Son of John Blankenship (1785-1860) & Mary Ann Dillon (1783-1876)
As early as 1833, when Iowa was still considered the remote west and while as yet few civilizing influences had been brought to bear upon its possibilities, William Blankenship, Sr., accompanied by his wife,Polly and two children, John and William, journeyed over the mountains from West Virginia to the valley of the Mississippi, his family riding-pack horses, while he walked by their side and drove a cow. Their possessions were meager, but their hopes were large, for before them lay the wealth of untilled acres and the possibilities of a vast valley, His course led him through the present city of Burlington, whose site was then unmarked by even one house. Near that locality he settled, but in three years moved to Jefferson and took up land thirty miles below Des Moines, later going to Marion County. In the fall of 1834 he lost his wife and was left with three small children, namely: John, who became a pioneer of 1850 in California and now makes his home in Stockton; William, of Tulare County; and Mrs. Nancy Sweem of Stockton. After¬ward he married Rebecca Williams, who was born in Indiana and died in Tulare County, Cal. Of that marriage seven children were born, of whom four now make their home in Tulare County. During April of 1850 Mr. Blankenship brought his family across the plains with ox-teams, traveling, along the North Platte, thence to Salt Lake, on down the Humboldt river, and via the Carson route to Hangtown, where he landed on the 1st of September, 1850 After mining at Mokelumne Hill for two years he returned to Iowa, but in 1853 again crossed the plains and with a herd of cattle purchased in the east he began in the stock business at French Camp, near Stockton. A second trip east was made in March, 1856, and in 1858 he came to California with his son William, settling down to farm pursuits at French Camp. A year later he came to Tulare County and bought a farm one and one half miles south of Visalia, where he remained until his death at seventy five years.
As early as 1833, when Iowa was still considered the remote west and while as yet few civilizing influences had been brought to bear upon its possibilities, William Blankenship, Sr., accompanied by his wife,Polly and two children, John and William, journeyed over the mountains from West Virginia to the valley of the Mississippi, his family riding-pack horses, while he walked by their side and drove a cow. Their possessions were meager, but their hopes were large, for before them lay the wealth of untilled acres and the possibilities of a vast valley, His course led him through the present city of Burlington, whose site was then unmarked by even one house. Near that locality he settled, but in three years moved to Jefferson and took up land thirty miles below Des Moines, later going to Marion County. In the fall of 1834 he lost his wife and was left with three small children, namely: John, who became a pioneer of 1850 in California and now makes his home in Stockton; William, of Tulare County; and Mrs. Nancy Sweem of Stockton. After¬ward he married Rebecca Williams, who was born in Indiana and died in Tulare County, Cal. Of that marriage seven children were born, of whom four now make their home in Tulare County. During April of 1850 Mr. Blankenship brought his family across the plains with ox-teams, traveling, along the North Platte, thence to Salt Lake, on down the Humboldt river, and via the Carson route to Hangtown, where he landed on the 1st of September, 1850 After mining at Mokelumne Hill for two years he returned to Iowa, but in 1853 again crossed the plains and with a herd of cattle purchased in the east he began in the stock business at French Camp, near Stockton. A second trip east was made in March, 1856, and in 1858 he came to California with his son William, settling down to farm pursuits at French Camp. A year later he came to Tulare County and bought a farm one and one half miles south of Visalia, where he remained until his death at seventy five years.
Son of John Blankenship (1785-1860) & Mary Ann Dillon (1783-1876)
As early as 1833, when Iowa was still considered the remote west and while as yet few civilizing influences had been brought to bear upon its possibilities, William Blankenship, Sr., accompanied by his wife,Polly and two children, John and William, journeyed over the mountains from West Virginia to the valley of the Mississippi, his family riding-pack horses, while he walked by their side and drove a cow. Their possessions were meager, but their hopes were large, for before them lay the wealth of untilled acres and the possibilities of a vast valley, His course led him through the present city of Burlington, whose site was then unmarked by even one house. Near that locality he settled, but in three years moved to Jefferson and took up land thirty miles below Des Moines, later going to Marion County. In the fall of 1834 he lost his wife and was left with three small children, namely: John, who became a pioneer of 1850 in California and now makes his home in Stockton; William, of Tulare County; and Mrs. Nancy Sweem of Stockton. After¬ward he married Rebecca Williams, who was born in Indiana and died in Tulare County, Cal. Of that marriage seven children were born, of whom four now make their home in Tulare County. During April of 1850 Mr. Blankenship brought his family across the plains with ox-teams, traveling, along the North Platte, thence to Salt Lake, on down the Humboldt river, and via the Carson route to Hangtown, where he landed on the 1st of September, 1850 After mining at Mokelumne Hill for two years he returned to Iowa, but in 1853 again crossed the plains and with a herd of cattle purchased in the east he began in the stock business at French Camp, near Stockton. A second trip east was made in March, 1856, and in 1858 he came to California with his son William, settling down to farm pursuits at French Camp. A year later he came to Tulare County and bought a farm one and one half miles south of Visalia, where he remained until his death at seventy five years.
As early as 1833, when Iowa was still considered the remote west and while as yet few civilizing influences had been brought to bear upon its possibilities, William Blankenship, Sr., accompanied by his wife,Polly and two children, John and William, journeyed over the mountains from West Virginia to the valley of the Mississippi, his family riding-pack horses, while he walked by their side and drove a cow. Their possessions were meager, but their hopes were large, for before them lay the wealth of untilled acres and the possibilities of a vast valley, His course led him through the present city of Burlington, whose site was then unmarked by even one house. Near that locality he settled, but in three years moved to Jefferson and took up land thirty miles below Des Moines, later going to Marion County. In the fall of 1834 he lost his wife and was left with three small children, namely: John, who became a pioneer of 1850 in California and now makes his home in Stockton; William, of Tulare County; and Mrs. Nancy Sweem of Stockton. After¬ward he married Rebecca Williams, who was born in Indiana and died in Tulare County, Cal. Of that marriage seven children were born, of whom four now make their home in Tulare County. During April of 1850 Mr. Blankenship brought his family across the plains with ox-teams, traveling, along the North Platte, thence to Salt Lake, on down the Humboldt river, and via the Carson route to Hangtown, where he landed on the 1st of September, 1850 After mining at Mokelumne Hill for two years he returned to Iowa, but in 1853 again crossed the plains and with a herd of cattle purchased in the east he began in the stock business at French Camp, near Stockton. A second trip east was made in March, 1856, and in 1858 he came to California with his son William, settling down to farm pursuits at French Camp. A year later he came to Tulare County and bought a farm one and one half miles south of Visalia, where he remained until his death at seventy five years.
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