Looking for opportunity and land, my 2nd great grandparents Hiram Gibbs and Mary Elizabeth Smith would hear the call of manifest destiny and head west, after the devastating Thumb Fires of 1871 and 1881 at Port Hope, Michigan. Fruit growers in the beautiful Bitterroots of Montana near Kalispell they would once again gather the family to make an important decision. This time with children married and many grandchildren another opportunity for free land was discussed.
