USA > Colorado > Colorado pioneers in picture and story > Part 7
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"His was a bachelor's home, with a bona fide ground floor, and furnished with pine table and three-legged stools. On one occasion he gave a dinner to his lady friends, and it was a meal that would have delighted the most fastidious epicure.
"After the repast, the ladies, thinking it time to take their leave, requested Mr. Salomon to bring their wraps. Instead of protesting against the brevity of their stay, he instantly complied with their request, saying, 'Cer- tainly, ladies, certainly I will. with the greatest of pleas-
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ure. When the force of his speech dawned upon him, he hastened to apologize, at the same time nervously searching for his handkerchief to mop his perspiring brow. It was long before he heard the last of his after- dinner politeness."
Mrs. Byers does not show the signs of a life of strug- gle : she says she will never allow herself to be put on the shelf. She lives in her elegant home in South Denver. and is, at eighty. as interested in the problems of the day as she was in the early years of Denver's history.
One of her most treasured possessions is a framed copy of "The Rocky Mountain News." It is the first copy of the first paper issued in the Rocky Mountain region, and was taken from the press at ten o'clock on the night of April 22. 1859. forming part of the morning edition of April 23.
AURARIA AND DENVER UNITED
While the rival towns had been united by an act of the Legislature, there still existed a strong unpleasant feeling. During the last week in March. 1860. a mass meeting was held to decide the question. After consid- erable discussion, the following was submitted by An- drew Sagendorf :
"Whereas, the towns at and near the mouth of Cherry creek are and ought to be one; therefore, be it Resolved, that from this time Auraria proper shall be known as Den- ver City, west division, and we hereby authorize the board of directors to change the name on the plat accordingly."
A short time before this, the first bridge across Cherry creek had been completed at Larimer street, which united the towns, and was then an important convenience. April 6th a public meeting of the citizens of both towns was held by moonlight on this bridge to rejoice over the
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union of the cities and listen to speeches which are con- sidered highly essential to the proper consummation of any event of a public character in this broad land of ours. Three big cheers for Denver City were given, and, while the pretty name of Auraria does not appear on the maps of today, its picturesque career of eighteen months makes an interesting chapter in Colorado's history. The inhab-
AURARIA 1860 NEAR MOUTH OF CHERRY CREEK
G .W. CLAYTON
BLAKE BETWEEN 15THAND16IN
1860
itants grew to be on such friendly terms that they con- structed their dwellings in the creek's bed and the stream almost ceased to be a dividing line.
G. W. Clayton kept, at this time, a general supply store at the corner of Fifteenth and Larimer. He con- tinually lamented the number of lots he had been com- pelled to take in settlement of accounts run by customers 5
Colorado Pioneers in Picture and Story
he trusted for goods. They had no money, but they had lots. and. in course of time. Clayton was loaded up with them. Many of these holdings he kept to the close of his life and they formed part of the basis of the large for- tune which has been devoted to building and maintaining the George W. Clayton College-an institution for the care and education of white orphan boys born in Colo- rado. The purpose of the founder with reference to the training to be given to pupils of this institution is ex- pressed in these words: "They shall be instructed in such various branches of sound education as will tend to make them useful citizens and honorable members of society." The college is located in the northeastern part of the city upon a tract of some three hundred acres of land. The college buildings-more than a dozen in number-are of permanent and substantial construction, the architecture being characterized by dignity and beauty. The chief buildings are constructed of stone and are roofed with red tiles.
Boys received into the college become its legal wards, and they are maintained there without charge or cost to their mothers or guardians until discharged by the board of trustees. at between fourteen and eighteen years of age. The boys are housed in dormitories. each dormitory having in charge a house master and a matron. The at- mosphere of these dormitories is most pleasant and home- like.
The institution maintains its own school staff of teachers. As the boys grow older they are given voca- tional instruction. In this connection. the splendidly equipped farm is of the greatest importance in the teach- ing of agriculture. horticulture. dairving and poultry raising. It is the aim of the institution to turn ont every hoy so trained that he can support himself.
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HOW COLORADO TERRITORY WAS CREATED
The "Provisional" government was organized to pro- vide laws for "Jefferson Territory" until a State or Ter- ritory could be legally established. When the thirty- sixth Congress met for its short and last session. Decem- ber, 1860, Beverly D. Williams was still at Washington in the capacity of delegate from Jefferson. He labored under many difficulties-he was given no seat on the floor of the House, could not be heard there. and was only recognized as agent of the people in the Pike's Peak country. He was advised by the people of Jefferson to cease striving for statehood, and to concentrate his ef- forts to secure the passage of one of the two territorial bills that had been introduced in Congress.
The name for the new Territory caused much dis- cussion in Congress. Jefferson was objected to, because of a decision not to name territories after presidents. Numerous names were presented and Idaho was accepted.
February 2, 1861, the Senate bill to organize the Ter- ritory under the name of Idaho was called from the table. Delegate B. D. Williams. at the suggestion of William Gil- pin, moved to strike out the word Idaho and insert Colorado. This was agreed to, and the bill then passed the Senate. On February 28. 1861. President Buchanan signed the bill, and the organic act creating Colorado a Territory became a law. Beverly D. Will- iams proved, by the passing of this bill. that the pioneers had sent an able representative to Con- gress. Beverly D. Williams
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RECEIVING THE NEW GOVERNOR
In 1844, William Gilpin, by special arrangements, made a report of his explorations. This report was read in the United States Senate and Gilpin was given the privilege of the floor, but his statements were received with almost unanimous incredulity, and his ideas con- cerning the settlement and agricultural development of the Great American Desert were scouted and denounced in the most vigorous and eloquent speeches, led by Dan- iel Webster, John C. Calhoun and other men of eminent ability. Gilpin, at that time, was a friend and favorite of President Polk, and the president was about the only important personage who paid any attention to his rep- resentation. Nearly a score of years later, February 26. 1861, the Territory of Colorado was organized. Presi dent Lincoln immediately appointed William Gilpin its first governor, in recognition of his services as an ex- plorer of the great West.
The people of Denver set about to receive their dis- tinguished executive with every manifestation of pleas- ure and respect in their power.
To Judge H. P. Bennet was assigned the honor of making the reception speech. In order to give greater tone to the affair, a platform was erected in front of the Tremont House, West Denver, where the reception was to be held, and a large anvil, in lieu of a cannon, was loaded for a welcome salute.
In due time, the governor and his escort, in a spring wagon, which was newly painted and decorated for the occasion, drew up in front of the orator. The governor thrust his hand in the breast of his closely buttoned coat and assumed, from force of habit, a dignified and strik- ing attitude.
Bennet had prepared a real old-fashioned spread- eagle speech. full of solid rhapsodies on our Italian cli-
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mate and exhilarating atmosphere. But, just as he had launched out with "Fellow Citizens," the cannon went off; whether by accident or in a spirit of mischief was never known, but it certainly did "spread itself" in the effort to make its presence known, and gave the speaker a mightier "send-off" than was expected or desired. The enthusiastic crowd scattered in every direction, and the orator was so stunned that he forgot what came next, or why he was there.
In June, 1861, R. W. Steele, in turning the governor- ship of the Territory over to Mr. Gilpin, issued the fol- lowing :
Proclamation
By virtue of the authority in me vested, I, R. W. Steele, Governor of the Territory of Jefferson, under the provisional government, and in and by virtue of my election by the majority of the people of the then-called government of the people of the mining region, unrecog- nized by the general government, at the base of the Rocky Mountains on the east and at the center thereof, and placing our confidence in that Overruling Providence that has for so long a period of time steadied us as an American people through so many difficulties by foes, seen and unseen, I therefore issue this, my proclamation, in view of the arrival of Governor William Gilpin and other officers of the United States, whom I recognize as being duly in authority. I deem it but obligatory upon me, by virtue of my office, to "Yield unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar's," and I hereby command and direct that all officers holding commissions under me, especially all judges, justices of the peace, etc., shall sur- render the same, and from this date shall abstain from exercising the duties of all offices they may have held under me by virtue of said commission, and further, I
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advise and recommend to all law and order loving citi- zens to submit to the laws of the United States and re- strain themselves from deeds of violence which so long have made our peculiar position almost a by-word in the eyes of the civilized world. Again I advise my fellow citizens who have known me "so long and so well" to yield obedience to the laws of the United States and do it by attending to your proper and legitimate avocations, whether agricultural or mining.
By the Governor.
L. L. BOWEN.
R. W. STEELE, Governor.
Acting Secretary of the Territory of Jefferson.
Done at Denver this 6th day of June, A. D. 1861.
The Territory of Jefferson is a unique and pictur- esque effort that an isolated community made to establish a government, and will always fill a conspicuous place in the history of the United States.
Governor Steele lived to a ripe old age and witnessed the full fruition of everything in which he was a leader and a prophet concerning the wonderful possibilities of the region. He died at Colorado Springs February 7, 1901.
CHAPTER IX SOME PIONEERS OF THAT DAY HENRY M. PORTER
There are men here today who were here in the Den- ver of that day; men who saw a new page in history turned and Colorado written upon it. Their experiences are such as fall to the lot of few in the brief space set apart as man's lifetime.
It has been an age of progress, of advancement in every line of human endeavor. They have seen Denver grow from a little village of tents and log cabins to be the jeweled clasp in the girdle of the world's great achievements.
Henry M. Porter, in his quiet way, has been a vital factor in the up- building of the Denver of today. Upon his arrival in Denver he established the wholesale grocery house of Stebbins and Porter. He made money rapidly and became a rich man when there were few men of wealth in this part of the country. He did not lose his head, as many did, in the accumulation of wealth, but made wise investments, that grew and rewarded his good
H. M. Porter
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judgment and industry. He became closely and actively identified with many public enterprises, including inter- ests in the American Waterworks Company, Denver National Bank, Gas Company. The Denver Consolidated Electric Company, Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, Denver Stockyards Company, Denver Packing and Pro- vision Company, and other local industries which place him in the forefront among the builders of the City and State. He married Miss Laura Smith, daughter of John W. Smith, a brave captain in Colorado's army of pio- neers. Mr. Smith gave his children the advantages of education and travel. Mrs. Porter said: "My sisters and I went to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to school, and when it became known that we were from the Rocky Mountain region we were looked at with great curiosity." Mrs. Porter is a cultured woman, and finds her chief pleasure in her home with her family. Mr. and Mrs. Porter have five children : Mrs. John Mason, Mrs. Harold Walker, Miss Ruth Porter. Mr. John Porter and Mr. W. E. Porter.
Mr. Porter is still a young man, and is a citizen much needed in present day enterprises. He looks with both a philosopher's and prophet's eye to legitimate invest- ments, and is recognized as a clear-headed operator-not a speculator.
J. F. BROWN
J. F. Brown came to Denver in 1860, and, with his brother, J. S. Brown. established a wholesale grocery house. For fifty years it ranked among the firms trans- acting immense business.
The brothers gradually invested vast sums in their line. and. in the course of time, engaged in enterprises incident to the development of a new commonwealth, which will make them live in the history of the State.
They passed through some trying periods in the
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growth of Denver; saw the town depleted in population ; saw men become discouraged and leave to seek other loca- tions, but they possessed determination and energy of purpose to a great degree; so they worked and waited till the clouds passed by.
J. F. Brown and Grand-children
They accu- mulated an im- mense fortune, and Mr. Junius MRS. BROWN F. Brown retired from active busi- ness at the age of seventy, but not like the average American who retires from business-to die from lack of interest in living. Mr. Brown found an outlet for his energy in the study of art. He turned his quick intelligence which had been employed in the accumulation of wealth to the task of finding pleasure in
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the fortune which he had amassed. The strain of com- merce was thrown off in time to cultivate the aesthetic side of his nature, and he became a fine judge of art.
He was never happier than when showing his pic- tures and talking about them.
One day I visited him in his art gallery, and he said frankly: "I bought pictures at first because they had bright bits of color in them, and, after studying them for a while. I outgrew them, so I exchanged them for others which I liked better. Continuing this study I found myself growing in taste, judgment and under- standing.
"I became the despair of picture vendors," he laughed. and went on. "I knew what was good, and I insisted upon getting it. I persevered in this way until I have one of the best small collections of pictures in this country."
He said this without any feeling of pride, but with an expression of solid enjoyment in indulging his love for the beautiful.
"I have placed the work of young American artists beside the Barbizon masters. as you notice. and one does not detract from the other, which shows clearly that American art lacks nothing but recognition."
Measured by years. Mr. Brown might have been re- garded as growing old, but the warmth of his greeting. his fondness for social life. his sympathy with humanity, all tended to keep his heart young.
He found his wife a great help in his study of art, and never bought a picture without her judgment upon it.
Mrs. Brown is refined and gracious, devoted to her family and her friends, deeply philanthropic, and finds her chief pleasure in helping others to carry out their ambitions. This beautiful characteristic of hers is fully evinced by the assistance she gave her husband in col-
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lecting pictures. Mrs. Brown is always busy with acts of practical charity. Her benevolence is the outcome of a sympathetic and generous heart, which considers the personal need of the individual.
Mr. Brown had a keen sense of humor and told me many amusing stories of picture dealers. I shall ever remember my pleasant visit with this interesting man, who spent the evening of life in such a beautiful way. Mr. Brown died in 1912.
Mr. Brown's daughters, Mrs. J. W. Douglas, Mrs. F. S. Titsworth and Mrs. J. J. B. Benedict, are prominent in the social life of Denver. His only son, Harry K. Brown, is occupied with affairs of importance. As a citi- zen he is generous, patriotic and progressive. In carrying forward his business activities he manifests the indomita- ble will and energy which was characteristic of his father. and which brought him success and fortune.
RODNEY CURTIS
Among the men who witnessed the majestic panorama of civilization unroll over the mountains from the Missouri to the Pacific was Mr. Rodney Curtis, and no one has more conspicuously par- ticipated in the develop- ment of Denver.
In 1860. he took up land near Denver and farmed to 1864. At that time he was appointed pay clerk in the United States mint ; he was after- wards made chief clerk,
Rodney Curtis
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and, in 1876, was appointed, by President Grant, melter and refiner. With Clarence J. Clarke, he platted Curtis and Clarke's addition to Denver.
He built many business blocks on Curtis. Larimer and other downtown streets.
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S. H. FISHER
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FIRST STREET CAR BARN
The first corporation to se- cure a street railway franchise CAPT. L . C. ELLSWORTH in Colorado was the Denver Horse Railway Company. It was incorporated in 1867. Those interested in the franchise were Judge Moses Hal- lett, Judge Amos Steck, Freeman B. Crocker, Luther Kountze and Lewis N. Tappan. The charter was granted for a period of thirty-five years. In 1871 the franchise was sold to Colonel L. C. Ellsworth, who represented
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Chicago capitalists. He immediately began the costruc- tion of the pioneer street car line. The stables sur- rounded, in the shape of an L, what is now Scholtz's drug store. The entrances were on Sixteenth and on Curtis.
Mr. Ellsworth was the president and W. D. Todd was secretary. About 1881, the grasshoppers, for a pe- riod of four years, ate up every green thing in the west- ern country, and Colorado suffered to such an extent that if people didn't actually pawn their clothing to buy food they had a hard time getting food for horses and cattle. Mr. Samuel H. Fisher was, at that time, finan- cially interested in this first street car company in Den- ver, and during the grasshopper period, as it was called. he actually sold four lots which he owned at the corner of Tremont and Seventeenth streets for hay and grain to feed the horses that pulled the cars up and down the streets. The rattling old horse car was a potent factor in the prosperity of Denver.
Mr. Curtis was quick to see the possibilities for the street railway and promptly organized the Denver Tram- way Company, then a cable line. Later, assisted by some of the most enterprising pioneers in the city, the system was made electric. The men who worked side by side with Mr. Curtis in this great enterprise were Governor Evans, David Moffat, F. A. Keener, William G. Evans, J. F. Brown, J. S. Brown, J. J. Riethman, Dr. McClellan and H. C. Brown.
Under the able management of these men the electric system was carried from its modest inception through the various changes and expansions to be a street railway system unsurpassed in its relative extent by that of any city in the world.
Mr. Curtis gave to the enterprise his untiring energy and far-sighted executive ability for seventeen years. After retiring from active business he gave time to travel
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and books. His library, well chosen, comprises many fine editions, and the magazines on his table showed that he kept in touch with the current thought of the day. He was liberal in his donations to charitable organiza- tions. His wife and his daughters-Mrs. Charles Whitehead, Mrs. McDear- mon and Mrs. Will Por- ter-are identified with many philanthropic move- ments of the city. Mrs. Curtis is a woman of fine character, energy and ex- ecutive ability.
Mrs. Chas. Whitehead
In the death of Mr. Rodney Curtis, Denver lost an ideal man and a great citizen. He passed away April 26, 1915, in San Diego. Few lives have been so rich in acts of kindness as the life of Rodney Curtis.
DENNIS SHEEDY
Mr. Dennis Sheedy, who wields a power in finance today, is another high type of a self-made man.
He was born in Ireland. came to America as a boy. lived in New England until he was twelve years old. and. after his father's death, started out to make his way alone.
At the age of sixteen he crossed the plains to Denver and found employment in one of the general merchan- dise stores. He remained here a year and went to Mon- tana. where he engaged in placer mining, and, after ac- cumulating some money. he entered the mercantile busi- ness in Montana.
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He afterward ran a store in Utah and one in Salmon City, Idaho. Later, at Helena. Mon- tana, he opened a whole- sale grocery store. From Utah he went to Nevada with a trainload of mer- chandise and a herd of beef cattle, which 4 he
drove across the desert and sold in the town of Hamilton, White Pine County, Nevada; then he went to California, and. afterward, to Old Mexico. with a view of living there, but after seeing the people and their social Dennis Sheedy and political condition he left that country and went to Arizona, where he bought and sold droves of Texas cattle. Mr. Sheedy left Ari- zona and went to Texas, where he engaged extensively in the cattle business, traveling over six hundred miles on horseback on one occasion.
By 1883, Mr. Sheedy had accumulated several large herds of cattle. amounting. in the aggregate. to over thirty-two thousand head. and established ranches in the Indian Territory and Southern Kansas; then at the head of the Humboldt river in Nevada. and later in Western Nebraska and Eastern Wyoming on the North Platte river. In overlooking this large herd of cattle he braved the storms and blizzards of winter and the burning heat of summer. Many times he had narrow escapes from the Indians. On one occasion the Indians stampeded his cattle. and. as he was rounding them up. he was sur-
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rounded by a band of the redskins, who threatened to take him prisoner. Mr. Sheedy made his escape from them, and, after getting his twenty-six men together, re- mained in the neighborhood sufficiently long to gather up all the cattle and drive them through to the northern markets.
The death of his friend, A. B. Daniels, called him to Denver. In the management of the Daniels estate Mr. Sheedy proved himself a man of rare executive ability, for he doubled the value of the estate before handing it over to his ward, Mr. Daniels' son.
From the day of his arrival in Denver to the present time his genius has been visible in the forward move- ment of the city. He has been president of the Denver Dry Goods Company for twenty years, vice-president of the Colorado National Bank for thirty years, president and general manager of the Globe Smelting and Refining Company for fifteen years, and vice-president of the In- ternational Smelting Company of New York for the last ten years.
Mr. Sheedy remodeled and practically rebuilt the Globe smelter four times, adding a refining plant for re- fining gold, silver, copper and lead; an electrolytic plant for separating gold and silver; a filtering plant for fil- tering metallic fumes from the shaft furnaces, for which he used textile fabric bags. He also added a large fur- nace for gathering additional values by the precipitating process. In carrying forward this work Mr. Sheedy spent days and nights in ceaseless study of methods of handling the business, and made numerous inventions, for which he obtained United States patents.
His extensive investments have contributed largely to the industrial development and prosperity of the State. He is a man with a vision of the future and readjusts his business to meet the changing conditions. His suc- cess in the world of finance has not blunted his sensibili-
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ties to the condition of the less fortunate. To many a friend he has rendered timely aid, and he has relieved suffering in numerous instances.
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