USA > Colorado > History of Colorado; Volume III > Part 83
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JOHN DAVIS.
John Davis, editor and owner of the Arriba Record and one of the well known citizens of Lincoln county, was born in McGregor, Iowa, August 28, 1870, a son of Lewis and Amanda (Roth) Davis, both of whom were natives of the Empire state. They were farming people and were in limited financial circumstances. Their son John was the youngest of a family of ten children and the father had hard work to provide for this large household. However, John Davis had the opportunity of attend- ing high school and a college in Ohio and it was his early intention to enter the minis- try, but later he determined upon another course. He became a student in the State Normal School of Iowa and prepared for the profession of teaching, which he followed for eighteen years, spending much of that time in Iowa, although for two terms he taught in schools of Lincoln county, Colorado. When he was in high school and
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college he had to work for his board, and he thus early displayed the elemental strength of his character and his determination and energy brought to him their true reward.
It was in 1907 that Mr. Davis took up a homestead near Arriba, but only lived thereon for two years, for he paid to the government the usual purchase price before the specified time of demanded residence had expired. He then bought a home in the town. When he went upon the homestead he equipped his little dwelling and had but two dollars and a half remaining. When he left there his cash capital consisted of seven hundred dollars-a fact indicative of his well directed industry during that period. On his removal to Arriba he became connected with the store of C. C. Coleman as clerk, occupying that position for four years, and in 1912 he purchased the Arriba Record, which he has since successfully published. He has tried to give to the people the best newspaper service and holds to high ideals of journalism.
In 1901, at Farmersburg, Iowa, Mr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Linnie Gall, who was born at Elkader, Iowa, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Gall, the former an implement dealer of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Davis have become parents of two children: Kenneth, born in 1904; and Zelda, in 1913. Mrs. Davis has been of the greatest assistance to her husband in many ways and has indeed been a help- mate to him.
Fraternally Mr. Davis is connected with the Masonic lodge, of which he became a member in 1896. In the same year he joined the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a Congregationalist in religious faith and in politics he is a stanch republican. Since 1914 he has served as postmaster of Arriba and was justice of the peace for four years prior to entering upon the duties of his present position. In the fall of 1912 he was a candidate for county assessor, but was defeated by Will Jones, the present county treasurer. All that he possesses has been acquired through his per- sistent effort and business ability. He has worked untiringly to gain a start, making good use of his time and opportunities, and his persistency of purpose has been the dominant factor in the attainment of his present success. He is a gentleman of genial disposition and unfailing courtesy, commanding the respect and confidence of all. Deeply concerned in the welfare of his town, he is untiring in his efforts to advance the interests of Arriba and of eastern Colorado and his efforts in this direction have been an effective force in the upbuilding of the district.
J. W. ADAMS.
There are few men who have done as effective, resultant and beneficial work in behalf of scientific agriculture and the development of farming interests in Colorado as J. W. Adams, of Cheyenne Wells. His activities have been of the greatest worth to the farming people of the commonwealth, for through experiment and demonstra- tion he is continually teaching and also from time to time makes trips throughout Colorado, giving instruction to farmers upon the best methods of enhancing the pro- ductiveness of the soil and planting and caring for their crops.
Mr. Adams was born in Caldwell county, Missouri, on the 3d of September, 1873, a son of Mr. and Mrs. W. C. Adams. His mother died when he was but three years of age and he was a little lad of seven years when he accompanied his father on the removal to Phillips county, Kansas. At thirteen years of age his school training was considered finished but later, having come to realize the great advantages of an educa- tion, he attended the Manhattan Agricultural College of Kansas, which he entered in 1894 and was graduated with the class of 1898. To say that Mr. Adams' education was even then completed would be to make a false statement, for he is a student of nature and is continually broadening his knowledge by reading, investigation and study. During the summer vacations of 1896 and 1897 Mr. Adams became the assistant on the experimental farm at Cheyenne Wells, of which J. E. Paine was then superin- tendent. In 1899, following the completion of his training in the Manhattan Agricul- tural College, he returned to the experimental station and worked for a year, doing the farm work and studying the experimental work. He later went upon a ranch, where he was employed as a cowboy for two years, after which he took up a homestead and resided thereon for eight years. He proved up on that property but returned to the experimental station in 1910. He had been very successful as a ranchman and was sorry to leave the place, but it seemed that his field of labor was at the experi- mental station, where his work has been of the greatest possible benefit to the farmers of Colorado. Although the place was originally planned as an experimental station
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by the state board of agriculture, it has fast developed into a demonstration station. When Mr. Adams took charge there was no building for the stock and the state had to provide funds for improvements. Mr. Adams introduced into Colorado what is known as the adobe or mud building, which has proven very successful, the buildings being erected of sun-dried brick made of mud. Many throughout the state have fol- lowed his example in building such places, which now form picturesque features in the landscape upon many of the farms in the west. It was Mr. Adams who introduced the pit or underground silo for the storing of feed for the stock and this idea has been utilized by hundreds of people in his county and state. Such buildings have been of the greatest benefit to the man of small means. Mr. Adams has made a spe- cialty of handling Holstein cows. The farm produces feed for the dairy and for the poultry and in every way he makes the farm self-supporting. Each year Mr. Adams goes through the state lecturing to the farmers upon the scientific way of cultivating their lands so that they will reach the highest point of productivity. The estate which is used as the experiment station was given by the Union Pacific Railroad Company to Colorado and J. B. Robertson was the first superintendent. Later he was succeeded by Mr. Paine, who was a college graduate and was the hest posted dry land farmer in the state. The consensus of opinion is that Colorado obtained the services of an expert when Mr. Adams was placed in charge of the station. He has spared no pains in trying to make his home attractive, having it surrounded by shade and fruit trees, and the many improvements which he has added make this one of the most modern and beautiful farm places in this part of the country. There are substantial and sanitary cow barns, hog houses, poultry houses, a smoke house and a garage. There are commodious sleeping quarters for the men and in fact the farm with its equip- ment has largely reached the ideal, which after all is the highest embodiment of the practical. The dairy is one of the most interesting features of the farm and, moreover, it is one of the most profitable. It, too, is conducted along the most scientific lines. Care is taken in regard to the records kept of the milk of every cow, the yield of butter fat and all those features which are an incident in scientific dairying. Dur- ing the last few years Mr. Adams has taken a helpful part in promoting county fairs, realizing how great an incentive they are for high grade production of farm products and stock. He is a thorough student of all the problems that confront the farmer of Colorado and has found correct solution for many of these problems, disseminating knowledge that has been of the greatest benefit to the farming community of Colorado.
On the 25th of October, 1905, Mr. Adams was married at Cheyenne Wells to Miss Emma Eichenberger, a daughter of Samuel and Lue Eichenberger, who were farming people, removing from Missouri to Colorado in 1904. Mrs. Adams greatly interests herself in the poultry upon the farm and the garden. They have a splendid garden, where they grow melons, tomatoes, cantaloupes, potatoes and other vegetables and the large yield is attributable in no small degree to Mrs. Adams, who has indeed made this part of the farm profitable.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Adams are members of the Methodist church and have taken a very active part in several lines of church work. Mr. Adams is particularly interested in the Sunday school at Cheyenne Wells, of which he has been superintendent for the past few years, and he is president of the County Sunday School Association. He is an independent voter, seeking public welfare and progress rather than the advance- ment of any party or the aggrandizement of its candidates. No one questions his public spirit, which has again and again been demonstrated in his activities for the welfare and upbuilding of the state.
ROSCOE C. WELSH.
Throughout practically his entire life Roscoe C. Welsh has heen connected with sugar manufacturing and step by step has worked his way upward until he occupies the responsible position of superintendent for the Great Western Sugar Company at Sterling. There is no phase of the business with which he is not thoroughly familiar and thus he is most capable of directing the efforts of those in his employ. Moreover, he is truly a self-made man in the sense of having been dependent upon his own resources from an early age and his progress is the result of firm purpose and indefatigable energy intelligently directed.
Mr. Welsh was born in the year 1873, in Indiana, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel F. Welsh. His mother died when he was only about a year old and he was but two years of age when left an orphan by the death of his father, who had been a con-
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tractor of Indiana. There were in the family four children, the surviving brother and sister being Frank and Elta, while one sister, Mary, died in infancy.
Roscoe C. Welsh received but limited educational opportunities. He attended school to some extent at the place of his birth and also in Indianapolis. His early life was largely passed at Vincennes, the oldest town of Indiana. He was still quite young when he went to California, where he engaged in the conduct of an orange nursery, retaining his residence at Riverside for about six years. As time went on he decided to take up the business of sugar manufacturing and entered the employ of the Ameri- can Beet Sugar Company. He began in a very humble position but steadily advanced as he mastered the tasks assigned him and proved his willingness and capability. At length he removed to Colorado, settling at Rocky Ford, at which time a new sugar factory was being erected there. This was in the year 1900. He acted as general fore- man of the factory until about 1905, when he went to Ontario, Canada, where he was also connected with the sugar industry for about a year. Returning to Colorado, he settled at Longmont, where he entered the employ of the Great Western Sugar Com- pany as assistant superintendent, occupying that position for nine years, when he was promoted, being made superintendent of the plant of the company at Fort Morgan. He continued there for a year and was then transferred to Sterling as superintendent of the plant, in which position he has since continued, being the directing head of the business at this point. As the years have gone on he has acquainted himself thoroughly with every phase of the business and with the most modern processes of manufacture and his advancement has come to him as the recognition of his merit, fidelity, efficiency and trustworthiness.
On Christmas day of 1902, in Rocky Ford Colorado, Mr. Welsh was married to Miss Cora A. Peek, a daughter of Henry C. and Eva Peek, who were natives of Kentucky, became residents of Kansas and ultimately took up their abode in Colorado. Her father was a farmer by occupation. To Mr. and Mrs. Welsh have been born two sons: Ronald C., nine years of age; and Howard F., a lad of six.
Mrs. Welsh is a member of the Christian church, in the work of which she takes a helpful part, and she is also very active in Red Cross work, to the support of which the family have contributed liberally, as well as to the liberty loan campaign. Mr. Welsh votes with the republican party but has never been an office seeker. Frater- nally he is connected with the Masons and with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He is possessed of many excellent traits of character which have gained for him high regard, and as the architect of his own fortunes has builded wisely and well.
R. R. LUCORE.
R. R. Lucore, a resident farmer of Lincoln county, owning and cultivating land near Arriba, was born in Marion, Iowa, May 23, 1865, a son of A. B. and Sarah A. (Withers) Lucore, who were farming people. The mother passed away in 1890. The paternal grandfather raised a company for service in the Civil war and had three sons who fought for the Union cause, one of these being A. B. Lucore, who was a member of Company H of the Twentieth Iowa Infantry, commanded by Colonel Dye. He participated in several engagements and the siege of Vicksburg. He passed away in Portland, Oregon, while his wife died at Morrison, Colorado.
R. R. Lucore left Iowa with his parents when but six years of age, his father having taken up a claim in Fillmore county, Nebraska, in 1871. There he obtained a district school education with the exception of one year, during which he returned to Iowa and attended school in that state. In 1886, when twenty-one years of age, he left Nebraska whither he had removed in early life, going to Kansas, where lie proved up on a claim, remaining in that state until 1888. He then came to Colorado and filed on a homestead and timber claim. In May, 1888, he went to Lincoln county and settled upon the land, which has since been his place of residence. It was then in Elbert county, which was organized in 1890, but a later division has placed it in Lincoln county. For the first two years of his residence in Colorado Mr. Lucore lived in a dugout. then built a sod house and began the work of making improvements upon his farm. He built his present home in 1907 and now has an attractive farm residence together with many other substantial buildings upon his place, indicative of his progressive spirit and the success which is attending his efforts. He is interested in Aberdeen Angus cattle and has very high grade animals upon his farm. He has also met with fair success in crop rotation and conditions are continually improving for the farmer on account of the modern machinery which is today in use. Mr. Lucore has won
MR. AND MRS. R. R. LUCORE
CATTLE OWNED BY R. R. LUCORE
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many prizes on his cattle at the different stock shows held in this section of the state. His place comprises six hundred and forty acres of good land which he is steadily bringing nnder a higher and still higher state of cultivation and development.
On the 22d of July, 1891, Mr. Lucore was married in Goodland, Kansas, to Miss Lena Malloch, a daughter of Daniel and Kate Malloch. Her father passed away in 1886, but her mother is living in Kalispell, Montana. To Mr. and Mrs. Lucore have been born five children: Sarah Katharine, now the wife of F. S. Coleman, a farmer, by whom she has two children: Alta, the wife of Earle Coleson, also a farmer; Jessie Belle, a graduate of the Arriba high school; Alonzo B., who assists his father on the farm; and Frank M., at home.
Mr. Lucore gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has been called upon for service in public office, filling the position of county assessor in 1896 and 1897 and that of county commissioner from 1912 nntil 1916. He is ever loyal and faithful in the discharge of his public duties, assisting in many ways to further the interests of community and commonwealth. He and his wife are numbered among the pioneers of this section of Colorado, for there were very few settlers in Lincoln county at the time of their arrival. The nearest railway point was Hugo and Mr. Lucore had to haul fence posts a distance of thirty miles and bring all supplies in from far-distant points. He courageously faced conditions, however, and as the years have passed has profited by his labors, the intelligent direction of which has brought him to a place among the leading farmers of Lincoln county.
EDWARD SHERWOOD PERRIN.
Edward Sherwood Perrin, who passed away on the 21st of January. 1910, was for many years actively identified with the development of the rich mineral resources of Colorado. He was born in Essex county, Michigan, on the 20th of August, 1824, and was a representative of one of the early New England families, tracing his ancestry back to Geoffrey Perrin, who was the progenitor of the family in America and came from England to the United States in 1634, at which time he took np his abode in the state of New York. The family were represented in the Revolutionary war by those who aided in winning independence for the nation.
Ezra Ide Perrin, father of Edward S. Perrin, was a native of the state of New York and lived for many years at Maple Rapids, Michigan. He also was one of those who rushed to the gold fields of California in 1849 and representatives of the name have since been identified with mining interests in the west.
Edward S. Perrin, whose name introduces this review. was reared in the Mississippi valley and arrived at Russell Gulch, Colorado, on the 10th of July, 1859. He, too, took up the occupation of mining, to which he devoted his remaining days, and success in substantial measure attended his efforts. He made wise and judicious investments. the Perrin lode in Russell Gulch, for instance, selling a number of years ago for sixty thousand dollars. The family still owns the Pewabick mine in that district.
On the 21st of January, 1849, in Michigan, Edward S. Perrin was married to Miss Maria Moore who passed away November 21, 1890. They had a family of four daughters and a son, but only one of the danghters is now living. Mrs. Estelle Bennett Pease. of Georgetown.
The son. William S. Perrin, was born in Essex county, Michigan, October 29, 1854, and came to Colorado with his parents in 1864. when the father made his third trip across the plains between Michigan and this state. William S. Perrin was educated in the common schools of Central City, Colorado, walking a distance of two miles to and from school. He afterward entered the mining business, in which his father and grandfather had been engaged and in which he has continued to the present time.
William S. Perrin was married October 28, 1883, to Lucinda Robertson, a daughter of P. G. and Edith ( Zimmerman) Robertson, who came from Illinois to Colorado in 1872. Her father was born February 22, 1845, and was engaged in dealing in horses throughout his active business career. Her mother was born December 21, 1848, and is still living. Her people were from Virginia, removing from Marshalltown, that state, to Ohio during the pioneer epoch in the history of the Buckeye state. The paternal ancestors of Mrs. Perrin went from Virginia into Kentucky with Daniel Boone. To Mr. and Mrs. William S. Perrin have been born three children. William S., who was born November 1, 1884. is now in the United States Field Artillery somewhere in France. Amie C., born April 16, 1885, died February 27, 1904. Paul, born April 26, 1905, is attending the Denver schools.
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From pioneer times the Perrin family has been represented in Colorado and has always borne its part in the work of promoting the material development and the social, intellectual and moral progress of the state. Their work in connection with the utilization of the material resources of the commonwealth has been of value and in matters of citizenship the family has always stood for those public-spirited interests which constitute features in the progress of community, state and country.
JAMES LOUIS BOUTWELL.
James Louis Boutwell is widely known in Denver, where for many years he has been a popular official, acting as custodian of the state capitol for a long period. He has now passed the eighty-eighth milestone on life's journey, for his hirth occurred in Jefferson county, New York, October 27, 1830, his parents being James and Lucy (Reed) Boutwell, who were natives of Vermont and were representatives of an old New England family which was founded in the Green Mountain state in 1640. The ancestry in both the paternal and maternal lines was represented in active service in the Revolutionary war. The family on the whole followed the occupation of farming and James Boutwell, Sr., devoted his life to agricultural pursuits for many years but afterward conducted a hotel in Watertown, New York, and again engaged in the same line of business at Three Rivers, Michigan, to which section of the country he removed with his family in 1843. In the spring of 1852 he and his younger brother Reed went to California, driving overland from Three Rivers, and returning in 1853 by the Nicarauguan route to New York. The father died October 21, 1913, and the mother passed away August 17, 1915.
James Louis Boutwell was at that time a lad of thirteen years. His youthful experiences were those of the farm-bred boy. He worked in the fields through the summer months and in the winter seasons attended the common schools. In the spring of 1859 he arrived in Colorado, then one of the new territories of the great west. The journey across the plains was made with wagon and ox teams and during his first season within the borders of the present state James L. Boutwell engaged in prospecting for gold at Boulder. He afterward turned bis attention to the business in which his father had engaged and conducted a hotel on Big Thompson creek, at the old stage crossing on the Cherokee trail. This was without doubt the first eating station on the way to California along the overland route for stages. A year later, however, he sold his hotel and accepted the appointment to the position of deputy United States marshal under A. C. Hunt. In 1864 he was commissioned by the commander of the military department of Colorado to secure and press into service all available horses in Larimer and Weld counties for mounting the troops in the one hundred day service, which later fought the battle of Sand creek under Colonel Chivington. Before the Civil war had been brought to a close Mr. Boutwell turned his attention again to the hotel business, becoming proprietor of the Junction House, on the old Derver stage road from Denver to Central City. He became a resident of Golden in 1867 and there acted as superintendent of hridge and car repairing for the Colorado Central Railroad Company, now the Colorado Southern route. After thirteen years' connection with the railroad, the last five of which were spent in the freight department at Denver, he became connected with ranching and stock raising in Montrose county. on the Un- compahgre Ute Indian reservation, there remaining from 1880 until 1885. In the latter year he embarked in mercantile pursuits as city salesman for the Colorado Chemical Company and so continued for five years. In 1900 he received his appointment as custodian of the state capitol building and continued to act in that capacity for some time. He was always a faithful, courteous and obliging official and his record of public service is one to be commended.
On the 5th of July, 1855, was celebrated the marriage of James Louis Boutwell and Miss Sarah J. Thiel, a daughter of John R. Thiel, of St. Louis, Missouri. Their . children are: Jennie, who has passed away; Thomas P., employed in the United States inint at Denver; Mamie J., the deceased wife of W. F. Cannon, formerly United States food commissioner for Colorado; Della M., the wife of L. E. Wannamaker: Lillian and Grace, twins, the latter the wife of Dr. J. H. Allen. In 1905 Mr. and Mrs. Boutwell celebrated their golden wedding anniversary, an event long to be remembered hy those who were fortunate enough to participate therein.
Mr. Boutwell became a member of the Masonic fraternity, also entered into mem- bership relations with the Sons of Colorado and became the first vice president of the Colorado Pioneers Society. A residence in the state dating from 1859 made him Vol. 111-39
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