PARTON, J. H., b 1843; 1905 Bio, Mesa County, Colorado http://files.usgwarchives.net/co/mesa/bios/partonjh.txt --------------------------------------- Donated August 2001 Transcribed by Judy Crook from the book: Progressive Men of Western Colorado Published 1905, A.W. Bowen & Co., Chicago, Ill. --------------------------------------- J.H. Parton With his childhood and youth darkened by the awful shadow of our Civil war, and a pressing necessity upon him from an early age to take care of himself and make his own way in the world, J.H. Parton, of Palisades, one of the substantial and progressive citizens of Mesa county, had a long and hard struggle to reach the position of comfort and consequence that he now occupies. He was born at Roseville, Arkansas, in 1859, and is the son of Willoughby and Miranda (Ground) Parton, the former a native of France and the latter of Arkansas. The father came to America when he was a small boy and grew to manhood in the middle West. He was shot to death by bushwhackers in Arkansas in 1861, and was buried in that state. The mother survived until 1886, then died, aged fifty-eight years. Their son, J.H. Parton, was early thrown on his own resources, beginning life for himself as a cattle herder in Wyoming when a mere boy. As he grew older he sought more ambitious pursuits, first going to Leadville and freighting in and out of that place during 1879 and 1880. From there he moved to Gunnison, and two months later to Denver. Soon after he began work with a bridge gang on the Denver & South Park Railway from Gunnison to Grand Junction. In 1885 he located on a ranch in Mesa county on Kannah creek, where he carried on stock raising until 1892, when he sold his ranch interests and located at Grand Junction. In 1893 he located at Palisades, where he has since resided. He was employed by the Mt. Lincoln Land and Water Company until 1899 and then engaged in carpenter work until 1901, when he engaged in business at Palisades. He was married, in 1885, to Miss Lottie Purdy, of Grand Junction. They are the parents of four children, Effie, Millie, Irena and Louie. Mr. Parton is a good business man, with an abundance of energy and push, and he has lost no ground in the battle of life that he has once gained. His ventures have not all been as successful as he could wish, but all have been measurably so, and the present one is yielding very satisfactory returns. =================================================== 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.