Daniel Webster Tilton was born in Silver Creek, New York, on July 3, 1839, the only child of John and Angeline Tilton. He studied at the Bryant and Stratton Business College in 1859, and then traveled to Missouri and Colorado. During the gold rush, he was engaged in business ventures, initially at Denver and later at Central City.
In 1863 Tilton left Colorado and traveled to Virginia City, opening the town's first store, "D.W. Tilton Co. news dealers, book sellers, stationers, and job printers, Virginia City, I.T." He transported the first hand press to the territory and bought a newspaper, The Montana Post, from John Buchanan for $3,000. Tilton published the newspaper and did other printing jobs until 1868, when he sold out to Benjamin Dittes.
Tilton returned to New York in the winter of 1865, to marry his cousin, Lizzie D. May (1841-1866). The couple traveled to Virginia City the following spring, but Lizzie Tilton died of consumption on October 25, 1866, at the age of 25. Tilton remarried in May 1868, to Helen Elvira Barber (1850-1924) of Pennsylvania, a distant relative of his first wife. In the early 1870s, Tilton joined with his father-in-law, Orlando Beach Barber (1828-1913), to form Tilton and Barber, "wholesale and retail dealers in groceries, wines, and liquors, books and stationery, cigars and tobacco, powder and fuse, and c. and c.," located on Wallace Street. This partnership lasted until 1883.
With the decline of Virginia City, Tilton moved his business to Butte in 1884. D.W. Tilton's Book Store, located first at 63 West Park Street and later at 138 West Park, handled job printing, blank books, school books, ink, paper, newspapers, novels, and magazines.
Tilton and his wife raised a family of six children: Webster Barber (1869-1912), John Edgar (1871-1885), Orlando Beach "Orrie" (1876-1959), Charles Lester (1878-1948), Helen Elvira (1882-1962), and Howard Lee (circa 1890-1957). All but their youngest child were born in Virginia City.
Tilton and his sons, operating under the name of Tilton Brothers, maintained business interest in ranching and mining developments, primarily the Highland Mining Company of Butte.
Webster Tilton helped to operate the Highland Mining Company and ran the printing press in his father's book store in Butte.
Orlando Tilton, educated at the University of Michigan in taxidermy and violin, also worked at the Highland Mining Company as a young man. He was involved in ranching and the raising of poultry in the Ruby Valley from 1918 until his death.
Lester Tilton engaged in ranching in the Ruby Valley after the death of his grandfather, O.B. Barber. He married Clara Nichols and they were the parents of five children. He operated a store and post office in Woodside, Montana.
Helen Tilton was educated in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and was an accomplished figure skater. She married Andrew L. Spencer in 1928; the couple resided in Sheridan except for a period during World War II, when they lived in Bremerton, Washington.
Howard Tilton attended the School of Mines in Butte, Montana, and spent the greater part of his life on the family ranches. The Tilton family was linked through marriage to the Corby family of Butte when Howard Tilton married Edith Lillian Corby, daughter of Joseph and Sena Corby. Their son, Corby Howard Tilton, took over the family ranching interests. The ranch remained in the family for four generations, until it was sold in 1973 by Corby Howard Tilton.
Orlando Beach Barber also left Virginia City in the 1880s, becoming proprietor of Valley View Farm of Laurin, Montana. In 1898 Barber built a three story brick house one mile south of Sheridan, which was the home of the Tiltons for many years. He and his wife Samantha Gates Barber (1830-1899) owned a ranch near Sheridan and were joined in its operation by their son, Charles W. Barber (1856-1933), and the Tilton grandsons.
Joseph Corby, who was born in 1866, in Pennsylvania, came west at the age of 19, and worked as a hoisting engineer in the Butte mines. He served as an officer of the First Montana Volunteers in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War. In 1906, he attended the Tenth Montana Legislative Assembly as a Republican and then was elected mayor of Butte (1907-1909). Corby died in Butte in 1917.
D.W. Tilton spent the last years of his life in Grace, Montana, and on the family ranch. He died in Sheridan on October 15, 1919.
Daniel Webster Tilton co-managed a general store in Virginia City with his father-in-law, Orlando Beach Barber. In 1884 he opened a bookstore in Butte known as D.W. Tilton's Book Store. After his first wife died of consumption, he married Helena Elvira Barber, with whom he had six children. Tilton and his sons all took part in the family business. The collection contains photographs of Tilton, his wife, children, store, and family ranch near Sheridan, Montana, in this collection. There is also a large number of photographs of unidentified men, women, and children who were most likely related to the Tilton family. The photographs in this collection range in date from circa 1890 to 1910. There is an interesting series of views of gold fields in Alaska and mines in Butte, Montana.
Many of the photographs in this collection are attributed to specific photographers or photographic studios and lists of these photographers and/or studios follow. However, numerous photographs are unattributed and are not listed.
Photographs in the collection are the work of the following Montana photographers:
Angelo, Butte (3 photographs)
Maud Davis Baker, Helena (1 photograph)
John Berkin, Boulder (2 photographs)
Broadway Studio, Butte (1 photograph)
Bundy and Train, Helena (1 photograph)
O. C. Bundy (4 photographs)
Mrs. O.C. Bundy (2 photographs)
J. Crissman, Bozeman (2 photographs)
Dore' Studio, Butte (11 photographs)
A. J. Dusseau, Butte (2 photographs)
Dusseau and Thomson, Butte (2 photographs)
Eldridge and Ireland, Elite Studio, Butte (4 photographs)
Elite Studio, Butte (16 photographs)
Elliott, Butte City (1 photograph)
The Gibson, Butte (2 photographs)
W. S. Hawes, Butte (4 photographs)
Hazeltine's Studio, Butte (2 photographs)
Ingall's, Missoula (1 photograph)
Japanese-American Studio, Dillon (1 photograph)
Keller, Helena (3 photographs)
A. J. Lawson, Billings (1 photograph)
Lawson, Bozeman (1 photograph)
C. E. LeMunyon and Co., Great Falls (1 photograph)
Leslie Lyle, Helena (1 photograph)
Mertz, Livingston (1 photograph)
J.M. Moriarty, Helena (1 photograph)
Mosaic Photos, Butte (1 photograph)
D.M. Newbro Drug Co., Butte (1 photograph)
Palace, Butte (1 photograph)
Palais, Butte (1 photograph)
Wm. G. Schultz, Palais Studio, Butte (1 photograph)
Sproule Studio, Helena (1 photograph)
Studio Grand, Butte (2 photographs)
Studio La Grande, Great Falls (2 photographs)
Taylor Studio, Helena (4 photographs)
E.H. Train, Helena (5 photographs)
Photographs in the collection are the work of the following Non-Montana photographers:
G. Ames Aldrich [?] (1 photograph)
Wm. V. Alford, Conneautville, Pennsylvania (1 photograph)
Arthur and Philbric, Detroit (3 photographs)
Automatic Photograph Machine Co., New York (1 photograph)
Brands Studios, Chicago (2 photographs)
Clinedinst, Washington, D.C. (2 photographs)
W. J. Collins Rapid City (1 photograph)
John G. Cook, Genesee (1 photograph)
Davies, Rockland, Maine (1 photograph)
A. J. Diehl and Co., Detroit (2 photographs)
O. G. Dowe (1 photograph)
Edinger, Des Moines (1 photograph)
Chas. Eisenmann, N.Y. (1 photograph)
Elite, San Francisco (1 photograph)
D. E. Faltz (1 photograph)
C. Warren Fish (1 photograph)
Fredericks and Potthoff, St. Paul (2 photographs)
A. French, Tacoma (1 photograph)
Jno. E. Fuller, Spring Valley, Minn. (1 photograph)
Gibson, Ann Arbor, Michigan (2 photographs)
Gregg, Rochester, N.Y. (1 photograph)
Haines, Albany, N.Y. (1 photograph)
Harrison, Galesburg (1 photograph)
Haynes, St. Paul (2 photographs)
J.H. Hinton, (1 photograph)
Hodson, San Francisco (1 photograph)
J.M. House, Gadsden, Alabama (1 photograph)
Huntington and Clark, Detroit (2 photographs)
Issott and Cornell, San Diego (1 photograph)
LeClear, Grand Rapids, Michigan (1 photograph)
Lewis and Gibson, Ann Arbor, Michigan (1 photograph)
Macy, Vinton, Iowa (1 photograph)
Marks, Bay City, Michigan (3 photographs)
Mytton, Ontario, California (1 photograph)
J.T. Pelf, Decorah, Iowa (1 photograph)
Randall, Ann Arbor, Michigan (14 photographs)
Ranger and Whitmore, Rochester, N.Y. (1 photograph)
Rentschler, Ann Arbor, Michigan (7 photographs)
Sarony, N.Y. (6 photographs)
Sellman, Ann Arbor (1 photograph)
Smith, Detroit (1 photograph)
J. A. Stevens, Spring Valley, Minn. (1 photograph)
Stone, Bay City, Michigan (1 photograph)
Swain, St. Paul (1 photograph)
S. M. Taylor, St. Paul (2 photographs)
Van Dyke, Edinboro, PA (1 photograph)
Van Loo (1 photograph)
Villard, Detroit (3 photographs)
Vreeland, San Diego (1 photograph)
F.J. Walsh, Trenton, N.J. (1 photograph)
Wheeler, Pendleton, OR (1 photograph)
White and Co., Port Huron, Michigan (1 photograph)
A. Wight, Silver Creek, N.Y. (1 photograph)
Veazie Wilson (49 photographs)
J. Wood, N.Y. (1 photograph)
The photographs were arranged by subject and organized into twenty-one subject-based series: Series I. Tilton Family, Series II. Tilton Ranch, Series III. Tilton Stores, Series IV. Barber Family, Series V. Corby Family, Series VI. Actresses, Series VII. Alaska, Series VIII. Bands, Series IX. Children, Series X. City and Town Life, Series XI. Couples, Series XII. Elks, Series XIII. Families, Series XIV. Groups, Series XV. Human Curiosities, Series XVI. Landscapes, Series XVII. Men, Series XVIII. Mining, Series XIX. National Parks and Reserves, Series XX. Transportation, and Series XXI. Women.
Collection is open for research.
The Montana Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Photograph Archives collections and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Photograph Archives before any reproduction use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in its collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
Tilton family photograph collection. Lot 005. [Box and folder number.] Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, Helena, Montana.
Acquisition information available upon request.
The Tilton Photograph Collection was given to the Montana Historical Society in 1978. The photographs were transferred from the Archives, MC 111, to the Photograph Archives, PAc 79-71. The collection was difficult to process because many of the images were unidentified.
The collection was reprocessed by Rebecca Kohl.
2 items transferred to cased image collection. 8 photographs transferred to 900 collection. 5 stereographs transferred to stereograph collection. 8 postcards transferred to postcard collection.
See the Daniel Webster Tilton family papers, MC 111, for related manuscript materials.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Montana Historical Society Research Center Catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search under these terms.