USA > Colorado > Arapahoe County > History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado > Part 59
USA > Colorado > Denver County > Denver > History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado > Part 59
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JAMES R. GROVES.
Mr. Groves was born in Bedford County, Penn., in 1847. At the age of seventeen, he served an apprenticeship of a few years in the machine-shops of the Pennsylvania Central Railroad, at Altoona, and from there went to New York State, and worked at his trade several months in the town of Nunda; thence to Galesburg, Ill., working in the machine - shops of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, and afterward to Wyandotte, Kan., in the shops of the Kansas Pacific Railroad, and then to Armstrong, where he worked three years subsequently, filling the position of " fore- man of the gang." When the track of the Kan- sas Pacific Railroad reached Denver in 1870, he came to this city, and occupied the position of foreman of the shops, remaining in the employment of the Kansas Pacific Railroad until April 1, 1877. For nearly two years after this date, he was en- gaged in the grocery business, but finally returned to his old trade as a machinist, and was appointed general foreman of the mechanical department of the Denver aud Rio Grande Railroad, which re- sponsible position he now holds. Mr. Groves has the reputation of a skillful mechanic and honorable man. He wins without effort the good will and esteem both of his superiors and subordinates, and has left behind him, wherever he has been em- ployed, such favorable impressions of his sterling character that time will not easily obliterate. Upon his taking leave of his associates of the Kansas Pacific Railroad, he was presented with an elegant testimonial of their high regard for his worth and manly qualities. Mr. Groves was married in Den- ver in the year 1872. He is identified with the
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progress of Denver both by long residence and the possession of property within her limits.
WILLIAM W. GOODRICH.
To those contemplating the erection of a build- ing, the first requisite to a satisfactory result is a well developed plan. The absence of this is apparent in the many inartistic, distorted and badly arranged dwellings and business houses that we constantly see around us. Not only are taste- fulness and convenience to be consulted, but the most important object of all, healthfulness, as affected by drainage and ventilation, must be studied and sought for. Hence the importance of employing an experienced and competent archi- teet and sanitary engineer, who will relieve his employer of all trouble and annoyance, save to him the numberless expenses incident to changes of an immature plan, and secure convenient arrange- ment, healthfulness and a pleasing and attractive whole. The unusual activity in building opera- tions in Denver the past year has attracted hither several of the most competent architects of the older States, and, among them, the gentleman whose name heads this notice. Mr. Goodrich is a native of Kingston, N. Y. He was educated in the city of New York, and is a graduate of two of the leading polytechnic institutions of the East. He has been in practice as an architect and sanitary engineer in New York for nine years, and has attained considerable eminenee as an architect of armories and public buildings, mauy such edifices having been erected in the East from his designs. To his architectural training and experience he unites a thorough medical education, the better to fit him for his profession of a sani- tary engineer. Mr. Goodrich removed in the spring of 1879 to Denver, where he has already firmly established himself in his profession.
HENRY GOODRIDGE.
Henry Goodridge, of the firm of Goodridge & Marfell, was born in Dorsetshire, England, in Sepe tember, 1832. He received a publie-school edu-
cation, after which he learned the dry-goods business, and, at the age of eighteen, went to London and clerked in a dry-goods house three years. Coming to the United States with his brother, Anthony Goodridge, he located in She- boygan, Wis., where he followed the printing busi- ness about six months. Leaving his brother there, he returned to England, believing the prospects for business were better there than in America, but after engaging in the printing business four years he again returned to the United States, and clerked for J. B. Shay, in Chicago, nine months, after which he went to Wheaton, Ill., and, in company with his brother, E. Goodridge, engaged in the mercantile business. After six months, they removed to Chicago, and continued in the dry- goods business fifteen years, under the firm name of H. & E. Goodridge. In 1871, he sold out his interest to his brother, and came to Colorado to recuperate his health, and engaged in the lumber business with James A. Jones, two years, when they sold out to Sloan & Co. He then formed a partnership with John D. Best, in the commission business, and, after one year, sold out to Mr. Best. He then formed a partnership under the firm name of Goodridge & Marfell, dealing in coal, wood, cem- ent, lime, plaster, etc. He was married, Septem- ber 2, 1858, to the daughter of Jerome Tompkins, of Fox Lake, Wis.
JOHN GIEL.
Mr. Giel, of West Denver, is an old miner and prospector, and a good brickmaker. He was born in Rhenish Bavaria in 1831, and crossed the At- lantic with his parents when he was eleven years old. The family settled in Ohio, and John was sent to a brickyard to learn the trade. He fol- lowed this oceupation for several years, when, partly to reap the benefit of his thorough knowl- edge of the business, and partly for the love of adventure, came to Colorado in 1860. Though pecuniarily successful in his contracts, he did not hesitate to sacrifice his business prospeets when his adopted country called for volunteers, enlisting in
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the Second Colorado Volunteers in 1862, and re- maining in the service to the close of the war in 1865. He returned to Colorado, after being hon- orably mustered out of the army, and from that time to 1878-a period of thirteen years-has alternately been scaling the lofty peaks and wan- dering through the pleasant valleys in search of the hidden treasures which their rocky recesses con- tain, and again emerging into civilization to resume his old trade that never failed to reward his labors. During the years 1878-79, brickmaking had be- come a thriving business in Denver, and Mr. Giel took advantage of the great demand for brick to enlarge the capacity of his yards to their fullest extent. He is now making about twenty-five thousand brick per day, employing for that pur- pose nearly thirty persons. Though Mr. Giel has suffered very heavily in stock stolen by the Indians from his ranche on Bear and Snake Rivers, and has spent many a fruitless year in the mountains, min- ing and prospecting, he is yet in very comfortable circumstances, owning valuable real estate in the city of Denver, and doing an extensive business in his brickyards. He was brought up in the Cath- olie religion ; is a member of the I. O. O. F., and, while leaning toward Democracy, is independent in his political action. With ardor undampened by many well-remembered failures, he looks for- ward to the season of melting snows to abandon the haunts of civilization and delve once more into the side of some lofty mountain.
C. GOVE.
C. Gove, senior member of the firm of C. Gove & Son, proprietors of the Denver Armory, one of the largest manufactories of arms in the city, was born in Wentworth, Grafton Co., N. H., April 19, 1817, and remained there until 1833, when he went to Boston, Mass., and served an apprentice- ship to the trade of a gunsmith during the next four years, after which he was employed in the Indian Department of the Government until 1846. In the fall of that year he went to St. Joseph, Mo., and followed his trade there until 1854. He then
removed to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and con- tinued in the pursuit of his trade until 1860. Leaving that city, he came to Denver, and was en- gaged in freighting from Council Bluffs to Denver until 1863. In June of that year, he began the gun business, and has continued the same success- fully to the present time, gradually enlarging his facilities for manufacturing, until he has built up an extensive wholesale and retail trade.
A. M. GHOST.
The senior member of the firm of A. M. Ghost & Co., real-estate dealers, is a native of Pennsylvania. Although born in that State, he has lived in the West since coming to the years of active life. He was educated at the Iowa Wesleyan University, and graduated from that institution with high hon- ors, being valedictorian of a large class. He stud- jed law at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, where he was admitted to practice. In 1868, he engaged in the practice of law in connection with the real-estate business at Lincoln, Neb. He was one of the ear- liest citizens of that newly located capital, and did much toward building up that now flourishing city. Owing to the great interest he took in edu- cational matters and in promoting the common schools of the State, he was chosen to the office of Superintendent of Schools, and faithfully discharged its duties, in addition to a large real-estate business, for four years. He was also the founder of a num- ber of the now flourishing towns in that State. Himself and another, having obtained the title, platted aud superintended the settlement of all the towns along the line of the B. &. M. Railway, be- tween Lincoln and Kearney Junction, including the last-named place-some eighteen in all-among which are the flourishing towns of York, Crete, Harvard, Hastings, and others of Southern Ne- braska. After repeated incursions of the locusts into Nebraska, "he concluded to remove from that State, and, after making a tour of New Mexico, Arizonia, California and Colorado, decided in favor of the last-named State, and settled with his fam- ily in Denver, where he engaged in the real-estate
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business in company with Col. A. C. Fisk, who has since retired from the firm to engage in other business. A. M. Ghost & Co., by fair and honor- able dealing, have built up one of the largest real- estate trades in the West. They also publish the Colorado Bulletin, a monthly paper, illustrated with cuts of Colorado scenery and achitecture, and devoted to the real-estate interests throughout the State. They have a commodious office at 405 Lawrence street, where all will receive a cordial welcome.
F. W. GROMM.
Mr. Gromm was born in Prussia, Germany, Novem- ber 10, 1849. He remained at home until 1854, when his parents removed to the United States and located in Chicago. In 1869, he began business traveling through Wisconsin, in the general mer- chandise business. Three years afterward, he re- turned to Chicago and learned the trunk manufact- uring business. In the spring of 1873, he came to Denver and began manufacturing trunks in part- nership with John J. Miller. In a short time he dissolved partnership, and continued the business in company with George A. McClelland about two years, then dissolved, and has since carried on busi- ness by himself as manufacturer and dealer in trunks and valises, at 404 Lawrence street.
E. J. GIDDINGS.
E. J. Giddings was born in Trumbull Co., Ohio, January 6, 1832. His father's family is of Welsh origin, and settled in Massachusetts. Ilis mother's family emigrated from Holland, and settled in New Jersey. . Most of his early life was spent in the New England States until 1850, when he went to Winchester, Va., and, after two years, returned again to New England, where he remained until 1855. He then came West, and located in Omaha, Neb., remaining there until the great financial crisis of 1857, when, deeming it to his advantage during the unsettled condition of the commercial interests of the country, he removed to Pittsfield, Ill., and remained there until the opening of the rebellion. Ile entered the Union
army in May, 1861, and served in the field in the Western Department until 1863. From that time until 1864, he was in the quartermaster's depart- ment. After the war, he located in Cairo, Ill., from which place he came to Colorado in the spring of 1866, and took up his residence in Central City, Gilpin County. From that time until 1871, he was extensively engaged in mining operations. In 1871, he removed to Denver, and, since that time, has followed a general insurance and real-estate business. He was married in Cairo, Ill., in April, 1866, to the daughter of William A. Whiting, of St. Louis.
W. S. GRIMES, M. D.
Dr. Grimes was born in Wheeling, Va., Aug. 26, 1835. When about seven years of age, he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, to make his home with his aunt. He received a common-school education, after which he attended Miami University, and gradu- ated from that institution in 1857. The same year, he removed to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and practiced medicine until the opening of the war, when he was appointed Assistant Surgeon of the Fourth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and, one year after, was promoted to Surgeon of the Twenty- ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, serving in that capacity until the close of the war; after which he located in Des Moines, Iowa, and practiced his profession until he removed to Denver, May 28, 1879, establishing himself as a permanent physician. He was married April 27, 1859, and has a family of three children, two sons and one daughter.
F. F. GRIFFIN.
This gentleman began the railroad business at a very early age, gradually rising from the position of a train boy, through all the grades of office, to the position of Superintendent. He was born in Allegany County, N. Y., January 17, 1845. IIe served for a number of years in the telegraph department of a railroad company, and afterward was in the employ of the Erie Company, as brake- man and freight conductor, for seven years. He
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RESIDENCE OF D . H . MOFFAT, JR. DENVER, COL.
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then spent two years, as conductor, on the Chicago & North-Western Railway; after which he came to Denver, and was passenger conductor on the Kansas Pacific Railroad until July, 1877, when he was elected General Superintendent of the Denver Pacific Railroad, which position he still occupies.
C. C. GIRD.
Mr. Gird was born in Belmont County, Ohio, September 3, 1836. In 1856, he removed to Kansas and went to work at the carpenter's trade in Leavenworth, and, in 1860, left for Colarado. He arrived in Denver on the 20th of May and remained for about two years. In 1862, he home- steaded a tract of land, on to which he moved and at the same time engaged in freighting. About five years later, he started in the stock- raising business, in which he has met with the most gratifying success. In the fall of 1869, Mr. Gird was chosen on the Republican ticket to represent Arapahoe and Douglas Counties in the Territorial Legislature, giving the utmost satisfac- tion to his constituents. In 1878, he was again elected to the Legislature from Arapahoe County. Mr. Gird is one of the most prominent and highly respected stock men of Arapahoe County, a lead- ing Granger and an advocate of all measures cal- culated to advance the agricultural and stock-grow . ing interests of the State. He has held the office of Master of Arapahoe County Grange ever since its organization. He organized School District No. 9, in Arapahoe County, in 1872, and has been President of the School Board ever since. Mr. Gird was married, November 29, 1869, to Miss Sarah A. Ramsey, and has two children.
PROF. O. J. GOLDRICK.
Few names stand out more distinctly in the his- tory of Denver and Colorado, or are more generally known among the inhabitants of the Rocky Moun- tain region, than that of O. J. Goldrick, proprietor and editor of the Rocky Mountain Herald. It is familiar to all the old-timers, and most of the new- comers, as that of a pioneer, an educator, and an
able journalist, who has devoted his efforts to the educational and emigration interests of Denver and Colorado, for the past twenty years. Professor Goldrick was born in the city of Sligo, Ireland, in 1833, was educated iu the University of Dublin, and afterward in Columbia College, New York. After engaging in school teaching for a time, and in the book-publishing business in Cincinnati, Ohio, for a few years, he came to Denver in the summer of 1859, and in the fall of the same year estab- lished the first school and the first Sunday school in the place. He was the first Superintendent of Public Schools, located the school districts, and organized the first free-school system in this city and county. He was associate editor of the Rocky Mountain News for five years. In 1865, and the following year, he edited the Salt Lake Daily Vidette, an anti-Mormon paper published in Salt Lake City. In 1867, he was editor of the Central City Daily Times, and in 1868, resumed the publication of the Rocky Mountain Herald, which had been founded May 1, 1860, and has conducted the same successfully to the present time. He has several times traveled over all the Rocky Mountain Territories from Montana to the Mexican boundary, in the interest of his Herald, and is, therefore, very generally acquainted with men and things throughout the New West. He was the Democratic nominee for State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1878, and ran far ahead of his ticket throughout the State. Professor Gold- rick is a forcible, trenchant writer, is fearless and outspoken in manner, has little regard for the con- ventionalities of society, and heartily detests sham and hypocrisy in all its forms.
AARON GOVE.
The public schools of Denver are justly the pride of her citizens, rivaling those of any other city in the country of the same population, East or West. Their efficiency is due to the labors of the Superintendent, assisted by an able and devoted corps of Principals and teachers, and supported by an efficient Board of Education. Aaron Gove, the
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Superintendent, has had charge of the city schools since 1874. He was born in Hampton Falls, N. H., September 26, 1839. When he was eight years old, he was taken by his parents to Boston, where he passed through the several grades of the public schools. In 1855, his father removed to Illinois and settled in La Salle County, where, for ten years, he was the village blacksmith. Mr. Gove began teaching school at the age of fifteen, and in the in- terims between the sessions of his schools, completed the course at the Illinois State Normal School. In the summer of 1861, he entered the vohinteer serv- iee of the United States Army, remaining three years, part of the time as Adjutant of the Thirty- third Illinois Infantry. Soon after leaving the serv- ice, he returned to his profession and took charge of the schools at his old home at New Rutland, Ill. In 1868, he accepted an invitation to superintend the public schools of Normal, Ill. Here he re- mained five years teaching, and owning and editing the Illinois Schoolmaster, a State educational jour- nal of high standing. In 1874, he was called to the superintendency of the Denver schools, which position he accepted, and which he now occupies. He has devoted his life to the work of the school- room. Entering at the age of three years, he has, with the exception of his three years' army service, been in the schoolroom every school-day for thirty- six years. He is a careful and successful manager, a devoted worker in the cause of public education, and in recognition of his superior ability and high standing among the educators of the country, Dartmouth College, in 1878, conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts.
ROBERT GIVEN.
Prominent among the younger attorneys is Rob- ert Given, a brief sketch of whom is appended. Born in Corrina, Me., February 18, 1847, he is descended from an old and influential family. On a crum- bling headstone in the old cemetery, at Pemaquid, Me., one of the earliest settlements in the United States, is to be found carved the name of Capt. Robert Given, from which we infer that his ances-
tors were seafaring men, who immigrated to this country from England in the early part of the seven- teenth century. Mr. Given received a common- school and academic education. In 1862, when but fifteen years old, he entered the Union army as a member of the Third Maine Battery, First Reg- iment of Light Artillery, and served honorably for three years and a half. He participated in the ar- dnous service of the Army of the Potomac, taking part in the storming of Fredericksburg, the cam- paign in the Shenandoah Valley, the second battle of Bull Run, the sieges of Petersburg and Rich- mond, and other important engagements. He was severely wounded in the trenches before Peters- burg, by the fragment of a bursting shell. Re- turning at the close of the war, he began prepar- ing for college, at the Nichols Latin School, Lew- iston, Me., supplying the necessary means by teach- ing country schools during vacations. Entering Bates College, in the same city, he graduated with honor, and at once began the study of law in the office of the Hon. Nathan Morrill, a distinguished lawyer of Maine. After spending two years in his office, he was compelled by failing health to seek a drier climate, and came to Denver, entering the law office of Symes & Decker. He was admitted to the Colorado bar in 1875, but accepted a posi- tion in the Denver High School for a year, where he maintained a high reputation as a teacher. He next filled an interim as Professor of Greek and Latin in the Colorado State University, at Boulder, and, at the beginning of 1879, began the prac- tice of law in Denver, With the advantage of years of thorough preparation, and with habits of the closest application, and most diligent study, it requires no foreknowledge to predict for him the most permanent success. He is not one of those lawyers so graphically described in Butler's "Hu- dibras :"
" With books and money placed for show, Like nest-eggs to make client's lay, And for their false opinions pay,"
but is a hard-working, diligent student of the law, and is probably better versed in its principles, and
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1
application, than many who have been engaged for years in its practice.
CHARLES L. GARDNER.
Mr. Gardner was born in Quincy, Ill., and at an early age served an apprenticeship to learn the molder's trade in a plow manufactory. He con- tinued in that vocation until 1872, when he came to Denver to join his brother, J. A. Gardner, who had previously established himself in the business of manufacturing fire-brick and pottery, the latter being the first such enterprise established in the city. This business was carried on successfully for several years, during which time he continued in his brother's employ. In 1878, he became a partner in the business, soon after which his broth- er's health failing imposed on him the manage- ment of the affairs of the firm, which he conducted with success until his brother's death, March 16, 1879, after which he assumed entire control of the business.
LOUIS A. GIDDINGS.
This enterprising young business man was born August 6, 1850, in Romeo, Mich. After receiving a good academic education, he embarked in the dry- goods business in his native town in 1868, remain- ing in the same until the fall of 1872. In the autumn of the following year, he came to Denver, and after clerking one year formed a partnership with Charles A. Brooks, the name of the firm being Brooks, Giddings & Co. In this enterprise he has been successful, the business having increased from year to year, until they have, to-day, one of the largest dry-goods establishments in Denver.
HON. NATHANIEL P. HILL.
Nathaniel P. Hill is descended from an old and highly respected family of New York, and was born in Orange County, in that State, in 1832. His father, of the same name, was an extensive farmer, owning a large farm a few miles from the banks of the Hudson River. He was a man who pos- sessed in an eminent degree the respect of his fel- low-citizens, who manifested their confidence by
sending him as their representative in the General Assembly of the State. He also held the office of County Judge for a number of years. He was a Democrat of the old school of Jefferson and Jack- son, and besides being a thorough gentleman, was possessed of those principles of un wavering integrity which have also marked the business career of his son. At the age of sixteen years, young Hill was left in charge of the paternal estate, and in that way acquired an experience in the management of affairs and the control of men, which has been of great value in his subsequent life. He found time during the winter seasons to prepare for college, and, at the age of twenty-one, became a student in Brown University, at Providence, R. I. Although an apt student in all the branches of study in the college curriculum, the science of chemistry was his especial delight, and much of his time was spent in conducting experiments in the chemical laboratory. He acquired such proficiency in this science, that, in 1856, he was made a tutor in the chemical department of the university, and, in 1860, was elected by the Board of Trustees Professor of Chemistry, and continued to occupy that chair with credit until 1864. At that time, so great a reputation had he acquired as a scientist and a thoroughly reliable gentlemen, that a few wealthy men in Providence and Boston were induced to place at his disposal a sufficient amount of capital for the thorough examination of the Gilpin land grant in Colorado. This visit to the Territory led to a second visit the following year, at which time he made a most complete and exhaustive examination of the mines of Gilpin County. It was during these visits that his atten- tion was drawn to the imperfect methods of treat- ing the ores of that region, and he devoted much study to the subject, with a view to engaging in his present business. The better to acquaint him- self with his subject, he visited the extensive reduction works at Swansea, in Wales, having first resigned his professorship in Brown University. He spent the winter of 1865-66 in studying ore- reduction in Europe, and, in the summer of 1866,
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