|
Lee Metcalf (left) and Donna Hoover Metcalf (right) pose for a
photograph on their wedding day in front of a garden arch in
the Hoover family’s house garden in Wallace, Idaho, on Sunday,
August 21, 1938. Photograph by Barnard's Studio, Wallace, Idaho.
Lot 31 M4
|
|
Genealogy of Lee and Donna Metcalf
By Matthew M. Peek
Montana Historical Society Metcalf CLIR Project Photograph Archivist
October 2014
The history of the families of Lee Warren Metcalf and Donna Hoover Metcalf have thus far not been recorded using historic sources. In fact, until 2013, few people knew that Senator Metcalf's family were early pioneers who came to Butte, Montana, from Winthrop, Maine, between late 1888 and early 1889. What follows are my best efforts to document the genealogy of Lee and Donna Metcalf, using newspaper articles, letters, Metcalf's campaign biographical sketches, genealogical books, original city and town records, census records, and information from a Hoover family descendent. Not all available information was located for these brief genealogical histories. However, enough of the available records have been located and utilized to create a picture of the Metcalfs' ancestors which has not been previously available.
Genealogy of Lee Warren Metcalf
Biographical History of Harold E. Metcalf's Family (Lee Metcalf’s Father)
The history of the family of Lee Metcalf’s father Harold E. Metcalf goes back to the 1630s in the United States, making the Metcalf family one of the oldest families in the country. Their story is traced as far back as Reverend Leonard Metcalf, the rector of the parish in of Tatterford in the County of Norfolk, England, in the 1500s. His son, Michael Metcalf, was born on June 17, 1587, in Tatterford, England, and later married a Sarah Ellwyn on October 13, 1616. The two had nine children together before leaving England for New England in America in early 1637, due to religious persecution. The Metcalfs’ came to the New World on the ship the “John and Dorothy,” and settled in Dedham, Massachusetts. Michael Metcalf died on December 24, 1654, in Dedham.[1]
Michael and Sarah’s son Michael Metcalf, their third child, was born in Norwich in the County of Norfolk, England, prior to the Metcalfs’ coming to America. Once in America, Michael went on to marry on April 2, 1644, Mary Fairbanks, daughter of Johnathan and Grace (Smith) Fairbanks. Michael and Mary’s fifth child was Eleazer Metcalf, born in Dedham, Massachusetts, on either March 20 or April 2, 1653. Eleazer married on April 9, 1684, Meletiah Fisher, the daughter of Samuel and Meletiah (Snow) Fisher. The couple had ten children together. Their second child was Michael Metcalf, born on May 21, 1687. Michael married on December 2, 1712, Abiell Colburn, the daughter of Samuel and Mercy (Partridge) Colburn.[2]
Michael and Abiell Metcalf’s sixth child was Dr. Joseph Metcalf, born on February 20th in either 1723 or 1724, in Wrentham, Massachusetts. He became a physician and farmer while living in Wrentham. Joseph married Hannah Haven, daughter of Moses and Hannah (Walker) Have, on October 23, 1751. Joseph died in March 1767, and his widow Hannah married Jonathan Whiting of Winthrop, Maine. Hannah Metcalf Whiting died in Winthrop on February 16, 1814. Joseph and Hannah Metcalf gave birth to six children, among whom was Joseph Metcalf.[3]
Deacon Joseph Metcalf was born in Franklin, Massachusetts, on March 30, 1765, coming to live in Winthrop, Maine, in 1789. Joseph purchased a two-acre lot from Stephen Pullen in Winthrop, Maine, and built a cabinet shop there in 1789 and a house in 1792. Joseph was a cabinet and chairmaker, founding the first cabinet shop in Winthrop, and later established outside of town what became known as the “Metcalf Neighborhood” on 79 acres of he bought for a ministerial lot in 1800. Deacon Joseph Metcalf became a moderator, treasurer, selectman, clerk, assessor, and farmer in Winthrop, Maine. He supervised the Winthrop Factory Company in the early 1800s. In 1801, Joseph joined the Winthrop Congregational Church in 1801, chosen deacon that year. Joseph Metcalf married Olive Fairbanks, daughter of Abijah and Mary (Clark) Fairbanks, on June 17, 1790. Joseph died on February 12, 1849, and Olive died on April 2, 1868. The two had 14 children together. Stephen Pullen had offered a lot in 1771 to the town of Winthrop, Maine, for a cemetery, adjacent what later became the property of the Deacon Joseph Metcalf family. The cemetery eventually came to be called the Metcalf Cemetery, along Bearce and Metcalf Roads in Winthrop, Maine. The Metcalf Cemetery still stands today on the original land of the Metcalf family.[4]
Joseph Metcalf served on several town committees, and was a major presence in local politics. He was the Corresponding Secretary for the Winthrop Agriculture Society. Joseph Metcalf was one of the two delegates chosen in 1819 by Winthrop citizens as delegates to a convention to petition the Massachusetts legislature in favor of a separation of the district of Maine from the state of Massachusetts. Maine received its statehood in 1820. In 1834, Joseph Metcalf led the establishment of an anti-slavery society in Winthrop, Maine, with 107 members. He was also very active in the American Anti-Slavery Society.[5]
Joseph and Olive Metcalf’s sixth child was Moses Haven Metcalf, born on November 22, 1799. Apparently (and for an unknown reason), Moses was raised by his uncle Abijah Fairbanks’ family. Moses’ older brother Joseph Addison Metcalf went on to found a high school at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, which would later become the famed Gettysburg College. Moses married Eliza Daphney Hamilton of North Yarmouth, Maine, on October 27, 1822. Eliza died on September 14, 1838. Moses remarried to Eliza Baker of North Yarmouth, Maine, in 1839. Moses Metcalf died on February 24, 1879. He had eight children. Moses and Eliza Metcalf gave birth to two boys they named Joseph Milner. The first Joseph Milner (the Metcalfs’ fourth child), born on August 26, 1828, died less than a year later on April 5, 1829. Evidently naming their sixth child after the son they lost, Moses and Eliza gave birth to the second Joseph Milner Metcalf on September 6, 1831.[6]
Joseph Milner Metcalf married Lucinda E. Mills of Bloomfield, Connecticut, in December 1856, and the two gave birth to four children: Fred H. (born 1859); Elmer H. (born about 1863); Harriet Eliza (or Hattie E.—born about 1867); and Everett Leonard (born about 1870). Joseph died on April 2, 1875, and Lucinda died in 1923. Joseph and Lucinda’s son, Frederic Herman Metcalf, is the grandfather of Senator Lee Metcalf, and the man who migrated from Maine to Montana to establish the Metcalf family in Ravalli County, Montana. Fred, as he was known, was born on September 8, 1859. The Metcalf family land outside of the town center of Winthrop, Maine, bordered the farm land of the Horace M. and Sarah A. Bearce. The Bearces and the Metcalfs inter-married, and the families were buried in the Metcalf Cemetery together.[7]
Fred H. Metcalf married Alice T. Bearce on December 4, 1880. Alice was born on May 31, 1855, in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, Horace M. Bearce and Sarah A. Alden Bearce. The Bearces came to Winthrop, Maine, from Brockton, Massachusetts, in 1860, where Horace became a farmer. Alice became a school teacher for the Second District of Winthrop, Maine. In 1880 when she was married, Alice was 25 years old. Fred and Alice Metcalf gave birth to at least seven children: Herbert A. (born in June 1884); Harold E. (born on May 6, 1887); Clifford H. (born in May 29, 1888); Harriet M. (born around 1888 in Montana); Helia F. (born in October 1891 in Montana); Helen (born around 1892 in Montana); and Elmer R. (born in July 1895 in Montana). Fred and Alice Metcalf appear to have moved out to Butte, Montana between 1888 and 1889 with the rest of Fred’s family, including his widowed mother Lucinda, brothers Elmer and Everett, and sister Hattie.[8]
From the locations of family photographs and records in city directories, Fred and Alice Metcalf appear to have come through Butte, Montana, and eventually settled in Ravalli County, Montana, in the small community of Corvallis by the mid 1890s. The rest of the Metcalf family had an interesting life when they arrived in Montana, first settling in Butte. In 1889, brothers Fred H. and Elmer H. Metcalf were proprietors of the Parrot Market on Talbot Avenue in Butte, Montana. Lucinda E. Metcalf, now widowed, resided in 1889 at 462 East Park Street with her children (except for Fred H.) in rented bedrooms. Fred H. Metcalf resided in 1889 on East Galena Street, just west of Oregon Avenue, in Butte, Montana (Alice Metcalf may not have moved out to Montana with her husband until after he became established, as the city director does not list her in Butte in 1889).[9]
Everett L. Metcalf lived in Butte, Montana by 1889. Everett at first was a laborer in the famous Parrott Smelter in Butte. During the Spanish-American War (1896-1898), Everett L. Metcalf was a Quartermaster Sergeant in Company B of the First Montana Infantry while serving in the Philippines, who were known was “an expansionist and in favor of retaining the islands [the Philippines]”. Everett was wounded in the left arm on February 10, 1899, at Callocan, Philippine Islands. Between 1899 and 1900, Everett became a fireman for the Boston and Montana Consolidated Copper and Silver Mining Company (known as the “Boston and Montana” or “B & M”). Later between 1901 and 1902, he became a fireman with the West Colusa Mine, while residing at 536 West Galena in Butte. At the age of 31, Everett would marry Rose L. Cox on March 1, 1901, in Butte, Montana. By 1904, Everett Metcalf lived at 631 South Wyoming Street in Butte, and was still working as a fireman at the West Colusa Mine. By 1910, Everett was working as a pumpman in the Leonard Mine, and residing at 1827 Oregon Avenue in Butte. By the 1920 U.S. Census, Everett and Rose Metcalf had moved to the town of Raymond, Washington, where Everett worked as a grain sampler in a feed store he apparently owned. Everett died on May 10, 1923, in South Bend, Washington; his widow Rose was living by 1930 in the city of Whittier in Los Angeles County, California, with her niece and nephew—Lillian V. Phillips and Eric R. Dodge.[10]
Elmer H. Metcalf in 1889 was, with his brother Fred, a proprietor of the Parrot Market on Talbot Avenue in Butte, Montana, and lived in 1889 at 462 East Park Street with his mother and siblings. On April 13, 1891, at the age of 29, Elmer married Ida M. Hilton (ten years his younger) in Butte, Montana. Elmer and his wife would move frequently—living in Seattle, Washington; Stevensville, Montana; Long Beach, California; and Anaheim, California—and Elmer changed jobs and careers equally as frequent. In 1895, Elmer is listed as working in mining, and living at 10 Covert Street in Butte, Montana (near the present-day Berkeley Pit). Elmer Metcalf was elected to the Montana State House of Representatives for the Fourth Session of the Legislative Assembly, serving as a representative from Silver Bow County. During his time as a representative, Elmer conceived of a new law governing the holding of election primaries and caucuses; the bill was signed into law by the governor. Elmer and his brother Fred H. Metcalf purchased the Cobb place in the Burnt Fork district in the summer of 1898; the Metcalf’s property in the upper Burnt Fork became known as the “Metcalf place”, and was a working ranch run by one or more of the Metcalf brothers. By 1900, Elmer had moved for some unknown reason to Seattle, Washington. By the 1910 U.S. Census, Elmer and Ida Metcalf had returned to live in Stevensville, Montana, with Elmer’s mother Lucinda residing with them. Elmer was a prominent farmer on the upper Burnt Creek district, just east of Stevensville, where he had a ranch that turned out butter, apples, oats, and hay. Elmer had become a prominent local dairyman and civic leader. Apparently, Elmer Metcalf was “among the foremost in convincing his neighbors this was an ideal section for profitable dairying and he became a leader in the industry that resulted in establishing the co-operative creamery [Bitter Root Creamery].” In 1911, Elmer was the vice-president of the Stevensville Chamber of Commerce, and spoke at the dedication of the re-built Bitter Root Creamery.[11]
On September 12, 1911, Elmer and Ida Metcalf had moved to Garden Grove, California, just outside of Anaheim, where Elmer had acquired an interest in a walnut farm. Elmer had sold all of his property holdings in Ravalli County, and had traveled to southern California to scout for an area to settle for a new life with his wife. The newspaper describes how well thought of Elmer was by the local citizens:
One of Stevensville’s most highly-respected and best-liked citizens took his departure this morning in the person of Elmer H. Metcalf. . . . The people of Stevensville will miss Mr. Metcalf. Quietly as he stole away, they know of his departure, and they will not forget the liberal but lofty mind and character of the man, nor will they fall to wish that, without misfortune contributing thereto in the least, he may some time return.
By 1915, Elmer and Ida had moved to 327 Lime Avenue in Long Beach California; Elmer was the proprietor of the Eulilla Apartments, and had given up farming. By 1920, Elmer and Ida had moved to 511 East Broadway in Anaheim, California, where Elmer owned his own ranch at the age of 57. Elmer had become an Anaheim school board trustee and prominent local rancher in the 1920s. In the light of his nephew Lee Metcalf’s later role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act, it is interesting to note that Elmer Metcalf was a Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard. In 1924, the Anaheim, California, city council had become dominated by members of the Ku Klux Klan, who wanted a Klan member as mayor of Anaheim. In 1924, the council appointed Elmer H. Metcalf as the mayor of Anaheim, and he held the office from 1924 to 1925. By 1930, Elmer and Ida Metcalf were living in Fullerton, California, and he owned or had an interest in a farm that grew citrus. Elmer H. Metcalf died on February 1, 1933, in Orange County, California, at the age of 70.[12]
All we currently know of Harriet Eliza Metcalf (or Hattie E. Metcalf) is that she came with her family to Butte, Montana, and was living there in 1889. On November 19, 1893, Harriet married Charles Lawrence—whose family was from England—in Butte, Montana. Nothing else is known of Harriet after this.[13]
Fred H. Metcalf became a prominent member of the Ravalli County Republican Party, serving as a delegate to the county convention for the Republican primaries in Hamilton, Montana, on September 3, 1904. It appears that during the height of the Progressive Party (known as the Bull Moose Party), founded by Teddy Roosevelt in 1912 after a split with Republican President William Howard Taft, Fred Metcalf served as an elected delegate for the Stevensville, Montana, District 9, Progressive Party primaries.[14] Fred Metcalf came to own a logging company and lumber yard on Church St. in Corvallis, Montana, near the Bitterroot Forest; this is ironic, as Fred’s grandson Lee would go on to fight against poor logging practices in the Bitterroot Valley up until his death in 1978. Fred’s lumber yard became successful enough for him by 1912 to have “built a new office, is now erecting a second large lumber shed, and has had a big sign put up.”[15]
Although living so far away from his ancestral home, Fred Metcalf traveled back home to Maine to visit with relatives, as noted in the Stevensville newspaper in 1910: “F.H. Metcalf returned the latter part of the past week from a visit with relatives and friends in Maine and other e[a]stern states.” However, we do not know for sure how often he made such trips, or if Lee Metcalf ever traveled back to Maine as a child to visit his distant family.[16] Fred Metcalf moved to Stevensville, Montana, in 1898, still maintaining his lumber yard in Corvallis. Fred and his brother Elmer purchased the Cobb place in the Burnt Fork district in the summer of 1898, and Fred appears to have run the farm’s operation on a daily basis. Fred became an important member of the community and in the county, serving as a juror on the Ravalli County District Court for the October term in 1911. Fred also started purchasing lots in Stevensville, having purchased from W.A. McLaren Lots 5 through 8 in Block 3 of the Dobbins addition in Stevensville in 1910.[17]
Fred Metcalf also had a hand in constructing a major irrigation ditch and a dam in Ravalli County. In 1899, Fred Metcalf began the final construction of 3½ miles of the “Big Ditch” on upper Burnt Creek, from Pine Hollow to the ditch’s end. The ditch project, led by the Supply Ditch Company, had been halted for two years due to lack of funds to finish the project. In 1899, an investor from Iowa supplied the needed funding, and Metcalf was contracted by the Supply Ditch Company to finish a stretch of the irrigation ditch.[18] Fred and Alice Metcalf’s children became a part of the Stevensville community. Their son Herbert was a part of the first graduating class of the Stevensville Training School in 1904. The Metcalfs’ daughter Helen was engaged in September 1913 to George W. Dewey of Washington, D.C. Two local women, Mrs. L. L. Carter and O.G. Day, gave an engagement shower for Helen Metcalf on September 28, 1913, at the Day home, with many of Helen’s friends in attendance. Helen and George were married in October 1913, and they moved to Jerome, Idaho.[19]
Fred H. Metcalf had become very ill sometime in late 1913. He submitted to several operations during the late summer of 1914, and appeared to have regained his health. Fred and Alice Metcalf planned to move their family to southern California on October 27, 1914, but his health turned drastically on Sunday, October 25, 1914. Fred Metcalf died on Thursday, October 29, 1914, in Stevensville, Montana. His funeral was held in the Stevensville Methodist Episcopal Church on Sunday, November 1, 1914, at 2 P.M., and was performed by two local ministers—Rev. Edward C. Bartlett of the Stevensville Methodist Church, with assistance by Rev. G.W. Rees of the Stevensville Presbyterian Church. Fred Metcalf was buried in the Maplewood Cemetery on South Avenue in Stevensville, Montana.[20]
Harold Everett Metcalf (his middle name is after his uncle Everett) was born on May 6, 1887, in Winthrop, Maine, to Fred and Alice Metcalf; he was their second-oldest child. Harold came with his parents when they moved to Butte, Montana, by 1889. By 1900, Harold was living with his parents in Stevensville, Montana.[21] Nothing is known of Harold’s childhood in Ravalli County. By 1906 around the age of 19, Harold had become a driver for the Amos Buck Mercantile Company in Stevensville, Montana, at which place his uncle Herbert worked as well. Harold was working as a laborer by 1910. Harold only attended college for one year. On February 23, 1910, Harold E. Metcalf married Rhoda Smith, daughter of a prominent Ravalli County investor Robert C. Smith, on February 23, 1910. The couple was married at the house of Robert C. Smith, just outside of Stevensville, Montana:
The residence was beautifully decorated in white and green for the occasion, and a wedding bell was suspended beneath a great evergreen arch. Rev. D. B. Price, presiding elder of the Southern Methodist church, performed the ceremony. The wedding march was played by Miss Iva Smith, a sister of the bride, and Miss Etta Wood, a cousin, acted as ring bearer. Her father [Robert C. Smith] gave the bride away.
The ceremony was performed in the presence of a few relatives and intimate friends. After the knot had been tied delicious refreshments were served. Later in the evening a large number of young friends arrived from the city [Missoula] and serenaded the happy young couple. Many beautiful and useful presents were received. Both the contracting parties are well known in Stevensville, where they have lived for many years, and where they are general favorites, both of them being members of prominent families. . . . The newly married couple will make their home in Stevensville.
The couple were described by a newspaper as “Prominent Couple Is Married: Miss Rhoda Smith Becomes Mrs. Harold Metcalf at Pretty Home Wedding.”[21]
Harold Metcalf bought the old Stiter house in the May Addition in Stevensville, Montana, from Charles Fulton in March 1910, as a new house for he and his new bride. On Saturday, January 28, 1911, the couple gave birth to their first child, Lee Warren Metcalf. The Metcalfs had moved to California for a few months (possibly with Rhoda Metcalf’s father, who lived in Los Angeles County) in 1911. At the end of February 1912, Harold and Rhoda Metcalf permanently moved their family to Puento, California, in order for Rhoda to be closer to her widowed father, who had moved to southern California between 1910 and 1911. Harold and Rhoda gave birth to a daughter, Julia M., while living in California on September 18, 1912. Between 1917 and 1919, the Metcalfs returned to live in Stevensville on their family farm, and Harold Metcalf went to work at the First State Bank of Stevensville. Harold had to register for the World War I draft, and on his draft card he is described as follows: 6-feet tall, stout, blue eyes, light brown hair and going slightly bald, and he had no physical disabilities. Between 1922 and 1923, Harold had become a cashier, later assistant and then head cashier, at the bank. Interestingly, Harold likely got the job because his father in law, Robert C. Smith, was a major stockholder for the First State Bank of Stevensville. Harold Metcalf also served on the board of directors of the Bitter Root Creamery, which his family had help found years before. The Metcalfs’ children Lee and Julia attended the local Stevensville schools.[22]
On June 26, 1929, Harold, Rhoda, Lee, and Julia Metcalf moved permanently out of Montana to 1610 West 16 Street in Alhambra, California. Harold had some business interests in California, and the family settled down just there. Julia Metcalf had already been attending a special girls’ school in California for the 1928-1929 school year. By 1930, the Metcalfs were living in Downey in Los Angeles County, California. In 1930, the Metcalfs had moved to 409 B Ramona Boulevard in Alhambra, California; Lee Metcalf was living with his parents, while working as a gardener for the city of Alhambra, California. Not much is known of the Metcalfs’ life in California after 1930. In the 1940 census, Harold Metcalf is listed as a farmer in Norwalk, California, at the age of 52. Harold E. Metcalf passed away on January 12, 1946, while his son Lee Metcalf was serving in World War II in Germany; Harold never got to see his son’s political successes. Rhoda Metcalf remained living in California, moving around over the years to different towns in Southern California. She would often visit her son in Helena, Montana, and at Senator Metcalf’s Washington, D.C., house in the 1960s and 1970s. Lee Metcalf frequently welcomed his mother to political events, and took her to eat in the Senate Dining Room with Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield. Lee Metcalf’s wife Rhoda continued to look after Rhoda from afar, spending time with her, celebrating birthdays, and taking her shopping. Rhoda Ann Smith Metcalf passed away on May 27, 1986, in Orange County, California.[23]
Little is known about the descendants of the Harold Metcalf family, as Lee Metcalf had no children. Julia Metcalf attended college for a time in Portland, Oregon. By the 1940s, Julia possibly was living in San Jose, California, and by 1943 apparently had married Daniel Riordan. She gave birth to two children, whose names are unknown; they have had several name changes. Julia M. Metcalf Riordan died on February 11, 1983, in Buena Park, California, at 70 years old.[24] All of the Metcalfs which are native-born Montanans in Silver Bow County and Ravalli County owe their existence to the Fred H. Metcalf family line.
Return to Top of Page
Sources
1. Stackpole, Everett S. History of Winthrop, Maine: With Genealogical Notes (Winthrop, Maine: Press of Merrill & Webber Company, 1925), pp. 504.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid, 504-505.
4. Stackpole, 505-506; Ancestry.com. Mr. Joseph Metcalf. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011; Ancestry.com. Joseph Metcalf. U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011; Kingsbury, Henry D., and Simeon L. Deyo. Illustrated History of Kennebec County, Maine; 1625-1799-1892, Part 2 (H.W. Blake and Co., 1892), pp. 836-837.
5. Thurston, David. A brief history of Winthrop, from 1764 to October 1855 (Portland, Maine: B. Thurston, steam printer, 1855), pp. 55, 154. Digitized by the University of Michigan Library. Viewed at http://name.umdl.umich.edu/ADT7166.0001.001; Goodman, Paul. Of One Blood: Abolitionism and the Origins of Racial Equality (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1998), pp. 120; Sprague’s Journal of Maine History, Vol. 9, No. 4, October-December 1921, pp. 175.
6. Stackpole, 506-508.
7. Stackpole, 508; Ancestry.com. Joseph M. Metcalf. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009; Ancestry.com. J.M. Metcalf. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009; Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Lucinda E. Metcalf. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.
8. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Fred H. Metcalf. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]; Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Alice T. Bearce. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]; Ancestry.com. Fred H. Metcalf. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004; Ancestry.com. Fred H. Metcalf. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006; “Schools,” Annual Reports of the Selectmen, Assessors, Overseers of Poor, Treasurer, and Supervisor of Schools of the Town of Winthrop, For the Year Ending March 10th, 1879 (Winthrop, Maine: Globe Job Print, 1879), pp. 12; Lucinda E. Metcalf. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.
9. Metcalf Bros. Butte, Montana, City Directory, 1890. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
10. Sewell, Patricia, comp. Everett L. Metcalf. Butte, Silver Bow County, Montana, Directory, 1902 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001; Ancestry.com. Quartermaster Sergeant Everett L Metcalf. U.S., Spanish American War Volunteers, 1898 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012; Ancestry.com. Everett L. Metcalf. Butte, Montana, City Directory, 1900. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011; Ancestry.com. Everett L. Metcalf. Butte, Montana, City Directory, 1905. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011; Ancestry.com. “Everett L. Metcalf”. Montana, County Marriages, 1865-1950 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014; Ancestry.com. Everett L. Metcalf. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010; “Everett Leonard Metcalf,” Washington State Death Certificate Index 1907-1960. Viewed at http://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov/Record/View/4D6F888D2E01F81CCDDF316E89A07D94; Ancestry.com. Rose L. Metcalf. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002; Ancestry.com. Everett L. Metcalf. Butte, Montana, City Directory, 1911. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011; “Hamilton Happenings,” Anaconda Standard (Anaconda, Montana), Monday, November 06, 1899, pp. 10.
11. Metcalf Bros. Butte, Montana, City Directory, 1890. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011; Ancestry.com. Elmer H. Metcalf. Montana, County Marriages, 1865-1950 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014; Ancestry.com. Elmer H. O. Metcalf. Butte, Montana, City Directory, 1896. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011; Ancestry.com. Elmer H. Metcalf. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006; Ancestry.com. Elmer H. Metcalf. Missoula, Montana, City Directory, 1913. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011; “Prominent Rancher Of Bitter Root In Early Days Dead On Coast,” Montana Standard (Butte, Montana), Sunday, February 19, 1933, pp. 6; “Respected Citizen Leaves: Elmer H. Metcalf Departs From Stevensville For Southern California,” The Daily Missoulian (Missoula, Montana), Wednesday, September 13, 1911, pp. 3; “Stevensville’s Pride Is Merited By Her Creamery’s Fine Record,” The Daily Missoulian (Missoula, Montana), Sunday, August 20, 1911, pp. 4; “Creamery Opening Is Celebrated,” The Daily Missoulian (Missoula, Montana), Friday, August 18, 1911, pp. 3; “The Local Field,” The Ravalli Republican (Stevensville, Montana), September 7, 1898, pp. 3; “Caught On The Run About Town: Valley Is Warm,” The Daily Missoulian (Missoula, Montana), Thursday, January 28, 1909, pp. 10; “The Primary Law: Text of the Rules Which Will Govern Hereafter,” Anaconda Standard (Anaconda, Montana), Thursday, March 14, 1895, pp. 5; House Journal of the Fourth Session of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Montana, 1895 (Helena, Montana: State Publishing Company, 1895), p. 1.
12. “Respected Citizen Leaves . . . .” The Daily Missoulian, September 13, 1911, pp. 3; Ancestry.com. Elmer H. Metcalf. Long Beach, California, City Directory, 1916. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011; Ancestry.com. Elmer H. Metcalf. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010; Ancestry.com. Elmer H. Metcalf. Anaheim, California, City Directory, 1924. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011; Ancestry.com. Elmer H. Metcalf. Anaheim, California, City Directory, 1925. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011; Cocoltchos, Christopher N., “The Invisible Empire and the Search for the Orderly Community: The Ku Klux Klan in Anaheim, California,” from The Invisible Empire in the West Toward a New Historical Appraisal of the Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s, edited by Shawn Lay (University of Illinois Press, 2003), pp. 109, 111; Ancestry.com. Elmer H. Metcalf. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002; Ancestry.com. Elmer H. Metcalf. California, Death Index, 1905-1939 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013; “Prominent Rancher Of Bitter Root In Early Days Dead On Coast,” Montana Standard, February 19, 1933, pp. 6.
13. Ancestry.com. Harriet Eliza Metcalf. Montana, County Marriages, 1865-1950 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
14. “Exciting Time At The Republican Primaries,” Anaconda Standard (Anaconda, Montana), Saturday, September 3, 1904, pp. 12; “Stevensville News,” The Daily Missoulian (Missoula, Montana), Thursday, August 20, 1912, pp. 3.
15. Local news section, Stevensville Register (Stevensville, Montana), December 5, 1912.
16. “People and Events,” Stevensville Register (Stevensville, Montana), February 17, 1910, pp. 3.
17. “Jurors Are Drawn For Term,” The Daily Missoulian (Missoula, Montana), Tuesday, October 10, 1911; “Deeds Are Filed,” The Daily Missoulian (Missoula, Montana), Sunday, March 27, 1910, pp. 9; “The Local Field,” The Ravalli Republican (Stevensville, Montana), September 7, 1898, pp. 3; “Fred Metcalf Dies At Stevensville,” The Daily Missoulian (Missoula, Montana), Saturday, October 31, 1914, pp. 5.
18. “Hamilton Happenings,” Anaconda Standard (Anaconda, Montana), Monday, November 6, 1899, pp. 10.
19. Stevenville Historical Society. Montana Genesis: A History of the Stevensville Area of the Bitterroot Valley (Missoula, Montana: Mountain Press Publishing Co., 1971), pp. 213; “Stevensville News,” The Daily Missoulian (Missoula, Montana), Monday, September 29, 1913, pp. 3; “Stevensville Notes,” The Daily Missoulian (Missoula, Montana), Monday, November 16, 1914, pp. 5.
20. “Stevensville News,” The Daily Missoulian (Missoula, Montana), Saturday, June 20, 1914, pp. 5; “Metcalf Obsequies,” The Daily Missoulian (Missoula, Montana), Tuesday, November 3, 1914, pp. 3; “Fred Metcalf Dies At Stevensville,” The Daily Missoulian (Missoula, Montana), Saturday, October 31, 1914, pp. 5.
21. Ancestry.com. Harold E. Metcalf. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004; Ancestry.com. Harold E. Metcalf. Missoula, Montana, City Directory, 1909. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011; Ancestry.com. Harold E. Metcalf. Missoula, Montana, City Directory, 1911. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011; Ancestry.com. Harold E. Metcalf. Montana, County Marriages, 1865-1950 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014; “Metcalf-Smith,” The Western News (Hamilton, Montana), Wednesday, March 2, 1910; “Prominent Couple Is Married: Miss Rhoda Smith Becomes Mrs. Harold Metcalf at Pretty Home Wedding,” The Daily Missoulian (Missoula, Montana), Friday, February 25, 1910, pp. 8; Ancestry.com. Harold E. Metcalf. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
22. “People and Events,” Stevensville Register (Stevensville, Montana), March 3, 1910, pp. 3; “Local News,” Stevensville Register (Stevensville, Montana), February 2, 1911; Local news section, Stevensville Register (Stevensville, Montana), February 29, 1912, pp. 3; “Metcalfs Leave For California,” Northwest Tribune and Stevensville Register (Stevensville, Montana), Thursday, June 27, 1929; “Local Items of Interest,” Northwest Tribune and Stevensville Register (Stevensville, Montana), Thursday, June 13, 1929; Ancestry.com. Harold E. Metcalf. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010; Ancestry.com. Harold Everett Metcalf. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005; Ancestry.com. Julia Metcalf Riordan. California, Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.
23. Ancestry.com. Harold E. Metcalf. Alhambra, California, City Directory, 1930. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011; Ancestry.com. Harold E. Metcalf. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002; Ancestry.com. Harold E. Metcalf. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012; Ancestry.com. Harold Everett Metcalf. California, Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000; Ancestry.com. Rhoda Metcalf. California, Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.
24. “Florence Notes,” Montana Standard (Butte, Montana), Thursday, December 26, 1929, pp. 5; Ancestry.com. Julia Riordan. San Jose, California, City Directory, 1943. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011; Ancestry.com. Julia Metcalf Riordan. California, Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000; Julia Metcalf Riordan. California Death Records. The California Department of Health Services Office of Health Information and Research vital Statistics Section. Viewed on Rootsweb at http://vitals.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ca/death/search.cgi?cj=1&netid=cj&o_xid=0000584978&o_lid=0000584978&o_sch=Affiliate+External.
Return to Top of Page
Biographical History of the Rhoda Smith Family (Lee Metcalf’s Mother)
The story of Rhoda Smith, the mother of Lee Metcalf, begins with Rhoda’s father Robert C. Smith in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana. Robert Clinton Smith was born on May 26, 1855, in Whitfield County, Georgia, as the oldest son of Joel and Mary Anne Smith. As a child, Robert’s family lived in Georgia and Tennessee. Joel and Mary Anne Smith would move their family to the Bitterroot Valley in Montana in 1879, settling in the area of Corvallis, Montana, about 10 miles south of Stevensville [1].
At age 29, Robert married Mary Elizabeth Wood, who was 15 years old, on March 15, 1885, in Corvallis. Mary Elizabeth Wood had been born on Aug. 26, 1869, in Webster, Missouri, before her family moved to Montana. Robert and Mary Smith lived in the Corvallis area from 1885 to 1902, after Robert purchased what would become known as the Carruthers ranch just north of Corvallis. Robert worked as a farmer for a number of years. Robert and Mary Anne had five children—two boys and three girls—together: James Franklin (born 1886; died in 1892 at age 6); Rhoda Ann (born 1887); Minnie Myrtle (born 1890); Iva May (born 1892; died in 1911 at age 18); and Lee Roy [or Leroy] (born 1894). Robert’s wife Mary died on June 28, 1896, at the age of 26, and was buried in the Corvallis Cemetery [2].
Following his wife’s death, Robert moved to Stevensville, Montana, in 1902 after selling his ranch, and lived in Stevensville until 1910. By 1902, he had become a wealthy man due to investments in banking establishments in Ravalli County. Prior to 1902, Robert assisted building many of the first churches and schools in Ravalli County, thus engendering himself to the population as one of the area’s important early pioneers. Between 1902 and 1910, Robert C. Smith, moving into the business of capital investments, would become one of the prominent bank stockholders and investors in Ravalli County. He was one of the first organizers of the Farmers State Bank of Victor, Montana. He would go on to become a major stockholder for the First State Bank of Stevensville and the short-lived new Bitter Root Valley Bank of Stevensville [3].
Around 1910-1911, Robert would take up residency in the Los Angeles, California, area, specifically in Puente, California [now La Puente, California], in Los Angeles County. Puente in the 1930s would become known for its fruit and walnut tree groves, which had been established in the early 1900s. Since Ravalli County, Montana, is known for its apple orchards, Robert C. Smith saw an opportunity to invest in a similar project in Puente. In February 1911, Robert and his business partner from Stevensville, Peter Feddersohn, closed a deal on 20 acres of land north of Puente to add to Feddersohn’s 100 acres for some unidentified orchard. Feddersohn had built a $10,000 water pumping station on his property to water the fields. Between 1911 and 1927, Robert. C. Smith would travel back and forth between Los Angeles and Ravalli County, having changed his permanent residence to Los Angeles and later Long Beach, California, between 1918 and 1920 [4].
Robert C. Smith died on Friday, May 4, 1928, two weeks before his grandson Lee Metcalf graduated from high school. Mr. Smith died at his home in Long Beach, California, following an illness that had lasted several weeks. The illness had caused Robert severe weakness, but he fought to maintain his strength until a few days before his death. Robert’s daughter Rhoda Smith Metcalf and his son Lee Roy Smith of Alhambra, California, were at his bedside when he passed away [5].
Rhoda Smith was born on March 14, 1887, in Ravalli County, Montana [6]. After her older brother James died in 1892 and her mother passed away in 1896, Rhoda took on the woman’s responsibilities of the house, helping her father raise the children and run the home. There is very little information about Rhoda’s youth prior to her marriage to Harold E. Metcalf, and even less about her life following the marriage. What we do know is that in 1900, the Smith family was living in Corvallis, Montana, and Rhoda was 14 years old [7]. After the family moved to Stevensville in 1902, Rhoda would attend the Stevensville Training School. At one of the class exercises in 1903, Rhoda read a story or poem called “The Baldheaded Man” as part of the student ceremony [8]. In June 1905, Rhoda was one of only four students to graduate from the training school [9]. Rhoda attended Montana State University [modern-day University of Montana-Missoula] for one year, but would not remain and never graduated. Rhoda Smith met and later married Harold E. Metcalf on February 23, 1910, with their wedding described as a “prominent couple” [10]. Their first child—Lee Warren Metcalf—was born on January 28, 1911.
Return to Top of Page
Sources
1. “Funeral Is Held For Robert C. Smith: Valley Pioneer Passes Away In California, Friday, May 4,” Northwest Tribune and Stevensville Register (Stevensville, Montana), Thursday, May 10, 1928; Ancestry.com. Robert C. Smith. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
2. “Funeral Is Held . . . ,” Northwest Tribune, May 10, 1928.
3. “Funeral Is Held . . . ,” Northwest Tribune, May 10, 1928; “Condition of State Bank Shows City Is Prosperous,” Stevensville Register (Stevensville, Montana), December 23, 1909; Advertisement, The First State Bank of Stevensville, Daily Missoulian (Missoula, Montana), Sunday, May 30, 1909.
4. “Live News From Valley Points: Puente,” Covina Argus (Covina, California), Saturday, February 25, 1911, pp. 6; “Stevensville Notes,” The Anaconda Standard (Anaconda, Montana), Wednesday, February 28, 1912; “Stevensville Notes,” The Missoulian (Missoula, Montana), Sunday, October 13, 1912, pp. 6; “Local Brevities,” The Missoulian (Missoula, Montana), Saturday, November 14, 1914, pp. 3.
5. “Funeral Is Held . . . ,” Northwest Tribune, May 10, 1928.
6. Ancestry.com. Rhoda Smith Metcalf. California, Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.
7. Ancestry.com. Rhoda A. Smith. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
8. “Programmes Rendered At Stevensville,” The Anaconda Standard, Friday, June 12, 1903, pp. 14.
9. “Training School Closes Its Nine Months’ Term,” The Anaconda Standard, Monday, June 5, 1905, pp. 9.
10. “Prominent Couple Is Married,” The Daily Missoulian (Missoula, Montana), Friday, February 25, 1910, pp. 8.
Return to Top of Page
Genealogy of Donna Hoover Metcalf
The exact identity of the paternal grandparents of Donna Hoover Metcalf is uncertain due to several contradicting records related to Donna’s father Albert W. Hoover. There are two possibilities for the identity of Donna Hoover Metcalf’s paternal grandparents, which are explored below.
One possibility (the likely one) is that the paternal grandparents of Donna Hoover Metcalf were the paternal grandparents of Donna Hoover Metcalf could be Peter Hoover and Kate [Catherine] Haley Hoover, of Wayne County, Ohio. The marriage record for Albert William Hoover lists his father as Peter Hoover and his mother as Kate Haley. There are several possibilities here, including divorced and remarried parents of Albert Hoover. Other than that, there are no available records which I can find for Peter Hoover without a location for his birth and residence [1].
Alternatively, the paternal grandparents of Donna Hoover Metcalf could have been Madison Hoover (born in October 1867 in Ohio) and Nettie E. Hill Hoover (born in October 1872 in Indiana). Both individuals’ parents are currently unknown and will require further research. Madison and Nettie were married in 1888, when Nettie was 16 years old and Madison was 21 years old. On the 1900 census, the two were living in the town of New Lebanon in Miami County, Ohio (western Ohio). They had by 1900 four children—two sons and two daughters: Albert W., age 10; Grace, age 8; Parker, age 4; and Gladys, age 1. According to the census, the Hoovers had given birth to five children, but had lost one by 1900. Both Madison and Nettie (also known as Netta) could read and write; they rented a house in New Lebanon, while Madison worked as a day laborer [2]. However, on Albert Hoover’s death record, his birth location is given as Burton City, Ohio—in the northeast portion of the state, far away from the home region of Madison Hoover.
Madison Hoover appears either to have died or divorced his wife Nettie by 1910, as Nettie was married to a William Hoover (born in Ohio about 1868—possibly a relative or brother of Madison Hoover), and she had two additional children—Cuba and Kenneth. William might also be Madison’s middle name, as the 1910 census shows William and Nettie were in their marriage for twenty-one years (which they could not have been if Nettie remarried after Madison). By 1910, the two were living in the town of Monroe in Miami County, Ohio [3].
Little is known about the life of Albert William Hoover prior to 1910. Albert William Hoover was born in Burton City, Ohio, on October 10, 1888. Albert remained in Ohio until at least 1900, when he was 11 or 12 years old. Sometime between 1900 and 1910, Albert had come to Montana [4]. In 1910, Albert worked as a bookkeeper for the Montana Independent Telephone Company in Missoula, Montana [5].
Albert W. Hoover married Ruth E. Weller in Missoula, Montana, on March 13, 1912. Ruth Weller’s parents were William Weller and Laura Snyder, and they were both born in Ohio. Ruth Weller’s family might have known the Hoover family while in Ohio. Albert W. and Ruth Hoover settled in Missoula, Montana, after their marriage [6]. Albert played for a baseball team in Missoula from 1910 to about 1913 [7]. In 1912, he worked as a clerk for the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway and lived at 509 Brooks Street in Missoula. About 1914, Albert was the assistant manager of The Banking Corporation of Montana and lived at 610 South 6th Street West in Missoula. In 1916, Albert and Ruth Hoover moved to Wallace, Idaho, where Albert became a bookkeeper for the Federal Mining & Smelting Company of Wallace, Idaho [8]. In 1920, the Hoovers were living at 214 High Street in Wallace, Idaho. By 1930, the Hoovers were living in a house at 178 King Street in Wallace, Idaho [9]. Albert remained an accountant/bookkeeper for the Federal Mining & Smelting Company until after World War II [10].
Donna Albertine Hoover was born on March 20, 1913, in Missoula, Montana, to Albert William Hoover and Ruth Weller Hoover. Donna lived in Missoula until about the age of 3, when the family moved to Wallace, Idaho. She grew up in Wallace, and went to the local schools there. Donna had a sister, Dorris [also known as Helen Dorris], who was born in 1915. Donna Hoover attended college at the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana, in the fall of 1931, living in North Hall on campus in her freshman year [11].
Donna studied journalism in the School of Journalism, and quickly became a leading student journalist on campus. Donna was voted treasurer of the University of Montana Press Club for the 1933-1934 school year. She wrote the “Tick-Talks” column for the Kaimin school newspaper, and became a successful college journalist who received a number of awards and honors. She also served as the editor of the Montana State University (present-day University of Montana) yearbook the Sentinal for the 1934-1935 school year, having served in early 1934 as the editor for the yearbook’s Greek sorority section. She was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma fraternity, moving into the fraternity house at 1005 Gerald Avenue in Missoula in 1933 [12]. She also was 1934-1935 president of the Montana chapter of Theta Sigma Phi, the women’s national honorary journalism organization, and was a delegate to the organization’s national convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. Donna described herself once, saying she “was really very timid” when she was in college. Donna’s sister Dorris attended the same university a couple of years after Donna began her education. Two of Donna Hoover's best college friends were also members of her fraternity. They were Kathryn Ann ("Kay") Borg, a Music major and member of Kappa Kappa Gamma fraternity; and Ossia Elizabeth Taylor, a History major and member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. The three girls graduated together in 1935 [13].
Lee Metcalf and Donna Hoover began dating sometime between 1934 and 1935. Knowing Lee Metcalf’s penchant for reading and his enjoyment of great authors, he undoubtedly became aware of Donna through her work for the student newspaper. Donna graduated in June 1935 from MSU with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism. After graduation, she went on to work as a secretary for the MSU School of Journalism, while she continued to date Lee until he finished law school and became established in his career. The two were married in a ceremony at the Hoover family house in Wallace, Idaho, on August 21, 1938. While Lee Metcalf served in World War II from 1942 to April 1946, Donna Metcalf worked as a civilian employee at the Hanford Military Reservation in Washington state [14]. Lee and Donna Metcalf never had children of their own, though they took in Jerry Love (later Metcalf) as a foster child who they later adopted in the 1950s (Jerry passed away in 1995). Donna's sister Dorris Hoover Keller had a daughter, Sharon Keller (later Stevenson), who would stay with the Metcalfs in Helena, Montana, and Washington, D.C., in the 1960s. Sharon Keller Stevenson is the only known direct living relative of Lee and Donna Metcalf.
Donna would go on to work with and support her husband’s political career, joining him on campaigns (often having her own campaign schedule), using her journalism experience to help Lee with his speeches, and constantly gave Lee feedback about issues and legislation. Donna was a very strong and independent woman, who conducted a great deal of business for the Metcalfs. For instance, Donna Metcalf brought a lawsuit in federal court in Helena, Montana for damages against the Greyhound Bus Company. On January 26, 1947, Lee Metcalf was driving the Metcalfs car near Garrison, Montana, when a Greyhound bus supposedly was not driving in keeping with the weather conditions at the time and hit the Metcalfs’ vehicle. Since her husband was a Montana Supreme Court justice, Donna brought the lawsuit in March 1950, using her financial resources and her attorney to fight for damages [15].
Donna Metcalf also was in charge of purchasing the Metcalfs’ homes and property in Montana and Washington, D.C. In August 1950, Donna Hoover bought the house at 1220 Eighth Avenue in Helena, Montana, from Andrew and Cora McIntyre for around $4,000. This was one of Donna’s earliest forays into home restoration and later historic preservation. From 1945-1956, the Metcalfs owned a great number of lots on and around the area that would become the Montana Veterans and Pioneers Memorial Building (later the Montana Historical Society) in 1953. She would become “An accomplished home renovator interested in historic preservation, she renovated historic family homes there, in Annapolis, Md., and Helena. She had homes in Helena and Washington, D.C.” [16].
Politically, Donna Metcalf was very active in the Montana Democratic Party, as well as with speaking to Montana women and young girls about their rights and responsibilities. From 1950-1951, Donna served as the treasurer to the Lewis and Clark (MT) Democratic Club. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Women’s National Democratic Club in Washington, D.C., and was on the steering committee for the National Democratic Party’s women’s conferences. She also was the president of the Congressional Wives Club in Washington, D.C. Donna was a member of the American Association of University Women. In a speech at a Democratic luncheon in Sidney, Montana, honoring her in April 1965, Donna urged women to forget their timidness. She told the women to take an active part in getting voters registered, party work and contacting voters in the Democratic Party. She helped plan out her husband’s 1966 Senate re-election campaign, stating of her role as a politician’s wife that “Whatever happens during a campaign, she should be there to help out [Lee Metcalf]” [17].
Family friends relay a story about how Lee Metcalf always fumbled around during his speeches in his early career as a politician, and that microphones at various meetings and programs were always not at the right height for the tall Lee Metcalf. Donna bought Lee a portable podium with microphone that could be setup for his public speeches. While Lee was meeting and greeting people, Donna Metcalf setup the podium and adjusted the microphone to his height, finally arranging his speech’s papers on the podium in the way he liked them. Donna also listened to Lee practice his speeches, serving as his speech critic and giving him advice on his speech mannerisms [18].
In her personal time, Donna Metcalf enjoyed art. She painted, and often the Metcalfs gave her paintings to family friends as gifts. She also enjoyed teaching art appreciation, holding classes in the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., in the 1960s [19].
Donna Hoover Metcalf passed away on January 22, 2009, at a nursing home in Fredericksburg, Virginia, at the age of 95. She outlived her husband Lee Metcalf by thirty-one years, and worked to continue his legacy of wilderness preservation throughout that time period.
Return to Top of Page
Sources
1. Ancestry.com. A.W. Hoover and Ruth E. Weller. Montana, County Marriages, 1865-1950 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
2. Ancestry.com. Madison and Netta Hoover. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
3. Ancestry.com. William and Nettie Hoover. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
4. Ancestry.com. Albert William Hoover. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010; Ancestry.com. Albert Hoover. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004; Ancestry.com. Albert Hoover. Ohio, Births and Christenings Index, 1800-1962 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011; Ancestry.com.
5. “Hoover, Albert W.” Helena, Montana, Polk’s City Directory 1911, pp. 153. Montana Historical Society Research Center. Library.
6. Ancestry.com. A.W. Hoover and Ruth E. Weller. Montana, County Marriages, 1865-1950 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
7. The information about Albert Hoover playing for a Missoula baseball team came from several photographs of Albert Hoover in his uniform with dates of 1910 and 1912, shown to the author by Albert Hoover’s granddaughter Sharon Keller Stevenson.
8. “Hoover, Albert W.” Helena, Montana, Polk’s City Directory 1913, pp. 132. Montana Historical Society Research Center. Library; “Hoover, Albt W.” Helena, Montana, Polk’s City Directory 1915-1916, pp. 134. Montana Historical Society Research Center. Library; “Hoover, Alb W.” Helena, Montana, Polk’s City Directory 1917, pp. 144. Montana Historical Society Research Center. Library; Ancestry.com. “Albert W. Hoover.” Kootenai, Idaho, City Directory, 1916. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011; Ancestry.com. Albert William Hoover. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com.
9. Ancestry.com. Albert Hoover. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010; Ancestry.com. Albert W. Hoover. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.
10. Ancestry.com. Albert William Hoover. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
11. “Hoover, Donna A.” Missoula, Montana, Polk’s City Directory 1932, pp. 122. Montana Historical Society Research Center. Library; Ancestry.com. Donna Hoover. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.
12. “Press Club Elects,” Billings Gazette (Billings, Montana), Tuesday, May 23, 1933, pp. 2; “Name Editors For Two Publications,” Helena Daily Independent (Helena, Montana), Thursday, May 3, 1934, pp. 6; “Hoover, Donna A.” Missoula, Montana, Polk’s City Directory 1934, pp. 118. Montana Historical Society Research Center. Library.
13. “Theta Sigma Phi Awarded Trophy,” Billings Gazette (Billings, Montana), Thursday, July 5, 1934, pp. 5; “Hoover, Dorris B.” Missoula, Montana, Polk’s City Directory 1934, pp. 118. Montana Historical Society Research Center. Library; The Sentinel, 1935. University of Montana--Missoula. Viewed at http://scholarworks.umt.edu/sentinel/56/; information about Taylor and Borg came from notes written on the back of a photograph of Donna and Dorris Hoover with these two girls while in college--the photograph was shown to the author by Donna Metcalf’s niece Sharon Stevenson, who owns the photograph.
14. “Stevensville Notes,” Montana Standard (Butte, Montana), Sunday, August 28, 1938, pp. 7; “Metcalf, wilderness booster, dies at 95,” Billings Gazette (Billings, Montana), January 23, 2009. Viewed at http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/metcalf-wilderness-booster-dies-at/article_039723f8-f320-5fcd-bc1f-f92c8e66d492.html.
15. “Helena Woman Files Damage Action In Federal Court,” Helena Independent Record (Helena, Montana), Tuesday, March 21, 1950, pp. 5.
16. “Capital City News In Brief,” Helena Independent Record (Helena, Montana), Friday, August 18, 1950; “Democratic Club Will Elect Officers Tuesday,” Helena Independent Record (Helena, Montana), Monday, April 16, 1951, pp. 2; “Metcalf, wilderness booster, dies at 95,” Billings Gazette, January 23, 2009.
17. “Democrat Women To Honor Mrs. Lee Metcalf At Area Meeting Saturday,” Helena Independent Record (Helena, Montana), Wednesday, April 17, 1963, pp. 3; “Mrs. Metcalf To Attend Meeting,” Billings Gazette (Billings, Montana), Thursday, March 25, 1966; “Wife of Senator To Be Honored,” Billings Gazette (Billings, Montana), Thursday, April 18, 1966; “Mrs. Metcalf Meeting Speaker,” Billings Gazette (Billings, Montana), Thursday, March 30, 1965, pp. 2; “Mrs. Metcalf—Wife’s Role in a Campaign,” Helena Independent Record (Helena, Montana), Sunday, October 30, 1966, pp. 11; “Mrs. Lee Metcalf To Speak During Capital City AAUW Luncheon Saturday,” Helena Independent Record (Helena, Montana), Sunday, November 28, 1963, pp. 22.
18. This information was provided to the author Matthew M. Peek during informal interviews with Senator Lee Metcalf’s former staff members, interns, office staffers, and Donna Metcalf’s niece Sharon Stevenson.
19. “Donna Metcalf Fellowship,” Helena Independent Record (Helena, Montana), Sunday, March 28, 1971, pp. 29.
20. “Metcalf, wilderness booster, dies at 95,” Billings Gazette, January 23, 2009.
Return to Top of Page
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.