Bob Bracken (settler): Difference between revisions
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| birth_date = {{circa|{{birth date text|1841}}}} |
| birth_date = {{circa|{{birth date text|1841}}}} |
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| death_date = {{death date and age|1906|05||1841}} |
| death_date = {{death date and age|1906|05||1841}} |
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| death_place = [[Asotin County, Washington]] |
| death_place = [[Asotin County, Washington]], US |
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| spouse = Mary |
| spouse = Mary |
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'''Robert Bracken''' ({{Circa|1841}}– May 1906) was an American prospector and rancher, known as the first permanent European settler of what would become [[Asotin County, Washington]]. He travelled to the region from California during the [[1861 Idaho gold rush]]. He spent the rest of his life as a rancher in Asotin County, committing suicide in 1906. |
'''Robert Bracken''' ({{Circa|1841}} – May 1906) was an American prospector and rancher, known as the first permanent European settler of what would become [[Asotin County, Washington]]. He travelled to the region from California during the [[1861 Idaho gold rush]]. He spent the rest of his life as a rancher in Asotin County, committing suicide in 1906. |
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== Biography == |
== Biography == |
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Revision as of 05:16, 21 February 2024
Bob Bracken | |
|---|---|
.png) Bracken in the late 1800s | |
| Born | c. 1841 |
| Died | May 1906 (aged 64–65) |
| Spouse | Mary |
Robert Bracken (c. 1841 – May 1906) was an American prospector and rancher, known as the first permanent European settler of what would become Asotin County, Washington. He travelled to the region from California during the 1861 Idaho gold rush. He spent the rest of his life as a rancher in Asotin County, committing suicide in 1906.
Biography
Little is known about Bracken's early life. He was part of a party of Californian prospectors who departed in the fall of 1861, headed to participate in a 1861 gold rush in Idaho County, then part of the Washington Territory. He arrived at Alpowa Creek on April 16, 1862, in an area then part of the Nez Perce Reservation, and endured an extremely harsh winter. He traveled to prospect for gold in Idaho, but eventually returned. He married a Nez Perce woman named Mary, which legally legitimized his residence on the reservation. He took up work as a rancher, and lived at different points in various portions of Asotin County. Although later dubbed the "First settler of Asotin County", another settler named Sam Smith had briefly established a hotel and general store in the area in 1861, several months before Bracken's arrival. Bracken was however the second European resident and first permanent settler of Asotin, which was later organized as its own county in 1883.[1][2]
He had no children. At some point in his later years, his wife Mary left him. By the 1890s, he was living on a property on Asotin Creek, roughly 15 miles southwest of the town of Asotin, Washington, where he ran a small general store in addition to his work as a rancher. In the winter of 1905–1906, he developed gangrene on one of his feet. His body was found on his property in May 1906, having shot himself. A ridge and spring in Asotin County are named after Bracken.[1][3]
References
- ^ a b Dougherty, Phil (August 26, 2006). "Bracken, Robert (1841?-1906)". HistoryLink. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ Shaver, Frederic Ambrose (1906). An illustrated history of southeastern Washington, including Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, Washington. Spokane: Western Historical Publishing Company. pp. 645–646.
- ^ Weatherly, Bob (September 6, 1990). "Indians Not Excited By First Settlers". The Lewiston Tribune. Retrieved January 30, 2024.