Mendenhall, John S., 1835-

John S. Mendenhall (1835-1896) was an early pioneer merchant of Bozeman, Montana. Born in Vevay, Indiana on October 18, 1835, Mendenhall travelled west to Levenworth Kansas in 1855 where he found work as a packer for the firm of Gilbert and Gerrish. Accompanying the firm to Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, Mendenhall worked as a clerk until 1857. During the next few years he engaged in a variety of merchandising occupations in the territory before moving to Fort Lemhi, Idaho in 1862. Mendenhall actively joined the rush to the gold country in present-day Montana, both as a prospector and merchant. He eventually settled in Bozeman, opening a general store in partnership with Dr. Achilles Lamme which he operated until his death on February 2, 1896. He married Mrs. Mary Susan Smith, widow of Major Robert Henry Smith, CSA, in 1870.

From the guide to the John S. Mendenhall Papers, 1857-1885, (Montana State University-Bozeman Library, Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections)

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