Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 76

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 76

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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the sea. On its battle roll appear, among others, Shiloh, Bolivar, Grand Junction, Miss., LaGrange, Jackson, Raymond, Champion Hills, etc. After three-years service in active and constant war- fare his period of enlistment expired, but the war was not over. The country needed brave men and veterans more than ever before and our subject could not content himself to return to the scenes of peaceful life while his country was yet in danger, and so, for the fourth time, he enlisted, this time as a veteran in his old company. After a ten-days furlough he rejoined his command at Kenesaw Mountain and participated in the bloody affrays of the campaign against Atlanta, and, on July 22, 1864, was one of the number resisting the terrible attack of Hood at Atlanta, which wrought such havoc in the Union ranks and left the brave Gen. McPherson among the slain. He then aided in flanking the rebels and causing the evacuation of Atlanta. The army followed Hood to Nashville and Dalton Hill and returned to Atlanta to join in Sherman's march to the sea. Mr. McMannamy continued in active service during that eventful journey, was in all the engagements, and on the way went from Savannah to Buford Island, then to Pocatelligo, and, with Richmond as the ob- jective point, marched to Goldsborough and soon took part in the last battle of the war at Ben- tonville. The surrender at Appomattox closed hos- tilities, and after taking part in the grand review, the spectacular close of four long years of army life, the regiment returned to Columbus for muster out and Mr. McMannamy was again a civilian. He went to Illinois and for three years was a carpenter at Chillicothe, Peoria county. Removing to Chil- licothe, Mo., he worked thirteen years in a planing- mill. Then after temporary residences at different places he came to Helena, Mont., on May 17, 1884. He worked in a planingmill until August 26, 1891, when he came to Kalispell, leased land and erected the planingmill, which he continues to operate with financial success. His machinery is run by a twenty horsepower steam engine, and consists of the various saws, planing, grooving, beveling and other machines necessary to his extensive business. He also manufactures some lumber and does a large mercantile trade in sashes, blinds, doors, win- dows and other building stock.

On December 29, 1868, Mr. McMannamy was married with Miss Olive Mead, a daughter of Hiram and Sarah (Fosdick) Mead, of Chillicothe, Ill .. where she was born. They have two children,

Anna, who married Hiram Stevenson and lives at Portland, Ore., and Hugh Preston McMannamy. He is a Republican in politics and a liberal in re- ligion.

A LLEN McNAUGHTON .- Obstacles are of no account to some men, they appear to move on easily whether difficulties beset their way or not. They pass from one kind of work to another so naturally that to an onlooker it seems easy. Such a man is Allan McNaughton, who was born in Ontario, Canada, June 3, 1852. In his early life he had few advantages ; he attended the public school and remained with his parents until 1871. At the age of eighteen years he began the study of telegraphy. In 1874 he immigrated to the United States, locating in Omaha, Neb., and ac- cepted a position with the Mutual Life Insurance Company, which did not prove satisfactory; he therefore identified himself with the Union Pacific Railroad Company and became agent for that road at Granite Canyon, where he stopped until 1879, a period of five years. In those days, 1876, the Indians were dangerous and aggressive. Mr. Mc- Naughton adopted the wise precautions of his neighbors and always went to sleep with his rifle close at hand, ready to defend himself in case of an attack. His next venture was a journey to Dakota, where he served as constructive teleg- rapher for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company, also agent at Running Water on the Missouri.

From there he went to Sanborn, Iowa, in the interest of the same company, where he was soon recognized as a leader by the Republican party and was elected mayor of Sanborn in 1885. He served one year, resigned his position with the railroad company and again took up the insurance business, locating at Sioux Falls, S. D., where he continued until 1894, when he came to Mon- tana as agent for the Pacific Railroad Company at Blossburg. In 1895 he took up his present lo- cation at Elliston, Mont., and in December of that year, in company with C. S. Cornick and Elmer Napp, undertook to develop a mining proposition. Having no capital, it proved slow work, but such men do not lose courage. They persevere in the face of difficulties. In May, 1901, it became evi- dent that the property was of sufficient value to incorporate, and in order to make it a success, it was operated under corporate form. It is now

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known as the Beatrice Mining and Milling Com- pany, of which D. G. Barringer, of St. Paul, is president ; C. S. Cornick, vice president ; Allan McNaughton, secretary and treasurer; E. Napp, superintendent. The mine is very rich in gold, sil- ver and copper. Mr. McNaughton is also inter- ested in valuable copper mines in the Snowshoe district. He is associated with the Masonic fra- ternity, being a member of the blue lodge. As a citizen he has won the confidence of the business people in the community in which he lives; those who know him best trust him most. He is a kind, courteous gentleman, straightforward in all his relations in life.

On December 25, 1873, Mr. McNaughton was united in marriage to Miss Sarah J. Ayerst, who was born in Frontenac county, Ontario, Canada. Her father was a native of England, who immi- grated to Canada, where he became a very suc- cessful farmer. He and his wife were members of the Methodist church. They had five children who survive the parents, namely, Edward A., Sarah J., Charles L., Mina and Charlotte A. The chil- dren are members of the Presbyterian church. In politics he supported the conservative party, and was a Mason in the third degree. To Mr. Mc- Naughton and his wife have been born three chil- dren, two of whom are living, Beatrice and Allan E. The family are members of the Presbyterian church.

Mr. McNaughton is of European origin, his father being a native of Perthshire, Scotland, and his mother of England. They immigrated to On- tario, Canada, and entered into agricultural pur- suits which proved very successful. The father served as elder in the Scotch kirk of which the mother was also a member. In politics he was identified with the Reform party. Eleven chil- dren were the issue of the marriage, four of whom have passed away, namely, John, Thomas, James and Margaret, the parents also having gone to the great beyond, the father dying at the venerable age of seventy-nine, in the year 1879, and the mother in 1885. The surviving children are Alex- ander, Annie, Elgin, Mary, Kate, Sarah and Allan.

R W. MAIN .- No more eventful life has been passed during the last half century of our national existence than has been lived by the hardy pioneers of Montana, and Robert W. Main, now

one of the leading business men of Columbia Falls and the Flathead valley, has experienced to the limits the deprivation, the labor, the endurance and all the varied conditions of early pioneer life in the far west and is justly entitled to a place in this volume.

Mr. Main was born at Oregon, Dane county, Wis., on September 17, 1855. He comes of good old New England stock, his grandfather, Riall Main, being a native of North Stonington, Conn. By his marriage to one of the famous Palmer fam- ily of Stonington his descendants were distant rela- tives of Gen. U. S. Grant. He came as an early pioneer settler to Dane county, Wis., and, strong and robust, wrought well in. laying the founda- tions of a good civilization in his community. He died at a venerable age. Of his five children, Chester moved to Knoxville, Tenn., became promi- nent in business and died in 1880. Ann (Mrs. A. B. Atwell) lived in Dane county, where she died in 1887. William was many years a resident of Wisconsin, dying in 1898 at Berlin, that state. The next of the children was Robert P. Main, the father of Robert W. Main, the immediate sub- ject of this memoir. The youngest was Edwin who, coming to Wisconsin in early life, in 1850, studied medicine and died in 1890 at Portage, where he had an enviable practice. Robert P. Main was born in Stonington and educated in the excellent school of that picturesque town. Like most New England youths, he taught school, and when twenty- one went to Washington D. C., with his brother Chester. There they separated, Chester wending his way southwest to Tennessee and Robert taking a northwesterly course to Ohio, where he engaged in teaching for a time and then married Cordelia Dakin, a daughter of William Dakin, one of the early Quaker settlers of the neighborhood of Zanesville, on whose pioneer farm she was born in 1813. For seven or eight years the young mar- ried pair resided near Zanesville, then located in central Illinois for two years, and finally went to establish a permanent home at Oregon, Wis., where he died in 1882, aged sixty-six. He was for sev- eral terms a Republican member of the Wisconsin legislature and creditably filled other offices. He was a fine specimen of physical manhood, hardy and strong until near his death. A strong Baptist in religion, he believed in and carried into prac- tice the strict New England ideas of family gov- ernment. He was a prominent Freemason, wor- shipful master of his lodge for many years, at-

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tained the Royal Arch degree, and was buried with Masonic honors.

Robert W. Main was the youngest of the eight children of his parents and the only one who made his home in Montana. Passing his early life at Oregon, Wis., he had good common school advantages, which he supplemented by attendance at Worthington's Business College, of Madison, in which he holds a life membership. Acquiring a business education at this noted institution, he went to Alabama in 1872 and for two years was a clerk in a grocery. Imbued with the western fever, in 1874 he came to Cheyenne, Wyo., and on his arrival there his whole capital consisted of a silver dime and a silver dollar. It was the dead of winter and his welcome was a most chilling one. The best business opportunity afforded to him was to walk eighty-five miles, through snow two feet deep on a pathless prairie, to a ranch for the privilege of working for his board until spring. This he attempted to do, was lost and nearly starved, but stumbled upon a vacated cabin where he found provisions in just the nick of time to save his life. This was a depressing commencement of western life, but he reached the ranch and worked there eighteen months. The border land was then a land of Indians who were mostly on would-be hostile terms with the whites, and into this life young Main threw himself by accepting a position under the United States government as courier and dispatch carrier between Fort Laramie and Red Cloud agency. He rode nights to protect himself, as he could then keep the murderous Indians in ignorance of his whereabouts. The danger added zest to the life, and in the fall when Gen. Crook's expedition against the hostile Indians were fitted out he engaged as one of the pack train with the com- mand of Col. Mckinney, and was engaged in the bloody fight at Powder river where the Colonel was killed. Wintering at Camp Carlin at Cheyenne, the next spring our subject was transferred to the post on the Yellowstone now known as Fort Keogh. He remained here in government employ until September, 1877, and was with Gen. Miles in the Nez Perce campaign when Chief Joseph surrendered. He continued in service on the Yel- lowstone, with headquarters at Fort Keogh, until the spring of 1879, when he was transferred to Fort Assinniboine, where he was in active duty until his resignation was accepted in the fall of 1881. He then built a little store at Rocky Point on the Missouri river, as a trading post for the Indians,

and for three years was in trade here. In 1884 he closed his store to take part in the Little Rockies mining excitement and followed mining there and at Sweet Grass and other places until 1887. He in that year opened a store on Milk river. In 1891 he transferred his business and residence to Columbia Falls, where he has since been in continuous trade with a steadily increasing business. He erected a portion of his present business block in 1891 and added a building 50x125 feet in 1900. The second story is used as a public hall, opera house, etc. His stock contains a general stock, agricultural imple- ments, etc., which demands two large warehouses for storage. The business was incorporated in 1900 as the R. W. Main Mercantile Company, Mr. George W. Morse, of New Chicago, Mont., being connected with him in this. The trade of this com- pany is extensive and prosperous and the firm is a leading one of northwestern Montana.

Mr. Main is solidly Democratic in political views and was frequently a delegate to conventions from Choteau county. He is the vice-president of the State Land Company, a close corporation organized in 1898. His Masonic life commenced in the lodge at Kalispell in 1893, where he now holds member- ship, and he also belongs to Kalispell chapter and to Black Eagle commandery at Great Falls. In 1896 he "crossed the sands" with Algeria Temple of the Knights of the Mystic Shrine at Helena, and is con- nected with the organization of the Daughters of Iris in the same city. He is an Odd Fellow, a Yeo- man and a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In all these bodies he is highly es- teemed and he has a host of friends in the com- munity at large.

Mr. Main was married on August 19, 1891, with Miss Sue A. Morrison, of Dane county, Wis., where she was born and educated. Her father, William Morrison, emigrated from England to Dane county in early pioneer days and became a prosperous farmer. He died in 1891, aged sixty-five. His wife survived him but a few months, dying in 1892. aged sixty.

JOHN P. MARTENS .- Among those to whom has come marked success in connection with the industrial activities of Montana there is none more worthy of the prosperity which is his than is Mr. Martens, who is not only one of the pioneers of Montana, but is also one who has depended upon his own exertions for his maintenance from the

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time of his early childhood, while he came to America as a stranger in a strange land, and has here lived a life of industry and inflexible integrity, gaining the confidence and high regard of those with whom he has been brought in contact.

John P. Martens was born on the picturesque Danish island of Bornholm, in the Baltic sea, the date of his nativity being October 13, 1832. He was the youngest of the three children of Hans and Boulette Martens, both natives of Denmark, where they passed their entire lives, the mother having passed away while he was a mere infant. Our subject received very limited educational ad- vantages. He remained at the paternal home un- til he was eight years of age, when he assumed personal responsibilities, having made his own living from that tender age to the present time. His first employment was that of herding sheep and to this he gave his attention from the age of eight to fourteen years, after which he followed a seafaring life for a period of four years, and there- after worked at the carpenter trade until he had reached the age of twenty-four years. In 1857 he emigrated to America, landing at Castle Gar- den, New York city, on the 3d of July. After work- ing for a month on a farm in that state Mr. Mar- tens went to Canada, where he remained about a year, thence making his way westward in 1858 and being for a time engaged in bridge work in the state of Kansas. At the time when the gold excitement in Colorado was at its height he de- cided to go to that section, and his was a unique and exceptionally arduous method of crossing the plains to Pike's Peak, since he walked practically the entire distance and transported his tools and supplies by means of a wheelbarrow. His first work in Colorado was on a farm where the city of Pueblo now stands, he receiving in compensa- tion for his services five pounds of flour per day. Finally went to New Mexico, where he assisted in the erection of a flouring mill, of whose opera- tion he had charge for eighteen months after its completion, and he was thereafter engaged in farming in New Mexico for one year. At the ex- piration of this time he returned to Colorado and purchased the farm on which he had previously been employed, and there continued to make his home until 1864, when he came to Montana. Mr. Martens was employed at Bannack until the spring of the following year, and thereafter was em- ployed at Big Hole, spending the winter in the Bitter Root valley. He later was engaged for a

time in the erection of log cabins on Elk creek, and in the spring of 1866 he rented a ranch from an Indian at Fort Owen and was engaged in general farming for an interval of three years. In the spring of 1869 Mr. Martens located on his present ranch, which is one of the most attractive in this favored section of the state, the Bitter Root valley being one of the most fertile and beautiful to be found within the borders of the great common- wealth of Montana. Here Mr. Martens' beautiful ranch home is located in immediate proximity to the village of Victor, Ravalli county, and he was one of the first to make permanent location here, being one of the substantial and influential men of the community and possessing the good will of all who know him. His ranch comprises 150 acres and is devoted to diversified agriculture, horticul- ture, etc. In his political views our subject main- tains an independent attitude, using his influence in the support of men and measures rather than being guided by strict party lines. He is identi- fied with the Masonic fraternity and is deeply ap- preciative of its work and objects.

On the 3d of March, 1893, Mr. Martens was united in marriage to Mrs. Lottie A. Smith, who was born in the state of Michigan, the daughter of Norton and Eliza Tuxberry. By her former mar- riage she has one daughter, Julia V. Smith.

G EORGE D. MARTIN .- This progressive and enterprising ranchman is a native of Polk county, Mo., where he was born April 16, 1848. His parents were George W. and Amanda (Key- ser) Martin, both natives of Tennessee, who re- moved to Missouri soon after their marriage, and made that state their home during the remainder of their lives, being profitably engaged in farming and stockraising. Their family consisted of six children.

Mr. Martin passed his school days in his native place, assisting on the farm and drawing in vigor of body and independence of spirit from its sturdy discipline. In 1880 he came to Montana, locating at first on the Little Elk and remaining there sev- eral years. In 1887 he removed to what is now Two Dot and continued to reside there five years. He then sold out his ranch at that place and bought the one he now occupies at Big Elk. It is a fine body of land, consisting of 5,000 acres, with Big Elk creek running through it and supplying

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abundance of water for irrigation and other pur- poses. Mr. Martin being one of the most intelli- gent and progressive farmers in the section, and being filled with a laudable ambition to make the utmost of his opportunities, has brought his land to a high state of fertility and produces on it at- nually large crops of cereals and hay. He winters here herds of cattle and sheep, having usually 200 of the former and 6,000 of the latter.

In May, 1894, Mr. Martin was united in mar- riage with Miss Cora Ayers, a native of Ohio, who removed in childhood, with her parents, to Mis- souri. They have three children, Wayne, Dana and May. Fraternally Mr. Martin affiliates with the Knights of Pythias and takes great interest in the progress of the order. He is a progressive and wide-awake citizen, whose upright life has won him the lasting regard of his fellow-men.

W ILLIAM ULM, who was one of the venerable pioneers of the great west, and one of the prominent and influential citizens of Cascade county, the postoffice and railroad station of Ulm being named in his honor, was born in Butler county, Ohio, on October 14, 1828, the son of James and Esther Ulm, natives of Ohio and Pennsylvania, devoted members of the Methodist church. The father was a pioneer farmer of Ohio, where his death occurred in 1863, his wife passing away in 1841. William Ulm received a good common school education and assisted his father in his farming operations until 1853, when he went to California where, for five years, he was engaged in running pack trains out of Crescent City to Yreka, Cal., and Jacksonville, Ore. In 1858 he visited his old home in the east, and in 1859 returning to Denver, Colo., where he engaged in prospecting, but not meeting with satisfactory success he proceeded to Iowa, where he engaged in buying livestock, and was iden- tified with this line of industry until 1864. In 1865 he came to Montana with teams and for two years was engaged in freighting between Salt Lake City and Montana mining camps. In 1867 he went to Diamond City, where he was in a meat business until the fall of 1869. In 1870 Mr. Ulm went to Walla Walla, Wash., and bought 1,000 head of sleep which he drove to Helena, Mont., and sold. In 1871 he made a trip to Kansas, where he pur- chased 1,225 young cattle which he drove to Mon- tana, the trip occupying two years' time and bring-

ing the stock to the ranch at Ulm, which he occu- pied at the time of his death. At that time he entered into partnership with A. G. Clark and Moses Moore, and engaged in raising live stock upon a large scale. In 1875 Mr. Moore sold his interest to Mr. Clark, after which the firm of Clark & Ulm con- ducted the enterprise, raising also many fine horses, until 1882, when the partnership was dissolved.

After that time Mr. Ulm was prominently en- gaged in the raising of horses, sheep and cattle in an individual way, having 2,000 acres of land and being successful in his efforts. He was a man of great business capacity and was well known and uniformly honored.

Mr. Ulm became very wealthy. In 1890 he built the building now occupied by the Great Falls hotel and he became a stockholder and director of the Merchants' National bank. Its failure, in 1893, forced him to make an assignment for the benefit of his creditors, he having accommodated too many friends. His affairs were well managed by the assignee and there were saved about 1,500 acres of land at Ulm, nearly all the Ulm horses and about 700 head of cattle, now ranging on the Mus- selshell. In politics, Mr. Ulm was a Democrat, but only once held office. In 1893 he was appointed by Judge Benton, Republican, to fill the unexpired term of Charles Wegner as a county commissioner and he served well for the brief term. He was an honorable man in all his dealings. His home was known far and wide for its hospitality in the early days. He gave many men a helping hand in business, and often suffered from their ingrati- tude, but he had no complaint to make. He was one of the best types of the old-time pioneers of the state, and his tragic death, which occurred on November 21, 1901, as the result of a sad accident at his home, he having been knocked down and run over by a runaway team of horses drawing a wagon, was universally deplored. He was a good citizen, a man greatly beloved by those who knew him well, and his death was a distinct loss.

C HARLES MAYN .- In connection with the in- dustrial and business enterprises of the state of Montana this honored citizen has held a posi- tion of prominence for more than a quarter of a century and he now stands as one of the repre- sentative stockgrowers of the state, maintaining his home in the attractive little city of White Sul-

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phur Springs, where he is well known and held in highest esteem, his sterling integrity having gained to him uniform confidence and respect.

Charles Mayn is a native of Mecklenburg, Ger- many, where he was born on the 30th of January, 1845, being the son of Frederick and Frederica (Duevel) Mayn, both of whom were born in the same section of the German empire. Helmuth Mayn, the eldest brother of our subject, came to America in 1852 and the father joined him in 1855, while on the Ist of May, 1857, the remainder of the family arrived in the city of New York, whence they forthwith came westward to the attractive lit- tle city of Washington, Mo., which is still an es- sentially German community, and there the par- ents passed the remainder of their lives, both pass- ing away in 1859. Charles Mayn had attended the schools of his native land, and after coming to the United States continued his educational dis- cipline in the public schools of Missouri. He started to learn the drug business, but did not long apply himself in this direction, securing a posi- tion in a general mercantile establishment in Washington, Mo., and being there employed for a term of years. At the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion his brother Henry enlisted as a member of the Seventeenth Regiment of Missouri Volun- teer Infantry, known as the Turner Regiment, by reason of its personnel being almost entirely Ger- man, and with the same he served until the close of the war. Our subject, who was a mere boy at the time, was very desirous of enlisting, but his em- ployer persuaded him to continue his clerical work, which he continued during a period of five years in the one establishment. His salary at the end of that time was just ten times as great as that which he received when entering the employ of the concern, which had recognized his fidelity and ability by according him due promotions. During this time Mr. Mayn was identified with the Home Guard, or state militia. Our subject's next business employment was in connection with fer- rying enterprises on the Missouri river, in which line he was incumbent of a clerical position for about six months, after which he accepted a posi- tion on a regular boat plying between St. Louis and Omaha, being thus engaged during the one season. He then returned to Washington, Mo., and formed a partnership with another young man and there opened a general merchandise store, in which he continued until the spring of 1869, when he sold his interests in the same and opened a men's

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 76

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