William T. Allison
History of Montana,by Joaquin Miller, 1894
USGENWEB Montana Archives,maintained by burns@asu.edu

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William T. Allison, a member of the firm of Allison and Sherman 
furniture dealers and undertakers, Phillipsburg, 
Montana, is one of the leading businessmen of the town and 
as such is deserving of some personal mention in this work.

Mr. Allison was born in Delaware County, New York, November 19, 
1838.  He is descended from English ancestors who 
came to America long previous to the Revolution.  His grandfather, 
William T. Allison was a resident of Sing Sing 
New York and was a farmer by occupation.  He reared three sons 
and a daughter.  The latter is still living at the 
old home place in New York, and is now eighty-one years of age. 
One of the sons also survives.  Both Grandfather 
and Grandmother Allison lived to be seventy-three years of 
age.  Their son Jefferson, was our subject's father.  
He was born in Sing Sing June 14, 1816 and married Margaret 
Paul, a native of his own county.  They spent their 
lives and reared their family, five sons and one daughter in 
the Catskill mountains of Delaware County New York.  
His wife died in the forty-third year of her age and he lived 
to be seventy-four.  Her death was the result of an 
accident and occurred the day after Lincoln was assassinated.  
Their children are all living except Hiram, who 
died in the Union Army during the Civil War.

William T. Allison was next to the oldest of the family.  
He was reared on his father's farm and educated in the 
district schools.  In 1861 he went to Minnesota where he 
worked at his trade, that of carpenter and also did some 
farming.  As the Civil War progressed and urgent calls were 
made for more Troops, Mr. Allison enlisted in 1864 in 
Company F, Eleventh Minnesota Volunteer Infantry and served 
under General Thomas until the close of the war.  He 
was engaged principally in skirmishing.  At the close of the 
war he was honorably discharged and returned to 
Minneapolis, where he was engaged in contracting and building 
until 1870.

It was in 1870 that Mr. Allison came to Montana.  He first 
located at Deer Lodge and there continued work at his 
trade, putting up a number of the best buildings in the town.  
Two years later he went to Washington Territory and 
engaged in placer mining in Yakima County.  There he sank all 
his money.  After that unfortunate venture he came 
back to Montana and this time located at New Chicago, where he 
built a shop and resumed work at his trade, remaining 
there until 1875.  Since that date he has been a resident of 
Phillipsburg.  Here for six years he did the greater 
part of the contracting and building in the town, at times 
having a large gang of men working for him.  He also did 
a great deal of work about that time.  In 1881 he formed a 
partnership with G.V. Sherman in the furniture business and 
since then theirs has been the leading furniture and undertaking 
house in the city; in fact, they now have the whole business 
of the town to themselves.

Mr. Allison was married March 2, 1887 to Miss Rebecca A. 
Shull, a native of Auburn Indiana and a daughter of Henry 
Shull of that state.  They have two sons Jay Henry and 
Herman Thomas, both born in Phillipsburg.  He and his 
family occupy one of the most pleasant homes in the city, 
planned and built by him.

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