USA > Colorado > History of Colorado; Volume II > Part 104
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he removed from Kentucky to Missouri in 1808, that region then being a part of upper Louisiana, taking up his abode at Loutre Island, but in 1809, he established his home in the Boone's Lick settlement of what is now Howard county, Missouri, where he assisted to build and defend Fort Cooper during the War of 1812. The great- grandparents of Mr. Ferril of this review, together with their five sons-Henry, Jonathan. William, Jacob Baughman, and Jesse and two daughters-Elizabeth, who afterward became Mrs. Samuel Perry, and Margaret, who later married James Millsap-there resided in that old fort during that war as a protection against the Indians. John Ferril took part in many hunting and trapping expeditions far out on the great plains toward the Rocky mountains as a source of livelihood in addition to farming. His son, the Rev. William Ferril, born in Kentucky, January 13. 1798, became a minister of the Methodist church. In Saline county, Missouri, on July 5, 1821, he wedded Elizabeth Clemens (born February 20, 1805, died in Pleasant Hill, Missouri, November 19, 1838). daughter of Thomas and Ruth (Cook) Clemens, pioneers in that county to which they had removed from Kentucky. Soon after his marriage, the Rev. William Ferril re- moved to Independence, Jackson county. Missouri, then the eastern terminus of the Santa Fe trail. There he preached to Indians, hunters, trappers, frontiersmen and the early caravans of that old trail, long before Kansas City was founded. On July 18, 1827. while still a resident of Independence. the Rev. William Ferril was appointed chaplain of the Thirty-third Regiment, Third Brigade, First Division, Missouri state militia. His commission as chaplain. of that regiment, dated August 14. 1827, signed by John Miller, then governor of Missouri, and attested by Spencer Pettis, secretary of state, is now in the possession of the subject of this review. As chaplain he was prepared for service in Black Hawk's war. Being opposed to slavery, he remained with the Meth- odist Episcopal church at the time of the separation by the Methodist Episcopal church, South. Referring to this. the Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri, by the South- ern History Company, 1901, Vol. IV, page 364, says: "The first notice of the Methodist Episcopal church in the western part of Missouri, after the separation (of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, from same) dates from 1845-6 when the Rev. William Ferril traveled in the interest of the denomination through Jackson and adjoining counties. In the summer of 1846, a quarterly conference was held in Pleasant Hill, and subsequently in neighboring places, until 1859, when Kansas City was supplied by the Rev. William Ferril." He died in Cass county. Missouri, October 20, 1861, and on his tombstone was placed the inscription : "He was loyal to his country and to his God." The Rev. Thomas Johnson Ferril (born, Independence, Missouri, December 24, 1831; died, Kansas City, Missouri, January 29, 1906), son of the Rev. William and Elizabeth (Clemens) Ferril, married in Johnson county, Missouri, February 14, 1854, Minerva Hornsby (born in Rhea county, Tennessee, September 21, 1832; died, Lawrence, Kansas, May 11, 1861), daughter of Brinkley and Esther Ann (Falls) Hornsby. In the same year, the Rev. Thomas J. Ferril, removed with his bride to Lawrence. Kansas, and owing to his advocacy of the admission of Kansas as free state, the Reverend Ferril had to endure many hardships and face many dangers in that region, where the struggle that preceded the Civil war was centered. He was chaplain of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Kansas. was one of the founders of Baker University, Baldwin City, that state. and was chaplain of the Six- teenth Kansas Cavalry. At the battle of Westport. in the Price campaign, his regiment was brigaded with Colonel Ford's Second Colorado. His last military service was in the west, in the campaign of Gen. Grenville M. Dodge against the Indians. Chaplain Ferril was with his regiment from January. 1865, to the middle of the summer of that year, in western Kansas, Nebraska, northern Colorado including Julesburg, and along the Cache a La Poudre and through old Camp Collins (now Fort Collins), thence into Wyoming to Fort Laramie, and in expeditions against the Sioux. At the time of his death, he was chaplain of the Grand Army of the Republic for the Department of Mis- souri, and it was said of him that his life exemplified the inscription on the tombstone of his father, the Rev. William Ferril, the old chaplain of the American frontier: "He was loyal to his country and to his God."
Of the maternal ancestry of Mr. Ferrit of this review. it is learned that his grand- father, Brinkley Hornsby (born in North Carolina, August 3, 1801; died in Johnson county, Missouri, May 15, 1877), was a son of William Hornsby. As previously stated, he wedded in North Carolina, January 13, 1828, Esther Ann Falls (born May 15, 1800; died in Johnson county, Missouri, August 13, 1843), daughter of James, son of John Falls. The Hornsbys and Falls are colonial families of North Carolina. For several years, Brinkley Hornsby resided in Tennessee, and from there removed with his family to Missouri, where his daughter, Minerva, became the wife of the Rev. Thomas John- son Ferril. Her brother. Columbus Hornsby, represented Lawrence in the free state
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legislature of 1856, that was dispersed by order of the authorities at Washington. In the tenth edition, page 12, "Kansas, Its Interior and Exterior Life" (originally pub- lished in 1857), by Mrs. Sara T. D. Robinson, wife of Governor Robinson of that state, the author referring to the first election by the free state people, says: "September 28, 1854, a squatter meeting was held at Hornsby & Ferril's store, on the California road, about two miles from Lawrence, at which the free state men had a majority." This store was on a homestead taken up by the Rev. Thomas J. Ferril, his main dependence for support together with the store, while opposing slavery, as a free state Methodist minister in the border ruffian days. His partners as merchants, were Brinkley Horns- by, his father-in-law, and Columbus Hornsby, his wife's brother, and thus from the very first, they were in the center of the free state fight. It was a large log cabin store, facing the California road. A frame cottage at the back of this store, was the birth- place of William C. Ferril, his sister, Mary Alice (now Mrs. O. C. Trice of Kansas City), and another sister, Minerva, who died in infancy.
The Rev. Thomas J. Ferril married, second, November 26, 1863, in Baldwin City, Kansas, Miss Cleopatre Elizabeth Lynch, and of this marriage was born a son, Charles, who also died in infancy. She was a sister of John T. Lynch who at one time repre- sented Summit county in the territorial legislature of Colorado, serving through the third and fourth sessions in 1864 and 1865. He afterward represented Clear Creek county in the eighth territorial assembly in 1870, and he was likewise chosen by Summit county as a representative to the constitutional convention held in Denver in August, 1865. Mr. Lynch was otherwise prominent in moulding the early history of the territory, and at one time was a probable nominee of the republican party for congress. He was one of the incorporators of the University of Denver, and one of the original trustees of the State Agricultural College at Fort Collins, and later served as postmaster at Salt Lake City.
William C. Ferril, reared in the west, early became familiar with many events in the annals of the Trans-Mississippi, both through personal experience and from the hearthstone history of his own people who have resided in this region for more than a century, and is the fourth generation of his family since the days of Upper Louisiana. This sketch could be richly enlarged by the incidents and adventures of his people who early followed the Santa Fe, Oregon, California and Pike's Peak trails, in the onward march of civilization to the Pacific, for his family is one of western colonial history. Liberal educational advantages were accorded him. He received the degree of B. S. D. from the North Missouri State Normal School at Kirksville in 1876; his degree of A. B. from Lewis College, Glasgow, Missouri, in 1878; and that of A. M. from the University of Denver in 1900. Mr. Ferril early engaged in the profession of teaching, becoming principal of the public schools, Bentonville, Arkansas, in 1876-7. In the meantime he had been a law student, and was admitted to the bar in Benton- ville and later in Kansas City, Missouri. Because of ill health, he removed to Colorado in January, 1879, locating at Silver Cliff, where he followed mining and journalistic work until 1883, and on June 6, 1881, at that place enlisted in Company A, Fifth Battalion, Colorado National Guard. Since January, 1883, he has been a resident of Denver, and was connected with the daily press of the city until 1896, becoming widely known in that profession. For a long period he was city editor of the Denver Republi- can, Rocky Mountain News, the Times and Sun, and at the same time represented several eastern newspapers as correspondent. Through about a decade, he made con- tributions to the Bacheller & Johnson Press Syndicate of New York, writing various articles on the west and other subjects. As a writer and publisher, he is more commonly known as Will C. Ferril. Three of his several biennial reports of The State Historical and Natural History Society of Colorado have been published as state documents. He was the editor of "Sketches of Colorado," (1911), a volume including an analytical summary and biographical history of Colorado. Mr. Ferril also assisted in the prep- aration of the third volume of Hall's four-volume history of Colorado.
The early and colonial records of his family in the Trans-Mississippi, together with a study of its history, inspired Mr. Ferril of this review, to write an article that was published in the Kansas City Journal, July 14, 1889, suggesting and outlining plans for a great centennial exposition to be held in 1903, to commemorate the purchase of the Province of Louisiana from France. The idea was afterward taken up by various other prominent men and came to its fruition in the world's fair held in St. Louis. In the preliminary preparations for this great exposition, Mr. Ferril's outline in 1889, was followed, as well as suggestions made later. Under a Denver date of November 16, 1901, Mr. Ferril wrote a letter to the Hon. David R. Francis, president of the Louisiana Pur- chase Exposition, urging that December 20th be observed as the day for breaking ground
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for the exposition, as December 20, 1803, marked the transfer of the sovereignty of Louisiana to the United States. He also further suggested that the date also be observed as "Louisiana Purchase Flag Day" in all the states and territories established there- from, and that appropriate exercises be held in the public schools, commemorative thereof. This letter, in which were recited other data in review of Mr. Ferril's promotion of the exposition idea, was published in full, with favorable comment, in the December number, 1901, of the World's Fair Bulletin, St. Louis, Missouri. His sug- gestions were endorsed and on that date, flags were flying in the entire Louisiana Pur- chase region, patriotic and historic exercises conducted in the schools, and ground broken with impressive ceremonies. In commenting on this published letter, the Bulletin added: "In line with these suggestions, the 20th of December (1901) was chosen for breaking ground on the exposition site." While it is technically claimed that an incidental reference to the possibility of holding this exposition was made in the St. Louis Republic, a few weeks prior to Mr. Ferril's article in the Kansas City Journal. yet nothing came of it. But it is a fact that the preliminary plans outlined by Mr. Ferril in 1889 were followed later: ground was broken on the date suggested by him, and that it was also observed as "Louisiana Purchase Flag Day," with appropriate exercises in educational institutions. Whatever honors may be given to others, it is a further fact, that Mr. Ferril was for years promoting this idea, and all his preliminary plans and suggestions were carried out and officially recognized, and practically speaking he was the father of the exposition idea.
In the January-February issue, 1890, of the Commonwealth Magazine, Denver, Mr. Ferril wrote an article on the New West and the New South containing predictions that caused favorable comment throughout the country, and later were fulfilled in the national campaign that followed. He has always been a student and his mind is richly stored with events of national and universal history, while his knowledge of Colorado affairs cannot be excelled. This eminently fitted him for the position of state custodian of the historical records, relics, and museum of natural history. all of which wonderfully grew and increased under his supervision and care. He was curator of The State Historical and Natural History Society of Colorado from August 14, 1896, to February 1, 1910, and secretary of the Colorado Academy of Science, 1898-1909. the latter being the scientific phase of the historical society. As he only completed one year of his last bi- ennial term, we give the record of his work up to the time of his last published report to November 30, 1908. During that period of his administration as curator the rooms of the society at the state house were open 3,700 days and the visitors numbered 1,490.084. In his educational work, 365 teachers made dates for 313 classes from the schools, for lectures in the museum by the curator, on the cliff dwellers, birds, flowers, and other nature study work and historical topics. The number of pupils who in classes thus visited the museum made a total of 11,256. which with the teachers who accompanied them. gives a grand total of 12,221. The older pupils took notes and made drawings, during these lectures and wrote the data in full for their schoolroom work. He told nature and historical stories to those of the younger grades. Thus Mr. Ferril established in Denver the first practical use of museums for educational purposes, and inaugurated, in the city, the system of story-telling to children, now a recognized and popular form of instruction. From August 14, 1896, to November 30, 1898, the historical, library and scientific collections added to the society are estimated at five thousand. From December 1. 1898, to November 30. 1908, the additions to the historical and library were 34,533 and the scientific, 39,652, thus giving a grand total of 79,185 added to the collections of the society during the curatorship of Mr. Ferril, without counting the last year, as he only served part of the biennial term. The work of Mr. Ferril thus laid the foundation for the erection of the five hundred thousand dollar State Museum building across the street from the State Capitol. His plans for obtaining the money therefor, were followed by the officers of the society and the board of capitol managers, the lots purchased, and the museum building started when his curatorship with the society was severed. Since 1912, Mr. Ferril has been the owner and editor of the Rocky Mountain Herald, published in Denver. It was founded in 1860, as a daily and weekly. having been the first daily in Denver and the Pike's Peak region, but for many years has been a weekly. Mr. Ferrill's editorials have made it one of the most influential weekly papers in Colorado and the west.
On December 12, 1888, in Rome, New York, William C. Ferril married Alice Lawton MacHarg, daughter of John Brainerd and Susan (Noble) MacHarg. Her line in the MacHargs is from Wigton, Scotland. John and Janet (Milroy) MacHarg, her great- grandparents, resided in Albany, New York, and her grandfather, James MacHarg, of Rome, that state, was a soldier in the Mexican war. Mrs. Ferril is a representative of
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many old New England families, being a descendant of the Spencer, Brainerd. Noble, Lawton, Peckham, Rathbun. Arnold, Webster, Hazard, Greene, Stebbins, Dewey. and others of colonial days. In her line of ancestors are governors, lieutenant governors, and legislators of early New England, and many prominent in the military, some of whom were officers in King Philip's war, and others later served in the War of the American Revolution. Mrs. Ferril is a well known writer of popular poems which have been extensively published in the press of the country. She is a charter member of Denver Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, and was regent of the chapter, 1912-1914. At the suggestion of Mrs. Ferril, the D. A. R. of Colorado took up the question of marking the Santa Fe trail in this state, and later through their work and assistance from the legislature, it was accomplished. Credit is given Mrs. Ferril for making this suggestion, by the state engineer of Colorado, in the fourteenth biennial report of that department. 1907-8, page 76, Part I, published in 1909, in a review of the marking of that historic trail in Colorado.
Of the marriage of William C. and Alice Lawton ( MacHarg) Ferril, have been born three children: Lucy Brainerd, horn in Rome, New York, August 2, 1890; Harriet Peck- liam, born in Denver. March 1, 1892; and Thomas Hornsby, born in Denver. February 25, 1896. They were all three graduated from the East Denver high school, and com- pleted their education at Colorado College, this state. Lucy Brainerd Ferril was married in Denver, June 15, 1914, to Wendell Dennett Ela. of Grand Junction, Colorado, son of Wendell Phillips and Lucy Abigail (Drake) Ela. and grandson of Jacob H. Ela, member of congress from New Hampshire, 1867-1871, and appointed, in 1871, fifth auditor of the treasury, by President Grant. Mr. Ela received his degree of A. B. from Colorado College, is a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, is a bank teller at Grand Junc- tion, where his parents, descendants of old New England families, were among the pioneer settlers. Of the marriage of Wendell Dennett and Lucy Brainerd (Ferril) Ela, two sons have been born: Dennett Keith, born in Grand Junction, Colorado, April 6, 1915; and Thomas Ferril, born in the same city, June 18, 1917. Harriet Peckham Ferril was married April 9, 1918. in Kissimme, Florida, the winter residence of her husband's family, to George Leonard Potter, son of William Stiles and Fannie Waldron (Peck) Potter, of Lafayette, Indiana. Mr. Potter was graduated from Hamilton College with the degree of A. B., is a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity, and is now serving in the Signal Corps of the army. His father is a prominent lawyer at Lafayette. The family is descended from a distinguished colonial ancestry.
Thomas Hornsby Ferril is a member of the Signal Corps in the army and at this writ- ing is a radio instructor in the University of Texas, in the air service school for radio operators, there training for service in the war. He is a gifted writer and his poetical con- tributions to the press, published in the leading newspapers of the country, have been highly praised by critics.
WILLIAM J. KIRK.
The Colorado Laundry is one of the largest establishments of its kind in Denver, and William J. Kirk as its head and president has ably demonstrated his business capabilities. developing an enterprise which now enjoys a state-wide reputation for high class service. Moreover, Mr. Kirk is one of the leading citizens of Denver. having participated in a number of movements undertaken for the benefit of the city which he has assisted in bringing to fruition. He was born in Independence, Iowa. May 2, 1864. his parents being Patrick and Bridget (Conway) Kirk, both natives of Iowa. Both came to America in early life and were numbered among the pioneers of that state, where the father took up farming. After a short residence in Iowa, however, he again took up his journey westward, and in 1876 went to Georgetown, Colorado, where he engaged in mining for a time, later removing to Blackhawk, and from there coming to Denver. This city remained his home until his death in 1903. While in Denver he was engaged in the transfer business and in hauling and teaming, and was quite successful in this line. HIs widow survives him and makes her home with a daughter in Denver. To their marriage six children were born: Thomas, deceased; Charles, treasurer of the Colorado Laundry Company; Mrs. Mayme Hartford. Mrs. William Hughes and Mrs. J. B. Larkin, all of Denver, and William J., who is the eldest.
In the acquirement of his education William J. Kirk attended the public schools of Denver, and upon putting aside his textbooks took up mining. He followed this occupation in various parts of the state until he decided to embark in the business with which he is now connected. He started the Colorado Laundry Company in a modest way in 1898,
WILLIAM J. KIRK
Vol. II-47
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and as he took pains to please his customers by good work and prompt service, the busi- ness naturally grew from year to year, until it is today considered one of Denver's leading laundries. To get an idea as to the vast extent of this industrial enterprise, it may be mentioned that one hundred people are employed in the plant, despite the fact that a great deal of the work is done in a mechanical way by the most modern machinery that money can obtain. The work has been thoroughly systematized by Mr. Kirk, whose executive ability excites the wonder of those who have an interest in the management of the business. His first and last endeavor is to please his customers, and that he has succeeded is evident from the fact that it may be said of them, "once a customer, always a customer." Every known device in laundry facilities has been installed in the plant and the goods are turned out in a way that leaves nothing to be desired, and are treated at the least possible expense of wear and tear. The service is prompt and efficient and six motor trucks and thirteen wagons are used to facilitate delivery and assure the most efficient service. The business was incorporated in 1906, and ever since its volume has increased rapidly, from year to year, until today it is one of the foremost enterprises of its kind throughout the west.
In April, 1902, Mr. Kirk was united in marriage to Miss Leona A. Callahan, of an old pioneer family of Colorado, and they have two children: W. J., Jr., who was born in 1907 and is attending school in Denver, and Katherine M., born in 1911, and also attending school in this city.
Mr. Kirk is independent in his political views, supporting men and measures as his judgment dictates. Fraternally he belongs to the Knights of Columbus, of which organi- zation he is a prominent member, and his religion is that of the Roman Catholic church. He is a member of the Manufacturers Association and also belongs to the Denver Civic and Commercial Association, heartily cooperating with the plans and projects of that organization for a greater and more beautiful city. He is a member of the Sons of Ter- ritorial Pioneers and belongs to the Richards Volunteer Fire Department. Great honor and respect are due Mr. Kirk for what he has accomplished, as he started out in life empty-handed and now is numbered among the most substantial business men of his city and state. Moreover, he has not only attained individual prosperity, but has con- tributed in large measure to the betterment and upbuilding of his city. All who know him speak of him in the highest terms, for in business as well as in private life his record is an admirable one. His business ability is unquestioned and his American patriotism and unselfish public spirit shine forth unobscured.
E. B. ROE, M. D.
Dr. E. B. Roe, devoting his life to medical and surgical practice, his office being at Brush, Colorado, was born in Ray county, Missouri, in December, 1873, a son of James and Mary C. (Boone) Roe, who are natives of Missouri and of North Carolina respec- tively. The father is a farmer and in young manhood he received as a gift from his father eighty acres of land in Ray county, Missouri. He then took up his abode upon that tract and with characteristic energy began its development and improvement, his labors soon bringing about a marked transformation in its appearance. To the farm he has added from time to time, extending its boundaries by additional purchase until it is now a large and excellent tract of land equipped with all modern accessories and conveniences of the model farm of the twentieth century, he and his wife still living upon that place.
Dr. Roe passed his youthful days in Ray county, Missouri, where he was reared in the usual manner of the farm-bred boy. His time was divided between the work of the fields, the pleasures of the playground and the duties of the schoolroom. He did not desire to continue in agricultural life, however, and determined upon the practice of medicine. He entered medical college at Kansas City, Missouri, and later was trans- ferred to the Kentucky University at Louisville, from which he was graduated with the class of 1898. He afterward practiced at Crab Orchard, Missouri, for three years, on the expiration of which period he removed to Wyoming and was physician for the Carbon Timber Company for a year. He next went to Denver on account of his health and worked at the drug trade for five years, after which he removed to Fort Morgan, Colo- rado, and was in the employ of the Bailey-Simpson Drug Company for six years. He took up the study of pharmacy in Kansas City and was in different parts of the state for a year. In 1915 he arrived at Brush and opened an office in the Farmers State Bank building, where he has since practiced. His profession now makes heavy demands upon his time and energies. He is interested in all that has to do with the work of
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