History of Colorado; Volume II, Part 12

Author: Stone, Wilbur Fiske, 1833-1920, ed
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 944

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The same qualities which have fitted him for leadership in this connection have brought him prominently to the front in other relations. He is a very prominent figure in political and civic circles and after filling the office of county treasurer in 1912 and 1913 he was elected state treasurer of Colorado on the republican ticket, filling the office in 1915 and 1916. He has been alderman of Highlands and in 1897 he represented the fifteenth ward on the board of aldermen of Denver. Of the Chamber of Commerce he has served as president and as director for a number of years. Fraternally he is connected with the Woodmen of the World, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Masons and has been particularly prominent in the last named. He is a past master of Highlands Lodge, No. 86, A. F. & A. M .; belongs to Highlands Chapter, No. 29, R. A. M .; Highlands Commandery, No. 30, K. T., and in his life exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the craft. He also holds membership with the Denver Civic and Commercial Association, the Lions Club and the Boulevard Congregational church, in which he has served as superintendent of the Sunday school. These associations indicate much of the nature of his interests and the rules which govern his conduct, making him a man whom to know is to esteem and honor.

On the 28th of July, 1884, in Denver, Mr. Stocker was married to Miss Blanch Roerig, a native of St. Clair, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Henry C. and Ann Roerig. They have become parents of three children; Jessie, who was born in Denver, June 30, 1885, and died September 21, 1909; Harry S., who was born in Denver, December 4, 1886; and Ruth, who was born February 24, 1893. The family occupy a pleasant home at 2636 West Twenty-seventh street, which was erected by Mr. Stocker thirty years ago. There is no record in this volume perhaps that indicates more clearly the value of a strong character, of persistent purpose and laudable ambition. Starting out to provide for his own support in early youth, working at the carpenter's trade when a lad of but eleven years, he has steadily advanced and as the architect of his own fortunes has builded wisely and well.

JOHN D. HEINZMAN.

A spirit of progress and enterprise has actuated John D. Heinzman at every point in his career and step by step he has worked his way upward until he ranks with the leading business men of Denver, where he is widely known as the president and man- ager of the Centennial School Supply Company, conducting an extensive business in school, church and opera house furniture and also school supplies. There has been nothing spectacular in his career and there are no esoteric phases in his life record. He has won his success through close application, persistent energy and untiring effort.

HISTORY OF COLORADO

He was born in Prairie City, Illinois, October 27, 1862, a son of Frederick and Frederica (Buehler) Heinzman. The father, who was born in Germany, was a mason, builder and farmer. He came to the United States in 1852, after having fought through the German revolution of 1848. As he could not win liberty in his native land, he resolved to come to "the land of the free and the home of the brave" and cast in his lot with the early residents of Prairie City, Illinois. Both he and his wife have now passed away. They reared a family of ten children, six sons and four daughters, of whom eight are yet living.

John D. Heinzman acquired a public and high school education in his native town and remained upon the home farm with his father until he attained his majority, early becoming familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. He afterward removed to Nebraska, where he engaged in farming on his own account for two years. On the expiration of that period he took up a homestead claim in Cheyenne county, Kansas, and on leaving that district removed to eastern Colorado, where he also secured a homestead. In 1894 he came to Denver, having already been a resident of this state for seven years. He became connected with his present line of business as commercial traveler for Thomas Kane & Company of Chicago, with whom he was associated from 1889. He was given the eastern counties of the state as his territory and later he traveled throughout Colorado and in Oregon. In 1905 he began carrying the stock of the J. D. Heinzman Company and in 1908 merged his interests with those of the Centennial School Supply Company, of which he is the president. In this connection he is at the head of a very extensive and growing business, carrying a large line of school, church and opera furniture and school supplies of all kinds. The company has a warehouse of its own and handles a very extensive stock, selling largely throughout Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico. The company also manufactures and handles kindergarten materials. They have a very extensive school supply business, built up along the legitimate lines of trade, and Mr. Heinzman has contributed in very substantial measure to the success of the enterprise.

In December, 1896, occurred the marriage of John D. Heinzman and Mary Edith Bruce, a native of Mediapolis, Iowa, and a daughter of David R. Bruce. Fraternally Mr. Heinzman is connected with the Independent Order of Foresters, the Travelers Protective Association of America, and he has membership in the Rotary Club. He is an active worker and faithful member of the North Denver Presbyterian church, is chairman of its board of trustees and gives active assistance to various lines of church work. He is especially interested in the organization known as the Gideons and is its state secretary. This organization is doing Christian work among traveling men and placing the Bible in all hotels. Every avenue for effective work along the line of moral progress awakens his interest and his efforts of that character have been farreaching and resultant. Moreover, his entire career illustrates the fact that success and an honored name may be won simultaneously.

GEORGE A. HODGSON.

George A. Hodgson, a resident of Platteville, who at one time was county commis- sioner of Weld county, was born in Iowa county, Wisconsin, March 2, 1861. His father, David Hodgson, was born in England and was a lad of but twelve years of age when he accompanied his parents on their emigration to the new world. The family did not tarry on the Atlantic coast but made their way at once into the interior of the country, settling in Iowa county, Wisconsin, where David Hodgson was reared and educated. He there took up the occupation of farming as a life work and in 1860 he came to Colorado. After a brief period, however, he returned to Wisconsin, but in 1863 he removed with his family to this state and purchased government land near the present site of Platteville. He remained there with the Indians all around him and home- steaded, also securing a preemption claim. With characteristic energy he began the development and improvement of his property and continued its further cultivation with notable success until about 1890, when he put aside agricultural pursuits and concentrated his efforts and attention upon mining interests. He was one of the first men, or probably the very first, to put in an irrigation ditch in that locality, and this was done at a time when the workmen had to carry guns for protection against the Indians. He also invested in mining property and was interested in some gold mines at the time of his demise which still belong to his family. Throughout his later years he resided in Platteville and there passed away in 1915, when eighty years of age. In

HISTORY OF COLORADO

early manhood he had wedded Christine Hyde, who was born on Prince Edward Island and who passed away in 1911.

George A. Hodgson, whose name introduces this review, spent his youthful days in the family home at Platteville and the educational opportunities offered by the public schools were those which qualified him for life's practical and responsible dutles. After mastering the branches of learning taught in the district schools he continued his studies at Boulder for two years. He afterward devoted two years to government sur- vey work and then made his way to the North Park district with cattle. He continued in that country for about ten years and took up land in that region. He always called Platteville his home, however, and in time he purchased his father's farm and also some adjoining land which he improved, becoming owner of a tract of four hundred acres in all. He was thus engaged chiefly in the cattle business for a number of years or until he was appointed county commissioner. He raised the first sugar beets that were loaded on a car at Platteville and he has been identified with the initial steps in the improvement of conditions here in many ways. He is always on the outlook for opportunities to improve his personal interests or advance business in general and his labors have been farreaching and beneficial.

In February, 1884, Mr. Hodgson was united in marriage to Miss Edith Lines, a daughter of John and Rachel (Yarnell) Lines, who were pioneer people of Colorado, taking up their abode in Platteville in 1876, upon their removal from Illinois to this state. Her father was a farmer by occupation and carried on general agricultural pursuits in this district throughout his remaining days, both he and his wife having now passed away. To Mr. and Mrs. Hodgson were born two children. Albert J., who was born in 1885 and is now cultivating his father's land, married Della Camp and has two children, Marion E. and Mazella L. His wife died about 1913 and in May, 1917, he again married, his second union being with Frances Johnson. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George A. Hodgson died in infancy, almost at birth.

In religious faith Mr. Hodgson is a Methodist and fraternally he is connected with the Elks Lodge No. 809, at Greeley. His political endorsement is given to the democratic party, of which he has long been recognized as a stalwart advocate. In 1912 he was appointed county commissioner to fill a vacancy and was afterward elected to that office, in which he served for four years and nine months. He was also mayor of Platteville for two terms and he occupied the position of deputy county surveyor of Larimer county while he resided there. He has always been a great hunter and fisher- man and knows every trail in Colorado that any one has ever traveled. He has traveled altogether one hundred and twenty-five thousand miles in motoring and hunting and business trips. He is a public-spirited man and many evidences of his devotion to the general welfare can be cited. He served on the county board at the time the present courthouse was built and was largely Instrumental in securing for the county one of the best courthouses in the entire country, it being erected at a cost of four hundred and sixteen thousand dollars. He is now state inspector of bridges in Weld county and he has been the builder of many miles of highway in this county. Any plan for the development and improvement of community or state receives his endorsement and wherever possible he gives to any such project his practical aid.

DAVID DUFF SEERIE.

David Duff Seerie, contractor and manufacturer, born in Scotland, March 11, 1862, was a son of Edward and Margaret (Duff) Seerie, the former now seventy-nine years of age, while the latter passed away in May, 1917, at the age of seventy-five. He was educated in the public schools of Scotland, and coming to Denver in 1880, worked at his trade as stone cutter. From a small beginning Mr. Seerie worked up a large business, until he became not only one of the leading business men of Colorado, but also of the entire west. Thrift and energy, backed by faith in himself and good executive ability, together with a quick insight into the future and possibilities of Colorado, were utilized by him, in reaching his well deserved success.

After obtaining a start, he became associated in 1885, with William F. Geddis, in the contracting business under the firm name of Geddis & Seerie. His partner, also one of the prominent men of the state, and with whom he was associated for many years, was, with Mr. Seerie, engaged in some of the largest and most important construction work in the west. The firm soon established a reputation that stood second to none, and obtained many large and responsible contracts. So success- ful was the firm that later they confined their operations only to large contracts.

DAVID D. SEERIE

HISTORY OF COLORADO

They built the Cheesman dam for the Denver Water Company. This dam, with the exception of the new Roosevelt dam, is the largest in the world. It contains the large Denver water supply, and in its construction, may well be considered one of the wonders of the west. Engineers from all parts of the world have favorably commented on its massive structure, solidity and safety of construction, as a gigantic piece of work that has been well and substantially built. This feat alone is sufficient to establish for them a lasting and permanent reputation of the highest character. They also constructed the large Pathfinder dam in Wyoming. A lasting monument to the well deserved repu- tation of Geddis & Seerie is the State Capitol building, which they constructed. It is the most imposing structure in Denver or the Rocky Mountain region. To their list of building achievements, must also be added the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver. Branching out into other fields they built the Omaha Post Office.

There followed a period of dull times after the financial depression of a few years ago, and large contracts, which they only desired to take, being scarce, contract work in this section was discontinued, and here they branched into a new avenue of business in building up the Denver Sewer Pipe & Clay Company, of which they were the owners. This is one of the largest plants in the west, and the same success followed them in this new enterprise. The firm manufactures brick and sewer pipe, and their plant has developed into a vast enterprise that covers about thirty acres and employs three hundred men, and their payroll is one of the largest in Denver, the firm being one of the leading manufacturing establishments in the city.

Mr. Seerie, during his active life was always public-spirited and one of Denver's leading boosters, which in fact, he had been since he came to Denver in 1880, for the faith he then had in the future and resources of Colorado, was a prominent feature in his own success to the very end. He was also active and prominent in public, civic and political life. He served as the last sheriff of old Arapahoe county, filling that office with honesty and high executive ability, employing in it the good common- sense methods he used in private business. He was a mason of high standing, having reached the thirty-second degree in that order, a Knight Templar, a past potentate, El Jebel Temple of the Mystic Shrine, an Elk, an Odd Fellow, and a member of the Denver Club, the Overland Club, (now the Lakewood Club) the Country Club and the Denver Athletic Club. He was a member of the Board of Public Works for two years and the Fourteenth street viaduct was built while he was on the board.

Mr. Seerie was united in marriage in 1887, to Miss Margaret Price, a native of Iowa, born in lowa City. She was an early resident of Boulder, Colorado, and died in 1906. They had no children.

Mr. Seerie died in Denver, December 23, 1917, at the age of fifty-six years.

CHARLES R. BELL.

Charles R. Bell, a representative of the Denver bar, was born in Harrisburg, Franklin county, Ohio, March 20, 1853, his parents being Joseph Blackwell and Melinda A. (Heath) Bell. The father was born near Fairfax Courthouse, Virginia, his people having come to America in the early part of the seventeenth century, representatives of the name living in Virginia and in Kentucky through various generations. At the time of the Revolutionary war the patriotism of the family was manifest in active service of Charles Bell, the grandfather of Charles R. Bell, who was an officer of the American army and was present when Lord Cornwallis surrendered his sword to General Washington at Yorktown. Joseph Blackwell Bell was appointed postmaster of Harrisburg, Ohio, when Zachary Taylor was president of the United States. He was named in honor of Commodore Blackwell of the United States navy and for a con- siderable period he carried on merchandising in Ohio in addition to serving as post- master of his town. In 1856 he started with his family for Iowa, leaving his Ohio home for Iowa, locating in Winterset where the family resided until 1860, when in March of that year they started for Colorado. They traveled westward with a prairie schooner all the way from Iowa to Denver, the journey requiring forty days. After reaching his destination he opened a hotel in Denver, which he conducted for several years, or until 1865, when he sold out to Peter Powell and turned his attention to the wholesale grocery business in connection with the firm of J. G. Vawter & Company. He was thus associated until 1867, when he removed to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he re- mained until 1868 and then returned to Denver. He built a hotel at Littleton, Colorado, and continued its conduct throughout his remaining days, his death occurring in 1877.

HISTORY OF COLORADO

He was a public spirited man and assisted materially in the upbuilding of Colorado. His widow long survived him and passed away at the home of her son, Charles R. Bell, in 1910, when seventy-two years of age. In the family were two children, the younger being Van Chilton Bell, who was born in Winterset, Iowa, in 1859, and died in Denver in 1890.

In his youthful days Charles R. Bell of this review was a pupil in the school con- ducted by Miss Ring in Denver and afterward attended another private school, conducted by Abner Brown. He later became a student in the Colorado Seminary and subse- quently returned to his native state to continue his studies in Oberlin College. After his textbooks were put aside he again came to Denver and began reading law in the office and under the direction of Judge Samuel H. Elbert, while later his reading was directed by Daniel E. Park, of Leadville. In 1881 he was admitted to the bar and has since actively followed that profession, being now a well known member of the Colo- rado bar. He served at one time as county attorney of Pitkin county, for he practiced at Aspen, Colorado, from 1881 until 1896, when he came to Denver. His incumbency in the office of county attorney covered the years 1881 and 1882 and he was afterward district attorney for Pitkin county in 1885. He likewise served as city attorney of Aspen in 1890-1. Since locating in Denver he has continued in the general practice of law and has been accorded a good clientage.

On the 3rd of February, 1886, Mr. Bell was married to Miss Margaret E. McKnight, of Denver, a daughter of David S. and Nellie (Kricks) McKnight, of Pittsburgh, Penn- sylvania. Mr. Bell belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, becoming a charter member of Aspen Lodge, of which he is also a life member and was the first exalted ruler of that lodge. He stands for those things which are most worth while in community upbuilding, while in character development he has taken recog- nition of the principles which in every land and clime awaken confidence and respect.

BENJAMIN JULIAN BARRON.

Benjamin Julian Barron, widely known because of his extensive operations in the oil fields and also as a factor in financial circles in Denver, was born in New York city, April 21, 1876, a son of Michael and Jennie Barron. He acquired his education in the public schools of Boston, Massachusetts, and early became an oil operator. In young manhood he was a public accountant and mining operator in Arizona. He became a pioneer in the development of the oil shale industry in the United States and was president of the American Shale Refining Company, organized to treat shale by the continuous distillation process. This company has its property on Conn creek, in Garfield county, Colorado. Gradually extending his efforts and activities into various fields, Mr. Barron has steadily worked his way upward in connection with the develop- ment of the oil properties of the west and has thus contributed to general progress and prosperity as well as to individual success. He is now the president of the Boston-Wyoming Oil Company, the Northwestern Oil Company, the American Shale Refining Company, the Barron Securities Company, and president of several other oil companies. There is no question relative to oil development with which he is not familiar. He has studied the subject from the practical and scientific standpoint, readily recognizes the value of oil producing properties and districts and has so placed his investments as to win therefrom substantial success.

On the 10th of September, 1917, in Chicago, Illinois, Mr. Barron was married by Dr. Wishart of the Second Presbyterian church to Miss Mae Eugenia Toomey, a daugh- ter of Peter and Margaret Toomey, of Aspen, Colorado. Fraternally he is connected with Elks Lodge, No. 489, at Globe, Arizona. The major part of his time and attention is concentrated upon his business affairs and his close application, thorough study, keen discernment and unfaltering enterprise are salient features in his steady advancement.

RAY R. TAYLOR, M. D.

Dr. Ray R. Taylor, actively engaged in the practice of medicine in Pueblo, where he is also filling the position of county coroner, is a native son of the city in which he resides, his birth occurring on the 27th of July, 1889. His parents were Dr. C. F. and Nancy A. (Robinson) Taylor, whose family numbered four sons and one daughter,

HISTORY OF COLORADO

of whom Ray R. is the fourth in order of birth. The family was established in Colorado in pioneer times and throughout his entire life he has resided in the city which is now his home, and his record stands in contradistinction to the old adage that a prophet is never without honor save in his own country, for in the place of his birth Dr. Taylor has made for himself a most creditable position as a representative of professional interests.

He began his education in the public schools at the usual age and passed through consecutive grades to his graduation from district No. 1 high school at Pueblo. He next entered the University of Colorado and in 1911 he won the Bachelor of Arts degree, while in 1913, on the completion of a medical course, he was granted his professional degree. He next served for a year and a half as interne in the county hospital and in that connection gained broad practical experience. He at once entered upon his professional duties and has been very successful in their conduct. He has always kept in touch with the trend of progressive thought in relation to medical and surgical work, broad reading acquainting him with the latest scientific discoveries and researches. He does not hastily discard old and time-tried methods and yet quickly takes up any new idea which his judgment sanctions as of professional worth. In 1915 he was elected to the position of county coroner and in 1917 was reelected to that office, in which he is now serving for the second term.

On the 29th of December, 1916, Dr. Taylor was united in marriage to Miss Betty Lorraine, of Boulder, Colorado, and they have one child, Nancy. Dr. Taylor has always voted with the republican party and is a stanch advocate of its principles, believing that the party's platform contains the best elements of good government. He is identified with the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and along strictly professional lines his membership is with the County, Colorado State and the American Medical Associations. He is yet a young man but has already attained a position which many an older physician and surgeon might well envy and what he has accomplished in the past indicates that his future career will be well worth the watching.

JUDGE JOHN WESLEY HENRY.

No history of the third judicial district of Colorado would be complete without mention of John Wesley Henry, who was the first to occupy the bench of the district after the admission of Colorado into the Union. A native of Kentucky, he was born near the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln and in that locality was reared and acquired his early education. He was just emerging into manhood when he went to Duhuque, Iowa, attracted by the business interests which had sprung into existence with the development of the lead mines there. He afterward removed to St. Joseph, Missouri, where he took up the study of law and later engaged in practice for several years, while at the same time he was active as a local political factor. In the early '50s he became a resident of Kansas, at which period the state was in a condition of political turmoil and excitement. There he entered upon the practice of law and also became active as a supporter of democratic principles, but his peace-loving nature was at variance with the continuous trouble between the supporters of slavery and the free- soil people, and in 1859 with his family he left Kansas for Colorado, joining the caravan that was constantly proceeding across the plains toward the gold fields of Pike's Peak.

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History of Colorado; Volume II, Part 12

Author: Stone, Wilbur Fiske, 1833-1920, ed Publication date: 1918 Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke Number of Pages: 944

Author: Stone, Wilbur Fiske, 1833-1920, ed
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 944