USA > Colorado > History of Colorado; Volume IV > Part 12
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Pw. aug Mrs. alanson M Vir On
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efforts and earnest appeals twenty-one churches in different parts of this country were built or rebuilt and, in fact, his work has been of national importance in the spread of true Christianity. Moreover, Mr. Vir Den has been instrumental in educating for the church twenty young men and women, who are now preaching the gospel or are engaged in other Christian work. The Vir Den family is of French extraction and our subject is proud of his descent. In his forceful oratory he injects strength of expression by using the simplest language, preferring the plainest words in order to make his statements carry to his hearers. In preaching the Christ and exhorting his audiences he is so positive and convincing that it is practically impossible to escape from the righteous- ness of his arguments, and his conversions therefore are but the natural outcome of his personal jappeal. He is not a man to impress by outside appearances-that means a man who seeks to impress by clothes and mannerisms, but he is a man who by five minutes of his presence wins his audiences, who acclaim him as one of them, and their kind. A man of the masses, he is with the masses and stands for the masses. In his work he has been ably assisted by his wife and they are inseparable in their Christian work. They cheer and strengthen each other and in his home Mr. Vir Den finds that inspiration which ever guides him to new effort. Both are students of human nature and by closely applying this quality they have succeeded in touching the human heart and convincing the soul. Mr. Vir Den uses all his force, all the noble earnestness of his soul and all his physical powers in order to combat sin in all of its forms as prevalent in modern society and he is particularly insistent in regard to temperance. Mrs. Vir Den sometimes assists her husband on the platform and sometimes she preaches herself. Their home in Hugo is a cheerful American abode, and the outcast or the one whom life has played hard, the oppressed and the distressed, all receive encouragement, help and sympathy there.
The Stroud (Okla.) Democrat says of Rev. Vir Den: "Rev. A. M. Vir Den, formerly Methodist Episcopal pastor at Edmond, Newkirk and Kingfisher, but now in charge of the Methodist church at Pawhuska, is no doubt the most energetic, original and most industrious minister of the gospel in this state. Mentally, physically and nervously he is a compound of eccentric Lorenzo Dow, belligerent Peter Cartwright and laughter exciting Sam Jones. He has been and still is one of the hardest workers in Oklahoma. He is fearless, eccentric, humorous and full of pure religion." This is the impression which Rev. Vir Den created in Oklahoma. What the people of his native state of Oliio think of his work is evident from the following extract from the Lima Gazette: "Rev. A. M. Vir Den is certainly a man desperately in earnest-a fearless, uncompromising preacher. He strikes quick and hard and hits the center every time. All who heard him were profoundly impressed with his zeal for leading men to hetter things. He is undoubtedly a winning speaker. He awakens in men at once a desire for nobler living; men can scarcely refrain from acting at once on their better feelings. He is unique in his manner and methods, as well as in his presentation of the truth. His illustrated lecture, 'Life's Golden Pathway,' was attended by an army of young people. An adequate description of this lecture could not be given in a few words. One must hear it to fully appreciate its excellence. Sam Jones never spoke more directly or fearlessly than Mr. Vir Den. They learned that the speaker knew how to talk to men, for he demon- strated by trend of thought and incidents that he knew his subject. Men were pro- foundly stirred and lasting impressions for good made."
Charles N. Haskell, governor of Oklahoma, speaks of Mr. Vir Den in the highest terms, expressing his pleasure at having been able to attend one of his lectures, and Senator Robert Owen of the same state speaks highly of the value of his lectures, which "combine humor, pathos and instruction." H. B. Brown, president of Valparaiso (Ind.) University, says: "His addresses and sermons are inspiring and uplifting," and Con- gressman Bird McGuire of Oklahoma says: "He entertains his audience continuously from the first to the last and imparts to his audience information and not misinforma- tion. I regard him as one of the most entertaining speakers I have ever known."
In 1888 Rev. Alanson Moody Vir Den was united in marriage to Docia Grace Hawk, who was born in southern Ohio, a daughter of Charles E. Hawk, one of the bravest men who took up the cause of the Union. For four years he served in the Civil war as a member of the Thirty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry and participated in many of the hotly contested and sanguine engagements, serving mostly under Sherman in the eastern army, and with him he made the famous march to the sea. He married Christina Barger, who was born in Ohio of German descent. When General Morgan was on his famous raid through the southern part of that state Mrs. Vir Den and older brothers and sisters, as well as her mother, slept in the sugar camp in order to let General Morgan have the use of her bed. To Rev. and Mrs. Vir Den were born the following named children. Frances Pearl, who was born in 1889, pursued her early education in
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the public schools, subsequently attended the Defiance high school, of Defiance, Ohio, from which she was graduated, and later the State Normal School in Oklahoma. On September 6, 1908, she married Ed G. Klein, who is a professor of English literature in that state. He is very prominent in the democratic party of his commonwealth, being at present chairman of the Democratic Club of the state. Earle Alanson Vir Den was born January 5, 1892. He received his college education in the Central State Normal School of Edmond. Oklahoma, and in the Southwestern College of Winfield, Kansas. He was connected for five years with the Dunbar Bell Ringers, one of the best known musical organizations of its kind in the country, and was under The Ridpath-Horner Lyceum Bureau. Since this country entered the war he has enlisted and is now a member of an artillery band in France belonging to a Heavy Artillery unit of the Thirty-fourth Division, U. S. A. Miner Raymond, who was born December 3, 1895, at- tended the Central State Normal School of Edmond, Oklahoma, being also a graduate of the City High School of Oklahoma City. He spent three years in New York city in order to train his voice for grand opera and Martinelli and some other Italian singers have expressed their opinion that he is the greatest American born tenor. In July, 1918, his patriotism prompted him to enlist in the United States navy and at present he is battalion adjutant at the Fort Pelham naval training station and is considered one of the best trombone players in the navy. Blanche Marie, who was born June 1, 1897, also attended the Central State Normal School of Edmond, Oklahoma, having previously graduated from the Oklahoma City high school. She married William Jennings Quilliam, of Oklahoma City, a graduate of the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College of Stillwater, who at the age of twenty-two years was appointed state food inspector and was probably the youngest official of this kind in the country.
In fraternal circles Rev. Vir Den is well known, having long been connected with several of the foremost orders of this country. He has been a Royal Arch Mason since 1890, having received that degree in Valparaiso, Indiana. Since 1893 he has been a valued member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and in 1896 he joined the Modern Woodmen of America. Although Rev. Vir Den is now numbered among the prosperous agriculturists of his part of the state, owning a valuable farm property, his greatest success lies in the work which he has accomplished as a teacher of Christianity and right principles of living. He is repaid for his arduous work by the consciousness of having accomplished things for humanity which are greater to him than are riches, and his achievements in life may be summarized in the words of a modern philosopher, who has said: "Not the good that comes to us, but the good that comes to the world through us, is the measure of our success."
ROLANDUS G. WALKER, M. D.
Dr. Rolandus G. Walker, whose ability in medical circles won him prominence, his knowledge and skill being attested by professional colleagues and contemporaries, was born in Paris, Ohio, on the 14th of July, 1867, a son of Albert and Sarah ( Brownewell) Walker, who were representatives of old families of Ohio. He pursued a public school education, supplemented by study in Mount Union College, from which in due time he was graduated. He next entered the Ohio Wesleyan University, where he completed a thorough course of study in preparation for the practice of medicine, after which he located in Canton, Ohio. Later he was a resident of Lewisville, Ohio, for two years. He arrived in Denver in 1906 and opened an office on Court place, where he continued in active practice for eleven and a half years. His professional skill and ability soon became recognized and he was accorded a liberal practice. Constant study kept him in touch with the onward trend of the profession and his wide reading was manifest in the excellent results which attended his efforts. As a business man, too, he became widely known. He was interested in the Jefferson County Power & Light Company of Golden, Colorado, and was otherwise well known in business and commercial connections as well as in mining.
On the 29th of May, 1890, at Paris, Ohio, Dr. Walker was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Meyer, a daughter of Frederick and Mary (Wolfe) Meyer. They became the parents of a daughter and two sons: L. Leland, Harry Hugh and Mary Lucile. Mrs. Walker, who is well known socially and in spheres where other cultured women meet and exert their efforts in support of worthy movements, is a member of the Eastern Star and the Royal Neighbors.
Dr. Walker was prominently known in fraternal and church circles. He was a thirty-second degree Mason and member of El Jebel Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He
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was past master of his lodge and served in various other offices in the order, among them as past patron of the Eastern Star. He held membership with the Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Royal Neighbors, the Junior Order of American Mechanics and with the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. His membership relations also extended to the Denver Athletic Club. His religious faith was that of the Presby- terian church. He held membership in the Central Presbyterian church, in which he served as deacon for three years and for a number of years was usher, taking a very active and helpful part in its work. His political belief was that of the democratic party and while residing in Lewisville, Ohio, he served as health officer. Along strictly professional lines he was connected with the Denver City and County Medical Society and served on its board of censors. He was a member of the council of the Denver Civic and Commercial Association and he stood stanchly in support of all those things which have to do with civic advancement, cooperating in many well defined plans and measures for the public good. He was one hundred per cent American, was an active worker in the Liberty Loan drives and stood as a splendid type of American manhood and chivalry. Death called him when he was but little over fifty years of age. It seemed that he should have been spared for many years to come and yet in the five decades covered by his earthly career he accomplished much for the benefit of his fellow- men and for the organized community in which he lived. Denver had reason to class him with her valued and representative citizens and his friends, who were legion, will cherish his memory for years to come. His demise occurred on the 21st of March, 1918, after but four days of illness.
SAMUEL JOHN THOMAS.
Samuel John Thomas, deceased, was the organizer and the president of the Merchants Bank of Denver, one of the strong financial institutions of the metropolis and a city, county, state and United States depository. Through well formulated plans, carefully executed, he brought the establishment to its present position, while he made for himself a creditable name and place as a financier. His birth occurred in Gainesville, Florida, October 10, 1871, his parents being Dr. G. P. and Omerea B. (Fraser) Thomas, both of whom were of southern birth, having been natives of South Carolina. In early life they removed to Florida and the father became a well known and prominent member of the medical profession of that state, where he continued to reside to the time of his death. His wife also passed away in Florida.
Samuel J. Thomas was the youngest in their family of five children. In his early life he attended the public schools of Gainesville, Florida, and afterward entered the State University, from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree as a member of the class of 1888. After leaving the University he established himself in the mercantile business at Gainesville, where he remained until 1908, and during that period made steady progress not only along commercial lines but also became identified with the banking business as a representative of the Dutton Bank of Gainesville. He became one of its heavy stockholders, served as one of its directors and took an active interest in shaping its financial policy. At length, however, he disposed of all of his interests in Florida for the purpose of removing to Denver. He came to this city on the advice of his physician, as his health had become impaired. Here he sought rest and recuperation and was engaged in no business for a year. At the end of that time his health and strength had so improved that he again became an active factor in the business world. He organized what is now the Merchants Bank and managed its affairs most success- fully to the time of his demise, making it one of the most substantial banking insti- tutions of Denver. From 1912 he had been its president and a member of the board of directors. The other officers are: Dr. F. L. Bartlett and Allison Stocker, who are vice presidents: C. R. Cotton, cashier; and G. F. Hudson, assistant cashier, while on the list of directors appear the names of E. M. Ammons, who is the presi- dent of the Farmers Life Insurance Company; Dr. Bartlett, who is a capitalist; H. J. Bourk, of the Brule & Bourk Commission Company; Carl P. Schwalb of the Denver Terra Cotta Company; Allison Stocker of the firm of Stocker & Fraser, building contractors; and Chris Irving, president of the Chris Irving Company. The bank is capitalized for seventy-five thousand dollars and its deposits amount to five hundred and sixty-five thousand dollars. Courtesy and accommodation are made the watchwords of the bank and from its establishment the business has
SAMUEL J. THOMAS
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steadily grown. Mr. Thomas was also the president of the S. J. Thomas Realty Company and conducted a considerable business in that direction in connection with banking.
On the 10th of October, 1895, at Greenville, South Carolina, Mr. Thomas was united in marriage to Miss Anna Hamilton Hill, born in Abbeville, that state, May 12, 1875, a daughter of Judge and Mrs. R. E. Hill. They became the parents of one child, Samuel John, who was born in Gainesville, Florida, November 1, 1896, and is now an officer in the United States army. He became a student at the New Mexico Military Institute, at Roswell, New Mexico, and upon coming to Colorado with his parents, served as a member of Troop E, Colorado National Guard. When his country entered the great war, in 1917, he promptly volunteered but was unable to meet the physical requirements of the service. Persisting in his efforts, he entered the Officers Training School, at Camp Gordon, where he won a commission as second lieutenant and was assigned to active duty.
Mr. Thomas was a member of St. Thomas Episcopal church of Denver, to which his family also belong. He was also a member of Park Hill Lodge, No. 148, A. F. & A. M., and he was likewise identified with the Knights of Pythlas and the Benevo- lent Protective Order of Elks. His political allegiance was given to no party. He preferred to maintain an independent course, voting according to the dictates of his judgment without regard to party ties. He stood for progress and improvement in community affairs as well as In individual life and he gave active aid and co- operation to all movements which he believed would prove of real public worth. Such qualities made him a man of genuine worth in his community, so that when death called him on the 25th of September, 1918, his demise was the occasion of deep and widespread regret. He left to his family that good name which is rather to be chosen than great riches, but his possessions were also extensive, his record proving that prosperity and an honored name may be won simultaneously.
FRANK R. COFFMAN, M. D.
Prominent among the leading physicians of Colorado stands Dr. Frank R. Coff- man, who in his practice has made a specialty of stomach, intestinal and rectal dis- eases, in which branch of the profession he has developed eminent ahility. Ever studying along progressive lines. he has kept in touch with the latest scientific re- searches and discoveries and his practice is the embodiment of the most progressive thought in this field. Dr. Coffman is a native of Columbus, Ohio. He was born Octo- ber 25, 1868, of the marriage of Milton H. and Abbie H. (Knight) Coffman, who were also natives of Columbus, where they were reared, educated and married. In early life the father turned to merchandising and after a few years he extended his busi- ness from one city to another in southeastern Ohio until he had become the owner of a chain of seven large stores in that section of the state and accordingly ranked with the foremost merchants of Ohio, his ramifying trade interests reaching out over a very broad territory. Whatever he undertook he completed and he never stopped short of the successful accomplishment of his well defined purposes. He engaged in grain buying in connection with merchandising and was the owner of a fleet of one hundred grain carrying canal boats on the Erie canal. In a word he was a man of marked business capacity and vast resourcefulness, of undaunted energy and of keen foresight. His business affairs represented the investment of a large amount of capital and also represented notable administrative direction and executive control. Obstacles and difficulties in his path seemed but to serve as an impetus for renewed effort on his part. He died in southeastern Ohio at the comparatively early age of forty-four years. After the death of her husband Mrs. Coffman removed to Smith Center, Kansas, where she remained until her demise, which occurred in 1915, when she had reached the age of seventy-five. In the family were two children, the younger being Bruce Coffman, a resident of Yuma, Colorado, who is editor and pro- prietor of the Yuma County Times, a well known newspaper of that section of the state.
The elder son. Dr. Coffman of this review, pursued his early studies in the public schools of St. Clairsville, Ohio, and afterward entered the academy there, while later he became a student in the office of a well known physician of that city, who directed his reading in preparation for the practice of medicine for several years. He was also engaged in teaching school for a time in Ohio before his removal to Denver. On coming to Colorado he entered the Gross Medical College and completed his prepara-
DR. FRANK R. COFFMAN
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tion for the profession as a graduate of the class of 1890. Immediately afterward he removed to Castle Rock, Colorado, where he engaged in private practice for two years with a fair measure of success. He then accepted a position as physician and surgeon with the Southern Pacific Railway Company and removed to Roseburg, Oregon, where he made his headquarters while serving as surgeon for that corporation, remaining there from 1892 until 1899. In the latter year he returned to Colorado to take up his duties as division surgeon with the Denver & Rio Grande Railway, having headquarters at Minturn, Colorado, from 1899 until 1903. In the latter year he returned to Denver to become medical inspector and commissioner of the board of health and continued actively in that service for eight years. He also engaged in the private practice of medicine and at length resigned his public office in June, 1916, for the demands of a growing private practice were such as to make it imperative that he give all of his attention to his work in that connection. He is regarded as one of the most success- ful physicians and surgeons of the city. He has taken a number of post-graduate courses, specializing in stomach, intestinal and rectal diseases, and he is an authority upon questions relative thereto. His last post-graduate work was done in the New York Post Graduate Hospital and also in Detroit, Michigan.
On the 17th of July, 1890, Dr. Coffman was united in marriage in Castle Rock, Colorado, to Miss Helen M. Lapham, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Lapham, of Denver, and they now have one child, Max, who was born in Roseburg, Oregon, in 1895. He is a graduate of the Manual Training high school of Denver and was a student for three years in the University of Colorado, and later a chemist with the Great Western Sugar Company. In September, 1918, he entered the Chemical Warfare Service of the Untied States government, in connection with the war department, at Yale University.
In his fraternal relations Dr. Coffman is a Mason. He has attained the thirty- second degree of the Scottish Rite and is also a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. He like- wise has membership with the Woodmen of the World and he is now serving as a member of the state board of health, while along strictly professional lines his con- nection is with the Denver City and County Medical Society, the Colorado State Medi- cal Society and the American Medical Association. He holds to high professional standards and ideals and is ever careful to conform his practice to the most advanced ethics of the profession.
ROSA E. BACHMAN.
The education of the young has ever been a most important problem of any, but particularly the newer districts, and Washington county is to be congratulated upon having such an able superintendent of schools as is Rosa E. Bachman, of Akron, who is well fitted and highly qualified to fill this important office. Under her administration the school system of the county has been greatly improved and education here made noticeable forward strides. Born in Mount Carmel, Illinois, she is a daughter of W. P. and Elizabeth (Riel) Kingsbury, the former born in Ohio and the latter in Illinois. The father was an agriculturist by occupation and removed to Illinois in the early days of the history of that state. There he acquired land which he cultivated to good advan- tage for many years and then once more moved westward, golng to Nebraska. He sub- sequently retired and resided in Ponca, that state, during the balance of his life, his wife also having passed away.
Mrs. Bachman was reared under the parental roof and received her primary educa- tion in Mount Carmel, Illinois, where she attended the public schools. She also studied at Ponca and Wayne, Nebraska, and in the latter place she attended normal school, sub- sequently teaching in Nebraska for five years. In 1909 she came to Colorado and attended the State Teachers College at Greeley, graduating from that institution with the class of 1912. While attending school in Greeley she made her residence in Akron, Colorado. She then taught in rural schools in Washington county and also for two years in the primary schools at Akron. She displayed rare qualities as a teacher and soon demonstrated that she was fitted for higher office. In 1913 she was elected county superintendent of schools and has since served in that important capacity. She not only thoroughly understands the needs of the scholars but is equally able to judge of the capabilities of the teachers. She sees to it that the latter are always kept informed of the latest methods of obtaining results and has succeeded in making the force of teachers in Washington county more efficient and of greater benefit to the schools. More- over, she is an able organizer and administrator and has made her office one of real
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importance in regard to educational progress in Washington county. She has improved school facilities and has seen to it that where schoolhouses or school equipment were in need of improvement such improvement was made. Therefore she has made good use of her official position in furthering the interests of the public, who well realize the importance attaching to her work.
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