Robert A. Baxter was born in County Donegal, Ireland, April 28, 1836, the son of George and Sarah (Anderson) Baxter. When Robert was about twelve years of age his parents immigrated to America, locating in Ontario, Canada. He moved on to San Francisco in 1865 where he farmed until the early 1870s and then located a homestead in the Gallatin Valley northwest of Bozeman, Montana. His ranch eventually grew to over 400 acres and is still owned by his descendants. Baxter became treasurer of the Farmer's Canal company, a stockholder in and a director of the Commercial Bank of Bozeman and a trustee of the Bozeman Milling Company. He died in 1927.
The Robert A. Baxter papers consist of a positive photocopy of his 1875 declaration of intention to become a citizen of the United States, issued in Solano County, California, and an original ledger book most likely listing the initial investors in the Farmer's Canal Company of Gallatin County, Montana. The name of the business enterprise is not recorded in the ledger, and only a few pages are filled out with entries that range from 1890 to 1893.
This collection is open for research.
An original citizenship declaration was loaned to Montana State University for photocopying by Marie Baxter of Bozeman, Montana on February 25, 1970. Also on that date Baxter donated an original account ledger. The citizenship declaration was returned, and its present location is unknown.
This collection was processed 2012 December 6