After the mid-1800s, legally sanctioned executions were no longer public spectacles but became arguably private events within the confines of prison or jail walls. Custom and then the state generally dictated that the required witnesses should be reputable citizens. These citizens received invitations.
This collection consists of three invitations to executions, one each from 1875, 1890, and 1922. The 1922 invitation also has the original envelope.
The first execution invitation in this collection was sent to a Sheriff Warren requesting his attendance at the executions of Wright William Wheatley and William Sterres at the Lewis and Clark County Jail in Helena, Montana on August 13, 1875. William Sterres was not executed that day. According to the August 19, 1875 issue of the Helena Weekly Herald, the supreme court granted Sterres a new trial. Twenty-seven-year-old Wheatley was hung on schedule on August 13th for the murder of Franz Worl. A Helena Weekly Herald article noted that Wheatley was the first man convicted and hung in Montana by legal procedure. The Wheatley execution had more witnesses than desired due to numerous houses and sheds around the jail providing vantage points for the curious.
The second execution invitation in this collection was sent to Mr. C. L. Walker requesting his attendance at the execution of Pierre Paul, LalaSee, Pascale, and Antley on December 19, 1890 at the Missoula County Jail in Missoula, Montana. All four condemned men belonged to the Kootenai tribe. Pierre Paul and LalaSee were convicted of killing two white men near LalaSee’s place on the Flathead Reservation. Pascale was convicted of killing a white man, reportedly for the man’s horse. Antley, described as “young enough to be called a boy”, was convicted of killing a white prospector. In the fall of 1887, Antley and five other boys were traveling to a ceremonial sun dance. After camping for the night, they reportedly discovered white men camped nearby. The group stealthily attacked the white prospectors and killed all three. One of the boys was later captured and lynched by angry miners in the area but Antley and the rest of the young Indians were were not apprehended until the summer of 1888.
The third execution invitation in this collection was sent to T. H. Payne requesting his attendance at the execution of Joe Vuckovich in Missoula, Montana on February 17, 1922. Vuckovich, reportedly a nortorious ladies’ man, was convicted of the murder of Nora Ellan Shea. He was reputed to have shot Mrs. Shea in the head when she would not leave her husband and her baby girls for him. His defense unsuccessfully attempted to prove that the victim's husband, Jerry Shea, shot her. Despite the efforts of Vuckovich's defense and a petition with 5,000 signatures, neither the supreme court or the governor pardoned the condemned man.
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.
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.
[Name of document or photograph number], Execution Invitations Collection, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.
The 1875 and 1922 execution invitations were donated by Mr. Hiram Walker in September, 1988. The 1890 execution invitation was donated by Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Walker at a later unknown date.
The actions of the original processors are unknown. This collection was originally two small collections, SC 136 and SC 298, which were combined to form Mss 079 when the collection was reprocessed in 2001. The finding aid was encoded in 2004.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.