History of Colorado; Volume II, Part 53

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

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Mr. Wyatt was married in Edwards county, Illinois, on the 3d of December, 1902, to Miss Edith Mae Dribblebiss, a native of Minnesota and a daughter of David and Elizabeth (Wilson) Dribblebiss, representatives of an old family of St. Charles, Minne- sota, and now residents of Albion, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt have become parents of two children but one died in infancy. The surviving son is J. Winston, who was born in Detroit, Michigan, August 4, 1910.

Mr. Wyatt is a republican in his political views. He belongs to the Masonic fra- ternity, having been made a Mason in Crookston Lodge, No. 141, A. F. & A. M., in 1890. He also became a member of Golden Link Lodge, No. 517, I. O. O. F., in Chicago, and in the former organization he has served as senior deacon, while in the Odd Fellows he has filled all of the offices and has taken all of the degrees up to the highest. He was financial secretary, was afterward elected vice grand and in 1891 became noble grand. He received the grand lodge degree at Duluth, June 7, 1892, was appointed grand marshal in June, 1898, and grand conductor in June, 1901. He belongs to the Denver Civic and Commercial Association, while his religious faith is that of the Christian Science church. From early boyhood he has displayed the strength of character which has brought him to his present position as a business man and as a citizen. He started out a poor boy with limited educational opportunities and no financial aid after leaving home. He completed his studies in a night school after working hard at his trade through the day, and the ambition which he thus displayed has brought him to a point of success that is most gratifying and commendable. Besides owning much of the stock of the Wyatt Texas & Wyoming Oil Company he owns a fine residence at No. 1041 Garfield street. He turns to rifle shooting and theatrical entertainments for diversion but rather prefers to spend his leisure at his home in the companionship of his wife and son.

JAMES M. ALLAM.

James M. Allam is now living retired in Windsor. Success in substantial measure has come to him as the result of his sound business judgment and judicious investment in farm properties in former years. He has also been identified with banking interests and whatever he has undertaken he has carried forward to successful completion owing to his industry, his determination and his straightforward methods. Never has he deviated from a course which he has believed to be right between himself and his fellowmen, and none question the integrity of his purpose. He has never made the attainment of wealth the end and aim of his life but has always recognized his duties and obligations in other directions and has put forth earnest effort to advance moral progress.

Mr. Allam is a native of England, his birth having occurred in Hampshire, Novem-

JAMES M. ALLAM

MRS. JAMES M. ALLAM

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ber 6, 1839, his parents being Alexander and Mary Allam, both of whom were natives of that country. He acquired his early education in the land of his hirth and there remained until May, 1881, when he bade adieu to friends and native country and sailed for the United States. After leaving school he began work on a farm for his father, but in ripe manhood, in 1881, he decided to try his fortune in the new world, the landlord having advanced his rent. He believed that he would have better opportunities in the United States and accordingly severed home ties. He landed at New York city and thence made his way direct to Denver, where he took out his naturalization papers. He advertised for a farm near to the city and eventually purchased four hundred and twenty acres of land at a place called Living Springs. He afterward traded that property for four hundred and eighty acres of excellent land a mile from the city limits of Windsor, in Weld county. He took up his abode thereon in 1884 and eventually purchased three hundred and twenty acres adjoining it. He thus became one of the extensive land- owners of the community. He also has eight hundred acres of land in Texas. He has heen very successful in placing his investments, his property interests steadily increas- ing in value, and his holdings have thus brought to him a very substantial income.

In 1877 Mr. Allam was united in marriage to Miss Henrietta Andrews, who was born in Hampshire, England, and they became parents of six children, Emma, Margaret, Effie, Ada, Percy and Dora. The wife and mother passed away in May, 1912, and was laid to rest in the Windsor cemetery. The son Percy is now in Texas, looking after his father's landed interests in that state.

Mr. Allam has also been interested in the Farmers State Bank of Windsor and has acted as its president since its organization. Fraternally he is a Mason, loyal to the teachings and purposes of the craft. His political support is given to the republi- can party, of which he became a stanch advocate on attaining the right of franchise. He is much interested in church work as a member of the Baptist denomination and he built upon his land in Texas a house of worship and provided a minister for the pulpit, paying his salary. Mr. Allam is greatly respected in Windsor and is a familiar figure on the streets of that town. He is liked by everybody and all who know him speak of him in terms of the warmest regard.

GEORGE M. WRIGHT, M. D.

With thorough training in several of the leading medical colleges of the country and with broad experience in practice in various cities, Dr. George M. Wright is now recog- nized as one of the eminent physicians and surgeons of Denver. where he is specializing on the treatment of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. Moreover, he has been a frequent and valuable contributor to leading medical journals and he has done much to bring to light principles of health which hitherto have puzzled the profession. In a word. his contribution to professional practice has been most valuable and his colleagues speak of him in terms of high admiration and praise.

Dr. Wright was born in Galesville, Wisconsin, December 1. 1870, a son of William S. Wright, who was a native of Canada and in turn a son of Mike Wright, who was the founder of the American branch of the family and who with two brothers crossed the Atlantic to Canada during the early part of the nineteenth century, becoming a pros- perous and wealthy lumherman of that country. His son, William S. Wright, took up the work of the ministry as a preacher of the Methodist faith and devoted his entire life to that calling, becoming a distinguished clergyman. He was self-educated in Latin, Greek and other languages and through. his individual efforts became a man of broad, scholarly attainments. He was long associated with the Methodist Conference and did excellent work in upbuilding his denomination. He married Eva Hegeman, a native of Hagaman, New York, and a descendant of one of the old pioneer families of the Empire state, her father being a prominent manufacturer of Hagaman, which place was named in honor of the family.

Dr. Wright acquired his primary education in the schools of his native town and afterward attended the Dakota State College. He took up the study of medicine in the University of Michigan, which he attended in that connection for a year, and later entered Rush Medical College of Chicago, while subsequently he was graduated from the Kentucky School of Medicine. Immediately afterward he entered upon the practice of his chosen profession in Oshkosh, Wisconsin; where he remained for two years and then removed to Amberg, Wisconsin, where he was chief surgeon in the Granite Hospital for three years. On the expiration of that period he formed a partnership with his brother, Dr. C. D. A. Wright, with whom he was associated in the practice of medicine

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in Minneapolis until May, 1908. During that period the Wright brothers were recog- nized as the leading eye. ear, nose and throat specialists of that section. The partner- ship was dissolved when Dr. George M. Wright removed to Denver, where he has since been in continuous, active and successful practice, devoting his time to his specialty, with a very large practice that indicates him to be one of the leading oculists, aurists, rhinologists and laryngologists of the country. He is a most discriminating student and his broad reading, investigation and scientific research have kept him in touch with the most advanced thought and work of the profession. Some of his articles have been translated into five different languages, so that his work and his fame have spread beyond the confines of his native country, making his name known in other lands as well. Dr. Wright prepared for his specialty by comprehensive study in Vienna, Berlin and London in 1907 and 1908 and after coming to Denver was in charge of the eye, ear, nose and throat department of the Craig colony. His private practice, too, is very extensive. He has been made an honorary life member of the American Society of Ortho- dontists and is connected with other scientific bodies which have to do with the dissem- ination of professional knowledge.

In politics Dr. Wright maintain an independent course and fraternally he is a Mason, belonging to Winneconne Lodge, No. 121, A. F. & A. M., of Winneconne, Wisconsin, and to the Knights of Pythias Lodge at Winneconne, Wisconsin, of which he was the first commander. His son is now overseas in service in France. Dr. Wright is recognized as a man of the broadest scientific attainments, holding to the highest professional ideals, whose work has been a stimulus and an inspiration to others in the profession.

HON. FRED W. STOVER.

Hon. Fred W. Stover, who was elected mayor of Fort Collins on the 2d of April, 1918, and is now directing the affairs of the municipality, is also well known as an able attorney at law. He was born September 25, 1878, in the city where he still resides, his father being William C. Stover, a Larimer county pioneer, who was a member of the constitutional convention of Colorado and took active part in framing the funda- mental law of the state.

Spending his youthful days under the parental roof, Fred W. Stover acquired his early education in the public schools of Fort Collins and later became a student in the University of Denver, while his preparation for the bar was made as a student in the Denver Law School. He was admitted to practice in 1904 and entered upon the active work of his profession in his native city. No dreary novitiate awaited him. He soon gave demonstration of his power to handle important and involved litigated problems and his practice steadily grew. In November, 1907, he was appointed to fill out the unexpired term of Judge C. V. Benson, judge of the county court of Larimer county, and in November, 1908, was elected by popular suffrage to a full term and by reelection was continued on the bench from 1907 until 1917, making a most creditable record as a fair and impartial jurist and one whose efforts greatly furthered the ends of justice. He retired from the bench with a most creditable record of faithful and honorable service and entered into partnership with Fred W. Stow, while later they were joined by Herman W. Seaman, who, however, has now left for the front in defense of world democracy, although the firm style of Stow, Stover & Seaman is still retained. The firm has always enjoyed a large clientage, connecting them with the most important litigation tried in the courts of the district. Judge Stover possesses naturally an analytical mind, logical and inductive in its trend. His analysis has ever been most clear, his reasoning sound and his logic indisputable, and he has therefore long occupied a position among the eminent representatives of the Larimer county bar. In the spring of 1918 he was nominated and elected with opposition to the office of mayor of Fort Collins and won the election by a good majority, so that he is now the city's chief executive. In his administration he closely studies the public needs, brings to bear practical solution for municipal problems and at the same time looks to the attainment of high ideals in civic life. He has been appointed food administrator of Larimer county and discharges his duties effectively and justly, giving much of his time to the problems of food conservation and distribution.

On the 28th of December, 1904, in Sterling, Colorado, Judge Stover was married to Miss Lucille Timberlake and they have become parents of a daughter, Sarah Margaret. The family occupy an enviable social position and Judge Stover is a valued member of the Fort Collins Country Club, the Denver Motor Club and two Greek letter fraterni- ties-the Beta Theta Pi and the Phi Delta Phi. Along the strict path of his profession

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his connection is with the Larimer County Bar Association, the Colorado State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. He is a man whose entire life has been actuated by high ideals and honorable purposes and he never stops short of the suc- cessful accomplishment of his well thought-out plans.

G. W. BENKELMAN.

G. W. Benkelman, well known in mining circles and as a capitalist and property owner of Denver, was born near Morrison, on Turkey creek, Colorado, September 23, 1862, his parents being John G. and Christina (Rommel) Benkelman, who were natives of Europe and came to America before their marriage, becoming acquainted in New York state, and they were married in Buffalo. They settled in Colorado in July. 1862, and the father entered the live stock business, in which he prospered, soon becoming one of the leading cattle men of the state. During the later years of his life he lived retired and his last days were spent in Denver, where his wife also passed away.

G. W. Benkelman was the eldest in their family of four children. In his boyhood days he attended the public schools of Denver and subsequently pursued a course in a business college. Following his graduation from that institution he turned his attention to the live stock industry and later became interested in the Colorado Packing Company, of which he was secretary for about fifteen years, his father having been one of the organ- izers of this company. His business affairs have always been wisely. carefully and sys- tematically conducted and for twenty years he was successfully and profitably connected with the vast industry controlled by the Colorado Packing and Provision Company. He was also one of the organizers of the Merchants Biscuit Company of Denver, another important commercial concern of the city. As the years have passed on he has made extensive and judicious investments in mining properties and is the lessor of valuable mines at Victor, Colorado, which he operates on an extensive scale. For many years Mr. Benkelman has owned a quarter of a block of ground at Eighteenth and Stout streets in Denver and is now erecting a large and handsome office and store building on that land which will greatly enhance the value not only of his own property but of other property in the immediate vicinity. The building when completed will be four stories in height, the first floor being reserved for stores and the upper floors for offices. Mr. Benkelman is a man of keen business discernment, seldom, if ever. at fault in matters of judgment, and his enterprise and energy have carried him into most important re- lations.

He is well known in fraternal and club circles, belonging to the Denver Athletic Club, the Woodmen of the World, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. His political allegiance is given to the republican party, which finds in him a stalwart champion.

WILLIAM C. TITLEY.

William C. Titley, division plant superintendent of the Western Union Telegraplı Company, was born in Chicago, Illinois, on the 6th of October, 1877, a son of William and Christine (Hetland) Titley. The father was a native of England and came to the United States in 1848, at which time he made his way direct to Chicago, where his remaining days were passed. He continued a resident of that city for almost a half century, his death occurring in 1897. His wife, who was born in Iowa, has also departed this life.

William C. Titley, reared in Chicago. attended its public schools and the manual training high school, from which he was graduated with the class of 1894. He then entered the employ of the Chicago Telephone Company in a minor position and by merit and ability steadily worked his way upward, continuing with that corporation until May, 1898, when he went to Alaska, where he remained until 1901. He was there engaged in railway surveying and prospecting. After three years spent in the north- west he returned to the States and once more entered the employ of the Chicago Tele- phone Company in connection with the installation department. He was advanced to the position of foreman and eventually became assistant to the chief draftsman. In 1904 he was appointed assistant general foreman of the construction division and in 1905 he was made general foreman. In 1906 he was given charge of the construction work and made assistant to the superintendent of construction for the city of Chicago.

G. W. BENKELMAN

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The year 1907 witnessed his promotion to the position of assistant construction engineer and from 1908 until 1910 he served as plant engineer. In October of the latter year he became connected with the Western Union Telegraph Company as district plant superin- tendent in Chicago, having charge of the plants of the corporation in Illinois, Iowa and southern Wisconsin. In July, 1911, he was made superintendent of the plant for the Mountain division, this division covering eight states. His position, therefore, is a most important and responsible one and his advancement has come as the direct result of splendidly developed powers and the wise utilization of the opportunities which have been his as the years have passed.

In 1902 Mr. Titley was united in marriage to Miss Olga Blegen, of Chicago, and they have become the parents of two sons and a daughter: William John, thirteen years of age, now a junior in the high school; Dorothy, aged ten; and Thomas G., a little lad of four summers.

Mr. Titley of this review has largely played the part of father to his brothers and sisters, for he was the second in order of birth in a family of ten children. He belongs to the Motor Club and to D. C. Cregier Lodge, No. 643, A. F. & A. M., in Chicago. Prac- tically his entire life has been devoted to telephone and telegraph interests and step by step he has advanced, winning his success through merit and ability until today he stands as one of the foremost representatives of the most important corporation of this kind in America.

ATWATER LINCOLN DOUGLASS, M. D.

Dr. Atwater Lincoln Douglass, engaged in medical and surgical practice in Denver, was born in Bar Harbor, Maine, on the 14th of April, 1869, and is of Scotch descent. His grandfather, William Douglass, was a native of Scotland and the founder of the American branch of the family. He came to the new world when twenty-five years of age, in 1804, studied for the ministry and throughout the greater part of his life resided at Bar Harbor, Maine. He engaged in preaching as one of the clergymen of the Methodist church and he lived to the advanced age of ninety-six years, passing away in 1875 .. His son, John H. Douglass, was born in Maine and was reared and educated at Bar Harbor. At the age of fifteen he entered upon a seafaring life and was thus engaged until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted in the Eighteenth Maine Volunteer Infantry. Later he was selected for duty with Company C of the First Maine Heavy Artillery and was wounded at the battle of Cold Harbor, being shot in the shoulder and arm. He was then sent to Washington, D. C., and upon his recovery he served with the Home Guard at that point. After the close of the war he entered the hotel business at Bar Harbor, being one of the early hotel proprietors of that place. His first hotel was destroyed by fire, after which he built and conducted the Atlantic House, which is today known as the Louisburg. He continued his residence in Bar Harbor until 1906, when he married a second time and removed to Colorado, settling in Longmont. He was a stanch republican in politics and was very active as a supporter of the party in Maine and also took a helpful interest in civic affairs. He married Margaret Higgins, who was of Scotch-Irish descent and also of Spanish extraction, representatives of the Higgins family having removed from Spain to Ireland during the historic vanquishment of the Spanish Armada. Mrs. Douglass was a daughter of Stephen Higgins, a native of Maine and a descendant of the first of that family who came from Connecticut. Slie died in Bar Harbor, Maine, in 1887, at the age of forty-two years. By her marriage she had become the mother of ten children, of whom four died in infancy. Two daughters have recently passed away, while four sons are yet living. The father died January 1. 1917. at the age of seventy-seven years, his birth having occurred in 1840.

Dr. Douglass of this review was the fourth in order of birth in his father's family. He acquired his early education in the public schools of Bar Harbor, Maine, passing through consecutive grades to the high school, and later he entered the East Maine Con- ference Seminary at Bucksport. Maine, where he pursued a preparatory course. He studied for the medical profession in Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia, where he won his M. D. degree in 1895. He then entered upon active practice as the successor of his former preceptor, Dr. C. C. Morrison, of Bar Harbor, Maine, who at that time went abroad, spending a year in study in Germany. On Dr. Morrison's return Dr. Doug- lass removed to Ellsworth, Maine, where he successfully practiced for two years and then took up his abode at Kennebunk, Maine, where he remained in practice until Feb- ruary, 1905, when he took special work in rectal diseases with the late Dr. T. Lewis Adams,

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a renowned specialist of Philadelphia, with whom he continued for about a year. At the end of that time Dr. Douglass opened an office in Portland, Maine, specializing in that branch of practice there until the latter part of 1907, when on account of illness in the family he removed to Longmont, Colorado, where he took up general practice of medicine and surgery, as the population of the place was not sufficient to enable him to continue in the line of his specialty. In March, 1913, however, he removed to Denver, where he has since practiced and now has a large patronage extending to many states. He has had patients from Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming, Texas and other sections of the country. He is now confining his attention exclusively to rectal diseases and in that branch of the profession is widely known, his marked skill being recognized by colleagues and contemporaries as well as by the general public. His life record is indeed an inter- esting one. He worked his way through the university and the first money which he earned-five hundred and fifty dollars-was secured in the logging camps of Maine and was spent for his tuition as well as for his entire personal expense for seven months. The money necessary for the remaining two years of his course was earned in various other ways. The determination with which he pursued his studies indicated the elemental strength of his character and enabled him to overcome all difficulties and obstacles in his path until, advancing step by step, he was able to complete his course and through the intervening period his record has been one of steady progress, bringing him to a position of distinction as a specialist in medical practice in Denver.

On the 21st of December, 1900, Dr. Douglass was married to Miss Elizabeth Smith, a native of Kennebunk. Maine, and a daughter of Robert and Clara (Hardy) Smith, both of whom have passed away. They were members of old and prominent families of that state. Dr. and Mrs. Douglass have two children: Donald Hardy, born October 5, 1901, in Kennebunk; and Margaret Morrison, born on the 3d of November, 1904.

Dr. Douglass belongs to Henry M. Teller Lodge, No. 144, A. F. & A. M., of which he was one of the organizers, and he is a past high priest of Murray Chapter, R. A. M., of Kennebunk, Maine, and past commander of St. Amand Commandery, K. T., of Kennebunk. He is now affiliated with Ascalon Commandery, K. T .. of Denver, and he is also a member of Maine Council, No. 71, R. & S. M., of Saco, Maine, and of Maine Consistory, No. 1, S. P. R. S. He was formerly identified with Korah Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Lewis- ton, Maine, but demitted to El Jebel Temple at Denver. When he left the Pine Tree state he was deputy sovereign of Maine Conclave No. 1 of the Red Cross of Constantine. He also belongs to Denver Lodge, No. 17, B. P. O. E. He is not interested in clubs and and in fact prefers to devote his leisure hours to his home, where his interest centers. His religious faith is that of the Unitarian church. In politics he is a republican where national questions are involved but at local elections casts an independent ballot. Along strictly professional lines he has membership with the Colorado State Medical Society and the Denver City & County Medical Society. He is a frequent contributor to medical journals and his articles are widely read, the profession recognizing the fact that he speaks with authority upon the subjects of which he treats. He is very active in Boy Scout work and in the Red Cross and is now a teacher of first aid work in con- nection with the latter. He has ever stood for those things which are progressive and valuable in citizenship and particularly at this critical hour of the country's history he is putting forth every effort to uphold high national standards and service, doing everything in his power to promote not only American interests but the great cause for which the allied nations are striving.

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History of Colorado; Volume II, Part 53

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