Anton M. Holter was born at Moss, a small farming and fishing village on the eastern shore of Christiania fiord, Norway, June 29, 1831. He was the third in a family of five, having two brothers older and a brother and sister younger. His mother being left with scant means of support, he went to live with a maternal uncle, a farmer, and remained with him until he was seventeen years of age. He learned to read fairly well, and to make his letters, and thus was qualified to be confirmed as a member of the Lutheran Church at the age of fifteen. At this time his greatest ambition was to be a sailor, but the fate of his father, who had been a sea-faring man, and of whom no tidings had ever been heard since sailing on his last voyage from Norway in 1839, brought all the family influence to bear to prevent such a career. He learned the trade of butcher, but abandoned it for that of carpenter in less than a year, and contracted to serve three years for $10 per annum and board. He relates that all the instruction he ever received in arithmetic was one hour for four successive evenings from his eldest brother. Many reasons induced him to come to America. It was the country to which his father had set sail when last heard from, and there lin

gered yet a hope that he might be living and found. Another motive was the fact that when he arrived at manhood he found that the trade of carpenter was generally regarded as inferior. in the social scale to the business of the farmer. Bidding his friends adieu, he set out on April 8, 1854, in a sailing vessel loaded with immigrants and arrived at Quebec May 25th of the same year. His party came direct to the United States, meeting with a serious railroad accident in his first ride on the cars, in which five of his company were killed. On arriving at Rock Island, his party was attacked by cholera. and refused admission to any public house. Mr. Holter broke away with some violence from those with whom he had thus far travelled, and seizing. his trunk and fighting off the quarantine officers, he rushed aboard a boat just ready to push off, not knowing whether it was going up or down stream. At this time he did not know a word of English, and there was no one on the boat whom he had ever before seen. Prior to leaving home he had heard of an old acquaintance living at Freeport, Iowa, and as well as he could he tried to find the place and his friend, and succeeded after some little trouble. He met with a hearty welcome from his countrymen in Win

neshiek County, Iowa, and found employment at his trade immediately. He tells with what a struggle, under the constant tutorage of his friends who had been longer in the country, he mustered courage to fix a price for his services. While others in his trade who did poorer work and less of it, were asking $1 a day, he assented at once to $20 a month, and by the following spring, by means of his savings and by judicious speculation in town. lots, he had accumulated $300. Times were good in Iowa, and Mr. Holter prospered. He was full of life and energy, found friends plenty and work in abundance. He continued to speculate in real estate, and within a few more months he confidently estimated his wealth at $3,000, and began to think of going back to Norway. Wishing to see more of the country, he went down to St. Louis and spent the winter of 1855-6, where he went to work at his trade on the Missouri Pacific railroad, then building to Jefferson City. Returning to Southern Iowa in the spring of 1856, he spent the next four years in that section, making Osage his headquarters. Being of a restless and roving disposition, he made many journeys into Western Iowa and Minnesota. That country was then practically in the possession of the Sioux Indians. He was one of the first to arrive at Spirit Lake after the Indian massacre at that place in 1858. He accumulated some property, but times changed and values disappeared. With other misfortunes he was sick almost the entire year

of 1859 with brain fever and malaria. In the spring of 1860, having cleared up his debts, and having partly recovered, he joined the rush of fortune seekers to Pike's Peak, his brother Martin M. Holter, having joined him. In Colorado the brothers engaged in mining and farming with fair success. In the autumn of 1863, in company with a Mr. Evanson, Mr. Holter started with a saw mill for Virginia City, Montana, leaving Denver September 16th of that year. After suffering untold perils, with severe cold and deep snow, and having to abandon much of their cargo, they arrived in Alder Gulch on the first of September, locating their mill eighteen miles from Virginia City. The story of Mr. Holter's life at this juncture better illustrates perhaps the indomitable pluck and energy of the man than any other period of his history. These two men put up their saw mill during the winter, having to make roads to haul in their machinery on hand sleds, the snow being too deep to use cattle. They whip-sawed all the lumber to build their mill and flume, made an anvil of a broad-axe, bellows of a rubber overcoat, and having forgotten that part of their machinery necessary to feed the saw, invented a rope-feeding contrivance. Before the snow had gone in the spring these two men, with the help of only one other man for a short time, had put up their mill under a series of adverse circumstances and surroundings such as would have overawed ordinary men, and had sawed.

out several thousand feet of lumber before they could get any animals into the camp in the spring. They did a good business during the season of 1864, but wanting more machinery, Evanson went to Colorado for it. Instead of buying as intended, the stories of the fabulous prices of flour, nails and other supplies induced him to expend his money for these things and start back. Most of his precious merchandise was lost on the way back in storms and through the loss of teams, and though the remainder was sold at high figures at Helena, in the spring of 1865, the venture proved a losing one. Mr. Holter had meanwhile established a mill on Ten Mile Creek, eight miles from Helena, and wishing to devote himself to the lumber business, he bought out his partner and took in his brother Martin under the firm name of A. M. Holter & Bro. In the summer of 1865, Mr. Holter brought in the first planing mill ever set up in Montana, and ran it in connection with his mill.

In 1867,

the brothers opened a general merchandise store in connection with their other business. A few years later the general merchandise store was discontinued, the business being changed exclusively to hardware. This was continued until the spring of 1887, when his brother retired, and Mr. Holter then incorporated the A. M. Holter Hardware Co., which is the name by which the present house is known. He is still engaged in the manufacturing of lumber, being president of the Montana Lumber and Manufacturing Com

pany of Helena, and also of the Holter Lumber Company of Great Falls, Montana.

He was one of the first to erect and experiment with ore concentrating machinery in Montana, an industry which has grown to be one of the largest in the State.

Mr. Holter is one of those rugged, indomitable spirits to whom the coming generation inhabitating the northwest, and especially Montana, will owe in a large degree the magnificent heritage that awaits them. He is not only capable of planning vast enterprises, but of carrying them into effect. He is one of the pioneers of Helena, and no man stands higher in the esteem of his fellow men. Mr. Holter is a Republican, and has held several offices, always with credit to himself. and satisfaction to his constituents. He was the first Republican elected to office in the city of Helena. In 1868 he was elected a school trustee and served three terms. He was elected to the Territoral Legislature in 1878, and in 1880 was elected a member of the City Council of Helena, and was honored with the presidency of that body. He was elected a member of the House of Representatives of the State of Montana in 1889, which position he now holds. He has also held the office of president of the Society of Helena Board of Trade during two terms. He was president of the Society of Pioneers of Montana, and delivered a very able address at the annual meeting of the society in 1890,