This is a transcription of a letter from Patricia (Yockey) Welsh on August 11, 2016.

Dear Pat,

Please refer to your letter to me of December 20, 2015, concerning my donation of  some clothing items that were from my great, Great, Grandfather, Levi Yockey’s family. I will try to give a little more history on the family that  you requested in your letter.

Levi Yockey and his wife Elizabeth and son Jacob Yockey and wife Anna Marie moved to the Black Mountain area in about 1880-81. There were also three other children of Levi who moved with them. They were, Elias, Elizabeth, and Hattie. Jacob and Levi built a large two-story log house and homesteaded. The family operated a sawmill at Black Mountain and hauled lumber to nearby ranches and cut ties for the railroad. They also owned a ranch known as the Black Mountain Ranch which was later sold to Sam Clammer. Levi Yockey died September 5, 1895 while being transported to Fort Collins for medical treatment. He was buried along the trail near the old Log Cabin school.

Jacob Yockey was my Great Grandfather, his son Harry was my Grandfather, and his son David was my father. Harry married Louisa (Lulu) Knell which was also a well known family in the Red Feather Lakes area. Jacob, Harry and David all moved away from the area in the early 20’s and died in or around Chico, California.

My father David often spoke of the time he spent in the Red Feather Lakes area, the school he went to and the fact that Levi had been buried near the Log Cabin School. In 1995, my husband and I took my father David and mother Leta Yockey back to the Red Feather Lakes area to see what David could remember and to see if we could fin where Levi was buried. David left the area with his folks in about 1921 so it had been a long time.

We did find the remains of the old Log Cabin School and from that David could tell the approximate location of Levi’s grave in relation to the  school. When his mother had pointed out  the grave, it had a wooden fence around it, but by this time there was no evidence of just where the grave was.

On that same day, we went to an old cemetery, I believe near Bellvue, and learned of a fellow who had been “witching” unmarked graves at that cemetery. We were able to contact him and on the next day he came up to the area David had found and he did locate a grave in the very vicinity that David had remembered. In 1997 we and other members of the Yockey family retuned to the area a placed a flush mounted head stone on Levi’s grave. At the dedication ceremony a the grave site, members of the Historical Society were also present.

I have include some photos.

I hope this  provide some more of the history of the Levi Yockey family as it relates to the Red Feather Lakes area of Colorado.

Sincerely,
Patrica (Yockey) Welsh