View XML QR Code

James Fergus Family Papers, 1834-1967

Overview of the Collection

Creator
James Fergus Family
Title
James Fergus Family Papers
Dates
1834-1967 (inclusive)
Quantity
11.0 linear feet
Collection Number
Mss 010
Summary
The collection consists of family papers and business records of James Fergus, rancher, businessman, political figure and pioneer of Armells, Montana, and papers of his son Andrew Fergus. The collection also contains papers of Pamelia Dillin Fergus and her family including the Dillin, McHose and Neill families as well as correspondence of the families of the Fergus daughters including the Gilpatrick, Hamilton and Maury families. Materials consist of correspondence, financial and legal papers, business records, photos, and ephemera. The collection represents the social, political, and economic conditions of ranchers, families, businessmen and early pioneers of Montana from the 1850s to the 1920s.
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

James Fergus, miner, rancher, businessman and politician, was born in 1813 in Lanarkshire, Scotland. He came to the United States via Canada in 1835 at the age of twenty-two. He was trained as a carpenter and a millwright at a Quaker settlement and was involved in building and managing various mill businesses in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota. He married Pamelia Dillin in Moline, Illinois in 1845 and had four children: Andrew, Mary Agnes, Luella, and Lillie. He was one of the founders of Little Falls, Minnesota and later founded Fergus Falls, Minnesota. While in Minnesota, in the late 1850s, Fergus became involved in politics. In 1860, Fergus ventured out of Minnesota in search of gold and returned in 1861. In 1862, he left Little Falls, Minnesota with the Fisk Expedition to the Beaverhead gold mines in a territory that would eventually become Montana. He moved to Virginia City in 1863 and became a businessman and public official. He was elected recorder for the Alder Gulch mining district as well as judge of the first miners’ court, and was appointed the first county commissioner for Madison County.

Fergus had been away from his family since 1862 and was reunited with them in Virginia City in 1864. Hearing news of a new gold strike in 1865, Fergus moved his family to the Last Chance Gulch, which is present day Helena. There he was involved in ranching and was elected two terms as county commissioner and one term in the territorial House of Representatives. By 1870, he had decided to move away from mining and purchased a ranch in Prickly Pear Valley outside of Helena, where he focused on ranching and agriculture for his livelihood. In 1879, Andrew Fergus acquired one quarter of his father’s property, livestock and machinery and entered into a business partnership with him under the name James Fergus and Son. They purchased land in the Judith Basin and raised cattle, horses, and sheep in Armells, Montana. James Fergus continued his political career when he was elected as a delegate to the 1884 Constitutional Convention and to the Territorial Council, where he was instrumental in the creation of Fergus County. In 1895, James Fergus and Andrew Fergus continued to expand their business operation and created a family corporation named Fergus Livestock and Land Company, which grew to be one of biggest ranching operations in central Montana.

At various points, each of the Fergus daughters got married and moved away from home. Mary Agnes married Robert S. Hamilton in 1864, Luella married Stephen C. Gilpatrick in 1865 and the youngest daughter, Lilly Fergus married Frank H. Maury in 1873. Pamelia Fergus died in 1887 and James Fergus died in 1902. Andrew Fergus married Hazel Akley in 1910 and continued to ranch at Armells until his death in 1928. Hazel Fergus became the keeper of the Fergus family history and donated the family papers to the University of Montana in Missoula in 1969.

Return to Top

Content Description

The collection primarily consists of family papers and business records of James Fergus of Armells, Montana, and his son Andrew Fergus. Materials include general correspondence (1834-1967), memo books and financial records (1842-1923), legal documents (1841-1900), speeches and writings as well as journals and ledgers related to the business ventures of James Fergus and his son Andrew Fergus. The collection also contains papers of Pamelia Dillin Fergus and her family including the Dillin, McHose and Neill families as well as correspondence of the families of the Fergus daughters including the Gilpatrick, Hamilton and Maury families. This collection has been divided into eight series.

Series I: James Fergus Papers (1834-1902), makes up the majority of the collection and is divided into ten subseries: diaries, incoming correspondence, outgoing correspondence, financial records, legal documents, licenses citations and appointments, maps, speeches and writings, miscellaneous and ephemera. Incoming and outgoing correspondence are arranged alphabetically and the other subseries are arranged chronologically. Subseries 1: Diaries (1855-1879), primarily contains brief notes about daily activities and includes details of daily expenses. Subseries 2: Incoming Correspondence, contains a considerable amount of correspondence between James Fergus and his daughter Luella Fergus Gilpatrick. Series III, Fergus Family Papers, Subseries 4: Gilpatrick Family, also contains letters between James Fergus and Luella Fergus Gilpatrick. In both series, many of the letters are fragments but provide insight into the daily life and activities of the Fergus family over several years.

Series II: Andrew Fergus Papers (1861-1927), is divided into nine subseries: memo books, incoming correspondence, outgoing correspondence, clippings, court papers, financial records, legal documents, ephemera, and licenses, citations and appointments. Incoming correspondence and outgoing correspondence are arranged alphabetically and the other subseries are arranged chronologically. The memo books primarily contain expense notes but are interspersed with notations of daily activities.

Series III: Fergus Family Papers (1851-1967), consists of papers of individuals and families associated with the Fergus family and is divided into seven subseries: Hazel Fergus Papers, Pamelia Fergus Papers, William Fergus Papers, Gilpatrick Family Papers, Hamilton Family Papers, Maury Family Papers and Odin J. Romunstad Papers. Romunstad was the son-in-law of William Fergus. Materials include correspondence, financial records, legal documents, clippings, speeches and writings, and ephemera. In Series III, Fergus Family Papers, the correspondence of James Fergus’s daughters and their families are represented. Of particular note is the presence of voluminous correspondence of Luella Fergus Gilpatrick to her father and other family members detailing everyday activities of friends and family members as well as local news and events. Letters between James Fergus and Luella Fergus Gilpatrick are also included in Series I, James Fergus Papers, Subseries 1, Incoming Correspondence.

Series IV: James Fergus and Son Business Records (1878-1907), includes financial and legal documents as well as correspondence related to the business ventures of James and Andrew Fergus. Series V: Fergus Livestock and Land Company Business Records (1894-1923), consists of minutes, financial and legal records, correspondence and ephemera. Series VI: Fergus Family Business Records (1849-1923), is made up of company records related to the business ventures of James and Andrew Fergus. Series VI, Fergus Family Business Records, is arranged by business name. Series VII: Photographs, contains images of Fergus family members, Fergus ranch properties and activities as well as images of family friends and associates, political figures. Series VIII: Miscellaneous (1847-1964), covers a wide range of materials including correspondence, financial records, legal documents, speeches and writings, a scrapbook, ephemera, and family history files that don’t logically fit anywhere else in the collection because they are unidentified or the author is unknown. Although the materials in Series VIII, Miscellaneous, are fragments of documents or unidentified materials, many items contain substantive information about the activities of Fergus family members over several generations.

Return to Top

Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

Portions of Mss 010, James Fergus Family Papers, is also available on microfilm in the Archives.

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

James Fergus Family Papers, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.

Return to Top

Administrative Information

Arrangement

This collection has been divided into eight series.

Series I: James Fergus Papers, 6.1 linear feet, 1834-1902

Subseries 1: Diaries, 0.2 linear feet, 1855-1879

Subseries 2: Incoming Correspondence, 4.2 linear feet, 1834-1902

Subseries 3: Outgoing Correspondence, 0.2 linear feet, 1840-1901

Subseries 4: Financial Records, 1.1 linear feet, 1842-1901

Subseries 5: Legal Documents, 0.3 linear feet, 1841-1897

Subseries 6: Licenses, Citations, and Appointments, 2 folders, 1864-1879

Subseries 7: Maps, 1 folder, undated

Subseries 8: Speeches and Writings, 4 folders, 1853-1902

Subseries 9: Miscellaneous, 1 folder, undated

Subseries 10: Ephemera, 1 folder, 1879-1902

Series II: Andrew Fergus Papers, 1.4 linear feet, 1861-1936

Subseries 1: Memo Books, 0.2 linear feet, 1876-1910

Subseries 2: Incoming Correspondence, 1.1 linear feet, 1861-1927

Subseries 3: Outgoing Correspondence, 1 folder, 1875-1914

Subseries 4: Clippings, 1 folder, 1906, 1908

Subseries 5: Court Papers, 1 folder, 1894-1901

Subseries 6: Financial Records, 5 folders, 1870-1920

Subseries 7: Legal Documents, 1 folder, 1872-1916

Subseries 8: Ephemera, 1 folder and 1 volume, 1879-1902

Subseries 9: Licenses, Citations, and Appointments, 1 folder, 1876-1936

Series III: Fergus Family Papers, 0.4 linear feet, 1851-1967

Subseries 1: Hazel Fergus Papers, 9 folders, 1908-1967

Subseries 2: Pamelia Fergus Papers, 0.1 linear feet, 1851-1889

Subseries 3: William Fergus, 7 folders, 1860-1911

Subseries 4: Gilpatrick Family, 3 folders, 1869-1918

Subseries 5: Hamilton Family, 2 folders, 1868-1901

Subseries 6: Maury Family, 2 folders, 1884-1899

Subseries 7: Odin J. Romunstad Papers, 4 folders, 1901-1945

Series IV: James Fergus and Son Business Records, 1.0 linear foot, 1878-1907

Series V: Fergus Livestock and Land Company Business Records, 0.6 linear feet, 1894-1923

Series VI: Fergus Family Business Records, 0.2 linear feet, 1849-1923

Series VII: Photographs, 0.3 linear feet, 1851-1927

Series VIII: Miscellaneous, 0.6 linear feet, 1847-1964

Series IX: Accession 1996-023, 0.4 linear feet, 1839-1921

Custodial History

The bulk of the collection of James Fergus Family Papers (Mss 010) was in the possession of the wife of Andrew Fergus, Hazel Fergus Bubar, and her family until she donated them to The University of Montana in 1969. In 1996, local collector Tim Gordon donated three volumes of financial records from Fergus Livestock and Land Company. Other Fergus Family material was also acquired from Gordon in 1996 (Accession 1996-023).

Acquisition Information

Gift of Hazel Fergus Bubar and family in 1969 and by Tim Gordon in 1996.

Processing Note

The collection Mss 010, James Fergus Papers, was originally processed in the early 1970s. In 1996, local collector Tim Gordon gave three volumes of financial records of the Fergus Livestock and Land Company and they were assigned the collection number sc 351. During re-processing, the three volumes in sc 351 were integrated into Mss 010.

At an unknown date, the Fergus Family donated a reel of microfilm of Andrew Fergus Papers, which was assigned a collection number of lc 172. A list of the letters on the Andrew Fergus microfilm was added to the finding aid of Mss 010, but the microfilm retained the collection number lc 172. During re-processing in 2006, the Andrew Fergus Papers on microfilm, lc172, was separated from the James Fergus Family Papers and is now Mss 635, Andrew Fergus Papers. The location of the original letters on the Andrew Fergus Papers microfilm is unknown. I

n addition, during re-processing in 2006, the bound volumes in Mss 010, which were originally listed in the finding aid together at the end of the collection by volume number, have been listed in the appropriate series in the finding aid.

A number of oversized items that were part of Mss 010, including licenses, citations, and appointments of Andrew Fergus, weren’t cataloged or described in the original finding aid. During the 2006 re-processing, these items were added to Series II: Andrew Fergus Papers, Subseries 9: Licenses, Citations, and Appointments.

In 2025, a small amount of original material acquired from Tim Gordon in 1996 and directly related to other content in this collection was added as Series IX.

Separated Materials

The Andrew Fergus Papers microfilm, previously numbered lc 172, has been separated from the James Fergus Family Papers and is now Mss 635, Andrew Fergus Papers.

Related Materials

Other manuscript collections of James Fergus family papers are held at the Montana Historical Society and Montana State University. A microfilm copy of the James Fergus Family Papers (Mss 010) is available at the Livingston Public Library in Livingston, Montana. One reel of microfilm of letters to and from Andrew Fergus (Mss 635) is available on microfilm in the Archives and Special Collections at the University of Montana. The location of the originals of the Andrew Fergus papers on the microfilm is unknown.

Return to Top

Detailed Description of the Collection

Finding aid prepared by Dale Johnson (1970s) and Jennifer Tuleja (2006) and Donna McCrea (2025)
2006

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

About Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West