Samuel J. Basset, 1850-1940    

 

Headstone GPS Coordinates: 

Birth: 4 April 1850,   Llanelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales   

Death: 23 June 1940, Sedro-Woolley, Skagit County, Washington

Relatives in Seabeck Cemetery: Anna (Evans) Bassett, John Evans

American Revolutionary War Patriots: None

 

Samuel J. Bassett was born on April 4, 1850, in Llanelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales, United Kingdom, to Samuel Bassett and Elizabeth Hopkins. He was the eldest of six children.

Many families in Llanelly worked in the region’s rich coal mines, and, like his father, Samuel became a coal miner. Around 1871, when he was twenty-one years old, Samuel moved with his parents and siblings to Clydach, Ystradyfodwg, Glamorgan, Wales, where he may have met his future wife, Anna.

Anna J. Evans was born on December 16, 1849, in Llanfyllin, Montgomeryshire, Wales. Her father, John Evans, was a laborer, and her mother was Mary Vaughn.

Samuel and Anna were married in 1874.

In 1877, the couple departed Liverpool, England, aboard the steamer City of Richmond, arriving in New York City on October 1. In the 1880 census, they were living in Palmyra, Portage County, Ohio, where Samuel worked as a coal miner and Anna as a housekeeper. Anna’s father, John Evans, was living next door with her uncle, Wakin Vaughn; both men were employed as coal miners.

Sometime around 1891, the Bassetts moved to Crosby in Kitsap County, Washington. They eventually purchased 160 acres of land just northeast of the Crosby School. In time, Anna’s father, John Evans, came to live with them.

While primarily working his farm, Samuel also became a Baptist minister. He conducted church services in the Crosby Schoolhouse on Sundays and wrote several obituaries for deceased community members that were published in the Kitsap County Herald under the pen name “Brutus.” He was also a member of the Crosby Community Club. In 1895, he was elected Justice of the Peace in Seabeck and served in this role for one year.

By 1910, Samuel was listed as working as a carpenter. On April 10, 1918, his wife Anna died in Seattle, likely while seeking treatment for the lobar pneumonia that claimed her life. She was sixty-seven years old. Her body was brought back across the Sound for burial at Seabeck Cemetery.

The late historian Fred Just recorded the following story in his book Seabeck and the Surrounding Area:

“After his wife died, he [Samuel] tried to ‘spark’ Nancy M. Just. Sam always carried a cane and chewed tobacco which drooled down his chin. She had no interest in him although she was kind to him. One night when visiting her he stayed till after dark, so she asked her grandson Melvin E. Just to walk Mr. Bassett home. Melvin did not like Mr. Bassett. Shortly after leaving, Melvin came back home. When questioned why he was back so quick, he said that Mr. Bassett told him that he could make it on his own so Melvin could go back home. At that time, Mrs. Just’s son Lester had taken out some large stumps so that the garden could be extended. One hole in particular was rather deep and muddy. It was found out later that Melvin had led Mr. Bassett into the hole and left him there to make his own way home. There is no record of Melvin’s punishment.”

Samuel continued to live alone on his farm in Crosby until tragedy struck twice when two of his homes burned down in 1927 and 1928. These incidents were recorded in the Kitsap County Herald (it is worth noting that Samuel himself was known in the paper by the pen name “Brutus”).

Kitsap County Herald, Friday, April 1, 1927:
The Home of Brutus Burns to the Ground

“The house, barn and some other buildings belonging to Rev. S. J. Basset of Crosby burned to the ground Wednesday noon. Mr. Bassett had gone a little ways from home and was doing some work on his place, when he looked up and saw the roof of his house ablaze. He rushed home and made every effort to put out the fire, but it was too far gone. He was alone and had no one to help him. In the excitement, he rescued only a few minor things. About everything he had except the clothes he wore was burned up. He saved a few bedclothes and his radio, easiest to get out, but all the rest went up in smoke. He had $50 in paper money put away, and that burned up with the rest. He had many valuable things, some of which he could not put a price on, as they were much thought of. Mr. Bassett’s health has been quite poor lately, and he had no insurance, so everything is a complete loss. It is a pitiful case. His large number of friends may make some arrangement to help him out, as the people around Crosby have shown a fine spirit before.”

Kitsap County Herald, Friday, July 13, 1928, Seabeck:

“Rev. Bassett lost his little house again by fire a few weeks ago. He lost practically everything he had, among which was a gold watch and other precious heirlooms. The neighbors have helped him to build another small house. The Hite brothers donated part of the lumber.”

Samuel was in his late seventies when these fires occurred. In 1930, he was living as a boarder with the Barricean (Barrieau) family in Crosby. He sold forty acres of his property to Jack Barrieau and his family while continuing to live with them.

In 1933, fire struck once again.

Kitsap County Herald, October 27, 1933, Crosby:

“Mr. S. J. Bassett burned out his last small shack about a couple weeks ago. In the fire he lost his good overcoat and most all of his clothes. This is the third time Mr. Bassett has lost his place of abode by fire in the last five years. One has to be very careful about fire, and when a man gets old, he sure needs someone to watch and care for him, and even then, one can’t always do it. This time Mr. Bassett almost lost his life. It is a constant worry to the folks who care for him. He has caught his clothes on fire so many times with his pipe. We hope in the future that he will be more careful.”

In 1934, Samuel moved to Sunnyvale Home in Port Orchard. By 1935, he was living in Snohomish County. In the 1940 census, taken on April 16, Samuel was listed as a patient at Northern State Hospital. He died a few months later, on June 23, 1940, at the age of ninety.

Samuel’s body was returned to Seabeck Cemetery, where he was buried beside his wife. Neither Samuel’s nor Anna’s grave has a headstone today, but both burial sites are marked on Fred Just’s plot map.

According to available records, Samuel and Anna never had any children. Samuel’s only known relative living in the area was his nephew, John Emlyn Bassett, who resided in Bremerton.