Bio
Henry Sieben, born in Germany in 1847, immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of five. After losing his mother shortly after arriving in Illinois, and his father a few years later, Henry was orphaned by age 12. Despite his difficult childhood, Sieben demonstrated a strong work ethic early on. At 17, he left Illinois for Montana Territory, where he began his career by cutting hay in the Madison Valley in 1865.
Sieben later shifted to the freight business, hauling goods to Montana’s mining camps using oxen teams. His entrepreneurial spirit led him and his brother Leonard to purchase worn-out oxen and run them on free range, marking the beginning of his ranching career. The Sieben brothers began building their cattle and sheep operations, first by trailing cattle from Utah to Montana in 1870 and adding Merino sheep in partnership with their younger brother, Jacob. The Sieben brothers soon transitioned fully into ranching, selling their freight business.
Henry Sieben established several ranches across Montana, including on Flat Willow Creek, the Big Hole Valley, and the Little Prickly Pear, and became a key figure in the state’s ranching industry. He married Alberta Gordon in 1886, and they had two daughters, Bernice and Margaret. After Alberta’s death in 1912, Sieben continued managing his vast holdings until dividing his estate between his daughters in the 1930s. He passed away in 1937 at age 90, leaving behind a ranching legacy that continues today through his descendants.
