Montana History

United States Montana  Montana History

Brief History


The following important events in the history of Montana affected political boundaries, record keeping, and family movements.

Historical Content
Histories are great sources of genealogical information. Many contain biographical information about individuals who lived in the area, including:

Local Histories
Some of the most valuable sources for family history research are local histories. Published histories of towns, counties, and states usually contain accounts of families. They describe the settlement of the area and the founding of churches, schools, and businesses. You can also find lists of pioneers, soldiers, and civil officials. Even if your ancestor is not listed, information on other relatives may be included that will provide important clues for locating your ancestor. A local history may also suggest other records to search. Local histories are extensively collected by the Family History Library, public and university libraries, and state and local historical societies. The "United States History" page cites nationwide bibliographies of local histories which include histories of Montana. An excellent Montana resource is:


 * Richards, Dennis Lee. Montana's Genealogical and Local History Records... Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1981..

State Histories Useful to Genealogists
Good genealogists strive to understand the life and times of their ancestors. In this sense, any history can be useful. But certain kinds of state, county, and local histories, especially older histories published between 1845 and 1945, often include biographical sketches of prominent individuals. The sketches usually tend toward the laudatory, but may include some genealogical details. If these histories are indexed or alphabetized, check for an ancestor's name. An example for the State of Montana is:


 * Burlingame, Merrill G. and K. Ross Toole. Editors. A History of Montana. Three Volumes. New York, NY: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1957..

United States History
The following are only a few of the many U.S. history sources that are available:


 * Schlesinger, Jr., Arthur M. The Almanac of American History. Greenwich, Conn.: Bison Books, 1983. . . This provides brief historical essays and chronological descriptions of thousands of key events in United States history.


 * Dictionary of American History, Revised ed., 8 vols. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1976. . . This includes historical sketches on various topics in U.S. history, such as wars, people, laws, and organizations. A snippet view is available at Google books.


 * Webster's Guide to American History: A Chronological, Geographical, and Biographical Survey and Compendium. Springfield, Mass.: G&amp;C Merriam, 1971. . Limited view at Google Books. . This includes a history, some maps, tables, and other historical information.


 * Writings on American History. By American Historical Association, Library of Congress, United States National Historical Publications Commission. Published by KTO Press, 1921. . . Full text available at Google Books.

To find more books and articles about Montana 's history try a Google search. Search for phrases like "Montana history." The FamilySearch Catalog "Place-names" search lists many more histories under topics like:


 * MONTANA - HISTORY
 * MONTANA, [COUNTY] - HISTORY
 * MONTANA, [COUNTY], [TOWN] - HISTORY
 * MONTANA - BIBLIOGRAPHY

Web Sites

 * Montana Historical Society
 * Montana Travel Site
 * History of Montana (Wikipedia)