James Wallis Estill

     James Wallis Estill was born on 27 May 1840 at Montgomery County, Missouri. He was the son of James Estill and Matilda VanBibber. James Wallis Estill married, at age 34, Mary Catherine Levengood, age 22 on Tuesday, 17 November 1874 at Deer Lodge, Powell County, Montana. James Wallis Estill died on 15 November 1890 at Deer Lodge, Powell County, Montana, at age 50 years, 5 months and 19 days.
     He James Wallis Estill, livery, Deer Lodge City, was born in Montgomery County, Missouri, May 27, 1840. He worked on a farm and attended school in the winter until 19 years of age, when he journeyed to California and engaged in the sheep business for six months. He afterward went to Nevada and mined at Aurora and Esmeralda until 1864, in which year he returned to California,
and there spent the following winter. He came to Montana in the spring, and after prospecting for five months passed three months in mining at Deep Gulch. He began prospecting at Big Hole; came to Phillipsburg in July, 1866, and located the Salmon, Estill, Willard and San Francisco mines. Here he remained mining until 1878, when he bought the Strickland livery stable, where he is doing business at the present time, always keeping the best of stock and being ever ready to carry parties to all parts of the territory. - History of Montana - 1739 - 1885, page 1064

Family History: James Wallis Estill was injured in a train wreck when taking a carload of racing horses to California. He was in a wheelchair for some time and finally died as a result of these injuries. He was Miner - Stable owner.