreciation. In politics Mr. Gibson gives his allegiance to the Republi- can party, and in the fall of 1900 he was elected county treasurer of Meagher county, of which office he is now incumbent and in which he is ably and carefully administering the financial af- fairs of this important political division of the state. Fraternally he is identified with the time- honored order of Freemasonry, being a member of Diamond Lodge No. 7, A. F. & A. M., at White Sulphur Springs.

On the 2d of April, 1879, Mr. Gibson was united

in marriage to Miss Mary F. Campbell, who was born in California, the daughter of James M. and Nancy J. Campbell. Mr. and Mrs. Gibson became the parents of one daughter, Agnes Mary, who was summoned into eternal rest in 1883, at the age of three years and nine months.

DOBERT M. TRAFTON .- To touch upon the life histories of those who have been promi- nently identified with the development and indus- trial advancement of Valley county is indeed a pleasant duty, and in this instance is a tribute of recognition worthy the achievements of the gentle- man whose name introduces this paragraph. Mr. Trafton, the pioneer business man of the now thriv- ing little city of Malta, has been constantly alert to forward every project or enterprise looking to the advancement of the material and social interests of his section of the state, and is thoroughly well known in his county. He is honored no less for his sterling worth of character than for the good work he has accomplished as a citizen and pro- gressive business man, having shown great capacity for affairs and never failing in the courage of his convictions as to policies or definite action.

Mr. Trafton is a native of the province of New Brunswick, Canada, and where he was born at South Richmond, May 5, 1847, being the son of Charles and Julia Ann (Hill) Trafton, the former of whom was born in the same province as his son, while the latter was a native of Scotland, her death occurring at St. Johns in the year 1879. Her hus- band survived her many years, passing away at Brainerd, Minn., in 1895.

Robert M. Trafton was educated in the public schools of his native city, and continued to make his home in Canada until the spring of 1880, when he located at Bartlett, N. D., where he was pro- prietor of the Palace hotel until the following fall, when he went to Minnewaukon, on Devil's lake, that state, and there erected the Trafton hotel, as a summer resort, conducting it very successfully for a period of four years, when he disposed of the property. In the fall of 1887 he came to Mon- tana and turned his attention to buying buffalo bones along the line of the Great Northern Railroad, being thus occupied about a year. In the fall of 1888 he built a frame store at Malta, Valley county, this being the first business house in the place, and since that time he has been engaged in general

Roll . grafton

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merchandising, having begun operations on a mod- est scale and made advancement in the volume of business until he now controls a large and im- portant trade. In 1891 Mr. Trafton erected another frame store building, and in 1900, in order to afford proper accommodations for his constantly increasing business, he erected his present commodious brick block, in which his large and extensive stock is now placed. He has materially contributed to the up- building of the town, having erected a number of dwelling houses on the south side of the Great Northern tracks. In 1888 he took up a homestead claim of 157 acres, where a part of the village of Malta now stands. That Mr. Trafton is a man of ideas is still further shown. He has in operation on Milk river a steam irrigating plant, having a capacity for supplying water to an area of 400 acres and there can be no doubt of the great value of the facilities thus afforded to the adjoining agri- cultural districts. It is largely through his efforts that Malta has become an important business cen- ter, and its prestige is certain to increase with such energy and enterprise applied in connection with natural eligibility of location. In politics Mr. Traf- ton is a stanch advocate of the principles of the Republican party, and takes a lively interest in local political and public affairs. Fraternally he is a member of North Star Lodge No. 46, A. F. & A. M., at Glasgow, the county seat.

In the city of Minneapolis, Minn., on November 15, 1880, Mr. Trafton was united in marriage to Miss Marion Knowlton, who was born in South Richmond, New Brunswick, on April 5, 1857. They have one daughter, Emma, who was born on October 27, 1888.

EDMUND GALE .- In the county histories of Suffolk and Devon, England, for many years has the Gale chronicle had place. It is an old family and its representatives are numerous in all branches of official life and human endeavor. In every English-speaking country it has given name to towns, districts, cities and villages and stands everywhere as representing the best of sterling English characteristics, such as integrity, devo- tion to principle, high moral standards and fealty to law and established institutions. The American branch of the family, represented by Edmund Gale, of Kalispell, Mont., is of recent origin, his father, Rev. Edmund Gale, coming from England to

Ohio in 1855. He was born in 1821 at Seddleshan, England, and although self-taught, obtained a fine education and qualified himself for entering the Congregational ministry. He commenced minis- terial labors at Cherton, County Devon, in 1852, and two years later was appointed assistant to Rev. William Marshall over the important churches of Cheshire. In 1855 he was settled at Geneva, Ohio, and ordained pastor of the First Congregational church, a relation which was pleasant and har- monious for years. He did ministerial work in other parts of Ohio and Michigan until his removal to Minnesota in 1866 to become the pastor of the First Congregational church of Faribault. Here he was of great service for seven years and ac- quired a strong influence for good among the peo- ple. He then returned to Ohio and held several pastorates in that state until 1881 when the two churches of Faribault united and unanimously ex- tended a call to him to return to that city and re- sume pastoral relations over a much more import- ant body than was previously under his care. He accepted the call and was installed as pastor. His term of service was a valuable one to the cause of Christ in that city and was terminated only by his resignation on January 1, 1892, on account of his advancing years. He died March 19, 1899. He married, in 1856, Miss Ruby C. Cowels, a native of Ohio, who, being early made an orphan, was reared and educated by Oberlin College, being one of the first female graduates of its classical course. Her death occurred in 1896, at the age of sixty-seven years.

Edmund Gale, Jr., was born in Galesburgh, Mich., May 30, 1864. From the age of thirteen he for three years acted as clerk in mercantile houses at Madison and Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and then attended school for a year. From 1881 to 1884 he filled various grades of service in the First National Bank of Faribault, among them that of teller. He then embarked in trade on his own account, first at Emerado, N. D., next at Fargo and then at Oriska, N. D., continuing mer- chandising from 1884 to 1889. The next year he travelled through Minnesota and Dakota in the interest of R. A. Durkee & Co., of St. Paul. In 1890 he came to the Flathead valley and located as a general merchant at Demersville. Not long after its opening the store (uninsured) was burned to the ground together with most of its stock, but Mr. Gale resumed business the next day in an old warehouse with a cloth sign. January I,

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1892, he changed his place of business to Kalispell and continued merchandising. He weathered the financial storm of 1893-4, but the intense mental application required by the abnormal condition of business at that period brought on a nervous tension that seriously injured his health. On this account he sold out in April, 1898, and for three years travelled extensively to recuperate his lost vitality. He then returned to Kalispell and re- entered business life as one of the corporators of the Northern Lumber Company, incorporated March 28, 1901, with a capital of $50,000. This company is the successor of the O'Neil Lumber Company and also of the lumber firm of Lebert & Burns. The officers are F. J. Lebert, president ; A. H. Burns, vice-president; C. I. O'Neil, treas- urer ; Edmund Gale, secretary ; the chief office is at Kalispell.

Democratic in politics, Mr. Gale is outspoken and active in support of his principles and has served on the city council. He was chairman of the only county convention of old Missoula county that ever practically elected its whole ticket. His health of recent years has prevented his activ- ity in the political field. He is a prominent Free- mason, having been made a Mason in Kalispell Lodge in 1892 while it was under dispensation, and became one of its charter members, and also belongs to the Masonic council of Kalispell. In 1895 he joined the commandery at Great Falls, where he now holds membership, and is numbered on the muster roll of El Katif Temple of the An- cient Arabic Order of the Mystic Shrine at Spo- kane. In religious preference he is a Congrega- tionalist.

Mr. Gale entered matrimonial relations in 1894 with Miss Mary J. Ritchie, daughter of Joseph E. and Mary J. (Rollins) Ritchie. She was born and educated in South Dakota. They have one child, Florence. Mr. Gale's paternal grandfather, a highland Scotchman, came to the United States on account of political trouble in his native land and served six years as a Union soldier in the Civil war and afterwards was prominent in railroad service in Nebraska.

/ ILLIAM D. HAGEN, the courteous propri- etor of the Morton Hotel, Dupuyer, Teton county, is well and favorably known, not only in the community in which he resides, but throughout the state of Montana, and he is highly esteemed for his

many admirable qualities of head and heart. Hav- ing filled various positions of responsibility in Te- ton county, invariably with satisfaction, he is recog- nized as one of the leading citizens of Dupuyer and numbers in his wide circle of acquaintance a host of warm personal friends who will cheerfully en- dorse the most flattering tribute to his character. He was born at Galena, Ill., December 22, 1858. His father, John Hagen, is a native of New York and during the greater portion of his life he has followed the occupation of mining and prospecting. He is now retired from active business and resides at Galena. The wife, mother of our subject, Ethel (Paul) Hagen, is a native of the state of Ohio. She also is now living at Galena.

At the age of nineteen years William D. Hagen began learning the trade of a moulder. At the pub- lic schools of Galena he had improved every op- portunity offered and acquired an excellent educa- tion, a discipline calculated to greatly enhance his superior business qualifications and materially assist him in the work of his after life. Having thorough- ly perfected himself in the trade which he had adopted, he continued to follow it in Dakota, Minne- sota, Wisconsin and other states, and during the autumn of 1879 he came to Montana. The follow- ing six years he was located at Fort Benton, Cho- teau county, but from 1885 until 1887 he was at the Sweet Grass hills, engaged in mining enterprises. The season between 1887 and 1888 he prospected in the vicinity of Dupuyer, and in the spring of the latter year Mr. Hagen removed to Choteau, Teton county, where he was employed as clerk in a hotel conducted by George Richards. It was during the fall of that year that he was appointed deputy sheriff by B. F. J. O'Neill, at that period sheriff of old Choteau county. Subsequent to this Mr. Hagen served two years as under sheriff during the administration of Sheriff A. B. Hamilton, of Te- ton county, and in each position he was found to be efficient, reliable and in every way deserving the confidence of the people and the gentlemen to whom he owed his appointment. In 1896 Mr. Hagen was elected sheriff of Teton county, and re-elected in 1898 on the Democratic ticket, retiring from office in January, 1901. Since that period he has been pro- prietor of the Morton hotel, Dupuyer, and among his patrons he numbers some of his most apprecia- tive friends, who gather here in numbers to partake of the cheer of the house.

At Choteau, Teton county, in 1888, Mr. Hagen was married to Miss Carrie Johnson, a native of

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Sweden, born in 1868. They are the parents of three interesting children : Henry, Mabel and Gra- cie, aged eleven, seven and four years, respectively. The fraternal relations of Mr. Hagen are with Chevalier Lodge, Knights of Pythias, Choteau, of which he is an influential and popular member.

W ILLIARD LEE HALBERT .- The descend- ant of an old Colonial family of New Eng- land, where they were people of consequence and in- fluence and where they enjoyed all the advantages of an advanced civilization, Williard Lee Halbert has passed his life on the wild western frontiers of America and helped redeem them from their wild- ness. He was born at Chippewa Falls, Wis., Janu- ary 13, 1859. His father, after leaving school, came west and put in two years clerking in Chicago. He then removed to Chippewa Falls, and about a year later was united in marriage with Miss Emily A. Loomis, also a native of New York, her grand- parents having come to that state and settled on the route of the Erie canal when her father was quite young. At his new home in Wisconsin Mr. Hal- bert engaged in the lumber business. He was a pioneer in the place and had good opportunities, of which he made good use. He also conducted a banking business and was very prosperous until the financial panic of 1873, in which he lost heavily. In 1882 he came to Montana, reaching Billings with the first train that arrived there. He joined his two sons, Williard and Thomas, and together they engaged in the cattle business until his death in 1899. In Wisconsin he was prominent and active in politics and represented his county in the legis- lature.

Williard Lee Halbert was educated in the schools of his native town, and remained on the homestead until 1880, when he came up the Missouri to Fort Benton and then by team to Martinsdale, where for two years he worked for wages. In the spring of 1883, having been joined by his brother and father, they located on a portion of their present property and began operations in the cattle industry. The firm has been known as the Halbert Bros. and has been very successful. The original homestead is located half way between Carless creek and Swim- ming Woman, on the old stage road from Billings to Great Falls. There they have 3,000 acres which they own, and two school sections which they liave under lease. In 1898 they purchased the Massen

ranch and the Renning claim, and by additions ob- tained through pre-emption and otherwise have in that neighborhood some 2,000 acres, lying along Carless creek. The postoffice of Gunton is on the property and Mrs. Thomas L. Halbert is the post- mistress there, as Mrs. Williard Halbert is at the postoffice of Halbert, which is on the other ranch. In 1900 they added sheep to their cattle and are running over 5,000 head of superior Merinos. Shorthorns are their favorite cattle, of which they have more than 500. Their land is well irrigated. as they have a private ditch eight miles long from Carless creek to the old homestead and several ditches on the Carless creek property. They have annually at least 100 acres in grain, and usually raise 500 tons of hay. The properties are well im- proved and the brothers are enterprising and pro- gressive.

On November 14, 1900, Mr. Halbert was mar- ried to Miss Lillian E. Curtis, a daughter of Wol- cott Curtis, who removed from Wisconsin to the Gallatin valley, where he died. They have one child, an infant named Beatrice A. A sketch of Mr. Cur- tis appears elsewhere in this work.

E H. GANONG, of Dupuyer, Teton county, is an enterprising young man who is demon- strating his sound business judgment by success- ful management of an extensive horse-breeding ranch in that vicinity. While not exactly blazing a new path in a new enterprise, he is evidently bringing to bear on the project many original ideas, and with him future success appears fully assured. He is a New Englander, having been born at Caribou, Aroostook county, Me., January 12, 1871. The father of our subject, William Ganong, was a native of Canada, and died at New Brunswick in 1873, when his son was but two years of age. The care and education of the son devolved upon his step-father, Benjamin Con- nolly, also a New Brunswicker, but who now re- sides at Cambridgeport, Mass. His mother, Ce- celia (Foster) Connolly, was born in New Bruns- wick, and is at present living at Cambridgeport.

The public schools of Maine and Massachu- setts provided excellent facilities for the education of young Ganong and he made the most of his early opportunities. At the age of fifteen he re- tired from school, but continued to reside with his parents until he was seventeen. He then re-

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moved to Boston, Mass., entering the service of the street car company of that city as driver and col- lector, where he remained two years. In the firm belief that the great west offered superior attrac- tions to a young man of ambition and force of char- acter, Mr. Ganong, in 1889, went to Port Town- send, Washington, where for the following two years he found employment as a teamster. During one season he was also a rider on the ranges of Idaho and Washington. From 1892 until 1899 he was located in the vicinity of Dupuyer, Teton county, where his time was occupied in general ranching and handling horses and cattle. It was during the latter year that he established his pres- ent horsebreeding farm on the Upper Dry Forks of the Marias, and where he has a most eligible location, provided with every convenience for the successful prosecution of the business, that of pro- ducing a high grade of horses. Politically Mr. Ganong is in line with the Republican party and his fraternal affiliations are with the Woodmen of the World at Dupuyer.

THOMAS LOOMIS HALBERT .- Born at Chippewa Falls, Wis., on June 7, 1862, when the place was a straggling village in the western wilderness, and coming to Montana in 1882, when he was but twenty years old, Thomas L. Halbert, of Fergus county, may be said to have passed his whole life on the frontier. His parents were Thomas L. and Emily A. (Loomis) Halbert, natives of New York state. (For more extended family history see sketch of Williard Lee Halbert elsewhere in this work.) Mr. Halbert was educated in the schools of his native town, and remained on the homestead until 1882, when he came to Montana in company with or to join his brother Williard. Soon afterward their father also came and the three entered into a partnership and took up the property on which the present postoffice of Hal- bert stands. Since the death of the father, in 1899, the firm name has been Halbert Bros. They have added by lease and purchase to their first location until they now have control of more than 6,000 acres and are conducting a very successful and profitable stock business, having cattle and sheep. Thomas lives on a fine place which he is rapidly improving, is one of the hustling men of his county and is adding to his improvements a fine new resi- dence.

On May 7, 1890, Mr. Halbert was united in mar- riage with Miss Alice A. Cameron, a native of Rosshire, Scotland, where for 369 years her family had lived on the Findon estate and given celebrity to that portion of Scotland and the great clan to which they belonged. Her father, William Cameron, married with a Miss Anna Logan, of Berwick-on- Tweed, England. He was a cousin to the famous politician and statesman, Hon. Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania. He was one of the directors of the Bank of Scotland and lost his wealth in its collapse. Mrs. Halbert is the postmistress at Gunton, which is on their place.

D AVID M. GREIG, who is a prosperous and progressive farmer and stock man of Flathead county, was born at Buckhaven, Fifeshire, Scotland, August 23, 1861. His parents were Michael and Isabel (Marr) Greig, also natives of Buckhaven, where the father was a contractor and builder until his death in 1891, his wife having died there in 1873. Her father was a lieutenant under Lord Nel- son and was killed at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805, at the age of thirty-six.

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 69

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