Half Interest in a Silver Dollar: The Saga of Charles E. Conrad

by James E. Murphy

The life of Charles E. Conrad and the history of Fort Benton, Montana Territory, are so intertwined that the story of one cannot be told independently of the other. At the time Conrad came to Fort Benton, the tiny settlement was in its infancy. Charles Conrad and his brother William soon developed the most extensive merchandising and supply transportation system in all the west.
As river transportation died out with the coming of the railroad, Conrad moved from Fort Benton to Kalispell. It took him 34 years to build his fortune and his empire, yet in less than 20 years it was gone.

Genres: History, Biography

328 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1983

Reviews

[J.R. Hardesty · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is pretty much the only game in town when it comes to Charles E. Conrad and his family which is most unfortunate, as this work is severely flawed. It reads well, but it suffers from some egregious factual errors which stem from his over-reliance on a single source: Alicia Conrad, C. E. Conrad's daughter, and her not-so-reliable memories. She was but ten years old when her father died, and the majority of her memories have been colored by her childhood, and she was in her late seventies when Mr. Murphy interviewed her. By then, those childhood memories had gotten very fuzzy. The author could have spent a little time fact checking some of her tales, but he failed to do so and took her at face value, thereby continuing to promulgate the falsehoods and innuendos initially promulgated by her mother, Alicia Davenport (Stanford) Conrad, who had several axes to grind.

Before I continue, let me establish my bona-fides: I have been researching the Conrad family for several years now and have spent many hours studying the family papers in the K. Ross Toole Archives at the University of Montana, augmented by researches at the Montana Historical Society and other archives. I have already written & distributed several small publications on various topics related to the Conrads which have been sold at the Conrad Mansion in Kalispell, where I work on a part-time basis as the archivist in a volunteer capacity.

To return to my review, foremost among those axes was her attitude towards her husband's first-born, Charles Edward Conrad, Jr. She did all that she could to erase him from the family story, as he was not hers, but the child of C. E.'s first wife, the Kainai (Blood) woman, Kaiyis (not Sings-in-the-middle as is often reported, including here). To make it short, despite claims to the contrary, Edward (as he was often called) was not a drunk, did not abandon his wife and most likely did not commit suicide (although that is still being researched).

Another major problem with Murphy's book is that he has two totally different stories of how C. E. Conrad's mother-in-law, Catherine Elizabeth Alicia (Coggan) Stanford, arrived in North America, as well as some erroneous details concerning her life in England, one of which is his reporting (based on Alicia Conrad's memories) that his mother-in-law's brother died of the plague, leaving her alone when in fact, the brother mentioned, George Simmons Stanford, died in 1934. They did, however, have a falling out and rarely, if ever, corresponded with each other afterwards. Catherine's father died about ten years after she emigrated and they corresponded during that time.

The version of Catherine's arrival that is briefly recounted on pages 74-75 is fictional and is devoid of any actual dates. He has her arriving accompanied by a chaperone, Guglielmo Marconi. She arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, in June of 1848. Marconi was born in 1874. The problem is obvious and indicative. Mrs. Stanford liked to tell stories, and young Alicia loved to hear them but failed to distinguish fact from fiction and Mr. Murphy failed to fact check anything. This version is, in fact, a somewhat garbled summary of a romance novel that Mrs. Stanford had written (Hearts vs. Diamonds. London & NY: F. T. Neely, [1899] under the pseudonym of Carl Chester).

I have no need to go on, as the above suffices to warn the reader that this book is not to be trusted when it comes to the Conrads. I gave this book two stars entirely on the basis of the accurate information on Ft. Benton which was provided by the late Ft. Benton historian, Joel Overholser, which contribution the author does acknowledge.

A glaring omission is any kind of bibliography. You are left to find what sources were used by pouring through the text.

Read it if you must, but take anything regarding the Conrads with a keg of salt.

-- Richard L. Hardesty (the "R" in J. R. Hardesty)

[Priscilla Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only account I could find of the Conrad family. I was interested in finding out how he made his fortune and how his children lost it. This book has a lot of Montana history, I never knew anything about Fort Benton. This book inspired me to make a trip there to see it for myself! It was worth the effort.

[Roger Quesnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can say about this book is "Wow". One of my favorites. Fascinating history of the Fort Benton , Kalispell Montana and the Conrad mansion in Kalispell. It reads like a novel. The rise and fall of the Conrad family, the lessons and consequences of greed, materialism, and destruction of children growing up with too much given to them.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the book, and Charles Conrad was prominent, it really didn’t give me a good feel about who he was as a person — it was more about all of his accomplishments. He died young as the result of diabetes, leaving behind a sizeable estate, which his family quickly squandered. He was key to the development of both Fort Benton and the establishment and growth of Kalispell.

[Denis Johnson]

Interesting book. Sometimes difficult to follow the story line because it jumps all over the place as for dates. Sad story how CE was almost never home to help raise his children, and how his grown kids and spouses squandered away his fortune after his death.