Alderson family

The William W. Alderson family was one of the first families to settle in the Gallatin Valley before the city of Bozeman was established. William White Alderson (1831-1906) was born in England and came to America at the age of 17. In 1864, he left his wife, Frances (1834-1910) and four children in Wisconsin and with his brother, John, headed for the gold mines of Montana. On the way the Aldersons decided to settle in the Gallatin Valley and take up farming. One of the first settlers of Bozeman, William W. Alderson, serving as the secretary of the Gallatin Claim Association, was the person who suggested "Bozeman" as the name of the town after John Bozeman. Later in 1866 Alderson's family joined him in the new town and in 1873 he was named as the government agent for the Milk River Indian Reservation. On his return to Bozeman in 1877 he became the editor of the Avant Courier newspaper, a position he held for most of his remaining life. William and Frances had nine children in all, among whom were Matthew (1855-1916), and E. Lina, who married Shaff Houston. Matthew became a newspaperman himself, first working as the business manager for the Avant Courier and later editing papers in Helena and Butte. After the death of his first wife he married Mary Long of Massachusetts. While Matthew pursued his interests in journalism and mining, Mary engaged in her own career as a suffragette and temperance crusader. Matthew toured South America shortly before his death to investigate mining claims and that same year Mary was elected president of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WTCU). Matthew and Mary had at least one daughter, Myrtle, who married Belgrade resident J. H. Griswold, a veteran of the first World War.

From the guide to the Alderson Family Collection, 1865-1939, (Montana State University-Bozeman Library, Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections)