Donald Lonson Stilwell, Sr. (1883-1962)

I spent some time today scanning a lot of old photos that have been in my "pile" for ages.  Most of them will eventually appear on this blog, but today I wanted to do a post about the person pictured in one of the most interesting photos I found today:  Donald Lonson Stilwell, Sr.

Donald was born on 7 December 1883 in Deadwood, Dakota Territory.  His parents were Lucien White Stilwell and Julia Bristol.  Lucien and his wife had taken up residence in Deadwood about 1879. 

Donald went to college in Michigan and became a physician.  He married Maude Marie Kellerman about 1913 and they had at least two children, Elizabeth Jane (born 1915) and Donald L. Jr. (born 1918).

Donald Sr. died in July 1962 in San Mateo, California.  He was 78 years old.

The Stilwells are a family that I really need to revisit and do a long post on, but that is for another day.

Other Stilwell researchers have shared a number of photos with me, but I want to post the ones in my possession. 

Donald Stilwell seated on the ground, his mother Julia directly behind him, his father Lucien standing on right

 And this is the one that I found today.  I just love it:

Donald Lonson Stilwell, Deadwood Dakota Territory

He looks to be about five in this picture which would date it ca 1888.  The territory became the states of North and South Dakota in November 1889, so this photo is before that.