William H. “Bill” Blakeman
Bill Blakeman was born in 1883, the son of William and Anna Rose Blakeman.
Thirteen children were born to William & Anna Blakeman – – the oldest Edwin (& Clara), Minnie Harris, William “Bill”, Mary Anna Hurlburt, Alice Bell, George, Josephine Shaw, John, Frances (& Newell) Garman, Arthur, Walden, & the youngest Fred (& Frances). Twelve of the thirteen born in Madison County, Illinois, near a small town by the name of Edwardsville, one baby girl died stillborn.
William Sr had been orphaned at the age of two and was raised in the Zimmerschied home. Encouraged by members of the Zimmerschied family, who had moved from Madison County a few years before, to Cabin Creek near Carlile, Wyoming. William & Anna loaded their meager belongings in an emigrant railroad car and arrived at Moorcroft in the fall of 1901. William had a pass to ride in the emigrant car as it contained a stallion and a vicious looking dog, although he was harmless. Two of the older boys (Bill & George) were stowaways in the car and although the conductor looked occasionally, he didn’t care to take chances to search the car because of the dog and horse. Anna rode in a passenger train, accompanied by eight of the younger children, including a set of twins. The conductor asked, “Are all these your children, or is this a picnic ?” She answered, “These are all my children, and I’ll tell you, it’s no picnic.” It took the freight car about eight days to make the trip – the passenger train made it in about two nights and one day, arriving on September 26, 1901. They were met by Bill Zimmerschied with a team and wagon who took them to his place for the night.
They homesteaded in the Carlile area. Their first winter in Crook County was a hard one. They lived in a dugout on the banks of Cabin Creek, about three miles up from the Carlile Post Office, which had been built and occupied by some very short men known as the Grimm Brothers. William reportedly said that the door was so short that an ordinary person had to stoop considerably to enter! They lived on canned goods brought along from Illinois and the abundant cottontail rabbits living in the area. Son Fred said “I have often thought that my parents must have had a lot of courage or a lack of good judgement to come to such a wild country with no house to live in and winter at hand.”
Bill worked for several ranches including the Campstool and the “D”. He learned the carpentry trade from his father and used these skills in helping to build Old Stoney in Sundance, the first shelter cabin at Devils Tower and homes and barns for himself and many friends and neighbors. He was 21 when he homesteaded a ranch in Barlow Canyon west of Hulett. In 1911 he married Edna Holmes, a neighbor girl, and they were blessed with nine children. Bill named the ranch the “Need More Ranch,” from his expression, “I’ve got enough kids, but I need more cash!”
Bill was best known as an officer of the law. He first donned a badge in 1912 when he served as deputy under Sheriff John Thorne. After seven years as deputy sheriff he was sworn in as Crook County Sheriff in January 1931 and served in this position until his retirement in 1955. Bill and Edna and family lived at the courthouse while he was sheriff, with Edna filling the role of unpaid deputy, watching the office while her husband was out, answering calls and feeding the inmates. Bill had no formal training in police science, but could quote almost verbatim the statutes concerning almost any criminal or civil act. One of the more newsworthy events of the ‘30s was the Schiller murder case in the Hulett area. Prohibitions was still in effect in the early ‘30s and jail usually had a bootlegger or two in residence (when the jail was empty, one or more of the kids would be in residence, since space was very cramped in their living quarters!). During World War II, Bill diverted a small portion of the courthouse lawn for use as a Victory Garden.
(Who is Charles Blokurau?? Died in 1936; Buried in plot next to Bill, Bill is owner of entire plot which includes Blokurau, Bill himself, Edna, baby Angela)
Bill Blakeman was born in 1883, the son of William and Anna Rose Blakeman.
Thirteen children were born to William & Anna Blakeman – – the oldest Edwin (& Clara), Minnie Harris, William “Bill”, Mary Anna Hurlburt, Alice Bell, George, Josephine Shaw, John, Frances (& Newell) Garman, Arthur, Walden, & the youngest Fred (& Frances). Twelve of the thirteen born in Madison County, Illinois, near a small town by the name of Edwardsville, one baby girl died stillborn.
William Sr had been orphaned at the age of two and was raised in the Zimmerschied home. Encouraged by members of the Zimmerschied family, who had moved from Madison County a few years before, to Cabin Creek near Carlile, Wyoming. William & Anna loaded their meager belongings in an emigrant railroad car and arrived at Moorcroft in the fall of 1901. William had a pass to ride in the emigrant car as it contained a stallion and a vicious looking dog, although he was harmless. Two of the older boys (Bill & George) were stowaways in the car and although the conductor looked occasionally, he didn’t care to take chances to search the car because of the dog and horse. Anna rode in a passenger train, accompanied by eight of the younger children, including a set of twins. The conductor asked, “Are all these your children, or is this a picnic ?” She answered, “These are all my children, and I’ll tell you, it’s no picnic.” It took the freight car about eight days to make the trip – the passenger train made it in about two nights and one day, arriving on September 26, 1901. They were met by Bill Zimmerschied with a team and wagon who took them to his place for the night.
They homesteaded in the Carlile area. Their first winter in Crook County was a hard one. They lived in a dugout on the banks of Cabin Creek, about three miles up from the Carlile Post Office, which had been built and occupied by some very short men known as the Grimm Brothers. William reportedly said that the door was so short that an ordinary person had to stoop considerably to enter! They lived on canned goods brought along from Illinois and the abundant cottontail rabbits living in the area. Son Fred said “I have often thought that my parents must have had a lot of courage or a lack of good judgement to come to such a wild country with no house to live in and winter at hand.”
Bill worked for several ranches including the Campstool and the “D”. He learned the carpentry trade from his father and used these skills in helping to build Old Stoney in Sundance, the first shelter cabin at Devils Tower and homes and barns for himself and many friends and neighbors. He was 21 when he homesteaded a ranch in Barlow Canyon west of Hulett. In 1911 he married Edna Holmes, a neighbor girl, and they were blessed with nine children. Bill named the ranch the “Need More Ranch,” from his expression, “I’ve got enough kids, but I need more cash!”
Bill was best known as an officer of the law. He first donned a badge in 1912 when he served as deputy under Sheriff John Thorne. After seven years as deputy sheriff he was sworn in as Crook County Sheriff in January 1931 and served in this position until his retirement in 1955. Bill and Edna and family lived at the courthouse while he was sheriff, with Edna filling the role of unpaid deputy, watching the office while her husband was out, answering calls and feeding the inmates. Bill had no formal training in police science, but could quote almost verbatim the statutes concerning almost any criminal or civil act. One of the more newsworthy events of the ‘30s was the Schiller murder case in the Hulett area. Prohibitions was still in effect in the early ‘30s and jail usually had a bootlegger or two in residence (when the jail was empty, one or more of the kids would be in residence, since space was very cramped in their living quarters!). During World War II, Bill diverted a small portion of the courthouse lawn for use as a Victory Garden.
(Who is Charles Blokurau?? Died in 1936; Buried in plot next to Bill, Bill is owner of entire plot which includes Blokurau, Bill himself, Edna, baby Angela)