Thaddeus Sumner Mundy (1877–1956)

Early Life

Between October 1884 and March 1885, Lafayette’s entire company was instructively discharged. The last time he appeared in the Grand Army of the Republic Post Reports (GAR) was on March 01, 1885 in Leavenworth, Kansas. Between 1885 and 1889, Thaddeus traveled with his mother to Helena, Montana. [6,27] Some sources say Susan was in Montana by 1882, but the 1885 census shows she was still in Kansas. Other sources say Lafayette brought Thaddeus to Montana by 1889, however, by 1889 Susan Mundy was listed alone in the Helena city directory, indicating a break up in the family. [3,7] Thad grew up in Helena’s West Side amid a handful of Black and multiracial families who had put down roots there. His mother, Susan, was an enterprising woman, cooking for mining and operating a boarding house; she even owned a couple of mining claims near Helena. [8] Father Lafayette appears to have never gone to Montana as he was found in Missouri 1889 city directory. [28] There he also filed a pension in 1891 and on September 21, 1892, he married Louisa Jones in Independence, Missouri, fathering at least two additional children: Lafayette Jr and Pennie. [9,10]

Meanwhile, the 23-year-old Thad worked as a day laborer to support himself and his mother in Montana. Thad would later recall a youth spent helping his mother with odd jobs. Despite the challenges of making his way in predominately white Helena, Thad gained a reputation for honesty and hard work. He likely did a bit of everything – hauling freight, working on ranches, and manual city work – whatever jobs a strong, reliable young man could find. Music and language were also threads in his upbringing: having spent his early childhood in Mexico. This bilingual background would later serve him in an unexpected way.

Marriage and Family

In the early 1900s, Thaddeus Mundy met divorced Frances Leona Smith, a young white woman in Helena. Frances was born February 06, 1884 in Radersburg, Montana to William Henry Smith and Annie Charlotte Stucke. [11] Remarkably for the era, she had already been married and divorced as a teenager. At 16 she married John Francis Broad, son of Frank Broad and Kathryn Bannon, a sheriff in Tombstone, Arizona, on February 23, 1900 in Helena. [12,13] The youthful marriage produced at least three children: Mary E, Frances Catherine, and Edwin John* before it failed on July 14, 1903. [14]

*The identity of a possible fourth child, Minnie Broad, is still being researched.

How Thad and Frances first crossed paths isn’t recorded, but it’s easy to imagine they met through mutual acquaintances or neighbors. Thad was 27, a steady and hardworking black man; Frances was 20, a resilient divorced white woman. They fell in love and crossed racial lines in a time when such unions were uncommon but not yet illegal in Montana.

On August 7, 1904, Thaddeus and Frances were married in Helena, Lewis and Clark County. [15] The county marriage register duly noted Thad’s background – he was listed as “Colored, of Mexico”. Montana would later enact a ban on interracial marriages in 1909, a law not repealed until 1953. [16] The couple set up their first home on 315 Joliet Street in Helena’s West Side. [17] That largely working-class neighborhood, on the fringe of town, became the cradle for their growing family.

Over the next two decades, Thaddeus and Frances raised a large family. After the death of their first born Thad Jr.’s brief life in Aug 1905 to Sep 1905, they welcomed William Lafayette in November 1906; Michael Henry in February 1908; their first daughter Anna Elizabeth on Christmas Eve 1913; Patricia “Patty” Hazel Lenora Mundy in November 1916; followed by Mary Alva Virginia in February 1920, and Ruth Agnes in May 1922. The Mundy household eventually comprised at least eight children who survived into the 1920s – a truly bustling household.

Amid this flurry of babies and toddlers, Thad and Frances decided that city life was getting too cramped. Around 1912–1913, they made a bold move to become landowners on the outskirts of town. They purchased a small parcel^[a][b][c][d] in Dry Gulch, a rugged ravine in the hills just south of Helena. Dry Gulch had once been scoured by gold prospectors, but by the 1910s it was a sparsely settled area with cheap land. Thad saw an opportunity to give his children space and fresh air – a chance to raise them in a rural setting as he himself had partly been raised. So the Mundys packed their belongings into a wagon and left their little Joliet Street cabin behind. They moved into a rough-hewn log house in Dry Gulch, where the mountain wind blew freely and the nearest neighbors were a hike away. In this new home, starting with baby Anna’s birth in late 1913, the younger Mundy children were literally born and bred on Montana hillside soil. The move to Dry Gulch marked a new chapter for the family – one of hard work, self-sufficiency, and closer contact with nature.

Work and Community

Throughout these years of marriage and child-rearing, Thaddeus Mundy labored tirelessly to provide for his large family. In Helena, he took whatever work he could find, developing a reputation as a dependable “jack-of-all-trades.” By 1918, during World War I, Thad was officially employed by the City of Helena as a laborer, according to his draft registration card. [19] This likely meant he worked on city maintenance crews – digging ditches for water lines, grading roads, collecting garbage, or maintaining public facilities. [19] It was steady, humble work, but it carried a measure of respectability and a regular paycheck. Neighbors recalled that even after moving out to Dry Gulch, Thad would walk or ride a mule several miles into town before dawn each workday and trudge back after dark to be with his family. But on July 12, 1929, the mundane turned into his most exciting payday. While road grading between fifth and sixth street, Thad paused to lean on his shovel while under the hot sun. There he caught a glint of gold at his feet. Examining the sport more closely he found a gold nugget shaped like a half moon! The jeweler declared its value of $15, $2081 in 2025. [20,21]

At home in Dry Gulch, he and Frances turned their plot of land into a mini-farm. Thad built pens and sheds for Angora goats and chickens, while Frances kept a vegetable garden and milk cow. [22] They produced much of their own food and even sold surplus eggs, milk, and produce to neighbors. In essence, Thaddeus was juggling two lives – urban wage laborer by day and small rancher by night and weekend. It took enormous stamina, but he managed it for years.

Within the broader Helena community, Thad Mundy became a quiet but noteworthy figure. Being one of only a handful of Black residents in the area, he inevitably stood out – yet he won people over through deeds rather than words. One documented incident in May 1904 earned Thad local admiration and a mention in the newspaper. Elthelbert Love age 6 and Raleigh Barbour age 7 had wandered from home Thursday afternoon, May 20, 1904, after deciding to go on a rabbit hunt. Their absence was noticed soon after, prompting a frantic search with over 100 men taking part. It was about 9 o’clock when Thaddeus, “on horseback, was investigating the old placer diggings on lower Helena avenue. The two boys saw him and called, [Thad] guided them back to Helena Avenue and telephoned their parents and the boys were taken home.” [23,24] His family would later retell this story for generations, with one grandchild describing Thad “like a knight” on that rescue ride. It’s a vivid example of how Thad’s reliability and courage became part of Helena lore.

Another celebrated episode in Thad Mundy’s life occurred sometime in the 1910s and reveals the value of his bilingual upbringing. According to both press accounts and family memory, a Moqui, aka Hopi, Native American man traveling through Helena was jailed because authorities couldn’t understand him – he spoke no English and they feared he was a vagrant or ill. Thaddeus read about the “mystery Indian” in the newspaper and realized he might be able to help. Having spent his early years in Mexico, Thad spoke fluent Spanish, and he knew that many Moqui from Arizona used some Spanish from Mexican traders.^[e][f][g][h] Thad went to the county jail and, sure enough, he found he could communicate with the distraught man in Spanish. In minutes, Thad had drawn out the traveler’s name and story, proving the man wasn’t a criminal at all – he was simply lost and trying to get home. As the local newspaper noted in a piece headlined “Thad Mundy Man of Mystery”, “with his ability to speak Mexican, Thaddeus bridged the communication gap” and solved a case that had baffled the deputies. The grateful Moqui man was soon on his way home rather than languishing behind bars. This incident, reported in papers across Montana, earned Thad quiet respect from many who might otherwise have overlooked a Black laborer. It showcased his unique skills and compassionate action in the community. [25]

Thaddeus’s Dry Gulch farm also brought him a bit of unexpected fame. Ever resourceful, around 1915 he decided to raise Angora goats with hopes of selling mohair wool for extra income. In one of those twists of fate, Thad’s goats ended up setting a local record for the heaviest fleece.^[i] At a county fair or farm exhibition, two of his shaggy Angoras yielded unprecedented wool clips – one goat produced an eight-pound fleece, which was extraordinary for the breed. The Helena Daily Herald ran a lighthearted piece marveling at the Black homesteader who might “corner the regional mohair market” with his super-productive goats. They playfully dubbed Thad a “colored homesteader” whose goats were outclassing those of many white ranchers. Thaddeus reportedly just chuckled at the publicity, joking to Frances that he’d always suspected his goats “had more to give”^[j][k][l]. The community, initially wary of a mixed-race family in Dry Gulch, came to appreciate the Mundys.

Loss and Legacy

The Mundys’ story was not without sorrow. On February 18, 1924, tragedy struck the Mundy family at Dry Gulch. Frances, pregnant with her now eleventh child developed puerperal pre-eclampsia nephritis – a severe pregnancy complication. Frances went into convulsions and labor. An ambulance was called for but she died as she was being placed within. [19] The baby – a little boy, according to later family recollections – did not survive either. Frances was only 40 years old.

Her sudden death left Thaddeus, now 46 years old, a widower with a house full of children ranging from toddlers to young adults. The youngest, little Ruth, was not even two; the eldest, Edwin, was about 20. In the wake of Frances’s death, Thad’s older children and extended family stepped in to help keep the family together. Thaddeus never remarried, instead, he devoted himself to being both father and mother to his brood. Family letters and recollections describe Thad in his later years as a gentle patriarch – a man who would make dinner for the little ones, tell bedtime stories, and still go out to swing a hammer or fix a fence the next morning. He continued working for the City of Helena for more than 23 years, having retired by 1933. [22] This didn’t mean he became idle, but continued to work at the claim home. The once lively home in Dry Gulch eventually emptied as the children grew and started families of their own, “Papa Thad” would often visit and impart advice or help repair a leaky roof.

Thaddeus Mundy lived to see all of his surviving children reach adulthood and many of his grandchildren born. In the segregated America of the mid-20th century, his family line stood as a quiet testament to interracial love and perseverance. When Montana’s ban on interracial marriage was finally repealed in 1953, Thad was 76 years old – one of the few still-living people who had married interracially in the state before the ban. [16] He and Frances used to say wryly that they “slipped under the wire” just in time.

On June 9, 1956, Thaddeus Sumner Mundy, at the age of 79, passed away at Lewis and Clark County Hospital from stomach cancer. He was laid to rest beside his beloved Frances at Forestvale Cemetery in Helena. [26] Thus ended the life of a true Montana pioneer – a Black man born in Old Mexico, who carved out a life on the Montana frontier. Thaddeus Mundy’s legacy is one of resilience, family devotion, and quiet triumph over adversity. His life story, lovingly preserved in family lore, remains an inspiration and reminder that even in difficult times, an ordinary man can achieve extraordinary things.

Bibliography:

1 – Mundy, Thaddeus. “Thaddeus Mundy Dies in Helena”. The Montana Standard, June 10, 1956 pg16.https://www.newspapers.com/image/352873460/.

2 – Lafayette Mundy. US Colored Troops 4 Cavalry M. Muster Roll, Jan and Feb 1865. Private, Co. A 4 Reg’t U.S. Col’d Cavalry. digital images, Fold3.com, (https://www.fold3.com/image/264551377/mundy-lafayette-page-11-us-civil-war-service-records-cmsr-union-colored-troops-1st-6th-cavalry-1861- accessed 07 October 2025).

3 – United States Department of the Interior National Park Service. “Butte and Anaconda in the Postwar Period.” Black Montana’s Heritage Places, Name of Multiple Property Listing. NPS Form 10-900-b, OMB Control No. 1024-0018. p208. https://mhs.mt.gov/Shpo/docs/MPDs/MT_BlackMontanasHeritagePlacesMPD.pdf: accessed 09 Oct 2025.

4 – Tinsley, Susan Elizabeth. “From Battle to Boarding House”. Billings Gazette, Montana. May 27, 1961 p31.

5 – Jack County, Texas, Marriages Index, 1824-2021, La Fayett Mundy and Susan Tinsley marriage, 1873; database with no images, Ancestry.com. (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8795/records/582796 : accessed 07 October 2025).

6 – Lafayette Mundy, Military, Muster Roll. Members of Shaw Post, No. 208. Leavenworth, Leavenworth, Kansas, Col. R. G. Shaw Post #208 (1883-1909), digital images 18, 19, 21 Ancestry.com. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1700/images/32278_1020703344_0425-00022?pId=257805 : accessed October 08, 2025.

7 – Helena, Montana, City Directory, 1889 (Helena, MT. : n.p. 1899), entry for "Mundy, Elizabeth" digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/4975/records/4135: accessed 08 October 2025).

8 – Tinsley, Susan. “Grandma Cooked for Custer.” Billings Gazette. Billings, MT. June 26, 1960 p29.

9 – Mundy, Lafayette. Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Giles, 1861-1934. Missouri. Filing Date August 15 1891. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/4654/records/1350421

10 – Lafayette Mundy and Louisa Jones, 12 Sep 1892; Missouri, Jackson County Marriage Records 1840-1985, Certificate number 189210001171, Ancestry.com https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8700/records/548790.

11 – “Montana, Death Certificates, 1907-2018,” digital image s.v. “Francis Leona Mundy” (1884-1924),file no.1048. Ancestry.com. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5437/images/47791_1220706333_0540-00050?pId=921870.

12 – John F Broad and Frances Smith, 23 Feb 1884; Montana, Lewis and Clark County, Helena Marriage Records Vol D-H 1894-1903, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/61578/images/48279_555418-00561.

13 – Broad, John. “Mrs. Kate Haas, 87, Beloved Winston Resident, Is Dead – Grandma Haas Came From Ireland to Tombstone, Arizona.” Independent-Record. Helena, MT August 28, 1944, p2. https://www.newspapers.com/image/528442974/?match=1&terms=%22Grandma%20Haas%21.

14 – Broad, Frances. Divorce Filing. Independent-Record July 13, 1903 p5.

15 – Thad Munday and Francis Broad, 01 Aug 1904; Montana, Lewis and Clark Marriages, 1865-1993. Ancestry.com.https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61375/records/146001.

16 – Racial Legislation in Montana that Affected African Americans in Particular. 1909 Senate Bill (S.B.) 34. “1909 Senate Bill 34,” MT Governors’ Records, MC 35, Bills Received by Governor, Box 4, Folders 8-9. https://mhs.mt.gov/Shpo/AfricanAmericans/AfAm_docs/Laws/RacialLegislationMT.pdf.

17 – Helena, Montana, City Directory, 1905, page 309, entry for "Mundy, Thad" digital image 168, Ancestry.com. (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/16037605 : accessed 08 Oct 2025).

18 – Thad Sumner Mundy, WWI Draft Card, serial no. 1285, Local Draft Board 25-1-14-C, Helen, Lewis and Clark, Montana, "World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," digital image 494, Ancestry.com. (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6482/images/005241978_01213 : accessed 09 Oct 2025).

19 – Mundy, Frances. “Dies in Ambulance on Way to Hospital.” Independent-Record. Helena, MT. February 19, 1924, p5.

20 – Mundy, Thad. “Thad Mundy Finds $15 Gold Nugget on Davis Street.” Montana Record-Herald. July 12, 1929, p3.

21 -Inflation Calculator. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. https://www.minneapolisfed.org/about-us/monetary-policy/inflation-calculator : accessed 02 Oct 2025.

22 – Mundy, Thad. “Dry Washer is Used in Dry Gulch and Thad Mundy Invites All Would-be Gold Prospectors to Try Luck on His Claim.” Montana Record-Herald. June 08, 1933 p7.

23 – Mundy, Theodous [sic]. “Small Boys Get Lost – Helena Lads Found Only After Hours of Search.” Montana Record-Herald. Helena, MT. May 20, 1904, p8. https://www.newspapers.com/image/956264758/

24 – Mundy, Thad. “Small Boys Lost in City – Raleigh Barbour and Ethelbert Love Cause Excitement – Many Searchers At Work – Over a Hundred Men Engage in Hunt for the Missing Lads – Boys Were Found on Main Street Shortly After 9 O’clock – They Had Gone to the Depot and Then Became Bewildered.” Helena Independent. Helena, MT. May 24, 1904 p3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/524454584/.

25 – Mundy, Thaddeus. “ ‘Man of Nystery’ is Only a Moqui Indian”. Montana Record-Herald. April 30, 1908 p1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/956271766/.

26 – “Montana, Death Certificates, 1953-1958,” digital image s.v. “Thaddeus Mundy” (1877–1956), Ancestry.com. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/61255/images/47429_550793-00975.

27 – 1885 Kansas, U.S. Census Collection, 1855-1925. Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, Kansas; 1885 Kansas Territory Census; Roll: KS1885_71; Line: 26. Leavenworth, Leavenworth, Kansas, p629, dwelling 1482, family 1525, Lafayette Mundy; digital image 837, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1088/images/ks1885_71-0773 : accessed 16 Oct 2025).

28 – Kansas City, Missouri, City Directory, 1889, page 476, entry for "Monday, Lafayette," digital image 269, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/10559826 : accessed 16 October 2025).

29 – 1850 U.S. census, Knox, Kentucky, population schedule, p.365, family 632, Susan Tinsley; digital image 91, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8054/images/4192499_00096 : accessed 24 Oct 2025)