USA > Colorado > History of Colorado; Volume II > Part 70
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Dr. Crisp was educated in the public schools of Scott county, Illinois, and in the University of Missouri, from which he was graduated in 1882 with the LL. B. degree, for he then thought to make the practice of law his life work. For five years he en- gaged in active practice in Holden, Missouri, and then turned his attention to newspaper publication, becoming editor and publisher of the Holden Enterprise, a weekly journal. He continued in that business for six years and afterward removed to Galveston, Texas, where he was managing editor of the Daily Tribune. He continued with the latter paper for two years and then removed to Denver, where he took up the study of medi- cine. He successfully passed the state board examination in 1902 and in 1905 he was .graduated from the University of Denver with the M. D. degree. He has since been engaged in active practice in Denver and his developing powers along this liue have given him a prominent place in the ranks of the medical profession. He is keenly interested in everything that tends to bring to man the key to the complex mystery which we call life and he keeps in touch with the advanced thought and researches of the profession through wise reading and study and through his connection with the Denver City and County Medical Society, the Colorado State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. His taste for literature and his ability as a writer have been manifest in his authorship, which includes many interesting short stories published
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in magazines throughout the country and he is also the author of a novel entitled "Orpah," which was published by the Scroll Publishing Company of Chicago.
On the 4th of September, 1878, Dr. Crisp was married in Exeter, Illinois, to Miss Ada Morris, a native of that state and a representative of one of the old families of Baltimore, Maryland. Her parents were John W. and Mary J. (Crafton) Morris, both of whom are now deceased. To Dr. and Mrs. Crisp has been born a son, John Manford, whose birth occurred in Exeter in 1879 and who is now a resident of Cheyenne, Wyoming. being employed as a civil engineer and draftsman with the Union Pacific Railroad Company.
Dr. Crisp votes with the democratic party and he is a member of all the Masonic bodies except the Scottish Rite and he is likewise a member of the Mystic Shrine. The life record of Dr. Crisp shows what may be accomplished through individual effort intelligently directed. He worked his way through school and previous to his first winter in college he fed ninety-one head of cattle in order to earn the money for his tuition. His success is entirely attributable to his own efforts, his ambition and his innate talent and ability. Today he occupies a very pretty home, which he owns, and enjoys a large practice, which has come to him in recognition of his highly developed powers in the practice of medicine and surgery. His wife is a very active worker in the Woman's Relief Corps, in the Red Cross and in various charitable movements. In a word, their aid and influence are always given on the side of progress and im- provement and their efforts have been a contributing factor to the general welfare in many ways.
ALBERT E. WILSON.
Albert E. Wilson is one of Colorado's most enthusiastic supporters. Occupying the finest home in Denver, the visible evidence of his success in all that he has undertaken, Mr. Wilson says that everything that he possesses, including his good health, he owes to the state. It has been his recognition and utilization of opportunity, however, that has led to his attainment of his present enviable place in financial circles, for he is now a member of the banking and brokerage firm of the Wilson-Cranmer Company, members of the New York Stock Exchange. He was horn October 28, 1877, at Bridgeville, Dela- ware, a son of the late Edward L. Wilson, who was a native of Pennsylvania and of English lineage. The family was founded in America by James Wilson, who came to the new world during the early part of the eighteenth century and was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. His attention was given to the practice of law and in his profession he won prominence. Lawrence Wilson, the great-grandfather of Albert E. Wilson, was a soldier of the War of 1812. Edward L. Wilson, the father, was reared and educated in Williamstown, Pennsylvania, and for forty years was con- nected with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at New Castle, Delaware. At the time of the Civil war, however, he put aside all business and personal considerations and responded to the country's call for troops, serving for three years and nine months with the Union army. as a member of Company I, Third Delaware Volunteer Infantry. He spent the greater part of his life in Delaware, honored and respected wherever known and most of all where he was hest known. He was a stanch republican and his marked ability for leadership and his recognized fidelity to the public interests led to his selec- tion for legislative honors. He served as a member of the general assembly and took an active interest in promoting the welfare and progress of the state along many lines. He exerted much influence in political affairs and was widely and prominently known in various other connections. In his life he exemplified the beneficent spirit of the Ma- sonic fraternity. He died in 1907, at the age of sixty-one years. He married Miss Anna Watson, who was born in Philadelphia and is of English parentage. her father and mother having arrived in America only a short time prior to her hirth. Mrs. Wilson is still living and yet makes her home in Delaware. The family numbered seven children, six sons and a daughter.
Albert E. Wilson, the fifth in order of birth, acquired a public and high school educa- tion at New Castle, Delaware, and his first employment was that of timekeeper with the firm of Morris, Tasker & Company of Philadelphia. He next entered the coal busi- ness in connection with a New York firm at New Haven, Connecticut, where he remained for a year. But the lure of the west was upon him and he could no longer content himself in the conservative and somewhat unprogressive east while the opportunities of the new and rapidly developing west were calling him. He arrived in Colorado on the 5th of November, 1899, and made his initial step in the business circles of Denver as teller
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with the International Trust Company. with which he remained for six years. He then established his present business, organizing the Wilson-Cranmer Company, since which time he has successfully engaged in the banking and brokerage business, his clientage steadily increasing, while the interests under his control have constantly developed in volume and importance.
In New Haven, Connecticut, on the 17th of June, 1901, Mr. Wilson was united in marriage to Miss Mabel A. Smith, a native of that city and a daughter of George H. and Mary (Babcock) Smith, the former now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have been born two daughters, Dorothy and Ruth.
Mr. Wilson finds his chief diversion in farming and is a lover of outdoor life. He votes with the republican party and is a most stalwart and unfaltering champion of its interests. He belongs to Temple Lodge, No. 84, A. F. & A. M., and is most true and loyal to the teachings of the craft. He also belongs to the Denver Country Club and to the Bankers' Club of New York city. He started out in the business world without financial aid and his success is due to his own efforts. As the architect of his fortunes he has builded wisely and well. He never stops short of the successful accomplishment of his purpose, for he recognizes the fact that when one avenue of opportunity seems closed he can carve out other paths whereby to reach the desired goal. His home at No. 770 Olive street is regarded as one of the finest residences of Denver. The house is sur- rounded by beautiful grounds covering four and a half acres and splendidly adorned with fine old trees, shrubs and flowers. An air of culture and good taste pervades the place and its hospitality is greatly enjoyed by many friends of the family. Mr. Wilson turns with pleasure from the problems of finance to work among his flowers and shrubs and to light gardening, and well may he rejoice in the beauty of the place which he has developed and which is an indication of his love of nature.
CASSIUS ASA FISHER.
Cassius Asa Fisher, consulting geologist and engineer, specializing in oil, and a well known figure in scientific circles was born in Fremont, Nebraska, on the 15th day of February, 1872, a son of Marcius Clay and Nellie (Le Prone) Fisher. Liberal educational opportunities were afforded him, opportunities that he splendidly improved. He is a graduate of the Fremont Normal School of the class of 1892 and of the University of Nebraska, which conferred upon him the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1898 and the Master of Arts degree in 1900. He won special distinction in scientific lines while a student at that institution and was on graduation elected to the Sigma Psi scholar- ship fraternity. Later he was given a fellowship in geology at the University of Nebraska, where he studied from 1898 to 1900. His graduate work for Doctor of Philosophy was done at Yale University in 1902 and 1903. In June of the latter year he became assistant geologist in the United States Geological Survey, and for many years continued to act for the government in his professional capacity. He was advanced rapidly in this work, and in 1909 when he resigned from the government service he was assistant chief of the fuel section of the United States Geological Survey in charge of coal investigations throughout the entire west.
He is now consulting geologist and engineer for the Midwest Refining Company, and for the Midwest Oil Company. He has also served in a professional capacity during the past four years with the natural resource department of the Canadian Pacific Railway, operating in western Canada and also several other large oil producing con- cerns throughout the Rocky Mountain and Mid-Continent oil fields in this country.
He is the author of the first comprehensive geological report made of the Big Horn basin of Wyoming, where a number of valuable oil fields have since been dis- . covered. He was prominently identified in an engineering capacity with the organi- zation of the Midwest Oil Company, out of which later grew the Midwest Refining Company, and at the present time is a director and vice president of the parent com- pany.
While with the department of the interior, Mr. Fisher in connection with the Bureau of Mines, was in charge of the navy fuel expedition to Alaska to establish a coaling station, and was one of the three originators of the present method employed by the government of valuation of coal lands on the public domain. His name is well known as the author of numerous reports and technical articles on fuel, on which subject he is regarded as an authority.
During the past ten years Mr. Fisher has devoted his entire time to the geology
CASSIUS A. FISHER
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of fuels, especially petroleum and during this period has been the pioneer geologist in the discovery and development of the Wyoming oil fields, the value of which are now generally conceded to aggregate seven hundred million dollars, a fitting testimonial to his success in his chosen profession.
On the 22d of August, 1905, at Osceola, Nebraska, Mr. Fisher was united in marriage to Miss Evangeline Hazelwood and they have three children, Eleanora, Maurice Nixon and Robert Vernon. The family residence is at No. 314 Franklin street in Denver, Colorado, and Mr. Fisher has his offices in this city.
He is a member of the Denver Club of Denver, the Cosmos Club of Washington, D. C., the Royal Societies Club of London, England, and is a fellow of the Geological Society of America and many other scientific and technical societies, which shows the nature and breadth of his interests. His engineering activities during the past decade has extended throughout Europe, Alaska, Canada, Cuba, Mexico and other countries. He is a man of culture, of charming manner, of unfailing courtesy and of high purpose. He has become a recognized leader in his profession, advancing step by step until he has today few compeers and no superiors as a petroleum geologist and engineer in the United States.
LAWRENCE COLQUHOUN GRANT.
Among the younger successful agriculturists of Pueblo county .is Lawrence C. Grant who cultivates a valuable farm of eighty acres near Avondale. He owns in addition two hundred acres but this tract he has rented to others. He was born in Pueblo, July 27, 1884, and is a son of Robert and Sarah J. (Waggoner) Grant, who came to Colorado in 1864, locating in Boone, where the father farmed for some time, later removing to Pueblo. In that city he established the first slaughter house and butcher shop, which he successfully conducted for some time. In his agricultural and business enterprises he has been very successful and now lives retired in the enjoyment of an ample compe- tence which permits him to surround himself with many of the comforts of life. Part of his time each year he spends in California. To him and his wife were born ten children, our subject being the fifth in order of birth. Two of the children have passed away, Gertrude Grant passing to the great beyond at the age of eighteen years.
Lawrence C. Grant received his education in the public schools of Pueblo and sub- sequently attended the Centennial high school of that city for two years, there taking a business course. He then assisted his father with the work of the farm for about two years, receiving regular wages, and at the end of that time became a partner in the enterprise and as such continued for six years. At the end of that period he bought his present farm from his father and also acquired an interest in the 7X Cattle Company, which was formed in July, 1916, his father and brother having an interest in this enter- prise. He now gives most of his attention to the farming of eighty acres, while two hundred acres of his land, also in a good state of cultivation, are leased out to others.
On December 14, 1905, Mr. Grant was united in marriage to Miss Goldie Swartz and they are popular in the younger social set in their neighborhood. In his political affilia- tions Mr. Grant is independent, supporting those candidates whom he deems best fitted for the offices to which they aspire, irrespective of party affiliation. Live stock interests have greatly benefited by his activities. as he has been a valued factor in the develop- ment of the cattle industry of his section. He has many friends in Avondale and the neighborhood and all are agreed as to his high qualities of character.
FREDERICK DUROCHER.
Frederick Durocher, president and manager of the Standard Bottling Company of Denver, was born in the province of Quebec, Canada, April 12, 1859. His father, the late Peter Durocher, was also a native of Canada and was descended from one of the pioneer families of that country of French lineage. The family was founded in the new world during the early part of the eighteenth century, the first representative of the name crossing the Atlantic with Cartier. Peter Durocher became a successful farmer of Canada and spent his entire life in the province of Quebec, where he passed away in 1881 at the age of seventy-eight years. His wife, Mrs. Eleanore Durocher, was also a native of Canada and a representative of one of the old pioneer French Canadian families. She passed away in 1906 at the notable old age of ninety-two years, having for a quarter
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of a century survived her husband. She was the mother of twelve children, three sons and nine daughters.
Frederick Durocher was the youngest of the family and was educated in the public schools of Canada, which he attended to the age of sixteen. His life up to that time was spent upon the home farm and his early experiences were those of the farm-bred boy. He was afterward apprenticed to learn the carpenter's trade and in 1879 he removed to the west, making his way direct to Denver, Colorado, where he arrived on the 10th of April. Immediately afterward he took up work at the carpenter's trade, which he followed for four years. He next turned his attention to the soda water business, begin- ning in a very small way in a basement room at No. 1317 Larimer street in the old Lincoln Hall building. Notwithstanding his humble start, however, he rapidly developed the business, which grew day by day until it is by far the largest enterprise of the kind west of the Missouri river. He today occupies a three-story brick building, which was erected about 1900 at a cost of forty thousand dollars. The plant is equipped with the latest modern machinery to facilitate the work and the most sanitary conditions prevail. Every bottle that is filled is thoroughly sterilized before it is used. Something of the growth of the business is indicated in the fact that the company now employs between forty and fifty people and the trade extends from Wyoming to Nebraska, to Arkansas, to Utah and to other western states. The growth of the business is attributable in large measure to the excellence of the product, combined with the thoroughly reliable and progressive business methods instituted by Mr. Durocher.
On the 20th of February, 1884, Mr. Durocher was united in marriage in Salt Lake City to Miss Minnie Roy, a native of Iowa and a daughter of Joseph and Julia Roy. The mother of Mrs. Durocher is still living and now makes her home in Denver. Three children have been born of his marriage: Walter, who is associated with his father in business; Angeline; and Fred. All were born in Denver.
In his political views Mr. Durocher has ever been a stalwart republican and fra- ternally he is connected with Elks Lodge, No. 17. He is likewise a member of the Denver Motor Club and the Denver Civic and Commercial Association, while his religious faith is indicated in the fact that he is a communicant of the Immaculate Conception cathedral, having always been identified with the Roman Catholic church. He started out in life a poor boy but has steadily advanced along business lines until he is at the head of a profitable enterprise. His success, moreover, is indicated in the fact that he is the owner of a very attractive home at No. 1347 Cherokee street. He turns for diversion to motor- ing and to outdoor sports and thus finds needed relief from the stress of a growing and important business enterprise. His life record should serve as a source of inspiration and encouragement to others, showing what may be accomplished through individual effort and perseverance. There have been no spectacular phases in his career, no periods of wild speculation, but by persistency and energy he has directed his business affairs to a point where prosperity in large measure is his. The philosopher Emerson has said "An institution is but the lengthened shadow of a man," and the great interests which Mr. Durocher has developed and built up are an indication of his strength of char- acter, his keen sagacity and his unfaltering energy.
HON. FRANCIS W. HAMMITT.
Hon. Francis W. Hammitt, deceased, was one of the pioneer settlers of Colorado who contributed much toward shaping its early history and later upbuilding, leaving the impress of his individuality upon the statute books of the state, advancing its material development through his important business interests and also contributing to its moral progress as an active worker in church and Sunday school. His life record constitutes an important chapter in Colorado's annals. He was born in Stark county. Ohio, April 18, 1833, a son of George and Ellen (Reeves) Hammitt, who were natives of New Jersey and Ohio respectively. The father removed to Stark county, Ohio, in early life and after his marriage took up his abode in Washington county, that state. Later he became a resident of Wapello county, Iowa, and in 1860 arrived in Colorado. For a few years thereafter he operated a ranch near Fremont and passed away in that locality in 1876. His family numbered six children.
Francis W. Hammitt was reared in Iowa and supplemented his early educational opportunities by study in an academy. When twenty years of age he taught his first term of school and for seven years followed that profession in Iowa and Missouri. After coming to Colorado he was active in the organization of School District No. 5, near Platte- ville, became the first teacher of the district and continued in the position 'for a second
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year. He was also long connected with the school board and throughout his entire life did everything in his power to advance the interests of public education, which he regarded as one of the nation's bulwarks.
In 1860 Mr. Hammitt was married and soon after set out on his wedding journey, which was a trip across the plains. After traveling for two months the young couple arrived at their destination in Weld county and during that summer Mr. Hammitt homesteaded a quarter section of bottom land on section 36, township 3, range 67. He immediately began the arduous task of transforming the wild tract into fertile fields and carried on the work of further development and improvement for ten years without irrigation. For some years he was also extensively engaged in stock raising and he took up on his ranch the manufacture of cheese which he carried on quite extensively, being among the earliest promoters of that industry in the state. In 1878 he removed his cheese factory to Platteville and after operating it for a year or more sold out. In 1887 he rented his farm, putting aside the more active and arduous duties of agricultural life.
As previously stated. Mr. Hammitt was married on the 29th of March, 1860, at which time Miss Sarah Duckworth became his wife, and to them were born seven children: Alva D., who is now a minister; Nellie; George W .; Carleton W .; Frank N., who is deceased; Elma; and Pearl. The wife and mother passed away September 29, 1878. and on the 15th of June. 1881, Mr. Hammitt was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Louie (Lycam) Shea, the widow of Henry Shea and a daughter of Jeremiah and Emeline (Lowrey) Lycam. To Mr. Hammitt's second marriage were born three children: Grace, the wife of Samuel Hughell, residing in Idaho; Guy L., living in Denver; and Peter, who died in infancy.
For many years Mr. Hammitt figured prominently in connection with public events in Colorado. In 1861 he was elected president of the Platte River Claims Club and acted in that capacity until the organization of the territory of Colorado. He was appointed the first probate judge of Weld county and at the close of his first term was reappointed but declined to serve for a longer period. In 1874 he was elected county commissioner and was chairman of the board for two years. In 1886 he was elected by a large majority to the state legislature and during his term succeeded in securing the passage of a number of important bills through the house only to have them defeated in the senate. He was mayor of Platteville for four terms and did much for the improvement and development of the town in many ways, looking beyond the exigencies of the moment to the opportunities and possibilities of the future. He was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church and for more than thirty years served on its official board, while for many years he was superintendent of its Sunday school. He was also quite prominent in temperance work and in fact his aid and influence were ever given on the side of those interests which make for the uplift of the indivdual and the betterment of the community. In the edition of the Greeley News of July 4, 1917, is an interesting picture of the old log cabin where Mr. Hammitt held court in 1867. In fact there are few features of Weld county's development and progress with which his name is not associated and because of his useful, upright and honorable life his memory remains as a blessed benediction to all who knew him. He passed away in Platteville, November 24, 1915, after a few days' illness. In March of the following year Mrs. Hammitt sold her interests at Platteville and removed to Fort Lupton, where she purchased an attractive residence which she has since occupied.
PAUL DILL.
Paul Dill, a manufacturing optician and optometrist of Greeley, was born in Indiana on the 6th of October, 1880, a son of John W. and Mary (Tanner) Dill, who are natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio respectively. The father is a physician and the mother also became actively connected with the profession, both being medical gradu- ates of the University of Michigan. They now reside in Franklin, Indiana, where Dr. John W. Dill has practiced medicine for many years, ranking with the leading physicians and surgeons of that section of the state. During the Civil war he served for three years in the Union army as a member of an Iowa regiment.
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