Personal Details

Born	December 5th, 1848
Birthplace	Wethersfield, IL, USA
Baptized	No Entry
Baptized at...	No Entry
Baptized by...	No Entry
Baptized in...	No Entry
Occupation(s)	Rancher
Died	December 26th, 1927, aged about 79 years
Died at...	Kewanee, Illinois, USA
Cause of Death	Pneumonia
Burial Place	Old Cemetery, Keewanee, Illinois, USA
Disposition	No Entry

Parents

Father	[669]	Charles Cheney Blish, (***) 7
Mother	[669_sa]	Elizabeth Potter (Bonar) Blish 7

Spouses, Mates & Children

Wife #1 [1040sa] - Martha Florence (Morrill) Blish 8 Married by: No Entry Married at: Wethersfield, Illinois, USA Children by this spouse: I [1325]+ Kate Elizabeth (Blish) Handley 9 b. October 13th, 1869 c. January II [1326]+ Charles Bonar Blish 9 b. February 25th, 1871 c. May III [1327]+ Dwight Morril Blish 9 b. May 23rd, 1881 c. August

Immediate Family Tree

Gen. 8	Gen. 7	Gen. 6	Gen. 5	Gen. 4
Matthew Bonar Blish	Charles Cheney Blish, (***)	Colonel Sylvester Blish, (***)	Deacon Thomas Blish, (***)	David Blish, (***)
				Zeruiah (Skinner) Blish
			Prudence (Hubbard) Blish	Elizur Hubbard
				Abigail (Hollister) Hubbard
		Rhoda (Cheney) Blish	Timothy Cheney	? Cheney
				? (?) Cheney
			Rhoda (Skinner) Cheney	? Skinner
				? (?) Skinner
	Elizabeth Potter (Bonar) Blish	Matthew Bonar	? Bonar	No Entry
				No Entry
			? (?) Bonar	No Entry
				No Entry
		Catharine (Cosner) Bonar	? Cosner	No Entry
				No Entry
			? (?) Cosner	No Entry
				No Entry

Personalized History Timeline, 1848 to 1927

1829-1851: 2nd Cholera pandemic from before birth until age 3 1830-1860: Underground railroad leads 100,000+ slaves to freedom in US from before birth until age 12 1837-1901: Reign of Queen Victoria (Hanover) from before birth until age 53 1845-1848: James K Polk president of US from before birth until age 0 1845-1849: Irish Potato Famine from before birth until age 1 1846-1848: The Mexican-US War from before birth until age 0 1848: NY allows women to own real estate at age 0 1848-1856: 1st gold rush in California -- Sutters Mill from age 0 to age 8 1848: Oregon organized as a territory at age 0 1848: Wisconsin enters the union - 30th at age 0 1849-1852: Zachary Taylor president of the US from age 1 to age 4 1849: Fizeau measures speed of light at age 1 1850: New Mexico organized as a territory at age 2 1850: US pop reaches 23 million at age 2 1850: Utah (included Nevada) organized as a territory at age 2 1850: World pop. est. at 1.1 billion at age 2 1850: California enters the union - 31st at age 2 1851: Gold rush in Australia at age 3 1852-1859: 3rd Cholera pandemic from age 4 to age 11 1853-1856: Franklin Pierce president of US from age 5 to age 8 1853: Washington (included pt. of Idaho) organized as a territory at age 5 1854: Kansas organized as a territory at age 6 1854-1856: Crimean War from age 6 to age 8 1854: Nebraska organized as a territory at age 6 1857-1860: James Buchanan president of US from age 9 to age 12 1857: Dred Scott decision: Blacks could not be US citizens at age 9 1857-1866: Transatlantic cable laid from age 9 to age 18 1858: India bill transfers government of India to England at age 10 1858: Minnesota enters the union - 32nd at age 10 1859: Darwin pub. Origin Of Species at age 11 1859: Oregon enters the union - 33rd at age 11 1859: Oil Well at age 11 1860: South Carolina Secedes from the Union at age 12 1860: Rifled barrel invented at age 12 1861-1865: Abraham Lincoln president of US from age 13 to age 17 1861: Gold rush in New Zealand at age 13 1861: Kansas enters the union - 34th at age 13 1861: North Dakota organized as a territory at age 13 1861: South Dakota organized as a territory at age 13 1861: Nevada organized as a territory at age 13 1861-1865: Civil War from age 13 to age 17 1861: Colorado organized as a territory at age 13 1861: The Apache Declare War on the US at age 13 1861: Transcontinental Telegraph completed at age 13 1861-1865: Confederate States of America Exist from age 13 to age 17 1862: US Homestead act at age 14 1863: Battle of Gettysburg at age 15 1863: Emancipation Proclamation frees southern slaves at age 15 1863-1879: 4th Cholera pandemic from age 15 to age 31 1863: West Virginia enters the union - 35th at age 15 1863: Arizona organized as a territory at age 15 1863: Idaho organized as a territory at age 15 1864: Nevada enters the union - 36th at age 16 1864: Louisiana organized as a territory at age 16 1865: Ku Klux Klan founded at age 17 1865: President Lincoln assassinated at age 17 1865: Lister invents Disinfection at age 17 1866-1868: Andrew Johnson president of US from age 18 to age 20 1866: Walker, Mitchell 1st elected US black officials (Massachusetts) at age 18 1867: Diamonds discovered in South Africa at age 19 1867: Alaska purchased from Russia at age 19 1867: Confederation of Canada at age 19 1867: Dynamite at age 19 1867: Nebraska enters the union - 37th at age 19 1868-1878: War between Cuba and Spain from age 20 to age 30 1869-1876: Ulysses S Grant president of US from age 21 to age 28 1869: Cutty Sark built at age 21 1869: Trans-continental railroad completed at age 21 1869: Financial black friday caused by attempt to corner gold at age 21 1869: Suez canal opened at age 21 1870-1871: Franco-Prussian war from age 22 to age 23 1870: 1st black US senator (Hiram Revels) at age 22 1870: US black men can vote at age 22 1871: Great Fire destroys Chicago at age 23 1873: Color Photographs at age 25 1873-1878: Depression, banks fail from age 25 to age 30 1876: Little Big Horn - Battle at age 28 1876: American Centennial at age 28 1876: Colorado enters the union - 38th at age 28 1876: Telephone (Bell, Latimer) at age 28 1877-1880: Ruthorford B Hayes president of US from age 29 to age 32 1877: Wax Cylinder Musical Recordings at age 29 1878: 1st commercial telephone exchange in US at age 30 1879: Electric Light Bulb (Edison) at age 31 1879: Zulu war at age 31 1881-1896: 5th Cholera pandemic from age 33 to age 48 1881: James A Garfield president of US at age 33 1881-1885: Chester Arthur president of US from age 33 to age 37 1881: President Garfield assassinated (dies of med. care) at age 33 1884: Motorcycle at age 36 1884: 1st subway at age 36 1885-1888: Grover Cleveland president of US from age 37 to age 40 1885: Automobile at age 37 1886: Induction Telegraph (Grandville T. Woods) at age 38 1887: X-Rays (Tesla, not Rontgen!) at age 39 1888: Great Blizzard of 1888 - 400+ deaths at age 40 1888: 70...77 rpm musical records at age 40 1889-1892: Benjamin Harrison president of US from age 41 to age 44 1889: Holerith invents the punch card at age 41 1889: North Dakota enters the union - 39th at age 41 1889: Montana enters the union - 41st at age 41 1889: Washington enters the union - 42nd at age 41 1889: South Dakota enters the union - 40th at age 41 1890: Battle of Wounded Knee at age 42 1890: Oklahoma organized as a territory at age 42 1890: Wyoming enters the union - 44th at age 42 1890: Idaho enters the union - 43rd at age 42 1891: Mormon prophesy of 'coming of lord' by 1891 unfulfilled at age 43 1893: Movies at age 45 1893-1896: Grover Cleveland president of US from age 45 to age 48 1893: Nikola Tesla invents Radio (not Marconi!) at age 45 1893-1897: US Financial panic, depression from age 45 to age 49 1893: New Zealand is 1st to grant women right to vote at age 45 1894: Plague in Hong Kong and China - 1 million die at age 46 1894-1895: Chinese-Japanese war (1) from age 46 to age 47 1896: Supreme court approves separate but equal segregation at age 48 1896: Utah enters the union - 45th at age 48 1897-1901: William McKinley president of US from age 49 to age 53 1898: Spanish American 1-year war at age 50 1899-1902: Boer war from age 51 to age 54 1899-1923: 6th Cholera pandemic from age 51 to age 75 1900: Boxer rebellion in China at age 52 1900: Hawaii organized as a territory at age 52 1900: Galveston Hurricane - 8,000 killed at age 52 1901: Max Planck formulates the Laws of Radiation at age 53 1901: Third law of thermodynamics postulated (W. H. Nernst) at age 53 1901: First British submarine launched at age 53 1901: US President William McKinley assassinated at age 53 1901-1908: Theodore Roosevelt president of US from age 53 to age 60 1901: Commonwealth of Australia founded at age 53 1901: Oil discovered in Texas in significant amounts at age 53 1901-1910: Reign of King Edward VII (Saxe-Coburg) from age 53 to age 62 1903: Airplane at age 55 1903: Nikola Tesla patents logic gates at age 55 1904-1905: Russian-Japanese war from age 56 to age 57 1904: Radar at age 56 1907: Oklahoma enters the union - 46th at age 59 1907: Plastic at age 59 1908: Tunguska atmospheric object explosion at age 60 1909: North pole reached by Matthew Henson of Robert Peary's exp. at age 61 1909: Union of South Africa formed at age 61 1909-1912: William Howard Taft president of US from age 61 to age 64 1910-1936: Reign of King George V (Windsor) from age 62 until after line end 1910: Halley's Comet at age 62 1910: Japan annexes Korea at age 62 1911: South pole reached by Roald Amundsen at age 63 1912: Titanic sinks at age 64 1912: New Mexico enters the union - 47th at age 64 1912: Alaska organized as a territory at age 64 1912: Arizona enters the union - 48th at age 64 1913-1920: Woodrow Wilson president of US from age 65 to age 72 1914: The Bra at age 66 1914-1919: World War I from age 66 to age 71 1915: Einstein's Theory of Relativity at age 67 1916: Sonar at age 68 1916: Irish Easter Rebellion at age 68 1917: US enters WWI at age 69 1917: Russian revolution at age 69 1918-1920: Flu epidemic - 25 million plus die from age 70 to age 72 1918-1933: Prohibition from age 70 until after line end 1919: League of Nations instantiated at age 71 1919: Shortwave Radio at age 71 1920-1929: Roaring 20's from age 72 until after line end 1920: Women receive right to vote in USA at age 72 1920: Palestine established at age 72 1921-1924: Warren G Harding president of US from age 73 to age 76 1922: Insulin made available to diabetics at age 74 1925-1928: Calvin Coolidge president of US from age 77 until after line end 1925: Scopes trial on Evolutionary Theory at age 77 1926: Sound in Movies at age 78 1927: 1st transAtlantic solo flight - Lindbergh at age 79 1927: Holland Tunnel opens (New York City) at age 79

Schooling

Institution: local shools of Wethersfield Location: Wethersfield, Illinois, USA Curriculum: Degree: Institution: local shools of Kewanee Location: Kewanee, Illinois, USA Curriculum: Degree: Institution: University of Michigan Location: Michigan, USA Curriculum: Degree:

Additional Information

From the JKB 1905 Volume: Matthew Bonar Blish attended the local schools of Wethersfield and Kewanee, and spent one year at the University of Michigan. After his marriage he began farming which continued to be his business until a couple of years after the death of his father, in 1890. In company with his father, (under the firm name of C. C. Blish and Sons) he built up one of the finest herds of short-horn cattle in the West. After the death of the senior member of the firm, Mr. Blish, never of strong physique, felt that the constant care necessary to maintain the herd was telling upon him and dispersed it at a public sale, and the high prices realized were an unmistakable index of the quality of the animals. For a few years thereafter he was not in any active business, but the last two years he has been interested with his son, Charles B. Blish, in the Vienna Bakery in Kewanee. For the last five years his winters have been spent in Mobile, Alabama, and Pensacola, Florida, to avoid the rigors of the northern climate. He is officially connected with the Kewanee Fair Association and is a prominent member of the Masonic order. From the MRB 1957 volume: Matthew Bonar Blish suffered from frequent attacks of bronchitis and after spending several winters in the south, finally settled in Citronelle, Alabama (see picture at right) about the year 1907. He occasionally made visits to Kewanee in the summer and while there in the summer of 1926, he decided to stay for the winter. He bore the climate successfully that winter, but during the following winter he was stricken with pneumonia and died at Kewanee on December 26th, 1927. He is buried there in the Old Cemetery. Martha Florence (Morril) Blish remained in Kewanee after her husband's death and in the summer of 1936 the compiler found her there in good health and spirits despite her 87 years.