History of Colorado; Volume II, Part 6

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

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The biennial message delivered to the assembly at the close of the administration

HISTORY OF COLORADO

was a document that commanded unusual interest. At the close of its reading by Rep- resentative Fincher, there was such a demonstration of approval as has never been wit- nessed in the history of the state on such an occasion. A short time later, on an inci- dental visit to the house, a recess was taken and an enthusiastic reception given to the former governor; an incident that has never occurred at any other time in the state's history.

In matters of legislation and public policy Governor Ammons has always been a progressive but never a radical one. He has maintained a wide acquaintance with the leading men of the state for nearly a half century. He has known personally every governor of Colorado and all but two of the territorial governors. His acquaintance has not only included the big men but the great rank and file as well. His political interest is that of a good citizen and his activities along those lines have not been for private gain. For many years he was a member of the Denver Civic and Commercial Associa- tion and in 1917 and 1918 was a director and head of the agriculture and live stock bureau. He is a member of the Democratic Club, the Denver Athletic Club, the Lions Club and the Sons of Colorado, and has served as president of this organization. His most striking personal characteristics are his sincerity, his simplicity of manner, his democratic spirit and his broad sympathies for, and his understanding of, the people. A predominant feature of his make-up is his persistency and determination. Few men in any walk of life, and still fewer who have attained his prominence, have had as many obstacles to overcome or endured the hardships that Governor Ammons has. His lack of early educational training and the handicap of impaired eyesight no doubt have been drawbacks, yet may have served to develop qualities to offset the handicap.

NAT P. WILSON.

Most interesting and ofttimes thrilling have been the events which constitute the life history of Nat P. Wilson, a prominent mining man of Denver and the president of the Ajax Metal Mining Company. He was born in Catawba county, North Carolina, October 12, 1860, a son of Jasper and Octavia Adelaide (Norwood) Wilson, both of whom were natives of North Carolina. In November, 1868, the family removed to near Lawrence, Kansas, where the father engaged in cattle raising and ranching and became one of the leading and successful cattle men of that state. He continued in the business for many years but eventually retired and took up his abode in the city of Lawrence, where he maintained his home until his death, which occurred in December, 1915, when he was eighty-four years of age. His widow is still a resident of Lawrence and is now eighty years of age. In their family were nine children, as follows: Mrs. Mary C. Herring, who is a resident of Lawrence, Kansas; Nat P., of this review; Newton S., who makes his home in Denver, is prominently identified with the oil business, and was, in association with Verner Z. Reed, one of the founders of the Mid-West Oil Company and has been general field manager ever since; Mrs. John H. Griffin, of Baldwin, Kan- sas; John W., who lives in Wyoming and is in the employ of his brother, Newton S., in the conduct of the Mid-West Oil Company; Thomas E., who passed away in Guthrie, Oklahoma, in 1917; Edward B., a resident of Lawrence, Kansas; and Arthur C. and Jasper B., who also make their home in Lawrence, Kansas.

In early life Nat P. Wilson attended school in Lawrence and In Perryville, Kansas, and later became engaged in the cattle business with his father, that connection being maintained until the winter of 1878, when he left home and came to Colorado. He afterward located in Leadville, where he took up mining, and there he assisted in the development of such famous properties as the Little Chief, Robert E. Lee and other well known gold and silver producers, working for a time for Irving Hulbert, a large mine owner and the principal stockholder in the richest silver mine in the state-the Robert E. Lee, which had a record of twenty thousand dollars to the ton. Mr. Wilson left Leadville in November, 1881, and went to northwest Idaho on a prospecting trip, but in the spring returned to the San Juan country, where he continued his mining activity. He operated the famous Boomerang mine in San Miguel county, Colorado, also the Saratoga, the Belle of the West and other mines at Ironton, Colorado, all of them very valuable mining properties and large producers. During this period he made a prospecting tour into the Gunnison country and assisted in developing that section in connection with its mines and mining interests. During the year 1883 he went to Alaska with Colonel George A. Jackson, a prominent and wealthy mine owner of Colo- rado, the purpose of their trip being to explore the country. They went up Cook's Inlet and spent several months in the wild and uninhabited northland but returned to Gunni-

NAT P. WILSON

HISTORY OF COLORADO

son county, Colorado, in the winter. Mr. Wilson next made a trip with Colonel Jackson by way of pack train to Sonora, Mexico, for the purpose of examining the territory there and to secure a concession from the Mexican government permitting them to locate mining claims. They located the noted Cananea copper mines, which are situated about sixty miles south of Bisbee, Arizona. After staking out and filing their claims they returned to San Juan county, Colorado, and for several years thereafter Mr. Wilson managed and developed mining properties in the latter district, where he continued until 1893 with the exception of trips which he made two or three times a year to report on various properties in South America and Mexico. At length he entered the employ of D. H. Moffat and was sent to Cripple Creek on the 14th of November, 1893. He remained there for only a few months and then started out on a prospecting trip on his own account. In 1895 he took charge of the noted Moon Anchor mine, which he made a paying investment, it proving a large producer for six years. In the meantime he organized the Rio Grande Sampling Company of Cripple Creek and continued to carry on business under that name and at the same time developed his mining interests until 1903. He then disposed of his mines in the Cripple Creek district and also his interest in the Rio Grande Sampling Company.

In 1900 Mr. Wilson had decided to sell all of his holdings and retire, but his friend, Verner Z. Reed, a wealthy mine owner, called him back to Cripple Creek, where the latter was heavily interested in mining properties. For three years thereafter Mr. Wilson was continuously on the road, examining mine fields for Mr. Reed and others. In January, 1903, he was called to Rag Top mountain near Deadwood, South Dakota, to make some very important examinations on mines and milling property for some capi- talists of Colorado Springs. He completed this task in the middle of February and returned to Denver but had hardly reached that city before he was again sent to Mexico by New York capitalists to report on property which they controlled at Parral, Mexico. These were silver mines upon which he made the report that they were not worth working. After this Mr. Wilson again took up mining on his own account and extensively and vigorously prosecuted his interests in that connection for eight years. During this time he opened up three very valuable silver mines, including the noted Clarence mine, which was one of the old Spanish workings of three hundred and fifty years ago. This he has since sold. He still retains the other two properties, however, and has recently started active development work thereon after they had been practically inactive for seven years. Mr. Wilson and A. J. McWaters, a millionaire miner, have become known as the most daring pair in taking desperate chances in Mexico during the years 1913 to 1915, when the rebellious uprisings rendered life in that country very unstable. Nevertheless these two gentlemen opened up a road from Texas through the wilds of Mexico for a distance of three hundred miles, cutting a way through forests and proceeding through deep canyons. They had continually to be on the alert to dodge the rebel Mexicans and any roving bandit bands, but they successfully completed their task and brought out on mule trains over one million dollars in silver bullion in July, 1913, making the trip in nineteen days with mules and Mexican servants. They crossed the Rio Grande river at the noted crossing, Ojinaga, Mexico, two hundred and eighty miles south of El Paso, where many Mexican battles have since been fought and where Colonel Langhorn of the United States army has had troops stationed almost continuously since 1914. Mr. Wilson has made many other trips fraught with adventure and danger in and out of Mexico, traveling on hand car and in automobile, the railroads in that country having been torn up by the warring factions. He was a warm personal friend and associate of John W. Benton, who was killed by the bandit Villa in Juarez, Mexico. A few days after the murder of Mr. Benton, President Wilson ordered a com- mittee of five Americans to go into Mexico to investigate the murder and make a report. The party was halted at the line. They were to have gone to Chihuahua, where the body of Benton was supposed to have been taken, but Villa had sent seventy-five of his men eighty five miles south of El Paso to watch the junction of the railroad and wagon road, thinking that the party might cross there by automobile. Mr. Wilson, knowing nothing of the arrangement, left El Paso with Frank Hynes and a chauffeur with supplies for his mines, and while proceeding along the road they were ambushed by this party of Villa's guards on reaching the junction; but on account of the notori- ously poor marksmanship of the average Mexican they escaped unhurt. After halting Mr. Wilson addressed the leader in Spanish, speaking the language as well as a Mexican, and after a two hours' parley they were allowed to proceed unmolested. This and many other similar escapes Mr. Wilson has had in this wild country. His son has on two occasions been taken prisoner in Mexico by the rebels and both times was sentenced to death and taken out to be shot, but on account of his remarkable self-control, his

HISTORY OF COLORADO

knowledge of the Mexican and his familiarity with the Spanish language he has managed to make his escape, persuading his guards to release him. On one of these trips, when he was captured, his wife was with him and was sent ahead on the same train while he was held captive. During the trying time of 1916, when President Wilson ordered all Americans to leave Mexico, Mr. Wilson and his son abandoned the Mexican field and made their way to Arizona, where they now own valuable copper mines in Cochise county, sixty miles east of Bishee, which they are successfully operating. Mr. Wilson is likewise a director in various enterprises in Colorado and other sections. He has very large real estate holdings in Denver and in other parts of Colorado and he maintains offices in both Denver and in El Paso, Texas.

On the 27th of December, 1887, Mr. Wilson was married to Miss Harriet L. Humphrey, of Ouray, Colorado, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Humphrey, her father heing a very prominent public man of Ouray county and the father of D. B. Humphrey, now assistant state treasurer. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have become parents of three children. Aida, now Mrs. Joseph J. Calder, who was born in Ouray in 1888 and was graduated from the Denver high school, is now a resident of Los Angeles, California. Mr. Calder is prominently identified with the Universal Film Company. W. H. Wilson, horn in Ouray in 1891, was graduated from the Colorado School of Mines at Golden and from the University of Denver, which conferred upon him the M. E. degree. He is now operating mines with his father in Arizona and his experiences have heen almost as varied and eventful as those which have fallen to his father's lot. He married Miss Cecil Bostwick, a native of Kentucky, Colorado. Howard H. Wilson, horn in Ouray in 1895, is a graduate of the East Denver high school and is now leasing and managing two of his father's farms four miles from Denver. He was married in Denver to Miss Marie Lang and they have one child, Betty Alice.

Mr. Wilson had many opportunities to fill public offices hut has steadfastly declined. He is, however, a stanch supporter of the present government and the policies outlined in the present war hy Woodrow Wilson. He has for many years been a member of the Denver Athletic Club, also has membership in the Cripple Creek Club and the noted Toltec Club of El Paso, and there resides when in Texas. The life story of Mr. Wilson would match any tale of fiction if it were written at length. There is no phase of mining development in the west with which he is not familiar. He was at one time a partner and associate for ten years, from 1881 until 1891, of Colonel George A. Jackson who was the discoverer of the first pay gold diggings at the mouth of Chicago Creek, near Idaho Springs, where today stands a five thousand dollar monument erected to the memory of Mr. Jackson. Mr. Wilson is widely known to mining men through- out the entire country and his opinions are largely accepted as authority by those who know of the geological formation of the country. He has contributed much toward the development of the rich mineral resources with which nature endowed Colorado and the west and the value of his work in this connection cannot he over- estimated. His success has heen the legitimate outcome of his untiring efforts, his practical knowledge of mining conditions and his keen sagacity. He manages gigantic interests with ease, has splendid powers of organization and is most systematic in all that he does. He lives at his country home at Westminster, about eight miles from Denver, and his successes enable him to enjoy all of the comforts and luxuries that life can offer. But he is still a very busy man who plays the game not so much to win hut because of the keen delight which anyone should feel in the accomplishment of a difficult and honorable task.

JULIUS PEARSE.

Among the names that stand out prominently upon the pages of Denver's history is that of Julius Pearse, who was one of the organizers of the volunteer fire department of Denver and a pioneer fire chief of the city. In fact his efforts constituted a valuable element in the upbuilding of the fire department, with which he was long connected, while in later years he conducted business as a dealer in fire-fighting apparatus and supplies, his interests being carried on under the name of the Julius Pearse Fire Department Supply Company.

Mr. Pearse was a native of Germany. He was born in March, 1847, and came to America when a youth just entering his teens. He lived with an aunt in Chicago and there acquired a common school and collegiate education. He also learned and followed the harber's trade there and continued his residence in Chicago until 1867, when he made his way westward to Denver. A year later he removed to Central City, Colorado, where he

Julio Quared .

JULIUS PEARSE, JR.

HISTORY OF COLORADO

engaged in mining until 1871 and then again took up his ahode in Denver. He assisted in organizing the volunteer fire department and hose company and all of the older residents of the city will recognize the fact that his labors were an important element in upbuild- ing the system and promoting adequate service of fire fighting in Denver. He did much to advance the efficiency of the Woodie Fisher Hose Company, No. 1, of which he was elected foreman in 1873. It was about three years later that he was made chief of the volunteer fire department of the city, which at that time had developed a well equipped organization. He was also one of the organizers of the Colorado State Fire Association in 1876 and was chosen its first president. He belonged to the International Association of Fire Engineers and was an honorary member of the Denver police and fire departments. He became the third chief of the volunteer fire department in Denver and was the first chief engineer of the paid department, which was organized August 18, 1881. He acted as chief of the department from April, 1895, until September 4, 1897, when he resigned his position to take up the business of selling fire-fighting supplies, which he did under the firm style of the Julius Pearse Fire Department Supply Company. He hecame the president of the company and so continued to the time of his death, with his son, Julius Pearse, Jr., as the secretary and treasurer of the com- pany. The business built up by Mr. Pearse and his son became one of the largest establishments in the west, dealing exclusively in fire-fighting equipment. As a member of the fire department he was cool, clear-headed and collected at all times-just such a man as the city needed in emergencies-and he thoroughly understood the duties of his position down to the minutest detail. At a conflagration he made each move count, not only on his own part but on that of the men as well, so that maximum results were accomplished at a minimum expenditure of time and effort. Mr. Pearse also became interested in real estate and mining properties and made judicious investments along those lines.

It was after his removal to the west that Mr. Pearse was married in Canon City, Colorado, in 1874, to Miss Maggie Prosser and they became the parents of eleven children, six daughters and two sons yet surviving, as does also Mrs. Pearse. These children are Mildred, Margaret, Clio, Jane, Mrs. B. B. Morrison, Mrs. Gerald Pettihone, Julius and Earl. All are yet living in Denver with the exception of the last named.

Mr. Pearse was connected with Lodge No. 17, B. P. O. E., and in the Masonic order had · attained the Knight Templar degree and was a Shriner and also was a member of the London Fire Brigade and the United Commercial Travelers, and enjoyed the full con- fidence and warm regard of his brethren in those fraternities. He died April 27, 1917, at his home at 2528 Stout street, as the direct result of an injury to his foot received two years before, while he was examining a fire truck. Blood poisoning developed in the member and caused his demise. He was a resident of Denver for more than half a century and he left the impress of his individuality for good upon the community.

JULIUS PEARSE, JE.

Julius Pearse, Jr., one of the best known young business men of Denver, now president of the Julius Pearse Company, dealers in fire apparatus and supplies and having the most extensive concern of the kind in the west, was born in Denver, Novem- her 5, 1883, a son of Julius and Maggie B. (Prosser) Pearse, mention of whom is made above. The father, long and prominently connected with the volunteer and paid fire departments of the city, also engaged in business as a dealer in fire apparatus and supplies, starting out in the year 1874. In the '90s the business had expanded to such proportions that it required his entire time and care and as the years passed on con- tinued to grow until his fire apparatus and appliances were being sold in many of the western states. He died in Denver, April 27, 1917, at the age of seventy years.

His son, Julius Pearse, who became associated with him in business, attended the public schools of Denver in early life and later became the active assistant of his father, starting in a minor position. He gradually advanced as he became familiar with the business and at length rose to the presidency of the company, which is a close corpora- tion. The business was incorporated on the 1st of June, 1917, with Julius Pearse as the president and general manager. He is also the secretary of the State Firemen's Asso- ciation and is the supervisor of the National Fire Extinguisher Exchange. His trade covers a very extensive territory. In fact over ninety-five per cent of all fire goods and apparatus sold in the west is handled hy this company.

On the 21st of March, 1914, Mr. Pearse was united in marriage to Miss Louise Kurtz, of Denver, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Kurtz. Fraternally he is connected with the

HISTORY OF COLORADO

Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Mr. Pearse is widely known as a representative of one of the pioneer families of Denver and is spoken of most favorably by reason of his individual worth.

WALTER A. CARLSON.

Walter A. Carlson is a representative and progressive young farmer of Weld county who has but recently passed the twenty sixth milestone on life's journey. He was born in Nebraska in December, 1892, and is a son of Gus J. and Mary Carlson. The father was a native of Sweden and in early life came to the new world. He has long been identified with agricultural interests and he and his wife are now living in Iowa, where he owns and cultivates an excellent farm of three hundred acres, which he has brought under a high state of development and to which he has added many substantial improvements.

Walter A. Carlson acquired a public school education, but his activities in that direction were somewhat limited owing to the fact that he early began to assist in the work of the home farm. His training in that direction, however, was not meager and he soon became familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. He remained a resident of the Mississippi valley until 1908, when he determined to try his fortune in the west, believing that he would have better oppor- tunities in the new but growing country. Accordingly he made his way to Weld county in 1908 and six years ago he purchased his present farm, comprising one hundred and seventy acres of land situated on section 17, township 6, not far from Lucerne. Here he is engaged largely in the production of grain, hay, beets and potatoes and annually gathers good crops as the result of his careful and systematic management of his business interests. He is also engaged in feeding stock. He has never regretted his determination to remove to the west, for he here found the business opportunities which he sought and in their utilization has made steady progress.

Mr. Carlson is a member of the Masonic fraternity and is loyal to its teachings and its purposes. He is regarded as an alert, energetic young man, possessed of many sterling traits of character, and those who know him speak of him in terms of warm regard.

LOUIS STRAUB.

One of the most prominent and popular figures in hotel circles in the west is Louis Straub, the proprietor and manager of Hotel Midland and also of the Great Northern Hotel of Denver. He is thoroughly familiar with everything required in modern hotel management and displays a most progressive spirit in the conduct of his interests. His life is an expression of that enterprise which has been the dominant factor in the rapid and substantial upbuilding of the west. He was born in Wathena, Kansas, February 25, 1869, a son of Alexander and Katherine (Frein) Straub. The father was an engineer and has now passed away. In the family were four sons: E. G., Frank, Charles and Louis.

The last named, the youngest in the family, was educated in the public schools of St. Joseph, Missouri, and has been a resident of Denver since 1885. Here he resumed his education, attending the Arapahoe street school for two years. After his textbooks were put aside he turned his attention to the hotel business and found in it a field of labor that has proven most congenial and also profitable. For a time he was hotel clerk for others, being connected with the Palmer House in an early day. He has engaged in business on his own account, however. since 1888 and has been at his present location for sixteen years. He has been identified with the Great Northern Hotel for a quarter of a century and owns and manages both the Great Northern Hotel and Hotel Midland. The former is located at 1612 Larimer street and the latter at the corner of Seventeenth and Arapahoe streets. Both are popular hostelries, liberally patronized, being conducted according to most progressive methods of modern hotel keeping.

In 1890 Mr. Straub was united in marriage to Miss Rosie Corbett, a native of Denver, and they have one son, Thomas P., twenty-four years of age, who was asso- ciated with his father in the hotel business. He enlisted, June 15, 1918, in the United States Aviation service, and is now at the Officers' Training Camp, Fort Collins. Fra-

HISTORY OF COLORADO

ternally Mr. Straub is an Elk, holding membership with Lodge No. 17, at Denver. He was appointed by Mayor Arnold in 1913 to the position of alderman of the third ward and in May, 1917, was elected a member of the new city council from the seventh district. He is an independent democrat in politics, for while he usually votes with the party, he does not consider himself bound by party ties. He is a man of fine personal appearance, affable and genial in manner, forceful and resourceful in business, and is known as one of the leading and popular hotel men of the west. His entire life has been devoted to this business and he has studied everything bearing upon success in hotel management. His plans are always carefully defined and promptly executed and he has put forth every effort to please, recognizing that satisfied patrons are the best advertisement.

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History of Colorado; Volume II, Part 6

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