John A. Fitzpatrick, of Collbran, Mesa county, is a pioneer of 1878 in Colorado and of 1880 in the portion of the state wherein he now lives; and from the time of his advent among its people he has been active and zealous in the development of the section and the promotion of the general welfare of its inhabitants. He is a native of Canada, born in 1840 in Glengarry county, province of Ontario, and is the son of Hugh and Margaret (Ross) Fitzpatrick, also natives of the Dominion, who passed their lives in that country engaged in farming. The mother died in 1843, leaving five children, of whom John was the fourth, and the father in 1879, he being at the time of his death sixty-five years old. Their son John remained at home with his father until twenty-one, receiving his education in the schools near by and learning the business of agriculture under the direction of his parent on the homestead. When he reached his majority he came to the United States and settled in Wisconsin where he was employed in lumbering two years. The next year was spent in Minnesota in the same occupation, and the next at his Canadian home. He then came over into New York and farmed for a year, then made a trip to Massachusetts, returning again to Canada. Two years later he came to Colorado and located at Denver. In 1880 he removed to Buena Vista, where he kept a hotel for two years. In 1882 he settled on his present ranch, and some time later started the livery and feed business he is now conducting at Collbran. He has business capacity and enterprise, and has prospered in all his undertakings. At the same time he has built himself up in public estimation as a wise and progressive citizen, and is now held in general esteem throughout his section of the county. In 1872, at Montreal, Canada, he was married to Miss Eliza Farlinger, a native of Glengarry county, Ontario. They have nine children, Jeannette G., John A.R., Chester C., Edgar T., Nellie, Lloyd, Milton, Lillie and Ruby. In business circles, in social life and in the public affairs of the community Mr. Fitzpatrick is an important and influential man, and he is worthy of his place.
Source: Bowen, A. W. Progressive Men of Western Colorado. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co., Publishers. 1905.