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Marcus Daly family papers, 1883-1996

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Marcus Daly Family
Title
Marcus Daly family papers
Dates
1883-1996 (inclusive)
Quantity
91.4 linear feet
Collection Number
Mss 619
Summary
The collection contains family papers and records related to the business investments of Marcus Daly of Montana, copper magnate, businessman, and politician. The collection primarily consists of family estate papers and business records of the Bitterroot Stock Farm from the 1880s to 1990s. The daily operational activities of the Bitterroot Stock Farm, including ranching, horse breeding, and agricultural activities, are especially well documented. The records of the Valley Mercantile of Hamilton are also quite extensive and detail the financial activities of the company. The collection also contains records related to the business investments of Marcus Daly and his heirs in mining industries, water irrigation projects, retail businesses and real estate ventures from the 1880s to the 1990s. Materials include correspondence, financial records, reports, minutes, legal documents and aerial maps of the family properties.
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 encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Historical Note

Marcus Daly, businessman and copper magnate, was born December 5, 1843 in county Craven, Ireland. At age 15, he immigrated to New York and worked odd jobs for five years until he saved enough money to purchase passage to San Francisco in 1861. In California, he sought out employment in mining, and by 1871, he had become a foreman for the Walker brothers in Salt Lake City where he supervised their local mining and banking interests. It was there that he met his wife, Margaret Evans, whom he wed in 1872. They had four children: Margaret Augusta, Mary, Marcus II and Harriot Daly. Harriot Daly married Count Anton Sigray and their daughter, Countess Margit Sigray Bessenyey inherited the Daly family estate in 1950 when her mother died.

Marcus Daly built an empire by seeking out potential profitable mines and convincing wealthy investors to provide financial assistance to develop them. In 1881, with the help of George Hearst, Ali Haggin, and Lloyd Tevis of California, Daly was able to develop one of the world’s most prosperous copper mines in Anaconda, Montana. Daly managed the Anaconda Copper Mining Company from 1881 to the late 1890s.

By the 1880s, Daly’s business interests expanded to the Bitterroot Valley in Hamilton, Montana. He began purchasing and developing large tracts of land in the Bitterroot Valley that eventually became a 22,000 acre farm known as the Bitterroot Stock Farm. The Stock Farm grew to be a world-class agricultural and horse breeding facility and stayed in the Daly family until the 1990s.

The Stock Farm consisted of several ranching properties, agricultural lands, and horse facilities including outdoor and covered race tracks, a horse hospital, and Tammany Castle, which was a stable that Daly built to provide luxury accommodations for his select horses. The Daly family residence, which was originally owned by Anthony Chaffin, was part of the Bitterroot Stock Farm property. Marcus Daly remodeled the home in the late 1880s into a beautiful country mansion known as Riverside. In 1909, Margaret Daly remodeled the home again in a Georgian-style Colonial Revival mansion and was one of the most elegant homes in the state of Montana. Today the home runs as a museum and is known as the Daly Mansion. The home and Stock Farm property had extensive grounds including gardens, orchards, and a deer park. Daly purchased several ditch companies in order to develop an effective irrigation system to support the agricultural activities of the Stock Farm and the surrounding area.

Once the Stock Farm was firmly established, Daly turned his attention to the timber industry in the Bitterroot Valley. He purchased vast acres of timberlands and built sawmills in the Bitterroot Valley in order to fuel the smelters for his mining operations in Anaconda. By the 1890s, because of the presence of Daly’s Stock Farm, along with the creation of several active saw mill businesses and an active railroad line, the population of the Bitterroot Valley area increased dramatically. In order to accommodate rising numbers of workers, Daly worked with land agent, James W. Hamilton, to purchase large tracts of land and developed local businesses and infrastructures to support the growing population of local workers and families. In 1890, Daly opened the Bitterroot Development Company Store in Hamilton, which eventually became the Valley Mercantile in 1908. The Mercantile was a prominent feature of downtown Hamilton and continued to thrive until it burned down in 1935. Daly continued to influence business development and local politics until his death in 1900.

After Daly’s death, his estate and investments were transferred to his wife Margaret Daly, his son Marcus Daly II, and his daughters Mary Daly Gerrard and Harriot Daly Sigray. The estate of Marcus Daly remained in the hands of the Daly family over the next several generations.

Throughout the 20th century, the Daly family heirs invested in and created new businesses in Montana and elsewhere. In 1950, the Daly estate was passed onto the granddaughter of Marcus Daly, Countess Margit Sigray Bessenyey. She oversaw the Daly properties and investments until her death in 1984. Her stepson, Francis Bessenyey, was the heir to the Daly estate and deeded the Daly Mansion to the state of Montana in 1987 in forgiveness for $400,000 in inheritance taxes. During this time, the Big Sky Management Company oversaw the Daly properties in the Bitterroot Valley. In 1986, an auction was held by the Gardner Auction Service on the grounds of the Daly Mansion to sell off remaining farm equipment, family furniture and belongings that remained on the property. It was during this time that the Daly Mansion Preservation Trust was created in an attempt to save the mansion. The Trust bought items from the Daly auction and convinced other buyers to purchase items and donate them back to the Trust. Most of the remaining Bitterroot Stock Farm property was eventually sold in 1992 to Hamilton businessman Harold Mildenberger.

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Content Description

The collection is divided into two subgroups: Family Papers and Business Records.

Subgroup I, Family Papers (1879-1986), subgroup of four series: Marcus Daly Papers (1879-1906), Margaret P. Daly Investment Files (1912-1958), Marcus Daly II Financial Records (1916-1930), and Countess Margit Sigray Bessenyey Papers (1929-1986). The family papers contain financial records, correspondence, and subject files related to Daly family investments and businesses.

Series I, Marcus Daly Papers (1879-1906), consists of an estate journal (1901-1902) as well as thoroughbred and standard bred horse records (1879-1906), an index of trotting stock, and published catalogs of horse sales from the Bitterroot Stock Farm and other places (1890-1906).

Series II, Margaret P. Daly Estate Papers (1907-1958), is divided into two subseries: financial records and subject files. Subseries 1, Financial Records (1922-1952), contains investment accounts related to the Daly family estate including estate tax and income tax records as well as valuation worksheets. Subseries 2, Subject Files (1907-1958), contains family investment subject files arranged alphabetically and includes correspondence related to investments or businesses across the family holdings or which relate to Marcus and Margaret Daly.

Series III, Marcus Daly II Financial Records (1916-1930), includes income tax records (1916-1930), a trial balance (1930) and land investment files (1925-1931).

Series IV, Countess Margit Sigray Bessenyey Papers (1929-1986), is divided into four subseries: financial records, correspondence, subject files, and Hungarian Horse Association files. Subseries 1, Financial Records (1960-1985), includes personal accounts, horse accounts, bank statements, and cancelled checks. Subseries 2, Correspondence (1958-1979) and Subseries 3, Subject Files (1929-1986), both contain information related to the daily operations of the Bitterroot Stock Farm. Subseries 4, Hungarian Horse Association Records (1955-1981), includes certificates of registration (1965-1981) and a ledger of Hungarian Horse Breeding Records (1955-1966).

Series V, Publications (1890-1912), is primarily catalogs of horses bred and maintained by Marcus Daly. Also included are some telegraph code books.

Subgroup II, Business Records (1883-1992), is divided into fourteen series and represents the bulk of the collection. Although some of the companies represented in the collection existed prior to Daly’s death in 1900, including the Bitterroot Stock Farm, the Lexington Foundry and Tuttle Mercantile, the Republican Ditch Company, and the Hamilton Flour Mill, most of the companies were investments made by the Daly family heirs after 1900. The business records include ledgers, journals, cash books, audit reports, and vouchers as well as articles of incorporation, minute books, and correspondence related to the business investments of the Daly family from the 1880s-1990s. Many of the companies represented in the collection were either dissolved or absorbed into the Bitterroot Stock Farm. It should be noted that the collection does not include records of Daly’s mining activities in Butte, Montana.

Series I, Bitterroot Stock Farm Records, (1896-1986). This series is divided into five subseries. Subseries 1, Administrative Records (1901-1962), Subseries 2, Financial Records (1896-1987), Subseries 3, Correspondence (1896-1959), which primarily contains letters of family members and superintendents of the Bitterroot Stock Farm related to daily operations of the Farm and Subseries 4, Subject Files (1959-1982), which consists of contracts, deeds, right of ways, and papers related to water rights.

Series II, Lexington Foundry Records, (1886-1889) and Tuttle Mercantile Company Records, (1889-1917). The Lexington Foundry was created to carry on and conduct a general foundry business as well as machine and repair shops and boiler works at Butte City in Silver Bow County Montana Territory. Shelley Tuttle, Joseph V. Long and William R. Kenyon were the directors. In 1889 all real and personal property transferred to Shelley Tuttle. The record book for the Lexington Foundry continues as the record book for the Tuttle Mercantile which was founded in 1903 in Napa, Idaho in Canyon County to conduct a general business of buying and selling wares and merchandise for the gain of profit and to acquire real estate necessary for business. From the records, it appears that Shelley Tuttle sold all of his shares to Margaret Daly in 1911. The company dissolved in 1917. This series contains articles of incorporation and minutes of the corporation.

Series III, Republican Ditch Company Records, (1883-1901). The Republican Ditch Company was organized in 1883 in Corvallis, Montana to furnish water for an irrigation ditch in the Bitterroot Valley. In 1901 the company and its assets were purchased by the Ravalli Land and Irrigation Company and they moved their principal place of business to Hamilton, Montana. This series contains financial records, minutes, stock records, general ledgers, and a cash book.

Series IV, Hamilton Flour Mill Company Records, (1898-1917). The Hamilton Flour Mill Company was founded in 1898 by Marcus Daly with H. H. Grant, M. D. Grant, G. F. Grant B. McGinty and P.J. Shannon as stockholders. The Flour Mill Company was created to sell, contract and deal in wheat, oats, corn, and other grains as well as the manufacture of the same into flour, meal middlings, shorts, bran feed and other milling products. The business was connected to the irrigation system in Hamilton. The mill was first operated by water power provided by a flume from the Daly saw mill. In 1911, the Marcus Daly estate transferred their shares of the Hamilton Flour Mill to the Bitterroot Stock Farm. The Daly family sold the mill in 1914 and it became the Hamilton Cereal and Flour Mill, which was destroyed by fire in 1917 never to be re-built. This series includes a corporation book and a stock certificate book.

Series V, Cattle Company Records, (1898-1902). Hodge Daly & Company was created in 1898 and was succeeded by Marcus Daly & Company in 1899. It was quickly turned over to Daly Donahue & Greenwood Company in August 1899 and was then transferred to Daly Bank & Trust in January 1901, which lasted until December 1901, when the company became William Montgomery & Company. In March 1902 the assets were transferred to the Lakeview Land & Cattle Company which was created in 1901 to buy, sell and convey lands, livestock and other assets of Marcus Daly and William M. Montgomery in Madison and Beaverhead Counties in Montana. This series consists of a journal and a ledger documenting several cattle companies that Marcus Daly either created or invested in from 1898-1902. The Lakeview Land and Cattle Company records are housed in Series VI, Lakeview Land and Cattle Company Records.

Series VI, Lakeview Land and Cattle Company Records, (1901-1917). The Lakeview Land and Cattle Company was preceded by several other companies that Daly invested in or created. Hodge, Daly & Company was succeeded by Marcus Daly & Company in 1899, followed by Daly, Donahue & Greenwood Company in August 1899 which was transferred to Daly Bank & Trust in January 1901 and lasted through December 1901, when the company became William Montgomery & Company. In March 1902, the assets were transferred to the Lakeview Land & Cattle Company, which was created in 1901 to buy, sell and convey lands, livestock and other assets of Marcus Daly and William M. Montgomery in Madison and Beaverhead Counties in Montana. The company bought and sold as well as bred horses, cattle and sheep, and constructed canals, ditches, flumes and other works of conveying water and reservoirs for storing the same. The company was dissolved in 1917. This series consists of articles of incorporation, general ledgers and journals, a stock certificate book, and an application for dissolution. A ledger (1898-1902) and journal (1898-1902) of the companies preceding Lakeview Land and Cattle Company are housed in Series V, Cattle Company Records.

Series VII, Ward Ditch Company, (1901). The Ward Ditch Company was created at Corvallis, Montana in September 1901 with G. W. Ward as President. By November 1901, the Ravalli Land and Irrigation Company purchased the Ward Ditch Company and transferred all ditches, property, water and water rights to them. This series contains minutes of the company.

Series VIII, Yale Mining Company Records, (1901-1910). The Yale Mining Company was incorporated in October 1901. The company purchased the Nickel Plate Mines situated in the Osorfoos division of the Yale Mining District near Similkameen River in British Columbia. John R. Toole and John G. Morony of Anaconda and A. J. Campbell of Butte became joint stockholders and Margaret P. Daly was also an investor. The company carried on a business of mining, milling, buying selling, converting, smelting, treating and preparing for market gold, silver, copper, lead and other materials. M. K. Rogers was the general manager. The Nickel Plate Mines in the Yale Mining District were sold to Isaac L. Merrill in 1909. This series contains articles of incorporation, minutes, a stock certificate book, and a folder of proxy statements.

Series IX, Ravalli Land and Irrigation Company Records, (1901-1953). Stockholders of Ravalli Land and Irrigation incorporated the business in 1901 in Butte to take over, through an exchange of stock, several ditch companies including the Ward Ditch Company and the Republican Ditch Company, water rights, and the water system of the Marcus Daly Estate. All assets of the corporation were sold in 1943 to the State Water Conservation Board. The corporation was dissolved in 1945. This series includes articles of incorporation, minutes, audit reports, balance sheets, inventories, journals, ledgers, cash books, cash vouchers, and a box of materials related to water problems (1951-1953).

Series X, Daly Realty Company Records, (1903-1976). The Daly Realty Company was incorporated in 1903 in Butte, Montana and later moved their offices to Hamilton. The company purchased, leased, sold real or personal property and erected buildings and improved or maintained houses owned by them. They bought and sold properties in Missoula, Anaconda, and Butte. They extended life of the corporation in 1943, and in 1953 purchased the assets belonging to the estate of Margaret P. Daly including mining claims in the Oaxaco Mines in Mexico, the Great Falls Land Improvement Company, the Bitterroot Realty Company in Washington, the Ravalli Land and Irrigation Company, the Treasure State Mining Company, the Valley Mercantile Company, and the Daly Mining Company in Arizona, the Hy-Grade Manganese Production and Sales Corporation in Virginia, the Couer D’Alene Syndicate Mining Company, and the Reserve Mining Company Limited. In 1955, Countess Margit Sigray Bessenyey was authorized to sign checks for the company and became president of the company in 1959. In 1972, the Daly Real Estate Company sold mining properties in Silver Bow County to the Anaconda Company for forty thousand dollars. The company was dissolved in 1976. This series includes articles of incorporation, minutes, general ledgers and journals, check books, tax work papers and a plan map (1977).

Series XI, Valley Mercantile Company Records, (1908-1935). The Valley Mercantile was a store that sold everything from clothing and groceries to dry goods and lumber. The business was created by Marcus Daly in 1890 as the company store for the Bitterroot Development Company. It became the Anaconda Company store in 1893, and the Anaconda Copper Mining Company store in 1894. It became Valley Mercantile in 1908 until it burned down in 1935 never to be re-built. This series contains financial records of the company including general ledgers, petty ledgers, transfer ledgers, check registers, trial balance, minute book, stock certificates, audit reports, and inventories.

Series XII, Bitterroot Realty Company Records, (1931-1944). The Bitterroot Realty Company was incorporated in 1931 in Washington in order to purchase the Rhododendron Apartment Hotel and the Northcliffe Apartment Hotel in Seattle, Washington. The hotels were purchased from the Valley Mercantile in Hamilton, Montana. The Bitterroot Realty Company was dissolved in 1944. This series consists of financial records including ledgers, cash and check registers, journals, minutes and correspondence.

Series XIII, Daly Mining Company Records, (1903-1924). Nothing is known about the Daly Mining Company except that it was in Arizona. This series contains a stock certificate book.

Series XIV, Big Sky Management Company Records, (1972-1992). The Big Sky Management Company took over the management of the Bitterroot Stock Farm in 1985. The office was located in Livingston, Montana and was primarily involved with ranch management and consulting. Roy Rose was the president of the company and manager of the Bitterroot Stock Farm and reported to Francis Bessenyey, executor of the Bitterroot Stock Farm from 1984-1992. This series is subdivided into three subseries including financial records, correspondence, and subject files. Subseries 1: Financial Records (1985-1988) - RESTRICTED, includes a check register, journal (1985-1986) and financial statements (1986-1988). Subseries 1: Financial Records, is restricted at the request of the donor because it contains payroll information. Subseries 2: Correspondence (1985-1992) and Subseries 3: Subject Files (1972-1992), contain materials that document the daily operations of the Bitterroot Stock Farm including information about disputes over hunting elk on the property, potential property subdivisions, appraisals, and legal disputes with adjacent property owners over fences and herds eating and migrating to other properties. Other materials include equipments lists for the stock farm, publicity materials related to the Bitterroot Stock Farm Auction held by the Gardner Auction Service (1986) as well as files related to the Bessenyey estate, financial accounts, breeding contracts, cattle sale information, Hungarian horse sales, hunting contracts and newspaper clippings.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Coppyright transferred to The University of Montana-Missoula.

Preferred Citation

[Name of document or photograph number], Marcus Daly Family Papers, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Subgroup I: Family Papers, 16.9 linear feet, 1879-1986

Series I: Marcus Daly Papers, 2.5 linear feet, 1879-1906

Series II: Margaret P. Daly Investment Files, 3.0 linear feet, 1907-1958

Subseries 1: Financial Records, 0.8 linear feet, 1922-1952

Subseries 2: Subject Files, 2.2 linear feet, 1907-1958

Series III: Marcus Daly II Financial Records, 0.4 linear feet, 1916-1931

Subseries 1: Taxes, 0.4 linear feet, 1916-1930

Subseries 2: Land Investments, 2 folders, 1925-1931

Series IV: Countess Margit Sigray Bessenyey Papers, 11.0 linear feet, 1929-1986

Subseries 1: Financial Records, 9.6 linear feet, 1956-1985

Subseries 2: Correspondence, 0.2 linear feet, 1958-1979

Subseries 3: Subject Files, 0.8 linear feet, 1929-1986

Subseries 4: Hungarian Horse Association Records, 0.4 linear feet, 1955-1981

Series V: Publications, 2.2 linear feet, 1890-1912

Subgroup II: Business Records, 72.3 linear feet, 1883-1992

Series I: Bitterroot Stock Farm Records, 31.65 linear feet, 1896-1986

Subseries 1: Administrative Records, 0.2 linear feet, 1901-1962

Subseries 2: Financial Records, 25.85 linear feet, 1896-1987

Subseries 3: Correspondence, 2.4 linear feet, 1896-1959

Subseries 4: Subject Files, 0.2 linear feet, 1959-1982

Subseries 5: Maps, 3.0 linear feet, 1896-1964

Series II: Lexington Foundry Records, 1886-1889 and Tuttle Mercantile Records, 0.2 linear feet, 1889-1917

Series III: Republican Ditch Company Records, 1.0 linear foot, 1883-1901

Series IV: Hamilton Flour Mill Company Records, 0.2 linear feet, 1898-1917

Series V: Cattle Company Records, 0.2 linear feet, 1898-1902

Series VI: Lakeview Land and Cattle Company Records, 0.4 linear feet and 1 volume, 1901-1917

Series VII: Ward Ditch Company, 0.2 linear feet, 1901

Series VIII: Yale Mining Company, 0.2 linear feet, 1901-1910

Series VIII: Yale Mining Company, 0.2 linear feet, 1901-1910

Series IX: Ravalli Land and Irrigation Company Records, 4.4 linear feet and 9 volumes, 1901-1953

Series X: Daly Realty Company Records, 0.6 linear feet, 1903-1976

Series XI: Valley Mercantile Company Records, 28.0 linear feet, 1908-1935

Series XII: Bitterroot Realty Company Records, 1.0 linear foot and 3 volumes, 1931-1944

Series XIII: Daly Mining Company Records, 0.2 linear feet, 1903-1924

XIV: Big Sky Management Company Records, 2.3 linear feet, 1972-1992

Subseries 1: Financial Records, 1.5 linear feet, 1985-1988 - RESTRICTED

Subseries 2: Correspondence, 0.2 linear feet, 1985-1992

Subseries 3: Subject Files, 0.6 linear feet, 1972-1992

Custodial History

The records were stored in Hamilton, Montana, on the Bitterroot Stock Farm property until their donation to The University of Montana by Francis Bessenyey in 2005.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Francis Bessenyey, 2005.

Processing Note

The majority of the records in the collection were maintained in original order. Correspondence files were arranged alphabetically by the processor and a portion of the collection was re-housed to improve long term preservation. Subject files were arranged alphabetically and then chronologically. In 2008, ten files that had been overlooked during the 2006 processing were incorporated into the collection and the finding aid was updated. In 2022, publications (Series V of Subgroup 1) were included in the finding aid for the collection.

Separated Materials

At the donor’s request, the records of the Bannister Mining Company and a stock certificate book of the Butte Theatre Association were transferred to the Butte Silver Bow Public Archives in Butte, Montana. Bitterroot Stock Farm Bank statements and cancelled checks were de-accessioned. Valley Mercantile Company transfer ledgers (1918-1935) were de-accessioned because the information is duplicated elsewhere in the collection, and Valley Mercantile itemized customer statements were sampled with the following records retained: February-September 1919, August 1922-March 1923, and July-December 1928. At the request of the donor, payroll records have been removed from the collection or restricted. In 2013 runs of Wallace’s Year Book and Wallace’s Daily Trotting Register which arrived with the collection were deaccessioned to the Daly Mansion in Hamilton, Montana.

Related Materials

Related materials are owned by the Daly Mansion Preservation Trust and are housed at the Daly Mansion Museum in Hamilton, Montana. Significant collections of Anaconda Copper Mining Company Records are housed at the Montana Historical Society and at the American Heritage Research Center at the University of Wyoming in Laramie.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Finding aid prepared by Jennifer Tuleja, Dale Johnson and Donna McCrea
2006

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