History of Courtney Family

The first records found concerning the Courtney family are the 1860 Federal Census showing the wife of Humphrey Courtney had arrived in New York with an infant son Humphrey and husband about 1836 from Ireland. Catharine lived with her son Humphrey as a widow in the 1970 and 1980 census. Son, Humphrey living in Florence, New York, married Ellen Bolane about 1856. She was born in 1838, in New York. According to the 1970 and 1980 census records they had the following children: John (1958), Catharine (1860), Michael (1862), Bridget (1864), Patrick (1866), Maurice (1868), Julie (1873), Humphrey (1876), Catharine (1878) and Daniel (1879). I have to assume that the Catharine born in 1860 did not survive. The Census was not done in 1890 and by 1900 I find Humphrey living in Butte, Montana as a lodger with the Thompson family and 17 other men. 

His obituary states that he moved to Butte at the age of 20 and worked as a miner there for several years before he came to Philipsburg about 1913 and leased the Coyle manganese mine in Hasmark with his brother Maurice. Pictures from the Tex Crawley collection show the “Metcalf Four Team” with Fred Barbour as teamster unloading ore into railroad cars at the Northern Pacific station from the Coyle Mine. The money they earned from this lease is what they used to buy the property and build the Courtney Hotel on South Sansome. Going from being a miner to becoming a hotel proprietor, in the late 19th and early 20th century made perfect sense at that time. As stated in “A Room for the Night”, The influence of western hotel proprietors was considerable. Townspeople knew that most prosperous communities had good to excellent hotels. “In these hotels life was acted out-birth, marriage and death.” My grandfather, Billy Bentz spent the final weeks of his life in the Courtney Hotel. Important people such as resident, Merrill Riddick, namesake of the airport, had Charles Lindberg visit recalls Steve Immenschuh. 

Clifton, Applegate and Lawler were the contractors that built the hotel in 1918 and the original two story building had a third story added, before completion in 1919, “Making it the best and most substantial modern building in the city.” (Philipsburg Mail, February 14, 1919.) By 1920 , the Hotel added 14 more rooms and a spacious lobby. Advertized rates were “$1 and up.” Humphrey married (Catherine) Agnes Lowney, the daughter of Dennis and Catherine Lowney in Butte on April 29, 1925. Maurice continued living at the Hotel and Humphrey and wife moved to a home on the North side of town. They welcomed baby Humphrey James on June 21, 1926. 

Maurice, a bachelor, died August 8, 1940 at the age of 72 of Chronic Myocarditis secondary to bad teeth and age. Patrick died at St. James in Butte, from Apoplexy secondary to myocarditis and nephritis at the age of 80. Census records show him in Silver Bow in 1900; as a farmer in Madison County in 1910; a miner at a silver mine in Philipsburg in 1920; a farmer in Rosebud, Montana in 1930 and a guest at the Courtney Hotel in 1940. 

Humphrey retired from the hotel business in 1957 and died at St. John’s Hospital in Helena on February 2, 1961. Survivors included nephews Jack and Donald Courtney in Philipsburg. Son Humphrey had completed his education and was a Priest teaching at Carrol College in Helena. Agnes by 1950, was living in Seattle where she was teaching math and died of Pneumonia April 12, 1993 age 97, residing with Humphrey. He died November 12, 1999 at Carroll College 

While writing the above details about the Courtney family, I was left with numerous questions and had the need to continuing researching. When I wrote “Mettle of Granite County Book One” in 2009 I stated the Courtney Hotel was built by Charles and Humphrey. Obviously that information was incorrect and the source was recalling from memory. I had documented that Charles married Elizabeth Steber in 1914. As I researched the Federal Census reports I could not trace Charles with the original Humphrey Courtney family from New York. But I could find a Charles and Elizabeth in Philipsburg in the 1920,1930, 1940 and 1950 Federal census. When I finally solved this issue, I determined Charles was not born until February 19, 1882. 

The 1880 census showed Daniel as the youngest child. There was no census performed in 1890 and by 1900 Charles was 18 and had moved from his parents home. So far I have not determined where he was in 1900 and 1910. Elizabeth Steber was born, November 20 1896 in Granite and was 17 when they married on September 26,1914 and Charles was 32. Their children were: John (1916), Ellen (1918), Charles (1922), Lois (1926), and Donald (Maury) (1939). Elizabeth worked as the City Clerk and died from a Heart Block, July 31, 1957. Charles died March 12, 1959 in Philipsburg of Prostate Cancer. 

Their daughter Ellen married Ben Walkup, but I have not yet found the date (probably 1935 or 36). They had Albert in 1937 and Loretta in 1939. Daughter Lois married Wesley Warehouse in Spokane October 11, 1947. They had Robert age 1 and baby Willard in the 1950 census while living in Spokane. John was still living with his parents in 1940 and I have been unable to find him in 1950. Charles was in Yakima, Washington in 1950 with wife June and three year old son Richard and baby Michael. Donald always known as Maury was born March 12, 1939, graduated from Granite County High school and served in the United States Military. Ancestry shows children as Scooter, Dawnette, Michelle, Dennis and James. He died on March 24, 2020 in Tallahassee, Florida. 

The oldest child from the Senior Humphrey Courtney family was Michael born in 1862. In the 1900 Federal Census, he was with his wife Julia whom he married April 16, 1895, living in Butte, Montana with Michael’s brother Patrick and children Ella (Mildred) age 4 and Edward age 2. By 1910 they also had daughter Florence age 10 and still living in Butte. In 1920 they had moved to Philipsburg and were living with brother Patrick, Maurice and Humphrey with children; Ella age 23, Edward age 22 and Humphrey age 12?. Florence had died on October 10, 1919. Michael died at St. James Hospital in Butte at the age of 63 on March 19, 1925 of Uremia secondary to Prostate Hypertrophy and Urine Retention. The family was still living in Philipsburg and Michael was a member of the High School Board until his death. Julia remained socially active in the community while living in her apartment in the Courtney Hotel, according to the May 15, 1928, Philipsburg Mail. Julia died of a Cerebral hemorrhage at St. John’s Hospital in Helena, on May 21, 1951. While there to attend Humphrey’s ordainment at the Cathedral she suffered a stroke on the 19th. She had been living in Grass Valley, California in the 1950 Federal Census. 

The second to youngest Courtney brother born in New York was Daniel born May 7, 1879 and he died in September 7, 1948 in Warm Springs of Tuberculosis as a bachelor. Because it was such a large family, I will never do it justice unless a family member does a family tree. So I apologize to all the descendants I have omitted.

History of the Courtney Hotel

The Original Town site Block 3 lots 1-4 at 135 S. Sansome Street in Philipsburg, Montana was owned by Alice Weinstein. Around 1914 the lots were bought by Humphrey and Maurice Courtney, with money they were earning from Manganese ore mined from their “Coyle Mine” and they began construction of the Courtney Hotel. Humphrey’s obituary states he lived in Philipsburg six years before the Hotel opened in 1919 under the ownership of the Courtney Bros. The building had the Philipsburg Garage with Gus Olson on the bottom floor on the west side and on the main floor was the Overland Auto Company who could drive their automobiles into the show room through the massive front doors, on the east (Sansome Street) side. The two upper floors were rooms that were rented out for the night, weeks or longer. 

The 1920 Federal Census had Michael, Patrick and Maurice Courtney and Edwin Harrington listed as Boarders. Humphrey married Agnes Catherine Lowney from Butte on April 29, 1925. She was teaching school in Butte according to the 1920 Census. Their son Humphrey J. was born in 1927 and Humphrey, Agnes and toddler Humphrey were living in North Philipsburg in the 1930 Census. The 1940 Census has Ida Fullerton, Patrick and Maurice Courtney as Boarders and Walter Kramer age 60 as an employee living there. The 1950 Census showed Wallace McPhetters, John Erickson, Fred Coward, and Gerald Sullivan (age 34) living there. Mr. Sullivan, the music teacher for both the grade school and high school, stayed there during the school year until he retired (at least 16 years later). 

Humphrey managed the hotel until he retired in 1957 and sold the hotel to Agnes and Humphrey J. Agnes was, at that time, a math teacher at Union High School in Seattle, Washington and Humphrey was a Priest teaching at Carroll College, in Helena. Jack and Gert Lorenz took over the management of the Building when Senior Humphrey retired. They remodeled and renamed the hotel “The Pintlar”. There was now a restaurant and lounge where the defunct auto company had been housed. The basement housed the massive furnace where the original garage was.. EBay, currently has a matchbook cover advertising Jack and Gert at the Pintlar Hotel for sale for $7.87. 

Rita Immenschuh, and her three children, took over the management when Jack and Gert moved to Alaska about 1963. She married Joe Metesh in 1965. Steve Immenschuh has memories of the following: removing many wheelbarrows full of dirt from the basement floor before reaching cement, Instead of having a snow day off from school, he and his brother Kevin had a “Coal Day” when the train brought a car of coal (Twenty-five tons) to be used every year in the furnace, By adding lodge pole to the coal it burned a hotter fire, Receiving “probation’ for not following the rules, which consisted of painting the hotel rooms, Dr. Cunningham had his office across the street and Rita had a little sign that she put up when he came over for lunch or a break that stated “The Doctor is in”. 

Eldridge Petersen bought the hotel about 1969 and Rita and Joe gave up management. The Petersen’s operated the Hotel for about ten years and then sold to Loretta Sternberg, who never operated as a business. Next it was owned by James Herron and Loretta Sternberg and was a vacant building. Robert L. Derosia then bought the building and used it for storage. About 1990 the Flint Creek Valley Bank took the building over due to unpaid debt. The bank turned the building over to the Town of Philipsburg for unpaid taxes and in 1993 the town deeded the building to The Granite County Museum and Cultural Center. 

The Museum volunteers have worked tirelessly to update and restore the historical building. 

An Abundant Harvest

The Friday August 8, 1913 Philipsburg Mail expounded on the hay and grain harvest of the Flint Creek Valley in the following article: “Winter wheat is ripening and almost ready for the reapers. J.W. Duffy has banner wheat fields which will yield upwards of 40 bushels to the acre. Grain not hurt by frost. New fields are seeded. The harvest season in Flint Creek valley is now fairly on. Everywhere in the fields the ranchers are busy cutting and stacking hay and aided by favorable weather, good progress is being made. Haystacks are springing up all over the valley, almost like mushrooms overnight. In this part of the valley the crop generally is about like last year-in some places the yield is more and in others somewhat less. But last year was a banner year. In the lower valley, the yield on the bottom lands is thought to be lighter than the last season but on higher ground it is heavier, The condition is probably due to too much rain and cool weather which retarded the growth of the grass in the bottoms. But the bench lands are yielding heavy crops in both hay and grain. 

The Philipsburg district will again excel in Turkey Red wheat which is now ripening rapidly and is almost ready to cut. The binders will likely be started in several fields in this vicinity by next week. The finest stand of winter wheat-Turkey Red- is west of the city on the ranch of John W. Duffy. He has 100 acres, almost ready to cut, of as fine a grain as any country has ever produced and the yield is estimated to be at not less than 40 to 45 bushels per acre. …it is sure to go for 15 bushels an acre more than last year. The grain is full and heavy and shows no sign of damage from frost. It is in a locality where frost does not touch. The Franz brothers at the six-mile ranch have fine growing crops of wheat, rye and oats, all of which will yield heavy. 

Fine fields are to be seen west of the city at the ranches of C.L. Schoonover and C.F. Drewry. The grain is ripening evenly, is full and heavy and soon will be ready to cut. Heavy crops of hay are being put up at the ranches of John Kaiser, J.J. McDonald, the Degenhart place, M.C. Durfee, Eric Johnson, Mars Mohr and at the Groth ranch, farmed by C.L. Owen, where the yield is considerably more than last year. There has been little rain to interfere with the work in the fields and none to damage the hay which is of superior quality and being put up in fine shape. 

In the upper valley the usual big crops are in evidence and within two weeks the haystacks will be more numerous than a year ago. Much new ground has been broken and seeded in winter wheat. which is just beginning to show green. Just south of the city Fred Kroger has a fine field of about 100 acres which looks promising. Frank Goodman at the Hynes place also has a large tract and at Fred Burr Creek, Albert Budel has quite a field of tall wheat. Across Flint Creek on the bench John Kaiser, J.J. McDonald and Thomas Mitchell have seeded large tracts in wheat which should give a large yield next season as the soil and location are favorable.” 

As I have stated many times, the ranches kept the county surviving during the periods that mining was not profitable. Ranches, really have never been profitable, but provide survival when hard work, strategy and credit are available. These factors and good soil have fattened cattle in this valley since Thomas Adams brought herds into it in 1858.