Abner Levi Blackburn Sr. was one of four children born to Anthony Blackburn (1803-1851) and Esther A. Rose Blackburn (1800-1876) at St. Clair Township, Bedford, Pennsylvania.

Abner married Lucinda Harris (1832-1906) on April 28, 1852 at San Bernardino, San Bernardino, California. Lucinda was the daughter of John Harris (1808-1899) and Lovina Eiler or Iler Harris (1807-1886). Lucinda's siblings were Daniel Harris (Hannah Thornton) (1831-1892), Angeline Harris (Wm.) Hyde (1834-1893), Jacob Harris (Eliza Carpenter)(1837-1846), Susannah Harris (Clark) Fabun (1840-1917, Rebecca Harris (Wm Reed Stockbridge) Warren (1842-1927), Joseph Harris ( 1844-1846)Oliver Harris (Lodernia Sly) (1847-1919), George Harris (Martha Ann Thornton) (1850-1926), Joseph H. Harris (1852-?)

BLACKBURN, Abner Levi born 13 Jan 1827 rank: as a PVT in Company C

"GANG HAS TIES TO THE BLACKBURN BROTHERS"

It is likely that Aaron Lane knew some of the men involved in these thefts, as several were from the east end of town near the Timber Settlement where he had lived. A connection tying some of these culprits together is the Blackburn brothers, with whom Aaron was acquainted.

Thomas Blackburn and Abner Levi Blackburn were early pioneers who shared a cabin in the fort at San Bernardino during the first part of the 1850s. Convict Peter Sprague is recorded as living with the Thomas Blackburn family in 1860, on their ranch located in the City Creek Settlement. Thomas died in 1863, and his widow, Emily, married convicted horse thief Isaac Hawley the following year.

Abner was a brother-in-law of the Harris brothers, having married their sister, Lucinda. The father of Jacob, Daniel and Lucinda was John Harris, who was also one of San Bernardino's original pioneers. After leaving the fort, John moved his family of seven children to Old San Bernardino, just across the river from the Timber Settlement. Abner was subpoenaed by the grand jury in the Harris and Sprague case tried in October, but he could not be located by Deputy William Levick, who notified the court that he had "ascertained that [Blackburn] is not in the County."

Another tie to the gang of horse thieves was Abner's relationship by marriage to Clark Fabun, who had married another Harris daughter, Susannah. Fabun had provided a bail bond and served as a witness in the case involving Welch and Harris.

There is nothing in the court records to indicate that any Blackburns themselves were ever involved in the thefts in San Bernardino. Abner served as a trial juror both in the September 1861 and February 1862 court sessions, and he would not likely have been called if he were under any kind of suspicion.

It should be mentioned, though, that Abner's past is allegedly not without blemish. There is a family tradition that he stole six mules from Mormon leader Brigham Young himself, and the men sent out to recover them never returned. However, this account could simply be a myth.

THE MOTIVATION FOR THE HORSE THEFTS

Just what caused this flurry of horse thievery in San Bernardino County cannot be stated decidedly. The offenders for the most part were not professional outlaws, so there must have been a feeling of opportunity provided by the Civil War for those who might otherwise have followed the straight and narrow path.

Many of the thieves may very well have belonged to that group of people referred to earlier as "transient Salt Lakers" -- Mormons without permanent roots. Of those who had answered Brigham Young's call to return to Utah in 1857, even the most faithful chafed at the tyrannical rule of this despot.

The San Bernardino Mormons had grown accustomed to the liberal regime of Amasa Lyman, Church leader and co-owner of the Rancho San Bernardino, and they resented some of the more odious intrusions of the Church into their family life. Many returned to San Bernardino over the years, some as early as 1858.

If some of the thieves were indeed transient Salt Lakers, it would explain much about their involvement in such a risky pursuit. Men who had lost their investments in the community, restless and discontented, might be tempted by the prospect of adventure and easy money.

It is also possible the Mormon horse thieves did not see their actions as criminal, but rather as heroic. During the Mormon War, the members of Utah's militia who had harassed the U. S. Army troops were seen as heroes. For years the Mormon hierarchy had preached that their people had been abused, that they should not again fall victim to mob rule as they had in Missouri and Illinois, and that the United States, or the United States Army at least, was their enemy.

The exploits of Lot Smith, in particular, delighted Mormons. He was the leader of a small band of zealots who, during the U. S. Army's incursion into Utah in 1857, burned three government supply trains, set fire to grasses on the plains to deny fodder for the enemy's stock, and drove off 1400 head of government cattle, among other daring feats. His attacks were audacious and astounding, and took place under the very noses of Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston's troops.

Admiration for these exploits was only natural during a period of war. However, since anti-U.S. sentiment still ran high in the Mormon community, it is conceivable that the criminals in San Bernardino saw the theft of the "enemy's" horses as anything but dishonorable. In their eyes they may have been the modern David defeating Goliath."

-http://www.empirenet.com/rdthompson/lane6.html
-http://nybirds.net/jsbailey/

July 24, 1897 George Ed Andersen photo of original 1847 Utah Pioneers, taken at Temple Square
Abner is Number 241.
See at: http://www.dupinternational.org/jubilee/pioneersnumbered.htm

-From "Frontiersman: Abner Blackburn's Narrative", edited by Will Bagley, page xxix

1. M Jesse O. BLACKBURN
Born: 21 Oct 1871 Place: San Bernardino, San Bernardino, Ca
Married: Florence Skinner

2. M Frederick Abner BLACKBURN
Born: 30 Oct 1873 Place: San Bernardino, San Bernardino, Ca
Died: 1919 Place: Hemet, Riverside, Ca
Married: Mary Lenore Chapman c. 1906

3. F Annette Matilda BLACKBURN
Born: 6 Mar 1864 Place: San Bernardino, San Bernardino, Ca
Died: 12 Dec 1947 Place: , , Ca
Married: Thomas Jefferson West on March 16, 1887

4. M William Byron BLACKBURN
Born: 7 Apr 1860 Place: San Bernardino, San Bernardino, Ca
Married: Jessie Cassoway

5. F Ella Lucinda BLACKBURN
Born: 13 Apr 1862 Place: San Bernardino, San Bernardino, Ca
Married: William McCaw

6. M Abner Levi BLACKBURN Jr.
Born: 15 May 1853 Place: San Bernardino, San Bernardino, Ca
Died: 1908 Place:
Married:

7. M John BLACKBURN
Born: 15 May 1853 Place: San Bernardino, San Bernardino, Ca
Married:

8. F Mary Adelia BLACKBURN
Born: 17 May 1869 Place: San Bernardino, San Bernardino, Ca
Married: William Mullholland

9. M Charles BLACKBURN
Born: 21 Nov 1856 Place: San Bernardino, San Bernardino, Ca
Died: 30 Aug 1941 Place:
Married: Minnie Stull in 1881

10. M John Franklin BLACKBURN
Born: 4 Dec 1854 Place: San Bernardino, San Bernardino, Ca
Married:   Delia Thomas

Sources:

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