Alexander Leggat Collection, 1864-1964

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Leggat, Alexander, 1876-1961
Title
Alexander Leggat Collection
Dates
1864-1964
Quantity
2.2 linear feet
Collection Number
Collection 781, MtBC, us (collection)
Summary
The Family Papers consist of correspondence, diaries, legal papers, and scrapbook memorabilia all pertaining to Alexander Leggat and his extended family. The Collection papers consist of: collecting correspondence created or collected Alexander Leggat while purchasing books and manuscripts on Western Americana; inventories and lists of books collected; historic Montana legal documents collected for their historical or display value; historic Montana manuscript files of documents collected for their historical or display value; and photographs.
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

Some original manuscript materials in group two are fragile and have been photocopied. Permission to access the original documents must be obtained from the Special Collections staff.

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

Alexander Leggat was a Butte, Montana mining engineer, hotel owner, and collector of western Americana. He was born in Owasso, Michigan, on December 22, 1876, to John A. Leggat and his wife, Claribel Ament Leggat. He came to Butte, Montana with his mother in 1880 and attended public schools in Butte, graduating from the Butte High School in 1894. He next attended the college of Montana at Deer Lodge, and also the Michigan School of Mines in Houghton. He worked as a mining engineer in Montana and served in many Butte civic organizations. Leggat purchased a hotel in Butte in the early twentieth century and became active in the Montana Hotel Association in 1923. He began collecting books and manuscripts pertaining to Montana and the West in the 1920s and eventually compiled an impressive private library. Following his death in 1961, his widow began negotiations with Montana State College for the sale of the collection.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Leggat collection has been divided into two large groups, Family Papers and Collection Papers. The Family Papers consist of correspondence, diaries, legal papers, and scrapbook memorabilia all pertaining to Alexander Leggat and his extended family. The family correspondence includes letters from: Alexander Leggat: his parents, John A. Leggat and Claribel A. Leggat; his sister, Claribel A. Leggat: and other relatives in Michigan, Montana, and Missouri. The letters include descriptions of Mrs. Claribel A. Leggat's 1880 journey from [Grand Haven], Michigan to Leggat's Mill on the Big Hole River, Montana; details of life in 1880 Butte, Montana; the death of Mrs. Claribel A. Leggat after birth of daughter in 1881; Alexander's childhood in Montana and Michigan; Alexander's relationship with his grandmother; school life at College of Deer Lodge; the 1889 fire in the Anaconda and St. Lawrence mines which resulted in several deaths; operations on Alexander's nose in New York; Alexander and school friends boating in northern Michigan; Alexander's job at a mine in Calumet, Michigan.

The Collection papers consist of: collecting correspondence created or collected Alexander Leggat while purchasing books and manuscripts on Western Americana; inventories and lists of books collected; historic Montana legal documents collected for their historical or display value; historic Montana manuscript files of documents collected for their historical or display value; and photographs. Subjects or creators of manuscripts include: Charles Bechner, Charles A. Broadwater, William H. Clagett, James M. Cavanaugh, J. E. Clayton, Sidney Edgerton, W.R.M. Edwards, Kate Hammond Fogarty, James A. Garfield, Randall Henry Hewitt, Oliver O. Howard, Thomas Francis Meagher, George Miles, Henry Plumer, J. E. Richard, John S. Rockfellow, D. W. Tilton. The manuscripts also pertain to the following subjects: Bozeman, Butte, Virginia City, Madison County, Silver Bow County, Beaverhead County, mining, Montana political campaigns, Herschell Mining Company, Montana Indian Treaties for Blackfeet, Blood, Assiniboine, Gros Ventre, and Piegan tribes. The papers of Randall Henry Hewitt include a substantial portion of his original manuscript for Across the Plains and Over the Divide, published by the Broadway Publishing Company in 1906. Photographs include copy prints and original images of Butte, Virginia City, Missoula, and Pioneer City, Montana; photographs of original paintings and drawings by Frederick Remington and Charles Russell; lithograph illustrations of Montana scenes taken from an unidentified publication.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Some original manuscript materials in group two are fragile and have been photocopied. Permission to access the original documents must be obtained from the Special Collections staff.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Group 1 - Family Papers, 1869-1961

Series 1 Correspondence, 1876-1961

Series 2 Legal Documents, 1872-1890

Series 3 Diaries, 1895-1897

Series 4 Scrapbooks and Scrapbook Materials, 1869-1961

Group 2 - Collection Papers, 1864-1964

Series 1 Collecting Correspondence, 1927-1964

Series 2 Legal/Financial Documents, 1864-1885

Series 3 Subject Manuscript Files, 1871-1950

Series 4 Collection Inventories, circa 1950s

Series 5 Photographs, 1870-1950

Acquisition Information

Personal papers, collected manuscripts, and photographs were purchased from Mrs. Alexander Leggat, Butte, Montana, in 1966 following a lengthy fund raising effort on the part of Montana State University. Materials in these papers were previously accessioned under separate numbers of 413 and 752. Brochures, pamphlets, broadsides, and other printed materials have been separated from these manuscripts and incorporated into Collection 2369.

Processing Note

This collection was processed 2009 February 10

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Group 1:  Family Papers, 1869-1961Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Series 1: Correspondence
Correspondence contains letters written or received by Alexander Leggat, John A. Leggat, Claribel A. Leggat (Alexander's mother), Claribel A. Leggat (Alexander's sister), Eliza Leggat, E. H. Ament, William Ament, and LaRiene Leggat. Some folders with Alexander Leggat letters also include John A. Leggat's letters as addenda and include John Leggat's name on the folders. Letters are arranged alphabetically and chronologically by folders, and chronologically within folders. Letters include descriptions of Mrs. Claribel A. Leggat's 1880 journey from [Grand Haven], Michigan to Leggat's Mill on the Big Hole River, Montana; details of life in 1880 Butte, Montana; the death of Mrs. Claribel A. Leggat after birth of her daughter in 1881; Alexander's childhood in Montana and Michigan; Alexander's relationship with his grandmother; school life at College of Deer Lodge; the 1889 fire in the Anaconda and St. Lawrence mines which resulted in several deaths; operations on Alexander's nose in New York; Alexander and school friends boating in northern Michigan; Alexander's job at a mine in Calumet, Michigan.
1876-1961
Box/Folder
1/1
Ament, William--Correspondence
1890-1891
1/2
Leggat, Alexander; Leggat, John A.--Correspondence
1887-1888
1/3
Leggat, Alexander; Leggat, John A.--Correspondence
1889
1/4
Leggat, Alexander, Leggat, John--Correspondence
1890-1892
1/5
Leggat, Alexander--Correspondence
1895; 1897
1/6
Leggat, Alexander--Correspondence
1898-1899
1/7
Leggat, Alexander--Correspondence
1900
1/8
Leggat, Alexander--Correspondence
1904-1905; 1908; 1925; 1927; 1952-1951; 1954
1/9
Leggat, Claribel A. (Alexander's Mother)--Correspondence
1876; 1880-1881
1/10
Leggat, Claribel A. (Alexander's Mother)--Correspondence
1900; Undated
1/11
Leggat, John A.--Correspondence
1876-1877; 1879; 1881-1882
1/12
Leggat, John A.--Correspondence
1883-1885
1/13
Leggat, John A.--Correspondence
1888-1889; 1892; 1895
1/14
Leggat, LaRiene--Correspondence
1958; 1961
Series 2: Legal Documents
General legal documents pertaining to specifically to the Leggat family. Legal documents that were collected by Alexander Leggat for their historical or display value can be found in Group 2.
1872-1890
Box/Folder
1/15
Leggat Family Miscellaneous Legal Papers
1/16
Leggat, John A. and Leggat, Alexander J.--Register of Birth
1/17
Leggat, William--Citizenship
Series 3: Diaries
Diaries kept by Alexander Leggat recording his activities while traveling to and attending college in Houghton, Michigan. Entries deal with travel, schoolwork and social activities.
1895-1897
Box/Folder
1/18
Leggat, Alexander
August 10 to November 8, 1895
1/19
Leggat, Alexander
1897
Series 4: Scrapbooks and Scrapbook Material
Original manuscript poetry and essays created by Claribel Ament Leggat or others; school memorabilia pertaining to Alexander Leggat; funeral, birth, and wedding announcements; original and photocopied newspaper clippings collected by or pertaining to all generations of the Leggat family.
1869-1961
Box/Folder
2/1
Sentimental verse and essays
1869; Undated
2/2
Alexander Leggat school papers
1897-1901
2/3
School papers
1870-1895
2/4
Membership cards and memorabilia
2/5
Birth and death announcements
2/6
Invitations and calling cards
2/7
Lists, bible verses
2/8
Newspaper clippings
2/9
Photocopied scrapbook

Group 2:  Collection Papers, 1864-1964Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Series 1: Collecting correspondence
Legal and financial documents pertaining to a wide variety of early Montana and western personalities, collected primarily for their historical and display value. Materials include original manuscript treaties with Montana Indian tribes, mining claims and leases, bills of sale, and court documents. More substantial collections of manuscripts created or pertaining to specific subjects or persons can be found in series 2.
1927-1964
Box/Folder
3/1
1927-1929
3/2
1930; 1933-1936
3/3
1937-1939
3/4
1940
3/5
1941
3/6
1942-1944
3/7
1948-1949; 1951; 1953-1954; 1957-1959
3/8
1960-1964
Series 2: Legal/financial documents collection
Legal and financial documents pertaining to a wide variety of early Montana and western personalities, collected primarily for their historical and display value. Materials include original manuscript treaties with Montana Indian tribes, mining claims and leases, bills of sale, and court documents. More substantial collections of manuscripts created or pertaining to specific subjects or persons can be found in series 2. Fragile materials which have been photocopied are restricted and have been marked with the symbol (R). The files have been alphabetically arranged.
1864-1885
Box/Folder
4/1
Bechner, Charles--Bill of Sale
1865
4/2
Carico, John--Summons for probate court
1867
4/3
Daniels, James B.--Pardon from Governor Thomas Francis Meagher
(Copy)
1866
4/4
Daniels, James B.--Pardon from Governor Thomas Francis Meagher (R)
1866
4/5
Edgerton, Sidney--Mining claims
1864
4/6
Herschel Mining Company--Deeds
1865
4/7
Indian Treaties--Blackfeet, Blood, and Piegan
(copy)
1875
4/8
Indian Treaties--Blackfeet, Blood, and Piegan (R)
1875
4/9
Indian Treaties--Piegan and Assiniboine
(copy)
1874
4/10
Indian Treaties--Piegan and Assiniboine (R)
1874
4/11
Indian Treaties--Piegan and Gros Ventre (R)
1874
4/12
Indian Treaties--Piegan and Gros Ventre
(copy)
1874
4/13
Irvine, Caleb E.--Appointment as probate judge
1865
4/14
Irvine, Caleb E.--Certificate of election as probate judge
1884
4/15
Johnson, S. C.--Mining discovery claims in Madison County
1865
4/16
Madison County Mining Claims--Sheriff sales
1867
4/17
Maltby, T. D.--Quit claim deed
1865
4/18
Montana Mineral Land and Mining Co.--Summons regarding estate of George Carhartt
1868
4/19
Montana Mining Law--Laws of Summit Valley District, Deer Lodge Co.
1880
4/20
Montana Territory Appointment Form
[blank]
4/21
Murphy, John G. and Baldwin, Edward Jr.--Copartnership arrangement
1866
4/22
Oregon Short Line Railroad--Right of way and stations
1882
4/23
Orem, Con and Marly, Patsy--Articles of agreement
1865
4/24
Plumer, Henry--Deed to Sidney Edgerton (R)
1863
4/25
Plumer, Henry--Deed to Sidney Edgerton
(Copy)
1863
4/26
Pollinger, E. M., Wells Fargo and Co.--Agreement for stage station
1867
4/27
Rockfellow, John S.--Bills, Bill of sale, shipments, promissory note, check, payments
1865-1868
4/28
Sanders, W. F.--Check
1877
4/29
Sims, H. D.--Receipt
1885
4/30
Tilton, D. W.--Agreement, bill, balance sheet, receipts, letters
1865-1868
4/31
Tuthill, Robert--Summons for Beaverhead County probate court
1867
4/32
Utah Northern of Montana--Articles of incorporation
1881
4/33
Vipond, John and Brother--Warrant
1865
Series 3: Manuscript Subject Files
Topical files of manuscript materials created by a wide variety of Montana persons and collected by Alexander Leggat. Authors include: Charles A. Broadwater, J.E. Clayton, James A. Garfield, Randall Henry Hewitt, and Oliver O. Howard. Subjects include Montana history, Butte history, the Montana State Legislature, and drafts of Across the Plains and Over the Divide (New York, 1906).
1871-1950
Box/Folder
4/34
Braley, Berton--Poem "Butte" (R)
printed on copper
4/35
Braley, Berton--Poem "Butte"
photocopy
4/36
Broadwater, Col. Chas. A.--Invitation to funeral
1882
4/37
Cavanaugh, James M.--Note regarding "Daily Globe"
4/38
Clagett, Wm. M.--Biographical information
1872
4/39
Clayton, J. E., letters
1883
4/40
Clayton, J. E.--Letterbook
1881-1882; 1887
4/41
Clayton, J. E.,--Working notebook
1888-1889
4/42
Courtenay, William--Letter regarding livestock to S. B. Hawks
1892
4/43
Daniels, James B.--News clippings regarding pardon and aftermath
5/1
Edwards, W. R. M.--"Pioneer Days in German Gulch"
5/2
Fogarty, Kate Hammond--"A History of Butte, Montana"
5/3
Fort Laramie Treaty, newspaper articles copied from the St. Louis Republican
5/4
Garfield, J. A.--Letter to W. H. Claggett regarding associate judgeship
1871
5/5
Hartwick, Tolley--Henry J. Zorn Miller execution
5/6
Haynes, Isabel, Jack, and Lida, greeting cards
1934-1952
5/7
Helena, Montana--Hangman's Tree
5/8
Hewitt, Randall Henry--Correspondence
1899; 1902; 1906; 1913
5/9
Hewitt, Randall Henry--Manuscript "Across the Plains and Over the Divide," Introduction and Chapter 1
5/10
Hewitt, Randall Henry--Manuscript "Across the Plains and Over the Divide," Chapters 2, 3, 4
5/11
Hewitt, Randall Henry--Manuscript "Across the Plains and Over the Divide," Chapters 5, 6, 7
5/12
Hewitt, Randall Henry--Manuscript "Across the Plains and Over the Divide," Chapters 8, 9, 10
5/13
Hewitt, Randall Henry--Manuscript "Across the Plains and Over the Divide," Chapters 11, 12, 13
5/14
Hewitt, Randall Henry--Manuscript "Across the Plains and Over the Divide," Chapters 14, 15, 16
5/15
Hewitt, Randall Henry--Manuscript "Across the Plains and Over the Divide," Chapters 17, 18, 19, 20
5/16
Hewitt, Randall Henry--Scrapbook
5/17
Hewitt, Randall Henry--Small manuscripts
1905; 1907; 1913
5/18
Howard, O. O.--Letter to W. H. Prescott, M.D.
1896
5/19
Lincoln, Abraham--Contribution list for inaugural celebration, Virginia City
1865
5/20
Miles, George--Interview for "History of Miles City"
5/21
Miller, C. E. and Family--Card with verse "Big Hole Skies" by Mary Narby
5/22
Newcomen Society of England--Montana Dinner
1950
5/23
Newspaper clippings, various topics
6/1
Rickards, J. E.--Montana Legislature Clipping Book
1889-1890
6/2
Rickards, J. E.--Montana Legislature Clipping Book
1890-1891
6/3
Russell, C. M., letter to Alexander Leggat
(Facsimile)
January 19, 1918
6/4
Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of Ethnology--letter
1891
6/5
U.S. 20th Infantry; Fort Assiniboine, Montana
1883; March 1886
6/6
Weaver, David B., letter to C. N. Kessler; "Montana Pioneer Prospectors."
1918
6/7
Weston, D. H., letter from Manning, Harding and Martin
1886
6/8
Wilcox, W. J. News items on Butte, Montana
Typescript
1864-1868
Series 4: Collection inventories
Inventories and lists of manuscript and printed materials collected by Alexander Leggat.
circa 1950s
Box/Folder
6/9
Inventory lists
6/10
Library catalogs
(2 volumes)
Series 5: Photographs
Photographs collected by Alexander Leggat pertaining to Montana history, the Leggat family, or western art. Photographs 1-29 are primarily of Montana communities and activities, including Butte, Missoula, Virginia City, and Walkerville. Images 30-35 are of original Indian treaties found in Series 1 and images created by Charles M. Russell and Frederick Remington. Images 36-48 are either lithographs of Montana scenes taken from an unidentified publication or original caricature drawings. Photographs 59-67 pertain directly to the Leggat family. Negatives have been placed in folder 8. An asterisk (*) indicates an oversize photograph which has been removed to separate storage.
1870-1950
Box/Folder
7/1
Photographs #1-10
#1: Dredge on Alder Creek
1898
#2: Dredge at Ruby, Montana
1910
#3: Frozen Dredge
1910
#4: Old Steam Dredge
1910
#5: Historic Chimney Rock on the Oregon Trail
#6: Eureka Baseball Team
1906
#7: D. J. Hennessy and Co.
#8: Theodore Roosevelt in Downtown Butte
1903
#9: North Side of Butte City
1890s
#10: Butte from the Roof of the Leggat Hotel
1953
7/2
Photographs #11-20
#11: World War I Welcome Home Arch [Meaderville Gate?]
1918
#12: Main Street from Quartz, Butte
1877
#13: Butte, Montana
circa 1905
#14: American Bison in Butte
#15: The Big Explosion
#16: Butte Shriners' Parade
circa 1900
#17: 4 Jack's Mess Club (*)
#18: Columbia Gardens Newswriters' Convention
1901
#19-20: Columbia Gardens
1905
7/3
Photographs #21-30
#21: Cutting Wood after March Snow
#22-24: Virginia City, Montana
#25: Missoula, Montana
#26: Mount Jumbo, Missoula
#27: East Front Street, Missoula
#28: Walkerville, Montana
#29: Three Crossings Stage Station
#30: Indian Treaties
(from box 4, folders 7-12)
7/4
Photographs #31-40
#31: Frederick Remington painting, Cowboys Fighting over a Stolen Herd
#32: Charles M. Russell painting, Cowboy on Horseback, (on nailkeg top) (*)
#33: Charles M. Russell Drawing, Cowboy in Stampede
#34: Charles M. Russell drawing, Cowboy at dance
#35: Charles M. Russell Drawing, Cowboy knife fight
#36: Herds of Bisons and Elks
#37: Hot Springs on Gardiners River
#38: Big Blackfoot Valley
#39: Clark's Fork and the Mission Mountains
#40: Entrance to the Bitter Root Mountains
7/5
Photographs #41-50
#41: Great Falls of the Missouri
#42: Hot Spring Mound
#43: Main Chain of the Rocky Mountains
#44: Blackfeet Indians Hunting Bison from Horseback
#45: Coeur D'Alene Mission, St. Ignatius River
#46: Nez Perce Indians
#47: Animal Caricature
1903
#48: Dunce cap caricature
1904
#49: Van Zorn Miller, prison photograph
(from box 5, folder 5)
#50: Unidentified Indian woman
7/6
Photographs #51-60
#51: Pioneer City, Montana
(Haynes Stereograph)
#52: Montana Press Association, Yellowstone National Park
1886
#53: Photograph of letter to Richard Potts
#54: Photograph of Daniels pardon
(from box 4, folder 4)
#55: Photograph of unidentified mountains
#56: Unidentified man sitting on rock
#57: Hanging at Helena
(Box 5, folder 7)
#58: Composite photograph, Montana pioneers (*)
#59: Miles J. Cavanaugh family
circa 1889
#60: Alexander Leggat in field
1903
7/7
Photographs #61-67
#61: Alexander Leggat at Patterson Creek, Idaho
1911
#62: Alexander Leggat in field at Butte
1922
#63: Alexander Leggat, portrait
circa 1930s
#64: Alexander Leggat, portrait
circa 1940s
#65: Alexander Leggat, portrait
circa 1950s
#66: Leggat Hotel, Butte
1920
#67: Photograph of steamship ledger page
7/8
Negatives: 6, 7, 10, 54, 55, 56, 65

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Americana-Collectors and collecting-Montana-Butte
  • Assiniboine Indians-Montana-Treaties
  • Blackfeet Indians-Montana-Treaties
  • Blood Indians-Montana-Treaties
  • Gros Ventre Indians (Montana)-Montana-Treaties
  • Gros Ventres Indians-Montana-Treaties
  • Indians of North America-Montana-Treaties
  • Kainah Indians-Montana-Treaties
  • Mine accidents-Montana-Butte
  • Mines and mineral resources-Michigan-Calumet
  • Mines and mineral resources-Montana
  • Overland journeys to Montana
  • Piegan Indians-Montana-Treaties
  • Political campaigns-Montana
  • Siksika Indians-Montana-Treaties

Personal Names

  • Bechner, Charles
  • Broadwater, Charles A. (Charles Arthur), 1840-1892
  • Cavanaugh, James Michael, 1823-1879
  • Clagett, William H. (William Hezekiah), 1848-1926
  • Clayton, J. E. (Joshua Elliot)
  • Edgerton, Sidney, 1818-1900
  • Edwards, W. R. H., b. 1833
  • Fogarty, Kate Hammond
  • Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881
  • Hewitt, Randall H. (Randall Henry), b. 1840
  • Howard, O. O. (Oliver Otis), 1830-1909
  • Leggat, Claribel A. (Claribel Ament), b. 1881
  • Leggat, John A., 1832-1902
  • Meagher, Thomas Francis, 1823-1867
  • Miles, George M., 1854-1935
  • Plummer, Henry Amos, d. 1864
  • Remington, Frederic, 1861-1909
  • Rickards, J. E. (John Ezra), 1848-1927
  • Rockfellow, John S.
  • Russell, Charles M. (Charles Marion), 1864-1926
  • Tilton, D. W. (Daniel Webster), 1839-1919

Corporate Names

  • College of Montana
  • Herschel Mining Company
  • Michigan Mining School-Students-Diaries

Geographical Names

  • Beaverhead County (Mont.)
  • Bozeman (Mont.)
  • Butte (Mont.)-Photographs
  • Butte (Mont.)
  • Madison County (Mont.)
  • Missoula (Mont.)-Photographs
  • Montana-History-Sources
  • Montana-Pictorial works
  • Montana-Politics and government
  • Pioneer (Mont.)-Photographs
  • Silver Bow County (Mont.)
  • Virginia City (Mont.)
  • Virginia City (Mont.)-Photographs
  • West (U.S.)-History-Sources

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Hewitt, Randall H. (Randall Henry), b. 1840-Across the plains and over the divide (creator)