Willson, Lester S., Mrs., 1841-1923

An accomplished musician and singer, she accompanied her husband, General Willson to Bozeman, Montana in 1869.

Emma D. Weeks Willson was born on 13 Mar. 1841 in New York. She met Gen. Lester S. Willson while serving as a volunteer at the Veterans Home in Albany, N.Y., where he acted as an administrator after the Civil War. Willson, who later founded a successful mercantile operation in Bozeman, Montana Territory, married Emma on 2 Mar. 1869 and brought her back to Bozeman where they lived the rest of their lives. Reported to have brought the first piano to Bozeman, Emma was an accomplished musician and singer. She performed many recitals for the community, both as an accompanist and a performer, and was active in the Presbyterian church. The Willsons had four children, only one of whom, Fred F. Willson, a prominent local architect, survived to adulthood. Mrs. Willson died on 11 Apr. 1923.