Manuscripts Collection
Diaries (1864-1890), biographical data, soldier letters (1863-1867), reminiscences (1876-1897), and other data relating to Thomas Montgomery (1841-1907) especially documenting his service with the 7th Minnesota and the 76th, 67th, and 65th U.S. Colored regiments; biographical data, memoir, and photographs of his wife Sarah Ann Purcell Montgomery (1847-1940); biographical data, correspondence, photographs, scrapbook and other materials of his son Edmund Alexander Montgomery (1868-1952) relating principally to his legal career in Minneapolis; biographical and genealogical data, writings and photographs of his daughter-in-law Louise Easton (Mrs. Edmund A.) Montgomery (1868-1960); biographical data, photographs, artwork, writings and scrapbooks of his grandson Edmund Thomas Montgomery (1903-1987), Minneapolis lawyer and artist; biographical data, photographs, and recipe cards of his granddaughter-in-law Harriet Arndt (Mrs. Edmund T.) Montgomery (1903-1984), and records of allied family members.
The letters from Montgomery to his family in Cleveland, Minnesota, while serving in the punitive expedition led by General Henry H. Sibley against the Dakota Indians (1862-1863) and in the Civil War as a corporal in Company K, Seventh Minnesota Infantry, and as a captain in Company I, Sixty-fifth Regiment, and Company B, Sixty-seventh Regiment, United States Colored Infantry. He writes of the Dakota Conflict and the treatment of Indian prisoners. He comments on plans for Black education and citizenship, on the treatment of African-Americans after the Civil War, and on a proposed Black farming colony in the St. Peter Land District, Minnesota. He also discusses lower Mississippi River floods (1865), methods of combating such diseases as smallpox and cholera, the Masons, national politics, and the religious state of the army and of Black soldiers, and describes in some detail Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Port Hudson (Louisiana), Vicksburg (Mississippi), St. Louis (Missouri), and the region around Mankato and Minneopa Falls (Blue Earth County, Minn.).
Most, but not all, of these letters were microfilmed by the Minnesota Historical Society in the 1940s and are available as M235. The microfilm edition also includes letters not currently available in the original at the MHS.
Digitized originals are closed. Access and use requires the curator's permission. Please consult reference staff for more information.
[St. Paul : Minnesota Historical Society, 1942].
Originals were loaned for copying by Charles Montgomery, St. Paul, Minn.
Accession number: 5356; 16,646
Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project
grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission
Digitized by: Minnesota Historical Society, August 2018
Catalog ID number: 001732585
Includes obituaries and compiled published accounts.
Digital version
Diary entries for 1864-1870 are quite detailed.
1864
1865
1866
1867
1868
1869
1870
From 1871-1890, the diary entries vary from moderately detailed to very sparse. Accounts are included at the end of each volume. There are no diaries for the following years: 1876, 1877, 1882, and 1889.
Letters sent by Thomas Montgomery to his parents and brothers while serving in the U.S.-Dakota War and the Civil War. Prior to receipt at the Minnesota Historical Society, each letter had been numbered; the detailed list identifies those numbers, to whom the letter is addressed, and the location from which the letter was written.
Pages filmed out of order.
Unnumbered fragment, [To Parents and Brothers], undated
No. 9, To Parents & Brothers, In camp near Madelia, Minnesota, April 18, 1863
No. 10, To Brothers, South Bend, Minnesota, April 20, 1863
No. 11, To Parents and Brothers, South Bend, Minnesota, April 28, 1863
No. 12, To Mother, Camp Pope, May 2, 1863
No. 13, To Parents, Camp Pope, June 2, 1863
No. 14, To Mother, Camp Pope, June 15, 1863
No. 15, To Brothers James Charles and Sandy, Camp McLaren, June 28, 1863
No. 16, To Parents and Brothers, Camp Hayes, July 4, 1863
No. 17, To Parents and Brothers, Camp Hayes on Sheyenne River, Dakota Territory, July 10, 1863
No. 18, To Brothers, Camp Atchison, July 19, 1863
No. 19, To Parents, Camp Olin, July 21, 1863
Fragment of [No. 20], [To Parents and Brothers], [August 5, 1863]
[No. 20], Copy of letter of August 5, 1863, December 7, 1888
No. 21, To Brother Alexander, Camp Stevens, August 16, 1863
No. 22, To Brother James Charles, Camp on Red River, August 25, 1863
No. 23, To Mother, Camp Beever, September 1, 1863
No. 24, To Mother, Sauk Centre, Minnesota, September 2, 1863
No. 26, To Mother, La Crosse, Wisconsin, October 9, 1863
No. 27, To Parents and Brothers, St. Louis, Missouri, October 12, 1863
No. 28, To Brother James Charles, St. Louis, Missouri, October 30, 1863
Nos. 29 and 30, To Brother, and Mother and Father, St. Louis, Missouri, October 31, 1863
No. 31, To Parents and Brothers, Schofield Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri,November 17, 1863
No. 32, To [Parents and Brothers], [St. Louis, Missouri], November 18, 1863
No. 33, To Mother, Schofield Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri, November 27, 1863
No. 34, To Brothers James Charles and Alexander, Schofield Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri, December 12, 1863
No. 35, To Parents, St. Louis, Missouri, December 16, 1863
No. 36, To Mother, Schofield Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri, December 26, 1863
No. 37, To Brother James Charles, St. Louis, Missouri, January 4, 1864
No. 38, To Brother Alexander, St. Louis, Missouri, January 11, 1864
No. 39, To Mother, St. Louis, Missouri, January 12, 1864
No. 40, To Parents and Brothers, Benton Barracks, Missouri, January 23, 1864
No. 41, [no salutation or place], undated
No. 42, To Mother, Benton Barracks, Missouri, February 22, 1864
No. 43, To Parents and Brothers, Benton Barracks, Missouri, March 8, 1864
No. 44, To Mother, Benton Barracks, Missouri, March 12, 1864
No. 46, To Parents and Brothers, Port Hudson, Louisiana, March 23, 1864
No. 47, To Mother, Port Hudson, Louisiana, April 18, 1864
No. 47 1/2, [no salutation], Port Hudson, Louisiana, April 19, 1864
No. 48, To Brother James Charles, Port Hudson, Louisiana, April 28, 1864
No. 49, To Father and Mother, Port Hudson, Louisiana, May 10, 1864
No. 50, To Parents and Brothers, Port Hudson, Louisiana, May 19, 1864
No. 51, To Mother, Port Hudson, Louisiana, May 27, 1864
No. 52, To Mother, Port Hudson, Louisiana, May 20, 1864
Nos. 53-55 To Brothers Alexander and James Charles, Port Hudson, Louisiana, and Mother, June 11 and June 14, 1864
No. 56, To Parents and Brothers, Port Hudson, Louisiana, June 19, 1864
No. 57, To Mother, Morganzia, Louisiana, June 25, 1864
Nos. 58 and 59, To Parents and Brothers, Morganzia, Louisiana, July 7 and July 11, 1864
No. 60, To Brother Alexander, Morganzia, Louisiana, July 18, 1864
No. 61, To Mother, Morganzia, Louisiana, July 18, 1864
No. 62, To Brother James Charles, Port Hudson, Louisiana, July 21, 1864
No. 63, To Brothers James Charles and Alexander, Morganzia, Louisiana, July 24, 1864
No. 64, To Mother, Morganzia, Louisiana, August 1864
No. 65, To Brother James Charles, Morganzia, Louisiana, August 10, 1864
No. 66, To Mother, Morganzia, Louisiana, August 22, 1864
No. 67, To Mother, Morganzia, Louisiana, August 31, 1864
Nos. 68 and 69, To Father and Mother, Morganzia, Louisiana, and Brothers James Charles and Alexander, August 31 and September 3, 1864
No. 70, To Brother Alexander, Morganzia, Louisiana, September 9, 1864
No. 71, To Father, Morganzia, Louisiana, September 16, 1864
No. 72, To Mother, Morganzia, Louisiana, September 18, 1864
No. 73, To Brother James Charles and Mother, Morganzia, Louisiana, and Brother Alexander, September 30, 1864
No. 74, To Father, Morganzia, Louisiana, October 6, 1864
No. 75, To Mother, Morganzia, Louisiana, October 12, 1864
No. 76, To Parents and Brothers, Morganzia, Louisiana, >October 22, 1864
No. 77, To Brother James Charles, Morganzia, Louisiana, October 26, 1864
No. 78, To Mother, Morganzia, Louisiana, October 27, 1864
No. 79, To Brother James Charles, Morganzia, Louisiana, November 21, 1864
No. 80, To Mother, Morganzia, Louisiana, November 27, 1864
No. 81, To Parents and Brothers, New Orleans, Louisiana. December 6, 1864
No. 82, To Mother, Morganzia, Louisiana, December 10, 1864
No. 83, To Brother James Charles, Morganzia, Louisiana, December 17, 1864
No. 84, To Brother Alexander, Morganzia, Louisiana, December 24, 1864
No. 85, To Mother, Morganzia, Louisiana, December 25, 1864
No. 86, To Mother, Morganzia, Louisiana, January 1, 1865
Nos. 87-89, To Brother and Father, Morganzia, Louisiana, and Brother James Charles, January 14 and 16, 1865
No. 90, To Mother, January 14, 1865
No. 91, To Brother Alexander, Morganzia, Louisiana, January 29, 1865
No. 92, To Brother James Charles, Morganzia, Louisiana, February 21, 1865
No. 93, To Father, Morganzia, Louisiana, March 8, 1865
No. 94, To Brother Alexander, Morganzia, Louisiana, March 18, 1865
No. 95, To Father, Morganzia, Louisiana, March 22, 1865
No. 96, To Mother, Morganzia, Louisiana, April 5, 1865
No. 97, To Brother James Charles, Morganzia, Louisiana, April 6, 1865
No. 98, To Mother, Morganzia, Louisiana, April 14, 1865
No. 99, To Brother James Charles, Morganzia, Louisiana, April 18, 1865
No. 100, To Brother Alexander, Morganzia, Louisiana, April 24, 1865
No. 101, To Mother, on board Adams below Morganzia, Louisiana, May 1, 1865
No. 102, To Parents and Brothers, Bayou Sara, Louisiana, May 9, 1865
No. 103, To Mother, Bayou Sara, Louisiana, May 16, 1865
No. 104, To Brother James Charles, Bayou Sara, Louisiana, May 24, 1865
No. 105, To Mother, Port Hudson, Louisiana, May 31, 1865
No. 106, To Brother James Charles, Port Hudson, Louisiana, June 4, 1865
No. 107, To Mother, Port Hudson, Louisiana, June 11, 1865
No. 108, To Mother, Port Hudson, Louisiana, June 20, 1865
No. 109, To Parents and Brother, on board Steamer Ida Handy, Cairo, Illinois, September 15, 1865
No. 110, To Parents, on board Steamer Ida Handy near Memphis, Tennessee, September 17, 1865
No. 111, To Parents, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, September 22, 1865
No. 112, To Mother, Fort Williams, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, September 29, 1865
No. 113, To Brother James Charles, Fort Williams, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, October 7, 1865
No. 114, To Father and Mother, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, October 18, 1865
No. 115, To Brother James Charles, Fort Williams, Louisiana, November 2, 1865
No. 116, To Mother, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, November 27, 1865
No. 117, To Brother Alexander, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, December 10, 1865
No. 119, To Parents and Brothers, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, January 2, 1866
No. 120, To Mother, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, January 16, 1866
No. 121, To Brother Alexander, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, January 30, 1866
No. 122, To Brother James Charles, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, February 9, 1866
No. 123, To Father, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, February 23, 1866
No. 124, To Parents and Brothers, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, March 1, 1866
No. 125, To Brother Alexander, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, March 14, 1866
No. 126, To Brother James Charles, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, March 29, 1866
No. 127, To Father, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, April 4, 1866
No. 128, To Mother and Brother Alexander, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, April 9, 1866
No. 129, To Brother Alexander, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, April 22, 1866
No. 130, To Brother James Alexander, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, April 29, 1866
No. 131, To Mother, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, May 11, 1866
No. 132, To Parents, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, May 22, 1866
No. 133, To Mother, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, May 29, 1866
No. 134, To Brother James Charles, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, June 4, 1866
No. 135, To Mother, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, June 14, 1866
No. 136, To Brother James Charles, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, June 27, 1866
No. 137, To Mother, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, July 10, 1866
No. 138, To Father, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, July 11, 1866
No. 139, To Brother James Charles, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, July 21, 1866
No. 140, To Mother, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, July 28, 1866
No. 141, To Father, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, August 4, 1866
No. 142, To Mother, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, August 26, 1866
No. 143, To Parents and Brother, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, September 5, 1866
No. 144, To Mother, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, September 15, 1866
No. 145, To Parents and Brother James Charles, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, September 23, 1866
No. 146, To Mother, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, October 5, 1866
Nos. 147 and 148, To Parents and Brother, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Parents, on board Steamer W. R. Arthur, Cairo, Illinois, October 16 and 23, 1866
No. 149, To Brother James Charles, Cambria, Wisconsin, November 3, 1866
No. 150, To Mother, on board Steamer. Virginia, Memphis, Tennessee, November 11, 1866
No. 151, To Brother Sandy, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, November 16, 1866
No. 152, To Mother, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, November 28, 1866
No. 153, To Brother Sandy, [no place], November 28, 1866
No. 154, To Brother James Charles, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, December 5, 1866
No. 155, To Mother, [no place], December 5, 1866
No. 156, To Brother Sandy, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, December 23, 1866
No. 157, To Father, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, December 30, 1866
No. 158, To Parents and Brothers, on board Steamer Julia, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, January 9, 1867
Alexander Montgomery, Cleveland, [Minnesota?] to Thomas Montgomery, September 3, 1866
William R. Marshall, St. Paul, Minnesota, to Honorable Secretary of War, July 28, 1866
Thomas Montgomery, Saint Peter, Minnesota, to Beloved Sarah, September 25, 1871
Thomas Montgomery, St. Peter, Minnesota, to E.A. Montgomery, November 27, 1903
Pages 25 to 75 in bound volume.
Digital version
An account of Thomas' and Sarah's trip to the British Isles and France in 1897.
Includes copies of articles, photographs, and brochures.
Includes photocopy of National Register nomination form for Montgomery's St. Peter, Minnesota, home, including photographs, and photographs of Montgomery's home at 1494 Englewood Avenue, St. Paul.
Includes photographs, burial data, and deed to lot.
Includes seven portraits.
Includes printed reminiscences, articles, obituaries, and photographs.
Folder labeled "Grandparents of Sarah Purnell Montgomery."
4 photographs.
Digital version
Includes photographs of church where Alexander Montgomery was minister.
Includes compiled biographical data, news clippings, photographs, and obituaries; also includes biographical data on William D. Hale (Montgomery's law partner).
Includes invitation, news clippings, and photographs.
14 pages.
Most identified.
Includes photographs, clippings, and background information documenting the life and work of E.A. Montgomery.
Includes calling card, letter to son, and obituary.
Includes application for Edmund Thomas Montgomery.
Reminiscence by Louise Montgomery's niece.
Mainly scenes in New England.
Mainly family in Minneapolis and New England.
Includes Easton, Bacon, Pope and Reeves family members.
Includes Easton family coat-of-arms, photograph of the Bacon family home in Exeter, New Hampshire, and background data on the families.
Includes 1896 newspaper account of a wedding at Hamline University and Montgomery's obituary (1957).
Includes photograph and obituaries.
Includes two photographs, one as a soldier in the Spanish-American War.
Includes photograph and obituary.
Includes clippings, articles, citations, and obituaries.
Includes photographs.
Includes artwork for University of Minnesota publications.
First work published by Montgomery.
Authored by Montgomery.
Includes news clippings, artwork, printed material, and photographs.
Includes yearbook for Wooddale Coterie (1982/1983).
Parents of Harriet Montgomery; also includes data on the Wohlrabe farm and a letter of Marie's in German.