History of Colorado; Volume IV, Part 7

Author: Stone, Wilbur Fiske, 1833-1920, ed
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 836

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GEORGE ELLIOTT COAK.

George Elliott Coak, identified with general farming interests in Jefferson county; was born in Buffalo, New York, February 20, 1855, and is a son of K. Jones and Jemima (Hollenbeck) Coak. The father was a blacksmith by trade and thus pro- vided for the support of the family. The mother was one of the nearest heirs to the old Trinity Church estate in New York. The ancestral line dates back to pre-Revo- lutionary days, the great-grandfather serving in the war for independence.

George E. Coak of this review was educated in the district school of Flint, Michi- gan, and in a business college at Kalamazoo, that state. He then entered upon a mil- itary career by enlisting in Company K of the Fourth United States Infantry and with his regiment went to Fort Laramie, Wyoming, where he remained on active duty for five years. Following his discharge he engaged in farming and stock raising in Nebraska from 1883 until 1889 and also in the operation of a sawmill. He after-

HISTORY OF COLORADO

ward came to Colorado, settling near Broomfield, and is now the owner of ten acres of land. He also leases and farms considerable other land and devotes his energies and attention to the production of general crops. He is an active, diligent man and is meeting with well merited success in his undertakings.

At Raw Hide Buttes, Wyoming, on the 20th of January, 1882, Mr. Coak was united in marriage to Miss Mary K. Weber, a daughter of John and Mary Weber. Mrs. Coak was born in the state of Washington, which was then a territory, her birthplace being near the mouth of the Columbia river. She was reared and educated in the north, west. By her marriage she has become the mother of seven children: Amelia, who is now the wife of W. D. Bradley and has two children, George and Herman; Mary, the wife of H. A. Bancroft and the mother of one child; Sarah, deceased; George, who married Josephine Bohm and has a daughter, Georgia B .; Helen, who was the only woman acting as billing clerk with the Wells Fargo Express Company until the busI- ness of that corporation was taken over by the government; and Albert and Thomas. The son, George, is now a construction engineer on active duty in France.

Mr. Coak is a valued member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, belong- ing to United Lodge, No. 4, of Denver, in which he has passed through all the chairs. His wife is also active in the Rebekahs, has filled all of the offices and has been a del- egate to the Grand Lodge and also district president. Mr. Coak gives his political allegiance to the republican party and is at all times loyal to any cause which he espouses. His genuine worth has gained him high regard and he has many excellent traits of character which have brought to him the friendship and goodwill of those with whom he has come in contact.

WALTER EVANS WHITE.

The true measure of success is determined by what one has accomplished and, as taken in contradistinction to the old adage that a prophet is not without honor save in his own country, there is particular interest attaching to the career of Walter E. White, since he is a native son of the city where he has passed his active life and so directed his ability and efforts as to gain recognition as one of its representative residents and able lawyers. He is actively connected with a profession which has important bearing upon the progress and stable prosperity of any section or community and one which has long been considered as conserving public welfare by furthering the ends of justice and maintaining individual rights. Mr. White was born in Denver, November 21, 1872. His father, Jonathan E. White, a native of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, was born on the 28th of February, 1833, and was a little lad of hut three years when the family removed to Ohio, settling near Mansfield. There Jonathan E. White was reared and educated and in March, 1859, he removed westward to Colorado, taking up his abode in the frontier village of Denver, where he spent his remaining days, living to see Denver develop into a most progressive city of metropolitan proportions and opportunities. Here he passed away December 17, 1904, at the age of seventy-one years. During the greater part of his active life he was engaged in agricultural pursuits and was quite successful. During the last decade of his earthly existence he lived retired, enjoying the fruits of his former toil. He belonged to one of the old families of Pennsylvania, of Dutch descent. When he started westward it was with the intention of going to California, but he arrived in Denver on the 31st of March, 1859, and then started for Pike's Peak, where he arrived in May. For three or four months of his early stay in Colorado he was at South Clear Creek, where he worked a claim and then returned to Denver, settling on a ranch a mile south of the city. He afterward purchased the land, upon which he lived from 1865 until 1889 and concentrated his entire time and energies upon the development, cultivation and improvement of this place, which has since been divided into town lots and is now the site of many attractive residences. In 1890 he took up his abode in the city, where he resided until bis death. The Pioneers' Society, of which he was the fourth member to pass away, drew up resolutions expressing their grief over his demise and bearing evidence of his honorable and upright life. He was familiar with all phases of frontier life. On leaving Ohio, on his western trip, he stopped first in Cedar county, Iowa, and in the fall went to Mills county, intending to start on his western trip from that point. But just as he was ready to start with a party of friends, the governor of Iowa issued a proclamation to the effect that unless the party numbered one hundred, well armed and equipped, they could not cross the plains because the Sioux Indians were on the warpath at that time. Accordingly Mr. White, not being able to carry out his plan of reaching the Pacific coast, went to Calhoun, Nebraska, and from that place to

WALTER E. WHITE

HISTORY OF COLORADO

Desoto, in the same state, where he remained for four years. In 1856 he took a con- tract to build some farm houses and a blacksmith shop and to break two hundred acres of land on the Omaha Indian reservation. Before the contract could be completed he and the men were ordered into the service of the state by Governor Cummings on ac, count of trouble with the Indians. He returned to Desoto in 1857 and engaged in the mercantile business, there residing until 1859. In the meantime he was appointed a deputy city marshal. He was afterward elected to the same office and after retiring from that position he removed to Denver. Here again he became identified with pioneer life and development and was among the early agriculturists of his section of the state. His business affairs were always wisely and carefully conducted and by reason of his close application and unfaltering energy he won a most gratifying measure of success. His remains are interred in Fairmount cemetery of Denver. He married Alice Lutz, who came to Colorado in 1870 and in the early days taught school. Here she met and married Mr. White, whom she survives, still making her home in Denver. They became the parents of two children, the daughter being Laura, now the widow of Charles H. Green.

Walter E. White, the only son and the younger of the two children, was educated in the public and high schools of Denver and also attended the University of Colorado, from which he was graduated in 1897 with the LL. B. degree. His early life was spent upon the home farm and he became familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops but determined to enter upon a professional career and after his graduation took up the practice of law, becoming associated with the firm of Benedict & Phelps. He continued in various law offices until 1905, when he entered upon active practice independently and has since given his attention to general law work. He is now accorded a liberal clientage and his ability has enabled· him to successfully solve many involved and intricate legal problems.

On the 24th of October, 1900, in Denver, Mr. White was married to Miss Edna C. Curtis, a native of this city and a daughter of Nathan S. and Anna J. Curtis, the former now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. White have become the parents of a son, Curtis, who was born in Denver, September 7, 1904.

In politics Mr. White maintains an independent course. He belongs to the Denver Bar Association but has never been active in fraternal or club circles. He was captain of the East Denver high school cadets during his school days and as a representative of one of the pioneer families of the city he has witnessed much of the growth and development of Denver, having spent his entire life here, covering a period of forty- six years. His youthful days were passed in the old home which his father built in 1859 at the corner of West Twelfth and Bryant streets, in the South Fairview addition. Great have been the changes which have occurred since that time and the transforma- tion that has been wrought as the work of progress and improvement has been carried steadily forward. Energy and enterprise have produced notable results and at all times Mr. White has lent his aid and cooperation to plans and movements for the general good. In addition to his law practice he is now serving as president of the Platte Valley Canning Company, one of the successful industrial enterprises of Colorado. He is a pop- ular member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

DUNCAN MATHESON.

Duncan Matheson was not alone the founder of the thriving town of Matheson, Colorado, but ranked for over forty years as one of the leading sheep men of the state. It was due largely to his initiative that Elbert county became one of the most prominent sheep feeding sections of the west. He saw and utilized possibilities in this direction and the results achieved were most gratifying.

Duncan Matheson was born in Gairloch, Ross-shire, Scotland, in November, 1849, and came to America in 1871, settling first in Chicago, where he remained for three years. When he left that city he made his way direct to Colorado, where he arrived in May, 1874, and his experience in sheep raising was at once put to practical use on the bottom lands of Elbert county. He entered the employ of Colonel Holt, of the Holt Live Stock Company, and later he formed a partnership with John Cameron, an association that was maintained for a few years. Seven years after Mr. Matheson arrived in America, his brother Hector, now located at Hugo, Colorado, joined him and they formed a partnership in the sheep industry. In 1876 Duncan Matheson located a homestead that included the site of the present town of Matheson in the southern part of Elbert county. With hard work and knowledge of the business he developed his

DUNCAN MATHESON

HISTORY OF COLORADO

flocks, which grew in number, and added to his land until the Matheson sheep range was one of the largest in the county. After being joined by his brother, Hector Matheson, they operated their joint holdings together until 1886. . Duncan Matheson then became sole owner of what had been their united interests, while Hector Mathe- son purchased a large ranch in Lincoln county in 1896, which he is still operating.

Duncan Matheson was united in marriage to Miss Jessie Morgan, a Scotch lassie who had removed to Kansas with her parents in 1881. Six children were born of this marriage, of whom Donald and Robert were drowned in the Big Sandy in 1899. The others are: John; William; Norman, who is now in France, with the Ameri- can troops; and Mrs. Henry Beuck, the young wife of one of the largest ranch owners of Elbert county.

Duncan Matheson passed away, May 20, 1915, at St. Francis Hospital in Colorado Springs. He was laid to rest by his fellow members of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks in the cemetery at Colorado Springs. His worth was indeed widely acknow- ledged. He possessed the sterling traits which have ever characterized the Scotch people industry, integrity and perseverance-and he left the impress of his individ- uality and ability for good upon the history of the section in which he lived and labored.

JOHN MCEWEN FOSTER, M. D.

Dr. John McEwen Foster, engaged in the practice of medicine in Denver, was born in Nashville, Tennessee, January 11, 1861, a son of Turner Saunders and Harriet (Erwin) Foster, the latter a daughter of James and Margaret (Caldwell) Erwin. The father, Turner S. Foster, was born in the year 1820, devoted his life to the practice of law and passed away in the year 1898.

Dr. Foster, who was the third in order of birth in his father's family of five chil- dren, pursued his early education in the public schools of Nashville, Tennessee, and afterwards became a student in the Montgomery Bell Academy of Nashville. He next entered the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee, and having determined upon the practice of medicine as a life work, he matriculated in the medical depart- ment of the University of Tennessee, from which he was graduated in 1891. In Sep- tember, 1889, he first visited Colorado, and after completing his medical course in 1891 took up his abode in Denver, where he has since made his home, devoting his attention to the active practice of his profession, in which he has won substantial success. After completing his course in the University of Tennessee he had gone to New York, where for a time he was house physician in the City Hospital on Ward's island, retaining that position for a year and a half, during which he gained the broad and valuable training and knowledge that only hospital experience brings. He afterward traveled throughout Europe, visiting the various medical centers of learning of the old world and the noted hospitals on that side the Atlantic, particu- larly in Berlin, Vienna, Paris and London. He pursued special courses on diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat and remained abroad for several years. He is today regarded as an eminent authority upon ophthalmology, otology, rhinology and laryngol- ogy in this section of the west. He is continually carrying his studies forward, thus promoting his efficiency, and he has won more than local renown as professor and lecturer at the University of Colorado and at the University of Denver, where he has given special courses on diseases of the ear, nose and throat. He is now serving on the staffs of St. Joseph's Hospital, St. Luke's Hospital and the Children's Hospital of Denver and is likewise connected in a professional capacity with the Denver City & County Hospital. He holds membership in the Denver City and County Medical Society, the Colorado State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He is likewise a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Otology and Rhinology and the American College of Surgeons. He is ex-eye and ear surgeon for the Colorado Midland and the Colorado Southern Railways, and is examiner for the eye and ear on the board of examining surgeons for United States pensions in Denver. On the 29th of December, 1885, at Memphis, Tennessee, Dr. Foster was united in marriage to Miss Bessie Bethel, a daughter of Captain and Mrs. W. D. Bethel. They have become the parents of three children. William B., born in Denver in 1890, is now engaged in ranching in Weld county, Colorado. Pinckney Bethel, born in Den- ver in 1894, is married and makes his home in Denver but is now connected with the

HISTORY OF COLORADO

quartermaster's department of the regular army. John McEwen, Jr., born in 1899, is attending school at Salisbury, Connecticut.

Dr. Foster belongs to the Denver Club and to the Denver Country Club and is appreciative of the social amenities of life although his profession makes heavy de- mands upon his time and energies. He has won for himself most favorable crit- Icism as a lecturer and educator as well as a medical practitioner in the field in which he specializes and his pronounced ability is attested by colleagues and contem- poraries.

HARVEY S. HAMILTON.

Cheyenne Wells perhaps never lost a more valuable and more valued citizen than Harvey S. Hamilton, who was long identified with its banking and other busi- ness interests and contributed in most substantial measure to the development and upbuilding of his section of the state. He was born in Lebanon, Indiana, March 5, 1841, a son of Henry and Polly (Parks) Hamilton, who were southern people and in 1848 removed from Indiana to Iowa.

Harvey S. Hamilton took up the profession of teaching when a young man but afterward turned his attention to carpentering, which he followed for three years. At a subsequent period he engaged in the lumber business in California, rafting lum- ber on the bay. He remained in the Golden state for three years, after which he returned to Iowa, where he again spent a few months. He then came to Colorado, settling at Cheyenne Wells in 1887. Here he purchased an interest in a mercantile store in connection with Mr. Hickman. Cheyenne county was organized in January, 1889, and with its development and progress Mr. Hamilton was associated to the time of his death. He continued to engage in merchandising with fair success until 1893. In 1896 he entered the field of banking, being instrumental in organizing the Cheyenne County State Bank, of which he was a half owner. He remained president of the bank from the beginning until his death, which occurred on the 1st of January, 1912. He proved a friend in need to many. On many occasions people who could not get anyone to endorse their personal notes, when hard pushed for money, would take their case to Mr. Hamilton, who after carefully considering the question would endorse the notes, so the cashier of the bank would then loan them money. He was very liberal and

just in everything, had confidence in the integrity of his fellowmen and rarely was this confidence betrayed. He indeed proved a friend in need and a friend indeed and there are many who have reason to revere his memory for his timely assistance to them. In 1908 he, with the Hickman brothers, purchased the controlling interest in the bank of Windsor, Colorado, while in 1906 he had become identified with the sheep industry. During the last six years of his life he was in ill health but he remained active in business to the last and successfully and wisely controlled his interests. The capital of the Cheyenne County State Bank of Cheyenne Wells was increased from fifteen thousand to forty thousand dollars, showing the success of the institution. Mrs. Hamilton still remains a member of its board of directors. As the years passed Mr. Hamilton prospered, winning a substantial measure of success which the most envious could not grudge him, so worthily was it gained and so honorably used. He was also interested in the Keyless Lock Company, now the American Keyless Lock Com- pany, and he owned land in Florida and had large real estate holdings in Colorado, making judicious investment of his money in farm property in the state.

On the 30th of May, 1889, Mr. Hamilton was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Woodrow, a daughter of Jeremiah and Parmelia (Byers) Woodrow, both of whom were natives of Ohio and were among the pioneers there, Mr. Woodrow following farming and prospering in his undertakings. He passed away October 2, 1918. The maternal grandfather, Ed Byers, was born in Kentucky and was a great hunter and trapper of southern Ohio. His wife lived to be one hundred and five years of age, passing away in the year 1884. She lived through the period when all manner of work was done by the women of the household and she spun many a hank of flax thread. The father of Mrs. Hamilton was a cousin of President Wilson. Mrs. Hamilton was the second child in her father's family. She was educated in the public schools and later took up dressmaking. She came to Cheyenne county, Colorado, in 1888 and here met Mr. Hamilton. They were married in 1889, their marriage being the first on the records of Cheyenne county. For thirty years she has lived in her present home. At the time of her arrival there were in Cheyenne Wells but two stores, a depot, a land office and a schoolhouse. Her garden produced the first rose that ever

HISTORY OF COLORADO

bloomed in Cheyenne county. To Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton was born a son, Harry Woodrow Hamilton, whose birth occurred January 19, 1899: He acquired a public school education and after his father's death he and his mother went to Ohio in order to forget their deep sorrow. They lived in that state for three years and then re- turned to Cheyenne Wells, where the son completed his education in the high school. He did some splendid work in manual training, especially- along the line of cabinet work, evidence of which is seen in his home. On the 11th of December, 1917, he went to Denver to enlist in the first division of Company B of the Marine Corps and was sent to Mare Island. After a few months he was promoted to first private and several responsible duties were assigned him, including guard duty at the navy yard. He was afterward one of seven selected to go to Virginia to prepare for overseas service and left for France in October, 1918.

Mrs. Hamilton is very prominent in Red Cross work and is chairman of the chapter of Cheyenne county. Since her husband's death she has purchased the ele- vator at Cheyenne Wells and she is also interested in the cheese factory, which is a profitable concern. It was her son who conceived the idea of investing therein about two years ago and the mother carried out the plan. No woman has for a longer period been a resident of Cheyenne Wells than Mrs. Hamilton, who is thoroughly familiar with every phase of its history and development. She is most highly esteemed by rea- son of her personal worth and the memory of her husband is enshrined in the hearts of all who knew him because of his sterling traits of character, his business ability, his spirit of accommodation and friendliness. His record is indeed one well worthy of emulation and there are many who might profitably follow his example.

MRS. IDA L. GREGORY.

Strong in its purpose, beautiful in its simplicity and most fruitful in its results, the life of Ida L. Gregory has added new luster to the record of womanhood in Colorado. Im- bued in early life with the noble purpose of assisting the young, she has devoted many years to educating those who by an untoward fate have been surrounded by hardships, temptations or uninviting environment, and to the work of the juvenile court she has also given her thought, time and energy, being for many years the active associate of Judge Ben B. Lindsey. Hundreds of boys and girls have been befriended by her and the influence of her life work extends to thousands of homes.

Mrs. Gregory was born in Bolivar, Missouri, April 18, 1860, a daughter of Silas and Laurinda (Cleveland) Sturdavent. The former was a son of Abel Sturdavent, of Holland Dutch descent, who was born in the land of the dikes and on coming to the new world settled in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. The maternal grandfather, James H. Cleveland, was born in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, and was a cousin of Grover Cleveland. He became one of the first followers of Alexander Campbell, founder of the Campbellite or Christian church. and was a minister of the gospel until his death in 1869.

Mrs. Gregory pursued her early education in the grammar and high schools of Brooklyn, Indiana, being there graduated with the class of 1877. She afterward spent four years as a student in St. John's Academy and won the Bachelor of Arts degree upon graduation with the class of 1881. Later she taught five years in the Gregory free night school at Denver, continuing the work from 1898 until 1903. She became president of the Colorado Art Club and one day while the art students were giving an exhibit a poor boy gazed longingly in at the window and then started down the street. Mrs. Gregory watched him from the inside, and seeing him hasten on, she called after him, inviting him to enter. "I ain't got the price," he said and again turned away. But Mrs. Gregory assured him that she had and while conducting him through the art exhibit they talked to each other of their plans. It seems that the boy had desired an education but had had no op- portunity to meet his desire. Mrs. Gregory had dreamed of founding a night school and hoped that money and opportunity might be forthcoming toward that end, but after her conversation with the boy she decided that now was the opportune moment for opening the school and asked the lad to bring his brother and any other boys of the neighborhood who desired education. That night the school was opened with an attendance of five, with Mrs. Gregory as the sole instructor. The school was maintained for about five years, during which time the attendance steadily grew and Mrs. Gregory gathered about her, as the occasion demanded, other teachers, some of whom gave their services gratuitously until the school numbered about four hundred and fifty pupils under the charge of ten teachers. Its worth has long since become recognized by city authorities, by philanthro-

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History of Colorado; Volume IV, Part 7

Author: Stone, Wilbur Fiske, 1833-1920, ed Publication date: 1918 Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke Number of Pages: 836

Author: Stone, Wilbur Fiske, 1833-1920, ed
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 836