Henry G. Valiton was born August, 1842 in Montbeliard, France, and immigrated to the United States with his parents at age nine. They settled in Dubuque, Iowa. In 1859 he went to St. Joseph, Missouri, and within a year to Pike's Peak where he mined for two years at Delaware Flats in Summit County, Colorado. In 1864 he went north out of United States territories to prospect and run a saloon. In 1865 he moved to Montana Territory to mine at Blackfoot and Confederate gulches. He first engaged in a livery business in Deer Lodge City in Montana Territory in 1867 with Mr. Hardenbrook and then in 1879 he formed a partnership with William Owsley and opened a livery stable in Butte, Montana Territory.
He married Mary M. Rhea, originally of Michigan, in December 1881. Mary's family moved to Montana Territory when she was two years old. By 1910, the couple had two grown children, Augusta and Fred, and by 1914, a grandson, Donald. Mary Valiton, about twenty years younger than her husband, was active in the Society of Montana Pioneers for many years.
From the guide to the Valiton Family photographs, circa 1890-1914, (University of Montana-Missoula Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library Archives and Special Collections)
