Blonger Bros. Timeline.

The history of the Blonger Bros. is still being written. There are many gaps in our knowledge that need to be filled through painstaking research. This timeline represents the current summarization of events that we know to be true. As additional events are verified, they will be placed on the timeline. (A few unverified items based on personal accounts have been added — in green type — to fill in some of the gaps.)

Note: For events that merely establish location (such as census information or listing in a city directory), only those that indicate a change in location are shown.

1836	Apr 15	Simon Blonger born Simon Belonger in Georgia, Vt.
1839	Mar 15	Sam Blonger born Samuel Belonger in Swanton, Vt.
1841	May 15	Mike Belonger born Michael Belonger born in Swanton.
1847	Sep 9	Joe Blonger born Joseph Belonger in Swanton.
1849	May 13	Lou Blonger born Louis Belonger in Swanton.
1851	Feb 28	Marvin Blonger born Marvin Belonger in Swanton.

1853		Belonger family moves from Swanton to Shullsburg, Wis.
1859		While traveling the Lander Road to California with a large wagon train, Sam signs a petition to the federal government requesting a bridge be built at the Green River.
1859	May 24	Judith Belonger (mother of the family) dies giving birth to 13th child.
1861	May 8	Mike Belonger enlists in the Union Army at Shullsburg, 3rd Wisconsin, Company I.
	Aug	Sam Blonger votes at Central City, Colo., in the Colorado territorial election.
	Nov 24	Simon Blonger marries Emily O'Neil at Shullsburg.
1862	early June	During the retreat from Winchester to Martinsburg, in northern Virginia, Mike Belonger overcome by a heart ailment.
	Aug 9	3rd Wisconsin fights at the Battle of Cedar Mountain (Slaughter's Mountain, Cedar Run).
	Aug 22	Joe Blonger enlists in the Union Army at Kalamazoo, 25th Michigan, Company H, 18 days shy of his 15th birthday.
	Aug 28-30	3rd Wisconsin fights at the Second Battle of Bull Run (Manassas).
	Sep 17	3rd Wisconsin fights at the Battle of Antietam.
	Sep 20	Mike Belonger sent to the Columbia College Hospital in Washington, D.C., suffering from heart problems.
	Dec	Mike Belonger moved to the convalescent camp in Alexandria, Va.
1863	Jan 28	Mike Belonger given a disability certificate and discharged from the Union Army.
1864	May 10	Lou Blonger enlists in the Union Army as a fifer at Warren, Ill., 142nd Illinois, Company B, three days shy of his 15th birthday.
	Jun 21	142nd Illinois moves from Camp Butler in Springfield, Ill. to Memphis, Tenn.
	Jun 26	As the 142nd Illinois moves to White Station, Tenn., Lou Blonger suffers a leg injury.
	Aug 6	Joe Blonger shot in the chest during the Seige of Atlanta.
	Oct 26	Lou Blonger, sick in the Marine Hospital at Chicago, mustered out of the Union Army.
	Nov 1	Joe Blonger promoted to corporal.
	Nov 4	Sam arrives in Austin, Nevada via Fast Frieght from Virginia City.
	Nov	Joe Blonger furloughed home to Michigan.
1865	Feb 28	Sam leaves Austin, Nevada via Fast Frieght to Virginia City.
	May 26	Lyman L. Woods receives 160 acres of land in Sutter Co., Cal. with military scrip warrant patents (SW�, Sec. 22, Twp. 12N, Range 4E) and signs it over to Sam Blonger.
	Jun 24	Joe Blonger and the rest of his regiment are mustered out of the Army at Salisbury, N.C.
1865?		Sam travels back to the East via the Isthmus of Panama.
1866		Lou lives with his father in Shullsburg.
1866	Dec 11	Sam Blonger marries Ella Livingston at Carroll Co., Ill.
1867		Sam sends Lou to Bryant's Business College in Chicago, where he lives at 222 Park Avenue.
1868		Sam and Lou live in Mt. Carroll, Ill.
	Aug 15	Joe Blonger files for a military pension from Jerseyville, Ill.
1869	Apr 6	Lou Blonger listed as a high school student in Mt. Carroll, Ill., according to the Carroll County Mirror.
		Sam and Lou move to Red Oak, Iowa.
1870	Jun 11	Lou and Sam Blonger listed in the federal census at Red Oak, Iowa. Sam is a clerk in a hotel and Lou runs a billiard hall.
		Sam and Lou move to Utah, and over the next five years live at Dry Canyon, Stockton, and Salt Lake City.
1872	Apr 19	Sam Blonger arrives at the Valley House in Salt Lake City from Omaha.
1873	Mar 9	Sam Blonger checks in at Taylor's Hotel in Salt Lake City, from Stockton.
	Aug 3	Sam Blonger's son Frank born in Salt Lake City.
	Aug 7	Marvin Blonger marries Molley Beard (surname uncertain) in Lincoln Co., Missouri.
	Oct 22	Shipman & Blonger, a firm dealing in Baltimore oysters, opens for business at 56 Main St. in Salt Lake City.
	Dec 29	Blonger Bros., a business run by Lou and Sam Blonger, files suit in Salt Lake City against Mace Campbell for $29.75 in unpaid bills.
1874	May 12	Shipman & Blonger open the Omaha Beer Saloon in the remodeled Reid's Building in Salt Lake City. Ads for the saloon run in the Salt Lake Tribune until Sept. 21.
	May 26	Lou Blonger returns from a trip to Sioux City and checks into the Valley Hotel.
1875		Sam and Lou Blonger move to Virginia City, Nev.
		Sam and Lou Blonger move to Cornucopia, Nev.
		Sam and Lou Blonger listed in the state census in Elko Co., Nev.
	Jul 30	Marvin Blonger's daughter Abbie born in Illinois.
	Aug 31	Joe is a farmer at "George's Creek," California.
1876	Jan-Apr	Sam and Lou Blonger mentioned in newspaper articles as running a business called The Palace in Cornucopia, Nev.
1876 or 1877		Simon Blonger's last children (twins) born in Shullsburg.
1877	fall	Lou Blonger owns another saloon called The Palace in Tuscarora, Nev.
1878		Sam and Lou Blonger move to Silver Reef, Utah.
		Sam and Lou Blonger move back to Salt Lake City.
	Nov 5	A message awaits Lou Blonger at the Western Union office in Salt Lake City.
		A modern source claims that Sam and Lou Blonger were in Dodge City, Kansas, at some time in 1878.
1879		Sam and Lou Blonger move to Leadville, Colo.
	Mar 25	Sam Blonger runs for mayor of Leadville.
	Apr 1	Sam Blonger loses election, finishing second to W. H. James
	Jul 23	A Blonger (probably Sam) involved in a lawsuit (Elkins v. Blonger) at Leadville, Colo.
	Aug 17	Joe Blonger files the first of many mining claims in the Cerrillos Hills area of New Mexico, with partner Charles M. Purdin. The claim is on the Union mine in the Galisteo district.
	Nov 15	A Blonger (almost certainly Lou) listed as a proprietor of the Novelty Theatre at Georgetown, Colo., according to the Colorado Miner.
1880	Jun 3	A Geo. Blonger (Joe) listed in the federal census at New Ruele�a Mines, part of Los Cerillos Mines, N.M.
	Jun 14	Sam Blonger (with wife Ella and son Frank) listed in the federal census of Denver.
	Jun 17	Sam and Lou Blonger listed in the federal census of Leadville.
1881	Jul 7	Sam Blonger flees Leadville after being accused of assaulting singer Minnie Dunne.
1881		Sam and Lou Blonger move to Albuquerque, N.M..
	Mar 5	Simon Blonger noted as superintendent of the Robert E. Lee Mine by the Leadville Daily Herald.
	Oct 26	The Earp Brothers and Doc Holliday meet the Cow-Boys in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Ariz. No Blongers were present, but Wyatt and Doc would soon cross their path.
	Nov 24	Mike Belonger pays James Murphy $850 for 20 acres outside of Shullsburg (SE � of S � of SE � of Sec. 32, Twp. 2N, Range 2E, a tiny farm parcel still visible at the NW corner of Silverthorn Road and B&C Road). Mike lived there the rest of his life.
1882		Lou Blonger marries his first wife, Emma Loring, probably in New Mexico.
	Jan 6	Simon is given a $575 diamond stud by his employers at the Robert E. Lee
	Feb 1	Sam Blonger appointed marshal of New Albuquerque, N.M.
	Feb 2	Sam is accused of shaking down a local peddler.
	Feb 8	Some local merchants call for Sam to be replaced as marshal.
	Feb 15	Lou arrives in town, claiming to have come from Texas.
	Feb 16	Sam kicks Ed Burns out of town.
	Feb 16	While impounding the possessions of Las Vegas showman Dedrick, Sam is threatened by one of Dedrick's creditors.
	Mar 3	Sam and Lou chase horse thieves through town.
	Mar 3	Two drunken bartenders fire on Sam and Lou.
	Mar 7	Deputy Marshal J. T. Blonger (probably not Joe, but rather Lou) of Albuquerque, N.M., makes an arrest.
	Mar 9	Sam arrests an unidentified man for slitting another's throat.
	Mar 13	Albuquerque Evening Review reports that "two or three days ago" a deputy sent down to Cerillos by Marshal Sam Blonger returned with his long-lost brother, Joe, and that all three Blongers (that is, Sam, Lou, and Joe) are now in Albuquerque.
	Mar 15	Sam Blonger presented with a gold badge by a group of friends in appreciation of his work as marshal.
	Mar 22	Sam gets a phone in his office.
	Mar 28	Sam and Cornelio Murphy successfully arrest a crowd of rowdy drunks.
	Apr 2	Jones nearly shoots Sam with a shotgun after Sam sends him home to sleep off a bender.
	Apr 4	Sam and his posse capture Griffin.
	Apr 8	Lou is implicated in a poker swindle.
	Apr 12, 13	Miguel Otero Sr. is swindled by Doc Baggs in Denver.
	Apr 15	Sam and Bartholomew Coughlin are granted a patent on the Hibernian lode outside Leadville, Colorado.
	Apr 16?	Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, on the run after their Vendetta ride, stop in Albuquerque for about 10 days and give interviews to the local newspaper. Did they meet the Blongers?
	Apr 19	Sam Blonger leaves Albuquerque on a trip to Denver, leaving his brother Lou in charge.
	Apr 20	Lou pursues two young thieves.
	Apr 23	Lou arrests buffalo hide thieves.
	Apr 24	Lou expels a drunk from town when it becomes apparent he is recovering from smallpox.
	Apr 26?	The Earp posse leaves Albuquerque for Colorado.
	May 3	Sam Blonger returns from Denver.
	May 12	Sam Blonger responds to a charge of non-feasance leveled by the Albuquerque Evening Review with an open letter in the Albuquerque Morning Journal.
	May 13	Albuquerque Evening Review prints an interview with Wyatt Earp, stating that he and his men arrived in town on April 15 and left about two weeks later.
	May 13	Tony Neis states that Sam is agent of the detective force, not deputy United States Marshal.
	May 18	Sam and a large posse think they are arresting Frank James, but corner a banker instead. Sam buys drinks all around.
	May 21	Sam and Lou are members of the Rocky Mountain Detective Association. Lou arrests a man who burgled Tony Neis.
	May 23	Lou arrests a hash fiend.
	Jun 8	Sam goes to Santa Fe in pursuit of a Deputy U.S. Marshalship.
	Jul 8	Sam Blonger leaves Albuquerque on a trip to Kansas City.
	Jul 10	Sam Blonger removed as marshal of Albuquerque.
	Jul 27	Lou recovers stolen jewelry.
	Sep 12	Lou Blonger arrested for assaulting Park Van Tassel, a balloonist, after the latter insulted "Blonger's woman," who ran a house of ill-repute.
	Sep 14	Simon Blonger elected as a delegate from Leadville's fourth precinct to the Lake County Democratic convention.
	Oct	Lou Blonger and wife arrive in Denver from Albuquerque.
	Oct 4	Simon Blonger nominated by acclamation for one of four Lake County seats in the Colorado House of Representatives by the county convention.
	Nov 7	Simon Blonger elected to Colorado House of Representatives.
	Nov 7	Sam Blonger soundly defeated by Con Caddigan in his bid for election as constable of Albuquerque.
1883		Lou Blonger (and perhaps Sam) move to southwestern New Mexico, and live in the towns of Silver City, Deming, and Kingston until at least 1887. During this time, Lou lives with Frank Thurmond.
		Marvin Blonger appears in the Leadville city directory.
	Jan. 3	Simon Blonger takes his seat in the Colorado House of Representatives.
	Feb 7	Joe Blonger awarded a contract for a 50' shaft of the Bottom Dollar mine at Cerrillos, N.M..
	Feb 11	The Colorado General Assembly adjourns and with it Simon Blonger's political career.
	Mar 12	Sam sells Brown Dick to Johnny Behan for $300.
	Mar & Apr	Blonger & Co. are proprietors of Stroud's Theatre in Phoenix.
	Apr 21	Joe Blonger and a man named Whalen find Spanish tools in the Bottom Dollar Mine.
	Apr 24	Sam Blonger has four horses entered in races to be held in May at Denver.
	May 5	Sam Blonger runs a horse in a race at Pueblo.
	May 11	Sam Blonger's horses, Sorrel Dan, King Lyon, and Comanche Boy, run at Denver.
	Jun 29	Sam Blonger ships his racing horses to Santa Fe.
	Aug 3	Joe Blonger files for a pension increase from Denver. Lou Blonger witnesses his application.
	Oct 25	Sorrel Dan runs at Pueblo (was he still Sam's?).
	Nov 26	Simon Peter Belonger (father of the family) dies in Lafayette Co., Wis.
1884		Lou Blonger listed as a saloon owner in San Bernardino, California.
1885		Simon and Sam Blonger listed in the state census at Pitkin Co., Colo. (probably at or near Aspen).
		Simon's wife, Emily, still listed in the state census at Shullsburg, Wis., along with four children.
		Joe Blonger listed in the state census at Bonanza, Santa Fe County, N.M.
		Sam's wife, Ella, and their son, Frank, listed in the state census at Arapahoe Co., Colo. (probably at Denver).
	Apr 10	Sam testifies as a witness to the killing of Frank Jones in the Fashion Saloon, Aspen.
	Apr 18	Joe Blonger files for a pension increase from Turquesa, Santa Fe County, N.M.
	Dec	Later testimony before the Supreme Court asserts that Sam was residing in Dodge City at this time.
1886	Jan 3	The Buckeye State mine on Sugar Loaf Mountain is partly owned by E. Blonger.
	Jul 28	Simon is connected with the London Mining Co.
1887	Feb 26	Joe Blonger last appears in mining documents in the Cerrillos Hills area of New Mexico, attesting that work has been done on the Aztec and Translator lodes in the Los Cerrillos district.
	May 21	Lou Blonger files for a disability pension from Kingston, N.M., because of varicose veins that prevent him from doing any manual labor.
	Nov 3	Joe Blonger files for a pension increase from Santa Fe, N.M.
1888	Feb 22	Kitty Blonger, relationship unknown, a prostitute at Somerset's Saloon in Peach Springs, Arizona, and reportedly a former sporting woman from Albuquerque, shoots and kills Charles Hill, who had forced his way into her room.
	Feb 23	Kitty Blonger is charged. Lou Blonger and attorneys Sanford and Hyde arrive in Kingman.
	Feb 27	Witnesses in the Kitty Blonger case are examnined.
	Mar 1-3	Written testimony in the Kitty Blonger case is entered into evidence.
	Mar 3	"L. Blonger" again reported to be staying at the Kingman Hotel, listed this time as being from San Bernardino, California.
	Apr 6	Kitty Blonger acquitted of murder. After three hours, the jury returns the verdict directed by the judge.
	Apr 9	A woman named Mollie Blonger is listed as under indictment for "maintaining a nuisance" in Albuquerque.
	Apr 17	Three of Sam's in-laws, living in Denver, file affidavits in Lou Blonger's pension case.
	May 3	Lou Blonger files an affidavit in his pension case, adding that his address is "now Denver."
	Sep 14	George Merlau is injured in a fall at the Blonger shaft.
1889	Mar 5	Joe Blonger arrives in Santa Fe from Glorieta.
	May 15	Denver gambling house men, including "S. E. Blonger," are called to pay a $50 fine. The policy shop men are called in too, and fined $10, but Chase is not mentioned in either list (except BD Chase).
	Apr 27	Lou Blonger divorces his first wife, Emma, in Denver.
	May 24	Sam Blonger turns up in Salt Lake City with an old friend from Albuquerque, aeronaut Park Van Tassel, on the eve of a balloon launch.
	Jun 22	A letter addressed to Kitty Blonger remains unclaimed at the Aspen, Colo., post office.
	Oct 3	Joe Blonger, miner at Tesuque, is in Santa Fe.
	Oct 10	Sam Blonger divorced by his first wife, Ella, in Denver.
	Oct 30	Sam Blonger marries his second wife, Sadie Wilson, in Denver.
	Nov 17	Lou Blonger marries his second wife, Nola (Cora) Lyons, in Denver.
1890		Joe Blonger listed in the veterans' census at San Pedro, New Mexico.
	Mar 19	Sam and Lou Blonger implicated in the voting fraud trial of Wolfe Londoner, Denver mayor.
	Apr 24	The Svensk Amerikanska Western reports an unsavory encounter between Peter Anderson, who was bilked out of $275 at the Blongers' saloon, and Police Chief Farley ran the Swede out of town.
	Jul 12	Chicago Tribune reports that "Blonger Bros.' Uncle Jack" ran in a harness race at St. Paul, Minn.
1891	Mar 31	Marvin Blonger's daughter Ollie born in Montana.
	May 15	Simon Blonger listed as superintendent of the newly organized Colorado-Texas Oil, Gas & Mineral Company in an article in the Santa Fe New Mexican. Though the company was formed in Denver, the first operations of the company are in Brownwood, Texas. The president is W. H. James, former mayor of Leadville.
	Sep 26	The Blonger joint at 1744 Larimer is closed for bunko games. One article indicates the Blongers owned the Tourists Club at 1734 Larimer, though by next year it's listed at 1740.
	Nov 4	Joe Blonger hired as a prison guard at the New Mexico penitentiary at Santa Fe, where he reportedly worked before.
	Nov 7	Joe Blonger arrives in Santa Fe from Cerrillos.
1892	Feb 13	Sam and Lou Blonger are arrested at the Tourists Club, their saloon in Denver, for swindling C.I. Tolly out of $100 and threatening him when he refused to pay.
	Mar	Joe Blonger files a claim on land in the Pecos River Valley near Terrero, N.M. (the SW ¼ of the SW ¼ of Sec. 26 and the N ½ of the NW ¼ of the NW ¼ of Sec. 35 of Twp. 19 N Range 12 E). The witnesses are J. H. Bullock, M. M. Winsor, O. C. Knox, H. D. Winsor at Glorieta, N.M.
	Apr 7	Sam and Lou Blonger, along with W. Neil Denison, John E. Phillips, W. H. Gibson, and M. McNallay, file a location certificate for a parcel 300 by 1500 feet on the Forest Queen Lode near Cripple Creek, Colo. (Discovery made March 4.)
	April 7	Blonger brothers' gambling house at 1744 Larimer street closed by the fire and police board. Not long after, the brothers open a saloon on Market street between Sixteenth and Seventeenth streets.
	Apr 20	Joe Blonger makes final proof on the parcel near Terrero.
	Jun 16	Joe Blonger arrives in Santa Fe from Cerrillos.
	Sep 7	Joe Blonger arrives in Santa Fe from Pecos.
	Oct 24	Joe Blonger arrives in Santa Fe from Pecos.
	Oct 27	Joe Blonger arrives at the European Hotel in Albuquerque.
	Nov 18	Ben Perry is arrested at 17th and Lawrence for selling property he didn't own. His last arrest concerned a gold watch and diamonds stolen from Lew Blonger, who followed him to Pueblo and had an exciting chase.
1893	Feb 26	A letter addressed to Kittie Blonger remains unclaimed at the Deadwood, S.D., post office.
	May 8	Sam Blonger makes the news in Albuquerque regarding a nasty divorce suit by his second wife, Sadie.
	Jun 12	Sam Blonger divorced by his second wife, Sadie, in Denver.
	Oct 21	Kate Blonger, aka Mrs. Hank Domedion, is noted as having accompanied Denver Detective Davis while he transported a prisoner to New York.
	Dec 16	Lou Blonger reportedly witnesses the bombing of a police patrol wagon across from his business at 1744 Larimer.
	Dec 29	Sam Blonger sued for $25,000 in a breach of promise by Jessie Wheat.
1894		Simon's wife, Emily, dies in Colorado, probably in Denver.
	Feb 25	Sam Blonger marries his third wife, Virginia Pierrepont, widow of fireman Fred Pierrepont, in Denver.
	Mar 10	Joe Blonger arrives in Santa Fe from Denver.
	Mar 12	Joe Blonger, formerly of Cerrillos, leaves for Conchiti. He had been prospecting in Colorado and Nevada for a year.
	Apr 4	Lou and fellow saloonman S.H. Watrous act as mediators in a labor dispute between Cigarmaker's union #29 and the Solis Cigar Co.
	Apr 24	All the Denver gambling houses, including "Blonger's" and "Jeff Smith's Tivoli," closed in a general crackdown by police.
	Aug 5	Chief of Detectives Leonard De Lue arrests Tom Cady, Morris Brannick, Louis Cohen and Billy Daly, "members of the 'Soapy' Smith-Blonger bunco-steering brigade."
	Aug 16	Lou Blonger mentioned in an article in Colorado Springs Weekly Gazette, as accompanying detectives on the case of the "Tarsney outrage," when Adjutant General T. J. Tarsney was tarred and feathered after settling a long strike at Cripple Creek, known as the Battle of Bull Hill.
1895		Mercury, a weekly publication of the period, launch a campaign against the Blonger Bros.' saloon.
	Jan 29	Sam and Lou Blonger, along with W. Neil Denison and O. W. Jackson, are granted a mining patent on the New Port Lode near Cripple Creek, Colo. (Claim filed Nov. 16, 1894.)
	Apr 19	Lou Blonger excused from the jury pool in the murder trial of Richard Demady because he had formed an opinion as to the guilt of the defendant.
	Apr 21	Soapy Smith makes a commotion in "Blonger's place" on Larimer Street after roughing up the chief of police down the street. This is probably the incident where it was later revealed that Lou had been waiting behind the cigar counter with a double-barreled shotgun.
	Sep 13	Sam is appointed to the board of the Cripple Creek Free Gold Mining & Milling Co., owners of a tract east of the Forest Queen.
	Oct 8	Joe Blonger, the mountaineer, leaves on a three-week trip to the Picuris and Las Truchas region with a surveying party headed by Tom Goodwin.
	Oct 17	The Rocky Mountain News describes the Chase and Blonger gangs, their influence over municipal officials, some of the current gang members, and their methods.
	Nov 1	Gambling is declared open again.
	Nov 11	The RMN insinuates Lou's men may have been paying voters at the polls simply to help Lou win his bets on Webb for sheriff.
	Nov 15	Sam is arrested, as is May Bigelow of the California Gang, thirteen indictments in all. Lou bails them out.
	Nov 18	Bascomb Smith writes a letter to his brother, Soapy Smith, from the county jail, indicating that Sam Blonger has been indicted for obtaining stolen property, a check given to him by Bascomb.
	Dec 9	Walter Farragher is swindled out of more than $1000.
	Dec 10	A number of Ed Chase's men are arrested in connection with the Farragher swindle, but they claim the Blonger gang is responsible.
	Dec 12	Sam is arrested in an attempt to pressure him into revealing the perpetrators of the Farragher swindle.
	Dec 14	W.H. Carson and Owen Snider are arrested in connection with the Farragher case. Neil Dennison is Snider's lawyer. Lou posts bail.
	Dec 21	Farragher has skipped town, and the case against Sam falls apart.
1896	Jan?	Soapy Smith leaves Colorado for good, permanently ceding control of the Denver underworld to the Blonger gang.
	Jan 27	Sam goes to court over the Wolcott swindle. Despite Bascomb's testimony, solicited by the DA in return for his freedom and a job on the force, the charges are easily overcome. Bascomb then accuses the DA of welching.
	Oct 10	An article on a Home Rule petition, supporting Alva Adams for governor and Teller for senator, notes the proposal unites the Lions and the Lambs. The Lions include "Sheeny Sam" Emerich, Det. Duffield, Bill Arnett, Sam Blonger and Bascomb Smith.
1897	Mar 12	Sam Blonger, et al., sells a parcel of land in Salt Lake County for $1,700 to Junius Young.
	Jun 11	Joe Blonger buys property in precinct 4 of Santa Fe near the Galisteo Road for $500 from N. B. Laughlin.
	Aug 24	Joe Blonger shoots and kills Alexander Allan, operator of the Bottom Dollar Mine in the Cerrillos Hills, after Allan brandished a gun and threatened to kill Silas Smith with a rock.
	Aug 26	Joe Blonger arraigned on charges of murder and with the help of John Andrews, C. A. Scheurich, and J. H. Blain posts bond of $2,500.
	Oct 6	The Elite Saloon, replete with "mahogany fixtures and frescoed ceilings at a cost of $8,000 — marble floors and an elegant cafe in the rear part of the saloon."
	Dec 15	Joe Blonger of Bonanza is in Santa Fe to attend the meeting of the Grand Army of the Republic.
	Dec 16	Joe Blonger's trial date set for Dec. 22.
	Dec 25	Joe Blonger serves as a pall bearer for Levi Garnier.
	Dec 27	Joe Blonger's trial commences and, after testimony is heard, ends with the judge directing a verdict of not guilty.
1898	Mar 3	The Elite Saloon in default, is sold for $3100.
1899		Lou Blonger forced to default on mortgage of Forest Queen mine by his wife, Nola.
	Feb 6	The Elite Saloon is closed on a writ of attachment.
	Sep 12	Marvin Blonger of Park City stays at the Kenyon Hotel in Salt Lake City.
	Dec 21	An assay of a two-foot-wide vein at the Forest Queen Mine yields 25 per cent lead, $4 in silver and $28 in gold.
1900	Jan 26	Joe Blonger and J. A. Davis start out from Santa Fe on bicycles to work at the Cerrillos smelter.
	Jun 4	Simon Blonger listed in the federal census of Victor, Colo.
	Jun 12	Marvin Blonger listed in the federal census of Granite Co., Mont.
	Aug 24	Joe Blonger arrives in Santa Fe from the Rio Pecos.
	Dec 28	Joe Blonger arrives in Santa Fe from Cerrillos.
1901	Jul 1	Lou Blonger arrested for swindling English tourist in Denver.
	Jul 31	Joe Blonger and A. R. Gibson make a trip into the mountains northeast of Santa Fe to look at several promising mineral prospects.
1902	Apr 10	Joe Blonger marries Carrie A. Viles, a 43-year-old widow, at Santa Fe.
	Aug 7	In reference to the investigation of Magistrate Thomas and certain payments made by the city's gamblers, the Denver Times describes "Lou" Blonger as being "in charge of the wholesale bunco operations in this city."
	Nov 14	The Elbert County Banner claims Sam and Lou's attempt to influence a Denver election results in a strong backlash vote, Republican Peabody over Democrat Stimson.
1903		Robert W. Bonynge files suit in federal court asserting he would have been elected as Denver's representative to the House in 1902 if not for the massive vote fraud perpetrated on behalf of John Shafroth and the Democrats. Testimony in the case implicates Lou Blonger, who is accused of paying local drunks and hooligans to vote multiple times. Shafroth acknowledges the fraud and graciously surrenders his seat to Bonynge, thereby earning himself the moniker "Honest John." Shafroth is later elected governor of Colorado.
	Oct 21	Kate Blonger is implicated in a scandal involving two Denver detectives.
	Oct 21	Joe Blonger files for a pension increase from Santa Fe.
1904		Lou Blonger meets Iola Readon, who would become his mistress.
	Nov 19	The Auraria Mining Company, perhaps connected to the Blongers, granted a mining patent on the Castle Placer No. 1 and Confident and Julee Lode in Marvin's neighborhood near Phillipsburg, Montana (Claim filed Dec. 31, 1902.)
1906	Mar 4	Joe Blonger visits Santa Fe from the Cerrillos Hills.
	May 19	Lou Blonger is infamous enough that the Breckenridge Bulletin holds him up as an examplar of immorality in a broadside on O.K. Gaymon, editor of the Summit County Journal.
	August 6	The Emporia (Kansas) Gazette details the suicide of locomotive fireman Harry Waldorf. Waldorf reportedly lost $400 and a new revolver to Blonger associates in Denver, and was induced to write a bad check to cover the losses.
1908	Jun 2	Joe Blonger admitted to the Pacific Branch of the National Home for Disabled Veterans (Sawtelle) in Los Angeles.
1909	Apr 7	Joe Blonger kicked out of the Veterans home for repeatedly bringing whiskey into his room and being disruptive.
	Aug 19	Marvin Blonger files claims on the Bear Lode and the Deer Lode near Granite, Mont.
	Nov 13	An article in Collier's magazine ignites the Ballinger-Pinchot controversy, concerning alleged malfeasance in the handling of an investigation involving coal claims in Alaska. The controversy inspires Theodore Roosevelt to run against Taft, paving the way for Woodrow Wilson's election as president. Simon Blonger is among the coal claim investors.
1910		Despite his apparent involvement, Lou Blonger escapes prosecution in the Maybray Gang trial at Council Bluffs, Iowa.
	Apr 16	Simon Blonger listed in the federal census of Wilkeson, Wash., living with his daughters.
	May 7	Joe Blonger listed in the federal census of Humboldt Co., Cal.
1911	May 27	The Los Angeles Times refers to the "famous Blonger Brothers" in an article about one-time accomplice Con Caddigan.
	Jul 27	Marvin Blonger purchases two lots (and perhaps a house) on Granite Street in Philipsburg, Mont., for $650.
1912	Jun 17	Joe Blonger files for a pension increase from Denver. Sam and Lou witness a later application on Sept. 11.
	Sep 20	Wire reports indicate that a bullet was discovered in the chest of Joe Blonger of Denver, 48 years after he was shot in the Battle of Atlanta.
1913	about Jan 16?	William Elseman, a worker on Lou Blonger's farm, has his arm mangled in a steam baler.
1914	Feb 15	Sam Blonger dies in Denver.
	Apr 2	Lou Blonger is sued by William Elseman after losing an arm while in Blonger's employ.
	Nov 26	After a four-day trial, a jury awards William Elseman $40,000 in damages from Lou Blonger.
1915	Mar 27	Joe Blonger responds to a pension survey. Joe's address is the [Colorado State] Soldiers & Sailors Home in Monte Vista, Colo.
	Jun 30	Lou Blonger is implicated in a swindling scheme uncovered by carpenters remodeling his office building in Denver.
1916	Feb 21	Joe Blonger admitted to the Western Branch of the National Home for Disabled Veteran Soldiers in Leavenworth, Kan.
	Jun	During a gang social outing at Gill's Resort on the South Platte, an argument erupts and Blonger gang member Frank Turner is killed by Christopher Wilson, another member.
	Oct. 4	Marvin Blonger sells his claims on the Bear Lode and the Deer Lode to the Bi-Metallic Mining Company for $1.
	Oct 21	Joe Blonger admitted to the Battle Mountain Sanitarium of the National Home for Disabled Veteran Soldiers in Hot Springs, S.D.
1917	May 10	Lou Blonger and other residents in the vicinity of Bee Hive station on the Denver & Intermountain appear before the board of county commissioners and ask that some action be taken to eliminate the dangerous crossing (on Kipling Ave. in Lakewood).
	Aug 20	Joe Blonger, living in South Dakota, leaves Shullsburg after visiting his sister Mary Swinbank.
1918	May 26	A display advertisement in the Indianapolis Sunday Star indicates Lou Blonger is trying to sell his cherry orchard in the foothills west of Denver to a "man of means."
1919	Jun	Robert Ballard takes E. Nitsche for $25,000.
1920	Jan	Christopher Wilson pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter, and receives only a one-day sentence.
	Feb 5	An item in the Littleton Independent indicates Lou Blonger owns five acres of sugar beets in the Littleton district.
	Jun 21	Simon Blonger dies in Seattle.
	fall	Robert Ballard is arrested, but Lou has bail lowered from $5,000 to $25,00. Ballard skips bail.
1922	Aug 24	Lou Blonger arrested in huge gangland raid in Denver.
1922	Aug 26	A four-foot vein of gold ore is discovered in the Forest Queen mine.
1923	Mar 28	Lou Blonger and 18 others convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud.
	Jun 1	Lou Blonger sentenced to prison term of seven to ten years.
	Oct 18	Lou Blonger goes to prison at Cañon City, Colo.
1924	Feb 14	One day shy of ten years since his death, Sam Blonger is invoked by the Creede Candle in an odd blurb mixing the Albanians with the Teapot Dome scandal.
	Apr 20	Lou Blonger dies in prison.
	Dec 21	Mike Belonger dies at Shullsburg, Wis.
1925	Jan 23	Marvin Blonger sells his house on Granite Street in Philipsburg, Mont., for $2,000.
1926	Dec 6	Joe Blonger readmitted to the Battle Mountain Sanitarium.
1927	Oct 26	Marvin Blonger dies at Dunsmuir, Cal.
1930	Apr 8	Joe Blonger listed in the federal census of Seattle.
1933	Jul 8	Joe, the last of the Blongers, dies in Seattle.
2003	Apr. 22	The Blonger Brothers are rediscovered.

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.

https://www.blongerbros.com