Henry Dewey Wilder Henry Dewey was born July 18, 1897 in Paskenta, California. He was the 4th son of James Elias Wilder and Sally Ann Wilder. He grew up in rural California as a young boy helping his family herd angora goats from the Sacramento valley to the Sutter Buttes. Like most young men in the Corning/Paskenta area of California, Dewey developed skills with livestock and farming. He began driving mule teams, hauling grain for local growers. On August 28, 1918, Dewey enlisted in the army to fight in WWI. He served in the medical corp. When he was released from the army he returned home to Corning, California. In 1920 he takes a job working for the Blevin’s farm driving mule teams.

Wilder Brothers; Henry Dewey (right), Jesse Jasper (Left), Orenzo Levi Wilder (top).

Henry Dewey Wilder in World War I Uniform. ©1918

Dewey Meets Clara Charles Wilder, son of Dewey, recounts the story of how his parents met. "Dad got dressed up in his military uniform, the nicest clothes he owned, jumped on his horse and buggy and drove out to a local farm to look for work. As he arrived at the farm, he passed a group of ladies working the farm fruit, one of which was my mother (Clara). She was taken aback by the handsome man in uniform, but more importantly she was in love with his beautiful horse and buggy. She asked one of her lady friends "who is the man with the beautiful horse?". Clara was 15 and Dewey was 25. They were married two years later on July 8th, 1922.

Dewey and Clara lived in Corning/Paskenta area, raising their family and making a good life farming and herding sheep.

Dewey and the sheep heard.

Hunting in California Like many families living in the open land of the Sacramento valley, the Wilders would hunt game to provide their families with food. Venison was a staple to many. Whenever Dewey's family needed meat to eat, they would just go hunting and get a deer. Often the rangers would stop by the campfire and eat Clara’s cooking while Dewey was out hunting. The local rangers came to know Dewey and consider him a friend.

Dewey Wilder (right) and brother Jesse Wilder (left) back from the hunt.

Dewey loved to hunt and he shared this with his family, teaching them the way he learned.. by rote. His wife Clara became a crack shot. John Jasper Wilder, Dewey and Clara's youngest son, recounts this story about his parents. "The family talks about the time that a bear was chasing Dad (in the West Mountains, near Valley View area) and he was yelling at Mother to shoot it and she got the camera first to take a picture ~~ in the picture you can see the bear, but not Dad... She got her picture, then put the camera down and picked up the rifle and then shot the bear."

When Dewey wasn’t hunting to put food on the table, he would take hunters out and act as a guide to earn extra money.

Dewey Wilder the Guide (far left).

Sheep Herding in Idaho Dewey and Clara worked as sheepherders. In the early days they ran sheep in the West Mountains: Log Springs, Valley View, Paskenta area. Around the 1950’s they started herding in Idaho. In the summertime they would run the sheep in the High Country, near West Yellowstone, at the border of Idaho and Montana. They would sheep herd with a wagon & team, camp out in a covered wagon, and ended up living in a big tent and teepee. In the winter the sheep were moved to Mud Lake, Idaho. John Jasper Wilder remembers these travels with his parents, and developed the same love for horses and the outdoors. He recalls being in Idaho in 1958 the year of the big earthquake. They were in the mountains on the Montana side of the border (on the other side of the 10,000' mountain was Idaho) with the sheep when it hit and they almost didn't make it out.

Dewey, wife Clara, son John and Smokey, Dewey's favorite riding horse, at Long Pine Tree Camp in Idaho (approximately 1957).

The rangers stopped by one day to visit Dewey before he died and they talked about his life in the West Mountains and said one last goodbye to the man they knew and called friend. Henry Dewey passed away February 6th, 1973 in Corning California. His wife Clara Mildred Sorenson passed away 2001. They are buried together in the family plot in Paskenta, California. We would like to send a very large thank you to John Jasper Wilder and his wife Donna Wilder for providing this family history. John is the youngest son of Henry Dewey Wilder and Clara Wilder. He and his wife Donna raise paint horses. Visit John and Donna's Web Site for more information on these Wilders.

The lineage of Henry Dewey Wilder: Thomas Wilder and Anna Eames - Nathaniel Wilder and Mary Sawyer - - Nathaniel Wilder Jr. and Damris Whitcomb - - - Elias Wilder and Abigail Rice - - - - Elias Wilder Jr. and Dolly (last name unknown) - - - - - Artemas Wilder and Dolly Crowninshield - - - - - - Elias Wilder and Teresa "Turzah" Fuller - - - - - - - John Crowninshield Wilder - - - - - - - - James Elias Wilder and Sally Ann Wilder - - - - - - - - - - Henry Dewey Wilder

Children of Henry Dewey Wilder and Clara Mildred Sorenson Henry Edward Wilder Carl Andrew Wilder Clara Mary Ann Wilder Charles Dewey Wilder Leona Bertha Wilder Johnny Jasper Wilder

Henry Dewey Wilder Family Photo Album Henry Dewey Wilder with a team of 2. Mother Clara, Bill and Leona, Clara and Chuck Family hunting in the West Mountains. Bill Wilder on horse with guitar. Charles Dewey Wilder on his ribbon winning appaloosa, Sonny's Heart, at "Paskenta Pioneer Days". John Jasper Wilder

Mother Clara Wilder on Motorcycle