Elizabeth Berger Swan was born in Lewistown, Montana Territory, on February 9, 1881, the daughter of John Baptiste Berger and Betsy Kiplin Berger. The Bergers were descended from Pierre Berger, who was part of the Red River Metis people who migrated south from Canada with Louis Riel and homesteaded in the Lewistown area of Fergus County, Montana, beginning in 1879. Devout Catholics, the Bergers sent Elizabeth to the St. Peter's Mission school near Great Falls, Montana, for her education. Elizabeth married William J. Swan in 1900, and the couple had at least three children. Before her death on November 27, 1971, Elizabeth Swan wrote a number of reminiscences and stories about her family life and the history of the Lewistown Metis Catholic community.
The Elizabeth Berger Swan papers consist of two stories written by Swan documenting her Red River Metis family, her Catholic faith, and the community of Lewistown, Montana. "A Brief History of the First Catholic Pioneers of Lewistown, Montana," which was written with her sister, Margaret LeTerelle Lattrey, is a narrative of her family's settlement in Lewistown, the early development of the town, and the activities of the Catholic Church. Many early settlers are named in the narrative including Pierre Berger and his many descendents, Frank Azure, Irene Desy, Frank Day, and Alexander Wilkie. Also mentioned are the Gladeau, Turcotte, Ouellette, Fleury, LaFountaine (or La Fountain), Janeaux, Morase, Laverdure, and Bowes families. The second essay, "Sporty and the Bear Claw," is a Cree Indian story regarding a young man's conversion from native religion to Catholicism, told in the first person. The Swan papers also include a newspaper article by her, which was published in the Lewistown News-Argus on December 22, 1968, giving details on her childhood and school days at St. Peter's Mission School. The documents in this collection are photocopies of the original typescript stories, which Swan subsequently donated to the Lewistown Public Library.
This collection is open for research.
Original typescripts of essays written by Elizabeth B. Swan of Lewistown, Montana were loaned to Montana State University for photocopying by her in 1967 and subsequently donated to the Lewistown Public Library. A newspaper article written by Swan was added to her papers in 1968.
This collection was processed 2012 March 30. This collection incorporates material formerly assigned collection number 542.
[Creator Name], [Date of Creation], [Brief Description of Object], Folder [#], Box [#], [Collection Name], [Collection #], Montana State University (MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT