View XML QR Code

Fra Broadwell Dana Papers, 1819-1947

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Dana, Fra Broadwell, 1874-1948
Title
Fra Broadwell Dana Papers
Dates
1819-1947 (inclusive)
Quantity
1.5 linear feet
Collection Number
Mss 096 (collection)
Summary
The Broadwell and Dana families included an important Montana artist, Fra Dana, and a significant ranching business. This collection contains genealogical information on many branches from Fra Broadwell's family and Edwin Dana's family.
Repository
University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu
Access Restrictions

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.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for creating this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historic Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Return to Top

Biographical Note

Fra Marie Broadwell was born Nov. 26, 1874, in Terra Haute, Indiana. Soon after this she moved with her family to Rockville, Indiana, where she lived until she was 16 years old. She was then sent to Cincinnati to study painting; from there she went to New York where she attended the American Art School as a pupil of William M. Chase. She later continued her art studies in Paris, where she was a pupil of Alfred Maurer. In 1891 she first went to Wyoming where her mother, who had remarried, lived. Her second trip to Wyoming was in 1893, where she met her future husband, Edwin Lester Dana. They married July 1, 1896. She was a collector of art and several pieces of the collection were willed to the University of Montana. Mrs. Dana died Dec. 1, 1948, in Great Falls, Montana, where she is buried.

Edwin Lester Dana was born October 15, 1864, and his family moved to Montana in 1866. They lived first in Philipsburg, then Missoula, then Helena. In 1878 the family moved to a cattle ranch on the Little Big Horn River in southeastern Montana, where Edwin began his cattle business. He bought his first small herd in 1887. By 1918 he owned one of the largest pure bred Hereford cattle herds in America. Mr. Dana owned a ranch in Parkman, Wyoming, and later, a second one in Cascade County, Montana. Mrs. Dana was his secretary and keen business partner in spite of her frail health. E.L. Dana died in 1946.

Return to Top

Content Description

This collection contains genealogical information on many branches from Fra Broadwell's family and Edwin Dana's family. There is correspondence from family members to Fra and Edwin about their families histories. Some of the families that have excellent research included are lines from the Anderson, Brewster, Broadwell, Dana, Forester, Maxwell, Page, Paine, Putnam, and Sunderland families, although this does not include all of the lines researched in this collection. There are copied accounts from family members early history, and publications on the Paine and Dana family.

Fra Dana also had publications on Astrology and scientific papers. There are also notes on the Crow language from Father Prando and Fra's own notes. Included also is a brand book of the cattle herd of the Blackfoot, which was purchased by E.L. Dana.

Return to Top

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright not transferred to The University of Montana.

Preferred Citation

Fra Broadwell Dana Papers, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.

Return to Top

Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is divided into three series:

Series I: Genealogical, 0.7 linear feet, 1819-1938

Series II: Research Material, 0.7 linear feet, 1850-1947

Series III: Photographs, 0.1 linear feet, undated

Acquisition Information

Gift of Fra Broadwell Dana, date unknown.

Diary pages were gifted to Archives and Special Collections in 2014 by Lois Welch, friend of Ripley Hugo. Hugo was the daughter of Mildred Walker who was a friend of Fra Dana in Great Falls. The materials in the accession were found in Hugo's desk following her death.

Processing Note

The actions of the original processors are unknown. In 1999, the collection was re-described and separated into two series. This collection included photos of unidentified family members, which have been removed and added to the K. Ross Toole Archives photo collection. This collection was originally two separate collections, LC 17 and LC 96. The two collections were combined into one collection, Mss 96, and re-described.

In 2024 diary pages received in 2014 were processed into the collection.

Return to Top

Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Astrology
  • Blackfoot Indians
  • Cattle brands--Montana
  • Crow Indians
  • Sihasapa Indians--Domestic animals--Montana

Family Names

  • Anderson family
  • Brewster family
  • Broadwell family
  • Dana family
  • Forester family
  • Foster family
  • Maxwell family
  • Page family
  • Paine family
  • Payne family
  • Putnam family
  • Sunderland family

Form or Genre Terms

  • Family papers--Montana
  • Genealogies--Montana

Other Creators

  • Personal Names

    • Dana, E. L. (Edwin Lester), 1864-1946

Finding aid prepared by Brooke Simpson (1999) and Teresa Hamann (2001)
2001

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

About Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West

Loading...
Loading...