Selvey K. Blodgett crossed the plains to California in 1852, returning after three months.

The evidence

• “Selvey K. Blodgett, the father of William, discontinued his farming business and in 1852 crossed the plains to California to investigate the wonderful stories told of that western state, returning to his home in Beloit after three months, where he continued to buy and ship stock and produce.”

  1908-brown-rock-county/34c-biographical-3.md, Vol. 2, PDF p. 433 / book p. 924

  Brown, William Fiske, editor. Rock County, Wisconsin: A New History of Its Cities, Villages, Towns, Citizens and Varied Interests, from the Earliest Times, Up to Date. Chicago: C. F. Cooper & Co., 1908. 2 vols. archive.org/details/rockcountywiscon01brow, archive.org/details/rockcountywiscon02brow.

  Grade A: Found on a page of one of our sources