MZF0785.xml Guide to the Smith-Mendenhall Family Papers 1858-1902 Smith-Mendenhall Family Papers Kim Allen Scott, 2009. Updated by Heather Mulliner, 2024. Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities Montana State University Library, Archives and Special Collections, Manuscript Collections 2024

P.O. Box 173320, Centennial Mall Montana State University Bozeman, MT 59717

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-08-12. Finding aid written in English Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition. Montana State University Library, Archives and Special Collections, Manuscript Collections Smith-Mendenhall Family papers 0785 0.8 linear feet 2 boxes 1858-1954 The Smith-Mendenhall Family Papers consist of the pre-Civil War business papers of Robert Henry Smith; Civil War letters written by Smith to his wife from 1861-1863; correspondence of the Mendenhall family including letters written by Mary Susan to her husband and son; deeds and legal documents pertaining to the Mendenhall and Lamme families; and a positive photocopy of a scrapbook kept by Mary Susan Mendenhall. Collection materials are in English

Robert Henry Smith was a Missouri resident who served in the Confederate States Army. He participated in the early settlement of Kansas during the 1850s before finally moving to St. Joseph, Missouri around 1858. On June 9 of that year he married Mary Susan Oliver (1838-1933) and the couple had a son, Harry L. Smith on January 13, 1861. Smith enlisted later that year and served with Missouri troops under the command of Major General Sterling Price. He participated in the battle of Lexington, Missouri, and accompanied the southern army on their withdrawal to the southwestern portion of the state that winter. He may have left the army during the spring of 1862 but by August he was a prisoner of the Union forces in St. Louis. By December he had rejoined the Confederate army in Arkansas and was appointed quartermaster under Brigadier General John Sappington Marmaduke with the rank of major. He participated in the battles of Cane Hill, Prairie Grove, and Helena, Arkansas while serving with Marmaduke. While manning a gun at the battle of Helena, Robert Henry Smith was killed by enemy fire. Mary Susan Smith remained in St. Joseph with her son until 1869 when she moved to Montana Territory to join her sister and brother-in-law, Dr. and Mrs. Achilles Lamme. All eventually settled in Bozeman where, in 1870, Mary Susan married John S. Mendenhall, Dr. Lamme's business partner in a Bozeman general mercantile establishment. The couple later had one son, Samuel A. Mendenhall, before John Mendenhall's death in 1896. Mary Susan Mendenhall died in 1933 at the age of 95.

The Smith-Mendenhall family papers consist of correspondence, deeds, scrapbooks, and photographs created by the Smith, Mendenhall, and Lamme families. Correspondence includes the pre-Civil War business papers of Robert Henry Smith; Civil War letters written by Smith to his wife from 1861-1863; correspondence of the Mendenhall family including letters written by Mary Susan to her husband and son; deeds and legal documents pertaining to the Mendenhall and Lamme families; positive photocopy of a scrapbook kept by Mary Susan Mendenhall. The letters contained in the collection have been calendared.

The original copy of Mary Susan Mendenhall's scrapbook is contained in box 2 of the collection along with a 1937 photo album of a summer trip to Yellowstone National Park created by Adelae Hanson and a reminiscence written by Leah Morris Mendenhall. Also included with these materials is a portarit of Ah Tie and his wife Dou Luay Tie taken in 1903, who both immigrated from China and worked for the Morris family.

This collection is open for research.

Letters, business papers, and legal documents collected or created by members of the Smith-Mendenhall families were deposited with Special Collections by Robert Orton and Mary Ellen Smith of Bozeman, Montana in November, 1969 and donated on October 6, 1997. Letters and business papers of Robert Henry Smith were saved by his widow, Mary Susan, following his death in 1863. To these papers were added letters and legal documents pertaining to her second husband, John S. Mendenhall. The papers were passed on to Henry Smith, Mary Susan's first son, and finally to Robert Orton Smith who placed them with Special Collections. These materials are all in box one.

Scrapbooks, reminiscence, and portrait in box two were donated by Sue Smith as executor of the Mary Ellen Smith Estate along with her brother, Gregory Orton Smith, May 17, 2023.

Items in box one were processed 2009 February 12. Items in box 2 were incorporated into the collection in 2024.

[Creator Name], [Date of Creation], [Brief Description of Object], Folder [#], Box [#], [Collection Name], [Collection #], Montana State University (MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT

Marmaduke, John Sappington, 1833-1887--Correspondence Mendenhall, John S., 1835- Mendenhall, Mary Susan Smith, Robert Henry, d. 1863 Lamm family Mendenhall family Smith family Lamme family Mendenhall family Smith family United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives Montana Chinese--Montana--Madison County (Mont.) Home and Family Military Montana Family papers--Montana Pre-Civil War business papers 1857-1859 1 1 Deed for a slave from Joseph B. Smith (father) 1 1857 July Deed to land in Kansas Territory 2 1857 August Statement about a preemption claim to land in Kansas Territory 3 1857 November Statement about a preemption claim to land in Kansas Territory 4 1857 November Account statements for sister Mary F. Smith--collegiate course expenses 5 1857 November - 1859 Account statements for sister Mary F. Smith--collegiate course expenses 6 1857 November - 1859 Promissory note 7 1857 August County signer on a promissory note 8 1857 March Receipt for payment for boots 9 1857 January Pre-Civil War business papers 1858-1859 1 2 Open Deed for a lot in St. Joseph, MO 1 1858 February List of household goods sent by Wm. N. Oliver to his newly married daughter 2 1858 November Receipt for school expenses paid for Mary F. Smith 3 1858 January Receipt for clothing 4 1858 March Open Receipt for J.H. Crane 5 1859 January - 1859 February Bill for clothing 6 1859 January Receipt for groceries 7 1859 February - 1859 November Promissory note 8 1859 May 31 Receipt for clothing 9 1859 June Lease on a house in St. Joseph, MO 10 1859 July Indenture on a cemetery location near St. Joseph, MO 11 1859 August Receipt for payment to F. Clark 12 1859 August Rent paid 13 1859 January Rent receipt 14 1859 February Rent receipt 15 1859 April Promissory note held by Mr. Smith 16 1859 April Rent receipt 17 1859 June 20 Pre-Civil War business papers 1860-1861 1 3 Promissory note to Smith 1 1860 January Deed for a house and lot in Roanoke Co. 2 1860 March Promissory note to Smith from Wm. N. Oliver 3 1860 June 5 Lease on a house in St. Joseph, MO. 4 1860 July Receipt of payment for boots 5 1860 February Promissory note signed by Smith 6 1860 May 31 Receipt for collars purchase 7 1860 May Promissory note signed by RHS 8 1860 June 2 Payment to Blackeman 9 1860 June Promissory note due 10 1860 July Receipt for purchase of a saddle horse 11 1860 November Open List of accounts to collect 13 1861 January Letter explaining the transaction above 14 1861 January Accounts collected 15 1861 February Promissory note due to 16 1861 January Notice to pay promissory note 17 1861 January Notice to pay promissory note 18 1861 February Civil War letters, RHS to MSS at St. Joseph 1861-1862 1 4 [author unknown to MSS] De Kalb, MO 1 March 23, 1855 [Southwest Missouri] 2 1861 October 12 [Southwest Missouri] 3 circa 1861 October St. Claire County, MO, "Camp on Salk River" 4 1861 November 26 Springfield, MO 5 1862 January 4 Springfield, MO 6 1862 January 27 McDowell College Prison, St. Louis, MO 7 1862 August 3 Camp Dripping Springs, AR 8 1862 December 3 Civil War letters, RHS to MSS at St. Joseph 1863 1 5 Wright County, MO 1 1863 January 12 Batesville, AR 2 1863 January 24 Batesville, AR 3 1863 February 22 Up. Black River, AR 4 1863 February 23 Head Quarters, Quarter Master 5 1863 March 11 Jacksonport, AR 6 1863 May 30 Jacksonport, AR 7 1863 May 31 [undated fragment, possibly continuation of above] 8 Little Rock, AR 9 1863 June 15 Jacksonport, AR 10 1863 June 20 Near Helena, AR 11 1863 July 3 [undated fragment, written from Arkansas] 12 Civil War letters from others to SHS at St. Joseph 1863 1 6 Letter, General John S. Marmaduke, camp near Helena, AR, to Mary Susan Smith, St. Joseph, MO 1 1863 July 6 Letter, A.W. Slayback, near Helena, AR, to Mary Susan Smith, St. Joseph, MO 2 1863 July 6 Letter, Charlie F., St. Joseph, MO, to Mary Susan Smith, St. Joseph, MO 3 1863 July 14 Receipt from O.C. Raimiaten for money, and articles sold for R.H. Smith's estate 4 1863 September 21 Receipt for $1200 in C.S. and Missouri State Bonds and a title bond from D.M. McDonald 5 1863 June 8 Newspaper clipping, Marmaduke and Slayback letters 6 Robert Henry Smith's Civil War account book with added notations from Col. A. W. Slayback explaining the settlement of his military estate and the circumstances of his death after he was killed on 1863 July 4 1 7 Six envelopes, one with lock of RHS's hair; Typed transcripts of selected letters, the account book, and a description of the death of Robert H. Smith published as part of a larger article in "The Inland Monthly" of St. Louis, MO., v. 5, n. 1, pp. 1-14 1 8 Mendenhall family letters 1858-1873 1 9 John Mendenhall to Jack, Ft. Larami[e], N.T. 1 1858 September 30 Achilles Lamme to Mary Susan Oliver, [St. Joseph, MO] 2 circa 1858 Hervey Oliver to Mary Susan Smith, North Garden, Virginia 3 1869 April 13 Harvey Oliver to "Dear Nephew", North Garden, Virginia 4 1869 May 12 Fannie [Oliver?] to Mary Susan Smith, [St. Joseph, MO] 5 1869 May 23 "Friend Lizzie" to Mary Susan Smith, [St. Joseph, MO] 6 1869 November 3 Harvey Oliver to Mary Susan Mendenhall, Bozeman, MT, North Garden, Virginia 7 1873 January 6 Mendenhall family letters 1 10 Mary Susan Mendenhall to John Mendenhall, Custer County, MT, Bozeman, MT 1 1878 May 23 Mary Susan Mendenhall to John Mendenhall, Custer County, MT, Bozeman, MT 2 1878 June 6 Mary Susan Mendenhall, Bozeman to John Mendenhall, Custer County, MT, MT 3 1878 June 13 Mary Susan Mendenhall to John Mendenhall, Yellowstone Freight depot, Camp Bertie, MT, Bozeman, MT 4 1878 July 11 Mary Susan Mendenhall to Harry L. Smith, with Belknap Cattle Herd at Benson's Landing and at Crow Agency, Bozeman, MT 5 1880 August 6 Mary Susan Mendenhall to Harry L. Smith, with Belknap Cattle Herd at Benson's Landing and at Crow Agency, Bozeman, MT 6 1880 August 9 Other Mendenhall family papers 1 11 Eight envelopes 1 A. Lamme and Co. letterhead paper with J.S. Mendenhall and J.L. Harlowe, Bozeman 2 1880 August 21 Receipt signed by A. Lamme to Charles Pierce for money to buy a wagon to be shipped via Ft. Benton 3 Abstract of title for lots 16, 17 and 18 in Bozeman, owned by Mendenhall and Smith 1 12 Deeds 1865-1902 1 13 Deed, James E. Burch to John S. Mendenhall 1 1865 R.S. Crowford to John H. Mendenhall 2 1870 John S. Noble to Wm. H. Tracy 3 1870 Wm. H. Tracy and Sarah Jane Tracy to A. Lamme 4 1871 Nelson Story and Ellen Story to A. Lamme 5 1871 John S. Noble to Samuel W. Langhorne 6 1871 S.W. Langhorne to A. Lamme 7 1877 Wm. H. Tracy to James Flemmings 8 1880 Achilles Lamme to John S. Mendenhall 9 1888 O.P. Moore to John S. Mendenhall 10 1888 Joseph M. Wells and Martha A. Wells to Mary Susan Mendenhall, S.A. Mendenhall, and Harry L. Smith 11 1898 Mary Susan Mendenhall to Robert M. Esgar 12 1900 Northern Pacific Railroad to John Y. Ferguson 13 1898 Mary Susan Mendenhall to John Y. Ferguson 14 1902 Merrit Connell and Nannie D. Connell to John Y. Ferguson 15 Notebooks 1872-1902 1 14 Small notebook labeled "abstract of voucher, agency" with prices of commodities 1 1872 Pocket ledger with accounts which could have been used to keep records on the building of a home 2 1901-1902 Xerox copies of biographical clippings in the Smith-Mendenhall family scrapbook kept by Mary Susan Mendenhall 1 15 Mary Ellen "Dolly" Smith Correspondence with MSU Library and Museum of the Rockies 1971-2005 1 16 Adelae Hansen and Eli Doyra Yellowstone Park Summer scrapbook 1937-1938 2 1 Mary Susan Mendenhall scrapbook 1904-1936 2 2 Leah Morris Mendenhall reminiscence 1958 April 12 2 1

The Leah Morris Mendenhall reminiscence describes her childhood growing up in Pony, Montana. In her reminiscence she describes her memories of the family's cook, Neap Gang Quong, a young Chinese man who came to work for the Morris family after their long-time cook Ah Tie left for San Francisco to get married.

Leah Morris Mendenhall was born in Virginia City, Montana in 1876. She was the daughter of prominient buisnessman William Warder Morris. She married Samuel A. Mendenhall in 1908. The couple resided in Pony where Samuel worked in mining and later moved to Bozeman. She died in Bozeman in 1962 at the age of 86.

Newspaper Clipping in Medford Daily Tribune regarding the Sale of the Hopkins Orchard 2 2 Portrait of Ah Tie and Wife Dou Luay Tie 1903 2 3

Ah Tie (circa 1850 - 1909) immigrated to the United States from China around 1876. He worked as a cook and servant for the family of W.W. Morris of Virginia City, Montana for nearly 27 years and also engaged in independent buisness ventures. At the time of his death in 1909, he owned several properties in Virginia City and Pony.

Ah Tie married Dou Luay Tie in San Francisco in 1897. The couple had no children. Ah Tie died of pneumonia in 1909 at the age of 59.

His name has been alternately spelled Chong Ah Tie and Ting Ah Tigh in various sources, although it has been most frequently spelled Ah Tie in regional Montana newspapers.