Montrose County CO Archives Biographies.....Meredith, Henry A. July 27, 1842 - ? ************************************************ 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 March 26, 2006, 8:11 am Author: Progressive Men of Western Colorado Henry A. Meredith, an honored citizen of Montrose, and one of the builders and makers of the town, has a high reputation for ability, skill and enterprise in his chosen line of work, and ranks among the leading men of the city he has done so much to beautify and adorn. He is a civil engineer by profession and a builder and contractor in business, and as such he has erected most of the best residences in Montrose and a number of business blocks, but he gives his attention mainly to putting up first-class residences. He was born near Batavia, New York, on July 27, 1842, the son of Stephen M. and Mary (Smith) Meredith, the former a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania, and the later of near Batavia, New York. The father was a miller and for a number of years operated the Genessee County Mills at Batavia, which did an extensive business, he being associated with the Holland Purchasing Company in carrying them on. Later he retired from milling and engaged in farming, and at the time of his death in 1845, at the age of fifty-one, owned the largest farm in the county. His wife survived him forty years, dying at the old home in 1885. He was a cousin of Hon. William M. Meredith, the distinguished secretary of the United States treasury during the ‘forties. Only two of their nine children are living, Henry A. and an older brother William, the latter residing at San Bernardino, California. Another older brother served four years in the Civil war, enlisting in an independent battery which was afterwards merged in the Ninth New York Heavy Artillery. He was in many important engagements, but being modest and retiring, he declined to accept his commission when the time came for a promotion which he had richly earned. He died in Nebraska in 1895. Mr. Meredith grew to manhood in his native state and there received a liberal education. He was prepared for college, but the Civil war took his brothers away from home and he was obliged to stay and help his widowed mother conduct the farm. He, however, took a course of instruction in civil engineering but was unable to do anything in the profession for a number of years. He remained at home until he was twenty-six years old, then became a traveling solicitor and collector for a firm in Syracuse, New York. After that he was occupied for twelve years merchandising at different places in his native state. In this business he passed through two financial panics and met with many reverses. In 1880 he settled at Pitkin, this state, and joined the engineer corps under Major Evans which was engaged in locating and construction work for the Denver & South Park Railway, devoting three years to his employment. Early in 1884 he moved to Montrose, and since then he has resided at that town continuously and been occupied in contract and building work. He is the oldest and most prominent contractor and builder in the town, and the work of his well trained mind and skillful hands is to be seen in every part of the place. It was a small village when he moved there, and he has been the principal factor in building it up and making it comely with good residences and substantial business blocks. Mr. Meredith is an earnest Democrat in politics and is ever active in public affairs. He was married on December 27, 1870, to Miss Mary L. Gregory, a native of Batavia, New York, the daughter of James and Louise (Grant) Gregory, the former born in England and the latter in New York. Both are deceased. The father was a veteran of the Civil war. Mr. and Mrs. Meredith have one child, their son Harold H., a physician at Montrose, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Mr. Meredith belongs to the Knights of Pythias. Additional Comments: From Progressive Men of Western Colorado. Chicago: A.W. Bowen & Co., 1905 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/co/montrose/bios/meredith464gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/cofiles/ File size: 4.4 Kb