Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Engelfried and Esler Records, 1866-1889
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Engelfried and Esler (Bozeman, Mont.)
- Title
- Engelfried and Esler Records
- Dates
- 1866-188918661889
- Quantity
- .2 linear feet
- Collection Number
- Collection 631, MtBC, us (collection)
- Summary
- The Engelfried and Esler Records consist of three ledger books and a letter press book maintained by Frank Esler during his Montana residence under both of his business names. Entries include transactions at Argenta, Jefferson City, and Bozeman, notes by E. J. Owenhouse, who likely absorbed Esler's saddlery business in the 1880s, and entries dated 1877-1880.
- Repository
-
Montana State University Library, Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections
Montana State University-Bozeman Library
Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections
P.O. Box 173320
Bozeman, MT
59717-3320
Telephone: 4069944242
Fax: 4069942851
- Access Restrictions
-
This collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Frank Esler was born at Copenhagen, New York on August 1, 1843, and was apprenticed to a saddle maker in Booneville, New York. Married in 1861 to Mary E. Jackson, he worked at his trade at Booneville until he enlisted in the Union Army in the summer of 1862. He mustered out after a year and spent the balance of the war as a contractor for cavalry supplies. In 1866, with his wife, Esler moved to Argenta, Montana Territory, where he speculated in mining and ran a small store which he called "Esler House." In 1869, he moved to Jefferson City (Jefferson County) where he failed in a number of business enterprises. In 1874, the Eslers moved to Bozeman (Gallatin County) where he established a saddlery business, eventually forming a partnership with Ferdinand Englefried. During this partnership, the firm was known as "Englefried and Esler." Frank Esler also became a director of the First National Bank in Bozeman during the mid-1880s. His date of death is unknown.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The Engelfried and Esler records consist of three ledger books and a letter press book maintained by Frank Esler during his Montana residence under both of his business names. The first ledger includes transactions at Argenta, Jefferson City, and Bozeman, and accounts include those maintained with Lester S. Willson, Nelson Story, William H. Tracy, J.V. Bogert, Wells, Fargo and Company, and the Crow Agency in eastern Montana. The letterpress book entries are quite scant, and include a few notes by E. J. Owenhouse, who likely absorbed Esler's saddlery business in the 1880s. The final ledger, with entries dated 1877-1880, is unidentified.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/1 | Ledger | 1866-1878 |
| 1/2 | Ledger | 1875-1877 |
| 1/3 | Letter press book | 1877-1889 |
| 1/4 | Ledger | 1877-1880 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Frontier and pioneer life-Montana
- General stores-Montana-Argenta
- Saddlery-Montana-Bozeman
Personal Names
- Bogert, J. V. (John V.)
- Engelfried, Ferdinand
- Esler, Frank W
- Story, Nelson, 1838-1926
- Tracy, William H., 1838-1908
- Willson, Lester S. (Lester Sebastian), 1839-1919
Corporate Names
- Engelfried and Esler (Firm)
- United States-Bureau of Indian Affairs-Crow Agency
- Wells, Fargo and Company
Geographical Names
- Bozeman (Mont.)-History
Form or Genre Terms
- Business records-Montana-Argenta
- Business records-Montana-Bozeman
- Business records-Montana-Jefferson City
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Esler, Frank, b. 1843 (creator)
- Owenhouse, E. J (creator)
Corporate Names
- Esler House (Argenta, Mont.) (creator)
Kim Allen Scott, 2009
March 24, 2016
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
