USA > Colorado > Arapahoe County > History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado > Part 55
USA > Colorado > Denver County > Denver > History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado > Part 55
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JOHN ELSNER, M. D.
This gentleman is a son of a physician of note, in Austria, who, in the Hungarian war of 1849, led a body of abont 2,000 students in Kossuth's
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army, and at the close of the war, was obliged to flee from Vienna, to Italy, whither his family fol- lowed him, but finding that the revolution had broken out in that country, he came with his family to America, and after practicing medicine several years in New York City, located in Syra- cuse, and is now a prominent physician of that city. Dr. John Elsner was born in Vienna, Austria, May 8, 1844. His early education was received in New York City and Syracuse, after which he returned to Europe, and remained at school until the fall of 1858. Returning to America, he began the study of medicine under his father's instruction. On the breaking-out of the rebellion, he received an appointment on the United States Sanitary Commission, and rendered efficient service in that capacity. In 1863, he graduated from the New York Eye and Ear In- firmary, and was soon afterward appointed United States Examining Surgeon on board the United States receiving ship Ohio, at the Charleston Navy Yard. He was afterward transferred to the mili- tary service, and served till the close of the war. Returning to New York, he attended Bellevue Hospital Medical College, graduating from that institution in 1866. He began practice in Syra- cuse, but becoming interested in some Pike's Peak mining property, he soon started for Denver. Joining a company outfitting at Waterloo, Iowa, he was chosen Captain of the train, and, in cross- ing had several encounters with the Indians on the Plains. Arriving in Denver, he entered upon the practice of his profession, in which he has since continued. His long hospital experience, and studies in New York, especially qualify him for surgical practice, in which he is prominent, his practice in surgery extending from the Missouri River to Salt Lake City. In 1870, he was ap- pointed County Physician of Arapahoe County, and established the county hospital, of which he was four years in charge. It was through his in- fluence that the Denver Medical Society was organized in 1871, after repeated attempts to effect an organization had failed. He was a delegate to
the American Medical Association, in San Fran- cisco, in 1871 ; is a member of the Colorado State Medical Society, and has contributed medical articles, which were published in the transactions of that society in 1872. He is also a member of the American Medical Association, and an honor- ary member of the California State Medical Society. Dr. Elsner is a great student of natural history, and belongs to many of the foreign scien- tific societies. His collection of specimens in natural history is, without doubt, the finest in the State of Colorado, including geology, mineralogy, paleontology, botany, etc., the result of many years of labor, and correspondence with scientists in all parts of the world. He is now engaged in the preparation of a work on materia medica and the practice of medicine, which, when completed, will be invaluable, as a book of reference, to the busy practitioner. Dr. Elsner was married, Sep- tember 28, 1867, to Miss Lena Zalenger, of Den- ver, and has one daughter.
HON. LEWIS C. ELLSWORTH.
This gentleman, to whose efforts Denver is so largely indebted for its system of street railways, which has been such an important factor in the progress of the city, and by which its suburban portions have been made accessible and enhanced in value, was born in Troy, N. Y., June 30, 1832. When he was about six years old, his parents re- moved to Illinois and settled in Naperville. He received a good English education, and in 1852 went to Chicago, where he was employed in the Exchange Bank of H. A. Tucker & Co. He rose steadily to the various positions in the bank until 1860, when he became a partner in the business, in which they continued till the breaking-out of the war of the rebellion, when they closed up the business. In 1864, he was one of the incorporat- ors of the Traders' National Bank in Chicago, and was continuously associated with many large enter- prises in that city. In 1867, he, with a partner, . engaged in building a branch road in connection with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad,
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after completing which he built the branch of the same road from Mendota to Prophetstown, Ill. In the summer of 1871, he came to Denver, and found the charter of the Denver Horse Railroad Com- pany, which had been granted in 1867. Only enough had been done, however, to hold the frau- chise. This charter Mr. Ellsworth, with others, purchased, and re-organized the Company, changing its name to " The Denver City Railway Company," of which he was made President, and has since acted in that capacity. He was a member of the State Constitutional Convention in the winter of 1875. and in the fall of 1876 was elected a mem- ber of the Senate for four years. He was an effi- cient and influential member of that body, and, as Chairman of the Committee on Corporations, com- piled the present corporation laws of the State, as well as various other measures. In the summer of 1879, he was appointed by the United States Dis- triet Court to the position of Receiver of the Den- ver & Rio Grande Railroad, pending the decision in the controversy between that Company and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Company, and acts as such at the present writing. In the manage- ment of the affairs of the road he has displayed great executive ability and given perfect satisfac- tion to all parties interested.
E. E. EATON.
E. E. Eaton, of the firm of Davis & Eaton, brick manufacturers, was born in Snsquehanna Co., Penn., October 25, 1836. He spent his early life in, Wayne County, until eighteen years of age, when he en- tered Wyoming Seminary at Kingston and gradu- ated from that institution in 1858. He then returned to Wayne County and was employed by the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company until 1863, when he went to Carbondale and engaged in the wholesale and retail grocery and provision busi- ness, under the firm name of Eaton & Reynolds, and continued the same eight years. He then sold out his interest to his partner, for the purpose of accompanying his father to Denver, whose failing health demanded a change of climate. For five years,
he was engaged in the clothing business as salesman, and at the same time became interested in the Mount Carbon Coal Mines. In 1876, he began the brick-manufacturing business in partnership with F. N. Davis, they being at present the leading brick manufacturers in the city. He was married, January 26, 1865, to the daughter of Henry Edgett, of Prompton, Wayne County, Penn.
CYRUS EATON.
The brief reference here given to Cyrus Eaton will serve to identify him with the successful merchants of Denver, among whom he is well and honorably known. Born in 1832, in Plymouth County, Mass., he received a thorough elementary ed- ucation, in his boyhood, and afterward the advantage which an academical course of studies could bestow. When eighteen years old, he entered upon a busi- ness life in Boston, Mass., engaging in the stationery and other branches of trade, gradually acquiring capital, and laying the foundation of his present successful career. In 1867, he removed to the West, and in that and the following year, traveled through Nebraska and Wyoming Territories, occa- sionally embarking in various business enterprises, until June, 1869, when he settled in Denver, and, in connection with A. K. Tilton, instituted his present wholesale and retail business, which they have since steadily enlarged, extending their sales through Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and into the Territory of Arizona. Mr. Eaton is now in the prime of life, married, and of fine personal presence. Residing with his family in Denver, and owning property in the State, he may be accepted as a sample of the enterprising merchants who are fully alive to the growth and progress of the commu- nity.
W. H. EHRHARDT.
Eighteen years ago, W. H. Ehrhardt, a native of Indiana, came to Colorado, possessing only mod- erate means, but a thorough knowledge of the car- penter's trade. He had received but a scanty education, such as he could obtain in the winter months, for at other seasons he was brought up,
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from boyhood, to know full well the dignity of labor. At the age of nineteen, he entered upon an apprenticeship of three years, at the carpenter's trade, and then worked as a journeyman, until he moved to Illinois and set up as a contractor and builder, in Vermilion County, for several years. Following the tide of travel to the West, he located near Nebraska City in 1858. Conducting busi- ness there as a contractor, with varying success, until the year 1861, he moved to Colorado, and has been a citizen of that State up to the present time. In the spring of 1879, he formed a copart- nership with S. M. French, under the firm name of French & Ehrhardt, and doing business at 273 Seventeenth street, Denver. The firm are held in high repnte as builders and contractors, and in the wonderful growth of Denver, their handiwork can be seen in many of the largest establishments
erected in the city. They employ twelve journey- men in their shops, and are prepared to execute contracts requiring the highest skill and capital. Mr. Ehrhardt was married in Nebraska, in 1873, and is now in the prime of life, with an extensive business to absorb his attention, and a competency, consisting of real-estate and mining interests, to render his future prospects very cheerful.
AUGUSTUS A. EGBERT.
The career of Augustus A. Egbert, the present Superintendent of the Colorado Central, and Division Superintendent of the Kansas Pacific Railroad, is marked with all the characteristics of a laborious, enterprising, and earnest life. A brief reference to its salient points is here presented. Born in Warren County, N. J., in 1836, his early years were passed upon his father's farm, receiving, as he grew up, such advantages of edu- cation as the neighborhood offered. At the age of twenty, he had quit farming, and was con. nected, in an humble capacity, with the Mississippi & Missouri Railroad, working about a year in the freight depot of that Company, in Iowa City. His early taste for agricultural life led him, about that time, to Omaha, Neb., for the purpose of
locating some land, and kept him there till the spring of 1859, when, mounting his horse, he took the Western trail, that led, in that memorable year, so many daring and heroic spirits to Colo- rado. Proceeding as far as Fort Kearney, and tarrying there awhile, he changed his mind, and returned East as far as Iowa City. But, early in the following year, he was in the saddle again, going by way of Omaha, where he got a good financial start, by selling his steed and accepting an offer to drive a team to Denver. A few months' residenee in Colorado seemed to be suf- ficient, for, in the winter of 1860, he went back to the States, and sought employment as brake- man on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad. He was subsequently employed as con- ductor, and continued with the Company in that capacity till the fall of 1865, when he accepted a similar position on the Union Pacific Railroad, enjoying the distinction of being the second con- ductor employed by that great organization. He afterward became Roadmaster, when the construc- tion of the road had reached Cheyenne, and, when the last rail was spiked on Promontory Mountain, he was filling the responsible position of Acting Division Superintendent of the line. Dropping railroad matters for a short time, he returned to Omaha, and, in the spring of 1869, entered upon his present matrimonial alliance, marrying a daughter of IIon. Joel T. Griffin, a member of the Legislature of Nebraska. In a few months, he was again at work ; first as conductor on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, and shortly afterward as Roadmaster of the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad, holding this position when only four miles of track were laid, until a road 240 miles long was constructed and operated. Thence to the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Rail- road, occupying the position of Assistant Superin- tendent of the line. Thence to the Western Division of the Union Pacific Railroad, from Green River to Ogden, and residing at Evanston, Wyom- ing Territory. On the 1st of January, 1879, he removed to Golden, Colo., to take the position of
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Superintendent of the Colorado Central Railroad, which he now holds, besides the superintendency of the Cheyenne Division of the Kansas Pacific, to which he was appointed a few months ago, after the consolidation of the various roads in the inter- est of Jay Gould. Mr. Egbert is a thorough railroad man, possessing a practical knowledge of the details of his profession, and quick and resolute in the execution of its duties. Beginning at the lowest step of the ladder, he has raised himself to a commanding and honorable position among his fellow-men, unaided, save in the recognition by his superiors of his prudence and honesty, and faith- fil devotion to the interest of his employers. There is in his life much to cheer the youthful aspirant for success iu any branch of business; and to his family will recur many a proud recollec- tion of his early struggles and final success.
HON. CLARENCE P. ELDER.
Mr. Elder is one of Colorado's pioneers who has by careful business management and fair dealing, placed himself among her honored and prominent men. He was born in Columbia, Lancaster Co., Penn., December 11, 1839, and received a good common-school education. In 1855, he went to Iowa City, Iowa, and began his business career as clerk in a dry-goods store, remaining in that capacity for about four years, when, having accumu- lated a sufficient capital from his earnings as a clerk, he went to Keithsburg, Ill., and engaged in the dry-goods business for himself. In the spring of 1861, he sold out, and going to Burling- ton, Iowa, engaged in the same business in that city, continuing until the spring of 1863, when he removed his stock to Denver, and continued in business until January 1, 1870. He then sold out, and has since been engaged in attending to his private business. In the fall of 1872, he was elected to the Legislature from Arapahoe County, and was a member of the Constitutional Conven- tion which met during the winter of 1875-76. He is a stockholder and one of the directors of the Exchange Bank of Denver. He is largely inter-
ested in mining and real estate in Colorado and New Mexico. He has done more for Odd Fellow- ship in Colorado than perhaps any other man ; has held all the offices in the Order, and has worked with an untiring zeal to keep the Order pure and prosperous.
REV. FRANK M. ELLIS, D. D.
Rev. Dr. Ellis, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of this city, has attained so high a degree of eminence as a divine, that he is well known throughout the State. His marked ability and oratory, with his amiable and noble disposition, have won for him popularity and many warm friends. He is now in the midst of usefulness and in the prime of life. He was born July 31, 1838, at Higginsport, Ohio. At the age of thirteen years, he removed with his parents to Woodford County, Ill. At the age of sixteen, he united with the Baptist Church, and, about a year after, entered the preparatory school at Shurtleff College, Upper Alton, Ill., as a student for the ministry. About one month after reaching Illinois, his father died, leaving him and the family, consisting of his mother and one sister, moneyless. Without any other support than his own hands, he spent six years at college, besides the time occupied in occa- sional absences to provide means for prosecuting his studies. During his sophomore year, his eyesight almost entirely failed, and but a few months pre- vious to graduating, his health, from overtaxed manual and mental strain, failed, and he left col- lege in January preceding the June when he would have graduated. At nineteen, he entered the field as a public temperance lecturer, and has been heartily identified with the work since that time. His Alma Mater conferred upon him the degree of A. M. in 1868, and the degree of D. D. in 1875. Dr. Ellis has filled several prominent pulpits of his denomination, among them Bloomington, Ill .; Cin- cinnati, Ohio; and Chicago, Ill. In March, 1876, he came to Denver, and since his coming has been Pastor of the First Baptist Church of this city. Dr. Ellis is very popular as a minister,
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because of his eloquent and fluent speaking. He does not aim to be a "sensational preacher," but he puts such life and spirit into his preaching as to insure him success as a minister and teacher of the Gospel.
HENRY C. ENSMINGER.
Among those who have had the foresight to see that Denver presented inducements as a manufact- uring point surpassed by but few cities in the coun- try, is the firm of Ensminger & Davis, proprietors of one of the leading foundries and machine-shops of the city. They began business in a small wooden building at 199 Larimer street, West Denver, in 1875. In the fall of 1878, they erected their present brick shops, to meet the demands of their constantly increasing business. They now employ from thirty to forty men. Henry C. Ensminger was born in Terre Haute, Ind., and at the age of fifteen years, began learning the trade of a boiler- maker, at which he worked in his native city about twelve years. In 1867, he removed to Des Moines, Iowa, and with N. S. McDonald established the Union Boiler Works in that city. After a year, however, he sold his interest to his partner, and, going to Lincoln, Neb., started a stove and tin- ware business, but returned the following year to Des Moines, where he again engaged in boiler- making, this time with his brother. In 1872, he came to Denver, and was employed for three years by the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Company, as boiler-maker in their shops in Denver. His brother coming on from Des Moines, they began the business of boiler-making, but after two years, his brother sold out to Francis M. Davis, and the business has since been conducted by the firm of Ensminger & Davis. Mr. Ensminger was married, in 1868, in Des Moines, Iowa, to Miss Fannie Entwistle.
THOMAS N. ELLEDGE.
T. N. Elledge was born in Edgar County, Ill., July 17, 1840. When fourteen years of age, his parents removed to Missouri, where he followed farming for a number of years. In 1862, he started
for the Pacific Coast, landing in the Walla Walla Valley, Washington Ter., September 20 of that year. There he engaged in freighting and stock raising until 1871, when he sold out and removed to Summerville, Ore., where he went into the mercantile business. He continued in that pur- suit three years, during which time he began the construction of a toll road from there to Walla Walla Valley, finally disposing of his business to give his entire attention to this enterprise. On the completion of this road, he returned to Sum- merville, and opened a livery stable which he con- ducted two years, and then sold out and came to Denver. His first business venture was to open a livery stable at the Lindell barn in West Denver, where he remained two years, removing to his present stable on Holladay street in March of 1879. He was married in Missouri, January 6, 1859, to Eliza J. Auxer.
JOSEPH H. ESTABROOK.
Joseph H. Estabrook is a native of New En- gland, having been born in the city of Worcester, Mass., March 22, 1822. He received his educa- tion at the city schools. In 1840, his father being a heavy contractor, Mr. Estabrook was employed as a superintendent of construction of a number of railroads, canals and other important works. In 1845, he went to Carbondale, Penn., and was ex- tensively engaged in the manufacture of confec- tionery and cigars until 1847. In this year, Mr. Estabrook moved to Sheffield, Ill., and started a hotel and livery in that place; after which he opened a hotel and stable in Fulton, Ill., remain- ing there seven years. In 1864, he came to Den- ver and opened a livery stable in this city. The next year he built a large stable which was burned down in 1872, the loss being $50,000, with no in- surance. In this fire, he lost fifty-eight horses, besides a large number of carriages. In thirty days he rebuilt the stable, and was carrying on his business as usual. In 1866, he was elected Alder- man for one term. Mr. Estabrook has, at present, one of the largest livery establishments in the city.
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AMBROSE S. EVERETT, A. M., M. D. Dr. A. S. Everett was born in Allegany County, N. Y., May 17, 1841. He received his early edu- cation at Dickinson Seminary, and afterward en- tered the University at Lewisburg, Penn. In 1861, he entered the army as a private, and was mustered ont August 1, 1864, with the rank of Major. After the war, he began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. W. Hill, of Blooming- ton, Ill., and, in 1868, entered the Homeopathic Medical College of Missouri, graduating from that institution in 1870. In 1871, he was elected Lect- urer on Osteology and Syndesmology in the St. Louis College of Homeopathie Physicians and Surgeons. In 1872, at the consolidation of this institution with the Homeopathie Medical Col- lege of Missouri, he was elected Professor of the Principles of Surgery and Diseases of the Genito- Urinary System. The following year, he was elected Professor of Surgical Anatomy in the same institution. In 1874, another change in college affairs brought to the front the old Homoeopathic Medical College of Missouri, with a new charter and a new lease of life, and, in 1875, he was called to the chair of Anatomy in that institution, which position he held up to the time of his removal to Denver. Ile is widely known in his profession as a writer, and takes a live interest in all matters pertaining to science.
CHARLES EYSER.
Mr. Eyser came to Pike's Peak in the summer of 1859, and has been engaged in a variety of business, prospecting, mining, butchering, selling groceries, keeping boarding-house, and raising stock. He was born in Holstein, Germany, Octo- ber 6, 1822, and attended school up to the age of fourteen, after which he visited many parts of the Old World. Obtaining a situation as clerk in a hardware store, he remained about five years, spending his spare time on Sundays learning the carpenter's trade. In 1847, the troubles between Holstein and Denmark breaking out, he came to America, landing in New Orleans, after a two-
months voyage, on the 4th of July. Going up the Mississippi to Davenport, Iowa, he began working at his trade. In May, 1859, he left for Colorado, or Pike's Peak, with ox teams, arriving in Denver in July. Going to the mountains, he kept a meat market and a miners' grocery store, and in 1863, returned to Denver, and kept a boarding-house from 1864 to 1869, when his place was washed away by the flood. In 1870, he pur- chased a farm and began raising stock, in which he still continues.
WILLIAM J. EVANS.
. Mr. Evans was born in Merionethshire, Wales, March 19, 1833. In 1842, he came to the United States with his parents, who settled in Wisconsin. Here he received a common-school education, and, in the spring of 1851, went to Chicago, where he learned the carpenter's trade and followed the same in that city for ten years. After this he went to Berlin, Wis., and engaged in contracting and build- ing until 1871, when he came to Denver, and began contracting and building, continuing the same to the present time. During this time, he built the Central Presbyterian Church and some of the busi- ness blocks, and many of the fine residences in this city. Many of the best buildings at Leadville were built under his management.
GEORGE EASTWOOD.
Mr. Eastwood was born at Brighouse, Yorkshire, England on the 16th of May, 1855, being the only child of John and Rhoda Eastwood, and until he was fourteen years of age, lived in Brighouse, Halifax and Cleckheaton. Leaving the latter place in 1870, he came to the United States and attended the district school at Spencer, Mass., until the fall of 1872, when he entered the Wesleyan Academy, at Wilbraham, Mass., where he spent two years in the fine art and commercial departments. In the fall of 1873, he entered a commercial college at Boston, but soon left to accept a position as assist- ant in the office of a stationery store. In the spring of 1876, he was compelled to leave Boston on
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account of failing health, and from there went to Richmond, Va., where he intended to locate, but not liking the climate, he returned to Massachu- setts, and, two weeks later, left for Denver, Colo., where he arrived on the 9th of June, 1876. Shortly afterward, he accepted a position in Taylor's Free Museum, and on July 1, 1879, purchased a half-interest in the present firm of G. L. Taylor & Co.
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