History of Colorado; Volume III, Part 46

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

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Thomas O. Roberts was reared in South Wales, where he acquired his education. He was a young man of nineteen years when he bade adieu to home, friends and family and sailed for Canada in 1904. The following year he arrived in Goldfield, Colorado, where he engaged in mining for five years, and on the expiration of that period he turned his attention to the dry goods business, establishing a store, in which he has. since enjoyed an increasing trade, leading to the constant enlargement of his stock and facilities for conducting the business. His methods are thoroughly straightforward and enterprising and what he has accomplished represents the fit utilization of his innate powers and talents. His name is synoymous with integrity in business and the most envious cannot grudge him his success, so worthily has it been won. He is also a leaser of mines.

On the 10th of October, 1910, in Goldfield, Mr. Roberts was married to Miss Helen M. Corbin, a daughter of the late Hayne Corbin, one of the founders of Telluride, Colo- rado. They have one son, Thomas Hayne Roberts, born February 24, 1912. The religious faith of the family is that of the Episcopal church.

Mr. Roberts has membership with the Masonic fraternity, with the Benevolent Pro- tective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Order of the Eastern Star. In politics he is a democrat and in 1911 was elected treasurer of Goldfield, to which position he was twice reelected, a fact indicative of his faithfulness to duty and the efficiency with which he discharged the tasks that came to him with the office. One of his fellow townsmen characterized him as a man who "always plays fair." In a word, he is one of the solid. substantial citizens of Goldfield, enjoying the respect and meriting the confidence of all who know him.

F. G. OLSON.

To advance from a small salaried position and become the organizer and now secre- tary and manager of one of the largest grain companies of Colorado is an accomplish- ment to be envied. Such is the record of F. G. Olson, who is a director, the secretary and manager of the Western Grain Company of Denver. His constantly developing business powers have brought him forward step by step and each advance has given hin a wider chance and broader outlook.

Mr. Olson was born in Peoria, Illinois, August 13, 1878, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Olson, who were natives of Sweden, but came to America in early life. They settled in Peoria, Illinois, where the father engaged in railroad work and still makes his home, but the mother passed away during the early boyhood of her son. There were four children in the family. one of whom died in early life, while the surviving brother and sister of F. G. Olson are Albert Olson, now of Jersey City, New Jersey, and Lillie, who is living in Chicago, Illinois.

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After acquiring a public school education, in which he passed through consecutive grades to the high school of Peoria, Illinois, Mr. Olson of this review began work in connection with the grain trade in Peoria and was employed by various firms there and elsewhere until 1914. During that period he was associated with many of the big grain firms of the country, and at different times was located in Chicago, St. Louis, Wichita, Little Rock, Kansas City, Fort Worth, Oklahoma City-in fact, at the principal grain terminals of the west. This experience gave him broad training and fitted him for the management of the business with which he has been identified since coming to Denver in 1914. He arrived in Denver on the 15th of October of that year and after a few months established himself in business as a grain broker. From the first it seemed that his success was assured, for he possessed the unabating energy and keen sagacity which are so essential to advancement in this line of trade. He organized the Farmers' Grain Company, which proved a profitable concern, and in 1917 he further extended his activities by organizing the Western Grain Company and merged the Farmers' Grain Company into the new concern. J. P. Ross, of Deertrail, Colorado, is the president of the new corporation, with Paul Holmquist, of Paxton, Colorado, as vice president and Mr. Olson as secretary and manager. This company controls elevators in various parts of the state and theirs is one of the well established business enter- prises of the grain trade. In fact they are today one of the largest grain buying com- panies in Colorado-a result that is attributable in large measure to the close attention and good business judgment and enterprising management of the secretary.

On the 18th of November, 1916, Mr. Olson was married to Miss Adelia Gustafson, of Colorado Springs. In politics he maintains an independent course. He belongs to the Denver Civic and Commercial Association and also to the Grain Exchange. While never neglectful of the duties of citizenship, he has never sought to figure prominently in public connections ontside of business, but has concentrated his efforts and attention upon his commercial interests and has won for himself a most enviable position as a representative of the grain trade of the state.

JOHN ALLEN DEWEESE.

John Allen Deweese, one of the old-time lawyers of Denver, known to its oldest and most prominent citizens and familiar with every phase of the city's development and progress through the years in which he has successfully and ably practiced at the Colorado bar, was born on the 24th of June, 1862, in Henderson. Kentucky. His father, John T. Deweese, was a native of Van Buren, Arkansas, where his father was a French Indian trader. The grandparents of the latter immigrated from Markirch, Alsace, their ancestors having been Huguenots who were run out of Holland and took refuge in Alsace, whence with other Huguenots they emigrated to America, settling in North Carolina. The mother of John A. Deweese bore the maiden name of Anna Lodge and was born on Oil creek, Kentucky. She came of English ancestry, the family being established in America in 1790. at which time representatives of the family settled in Kentucky. John T. Deweese was a member of congress from North Carolina and made the practice of law his life work. At the time of the Civil war he served as colonel of the Fourth Indiana Cavalry in the Union army, and his brother, George P. Deweese, was colonel of a Mississippi cavalry regiment in the Confederate army.

John Allen Deweese, spending his youthful days under the parental roof, pursued his education in the schools of Kansas and of Colorado, and determining to follow in his father's professional footsteps, prepared for the bar and since reaching the age of twenty- one years has engaged in law practice. He was admitted at Denver and has ever been an earnest, hard-working lawyer and discriminating student of the principles of juris- prudence. He has held to the highest ethical standards in his professional work, never taking a claim of any kind against a lawyer, never garnisheeing a married man's wages and never in his life aiding in the prosecution of any man for any crime or misde- meanor save once. He never brought a case of forcible entry and detainer, to put a family ont of a honse in his life, never tried but four breach of promise suits and in three of these the plaintiff and defendant married, the case being then dismissed, and in a word he has at all times held to what he has deemed the highest interests of the profession. He has been active in the field of civil law with a large clientage of an important character. His preparation of a case is always comprehensive and full. his presentation clear and cogent, and the conrt records bear testimony to his ability in the many favorable verdicts which he has won for his clients.

JOHN A. DEWEESE

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Mr. Deweese was married in 1884 to Miss Kate Murphy, a daughter of Lawrence Murphy, a merchant of Seattle, Washington. She was born in Seaforth, Canada, and they have become the parents of two children. The elder, Henry Lipscomb, who was a lieutenant in the constabulary in the Philippine islands, passed away there four years ago. The younger son, John Allen Deweese, an actor by profession, is now in the army.

Mr. Deweese has been well known in golf circles, belonging to the City Park Golf Club, Interlachen Golf Club, Seattle Golf Club, the Pensacola (Fla.) Golf Club and the Hot Springs Golf Club. His wife is also a member of all of these golf clubs and is an expert antomobile driver. Mr. Deweese has also belonged to three or four republican clubs. He has ever been a stalwart supporter of the republican party and its prin- ciples, believing in a strict construction of the constitution of the United States and of his own state. His standards of life as an individual and a citizen are high and he has lived fully np to these. He has had broad acquaintance among the eminent men of the early days as well as those prominent in later years and he is numbered among Denver's honored pioneers.

ARTHUR BRUCE HAINES.

Arthur Bruce Haines has passed from this life but his memory is yet enshrined in the hearts of all who knew him, for he had many admirable and lovable qualities which endeared him to those with whom he was associated. Mr. Haines was a native of Indiana, his birth having occurred in Clayton, July 27, 1868. He acquired a public school educa- tion in his native city and when a youth of fourteen years he took up the study of telegraphy and became an operator on the Vandalia lines. When nineteen years of age he made his way to Colorado and accepted a position as operator on the Union Pacific Railroad, working up to the position of train dispatcher. Ten years ago he was appointed train dispatcher and he continued in the Union Pacific service for twenty-seven years- a most trusted, capable and faithful employe who enjoyed the confidence of the cor- poration which he served and of all with whom he came in contact. He was a very active member of the Dispatchers' Association and for ten years he served as the secre- tary and treasurer of the Order of Railway Trainmen.

On the 18th of April, 1894, Mr. Haines was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ryan, a daughter of Daniel and Mary (Sadler) Ryan, who were natives of the state of New York. They had a very attractive and pleasant home which Mrs. Haines still occupies. The death of Mr. Haines occurred March 21. 1918, and was the occasion of deep and widespread regret to many friends as well as to the members of his own honsehold. His political endorsement was always given to the democratic party but he never sought or desired office. He was a man well liked by all of his associates because of his good fellowship, his genial disposition, his joviality and his genuine sterling worth. His love for his home was one of his marked characteristics and he found his greatest hap- piness in providing for the welfare of his wife.

BENJAMIN DE SPAIN.

Benjamin De Spain is a retired farmer now living in Denver, enjoying a well earned rest, the fruits of his former toil. He was born in Galesburg, Illinois, May 18. 1848, a son of Pleasant and Sarah (Mutter) De Spain. In the year 1863 the father crossed the plains with his family and was engaged in freighting until 1870. The members of the household early became familiar with the conditions of pioneer life and the hardships and privations which constitute features of settlement on the frontier. Benjamin De Spain preempted land and his brother and father homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres each in Arapahoe county, now Adams county, near Westminster. The family thus concentrated their efforts and energies upon general agricultural interests and the father was identified with farming to the time of his death. His wife has also passed away.

For a long period Benjamin De Spain actively and successfully carried on farming in that locality but at the present time he leases his land, having made his home in Denver for the past two years. He has led a busy, active and useful life that has brought to him substantial success, enabling him now in the evening of his days to live retired.

On September 17, 1874, in Denver, Mr. De Spain was united in marriage to Miss Rosa Sims, a daughter of Aaron and Mary (Ricker) Sims, the former born in Boston

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and the latter in Portland, Maine. Rosa Sims was born in Leavenworth, Kansas, Janu- ary 19, 1859, and with her parents crossed the plains to Colorado in 1860 when but one year old, the family home being established in Arapahoe county. To Mr. and Mrs. De Spain have been born three children: Frank, who died in childhood; William, who died in Santiago, California, leaving a son, Benjamin B .; and Mary, the wife of Dallas Mulford.

Mr. De Spain is a democrat in his political views, having long supported the party. His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church and he guides his life according to its teachings, endeavoring at all times to closely follow the golden rule. This was manifest in his business transactions just as much as in other relations of life and his record proves that success and an honored name may be won simultaneously.

CLARENCE C. HAMLIN.

A very busy lawyer is Clarence C. Hamlin, of Colorado Springs, constantly over- burdened by the demands of his professional interests. He was born at Manchester, Iowa, in 1868, a son of Henry and Harriet (Clark) Hamlin. The father was born in Vermont and removed westward to Iowa in 1865. It was in Illinois that he was married and both he and his wife have now passed away.

In the schools of his native city Clarence C. Hamlin pursued his early education and afterward was graduated from the law department of the State University at Iowa City with the class of 1890. In 1896 he came to Colorado Springs, where he has practiced continuously to the present time. Aside from his connection with the profession he is president of the Garden City Land Company and is vice president of the Granite Gold Mining Company.

In 1898, in Colorado Springs, Mr. Hamlin was married to Miss Seddie Gunnell and they have a daughter, Elizabeth. His political endorsement is given to the republican party and for one term he served as district attorney of the fourth judicial district. He was also a member of the state senate of Wyoming for two sessions and at the present time he is serving as a member of Governor Gunter's war council, putting forth every possible effort to aid the country in the attainment of the high purposes toward which every civic and military effort is now bent.

ANDREW J. BRYANT.

Andrew J. Bryant, a leading attorney of Denver, Colorado, was born in Wapello county, Iowa, March 30, 1853. His father, Benjamin F. Bryant, was a native of Kentucky, and his mother, Rachel Chilton Bryant, a native of Tennessee. After their marriage they settled in Henry county, Iowa, in 1846, and they continued to reside in that state up to the time of their death at Bloomfield, Davis county. Benjamin F. Bryant, prompted by a spirit of loyalty and patriotism, was a soldier for the Union in the Civil war for nearly three years, having enlisted in the Thirtieth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and served until he was honorably discharged on account of disability. He was engaged in farming in his earlier years and later was postmaster for many years, at Ashgrove, Iowa, after which he retired from active business pursuits and removed with his wife to Bloomfield, where they died at advanced ages.

The subject of this sketch, Andrew J. Bryant, attended the common schools in Iowa, the Normal school at Troy, Davis county, and later the North Missouri State Normal School, at Kirksville, in that state. After quitting school, he studied law and taught school, his last services as a teacher being as principal of the schools at Milford, Iowa. He was admitted to practice law in the courts of Iowa in 1879 and located at Ottumwa, the county seat of Wapello county, the place of his birth. He removed from Ottumwa in 1887, remaining for a brief period in Kansas, and finally located in Denver, Colorado in 1898, and was admitted to practice law in this state in the supreme court, in that year, since which time he has been engaged in the regular practice of his profession in Colorado and adjoining states.

In 1883 Mr. Bryant was united in marriage to Elizabeth Bills in Ottumwa, Iowa, and has three children: Mrs. Stella M. Yost, of Orange, California, who has one son, Edward Harold Yost, and one daughter, Blanche C. Yost; Mrs. Leilah C. Mae Fadden. of Jefferson, Kansas, who has two sons, Bryant Lorraine MacFadden and

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Charles Weldon MacFadden; and Clarence J. Bryant, of Martinez, California, who has one son, Andrew J. Bryant, Jr.

Mr. Bryant is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Denver Civic and Commercial Association, and the Denver Bar Asso- ciation. He has never been a seeker of public office but has pursued the business of his profession persistently, diligently and successfully, for forty years, in the state and federal courts.

In the book, "Recollections and Sketches of Lawyers and Public Men of Iowa," by the Honorable Edward H. Stiles, it is said:

"A. J. Bryant, who was born near Blakesburg, in Wapello county, studied law, and went to Denver many years ago. I saw him occasionally through the after years at Denver. He has naturally a legal mind, and his great industry. deep learning and perfect integrity, have gained him an enviable position at the Denver bar and a Incrative practice. He is an exceedingly kind man, and a good fellow. I found he was highly respected by the members of the bar and courts of Colorado."

WILLIAM R. OWEN.

William R. Owen. who long occupied a central place on the stage of commercial activity in Denver, was the vice president and general manager of the Denver Dry Goods Company. Marked business capacity, unabating energy, persistency of purpose and landable ambition were the qualities which brought him to this leading position. Mr. Owen was a native of Columbus, Wisconsin. He was born January 3. 1852, a son of the late William Owen, a native of Wales, who came to America in 1845 and settled in Dodge county, Wisconsin, where he cast in his lot with the pioneer residents of that section of the state. He concentrated his efforts and attention upon agricultural pur- suits and there resided throughout the remainder of his active life. His wife, who in her maidenhood was Catherine Jones, was also born in Wales, in which country their marriage was celebrated. She became the mother of nine children, five sons and four daughters, of whom William R. Owen was the youngest.

William R. Owen pursued a district school education in Dodge county, Wisconsin, to the age of fourteen years and through the periods ot vacation assisted in the work of the home farm. On reaching the age of fourteen he started out to provide for his own support and his first employment was that of a clerk in the store of Vaughn & Williams, general merchants of Racine, Wisconsin. He there received his initial train- ing in the business world, remaining in that establishment for a year. He afterward went to Fox Lake, Wisconsin, where he was employed in the general store of R. P. Smith, with whom he remained until 1875. He then determined to try his fortune in the west and started for the Pacific coast, but en ronte stopped off at Denver to visit his sister, Mrs. Griffith Evans, who was then a resident of this city. This seemingly trivial inci- dent changed the whole course of his life, for his sister persuaded him to remain and he secured employment with the firm of Daniels & Fisher, representing the house for a time as a salesman in the city establishment and afterward as a traveling salesman upon the road for three years, heing the first man sent out by the house to represent the trade in other territories. After leaving the firm of Daniels & Fisher he removed to Leadville on the 31st of December, 1877, and there engaged in the dry goods business on his own account. He successfully conducted a store for six years and then sold out to his former employers, Daniels, Fisher & Smith. Later he returned to Denver and became connected with the firm of Weber & Owen as junior member and thus through the succeeding five years was actively connected with the hat and fur trade of the city. At length the firm sold out to Babcock Brothers and Mr. Owen became a member of the McNamara Dry Goods Company, with which he was connected until the business was taken over by the Denver Dry Goods Company, of which he was one of the organizers, Dennis Sheedy becoming president of the company, while upon the incor- poration of the business Mr. Owen was made general manager. He became both vice president and general manager in 1898 and continued in the dual position to the time of his demise. Through the intervening years he largely directed the policy of the institution and contributed in marked manner to its success. His purposes were well defined, his energy unfaltering and his thorough knowledge of the trade in every par- ticular enabled him to wisely direct the interests of the house, leading to its substantial npbuilding and the constant expansion of its patronage.

On the 24th of January, 1882, Mr. Owen was united in marriage in Chicago, Illinois, to Miss Emilie Page, a native of that city and a daughter of the late Joel S. and Lucy

WILLIAM R. OWEN

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Page, who were early residents of Chicago, her father being a prominent attorney there for many years. To Mr. and Mrs. Owen were born a son and two daughters. Lucy, the elder daughter, is the wife of Dr. Arthur McGngan, of Denver, who is now a captain in the Medical Corps of the United States Army in France. William R., the only son, is treasurer and assistant manager of the Denver Dry Goods Company and is a captain of the Three Hundred and Thirty-fourth Field Artillery, now in France. The younger daughter, Emilie, is the wife of Stephen Wheeler, also of Denver, who is a major in the transportation service and is also in France. There are six grandchildren: Mary Owen McGugan: Persis and Billie Owen; and Kathleen, Stephen and William Owen Wheeler. All of the grandchildren, as well as their parents, were born in Denver.

The death of Mr. Owen occurred August 15. 1918, after an illness of but a few days. He was a stalwart republican in politics, having always supported the principles of the party. He was an exemplary Mason, belonging to Oriental Lodge, No. 87, A. F. & A. M., also to Denver Commandery, No. 25, K. T., and to the Mystic Shrine. He belonged to the Denver Club, to the Denver Country Club and to the Denver Chamber of Com- merce. His interest in community affairs was indicated by a hearty support of all well defined plans and measures for the general good. The methods that he employed in commercial circles awakened approval and admiration, for the world pays its tribute to him who through enterprise, unrelaxing effort and clear-sighted judgment makes advancement in the business world without infringing on the rights of others. Such was the record of William R. Owen, who was ever a persistent, resolute and energetic worker. He early grasped the eternal truth that industry wins and industry became the beacon light of his life. While to Mr. Owen, more than to any other man, is due the growth of the Denver Dry Goods Company from a small establishment to one of the leading department stores of the west, he nevertheless found time, and opportunity to aid in many movements which had to do with the upbuilding and development of the city. He was particularly generous in his support of philanthropic projects and was readily extending a helping hand where aid was needed. He was a most generous subscriber to the Liberty Loan and other patriotic campaigns, and gave freely to every charity which approached him for assistance, and so purposefnl was his life and so noble his character that he left to his family the priceless heritage of an untarnished name and a memory that will always remain to them as a benediction.

WILBUR FRANKLIN DENIOUS.

Wilbur Franklin Denious, regarded as a very prominent Denver lawyer and a hard working and conscientious member of the profession, was horn in Mogadore, Ohio. Sep- tember 25, 1873, a son of Oliver and Martha (Moore) Denious. The father was a native of Ohio, as was the grandfather. For many years Oliver Denious devoted his life to merchandising, but the latter years of his life he lived retired in Kansas. His death occurred at Erie. Kansas, April 1, 1918, his widow surviving him but four days, passing away April 5, 1918. Martha ( Moore) Denious was also born in the Buckeye state and was a daughter of Joseph Moore, of Ohio, while her grandfather was numbered among the heroes of the Revolutionary war.

Wilbur F. Denious is one of a family of four children born to Oliver and Martha (Moore) Denious. After acquiring a public school education in Cleveland, Ohio, sup- plemented by further study in the public schools of Kansas, he entered Baker University. from which he was graduated in 1898 with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy. He afterward spent a year in a law office in Iowa and in 1899 arrived in Denver. His interest in the legal profession having been thoroughly aroused, he resolved to prepare for the practice of law and to that end matriculated in the Denver Law School, from which he was graduated in the class of 1902, winnning the LL. B. "cum laude" degree. He then entered upon active practice as assistant to W. L. Dayton, having been admitted to the bar in the year of his graduation. He continued to assist Mr. Dayton until 1905 and was then admitted to partnership under the firm style of Dayton & Denious, an association that has since been maintained. He has won very gratifying success in law practice. for he most carefully prepares his cases, presents his cause with clearness and force and seldom fails to win the verdict desired. He is ever courteous in his treatment of witnesses and shows to the court that studied deference which is its due, and at all times he is careful to conform his practice to the highest standards of professional ethics.

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History of Colorado; Volume III, Part 46

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