Sergeant Fred E. Server was born in May 1855 in Pensylvania to Sarah Symington VanBeck Server and Erastus P. Server. He came to Montana Territory about 1869 and enlisted with the U. S. Army in 1873. He served with Company G, 2nd Calvary at Fort Ellis, Montana Territory. He was married to Christianna W. "Anna" Germeyer Server. He died May 12, 1911, and is buried in the Custer National Cemetery within the Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument, Montana.
In October 1876, Lieutenant Gustavus Cheney Doane led five soldiers and a sergeant--Sergeant Fred E. Server--to survey the Snake River from its start near Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone National Park to the Columbia River. The purpose of the expedition was unclear and vaguely defined, with Doane by-passing his chain of command to receive approval. Poorly planned, badly timed, and ill-fated from the start, the group was already struggling by the time they reached Jackson Lake in what is now Grand Teton National Park. Further hardships followed including severe winter weather, near starvation, ill health, and damage and loss of equipment, including the boat used on the river. After reaching Fort Hall, Idaho Territory, in January 1877, the party spent several days recovering before returning to Fort Ellis by stage on the orders of their commanding officer, Captain Bainbridge.
The Sergeant Fred E. Server diary records events between October 11, 1876, and February 2, 1877, during a survey expedition along the Snake River led by Lieutenant Gustavus Cheney Doane. The somewhat cryptic entries, which are handwritten in pencil, document daily observations such as weather conditions, times of travel, special circumstances or problems, and the miles traveled. The party traveled through from Fort Ellis, Montana Territory, through Yellowstone National Park to Yellowstone Lake, then proceeded to Jackson Lake, Wyoming Territory (now within Grand Teton National Park), finally abandoning the effort at Fort Hall, Idaho Territory. The diary concludes when the expedition party arrives back at Fort Ellis. The collection also includes two typed transcriptions of the entries.
Server's diary is notable for the fact that Doane used it to compile his subsequent report of the expedition, after losing his own journal when the expedition boat capsized in the Snake River Canyon.
This collection is open for research.
Donated to the Montana State University Library by Dr. Merrill G. Burlingame in 1967.
This collection was processed 2009 May 27
[Creator Name], [Date of Creation], [Brief Description of Object], Folder [#], Box [#], [Collection Name], [Collection #], Montana State University (MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT
Due to fragility of original document, researchers are required to use the typescript or digital surrogates. Access to the original only with the permission of the Head of Archives and Special Collections.