Collection 643 - Cowan Family Papers, 1893-1966 :: Montana State University Library

Collection 643 - Cowan Family Papers, 1893-1966

Creator: Cowan family

Provenance Note: Personal and professional papers created or collected by members of the Cowan family between 1893 and 1966 were donated to Special Collections by William Cowan in January 1996.

Historical Note: In 1888, David Cowan moved from Winnipeg, Manitoba to Cypress, Montana with his wife, Jane McKina Cowan, and his 3 children. There he started a trading post which, at the request of homesteaders, he relocated to Box Elder in June 1889. By the early twentieth-century, the Box Elder trading post had evolved into a general store, the Cowan family had started a 8,000 acre ranch, and they had built a second store on the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation. David's son, William Thomas, joined him in running the family businesses in Box Elder at the age of fifteen. David Cowan died in 1925. As an adult, William T. Cowan took an active role in Montana politics and educational institutions. He was a state senator from 1921-1933, a U.S. Land Commissioner for 45 years as well as the chairman of the Hill County State Republican Committee. W.T. Cowan was also instrumental in negotiating the Marias River Project. He served on the State Board of Education and assisted in founding Northern Montana College where he has a hall dedicated in his name. W.T. Cowan and his wife, Margery Jacoby Cowan had three children, Jean, Virginia and William E. Cowan. W.T. Cowan died in January 1951. His son, William E. Cowan, continued to further the family business by establishing a grain elevator in the mid 1940s. W.E. Cowan attended the University of Montana, was an attorney, a member of the State Board of Education, and was active in the Montana Stockgrower's Association. W.E. Cowan and his wife Annabelle had one son, William Cowan, the donor of this collection.

Content Description Note: The Cowan Family papers consist of letters, diaries, speeches, printed materials, legal and land commission papers, and financial records. Documents have been divided into two groups, Family Records and Financial Records, each containing its own series and subseries. Group 1, Family Records, refers to the following series of: Correspondence, Biographical Materials, W.T. Cowan's Land Commission Papers, the Rocky Boy Store, Legal Papers, Political Speeches, and Photographs. In general, Family Records are organized according to subject or function, therefore, some overlap in subjects has been unavoidable. The series of Correspondence has been divided into 6 subseries, generally titled according to subject. Related documentation and some printed materials have been organized within each subseries. For example, the meeting minutes for the State Board of Education have been placed with W.E. Cowan's letters regarding his work with the State Board. W.T. Cowan corresponded and worked with a number of noted persons in his professional careers, among those found in these documents are President Harry S. Truman, Senator Burton K. Wheeler, and Governors Sam Ford & Roy E. Ayers. W.T. Cowan also kept a journal of his visit to the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and wrote a family history of which there are multiple drafts which have been placed in the Biographical Materials series. W.T. & W.E. Cowan's professional papers contain information concerning Montana and U.S. politics, Montana land, irrigation and mining projects, and the State Board of Education. Group 2, Financial Records, refers to Cowan & Son Store Records, Grain Elevator Records, Phillips Gas Records, Bank Records, and Cowan Taxes. Series have been designated according to the business. Within each series documents have been separated according to document type and then arranged chronologically. Copies of customer receipts, financial statements and other loose leaf materials are followed by notebooks containing daily tallies and then by inventories. Business ledgers and account books are not comprehensive. Those years not documented in ledgers generally have loose leaf materials which can help supply information for the missing period. Cowan taxes have been arranged chronologically and file titles indicate whether the file contains federal or state tax returns, or both.

*Group 1*	Family Records
Series 1	Correspondence, 1911-1962, Boxes 1-8 Subseries 1 - General Correspondence, 1911-1962 Subseries 2 - State Board of Education, 1939-40, 1951-52 Subseries 3 - Marias River Project, 1920s - 1957 Subseries 4 - Senate, 1923-44 Subseries 5 - Mining, 1911-1952 Subseries 6 - Rocky Boy Reservation Store, 1924-1953
Series 2	Speeches, Box 9
Series 3	Biographical Materials, 1893-1966, Box 10
Series 4	Cowan & Son: Ranch & Store, 1916-1953, Boxes 11-12
Series 5	Legal Papers, 1901-1954, Box 13
Series 6	Land Papers, 1910-1930, Boxes 14-15
Series 7	Photographs and Pictures, ca. 1890s-1952, Box 15

*Group 2*	Financial Records, 1910-1962 Boxes 17-77
Series 1	Cowan & Son Store Records, 1911-1962, Boxes 17-32 & 3 Volumes
Series 2	Grain Elevator Records, 1946-1960, Boxes 33-60
Series 3	Phillips Gas Records,1908-1962, Boxes 61-63
Series 4	Bank Records, 1957-1962, Boxes 64-73
Series 5	Cowan Taxes, 1911-1952, Boxes 74-77

Group 1: Family Records

Group 1 refers to both personal and professional papers of the Cowan family. Documents have been generally organized by subject, and therefore, there is an unavoidable overlap with some materials. For example, photographs of William T. Cowan's work on the Tiber Dam project are contained in both the Marias River Project, Series 4 and Photographs, Series 7. Financial Records have been organized in Group 2. Any financial records found in Group 1 are pertinent to business correspondence and have been organized with the surrounding documentation.

Collection 643 - Cowan Family Papers, 1893-1966

Contents

Group 1: Family Records

Group 1; Series 1: Correspondence, 1911-1962

Group 1; Series 1, Subseries 1: General Correspondence, 1911-1962

Group 1; Series 1, Subseries 2: State Board of Education 1939-1952

Group 1; Series 1, Subseries 3: Marias River Project, 1920s - 1957

Group 1; Series 1, Subseries 4: Senate, 1923-1944

Group 1; Series 1, Subseries 5: Mining 1911-1952

Group 1; Series 1, Subseries 6: Rocky Boy Reservation Store, 1924-1953

Group 1; Series 2: Speeches

Group 1; Series 3: Biographical Materials, 1893-1966

Group 1; Series 4: Cowan and Son: Ranch and Store, 1916-1953

Group 1; Series 5: Legal Papers, 1901-1954

Group 1; Series 6: Land Papers, 1910-1930

Group 1; Series 7: Photographs

Group 2: Financial Records, 1910-1962

Group 2, Series 1: Cowan & Son Store Records, 1911-1962

Group 2; Series 2: Grain Elevator Records, 1946-1960

Group 2; Series 3: Phillips Gas Records, 1957-1962

Group 2; Series 4: Banking Records, 1908-1962

Group 2; Series 5: Taxes, 1911-1952