Michael Dennis Flynn Senior immigrated to the United States from County Roscommon, Ireland in 1859. Flynn Sr. and his wife, Catherine Hogan Flynn, landed in the Missoula Valley in western Montana on July 4, 1872 where they eventually purchased land that became the Flynn Ranch. They maintained the ranch with the help of their seven children (listed by age, oldest to youngest): Bridget Ellen "Nellie", Bernard Joseph, Phillip Francis, John Julian, Michael Dennis Junior, James Jacob, and Dennis Francis. On the ranch, the Flynns raised grain, hay, horses, cattle, and sugar beets. Flynn Sr. dug the Hellgate Valley Irrigation Ditch with the help of his friend Con Lowney and a horse-drawn slip scraper. By the time Flynn Sr. died in 1910, the ranch was 1,374 acres, and generations of Flynn family members worked and maintained the ranch into the 21st century. Catherine Hogan Flynn died in 1925, fifteen years after her husband.
Although the Flynn family history begins in Missoula with farming, grandson of Flynn Sr., George Elmer Flynn, pursued a joint career in ranching as well as politics. George Elmer was born in January of 1919 to John Julian Flynn and Mary Helterline Flynn, and married Mary Alice Ahern in 1939. George Elmer Flynn served as a democrat in the Montana House of Representatives from 1963 to 1966, and served in the Montana State Senate from 1967 to 1978. George Elmer Flynn died on December 25, 1995 in Missoula, Montana.
This collection contains ledgers, photographs, documents, newspaper clippings, and other assorted ephemera associated with the Flynn family, and the Flynn Ranch in Missoula, Montana, from 1882-1995.
Materials in this collection have been arranged in three series:
Series I: Financial Ledgers, 1882-1948, 0.8 linear feet
Series II: Photograph Albums, circa 1930s-1940s, 0.4 linear feet
Series III: George Elmer Flynn Papers, 1962-1995, 0.6 linear feet
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana-Missoula.
Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Non-exclusive intellectual property rights are held by the University of Montana.
Flynn Family Papers, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.
Materials in this collection were held by the Flynn Family until their donation to the University of Montana Archives and Special Collections.
This collection was donated to Archives and Special Collections by Colleen Flynn McKinley, daughter of George Elmer Flynn and Mary Ahern Flynn.
Materials in this collection were organized into series and foldered during processing.
The University of Montana holds the
The University of Montana's Archives and Special Collections holds the
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
This series contains nine financial ledgers from the Flynn Ranch, and Bridget Ellen’s personal financial ledger from 1885-1886. The ledger accounts include well-known Missoula businesses and businessmen, such as Hammond, Higgins, Worden, the Missoula Mercantile, and the Garden City Brewery.
Materials in this series are arranged chronologically. When loose ephemera was found in a ledger it was placed in an associated folder.
Ledger maintained by Michael D. Flynn Jr.
Ledger maintained by Bridget Ellen "Nellie" Flynn
Ledger maintained by Michael D. Flynn Jr.
Removed from Flynn Ranch Ledger 1901-1921
Ledger maintained by Michael D. Flynn Jr.
Donor titled this ledger "Flynn Family Ditch"
Removed from Flynn Ranch Ledger 1903-1913
Ledger maintained by James Flynn
Removed from Flynn Ranch Ledger 1918-1948
This series contains three photograph albums of the Flynn family, life on the ranch, hunting trips, and Montana wildlife and landscapes.
Albums in this series are arranged chronologically.
Includes photographs from life on the ranch and the Hellgate Track Team.
Album created by John Bernard “Pius” Flynn, son of John Julian Flynn
Album created by John Bernard “Pius” Flynn, son of John Julian Flynn
Included in this series are two scrapbooks containing newspapers clippings and photographs from George Elmer Flynn’s career in politics, both as a democrat in the Montana House of Representatives and the Montana State Senate. Also included are documents related to improving the Hellgate school in the 1970s, and copies of correspondence determining Fort Missoula’s land ownership since 1880.
Materials in this series are arranged chronologically.
Includes one map of Fort Missoula area, and copies of documents from 1878-1972.