USA > Colorado > History of Colorado; Volume III > Part 28
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up a business of large and extensive proportions and Mr. Clark has contributed much to this result during the period of his connection with the institution.
In 1905 Mr. Clark was united in marriage to Miss Edna M. Hineline, of Freeport. Illinois, and to them have been born three children, David, Roger and Alan, aged respectively twelve, ten and seven years and all now in school. Mr. Clark is a faithful representative of the Masonic fraternity, holding membership in Palestine Lodge, A. F. & A. M. He is also identified with the Denver Civic and Commercial Association and co- operates heartily in all of its well defined plans and purposes for the upbuilding of the city, the extension and direction of its trade relations, the development of all muni- cipal interests and the advancement of its civic standards. He belongs to the Mile High Duck Club and his social qualities have made him very popular. As a banker and man he is of the highest standing and during the period of his residence in Denver he has won a most enviable position in public regard.
MARK H. BEETHAM.
A western pioneer. now extensively engaged in the cattle commission business in Denver, big-hearted. popular, capable, with marked executive ability, no man at the Denver stock yards is better known than Mark H. Beetham. In the early days of the west he fought Indians, guided overland wagon trains, prospected in the mountains of Wyoming, Montana, Utah and Colorado, herded cattle on the plains, participated in many roundups and worked in various capacities as a western pioneer. Today he is one of the most successful and prominent of the cattle commission men of Denver and, more- over, is a man of ready sympathy, to whom no worthy appeal is ever made in vain, and no call for his assistance remains unanswered.
Mark H. Beetham was born in Sandusky, Ohio. March 16, 1864, and is a son of James and Anna Mary ( Duckworth ) Beetham. The father came to Colorado just prior to the arrival of the Horace Greeley colony and settled where the town of Greeley now stands. He engaged in the stock business and there continued to the time of his death, which occurred in 1906, when he had reached the age of seventy-one years. In Ohio he enlisted for active service in the Civil war and was at the front as a private throughout the entire period of hostilities. His wife died in Greeley. Colorado, in 1893, at the age of sixty-nine years. In their family were five children: Alonzo, who is a resident of Greeley; Joseph, living in Denver: Mrs. Martha Wyatt, of Greeley; Mrs. Sarah Jones, a resident of Mackay, Idaho; and Mark H., of this review.
The last named attended the public schools of Greeley, Colorado, for a very brief period and was only seven years of age when he started to work on one of the great cattle ranches of the west. He was then employed on cattle ranches of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Utah and Mexico and in course of time he became a partner in the ownership of immense herds of cattle. His experiences in those years and the adventures which he met would fill a volume if written in detail and would prove a most interesting story, picturing forth the development of the live stock industry in the west. He pos- sessed bravery, self-reliance and enterprise combined with industry and he made his way in the world unassisted. At times he participated in engagements with the Indians and at different periods he was likewise engaged in prospecting for gold and in trapping along the streams of the far west. He also acted as guide and all of the time when in the saddle or upon the range he was learning the lessons which nature and outdoor life teaches, constantly broadening his mind by the study of natural conditions and by the study of those with whom he came in contact. In 1887 he was appointed to the position of brand inspector for the state of Colorado and continued uninterruptedly in that posi- tion until 1900, after which he worked for the state of Wyoming as brand inspector for three years. On the expiration of that period he entered the cattle commission business with the Great Western Commission Company in the capacity of manager and secretary. This company has important ranching interests in Routt county and Mr. Beetham is also part owner of the Park Range Live Stock Company and one of its directors. He was president of the Live Stock Exchange of Denver, Colorado, for one term. There is
perhaps no man more familiar with every practical phase of the live stock industry in Colorado than Mr. Beetham by reason of the fact that he is acquainted with every phase of life on the range as well as with the marketing of cattle in the cities.
On the 12th of October, 1886, in Hardin, Colorado. Mr. Beetham was married to Miss Susan Bryant, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bryant, of Omaha, Nebraska. Mr. and
MARK H. BEETHAM
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Mrs. Beetham have one child, Mrs. Laurette Lee, of Denver, who was born in Omaha and who has a daughter, Anna Mary Lee.
Fraternally Mr. Beetham is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and with the Modern Woodmen of America. He belongs to the Denver Athletic Club and his political allegiance is given to the republican party. Well known and prominent, he stands high in public regard and his record is notable as that of a self-made man who by untiring effort. close application and intelligently directed energy has reached a prominent position among the live stock commission men of Denver.
ERNEST WEINHAUSEN.
Ernest Weinhausen, steward at the Colorado State Hospital in Pueblo, was born in Germany on the 9th of March, 1866. a son of Ernest and Bertha (Von Loewenstein) Weinhausen, both of whom passed away in their native country. The son obtained his education in his native land, pursuing a nine years' course in a "gymnasium" there, these schools being a combination of the American grammar and high school. He left home for the United States in 1881, when a youth of fifteen years, desirous to enjoy the opportunities and advantages of the new world and its democratic form of government. He made his way to St. Paul, Minnesota, and in 1881 became an employe in a wholesale drug house there. He was afterward with a surveying party engaged in survey work between northern Minnesota and Michigan in 1885. In that year he went to South Da- kota and engaged in the drug business for four or five years, and leaving South Dakota he returned to Minnesota and engaged in work for a wholesale drug company in Minne- apolis. He remained there until his removal to Pueblo, Colorado, in 1893. Arriving in this state, he embarked in the drug husiness in Durango and in 1894 engaged in the drug business in Pueblo for some time. His connection with the State Hospital began by daily visits in order to put up the medicine needed there. He visited the institution in that way twice each day but as the work increased the board induced him to devote his entire time to the work. This was in September, 1898, and besides acting as druggist he became private secretary to Dr. Thombs, whom he assisted for a considerable period. On the 1st of January, 1902, he was appointed steward of the hospital and has served continuously since with the exception of one year. doing excellent work in this connec- tion.
On the 15th of February, 1905. Mr. Weinhausen was united in marriage to Miss Mary C. O'Shea. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party and fraternally he is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Woodmen of the World and the Lions Club. He is much interested in Colorado and its development and is thor- oughly American in spirit and interests. He voluntarily made the choice between Ger- many and the United States, and having decided to come to the new world. he has since given stalwart support to the country, cooperating to the extent of his power in all that has to do with loyal advocacy of high American ideals.
HORACE W. DANFORTH.
Horace W. Danforth, attorney at law and member of the faculty of the Denver Law School, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. November 15, 1873, a son of Charles H. and Julia C. (Moulton) Danforth, the former a native of Boston, Massachusetts, while the latter was born at Cuyahoga Falls. Ohio. In early life Charles H. Danforth followed the sea, sailing upon his father's vessels engaged in the India trade. At the outbreak of the Civil war he entered the United States Navy in which he served with distinction. He was acting master's mate on the Kearsarge at the time that vessel sank the Con- federate cruiser Alabama off Cherbourg, France, during the period of hostilities between the north and the south. In 1866 he removed westward to Colorado and after visiting the various mining camps in this section engaged in the lumber business at Golden, where he was a member of the firm of Danforth & Chambers, his undertakings in this connection being attended with a fair measure of success. During his residence in Golden he took an active part in civic affairs and for four years was postmaster, re- signing the office to enter into business in St. Louis, to which city he removed in 1872 and where for several years he was successfuly engaged in the wholesale tobacco busi- ness. In 1876 he returned to Colorado and located in the Clear Creek valley, two miles west of Denver, where he farmed to the time of his death, which occurred in 1902, when
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ne had reached the age of seventy-three years. It was in Golden, Colorado, that Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Danforth were married and the latter passed away in Denver, in December, 1902, at the age of sixty-five years. Their family numbered two children: Horace W., the elder; and Julia Harriet, who was drowned at Trinidad, Colorado. in 1880.
Horace W. Danforth pursued his education in the East Denver high school, from which he was graduated with the class of 1893. He then went to the University of Michigan, entering the academic department, and won his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1897. He afterward pursued a course in law and received the LL. B. degree upon graduation with the class of 1900. He did not immediately enter upon the work of his chosen profession but in 1904 took up active practice, since which time he has become recognized as one of the able members of the Colorado bar, demonstrating his ability in the successful conduct of many important and involved cases heard in the courts of the state. The thoroughness with which he prepares his cases is one of the strong points in his professional record and at all times he is sound in argument, clear in his rea- soning and logical in his deductions. He is also serving as a member of the faculty of the Denver Law School and he belongs to the bar association of the city and county of Denver and the Colorado Bar Association.
On the 21st of May, 1903. Mr. Danforth was married to Miss Edna A. Bell, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. Ira Bell, of Zanesville, Ohio. He is well known as a member of the Denver Civic and Commercial Association and is prominent in Masonic circles, having taken the degrees of lodge, chapter, council and commandery and also of the Mystic Shrine. Mr. Danforth likewise belongs to the Royal Arcanum, to the Royal League, the Knights of Pythias and to Phi Alpha Delta, a Greek letter fraternity. Holding to high pro- fessional standards, he has won a creditable position among the members of the bar. while his social qualities and genial disposition have gained for him personal pop- ularity among a wide circle of acquaintances.
GEORGE KENDALL SHIELDS.
George Kendall Shields, treasurer of the Van Briggle Tile & Pottery Company of Colorado Springs and thus prominently connected with a productive industry which has become known throughout the country, representing the finest workmanship and highest art in this line, was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1887. His father, John Graff Shields, a native of Blairsville, Pennsylvania, was born in 1850 and was married in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Esther Kendall. In 1889 they removed to Colorado Springs and Mr. Shields became prominently known in the commercial circles of the state as a wholesale grocer. being one of the organizers of the Shields-Morley Wholesale Grocery Company, now the Shields-Metzler Wholesale Grocery Company. He was an active busi- ness man throughout his entire career and refused office which was tendered him, although - on one occasion he was asked to become the republican candidate for governor. He died in the year 1908, having for more than a decade survived his first wife, who passed away in 1897. In 1899 he married Lelia Eggert Faunce, who survives, making her resi- dence in Colorado Springs. The Shields family comes from ancestry long represented in Pennsylvania, where the grandfather of George Kendall Shields lived and died.
When but two years of age George K. Shields was brought to Colorado Springs, where he pursued his early education in a private school and afterward spent three years in a preparatory school in Ojai, California. He then returned to Colorado Springs and pursued the work of the freshman year in Colorado College. He matriculated at Yale in the class of 1910, taking the scientific course until he reached his junior year, when on account of his health he was obliged to discontinue his studies and returned to Colorado Springs. In 1913, he was made treasurer of the Van Briggle Tile & Pottery Company and concentrates his efforts and attention upon the business, which has become known all over the United States by reason of the fine work turned out. Although this is one of the youngest of the American potteries it has won a world-wide reputation for the rare texture of its glazes, which are to be found in every degree of a dull velvety finish, from a perfectly dead effect to a slight gloss, the result of long and difficult experi- ments made by Artus Van Briggle, who after many years of training, both as painter and potter, found his final inspiration in the old Chinese pots, which he studied in the Paris Museum. It became his ambition to equal or surpass these rare pots in purity of color. in design and texture, and the desired result was accomplished finally in his experiments made with the fine Colorado clay. He began the business on a small scale in 1902 with the assistance of a thrower and a boy, doing all the work himself. Although the ware
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received immediate recognition from connoisseurs it was not until the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904 that it became known to the general public. The ware is a product of hard fire and the aim is to produce not only rich and varied color but a beauty and dignity of line which shall be free from eccentricity. Upon pots which are decorated the design is modeled in low relief, chiefly from conventional flower motifs, with the idea of adding to the charm of the original line of the pot, never for the sake of decoration itself. The color range is very wide and suggestive of Colorado, reflecting with equal fidelity to nature the brilliant turquoise of the sky. the reds, grays, browns, yellows, blues and purples which exist in striking effect in the crags and canon walls and in the more subtle tone of the incomparable dawn and twilight of the plains. The connoisseur admires the Van Briggle ware because it is different from other pottery and at the same time sacrifices nothing in quality. The home-maker wants it because it affords a com- bination of beauty, simplicity and usefulness which assures it an appropriate place among the adornments of every home. A thorough inspection of the work and processes is invited at all times and the display rooms are in themselves most artistic. The manufac- tured product consists not only of art ware but of architectural decorations as well. Hon- ors were won at the exhibits of the Paris Salon of 1903-4; two gold, one silver and two bronze medals were awarded at St. Louis; a diploma and gold medal at the Lewis and Clark Exposition: and the highest awards at the Arts Exhibit in Boston in 1906-7. Mr. Shields is devoting his entire time and attention to the development of the business and has the keenest interest in the beautiful products which are placed upon the market.
On the 9th of May, 1910, in Colorado Springs, Mr. Shields was married to Miss Edna Holmes, a daughter of James Holmes, of Waterloo, lowa, and their children are Ellen. Esther and John Holmes, the latter born in March, 1915. The parents are members of St. Stephen's Episcopal church, and Mr. Shields belongs also to the Cheyenne Moun- tain Country Club and the Ammanot, a Greek fraternity. In politics he is a republi- can but never an office seeker, preferring to concentrate his undivided efforts and atten- tion upon his business, which is of keen interest to him.
CHARLES 3. NASH.
Charles J. Nash, a resident farmer of Weld county, living on section 27. township 7, range 67. was born in Oakland county, Michigan, January 17, 1863, his parents being Charles J. and Sarah J. ( Phillips) Nash. His mother is also a native of Oakland county, Michigan. The father devoted his life to farming until the time of the Civil war, when he put aside all business and personal considerations and in response to the country's call for troops joined the army. He was taken prisoner and died at Andersonville owing to the rigors and hardships of southern prison life. His widow afterward married again, becoming the wife of Henry Austin, with whom she removed to Jowa, where Mr. Austin engaged in farming until 1881. He then brought the family to Weld county, Colorado, where he again carried on general agricultural pursuits for several years, but ulti- mately his life's labors were ended in death. Mrs. Austin still survives and is now living in Fort Collins, Colorado, at the age of eighty years, her birth having occurred on the 30th of June, 1838.
Charles J. Nash spent his boyhood and youth in Michigan and in lowa and is indebted to the schools of those states for the educational opportunities he enjoyed. He then came with Mr. and Mrs. Austin to Colorado and remained with them for a year, assisting actively in the development of the home farm. He afterward engaged in farming alone for a year but at the end of that time returned home and farmed with his stepfather until the latter's death. He subsequently conducted a meat market at Fort Collins for a year and in the spring of 1890 he purchased his present place, becom- ing owner of one hundred and sixty acres. This he began to improve at once and now he has an excellent farm property, which he has continuously developed for twenty- eight years. Success has attended his efforts as the years have gone by and his farm is now a valuable one. He is also a stockholder in the Mutual Drug Company, which has stores in Denver, Windsor and at Loveland, Colorado, and he is likewise a stock- holder in the Western Mortgage Company of Denver, the Jackson Compressor Company of Denver and in the Great Western Alfalfa Milling Company, which has twelve mills in various parts of the state and has its offices in Denver. Upon his farm he makes a specialty of the raising of pure bred Jersey cattle and also of the raising and feeding of hogs. His business interests have been most wisely and carefully directed and nis investments judiciously made and he stands today among the representative citizens and business men of Weld county.
MR. AND MRS. CHARLES J. NASH
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On the 4th of December, 1889, Mr. Nash was united in marriage to Miss Adella Kempton, a daughter of George and Mary (Bower) Kempton, the former a native of Hillsdale, Michigan, while the latter was born in Newton, lowa. Her father was a farmer by occupation and in the year 1863, with his family, drove across the country with team and covered wagon to Colorado, in which manner the Nash family had also traveled to this state. On reaching Colorado, Mr. Kempton located in Evans, Weld county, where he engaged in teaming and also conducted a meat market. Later he rented land, which he cultivated and improved for several years and finally, having acquired a sufficient sum of money as the result of his industry and economy, purchased land near Loveland and continued its further cultivation throughout his remaining days, becoming recognized as one of the representative farmers of that locality. He served for three years as a defender of the Union cause during the Civil war and was ever as progressive and as loyal in his citizenship as when he followed the nation's starry banner on the battlefields of the south. He died March 13, 1900, and later his widow became the wife of S. J. Krouskop, a pioneer of Loveland, Colorado, where she is now living at the age of sixty eight years. To Mr. and Mrs. Nash have been born seven children: Alice, the eldest, who was born October 31, 1890; Bernice, who was born April 29, 1892, and is the wife of Robert E. Wailes, residing on a farm three miles east of her father's place; C. Lester, born July 8, 1894; Tendis, who was born December 25, 1896; Morton Ray, born March 13, 1906; Burnham J., born March 5, 1911; and Della, born April 13, 1917.
Mr. Nash is a member of the school board and has thus served for fourteen years. The cause of education finds in him a stalwart champion who is deeply interested in everything that pertains to the upbuilding and improvement of the schools. He is con- nected with the Woodmen of the World and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church but politically maintains an independent course. His life has been well spent and his many sterling traits of character have gained for him high regard wherever he is known. He certainly deserves much credit for what he has accomplished. His plans have always been well defined and carefully executed and his enterprise has enabled him to overcome all difficulties and obstacles in his path and work his way steadily upward to prosperity.
ROBERT SLOAN IRWIN, M. D.
Dr. Robert Sloan Irwin, engaged in the practice of medicine in Denver. was born in Newtown, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, November 10, 1870, a son of Nathaniel Irwin, a native of Pennsylvania, and a grandson of James A. Irwin, founder of the American branch of the family, who came to America during the '30s and settled in Pennsylvania. where he passed away in 1882, at the age of sixty five years. Nathaniel Irwin was reared and educated in the Keystone state and devoted his life to farming. He was a Civil war veteran, having enlisted for active service during the period of hostilities between the north and the south. He died in 1871, at the age of twenty-seven years. His wife bore the maiden name of Sallie MeNair. She was born in Pennsylvania and was a representative of one of the old families of that state of Scotch-Irish descent. This family was founded in America by John A. McNair, who came to the new world during the early part of the eighteenth century. and among his descendants were those who served in the Revolutionary war and the War of 1812. The family home was originally established in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and successive generations of the family have been represented in the Keystone state. The mother of Dr. Irwin died in 1909, at the age of sixty-eight years. By her marriage she had become the mother of two sons, the elder being James Irwin, who is a wholesale lumber merchant of Philadelphia.
Dr. Robert Sloan Irwin, the younger son, acquired his early education in the public schools of Newtown, Pennsylvania, and his medical education of the University of Pennsyl- vania. Jefferson Medical College and Maryland Medical College. Prior to his graduation from the medical school, however, he was engaged in the retail and wholesale drug busi- ness, which he followed from the age of eighteen years. After preparing for the prac- tice of medicine and surgery he entered upon the active work of the profession on the island of Jamaica and afterward engaged in professional activity on the isthmus of Tehuantepec. He then returned to the United States and took up his abode in Denver in 1905. since which time he has practiced in this city, specializing in the treatment of pulmonary diseases. He is recognized as an authority upon tuberculosis, for he has made a close study of the disease and his practice has largely been along that line. He is the medical director of the Craig Colony and has been its superintendent from its
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establishment, having given liberally of his professional services and energy and has been no small factor in the success of this most worthy institution. He was also one of the originators of the movement for the care of destitute tubercular women, a work that was eventually taken over by the Sands House Association. He belongs to the Tuberculosis Study Club, to the Denver City and County Medical Society, the Colorado State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, being a fellow of the last named.
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