WRIGHT, Alonzo S., b 1849; 1905 Bio, Montrose County, Colorado http://files.usgwarchives.net/co/montrose/bios/wrightas.txt --------------------------------------- Donated September 9, 2001 Transcribed by Judy Crook from the book: Progressive Men of Western Colorado Published 1905, A.W. Bowen & Co., Chicago, Ill. --------------------------------------- Alonzo S. Wright Leaving home at the age of twenty-three, and then coming to live in Colorado, where he has ever since resided, Alonzo S. Wright, of Montrose county, living three miles and a half northwest of Olathe on a good ranch of two hundred acres, has given to the service of this state the labor of nearly all of his mature years, and has won from it not only a competency in worldly wealth of increasing magnitude, but as well a high place in the lasting regard of its people. He was born on April 19, 1849, in Morgan county, Missouri, where his parents, Thomas and Martha (Baskerville) Wright, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Virginia, settled in childhood. The father was a carpenter and worked at his trade until well advanced in age. He then retired to his farm in Missouri, where he died in 1878. There were three daughters and two sons in the family, and of these Alonzo and his three sisters are living. He grew to manhood on the paternal homestead in his native state, and secured his education at the public schools. In 1872 he left home and came to live in Colorado, arriving at Denver on April 7th. During the next eighteen years he was engaged in prospecting and mining with good results, and he still owns some paying mining interests at Lake City, among them a portion of the Sweet Home mine. He came to the valley in which he now lives in the autumn of 1884, and for five years thereafter continued his mining operations. In 1889 he bought his present home, securing one hundred and sixty acres by the first purchase and eighty in addition later, in the meantime having sold forty acres. His land is principally adapted to hay and of this he raises large quantities of first rate quality. He is also largely engaged in the stock industry and in bee culture. After buying the place he gave up active mining and devoted his energies to farming and his cattle business. The latter he is steadily increasing and its profits grow with its expansion. The bees are also profitable and bring him a considerable revenue without much effort on his part; and he has a three-acre orchard from which he gets good returns. In 1903 he sold more than two thousand dollars worth of produce from his farm, the honey bringing four hundred dollars and the fruit an equal amount. While increasing the number he is also raising the standard of his cattle and thus enlarging their value in the markets. On February 17, 1892, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Vezina, who was born in Iowa on November 3, 1868, and is the daughter of Nelson and Emily (Roapell) Vezina, a sketch of whom will be found elsewhere in this work. There are five children in the Wright family, John, Alonzo, Jr., Myron, Mary and Thomas C., all living and at home. Mr. Wright belongs to the order of Odd Fellows and the Washingtonians. In political affiliation he is a pronounced Democrat. In the full maturity of his powers, with comfortable surroundings, engaged in congenial pursuits, and enjoying in a marked degree the respect and confidence of his fellow men, Mr. Wright has an enviable lot at present and may confidently expect many years of usefulness and happiness yet to come. =================================================== 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.