James Simpson
Marriages
Mary Jane Harper Simpson - September 4, 1890
Burial Details
Obituaries
Eagle Valley Enterprise page 1 - June 3, 1938
Trail Blazer Called to His Last Reward
JAMES SIMPSON CROSSES THE LAST DIVIDE WHEN CALLED BY DEATH FRTOAY—RESIDENT OF COLORADO FOR NEARLY FIFTY YEARS
The men and women who pioneered th e trails of Western Colorado are fast disappearing from the scene , and when James Simpson passed away at his home in Minturn on Friday , May 27 , 193 S , death claimed a man who did more than his share in breaking 1 the way for th e civilization that was to follow fast in his footsteps in settling up this great empire . Jim Simpson came to Leadville , a strong , vigorous , fearless young man of 23 years in 1879 . He entered into the spirit of the times at once and became one of the moat active or those hardy pioneers in building up the country . He became a teamster freighting supplies and machinery across the Continental Divide Into Aspen , Glenwood Springs and other Western Colorado camps which were springing up ahead of the railroads . In the early eighties he hauled from Leadville a load of freight to Glenwood Springs which included the fir & v steam boiler to reach that settlement , which was even then becoming the leading center for the country over the divide . He made the trip with a six-horse team down the Eaglevalley , up Squaw creek , over Bellyache Mountain , and over Cottonwood Pass into the Roaring Fork valley , and thence into Glenwood . He fast made friends with the Ute Indians , bonds cf whom still roamed this section , and Colorow , the tribe s most
colorful leader during the seventies and early eighties , was a fast friend of Jim Simpson . He helped uuiid the wooden bridge across the Grande ( now Colorado ) river at Glenwood Springs on the Bite of the present modern Bteel structure in the center of that city . In 1890 he settled down in Aspen which claimed him a s a citizen until in 1913 , when he was attracted to Eagle county by the Lady Belle mining boom , and had made his home here since that time . Born in Oxford , Cumberland county , Canada , September 13 , 1856 , Jas . Simpson was nearing hia 82 d birthday when death brought end to an active and constructive life . The call of adventure brought him to the mining camps of the United States early in life , and in 1884 he became a naturalized citizen of this country , and remained loyal to the land of his adadoptlon to the end . He was married soon after coming to Colorado and is survived by his widow and five children—Lila Mize of Minturn , Colo . ; Ella Rose and Margaret Stender of Mt , Vernon . Wash . ; John Simpson at Green Kiver , Wyo . ; and Harry Simpson of Eagle , Colo . One sister , Mrs . Oliverson of Denver , survives him . All of the children were able to get here to be in attendance at the funeral serivces which were held in Mlntum Thursday - afternoon with burial in the cemetery J at Leadville .
