Montana State University Library, Merrill G. Burlingame
Special Collections
P.O. Box 173320
Bozeman, MT 59717-3320
United States
Phone (406) 994-4242
Fax (406) 994-2851
http://www.lib.montana.edu/archives/
University Archivist
spcoll@www.lib.montana.edu
Collection 408, MtBC, us
Newman, Orson N.,
1835-1921
Orson N. Newman Papers
1879-1920
.2 linear feet
The Orson N. Newman Papers consists of positive photocopies
and typed transcriptions of two diaries kept by Orson Newman in 1879 and 1884 which discuss
daily life and farming operations in Coulson, Montana Territory; positive photocopy of an
account book listing garden truck sold to W.A. Perry, purchasing agent for the Northern
Pacific during its construction; 27 copy photographs of: the Newman and Scott families and
their residences in the Billings area; Scott business buildings in Billings and a Billings
street scene, circa 1900-1920.
Collection materials are in English
Biographical Note
Orson Nixon Newman (1835-1921) was born in Orleans County, New York. After completing his
education he settled in Michigan where he operated a lumbering business. In 1863, he arrived
in Bannack, Montana Territory where he worked briefly in mining before taking up farming in
the Madison Valley. He and his family left for California in 1869 and then returned to
Montana in 1875 where they lived briefly in Gallatin County. The Newman family moved again
in 1878 to Coulson in the Yellowstone Valley and again took up farming. The location of
their farm was about two and one half miles from the depot at Billings, and during the 1880s
they sold garden truck to W.A. Perry, the purchasing agent for the newly constructed
Northern Pacific railway. The Newman farm was near a ford on the river and many Indians
camped near the area as a result. In this context, Orson met Plenty Coups with whom he
maintained a long friendship. In 1858 Newman married Elizabeth Matilda Tripp and the couple
had 11 children: Burton Lyon; Asa Dow; Edwin M.; William Marvin; Albert Alonzo; Charles
Henry; Abe Benton; Sarah Jane, and Mary A. Newman. Mary married William J. Scott, an early
resident of Billings and the owner of several businesses in the city during the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Their son, William N. Scott, is the donor of these
papers.
Positive photocopies and typed transcriptions of two diaries kept by Orson Newman in 1879
and 1884 which discuss daily life and farming operations in Coulson, Montana Territory;
positive photocopy of an account book listing garden truck sold to W.A. Perry, purchasing
agent for the Northern Pacific during its construction; 27 copy photographs of: the Newman
and Scott families and their residences in the Billings area; Scott business buildings in
Billings and a Billings street scene, circa 1900-1920. Included are images of Scott family
friends C.M. Bair and Fred Hawthorn. None of the photographs are dated but all were taken in
the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
This collection is open for research.
Original diaries, papers, and photographs created or collected by Orson N. Newman were
loaned to Special Collections for copying by William N. Scott of Billings, Montana in
1966.
This collection was processed 2009 February 6
Blair, C.
M-Photographs
Hawthorn,
Fred-Photographs
Perry, W. A
Newman family-Photograph
collections
Scott family-Photograph
collections
Northern Pacific Railroad
Company
Billings
(Mont.)-Photographs
Coulson (Mont.)
Commercial
buildings-Montana-Billings-Photographs
Dwellings-Montana-Billings-Photographs
Farm life-Montana-Coulson
Farm produce-Montana-Coulson
Diaries-Montana-Coulson
Personal papers-Montana-Coulson
Photographs-Montana-Billings
Account books-Montana-Coulson
Farmers-Montana-Coulson
Home and
Family
Railroads
Montana
Billings
Photographs
1/1
Diary
1879
1/2
Diary transcript
1879
1/3
Diary
1884
1/4
Diary transcript
1884
1/5
Account book
1883
1/6
Photographs #1-10, Newman family
#1
Orson N. Newman
#2
Elizabeth Tripp Newman
#3
Asa Dow Newman
#4
Edwin Newman
#5
William Marvin Newman
#6
Albert Alonzo Newman
#7
Charles Henry Newman
#8
Abe Benton Newman
#9
Sarah Jane Newman and Henry Clay McKinsey
#10
Orson, Hiram A., and Albert E. Newman
1/7
Photographs #11-20, Newman and Scott Family
#11
Newman family at Coulson farm
#12
Newman family at Yellowstone River ford
#13
Edwin and Amy Newman
#14
Mary McKinsey (Thompson) Newman
#15
William J. Scott
#16
William J. Scott with parents and brothers
#17
Scott home in Canada
#18
Mary Newman Scott posing with horse
#19
William, Mary, Orson, and Elizabeth Newman on
horseback
#20
William J. Scott in front of his storage business,
Billings
1/8
Photographs #21-27, Scott photographs
#21
Hunting elk on rimrock with C.M. Bair and Fred
Hawthorn
#22
C.M. Bair, Fred Hawthorn, and W.J. Scott in
automobile
#23
Orson Newman, Major Pease and others in
automobile
#24
William J. Scott home in Billings
#25
Erikson and Scott steam laundry in Billings; W.J.
Scott posing in front with delivery wagon
#26
Shorey and Scott storage building,
Billings
#27
Billings street scene
1/9
Negatives for photos 1-27