Emmanuel Taylor Gordon papers, 1881-1980

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Gordon, Taylor, 1893-1971
Title
Emmanuel Taylor Gordon papers
Dates
1881-1980 (inclusive)
Quantity
9 linear feet of shelf space
Collection Number
MC 150 (collection)
Summary
Taylor Gordon was a Black singer and author who grew up in White Sulphur Springs, Montana. Collection (1882-1980) includes letters, writings, financial records, and clippings for Taylor; his sister Rose Gordon, a White Sulphur Springs business woman and physical therapist; and other members of the Gordon family; the Florence Mining Company; and the Democratic party in Montana.
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

Emmanuel Taylor Gordon, was born April 29, 1893, in White Sulphur Springs, Montana, the youngest of five children of John Francis Gordon and Mary Anna Goodall Gordon. In Cairo, Illinois, in 1879, John Gordon, who claimed descent from Zulu ancestors, married Mary Anna Goodall, who had been born in slavery in Bourbon County, Kentucky, in 1853. The couple, and their baby son Robert, moved to Montana from Illinois in 1881, coming up the Missouri River on a steamboat. John Gordon worked as a cook in the mining camps of Barker and Castle. Their daughter Rose was born in Barker in 1883. About 1884 or 1885 the family moved to White Sulphur Springs where they remained--- the town's only African American family. The senior Gordon left White Sulphur Springs in 1895, headed for the Alaska gold fields. The family believed he was killed in a train wreck in Canada. His widow Mary Gordon raised the children alone, supporting the family primarily by working as a laundress.

Young Taylor, or "Mannie", Gordon spent his early years attending the local school and doing a variety of odd jobs, including cowboying, carrying messages for the local bawdy houses, and working as a automobile driver-mechanic. It was in this capacity that he met circus owner John Ringling who had a ranch near White Sulphur Springs. About 1910, when Taylor was 17, Ringling hired him as chauffeur for his Smith River Development Company. He later hired Gordon as chef and porter on his private railroad car. Taylor traveled around the U.S. on the train, experiencing for the first time the prejudice and discrimination facing blacks in the 1910s and 1920s. In New York City, Gordon became involved in the "Harlem Renaissance." He joined with pianist Rosamond Johnson in 1925 in a musical vaudeville act, performing Negro spirituals. The act toured for several years, including a series of concerts in Europe in 1927, before dissolving in the early 1930s. Gordon also performed on Broadway and acted in one movie, The Emperor Jones, with Paul Robeson. In 1929 Gordon's autobiography Born to Be was published (reprinted in 1975 and 1995).

Gordon returned to White Sulphur Springs in 1935 and spent the winter of that year snowbound in a cabin at Sheep Creek Ranch. During this time he wrote a novel, entitled Daonda, but his efforts to have it published were not successful. In addition, it became increasingly difficult for Gordon to make a living as his attempts to renew his musical career failed. He eventually turned to inventing toys and working as a lathe operator in a New Jersey B-29 factory during the World War II.

Gordon suffered a mental breakdown in 1947, and was hospitalized in New York for most of the following twelve years. He became increasingly paranoid, his problems being exacerbated by a dispute with John Steinbeck's publisher Viking Press. Gordon had previously submitted Daonda to the same publisher, and he believed that Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath had been plagiarized from his work. The feeling of having been cheated out of wealth and fame, and the subsequent belief that he was continually under electronic surveillance by the government, dominated much of the rest of Taylor Gordon's life.

In February 1959, Gordon was released from Central Islip Hospital to the care of his sister, Rose Gordon, who still resided in White Sulphur Springs. He lived there quietly, surviving on rental incomes and an antique business. He also occasionally gave concerts and talks for local groups. He continued to write, including the 1970 Born To Be Sequel, but his only publication was a 1967 booklet entitled The Man Who Built the Stone Castle describing White Sulphur Springs' historic landmark and its creator, B.R. Sherman. Taylor Gordon died on May 5, 1971.

Taylor Gordon had three older brothers besides his sister, Rose. Robert James Gordon (Bob) (1881-1962) was born in Cairo, Illinois, and lived in White Sulphur Springs working many years as the custodian for the Sherman Hotel and the First National Bank; Rose Beatris Gordon (1883-1968) was born in Barker, Montana, and lived in White Sulphur Springs operating several businesses (Rose's Cafe, Kentucky Kitchen, Gordon Novelty) and working as a physical therapist; John Francis (Sam) Gordon, Jr., (1885-1952) was born in White Sulphur Springs and worked thirty years for the Dollar Steamship Line headquartered in Seattle; George Washington Gordon (1888-1948) was born in White Sulphur Springs and served 29 years as a Steward for the Bozeman Elks Club.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection is arranged into four subgroups. The first two are Taylor Gordon and Rose Gordon, each including correspondence, financial records, legal documents, writings, clippings, and miscellany. Correspondence addressed to both Taylor and Rose is filed in a separate chronological order in the Taylor Gordon subgroup as incoming correspondence. A third subgroup for the Gordon Family contains the materials of other family members. Correspondence from Taylor and Rose to the family is included in this series and is noted in the inventory. The final subgroup is Miscellany and contains materials for the White Sulphur Springs school; Florence Mining Company; Frank Phelps; Jessie and William Wellman; C.H. and P.H. Willard; Maud W. Crosby; Charles Tipton; Frank, Richard G., Mary L., and Charles H. Wight; etc.

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

Arranged by subgroup and series.

Location of Collection

7:4-1

Acquisition Information

Acquisition information available upon request

Separated Materials

Photographs, artifacts, and publications (including maps and music) transferred to the Photograph Archives, Museum, and Library respectively. See inventory below for more information.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection

Emmanuel Taylor Gordon Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Biographical Materials
Box/Folder
1 / 1
Biographical writings (probably by Taylor Gordon)
undated
Incoming Correspondence
Box/Folder
1 / 2
Otto Asherman
1920
1 / 3
B-W (correspondents include Bozeman Women's Club; Mrs. C. G. Carter; D.Y. Chanler; Mrs. Henry Foster; Grace Gile; George Gordon; Helena Progressive League; E. Janzig; Mrs. Smith Ely Jelliffe; Mrs. D.A. Mackintosh; New York Department of Taxation and Finance; Ringling Public Schools)
1935
1 / 4
C-P (correspondents include Caxton Printers Calwell Idaho; Mrs. A.C. Pearson)
1936-1937
1 / 5
C-G (correspondents include Bertha Mae Cotton; Rose Gordon re death of George; Robert Gordon)
1948
1 / 6
B-G (correspondents include Harry Bragg; Rose Gordon)
1952
1 / 7
Robert Gordon
1953
1 / 8
B-U (correspondence include William Burgess; Robert Gordon; United States Office of Selective Service)
1955
1 / 9
Rose Gordon
1956
1 / 10
Reverend J. Phillip Anshutz (re visits to Central Eslip Hospital in New York)
1957
1 / 11
A-S (correspondents include Reverend J. Phillip Anshutz; Rose Gordon; State of New York Central Islip State Hospital; (?) Swain)
1958
1 / 12
A-S (correspondents include Reverend J. Phillip Anshutz; Rose Gordon; Library of Congress Copyright Office; State of New York Central Islip State Hospital; Olyvia Wyndham)
1959
1 / 13
A-Y (correspondents include Reverend J. Phillip Anshutz; Caragie Book Shop, Chicago; Montana State University; (?) Swain; Viking Press)
1960
1 / 14
G-W (correspondents include Gulf State Lands & Industries; Webb & Knapp, New York re Cumberland Mine in Castle, Montana)
1961
1 / 15
G-W (correspondents include A.B. Guthrie; Josef Sklower; Robert Thrun; Mrs. Franklin Benjamin Tuttle; United States Social Security)
1962
1 / 16
B-W (correspondents include Bob & Gladys Benzie; Caragie Book Shop, Chicago; A.B. Guthrie; Mrs. Philip Harmon; Viking Press Inc.; Olivia Wyndham)
1963
1 / 17
J-M (correspondents include Lawrence Johnston; Mrs. Harold E. Kimball; Mike Mansfield)
1964
1 / 18
A-Y (correspondents include American Finance Corporation; Empire Savings and Loan; Mrs. Harold Kimball; Mike Mansfield; United States Department of the Treasury; Viking Press)
1965
1 / 19
C-U (correspondents include Chemical Bank New York; Nora Daniels; Exposition Press; Ron Hill; Olivia King; Julia Klaue; Mary McCusker; the United States Department of State; the White House Washington)
1966
1 / 20
A-W (correspondents include Norma Ashby; Charles Donahoe; Exposition Press; George Kiehl; Olive King; Julia Klaue; Nadene McClellan; State of New York, Governor's Office; United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; United States Department of State;Viking Press)
1967
1 / 21
A-U (primarily condolences on death of Rose Gordon. Correspondents include Margaret Allen; John Austin; Reno Banks; Robert Bates; Clinton Backus; Octavia Bridgewater; John Buchanan; Estelle Chaffin; Walt Coburn; Theresa Conway Ivan Doig; Walter Donahoe; John Dron; Edith Elliott; Mrs. Ed Erickson; Walter Forsman; Laura Carrier French; Mary Haaland; Margaret Haney; Ervin Huus; Francis Kern; Doris Kimball; Julia Kalue; Mike Mansfield; Josephine Mueller; NAACP; Margaret Schneider; Jospine Scott; Wilhelmina Sharpe; Hal Stearns; Alice Stewart; "?" Swain; Mrs. Richard Volks; Mrs. O. S. Warden; The White House; Virginia M. Wolke)
1968
1 / 22
A-U (correspondents include Florence Anderson; Mable Anderson; Clinton Backus; Reno Banks; Stanley Bell; Octavia Bridgewater; Elizabeth Campbell; Leo Cadwell; Theresa Conway; Agnes Corey; Dorothy Dawdle; Gerald Hunt; Mrs. George Kiehl; Julia Klaue; Mrs. Thomas McClellan; Mike Mansfield; Wilhelmina Sharpe; Mrs. O. S. Warden)
1969
2 / 1
A-W (correspondents include Chester Arthur III; Clinton Backus; Ruthy Brewer; Jane Carlson; David Cooper; Agney Corey; Jack Duranceau; Mary Haaland; Robert Hemenway; Doris and Howard Kimball; Fay Kuhlman; E. E. MacGilvra; Nadene McClellan; Mike Mansfield; Vivian Paladin; United States Department of Justice; University of Washington Press)
1970
2 / 2
A-W (correspondents include Chestser Arthur III; Ruthy Brewer; Nola Cady; National Association of Colored People; University of Washington Press)
1971
2 / 3
A-M (correspondents include Sally and Stan Bell; Ted Byers; Rose Gordon; Mike Mansfield)
undated
2 / 4
A-K (correspondents include Ruthy Brewer; Olive King; Julia Klaue)
1959
2 / 5
B-W (correspondents include Ruthy Brewer; Doris Kimball; Mary and Art Williams)
1960
2 / 6
B-G (correspondents include Ruthy Brewer; Laura Blewett Gregory)
1961
2 / 7
B-M (correspondents include Ruthy Brewer; Martha Meachen)
1962
2 / 8
B-R (correspondents include Ruthy Brewer; Margie Gavne; Thelma Rogers)
1963
2 / 9
B-M (correspondents include Margie Austin; Catherine Bonine; Elizabeth Campbell; Marie Jaeger; Julia Klaue; Ralph and Stephanie Moore)
1964
2 / 10
A-K (correspondents include Minnie and John Astin; Ruthy Brewer; Grace Stone Coates; Jennie Edwards; Mrs. Ed Erickson; Jim and Gena Gabrielson; Doris and Harold Kimball; Julia Klaue)
1965
2 / 11
B-W (correspondents include Ruthy Brewer; Jennie Edwards; Jim and Gena Gabrielson; Julia Klaue; Margaret Schneider; Wilmelmina Sharpe; Kathleen Waggoner)
1966
2 / 12
B-W (correspondents include Gertrude Backus; Margaret and Cathlene Betzel; Ruthie Brewer; Elizabeth Campbell; Rosie Conway; James Gabrielson; Evert and Olive Harry; Olive King; Julia Klaue; Nadine McClellan; Maude Perham; Bula Pinnell; Wilhelmine Sharpe)
1967
2 / 13
B-W (correspondents include Clinton Backus; Margaret Betzel; Ruthy Brewer; Alice Chapin; Ivan Doig; Doris Kimball; Charels Mecklenburg; Margaret Schneider; Wilhelmine Sharpe ; Arthur Smith)
1968
2 / 14
B-S (correspondents include Reno Banks; Helena Hughes; Wilhelmina Sharpe)
undated
Outgoing Correspondence
Box/Folder
2 / 15
Letters to Grace Stone Coates and Kelley Ford
1927
2 / 16
Letters to Walter M. Hill
1935
2 / 17-20
Letters to friends, family and various officials regarding his career, finances, his case against John Steinbeck and his illness (correspondents include New York District Attorney's Office, FBI, Central Islep State Hospital, Senator John McClellan; Dr. Francis O'Neill, Rev. J. Phillip Aushutz; Wlater Winchell; Edward Cummings; Mrs. Elizabeth Hill; Harry Foster; Clerk of the Supreme Court of New York; Social Security Bureau; J. Edgar Hoover; YMCA (New York City); Crown Publishers; Viking Press; U.S. Selective Service; Gulf State Land & Industries Inc. (New York))
1951-1961
3 / 1-10
Letters to friends and family regarding personal life, local history of White Sulphur Springs, and finances (correspondents include Ruthy Brewer; William Hensley; Nobel Prize Committee (re award to John Steinbeck); Viking Press; Robert Benzie; Mrs. Francis Kern; Roy Merril; Carl Van Vechten; Governor Nelson Rockefeller; Lyndon B. Johnson; Lucius Delany; Mike Mansfield; J. Edgar Hoover; Telegram and Sun; William Zeckendorf; Murry Printing Company; Senator Bible; John Ringling; Cornelius Sampson; Clinton Backus; Wilhelmina Sharp; Sears and Roebuck; William Crowley (U of M law professor--letter regarding prostitution; E.E. MacGilvra; Vivian Paladin; Ruthie Brewer; Robert Hemenway; Harold Kimball; )
1962-1971; undated
Court Papers
Box/Folder
3 / 11
Taylor Gordon Estate papers
1980
Financial Records
Box/Folder
3 / 12
Bills and financial statements (sampled)
1935-1971
3 / 13
Insurance
1949-1971
3 / 14
Ledger
1916-1971
4 / 1
Promissory notes (sampled)
1966-1968
4 / 2
Receipts (sampled)
1956-1968
4 / 3
Receipts for The Man Who Built the Stone Castle
1967-1969
4 / 4
Rental property records (sampled)
1962-1971
4 / 5
Report on work to repair Gordon family home
1968
Maps
Box/Folder
4 / 6
List of maps transferred to Library (maps primarily relating to Montana History)
Photographs
Box/Folder
4 / 7
List of photographs transferred to Photograph Archives
Speeches
Box/Folder
4 / 8
Autobiographical talk given to White Sulphur Springs Rotary Club
undated
Writings
Box/Folder
4 / 9-10
Zegabo Dream (typescript)
1933
4 / 11-13
Daonda (typescript and excerpts used as evidence of his plagiarism claims against John Steinbeck)
1935, 1942
4 / 14
"The Assembly Line Blues" (poem)
1945
4 / 15
"Symptoms of Crackedpotanastrophe" by Professor Longtyme Stupidmass
1946
4 / 16-17
"Sixteen Months Imprisoned in a Madhouse" (handwritten draft)
1948
5 / 1-2
The Man Who Built the Stone Castle (typescript, draft and notes, published versions)
undated, 1967
5 / 3-5
Born To Be Sequel (typescript, draft and notes)
1970
5 / 6
"Between Light and Dark" (typescript draft)
undated
5 / 7
"Peace by Scientific Method" (typescript draft)
undated
5 / 8
Music lyrics and notes
undated
6 / 1
Miscellaneous notes
undated
Miscellany
Box/Folder
6 / 2
Born To Be dust jacket
undated
6 / 3
Certificates, memberships and licenses
1959-1971
6 / 4-5
Concert programs and handbills
1926-1966, undated
6 / 6
Language notes and typing exercises
undated
6 / 7
Letter of recommendation
undated
6 / 8
Notes on photographs
undated
6 / 9-10
Printed materials (including clippings on psychology and paranoia
1949, 1957-1967, undated
6 / 11-12
Steel wire recording of Taylor Gordon singing "By and By" accompanied by pianist Vincent DeSola; and a audio letter to Rose Gordon recorded in New York
undated
6 / 13
"Taylor Gordon--A Montanan, Sang" (draft and notes by Ivan Doig)
undated

Rose Gordon Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Incoming Correspondence
Box/Folder
7 / 1
Anna and Robert Gordon
1907-1919
7 / 2
Taylor Gordon
1906-1919
7 / 3
George Gordon
1921-1929
7 / 4-6
Taylor Gordon
1921-1935
7 / 7
A-W (correspondents include Grayce Allen; PFC Scott Allen; Ruth Brewer; Ada Hicks; Dr. A.J. Hossbein; Gladys Schneider; Grant Schmid; J. Scott, M.L. Wright)
1940-1943
7 / 8
F-W (correspondents include Phoebe Fuller; Mrs. Deuthold (no first name given); Library of Congress; N. Mackintosh ; Grant Murphy; Margaret Smith; Annie Walton)
1944-1945
7 / 9
A-R (correspondents include Philip Anshutz; Beverly Bohna; Ruth Brewer; Octavia Bridgewater (?); Montana State Federation of Negro Women's Clubs; Manhattan State Hospital (New York); Eva Robinson )
1946-1947
7 / 10
A-M (correspondents include Scott Allen; Florence Anderson; Ruth Brewer; Caxton Publishers; The College of Swedish Massage; Theresa Conway; Ella Hanson; Viva Harris; Geraldine McCarty; Mrs. MacIntosh; Manhattan State Hospital)
1948-1949
7 / 11
A-R (correspondents include Mrs. W.O. Atkins; M. Austin; Alberta Bair; John Gordon; M.C. Haines; Maude Krugman; Nellie Lowe; Florence Motsinger; Mary Redfield; Anonymous letter telling Ms. Gordon not to run for mayor's office in White Sulphur)
1950-1951
7 / 12
B-W (correspondents include Jim Benkley; Grace Stone Coates; Maude Crosby; Mabel Ferris; Nora Buckley; Mrs. T. L. Gardner; Robert Gordon; Sam Gordon; Francis Kathman; Helen Kelly; Edith Rader; Emma Wood )
1952
7 / 13
B-W (correspondents include Ruth Brewer; Ray Brewington; Mrs. Harry Ford; W.J. Harrison; Harold Manley; Manhattan State Hospital; Mrs. Courtenay Terrett; Joseph Wilson)
1953
7 / 14
B-W (correspondents include Battle Creek Equipment Company (re muscle exerciser); Margaret McCourt; Sadie Davis; Ruth Erius; Central Islip State Hospital; Lester Saltzman; Harry Speich (attorney); Yellowstone Park Company)
1954
7 / 15
Taylor Gordon
1950-1954
7 / 16
A-W (correspondents include Margaret Betzel; Sadie Davis; Copley Enos; Montana Chest X-Ray Survey; Central Islip State Hospital; Radian Health Products; Western Benefit Association)
1955
8 / 1
B-W (correspondents include Ruth Brewer; Central Islip State Hospital; Ferna Stark; E.J. Whicker)
1956
8 / 2
Taylor Gordon
1956
8 / 3
A-W (correspondents include Rev. Anshutz; Ruth Brewer; Central Islip Hospital; Doris Chandler; Sadie Davis; Mollie Gross; Mary Haaland; Hilda House; Anna Ivanhoff; Julia Klaue; Olive McDonald; June Pugh; Bob Solinger; Genny Stoganoff; Charles Tipton; Vitazone Company; Joseph Wilson
1957
8 / 4
Taylor Gordon
1957
8 / 5
A-T (correspondents include Rev. Anshutz; Ruth Brewer; Central Islip State Hospital; Doris Chandler; Grace Stones Coates; William Davis; Laura Gregory; Elizabeth Hill; Tom McClellan; Olive McDonald; Ralph Moore; Martha Proctor; Lillian Sutter; Bessie Trumble)
1958
8 / 6
Taylor Gordon
1958
8 / 7
A-W (correspondents include Rev. Anshutz; Caxton Printers; Central Islip State Hospital; Willard Harris; Elizabeth Hill; Montana State Physical Therapy Association; Moxley Massage Equipment; Martha Proctor; The Torrance Company (pharmaceuticals); Mary Williams)
1959
8 / 8
Taylor Gordon
1959
8 / 9
A-T (correspondents include American Republic Insurance Company; Montana Industrial Accident Board; Mrs. Charles Tipton)
1960
8 / 10
C-M (correspondents include Frank Campbell; Alfred Doughterty; Episcopal Churchwomen of Montana; Emily Kempf; Olive King; Donald Lucas (Montana legislator); Montana Physician's Service)
1961
8 / 11
A-M (correspondents include Louis Allard; Margaret Ford; Rosie Conway; Margie Gavney; Olive King; Mike Mansfield)
1961
8 / 12
B-S (correspondents include Arthur Bice; Ruth Censer; Margie Gavne; State of Montana Industrial Accident Board)
1963
8 / 13
B-W (correspondents include Gerturde Backus; Buzz Buchanan; Rosie Conway; Billy Davis; Mrs. James Kearns; Episcopal Churchwomen of Montana; Betty Fray; Mrs. Harold Kimball; Patricia Whitehorn)
1964
8 / 14
B-W (correspondents include Rev. Anshutz; Arthur Bice; Nell Butler; Ginny Gayman; Romma Gaffrey; Olive King; Robert Smith; Art Watson; Lucille Wetherill)
1965
8 / 15
B-W (correspondents include John Butler; Eva Clark; Dorothea Dawdle; Dola Driessen; Jennie Edwards; Romma Gaffrey; Mrs. Harold Kimball; Julia Klaue; Grace Lampitt; Mrs. Thomas McClellan; Lola Mayer; Montana Physicians Service; Josephine Mueller; Bob Reaves; Kathlene Waggoner)
1966
8 / 16
B-W (correspondents include Hattie Amend; Rebecca Anderson; Rosie Conway; John Danzer; Dola Driessen; Jennie Edwards; Mrs. Donald Gayman; Mary Haaland; Lacy Kern; Olivia King; Mrs. Thomas McClelland; Wilhelmia Sharpe; Beatrice Simmes; Edna Thomas; Lucille Wetherell; Virginia Wolfe)
1967
9 / 1
B-W (correspondents include Clinton Backus; John "Buzz" Buchanan; Isabel Choquett; Rosie Conway; Francis Kern; Olive King; R.T. O'Neil; Fern Stark; James Wolfe)
1968
9 / 2
A-W (correspondents include Scott Allen; Mary Brazier; A.L. Gesche; Mollie Gross; Aubrey Haley; Mabel Kiehl; Olive King; Gladys Schoeder; Wilhelmenia Sharpe; Elizabeth Webb)
undated
9 / 3
Taylor Gordon
undated
Outgoing Correspondence
Box/Folder
9 / 4-5
Letters by Rose (correspondents include Grace Stone Coates; Jessie Moore; Roy Ayers; Senator Burton K. Wheeler; Rose McFillon; Francis O'Neil; Dr. J.R. Simms; Rev. Anshutz)
1927-1966, undated
Court Papers
Box/Folder
9 / 6
Court papers relating estates of Nora Buckley and P.H. Willard
1952-1968
Financial Records
Box/Folder
9 / 7-8
Banking records
1925-1967
9 / 9
Bills and receipts
1954-1967
9 / 10
Insurance records
1934-1966
9 / 11-12
Rooming house and Rose's Cafe account records
1916-1944
10 / 1
Tax records
1931-1967
10 / 2-3
Therapy treatment accounts
1945-1968
Legal Documents
Box/Folder
10 / 4
Permits, deeds
1930-1942, undated
Writings
Box/Folder
10 / 5-7
"Abbey the Man Hater" (includes typescript and handwritten drafts)
undated
10 / 8
"The Cripple" (handwritten draft)
undated
10 / 9
"Dear Editor" (tributes)
undated
11 / 1
"Devine Man" (handwritten draft)
undated
11 / 2-3
"Gone are the Days" (typescript copy)
undated
11 / 4
"The Hidden Talent" (typescript copy)
undated
11 / 5
"Martinsdale" (handwritten draft)
undated
11 / 6
"My Mother Was a Slave" (handwritten draft)
undated
11 / 7
Poems
undated
11 / 8
"The Progress of the Negro Race" (commencement address)
undated
11 / 9
"Restraurant Life" (handwritten draft)
undated
11 / 10-12
American Massage and Therapy Association materials; business cards; stationery; certificates and diplomas
1891-1968
Miscellany
Box/Folder
12 / 1
Dear Old London booklet received from Taylor
1927
12 / 2
Esther May Corporation reports to stockholders
1960-1961
12 / 3
Hoco, Inc. stock certiicate, report to stockholders
1959-1961
12 / 4
Horoscopes
1907, 1961
12 / 5
Letters of recommendation; book inscription
1904, 1956-1964
12 / 6
Programs, invitations
1904-1970
12 / 7
Montana Federation of Negro Women's Clubs cookbook, newsletters, miscellany
1938-1951, undated
12 / 8
Montana Message Therapy Act
1961
12 / 9
Montana State Board of Nursing application materials
1953, undated
12 / 10
Obituaries; funeral book; sympathy cards; tributes (for Rose to Gordon family)
1968
12 / 11
Recipes, diets, first aid information
undated
12 / 12
Religious tracts (sampled)
1888-1967
13 / 1-3
Therapy brochures, notes, schedules (re message)
1958-1967, undated
13 / 4-5
The War and the Negro People by James W. Ford; miscellany
1941
Clippings
Box/Folder
13 / 6-7
Articles about Rose and Taylor Gordon; scrapbook
1893-1969
13 / 8
Sketches by Taylor Gordon
undated

Gordon Family Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
General Correspondence
Box/Folder
13 / 9
Anna Gordon (includes postcards from Taylor Gordon)
undated
14 / 1
George Washington Gordon, Jr. (includes letters from Robert, Rose, and Taylor Gordon)
1927-1948
14 / 2
John Francis Gordon Jr. (includes letters from Robert, Rose, and Taylor Gordon)
1951-1952
14 / 3
John Francis Gordon Sr. (includes letters from Anna Gordon)
1886-1900
14 / 4
Robert James Gordon (includes letters from Taylor, George, John, and Rose Gordon)
1899-1959, undated
Financial Records
Box/Folder
14 / 5
Anna Gordon bills and receipts
1888-1924
14 / 6
George Washington Gordon (miscellaneous bills, receipts, etc.)
1945, 1948
14 / 7
John Francis Gordon, Sr. (bills and receipts)
1889-1891
14 / 8
Robert James Gordon (bills and receipts, etc.)
1934-1968
14 / 9
Account book for household expenses, groceries, egg accounts (includes entries for Robert Gordon)
1926-1932
14 / 10
Egg accounts
1932
Legal Documents
Box/Folder
14 / 11
George Washington Gordon death certificate
1948
14 / 12
John Francis Gordon, Sr. bond and deed
1885
14 / 13
Robert James Gordon deed and will
1929, 1962
Miscellany
Box/Folder
14 / 14
Anna Gordon obituary
1924
14 / 15-16
George Washington Gordon Elk's Club materials; obituary, sympathy cards (sampled); etc.
1947-1948, undated
14 / 17
John Francis Gordon, Jr. baptism, masonic membership, etc.
1891, undated
14 / 18
Robert Francis Gordon baptism, license, publications, etc.
1891, 1950, undated
15 / 1
Robert James Gordon funeral book, obituaries
1962

Miscellany Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Miscellany
Box/Folder
15 / 2
Grayce Brewer Allen and Ruth Marea Brewer poems; musical program
undated
15 / 3
Maude Wild Crosby clippings
1927-1950, undated
15 / 4
Democratic County Convention minutes, clippings, lists announcements, etc.
1900
15 / 5
Florence Mining Company records (includes ore receipt and journal. See Vol. 1)
1890-1911
15 / 6
J. Rosamond Johnson music and book jacket
1920, undated
15 / 7-8
Meagher County history, brochures, clippings, etc.
1888-1955, undated
15 / 9
Ringling family materials (including clippings and circus script books)
1934-1950
15 / 10-11
Teacher's daily register books, White Sulphur Springs
1887-1895
15 / 12
Jessie Wellman correspondence
1891-1961
15 / 13
Jessie Wellman Correspondence
1927-1933
16 / 1
Jessie Wellman financial records
1911-1933
16 / 2
William Wellman papers (including correspondence, notebook, business materials)
1889-1929
16 / 3
White Sulphur Springs (re community events and businesses)
1898-1968, undated
16 / 4
C.H. and P.H. Hampton Willard correspondence
1942-1950
16 / 5-6
Wright family correspondence (includes Frank, Richard, and Mary "Mamie")
1905-1931
16 / 7
Charles Henry Wight correspondence
1915-1929, undated
16 / 8-10
Miscellaneous correspondence, poems etc.
1893-1970, undated
Clippings
Box/Folder
17 / 1-8
Racial issues, African Americans, Meagher County history, White Sulphur Springs, miscellany
1909-1970, undated
17 / 9
List of printed materials transferred to Library
18 / 1
Books, magazines, sheet music (some inscribed to Gordon Family)

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • African American Women--White Sulphur Springs (Mont.)
  • African Americans--White Sulphur Springs (Mont.)
  • Authors--White Sulphur Springs (Mont.).
  • Physical therapy--Montana
  • Teachers--White Sulphur Springs (Mont.)

Personal Names

  • Gordon, Taylor, 1893-1971 (creator)

Geographical Names

  • Meagher County (Mont.)
  • White Sulphur Springs (Mont.)
  • White Sulphur Springs (Mont.)--Buildings, structures etc.
  • White Sulphur Springs (Mont.)--Commerce
  • White Sulphur Springs (Mont.)--Social life lnd customs