Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 129

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 129

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ILTON B. IRVINE, mayor of Colorado Springs, ex-president of the Consolidated Mining Exchange, ex-secretary of the Board of Trade Mining Exchange, and a mem- ber of the Irvine-Jones Realty Company, organ- ized in January, 1898, was born in Sandusky, Erie County, Ohio, March 9, 1851. His father, John Irvine, who was born at a Scotch settlement in County Antrim, Ireland, came to America in 1834 and followed the carpenter's trade in Phila- delphia until 1837, then removed to Allegheny, Pa., and about 1840 settled in Sandusky, Ohio. Among his contracts was that for the First Pres- byterian Church in Sandusky, but the panic of 1856 occurring about that time he never received

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the pay for his work. In 1859 he started west, December 21, 1882, at Lansing, Mich., he mar- going to St. Joseph, Mo., thence to Elwood, Kan., ried Miss Clara E. Holcomb, who was born near that city. In 1886 he sold his farm property and removed to Rocky Ford, where he opened a new farm on the Fork River, four miles from the vil- lage, in which at the same time he had a real- estate office. In March, 1888, he settled in Colo- rado Springs, and here carried on a real-estate, loan and insurance business until 1891, when he was elected county assessor on the Republican ticket. Two years later he was re-elected. In the fall of 1895 he became president of the Con- solidated Mining Exchange of Colorado Springs and after its consolidation with the Board of Trade Mining Exchange he became secretary, holding the position until his election as mayor in April, 1897. Since the organization of the El Paso Pio- neer Association he has been its secretary. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United Work- men, and holds membership in the First Presby- terian Church. He and his wife have three chil- dren, Ruby May, Norman Lee and Milton H. where he spent the winter, and in the spring of 1860, with his wife and three sons, driving two yoke of cattle to a wagon and taking with him a cow and provisions for eight months, he journeyed via the Platte route to Denver, where he arrived in June, 1860. He then went to Gilpin County, and one and one-half miles east of Black Hawk bought a shingle mill, operated by ox-power and with a capacity of forty thousand shingles a day. In the fall he located six miles east of Black Hawk on Ralston Creek, where he moved his mill and built a log house. In the fall of 1861 he purchased a home in Denver and removed to that city. He and his two elder sons, William and David, enlisted in a Colorado regiment dur- ing the Civil war, and were mustered out in the spring of 1862. Afterward he settled on Cherry Creek, seven miles east of Palmer Lake, and en- gaged in farming and raising stock; also manu- factured shingles, which he hauled to Denver. In 1866 he bought a farm in the Fountain Valley, twenty-five miles south of Colorado Springs, and two years later took his family to the ranch. In CARRIE JOHNSON, M. D. During the twenty odd years in which Dr. Johnson has engaged in the practice of medicine in Colo- rado, she has met with phenomenal success, and since coming to Pueblo, in 1890, she has attained high rank among the physicians of this city. From early girlhood she displayed a talent for surgical work, and decided aptitude for medical science. When, therefore, she desired to turn her attention to some line of activity which would be an advantage to herself, as well as benefit to others, she decided upon that profession, for which she possessed exceptional qualifications and prac- tical adaptability. Graduating from the Woman's Medical College of Chicago in 1875, thence she came to Colorado, where she has since resided. In this state she first practiced in Denver, later spent nine years in a general practice in Trinidad, and then she came to Pueblo, her present resi- dence. time he became a large farmer and stockman. He retired to Pueblo in 1886 and there died July 3, 1887, at the age of seventy-eight years. In religion he was a Presbyterian. With his wife, Mary (Boyd) Irvine, and four others, he organ- ized in 1869 the first congregation of Presbyte- rians in Pueblo, and of it he was a ruling elder until his death. Politically he was a strong Re- publican and firm Abolitionist. His wife, who makes her home with our subject, is now eighty- eight years of age. They were the parents of six children who attained maturity, namely: Samuel, who. enlisted as a private in the Seventh Kansas Regiment and was promoted to be a captain, and is now living in Sandusky; John, of Chicago, who was a sergeant in a Missouri regiment; Will- iam J., of Rocky Ford, Colo., who was a private in a Colorado regiment; Mrs. Elizabeth Irion, of Arizona; David A., who served in a Colorado regiment and is now living in Colorado Springs; and Milton B.

The last-named was nine years of age when the family came to Colorado. In 1861 he attended school in Denver for a few months. Later he at- tended a district school in Fountain Valley, and also for two winters was a pupil in a private school in Colorado City. He became interested with his father in farming and the stock business.

Both the maternal and paternal ancestors of Dr. Johnson were people of pre-eminence in the medical profession. Her father was educated in France, as a physician, and on the completion of his studies he returned to Virginia, the state where he was born. Afterward he settled in Missouri, where he resided until his death. He was the son of an eminent physician, and was, himself, a man of broad learning, culture and

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wealth. His marriage united him with America Tool, mother of Judge C. W. Bramel, of Wyo- ming, and a relative of ex-Governor Joseph K. Tool, of Montana.

By combining practical methods with scientific skill as a practitioner Dr. Johnson has ever met with eminent success, and the large practice which she now enjoys attests the appreciation of the rational system of therapeutics she follows, and forms an unerring index by which to judge of the grand and beneficent results attending her practice as a physician.

M UNRO BROTHERS. This firm is com- posed of William Y. and Edmund D. Munro, who own a stock ranch on Saguache Creek and are recognized as among the most suc- cessful stockmen in the valley. Both are natives of Maine, born at Bristol, Lincoln County, of Scotch lineage. Their father, Alexander B. Munro, was a native of Inverness, Scotland, but was brought to America in childhood and grew to man's estate in Maine, where he engaged in trading with the fishermen, and also carrying on a small farm in addition to his store. By his mar- riage to Jane Dorkendorf, whose ancestors had long been residents of America, he had fourteen children, seven sons and seven daughters.

The elder of the sons, William Y. Munro, was born in 1844, and when twelve years of age began a seafaring life, which he followed until 1869. During this time he made many trips to foreign ports, and gained such a thorough knowledge of practical navigation that he was made commander of a ship. He visited Africa, Cuba, the British provinces and South American ports. In Febru- ary, 1869, he came to Colorado, intending to pro- ceed to California, and go on a Pacific ocean steamer, but he changed his plans, and with his younger brother, Edmund D., took the stage from Cheyenne to Denver, and secured employ- ment in the building of the Union Pacific Rail- road. Later they purchased what was known as the fast freight line from Denver to Georgetown, and for a year engaged in freighting, after which they traded their teams in New Mexico for cat- tle, but the investment proved a most unfortunate one, for the cattle bore a brand belonging to an- other man, who was deeply in debt, and so the sheriff claimed the cattle in payment of the debt.

The next venture in which the brothers en- gaged was mining in Clear Creek County, where they were fairly successful and located several

properties, also discovered the first bismuth ore found in the state. After seven years there they sold out their interests and went to Ouray, but not being pleased with the outlook, bought a bunch of cattle and drove them into Saguache County. This was in 1876, since which year they have made this county their home. They have taken up land and bought ranches until they now have eight hundred and eighty acres, all lying along the creek, by which the land is well watered, thus making it admirably fitted for stock-raising. Starting with the small herd they brought from Ouray, they have increased steadily until they are now among the most extensive and successful stockmen in the county. In political matters they are firm in their allegiance to the Democratic party and have held local positions (such as county commissioner, member of the school board, etc. ), but prefer to give their time and attention strictly to their stock interests, which are so important that they demand close oversight.

RAVIS D. WORKMAN, one of the sub- stantial citizens of the San Luis Valley and an extensive stock-raiser and farmer of Conejos County, was born in Adams County, Ill., in 1839. When a boy he alternated attendance in the public schools with work on the home farm. Upon attaining his majority, in 1860, he came to Colorado, where he engaged in prospect- ing and mining in Boulder County. Not meeting with special success in this work, he turned his attention, to some extent, to agriculture, and took up a quarter-section of land, upon which he made his home until 1864.

Going to New Mexico in the latter year, Mr. Workman engaged in prospecting in the mining district for five years, returning to Boulder in 1869. Two years later he came to the Greenhorn district, where he bought a tract of land and em- barked in farming and stock-raising. In 1874 he sold his claim and removed to the San Luis Valley, where he pre-empted a homestead and is now the owner of four hundred and eighty acres of valuable land. He has been one of the suc- cessful stockmen of the valley, and his success is especially praiseworthy when it is remembered that he came to southern Colorado without money or influence. The fine property that he owns speaks volumes for his industry and perservance.

In 1895 Mr. Workman was united in marriage with Malinda, daughter of Jordan Dixon, and

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they have one child, Ethel. There is no im- had two children, but both died. The father of provement in which Mr. Workman has been more interested than in the securing of adequate irrigation facilities for his neighborhood. He was one of the first to urge the formation of a ditch company, and after the organization of the Centennial Ditch Company, he served, not only in its minor offices, but also as president, and assisted in the construction of the ditch, which has been such a valuable improvement to his part of the valley.

OMUALDO ORTIZ, a general merchant and ranchman in the little farming town of Capulin, Conejos County, was born in Santa Fe, N. M., in 1853. He was educated in St. Michael's College in that city, and in 1871 began to teach in the public schools of Mora, N. M., where he remained for three years, afterward teaching for one year in Bernalillo. Returning to his native town in 1875, he was made princi- pal of the public schools, and continued there for ten years, but in 1885 resigned and came to Colo- rado, settling at Capulin. He was chosen by the board of trustees as teacher in the school here, and continued for eleven successive years, until 1896. Meantime he had become interested in farming and stock-raising.

In July, 1896, Mr. Ortiz opened a store at Cap- ulin, and here he has since carried about $6,000 in stock, his trade being among the people of this part of Conejos County. He also owns two ranches of about one hundred and forty acres of fine land, besides a small ranch in New Mexico. He is an industrious man and has become the possessor of considerable property as the result of his business judgment.

Always a Republican, Mr. Ortiz is interested in the success of the party. During his residence in Santa Fe he served as deputy sheriff. Gov- ernor Routt tendered him appointment as water commissioner for district No. 21, which position he held for two years. Later he held the office of deputy water commissioner for several years. His name has been frequently mentioned as can- didate for superintendent of the county schools. Certainly no one could be more fitted for such a position than he, for he has spent twenty-five years in the schoolroom as a teacher and is fa- miliar with every phase of the work.

The marriage of Mr. Ortiz, in 1875, united him with Vicentita Stephens, of Santa Fe, who, like himself, has been a successful teacher. They

Mrs. Ortiz was Richard M. Stephens, who was born in Missouri in 1827 and about 1845 enlisted as a volunteer in the Mexican war. After the close of the war he settled in Santa Fe, where he became a prominent man. In 1869 he was ap- pointed postmaster of the town. He was a mem- ber of the territorial legislature and was the first sheriff elected by the people of Santa Fe County. His memory is cherished by many people still liv- ing in Santa Fe, and he is remembered as a man of upright life. He died in that city in 1887, when sixty years of age. His wife, who was Ruperta Gallegos, died in 1895, at the age of sixty. They were the parents of fifteen children. As a pioneer of New Mexico, he bore an active part in much of the development of the territory, and became well known throughout its entire length.

ILLIAM T. MC GARVEY. When the town of Telluride was first started, in 1880, Mr. McGarvey came here and en- gaged in the practice of law, in partnership with Judge W. H. Gabbert, now of the supreme bench. He continued this connection until 1889, when he was elected, on the Democratic ticket, judge of San Miguel County, a position that he filled with such efficiency and ability that he was re- elected in 1892 and 1895. During his terms of service as county judge, he has also carried on a general law practice. Active in all enterprises for the upbuilding of the city and county, he has taken a leading part in the promotion of local prosperity. He represented precinct No. 2 in the town council, and as alderman gave his influence toward progressive measures. In 1896 he was elected city clerk, which office he still holds.

A son of Graham A. and Elizabeth McGarvey, our subject was born in Davenport, Iowa, in 1855. His father has made agriculture his life work and still resides on the family homestead near Davenport. In the family there were six children, of whom William was next to the oldest. He was educated in public schools, the Iowa City Academy and Graswell College in Davenport, and after completing his studies taught school for some time. In 1878 he began to read law with the firm of Parker & Gabbert, in Davenport, Iowa, and the following year was admitted to the bar. Coming to Colorado, he settled in Rosita, Custer County, where he engaged in prospecting and mining for two years, and then removed to Telluride. He still owns a number of good pros-

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pects in the San Juan country, and is a stock- holder in the Celina Mining and Milling Com- pany. In fraternal connections he is a member of Chippewa Tribe No. 49, I. O. R. M., in which for some years hehas served as keeper of records.

EWIS H. FIELD owns and occupies a ranch, ten miles square, lying in Lincoln County, sixteen miles from Hugo. He came to Colorado in 1881 and for a few months worked in the employ of various cattlemen, but in 1882 purchased the property which he has since culti- vated. At that time the country was new, few towns had been started on the plains of Colorado and little effort had been made to improve and cultivate the land. He began to work with a will and in the years that have since elapsed he has made a number of important improvements on his place, among them the erection of a resi- dence, large cattle barns, sheds, etc., and the introduction of a good system of irrigating. The raising of cattle has been his principal business, and in it he has met with noteworthy_success.

The father of our subject, Henry S. Field, was born in Philadelphia and for many years engaged in the mercantile business in that city. During the Civil war he enlisted in the First Pennsyl- vania Regiment, which was known as the Gray Reserve, and in it he served until the close of the war. Politically he adhered to the Republican party. At the time of his death he was fifty-four years of age. His father, James, also a Phila- delphia merchant, was the son of a colonel in the Revolutionary war and was a pioneer of Phila- delphia, having settled there when it was a small town. The Field family was founded in this country by an Englishman who came on the "Mayflower" and settled in Massachusetts, later generations removing to Pennsylvania.

The marriage of Henry S. Field united him with May Conover, a native of Flemington, N. J., and an orphan from an early age; she is still liv- ing and makes Philadelphia her home. In her family there are two sons and two daughters. James, who was for nineteen years general manager of a large manufacturing plant in Chester, Pa., is now living, retired from business, in Philadelphia; Lucy W. is the wife of Samuel A. Abbott, of Philadelphia; and Mary Elizabeth is the wife of Townsend Sharpless, of Phila- delphia. Lewis H., who was born in Philadelphia in 1854, was given good educational advantages in Louderbach and in Rugby Academies. At

eighteen he entered the office of Peter Wright & Sons, large shipbuilders of Philadelphia and also extensive grain dealers. This company operated the Red Star and American lines and built the "St. Louis" and "St. Paul." After having been with them for five years, he resigned his position on account of illness. One year later, in the spring of 1881, he came to Colorado, and in this state he has since made his home. He is a friend of the Republican party and interested in its suc- cess, but has never cared to identify himself with public affairs or seek political positions, preferring to devote himself to his private business affairs.

OL. CHARLES M. SAMPSON, of Conejos County, was born in Boston, Mass., Au- gust 15, 1842, a son of Charles Sampson, member of the publishing firm of Philip Sampson & Co., of Boston. He was educated in private schools in Boston. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in Company D, First Massa- chusetts Infantry, as a private, and was assigned to the third army corps, army of the Potomac, under General Hooker. After various promo- tions he was finally made lieutenant-colonel on the staff of General Sickles, later was with Gen- erals Ord and Gibbons. After General Grant took command of the army of the Potomac he was transferred to Butler's command, on the James River. He fought in all the battles of the McClellan campaign of 1862, and the following year took part in the battles of the army of the Potomac under Generals Hooker and Meade. In 1864 he followed Butler in all the battles of the James River, and in the winter of 1864-65 went to Fort Fisher as a member of General Terry's staff. At the close of hostilities he was stationed at Richmond as staff officer until 1866 and in January of the latter year was mustered out as lieutenant-colonel.

Going to Chicago, Colonel Sampson embarked in the mercantile business in that city, where he continued, with a branch house in Milwaukee, until 1878. He then came to Colorado and en- gaged in the forwarding business at Leadville, which was then in the height of its boom. In 1880 he went to Alamosa and there acted as manager of the forwarding firm of Field, Hill & Co., until 1883, when the railroad was built to that point. Upon his election as clerk of Cone- jos County in 1883, he moved to the county-seat. He laid out the town of Antonito and has devoted considerable attention to the sale of real estate,

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being still the owner of several acres in the vil- lage. He also has a ranch of two hundred and sixty acres between Conejos and Antonito, where he carries on stock-raising and farming. Besides this he does a general insurance business, repre- senting several well-known companies.

Active in politics, Colonel Sampson is a strong Republican and a local leader. In 1893 he was appointed to take charge of the office of assessor of the county and has since had charge of all the assessor's books. He is past grand of Antonito Lodge No. 63, I. O. O. F., and a member of the grand lodge. In the organization of Fifer Post No. 36, G. A. R., at Alamosa, he took a warm interest, and for four years he served as its com- mander. His marriage took place in 1871 and united him with Nettie E. Wright, of Chicago, by whom he has two children: Cornelius B., the present county surveyor; and Lyna.

ILLIAM ASBURY LOVE, who resides in Colorado City and is a pioneer of 1859, was born in Crittenden County, Ky., No- vember 3, 1836, a son of Arthur and Ann McShane (Stevens) Love. His grandfather, James Love, who was a native of Ireland, emigrated to Ken- tucky and there married and engaged in farming in Crittenden County. In religion he was a Methodist. Arthur Love was born in Livingston County, Ky., October 6, 1812, and in 1853 moved to Jasper County, Mo., where he engaged in farm pursuits. When the war closed he re- turned to Crittenden County and engaged in farming on his father's homestead, near the Ohio River. There he died April 7, 1893.

The mother of our subject was born in Cald- well County, Ky., June 29, 1811, and died April 23, 1849. She wasa daughter of Elijah Stevens, a native of Caldwell County and a farmer there. By his marriage to Miss Stevens, Arthur Love had seven children, namely: James, of Colorado City; William Asbury; Robert F., who is repre- sented elsewhere in this volume; Harrington E., living in Louisiana; Lucretia, who died in infancy ; Arthur B., of Colorado City; and Zadock A., who died at twenty years of age. After the death of his first wife, our subject's father married again, and by his second union had four children; the three now living make their homes in Liv- ingston County, Ky.

When a boy our subject was a pupil in private schools. He accompanied his father to Missouri and settled near Carthage, Jasper County, where

he resided until 1859. He was among the first who determined to seek for gold in the mountains of the west. With two friends he joined a party of twelve, and followed the Santa Fe trail up the Arkansas, making the journey by ox-team. On the way they met about four hundred Indians, who stole some of their provisions and threatened trouble, but finally left them without an attack. They reached Pueblo, then a small Mexican town, about June 1, 1859, then came up through the Fountain Valley, followed the Jimmy camp trail to Russellville (where the first gold was discovered on Cherry Creek), proceeded to Auraria (Denver), then to Gregory Gulch and down Guy Hill to the creek. Mr. Love secured work at the Bob Tail mine, then, with two others, secured a claim at the mouth of Spring Gulch, and sawing some lumber, made sluice boxes, eight feet in length. Afterward he bought more lumber and cut twenty-four feet lengths. At the time of the Terryal excitement, one of his party went there, and later was joined by the others, but their work did not prove profitable. Returning to Spring Gulch, they found their claim jumped. He then went to Georgetown, where he assisted in building the first cabin. He and a partner had claim No. 7, adjoining the Griffith lode, but he was unable to locate the lode, so returned to Black Hawk, where he engaged in mining until 1864. He then came to Colorado City. For two years he engaged in ranching on Bear Creek, ` after which he became interested in freighting, and then became a pioneer miner at Ouray, Sil- verton and Lake City.

Early in the spring of 1878 Mr. Love went to Leadville, where he and his brother, Dr. R. F. Love, located the Climax, sinking two shafts of one hundred and eighty and one hundred and ninety-two feet respectively. This claim, un- fortunately, he sold before its full value was real- ized. He was also interested in other claims. In 1883 he relinquished his mining interests and returned to Colorado City. Soon he and a part- ner bought three hundred and twenty acres ad- joining the city, and platted Love & Quimby's addition of eighty acres, which they improved and sold. He built at the corner of Tenth street and Colorado avenue, and owns other property here. The site occupied by the Philadelphia and Colorado Smelting plant was furnished by him. His real-estate interests take much of his time, but he still gives some attention to mining. He assisted in organizing the Colorado City and

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Manitou Mining Company, of which he was a director from its inception and whose property was largely located through his efforts. Among his claims are the Iron King, Red Rock, Genoa, Frank Lee, Little Allie, Maggie, Good Luck, Tom Patterson, M. W. S., all of which he located except the Iron King, Red Rock and M. W. S., and he is also interested in the Good Thunder mine at Aspen.

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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 129

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