History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado, Part 63

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 63
USA > Colorado > Denver County > Denver > History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado > Part 63

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).

the same until January, 1879, he sold it to the Leadville Mining Company, for $175,000. He is at the present time interested in three mines at Leadville, and four or five in the Gunnison country. In February, 1879, he bought an interest in the Colorado Iron Works, and was elected President of that company. He owns an interest in the First National Bank of Leadville, and is one of the Directors and Vice President of the same. Mr. Halloek, during his residence in Park County, was County Commissioner for three years.

GEORGE HAMBURGER.

George Hamburger was born in Hesse-Darm- stadt, Germany, April 29, 1849. He received a good common-school education, and in 1864 became an apprentiee in the harness and saddlery business. He served three years, and after the expiration of his apprenticeship continued to work at the trade. In 1869, according to the custom and law, he en- tered the army, serving one year, when, on account of physical disability, he was discharged. He then returned to his ordinary occupation, working at his trade uutil the fall of 1871. He then came to the United States, locating in St. Louis, where he re- mained eighteen months. Mr. Hamburger arrived in Denver in the summer of 1872. He opened a small store, and industriously commenced his old trade in his new home. Mr. Hamburger, by hard work and strict attentiou to business, has won a good reputation and a prosperous business, having ten workmen in his employ, and carrying a large stock of whips, saddles, harness, ete. He was mar- ried to Miss Lizzie Madlung, of Denver, in April, 1875.

THEODORE W. HERR.

Mr. Herr is a grandson of Rev. John Herr, the founder of the Reformed Mennonite Church, and son of Benjamin G. Herr, for several years a mem- ber of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, and au- thor of a number of volumes of valuable poetical works. He was born at Strasburg, Lancaster Co., Penn., December 7, 1833, and was married June 15, 1859, to Annie Musser, a daughter of Dr.

475

BIOGRAPHICAL.

Martin Mnsser, of the same county. His wife died September 24, 1871, and he was again married January 1, 1873, to Emma M. Neff, a sister of his former wife. In his early years, Mr. Herr was a prominent teacher in the public schools of his native county. At the opening of the war in 1861, he was appointed Deputy Provost Mar- shal, and served in that capacity during the war. He studied law with Hon. John B. Livingstone (now presiding Judge of Lancaster County, Penn.), and was admitted to the bar June 25, 1870. He had charge of the county treasury of that county, and was acting Clerk of the Criminal Courts for a number of years. Subsequently, he carried on one of the largest real-estate and collec- tion agencies in the East. In 1873, he came to Colorado, and settled with his family in the city of Denver. After being admitted to practice law in all the courts of the State, he became a member of the firm of Clough, Bama & Pace, real-estate agents, afterward Herr, Bama & Pace. In 1874, he became one of the owners and manager of the celebrated Pocahontas mine, at Rosita, Colo. In 1878, he formed a partnership with J. H. Nichols, in the real-estate, law and mining business, and has since continued the same, establishing a large and successful business. He is a man of liberal edu- cation and a thorough mathematician, devoting a large portion of his time to civil and mining en- gineering.

C. C. HAUCK.

Mr. Hauck, of the firm of Kuner & Hauck, is a native of Franklin County, Penn., and emigrated to this State in 1865, settling in this city, where he served an apprenticeship at his trade, and began his business career by renting the window in his present location. By constant and unremitting attention, he succeeded in securing a good trade. A few years later, he sold to Mr. Kuner and went to the Black Hills. Returning in 1876, the present copartnership was formed, and the firm enjoys a lucrative trade. Mr. Hauck is foreman of Hook and Ladder No. 1, and is one of the live business men of this city.

JOHN W. ILIFF:

A history of Denver and Colorado, containing biographies of the pioneers and prominent men, would be incomplete without a sketch of the life of John W. Iliff. Endowed by nature with the mind, power and perseverance necessary to suc- cess in any great avocation, he selected an honest life of business, in which he met with the most abundant success, and left behind him an example of what can be accomplished by honest, persever- ing industry. By his great executive power and force of character, he won a position which justly entitled him to the distinction of " Cattle King of the Plains."

John W. Iliff was born December 18, 1831, and was a son of Thomas Iliff, a well-to-do farmer near Zanesville, Ohio. The precepts of honest, Christian parents undoubtedly did much toward fitting their son for future usefulness. He com- pleted his education in Delaware College, after which his father, anxious to have him remain near home, offered to invest $7,500 in a farm for him if he would remain upon it. But young Iliff, filled with ambition, and stimulated hy the accounts of Western enterprise and Western fortunes, declined this offer, saying : "No! give me the $500 and let me go West." Going to Kansas, he remained three years, engaging in such enterprises as his limited means would allow. In 1859, the glowing accounts of the discovery of gold at Pike's Peak were heralded throughout the country, and Mr. Iliff was among the first to cross the Plains to try his fortune in the new El Dorado. Realizing the fact that the vast army of gold-seekers must be fed, he invested all his means in a stock of groceries and provisions for which he found an excellent market upon his arrival in Colorado. He engaged for a short time in business in Den- ver, but in less than a year and a half he invested all he had in a small herd of cattle. This was the foundation of his fortune and the beginning of the great enterprise of his life. From this time on, his course was one of steady and rapid progress. He made the cattle business a study, giving to it

476

BIOGRAPHICAL.

his almost entire attention and his best efforts. He mastered its every detail, gaining experience as the business developed, and becoming familiar with all its workings. The influence of his life upon the pastoral interests of Colorado and the West cannot be overestimated. At the time of his death, he owned perhaps the best cattle ranche in the world, containing 20,000 acres of pasturage, and some of the finest springs and grazing valleys of the West. Here he collected and prepared his cattle for the markets of Chicago, Philadelphia and New York, and for filling his numerous and extensive Government contracts. His vast herds, roaming over the Great Plains from the grazing slopes of Montana to the prairies of Texas, num- bered fully 50,000 head, of which he marketed an average of about 13,000 head per year. With the exception of about a year in the banking busi- ness with Hon. Amos Steck, in Wyoming, he engaged in no enterprises outside of the cattle business, but as his means increased he increased his herds. Mr. Iliff was twice married. The first time in January, 1864, to Miss Sarah E. Smith, a refined and cultivated lady of Delaware, Ohio. She died in December, 1865, leaving a young son. In March, 1870, Mr. Iliff married Miss Elizabeth S. Fraser, of Chicago, Ill. She is of Canadian birth, her father, William H. Fraser, having been an officer in the British Regular Army. Mr. Iliff died February 9, 1878, leaving a wife and four children to mourn his early death. He was temper- ate, honest and just, and his business career was marked by a concientiousness of purpose which rendered him a desirable neighbor and a most use- ful citizen.

HON. DAVID A. IRWIN.

Capt. Irwin has a political and military career reflecting great honor upon himself. He was born in Union County, Penn., and educated at La Fa- yette and Amherst Colleges. In October, 1861, he enlisted in the Twelfth Pennsylvania Cavalry, and served until July, 1865, when he was mustered out as Captain of Company E. He participated in the battles of Bull Run, South Mountain, Antie-

tam, Winchester and Fisher's Hill, besides many other less important engagements. During a large part of the time, he was in the campaign of the now historic valley of the Shenandoah. At the close of the war, he returned to his native county, and was elected to the Legislature on the Republican ticket, serving one term, being at the time only twenty-five years of age. The following spring, he received the appointment of Second Lieu- tenant of the Fourth Regular Cavalry, remaining in the service until April, 1879, when, owing to ill health contracted in the line of duty, he was placed on the retired list, with the rank of Cap- tain. He came to Denver in Juue of the same year and on the 1st of December engaged in the real- estate business, as a member of the firm of Darrow & Co. The firm is one of the most enterprising in the city, and Capt. Irwin is one of our most genial and useful citizens.

FRANK W. INGERSOLL.

Frank W. Ingersoll, senior member of the law firm of Ingersoll & Crater, was born in Switzerland County, Ind., April 29, 1852. His education in this country was received at Notre Dame University, near South Bend, Ind. After leaving this institu- tion, he traveled extensively in Europe, spending one year in the Law Department of Heidelberg Uni- versity, in Germany, and one year in the University at Leipsic, going from there to the University of Gratz, in Austria. After a short illness in the hospital at Milan, Italy, he went to Paris to study belles lettres and science, at Sarbonne, the well- known infidel college of France. A trip through Holland and Belgium completed his tour of the continent, and he went to England and Scotland. Returning home, he attended the Law Department of the Michigan State University, at Ann Arbor, two years, graduating in March, 1876. The fol- lowing summer, he visited the mining fields of Colorado and the Black Hills, and afterward went to New Mexico with a patent gold-washing ma- chine. This proving a failure, he returned to Denver, where he began the practice of law. Mr.

ИВЛЯ

479

BIOGRAPHICAL.

Ingersoll is an educated, refined gentleman, and the success he has met with in the practice of his profession is the best evidence of his worth.

A. L. ISH.

Mr. Ish was born in Saline County, Mo., in 1834. His father was one of the pioneers of that State, having emigrated there in the early part of the present eentury. He followed farming in his native State until 1862, when he joined the stream of emigration then pouring into Colorado, and was so well pleased with the future prospeets of the then Territory, that he determined to make it his future home. After staying here a short time, he went to Montana Territory, where he remained about sixteen months, and then returned to Den-

ver. Purchasing a small farm a few miles north of the city, he built him a substantial house, and has otherwise improved the grounds with shade and ornamental trees, a fine fish-pond, small fruit trees and Kentucky blue grass, until he has one of the finest farms in the county. Mr. Ish was married in Missouri, in 1854, to Miss Sarah Embree, to which union eight ehildren have been born, all of whom are living.

LUTHER JUDSON INGERSOLL, M. D.

The subject of this sketeh was born in Plain- field, Ill., June 26, 1838. He attended school very little until the age of eighteen, when he deter- mined to seeure an education. He began, in 1860, by teaching sehool six months, and then, with limited means, left home for Galeshurg, Ill., where he entered college, and by working Saturdays and at odd times, he earned sufficient for ineidental expenses. Just as he was entering the senior year, his health failed, and his studies were interrupted for a term of years. Although he did not gradu- ate, he was regarded during his student life as the hest orator in the college. He was a good-natured, hard-working student. At the end of the fresh- man year, he was one of six competitors ehosen by the students, for the annual college prize. His subjeet was " The Elements of our National Sue-

eess." He took the first prize. He completed his medieal studies in 1872, receiving the degree of M. D. from the Homeopathie Medical College of Missouri, after which he located in Carrollton, Mo., where he was known as a Christian gentle- man and industrious physician, and soon seeured a lucrative practice. He also enlisted in the tem- perance work, in which he did good service. He prepared two leetures-one upon "Woman and Home," the other upon " Woman's Work, or who makes the Citizen," which were highly spoken of by the press and people wherever delivered. In April, 1879, Dr. Ingersoll settled in Denver, where, by de- votion to his profession, he is earning a good repu- tation as a skillful physician. Following the pre- cepts of his ancestors, he is in politics a Republican, in religion, a Baptist. He was married, September 15, 1870, to Mary A., daughter of H. R. Broekett, of Peoria, III.

HON. BENJAMIN F. JOHNSON.

The subject of this sketeh was born in Berk- shire County, Mass., in 1814. His ancestors on both sides were of New England birth. In 1835, he married the eldest daughter of Daniel W. and Mary P. Donnan of the same county. Her par- ents and grandparents were also of pure New England blood. Mr. Johnson was edneated in the publie schools of his native county, and brought up to farm work, in which he continued several years, part of the time giving his exelusive atten- tion to it, and part of the time in connection with other matters. He began the business of insurance over thirty years ago. In 1851, with the assist- ance of ex-Gov. George N. Briggs and other lead- ing men in that region, he organized the Berkshire Life Insurance Company of Pittsfield, Mass., of which Gov. Briggs was elected President, and Mr. Johnson, Secretary and Treasurer. Some three years thereafter, his health began to fail, and dur- ing the next two years it was suggested from time to time by his family, his physicians and the Directors of his company, that he should have a year's rest either in a Southern or Western climate.

480

BIOGRAPHICAL.

In March, 1856, with his wife and two sons, he came to Illinois and spent the summer and fall in Evanston, on the shore of Lake Michigan, and the winter in the city of Chicago. During the year, he aided in the management of his company as best he could by correspondence and visiting the office several times. Under the influence of the climate, and rest from constant labor, his health improved ; still it was not thought advisable for him to return to a work of so great responsibility and hardship at that time. Therefore, at the end of one year, he returned to the office in Pittsfield, and resigned the position, the duties of which had once broken him down, and took leave of his early associations and the company for which he had labored so hard in order to place it upon a solid foundation, and which, to-day, a quarter of a cen- tury later, ranks in relation of assets to liabilities equal to the soundest institutions of the kind in the United States. Some two years thereafter, he had so far recovered his health that he became connected, as a partner, with Dr. L. D. Boone, ex- Mayor of Chicago, in the business of insurance and loaning money. About the year 1861, Mr. Johnson was elected Director and Vice President of a New York life insurance company, with an independent office in Chicago for the transaction of its business in the Northwest. During his con- nection with this institution, he was elected Presi- dent of an Illinois life insurance company, which embraced in its directorship and list of stockholders many of the leading men of several of the Western States. This position he held until he decided to follow his two children (Mr. Egbert Johnson, of Denver, and Mr. Albert Johnson, of Georgetown), to Colorado. Soon after this decision, in connec- tion with several other gentlemen, he purchased a tract of land on the Denver Pacific Railroad, where Platteville now is, and where his family residence is still situated. Before leaving Chicago, however, the subject of organizing a life insurance company for the Rocky Mountain region, with headquarters in Denver, was under advisement. Soon after his removal with his family to Colorado,

about five years ago, it was decided to perfect the organization, and with the aid of Gen. John Pierce, Capt. W. H. Pierce, Henry Crow, John L. Dailey, and other business men of Colorado, the Rocky Mountain Insurance and Savings Institu- tion was organized, and began operations late in 1875, with Mr. Johnson as President, which posi- tion he still holds. For nearly thirty years, Mr. J. has not only been an officer in the business of life insurance, but most of the time has had, and still has, additional burdens incident to being Presi- dent and Treasurer of other corporations. Dur- ing the time of his poor health, and the hardships of an active business life of over forty years, Mr. Johnson desires to have it stated here that but for the encouragement he has constantly received from his devoted wife and children, he would not now be able to give his time to business as he does with the same devotion that is expected of much younger men. In politics, Mr. J. was born and raised a Democrat. In 1854, having spent some time in Washington during the Congressional de- bates upon the subject of the abrogation of the Missouri Compromise, he decided to leave the party ; and later, when the Republican party came into being, himself and sons became connected therewith, and to its principles they still adhere.

E. P. JACOBSON.

Mr. Jacobson is one of the leading members of the bar in this city, and especially have his ad- mirable qualifications for the profession, his legal knowledge and ability secured for him the esteem and confidence not only of the members of the bar, but of his fellow-citizens as well. He was born on the 3d of May, 1841, and received his academical education at a Gymnasium in Prussia, a system of colleges officered and conducted under the auspices of the Government. At the break- ing out of the civil war in 1861, he entered the Union army as a private, was promoted to a cap- taincy and served three years. At the close of his military service in 1863, he was awarded a medal of honor by Congress for meritorious con-

481

BIOGRAPHICAL.

duct at the battle of Chancellorsville. Mr. Seward, then Secretary of State at Washington, engaged him as chief of one of the diplomatic bureaus, in which capacity he remained until 1867, during which time he prepared himself for admission to the bar, and was admitted in the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia in 1867. From that time to the present, he has continued in the unin- terrupted practice of his profession. In the fall of 1869, he went to Mississippi, and the following spring was appointed United States District At- torney for the Southern District of that State. He remained in that position until the fall of 1872, when failing health compelled him to remove to Denver, where he has since resided and practiced his profession.

JOHN G. JENKINS.

Mr. Jenkins is of Welsh parentage. He was born in South Wales June 24, 1844. He attended the national schools until about fifteen years of age, when he learned the trade of a shoemaker. He was married at the age of twenty, and carried on the boot and shoe business in his own name two years before coming to the United States. In 1869, he crossed the ocean and located in Trum- bull County, Ohio, and worked at his trade one year. Returning to Wales, he brought his family to the United States the following year, and came immediately across the country to Colorado, set- tling in Cañon City, where he formed a partner- ship with Robert Roesner in the boot and shoe business, but after six months sold out and returned to Church Hill, Trumbull Co., Ohio. He contin- ued in the same business there two years; then came to Denver in May, 1874, and worked at his trade in the employ of Charles Johnson, until September, 1877, when he began business for himself, manufacturing boots and shoes, in which he still continues.

J. JAY JOSLIN.

Few men have devoted a lifetime to the mercan- tile business and made fewer mistakes than Mr. Joslin. From his own choice, he adopted this

vocation. refusing liberal offers from his father to follow his footsteps and become a farmer. By strict and careful business management, and by industry, good habits and strict integrity, he has made of his life a success. He is the son of Hon. Joseph Joslin, of Vermont; was born May 11, 1829, in Poultney, Vt. After attending the public schools and an academy for some time, he entered upon a clerkship in a neighboring town for about two years, and for about one year in his native town. In April, 1851, he married Miss Mary E. Andus, of Poultney. His father then offered him the homestead, if he would remain upon it. This he decided to do, but, after farm- ing one year, he respectfully declined his father's generous offer, removed to Poultney and embarked in the mercantile business. In less than one year, his father was well pleased with the change. His business increased until 1864, when he built the largest and finest storeroom in the State, which he still owns. He continued in business there until 1873, when he sold his stock of goods and came to Denver; and, on the 1st of April of the same year, he bought what was then known as the New York Store, at the corner of Fifteenth and Larimer streets, remaining there until 1879. He then removed to Lawrence street, where he now has one of the finest retail dry-goods establish- ments in the State. The following are some of the evidences of his success as a careful business man: He has always paid 100 cents on the dollar ; has never allowed his paper to be pro- tested; has never given a mortgage; has never been sued, and has never had a partner. He is enterprising, generous and public-spirited, an hon- est man and a good citizen.

JAMES JOHNSON.

James Johnson was born in Scotland in 1855, and came to the United States with his parents when quite young. He attended public school in Cincinnati, Ohio, and at the age of seventeen com- meneed an apprenticeship at the plumbing trade. His mother and the family moved to Denver in

482

BIOGRAPHICAL.

1870, and from that date to the present time he has worked steadily and industriously at his trade, mas- tering every branch, and accumulating capital with which to establish himself in business. In 1878, he associated himself with W. S. Fowler, under the firm name of James Johnson & Co., at 299 Fifteenth street, Denver, as plumbers, gas and steam fitters, and attending to repair work of all kinds. This firm employ about ten workmen, and may be considered as one of the leading honses in the city. Mr. Johnson is unmarried ; affiliates with the Democratic party in national issnes; be- longs to the " Woodie Fisher Hose Company," of Denver, and is a member of the Knightsof Pythias, and has held the office of M. A. A. in the Order. In his brief career he has developed all those qual- ities that render a man a useful member of society.

JAMES H. JONES.

Among those who have become familiar to the citizens of Denver, through long-continued service in one position, none are more worthy of especial mention than J. H. Jones, the agent of the Kan- sas Pacifie Express Company, who, for twenty- seven years, has been prominently identified with the carrying business of the West, and, for thirteen years, has occupied his present position in Denver. Mr. Jones is by birth a Virginian, and, in 1849, emigrated to Missouri and embarked in mercantile pursuits. In 1853, he began freighting on the Plains and in the mountains between the Missonri River and Salt Lake City, with headquarters in the latter place. Ile removed to Colorado early in 1867, as the agent of Wells, Fargo & Co.'s Ex- press and Stage Lines, then running from Fort Kearney to the eastern terminus of the Central Pacific Railroad, and covering about three thou- sand miles of stage line. On the completion of the Union Pacific Railroad to Cheyenne the line was sold to John Hughes & Co., who retained Mr. Jones as their agent. After the Kansas Pacifie Railroad was completed to Denver, the stages were withdrawn, and the express business reverted to Wells, Fargo & Co., and was subsequently trans-

ferred to the Union Pacific and the Kansas Pacific Express Companies, with Mr. Jones as the agent for both, which position he still retains. He was also for a time the General Agent of the Kansas Pacific Railway. Under his management the ex- press business has grown from a very insignificant beginning to its present magnitude. He has wit- nessed the growth of the city from a population of 4,000 inhabitants to more than 30,000, has re- tained his present position through all its vicissitudes and changes of administration, and during these years has devoted himself quietly to the faithful discharge of its duties. It may be said of him, that while he carefully guards the interests of his company, he is at the same time just to the public, by whom he is held in nniversal esteem. Although maintaining a quiet dignity, he is genial and affa- ble, and no person ever went to him on any busi- ness, however unimportant, and failed to meet a conr- teous reception, and the consideration due from one gentleman to another-his example and influence in this regard being reflected in the conduct of all his employes. He is a thorough business man, of sound views, and his judgment in all matters affect- ing questions of transportation in the west is held in business cireles as of the greatest valne. Although he has been repeatedly solicited to be- come a candidate for the positions of Alderman, Mayor, Representative to the Legislature, and State Senator, he has uniformly declined, having no taste nor inelination in that direction.

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 63

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