Patrick J. Hamilton
History of Montana,by Joaquin Miller, 1894
USGENWEB Montana Archives
May be copied for non-profit purposes.

Patrick J. Hamilton, one of the earliest settlers of Butte 
City and an enterprising businessman in this bustling city, 
was born in Dublin Ireland in 1834, of Irish parents and 
ancestry. He was educated in his native county and in 1854 
when twenty years of age he emigrated to the land of broader 
opportunities to make his own way in the world.

Arriving at New Orleans without money, he began his life 
struggle digging ditches in the swamp, in that sultry and 
malaria's country and at length contracted fever and but 
for the kind offices of the Sisters of Charity he would have 
died. The following year, after he had fully recovered, he 
went to St. Louis, Missouri where he was employed at the 
depot of the North Missouri Railroad. After working there 
a season he determined to break away from civilization by 
going to the headwaters of the Missouri River. On his way 
he was in Kansas at Lecompton and Lawrence and at length 
reached Omaha, Nebraska where he met Judge Clancey and 
engaged in work for him in his brickyard at $40 per month. 
He received his pay for the first month but for the second 
the Judge said he had no money but would give a corner 
lot or the two inside ones for the wages, saying they would 
be worth $5,000 a lot inside of five years. He also 
desired Mr. Hamilton to take up 360 acres of land near by 
on a hill, saying that the capital of Nebraska would be 
there and also that the great transcontinental railroad 
would pass that point and in a short time the land would be 
worth $10,000. At that time several other places claimed 
the same, and Mr. Hamilton by not following the Judge's 
advice lost one of the finest opportunities of his life.

After this he worked on the Presbyterian mission on the 
Blackford Hills for a year completing the work then returned 
to Omaha and found the truth of the Judge's prophecy. Next 
he went to Decatur Nebraska, took 160 acres of land 
adjoining the town site; soon afterward he was offered 
$3,000 in cash for it but he held on to it and in 1857 the 
crash came and he could not sell it for a dollar. He had 
taken his oath of citizenship in Iowa but when he filed 
on his land he had not obtained his full papers and he was 
beaten out of his claim. He then worked at swamp-land 
ditching, making $10 a day and as the scrip with which he 
was paid was worth only half its face he took 160 acres of 
swamp land for it, and also bought two lots in the 
flourishing town of Onawa and nine lots in Decatur, Nebraska.

In 1861 he did not have money to pay taxes and he decided 
to start for the gold regions in Colorado. Crossing the 
plains to Denver he met his old friend Judge Clancey, who 
said, "I have another fortune for you; I will give you 
a block in Aurora and you can get work there; and you had 
not better go to the mines." Aurora was on the opposite 
side of the river from Denver and the Judge said it would 
become an important city--as big as Omaha before twenty 
years; but Mr. Hamilton again refused to take his advice 
and Aurora and Denver consolidated and became all that 
the Judge had claimed.

Mr. Hamilton went to the mines and was employed by the firm 
of Lyons and Pullman, afterward celebrated; and he 
worked in the California Gulch now Leadville and also was 
employed in all the gulches reported rich along the 
Salmon River. He left Denver in July 1862 with eight wagons 
and twenty-three men, reached Fort Halleck and the 
commander there ordered them to stop there, saying that the 
Indians were very hostile and they would certainly 
be killed. They asked him to show his authority for stopping 
them and he said he had none, but if they went on 
they would certainly be murdered. But they hired a good 
half-breed Indian for a guide and decided to proceed. 
Part of the time when there seemed to be special danger 
they traveled in the night and lay concealed in the 
daytime.

At length they reached Salt Lake City where they had 
several bitter arguments with the Mormons on the subject 
of the war, the latter arguing that the South would win. 
They called on Governor Harding and told him of their 
arguments with the Mormons. He put his hands to his mouth 
and said, "Hush. You will be fortunate if you get 
away with your lives." They also had the honor of meeting 
with Brigham Young and he asked them where they were 
going and they replied, "North in search of gold." He 
responded like a gentleman.

When the party arrived at Ogden they found forty large wagons 
there getting ready to go to the new diggings; the 
wagons were owned by Woodmansee and Company, Mormons. 
While the party was at Ogden, General Patrick Connor's 
command passed them, on the way from California to Salt 
Lake City. Finally with forty-eight wagons they started 
north. Among the men in the train was Colonel McClain, 
Judge Bissell, Dr. Dix, Dr. Woodruff and L.M. Lott. 
Everyday something got wrong with the wagons and they got 
on slowly. After traveling in that way for a week,
twenty-three men and eight wagons pulled out and went on 
ahead, making a track for the rest. Sometimes they 
traveled in the day and sometimes in the night and sometimes 
they did not make a fire and ate their provisions 
raw. There were no bridges and they crossed the rivers 
in any way that they could, sometimes turning their 
wagon-boxes into boats by caulking them. They were satisfied 
if they could keep their sugar dry.
When cmaping within twenty miles of Bannack, their sentinels 
came running in and shouting, "Indians." They hurriedly
prepared themselves as well as they could but could not make 
a good corral with only eight wagons. They put out 
their fires and James Kennedy went out after the Indians and 
the rest followed to save him. They corralled four 
Indians and their horses and brought them in, intending to 
shoot them if the other Indians attacked them, but no 
attack was made and they hald am meeting in the morning 
to consult what they would do with the prisoners and it
was found that twelve were in favor of letting them go 
and eleven for hanging them. So they gave them breakfast 
and let them go, with their horses and rifles and the 
company moved on.

On arriving within four miles of Bannack City they went 
into camp. One man having a considerable amount of whiskey 
along, they tapped a barrel of it, drew some into a wooden 
pail and drank from it with their tin cups, resulting 
in a great jollification. They thought themselves all right 
when they reached Bannack, but they found the people 
there as much afraid of the Indians as themselves, not 
knowing what moment their camp might be surrounded and wiped
and it was the toughest mining camp ever known.

In the spring of 1863 a Californian named Cleveland came 
to the camp and next day the captain of the road agents,
Henry Plummer, killed him and nothing was done or said 
about it. The Indians camped about five miles below them. 
One day the chief of the Bannacks with two of his men came 
into camp. The gamblers and road agents began to fire 
at them and kill them and one man in the affray was shot 
by accident. The lawless characters ruled the town all 
winter and here is a sample of the language in which they 
used to run the gambling business, "Come up, you lazy, 
lousy Pike's Peaker, and bet your money, you have as good 
a chance to win as if you were an intelligent Californian."

At length the miners decided that they could not stand it 
any longer and rose in their might as one man saying, 
"We will run this camp from this on," then Plummer, Jake 
Moore and others left in great haste, but the miners 
organized a company under Hugh O'Neal and sent out squads 
in all directions in search of gamblers and brought 
them back, gave them a trial and by their great efforts 
they cleaned out the worst element.

Mr. Hamilton followed mining t here and obtained considerable 
gold. Alder gulch was discovered May 23, 1863 by Barney 
Hughes, Henry Roys, Bill Sweeny (Irishmen) Tom Coover 
(Pennsylvania German) and Henry Edgar and Bill Fairweather 
(Scotch Canadians). Then there was at once a rush for Alder 
Gulch and four days later Mr. Hamilton went there. 
When he arrived at a point within four miles of the gulch 
the discovers went out there and guided him in. Mr. 
Hamilton obtained a claim in nearly all the districts in 
the gulch, but while working his claims he was taken 
sick with malarial fever, and when he recovered, all his 
claims had been jumped. He had to get work at stripping
ground for wages, receiving $120 per week and continued in 
this employ during all the summer of 1864.

In December he went to Last Chance and there again met his 
old friend Judge Clancey who gave him his certificate
of a claim there; but Mr. Hamilton, bent on stampedes in 
every direction all the summer of 1865, prospecting 
for gold, landed in the fall at Confederate Gulch and 
obtained one of the richest finds ever known in Montana, 
at Diamond City and he and his partners averaged there $500 
a day for six weeks. Then they purchased adjoining 
claims but did not find a quarter of a dollar's worth in 
them. A man there named Jack Thompson hauled the dirt 
with oxen down to the water and took out $1200 to $1500 a 
day but he afterward died poor, at Phillipsburg.

In 1873 he made a trip to Ireland and engaged in business 
there taking beef cattle from Ireland to England in which 
he "broke." In 1875 he returned to Butte. Here he built the 
first log house on Broadway west of Main Street,
purchased several lots and became one of the active builders 
of the town. When he came here it was almost 
impossible to obtain work at any wages; the times were 
fearfully hard until Marcus Daly came from Utah and 
started Rainbow or Alice lode. Mr. Hamilton followed 
mining in Park Canon, Horse Canon and west of the town
and he also engaged in digging wells and cellars and 
turned his hand to whatever he could get to do. 
He built the fine house on Broadway and had five houses 
where his magnificent brick block, the Hamilton now stands. 
This structure which is 52 x 100 feet in dimensions he 
built in 1891; it is a substantial and valuable building, 
three stories high, spacious, elegantly furnished and is 
used for stores and offices. Mr. Hamilton has considerable 
property and at the same time he has been liberal in 
giving ground to the city for streets, alleys, etc. 

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