Jeffers Family Collection

Jeffers Family Collection, 1868-1975

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Jeffers family
Title: Jeffers Family Collection
Dates: 1868-1975
18681975
Quantity: .6 linear feet
Collection Number: Collection 1137, MtBC, us (collection)
Summary: The Jeffers Family Collection includes transcriptions or photocopies of diaries, ledgers, correspondence, interviews, historical essays and reminiscences related to the Jeffers, Ennis and Chowning families of Madison County, Montana. Of particular interest for livestock and grazing history are the nomination documents and associated materials for Myron Jeffers membership in the Cowboy Hall of Fame, including a transcript of his 1871 cattle drive diary. Also contributing to this area of interest are the record books of Charles W. Chowning of the Montana Cattle Company. The balance of the collection includes: a history of the Madison Valley Women's Club; papers of the Fairweather Pioneer Society of Madison County with minutes, financial records and membership roles and several histories; some financial records and clippings about the Trinity Episcopal Church, Jeffers MT and Trinity Guild; and a ledger of the Ennis Storage and Freighting has been transcribed. A scrapbook of clippings of articles on Montana history and one typed article by Judge Lew L. Callaway written in 1923-34 and a booklet of a news series in the Butte Miner by Frank D. (Sand Bar) Brown in 1927 collected by Winifred Jeffers are present. There are also five photographs and negatives of family members.
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

Myron D. Jeffers was born in Hadley, New York in 1833. When he was 21 he headed west and after several endeavors in 1864 he began freighting merchandise from Corrine, Utah to Virginia City, MT. In 1869 he purchased cattle in Texas and drove the herd to Virginia City for sale. On a third trip in 1871, instead of selling the herd, he kept it and established a ranch near Ennis, MT. where the community of Jeffers was later established. In 1872 his younger brother Joshua Burton "Burt" Jeffers joined him and they formed a partnership which lasted until 1880. Later, they were major members of a cattle pool which grazed its herd near Park City, Montana on the Yellowstone River. The winter of 1886-1887 caused major loses and by 1893 the pool was dissolved and the herd was sold. Myron married Florence Switzer in 1878 and Burt married her sister Suzie Switzer in 1880. The girls had crossed from Iowa to the Madison Valley with their parents as children. Myron and Florence had 5 sons including Paul born in 1882 and Fayette "Fay" born in 1885. Burt and Suzie had a son Lawrence in 1889. "Fay" Jeffers and Winifred Chowning were married in 1918. Winifred was the daughter of Charles W. Chowning and Jennie Winifred Ennis Chowning of Ennis and the granddaughter of William Ennis the founder of Ennis, MT. William Ennis had a general store in Ennis until his death in 1898. With his death, C.W. Chowning and Jennie returned to Ennis to run the general store she inherited from her father. Paul Love was one of the clerks at the store and his memories of Ennis and musical events are in the collection. Mrs. Fay (Winifred Chowning) Jeffers was the principle collector of family and neighborhood history. Her mother Jennie and she were both Post Mistresses in Ennis and involved in the Trinity Church and its women's Guild, Madison Valley Woman's Club and the Fairweather Pioneer Society.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

This collection includes transcriptions or photocopies of diaries, ledgers, correspondence, interviews, historical essays and reminiscences related to the Jeffers, Ennis and Chowning families of Madison County, Montana. Of particular interest for livestock and grazing history are the nomination documents and associated materials for Myron Jeffers membership in the Cowboy Hall of Fame, including a transcript of his 1871 cattle drive diary. Also contributing to this area of interest are the record books of Charles W. Chowning of the Montana Cattle Company. The balance of the collection includes: a history of the Madison Valley Women's Club; papers of the Fairweather Pioneer Society of Madison County with minutes, financial records and membership rolls and several histories; some financial records and clippings about the Trinity Episcopal Church, Jeffers MT and Trinity Guild; and a ledger of the Ennis Storage and Freighting has been transcribed. A scrapbook of clippings of articles on Montana history and one typed article by Judge Lew L. Callaway written in 1923-1934 and a booklet of a news series in the Butte Miner by Frank D. (Sand Bar) Brown in 1927 collected by Winifred Jeffers are present. There are also five photographs and negatives of family members.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Collection 1137 is a consolidation of several accessions donated by Mrs. Fayette (Winifred Chowning) Jeffers between 1964 and 1985. These accession numbers were originally assigned as 68, 69, 74, 209, 210, 389, 580, 840, 874, 1137, and 1196. Additional donated items from Paul Jeffers in 1964 were assigned accession number 131. Mrs. Lawrence (Jo) Jeffers also in 1964 donated other Jeffers family documents which were assigned accession numbers 130 and 211. In 1979, Collection 389 was reported to the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC) and given entry number 79-669. That same year Collection 131 was reported to NUCMC and given entry number 79-642. Nearly all of these materials are either photocopies or transcriptions of original documents solicited by former Montana State University librarian Minnie Paugh to supplement information the history of agriculture in Montana counties. After reproduction the items were returned to the various donors. The present location of the originals is unknown.

Processing Note

This collection was processed 2008 August 1

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1/1	Typescript of diary, Myron D. Jeffers' cattle drive	1871
1/2	Typescripts of Myron D. Jeffers correspondence	1871-1893
1/3	Photocopies of 2 letters to Myron D. Jeffers	1871, 1883
1/4	Nomination of Myron D. Jeffers to Cowboy Hall of Fame and photocopy of certificate	1961
1/5	Transcript of taped interview with Paul Jeffers about his father Myron D. Jeffers	1964
1/6	Typescripts of reminiscences of Susie L. Switzer Jeffers and a hand drawn map	circa 1935
1/7	Photocopied correspondence of Jeffers family members	1871, 1879, 1897, 1900
1/8	Typed reminiscences of Katherine Ennis	1930
1/9	Transcribed entries of ledger book of William Ennis Storage and Freighting, Ft. Benton	1869-1877
1/10	Photocopied and original newspaper clippings about Ennis and Jeffers families	1931-1971
1/11	Photocopies of four pocket record books of C.W. Chowning, manager for the Montana Cattle Co.	1889, 1890, 1892
1/12	Audio tape - interviews of Mrs. Fay (Winifred Chowning) Jeffers and Paul Love	1975
1/13	Transcription: interviews of Mrs. Fay (Winifred Chowning) Jeffers and Paul Love	1975
1/14	Jennie Chowning- family history and historical essays on Madison County and Montana	1915-1951
1/15	Receipts and financial materials of Trinity Guild of the Trinity Church, Jeffers, MT	1915-1927
1/16	Histories of Trinity Mission Church, Jeffers MT and Trinity Guild	1879-1950
1/17	Newspaper clippings and newsletter articles about Trinity Guild and noted members	1941-1952
1/18	"History of the Madison Valley Woman's Club, 1920-1964" Pauline E. Clark and Jo Jeffers	1964
1/19	Journal - Fairweather Pioneer Society of Madison County: constitution, bylaws, minutes	1940-1951
1/20	Fairweather Pioneer Society membership cards, dues paid by members, correspondence	1940-1951
1/21	Photographs:1- aandb,2) Myron D. Jeffers;3) Katherine Ennis;4) Jennie Chowning and Susy Jeffers;5) Trinity Guild members at 60th anniversary meeting and all negatives (1-5)
2/1	Scrapbook - newspaper clippings of Judge Lew L. Callaway's Madison County articles	1923-1934
2/2	Typescript of "March 7, 1977" by Lew L. Callaway	circa 1929
2/3	Butte Miner series "The Wolfers of the Yellowstone" by Frank D. (Sand Bar) Brown	1927

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Cattle drives-United States
Cattle trade-Montana
Episcopalian women-Montana-Jeffers-Societies and clubs
Freight and freightage-Montana
Frontier and pioneer life-Montana-Madison County-Societies, etc
Ranchers-Montana-Madison County-Diaries
Ranching-Montana-Madison County
Women in church work-Montana-Jeffers
Women-Montana-Madison County-Interviews
Women-Montana-Madison County-Societies and clubs

Personal Names

Jeffers, Myron D., 1833-1900
Jeffers, Paul, 1882-1971-Interviews
Jeffers, Winifred Chowning, 1895-1990-Interviews
Love, Paul, 1906-1984-Interviews

Corporate Names

Episcopal Church-Montana-Jeffers
Fairweather Pioneer Society-Archives
Madison Valley Women's Club-History
National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center

Family Names

Chewning family
Chowning family
Ennis family
Jeffers family

Geographical Names

Ennis (Mont.)-History
Jeffers (Mont.)-Religious life and customs
Madison County (Mont.)-History

Form or Genre Terms

Business records-Montana
Diaries
Essays
Family papers-Montana-Madison County
Interviews-Montana-Madison County
Photographs
Reminiscences-Montana-Madison County

Other Creators

Personal Names
- Brown, Frank D. (Frank Dean), 1845-1931 (creator)
- Callaway, Llewellyn Link, 1868-1951 (creator)
- Chowning, Charles W., 1860-1934 (creator)
- Chowning, Jennie, 1863-1951 (creator)
- Ennis, Katherine, 1835-1931 (creator)
- Jeffers, Myron D., 1833-1900 (creator)
- Jeffers, Susie L. Switzer, b. 1859 (creator)
- Jeffers, Winifred Chowning, 1895-1990 (creator)
Corporate Names
- Fairweather Pioneer Society (creator)
- Montana Cattle Company (creator)
- Trinity Episcopal Church (Jeffers, Mont.) (creator)
- Trinity Episcopal Church (Jeffers, Mont.)-Trinity Guild (creator)
- William Ennis Storage and Freighting (creator)
Family Names
- Chowning family (creator)
- Ennis family (creator)

Archives West Finding Aid

Table of Contents