Crossing the Yellowstone: The Saga of a Montana Ranch Family

On the cusp of the 20th century, the author’s grandfather Andy Mercer journeyed on horseback from Missouri to the Great Plains, with plans to homestead in the West. Crossing the Yellowstone: The Saga of a Montana Ranch Family is a love story of land, family, and that man’s dream. This family history narrative tells the true story of a man who settled in the American West in the early 1900s, living the core American values of independence, determination, and respect for the land. Andy’s love for Florrie, an English nurse, turns tragic when she dies only two years into their marriage, leaving him alone with a motherless son, Russell. The child grows from a lonely schoolboy to a reluctant cowboy, and eventually needs to choose whether to stay on the family ranch or strike out in search of a different life. Finally connecting with a woman who fills the gap left by his absent mother, Russell commits to preserving the family heritage.

Despite the drought of the Dirty Thirties and the Great Depression, Andy’s legacy endures on the Montana ranch near the Yellowstone River where he settled in 1906. Based on diary entries, news articles, published sources, interviews, and personal memories of the author and other family members, Crossing the Yellowstone is a classic American drama of challenges met and legacies left.

The book is available wherever books are sold, including online at the independent bookstore bookshop.org or at Amazon books.

Stay tuned for information about the 2025 book events!

Interview with Mary Anne in The Sidney Herald

The Sidney Herald, the local paper for Sidney, Montana—the primary setting of Crossing the Yellowstone—interviewed Mary Anne about her book. You can read it here!

Reviews of Crossing the Yellowstone

Richly authentic and beautifully written, Crossing the Yellowstone is a vivid real-life portrait of a family struggling to survive in the American West. An unforgettable story of a widowed father who raises his son in the hardscrabble ranching life, and that son’s resilient determination to find love and build the family he always wanted. An endearing story of tragedy, tenderness, and ties that bind. 

— Margaret Combs, author of Hazard: A Sister’s Flight from Family and a Broken Boy    

Mary Anne Mercer’s Montana family embodies Wild West history—cowboys, homesteaders, and ranchers who claim deep kinship with this storied land. Crossing the Yellowstone brings to vivid life the people and country that still inspires tourists and bestselling films. The devoted, tragic love story between Mercer’s British grandmother, Florrie, and her well-read, rough-hewn grandfather, Andy, is the heart of this memoir. It roots the next generations—from motherless Russell’s childhood raised by ranch hands to his embrace of Mary, the enduring matriarch and town historian. A lively and very moving must-read for anyone who enjoys both personal and American history.

— Brenda Peterson, author Wild Chorus: Finding Harmony with Whales, Wolves, and Other Animals

This is a moving story of place and relationships, beautifully written and carefully researched. Mary Anne Mercer is a superb storyteller whose narrative brings alive the characters and the places of this amazing tale. Grandfather Andy, farm boy from Missouri turned homesteader in Montana, unexpectedly meets Grandmother Florrie, sophisticated city girl from England turned traveling nurse in America, and “who was pivotal in all our lives.” They live in relationship with the rugged and untamed prairie, where their dreams bring them together. As we come to know the landscape and the people, we can’t help but care for them all, see their beauty and their flaws, witness their triumphs and tragedies, be moved by their love, their losses and their immense vulnerability. This is a story of the early 1900’s prairie homesteading era, yet it speaks to us now, a century later, of the lasting gifts and burdens of all our family legacies. 

— Gary Whited, author of Being, There and Having Listened

Books like Crossing the Yellowstone: The Saga of a Montana Ranch Family are important for preserving not only the history but also the culture of Eastern Montana and the MonDak area. While the hardships and triumphs of homesteading families can be told across much of the west, family stories like this tale of the Mercer family showcase the specific grit and courage it took to truly survive and thrive in the MonDak; a grit and courage that can still be seen today in the people of the area.

— Nikki Bailey-Will, Executive Director, MonDak Heritage Center

Crossing the Yellowstone reflects the changing face of life in rural America as the land was settled and development took place. It was deeply impacted by the Great Depression of the 1930s, which coincided with a lengthy drought. Mary Anne Mercer has meticulously researched the era and living conditions using her grandmother’s diary, family reminiscences, and a variety of other resources. She provides a detailed and poignant account of life on a ranch without electricity or proper roads, where hope was mixed with hardship. The culture is explored through the eyes of those who were there…It is a tribute to the pioneering spirit that shaped America. It is a tale of love, loss, and renewal, mixed with a struggle to survive in the often harsh conditions. It is also about dreams, aspirations, triumph, and tragedy, which is heartwarming, touching, and tinged with sadness and soul searching. This is an enchanting family history that is beautifully written and illustrated with striking family photographs.

—Leonard Smuts for Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews

About Mary Anne

Mary Anne Mercer spent her early years on the family ranch in eastern Montana with her parents and six siblings. During her youth, her grandfather and great-aunt lived nearby in the original 1906 ranch house on the homestead. Crossing the Yellowstone: The Saga of a Montana Ranch Family aims to bring to life the tale of her paternal grandparents and parents, spanning the period from 1894 to the 1940s. Mary Anne has published on a wide range of topics related to social justice, global health, and globalization, as well as academic topics. Her previous book was Beyond the Next Village: A Year of Magic and Medicine in Nepal.  Learn more about Mary Anne.