Biebel, Augustus G; 1905 Bio, Gunnison County, Colorado http://files.usgwarchives.net/co/gunnison/bios/biebelag.txt --------------------------------------- Donated May 2001 Transcribed by Judy Crook from the book: Progressive Men of Western Colorado Published 1905, A.W. Bowen & Co., Chicago, Ill. --------------------------------------- Augustus G. Biebel The late Augustus G. Biebel, of Gunnison county, whose death on April 16, 1888, at the early age of forty-nine, took from the neighborhood in which he lived one of its most active and useful citizens, and left his widow and children with the care of an extensive ranching and cattle business which his industry and good business ability had built up, was a native of Bavaria, Germany, born on August 29, 1840. His parents, George and Sophia Biebel, were also born and reared in Bavaria, and passed the whole of their lives in that country. They were well-to-do and gave their son a liberal education. He remained with them until he reached the age of twenty-one, and then determined to come to the United States in search of larger opportunities for advancement than he deemed open to him in his native land. He landed in New York city in 1860, just before the ominous cloud of the Civil war, which had long threatened the peace and prosperity of our unhappy country, and espousing warmly the cause of the Union entered the army in its defense among the first in response to President Lincoln's earliest call for volunteers. He and his kinsman raised a company of Germans for the service, and at the end of their term re-enlisted in the Fourth New York Cavalry after its consolidation with the Ninth. Mr. Biebel was in many hard-fought battles and saw all the horrors of war on a scale of great magnitude and fatality. He was with Sheridan in his renowned and spectacular campaign in the Shenandoah valley and took part with him in the battle of Winchester. After that battle he was sent with dispatches to Winchester, and while on this duty was cut off from his command with a companion, and they were surrounded by the Confederates under Colonel Mosby, who took his companion prisoner and shot him in the left knee. He continued fighting, however, until exhaustion from loss of blood caused him to fall from his horse in sight of the Union lines. The Confederates overtook him as he lay on the ground unconscious, robbed him of his dispatches, his money and his watch, and were about to kill him when a troop of Union cavalry rescued him. His wounded limb was amputated first below the knee and afterward above it, and after being confined for a long time in a hospital at David's Island in New York, he was mustered out of the service there on October 21, 1865. He then became a bookkeeper in New York city and later engaged in merchandising at Newark, New Jersey, in partnership with a younger brother. In the spring of 1879 he came to Colorado, and after looking over the country around Gunnison, where he had a brother then living, he took up a homestead which is a part of the ranch now owned and occupied by the family, and returned to New Jersey, where he disposed of his interests and came back to Gunnison county to make it his permanent home, bringing his family with him, and arriving in the fall of the year last named. They located on the land four miles north of Gunnison on Ohio creek, and gave almost their whole attention to the improvement and development of their property, which has since been increased by purchases to three hundred and sixty acres, two hundred acres having been acquired by Mrs. Biebel since her husband's death. Here he soon became well and favorably known as an enterprising and public-spirited citizen, and here he died in the midst of his usefulness on April 16, 1888, leaving a widow and two daughters. Mrs. Biebel at once, after his death, took hold of the business vigorously and she has ever since conducted it with industry and success, winning commendations from all the country side for her good management and wise attention to its every detail. She has educated her daughters and made steady progress in her ranching, increasing the value of the property, adding to its improvements and enlarging its arable acreage from year to year. Her maiden name was Louisa Grotz, and she was born in Wurtemberg, the daughter of John and Elizabeth (Plick) Grotz, who were life-long residents and members of old and long established families in that country. When Mrs. Biebel was about fifteen her mother died, and she soon afterward came to this country to make her home with an uncle in New York city. There she met Mr. Biebel and they were married. They had two daughters, Elizabeth Sophia and Ida Anna. The latter is now the wife of R. Rominger and lives in North Carolina. The older daughter, Elizabeth, who still lives at home, has been of great help to her mother in the trying and multitudinous duties of the ranch, bearing her full share of its labors and manifesting a lively interest in all its interests. =================================================== 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.