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Ralph Adams Filcher

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Birth	:	8 Sep 1867 Marysville, Yuba County, California, USA
Death	:	14 Mar 1925 Butte, Silver Bow County, Montana, USA
Burial	:	Riverview Memory Gardens, Defiance, Defiance County, USA
Coordinate	:	41.2938995, -84.2583008
Description	:	You can read more about Ralph Adams Filcher in "Georgia's Story" an account of Georgia Filcher's life by her daughter Lois at http://sdrv.ms/Z2ZSwm The following is taken from the text of the Filcher Family history by Ralph Emmett Filcher and Josephine Filcher Delmar, 1982: "Ralph Adams Filcher was the eldest son of John Taylor Filcher and Mary Ann Nevles. They produced 8 offspring: Eliza Adeline Filcher(1865-1885); Ralph Adams Filcher(1867-1925); Thomas Joseph Filcher(1870-1875); Charles William Filcher(1872-1876); Jennie Emma Filcher(1876-1947); Joseph Decatur Filcher(1878-1940); John Enoch Filcher(1881-1884); Maude Irene Filcher(1884-1968). Ralph Adams Filcher became a miner in the Butte and Boulder, Montana areas and was a local... Read More	You can read more about Ralph Adams Filcher in "Georgia's Story" an account of Georgia Filcher's life by her daughter Lois at http://sdrv.ms/Z2ZSwm The following is taken from the text of the Filcher Family history by Ralph Emmett Filcher and Josephine Filcher Delmar, 1982: "Ralph Adams Filcher was the eldest son of John Taylor Filcher and Mary Ann Nevles. They produced 8 offspring: Eliza Adeline Filcher(1865-1885); Ralph Adams Filcher(1867-1925); Thomas Joseph Filcher(1870-1875); Charles William Filcher(1872-1876); Jennie Emma Filcher(1876-1947); Joseph Decatur Filcher(1878-1940); John Enoch Filcher(1881-1884); Maude Irene Filcher(1884-1968). Ralph Adams Filcher became a miner in the Butte and Boulder, Montana areas and was a local strongman and agressive fighter, "Kid Filcher", and a man about town. When he married Lucy Jane Holt in 1895, the wedding announcement in the local paper had an editorial comment included wishing her good luck and hoping she would be able to tolerate his lifestyle." Their marriage produced two sons, John James Filcher(1896-1971) and Joseph Benjamin Filcher(1897-1970). They were later divorced and Lucy Holt was remarried to Doctor Daniel E. McKay in White Sulphur Springs, Montana. That marriage produced 3 sons(Dan, Emmett and Marion) and 1 daughter(Hester). The McKay children stayed close to Ralph and Lucy's children throughout their lives and the Filcher-McKay connection continues to this day. Lucy Holt Filcher McKay died in 1960. Lucy and Ralph's divorce was so bitter that she took every photograph she had with the two of them in it and cut Ralph out of the photo. As a young man, I (David Filcher) remember seeing a photo of my Great Grandmother Lucy and all that was visible of Ralph was part of Ralph's arm. Thus, the only photographic rememberance the Filcher family has of Ralph Adams Filcher are the photos shown in this memorial. Ralph and son John worked together at the Jib Mine in Basin, MT. Ralph was injured in a mining accident that resulted in the amputation of his leg and this led to his death 16 days later. After his father's death, son John decided to leave mining for good. Sometime around 1980, Ralph Emmett Filcher located Ralph Adams Filcher's unmarked grave in Mountain View Cemetery in Butte, MT. Ralph Emmett later had a headstone made and "set" the stone himself on Ralph's grave to mark the resting place of the Grandfather he never met. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The following was taken from "Georgia's Story", an account of the life of Georgia Filcher by her daughter, Lois Filcher Longbottom, 2008; Chapter Thirteen, Ben Filcher (Father): Boulder Montana 1897 Ben's mother, Lucy, lived in the small town of White Sulphur Springs, in central Montana, and it was there, that Georgia and Ben's first child, Ralph Emmett Filcher, was born on May 18, 1927. Lucy Holt Filcher MacKay was in attendance as the nurse/midwife for the birth along with her husband Dr. Daniel MacKay, at the MacKay Hospital. Lucy Holt and Ben's father, Ralph Adams Filcher, had had a short tempestuous marriage. When they had met in Butte, Ralph was a miner, but he also enjoyed something of a reputation as an amateur boxer and a tough competitor. He boxed under the name of Kid Filcher. He had fought 52 rounds to a draw against a man by the name of Fred Robinson who went on to fight the famous heavyweight champion boxer John L. Sullivan. During the late 19th century, the popularity of boxing rose in this country simply because of Sullivan. He was a hard drinking, brawling, bare-knuckle bully who enthralled the public with his ability to knock out opponents. This was in the bare-fisted days, before the introduction of boxing gloves, when each knockdown was considered a round. Fights would last as many rounds as necessary until someone collapsed. In 1892, a fight went to a draw of 100 rounds. The longest fight was in 1893 and lasted 7 hours and 110 rounds. The strength and endurance of the fighters was said to be incredible, to have the stamina to continue to fight until they could no longer lift their hands. In 1884, Sullivan was touring the country, fighting exhibition fights in theaters, dance halls, and armories offering $1,000 to anyone who could stay four rounds with him, Queensberry rules. This meant that the fighters wore gloves, fought for three-minute rounds and were given a one-minute rest between the rounds. It also stated that a 10-count determined a knockout. The Marquis of Queensberry had sanctioned the rules in 1867 in England to combat the numbers of deaths or disfigurements in the ring, but they were slow in being adopted in America. Few opponents lasted more than one round. Robinson was knocked out in round two. This bout with Kid Filcher had lasted fifty rounds longer. It was during this time of his life that Ralph met the young woman from nearby Boulder, Montana. Lucy Holt's family was well known in Boulder and Butte, and the handsome Ralph's dashing reputation was hard to resist. There was rumor of a Holt family lineage back to Pocahontas. Her family had moved to Montana from Pocahontas, Illinois, which may have accounted for that rumor, but, she did have the skin tone and high cheekbones common to many Native Americans. (She preferred to suppress that part of her background, but, a paragraph suggesting the connection was discovered in her bible after her death). The Holt family originally came from England and owned a farm in Illinois. They later moved west to Boulder, Montana, and acquired a ranch which abutted a very popular resort the Boulder Hot Springs, used by wealthy mine owners and other elite families of Butte. The Holt family always maintained that the owners of the adjacent property had paid an unscrupulous surveyor to re-survey the Hot Springs property. The man had allegedly re-drawn the boundaries, recording the resort on the neighbor's property, rather than, as was rightly so, on the Holts',thereby significantly decreasing the value of the Holt's land. Still her family's ranch was of substantial size. The prosperous Holt family had enabled Lucy to grow up with the privileges unheard of to Ralph, who's mine speculator father had had ups and downs in his career.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Ralph Adams Filcher's memorial?
Ralph Adams Filcher's memorial is located at: Riverview Memory Gardens, Defiance, Defiance County, USA.
When did Ralph Adams Filcher death?
Ralph Adams Filcher death on 14 Mar 1925 in Butte, Silver Bow County, Montana, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Ralph Adams Filcher's memorial?
Latitude: 41.2938995
Longitude: -84.2583008

Family Members:

Parent

John Taylor Filcher

(1838 - 1904)

Mary Ann Nevles Filcher

(1846 - 1930)

Spouse

Carrie O'Neil Brijkovec

(1870 - 1927)

Lucy Jane Holt McKay

(1876 - 1960)

Siblings

Joseph Decatur Filcher

(1878 - 1940)

Children

Flowers:

May eternal blessings be yours

Left by Anonymous on 29 May 2008

This was my Father, Ralph E. Filcher's Grandfather. I remember going with my Dad to locate this grave in Butte, MT in the late 70's possibly early 80's. Ralph Adams Filcher was buried in an umarked grave in a rather neglected area of the cemetery. A few years later (late 80's?), my Father had a memorial stone made for his grave and placed the headstone himself. Although Ralph Adams had died two years prior to his grandson Ralph E.'s birth, my father felt it important to have the grave marked and recognized. RIP Great Grandfather, may you have found eternal peace after a life hard lived. Read less

Left by Anonymous on 10 Jul 2011

Left by Anonymous on 11 Dec 2012

Left by Anonymous on 28 May 2013

Left by Anonymous on 26 May 2014

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Riverview Memory Gardens
Defiance, Defiance County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2938995, -84.2583008

2. Rohn Cemetery
Defiance County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2963982, -84.2643967

3. Huse Cemetery
Defiance, Defiance County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2851982, -84.2464981

4. Hohenberger Cemetery
Defiance County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2728004, -84.2705994

5. Stykeman-Minsel Cemetery
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Coordinate: 41.2970010, -84.2931180

6. Hire Cemetery
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Coordinate: 41.2797012, -84.2956009

7. Parry Cemetery
Florida, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3116989, -84.2230988

8. Independence Cemetery
Independence, Defiance County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2980995, -84.3019028

9. Peter Cemetery
Jewell, Defiance County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3291626, -84.2569809

10. Brinkman Cemetery
Florida, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3116989, -84.2108002

11. Ayersville Cemetery
Ayersville, Defiance County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2518500, -84.2883800

12. Old Saint Stephens Lutheran Cemetery
Ayersville, Defiance County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2458687, -84.2483139

13. Florida Cemetery
Florida, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3252335, -84.2016220

14. Saint Stephens Lutheran Cemetery
Defiance County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2366982, -84.2363968

15. Huston Cemetery
Florida, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3053017, -84.1680984

16. Hill Cemetery
Ayersville, Defiance County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2242012, -84.2743988

17. Poplar Ridge Cemetery
Defiance, Defiance County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3596992, -84.2947006

18. Brey Cemetery
Napoleon, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3534610, -84.1991170

19. Fort Defiance Burial Ground
Defiance, Defiance County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2875340, -84.3575200

20. Kahlo Cemetery
Defiance, Defiance County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2789001, -84.3563995

21. Metz-Tittle Cemetery
Defiance County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3669014, -84.2857971

22. Presbyterian Cemetery (Defunct)
Defiance, Defiance County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2829850, -84.3591420

23. Saint Michaels Catholic Cemetery
Adams Ridge, Defiance County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3631060, -84.3060610

24. Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery
Defiance County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3702100, -84.2291200