Erskine, Ralph C., 1912-1996

Ralph C. Erskine, Jr., of Brunswick, Maine, was the nephew by marriage, of Margaret Shelton Peattie. He maintained a life-long interest in Peattie, her family, and their connection to Charles Russell. Throughout his life he did research on Peattie and her background and attempted to publish her reminiscences. Margaret Shelton Peattie, the daughter of James R. Shelton, was born in Utica, Montana, on September 9, 1885. Shortly after her birth, Margaret's father commissioned Charles Russell to paint "Cowboy Camp During Roundup" for his City Hotel in Utica. In 1891 the Shelton family moved to Demersville, a small town later absorbed into Kalispell. Margaret's mother and father died within two months of each other in 1897 and 1898 and she was left orphaned. Following the death of her parents, Margaret briefly lived with an aunt from New York City. She attended the Episcopal boarding school in Spokane from 1899 to 1907, during which time, when she was not at school, she lived with the Charles E. Conrad family of Kalispell. In 1907 Margaret travelled to Wells and Reno, Nevada, to visit relatives of her father. On November 24, 1908, she married Edward C. Peattie, an engineer for the Western Pacific Railroad, whom she had met on her trip to Nevada. They moved to Stamford, Connecticut, in 1916, where Edward worked as a sales manager for Erskine-Danforth Corporation and later for John S. Smith Company. Margaret died on August 22, 1977.