Shorey Family Papers mssShorey
Gina C Giang
The Huntington Library
September 2019
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
reference@huntington.org
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Shorey family papers
Creator:
Shorey (Family : 1873-1905)
Identifier/Call Number: mssShorey
Physical Description:
1.25 Linear Feet
(3 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1873-1905
Abstract: The Shorey family correspondence
consists primarily of letters to and from Louisa Dunham Shorey of Belfast, Maine, dating
from 1873-1905.
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Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. Shorey family papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from McBride Rare Books, January 2019 and July 2019.
Biographical / Historical
Louisa Dunham Shorey (1837-1907) of Belfast, Maine was married to Wellington Shorey
(1831-1903), a farmer. The couple had seven children: Raymond, Robert, John D., and James
W., who all settled in the Montana Territory as well as Jennie, Emma, and Charles, who
remained in Maine. Raymond was a farmer who settled in Roberts, Montana, southwest of
Billings. Robert (variously Bert or B.G.) purchased a ranch, worked successfully as a sheep
rancher, and eventually rose to prominence as a businessman in Billings. John D. worked in
White Sulphur Springs as a contractor, builder, and, occasionally, in the mines as an
operator. James worked as a farmer and stockman in Richland County. Jennie married a farmer,
Emma was a spinster, and Charles was a farmer.
Scope and Contents
The Shorey family correspondence consists primarily of letters to and from Louisa Dunham
Shorey, of Belfast, Maine and her children, dating from 1873-1905. The letters document a
close-knit family who kept in touch across the continent, with numerous letters exchanged
between Maine and various locations in Montana and Saugatuck, Michigan. The letters from her
sons in Montana relate the difficulties of life on the booming Montana frontier, with
details of sheep farming, wild weather, the high cost of goods, and farming on the plains.
Raymond's wife, Carrie, provides a more family-centric glimpse of the hardships faced out in
the Montana territory. The letters written closer to home by residents of Maine and
Massachusetts frequently mention the spiritualism movement, especially among Shorey's female
acquaintances. Included are references to Temple Heights, a spiritualist summer camp on
Penobscot Bay, Maine, and correspondence from the American College of Sciences in
Philadelphia, acknowledging Shorey's order for a course of instruction on personal magnetism
and hypnotism. Other correspondents include Shorey's sister, grandchildren, and various
other family members. Included in the collection are financial records, manuscripts, and
printed ephemera.
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Frontier and pioneer life --
Montana
Ranch life -- Montana
Ranchers -- Montana
Spiritualism -- Maine
Women -- West (U.S.) -- History
Maine -- Description and
travel
Michigan -- Description and
travel
Montana -- Description and
travel
Montana -- Social life and customs
Letters (correspondence)
Shorey, Louisa Dunham, 1837-1907
Box 2, Folder 7
1900
Scope and Contents
Empty envelopes, receipts, and an invitation only.
Box 3, Folder 2
1902 February-March, 1903
January-May
Box 3, Folder 5
Undated
Scope and Contents
Includes: Incomplete letters.
