Evan E. Filby's Blog: South Fork and More, page 144

Merchant, Developer, and Industrial Commissioner George Fisher [otd 12/05]

Commissioner Fisher.
J. H. Hawley photo.George Howard Fisher, Bancroft merchant and first Commissioner of the Idaho Industrial Accident Board, was born December 5, 1872 in Richmond, Utah (5-6 miles south of Franklin, Idaho).

His father, William F. “Billy” Fisher, was one of the first riders hired in 1860 for the Pony Express. Billy was best known for his gallop from Ruby Valley Station (50-60 miles southeast of today’s Elko) in Nevada across three hundred miles of desolate territory to Salt Lak...

Marine Corps Ace and Medal of Honor Winner Pappy Boyington [otd 12/04]

Pappy Boyington. USMC photo.Ace pilot and Medal of Honor winner Gregory “Pappy” Boyington was born December 4, 1912 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. His mother divorced and remarried while Greg was very young, so he grew up thinking his last name was Hallenbeck. Not until some years later did he discover his birth name.

He grew up in the Idaho Panhandle but eventually graduated from high school and then college in Washington state. At the University of Washington, he served on the swim and wrestling...

World Renowned Mining Engineer and Innovator Fred Brown [otd 12/03]

World renowned mining engineer Frederick C. Brown was born December 3, 1867 in London, England. Brown continued a long family tradition of accomplishment in highly technical fields – his father was a naval engineer and a grandfather rose to the rank of Admiral in the Royal Navy*. Frederick came to the U. S. in 1883, working first in Dakota Territory. From there, he moved to Leadville, Colorado, where he became known as an outstanding mining engineer.
Poorman mill and tramway, ca 1895. Dir...

Special Fun at the Barnes & Noble Book Signing

The book signing on Saturday (Dec 1) at the Barnes & Noble store went very well. I did not sell a ton of books, but at least more than last time. Of course, this time I had both books to offer. I was somewhat surprised to sell about the same number of each. I rather assumed that few copies of Boise River Gold County would move, since it has nothing about this side of the state. But then, I suppose the mention of "Gold!" helped.
Chuckwagon at Work.
As you might expect, with the holiday buyin...

America’s Sherlock Holmes – Innovative Forensic Detective Luke May [otd 12/02]

Detective Luke May.
Family Archives.On December 2nd, Luke S. May, who became known as America’s preeminent scientific detective, was born near Grand Island, Nebraska. Hawley’s History of Idaho and other references list the year as 1886.

The family, however, gives the year as 1892, with support from the Social Security Death Index. This is highly plausible: By adding six years to his age, the youthful detective-to-be could pose as being in his early twenties – still quite young, but not a mere b...

Wholesale Grocery Pioneer and Pocatello Developer Joseph Young [otd 12/01]

Joseph Young. J. H. Hawley photo.Western grocery wholesaler Joseph Taylor Young was born December 1, 1880 on a ranch near Logan, Utah. Three years later the family moved to Rexburg, Idaho, where he grew up and went to school. As a teenager, he attended Ricks Academy [blog, Nov 12] before going to work for the St. Anthony Lumber Company.

Joseph next found employment with the Oregon Short Line Railroad, helping upgrade depots and right-of-way fencing in eastern Idaho. He then rose to a position...

Convicted Murderer and Thief Hanged at Idaho Penitentiary [otd 11/30]

On November 30, 1901, authorities hanged convicted murderer Edward Rice. He was the first individual executed at the Idaho Penitentiary as a state institution and only the second in its history. Rice had been convicted of murdering Matthew Mailley, a Wallace store owner, the previous year.
Wallace, ca 1898. Illustrated History.
The evidence was largely circumstantial, in that there were no direct witnesses. A potential customer had found the store door locked at 9:30 on a Thursday morning in Oc...

Reverend Henry Spalding Builds Presbyterian Mission at Lapwai [otd 11/29]

Henry Harmon Spalding.
National Park Service.On November 29, 1836, Henry Harmon Spalding established a Presbyterian mission among the Nez Percés Indians. The initial location was on Lapwai Creek about 10 miles east of today's Lewiston. Two years later Spalding moved the mission to a spot on the Clearwater River near the mouth of Lapwai Creek.

Born in New York state, Henry was in his early thirties when he established the mission. After graduation from Western Reserve College (now part of Case W...

“Rufus” Reid and Agnes Just Continue Century Ranch Lineage [otd 11/28]

Robert “Rufus” Reid.
Family Archives.*On November 28, 1906, twenty-year-old Agnes Just married Robert E. “Rufus” Reid in Blackfoot, Idaho. Agnes was the youngest child and only surviving daughter of Nels and Emma Just.

Born in Denmark in 1847, Nels A. Just was ten years old when his family came to the United States. They had already converted to the LDS Church, and aimed to settle in Utah. The Justs traveled as part of one of the so-called “handcart” companies and arrived at Salt Lake in Septem...

Book Signing at Idaho Falls Barnes & Noble

This coming Saturday, December 1, I will be available at the Barnes & Noble bookstore located in the Grand Teton Mall (2300 East 17th Street, Idaho Falls, Idaho). Be glad to talk about either of my recently-published books – Before the Spud and Boise River Gold Country – and sign copies for people who buy them. The event is schedule to begin at 1 o’clock in the afternoon and will likely run to 4:00 or 5:00. The store announcement also links to other events that will be at the store that d...