Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 91

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 91

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In 1863 Mr. Barrett left Pike's Peak for Mon- tana in company with E. Warren Toole and others. Two months were occupied in making this trip and the party arrived at Bannack, and after a few days they pushed on to Virginia City. Here Mr. Barrett engaged in placer mining for wages in Alder gulch, and afterwards freighted from Salt Lake to Vir- ginia City for two years with profit. On one oc- casion he made a trip for supplies with a string of mule teams to Los Angeles, Cal. During 1865 he had a pack train running from Walla Walla to Montana. Once he was snowed in among the Coeur d'Alene mountains, losing his entire train. After this loss he took sufficient provision and blankets on one horse, and in company with Alf. P. Rose started on foot for Helena, about 300 miles away, without a habitation the entire distance, ex- cept at the Indian trading post where the city of Missoula now stands. They blazed the route along the Pend d'Orielle lake (now the line of the Great Northern Railroad), through eighty miles of solid timber and arrived in Helena on January 12, having walked all the way through snow from six- teen inches to two feet deep, and there for the first

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time in months they slept under a roof. This was during the intensely cold winter of 1865-6, the winter of the Sun river stampede, in which so many were frozen to death. In the spring following this terrible winter Mr. Barrett figured his loss at $10,000. Following this season of disaster Mr. Barrett went to mining in McClellan gulch, and incidentally engaged in merchandising and pack train transportation. This he continued for three years. During a sharp encounter with hostile In- dians in which eighteen white men were opposed by fifty Indians, one of his men was killed.

In 1869 he returned to Omaha, bought a farm of 160 acres and unsuccessfully engaged in agri- culture, owing to the numerous grasshopper raids. In 1874 Mr. Barrett went to California where for six years he was in various pursuits. He there made a contract with Mr. E. Beach to drive sheep. to Montana. The distance was 1,400 miles and for many months he was obliged to sleep on the ground, while for six months he did not undress. In 1882 he secured a homestead claim in Teton county and took a band of sheep on shares. This claim, lo- cated twenty miles north of Augusta, he has greatly improved, adding sufficient land to bring its area up to 800 acres, and since 1885 he has been quite successful in his specialty of sheepraising. He has a partner, Patrick Connelly, who has charge of the ranch while Mr. Barrett resides in Augusta. On August 14, 1870, Mr. Barrett married Miss Helen Pugsley, a native of Pern, Ill., daughter of Jesse and Grace Pugsley, natives of the state. She died on May 1, 1874, and their only child died also. On October 31, 1886, Mr. Barrett was united in marriage to Miss Emma Conley, who was born in Maine. She was a daughter of Calvin and Grace Conley, also natives of the Pine Tree state, where the father was engaged in lumbering, and died in December, 1872. His wife's death occurred in 1857. Both were members of the Methodist church.

Of the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Barrett, three died in infancy, and Elmer C. alone survives. His parents are both members of the Methodist church. Politically Mr. Barrett is a Republican.

DOBERT M. WHITEFOOT, M. D .- A dis- tinguished representative of the medical pro- fession, the oldest practitioner in point of service in the city of Bozeman, and one who has been inti- mately identified with the military service of the

government, Dr. Whitefoot's career in Montana has been such as to reflect honor and dignity to the state and profession. Robert Mills Whitefoot is a native of the fair old city of Brotherly Love, hav- ing been born in Philadelphia, Pa., on January 28, 1840, a worthy representative of fine old English stock. He secured his rudimentary education in a private school and academy of Pekin, Ill., and remained beneath the parental roof until he felt called upon to tender his services to his country when its integrity was menaced by armed rebel- lion. He had just attained his legal majority at the time when President Lincoln issued his first call for troops, and the response on the part of the Doctor was prompt and enthusiastic. On April 18, 1861, he enlisted as a member of Company E, Eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, commanded by the late Gen. Richard J. Oglesby; then colonel of the regiment, and who later attained distinction as governor of Illinois. Dr. Whitefoot served with his regiment until December, 1863, when he was discharged by special order, having been assigned to the medical department of the military service soon after his enlistment and was connected there- with during the greater portion of his term of ser- vice. The experience which he gained, both in the line of therapeutics and clinical work, undoubtedly had much to do in determining his vocation in life, for at the time of his discharge he was practically a capable physician and surgeon, having devoted as much time as possible to careful study in a tech- nical line. After the close of the war he matricu- lated in the medical university at Georgetown, D. C., where he graduated with the class of 1866, after which he entered upon the active practice of his profession in the national capital. His novitiate was of short duration, for he so proved his ex- ceptional skill as a physician and surgeon that in 1868 he secured from the federal government an appointment in the medical corps in the regular army, his duties bringing him to Montana in 1868 and implying the rendering of professional ser- vices at the various frontier posts in this section of the Union, then in its pioneer stage of develop- ment. In this capacity Dr. Whitefoot continued to render effective service until 1878, when he re- signed his position and made an extended sojourn abroad, visiting many of the leading continental cities and points of historical interest, and devot- ing much time to special study and investigation in connection with his profession, taking advantage of the excellent opportunities afforded by visiting

Jours

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the principal medical schools and coming in con- tact with leading representatives of his profession in the old world. The Doctor returned to the United States in 1879, again identifying himself with the medical department of the military ser- vice of the government ; but in 1881 he again ten- dered his resignation and passed one more year abroad, after which he came to Bozeman, where he has since been established in the private practice of his profession, gaining a distinctly representa- tive clientele and holding prestige as one of the most able and distinguished members of his pro- fession in the northwest. He has ever been a close student, keeping in advance of the progress made in the sciences of medicine and surgery, and doing much to further the interests of the same through original research and investigation. Sig- nally true in all the relations of life, a man of genial personality, kind and charitable in judgment of his fellow men, the Doctor gains and retains the con- fidence and esteem of all with whom he is thrown in contact ; and his popularity in this section, where he has labored so effectively is unmistakable.

In 1896 Dr. Whitefoot served as surgeon-gen- eral of the state of Montana, having been ap- pointed to this office by Gov. Rickards, to succeed Dr. Pickering, deceased. In 1890 he was chosen a member of the state board of medical examiners, in which capacity he served three years. The Prof. sional relations maintained by him are seen in his retaining membership in the National Geo- graphic Society; in the Montana State Medical Society, of which he was formerly vice-president ; and the American Medical Association. For sev- eral years the Doctor was health officer of the city of Bozeman, twice elected president of Gallatin County Medical Society, and in 1894 served as coroner. Fraternally he is identified with William English Post No. 10, G. A. R., of which he was a commander; and with the time-honored order of Free and Accepted Masons, of which he became a member in 1867, while a resident of Washington, D. C. In politics the Doctor has ever been a stanch advocate of the principles of the Republican party, his first presidential vote having been cast for Gen. Harrison, in 1892. In religion he holds the faith of the Protestant Episcopal church, being a member of St. James Episcopal church in Boze- man and a member of its vestry. He maintains a deep interest in the work of the parish and the church at large, and is recognized as a thorough and devoted churchman. A gentleman of culture

and refinement, of high intellectual and profes- sional attainments, a thorough cosmopolitan of suave and polished manners, the Doctor held the confidence and friendship of those who know him, and no citizen of Bozeman was better known or more respected by all classes. He was county and also the city health officer of Gallatin county and of Bozeman.

CHRISTIAN M. BATCH, one of the leading merchant tailors of Helena, Mont., is a native of Jyland, Denmark, born in Greis, near the city of Velie, on October 6, 1866, the son of Knud Fred- erik and Anna Katrine Bitsch, also natives of Denmark. His father is engaged in farming, and in the manufacture of wooden shoes in the town of Dangaard. This is one of the leading industries of that country. Being ambitious to make his own way in the world, Mr. Batch left school at the early age of fifteen years, and appren- ticed himself to learn tailoring. He continued in this employment five years, acquiring a thorough knowledge of the business which he has since fol- lowed, and at twenty years of age he came to America to seek his fortune in the new world, land- ing at New York on October 1, 1887. He came on to St. Paul, Minn., arriving there in the middle of the night, with but five cents left of the small sum with which he had started from his native land, without friends, and with absolutely no knowledge of English, but he was not discouraged, and exhibited those characteristics of pluck, per- severance and industry which have marked his sub- sequent career, and made him one of the success- ful merchants of the capital city. He soon secured employment in St. Paul, and immediately began the task of acquiring a knowledge of the English language. By energy and untiring industry he soon advanced to a better position with his em- ployers, and, by studying at night and improving every hour, he quickly learned enough of the lan- guage of his adopted country to enable him to con- verse intelligently. After remaining in St. Paul nine months he went to Watertown, S. D., where he continued journeyman tailoring until 1889. He came to Helena in 1889, arriving in the city on the 8th of August, just three days before Montana was admitted into the Union as a state. Here he se- cured employment at his trade, and · continued work as a journeyman until 1893.

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By this time he had, by industry and economy, saved a considerable sum of money from his earn- ings and, being ambitious to engage in business for himself, he formed a partnership with J. B. John- son, and they opened a merchant tailoring estab- lishment on Jackson street, Helena. After a pros- perous business of about one year they dissolved partnership and Mr. Batch opened a merchant tail- oring establishment for himself over the Northern Pacific offices, remaining in that location for one year. The business grew to such an extent that larger quarters became necessary, and he first re- moved to the handsome store in the Bailey block, and later to his present commodious establishment in the First National Bank building on Main and Grand streets. By his industry, integrity, and un- failing attention to the wishes of his customers, Mr. Batch has built up a large, remunerative and steadily increasing business, and is counted among the progressive and enterprising merchants of Helena. In 1899, by permission of the courts, Mr. Batch changed the spelling of his surname from Bitsch to its present form. In 1890 Mr. Batch married in Helena Miss Mary Werner, a native of Denmark, and the daughter of Peter and Mattie Werner, .both natives of Denmark. The five children of Mr. and Mrs. Batch are : Frederick J., Otto Carl, Warren, Esther Maria and Ray- mond Philip. Fraternally Mr. Batch is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Woodmen of the World and Modern Woodmen of America, while politically he is identified with the Demo- cratic party. He has never sought or desired po- litical preferment but takes interest in all matters affecting the growth and prosperity of his city and state, and is one of the representative young busi- ness men of the community.

LVA W. BEACH is not only a native Mon- A tanian but the son of one of the earliest pio- neers in the territory. He was born in Helena, on March 3, 1869, the son of Elizur and Alice Beach. Elizur Beach, a native of Ohio, came to Montana in 1864 and settled in the Ruby valley, near Virginia City. In those early days Virginia City was Alder gulch, and swarmed with "all sorts and conditions of men." In 1865 Mr. Beach removed to Helena, then Last Chance gulch, where he now resides. His wife, who was born in Missouri, died in 1870. Alva

W. Beach received an excellent education at the public schools of Helena and the Missouri State University (two terms) and the preparatory college at Woodland, Cal., (two years) and also attended the Helena Business College. Yet at the early age of twelve he began to take an active part in the business affairs of life. During his vacations and intermissions between schools he worked on his father's farm, and in 1884 and 1885 he was em- ployed by the Sun River Sheep Company. He then returned to his father's ranch near Augusta, where he has since made his home.

Mr. Beach was married on November 24, 1897, to Miss Fannie E. White, who was born at Vinita, I. T. She is the daughter of Sylvanus and Char- lotte White, sketches of whom are on other pages of this work. At present Mr. Beach is in charge of his father's property near Augusta, and heavily interested in stock enterprises. Ten thousand acres of land are under his control, of which 7,600 are deeded holdings and 2,400 leased school lands. It is one of the largest, if not the very largest ranch in Lewis and Clarke county. The two children of Mr. and Mrs. Alva W. Beach are Grace A. and Walter E. Mr. Beach belongs to the Woodmen of the World, the Odd Fellows and he and his wife to the subordinate lodge of the last named order, the Daughters of Rebekah. While not confining himself to strict party lines in his politics, in all national issues he votes the Democratic ticket. He is very popular in the county and numbers many warm friends.

JACOB BAUER .- Coming to the United States

from Germany when but sixteen years of age and winning due measure of success through indus- try and indefatigable energy, Mr. Bauer has been identified with Montana for the past thirty years. He was born in the kingdom of Wurtemberg, Ger- many, April 24, 1851, and was educated in the pub- lic schools of Grunbach, Neinberg. At the age of sixteen years he left home and native land, immi- grating to America in 1867, locating in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he engaged in the butchering business for three years. In the spring of 1870 he enlisted in the regular army as a member of Company D, Seventhi United States Infantry, which came to Fort Buford, N. D., where he served until the fall of 1871. On leaving the service he made a trip on foot from Fort Buford to the Musselshell district,

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Mont., where he devoted his attention to hunting until the spring of 1872, when he went to Helena by way of Fort Benton. At Helena he was em- ployed in the meat market of James Blake, and then on the Reeves ranch until fall. In 1873 he was variously occupied for a time at Bannack, Moor- head, Abercrombie, Fort Peck and other points in North Dakota. The summer of 1874 he passed in hunting near Fort Carroll, and in the fall he opened a woodyard near the mouth of Fourchette creek, and continued to operate it for two years. Subse- quently he engaged in the same line at Fort Peck, from the spring of 1876 until the fall of 1877, when he went to Bismarck for teams and supplies, and, returning to Fort Peck furnished supplies to the steamboats on the Missouri river between that place and Fort Carroll until 1882.

In the spring of 1883 Mr. Bauer located at his present home, five miles west of Culbertson, Valley county, and, building a toll bridge across the Big Muddy, kept it as a paying proposition from 1884 until 1887. In 1888 he established a general store at this place, and for ten years conducted a suc- cessful business. In the meantime his family had taken their proper allotment of Fort Peck reserva- fion land, and when it was thrown open to settle- ment, he secured by homestead, scripting and lease, an additional 880 acres, so that his present landed estate comprises 1,240 acres. Mr. Bauer was en- gaged in the sheep business on this ranch for a few years, but sold his sheep to W. B. Shaw in 1897. Since then he has devoted his attention to cattle and horses, and this enterprise has brought him gratify- ing success.

In politics Mr. Bauer gives his support to the Re- publican party, takes an active interest in public affairs as a Republican. At Poplar, Valley county, in 1877, Mr. Bauer married Mary, a Sioux woman, and they are the parents of eight children : Fred, Lizzie, John, Joseph, James, Mary, Katie and Lydia, all residing at the parental home. The postoffice address of Mr. Bauer is Culbertson.

D )R. G. W. BEAL .- One of the early pioneers of Montana, and a man who contributed to the development of the territory and state in sub- stantial measure, the late Dr. G. W. Beal, whose death at German gulch on June 8, 1901, occasioned general sorrow, was a typical representative of the class of men who have redeemed the northwest

from a state of savage wildness and fructified it with the products of peaceful industry. He came to Alder gulch, Mont., in July, 1864, and mined there until January 1, 1865, when removing to Ger- man gulch, he there practiced medicine for eleven years. From 1876, when he made his residence in Butte, he was prominent in the business, social, political and professional life of the city until his death. He was one of the representatives from Deer Lodge county in the territorial legislature of 1875-6, and was elected mayor of Butte in 1881. He was connected with various commercial and mining enterprises of Butte, and erected and was for a number of years proprietor of the Centennial Hotel. Dr. Beal was born in Harrison county, Ohio, in 1828, but in 1835 accompanied his parents to Athens county, in that state, where he received his elementary scholastic training. Later he pur- sued a three years' course of study at the Ohio University, read medicine with Dr. Carpenter, was graduated from the Ohio Medical College in 1863, and entered upon medical practice at Athens the same year. In 1851 he was married to Miss S. J. Townsend, of Belmont, Ohio, whose brother was afterward secretary of state of the commonwealth. They became the parents of four children, Perry H. Beal, Mrs. Dora Bateman, Mrs. Lowella New- kirk and Mabel, Mrs. Harry N. Doering. For many years Dr. Beal served his people faithfully. He possessed that genial and inspiring disposition which aids materially in the success of a good physician, and his very presence in a sick room was a curative principle in itself. In his business relations he was an example of uprightness and fairness, and in social circles he was highly esteemed.

Perry H. Beal, who was the only son of the late Dr. G. W. Beal, was born in Athens, Ohio, on May 12, 1853. After attendance in the graded schools he was graduated from the city.high school of Athens, while the summer seasons were devoted to farm labor. In 1868 he came to German gulch, Mont., where his father had located an extensive placer and quartz mining property, and for three years worked successfully at mining. He then went back to Ohio and in 1871 attended the Miller Seminary at Marshfield, remaining in Ohio until March, 1873, when he returned to Montana. In the fall of 1874 the family home was changed to Deer Lodge and in the high school he continued study during the winters of 1874-5. Mr. Beal accom- panied his parents on their removal to Butte,

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where his father built the Centennial Hotel, which was opened on July 4, 1876. With the exception of a short interval Perry served as clerk of this house from its opening until its destruction by fire on April 24, 1888. This fire was very disastrous ; not only destroying the building and all contents, but causing the death of two persons who perished while attempting to escape.

Since 1888 Mr. Beal has made his home at Ger- man gulch, devoting his attention exclusively to developing his mining property, which has proved exceedingly valuable and promises to yield an am- ple fortune. He is now operating quite extensive- ly, and owns over two miles of the gulch, his prop- erty containing the largest porphyry dyke known in the world. He has been quite successful thus far, and, if present indications are a proper cri- terion from which to judge, his future will be pro- lific of .rich results. Mr. Beal is an active worker in the Democratic party and has contributed much to its success since becoming a citizen of the coun- ty in which he now lives. He is a valued Free- mason, belonging to Silver Bow Lodge No. 48, and Chapter No. 3, R. A. M., at Deer Lodge, and is an enthusiastic worker in both organizations. In the fall of 1890, in Jackson, Mich., Mr. Beal was united in marriage with Miss Margaret Arm- strong, a native of Belfast, Ireland. Their son, George A., is a bright lad of six years.

WARREN S. BAXTER .- The subject of this review is well worthy consideration as one of the pioneers of Montana, having become a resi- dent thirty-seven years ago. Mr. Baxter is a na- tive of Moultrie county, Ill., where he was born August 22, 1844, his parents being George and Louisa C. Baxter, natives respectively of Tennessee and North Carolina. The father followed farming as a life vocation, and his death occurred in Febru- ary, 1894, his wife having passed away in 1857, both devoted members of the Christian church.

Warren S. Baxter received his educational train- ing in the public schools of Illinois, and at an early age began to assist his father in the work on the farm, remaining on the old homestead until he at- tained the age of twenty years. In 1864 he started for Montana, beginning the journey on March 24, with an ox team, four months being consumed in making the trip. Before reaching their destina- tion two men in the party were killed by the In-

dians. After reaching Virginia City Mr. Baxter found employment in hauling building timbers, to which occupation he devoted his attention until winter, which he passed in Salt Lake City. In the spring of 1865 he came to Helena, was engaged in logging during the summer, and was thereafter employed in freighting until 1869, when he re- turned to Illinois and passed the winter with his father. Returning to Montana in 1870 he pur- chased a hay ranch in Prickly Pear valley and en- gaged in farming and cattleraising until 1877, when he sold his ranch at a good profit. He then pur- chased eighty acres and took up a homestead claim of equal area, located three and one-half miles north of Helena, near Ten-mile creek. Here his efforts in the line of farming and stock- raising were not attended with the best of success, but he continued operations until 1889, when he sold his ranch for $8,000 and moved to his present location on Wolf creek. Here he purchased 550 acres, to which he has added 680 acres, and has since been successfully engaged in farming and cattleraising on an extensive scale. His ranch is well improved, and 400 acres of the tract are avail- able for cultivation. In politics Mr. Baxter gives his allegiance to the Democratic party, while his religious faith is that of the Christian church, of which both he and his wife are members.

May 20, 1875, Mr. Baxter was united in mar- riage to Miss Sarah E. Young, who was born in Shelby county, Ill., the daughter of Thomas and Ruth Young, natives of Tennessee. The father devoted his life to agricultural pursuits, his death occurring in January, 1868, his wife having passed away in 1854. To Mr. and Mrs. Baxter five chil- dren have been born, one of whom, Mary L., is de- ceased, the others being George T., Rossie S., Jes- sie and Delbert R.

S ILAS A. BEACHLEY has been prominently identified with the industrial life of Montana for nearly a quarter of a century, and is known as one of the representative farmers and stockgrowers of Cascade county, his ranch of 800 acres being located at the railroad station of Ulm. Mr. Beach- ley claims the old Keystone state as the place of his nativity, his birth having occurred in Berlin, Somerset county, on October 14, 1853. His par- ents, Peter and Phoebe Beachley, were natives of Pennsylvania where the father has for many years

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 2, Part 91

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