The Snyder Family

So I have to thank Uncle Larry for sending this to me. He has done a great job in finding these stories about our family.

The Snyders
Henry Edward Snyder (1833-1911) Chancey Alanca Snyder (1865-1945)
By Robert H, Snyder




The following account was written by Robert H. Snyder (Bob), Box 653 Silverton, Colorado 81433 (or Rico, Colorado 81332). Incidents here in concern the lives of his grandfather Chancey herewith and whereas called “Chan” to whit in this document. His great-grandfather “Henry Edward” and their families.The account herein was written in longhand American English by Bob as he visited with people when they worked in fields, roamed the mountains, rode in auto-mobiles, etc. Most of the content has come from verbal sources, such as friends, relatives who personally acquainted with the people in the stories. Bob lived in the same household as Chan in his early days, in 1940 they were together an entire summer, camping and doing mining claims in various parts of Colorado and Utah. Some experiences were written from this personal contact. A greater part of this material came through Bob’s father Robert A. Snyder who was close to Chan most of his life.In his travels, Bob asks people if they knew or were acquainted with the persons of which he is writing. Most are not, but a few are. Letter has been another way of getting accounts.AS to how these writings came about, Bob says, “mostly it’s because I have a deep interest in these things and like to do this sort of things.” “With me it’s more or less a hobby and I find ‘writing’ very relaxing, especially at the end of the day of physical labor.” “one other good reason is that the LDS church has asked us to do these things.”Editing, typing, and duplication of this material has been done by Bob’s cousin, Iona Snyder Hall, 5690 South 2700 West, Roy, Utah 84067, July 1973-1976.Put in digital form and added graphics by Lawrence G. Snyder 344 North 1500 West Cedar City, Utah, 84721. 2008 July 24th-?E-mail ddlsnyder@cedarcity.net

The Civil War
Very little is known of Henry Edward Snyder until about the time of the Civil War. He was in the civil war for the duration. 1861-1865. He had at least one brother who was in the war, a Captain John Snyder who marched with General Sherman to the sea. They were from Wisconsin and were volunteers. It is reported that John lost a leg in the war.Henry Edward Snyder was a sharp shooter and one occasion had an opportunity to shoot General Lee, however the commanding officer of the unit wouldn’t let him shoot.After the war Henry Snyder and family lived on a 160 acre farm he had cleared with an ox team. He planted 15 or 20 acres in turnips. This farm was located on the Wisconsin River and Henry worked as a timber pilot through the Wisconsin’s rapids. A saw mill was located about 20 miles above a settlement called Wisconsin Rapids. Henry’ job was to navigate timber trough the rapids to the settlement below. This being timber and lumber. He made several trips per day through the rapids and after each trip a fast horse and buggy would be waiting for him to take him back up along the river for another return trip down through the rapids. This job he had for about fourteen years, for years before the war to about ten years after the war.The Dakota time

In about 1874 the Henry E. Snyder family left Wisconsin Rapids and headed west. Not knowing for sure where they were going but eventually ended up in the Black Hill country of South Dakota. They arrived at the town of Deadwood in 1875. Henry operated a Wells Fargo stage station where the stage came trough every day.It was about this time that cattle started to arrive from Texas, some were headed for Oregon. One occasion a cattle outfit came through and Henry bought 14 head of lame stock, (Texas Longhorns). A short time later, two of henry’s boys (Chan & Bill) were put herding some of the cattle on the hills when they surprised by a band of Sioux Indians. Chan and Bill only had one horse between the two of them so they both got on the same horse and made a dash for the station with the Sioux in hot pursuit . They went across the Cheyenne River.About this time there were bandits roaming the Black Hills country. These bandits made several raids around Deadwood in 1875.On one occasion a Texan who happened to be with one of the cattle drivers gave Chan a buckskin pony which he later brought to Colorado. This Texan one time happened to be chasing a wild steer. His rope which Chan described must have been at least 75 feet long and a small loop in the end to be roping Texas Longhorns. After watching this Chan wanted to become a cowboy.On one occasion a mail, or stage driver gave Hank a pup, his method of presentation was to shove the pup in bed with Hank one morning. This dog grew into a hound that could catch deer.When Henry got ready to leave the Black Hill country his books and the stage line books checked out the same. Wells Fargo Company told him he could have any station he wanted to operate.Of interest: during the year they were around Deadwood was a person named Calamity Jane, also Pokes Alice who smoked cigars. Groceries were quite high, but the wages kept up with inflation. Henry and family left Deadwood in 1877 and had twenty thousand dollars in gold. Some of which he brought from Wisconsin.The morning they left Deadwood, one of their colts came up missing. After a short search Henry and Rob came to ranch house. They asked the rancher if he had seen their colt. The rancher told them he had not. They asked permission to look in the ranchers barn, but the rancher protested loudly. The ranchers two sons were present and they were quite husky young men. They tried to stop Rob from looking into their barn. Quick as a flash Rob hauled back and hung one on the largest boy and went to look into the barn. He found the colt he had been seeking. They took the colt, climbed on their horses and went back to camp where they proceeded to leave for the Platte River.

The Platte River Ranch
That fall of 1877 Henry bought a place on the Platte River and arrived there that fall of 1877. They bought a ranch and stayed the winter. Henry had an experience on the Platte River. It was in the spring time and the river was running high. Henry had taken a job of hauling passengers and luggage (mail) across the river. During one time when the river was flooding, the boat capsized spilling out a woman, three or four children also the stage driver. After dark around midnight, Henry managed to righten the boat, get his passengers aboard, then by swimming and pushing the boat ahead of him, managed to get it ashore. At this time the stage line couldn’t cross the river, so Henry was taking passengers and mail across the river.This was near Sidney, Nebraska.

Aztec, New Mexico
In the spring of 1878 they sold their ranch on the Platte for a nice profit and moved to new country. In the late summer of ’78 they arrived in Aztec, New Mexico. They met a rancher by the name of Cox whose ranch was located where Aztec is now located. Cox raised oats and other things. They also had some meat that was salted down in wooden barrels.Nephites or Jaredites.
Henry and family were of the Presbyterian faith. At this time Henry’s boys were scouting around Aztec when they came upon some very old Indian ruins. The rooms were constructed of stone and mortar with split cedar timbers on the roof/ The split timbers were used to hold mud (adobe cement) in place. The boys decided to see what they could find around, and inside the place. They started digging near a pinyon tree that was growing on the top of the roof. This pinyon tree was several hundred years old. The trunk was so large that a grown man could not reach around by using both arms.Starting at the top layer the boys went down through seven stories or layers of rooms. Finding several skeletons left from a battle. Many broken bones, spears, arrows etc., were found. One arrow had pierced a skull, others had severed other bones. In one room that had for some purpose been sealed off, or walled in, they found a man and a woman. Strange as it may seem, the woman had yellow hair, yet she was an Indian and had been killed long before the white man had come to this country.The woman had died first. The man had tried to dig through the first wall only to run into a second wall and had died in a kneeling position. This happened several hundred, perhaps thousands of years before their discovery.Going down into other rooms, the boys discovered a pumpkin hanging from the ceiling. When they touched it disintegrated into dust. One room contained 13 dead killed in the battle.Some time later another boy who had visited the ruins found a copper knife that had been tempered and so hard it could not be filed. It had to be sharpened on a grindstone.These Aztec people were quite advanced in agriculture. They had methods of farming that included canals that constructed and ditches and they practiced irrigation. The remains of some of their ditches were still in evidence in 1878.Charles Henry Snyder (Hank) had had married Carrie Crapo in 1891 and moved down the Delores river to the mouth of Summit Creek. He records that there was much evidence of Indian ruins. He then moved to Moab Utah.In the early days, before the Utes and Navajo moved into that area, the people that preceded the Aztec Indians had constructed a ditch out of the river for irrigation. These Indians were good farmers and had raised corn and potato’s on several flats (mesas) in that area. When Hank moved to the mouth of Summit on the Delores, he found wild potato’s in a variety of colors. They were growing where the ancient before Aztec people had left them. Since the Ute’s and Navajo were hunters and warriors, they probably sent raiding parties to steal from the farmers, the pre Aztec of their produce.

The Snyder’s meet the Mormons for the first time.
1878, also brought a group of Mormon men who had been working on the railroad to the south who had finished and were returning to Utah. These Mormons crossed the Animas River while the ice was in the river with wagons and teams. At this crossing there was a steep bank on either side of the river where the wagon had to lifted up by hand in co-operation with the teams pulling. With this the Mormon group there was a young boy. About 14 or 15 years old. This boy made the remark to Chan that the Mormons around Utah were not afraid of Indians, the army, or anyone else bothering them for if this happen “even the sage brush would rise up with guns,” in defense of their homeland.

The Snyder’s found Telluride, and Rico Colorado
1879 spring they moved to Ouray with 29 head of horses and 3 cows. They moved on to San Miquel City (Telluride). San Miguel City is about 1 mile from present day Telluride. The Snyder’s bought the land now where Telluride is. George Washington Snyder was born there. They stayed there about a month and moved to Rico for better pasture.Chan visits Hank and Carrie in the summer of the late 188o’s and their mother died from a stroke. Chan became acquainted with Sarah Crapo. Chan and Sarah were married Dec. 28, 1895 at Moab he being about 30 years of age and Sarah being about 18. Rueben and Robert were born in Moab.Chan and family moved to “the Pines.” Now called Dove Creek.

The founding of Craig Colorado
Chan and family move to Price Utah, and got some claims of Gilsonite. ( hydro-petroleum product). They went back to Dove Creek and Chan and family got a hankering to live in Idaho. They intended to go through Wyoming and travel west. Through Salt Lake City and then north to Idaho. Sarah wanted to see the L.D.S. temple in Salt Lake she being a Mormon.On the 8th of June 1904 they came to place called Craig Colorado. It was a one room cabin that served as a Post office, for the U, S. mail. The man that owned the cabin was Craig. This was cattle country at that time. In 1904 this was located at the junction of Fornication Creek of the Yampa river, and the Yampa River then flows into the Green River,Chan and his family wanted to go about 12 miles north of Craig’s cabin but met a man at the cabin by the name of Mulineux who offered to sell him some property next to Craig’s cabin. It was an 160 acre homestead that went near the bear creek. As things turn out, they remained there for 15 years. They raised some sheep, vegetable garden, potato’s, and milkcows. They also raised flint corn. (popcorn).1905, March 25th, Chan and Sarah had another son, Leland Henry they named him. (Grandpa Snyder) During this time Craig’s cabin was formed into a town named Craig. Chan donated some land to the new town. Chan was the only sheepherder the cattle men respected.