Old Missoula

Sam Tom & Family – Missoula Pioneers

Eleven Children in Sam Tom’s Family All Born and Raised in the Garden City

Missoula has a Chinese family whose history is very interesting, especially so from the fact that it is closely identified with Missoula’s own since the head of the family first came here in the late 70’s. Mr. and Mrs. Sam Tom – it should really be Sam Thomas in American – have raised a family of 11 children since they came to make their home in the Garden city. The above picture shows the family group before it was recently broken by the daughter, Miss Lon Tom, leaving the city to become the wife of Dong Hong of Butte. There is one married son, Gah, who married a white girl in Missoula, but he has always made his home here. All of the children of school age have attended the public schools here and have readily learned to write and speak English. They have also been taught to speak their own language, but can write very little in Chinese.

Sam Tom, who is now 63 years of age, came to America when he was 13. He landed at San Francisco and during his residence there, about eight years, he learned to talk American and became familiar with the rudiments of American business methods. Then he started out with a party of his fellow countrymen to the gold fields and prospected and stampeded to scores of the early camps of California and Montana. He was a well-known figure at the Virginia City, Silver Bow and Deer Lodge camps and because of his intelligence and his leadership among the other Chinamen he became very wealthy. But Tom, true to the nature of his race, in America at least, liked to gamble, and before he married he did gamble a great deal. He had a reputation of a reckless player and stories told of some of the games in which he participated show him losing or winning from $1,000 to $1,500 in a sitting of an hour or two.

But Tom was reasonably lucky and in spite of every effort made by some of the white gamblers to “clean” him, he managed to save enough to be comfortably well fixed when he came to Missoula, four years before the advent of the railroad, and opened a general merchandise shop. There were many Chinamen in Missoula for several years and as long as they remained Tom made money. But later things got dull and he closed out his business and accepted work as janitor and house servant. About 12 years ago he decided to go back to the soil, and planted his first garden, having remained at this business, with splendid success, since that time.

The Tom family, to which Sam Tom belongs, is one of the prominent families of China, having more than a million members and being located in a district near Canton. Sam Tom is a prominent Mason (Gna Hing) in his own country.

Sam Tom was married in San Francisco in October, 1891, his bride being Gee Sue Yee, born and raised in San Francisco. Gah, their first born, saw light here September 15, 1892. The youngest is now a baby, the picture of the family group having been taken here but a few days ago.

A photo of the Tom family accompanied the above article. The photo’s caption read:

“Mr. and Mrs. Sam Tom and their eleven children, all natives of Missoula. The children, reading left to right: Front row, Tue, Mae, Ting, King, Gnore. Back row, Marie, Frank, Walter, Lon, Gah, and Hank.”

 

The above article appeared in the Daily Missoulian on June 6, 1915.

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Sam Tom Dies In Missoula – 1935

Sam Tom, Aged Resident Here Called by Death

Chinese Who Came to Missoula 55 Years Ago, Dies. Funeral Saturday.

Sam Tom, aged 84 years, Montana pioneer and resident of Missoula for 55 years, died Wednesday afternoon at his home, 1005 Sherwood street. He had been ill for some time, but his condition had been serious for the past week.

Mr. Tom was a familiar figure in Missoula. He was born August 24, 1852, in Canton, China, and went to San Francisco when he was 10 years old. The trip was made on a sailboat which was on the water seven months and 18 days. From San Francisco he came with an uncle to Montana four years later and located at Alder Gulch in 1868, coming by way of Corrine, Utah, with part of the trip on overland stages and ox teams. From Virginia City Mr. Tom went to Highland, near Butte, and to Silver Bow where he placer mined. Later he was at the Bearmouth, Garnet and Pioneer mining camps before coming to Missoula.

Here he was in the mercantile business at one time. For 25 years he was a watchman for Wolf & Ryman, bankers. He also was in the restaurant business here for years and later was a truck gardener. Two years ago he retired. He was well known about the business district of Missoula.

He was married here in 1890. He is survived by his widow and 11 children, five sons and six daughters. The sons are Howard, Henry and Tyler Tom of Missoula, Walter Tom of San Francisco and Frank Tom of Clarkia, Idaho. The daughters are Mrs. Lonn Dong, Butte; Mrs. Goldie Mar, Seattle; Mrs. Tina Mar, Chicago; Mrs. Tillie Wong, Stockton, Cal., and Miss Queenie Tom and Miss Mae Tom, both of Missoula. There are also 11 grandchildren. With the exception of the son Walter, of San Francisco, all of the children were at the bedside when the end came.

Funeral services will take place at 1:30 o’clock Saturday afternoon at the Marsh & Powell chapel, Rev. Oren Orahood will conduct the services and burial will be in Missoula cemetery.

 

The above obituary appeared in The Daily Missoulian on December 19, 1935.

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Mrs. Tom Dies – 1945

Tom Funeral to Be Thursday

Funeral services for Mrs. Sue Tom 70, matriarch of a prominently-known Western Montana Chinese family, who died in Los Angeles last week, will be conducted at the Powell & Johnson chapel Thursday afternoon at 1:30. Rev. M. J. McPike will officiate. Burial will be in Missoula cemetery.

Mrs. Tom, a resident of Missoula from 1880 until recently when she went to the Pacific coast to be with relatives, was the widow of Sam Tom, who died here in 1935 just before Christmas.

 

The above obituary appeared in The Daily Missoulian on December 26, 1945.

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Miss Mae Tom and Eddie Wong Take Vows at Home Wedding – 1942

Miss Mae Tom, youngest daughter of Mrs. Sam Tom of 1005 Sherwood street, became the bride of Eddie K. Wong of Los Angeles, Cal., at a double ring ceremony Wednesday noon at the bride’s home on Sherwood street. Rev. Herman C. Rice performed the ceremony in the presence of relatives and intimate friends before an improvised altar banked with huckleberry ferns, yellow, bronze and white pompons and chrysanthemums and candelabra.

Nuptial music was played before the ceremony. Mrs. Hugh Tsoming, sister of the bride, was the matron of honor and Tyler Tom of San Francisco, brother of the bride, attended the groom.

The bride, who was given in marriage by her brother, Howard Tom, wore an ivory brocade gown fashioned with a fitted bodice, lace outlining the sweetheart neckline and the waist. Long sleeves, terminated at a point at the wrists. It also was made with a full skirt and train. Her veil was caught with a pointed tiara flanked on either side by flowers which were worn by her mother at her wedding 52 years before in Missoula. She carried a shower bouquet of white roses, swainsona and sweetheart roses.

Mrs. Tsoming was attired in a rose taffeta gown designed with a full skirt, sweetheart neckline and tight bodice. She carried a bouquet of Ophelia roses.

Mrs. Tom wore a wine sheer velvet dress with a corsage of gardenias and black accessories for her daughter’s wedding.

At 2 o’clock a Chinese dinner was served at the Golden Pheasant for the family and intimate friends. Between 7 and 9 o’clock a reception was held for 100 friends at the bride’s home. Flowers for both occasions consisted of yellow, bronze and white pompons and chrysanthemums.

Assisting at the reception were Mrs. Knute Johnson, Miss Helen Tom, Miss Cleo Lawrence, Miss Margaret Pigg, Mrs. Vivian Clinkingbeard and Miss Myrl May Elliott.

Mrs. Wong was born in Missoula and is the youngest of a family of 12 children. She was graduated from Missoula high school and has been employed by the Northern Pacific railway as a secretary. The groom attended San Francisco schools and has his own wholesale produce business in Los Angeles. They will reside at 1010 1/2 South Dewey avenue there.

Following the reception the bride and groom left for Flathead lake and Glacier park before going on to California. For going away the bride wore a wine dress with beige coat and brown accessories.

Out-of-town guests included Henry Tom and Tyler Tom, both of San Francisco, brothers of the bride; Mrs. Lonn Dong and daughter, Mary, of Butte; Mrs. Hugh Tsoming and daughter, Donna Mae, of Seattle; Mrs. Annie Wong of Helena, and Miss Jenny Lee and Miss Maybelle Lee of Helena.

 

The above announcement appeared (with photo) in The Sunday Missoulian on October 11, 1942.

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Howard Tom dies in Missoula – 1964.

Services Set Saturday For Howard G. Tom

Funeral services will be conducted at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the First Baptist Church for Howard G. Tom, 71, of 631 Edith St., lifelong Missoula resident who died Monday in a Garden City hospital.

The Rev. James L. Sprigg will officiate at the rites, and burial will be in Missoula Cemetery. Missoula Lodge 13, AF&AM will conduct grave side services.

The body will lie in state at the Squire-Simmons-Carr Rose Chapel until 9 a.m. Saturday. Memorials may be in the form of contributions to the First Baptist Church.

Mr. Tom, born Sept. 1, 1893, in Missoula, was a gardener in the Orchard Homes area for many years and worked for the Pacific Fruit Co. until his retirement.

Since he retired, Mr. Tom had been caretaker for the Montana Power Co. property on Waterworks Hill.

He was a member of the First Baptist Church, Missoula Lodge 13, AF&AM; Western Sun Chapter 11, Royal Arch Masons; Tyrean Council 3; St. Omer Commandry 9, Knights Templars; Algeria Shrine Temple; Electa Chapter 7, OES; Rose Croix Chapter, White Shrine of Jerusalem; and was a past president of the Sons and Daughters of Montana Pioneers.

Survivors include a daughter, Mrs. Gar Wong of Seattle; and a son, Howard, of Sacramento, Calif.; three brothers, Walter, Henry and Tyler, all of California; five sisters, Mrs. Roy Mar and Mrs. Hugh Tsoning, both of Seattle; Mrs. Eddie Wong, Hollywood, Calif.; Mrs. Cy King, Stockton, Calif., and Mrs. William Mar of Chicago, four grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.

 

The above obituary appeared in The Missoulian on December 17, 1964.

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