The Pioneer Lode Prospecting Company

My great-great-grandfather, Wilburn Christison, formed a mining company with Father Dyer and eight other men in 1864. 

In 2006, I sat in Leadville in the Lake County Courthouse looking through mining records and I ran across the articles of incorporation for the Pioneer Lode Prospecting Company. I still remember the shock of seeing the name "John L. Dyer" in the same list as my great-great-grandfather's name.

For those of you not familiar with Father Dyer, he came to Colorado in 1861, the same year as Wilburn Christison and his family. Father Dyer was an itinerant Methodist preacher. He also carried mail from Buckskin Joe over Mosquito Pass to the mining camp of Cash Creek, where several of the men in this mining company lived, including Wilburn Christison. Father Dyer is considered one of 16 Founding Fathers of Colorado. His portrait in stained glass is in the Colorado State Capitol building. For more information about Father Dyer, see this Wikipedia.

The ten men in the Pioneer Lode Prospecting Company each put up $100 in shares giving the company $1,000 in operating capital to sink shafts in two discovery claims - the Elisabeth Jessie Johnston and the Star Gold Quartz lode - in the Hope, Granite and Clear Creek mining districts. 

Here is a list of the ten men:
Wilburn Christison, Galatia Sprague, R. Mat Johnston, William Snyder, Henry C. Justice, Sullivan D. Breece, Patrick Smith, John Burnett, Charles Hilton, and John L. Dyer. 

Of these men, Sullivan D. Breece had the most successful mining operation. He later owned the Breece Iron Mine at Leadville and Breece Hill is named after him. I also found some mining claims that Breece and Christison discovered together.

For more information about the men in the Pioneer Lode Mining Company, see the book Rush To The Rockies! published by the Pikes Peak Library District. I wrote a paper about "The Cash Creek Miners and the Lake County War" which is included in this book. You might notice that the names in this Pioneer Lode list also show up ten years later in accounts of the Lake County War. 

Rush To The Rockies! The 1859 Pikes Peak or Bust Gold Rush

Rush To The Rockies! is the latest in the Regional History Book Series by the Pikes Peak Library District.  In 2009, I presented my paper, "The Cash Creek Miners and the Lake County War," at the Regional History Symposium sponsored by PPLD and the paper is included in the book. Last week, I was honored to be a part of the booksigning at the book release event at the Penrose Library.

Elizabeth and Wilburn Christison

It is exciting to see my great-great-grandfather's story and that of the Cash Creek miners in print. These men were Colorado pioneers whose lives tell the story of Colorado's earliest days.

The connections I find in research fascinate me. I knew Wilburn was involved in the Lake County War, which ended with the murder of Judge Elias Dyer (the son of itinerant Methodist preacher, Father Dyer) in his own courtroom. However, I didn't know he had more than a passing acquaintance with Father Dyer until I found the incorporation papers for the Pioneer Lode Prospecting Company. That is when I learned Wilburn and Father Dyer had been partners in a mining company at Cash Creek. And, as I looked at the names, I realized several of the other partners were also involved in the Lake County War.

Booksigning at the Penrose Library October 24, 2013

Rush to the Rockies! is filled with stories of the gold rush and early Colorado history making it a great addition to any Colorado history buff's bookshelf.

Thank you to Tim Blevins, Special Collections Manager of PPLD and to his incredible staff for publishing a top-notch book.

 I'd also like to thank my friends, Terry and Terry Courtright, who created the map at the beginning of my chapter.

 
Rush To The Rockies: The 1859 Pikes Peak or Bust Gold Rush is for sale for $24.95 at the Penrose Library and through Clausen Books (it isn't on the website yet, but may be ordered by phone). It is also available as an e-book for $5.99 at Smashwords.