Sunday, December 31, 2017

Two Bullets Do Their Deadly Destruction

 When I first began researching Granite County history, almost twenty years ago, the first news article I found was the above headline. Research at that time, consisted mainly of going to the Montana Historical Society Research Library and reading the available newspapers on microfilm. Wonderful strides have been made since and one can now sit in their home and read a large amount of downloaded articles archived on the internet. But with all of these changes there are still some questions, I have been unable to answer. After reading this, maybe one of you can provide the answers. 

The Philipsburg Call May 11, 1893 began their story “ Joe Gird’s Murder-Two bullets do their deadly destruction. J. Brown fires both shots. The population of Granite County was startled last Saturday evening with the news from Flint Station to the effect that a shooting scrape had taken place there in the saloon of Brown & Clay and that Joseph A. Gird, an old and respected resident of Willow Creek, had been the victim at the hands of a cold blooded assassin in the person of J.W. Brown, one of the proprietors. On the receipt of the news in Philipsburg, Sheriff (John) Cole started at once for the scene of the trouble. On arriving there he found Gird lying dead in the saloon with two bullet holes in his body and his face blackened with powder from another shot that must have been fired when he and Brown were in close conflict. Upon inquiring for Brown, the sheriff was informed that he had started on foot to Philipsburg for the purpose of giving himself up. With this information Sheriff Cole dispatched a deputy to go down the track from Philipsburg to meet Brown, which was done, but the murderer was no where to be seen, and then the officer became suspicious that the criminal was making his escape. All night the sheriff and his deputies kept a lookout up and down the valley, but no trace of Brown was seen and his whereabouts is still a secret, probably to himself alone, yet it is the general belief that his partner Clay assisted him to escape and if anyone knows where Brown is, Clay is the one.” 

James Campbell and Eugene Sifton were the only witnesses and they both related the story that Gird, Brown and Campbell had traveled by train to Philipsburg earlier in the day and upon their return went to the stable to pick up their saddle horses. Campbell asked the group as they were leaving the stable if they wanted to stop for a drink and agreeing to the invite the group hitched the horses to the fence near the saloon and settled in to have a drink and shake dice for who payed for the drinks. Gird and Brown then began to play poker and a disagreement over a dollar bet ensued. Next Brown got up and Gird took Brown by the shoulder saying” You had the best of me once with a Henry rifle, didn’t you Brown?” without answering Brown walked behind the bar and took out a gun and began shooting. Gird started to run and was hit in the chest then as he turned was shot in the back under the left shoulder blade. Gird went to his horse and attempted to get on but asked Campbell who had followed to assist him. Gird then fainted and Campbell ran back to the saloon for help. Brown and Sifton helped carry Gird back to the saloon and Campbell then mounted his horse and rode three miles to Horton’s to report the shooting and telegraph Philipsburg for a doctor. By the time Campbell returned to the saloon, Gird was dead, a crowd had formed and Brown was no where to be seen. Dominic Byrne, Gird’s father-in-law was about seven miles from the scene and hearing of the trouble headed for the saloon. He came upon two men and recognized Brown. Asking whether he had done the shooting Brown said no and when questioned drew his revolver “and with gun in hand ready to shoot spurred his horse and rode off into the valley.” 

Gird, age 33, was buried in the Philipsburg cemetery beside his mother and child. He was survived by wife Mary and five small children. Four of the children’s names (I think) were Ella, Joseph, Emmett and Dominic. The only surviving headstone at the cemetery is Dominic’s. 

Shortly after Joseph Gird’s funeral the Granite County Commissioners offered a $250.00 reward for J.W. Brown’s capture believing that would entice anyone knowing of his whereabouts to come forward. A friend of Brown who had been in Boulder Gulch claimed to have seen Brown and talked with him. Brown said he did not plan to leave the county or become a fugitive, but thought knowing the feelings against him by Gird’s friends it was best for the time being to “remain in a prison he had selected for himself until the heat of excitement had passed.”

No article was discovered in the newspapers about how or when J.W. Brown was found or turned himself in. But the July 20, 1893 Mail carried the article that the trial for J.W. Brown had started. Fifty men were interviewed before a jury of twelve men without bias were determined. The jury went out to deliberate at 8pm on Saturday and returned with a verdict at 8:30 am on Monday morning. Two witnesses disclosed that Gird had told them a few months prior that he wanted to kill Brown and this caused the jury consternation as to whether the killing had been cold blooded murder against an un-armed man. J.W. was convicted of 2nd degree murder and sentenced to ten years in the State Prison. The August 3, 1893 Mail stated Brown was taken to Deer Lodge by Sheriff Cole via horseback.

A man named John Roberts was in the Granite County Jail for check forgery in September, 1893 and it was believed that he used a gun, meant to be given to J.W. Brown to escape, as the vehicle to commit suicide. The September 14, 1893 Mail stated “ George Suppinger, the jailer rushed into the cell and there on the floor lay the prisoner Roberts, in a pool of blood issuing from a bullet hole in his head.” A letter was found in Robert’s pocket when the body was being prepared for burial that requested his father be notified of his death but not to disclose he had died by his own hand. “The gun I shot myself with was given to me on coming out of the court house. I would have shot the jailer too but he was not worth the lead.” The gun was determined to be the one the jailer had lost two or three months before while J.W. Brown was a prisoner. The gun was searched for at length and it was finally determined that some prisoner had taken it out of the jail after serving their sentence.

The Anaconda Standard carried an article on June 3, 1894 that the saloon where the murder took place was burned to the ground and it was believed the fire had been deliberately set. Right after Joseph’s death his wife began filing estate notices. By 1895, Mary Gird had leased the Sharp Boarding House and was opening a first class restaurant. In January,1898, she returned to the ranch and by September 23rd announced the ranch was up for rent on a two to four year contract. The ranch was identified as a 320 acre tract of land on Willow Creek with 180 acres fenced, with the address Stone Station.

It is unknown if the ranch was rented but by January, 1900 The Mail carried an announcement that the Gird ranch would be sold at a private sale on February 5. Also beginning in February Mary had a notice of private sale of water rights posted in The Mail. One right was a one-fourth interest in 125 inches conveyed in “The Little Ditch” from Willow Creek to Elkhorn Bar and the second right was for sixty inches of the water of Willow Creek awarded May 15, 1871.

A November 8, 1900 article stated “Fugitive who killed Sheriff Young of Springdale is believed to be J.W. Brown, the murderer of Joseph Gird in 1893.” Obviously he was released for good behavior early!

 Helen Gird married Harry B. Miller in 1910. Was she the fifth Gird child? William Gird living in the valley attended Joseph’s funeral. Was he a brother? The 1880 U.S. Federal Census lists Joseph age 20 living with other boarders in New Chicago. This census lists Lucy Gird age eight as an orphan living with Joseph and Isabella Henderson and Louisa Gird age twelve and William Gird age four as adopted by Joshua and Sarah Donegan. Research has failed to identify who these three Gird children belonged to. How many children did Joseph’s father A.J. Gird have?

We know the family transferred from the Bitter Root before Kate Perry moved from Philipsburg to the Gird Ranch in the fall of 1867. Does anyone know the date the Gird's left the Bitterroot?

Father, A.J. Gird originally arrived in the Bitterroot Valley in the winter of 1862 with George Orr, when Joseph was two years old. Research does not disclose whether the family followed later or was with A.J. and George at the original time of arrival. The Gird family operated an inn named The Travelers Rest in the Bitterroot and it appears used that or a similar name at their rest stop that Kate Perry worked at in the winter of 1867 in the Lower Flint Creek valley near the present Gird Creek.

Friday, December 29, 2017

The Bowen Brother's Enterprises

 Fred C. Bowen, was one of the Town’s first Aldermen. According to William’s obituary they were born in Wales and immigrated to America in 1861, After moving west from Ohio to Butte they settled in Philipsburg in 1887. William had married Charlotte Parfitt in 1886 in Ohio. Research has not revealed when Fred married Anna. Upon arriving in Philipsburg the brothers set up Philipsburg Iron and Machine Works. The July 2, 1891 Mail stated Philipsburg Iron and Electric Light Company was the town’s biggest enterprise, disclosing that the Company had expanded into furnishing electricity.

By May of 1893 the Philipsburg Iron and Machine works was paying out $1,500 to $2,000 per month in wages. Apparently they also had a similar operation in Marysville as the Citizen Call November 14, 1894 stated after a small fire in the foundry of Bowen Bros. and Thompson “that it has been but a short time since the firm’s works were destroyed by a fire at Marysville.” 

Research does not establish the exact date Ezra R. Thompson joined the Bowen Brothers, so whether he was with them from the beginning or joined them in 1894 is not certain. He married Nellie Farrell in 1894. The Helena Independent March 27, 1892 announced that the “Philipsburg-Granite Electric Light Company is putting in the rest of the arc lights for which the Council contracted and soon we (Philipsburg) will have 2,000 candle power lights to illuminate our streets.” so obviously the Iron Works and Light Company had become separate entities. 

The November 23, 1893 Mail carried the results of a jury trial of the Philipsburg-Granite Light Company against the Flint Creek Club. Apparently the Secretary of the light Company J.R. Cox had received more than the bill (73.75) as he took possession of the Club property which was worth more than $300. The owners of the Company were identified as Messrs Bowen, Gannon, Wilson and others. The jury verdict allowed the Electric Light Company payment of their bill less what Cox owed the Club. 

The P-GEL Company extended their circuit to the Bi-Metallic Mill for the purpose of supplying the Mill with necessary power during the shutdown” (Oct.26,1893 Mail), referring to the “Silver crash.” Then by April of 1894 the paper carried a notice that Cox was no longer connected with the Company, signed by Geo. P. Durham President. By July 28, 1894, The Mail announced that “Philipsburg-Granite Electric Light Company are serving all night, lights to those of their patrons that desire them now.” On January 17, 1895 The Mail carried an article stating that “Fred Bowen, Will Bowen, and E.R. Thompson had incorporated The Philipsburg Iron works with a capital stock of $45,000.” 

On April 29, 1898 Charlotte Bowen, wife of William died at the age of forty-two. Survivors were her husband and seven children: Thomas, Lizzie, Fred, Lottie, Annie, Will and Charles plus her brother Harry Parfitt. 

Also in September 1898 the Light Company was paid $66.25 for the Court House and Jail quarterly light bill. The Philipsburg-Granite Electric Light Company discontinued lights at Granite and the wires were being taken down with the assumption that the Bi-Metallic would probably furnish the town lights with the dynamo placed in the Bi-Met Hoist according to the June 9, 1899 Mail. 

George Durham was still President of the Company in 1901. Obviously the Company went through many ups and down such as in March 1908 when Mr. Bowen of the Philipsburg Iron Works appeared before the City Council (explaining) that his firm had taken steps to resurrect the electric light plant and was making new estimates for machinery replacement.. Then in August the City Council “gave notice which is to be final, to the electric light company to remove their poles and wires from the streets of the city.” Apparently this did not happen because at the January 9, 1909 City Council meeting they announced to Bowen, they could not award a contract for a term of more than three years without a vote of the people. 

By 1915 Bowen Brothers Electric submitted the only bid and in 1917 rates were reduced by $3.00 from the $202 per month 1912 rates for city service. By 1914 The Bowen Hardware Company was also in business with young William. C. involved. 

William C. married Mary (Mae) Huffman. Their children were Leonard and Lucy Mae. As an adult, Leonard owned the Bowen Service Station on the west end of Broadway.  

William Sr. was vice-president of the Light Company when he died January 7, 1930 and the Light Company was bought out by Montana Power in late 1930. Prior to this, Fred became ill, sold out and moved to Portland, Oregon where he died in January 1929.
The above picture is of  Fred Bowen, Bill Bowen and Charlie Bowen sitting on the running board of  a Maxwell sedan in about 1916.

The rest of the Porter Story

When A.H. (Alex) Porter died at the age of 42 he was survived by a wife Jennie (Spencer) and four children: Forrest, Spencer (Joe), Nova and Mae Francis (Frankie). The family had been living in town at the time of the shooting, but shortly after Jennie and the children moved back to the ranch. Frequent references are in the newspapers about “Mrs. A.H. Porter being in town from her ranch” during the next couple of years. In April of 1899 Jennie requested the Philipsburg Mail to please correct a statement in the Citizen Call saying she attended a party at Newt Schillings. She was at Mr. and Mrs. Clawson’s that evening as were Mr. and Mrs. P.A. Schilling. “Only males were at the Newt Schilling party.”

Frankie who was staying in town in 1900 went to the ranch to care for her mother when she was ill in February 1900 and visited school friends at St. Mary’s Academy in Deer Lodge in August 1900. Forrest went to Tabor, Iowa to attend the Academy there in October 1900. In July,1901 an auction notice was in the paper for “95 head of cattle-cows, calves and steers to be sold at the Porter ranch on East Fork of Rock Creek. 

In August of 1900, William Schuh’s wife Ollie died leaving her husband and four young children. William’s ranch was next to the Schuh Homestead located at the confluence of Trout Creek and Flint Creek. Being in close proximity to the Porter ranch it was a natural occurrence for Jennie Porter and William to marry in 1902. August 16, 1904 Forest H. Porter died of pneumonia at the Schuh ranch. He was eighteen and survived by his mom, brother Spencer (Joe) and two sisters: Mrs. P.W. (Frankie) Merrifield and Nova Porter. The Schuh marriage was of short duration because William died of blood poisoning September 12,1906 from wounds he received in July while cleaning up the barnyard. 

The next information found in the newspapers was that Jennie married Sidney A. Kelly on November 8, 1908 at her home in the upper Flint Creek Valley. Kelly owned property on Fred Burr Creek. Jennie and Sidney bought a ranch south of Plains, Montana on November 2, 1909. They moved again in about 1915 to Ledham, Washington where S.A. died in 1924 and Jennie died on April 4, 1925. Her daughter Mrs. D.J. (Nova) Birran of Philipsburg had been with her since December. Nova was living at Ledham when sister Frankie died in 1949. 

Spencer, known by Joe ended up with the property identified as Porter’s Corner. Part of the land owned by Jennie Porter Schuh was sold to August Greenheck in 1907 and it is possible that Joe and Frankie were heirs of the remainder as they both lived right across the road. For many years “Porter’s Corner” was a destination where good music, food and drink were enjoyed by people from near and far. Dancing with live music such as “Charley Pride” was an event most every weekend and on more than one occasion trouble erupted when reveler’s had too much alcohol mixed in with “out of towner” animosity.
Porter"s Corner in the early 1930's (picture courtesy Pat Heimark Grandson of Joe and Bea Porter)


One such time was in 1927. “Herman Cardinal, Anaconda youth, was shot and fatally wounded early last Sunday morning (August 14) at the close of a dance at Porter’s Corner, six miles south of Philipsburg, when a delegation of Anaconda and Philipsburg men engaged in a free-for-all fight. According to reports of the affair there was a fight early in the evening between an Anaconda man “Pinkey” Walsh, and a man from Philipsburg. The men were separated by an Anaconda man and there was no more disturbance until the “Home Sweet Home” dance. As the dance was ending several men entered the hall and in an instant the big fight was under way. Pop bottles, chairs and loose objects began to fly in all directions. It is said, Joe Porter, owner of the roadhouse and store tried to stop the disturbance…It is alleged that Porter went for a gun to protect himself and wife (Esther)…Anaconda men told Sheriff Mahoney of Deer Lodge County, that they saw Cardinal fall and that Porter fired the shot…They said that Porter did not fire the first shot that was heard.” Joe drove the wounded man to Dr. Knight in Philipsburg and then met an ambulance near Georgetown that rushed Cardinal to St. Ann’s where he had surgery. Cardinal died on Monday; an inquest was held and several men were arrested. 

Ultimately, Joe was charged with murder; denied guilt; posted a $7,500 bond; and was acquitted after one day of testimony and forty-five minutes of jury deliberation. 

 Joe was an Army Private in WWI and wrote many letters to his sister Frankie who had the Philipsburg Mail publish them. In the late 50's Joe and his wife Esther leased out Porter's Corner and moved to town where he  operated an electrical business for many years.

Joe died October 4, 1974 and is buried in the Philipsburg Cemetery.
This picture is of Ole Sandin, Joe Porter and Jack Guianne playing cowboy and robbers in the early 1900's.