Wilson Fremont Bartlett (1856 - 1939)

Born 7 May 1856 in Garland, Penobscot County, Maine

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Willrodt) Bartlett — married Mar 1888 (to Aug 1892) in South Dakota

Husband of Sophia E. (Pickler) Bartlett — married 1898 in South Dakota

Descendants

Died 25 Dec 1939 at age 83 in Chamberlain, South Dakota

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Meg McGowan [send private message] and John Clement [send private message]

Biography

Narrative: John's folks are well; the youngest is about two years old. His name is Wilson Fremont (Mary Johnson letters, 21 Mar 1858).

Wilson Bartlett, brother John's son, is going to start for California the first of April. He is a good boy and saves his money (ibid 11 Mar 1877).

Ozella Bartlett writes to her aunt Sarah (Bartlett) Page: Wilson is in Pennsylvania at work in the oil regions (Ozella Bartlett letter, 23 May 1880).

Wilson Fremont Bartlett left Garland, Maine; visited Texas and California and finally settled at Chamberlain, Brule county, South Dakota about 1881 (John Bartlett to John Clement, 23 Dec 2000).

While in California, Wilson bought a plot of land containing a grove of redwood trees. He held on to this asset for many years in spite of several offers from logging companies. In 1919, after being informed that the logging companies were about to move out of the area, Wilson was finally persuaded to sell, and he went to California to close the deal. While not all his investments turned out as well, his New England Yankee traits paid off on this one: When he returned to Chamberlain, he purchased one of the grandest homes in town, originally built by a banker (ibid, 30 Dec 2000).

In the early 1890s, Wilson and his first wife Mary^[1] moved 160 miles northwest of Chamberlain to homestead a sheep ranch. Not long after, Mary took sick and died at the young age of twenty-six. She was buried at the ranch and Wilson took the children back to Chamberlain. Later he returned and removed her remains to Chamberlain (Donald Wischmeier autobiography, quoted by John Bartlett, 10 Mar 2001).

Family traditions have several versions of Mary's death and the disposition of her children. Another version has Christina, Mary's mother, going to the sheep ranch to assist because Mary was ill. However, Mary died before her mother arrived. Christina then took the children back to the Wildrodt farm in Ola, South Dakota; later taking the children to live in Chamberlain. Soon, Christina was unable to take care of the children and they were sent to live with the Franklin and Grace Pickler family. The Picklers had a daughter Sophia who eventually became the second wife of Wilson Bartlett^[2]

Another version is: Grandfather Wilson had a sheep ranch operation; located in the Bad Lands of western South Dakota. He and his partner rotated sheep herding duties, each spending six months at a time with the herd. When his first wife died, Wilson's three children stayed with Grace Pickler, the mother-in-law of Wilson's brother- in-law. Through this arrangement, Wilson got to know Sophia Pickler. Later, while herding sheep, he proposed to Sophia by letter mail, postmarked at Interior, South Dakota (ibid, 5 Mar 2001, 6 Mar 2001). ^{[3] [4] [5]}

Census analysis:
1870 U.S. Census, Maine, Penobscot County, Garland; fourteen year old son Wilson Bartlett is shown as afarm laborer in he household of Henry Mansfield.
1900 U.S. Census, South Dakota, Brule County, Chamberlain; all children born South Dakota; Wilson F.Bartlett, head, born May1856 Maine, dry goods merchant, married two years; Sophia, wife, born Feb 1874Minnesota, married two years, one child born, one living; Alta M., dau, born Jan 1889; Sadie, dau, born Feb1890; Fritz A., son, born Jun 1891; Franklin W., son, born Aug 1899.
1910 U.S. Census, same location; all children born South Dakota; Wilson F. Bartlett, head, 53, real estate broker; Sophia E., wife, 36, four children born, four living; Sadie, dau, 20; Fred A., son, 19; Frank W., son,10; Waldo E., son, 8; Roland J., son, 6; Grace N., dau, 4.
1920 U.S. Census, same location; W.F. Bartlett, head, 62, retired farmer; Sophia, wife, 46; Frank, son, 20;Waldo, son, 18; Roland, son, 16; Grace, dau, 14.
1930 U.S. Census, same location; Wilson F. Bartlett, head, 73; Sophia, wife, 56; Waldo, son, 28, single,trucking; Grace, dau, 24; Grace Pickler, mother, 83 born Germany.^[6]
1940 U.S. Census, same location, same house; all born South Dakota; Waldo E. Bartlett, head, 38, furniture owner and operator; Irene C., wife, 30; Roland, brother, 36, ice cream salesman; Mabel B., sister-in-law, 35;Jeannine, niece, 4; Fred A., brother, 48, single, laborer; Grace, sister, 34, single, stenographer. ^[7]

Wilson died at age 83 and is buried at Riverview Cemetery in Chamberlain.^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ John Bartlett to John Clement, correspondence, 23 Dec 2000
2. ↑ John Bartlett to John Clement, 11 Mar 2001.
3. ↑ Mary Jane (Bartlett) Johnson to her sister Sarah (Bartlett) Page, letter collection. Transcription by Belinda B.Dapice in the possession of the compiler
4. ↑ John Bartlett to John Clement, correspondence
5. ↑ Ozella Bartlett letter collecton. Transcriptions by Belinda B. Dapice in the possession of the compiler
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XQJB-344 : accessed 17 February 2020), Wilson F Bartlett, Chamberlain, Brule, South Dakota, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 3, sheet 9A, line 43, family 199, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2219; FHL microfilm 2,341,953.
7. ↑ U.S. Census schedules
8. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #22003946 Wilson Fremont Bartlett.

• Riverview cemetery, Brule county, Chamberlain, SD, online version from "Riverview Cemetery, Brule County, Chamberlain, SD" published by Maurice Krueger, 178 Southshore Drive, Mina, SD 57462 from material furnished by Marlys Swanson of the Lyman-Brule Genealogical Society, 1996.