Lee Mantle (December 13, 1851November 18, 1934) was an American businessman and politician from

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he was most notable for his service as a

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from 1895 to 1899. Mantle was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on December 13, 1851. His father died before Mantle was born, and his mother converted to

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of ...

and immigrated to the United States with her children. The family settled in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

in 1864. Upon observing that Mormons were practicing

polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is ...

, Mantle's mother decided she had been deceived by the church missionaries who had recruited her, and the Mantles renounced the

LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...

. Mantle attended a village school and moved to Idaho Territory in 1870, where he was a telegraph operator and stage agent for Western Union. He moved to Butte, Montana in 1877 and became agent of the Wells-Fargo Express Co. Mantle was one of the organizers of Butte as a city, and in 1880 served on its first board of aldermen. In 1881, he established the ''Daily Inter Mountain'', the first

newspaper in Western Montana. He was elected to the Territorial house of representatives in 1882, 1886, and 1888, and served as speaker in 1889. He was mayor of Butte from 1892 to 1893. In 1893, Mantle was appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy for the term beginning on commencing March 4. He was not seated because the Senate determined that the governor did not have the power to make an appointment while the legislature was in session. He was later elected by the legislature, and he served from January 16, 1895 to March 3, 1899. In 1896, Mantle joined the

Silver Republican Party The Silver Republican Party, later known as the Lincoln Republican Party, was a United States political party from 1896 to 1901. It was so named because it split from the Republican Party by supporting free silver (effectively, expansionary mone ...

and served as its chairman in Montana. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate nomination in 1899, and returned to the Republican Party in 1900. Mantle was publisher of the ''Inter Mountain'' until 1901 and became wealthy through investments and ownership stakes in real estate, mines, insurance, and other ventures. In 1921, he moved to California. A bachelor until 1922, at age 70 he married a 25-year-old woman he had known since she was a child. They were married until his death, and were the parents of a son. Mantle died

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

on November 18, 1934. He was interred at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Butte.

Early life

Theophilus Washington Mantle, usually known as Lee Mantle, was born in

on December 13, 1851, a son of Joseph Mantle and Mary Susan (Patrick) Mantle. His father died before he was born, and support of the family fell to Mantle's mother. A convert to

, in 1864 she brought her family of four boys and three girls to the United States, and they settled in

. After deciding that the Mormon missionaries who had recruited her had not been truthful with respect to the church's practice of

, the Mantles renounced their affiliation. Lee Mantle attended local schools and was "placed out" to work for his room and board beginning at age 10. He worked for several years as a cattle herder and farm laborer, earning $50 (about $1,025 in 2020) a year for his family in addition to his food and shelter. At age 16 he obtained a job with the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

, which employed him as a teamster to haul ties and other supplies and equipment. After the Union Pacific and Central Pacific completed the first First transcontinental railroad at Promontory Point, Utah in 1869, Mantle walked to

Malad City, Idaho Malad City (also commonly known as Malad) is the only city in Oneida County, Idaho, United States. Its population was 2,095 at the 2010 census, down from 2,158 in 2000. In Malad City, Mantle was hired by Benjamin F. White to drive an ox team and wagon at White's

saltworks A saltern is an area or installation for making salt. Salterns include modern salt-making works (saltworks), as well as hypersaline waters that usually contain high concentrations of halophilic microorganisms, primarily haloarchaea but also othe ...

. After two years at the saltworks, in 1872 Mantle arranged to learn telegraphy from an experienced operator, who agreed to train him on the condition that Mantle maintain the

Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company cha ...

line along the Central Pacific tracks between Green River, Utah and Ogden, Utah during the winter months. In 1873, Mantle was assigned as a telegrapher at the Western Union office on the stagecoach line between Corinne, Utah and Helena, Montana. A year later, he purchased the station near Haskell Pass in

Flathead County, Montana Flathead County is in the U.S. state of Montana. At the 2020 census, its population was 104,357, making it the state's fourth most populous county. Its county seat is Kalispell. Its numerical designation (used in the issuance of license plates ...

. Mantle was the Western Union telegraph operator and postmaster, and also purchased an interest in a

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically ...

through

Monida Pass Monida Pass is a high mountain pass in the northern Rocky Mountains of the western United States, at an elevation of above sea level on Interstate 15, and on the Union Pacific Railroad. On the Continental Divide in the Bitterroot Range, it ...

. In 1877, Mantle sold his Haskell Pass businesses and moved to Butte, Montana, where he was employed as telegrapher by

Wells Fargo & Company Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...

and also started the city's first insurance brokerage. Entering politics as a

, Mantle was one of the leaders of the effort to incorporate Butte as a city. The effort was successful, and in 1880, Mantle was elected to Butte's first board of aldermen.

Continued career

In 1881, Mantle started the ''Daily Inter Mountain'', the first Republican newspaper in

Western Montana Western Montana is the western region of the U.S. state of Montana. The most restrictive definition limits western Montana only to the parts of the state west of the Continental Divide. Other common definitions add in the mountainous areas east ...

. Through the paper's editorial stance, Mantle became a Republican leader and largely shaped the party's organization and policies in Montana. He was elected to the legislature of

Montana Territory The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the state of Montana. Original boundaries ...

in 1882. When

John Schuyler Crosby John Schuyler Crosby (September 19, 1839 – August 8, 1914) (usually referred to as J. Schuyler Crosby) was an American military officer and government official. He was most notable for his service in the Union Army during the American Ci ...

left the territorial governorship in 1884, Mantle was the candidate of Western Montana to replace him, but Eastern Montana Republicans prevailed in obtaining the appointment for B. Platt Carpenter. Mantle was a delegate to the 1884 Republican National Convention, and supported George F. Edmunds for president. In 1886, Mantle was elected to a second term in the Territorial House. When the Northern Pacific Railway attempted to obtain large grants of land in Montana from the federal government, Mantle was chosen president of the Mineral Land Association, the citizens' group formed to oppose the Northern Pacific. The association's lobbying and legal efforts proved successful, and the NP did not acquire the land it sought. In 1888, Mantle was again elected to the legislature, the territory's last, and he was chosen to serve as Speaker of the House. When Montana was admitted to the Union in 1890, Mantle was a candidate for the U.S. Senate, and narrowly lost in the legislature's Republican caucus to Wilbur F. Sanders and Thomas C. Power, who were elected. In 1890 and 1892, Mantle was chairman of Montana's state Republican convention. In 1892 he was elected chairman of the state Republican executive committee. He was also elected mayor of Butte in 1892, and he served one term. When Sanders' U.S. Senate term expired in 1893, the

Montana Legislature The Montana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Montana. It is composed of the 100-member Montana House of Representatives and the 50-member Montana Senate. The Montana Constitution dictates that the legislature meet ...

was unable to agree on a successor. Governor John E. Rickards appointed Mantle to fill the vacancy, but the Senate refused to seat him on the grounds that the governor could not make an appointment while the legislature was in session. Also in 1893, Mantle was named chairman of the state commission that organized Montana's participation at the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

United States Senator

Sanders' seat remained vacant until January 1895, when the legislature elected Mantle as his successor. He served one partial term, January 16, 1895 to March 3, 1899. In the Senate, Mantle served on the Finance Committee, where he worked to obtain passage of amendments to the Dingley Act tariff which were favored by the National Wool Growers Association. Mantle was also an advocate of the Free silver movement, which many Montana miners favored in the belief that it would make their holdings more valuable. As a result of this view, in 1896, Mantle joined the

and became its chairman in Montana. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Senate in 1899. In 1900, he returned to the Republican Party. Another Mantle cause in the Senate was protecting Montana timber interests. In 1897, outgoing President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

withdrew six million acres of forest land from the public domain to be set aside as a timber reserve. In Mantle's view, this move threatened Montana's mining interests, which depended on timber when opening and expanding mines. He also viewed Cleveland's move as a threat to Montana logging companies, since removing the land from public domain prevented them from harvesting trees for production of wood and paper products. After

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

succeeded Cleveland, he reduced the size of the timber reserve by more than 700,000 acres.

Later life

After leaving the Senate, Mantle resumed his business interests. With partner Charles S. Warren, he held ownership stakes in the Silver Bow Electric Company, commercial real estate, mines, insurance companies, and publishing houses. He was a noted civic activist, and his memberships included the Masons,

Elks The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. History The Elks began in 1868 as a soci ...

, Knights of Pythias, and the

Rocky Mountain Club The Rocky Mountain Club was incorporated in New York City as an "Eastern Home of Western Men" with the purpose to "create good-fellowship among the members and advance the interests of the Rock Mountain States." John Hays Hammond was the only pres ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. In 1901, Mantle was again a candidate for the U.S. Senate. Both seats were up for election, and former Senator

William A. Clark William Andrews Clark Sr. (January 8, 1839March 2, 1925) was an American politician and entrepreneur, involved with mining, banking, and railroads. Biography Clark was born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. He moved with his family to Iowa in 1 ...

was chosen for one. Mantle was a major candidate for the other, but after the legislature was deadlocked for over a month, Republican legislators decided to back Thomas H. Carter, who lost to Democrat

Paris Gibson Paris Gibson (July 1, 1830December 16, 1920) was an American entrepreneur and politician. Gibson was born in Brownfield, Maine. An 1851 graduate of Bowdoin College, he served as a member of the Montana State Senate and as a Democratic member ...

. In 1902, Mantle was a delegate to the state Republican convention, and he was chairman of the state party's 1904 convention. He was also a delegate to the

1904 Republican National Convention The 1904 Republican National Convention was held in the Chicago Coliseum, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, on June 21 to June 23, 1904. The popular President Theodore Roosevelt had easily ensured himself of the nomination; a threat had come fro ...

, which unanimously nominated

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

for a full term as president and

Charles W. Fairbanks Charles Warren Fairbanks (May 11, 1852 – June 4, 1918) was an American politician who served as a senator from Indiana from 1897 to 1905 and the 26th vice president of the United States from 1905 to 1909. He was also the Republican vice pre ...

for vice president. He declined the party's nomination for governor in 1904, but accepted election as the state Republican Party chairman. In that fall's election, his efforts led Republicans to victory in the down-ballot statewide races, but Democrats won the governorship and lieutenant governorship. In 1902, the Montana Legislature named Mantle to the commission responsible for the state's participation in the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

and 1905

Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition The Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, commonly also known as the Lewis and Clark Exposition, and officially known as the Lewis and Clark Centennial and American Pacific Exposition and Oriental Fair, was a worldwide exposition held in Portlan ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

. The commission chose Mantle to serve as its president, and he was responsible for creation and management of Montana's exhibits at both events. In 1905, Mantle was a candidate for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination, but lost to Thomas H. Carter, who was reelected. In 1907, he was a candidate for the Republican nomination for U.S. senator. He lost to Joseph M. Dixon, who went on to win the seat. In 1921, Mantle moved to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. After his marriage, he relocated to

. Mantle died in Los Angeles on November 18, 1934. He was buried at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Butte.

Family

Mantle remained a bachelor until 1922. At age 70, he made national headlines when he married Etta Daly (1897-1993), a 25-year-old he had known since she was a child. They remained married until his death and were the parents of a son, Lee Mantle Jr. (1922-1985).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mantle, Lee 1851 births 1934 deaths People from Birmingham, West Midlands English emigrants to the United States Mormon pioneers Former Latter Day Saints Republican Party United States senators from Montana Silver Republican Party United States senators from Montana Members of the Montana Territorial Legislature Mayors of places in Montana Montana city council members Politicians from Salt Lake City 19th-century American politicians