August Hollensteiner papers, 1885-1980 (bulk 1885-1940)

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Hollensteiner, August, 1850-1941
Title
August Hollensteiner papers
Dates
1885-1980 (bulk 1885-1940) (inclusive)
Quantity
2.0 linear feet
Collection Number
Mss 829
Summary
A German immigrant and Lolo, Montana rancher, August Hollensteiner served as a Montana State Legislator and Missoula County Commissioner in the late 1890s and early 1900s. This collection contains his personal diaries, financial records, and letters from his family members.
Repository
University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu
Access Restrictions

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana-Missoula.

Languages
English, German

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

August Hollensteiner was born in Lippe-Detmold, Germany on March 11, 1850. His family traveled by ship to the United States in 1855 and eventually settled in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Educated at Franklin College, Hollensteiner taught school and worked in his father’s grist mill until he left Wisconsin in 1879. He married Wilhelmina Krause shortly before leaving and the couple moved to Kansas and then Iowa, before settling on a ranch on Lolo Creek in Missoula County, Montana in 1881. They had six children Anna, Armin, Arno, Aurel, Edna, and Neola; the oldest, Anna, was born in Iowa in 1881 and was the only child not born in Montana.

Civically minded throughout his life, in 1894, Hollensteiner was elected to the Montana House of Representatives. He also was elected and served as a Missoula County Commissioner from 1900 until 1906. Hollensteiner and his wife were active members of the Presbyterian Church in Missoula, where he served as Sunday School Superintendent.

August Hollensteiner passed away on October 28, 1941 in Lolo, Montana.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection contains diaries kept by August Hollensteiner with daily entries concerning his business and family. Diaries from 1885 until 1894 are written entirely in German, while the later diaries (1902 to 1941) contain dual entries, one in German and one in English. Many of the diaries also contain daily weather records kept by Hollensteiner in the back pages and records of letters he sent and received. Correspondence in the collection is mostly to Hollensteiner and his wife from their son Armin and his wife Carlotta, also included are letters from Hollensteiner’s various relatives concerning his death and ancestry addressed to his daughters Edna and Neola. An address book in the collection contains records of letters he sent and received along with the addresses of many of his family members and friends. There is a cash book that Hollensteiner used to track his accounts, a clippings book with newspaper articles (mostly on religious topics) collected by Hollensteiner, loose clippings from newspapers collected by him and his family, a small expenses book used to record both household and campaign expenses, two ledgers used to maintain his business accounts, and telephone company receipts from inside the back cover of the 1932-1941 ledger. There is a small file of miscellaneous materials that include a “copied sample of German pages,” written in German with no other notes on its origin, a teaching contract for Hollensteiner’s daughter Edna Tucker, a copy of Hollensteiner’s biography recorded by Tom Haines, several newspaper clippings, a Lolo School Christmas program, and research notes concerning Hollensteiner by Gertrud Lackschewitz for her project on German immigrants in Montana.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright not transferred to The University of Montana.

Preferred Citation

[Name of document or photograph number], August Hollensteiner Papers, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Materials have been arranged chronologically within format.

Custodial History

These materials were held by August Hollensteiner's family until they were given to Dr. Gertrud Lackschewitz, who gave them to Archives & Special Collections.

Acquisition Information

This collection was received by Archives and Special Collections in February 2011, through the donation of former professor Gertrud Lackschewitz’s research papers. The collection was contained within her papers and had been given to Dr. Lackschewitz by relatives of August Hollensteiner.

Processing Note

This collection was removed from a larger collection donated by Gertrud Lackschewitz (Gertrud Lackschewitz Papers, Mss 827) during processing. Notes taken by Lackschewitz concerning August Hollensteiner’s life and ancestry were filed under Miscellaneous. During the processing of this collection, it was determined that organizing alphabetically by document type would be the most logical and items could be further organized chronologically. Tags attached with tape to the diaries indicating the years they covered were removed and discarded. Loose newspaper clippings were removed from between pages of the clippings book and placed in their own folder in the order they were found. Letters from Hollensteiner’s relatives were removed from a single envelope and organized chronologically in a folder.

Related Materials

The Archives and Special Collections at the University of Montana also holds several pictures of August Hollensteiner.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/1 Address Book April 10, 1930-March 6, 1934
1/2 Diary June 2, 1885-December 14, 1887
1/3 Diary December 15, 1887-September 9, 1889
1/4 Diary May 1, 1892-March 31, 1893
1/5 Diary April 1, 1893-February 28, 1894
1/6 Diary March 1, 1894-December 18, 1894
1/7 Diary May 11, 1902-July 4, 1904
1/8 Diary July 5, 1904-December 18, 1906
2/1 Diary December 19, 1906-August 20, 1909
2/2 Diary August 21, 1909-June 3, 1912
2/3 Diary June 14, 1915-November 13, 1918
2/4 Diary November 25, 1918-September 10, 1922
2/5 Diary September 13, 1922-March 27, 1926
3/1 Diary March 28, 1926-November 16, 1932
3/2 Diary December 17, 1932-September 21, 1940
3/3 Diary December 22, 1940-October 17, 1941
3/4 Cash Book May 29, 1912-February 10, 1919
4/1 Clippings 1928 and undated
3/5 Clippings, Loose 1903-1928 and undated
3/6 Correspondence December 4, 1931-December 10, 1980
3/7 Expenses September 1914-March 23, 1939
4/2 Ledger 1907-1932
4/3 Ledger 1932-1941
4/4 Miscellaneous 1927-1980 and undated
4/5 Telephone Company Receipts 1939-1940

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • German Americans--Montana
  • Immigrants--Montana
  • Schools--Montana--Lolo

Personal Names

  • Hollensteiner, Armin W., 1882-1976 -- Correspondence
  • Hollensteiner, August, 1850-1941 -- Diaries
  • Hollensteiner, Carlotta P., 1889-1978 -- Correspondence

Family Names

  • Hollensteiner family

Geographical Names

  • Missoula County (Mont.)--Genealogy
  • Montana--Emigration and immigration

Form or Genre Terms

  • Business records
  • Diaries

Occupations

  • Ranchers--Montana--Missoula County