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New stuff turns up through Dogpile:

• Another document related to Sam's 1865 California claim makes him a business partner with Lyman L. Woods, a Mormon patriarch.
• Marvin's death certificate
• Information about Marvin's grave in Siskiyou County, California. The last Belonger brother is laid to rest.

Scott also makes contact with the South Dakota State Veterans Home about Joe's possible time there, and with Robert K. De Arment, author of Bat Masterson: The Man and the Legend. The book makes brief mention of Sam and Lou gambling in Dodge City in 1878, and we're curious about his source material. More later, we hope.

Imagine that. Research on the Kitty Blonger trial in Arizona reveals the arrival, a scant two days after the murder, of one "L. Blonger" of California. While there is undoubtedly more to find, we now feel confident Kitty fits into the family tree somewhere. Newspaper articles include testimony given at trial and paint a fairly vivid snapshot of life in the fast lane in 1888. Poor, deluded girl.

The South Dakota Veterans Home did not have a patient named Joe Belonger. Too bad. It would have been handy to place him in the area.

It has also been stated that Joe spent time in a veteran's home in Los Angeles. We're looking into this now.

Sawtelle Disabled Veterans Home in California had a Joe Belonger. We'll be hearing from them soon.

An 1887 affidavit from Lou regarding his military pension puts it plainly:

In the year 1866, after leaving the Hospital I was with my Father at his residence in Shullsburgh Wis in 1867 was at 222 Park Avenue Chicago where I was sent by my Bro to Bryants Station (?) Business College, in 1868 was with my brother at Mt Carroll Ill.

In 1869 went with my Bro to Red Oak, Iowa.

In 1870 went with my Brother to Utah was with him until 1875 resided at Dry Cannon (?), Stockton and Salt Lake. During those years, at Salt Lake was treated by Dr. Hamilton for varicose veins and ulcers in left leg.

In the fall of 75 went with my Brother to Virginia City, Nevada. In 76, went with my Bro to Cornucopia Nev, in 77 to Tuscarora Nev where I was treated by Dr. Deal for varicose vein. Have been unable to find present residence of Dr Deal

In 78 went with my Bro to Silver Reef, Utah and same year back to Salt Lake where I was again treated for same trouble by Dr. Hambelton [sic]. Was in Salt Lake until 79. Then I went to Leadville Colo where I resided with my Bro until 81. And was treated by Dr. Gumbess (?) who is since deceased

In 81 went to Albuquerque New Mexico I resided with my Bro until 1883 was treated by Dr Kimbell for varicose vein in left leg Dr Kimbell address Colridge Kansas.

Since 83 until the present time here resided with Frank Thurmond at Silver City, Deming and Kingston New Mexico. And here been treated in that time by Dr. Innes, Kingston New Mexico and by Dr. McGuire, of same place present Post Office address Kingston Sierra Co New Mexico

And I further state that from the year 1868 until 1883 I was with my Bro as above stated and under his care and support wholly unable to perform manual labor & support myself. Since I have been with Mr. Thurmond as above stated. I have but partially supported myself, and at present have no employment and am wholly unable to support myself by labor.

My disability occurred as follows. While marching with my Regiment Co. B 142 Reg't Ills Vols from Memphis Tenn, to White Oak Station from the fatigue of the march and a fall, I injured my left leg from which the varicose veins was the result. That my disability has been continuous from that time to the present date.

Kingston, New Mexico
Nov 5th, 1887
Louis H. Blonger

In this one document, an affidavit for a military disability claim, Lou has detailed his movements (and Sam's, to an extent) between the time they left Shullsburg and the time they settled in Denver, the boomtown years of 1867 to 1887. A clearer picture of the Blonger Tour suddenly takes shape.

We generally consider the information he provides here to be truthful and accurate. As such, Deadwood and Dodge City drop unceremoniously from the list. We still have reason to believe they spent time in Dodge City, though perhaps not as residents, but just as visiting gamblers. So I'm leaving it on the tour.

And now we add Virginia City, Silver City, and few other small towns to the research list.

Of course, this provisionally confirms that Sam, Lou and Joe were together in Albuquerque, 1881 to 1883. Sam's lawman story may stick after all.

Additionally, Lou states that he and Sam were not together between 1883 and 1887, at least. Sam was in Leadville, Denver and environs during this time.

Interesting to note that Lou successfully collected a pension for his varicose veins. Michael, on the other hand, who we now know developed a heart condition at the Battle of Winchester, Virginia (after which he fought at Cedar Mountain and Antietam), had nothing but trouble over the years trying to collect his pittance.

In other news, details on Sam's 1865 California land deal indicate that the 160 acres north of Sacramento were originally a government land grant to Mormon patriarch Lyman L. Woods. At some point he signed this land over to Sam. Why? What kind of real estate was it/is it? We know the coordinates, and that it is between Sacramento and Marysville, California.

Today we hear from Mike O'Connor, Michael's great grandson. He believes the violin he inherited to be the fiddle Michael played as a young man. He says a cousin owns the imitation Stradivarius Michael played later in life.

Playing a bit of musical chairs with the site. Genealogy related items are getting their own area, Belonger Genealogy

We got the file from the Sawtelle Veterans' Home in Los Angeles. It IS our Joe Belonger. All logic to the contrary, Joe enlisted in August 1862 at Kalamazoo, Mich., in Co. H of the 25th Michigan Infantry, and served until the end of the war. The register in 1907 lists him at 5'6", blue eyes and gray hair, a widower, a miner, who had lived in Santa Fe. He lists Sam Blonger as his next of kin. When admitted to the home he had as his disability a gunshot wound in his left arm and chest (no indication of WHEN the wound occurred).

The 25th Michigan saw battle many times, including Kenesaw Mountain and the Siege of Atlanta.

At Sawtelle Joe had trouble keeping sober and was kicked out after a year.

Now we need Joe's Civil War pension file. Hopefully he will be as diligent as his brothers in pursuing his pension. And hopefully we will find out Joe's wife's name!

Joe was even younger than Lou when he enlisted — 18 days shy of his 15th birthday. I guess that's why it was so hard to believe this was the right Joe. That and what the heck were he & Sam doing in Kalamazoo?

Finally, as for Sam... As far as we can tell Sam did not file for a pension. But in any case, this makes it quite likely that the Sam Belonger who enlisted in Michigan right around the time Joe enlisted is indeed our Sam.

In other news, we received some pictures of the fiddle Michael supposedly played in his youth. It was a very musical family, from what we understand, but Michael seems to have been the standout, impressing the likes of U.S. Grant and Ole Bull.

Improvements and additions to Just The Facts

Blonger Bros. Guests

Let's see who's visiting. All are welcome to sign in.

If you're on the family tree, or connected to Lou Blonger's trial (or any other related matter), tell us who you are, in a nutshell.

No required fields, real easy.

Armstrong wrote:

Sam and Louis, well known all over the West in the seventies, eighties and nineties as the Belonger Brothers... Later Sam became a peace officer while Louis remained in business.

Sam became an A-1 Western sheriff. He served a long time in the 1870's and 1880's. Later, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, he was hired as a peace officer at 750 dollars a month to clean up a bad gang of outlaws.

Sam, a huge man over 6'3" and a dead shot with both .45 and rifle cleaned up the outlaw gang without getting shot. But later, back in Denver, while arresting a bad-man-outlaw, there was gun-play and a .45 bullet, glancing from a stove, struck Sam in the left eye. As a result he lost the eye; then he quit sheriffing and went into mining again, where, in the early 1900's he and Louis operated the Forest Queen mine up in the mountains west of Denver.

Here's Craig's current hypothesis:

1881 - Business opportunity in Albuquerque. Maybe Sam & Lou contract to grade land for Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. Maybe Joe follows them there, maybe he's there first.

The business does not take a lot of their time — Sam can run for sheriff. He hires Joe as deputy, one of many, and he's called in as needed.

Interesting side note: in 1883, five years prior to the appearance of "Kitty Blonger", the ATSF reaches Peach Springs.

By the mid-eighties, Lou wants to try a saloon in Silver City, maybe the Livingstons do too. Sam is having too much fun playing the lawman/gambler thing and heads up Colorado way, where he continues to do some type of law enforcement, but also travels a lot around Colorado, gambling, partying, seeing his brothers, doing business. Maybe he's riding horseback a lot and Lou can't deal with it. Finally Sam gets shot in the eye.

Lou only follows when he's done in New Mexico and ready to settle in doing business in the growing Leadville/Denver area. Sam is getting old too, and half-blind. Not good for a lawman.

Years later, Lou keeps up with his brothers by saying he was a sheriff, too, way over in a little town in central Texas...

Thing is, everything I say about Sam can evidently be said of Buffalo Bill, Hickok, Earp, Holliday, Masterson. Buffalo Bill had railroad grading contracts, they all took jobs in law enforcement in any given place on a whim, being offered the job. They dealt faro, bought interests in gambling houses and saloons on occasion, drilled in the rock now and then looking for gold, made fortunes, lost fortunes, traveled constantly. From all I can tell, Sam was in no way substantially different from any of these guys, even to the extent of apparently having a few notches in his gun. They were all Knights of the Green Cloth, Sam and Lou too.

On the subject of these four legendary gentlemen:

Lou does not mention living in Dodge City prior to 1882. Bat Masterson's biographer, on the other hand, places Sam & Lou there in the heady summer of 1878.

Now, it's not hard to imagine them riding the rails for a day to spend a few weeks in Dodge having a good time. It is quite possible they were there, which infers that they were indeed fellow travelers of the Earps, Holliday, Masterson.

And yet, that probably isn't even the best bet.

1. In 1882, on their famous ride out of Tombstone, chased by Behan's posse, Earp and Holliday stopped briefly in Albuquerque. If they spent anytime there at all, Sam as sheriff (or Joe as deputy) would have reason to be aware of their presence. Earp and Holliday were both well-known at the time, and the chase was news. Why doesn't anybody know who was sheriff in Albuquerque at this time?
2. More importantly, Earp, Masterson and Buffalo Bill both spent quality time in Denver in the gay nineties, when the Elite saloon was the place to be in Denver (so I'm told). They dealt faro, gambled and partied. Could their paths never cross? Open question.

   Might Lou have attended Bill's Denver funeral in 1917?

These gents simply HAD to know each other. They did the same things and traveled in the same circles. Maybe they just didn't like each other.

Received CMSR (military records) for Lou and Michael.

Hell of a thing: when Lou mustered out, not only had he not been paid, the gummint was charging him for his fife.

Company Muster-out Roll: "No pay since enlistment. Clothing account, due U.S.: $1.35. Due U.S. for arms equipments &c.: $2.91. Stopped 1 Canteen ($.41), 1 Haversack ($.33), 1 Knapsack ($1.85), 1 Fife ($.32). In Marine Hospital. Has Des. Roll."

What's more, an 1887 notation says Lou got "diarrhoea" in 1864, but does not mention his injured leg.

As for Michael, his file notes him as "absent sick in hospital" starting on September 20, 1862, but then states later, repeatedly, that he went to the hospital on September 15. The difference? The Battle of Antietam was on the 17th.

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