History of Colorado; Volume III, Part 3

Author: Stone, Wilbur Fiske, 1833-1920, ed
Publication date: 1918-19
Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 844

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MAHLON D. THATCHER

Vol. III-2

HISTORY OF COLORADO

his desk, concentrating his efforts and attention at all times upon the development of his interests, which were ever of a character that contributed to public progress and pros- perity as well as to individual success. Moreover, his efforts were always of a constructive nature and his path was never strewn with the wreck of other men's failures. In fact, he was constantly extending a helping hand to enable others to gain a start in life and many successful business men received material assistance from him at the outset of their careers. A contemporary historian said of him: "His influence among the capital- ized forces and productive interests of the commonwealth was coextensive with the great financial triumph he achieved."

Mr. Thatcher was united in marriage in 1876 to Miss Luna A. Jordan and they became the parents of six children, of whom four survive: a son, Mahlon D. Thatcher. Jr., who is now president of the First National Bank of Pueblo; and three daughters, namely, Mrs. Lydia T. Wheeler and Mrs. Lucia T. Waller, of Chicago; and Mrs. Ada T. Huntzinger, of New York city.

In his political views Mr. Thatcher was ever a stalwart republican, believing firmly in the principles of the party, but he never sought or desired office. In matters of citizen- ship, however. he maintained a most progressive position and cooperated heartily in all well defined plans and measures for the general good. His religious faith was that of the Presbyterian church. When he passed away the Pueblo Chieftain said of him: "With sincere sorrow Pueblo mourns today beside the bier of one who was in many important respects her foremost citizen. As a prominent figure in the group of pioneer state builders now rapidly passing from the scene of activity, as a successful banker in this and other cities of the state, as a man of success in large business enterprises, as a loyal citizen of Pueblo for many years during which there was a constant call to other fields of larger activity, as a man of high character, of spotless reputation and of extraordinary ability Mr. Thatcher occupied a place in Pueblo which no other man could have filled. The future historian of the state will give him a place forever in the foremost ranks of the men who came from the east in pioneer days, who laid in the wilderness the foundations of a great state and who made the great fortune that came into his hands an instrument of service according to his own judgment, and in the lines of his own activities, of immeasurable benefit to his business associates, to the city and to the state." With all his great success he remained a most modest and unassuming man, never taking to himself especial credit for what he achieved. He judged his fellowmen by worth and not by wealth and true worth on the part of any individual could win his regard. The universality of his friend- ships was an indication of the breadth of his character and of his thought.

DAVID HUME RICE.

David Hume Rice, of Colorado Springs, who has been identified in former years with the medical profession and with important business interests, still retaining the presi- dency of the Colorado Springs & Interurban Street Railway Company, was born on a farm in Adams county, Illinois, in 1855. His father, William D. Rice, was a native of Rising Sun, Indiana, born in 1823, and was married in Illinois to Martha Staker. The father died in 1873 and the mother in 1909.

The youthful experiences of David H. Rice were those of the farm-bred boy who divides his time between the duties of the schoolroom, the pleasures of the playground and the tasks assigned him by parental authority. Atter leaving the schools he determined to enter upon a professional career and in carrying out his purpose became a student in the Missouri Medical College of St. Louis, in which he pursued the full course and was graduated with the class of 1885. His identification with Colorado Springs dates from 1888, in which year he opened an office and entered upon the practice of medicine. For many years he followed his profession with excellent success but for some time has not engaged in active practice, having retired from the practice of medicine in 1910. He had been physician to the late W. S. Stratton, Colorado millionaire, and appreciation of his worth and ability on the part of the Stratton family led to his appointment as managing director of the Stratton Home. He is now president of the Colorado Springs & Interurban Street Railway Company, is the president of the Myra Stratton Home and a director of the Exchange National Bank. His political endorsement is given to the republican party and at all times he has kept in touch with the vital problems of the country which become matters of state and national legislation, but the honors and emoluments of office have had no attraction for him.

In 1882 in Adams county, Illinois, Mr. Rice was united in marriage to Miss Ida M. McClaske and they have a daughter. Ethel Hume.

HISTORY OF COLORADO

Mr. Rice Is a Mason, having taken the degrees of the York and Scottish Rites and also of the Mystic Shrine. He is likewise connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He has membership in the El Paso Club and the Broadmoor Golf Club. He is a man of dynamic force, carrying forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes. His plans are always carefully considered and promptly executed. His powers of concentration enable him to readily grasp every phase of any situation and, acquainted with principle and detail, he readily places a correct valuation thereon. With him time and opportunity have been used to the best possible advantage and marked ability on his part has found tangible expression in the substantial success which he has achieved, becoming in the course of his residence in Colorado Springs one of its popu- lar and. moreover, one of its most honored and respected citizens.

MORITZ BARTH.

With various phases of life in the west Moritz Barth was closely identified from pioneer times to the era of present prosperity and progress. He was for many years a prominent figure in connection with the shoe trade of Denver and was an extensive investor in Denver real estate. He also became connected with the directorate of banks and of the Denver Consolidated Tramway Company and thus his activities were of a character that contributed in substantial measure to the upbuilding of the city and state in which he made his home.

Moritz Barth was born in Dietz, Nassau. Germany, July 24. 1834, a son of George and Mina Barth. After attending the public schools and gymnasium of his native land until fourteen years of age he secured employment in the surveyor general's office with the intention of devoting his time to mining, but changed his future plans upon resolving to locate in America. He then learned the shoemaker's trade and in 1852 left Havre on the sailing vessel William Nelson and after a voyage of fifty-four days reached New Orleans in December. There he worked at his trade for a few months but in the following May, with the other members of the family who had come to this country, he made his way up the Mississippi river and located at Mascoutah, St. Clair county, Illinois. In 1854, however, he removed to Parkville, Platte county, Missouri, then a populous and flourishing steamboat landing town on the Missouri river, where he engaged in business with his brother William. The Civil war, however, changed all of their plans, for the Barth brothers were Union men and opposed to slavery and their opinions were there- fore very unpleasing to the pro-slavery element which controlled that part of Missouri .. Moreover, the tide of emigration was flowing toward Colorado, caused by the discovery of gold in that territory. The Barth brothers accordingly decided to leave Missouri and make their way to the Rocky mountains. They crossed the Missouri river on the 2d of June, 1861, and with a wagon drawn by ox-team started on the long journey across the plains. They traveled for a month before arriving at California Gulch, near the site of Leadville, then a placer mining district. There they began work at the shoemaker's trade but after a few months William Barth returned to St. Louis, while Moritz Barth went to Cañon City, Colorado, where he opened a general store. Conditions there did not look very favorable and accordingly Moritz Barth rejoined his brother William in the manufacture of boots and shoes in St. Louis. They made a specialty of manufac- turing heavy nail boots for the Rocky Mountain trade, having become thoroughly familiar with the requirements of such trade when in Colorado. After remaining in St. Louis until 1862 they again started across the plains to Colorado with two wagons, William Barth locating at Fairplay, Park county, while Moritz Barth settled in Montgomery, at the head of South Park. In the following spring he went over the Snowy range to Gold Run, Colorado, where he engaged in business until the following autumn, when gold discoveries in Montana induced him to make his way to Virginia City. Three months later he returned to the Mississippi valley and purchased a large stock of goods which he took to Montana, there conducting business until the fall of 1865, when he returned to Denver, where he and his brother William established and successfully conducted an extensive shoe business. Their store was at first in small quarters on Blake street. They could obtain only a little space between two buildings, which space was roofed, but so narrow was the store that they could stand in the center and reach to either wall. Their patronage steadily increased. however, and they soon sought more com- modious quarters at No. 232 Fifteenth street, between Market and Blake. The brothers established branch houses in Salt Lake City and at Corinne, Utah, and of these Moritz Barth took charge in 1868. after which he returned to Denver in 1870. The brothers

MORITZ BARTH

MRS. GEORGIA A. BARTH

HISTORY OF COLORADO

then conducted business together in Denver until 1882, when they sold out. In the meantime they had built up a very extensive trade which made their business an extremely profitable one.

In the early days Moritz Barth invested quite largely in Denver real estate and with the increase in property values in the city Mr. Barth amassed a large fortune. From time to time he extended his business connections along other lines. He built the old Barth Block, which for a time was occupied by the City National Bank, at the corner of Sixteenth and Lawrence streets. He was a stockholder and one of the directors of the City National Bank and he also became interested in the organization of the Bank of San Juan at Del Norte, Colorado. He was likewise for some time a director of the Denver Tramway Company and of the Denver Consolidated Tramway Company.

On the 7th of January, 1880, Mr. Barth was united in marriage to Miss Georgia A, Tulie Rhodus, of Kentucky, and to them was born a son, Moritz Allen Barth, born September 23. 1890, when his parents resided at 1773 Grant street, Denver. He is now an instructor in the marine training school at Mare Island, California. He married Josephine Hooper of Denver and has a daughter, Josepbine.

Mr. Barth was a man of many admirable traits of character, his life being actuated by kindly motives and a generous spirit was manifest in all of his relations to his fellow- men. He contributed liberally to every worthy cause that benefited the community or the commonwealth and never sought publicity in so doing. He belonged to the Chamber of Commerce and to the Board of Trade and for some years was president of the Denver Maennerchor. He was also for ten years treasurer of the State School of Mines at Golden. He stood for progress and improvement in all things and contributed in substantial measure to the material, intellectual, social and moral progress of the community. A man of benevolent spirit, be was constantly reaching out a helping hand to those in need of assistance and there are many who have reason to revere his memory because of his kindness to them in an hour of need. He passed away in Denver on the 5th of June. 1918. The family home has been since September 13th at 1375 High street at the corner of Fourteenth street, where the widow now resides.

HON. BENJAMIN HARRISON EATON.

Time constitutes the perspective that places every individual in his true relation to his generation and his age and as the years pass on the value of the life work of Gov- ernor Benjamin Harrison Eaton is more and more widely recognized until he is regarded as a colossal figure on the pages of Colorado's history. He was the founder of the town of Eaton and the promoter of several of its enterprises; was a member of the state leg- islature and governor of Colorado, and yet it was not these things which contributed most largely to his greatness but the fact that he saw the opportunity for the reclama- tion of thousands of acres of arid land which he made to bloom and blossom as the rose through the development of irrigation projects which each year add thousands of dollars to the wealth of the state.

Governor Eaton was born in Coshocton, Ohio. December 15, 1833, and the blood of English ancestry flowed in his veins, his great-grandfather being the first of the family to cross the ocean. His son Benjamin was a sea captain for many years but finally established his home in Ohio. He was the father of Levi Eaton, a farmer of Coshocton county and one of the pioneers of the Buckeye state, who married Hannah Smith, also a representative of pioneer ancestry. Upon the home farm of his father Benjamin H. Eaton was reared and he always exemplified in his life the principles impressed upon him by his parents-principles of simplicity and honesty. In days of prosperity with the future filled with promises he was the same gentle, kindly. hard-working man. When ruined fortunes and adversity threatened to darken the evening of his long and hon- orable career it was the same noble character that faced and bravely fought the tribula- tions which almost overwhelmed him until his determination and indefatigable energy again won the victory. His educational opportunities were those afforded by the com- mon schools and he afterward divided bis time between farming and teaching.

Following the discovery of gold at Pike's Peak, Mr. Eaton in 1858 joined a party made up in Iowa for the long and dangerous trip across the plains to Colorado. He met with the usual stirring experiences of such a journey, including frequent encounters with the Indians and other adventures which tested the mettle and proved the courage of the young man. After reaching their destination the party first explored the Boulder and Clear creeks for diggings and finally went from California gulch to the San Juan, where it disbanded. Governor Eaton at that time proceeded to New Mexico, where he

HISTORY OF COLORADO

rented land under the Maxwell grant and at once engaged in farming upon an extensive scale. In 1863, however, he returned to Colorado, where he took up a small tract of land just twelve miles west of the present town of Greeley. It was a dreary, isolated spot, without water and without promise. That Mr. Eaton had notable sagacity is indi- cated in the fact that he had the courage to take up land amid such conditions, for the section of the country was then largely sand dunes covered with cactus. There is no man, however, in all Colorado to whom the state owes so much for its advancement along the lines of agriculture and irrigation.

From early manhood Mr. Eaton had been identified with pioneer experiences. It was in the year 1854 that he had removed from Ohio to Louisa county, lowa, where he taught school for two years. He then returned to his native state and was there mar- ried on the 1st of May, 1856, to Miss Delilah Wolfe, a daughter of James Wolfe, after which he settled down to farming in Ohio for two years. His wife there passed away May 31, 1857, leaving a son, Aaron J., and in the spring of 1858 he started again for lowa, but becoming dissatisfied, he joined a party of miners en route for Colorado. The unsuccessful attempt to find gold in the vicinity of Pike's Peak led him to go to New Mexico, from which territory he afterward returned to Colorado. In 1864 he once more went to Louisa county, Iowa, where he wedded Miss Rebecca J. Hill, a daughter of Abraham Hill, and they became the parents of a son and a daughter: Bruce G., a well known ranchman of Eaton; and Jennie B., the wife of J. M. B. Petrikin, who is cashier of the First National Bank of Greeley.

Following his second marriage Mr. Eaton brought his bride to Colorado and they took up their abode upon the land which he had secured between Greeley and Fort Collins. He then turned his attention to stock raising. They endured all of the hard- ships and privations incident to frontier life and with resolute spirit faced the condi- tions which were to be found upon the western frontier. To his foresight is due probably more than to that of any other man the advancement of agriculture and irriga- tion in Colorado. He began studying the problem of irrigation with the result that in the face of almost insurmountable difficulties he brought from the Cache La Poudre a supply of water to the sandy waste that converted it into one of the garden spots of Colorado and constituted the beginning of one of the greatest and most successful irriga- tion systems of the west. His efforts were the result of close study and thorough in- vestigation of the subject and he evolved the gigantic scheme for making productive a vast area of arid land lying along the Union Pacific grant. Securing early rights to the waters of the Poudre, he purchased of the railway more than twenty-six thousand acres lying along the line contiguous to the present town of Eaton, which he secured for the sum of four dollars per acre, with long time payments. This land was divided by him into farming tracts of from one hundred and sixty to six hundred and forty acres and he then began the development of the vast system of irrigating ditches and waterways to render fertile the hitherto sandy waste. The consummation of his plans involved long years of weary waiting and hard work. The settlement of the land was slow and the development of the irrigation project required vast sums of money and years of unremitting toil. It is a long road. however, that has no turning and ultimately settle- ment was pushed into the district which he had reclaimed. For thirty-five years he devoted much of his time to the development of irrigation and before his death had the satisfaction of having completed the largest irrigation system in the state of Colorado. Moreover, he continued to hold extensive acreage and became a leading farmer of the state.

The early home of Governor and Mrs. Eaton was a log house, in which they lived at a time when the country was yet full of Indians and buffalo, and during that period he was engaged in raising stock and growing hay. In 1870, when Union Colony made its location and settlement and laid the foundation of the city of Greeley, he joined the enterprise and was active in the promotion of its interests. In 1871 he built the Mill- power canal, which was used for milling as well as irrigation purposes. He was also active in the building of Canal No. 2 and its waters were used in irrigating large areas of land. In 1880 he built the Highline canal above Denver for the Northern Colorado Irrigation Company. In 1877-8 he formulated the plans for building the Larimer and Weld canal to provide for the irrigation and cultivation of fifty thousand acres of land lying above the canals of the Union Colony. This canal was fifty-two miles in length. Many people in northern Colorado, when the plan became known, believed that the water supply of the Cache La Poudre river was so exhausted by the demands of other ditches already huilt that the canal would prove a failure. Many discouragements came to Governor Eaton. but his persistency of purpose prevailed and the venture finally was crowned with success. He gave much attention to the reclamation and development of the lands which he had acquired, and in the conduct of his farming interests, as

HISTORY OF COLORADO

he did in the irrigation work, followed the most progressive system and became a most extensive agriculturist of Colorado. At the time of his death he had an estate of over twenty-two thousand acres with an almost perfect system of irrigation, being by far the largest owner of cultivated land in the state. Governor Eaton was also the first to advocate and promote the construction of storage reservoirs which could be drawn upon in the fall when the waters of the rivers were low, and about 1888 he began the building of what is now the largest reservoir in the Cache La Poudre valley. It is lo- cated about three miles north of Windsor, from which it takes the name of Windsor reservoir.

It is bnt natural that Mr. Eaton should be called upon for public service. In politics he was always a stalwart champion of republican principles and as early as 1866 he became justice of the peace and filled that position for nine years, in which connection he rendered decisions that were strictly fair and impartial and "won for him golden opinions from all sorts of people." For six years he filled the office of connty com- missioner and during four years of that time was chairman of the board. For a number of years he was a member of the penitentiary commission and in 1872 his district prevailed upon him to represent them in the territorial legislature and there his ability and statesmanship at once commanded attention. In 1875 he was chosen to represent his district in the senate and served for one term, doing effective committee work and aiding in the promotion of much constructive legislation. In 1884 his party nominated him as its candidate for governor and he was elected by a good majority, filling the gubernatorial chair for a term of two years. He gave to the public a businesslike and progressive administration and the character of the man is indicated in the fact that he was throughout the state termed "Honest Ben." He felt, however, that farming and not politics was his real life work and upon his retirement from the office of gov- ernor he resumed the task of developing his extensive landed interests and in promoting the irrigation projects with which he was connected. In the meantime he had founded the town of Eaton and was actively identified with many interests and enterprises which contributed to the growth and development of the community. In the development of the beet sugar industry of the state he was also one of the most important factors. For years he conducted an experimental garden and was one of the first to discover the adaptability of Colorado soil to beet raising. Then he began agitating the subject of establishing sugar factories at Eaton and Windsor with the result that these towns became the centers of the sugar industry in Colorado. Moreover, he gave freely and generously to every public project of the town that would promote the welfare of, or benefit the community. It has been said that no more fitting epitaph could be placed upon his tomb than the words "truly a builder."

Governor Eaton was a Mason and attained the Knight Templar degree in the com- mandery. He was also long a consistent member of the Methodist church, but all churches and peoples united to pay tribute to his memory when death called him on the 29th of October, 1904, when he was in the seventy-second year of his age. The Eaton Herald said of him: "This grand old man was beloved by every one living in the great agricultural empire of northern Colorado, the development of whose great resources only he conld make possible. At his bidding the mountains were made to give up their stores of water and the life-giving fluid was spread over thousands of acres of desert land, which in return have yielded crops of wheat, potatoes, alfalfa and sugar beets that astonish the world. Hundreds of men owe their large fortunes to the possibilities opened up by this master mind. Thousands of happy homes occupy the country that before the 'Governor' saw it, was known only to prairie dogs and coyotes. As a mark of the regard and respect in which Mr. Eaton was held by the people of Eaton, every business man in the town closed during the funeral services Monday afternoon and many citizens went to Greeley to attend the services. He builded well and his memory will live long in the country he loved so well. A noble man has laid down his work, but a great and prosperous land stands as a monument to Benjamin Harrison Eaton." An eminent American statesman said: "In all this world the thing supremely worth having is the opportunity coupled with the capacity to do well and worthily a piece of work, the do- ing of which shall be of vital significance to mankind." The opportunity and the capacity were Governor Eaton's. He grasped the former and his powers made his service of the greatest possible worth to his people' and his state. "An honest man is the noblest work of God," and Benjamin Harrison Eaton was known throughout Colorado as "Honest Ben." He was a man great in spirit, in his ideals and in the accomplishment of his purposes, and his greatness was matched by the simplicity of his daily life and the beauty of his character. The Denver Times wrote of him: "An honest, upright man, a silent plodder, shrinking from the vanities of the world, pursuing a life of simplicity and righteousness, Benjamin H. Eaton toiled beyond the allotted three score years and

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History of Colorado; Volume III, Part 3

Author: Stone, Wilbur Fiske, 1833-1920, ed Publication date: 1918-19 Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke Number of Pages: 844

Author: Stone, Wilbur Fiske, 1833-1920, ed
Publication date: 1918-19
Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 844