Julia Bennet memoirs, circa 1963, 1971

This collection contains photocopied manuscripts written by Julia Bennett, along with a newspaper clipping containing her obituary. The manuscripts include draft memoirs detailing the lives of Bennett's parents, Benjamin and Lulu Bembrick, her early life, and her later dude ranch business ventures. Additional manuscripts document the people she worked for and alongside during her time from 1920 to 1929 at the Nine Quarter Circle Ranch in Gallatin Canyon, where she was employed as a cook by two families, the Butlers and the Kilbournes. Although Bennett interacted with many other employees there, a man she referred to as "English Tom" appears most prominently throughout her memoirs. She also writes about building and designing her own ranches, including the Diamond J Ranch near Ennis, Montana, in 1929, and the creation of a second property, the Diamond W Ranch near Tucson, Arizona, in 1936, as well as the financial difficulties she faced during the early years of these ventures.

The collection also includes a narrative manuscript about a group known as the Cowan Party visiting Yellowstone National Park and being ambushed by Native Americans. An additional manuscript focuses specifically on "English Tom."