Montana Historical Society
Archives
MC 230
Browning Mercantile Company
(Browning, Mont.)
Browning Mercantile Company records
1907-1927
5.5 linear feet of shelf space
The Browning Mercantile Company was a Browning, Montana,
general mercantile firm founded by Thaddeus E. Scriver and Horace C. Willits. Records
(1907-1927) include general correspondence (1914-1927), cash books, daybooks, trial balance
books, ledgers, and miscellany.
12:6-1
146:4-2 (volume)
English
Historical Note:
The Browning Mercantile Company was founded in 1907 by Thaddeus E. Scriver and Horace C.
Willits under the name Willits and Scriver. In December 1913 the company was incorporated as
the Browning Mercantile Company. Thaddeus Emery Scriver was born in Clarenceville, in the
province of Quebec, Canada, on November 17, 1879, the son of James and Mary Scriver. He
attended the Royal Military Academy in Toronto and Stanstead Commercial College. He then
enlisted as a bugler in the Sixth Hussars under Major George H. MacFie. Following his
military service, he began working for the Minneapolis Journal. There he met J.H. Sherburne
who invited him to work for his newly established Sherburne Mercantile Company at the
Blackfeet Indian Agency in Browning, Montana. In 1907 Scriver opened his own store with
Horace C. Willits. The store served as the official trader for the Blackfeet Reservation and
as a general mercantile. Thaddeus Scriver married Ellison Westgarth MacFie, daughter of his
former regimental commander, in 1911. They had two sons Harold Scriver and Robert Scriver.
Thaddeus was a mason and an active sportsman. He died August 14, 1971. Horace C. Willits was
partner with Thaddeus E. Scriver in their mercantile business from 1907 to 1925 and was vice
president of the Stockmen's State Bank in Browning. Around 1925 he moved to South Bay,
Florida, where he worked for two years for the South Shore Transportation Company before
setting up his own business.
Records include general correspondence (1914-1916, 1919-1927) with a variety of
wholesalers, fur traders, automobile supply houses, and customers. Many of the suppliers'
letters enclose brochures, price lists, and other materials documenting fashions and
products of the period. In addition there are financial records including orders (1915,
1927) for goods, mostly scribbled on small scraps of paper; cash books (1909-1924), and
ledgers (1907-1917). legal documents (1916-1926); court papers (1914-1927); and
miscellany.
Arranged by series. Some material housed in Manuscript Volume.
Collection open for research.
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical
Society. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection.
In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright
owners. For more information contact an archivist.
Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers.
Montana Historical Society Research Center, Archives, Helena, Montana.
Acquisition information available upon request
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Montana Historical Society
Archives catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places
should search under these terms.
Browning Mercantile Company
(Browning, Mont.)
Browning (Mont.)--commerce
Glacier County (Mont.)--commerce
Baseball--Montana
Blackfeet Indians--Montana
Public welfare--Montana
Retail trade--Montana
General stores--Montana
Montana
Business, Industry, and Labor
City and Town Life
Native Americans
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection
Financial Records
1
Cash book
1919 July- 1920 December
General Correspondence
1 / 1
W.M. Adams
1920-1926
1 / 2
E. Albrecht and Son (St. Paul fur dealers)
1920-1924
1 / 3
A
1914-1927
1 / 4
Baker, Heyne and Company (Chicago livestock
commission)
1927
1 / 5
Blackfeet Agency (mostly re merchandise orders)
1914-1927
1 / 6
Blackfeet Irrigation Project
1927
1 / 7
George Blinn (Washoe, Bear Creek, and Lochray coal
dealer)
1916-1923
1 / 8
Browning School District #9
1916-1927
1 / 9
M.S. Bush (Cut Bank jeweler)
1915-1916, 1926
1 / 10
Ba-Bj
1914-1927
1 / 11
Bl-By
1914-1927
1 / 12
Cascade Milling and Elevator Company
1916-1926
1 / 13
E.C. Clapper Garage (Cut Bank Ford dealer)
1920-1925
1 / 14
Collins Brokerage Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
1919
1 / 15
J.B. Colt Company (New York City carbide lamp and
generator manufacturer)
1922
1 / 16
Columbia Graphophone Company / Columbia Phonograph
Company
1915-1916
1 / 17
Continental Oil Company
1913-1927
1 / 18
Crosley Radio Corporation (Cincinnati, Ohio)
1926-1927
1 / 19
Curtis 1000 St. Paul, Inc. (office stationery)
1920-1927
1 / 20
Ca-Cl
1914-1927
1 / 21
Co-Cu
1914-1927
1 / 22
D
1914-1927
1 / 23
Eddy's Steam Bakery / Eddy's Bakery (Great Falls)
1920-1927
1 / 24
E
1914-1927
1 / 25
John V. Farwell Company (Chicago fur and merchandise
dealer); Farwell, Ozmun, Kirk and Company, St. Paul (wholesale hardware dealer)
1915-1927
1 / 26
First National Bank of Harlem (enclosing checks for
credit)
1914
2 / 1-2
First National Bank of Harlem (enclosing checks for
credit)
1915-1916
2 / 3
First National Bank of Kalispell
1915-1927
2 / 4
Flathead Commercial Company; Flathead Merchants'
Association; Flathead Wholesale Company
1914-1927
2 / 5
Foley Bros. and Kelly / Foley Bros. and Quinlan /
Foley Bros. Grocery Company, St. Paul and Great Falls
1914-1922
2 / 6
Foot and Foot, Kalispell attorneys C.H. Foot and E.B.
Foot
1923-1926
2 / 7
F
1914-1927
2 / 8
Glacier County government
1920-1927
2 / 9
Glacier County Abstract Company / Van Demark Abstract
Company
1920-1927
2 / 10
Glacier Park Hotel Company (includes R.D. Choquette,
H.A. Noble, Charles Mankenberg, Mrs. Barney McDermott, Mrs. J.C. Graves, and
"Margaret")
1916-1925, undated
2 / 11
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company / Goodyear Rubber
Company
1914-1927
2 / 12
Gordon and Furguson (St. Paul fur and skin dealers)
1914-1927
2 / 13
Great Falls Drug Company; Great Falls Meat Company;
Great Falls Paper Company; Great Falls Tribune, et al.
1914-1927
2 / 14
Great Northern Express Company; Great Northern
Railway Company
1914-1923
2 / 15
Great Western Monument and Granite Works (Miles City
tombstone manufacturer)
1916
2 / 16
G
1914-1927
2 / 17
Hackett, Gates, Hurty Company (St. Paul wholesale
hardware dealer)
1920-1927
2 / 18
Hamilton-Brown Shoe Company (St. Louis and Boston)
1915-1927
2 / 19
Hardware Dealers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company of
Wisconsin / Hardware Mutual Casualty Company
1924-1926
2 / 20
Mark G. Harris and Company (Chicago tailors)
1914-1923
2 / 21
W.R. Hogsed
1923
2 / 22
Holy Family Mission / Ursaline Convent (includes
Alexander A. Anderson, Thomas Grant, James G. Old, and Sister M. Eulaline)
1916-1926
3 / 1
H
1914-1927
3 / 2
I
1916-1927
3 / 3
Jackson and Neff (Shelbyville, Missouri, horse
dealers)
1921-1922
3 / 4
Janney, Semple, Hill and Company (Minneapolis
wholesale hardware dealers)
1920-1923
3 / 5
J
1914-1927
3 / 6
Kalispell Flour Mills Company
1914-1927
3 / 7
Kalispell Mercantile Company
1914-1927
3 / 8
Kelly-How-Thomson Company (Duluth wholesale hardware
dealer)
1915-1926
3 / 9
Kirk Brothers (Gallup, N. M., Navaho rug dealers)
1921-1926
3 / 10
Kranz, the House of Flowers (Great Falls)
1920-1923
3 / 11
K
1914-1927
3 / 12
Lindsay Fruit Company / Lindsay Great Falls Company /
Lindsay-Kalispell Company
1915-1926
3 / 13
L
1914-1927
3 / 14
Marshall-Wells Hardware Company / Marshall-Wells
Company (Duluth)
1914-1927
3 / 15
McCaull-Dinsmore Company (Minneapolis wholesale grain
dealer)
1920-1921
3 / 16
Miller and Holmes (St. Paul wholesale produce dealer)
1916-1926
3 / 17
Mitchell Lewis Motor Company (Racine, Wisc.)
1914-1916
3 / 18
Montana Development Association (includes minutes of
organizational meeting, preamble, newsletters, membership card)
1919-1920
3 / 19
Montana Flour Mills Company
1924-1927
3 / 20
Montana State Highway Commission
1923-1926
3 / 21
Montana (other state agencies)
1914-1927
3 / 22
Ma-Mi
1914-1927
3 / 23
Mo-My
1914-1927
3 / 24
Nash Spokane Company (wholesale produce dealer)
1920-1923
3 / 25
Neustadter Brothers (Portland mens' furnishings
dealer)
1914-1927
3 / 26
Northern Montana Association of Credit Men
1921, 1925
3 / 27
Northern Montana Development Association (re
Roosevelt Highway guide book)
1920
4 / 1
N
1914-1927
4 / 2
Oskamp Nolting Company (Cincinnati jewelers)
1915-1925
4 / 3
O
1914-1927
4 / 4
Pacific Bone, Coal and Fertilizing Company (re
shipment of bones)
1915-1916
4 / 5
F.A. Patrick and Company (Duluth wholesale dry goods
dealer)
1914-1924
4 / 6
P.A. Peterson (includes 1925 Legislature, Troy
Chamber of Commerce, Troy Commercial Company, H.C. Willits)
1920-1927
4 / 7
P-Q
1914-1927
4 / 8
Racine Woolen Manufacturing Company
1915-1923
4 / 9
Radio-Auto Supply, Inc. (Great Falls and Havre)
1925-1927
4 / 10
Retail Merchants Association of Montana
1920-1923, undated
4 / 11
D. Claude Roberts (re Indian moccasins)
1916
4 / 12
Roberts, Johnson and Rand (St. Louis shoe dealers)
1920-1923
4 / 13
Ryan Fruit Company / Ryan-Havre Company (wholesale
grocers)
1923-1927
4 / 14
R
1914-1927
4 / 15
P.H. Schaefer (Great Falls jeweler)
1914
4 / 16
A. Schilling and Company (San Francisco coffee and
tea dealer)
1914-1926
4 / 17
H.J. Shinn and Company (Spokane fruit and produce
dealer)
1914-1916
4 / 18
Roy H. Smith (Ft. Defiance, Ariz.)
1921
4 / 19
H.P. Stanford (Kalispell taxidermist)
1915-1917, 1924
4 / 20
James Stone; J.M. Stone; J.W. Stone
1925-1927
4 / 21
Stone-Ordean-Wells Company (Great Falls importers and
jobbers)
1915-1926
4 / 22
Suhr Fruit Company (Great Falls)
1921-1927
4 / 23
Sa-Sh
1914-1927
4 / 24
Si-Sw
1914-1927
4 / 25
J.L. Taylor (Chicago merchant tailors)
1924-1926
4 / 26
Terrell's Aquatic Farm, "Natural Foods for Attracting
Wild Ducks" (Oshkosh, Wisc.)
1923
4 / 27
Mary V. Telstad; Merton Telstad
1926
4 / 28
Teton County government
1914-1916
4 / 29
Tobacco By-Products and Chemical Corporation (re
cattle dipping)
1920
4 / 30
T
1914-1927
4 / 31
U.S. Forest Service (re supplies for fire fighters)
1924
4 / 32
U.S. Indian Service / Office of Indian Affairs (see
also Blackfeet Agency)
1921-1926
4 / 33
U.S. Internal Revenue Service / Collector of Internal
Revenue
1914-1927
4 / 34
United States Rubber Company (St. Paul)
1920-1925
4 / 35
U-V
1914-1927
4 / 36
Western Union Telegraph Company (re baseball results
by telegraph)
1926
5 / 1
H.C. Willits
1925-1927
5 / 2
Wyman, Partridge and Company (Minneapolis wholesale
dry goods dealer)
1923-1927
5 / 3
W-Z
1914-1927
Miscellaneous Correspondence
5 / 4
Charles R. Ellis to Sherburne Mercantile Company (re
Federal Food Conservation Division
1917 November
5 / 5
Robert J. Hamilton to Wolf Plume, White Antelope,
Curley Bear, and Black Weasel (re A.E. McFatridge, allotment, and Blackfeet Indian
Jurisdiction Act)
1914
5 / 6
U.S. Office of Indian Affairs circular to
superintendents and supervisors of Indian schools (re exhibition of products of native
industries)
1916
5 / 7
A-W
1914-1924
Court Papers
5 / 8
Affidavits and depositions
1914-1923
5 / 9
Bankruptcy proceedings (re Otto Van Sanden; Harvey
Leiphart)
1922-1927
5 / 10
Merchants Association, Inc. vs. Ernest Cut Finger
1920-1922
Financial Records
5 / 11
Advertisements for bids (U.S. Indian Service,
Blackfeet Agency)
1921-1927
5 / 12-14
Cash books
1909 September-1915 August
6 / 1-2
Cash books
1915 August-1918 August
6 / 3-4
Cash books
1921 January-1924 December
7 / 1
Corporate income tax: Montana
1917-1920
RESTRICTED
7 / 2
Corporate income tax: U.S.
1915-1920
RESTRICTED
7 / 3
Daybook
1920 November-1922 August
7 / 4
Financial statements
1914-1926
7 / 5
Freight and express book
1922-1925
7 / 6
General ledger
1907-1917
7 / 7
Great Northern Railway claim register for lost and
damaged merchandise
1919-1925
7 / 8
Individual income tax: T.E. Scriver
1918-1919
RESTRICTED
7 / 9
Order book
1920-1921
7 / 10
Orders for goods: Cut Bank School mess
1915
7 / 11
Orders for goods: hay account
1915
7 / 12-13
Orders for goods: A-W
1915
8 / 1
Orders for goods: Blackfeet Agency
1921
8 / 2
Orders for goods: Browning School District #9
1923
8 / 3
Orders for goods: U.S. Indian Service for Blackfeet
Agency, school, and hospital
1923
8 / 4
Orders for goods: A-W
1923
8 / 5
Orders for goods: U.S. Indian Service for Blackfeet
Agency, school, and hospital
1927
8 / 6
Orders for goods: Browning School District #9
1927
8 / 7
Orders for goods: Glacier County poor fund and road
fund
1927
8 / 8
Orders for goods: Montana State Highway Commission
1927
8 / 9
Orders for goods: W.D. Strang for Blackfeet tribal
members
1927
8 / 10-11
Orders for goods: A-Y
1927
8 / 12
Pawn ticket of Joe Bird for a war bonnet
1927
8 / 13-14
Petty ledger sheets: A-B
1907-1917
9 / 1-5
Petty ledger sheets: C-K
1907-1917
10 / 1-6
Petty ledger sheets: L-V
1907-1917
11 / 1
Petty ledger sheets: W-Y
1907-1917
11 / 2
Proposal and acceptance: U.S. General Land Office
1925
11 / 3
Recapitulation
1912-1921
11 / 4-5
Receipt books
1927 Feburary-November
11 / 6
Tax assessments: Glacier County
1922-1926
RESTRICTED
11 / 7-8
Trial balances
1912-1922
11 / 9
Miscellaneous
1915-1916
Legal Documents
11 / 10
Agreements with Great Western Marble and Granite
Works, Miles City (re orders for tombstones)
1916
11 / 11
Agreements with wholesalers
1916-1926
Miscellany
11 / 12
List of land owned by George and Katie Croff
circa 1927
11 / 13
Mailing list
undated
11 / 14
Oil barrel record
1920-1922
11 / 15
R.G. Dun and Company and Bradstreet Company reports
on Browning businesses
1921
11 / 16
Referendum Measure No. 13 (re primary elections)
1907