James S. Spray Collection

James S. Spray Collection, 1925-1956

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Spray, James S., 1875-1956
Title: James S. Spray Collection
Dates: 1925-1956
19251956
Quantity: 1.2 linear feet
Collection Number: Collection 2098, MtBC, us (collection)
Summary: The James S. Spray Collection consists of Spray's manuscript "Early Days in the Madison Valley," letters Spray wrote to Burlingame about the manuscript and plans for publication, a photograph of Spray taken in 1951. The manuscript details the topography, history, and biographical sketches of Madison County and its residents.
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

James S. Spray was born on January 22, 1875, the son of James and Anna Spray, who owned a small ranch near Jeffers in the Madison Valley of Montana Territory. He attended school irregularly and eventually inherited the family ranch, specializing in sheep during the early twentieth century. Spray had a keen interest in history and around 1924 began to write a narrative description of the Madison Valley's past. Although his manuscript, "Early Days in the Madison Valley," was largely finished by 1930 Spray apparently never found a publisher, and he continued to revise the work throughout the 1930s. In 1938, he began to collaborate with historian Merrill G. Burlingame to have the handwritten document transcribed into typewritten format, and in the process Burlingame heavily edited the more than 1,500 pages Spray had created. Burlingame's final typewritten version was produced in multiple carbon copies, approximately twenty in all, bound, and distributed to interested parties in Madison County. James S. Spray died in 1956 without ever seeing his history published.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The James S. Spray collection consists of Spray's "Early Days in the Madison Valley," written in pencil on highly acidic ruled notepaper. The manuscript, which details the topography, history, and biographical sketches of Madison County and its residents, has various pagination markings, representing the various revisions Spray made over the years he worked on it. Its arrangement here is based on the final page numbers which were likely added when he turned the work over to Merrill G. Burlingame in 1938. Also included are letters Spray wrote to Burlingame about the manuscript and plans for publication, a photograph of Spray taken in 1951, and three edited typewritten versions of Spray's work in various stages of revision prepared by Burlingame from approximately 1940 to 1956. Spray's manuscript details the settlement of the Madison Valley, particularly in the Ennis and Jeffers area, including biographical sketches of many early settlers and their families. Some personalities associated with the history of Virginia City and Alder Gulch are also included in the biographical sketches.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Series 1 Letters, 1938-1951

Series 2 Spray Manuscript, 1925-1938

Series 3 Burlingame Manuscripts, 1938-1956

Acquisition Information

Letters, handwritten literary manuscripts, and typed revisions created by James S. Spray of Madison County, Montana and edited by Merrill G. Burlingame of Bozeman, Montana were donated to Special Collections by Burlingame in several increments between 1967 and 1974 and previously assigned accession number 109. The bulk of Spray's original manuscript was donated by his heir, Richard Dunn of Los Angeles, California, in 1984.

Processing Note

This collection was processed 2009 April 1

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series 1: Letters, 1938-1951Return to Top

Letters written by James Spray to Merrill G. Burlingame during the course of the latter's efforts to edit the handwritten manuscript. Spray's comments include answers to questions posed by Burlingame and reaction to the edited version. A portrait of Spray, taken in 1951, has also been placed in this series.

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1/1		1938
1/2		1939
1/3		1940
1/4	Photograph	1951

Series 2: Spray Manuscript, 1925-1938Return to Top

Handwritten manuscript of "Early Days in the Madison Valley," composed by James S. Spray on ruled writing tablet paper. Pagination varies, with the final version being indicated by a more or less continuously numbered arrangement from page 1 to page 1,560. Although some numbers have been skipped and others duplicated, the manuscript appears complete and is roughly divided between the narrative history and the biographical sketches. Also included is an additional biographical sketch likely composed by Spray after he had turned over the main manuscript to Burlingame in 1938, and a brief story about a coyote. The paper, highly acidic to begin with, is extremely fragile.

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1/5	Coyote story
1/6	Narrative 1-34
1/7	Narrative 35-70
1/8	Narrative 71-105
1/9	Narrative 106-140
1/10	Narrative 141-175
1/11	Narrative 176-210
1/12	Narrative 211-245
1/13	Narrative 247-280
1/14	Narrative 281-315
1/15	Narrative 316-350
1/16	Narrative 351-385
1/17	Narrative 386-420
1/18	Narrative 421-455
1/19	Narrative 456-490
1/20	Narrative 491-525
1/21	Narrative 526-560
1/22	Narrative 561-595
2/1	Narrative 596-630
2/2	Narrative 631-665
2/3	Narrative 666-700
2/4	Narrative 701-735
2/5	Narrative 736-770
2/6	Narrative 771-792
2/7	Biographic 770-805
2/8	Biographic 806-840
2/9	Biographic 841-876
2/10	Biographic 882-915
2/11	Biographic 916-950
2/12	Biographic 951-985
2/13	Biographic 986-1020
2/14	Biographic 1023-1070
2/15	Biographic 1071-1105
2/16	Biographic 1106-1140
2/17	Biographic 1141-1175
2/18	Biographic 1176-1200
2/19	Biographic 1201-1235
2/20	Biographic 1236-1270
3/1	Biographic 1271-1305
3/2	Biographic 1306-1340
3/3	Biographic 1341-1375
3/4	Biographic 1376-1424
3/5	Biographic 1425-1501
3/6	Biographic 1502-1542
3/7	Biographic 1543-1560
3/8	"Appendix"

Series 3: Burlingame Manuscripts, 1938-1956Return to Top

Typewritten transcriptions, with handwritten corrections and addendum, prepared by Merrill G. Burlingame from the original document "Early Days in the Madison Valley" by James S. Spray. Included is a file of the transcription prepared on early schools in the Madison Valley and sent to "Mrs. Bull" of the area for comment and correction; portions of the first typewritten draft prepared by Burlingame circa 1938-40; two subsequent versions of the manuscript; indices probably prepared by Burlingame from the typescripts he created. The last typed version of the manuscript, finished in 1956, is bound.

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
3/9	First draft (partial)
3/10	Bull corrections
3/11	Second draft, pages 1-20
3/12	Second draft 21-53
3/13	Second draft 54-102
3/14	Second draft 103-135
3/15	Second draft 136-175
3/16	Second draft 176-220
3/17	Second draft 221-269
3/18	Second draft 270-294
3/19	Indices
3/20	Third draft (bound volume)

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Geographical Names

Alder Gulch (Madison County, Mont.)-Biography
Ennis (Mont.)
Jeffers (Mont.)
Madison County (Mont.)-Biography
Madison County (Mont.)-History
Madison Valley (Mont. and Wyo.)-Biography
Madison Valley (Mont. and Wyo.)-History
Virginia City (Mont.)-Biography

Other Creators

Personal Names
- Burlingame, Merrill G. (Merrill Gildea), 1901-1994 (creator)
- Spray, James S., 1875-1956-Early days in the Madison Valley (creator)

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