Early Life
Eaton was born in Coshocton, Ohio, the second of eight children. He went to school in West Bedford,Ohio (Coshocton County) and taught school there as well. In 1854, at the age of 21, he moved to Louisa County, Iowa, where he taught school for two years. He returned to Ohio in 1856 where he married Delilah Wolf. His wife died in 1857 after giving birth to a son, Aaron James Eaton.
After emigrating to Colorado in 1858 during the Colorado Gold Rush he settled in Weld County In 1858 Eaton went to Iowa for the second time. The following year 1859, at the height of the Colorado Gold Rush, he went from Iowa to Colorado. He prospected for gold in Colorado and New Mexico, as well as working on farms. During the American Civil War, he served under Colonel Kit Carson, in the New Mexico Volunteers. He returned to Louisa County, Iowa in 1864 and married Rebecca J. Hill. He crossed the Great Plains with his second wife that year and settled in Weld County along its western border with Larimer County, establishing a livestock raising operation. He was an early prominent citizen of Fort Collins, the nearest post office and trading point, and was a charter member of the Masonic Lodge there. In 1866, he was elected as Justice of the Peace, serving in that capacity for nine yrears. For six years, he served concurrently as a county commissioner.
Read more about this topic: Benjamin Harrison Eaton
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