Malphus A. Switzer was born in Indiana on August 31, 1848, the son of Traver Branham and Susanah Walter Switzer. In 1865 the Switzer family traveled to Virginia City, Montana and established a ranching operation in the Ennis, Madison County, area. Switzer eventually took over the ranching operation and also operated a store in Jeffers starting in 1903. He died on February 1, 1947.
The Switzer reminiscence, apparently dictated to his daughter, recalls the trip the Switzer family made from Michigan City, Indiana to Iowa in 1854, and then describes another trip, made in 1865, from Victor, Iowa to Virginia City, Montana Territory. On the latter journey, the family's route took them through Fort Laramie and Platte Bridge Station, Wyoming. Switzer recalls arriving at the later place just as the battle of July 26, 1865 occurred. The reminiscence describes other incidents along the trail involving Indian encounters and their results. The narrative ends with the arrival of the Switzer family at Alder Gulch on October 1, 1865.
This collection is open for research.
An original reminiscence created by Malphus A. Switzer was loaned to Special Collections for transcription by Louise Ennis Gilmer in the spring of 1964.
This collection was processed 2009 October 13