Grace Dawson (1907 Sagebrushers traveler; Hennessy's wrapper, aged 18)
Also known as: Gracie Dawson
family confidence: 0 — not family / context
Party member #4 on JJM's 1907 trip and Tish Maloney's pair throughout; JJM's own list reads "Grace Dawson."; he teased her as "Mademoiselle Dawson" (p. 12). Worked at Hennessy's ("would not trade this for Hennessy's store", p. 7); Westfall's reading of the 1907 Polk directory makes her a wrapper there, living at 18 E. Copper, aged 18 (so b. c.1889). PROBABLY (0.6) Grace "Gracie" Dawson, daughter of William J. Dawson, Butte Captain of Police c.1897-99 (sergeant 1901), with a sister Julia and a brother Joe: a child performer 1898-1901 whose portrait as a dancer in The Gondoliers the Butte Inter Mountain printed on 4 Jun 1901 (p. 2). The Dawsons were friends of the Kilgallons of East Copper street, and No. 18 E. Copper was a boarding house in 1902. Not on the 1903 Ethel Prisk guest list (those Dawsons are a Scottish household). No birth, marriage or death record found in free sources. Keep separate from other Butte Dawsons until a 1905-10 directory or census ties the wrapper at 18 E. Copper to the captain's household. Research: research/docs/sagebrushers-companions-2026-09-28/grace-dawson.md
Facts
Each fact shows how sure the archive is of it (0–100) and the sources it rests on.
- Birth:
- 1889 40Only Westfall's party table ("Grace Dawson 18" in 1907, source of the age not stated), repeated by the 2023 Billings Gazette; an estimate from an age given by an unverified secondary work (between weak, 25, and plausible, 50). The captain's daughter, if she is the one, was born about 1887-90. 40 kept.
- Residence:
- Butte, Montana
- Affiliations:
- Hennessy's, Butte, wrapper, 1907
| Date | Fact | Conf. | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1898-1901 | name · possibly Grace "Gracie" Dawson, daughter of William J. Dawson, Butte Captain of Police c.1897-99: "Julia and Gracie Dawson, the talented daughters of Captain of Police W. J. Dawson" (1898); portrait captioned "GRACE DAWSON." as a dancer in The Gondoliers (Butte Inter Mountain 4 Jun 1901 p. 2) (Butte, Montana) Research pass 0.6 (grace-dawson.md section 4) → 50 on this scale: a known competing field (other Butte Dawson households: J. G., J. C., the Scottish Dawsons of 409 S. Washington) and no record ties the 1907 wrapper at 18 E. Copper to the captain's family. Supporting circumstances only: the only Grace Dawson in Montana's free newspapers, the right age, the Dawsons' friendship with the Kilgallons of East Copper street. | 50 | |
| 1907 | occupation · "Grace Dawson was a wrapper at Hennessys" (Butte, Montana) Westfall's reading of the 1907 Polk directory (draft p. 199), unverified secondary. | 50 | |
| 1907 | residence · "Grace Dawson lives at 18 E. Copper" (a boarding house in 1902) (Butte, Montana) Westfall's 1907 directory reading, unverified; the 1902 boarding-house ads for No. 18 East Copper are from the research pass (grace-dawson.md section 7). | 50 | |
| 1907-07-25 | event · "Grace Dawson." fourth on JJM's pencil list; on the whole trip, 25 Jul - 23 Aug 1907, Tish Maloney's partner ("another storm in the tent between Grace and Tish", p. 5; "Grace would not dance with Tish", p. 6; "lunch enough for herself and Tish", p. 23) (Yellowstone National Park) JJM's own pencil list (manuscript scan, heading "Party composed.") and the 1994 booklet ("Party pairs:" is Dan Murphy's heading). One primary record, written by a member of the party: 95. | 95 | 1907-07-25 — James J. Murphy's diary of the 1907 Yellowstone trip (original pencil manuscript, "Crown Memorandum" pocket notebook); 1907-07-25 — The Sagebrushers — Jim Murphy's Travelogue through Yellowstone National Park, Told in His Own Words |
| 1907-07-31 | occupation · worked at Hennessy's: asked whether she "would rather be here or in the store waiting for 6 o'clock", "She said she would not trade this for Hennessy's store." (Butte, Montana) Booklet p. 7. That she was employed there is an inference from her own remark (JJM's "the store ... 6 o'clock" is closing time); Westfall's independent directory reading agrees. | 85 | 1907-07-25 — The Sagebrushers — Jim Murphy's Travelogue through Yellowstone National Park, Told in His Own Words |
| 1907-08-02 | description · JJM called her "Mademoiselle Dawson" (and Tish "Monsieur") at a table on the veranda of the log hotel by Old Faithful (the Old Faithful Inn) (Yellowstone National Park) Booklet p. 12. | 95 | 1907-07-25 — The Sagebrushers — Jim Murphy's Travelogue through Yellowstone National Park, Told in His Own Words |
| 1907-08-22 | event · on the last night "Grace called me over and asked me to let her have a pair of pants and a coat as herself and May were going to dress up"; George and Tish "did not want the girls to dress that way" Booklet p. 43. | 95 | 1907-07-25 — The Sagebrushers — Jim Murphy's Travelogue through Yellowstone National Park, Told in His Own Words |
| 1907-08-23 | residence · a Butte home on the return round: "We drove to Grace's, Ann's, Maud's and my own house, distributing all our belongings" (Butte, Montana) Booklet p. 44. | 95 | 1907-07-25 — The Sagebrushers — Jim Murphy's Travelogue through Yellowstone National Park, Told in His Own Words |
Nexus
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Appears with
- James Joseph "James J." Murphy (b. 1883 Ardgroom; d. 1938 LA)2 shared sources
- Agnes Kelly Murphy2 shared sources
- Imelda Murphy Bryant (1917–1998; JJM Sr's daughter; Iowa diaspora)2 shared sources
- Maud Sheehan (Margaret Maude Sheehan, 1886–1938, later Mrs. Edward J. Johns; 1907 Sagebrushers traveler)2 shared sources
- Patrick "Tish" Maloughney (1883–1958; "Tish Maloney" in print; JJM's best friend by family tradition; Chatham cousin of Aggie Kelly)2 shared sources
- Kate Cosgrove (1907 Sagebrushers traveler; Butte public-school teacher)2 shared sources
- Nell (Helen) Cosgrove (1907 Sagebrushers traveler)2 shared sources
- George B. Archibald (1884–1955; 1907 Sagebrushers traveler; mining engineer; the trip started at his house)2 shared sources
- May (Mae) Konen (1885–1942; later Mrs. George Archibald, then Mrs. Lackey; 1907 Sagebrushers traveler)2 shared sources
- William "Will" Thoroway, probably William Emory Thirloway (1882–1958; 1907 Sagebrushers traveler, with his wife)2 shared sources
- Mrs. Wm. Thoroway, "Bird", probably Bertha L. (Konen) Thirloway (1884–1946; 1907 Sagebrushers traveler)2 shared sources
- Owen F. Brinton (1884–1939; "Owen Brinton" of the 1907 Sagebrushers; married Ann Laughrin)2 shared sources
- Ann Laurie (Loughran) Brinton (1884–1968; "Ann Laughrin" of the 1907 Sagebrushers)2 shared sources
- Mrs. Charles Emerson (1907 Sagebrushers trip cook; probably Annie / Anna E. Emerson, 1877–1907)2 shared sources
- Charles "Charlie" Emerson (1907 Sagebrushers chuck-wagon driver; the cook's husband)2 shared sources
- …and 9 more people with shared sources.
Sources linking to this person
<25 — Namesake / flag / context — 2
- 1907-07-25 — James J. Murphy's diary of the 1907 Yellowstone trip (original pencil manuscript, "Crown Memorandum" pocket notebook)JJM's 1907 Yellowstone diary: four pages of the original pencil manuscriptrole: traveling_companion · identity 100 family confidence on this source: 0 · as printed: Grace Dawson
Identity: JJM's pencil list reads "Grace Dawson."; same person as the booklet's entry.
- 1907-07-25 — The Sagebrushers — Jim Murphy's Travelogue through Yellowstone National Park, Told in His Own WordsThe Sagebrushers — JJM's diary of the July-August 1907 Yellowstone Park triprole: traveling_companion · identity 100 family confidence on this source: 0 · as printed: Grace Dawson
Identity: The record was made for this traveller: the booklet's party list prints "Grace Dawson", and the narrative follows the same person by name or nickname. Who this traveller was outside the diary is a separate question, carried on the facts.