Entry from Journal #1: July 4, 1930
A. Schaffer, Wm Rumping, Miss May Iverson, went up to the Shokipee mine, and myself. I caught my first fish to-day and sure put it in my pocket as I had no license. A party of people of the Prairie Club are spending the summer in Marysville staying at the Drum Lummond Hotel.
This is a photo of Mary taken several years after this journal entry – but it seemed like the perfect time to share it.
Happy 4th Everyone!!
Mary’s father was born August 24, 1854, in Hanover, Germany. His parents were Johann Carl Philip Zum Dresch and Anna Maria Gertrud Reumpfing. He arrived in the United States at age 16 and married Eva Frances Specht in 1875 at St. Louis, Missouri. John arrived in Montana Territory in 1878 and was joined by Eva and his one-year-old daughter Mary in 1879. John and Eva had three more children, two boys and a girl. All three were born in Montana.
In 1893, Eva filed for divorce against John. The case was soon dropped but according to court records, Eva and John lived separately after that time.
In late 1906 or early 1907, John filed for divorce against Eva and was ultimately granted a divorce on March 23, 1907. In May of 1907, he married Freda Molitor in Des Moines, Iowa. Unfortunately for John, the Montana Supreme Court reversed the divorce granted by the lower court several months later, based on a technicality. In January 1908, John was under “nominal arrest” on a charge of living in adultery. He was ultimately granted a divorce from Eva in March 1909 but by 1912, he and Freda were divorced and John was on his way to Bisbee, Arizona.
Based on Mary’s journal and other documents, it appears she and her father were estranged at the time of his death in Bisbee in 1921.
The back of the photo above reads: “Mr. Jno. H. Rumping. He was the first engineer in Col. Thos. Cruse’s five stamp mill in Marysville in about 1881. He came to Belmont, Deer Lodge Co. Mont. in 1878 from St. Louis Mo.” The note was probably written by Mary.
Uncharacteristically for Mary, this photograph is not dated. However, her daughter (#50) appears to be about 8 years old so I would date it around 1909. Characteristically, there is a “key” on the back of the photo (see image below). Those names are transcribed at the bottom of this post.
When I pulled this paint-splattered book out of the box that had been in my Grandmother’s basement for about 14 years, and then in my Aunt and Uncle’s garage for another 45 years, my first impression was that it was some sort of school record – for obvious reasons. But after just a few minutes of flipping through the pages, I realized it was a journal written by my great grandmother! This is the sort of thing all family historians hope to find – the genealogy “lottery” jackpot!!
The inside cover gives you a flavor of what this journal is like . . . and I’ve highlighted the part that immediately caught my eye.
Here’s the passage enlarged . . .
So . . . even though she references specific page numbers, not all of the pages are numbered – and the few pages that are numbered aren’t numbered sequentially. Confusing, right?? To add to the confusion, the entries are not chronological and it appears that she often revisited certain entries several or many years later and added a comment in the margin or at the top of the page. Here’s a good example of what I’m talking about . . .
As you might imagine, I was frustrated at first – but it turned out that reading this journal was a bit like putting together a jigsaw puzzle – and I love jigsaw puzzles!
I believe Mary was actively writing in this journal for about 20 years, beginning in 1929. The journal includes some daily “this is what I did today” entries, but also includes her thoughts and dreams regarding her life, as well as some wonderful family history and Marysville historical information. On a practical note, one entry contains a list of all the residents in Marysville on that particular day. And on another day, she made a list of all the flowers in her garden. And as you can see, she used every square inch of paper!
Mary’s note above – “Don’t Destroy This Book” – is probably the single greatest reason I am sharing this journal. I believe she intended it to be read and shared. I hope, and believe, I have her blessing.
But that’s enough from me – I’ll let Mary tell you her story.