Charles W. Baker diary, 1864-1868
Table of Contents
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Baker, Charles W., active 1864-1868
- Title
- Charles W. Baker diary
- Dates
- 1864-1868 (inclusive)18641868
- Quantity
- 1 item
- Collection Number
- 1119
- Summary
- Charles W. Baker was an Illinois schoolteacher who lived in Virginia City, Montana Territory, from 1864 to 1867, before returning east to Illinois and then Missouri. The Charles W. Baker diary contains terse daily entries describing the overland journey to Montana Territory in 1864. Details include incidents along the Bozeman Road and Bridger's Cutoff; life in Virginia City, Montana Territory; mining and social activities; and the return trip east by way of Fort Benton and the Missouri River.
- Repository
- Montana State University Library, Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections
Montana State University-Bozeman Library
Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections
P.O. Box 173320
Bozeman, MT
59717-3320
Telephone: 4069944242
Fax: 4069942851 - Access Restrictions
-
This collection is open for research.
- Languages
- Collection materials are in English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities
Historical Note
Charles W. Baker was a schoolteacher from Polo, Illinois, who decided to emigrate to Montana Territory in 1864. Leaving Polo on April 21, Baker embarked with several others, likely including his brother Joseph T. Baker. The overland party followed the Platte River route to Fort Laramie and then north along the Bozeman Road and Bridger Cutoff. Initially settling in the Virginia City area of the new Montana Territory, Baker engaged in mining until he returned east in 1867 by way of the Missouri River. He married Lydia Windle of Polo, Illinois, in February 1868 and the couple and son Morris Jasper Baker later made their home in Missouri. Baker died January 25, 1923 in Packard Cemetery in Cameron, Missouri.
Content Description
The Charles W. Baker diary records terse daily entries describing the overland journey to Montana Territory in 1864. Details include incidents along the Bozeman Road and Bridger's Cutoff; life in Virginia City, Montana Territory; mining and social activities; and the return trip east by way of Fort Benton and the Missouri River. Also included are transcriptions from financial account books kept by Baker during his years in Montana. The collection consists of a mimeographed, typed transcription of originals. A title page reads "Westward Ho! In 1864, Diary of Charles W. Baker, April 21 1864-Sept. 1867, Trip via Covered Wagon & Mules to Virginia City, Montana from Polo, Illinois."
Use of the Collection
Preferred Citation
[Creator Name], [Date of Creation], [Brief Description of Object], Folder [#], Box [#], [Collection Name], [Collection #], Montana State University (MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Mimeographed typed transcript of the Charles W. Baker diary was donated to Special Collections by Della Mae Jacobs of Cabool, Missouri, on April 25, 1975.
Processing Note
This collection was processed 2009 March 4
Location of Originals
Originals remained in the possession of the Marvin Jacobs family of Cabool, Missouri; the Howard Prather family of Liberty, Missouri; the John T. Baker family of Cameron, Missouri; and the Charles W. Baker family of Northridge, California. Their present location is unknown.
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Bozeman Trail
- Fort Benton (Fort Benton, Mont. : Fort)
- Frontier and pioneer life
- Miners--Montana--Virginia City--Diaries
- Mines and Mineral Resources--Montana--Virginia City (Mont.)
- Social life and customs
Geographical Names
- Bozeman (Mont.)
- Montana
- Virginia City (Mont.)--Social life and customs
- West (U.S.)--Description and travel
Form or Genre Terms
- Diaries
- Diaries
- Diaries--Montana--Virginia City
