"You know Teddy [Cousin] is fond of good butter and good coffee - two things that one only meets with out here, in his dreams. But after all we only enjoy life by comparison. I really think it does not make much difference where or how we live providing we get used to it."

- Parmly Billings (Billings, Montana) to his mother,
Julia Billings (Woodstock, Vermont), July 7, 1887
[Billings Family Archives]

Frederick Billings of Woodstock, Vermont was an influential lawyer in early-day California, served as president of the Northern Pacific Railroad, and was recognized as one of our nation's first conservationists. The Northern Pacific Railroad honored Frederick Billings' legacy with the establishment of Billings, Montana in 1882. The National Park Service recently created the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, Vermont's first national park, to commemorate the conservation work of George Perkins Marsh, Frederick Billings, and Laurence Rockefeller.

Parmly Billings, Frederick and Julia Billings' first child, came to Billings, Montana in 1884 to make a name for himself. He and his cousin, Edward Bailey, became important members of the newly platted railroad town. Parmly died during a return trip to his family home in Woodstock, Vermont in 1888. He was only twenty-five years old. The Parmly Billings Memorial Library, a gift of the Billings family, was dedicated in 1901.

Comparing Vermont, New York City, and Montana

Thirty-two artifacts loaned by the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park and the Billings Farm & Museum of Woodstock, Vermont help compare and contrast 19th century life in Woodstock, Vermont and Billings, Montana. Billings' family heirlooms, such as Parmly Billings' silk bookmark and Frederick Billings' briefcase, provide actual objects from the familys' history. Artifacts and photographs from the Western Heritage Center, Montana Historical Society, Vermont Historical Society, and the New York Historical Society support the comparison of the Billings' family life in the East with Parmly's experience in Billings.

The speeches and letters of Frederick and Parmly Billings document the lives of a successful 19th century capitalist and Victorian father and his spirited young son. Parmly Billings' letters often idealize his Woodstock, Vermont home life in contrast to his experience in Billings during the 1880s.