I'll continue working my way through the alphabet this week.

Marguerite Alice Smouse (Allen) was born on March 18, 1910. She married George Ava Allen. She passed away on February 23, 1977 and was survived by three sisters, Mildred Hall, Dorothy Jones and Martha Smouse.

James Allison was born on Dec. 25, 1920. He was a brother-in-law of Bernie Smith, the mother of Carl Hall and Sheryl. He passed away on June 25, 2000.

Arthur James Ames was born on April 5, 1860. He came to Colorado in 1878 and lived first in Leadville. He married May Morris in 1900. They had six children. Arthur passed away on July 18, 1931 and May passed away on October 31, 1961.

Jack Reginald Allum was born on Dec. 15, 1910. He ran the County Shop for 31 years and was instrumental in bringing about the Mancos Rural Water System. He married Nellie (Allum) and passed away on Dec. 26, 1988.

John B. Anderson was born in 1857. He died on August 16, 1911 we a loaded shotgun on a horse ahead of him accidentally discharged. He left his wife Nellie and six children. Nellie passed away in 1926. Their son, Eldridge passed away on April 30, 1919 from injuries he sustained in a motorcycle accident near Colorado Springs.

Pacomio Archibeque was born in 1899. He married Rebecca (Archibeque) and passed away on Aug. 13, 1958.

Patricio Archuleta was born in 1899. He married Elvira (Archuleta). He passed away on Dec. 22, 1978. Elvira passed away only six days later on Dec. 28, 1978. Their son, Gilbert, died in a Denver hospital on May 28, 1969 after a fall down some stairs in Mancos.

Fred Lewis Armstrong was born was born on May 27, 1874. In 1886 his father homesteaded in the lower Mancos Valley. His father also set up a butcher shop in Mancos. Fred taught a couple of years in the lower Webber Valley while his mother ran the Old Lemmon Hotel. He married Marilyn (Maybyn) Morefield in February 1904. They had seven children. He was a charter member of the Mancos Masonic Lodge and served a number of times as the Mancos Justice of the Peace. He passed away on July 4, 1951. Maybyn was born on June 2, 1878. She was the first white girl born in Mancos. She worked actively to assist the Grange, Home Demonstration and War Bond drives. She passed away on Jan. 6, 1946.

Mary Elizabeth Keating (Armstrong) was born on Dec. 4,1844. She married a Confederate soldier, Lewis McCullan Armstrong in 1886 and they moved to Mancos that same year. They had no children but adopted Fred Lewis Armstrong. Mary passed away on June 14, 1918 and Lewis passed away on March 28, 1899.

Nicholas Arney was born in 1846. He came with his family from Switzerland in 1850. He was a resident of Mancos for 30 years. He married Elizabeth (Arney). He had a fractured skull and an operation removed blood but complications set in and he died on January 1, 1916. Elizabeth was born in 1806. She was a school teacher and the old school (the Arney School) was named after her. She passed away on May 8, 1901. Their daughter, Mary Ann, was born in Bern Switzerland in 1846. She died of cancer on May 11, 1903.

Charles Henry Artz was born in 1884. He married Mattie (Artz). In 1924 he became the manager of the new sawmill at McPhee. He later operated his own sawmill east of Mancos. He also helped locate the Ohio Match Factory in Mancos. He passed away on March 14, 1974.

Darrel Ellis is a longtime historian of the Mancos Valley. Email him at [email protected].