fuzmeister: Remembering My Great Great Grandfather
I was just thinking about this earlier... my dad posted on a message board back in 2001 regarding this...
Howard Cameron Bleasdale (1853-1925). This man was my great-grandfather on my father's mother's side, and I am named after him.
My dad's mother was born in Ogallala, Nebraska in 1886. Howard Bleasdale lived in Ogallala from 1879 to 1887.
In 1999, I took my family west for a long vacation to visit Salt Lake City, Utah, where my dad was born and raised. We also planned a side trip to Ogallala, NE. The AAA tourbook for that area describes that town as "a rowdy and often violent cowtown known as the "Gomorrah of the Plains". Fights were frequent and often unprovoked. Many unfortunates were buried hastily in the Boot Hill Cemetary at 10th and W.C. Streets."
On our visit to Ogallala we stopped at Boot Hill to find a headstone for a Mary McMurdo Bleasdale and at a visitor display a multi-page writeup of Mary McMurdo and Howard Bleasdale. I took numerous photos, including a copy of the text, which in part reads as follows:
"Mary McMurdo Bleasdale
Note: Although local legend strongly supports a belief that Mary McMurdo Bleasdale died, probably in childbirth, in 1883 and was buried at Boot Hill, no records of her death and few records of her life remain . She was the wife of Howard C. Bleasdale, who at various times between 1879 and 1887 was precint assessor, county clerk, probate judge, superintendent of instruction, district county clerk and Ogallala justice of the peace. He was, apparently a real estate broker by profession.
From the records of Keith County, Nebraska Marriage Record, Book A: February 9, 1880, Howard C. Bleasdale to Mary McMurdo, Howard C. Bleasdale, age 26, born in Delaware, Mary McMurdo, age 19, born in Lanockshire Scotland."
The text goes on to describe various jobs held by Howard during the years, and no further word of Mary is mentioned. There is also no mention of a surviving child from their marriage.
In 1884, Howard married Lida Fisher. In 1886 my grandmother was born. Howard and Lida had two daughters; my grandmother was the eldest. In 1887, Howard and his family left the area. Leading up to this, he was involved in a notorious land scam deal where he was paying off assesors to undervalue land which he and a partner were buying up. Although he was never indicted, his image was tarnished and he left in 1887.
We know nothing of his life prior to his arrival in Ogallala prior to 1879. After leaving, we do not know where he moved on to. My father thought he may have moved on to Colorado Springs, CO. About 1900, he came to Salt Lake City, Utah and worked at the city-county building as an accountant, according to my grandmother. Howard's nickname was "Bleas". He died in 1925, the year of my dad's birth. Howard and his wife Lida are buried at the Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park in Salt Lake City. We were also fortunate to be able to find their graves (buried next to my dad's parents) and take numerous photos. My dad was not aware that Howard had a first wife who died, or that he was involved in dirty land deals, so this was interesting news to him.
I have made additional prints of the photos taken at Boot Hill in Ogallala and of Howard's headstone, which I would be happy to send you a copy of, if you supply your snail mail address. My brother has a photo of Howard, probably between 1910 and 1920 which I made prints of. I can also include a copy of this. - Howard Thompson
Mood: Intrigued
Music: The Mars Volta - Inertiac ESP
Tags (beta): family
I was just thinking about this earlier... my dad posted on a message board back in 2001 regarding this...
Howard Cameron Bleasdale (1853-1925). This man was my great-grandfather on my father's mother's side, and I am named after him.
My dad's mother was born in Ogallala, Nebraska in 1886. Howard Bleasdale lived in Ogallala from 1879 to 1887.
In 1999, I took my family west for a long vacation to visit Salt Lake City, Utah, where my dad was born and raised. We also planned a side trip to Ogallala, NE. The AAA tourbook for that area describes that town as "a rowdy and often violent cowtown known as the "Gomorrah of the Plains". Fights were frequent and often unprovoked. Many unfortunates were buried hastily in the Boot Hill Cemetary at 10th and W.C. Streets."
On our visit to Ogallala we stopped at Boot Hill to find a headstone for a Mary McMurdo Bleasdale and at a visitor display a multi-page writeup of Mary McMurdo and Howard Bleasdale. I took numerous photos, including a copy of the text, which in part reads as follows:
"Mary McMurdo Bleasdale
Note: Although local legend strongly supports a belief that Mary McMurdo Bleasdale died, probably in childbirth, in 1883 and was buried at Boot Hill, no records of her death and few records of her life remain . She was the wife of Howard C. Bleasdale, who at various times between 1879 and 1887 was precint assessor, county clerk, probate judge, superintendent of instruction, district county clerk and Ogallala justice of the peace. He was, apparently a real estate broker by profession.
From the records of Keith County, Nebraska Marriage Record, Book A: February 9, 1880, Howard C. Bleasdale to Mary McMurdo, Howard C. Bleasdale, age 26, born in Delaware, Mary McMurdo, age 19, born in Lanockshire Scotland."
The text goes on to describe various jobs held by Howard during the years, and no further word of Mary is mentioned. There is also no mention of a surviving child from their marriage.
In 1884, Howard married Lida Fisher. In 1886 my grandmother was born. Howard and Lida had two daughters; my grandmother was the eldest. In 1887, Howard and his family left the area. Leading up to this, he was involved in a notorious land scam deal where he was paying off assesors to undervalue land which he and a partner were buying up. Although he was never indicted, his image was tarnished and he left in 1887.
We know nothing of his life prior to his arrival in Ogallala prior to 1879. After leaving, we do not know where he moved on to. My father thought he may have moved on to Colorado Springs, CO. About 1900, he came to Salt Lake City, Utah and worked at the city-county building as an accountant, according to my grandmother. Howard's nickname was "Bleas". He died in 1925, the year of my dad's birth. Howard and his wife Lida are buried at the Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park in Salt Lake City. We were also fortunate to be able to find their graves (buried next to my dad's parents) and take numerous photos. My dad was not aware that Howard had a first wife who died, or that he was involved in dirty land deals, so this was interesting news to him.
I have made additional prints of the photos taken at Boot Hill in Ogallala and of Howard's headstone, which I would be happy to send you a copy of, if you supply your snail mail address. My brother has a photo of Howard, probably between 1910 and 1920 which I made prints of. I can also include a copy of this. - Howard Thompson
Mood: Intrigued
Music: The Mars Volta - Inertiac ESP
Tags (beta): family
![[Valid RSS]](themes/mario-world/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")