Early in the 1890s\, a traveler from the M idwest named Sammy Williams stepped off the train in Manhattan\, Montana. Sammy met local rancher Henry Heeb and gained employment at his ranch as a cook. Williams spent the next eighteen years in and around Manhattan\, co oking for various ranching operations. Sammy made many friends and was kno wn as a generous soul and a hard worker. In 1908\, Sammy suddenly passed a way and locals were surprised to discover that Sammy was biologically fema le (Sammy had been known to all in the area as male). Williams was buried in Manhattan&rsquo\;s Meadow View Cemetery and friends pooled their funds to purchase a large headstone\, which still exists today. The inscription on it reads: &ldquo\;A female whose real name is unknown but who has been for many years known as Sammy Williams. Died Dec. 10\, 1908. Age about 68 yrs.&rdquo\;
\nAt the time of Williams' death\, Manhattan-area resid ents attempted to discover details of Sammy's past. A story emerged and wa s published in both local and out-of-state newspapers in 1908. It is diffi cult to prove or disprove this account\, but Gallatin History Museum staff Rachel Phillips and Charlotte Mills\, along with colleagues at the museum \, are currently working to unearth details of Williams' life in official records and to uncover new evidence of Sammy in Gallatin County. Recent di scoveries relate to Sammy's property ownership and voter participation (th is predates women's suffrage in Montana). Sources examined include newspap er accounts\, voter registration records\, city directories\, property dee ds\, and other Gallatin County records.
\nThis presentation focuses on what can be discovered about Sammy Williams' life through historical re search. We will likely never know Sammy's true reasons behind the decision to publicly live life as a man in the nineteenth century\, so this presen tation focuses not on the "why\," but on the quest to uncover traces of Wi lliams in official records. Sammy's story could also inspire further resea rch on similar figures in Montana history. There were undoubtedly other in dividuals who were able to bypass and work around official laws to achieve suffrage and property ownership before such privileges were widely accept ed for women and other historically marginalized groups.
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Presenter Bios:
\nRachel Phil lips grew up in Bozeman and graduated from Montana State University with a degree in History and a minor in Museum Studies. She joined the staff at the Gallatin History Museum in 2008. In her current role as Research Direc tor\, Rachel manages an active library\, cares for the museum's archival a nd photograph collections\, and enjoys uncovering fascinating stories of h istoric people and events.
\nCharlotte Mills was born in Bozeman and raised on a farm outside of Bozeman. She and her husband Stan currently l ive in the remodeled farmhouse where she grew up. Charlotte graduated from Belgrade High School and has undergraduate and master's degrees in accoun ting\, graduating from Weber State University in Ogden\, Utah. She was the Gallatin County Clerk &\; Recorder/Election Administrator for 12 years and retired in December 2018. She joined the staff at the Gallatin Histor y Museum in October 2019 and today serves as the museum's Operations Direc tor.
\nhttps://bozemanlibrary.libnet.info/event/15670770 URL;VALUE=URI:https://bozemanlibrary.libnet.info/event/15670770 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR