I've just (re)published the 1883 Custer County Taxpayers list:
http://www.birchy.com/his...ayers_List

It's interesting how many names are still around. There is an entry that says Anderson and Zook. I would bet my heritage that it should read Alderson and Zook.

I double checked the original to see if it was an OCR error, but the book says "Anderson & Zook", however, the book contains many obvious errors as well. Old lady McCanna's name was spelled "McCarnea", but her childrens' names are spelled right.

People complain about proofreading today but trust me, as long as there has been written language, there have been misspellings.

This taxpayer's list includes a John Gibb (s?). A postcard from this John Gibb is for sale on Ebay, item nr 360735477491.(Sorry, it would probably take me a half hour to transfer the link to here.)

[This message has been edited by Don Birkholz (2/5/2014)]

[This message has been edited by Don Birkholz (2/5/2014)]

Ebay Item Number 360735477491: US MILES CITY(Custer County)MONTANA MAR/21/1900 - postal envleope

Seeing that envelope from the ebay listing Don posted makes me think of how disappointing it is that a letter mailed from Miles City today ends up with a Billings, Montana, postmark.

Also, wouldn't it be interesting to know the story of that envelope. Why did John Gibb mail something to the Portland Oregonian newspaper and how did that envelope get preserved for 114 years?

[This message has been edited by David Schott (2/5/2014)]

That's quite the address "Portland, Ore." PERIOD - although I suppose the "Portland Oregonian" was well known back in 1900.

Out at the ranch, the address was always:

c/o Broadus Stage
Miles City, Mont.

Then eventually a zip code got added on. How the mailman actually delivered anything, is still a mystery.

Just 9 years later the guy who owned The Oregonian newspaper, Henry Pittock, moved into his new Portland mansion:



http://en.wikipedia.org/w...ck_Mansion

The seller might have gotten the card from an estate sale. The "Gibb and Rhoades" sounds like a law firm or possibly a business.
John was probably from Portland.
Probably renewed a subscription to the newspaper. John Sr was born in 1844, died in 1921(buried in the Custer County Cemetery.) Another John Gibb died in 1951 (probably a son), and another John Gibb died in 1939 and is buried in the Rancher Cemetery in Treasure County

[This message has been edited by Don Birkholz (2/6/2014)]

[This message has been edited by Don Birkholz (2/6/2014)]

According to Hoopes, he and his brother Tom worked local coal mines for many years. He originally came to Miles City from Pittsburg, KS in 1882. He was elected sheriff in 1886. He was police magistrate for several years and is "Justice" Gibb during the 1893 murder investigation of Jame Pym. No connection to Portland mentioned. He (and mostly) Thomas had a fruit/confection/??? store.