| Name |
Orlow Billy Maybee |
| Birth |
21 Oct 1876 |
Granite Falls, Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota  [1] |
| Gender |
Male |
| Memo |
27 Mar 1881 |
Yankton, South Dakota [2] |
- Milo and his family were east of Yankton, when an ice dam broke and flooded the area they were in. Because of a warning from an Indian, they made it to the top of a bluff,with other settelers,and were spared, after the water went down, the survivors were taken to Yankton
|
| Occupation |
1898 |
Devil's Lake, Ramsey County, North Dakota [1] |
| a teamster |
| Military Service |
Between 1898 and 1899 [1] |
- of the Spanish American War, serving in the Phillipines
|
| Milit-Beg |
27 Apr 1898 |
Co D, First Regiment, North Dakota Voulnteers, Fargo, Cass County, North Dakota [1] |
| Description |
1899 [1] |
- five foot three and a half inches tall. Weight 135, with brown eyes and black hair.
|
| Milit-End |
22 Sep 1899 |
Presideo, San Francisco, San Francisco County, California [1] |
| Residence |
1904 |
Wisdom, Beaverhead County, Montana [3] |
- Bert and Billy lived with their Brother John and his wife Della. Times evidentally were hard and the boys were looking for work and taking day jobs.
|
| Census |
May 1910 |
Mussigbrod Ranch, Bowen, Beaverhead County, Montana [4] |
- Orlow D Maybee, Head, Male, White, 30 First Marriage, Married for 1 year, born in Minnesota, Father born in New York, Mother born in Canada, Ranch Laborer on Peter S Mussigbrod Hay Ranch, Wage earner, can read and write
Bessie Maybee, Wife, Female, White, 19, First Marriage, Married for 1 year, 1 child born and living, born in Montana, Father born in England, Mother born in England, none, can read and write
Erich H. Maybee, Son, Male, White, 11 months, Single, born in Montana, Father born in Minnesota, Mother born in Montana, none
Robert Cairns, Step-father, Male, White, 60, First Marriage, Married for 10 years, Canada, Father born in born in Canada, Mother born in Canada, immigrated in 1892, none, can read and write
Mary A. Cairns, Mother, Wife, Female, 50, Second marriage, Married for 10 years, 4 children born and living, born in Canada, Father born in England, Mother born in Ireland, immigrated in 1869, none, can read and write
|
| Anecdote |
- The Death of Orlow Billy Maybee
In 1914 Billy learned that horses were in demand in Alaska, so he sold his Mount Vernon property and on May 14th purchased a string of horses.
These are the entries in his journal for that trip:
May 15, 1914 - Mt. Vernon, Washington. Started out. Camped at Blanch flour place.
17 May 16 - Bee went after colts. Fixed and packed goods.
May 17 - Sunday. Fixed wagon and tent poles. Fred and Uncle Billie came over. All horses in good shape.
May 18 - Monday. Broke camp. Stopped north of Burlington for dinner. Camped at Samish Lake for night. Ethel and Eric happy as larks. Bad Spell.
May 19 - Camped at Bellingham. Good camp.
May 20 - Took horses, got them shod. Colts and Flossey going to pull out at noon. Camped at dry camp in Cane.
May 21 - Pull into Sumas. Put horses in barn for inspection. Must stay here 24 hours.
May 22 - Still in Sumas. More inspection. Passed inspection. Ship to Ashcroft loading car. Grama and Bessie loaded car. Pulled out at 10 o'clock.
May 23 - In car. Grama, Bessie and the babies in the car, all happy. Came up the famous Fraser River Valley. Fine scenery. Cut alfalfa 4 feet high on the railroad right of way.
May 24 - Still on the road. Landed in Ashcroft 8:40. Unloaded horses, slept in car. [Ashcroft was the beginning point on the trip to the gold fields in Barkerville. Inns and hotels on the way were called by the number of miles they were from Ashcroft or Lillooet, i.e. 70 Mile House, etc.]
May 25 - Bessie got men to unload wagon. Hard looking country. Sand hills, no feed. Bought hay at $30.00 per ton and everything accordingly. Hundreds of people going to famous Fort George Country. Am no better.
May 26 - Pulled north this morning. Sagebrush and cactus. No feed. 18 miles first day. Camped on upper Cache Creek. Good camp. Am steadily getting worse.
May 27 - Broke 8:30 o'clock. Snow squall at noon. G & B carried water for dinner. Made bad camp on Alkali Lake. Good feed. No water for 5 miles.
May 28 - Pulled out 7:30. Made north of Clinton for dinner. Gave outfit pull up long hill. Horses got away. Bee and Grandma looked until 11 o'clock at night. No get um. Am worse. Small chance. [The country between Ashcroft is all up hill and the hill north of Clinton is a 7-mile grade!]
May 29 - Young fellows brought in horses. Lay up on 46-mile Creek. Women washed. Bee pulled boys up hill. Am about the same.
May 30 - Broke camp at 8 o'clock. Camped at railroad camp for dinner. Left main road going to Horse Lake. About the same.
May 31 - Fine morning. Can see geese and ducks on lake. Noon camp on Green Lake. Pulled over summit to the Anderson Bros. Ranch. 3,800 altitude. Too high for me. Just about the end. Can't get to Horse Lake. Turn tail.
June 1st - Made back to Green Lake. Night Camp. Little better. Seems impossible to find creek or lake with fish in. All alkali and soda. Bad night. Awful pain. Short breath.
June 2nd - Late start 8:50. Alkali lake for dinner. Lost baby chair. Camped at 70 Mile for supper. Women gave Bee milk. Poor feed. Soda water
June 3rd - Broke camp 7:30. Cool day. 8 miles for dinner. Night camp at old 87. Fair water and feed.
June 4th - getting worse."
This was the last entry in his journal.
Forty years later, Bessie wrote this account to her grandchildren; "I was 26 years old when Billie's mother, Eric, Ethel and myself started to travel by teams and wagons to Alaska. They drove with a covered wagon and 2 teams of workhorses, etc. Bill was quite ill at the time, but he had a mind of his own, so here it was again. I was strong as an ox, thank God. I never was too tired to be a slave for my work with caring for horses, caring for wagons, cutting, gathering wood, etc., making camp, seeing (to) everything, wagon wheels greased and harnesses sewed and in shape, nursing a real sick man, caring for 2 children and doing cooking, seeing there was plenty food, water to be hauled in barrels.
The night your grandfather died we came to the first house, a ranger's cabin. It had food in cans and a spring where cold, clear water ran, pure and so good. So we decided to rest the horses and ourselves that night. Billie was so cheerful and the children were so pleased to see their daddy was so much better. And he held both in his arms and said his prayers every night with them. But this night we asked God to bless and keep us safe. In the night I would be so tired. After the day's ride, I would light lanterns to scare away wild animals. This night the horses were tied and one, a black horse we called Irish would whinny when he saw any shadows or if a bush cracked. So I stirred the fire and gave Billie his medicine and made him a hot cup of cocoa and told him I would sing him a lullaby. It was a lullaby I sang each night to little Eric and Ethel and even Grandma Maybee, when they were awake.
Billie said to me, "Honey, I don't know what I would do without you. I am terrible sorry we sold our place to come here in the wilderness. I've enjoyed it after being cooped in houses so much. But, I know now you're a sweet wife that no one would put up with me but you." He put his arms around me and kissed me and said, "Well, Bessie, we always be together and no one can ever take me away."
Oh! I said, You and I will just be sweethearts forever in our new home, it won't be too far from here". So I tucked him in, kissed him and told him, "Now I will tuck your favorite horse, Irish in, and see how the rest of our horses are". I went and when I came back he seemed to be asleep, but it seemed death lurked in there. I arose and walked to a big Morris chair we had for his bed and when I looked down he was gone. I don't know just how I felt; I had lost the person who meant more to me than my life. I knew I would not let him be buried where wild animals would howl and snarl and I made a wooden box and put a blanket and covered him. But I shaved and clothed him and put him to sleep in this rough made box and I took one horse of the team blindfolded the horse and awoke his mother and between her and I we straightened the trunks flat, loaded the home-made coffin and the children.
The children, being small, were told that Jesus had taken daddy home. (She goes on to tell how she felt and of the loneliness and difficulty in getting help. She hired Indians to help load his body into the wagon and they refused to take any money, saying they hoped she would have better luck in the future. They took him to Clinton to an undertaking parlor and from there to Ashcroft.)
We gave your grandpapa a beautiful funeral, a nice marker of bronze is at his heart."
Winter had come hard when, on November 27, Bessie and her party wintered the horses in a logging camp at Cheschewwella (about 52 miles from Spokane, Washington) and wired Billie's oldest brother to come to Spokane to help. Meanwhile Bessie worked as a pastry cook and bread maker at the Davenport Hotel in Spokane to support the family. They returned to the Big Hole Valley the next spring.
|
| Memo |
1912 |
Mount Vernon, Skagit County, Washington [5] |
|
| Memo |
14 May 1914 |
Mount Vernon, Skagit County, Washington [6] |
- sold Property to Chris J Aaberg, deed 96 DP 931
|
| Memo |
15 May 1914 [7] |
- left Mt Vernon, Washington to take herd of horses to Alaska gold fields via Jack Rabbit Trail
|
| Anecdote |
22 May 1914 |
Huntingdon, British Columbia, Canada [8] |
- This family was admitted to Canada at the Port of Huntington, British Columbia on 22 May 1914:
O. B. Maybee, 35, M, Farmer, born in Minnesota, a US Citizen, traveling on Highway 68 from Mt. Hermon, Wash to Ft George. Has $1000.00 cash, 1 car of horses, effects $800.
Accompanied by:
Bessie Maybee, 24, F, Wife, born in Montana
Eric H. Maybee, 4, M, Son, born in Montana
Ethel C Maybee, 2, F, Daughter, born in Montana
Mrs Amanda Cairns, F, 64, Widowed Mother, born in Ontario, has $100 cash, traveling with son O. B. Maybee
|
| Reference Number |
4574 |
| Death |
4 Jun 1914 |
mile 87, four miles north of 83 Mile House, British Columbia, Canada [7, 9] |
- Died between 2:30 -3:00 AM, of heart failure secondary to Asthma
|
| Burial |
11 Jun 1914 |
Ashcroft, British Columbia, Canada [7, 9] |
- Embalmed by Mr Leaman on 7 Jun 1914 in Clinton, BC
|
| Person ID |
I4547 |
Maybee Society |
| Last Modified |
7 Apr 2024 |
1876 - 1914 (37 years)
