Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Christmas G. Evans Family papers, 1853-1977
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Evans, C. G.(Christmas Gift), 1840-1915
- Title
- Christmas G. Evans Family papers
- Dates
- 1853-1977 (inclusive)18531977
- Quantity
- 1 linear feet
- Collection Number
- MC 323 (collection)
- Summary
- C.G. Evans was a Helena, Montana, lumber and feed dealer. Papers include correspondence (1867-1947) to various members of the Evans, Bellis, and Scott families; minor financial items, and miscellany. The bulk of the collection consists of subject files on several of the business enterprises in which Evans and his family were involved, including General Mines, Inc.; Hartwell, Jurgens, and Company; Helena Milling Company; McClellan Creek Lumber Company; Sanford and Evans; and Helena real estate properties.
- 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 - Access Restrictions
-
Collection open for research.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Christmas Gift Evans was born on Christmas Day, 1840, at Deerfield in Oneida County, New York, the son of Owen and Catherine (Morris) Evans. In 1862 he traveled to San Francisco by way of Panama. After a year of placer mining he returned home. In April 1864 he again headed west, this time across the plains to Montana. En route he met John B. Sanford, who would be his lifetime business partner. The partners settled in Helena and initially mined along Ten Mile Creek and Nelson Gulch. In partnership with J.W. Hartwell and others they built a ditch bringing water from Ten Mile Creek to Helena. Hartwell, Evans, and Sanford also established a lumber mill on Ten Mile Creek. In 1867 they established the first grist mill in the area, located 11 miles northeast of Helena at the entrance to the canyon on Prickly Pear Creek. The mill originally operated under the name Hartwell, Jurgens and Company and was also known as the Standard Flour Mills. Under the name Sanford and Evans, the partners were involved in a lumber, coal, feed, flour and farm implement business; various mining enterprises; a steam sawmill in Lump Gulch; and Helena real estate. After the death of the partners, the business continued as Sanford-Evans Inc. C.G. Evans married Margaret Graham in 1880. She died in 1894. On May 23, 1896, he married Bertha Bellis, a native of Liverpool, England. They had two children: Margaret Carlisle Evans (b. 1897) and Lewis C. Evans (b. 1901). Margaret married William D. Scott in 1921. Lewis married a woman named Agnes. After Evans' death, Bertha continued to be involved with a number of his enterprises, especially the real estate.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Papers include correspondence (1867-1947) to various members of the Evans, Bellis, and Scott families, including a letter (1867) from John Bellis to his wife in Liverpool, England; letters from the Evans' daughter-in-law Agnes Evans; World War I letters from William D. Scott to his parents, and reminiscent letters from the Storey family of Staveley, England. The bulk of the collection consists of subject files on several of the business enterprises in which Evans and his family were involved, including General Mines, Inc. (1935-1962), re the Little Lillie and Winter mines; Hartwell, Jurgens, and Company (1868-1870), including a ledger for the flour mill on Prickly Pear Creek; Helena Milling Company (1914-1927), including lists of stockholders, financial statements, a mortgage, and a financial journal; McClellan Creek Lumber Company (1921-1923) including a financial statement, promissory notes, and an agreement to sell the sawmill equipment; Sanford and Evans (1868-1884) including log delivery books, time books, and a small account book; and Helena real estate properties (1894-1899, 1921-1977) including rental ledgers, tax statements, abstracts of title, etc. to property along Benton Avenue and Lawrence Streets. There are also minor financial records; miscellany, including Margaret Evans' scrapbook (1916-1917) from University of California at Berkeley; two patents; Charles Bellis' memorandum book; and a speech by Bertha Evans; and clippings.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society Library & Archives. The Library & Archives does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an archivist.
Preferred Citation
Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Library & Archives. Helena, Montana.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into six series: Biographical Materials (1853-1940); Incoming Correspondence (1867-1947); Financial Records (1917-1970); Subject Files (1868-1977, undated); Miscellany (1873-1961, undated); and Clippings (1915-1920, 1975, undated).
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection
Biographical MaterialsReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 1 | Biographical and genealogical information (includes
biographical sketches of C.G. Evans and John B. Sanford; marriage licenses of John
Bellis and Mary Carlisle, Christmas G. Evans and Bertha Bellis, and William D. Scott
and Margaret C. Evans; obituaries of Margaret Evans, Bertha Evans, Mary S. Scott;
history of Evans family name) |
1853-1940 |
Incoming CorrespondenceReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 2 | Scattered to various family members (includes John
Bellis to wife; John O. Bellis; C.G. Evans; Agnes Evans; Charles W. Helmick re Little
Lilly Mine; Kit McCulloch, William D. Scott re World War I; Storey family of Staveley,
England) |
1867-1947 |
Financial RecordsReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 3 | Bertha Evans financial papers |
1920-1930 |
1 / 4 | Christmas G. Evans Estate final account |
1917 |
1 / 5 | John B. Sanford Estate tax statement re Omega and
M.S. Mine) |
1925 |
1 / 6 | William D. Scott tax statements re Omega and M.S.
Mine) |
1933-1970 |
Subject FilesReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 7 | General Mines Inc. (includes incorporation data,
employee stock deal, assay reports, land ownership plat) |
1935-1940 |
1 / 8 | General Mines Inc. (includes tax statements re Little
Lillie and Winter mines) |
1936-1962 |
1 / 9 | Hartwell, Jurgens, and Company (re history of flour
mill on Prickly Pear Creek) |
1906 |
1 / 10 | Hartwell, Jurgens, and Company (ledger) |
1868-1870 |
1 / 11 | Helena Milling Company (includes incorporation data,
list of stockholders, financial statements, correspondence, insurance policies,
mortgage, description of machinery) |
1914-1927 |
1 / 12 | Helena Milling Company (financial journal) |
1914-1921 |
1 / 13 | Helena Milling Company (stock certificate book) |
1914-1919 |
2 / 1 | Helena real estate (includes rent accounts) |
1894-1899 |
2 / 2-3 | Helena real estate (includes rental property ledgers) |
1921-1950 |
2 / 4 | Helena real estate (includes rental property journal:
also includes final expenses for Bertha Evans) |
1939-1941 |
2 / 5 | Helena real estate (includes rental property taxes) |
1977 |
2 / 6 | Helena real estate (includes abstract of title,
deeds, and plat maps to property along Benton Avenue) |
1871-1932 |
2 / 7 | McClellan Creek Lumber Company (includes
incorporation data, financial statement, promissory notes, agreement to sell sawmill
equipment, correspondence) |
1921-1923 |
2 / 8 | McClellan Creek Lumber Company (includes bills of
lading, orders, etc.) |
1922-1923 |
2 / 9 | Sanford and Evans (account book) |
1871-1872 |
2 / 10 | Sanford and Evans (log delivery books) |
1882-1883, undated |
2 / 11-12 | Sanford and Evans (time books: Ten Mile Mill,
Hartwell and Company contract at steam mill, unidentified) |
1868-1873, 1880-1884 |
MiscellanyReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
2 / 13 | Charles Bellis memorandum book (includes items about
his sea voyages) |
1873 |
2 / 14 | Bertha Evans speech re economic potential of Montana |
1916 |
2 / 15 | Margaret C. Evans scrapbook re activities at
University of California, Berkeley |
1916-1917 |
2 / 16 | Helena Cemetery Association lot purchase |
1894 |
2 / 17 | F.E. Scott patent for coffee percolator |
1946 |
2 / 18 | Margaret C. Evans Scott address book, birthday book |
undated |
2 / 19 | William D. Scott and Lawrence E. Hoffman invention:
unattended fish-catching rig |
1961 |
2 / 20 | Miscellaneous (includes Helena Capital Committee
railroad pass, theater programs, sheet music) |
1894, 1922, undated |
ClippingsReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
2 / 21 | Miscellaneous (includes advertisement for Sanford and
Evans coal, Helena High School graduation photo and article, photo of World War I
enlistees from Lewis and Clark County, Sanford Wilson Company incorporation,
Sanford-Evans-Scott house on Benton) |
1915-1920, 1975, undated |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Flour-Mills
- Lumber trade--Montana
Personal Names
- Evans, C. G.(Christmas Gift), 1840-1915 (creator)
Geographical Names
- World War, 1914-1918--Correspondence