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Brady Mercantile Company records, 1910-1950

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Brady Mercantile Company (Brady, Mont.)
Title
Brady Mercantile Company records
Dates
1910-1950 (inclusive)
Quantity
9 linear feet
Collection Number
MC 257
Summary
The Brady Mercantile Company, owned by T.N. Quamme and his son Gilmore Quamme, was located in Brady, Montana. This collection (1910-1950) contains correspondence, financial records, and inventories of the company. In addition there are subgroups for Gilmore Quamme's insurance business; for T.N. Quamme's legislative files (1931, 1933); and for the Pondera County Emergency Relief Committee.
Repository
Montana Historical Society, Library & Archives
Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT
59620-1201
Telephone: 4064442681
Fax: 4064445297
mhslibrary@mt.gov
Access Restrictions

Collection open for research.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Historical Note

The Brady Mercantile Company was opened in Brady, Montana, in 1910 by Torris N. Quamme and his son Gilmore Quamme. The store at first acted as a branch store of the Conrad Mercantile Company, but later became independent- dent. It was formally incorporated December 31, 1917, by J.C. Price, president of the Conrad Mercantile Company and by T.N. Quamme and Gilmore Quamme both of Brady. Price held the majority of the stock until 1920 when the Quammes bought out Price. From 1920 on T.N. Quamme served as president, his brother-in-law Joseph B. Johnson as vice-president, and Gilmore Quamme as secretary-treasurer.

The store sold dry goods, clothing, groceries, shoes, furniture, hardware, and crockery. The business ceased operation and the building was sold around 1954. The corporation was involuntarily dissolved December 26, 1968.

Torris N. Quamme was born in Lardahl, Norway, on March 1, 1862. Before moving to Montana in March 1910 he lived in Northfield, Minnesota, where he attended school, and in several towns in North Dakota. He was alderman of two North Dakota towns: Northwood (1892-1896) and Aneta (1898-1904). From 1910 to 1917, Quamme managed the Brady Mercantile Company for the Conrad Mercantile Company, and later became president of the Company. Quamme was a county food administrator during World War I; served in the 1931 and 1933 legislatures as a Republican; and was a trustee of the Pondera County Emergency Relief Committee from 1933 to 1934. Socially he was active in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Lutheran Church. T.N. Quamme married Josephine C. Johnson and had one son Gilmore Quamme.

Gilmore Quamme was born in Northwood, North Dakota, on May 9, 1895. He graduated from high school in Great Falls in 1912 and worked for his father in the Brady Mercantile Company store until the outbreak of World War I. He served in the quartermasters corps at Fort Lewis, Washington. After leaving the army he attended the University of Minnesota, but returned to Brady, Montana, in 1920 to help manage the store.

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Content Description

This collection contains four subgroups. The bulk of the collection consists of the records of the Brady Mercantile Company. Records consist of incoming correspondence (1915-1917, 1921-1930, 1947-1948), primarily from merchandise suppliers; financial records, including cash balance books (1911-1936), inventories (1915, 1919-1936), general and petty ledgers (1910-1914), sales journals (1912-1925, 1929-1934), and trial balance sheets (1922-1925, 1933, 1936-1943); and miscellany, including circulated lists of (1920-1922) of legal documents filed in Pondera County.

The Gilmore Quamme subgroup consists of hail insurance applications (1945-1947) from his insurance business. The Torris N. Quamme subgroup consists of legislative files from his service in the 1931 and 1933 legislatures. The Pondera County Emergency Relief Committee subgroup consists of correspondence (1933-1934), relief applications, labor records, lists of orders for commodities, and government circulars. Interfiled are materials generated by T.N. Quamme as a member of the Committee, and materials of the Brady Mercantile Company doing business with the Committee.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society Library & Archives. The Library & Archives does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an archivist.

Preferred Citation

Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Library & Archives. Helena, Montana.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into four subgroups: Brady Mercantile Company; Gilmore Quamme; Torris N. Quamme; and Pondera County Emergency Relief Committee. Each subgroup is arranged by series. Some material housed in oversize boxes. See inventory below for more information.

Location of Collection

13:3-4

Location of Collection

6:1-5 (oversize box 5, 10-13)

Acquisition Information

Acquisition information available upon request.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Firearms industry and trade--Montana
  • Insurance, Hail--Montana
  • Norwegian Americans--Montana
  • Public welfare--Montana
  • Retail trade--Montana--Brady

Corporate Names

  • Brady Mercantile Company (Brady, Mont.) (creator)

Geographical Names

  • Brady (Mont.)--Commerce
  • Pondera County (Mont.)--Politics and government

Finding aid prepared by Ellie Arguimbau; Updated by Aaron Rau
1994; 2024

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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