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Ninth Generation
4120. Henry
Grafton Bedwell1412
was born on 27 Jul 1872 in Smith County, Kansas.2097 He died on 24 Aug 1966 in Sheridan County, Montana.2098 He was also known as Hankie
Bedwell.2097 He was buried
in Valley View Cemetery, Redstone, Sheridan County, Montana.2097
• 1900 Census for Spring Valley Township, Dallas County, Iowa shows Henry
G. Bedwell, born Jul 1872 in Kansas of parents born in Iowa and Pennsylvania,
a farmer who owns his land, as head of household with: Ella M., born Oct 1887
(age 22, so birth year must be wrong), his wife of two years who has had one
child, still living; and daughter Jessie G., born Nov 1899.
• 1910 Census for Washington Township, Greene County, Iowa, taken in Apr
1910, shows Henry Bedwell, age 36, a farmer who rents, as head of household containing:
Ella, age 31, his wife of twelve years who has had five children, all still living;
son Jesse, age 11; son Jay, age 8; son Lester, age 6; daughter Olive, age 4;
son Dale, age 11/12; and David J., age 66.
• 1920 Census for School District 2, Sheridan County, Iowa shows Henry G.
Bedwell, age 47, a farmer born in Kansas who owns his land, as head of household
with: wife Ella M., age 42; son Jesse, age 21; son Jay R., age 18; son Henry
(?) L., age 17; daughter Olave, age 14; son Dale R., age 10; daughter Vera K.,
age 8; son Oscar R., age 5; and father Daniel J., age 77.
• 1930 Census for School District 2, Sheridan County, Montana shows Henry
G. Bedwell, age 57, a farmer who owns his land, as head of household consisting
of: wife Ella M., age 52; son Lester H., age 26; son Dale, age 20; son Russell
O., age 16; and daughter Fanny D., age 9.
• From the History of Sheridan County, Sheridans Daybreak,
written by Henry's daughter-in-law, Mrs. Lester Bedwell:
(A picture shows a sod shanty and underneath it says HENRY BEDWELL'S HOME.)
Henry Grafton Bedwell was born in a sod shanty in Smith County, Kansas on
July 27, 1872 to the Jasper Bedwells. They moved to Rippey, Iowa when Henry (usually
called "Hankie") was a little boy. He often mentioned his first "storeshoes",
copper toed ones bought when he was five or six years old. His Mother died when
Hankie was very young, and Grandpa Jasper raised the family of four girls and
three boys. As a young man Hankie worked on farms in Iowa . He enjoyed calling
for square dances in the area.
On February 2,1898 he was married to Ella Garrow of Rippey. She was born in Illinois,
lived in Canada, then Iowa. They farmed in Iowa until 1916 when they moved to
Montana where land was easier to buy at that time. In the fall of 1915, Hankie
went to Montana and purchased the Louis Kurtz farm 2 1/2 miles east of Redstone.
Henry Bedwell and son Jay left Iowa December 13,1916 with two immigrant cars,
the one containing cattle and the other containing horses and household goods.
Mrs Bedwell had packed a boiler full of food including fried chicken and other
goodies which they shared with the train crew who told them of interesting railroading
experiences. This is probably where Jay was bitten by the railroad 'bug' as that
was his life until retiring. It was a very cold winter and the farther they got
from Iowa, the deeper the snow, the colder the weather and the slower the train
service. In many places it was necessary to use a pusher engine to help the train
until it warmed up.
Hankie and Jay slept on a bed built above the horses to get the heat from them.
At one stop, their dog got out and enjoyed a run. Once in Minnesota, one of their
cars was accidently set off on a siding so the brakeman had to break the padlock
so they could water their stock; also losing another day. Only one train crew
proved unfriendly and they received neither a chicken nor cigar.
When they arrived in Williston, they dropped a card to Emanuel States at Redstone,
who was going to meet them and take them home for Christmas Dinner; but while
they were eating in a cafe at Plentywood, the train crew set their cars off on
a siding. When they inquired why, the depot agent said the train crew had received
orders to return to Bainville for Christmas! The depot agent then called Redstone
and had the message relayed to Emanuel so he wouldn't be waiting. Next day, the
passenger train hooked onto their cars and pulled them into Redstone about sundown.
Bert and Emanuel were there to meet them, but with the snow so deep, it was decided
the men better stay in Redstone to take care of the livestock in the cars. When
they went to the hotel, they were told there was no rooms left. Hankie said guess
they would sleep on the davenport in the lobby. The hotelman asked where they
were from and Hankie told them they had just spent 13 days on the railroad coming
from Iowa. "In that case," said the hotelman, "you need the rest.
I'll sleep on the davenport and you take my room," which they gladly did.
In that immigrant car was a CARTER car hidden behind the bales of feed. The agent
in Iowa had gladly gone home for supper while they loaded it, and the agent in
Redstone said he had business up town and wouldnt know what came out of the car:
so the Carter car went into a vacant building until sometime later.
The rest of the family, Jesse, Lester, Olive, Dale, Vera, and Russel (Pete) with
Mrs. Bedwell left Iowa by train on the 26th of December and arrived in Redstone
a few days later. A fellow traveler on the train up from Williston was Lars Brastad,
who would be a neighbor on the farm.
Since the house on the farm had only two rooms, it was necessary to build onto
it for the family of nine; so the Bedwells lived on the Oscar Aslakson place
south of Redstone for the balance of the winter. The snow was so deep and the
built up tracks so high that if you slipped off the tracks, your load of lumber
upset. With the help of Bert and Emanuel States and John Flair, they built the
barn and added to the house in time to move in before spring's work.
A few years after they came to Montana, Hankie's father Jasper (Daniel Jasper
Bedwell), came to make his home with them. He added two rooms to the house and
kept house for himself until just before his death on January 23,1927.
One spring when Jay was sick, Jess went to Outlook in the Model T to get medicine
for him. Grandpa rode along. On the way home they had a flat tire. When Jess
took out the patching supplies, Grandpa said he would start out and Jess could
pick him up when he came along.Somewhere Grandpa took a wrong turn. When he hadn't
arrived home when Jess did, and it started to get late, family and neighbors
looked for him but didn't find him. At daybreak the next morning, Harry Loucks,
Sr., a close neighbor, climbed up his windmill and saw Grandpa in the coulee
north of there. He went after him and brought him home, seemingly none the worse
for the experience. He had walked all night to keep warm.
A girl, Fairy, was born in 1921. Russel (Pete) served 4 1/2 years in World War
2 with 33 months of it overseas.
They moved into Redstone in 1937, but kept on farming with the help of one or
more of the boys. In February of 1948, they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary
at Redstone. Mrs Bedwell died in April of 1949.
Henry was a member of the Masonic Lodge first in Iowa, then Redstone and later
in Plentywood where, in 1964, he received his 50 year gold pin and plaque. He
continued to live in Redstone, and kept house for himself, going downtown each
day to Riborgs Cafe to have dinner and haul water for her and pick up his mail
until a few days before his death August 24,1966. They are buried at Valley View
Cemetary at Redstone.
AT THE TIME OF PRINTING OF THIS STORY: Jesse's wife, Riborg, lives in Redstone.
Jay and Emily live in Prescott, Arizona. Lester and Aster are south of Archer,
Olive and Roy (Shevey) live in Great Falls as do Dale and Rose and Rusel and
Isabel. Vera and Gerald (Melena) live in Scobey and Fairy and Jack (Comstock)
live in Placentia, California.
(Transcribed from the original by Janice Smith Tasler, greatgrandaughter
of Cora Mae Bedwell, sister of Henry Grafton Bedwell.)
Henry Grafton Bedwell and Ellen May Garrow were married on 2 Feb 1898 in Boone
County, Iowa.336 Ellen
May Garrow336,2099 was born on 28 Oct 1877 in Marseilles, LaSalle County,
Illinois.2100 She died
on 3 Apr 1949 in Montana.1406
She was buried in Valley View Cemetery, Redstone, Sheridan County, Montana.2097 Henry Grafton Bedwell and
Ellen May Garrow had the following children:
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