My name is Diana, and I live in WA state. I only recently learned that my great, great aunt died in Miles City, in 1890. I am wondering if there might have been an item concerning her death in the local paper, at the time.

As she died at the "convent school in Miles City" (as per the Glendive Independent - oops, I see now that they just were doing a reprint from the Y.J.), I contacted the school. They said that school burned down in 1897, so no records there. They told me to contact the convent "keepers", nothing there, they said I needed to talk to someone named Amoriette, so I came here.

Let me tell you what I know about this young lady. She was born in Mary Tavy, Lamerton Parish, Tavistock, Devon, in 1869. By 1870 her mother had died. In 1873 her father brings her and her older sister (my great grandmother) to Ontario, Canada. They are in Canada's 1881 census. Then, her father, James Coram, brings the girls to Dawson County, circa 1882-1883. He has a ranch at the mouth of Morgan Creek, NE of Glendive. Her sister marries in 1885.

I never knew what happened to Susannah or her father until I came to Glendive to research this past month. It looks like she died in late January or early February of 1890, and had gone to the school since September.

I would sure appreciate any more info any one could dig up on poor "Susie" Coram, as she was called in the newspaper acticle.

I don't even know if she was still in what we call high school, or was in their teacher's school.

Thank you all in advance, Diana

P.S. I sure like this forum, I wish some other locales had such a warm and friendly place.

I'm Amorette. She was probably a student because there wasn't a "teachers' school" at the convent. Some teachers went to Normal School after high school but most just took the qualifying exam in the fall.

There probably wasn't anything more in the Yellowstone Journal than in the Glendive paper but I could look. Obituaries, per se, weren't written in those days. You could also contact the county clerk to look up a death certificate. It should have cause of death listed. Terminology was different in those days so that cause of death might need modern interpretation.

Amorette - thank you for your response. Nice to meet you.

I did not know that they would have had death certifates way back then. I will contact Custer County.

Was looking for some history on the school. As Susie moved around some, and always lived on a farm or ranch, I was thinking that it was possible that her schooling was interupted enough, that she was still in what we call high school at the age of 21. I also thought that maybe the school had a teachers' college, that she could have been attending.

Thanks again for your aid in helping me understand more about my Susie's short life.

Diana

Diana,

I looked for Susannah/Susie's death in the NewspaperArchive.com & could not find it. I checked the MT Historical Society's index of newspapers & the Yellowstone Journal is the only one (they have) in 1890 for Miles City so you're on the right track with Amorette.

Montana didn't require death certificates until 1907 so if there is a record of her death it will be with the Custer County Clerk & Recorder. I could not find her burial listed in Old Calvary cemetery-Miles City. The family may be mentioned in the records of Sacred Heart Catholic church in Glendive &/or the Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home. The Dawson County Clerk of the Court might have a list of early burials.

You might find a school record in the Ursuline Centre's museum in Great Falls- [email protected]
Marquette University has Ursuline school records but I could only find Catholic Indian Mission schools in Montana. You may want to check with their archivist on this page-
marquette.edu/library/archives/askarch.shtml

I did find this-
James Coram was additional surety in Glendive Oct 8, 1887 for Willard Slawson. Eben Slawson & EWP Harvey were original sureties and judge required additional ones- James Coram & Martin Newcomer prior to releasing Willard.

Willard had been arrested for abandoning 15 year old pregnant Mary Van Blaricom. He then married her with his father & his attorney serving as witnesses & disappeared days later. Mary divorced him after he was found in Washington Territory in 1888. Her daughter was raised as a Van Blaricom until Mary remarried in 1895.

The story is detailed in H. Norman Hyatt's "The Uncommon Journey: The History of Old Dawson County- Montana Territory". He wrote the book about his family - Mary was his ancestor.

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Also in Dawson County, MT don't know if there is any relationship to your James Coram.
1900 census
Coram Louise 56 widow born England Immigration 1895 Launderess
Garnett Sarah (her sister) 59 single born Eng Imm 1895 Launderess
Stubbs, Harry & family 28 born Eng Imm 1895 R.R. Hosteler

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A family researcher says James Coram's wife was Eliza Eastcott born Sept 1839 died 1870 England. I have his email address, if you want it I will email it to you. He appears to be a Southwick researcher.

Cindy -

Thanks for all your research.

As for the school research, you have given me more places to look than the current school, or the convent keepers did. I will have to work on that.

Susie was sent back home, and buried in Glendive. I haven't found her or James' grave yet, however.

Louisa on the census was James' widow. He married her sometime in the early 1890s, and brought her, her sister (Sarah Garnett), and the Stubbs family (Louisa's daughter, s-i-l, and grandsons) to the US in 1895. Stubbs had worked for the railroad in England, and by about 1900 was the night foreman at the Glendive roundhouse.

Louisa, Sarah, and Louisa'a daughter Annie, all died between 1900 and 1910.

As for Norm's book, I did discover that earlier this year, bought it, read it, and contacted Norm. He lives here, in eastern WA, where I live. He is going to write more volumes on Dawson County history, and I have sent him what I know, so far.

I know a lot about James' English ancestry, and had contacted an Eastcott researcher years ago, and still write to her. I would be very interested receiving the name of the contact you found, however. You never know too many researchers.

Thanks again, Diana

Diana,
I hope you find what you are looking for. My mom has spend years doing our family history.
The best people to ask in Miles City has responded already. Good luck.

I sent the Southwick researcher's contact information to your email account. I only found a little about the Southwicks in Montana.

Edith married John J Southwick in 1885 Dawson County & by 1900 they lived in Hamilton. New York born Southwick (Edith's husband- Susie's brother-in-law) was one time Mayor of Hamilton, Montana, former stage driver, & a Quaker. He moved to Stroud, Oklahoma some time after Edith's death in Hamilton in 1919.

Cindy -

Southwick research hasn't been a problem. John Jay Southwick did genealogical research himself, and left us his spreadsheet notebook.

Problem is , he only did his Southwick (paternal) and Hawley (maternal) lines. He was pretty good about adding the names of the parents of folks that married into these lines, but that was about it.

But, if you can imagine what researching was like back in the 1920s and 1930s, you can see why he limited himself.

Diana

I am replying to my own message here, to bring it back to the top, for the Ursaline Convent info contained in it.