This Month in Montana History: December

December 16th 1862, 160 years ago: William A. Clark is born in Colorado. Clark would serve as an attorney in Virginia City for 25 years before being elected to Congress in 1895. In 1912, he would become Judge for the Fifth Judicial District from 1912 until his death in 1921. Most notably, he was the judge in the case against Butte Mine Worker President Muckle McDonald, whom he sentenced to jail.

December 19th 1863, 159 years ago: Virginia City holds a three-day outdoor "miner court" trial for road agent George Ives, accused of murdering Nicholas Tiebolt. Ives is found guilty and sentenced to death. However, the trial exposed many of the failures of the miner court system, primarily how difficult it was to get a guilty verdict if the person was well-respected in town.

Two days after the trial, a group of citizens, including the prosecutor Wilbur F. Sanders, form the Vigilante Committee of Virginia City to deal with the rest of the road agents extrajudicially.

December 12th 1864, 158 years ago: The first legislative assembly of the Territory of Montana meets in Bannack.

December 15th 1868, 154 years ago: Llewellyn Link Callaway is born in Illinois. Callaway would serve as mayor of Virginia City, Commissioner of the Montana Supreme Court, and Judge of the Fifth Judicial District.

December 10th 1897, 125 years ago: Jefferson County pioneers organizes a smaller branch of the Society of Montana Pioneers, fittingly called The Society of Jefferson County Pioneers. Like its parent organization, membership is made up of Jefferson County citizens who arrived in Montana before 1865. The first meeting is held at Boulder Hot Springs and consists of 12 members.

December 2nd 1903, 119 years ago: A fire in Elkhorn burns down a log cabin located behind a building that used to hold the Leslie saloon. The exact cause of the fire was unknown, but newspapers of the time were quick to report that a new saloon will be opening in Elkhorn soon.

December 8th 1941, 81 years ago: The United States officially enters World War 2. Rep. Jeanette Rankin, the only woman elected to Congress from Montana and who had already voted against entering World War 1, is the only person to vote against entering war once more. More than 57,000 Montanans enlisted throughout the war, including members of Crow Nation, who used their native language to relay coded messages. Montana was also the training grounds for the First Special Service Force "Devil's Brigade."

December 17th 1943, 79 years ago: Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans are allowed to claim citizenship rights for the first time since 1882 under the Magnuson Act.

Information from The Age, The Age Sentinel, Boulder Monitor, and Montana Sunlight, as well as additional historic sources. Questions? Comments? More information to share? Visit The Jefferson County Museum, 5 N. Main Street, Clancy, MT, 59634; open Tuesdays and Fridays 12-4 and Saturdays 10:30 to 4, or call to schedule an appointment 406-224-5106 or conduct your own research at MontanaNewspapers.org.