Charles H. Gallagher (b. c.1875 Ballina, Co. Mayo, Ireland; d. 28 Aug 1964 Butte, age 89; founder of Wiz-Way Stores; AOH state president)

Also known as: C. H. Gallagher, Charles J. Gallagher, Charles T. Gallagher

family confidence: 0 — not family / context

Central Butte Irish-American organisational AND commercial figure spanning 1893-1964. Substantially upgraded 2026-05-27 by the 1964 obit set: BIO: - Born **c.1875 in Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland** (Mayo, not Beara — distinct provenance from the Murphy family network) - Came to Butte in **1893** per the 1964 obit OR "when 10 years old" per the 1923 marriage announcement (= c.1885); discrepancy flagged - Schooled in Irish national schools to 15; then Butte High School + Butte Business College - Married **Laura T. Kelly** (Butte teacher, Lincoln school; pioneer Virginia City NV + Butte family) on **Sat 29 Dec 1923** at Immaculate Conception church, Butte. Officiant Rev. J. M. Nolan ("a relative of the groom" — Mayo connection) - Two sons: **Charles Jr.** (Butte/Bozeman) and **Thomas Kevin** (Washington DC); two granddaughters **Kaleen** and **Karen Gallagher** - Sister **Mrs. Nicholas Hughes of Seattle** - Died Fri 28 Aug 1964 (a "local hospital"); funeral Mon 31 Aug 1964 Immaculate Conception → Holy Cross Cemetery Butte COMMERCIAL CAREER: - First Butte job: clerk at several Butte grocery firms - 1901: opened Gallagher and Hastings grocery, 320 E. Broadway - 1902-1908: Gallagher and Pohndorf (renamed firm) - 1909-1931: sole owner of Gallagher Grocery Co. - 1922: founded **Wiz-Way Stores** — Montana's first self-service retail grocery chain (copyrighted the name in Montana). Six stores at peak: 226 S. Main; 497 E. Park; Harrison Ave.; Copper and Main; 422 N. Excelsior (1929) - 1931: sold to MacMarr Stores → acquired by Safeway CIVIC / AOH: - **State PRESIDENT of the Ancient Order of Hibernians** (the 1964 obit; upgrade from prior "state treasurer 1912" framing — Gallagher's AOH ceiling was higher than the archive previously knew) - Documented AOH role-trajectory 1908-1924 (unchanged): AOH Division 2 treasurer (Dec 1909), state convention committeeman (1910), Irish-American Ball hosting committee (1911), county-board AOH delegate (1912), United Irish Societies picnic committee (1920-08), Silver Bow delegation to AOH state assembly (1921) - **Best man at the 1908 Murphy-Kelly wedding** — direct social tie to the James J. Murphy household - Knights of Columbus Council 668, Fourth Degree - Longtime officer of the Montana State Merchants Association - Director, Butte Chamber of Commerce - Montana Relief Commission (depression-era civic leadership) - WWII price-control board service - Butte High School building committee (visited DC at own expense to lobby federal support) - Champion of the Butte-Anaconda concrete highway - Donor of a renowned mineral collection to the Montana School of Mines - Initiated (with Isabel Kelley, Grant School principal) the Butte grade-school Halloween honor-parade custom - Member, Immaculate Conception Parish, Butte Spelling variants Charles J. / Charles T. occur in the printed record; all refer to the same individual based on shared committee context and the obit confirmation.