Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 187

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 187

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Breckenridge, and is now serving his seventh term as county physician.

By the Colorado State Medical Society, of which lie is a member, Dr. Arbogast was appointed a delegate to the American Medical Association's convention in Columbus, Ohio, in June, 1899. He is identified with the Pan-American Medical Congress, comprising the United States, Canada and Mexico. He is also connected with the Rocky Mountain Inter-State Medical Association and the International Association of Railway Surgeons, and has acted as surgeon for the Denver, Lead- ville & Gunnison Railroad (now the Colorado & Southern) , ever since its building. For thirty years or more he has been a Mason, and for years has acted as secretary of Breckenridge Lodge No. 47, A. F. & A. M. He is also medicine man of Kiowa Tribe No. 6, of the Order of Red Men. In Denver, May 13, 1883, he married Miss Lillian A. Smith, a native of New Haven, Conn. They became the parents of three children: Minnie L., deceased; Clio L. and Clarence.

OBERT H. ASHWORTH, member of the board of alderman of Colorado Springs and a civil engineer of this city, has resided here since the 4th of July, 1890, and owns a comfort- able residence at No. 1028 Bluff street. He was born near Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio, A11- gust 5, 1850, a son of Robert and Sarah (Mur- ray) Ashworth, natives of the same county as himself. His grandfather, David Ashworth, was born in Ireland, of English descent, and settled in Ohio, where he engaged in farming until his death. Robert Ashworth was owner of a tan- nery near Pomeroy, and it is still in the family, being operated by a son. He died April 26, 1897, at the age of eighty-two years. His wife, who was the daughter of a farmer, died in March, 1892, at the age of seventy-nine years. She was the mother of four sons and one daughter who attained mature years. The eldest of these, David, was a member of the One Hundred and Fortieth Ohio Infantry during the Civil war and is now living at the old homestead, where Charles, the second son, also resides. Augustus is with the Titus Paper Company in Middletown, Ohio, and Mrs. Hoskins, the daughter, also re- sides in Meigs County, Ohio.

After studying in the public schools and the National Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio, our subject engaged in teaching, and for a time was principal of the Rock Springs school. From

early youth he was interested in surveying, and was three times elected county surveyor of Meigs County, besides which he served as city engineer of Pomeroy, Ohio, for one term. On resigning his position as county surveyor he went to Iowa in 1884, and was chief engineer of the Des Moines & Kansas City Railroad until the year 1889, when he embarked in the manufacture of furniture at Cainsville, Mo., but after one year, on account of the ill health of Mrs. Ashworth, he sold out and came to Colorado Springs, where he has since engaged in surveying and civil engineer- ing. In 1895 he was elected county surveyor of El Paso County, on the Republican ticket, and served for one term. He is now chief engineer of the Pike's Peak Power Company. For a short time in 1892 he was employed in the sur- vey of the Midland Terminal Railroad.

In Chillicothe, Ohio, in October, 1882, Mr. Ashworth married Miss Ada Chapman, who was born in Cincinnati, the only child of Hon. O. B. Chapman and Louise (Hamil) Chapman. Their two children are Raymond Chapman, a member of the high school class of 1902; and Frank Carr, of the class of 1903. Mrs. Ashworth is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

On the Republican ticket, in 1897, Mr. Ash- worth was nominated as alderman from the fifth ward and was elected, taking office in April of that year for a term of two years. He has since served as chairman of the fire and sewer com- mittees and member of the street police and ceme- tery committees. While in Ohio he was made a Mason at Chester, in 1872, afterwards serv- ing as master of the lodge and still holds mem- bership in the Pomeroy, Ohio, Chapter. He was also made a Knight Templar there and is now associated with Pike's Peak Commandery No. 6.

D JOL. H. M. FOSDICK. The records of the lives of our forefathers are of interest to the modern citizen, not alone for their historical value, but also for the inspiration and example they afford; yet we need not look to the past. Although surroundings may differ, the essential conditions of human life are ever the same, and a man can learn from the success of those around him if he will heed the obvious lessons contained in their history. Turn to the life record of Colonel Fosdick, study carefully the plans and methods he has followed, and you will learn of managerial ability seldom equaled. A man of keen perception, of great sagacity, of unbounded

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enterprise, his power nevertheless lies to a great extent in that quality which has enabled him to successfully control men and affairs.

This honored citizen of Boone, Pueblo County, was born in Boston, Mass., in 1822. His father was a prominent merchant of that city, and for over thirty years an influential member of the Massa- chusetts legislature. Our subject was educated in the best academies of that city and also in Andover College, and at the age of twenty-two commenced learning civil engineering in the office of Samuel Felton, ex-president of Harvard college. Before the end of a year he was head engineer in the office, with a salary of $1,800. He located a part of the Grand Trunk Railroad from Quebec, Canada, to Richmond. He next went to Kentucky, where he was chief engineer of a railroad, but the officials of the Grand Trunk recalled him to take charge of special work on their line. He returned to Quebec, and for eight years was again connected with that road as chief engineer, with headquarters at Montreal. Ap- preciating his efficient work in their behalf, the company presented him with $3,000 when he re- signed from their service.

Returning to Boston, Colonel Fosdick opened an engineering office there and also purchased a sugar refinery eight miles from the city, paying for the same $80,000, but it was soon afterward burned to the ground. In 1859 he crossed the plains by team to Denver, Colo., meeting Horace Greeley on the way. Afterward he laid out Colorado City, and became the owner of most of the town. He returned to Boston in the year 1860 for his wife and children, bringing them to Colorado City, and in 1863 he located at his present place, near Boone, where he owns a fine ranch, well stocked with horses and cattle. He has also done considerable engineering since com- ing to the state, in the way of laying out ditches, etc. He has also been prominently identified with public affairs in his community, and is rec- ognized as one of its most useful and valuable citizens.

In 1847 he married Miss Lucy Hollis, of Boston, daughter of a wealthy merchant of that · bar, after which he engaged in practice. He be- place. They became the parents of the follow- ing-named children: Henry M., a prominent stockman of Fowler, Colo .; Lucy, a resident of Boston; Susie, wife of Albert G. Boone; Samuel, Mary Ellen (familiarly known as Pink) and Frank, all at home; and Willie, who died when a young man.

Politically Colonel Fosdick was originally a Whig. He was in Faneuil Hall, Boston, when Daniel Webster delivered his famous address. Since the formation of the Republican party he has been one of its ardent supporters, and for twenty-five years he most acceptably served as postmaster of Boone. He is the youngest look- ing man for his age in Pueblo County, is pleasant, genial and sociable, and is very popular, having a most extensive circle of friends and acquaintances, who esteem him highly for his genuine worth.

ILLIAM R. MILLIGAN. The ranch owned and occupied by Mr. Milligan is situated three miles south of Jefferson in Park County, and, at the time he located upon it, consisted of one hundred and sixty acres, but has since, under his energetic business man- agement, been increased to ten hundred and twenty acres. Here he has engaged in haying and the cattle business, and has become recog- nized as one of the substantial men of his county.

Coitsville, Ohio, is Mr. Milligan's native home and August 6, 1863, the date of his birth, his parents being W. J. and Martha T. (Brownlee) Milligan. The eight children comprising the family are all living, our subject being second in order of birth. The others are: N. R., a contrac- tor of stone and brick work, residing in Youngs- town, Ohio; Katie McGuffey, at home; Ada, wife of Oscar Fosdick, of Cleveland, Ohio; Joseph T., who is connected with his brother, William R., in the management of the latter's ranch; Ed F., a teacher in the public schools of Park County; and John T. and Bessie, at home.

A native of Coitsville, Ohio, born in 1834, W. J. Milligan in youth learned the trade of a stone and brick mason, and in time became one of the leading contractors of his locality. He continued in business until his oldest son, N. R., was fitted to succeed to it, when he retired from active la- bors. His father, James Milligan, was a native of County Tyrone, Ireland, and came to America with his parents at twelve years of age. In early manhood he studied law and was admitted to the came one of the successful attorneys of Mahoning County, where he served as county commissioner, probate judge and in many other offices of trust. He married Katie McGuffey, a sister of Rev. William McGuffey, a Presbyterian minister of Wheeling, W. Va., but best known as the author of many text books.

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When one year of age our subject was taken into the home of his maternal grandfather, Moses Brownlee, who was a native of Glasgow, Scot- land, and in boyhood accompanied his parents to the United States, where he settled upon a farm near Coitsville. Under the loving and watchful care of his grandparents, our subject remained until his grandmother died, when he was twelve years of age. He then returned to his father's home. Under the instruction of his father he learned the trade of a stone and brick mason. At twenty-one years of age he left home and went to Pittsburg, Kan., where he worked for some six months at his trade. During that time he cut the stone for the tower of the water works at Pittsburg. Afterward he accepted a position on the civil engineer's corps of the Burlington Railroad system and continued in the same posi- tion for three years and three months. In 1889 he came to Colorado and settled in Park County, where for two years he worked on the ranch owned by William McCartney. His next step was the taking up of the land he has since owned and managed. He has been a hard-working man, and justly deserves the prosperity he has secured. In fraternal connections he is a mem- ber of the blue lodge of Masons. Since coming to Park County he has established domestic ties, having been married, August 12, 1891, to Belle, daughter of the late William McCartney.

12 ANIEL E. NEWCOMB, president of the San Luis Valley Stock Growers' Association and vice-president of the San Luis Chamber of Commerce, is one of the largest stock-raisers and land-owners in Conejos County. He was born in McHenry County, Ill., in 1844, a son of Daniel and Mary Ann (Thomas) Newcomb. Af- ter the Civil war opened, in 1862, he enlisted in Company D, Ninety-fifth Illinois Infantry, in which he served until the close of the war, mean- time participating in the siege of Vicksburg and Mobile, and the other engagements in which General McPherson commanded. He was mus- tered out as corporal and was acting sergeant- major of the regiment.

Returning to Illinois in 1865, Mr. Newcomb entered the State Normal School, from which he graduated in 1868. For four years he was prin- cipal of the Golconda public school. In 1872 he came to Colorado and located in Pueblo, where he was proprietor of the old Drovers' hotel, situ- ated on the corner of Third street and Santa Fe

avenue. After one year there, in 1873 he settled at Del Norte, and accepted the position of princi- pal of the school, at the head of which he continued for four years, and then was elected county superintendent of schools, being the first to hold the position after the admission of the state. In 1877 he settled six miles west of La Jara, but at that time there was no village nearer than Del Norte, fifty miles away. He took up a pre-emption and homestead and embarked in stock-raising. In 1883 he organized the La Jara Creamery Live Stock Association, of which he was elected secretary, treasurer and general manager, and since then he has given his attention to the management of this company, in which he is the largest stockholder. He conducts farming operations upon a large scale, raising forty thou- sand bushels of grain in a year, and keeping be- tween two and three thousand head of cattle, be- sides some horses. His landed possessions aggre- gate ten thousand acres, his taxes being the larg- est of any land owner in the county.

Politically Mr. Newcomb is a Republican of the silver branch, being a firm believer in the merits of silver and the need of a change in the present system of monometallism. He is inter- ested in mining at Good Hope, N. M., where he has favorable prospects. Successful in his enter- prises, he is numbered among the substantial residents and prominent pioneers of the valley. In 1897 he assisted in the organization of the San Luis Chamber of Commerce, of which he was chosen vice-president. For three years he served as regent of the Colorado State University at Boulder. All the leading questions of the day receive thoughtful attention from him, and the state has no one more enthusiastic than he in all matters bearing upon stock or mining interests, or the general welfare. In 1879 he was united in marriage with Miss Alice Russell, of Illinois. She died in 1887, leaving five children, of whom four are living: Daniel E., Jr., who is in charge of the ranch, Alice, Anna and Kate.

ONNY HORN, a well-known stockman re- siding in Trinidad, was born in Lamar County, Tex., September 17, 1845, and was one of the first white children born in the then republic of Texas. He was a son of Berry and Martha (Doss) Horn, natives respectively of Alabama and Virginia, but both of whom died when their son was a small child. The father was a cotton planter by occupation and owned a

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large plantation, which was operated by his slaves. In his family there were three children, one son and two daughters.

Until twenty years of age our subject made his home in Texas. The school system was then so defective that he received very few educational advantages. His parents dying, he was reared by his uncle, S. E. Doss, a cattleman in Texas, and about 1865 he began to drive cattle to Colo- rado, in those days a perilous undertaking, as Indians were hostile and numerous. He con- tinued thus engaged for some years. In Septem- ber, 1872,he started from Texas with a herd of fif- teen hundred cattle. While still in that state, and following the Concho trail to New Mexico, he was attacked by Comanche Indians, who stampeded the horses. There were nine men in the party of whites. The Indians, supposing they were sleeping in the wagons, fired twenty-three shots through these vehicles, but fortunately the men were lying on the ground, and as the Indians came rushing toward the wagons, our subject killed one with his musket. This so frightened the others that they beat a hasty retreat. How- ever, the following night they again made an at- tack, stampeded the entire herd and took five hun- dred head of the cattle that could travel most rapidly. Proceeding by stage to Colorado, our subject found that the Indians had taken a herd of forty horses that were on the Chaquaqua. This was his last trip as a driver.

Iu 1872 Mr. Horn turned his attention to the stock business on the Chaquaqua, having as his partner George W. Thompson. From the Cha- quaqua he removed his herd to Colfax County, N. M. For six years he remained in New Mexico, during which time he sold five thousand beef cattle and invested $17,000 in cows. At the expiration of the six years, he sold his herd for $300,000 in caslı. Re-investing, he bought five thousand head of cows, which he drove to Utah, expecting to clear a large fortune from the in- vestment, but the heavy snow storm of 1888 caused the total annihilation of the herd and left him without means.

After his disastrous loss of his herd in the storm, Mr. Horn went to the staked plains, where he has since had a range, with a herd of about six thousand head. He bought a private bank and organized the Trinidad National Bank, of which he was president for six years, but not liking the business, he sold out. Politically he is a Democrat. For three years he has been

chairman of the board of county commissioners. At the first election of President Cleveland, he was elected as one of the presidential electors, receiving fifteen hundred more votes than his ticket. Though not caring for office, he has been a power in politics and has wielded a large influence. Fraternally he is a Knight Templar Mason. March 27, 1868, he married Miss Doss, of Texas. They have an only daughter, who is the wife of G. W. Fuller, of Bonham, Tex. For his namesake and only grandchild, Lonny C. Fuller, a boy of four and one-half years, our subject has started a private herd of Herefords, numbering about fifty head, which number will be increased in coming years, and will form a valuable herd by the time the child attains his majority.

0 RVAND E. SPERRY, M. D. In this age when men of energy and ability are rapidly pushing their way to the front, those who by their unaided efforts have won success in pro- fessional or business life may properly claim rec- ognition. Prominent among this class in Custer County is Dr. Sperry, a well-known physician and druggist. Years of practical experience and success in his useful work of healing have given him the esteem of his acquaintances and a repil- tation as a skillful physician. He is an exception- ally active, energetic man and has a very extensive practice, which extends into Chaffee, Huerfano, Pueblo, Saguache and Costilla Counties, liis long residence here and his high standing as a physi- cian making his services in demand throughout this large extent of territory.

The Sperry family is of Scotch lineage. The doctor's father, Philip P. Sperry, emigrated from Scotland in 1818 and settled in Warwick County, Va., where he became a prominent physician. Early in the '5os he returned to Great Britain and in 1862 his death occurred in Wales. By his marriage to Margaret Campbell, of Scotland, he had five sons and two daughters, of whom three are living : Harlow W., a physician in Lincoln County, Mo .; Daniel D., an architect in Cali- fornia; and Orvand E., the youngest of the famı- ily. The last-named was born at Warwick Court House, Va., October 25, 1838. He received a classical education at William and Mary College, his studies from an early age being directed with the medical profession as their objective point. After having gained a rudimentary knowledge of medicine under his father's instruction, he en-

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tered the Albany (N. Y.) Medical College, from which he received the degree of M. D. in 1860. However, before completing his course there, he spent eighteen months in the Edinburgh Univer- sity in Scotland.

Opening an office in his native place, Dr. Sperry remained there until the breaking out of the war. He then went to Macon, Ga., and en- listed as second lieutenant in Company F, Ninth Georgia Infantry. He was wounded in the shoul- der in the first battle of Bull Run and in October was discharged on account of disability. Later he entered the Richmond artillery, in which he served until the close of the war, participating in the principal engagements prior to the surrender at Appomattox. At the close of the war lie came west as contract surgeon with the Eighteenth United States Infantry and was in the service for twenty months, after which he began to practice in Cheyenne, Wyo. In 1869 he came to Colorado and settled at La Porte on the Cache la Poudre, when Fort Collins had little else besides the gov - ernment buildings. The town was so dull and prospects so poor that he decided to remove to southern Colorado. For nearly two years he was engaged in inspecting ties and timber for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, in the Hard- scrabble district, when the road was building from Pueblo to Florence, and the temporary track from Monument south to Pueblo being put in shape.

At that time there were but two physicians in Pueblo and one in Canon City. The doctor, therefore, had considerable to do and, liking the country, he decided to remain. In 1874 he re- moved from the Hardscrabble district to Rosita, then the only town in the Wet Mountain Valley. In 1892 he settled in Westcliffe and in 1897 opened a drug store, the following year taking P. Phelps Collins, M. D., as his partner in prac- tice and the drug business. After a time he en- gaged in practice at Querida, his present location.

In politics a Republican, Dr. Sperry was elected a member of the seventh general assem- bly in 1889, and has served frequently as county commissioner, but the demands of his practice are such that he prefers not to hold public office. As a member of the town board, he favored the development of the city water supply as well as those other enterprises for the advancement of the town. In the development of the mining inter- ests of the county he has been active, and now holds some properties that, under more favorable prospect for silver, will be paying investments,

but at the present low price of silver their opera- tion would not be profitable. He is a member of the Episcopal Church, in which he has been a delegate to the general council and for many years a vestryman. Fraternally he is connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen; Westcliffe Camp No. 308, Woodmen of the World; and Silver Cliff Lodge, A. F. & A. M. In 1863 he married Harriet Scott, daughter of Dr. J. W. Compher, of Bedford Springs, Pa. They have one child, Hazel, who is now a stu- dent at Wolfe Hall, Denver.

ATHANIEL A. RICH, the owner of valu- able mining property and a large ranch in Park County, was born in Cartersville, Bar- tow County, Ga., February 27, 1840, a son of J. W. and Charlotte Rich. He and his older brothers, James W. (a merchant in the Cherokee Nation) and Thomas J. (residing in Seattle, Washı.) are the survivors of eleven children com- prising the family. His father, a native of Habersham County, Ga., born about 1798, was a descendant of an old family of South Carolina, and married Charlotte Wofford, a native of Georgia, but descended from one of the pioneer families of Virginia. He engaged in farming in Georgia and became the owner of a plantation and slaves. During the Mexican war his son, W. W. Rich, enlisted, rose to the rank of captain and later held the commission of colonel in the Confederate army. He himself was a veteran of the Florida war. His death occurred in 1848. He was a son of William Rich, a native of South Carolina, and one of the substantial planters of that state. The maternal grandfather of our sub- ject, Nathaniel Wofford, was a native of Virginia and a member of one of the F. F. V.'s; after his marriage he removed, with his wife, to North Carolina and settled at Turkey Cove, being the first man to locate in that district. The Wofford family furnished many patriots during the Revo- Intionary struggle.

In the fall of 1859 the subject of this sketch started for Colorado. Reaching Leavenworth, Kan., he spent the winter there. In the spring he and fifteen others hired their passage and crossed the plains, making the journey with ox- teams, and arriving in Denver April 4, 1860. From there he proceeded to Leavenworth Gulch, where he engaged in mining. On the 15th of July he went to California Gulch. He was the first white man in Pleasant Valley, to which he

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gave its name. He also named Badger Creek, Texas Creek and Squaw Creek, the name of each being suggested by some incident connected there- with. During the years 1862-65, in connection with mining, he engaged in the mercantile busi- ness at Canon City and on Cash Creek, while the winter months were spent in trading with the Ute Indians. He took up and located the first ranch in South Arkansas Valley, where he arrived, on his wedding trip, in a wagon that had but three wheels and was drawn by one ox. The place, which was situated near Salida, was after- ward known as Punch's Springs ranch. He re- mained there for two years and left in 1867, going to Twelve Mile Park in Fremont County, where he traded with the Utes. He gained the confidence of this tribe of Indians possibly to a greater degree than any other white man ever possessed, and frequently he used his influence for the protection of his white brethren.

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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 187

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