Henry Mitchell Bolingbroke

Henry Mitchell Bolingbroke was born April 25, 1850 at Coventry, Warwickshire, England. He came from England to America with his parents in May 1851 when he was only a year old.  They were converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

After coming west, he met Mary Elizabeth Lusk. They were married September 14, 1874 at the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. She had been born in Pleasant Grove City, Utah, May 7, 1855. Her parents were John W. Lusk and Esther Catherine Park, converts to the LDS faith from Illinois and Tennessee, respectively. In April 1866, Mary moved with her father’s family to Malad City, Idaho, where she met Henry.

Mitchell and Mary Elizabeth eventually had eleven children: John Henry (1875); Edward Lusk (1876); David Lusk (1878); Clara Esther (1880); Arthur Lusk (1882); Chester Lusk (1884); Mary Edith (1886); twins Ada and Ida (1888, stillborn); Ethel Lusk (1890); and Delbert Lusk (1895). Edward and Delbert died as young children.

Henry was one of the first men to settle in Arbon Valley, Idaho, especially in the northern portion of the valley. He was the older brother to Charles Edward Bolingbroke, another Arbon homesteader. Henry, along with other settlers, filed for water rights on Rattlesnake Creek in 1889. This was actually before Bannock Valley was open for homesteading, but people were able to take up “Possessory” claims (also sometimes known as “squatter’s rights”). He built a one room log cabin on his homestead. After proving up, Henry Mitchell went back to Malad, where he made his living by being a carpenter.

At that time, married men were often sent on missions.  Henry went back to England on a mission, serving from October 6, 1900 to November 6 1902.

Henry’s time in the Bannock Valley was short-lived.  He was only fifty-five when he became ill and died on 1 May 1905 in Malad, Idaho. He is buried in the cemetery there. Mary Elizabeth was a widow for twenty-four years. She died June 9, 1929 at the age of seventy-four.  Their oldest son John Henry took over the homestead.

Sources:

Ward, Laurie Jean: Bannock Valley (Providence, Utah; Keith Watkins and Sons, 1982)

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/KWNJ-3D2

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/70563459

The links provided here lead to links for other family members.