History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado, Part 78

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 78
USA > Colorado > Denver County > Denver > History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado > Part 78

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Mr. Sanderson is of Scotch descent. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, March 22, 1835. He remained there until twenty years of age, when he came to America and located at Peoria, Ill. Soon afterward he became book-keeper, paymaster and contractor of the Peoria & Oquawka Railroad Company. He remained with that Company until 1862, when he entered the Army as Adjutant of the Eleventh Illinois Cavalry, and served during the war. After the war, he returned to Peoria, Ill., but did not engage in any business until 1871, when he removed to Denver, Colo., and became book-keeper in the wholesale and retail house of Birks Cornforth. He remained with that firm six and a half years, when he became a partner in the Denver Spice Mills, under the firm name of L. Alkire & Co., and since that time the firm, through their business integrity, and the superior goods manufactured, have succeeded in building up a trade creditable to themselves and to the in- dustry of the city.

RT. REV. JOHN FRANKLIN SPALDING, D. D.

The Missionary Bishop of Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico was unanimously elected Bishop of this diocese, October 24, 1873, as successor to Bishop Randall (deceased), by the House of Bishops, assembled in New York City. He ar- rived in Denver February 27, 1874, and entered at once upon the duties of his office, having been kindly received by the church people, who did all in their power to give him a hospitable welcome. Since his consecration, Bishop Spalding has been assiduously and actively engaged in the duties of his enormous diocese. Such is the vast extent of his jurisdiction and the inadequate means of tran- sit, that fully one-half of his time is spent in traveling-not in luxurious Pullman cars, but over mountain tracks, on horseback and by stage, ac-

cepting any accommodation which wayside hos- pitality can offer. Everywhere is his presence hailed; wherever he goes the cause of the Church gains a stimulus. In the few years of his episco- pate, the number of communicants have doubled, so has the working staff of his clergy. In his arduous and efficient labor, he has consecrated fif- teen new churches and chapels ; seven parsonages have been built in as many different parishes ; twenty-seven parishes have been organized, besides forty places where services are held. A theologi- cal college is being established in Denver, which it is hoped will supply the much needed men to occupy many centers where churches are needed. The Bishop is daily endeavoring to draw funds from the East, and even receives donations from England to carry on his work. He has been greatly encouraged in the marked success of his Cathedral schools, which are prosperous beyond his expectations, and give evidence under their present efficient management, of a future develop- ment which will be at least cqual to the increase of the city. In all his hard and anxious work he has, in Mrs. Spalding, a wife " meet for him," and, hand in hand, they walk the same path which has been trodden by some of the chief men of the Church, men who have, by great self sacrifice, given themselves, body and soul, to the propagating of that faith which alone can lift men above the sordid life of this earth and make them live, not unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them and rose again, that all who take His name might go about doing good and finally enter that home where those who spend and are spent for his serv- ice, will be enriched with the true riches forever. When Bishop Spalding entered upon the duties of his office he found the church schools, since their leader had fallen, were becoming embarrassed and in imminent danger of great loss ; but, taking up the work, he has carried forward the plans of his predecessor, and has been rewarded by the success and improvement of the work in all directions, and the encouraging prospects for the future. In the fall of 1874, Bishop Spalding succeeded, in the

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House of Bishops, in having New Mexico detached from Colorado, and made, with Arizona, a special mis- sionary jurisdiction. But one Bishop had been elected and consecrated for the same, and he, having resigned, and another, subsequently elected, having declined, the provisional charge of New Mexico and Arizona was urged so strongly upon Bishop Spalding by the Presiding Bishops and the Board of Missions, that he consented, in the fall of 1878, to assume the episcopal oversight of that immense district, so that what was said of Bishop Talbot, when Missionary Bishop of the Northwest is true of him, viz., "That he is the Bishop of all out- doors." The Bishop's early life was spent in the New England States, fitting himself for his life- work. He was born at Belgrade, Me., August 25, 1828, and is the eldest son of John and Lydia Spalding. Having fitted himself for college at Camden, Kent's Hill (Maine) Wesleyan Seminary, and North Yarmouth Academy, he entered Bow- doin College, Maine, in 1849. After graduating with high honors, in 1853, he taught school as Principal of East Pittston Academy, Maine, one term. He was Preceptor of Dennysville Academy the winter and spring terms of 1854, and in October entered the General Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church, New York City, and graduated from that institution June 24, 1857. On July 8, he was ordained deacon in St. Stephen's Church, Portland, Me., and August 1 appointed missionary at St. James' Church, Old- town, Me .; July 14, 1858, ordained priest by Bishop Burgess, in Christ Church, Gardiner, Me .; August 1, 1859, became Rector of St. George's Church, Lee, Mass .; November 1, 1860, became assistant Minister of Grace Church, Providence, R. I .; November 1, 1861, dissolved his connection with Grace Church, and April 1, 1862, became Rector of Saint Paul's Church, Erie, Penn. In 1865, he commenced the erection of a new church edifice, built of stone, in the early English style of archi- tecture, with sittings for 800 persons, costing $65,000; October 16, was elected by the General Convention a member of the Board of Missions

of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, for Western Pennsylvania, and re-elected subsequently every third year for the diocese of Pittsburgh ; organized St. John's Church, Erie, of which he was Dean, in 1866; built St. John's Church in 1867, at a cost of $5,000. In 1868, he was a member of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, which met in New York. In 1869, he organized the Church of the Cross and Crown, Erie, and built a church seating 300 per- sons. In October, 1871, he was a member of the General Convention, which met in Baltimore, and in 1872, built Trinity Chapel, Erie, Penn. Here- ceived the degrees of A. B. and A. M., at Bow. doin College, Maine, and that of D. D. from Trinity College, Hartford, Conn. He was married June 6, 1864, at Erie, Penn., by the Rt. Rev. Alonzo Potter, Bishop of Pennsylvania, to Lavinia Spen- cer, daughter of Judah C. Spencer, and has a family of five children-three sons and two daughters.

SUMNER STOWE.

The hale and vigorous proprietor of the Will- iams House, in West Denver, is Sumner Stowe, ap- proaching in years the Scriptural limit of three score years and ten, without any visible sign of physical or mental decay. He was born in Wor- cester County, Mass., in the year 1816. Having received the usual advantages which that model State, through her public schools, has afforded to all her children, he became an apprentice at the shoemaker's trade for a year, and then sought em- ployment as a journeyman, working at his native town until his removal to Indiana, in 1840. After several years' experience in the grocery business at Pleasant Hill, in that State, he settled in the town of Utica, on the Wabash, opening a boot and shoc store, which he conducted very successfully during a long residence in that place. In 1861, he was agent of the Toledo & Wabash Railroad, at West Lebanon, Ind., dealing in grain quite heavily while holding this position, but, owing to some disastrous operations, he was compelled, in order to provide a better maintenance for his fam-

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ily, to relinquish his position as agent of the com- pany and resume his old trade. Returning to Utica, he started a little business, but in a short time removed to Frankfort, and established him- self in business there for several years. In the mean time, his youngest son, who was in delicate health, had come to Colorado, accompanied by his mother, to try the effects of this climate in restor- ing failing strength. The change seemed at first very beneficial, and, in the hope that a permanent residence here would finally effect a complete cure, Mr. Stowe disposed of his business in Indiana and came to Denver in December, 1874. Since be- coming a resident of Colorado, he has lived and done business in various portions of the State, at Mount Vernon and Morrison, being connected with J. W. Bailey, in the stone business, at the latter place. Mr. Stowe was proprietor of the Gilpin House, in Denver, during part of 1875-76, and, in December, 1876, took charge of the Williams House, in West Denver, which he still controls. The Williams House is an old and respectable hotel, a pleasant place for a traveler, and capable of accommodating quite a number of patrons. In the management of the house, Mr. Stowe is assisted by his oldest and sole surviving son, who is well adapted to the position by reason of a good commercial education and previous connection with several large business establishments in Chi- cago. Mr. Stowe was married to Miss Catharine Arheart, of Pleasant Hill, Ind., in 1841, by whom he has had three children-two sons and a daugh- ter. Their youngest son, whom his parents had destined for a bright career, yielded slowly bnt surely, to the insidious inroads of consumption, until finally his young existence was terminated in the "sleep that knows no waking," and the cher- ished hopes of his parents were wrecked and swept away forever. Mr. Stowe was at one time Post- master in the town of Pleasant Hill, Ind., during the administration of President Polk. In politics he is now a Republican. His family profess Pres- byterianism, and are worshipers in Seventeenth Street Presbyterian Church of Denver. His life

has been a long and busy one, marked by many reverses, and tinged by the shadow of domestic bereavements, but the sunshine of prosperity, piercing the somber clouds that hung over his manhood's prime, has brightened and gladdened his declining years.

REV. M. F. SORENSEN.

Rev. M. F. Sorensen, Rector of St. Paul's Church, Littleton, is a native of Denmark, and a graduate of the University of Copenhagen. In the year 1844, he came to New York City, and in 1846, went to Nashotah Theological Seminary, in the then Territory of Wisconsin. Having com- pleted his theological course, he was ordained to the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal Church, by Bishop Kemper, in 1848. The first three years of his ministry were spent in Waukesha and Dodge Counties, Wis., after which he accepted a call to the rectorship of St. Paul's Church, Mish- awaka, Ind. In 1855, he removed to Northern Wisconsin, and for fifteen years resided in the vil- lage of Waupaca, where he organized and built St. Mark's Church. In 1871, he accepted a call to St. Peter's Church, Sycamore, Ill., and remained here until 1873, when he removed to Colorado, on account of his wife's health. Previously to settling in Littleton, he officiated at Colorado Springs and Canon City.

WILLIAM A. SMITH.

This gentleman was born in England, November 5, 1840. His father was a native of Brighton, and his mother of Lincolnshire, England. He remained at his home until 1850, when his parents removed to the United States, and located in Brooklyn, N. Y. In 1851, his mother died, and soon after he accompanied his father to Chicago, and served an apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade under his father's directiou. In 1857, he went to Kansas City, Mo., and followed his trade one year. He then removed to Mound City, Oak Co., Mo., and engaged in the same business until February, 1860, when he removed to Colorado, and located at Black Hawk. He followed his trade and also engaged

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as millwright in the construction of mills at that place. He then went to Empire and engaged in the same business. Soon after, he made a contraet with Lunstrum & Courtright, to furnish them logs for their mill. He filled the contract successfully, and having acquired some capital, in 1860 he con- structed a quartz-mill in partnership with his father. But this enterprise not proving satisfactory, he sold out, and soon afterward, at the opening of the war, enlisted in Company C, First Colorado In- fantry, under Captain Richard Sopris. In the spring of 1862, the regiment was ordered to New Mexico, and returned in the fall to winter quarters at Camp Weld. In the spring of 1863, he was ordered ou a campaign against the Cheyenne, Arapahoe and Sioux Indians. He returned to Camp Weld in the spring of 1865, and having obtained a vet- eran's furlough, he went to St. Louis and married, and in the fall of the same year, was mustered out of the service. Soon after, he went to Arizona to fill a Government contract for corn ; having com- pleted his contract in the fall of 1866, he sailed from San Francisco to New York, and remained in the East until the summer of 1867, when he returned to Colorado and located on Wisconsin Ranche, near Denver. But on account of an out- break of the Indians, he was compelled to remove to Denver in 1869. He was appointed upon the police force, and soon after elected Constable. In 1871, he was appointed Deputy Sheriff, and in 1873 was elected City Marshal. In the spring of 1875, he removed to his ranche, aud remained there one year. In 1876, he was appointed Under Sheriff, by David J. Cook, Sheriff of Arapahoc County, and has since that time acted in that capacity.

MASON M. SEAVEY.

Mr. Seavey was born in Oxford County, Me., in 1839 ; he had the misfortune, when only seven years old, to lose his mother, and from that time up to 1852, lived with one of the neighbors, work- ing on the farm in summer and going to school for a few months in winter. When he was thirteen years old, he removed, with his father, to Illinois,

and spent the next four years working on his father's farm, and clerking in a country store in the town of Gardiner. From there, he went to Joliet, and engaged in the drug business for three years, acquiring in that time a thorough knowl- edge of pharmacy. While thus employed, the fever of excitement in regard to Pike's Peak, in 1859, invaded the town and carried with it a number of young men, and among them young Seavey, who started across the Plains in quest of adventure and a fabulous fortune. Reaching Fort Kearney, the expedition disbanded and scattered to the four winds. Mason Seavey returned to Joliet and went to farming until the spring of the following year, when he started a second time for the Rocky Mountains ; reaching Golden, he lost no time in seeking employment, and was fortunate enough to connect himself with D. K. Wall, of that city, now Wall & Witter, of Denver. In the course of a year, he owned a grocery store of his own, in Golden, and was doing a splendid business until he. met with a disaster that was overwhelming in its ruin. His wagon train, consisting of several teams freighted with a valuable consignment of goods, had proceeded in safety from the Missouri River to within eighty- five miles of Denver, when they were attacked by a band of Indians, supposed to be Arapahoes, near the Cut Off road, who killed two of the team- sters, drove off all the stock and almost destroyed every thing they could not conveniently carry off. After settling with his creditors, he was forced to retire from business, but undaunted by the heavy loss he had endured, opened in the following year in Central City, doing a flourishing business there for five years, until forced a second time to yield to commercial disaster. Extensive credits and hard times forced him into bankruptcy, and when he had emerged from this legal furnace, a few friends of his better days assisted him very mate- rially in building up a successful commission and collection business, which he conducted up to the time he moved to Denver, in 1872. Since his residence here, Mr. Seavey has been variously

Davier K. Nace

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occupied, and is now engaged in the grocery busi- ness, in the brick store, 760 Larimer street, which he built in 1874. Mr. Seavey was married in 1872, to Miss Ella M. Davis, of Ralston Creek, and has an interesting family. Mr. Seavey is a member of the I. O. O. F., and a pronounced Republican in politics.

LEWIS SCHROERS.

This gentleman, a native of Germany, was born October 16, 1830. When but fifteen years of age, his parents emigrated to America, arriving in Mil- waukee the 22d of June, 1845. With the usual steady, persevering energy characteristic of the Germans, they began clearing a farm in the heavy- timbered lands near Oak Creek, Wis. After nine years of hard labor with his father on this farm, Mr. Schroers removed to Dane County, where he farmed until 1862, when he determined to seek his fortune in the Far West. Soon after his arrival, he settled on his present farm on the Platte, near what is now called Island Station, which he has fenced and otherwise improved, until he now has one of the finest farms in the county. He was married, October 11, 1855, to Miss Abby Knoblock, who died in March, 1857, leaving one child, who is still living.

HENRY D. STEELE.

Mr. Steele is a native of Orange County, Vt., born on the 28th of August, 1822. When he was four years of age, his parents removed to Western New York, and settled in Lancaster, Erie County, ten miles east of the city of Buffalo, where he resided until 1847. He then went West to Illi- nois, whither his mother and the rest of the family followed him in 1849. He then settled in Bureau County, and engaged successively in farming, lum- ber and grain business, after which he entered the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- road Company, as station agent at Malden. During the war, he was the enrolling officer of the Govern- ment for Bureau County, and also served for several years as Town Clerk. He resided in Bureau County until 1866, when he came to Den-

ver to take a position as book-keeper and manager for D. G. Peabody, in the dry-goods and clothing business. In 1868, he started in the grocery busi- ness for himself, in a small frame building, two doors below his present location on Fifteenth street, then on the very outskirts of the business portiou of the city. In December, 1871, he re- moved to his present store, opposite the post-office, on the corner of Fifteenth and Lawrence streets. He has served, with credit, as a member of the Board of County Commissioners of Arapahoe Couuty, since 1874, having been twice elected to that office. Mr. Steele is regarded as one of the most reliable and estimable citizens of Denver. He was married, May 1, 1850, to Miss Louisa Peabody, of Orange County, Vt., and has six children.

HON. AMOS STECK.

For the data for the following brief sketch of the life of Hon. Amos Steck, the present Judge of the County Court of Arapahoe County, we are indebted to a gentleman who knew him as a boy, was well acquainted with his father, and who is familiar with his subsequent history. Judge Steck is of German descent, his grandfather, a promi- nent minister of the Lutheran Church, coming from Germany and settling, in an early day, in Western Pennsylvania, where he was one of the founders of his Church. His father, Michael Steck, was also a Lutheran minister, and removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio, in which State Judge Steck was born. When he was seven years old, he was taken to Pennsylvania by his father, who returned and resumed pastoral charge of his former Church. Judge Steck's uncle, Caleb Cope, a wealthy silk merchant of Philadelphia, took him to that city, where he enjoyed the advantage of a thorough education, afterward studying law under the instruction of Judge Richard Colter, a prominent lawyer of Western Pennsylvania, and afterward Justice of the Supreme Court of that State. On the discovery of gold in California in 1849, he was one of the first to make the overland trip to the Pacific

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Coast, an arduous undertaking in those days, the strict impartiality and incorruptible integrity. journey being one not only of hardship but of That his decisions are eminently just is shown by the uniformity with which they have been sus- tained by the higher courts. Among the citizens of Colorado, Judge Steck is known as a man of generous nature, fine poetic temperament and active sympathies. Quick and impulsive in man- ner, he conceals beneath a blunt exterior a tender, compassionate heart, ever ready to relieve distress and help the poor and needy. extreme peril. Returning to Pennsylvania, he married Miss MeLaughlin, an old schoolmate, to whom he had been deeply attached in his boy- hood. Removing to Wisconsin, he engaged in milling, and, in 1860, came to Denver, where he has been prominently identified with the affairs of the city and Territory, having served as a member of the Territorial Council, Mayor of the city of Denver, and Receiver of Public Moneys in the United States Land Office. In all these positions, JASPER P. SEARS, SR. he was active, prompt and efficient. During this Mr. Sears was born in Ontario County, N. Y., in 1808. At the age of eighteen, he went to Sandusky County, Ohio, and for two years followod the stage business, running from Sandusky to Cleve- land, on the Detroit and Buffalo route. For six years after this, he was engaged in merchandising in Marion County, Ohio, whence he removed to Janesville, Wis. He followed farmiog there until 1860 when he came to Denver, engaging in the grocery business, which he continued about ten years. The rich reports from New Mexico attracted him thither, where he remained about six years. Returning to Denver, he has since made his home in this city. He was married January 12, 1830. Mr. Sears is a man who has been prominently identified with the business interests of Colorado, though failing health for several years has precluded him from engaging actively in trade. As a pioneer, a successful business man and a use- ful member of society, Mr. Sears is well and favor- ably known. time, he was engaged more or less in the practice of law until his election as County Judge, several years ago. He was one of the builders of the Platte Water Canal, which furnishes water for irrigating the city, adding to its healthfulness and cleanliness, and supplying nourishment to the numerous beautiful trees which line the streets of Denver, rendering it one of the most shady and delightful cities on the American Continent. Judge Steck is a man of most remarkable memory, not only of what he reads, but of what he sees and hears. It is said he knows people by their voice, step, etc., whom he has not seen for years, while his recollection of faces, names, dates and events is simply wonderful. Oceupying a position in the Denver Post Office in an early day, when the long lines of strangers constantly filing past the window for their mail surpassed those even of the past summer, it is said that he not only never failed to recognize a stranger on his second visit to the Post Office, but would call him by name PRESTON T. SLAYBACK. and tell him at once, and without looking, whether While Colorado is attracting the attention of tourists, invalids and speculators, she is also col- lecting within her borders men of capital and reputation as successful merchants and useful citizens in other States. In this class, it is proper to include Mr. Prestou T. Slayback, whose past career may be thus briefly sketched. He was born in Shelbyville, Mo., in 1842, and received an academical education at the Masonic College, of Lexington, Mo. At the age of sixteen, he was there was any mail for him. His acquaintance with ancient and modern history and poetical and classical literature is not surpassed by that of any other man in Colorado; and, although Judge Steck has never traveled abroad, visitors from foreign countries say that his knowledge of the location of streets, buildings, places of historic interest and works of art in foreign cities is most remarkable. As a Judge, he is known for his

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employed as clerk in a wholesale grocery house in St. Joe, but subsequently became connected with a large grain commission house in St. Louis, and remained in their service several years. In 1867, he moved to New Orleans, and in connection with his brother established the well-known and extensive business of C. T. Slayback & Co. After several years' residence in the Southern metropolis, during which the operations of the firm were uni- formly successful, he returned to St. Louis in 1874, and embarked in the grain commission bus- iness with his brother, under the firm name of Slayback & Brother. Withdrawing from this business a few months ago, he came to Denver and associated himself with E. Humphrey, the well-known grocer, in the establishment corner Fifteenth and Stout streets, where under the firm name of Humphrey & Slayback, a safe and grow- ing business in staple and fancy groceries, produce, grain and canned fruits is conducted. Mr. Slay- back was married in St. Louis, in 1867, to Miss Emma MeCourtney, step-daughter to H. P. Sher- burne, of that city, and is the father of four children.

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History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado, Part 78

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