Bassett Peak, Graham County, Arizona

Josiah Bassett descends from #57B William Bassett of Arkansas as follows:

William Bassett
Nathaniel Bassett and wife Sarah
Thomas Spear Bassett (b. 1818) and wife Sara
Josiah Bassett (b. 1838) and wife Susan Gibbs

The following is from Arizona Place Names:

Picture of Bassett Peak, Arizona supplied by Ray Bassett

Although the place names says Bassett Peak is named after Bob Bassett, and early cattleman, I can find no Bob Bassett that ever settled in this area. It is more likely it is named for Josiah Bassett or one of his sons. They located in Graham County at a very early date.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF ARIZONA
Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago (1901)
Josiah S. Bassett

That Mr. Bassett is one of the most enterprising farmers of the Gila valley is a distinct evidence of his indomitable perseverance. Many discouraging trials have come his way, and many obstacles presented themselves, the surmounting of which would have formed to the average a bar to any kind of headway. The family of which he is a member were for years identified with the best agricultural interests of Arkansas, in which state he was born April 18, 1838. His parents, T.J. and Sarah Bassett, were also born in Arkansas, and the father eventually died within twenty miles of the scene of his birth. The mother subsequently removed to Texas, and after a long and useful life died in Fort Worth. Josiah S. was about sixteen when he went to Texas and became interested in farming, and for a long period was engaged in the same occupation. In order to better his condition he resolved upon an overland journey to Arizona, and the expedition remains to this day a memory replete with horror and ever-present danger and death. The Indians still regarded the plains and mountains as their undisputed possession, and gave the pale-faced intruders anything but a hearty welcome. Every day witnessed the murder of travelers, and the little expedition came upon many bodies of the slain. Some were burned and some were not, but the whole way was a terrible reminder of a possible ignominious fate.

Arriving at Safford, Ariz., Mr. Bassett found but two white families there, and very little improvement as yet effected. He began to till the soil with moderate success, and then removed to Dos Cabezos, where he engaged in the cattle business, and also had the mail route between Fort Bowie and the Cherry Cow mountains. In the former occupation he was interested for four years, and was mail carrier for six years. Upon selling out his interests at Dos Cabezoa he removed thirty-five miles southwest to the Hot Springs, were he farmed, and then located sixty miles below Phoenix. There he engaged in an unfortunate undertaking, the construction of the Bassett ditch, which consumed four years of time and all the money he had, but was swept away by floods.

Following this discouraging experience Mr. Bassett went to Phoenix, where he lived for five years, during which time he was in poor health, and labored at a disadvantage. Nevertheless he took the mail contract from Phoenix to Buckeye, and continued in that capacity for four years. At the end of that time he came to the Gila valley, which has since been his home. For a year he rented a farm, and then bought forty acres half way between Solomonville and Safford, where he still lives, although the place has since been sold to his son. He has since purchased what is known as the Olney ranch, one-half mile north of Solomonville on the river.

Interested in mining, Mr. Bassett owns claims in the Clarke and Lone Star district. He also owns one of the largest marble mines that has ever been located, at Dos Cabezos. He was disappointed in what seemed a lucky disposition of the property in 1899 for $100,000, which deal fell through owing to the failure of a bank.

In 1842 Mr. Bassett married Susie Gibbs, and of this union there are six children: Mrs. Elizabeth Teal; Charles H., who lives at Dos Cabezos; Josiah, who is a farmer near Phoenix; Mrs. Susan L. Cooper; Mrs. George Nash; and Alice, who is living at home. In national politics Mr. Bassett is a firm believer in the principles and issues of the Democratic party, and has served for several years as a school trustee. During the Civil war he enlisted in Gould’s Regiment, Twenty-third Cavalry, C.S.A., but served only three months, owing to the bite of a rattlesnake. As a reminder of his short war service he was troubled for sixteen years with a running sore.

 

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