Ansel Watrous (November 1, 1835 – August 5, 1927) was an American newspaper publisher of the Fort Collins Courier and a historian.
[1] Born in New York, nine-year old Watrous moved with his family to Wisconsin and lived there six years until his father died of cholera.
The family moved back east and Watrous was an apprentice carpenter, before returning to Wisconsin where he married and worked in construction, retail, and politics until he settled in Colorado in 1878.
A longtime resident of Fort Collins, Colorado, Watrous was a newspaper publisher, editor, and journalist.
[2] Ansel, named for his paternal grandfather, was born November 1, 1835, in Conklin, Broome County, New York,[3][4] was the son of Jane E. (née Smith) and Orrin J.
Orrin died of cholera on September 10, 1850 and the family moved back to Broome County, New York.
[3][7] On July 1, 1863, Watrous registered for the draft in the Union Army in Charlestown, Calumet County, Wisconsin.
[7] His wife stayed in Wisconsion temporarily because her father was seriously ill.[11] On December 30, 1877, Watrous arrived in Fort Collins on the Colorado Central Railroad.
[1] Watrous was a founder of the Courier Publishing Company that had enough type to print the whole paper locally.
[3] He continued to write articles in his retirement, including contribution to "Pioneer Corner" of the Sunday Express-Courier.
Watrous is credited with making the town safer when he "waged a vigorous campaign against the underworld, and the better element backed him".
[16] Pegg married Fred C. Robbins at Watrous's house in Fort Collins on February 14, 1900.
[3][8] He had a Knights Templar funeral service[8] and a masonic burial in the Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins.