Orchard Homes Pioneer Stories
Pioneers’ Descendants Tell Facts of Early Montana History for Orchard Homes Women
Talks on early Montana history by descendants of pioneers were the program for the Orchard Homes Woman’s Club in the clubhouse Wednesday afternoon. The series, arranged by Dr. Goldie Zimmerman, was part of the program to be given this year expressive of the theme, “Montana, Past, Present and Future.”
The coming of her grandfather to Beartown, seeking gold in Bear Gulch, in 1886 [1866], was described by Mrs. John B. Taylor. Her grandmother came in 1870 to Deer Lodge, where the two were married. They settled in Beartown and Mrs. Taylor’s mother, born in 1871, was the first white child born in Beartown. The family later took part in the pioneer activities in Philipsburg. Mrs. Taylor showed a crib in which four generations of her family had slept as babies.
[Mrs. Taylor was the daughter of Lawrence and Dora C. (Kroger) Hauck of Philipsburg, Mt.]
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Her grandfather, Odillon Marceau came from Canada in 1864 and homesteaded in Grass Valley, Mrs. Richard Dunton said. Her father, Z. O. Marceau, was a freighter before the railroad was built and took care of traders’ horses. A gun issued to her father at the time it was thought the Nez Perce Indians were coming through this area was shown by Mrs. Dunton.
Tin Cup Joe
Another pioneer personality, Tin Cup Joe, was described by Mrs. Dunton’s sister, Mrs. William Longpre. He was Damien Le Deau, her husband’s grandfather, who arrived from Canada in 1840 and settled in Grass Valley. She told of a lawsuit in which he was involved with Baron O’Keefe, concerning a horse, and the way the case was conducted.
Her family’s arrival in Montana in the gold rush of 1864 was a theme of Mrs. A. M. Kirscher, who gave additional information regarding their homestead in the eastern part of the state.
Early day relics were shown by Mrs. Bert Thrasher to illustrate her account of the prospecting trip of her husband’s grandfather in 1864. He settled at Pioneer.
Ride from ‘Frisco
How her father-in-law, Ed Miller, rode to Montana from San Francisco 80 years ago was recounted by Mrs. Charles Miller. He took up 400 acres of land in what is now Orchard Homes, but was then known as Bitter Root Bend.
Mrs. L. A. Colvill told of her father-in-law’s coming to Missoula from England in 1886, and of his homesteading 10 miles west of Missoula. He was one of the early settlers of Orchard Homes and did much toward the establishment of orchards in the community.
Pioneer Guest
Miss Josephine Gilg, the only living member of the Montana Pioneers in Missoula County, was introduced as a guest. She was 92 years old in March.
Mrs. Taylor closed the program with a tribute to the pioneers for their many contributions to the development of the state. Many of the members were dressed in old-fashioned clothes and showed articles of pioneer days . . .
The above article appeared in The Missoulian on October 30, 1960.
The pioneer, Miss Josephine Gilg, referred to in this article was the subject of another article in The Missoulian on December 29, 1964:
Missoula’s Last Pioneer Is Dead
Miss Josephine Gilg, 93, one of the few remaining Montana pioneers and the last pioneer in Missoula County, died Sunday night in a local hospital.
To belong to the Society of Montana Pioneers, which Miss Gilg had served as president, a person had to have been born in Montana before 1869. Miss Gilg was born March 10, 1868, at Argenta, near historic Bannack, in Beaverhead County.
In 1888 she moved to Anaconda and in 1911 to Missoula where she resided at 935 Vine St.
During the Missoula Centennial celebration in 1960, Miss Gilg was honored and last March at the Missoula Miss Centennial pageant she was introduced and presented mementos of the state’s hundredth anniversary.
She was a member of the Mother Church of Christ Scientist, of Boston, Mass.
Survivors include a niece, Mrs. Roy F. Hamilton of Missoula, and several other nieces and nephews . . .