Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 154

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 154

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

1158

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of this party. He is a strong advocate of public schools, and, as president of the school board of Leadville, did much to promote the standard of scholarship in this city. Fraternally he is a member of Leadville Lodge No. 51, A. F. & A. M., and Mount of Holy Cross Commandery No. 5, K. T. His life is a useful and active one profes- sionally, and the success he is gaining is one of which he is worthy.

ALTER SCOTT CLARK, postmaster of Aspen, was one of the first prospectors in this mining camp, and has witnessed its growth and development. He was born in Con- necticnt November 12, 1850, a direct descendant of Thomas Clark, who came to America in the "Mayflower." His father, Griffith Clark, a na- tive of Connecticut, settled in Wisconsin in 1850, and afterward engaged in farming there. He married Saralı Scott Tillinghast, a native of Mas- sachusetts and member of an influential old Quaker family of that state, being a descendant, through her mother, of Stephen Hopkins, a signer of the declaration of independence. Of her children, John Hopkins Clark resides in Madison, Wis .; George T. (deceased), who settled in Colorado in 1859, was very active in public affairs and held a number of important positions, including those of mayor of Denver and state treasurer; James, who enlisted in the Union army during the Civil war, died during the siege of Vicksburg while serving as a member of the Second Wisconsin Cavalry; and Anna, Mrs. S. L. Sheldon, makes her home in Madison, Wis.

The early years of our subject's life were passed in Wisconsin, where his parents settled when he was an infant. After completing the studies of the public schools he entered Evansville (Wis.) College, where he remained for a short time, later carrying on his studies in Albion College, in the same state. When sixteen years of age he be- came interested in a drug business. Five years later he came to Colorado and began in the grocery business with his brother George, on the corner of Fifteenth and Larimer streets, Denver. He also gave considerable attention to mining. As the years passed by his time was given wholly to the development of mines, and he traveled through the states investigating and developing mines. July 8, 1879, found him in Aspen, which was then practically unknown. Since 1883 he has made this place his headquarters, and is in- terested in a number of properties in this part of

the state. He located some of the principal mines in Smuggler and Aspen Mountains and gave to Aspen Mountain the name which it now bears. Among the mines he located were the Smuggler, The Duraut and the late Acquisition group. He was also one of the principal factors in locating and starting the town of Aspen, among whose citizens lie has long been influential. A strong advocate of the silver cause, he votes with that wing of the Republican party. In 1897 he was appointed postmaster of Aspen, which posi- tion he has efficiently filled. . In Masonry he has been very active and has attained the thirty- second degree. He is held in high regard in his community, and has many friends in the town of which he was one of the earliest residents.

12 R. STANTON M. BRADBURY, a practic- ing dentist of Grand Junction, and president of the Western Colorado Academy of Science, was born in Pike County, Ill., April 20, 1843. His father, Samuel Bradbury, was for years a prominent farmer of Pike County, but in 1873 removed to Canon City, Colo., where he engaged in mining, He still makes that city his home, and, in spite of his almost ninety useful years, he is active and well preserved. By his marriage to Julia Ann Merris, who died in 1880, he had four children, all of whom except our subject re- side in Canon City, where James M. is a physician and surgeon and Daniel A. is an architect.

Lured westward by the discovery of gold, our subject crossed the plains in 1859, at which time he visited several of the camps in the mining regions in this state, and then returned to Illinois. In 1861 he again started for the west, this time accompanying a party of gold seekers who pur- sned their way to Montana and in Bannock City, in the fall of 1861 were among the first to locate mines. For two years he was connected with producing mines in that section. He then re- turned east, and soon settled in St. Louis, where for several years he was connected with railroad interests. At Kansas City, Mo., he took up the study of dentistry, where he remained until 1871, and then removed to Canon City, Colo., there en- tering upon practice. Afterward he was engaged in practice in different parts of the state, finally settling in Grand Junction in 1889. He has de- voted some time to mining, especially in Gunnison County, but now gives his entire attention to his profession. For some time he was a member of the school board of this city. In the local lodge,

1159

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Knights of Pythias, he has been active, and has served as chancellor and grand representative to the state grand lodge. He has four children: Cora, wife of Edward W. Keller; Asa A., Ellery and Arthur. Mrs. Bradbury died in April, 1880.

In 1891 Dr. Bradbury called a meeting of some friends in Grand Junction and devised plans, which he presented to them, for the organization of the Western Colorado Academy of Science, for the study and advancement of the natural sciences. His plans were cordially approved, the organization was perfected, and he was chosen its president, which office he has since filled. As the head of the academy, he has led the members in their researches in geology and botany, and has himself made a great advance in his acquaintances with nature in its varied forms.

AMES MILTON ELLISON, general agent for the passenger and freight departments of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad at Colo- rado Springs, and a resident of Colorado since May, 1872, was born in Knox County, Ill., Decem- ber 23, 1840, being a son of Thomas and Nancy (Huddleson) Ellison, natives respectively of Madison County, Ky., and near Richmond, Ind. His grandfather, Amos, a planter of Virginia, removed in an early day to Kentucky and there died. Thomas, who was born in 1809, was a young man when, in 1834, he removed to Knox County, Ill., and settled upon a tract of land, out of which he improved a fine farm. During the Mexican war he enlisted as captain of a com- pany of Illinois men, but peace was declared be- fore the regiment was ordered to the front, and hence he did not see active service. His death occurred in 1896, at eighty-seven years of age. His wife died in Illinois in 1880, when seventy years of age. In religion they were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Of their seven children all but two attained mature years and three are now living, one sister in Montana, another in Illinois, and James M. in Colorado.

On a farm adjoining the college town of Abingdon, Ill., the subject of this sketch was reared. He was educated in Hedding Seminary, a Methodist institution, and for six months after leaving school taught near Canton, in Fulton County. At Prairie City, Ill., in 1861, he mar- ried Miss Lydia A. Sanford, who was born in McDonough County, Ill. In August of the same year he volunteered in Company H, Thirty-third Illinois Infantry, known as the Schoolteachers'

regiment, and organized by the president of the State Normal School at Bloomington. He was mustered in at Springfield and ordered to Jeffer- son Barracks, from which point he went to Iron- ton, Mo., for the winter. In the spring of 1862 he took part in engagements in the south and west, skirmishing all the way to Helma, then moving to Vicksburg. During the memorable siege there he was taken ill, and was sent to the hospital at St. Louis, and later to the hospital at Quincy, Ill. On account of physical disability, he was honorably discharged in 1863.

Returning to his old home Mr. Ellison resumed work as a teacher, but after six months went to Chicago, where he attended Bryant & Stratton's Business College, taking a commercial course and also studying telegraphy. In 1864 he was placed in charge of the Western Union telegraph station at Waukegan, Ill., and six months later was transferred to Joliet, where he was in charge of the Western Union city office for five years. In 1869 he entered the employ of the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company, and was given charge of their large office at Ogden, Utah. While he was filling that position, the company was bought out by the Western Union Telegraph Company. In the fall of 1870 the latter company sent him to Salina, Kan., where he was operator and also station agent for the Kansas Pacific Railroad. In May, 1872, resigning his position, he came to Denver, and applied to Colonel Dodge for employment, and by that gentleman was sent to Colorado Springs. At that time there were only about a dozen houses in Colorado Springs, and the place was then known as Colorado City; the cars were small, of the narrow gange stand- ard, 'and everything was of a primitive charac- ter. At present there are seventeen hundred miles of railroad, and the cars are of the finest make. In 1888 he was made general agent of the passenger and freight departments, and this po- sition he still holds, having his headquarters in the First National Bank block. He owns a resi- ·dence at No. 704 Tejon street and owns other property here. He and his wife have two chil- dren: Mrs. Minnie Warden, of Cripple Creek; and Frank G., a conductor on the Rio Grande Western Railroad, with headquarters at Grand Junction.

While at Joliet, Ill., Mr. Ellison was made a Mason, and he is now a member of the grand lodge of Colorado; past officer in Colorado Springs Chapter No. 6, R. A. M .; past eminent com-

1160

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

mander of Commandery No. 6, K. T., and a member of El Jebel Temple, N. M. S., in Den- ver. In politics he votes the straight Republican ticket, but has never participated in public affairs, nor shown a partisan spirit in his opin- ions. He is a member of the Chamber of Com- merce.

ARTHUR CONNELL, of Colorado Springs, was one of the organizers of the Colorado Springs Mining Stock Association, and is now an officer in and director of the Mining Ex- change Building Association. He has his office in the Postoffice block and is doing a large busi- ness in mining stocks. He was among the first to enter Cripple Creek, but did not become in- terested in any mines there until the fall of 1891, when he bought an interest in the Buena Vista (now the Isabella) Mining Company, but this he later sold. He is now president and gen- eral inanager of the Work Mining and Milling Company, which owns a mine on Raven Hill. For a time he served as secretary and treasurer of the Ingham Company, in which he is still a stockholder, though not an officer. Before the fire he had large real-estate interests in Cripple Creek, but these he lias mostly sold, retaining only the Ivanhoe block.

The father of our subject, his grandfather, great- grandfather and great-great-grandfather, were all named Arthur Connell. The great-grand- father, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, was, like his father, interested in the East India trade and was a large merchant. He was prominent in local affairs and filled the office of provost of Glasgow (a position similar to that of mayor). The Connells originated in the southwestern part of Ireland and settled in Scotland about 1645. Our subject's father, a native of Glasgow, was the eldest in a family of twelve. For some years, in early manhood, he engaged in the East India trade, but it declined at the time of the Crimean war and he retired from business. He died in Glasgow in 1864, at seventy-two years of age .. In religion, like his forefathers, he was a strict Presbyterian.

Our subject's mother, Jane Carrick, was born in Glasgow and died near there in 1896, aged seventy-eight. Her father, James, was a native of Glasgow and a manufacturer there. He was a well-known yachtsman and won the first prize ever competed for on the Clyde, in 1823. The medal that was then presented to him is now in

the possession of our subject and is in the form of a large silver anchor. He was one of the three original founders of the Royal Northern Yacht Club, which is the principal yacht club in Scot- land and was the one that built the "Thistle." In religion he adhered to Scotch Presbyterian tenets. His death occurred in Glasgow.

In Edinburgh, Scotland, where he was born November 30, 1862, the boyhood years of our subject were principally passed. He attended the high school and took a course in English and higher mathematics in the University of Edin- burgh, after the completion of which he traveled over the continent with his mother, in 1882-83. In the fall of 1884 he crossed the ocean to the United States and located on a large stock farm near Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and bought an interest in the Rockford farm, where were kept imported Clydesdale horses and Galloway cattle. After he had been there about six months two men from Colorado purchased some cattle, which he volun- teered to deliver. In this way he made his first trip to Colorado, coming in February, 1885, with a cattle train. While here he bought a ranch on the divide. When he came the second time to Colorado he brought with him three car loads of thoroughbred Galloway cattle, which was the largest herd of that grade of cattle ever in the state. With a partner, James Roxburgh, he in- corporated the Colorado Black Cattle Company, of which he was president and general manager. He continued at Black Cattle ranch, or "Scotch- man's Retreat," as it was sometimes called, for three years and then sold out. He came at once to Colorado Springs, and opened a real-estate office here, since which time he has engaged in the real-estate business, although since 1891 his attention has been given largely to mining. He has built, not only in this city, but also in Colo- rado City, Cripple Creek and other points, among his most important enterprises being the building of the Clyde block here, Argyle block in Colorado City and Ivanhoe block in Cripple Creek.

In New York City Mr. Connell married Miss Mary Adela Byrne, who was born and educated in Liverpool, England. He has one child, Mad- eline. Socially he is connected with the El Paso Club and has been a member of its board of gov- ernors for the past six years. He is a charter member of the Cheyenne Mountain Country Club. In the Colorado Springs Golf Club he is a mem- ber and a director. In national politics he gives his support to the Republican party. He is a

GEORGE A. HENDERSON.

1163

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

member of the Chamber of Commerce of Colorado Springs. Worthy enterprises receive his support and active assistance, and such organizations as the Y. M. C. A. have reason to feel grateful to him for the interest he has manifested in their success. In religion he is connected with St. Stephen's Episcopal Church.

EORGE A. HENDERSON. There is prob- ably no resident of northeastern Colorado who has been more intimately and success- fully identified with its business interests than the subject of this article, who since 1887 has made his home in Sterling. He is the proprietor of a large business establishment, in which he carries a full line of hardware, vehicles, farm im- plements, grain and seed. Upon coming to the town, he erected a store opposite the court house, and this he occupied until he bought his present location on the corner of Main and Second streets. Year by year he added to his stock, until it now occupies a space 50x190 feet, and is said by trav- eling salesmen to be the largest stock of the kind in Colorado carried by any firm in the retail trade outside of Denver. In addition to the large hard- ware trade, he has established an alfalfa seed business that is known on both sides of the Atlan- tic. For a number of years he has handled all the seed grown in Logan County, and much of this he ships to London, Hamburg and other for- eign ports.

In Delaware County, N. Y., the subject of this article was born September 19, 1860, to James and Nancy (McNealy) Henderson. He was the fourth of nine children, of whom all but one are still living. His brothers and sisters are as fol- lows: Andrew M., postmaster of North Courtright, N. Y .; Emma E., wife of H. H. Mitchell, a far- mer of East Meredith, N. Y .; John H., also a resident of East Meredith, where he is engaged in the mercantile business; Jessie A., wife of L. L. Leonard, M. D., of Bloomville, N. Y .; James M., a farmer of Delaware County, N. Y .; C. Irving, who occupies the old homestead in Delaware County, N. Y .; and Florence, who resides with her mother and brother on the old farm.

Born in Delaware County in 1822, James Hen- derson there grew to manhood and married Miss Nancy Harkness, by whom he had one son, Will- iam H., who isconnected with the Courier-Jour- nal, of Louisville, Ky. Seventeen months after the birth of William H., his mother died, and afterward Mr. Henderson married Miss McNealy.

In addition to farming, he engaged in buying, selling and shipping stock, and was a very suc- cessful business man. He continued to reside in his native county up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1890. His father, George Henderson, was a native of the south of Scotland and accompanied his parents to America when thirteen years of age, stopping in New York City, but later drifting to Delaware County, where he married Eliza Smith, and settled upon a farm. The maternal grandfather of our subject was An- drew McNealy, a native of Ireland, where he married Elizabeth Morrow, and from that coun- try they emigrated to America when their daugh- ter, Nancy, was a child of ten years.

The boyhood years of our subject's life were passed on the farm owned by his parents. Dur- ing the summers he assisted in the cultivation of the land, while in the winter months he carried on his studies. He acquired his education in the common schools, the academy at Walton, N Y., and that at Delhi, N. Y. After completing his edu- cation he taught in the district schools of Dela- ware County. In the spring of 1883 he went to Iowa, where he engaged in the drug and grocery business at Humeston, in partnership with his half-brother, William H. From there he came to Colorado, settling in Sterling, May 1, 1887, and establishing his present lucrative business. After one year he sold his interest in the Iowa business to his brother and purchased his broth- er's interest in the Sterling store, since which time he has conducted the business alone. He is a progressive and enterprising business man, and has met with striking success in his under- takings, not only being financially prospered, but at the same time winning a reputation for relia- bility and enterprise. His shipment of seed, dur- ing 1897, aggregated $50,000, much of which went to foreign ports. He has had other inter- ests besides those directly connected with his pri- vate business affairs. Upon the failure of the Bank of Sterling in 1893 he was made the as- signee, and closed up the business. Several times he has been elected to serve as a member of the Sterling town board and in 1895 was chosen to fill the office of mayor. In all local enterprises he takes a warm interest, fostering them by his influence and assisting them with his purse. By his connection with the alfalfa business he has done much to promote the prosperity of the county and has given it a reputation throughout the country through his large shipments of seed.

1164

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

He himself owns one thousand acres of alfalfa land, and is interested in the business personally, as well as for others. In fraternal relations he is connected with Logan Lodge No. 69, I. O. O. F.

The marriage of Mr. Henderson occurred in Kirksville, Mo., January 24, 1894, and united him with Miss Phoebe A. Corbin. One daughter, Isabel C., blesses their union. The family own and occupy one of the most attractive residences in Sterling. Among the people of this city they have many friends, and in social circles their standing is the highest. .

AMUEL NEWTON FRANCIS, editor of Facts, an illustrated weekly journal published at Colorado Springs, is a Pennsylvanian by birth and comes from a prominent and highly re- spected family in the eastern part of that state. His maternal grandfather came from a distin- guished and honored family in Germany, and his sons were all professional men of note, either phy- sicians or attorneys. The representatives on the paternal side of the house were also professional and literary men, his father being a college-bred man and an educator of considerable prominence.

When Mr. Francis was but nine years of age his father died and from that time he was thrown upon his own resources. He received his early education in a country school and subsequently worked his way through a military academy. After having completed an academical course of study, he learned the printer's trade, which line of business he has followed ever since, and has filled many positions of importance and responsi- bility. He was business manager of a large pub- lishing house in the east for about four years, but the strain of responsibility proved too much for his strength, and owing to ill health he was obliged to make a change. A position was offered him in Colorado Springs and he at once removed to this place, in1 1882, assuming the foremanship of the Daily Republic of this city. Six months later he became proprietor of that live daily. One year afterward, however, desiring to travel, he sold the paper and traveled for a year through many of the western states. However, his first love for the Springs brought him back to this city again.

On his return he started the publication Pike's Peak Herald, which was recognized as the most attractive and readable paper published in the west at that time; and in connection with the paper he also owned and conducted a large joh

printing office. After having successfully con- tinued this business for several years, a consolida- tion was effected with two daily evening papers, the Telegraph and Republic. Six months there- after he disposed of his interests in order to ac- cept the business management of the Gazette Pub- lishing Company, which position he held for nearly five years, until the. paper was sold to the present syndicate. Soon after this he became identified with Facts, a high-class journal. Three months later he purchased his partner's interest, and is to-day the sole proprietor and publisher. His ability as a business man, possessing pro- gressive ideas in journalism, is well known. He is a close observer of human nature and has keen perceptive powers, good judgment and persistent energy, which have always assisted him to attain success, Although still young in years, he has had a checkered career and a wide experience in newspaper work, and therefore is a thoroughly practical man. He is public-spirited and gener- ous, and has given liberally to everything that has appealed to him as worthy. He maintains a charming little home, over which presides his wife, a lady from Philadelphia, whom he married several years ago, and has a little daughter to whom he is deeply attached.

3 WING C. GUTHRIE, M. D., is one of the progressive physicians of Aspen, where he - has resided since 1895, meantime building up a practice that is not limited to the town itself, but extends throughout the county. He was born in Calloway County, Mo., September 4, 1864, and is a member of a pioneer family of that state. His paternal grandfather, Samuel T., who served as a soldier in the war of 1812, acted as a revenue collector in Missouri during its territorial days and was well known throughout that entire sec- tion of the country. He was interested in Ma- sonry, in which he had won an advanced degree.

Robert E. Guthrie, the doctor's father, was born in Calloway County, Mo., where he followed farm pursuits and also operated a mill. He mar- ried Mary J., daughter of James Chalfant, M. D., who served in the war of 1812 and for years prac- ticed medicine in Calloway County. The family of Robert E. Guthrie consisted of the following- named children: Ewing C .; James S. and George R., who are farmers residing at the old home- .stead in Missouri; Mary C. and Matilda R.

The boyhood days of Dr. Guthrie were passed on his father's farm in Missouri, His education

JAMES E. SMITH.

1167

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

was commenced in local schools and supplemen- ted by a thorough classical course in the State University of Missouri at Columbia, from which he graduated in 1886. He graduated from the St. Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1888, and afterward practiced in Camden, Mo., six years. From that place he came to Aspen, in 1895. He stands high in professional circles and is regarded as a rising physician. Besides his private practice he is surgeon for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 154

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