Bogert, Lilla, 1848-1951

Lilla Bogert was born on 6 Jan. 1848 in Brooklyn, N.Y. Her family moved west to Bozeman in the mid-1870s and quickly became a leading family in the new town. Her father, John V. Bogert, became the first mayor of Bozeman in 1883. Along with her two sisters Augusta and Kate, Lilla became a leading socialite in the community and nearby Fort Ellis. Her sister Kate married Lt. Charles Roe from Fort Ellis and Augusta married Arthur Place. Lilla never married. Lilla devoted much of her adult life to making Sunset Hills Cemetery the most beautiful cemetery in the state. She held a charity bazaar with her sister Kate to raise money for the cemetery, started work to plant trees and flowers on the grounds, and served as a member of the cemetery board. An accomplished western artist, Lilla is known for her paintings of Montana topics. She had a poem published in the compilation of poems The Badge of Honor for 1942. The last years of her life Lilla Bogert was a patient at Bozeman Deaconess Hospital where she died on 3 Sept. 1951 at the age of 103.

From the description of Lilla Bogert letters, 1876-1877. (Montana State University Bozeman Library). WorldCat record id: 70962433

Lilla Bogert was born on January 6, 1848 in Brooklyn, New York. Her family moved west to Bozeman in the mid-1870s and quickly became a leading family in the new town. Her father, John V. Bogert, became the first mayor of Bozeman in 1883. Along with her two sisters Augusta and Kate, Lilla became a leading socialite in the community and nearby Fort Ellis. Her sister Kate married Lieutenant Charles Roe from Fort Ellis and Augusta married Arthur Place. Lilla never married. Lilla devoted much of her adult life to making Sunset Hills Cemetery the most beautiful one in the state. She held a charity bazaar with her sister Kate to raise money for the cemetery, started work to plant trees and flowers on the grounds, and served as a member of the cemetery board. An accomplished western artist, Lilla is known for her paintings of Montana topics. She even had a poem published in the compilation of poems The Badge of Honor for 1942, compilation of poems. The last years of her life Lilla was a patient at Bozeman Deaconess Hospital where she died on September 3, 1951 at the age of 103.

Second Lieutenant Charles Brewster Schofield wrote to Lilla in the months surrounding the Battle of the Little Big Horn. He was born on June 26, 1849 in Illinois and graduated from West Point in 1870. His first field assignment was field duty at Fort Ellis where he was a Second Lieutenant. He fought for the Indian campaigns from 1872 to 1876, including the Sioux Expedition of 1876. The following year he fought in the Nez Perce War. From 1878 to 1885, he was the Aide-de-camp to Major General John Schofield, his brother. He was promoted to First Lieutenant in 1879. In 1885, he returned to frontier duty at Fort Walla Walla in Washington. In 1895, he was once again promoted, becoming a Lieutenant Colonel. He served in the Spanish-American War in 1898 and the following year was shipped to Cuba. It was at Matanzas, Cuba where Schofield died on February 1, 1901 of heart disease at the age of 51.

From the guide to the Lilla Bogert Letters, 1876-1877, (Montana State University-Bozeman Library, Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections)