Gold Boom The Story of Robert E. Lund
Robert Elbert Lund 1841 – 1912
Robert E. Lund was born in Ontario, Canada in 1841. He was born to Richard Lund, English Pioneer and early settler of Port Perry, Scugog Island, Ontario, Canada. Robert’s father Richard was a wealthy merchant and upstanding member of his community. He cared greatly about education and politics in his town and was revered for his contributions to both.
Robert also cared about education as he studied to become and attorney and later a judge. He was also a minister who led many congregations in his lifetime. He married French Canadian, Saphrona Celia Ranous and they had five children. When he was in his early thirties, he moved his family to America in pursuit of higher education for his children. The time was the late 1870s and he and his wife settled into their new life in Greenville, Michigan where they remained for many years.
In 1886, the family relocated from Greenville, Michigan to White Oaks, New Mexico. At this point Robert Lund was forty-five years old and his children ranged in ages from nine to twenty-one. The oldest was his son Fletcher, two daughters Sarah and Alice (who went by her middle name Maude) followed and finally his two young sons Albert and Robert.
The Reverend set up shop in a small brick building with partner and original owner of the building, William Watson. They called the building the “Watson Lund” building and both men worked from there. Watson was an attorney who later married Robert’s youngest daughter Alice Maude Lund.
Robert E. Lund was noted to have left his wife and younger children for months at a time on his quest for gold. When the younger boys were slightly older, they went with him and would live in the mountains for months on end.
Lund and Watson were not only practicing law and raising families in White Oaks, they were mining for gold. Watson had been in the area many years before Lund got there and was recognized as one of White Oaks earliest settlers. Lund’s oldest son Fletcher was an assayer and gold miner who worked from the building with the men and mined for gold as well.
He was quite a colorful character, as you would expect any gold mining reverend and judge to be.
One morning after a cold spell passed through town Robert awoke to find that his dynamite had frozen. Not one to be easily deterred he quickly developed a plan to thaw out his dynamite so he could get on with his mining for the day.
The dear old prospector being of sound mind and body decided to place his dynamite atop a crackling fire to thaw out. He then climbed up to the roof of the mining shed where he stretched out to sun himself… he fell asleep and sure enough… the crash-boom-bam of exploding dynamite woke him from his slumber.
What a sight that must have been… the sleepy miner scurrying down off the roof for safety, barely awake, running for cover…
It was on this occasion that his sons would privately nickname him the “Dynamite Preacher.”
Story added by: Donna Ikard
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Lincoln County Ownership
Results for your Search by Grantee: LUND ROBERT For official copies of documents, please visit the County office. Type Grantee Rec Book Page # Filed Grantor Instrument Description Doc# QCD LUND ROBERT E 1 J 438 2 18880723 HANNIBAL CLAIM 18880630 WHITE OAKS MINING DISTRICT 188810438 1 HANNIBAL NO 2 CLAIM 188810438 1 REID PETER 188810438 RECEIPT LUND ROBERT E 1 K 252 1 18890221 HANNIBAL LODE 18890129 WHITE OAKS MINING DISTRICT 188910252 1 UNITED STATES LAND OFFICE 188910252 Section 26 Township 06S Range 11E 188910252 WD LUND ROBERT E 1 K 548 1 18890713 CHURCH OF WHITE OAKS 18890604 188910548 1 CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF 188910548 Track Unit Block 18 Lot 3 Parcel WHITE OAKS O P 188910548 QCD LUND ROBERT E 1 N 552 2 18910512 ARGONANT LODE 18910509 WHITE OAKS MINING DISTRICT 189110552 1 EUREKA LODE 189110552 1 WATSON WILLIAM 189110552 QCD LUND ROBERT E 1 O 89 2 18911111 PLACER NO 1 18911109 WHITE OAKS MINING DISTRICT 189110089 1 WATSON MAUD L 189110089 1 WATSON WILLIAM 189110089 RECEIPT LUND ROBERT E 1 P 130 1 18921125 RECEIVERS OFFICE ROSWELL 18921119 189210130 Section Township 06S Range 13E PART SECS 31 32 189210130 BOND LUND ROBERT E 1 Q 379 2 18961027 FAUVET ROBERT 18961006 BOND FOR DEED 189610379 Track Unit Block 36 Lot 1 Parcel WHITE OAKS O P 189610379 QCD LUND ROBERT E 1 R 327 2 18990310 BUCKSHOT MINES 18880601 BONITO MINING DISTRICT 189910327 1 LITTLE BUCK MINES 189910327 1 WATSON WILLIAM 189910327 WD LUND ROBERT E 1 S 92 3 19000904 BROTHERS CATHERINE ANGEL 19000709 BROTHERS HOTEL 190010092 1 BROTHERS CHARLES 190010092 1 BROTHERS GEORGE 190010092 1 BROTHERS JOHN A 190010092 1 BROTHERS JOSEPH 190010092 1 WATSON WILLIAM TRUSTEE 190010092 Track Unit Block 4 Lot 2-3 Parcel PART WHITE OAKS O P 190010092 QCD LUND ROBERT E 1 S 136 2 19001105 WATSON MAUD L 19001015 190010136 1 WATSON WILLIAM 190010136
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