Presented in this lot are a Personal Montana Ephemera Collection from Miles City, Montana from the William and Ella Strong Estate, circa 1868 - 1925. William enlisted in the U. S. Army Cavalry in 1868 in Cincinnati, Ohio eventually being assigned to Fort McPherson in Nebraska; the same fort that General Armstrong Custer, Buffalo Bill Cody, the North Brothers and their Pawnee Scouts often frequented during the Great Sioux Indian War of the late 19th century. William Strong's small notebook chronicles events from his time of enlistment. Eighteen (18) pocket calendars dated 1902 to 1925, with entries that chronicle daily life in Miles City. Originally created as a military outpost, Tongue River Cantonment and later Fort Keogh, Miles City became a major town in eastern Montana when livestock speculation brought thousands of cattle to the open ranges in the late 1880s. The railroad was extended through the area, and Texas drove numerous cattle to Miles City to fatten them on free grass and move them to where they could be loaded on trains bound for the slaughterhouses in Chicago. Also included are two (2) First National Bank of Miles City checkbooks from 1912 and 1913, and a bank book from 1907-1914. In 1910 the drive to form an "Old Timers' Association" roster listed Wm. Strong as arriving in September 1877. The roster was published in 1918 in the book "Recollections of Old Milestown" by Samuel Gordon; "Milestown" was the original name of Miles City. Nineteen (19) photos, most of William Strong, one of William in his U S Army uniform taken by prominent photographer C. C. Giers in Nashville, Tn., four of turn-of-the 20th century lake steamers from Puget Sound / Seattle, Washington, the "Indianapolis" and the "H B Kennedy." Lastly, a pane glass portrait of the Strongs, and a Victorian / Edwardian era table top celluloid portrait button of the Strongs. These celluloid portrait buttons were often made to commemorate a wedding or as a mourning piece during the Victorian era, when photography was in its earlier stages and still quite expensive, reserving the act as a planned event instead of an everyday occurrence. These were often displayed during a funeral or memorial service, then staged in the family's cabinet. Items are nicely preserved, age tanning and fading observed.