William Harrison Coburn History of Montana, Sanders, 1913 It will not be gainsaid by any resident of Boulder that one of the city's most energetic and admirable young citizens is William Harrison Coburn. He is extremely versatile and has been interested in many fields in his less than thirty years, among them ranching, mercantile business, hotel business and is now in charge of the Boulder Mine Company. Although of southern parentage, William Harrison Coburn is a son of the great West. He was born in Meacham Oregon June 18, 1884, and lived there for the first twelve months of his life. His parents then removed to Boulder Montana and there he lived until 1898 and then went to Meagher and Fergus Counties. There he resided for the ten years previous to 1908, in which year he came back to Boulder. He began the life of a rancher as a boy but tired of the life and at the age of nineteen went to White Sulphur Springs Montana and entered mercantile business. His first position was as an assistant to Anderson Spencer, manager of a mercantile company and he remained there for about six years. Mr. Coburn decided to cast his fortunes with the new town of Roundup Montana and he opened the first mercantile establishment in the place for D.P. Mumbrue, a railroad contractor who was concerned with the building of a railroad through the West. Mr. Coburn who identification with any business seems to spell success, developed the Roundup enterprise into a successful concern and then sold it for Mr. Mumbrue to H.E. Marshall who still continues it. After disposing of all his interest, he went to Lewistown where his grandfather Mr. William Trotter was engaged in the management of the Day House and there Mr. Coburn tried the role of Mine Host. In this as in all other endeavors he was successful. His grandfather became ill and sold the hotel. It was following that that Mr. Coburn returned to Boulder and took charge of the Boulder Mine Company. A glance at Mr. Coburn's history shows him ever to have been self-reliant. He earned his first dollar when in Butte working for his uncle John Berkin in the Raven Mine as top boy. His education was received in the public schools at Boulder but he did not have the advantage of high school. In Meagher and Fergus Counties he still retains ranching interest. Mr. Coburn was married November 30, 1909 at Lewistown, the young woman to become his wife being Mabel E. Hoffman, daughter of John and Sadie Hoffman. They have no children. Mr. Coburn's father, James Coburn was born in Louisville Kentucky, but came west first to Oregon and then to Montana. He ultimately engaged in railroad contracting for a number of years but is now retired traveling continually and having no permanent residence. The elder gentleman was married in Oregon to Mabel Stafford, daughter of George of Mabel Stafford. She is a native of Iowa. Mr. Coburn of this review is the eldest of the three children born to this worthy couple. The subject's maternal grandfather, George Stafford came to Iowa in his young manhood and died there when his children were very young. His wife's maiden name was Sarah Harris. She is a native of Virginia and is now living in Boulder. The subject's step-grandfather, William Berkin, is still living in Meagher County, aged about eighty-six years. He is one of Montana's staunchest pioneers and shipped the first boat load of ore out to Butte. The ore was hauled by wagon to Fort Benton and then by water to Swansea in Wales. He still has the original bill of lading. The late Colonel Sanders was a great friend of the Coburn family and he and Mr. Berkin were associated in freighting interest in the early days. Mr. Berkin's post office address is Lewis post office, Meagher County. USGenWeb Project NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format forprofit, nor for commercial presentation by any other organization. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than as stated above, must obtain express writtenpermission from the author, or the submitter and from the listed USGenWeb Project archivist.