History of Colorado; Volume II, Part 7

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

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ROBERT S. GAST.

Robert S. Gast, engaged in the practice of law in Pueblo as a member of the firm of Adams & Gast, has by reason of individual worth and ability in his profession won a creditable position in the front ranks of the legal fraternity in his section of the state. Pueblo numbers him among her native sons. He was born on the 27th of Sep- tember, 1879, his parents being Charles E. and Elizabeth S. (Shaeffer) Gast. At the usual age he entered the public schools and further continued his education in a pre- paratory school in Lawrence, New Jersey. He then entered Yale and was graduated within its classic walls in 1902, at which time the Bachelor of Arts degree was conferred upon him. A review of the broad field of business led him to the determina- tion to enter upon a professional career and with that end in view he matriculated in the Columbia Law School of New York and won his LL. B. degree upon graduation with the class of 1905.

Mr. Gast then returned to his home in Pueblo and joined his father in practice as junior partner in the firm of Gast & Gast, an association that was maintained until his father's death on the 11th of May, 1908. He thus had the benefit of the experience of his father and with the passing years his own powers in the profession developed. The zeal with which he has devoted his energies to his profession, the careful regard evinced for the interests of his clients and an assiduous and unrelaxing attention to all the details of his cases, have brought him a large business and made him very successful in its conduct. His arguments have elicited warm commendation not only from his associates at the bar but also from the bench. He is an able writer; his briefs always show wide research, careful thought and the best and strongest reasons which can be urged for his contention, presented in cogent and logical form and illustrated by a style unusually lucid and clear. Since his father's death he has been a member of the firm of Adams & Gast, which is accorded a very liberal clientage.

On the 16th of May, 1908, Mr. Gast was united in marriage to Miss Corinne Busey, a daughter of Dr. A. P. Busey. Mr. Gast has always given his political allegiance to the republican party, but while he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day and is therefore able to support his position by intelligent argument, he has never sought or desired office. Fraternally he is connected with the Benevolent Pro- tective Order of Elks. His fellow townsmen attest his personal worth as well as his professional skill and the consensus of public opinion places him in the front rank among Pueblo's citizens.

JOHN CALLIS.

John Callis, district manager at Denver for R. G. Dun & Company, to which posi- tion he has attained through individual merit, was born in Slaidburn, Yorkshire, England, March 24, 1866, a son of William and Frances E. (Adshead) Callis, who were likewise natives of England. The father was a rector of the Episcopal church and died in his native land. The family numbered three sons and three daughters. John was the only one of this family who emigrated to the United States. This was in the year 1890.

John Callis acquired his education in a boarding school, at the Gateshead High School for Boys at Gateshead, Northumberland, and under private tutors. He left his na- tive country when twenty years of age and for two and a half years resided at Lisbon, Portugal, being tutor to the son of Sir Hugh Glynn Petre, K. C. B., the British ambassa-

HISTORY OF COLORADO

dor, while later he spent one year as assistant principal in the Saltus grammar school at Hamilton, Bermuda. In January, 1890, he arrived in New York but did not tarry on the Atlantic coast. Making his way westward, he reached Denver in February of that year and became connected with the Dun Mercantile Agency as a reporter in the Denver office. He there remained from the 5th of February until October of the same year, after which he went to the Pacific coast, representing R. G. Dun & Company in various capacities in Spokane and Tacoma, Washington, and in Portland, Oregon. He served in that way until July, 1894, when he was made manager of the Spokane office, in which position he continued until March, 1902. He was then transferred to the New York office for special work. In July, 1902, he was appointed district manager of the Denver office and has since acted in that capacity. He has been steadily advanced from one position to another of larger responsibility and is today one of the trusted and capable representatives of that important commercial agency.

Mr. Callis was married first to Miss Irene McClincy, a native of Portland, Oregon, and to them were born three children: Dorothy Frances Celia, twenty-two years of age; Eleanor Western, twenty years of age; and Winifred, who is twelve years of age. The last named is now in school. Having lost his first wife some years ago, Mr. Callis married in May, 1916, Lucille Austin Carter of Louisville, Kentucky. He has member- ship in the Denver Country, the Denver Athletic and the Denver Motor Clubs, also the Broadmoor Golf Club, of Colorado Springs, and L'Alliance Francaise. His civic interest is manifested by his membership in the Civic and Commercial Association and the Manufacturers' Association. He also belongs to the Denver Credit Men's Association. In Masonic circles he has attained high rank, belonging to Arapahoe Lodge, No. 130, A. F. & A. M .; Colorado Chapter, No. 29, R. A. M .; Denver Commandery, No. 25, K. T .; and El Jebel Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He has been called to office in various clubs and societies to which he belongs. He was at one time vice president of the Denver Athletic Club and served for years as secretary of that club, was also at one time director in the Chamber of Commerce and chairman of its membership committee, when its membership increased from 600 to 1,600. He belongs to the Ascension Memorial Episcopal church and its teachings guide him in his life's relations. He turns to golf for recreation but never allows outside interests to interfere with the faithful per- formance of his duty to the company which he represents. As the years have passed he has prospered and is now the vice president of the Denver Factories Company. He has large property holdings on South Broadway rented to manufacturers. He stands high in business, club, church and social circles-a man whom to know is to respect and honor because of his fidelity to high standards and manly principles in every relation of life.

JOHN EDWARD ZAHN.

John Edward Zahn, secretary and general manager of the United States Portland Cement Company, is one of Denver's well and favorably known business men. His great energy and push have not only contributed to the city's business development in a substantial way but have been solely responsible for his individual. success. Within a comparatively few years he has attained a prominent position among the wide- awake and aggressive business men of Denver. A native of Chicago, Illinois, he was born February 23, 1871, and is a son of Peter and Margaret (Klingensmith) Zalın, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father came to the new world when about twenty years of age, becoming an early resident of Chicago. He learned the blacksmith's trade and afterward followed the business on his own account at Deer- field, Illinois, where he became proprietor of an extensive wagon manufacturing and blacksmithing establishment. He enjoys the respect and confidence of all who know him. He is now a resident of Chicago. His wife came with her parents to the new world when a young girl and was reared, educated and married in Chicago, continuing her residence in that city from 1867 to the time of her death in 1913. She was then sixty-six years of age, her birth having occurred in Germany in 1847. To Mr. and Mrs. Zahn were born three children: J. E .; Julia, now the wife of Edward J. Hintz; and George F. The last two are residents of Chicago.

J. E. Zahn pursued his early education in the schools of Deerfield, Illinois, and afterward worked as a farm hand, while later he was employed in connection with the iron and steel business in Chicago until 1887, when he became connected with the bakers' supply business. He worked along that line as manager of credits to the age of eighteen years, when he came to Denver, arriving in this city on the 1st of Sep-

HISTORY OF COLORADO

tember, 1890. He secured a position as bookkeeper with the Hax-Gartner Furniture Company, with which he continued for a year, and later he became associated with the Mouat Lumber Company of Denver, with which he remained until the firm failed during the widespread financial panic of 1893. With a capital of but five dollars and without any bright prospects before him, Mr. Zahn then embarked in the book and stationery business. He paid two dollars and a half of his capital for a month's rent and with the balance secured his first stock of goods. Associated with Mr. Zahn was E. H. Pierce and the firm later became known as the Pierce-Zahn Book Company. Under their capable management the trade steadily grew and the business became one of the leading enterprises of that character in Denver. Mr. Zahn remained an active factor in its control and management until 1906, when he sold out his interest in the company, which is still conducted by others under the original firm name. Turning his attention to mining and real estate interests, while thus engaged Mr. Zahn became connected with the United States Portland Cement Company and took active charge of its business in Denver in 1909. He has since built up a large and growing business and as the secretary and general manager of the company has won success and prosperity that reflects in no small degree to his credit. He is also largely interested in other manufacturing lines aside from his connection with the United States Port- land Cement Company.

On the 19th of May. 1892. Mr. Zahn was married to Miss Lillie E. Miller, of Chicago, Illinois, a daughter of George and Mary Miller, also natives of that city. In politics Mr. Zahn has always maintained an independent course. Fraternally he is a Knight Templar Mason and is connected with the Royal Arcanum. He belongs to the Man- ufacturers Association and to the Denver Civic and Commercial Association, of both of which he is a director. He is a prominent member of the Denver Rotary Club, in the work of which he takes a very active part. He was for one year a governor of the international organization, his jurisdiction being over the states of Colorado, Montana, Utah, Idaho and Wyoming. He has been identified with various activities of Denver which are looking to the general advancement of the city along the lines of material progress and improvement and his life record indicates what may be accomplished through intensive effort and efficiency.

DAVID HALLIDAY MOFFAT.

Banker, miner, mine owner and railroad builder, the activities of David H. Moffat along these lines would alone entitle him to distinction as one of Colorado's most promi- nent, honored and representative citizens; but in other fields, too, he left the impress of his individuality upon the history of the state, for he was a man of benevolent spirit, constantly extending a helping hand where assistance was needed, speaking an encourag. ing word and giving his friendship to all who were worthy of it. These things endeared him to his fellow townsmen, wbile his business activities constituted an important element in the upbuilding of the state and the advancement of growth and progress in the west.

David H. Moffat was born in Washingtonville, Orange county, New York, July 22. 1839, and had therefore passed the Psalmist's allotted span of three score years and ten when he was called to his final rest, his death occurring in New York city, March 18, 1911. His parents, David H. and Kathleen (Gregg) Moffat, were also natives of the Empire state, the father being one of the largest mill owners of the east, widely known as a manu- facturer and also prominent in legislative circles. The son attended the schools of his native town to the age of twelve years, when he secured employment in the New York Exchange Bank, now the Irving Exchange National Bank, of New York city. His initial position was a minor one that of messenger boy, but he eagerly availed himself of every opportunity to gain knowledge concerning the banking business and his interest and fidelity were noted by the president, Selah Van Duser, who advanced him to the position of assistant teller. In 1855 he received word from an elder brother that a new bank was to be opened in Des Moines, Iowa, and that he could have a position therein if he so desired. Accordingly he made his way to Des Moines and became teller in the banking house of A. J. Stevens & Company. While thus engaged he formed the acquaintance of B. F. Allen, of Des Moines, a capitalist who was planning to open a bank in Omaha, Nebraska, and who offered him a position in the institution. Mr. Moffat accepted, becom- ing cashier of the Bank of Nebraska, and at the end of four years he closed the bank, paid its indebtedness in full and divided the surplus among the stockholders.

The lure of the west was upon him and with a supply of provisions loaded on a wagon drawn by mules he started for Denver. He found on reaching his destination a

DAVID H. MOFFAT

Vol. II-4

HISTORY OF COLORADO

settlement of a few hundred people, mostly prospectors, on Cherry creek. Mr. Moffat entered into partnership with C. C. Woolworth, of St. Joseph, Missouri. and they placed on sale in the new settlement a stock of books and stationery which they had purchased, Mr. Moffat to take charge of the selling end of the business, while Mr. Woolworth was to stay in St. Louis and attend to the buying. The stock was loaded on four wagons and three drivers were hired. while Mr. Moffat drove the fourth team on the journey across the plains. They arrived in Denver on the 17th of March, 1860, and the store was opened on Eleventh street, below Larimer street. on the other side of Cherry creek. Suc- cess attended the new undertaking and with the growth of the town the business was removed to a location on the north side of Larimer street, between Fourteenth and Fif- teenth streets. Mr. Moffat remained a partner in the business for a decade, but in the meantime was extending his interests and investments in other directions. On the 17th of April, 1865, the comptroller of the treasury department authorized the organization of the First National Bank of Denver, which was opened for business on the 9th of May, the original stockholders and directors being Austin M. and Milton E. Clark, Bela S. Buell, Jerome B. Chaffee, Henry J. Rogers, George T. Clark, Charles T. Cook and Eben Smith. Mr. Chaffee was elected the president, with H. J. Rogers as vice president and George T. Clark as cashier. The new banking institution took over the private bank of Clark & Company, which was located on Blake street, then the business center of the city. Little success attended the new institution, however, until 1867, when Mr. Moffat was elected cashier and an almost immediate change was noted in the business of the bank. He remained the controlling spirit in the institution until his death, being elected to the presidency in 1880, and the policy which he instituted and the progressive methods which he introduced were the salient features in the continued growth and success of the institution.

It was in 1869 that he became a directing factor in connection with railroad building and management in Colorado. He entered into association with Governor Evans and other prominent men of the state for the building of a railroad from Denver to Cheyenne, to connect with the Union Pacific at the latter place; and in 1870 a locomotive christened the David H. Moffat steamed into Denver. The discovery of the wonderful ore deposits in the Leadville district resulted in his next venture in railroad building. He was the organizer of the syndicate which constructed the Denver & South Park Railroad line, one hundred and fifty miles in length, which connected Denver with the Cloud City. With the discovery of the Creede mineral field Mr. Moffat urged the directors of the Rio Grande to build a line through Wagon Wheel Gap to place the new camp on the map, and upon receiving a negative answer to the proposition Mr. Moffat, with characteristic energy, replied: "Very well. then I will build it myself." With him, to plan was to perform. He had a similar experience in the opening up of the Cripple Creek district. when other railroad directors refused to build into the new gold camp. He therefore undertook the work of constructing the Florence & Cripple Creek road, which proved a very profitable venture. With the building of the Boulder Valley Railroad he was selected as treasurer of the company and personally built the extension from Boulder to the Mar- shall coal hanks. In 1885 he was elected president of the Denver & Rio Grande and continued at its head until 1891. when he resigned.

With his opportunity of acquiring broad and accurate knowledge of the mineral fields of the state, Mr. Moffat became the owner of some of the best mining properties in Colorado and became a multimillionaire through his operation of. such mines as the Maid. Henriette. Resurrection and Little Pittsburg at Leadville, and the Victor, Anaconda and Golden Cycle at Cripple Creek. He naturally became interested in banks and had large holdings in the Fourth National and the Western National Banks of New York city and was also one of the large stockholders in the Equitable Life Assurance Society of New York. He held a large amount of the stock of the Denver City Tramway Company and of the Denver Union Water Company. Perhaps no other single activity of his life brought him into such national prominence. however, as the building of the famous Moffat Road. which might well be termed the crowning achievement of his career. He had long hoped to place Denver on a direct transcontinental line of railway and he was sixty-three years of age when he announced his plans for the building of a road which should pierce the Rocky Mountains on an air line, establishing a direct route to Salt Lake City. This dream became an actual realization ere death called him. Some of the most difficult engineering problems were solved in the building of the line, which attracted the attention of engineers and scientists throughout the world.

A contemporary writer has said of him: "Moffat was truly the 'Empire Builder.' His most daring dream, the construction of a railroad over the Continental Divide at sixty-three years of age. when most men are winding up the affairs of life, stamped him

HISTORY OF COLORADO

as a man of genius. He raised money where others would have failed; and when he failed he drew upon his own immense personal fortune to realize his dream. He came to Colorado first, intending to return east when he had made seventy-five thousand dollars, but he remained in the state for fifty years and won a fortune estimated to be twenty million dollars. He 'found a wilderness and left an empire.' Of his temperament, the incidents when, meeting discouragement in the quest for support of his railroad ventures, he remarked 'I'll build it,' illustrate the courage and tenacity of the man. There are three ways of making a fortune; by the great arteries of commerce which extend over the land, in other words, the railroads; by tracing the rich veins of minerals under the earth's surface; and by the great financial medium known as banking. Moffat amassed his fortunes by all three of these methods. He was quiet, unpretentious, lovable, a man of patience and courtesy, and never spoke ill of anyone. During the panic of 1893, when the banks of the country and the business firms were involved in the maelstrom of dis- aster, Moffat's First National Bank stood as a rock of Gibraltar, carrying through without a tremor and bringing with it numerous other institutions and business houses. It was the refuge which saved the fortunes of many men in that time of stress. His first venture in railroad building was when he assisted in the construction of the Denver Pacific, the first road into Denver. Before he died he had become interested in nine railroad under- takings, exclusive of his labors in building branches and in broad-gauging the Denver & Rio Grande system. He was preeminently a financier and in his plan to tunnel through James' Peak, thus throwing open to commerce the rich coal fields of Routt county, he proclaimed himself a master executive and man of initiative. The term 'Moffat interests' became a term commonly used. In other cities it would have been hard to find financial interests whose holdings were so largely in non' competitive enterprises. Moffat was regarded as severe and masterful in the direction of institutions and enterprises with which he was associated, and yet he had the happy fortune to escape practically all public criticism of painful character, when his institutions were involved in controversy with the people or the law. There was something about him which seemed to incline rebuke or reproach to stay its shafts. Perhaps this was an exhibition of that deep regard in the community for a man-a builder-who, in uprearing his own fortune, also advanced the material progress of the state, developed new country and commerce, gave employ- ment to human toil and kept his capital busy in enterprise."

On the 11th of December, 1861, Mr. Moffat was married in Saratoga county, New York, to Frances A. Buckhout and they became parents of a daughter, Marcia A. Moffat, now Mrs. James A. McClurg, who has one daughter, Frances Moffat. Mrs. Moffat was a daughter of Edward A. and Mary A. (Bradshaw) Buckhout, of Saratoga county, New York, born June 15, 1843, in Mechanicsville, New York, and is descended from one of the famous Knickerbocker families of the Empire state.

Mr. Moffat might have had any position within the gift of the people of the state liad he so desired, but his ambition was not in the line of office holding. However, he served as adjutant general during the administration of Governor Evans and for four years was treasurer of Colorado during territorial days. He belonged to the Denver Club, the Union League Club of New York and the Chicago Club of Chicago. One who knew him well said of him: "His friendship takes not so much the smiling as the helping turn. I speak not of what he gives away in charity, but in a straight business way he has helped more men than any other man in the state. That would be little to say of him now because he is the richest man in the state, but it could have been truly said of him long before he became the richest man and actually was widely said." It may well be said that he was a man of genius and his record one of notable achievement, that the efforts of few have been so vital and dynamic a force in the upbuilding of the west; but it was his personal traits and the character of the man that so firmly established him in the affections and regard of his fellow citizens. He was not only honored but was loved by the people with whom he was associated and his democratic spirit rated men at their real worth. To count David H. Moffat as a friend was indeed an honor, but it was more -it was an intense joy.

THOMAS SKERRITT.

Among the names that appear prominently upon the pages of Denver's pioneer history is that of Thomas Skerritt, the date of whose arrival in the present capital was June 2, 1859. He continued a resident of the state throughout his remaining days, covering a period of fifty-four years. A native son of Ireland, he was born in Parsons

HISTORY OF COLORADO

Town, Kings county, on the 16th of August, 1828, and remained a resident of that land until he reached the age of twenty years, when he came to the United States with his uncle, for whom he was named. His father had previously crossed the Atlantic and Thomas Skerritt made his way to the former's home in Michigan, there spending a year, after which he devoted six years to farming in Canada. He then returned to Michigan but afterward went to Chicago, where he resided until September, 1858, when he became a resident of Leavenworth Kansas. In April, 1859, he started with oxen and wagon for Pike's Peak, reaching Denver on the 2d of June.

In the meantime Mr. Skerritt had been married in Michigan, in 1858, to Miss Mary K. Skerritt, a distant cousin, who was born in Ireland and made the trip to the new world on a sailing vessel when a maiden of fourteen years. From the Atlantic seaboard she traveled to Michigan, where she joined a brother. From Den- ver, Mr. and Mrs. Skerritt went to Central City, where the latter was the first white woman in the town, and although she had a great fear of the Indians, she succeeded in braving all the perils of the plains and in courageously meeting all the hardships and privations of frontier life. Occasionally their cabin would be suddenly filled with a band of Indians who had stealthily approached. On various occasions they packed their household goods and removed to Denver when Indians were reported to be near or on the warpath, but each time they returned to find that the family home had not been destroyed. From Central City, Mr. Skerritt went over the range to Breckenridge, Colorado, but in the fall of 1859 returned to the Platte river and preempted a claim in 1864. He resolutely took up the work of developing his land, on which he turned the first furrow. The flood of 1864 destroyed his crops and he afterward sold his property to Peter Magnus. He then located six hundred acres of ground where Englewood now stands and the family are yet owners of that property. It was Thomas Skerritt who laid out South Broadway from Englewood to Cherry Creek. This he accomplished by locking the hack wheels of a wagon and making the trail along the prairie, it requiring three trips to sufficiently indent the soil so that the trail could be followed.

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History of Colorado; Volume II, Part 7

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