John Bielby

Biography of John Bielby

John Bielby
John Bielby

This genial gentleman is proprietor of a nice hotel and a good feed stable in Fletcher, where he has done a thriving business since, the opening of the house and on account of his kind care for the welfare and comfort of guests, his wisdom in providing entertainment, and the businesslike manner in which he operates his hotel, he is rapidly gaining an increasing patronage and has the reputation of having as fine a place as there is on the reservation for caring for guests.

John Bielby was born in Bridlington, East Riding, Yorkshire, England, on October 30, 1843, being the son of William and Hannah Bielby, natives of the same place. The father was a Methodist preacher and continued his calling until his death. Our subject was the eighth of a family of nine children and was educated in his native place. On May 27, 1865, Mr. Bielby married Miss Elizabeth S. Hodson, who was born in Butterwick, Yorkshire, England, on October 21, 1843. On October 3, 1871, Mr. Bielby started with his wife and three children from Liverpool to Boston, on the steamer Porttrain. They landed finally in Fillmore County, Minnesota and farmed there until 1879, when he removed to Lac Qui Parle County, the same state. In 1892 they went to Alberta, Northwest Territory, where Mr. Bielby operated a dray line for a year and then took the oversight of a coal mine.

It was in 1896 that he came to Pullman and the fall of that year, October, he located his lots in Fletcher and erected a dwelling house. Later he put up a good building for a hotel, having commodious office, parlors, kitchen, dining room, bed room, and so forth below and occupied with sleeping rooms above. He does a good business here as well as in his feed stable. Mr. Bielby was one of the very first who located in Fletcher and is one of the leading men of the town. The following named children have been born to Mr. Bielby and his faithful wife: Mary A., wife of J. Nelson, a farmer in Alberta; Sarah E. wife of J. Blades, a butcher in Alberta; Margaret H., wife of E. Dunbar, who operates and owns a large elevator and general merchandise store in Beaver Creek, Rock County, Minnesota; Ellen, wife of R. P. Pettepiece, editor and owner of a Socialist paper in Vancouver, British Columbia; Alice, wife of R. Hutchinson, a miner of Rossland; William, at home.

Back to: Nez Perce Biographies

Source: An Illustrated History of Northern Idaho, Embracing Nez Perce, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone Counties, Western Historical Publishing Company, 1903

 

2 thoughts on “Biography of John Bielby”

  1. Glenda Rossignol

    Thank you so much for the information of my great great grandfather. It was nice getting to know him through your article and to see what he looked like. Just wandering if there is any picturesaying around of the hotel he ran?

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Pin It on Pinterest

Scroll to Top