Ancestry Magazine

Question
I am trying to find the cemetery for William Frederick Schmalsle. He was an Indian guide, scout, buffalo hunter, and courier for Lieutenant Baldwin and General Miles. There’s a newspaper story about Schmalsle riding for help for a cavalry unit under attack, and he rode with Wyatt Earp and Marshall Wormwood to arrest Big Nose George Parrott, a member of the Jesse James gang. But I can’t find out where he is buried. He was born 16 October 1881 in Montana and died in San Bernardino, California, on 17 May 1958. Can you help?
ELLEN K. COMPTON

Answer
I started by googling Schmalsle’s name to see what else I could learn about his life; then I sketched out a rough timeline. The first thing I noticed was that the birth and death dates Ellen provided aren’t consistent with the stories.

Military correspondence about the cavalry incident states the event happened in 1874—seven years before the birth Ellen found for Schmalsle. At Ancestry.com I found the same dates that Ellen had. While the name is the same, this isn’t the right William Schmalsle.

Later references to Schmalsle were centered around Miles City, Custer County, Montana. I even found a Billings newspaper from 1908 listing hotel arrivals: William F. Schmalsle’s is listed with a residence of Miles City.

What should Ellen do to find Schmalsle’s cemetery? Start with “City Directories in the United States.” Several years of city directories from Miles County, Montana, are listed and can help determine how long Schmalsle was in the area. The U.S. Geological Survey’s map for Custer County, Montana, shows four cemeteries in the area. Local societies and libraries may have information on other smaller cemeteries as well.

If Schmalsle doesn’t turn up, the Montana Historical Society has local histories that may mention Schmalsles living in the area. With luck, tracing another Schmalsle could point you to William.