Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 17

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

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ERCY HAGERMAN, Ph. B., treasurer of the Pecos Valley & Northeastern Railway Company, and president of the Mollie Gib- G son Consolidated Mining and Milling Company of Aspen, also a charter member of the Colorado Springs Mining Stock Association, and a mem- ber of the Chamber of Commerce, is a son of J. J. Hagerman, of Colorado Springs. He was born in Milwaukee, Wis., January 24, 1869, and in boyhood attended Markham's Academy in that city. In 1882, when his father went to Europe, he accompanied him, and remained on the con- tinent until 1884, meantime having the excellent advantages offered by the best schools of Europe. After coming to Colorado Springs he entered Colorado College, where he was a student for one year. In 1886 he entered Cornell University, where he took the regular course of study, grad- uating in 1890, with the degree of Ph. B. Dur-

ing his university course he took a special inter- est in athletics, particularly in rowing, and dur- ing the three years that he was a member of the crew he was victorious in every contest.

For one year Mr. Hagerman was a student in the department of law in Yale University. Re- turning to the Springs in 1891, he became inter- ested in mining in Cripple Creek. Previous to this he had formed important mining interests with his father at Aspen, and now holds the presidency of one of the most successful mining companies there. In the organization of the Pecos Valley & Northeastern Railway Company he assisted his father, and has been the treasurer of the company from its inception, his father being the president. The road is now completed from Pecos, Tex., through Eddy to Roswell, N. M., and to Amarillo, Tex., a distance of three hundred and seventy-two miles. Its com- pletion will enhance the success of the land com- panies in the valley, in a number of which he is an officer and director.

The marriage of Mr. Hagerman, in Minnea- polis, Minn., united him with Miss Eleanor Lowry, of that city, daughter of Thomas Lowry, whose name has long been intimately connected with the street railways of Minneapolis. Mr. Hagerman has one son, Lowry Hagerman. The various social organizations of this city liave found in Mr. Hagerman an active and interested friend. The Alumni Association and Kappa Alpha Society of Cornell number him among their members. He is also identified with the El Paso and Cheyenne Mountain Country Clubs of Colorado Springs, and the University Club of New York City.

ON. NATHAN BROWN COY, A. B., former state superintendent of public in- struction of Colorado and president of the State Teachers' Association, and now professor of ancient classics in Colorado College and prin- cipal of Cutler Academy at Colorado Springs, also a member of the board of trustees of the State Normal School at Greeley, has been identified with educational work during almost the entire period of his residence in Colorado, and has be- come known as one of the most successful edu- cators in the state. He has secured a substantial recognition of the genuineness of his merits in his professional capacity, and by his conscientious discharge of duty as official and educator he has won the confidence which is manhood's crown.

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Not only has he advanced the interests of educa- tional institutions with which he has been directly connected, but he has given an impetus to the schools of the state and has forwarded various enterprises for their benefit.

Born in Ithaca, N. Y., Angust 30, 1847, Na- than Brown Coy is a son of Edward Gustin and Elizabeth Esther (Brown) Coy, natives respect- ively of Winchester, N. H., and Ithaca, N. Y. Through his father's maternal ancestors he is re- lated to the Howe of sewing machine fame, and General Howe, the Indian fighter. Edward Gus- tin Coy, who was a son of Martin Coy, a farmer, followed the' trade of foundryman and machinist in Winchester, then in Ithaca, and finally in San- dusky, Ohio. He died while visiting at Plants- ville, Conn., at sixty-five years of age. His wife was a daughter of Nathan Luce Brown, who was born in New Jersey, and engaged in the mercan- tile business in Ithaca. At one time he was war- den of the state prison at Auburn, N. Y. From Ithaca he removed to Sandusky, Ohio, where he engaged in merchandising until his death. His wife was a member of the Corwin family. Mrs. Elizabeth E. Coy died in Ithaca, and of her five children all but one are living. One of the sons, Edward Gustin, was for twenty years head of the Greek department in Phillips' Academy, and is now head master of Hotchkiss school in Lake- ville, Conn.

When the family removed to Sandusky, Ohio, the subject of this article was eight years of age. He prepared for college in Williston Seminary at East Hampton, Mass., where he remained for two years, being graduated at the head of his class. Afterward he took the regular literary course in Yale University, from which he was graduated in 1870, with the degree of A. B. At once after completing his studies he entered upon the work of teaching. For a time he was engaged in teach- ing in New York, later in New Jersey and Con- necticut. In 1875 he was appointed head of the Latin department in Phillips' Academy at An- dover, but he had scarcely begun his labors in this institution when he was stricken with hem- orrhages and obliged to resign.

Realizing that he could regain his health only by removal to a more congenial climate, in 1876 Professor Coy came to Colorado. He purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres ten miles southwest of Denver, near Fort Logan, and there the constant outdoor exercise and delightful cli-

mate combined to restore him to his former vigor. He still owns the farm, but as soon as his health permitted he resumed the work of his life, that of teaching. For five years, from 1881 to 1886, he was engaged as instructor in classics in the Den- ver high school, but the failure of his health forced him to return to his farm. Buying a herd of full-blooded Jersey cows he embarked in the dairy business, which he conducted in conjunction with general farm pursuits.

A Democrat in politics, Professor Coy has al- ways been interested in public affairs, but his interest has been that of a private citizen rather than a partisan. When, in 1887, he was nomi- nated for county superintendent of schools of Jef- ferson County by the Republicans, he positively declined to accept the nomination. Three years later, in the fall of 1890, he was nominated by the late Rev. Myron Reed, without having been consulted in the matter, as state superintendent of public instruction, on the Democratic ticket. After thoughtful consideration he accepted the nomination and at once entered into the campaign with his customary vigor. He was elected at the head of his ticket and began the duties of office in January, 1891, for a term of two years. Prior to the expiration of his term he requested that he should not be made a candidate for re- election, but, notwithstanding this request, the Democratic state convention renominated him and persuaded him to accept the nomination. How- ever, he refused the endorsement of the Popu- lists, not being in sympathy with their party plat- form, and as that was the year of the great Popu- list victory, he was defeated with the remainder of his ticket, which he led in number of votes re- ceived.

In 1891 Professor Coy was elected president of the State Teachers' Association. The conven- tion of that year he made a memorial meeting, at which appeared on the platform the first territo- rial superintendent of schools in Colorado (Mr. Curtis) and Mr. Baker, who taught the first school in the territory. They, with Governor Gilpin, the first territorial governor of Colorado, delivered appropriate addresses. There was also on the platform a fac-simile in miniature of the first school house in Colorado (in Boulder Conn- ty). The memorial celebration took place in a building that cost $300,000, while the picture shown of the first school building indicated that it probably cost less than $50. The convention

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was an exceedingly interesting one and reflected great credit upon Professor Coy, who had worked unceasingly in order to make it a success.

In 1891 Governor Routt appointed Professor Coy a member of the Colorado board of directors for the World's Fair. He was made responsible for the educational exhibit from Colorado. To this work he devoted his energies, throwing into it his vigor, enthusiasm and intelligence. Early in 1893 he went to Chicago, where he remained, as chief of the educational department for Colo- rado, until the close of the exposition. He then superintended the packing of books and papers and their return to original owners. His success in this exhibit is proved by the fact that it re- ceived some fifteen or twenty medals at the Fair. Besides this work he improved the occasion to make a memorial of the educational history of the state, and his biennial report of the educa- tional department gave a comprehensive summary of the educational history of Colorado, as well as a review of the work of his administration. This report, in published form, comprises a volume of almost nine hundred pages and has received the highest commendation from competent judges.

For two years Professor Coy owned a controll- ing interest in and acted as editor of the Colorado School Journal, during which time he enlarged the journal, increased its circulation and trans- formed it into a first-class school periodical. He then sold it and returned to his country home. In 1894 he declined to be considered a candidate for the superintendency of the state reform school for boys at Golden. The next year, while liv- ing in Denver, he was requested to become a can- didate for superintendent of schools of Arapahoe County, but refused. In 1895 he was appointed by Governor McIntire as trustee of the Colorado State Normal School at Greeley for a term of six years. He had previously, as state superintend- ent, been an ex-officio member of the board, and had made the equipment of the school one of the special objects of his administrative work, secur- ing for the presidency the present incumbent, Dr. Snyder, who has filled the office with the greatest efficiency since 1891.

In February, 1897, Professor Coy came to Colo- rado Springs as associate professor of classics in Colorado College and principal of Cutler Acad- emy. Possessing literary taste and fluency of speech, he has frequently been called upon to give addresses and lectures. At the national labor convention in 1892 he gave, by request, a paper on

Child Labor. He is now (1898) president of the college and high school section and acting presi- dent of the State Teachers' Association. In the National Educational Association he has been in- terested, and at the Brooklyn convention, in 1892, he was a member of the department of superin- tendents, having an active part in the proceed- ings of the department. He was formerly iden- tified with the University Club of Denver, and was a charter member of the School Masters' Club, at the organization of which he presided. For many years he was a trustee of the First Congregational Church in Denver. Reared in the faith of the Republican party, he became a Democrat at the time of the Tilden campaign and has ever since been a strong advocate of the principles of this party. He was married in New Haven, Conn., to Miss Helen Frances Parish, who was born in Springfield, Mass.

There is no profession more honored than that of the educator, to whom is given the training of the youthful mind, the development of the men- tal powers. Not only may it be said of Profes- sor Coy that he has been efficient and progressive as a teacher, but the still higher commendation may be given him that he has aroused enthusiasm among other teachers and created in their minds a desire to reach the highest success in their pro- fession. It is the united testimony of the educa- tors of Colorado that his connection with the schools has proved beneficial in a high degree to the educational interests of the state.

ILLIAM H. BEMAN, president of the Williams Lumber Company of Leadville and senior member of the firm of Beman Brothers, hardware merchants, was born in Franklin County, N. Y., in 1860, a son of Na- than and Helen (Hilliker) Beman, natives of New York state. His father, who for years en- gaged in the mercantile business in Franklin County and owned several stores there, is now living retired in Chateaugay. A Republican in politics, he was for years president of the town and custom house officer. During the Civil war he served as captain of the home guards. He was a son of George W. Beman, a lawyer of New York state, but deceased in middle age; the lat- ter's father, Nathan Beman, conducted Ethan Allen through an underground tunnel, rendering it possible for him to take possession of Fort Ticonderoga. The Beman family were among the earliest pioneers of New York state. Our

QUAN Baxter

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

subject's mother, a daughter of William Hilliker, a farmer, is still living. Of her children, Frank W. is associated with William H. in the Beman Hardware Company, of Leadville; George W. resides in Beatrice, Neb .; and Jessie is the wife of Dr. J.W. Campbell, of Franklin County, N. Y.

At the age of nineteen our subject came to Colorado, settling in Leadville during the early days of the camp. For a few years he engaged in mining, after which he followed various occu- pations. In 1889 he became connected with the Williams Lumber Company as secretary and treasurer, but after two years was made vice- president, and soon afterward, in 1891, when Mr. Williams died, he succeeded to the presidency. He also bought out three hardware firms and es- tablished a large hardware business, under the firm name of Beman Brothers. The company was incorporated in 1898, with him as president. Besides his other enterprises he is interested in mining.

A Republican in his political opinions, Mr. Be- man is well posted concerning public affairs and is especially interested in local improvements. For four years he served as councilman of Lead- ville. Fraternally he is connected with the Elks and the Patriotic Order Sons of America. In 1886 he married Miss Eunice Burris, who was born in Kansas, and they have three children, William, John and Martha. Mrs. Beman is a daughter of Col. John Burris, who was an officer in the Mexican and Civil wars, and 'had a num- ber of engagements with Quantrell and the James boys. An attorney by profession, he has been district judge of his district in Kansas since 1885, and as a lawyer and citizen he stands high in his community.

ON. OLIVER H. P. BAXTER. It is a trite but true proverb that "Times change and we change with them." Many are the changes that the past forty years have wrought in Colorado. Cities have sprung up as though by magic; great mining camps stretch like huge arteries between the mountains; land, irrigated and improved, responds quickly to the care of the farmer; and schools and colleges afford to the young the best possible opportunities for acquir- ing an education. Few among the residents of Colorado have been identified with its history through all these years of change and progress. Here and there may be found a pioneer of '59, but rarely do we meet with a pioneer of '58, for

the tide of emigration had then scarcely begun. As a representative of this small and distin- guished class, the name of Oliver Hazzard Perry Baxter deserves prominent mention. Since 1858 he has been identified with the history of this state, and from 1866 to the present time he has been a resident of Pueblo and connected in- timately with its most important enterprises.

The Baxter family is of Welsh and Scotch- Irish descent, and its first representatives in America (three brothers) settled in New England, whence later generations scattered throughout the country. William Baxter, our subject's father, was born in Dayton, Ohio, and became a pioneer of Indiana, where he improved a farm ten miles from Madison, in Jefferson County. There he died at fifty-one years of age. His wife was Jane Kerr, a native of Pennsylvania, and member of an old family of Pittsburg. and Allegheny City, Pa. Of their ten children, seven are living, and several of their sons were members of Indiana regiments during the Civil war. The fourth in order of birth was the one who forms the subject of this article. He was born on the home farm in Jefferson County, Oc- tober 31, 1835, and in childhood had such advan- tages as pioneer schools could afford. At the age of thirteen he was apprenticed to the black- smith's trade in Indiana. About 1852 he went to Keokuk, Iowa, where he worked at his trade for six months. Later he was employed in the first factory erected in Moline by John Deere. In 1854 he went to Council Bluffs, and from there to St. Joe, thence to Nebraska City, where he built a shop and entered a claim of land near the present site of J. Sterling Morton's residence.

When the first rumor of the discovery of gold reached Mr. Baxter he prepared to come to Colorado, without waiting for the verification of the rumor. He made the trip with four com- rades, whose names were Golden, Drake, Gould and Carpenter, not one of whom is now in this state. They left Nebraska City in August, 1858, and, with ox-teams, journeyed np the Platte via Kearney, making their way along the South Platte, where as yet no wagon road had been made, and arrived in Aurora (Denver) October 4, 1858. They started a town, Arapahoe, on Clear Creek, but the enterprise was a failure, and in the early winter they went to the present site of Colorado City, then marked by only one cabin. Going from there into South Park, they were the first to locate mines where Fairplay now stands.

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While there they were snow-bound for some time, and, being short of provisions, they lived for two months on such game as they could find.

In the spring of 1859 Mr. Baxter went to Den- ver, and after Gregory's discovery prospected in Gilpin County, where he had made some good locations, but mining and assaying being crude, the work proved unprofitable. He then turned his attention to his trade, which he followed in Central City during the winter, thus securing the means to enable his partners to continue pros- pecting. In the spring of 1860, at the time of the Tarryall excitement, he was one of the first to secure a claim there, and in 1861 he was among the first in California Gulch, where he had some good claims and made considerable money. In the fall of 1861 he returned to Denver with his gold dust, which he had coined at Clark and Gru- ber's mint. Afterward, with three companions, he started by ox-team for Arizona, but went no further than Pueblo. He squatted on land six miles below Pueblo, at the mouth of the St. Charles, where he opened up a ranch, built a ditch and in 1862 raised his first crop. Farming brought him good returns from the first. His crops were large and prices high, and he con- tinued, successfully, for five years.

Moving to Pueblo in 1866, Mr. Baxter became president of a company that built and operated the first flouring mill on the Arkansas River, the inill occupying the present site of the Federal building, while a ditch ran through the land now occupied by the opera house. For more than twenty years he continued as manager of the mill. Meantime he became connected with other important enterprises. Near the mill he built the first house in the town that could boast of a shingle roof. When the erection of the Federal building was planned, he and the mill company donated to the United States Government, for $1, the site now occupied by the structure, for which property the mill company had refused $75,000. He also became interested in the com- pany that erected the opera house, which is not only the finest building in the city, but one of the finest theatres in the entire country, and this is due largely to his energy and judgment as president of the company.

Mr. Baxter was one of the organizers of the American National Bank, of which he was the first president. It was afterward consolidated with the Stock Growers' National Bank, under the title of the Mercantile National Bank, and he

is a director in the latter institution. From an early day he was interested in real estate in dif- ferent parts of the city, and many valuable pieces of property passed through his hands. He also, with others, engaged extensively in the cattle business, and transferred their herd from the Pan- handle of Texas to the Indian Territory, thence to South Dakota, and finally sold out. Through his efforts the gas company was formed, and he superintended the building of the plant; he has since been president and general manager of the Pueblo Gas and Electric Light Company. He is also interested in the Pueblo Street Railway and Power Company. In the building of the first water works in the city he took an active part. While it was with the expectation of proceeding to Arizona that he first came to Pueblo, he did not become interested in Arizona mines until 1896; he is now president of the Colorado-Arizona Gold Mining and Leasing Company, which has good prospects of success. He was married, in Pueblo County, to Miss Edna Alice Heury, who was born in Leavenworth, Kan. They are the parents of two children now living: Maude, wife of Otis W. Bruner, of Denver, and May, wife of L. S. McLean, of Pueblo, both of whom were educated in New York. They also had two sons and one daughter, who died when quite young.

During the Civil war, when the Indians com- mitted ceaseless depredations in Colorado, Mr. Baxter raised Company G, of the Third Colorado Cavalry, and was made its captain. The company bore an active part in the battle of Sand Creek, and remained in service until the regiment was mustered out. While serving as captain in the In- dian war he was elected a member of the ter- ritorial legislature, and immediately after being mustered out he proceeded to the capital, where the session had already opened. In 1865-66 he was a member of the territorial council, during which time the capital was transferred from Golden to Denver. He was appointed, by Gov- ernor Gilpin, a member of the first board of county commissioners to organize Pueblo County, and served as chairman of the board at the time of organization. Frequently, in later years, he was elected county commissioner, and at one time served for eight consecutive years. He was also a member of the city council for many years. In politics a Republican, he was formerly actively connected with the state central committee and also served as chairman of the county central committee. One of the organizers of the Pueblo

JUDGE D. W. ROBINSON.

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Club, he held the office of president and also served as a member of the board of directors in that organization. He assisted in the organiza- tion of the first lodge of Odd Fellows in Pueblo and was frequently elected to the higliest posi- tions in the lodge, which he also represented in the grand lodge. He is a member of the As- sociation of Colorado Pioneers, of which dis- tinguished society he is one of the oldest members.

The foregoing is a summary of the leading facts in the life of Mr. Baxter. It is, however, im- possible to show the extent to which he has in- fluenced the progress of Pueblo, his close identifi- cation with every progressive movement, and the public-spirit he has displayed as a citizen. The high regard in which he is held by his fellow- townsmen show that he has been successful in his endeavor to discharged every dnty of life with honesty and fidelity.

UDGE D. W. ROBINSON, ex-county judge C of Prowers County, came to Colorado in the spring of 1889 and homesteaded land near Granada, where he now owns one hundred and sixty acres of land irrigated from the Bent ditch. To the cultivating of this land he gave some at- tention, but his time was devoted principally to the harness business, which he successfully con- ducted in Granada. In 1894 he was the Repub- lican candidate for county commissioner, but was defeated by thirty votes. In 1895 he was nom- inated for county judge by the independents, with the Democratic endorsement, and was elected by a fair majority. He removed to Lamar upon beginning official dnties and occupies a comfort- able residence here, which property he owns.

A son of George W. and Delilah (Baker) Rob- inson, our subject was born in Kosciusco County, Ind., April 20, 1844. He was reared on a farm and received common-school advantages. When eighteen years of age, in 1862, he enlisted in Company A, Seventy-fourth Indiana Infantry, and took part in the battles of Perryville, Ky., Chickamauga, and a number of skirmishes. Being taken ill he was sent to a hospital at Nash- ville and from there to Cincinnati, where he fell a victim of the small-pox and was then sent to the hospital at Covington. Finally he rejoined his company at Washington, D. C. He saw and shook hands with President Lincoln a few days before the latter was shot, and afterward he was called upon to aid in guarding the war department and saw the remains of the illustrious dead as

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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 17

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