Earl Lester ORVIS

Abt 1893 - 1935  (41 years)

• Name	Earl Lester ORVIS
  Birth	Abt 13 Jun 1893	Colorado
  Gender	Male
  Death	29 Jan 1935	Valier, Pondera County, Montana
  Notes	In the 1920 census, he was a hired man on the S. J. Uleberg farm in Pondera County on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Margaret and Joan were living with him. In the 1930 census, he was a farmer in Birch Creek Twp, Pondera County, Montana. He died and his wife, both children, and his wife’s brother-in-law Art Dawson, were severely burned in a fire on the Orvis home on January 27, 1935. An article in the 28 Jan 1935 edition of the Great Falls Tribune called the incident a fire and explosion at the ranch home of Earl Orvis, 14 miles northwest of Great Falls on the Blackfeet Indian reservation. This would be near Valier, Montana. The fire and explosion … “… occurred shortly after Mr. Orvis had started a fire in the family stove. Seeking to hasten it, he opened the front draft of the stove. The stove exploded, throwing embers about the room and setting fire to a can of distillate sitting on the floor near the stove. “Dawson, least seriously burned, escaped through a doorway before flames blocked the opening. Mrs. Orvis and her two sons {sic} broke a window and screen to escape from the flame-filled room, aiding Mr. Orvis, who is in a serious condition as the result of burns on the body. The four were brought to the Powell hospital here where they are receiving treatment. “The Orvis home, one of a number owned by white settlers on a leased block on the reservation, was burned to the ground. All personal belongings of the family were lost. Clothing for the family is being furnished by the Red Cross. “Mrs. Orvis is burned on the hands, legs, and body. Both boys {sic} are burned on the faces and hands. Dawson’s injuries are confined to minor burns on the hands.” An article in the Conrad, Montana, Independent-Observer, on 31 Jan 1935, noted that Earl Orvis had died of his injuries on Tuesday. That article said that Orvis had used distillate as part of his “hastening” of the fire and that this incident was one of several deaths that have occurred in the Valier district from using distillate to kindle fires. The Independent-Observer article said that Orvis had been “terribly burned” with “flesh hanging in charred strips on his limbs and body.” His wife and 8 year-old son were also badly burned while the daughter and a brother-in-law received minor burns.
  Person ID	I29529	Don Carlson's Tree
  Last Modified	19 Sep 2019

  
  

  Family	Magnhild Aleksandra KARLSEN,   b. 13 Jun 1896, Beieren, Nordland, Norway d. 17 Sep 1980, Shelby, Toole County, Montana (Age 84 years)
  Marriage	8 Apr 1917	Shelby, Toole County, Montana
  	as Magnhild Carlson and Earl Lester Orvis by William Pippy, a minister for the M.E. Church
  Children	1. Jona Adeline ORVIS,   b. 9 Dec 1917, Shelby, Toole County, Montana d. 19 Mar 2012, Fergus County, Montana (Age 94 years)   2. Earl (Bud) Eugene ORVIS,   b. 17 Mar 1926, Pondera County, Montana d. 23 Oct 1977, Liberty County, Montana (Age 51 years)
  Family ID	F20518	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	19 Sep 2019