WATSON, Zedekiah, b 1838; 1905 Bio, Delta County, Colorado http://files.usgwarchives.net/co/delta/bios/watsonz.txt --------------------------------------- Donated September 4, 2001 Transcribed by Judy Crook from the book: Progressive Men of Western Colorado Published 1905, A.W. Bowen & Co., Chicago, Ill. --------------------------------------- Zedekiah Watson Zedekiah Watson, whose beautiful and productive fruit farm of twenty-eight acres, located one mile from Paonia on Pitkin mesa, is one of the choice tracts of this prolific region, has been a resident of Colorado continuously since 1863, and during the period of his life in the state has seen the most of it and engaged in mining and other work in many parts of it. At the time of his arrival in the state it was new and almost wholly undeveloped, and he journeyed from place to place, trying his hand in new locations successively, aiding in developing and building them up and meeting with alternate successes and reverses in his operations, engaging in mining for a long time, then turning his attention to farming and fruit culture. He was born in Ohio on December 26, 1838, and is the son of Benjamin and Polly A. (Miller) Watson, also natives of Ohio and life-long dwellers in that state. In 1861 the son, being then twenty-three years old, enlisted in the Union army as a member of Company I, Twenty-second Ohio Infantry, and in that command he served three months. The term of his enlistment having then expired, he was discharged and did not re-enlist. In 1863 he determined to become one of the army of industry that was endeavoring to settle, civilize and develop the great western states, and came to Colorado, arriving at Denver in July. He at once began mining and during the next twenty years he was connected actively and industriously with this business, and with gratifying returns on the whole. In 1879 he joined G.P. Chiles, Frank Curtis and Wayne Scott in locating the town of Pitkin, where Mr. Scott still lives, the other three being residents of Delta county, where Mr. Watson took up his residence in 1883, having accumulated about four thousand dollars in mining in the neighborhood of Pitkin. He and Mr. Curtis located in the county together, Mr. Watson taking up one hundred and twenty acres of land, of which he sold Mr. Curtis twenty acres. He then planted about thirty acres in fruit and afterward sold thirty-two, so that he now has twenty-eight acres of fine orchards of apples, peaches and prunes, which yield him a neat annual revenue of some three hundred dollars an acre, twenty-one acres being in good bearing condition, and the whole tract worth about fifteen thousand dollars. In 1898 he improved the place with a first-rate brick dwelling, and he has from time to time made other needed improvements, having now every convenience required for carrying on his business and finding his own personal enjoyment in the work. Mr. Watson has never married, but he has two nieces who keep house for him. These young ladies he brought to the state with him in 1903, when he went back to his old Ohio home to visit his parents, whom he had not seen or heard from for forty years. In politics he supports the Democratic party, but he is seldom an active partisan, finding enough to occupy his time and energies on his ranch. Generally esteemed for his sterling manhood and useful citizenship, and taking an active and helpful part in the growth and development of his county, he is accounted one of the representative men of his section. =================================================== Contributed for use by the USGenWeb Archive Project (http://www.usgenweb.org) and by the COGenWeb Archive Project USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access.