Page 247 - Cornelius Hedges Story

For This And Succeeding Generations Gardiner 234

Edward Wones Knight, arrived in Helena in 1873, he served as vice-
president of the First National Bank in Helena, he was also an attorney.
He married Theodosia Hauser the daughter of Samuel T. Hauser. In
1882 he served as Chairman of the School Board and challenged the
constitutionally of a Helena law requiring separate schools for black
children, resulting in the residents of Helena voting to integrate their
schools. Knight was the second Mayor of Helena. He helped to organize
and served as President of the first electric light company; he also helped
organize the Board of Trade. He served as one of the Commissioners of
Lewis and Clark County in 1893 and chairman of the board. He was a
member of the Presbyterian Church. Knight was Master Mason prior to
coming to Montana and was a member of Helena No. 3
Shirley C. Ashby, joined the Confederacy at the age of 17 and fought
in the Civil War from 1862 to 1865. In 1866 he attended a commercial
college in St. Louis and after graduation worked as a steamboat clerk
until he moved to Montana Territory in 1867, traveling to Fort Benton
on the steamboat Nile, and was employed by I. G. Baker & Bros. of
Fort Benton to help in their Indian trade. In 1870 he moved to Helena,
he served as Lewis and Clark County Assessor for five years, was
successful in real-estate and insurance, and the agricultural implement
business, S. C. Ashby & Co. He became a stockholder in the Helena
National Bank in 1890 and was elected president in 1892. He was
named State Adjutant General in 1903.
Edwin L. Norris, born in Kentucky, arrived in Montana in 1888 and
studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1889, and established his legal
career, serving as the city attorney of Dillon for five years. Norris first
entered politics as a member of the Montana State Senate, a position he
held from 1896 to 1900. He also served as Senate president in 1899, and
was the Lieutenant Governor of Montana from 1905 to 1908. On April
1, 1908, Governor Joseph K. Toole resigned from office, and Norris
assumed the duties of Governor. Later that same year, he was elected
the fifth Governor of Montana. During his tenure, coal mine employee
compensation benefits were lobbied for; health laws were sanctioned;
the impartial nomination of judges was endorsed; and reform measures
were initiated in the life insurance industry. After completing his term,
Norris left office on January 1, 1913, and retired from public service.
Jacob Ward Smith, In 1866 moved to Montana Territory, a member
of the 1870 Washburn party of Yellowstone explorers. In 1872, he
moved to San Francisco at the insistence of his wife, and reestablished
himself as a broker. Within a decade he was a millionaire.
James M. Hamilton, third President of Montana State College in
Bozeman, later served as Dean of Men.