"It was Arizona Territory when the Gilberts moved there. They brought fine quarter horses with them, and right away the doctor and his son, William Michael, also known as "Robert E. Lee" and "Bobby", started buying land at $1.25 per acre all around the area where they settled.
Mesa, Arizona, was a small town at the time, and they purchased four square blocks and built brick homes close to the others...across the street from one another, but in the corner of each block so that they owned homes on all four corners. If any of them needed help, the others were closeby.
As Dr. Gilbert and "Bobby" bought up the land and developed the irrigation system there that enabled them to grow crops, other settlers were lured to settle there also. Bobby even made trips to Europe to buy cattle and horses.
The Gilberts, along with other early settlers had property some distance from Mesa. Records in the Office of the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management in Phoenix, and the deeds on file in Maricopa County Recorder's Office in Phoenix show the first settlers. There were Six Homestead Entry Patents, one Timber Culture Patent, and three Cash Entry Patents made in the 1890s which began the settlement in the Gilbert, Arizona, area. Among these was William M. Gilbert, 12 Jun 1898. The first homesteader arrived in the area in 1891. (Ref.: Arizona History by Scott L. Cluff.)
William M. Gilbert (Bobby) on 4 Apr 1898 made application for a Homestead Patent for the property legally described as SE 1/2 of Sec. 12, Range 1, South and 5 East of the Gila and Salt River Meridian. As the area became more populated, there was need for a shipping point and this shipping point became Gilbert, Arizona, and WILLIAM MICHAEL GILBERT's name was to be "carved in Arizona land for all the days to come."
The town of Gilbert in Arizona, owes its name to William "Bobby" Gilbert who sold a right-of-way through his land to the Phoenix and Eastern Railroad Company in 1902. The railroad line was built from Phoenix to Kelvin, Arizona in 1903. The line was later known as the Arizona Eastern Railway. A rail siding was established on Bobby Gilbert's property; the spur line and the town that sprung up around it, became known as Gilbert. The railroad depot that was built just north of the railroad tracks and west of Gilbert Road in 1905 was unfortunately torn down in 1969.
It is said that William Michael fell in love with a girl back in Missouri, but his father wanted him to forget her. The girl did not wait for his return nor did she want to live in the wild west country, so "Bobby" never married. He died at age 83, 1 Jan 1945, in a Phoenix rest home after an illness of several months. He always wore a cowboy's garb and was seen downtown every day until he became ill. He is buried in the Mesa Cemetery."
Arizona Death Certificate
No tombstone - unmarked grave
Mesa, Arizona, was a small town at the time, and they purchased four square blocks and built brick homes close to the others...across the street from one another, but in the corner of each block so that they owned homes on all four corners. If any of them needed help, the others were closeby.
As Dr. Gilbert and "Bobby" bought up the land and developed the irrigation system there that enabled them to grow crops, other settlers were lured to settle there also. Bobby even made trips to Europe to buy cattle and horses.
The Gilberts, along with other early settlers had property some distance from Mesa. Records in the Office of the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management in Phoenix, and the deeds on file in Maricopa County Recorder's Office in Phoenix show the first settlers. There were Six Homestead Entry Patents, one Timber Culture Patent, and three Cash Entry Patents made in the 1890s which began the settlement in the Gilbert, Arizona, area. Among these was William M. Gilbert, 12 Jun 1898. The first homesteader arrived in the area in 1891. (Ref.: Arizona History by Scott L. Cluff.)
William M. Gilbert (Bobby) on 4 Apr 1898 made application for a Homestead Patent for the property legally described as SE 1/2 of Sec. 12, Range 1, South and 5 East of the Gila and Salt River Meridian. As the area became more populated, there was need for a shipping point and this shipping point became Gilbert, Arizona, and WILLIAM MICHAEL GILBERT's name was to be "carved in Arizona land for all the days to come."
The town of Gilbert in Arizona, owes its name to William "Bobby" Gilbert who sold a right-of-way through his land to the Phoenix and Eastern Railroad Company in 1902. The railroad line was built from Phoenix to Kelvin, Arizona in 1903. The line was later known as the Arizona Eastern Railway. A rail siding was established on Bobby Gilbert's property; the spur line and the town that sprung up around it, became known as Gilbert. The railroad depot that was built just north of the railroad tracks and west of Gilbert Road in 1905 was unfortunately torn down in 1969.
It is said that William Michael fell in love with a girl back in Missouri, but his father wanted him to forget her. The girl did not wait for his return nor did she want to live in the wild west country, so "Bobby" never married. He died at age 83, 1 Jan 1945, in a Phoenix rest home after an illness of several months. He always wore a cowboy's garb and was seen downtown every day until he became ill. He is buried in the Mesa Cemetery."
Arizona Death Certificate
No tombstone - unmarked grave
"It was Arizona Territory when the Gilberts moved there. They brought fine quarter horses with them, and right away the doctor and his son, William Michael, also known as "Robert E. Lee" and "Bobby", started buying land at $1.25 per acre all around the area where they settled.
Mesa, Arizona, was a small town at the time, and they purchased four square blocks and built brick homes close to the others...across the street from one another, but in the corner of each block so that they owned homes on all four corners. If any of them needed help, the others were closeby.
As Dr. Gilbert and "Bobby" bought up the land and developed the irrigation system there that enabled them to grow crops, other settlers were lured to settle there also. Bobby even made trips to Europe to buy cattle and horses.
The Gilberts, along with other early settlers had property some distance from Mesa. Records in the Office of the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management in Phoenix, and the deeds on file in Maricopa County Recorder's Office in Phoenix show the first settlers. There were Six Homestead Entry Patents, one Timber Culture Patent, and three Cash Entry Patents made in the 1890s which began the settlement in the Gilbert, Arizona, area. Among these was William M. Gilbert, 12 Jun 1898. The first homesteader arrived in the area in 1891. (Ref.: Arizona History by Scott L. Cluff.)
William M. Gilbert (Bobby) on 4 Apr 1898 made application for a Homestead Patent for the property legally described as SE 1/2 of Sec. 12, Range 1, South and 5 East of the Gila and Salt River Meridian. As the area became more populated, there was need for a shipping point and this shipping point became Gilbert, Arizona, and WILLIAM MICHAEL GILBERT's name was to be "carved in Arizona land for all the days to come."
The town of Gilbert in Arizona, owes its name to William "Bobby" Gilbert who sold a right-of-way through his land to the Phoenix and Eastern Railroad Company in 1902. The railroad line was built from Phoenix to Kelvin, Arizona in 1903. The line was later known as the Arizona Eastern Railway. A rail siding was established on Bobby Gilbert's property; the spur line and the town that sprung up around it, became known as Gilbert. The railroad depot that was built just north of the railroad tracks and west of Gilbert Road in 1905 was unfortunately torn down in 1969.
It is said that William Michael fell in love with a girl back in Missouri, but his father wanted him to forget her. The girl did not wait for his return nor did she want to live in the wild west country, so "Bobby" never married. He died at age 83, 1 Jan 1945, in a Phoenix rest home after an illness of several months. He always wore a cowboy's garb and was seen downtown every day until he became ill. He is buried in the Mesa Cemetery."
Arizona Death Certificate
No tombstone - unmarked grave
Mesa, Arizona, was a small town at the time, and they purchased four square blocks and built brick homes close to the others...across the street from one another, but in the corner of each block so that they owned homes on all four corners. If any of them needed help, the others were closeby.
As Dr. Gilbert and "Bobby" bought up the land and developed the irrigation system there that enabled them to grow crops, other settlers were lured to settle there also. Bobby even made trips to Europe to buy cattle and horses.
The Gilberts, along with other early settlers had property some distance from Mesa. Records in the Office of the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management in Phoenix, and the deeds on file in Maricopa County Recorder's Office in Phoenix show the first settlers. There were Six Homestead Entry Patents, one Timber Culture Patent, and three Cash Entry Patents made in the 1890s which began the settlement in the Gilbert, Arizona, area. Among these was William M. Gilbert, 12 Jun 1898. The first homesteader arrived in the area in 1891. (Ref.: Arizona History by Scott L. Cluff.)
William M. Gilbert (Bobby) on 4 Apr 1898 made application for a Homestead Patent for the property legally described as SE 1/2 of Sec. 12, Range 1, South and 5 East of the Gila and Salt River Meridian. As the area became more populated, there was need for a shipping point and this shipping point became Gilbert, Arizona, and WILLIAM MICHAEL GILBERT's name was to be "carved in Arizona land for all the days to come."
The town of Gilbert in Arizona, owes its name to William "Bobby" Gilbert who sold a right-of-way through his land to the Phoenix and Eastern Railroad Company in 1902. The railroad line was built from Phoenix to Kelvin, Arizona in 1903. The line was later known as the Arizona Eastern Railway. A rail siding was established on Bobby Gilbert's property; the spur line and the town that sprung up around it, became known as Gilbert. The railroad depot that was built just north of the railroad tracks and west of Gilbert Road in 1905 was unfortunately torn down in 1969.
It is said that William Michael fell in love with a girl back in Missouri, but his father wanted him to forget her. The girl did not wait for his return nor did she want to live in the wild west country, so "Bobby" never married. He died at age 83, 1 Jan 1945, in a Phoenix rest home after an illness of several months. He always wore a cowboy's garb and was seen downtown every day until he became ill. He is buried in the Mesa Cemetery."
Arizona Death Certificate
No tombstone - unmarked grave
