Churchill Family papers, 1850-1976

David Harvey Churchill was born in 1843 in Springfield, Illinois, to Willoughby and Elizabeth Churchill. He joined three other siblings (one sister and two brothers) and his parents in traveling by horseback to Oregon Territory via California in 1851. His brother, Tom, was born on the trail, and his mother died shortly after. His father remarried the next year to Matilda Price, and five more children were born to that union.

D.H. and his brother Owen Humphrey drove cattle from Texas to Montana Territory in the early 1870's. They established a ranch near Sun River. By 1875 D.H. Churchill owned a livery and feed store in Helena. That same year he married Mary Shelton Ransdell of Oregon.

Mary "Minnie" Shelton Ransdell was born in 1854 near Sheridan, Oregon, to Shelton and Mary Elizabeth Ransdell. Her father, Shelton, drowned while loading freight from a boat to the dock, shortly after Minnie's birth. The senior Mary Ransdell remarried in 1860 to Edwin Harvey Lord, and gave birth to six more children.

D.H. and Minnie Churchill, married in Helena in 1875, had five children. The youngest, Mary, born in 1876, died at birth. Other children included Harvey Mae, born in 1878; Willoughby Shelton (called Bud or Buzz), born in 1881; David Albert (called Day) born in 1883; Lady Maude (called Lady Tommie - for tomboy-, and Lady Bug), born in 1886; and O.H. (Owen Humphrey) Elizabeth (called Aitchie, Elizabeth or Betty), born in 1888.

The family moved often, always in the ranching or stock -breeding business. D.H. Churchill's particular passion was for harness-racing horses. D.H. traveled widely and spent a considerable amount of money purchasing horses and bringing them back to Montana. In the 1880's his estate was valued at $25,000. From 1884 to 1886, D.H. served as Sheriff in Lewis and Clark county. Around 1890 the family moved to a ranch site near present-day Ulm, between a bend of the Sun River. Blue joint grass abounded, and the stock thrived.

D.H. suffered for many years from stomach problems. He described himself as a "dyspeptic". Records and correspondence confirm that he traveled to southern California, San Francisco, and Seattle for treatments. In spite of a creative array of prescriptions (commonly containing strychnine), D.H. died in 1893 while attempting to return to the ranch from Great Falls.

D.H. left his wife, Minnie, with four children ranging in age from 4 to 14 years of age, a large ranch, and stock. That same year the Panic of 1893 struck, and Montana with its investments in the silver industry, was especially hard hit. Many banks closed, without promise of compensation for lost investments. Not only did Minnie lose the funds D.H. had invested, she could not retrieve a fair price for stock, real estate or equipment. She was temporarily saved by a life insurance policy with New York Life.

Minnie continued to run the ranch with the help of ranch hands. In 1898 she rented the ranch, and moved to Spokane, Washington. Minnie attempted to run a store while there, but it failed. They returned to the Ulm Ranch in 1903, and sold it in 1910. At that time they moved to Vancouver, Washington, where they remained for many years.

Son David Albert (Day) did not follow ranch life after he lived in Spokane. He joined the Navy and served aboard the U.S.S. Chicago off the coast of California. David became ill. Surgeons feared appendicitis and operated in 1908. David died, and surgeons discovered his difficulties were not associated with his appendix. David is buried in California.

Willoughby (or Bud), was said to be an architect. Bud lived for a time in Helena, and died in Vancouver, Washington, in 1914, after a recurring illness.

Harvey Mae, the oldest daughter, was her mother's companion and a musician. She and Minnie ran a boarding house in Vancouver. Lady is listed in the 1930 census as a commercial artist. Some of her artwork survives. She also served as a governess for a period of time, and may have provided nursing care during World War I. Minnie Churchill, Harvey Mae, and Lady Maude either lived together or in close proximity in the Portland and Vancouver area from 1910 to 1940, when Minnie died. When Mae died in 1966, Lady returned to Montana where she lived near her youngest sister, O.H. Elizabeth, until Lady's death in 1977.

O.H. "Aitchie" Elizabeth Churchill married Glen Kitterman in 1910 in Vancouver, the only Churchill sibling to marry. Glen originally came from Kansas, and farmed near Cascade. The couple were parents to four children: Mary Elizabeth, David, James and Wilbur (known as Bill). Glen Kitterman died in 1959, and Aitchie died in 1983. Mary Elizabeth, the Kitterman's oldest daughter, married Chester Arthur Sullivan. They had two sons, Gary and Dan. D.H. Churchill, Mary Shelton Churchill, baby Mary, Harvey Mae, Willoughby, Lady, O.H. and Glenn Kitterman are buried in the Benton Avenue Cemetery in Helena, Montana.

James and Sophia Brown (Mary S. Churchill's Maternal Grandparents) crossed the plains via the Oregon Trail in 1850. Their daughter, Mary Elizabeth Brown, was 14 years old at the time. Other children included Sarra, Jim, Joe, Nate, Maggie, and Nan who were born on the trail. Mary Elizabeth Brown Ransdell was 18 years old when she gave birth to Mary Shelton Ransdell. There was only four years difference in age between Mary and her aunt, Nan.

Glen Kitterman (Son-in-law of Mary S. Churchill, married to her daughter, O.H. Elizabeth Churchill Kitterman; children included Mary, James, David and Wilbur) was born in Elk County, Kansas in 1882. He moved to Montana where he homesteaded in 1903, and spent most of his life farming in the Great Falls area. He married O.H. Elizabeth Churchill in 1910 in Vancouver, Washington. The couple had four children: Mary, David, James, and Wilbur. Glen Kitterman died September 21, 1959, in Great Falls.

Mary Elizabeth Kitterman, born September 26, 1911, was raised on a farm on the Gore Hill Bench near Great Falls. She graduated from Great Falls High School. In 1935 she married Chester Arthur Sullivan. Chet was born on March 27, 1914, in Great Falls. They lived briefly in Ulm and Sun River before settling on the south side of the Sun River in Great Falls. They truck-gardened during World War II before beginning a successful hardwood flooring and finishing business. In 1963 Mary and Chet moved to Yellow Bay on Flathead Lake. They raised cherries and apples and operated a custom orchard business. Mary also opened a gift shop where she sold hand-made ceramics made in her studio. In 1988 they moved to Polson. Mary died on September 2, 1993. Her husband, Chester, died on September 30, 1994.

Wilbur (Bill) Kitterman was born on July 13, 1920 in Great Falls. He farmed in the Great Falls area for most of his life. He served as the family historian, and saved many of the Churchill family records, photographs, and artifacts. Bill was also an accomplished fiddle player. Tape recordings of his music are included in this collection. Bill died on January 14, 1998.

Edwin Harvey and Mary Elizabeth Lord (step-father and mother of Mary S. Churchill). Mary Lord was born in 1836, and at the age of 14 traveled to Oregon with her parents and siblings. She married Shelton Ransdell in 1853, and the next year gave birth to Mary Shelton Ransdell Churchill. Mary Elizabeth Lord was widowed in 1854, and married again in 1861 to Edwin Harvey Lord. The couple had six children: Annetta (Nettie) Lord LaChapelle; Edith Lord Johnson; Charles Lord; Alma Lord Holden; Roswell Lord; and Richard Lord.

Mary's father, James Brown, owned significant property in Oregon. The Lord Family lived in Washington state. When Edwin Harvey Lord died in 1902, Mary lived with her daughter, Nettie LaChapelle in Chelan, Washington.

Shelton Ransdell (father of Mary S. Churchill) was born on July 4, 1828, in Warren County, Kentucky. Later his family settled in Illinois. He and his brothers emigrated to Oregon Territory in 1850. While on the trail, Shelton kept track of his journey in a leather-bound journal. Shelton was a member of the Masonic Order. On February 17, 1853 Shelton married Mary Elizabeth Brown, and together they had one daughter, Mary Shelton Ransdell born in 1854. According to family tradition, Shelton drowned in 1854 while transporting freight from a boat to the loading dock. He had owned a store in Sheridan, Oregon.