SHIRLEY CARTER ASHBY’S REMINISCENSES RELATE HOW IN THE FALL OF 1868 HE WAS IN CHARGE OF ESTABLISHING A TRADING POST ON THE MISSOURI RIVER FOR I. G. BAKER & BRO. IT APPPEARS HE WENT BACK FOR THE NEXT TRADING SEASON, 1869-1870, BECAUSE IN APRIL OF 1870, A U. S. MARSHAL SHOWED UP AT FT. ASHBY TO TAKE THE CENSUS FOR THAT YEAR, AND S. C. ASHBY WAS ON IT.
Not only was Ashby on the census, but so was W. G. Conrad, but under his birth name of G. W. Conrad, which makes me wonder if perhaps Ashby’s recollections were off by a year. Both his recollections[1] and Miller’s History of Montana[2] have him moving to Helena in 1870, which is certainly possible, as Baker Co. traders returned to HQ at Ft. Benton in the Spring, late April or early June, which would allow him time to sell his recently won interest in the firm to the Conrad brothers and get to Helena before the year's end.
It makes sense that he would have returned to the post. After having been so successful the first time around, the Bakers undoubtedly encouraged him to do so. And, as W. G. Conrad had proven himself to be very useful on that first trip, it only seems logical that he would have been sent along again.
Based on the comments of the enumerator, Marshal Wheeler, it wasn’t an easy task to take the census in the wilds of Montana, 1870. Travel was rough, even if you could take a river boat from place to place and injury was not unheard of!
Regardless, the 1870 census for Ft. Ashby is interesting in and of itself, so below I have provided a transcription of the official U. S. Census record. In summary, there were three interpreters, five laborers, a cook, two clerks, six hunters and the fur trader himself present at the fort, occupying six cabins.
In the list below, the dwelling number comes first, followed by name, age, sex, color, profession/occupation, value of real estate owned, value of personal estate and place of birth.
Note: some first names are abbreviated. For those not familiar with such things, Wm. = William, Thos. = Thomas, Geo. = George
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SCHEDULE 1. ---Inhabitants at Ft. Ashby, mouth of French Creek, Mo. River in the County of Dawson, State of Montana, enumerated by me on the 25th day of April, 1870.
Post Office: Helena, Montana Wm. T. Wheeler, Ass't Marshal
56 Ashby, S. C. - 27 - m - w - Fur Trader - 0 - 6000 - Va
Conrad, G. W. - 22 - m - w - Clerk - 2,500 - 1000 - Va [3]
57 Campbell, Thos. - 40 - m - w - Interpreter - 0 - 0 - Pa
Provost, E. - 45 - m -w - Interpreter - 0 - 0 - Pa
58 Smith, W. S. - 28 - m - w - Laborer - 0 - 0 - Iowa
La Flour, Louis - 35 - m - w - Laborer - 0 - 0 - Canada
Bent, Wm. - 24 - m - w - Laborer - 0 - 0 - Dakota [4]
Congden, Dan - 28 - m - w - Laborer - 0 - 0 - Wis
59 Price, C. W. - 28 - m - w - Laborer - 0 - 2500 - Mo [5]
Renas, L. - 50 - m - w - Interpreter - 0 - 0 - Canada
Neippert (?), Geo. - 50 - Cook - 0 - 500 - 0 - Canada
Worthing, Thos. - 20 - Clerk - 0 - 0 - Kansas
60 Johnson, B. F. - 40 - Hunter - 0 - 0 - Ohio
Baker, H. T. - 40 - Hunter - 0 - 0 - Ill
Nicholson, M. - 45 - Hunter - 0 - 0 - Tenn
61 Brown, Y. - 30 - Hunter - 0 - 0 - N. Y,
Arno, E. - 35 - Hunter - 0 - 0 - Canada
Little, F. - 50 - Hunter - 0 - 0 - Canada
4 cabins were vacant in all. Omitted in proper place by copyist.
There is not one acre of farming land cultivated in
Dawson County and no one raising stock. Therefore Schedule 3 is not filled
The county is not organized and has no local government, vast
numbers of Buffalo, Elk, Deer, Antelope, Mountain Sheep, Bear & other game abound
and Indians are jealous of encroachments by whites for they claim it
as a favorite hunting ground. I commenced enumerating on
April 8th & concluded on April 25th 1870.
Wm F. Wheeler
U. S. Marshal
P. S. I remained at Ft. Peck[6] 8 days taking care of my wound and trying
to get a boat crew to go on to the mouth of the Yellow Stone. I took the census of
Ft. Peck & vicinity while there. No P. O. in county. W. F. Wheeler, U. S. M.
NOTES
1. MS of interview by A. J. Noyes. Shirley Carter Ashby papers, 1867-1889. Montana Historical Society, Special Collection SC283.
2. Miller, Joaquin. An Illustrated History of the State of Montana. Chicago: Lewis Publ. Co., 1894, pg. 510-511.
3. George William Conrad. Older brother to Charles Edward Conrad, founder of Kalispell, Montana. Shortly after this census, he started calling himself William George Conrad and was known to all and sundry thereafter as W. G. Conrad. He was enumerated again in June at Ft. Benton after he had returned from Ft. Ashby. He shows up as "J. W. Conrad," but that is an error. The age given is 22 and C. E. Conrad (on the line below) is 20. George and Charley were two years apart, G. W. having been born in 1848 and Charley in 1850, so the "J. W. Conrad" can only be an error for G. W. Conrad.
Note that G. W. was the only one to report owning real estate. He had purchased property in Ft. Benton upon which he built a two story brick house into which he intended to install his bride immediately upon their impending marriage. G. W's story will be told in full later.
4. No relation to the William Bent of Bent’s Fort fame.
5. Charles W. Price married Mary Blanche “Mollie” Conrad, a younger sister to C. E. & W. G. Conrad and later became a partner in several of the Conrad ventures, especially the cattle business. Eventually, he had a substantial interest in the Benton & St. Louis Cattle Co. and was a partner in the Conrad-Price Cattle Co.
6. In 1870, Ft. Peck was a fur trading post located on the Missouri River in Montana. Fort Peck served as an Indian agency from 1873 until 1878. At that time, the agency was moved to its current location at Poplar. A new town of Ft. Peck was built 2 miles north of the original site in 1934 and became the HQ for the building of Fort Peck Dam.
2/22/23
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