Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Almon Spencer Diary, Undated
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Spencer, Almon, 1838-
- Title
- Almon Spencer Diary
- Dates
- Undated19031903
- Quantity
- 1 folder
- Collection Number
- Collection 0050, MtBC, us (collection)
- Summary
- The Almon Spencer Diary consists of a single typescript transcript of a reminiscence written after 1903. The author describes his journey from Canada to Montana, giving details of both the oversea and overland journeys through several locations. He mentions receiving news of the death of President Lincoln, vigilance committees in Montana, and the dangers of winter travel through the mountains near Helena. He gives few details of his gold mine or his later business ventures.
- 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
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Almon Spencer was born in February 1838. He left Spencerville, Ontario, in 1864 to move to California, taking passage by sea across the Panama Isthmus, traveling with his friends Peter Irving and Edward Short. Arriving in San Francisco, they continued on to Sacramento, Nevada, and Idaho, then to Montana. They stayed for a time in Helena (Last Chance) before moving over the mountains in 1865 to a gold claim in Gallatin County. He set up a ranch, was joined by his brother Harvey in 1868, and took an interest in a meat market in Cave Gulch. In 1872, they abandoned the mine and moved into Cave. Almon returned home to marry his wife, Margaret Ann Stitt, in 1873, and brought her back to Montana. They remained in Cave until 1878, when they moved to White Sulphur Springs, where he was appointed postmaster that same year. The Spencer brothers started a business there, Spencer and Company, in 1881, which remained in business until 1903, when it consolidated with the Anderson Brothers.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection consists of a single typescript transcript of a reminiscence written after 1903. The author describes his journey from Canada to Montana, giving details of both the oversea and overland journeys through several locations. He mentions receiving news of the death of President Lincoln, vigilance committees in Montana, and the dangers of winter travel through the mountains near Helena. He gives few details of his gold mine or his later business ventures.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Location of Originals
University of Montana-Missoula MSS 171
Acquisition Information
The typed transcript was donated by Gertrude McStravick in 1962.
Processing Note
This collection was processed 2009 August 12
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Canadian Americans -- Montana
- Frontier and pioneer life -- Montana
- Ocean travel
- Overland journeys to Montana -- Personal narratives
- Vigilance committees -- Montana
- Winter -- Montana
Personal Names
- Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Death and burial
Geographical Names
- West (U.S.) -- Description and travel
Form or Genre Terms
- Reminiscences -- Montana