Jones, William Guy; 1905 Bio, Routt County, Colorado http://files.usgwarchives.net/co/routt/bios/joneswg.txt --------------------------------------- Donated April 2001 Transcribed by Judy Crook from the book: Progressive Men of Western Colorado Published 1905, A.W. Bowen & Co., Chicago, Ill. --------------------------------------- William Guy Jones By continued effort and application, by close attention to whatever he had in hand, by diligent lookout for opportunities of advancement and vigilant enterprise in the use of them, William Guy Jones, of near Sidney, Routt county, where he is a leading and progressive ranch and cattle man, has achieved his success in life and made his way to the substantial comfort and public consequence he enjoys. He is a native of St. Lawrence county, New York, born on December 31, 1835, and the son of Harry and Nancy Jones, the former a native of the state of New York and the latter of Canada. The father was a soldier in the war of 1812. After a residence of many years in New York the parents moved to Canada where they passed the remainder of their lives, dying there at advanced ages. The father was a machinist and steamboat builder and was very successful and widely known for his skill. In dominion politics he belonged to the Liberal party, and both he and his wife were devout and prominent Methodists. William Guy Jones is their only surviving child and has inherited all the strong and commendable qualities of mind and heart that distinguished his parents. Entering on the stage of independent action at the age of sixteen, he has ever since been self supporting and has always gloried in the fact that he owed nothing to fortune's favors or adventitious circumstances. Receiving a limited education at the common schools, he began at an early age to acquire mechanical skill as a machinist, carpenter and blacksmith. Then, when he was twenty-one, leaving home, he turned his attention away from all of these and engaged in business as a butcher in partnership with a man named Fischer, the firm being Jones & Fischer. The partnership lasted until 1860, when a harmonious dissolution took place and Mr. Jones associated himself with A.S. Wood & Company, who had extensive oil interests in Pennsylvania, of which he acquired one-third. The business of the firm in the unctuous fluid, which often made millionaires over night, was large and profitable until all their plant was destroyed by fire, the disaster cleaning Mr. Jones out of everything. Meeting this condition with resolute fortitude, he accepted employment in a butcher shop at one hundred and fifty dollars a month, and after a faithful service of six months in this engagement he opened a grocery of his own at Tidioute, a beautiful little town on the Allegheny river which was once an active oil mart. He carried on the grocery with success for a time, then turned his attention to the oil trade again and acquired new interests of value which after three months he sold to a company of Des Moines, Iowa, capitalists. From the oil trade he turned to building a steamboat for Scribner & Company to use on the Des Moines river. His next move was to Boone, Iowa, where he clerked in a store for a time, then came to Denver, this state, before it had a railroad. Here he clerked until 1868, when he bought a store for himself in the city and during the next two years he conducted this. In 1870 he sold his mercantile interests and moved to Rocky Ford, this state, where he pre-empted a ranch of one hundred and sixty acres and bought one hundred and sixty acres, on which he lived and worked until 1873. In that year he sold the ranch and moved to Del Norte, and at that picturesque and flourishing little town he carried on a profitable flour and feed business for three months. Closing this out at the end of that period, he took a train of twelve ox teams and wagons to the San Miguel county, the first to enter that region. At San Miguel he opened a store and kept the post office and from that place as headquarters ran three trains of burros as pack animals to various other points. He found this business very profitable and continued it three years, then in 1879 sold it and returned to Denver. Here he remained a short time, then moved to Buena Vista. Mr. Jones was one of the first men to follow mining independently in that section, and he was very successful in his undertakings until he quit the industry in 1891 and located a portion of his present ranch of three hundred and twenty acres by a homestead claim. He has three hundred acres under cultivation in hay, grain, vegetables and small fruits, and raises cattle on an extensive basis, and fine horses for market in considerable numbers. For a number of years he also owned and managed the stage station between Yampa and Steamboat Springs. His ranch is twelve miles south of Steamboat Springs and one of the most beautiful in the valley. It is well watered by independent ditches and cultivated with all the vigor and skill of which Mr. Jones, who is one of the best farmers in his neighborhood, is capable. Mr. Jones is an ardent Democrat in political faith, and a prominent and widely esteemed citizen. He was married on December 14, 1870, to Miss Phebe A. Basford. They have had seven children, two of whom have died, Harry and Florence. Those living are Edward D., Guy W., Cora E., Ida B. and Neva C. All the members of the family are affiliated with the Methodist church. =================================================== 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.