Erastus Flavel Beadle
Encyclopedia
Biography
He was born in Oswego County, New YorkOswego County, New York
Oswego County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 Census, the estimated population was 122,109. The City of Oswego and the Village of Pulaski serve as the dual county seats in a two shire system of government...
, United States, in 1821. He had a sibling: Irwin Pedro Beadle (1826-1882). They were the grandsons of Benjamin Beadle, a Revolutionary War soldier. After a temporary move to Michigan, the Beadle family returned to New York, and lived in Chautauqua County, New York
Chautauqua County, New York
-Major highways:* Interstate 86/New York State Route 17 * Interstate 90 * U.S. Route 20* U.S. Route 62* New York State Route 5* New York State Route 39* New York State Route 60* New York State Route 394...
. Erastus worked for a miller named Hayes, where he began his printing career when cutting wooden letters to label bags of grain. In 1838, he was apprenticed to H & E Phinney, a publishing firm in Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 1,852 at the 2010 census.The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York...
. There he learned typesetting, stereotyping, binding, and engraving. He married Mary Ann Pennington in 1846, and in 1847 the couple moved to Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, where Erastus worked as a stereotyper. In 1849 Irwin went to Buffalo too, and found a job as a bookbinder. The next year, the brothers set up their own stereotype foundry. Irwin left the company in 1856 and went to the Nebraska Territory
Nebraska Territory
The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Nebraska. The Nebraska Territory was created by the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854...
where he acted as a secretary for a company settling the town of Saratoga
Saratoga, Nebraska Territory
Saratoga Springs, Nebraska Territory, or Saratoga, was a boom and bust town founded in 1856 that throve for several years. During its short period of influence the town grew quickly, outpacing other local settlements in the area including Omaha and Florence, and briefly considered as a candidate...
. The town was busted in 1857, and Beadle returned to Nebraska shortly thereafter.
Erastus retired to Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 1,852 at the 2010 census.The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York...
, in 1889, where he died on December 18, 1894.
Books
- To Nebraska in 1857: A Diary of E. F. Beadle.
- California Joe, the Mysterious Plainsman: The Strange Adventures of an Unknown Man, whose real identity, like that of the "Man of the Iron Mask," is still unsolved.
- Adventures of Buffalo Bill from Boyhood to Manhood. Deeds of Daring, Scenes of Thrilling, Peril, and Romantic Incidents In the Early Life of W. F. Cody, the Monarch of Bordermen.