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March 1, 2024 39 mins

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🚨Are YOU related to ME? Find me on Family🌳Search: Edward Augustus Boardman🔗 Then click “VIEW RELATIONSHIP” to see if we are cousins. 

In this deeply moving episode of Family History Drama, we follow the remarkable journey of Edward Augustus “Gus” Boardman, a Union Pacific Railroad man, proud builder of the Georgetown Loop, and grieving father. From the booming heights of Colorado’s gold rush towns to the devastating depths of family loss, Gus recounts a life marked by innovation, resilience, and heartbreak.

Born in 1859 in Buffalo, New York, and later building a new life with his Irish bride Catherine Fitzsimmons in Golden and Victor, Colorado, Gus rose through the ranks of the railroad world while also opening a bustling mercantile in the heart of the mining district. But even amid promise and prosperity, tragedy struck with heartbreaking force: diphtheria (or scarlet fever) claimed three of their young children in just one week, followed by the near-death of their last child from a falling boulder during a mine blast.

Told through dramatized narration, historical sound design, and real excerpts from 19th-century poetry, Episode 11 captures both the promise and peril of frontier life. From the wonder of the Devil’s Gate High Bridge to the quiet strength of a father doing everything he can to save his wife from sorrow, this story honors a family who gave everything—and still found meaning through the pain.

“Family History Drama. True Ancestry, told like legend.”

CHARACTERS: (in order of mention)
Edward Augustus “Gus” Boardman
Lewis Boardman
Mary Frances Riffier
Catherine Fitzsimmons
Jacob Blickensderfer
Frances Agnes Boardman
Catherine Isabella Boardman
Edward “Eddie” Augustus Boardman
William Greeneberry Russell
Susan “Sukie” Jane Willis
Cherokee
James W. Denver
Jefferson Territorial Legislature
President James Buchanan
Robert Miller Womack (Crazy Bob)
Winfield Scott Stratton
WIlliam Henry Channing
Victor Adams
Harry Woods
Frank Woods
Warren Woods
Jack Dempsey
Nellie Marguerite Boardman
George S. Sheffield
Dr. Carlin
Dr. Delaney
Billy Sullivan
Sisters of Loretto
Kahlil Gibran

Support the show

🕵️‍♂️ Find me at https://www.FamilyHistoryDrama.com
📧 Email me at FamilyHistoryDrama@gmail.com
🐦 Tweet the Podcast @FamilyHistoryFM

Generational Healing Through Family History
Memories Are Passed Through DNA From Your Grandparents, Say Scientists
https://www.buzzworthy.com/memories-dna-grandparents/

Sound Credits: https://freesound.org

INSTAGRAM:
@FamilyHistoryDrama
@TravisM.Heaton

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