Lester Blackman married his wife Lottie on July 4, 1887, at Britton, South Dakota.

The family moved to Montana in 1895. Lester and son Warren drove the covered wagon, whilst Gertrude, Ellen, and Wayne rode with Lottie on the train. It was a terrible trip, because Wayne had diarrhea. After the family arrived in Montana, Lester rowed his family across the river in a rowboat. When Lottie came into the dugout that was to be her new home, she sat down and cried, as it was all too much.

Eleven children were born to the couple in all, with three of them dying in infancy, and one, dying a tragic death in adulthood.
 
"Born to Mr. and Mrs. L.E. Blackman on Thanksgiving- a 11-pound boy. Mother and child doing well and Lester is pleased." (Everett)
 
Last Friday morning, Mr. and Mrs. Lester Blackman, of Pleasant Valley (South Dakota) were rejoicing over the arrival of a pair of twin babies, a boy and a girl. The little girl only lived a few hours. The other child and mother are doing well. (Iva Ruth and Lloyd Wayne).
 
LITTLE BOY LOSES LIFE IN THE BAYOU-

"Body Is Recovered Shortly After the Accident by the Mother. Little Milton Blackman lost his life in the bayou, near the Blackman home across the river, Monday afternoon. The body was recovered a short time after the accident by the mother, who, but for the timely arrival of her husband, would have thrown herself into the river. The boy was one of the twin sons of Mr. and Mrs. L.E. Blackman and had wandered to the water while his mother was attending to the chickens.

As soon as he was missed, Mrs. Blackman rushed to the house expecting to find him there. From there the members of the family separated for the search. The mother followed the little footprints to the water's edge and found where Milton had slipped in and she soon discovered the body floating with the face out of water but life was extinct."
 
BABY BOY DIES FROM DRINKING CARBOLIC ACID-

"For the second time recently death entered the home of Mr. and Mrs. L.E. Blackman, of Plains, and carried away one of their treasurers. Mrs. Blackman departed Tuesday afternoon, for Thompson, to visit with a married daughter, taking with her the twin Merlyn. A few hours later, Mr. Blackman received a message that the boy was dead as result of drinking carbolic acid. It will be remembered that the other twin drown a short time ago.
 
Mrs. Blackman and her mother were the guests at the Sinclair (St. Clair) home where the twin secured the acid that was being used for a disinfectant.

Funeral services were conducted in Plains, yesterday forenoon, at the Methodist church, by Rev. Martin of Thompson. The little casket was covered with floral offerings and sincere sympathy was extended to the bereaved ones who were called upon to part with the bright little fellow. He was about twenty months old. (Mother had told me this story and said the carbolic acid was sitting in a saucer to catch flies. She did not tell me that this took place at her house! Uncle Miltie was named for the twins)."
 
Mrs. Elijah Walker Dies
Oliver Gulch June 14 – (Special)

At her home in Wheatville, California, on June 6th, Mrs. Elijah Walker passed to the great beyond. She had been severely ill with typhoid fever. Mrs. Walker was formerly Miss Ellen Blackman, second daughter of Mrs. And Mrs. L.E. Blackman. She married in the fall of 1912 to Elijah Walker. The couple moved to California shortly after and were residing on one of the farms owned by the father, J. Walker, who also was an old resident of Plains some years ago. They attended a picnic in May, at which time they ate chocolate ice cream, which is blamed for the epidemic of fever, some 18 persons, coming down with it at the same time, five of J. Walker's children, two of whom, no hopes are entertained for their recovery. Mrs. Ellen Walker would be 24 years old in July. She leaves three little girls, the youngest a tiny baby five months old.

So ends a sad, sad, experience and also a happy home.

(Mother and Aunt Ada made the trip to California to get the babies and bring them back to Grandma Blackman (Lottie) to raise; however, Ada fell in love with James Walker and married him May 30, 1917. Mother (Edna) returned to Montana, alone, and the girls were raised in an orphanage. I wrote to one of them after Aunt Ada died, but I did not receive a reply. I had not known her address before).
 
I did not know my Grandpa Lester at all. Brother Elmo said Grandpa was very clever and made things like an automatic gate-opener. He also got excited easily and talked with his hands a lot. Mother never said much about her father, and I got the impression she was angry with him. Perhaps she thought Grandma Lottie worked too hard!
 
Uncle Miltie told me Grandpa did not like his step-father very well. His own father had been killed fighting Indians. There was a letter in the picture box from Grandpa's cousin that told about the Blackmans. The first Blackman came to the "Colonies" to fight in the Revolutionary War under General Cornwallis. After the war, he returned to the United States to live here. Cousin Dorothy told me cousin Warren Blackman (her brother) was treated well by the Jewish people in New York because Blackman was a Jewish name. Uncle Warren said the Blackmans had been Jewish long time ago. I do not believe that is right, because Jews were not allowed to bear arms in England and our ancestor was in the English army. I met a Mr. Blackman at Harold's Marine Reunion whose picture was recognized by Cecilia as being a Blackman. This, Mr. Blackman, said every generation had a Lester. He also said the name Blackman came about because robbers used to hold up stagecoaches in England, in the "old days", wearing black and riding a black horse and hence the name "Blackman". 
 
The children of Lester and Lottie were:
 
Gertrude Winona, Britton, South Dakota, October 5, 1888, died May 5, 1977
 
Warren Arthur, Britton, South Dakota, September 20, 1890, died July 30, 1973
 
Flora Ellen, Britton, South Dakota, July 21, 1892, died June 6, 1916
 
Lloyd Wayne and Iva (Eva?) Ruth, Britton, South Dakota, March 30, 1894, died September 16, 1962, and March 30, 1894
 
Francis Edna, Plains, Montana, February 19, 1896, died November 13, 1981
 
Ada Henrietta, Plains, Montana, January 30, 1899, died November, 1980
 
Everett Marshall, Plains, Montana, November 27, 1902, died April 3, 1975
 
Milton Steel and Merlyn Hillis, Plains, Montana, September 15, 1909, died May 8, 1911 and July 4, 1911
 
Milton Hillis, Plains, Montana, May 15, 1912, died October 14, 1997

FORMER RESIDENT DIES IN OREGON:

Lester E. Blackman, 80 year old, a resident of the Plains district for many years, passed away March 23,1935, at his home in Toledo, Oregon, to which he and his wife had moved in the fall of 1933, from their ranch in Oliver Gulch.
 
Mr. Blackman was born at Moline, Illinois in 1855. When a small child, the family moved to Minnesota, the father being killed during the Indian troubles down there. At the age of 21, Mr. Blackman moved to South
Dakota and pioneered in the noted Jim River county, he being one of the first three white men, at that point. He later moved from the Jim River country to the new town of Britton, South Dakota, where he farmed for many years.

Here, he was married to Lottie Steel, they, coming to Horse Plains, in 1895, and residing there until 1911, when, at the opening of the Flathead reservation, they took up a homestead in Olive Gulch, which was their home until 1933, at which time when they move to Oregon….

Please see Lottie Blackman for a continuation of this narrative.

Notation:

These 5-pages of stories were put together and written by Della St. Clair whose mother was Everett's sister, Edna Blackman St. Claire.

Some of the stories were taken from newspaper reports of the twins death (drowning and carbolic acid), and the death of Ellen Blackman Walker from typhoid fever.

Lester was about 15 years older than Lottie, and sometime after he died, Lottie came to live in the Toledo area, to be closer to the Edna St. Clair family.

Son Everett Blackman also came to this area, following Edna and her family. He spent much time at the St. Clair home, and Della fondly remembers him as a child, and an adult, as her uncle.

Thanks to Scott Blackman, and his wife Sandy, for providing the narrative for this memorial.