Biography
Ellsworth Burling was an Illinois-born homesteader living near Sayle, Montana. His sedition prosecution concerned criticism of Liberty Bonds, wartime food restrictions and the influence of wealthy interests on the war. He was sentenced to one to two years and imprisoned at Deer Lodge. He was released on July 13, 1919.
The original Montana State Prison intake form lists an age of 48, birth in Illinois, and occupation as farmer. It records actual receipt at Deer Lodge on 1918-10-12 and sentencing on 1918-10-11 in the state sedition case. The admission is distinguished from an earlier arrest, and the printed sentence is distinguished from actual service; no physical discharge is supplied. It includes named frontal and profile photographs. The companion Burling form gives a different age, so this age is attributed to the later form. Source: https://clcowgill.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/a-m.pdf#page=5
The original Montana State Prison descriptive intake form records the sentence date as 1918-10-11. This sentencing entry is separate from receipt at the penitentiary.
