Who were the Famous Blonger Bros.?

We're glad you asked.

Lou Blonger (blon'jer)

Meet Lou Blonger

History remembers him as the king of the Denver con men. Grifters from across the nation flocked to the Mile-High City to ply their trade under his protection.

Friend and benefactor to a long line of Denver mayors, lawmen, judges, and attorneys, Blonger could do no wrong, until a brash young DA bucked the establishment and finally brought him to justice.

But there's so much more to the story.

Legends of the Blonger Bros. - 1858-1879

Gamblers and soldiers, prospectors and saloonmen, Lou Blonger and his brothers lived the sporting man's life from Deadwood to Dodge, Virginia City to Cripple Creek.

Time and again, the seemingly outlandish tales told of their pioneer years prove to be based in fact.

The Blonger Posse - 1882-1888

The Blonger Bros. served as lawmen and detectives, too, bringing order to restless boomtowns.

When Wyatt Earp's vendetta posse was on the run from Arizona authorities, Marshal Sam Blonger and his deputies gave them safe harbor in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The Big Store - 1919-1924

By 1920, Blonger's army of bunko men were pulling in well over a million dollars a year.

The gang's trial in 1923 was one of the most famous criminal cases in Colorado history.

The Belonger Family Tree

This started out as a site dedicated to the Belonger Genealogy, and if you're a family member, you'll find lots of interesting information about your relatives here.

What's New? Read the Evening Review!

Finally, just for fun, what if the Blonger Bros. owned their own theme restaurant?

A Word on Pronunciation

When we first saw the names Belonger and Blonger, we assumed, as you may have, that they were pronounced like the word "longer".

It's hard to tell because the name is very nearly unique, but the evidence suggests three options:

We use what we believe to be the Americanized pronunciation, which rhymes with conjure.

If you're feeling French, give it that continental sound, blohn-zhuh.

Or if you're a cheesehead, you may say like some still say Belonger in the old home town, be-lahn-jee.

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Genealogy - History - Gang - Posse - Evening Review
The Grafters Club - Blonger Bros. Fake Restaurant

Copyright Notice: Original material copyright 2003-2021 Scott Johnson and Craig Johnson. Other copyrights may apply to materials found herein. Our primary goal is to reintroduce the Blonger Bros. to the lexicon of the Wild West. We therefore encourage the use of our research, provided due credit is given.

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