“I was intrigued by your story about the ‘Borough Road Hermit’, Blackie.
“After talking with my mom about him last night, she said she remembered him and the approximate location of his place. Using that info, I did some research on Ancestry and, using Census records, discovered his name was John Albert Blackey. Here’s what I found:
“Born May 7, 1877, in Illinois, he was the son of Jeremiah B. Blackey (born NH) and Isabella Baxter (born Ireland). Had a sister, Sarah, and a brother, Harry. His father had been married twice before Isabella (had other kids, long story) and died in 1897, when John was just 18. The family was living in Minnesota.
“By 1900, John was a carpenter and living with his sister in Colorado.
“In 1910, we find him in North Dakota, doing odd jobs, but by 1917 he is “chopping cord wood” for Alfred Kelley in Hill, NH.
“For the next 30+ years he remains “up in the Borough” as my dad would say. He died of a heart condition in February of 1958. (Death certificate incorrectly records his birthplace as Minnesota, but he did live there for many years as a child.)"
“I was hard pressed to find his grave. The death record doesn’t show it, and other sources don’t provide any solid evidence, either. However, there is a stone in the New Hampton Village Cemetery with simply “Blackey” on it. Interestingly, John’s mother’s stone bears a striking resemblance. … Just a wild guess, but I think it could be John’s. A check with the Town of New Hampton might verify this.”
— Karey Naomi Caldwell
Karey’s research would indicate that Blackey would have been 76 when I was born, so he would have been around 80 when the fire destroyed his camp and I saw him for the first time. My recollection is that he had a long black beard, but that may have been an unconscious association with his name — although I suppose an 80-year-old could still have a black beard. Or it could be that his beard was coated in soot when the fire department arrived to try in vain to save his home.
There is another discrepancy besides his place of birth as listed on his death certificate. It states that he had lived in Hill for 50 years, while Karey’s research indicated he was in North Dakota in 1910 and died in 1958. If true, he could not have been in Hill more than 48 years and probably less. Then again, it may have been another error, due to a guess, on the death certificate.
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