52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #29 Jessie Mae Bristol

Jessie Mae Bristol

My great grandfather’s older sister, Jessie Mae Bristol, was born October 8, 1871 in (probably Avon) New York. Her parents were Charles Brown Bristol and Adrianna Mary Miller. Besides my great grandfather, William Augustus Bristol, there was also a younger

sister, Mary Norton Bristol. The 1875 New York State Census and the 1880 Federal Census lists her as living with her parents in Lima, New York. In 1882 her father was living in Grafton, Dakota Territory. It is not known if the family was with him at the time but on November 22, 1886 her mother died in Grafton so more than likely the children were living there too. His father continued to live in Grafton until September, 1890 when they moved to Great Falls, Montana. Life for the children was probably not ideal as Grafton would have been the wild west at that time and Charles owned a gambling house. For me it conjures up images of the TV series “Deadwood”. In Great Falls Charles ran a boarding house. Then on February 10, 1892 Charles died. The obituary in the paper reported that William and Jessie were with their father at the time of his death but Mary was in Florida (whether living or visiting it’s not known). After this it appeared that she went to live with her aunt, Sarah Bristol Goodrich. On November 17, 1896 she married William VanZandt Sackett. The marriage took place in Lima, NY with the Episcopal minister, Rev. A.K. Bates officiating. Miss Charlotte M. Howard of Fairport, NY ,was the bridesmaid. Mr. Frank Kellogg of Avon, NY was  bestman. HefFlowergirl was Miss Ruby VanZandt of Avon, NY. The bride

given away by her aunt, Mrs. Goodrich. Miss Frances J. Parker, pianist. After the wedding the couple made an extended trip West and then moved to Rochester. (from newspaper clipping of wedding announcement). She lived in Olean, New York for a number of years before moving to Elmira, New York. It was reported that she met her husband at the train depot each day and that they walked home through the park together before the evening meal. The date of her death is not known because records report a number of people named Jessie Sacket with differing dates. 

#Bristol, Jessie Mae, #Jessie Mae Bristol, #Sackett, Jessie Mae, #Jessie Mae Sackett, #Elmira, NY, #Dakota Territory, #Great Falls, MT

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #16 Charles Brown Bristol - Montana Pioneer

Charles Brown Bristol

1848-1892

Charles Brown Bristol was born in Lima, NY on 22 March 1848 to William and Salome Bristol. He attended school at least to the year 1860 as reported in the census. He married Adrianna Mary Miller on 25 January 1871 and who predeceased him. They had three children, William Augustus born 29 Sept 1873, Mary born about 1872 and Jessie born 8 Oct 1871.6  When the Lima, NY Fire Department was formed, he was an original member. The 1870 and 1880 census lists his occupation as painter. It was also reported that he was a race horse owner while living in Lima. He migrated to the Dakota Territory in 1882 where he was the proprietor of the Commercial House in Grafton. The 1885 Dakota Territory Census lists him as a saloonkeeper. He migrated to Great Falls, Montana from Grafton, N. Dakota in 1890. He formed a partnership with M.J. Place and started the Bristol Hotel located at 111 Second Street S.1 The Bristol Hotel occupied the rooms on the first floor facing Second Avenue and the entire second floor. There were 36 rooms and was run on the European plan. It had baths, modern conveniences and steam heat and opened about 15 June 1890. Smith and Henderson operated a restaurant and beer parlor in the remainder of the first floor. These two businesses comprised the Gibson and Renner block. 2 This block would later be known as the Bristol block. This block is one of the oldest business blocks in the city.3 His son, William and older daughter, Jesse resided with him. His younger daughter lived in Florida. He died suddenly on 10 February 1892 at the Bristol Hotel after a few days illness from erysipelas.4 He was a member of the A.O.U.W. (Ancient Order of the United 5

Workmen) and this group conducted his funeral at the Masonic Hall and at the gravesite. A long string of carriages followed the body to the Old Highland Cemetery in Great Falls. Pallbearers were J.C. Farber, J.C. Johnson, Wm. Dwyer, Jasper Tullock, Joe Keogh and John Anderson.

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6 Bristol Genealogy. Compiled by Warren Edwin Bristol, The Bristol Family Assoc., 1967.

1 The Great Falls Daily Tribune, 11 February 1892.

2 The Great Falls Daily Leader, 26 April 1890.

3 The Great Falls Daily Tribune, 12 February 1910.

4 The Great Falls Daily Tribune, 11 February 1892

5 The Great Falls Daily Tribune, 12 February 1892

#Bristol genealogy, #Charles Bristol, #North Dakota, #Montana pioneers, #Great Falls, #Lima New York, #Adrianna Miller