History of the State of Colorado, Volume IV, Part 111

Author: Hall, Frank, 1836-1917. cn; Rocky Mountain Historical Company
Publication date: 1889-95
Publisher: Chicago, Blakely print. Co.
Number of Pages: 791

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WELLS. A. T., general freight agent of the Denver & Rio Grande railroad, was born in Memphis, Tenn .. in 1854, and received a very thorough business training. In 1862 he came raised in Warren, to Harrisburg, in defense to Colorado and settled in Denver. From 1875 of the state. The U. S. government, however, to 1876 he was engaged in the purchase and refused to receive three months' volunteers. About Aug., 1862. he returned to Jamestown, N. Y .. and edited the Chautauqua "Demo- sale of real estate, and in the year last men- tioned entered the auditor's office of the Den- ver Pacific railroad as a clerk. In IST7 he erat." a republican paper. He sold his inter- was employed in the local office of the Denver est in the paper in 1864, and commenced the & Rio Grande railroad, continuing until the practice of law, but in 1868 purchased a half

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HISTORY OF COLORADO.

Interest in the Jamestown Daily "Journal."

of the Denver, Texas & Fort Worth railroad In 1875 he had become sole proprietor of the and assumed the duties of its local treasurer. April 1, 1890, the consolidation of the Fort Worth system with the Colorado Central sys- tem, comprising eleven companies in all, was effected, when the office of local treasurer was discontinued. He was then appointed assist- ant comptroller of the Union Pacific, Denver & Gulf railway company, with headquarters at Denver, and still ocenpies that important position. Mr. Wheeler is regarded by railway men as one of the most accomplished, accu- rate and efficient accountants in the service. By the people of Denver, among whom he has so long resided, he is estimated as one of its most valuable citizens. He has a fine home in North Denver, and has by thrift accumulated a moderate share of wealth.

paper, and the following year disposed of it, and moved to Larned. Kan. Here he spent a short time on a ranch and in ISTS was elected to the legislature from Pawnee county, He also practiced law in Kansas. In the summer of 1879 he removed to Leadville and there practiced law, but went to Aspen in May, 1881, where he made his home. lle was a fo- publican in polities up to 1891. He sup- ported the independent movement organized at Cincinnati, and was a delegate Feb. 22. 1802, to the St. Louis conference, and July 4, 1892, a delegate to the Omaha convention. July 27. 1892, he was nominated for gover- nor of Colorado by the people's party con- vention, held at Denver, and with the re- mainder of the state ticket was indorsed, July 29. by the Colorado state silver league. At the ensuing election Mr. Waite and the by a majority of 4,500. Ilis administration was exceedingly tempestuous and stormy. Toward its close in 1894 he was renominated. but failed of election. Mr. Waite was twice married. His first wife was Miss Frances E. Russel of Russelberg, Warren county, Pa., and the second Mrs. Celia O. Malthy of Sanquoit, N. Y.

WHITTEMORE, Oliver A., real estate operator, was born in Spencer, Mass .. March entire state ticket of his party were elected 2, 1828, and educated in the public schools. At the age of nineteen he became a elerk in a dry-goods store, where he remained about five years. In the fall of 1851 he went to Vieks- burg, Miss., and there found employment in a hardware store. In 1853 he went to East Brookfield. Mass., and with his brother en- gaged in the manufacture of carriage wheels. Two years later he removed to Elizabethport. N. J., following the same business there about two years. In the fall of 1858 he moved West to Kansas Territory and there negotiated land warrants, continuing until the spring of 1860. then came to Colorado and first located in Breckenridge as a miner and trader. In 1961 he was elected to the Ist territorial legisla- ture from Summit county. In the fall of 1962 he built a flouring mill at Colorado City. In the autumn of that year he moved to Denver and was appointed to a clerkship in the mili- tary quartermaster's office, where he remained two years. In1864 he was elected to the con- stitutional convention called by authority of an act of Congress adopted that year to en- able the people of Colorado to form a state government, and was made president of that body. In 1865 he built a flouring mill in West Denver, which was conducted in the name of Whittemore & Co., until the spring of INGS. In the spring of 1869 he was elected city clerk of Denver and in the fall of the same was appointed clerk of the district court, hold- ing that office until the spring of ISTI, when lie removed to Boulder, and, in company with Capt. Loudin Mullen, a prominent contractor. graded, bridged and furnished the ties for the Denver & Boulder Valley railroad from Erie to Boulder. In the fall of 1872 be returned to Denver, and In 1873 was elected secretary of the Colorado Industrial association, with which he remained until the fall of IST5. when he was elected a justice of the peace. In the fall of 1877 he was appointed police magistrato;acted In that capacity and as a jus- tive of the peace until Jan., 1952, since which

WHEELER, Charles, railway accountant. was born in New York City, June 29. 1883. 1 1854 he turned his face westward, and until 1860 was engaged in commercial pursuits in Dunleith, Ill., and Dubuque, Iowa. In the spring of the year last named he came to Colorado and became a miner in Lake Guleh distriet, Gilpin county, where he remained until the fall of 1861. He then enlisted in the 1st regiment, Colo. volunteers, then forming for service in New Mexico, being assigned to company C. He participated in all the engagements with the Texan forces. and on the return of the regiment to Colorado was assigned to special duty at department headquarters in Denver. Subsequently he was promoted to sergeant-major, then to 1st lieutenant and adjutant and also . A. A. gen- eral of this military district. He remained with the 1st during its existence as a veteran battalion, and was mustered out with it in Nov .. 1865. In 1866 he took a clerical position in the Third National Bank in Chi- cago. Ill., and in 1868 entered the service of the I'nion Pacific railroad company at Omaha. In 1870 he resigned and returned to Colorado, where he was engaged in stock raising until 1872, when he came to Denver, and when the Denver & South Park railway company was organized became its auditor, serving in that capacity until that road passed into the hands of the UnionPacific. In 1881 he was appointed secretary and auditor of the Denver & New Orleans railroad company and retained that position through the various changes that occurred. In 1889 he resigned the auditorship time, excepting is5 to ISS7, when he was

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deputy city clerk, he has been in the real estate an active member of the committee under business. Mr. Whittemore has been one of the whose management the triennial conclave was made the largest and most distinguished gathering ever held in the city of his adoption. In April, 1895, he was again elected to the office of city attorney by a large majority. more zealous members and organizers of the Masonic order in Colorado, whose records con- tain much of his handiwork. lle was grand secretary of the original grand lodge from Aug., 1861, to 1865. In 1867 he was elected deputy grand master. Excepting Mr. E. C. Parmelee, the present incumbent, he has been the only grand secretary of that body. He was one of the charter members of Union lodge No. 7, chartered in Nov., 1863; was secretary of that lodge in 1863-64, and contin- uonsly from 1872 to 1887, inclusive; was its senior warden in 1865 and master in 1866. In the order of Royal Arch Masons he was chosen scribe of Denver chapter No. 2 in 1879; king in 1880; high priest in 1881 and was its secretary from 1884 to 1887, inclusive. He was also elected secretary of Colorado Command- ery Knights Templar for 1870-71 and served as sneh continuously from 1877 to 1887. Whereby it is seen that by virtue of his long experience in the several responsible offices he has filled in the three great orders mentioned, he is thoroughly conversant with its history. A resident of Colorado from the legitimate beginning of its annals, connected with a number of important enterprises, it is nat- ural that he should be familiar with the gen- eral current of events transpiring in the first three decades. Colorado has no better citi- zen than Mr. Whittemore.

WILLIAMS, Frederick A., lawyer and pres- ent attorney of the city of Denver, was born in Feeding Hills, a suburb of Spring- field, Mass. He is the son of a Presbyterian clergyman, Rev. Dillon Williams, and re- ceived his education in the public schools of Connecticut and New York, and in his father's

WHITFORD, Greeley W., lawyer, was born in Rockville. Ind., in 1856. Two years later his father died and he was then placed with relatives on a farm where he lived until fif- teen years of age, then moved to Mt. Pleasant. lowa, where he learned the printer's trade under Frank Hatton (who afterward became postmaster-general). After working at his trade for some time he entered the lowa Wes- loyan university at Mt. Pleasant, after which he studied law and was admitted to the bar in ISS2. Ile then went to Dakota during the boom in the Northwest, remained there one year, then journeyed on to Washington terri- tory, where he practiced law for three years, when he was appointed postmaster at What- com by his old friend, Postmaster-General llatton. At the close of his term. Mr. Whit- ford came to Colorado in ISST and located in Denver, forming a partnership with his brother, Clay B. Whitford, and subsequently with Rogers & Shafroth. During the part- nership he was appointed deputy city at- torney under Mr. Shafroth in ISS9, and in 1891 he formed a partnership with Mr. F. A. Wil- liams, which still exists; and during the lat- tur's term as city attorney, Mr. Whitford was again appointed deputy. In November, 1894, he was elected district attorney on the republican ticket. In 1890 he married Miss Ida Spaulding of the Iowa Wesleyan univer- sity, Mt. Pleasant, lowa. They have two children, one son and one daughter.

WILD, Fred Jr., railway freight agent, son study. He removed from Cleveland, N. Y., of Fred and Elizabeth M. Wild, was born in Kenosha, Wis., Oct. 13, 1859. He was ed- neated at Williams college. Massachusetts. and entered the service of the Chicago, Mil- waukee & St. Paul railroad company in 1879 as offee boy and clerk. Since that time he has been consecutively clerk, rate and claim clerk, chief clerk to assistant general freight

to Dover, Del., where he was principal of the public schools for several years, and, while teaching school, commenced the study of law under the intelage of Hon. Nathaniel Smith- ers, one of the most eminent and scholarly attorneys in the East. In 1882 he came to Denver and for three years was associated with the law firm of Weils, Smith & Macon, agent of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul and in April. 1891, was elected city attorney, railroad at Racine and Milwaukee. Wis .; serving in that position for two years. Mr. chief clerk to division superintendent and division freight agent of the Wabash. St. Louis Pacific railway at Des Moines, lowa; general freight agent of the Des Moines & Northwestern road at Des Moines; chief clerk to general freight agent of the Denver, Texas & Fort Worth road; assist- ant general freight agent of same road at Denver: general freight agent of the Gulf di- vision of the Union Pacific railroad: assist- ant general freight agent of the Union Pacific system. Dec. 18, 1893, he was appointed general freight agent of the Union Pacific, Williams has been prominent in social and po- litical circles, was a member of the com- mittee of the Chamber of Commerce which prepared the Denver city charter passed in 1893. Ile considers that bill-all of which was from his pen-as his best work in the inter- ests of that city. Ile is an active Mason and an enthusiastic believer in the teachings and precepts of that order. He was a member of the board of trustees of the Masonie Tem- ple association of Denver during the con- struction of the temple, and during the trien- hial encampment of the Knights Templar held Denver & Gulf railway and in addition to the in Denver in Aug., 1892 was Eminent Com- above, he was (Aug. S, 1894) appointed general freight agent of the Denver, Leadville & Gun- mander of the Chicago Commandery No. I, and

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nison railway. He was married May 6, 1891, he was elected a county commissioner and to Miss Jennie E. Hadley of Denver. Ilis served three years. In political faith a dem- twenty-five years' experience in the railway service makes him a very efficient officer, especially in the freight department. ocrat, he was chosen a delegate to the na- tional convention of that party in 1876, held in St. Louis, Mo., and which nominated Tilden for president and llendricks for the vice- WILLIAMS, Andrew J., the first merchant located on the town site of Denver, was born in Franklin county, N. Y., Nov. 22, 1833. Ile being virtually retired from active pursuits, was one of the original pioneer settlers, and undoubtedly the first regular merchant of Denver, or more properly. of Auraria, for Denver had not even a name when he arrived on the scene with his train load of merchan- dise. llis father was descended from Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island. Our subject was raised on a farm and educated in the public schools, but subsequently took a presidency. During the past ten years Mr. Williams has taken little part in public affairs, devoting his time to his property interests in the city and county. From this hasty resumé it will be seen that he was an essen- tial feature of the history of Colorado, one who established the original base of the city of Denver, and from whose counters sprang all that has been of commercial development and growth in all things from the beginning to the present epoch. Mr. Williams died at course in the Franklin academy. In 1851 he his home in Denver, May 30, 1805,

removed to Council Bluffs, lowa, then ealled Kanesville. Here he learned the printer's WINNE, Peter, was born in Mayfield, Ful- ton county, N. Y .. April 19. 1838. Of all the emigrants who have from time to time landed upon her shores, America probably owes to none more than to the Puritans of England and the Huguenots of France. Each alike driven from their homes by religious persecu- tion, they came to America seeking that free- dom to worship God in their own manner which had been denied them in their native land; civil and religions liberty was the very cornerstone of the communities they estab- lished, and the effect of their action in this trade in the "Bugle" office. In 1833 he was appointed clerk to Col. A. W. Babbitt, who had been appointed secretary of Utah terri- tory, and, with him and a man named M. V. Brewer, left for Salt Lake city, Mr. Williams was the only one of the party that left Utah alive. Brewer was killed by the Mormons and Col. Babbitt by Indians in 1856. In 1855 Williams returned to Council Bluff's and there was engaged in the milling business until 1858. The financial crash of 1857 and the re- ported discovery of gold in the Rocky Moun- tains induced him to emigrate. Therefore, particular on the subsequent history and in October, 1858, accompanied by Charles 11. destinies of the country cannot be overesti- mated. An industrious and intelligent people, strongly impressed with religions feeling, and deeply imbued with the strength of their convictions, they have left the imprint of their character not only upon their descendants but upon the country as well. Among a party of Iluguenot refugees from the eity of Ghent, was Peter Winne, the founder of the family of that name in this country. Ile set- tled in what was then known as Bethlehem, now Albany, N. Y., where he died in 1691. Fifth in descent from him was Alexander Winne, father of the subject of this sketeh. The father. Alexander Winne, moved to Wis- consin in 1816, where he died in 1851. the son remaining there until 1803, acquiring in the meantime such an education as enabled him to teach school. The rigorous winters of Wisconsin, however, compelled a change of residence and In 1863 Mr. Winne came to Colorado. He spent a few weeks in Denver and then took up his residence where Greeley is now located. He lived there until 1866. when, on account Indian depredations, he returned to Denver where he has since made his home. In 1863 he was appointed superin- tendent of schools of Weld county. The pres- ent system of public schools in that county was organized by Mr. Winne at that time. In the spring of 1864 he was elected a delegate from Weld and Larimer counties to the con- stitutional convention held at Golden in that l'lake (for whom Blake street was named) he crossed the plains with four ox-wagons loaded with merchandise, the first assorted stock brought to Denver. They arrived at Cherry creek November 1, and had built the first store in Auraria (now West Denver). In December the first survey of East Denver was begun, in which Mr. Williams and Gen- eral Larimer carried the first chain laid on the Denver town site. The next spring Blake & Williams moved their establishment to the East side and erected the first hotel thereon, " The Denver House." It was a log struc- ture 110x32 feet with a canvas roof made of wagon sheets, It stood on Blake street near 15th, and was destroyed by fire in 1863. During 1859 the firm discontinued their store and engaged in freighting and con- traeting in Colorado and New Mexico until 1865. Mr. Williams then went into the cattle trade, buying large herds in Texas and driv- ing them to Colorado. This business grew to large dimensions and was very profitable. In 1869 he resumed merchandising in Denver. continuing until 1850. He was one of the cor- porators and directors of the Exchange Bank founded in January 1876, and a year later was elected president. le has engaged in mining, farming and other pursuits at various times; was one of the builders of the I'nion block at 15th and Blake streets. In 1874-75 he was a member of the city council. In 1874

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year for the purpose of framing a constitution practice law in the supreme court of Colorado. for the proposed state of Colorado, but was prevented from attending by the hostilities of the Indians. In the fall of 1866 he was elected by the people of Weld and Larimer counties to represent them in the territorial legislature which met at Golden. Ile faith- fully served his constituents, securing the passage of such local measures as were needed, meanwhile, with others, strenuously advocating statehood for Colorado, but with- out success. From 1871 to 1873 he repre- sented the 4th ward of the city of Denver in the city council. There were many ques- tions of importance up for discussion then concerning water, gas and irrigation, and the disposing of many valuable franchises not al- ready granted. The matter of the title to a large amount of property in what is known as the congressional grant was also agitating

WITTER, Daniel, the first land lawyer of the state, was born in Franklin county, Ind., April 13, 1827. In the years between 1860 and until about the beginning of the last the public mind. The title to this property had decade Mr. Witter was a leading influence in

been vested by congress at one time in the then acting probate judge of Arapahoe county and his sucessors in office, to be deeded to bona fide owners and residents under certain restrictions. After a while, through changes in said othce, and frauds, a large number of lots were deeded wrongfully to improper per- sons. How to remedy these fraudulent con- veyances was a subject of much heated dis- cussion. Mr. Winne was one of the committee that investigated these frauds, the report of which gave a complete history of the nefarious business. lle also proposed the plan which Judge Belden incorporated in the bill which afterward became a law. by which the title to nearly all of these lots was settled. Later on Mr. Winne was elected a member of the board of county commission- ers to fill the vacancy created by the resigna- tion of Hon. F. B. Crocker. For this office he received, unsolicited, the nomination from both political parties. He was chairman of

the building committee that had charge of and in the continuation of the first session of the erection of Arapahoe county's magnifi- the legislative Assembly, convened at Colorado

cent court house, and served until the same was nearly ready for occupancy. Owing to the press of private business, he refused a renomination at the expiration of his term of

office. Upon finally establishing his resi- ilton, the commercial center, so to speak, and dence in Denver he entered into the real estate and insurance business, which he sue- cessfully proseented until recent years, when ill health caused him to sever his connection with his partners in this business. While thus engaged, however, he made a close study of the law of fire insurance. Because of his success in this line of study and investigation he was invited to write a paper to be read be- fore the Pacific board of underwriters, upon the subject of waiver and estoppel, as applied to fire insurance contracts. This paper has beenme quite noted as an authority, having secured favorable commendation from the in- surance press and leading underwriters of the United States and some of our ablest jurists. About this time, also, he was admitted to office to which he had been appointed. In

Hle wrote a history of Trinity M. E. church of Denver, the result of years of patient fact- gathering concerning Methodism in Colorado from its first establishment to the present day. From the earliest days of Trinity to the pres- ent time he has been a prominent factor in all its undertakings and has seen it grow from a handful of worshipers gathered together in the old log church to the splendid congrega- tions which assemble every Sunday in the stately edifice recently erected. This work will be an anthority upon the subject, a credit in every way to the author, and a valuable . church memorial as well.

Denver, one of its larger property owners and associated with a number of prominent enter- prises. After the usual course in the public schools he took an academic course at South Bend, Ind. He began his experiences in life as a school teacher, being connected with the Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan teachers' institute. His next venture was as proprietor of a retail book and stationery store in Sonth Bend. In 1855 he married Miss Clara V. Matthews, a half-sister to Hon. Schuyler Colfax. Up to 1850 he maintained his interest in educational matters and also studied law. In the year last mentioned he left for the Pike's Peak gold region, drifted into the South Park, bought a placer claim in the Tarryall diggings and began mining. which he pursued until the claim was worked out. Meanwhile he was elected judge of the miners' court. When the territory came to be organized, in 1861, he was elected to the House of Representatives from that district.

City in 1862, was brought forward as a candi- date for speaker, but after a long and spirited contest was defeated by Charles F. Holley. In 1862 he was appointed postmaster of Ilam- the general rendezvous of miners in the South Park. Shortly afterward, President Lincoln appointed him assessor of internal revenue, with headquarters in Denver, which office he retained until the system was abolished by act of Congress. An active politician, he was chairman of the territorial republican central committee for several years, and the Colorado member of the national republican committee for four years. After the adjournment of the first session of the legislature in 1861 he went East for his family and. with his wife and two children occupying a light wagon, he drove from Ottumwa, łowa, across the plains to Hamilton, where they resided until 1862. then moved to Denver, where he opened the

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HISTORY OF COLORADO.

1865 associated with Mr. Court C. Clements, large fortune in the Yellow Pine silver mine he began the practice of law in cases pertain- in the mountains above Boulder, which ing to the public lands, having been admitted proved, ou development, to be very extensive before the territorial courts in 1862. Recog- and very rich. He owns several other valu- nizing the fact that the base of all values is able mines in the same vicinity. Mr. Will- iamson is, at present writing, president of the Boulder National Bank, a sound and prosper- ous institution, and universally honored for his progressive and honorable citizenship.

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History of the State of Colorado, Volume IV, Part 111

Author: Hall, Frank, 1836-1917. cn; Rocky Mountain Historical Company Publication date: 1889-95 Publisher: Chicago, Blakely print. Co. Number of Pages: 791

Author: Hall, Frank, 1836-1917. cn; Rocky Mountain Historical Company
Publication date: 1889-95
Publisher: Chicago, Blakely print. Co.
Number of Pages: 791