History of Colorado; Volume III, Part 80

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

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On the 20th of November, 1901, in Denver, Mr. Swigert was united in marriage to Miss Clara Alburn, of Cincinnati, Ohio, a daughter of Louis and Elizabeth (Roell) Alburn, representatives of an old family of Cincinnati, Ohio. They have become parents of three children: John Leonard, born November 26, 1903; William Byron, born June 26, 1908; and Harry William, born May 8, 1910. All are natives of Denver.

Mr. Swigert holds membership with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and with the Knights of Columbus and he is a member of the Immaculate Conception cathedral of the Roman Catholic church. He resides at No. 1337 Adams street, where he owns a home. He turns to fishing, hunting and motoring for diversion but his time and attention are mostly concentrated upon his business affairs. He started out in the world a poor boy and in early life had to incur an indebtedness of five hundred dollars. Handicapped as he was, he faced life courageously and that his plans have been well formulated and carefully executed is manifest in the results achieved. He certainly deserves much credit for what he has accomplished and his life record should serve to inspire and encourage others, showing what may be achieved in single-handed effort.

LORREN T. GORE.

Among the popular officials of Fountain, Colorado, is numbered Lorren T. Gore, its efficient postmaster, who has now for over four years ably administered that important office, having made numberless friends since he was called to the position. He was born in Dundy county, Nebraska, July 8, 1890, his parents being Charles A. and Dora A. (Mutchmore) Gore, both of whom are living. The family took up their residence in the state of Colorado in 1905 and the father is now the owner of the Gore Mercantile Company, having achieved gratifying success in the pursuit of his business affairs.

Lorren T. Gore received his education in the public schools of Nebraska, continuing the same upon his removal to Colorado in 1905, at the age of fifteen, in the high school of Fountain. After laying aside his textbooks he began his active career under the guidance of his father, in whose store he was employed for some time, but desiring a more thorough education, subsequently attended the Kansas City Business College

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of Kansas City, Kansas. On the 6th of October, 1914, he was appointed postmaster of Fountain and he has since been reappointed, so that he now holds this position. In the discharge of his duties he is systematic and painstaking and it is, indeed, rare that an error occurs in the office. He is courteous to the public and ever ready to oblige and it is therefore but natural that his efficiency has led to public appreciation.

On the 20th of May, 1914, Mr. Gore was married to Miss Viva L. Quillen, ot Colorado, and they have two children, Evelyn L. and Walter H. The parents attend the Congregational church, to which faith they are sincerely devoted and in the work of which they take an active and helpful interest. Both are popular with the young social set of Fountain and many are their friends in this city.

Mr. Gore has always been deeply interested in public affairs as regards his town, his county, his state or nation and is ever ready to give his support to all projects under- taken in behalf of the public. He is thoroughly in accord with the vigorous policy of the government in upholding war measures and enthusiastically gives of his time and means in order to bring the war to a successful conclusion by upholding the American ideals of liberty as laid down in the Declaration of Independence. His political support is given to the democratic party, in the local affairs of which he has been very influential, and the confidence which his fellowmen have in his ability is evident from the fact that he was chosen as representative to the eighteenth and again to the twenty-first general assemblies, thus serving for two terms. He made himself felt on important committees as well as upon the floor of the house and how highly he was valued by the other legislators and how much they thought of his ability is evident from the fact that he was at one time considered a very likable choice for speaker, his candidacy being vigorously supported, although the support did not secure for him the nomination. Educational affairs have also received his deep consideration and he is at present efficiently serving as a member of the school board, while fraternally he is a member of the Woodmen of the World, being popular among the members of this organization.

MARSHALL M. HOUSE.

Prominent among the able members of the Fort Morgan bar is numbered Marshall M. House, who in the practice of law has displayed comprehensive knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence, with marked accuracy in applying such principles to the points in litigation. Mr. House is a native son of New York. He was born in the town of Smyrna in January, 1845, a son of John N. and Dency (Hunt) House, the former a native of Connecticut, while the latter was born in New York. The father followed farming in the Empire state until 1850, when he removed westward to Fayette county, Iowa, where he purchased land at the usual government price of a dollar and a quarter per acre. Not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made upon the place, but with characteristic energy he began its development and converted it into a valuable farm which he continued to cultivate throughout his remaining days. He passed away in 1880 having for a time survived his wife, who died in the '70s.

Marshall M. House was reared and educated in Fayette county, Iowa, where he experienced the hardships and privations of pioneer life, for the family removed to Fayette county when the work of progress and civilization seemed scarcely begun there. In 1861, when he was a youth of sixteen years, he responded to the country's call for troops, enlisting as a member of Company F, Ninth Iowa Infantry, with which he served for four years, or during the war. He was seriously wounded in the leg at Pea Ridge, Arkansas, and at the battle of Hickory Hill on the 1st of February, 1865, lost his left leg. After the war he returned home and pursued a course in a commer- cial college, subsequent to which time he took up the profession of teaching, which he followed for two years. He was then elected county superintendent of schools in Fayette county and occupied the position for six years, doing much to further the work of public instruction and improve the school system of that section. While thus engaged he devoted his leisure hours to the study of law, having determined to make that profession his life work. He was admitted to the bar about 1875 and removed to Thayer county, Nebraska, where he engaged in practice for about five years. In fhe early '80s he came to Colorado, settling first at Brush, Morgan county, where he con- tinued in the practice of his profession until 1908, when he was elected county judge and served upon the bench for eight years, making a most creditable record in that position, his course being in harmony with his record as a man and lawyer-dis- tinguished by marked fidelity to duty and by a masterful grasp of every problem

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presented for solution. With his retirement from the bench in 1916 he entered upon the practice of law in Fort Morgan with offices in the First National Bank building and is accorded a liberal clientage. Mr. House also has farming interests in Morgan county, owning a well improved property of three hundred and twenty acres, twelve miles from Fort Morgan, the rental from this bringing to him a gratifying annual income. He also owns a nice home at No. 313 Prospect street.

It was in August, 1866, that Mr. House was united in marriage to Miss Emeline Hill, a daughter of James R. and Sophia (Boynton) Hill, who were natives of Massa- chusetts and pioneer settlers of Iowa, to which state they removed about 1855, the father devoting his life to farming in Fayette county throughout his remaining days. Both he and his wife there passed away. To Mr. and Mrs. House were born six chil- dren: Alena, who has departed this life; Aletha, the wife of J. A. Kirk, a resident of Culbertson, Nebraska; Winifred S., the wife of J. E. Besack, residing in Gering, Nebraska; Gerald L., who for fifteen years has been with the Western Union and is stationed at San Antonio, Texas; Ivy M., the wife of W. J. McCracken, a resident farmer of Morgan county, Colorado; and Wallace M., who has passed away.

In religious faith Mr. House is a Methodist and fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and with the Grand Army of the Republic. His political allegiance is given to the republican party, which was the defense of the Union during the dark days of the Civil war. In times of peace he has always been as true and loyal to his country as when he followed the nation's starry banner on the battlefields of the south. In fact, his aid and influence have ever been given on the side of progress and advancement in community affairs and in support of all well organized plans for the benefit of commonwealth and country. He chose as a life work a calling which has ever been regarded as maintaining the ends of justice and conserving individual rights and throughout his career he has held to the highest professional ethics and standards.

WILLIAM D. PREY.

William D. Prey, now deceased, was for many years a well known business man of Denver, becoming the president of the Prey Brothers Live Stock Commission Com- pany. His worth as a business man and citizen was widely acknowledged and those who knew him-and his friends were many-spoke of him in terms of warm regard. He was born upon a farm near Nebraska City, Nebraska, September 20, 1866, and passed away in Denver on the 24th of May, 1916. He was one of a family of three children whose parents were James and Elizabeth (Garrow) Prey, the former a native of New York, while the latter was born in Scotland. In early life the father removed westward to Nebraska and is still living in Curtis, that state, spending the summer seasons there, while in the winter months he makes his home in Denver, where Mrs. James Prey passed away on the 4th of June, 1915, at the age of sixty-eight years. Their son, A. G. Prey, mentioned elsewhere in this volume, is still living in Denver and the daughter, Margaret, is the wife of Herbert O. Wilson who makes his home in Curtis, Nebraska.

William D. Prey acquired his early education in the rural schools of Nebraska and afterward turned his attention to general merchandising in Wallace, that state, becoming the junior partner in the firm of Mothersead & Prey. The business was conducted in that partnership relation successfully for many years, the members of the firm ranking among the leading merchants of the state.

In 1897 William D. Prey went to St. Joseph, Missouri, and there, in connection with his brother, A. G. Prey, established a live stock commission business, remaining in that city until March, 1907, when he came to Denver, seeking a new field of labor, while the brother remained in charge of their interests at St. Joseph. In 1908 they purchased the business of the Colorado Live Stock Company, of which William D. Prey took charge. Their interests in both St. Joseph and Denver were continued until 1914, when the St. Joseph branch was sold and A. G. Prey joined his brother William in Denver. Then the Prey Brothers Live Stock Commission Company was organized, William D. becoming the president and A. G. Prey the vice president. Upon the death of the former the latter succeeded to the presidency. This company, through the efforts of the brothers, has been unusually successful, winning a place among the leading firms of the kind at the stock yards of Denver. William D. Prey concentrated every effort upon the development and promotion of the business and his labors were crowned with a signal measure of prosperity. He was thoroughly reliable in every-

WILLIAM D. PREY

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HISTORY OF COLORADO

thing that he undertook and his name became a synonym for business integrity and lionor.

On the 5th of September, 1889, at Wallace, Nebraska, Mr. Prey was united in marriage to Miss Alta M. Caley of that place, born in Black Hawk county, Iowa, who is a daughter of Robert V. S. and Emeroy (Helm) Caley, pioneers of Waterloo, Iowa, and later of Nebraska. Robert Victor Seaborn Caley was born on the ocean while his parents were on the water coming from England to America. His name was a com- bination, taking the captain's name, which was Robert, the vessel's name "Victor" and he being born on the ocean, "Seaborn" was added, hence the name, Robert Victor Seaborn. Mr. and Mrs. Prey became the parents of three children: Eugene L., of Denver, who married Ethelyn Grassfield and has one child, Shirley Ethelyn, born November 20, 1916, in Denver; Arthur C., who is now in infantry service in France, being a member of Company F, One Hundred and Fortieth Infantry; and Zelma, a graduate of North Denver high school with the class of '17 and living with her mother at the family home in Denver.

Mr. Prey gave his political support and allegiance to the republican party, believ- ing firmly in its principles, and fraternally he was connected with the Masons, attain- ing the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He ever stood loyally by any cause which he espoused and his faithfulness was an unquestioned fact in his career. He had many admirable characteristics and his memory is cherished and revered by all who knew him and most of all by the family circle, to whom he was a devoted husband and father.

COLONEL E. ANSON MORE.

Colonel E. Anson More, who for more than thirty-five years has been connected with the business life of Denver, where as a wholesale grocer and man of letters he is accorded high standing in commercial and literary circles, is now giving his service gratuitously to the United States as assistant to the disbursing officer in Colorado. His patriotic service has its prototype in the record of a most distinguished and honorable ancestry. His maternal great-grandfather, Ebenezer Elmer, was one of the founders of the Order of the Cincinnati and in the home of Colonel More hangs the sword worn by this hero of the Revolution and his certificate of membership in the Order of the Cincinnati, signed by George Washington. The grandfather, Lucius Q. C. Elmer, was at one time president of the Society of the Cincinnati for New Jersey. The father, E. Anson More, Sr., was quar- termaster general of the state of Missouri in the Civil war and also a major of volun- teers. This entitled Colonel More to become a member of the Loyal Legion, with which he is now associated in Colorado. Enoch Anson More, Sr., married Katherine Hay Elmer and they became parents of four sons and three daughters who lived to adult age, all of whom possessed literary talent. Of these E. Anson is the eldest. The second son, James Brookes, is a publisher of Fort Smith, Arkansas, and is the author of "Gods and Heroes," "Great War Ballads" and "The Lover's Rosary." Paul Elmer, the third son, is a graduate of Washington University of St. Louis, and in 1894-5 was assistant professor of Sanskrit at Harvard. He was also associate professor of Sanskrit and classical literature at Bryn Mawr College from 1895 until 1897 and then became literary editor of The Inde- pendent, with which he was thus associated until 1903. He spent eleven years with the New York Evening Post and in 1909 became editor of The Nation, so con- tinuing until 1914. He is identified with several societies drawing. their membership from the highest literary circles and his writings include "Helena and Occasonal Poems," "The Great Refusal," "A Century of Indian Epigrams," "The Judgment of Socrates," a translation of "Prometheus Bound," of Æschylus, "Life of Benjamin Franklin" and "The Jessica Letters," together with Shelburne essays. Louis Trenchard, the fourthi son. educator and scientist, is also a graduate of Washington University of St. Louis and of Johns Hopkins University. He was instructor of physics in the Worcester Poly- technic Institute in 1896, instructor and adjunct professor of physics in the University of Nebraska from 1896 until 1900 and then became professor of physics. He was also dean of the University of Cincinnati from 1910 until 1913 and is now connected with its post-graduate school. He has membership in many national and international scien- tific societies and he is a frequent and valuable contributor to technical publications on light, electricity and magnetism, ionization and sound and is also the author of essays on theories of modern physics and "The Limitations of Science." The daughters of the family are: Katherine E., now deceased; Alice M .. who for some time was assistant

COLONEL E. ANSON MORE

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HISTORY OF COLORADO

to Halsey C. Ives, of the St. Louis Museum of Fine Arts, and now resides in Bridgeton, New Jersey: and Mary C .. the wife of Edward A. More, of St. Louis, Missouri.

In the acquirement of his education Colonel E. A. More attended the public schools of St. Louis. His birth occurred in Dayton, Ohio, on the 11th of April, 1854, and he was a lad of but six or seven years when he witnessed the battle of Camp Jackson, near St. Louis, in which encounter ten or eleven people were killed. As he watched this from a distance, the child regarded it as a veritable baptism of fire. He was a youth of fifteen when in 1869 he became connected with a wholesale grocery house of St. Louis, in which city he remained until 1879. At this time it was planned for him to go to Europe to study art, but the lure of the west was too great and he went to New Mexico. His experiences in that section of the country were those that fell to the prospector of the period. On one occasion, in what is now Lincoln county, New Mexico, while on a prospecting trip in 1880, Colonel More was one of a camp fire party of twelve that included the notorious ontlaws, Billy the Kid and Tom O'Falliard, as well as others of their gang. As Colonel More relates, he is the only one of the twelve who didn't die with his boots on. His partner, James Bell. met death later at the hands of Billy the Kid. For four years Mr. More was engaged in prospecting in New Mexico and Colorado, but again became identified with the wholesale grocery trade, entering the bouse of J. S. Brown & Brother Mercantile Company and acting as secretary of the firm from 1900 until 1905. He remained in active business with the firm until 1916, since which time he has given his attention to public duties, being now assistant to the disbursing officer for the United States in Colorado-a labor of love for his country. His literary ability has long been manifest and he is numbered among Denver's more prominent men of letters. His authorship includes four works: "Let It Burn," published in 1892; "Out of the Past," which came from the press in 1895; "A Captain of Men," in 1905: "A Vision of Empire." in 1915; and short stories and verse.

At Lexington, Massachusetts, on the 17th of October, 1887, Colonel More was married to Miss Caroline Augusta Bacon, whose great-great great-grandfather was the first man killed in the battle of Lexington, and she is also a direct descendant of John and Priscilla Alden. The children of this marriage are: John Douglas, connected with the govern- ment agricultural department: and Robert Elbert, who is practicing law in Denver.

Colonel More is a Presbyterian in religious faith. His military title was won by service as commander of the First Regiment of the Colorado National Guard during the years 1884 and 1885. In October. 1887, Colonel More, as captain of Company K, Colo- rado National Guard, took a company of thirty-two boys, recruited in Denver, to Chicago, where on the 10th of that month they participated in a competitive drill. This com- pany was awarded third prize, which was an excellent showing when it was considered that they competed with the crack organizations of the entire country. He is a member of the Society of the Cincinnati and of the Loyal Legion and is an honorary member of the National Indian War Veterans' Association. He also belongs to the Authors' Club of London. to the Denver Athletic Club and to the Lakewood Country Club of Denver. An indication of Colonel More's attitude toward life is clearly outlined in his interesting poem called "My Inventory."

What have I done in fifty years. And a few more added on? I have failed in this and failed in that. Till my chances are almost gone.

What have I done since first I thought I could win a meed of fame, Or could leave behind a few glad hearts In wbose depths would live my name?

Perchance a few have learned from me There is something worth our while; Perhaps a few have dried their tears And have learned through me to smile.

I cannot tell if this be true. But I know that I have done Hardly one thing of all I hoped. That I've lost more times than won.

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Yes, I have lost more times than won, And the fight is almost o'er;

I have failed in this and failed in that, And I'll fail as oft before.

I'll fail and fail but what of that? Just trying is worth our while. There is life and hope and work and faith, And for every tear a smile.

It is fine to try e'en though we fail, It is fine to do our best; For the end is not to win, but fight, And by fighting earn our rest.

(E. Anson More, 1909.)

WILLIAM A. RICHARDS.

William A. Richards, farmer and ranchman, who is also serving as postmaster of Hermes, in Yuma county, and is likewise engaged in merchandising, was born in Rock Island, Illinois, in May, 1862, a son of John and Ann Richards, who were farming people and whose family numbered seven children, of whom William A. was the third in order of birth. The family removed to Iowa during his early childhood and his education was acquired in the public schools there. At the age of eighteen he became an active worker on his father's farm and was thus employed until he reached the age of twenty-three years, when he was married in 1885 to Miss Sarah Daniels, who was a native of New York and a daughter of Henry and Sarah Daniels, who were successful farming people. In 1886 Mr. Richards removed to Colorado, settling fifteen miles northwest of Burlington, where he homesteaded land and proved up on his property. His original home in Kit Carson county was a dugout eleven by fifteen feet. With characteristic energy he further developed his property and also took up the business of raising stock, beginning with two head of cattle and three head of horses. Gradually he added to his stock and as the years passed his prosperity increased. After a time he built a better sod house sixteen by twenty-four feet. In the pioneer days, however, he experienced hard times, for the work of development and improve- ment seemed scarcely begun and there was little market for the crops raised. The country was yet unsettled. There were wild antelopes and various kinds of game and the coyotes could often be heard screaming at night. Mr. Richards remained for five and a half years upon the old homestead property and during that time made all of the improvements upon the place, his success gradually increasing as the years passed by. On the expiration of that period he removed to another farm five miles northwest of the old homestead property and there again occupied a sod house and engaged in raising cattle, increasing his herds continuously during the eight succeed- ing years. He was quite successful there, at the end of which time he removed to his present place, which comprises one hundred and ninety acres. In connection with his son, John, he has altogether about twelve hundred acres of land and upon his ranch are to be found three hundred and fifty head of cattle, twenty-five horses and twenty hogs. He raises hay and corn and annually gathers good crops. He has made all of the improvements himself that are to be found upon the property and undaunted energy characterizes him in all that he undertakes. Seeking out another field of labor, he has established a grocery store at Hermes and now has been filling the position of postmaster at that place for seven years.

To Mr. and Mrs. Richards were born the following named: Edna May, thirty-one years of age; Stella Ruth, aged thirty; John A., twenty-nine years of age; Esther Lois, who died at the age of fourteen months and was buried in Stratton; Henry Samuel, twenty years of age, who is pursuing a veterinary course in Kansas City: and Sarah Ann, seventeen years of age, now in Iowa. The wife and mother passed away at the present home in 1900, dying very suddenly, her remains being interred in the cemetery at Stratton. She was devoted to the welfare of her family, counting no personal effort or sacrifice on her part too great if it would enhance the welfare and happiness of her husband and children. She was beloved by all who knew her and she was a devoted church member.

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History of Colorado; Volume III, Part 80

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