MTGenWeb Project LEWIS & CLARK COUNTY, MONTANA BIOGRAPHIES - SURNAME S-Z

 

Hedley Fletcher Smith, History of Montana, 1913 To say that Mr. Smith has had an active part in the up building of Helena is no figure of speech, although it happens to be true in both a literal and a figurative sense, for the occupation of this progressive citizen of Helena is that of a contractor and he has had a share in the erecting of more than one of its notable buildings. Mr. Smith is a Canadian by birth, being a native of Prince Edward Island. Here he was born on April 19, 1862 on the farm of his father, Isaac Smith. In the year 1817 Christopher Smith, the grandfather of Hedley Fletcher Smith, immigrated from Yorkshire England, with his wife and infant son, Isaac. He was a civil engineer and when he came to Canada he engaged in farming besides following his profession. His son continued in the same occupation and became one of the influential citizens of that district. He lived to be more than ninety years of age and died full of years and honors in 1909. One of his brothers, the Rev. Matthew Smith, is now, at ninety-eight, still filling the pulpit of a church in New Brunswick. Age has had no power to sap the mental and spiritual vigor of this minister and the Baptist denomination of New Brunswick regards him as one of the able leaders in the army of those who climb the steep ascent to heaven, mid terror, toil and pain. Hedley Smith's mother was of Welsh descent. Her family came to America in the same year (1817) as that in which his father's people settled there. Anne Meyers was born in Canada and died in Prince Edward Island in 1900, at the age of sixty. Her people followed farming and also followed the sea-faring occupations. Mr. Smith has inherited a large share of the sturdy qualities of his ancestors and has proved himself a worthy descendant of the race which has shaped the destiny of the western hemisphere. The provincial schools of Canada provided Mr. Smith with his elementary education and for a time after completing his study there, he worked on his father's farm. Obeying the impulse which seizes most young men to seek newer country, he went a thousand miles or so to the west and settled in Winnipeg. He remained in that flourishing town for one year, and then moved to Cooperstown where he followed the same occupation he had been working at in Winnipeg, that of a carpenter. At the end of three years, Mr. Smith left North Dakota, and in 1887 went to Butte. Half a year was then spent in the mining city of Montana, at the end of which period Mr. Smith came to Helena. He adopted the capital as his permanent residence and has been engaged in business there ever since. Until 1905 Mr. Smith did not operate as a contractor but was employed by other building concerns in various capacities of an executive nature. For nine months the state capitol was in process of erection, he was for a year and a quarter in charge of the entire force in this period, he was employed on that of W.G. Conrad for eight months, as well as upon a number of other contracts. Since starting in the contracting business, Mr. Smith has been connected with many of the most important building enterprises entered upon in Helena, during the last seven years. Mr. Smith's family consists of four members besides himself. His eldest son, Walter Harold Smith, born in Helena in 1892 is now at work at his trade. The one daughter, Victoria Ruby is attending business college in Helena and Herbert N. is in the grades at school being thirteen years of age. Mrs. Smith was formerly Miss Anne Catherine Gallagher. Her birthplace was Ireland but she was reared in England. In 1891 she came to America alone and the same year was married to Mr. Smith at Helena.

James M. Smith, History of Montana,by Joaquin Miller, 1894 James M. Smith, one of Montana's successful pioneer farmers came to the Territory July 1, 1864.He was born in North Carolina, March 30, 1833. His father, John Smith was born in Virginia and was a descendant of an English family who were among the first settlers of the Old Dominion. He was born in 1800 and married to Martha Shields, a native of North Carolina and of German extraction, born in 1802. After their marriage they resided in North Carolina until 1844 at which time they removed to Tennessee. There, the following year, he was attacked with a pain in his head which resulted in his death. He had been a gunsmith and a farmer and had mined in the gold mines of North Carolina. He was also a musician and taught music but with a family of ten children he had not been able to accumulate much and left them poor. After his death, the widow kept her children together as best she could until they were all raised to maturity. She died in 1865. Of the children, seven are now living, James M. being the fifth born. They resided in North Carolina until he was twelve years of age, when they removed to Tennessee. His opportunities for an education were limited in the extreme. When our subject was sixteen his elder brother left homeand upon him devolved the care of his mother and the younger children. He stayed with them, worked on the farm and provided for them until he was twenty-one. He then went to school for six months and began to learn the millwright trade, receiving $6 per month. After working a year at this trade, he turned his attention to carpenter work and followed that for about ten years in Tennessee.January 9, 1859, he married Mary Hauser, a native of Bavaria, Germany. On April 24, 1864 accompanied by his wife, he started west. She stopped at St. Louis until the spring of 1865 when he came on to Montana. Upon his arrival in Montana, he prospected at Silver City for eight days. Mining had just commenced. He found in the mountains a holein which he had a good show of gold. On Silver creek he recorded a claim but as soon as he left it, it was jumpedand when he returned a year later he found the men had taken $5000 from it. Mining was not his forte and after a little he worked at his trade. His first work at Alder Gulch was to make wheelbarrows, which he sold at $25 each.For a time he cut cordwood for the Tompson and Sanders Sawmill. This was the first mill in the territory and from November to January 1865 he furnished them with logs.Mrs. Smith had remained in St. Louis during the winter and in the spring of 1865 she joined her husband in Montana.She reached Fort Benton bringing with her about 2,500 in freight. Mr. Smith met her at the Fort and with his ox team hauled her and the goods to Helena. They camped on what is now Colonel Monroe's place. Afterward they went to Springville and started a boardinghouse but did not like it there and only remained one night. Returning to Helena they moved in a little cabin. A few days later, when going up town, Mr. Smith heard a sale being cried and out of curiosity went to see what it was. He learned that a squatter had taken up 160 acres in the valley and while covering his house with slabs a wind blew one of the slabs down, it striking him on the head and killing him. Judge Hedgeswas selling his right to the place. To help the sale along, Mr. Smith began to bid and unexpectedly it was struck off to him at $376.00. After making him a quit claim deed, Judge Hedges came out with Mr. Smith to a high place where Rodney Street is now located and pointed down the valley saying, "It's down that way. Take the ox trail and when you come to the place you'll know it. The house has been raised and the slabs to cover it are standing up against the house. There is a little corral there."The next morning Mr. Smith loaded up his effects and he and his wife made their way to the new home. Soon he roofed the little house and they began in earnest their life in Montana. That year Mr. Smith cut twelve tons of hay and fenced a portion of his land. He worked hard and as the years passed by made many improvements in his land. Having no children in 1875 they adopted Mattie Kents who is still with them. Their home is at Number 836 North Jackson Street.

Samuel A. Swiggett, History of Montana,by Joaquin Miller, 1894 Captain Samuel A. Swiggett, Register of the Land Office, Helena is a native of Maryland, born in Dorchester County, May 19, 1834.Captain Swiggett's ancestors were among the early emigrants to this country from England and were prominent factorsin the early development of the colonies and States. His maternal grandfather Samuel Hurst, fought for independenceon the Revolutionary battlefields. Samuel Hurst was also the grandfather of Bishop Hurst, of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Grandfather Aaron Swiggett was a Major in the War of 1812. He was born in Delaware and was for many years oneof the prominent citizens of that state. His son, William H, the father of our subject, was born in Delaware in 1810 and for his wife married Hemetta Maria Hurst, a native of Maryland. They became the parents of seven children, of whom four sons are living. The mother died in her thirty-second year and the father lived to be sixty-five. Both were worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. William H. Swiggett had resided in his native state until his marriage then he removed to Maryland, and it was in the latter state that the subject of this sketch was born; theparents soon removed to Delaware, and reared their family there.Captain Swiggett, the first born in his father's family received a limited education in Delaware and Maryland, and after reaching his fourteenth year came West as far as Indiana and engaged in the merchant tailoring and clothing business. Subsequently he removed to Iowa and continued in the same business being thus occupied when the war of theRebellion burst upon the country.He enlisted in the ranks in September 1862 and became a member of the Thirty-sixth Iowa volunteers. He had been active in recruiting for this and other regiments and was elected Captain of his company. They were sent to the front in the Department of the Mississippi, their first engagements being at Helena and Little Rock Arkansas. In the spring they left Little Rock for Shreveport and while his brigade was guarding a train from Camden to Pine Bluffs, Arkansas theywere attacked by 9,000 mounted infantry and after a fight which lasted two and a half hours, the entire brigade waseither killed or captured. Seventy-three men in Captain Swiggett's company were killed and wounded, the rest, thirty-four were captured. The latter were taken as prisoners of war to Tyler Texas. The following August, Captain Swiggett with five other officers of the Thirty-sixth Iowa, bribed the guards and by that means they made their escape. They traveled by night, remained hidden in the woods during the day and in this way succeeded in covering adistance of 110 miles; but when they reached the vicinity of Boston Texas they were re-captured and were marched back to Tyler. When taken, most of the men were exhausted from exposure and want of food and the return to Tylerwas made under the most distressing circumstances. They were put in the stockades the last of September. On the 23rd of December, Captain Swiggett with two officers of the One Hundred and Twentieth Ohio Infantry made a second attempt to escape and after traveling twenty-one nights they reached the river, 275 miles from Tyler and again he and the two officers were recaptured, this time being confined from time to time in different jails and finally landed in the stockade at Shreveport. While the other prisoners, members of his company and regiment were exchanged,Captain Swiggett, on account of his having tried to made his escape, was sent back on foot to Tyler, this being the third time he had been marched there as a prisoner. There he was kept until June 1865 when the war was over and the last prisoners in the stockade were exchanged, and as a matter of fact he was the last man out of the stockade. He then returned to Duval's Bluff Arkansas where he rejoined his regiment with them being honorably discharged and mustered out in October at Davenport Iowa.Upon his return to Iowa CaptainSwiggett engaged in merchandising. Soon after this he was elected Sheriff of WapelloCounty. At the end of his first term he was reelected and served a second term. He continued his mercantile business there until 1887 when he came to Montana. Upon his arrival here, he purchased an interest in a quartzmine and has since been engaged in mining. After being a resident of Jefferson County Montana one year, he attendedthe Republican County convention. There were sixty-two members in the convention, only two of whom he knew; nevertheless, he was nominated by the convention on the Legislative ticket. He was elected to that office and served the last term of the Territorial Legislature of Montana after which he resumed his mining operations in Jefferson County. In 1890 he was appointed by President Harrison as Register of the United States Land Office atHelena. He had not been an applicant for this position and did not know of his appointment until he received a dispatch asking him to accept. He did so and is now performing the duties of this office.Captain Swiggett was married in 1856 toMiss Eliza H. Van Cleve, a native of Kentucky. There are two children living,a son and daughter--Levin V. and Gertrude, the latter being now the wife of Thomas S. Wilson, and three dead--Annie,Effing W and Lida. Mrs. Wilson is an elocutionist and she and her husband have a college at Spokane Washington. Mrs. Swiggett passed away on April 13, 1893, dying from the effects of a malignant tumor which caused her great suffering for eight months. Her remains were interred in the family lot in the cemetery in Ottunwa Iowa by the side of her children.

Leslie Sulgrove, History of Montana, Sanders, 1913 One of the prominent citizens of Helena is Leslie Sulgrove who has spent thirty-two years of a busy useful life in this state, having identified himself with its growing interests and in many ways has contributed to its development and prestige. In public life he is known as a strong and aggressive worker in the uplift of the community. He has always been an active practical reformer and all of the varied responsibilities which he has assumed since coming to Montana in the territorial days have been advanced by his accurate vigorous efforts. His parents, Berry R. Sulgrove and Mary M. (Jameson) Sulgrove were both born in Indiana, and were married and lived in Indianapolis, where the subject of this sketch, the oldest of four sons was born on February 7, 1854. The mother came from a noted Virginia, colonial family which came west with the early emigrants, and settled on the banks of the Ohio, in Jefferson County where her father, Thomas Jameson had large holdings and who was the first to introduce the culture of silk in the then far west. Her grandfather Thomas Jameson was born in 1732, the same year as George Washington, served under the latter in the Revolution and died some years after her birth. The father was the son of James Sulgrove, a prominent leather merchant, whose family came from colonial North Carolina and settled near the future capital. Their ancestry dates back to long before the building of the "Sulgrove Manor" house upon the old estate of that name, near the town of Banbury England, which was confiscated by Henry VIII and afterwards granted to a Washington family, supposed to be the ancestors of George Washington, and occupied by them for nearly a century. Yet, notwithstanding this fact, the solid built ancient home has retained the original Sulgrove family name, during the four hundred years of its existence and is still used, unchanged, as the manor house. Berry Sulgrove was a special protégé of Alexander Campbell, of the noted Bethany College from which he was graduated wit the highest honors, and early gained the distinction of one of the most intellectual men of the country. Forsaking the law for which he had been trained, thereby following a family precedent, her entered upon a literary career, drifting into journalism, when it meant more than news gathering and became famous as one of the editors of that period. He was considered a wise political adviser and was the greatest political writer of the Hoosier state and as the editor of the Journal was a power in keeping it loyal during the Rebellion. He was a historian of note and wrote the history of "Indian in the War," "Holloway's Indianapolis," and History of Marion County." A keen observer and omnivorous reader, he wrote well on any subject and was the author of countless special articles for all sorts of periodicals. A deep student of the original classics and familiar with the whole field of literature his acquirements were well digested and the result was an epigrammatic style with language clean, clear and compact and exact in statement, which has made his writings the subject of much study and selections from them are used as textbooks in the public schools of his native state. It is the natural result of the inherited traits of such an illustrious sire that the son, Leslie should become so well known for his remarkable memory, wide reading and the great range of his accomplishments and that he should in his school days and always after have been devoted to literature. His tastes include nearly everything that has value to existence but from childhood he has favored more the sciences, chiefly chemistry and biology. As a schoolboy he gained fame as an entomologist and his collection of insects was awarded the state prize for excellence and completeness. He strove to make our native silks of commercial value and exhaustively studied the subject. He was a born naturalist and has always loved to freely roam in the forest depths. As a schoolboy he had as an associate and mentor the afterwards celebrated botanist, John Muir and later was the intimate friend and assistant of Dr. Harvey W. Wiley and between them has existed the strongest mutual admiration. As a writer on many subjects, more particularly the sciences, music and the drama, Mr. Sulgrove made quite a name while employed on the various papers of his native city and was quoted as an authority on almost everything connected with outdoor life. An intense longing for the highlands and tiring of the journalistic life led him to abandon the flat valley land for the mountains and brought him to Montana before the advent of railroads. Here he was deeply interest in all that was included in the country and this interest has never abated. His pursuits were varied and he was assayer, laborer, prospector, blacksmith for which his mechanical bent made him well fitted, surveyor and printer. Drifinting back into the news line he edited a paper in Butte call the Daily Labor Union, of which his chief reminder to sole remuneration is a stock certificate. Coming to Helena as a legislative reporter for Butte papers he became a syndicate correspondent and was employed on the Herold ,the Independent, and later on other publications. After taking part in helping to survey some of the little known portions of the territory he served as clerk of the old first court at Miles City. Upon the change in politics Mr. Sulgrove again entered the newspaper field and built up the Montana Stock Journal which later developed into four different organs of various interest and at all times since he has kept in touch with the fraternity and is still active in a literary way. Mr. Sulgrove has filled official positions with credit and in whatsoever he has served his varied abilities and acquirements have aided in doing well whatever he has undertaken. He was public librarian of Helena for many years and his literary tastes, knowledge of books and newspaper experience peculiarly adapted him for the position and taking charge of this institution when it was practically defunct, he re-organized and advanced it until the public library was the center of literary interest. In the position of health officer Mr. Sulgrove had the advantage of early medical studies supplemented by handily acquired legal knowledge and hard study and brought all of these to bear upon reforming and renewing the efficiency of the health department in which he was successful and was highly complimented in many ways for his ability in handling contagious disease epidemics upon which he was considered an authority. He was instrumental in putting the city in good shape and also in establishing the present garbage system. His chief work of which he is most proud is the present county hospital for contagious diseases, the erection of which was due to his patient and persistent efforts in behalf of the afflicted. Mr. Sulgrove was married in 1885 to Miss Sophia C. Dithmer at Indianapolis and returning to the Treasure state has since made Helena his home. There are two children, Mary Agnes Sulgrove and Leslie Berry Sulgrove, a graduate of the Indiana Law school and now a practicing lawyer in Helena.

Harry Sykes, History of Montana,by Joaquin Miller, 1894 Harry N. Sykes, a Montana pioneer of 1864, now an esteemed resident of Helena, who has done his share toward developing the resources of his vicinity and advancing the general welfare, was born in Niagra County New York, December 4, 1830. His ancestors came from England to America in an early day, settling in New England in the hisotry of which they played a prominent part and from which place their hardy descendants have spread over the United States,carrying with them that determination and ability so characteristic of their forefathers, to whom and their co-partneris largely due to the present status of this country among the nations of the world. Great grandfather Nathaniel Sykeswas born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1730, his life being passed amid the stirring scenes of Revolutionary times; and knowing the independent character of the family it is hardly necessary to state that he took his part with the colonists in freeing themselves from the yoke of monarchial domination. The musket with which he fought the British at Lexington is still a treasured heirloom in the family, while that spirit which it represents is also their heritage. This noble ancestor died in 1791 after having witnessed the fruition of his hopes in the independenceof the American colonies. His son, Francis Sykes, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in Manchester,New Hampshire, in 1763. He married Rose Bishop, a descendant of an old and wealthy New England family and in 1794 they moved westward to Springfield New York which town they founded and where they resided until their death, Francisin 1823 and his worthy wife in 1840. Of their eight children, Nathaniel Sykes, father of the subject of this notice,was born in Whitingham Vermont in 1794 and was carried by his mother on horseback to New York. Nathaniel was the second child and was reared in Springfield and married in Cheningo in 1817 to Elizabeth Seeber. She was born in Schoharie County New York in 1795 and was a descendant of the Dutch Knickerbockers, belonging to one of the oldest families of the Mohawk Valley. Her grandfather, Jacob Seeber was killed in the Revolutionary War while fighting forthe freedom of the colonies. In 1835 the parents of the subject of this sketch removed to Chautauqua County New York whence they went in 1846 to Van Wert County Ohio. In 1857 they again moved west, going to Missouri where the wife and mother died in 1862. Harry Sykes continued to reside there until his death in 1872 at the good old age of seventy-eight. He was an influential and worthy citizen, prominent in good works and universally respected. For many years he acted as Justice of the Peace and during the late war was a strong advocate of the Union. Of his four sons and three duaghters there now survive three sons and one daughter, Eliza died aged eleven; Charlotte became Mrs. Perry Hull and died aged twenty-five; Francis was an officer in the Union Army, and was severely wounded at Fort Donelson--he died in 1876. George resides in Miles City Montana; Lorenzo lives in Vina, California, Harry N. is the subject of this sketch and Jeanette, the youngest, who now resides in Montana.Jeanette has had a most remarkable and eventful career which savors of fiction but is intensly real. She was born July 29, 1833 and was married in Van Wert County Ohio in 1872 to Joseph W. Decamp. She removed with her husband in 1855 to Minnesota and thence in 1861 to Fort Ridgely on the Indian reservation, where in 1862 the great indian massacre occurred. On August 17 of the last mentioned year, Mr. Decamp left the fort for St. Paul and on the following day Mrs. Decamp and her three children were captured by the indinas. On the 19th of the same month Mr. Decamp returned to Ft. Ridgely, which was for two weeks in a state of siege by the indinas. He was one of acompany sent out to bury the dead--about 1000 men, women and children who had been killed. While out on this mission this company was attacked by indians and on September 1st the batatle of Birch Cooley occurred in which all but eighteen of the white men were killed. Mr. Decamp was wounded and carried back to the fort where he died.After Mrs. Decamp had been in captivity for two weeks, she was enabled by the aid of a friendly indian to escape with her children in a canoe down the river and returned to her parents in Missouri. Some years later she married Rev. Joshua Sweet at one time Chaplain of Ft. Ridgely and in 1867 they removed to Glencloe, Minnesota where Dr. Sweet founded a church. He died in St. Paul in 1874, greatly mourned by all who knew him. He was a man of talent and education, a prominent minister of the Prostestant Episcopal Church who did much toward disseminating the Gosepel in the Northwestern wilds. Mrs. Sweet has had five sons, three by her first marriage and two by the lastone. Wellington Decamp, the eldest is an esteemed resident of Spokane Washington, Joseph Warren is a miner in Helena; Benjamin E. lives in California; Charles N. is also in Spokane and Harry Whipple is now in Helena. Mrs. Sweet has borne her trials and vicissitudes with Christian fortitutude. She is a lady of marked refinement and culture and enjoys universal esteem.Harry N. Sykes, the subject of this biography, who has for a moment been obscured by his sister's virtues, was reared to manhood in the grand state of New York, his young life being passed on the home farm and in attending the public schools of his vicinity. He accompanied his parets to Van Wert County Ohio in 1846 where he marriedHenrietta DeCamp,a native of Licking County, Ohio. In 1855 this young couple accompanied Joseph W. Decamp and wife to Minnesota where Mr. Sykes settled on government land in the vicinity of Shakopee. Two years later, in 1857 Mr. Sykes and family returned to Ohio where he engaged in lumbering and later laid out the town of Middlepoint.In 1858 he went to Missouri whither his parents had preceded him, leaving his famliy in Knox County that State. In the spring of 1859 he went to Pike's Peak, Colorado where he remained a season prospecting for gold. He then returned to Missouri, where he remained until the last day of February 1864. He then started across the plains a second time; coming with Captain James Fisk and a small company to Montana. On arriving at the Little Missouri River the emigrants were attacked by a large number of Indians and for three days the white men traveled and fought, twelve of the company being killed. The men were finally surrounded but during the night some of the company stole away and succeeded in reaching Fort Rice, where General Sully had troops. He sent 800 men to the relief of the emigrants and the indians were driven off. Sixteen days elapsed before the soldiers arrived, duringwhich time the emigrants suffered greatly.Mr. Sykes then went down the Missouri River to Sioux City, Iowa, where he took a steamer to Omaha, Nebraska, thence crossing the plains to Virginia City, Montana, where he arrived in the fall of 1864. He mined here until 1865 and then came to Helena and in 1866 took up a ranch of 160 acres in Prickly Pear Valley, seven miles northeastof the capital. Until 1868 Mr. Sykes was engaged in freighting from Fort Benton and other places to Helena. At this time his wife and two daughters came out to him and after their arrival they settled on his farm near Helena.They were eighty-seven days in making the voyage up the Missouri River owning to the shallow condition of the stream.His daughters, Lottie and Ida are now married, the former to B.J. Townsend, a respected citizen of Helena and the latter to J.J. Ellis, a prosperous resident of Great Falls. Harry E. Sykes was born on the farm near Helena and is now managing that place for his father. The family made their home on this farm for a number of years, being greatly prospered, the father adding 160 acres to his original purchase and making substantital improvementson both farms. In 1887 the father bought a brick residence in Helena, where he and his wife now reside, surrounded by comfort and in the enjoyment of the society of their children and friends.

John S. Tooker, History of Montana,by Joaquin Miller, 1894 John S. Tooker of Helena Montana, is a native of the state of New York, born in Seneca County, January 7, 1835.Mr. Tooker descended from the English and Dutch, his ancestors being among the earliest settlers of America. His father, Rev. Ellflit Tooker, a Baptist minister, was born in Rhode Island; his mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Smith was a native of Seneca County New York a descendant of one of the early Dutch families that settled in that state. They had a family of ten children, of whom only four are now living. The mother passed away in 1840, and the father survived her until 1853.John S. Tooker, being left an orphan at an early age, was reared from his fifth year by his brothers. They removed to Lansing Michigan when the capital was located there, and at that place the subject of our sketch received his earlytraining and served an apprenticeship in a foundry and machine shop. He grew up with the city and became one of her most successful manufacturers.In 1856 he reached his majority and being a lover of liberty and a hater of oppression, and believing that human slavery was a great stain on the republic, he espoused the cause of the Free-soil party and cast his first presidentialvote for General John C. Fremont. Although he was sneered at for supporting Fremont, young Tooker had the courage to stand by his convictions. When the Republican Party was founded, he became prominent in that movement and aided in its organization. when Fort Sumter was fired upon his patriotism was roused to a high pitch but his business relations prevented, as he thought, his participation in the war. The following year, however, the country's need became so greatthat he entered into an engagement with his partners, promising to pay them $5 a day while he was absent and in October 1862, we find his name enrolled among the list of volunteers. He went out as a member of Company G, Sixth Michigan Cavalry, having entered the service as a private. He was soon afterward made Orderly Sergeant. With his regiment he followed the fortunes of the war for a year and nine months, fighting with all his might in the same line he had voted. His horse falling when he was on it resulted in a severe sprain which disabled him from active duty and his brave career was ended by his honorable discharge in March 1864. He returned to Lansing Michigan and as soon as he had sufficiently recovered he resumed business. His business grew to large proportions and ere long he became one of the most prominent men in the city.Upon first coming to Montana, Mr. Tooker interested himself considerably in mines and mining with varied success and has still valuable mining property. He is now Clerk and Recorder of Lewis and Clarke County to which positionhe has been elected three times in succession. All the business of the county goes through his office and has his best attention.October 5, 1858 Mr. Tooker married Emma L. Hayes, a native of Farmington, Michigan, a daughter of Dr. W.H. Hayes. Her father is one of the prominent men of Michigan, being now a resident of Lansing. He is a Methodist minister, an ex-mayor of Lansing and has served as a member of the State Legislature. Mrs. Tooker died in 1869, leaving an only son, Clyde J., now a businessman in Montana. In 1873 Mr. Tooker married at Lansing, Agnes Edwards, a native of Fort Plain, New York and a daughter of C.T. Edwards, a well-known citizen of Lansing.

Edward Warren Toole, History of Montana,by Joaquin Miller, 1894 Edwin Warren Toole, one of Montana's most eminent lawyers, was born in the Savannah, Andrew County, Missouri on the 24th of March 1839. His parents, Edwin and Lucinda Shepard Toole, emigrated from the state of Kentucky to Missouri in 1837 and settled at Savannah, at which place they reared a large and highly respected family, most of whom are still living and residing in Montana. Edwin Toole was a lawyer by profession, was over twenty years Clerk of the District Court of his county and resigned his position before coming to Montana some eight years ago. His life has been a most exemplary one, and now in his eighty-sixth year retains to a very extraordinary degree his vigorous mental faculties and physical health. All his brothers and sisters, six in number, are still living. Our subject's mother died in her seventy-seventh year.Edwin Toole, the oldest living son of his father's family, was reared in his native town and was educated in public schools and in the Masonic College at Lexington, Missouri at which place the Hon. S.B. Elkins and himself represented the Philologian Society and the Hon W.Y. Pemberton, now Chief Justice of the state and the Hon. Jerry Craven, ex-member of Congress from Missouri represented the Erodelphia Society. He came to Montana in 1863 where he hassince been engaged in the practice of his profession and during all these years he has been connected as counsel with most of the prominent lawsuits of the county, meeting with marked success and gaining a most enviable reputationas one of the most able and talented lawyers of the state. Among the important cases in which he has recently appeared may be mentioned the noted Davis will case, St. Louis Mining Company vs. Montana Company Ltd, involving the extension of the famous Drum Lummon Lode; and Northern Pacific Railroad Company vs. Richard P. Barden et al: upon the decision of the latter depended the right to millions of acres of valuable mineral lands within the limitsof the railroad grant. In this case he was employed by Hon. Martin Maginnis, Land Commissioner for the State, in favor of the interest of the miners and against the railroad company.

George L. Tracy, History of Montana,by Joaquin Miller, 1894 George L. Tracy, a representative Helena businessman, was born in Utica, New York in 1844. He is a descendant of the Norwich Connecticiut family of Tracys. They came west in 1855 and he secured his business education in Chicago, first in the old house of H.W. Hinsdale & Co. and later with Reid, Murdoch and Fischer. For twenty-eight years he was a commerical trader.In 1879 Mr. Tracy came to Montana as a pioneer representative of a Chicago house and for nine years traveled through Montana and other portions of the Northwest and became thoroughly acquainted with every business, house of any note throughout this part of the country. In 1887 he establisehd his present business at Helena. Since that date he has handled all kinds of groceries at wholesale direct from the manufacturers, importers and packers to his customers inMontana, Idaho and eastern Washington. He has offices in Helena, Butte and Spokane, in charge of competent salesmen,and covers the whole country by traveling men. From the start his business has been a success. He is widely and favorably known throughout the states mentioned and has by the most honorable business methods secured the good will of the people with whom he has so long dealt.Mr. Tracy is a thorough businessman, a courteous and agreeable gentleman and is a Knight Templar and Thirty-second Degree Scottish Rite Mason.

Robert C. Wallace, History of Montana,by Joaquin Miller, 1894 Robert C. Wallace, who has long been identified with Helena and who is ranked with her successful businessmen, was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, February 26, 1837, a descendant of Lowland Scotch Presbyterian ancestors.His parents, John and Agnes (Craig) Wallace, continued to reside in Scotland until 1844, when they emigrated with their family of six children to America, and settled in Detroit, Michigan. In Detroit, John Wallace, a physician, practiced his profession until 1863 when he removed to Berlin, Michigan. At the latter place he still resides, having attained the ripe old age of ninety-one years. His wife died in 1858, at the age of fifty-four.Robert C. Walace was seven years old when his parents located in Detroit. In the public schools of that city he received his education and after leaving school he was employed as a clerk in the store of G. & R. McMilan, of Detroit with whom he reamined for seven years. After that he spent five years in the employ of H.H. & R.F. Wright.In the summer of 1860, in company with one of his brothers, he opened a grocery in Detroit. But about this time the trouble between North and South arose, Fort Sumpter was fired upon, and a call was made for volunteers to protectthe old flag. He enlisted in the First Michigan Volunteer Infantry for a term of three months, and at the expiration of that time returned to his home and resumed business; but in 1862 when the call for soldiers became urgent, he again enlisted, this time in the Fifth Michigan Cavalry, with which he served until the close of the war. He participated in many of the battles of the Army of the Potomac and on one occasion in the spring of 1863, at a skirmish at Hawkhurst Mills, he was taken prisoner, was exchanged that summer and rejoined his regiment. He entered the ranks as a private and for meritorious service was repeatedly promoted, coming out of the army with the commission of Major.The war over, Mr. Wallace secured a postion as traveling salesman for a wholesale tobacco house, but remained withthat firm only a short time. Then he accepted a clerkship on the steamers running between Detroit and Lake Superior,the Dubuque and Ontonagon. He was thus occupied until the spring of 1869 when he decided to seek his fortune in theWest. He accordingly came to Helena. Here he was successively engaged in mining, farming and clerking. While employed in the latter capacity he saved his wages and in the spring of 1871 started a small business of his own.In 1873 he formed a partnership with James L. Davis, which partnership continued for a period of ten years, when Mr. Wallace purchased the interest of Mr. Davis, and from that time up to the present has conducted the business in his own name. Prosperity has attended him on every hand. Not only in his grocery business as he been successful,but also in his investments in mines and real esteate. He owns both city and ranch property, among the former beingthe attractive residence which he and his family occupy and which was built by him.Mr. Wallace has always been affiliated with the Republican party. When Helena was incorporated he had the honor of being elected as her first City Treasurer. In 1883 he was elected to the Territorial Legislature and served in that capacity. He was also elected Alderman of Helena, which office, however, he resigned in order to give his undivided attention to his own personal affairs. He was made a Mason in Detroit in 1864. Also, he belongs to the A.O.U.W., G.A.R., Loyal Legion and Cadedonial Club of Helena.In 1875 he married Ellen M. Shaw, an ative of Michigan and a daughter of F.B. Shaw. She died in 1890, leaving twochildren, a son and daughter, David R. and Marguerette.In business life Mr. Wallace has met with satisfactory success. As a businessman, a soldier and a citizen, his whole career has been characterized by the strictest fidelity and today he ranked with the leading men of Helena.

William Warren, History of Montana,by Joaquin Miller, 1894 William Warren, who is ranked with the well-to-do farmers in the Prickly Pear Valley, near Helena, has been identified with this locality for two decades.Mr. Warren is a native of England. He was born May 12, 1844 and when a lad of sixteen years came to America to make his own way in the world. His first work in this country was in a coal mine in Rhode Island. From there he went to the Lake Superior mines where he worked about six years. In 1867 he landed in Colorado, and in that state mined three years, first contracting and later having the position of foreman on several rich leads. While there,November 19, 1869 he married Lucinda Hardesty, a native of Boone County Kentucky, born July 22, 1834. She had gone to Colorado in the spring of 1863 with her mother and brother and in the fall of the falling year, with her mother,niece and nephew she returned to Kentucky. In Kentucky, August 10, 1865, her mother died and they buried her at BigBone Church which was on the corner of her father's farm. Their farm had previously been occupied by Grandfather Patrick Wallace, an Irish gentleman who was one of the pioneers of Boone County,Kentucky. Jacob Hardesty, Mrs. Warren's father spent his whole life on that farm and died there in 1862 in the seventy-first year of his age. In 1867 Mrs. Warren again made the journey to Colorado and two years later was married there.It was in 1871 that Mr. and Mrs. Warren came to Montana and to their present home near the city of Helena. Here they have developed a farm. Mr. Warren built the commodious residence they occupy, and the trees, whose friendly branches furnish ample shade were planted by them soon after their arrival here. Recently they sold 140 acres of their land at $120 an acre, this land having cost them $4 an acre in 1871. They reserved the building and the rest of the farm, the land they have now being devoted to small fruits.Mr. and Mrs. Warren have four children, two sons and two daughters. Their daughter Fannie Lu is the wife of William Shean and the other children, Charles Edward, John Wallace and Rosa Belle are at home.

Elbert Durkee Weed, History of Montana,by Joaquin Miller, 1894 Hon. Elbert Durkee Weed, a prominent member of the bar of Montana, dates his birth in Alleghany County New York, December 1, 1858. He is of English and Dutch descent. His great-great-grandfather, Reuben Weed, settled in Connecticut an early period in the history of this country and from Connecticut his posterity emigrated to Cayuga County NewYork where they were chiefly engaged in agricultural pursuits. His paternal and maternal great-grandfathers, RuebenWeed and Jacob Schaffer, fought in the Revolutionary War and Reuben Weed (Reuben being a popular name in the familyfor several generations) his grandfather took part in the War of 1812. Seth H. Weed, the father of Elbert D. was born in Allegany County New York in 1832, and he rendered his country efficient service during the Civil War, enlisting in July 1861 in the First New York Dragoons, and serving with his regiment until the second day of theBattle of the Wilderness. On that day he received a gun shot wound in the thigh, which severed an artery and caused his death. He left a widow and two little sons: Elbert D. and Henry I.In 1866, Mr. Weed's mother, whose maiden name was Nancy E. Foland, with her children, accompanied her father on his removal to Wisconsin where they settled on a farm and where her sons were reared. She is still a resident of that state, now making her home in Oshkosh.After preparing himself for college, Elbert D. entered the Lawrence University in Wisconsin where he was graduatedin 1880. He then took a course in law in the State University at Madison, Wisconsin and began the practice of his profession at Oshkosh, where he remained two years. In 1883 he came to Helena and entered into a partnership with E.D. Edgerton, which association was severed two years later and since that time Mr. Weed has conducted his law practice alone, having secured a good clientage and a reputation as a successful practioner. He is the attorneyfor Montana of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York and also of the U.S. Mortgage Trust Company of New York. Mr. Weed is a bachelor.

August Weisenhorn, History of Montana,by Joaquin Miller, 1894 August Weisenhorn, a Montana pioneer of 1863 and one of Helena's businessmen and successful manufacturers, was born in Germany, January 29, 1842. His father, Silas Weisenhorn, a German manufacturer and hotel keeper was married in Germany and in 1857 came with his family to America and settled at Qunicy, Illinois, where he purchased a farm and resided until 1890 when his death occurred in the 84th year of his age. His wife had died two years previously, in her 78th year.August Weisenhorn was the third in a family of seven children, six of whom are living and was fifteen years old when he came to America. He remained on the farm with his father and learned the blacksmith trade and when he attained maturity started with a mule team for Montana. He stopped and worked at his trade about two months in Colorado then came on to Virginia City and opened a shop there which he ran two years afterward moving to Diamond City where he continued his trade until 1870. That year he sold out and returned to Quincy Illinois, established a carriage and wagon manufactory, operated the same two years and in 1872 sold out. That year he came to Helena, Montana with a stock of carriages and wagons and located in a building which together with his stock was soon afterwards burned, entailing the loss of all his accumulations. Then he began working at his trade again. For two years he was in the employ of Alexander Camp, after which, in partnership with Wallace Brown, he bought out Mr. Camp and has since been engaged in the manufacture of carriages and wagons. After six years Weisenhorn and Brown dissolved partnership and Mr. Weisenhorn continued in business alone. In 1889 the Weisenhorn Manufacturing Company was organized, Senator T.C. Power and Joseph Q. Townsend being its presidentand manager. Mr. Weisenhorn was married March 26, 1878 to Emma J. Buscher, a native of Indiana and a daughter of Henry Buscher.They have five children: Birdie E., Lafayette A., Barbara; Ottie and Frances--all born in Helena.

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