Martin Maginnis Incoming Correspondence Transcriptions, 1964

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Maginnis, Martin, 1841-1919
Title
Martin Maginnis Incoming Correspondence Transcriptions
Dates
1964 (inclusive)
Quantity
5 folders
Collection Number
Collection 0112, MtBC, us (collection)
Summary
The Maginnis Incoming Correspondence Transcriptions consist of typed transcripts prepared by, or under the supervision of, Merrill G. Burlingame. The letters are a selection of incoming correspondence at Maginnis' Washington D. C. office from 1874 to 1878. The letters are from a wide variety of Montana territorial residents and locations, dealing with topics such as Indian affairs, territorial and national politics, government contracts and contractors, Yellowstone National Park, patronage requests, railroads, and land surveys. The transcriptions were taken from original letters presently held by the Montana Historical Society in their collection number 50. This set should not be considered a complete representation of those found in the Maginnis collection at the Montana Historical Society.
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

Martin Maginnis was born near Pultneyville, New York on October 27, 1841 to Patrick and Winifred Devine Maginnis, He moved to Minnesota with his parents in 1852 where he eventually became a newspaper editor. During the Civil War, Maginnis enlisted as a private in the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment, eventually reaching the rank of major in the 11th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He moved to Montana Territory with his brothers in 1866 where he tried his hand at mining and returned to newspaper work in Helena. In the election of 1872, Maginnis won the position of territorial representative to the United States House of Representatives where he served until 1885. He also served as the Montana State Commissioner of Mineral Land from 1890 to 1893. Maginnis eventually moved to Los Angeles, California where he died on March 27, 1919

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Maginnis incoming correspondence file consists of typed transcripts prepared by, or under the supervision of, Merrill G. Burlingame, a history professor at Montana State University. The transcriptions were taken from original letters presently held by the Montana Historical Society in their collection number 50. There was no written criteria for the letters selected for transcription, no apparent accuracy check, and as a result this set should not be considered a complete representation of those found in the Magnnis collection at the Montana Historical Society. Some of these transcriptions were used by Burlingame in the composition of his own historical publications while others were simply kept as notes.

The letters are a selection of incoming correspondence at Maginnis' Washington D. C. office from 1874 to 1878. The letters are from a wide variety of Montana territorial residents and locations, dealing with topics such as Indian affairs, territorial and national politics, government contracts and contractors, Yellowstone National Park, patronage requests, railroads, and land surveys. Correspondents include Samuel T. Hauser, Nathaniel P. Langford, P. W. McAdow, and George W. Frost. The letters have been chronologically arranged in folders labeled 1874 through 1878. One transcription of a newspaper article dated 1884 has been placed at the end of folder 5.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Typed transcriptions of original letters received by Martin Maginnis were prepared from originals held by the Montana Historical Society, Helena, Montana, by Merrill G. Burlingame in 1964 and donated by him to Special Collections.

Processing Note

This collection was processed 2009 October 21

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/1 1874
1/2 1875
1/3 1876
1/4 1877
1/5 1878, 1884

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Government contractors-Montana
  • Indians of North America-Government relations-1869-1934
  • Indians of North America-Montana
  • Patronage, Political-Montana
  • Public contracts-Montana
  • Public lands-Montana
  • Railroads-Montana
  • Representatives, U.S. Congress-Montana-Correspondence

Personal Names

  • Frost, George W.,-Indian agent-Correspondence
  • Hauser, Samuel Thomas,-1833-1914-Correspondence
  • Langford, Nathaniel Pitt,-1832-1911-Correspondence
  • Maginnis, Martin,-1841-1919-Correspondence
  • McAdow, Perry W.,-1838-1918-Correspondence

Corporate Names

  • United States.-Congress.-House

Geographical Names

  • Montana-Politics and government-19th century
  • United States-Politics and government-1865-1883
  • Yellowstone National Park

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Burlingame, Merrill G.-(Merrill Gildea),-1901-1994 (creator)