Anita Travers Thompson family papers

Anita Travers Thompson family papers, 1884-1979

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Thompson, Anita Travers, 1901-1988
Title: Anita Travers Thompson family papers
Dates: 1884-1979 (inclusive)
18841979
Quantity: 1.2 linear feet of shelf space
Collection Number: MC 232
Summary: This collection (1884-1924, 1978) consists of papers of Anita Thompson; her parents John Jacob Thompson and Sarah Travers; her brother Stewart McKinley Thompson; and her aunts Anna Travers, and Margaret Travers Ginste. The papers concern family matters; the Rock Springs coal mine near Sand Coulee, Montana; the Canyon Ferry Dam; student life at Montana State College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts in Bozeman; and miscellany.
Repository: Montana Historical Society, Library & Archives
Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT
59620-1201
Telephone: 4064442681
Fax: 4064445297
mhslibrary@mt.gov
Access Restrictions: Collection is open for research.
Languages: English
Sponsor: Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

John Jacob Thompson was born near Toronto, Canada, in 1862. He moved to North Dakota at the age of twenty-two and then to Great Falls, Montana, in 1890. There he worked as a clerk at the Park Hotel and in a laundry. Thompson established the Great Falls Produce Company in 1893, and operated the business until 1899, when he sold it and established another of similar nature. In 1899 he purchased the Rock Springs coal mine near Sand Coulee. Thompson married Sarah Travers of Owens Sound, Canada, in 1896. The couple had two children, Stewart and Anita. Sarah Travers had two sisters, Margaret Ginste of Dillon, Montana, and Anna of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and Great Falls, Montana. John Jacob Thompson died in 1906, and Sarah Travers Thompson died in 1907.

Stewart McKinley Thompson was born in 1896. He attended Great Falls High School and graduated from Montana State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in Bozeman with a degree in electrical engineering in 1921. His wife's name was Maude. Stewart Thompson died in mysterious circumstances near the Canyon Ferry power plant, where he worked, in 1923.

Anita Travers Thompson graduated from Great Falls High School in 1919, attended Montana State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts from 1919 to 1921, and graduated with a B.S. in pharmacy from the University of Michigan in 1924. She was certified as a registered pharmacist in Montana in 1927, at which time she resided in Jordan. She moved to Tacoma, Washington, in 1929, and worked for Pay Less Drugs from 1932 until at least 1968.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

This collection consists of the papers of John Jacob Thompson, Sarah Travers Thompson, Stewart McKinley Thompson, Anita Travers Thompson, Anna Travers, Margaret Travers Ginste, and J.J. Ginste.

The papers of John Jacob Thompson (1884-1907) include correspondence, primarily incoming with some outgoing to his wife, which discusses: financial matters, especially the payment of rent in Great Falls; business; family; Great Falls; California; etc. Thompson's papers also include naturalization papers, a bank book, a diary/note book, a land sale contract, and a dues book of the Modern Woodman of America.

Sarah Travers Thompson's papers (1907-1908) include correspondence and invoices concerning John Jacob Thompson's estate and funeral.

Anna Travers' papers (1908-1914) include correspondence and invoices concerning the boarding of Sarah Travers Thompson in a sanatarium and her funeral, and John Jacob Thompson's estate.

Margaret Travers Ginste's papers (1914-1923) include financial papers; outgoing correspondence, primarily to Stewart McKinley Thompson concerning family matters and events in Great Falls; and one letter from Maude Thompson.

J.J. Ginste's papers (1921-1926) consist of a letter from the Montana Power Company regarding Stewart McKinley Thompson's death; a motor registration and certificate of insurance.

Stewart McKinley Thompson's papers (1912-1925) include correspondence with Anita Travers Thompson, Margaret Travers Ginste, his friends, and future wife concerning student life and his work; diaries with brief comments about the weather, recreational activities, school, work at the substation at Canyon Ferry, etc.; school grade reports; union and lodge cards; financial records; etc.

The papers of Anita Travers Thompson (1904-1925, 1978) include correpondence with Stewart McKinley Thompson and Margaret Travers Ginste about student life; high school grade reports, college dance cards, invitations to parties, place cards, programs for concerts and plays, diaries, school certificates, etc.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

The Montana Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library before any reproduction use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation

item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Research Center, Archives, Helena, Montana.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

by subgroup and series

Location of Collection

MC 232

Acquisition Information

Acquisition information available upon request

Separated Materials

Photographs of the Thompson Family are in the Photo Archives. Artifacts have been transferred to the Museum.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Anita Travers Thompson Return to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
	Biographical Materials
Box/Folder
1 / 1	Includes writings on Thompson family geneaology; birth and death certificates for Anita Travers Thompson	1901-1988, n.d.
	General Correspondence
Box/Folder
1 / 2	Correspondence (Margaret Ginste, aunt; J.J. Ginste, uncle; John Jacob Thompson, father; Sarah Thompson, mother; Stewart Thompson, brother)	1908-1923, 1979
	Diaries
Box/Folder
1 / 3	Diaries	1915; 1920; 1925; 1927
	School Notes and Records
Box/Folder
1 / 4-6	Annual (Martha Cook Hall, University of Michigan); commencement programs; report cards; miscellany	1924
	Miscellany
Box/Folder
1 / 7	Autograph book	n.d.
1 / 9	Playbills (performances in Great Falls and Bozeman, Montana; and Detroit, Michigan)	1919-1924, n.d.
1 / 10	Programs (performances in Great Falls and Bozeman, Montana; and Detroit, Michigan)	1919-1924
2 / 1	Professional records (licences and certificates of achievement)	1927, 1977-1978
2 / 2	Scrapbook	1919-1921
	Printed Material
Box/Folder
2 / 3	The Rho Chi Society	1972
	Clippings
Box/Folder
2 / 4	Clippings (re High school graduation and "Pharmacist of the Month award")	1919; 1972

John Jacob Thompson Return to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
	General Correspondence
Box/Folder
2 / 5	Correspondence (A.H. Cramer; Great Northern Railway Line; T.H. Neeley; Sara Thompson, wife; William W. Thompson, brother; Anita Thompson, daughter; Stewart Thompson, son)	1892-1907
	Diaries
Box/Folder
2 / 6	Diary	1884-1886
	Financial Records
Box/Folder
2 / 7	Account book and draft receipts: Great Falls National Bank	1898-1907
2 / 8	Dues book: Preferred Mutual Accident Association	1898-1905
	Legal Documents
Box/Folder
2 / 9	Leases and Agreements (miscellaneous)	1894-1901
	Miscellany
Box/Folder
2 / 10	Certificates and license (miscellaneous)	1889-1890; 1904,1929
2 / 11	Letterhead: Feed, Produce and Commission	n.d.

Sarah Travers Thompson Return to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
	Incoming Correspondence
Box/Folder
2 / 12	Correspondence (T.H. Neeley)	1907-1908
	Financial Records
Box/Folder
2 / 13	Bills of sale: John James Thompson estate	1907-1908
	Legal Documents
Box/Folder
2 / 14	Benefits statement: Modern Woodmen of America	1907

Stewart McKinley Thompson Return to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
	General Correspondence
Box/Folder
2 / 15	Correspondence (J.J. Ginste, uncle; Margaret Ginste, aunt; Maude Lawson; Helena M.S.C. Alumni Club; Reorganization Committee of the American Bank and Trust Company; Anita Thompson, sister)	1908-1923
	Diaries
Box/Folder
2 / 16	Diaries	1908-1921
	Financial Records
Box/Folder
2 / 17	Tax records	1909; 1919- 1920
	School Notes and Records
Box/Folder
2 / 18	Annual (Montanan, Montana State College)	1921
3 / 1	School records and mementos (Report cards, diploma, commencement announcements, etc.)	1904-1922
	Miscellany
Box/Folder
3 / 2	Lodge and Union cards: International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers; King Solomon's Lodge #9, Masonic	1919; 1923

Margaret Travers Ginste Return to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
	General Correspondence
Box/Folder
3 / 3	Correspondence (J.J. Ginste, husband; Stewart Thompson, nephew)	1914-1923
	Financial Records
Box/Folder
3 / 4	Listing of expenditures; receipts	1914-1918
	Legal Documents
Box/Folder
3 / 5	Indenture; insurance certificate	1926, 1929
	School Notes/Records
Box/Folder
3 / 6	Grades from Normal School in Dillon, Montana	1920-1922

J.J. Ginste Return to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
	Legal Documents
Box/Folder
3 / 7	Montana Power Company re final check	1923, n.d.
3 / 8	Motor registration; insurance certificate	1921, 1926

Anna Travers Return to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
	General Correspondence
Box/Folder
3 / 9	Correspondence (Portland Sanitorium; Anita Travers Thompson, niece; Sarah Thompson, sister; Stewart Thompson, nephew; William Thompson)	1908-1913
	Financial Records
Box/Folder
3 / 10	Receipt: Great Falls Music House	1910
	Legal Documents
Box/Folder
3 / 11	Contracts: John Jacob and Sarah Travers Thompson estates (Anna Travers, executor)	1908-1914
3 / 12	Payment contract (legal work in Anna Travers vs Dell Hurd et. al.)	1910

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