Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Thomas H. Irvine Papers, 1879-1926
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Irvine, Thomas H. (Thomas Howard), 1845-1926
- Title
- Thomas H. Irvine Papers
- Dates
- 1879-1926 (inclusive)18791926
- Quantity
- 1 linear feet of shelf space
- Collection Number
- MC 106 (collection)
- Summary
- Thomas H. Irvine (1845-1926) was sheriff of Custer and Ravalli counties and U.S. deputy marshal. Papers (1879-1926) include correspondence, personal diaries, lists of wanted criminals, court papers, and account books. There are also several reminiscences on "Big Nose George" Parrott, the Battle of the Little Big Horn, the Kansas Jayhawkers, and Irvine's journey across the plains (1864)
- 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 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
Thomas Howard Irvine was born in Madison County, Kentucky, on August 19, 1845, son of Thomas H. Irvine and his second wife, Sally Bryan. When Thomas was four years old, his family moved to St. Joseph, Missouri. In 1864, they crossed the plains by wagon train to Virginia City, Montana Territory, and eventually settled in the Deer Lodge Valley. Irvine was initially engaged in ranching and mining, but in the 1870s, he hired on as an independent scout for General Nelson Miles and was involved in several campaigns, including the Rosebud. At the close of the Indian campaigns in 1878, he moved to the new town of Miles City. He served as U.S. Deputy Marshal until his election as Sheriff of Custer County in 1880, when it covered most of eastern Montana. As sheriff Irvine had to deal with the criminal turmoil created by the coming of the railroad to Miles City. Among the criminals he lodged in his jail was "Big Nose George" Parrott. During the 1880s, Irvine served another period as U.S. Deputy Marshal and another term as county sheriff. In 1882, Irvine married a young widow, Mary E. Flynn, who had a baby daughter. They had five sons: Thomas B., Bryan, Fred, Kit Carson, and Kenneth. In the 1890s, Irvine moved to Hamilton, Montana, where he served several terms as Ravalli County sheriff. In his later years he had a ranch at Perma in Sanders County. Thomas H. Irvine died on January 11, 1926, in Long Beach, California.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
This collection includes correspondence, diaries, lists of wanted criminals, court papers, and account books. There are also several reminiscences by Irvine about "Big Nose George" Parrott, the Battle of the Little Big Horn, Kansas Jayhawkers, and Irvine's journey across the plains in 1864.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an archivist.
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
Arrangement by series. Some material housed in Archives Map Case. See inventory below for more information.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Incoming Correspondence Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 1 | A-B (correspondents include Mary Ellen Allen;
Bickford, Stiff and Hershey; A.C. Bodkin; Charles A. Burg; W.H. Bullard) |
1883-1908 |
1 / 2 | C-E (correspondents include W.W. Carland; T. Jeff
Carr; Carl J. Christian; J.T. Clark; Frank Conley; F.M. Davis; H.S. Elliott Company) |
1881-1917 |
1 / 3 | H-K (correspondents include J.W. Hammack; A.H.
Herseg; Humphrey Hood; J. Hill Howard; George W. Irvin; Luther Sage Kelly) |
1887-1925 |
1 / 4 | M-R (correspondents include McDevit's and Flinder;
Thomas C. Marshall; M.C. Martin; Mexican Central Railway Company Limited; Arthur H.
O'Connor; C.S. Paxson; W.A. Pinkerten; J.R. Russell) |
1884-1917 |
1 / 5 | Granville Stuart |
1880-1911 |
1 / 6 | S-W (correspondents include W.R. Schnitger; Leslie
Smith; Henry M. Taylor; French Tipton; H.J. William) |
1881-1893 |
1 / 7 | Letter of recommendation for Thomas H. Irvine |
1914 |
Outgoing Correspondence Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 8 | E.S. Godfrey re Little Big Horn Battle |
1922 |
1 / 9 | Miscellaneous (photocopies) (correspondents include
B.J. Potts; P. Woolman; S.T. Hauser; Thos. H. Irvine; James U. Sanders; Society of
Montana Pioneers; Frank M. Canton; Granville Stuart; Aliis B. Stuart) |
1881-1917 |
Miscellaneous Correspondence Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 10 | Letters neither to nor from Thomas H. Irvine
(includes some photocopies) |
1885-1917, undated |
Court Papers Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 11 | Court calendars for Custer County |
1886, 1888 |
1 / 12 | Extradition papers |
1880-1888 |
1 / 13 | Sheriff's daybook |
1893 |
1 / 14 | Miscellaneous |
1880-1888, 1913 |
Diaries Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 15 | Diaries (2 volumes; includes typed transcript of 1879
diary) |
1879-1880 |
1 / 16 | Diary: account of tracking cattle rustlers (also
contains some financial accounts) |
circa 1880 |
1 / 17 | Diaries (2 volumes) |
1884, 1889 |
1 / 18 | Diaries (2 volumes; includes list of children's birth
dates; account of questioning murder witnesses; financial accounts) |
1891, circa 1892 |
3 / 2 | Diaries (3 volumes) |
1903, 1906 |
3 / 3 | Diaries (6 volumes) |
1905-1907 |
3 / 4 | Diaries (5 volumes) |
1907-1908 |
3 / 5 | Diaries (4 volumes) |
1909-1911 |
3 / 6 | Diaries (5 volumes) |
1912-1914, 1916, 1917, 1924 |
3 / 7 | Diaries (1 volume) |
1917 |
Financial Records Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 19 | Account books (2 volumes) |
1879, 1888 |
1 / 20 | Cost of confining "Big Nose George" |
1881 |
1 / 21 | Cost of feeding, clothing, and quartering federal
prisoners at Miles City |
1887 |
1 / 22 | Inventories |
1883, undated |
1 / 23 | Miscellaneous |
1882-1888 |
3 / 1 | Journal accounts |
1887, 1894, 1903-1907 |
Legal Documents Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
2 / 1 | Appointments as Deputy U.S. Marshal, Deputy Internal
Revenue Collector, Civil Service Examiner, detective agent |
1879-1889 |
2 / 2 | Certificate of marriage; certificate of election
|
1882, 1892, 1896 |
Oversize Folder | ||
MC 95-112 | Certificate of marriage; certificate of election
[Map Case-See MC 95-112 folder] |
1882, 1892, 1896 |
Box/Folder | ||
2 / 3 | Deputy Sheriffs' indemnity bonds for Custer and
Ravalli counties |
1880-1897 |
2 / 4 | Augustine H. Hersey will |
1882 |
2 / 5 | Lovata land grant, New Mexico Territory |
1892-1897 |
2 / 6 | Miscellaneous |
1886, 1915 |
Organizational Records Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
2 / 7 | Co-partnership agreement for William H. Bullard and
Thomas H. Irvine brewery; articles of incorporation for Narrow Gauge Mining Company |
1882, 1889 |
Photographs and Printed Material Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
2 / 8 | List of photographs transferred to the Photo
Archives; list of printed material transferred to the Library |
undated |
Writings Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
2 / 9 | Account of arrest of Indian murderers in 1879,
written by Thomas H. Irvine for John X. Beidler |
1888 |
2 / 10 | "Big Nose George, Highwayman" |
undated |
2 / 11 | "A Brush with the Kansas Jayhawkers" |
undated |
2 / 12 | "To the Taxpayers of Custer County" |
circa 1886 |
2 / 13 | Outline for a possible autobiography |
undated |
2 / 14 | Miscellaneous |
undated |
Miscellany Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
2 / 15 | Book listing wanted criminals |
circa 1881 |
2 / 16 | Book listing people in various towns |
circa 1879-1880 |
2 / 17 | Irvine family genealogy (done by Barbara Irvine) |
1976 |
2 / 18 | K.C. Irvine certificate for California Peace Officers |
1939 |
2 / 19 | List of members of Miles City vigilance committee |
1883 |
2 / 20 | Memberships, cards, invitations, etc. |
1893-1915, undated |
2 / 21 | "Record of all convicts sent from Custer Company and
convicts in Penitentiary at Deer Lodge M.T. August 1886" |
1879-1886 |
2 / 22 | Reward notices |
1882-1890, undated |
Clippings Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
2 / 23 | Obituaries on Thomas H. Irvine and George W. Irvine |
1926, undated |
2 / 24 | Scrapbook: History; poetry; etc. |
dates vary |
2 / 25 | Scrapbook: poetry; anecdotes; political |
circa 1880-1889 |
2 / 26 | Miscellaneous |
1899, 1927, undated |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Breweries--Montana
- Cheyenne indians--Wars, 1876
- Dakota indians--Wars, 1876-1877
- Detectives
- Law enforcement
- Little Big Horn, Battle of the, 1876
- Overland journeys to the pacific
Personal Names
- Irvine, Thomas H. (Thomas Howard), 1845-1926 (creator)
Geographical Names
- Deer Lodge (Mont.)
- Hamilton (Mont.)
- Miles City (Mont.)