Laurence Hynes, of the Grand valley, one of the prosperous and enterprising fruit-growers of Mesa county, whose productive little fruit ranch of seven acres is located two miles east of Grand Junction, has had a career full of storm and incident in several counties, and although now quietly pursuing one of the fruitful vocations of peaceful industry, has lost none of his interest in public affairs and none of his disposition to stir up and concentrate public sentiment in behalf of the best interests of his community when the circumstances seem to demand such an effort. He is a native of the city of Cork in Ireland, where he was born on January 23, 1849, and the son of Laurence and Mary A. (O’Neill) Hynes, also natives of that historic old city. They emigrated to the United States in 1879 and settled at Denver, this state, where they died. Their offspring numbered nine, of whom five are living. The son Laurence was the fifth born of the children, and was reared and well educated in his native place. He learned the printer’s trade there and after having been imprisoned two years because of his connection with an uprising against the government there, he accompanied his parents and the rest of the family to this country in 1879. He at once secured employment in newspaper work, being connected for a time with the Old Denver Tribune and the Rocky Mountain News. In 1880 he became clerk and time keeper on the construction work of the Denver & Rio Grande Railway, and was so employed until the fall of that year. He then made a six weeks visit to Ireland, and on his return to Denver at the end of that time opened a book store on Fifteenth street in partnership with a younger brother, William F. Hynes. In 1881 he and an older brother named James went to old Mexico and there they engaged in contracting on the Mexican National Railway, building one hundred miles of that great highway. After this Mr. Hynes remained in that country for a number of years operating farms in different places. While there a revolution sprang up around him and with the instinct of his race and impelled by a high sense of duty, he took part in it, but without disaster to himself. On his return to Colorado in the latter part of 1889 he established at Red Cliff the first Populist paper published in Eagle county, calling it the Eagle County Comet. In 1893 he moved his plant to Grand Junction and established the Weekly Times there. In the ensuing October he purchased the Daily and Weekly Star and consolidated them with the Times under the name of the Daily Star Times. Three years later he sold this and started the Weekly Union, which he sold a year later. He then moved to Victor and for a short time conducted the Weekly News at that point, then moved his plant to Golden and for a year ran the Daily Leader, which he started there. When he sold this he moved to Cripple Creek and took editorial charge and management of the Sunday Herald, and while conducting this established the Weekly News, which he carried on nearly a year, and with such force and vigor that he was assaulted by some of its opponents. He then sold this paper and during the next eight months assisted in publishing the Golden Circle at Cameron. In 1900 he again moved into the Grand valley and settled on the fruit ranch which has since been his home, and on which he conducts a thriving and expanding industry in fruit culture. On August 18, 1900, he was married to Mrs. Jessie (Worcester) Garver, widow of the late Andrew Garver. In politics he is independent and always aggressive and influential.
Source: Bowen, A. W. Progressive Men of Western Colorado. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co., Publishers. 1905.