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Clarence P. and Harriet W. Tooley papers

 Collection
Identifier: MC-155

Scope and Contents

This collection includes correspondence, financial records, and subject files. The materials mostly concern the Tooleys' business activities and reflect very little of their private life. Best documented is the insurance business for the years 1919-1926 when Harriet Tooley was an active agent for several companies. There is little information for the Tooley's wool buying business. The collection is comprised of three subgroups, the first two of which are for Clarence P. Tooley and Harriet W. Tooley . The third subgroup is entitled " Tooley Business Interests " and includes materials from the Golden Valley Land Company; Bank of Wheatland County; Twodot Land and Livestock Company; Tooley-Baxter Land and Livestock Company; Tooley, Baxter and Tice Banking House; miscellaneous insurance companies; and other business interests. The Ernest C. Baxter Papers (Manuscript Collection 156) also contains materials of some Tooley-Baxter businesses.

Dates

  • Creation: 1884-1950

Language of Materials

English

Conditions Governing Access

Collection open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an archivist.

Biographical / Historical

Clarence P. Tooley, born in Evanston, Wyoming, on August 31, 1873, moved with his parents to Castle, Montana, at the age of 12. As a young man he located in Two Dot and invested in a chain of area general merchandise stores. Through this venture he was first associated with Ernest C. Baxter who became a life-long business partner. Beginning in 1905 Tooley and Baxter formed at least two ranching businesses; the Twodot Land and Livestock Company and the Tooley-Baxter Land and Livestock Company. Together these companies managed the Linton, Duffey, and Tice ranches totalling more than 20,000 acres. In addition to their ranching enterprises, Tooley and Baxter were also interested in banking. In 1906 they joined with Dr. Henry B. Tice to organize Tooley, Baxter and Tice Banking House, the second Musselshell Valley bank, located in Twodot. In later years beginning in 1917, the Bank of Wheatland County opened at Harlowton with C.P. Tooley as president and E.C. Baxter as secretary and cashier. C.P. Tooley was also active in other commercial ventures including the wool trade, the insurance business, and general land sales, as the secretary of the Golden Valley Land Company of Harlowton. A Republican, Tooley was elected representative from Meagher County in 1903 and served as the county's state senator during the years 1905-1911. During his legislative career he worked for the creation of Wheatland County and with the success of that effort he was selected as the county's first Republican nominee for state senate in 1918. However, on October 10, 1918, shortly before the election, Tooley died from pneumonia during the Spanish influenza epidemic. Following Tooley's death, his widow Harriet Waldorf Tooley continued his business activities. Born on February 17, 1877, in Hays, Kansas, Mrs. Tooley was a member of the first graduating class of the Montana State Normal College at Dillon in 1898. She and Senator Tooley met in Helena during a legislative session and were married on April 27, 1910. Harriet Tooley remained active in the Twodot Land and Livestock Company and the Golden Valley Land Company and became the Harlowton agent for numerous insurance companies. In addition, she continued buying and selling wool and at one time was recognized as the only woman wool buyer in the world. Harriet Tooley died in Great Falls on November 16, 1955.

Extent

3.2 linear feet

Abstract

Clarence Tooley (1873-1918) was a Harlowton and Two Dot, Montana, banker, ranch investor, real estate and insurance agent. Collection (1884-1950) includes correspondence, financial records, and subject files for the Bank of Wheatland County; the Two Dot Land and Livestock Company; Tooley, Baxter and Tice Bankers; and the Golden Valley Land Company. His wife Harriet Waldorf Tooley (1877-1955) continued to operate the businesses after his death in 1918.

Arrangement

Arranged by subgroup and series.

Physical Location

7:4-7

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Acquisition information available upon request

Separated Materials

Photos separated to Photo Archives. See inventory below for more information.

Title
Guide to the Clarence P. and Harriet W. Tooley papers 1884-1950
Author
Finding aid prepared by MHS staff
Date
2004
Description rules
Finding Aid Based On Dacs ( Describing Archives: A Content Standard 2nd Edition)
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Repository Details

Part of the Montana Historical Society, Research Center Archives Repository

Contact:
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT 59620-1201 United States
406-444-2681
406-444-2696 (Fax)