JACOB SCHUTZ.
Mardos Collection
JACOB SCHUTZ.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 923
Colorado, and, thus securing an abundance of water for his place, he successfully prosecuted farming and stock-raising. For a number of years as a stockman he took his share with the cowboys, and during that time he experienced many exciting episodes of frontier life. However, he has always possessed a courage that nothing daunts, and his perils in early days excited, but did not frighten him. In 1874 the Indians burned his cow camp at Pawnee Buttes, Weld County, but he soon built another and better one. In time he became one of the large stock-dealers in the northern part of the state, and he also secured valuable interests in mines, handling several claims, and recently owned a group of mines in Boulder County. In 1891 he was one of the pioneers of the famous Creede Silver Camp, one of the richest silver camps in the world. In 1868 he was united in marriage with Miss Eliza Rogers, and four children were born of their union, namely: Burton W., Myrna, Flora and Edna Grace.
ACOB SCHUTZ is the owner of about twenty-five hundred acres of land in Douglas County, his home being three miles from Franktown and seven miles from Elizabeth. Here he is engaged in raising thoroughbred Shorthorn and grade cattle, in which department of agriculture he has met with success. After having worked in this country for one year, May 19, 1860, witnessed his arrival at the place he now calls home. It was then a wild, unimproved tract of land, far from other homes. He built a log house, and at first hauled lumber and wood for others, in order to earn his livelihood. In 1861 he planted a crop, which he harvested. After the surveys were made he took a pre-emption and later a homestead, the two adjoining each other, and afterward he bought other property until his land reached its present extent. In 1878 he built a substantial stone residence, containing all modern improvements, and here he and his wife have an attractive and comfortable home.
October 20, 1836, our subject was born in Muelenberg, Canton Berne, Switzerland, about twelve miles west of the city of Berne. He was reared on the farm owned by his parents, Jacob and Mary (Palmer) Schutz, and received a fair education. In November, 1853, he accompanied the family to America, arriving in New York January 16, 1854. From there they proceeded to Will County, Ill., but three weeks after their arrival the father died, leaving his widow and five children with only $30 in money. Our subject secured employment at $25 a year. After one year, when he came to realize what his services were worth and demanded fair pay, he was given $18 a month. In 1855 he went to Minnesota and for three summers worked by the month, sending his money home to aid in supporting his mother. In the fall of 1857 he returned to Illinois and for a few weeks attended school, working for his board. In 1858 he worked on a farm in Kankakee County, Ill. The next year he and his brother, together with a brother-in-law, started with two yoke of cattle and a wagon, for southern Kansas, and on arriving in Butler County took up land, but after three weeks they decided to leave. They had but $30 in cash, and had hoped to secure employment that would afford them a livelihood while improving their land. However, they found everyone in the same condition as themselves, and thought it wisest to leave. They met three men who were taking a herd of cattle to California and joined them, assisting in driving the cattle, in return for which they were given their board on the way. They parted from the drovers at Bent's Ford, on the Arkansas, and came on to Douglas County, where they arrived in July, 1859. During the winter that followed Mr. Schutz secured employment in a sawmill. May 19, 1860, he squatted on his present homestead, and from the then raw land he has evolved a valuable ranch. In 1864 he enlisted in Company M, Third Colorado Cavalry, and served for one hundred days, being stationed in the vicinity of Camp Wheeler as protection against the Indians.
Returning to Illinois in 1868, Mr. Schutz there married Miss Caroline Schumacher, who was born in Hanover, but resided in Will County for some years prior to her marriage. They became the parents of three children, but lost two. Their only living child, Rosa B., is the wife of John R. Campbell, by whom she has five children: Albert, Peter, Emma E., Isaac J., Dora A. and Edith M. In politics our subject is a Republican. He has served as county commissioner by appointment from Governor Evans for one year and by election
924
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. for a term of three years. He has also served as assessor of the county for a year and for twelve years was a member of the school board, during which time he aided much in advancing the interests of the local school.
After the death of his first wife Stephen S. Butterworth removed to Tennessee and there married Miss Bashor. He was a millwright by trade and erected many mills in Virginia, Tennessee and Missouri, the last years of his life being spent in Green County, Mo., where he settled in 1866. His death occurred on a farm in Arkansas February 2, 1893. He was a son of Buckley Butterworth, a native of Ohio, but during the most of his life a resident of Virginia, where he followed the milling business. The maternal grandfather of our subject, Henry Bashor, was a native of Pennsylvania and the descendant of Dutch stock. In early manhood he moved to Tennessee and later went to Missouri, where he became a prominent farmer and miller, owning four mills at one time. He attained the advanced age of ninety-two years and during the summer prior to his death plowed corn in his fields. He was a remarkably strong and well-preserved man, and retained the use of his faculties to the last.
At the age of sixteen years the subject of this sketch apprenticed himself to the carpenter's trade in Springfield, Mo., under John Oliver, with whom he remained for four years. He then settled at Ash Grove, twenty miles west of Springfield, and for four years followed his trade in that place. July 27, 1884, found him in Longmont, Colo., where he established himself in the contractor's and builder's business, and this occupation he followed until his marriage in 1888. Since then he has given his attention to the cultivation of the farm of three hunded (sic) and twenty acres where he and his wife reside.
The marriage of Mr. Butterworth united him with Mrs. Clara C. (Peck) Cranson, the widow of John Cranson, and daughter of Thomas S. and Susan U. (Walthall) Peck. Her father, whose sketch appears on another page, was a Colorado pioneer of 1839 and a member of the First Colorado Infantry during the Civil war. By her first marriage Mrs. Butterworth had three children, namely: Blanche, who is the wife of Burns Will, of Longmont; Jennie, who married George Darby, of Ordway, Colo.; and Thomas S., deceased. By her marriage to Mr. Butterworth she has two daughters, Callie Grace and Carmen G. She is a refined and cultured lady, with a broad fund of information and excellent judgment. She is a competent business woman, and has served efficiently as secretary of the Peck Lateral Ditch Company. In educational matters she is deeply interested and filled an unexpired term of two years as secretary of the school board, after which, in the spring of 1898, she was elected to the office for a full term. Fraternally Mr. Butterworth is connected with Mountain Valley Lodge No. 31, Woodmen of the World. For some years he has been a member of the Bankers' Association of Des Moines, Iowa.
EUBEN F. COFFIN, one of the most prominent agriculturists of Weld County, owns a ranch two and one-half miles east of Longmont, on the Boulder County line, This property he took up in 1871 and settled upon the following year, proceeding to make a farm out of the wild piece of prairie land. He improved the one hundred and sixty acres and added to it from time to time until his farm finally consisted of five hundred acres. Later, however, he sold all the property except the original homestead, where he still resides.
In Delaware County, N. Y., the subject of this sketch was born November 15, 1842, a son of Jacob and Mary A. (Hull) Coffin, He was one of twelve children, six of whom are living. They are: Morse H.; Elizabeth, wife of S. W. Patton; George W.; Ellen C., wife of Porter R. Pennock;
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 925
Reuben F.; and Emma, Mrs. J W. Daniels. The family history appears in the biography of Morse H. Coffin, upon another page.
The educational advantages received by our subject were somewhat limited. At eighteen years of age he began life as a farm band. After one year the war broke out and he enlisted, July 10, 1861, in Company G, Nineteenth Illinois Infantry, Cot. G. B. Turchin commanding. The principal battles in which he participated were those of Stone River, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Resaca and Altona Pass. He was mustered out of service at Chicago, June 27, 1864.
From that time until the spring of 1866 he operated rented land in Illinois.
February 6, 1866, Mr. Coffin started across the plains with a team of horses. He arrived on the St. Vrain, just above the mouth of Boulder Creek, April 1, and at once embarked in farming, which occupation he followed for two years. Afterward he teamed on the Union Pacific Railroad for a year. In 1869 he engaged in freighting from Denver and Cheyenne to the mountains, principally to Blackhawk and Central City. In 1872 he came to the ranch where he has since resided. Fraternally he is identified with St. Vrain Lodge No. 32, A. F. & A. M., the Improved Order of Red Men, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and McPherson Post No. 6, G. A. R.
In 1877 Mr. Coffin was united in marriage with Miss Lydia E. Gregg. Six children comprise their family, namely: Roy; Stanley, who is a member of Torrey's Cavalry of Rough Riders, engaged in service in the war with Spain; Claude, Clair, Vinton and Ruby, who are at home.
February 13, 1851, David Glover married Miss Schurman, who was born September 29, 1827, and died July 11 1866. Her father, William Schurman, was a member of an eastern family; he died at ninety and his wife, Elizabeth, when ninety-one years of age. The paternal grandfather of our subject, William Glover, was a native of Scotland and came to America in 1819, settling on Prince Edward Island, where he engaged in farming for many years. When his death occurred he lacked only one year of rounding out a full century. His wife, Sarah, was eighty-seven at the time of her death.
Having a liking for farm life, the subject of this sketch adopted agriculture for his occupation on reaching manhood. When his father died he was twenty-three years of age. The estate was then divided, and one hundred acres fell to his lot. On this tract he began farming, remaining there until the fall of 1883, when he and his family came to the States, settling in Yankton, S. Dak., where his wife's parents lived. The country did not suit him and after two months he left his family and came to Colorado to look for a suitable location. Being pleased with prospects in thus state, he sent for his family and secured work as a farm hand. In the spring of 1886 he rented land eight miles northwest of Longmont, where he embarked in farming for himself. After one year he went to Denver, and rented a farm six miles northeast of that city, in Arapahoe County, where he remained for six years. In the fall of 1892 he bought the farm of one hundred and sixty acres now owned and occupied by his widow, and hither, in the fall of 1893, he brought his family, going to work at once with a determination to succeed. All who knew him can testify to the zeal and energy with winch he carried on the work of cultivation and improvement. Early and late he worked in order that he might bring the land to the high state of cultivation that he desired. Doubtless it was due to overwork that his life was cut short in its prime. He passed away October 31, 1896, mourned by his wife and children, and by those less intimately connected with him, but who had come to appre-
926
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. ciate his genuine worth of character. While he was not identified with any denomination, he was a believer in the Presbyterian faith and supported all church work. Fraternally he was connected with the Woodmen of the World.
January 12, 1881, Mr. Glover married Miss Matilda S. McQuarrie, daughter of Donald and Matilda (Stewart) McQuarrie, natives of Prince Edward Island. Her father learned the trade of shipbuilding in his youth and followed this for many years, in conjunction with farming, he having settled on a farm immediately after marriage. In 1883 he removed to Yankton, S. Dak., where he died at eighty years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Glover became the parents of four children, namely: Elmer R., born February 7, 1882; Ray W., September 28, 1883; Lora M., July 11, 1885; and Hazel L., March 26, 1891.
ETER E CHAPMAN, the proprietor and owner of Maple Park ranch, which is situated three miles north of Longmont, Boulder County, is a progressive farmer, good business man and reliable citizen. He has been the architect of his own fortunes, for, upon arriving in Colorado less than a score of years ago, he was obliged to begin at the very foot of the ladder. Possessing those necessary qualities of industry and perseverance he soon gained a foot-hold and steadily advanced toward prosperity. When a few years had rolled over his head he was in a position where respect was accorded him and today he stands among the representative men of his section.
The paternal grandfather of our subject was John Chapman, a native of New Jersey. When he had reached manhood he chose for his companion and helpmate a Miss Nancy Cole, and together they settled down to a quiet, industrious agricultural life. Our subject's father, whose Christian name is John, is one of the most prominent and successful farmers of the community in which he dwells, in Morris County, N. J. He has occupied the responsible position of constable for the past fifteen or sixteen years and has frequently been tendered minor offices of trust and honor. Born in the year 1828, in the state where he still resides, he has always given his attention to agricultural affairs and is considered an authority on the subject among his neighbors and associates. Upon reaching malt's estate he married Miss Ann Emmons and nine children came to bless their home. Eight of the number are still living.
Peter E. Chapman was born March 14, 1853, in New Jersey, and was reared under the kind and judicious instruction and training of his loving parents. He attended the district schools and mastered the ordinary branches of learning. When he had reached his majority he commenced the battle of life in earnest, his only capital being a horse and cow. As he had no money to buy a farm he rented a place for six years, and, in fact, as long as he continued to live in his native state he leased land. Success did not attend his efforts to any great degree and he finally concluded that he would try his fortune in the west. Coming to Colorado in 1880 he entered into the employ of an uncle and worked on his farm during the next eight months. In 1887 he purchased his fine homestead, known as Maple Park ranch, and since then he has greatly improved and beautified the farm.
In his political preferences Mr. Chapman is a supporter of the Democratic party. His marriage, December 23, 1871, united him with Miss Annie Burnett, who was born in New Jersey, September 30, 1853, and is a daughter of Theodore and Sarah (Lawrence) Burnett. One child was born of their union, a daughter, now Mrs. Holmes, of Weld County, Colo.
ILLIAM CLARK, a retired farmer, has been making his home in Berthoud, Larimer County, for several years, in the meantime renting his homestead. He has taken all active part in public affairs here and has served as mayor of the town and as a member of the local board of trustees. Politically he has always given his allegiance to the Republican party until recently, when he became independent, and now uses his franchise for the nominees and principles which he deems best, regardless of party lines. Fraternally he is a Mason, belonging to Berthoud Lodge No. 83, A. F. & A. M. He is also identified with the Woodmen of the World.
Mr. Clark is a native of County Galway, Ireland, born September 9, 1845. His parents were John and Nellie (McDonald) Clark. They came to the United States with their family when our
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 927
subject was a child of some six or seven years. At first they settled in White Hall, Washington County, N. Y., from there removing to Beloit, Wis. Until he was eighteen years of age our subject remained with his parents, but from that time on he earned his own livelihood independently.
In the spring of 1864 William Clark came west with a company of friends. Upon reaching Colorado he located first at Stilson's Patch, about a mile from Breckenridge, in Summit County. There he engaged in gulch mining for several mouths, but the following winter went to Blackhawk. There he found plenty of employment at hauling produce and supplies from the valley to the various camps, ox-teams being used for the purpose. After he had worked in this manner for several years he entered the employ of Captain Tyler, of Erie, herding his cattle. He continued for this employer for fifteen years, rendering faithful service, as can be inferred, and investing his savings in live-stock, on his own account. Then he took up his abode upon his present farm and later bought another half-section of land. He became interested in constructing ditches and has been very active in the advocacy of further irrigation sources and supplies. While he has been particularly successful in dairying and stockraising he has been prospered in general farming as well, and this year the eighteenth crop is being harvested on his homestead. He is a stockholder in the Berthoud Flouring Mill and Elevator Company.
January 1, 1878, Mr. Clark married Miss Cora Graham, daughter of Thomas Graham, of Erie, Weld County. Three children, a son and two daughters, bless their union, their names in order of birth being Ella, Maude and Hugh.
The education obtained by our subject was limited to a brief attendance in the common schools of his native land. At twenty-two years of age he began farming for himself, and for thirteen years he cultivated the place which he owned and which was worth ten thousand krona at the time he sold it. In 1868, a year after selling his place, he decided to come to America. On the 14th of April he left his old home, bound for a foreign land. Going to Gottenburg, he took passage on a small steamer for Hull, England, and from there traveled by rail to Liverpool, where he shipped on board the steamer "Moravian," of the Allen line. Thirteen days later he landed in Quebec, Canada. From that city he went to Red Wing, Minn., where he arrived May 14. During the summer that followed he worked as a farm hand for a friend.
On the 1st of September, 1868, Mr. Johnson took a steamer down the river to Clinton, Ill., where he took the train for Cheyenne, Wyo., and from there journeyed by stage for Burlington (now Longmont). The stage being filled, he took a place on the top and traveled all night in the rain. For such unsatisfactory accommodation he paid a fare of $16. Six weeks prior to this the stage had been robbed by Indians and the driver murdered, and afterward armed guards accompanied the stage. With Mr. Johnson on the top of the coach, were six men with rifles.
Arriving in Burlington, Mr. Johnson struck across the country for the neighborhood of Boulder, in search of his cousin, Andrew Reed, whom he found after considerable trouble, occasioned by his inability to speak English. He secured work with his cousin, with whom he remained for thirteen months. In the summer of 1870 he rented land and began farming near Boulder. The previous year he had sent to the old country for his family, whose passage cost him $500, almost his entire capital, so when he began farming for himself he had only $15. The man from whom he rented furnished him with a team. In the fall of 1870 he took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres where he now lives, five miles from Longmont, and after two more years of farming as a renter, he took his family to their own home in 1873. No improvements save a little but had been made on the claim, and for sometime he had a struggle to maintain his family. His first work was to provide the land with
928
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. water. He was one of the charter members of the Swede Ditch Company, through whose efforts the land in that section was irrigated. As the years passed he added to his property until his landed possessions aggregated six hundred and fifty-five acres. Later, however, he sold all of the land except the original homestead.
In 1856 Mr. Johnson married Miss Mary S. Nelson, a native of the same town as her husband. They became the parents of six children, namely: Carl A., who is engaged in the restaurant business at Telluride, Colo.; Amanda C., who died while attending Augustona College, at Rock Island, Ill.; John F., who died while attending Gross Medical College in Denver; A. Sophia, wife of John Burgstrom, a merchant tailor of Boulder; Oscar A., one of the most promising young attorneys of Boulder; and Esther A., who is with her parents. The family are identified with the Lutheran Church, to which, as to other worthy objects, Mr. Johnson contributes as his means permit. Politically he is a silver Republican.
ILES H. VAN METER, a contractor and builder of Denver, was born in Grayson County, Ky., October 4, 1842, being a descendant of an old Virginian family that came to this country from Holland. His father, Rev. Isaac Newton Van Meter, a son of Abram, was born in Grayson County and grew to manhood upon a farm. March 15, 1855, he established his home in Macomb, McDonough County, Ill., then a very small place, with little appearance of future prosperity. He was a pioneer minister in the Baptist Church in Illinois. The people were poor, money was scarce and it was difficult for a congregation to support a pastor, so he operated a farm and in that way supported his family, preaching without charge. The farm that he cultivated is still owned by his wife, and upon it he passed away when nearly eighty years of age.
The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Lucinda Lawson, and was born in Hardin County, Ky. Her father, Henry Lawson, was a farmer at Lawson, Ky., which was named in honor of the family. She is now seventy-eight years of age and is hale and strong. Of her ten children all but one attained years of maturity. They were: Henry, who enlisted in the Eighty-fourth Illinois Infantry and died at Ringgold, Ga., after having participated in Sherman's famous march to the sea; Miles H. is next in order of birth; Cyrus L. is a farmer near the old homestead in McDonough County: Mary is the wife of Martin Shields, of Macomb; Mrs. Sadie Runkle also resides in Macomb; Hiram is in the employ of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad at Gunnison, Colo.; David is agent for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy road at Macomb; Mrs. Mattie Randolph and Mrs. Hattie Fuhr also reside in Macomb.
Reared in Illinois, our subject as a boy attended the pioneer school of the district, held in a log house, with puncheon floor and split logs for benches. To reach this school he was obliged to walk two and one-half miles. At the age of twenty-one he bought a threshing machine, which he operated during the season. In 1868 he removed to Brookfield, Linn County, Mo., where he engaged in carpentering. Two years later he went to Malta Bend, Saline County, Mo., and followed the same occupation there until 1879, when he entered the employ of the Consolidated Tank Line Company. This concern he represented in Missouri and Kansas for two and one-half years, having his, headquarters in Kansas City. In 1882 he removed to Denver and represented the same firm in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming and Montana for ten years, but retired in 1892. Since then he has engaged in the erection of residences and public buildings, under the firm name of M. H. Van Meter & Son. He owns a comfortable home at No. 3245 Highland avenue.
The first marriage of Mr. Van Meter took place in Saline County, Mo., and united him with Miss Clara Reeves, whose father, Felix Reeves, was an old commission merchant on the Missouri River. She was born in Saline County and died there, leaving two children: Harry L., who is in partnership with his father; and Joseph R. The older son has the reputation of being one of the finest amateur actors in Denver and indeed in Colorado. May 11, 1898 he enlisted in Troop A, Colorado Cavalry, under Colonel Torrey, and participated in the Spanish-American war. Mr. Van Meter was married in Emporia, Kan., to Miss Allie Lynn Truslow, who was born in Charleston, W. Va., the daughter of James A., and Fannie (Claspell) Truslow, of that place. One daughter, Mabel A., blesses this union.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 929
While in Malta Bend Mr. Van Meter was one of its first five trustees who succeeded in securing the incorporation of the place. Two of the trustees were in favor of licensing saloons; two were opposed. His was the deciding vote, and as long as he was trustee there were no saloons in the town. Politically he is a Republican and belongs to the Republican Club. He was formerly a member of the Patriotic Order Sons of America.
NDREW J. FORBES, a retired farmer, whose home is situated on section 19, township 6, range 66, Weld County, is one of the honored early settlers of this locality, and was one of the celebrated Union colony, which organized and founded the town of Greeley. He has been actively interested in the development of this region, and has used his influence at all times for improvement and progress. When the Windsor Creamery was started, and at the time of the organization of the Windsor Mill and Elevator Company, he was one of those who were most aggressive in favor of the enterprises being carried on, and at other times he has been an important factor in the founding of industries.
The paternal grandfather of our subject, John Forbes, attained the extreme age of one hundred years. He was one of those heroes who fought in the Continental army under Washington, at the battles of Trenton and Monmouth, and at Valley Forge. He was orderly-sergeant of the great general, and after the war was granted a pension, which he drew as long as he lived. He was a shoemaker by trade and taught the business to his son John, the father of the subject of this article. John Forbes, Jr., was a native of Vermont and married Lavina Lawrence, who was born in Connecticut. He had removed to Seneca County, N. Y., with his parents, and after the birth of our subject the family went to Cayuga County, N. Y., and lived in the town of Fleming.
A. J. Forbes was born November 10, 1819, in Fayette, N. Y., and grew to manhood in Cayuga County. When he was about eleven years old his father died and the lad went to live with a neighbor, Henry Witbeck, a farmer. It was stipulated that he should attend school three months each year and to receive his board and clothes, and when he was twenty-one he was to be given two suits of clothes and $100 in money.
His part of the contract was that he should work steadily at whatever the farmer desired him to do. They were both upright and honorable and each lived fully up to his agreement. After he had reached his majority Mr. Forbes still made Mr. Witbeck's house his home for a long time, even when he was working elsewhere.
In 1843 Mr. Forbes went to what is now East St. Louis and was offered a school to teach, but he declined the position on account of the malaria prevalent there. He went to Galena, Ill., and taught school there, his recommendation from Governor Seward, of New York, an old friend, securing him the position. The schools of that period were run on the subscription plan, and the first one he taught in Galena was held in the basement of the old Methodist Church. August 19, 1858, Mr. Forbes married Lydia Pyle, a young lady of excellent education, a graduate of Mount Carroll Seminary. Her parents were John and Ann (Lodge) Pyle, natives of Pennsylvania and Delaware respectively. Mrs. Forbes was born in Chester County, Pa., and after her marriage, she, as well as her husband, engaged in teaching for several years. In the spring of 1861 they rented the old Pyle homestead near Mount Carroll, a place of two hundred acres. They resided there for five years and then rented farms in that vicinity for four years longer, teaching school during the winter terms meantime.
In 1870 Mr. Forbes became a member of the Union colony, and though he did not come to Greeley until March 20, 1871, he had a certificate of membership. He took a five-acre tract in what was called the Delta, and a business and residence lot in the town. That autumn he settled upon his small farm and purchased another five-acre place adjoining, then building an addition to the house which was already on the piece of property last bought. Three years later he and Robert Boyd went to the mountains to engage in lumbering, but lost everything he possessed. as he was obliged to mortgage his land and available assets in order to get the required funds for his enterprise, and then the whole business went by the board. He rented a farm from Mr. Boyd for a year and then for two years rented the place which he now owns. Though he was fifty-five years old at the time of his business failure and was in debt $1,000, he managed to pay off this amount and later purchased his pres-
930
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. ent farm from Dr. Emerson. The tract, a quarter-section, was then unimproved, and he has developed it from a wilderness. He is a stockholder in ditch No. 2. Politically he supports the People's party, and has represented his district in state and county conventions, and in 1896 was a delegate to the silver convention held in Denver. Fraternally he was an Odd Fellow, but is not active in the order now. In early life, also, he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, but is not now connected with any denomination.
The three living children of Mr. and Mrs. Forbes are: Elsie, wife of Charles Devine, who is a farmer of the vicinity of Greeley; C. Edward, a Montana farmer, whose wife was formerly Rachel Clayton; and Jesse R., who married Della Morrison, daughter of Homer Morrison. Jesse R. resides on our subject's ranch and has charge of the place. C. Edward joined Company H, First Montana Infantry, and went to the Philippine Islands in the Third Division of troops sent to those distant shores in the recent war with Spain.
The parents of our subject were Robert and Jane (Deane) Crawford, natives of Scotland, in which country they passed their entire married life. The father died in 1845 and the mother in 1870. A. A. Crawford was born in the town of Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1843, and thus has no recollection of his father. When he was four years old he came to the United States with his mother and his boyhood was passed near Chicago. After his public-school education was completed he took a commercial course in Bryant & Stratton's Business College. At eighteen he began serving an apprenticeship to the blacksmith's trade with Philip Hicks, of Chicago. At the end of two years he became an employe of the Northwestern Manufacturing Company, as a blacksmith and machinist, and two years later he became connected with the mechanical department of another firm in Chicago.
In 1865 Mr. Crawford started westward, and landed in Denver July 3, having come from St. Joseph, Mo., across the plain with mule teams. Two of his companions were O. P. Bassett and Dick Van Allan. They camped near Denver, on the site of the present railroad hospital. At the end of a few days Mr. Crawford went to Blackhawk, and thence to Bruce Johnson's ranch on the Big Thompson River. He found employment with T. H. Johnson (the "cowboy statesman"), among others, at cutting hay and grain. In partnership with O. P. Bassett he threshed all the grain raised on the Cache la Poudre and Thompson Valley. He had brought with him from the east the first threshing machine ever used in this region and for two years he had all he could do in this line during the season.
In 1866 Mr. Crawford took up a pre-emption on a quarter-section of land on the banks of the Big Thompson, and the following year began farming in earnest. Needing a ditch he excavated one seven miles long with the shovel, it now being known as the Big Thompson and Platte River ditch, and he also was active in the construction of the Bee Line ditch, being its secretary for some time. For over thirty years he has devoted his time chiefly to agriculture and stockraising, though for two years he freighted from Cheyenne and Sidney, Neb., to the Black Hills. In 1880 he sold out his first ranch and took up a homestead north of Thompson. Here he has since dwelt, and has added eighty acres to his original place, thus making it one of two hundred acres. It is watered by the Loveland and Greeley ditch, in which, as well as in the Thompson and Platte River ditch, he owns stock, of the latter serving as secretary for several years.
In 1879 Mr. Crawford married Mrs. Anna (Frazier) Tucker, widow of W. E. Tucker. She is a daughter of Josephus and Susanna Frazier,
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