Friday, October 22, 2010

Finding the Low farm in Boulder

In my Almost Wordless Wednesday post the other day, I mentioned we were driving around the outskirts of Boulder. One of my family branches, the Lows, had a farm that we were looking for. If you read my Time Capsule series, this would be the Lowe family that Frances Robinson Lowe married into.

I obtained the legal description of the property from the estate file of Theodore Low, the original of which is housed at the Colorado State Archives. Using Google Earth and the legal description, I was able to produce an arial map showing the boundaries of the property. Then it was a matter of hopping in the car and driving out there. Don't you just love modern technology?

As I was reading off the directions from the map, Younger Family Member, who was with us, suddenly exclaimed, "Jay Road! That's where my friend lives. Give me that map." Upon examination, Younger Family Member determined that said friend lives adjacent to the former Low farm. A text message ensued informing said friend that they are living almost on the property where Younger Family Member's ancestor's farmed. I think that might be a GOTCHA! Only time will tell.

Today the area is still very rural with a couple of housing enclaves consisting of what I would call "horse property." There are lots of fenced pastures.


I like to think that this peaceful spot with the beautifully painted buildings could have been the site of the Low home.



© 2010, copyright Michelle Goodrum
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3 comments:

  1. Barbara PooleOctober 22, 2010 at 4:03 PM

    Getting in the car and driving up to Colorado, hum, pretty nice that you could do that. How far / long did it take you? Love your last picture, yes, I bet that is where they lived. Enjoyed your post Michelle.

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  2. Donlyn ArbuthnotNovember 4, 2010 at 8:52 AM

    Were the Low Family on their farm in 1880? If so, you should look at the Samuel J. Freeze map that was a result of his surveys in 1880/1881. These plat maps show exactly where the farms were located. It was with this map that gave me the first piece of evidence that my family owned Haystack Mountain in Boulder County.
    The Boulder Genealogy Society has published pieces of this map in their quarterly. And original maps are located at Carnegie Branch Library for Local HIstory in Boulder as well as the University of Colorado Archives.

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  3. Michelle GoodrumNovember 6, 2010 at 9:16 PM

    Thanks Donlyn! I had forgotten about those maps. The Low's are still listed in Gentry County, Missouri in the 1880 census but as I understand, they moved to Colorado shortly thereafter. I have some of the BGS Quarterlies that the maps were published in so I'll check.

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