History of Colorado; Volume II, Part 8

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

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To Mr. and Mrs. Skerritt were born eight children. Thomas M., whose hirth occurred on the 24th of May, 1860, and was claimed to be the first white boy born in the state, followed the profession of veterinary surgery at Englewood until called to his final rest in 1915. Joseph A., who was born on the 25th of May, 1862, is a resident farmer of Hudson, Colorado. He wedded Miss Millicent Halliday, by whom he has two children, Millicent and Thomas. For two terms he served as county assessor of Arapahoe county and for one term held the office of sheriff. George E., who was born in July, 1864, is successfully engaged in the automobile business at Englewood, Col- orado. He married Miss Iva Begg, of Terre Haute, Indiana. William, whose birth occurred in 1866, passed away at the age of thirteen years. Marguerite E., who was born January 28, 1868, died in May, 1917. Mary E., who was born on the 13th of February, 1870, resides in Englewood. Harry W., whose natal day was October 6, 1872, died on the 3d of October, 1916. Charles H., who was born on the 10th of July, 1874, is engaged in the automobile business at Englewood, Colorado. The death of the mother occurred January 16, 1901, while Mr. Skerritt survived until May 28, 1913, when he, too, passed to his final rest. There was no phase of frontier life with which they were not familiar and they aided in planting the seeds of civilization upon the western plains, their labors constituting an important element in the development of the region in which they established their home. They were people of genuine worth, enjoying the warm regard of all with whom they came in contact, and the family has always remained a respected one of Englewood.

HON. JOHN EVANS.

No history of Colorado would be complete without extended reference to the Hon. John Evans, who was the second territorial governor and whose efforts in behalf of public progress and upbuilding were far-reaching, important and effective. With notably keen vision he saw into the future, recognized the possibilities of the state and worked toward desired ends, and even yet movements which he instituted and measures which he secured have not reached their full fruition but remain as factors for good in the state's development.

Mr. Evans was born in Waynesville, Ohio, on the 9th of March, 1814, his parents being David and Rachel Evans. He was descended from an old Quaker family of Philadelphia, where his great-grandfather engaged in the manufacture of tools. His sons, Benjamin and Owen, afterward carried on the same business on Chestnut street

HON. JOHN EVANS

HISTORY OF COLORADO

and the latter became the inventor of the screw auger. David Evans, father of John Evans, was the representative of the family who left Pennsylvania and penetrated into the Ohio wilderness, where through the wise conduct of his business affairs he accumu- lated a large measure of wealth. John was reared upon the homestead farm and had the opportunity at intervals of attending the district school, but his educational privileges were quite limited. However, upon attaining his majority he went to Philadelphia and pursued a course of study in the Clermont Academy which awakened in him the ambition to become a member of a profession. Accordingly he decided upon the study of medicine and won his M. D. degree upon graduation with the class of 1838. He began practice upon the frontier of Illinois and in 1839 returned to Ohio,' where he was united in marriage to Miss Hannah Canby, a daughter of Joseph Canby, who was an eminent physician of that state and an uncle of General R. S. Canby of the United States army. They established their home in Attica, Indiana. where Dr. Evans soon won wide and well merited reputation as a leading physician and surgeon and as a farsighted and successful business man. He became deeply interested in the deplorable condition of the insane wards of the state and his interest matured in well defined plans for the improvement of such conditions. His labors resulted in the enact- ment of a legislative measure in 1841 which provided for the building of an insane asylum, and on its completion he was appointed the first superintendent. In 1845 he was elected to a chair in Rush Medical College of Chicago and occupied that professor- ship for eleven years. While a resident of that city he became prominently identified with the Illinois State and the American Medical Associations and had much influence in those organizations, his sound judgment and advanced views being recognized by his colleagues and contemporaries in the profession. During the cholera epidemic of 1848 and 1849, Dr. Evans published a monograph maintaining that the disease was contagious and demonstrated it by the lines of march of the disease as along the lines of travel, therefore advocating rigid quarantine. He also urged congress to establish a national quarantine. For a number of years he was the editor of the Medical and Surgical Journal and was the founder of the Illinois General Hospital of the Lakes, which was subsequently transferred to the Sisters of Mercy and was named Mercy Hospital. He was likewise largely instrumental in establishing the Methodist Book Concern and the Northwestern Christian Advocate, a publication of the Methodist church issued in Chicago. In fact he became one of the original promoters of the Methodist Church block and was among those who formulated the plans for its erection and aided in raising the funds. He was also among the promoters of the Chicago & Fort Wayne Railroad and for many years acted as managing director of the line. By adroit financiering he secured the right of way into the city and valuable lands for its terminals where the Union depot now stands. It was through his wise investments and successful operations in real estate that Dr. Evans laid the foundation for his very large fortune. He seemed to possess unerring judgment and insight con- cerning investments and in all of his business projects prospered. In 1852 and 1853 he served as a member of the city council of Chicago and introduced the ordinance pro- viding for the appointment of a superintendent of the first high school there.

It was while a resident of Chicago that Dr. Evans was called upon to mourn the loss of his first wife, who bore the maiden name of Hannah Canby. He afterward wedded Margaret P. Gray, a daughter of the Hon. Samuel Gray, of Bowdoinham, Maine, who was a leading and prosperous attorney of that city. In religious faith Dr. Evans was a Methodist. He had united with the church while in Attica, Indiana, as a result of the teachings and eloquence of the renowned Bishop Simpson, with whom he became well acquainted. In 1853 he urged the necessity of founding a Methodist educational institution, believing that it was an opportune time for such a movement, and in con- nection with others selected a suburb of Chicago as the site for the school, and this suburb was afterward named Evanston in his honor. Within two years the university was established and his great sagacity in providing for the institution is shown in the fact that in connection with others he bought for the school property that is now in the heart of Chicago- and among the holdings of the University is the land which is today occupied by the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank and which with others, is still owned by the university. Dr. Evans endowed the chairs of Latin and also of mental and moral philosophy with fifty thousand dollars and subsequently increased the endow- ment to one hundred thousand dollars. He became the first president of the board of trustees of Northwestern University and occupied that position for forty-two years. He always seemed to take an advanced stand upon any vital public question and ever looked beyond the exigencies of the moment to the opportunities and the needs of the future. In 1861, in a public controversy with Judge Scates of the supreme court of

HISTORY OF COLORADO

Illinois, he persistently advocated the emancipation of the slaves and their enlistment in the Union army as one of the most effective measures that could be adopted for crush- ing out the rebellion. While a resident of Chicago he became a candidate for congress and was one of the most prominent speakers at the first republican convention, which was held in Aurora, Illinois. He was defeated, however, by the know-nothing or American party candidate. He was a warm personal friend of Abraham Lincoln and was a delegate to the state convention which nominated him as the state's candidate for the presidency. In 1861, President Lincoln offered Dr. Evans the governorship of Washington territory but this he declined. In 1862, however, he accepted the appoint- ment of territorial governor of Colorado to succeed William Gilpin, and in this con- nection a contemporary writer has said: "Great as his work had been in Indiana and Illinois, the full consummation of his beneficent efforts appears in more than three decades of usefulness to the people of Colorado. The interested reader will find the impress of his genius for the organization and completion of great works on every page of our local history. He has but to look over the streets of Denver, out upon the broad plains and toward the snow-crested ranges of our everlasting hills to discover the vast schemes of well directed progress which he devised and put in operation. He was the first citizen of the territory and afterward of the state, the leader of men, of cities and of universal development. What he has builded lends renown to the commonwealth and covers his name with imperishable glory." He had reached the age of eighty-three when the weary wheels of life at length stood still and Denver mourned the death of its foremost citizen-a man whose name ever reflected credit and honor upon the city that honored him. His work, however, was not limited by the confines of one city or of one state but was nation-wide in its scope and influence, and who can measure the beneficial results of his labors?

BERT MARTIN.

Bert Martin, well known as a leading attorney at law of Denver, was born in Centerville, Iowa, December 23, 1875, a son of Stephen and Elvira (Frost) Martin. During the pioneer epoch of Indiana representatives of the name settled in that state, where the birth of Stephen Martin occurred. His father was the Rev. Anthony Martin, a Methodist divine who became widely and prominently known and honored in the state of Iowa. He served as a member of the Greybeard Regiment from that state at the time of the Civil war and his son, Stephen Martin, also responding to the country's call for aid, enlisted in Company A of the Seventh Iowa Cavalry and served for four years and four months, being on duty in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and Kansas, engaged in defending the frontier. He was a harness maker by trade and followed that business at Centerville, Iowa, for many years but passed away at Grand Island, Nebraska, September 10, 1907, when he had reached the age of seventy-one years. His wife was born in Ohio and belonged to one of the old families of that state of Pennsylvania Dutch descent. She passed away May 28, 1915, in Denver, at which time she was living in the home of her son Bert and had attained the age of eighty years. By her marriage she had become the mother of eight children, four sons and four daughters.

Bert Martin, the youngest of the family, was educated in the public schools of Iowa and in the Northwestern Normal School at Stanberry, Missouri, from which institution he was in due time graduated. After reviewing the broad field of business in order to decide upon a vocation which he wished to make his life work, he entered the Denver University for the study of law and completed his reading in the office of L. J. Stark. He was then admitted to practice in 1909 and became associated in the active work of the profession with his former preceptor, with whom he entered into partnership rela- tions under the firm style of Stark & Martin. This association was maintained until 1913, since which time Mr. Martin has practiced alone, concentrating his efforts and attention upon the general practice of law. in which he has met substantial success. He has always prepared his cases with great thoroughness and care, is logical in his deductions and clear in his reasoning. He belongs to the Denver Bar Association.

On the 1st of September. 1903, Mr. Martin was married at Hygiene, Colorado, to Miss Grace E. Chapman, a native of this state and a daughter of the late Clarence J. Chapman, who was a very prominent man, serving as a member of the state legislature and taking a very active and helpful part in promoting the interests of republican politics. He also served as irrigation superintendent of the first district. To Mr. and Mrs. Martin have been born two children: Dorothea, who was born in Denver, August

HISTORY OF COLORADO

18, 1911; and Helen, who was born in Denver, January 8, 1905, and passed away November 28, 1908.

Mr. Martin has always been interested in manly outdoor sports and while in the Denver University served for four years on the football team and was captain of the track team two years and also manager of the Clarion College paper for two years. His political endorsement has ever been given to the republican party, in the work of which he has taken an active and helpful interest. He served as commissioner of both the city and county of Denver, having been appointed to fill a vacancy in 1908 by Governor Buchtel, and continued to serve in that position until the expiration of the term of Eugene McCarthy, who was his predecessor. He became election commissioner by virtue of an amendment to the city charter in June, 1915, and is still serving in that capacity and is president of the election commission. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in Grace Methodist church, of which he is a trustee. He is also a member of the athletic council of the Denver University. His interests are broad and varied and his activities have been of a character which have developed a well rounded manhood, resulting in continued progress along physical, intellectual and moral lines. He has ever held to high ideals of life and has put forth every effort to raise himself to their level.

JOHN B. COSGRIFF.

John B. Cosgriff, whose constantly broadening interests brought him prominently to the front as a merchant, sheepman and banker of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and Idaho, was born September 17, 1860, in Colchester, Vermont, and passed away in Denver on the 15th of June, 1918. He was a son of Jolin and Ellen (Barry) Cosgriff. The former was born March 4, 1826, and departed this life January 19, 1898, after devoting his life to the occupation of farming.

To the public and high schools of Burlington, Vermont, John B. Cosgriff was indebted for the educational advantages which he enjoyed and which qualified him for life's prac- tical and responsible duties. He dated his residence in Denver from 1879, at which time he began hauling freight between Denver and Leadville. He also assisted in building the Tabor Opera House, having a contract for its foundation excavation and also for the excavation work for the Union Depot. It is said that when the opera house was formally opened he had as his sole possession a fifty cent piece, which he was saving to attend the opening concert. Upon going up to get his ticket he dropped the coin between two boards of the sidewalk and could not recover it. Consequently he missed the concert, which he often said was the keenest disappointment of his life.

It was in the early '80s that Mr. Cosgriff became interested in the sheep business in Carbon county, Wyoming, and with the development of his sheep industry he also became identified with commercial interests. He opened trading stores at Fort Steele and at Saratoga in connection with his brother, T. A. Cosgriff, and with the development of the business they were enabled to establish other stores at Rock Springs, Medicine Bow, Rock River, Opal and Granger, and banks at Rock Springs, Opal, Medicine Bow, Rock River, Larimer and Encampment, all of which were conducted under the name of the Cosgriff Brothers Company. In 1896, in association with his brother, Mr. Cosgriff purchased the First National Bank of Rawlins, Wyoming, and afterward organized the State Bank of Saratoga, Wyoming. In 1899 the brothers established a wholesale grocery house in Salt Lake City under the name of the Cosgriff-Enright Company and in the following year John B. Cosgriff and his younger brother, J. E. Cosgriff, purchased the control of the Commercial National Bank of Salt Lake City, afterward changing the name to the Continental National Bank. John B. Cosgriff was vice president and one of the directors of the bank to the time of his death. Wherever advantageous opportunity opened up he extended his business connections and his enterprise enabled him to readily recognize any favorable chance. He became a factor in the banking circles of Cheyenne when in 1903 he and his brother. Thomas A., purchased the First National Bank of that city, of which he continued a director and vice president until his life's labors were ended. He figured at other points in banking circles, becoming president of the Murray State Bank of Murray. Utah, of the Saratoga State Bank of Saratoga, Wyoming, and also as a director in banks at Caldwell, St. Anthony, Rexburg. Marysville and Soldier, all in Idaho, and in the Morrison-Merrill Lumber Company of Salt Lake City and the Miller Floral Company of Utah. He was also a director of the Mercantile Trust Company of

JOHN B. COSGRIFF

HISTORY OF COLORADO

Boulder. He was chairman of the board of directors of the Hamilton National Bank of Denver from 1909, when it was organized by himself and his brother, Thomas A., until his brother's death in 1915, when he succeeded to the presidency of the bank. He became a director of the First National Bank of Monte Vista, Colorado, and of the United States Bank & Trust Company of Grand Junction. Colorado. He furthermore extended his efforts into railroad circles by becoming president of the San Luis Central Railroad.

Moreover, in connection with the development of the sheep industry, the Cosgriff brothers bought vast tracts of land in Wyoming and became known as the most promi- nent authorities on sheep in the country. In Chicago, Omaha and New York the name of Jolin Cosgriff guaranteed quality in sheep and the big firms bid higher prices for his shipments than for any other. At least once a week in the selling season shipments of from fifteen to twenty-five thousand sheep passed through Denver from the great Cosgriff ranches, one of which is near Fort Steele and another near Rawlins, Wyoming. When other men were forced from sheep raising by the invasion of farmers, Mr. Cosgriff adjusted himself and his business to the changed conditions and continued on almost as large a scale as in the most prosperous years of the industry. He was one of the country's greatest experts on sheep and in addition to his Wyoming interests he owned large sheep interests in southern Utah. There is an old adage that power grows through the exercise of effort and this finds its exemplification in the life record of Jobn B. Cosgriff, whose constantly expanding activities ever seemed to heighten bis powers and broaden his opportunities.

On the 30th of July, 1900, Mr. Cosgriff was united in marriage to Miss Bessie Marion Stewart, a daughter of William Dewitt Stewart, of Fairfax, Vermont, who follows the profession of the law, and of Mary (Spofford) Stewart, a native of Vermont. To Mr. and Mrs. Cosgriff were born four children, Ellen. Stewart, John William and Edward Bailey.

Mr. Cosgriff turned for recreation to fishing and driving. He was a member of the Denver Athletic Club and the Denver Country Club and he also held membership with the Knights of Columbus. The only political office he ever filled was that of a county commissioner while a resident of Salt Lake City, and he served on the grand jury. His was a notable example of the chance that lies before every American citizen. Coming to the west empty-handed, he early demonstrated the fact that he was not afraid of hard work and in his industry he laid broad and deep the foundation upon which he builded his later prosperity. Moreover, he eagerly learned the lessons which each experience of life contained and he carefully counted the cost of every business venture. His keen sagacity enabled him to readily discriminate concerning the worth of any opportunity and in the development of his business he studied the needs and demands of the growing country and was ready to meet these when occasion demanded. His success in the field of merchandising, or in sheep raising or in banking, along any one line would alone have entitled him to distinction as a representative business man of the west. but in each he carried forward his efforts to a notable conclusion, making his activities synonymous with the attainment of prosperity.

LEWIS CLARK MOORE.

Lewis Clark Moore, president of the First National Bank of Fort Collins, an institution of high standing and great moment to the community, was born in Findlay, Ohio, January 24, 1866. He acquired his education in the public schools of his native state and in the Eastman Business College at Poughkeepsie, New York. He came to Colorado in 1885, in the nineteenth year of his age, and after living at Idaho Springs, for a short time removed to Fort Collins in June, 1887. Soon after taking up his abode in the last named city he was appointed clerk of the county court and served in that capacity for about eighteen months. On the 1st of January, 1889, he accepted the position of bookkeeper in the First National Bank and was soon afterward pro- moted to the position of assistant cashier, while subsequently be was advanced to the position of cashier of the bank, in which capacity he continued to serve for a number of years. He early evinced a keen insight into business matters and by the judicious invest- ment of his savings he began to accumulate considerable property and to be recognized as an important factor in financial circles. He is a careful, alert and methodical business man, a good judge of values and his progress upward on the ladder of fortune has been rapid and safe. He is rated as one of the most conservative men in Fort Collins and also as one of the most successful, owing to the soundness of his judgment and

HISTORY OF COLORADO

his keen sagacity in business affairs. Mr. Moore is a quiet, unassuming gentleman, and although wedded to his business, is a genial companion and is strongly attached to his home and friends.

On the 6th of July, 1893, Mr. Moore was united in marriage to Miss Agnes Ferrier, of Liberty, Nebraska. Mrs. Moore came from Nebraska in 1890 and was assistant to the principal of the high school for three years prior to her marriage. She is a highly educated lady, cultured and refined, and is a leader in educational, club and church work in Fort Collins.

Mr. Moore is a Master Mason, a Knight Templar, a member of the Mystic Shrine and has attained the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite consistory. He also has membership with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and with the First Presbyterian church of Fort Collins. In politics he is a Jacksonian democrat.

Among his more important activities may be mentioned his efforts in behalf of irrigation. About 1905 he became interested in irrigation matters, the storage and conservation of water and its proper distribution. He was elected president of the North Poudre Irrigation Company in 1909, when that company was in a bankrupt condition, and after about nine years of operating the system he turned it over to his successor in a very prosperous and safe condition. At the present time the system is equal to any of the great irrigation systems in northern Colorado. While he was president of that company, Halligan dam and reservoir and No. 15 reservoir were built and the company's canals were enlarged. Mr. Moore made no personal profit whatever by handling that company but added many millions of wealth to the county and state in directing and aiding it through its financial troubles. This was char- acteristic of the man. He recognized the value of the enterprse to the county if it was wisely controlled and he put forth every effort to make it of public benefit. He has always been actuated by devotion to the general good as well as by laudable ambi- tion in the attainment of individual success and his worth as a man and citizen is widely acknowledged.

JOEL FREDERICK VAILE.

Joel Frederick Vaile was for many years a distinguished citizen of Denver, prominently known as a lawyer and orator. In his chosen profession he won dis- tinguished honors by reason of his highly developed natural talents and ability. Indiana claimed him as a native son, his birth having occurred in Centerville, that state, on the 14th of March, 1848, while his last days were passed in Denver, where his death occurred April 3, 1916. Fortunate is the man who has back of him an ancestry honorable and distinguished and happy is he if his lines of life are cast in harmony therewith. In person, in talent and in character Joel Frederick Vaile was a worthy scion of the race from which he sprung. He was descended through the maternal line from Elder William Brewster, who with intrepid spirit led the band of Pilgrim fathers to the new world and was their recognized leader as they disembarked from the Mayflower and landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620, remaining their spiritual and temporal adviser for many years. Among his descendants were those who exerted marked in- fluence over public life and thought in their respective communities as the years passed on. One of the ancestors of Mr. Vaile was Colonel Benjamin Hammond, who participated in the battle of Bunker Hill and in many other important engagements which led up to the final victory that crowned the American arms in the Revolutionary war. The ancestral record of Joel Frederick Vaile was one of which he had every reason to be proud. His father, Rawson Vaile, was born May 20, 1812, and for nearly fifty years was a leading representative of the bar of Indiana, in which state he spent nearly his entire life, passing away at Kokomo in December, 1888.

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History of Colorado; Volume II, Part 8

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