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Daniel Webster and Lizzie Ellis Slayton Papers, 1883-1934

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Slayton, Daniel Webster, 1862-1927
Title
Daniel Webster and Lizzie Ellis Slayton Papers
Dates
1883-1934 (inclusive)
Quantity
3.5 linear feet of shelf space
Collection Number
MC 178
Summary
D.W. Slayton (1862-1927) was a Lavina, Montana, sheep rancher; owner of Slayton Mercantile Company; investor in the Lavina State Bank and the Citizens State Bank of Roundup; member of the Fergus County Board of Commissioners; state legislator; and unsuccessful candidate for governor in 1920. Collection consists of diaries (1884-1889, 1907-1917, 1928-1934) kept by Slayton, his wife Elizabeth "Lizzie" Ellis Slayton, and their son Daniel E. Slayton; and correspondence (1883-1924) among the three.
Repository
Montana Historical Society, Library & Archives
Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT
59620-1201
Telephone: 4064442681
Fax: 4064445297
mhslibrary@mt.gov
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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Biographical Note

Daniel Webster Slayton was born in Steuben County, New York, on November 6, 1862. He attended school in Fairfax, Virginia, where his family lived following the Civil War. Slayton travelled to Montana Territory in 1884 and worked at the Ford sheep ranch near White Sulphur Springs and, later, in a lumber camp near Martinsdale. In 1885 Slayton and his brother Dalon claimed range land near Lavina, Montana. They began raising sheep on a share agreement with the Ford ranch and eventually acquired large herds of sheep and extensive property holdings. Slayton also owned the Slayton Mercantile Company and had interests in the Lavina State Bank and the Citizens State Bank of Roundup. Slayton was a Republican. He served on the Fergus County Board of Commissioners and was elected from that county to the Montana House of Representatives in 1911, and to the Montana Senate from Musselshell County in 1917 and 1919. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for governor in 1920. Slayton married Elizabeth (Lizzie) Ellis of Fairfax, Virginia, on November 8, 1887. The couple had five children; Lydia, Daniel E. (born March 15, 1891), Bert, Ernest, and Ruth. Daniel Webster Slayton died in Lavina on September 8, 1927. Lizzie Ellis Slayton died in 1940.

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Content Description

Papers. 1883-1934. 3.5 linear feet. The Daniel Webster and Lizzie Ellis Slayton papers include general correspondence (1883-1918) and diaries (1884-1887, 19O7-1934). The majority of the correspondence is between D.W. Slayton and Lizzie Ellis, primarily in the period before the couple was married in 1887. The letters, which have been transcribed, describe Slayton's activities and experiences as a ranch hand, logger, and sheep rancher, and conditions in Montana Territory. There is also a small quantity of letters between Slayton and family members and others. Daniel E. Slayton's letters (1917-1919) to his parents discuss his activities in the military in the U.S. and France during World War I. The diaries kept by D.W. Slayton (1884-1927) describe his daily life and activities. Several of the diaries were kept in shorthand; however these have been transcribed with the exception of the 1885 and 1886 volumes. The diaries kept by Lizzie Ellis Slayton (1917-1918, 1928, 193O-1934) describe her daily activities, social life, health, etc. One diary kept by Daniel E. Slayton (1907) when he was sixteen years old describes attending school in Helena and Bozeman, friends, activities, summer work on the ranch at Lavina, etc. Typed transcriptions of the diaries are in the collection. The collection also contains clippings (1909-1932) on the Slayton family.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

by series

Acquisition Information

Acquisition Information:

available upon request

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection

  • General Correspondence

    • Description: Between D.W. Slayton and Lizzie Ellis
      Dates: 1883-1887
      Container: Box/Folder 1 / 1-3
      Location: General Correspondence
    • Description: Between D.W. Slayton and Lizzie Ellis Slayton
      Dates: 1891-1905
      Container: Box/Folder 1 / 4
      Location: General Correspondence
    • Description: Between D.W. Slayton and Lizzie Ellis (typed transcripts)
      Dates: 1884-1887
      Container: Box/Folder 1 / 5
      Location: General Correspondence
    • Description: Between D.W. Slayton and William Slayton; Katherine Jane E. Sagar Slayton; Dolly Slayton; George Stone; W.L. Halbert; Walter Burke; "H.B."; etc.
      Dates: 1892-1924 n.d.
      Container: Box/Folder 1 / 6
      Location: General Correspondence
    • Description: From Daniel E. Slayton (re work on harvest crew, military service during World War I, etc.)
      Dates: 1917-1919
      Container: Box/Folder 1 / 7
      Location: General Correspondence

  • Miscellaneous Correspondence

    • Description: Bert Slayton; Ernest Slayton; Lydia Slayton; Katherine Jane E. Sagar Slayton to William Slayton and others; A. F. Martin
      Dates: 1887-1905 n.d.
      Container: Box/Folder 1 / 8
      Location: Miscellaneous Correspondence

  • Diaries

    • Description: D.W. Slayton (typed transcription only)
      Dates: 1884
      Container: Box/Folder 1 / 9
      Location: Diaries
    • Description: D.W. Slayton (in shorthand; not transcribed)
      Dates: 1885, 1886
      Container: Box/Folder 1 / 10-11
      Location: Diaries
    • Description: D.W. Slayton (in shorthand; includes typed transcription)
      Dates: 1887,1889
      Container: Box/Folder 1 / 12-13
      Location: Diaries
    • Description: D.W. Slayton (handwritten; includes typed transcription)
      Dates: 1887,1889
      Container: Box/Folder 2 / 1-5
      Location: Diaries
    • Description: D.W. Slayton (handwritten; includes typed transcription)
      Dates: 1912-1916
      Container: Box/Folder 3 / 1-5
      Location: Diaries
    • Description: D.W. Slayton (handwritten; includes typed transcription)
      Dates: 1917-1921
      Container: Box/Folder 4 / 1-5
      Location: Diaries
    • Description: D.W. Slayton (handwritten; includes typed transcription)
      Dates: 1922-1926
      Container: Box/Folder 5 / 1-5
      Location: Diaries
    • Description: D.W. Slayton (handwritten; includes typed transcription)
      Dates: 1922
      Container: Box/Folder 6 / 1
      Location: Diaries
    • Description: Lizzie E. Slayton (handwritten; includes typed transcription)
      Dates: 1917,1932 1928,1930
      Container: Box/Folder 6 / 2-5
      Location: Diaries
    • Description: Lizzie E. Slayton (includes typed transcription)
      Dates: 1931-1933
      Container: Box/Folder 7 / 1-3
      Location: Diaries
    • Description: Lizzie E. Slayton (includes typed transcription)
      Dates: 1934
      Container: Box/Folder 7 / 4
      Location: Diaries
    • Description: Daniel E. Slayton (includes typed transcription)
      Dates: 1907
      Container: Box/Folder 7 / 5
      Location: Diaries

  • Clippings

    • Description: Slayton family
      Dates: 1909-1932 n.d.
      Container: Box/Folder 7 / 6
      Location: Clippings

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Legislators
  • Ranches
  • Sheep Ranches--Montana [Central]
  • World War, 1914-1918

Geographical Names

  • Fergus County (Mont.)--Politics and Government
  • Lavina (Mont.)--Commerce
  • Lavina (Mont.)
  • Musselshell County (Mont.)--Agricultrue
  • Musselshell County (Mont.)--Politics and Government


April 21, 2015

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