History of the Ownership and Stewardship of Kindred Ranch

Introduction: Kindred Ranch Family Limited Partnership, a Montana limited partnership, was created in 2001. The ranch continues to be a special place to live and has been in “the family” for >100 years. Please enjoy the below history that begins with the homestead days and tracks through the generations to today!

Ownership and Stewardship History: In 1903, at the age of 21, Shari’s maternal grandfather, Mathias, emigrated from his family’s home in Ettelbruck, Luxembourg, in search of new adventures in the United States. Mathias made his way “West” working on the railroad. He found himself in Wolf Creek, Montana, and heard that ranch workers were needed in Augusta. Since he was young, and responsible only unto himself, Mathias left his job with the railroad and ventured to Augusta searching for employment on one of the area ranches. He quickly found employment working as a ranch-hand on the McGraw Ranch. It was apparently common in those days for ranch-hands to establish homestead claims on property and then transfer the claim to their employer. In 1908, Mathias established a homestead claim on 120 acres. Deciding he wanted to stay full-time in the United States, but in need of a wife, Mathias transferred his homestead claim to the McGraw Ranch on May 14, 1913, and returned to Luxembourg in search of a wife.

Mathias and his new wife, Cecilia, returned to the United States following their marriage and settled for a short-time in Niles Center, Illinois. Mathias’ uncle and other neighbors from Luxembourg lived in that area of Illinois. Mathias and Cecilia operated a small truck farm they had purchased. While living in Niles Center, their daughter, Susanne Ann, was born on December 11, 1914. Even though they were comfortable living in Illinois, Mathias missed Montana and McGraw had promised him employment if he were to return to Augusta. So in August of 1915, Mathias and Cecilia returned to Augusta with their young daughter. They moved into a one-room log cabin with a dirt floor that Mathias had built and lived in when he homesteaded the 120 acres (the original log cabin still stands on the ranch today). In the summer of 1916, a new four room house was built for them which certainly improved their living conditions.

The family endured through these difficult years, and their daughter, Susanne Ann, graduated from the Augusta High School in 1933. Susanne married her high school sweetheart, Gilman, on December 21, 1933. Gilman, the son of Thomas and Mabel, was born November 10, 1912. He was the first white-child born in the new town

of Gilman, Montana. Thomas ran the lumber yard and

Mabel served as postmistress and was part-owner of the Gilman Hotel. In the early years of their marriage, Gilman and Susanne worked for neighboring ranches and Gilman worked for the U.S. Forest Service in the Augusta area.

With a goal of improving their livelihood, in 1943 Gilman and Susanne, together with Susanne’s parents, purchased the 480 acres on Elk Creek that Mathias and Cecilia had been leasing from the Van Devanter family. This 480 acre purchase included the original 120 acre homestead claim 

established by Mathias in 1908. In addition to the Van Devanter purchase, an additional 160 acres was purchased at the same time from Costley’s. Following the above purchases, Mathias and Cecilia moved into the town of Augusta to live their remaining years and Gilman and Susanne moved onto the ranch. In 1961, Gilman and Susanne had paid off their original purchases of the property and Mathias and Cecilia deeded their interest in the property to Gilman and Susanne.

Over the years, Gilman worked off the ranch to supplement their income, but they operated and lived on this ranch the remainder of their lives. Gilman and Susanne had three children during their marriage (James H., Richard T. and Sharen S.) that grew up on the ranch and all three graduated from Augusta High School. James currently lives in Rapid City, South Dakota and Richard lost his life in an airplane crash in 1980. Sharen married Bradley on June 17, 1972, a week after their graduation from the University of Montana (UM).

Brad and Shari started their marriage living in Billings, MT. Brad worked for Northwest Farm Credit Services (formerly the Federal Land Bank) and Shari worked for 1^st National Bank of Billings. After three years and with the opportunity for a promotion, Brad accepted a position in Spokane, WA, working at his company’s district headquarters. Two children were born to Brad and Shari while living in Spokane, Thomas Bradley on April 29, 1976, and Keli Sharen on March 28, 1978. In 1978 Brad became the manager of the office in Missoula, MT, and they returned to Montana to raise their young family. Over the years Brad’s work responsibilities changed several times and he started doing significant travel throughout Montana and the northwest states. The primary responsibility to raise their young children fell upon Shari. Thomas and Keli graduated from Missoula’s Sentinel High School in 1994 and 1996, respectfully.

Thomas received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the UM. On September 1, 2001, Tom married Reno, also a UM graduate, originally from Billings, MT. Tom and Reno make their home in Denver, Colorado. Carsen Kay was born to Tom & Reno on April 12, 2008.

Keli also graduated from the UM and married Adam, another UM graduate. Adam is also a Billings native and they were married on June 23, 2001. Keli and Adam continue to make their home in Missoula. Kane Michael was born to Keli and Adam on July 14, 2008.
 

Travel from Missoula to Augusta takes only about 2 hours. During the 27 years Brad and Shari lived in Missoula, they had numerous opportunities to help Gilman and Susanne at the ranch and to recreate in the nearby mountains and streams. This close distance also provided many opportunities for Tom and Keli to develop a very close relationship with their maternal grandparents. After almost 63 years of marriage, Susanne passed away on October 4, 1996. Gilman continued to live at the ranch for another two years by himself. Unfortunately his vision became impaired, and being unable to drive, he moved into a retirement center, first in Helena and later to Missoula so he could be closer to Shari and his grandchildren. Gilman passed away December 6, 2000, and will always be remembered for his initiative in getting the ranch back into the family’s name.

Shari inherited the ranch on August 2001 from her father’s estate and renamed the ranch to Kindred Ranch Family Limited Partnership. Shari selected Kindred as the name of the ranch to identify it as a true “family ranch” and recognize the five generations of her family that have, and will, contribute to the stewardship of this ranch property:

Kin*dred (noun) Thesaurus: English (U.S.) - family, family members, relatives

• 1^st Generation - Mathias and Cecilia, her maternal grandparents;
• 2^nd Generation - Gilman and Susanne, her parents;
• 3^rd Generation - Shari and Brad;
• 4^th Generation - Tom and Keli, her children; and
• 5^th Generation - Carsen and Kane, her grandchildren.

In anticipation of Brad’s upcoming retirement, numerous improvements to the outbuildings were made in 2003. In 2005, the house Shari grew up in was demolished and a new house was constructed and completed in the fall of the year. After 35 years with Northwest Farm Credit Services,Brad retired on June 30, 2007. Shari and Brad now live full-time at the Augusta ranch and use the new home as their headquarters when they are not traveling for pleasure or visiting their children and grandchildren.

Over the years four different livestock brands were used to mark and identify animals on the ranch. Following is a brief summary of the history of these four livestock brands:

(A4 Bar) – This is the oldest brand used on the ranch. Brand for cattle on the left shoulder and horses on the left hip. It was first registered for use in Lewis and Clark County, Montana, by Shari’s maternal grandfather, Mathias, on September 4, 1912. Mathias re-recorded the brand on December 16, 1921; December 10, 1931; August 29, 1941; and on February 3, 1951. Mathias and his wife, Cecilia, moved into the town of Augusta in 1943 and no longer were in need of a livestock brand, so Mathias transferred ownership of this brand to his granddaughter, Sharen, on May 8, 1961. Sharen re-recorded the brand in 1971 and following her marriage in 1972, she transferred ownership of the brand in 1981 to her and her husband, Bradley. This brand continues to be re-recorded each 10 years and remains registered today, jointly, to Sharen and Bradley.

(Lazy YH) – This is the second oldest brand used on the ranch. Brand for cattle on the left rib and horses on the left jaw (changed in 1942 to left shoulder). This brand was first registered for use in Lewis and Clark County, Montana, by Shari’s paternal step-grandfather Bert on January 23, 1930 and re-recorded on January 2, 1931. The brand was transferred to Bert’s step-son and his wife, Gilman and Susanne, on November 30, 1942. Gilman and Susanne re-recorded the brand March 22, 1951; March 3, 1961; 1971 and 1981. At the time of re-recording the brand in 1991, Gilman and Susanne transferred ownership of the brand to their grandson, Thomas. Thomas re-recorded the brand in 2001 and the brand remains in his name today.

(Lazy A4) – This brand was created for Shari’s oldest brother, James, using the A and 4 from the first brand identified above. This brand was for cattle on the left rib and horses on the left shoulder. The brand was first registered for use in Lewis and Clark County, Montana, by James on November 10, 1949, and re-recorded on February 3, 1951; March 8, 1961; May 5, 1971; 1981; 1991; and 2001. This brand continues to be registered today in James’ name.

(A Hanging Y) – This brand was created for Shari’s middle brother, Richard, using the A and Y from the first two brands identified above. This brand was for cattle on the left rib and horses on the left thigh. The brand was first registered for use in Lewis and Clark County, Montana, by Richard on July 10, 1958, and re-recorded on March 8, 1961, and February 22, 1971. Richard was killed in an airplane crash in 1980 and the brand transferred from his estate back to his parents, Gilman and Susanne in 1981 and was re-recorded by them again in 1991. Susanne passed away in 1996 and Gilman died in 2000. This brand transferred to the oldest brother James from Gilman’s estate in 2001 and continues to be registered in James’ name today.