Leah Hazel Gillies was born on February 18, 1907 in Twin Bridges, Montana. She was the daughter of Dougald G. Gillies, a livery stable owner in Twin Bridges. Leah attended the local schools in Twin Bridges and graduated from the Montana State Normal College at Dillon in 1927. She began her teaching career in Melville, Montana and married Walter Ora Olson on January 1, 1927. The couple made their home on a ranch near Melville and had two children, Karen Lee and Walter Laurence Olson. Leah eventually moved to Gallatin County where she was living at the time she loaned the material reproduced in this collection, and she died in 1994.
The Olson papers consist of typed transcriptions and photocopies of original documents created by Leah and her daughter, Karen. "Back to 1782" is a genealogy essay regarding the history of the Olson and Gillies families composed by Karen Olson in 1952. It is accompanied by a photocopied family tree chart. "History of Twin Bridges" is an essay by Leah Olson presenting a brief overview of the town based primarily on secondary sources. The collection also includes a photocopy of an original day book kept by Dougald G. Gillies for his business, the Willow Stables in Twin Bridges, with multiple entries dated 1905.
This collection is open for research.
Original essays and a livery stable day book were loaned to Special Collections for transcription and copying by Leah Olson on October 16, 1964. Following their transcription by library personnel, the originals were returned to her. The materials were originally accessioned as three separate items and assigned collection numbers 195, 196, and 197.
This collection was processed 2009 August 31