Ouray County CO Archives Biographies.....Criswell, J. L., 1857 - ? ************************************************ 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 December 20, 2005, 1:24 am Author: Progressive Men of Western Colorado The pioneer merchant of Ridgeway, whose arrival in this section antedated the birth of the promising little town, and one of the leading and most public-spirited citizens of Ouray county, J. L. Criswell is a native of Missouri, born in 1857, and the son of Wesley and Martha (Hudson) Criswell, also natives of that state. He was reared on his father’s farm in Missouri and educated in the neighboring district schools. In the exacting but manly labors of the farm he acquired habits of industry and thrift and also a spirit of self-reliance and independence, learning to depend on his own acumen and energy in every emergency and use his faculties to good advantage under any circumstances. After reaching the estate of manhood he was engaged near his home for a period in farming, and afterward followed the same occupation in Nebraska and Wyoming for a time. In 1880 he came to Colorado, and for a year was employed as bookkeeper for the railroad company. In 1881 he settled where Ridgeway has since been built and engaged in mining, and also helped to survey the southwestern counties of the state in the employ of the United States government. He continued his mining and prospecting operations until 1886, making a number of important discoveries which he sold. In the year last named he opened a general store at Dallas which he conducted for a short time, after which he returned to the site of Ridgeway and started the merchandising business here which he still carries on, and which was the first of the kind in this neighborhood. His establishment is a large and complete one for its locality and carries a stock of merchandise well selected to suit the wants of the people who patronize it, at the same time satisfying and cultivating the taste of the community, and laying under tribute to its trade a large extent of the surrounding country. He also owns a ranch on which he conducts a thriving stock industry, pushing his business in that line with the same energy and capacity that he exhibits in his merchandising. As a pioneer in this locality he has had much to do with the development of the section, and has been conspicuous in every line of useful activity that has been put in motion among its people. He was one of the founders of the town, and to its interests and the spread of its influence and the growth of its vitality he has sedulously devoted himself. For six years he served as its postmaster, and while in the office greatly enlarged its postal conveniences. In many other ways he has stimulated its forces for progress, and subserved the convenience and lasting good of its inhabitants. In 1892 he was married here to Miss Edith King, a native of Michigan but reared in Colorado, and a sister of Cassio King, the gifted poet of San Juan, whose muse has embalmed the natural beauties and social features of the region in the chamber of their inspiring lines. Mr. and Mrs. Criswell have four children, their sons Walter and Robert, and their daughters Ruth and Lillian. Mr. Criswell is a valued member of the Woodmen of the World and has given the order a due share of his stimulating and serviceable attention. Successful in business, esteemed as a citizen, potential as a civic force, and inspiring as an example in all the relations of life, Mr. Criswell is living a useful and commendable career in which all the best elements of American manhood are worthily exemplified. Additional Comments: From Progressive Men of Western Colorado. Chicago: A.W. Bowen & Co., 1905 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/co/ouray/bios/criswell80gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/cofiles/ File size: 4.1 Kb