William W. Alderson Diary

William W. Alderson Diary, 1864-1879

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Alderson, William W. (William White), 1831-1906
Title: William W. Alderson Diary
Dates: 1864-1879
18641879
Quantity: .2 linear feet
Collection Number: Collection 708, MtBC, us (collection)
Summary: The William W. Alderson Diary are transcripts of diary notations from Alderson, 1864-1877, and additional entries by his son, Edward, from 1875 to 1879. Entries include information on the family's trip across the plains to Montana from Jo Daviess County, Illinois. The route followed what was then known as "Jacob's Cut-off" via Wind River, Gray Bull, Clark's Fork, and the Yellowstone Valley. Further entries describe the early settlement of Bozeman, Alderson's experiences as an Indian agent, and the purchase of the Avant Courier.
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

William W. Alderson (1831-1906) was a Bozeman, Montana pioneer newspaperman and Indian agent. Born in England, Alderson came to the United States with his parents and eventually settled in western Illinois near Galena. He married Francis W. Weatherly in 1854 and the couple moved to Montana in 1864 along with Alderson's brother, John. The Aldersons decided to settle in the Gallatin valley and became one of the founding families of the new town of Bozeman. In 1873, Alderson accepted a post as Indian agent at the Milk River agency for the Assiniboine Indians, a position he held until 1876. In 1877, he became the editor of the Bozeman Avant Courier, and in 1886 served a term in the Montana legislature. The Aldersons had nine children, Edward, Matthew, Elizabeth, May, Anna, Margaret, Charles, William, and George. Edward C. Alderson also kept a diary from 1875 through 1879, during which time he assisted his father at the Milk River agency.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The transcripts are of diary notations from Alderson, 1864-1877, and additional entries by his son, Edward, from 1875 to 1879. Entries include information on the family's trip across the plains to Montana from Jo Daviess County, Illinois. The route followed what was then known as "Jacob's Cut-off" via Wind River, Gray Bull, Clark's Fork, and the Yellowstone Valley. Further entries describe the early settlement of Bozeman, Alderson's experiences as an Indian agent, and the purchase of the Avant Courier. The transcripts have been arranged in thirteen folders. Folder one contains a carbon of a second draft Burlingame was preparing from his original transcript and covers the years from 1864 through 1866. Folders two through seven contain the original transcript prepared in 1934 which is missing pages 11-21. These missing pages were among the ones retyped in the carbon copy in folder one. Folders eight through thirteen contain the mimeograph published version of the diary, probably prepared in the early 1970s.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Typed transcripts of the William W. Alderson diaries were donated to Special Collections by the Museum of the Rockies in the summer of 1969. The original diaries of William W. Alderson were eventually passed down to his great-grandson, Ted Alderson, who lived in Oregon during the Depression. He was contacted by Merrill G. Burlingame in the summer of 1934 for the purpose of transcribing the diary. Burlingame eventually typed nearly 180 pages from the little volumes, making pencil notations for their eventual publication. Sometime after the transcription, the original diaries were destroyed in a house fire. Burlingame began the preparation of the original transcription for publication and had the manuscript retyped incorporating his pencil notations. The final version of the diary was published in a mimeograph format and the original draft given to the Museum of the Rockies by Dr. Burlingame.

Processing Note

This collection was processed 2009 February 10

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1/1	Carbon copy	1864-1866
1/2	Original copy	1864-1866
1/3	Original copy	1867-1868
1/4	Original copy	1871-1872
1/5	Original copy	1873-1874
1/6	Original copy	1875-1877
1/7	Original copy, Edward C. Alderson	1875-1879
1/8	Mimeograph	1864-1866
1/9	Mimeograph	1867-1868
1/10	Mimeograph	1871-1872
1/11	Mimeograph	1873-1874
1/12	Mimeograph	1875-1877
1/13	Mimeograph, Edward C. Alderson	1875-1879

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Assiniboine Indians-Montana
Bozeman avant courier
British Americans-Montana-Bozeman
Indian agents-Montana-Diaries
Newspaper editors-Montana-Bozeman-Diaries

Corporate Names

United States-Office of Indian Affairs-Milk River Agency-Officials and Employees-Diaries

Geographical Names

Bozeman (Mont.)-History
Bozeman (Mont.)-Newspapers
Great Plains-Description and travel
Jo Daviess County (Ill.)
Montana-Emigration and immigration

Form or Genre Terms

Diaries-Montana-Bozeman

Other Creators

Personal Names
- Alderson, Edward C., d. 1917 (creator)
- Burlingame, Merrill G. (Merrill Gildea), 1901-1994 (creator)

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