Carbon County
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William Freeman Family

One further tribute to miners and their families.
The Freeman family, circa 1920, exemplifies an early Carbon County household that became immersed in mining. Patriarch, William Freeman Sr. worked alongside his father in the mines of England. William Sr. then married, immigrated and settled in Red Lodge by 1895. One son, William R. (W.R.). married Jeannie McIntosh, daughter of Scottish immigrants Henry and Katie McIntosh. The McIntosh’s operated a grocery store in Red Lodge as well as a boarding house near the West Side Mine.
W.R. and Jeannie settled in Washoe where W.R. eventually became superintendent of the Smith Mine until its closing in 1943. Two of W.R.s siblings were also employed at the mine, James M, as general manager and Tom, as topside superintendent.
Freeman Family, circa 1920
Top: l-r, Nellie, Mary Jane (Jennie), James M, Edith, Ethel, Florence, Tom
Bottom: l-r, William (W. R.), William Sr., Mary Ann, Annie and Lillian

In 2026 I heard from Karen Walter - walterkm@cox.net who has given me some information on her Freeman family history. Her Aunt Edith Freeman used to visit for Christmas and always brought shortbread cookies, that Karen loved. 

Karen also sent me this coorespondence: However, people looking at the website would probably be interested to know that Florence married Roy Wadsworth. Roy became camp manager at YBRA (Yellowstone-Bighorn Research Association), south of Red Lodge, and supervised the construction of the original buildings that are now on the National Register of Historic Places. Florence was the beloved camp cook. If YBRA isn't mentioned on the website, you might want to find a way to add it. I have copies of the correspondence between Roy Wadsworth and Professor Thom of Princeton University on the building of the camp. To think folks in the little mining town of Red Lodge were working directly with academics from an Ivy League institution in the 1930's is amazing.

Lillian Freeman was Karen's grandmother. She was married to Harry Walter. My grandfather worked in the Smith mine and was part of two rescue and recovery teams that went into the mine after the explosion in 1943


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This page was last updated 06/06/2026