Week 45 #52 Ancestors: Rich Uncle

William Calvin Epperson was the younger brother of James Nelson Epperson and that makes him my 3rd great-uncle.  He became a Union soldier on July 1, 1863 for Co. I, 8th Tennesee Infantry at Camp Nelson, Kentucky and died of sickness in Concord, Tennessee on 14 Sep 1863.  William left behind his widow, Nancy, and four young children named Louisiana, Tennessee, Virginia, and John Calvin. His estate was probated in 1865.  The widow and children received "all the bacan on hand and six head of chois hogs & 20 barrels of corn also fiften bushels of wheat allso one cow and one small white hefer for a beef 3 bushels of sault or money to by it with also twenty dollars to by suger & coffee with also the thread and wool on hand & all the potate patches and garden stuffs one hundred lbs. of hunny. A Dalton, P. Holt, R.W. Harvill."  The couple's real estate In Grainger County, Tennessee was sold in 1867 for $700.  By that time Nancy Epperson nee Hopson, had married William Lafayette Rosenbalm in 1866. The couple moved the family to Montgomery County, Kansas by 1870.  Nancy was widowed a second time on 12 Jan 1881 in Kansas and moved to Missoula, Montana shortly before her own death in 1888.  Several of her children had already made Missoula their home around 1880.  It is amazing how lives and economics change in Missoula.

Vintage map of Missoula, Montana 1891 Art Print by Ted's Vintage Art

The most notable of this Epperson line (for me at least) was their daughter, Tennessee "Tennie" Epperson.  Much of the following information was found from a biography published in The Montana Blue Book.  She married on Christmas Day in 1879 in Tennaville, South Dakota to Thomas Lockman Greenough who was born in Iowa and raised in Kansas.  As a young man, he was involved in railroad construction but became involved in lumber when his business partner, a brother named John, died.  After John's death Thomas moved west living in South Dakota and Montana.  He contracted with Northern Pacific Railroad to provide them ties for its lines from the Dakotas to the Idaho-Washington State line then became involved in mining.  Thomas served on the board of many large banks in Montana, Idaho, and Washington and was also involved in politics.

During their marriage, Tennie gave birth to six children named Estelle, Thomas, Harry, John, Ruth, and Edith.  The couple built a grand home for their family on Rattlesnake Creek in 1894 known as the Greenough Mansion. The home had 22 rooms, six baths, and two fireplaces.

The family donated land in 1902 to the City of Missoula for a public park that was adjacent to the mansion.  Explicit instructions came at the time of donation that the land be maintained in its pristine, natural state. Greenough Park is still in use today and contains about 42 acres.

Missoula Parks and Recreation Photo

Thomas Greenough died in Spokane, Washington in 1911 and Tennessee Epperson Greenough would live another 26 years.  She died on July 31, 1937 in Missoula, Montana.

Published in the Helena Independent 3 Aug 1937

One additional article was discovered as I tried to find newspaper articles about this family.  Apparently there was an issue over a trust that was established and who could be a recipient.  The article was published in The Spokeman Review (Spokane, Washington) 8 Dec 1967.  What a legacy!

Source: Newspapers.com