Bennett Blackjack

One of Ada Blackjack’s three sons from her first marriage, Bennett was Ada’s only son to survive infancy. After Ada and Jack Blackjack’s divorce, Ada took Bennett to an orphanage in Nome, as he was sickly and needed the attention of doctors and nurses; Ada could not make enough money from her meager income as a seamstress and house cleaner to take care of him. She hoped to save up enough money to eventually get him back, and this is in part why she chose to go on the Wrangel Island expedition. Upon Ada’s return from Wrangel Island, Ada moved with Bennett to Seattle in fall 1923 to seek treatment for his tuberculosis.

Niven, Jennifer. Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic. New York, New York: Hyperion, 2003.;Pierce, A. (2013, June 1). Bennett Blackjack. Find a Grave. Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/111606086/bennett-blackjack