Michael Patrick Baghot De La Bere

  General Notes:

Michael Patrick Baghot De La Bere was the sixth of eleven children of the Rev. John Edwards Baghot De La Bere, a Church of England clergyman, and Mary Elizabeth Margaret Bruce, daughter of Sir James Robertson Bruce of Downhill, County Londonderry (or Derry) (now Northern Ireland). The Baghot-De La Beres were an ancient English family of Norman origins, and in former times were holders of several castles in Britain and a large manor near Cheltenham, England (now the Ellenborough Park Hotel). Rev. John De La Bere's family home was a more modest 19th century manor house, the Hayes, on the outskirts of Prestbury, Gloucestershire (now part of a retirement community). Rev. De La Bere was a vicar of Prestbury St. Mary's and later Buxted St. Mary in Sussex.

Michael De La Bere was educated at Brighton College, then left England at age 18, intending to be a pioneer farmer on the Dakota prairie. He soon transferred his focus and went to work for The Sheldon Progress, a newly-founded newspaper in the small town of Sheldon in Ransom County, North Dakota. Within a short time he purchased the newspaper plant from its owner. He became the editor, reporter, and writer for the newspaper, and had one other employee who was the printer and distributor. Mike, as he was known locally, quickly became well known in journalistic circles and also was promoted for political office by his colleagues, although he declined such activity. He was active in the North Dakota Press Association and was often quoted in other newspapers.


In 1906, after 14 years as a bachelor in North Dakota, Michael married Louise Medbery, a young woman who actively participated in local social circles. Her parents had come from Illinois to North Dakota to farm. The Medbery family had a lineage going back to colonial America. Michael and Louise's marriage received much attention from the residents and other newspapers in the area. In 1907, a daughter, Frances Louise Baghot De La Bere, was born. At the same time as Frances's birth, her mother developed tuberculosis, and was soon sent to Colorado in an attempt to improve her health. However, she died there in January 1908. Almost immediately after Louise's death, Michael began developing symptoms of a brain tumor and died five months later.

Both Louise and Michael were greatly mourned by the local community. Reporting on Michael's death, the Bismarck Daily Tribune said, "Mr. De La Bere was about thirty years of age, clever, generous and capable. . . . He had magnetic personal qualities and the human elements that go to make and hold friends." At its annual meeting, the North Dakota Press Association passed a resolution saying, in part: "No task was too hard and no sacrifice too great for him to undertake in the interest of the association, or its members. He was a genial, kindly, gentle, manly man. A versatile writer, a conscientious and honorable publisher, and a loyal friend." Michael and Louise were buried together in a prairie cemetery in Lisbon, North Dakota.
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Michael married Louise Medbery, daughter of Henry N. Medbery and Harriet A. C. Howser, on 15 May 1906 in Lisbon, ND. (Louise Medbery was born on 18 March 1882 in North Dakota, died on 26 January 1908 in Colorado Springs, CO and was buried after 26 January 1908 in Lisbon, ND.). The cause of her death was Tuberculosis.

  Noted events in their marriage were:

• Marriage Image: 15 May 1906, in Lisbon, ND.

  Marriage Notes:

Name: M B De La Bere
Event Type: Marriage
Event Date: 15 May 1906
Event Place: Ransom, North Dakota, United States
Gender: Male
Age: 31
Birth Year (Estimated): 1875
Spouse's Name: Louise Medbery
Spouse's Gender: Female
Spouse's Age: 24
Spouse's Birth Year (Estimated): 1882

Citing this Record
"North Dakota, County Marriages, 1872-1958," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2ZQ-QH43 : 26 September 2018), M B De La Bere and Louise Medbery, 15 May 1906; citing Ransom, North Dakota, United States, State Historical Society of North Dakota, Bismarck; FHL microfilm 101,852,748.
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