Duncans in Montana

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Duncan research files of
Mary Ann (Duncan) Dobson
the Genealogy Bug

Last revised August 26, 2007

BEAVERHEAD CO. MT
Formed 1865; original county

1870 Beaverhead Co. MT Census
Bannock
Pg.5, #30-30, DUNCAN, Levi (m) 20? KY drover team. $0-$400
                  (MAD: or Levis?; indexed Leois Duncan; age uncertain)
Pg.7, #126-126, KEYES, Erwin 40 CAN works in mine $0-$0
                  DUNCAN, Louis (m) 25 CAN works in mine
 
 

CARBON CO. MT
Formed 1895 from Park, Yellowstone
Yellowstone formed 1883 from Gallatin, Meagher, Custer, (Carbon)
Stillwater formed 1913 from Sweet Grass, Yellowstone, Carbon

1902 "Progressive Men of the State of Montana" pub. by A.W. Bowen & Co. (Los Angeles Public Library book 978.6 P96A; and from index cards of Kit Smith 8/1983)
      Pg.1658: (Carbon Co.) ROBERT A. DUNCAN -- The scion of a renowned old Scotch family, some of whose branches moved to Ireland generations ago, from whence his grandfather came to America in his young manhood, Robert Duncan, of near Rockvale, in Carbon county, Mont., has exhibited in his character and career the salient points ... His grandfather settled at St. John, New Brunswick, when the town had but two buildings. He took up land about 25 miles from the town, cleared it and went to farming, making the place his home until his death at the age of 83. His son, the father of our subject, continued in possession of the place and is still living there, and there Mr. Duncan was born on October 29, 1863. His mother, Mary Ratliff, was a native of St. John. Mr. Duncan passed his school days in New Brunswick, remaining on the homestead until 1880, when he removed to California, after residing for a short time in Boston. He located at Dixon, Solano Co. CA, where he remained 4 years engaged in farming. He then ... to Montana ... Later he made a visit to British Columbia ... He then returned to Montana ... where he was living during the hard winters of 1886 and 1887. ... Mr. Duncan was united in marriage on February 14, 1892, with Mrs. Katie Magin, a native of Illinois, who came to Montana in 1875, where she contracted her first marriage. Her first home in the state was at Helena, and after residing there for a time, she removed to Fergus county, locating at Lewistown, where she was married to Mr. Duncan. She is a lady of .... (MAD: no mention of children)
 
 

CHOUTEAU CO. MT
Formed 1865; original county
Cascade formed 1887 fro Chouteau, Meagher
Teton formed 1893 from Chouteau
Hill formed 1912 from Chouteau
Blaine formed 1912 from Chouteau, Hill
Pondera formed 1919 from Chateau (Chouteau)
Liberty formed 1920 from Chouteau, Hill

1870 Chouteau Co. MT Census
Garrison at Ft. Benton
Pg.22, #144-121, Soldiers, including
                  DUNKINS, D.J. (m) 21 FL soldier
 
 

DAWSON CO. MT
Formed 1869, original county
Valley formed 1893 from Dawson
Rosebud formed 1901 from Dawson
Wilbaux formed 1914 from Dawson
Richland formed 1914 from Dawson
McCone formed 1919 from Dawson, Richland

1870-1880 Dawson Co. MT Census
      No Duncan indexed

"Montana, its story and biography : a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood" by L.E. Munson, ed. by Tom Stout; pub. Chicago: American Historical Society, 1921, 2791 pgs. (LH12734, HeritageQuest images 5/2007 & 8/2007; FHL book 978.6 H2s v.2 and film 1,000,175)
      Vol.III, pg.850: J.A. SAMSON. Although he is now retired, J.A. Samson has been very active in Whitefish and has done much to develop the place as a real estate operator. ... birth occurred in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, he being a son of James and Olive (Churchill) Samson. ... when he was nineteen years old, going west as far as Minnesota where he spent five years. He then returned to Pennsylvania and was married to Miss Belle Lyman, after which he went to New York state for eight years, then West Virginia for two years, then Kentucky for eight years, in Jackson and Winchester. In 1907 he came to Montana, and making Whitefish his headquarters embarked in the business of buying railroad ties. (MAD: Whitefish, Flathead Co. MT; Glendive, Dawson Co. MT)
            Mrs. Samson dying, he took her body back to Pennsylvania for burial. Their two children had also died, and upon his return to Whitefish ... in one of his business transactions he met a Mrs. Duncan and interested her in a project he had in mind, the erection of a first-class apartment. After due consideration Mrs. Duncan decided to join him in its construction, and the association then begun resulted in the marriage of the widow and widower. Mrs. Samson was born on Prince Edward Island, a daughter of George and Sophia (Mutch) Mason. She came to Montana in January, 1883, locating at Glendive, she became the wife of Dr. A.R. Duncan on Prince Edward Island, but their children were born in Glendive, Montana. She came to Whitefish in 1905, when the Divisional terminal of the Great Northern Railroad was changed from Kalispell to Whitefish, and erected and conducted the only hotel in the place that was heated by a furnace. ... At the time of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Samson, the following was published in the Whitefish Pilot. "Duncan-Samson Nuptials. Wedding bells were ringing on Wednesday eve, November 30, ... two well known Whitefish people, namely J.A. Samson and Mrs. J. Duncan, ... Rev. J.W. Gaston officiating, with Mrs. J.W. Goodell and Miss Mary Gaston as witnesses. ...." (MAD: elipses mine)
            By her first marriage Mrs. Samson had the following children: Stella, who married Charles Malloy of Spokane, Washington, has a daughter Catherine, who is married and has a daughter, Dorothy Goodell; and Gladys, who is Mrs. Scott of Great Falls, Montana, has two sons, George and Jack. Fraternally Mr. Samson is a Mason. He belongs to the Seventh Day Advent Christian Church. In politics he is a strong republican ...
 
 

FERGUS CO. MT
Formed 1885 from Meagher
Musselshell formed 1911 from Fergus, Yellowstone
Judith Basin formed 1920 from Fergus, Cascade
Petroleum formed 1924 from Fergus, Garfield

"Montana, its story and biography : a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood" by L.E. Munson, ed. by Tom Stout; pub. Chicago: American Historical Society, 1921, 2791 pgs. (LH12734, HeritageQuest images 5/2007 & 8/2007; FHL book 978.6 H2s v.2 and film 1,000,175)
      Vol.II, pg.133-134: SAMUEL C. WEAVER, Lewistown, died Feb. 7, 1919, born at Myrtle Creek in Douglas Co. Oregon, Feb. 11, 1873, son of James B. and Sarah Ann (Wright) Weaver ... married Myrta E. Duncan, born in Caldwell Co. Missouri, daughter of William and Refugio (Slone) Duncan, both natives of Missouri. Mrs. Weaver was the younger of two children. (MAD: Lewiston, Fergus Co. MT)
 
 

GALLATIN CO. MT
Formed 1865; original county
Yellowstone formed 1883 from Gallatin, Meagher, Custer, (Carbon)
Park formed 1887 from Gallatin

1870 Gallatin Co. MT Census
      No Duncan indexed

1902 "Progressive Men of the State of Montana" pub. by A.W. Bowen & Co. (Los Angeles Public Library book 978.6 P96A; and from index cards of Kit Smith 8/1983)
      Pg.610: (Gallatin Co.) B. SCOTT DUNCAN -- In the blood of B. Scott Duncan, of Gallop, Mont., the gallantry of Kentucky and of South Carolina commingle; ... he has the ... traits of character which are indigenous to the two states, and which were emphasized in the career of his father, Theodore Duncan, a native of Kentucky, and are still prominent in the makeup of his mother, born Henrietta Johnson, of South Carolina, who is yet living in Missouri ... Mr. Duncan is a native of Clay Co. MO, where he was born April 16, 1856. His grandfather was a prominent participant in the Black Hawk war, and his son, the father of our subject, removed as a child to Missouri, where he remained until 1849, and then joined in the eager rush to California, making the trip by the isthmus route. He was successful in his search for the yellow metal, and only remained on the Pacific slope a year, returning to Missouri and settling down to quiet life on a farm, ... In 1861, when the Civil war broke out, ... he raised a company at Smithville and Liberty, Mo., for service in the Confederate army, and as their captain led them to the field. In June of that year he was promoted to the rank of colonel, and the same day was killed at the battle of Blue Mills.
            Mr. Duncan, our subject, spent his school days in Missouri, and remained on the homestead until 1863, when ... his mother removed the family to a farm belonging to her brother in Platte county, about five miles from her own home. Here she lived until 1872, when her son Scott, having rented a place not far distant, they all moved to it and spent the next ten years there, ... In 1882, having placed his mother and sister in a comfortable home in Smithville, Mo., he started for Butte, Mont., where he arrived ... until 1888, when he homesteaded and pre-empted his present location on the West Flathead, about fourteen miles northeast of Belgrade .... Mr. Duncan was married May 2, 1889, to Miss Della S. Parsons, of Gallatin valley, a daughter of Wm. B. Parsons, a native of Massachusetts, and Mary (Street) Parsons, a sister of Thornton A. Street, of Belgrade, of whom more extended mention is made in another part of this work. (MAD: not copied) Mr. and Mrs. Duncan have four children: Ray Theodore, born September 15, 1891; Hazel Lucille, April 30, 1894; Henrietta, born February 23, 1897, and Scotta Marie, July 10, 1900. ....
 
 

MEAGHER CO. MT
Formed 1867; original county
Yellowstone formed 1883 from Gallatin, Meagher, Custer, (Carbon)
Fergus formed 1885 from Meagher
Cascade formed 1887 from Chouteau, Meagher
Sweet Grass formed 1895 from Meagher, Park, Yellowstone
Broadwater formed 1897 from Jefferson, Meagher
Wheatland formed 1917 from Meagher, Sweet Grass

1870 Meagher Co. MT Census
Diamond City
Pg.279, #105-67, DUNCAN, J.R. (m) 48 VT selling water $0-$400
                  Martha 42 VT keeping house
                  Jennette L. (f) 9 WI ("Wis") at home
                  Hariett (f) 1 MT ("M.T.") at home
                  (MAD: ? Joel Duncan, 1850 Macomb Co. MI census; 1860 Dane Co. WI census)
 
 

POWDER RIVER CO. MT
Formed 1919 from Custer

"Montana, its story and biography : a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood" by L.E. Munson, ed. by Tom Stout; pub. Chicago: American Historical Society, 1921, 2791 pgs. (LH12734, HeritageQuest images 5/2007 & 8/2007; FHL book 978.6 H2s v.2 and film 1,000,175)
      Vol.III, pg.1082: JUSTICE LINCOLN WILSON, proprietor of the "W Bar" ranch in Powder River County, five miles up the river from Broadus, the county seat of the newly created county, ... was born at Fort Wayne, Indiana, November 22, 1860, son of John Tolburt and Hannah D. (Jones) Wilson ... in 1863 the family migrated to Marshall Co. IA ... the widowed mother took her children to Nebraska in the early '70s. ... John T. Wilson ... his children were as follows ... Justice Lincoln, whose name heads this review; and Nellie, who married James Duncan, of Thorpe, Washington. .... (pg.1083) On January 28, 1882, Justice Lincoln Wilson was united in marriage near Hastings, Nebraska, to Margaret Duncan, a daughter of Patrick Duncan. Born in Ireland of Scotch parents, Patrick Duncan came to the United States and lived in Illinois at the time of his marriage, and spent some time near Carroll and at Chicago, that state. In the early '70s he migrated to Nebraska, and was one of the first settlers of Adams County, Nebraska, where he died when about ninety years old. His children were as follows: John, who lives at Roseland, Nebraska; Julia, who married John Woods and died on Powder River; William, who lives at Roseland, Nebraska; Mary, who never married, and died at Roseland, Nebraska; Catherine, who married Edward Wilson, a brother of Justice Lincoln Wilson; Ellen, who married James Bovard, and lives at Ayr, Nebraska; Mrs. Wilson, who was born October 26, 1863; Anna, who married Lee Arnold of Roseland, Nebraska; and Eugene, who died at Roseland, Nebraska. ... (MAD: Thorpe, Kittitas Co. WA, James Duncan b.1857 IL from 1910 census index; see 1880 Adams Co. NE census, James Duncan another son of Patrick Duncan)
 
 

ROSEBUD CO. MT
Formed 1901 from Dawson
Big Horn formed 1913 from Rosebud, Yellowstone

"Montana, its story and biography : a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood" by L.E. Munson, ed. by Tom Stout; pub. Chicago: American Historical Society, 1921, 2791 pgs. (LH12734, HeritageQuest images 5/2007 & 8/2007; FHL book 978.6 H2s v.2 and film 1,000,175)
      Vol.III, pg.1193: Milton Lacy, the father of Francis M. ... Francis M., the owner of land in Rosebud County ... Frances M. Lacy's son ... married a Miss Myers and their children were Milton and Frank, twins, Jacob, George, John, Ewing, Matthew, Mrs. Minerva Brown, Mrs. Jane Duncan and Mrs. Marcel Whitman. Milton and Frank were both Mexican war soldiers ... (MAD: perhaps lived in Kentucky) - not copied further.
 
 

SWEET GRASS CO. MT
Formed 1895 from Meagher, Park, Yellowstone
Stillwater formed 1913 from Sweet Grass, Yellowstone, Carbon
Wheatland formed 1917 from Meagher, Sweet Grass

1900 Sweet Grass Co. MT Census
      No Duncan indexed

"Montana, its story and biography : a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood" by L.E. Munson, ed. by Tom Stout; pub. Chicago: American Historical Society, 1921, 2791 pgs. (LH12734, HeritageQuest images 5/2007 & 8/2007; FHL book 978.6 H2s v.2 and film 1,000,175)
      Vol.II, pg.74-75: O.R. DUNCAN was elected public administrator of Sweetgrass County in April, 1919. He has become well known in that county through his business activities, formerly as a creamery manager and now as proprietor of a complete and well patronized garage. Mr. Duncan was born at Clinton Falls, Minnesota, June 12, 1822 (MAD: sic, but perhaps should be 1882). His grandfather established the family in New York State, coming from Scotland. His father, Henry Duncan, was born near Syracuse, New York, in 1847, was reared and married there and had a farm. On this farm was an extensive grove of hard maples, and the manufacture of maple sugar was an important industry with him. During the '70s he moved to Minnesota and was a pioneer homesteader at Clinton Falls. Later he sold his farm there and in 1892 moved to Medford, Minnesota, where he was proprietor of a hotel until his death in 1912. He was an active prohibitionist in politics and a very devout Baptist. Henry Duncan married Sarah Brown, who was born in 1850 and died at Medford, Minnesota, in 1913. Ella, the oldest of their children, is the wife of Richard Cheesman, a miller living at Whistley, Alabama; Elsie is a traveling salesman whose home is at Redford, South Dakota; Marion is the wife of Henry Cheesman, a mechanic in the railroad shops at Edmonton, Canada; while O.R. Duncan is the fourth and youngest of the family.
            He acquired his early education in the public schools of Clinton Falls and Medford, Minnesota, and was a student in the Owatonna Business College at Owatonna, Minnesota, until 1900. By practical work he learned the creamery trade in Minnesota, and followed it a year at Ranchester, Wyoming. In 1909 he came to Big Timber, Montana, ... following three years he spent at Butte, ... since returning to Big Timber he has been engaged in the automobile business. ... His garage is at the corner of McLeon Street and Third Avenue. Mr. Duncan is a republican in politics and was elected on that ticket to his office as public administrator. ... In 1902, at Medford, Minnesota, he married Miss Nora May Reinhard, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C.S. Reinhard, farming people who live at Medford. Mr. and Mrs. Duncan have two children, Leona, born in 1904, and Lavern, born in 1905. (MAD: Orlo R. Duncan; Syracuse, Onondaga Co. NY; Clinton Falls & Medford, Steele Co. MN)
 
 

YELLOWSTONE CO. MT
Formed 1883 from Gallatin, Meagher, Custer, Carbon
Carbon formed 1895 from Park, Yellowstone
Musselshell formed 1911 from Fergus, Yellowstone
Stillwater formed 1913 from Sweet Grass, Yellowstone, Carbon
Big Horn formed 1913 from Rosebud, Yellowstone

"An illustrated history of the state of Montana : containing a history of the state of Montana from the earliest period of its discovery to the present time, together with glimpses of its auspicious future, illustrations and full-page portraits of some of its eminent men, and biographical mention of many of its pioneers and prominent citizens of to-day" by Joaquin Miller; pub. Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1894, 924 pgs. (LH12722, HeritageQuest images 5/2007; FHL book 978.6 H2mj)
      Pg.732: WILLIAM B. GEORGE, a popular young business man of Billings, was born in Platte county, Missouri, in 1865, a son of William P. and Fannie (Duncan) George. The maternal grandfather was an early pioneer of that county, was its first county judge, and was the most extensive hemp-producer in that region. The grandmother was a lineal descendant of the prominent family of Peytons in Virginia. William P. George was an extensive farmer was a director of a military institute and of a female orphan asylum at Camden Point, Missouri. William B., our subject ... in 1885 came to Helena, Montana ... was married June 15, 1892, to Virginia F. Sleeper, a daughter of Nehemiah and Martha J. (Fleming) Sleeper. They have one son, Warren Peyton. ... (MAD: Billings, Yellowstone Co. MT)
 
 

END

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