Title: James A. Emmons
Dates: 1872-1890
Collection Number: 10196
Quantity: .25 feet and 9 photographs
Abstract: Consists of two scrapbooks of newspaper clippings and photographs including portraits and images of steamboats.
Provenance: The State Historical Society of North Dakota acquired this collection from James A. Emmons in June 1925.
Property rights: The State Historical Society of North Dakota owns the property rights to the collection.
Copyrights: Copyrights to materials in this collection remain with the donor, publisher, author, or author's heirs. Researchers should consult the 1976 Copyright Act, Public Law 94-553, Title 17, U.S. Code and an archivist at this repository if clarification of copyright requirements is needed. Permission to use any radio or television broadcast portions of the collection must be sought from the creator.
Access: This collection is open under the rules and regulations of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.
Citation: Researchers are requested to cite the collection title, collection number, and the State Historical Society of North Dakota in all footnote and bibliographic references.
Biographical Sketch
James A. Emmons was born December 29, 1845 at Guyandotte, Virginia, to James and Nancy Smith Emmons. He was the first in a family of nine children. The family moved to Missouri in 1853 and Omaha, Nebraska in 1856 where the father operated a lumber mill. At age 17, Emmons became a cabin boy on the packet, Emily, where in turn he was promoted to mate, boy captain, and pilot on steamers on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. From 1865 to 1872 years he was a Captain on the Missouri River carrying supplies to Indian trading posts and mining camps in Dakota and Montana. He operated a ferry between Bismarck and Fort Abraham Lincoln in 1876. From 1872 to 1879 he operated a mercantile store in Bismarck, owned the Bismarck Weekly Tribune in 1877, and was involved in real estate. In Bismarck he served as Alderman, Chairman of the County Commissioners, and part owner of the First National Bank in Bismarck. Emmons County, North Dakota was named for him. He left Bismarck in 1885, spending time in Colorado and Nebraska before finally settling with his wife, Nina Cole, in Pawnee Oklahoma on his estate, Wildflower Farm. He died in 1919 and is buried at the IOOF Cemetery, Maramec (Okla.).
Sources:
A Standard History of Oklahoma by Joseph B. Thoburn
Andreas’ Historical Atlas of Dakota, 1884
Ancestry.com
Inventory
Box 1:
Two scrapbooks of newspaper clippings and memorabilia concerning politics, Indians, and patriotism
Box 2: Photographs
10196-00001 General Samuel Davis Sturgis ca. 1880
10196-00002 Colonel William Thompson ca. 1880
10196-00003 Mrs. M. Eppinger, Bismarck (N.D.) 1890
10196-00004 Nina B. (Mrs. James A.) Emmons ca. 1872
10196-00005 Mrs. Henry Suttles, Mrs. Carrie Donelly, Mrs. John P. Dunn, Mrs. Charlotte H. Davis ca. 1890
10196-00006 Steamer Montana wrecked by tornado, Bismarck Landing (D.T.) 06/30/1879
10196-00007 Loading dock, Fort Benton (M.T.) 1870
10196-00008 Steamer Helena with Sioux Indians enroute to Standing Rock Agency ca. 1881
10196-00009 Bull boat, Fort Berthold (D.T.) 1880-1889
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