History of Colorado; Volume IV, Part 71

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

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Lars E. Johnson was educated in the public schools of Colorado and also pursued a business course in Kansas. After attaining his majority he took up farming and stock raising on his own account and in 1902 came to his present home property, which

MR. AND MRS. LARS E. JOHNSON

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was a part of the James J. Beasley place. Later he purchased additional land until he now has three hundred and twenty-seven acres of rich and arable land, of which one hundred and sixty-seven acres is under the ditch, while the remainder is dry farm- ing land. He feeds from fifty to one hundred head of cattle annually and he is meeting with success in the various branches of his business. His fields, carefully cultivated, produce large crops and his farm work is conducted along most progressive lines.

In 1898 Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Lydia Mabel Beasley, a native of Boulder county, Colorado, and a daughter of James J. and Eliza Beasley, and to them have been born three children, Clarence E., Juanita M. and Juanda I. Mr. John- son is a member of the Woodmen of the World. In politics he is a republican and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day but has never been a poli- tician in the sense of office seeking. He has, however, served either as secretary or president of the school board for fifteen years and is occupying the position of secretary at the present time, the canse of education finding in him a stalwart champion. Mrs. Johnson is an active member of the Boys and Girls Industrial Club, a nation-wide organ- ization, subdivided into states. counties and smaller units.

JAMES H. BELKNAP.

James H. Belknap, a respected and substantial resident of Cañon City, where his birth occurred in 1870, is a son of Henry and Mary (Young) Belknap, the father a native of West Virginia, while the mother was born in Jackson county, Missouri, not far from Kansas City. In the year 1865 Henry Belknap came to Colorado and pre- empted land on Beaver creek in Fremont county. He became not only one of the pioneer settlers of the district but one of the most successful and well known cattle men. Here he remained and reared his family.

His son, James H. Belknap, acquired a common school education and, continu- ing in the occupation to which he was reared, he is now the owner of an eight hun- dred acre ranch in the Wet Mountain valley near Hillside, Colorado, and has import- ant live stock interests. He rents all of his cultivated land on the ranch but takes care of the cattle business, in which he has continued throughout his entire life, becoming one of the well known cattle men of his part of the state.

On the 30th of January, 1918, Mr. Belknap was united in marriage to Miss Caro- line C. Wagner, a daughter of C. M. and Helen C. (Jacobs) Wagner, of Chicago, 1111- nois. Mrs. Belknap was educated in the Chicago Musical College and for several years traveled extensively in the United States as a pianist and teacher of music. Mr. and Mrs. Belknap make their home at No. 2002 East Main street in Cañon City, where they have an attractive residence that is the abode of warm-hearted hospitality that is greatly enjoyed by their many friends.

In his political views Mr. Belknap is a democrat and in 1916 was elected to the office "of county commissioner for a four years' term, so that he is now serving in that position, the duties of which he discharges with marked promptness and fidelity. He is always loyal to any interest entrusted to his care and is actuated by a most progressive spirit in all that he has undertaken, whether for the public good or for the advancement of his individual interests.

JUDGE N. WALTER DIXON.

In the field of education, in the practice of law and as a member of the judiciary of his state Judge N. Walter Dixon has won distinction and success by reason of nis capability, achieved through his careful preparation and earnest study. In his chosen profession he is guided by the highest ethical standards and in full measure maintains its dignity. Those who know him more intimately esteem him for his personal worth as much as on account of his professional acquirements. He came to Colorado in early manhood and since his arrival has been identified with the law, having made for himself a position which ranks him high both as a lawyer and judge.

N. Walter Dixon was born in the town of Princess Anne, Somerset county, Mary- land, September 22. 1858. His ancestors, coming from England, established their home in Maryland in early colonial days and were among the first settlers of Somerset county. The first of the name in the American colonies was Ambrose Dixon, who after crossing the Atlantic located in Virginia, and in the latter part of the seventeenth century the

JAMES H. BELKNAP

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family was planted on the soil of Maryland. The ancient records of Somerset county disclose that Ambrose Dixon was an attorney at law and practiced about a century before the Revolution. He often appeared in the court over which Colonel William Stevens, another ancestor of our subject who is mentioned more extensively below, presided as commissioner. The Judge's father was George C. Dixon, M. D., and the maiden name of the mother was Virginia W. White. Mr. Dixon was a native of Mary- land and after acquiring his education in the schools of that state turned to the medical profession as a life work, being actively engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Somerset county and becoming well known in his district, although he died in 1858 at the comparatively early age of thirty-three years. In young manhood he had married Virginia W. White, who was born in Somerset county and was descended from one of the old families of Virginia of English blood, her ancestors being among the first English colonists of the Old Dominion. Through her Judge Dixon of this review is descended from Colonel William Stevens, who in the early part of the sev- enteenth century took up his abode in Maryland. He was one of Lord Baltimore's council and deputy governor of the province of Maryland, and his tomb is yet to be seen at Rehoboth, Somerset county. He was the great-great-great-greatgrandfather of the Judge. The maternal great-grandfather of Judge Dixon in the White family was Cap- tain William White, who during the Revolutionary war, at the age of eighteen, raised, equipped and maintained a company of the Virginia Line, which he commanded during the war. He was a man of considerable wealth and belonged to one of the leading Virginia families of his day. After losing her first husband Mrs. George C. Dixon became the wife of Edward F. Duer and by the two marriages had eleven children. She passed her entire life in Maryland and was a resident of Baltimore at the time of her death.

N. Walter Dixon received his early education in Washington Academy, in the town of Princess Anne, an old school that was established prior to the Revolutionary war. In 1872 he entered St. John's College of Annapolis, Maryland, and there he was graduated with the class of 1877, taking his degree of Bachelor of Arts. In 1889 he received the degree of Master of Arts. For several years after his graduation he engaged in educational work, teaching school in Maryland and Virginia until 1886 and reading law at the same time. During the latter part of that period he was principal of the high school at Crisfield, Maryland, occupying that position at the age of twenty-one years and being the youngest principal in the state at that time. In 1881 Judge Dixon was admitted to the bar. yet he remained active in the field of education until 1886. In 1887 he was elected state's attorney of his native county and held that office until March, 1891. In 1890 he had paid a visit to his brother, the Hon. John R. Dixon, who was located in Colorado. He was so favorably impressed with the conditions in the growing western state that in March, 1891, he resigned his posi- tion and moved to Pueblo, Colorado, and on the 17th of that month formed a partner- ship with his brother, John R. Dixon, under the firm style of Dixon & Dixon. That association was maintained until the fall of 1894, when N. Walter Dixon was elected judge of the court of the tenth judicial district, comprising the counties of Pueblo, Otero and Kiowa. In the fall of 1900 he was reelected and upon the close of the second term, in January, 1907, he removed to Denver, where he has since resided and practiced. His course upon the bench was chacarterized by marked devotion to duty and a masterful grasp of every problem presented for solution. His decisions were noted for fairness and impartiality and his rulings based upon correct application of legal principles. He tempered justice with an understanding of the frailties of human nature and his chief aim was to educate those who came before him to higher standards of manhood and citizenship. In 1914 Thomas J. Dixon son of the Judge was admitted to the bar and he has since been associated with his father, their practice being extensive and of an important character. The firm has been connected with many of the leading cases which have been tried in the courts of the state.

On the 22d of June 1881, in Crisfield, Somerset county, Maryland, Judge Dixon married Mary Josephine Simonson, a native of that state and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Simonson. On the maternal side she is of English ancestry, the family having long been represented in Maryland. She is of Dutch descent on the paternal side and her ancestors were among the early settlers of Hoboken Point. To Judge and Mrs. Dixon have been born three children, all natives of Maryland: Ella May, who is the wife of Herbert B. Copeland, of Adams county, Colorado, by whom she has three chil- dren-Walter Dixon, Herbert B. and William Homer Copeland; Virginia Margaret, who is the wife of Guy L. Rockwell, of Brawley, California; and Thomas J. Dixon, who is his father's law partner and who married Ruth Collins, a daughter of Dr. D. W. Col-

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lins, of Pueblo, Colorado. They have three children: Eleanor and David, both born in Pueblo; and Deborah, born in Denver.

Judge and Mrs. Dixon hold membership in the Episcopal church and they occupy a very enviable position in the social circles of the city. He was made an Elk in Pueblo, Colorado, and still retains connection with the order .. His political endorse- ment is given to the republican party and he has always kept well informed on the questions and issues of the day but has never been an aspirant for office outside the strict path of his profession. He belongs to the Denver Bar Association, also to the Colorado State Bar Association, and he enjoys the warm friendship and high regard of many of his professional colleagues and contemporaries. In the trial of his cases he throws himself easily and naturally into the argument, displaying a self-posses- sion and a deliberation which indicate no straining after effect; but there is a preci- sion and clearness in his statements which, combined with acuteness and strength in his arguments, bespeak a mind trained in the severest school of investigation and to which the closest reasoning has become habitual.

BURT O. HART.

Agricultural and live stock interests of Colorado are ably represented by Burt O. Hart, who has a valuable ranch four miles south of Longmont which stands as evidence of his indefatigahle energy, progressive methods and long experience along agricultural lines. A native of Madison county, lowa. he was born October 7, 1872, a son of George and Belle (Richmond) Hart, natives of Indiana. The father, who was also an agriculturist, in his boyhood days removed with his parents to Iowa, the family being among the pioneer settlers of that state. The grandfather of our subject became one of the true pioneers of the west, freighting across the plains from Omaha to what is now Denver but at that time there was hardly the nucleus of a town. His life was ended, as were those of so many of the early pioneers of Colorado, he falling a victim to the murderous Indians. George Hart followed agricultural pursuits in Iowa to some extent and also assisted his father in freighting, coming in 1878 to Colorado, where he located in Yuma county, but remained only a short time. Later he removed to Denver and there he soon afterward died. He is still survived by his widow, who now makes her home in Longmont.

Born in Iowa, Burt O. Hart made the trip to Colorado with his parents when about six years of age and was largely reared and educated in this state. His school advan- tages were meager. for he began to work at farm labor when he was about seven years old, and as he grew to maturity he devoted more and more of his time to that pur- suit, working for years on various ranches. However, perceiving greater opportuni- ties along another line of endeavor, he turned his attention to the carpenter's trade and for fifteen years successfully followed that occupation. At the end of that period he moved upon the father-in-law's place and has operated and managed the same since 1910. It is a valuable property, upon which he has made many improvements, institut- ing twentieth century equipment and facilities and thus making this one of the best ranches of the neighborhood.

In February, 1900, Mr. Hart was married to E. Margaret Forsyth, a daughter of James R. and Mary Jane (Beasley) Forsyth, the former a native of Nova Scotia and the latter of Missouri. When eighteen years of age the father removed to Kansas and later came to Colorado. This was about the time of his majority and he then took up a homestead, which Is the same place which Mr. Hart now manages. It was wild land when it came into Mr. Forsyth's possession and he immediately set himself to the task of bringing it under cultivation. He actively operated his farm until 1895, when he removed to Longmont, where he has since continued to reside. being now manager of the Longmont Farmers Mill & Elevator Company, which operates large mills in Longmont and Denver and also owns a string of elevators. Mrs. Forsyth is also living. Mr. and Mrs. Hart became the parents of eight children, of whom one died at the age of one month. Those living are Paul M., Guy B., B. Orton, Lloyd L., Margaret J., Dale W. and Lawrence.

Besides his general agricultural interests, which are very important, Mr. Hart gives particular attention to cattle raising, specializing in Durhams. He also raises Duroc Jersey hogs and pure bred Percheron horses. He is a stockholder in the Boulder County Fair Association and also in the Woodmen of the World building, for which he had the building contract. Fraternally he belongs to the Woodmen of the World and also to the Fraternal Union, having membership in the Longmont lodges. Politi-

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cally he is a republican; while his religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church. His interest in trade expansion and general development is evident from the fact that he is an active member of the Longmont Commercial Association. Moreover, he also holds stock in the Longmont Farmers Mill & Elevator Company. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hart stand high in their community, having many friends in Longmont and vicin- ity, in the upbuilding of which both have contributed. While Mrs. Hart has given much of her time to charitable, educational and social institutions, Mr. Hart as a progressive business man, agriculturist and live stock dealer has contributed to mate- rial welfare in large measure and thus helped to bring about the degree of prosper- ity that is now to be found in Boulder county. A descendant of one of the old pioneer families, his name stands as an honored one in the records of the state of Colorado, the family having been connected with the development and growth of the common- wealth from the time of the Pike's Peak excitement to the present.

FRED MUNSON.

The carefully cultivated fields of a farm of one hundred acres pay tribute to the care and labor bestowed upon them by Fred Munson, who is recognized as one of the progressive farmers in Adams county. He was born in Sweden on October 16, 1872, a son of Mons and Johanna Munson. His education was acquired in his native country, after which he took up the occupation of farming in connection with his father and was thus employed until 1892. He then came to America and crossed the continent to Denver. where he worked for a brother for four months. He next went to Fort Lupton, where he engaged in farming for a number of years and subsequently he removed to Byers, where he took up a homestead and began farming and running cattle upon that place, but he did not prove up on the property. Removing to Henderson, he there engaged in farming for six or seven years and afterward leased one hundred and sixty acres of land near Derby and now farms about one hundred acres of this, raising alfalfa. His work is systematically carried on and the results achieved are highly satisfactory.

On the 7th of November, 1900, Mr. Munson was married to Miss Elizabeth Meer- stien, who was born in Philadelphia on November 3, 1882, but was reared in Colo- rado. They have three children: Anna, Minnie and William. The religious faith of the family is that of the Lutheran church and in politics Mr. Munson maintains an independent course. From an early age he has been dependent upon his own resources and his unfaltering industry and perseverance have been the dominant elements in winning the prosperity which he now enjoys.

HARMON BEARDSLEY PEARCE.

Harmon Beardsley Pearce, identified with farming interests near Brighton, in Adams county, was born near Galesburg, Illinois, on the 11th of October, 1849, a son of Urbane and Elizabeth (Jackson) Pearce. The father was a farmer by occupation. The grandfather was a soldier in the War of 1812 and he had one brother-in-law and seven brothers who were active defenders of the Union in the second war with Eng- land. In the maternal line the ancestry dates back to Revolutionary war times.

Harmon B. Pearce spent his youthful days upon the home farm and attended the district schools, while later he spent a year as a student in the public schools of Cam- bridge, Illinois, and also occasionally spent a three months' term in school in the winter season, but his opportunities were somewhat limited owning to the fact that his labors were needed upon the farm. When a youth of seventeen years he started out on his own account and learned the harness-making trade at Cambridge, Illinois, where he worked for four years. He then returned to the farm but later removed to Maryville, Missouri, where he purchased land and carried on general agricultural pursuits for five years. In 1875 he came to Colorado and spent one winter in Denver and one summer in the mountains. In 1876 he removed to the vicinity of Fort Lupton, where he took up the occupation of farming. He spent eight years on the western slope, as a fruit grower in the Grand valley, from 1892 until 1900, when he returned to Adams county, and is now farming near Brighton, where his ranch has been brought under a high state of cultivation, resulting in the annual production of large crops. He is also interested in the Fulton irrigation ditch.

HARMON B. PEARCE

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Mr. Pearce was united in marriage to Miss Martha Hadley, of Maryville, Missouri, the wedding being celebrated in April, 1880. They became the parents of four chil- dren, Fred O., Vanchie, Charles C. and Clay. The eldest son is now serving his third term as county clerk of Adams county and has been a very prominent factor in local political circles. Charles C. Pearce served in the Spanish-American war as a mem- ber of Company E, First Regiment, Colorado Volunteer Infantry, participating as such, in the battle and the fall of Manila. Following his honorable discharge from the service, he returned to Colorado and is now a resident of Adams county. The wife and mother passed away in 1885 and on the 18th of November, 1889, Mr. Pearce was married in Denver to Mrs. Mary Irene Lord, who was born in Canton, Illinois, June 16, 1853, a daughter of Joseph C. and Charlotte Williams. She wedded Isaac Lord and by this marriage became the mother of three daughters, Etta, Minnie and Nellie. To Mr. and Mrs. Pearce have been born two daughters, Hazel B. and Lola E.

Mr. Pearce is a member of the Masonic fraternity, being connected with Brighton Lodge, No. 78, F. & A. M., and Lorine Chapter, No. 52, of the Eastern Star. His po- litical endorsement has always been given to the republican party, of which he is a stalwart champion, and he has cast three votes of which he says he is proud: that to make Colorado a state; the one in support of woman's suffrage; and the location of the county seat of Weld county. He is a man of firm convictions, standing strongly in support of anything which he believes to be right, and his position is never an equivocal one. He is earnest and purposeful and the thoroughness and enterprise which he has displayed in business have brought him to the front in that connection.

PRESIDENT GEORGE NORLIN, PH. D.

Dr. George Norlin, president of the University of Colorado at Boulder and recog- nized as one of the most prominent educators of the west, was born in Concordia, Kan- sas, in 1871, a son of Gustav W. Norlin, a native of Sweden, who came to the United States in 1865. Making his way at once into the interior of the country, he settled in Kansas, then a frontier state, and there participated in several skirmishes with the Indians while aiding to plant the seeds of civilization upon the western frontier. He was married in Sweden and after residing in Kansas for a number of years removed in 1876 with his family to Fish Creek, Wisconsin.

President Norlin of this review was at the time of the removal a lad of five summers and in Wisconsin he remained to the age of eighteen years, attending the public schools and thus laying the foundation for later educational progress. He after- ward entered Hastings College, in which he was an instructor for three years. He was then awarded the senior fellowship in the University of Chicago and continued his advanced studies in that institution until awarded the Ph. D. degree as a member of the class of 1900. In a biographical sketch of him prepared for The Colorado Alum- nus it was said: "It is well known that the estimates of his ability and attainments made by such men as Professor Shorey and Professor Capps were so favorable that any repetition of them here would annoy him beyond endurance. And herewith we have encountered one of the Acting President's most lovable qualities, a modesty that is all the more winsome when a little vanity might be quite forgivable. The complete success of Doctor Norlin in every essential of his professorial or presidential career would easily justify a natural pride, but he probably suffered more from the recent well deserved tributes of his colleagues and of Doctor Farrand than he had suffered from the most trying difficulties of a trying and difficult year."

For a year Doctor Norlin taught in the University of Chicago and was then called to the chair of Greek in Colorado State University. Recognition of his ability made him immediately a valued and trusted member of the faculty and each year the worth of his work has come to be more and more largely recognized. Speaking of this period in his life, another writer has said: "He used to be inordinately busy on com- mittees, and perhaps one of his greatest services to the state of Colorado will turn out to be his unflinching attitude against the evils of crooked athletics; but even his committee work and teaching did not prevent him from publishing sound technical studies as well as delightful papers outside of his own field. At the time of his selection for his present duties he was engaged on an important piece of work for the Loeb Classical Library, and for the world of classical interests Doctor Norlin's successful administration will be a distinct loss if his promised volumes have to be unduly delayed. During a leave of absence some sixteen months ago, Doctor Norlin visited the storied lands of Greece and Sicily, as well as other parts of Europe. He

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studied at the Sorbonne, where he conceived a high admiration for French scholar- ship, and it is with the fine French and English spirit of classical study, rather than with the ostentatious and pedantic German attitude, that he has always been in sym- pathy." It was after his sojourn abroad that Doctor Norlin returned to the Colorado State University at Boulder in 1904 to accept the chair of Greek, which he continued to fill for many years. In September, 1917, he was called upon to serve as acting president of the University of Colorado and on February 24, 1919, was elected per- manently to the presidency of the university to succeed Doctor Livingston Farrand, who resigned to take the position of executive head of the American Red Cross.

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History of Colorado; Volume IV, Part 71

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