Mile Marker 74: Who Was John Morony?

We were in Montana, we stopped at a cemetery, we saw an amazing Mausoleum, we checked it out and asked ourselves "who is this John Morony". We came home and found what we could find. Here, we tell you all that we could find.

Transcript

John Morony

Key: Drifter, Male voice. Gypsie, Female voice

Uplifting rock/western tune plays for 15 seconds, music begins to taper down then:

(Drifter) Welcome to the Rebel At Large Adventure Podcast. I’m Drifter

(Gypsie) And I’m  Gypsie

(Drifter) Talking about Ghost towns,

(Gypsie) Graveyards,

(Drifter) Outlaws, Heroes

(Gypsie) And Ladies of the night.

Music tapers to an end

(Drifter) Howdy folks, Thanks for joining us for yet another adventure. Today we are looking into a fella we found with an extraordinary landmark & we just needed to know more.

(Gypsie) Today we are going to share with you something exciting we found while we were out exploring. Last October we were in Montana traveling around Butte, Missoula and Billings. We were following one of our favorite musicians, Paul Cauthen. If you haven’t heard his music, I suggest you take a moment and check him out. I jokingly refer to him as my spirit animal! Well we didn’t get tickets to his show in Bozeman so we had some time to kill in between shows. 

(Drifter) One day we were heading from Missoula back to Butte and decided to stop at the Hillcrest Cemetery in Deer Lodge. We’ve been to Deer Lodge before and even did an episode on the old Montana State Prison, which was an early one, episode 15. This is the first time we actually stopped and checked out the Hillcrest Cemetery. Like a lot of our stops at cemeteries we don’t usually go there looking for someone particular, we just go to check things out. We discovered that in the back section of the cemetery is the prison burial ground. Naturally we had to go and check that one out first. The prison cemetery was established in 1870. The welcome sign for this section reads Montana State Prison Est 1870 “Lord remember me” St Luke chapter 23: verse 42. It is the final resting spot for 273 inmates. 

(Gypsie) When an inmate passes away the family is contacted, some families will bring them home to be laid to rest with the family. Others that don’t have family or the family can not afford it, are laid to rest here. When they first started laying the inmates to rest they would mark the spot with an unnamed rock. Slowly the rocks are being replaced with a basic headstone that has the deceased’s name on it. If you wander around the cemetery you will notice that some of the headstones are resting on a rock, that is because it was the original rock marking their location. Two men that we talked about in Episode 15 are in this cemetery. George Rock and William Hayes. If you want to visit this section of the cemetery you need to drive through the Hillcrest Cemetery; it is located in the south west corner. 

(Drifter) The Hillcrest cemetery is broken up into several different sections, you have the fraternal organizations, the protestants, the catholic’s and the veterans sections. It was extremely cold when we were there so we didn’t get out and do a lot of exploring. I would just drive around and Gypsie would have me stop so she could take pictures. When we first approached the cemetery, we noticed a mausoleum located on the northern end. We saw the mausoleum and an extremely large lawn area in front of it cascading down the hill with no apparent burials. This one we had to park the car for and we both got out to explore it.

(Gypsie) Surrounding the mausoleum are granite pillars surrounding a large grassy area. Each pillar is connected together with a heavy chain. Inside the fenced off area you can walk up to the front of the mausoleum. Above the door bears the name Morony. (Drifter) We both looked inside the front window and were surprised to find that only two people were laid to rest in this mausoleum built for 8 people. Off to the west side of the mausoleum is a beautiful marble bench for people visiting him to rest and enjoy the area. To the east is a large sundial, also made of marble. 

(Gypsie) When we go to cemeteries we like to look up the peoples names on the find a grave app. If you haven’t used it, check it out. It's very user friendly and gives you details about the person laid to rest in the cemetery. It also gives you GPS directions to the headstone as well as the plot location if its been updated. (Drifter) If we’ve been there, it has been updated. (Gypsie) The app is free to use and it is updated by people like us. When you are exploring a cemetery you can type in a person's name and if they have been added to the cemetery you can put in pictures of the headstone as well as the gps locations. (Drifter) When we add pictures we like to add a close up of the headstone as well as a picture showing the surrounding area. That way you can use the background as a guide to find the headstone.(Gypsie)  Also this is not an ad for find a grave, but if they want to sponsor us we would not be mad about it! 

(Gypsie) One of my favorite things to do while walking around a cemetery is to update the find a grave app. I like to type in the person's name and see if they have the GPS marked as well as a picture of the headstone. I also like to see if anyone has added any information about the person on the app. It's always interesting to me to see what people did for a living in order to be able to afford a mausoleum like this. When I am in the cemetery updating information I only look for names in the cemetery I don’t look for the person in every location. This time I put the name Morony in the Hillcrest Cemetery location and was surprised to find that he did not have anything in the find a grave app. 

(Drifter) Gypsy tried searching the name again but this time she searched everywhere. We were surprised to find that his resting spot was listed in the Saint Patrick Cemetery in Butte. As we got to reading the information listed we discovered that he was placed in the Hennessy mausoleum until his wife was able to make it back from England and establish a burial location for him. 

(Gypsie) I was able to find the email address of the person in control of his profile and let them know John Morony was no longer in the Saint Patrick’s Cemetery and that he had his own resting place in the Hillcrest Cemetery. His information in the Find a Grave has since been updated and I was able to add pictures of it. I like to think that some family member is doing research on the family and they get excited to see the headstone of a deceased family member, so it's nice to have the information as correct as possible. 

(Drifter) So who is this John Morony and what did he do during his short life time in order to afford such a beautiful resting place. John was born on May 27, 1869 in Stevensville near the Montana Idaho border, just south of Missoula. His father was Martin Morony and his mother was Annie Sullivan Morony. John was the oldest of 7 children. The couple had 6 boys and 1 girl. There isn’t much information about John’s life as he grew up. What we could find is, when he was two years old his parents moved to Philipsburg, Montana, which is about 30 miles northwest of Anaconda. He attended school until he was 13 years old but his education was very limited as he was living in a small mining town. After his schooling he got a job working for J.D. Dawson. Dawson was the postmaster in town and John worked as his assistant.  He stayed working for him for about a year and a half. 

(Gypsie) John then got a new job working as a clerk for Caplice and Smith. I looked and looked to see what kind of business this was but was unable to find anything. John then went to work as a bookkeeper for Joseph A. Hyde. He worked there for 2 years before he left to go work in Granite Montana for the Buskett Mercantile company. John was soon elected clerk of the court for Deer Lodge county. With his new job he had to move away from Philipsburg and took up residence in Deer Lodge. When Joseph K. Toole was elected governor in 1896 he appointed John as state bank examiner. He held that office from January 1897 to January 1901.

(Drifter) On March 2, 1897 John Morony was married to Mary Mills. The two of them were married at her parents house in Deer Lodge at 2:30. It was a small and private event with only family attending. Mary wore a traveling dress of hunter’s green mohair trimmed in passementeries. Mary’s sister Mellie Mills was her maid of honor and Daniel Morony, John’s brother, was his best man. Mary’s father, Captain James H. Mills gave his daughter a diamond marquise ring and a check for a snug little sum of pin money. After the wedding the two of them caught the 6:35 train to Helena where John was living and Mary would now be joining him. 

(Gypsie) Over the next several years John traveled all over the state of Montana examining every city’s books. He was making sure each city was accounting for the money correctly as well as abiding by the contracts. If a city had a contract to build a road or a railroad John would follow up to make sure the road was completed and the funds were being handled correctly. After  4 years of working as the State Examiner John’s duties were finished. He was replaced by William B. Hudnel in March of 1901. Though John was a busy man he was still able to find time to relax, I found in several newspaper sections that talked about John taking a vacation to go fishing. 

(Drifter) John soon got to work as an auditor and accountant for the Daly estate. In April 1902 the Daly estate purchased the First National Bank in Great Falls. John D. Ryan was elected the president, Daniel John Hennessy was elected vice president and John Morony was elected the cashier. He eventually became the Vice President of the bank. It was through him that millions of dollars was used to help build the Great Falls area into what it is today. He was the one that talked the Daly estate into purchasing the bank and he was able to show them how important Great Falls was. John was able to help the city build parks, schools, and churches through his loans at the bank. John also played a major role in convincing congress to appropriate half a million dollars to be used on the Sun River irrigation project. (Gypsie) (Nearly $17.5M today)

(Gypsie) In 1906 John and his wife moved to Butte, he had accepted a new job as president of the Daly Bank and Trust. He was the president of the bank until December 1911 when he retired. He would’ve been in his early 40s at this point. In 1907 John Morony and John Ryan along with other investors purchased the Great Falls Water Power and Townsite Company. These men saw Great Falls turning into a major city and they wanted to get in on the ground floor to improve the city and bring in more people. 

(Drifter)  After John retired as president of the bank he and his wife Mary wanted to go on a 6 month trip. On January 23, 1912 the two of them set sail from San Francisco to Honolulu  on the steamship Mongolia. Before they left, the town of Butte put on several parties for them. The couple arrived in Hawaii around the 30th and it is said the voyage was rough but they arrived in good health. On April 2, the couple left Honolulu and headed to Japan. 

(Gypsie) While on his vacation John Ryan made an announcement that a big power plant is going to be built at Thompson Falls. He credited Morony for the energy he had put forth in the development of the power interest and the growth of Great Falls. We will talk more about this in a bit. 

(Drifter) On May 8th a letter was received from the Morony’s stating that they are in Yokohama, Japan and they expect to reach St. Petersburg, Russia on June 1. Another letter was received in town on June 8th. The letters came from Nagasaki and stated the couple will be in St Petersburg on June 20th. It sounds like plans for the couple had changed and another update was posted in the June 29, Great Falls Tribune stating Mr. and Mrs. John G. Morony were in Shanghai, China on June 2 and they intended to leave for St. Petersburg on June 3, with their plans for arrival in the Russian capital on June 20. 

(Gypsie) John sent a letter to his friend in Butte named John Gillie and it was published on July 4 in the Butte Daily Post. In the letter John said they have made it to Russia and that he is having a difficult time understanding the language. He also said that he is having to use an interpreter for everything but that they are still enjoying the trip. (Drifter) John said that after their time in Japan they crossed Siberia over the Trans-Siberian railway into Moscow where they spent four days. John must've had a bit of a sense of humor because he told his friend that he doesn’t think he will have an opportunity to have dinner with the czar. 

(Gypsie) On July 15, the Anaconda Standard posted that Billy Gemell received a letter from John stating they were now in Paris. John told him that he was able to watch the Grand Prix race that was held at Longchamps and the winning horse got 300,000 francs. (Drifter) (from what i could find, the gold standard was introduced in 1900. The U.S. Dollar was worth about 1.5 grams of gold, the Franc worth about .29 grams of gold. So, one US dollar was worth about 5 Francs. So, that 300,000 francs would have converted at the time to about $60K in US dollars which would be just over $1.86M in today’s money). (Gypsie) On August 11 the Butte Miner published that John had returned from his trip and that he is feeling excellent. Mrs. Morony did not return with him, rather she went to Switzerland and was later going to tour Italy. According to the paper John was a modest man and declined to talk about his travels. But he did say that he had the time of his life and enjoyed everything he saw and did. 

(Drifter) John quickly got back to work when he returned to Montana. He took control as president of the First National Bank in Great Falls. Then in November of 1912 it was announced that several of Montana’s power companies will be consolidated into the Montana Power Company. On December 12, 1912 the Montana Power Company was officially formed with the merger of the Butte Electric and Power Company, the Madison River Power Company, the Billings and Eastern Montana power Company and the Missoula River Power Company. A few months later the Great Falls Water Power and Townsite Company as well as the Thompson Falls Power Company were taken over by the Montana Power Company when they gained control of the stocks. John was a major investor in the new power company, which in turn would make him a small fortune. 

(Gypsie) With the new development of the Montana power company, this gave them the ability to provide power all over the state of Montana. A majority of the power produced was used in the mining industry. The new power supply was able to reduce the cost of mining. The mines were able to convert their machines to run on air rather than steam, which is cheaper. All mining and smelting plants were now running on compressed air as well eliminating the need for steam. It was said in the Butte Miner (Drifter) “the principal reason why butte has the best class of miners in the world and the fact that they are able to do a shift’s work quicker and better than any that I have ever seen is that they are afforded better facilities.” 

(Gypsie) On May 3rd 1913 the electric pumping plant in Prickly Pear was officially finished and ready to start up. The Prickly Pear valley at the time consisted of around 50,000 acres surrounding the city of Helena. The area was a great place to grow fruits, vegetables, and crops but they needed a better way to get water to the area. The plan included 26 miles of main ditches, flumes & intakes. The plant was built with nine centrifugal pumps. The pumps take water from the intake canal that is connected with the Missouri river. From there the water is delivered through three lines of 36 inch pipe to three ditches. John was a major investor in this project. Once completed it gave people the ability to move out into the area and start farming. John was not there that day as he was in New York, he had just finished up a trip to the Panama Canal and was spending time in New York after the trip. (the panama canal wouldn’t be completed until 1914).

(Drifter) In July 1913 John was on his way to Butte from Great Falls. During his trip he had been feeling extremely sick. On the way back he could no longer make the ride and stopped in Boulder Springs. He called his wife and told her he was not feeling well. The next day she arrived to help take care of him. Dr. Leighton was called to attend to him. He noticed that every night his temperature would rise, but in the daytime the fever would subside and he would appear to be almost normal. After several days of no improvement Dr. Leighton called Dr. Witherspoon and Dr. Rhodes for help. Blood samples were drawn and it was determined that John had a mild case of typhoid fever. Thankfully John survived and was able to return back to work. 

On September 23rd 1913, Morony met with the Direct Legislation to discuss a new bill they were trying to pass. The new bill was designed to control the water power of the state and companies. They also wanted to initiate a special tax on the power business. John argued saying several states do not have a tax imposed on the power companies. He talked about all the great things the Montana Power Company has done for the state. For example the present hydro electric horsepower is just about 71,000 horsepower, they were in the process at this time developing power at Great falls on the Missouri River that will create 80,000 horsepower and that they are also working on building a great storage reservoir at the the headwaters of the Missouri, at a cost of about 2 million dollars (nearly $61M today). 

(Gypsie) He continues on saying that there is no special tax on the railroad industry in Montana or any other state. He said that for every one dollar that the power company has and is taking out of this state in the way of earnings, it is returning ten for development. The company is working hard to get high tension power lines out in all directions of the state to provide power cheaply to its consumers. John talked about how power had changed the way mining operations are and that they are able to pull more material out of the mountains faster now. 

(Drifter) He explained how the company is taking a loss already so that it could provide the state power. He used the example of the Prickly Pear valley, on this project they get returns that pay them but actual interest on the pumping plants they do not get anything for the power. At the Sun River reclamation project they deliver power at an actual cost of more than 120,000 dollars but get a gross return of 60,000. (Gypsie) (over $3.6M and $1.8M respectively in today’s dollars)

(Gypsie) John explained to them that 60% of hydroelectric plants started in the United States have failed. He explained to the men that running a business like this is a high and expensive risk but they are doing it to improve the state as well as its peoples lives. John went on to say that his company is already being taxed by the federal government 1 cent tax on income, they are charged for a right of way over all of the government property , and they also have to pay a charge to the government for every horsepower of water going over every one of their dams. He asked the men Why penalize the development of our state? 

(Drifter) On January 13, 1914 John took the late night train for New York. He was going to spend a few nights there before he caught a ship to take him to Egypt.  On January 24th he set sail to tour new territory for a few weeks, after that he will join his wife, who has already been traveling for some time in Europe. The two of them plan on staying out of the country for several months. John returned to Montana in June with his wife but she went to Deer Lodge to see her family and John went back to Great falls. 

(Gypsie) In July John received some exciting news. He had a controlling interest in a large piece of land. This section of land was reported to contain large deposits of silver and lead. The Courney brothers leased the land from him and began to mine the area. The men quickly discovered the lead and silver, they hadn’t been mining the area long before they had 35 tons of ore ready for shipment. The mine was soon named the Puritan Silver mine. It is located near Philipsburg and it was considered to be a small mine. I could not find out how much John made from the mine. 

(Drifter) Aside from banking, mining, fishing, traveling and helping the state of Montana get power, John was also interested in baseball. He made a large donation to the city of Great Falls to help them bring baseball to the city. He gave them a free lease to the area of land located near the Lincoln school. 

(Gypsie) In January of 1915 John made a major announcement when he invited members of the state legislature to come be his personal guests. He had a special train leaving Helena at 2pm Saturday January 16, it was a 3 hour train ride to Great Falls. He made accommodations for 150 guests at the Rainbow Hotel. The following morning at 10 am the train picked up the group and took them down the river where they stopped at the Black Eagle Dam and then on to Rainbow falls. From there the group went to Great falls for a luncheon. John wanted to show the legislature what the Montana Power Company was doing and  how they were so successful at supplying the state with power. 

(Drifter) Some time in the start of 1915 John’s wife Mary left for England. World War 1 began the previous June and Mary wanted to do her part to help the soldiers. She found work helping the Red Cross and was working at one of the hospitals. She was located at Torquay in Devonshire. Unfortunately for Mary she would not be able to be by her husband's side and help him when he became sick. 

(Gypsie) Thursday May 20th 1915, John and his mother went to Boulder Hot Springs. John had not been feeling well lately as he was in the middle of a lawsuit. He felt that some time away would do him some good. By Saturday John was not feeling any better and he decided to go to Butte and checked himself into the Murray Hospital. At 1:30 Sunday morning  John suffered a heart attack and passed away at the age of 45 on May 23, 1915 just 4 days shy of his 46th birthday. John had been suffering for years with a weak heart but he never slowed down, and felt it wasn’t an issue. The Great Falls Tribune put his passing away into beautiful words when they said (Drifter) “in a business way, John Morony’s life was a wonderful success. Born under conditions that offered no aid to material growth, fighting the battles of life under adverse financial conditions from early boyhood, he climbed high in the industrial and business life of the state, and in the climbing he did much to develop the resources of Montana. Nor did he climb alone. Hundreds of other men in the state are better off today because John Morony lived and did succeed. While he was going up he was ever ready, even anxious, to reach out a helping hand and help others; and he did it with a spirit that is too seldom met in the economic struggle and contest of modern business life.” 

(Gypsie) A telegram was sent to Mary informing her of her husband's passing. She sent word back saying she will get on the fist ship heading back to the United States but that it won't be until Wednesday. The family did not want to wait for Mary to return for the funeral. On Thursday May 27th, the day of his birthday, a funeral was held for Mr. Morony at John D. Ryan’s house located at 105 North Excelsior Ave. After that they went to the St. Patrick’s church for high mass. A little side note, John Ryan’s house is still standing and today is Hodgens Ryan Mansion where you can book a stay. Funny enough, when we went to Butte we looked at staying there but decided to stay at the Clark mansion instead.

(Drifter) Several prominent men and women traveled to be at John’s funeral. United States Senator Henry L. Myers, Governor Sam V. Steward, and Secretary of State A.M. Alderson were just a few of them. Several businesses closed down for the funeral and almost every mine in the state had their flags at half mast for John. He was clearly loved by everyone that had the chance to meet him. It was said that hundreds of people passed through the room where John’s body was. After the viewing there were almost a thousand people walking to the church from John Ryan’s house. 

(Gypsie) After the funeral his body was then placed in the Hennessy mausoleum at the Catholic Cemetery until his wife could arrive in town and decide where he should be laid to rest. Mary did not arrive in New York until June 10 and she still had a long trip to get to Butte. On  June 15th Mary and her sister arrived in Butte and she quickly got to work settling his estate and planning a place for John to rest in peace permanently. 

(Drifter) On June 17th, Johns will was read, a will that he had drafted up on February 9, 1915. He left behind an estate valued at $2.5 Million dollars (Gypsie) (Nearly $75.5M today). (Drifter) His estate consisted of stock in the Montana Power Company, he owned a third of the stock for the First National bank of Great Falls and 100 shares each in the Western Montana National bank in Missoula and the First National bank in Dillon. The only real estate John owned was a small parcel of improved property at Roundup. 

(Gypsie) He left his mother 1,500 shares in the Montana Power company and at the time was valued at 100 dollars per share (Drifter) (almost $3K per share today). (Gypsie) He also gave her 100 shares in the Western National bank and 100 shares in the First national bank. To his sister he left 1,500 shares in the Montana Power Company. To his sister in law he left 500 shares in the Montana Power company. All of Which was very kind of him, John's brother had passed away and left his wife with three children, their youngest son was named John Giles Morony. The rest of the estate was left to his wife Mary. John had no depts to his name so Mary did not have to worry about paying anyone back. 

(Drifter) After the will was read, Mary left for California with her sister. After a few weeks away Mary returned and with the help of the city it was announced that a park would be dedicated in his name. Mary even donated money for the city to build a natatorium. (Gypsie) I had to look up what that was, it's an indoor swimming pool. (Drifter) By October Mary had left the state of Montana and was on her way back to Europe to continue her work at the hospital. Years later, In 1928 construction was started for a dam located on the Missouri River. The dam was completed in 1930 and was named after John, called the Morony Dam.

(Gypsie) Mary eventually remarried in June 1917 to John C. Lalor. He used to work with Mr. Morony in the banking industry so the two of them already knew each other. Mary lived to be 47 years old and passed away on January 3, 1923 in Cairo Egypt. Her body was not returned to the United States until February 15. (Drifter) Her family had a small funeral for her in New York, she was cremated and her ashes are said to be placed in the Lalor family mausoleum. Mary only had 500,000 dollars of John’s money left when she passed away and she gave it all to her husband John Lalor (Gypsie) (nearly $8.8M today). (Drifter) John unfortunately passed away on July 30, 1923. 

(Gypsie) While researching John I came across some information about his mausoleum. It was designed by prominent Great Falls architect George H. Shanley in 1916. It is built in the style of an early Greek temple. The walls of the mausoleum are made of Vermont marble with two columns on each side of the door. There are steps leading up to the door with large urns on either side. There is a frame around the door with Morony in large letters on top. The large double doors are made of bronze. 

(Drifter) The back of the mausoleum had a large stained glass window. When it was first built it had a Tiffany window that depicted a sunrise over a mountain peak with the inscription, “Between the Darkness and Dawn.” Unfortunately vandals destroyed the window in 1928. The new window is an Art Deco design of stained glass with different colors. (Gypsie) Nowhere near as cool as I am sure the original one looked. (Drifter) Inside, the walls and floor are made of Italian marble. 

(Gypsie) The second person laid to rest inside with John is his mother Annie Morony. Annie passed away on December 11, 1921 at the age of 77. She was living with her daughter in Oakland California and passed away at her house. Annie had 6 sons and when she passed away she only had one son living, Joseph. She only had one daughter Anna and she was still alive at the time of her passing. A little side note, the newspapers have Anna’s name listed as Marion Edwards.  (Drifter) Her body was transported back to Montana and she arrived in town early in the morning on December 15th. Her body was then taken to Deer Lodge where the funeral was held for her in the Immaculate Conception Church. After the funeral her body was taken to Hillcrest cemetery where she lays in eternal rest next to her son John. 

(Gypsie) For my sources on this episode I read through hundreds of newspapers. This was one of the more difficult episodes to research as there is no book about John so I had to put everything together on my own. If I missed anything please let me know. 

(Drifter) Well there you have it folks, an interesting little find during one of our many adventures.  

(Drifter) Dad Joke?

(Drifter) Alright then. Thank you all so very much for joining us and supporting the Rebel At Large adventure podcast. As alway’s, if we're active at all, we’re most active on the Instagram (Gypsie) @rebelatlarge if you want to see what we’re up to. You can find links to our email, patreon, merch store & other social deals as well as photos relating to each episode on our website, rebelatlarge.com. (Drifter) We’ll talk to ya here in a couple of weeks, (Gypsie) Safe Travels, (Drifter) We’ll see ya down the road.

Begin 30 seconds of the same uplifting Rock/Western tune as the introduction.