David N. Upton
History of Montana,by Joaquin Miller, 1894
USGENWEB Montana Archives,maintained by burns@asu.edu

David N. Upton, of Butte City, a Montana pioneer of 1862, 
has been engaged in mining ever since coming to the 
Territory.He was born in the province of New Brunswick, 
May 16, 1836. The Uptons from whom he descends came to 
America from England about the time of the Revolution 
settled in New Hampshire. The first ancestor of the 
family in America was grandfather Aaron Upton, whose 
son John was born in Vermont in 1785, married Elizabeth 
Nichols, a native of that state and had a son and a 
daughter in Vermont. They removed to New Brunswick where 
David N. and another child wereborn in the family. Their 
father died there in 1853, in the seventy-first year of 
his age, his wife surviving a number of years. In his 
religious views he was a Universalist, while she was an 
Episcopalian. They were worthy peopleand respected by 
all who knew them.David N., their youngest child, was 
educated in New Brunswick, and when nineteen years old 
started out in the world for himself. In 1854 he sailed 
for California, by the way of the isthmus, arrived at 
San Francisco and proceeded toNevada City, where he 
followed placer mining with fair success. In March 1862 
he went to Florence, Idaho which pointwas then one of 
the principal sources of the gold excitement, and on to 
Boise Basin where he with four others located a claim 
and in 1863 cleared $60,000. Next he went to San Francisco 
intending to return home but was attackedwith pleurisy 
and wintered there.In the spring he went again to Idaho 
and in July started on the stampede for British Columbia, 
in company with sevenothers with pack animals and mined 
at Wild Horse Creek until the following summer, making 
for himself about $2,000.Then he purchased a claim 
and lost all his money in it.In 1865 he returned to 
Montana proceeding on to McClellan's Gulch in Deer 
Lodge County. Next he went to BlackfootCity and on to 
Helena, arriving in October 1865 where twelve including 
himself prepared an outfit for themselves and started 
Emigrant Gulch in the Yellowstone Valley and they 
prospected all through that country, returning in 
March to Confidente Gulch. Hearing of the discovery 
of gold at Elk Creek they went there, secured a 
claim and made a littlemoney, remaining there four 
months. Then twelve of them prepared themselves 
with an outfit and started across theRocky Mountains 
northward to the headwaters of Sun River prospected 
there and were attacked by large numbers of Pogan
Indians, thus forced back across the Rocky Mountains.
Mr. Upton then went to Flathead Lake, then to Missoula 
and came on to Butte, arriving in September 1866, 
after traveling and prospecting over a vast portion 
of the great Northwest on horseback, carrying the 
blankets in which he slept with him, and it is wonderful 
how regardless of danger the pioneer seeks for gold, 
what hardships he undergoes and fearful risks he 
undertakes. It is believed that if all the days 
spent in searching for gold werepaid for at a dollar 
a day, it would amount to more money than all the 
gold that has been collected.On arrival here, Mr. 
Upton found a number of men engaged in placer 
mining. John Noyes had arrived in August, and 
they became partners together, located claims and 
engaged in placer mining until the railroads 
reached this locality.They then subdivided their 
land, 200 acres, into town lots and the city of 
Butte below Gold Street is situated on this land. 
They have sold a large portion of the property.
Mr. Upton began quartz mining in 1874 and was one 
of the locators of the "Lookout" afterward named 
Anaconda. Onthis claim they had an expensive 
lawsuit with Marcus Daly, as they knew that the 
property was valuable; it soonbecame worth eight 
or ten million dollars. It is now owned by a 
syndicate. Mr. Upton was also the discoverer ofthe 
"Smokehouse" and procured a patent upon it from the 
Government, which subsequently gave a patent upon 
it fora town site. This caused more litigation and 
Mr. Upton sold his interest in it for $2,000. 
Since then it has yielded $150,000. He is now 
operating the Bozeman, a gold claim in Madison 
County. He and his partner have erecteda number 
of houses in Butte and they are counted among 
the early pioneers and builders of this city. 
The town was platted n 1855 when it consisted 
only of Main Street, Broadway, Granite and 
Park Streets. Two years afterward,however, the 
town began to go down. Many left, and the few 
that remained took the logs from the forsaken 
housesfor fuel. In 1875 William L. Farlin, 
discovered the Tuvonia, quartz mine, and from 
that time the growth and prosperity of Butte 
was assured.Mr. Upton is a gentleman thoroughly 
posted on all that pertains to mining and the 
mines in this part of the world, having his whole 
life to the business.He was married November 22, 
1877 to Mrs. Dillie Allen, a native of Missouri 
and a daughter of Sloan Lewis. By Mr.Allen she 
had three children: Clara Gertrude, (now Mrs. 
Steven Vanwort; Grace Mabell, who married Frank 
Tate,and Zella Myrtle, deceased. Mr. Upton's 
children are : Annie Laura, deceased; David 
Lewis, deceased; Eulala andAline. In her 
religious sympathies Mrs. Upton is an Episcopalian. 
Mr. Upton is a Republican and has been such ever 
since the party was first organized but he has no 
taste for politics. Mrs. Upton has been a member 
of the Episcopal Church about fourteen years. 
Her father was a soldier in the Mexican War and 
her grandfather Lewis was in the War of 1812 and 
a participant in the battle of the Thames, where 
Tecumseh was killed.

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