Franklin Leonard Stone (1816-1886) was born in Bridgeport, Vermont, the son of sailing merchant. In 1849 Franklin, with his younger brother Hiram, went to California where they participated in the gold rush. By 1850 Franklin had returned to the Chicago area where he and his wife Sarah lived for a time in Onarga, Illinois. The couple had five children there; Frank Jr., Julia, Leonard, Dwight, and Emma. In the early 1860s Franklin returned west, spending some time in Oregon during 1863, but in 1865 he returned to Illinois to bring his family to Montana Territory. The family traveled by steamboat up the Missouri River to Fort Benton, and then overland to their temporary home near Helena. Later they would live near Gallatin City. Franklin Stone lived out the remainder of his life as a cattleman and farmer, serving as superintendent of schools in Gallatin County from 1866 to 1874. Emma Stone married George Washington Moss, the freighting partner of her brother Leonard, in 1877. They settled along the Madison River and had six children. Dwight Stone also remained in Gallatin County and his son, Frank L. Stone, became a banker and cattleman, working as a supervisor for the Flying D ranch before his death in 1964.
From the guide to the Stone Family Collection, 1849-1984, (Montana State University-Bozeman Library, Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections)
