History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado, Part 39

Author: O.L. Baskin & Co. cn; Vickers, W. B. (William B.), 1838-
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 844

USA > Colorado > Arapahoe County > History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado > Part 39
USA > Colorado > Denver County > Denver > History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado > Part 39

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

that vocation. with but brief intervals, for some years. In the spring of 1857, she entered upon medieal study under the tuition of Drs. S. O. and Rachel B. Gleason, of Elmira, N. Y., and in the autumn of 1858, she matriculated in the Philadel- phia Woman's Medical College. A year later, she entered the New York Infirmary for Women and Children-a noble charity founded and conducted by Drs. Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell-where, for a twelvemonth, she was resident student and had the advantages of clinical and general practice under careful supervision. Meanwhile, the war began and most of the students of the Philadel- phia school volunteered as army nurses, and the Trustees of that institution-which was not then, as now. richly endowed-thought it unwise to at- tempt a session with so small a class; for this rea- son, Miss Avery's plans for the winter were changed, and she went to Boston instead of Philadelphia, and in April. 1862, received her diploma of Doctor in Medicine from the New England Female Medi- cal College. After some months of private prac- tice in Brooklyn, L. I., she accepted a place as assistant physician under Dr. T. T. Seelye, in the Cleveland ( Ohio) Water Cure, where she remained until the opening of Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, in September, 1865, in whose Faculty she occupied the Chair of Physiology and Hygiene for nearly nine years. In April, 1874, she removed to Den- ver, and from that time has identified herself with the interests of the young city and State. IFer influence is always to be counted on for whatever makes for "the good, the true and the beautiful."

LEONARD ALKIRE.

Leonard Alkire was born upon a farm in Menard County, Ill., on the 17th of October, 1830 ; his father was one of the first pioneers in that county and entered a large tract of land from the Govern- ment, giving each of his sons a farm when they became of age. In 1853, Leonard Alkire began the building of the town of Sweetwater upon his farm in company with his brother-in-law, William Engle, who owned an adjoining farm.

THE WENTWORTH.

THE WENTWORTH, A. H. ESTES, PROP. DENVER, COL.

307

BIOGRAPHICAL.

At that time. he engaged in the mercantile busi- uess with his brother, J. D. Alkire. In 1869, he closed out his mercantile business and engaged in the stock business. In 1872, on account of his brother's failing health, having rented his farm, he, in company with his brother, started on a trip to Colorado and spent a portion of that year in the mountains and traveling in the State for the purpose of selecting a home. In the spring of 1873. he bought a ranch of 1,200 acres in partner- ship with his brother, in Deer Creek Valley, the present route of the Denver & South Park Rail- road. While there, he stocked Deer Creek with fish. He remained there engaging in the stock business until 1876, when he bought out his broth- er's interest in the ranch-his brother returning to Illinois. In the spring of 1877, he rented his ranch and removed to Denver for the purpose of *educating his children. In a few months after- ward, he bought out the business of James Connor, and formed a partnership with Mr. D. T. Sander- son, they becoming the proprietors of the Den- ver Coffee and Spice Mills, under the firm name of L. Alkire & Co. When they came into possession of the business, it was considerably demoralized. Since that time. however. they have by persistent effort gradually increased their business until they have succeeded in establishing a large trade.

HENRY APPLE.

Henry Apple, junior member of the firm of Bunch & Apple, real-estate agents and mining brokers, was born in Cincinnati in 1838. When he was seventeen years of age, he began clerking in a wholesale dry-goods house in Nashville, Tenn .. to which place his parents had removed when he was but four years of age. In 1863, he went to New York City where he was employed as book-keeper in a commission house, and afterward went into the boot and shoe business on his own account, which he continued until 1868. Returning to Nashville about this time, he was actively engaged in business, in that city, for more than two years, when he again went to New York City. and was

with the well-known wholesale clothing house of Thomas Chatterton & Co., until 1875. From that time until January, 1879, he was engaged in the auction and commission business in Nashville, and was also traveling agent for the Star Union Freight Line in Kentucky and Tennessee. He came to Denver in the summer of 1879, and in the Sep- tember following entered into a copartnership with Mr. H. K. Bunch, with whom he is still associat- ed. He was married in Cincinnati, in 1865, to Miss Spencer. an accomplished and intelligent lady of that city.

FRANK AICKELMAN.

Frank Nickelman, one of the earliest settlers of Colorado, was born in Wittenburg, Germany. in 1835. At the age of seventeen, he came to the United States, living two years in the State of New York. and then removed to Galena, Ill., where. for three years, he was variously employed, working the greater part of the time in a livery stable. Be- coming tired of so tame a life, he determined to remove to Colorado. The first two years here were spent at Breckenridge, mining, in which he was unsuccessful. He came back to Denver, and soon bought a ranche on the Platte, seventeen miles below the city, on which he has since resided. He was married in 1869, in Galena, Ill.

LEWIS B. AMES.

Lewis B. Ames was born in Canton. St. Law- rence Co., N. Y .. May 7, 1827, followed agricul- tural pursuits during his minority. and at twenty-one went to Michigan and spent three years in a land office in Hillsdale. In 1851, he returned home and resided until 1855. He then emigrated West to Decorab. Iowa, where he was engaged in mer- cantile pursuits for five years. In 1860, he joined the tide of gold-seekers, setting across the Plains toward the Rocky Mountains, and on his arrival in the Territory, went at once to what is now Gilpin County, and engaged in mining near the site of the present townof Black Hawk, where he erected a quartz-mill, which he ran during the summer. Up to 1867, he was engaged in

308

BIOGRAPHICAL.

prospecting, and in farming, being twice washed out by floods. In 1867, he purchased his present farm. taught school during the winter, and, in 1868, was joined by his wife from the East, and made a permanent settlement on his farm, where he owns 125 acres of land, well improved, and es- pecially devoted to the culture of fruit. He has conclusively demonstrated that horticulture can be successfully carried on in Colorado-apples, pears, plums, grapes, raspberries, blackberries, strawber- ries, cherries, gooseberries and currants growing in his grounds in profusion. and of the finest quality. In politics, Mr. Ames is a stanch Republican, and was a firm Union man during the time of the civil war, though in local affairs, where no national issues are involved. he holds the welfare of the commu- nity above party, and casts his ballot for the best man. He was first elected to the office of Justice of the Peace, in 1868. and successively re-elected to the present time. He has proved a justice of the peace in fact as well as in name, his aversion to litigation leading him to counsel compromise, and thus preserve peace between the parties. Mr. Ames was married, January 31, 1866, to Miss H. L. Sarawa, of Waukegan, Ill .. and has two children.

DR. LOUIS AUERBACH.

Dr. Louis Anerbach was born in Berlin, Ger- many. At the age of eighteen, he began the study of medicine, and after graduating at the University of Berlin, was appointed Assistant Physician at Queen Augusta Hospital, in Berlin, which office he continued to fill for four years, and then began the practice of medicine for him- self in that city. In the spring of 1878, he came to the United States, and practiced medicine in New York City one year, He was married in New York in 1878, and came to Denver in the spring of 1879. Dr. Auerbach is a finely edu- cated gentleman, and is destined to meet with good success in his profession.

E. B. ANNIS.

The junior member of the firm of Thomp- son & Annis, lumber dealers, corner of Six-

teenth and Wazee streets, Denver, is E. B. Annis, whose past honorable career and present business connections entitle him to a sketch in this vol- ume. He was born near Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1847, and is a graduate of the High School in that city. Entering the U. S. Navy, after completing his studies as Paymaster's Clerk, he was assigned to duty on the U. S. steamer Kickapoo, stationed in Southern waters, and participated in the engagement at Span- ish Fort, in Mobile Bay. At the close of the war, he was stationed for awhile at New Orleans, and went from there to Howell, Mich., where he was em- ployed for a few years in the Internal Revenue office. In 1870, Mr. Annis came to Colorado, and was one of the original founders of the Gree- ley Colony, holding hy appointment the position of Secretary of the Association. From there he moved to Evans, engaging in the lumber business at that point, and thence to Cheyenne" in 1875 .. where, during the four following years, he carried on an extensive business in lumber, and, in the spring of 1879, came to Denver and entered into partnership with W. F. Thompson, at his present location. This firm is doing a very large business in Denver and other points, occupying as their lumber depot nearly a square of ground at the corner of Sixteenth and Wazee, and operating a large steam saw-mill on the Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad. Mr. Annis is married, the owner of considerable real estate in Greeley, and may be regarded as one of the promising business men of Denver.

JOHN N. AMMEN.

A record of those citizens of Denver who have succeeded in their respective business enterprises must necessarily inelude the name of John N. Ammen. He was born in Fincastle, Virginia, in 1842, and early in life was placed in a good school in his native town. But his studies were soon interrupted, and military discipline usurped the mild regime of college life. As a mem- ber of the Fincastle Rifles, he was ordered to Harper's Ferry, to suppress the insurrection of John Brown, and was on duty at the time

309

BIOGRAPHICAL.

those unfortunate people paid the penalty of their treason to the State of Virginia. When the " Rifles " were discharged from further service to the State, John Ammen resumed his studies at Fincastle until the " Fincastle Rifles" were again ordered into the service of the State, at the break- ing-out of the great rebellion. Responding to the summons, the "Rifles " marched away again, not to suppress the mad efforts of the slaves to gain their freedom, but to assist in carrying on for several years the most sanguinary warfare known to the pages of modern history. It was mustered into the Confederate service, and became part of the Army of Northern Virginia, participating in the first battle of the war at Blackburn's Ford, and ending with the surrender of Lee. Sharing with his comrades the toils and dangers of the war, the young soldier was engaged in all of the great struggles of the different campaigns-Manas- sas, Drainsville, Williamsburg, the seven days' fight -Fredericksburg and Gettysburg, and many of the skirmishes and minor engagements. He was twice wounded, once at White Oak Swamp, on the sixth of the seven days' fight, and again at Five Forks; and three times a captured prisoner and exchanged.

At the close of the war, he returned to his native town, working for a couple of years on his father's farm, when he went to Baltimore, and com- pleted a course of studies in a commercial college of that city. During the next four years, he clerked in a country store in Bonsack's, Va., and then removed to Denver in 1872. But mining was too alluring to permit him to become a perma- nent resident at that time. In the neighborhood of the South Park he spent two years in prospect- ing, and afterward, in 1877, lost several months in the Black Hills. Returning to Denver, he as- sumed a controlling interest in the City Laundry. 553 Blake street, where is now conducted by far the largest business in that branch of industry in the State of Colorado. The establishment employ about thirty persons, such as washers, ironers, etc., and two wagons constantly collecting and deliver-

ing articles. It is proposed soon to remove their business to a more commodious building, and to introduce machinery of a greater power, and pos- sessing all the improvements of modern science in that class of mechanics. Mr. Ammen is unmar- ried-in the prime of life-and starts out well for the goal of fortune by combining industry and enterprise in the management of his business.

EMMET ANTHONY.

Emmet Anthony, the pioneer architect of Denver, having the oldest established office in the State, was born in Cayuga County, N. Y., March 2, 1828. When nine years of age, he attended a private school, taught by Prof. Benedict, for many years a leading Professor in the University at Rochester. At the age of thirteen, he became interested in architecture, and was advised by his friend, George Woodward, then a rising young architect, to learn the trade of a carpenter and builder, as a necessary preparation for the practice of architecture. From that time until the age of twenty, he was engaged during the summer in the workshop, gaining a practical knowledge of mechanical construction, and during the winter in the study of mathematics and draw- ing. At the age of twenty, he entered a class for a course of mathematical training under Prof. Winslow, in Livingston County. Having fitted himself as a practical and competent mechanic, he entered the office of Mr. Berger, in New York City, where he spent three years as a draughts- man and superintendent. Since that time, he has devoted himself exclusively to the designing and superintending of buildings in different sections of the country, being for some time in the employ of the New York & Erie and the Delaware, Lack- awanna & Western Railways. In 1871, being troubled with a cough and throat disease, he sought the genial climate of Colorado. Arriving in Denver in March, his first business was to make the design of what is now the Iliff resi- dence. Since that time, he has devoted himself entirely to the practice of his profession in Denver,

310

BIOGRAPHIICAL.

oceasionally receiving calls to adjoining towns and cities, principally to Cheyenne, where many buildings have been erected from his designs. His early and thorough mechanical education is appar- ent in all of his designs, no instances of incom- pleteness or insecure mechanical construction ap- pearing among the many buildings erected from them. Mr. Anthony is a close student of all the mechanical, sanitary and artistic improvements that are being made in his profession. Despite the sharp competition, he has each year added a large list to the architecture of the eity. During the past year, with the assistance of one able draughts- man, he has completed the designs and awarded the contracts for thirty buildings in the city. The completeness of his plans render them popular among the mechanics, while severe superintend- ence makes him sometimes unpopular among the contractors. Among his designs are the Opera House, Walhalla, Alkire's, Schleier's, Moffat & Kassler's, and other blocks.

W. W. ANDERSON, M. D.

W. W. Anderson, M. D., physician and sur- geon, 353 Larimer street, is of Scoteh parentage. He was born in Ontario, Canada, in 1850, and received his education in his native country. He removed to the United States in the spring of 1876, and the same year entered Michigan University. During 1877, he occupied the posi- tion of Assistant Surgeon and Demonstrator of Anatomy in that institution. After the close of the the session, he removed to Green Bay, Wis., where he continued the practice of medicine until December, 1878, when he was compelled by declining health to remove to a western sanitarinm, and settled in Denver, Colo., in January, 1879, where he has since established himself in a lucrative practice.

ROBERT AURICH.

Mr. Aurich is a son of a government official in Germany ; was born November 2, 1853, at Glau- chau, Germany ; attended school until the age of fifteen years. and was then apprenticed to the mer-

cantile business. Taking a position in a large ex- porting house in Leipsic, Saxony, he remained there till 1872, when he came to America, and obtained a situation as clerk in a steam flouring- mill in New Orleans, from which city he went to St. Louis, and there remained until 1875. Going to Chicago, he was employed as book-keeper for an insurance company, and the New York Coal Com- pany, for a year. He then went to St. Joseph. Mo., and remained two years, engaged in book- keeping. Coming to Colorado, he has been em- ployed as book-keeper for Philip Zary, since Sep- tember, 1877. Mr. Aurich is an enterprising, aspiring young man, and a good business account- ant. In October, 1878, he was elected a member of the City Council of Denver. and is still serving in that body.

HON. WEBSTER D. ANTHONY.

Mr. W. D. Anthony was born in Union Springs. Cayuga Co., N. Y., June 4, 1838, and received a good common-school education. He removed to the West in 1856, and located in Henry County, Ill., where he engaged in the grain business until the fall of 1858, when he went to Leavenworth. Kan., and was employed in the office of the Regis- ter of Deeds. He came to Colorado in the spring of 1860. and has made his home in Denver since that time. In 1861, when Colorado was first ad- mitted as a Territory, he was appointed as Private Secretary under the Executive, which position he held until 1862, when he was appointed Clerk of the District Court of the First Judicial District of Col- orado. Resigning this position in 1865, he was elected County Treasurer of Arapahoe County, and Collector of Taxes for the city of Denver. In 1867, he was elected County Clerk and Recorder. and re-elected at the three successive elections for that office, thus holding this important posi- tion for eight years, during which time he in- augurated and completed a perfect and complete set of abstracts of titles to land in the entire county, and upon an entirely new system. These books are now used in the office of Anthony &

AmbroES Everett A 16. 16 8.

311

BIOGRAPHICAL.

Landon, for the purpose of furnishing abstracts. In 1876, Mr. Anthony was elected a member of the Legislative Assembly of the new State, and chosen Speaker of the House of Representatives, thus becoming the Speaker of the first House of Representatives of the "Centennial State." This session convened in Denver November 1. 1876. and adjourned March 20, 1877, and during the entire session he never failed in calling the House over which he presided to order on the exact mo- ment to which it had adjourned. and although several appeals were taken from his decision as Speaker, yet in every instance his rulings were sus- tained by the House. Mr. Anthony has long been connected with the Masonic Order. and is an active and earnest worker in his Lodge. He was three years Master of Union Lodge; two years elected as Grand Master of Masons in Colorado; was the especial Deputy of the Grand Master of Knights Templar of the United States, to organize the Grand Commandery of Colorado, and in 1876, was elected Grand Commander of Colorado. He was chosen Secretary of the Convention in 1864. which organized for the purpose of presenting a constitution for the formation of a State govern- ment. This Constitution, after being adopted by the people of the State. was rejected by Congress. and Colorado remained under Territorial govern- ment until 1876. At present, he is Chief Clerk of the United States Mint, at Denver, a position which he has held since November. 1877.

ELI M. ASHLEY.

Mr. Ashley was born May 28, 1833, at Ports- mouth, Ohio. He received a good common- school education, and attended the Western Ohio Liberal Institute at Marietta, Ohio. He was en- gaged in the drug business at Toledo, Ohio, from 1853 to 1861, when he came to Denver, arriving June 17, 1861. He was at once appointed chief clerk in the Surveyor General's office. He returned to Salina, Ohio, in October, 1861, and married Miss Susan E. Riley, returning to Denver in the following November, where he has since resided.

He resigned his position in the Surveyor General's office in February, 1874, and engaged in the lum- ber business for about three years. In February, 1877, he was re-appointed chief clerk in the Sur- veyor General's office, which position he has since held. He was for three years a member of the School Board of Denver, and one year its Presi- dent. Mr. Ashley has always been at his post, giving strict attention to business, excepting in 1873, when he laid aside the cares of business for a few months, and visited the Vienna Exposition and most of the important cities of Europe.

GEO. L. AGGERS.

Mr. Aggers was born November 22, 1486, at Allegheny City, Penn. He graduated in the Com- mercial Department of the Mount Union College, Ohio, in the class of 1870. Previous, however, to his collegiate career, Mr. Aggers had some ex- perience in military life, having been a member of Company C of the One Hundred and Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, participated in the bat- tles of Winchester, Harper's Ferry, Cedar Creek, Snickens Gap, etc. He was mustered ont of the service in the fall of 1863. From 1870 to July, 1872, he was engaged in the oil business at Oil City, Penn., from which place he came to Denver, and with a capital of $250, went into the grocery business. By strict attention to business, and careful management, Mr. Aggers has built up from this humble beginning, a large wholesale and retail trade. He has also a branch house in Leadville, which was started in May, 1879, and is under the charge of his partner there, the firm name being Aggers & Airy, Mr. Aggers was elected City Councilman in the spring of 1876, and was re-elected in the fall of 1877.

GEORGE W. ANDREWS.

G. W. Andrews, of the law firm of Miles & Andrews, was born in the beautiful village of Frye- burg, Maine, September 13, 1813, and was a stu- dent at the Fryeburg Academy for some time, and in 1834, in company with his brother, opened a

312

BIOGRAPHICAL.

store, in which business he continued for six years, or until 1840. He then disposed of his business, and commenced the study of law, reading and teaching school alternately. He left the Pine Tree State in 1844, and in June, 1847, was admitted to the bar, in. Lancaster, Penn. He began to practice his profession at Brock ville, Jefferson Co., Penn., and continued to reside there until 1872. In the fall of that year, he was elected a member of the Republican Electoral College from the Twenty-fifth District. The elec- tion that year, it will be remembered, placed Gen. Grant in the Executive's chair for the second term. The same fall, Mr. Andrews was elected a member of the Pennsylvania State Constitutional Convention from the Twenty-seventh Senatorial District of the State, and was about a year amem- ber of that body, the Convention dissolving in November, 1873. After being thus freed from his political duties, he turned his face westward and arrived in Colorado the 20th of November, 1873. The subsequent four years Mr. Andrews passed among the mountains, and in the rustic enjoyments of ranche life, becoming acquainted with Colorado's scenery, and experiencing the beneficial effects of her wonderful climate. In March of 1877, he returned to Denver, and, the 14th of that montli, formed a law copartnership with Enos Miles, and resumed the practice of his profession, which he has since continued. Mr. Andrews takes a leading position among our elder lawyers, and is widely known as a gentleman of culture and ability, and one who is thoroughly versed in the requirements of his profession.

MAJ. SCOTT J. ANTHONY.

Maj. Anthony was an early settler in Denver. Although coming two years after the first settle- ment, he became intimately connected with its various enterprises, an ardent supporter of its edu- cational and municipal affairs, and an influential man in the community for the past twenty years. He was born in Cayuga County, N. Y., Jan- uary 22, 1830. He is a descendant of an old New

England family, his father having been born in the Quaker settlement of Newport, R. I. His mother was descended from the Hunt family, of New York, and the Moores, of New Hampshire. The latter ancestry served prominently in the war of the Revolution, and in the war of 1812. Upon attaining the age of manhood, Maj. Anthony emi- grated West and settled in Minnesota. In 1852, he again returned to New York, and remained there until the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, when he determined to seek a permanent home in the West, and emigrated to Kansas soon after the border troubles between Missouri and Kansas had broken out. He entered at once into the mercantile business at Leavenworth, Kan., the firm being Bailey, Anthony & Co., and, one year later, was elected County Clerk and Recorder. He experienced some difficulty in obtaining this office through false election returns, and the strength of the border ruffians. He appealed to the Legislature, who created a Board of Super- visors to examine the election returns, who decided in his favor. Armed with the necessary order, he took forcible possession of the office, and held it until the expiration of his term of service, in fall of 1857. Leaving Leavenworth in March, 1860, he located in Denver and embarked in the real-estate business in company with Frank Palmer, which business he conducted one year, investing very largely in Denver real estate, after which he spent the two succeeding years at Cali- fornia Gulch, engaged in mining and selling merchandise. In August, 1861, he was appointed Captain in the First Colorado Infantry, and the fol- lowing year was promoted to Major of the regi- ment, which was then converted into cavalry. The first year in the field, he participated in the battle of Apache Cañon. He was then placed in com- mand of Fort Lyon and Fort Larned. On the expiration of his term of service, the Government desired to retain him, but, at his own request, he was mustered out February 8, 1865. He then went to Montana during the Sweetwater excite- ment, and engaged in mining and contracting on the

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado, Part 39

Author: O.L. Baskin & Co. cn; Vickers, W. B. (William B.), 1838- Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago : O.L. Baskin & Co. Number of Pages: 844

Author: O.L. Baskin & Co. cn; Vickers, W. B. (William B.), 1838-
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 844