Category: Profiles

First of all, I’d like to mention for the record that, although Scott agrees with me that Sam’s second wife Sadie Wilson, and gun-slinging prostitute Kate “Kitty” Blonger, are likely the same person, he cautions, correctly, that this is not the only possible conclusion. But at present it remains the most obvious one. Which brings us to […]

We’ve long known that Joe’s only marriage to widow Carrie (Winsor) Viles didn’t last long. A new article from the Albuquerque Daily Citizen, by way of the Las Vegas Optic, colorfully describes just how short it was. UNLUCKY NUMBER Couple Were Married in Room Thirteen of a Hotel. The Pecos Valley Correspondent of the Las Vegas […]

For those of you who are unfamiliar with our website and version 1.0 of our blog, we’re starting out by taking a brief look at each of the Blonger brothers. In that spirit, let’s continue with great-great-grandpa Mike Belonger. Born in 1841, Mike was the only brother of six that never adopted the Blonger spelling. […]

Now let’s talk about Joe, the Quiet One, the Lone Prospector, Joe Straight-Tongue. Born in 1847, Joe was eight years Sam’s junior, and two years older than Lou. Joe enlisted in the 125th Michigan Infantry just shy of his fifteenth birthday. The 125th saw more than its share of action in the Civil War, including […]

Lou’s older brother Sam was born, like Lou,  in Swanton Falls, Vermont, in 1839. Though no photos of Sam are known to exist, it is said that in many ways he was Lou’s complement; where Lou was short, stout and affable, and prone to rely on his personality to get his way, Sam was tall and imposing, with […]