USA > Colorado > History of Colorado; Volume IV > Part 22
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In 1907 Mr. Walker was united in marriage to Miss Janet Reid, a native of Scotland and a daughter of Robert and Maggie (McTavish) Reid. Her mother died when Mrs. Walker was but six weeks old and she was reared by her aunt,
MR. AND MRS. HENRY B. WALKER
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RANCH OF JAMES B. WALKER
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Maggie Reid, with whom she came to America at the age of six years, arriving in Chicago on the 20th of January, 1878, and there she received her education. For a number of years she lived with her uncle, Alexander McCormack, at Palmer Lake, Colorado, and for two years was a resident of Denver.
Mr. and Mrs. Walker are widely and favorably known in the district in which they reside, enjoying the friendship and kindly regard of all with whom they have come in contact. Mr. Walker stands as one of the most progressive agriculturists of his community and his methods may well be followed by those who wish to make their efforts along agricultural lines count for the utmost.
FREDERICK RUSSELL McILHENNEY.
Frederick Russell McIlhenney, who has been closely identified with ranching interests in Elbert county and with political activities as well, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the 14th of April, 1856, a son of William S. and Katherine (Achuff) McIlhenney, the former of Scotch-Irish lineage, while the latter came of Pennsylvanla Dutch ancestry. His education was acquired in the public schools of his native city and he was a youth of seventeen years when on the 11th of May, 1873, he arrived in Colorado, settling first at Colorado Springs. In 1875 he removed to Riverbend, in Elbert county, and has since resided within the borders of the county, covering a period of forty-three years. He has been active in its business affairs and in its development. For many years he engaged in ranching and for two decades he conducted a store in Riverbend. His fellow townsmen, appreciative of his worth, have called him to public office and for four years he has served as assessor of Elbert county. In 1918 he was given the republican nomination for county treasurer and he is regarded as one of the leaders of his party in his section of the state.
Mr. McIlhenney was married thirty-seven years ago to Miss Mary Hudson, in what is now the city of Eastonville, Colorado. They became the parents of four sons and two daughters. Two of these children have passed away: Theodore, who died in 1913 at the age of twenty-nine years; and Evelyn, who died in infancy. Two of the living sons are married and one son is now in the service of his country, being stationed at this writing (December, 1918) in England. As one of the pioneers of Colorado, Mr. McIlhenney has for forty-five years witnessed its growth and develop- ment and throughout the entire period has borne his share in the work of public progress and improvement. He can relate many an interesting incident concerning the early days and conditions which then existed and his memory forms one of the connecting links between the pioneer past and the progressive present.
WILLIAM M. LAMPTON.
William M. Lampton is the genial and well known general freight agent of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad at Denver. He has faithfully served this company for nearly twenty-seven years and is one of the most popular representatives of railroad interests in this section of the country. He was born in Pettis county, Missouri, Sep- tember 2, 1863, a son of Mitchell M. and Elizabeth (Rowland) Lampton, both of whom were natives of Kentucky, whence they removed to Missouri in 1856, settling in Pettis county, where the father engaged in farming for a number of years. He passed away in Sedalia, Missouri, in 1885, while his wife died in St. Louis in 1894. During the Civil war he served as a colonel with the Confederate army, enlisting in 1861 and remaining with his command until he surrendered at Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1865. During much of his military service he was with General Price. To Mr. and Mrs. Lampton were born nine children, those living being: Reuben L., a resident of St. Louis, Missouri; James C., whose home is in Hannibal, Missouri; Mrs. Walter Lewis, also of St. Louis; and Mrs. F. C. Stevens, of the same city.
The other surviving member of the family is W. M. Lampton of this review, who was the fifth in order of birth. In his boyhood days he was a pupil in the public schools of Sedalia, Missouri, and afterward attended a college at Fulton, Missouri, from which he was graduated with the class of 1882. He then took up railroad work in the employ of the Texas-Pacific Company at Fort Worth, Texas, acting as clerk in the freight department until 1885, when he turned his attention to mercantile interests on his own account at Fort Worth, continuing in business there until 1892. He then sold
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out and came to Denver, where he entered the claim department of the Denver & Rio Grande, remaining in that capacity, however, for only a short time. He next entered the freight department as chief clerk and has advanced from time to time, being promoted from position to position until he is now general freight agent. As such he is widely known throughout the country, being one of the prominent representatives of railway interests in the west. There is no feature of the business with which he is not thoroughly familiar and his marked capability and executive force have been the salient qualities which have brought him to his present position of responsibility.
On the 19th of November, 1884, Mr. Lampton was married to Miss Jeannette Fisher, of Denver, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel H. Fisher, pioneers of this city, where they arrived in 1870, living on Seventeenth and Curtis streets, now in the heart of the business district.
Mr. Lampton is a member of the Denver Club, also of the Denver Country Club and the Denver Athletic Club, while in his fraternal relations he is an Elk. In politics he maintains an independent course, nor has he ever aspired to public office, although he has been tendered many. He has preferred to concentrate his attention upon his busi- ness affairs and the thoroughness with which he has undertaken his part, his conscien- tious sense of duty and his clearly defined powers have been the strong elements in winning him promotion. While his initial railroad position was an humble one, he has steadily advanced and is today one of the best known and most highly esteemed rail- road representatives of the west.
BENJAMIN URSERY JAMISON.
Benjamin Ursery Jamison is the cashier of the Elizabeth (Colo.) State Bank and one of its stockholders. He was born on a farm in Franklin county, Virginia, October 19, 1860, but since 1892 has made his home in Colorado. His parents were Wiley P. and Emma Jamison. The grandfather in the paternal line was Scotch and the great- grandfather in the maternal line was a resident of Lunenburg county, Virginia. The family was established in that locality at a very early period in the colonization of the new world.
Benjamin U. Jamison pursued his education in the public schools near his father's home and remained a resident of the Old Dominion until 1883, when he started out for himself, going to Missouri. He located at Pendleton, in Warren county, and was there employed as telegraph operator and station agent. In 1892 he removed to Colorado and in 1894 took up his abode at Elizabeth, where for twenty-four years he has largely made his home. He was station agent at Elizabeth until about 1899 and in 1904 he became connected with the banking business at Arvada, Colorado, where he remained until 1906. He then returned to Elizabeth and has since been closely identified with her business and financial interests. The population of the town is about three hundred and the prosperity of its citizens as well as of the farmers in the vicinity is shown by the fact that the deposits in the State Bank of Elizabeth amounted to two hundred and forty thousand dollars on the 31st of August, 1918, and at this writing, in October, 1918, have passed the quarter million mark. Mr. Jamison is the cashier and one of the stockholders in the bank and the success of the institution is attributable in large measure to his enterprise and thorough understanding of the banking business. He is doing everything in his power to develop the institution and his labors have been most effective. He is likewise a stockholder in the Arvada Bank and one of the directors of the Elbert County Bank of Elbert. He is thus extending his interests in banking and has made for himself a creditable position in financial circles of this section of the state.
JUNIUS W. DICKINSON.
Junius W. Dickinson, expostmaster of Peyton, has at various times held other offices in El Paso county and is recognized as one of the local leaders of the republican party. He is an active and enterprising merchant, conducting a general store since 1905. A native of the Empire state, he was born in Binghamton, New York, June 26, 1868, a son of Ira E. and Ella (Washburn) Dickinson. He completed a high school course and when his studies were over he became connected with the shoe trade at Binghamton, in which Vol. IV-12
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line of business he continued for five years. He was afterward manager for a store of the Atlantic & Pacific Company at Binghamton for five years.
Removing to Colorado, Mr. Dickinson was identified with the Russell-Gates Mer- cantile Company for twelve years at Eastonville and at Peyton and while thus serving he was appointed by President Mckinley to the office of postmaster, in which position he continued for sixteen years. He has held the office of justice of the peace for a num- ber of years and his decisions have been strictly fair and impartial. In 1905 he engaged in commercial pursuits on his own account and opened a drug store and general mer- chandising establishment, which he has since conducted. He carries a carefully selected line of goods and his business has grown and developed with the passing years. In 1904 he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres and in 1909 secured an eighty acre tract, his farm property being now operated by his son. He displays keen sagacity and sound judgment in all of his business affairs and never stops short of the successful achieve- ment of his purpose.
In 1893 Mr. Dickinson was married to Miss Minnie V. Osborn, of Binghamton, New York, who is a graduate of the high school of that city and also of a private school known as the Lady Jane Grey College of Binghamton. Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson have become the parents of four children. Ira E., now upon his father's ranch, was born May 11, 1894, and married Lucy Beebe, of Fort Collins, by whom he has two children, Aaron J. and Robert. Osborn J., born March 19, 1896, married Nellie Williams, of Pey- ton, and has a son, Roger Williams. Norman R., born March 9, 1903, is attending high school. Raymond, born October 13, 1905, is a pupil in the graded schools. All of the family are Baptists in religious faith, loyally adhering to the teachings of the church and doing all in their power to promote its growth and extend its influence.
Mr. Dickinson has given his political allegiance to the republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and he cooperates heartily in every plan and movement for the general good, while at all times his career measures up to high stand- ards of manhood and citizenship.
RICHARD FRANCIS RYAN.
Richard Francis Ryan has been spoken of as "self-made and well made." He is recognized as one of the leading young representatives of the Denver bar and is now inheritance tax appraiser and assistant attorney general. His career has been marked by consecutive progress and each forward step has brought him a broader outlook and wider opportunities. He was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, October 4, 1879, a son of John and Bridget (Manion) Ryan. The father, a native of Ireland, is now deceased, but the mother is still living in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Reared under the parental roof, Richard Francis Ryan acquired a public school education, passing through consecutive grades to the high school. For five years thereafter he was connected with the Eaton, Crane & Pike Stationery Company of Pittsfield and in 1898, when a youth of nineteen years, removed westward to Denver, where he has since made his home. For a short time he was in the employ of the Denver Dry Goods Company and afterward spent one year in connection with the dry goods house of A. T. Lewis & Son. Later he was identified with other houses in mercantile lines in Butte, Montana, and Seattle, Washington, but eventually determined to prepare for the practice of law and entered Westminster University, of Denver, Colorado, from which in due course of time he was graduated, having completed the law studies. He introduced into the university the idea of holding courts by the students in court rooms. He was a teacher of court procedure in that university, giving instruction in the night law school. Admitted to the bar of Colorado, he entered upon active practice and has since concentrated his efforts and attention upon his profession and upon public duties. On the 9th of January, 1909, he was appointed for a four years' term to the position of division clerk of the county court and in 1913 for a four years' term to the position of division clerk of the district court. He belongs to the Denver Bar Association and has served on some of its important committees. He is now occupying the position of state inheritance tax appraiser and assistant attorney general.
Mr. Ryan was married in 1903 to Miss Margaret M. Mullen, of Central City, Colo- rado, and they have a son, Thomas R., fourteen years of age, who is a pupil in the public schools. Mrs. Ryan is a granddaughter of Thomas Mullen, a pioneer of Central City, who built the state house and was superintendent of the construction of the postoffice building in Denver, a two and a half million dollar structure. Both Mr. and
RICHARD F. RYAN
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Mrs. Ryan are widely known in this city and held in the highest esteem. He belongs to the Denver Athletic Club and to Elks Lodge, No. 17; is also a fourth degree member of the Knights of Columbus, and has membership in St. Francis De Sales Catholic church. He is a democrat in politics and is connected with the Democratic Club, He believes that the courts should be separate from party politics. In all that he does he is actuated by a spirit of progressiveness that has been most resultant and he is rec- ognized as a man of sterling worth, forceful and resourceful, with a broad outlook and keen discernment, and his developing powers are bringing him into important con- nections and relations.
ARCHIE SCOTT LEFFINGWELL.
A. S. Leffingwell, founder and president of the Leffingwell Mercantile Company of Brighton, was born in Winnebago county, Illinois, on the 14th of November, 1859, his parents being Jackson and Sarah Ann (Dean) Leffingwell, the former a native of Ohio, while the latter was born in the state of New York. They became residents of Illinois in 1848, taking up their abode upon a farm in Winnebago county, and both are still living. They became the parents of five children and the family circle yet remains unbroken by the hand of death.
A. S. Leffingwell spent his youthful days in his parents' home and acquired his early education in the public schools of Illinois, after which he continued his studies in the Beloit high school at Beloit, Wisconsin. The year 1877 witnessed his removal to Iowa with his parents, at which time the family home was established upon a farm in Carroll county. There he continued until 1893, when he came to Colorado, settling in Brighton, where he has since made his home, covering a period of a quarter of a century. Here he turned his attention to the hardware business, in which he has since continued and he carries' a large stock of shelf and heavy hardware and has also extended his efforts to include other lines, for he deals in oils and paints, furniture and meats. He is recognized as one of the leading business men of his adopted city, alert and energetic, and his prosperity is due to close application and indefatigable energy.
On the 7th of December, 1893, Mr. Leffingwell was married to Mrs. Jennie Root, who passed away in the year 1908. In 1909 he wedded Miss Josephine Brundage, of Brighton, and they have become parents of two children, Jackson and Margaret. Mr. Leffingwell has membership with the Modern Woodmen of America. His interests and efforts, however, are most closely concentrated upon his business affairs and it is by reason of this intense application that he has won the measure of success which he now enjoys. He was one of the organizers of the Farmers State Bank, which he later served as vice president, and is recognized as one of the successful, representa- tive citizens of the community in which he has so long resided, and to the welfare of which, he has always been responsive.
HARRY RUFFNER.
Actuated by the spirit of giving the best in him to his state and her people, Harry Ruffner has stood sponsor for many things of a public and patriotic nature which have been of the greatest worth to Colorado. Who can measure the influence of his labors or fathom the force of his example? He was born in Denver during the territorial days of Colorado, his birth occurring on the 14th of March, 1863. His father, John C. Ruffner, was proprietor of the Colorado House in 1862 and 1863, having arrived in Colorado territory from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in April, 1860. In that year he went to Oro Gulch and for many years thereafter he was closely associated with the pioneer development and progress of the state. He owned and made a present of South Pueblo to George M. Chilcott. He wedded Mary Jane Estes, who arrived with her parents in Colorado territory May 5, 1859, being the first unmarried white woman within the borders of the state. She accompanied her parents to Fort Lupton, Colorado, where John C. Ruffner won her hand in marriage in April, 1861. She was a daughter of Joel and Martha Estes. who located in the famous park that now bears the family name- Estes park. This beautiful park was discovered by Joel Estes, September 12, 1859. He had previously crossed the continental divide in 1847 and went to Baker City, Oregon. He returned and went to California in company with his elder son in 1849, and when
ARCHIE S. LEFFINGWELL
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he once more made his way to Colorado by the overland route he brought back with him thirty-five thousand dollars in gold. He was known by the Indians as the Big White Chief and was a member of their many councils. Joel Estes was always a path- finder and trapper, though he maintained a great plantation on the frontier of this territory, now known as St. Joseph, Missouri.
Harry Ruffner pursued his early education in the Denver school at the corner of Fourteenth and Arapahoe streets in the years 1868, 1869 and 1870. In the following year he became a student in the high school at Del Norte, Colorado, where he con- tinued his studies from 1871 until 1875. Taking up newspaper work, he became the first "devil" on the San Juan Prospector, published at Del Norte, Colorado, and was the first newsboy on the streets of Leadville on the 1st of April, 1878. In 1881 he was appointed assistant postmaster of Gunnison, Colorado, and continued in that position until 1885, when he was transferred to Las Vegas, New Mexico, as an expert in the postal service where he also was engaged in the stationery business. He participated in the Oklahoma rush in 1889 and was also engaged in the stationery business in Guthrie where he was known as "Ruffner The Stationer." He was elected clerk of the appellate court at Guthrie, being the first incumbent of that office in that city. He also organized the first two hose companies in Oklahoma territory and was the first man to hold the position of a fire chief in the territory. He has always been identified with the frontier and has contributed in marked measure to pioneer development. He was also in charge of the first ceremonies celebrating the anniversary of the opening of Oklahoma territory and he superintended the first inaugural ball held in honor of Governor Steele, the first territorial governor of Oklahoma.
On the 1st of July, 1890, Mr. Ruffner returned to Denver and with the interests of the city has since been closely associated. He founded the "Sons of Colorado" Society and is the father of Colorado Day. As deputy jury commissioner he perfected the jury commission system which was promulgated in June, 1911. He has held numerous positions in all things patriotic and has devoted forty years of his life to public and patriotic service. He has never asked for nor held any public office save that of deputy postmaster, sheriff and jury commissioner. His service has been a freewill offering to the public good and his labors have been of far-reaching effect and benefit.
Another interesting accomplishment of Mr. Ruffner is worthy of mention here. He was the originator of the plan-and through his guidance and tactful supervision it has been made a decided success- of the handling of the governor's inaugural ball by the Sons of Colorado. These wonderfully successful balls, which as many as seventeen thousand people have attended, including two thousand couples in full dress, have been models of well managed affairs, arousing not only the admiration but the wonder of those who can appreciate the multiplicity of detail in connection with such mammoth affairs and the master mind necessary for carrying through successfully an official social function of such magnitude.
By a first marriage Mr. Ruffner has a son, Ralph Rockafellow, born in Gunnison, Colorado, who is Colorado's second grandson, or representative of the second generation of Colorado-born Ruffners. On June 27, 1893, in Boulder, Colorado, Mr. Ruffner was married to Miss Mary Theodora Grissom, a daughter of Dr. Eugene Grissom, of Raleigh, North Carolina, and a direct descendant of Oliver Wolcott, signer of the Declaration of Independence. She is also a direct descendant on her father's side of Sir Thomas Gresham, the famous financier of Queen Elizabeth's reign, who founded the Royal Exchange in London in 1565. Dr. Grissom was internationally known as an authority on mental diseases and was vice chairman of the International Medical Society in 1876. Mrs. Ruffner's mother was a Miss Bryan. To Mr. and Mrs. Ruffner have been born a son and a daughter: Eugene Grissom, who married Miss Violet Dameron; and Lillian Grissom, who married Herbert R. Parsons, and both she and her husband died in Aspen, Colorado, on October 23, 1918.
Mr. Ruffner was one of the first infants baptized in the Episcopal church in Colorado territory, the ceremony taking place in St. John's cathedral, and he has since been identified therewith. In politics he has always been strictly republican, giving stalwart support to the party. He was one of the founders of Denver Lodge, No. 65, of the Knights of Pythias and is a member of Oriental Lodge, No. 87, A. F. & A. M. He is likewise Member No. 1 of the Southern Colorado Pioneers Society and belongs to the Sons of Colorado, which organization he founded, the Colorado Pioneers, the Colorado Church Club and is an honorary member of the Pioneer Ladies Aid. He is also captain commander of J. C. Fremont Camp of the Sons of Veterans. There is no man in the state more deeply interested in the history of Colorado or who has been more actively associated with its public and patriotic movements than Mr. Ruffner, who has been the promoter of many activities which have heightened the fame of the state. With the
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deepest love for the state in which he was born, he has done everything in his power to promote its welfare and has the deepest pride in its fair name. As one of its pioneers he has contributed in marked measure to its development and progress and has done everything in his power to foster the love of the people for the state. His own patriotic spirit has awakened a responsive thrill in many a breast and his contagious enthusiasm has been a potent element in advancing many projects of public welfare.
ROBERT JOHN HANLON.
Robert John Hanlon, who is busily occupied with the cultivation of an excellent ranch property of six hundred and forty acres situated in the Wolfcreek district of Elbert county, is of Canadian birth, his natal day having been June 24, 1867, and the place of his nativity Sherbrooke, Canada. His father, John Hanlon, was also born in the vicinity of Sherbrooke, while the mother, who bore the maiden name of Ann Jane Henderson, was born in Belfast, Ireland.
In the schools of his native country Robert J. Hanlon pursued his education and was a young man of twenty-three years when in 1890 he came to Colorado, having in the meantime engaged in farming in Canada and in the eastern part of the United States. With his arrival in the west he settled first in Denver, but in 1892 removed to Elbert county and homesteaded near Elizabeth. With characteristic energy he began the development and improvement of the hitherto uncultivated tract of land, but his original farm he has since sold. Later he took up another homestead near Wolfcreek, in Elbert county. His wife in young womanhood had also homesteaded on the land which they now occupy and their possessions include six hundred and forty acres, which have been converted into a rich and productive farm. As opportunity has offered Mr. Hanlon has added improvements to the property and has carefully cultivated the fields, which annually return to him golden harvests. He has been persistent and energetic and the results achieved have been gratifying.
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