On September 10, 1884, the Society of Montana Pioneers was founded in Helena, Montana. Formed as a separate (but closely related) organization, the Sons and Daughters of Montana Pioneers was established on August 18, 1892. Stating their objectives as an organization to "perpetuate the sacrifices and heroic virtues of our parents who blazed the trail into this country," the Sons and Daughters chose the date of December 31, 1868 to determine eligibility for people to become members, the same date of qualification for the parent society. This meant that only those who could trace their lineage to a person who arrived in the territory prior to 1869 could join. Over the years the organization has participated in a wide variety of activities to promote Montana's historical heritage, including the purchase of land near the Capitol building in Helena on which the present building of the Montana Historical Society is located. The organization continues to use space in this building to house their historical records. In 1964, the Sons and Daughters sponsored a statewide essay writing competition for junior high school students. Winners of the contest in several different categories were determined by a committee of members from the organization and a printed edition of those essays was produced.
The contest entries of this collection cover a wide variety of Montana historical topics including biography, historic building description, family histories, and general Montana community history. During the time the essays were being examined by the contest committee, subject headings and geographic coverage annotations were added to assist in assigning proper categorization sorting for eventual judging. Each essay was required to include the student's name, school, teacher, and place of residence. The essays also include bibliographies of sources cited. The essays have been arranged in alphabetical order by author's name, with the subject and geographic coverage information on the second line of the folder heading.
This collection is open for research.
Historical essays submitted by Montana schoolchildren to a 1964 competition held by the Sons and Daughters of Montana Pioneers were first deposited in two separate donations to Special Collections in the mid-1960s and assigned accession numbers 1127 and 2005. They were formally donated by the society on July 31, 2007.
This collection was processed 2007 November 29
Harbert, James (Flathead Lake Area - Flathead County)
An American Pioneer (Helena)
Keene, Harriet Davis (Canton Valley - Broadwater County)
Dell, William (Luther, Montana - Carbon County)
Matthews, Judge John Aaron (Helena - Lewis and Clark County)
Vigilante Parade (Helena - Lewis and Clark County)
Horse Prairie (Beaverhead County)
Kendall, Montana (Fergus Co.)
Yates, Mary "Granny" (Gallatin County)
Johnson, George Adams (Hysham - Treasure County)
Groff, Mrs. Julia V. Smith (Victor, Montana - Missoula County)
Martin, Gasper (Martin City, Montana - Flathead County)
Clawson, Oren (Park City, Montana - Stillwater County
Henderson Gulch (Granite County)
Philbrick, Mary Howard (Rosebud County)
Daily, Weldon E. (Power, Montana - Teton County)
Moore, John C. (Helmville, Montana - Powell County)
Belgium Hill (Pondera County)
Castle (Meagher County)
Granite, Montana (Granite County)
Dunning, Leota Kime (Powder River County)
Dyrland, Sivert Magnus (Big Sandy - Choteau County)
Eagle, Samuel Peter (West Yellowstone - Gallatin County)
Charlot, Chief (Bitteroot Valley region)
Owens, Charles "Rattlesnake Jake" (Lewistown - Fergus County)
Leonard, Nathen, R. (Butte - Silver Bow County)
Brandon, Montana (Madison County)
Hollam, Mrs. Andrew (Glendive - Dawson County)
Cogswell, Dr. William F. (Hamilton- Ravalli County
Kibbey, Montana (Meagher County)
Crow Indians (Montana)
Greenogh Mansion (Missoula County)
Virginia City, Montana (Madison County)
Hartford, Mrs. (Lewistown - Fergus County)
Johnson, Mrs. Sue (Giltedge - Fergus County)
Demersvilie (Flathead County)
McGowan, James (Drummond - Powell County)
Marysville, Montana (Lewis and Clark County)
Taelman, Father Louis (St. Ignatius - Lake County)
Cline, J.H. (Polson - Lake County)
Fort Mussleshell, Montana
Sisters of Providence at St. Ignatius, Montana (Lake County)
Cartwriqht, Lee E. (Rosebud County)
Orr Mansion (Dillon - Beaverhead County)
Stuart, Charles (Jordan - Garfield County)
Frenchtown, Montana (Missoula County)
Gordon, James (Helmville - Powell County)
Wyola, Montana (Big Horn County)
Geyser, Montana (Judith Basin County)
Paddock, John Charles (Big Hole Valley, Wisdom - Beaverhead County)
Elso, Montana (Musselshell County)
Switzer, Malphus Artillus (Madison County)
Rombo Flats (Ravalli County)
Phillipsburq, Montana Area Ghost Towns (Granite County)
Geary, Hilarie and Kate (Helmville - Powell County)
Spidel (Schmidlapp), William (Roundup - Musselshell County)
Libby, Montana (Lincoln County)
Stevenson, Allie, Crow Indians (Montana)
Thelen, J. P. (Cascade County)
Comstock, Mrs. Anna (Hathaway - Rosebud County)
Trask, Mrs. Augusta Eliason (Deer Lodge - Powell County)
Mansfield, Mrs. Katie Connelly (Judith Basin County)
East Helena (Lewis and Clark County)
Peeso, Fred (Flathead Area)
Foran, Charles Joseph. (Grass Range - Fergus County)
Conrad, Charles Edward (Kalispell - Flathead County)
Nelson, Frank L. (Doc) (Bozeman - Gallatin County)
Davis, Floyd (Gabbler) (Vida - McCone County)
Cook, A.B. (White Sulphur Springs - Meagher County)
Jessup, Harry (Creston - Flathead County)
Warton, Jesse R. (Butte - Silver Bow County)
Russell, Charles M. (Flathead Valley - Flathead County)