I was thinking about some of my relatives who moved from Missouri to South Dakota between the years of 1905 – the 1920’s. They were the children and in laws of Private Isaac Blakey Sr. Isaac was my Great Grandfather, Isaac (1845 – 1917) who was enslaved in Missouri. He was sold before the Civil War began and ran away to join the Union Army in Natchez Mississippi in 1863.
I found an article on the first Blakey siblings to leave Missouri. And why they left. In 1905, Henry Blakey Sr. (1880 – 1967) * and his brother, Isaac Blakey Jr. ( 1873 – 1971)* and Isaac Jr’s. wife Maggie (Williams) Blakey with their children were the first to make the journey to Yankton.
They became some of the first blacks settlers in Yankton. A man by the named Tom Douglas a.k.a Christopher Columbus Yancey encouraged them to come. He brought them and others to Yankton, South Dakota on a steam boat .
Along the journey to Yankton, Henry Blakey fell in love with his future wife, Mary E. Fristoe. They were married the day they arrived in Yankton in 1905. All they had between them was $4.50.
The full article “Slavery Descendants to Have First Reunion was published in the Sioux City Journal in Iowa in 1971. This cropped sections mentioned some of the family members who came to South Dakota.
Isaac Blakey Jr. ( 1873 - 1971) and Henry Blakey Sr. (1880 - 1967) were born in Mississippi. * They passed in Yankton. .
Who were the other siblings and their spouse who journeyed to Yankton?
What year that they arrived?
Jordan Blakey (1878 – 1964)*
He came in 1911. He was the widower of Lizzie Blakey.
In 1915, Jordan married Flora Bentley in Yankton, they later divorced.
Jordan lived in Kennebec, Lyman, South Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio where he married Rubenia Holt in 1934 and they later moved to Ann Harbor Michigan where he passed. He was born in Mississippi.
Lillie (Blakey) Hayes (1888 – 1934)
She came in 1911 with her husband Edward Hayes.
They later moved to Sioux City, Iowa where Lillie passed in 1934 after an operation.
Spencer Blakey (1887 – 1967)
He came in 1906. And in 1911 he married Lucinda Mary Kinney in Yankton.
They both passed in Yankton.
Mary (Blakey) Green (1874- 1949)*
She came with her husband The Rev Ollie Green in 1912.
They both passed in Yankton. Mary was born in Mississippi.
Martha (Blakey) Hayes (1889 – 1918)
She came with her husband Ernest “Jap” Hayes in 1913.
Martha passed in 1918 due to the Spanish Flu Pandemic.
Edna Mae (Blakey) Bentley (1896 – 1952)
She came in 1916. She was Edna Jackson divorced on the 1925 SD census.
Edna later moved to Sioux City Iowa, then to Sacramento CA where she passed.
John Blakey Blakley (1871 – 1918) *
He came between 1916 – 1918. He was making plans to move his family to Yankton. He passed in 1918 in a covered wagon. His widow, Jennie (Bartlett) Blakley and their children remained in St. Joseph, Missouri.
Deacon Ollie “Deke” Blakey (1895 – 1972)
He was listed on the 1920 census in Yankton with his wife Margaret (Cason) Blakey and brother, Archie Blakey. . They later moved to Sacramento California. They passed there.
Archie Blakey (1904 – 1943)
He most likely came with Ollie because Ollie was Archie’s guardian after their father Isaac Blakey’s death in 1917. Archie wasn’t listed on the 1925 South Dakota Census with Ollie and Margaret. Archie may have been in California as early 1920’s.
Archie married Flora (Lawrence) Blakey, his ex sister in law about 1927. He was listed on the Sacramento city directory in 1927 with Flora. Archie was burned severely on both legs in an accident while cleaning on his job in June of 1943. He was hospitalized for 5 months and later passed.
Lawhorn “Doc Blakey (1900 – 1977)
Not sure what year he came. He married Mettie Holliday in Yankton in 1924. In 1928 Lawhorn, was married to Evelyn Wilson. He was the last of the siblings to pass. He passed in Sacramento.
Beecher Blakey, (1885 – ? )
Not for sure when he came to Yankton. He moved to Kennebec, Lyman, South Dakota, with Jordan. Beecher is buried in Yankton.
Annie Rebecca Blakey, (1898 – ? )
Not for sure when Annie came or what happened to her.
Source of information from censuses: South Dakota, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, California, news articles, letters, marriage and death records, oral history.
October In Remembrance: Blakey Blakley WHITE Family Connections
Transportation #52Ancestors ~ Week 28
Thanks for reading.
Transportation #52Ancestors ~ Week 28
God bless you.
S.A. Blakley
Week 28: Transportation: via Generations Café from facebook
As the daughter of a service station owner, I grew up around cars and developed an appreciation for them. Whether it’s planes, trains, or automobiles (or canal boats, or steamships, or… ), think about transportation and how it affected an ancestor. Did canals open up markets for crops? Did railways offer job opportunities? Explore the transportation theme this week! Feel free to post your links and stories in the comments.
