Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 77

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 77

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furnishing store. After conducting this business for about nine months, he packed his goods, pur- chased additional stock, and with the same started for Montana, making the trip on one of the Mis- souri river boats to Fort Benton. From there he transported his goods overland to Helena, where he rented a portion of the store of Kleinschmidt & Brothers, being in their employ and simultaneously displaying and having charge of his own stock of merchandise, which he eventually closed out at good figures. He remained in Helena until the fall of 1870, when he removed to Diamond City, Meagher county, as representative of the above- mentioned firm. After straightening out their business at this point Mr. Mayn associated him- self with Louis Heitman and purchased a business in Diamond City, conducting the enterprise about eighteen months and then selling his interests and returning to Helena. The firm of Klein- schmidt & Brothers was soon afterward merged into that of Charles Mayn & Co., under which title the business was continued about two years, when Mr. Mayn retired from the firm and entered into a business alliance with E. M. Hoyt, under the firm name of Hoyt & Mayn. After thus continu- ing in the mercantile business in Helena for a short interval, our subject's former partner, Louis Heit- man, purchased Mr. Hoyt's interests, and the busi- ness was thereafter conducted under the name of Mayn & Heitman until 1876. In that year a dis- solution of the partnership was made by mutual consent, and Mr. Mayn came to the Smith river valley, in Meagher county, where he became as- sociated with his brother Fred in the cattle and dairying business, his brother having previously become the owner of a good ranch property in this section. They thus continued operations un- til 1886, our subject having in the meantime given a considerable portion of his attention to other business interests. In the fall of 1882 he chanced . to meet his former business associate, Mr. Heit- man, and accompanied him to White Sulphur Springs, where they bought of Hon. T. C. Power his interests in the mercantile establishment of Spencer & Co. The firm of Spencer, Mayn & Heitman was formed and they continued in the general mercantile business, also having extensive live stock interests, until March, 1901, when Mr. Mayn withdrew from the firm and has since de- voted his entire attention to his ranching and min- ing interests. He controls 15,000 acres of land in the Smith river valley, known as the Moss Agate

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ranch, and is here extensively engaged in the rais- ing of fine cattle and sheep, having in the former line an average of 1,200 head and in the latter 20,- 000. He still maintains his home in White Sul- phur Springs, where he has a fine modern resi- dence and where he and his family occupy a promi- nent place in the social life of the community. In his political adherency our subject is arrayed in support of the Republican party, but he is essen- tially a business man and has not been active in the field of politics, though ever ready to lend his aid to worthy enterprises and projects for the general good and giving them active assistance.

On the 24th of November, 1886, Mr. Mayn was united in marriage to Miss Amelia Lepley, who was born in Illinois, whence her father, Charles Lepley, removed with his family to Iowa, where he · continued to devote his attention to agricultural pursuits until his death. Mr. and Mrs. Mayn have two children, Gertrude and Harold.

NTHONY J. MOLTZ .- From the older east-

A ern states there have come to Montana many young and progressive men who have here become identified with the great productive industries of the state and have attained a due quota of success through their well-directed efforts. Of this class is Mr. Moltz, who is one of the successful sheep- growers of the Sweet Grass hills district of Choteau county where is now his home.

Mr. Moltz is of stanch German lineage, being the son of Anthony and Anna (Miller) Moltz, the former of whom was born in Germany, in 1819, while his wife was a native of the same great em- pire, where she was born on the 5th of March, 1831 ; her death occurred at West Leyden, N. Y., on the 29th of August, 1897. The father of our subject still retains his residence in the Empire state, maintaining his home in Booneville, Oneida county. He is now retired from active labors, but was for many years engaged in agricultural pur- suits in the vicinity of West Leyden, Lewis county, N. Y. On the old homestead there the subject of this review was born, the date of his nativity having been April 28, 1863. He attended the public schools of West Leyden until he had attained the age of thirteen years, at which early age he began the practical labors of life upon his own responsi- bility, being employed in the agricultural and hop- growing districts of his native state until 1886,

when he set forth to try his fortunes in Montana. He first located in the vicinity of Dearborn, Lewis and Clarke county, where he worked for wages for a period of four years, being employed on various ranches. During the ensuing four years he leased sheep ranches on shares and for the next two years was in the same line of business individually. He was energetic and industrious, careful in his methods and was duly successful. In September, 1899, Mr. Moltz disposed of his interests in Lewis and Clarke county and came to the Sweet Grass hills, Choteau county, where he took up squatter's and desert claims, in addition to which he has free range of considerable extent, on the east side of West Butte. His home is located seven miles dis- tant from the hamlet of Gold Butte, which is his postoffice address. Here he has established himself in a successful sheepgrowing business, with the details of which industry he is thoroughly familiar through his ample and intimate experience, and he has an average of 2,500 head on the range, the same being of high-grade and of the type best adapted for this section of the Union. Politically Mr. Moltz has maintained an active interest in the cause of the Republican party, having been an earnest worker in the local ranks, while fraternally he is identified with Dearborn Lodge No. 21, I. O. O. F., at Augusta, Lewis and Clarke county. Through his progressive spirit and inflexible integ- rity in all the relations of life he has gained the confidence and esteem of all with whom he has been thrown in contact and it is uniformly conceded that he well merits the success which has attended his efforts and given him prosperity.

R APHAEL MORGAN, of Dupuyer, Teton county, is one of the leading stockmen of the district and a highly respected business man and citizen. He is a native of Baltimore, Md., born December 13, 1852. His father, James Morgan, was born in St. Mary's county, same state, of Eng- lish parents, and followed the occupation of a farmer. He died in 1862. His wife, the mother of our subject, Mary (Dillhay) Morgan, was born and reared in St. Mary's county, where she passed away in 1864.

Until he was thirteen years of age Raphael Mor- gan remained with his parents and attended the public schools in his neighborhood. In 1865 he removed to Cottonwood Springs, Neb., and se- cured employment herding stock. Two years sub-

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sequently he began working for Joseph Hoskey, with whom he remained a year, and the succeeding two years he was engaged as a driver for the Diamond R Company during the summers and in cutting cord wood in the winter months. In 1870 he went to the Clark and Ulm ranch, on the Sun river, Mont., where for three years he was in charge of large herds of cattle and horses. Dur- ing the following two years he was in the employ- ment of Jesse Taylor, a ranchman living near Choteau, Teton county. The time had arrived, however, when Mr. Morgan decided to go into business on his own account. Accordingly he rented a ranch from Maj. George Steele, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere, and also located a homestead adjoining. The eleven years following he engaged extensively and successfully in stock- raising. In 1886 Mr. Morgan's family secured eleven Indian allotment claims, comprising in all I,I20 acres, lying on Birch creek, eighty acres of which Mr. Morgan devotes to general farming and the remainder to his stock.

At Choteau, July 28, 1878, Mr. Morgan was mar- ried to Miss Mary Weper. They have ten chil- dren, George, Jesse, Lizzie, Louis, Nellie, Fannie, Albert, Alice, Katie and Willea. The political sympathies of Mr. Morgan are with the principles of the Republican party.

G EN. THOMAS F. MEAGHER .-- Montana paid a richly merited tribute when it named one of its counties in honor of the richly-gifted patriot, Thomas Francis Meagher, who held posi- tions of distinction in Montana in the early terri- torial epoch and whose brilliant though somewhat turbulent life came to an untimely end while he was acting as governor of the territory. A brief memoir of the man is certainly demanded in any work pur- porting to touch the life records of those who gathered about the cradle of the infant Montana and those who have conserved the upbuilding of .' great state and prosperous commonwealth.

Gen. Meagher was born in Waterford, Ireland, on the 3d of August, 1823. His father was a ma:1 of influence and high intellectuality, having repre- sented Waterford in parliament for several years. At the age of nine years the subject of this memoir entered a Jesuit college in County Kildare, and when fifteen years of age he was matriculated in Stonyhurst College, England, where he was gradu- ated in 1843. Shortly afterward he made his ap-

pearance as a public speaker, his initial effort being made at the great national meeting at Kilkenny, over which the distinguished Irish patriot, Daniel O'Connell, presided. From that time forward Gen. Meagher was devoted to the cause of Ireland. In 1846 he became the leader of the young Ireland party, and in 1848 the Irish confederation sent him to Paris with an address to the provisional gov- ernment. On his return he presented the citizens of Dublin with the tri-color, upon which occasion he made a fiery patriotic speech. After the passage of the crown felony-treason act he was arrested, convicted ex post facto, and was sentenced to be hanged. The sentence was later commuted to banish- ment for life, and on July 9, 1849, he was trans- ported to Van Diemen's Land, where he remained until 1852, when he escaped and took refuge in the United States. In 1855 he began the study of law and he was eventually admitted to the bar. At the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion he abandoned his profession and with the same ardor and loyalty which had brought about his banishment from his unfortunate native land he devoted himself to the cause of the Union. He organized a company, which was assigned to the Sixty-ninth New York. At the first battle of Bull Run his horse was shot from under him. In 1862 Gen. Meagher returned to New York and there organized the famous "Irish Brigade," of which he was elected colonel. He was afterward assigned command with the rank of brigadier-general. Of the valor and brilliant services of this famous brigade it is not necessary that we speak farther in this connection, for the record is a part of our national history during that crucial epoch and is duly touched in generic publi- cations. Suffice it to say that Gen. Meagher was in active service until the close of the war, being mustered out in 1865. In recognition of his gal- lant services and distinguished ability Gen. Meagher was made secretary of Montana in the same year, coming at once to his new field. The following September Gov. Sidney Edgerton, being on the point of leaving the territory for a few months, appointed Meagher governor pro tem. Soon afterward the hostile attitude of the Indians compelled him to take measures for the protection of the white settlers, and while engaged in this duty he fell from the deck of a steamboat on the Missouri river, at a point near Fort Benton, and was drowned, his death occurring on the 3d of August, 1867. Thus strangely passed away one of the most picturesque actors in the history of Montana.

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Gen. Meagher was a man of the most brilliant mind, of gracious personality, distinct individuality and high principles. Of his celebrated work, pub- lished under the title of "Speeches on the Legisla- tive Independence of Ireland," sixteen editions have been printed. Though his residence in Montana was of short duration, his name adds perpetual luster to the list of those who have here lived and labored and his memory will ever be revered.

W TM. R. MONTGOMERY .- The grandfather of the subject of this review, J. C. Mont- gomery, removed from the New England states to Illinois when that now great and progressive state was on the frontier. His son, Livingston B. Montgomery, the father of our subject, removed to Missouri when he was a young man and made it his home until his death, being engaged in farm- ing and stockraising. There he was married to Miss Mary Jane Martin, a native of Tennessee.

Their son, William R., was born in Polk county, that state, November 6, 1862. He was educated in the schools of the county, remaining on the homestead until he was twenty years old, and at that time made a trip to the Indian territory and Texas, looking for a location on which he might work out his career. He returned to Missouri and spent the winter of 1881-82 there. In the spring of 1882 he started to Nevada in company with his older brother Albert. They remained in Nevada about three months and then came to Montana, locating at Livingston and there being engaged in ranching for about two years. During this time they took up a claim, but did not live on it long. Mr. Montgomery removed to the Musselshell country, and there went to work ranching in the employ of Perry Moore. After three years of this service he was joined by a younger brother and they, with George D. Martin, bought the ranch on which he now lives, adjoining the town site of Two Dot on the south. They first engaged in sheep- raising, but after five or six years of success in this line abandoned sheep and took up stockrais- ing, which they continued together for five years longer. At the end of that term he and his brother bought Mr. Martin's interest in the ranch and continued the business under the name of Montgomery Brothers until 1900, when they sepa- rated and Mr. Montgomery became the owner of the ranch. It now contains some 2,000 acres and

on it he frequently raises 300 or 400 head of stock and fine crops of excellent hay and grain of superior quality. It is his present intention to go into the business of rearing Hereford cattle more extensively ; he is well fixed for the business, his ranch being well located and thoroughly equipped with all the necessary buildings and other appli- ances for the purpose.

Mr. Montgomery was married December 2, 1896, to Miss Mabel E. Vaux, a native of Iowa, but at the time of her marriage a resident of Mis- souri, she having removed to that state after the death of her father, Charles Vaux, in Iowa. They have one child, Leila Mabel.

Mr. Montgomery is a truly representative citi- zen of the county and one of its most esteemed and influential residents. In business he is enter- prising and progressive, in social life genial, courteous and serviceable, and in relation to pub- lic affairs in which the welfare of the community is involved, wise in counsel and helpful in action.

TAY G. MORE .- That definite success should attend the efforts of the subject of this review is but in harmony with the name he bears, Jay Gould More, the mother of the late Jay Gould having been his aunt in the agnatic line. Mr. Moore is a repre- sentative of a stanch old Colonial family of Scottish origin, and in this connection we appropriately enter record concerning his genealogy. To him is due mention as one of the successful and honored stockgrowers of Meagher county, and as one who has directed his efforts with discrimination and ability, the while commanding the respect and con- fidence of all with whom he has been thrown in contact in the various relations of life.

Mr. More is a native of the old Empire state of New York, and there the family was established in the early pioneer epoch, prior to the war of the Revolution. He was born in Roxbury, Delaware county, on the 8th of November, 1855, being a son of William W. and Elizabeth C. (Ricky) More, both of whom were born in the same city as their son, our subject. The former was a son of Alex- ander T. More, who was born in Scotland, being the son of John More, who was a scion of the fine old Scottish family of that name. John More married Betty Taylor, who likewise was born in Scotland, and there four of their children were born prior to their emigration to America, while

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several others were born in this country. Alex- ander T., the grandfather of Jay G., of this sketch, was one of those born in Scotland. From records now in the possession of the subject of this review it is shown that the number of descendants of John More in America has reached the notable aggregate of 1,400, including those in direct lines, deceased and living. John More came to America in the Colonial epoch and took up a large tract of land in the state of New York, the same being after- ward known as Moresville, while two postoffices in Schuyler county still bear the family name, Moresville and Moresville station. There the origi- nal ancestor engaged in farming on his large es- tate, which was at the time a veritable wilderness, unreclaimed from the hand of nature, and there the Indians were an almost constant menace for a number of years, the settlers having many sanguin- ary battles and narrow escapes from death at the hands of the hostile savages. Both the great-grand- father and the grandfather of our subject continued to live on the old homestead until death placed its seal upon their mortal lips, and there also lived William W. More until 1886, when he joined his sons in Montana. In this state he made his home until his death, on the 25th of May, 1901, at which time he had attained the advanced age of seventy- seven years, passing away in the fulness of years and well-earned honors. His wife died at Mores- ville, New York, in 1872. Mary More, a sister of William W., became the wife of John Burr Gould, father of the late Jay Gould, the railroad magnate and financier, in whose honor our subject was named.

Jay G. More was reared and educated in his native city, and after leaving school turned his at- tention to pedagogic work in New York state, being there a successful teacher for some time. In 1878 he started for the west, locating first in Wisconsin, where he was engaged in the dairying business for a period of two years, and then he removed to Cali- fornia, where he was identified with the same line of enterprise for an equal length of time. He then passed one winter in New Mexico, after which he came to Montana and located in Meagher county, being here engaged in general ranching until 1886, when he secured his present ranch property and turned his attention to stockraising. In 1886 he was joined by his brother, E. V., and they continued in partnership for several years. The latter was a member of the constitutional convention of 1889, which framed the present constitution of the state;

was later a member of the legislature, and is now conducting an extensive dairy business in Boze- man, having the leading enterprise of the sort in that section of the state.

Our subject now controls about 5,000 acres of excellent grazing land in Meagher county, and here he gives special attention to the raising of Hereford cattle and Norman horses. He usually keeps about 500 head of cattle and 100 horses. He has made good improvements on his estate, and is known as one of the progressive and reliable men of this sec- tion of the state, his name being synonymous with honesty and integrity of purpose. His ranch is located two miles south of the village of Castle, which is his postoffice address. In politics he gives a stanch allegiance to the Republican party, and he is ever ready to lend his aid and influence to any legitimate project or undertaking for the public good.

JOHN T. MOORE .- Born in Shelby county, Mo., April 17, 1841, and being on the border- land between the contending sections, all the young manhood of John T. Moore, of Meagher county, Mont., was darkened by the terrible shadow of the Civil war, in which he was an active participant, had many thrilling experiences and suffered great hardships at times.

Mr. Moore's parents were John W. and Eleanor (Holliday) Moore, the former a native of Delaware and the latter of Virginia, and both belonging to families which have furnished public officials of distinction to their respective commonwealths. The father was a widower with a family of six chil- dren. He removed to Missouri sometime in the thirties, re-married later, and made the state his home until his death, which occurred in 1854, spending his life in the quiet and independent voca- tion of a farmer.

Mr. Moore, our immediate subject, spent his school days in his native state, and in June, 1861, when he was twenty years old, enlisted in Col. Green's regiment of volunteers for service in the Confederacy. He was mustered into service in Knox county, Mo., and after a number of skir- mishes took part in the battle of Lexington, where his command captured Mulligan's brigade. Hav- ing joined Price's army, they went south with it, but Mr. Moore being taken ill with measles, was left at Johnstown, Mo., and after six weeks was taken prisoner and spent six months in captivity in

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St. Louis. While being taken from there to Alton on a steamboat he made his escape, returned to Missouri and joined Col. McCulloch's regiment. The regiment was in constant activity, took part in many skirmishes and was fully engaged in the battle at Kirksville, where Col. McCulloch was captured and with twenty-six of his men con- demned to be shot. He asked the privilege of giving the word to fire and it was granted; so when all was ready he gave the word for his own execution and that of his men. This tragic inci- dent is commemorated in a beautiful poem written soon afterward by Mrs. Baird, of Kirksville, who had five brothers and a husband in the Confederate army. After this the regiment disbanded and scattered, Mr. Moore spending the winter in Ken- tucky. In the spring he made his way to Tennes- See and joined the Ninth Kentucky Mounted In- iantry under Col. W. P. C. Breckenridge, which fought its way through Bentonville, N. C., being after Sherman all the time. Mr. Moore took part in the battle of Missionary Ridge and the one at Bentonville, which was the last engagement he was in. After that he was on the Davis escort to the mouth of Broad river, where Mr. Davis, the President of the Confederacy, left the regiment, and a few days later it surrendered. The United States government furnished transportation to Kentucky, and from there Mr. Moore went to Ne- braska and engaged in "bull whacking" across the plains to Denver, whence he came to Montana with a cattle outfit, arriving at Diamond City August 10, 1866. Having traveled with a large party, he had no serious trouble with the Indians. He remained at Diamond City until 1870 engaged in the sawmill business with W. H. Sutherlin.

During his residence at Diamond City Mr. Moore was married to Miss Irene Lewis, daughter of G. S. Lewis, of New York, who came to Mon- tana in 1866. The marriage was solemnized Au- gust 31, 1869, and the fruit of the union was one son, George, who is now deceased.

In 1870 Mr. Moore removed to his present loca- tion near the site of old Camp Baker at the mouth of Sheep creek, where he has a fine ranch well sup- plied with the necessary barns, sheds and other outbuildings, and an excellent residence. He is engaged in raising cattle and horses on a large scale, having over 1,000 head of cattle and many fine horses, shorthorn cattle and draught horses being his favorite breeds. His home ranch con- sists of 3,000 acres and yields abundant supplies

of hay and grain for the support of his cattle and horses, and quantities for market besides.

Mr. Moore has taken an active interest in public affairs and gives close and intelligent attention to the welfare and development of the community. He has served as assessor and in other civil capaci- ties; but his usefulness has been mainly in the force of his example and the wisdom of his coun- sel, which has stimulated others to beneficial activ- ity and aided in raising the standard generally in the neighborhood. He is much esteemed as a leading man and representative citizen.

PERRY J. MOORE .- The subject of this sketch is a brother of John T. Moore, whose record is set forth at length elsewhere in this vol- ume. He was born May 8, 1844, the son of John W. and Eleanor (Holliday) Moore. The family history of the Hollidays is fully recited in the sketch of James M. Holliday, a cousin of this sub- ject, in another part of this work. Mr. Moore spent his school days in Shelby county, Mo., the place of his nativity, and remained on the home- stead until 1862. In May of that year he enlisted in Col. Porter's regiment, of which his brother John was a member, and spent the summer in northern Missouri with the command, taking part in the battles of Kirksville and Newark, and a great many skirmishes. When the command was defeated and the regiment disbanded, Mr. Moore, in company with his brother and a young man named John B. Suttle, dressed themselves in citi- zens' clothes and crossed the Mississippi in a skiff a few miles below Quincy, Ill., walked out into the country a few miles, boarded a train at a watering tank and rode on it to Madison, Ind., on the Ohio river. From there they made their way by foot into Kentucky and spent the first night with Jesse James' grandfather, familiarly called Col. Jesse, who had sons in the Confederate army. Their ob- ject was to get south and join some command in the Confederacy, but Gen. Bragg having moved south of the state, it was wholly in the hands of the Federals and closely guarded. They were passed, however, from one southern sympathizer to an- other until they reached the home of a man named Pendleton who had sons in Morgan's command. He advised them to remain quiet and wait an ex- pected raid by Morgan. But after waiting in vain for some weeks, Mr. Moore and Suttle joined a

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 77

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