History of Colorado; Volume II, Part 4

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

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At every turn in the preachment of the scientific principles of his profession to the commercial mind, in the writing of a book and the establishment of schools to teach these principles, and in his successful efforts for the passage of the certified public accountants' law in Colorado, lie some of his many contributions to the history of

HON. JOHN B. GEIJSBEEK MOLENAAR

HISTORY OF COLORADO

Colorado. At this time he was secretary of the first examining board of the state and subsequently continued his educational labors along that line as the founder and later, for five years, as dean of the School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance of the University of Denver, and as instructor in practical and theoretical accountancy. This school was the third one to be established in the United States. His untiring efforts were further recognized when five successive times he was chosen chairman of the educational committee of the American Association of Public Accountants.

During all this period he has been confronted by a dearth of practical exemplifi- cation, historical or otherwise, of the true foundation of what in modern times might be called the art of accountancy. This led him to publish his standard work. In this treatise he has welded into a well balanced whole the ancient and the modern plans of commercial education resulting in a work wherein so many public accountants find the fundamental principles from which to develop their professional ability. In promoting the science of accountancy Mr. Geijsbeek may be said to have reached an enviable goal, for he has succeeded in creating something a direct necessity to the profession.

The work is dedicated as follows: "To my wife, Marie Lillie Schmidt whose initials (M. L. S.) I have always loved to connect with My Little Sweetheart, without whose patience, kindness, help and indulgence my contributions to the educational field of the professional accountant would not have been possible."

On October 15, 1901, Mr. Geijsbeek was married in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Miss Marie Lillie Schmidt, a native of that city, and a daughter of Harry W. and the late Marie Lizette Albes Schmidt. Her mother was of French and Spanish descent. Both Mr. and Mrs. Geijsbeek are known in social circles in Denver where he has made his home since 1899.

He is connected with the Phi Delta Phi college fraternity and with Alpha Kappa Psi. He is prominent in club circles, belonging among others to the Denver Country Club and the Denver Civic and Commercial Club. He is a Christian Scientist, and during 1917 served as director of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, being deeply interested in the work of the church and doing everything in his power to increase its prestige. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Since taking out his naturalization papers in Covington, Kentucky, September 28, 1898, Mr. Geijsbeek has made American interests his own, loyally supporting beneficial policies. He has traveled extensively in the United States and has come to love this wide land with its many peoples standing united for the same principles of democracy and liberty. The great success that has come to Mr. Geijsbeek can be ascribed to his natural ability, to his inherent qualities as an educator, to his unfaltering efforts and to his generally high conception of the duties of man.

In 1917 there came to him a great honor-unsolicited and reluctantly accepted- The Royal Government of The Netherlands, in conjunction with President Woodrow Wilson, appointed him to the position of Consul. To his many occupations he at once added the duties of this office and faithfully discharges his official obligations to the satisfaction of both governments, and of his former as well as his present countrymen but he asserts that the most difficult task he has ever encountered is that of being forced to remain neutral.

The old Dutch family name, Geijsbeek Molenaar, has heen abbreviated by Consul Geijsbeek to this form and under this name he is known to the professional and com- mercial world of this city and state. Great honors have come to him but it is only fair to say that they are well merited-that they have been bestowed upon one who is worthy and who carries them with justifiable dignity.

HUGO S. MANN.

Hugo S. Mann is president of the Mann-Aldrich Carriage Company, conducting business at No. 1300 Lincoln street in Denver. This business was established in October, 1910, and through the intervening period of eight years has steadily grown in volume and importance owing to the careful direction, business sagacity and unfail- ing enterprise of its president. Mr. Mann comes to the west from Massachusetts. He was born at Shelburne Falls, that state, on the 15th day of July, 1863, a son of the late Hugo Mann, who was a native of Germany and came to America in 1848, at which time he took up his abode at Shelburne Falls, where he resided until called to

HISTORY OF COLORADO

his final rest in 1900, when he was seventy-one years of age. He was a cutler by trade and followed that business throughout his entire life. In politics he became an earnest republican, was active in political and civic matters and for one term represented his district in the state legislature. He married Elizabeth Scheding, a native of Germany, who came to America with her parents about 1848 and also became a resident of Shel- hurne Falls, Massachusetts, where she was married and still resides. She became the mother of seven children, six sons and a daughter.

Hugo S. Mann, whose name introduces this review, was educated in the public schools of his native city and started out to earn his own livelihood when a youth of seventeen years. On leaving home he made his way westward to Colorado, and came to Greeley, following various pursuits, including that of riding the range in both Colorado and Wyoming. In 1883 he took up his abode in Denver and entered upon an apprenticeship to the Robertson-Doll Carriage Company. There he learned the carriage painting trade, which business he followed for eighteen years, after which he became a member of the firm and continued active in the management of the business until it was sold in 1910. In that year the Mann-Aldrich Carriage Company was organ- ized and business established. The company was incorporated in October to engage in the manufacture of automobile bodies and tops. The firm is one of the largest of the kind operating in the state at the present time, specializing in the bodies of pleasure motor cars. The company employs on an average of thirty-three workmen and while the business is largely local, the trade also extends to neighboring states. The business was established at Acoma and at Colfax and began in a small way with eight workmen. In 1912 the firm erected the present building, which was put up especially for the purpose for which it is being used. It is a three-story hrick structure, one hundred by one hundred and twenty feet, modern in every way and thoroughly equipped in every detail. They occupy two-thirds of the building with the business and from the very beginning the growth of the trade has been most gratifying and satisfactory. As the directing head of the enterprise Mr. Mann displays marked bus- iness ability and energy, allowing no obstacles nor difficulties to bar his path if they can be overcome by persistent and earnest effort.

On the 3d of November, 1891, Mr. Mann was married in Denver, Colorado, to Miss Florence G. Higgins, a native of New York city and a daughter of George H. and Helen (Tilton) Higgins, representatives of an old family of New York city. Mr. Higgins was a well known carpet manufacturer there. To Mr. and Mrs. Mann has been born a son, George H., whose birth occurred in Denver, July 5, 1894, and who is now with the Lord Strathcona Horse (R. C.).

Mr. Mann's military experience covers six years' service as a member of the Colorado Light Artillery. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias, while his religious faith is that of the Baptist church. His is a notably successful career and one which should inspire and encourage others, for when he arrived in Cheyenne, Wyoming, he had but thirty-five cents in his pocket. His financial condition rendered it imperative that he secure immediate employment and his industry and capability after he had secured a position brought him promotion until eventually his experience, his industry and economy enabled him to engage in business for himself. He is today at the head of an important industrial interest of Denver and is classed with the representative business men of the city.

ANSEL WATROUS.

Ansel Watrous, editor of the Fort Collins Express, of which the McCormick Brothers are proprietors, was born in Conklin, Broome county, New York, November 1, 1835, a son of Orrin J. and Jane E. (Smith) Watrous. The father was the eldest son of Ansel and Demis (Luce) Watrous and was born June 18, 1815, in Schoharie county, New York. He was but five years of age when his parents removed to Bridge- water, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, where he was partially educated, completing his studies, however, in Montrose Academy. When seventeen years of age he was apprenticed to the printer's trade in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, there gaining a good practical working knowledge of the business. On the 16th of July, 1834, he married Jane Smith, who was born September 15, 1814. in the town of Franklin. Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Roswell Smith, who was a native of Hartford, Connecticut, and a descendant of one of the old colonial families. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Orrin J. Watrous, Ansel, Henry O., Jerome A., Demis L., Eliza

HISTORY OF COLORADO

J. and Kate M. In 1844 the father removed with his family from the Empire state to Wisconsin, arriving at Sheboygan Falls on the 16th of September. There he resided until 1848, when he removed to Brothertown, Calumet county, Wisconsin, where he conducted a hotel and stage station for a year. In 1849 he took up his abode in Charlestown, Wisconsin, and began the erection of a sawmill on the Manitowoc river. While on a trip to Sheboygan, thirty miles distant, to get a load of mill machinery he was stricken with cholera and passed away on the 10th of September, 1850. His family afterward returned to Broome county, New York.

It was after this that Ansel Watrous whose name introduces this review was apprenticed to his father's cousin in Brooklyn, Pennsylvania, to learn the carpenter's trade. He remained in the east until 1855, when he returned to his former home in Wisconsin. Feeling the need of a companion and helpmate on life's journey, he was married December 25, 1856, to Miss Florelle Thompson, who was born July 27, 1831, in Stockton, New York, a daughter of Rufus and Susan (Schofield) Thompson.

In November, 1860. Mr. Watrous was elected sheriff of Calumet county, Wisconsin, on the same ticket that was headed by the name of Abraham Lincoln, candidate for the presidency. Mr. Watrous was elected and occupied the office for two years. In the fall of 1863 he was again chosen hy popular suffrage to a position of public trust, being elected county clerk to fill a vacancy. He made so excellent a record that in 1864 he was reelected for a full term and served for three years in that office. On his retirement from the position he took up contracting and building, in which he engaged until December 26, 1877, when he started for Colorado, arriving at Fort Collins on the 30th of that month. There he was employed as a salesman in the store of W. C. Stovers until June, 1878, when in company with Elmer E. Pelton, he founded the Fort Collins Courier. He remained as its editor for some time and retained his interest in the paper until February, 1916, when he became editor of the Fort Collins Morning Express, the oldest paper in Larimer county, which position he still fills, and is one of the well known representatives of the newspaper fraternity of the state.

On various occasions Mr. Watrous has been called upon for public office. In 1885 President Cleveland appointed him postmaster of Fort Collins and he occupied the position until June, 1889. He was twice an unsuccessful candidate on the demo- cratic ticket for the position of auditor of state, being made the candidate for the office in 1882 and again in 1884, but on both occasions went down to defeat with the entire party ticket. There are few men better informed concerning the history of his section of the state and in large measure of Colorado and he is the author of a work entitled, "History of Larimer County." He has ever been deeply interested in all that pertains to the welfare and progress of community and commonwealth and has supported all measures and interests which are a matter of civic virtue and of civic pride. Fraternally he is well known as a Mason, holding membership in lodge, chapter and commandery, while his life has been a thorough exemplification of the splendid teachings of the craft, which are based upon a recognition of the brotherhood of mankind and the obligations thereby imposed.

JOSEPH ADDISON THATCHER.

Joseph Addison Thatcher, who passed away October 25, 1918, was chairman of the board of directors of the Denver National Bank and one of the earliest representatives of banking interests in Colorado, ranking with those whose activities have contributed in most substantial measure to the upbuilding and development of the state. Honored and respected by all, there was no man who occupied a more enviable position in business and financial circles, not alone by reason of the success he achieved hut also owing to the straightforward, honorable business policy which he ever followed. Although in his eightieth year, he was active as a factor in the world's work up to the time of his death. He was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, on the 31st of July, 1838. He came of English ancestry, his grandfather having been John P. Thatcher, a native of England, who in the early part of the eighteenth century settled in Virginia. His father, John Pemberton Thatcher, was born in 1789 and served as a soldier in the War of 1812. He married Patsy Hickman, of Frankfort, Kentucky, the daughter of W. H. and Patsy Hickman, representatives of an old Cavalier family prominent in Virginia during colonial days, the ancestral home being established in Spottsylvania county, Virginia. Early in the nineteenth century John Pemberton Thatcher, then a young man, crossed the Blue Ridge

JOSEPH A. THATCHER

HISTORY OF COLORADO

mountains to become a resident of Kentucky, and it was subsequent to that time that he married.

Joseph Addison Thatcher acquired his preliminary education in the country schools of Shelby county, Kentucky, and afterward pursued a course in commercial law, banking and bookkeeping in Jones Commercial College of St. Louis, Missouri. In 1849 his parents removed with their family to that state, settling at Independence, where Joseph A. Thatcher afterward accepted a clerkship in the store of his uncle, there remaining for two years. Iu 1858 he was elected assistant secretary of the state senate of Missouri. He was twenty-two years of age when in 1860 he removed westward to Colorado, establishing his home in Central City. Five years later, or in 1865, he was married in Central City to Miss Frances Kintley, of St. Louis.

With his removal to Colorado, Mr. Thatcher turned his attention to commercial pursuits and found that his former experience in his uncle's store now proved of great worth to him in the conduct of his independent mercantile venture. He also became identified with mining while a resident of Central City, but in 1863 made his initial step in the field of banking through accepting the appointment of cashier and manager of the banking house of Warren Hussey & Company, in which connection he conducted the business until 1870. He then purchased the bank and in connection with Mr. Standley, a successful gold miner, established the firm of Thatcher, Standley & Company, Mr. Thatcher becoming president, while Frank C. Young was chosen cashier. On the 1st of January, 1874, the bank was converted into the First National Bank of Central City, Mr. Thatcher becoming president, with Otto Sauer as the vice president. Success attended the new organization and under Mr. Thatcher's competent direction the bank became a strong moneyed institution of that section of the state. He resigned the presidency in 1882 and removed to Denver, where he has since made his home. He at that time retired from active business and he spent the greater part of the years 1883 and 1884 in travel through Great Britain and on the continent of Europe. But indolence and idleness were utterly foreign to his nature and with his return to his native land he again became an active factor in business circles, organizing in December, 1884, the Denver National Bank, of which he was chosen president. The consensus of opinion on the part of the banking fraternity of Denver is that Mr. Thatcher was a man of fine physique and agreeable personality, with an air of refinement which seemed reminiscent of his southern ancestors. As a banker he was a man of sound common sense, quick perceptions and good executive ability. He was a very positive man and had the remarkable grasp of business affairs which is so essential to safe banking. When obliged to refuse credit, his frankness in giving his reasons retained the friendship and goodwill of the customer. He was public spirited and always interested in the move- ments and social life of his city and state. He was very charitable but his giving was always in a quiet and unostentatious way. The Denver National Bank as it exists today is largely a monument to the enterprise, foresight and business ability of Mr. Thatcher, who remained chairman of its board of directors until his death.

Important and extensive as were his business connections, Mr. Thatcher never allowed the accumulation of wealth to monopolize his time and attention to the exclusion of other interests which make for a well-rounded development and for public progress. He was well known as a discriminating critic and a devotee of both art and music and he ever greatly enjoyed travel. He published a volume entitled "A Colorado Outing," which is of much interest to those who have visited the state. He was a generous con- tributor to musical organizations of Denver and was a patron of all those interests and activities which are of cultural value to the city or which led to its substantial improve- ment and upbuilding. His life was indeed of great worth and although he passed his eightieth milestone, in spirit and interests he seemed yet in his prime, retaining an active interest in all that had to do with Denver's welfare and improvement and with national progress and advancement.

JAMES DALRYMPLE.

James Dalrymple occupies the responsible position of state coal mine inspector, a position the importance of which can scarcely be overestimated in this state, where coal mining constitutes one of the chief sources of wealth and of business, activity. Mr. Dalrymple is a native of Scotland, born on the 13th of July, 1863, his parents being James and Agnes (Patton) Dalrymple, who were likewise natives of the land of hills

HISTORY OF COLORADO

and heather, where they spent their entire lives, the father devoting his attention to coal mining. They had a family of twelve children.

James Dalrymple acquired his education in the public schools of Scotland but at the age of twelve years went into the mines and gained practical experience which has been of great benefit to him in his present position. He came to the United States in 1881, landing at New York, after which he spent four years in coal mining in Pittsburgh. He was then attracted to the west with its possibilities for mining and made his way to Canon City, Colorado, where he engaged in coal mining. He was identified with all branches of activity having to do with coal products in various counties of the state, working his way steadily upward from the humble position of a mine worker to that of superintendent. He came to Denver as deputy state mine inspector in September, 1909, and in November, 1910, was appointed by the governor as mine inspector. He has been made chairman of the examining board of state mine officials and is considered the leading expert in his line in Colorado. He was appointed to his present responsible position after competitive examination, which gave him the highest standing among twelve.

In October, 1883, Mr. Dalrymple was united in marriage to Miss Mary Hudson, a native of England, although their marriage was celebrated in Pennsylvania. To them have been born five children. James, twenty-nine years of age, who has charge of the rescue car of the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company and lives in Trinidad, is married and has two children. George A., twenty-seven years of age, is engaged in the coal business in Crosby, Wyoming. Henry D., a young man of nineteen years, is a graduate of the Denver high school. Robert, seventeen years of age, is a pupil in the Denver high school. Mary Agnes, aged fifteen, is also pursuing her education.

Mr. Dalrymple turns to fishing as his recreation but allows nothing to interfere with the faithful performance of his duties, for which he is splendidly qualified by reason of his long practical experience in the mines, working his way steadily upward from a most humble position and acquainting himself with every phase of mine work and methods of operation. He is thus splendidly qualified for mine inspection and his opinions along this line are accepted as authority throughout the entire state. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to come to America, where he arrived when a youth of eighteen years, for in this land he has found the opportunities which he sought and in their utilization has won a substantial measure of success.

JOSEPH WALTER LEE.

Joseph Walter Lee, chief probation officer of Weld county and a resident of Greeley, was born in Passaic, New Jersey, April 30, 1880, a son of Thomas and Mary (Morris) Lee, who were natives of Manchester, England. The father came to America in 1860 and after crossing the broad Atlantic took up his abode in Passaic, New Jersey, where he was living at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war. With patriotic loyalty to his adopted country he enlisted for active service as a member of a New Jersey cavalry troop and served for four years in defense of the Union, or until the close of the war. He then returned to Passaic, New Jersey, and afterward sailed the seas, while subsequently he removed to Michigan of which state he became one of the pioneers. He later came to Colorado, where he remained for four years, but in 1908 returned to Passaic, New Jersey, where he still makes his home, but is now living retired from active business. He has reached the age of eighty-three years, while his wife is eighty-two years of age.

Joseph Walter Lee was reared and educated in Passaic, New Jersey, and in New York city. He won his Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of the City of New York and then took up the profession of teaching in the west. He came to Colorado in December, 1903, and has since made his home in this state. Here he followed teaching for fifteen years and proved a most capable educator, imparting readily and clearly to others the knowledge which he had acquired. In June, 1917, he was appointed chief probation officer of Weld county and has occupied that position continuously since, doing excellent work in enforcing attendance at the schools. In this he uses persuasion and argument, as well as the law which is on his side, and he puts forth every possible effort to maintain the highest educational standards. He has also been identified with other business interests. While at Hotchkiss, Colorado, he built and became general manager of the Hotchkiss evaporator, electric light plant and canning factory, which he operated from 1905 until 1909. He is a man of determined purpose, carrying forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes. He is now making a thorough survey of Weld county by instruction of the county court.

HISTORY OF COLORADO

In religious faith Mr. Lee is an Episcopalian. Politically he maintains an inde- pendent course. Fraternally he is well known, having membership with the Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He stands for all that he believes will prove an element in the uplift of the individual and the better- ment of the community at large and is a wide-awake, progressive man whose efforts in behalf of educational progress have been far-reaching and effective.

HON. ELIAS MILTON AMMONS.

Hon. Elias Milton Ammons. president of the Farmers Life Insurance Company of Denver, ex-governor of Colorado, as well as one of the state's most conspicuous figures in public and private life, has had an identification with Colorado's growth and develop- ment that renders highly eligible for a work of this character a partial review of his career of nearly fifty years within the confines of the state.

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History of Colorado; Volume II, Part 4

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