P a g e 3 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r the name has been variously spelled as LaDuc and LaDuke. United States Census figures, which sometimes suffer from errors and misinformation, tell a different story. The 1900 census placed his birth as “abt 1840” in Michigan with his father also born in Michigan. In 1910 the census listed his birth in 1849 and his father’s birthplace in France. His mother’s origin was noted as French-Canadian in both instances. The Montana Death Index listed Julius’ birth year as “abt 1849.” For whatever reasons, the information logged by census-takers was inconsistent, at best. According to his family history, Julius LeDuc emigrated from Canada to the United States in the 1870s, and traveled around the west for about a decade. Somewhere during his journeys he met and married Elizabeth Kappes, with whom he sired two children. When she died around 1879, Julius, his two small children, and brother Onesime moved to south-central Colorado, just north of the border with New Mexico. Julius “LaDuce” showed up on the 1880 census in Conejos County with occupation as “lumber dealer,” and living with children Tilda, age 3, and Jeremiah, age 2. In 1883 Julius married Celina “Lena” Bougie, also of French Canadian ancestry. During the next four years the couple had four children, Abbie, Albert, Julius, and Ida. Life appeared satisfactory for the LeDuc family until 1889 when a devastating blow struck the family. Onesime LeDuc was developing a mining claim in the mountains of Conejos County. Early in March he started over the mountains on snow shoes to conduct some business in the town of Conejos. Approaching a small cabin around dark, he asked the occupant, Jose Ortiz, if he could share a meal and rest for the night. Ortiz welcomed him in and after a repast, Onesime, worn out by his journey, fell fast asleep. Ortiz prowled through his guest’s coat pockets and discovered “three handsome gold nuggets, twenty-five dollars in money, a heavy silver watch, and a few trinkets.” Sensing a quick financial opportunity, Ortiz calmly took his axe and murdered the sleeping Leduc. Ortiz fled the scene with his ill-gotten gains, but was later captured, tried, and hung by the neck on July 16, 1889. Later that year Julius and the family packed up and moved out of Colorado, eventually ending up in southwest Montana where they filed mining claims and purchased properties in Park County that included the hot springs. Somewhere along the line Julius changed the family name from LeDuc to LaDuke, no doubt to appear more “American.” The family continued to grow, with Minnie (1889), May (1894), Pearl (1896), Lula (1900), and Lester (1901). Julius LaDuke began developing the hot springs in the 1890s and catered to the local populace which
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