Did you get snow? Bet it was nothing like the snow of 1898.

We got snow this weekend – lots of it.

Here’s a picture showing the snow piled on the railing of our back deck.

But, it was nothing like the Blizzard of 1898 – with 15′ high snow drifts.

We found many articles about the Blizzard of 1898 in GenealogyBank – including this one…

…about Abram Decker who was saved from freezing to death in the snowstorm by the persistence of his “devoted wife”.

This story was picked up and printed by the Idaho Daily Statesman, 18 Aug 1898.

Wow, what a story. His wife searching for him through 15′ snow drifts – finally spotting his foot above the snow and her efforts to rescue him by taking the railings from a fence to build a bonfire – lit by the flame in her lantern, to keep him warm. The fire got the attention of two farmers who came to their rescue.

Now that’s an incredible family story.

Tip: Don’t limit your search to just one state – Remember that the articles you’re looking for may have appeared in a newspaper in another state – in this example the story was picked up and printed in a paper clear across the country in Idaho.