Collection 785 - Smith-Mendenhall Family Papers, 1858-1902

Creator:Smith family/Mendenhall family

Provenance Note: Letters, business papers, and legal documents collected or created by members of the Smith-Mendenhall families were deposited with Special Collections by Robert Orton and Mary Ellen Smith of Bozeman, Montana in November, 1969 and donated on October 6, 1997. Letters and business papers of Robert Henry Smith were saved by his widow, Mary Susan, following his death in 1863. To these papers were added letters and legal documents pertaining to her second husband, John S. Mendenhall. The papers were passed on to Henry Smith, Mary Susan's first son, and finally to Robert Orton Smith who placed them with Special Collections.

Historical Note: Robert Henry Smith was a Missouri resident who served in the Confederate States Army. He participated in the early settlement of Kansas during the 1850s before finally moving to St. Joseph, Missouri around 1858. On June 9 of that year he married Mary Susan Oliver (1838-1933) and the couple had a son, Harry L. Smith on January 13, 1861. Smith enlisted later that year and served with Missouri troops under the command of Major General Sterling Price. He participated in the battle of Lexington, Missouri and accompanied the southern army on their withdrawal to the southwestern portion of the state that winter. He may have left the army during the spring of 1862 but by August he was a prisoner of the Union forces in St. Louis. By December he had rejoined the Confederate army in Arkansas and was appointed quartermaster under Brigadier General John Sappington Marmaduke with the rank of major. He participated in the battles of Cane Hill, Prairie Grove, and Helena, Arkansas while serving with Marmaduke. While manning a gun at the battle of Helena, Robert Henry Smith was killed by enemy fire. Mary Susan Smith remained in St. Joseph with her son until 1869 when she moved to Montana Territory to join her sister and brother-in-law, Dr. and Mrs. Achilles Lamme. All eventually settled in Bozeman where, in 1870, Mary Susan married John S. Mendenhall, Dr. Lamme's business partner in a Bozeman general mercantile establishment. The couple later had one son, Samuel A. Mendenhall, before John Mendenhall's death in 1896.

Content Description Note:The Smith-Mendenhall family papers consist of the pre-Civil War business papers of Robert Henry Smith; Civil War letters written by Smith to his wife from 1861-1863; correspondence of the Mendenhall family including letters written by Mary Susan to her husband and son; deeds and legal documents pertaining to the Mendenhall and Lamme families; positive photocopy of a scrapbook kept by Mary Susan Mendenhall. The contents of the collection have been calandared.

Box 1: Folder 1. Pre-Civil War business papers, 1857-59; 1. Deed for a slave from Joseph B. Smith (father), July 1857; 2. Deed to land in Kansas Territory, August 1857; 3. Statement about a preemption claim to land in Kansas Territory, Nov. 1857; 4. Statement about a preemption claim to land in Kansas Territory, Nov. 1857; 5. Account statements for sister Mary F. Smith--collegiate course expenses--Nov. 1857-1859; 6. Account statements for sister Mary F. Smith--collegiate course expenses--Nov. 1857-1859; 7. Promissory note, August. 1857; 8. County signer on a promissory note, Mar. 1857; 9. Receipt for payment for boots, Jan. 1857; Folder 2. Pre-Civil War business papers, 1858-59; 1. Open Deed for a lot in St. Joseph, MO, Feb. 1858; 2. List of household goods sent by Wm. N. Oliver to his newly married daughter, Nov 1858. 1858; 3. Receipt for school expenses paid for Mary F. Smith, Jan. 1858; 4. Receipt for clothing, Mar. 1858; 5. Open Receipt for J.H. Crane, Jan. & Feb. 1859; 6. Bill for clothing, Jan. 1859; 7. Receipt for groceries, Feb. - Nov., 1859; 8. Promissory note, May 31, 1859; 9. Receipt for clothing, June 1859; 10. Lease on a house in St. Joseph, MO, July 1859; 11. Indenture on a cemetery location near St. Joseph, MO, Aug. 1859; 12. Receipt for payment to F. Clark, August 1859; 13. Rent paid, Jan. 1859; 14. Rent receipt for Feb. 1859; 15. Rent receipt for April 1859; 16. Promissory note held by Mr. Smith, April 1859; 17. Rent receipt, June 20, 1859; Folder 3. Pre-Civil War business papers, 1860-1861; 1. Promissory note to Smith, Jan. 1860; 2. Deed for a house and lot in Roanoke Co., Mar. 1860; 3. Promissory note to Smith from Wm. N. Oliver, June 5, 1860; 4. Lease on a house in St. Joseph, MO., July 1860; 5. Receipt of payment for boots, Feb. 1860; 6. Promissory note signed by Smith, May 31, 1860; 7. Receipt for collars purchase, May 1860; 8. Promissory note signed by RHS, June 2, 1860; 9. Payment to Blackeman, June 1860; 10. Promissory note due, July 1860; 11. Receipt for purchase of a saddle horse, Nov. 1860; 13. Open List of accounts to collect, Jan. 1861; 14. Letter explaining the transaction above, Jan. 1861; 15. Accounts collected, Feb. 1861; 16. Promissory note due to, Jan. 1861; 17. Notice to pay promissory note, Jan. 1861; 18. Notice to pay promissory note, Feb. 1861; Folder 4. Civil War letters, RHS to MSS at St. Joseph, 1861-62; 1. [author unknown to MSS] De Kalb, MO, Mar. 23, 1855; 2. [Southwest Missouri], Oct. 12, 1861; 3. [Southwest Missouri, ca. October 1861]; 4. St. Claire County, MO, "Camp on Salk River," Nov. 26, 1861; 5. Springfield, MO, Jan. 4, 1862; 6. Springfield, MO, Jan. 27, 1862; 7. McDowell Collge Prison, St. Louis, MO, Aug. 3, 1862; 8. Camp Dripping Springs, AR, Dec. 3, 1862; Folder 5. Civil War letters, RHS to MSS at St. Joseph, 1863; 1. Wright County, MO, Jan. 12, 1863; 2. Batesville, AR, Jan. 24, 1863; 3. Batesville, AR, Feb. 22, 1863; 4. Up. Black River, AR, Feb. 23, 1863; 5. Head Quarters, Quarter Master, Mar. 11, 1863; 6. Jacksonport, AR, May 30, 1863; 7. Jacksonport, AR, May 31, 1863; 8. [undated fragment, possibly continuation of above]; 9. Little Rock, AR, June 15, 1863; 10. Jacksonport, AR, June 20, 1863; 11. Near Helena, AR - July 3, 1863; 12. [undated fragment, written from Arkansas]; Folder 6. Civil War letters from others to SHS at St. Joseph, 1863; 1. Letter, General John S. Marmaduke, camp near Helena, AR, July 6, 1863, to Mary Susan Smith, St. Joseph, MO; 2. Letter, A.W. Slayback, near Helena, AR, July 6, 1863, to Mary Susan Smith, St. Joseph, MO; 3. Letter, Charlie F., St. Joseph, MO, July 14, 1863, to Mary Susan Smith, St. Joseph, MO; 4. Receipt from O.C. Raimiaten for money, and articles sold for R.H. Smith's estate, Sept. 21, 1863; 5. Receipt for $1200 in C.S. & Missouri State Bonds and a title bond from D.M. McDonald - June 8, 1863; 6. Newspaper clipping, Marmaduke and Slayback letters; Folder 7. Robert Henry Smith's Civil War account book with added notaions from Col. A. W. Slayback explaining the settlement of his military estate after he was killed on July 4, 1863 and the circumstances of his death; Folder 8. Six envelopes, one with lock of RHS's hair; Typed transcripts of selected letters, the account book, and a description of the death of Robert H. Smith published as part of a larger article in "The Inland Monthly" of St. Louis, MO., v. 5, n. 1, pp. 1-14; Folder 9. Mendenhall family letters, 1858-1873; 1. John Mendenhall, Ft. Larami[e], N.T., Sept. 30, 1858, to Jack; 2. Achilles Lamme, [St. Joseph, MO, ca. 1858] to Mary Susan Oliver; 3. Hervey Oliver, North Garden, Virginia, Apr. 13, 1869 to Mary Susan Smith; 4. Harvey Oliver, North Garden, Virginia, May 12, 1869, to "Dear Nephew"; 5. Fannie [Oliver?], [St. Joseph, MO], May 23, 1869, to Mary Susan Smith; 6. "Friend Lizzie," [St. Joseph, MO], Nov. 3, 1869, to Mary Susan Smith; 7. Harvey Oliver, North Garden, Virginia, Jan. 6, 1873, to Mary Susan Mendenhall, Bozeman, MT; Folder 10. Mendenhall family letters; 1. Mary Susan Mendenhall, Bozeman, MT, May 23, 1878, to John Mendenhall, Custer County, MT; 2. Mary Susan Mendenhall, Bozeman, MT, June 6, 1878, to John Mendenhall, Custer County, MT; 3. Mary Susan Mendenhall, Bozeman, MT, June 13, 1878, to John Mendenhall, Custer County, MT; 4. Mary Susan Mendenhall, Bozeman, MT, July 11, 1878, to John Mendenhall, Yellowstone Frieght depot, Camp Bertie, MT; 5. Mary Susan Mendenhall, Bozeman, MT, August 6, 1880 to Harry L. Smith,
with Belknap Cattle Herd at Benson's Landing and at Crow Agency; 6. Mary Susan Mendenhall, Bozeman, MT, Aug. 9, 1880, to Harry L. Smith,
with Belknap Cattle Herd at Benson's Landing and at Crow Agency; Folder 11. Other Mendenhall family papers; 1. Eight envelopes; 2. A. Lamme & Co. letterhead paper with J.S. Mendenhall and J.L. Harlowe, Bozeman, dated Aug. 21, 1880; 3. Receipt signed by A. Lamme to Charles Pierce for money to buy a wagon to be shipped via Ft. Benton; Folder 12. Abstract of title for lots 16, 17 and 18 in Bozeman, owned by Mendenhall and Smith; Folder 13. Deeds, 1865-1902; 1. Deed, James E. Burch to John S. Mendenhall, 1865; 2. R.S. Crowford to John H. Mendenhall, 1870; 3. John S. Noble to Wm. H. Tracy, 1870; 4. Wm. H. Tracy and Sarah Jane Tracy to A. Lamme, 1871; 5. Nelson Story and Ellen Story to A. Lamme, 1871; 6. John S. Noble to Samuel W. Langhorne, 1871; 7. S.W. Langhorne to A. Lamme, 1877; 8. Wm. H. Tracy to James Flemmings, 1880; 9. Achilles Lamme to John S. Mendenhall, 1888; 10. O.P. Moore to John S. Mendenhall, 1888; 11. Joseph M. Wells and Martha A. Wells to Mary Susan Mendenhall, S.A. Mendenhall, and Harry L. Smith, 1898; 12. Mary Susan Mendenhall to Robert M. Esgar, 1900; 13. Northern Pacific Railroad to John Y. Ferguson, 1898; 14. Mary Susan Mendenhall to John Y. Ferguson, 1902; 15. Merrit Connell and Nannie D. Connell to John Y. Ferguson; Folder 14. Notebooks, 1872-1902; 1. Small notebook labeled "abstract of voucher, agency" with prices of commodities in 1872; 2. Pocket ledger with accounts which could have been used to keep records on the building of a home, 1901-1902; Folder 15. Xerox copies of biographical clippings in the Smith-Mendenhall family scrapbook kept by Mary Susan Mendenhall

Collection 785 - Smith-Mendenhall Family Papers, 1858-1902

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