History of Colorado; Volume IV, Part 1

Author: Stone, Wilbur Fiske, 1833-1920, ed
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 836

USA > Colorado > History of Colorado; Volume IV > Part 1

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.

M. L'

Gc 978.8 St7h v. 4 1541066

GENEALOGY COLLECTION

ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01099 9511

٠٠

THATCHER FOUNTAIN, DENVER

HISTORY OF

COLORADO

ILLUSTRATED

VOLUME IV

CHICAGO THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1919

Dedicated to the Pioneers of Colorado

1541066

NATHANIEL P. HILL

BIOGRAPHICAL

NATHANIEL PETER HILL.

In the halls of congress Nathaniel P. Hill was one of the most influential and commanding figures; in his own state of Colorado he was a leader among the citizens, and one who was repeatedly delegated by them to carry the name and interests of the Centennial state before national bodies. Nathaniel P. Hill was of rare ancestry, traces of which can be identified as far back as Robert de la Hull, who "came into England with ye Conqueror"; this ancient warrior lived at the hamlet of Hull, now the Court of Hill, Shropshire. From him the line may be noted down to Sir Moses Hill and his son, Peter, who, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth in 1573, accompanied the earl of Essex, at the head of the English troops, to suppress the trouble known as O'Neill's Rebellion, for which services the Hills were given large estates. Nathaniel Hill, the great-grand- father of Senator Hill, came to the United States with wealth and located at a Scotch- Irish settlement west of the Hudson river, then on the westernmost frontier, and known as Dwarskill, in the precinct of Hanover, but now known as the town of Crawford, Orange county, New York. His second son, Peter, (1751-1795) was a captain in Colonel James Clinton's Regiment of minute men at the age of twenty-four; he was in command of his company, with two lieutenants and sixty-five men, on duty at Fort Constitution, February 13, 1776, and was at Fort Montgomery, October 6, 1777. Captain Hill's second son, Nathaniel Peter, father of Senator Hill, was a lieutenant of cavalry in the War of 1812 and was captain of the Orange Hussars for many years thereafter. He served in the New York general assembly for four terms and was a judge of the court of common pleas from 1823 to 1825.

Nathaniel P. Hill, our immediate subject, was born at the old homestead in Orange county, New York, February 18, 1832, and died in Denver, Colorado, May 22, 1900. The homestead mentioned was located about three miles east of Montgomery, New York. Nathaniel P. was the third of seven children and, after the death of his father, he succeeded his brother, James K., in the management of the home farm, at the same time attending Montgomery Academy. He entered Brown University in the year 1853, there majoring in chemistry and graduating with honors in 1857. From 1859 until 1864 he occupied the chair of chemistry at Brown.

His knowledge of metallurgical subjects, particularly the chemistry processes, and his success at Brown University, resulted in certain capitalists of Providence and Boston seeking his services. These men had been offered a tract of land in Colorado, called the Gilpin grant, and they requested Mr. Hill to investigate the tract and report upon its characteristics. So it was that in the year 1864 he came to Colorado by Concord coach. Blackhawk was his destination and he arrived at a time when that camp had reached a turning point owing to the lack of scientific methods of treating ores. This brought a subject to his attention which was to result later in a change of metallurgical processes to which the entire subsequent history of the state is due. In a word, the free gold quartz had practically heen dug out and was succeeded by re- fractory copper, iron and other ores; rich in gold, but which could not be worked in the stamp mills.

Mr. Hill twice more visited Colorado in 1865, endeavoring to arrive at some method of handling the ores. In pursuit of this knowledge he crossed the Atlantic to Swansea, Wales, where he further studied the ore reduction methods used in the world known smelters there. In the same year, 1866, he made a second trip to Swansea, carrying with him samples of Colorado ore and which he proved to be amenable to the processes there used. With this valuable knowledge he returned to the states and quickly interested Boston and Providence capitalists in the future of the Blackhawk field. These men subscribed two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars and the Boston & Colorado Smelting Company was organized in 1867; this company began the active smelting work at Blackhawk in January, 1868. The business grew to such an extent that in 1873 a branch was established at Alma, Colorado. Products were received from

HISTORY OF COLORADO

all parts of the mining west and the capital was increased to the sum of one million dollars, and a larger establishment built at Argo, in the suburbs of Denver.

In addition to the above interests, Mr. Hill became identified with the United Oil Company, which controlled the larger part of the oil output of Florence, Colorado. He was president of the Colorado Smelting & Refining Company, the Denargo Land Company and many other enterprises connected with the development of the west.

In politics Nathaniel P. Hill was a republican and quickly became a party leader. He became noted as a foe of monopolies, although he himself was heavily interested in many corporations. His first office of political nature was that of mayor of Black- hawk in 1871. Then in 1872 and 1873 he was a member of the territorial council. In January, 1879, at the republican caucus he was nominated for United States senator and elected for a term of six years, his term beginning March 4, 1879, when he succeeded Jerome B. Chaffee. During his service in the national law-making body Senator Hill accomplished many conspicuous deeds and was the instigator of many acts by congress. He was the author of the bill for the removal of the Uncompahgre Utes from southwestern Colorado to the Uintah reservation in Utah, also a bill appro- priating money for the sinking of artesian wells. The section of school land in the mineral districts, having been exempted under the law donating to the state two sec- tions in each township, was of no value to Colorado, so Senator Hill introduced a bill to take other land in lieu of the sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections, found to be mineral, and this finally became a law in 1884. The sum of three hundred thousand dollars was secured by appropriation for public building in Denver by the terms of another bill which Senator Hill sponsored. He took a prominent part in the debate over the tariff bill in 1883, championing the wool Interests of Colorado and demanding that the tariff of 1867 be unchanged. He took special interest In fighting the railroad land grabbers and exposed a stupendous fraud connected with the New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Vicksburg land grant. His speeches on the postal telegraph and on the silver question are among the most intelligent and virile upon those subjects. The service Senator Hill rendered to his state and country during his years in congress were not unrewarded, for in 1891 President Harrison nominated him as one of the three members of the international monetary commission, a position of high honor and trust. His last public appearance occurred in the year 1893, when he acted as repre- sentative of the Denver Chamber of Commerce to the bimetallic conference at Chicago and Washington. As the owner of the Denver Republican for a number of years, Senator Hill moulded to a great extent the republican policies of the state.

Senator Hill was married in July, 1860, to Miss Alice Hale, who was born in Providence, Rhode Island, in January, 1840, and who died in Denver, Colorado, July 19, 1908. She was of New England stock, of that family which gave Nathan Hale, the patriot. In Denver Mrs. Hill was a social leader and became a woman loved and respected by reason of her charitable and philanthropic work. She was the founder of the kindergarten system in the city and was one of the chief workers for the Young Women's Christian Association building. For twenty years she was the regent of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. The Hill mansion, located at the corner of Welton and Fourteenth streets and now headquarters for the Mountain division of the Red Cross, was for many years the center of the social activities of the city. Four- teenth street was then the best residence street of Denver and the Hill home occupied a prominent position in the neighborhood of the residences of the Berger, Kountze and other notable families. To Senator and Mrs. Hill were born three children, namely: Crawford Hill of Denver, Mrs. Franklin Price Knott of Santa Barbara, California, and Mrs. Lucius M. Cuthbert of Denver.

HON. LAWRENCE C. PHIPPS.

Hon. Lawrence C. Phipps, United States senator from Colorado, former member of the Colorado State Council of Defense and member of the National Finance Com- mittee of the American Red Cross Association, is furthermore known in financial circles of Denver by reason of his extensive investments in various corporations aud as a stockholder and director in various commercial, mining and agricultural interests.

Mr. Phipps was born in Amwell township, Washington county, Pennsylvania, August 30, 1862, a son of the Rev. William Henry and Agnes (McCall) Phipps, the former a native of England, while the latter was born in Dumfries, Scotland. He graduated from the high school at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the age of sixteen years, and later won the honorary degree of Master of Arts from Denver University.

LAWRENCE C. PHIPPS

HISTORY OF COLORADO

Soon after leaving school he began work in the iron mills in the capacity of night weigh clerk in one of the Carnegie plants and from that time until 1901, when the Carnegie interests were sold to the United States Steel Corporation, he advanced from one position to another and was finally admitted to a partnership in the concern, together with other young men who had been selected by Mr. Andrew Carnegie as being most deserving of such recognition. At the time of the sale of the Carnegie plant Mr. Phipps was vice president and treasurer of the company. He then retired from active business and removed to Colorado, where he has since made his home. He has important business investments in the west and maintains offices in the Gas & Electric building of Denver. He was chairman of the board of directors of the Denver & Salt Lake Railroad and a director of the Nevada-California Electric Corpora- tion, owning a power line operating in California and Nevada, serving the Goldfield district of Nevada and the mining and farming districts of southern California.

Long before entering public life Mr. Phipps took a very active interest in move- ments intended for the general development and upbuilding of the city of Denver as well as the entire state of Colorado. He has constantly reached out along lines of helpfulness and of public progress and in July, 1904, he founded the Agnes Memorial Sanatorium for the treatment of tuberculosis and endowed the institution with a fund producing an annual revenue of seventeen thousand dollars. He has closely studied all vital questions bearing upon the welfare and upbuilding of city, state and country. In 1913 he was selected as president of the Colorado Tax-Payers Protective League, organized for the betterment of state and city administrations. He took a most active interest in the development of the Moffat road and made large investments in irrigation projects in northwestern Colorado with a view to developing the territory served by that road. He is one of the large stockholders in the Eastern Colorado Farm Loan Company and is one of the largest contributors to the fund being raised by the Denver Civic and Commercial Association for assisting farmers in cultivating additional land. He is also interested in the Denver Morris Plan Company, which loans money to deserving citizens, thereby keeping them out of the hands of the loan sharks.

On the 5th of September, 1885, Mr. Phipps was united in marriage at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Ibrealla Hill Loomis, who passed away in July, 1888, leaving a son, Lawrence C. Phipps, Jr., and a daughter, who is now Mrs. William White. Later Mr. Phipps wedded Genevieve W. Chandler, of Pittsburgh, on the 22d of April, 1897. This marriage was annulled by law in 1904. They had two daughters, Dorothy Chandler and Helen Chandler Phipps. On the 25th of January, 1911, Mr. Phipps wedded Mar- garet Rogers, a daughter of Judge and Mrs. Platt Rogers, of Denver, and they have two sons, Allen Rogers and Gerald Hughes. The eldest sou, Lawrence Phipps, Jr., who is the father of three children, volunteered for military service in 1917, and completed his course in the balloon school, earning a commission as second lieutenant.

The religious faith of Mr. Phipps is that of the Episcopal church. He turns for recreation to golf, shooting and fishing, which he greatly enjoys. He is prominently known in club circles, being a member of the Denver, Denver Country, University, Cactus, Denver Athletic and Mile High Clubs of Denver; the Bankers and Engineers Clubs of New York; the Pittsburgh and Duquesne Clubs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and the California, Los Angeles Country and the Brentwood Country Clubs of Los Angeles. His political allegiance has always been given to the republican party and he has long exercised considerable influence over public thought and opinion in relation to vital political questions and activities. In the fall of 1918 he was elected on the republican ticket to the office of United States senator by a majority of thirty-four hundred, succeeding John F. Shafroth. His efforts in behalf of public welfare since the entrance of the country in the war have been most pronounced. He was one of the first life members of the American Red Cross, and when the Colorado Division was organized in 1913 he became chairman of the Denver Chapter, which position he held continuously, with the exception of one year, until he entered the recent senatorial campaign. Immediately after the declaration of war against Germany he was named by President Wilson a member of the National Finance Committee of the American Red Cross.

He was made chairman of the Mountain Division, comprising the states of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico, for the second Liberty Loan drive. The results obtained in that campaign compared most favorably with those reached in any other division, being approximately two hundred and thirty-six per cent of the amount asked for by Washington headquarters, as against an average of one hundred and seventy- six per cent for the entire country. He was also made a member of the Colorado State Council of Defense and his deep interest in Denver's weltare, upbuilding and develop- ment is further indicated in the fact that he is serving on the board of directors of

HISTORY OF COLORADO

the Denver Civic and Commercial Association. He has been a dynamic force in the promotion of all those activities, individual and public, with which he has become identified, the results achieved o'ertopping both private and public anticipations.

JOHN GOOD.

Almost sixty years have been added to the cycle of the centuries since John Good became a resident of Denver, as he arrived in this city, then a western frontier village, in 1859. Through all the intervening years until his death he had been an interested witness of its growth and development and took an active part in promoting its progress and improvement. His labors, too, were an element in the advancement of the interests of the state, for he had been closely associated with mining, with railroad building, with banking and with real estate activity. He passed the eighty-fourth mile- stone on life's journey before answering the final summons, passing away November 22, 1918, in Denver. His birth occurred at Uhrweiler, Alsace-Lorraine, then a part of France but taken over by Germany in 1871. His natal day was October 14, 1834, his parents being Jacob and Elizabeth (Kiefer) Guth. It was in 1854 that Mr. Good of this review changed his name from Guth to the form that he afterward used-that of John Good. His father was born in 1800 and was a large landowner and farmer of France and afterward of the United States, leading a busy, useful and active life of eighty-six years, his death occurring in 1886. His wife was the daughter of Philipp and Elizabeth Kiefer. She had two brothers, George and Philipp, who fought with Napoleon and perished in the memorable retreat from Moscow, being then respectively eighteen and seventeen years of age.

John Good was a pupil in the public schools of his native town until 1854, when at the age of twenty years he determined to try his fortune in the United States, his cousin, John T. Good, of Uhrweiler, having come to the new world in 1837, settling in Akron, Ohio. John Good joined his cousin at Akron and engaged in business with him, there remaining for about five years. He was one of the pioneer settlers of Den- ver, arriving in this city in 1859 with his ox team and wagon. In that year he estab- lished one of the first general merchandise stores in Denver, its location being on Blake, near Fifteenth street. To secure goods he had to make sixteen trips across the plains, hauling all his own freight, and one of these trips required ninety days. There was always danger of Indian attack, but he bravely and fearlessly made the journey in order to secure the stock necessary for the conduct of the business. He conducted the store for only a short time, however, for while he was absent on one of his trips the man whom he left in charge of the store suddenly made his departure after dispos- ing of the entire stock, and when Mr. Good returned he found an empty store. In 1859 he became associated with Charles Endlich in organizing the Rocky Mountain Brewery Company, thus founding the first brewery in Colorado. They conducted the business until 1864, when Mr. Good sold out to his partner, but upon the latter's death six months afterward he resumed ownership and control of the plant. In 1871 Philip Zang purchased the brewery, which was thereafter conducted under the name of the Philip Zang Brewing Company. In 1901 Mr. Good consolidated the Milwaukee and Union breweries into the Tivoli-Union Brewing Company, of which he became the presi- dent and treasurer, continuing as such until his death. He did not confine his efforts to a single line, however, but reached out along many fields of usefulness in business. Forceful and resourceful, he became one of the organizers and promoters of the old German Bank, organized under the laws of Colorado on the 3d of March, 1874. The German National Bank was the outgrowth of the German Bank, its charter as a na- tional bank being secured in April, 1877. Mr. Good was elected to the vice presi- dency of the institution and also became a member of the board of directors. He saw the possibilities for Colorado's development along various other lines and became one of the promoters and first stockholders of a number of railroad enterprises, in- cluding the Denver & Pacific, the Denver & Gulf Railroad and the Denver & South Park Railroad. He likewise extended his efforts into the field of real estate and also became a large investor in mining properties as well as in railroads and in banks. His interests and activities constituted a potent element in the growth and material development of city and state.

In May, 1862, Mr. Good was united In marriage to Miss Rosalia M. Wagner, a daughter of J. Christopher and Anna Barbara (Meyer) Wagner, of Mishawaka, In- diana, and a niece of Serephine Meyer, who was a judge of the supreme court and during the Civil war served as colonel of the One Hundred and Seventh Ohio Regl-

HISTORY OF COLORADO

ment. He had two sons, Turine and Tulius Meyer, who were members of his regiment and were killed in battle. A third son, General Edward Meyer, was con- nected with the Nineteenth Ohio Volunteers. Mr. and Mrs. Good hecame the parents of six children, as follows: Leonora R., who is now the wife of J. E. Hasier, of New York city; Carrie, who gave her hand in marriage to J. J. Reilly, of Salt Lake City; Louis; Nellie; Louis Wagner; and John Edward, who was graduated from Yale Uni- versity as a member of the class of 1895.

Mr. Good gave his political allegiance to the republican party in state and na- tional matters, while in local affairs, he supported issues and men, who, according to his judgment would be of greatest henefit to the welfare and progress of the city, irrespective of political party. He was twice elected city treasurer of Denver, filling the office from 1875 until 1878 inclusive. He was one of the organizers and charter members of the old Lotus Club and exercised marked influence over the social as well as the political and business interests of the city. In fact Denver ranked him with her leading men and his public-spirited devotion to her welfare was widely recognized.

ORA HALEY.

Ora Haley, of Denver, was until his retirement from husiness a few years ago the largest individual range and cattle owner in Wyoming and western Colorado and ranks with the well known pioneer settlers of the two states. He first visited Denver in the spring of 1865, when he drove a bull team into the city,-then a young man of about twenty years. He was born in East Corinth, Maine, nineteen miles from Bangor, and at thirteen years of age he started to carve out a career for himself. At Bangor, where the family had many friends, he spent the first few years of his independent life and at nineteen years of age was in Iowa, beginning life anew in the strenuous west. This was about the year 1864 and it was in the following spring that he drove the bull team across the country to Denver. The life of a "bullwhacker" appealed to him and he continued freighting in the hills until he finally decided to go into the butchering business at the new Blackhawk camp.

In 1868 Mr. Haley settled in Albany county, Wyoming, locating first at old Fort Sanders and later at Laramie, where he again turned his attention to the butchering business, from time to time making small ventures into cattle raising. Almost from the outset he became a leader in his part of Wyoming. He was elected to the lower house of the territorial legislature in 1871 and was a member of the council in the legislative session of 1881. He was also one of the county's representatives in the first state legis- lature in 1890 and gave thoughtful and earnest consideration to vital questions which came up for settlement and was a cooperant factor in shaping the destiny of the state during its formative period. Always a stanch republican, he was and still is one of the strongest supporters of Senator Warren.

In 1877 Mr. Haley was still operating a meat market in Laramie, but he had already made his brand, a cut of a heart, famous on what is still known as the Heart ranch on the Little Laramie. In 1880 he started the Two Bar brand in what was then Routt county, but the district has since been made a part of Moffat county. Soon he had hold- ings on the Snake, on Lay creek, on Elkhead creek and in Brown's Park. His ranch near Laramie contained ahout thirty-six thousand acres and in all he was the owner of about sixty thousand acres. In 1888 he obtained possession of the Hutton ranch and his ranches finally extended for twenty-five miles along the Laramie river. His cattle interests gradually grew and developed until he attained a position of leadership as the largest individual range and cattle owner in Wyoming and western Colorado. In business affairs his vision has always been broad, his sagacity keen and his judg- ment sound, and whatever he has undertaken he has carried forward to successful completion. About seven years ago, or in 1912, he disposed of much of his range, the Clay Springs Cattle Company of Hackberry, Arizona, buying the Moffat county holdings.

It was in the early '90s that Mr. Haley hecame one of the principal stockholders of the First National Bank of Laramie and afterward acted as its vice president for many years. His hank interests were disposed of ahout the time that he sold his Moffat county ranch and he then retired to Denver, where he now owns a palatial home and some of the valuable business and office buildings of the city, notably the West Hotel and the Cooper building. His business interests and investments are looked after by his son, Ora B. Haley, and his extensive holdings in Logan county are supervised by his partner, Mr. Harris.

ORA HALEY

HISTORY OF COLORADO

In Omaha, on the 8th of January, 1872, Mr. Haley was married to Miss Augusta Pfeiffer, of that city, a daughter of Frank A. and Susan (Maddox) Pfeiffer. Mrs. Haley in her paternal line comes of German ancestry, while on the maternal side she is descended from the well known Maddox family of Virginia, prominent in the days of the Revolution. Mr. and Mrs. Haley have three children living. These are: Mattie, now Mrs. Arthur A. Smith, of Sterling, Colorado; Annie, now Mrs. R. L. George, of Laramie, Wyoming; and Ora B., who married Maud Hunn, of Denver. There are eleven grandchildren, of whom Ora B. Haley has six-Carla M., Mabel Augusta, Juliana B., Ora B. Jr., Patricia and Charles T. Mrs. R. L. George has three children-Adelaide H., Ora H. and Ann H., while Mrs. Arthur A. Smith is the mother of two, Nancy Augusta and an infant daughter. Mrs. Haley is most domestic in her tastes, devoting her time to the welfare of her home and family, promoting the comfort of husband and children and extending a most warm-hearted hospitality to their many friends. The career of Ora Haley has constituted an important factor in the development of the west and he has been associated with every phase of the state's progress and upbuilding from pioneer times to the present.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Colorado; Volume IV, Part 1

Author: Stone, Wilbur Fiske, 1833-1920, ed Publication date: 1918 Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke Number of Pages: 836

Author: Stone, Wilbur Fiske, 1833-1920, ed
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 836