Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
- Overview of the Collection
-
Historical Note
- Content Description
- Administrative Information
-
Detailed Description of the Collection
- M. Reinig / Reinig Company
- Brooklyn Bridge Mining And Milling Company
- Ehrenberg and Staff / Ehrenberg and Reinig / Montana Cycle Co.
- Harmonia Gesang Verein
- Helena Cab Company / Merchants Delivery Company
- Michael Reinig
- C.n. Reinig
- Matilda Reinig
- William W. Reinig
- Anna Reinig Bardon
- William C. Bardon
- William Eicke
- Names and Subjects
Reinig Company Records, 1865-1948
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Reinig Company (Helena, Mont.)
- Title
- Reinig Company Records
- Dates
- 1865-1948 (inclusive)18651948
- Quantity
- 8 linear feet of shelf space
- Collection Number
- MC 223
- Summary
- The Reinig Company, a Helena, Montana, coffee store and general grocery, was founded by Michael Reinig, a Bavarian emigre in 1865. Reinig also owned a stable, boarding house, and a saloon. The Company operated until 1958. This collection (1865-1948) consists of financial and legal records for the various businesses owned by the Reinig family. Subgroups include M. Reinig / Reinig Company (1874-1943); Brooklyn Bridge Mining and Milling Co. (1907-1909); Ehrenberg and Staff / Ehrenberg and Reinig / Montana Cycle Co.(1894-1896); Harmonia Gesang Verein (1873-1877); Helena Cab Co. / Merchants Delivery (1908-1923); and various family members. [OVERSIZE MATERIAL: map case].
- 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 - Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
Michael Reinig, founder of the Reinig Company, was born in Deidesheim, Bavaria, on March 31, 1835, the son of Jacob and Frances Reinig. He learned the baker's trade in his home town and then as a young man left for New York, where he joined an expedition heading for California by way of Havana and the Isthmus of Panama. From California, Reinig traveled to Oregon and Washington. In 1865 he left The Dalles, Oregon, and traveled to Helena, Montana Territory, by way of Spokane and Deer Lodge. He almost immediately went to work for the San Francisco Bakery on State Street and a few months later bought the business. He gradually expanded the operation to include a boarding house and a grocery on the corner of State and Joliet Streets, and eventually added a stable on Warren Street, a coffee business, and a saloon in East Helena. In 1904 Michael decided to take a trip to visit his birthplace in Germany. As part of his preparations he incorporated as the Reinig Company. Management of the company was given to William C. Bardon, who also continued to operate the company after Reinig's death. The store ceased business c. 1958.
In 1869, Michael Reinig married Matilda, a Norwegian native who had come to the United States at age three and had moved to Helena in 1868. They had a son Charles N. Raunig (b.1871) and a daughter Anna (b.1873). Michael was a Mason and was active with the Harmonia Gesang Verein, a German club in Helena. Michael Reinig died September 19, 1909, and Matilda Reinig died June 23, 1934.
Their son Charles N. Reinig was born March 22, 1871. He studied dentistry in Pennsylvania and then practiced in Latin America for several years. He returned to Helena in the mid-1890s and became a partner with Gus Ehrenberg in the Montana Cycle Company and clerked in his father's store until 1900 when he moved to Seattle. After Michael Reinig's death Charles N. Reinig served as president of the company until 1935, but continued to reside in Seattle. He died September 29, 1958, in Winslow, Washington.
William C. Bardon was born in Florrisant, Missouri, June 2, 1870. He moved to Helena in 1889 and went to work as a delivery boy for the Reinig grocery. He gradually rose in the business until he took over management of the store in 1900. He continued to serve as vice-president and manager after Mike Reinig's death in 1909. He became president after Charles N. Reinig resigned in 1935. Bardon, along with other Helena merchants, formed the Merchants Delivery Company as a cooperative arrangement to share delivery services. On September 11, 1907, William married Anna, daughter of Michael and Matilda Reinig. William Bardon died January 24, 1955, and less than four months later his wife Anna died on May 17, 1955.
William Eicke was born in Leibnau, Hanover, Germany in 1828. At the age of 18 he moved to Baltimore, Maryland, and worked as a baker. There he married and had one son. In the Civil War he refused to join the Confederate forces and was imprisoned in Richmond. He bribed his way out and left for California. Leaving his wife and infant son there he joined Michael Reinig at The Dalles, Oregon, and later in Helena. In California his wife heard that he had been killed by Indians at The Dalles and remarried. Eicke worked for the Reinig store and lived with the Reinigs for forty years. He died June 1, 1911.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
This collection contains subgroups for various businesses owned by the Reinig Family and for various family members and associates.
M. Reinig / Reinig Company grocery business records include general correspondence (1890-1943); financial records (1870-1948), including account ledgers, cash books, invoices, trial balances, etc.; legal documents (1879-1890); a subject file (1934-1935) concerning New Deal coffee codes; miscellany (1900-1913, n.d.), including architect's drawings and specifications for the store, membership lists for the Helena Retail Merchants' Exchange, etc.; and a clipping (1935) about the history of the store.
Brooklyn Bridge Mining and Milling Company records include general correspondence (1908) of John Kreuger about refinancing of the company; legal documents (1909); and organizational materials (1907-1908), including stockholder lists.
Ehrenberg and Staff / Ehrenberg and Reinig / Montana Cycle Company records include incoming correspondence (1894-1895) with bicycle manufacturers and suppliers, and financial records (1894-1896) consisting mostly of invoices.
Harmonia Gesang Verein records consist of financial records (1873-1877).
Helena Cab Company / Merchants Delivery Company records consist of general correspondence (1909-1917) including answers to a questionaire about the delivery service from merchants in Champaign, Illinois; financial records (1911-1924); legal documents (1908-1914); and organizational records (1909-1923).
Michael Reinig's personal papers consist of incoming correspondence (1892-1908) mostly about his orchard property near San Diego, California; financial records (1893-1909); legal documents (1873-1906); and miscellany (1895-1909).
In addition there are small subgroups of papers for Charles N. Reinig, Matilida Reinig, William Reinig, Anna Reinig Bardon, William C. Bardon, and William Eicke. [OVERSIZE MATERIAL: map case]
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection
M. Reinig / Reinig Company Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
/ | ||
General Correspondence |
||
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 1-4 | A-Z |
1890 |
1 / 5-8 | B-Z |
1895 |
1 / 9 | Miscellaneous |
1911,1917, 1937-1943 |
Financial Records |
||
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 10 | Account Ledger ("journal") |
Jan.1915- Mar.1917 |
Volume | ||
Vol. 1 | Account ledger |
July 1917- Dec.1918, Aug.1920- Dec.1921 |
Box/Folder | ||
2 / 1 | Account ledger: coffee |
1920-1933 |
Volume | ||
Vol. 2 | Account ledger ("Country bills") |
Apr.1912- Mar.1917 |
Box/Folder | ||
2 / 2 | Annual financial report |
1912-1914 |
OVBX / | Balance sheets |
1895-1896 |
2 / 3 | Assets and liabilities, financial statements, etc. |
1880, 1909-1916 |
2 / 4-7 | Bank books (11 books) |
1892-1909 |
2 / 8 | Canceled checks |
Jan.-Feb. 1909 |
2 / 9 | Canceled checks |
Jan.-Mar. 1914 |
2 / 10 | Canceled checks |
June-Aug. 1914 |
2 / 11 | Canceled checks |
Dec.1915- Jan.1916 |
3 / 1 | Cash book |
1900 |
3 / 2 | Cash book |
1914-1915 |
Volume | ||
Vol. 3-5 | Cash books |
1916-1918 |
Vol. 6 | Cash book ("journal") |
Jan.1919- June 1920 |
Vol. 7 | Cash book |
June-Oct. 1922 |
Box/Folder | ||
3 / 3 | Cash book |
Oct.1922- Oct.1924 |
4 / 1-3 | Cash books ("Journal") |
Oct.1924- May 1930 |
4 / 4-5 | Cash books |
July 1935- Nov.1937 |
5 / 1-3 | Cash books |
Nov.1937- Oct.1940 |
5 / 4 | Cash book |
May 1942- Apr.1944 |
5 / 5 | Cash book |
May 1945- Sept. 1948 |
Volume | ||
Vol. 8 | Cash journal |
1916-1917 |
Box/Folder | ||
5 / 6 | Cash received on account ("Cash blotter") |
Jan.1906- Feb.1907 |
5 / 7 | Cash received on account |
June 1914- Apr. 1915 |
6 / 1 | Check stubs |
Mar.-Apr. 1913 |
6 / 2 | Closing journal entries and trial balance, loss and gain statements
|
1912-1923 |
6 / 3 | Collections (2 books) |
1891, 1896-1897 |
6 / 4 | Daybook |
July 2-22, 1870 |
6 / 5 | Daybook |
Apr.-Aug. 1894 |
6 / 6 | Daybook: Unionville |
Feb-Aug. 1874 |
OVBX / | General journals |
1903-1909 |
6 / 7 | General Ledger |
1903 |
Volume | ||
Vol. 9 | General ledger |
1904-1911 |
Box/Folder | ||
7 / 1 | General ledger |
1911-1915 |
Volume | ||
Vol. 10 | General ledger |
1916-1928 |
Box/Folder | ||
7 / 2 | Insurance policies |
1924-1926 |
7 / 3 | Insurance policies: East Helena lodging house |
1893 |
7 / 4 | Insurance policies: East Helena saloon |
1902-1908 |
7 / 5 | State Street store |
1897-1908, 1923-1924 |
7 / 6 | Insurance policies: State Street store merchandise |
1897-1909, 1924-1925 |
7 / 7 | Insurance policies: Warren Street stable |
1902-1908, 1923-1925 |
7 / 8 | Insurance receipts for goods shipped on Missouri River steamers
|
1881 |
7 / 9 | Insurance record |
1894-1914 |
7 / 10 | Invoice: M. Reinig San Francisco Bakery |
1879 |
7 / 11 | Invoices: A-E (includes Auerbach & Weigel; Bach, Cory & Co.;
Benson, Carpenter & Co.; Central Meat Market; T.H. Clewell; et al.) |
1894-1897 |
7 / 12 | Invoices: F-H (includes August Fack; C. Ferree; Fister & Co.; Wm.
Fowler; Charles Grossman; Helena Ice Co.; Helena Power and Light Co.; et al.) |
1894-1897 |
7 / 13 | Invoices: I-M (includes Nick Kessler; Kleinschmidt & Bro.; F.S.
Lang; H. Lindner; Montana Lumber & Manufacturing Co.; Montana Produce and Commission Co.; et al.) |
1894-1897 |
7 / 14 | Invoices: N-P (includes New York Dry Good Co.; F.J. Nye; Parchen Drug
Co.; Jacob Post; T.C. Power & Co.; et al.) |
1894-1897 |
8 / 1 | Invoices: R-S (includes Raleigh & Clarke; Rocky Mountain Bell
Telephone Co.; Sanford & Evans; A.E. Shaw; Emil Starz; Steele, Hindson & Co.; J. Switzer; et al.) |
1894-1897 |
8 / 2 | Invoices: T-Y (includes H.S. Thurber & Co.; Turner & Co.;
Union Mercantile Co.; Weisenhorn Carriage Manufacturing Co.; C.K. Wells Co.; et al) |
1894-1897 |
8 / 3 | Invoices: A-L |
1917 |
8 / 4 | Invoices: M-Y |
1917 |
Volume | ||
Vol. 11 | Journal |
1910-1914 |
Box/Folder | ||
8 / 5 | Ledger index |
n.d. |
8 / 6 | Morris Audit Company |
n.d. |
8 / 7 | Promisory notes |
1881-1889 |
8 / 8 | Promisory notes |
1890-1909 |
8 / 9 | Receipt copy book |
Dec.1912- July 1913 |
8 / 10 | Receipt copy book |
Jan.-Nov. 1914 |
8 / 11 | Receipts |
1894-1897, 1907 |
8 / 12 | Receipts: hay scales |
1895-1896 |
8 / 13 | Remittance accounts |
1913-1917 |
8 / 14 | Remittance book ("Telegrams")) |
Apr.1897- Dec.1907 |
Volume | ||
Vol. 12-13 | Sales records |
1916-1921, 1919-1926 |
Box/Folder | ||
9 / 1 | Sales record ("Book 5") |
July 1931- Sept.1937 |
9 / 2 | Sale record ("Cash") |
Sept.1937- Aug.1939 |
9 / 3 | Sight drafts, etc. |
1894-1897 |
9 / 4-5 | Taxes |
1905-1913, 1916-1920 |
Volume | ||
Vol. 14 | Trial balance book |
1895-1921 |
Legal Documents |
||
Box/Folder | ||
OVBX / | Miscellaneous (re bakery and butcher shop) |
1879-1890 |
Photographs |
||
Box/Folder | ||
9 / 6 | "Historic picture of Helena, Montana, taken spring of 1865" (Reinig
stores marked with x's; draft of letter of condolence in French on back) |
n.d. |
Printed Materials |
||
Box/Folder | ||
9 / 7 | List of printed material transferred to Library |
n.d. |
Subject Files |
||
Box/Folder | ||
9 / 8 | Coffee code (correspondence) |
1934-1935 |
9 / 9 | Coffee code (bulletins) |
1934-1935 |
9 / 10 | Coffee code (special bulletins and replacement quotations bulletins)
|
1934-1935 |
9 / 11 | Coffee code (miscellaneous) |
1934-1935 |
Miscellany |
||
Box/Folder | ||
9 / 12 | Advertising circulars |
1930s |
OVFD / | Architect's drawings of Reinig Company store [OVERSIZE MATERIAL: Map
Case] |
n.d. |
OVBX / | "Gaskell's Complete Compendium of elegan Ssriting" sample sheet
|
n.d. |
9 / 13-14 | Helena Retail Merchants' Exchange membership list |
Jan.1913, n.d. |
9 / 15 | List of artifacts transferred to Museum |
|
9 / 16 | Specifications for building of store |
n.d. |
9 / 17 | Specifications for East Helena store |
1900 |
9 / 18 | Unidentified list, by town, of married women in Lewis and Clark,
Broadwater, Gallatin, Jefferson, Madison, Meagher, and Powell counties |
n.d. |
Clippings |
||
Box/Folder | ||
9 / 19 | "Reinig Company grocery store, oldest of its kind in state, has its
70th anniversary" |
1935 |
Brooklyn Bridge Mining And Milling Company Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
General Correspondence |
||
Box/Folder | ||
10 / 1 | John Krueger (re stock re-issue) |
Aug.-Dec. 1908 |
Legal Documents |
||
Box/Folder | ||
10 / 2 | Agreements and deeds re Lone Star quartz lode claim, Lewis and Clark
County |
1909 |
Organization |
||
Box/Folder | ||
10 / 3 | Stock re-issues |
1907-1908 |
10 / 4 | Stockholder lists |
n.d. |
Ehrenberg and Staff / Ehrenberg and Reinig / Montana Cycle Co. Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Incoming Correspondence |
||
Box/Folder | ||
10 / 5 | Ariel Cycle Manufacturing Co. |
1894-1895 |
10 / 6 | Miscellaneous (includes Hales & Anderson, B.F. Goodrich Co.,
Indianapolis Rubber Co., Meteor Cycle Manufacturing Co., Morgan & Wright |
1894-1895 |
Financial Records |
||
Box/Folder | ||
10 / 7 | Canceled checks and checkstubs |
1896 |
10 / 8-9 | Invoices: Ariel Cycle Manufacturing Co. |
1894-1895, 1896 |
10 / 10 | Invoices: B-W (includes Buffalo Wheel Co., Von Lenerke & Antoine,
et al.) |
1894-1896 |
10 / 11 | Promissory notes |
1896 |
10 / 12 | Receipts |
1894-1895 |
Legal Documents |
||
Box/Folder | ||
10 / 13 | Agreement: Ariel Cycle Manufacturing Co. |
1896 |
Miscellany |
||
Box/Folder | ||
10 / 14 | Warrany certificate |
1894 |
Harmonia Gesang Verein Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Financial Records |
||
Box/Folder | ||
10 / 15 | Account books (2 books) |
1873-1874 |
10 / 16 | Invoices, etc. |
1874-1877 |
Helena Cab Company / Merchants Delivery Company Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
General Correspondence |
||
Box/Folder | ||
10 / 17 | G-R (includes answers to questionaire on the company from merchants in
Champaign, Illinois) |
1909-1917 |
10 / 18 | Miscellaneous (re sale of property) |
Jan-Mar 1923 |
Financial Records |
||
Box/Folder | ||
10 / 19 | Daybook |
Aug. 1908-July 1910 |
10 / 20 | Taxes, receipts, etc. |
1911,1914, 1924 |
Legal Documents |
||
Box/Folder | ||
10 / 21 | Miscellaneous |
1908-1914 |
Organization |
||
Box/Folder | ||
10 / 22 | Directors' minutes authorizing sale of property to W.C. Bardon
|
Feb.12, 1923 |
10 / 23 | Stock certificates; list of stockholders |
1909-1915, 1922 |
10 / 24 | Stockholders' minutes authorizing sale of property to Merchants
Delivery Company |
Aug.2, 1910 |
Michael Reinig Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Incoming Correspondence |
||
Box/Folder | ||
11 / 1 | N.W. Downs (re Otay, California, orchard) |
1894-1895 |
11 / 2 | Miscellaneous [in German] |
1893-1895 |
11 / 3 | Miscellaneous (re San Diego property, life insurance, trip to Germany,
etc.) |
1892-1908 |
11 / 4 | Letters of introduction |
1876 |
General Correspondence |
||
Box/Folder | ||
11 / 5 | Telegrams (re San Diego property) |
1892, 1895 |
Financial Records |
||
Box/Folder | ||
11 / 6 | Insurance policies |
1903-1909 |
11 / 7 | Invoices |
1893-1897 |
11 / 8 | Stock certificates |
1889-1895 |
11 / 9 | Taxes |
1893-1909 |
11 / 10 | Miscellaneous (includes canceled checks, bullion deposit receipt,
lodge dues) |
1894,1896 |
Legal Documents |
||
Box/Folder | ||
11 / 11 | Agreements |
1879-1906 |
11 / 12 | Deeds |
1866-1902 |
OVBX / | Mineral certificate |
1875 |
11 / 13 | Quartz location: Sampson Lode |
1899 |
11 / 14 | San Diego County land deeds |
1892-1913 |
Miscellany |
||
Box/Folder | ||
11 / 15 | Application for degree of Knight Rose Croix |
n.d. |
11 / 16 | Deeds etc. of other parties |
1873-1893 |
11 / 17 | List of property transfers |
n.d. |
OVBX / | Masonic initiation certificate |
1904 |
11 / 18 | Membership cards, business cards, programs, etc. |
1906-1909, n.d. |
OVFD / | Plats of San Diego land [OVERSIZE MATERIAL: Map Case] |
n.d. |
Clippings |
||
Box/Folder | ||
11 / 19 | Miscellaneous [in German] |
1895 |
C.n. Reinig Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
General Correspondence |
||
Box/Folder | ||
11 / 20 | N.W. Downs (re Otay, California, orchard) |
1893-1894 |
11 / 21 | Miscellaneous (re Otay, California, property; death of Michael Reinig)
|
1889,1893, 1909 |
Outgoing Correspondence |
||
Box/Folder | ||
11 / 22 | Miscellaneous (re dentistry in Brazil and Argentina, sale of property)
|
1889,1893 |
Financial Records |
||
Box/Folder | ||
11 / 23 | Invoices, etc. |
1889, 1893-1896 |
11 / 24 | Taxes |
1909 |
Writings and Speeches |
||
Box/Folder | ||
11 / 25 | Reminiscence of residence in Argentina, and travel in Germany (also
drafts of homecoming speeches) |
1905 |
Miscellany |
||
Box/Folder | ||
11 / 26 | Helena Business College attendance records, business card |
1886,1904 |
OVFD / | Philadelphia Dental College Certificate [OVERSIZE MATERIAL: Map Case]
|
1898-1899 |
Clippings |
||
Box/Folder | ||
11 / 27 | Scrap book |
1901 |
Matilda Reinig Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Financial Records |
||
Box/Folder | ||
11 / 28 | Insurance policies |
1907-1922 |
11 / 29 | Taxes |
1899-1909 |
Legal Documents |
||
Box/Folder | ||
11 / 30 | Miscellaneous |
1896,1913 |
William W. Reinig Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Legal Documents |
||
Box/Folder | ||
11 / 31 | Invoices, etc. |
1894-1893 |
11 / 32 | Option on Crystal placer claim |
1896 |
Anna Reinig Bardon Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Incoming Correspondence |
||
Box/Folder | ||
12 / 1 | "Adele" to Anna Bardon |
1907 |
Outgoing Correspondence |
||
Box/Folder | ||
12 / 2 | "Bill's history" (re William Eicke) |
1910,1911 |
Photographs |
||
Box/Folder | ||
12 / 3 | List of photographs transferred to Photo Archives |
William C. Bardon Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Incoming Correspondence |
||
Box/Folder | ||
12 / 4 | Philip Hartung (re death of Michael Reinig) |
1909 |
12 / 5 | Miscellaneous (includes H.R. Comley; Marguerite Theodore; Associated
Pharmacists; Texas Coastal Oil Co.; Oregon Land and Timber Co.) |
1912-1924 |
12 / 6 | Miscellaneous (in German) |
1910-1911 |
General Correspondence |
||
Box/Folder | ||
12 / 7 | Elizabeth E. Holcomb |
1940-1943 |
Financial Records |
||
Box/Folder | ||
12 / 8 | Associated Pharmacists receipts, stock certificates |
1916 |
12 / 9 | Insurance policies |
1922-1926 |
12 / 10 | Taxes |
1893, 1909-1918 |
Legal Documents |
||
Box/Folder | ||
12 / 11 | A-B-C Mining Company |
1928 |
12 / 12 | Agreements |
1917,1938 |
Miscellany |
||
Box/Folder | ||
12 / 13 | Christmas cards, memberships, etc. |
1893-1895, 1916,n.d. |
William Eicke Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Court Papers |
||
Box/Folder | ||
12 / 14 | Application for citizenship |
1894 |
Financial Records |
||
Box/Folder | ||
12 / 15 | Receipts, taxes |
1895-1906 |
Legal Documents |
||
Box/Folder | ||
12 / 16 | Deeds |
1880-1885, 1907 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Coffee trade
- Dentistry
- German Americans
- Grocery trade
- Mines and mineral resources--Montana--Lewis and Clark County
- Stables
Geographical Names
- Argenta (Mont.)
- Argentina
- Brazil
- East Helena (Mont.)--Commerce
- Helena (Mont.)--Commerce
- Helena (Mont.)--Industries
- Otay (Calif.)
- San Diego (Calif.)