Eagle County CO Archives Biographies.....Daggett, Orion Wainwright January 4, 1861 - ? ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/co/cofiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Judy Crook jlcrook@rof.net December 22, 2005, 8:39 pm Author: Progressive Men of Western Colorado At twenty-one years of age, O.W. Daggett was one of the first settlers of Gypsum valley. He was born at Monitor, Tippecanoe county, Indiana, on January 4, 1861. He comes of a race of pioneers and in his own career has been faithful to the customs and traditions of his family. His great-grandfather’s seventh ancestor, John Daggett, was a pioneer of Massachusetts, coming to that state in 1630 with Governor Winthrop. Later on his ancestors were pioneers in the states of Connecticut, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. Naplithali Daggett, great-grandsire of the subject of this sketch, was Doctor of Divinity of Yale College from 1755 to 1766, and president of that institution from 1766 to 1777. He was one of the first martyrs of the American Revolution, being wounded while leading the students against the British. He was taken prisoner and died from the effects of their mistreatment. Orion Wainwright Daggett is the son of Alfred and Emma (Britan) Daggett, the former a native of New Haven, Connecticut, and the latter of Birmingham, England. They settled in Lafayette, Indiana, where the father was for years an extensive manufacturer of woolens, linseed oil and flour, and a general merchant. The son attended the common schools and a high school at Lafayette, Indiana, and while a youth spent the summer vacations working in the woolen factory, and later began clerking in a dry goods store at Sheldon, Illinois. At the age of eighteen he became a purchaser for his father’s grain business, thus early in life learning the art of dealing with others to advantage. In 1882 he came to Colorado, and after inspecting Denver and Leadville as sites for business, turned his back upon the work to which he had been trained and became a ranchman. On May 25, 1882, he located in the Gypsum valley, becoming one of its first settlers, there being at the time only four ranches taken up between Redcliff and Glenwood Springs and no wagon road into the valley. The four settlers whose ranches he passed on his weary pilgrimage on foot were Joseph Brett, H.J. Hernage, Webb Frost and John Bowman. There was not a ditch or an enclosure in this part of Colorado then, and everything necessary to make the region habitable was yet to be done. But Mr. Daggett went to work resolutely, after filing the first homestead claim for this section, and began to bring about the settlement and improvement of the country. He built the second ditch in the county and in course of time erected a dwelling for himself, until then living in a tent. There were of course no buildings in the neighborhood, but Indian teepees were plentiful across the creek; still their occupants were not unfriendly and gave him no trouble. For a long time he saw only nine white men in the valley. His first occupation here was hauling game to Aspen and Leadville for sale, and as the product was abundant the business was profitable, he hauling out on one occasion two wagon loads of elk which he secured on the Flat Tops. Beaver were also plentiful in the creek on his place, and so wild game not only furnished meat for his table but the means of securing other supplies. He continued to hunt and sell game in this way two or three years. His ranch comprises one hundred and sixty acres and is four miles south of Gypsum. It was covered with sage brush when he took possession of it, but he has improved it in every way since then, and now has not only a comfortable home on it, but a source of considerable revenue from its products. In 1891 and 1892 he was associated with other gentlemen in merchandising as a member of the Daggett, Shiff & Company establishment at Gypsum, and from 1893 to 1902 was in the mining and milling and general merchandise business of the firm of Daggett & Evans at Fulford, Colorado. With this taste, which is almost inevitable to every energetic man in this part of the world, he expended a considerable lot of money at different periods in developing mining property in the Fulford district. In 1902 he sold out the business he was then conducting and returned to his ranch at Gypsum to which he has since given almost his whole attention. From 1883 to 1887 he freighted between Redcliff and Glenwood Springs, hauling part of the Ute Chief, the first printing press, into the latter place. From the dawn of his manhood Mr. Daggett has earnestly supported the Republican party and in all its campaigns he has lent a willing and effective hand to the cause. His ranch is widely known and favorably mentioned on all occasions as the Red Rock Ranch. On January 4, 1891, he united in marriage with Miss Sarah F. Haines, who prior to her marriage was a prominent school teacher in Indiana and Salt Lake City. She died on February 24, 1900. Two children were the result of this marriage, both of whom died. On November 4, 1903, he was married to Miss Harriet D. Patterson, a native of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, his present wife. On December 13, 1904, was born to them a little girl, Elizabeth Patterson Daggett. Additional Comments: From Progressive Men of Western Colorado. Chicago: A.W. Bowen & Co., 1905 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/co/eagle/bios/daggett88gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/cofiles/ File size: 5.7 Kb