| Name | B. A. PACKARD |
| Birth | 1847, Portville, Cattaraugus Co., NY |
| 1 | Charlotte (Dixie) WOOD, GG Aunt |
| Birth | Kansas City, MO[10] |
| Father | Col. Robert WOOD |
| Mother | Virginia (?) |
Mr. Packard is a native of Cattaraugus county, New York, his birth having occurred in Portville in 1847. His father was a farmer and lumberman of the Empire state, where he and the mother passed their entire lives. They both lived to a ripe old age, as did the grandmother, who had passed the hundred and seventh anniversary of her birth when she died. She was the mother of thirteen children, all of whom lived to attain maturity, and five of her sons fought for the Union cause during the Rebellion.
An only child, B. A. Packard was reared at home and given better advantage than fell to the lot of the average youth of that period. He continued to reside in New York state until 1880, when he came to the southwest and on March 26 of that year located in Tombstone. When he first came to Arizona he identified himself with mining interests, and for two years owned and operated the Stonewall silver mine. At the expiration of that time he disposed of it and, investing the proceeds in a ranch, turned his attention to the cattle business, which he has ever since followed. His principal interests are now in Mexico, where he owns a hundred thousand acres of land, on which he is ranging seven thousand cattle. He also owns three hundred and twenty acres of highly improved and cultivated land at Tempe, this state, which is stocked with registered Hereford cattle. He has one of the finest residence properties in Douglas and is a heavy stockholder in the First National Bank of Bisbee, of which he has been president since 1908. This institution was organized in 1906 with a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars, which amount was increased to a hundred thousand in May, 1908. As its officials have always been men of recognized business ability and thoroughly tested integrity the enterprise has thrived from the beginning, and it is now ranked as one of the strongest financial institutions in Arizona. T. E. Pollock is the present vice president, while E. W. Graves holds the position of cashier.
Mr. Packard was married in New York in 1879 to Miss Ella Lewis, a native of that state, where she passed away in 1893. To them were born three children : Gertrude, who is the wife of Max B. Cottrell, of Tempe, Arizona, and has two children, Burdette M. and Louise P. ; Ashley B., teller of the First National Bank of Douglas, who married Miss Rachel Williams, of Clinton, New York; and Dorothea, who attended the Arizona Musical School. All of the children received collegiate educations and are well qualified to meet the responsibilities and duties of life. On the 6th of June, 1902, Mr. Packard was married to his present wife, who was in her maidenhood Miss Charlotte Wood. She is a native of Kansas City, Missouri, but was reared in Tucson, Arizona, where she removed with her parents in childhood.
The family attend the Episcopal church, and his political allegiance Mr. Packard accords to the democratic party. He has served for four terms in the upper house of the Arizona legislature, most ably representing his constituency in that body. Diligent and enterprising in matters of business and as a citizen public-spirited and progressive, Mr. Packard stands high in the esteem of the people of Cochise county, among whom he numbers many friends who accord him the stanch loyalty ever extended to men of honorable purpose and commendable principles.
Although nearing "three scores years and ten," Mr. Packard's remarkably well preserved physical condition permits him to retain the same close supervision and management of his extensive interests that would be expected of a man twenty years his junior, while the same alert mentality and ready grasp of affairs that have been prominent characteristics of his, show no impairment whatever. He is one of the few real "old timers" in Arizona's history who remains in "the harness."[11]