Charles L. Dahler was born is Prussia on October 9, 1835 and his family emigrated to the United States in 1839. His father worked as a farmer in Missouri. After finishing school in Missouri, Dahler moved to Denver in 1858. In 1863, he went to Montana for the first time when he visited Bannack. He then returned to Denver and worked for the Overland Stage Company until he moved to Montana to stay in 1866. The same year he became partners with Warren Hussey and they opened the banking firm of Hussey, Dahler and Company with branches in Virginia City, Helena, and Salt Lake City. The Salt Lake City bank remained open until 1870 when it became the First National Bank. In 1872, Dahler assumed complete control of the banks. He later sold the Helena branch. The Virginia City bank remained open until 1879 when Dahler became interested in the gold mines of Silver Star. In addition to banking and mining, Dahler was also the County Commissioner at Virginia City for twelve years.
The Hussey, Dahler and Company Records contain papers concerning the bank and a few county records from Virginia City. Included in the banking records are a treasury note from the Helena branch and notes from the Virginia City branch paid to G. W. Woody, Murphy and Stephenson, and Donnell and Clark. The records also contain letters from Hartwell, Jurgens and Company, A. H. Mallory, and the First National Bank at Salt Lake City. Other letters concerning freight rates, shipment of bullion, bills, and an evaluation of an assay are also included. Two letters from D. L. Largey, one to Dahler and another to order caps for iron rods, are also in the records. The County Commissioner records include information about Alex Metzel, George H. Clark, and Donnell Lawson and Company.
This collection is open for research.
Hussey, Dahler and Company Records were originally donated with Collection 2245, the Merrill G. Burlingame Papers, in 1994 and was accessioned as a separate collection in 1999 due to a processing oversight. Two additional documents, dated December 2, 1872 and December 11, 1872, were purchased from Western Americana Paper, Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 4, 2004.
This collection was processed 2009 April 21