History

Horse Racing Courtesy Photo

The William T. Smith Family - Part I of II

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

This family settled south and east of Rye just before 1870. They contributed to the town of Rye’s development and the ranching community. William T. Smith was born in North Carolina on March 24, 1840. His family moved to Mississippi when William was young and he grew up and was educated there.

1910 Alfalfa Field Courtesy Photo

Alfred Hydecooper ‘Fred’ Smith Family

Cheryl Johnson Huban

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

This Smith family operated a large ranch 14-miles west of Pueblo on the St. Charles River. Alfred H. Smith served as Pueblo County Commissioner from 1900 until 1907. Alfred Hydecooper ‘Fred’ Smith Family Fred was born in Independence, Missouri near Kansas City, in 1856.

1885 Rye - Pick Smith two story building on left Courtesy Photo

Robert A. ‘Pick’ Smith

Cheryl Johnson Huban

Tuesday, July 11, 2023

Smith is a very common name and there were three significant Smith families in the history of the Greenhorn Valley: Robert ‘Pick’; Alfred H. and William T. Their stories will follow. Pick Smith helped establish the town of Rye, before moving out of the area at the turn of the century.

William Benton Canon

Cheryl Johnson Huban

Wednesday, July 5, 2023

William Benton Canon William ‘Benton’ Canon contributed to the development of Huerfano County, but he is better known for his influence in Mesa County and Grand Junction. Benton was born and raised in Hancock County, Illinois on a farm. He arrived in Denver on June 22, 1865.

Samuel Edward Johnson married Luella Hammond Graves in 1880 and lived in Dolores, Colorado Courtesy Photo

The Charles John Johnson Family - Part III of III

Cheryl Johnson Huban

Tuesday, June 27, 2023

Both Charles, Jr and Sis’ fathers approved, Charles thinking it was time for his oldest son to settle down and raise a family; and Wilks believed “Charles could provide for Sis—it was obvious the Johnsons were ‘well-off’.

Stagecoach Courtesy Photo

The Charles John Johnson Family - Part II of III

Cheryl Johnson Huban

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Charles and Mary stopped and settled the family along Greenhorn Creek; the Doze family went further south to Apache. The wagons were unpacked in the first week of August after nearly three months on the trail. Charles had brought “a mower with his freight”.

Wagon Train Painting - Thomas Whittredge Courtesy Photo

The Charles John Johnson Family - Part I of III

Cheryl Johnson Huban

Tuesday, June 13, 2023

Charles brought his family to Greenhorn from Iowa after the Civil War. He became postmaster before moving his family to Dolores, Colorado. Charles was born in 1823 in New York, the only son of Robert and Jamina Teaque Johnson.

Arthur John Waldron Courtesy Photo

The Honorable John Michael Waldron - Part II of II

Cheryl Johnson Huban

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

The Honorable John Michael Waldron In 1902, John “went abroad for a year”. When he returned to Denver in 1903, he had married Margaret Isabel and had a son Malcolm Thomas. Margaret was two years older than John’s only daughter, Ethel. John went back to work, forming a partnership with Judge E.D.

John Michael Waldron Courtesy Photo

The Honorable John Michael Waldron - Part I of II

Cheryl Johnson Huban

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

John was a prominent lawyer in Pueblo and Denver. He served as Pueblo’s first district attorney and as general counsel for Colorado Fuel and Iron (CF&I). John was born in the Parish of Aughmoar, County Mayo, Ireland on January 25, 1848 or 1850.

William Zachary Popejoy Courtesy Photo

Popejoy Family - Part II of II

Cheryl Johnson Huban

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Washington Lafayette Popejoy Washington and Pernetta had three more children born in Texas, Daisy in 1881, Ernest Newton 1884 and Ora Edgar in 1886. Their oldest children were married in Texas. Nora married William Cross Payne in 1887 and had their first child in 1888.

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