Routt County CO Archives Biographies.....Pritchard, William May 10, 1845 - ? ************************************************ 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 25, 2006, 5:59 pm Author: Progressive Men of Western Colorado Born to a destiny and reared in an atmosphere of toil and privation, and with his faculties sharpened and his mind invigorated by his condition, when he came to a land of boundless opportunities, William Pritchard, of Routt county, who is now one of its most progressive and successful ranch and cattle men, was prepared to work out a comely estate from almost any conditions which fate might fling before him, and turn every circumstance to account in his favor, however untoward and obdurate it might seem on its surface. He came into this world in southern Wales on May 10, 1845, and he grew to the age of twenty-four in his native land, attending the common schools at irregular and short intervals and beginning the battle of life for himself at the early age of eleven years. In 1869 he bade farewell to the unpromising land of his birth and braved the heaving ocean for a chance in the land of promise whose voice was then potential throughout the civilized world in the call for volunteers to her great army of agricultural and industrial conquest for which active campaigns were in progress, especially in the West. On his arrival in this country he located at New Cambria, Missouri, where he followed railroad work until failing health obliged him to seek another occupation. Moving then to Iowa, he devoted his time to farming for wages until 1872, and with an ambitious desire to supplement his slender education, attended school at intervals. In the spring of 1872 he became a resident of Georgetown, Colorado, and during the next two years he worked in the mines in that vicinity for wages. In 1874 he came to Routt county and located a ranch on Snake river. This he improved to some extent, then sold it in 1875. He then went to Hahn’s Peak, and until 1883 he was engaged in prospecting and mining in that promising region, and although he sometimes lost heavily in his ventures, on the whole he was unusually successful. But he was obliged to pay a price that many would not have considered for his advantage, turning his back on all the allurements and even the common comforts of civilization, and herding with the Indians, camping with them, sleeping with them and often sharing the crude and unsavory food on which they lived. They were friendly, however, and aided him in his aspirations, and in this he found some compensation for the privations he was compelled to suffer. In 1883 he quit mining and located his present ranch in Morgan bottoms, taking it as a homestead. It comprises one hundred and fifty-one acres, all of which is tillable, and on it he brings forth every year good crops of hay, grain and vegetables. Here also he carries on a cattle industry of constantly increasing dimensions and accumulating profits. He has made his ranch one of the most desirable in his section, and his success ranks him among the most progressive and prominent men in his lines of activity on the Western slope of the state. He belongs to the Republican party and is an earnest and zealous member of the Congregational church. His ranch is five miles southeast of Hayden and is well supplied with water. All its improvements were made by him. His parents were William and Mary (Davis) Pritchard, natives of Wales, where both died, the father in 1846 and the mother in 1848. Of their five children William is the only one living. Additional Comments: From Progressive Men of Western Colorado. Chicago: A.W. Bowen & Co., 1905 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/co/routt/bios/pritchar430gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/cofiles/ File size: 4.0 Kb