People

: Jacob "Jake" Ranta; Jacob "Jake" Ranta was born in Finland on September 18, 1882, and immigrated to America in 1900. After briefly settling in Red Lodge, Montana, Jacob moved to Telluride to work in the mines. His wife, Anna (Erma?) Maki Ranta was also born in Finland on October 12, 1886; she immigrated to the United States in 1905. Jacob and Anna were married in Telluride, and were an integral part of the town's Finnish community during the early 1900s. A son, William "Bill," was born on October 26, 1906, and another son, Elmer, was born on August 5, 1917. Jake Ranta reportedly worked as a tram boss at the Black Bear Mine, and according to the 1920 census, he was a carpenter.

: Jacob Calvin Jones; Jacob C. Jones was the first Mayor of Englewood (1903-1906). He was one of ten children, born in Danville, Pennsylvania in September 1836.

: Jacob Charlie Vigo "Jake" Goss; He was born in Ashe County, North Carolina to William J. Goss and Amanda V. (Graybeal) Goss. US Census records show that the family had moved to the Loma area of Mesa County, Colorado by at least 1900, when he was fifteen years old. There, the family ran a farm. Jake was one of at least nine siblings. He married Ruth Mary Kilby on December 23, 1917 in Fruita, Colorado. They farmed in Loma. He also worked as a ditch rider for the Fruita Land and Canal Company, working the Grand Valley Canal and the Independent Ranchman’s Ditch.

: Jacob J. Raber; Born in Germany, he was a butcher by trade and lived for a time in South Dakota before coming to Leadville, Colorado. There, he supplied miners with meat. When the Homestake Mine closed, many miners left, and Jacob took his family to Mesa County in search of more gainful employment. They settled on a ranch in the Kannah Creek area in 1907, where Jacob tried and failed to grow fruit trees. He ended up ranching cattle instead.

: Jacob Laux; Early resident of Crested Butte, Colorado. Died in the Jokerville Mine Explosion on January 24, 1884.

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