HomeMy Public PortalAboutDarkwood, Blanche S1;/ --/Sye-A1;. 2a49s s)-a rr q� W 1-5
lames Darkwood Passes
Away Sunday Morning;
Services Held Tuesday
Funeral Services for James Dark -
wood were held Tuesday at the Mc- 1.
01 Cong�.clgational church. With
Mr. .pork/wood's passing the com-
munity lost another of its long-time
residents, one who will be missed
by all.
James Darkwood was born in
Milford, Indiana, January 3, 1876.
He was married December 6, 1913
to Miss Blanche S. Besecker .at .
Idaho City.' At that time Mr. Dark -
wood was the Boise County Assess-
or and -Miss Besecker the County
School Superintendent.
Prior to holding the county offt
et-, Jim, (as he was known to al;
i, friends) taught school in this
vicinity for several years. Amour,
lit residents of the town are Mo....
who wont to school in tile Elo dis-
irici, when Jim Lark wood nits Gec'
Ieachor. and t.hOsc. who rtvnenlOOP
him as their teacher in tile swim,:
that stood 'n tre% vicinity of ill.
toclt yards:. He began teaching in
this vicinity in .1910.
Younger residents remember Ali.
Darkwood as the owner and opei
dim. of the Lakeport Hardware
company, which tie later sold to
J� Kasper.
lie died early Sunday morning
in the Council hospital after beim.
in poor health for some months.
'rhe services Tuesday were attend-
ed by many and a wealth of floral '
tributes testified to the esteem
with which the deceased was held.
Officiating at the funeral services
were George Dreher and Miss Ger-
trude McCheyne.
Surviving Mr. Darkwood are his
widow and his daughter, Martha.
of McCall; also three urotners ant
figis. sisters in Goshen, Indiana, and
one brother, Melvin Darkwood. o;
hoiso.
IL'3YRUUENT IJJ•: " 19491
30ISE 04131 THE UNITED STLTES OF ALF'1CA
TO ALL TO WHOU THESE PRE343:3 SHALL COIJE. CEEETING:
WHERIAS. s Oertificate of the :Register of the Land Office at Boise. Idaho.
has been deposited In the General Land J fflos. whereby it appears theta -pursuant to th
,,
Lot of Congress of Way 20, 1802 "To Secure Homesteads to Actual Settlers on the Publi
Domain" and the.acts.•supplemontnl thereto, the claim of Blan 411S.,Beaeoker, has been
ostabliehod and duly consummated in -conformity to law. for the.
south half .of the North East quarter of.3ection thirteen ,in Township fourte
North of Range four Zest and.the Lot ,two and the South rest quarter of:,the.North Wes
fourteen.North of Range five cast of. the Bois
Quarter of Ssotion eighteen Towaahlp Ueridteo.Idaho, containing ndreths aosores.s nine and forty nine hu.
one hundred fifty of,the said Land returned to the General
a000rding to the Official Plat of theSurvey
Land Ofiloe by the Surveyor General: the United States unto Lh
Now Snow Ye, that there la, theraforo, granted by
said olaimant the treat of land above deeoribed; with the appurtensaoss thereof.
To Have and To Hold the skid <tract of•Land. y,
unto the sal& claimant and to the holra'and assigns of the saidointment
forever;-„
oreve ; -„
mannfa
ri
subjoot toanyvested and ucoruod water rights for mining. g o
:•;or other purposes,and rights to dltchns and reservoirs- need
4n-connectiocal awtomaon withl soh
water rights. as may be recognized and aoknowledged-by the
decisions of oourta; and there' is reserved from the lands' hereby'graatod:s right of
:.:.way thereon for ditches or canals'eonetruoted by -the authority of the United States.
In Testimony Whereof, I, ➢foodorw Wilson,-Proaident of the -United States --of
America. have caused these letter" to -be made Patent, and the seal of the General
Office to be bersunto affixed.' o!'°
Givea under my hand,' at the City of Bashington.'the twenty second day
November in -the year of our Lord one -thousand nine hundred and thirteen and of the
nee of the United `States the one hundred and thirty eighth.
e ends w. ililsoa
Ind p 7oodro
By the PraeideaL-
> By U.P.LERcy
Secretary.
STATE` f :IDAHO i SS
COUNTY OP BOISB. )
I'rareby certify that this.
Blanohe Darkwood at'3 mindtes past 9
1913..in my -office and 'duly reoorded
Psos $1.00.
L.Z.C.Lamar.
Reoorder of the General Land Offios
Instrument was filed for record at request of ..
o'olock A.Y.. this 24th day of-Deoember, ►•D�
in Book-1 of Patents. page 382.
lisnry'Ashoroft."
Ex_.Officio Rsoorder.
f
Couple Honored
By Klock
Wedding Tuesday
One of the most enjoyable e-
vents of the year was the evening
gathering honoring Mr. and Mrs.
Robert Chitwood; arranged bythe
women of the Missionary Society
Tuesday evening at the Com-'
runty church. By way of a pro-
gram, the women of, the 1Vlission
aay society staged •a mock wed-
ding, coinplete in, every detail.
Mrs. A. H. Legler, exquisitely
gowned in old lace, (definitely
old) and blushes, was the bride,
Mrs. Fitzwater was the dappei
bridegroom; Mrs. Steve Tuckea
Was the de -plumed and beribbon-
ed another of the bride; 1Virs. Cal
Hardin, .bridesmaid, wore °elegant,
black lace, decollette-and; broad
galoshes; Mrs. Otto Close was the ....
tripping flower girl, suitably
gowned in pink, with a Mull skirt.
Mrs. Tee Zimmerman was the
perfect mothe-of-the bride. Most
impressive was the wedding cere-
mony with Mrs. Ed Weitz officiat-
ing as the handsome minister.
Giver away of the bride, was Mrs.
Violet Wixom, who typified the
dignified father of the bride. The 1
ring bearer was Mrs. Jack Coch-
ran. 1VIrs. Nile Carr, festively at-
tired, was the pianist.
Following the ceremony the real
bride and groom took over ano
opened ' the many bridal gifts
brought .by friends. I
Decorations were in pink and „
white. Gifts were concealed under :'
the long white skirt of a beautiful-1
ly doll -bride. Refreshments such
as have made the Missionary w6- 1
men :famous, were served at the l'
close of the evening.
The ,bride is the former Martha j
-Darkwood.
Blanche Besecker with a friend in Idaho City; Blanche is on the right.
Blanche Besecker Darkwood and James Darkwood in Idaho City.
Blanche Darkwood and her mother, Mrs. Besecker, at the Darkwood farm in McCall in the late
1920's. The farm was north of Elo Road near the road to Little Payette Lake. James Darkwood
built this large barn and house with local craftsmen.
Star News article for March: Women's History Project 3/2005
Blanche Besecker Darkwood
by Marlene Bailey
You might have guessed that the holder of Homestead Patent #366380 in the Scott Valley
along the Warm Lake Road east of Cascade was a hearty young man with visions of
cattle ranching, but that would have been wrong. Instead, she was a capable, adventurous
teacher with visions of a good investment.
She was born Blanche Besecker on a farm in Hinsdale, New York, on May 28, 1876.
She arrived into a large affectionate family that eventually included three girls and two
boys. Her studious nature was encouraged, and she began teaching at the age of fourteen
in a neighboring farming district. She saved her money, and then boarded with relatives
in Buffalo while attending a Teachers' Normal School.
Family diaries tell that everyone thought a great deal of her. She was very intelligent and
hard working. She was entirely unselfish and always ready with understanding and
financial help for any member of the family. She was appealing to young men from
whom she stayed aloof. This worried her mother who feared that she might become an
"old maid".
One of her brothers had worked on a railroad system being built in the northwest and had
spent time -off exploring some of Idaho. He moved to Boise in 1901 and took a
homestead in Scott Valley. There he trapped in the winter and worked in the hayfields of
Long Valley in the summer. Glowing letters to the family in New York encouraged them
to join him. The parents, Blanche, another brother and sister with their families sold the
family properties and prepared to travel west. The day before departure, the father
suddenly died. The family observed the funeral services and then began the four day
train journey from New York to Nampa. The children whiled away the days playing
games, eating their boxed meals and visiting with other passengers. At Nampa they
changed to the Pony and continued to the rail station at the end of Tenth Street in Boise.
They were met by the uncle and taken by horse-drawn cab to the Pacific Hotel.
Blanche and her mother established a home in Boise, where Blanche began teaching at
Cole School and then Washington School. The family decided to take neighboring
homesteads in Scott Valley. The first journey by team and wagon was slowed by spring
floods and mud to three and a half days, with the ascent of Tripod Hill being the most
arduous. The first years, the families stayed on the homesteads from spring through fall,
returning to homes in Boise for the winter. By 1907, their homes were ready for winter,
so Blanche and her mother stayed, with Blanche teaching at the little one -room school in
Scott Valley and at the Thunder School. This led to her being elected Boise County
Superintendent of Schools and her move to Idaho City.
There she met the newly elected County Assessor, James Darkwood, who had
homesteaded in Long Valley before his election. Blanche had been making twice a year
visits to every school in the county as part of her duties. This was done alone with her
team and buggy in sometimes dangerous situations. After their marriage, James made
these visits with her, and on rare occasions they had to sleep in the buggy. When their
terms were completed, they decided to make their home in McCall. They bought the
Lakeport Hardware Store near the Hotel McCall on East Lake Street, living in the
apartment in the back of the store.
Blanche kept the books, did the ordering, unpacking and arranging of the merchandise
which came by train from Salt Lake City, spoke knowledgeably with their customers and
enjoyed the business. In 1922, they built the spacious house in which their daughter,
Martha Darkwood Chitwood, still lives. Although Blanche never taught in McCall, she
did substitute occasionally, served on the School Board, and lovingly taught her own
daughter many things. She also boarded girls from the country who came into McCall
for school in the winter. In summer she kept a large garden, strawberry patch and
chickens. She sold her extra produce and eggs to those who were summering in McCall.
She also loved to make things from wood: small cabinets, doll carriages and trunks.
Blanche and her mother loved politics and had been aware of the women's suffrage
movement in New York. They looked forward to the time when they could vote and did
vote with great pride. Her mother was of staunch Republican persuasion stemming from
her father's service with Admiral Farragut during the Civil War and her admiration of
President Lincoln. A family story tells of her mother, before women could vote, being
determined to "make her vote count" by locking her husband, who was a Democrat, in
the cellar until the polls had closed.
Blanche Darkwood was a lively, intelligent force in McCall!