Sanders, James U. (James Upson), 1859-1923

James Upson Sanders was born on July 12, 1859, in Akron, Ohio, the first of five sons of Wilbur Fisk Sanders and Harriet Peck Fenn Sanders. In 1863, the family moved overland to Bannack, Idaho Territory. James Sanders attended public schools in Helena, Montana, and then, in 1878, went with his younger brother Wilbur to Phillips Academy at Exeter, New Hampshire. In 1881, he attended law school at Columbia. After graduating in 1884, he returned to Montana and joined his father's law firm. Sanders practiced law thirty-eight years. Upon his retirement in 1922, Sanders became librarian of the Montana Historical Society. He also served as secretary of the Society of Montana Pioneers for twenty-six years. James U. Sanders died as the result of an automobile accident on April 17, 1923.

From the guide to the James Upson Sanders Papers, 1875-1922, (Montana Historical Society Archives)