Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 133

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 133

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came to this city, taking up his residence here and engaging in active business pursuits. How- ever, in 1890, he disposed of his store, since which time he has been interested in the cattle business, mainly in Conejos County, in partner- ship with Daniel E. Newcomb, the two conduct- ing what is doubtless the largest stock business in the southern part of the state. Besides this he is the owner of real estate in Durango and the San Luis Valley. In all matters pertaining to the welfare of this city he has been interested. He was especially interested in the securing of electric light and a street car line for the city, and served as president of the companies that had these two enterprises in charge.

Mr. Schiffer has given considerable attention to the great questions before the people to-day, and, being an advocate of free trade and free silver, naturally supports the men and measures of the Democratic party. In 1895 President Cleveland appointed him postmaster at Durango, and this position he filled efficiently. A Mason in fraternal connections, he belongs to Durango Lodge No. 46, A. F. & A. M. In 1880 he was united in marriage with Miss Nannie Duncan, daughter of Mrs. A. Duncan, of Del Norte. They have three children, Nettie, Edna and May.

LOYD W. PIERCE, general contractor and building superintendent, at No. 631-33 North Commercial street, Trinidad, was born in Kenosha, Wis., April 17, 1856, a son of J. O. and Sarah (Baker) Pierce, natives of New York. His father removed to Wisconsin from New York when he was a child of twelve years, and found the country raw and unimproved, in- habited almost wholly by Indians and wild ani- mals. There he engaged in farm pursuits amid the frontier surroundings, and clearing land, made it his home for years. In 1878 he moved to Pawnee County, Kan., and engaged in the grain and stock business. He is still living in that county. Of his four children who attained mature years, Ada L. is the wife of Edward E. Whipple, a farmer of Pawnee County; Ellsworth is foreman in his brother's shop; and Lottie L. married Frank Shay, of Pawnee County.

Under the instruction of his father and uncle, both of whom were carpenters, our subject gained a knowledge of the trade in his youth. Going from Wisconsin to Kansas, he engaged in the builder's trade, and also engaged in farming to , some extent. In 1888 he came to Trinidad,

where he has since had contracts for many of the important and substantial buildings in the city. He is one of the best-known and most reliable contractors here. In his employ he has none but skilled mechanics, and to this fact is due much of his success. Among the buildings for which he has had the contracts are the residence of D. W. McCormick, Henry White's home, Method- ist Episcopal parsonage, bank building, etc. He is an expert architect and drafts his own plans. His success is due to the reliable character of his work, which is always as guaranteed. His em- ployes he hires from one year to another, with few changes, and during the busy seasons he has from fifteen to eighteen hands. In addition to his contracts for work in the city and vicinity he has often been called to other points to erect buildings, among contracts of this kind being those for a public school building at Clayton, N. M., and a high and public school at Springer, N. M. In connection with his shop he has a plan- ing mill, also a pattern shop (the only one in this part of the state), where are made all the patterns needed for car and locomotive work. Mill and mining machinery are turned out on short notice.

In politics Mr. Pierce is a Republican. Heis a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and a contributor to its support. Fraternally he is connected with Trinidad Lodge No. 17,I. O. O. F., in which he is past grand. He is also a member of the encampment, of which he is past chief, also lieutenant of Canton No. 18, Second Battalion Patriarchs Militant, and has represented his lodge in the grand lodge of the state. In Wiscon- sin, May 2, 1876, he married Sophronia H. Bai- ley, by whom he has three children: Orella A., who is bookkeeper for her father; Leslie L. and Sarah L.

ILLMORE HUBBARD, a well-known stock- dealer and dairyman of Park County, was born in Princeton, Scott County, Iowa, March 2, 1852, a son of Thomas and Sarah J. (Greene) Hubbard. He was one of six children, of whom himself and three sisters survive. The latter are: Maretta, wife of Rev. J. A. Smith, of Pekin, Ill .; Isabella, who married G. M. Ohler, county treasurer of Park County, Colo .; and Emma, whose husband, Thomas Wilkie, is a ranchman near Jefferson, this county.

Born near Louisville, Ky., about 1820, Thomas Hubbard was four years of age when his parents removed to Wisconsin, and a few years later they

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made settlement in Illinois, thence going to Iowa, where he was married to Miss Greene. After- ward he built a large flour mill at Princeton and this he operated in connection with his extensive mercantile interests. He was an active and enter- prising business man and met with success for years, but the financial panic of 1857 carried him down with thousands of others. In 1860 he started across the plains with horse-teams, and after a tedious journey reached Denver in June. From that city he went to Summit County and began to mine. In 1862 he came to Park County and began mining in Tarryall Gulch.

Returning to Iowa in 1863, Mr. Hubbard brought his family back to Colorado, arriving in South Park on the 9th of September, having made the trip with one horse-team and an ox- team. On his return he resumed mining at Tarryall, where he acquired valuable placer mine property. In that section he continued to labor until his death in 1874.

When the family settled in Colorado, our sub- ject was a boy of eleven years. Educational advantages were meager, and the information he has obtained is due to his self-culture. In the winter of 1872-73 he had charge of a freighting outfit for other parties, which he drove from Colo- rado Springs to Fairplay. Afterward he bought an interest in his father's mining property in Tarryall, and until the fall of 1875 he gave his attention to mining. In the spring of 1876 he came to his present location, where he bought one hundred and sixty acres for his mother and shortly afterward took up a homestead of the same size, also pre-empted another quarter-sec- tion, and there began in the cattle business. In later years he purchased two hundred and eighty acres of land, which made his place one of six hundred acres, while he also controls an adjoin- ing tract of three hundred and twenty acres owned by his mother, making his ranch one of nine hundred acres. He has devoted consider- able attention to dairying. In company with another man, he operated a dairy in Leadville for seven months in 1884, but sold out at the ex- piration of that time and returned to the ranch. His property is situated twelve miles south of Fairplay, and in the heart of a fine agricultural section.

April 23, 1877, Mr. Hubbard married Miss Alice Moore, who was born in Indiana, and reared near Keokuk, Iowa, and is a daughter of Irwin Moore, a prominent farmer of Lee County.

Iowa. They became the parents of eight children, six of whom are now living, viz .: Clarence E., Sarah Isabella, Irwin F., Thomas M., Basil C. and Ella P., all of whom are with their parents. Fraternally Mr. Hubbard is a member of Como Lodge No. 17, A. O. U. W. For several years he held the office of school director, both at Hamilton and in his present district, and through his good judgment he has advanced the educa- tional interests of his community.

5 JEORGE J. KRAMER, assessor of Bent County, was born in Terre Haute, Ind., December 15, 1866, and is a son of Philip and Maria (Geiger) Kramer. His boyhood days were spent in his native city, where he attended the public schools until thirteen years of age. Afterward he was employed as cash boy in the dry-goods store of Hoberg, Root & Co., and was afterward promoted to a clerkship, receiving, by degrees, a raise in salary from $1 to $9 a week during the seven years he remained with the firm. Later he was for one year with Espen- heim & Albright, of Terre Haute.

October 13, 1886, Mr. Kramer married Miss Mary Slusser, who was born in Marshall, Clark County, Il1., and accompanied her parents, Ben- jamin and Hannah Slusser, to Terre Haute, where she was married. Soon after his marriage Mr. Kramer came to Colorado. For a time he lived upon a ranch, but later opened a confectionery business in Las Animas. This, in a few months, he sold out, and removed to Denver, but soon returned to Las Animas, and secured employ- ment as a clerk in Jacob Weil's store, where he remained for four years. His next position, which he held for about four years, was that of deputy postmaster under Mr. Weil. In Novem- ber, 1897, he was elected county assessor on the Republican ticket, he having always been a strong supporter of the Republican party. In 1894, 1895 and 1896 he served as a member of the city council. At different times he has served as a member of various conventions and in 1898 was a delegate to the state convention of his party in Denver.

In the Methodist Episcopal Church Mr. Kramer holds the office of trustee. He is identified with Elder's Lodge No. 11, I. O. O. F., in which he is a trustee and also served as a member of the building committee that had charge of the erec- tion of the lodge hall in 1898. In Las Animas Lodge No. 4, United Moderns, of which he is a

A. W. MAXFIELD.

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charter member, he has served as secretary and financier. He and his wife are the parents of one son, Harry, who was born in Las Animas, November 3, 1891.

As a citizen Mr. Kramer is esteemed by his acquaintances. Beginning life in humble cir- cumstances, his first work paying him only $1 a week, he has steadily, step by step, by persever- ance and industry, won a substantial position in the world, and has gained a place among the best citizens of Bent County.

A BRAM W. MAXFIELD. For a period of nearly fifteen years, from the time of his settlement here until his death, Mr. Max- field held a place among the prominent men of Garfield County. Especially was he inti- mately associated with the founding and growth of the village of Rifle, on the Denver & Rio Grande and Colorado Midland Railroads. When he came to this county, in 1882, for miles around nothing was visible to the eye save vast stretches of sage brush. Indians still lingered in the val- leys. No attempt had been made at improve- ment. Where now stand the flourishing towns of Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, Newcastle and Rifle, etc., were then a few tents, or perhaps nothing but the lonely clump of brush. He se- cured a tract of land, built a small cabin and at once began the work of clearing and cultivating. In later years the town of Rifle was platted on his ranch, and he was foremost in its organization and upbuilding. Every enterprise for its devel- opment found in him a friend. He built the Winchester hotel, and carried it on for two years. Other local improvements received his active assistance. In 1892 he built a handsome brick residence for his family. Here, among the friends whom his upright life had won, and in the ac- tive discharge of the business duties he has as- sumed, he spent years of busy labor. While still in the prime of his usefulness and vigor he passed from earth, June 28, 1897, mourned not only by his family, but by every one to whom he was known. In his death the village lost its most able promoter, and each citizen felt that he had been bereaved of a personal friend.

The parents of Mr. Maxfield were born in England, from there emigrated to Prince Edward Island, where he was born February 8, 1842. The first nine years of his life were spent on that island, whence he accompanied his father, Rich-

ard Maxfield, to the western part of Missouri. Two years later his father died, and from that time on he was self-supporting. With his mother he moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and there he made his home for twenty-five years, meantime engaging in farming and also in the manufacture of bricks. In 1880 he came to Colorado in the in- terest of a mining company, whose members were residents of Council Bluffs. For two years he had charge of their mining business at Battle Mountain, Eagle County. Finding, however, that mining was then not profitable, he decided to embark in agricultural pursuits, and with this object in view he pre-empted the land in Garfield County upon which he afterward made his home.

Just before coming to Colorado, January 1, 1880, Mr. Maxfield married Miss Flora A. Ram- sey, a lady who was unusually fitted to be his helpmate and companion. She was born in Prince Edward Island, of which her father, James, son of Malcolm Ramsey, was also a native, and her mother, Ann (Maxfield) Ramsey, was born in Hull, England. The records of the Ramsey family show that they were of Scotch origin. The great-grandfather of Mrs. Maxfield had his home on the banks of the Clyde in Scotland and was well-to-do. In his family there were eight sons. Deciding to emigrate to America, he sold his property and put his possessions into gold. He then started with his family for the new world. However, the agent of Prince Charles proved treacherous and through his instru- mentality the shipload of emigrants were robbed and put ashore to shift for themselves. Cast upon an unfriendly shore, among a strange peo- ple, in an inhospitable climate, they had a severe struggle to maintain life, but after years of cease- less labor they gained a foothold and later gener- ations became well-to-do.

The girlhood days of Mrs. Maxwell were spent in her native province. It was from childhood her ambition to become a physician, but this de- sire was sternly checked and repressed by her relatives, who, in common with the usual belief of their day, considered that a woman's sphere should be limited to the narrow round of domes- tic duties. She came to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where she met and married Mr. Maxfield. They became the parents of nine children, six of whom are living, namely: Roy Douglas, a talented youth of fifteen years; Merritt Ramsey, Junius, Bennett, Clara Louise and Gail Hamilton, who are bright and talented children, and will undoubtedly be

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successful in their chosen vocations. The three deceased boys died in childhood.

A Democrat in politics, Mr. Maxfield was for years a justice of the peace, and at the same time his wife was appointed notary public, which office she has since filled. Fraternally he was con- nected with the Knights of Pythias. Personally he was a genial, companionable man, one who believed that good existed in every heart and truth in every soul. He might truly be called one of nature's noblemen. During the nineteen years of his married life he was never known to speak an unkind word to his family, but was ever kind, tender and affectionate. Since his death his real-estate and business interests have been in charge of his wife, whose business ability fits her for the responsibility of this work. She is interested in all public and progressive enter- prises. Active in local politics, she has been judge of elections and for a time conducted a po- litical school in Rifle. For three years she was president of the school board, and her energy and progressive spirit were of invaluable assistance to the educational interests of the town.

LLERY W. HUNT, who is one of the expert mine surveyors of Colorado, holds the office of United States mineral surveyor and since 1889 has been resident surveyor for the Enter- prise Mining Company. Coming to Colorado in 1873 during the territorial days, he has since been identified with the development of its min- ing resources, through which he has himself met with fair success. In 1881-82 he was one of the prime factors in developing the Caribou mine at Ophir, of which he had charge for one year and which he placed upon a paying basis. Through his efforts the Jumbo mine on Newman hill was put in shape for operation, and in other ways he has done much to promote mining interests. He assisted in the organization of the San Juan Pio- neer Association, of which he is a charter mem- ber and in which, from the first, he has served as vice-president for Dolores County.

Born in Kennebec County, Me., in 1853, our subject is a son of Henry N. and Josephine (Haines) Hunt, also natives of Maine. His fa- ther followed brick contracting and building in that state until 1856, when he moved to Boston, Mass., engaging in mercantile pursuits and becom- ing one of the well-known business men of the city. He died in Boston February 14, 1899, ill his seventy-sixth year. He and his wife were

the parents of seven children, of whom five are living: Dudley F., Ellen J., Edgar N., Ellery W. and Ada. From the age of three years our sub- ject spent his childhood days in Boston, where he received a public-school education. At nineteen years of age he became bookkeeper for the com- mission house of Lombard & Co. In the spring of 1873 he came to Colorado and settled at Kit Carson, but soon removed to Las Animas.

With Lieutenant Ruffner, U. S. A., in the spring of 1875 Mr. Hunt had charge of the en- gineering corps that built a government road through New Mexico. In the fall of 1875 he began mining in Silverton, where he still owns some interests. Since the spring of 1882 he has engaged in general mine surveying, and in 1886 was appointed deputy United States mineral sur- veyor by the surveyor-general. His surveys have been made through the entire San Juan country, and his work has been characterized by accuracy and painstaking care.

For eight years chairman of the county Repub- lican central committee, Mr. Hunt has been an active worker in behalf of his party. In 1892 he was a member of the town board of Rico. In 1896 he was a candidate for school director, but was defeated by one vote. He is interested in all helpful local movements, and particularly in those relating to education. He was married in 1891, his wife being Miss Rea H. Ellsler, of Baltimore, Md. In Rico Lodge No. 79, A. F. & A. M., he acts as secretary. Lafayette Council No. 15, Junior Order United American Mechanics, num- bers him among its members and officers; and in Osage Tribe No. 56, I. O. R. M., he is senior past sachem.

- RANCIS LE GRAND CAPERS, president and general manager of the Standard Fire Brick Company of Pueblo, was the origina- tor of the enterprise with which his name has since been identified. A few years after coming to Colorado he interested a number of the largest capitalists in the state and established the com- pany of which he is now the head. Besides the main plant in Pueblo, a plant has been established in Denver, and the output of the two factories now amounts to about five thousand carloads per annum, shipments of the products being made to all parts of the world. The building and paving brick and sewer pipe manufactured are of the highest grade, and, in addition, fire tile of every description is manufactured, ore is assayed and

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chemical and photographic supplies are turned out. The company has one of the two plants in the United States (and one of four in the entire world) for the manufacture of assayers' and chem- ists' supplies. They have a resident buyer in Germany, and import glass and porcelain ware and physical apparatus.

Mr. Capers is a member of an old southern family that descended from French-Huguenot ancestors, who settled in South Carolina in 1658. Through his maternal ancestors (the Layton fam- ily) he traces his lineage back to A. D. 1100. In his possession are the crests and coat of arms of both of his grandfathers and also of his grand- mothers. His paternal grandfather, William Capers, a native of South Carolina, was next in rank to, and the closest personal friend of, Gen. Francis Marion, under whom he served in the Revolutionary war. One of his sons, William, held office as bishop of the southern states in the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and the latter's son, Ellison, now holds the same position and is one of the most famous bishops of that denomination. The family has been prominent in the professions, our subject having been the only one for a great many years who engaged in business. His father, Maj. Le Grand G. Capers, was born in South Carolina. During the Mexican war he was chief of General Worth's staff, and that distinguished chieftain died of cholera in the arms of Major Capersin San Anto- nio, Tex. After the war Major Capers was ap- pointed United States military judge in Mexico, which position he filled for four years. After- ward for many years he engaged in the practice of law in New York City, and there his death occurred in 1868, at the age of fifty-nine years. He was a typical southern gentleman, hospit- able, courteous, polished and generous, one who won many warm personal friends, as well as a high position in the legal fraternity.

The wife of Maj. Le Grand G. Capers was Amelia, daughter of Henry S. Layton, of Long Island, N. Y., and granddaughter of David Lay- ton, a colonel in the Revolution. Her mother was a Cornwall, a direct descendant of the Corn- wall family of England. The subject of this sketch was born at Roslyn, L. I., May 21, 1853, and was educated in the schools of Brooklyn, N. Y. After completing his education he secured a clerkship with A. T. Stewart, and when the latter, in 1874, opened his wholesale branch house in Chicago, he was given charge of a

department, at the head of which he continued for four and one-half years. Later he spent a similar period with Marshall Field in the same capacity. On account of poor health he was finally obliged to leave Chicago, where he sold his property to good advantage. In 1885 he went to Denver, but soon bought and fenced a ranch of fifty thousand acres in Costilla County, Colo., which was the largest and finest ranch in the state. He had ten thousand head of cattle. After having engaged in the management of his property and stock holdings for two years he sold the ranch at a large figure to the Mormon Church. From Costilla County he came to Pueblo and opened a wholesale cracker and confectionery manufactory, which he conducted for a time. His next venture was the establishment of the Stand- ard Fire Brick Company, which is the largest concern of its kind west of the Missouri River. As a business man he is shrewd, keen and dis- criminating, quick to see a favorable opportunity, and equally quick to avail himself of it. The success which he has gained proves him to be a man of splendid business ability.

Firm in his allegiance to the old-school Democ- racy Mr. Capers has more than once been offered the nomination for important offices, but these he has invariably refused, preferring to give his en- tire attention to private business affairs. While he is not a member of any denomination he is in sympathy with Christian work and contributes to the support of the Presbyterian Church, with which his wife is identified. On the 3d of June, 1880, he was united in marriage with Emma M., daughter of David Cole, of Chicago, and one son blesses their union, Francis Le Grand, Jr.

ILLIAM R. MATSON, who has gained a reputation as one of the most successful wool buyers in Colorado, is the present representative, in southern and western Colorado, of Charles J. Webb & Co., of Philadelphia, and resides at Colorado Springs, having his office at No. 27 Midland block. He came to this state in 1895, establishing his headquarters in the city where he now resides, and from here he has de- veloped business interests throughout Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. He probably handles, individually, more wool than any buyer in Colo- rado.

The Matson family was founded in America by two brothers who came from England and set- tled in Haddam, Conn., early in the eighteenth

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century. One was of a roving disposition and drifted west into Kentucky. The other was the founder of this branch of the family. The great- grandfather of our subject ¿was a general in the continental army during the Revolutionary war. The grandfather, Roderick Matson, was born in Haddam, where he was an attorney for some years. Removing to Port Byron, N. Y., he was there elected to a judgeship. His next location was in Utica, Livingston County, Mo., where he bought new land and platted the village of Utica. He also served as a judge in Missouri. His death occurred when he was seventy-eight years of age. Though a slave owner, when the war broke out he gave his sympathy and support to the Federal government, and served in the Mis- souri state militia. While the law was his chosen field of work, yet in other lines he was equally successful, and his large stock farm adjoining Utica was one of the finest in the county. The father of our subject, Abraham W. Matson, was born at Port Byron, N. Y., about 1823. He moved with his father's family to Utica, Mo., in 1836. He assisted on the home farm, gaining such education as the county then afforded. In 1854 he married Caroline Judson Pickslee, who was born in New Castle, Ky., and died in Mis- souri. She was a daughter of William Pickslee, who settled near Liberty, Mo., and became an ex- tensive farmer and stock-raiser, also operated a large wool-carding establishment.

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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 133

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