Person:Jacob Stansell (1)

Watchers
Jacob Baker Stansell
m. 1823
  1. Jacob Baker Stansell1823 - 1896
  2. Phidelia Elizabeth Stansell1825 - 1903
  3. Eliab T StansellAft 1825 - Bef 1848
  4. Chloe Ann Stansell1831 - 1902
m. 20 Feb 1848
  1. Frank R Stansell1848 - Aft 1860
  2. Edward B Stansell1851 - 1919
  3. Albert L Stansell1852 - 1852
  4. Charles J Stansell1854 - Aft 1860
  • HJacob Baker Stansell1823 - 1896
  • W.  Lizzie Russell (add)
m. 19 Sep 1868
  • HJacob Baker Stansell1823 - 1896
  • W.  Mary Turner (add)
m. 28 Dec 1888
Facts and Events
Name Jacob Baker Stansell
Gender Male
Birth[6] 3 Sep 1823 New York, United States
Alt Marriage 22 Feb 1847 to Amelia F Richmond
Marriage 20 Feb 1848 White Lake, Oakland, Michigan, United Statesto Amelia F Richmond
Other? 1849 Livingston, Michigan, United StatesExecutor of his father's estate
Census 1850 Green Oak (township), Livingston, Michigan, United Stateswith Amelia F Richmond
Other? 1856 Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United StatesFounder - Cleveland Masonic Lodge
Census 1860 Waukegan, Lake, Illinois, United Stateswith Amelia F Richmond
Other[1][2] 1861 Buckskin, Park, Colorado, United StatesRecorder of Claims
Other[5][7][8] From 1861 to 1864 Colorado, United StatesTerritorial Legislature
Military[8] From 1863 to 1864 Colorado, United StatesCaptain and Major in the Colorado Militia
Divorce Bef 1868 from Amelia F Richmond
Marriage 19 Sep 1868 Waukegan, Lake, Illinois, United Statesto Lizzie Russell (add)
Census? 1870 Waukegan, Lake, Illinois, United Statestranscribed as "Jacob Stansel"
Census 1870 Waukegan, Lake, Illinois, United Stateswith Lizzie Russell (add)
Occupation[10] 1879 Leadville, Lake, Colorado, United StatesJudge
Census? 1880 Leadville, Lake, Colorado, United States
Census 1880 Leadville, Lake, Colorado, United Statesenumerated twice
with Lizzie Russell (add)
Census? 1885 Denver, Arapahoe, Colorado, United States
Marriage 28 Dec 1888 Denver, Arapahoe, Colorado, United Statesto Mary Turner (add)
Death[6] 6 Dec 1896 Cripple Creek, Teller, Colorado, United States
Burial[3][9] Cripple Creek, Teller, Colorado, United StatesMount Pisgah Cemetery

Apparently he left his family behind when he joined the Colorado Gold Rush in 1860.

He returned to Illinois where he re-married in 1868. He later returned to Colorado where he was twice recorded in the 1880 census.

His son Edward appears at Detroit in the 1870 census, and in Alma, Colorado in the 1880 census near the Phillips Lode mines while Jacob appears at Leadville.

References
  1. CHAPTER VI. ANNALS OF THE FIFTY-NINERS. , in Colorado : a historical, descriptive and statistical work on the Rocky mountain gold and silver mining region [1]
    pp 54-57, 1876.

    Describes the role of a Jacob B Stansell and the firm Stansell, Bond & Harris in developing and exploiting the Phillips Lode in the Buckskin district of Park County CO.

  2. PARK COUNTY. AT FAIRPLAY BUCKSKIN JOE THE PHILLIPS MINE, in History of the State of Colorado, embracing accounts of the pre-historic races and their remains; the earliest Spanish, French and American explorations ... the first American settlements founded; the original discoveries of gold in the Rocky Mountains; the development of cities and towns, with the various phases of industrial and political transition, from 1858 to 1890 .. [2]
    pp 260-267, 1889.

    "Know all men by these presents, that we, Buckskin Joe & Co., claim 1,800
    feet on the Phillips lead, and I, Buckskin Joe, claim the right of discovery."

    Recorder Stansell was presented with claim No. 6 because he recorded the
    certificates without fees, and this proved the richest section of the lode. In October,
    1861, a town company was formed, composed of I. W. Hibbard, J. B. Stansell,
    Miles B. Dodge and J. D. Stewart.

  3. Mount Pisgah Cemetery [3], in USGenWeb Project Archives - Teller County [4].

    "STANSELL | J. | B. | 1896 | MAS | 008 | 016"

  4.   Early Days in Park County, Colorado By An Old Timer [5], in History & Hearsay [6].

    The Fairplay Flume January 5, 1900

    Early Days In Park County By An Old Timer

    The writer started from his home in Trenton, Ill., the day after the fall of Fort Sumpter, in April, 1861, on the way across the plains. He fell in with J. B. Stansell and Bond, the Chicago type man, and they arrived in Denver together.

    Bond's objective point was Georgia Gulch, so that he and Stansell traveled together from Denver. On reaching the South Park, the range to Georgia Gulch was found impassable for wagons on account of the deep snow. Upon Stansell's solicitation, Bond concluded to go with him to Buckskin Joe, halting on the way at Tarryall and Fairplay, where mining operations were just starting up for the season, but little having been done at that time.

    There were about 150 men at Fairplay and vicinity--the town was then on the south side of the river, and Ben Harvey was president of the district.

    The Tarryall and Fairplay mines were discovered in 1860 and Buckskin Joe in 1860 by Joseph Higginbotton (Buckskin Joe) and party--Giles Ilett, Jim and Charlie Champion and a man by the name of Phillips, after whom the Phillips mine was named, were members of his party. Immediately following them came I. W. Hubbard, Jacob B. Stansell, Miles Dodge, Al Dodge, Fred Morse, Jack Roes, Henry Lombard, Geo. and Bob Wing, L. L. Robinson, D. J. Griest, Nick Boob and Dad Boyer. A mining district was organized, with I. W. Hibbard as president and J. B. Stansell recorder. What little mining was done that season was in the gulches--one or two thousand dollars worth of mineral was taken out in Buckskin.

    Hibbard, Miles Dodge and Stansell formed a company. Hibbard and Dodge scratched holes in the ground and called them discoveries, and Stansell did the recording and divided the profits--so they secured one claim each by pre-emtion. Then it was thrown open to the public and tenderfeet, who would bite, and would sometimes record claims for half a mile each way, paying $1 for each certificate. Hibbard and Stansell returned to the states in the fall, and when they divided up, Stansell's share amounted to a little over $300, clear of living expenses, besides a little gold taken out of the gulch.

    In May, 1861, Hibbard returned with his family , and Stansell arrived a few days later, accompanied by N. J. Bond. Only one claim in the gulch was then being worked--by Tom Garland and Geo. DeAlby--which was paying $6 to $7 a day per man.

    Stansell proposed a partnership to Bond in his claims in the district--terms were agreed upon and they started out to prospect. Stansell wanted to go to the Mammoth on the north side of the gulch, up the mountain side and difficult to get to, but Bond said: "No, we will go to the Phillips, on the south side, near the creek." On arriving at what was called a discovery (but in fact there was none, only a little hole with some red dirt in, containing a few gold colors) Stansell wanted to go to work there but Bond said: "No, this is claimed by someone else and may mot be good; let us go to your claim No. 6, south-west, 600 feet away." The proposed course was taken, the ground stepped off, a place selected in a little draw, covered with a drift of snow about 5 feet deep, which was shoveled away, and work began. A hole was soon put down to a depth of about 3 feet, when good looking dirt, oxide of iron, was struck. A panful was taken down to the cabin which panned out 1 grain 3 1-3 cts of gold--time occupied in dipping, about 3 hours. Next day we worked all day on it, and in the evening we washed out of one pan of dirt 25 cts. Next day forenoon we wrote letters. After dinner Stansell started on foot for Tarryall, 20 miles away, to express them home. Bond going to work on the claim with Geo. and Bob Wing, paying $1.75 a day and they boarded themselves, as wages was low at that time. We took out some fine looking quartz and dirt that afternoon , which gave 25c to the pan. Next day, on Stansell's return in the afternoon, we got 26c out of about one quart of dirt and quartz. This we thought good enough and covered the hole up, so as to hide it, intending to buy all the claims we were able to, as we had but little money. We were about ready to start for our cabin, when Hart Harris appeared on the scene;--he was a spiritualist, and the night before had dreamed that he was in a place where some men were mining, which looked just like our place, and that they had struck it big. So next morning he got up at daylight, went to the hole, dug down and got out a pan of dirt which gave 40c. After breakfast he came and wanted to go in with us. We told him that if he had some money he could get in on what we could buy, provided, he furnished the money,which he did. So the writer soon struck a bargain for claim No. 5, south-west, next below, at $100, and No. 3 at $150. No. 4 was held at $300 and was not purchased, as the price was thought too high.

    We had some trouble to save the gold and first tried a rocker, but we could get as good results out of the tailings as out of the dirt. So we made a puddling box, carted the dirt to it, sprinkled quick silver over it and puddled it with a hoe, like making mortor. Then we pulled it out with a hoe onto a tom and tomed it under a big head of water, catching most of the gold under the tom and in rifles in the sluices, saving the headings and tailings, which we milled in quartz mills and arastras. Our first day's run with one sluice gave $36, and then we did not get near all the gold. Second day we did much better.

    When we bought No. 7, above paying $400 for it, and on which we sank a shaft, 7 feet square, to pay dirt, and the first half day's run yielded $535 (more than enough to pay for the claim and all expenses of opening)--then things began to boom--Strange to say, none but the claims we bought on the mine ever paid.--A throng of people poured in from every direction. There was for many days a constant stream of people from California gulch, 14 miles away by trail, 60 miles by wagonroad. They came on foot, on horseback and in wagons. The arrivals from there were 100 to 200 a day, until California gulch was almost deserted. A town soon sprang up from about 30 people to 2,500. It was town all the way from the mouth of Buckskin, or Fairchild's creek to a mile above the little camp of the year before.--The town was laid out the year before by Stansell and party and called Laurett.

    With the throng came H. A. W. Tabor and his wife, Mrs. Augusta L. Tabor. Mr. Tabor had an oxteam and freighted, and Mrs. Tabor kept a boarding house. She was a prominent figure at all our dances, but Tabor was not made that way. In the fall Tabor drove his team back to Missouri river and in the spring of 1862 freighted out flour and groceries, bought out Ware & Morey, thus succeeding to the post office and express office, where he continued in business until the bottom dropped out of the camp, when he moved back to California gulch, where in after years he became a bonanza king--later millionaire, governor and United States senator.

    A few days after the arrival of Hibbard, who was then president of the district, Stansell and Bond, an election of officers was held, which resulted in the election of N. J. Bond, president, Geo. DeAlby, recorder, and Miton Taylor, marshal. A committee was appointed by the miners to draft a new constitution and laws for the district, which was immediately done and approved by the miners. [continued]


    The Fairplay Flume January 12, 1900

    Early Days In Park County By An Old Timer

    [Continued from last No.]
    By the law the president of the district was made judge, and the recorder clerk of the miner court. The laws were satisfied to the community, respected and obeyed, and approved by the first territorial legislature.

    Bond presided over the district until the end of the mining season.--While he was acting, order was good, no jumping of claims, shooting or rowdying, and he settled more disputes personally than he issued papers on.

    C. M. Farrand put up the first quartz mill, 10 stamps. Others kept coming in, until there were nine mills with 78 stamps. There were also in the gulch 13 arastras running. In the winter of '61 and '62 there were three mills put up at Montgomery, and early in '62 one mill in Mosquito. Pennsylvania gulch was discovered in '60 but was soon abandoned.--Montgomery and Mosquito gulches were discovered in '61. Montgomery prospected big in quartz; some specimens were very fine, showing free gold in some instances. Quartz was picked up on the surface, covered with moss, and sprinkled all over with gold, and for a time some men pounded the quartz out in mortars and panned the gold out, making good wages, but there was not a great quantity of the ore and it soon played out, rendering the mills useless.

    In the summer of '61 the Lulu was discovered by Dr. Pollock in Mosquito, who sold it to Stansell & Hart for $800. It bid fair for a time to equal the Phillips at Buckskin, but it proved to be only a pocket and was soon worked out the owners loosing money. Late in the season of '61 the Orphan Boy was discovered by L. W. Dorsett and the War Eagle paid but for a short time.

  5. William Gilpin: Western Nationalist by Thomas L. Karnes
    p 290.

    Jacob B Stansell is identified as one of three members of the Colorado Territorial Legislature, who signed a petition to Abraham Lincoln, requesting that Gilpin be replaced as territorial governor.

  6. 6.0 6.1 MEN WHO ARRIVED IN WHAT IS NOW COLORADO PRIOR TO JANUARY 1, 1861 compiled by Maria Davies McGrath [7].

    Stansell, Jacob B. Denver 15 May 1860 New York 3 Sep 1823 6 Dec 1896 – Cripple
    Creek

    Note that he actually arrived in Colorado from Illinois according to many other sources.

  7. Colorado 1861 Territorial Election - Denver Public Library History [8].

    Stansell's partner Bond was also a leader of the 1862 legislative session.

  8. 8.0 8.1 House Journal of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Colorado
    p 261.

    In 1863 he was elected Captain of the Buckskin Grays company of the Colorado Militia.
    In 1864 he was a Major and Aide-de-Camp to the Adjutant General.

  9. Jacob Baker Stansell [9], in Find A Grave.
  10. [10], in 1879 Leadville City Directory
    Page 2 - I - S.

    "Stansell, Judge J. B., res. Chestnut street, bet. Loomis and Oak streets."