Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 121

Author: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1530

USA > Colorado > Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present > Part 121

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Mr. Quillian was made a Mason in Georgia and served as master of his lodge there. After com- ing to Colorado he assisted in the organization of Huerfano Lodge No. 26, A. F. & A. M., of Wal- senburg. He died at Fort Worth, Tex., March 25, 1899, and was buried in that city.

this locality, and later engaged in general farm- ing, but at this writing he devotes himself ex- clusively to the raising of stock, of which he has at times as many as twenty-five hundred head. A resident of Mancos from its founding, he took an active part in securing its incorporation, and is now one of its trustees.

Born in Rice County, Minn., in 1857, our sub- ject is a son of Norbert Paquin, a native of Lower Canada, who removed to Minnesota about 1847, and remained their until 1863. During the latter year he settled at Pueblo, Colo., and for a num- ber of years engaged in raising stock twelve miles east of Pueblo, on the north side of the Arkansas River. At the time he settled in the now prosperous city of Pueblo it contained but one small store, while the houses were few and crudely constructed. In 1876 he removed from there to Ouray, where he engaged in mining and also farmed to some extent. His death occurred in that place in 1886, when he was sixty-six years of age. Politically he was a Democrat. By his marriage to Lizzie McMahon, of Minne- sota, he had seven children: Moses, of Ouray;

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Louis; Mary Ann, the wife of O. B. Critchfield; Philemon, of Ouray; Norbert, who lives in Man- cos; Emma, Mrs. Albert Williford; and Felix, of Mancos. The mother of this family died in 1887, when fifty-one years of age.

When the family settled in Colorado our sub- ject was a child of six years. His education was received in Pueblo, where he remained until his' removal to Montezuma County in 1876. He remained a bachelor until 1888, when he was united in marriage with Theresa Roessler, of St. Louis, by whom he has two children: Laura and William L. He is the owner of some village property in Mancos, which, together with his stock interests, makes him a well-to-do man. He is a member of Mancos Lodge No. 100, A. F. & A. M. The Democratic party has in him one of its stanch adherents, and he is always faithful to its principles and platform.

At twenty-one years of age Mr. Rhodes began to work at the carpenter's trade, and this he fol- lowed in Page County until 1887. Meantime he was married there, March 15, 1883, to Carrie Blackman, daughter of L. M. Blackman, and a native of Iowa. In 1887 Mr. Rhodes came to Colorado and settled in Trinidad, in which place he has since made his home. From the first he received a fair share of patronage in his special line of work. Some of the houses that he built are among the finest in the city, and he also had contracts for many small houses and for some business buildings. As a contractor he is accu- rate and honest, and his work invariably proves to be well done, so that he has become known as a reliable workman.

The political belief of Mr. Rhodes brings him into affiliation with the Republican party. He is interested in all measures pertaining to the prosperity of his city and the welfare of the citi- zens. In 1892 he was elected to represent the

fifth ward in the city council, and has since served in that capacity, doing much in this position to promote the interests of the town. A member of the Masonic fraternity, he is connected with Trinidad Lodge No. 89, A. F. & A. M., and he is also identified with the Woodmen of the World. In his family there are three children: Margaret, Charles and Jennie.

ON. JACOB BENJAMIN PHILIPPI, for- mer register of the United States land office

- at Glenwood Springs, was born in Findlay, Ohio, December 15, 1859, a sou of John Jacob and Frances (Gross) Philippi. His mother died when he was small, and while he had four half- brothers he was the only child of his father's sec- ond marriage. From Germany, his native land, John Jacob Philippi came to the United States in 1848, to escape the results of his participation in the Revolution. He was a tanner by trade and operated large tanneries in different parts of Ohio. Selling out there in 1872 he settled in Boulder, Colo., where he built a business block and em- barked in the hardware business with his sons. In 1876, accompanied by our subject, he visited Germany, renewing the associations of his youth. Surrounded by every comfort it was his hope to leave wealth to his sons, but unfortunate reverses

C HARLES F. RHODES, a contractor and builder, residing in Trinidad, was born in Warren County, Ohio, October 22, 1857, a son of C. T. and Sarah (Dougherty) Rhodes, natives of Virginia and Ohio respectively. He was fourth among five children, the others being: Louis, deceased; J. W., who is associated with our subject in business; Jennie and Horace, de- ceased. When our subject was a boy of ten years, arose, and when he died at Fort Collins, in 1884, his parents removed to Henry County, Iowa, and the estate was small. there he grew to manhood, receiving his educa- tion in public schools.

When our subject went with his father to Ger- many he entered a school at Idstein, where he studied for two years, but on account of his fath- er's reverses he was compelled to leave school. However, on his return to Colorado he took a course in the University of Colorado at Boulder. In 1879 he went to Leadville and entered the office of George E. King, an architect, with whom he remained until 1880. Afterward he engaged in mining at Red Cliff until 1889, and from that time until 1892 held office as county judge of Eagle County, remaining in Red Cliff until July, 1894, when he was appointed by President Cleve- land as register of the United States land office at Glenwood Springs. This position he has satis- factorily filled. Politically a Democrat, he was his party's candidate for judge of Garfield County in 1898, but was defeated by a small majority. In June, 1898, he married Florence E. Gardiner, who for some years previous had been a success- ful teacher in this state. She is the daughter of William Gardiner, now of Garfield County, for- merly of Iowa.

HENRY N. CARMAN.

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ENRY N. CARMAN, treasurer of Bent County and a well-known business man of Las Animas, was born in Schuyler County, Mo., September 15, 1864, and is a son of Samuel S. and Cynthia (West) Carman. His boyhood years were spent upon a farm and in the acquire- ment of an education in country schools. He remained at home until twenty-one years of age, when he began farming independently. Coming to Colorado in 1887 he remained a year or more, and entered land from the government in Bent County. When the pre-emption was duly com- pleted he returned to Missouri, and continued to reside there for five years, giving his attention to the cultivation of a farm which he had pur- chased.

The second time Mr. Carman came to Colorado was in 1893. He then embarked in the mercan- tile business, which he has since conducted. By reliability in all of his transactions and fair and honest dealings with all he has become known as a capable, successful merchant, and has won the patronage of the people. The Democratic party, of which he has been a member ever since he was old enough to vote, and with which he is heartily in sympathy, in recognition of his fidel- ity to its principles and of his fitness for office, nominated him, at their convention in 1897, as their candidate for county treasurer, and he was elected in the fall of the same year. As a county officer he is known for sound and careful judg- ment, and for his prompt discharge of every duty. As a member of the city council of Las Animas he has been instrumental in promoting plans for the advancement of his town and the enlargement of its influence. At this writing he is treasurer of Elder Lodge No. 11, I. O. O. F. He was reared in the faith of the Baptist Church and inclines toward its doctrines.

HOMAS H. ROBBINS. Two and one-half miles southeast of Howbert, in Park Coun-' ty, lies one of the fine stock ranches of this section of the state. Here, since 1873, Mr. Rob- bins has made his home, during much of the time carrying on a large cattle business, but in 1893 he disposed of his cattle and has since de- voted his attention to the raising of sheep. A man of recognized ability, he was selected in 1882, 1883 and 1884 to serve as a member of the board of county commissioners. During much of the time since 1884 he has occupied the office of justice of the peace.

Mr. Robbins was born in Parke County, Ind., July 6, 1832, a son of Isaac and Nancy (Kirby) Robbins. He was one of eight children and the second among six now living, the others being: Elizabeth, wife of Alexander Newell, of Dallas County, Iowa; James, of White City, Kan .; Dan- iel W., of Colorado Springs; Edward, who makes his home in St. Joe, Mo .; and Mary, the wife of Judson Purington, of Des Moines, Iowa. The father of this family was born in North Carolina in 1806, and when a boy of ten years accompanied his parents to Orange County, Ind., where he grew to manhood and married. Shortly after his marriage he removed to Parke County and settled upon a farm. In 1852 he established his home in Dallas County, Iowa, and there re- mained until his death in 1874. During his res- idence in Indiana he served as a member of the legislature, and held rank among the prominent men of the state.

The grandfather of our subject, Daniel Robbins, was a member of an old Qnaker family of the south. On account to his opposition to slavery he moved from North Carolina to Indiana. Dur- ing the war of 1812 he served as a drummer in the army, and a half century afterward, when a regiment was formed in Orange County, Ind., to take part in the Civil war, he, then an aged man of ninety-six years, acted as drummer for the regiment on its march to the train, when starting for the front.

Shortly after he was twenty-one years of age our subject married Miss Elizabeth Fisher, a native of Edgar County, Ill., their marriage be- ing solemnized October 2, 1853. Afterward he settled upon a farm in Dallas County, Iowa, and there remained until 1860, when, with two others, he outfitted for the west, and with a team of mules started for Colorado. May 19 of that year he reached Denver, then a small hamlet with a few rude cabins. Going to Gilpin County with his companions, he spent three months in mining, and then, with them, took a contract to improve a ranch in Arapahoe County, six miles below Denver. There he remained for one year, after which he went to Idaho Springs and engaged in mining. March 1, 1863, he returned to Iowa for his family, and on the 4th of July, accompanied by them and also bringing some thirteen head of cattle, he arrived in Denver. From there he proceeded to the head of Bear Creek and settled down to ranch life. In 1867 he removed from there to a ranch which he purchased near Colo-

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

rado Springs and which is now in the limits of the city. Thence he came tohis present property in Park County.

The family of Mr. and Mrs. Robbins consisted of fifteen children. Of these nine are living, viz .: Nancy, wife of Michael Foster, living near Du- rango, La Plata County, Colo .; Sarah, Mrs. Will- iam Vermillion, of Park County; Edward, of this county; Lewis and Asa, who are ranching in this county; Lillie, at home; Emma, wife of John Wilson, of El Paso County; Chattie and James, at home. The family are connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church.

M ELVIN M. PARR, treasurer of Archuleta County, and one of the most extensive stock-dealers of southern Colorado, was born in Green County, Wis., in 1862, a son of Henry and Mary A. (Kilgore) Parr. At seven- teen years of age he left Wisconsin and moved to Iowa, and in 1880 he came with his parents to Leadville, Colo. From youth he has been in- terested in agricultural pursuits, and for a short time he engaged in ranching in Kansas during the time that the western part of the state was settling.

Coming to Pagosa Springs in 1889, in connec- tion with his brothers, Lee L. and Estie M., our subject formed a stock company and homesteaded land. The company now owns eleven hundred and forty acres, where they carry on stock-rais- ing and also raise hay for feed. On the ranch are about thirteen hundred head of cattle, mainly of the Hereford breed. While they began in business on a small scale, they have gradually in- creased the business to its present dimensions, and have become known as among the most suc- cessful stockmen in Archuleta County.

On the Democratic ticket, in 1895, Mr. Parr was elected treasurer of Archuleta County, and two years later he was re-elected to the office, which he has since efficiently filled. He is also one of the trustees of the town. In local ques- tions affecting the welfare of the people or the growth of the town he maintains a constant in- terest. He is a member of Woodsdale Lodge No. 334, I. O. O. F., at Woodsdale, Kan., and Pagosa Camp No. 412, Woodmen of the World. In 1887 he married Anna Johnson, who was born in Illinois.

The father of our subject owned a large farm in Wisconsin and there engaged in buying and shipping stock. After coming to Colorado he

engaged in prospecting and mining in Leadville. From there, in 1889, he came to Archuleta Coun- ty, and began ranching, at the same time engaged in the lumber business and operated a sawmill four miles north of Pagosa Springs. Here he still resides.

12 AVID IRVINE CHRISTOPHER, M. D. The residence of Dr. Christopher in Colo- rado Springs dates from July 5, 1888, since which time he has engaged in the general prac- tice of his profession. In addition to the man- agement of his private practice he has been sur- geon for the Rock Island Railroad since January, 1889, and has also acted as a member of the staff of consulting surgeons of St. Francis Hospital of this city. While professional duties consume much of his time and attention, he has also, for some years, owned mining interests of import- ance. One of the first companies organized in Cripple Creek was the Cripple Creek Consoli- dated Mining Company, of which he has been for some time a director, and is now the treasurer; this company owns twelve claims, all of which are valuable. In the Esperanza Mining Company he is now a director and large stockholder.

The Christopher family is of Scotch-Irish origin, and by intermarriage also descends from English stock. They were numbered among the F. F. V.'s. The doctor's great-grandfather took part in the Revolutionary war, enlisting from Virginia, where he was a planter. The grand- father, Thomas Christopher, was born in the Old Dominion, and took part in the Indian wars and the war of 1812. In an early day he settled in Woodford County, Ky., where he operated a plantation near Mortonsville. He died there when eighty years of age.

Thomas Howard Christopher, the doctor's father, was born in Woodford County, and at the age of fourteen went to Richmond, Madison County, where he entered a store owned by his uncle, Thomas H. With him he learned the mercantile business. Later he bought the store, which he carried on for many years. On selling the business, he was elected sheriff of Madison County, in which office he was retained for sev- eral terms. It was his duty as sheriff to collect the taxes, so his position was one of responsi- bility, and took him into every part of the coun- ty. In 1849 he removed to Buchanan County, Mo., and settled on a farm near St. Joe. In 1864 he sold his place there and went to Helena,

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Mont., but after one year moved to Atchison, (then St. Joseph) Medical College, and for nine Kan., and after another year returned to St. Joe. years he filled the chair of physiology in that institution. Later he spent a few years in Colorado, but his last days were spent with our subject, then a resi- dent of Kansas City. His death occurred in 1887, when he was eighty-six years of age. In the early days he was major of a regiment in Kentucky, and was always afterward known as "major." For sixty years he held membership with the Masons, in which he held the Knight Templar degree.

The mother of our subject was Mary A. Irvine, who was born in Madison County, Ky., and is now living with our subject, quite hearty and strong for one of her years (ninety). She re- members having seen General Lafayette when a child, and attended a ball given in his honor, and a barbecue, also given in his honor, at Boonesborough. She also recalls seeing the fa- mous pioneer and scout, Daniel Boone. Her father, Judge David Irvine, was a member of a Virginia family, and served as judge of Madison County for some years, but died at thirty-four. In re- ligion Mr. and Mrs. Christopher were members of the Christian Church. They were the parents of four children, of whom two daughters and a son are living. Mrs. Ellen I. Craig lives in Den- ver and Mrs. Nancy I. Elliott makes her home in Routt County, this state.

From Richmond, Ky., where he was born, February 19, 1846, our subject was taken, at three years, to Buchanan County, Mo., where he passed his boyhood years on a farm and in school. In the spring of 1865 he accompanied his parents to Montana, going by boat to Fort Benton, thence by mules to Helena, Mont., where he was en- gaged in prospecting, and later going to Atchison. He attended St. Benedict's College in Atchison, and then went to St. Joe, where he entered a wholesale dry-goods house, continuing in that position for eighteen months. Afterward he studied medicine under Dr. Francis Davis, for- merly of Maryland. At the opening of the St. Louis Medical College he entered that institu- tion and attended one course of lectures, after which he continued his studies with his former preceptor. In the fall of 1873 he entered Belle- vue Hospital Medical College in New York City, where he graduated in 1874, with the degree of M. D. Returning to St. Joe, he began in prac- tice, making a specialty of surgery. He was one of the originators of what is now the Ensworth

In the spring of 1885 Dr. Christopher went to Kansas City, Mo., where he engaged in general practice until 1888. On the 4th of July of the latter year he started for Colorado Springs, hoping that the change of climate might benefit his daughter's health. He reached here the follow- ing day and at once began in practice, which he has since continued. He is a member of the El Paso County Medical Society, and for many years was identified with the National Association of Railway Surgeons. For one term he was health officer of St. Joe. ' In politics he is a Democrat and in religion a member of the Christian Church. Fraternally he is a member of the Ancient Or- der of United Workmen, Ancient Order of Pyra- mids and is exalted ruler of Colorado Springs Lodge No. 309, B. P. O. E.

In Platte County, Mo., Dr. Christopher mar- ried Miss Alice S. Perrin, who was born in Stan- ford, Ky., a daughter of William F. Perrin, who removed from Kentucky to Missouri and became a large farmer of Platte County. Dr. and Mrs. Christopher have three children: Mrs. Mary Per- rin Brinker, of Pueblo, Colo .; W. T., who for eight years has been clerk for the Colorado Mid- land Railway at Colorado City; and David A., who is employed in the transportation depart- ment of the Rock Island Railroad at Colorado Springs.

ILLIAM G. RICE, agent of the United States and Pacific Express Companies at Colorado Springs and a member of the board of aldermen, representing the fifth ward, first came to Colorado in 1876, but remained only a year, his permanent residence in this state dating from 1885. He descends from an old family of New England. His great-grandfather removed to Kentucky, where the grandfather, Joel Rice, was born and reared. The latter removed to Quincy, Ill., where he engaged in the mercantile business until his death. He was one of the orig- inators of the old Whig party, and his life was prolonged to the organization of the Republican party, which he helped to form.

Thomas J. Rice, our subject's father, was born in Lexington, Ky. He became a pioneer mer- chant of Keokuk, Lee County, Iowa, where his son, our subject, was born October 30, 1854.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Early in the war he enlisted in the First Arkan- sas Regiment, of which he was commissioned quartermaster, and remained as such until the close of the war, when he was mustered out at Memphis, Tenn. Locating permanently in that city, he carried on a lumber business there until his death, in 1870, at forty-five years of age. His wife bore the maiden name of Catherine E. White and was born in St. Louis, Mo. Her father, Joseph White, removed from New England to St. Louis, and engaged in business until the war, when he became an officer in an Illinois regiment. The close of the war found him with health so greatly impaired that a return to business was impossible. He lingered, practically an invalid, for some years, and died in Quincy, Ill. Thomas J. Rice and his wife were the parents of four chil- dren: William G .; Mary, Mrs. J. D. M. Hamil- ton, of Fort Madison, Iowa; Charles, a contrac- tor, in Holly, Colo .; and Harry, who is in the employ of the Union Pacific Railroad at North Platte, Neb. After the death of Mr. Rice his widow was married to J. B. Billings, of Keokuk, Iowa.

In 1865 our subject was taken to Memphis, but five years later, upon the death of his father, he returned to Keokuk, Iowa. He graduated from the high school of that city in 1874, and afterward was employed for a year in the post- office there. In 1875 he entered the employ of the United States Express Company. In 1876 he came to Colorado and for a year was a clerk for Mallory, Fitzgerald & Flynn, contractors on the Santa Fe. In 1877 he went from Trinidad back to Keokuk, and resumed work in the express office, being their messenger in Iowa and Illinois, on the Rock Island road. In the spring of 1883 he resigned from the United States Express Com- pany and entered the employ of the Pacific Ex- press Company as messenger between Omaha and Denver. In November of that year, at Wood River, Neb., he was accidentally shot by an agent, who took a gun for shipment that was loaded and when he handed it to Mr. Rice the hammer caught in the side of the door and he was shot in the right leg. He was confined to his house until March of the next year. As soon as able to resume work he was made agent at Fre- mont, Neb., taking the position while he was still using crutches. In the fall of that year he re- quested a position as messenger in Colorado, and in the spring of 1885 was made messenger on the old Colorado Central, between Denver and Silver

Plume. After filling that position for nine months he was transferred to a run between Den- ver and Kansas City on the Union Pacific, and six months later was transferred to the city office in Denver. June 15, 1888, he was sent to Colo- rado Springs as agent for the Pacific and United States Express Companies, which position he has since held, being the pioneer express agent at the Springs.

In Rock Island, Ill., Mr. Rice married Miss Gertrude Cronk, who was born in Michigan. They and their children, Susie and Guy, live at No. 1038 Washington avenue. The family are identified with Grace Episcopal Church.

A silver Republican in his views, Mr. Rice is a member of the county central committee of his party. In 1898 he was nominated on the Citi- zens' ticket for alderman from the fifth ward and was elected. In the council he is serving as chairman of the ordinance committee and mem- ber of the police and fire committees. While living in Keokuk he was made a Mason and he now holds membership in El Paso Lodge No. 13.

C. POCHON, secretary, treasurer and general manager of the Pueblo yards of the Newton Lumber Company, is a true type of western progress and enterprise. His energy and prudent business methods have com- bined to make him one of the prominent business men of the city.

Mr. Pochon was born in Elkhart, Ind., March 29, 1862, and is a son of J. J. and Mary C. (Kellison) Pochon. His father followed the machinist's trade the greater part of his active career, but during the last five years of his life was retired from active business. He was in this state during the Civil war and enlisted in the First Colorado Infantry, which was principally engaged in fighting the Indians, and was in the famous Sand Creek massacre. For several years he had charge of the lumber manufacturing department of the Rio Grande Extension Com- pany, and was chief engineer in the penitentiary during Governor Adams' first term. He was a director of the Pueblo Savings Bank, of which Governor Adams is president, and served as alderman in Pueblo. He was one of the leading citizens of this place. His death occurred March 1, 1899.

When only eight years of age W. C. Pochon was taken by his parents to England to be educated and remained there until he was six-

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Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 121

Author: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, pub Publication date: 1899 Publisher: Chicago, Chapman Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1530

Author: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1530