Mesa County CO Archives Biographies.....Schwartz, William December 20, 1857 - ?
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Judy Crook jlcrook@rof.net March 19, 2006, 2:20 pm

Author: Progressive Men of Western Colorado

     One of the progressive and successful farmers of Mesa county, this state,

and comfortably settled on a fine farm of one hundred and forty-five acres one

miles west of Fruita, William Schwartz has built himself and his estate up from

a small beginning and after years of discouraging labor in other occupations. 

He is a native of Wurtemberg, Germany, born on December 20, 1857, and the son of

Christian H. and Margaret (Henning) Schwartz, who were also native in that part

of the fatherland and belonged to families long resident there.  In 1860 they

moved to America and located in Kingston county, Canada, but five years later

crossed the line into the United States, settling in Wayne county, Michigan,

thirteen miles west of Detroit, where they passed the rest of their lives, the

mother’s ending in 1871 and the father’s in 1887.  They were farmers and their

family consisted of seven children, five of whom are living. Their son William

was one of the older ones, being the second child.  He grew to the age of

sixteen on the homestead with almost no preparation for the life work that was

before him except hard work and privation; for school facilities were very

limited in that part of Michigan in his boyhood and farm work was plentiful and

exacting.  He remained at home until he reached the age of sixteen, then for

three years worked out in the neighborhood. In 1876 he came to Colorado and

settled at Alma where he was engaged in prospecting and mining until Leadville

began to attract attention.  He was one of the first to reach that promising

camp, but found the same indifferent success in his mining operations he had

experienced at Alma.  He continued the same lines of employment for a number of

years, and his condition not improving.  In 1893 he moved to the Grand valley

and bought a tract of fifteen acres of land one mile from Fruita on time, having

only eighty dollars in capital.  This land is a part of his present ranch of one

hundred and forty-five acres, and he has brought the whole body to a high state

of productiveness and improved it with good buildings.  By hard work and close

attention to his business he has prospered and become one of the substantial and

well-to-do farmers of the county.  For a number of years he carried on general

ranching, but lately he has made a specialty of raising potatoes, his yield in

1903 being one hundred and seventy-five tons.  On June 20, 1889, he was married

to Miss Emma Weckel, a native of Germany, who came to the United States with her

parents in her girlhood.  They have two children, Bertha E. and Carl W.  In

political faith and allegiance Mr. Schwartz is an independent Democrat, and in

fraternal relations belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Woodmen

of the World and the Order of Washington.  

Additional Comments:
From Progressive Men of Western Colorado.  Chicago:  A.W. Bowen & Co., 1905

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/co/mesa/bios/schwartz318gbs.txt

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