Billhead - Frederick Lehman, Helena, Montana, January 31, 1876

Billhead - Frederick Lehman, Commission Merchant, Groceries Wines Liquors Cigars etc billhead, from Helena, Montana (Territory at this time). ...53 Main Street...1/31/1876. Charles Lehman and Frederick Lehman were the exact same man in Helena, Montana circa 1870. His full name was Charles Frederick Lehman. By the early 1870s, he operated a prominent mercantile business located at No. 70 Main Street in Helena. Early local directories and historical invoices alternatively referred to him by his first name (Charles) or his middle name. Married Carolina who came from an established Alsatian Jewish family lineage in the Bas-Rhin region of France. This European border territory was home to a large, vibrant Jewish merchant culture that was highly bilingual in French and German. Her background is highly relevant to why Lehman-who had already been out West operating pack trains and supply stores for years-temporarily left his frontier mining camps to return to New York City in 1869. His primary goal was to find a wife from the same Jewish immigrant community. During the Montana Gold Rush era, Jacob A. Bach and his family played a fundamental role in establishing Helena's pioneer Jewish community. Operating in a rugged frontier town without a permanent synagogue, the family focused their efforts on maintaining religious identity and building vital social safety nets. They routinely hosted and participated in community holiday gatherings for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Passover. To preserve sacred traditions in a remote territory, the Bachs utilized their commercial freight networks to import essential religious items, prayer books, and kosher goods like Passover matzo from established Jewish centers in San Francisco and New York. Jacob A. Bach's most enduring cultural legacy was structural, strengthening the frontier Jewish network through direct kinship. By marrying his daughter Carolina to fellow prominent merchant Charles Lehman, he united two influential lineages that anchored the territory's commerce and community life. Upon his death in 1882, Bach was laid to rest according to Jewish customs at the historic Benton Avenue Cemetery, solidifying his place as one of the true patriarchs of Montana's frontier Jewish heritage Prior to his passing, Charles Frederick Lehman explicitly requested a Masonic service. His family contacted the Master of the Lewistown Lodge to implement the ritual funeral with no religious reference.

Associated People/Businesses

• LEHMAN, FREDERICK also Charles

Geography

• Helena

Subjects

• Billheads
• Commission Merchant
• Groceries
• Wines
• Liquors
• Tobacco
• Hardware
• Grain
• Produce
• Business Records
• 19th Century
• Helena, Montana

Physical Location

Arc.MS.56, Box 4, Folder 8