Thomas Cruse was a Helena, Montana, miner, banker, and businessman. This collection (1841-1956) consists of incoming correspondence; legal and financial records; maps; reports; and miscellany. Records for Cruse's various enterprises are divided into nine subgroups including the Thomas Cruse Savings Bank; Thomas Cruse Estate; Thomas Cruse Mining and Development Company; etc.

The Helena National Bank was organized in Helena, Montana, in September 1890 by John T. Murphy, S.C. Ashby, A.B. Clements, and Frank Baird. In October 1893 the bank merged with the Second National Bank, and E.D. Edgerton became president. This combined bank in turn merged with the First National Bank in January 1895. Records (1890-1895) include correspondence; financial records; legal documents; organizational records; and miscellany.

The Montana Trust and Savings Bank was organized in Helena, Montana, in 1913, by Thomas A. Marlow. Records (1914-1931) include correspondence, financial records, and miscellany.

John T. Murphy (1842-1914) was a Helena, Montana, merchant, rancher, banker, and mine investor. Collection (1865-1935) includes correspondence, financial records, legal documents and other material of Murphy, the Murphy Estate, and various companies he founded, including the Powder River Land and Cattle Company, Montana Cattle Company (Seventy-Nine Ranch), and the Murphy-Maclay Hardware Company.

The Second National Bank of Helena, Montana, headed by Erastus D. Edgerton, opened in 1882 and merged with the Helena National Bank in 1893 as a result of the financial panic. Collection (1881-1896) includes correspondence, court papers, financial records, legal documents, organizational records, and miscellany.