WILLIAM "BILLY" LIBERTY, Bio, Granite Co., MT Indexed and contributed for use in USGenWeb Project by: Wendy Garner USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Files may be printed or copied for personal use only. © 1998 by Wendy Garner. This file may be freely copied for non- profit purposes. All other rights reserved. WILLIAM "BILLY" LIBERTY Born: Place: he was French Canadian and born in Canada. Died: Place: he died at Missoula, Missoula County, Montana. Occupation: He owned and operated a blacksmith shop with partner Charlie Davis. He also drove the stageline for F.A. Davy owner at Garnet, Montana in the 1920's. Married: he was never married. Children: None. He worked for Mr. Davy for years. He drove stage-rain or shine- sundays excluded. He always wore a buffalo hide coat in winter and had an old buffalo hide robe for his passengers to cover with. He had hot bricks for their feet. His horses were named Barney, Duke, Eagle and Baldy. He owned a blacksmith shop along with a livery stable with Charlie Davis. Billy made horseshoes and forged some common household items along with making ore wagons for the mines. The Billy Liberty blacksmith shop was near the road leading up the gulch. In the blacksmith shop stood an anvil and forge with a tub of water nearby. Tools hung near the forge and numerous sizes of horseshoes hung on the back wall near the two places for horses. Billy lived in a cabin next to the blacksmith shop with Frank Davy. They ate their meals at the Wells Hotel. Charley Meyers and Johnny Stuart, both miners, stayed at Billy Liberty's when they came to town. One night in the 1930's, Billy built a very hot fire in the stove and burned the cabin down. Both Billy Liberty and F.A. Davy moved to the Wells Hotel. Billy Liberty could neither read nor write but retired to Missoula, Montana with a nice nest egg. He was always photographed neat and clean in suit and tie in his later years. Bibliography: Hammond, Helen 1990. Garnet Was Their Home, unknown publisher. Hammond, Helen 1983. Garnet-Montana's Last Gold Camp, Acme Press, Missoula, Montana. Morin, Mary Jane Adams, 1995. Interview by Bureau of Land Management concerning persons who lived at Garnet, Montana, unpublished.