USA > Colorado > History of Colorado; Volume III > Part 70
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Through the winter seasons William N. Byers was a pupil in the public schools, while his summer months were devoted to farm work. Ambitious to enjoy better educational opportunities, he became a student in the academy at West Jefferson, Ohio, in the winter of 1848-49 and in 1851 he took up surveying, working originally as chain man and compass man in the employ of the government, which was then engaged in making surveys in western Jowa. He later ran the section lines of a considerable part of this survey until 1852, when he went to the Pacific coast. He was employed as a United States surveyor in Oregon, doing much of the govern- ment surveying at Portland and from the falls to The Dalles and what is now the state of Washington, and in the winter of 1853-54 returned to San Francisco and was connected with mining. He returned to the States by way of the Isthmus route, after which he devoted a short period to railroad survey work, making his home in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1854. He there became county surveyor and after- ward was made the first deputy United States surveyor for Nebraska, running the section and township lines in the eastern part of the territory. In 1854 he was elected alderman of Omaha and filled that position through the following year. He exerted a still more widely felt influence over public affairs in the state by heing made a member of the first territorial legislature of Nebraska and he was promi- nent in the activities connected with the Kansas-Nebraska bill.
Mr. Byers became a resident of Denver in the spring of 1859, at which time he brought a newspaper equipment across the country by wagon and printed the first issue of the Rocky Mountain News of the 23d of April of that year, the first copies being run off the press on April 22d. This was Colorado's first newspaper and Mr. Byers remained its editor and publisher for nineteen years, during which time, on the 20th of May, 1864. the entire plant was swept away by the Cherry Creek flood. an occurrence that is mentioned at length in the historical part of this work. In 1864 Mr. Byers located mineral springs, known as the Hot Sulphur Springs, in Grand county, Colorado, under Sioux Indian script. He obtained a
WILLIAM N. BYERS
MRS. ELIZABETH M. BYERS
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contract from the government to survey one complete township in that section, which he accomplished in 1867. The district was then the home of the Ute Indians.
With many events of public concern Mr. Byers was actively and prominently associated. He aided in organizing the company which built the first telegraph line in the state and he was also interested in the building and promotion of the Denver & South Park, the Denver Pacific, the Utah & Pacific, the Denver & Rio Grande, and in fact all of the early railroads of this region. He clearly foresaw the possi- bilities for the development of the state, recognized much concerning its natural resources and did everything in his power to bring about modern-day conditions of improvement.
In other than material lines, too, his influence was of the greatest benefit to the state. In 1893-94 he was president of the Denver Chamber of Commerce. He was prominently associated with the promoters and builders of the Denver tram- way system, of which he served as vice president for many years. He was always a stalwart republican in politics and in June, 1859, he acted as chairman of a con- vention which was called to secure a state organization. In 1864 he became a member of the convention that framed the first state constitution under the enabling act of congress, but it was vetoed by President Johnson. In 1864 he was ap- pointed postmaster of Denver, which position he filled until 1867, when he resigned. He was again postmaster during the Hayes administration, from 1879 until 1883, and he became president of the Festival of Mountain and Plain, which was held yearly for some years. For several years he was the president of the State His- torical and Natural History Society of Colorado, was also president of the Colorado Pioneer Society and in 1901 he assisted in publishing a history of Colorado.
In Muscatine, Iowa, on the 16th of November, 1854, Mr. Byers was married to Miss Elizabeth Minerva Sumner, a granddaughter of Governor Robert Lucas, who was governor of Ohio and later twice governor of lowa, being its first territorial governor and later occupying the office through election. The Sumners were an old and prominent colonial family. Mrs. Byers was born August 31, 1834, in Chillicothe, Ohio, and comes of Revolutionary war stock. She is of a splendid type of the cultured, refined woman and possesses qualities which only a life of pioneer character, with its dangers and trials, could develop. She was married to William N. Byers at Muscatine, Iowa, and they drove across the plains to Omaha in a light covered wagon drawn by two horses. In speaking of coming to Colorado, Mrs. Byers said: "Had I known the hardships and experiences which lay before me in this pioneer country, all the gold in the mountains could not have induced me to come. But, on the other hand, the experiences developed in me traits and qualities which, I know, I would not have possessed otherwise." Mrs. Byers was the first woman to ride on a railroad train west of the Missouri river and was one of the first twenty women in Omaha and one of the first nine in Denver. She crossed the plains seven times before the railroad was built. When she came to Colorado she brought with her her two babies riding in a two-horse wagon to Kearney, Nebraska, and making the rest of the journey in a buckboard owned by the superintendent of the stage line. The first home of Mr. and Mrs. Byers in Denver, built by them in 1874, was at the corner of Sherman and Colfax streets. Their second home was at the corner of Bannock and Thirteenth, where W. G. Evans now resides, and their present home at No. 171 South Washington street, was erected in 1891. Here Mrs. Byers, with her son Frank and his wife, now resides. She is a remarkably well preserved woman, the years resting lightly upon her, and she possesses a splendid memory and keen business ability. She attributes her physical and mental strength in large part to her out-of-door athletic life through the years of her early residence here, feeling that the hardships of pioneer days were in reality a blessing, con- tributing to her splendid preservation at the present time. She was one of the charter members of the Woman's Club of Denver, also of the Press Club. and she has done much to further the interests of churches and schools. For years she was a member of the board of Denver University. A notable work and one for which she deserves great credit was the establishment of the E. M. Byers Home for Boys at No. 64 West Alameda street. In promoting the movement she utilized a house where the Young Men's Christian Association building now stands and afterward a house on the present site of the Evans school, at the corner of Eleventh avenue and Alcoma street. The present home was built by Mrs. Byers in 1903 and furnishes shelter, training and education to twenty-eight boys. Promising orphan or half- orphan boys are taken on trial for a month and if they prove satisfactory are given homes and careful training. Mrs. Byers has deep sympathy for the homeless boy, feeling that much is done for girls but comparatively little to help the boys, and she
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has used her means and influence toward giving homeless boys a chance in life. They are kept until they complete the work of the eighth grade in the schools, after which they are placed in homes. When they are able to work in vacation periods, places are found for them and every possible thing is done for their mental, physical and moral development.
By her marriage Mrs. Byers became the mother of three sons and a daughter: Frank S., mentioned elsewhere in this work; Mary E., the widow of W. F. Robinson, of Denver; Charles Fred, who died in childhood in 1860; and James, who died in 1866 at the age of eighteen months.
To her husband Mrs. Byers was ever a devoted companion and helpmate, her aid and influence contributing much to his success. Theirs was a close and most congenial companionship. For fifty-three years this worthy couple traveled life's journey together and were then separated by the death of Mr. Byers, who passed away in Denver, March 25, 1903. He stood high in Masonry, being a charter member of Denver Lodge, No. 5, A. F. & A. M., and also was one of the founders of the Omaha lodge, and guided his entire life by the teachings of the craft, exemplifying its beneficent spirit. One of the high peaks of the Colorado mountains in Middle Park has heen called Byers' Peak in honor of William Byers, the name being given to it by Professor Hayden, in 1868, and also the Byers canyon has been so called, replacing the old name of Spring's canyon. Not seeking honor, honors were yet multiplied unto him because of his recognized ability and his devotion to the general good. His name and record have been indelibly impressed upon the history of Colorado, for he was one of those who aided in laying broad and deep the foundation upon which the present progress and prosperity, the political, legal and moral status of the state have been builded.
R. LEE WORLEY.
R. Lee Worley is a prominent contractor who has also had much influence over public thought and action and has several times been called upon for official service. Kit Carson county numbers him among its representative citizens. A man of pleasing personality and of great ability, Mr. Worley was born of humble Puritan parentage in the state of Illinois on the 1st day of February. 1870, and at an early age was thrown upon his own resources without any education or financial means. He was a very ambitious boy, however, and he made use of every opportunity that would promote his knowledge. As soon as he could earn the money to pay his expenses in schoot he entered one of the leading colleges of Illinois and completed his course of study a year ahead of the required time usually allowed for the completion of that work. His exchequer was entirely depleted when he finished the course, but he had that which nothing can take away from him-a liberal education as the foundation for life's practical and responsible duties. He began at once to look about for some kind of employment and secured a position with one of the leading railroad companies of the United States, with which he remained for a few years. He recognized in that time the demands for better homes and took up the study of architecture. He became a builder through practical and scientific training and by strict attention to business and thoroughly reliable methods, always giving his patrons full value for their money, he has reached a place in the building trade where his advice is always acceptable to his patrons, while his integrity in business affairs stands as an unquestioned fact in his career. His substantial qualities have brought to him a very liberal patronage and he has built more good home for the people than any other contractor in Kit Carson county.
It was in the fall of 1880 that Mr. Worley came to the west, where he has since remained. working in his chosen field of labor and contributing in substantial measure to the improved appearance of the county. He removed to his present location in the spring of 1910 and during the eight years of his residence in Flagler has gained the unqualified esteem and confidence of the people of the community.
It was in the winter of 1902 that Mr. Worley was united in marriage to Miss Irene M. Madole, of Elliott, Iowa, and to them has been born a daughter, Vivien Sophia, wlio is a very bright child and clearly shows the wise teachings of God-fearing parents, as both her father and mother are members of the Methodist church and are bringing up their little daughter in that faith. She has displayed marked ability along various lines and to her is due the honor of winning a greater number of prizes at the county fair than any other exhibitor.
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Mr. Worley is prominent in the Masonic fraternity, in which he has held various offices, and he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. His wife, who is a member of the Eastern Star and of the Rebekah lodges, has been a leader in their work and in social circles, but failing health has forced her to abandon her position in these counections. Mr. Worley is well known in Flagler and throughout the community in which he has made his home not only as a leader in his chosen field of labor but as one who is at all times a stalwart supporter of those interests and activities which tend to promote the intellectual and moral progress of the district and which are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride. Whatever he has accomplished in life has been the direct result of his own labors. Handicapped by the lack of early education and early opportunities in other directions, he nevertheless overcame these difficulties, pursued a comprehensive college course and qualified for his work in the world. Step by step he has advanced and each forward step has brought him a broader outlook and wider opportunities-opportunities of which he has eagerly availed him- self and which have brought him to a commanding position in business, social and fraternal circles in Flagler.
LEONARD E. ANDERSON.
Leonard E. Anderson, engaged in the practice of law at Brush, was born in Anamosa, Jones county, Iowa, on the 2d of January, 1887, a son of C. H. and Cora (Meader) Anderson, who are natives of Iowa. The father is a farmer and was postmaster at Anamosa, lowa, for twelve years. For the past ten years, however, he has been devoting his attention to general agricultural pursuits in Florida, where he and his wife now make their home.
Leonard E. Anderson, spending his youthful days under the parental roof, mastered the branches of learning taught in the public schools of lowa and afterward continued his studies in Lenox College at Hopkinton, Iowa, while later he became a law student in the Northwestern University of Chicago, from which he was graduated with the class of 1910. The following year he came to Colorado and entered upon the active work of his profession, since which time he has continuously engaged in practice. During the intervening period of seven years he has made steady progress as a member of the bar and has given ample proof of his ability to successfully cope with the intricate problems of jurisprudence and find ready solution therefor. He prepares his cases with great thoroughness and care and presents his cause in clear and cogent manner. He possesses a large library and with its contents has made himself largely familiar. He has his office in the Stockmen's National Bank building.
On the 1st of December, 1910, Mr. Anderson was married to Miss Eva Hunnicutt and they have one child, Charles Henry, who was born in October, 1911. Mr. Anderson is a republican in his political views and has served continuously as city attorney of Brush since taking up his abode there. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias and is loyal to the teachings and purposes of these organizations, which are based upon a recognition of the brotherhood of mankind and the obligations thereby imposed. Mr. Anderson has already made a creditable name and place for himself during the period of his residence in Colorado and in his career is actuated by the enterprising spirit which has been the dominant factor in the upbuilding of this section of the country.
GEORGE J. HUMBERT.
George J. Humbert is a prominent lawyer of Denver, where he has made his home since 1893. Liberal educational opportunities have qualified him for important profes- sional activities and his name figures in connection with many notable cases tried in the courts of this city. He was born in Somerset, Pennsylvania, May 12, 1873, a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Long) Humbert, who were also natives of the Keystone state. The father was well known in connection with the live stock business, to which he devoted his entire life. He passed away in Somerset, Pennsylvania, in 1874. During the period of the Civil war he had enlisted for volunteer service and made a creditable record by his loyalty and devotion to duty on various southern battlefields. After the death of her husband Mrs. Humbert removed to the west and resided with her son, George J.,
GEORGE J. HUMBERT
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to the time of her demise, which occurred in Denver in 1908, when she had reached the age of seventy-three years.
George J. Humbert was an only child. At the usual age he became a public school pupil, pursuing his studies in Somerset, and after he had mastered the branches of learning that constituted the public school curriculum he entered the Somerset Academy, from which he was graduated. He afterward pursued a literary course in Heidelberg University. In 1893 he came to Denver and entered the law office of Judge Steele and Judge Malone. Under their direction he continued his reading until admitted to the bar, when he entered upon the active practice of the profession, in which he has gained a notable and creditable place. He has never songht or desired political office but has always concentrated his efforts and attention upon his professional interests and duties. His devotion to his clients' interests is proverbial yet he never forgets that he owes a still higher allegiance to the majesty of the law. His assiduous and unrelaxing attention to all the details of his cases and the zeal with which he has devoted his energies to his profession have constituted important elements in his growing success. His arguments have elicited warm commendation not only from his associates at the bar but also from the bench. He is an able writer and his briefs always show wide research, careful thought and the best and strongest reasons which can be urged for bis contention, presented in cogent and logical form and illustrated by a style unusually lucid and clear. In addition to his law practice Mr. Humbert is a director and officer in a number of mining and oil companies and in this way is greatly promoting his fortunes.
In March, 1893, Mr. Humbert was united in marriage to Miss Velora Huddle, of Tiffin, Ohio, a daughter of Peter and Mary Huddle, of that place. They have one child, Alelia, who was born in Denver and is a graduate of the Denver high school. She is now the wife of Dr. Willard K. Hills, of Colorado Springs. Mr. Humbert is well known in Masonic circles and has attained high rank in the order, being connected with El Jebel Temple. A. A. O. N. M. S. His has been a well spent life and his usefulness in professional and other circles has commanded for him the confidence, goodwill and warm regard of all who know him.
ROBERT M. SHEA, M. D.
Dr. Robert M. Shea, physician and surgeon of Denver, was born in Baltimore. Maryland. July 13, 1882, and is a son of Thomas J. and Catherine L. (Brown) Shea. In the maternal line he comes of English ancestry, but the family was early estab- lished in Illinois and his maternal grandfather was among the men who crossed the plains to California in 1849, following the discovery of gold upon the Pacific slope. He met all of the hardships, difficulties and dangers of the trip and at a later period became identified with the pioneer development of northern Illinois. His daughter. Catherine L., was born in Waukegan, that state. The father of Dr. Shea was a native of Baltimore, Maryland, and in his youthful days accompanied his parents on their removal to St. Louis, Missouri, where he was educated for the bar. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in the federal service as a member of the Fortieth Missouri Infantry and was at the front throughout the period of hostilities. He became a com- missioned officer and participated in a number of engagements under General Rose- crans, bravely aiding in the defense of the Union. After the close of the war he returned to Baltimore and enlisted in the United States regular army, becoming con- nected with the quartermaster's department under General Macfeely. His wife died in Washington, D. C., in 1895 at the age of thirty-six years.
Dr. Shea, an only child, was educated in the public and high schools of Washing- ton, D. C., and in Mount St. Joseph's College of Baltimore, Maryland. After complet- ing his course he became private secretary to H. H. Langton, general auditor of the Southern Railroad Company at Washington, and there remained for a year, after which he resigned his position and came to Denver, where he arrived in August, 1902. Here he took up the study of medicine in the Colorado University and won his pro- fessional degree upon graduation with the class of 1913. He was afterward resident physician at Mercy Hospital for a year and at St. Anthony's Hospital for six months, and thus gained the broad and valuable knowledge that hospital practice brings. He later went to the republic of Nicaragua, in Central America, where he practiced surgery in the mining camps in the interior of the country for a year. On the expiration of that period he returned to Colorado, settling at Tabernash, and was there surgeon for the Moffat Railroad for six months. He then returned to Denver and became asso-
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ciated with Dr. L. E. Lemen and Dr. H. L. Taylor in a partnership that still continues, their attention being devoted to general medical and surgical practice. Dr. Shea is a member of the Denver City & County Medical Society, the Colorado State Medical Society and the American Medical Association and thus keeps in close touch with the trend of modern professional thought.
On the 5th of June, 1916, in Denver, Dr. Shea was married to Miss Harriette F. MacManus, a native of Iowa and a daughter of Samuel and Susan MacManus, who were pioneer people of Marshalltown, Iowa. Her father is now deceased.
Dr. Shea is a Catholic in religious faith and a communicant of the cathedral. He belongs to the Knights of Columbus, has membership with Omega Upsilon Phi and is greatly appreciative of the social amenities of life. His military record covers four years' connection with Troop B of the Colorado Cavalry, and on August 1, 1918, he applied for a commission in the navy as assistant surgeon. He passed the physical and professional examinations at the Naval Hospital at Fort Lyon, Colorado. His wife is a member of several women's clubs. She is a graduate of the Denver & Gross Medical College and won the professional degree after having previously won the Bachelor of Arts degree, but she does not engage in practice. Dr. Shea greatly enjoys outdoor life and is the owner of a farm near Estes Park, the care and supervision of which is one of his chief sources of pleasure. He is an enthusiastic motorist. Both Dr. and Mrs. Shea are widely known in Denver and their home at No. 1244 Grant street, is the abode of warm-hearted hospitality.
JOSEPH PATRICK DONLEY.
Joseph Patrick Donley, a retired coal mine operator, who in former years was actively identified with the development of the coal districts of the state, was born in Broome county, New York, just outside the city of Binghamton, on the 12th of February, 1858, a son of Patrick and Mary (Donley) Donley. The father was born in County Clare, Ireland, and was forced to leave that country because he would not tip his hat to an Irish landlord. He came to America during the '20s and first settled in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, having acquired his education in his native land before crossing the Atlantic. After reaching the new world he engaged in agri- cultural pursuits and devoted his entire life to farming. He was for long years a resident of Broome county, New York, where he passed away in 1862. His wife came to America with her father when a maiden of eleven years, the family home being established in New York city, where she met and married Mr. Donley. Her death occurred in Broome county in 1870.
Joseph Patrick Donley was the sixth in order of birth in a family of eight children, six sons and two daughters. He was educated in one of the old-time log schoolhouses in his native county and his early life to the age of twelve years was spent upon the home farm, after which he began working for a neighboring farmer, who kept him busy eighteen hours per day. He milked thirty cows and received a wage of twelve dollars per month. He continued at farm work until 1876, when he removed to the west, arriving in Denver on the 30th of April of that year. He was an entire stranger, but he immediately secured employment, entering the lumber yard of W. T. Newell, for whom he drove four yoke of oxen, used in hauling logs. He continued in the woods for two years and then removed to Leadville, where he took up mining and prospecting. He continued those pursuits for four years and afterwards became a resident of Boulder county, where he turned his attention to farming and stock raising. Later he became interested in coal mining, opening the Hecla mine in 1890. This property is now being operated by the Rocky Mountain Fuel Company. In 1895 he opened the Pluto mine. which he personally operated for four years. He owns the Nonpareil mine, which he has now leased to the Brooks-Harrison Fuel Company. This mine produces on an average four hundred tons of coal per day, from which he receives a gross royalty, giving him a handsome revenue. He is sole owner of the mine, which is ample to meet all of his needs and supply him with many of life's luxuries.
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