Nicholas C. Creede
| Nicholas C. Creede | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
William Harvey 1843 Fort Wayne, Indiana |
| Died |
July 12, 1897 Los Angeles, CA |
| Cause of death | Morphine overdose |
| Occupation | Prospector |
| Years active | 1862-1893 |
Nicholas C. Creede (1843 – July 12, 1897) was an American prospector famous for discovering the Holy Moses Amethyst vein and other mining properties near Creede, Colorado in the late 1880s and early 1890s.
Nicholas C. Creede was born William “Billy” Harvey in 1843 near Fort Wayne, Indiana. At the age of two, the family moved to what would later become Jasper County in Iowa Territory. There, the family took up farming. Siblings included older brothers McConnell, Jerome L. who later became a postmaster,and John W. who later became a judge. He also had at least one sister, Clara.
In his teens, Creede worked in the U.S. Army Quartermaster's Department but grew weary of the routine work. In 1862, at the age of 19, he volunteered with the United States Army and served seven years as a scout with the Pawnee in campaigns against the Sioux. During this time, he received the pay of a first lieutenant although he held no rank. As part of these duties, he traveled in Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and the Badlands of the Dakotas. He was present in the Black Hills when gold was discovered there, which led to his interest in prospecting.
In 1870, Creede left the army and returned to Iowa intending to woo and wed a local girl who had caught his eye before he began his travels as a scout. Upon his return, though, he found that she had wed Creede's brother, with whom she had had a child. Although the family eventually reconciled some years later, this event so agitated young Billy Harvey that he changed his name to Nicholas “Nic” C. Creede. The event also strengthened his resolve to become a prospector.
For the next 20 years, Creede drifted up and down the Rocky Mountains. Occasionally he would strike it rich enough to sell out and obtain a year's grubstake, but more often he was broke and forced to work at whatever he could to get enough money to resume prospecting. He usually traveled with one or more partners.
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