Jesse G. Anderson Papers, 1914-1925

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Anderson, Jesse G. (Jesse George), 1894-1975
Title
Jesse G. Anderson Papers
Dates
1914-1925
Quantity
2 volumes
Collection Number
Collection 2056, MtBC, us (collection)
Summary
The Jesse G. Anderson Papers consist of a handwritten diary, June 21, 1914 through May 16, 1915; and a scrapbook, 1922 to 1925. The diary recounts his journey with his stepfather and mother as they journeyed from McKenzie County to Saskatchewan in search of a homestead site. Topics include: daily life, building a home, developing the land, landscape, travel conditions, wildlife, and social life. Locations include, Medicine Lake, Montana; Bone Trail; and North Battleford, Candada. The scrapbook contains information on courses, student submissions, and instructor feedback; it was compiled by Jesse while taking the International Correspondence School course in newspaper advertising.
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

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Jesse G. Anderson was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota in 1894, the son of Jennie M. Norton and Emmett H. Anderson. The Andersons had moved to Grand Forks from Minnesota sometime prior to 1880 and were married there in November, 1881. After Emmett's death in 1884, Jennie remained in Grand Forks to raise her son, but by 1910 she had remarried to William Kennedy and moved on to McKenzie County, North Dakota. Jesse attended college at Grand Forks in 1913, but it is unknown if he earned a degree. In the summer of 1914 he accompanied his parents on an overland trip to Saskatchewan where they planned to establish a homestead. They settled on a parcel near North Battleford where Jesse lived until sometime after early 1922 when he returned to Grand Forks and lived with his uncle, Watson Anderson at 321 Walnut Street and worked as a clerk in his uncle's confectionery shop. About this time he began a course in newspaper advertising from the International Correspondence Schools of Scranton, Pennsylvania and completed his work by 1925 when he took a job as a clerk at the Grand Forks Herald newspaper office. By 1930 he had moved to Oregon where he also worked in newspaper advertising and likely spent the rest of his life there. He died in Ashland, Oregon in March, 1975.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Jesse G. Anderson Papers consist of a handwritten diary he kept from June 21, 1914 through May 16, 1915. It recounts his journey with his stepfather and mother as they journeyed from McKenzie County to Saskatchewan in search of a homestead site. The diary begins with Jesse returning to his mother's home by train from Medicine Lake Montana, and then their preparation of a two wagon outfit for their journey to Canada. Their route began near the town of Alexander and passed through Williston and Bone Trail heading northwest to Montana. Once across the state line, the Andersons followed a route along the Big Muddy river from Medicine Lake to Outlet and to the Canadian border. The Andersons continued north and eventually settled near North Battleford, and at this point the diary describes their daily life in building a home and developing the land until the spring of 1915. The diary is quite descriptive, giving a vivid portrait of the landscape, travel conditions, wildlife, and social life with people encountered. The second item in the Anderson papers is a carefully assembled scrapbook containing all of the course information, student submissions, and instructor feedback compiled by Jesse while taking the International Correspondence School course in newspaper advertising from 1922 through 1925.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

A travel diary and a scrapbook created by Jesse G. Anderson were donated to Montana State University by the Southern Oregon State College archives, Ashland, Oregon, in the fall of 1976.

Processing Note

This collection was processed 2012 May 25

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Advertising, Newspaper -- Study and teaching
  • Correspondence schools and courses -- Pennsylvania -- Scranton
  • Farm life -- Saskatchewan -- North Battleford
  • Travelers -- Great Plains -- Diaries

Personal Names

  • Anderson, Jesse G. (Jesse George), 1894-1975
  • Kennedy, Jennie M. Norton Anderson
  • Kennedy, William

Corporate Names

  • International Correspondence Schools -- Students

Geographical Names

  • Great Plains -- Description and travel
  • McKenzie County (N.D.)
  • North Battleford (Sask.)

Form or Genre Terms

  • Diaries