Saguache County CO Archives Biographies.....Benjamin, George Freeman November 20, 1858 - ? ************************************************ 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 November 8, 2005, 8:38 am Author: Progressive Men of Western Colorado George Freeman Benjamin Men who have a surcharge of arterial blood and the high spirit it engenders can never be content with the tame insipidities of ordinary life. They cannot languish in the lap of luxury, or dawdle with the toys and playthings of an overgrown civilization. They pine for adventure, and must go to some unsettled country where they can find it in times of peace, and to the front of unrolling columns in the midst of war. They would rather die by the hatchet of an Indian than sit all day and every day at a counting-room desk. They are made for war, for the sea, for hunting, mining, clearing, for hair-breadth adventures, huge risks and the joy of eventful living. Their surplus energy and exaltation of spirit is all good, only it must go to the right place for its exercise, and find room for achievement in a congenial atmosphere and environment, and there it will convert all impediments into instruments, all enemies into power. Such a man was the interesting subject of this sketch in his early life, and such to a considerable degree he is yet; and he found the outlet for his surplus force in the required conditions because he sought it with intelligence and good judgment. Mr. Benjamin was born in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada, on November 20, 1858, and is the son of Nathan and Nancy (Westcott) Benjamin, who also were born in that country, and there for many years the father engaged in farming and did some mining. In 1852 he went to California, making the trip overland by way of Minneapolis and across the plains, consuming six months on the way, and meeting with a great variety of adventures characteristic of the trackless waste of that day. He passed four years in California placer mining with good results, and in 1856 returned to his Canada home, where he remained a few months, and then made a second trip to the new gold fields of the Pacific slope, sailing thither by way of Cape Horn. This argonautic expedition was successful also, and in 1861 he returned to Canada well fixed financially and content to pass the remainder of his days in the peaceful pursuits of agriculture amid the scenes of his childhood and youth. His wife died on July 4, 1874, and he in April, 1899. Four of their children are living, Mrs. John Haywood, Mrs. John Jerdon, Pierce Benjamin and George Benjamin. The parents were members of the Baptist church. Their son George received a good common-school education. He remained at home employed by and in the interest of his parents until he reached the age of twenty-three, then, on January 2, 1882, he moved to Massachusetts, where he was variously occupied for four months. On May 7th of that year he arrived in Colorado, determined to seek his advancement where there was some spice in life and some breadth and fertility of opportunity. He located at Kokomo, and until 1885 lived there and at Leadville, all the while engaged in logging, mining and teaming, working hard but receiving good returns for his labor. In 1885 he moved to Saguache county and located a ranch five miles east of the county seat, which he improved and in 1899 sold to P.M. Jones. In 1891 he bought another, and this he sold to Michael Jordan in 1897. He then purchased the one he now owns and occupies near the town of Center. This comprises one hundred and sixty acres, is well watered and all fit for cultivation. Grain is produced with success, and general ranching and a flourishing stock industry are carried on with vigor and profit. Horses, mules, cattle and hogs are raised extensively. In addition to his home ranch Mr. Benjamin has four hundred and eighty acres of good land leased, on which he raises large crops of wheat, oats and peas. All the elements of his enterprise are successful and he is one of the prosperous, progressive and prominent men of the county, self-made and self-reliant, but always with proper consideration for the public interest and the general welfare of the section and its people. In political faith he belongs to the Republican party, and in its campaigns he is on all occasions of material service to the cause. In fraternal life he is connected with the order of Odd Fellows and the Woodmen of the World. On March 14, 1895, he was united in marriage with Mrs. Sarah A. (Delozier) Bell, the widow of Albert Bell, and a native of Cooper county, Missouri. Her first husband was a school teacher and farmer. He died on August 22, 1881, leaving three children, Claude W., Georgia M., and Anna C., now Mrs. Peter St. Clair. When Mr. Benjamin arrived in Colorado he had but fifteen dollars in money, and almost no other possessions besides the clothes he wore, so that the estate he has and the prosperity he now enjoys are the fruits of his own labor, enterprise and capacity. But his success has not awakened vanity over his achievements, but rather thankfulness for the opportunities he has had and the endowment to see them clearly and use them wisely, for his own advantage and that of the region of his home. Additional Comments: From Progressive Men of Western Colorado. Chicago: A.W. 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