Atchison Family Passenger of the Steamboat Bertrand

This video is on the Atchison Family that was riding on the Bertrand when it sunk.

Lets Start out with a little background history before the accident.

John Atchison was born in Galena, Illinois on December 13, 1835. His wife Mary was was born in the District of Columbia in 1839.

They had two children born in Winona, Minnesota. Charles was in 1860 fallowed closly by his sister Emma in 1861.

John Atchison moved to Virginia City, Montana in May of 1864. In September, he was appointed Notary Public at Virginia City by Governor Edgerton.
He was partnered with Joseph Millard (president of Omaha National Bank) and B.F. Allen of Des Moines to establish a gold exchange near Alder Gulch.

Mary age 24 with her 5 and 4 year old, got on the Steamboat that was bound for Fort Benton, Montana Territory to re-unite with her husband.
The Steamboat Bertrand sank on April 1, 1865, after hitting a snag in the river north of Omaha, Nebraska.

All of their baggage was lost in the sinking of the Steamboat Bertrand. They only had one, maybe two boxes of belongings.

We do know what was left behind,

Pony Cart:

Perhaps the most well known of the Atchison's possessions was this child's toy: a tin trotting pony with a two-wheeled tin cart attached to it.
Sadly, only one wheel was located. The pony came from two pieces of tin and was painted a dark gray color with red-orange spots on the horses back and nose.
The cart was only one piece of tin with folded edges and painted a red-orange color. It was a well used toy indicated by the dents and scratches found on the exterior of it.

Fur Stole:

This stole was a soft, brownish-black color (perhaps mink) in a shoulder style with a rounded oblong shape.
Silk lines the cloth where the stole would touch the shoulders; no silk is located on the central section.
There were also some loose buttons and beads found attached to the stole.

Knitted Wool Cap:

This wool cap was made out of reddish-brown and black colored yarn and was semi- circular in shape with a stripped socket pattern of knitting. The cap had been stretched, indicated it was well worn. This style of hat was meant to be tied on the head with two hanging tassels, but only one tassel remains.

Drake’s Plantation Bitters:

One of the rather unique items found on the Bertrand would have to be the amber colored, cabin shaped bottles known as Drake’s Plantation Bitters.
They first appeared during the American Civil War and contain 17% alcohol; it is a St. Croix Rum. Twelve of these bottles were found in the Atchison belongings.

School Building Blocks:
Atchison Family.jpg
Another of the children’s toys was the thirty light-weight blocks; one side being gray and the other side a pale red.
Both sides of the blocks had black building patterns painted on them along with the word HILL’S painted over three small windows. The gray side, though, contained the words VILLAGE SCHOOL underneath HILL’S, while the red side said UNION COLLEGE under it.

Shorty after the sinking of the Steamboat, the gold exchange near Alder Gulch got sold.

Joseph Millard and B.F. Allen then established a bank in Helena, MT named Allen and Millard Bank; John ended up running the bank for them.

In 1866 the bank turned into The First National Bank of Helena, Montana.

In 1870 Federal Census in Montana Territory shows that Mary was a housewife John was a banker Charles was 10 and Emma was 9.
They had $25,000 in personal property and a 25-year-old domestic servant from Prussia; Barbara Newman (who was possibly a passenger on the Bertrand. Unknown).

After Mary passed away, John moved to Mentone, California to live with Charles around 1884/1885. He lived there for about 13 years before dying at the age of 97.

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