Thomas Carter Correspondence Selections and Related Material, 1901-1971

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Carter, Thomas Henry, 1854-1911
Title
Thomas Carter Correspondence Selections and Related Material
Dates
1901-1971
Quantity
1 reel microfilm and 1 folder
Collection Number
Collection 908, MtBC, us (collection)
Summary
The Thomas Carter Correspondence Selections and Related Material contains a correspondence, a photocopy of the request for materials filed by M.G. Burlingame with the Library of Congress, a Xeroxed copy of a biographical sketch of Thomas H. Carter and other Carter family members, and the original microfilm from the Library of Congress.
Repository
Montana State University Library, Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections
Montana State University-Bozeman Library
Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections
P.O. Box 173320
Bozeman, MT
59717-3320
Telephone: 4069944242
Fax: 4069942851
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Thomas Henry Carter was born in Ohio in 1854, the son of Edward C. and Margaret Carter. After his admission to the bar, Carter established a practice in Burlington, Iowa. In 1882, he moved to Helena, Montana Territory, and after a brief private practice, he associated with John B. Clayberg in the firm of Carter and Clayberg. In November 1889, he was the territorial delegate for the state when Montana gained statehood. After the admission of Montana as a state, he was elected its first representative in Congress in December 1889. He then served in the U.S. Senate from 1895 to 1901, and again from 1905 to 1911. In addition, Carter was the commissioner of the U.S. General Land Office (1891-1892), chairman of the Republican National Committee (1892-1896), and U.S. commissioner to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Mo. (1904). Carter died on September 17, 1911 at his Washington, D.C. home. Julia Ann Carter Lang was Thomas's sister and wrote an unpublished family biography.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

In the file of this collection is a letter dated March 8, 1971 explaining the source of the microfilm included with a photocopy of the request for materials filed by M.G. Burlingame with the Library of Congress. It shows that the letters and memos listed by correspondent and date were within the time period 1908-1911. Accompanying this information is a set of copied transcriptions of some of the letters about Montana politics and elections 1908-1909. The final piece in the file is a Xeroxed copy of a biographical sketch of Thomas H. Carter and other Carter family members by his sister, Julia Carter Lang. Also present in the collection is the original microfilm from the Library of Congress. This filmed general correspondence includes correspondents Edwin Beattie, Bishop John Carroll, O. M. Lanstrum, A.W. Miles, Martin Maginnis, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft plus various Federal government departments and Montana businesses and organizations.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

One reel of microfilmed Thomas H. Carter letters located at the Library of Congress; a letter of explanation regarding the microfilm's creation; a copy of the original Reader's Request for Photo Duplication of selected Carter Papers prepared by M.G. Burlingame in 1965; typed transcriptions which are a sampling of the 1000 pages of letters contained on the microfilm; and an untitled, undated biographical sketch of the Carter Family by Thomas's sister Julia Carter Lang were donated to Special Collections, Montana State University Library, by Merrill G. Burlingame in 1971.

Processing Note

This collection was processed 2009 May 19

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Legislators-United States-Correspondence

Personal Names

  • Beattie, Edwin-Correspondence
  • Carroll, John, 1735-1815-Correspondence
  • Carter, Thomas Henry, 1854-1911-Correspondence
  • Lanstrum, Oscar Monroe, 1869-1928-Correspondence
  • Maginnis, Martin, 1841-1919-Correspondence
  • Miles, A. W. (Arthur Wellington), 1859-1933-Correspondence
  • Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919-Correspondence
  • Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930-Correspondence

Corporate Names

  • United States-Congress-Senate

Family Names

  • Carter family

Geographical Names

  • Montana-Politics and government-20th century
  • United States-Politics and government-1901-1953

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Lang, Julia Carter (creator)