Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 194

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 194

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Rev. George M. Maxwell died in 1897. In his family there are five sons and one daughter, the latter, Mary W., being with her mother in Cincinnati, Ohio; Prof. H. Allen Maxwell has been connected with the high schools of Louis- ville, Ky., for several years; N. Wilson is con- nected with a paper in Hamilton, Ohio; and Joseph F. is an attorney in Denver. The educa- tion of our subject was begun in public schools in Cincinnati. At sixteen years of age he entered Marietta College, from which he graduated in 1872. Afterward he read law in the law office of Stevenson & Maxwell, attorneys in Cincinnati, and in 1875 was admitted to practice at the bar. For two years he engaged in professional work in Cincinnati, after which he came to Colorado and settled at Boulder, engaging in practice in that city until 1879. From there he came to Leadville in 1879, where he has since become known as an able and successful attorney.

The marriage of Mr. Maxwell, in 1880, united him with Emma C., daughter of Rev. L. H. Long, for years pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Urbana, Ohio, and at the present time a resident of Columbus, Ohio, but retired from professional work. For one of his years, (seventy-six) he is hearty and robust. He mar- ried Elizabeth Crumbaugh, who is still living. They became the parents of one son and two daughters. Charles T. Long, their son, is a traveling salesman in Ohio, and the daughter, Mrs. Warren A. Moore, resides in Leadville. Mrs. Maxwell was educated in a ladies' seminary in Ohio, and is a highly educated, refined and cultured lady.

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Besides his practice, Mr. Maxwell is largely interested in mining in Leadville. Fraterually a Mason, he served as grand master of the grand lodge of Colorado, A. F. & A. M., during 1891- 92, and Grand Commander of the Grand En- campment, K. T., of Colorado, 1898-99.

ILLIAM C. HARRIS. In the history of northeastern Colorado there are few in- stances of greater success than that shown in the career of the subject of this article. But a comparatively few years have elaped since he established his headquarters in Logan County, but these few years have enabled him to rise from limited means to a position among the most ex- tensive and prosperous cattlemen of the state. He is now one of the largest cattle dealers in Colorado, his herd numbering four thousand head, in addition to which he handles about twelve thousand head annually. By his pur- chase, in the spring of 1898, of the old Western Union ranch of eleven hundred acres, ten miles northeast of Sterling, on the Platte River, and adjoining his homestead, his ranch possessions have been increased to twelve hundred and sixty acres, all of which is under the ditch; and he has three hundred acres in alfalfa, which he uses in feeding his stock. Besides the feed raised on his ranch, he buys large quantities for his stock, having, in 1898, paid $8,000 for hay purchased during that year.

In Brownville, Neb., the subject of this article was born May 22, 1870, a son of William H. and Jane (Woodson) Harris. He was one of seven children, three of whom are living, his sisters being: Esther, wife of H. T. Sutherland, a cattle- man of Logan County; and Belle, who resides with her father in Sterling. William H. Harris was born in St. Joe, Mo., in 1832, and there grew to manhood. Shortly after his marriage he enlisted in the Confederate army and served until the close of the Civil war. Afterward he engaged in freighting across the plains from Leavenworth, Kan., to Denver, and made many trips across the plains. About 1866 he settled in Brownville, Neb., where he engaged in farming. Prior to his service in the army he made his home in Kansas for four years, and while there served as county judge of his county. After set- tling in Nebraska he gave his attention to agri- cultural pursuits. In 1875 he removed to Colo- rado and settled three miles north of Sterling, where he became interested in the stock busi-

ness. In the years that have since elapsed, while he has made several moves, he has re- mained in the vicinity of Sterling, and in 1898, retiring from active labors, he settled in Sterling, where he now lives, surrounded by the comforts secured from his former labors.

The education of our subject was completed in the high school of Sterling. After his graduation in 1891 he became a teacher in the district schools, where he taught for two terms. Later he was employed as a salesman in a mercantile establishment in Sterling, where he spent one year. He then turned his attention to the buy- ing and shipping of country produce, such as poultry, potatoes and general farm products. However, this did not prove successful. In a short time he began the business of buying and gathering bones, which he shipped to market. In 1893 he and a cousin organized the Bravo Ditch Company, and pushed the ditch through to com- pletion, also took out homesteads under the ditch and secured water for their property. They traded their surplus stock for work from neigh- boring farmers in the improvement of their home- steads. Shortly after this, Mr. Harris had a con- test for his homestead, but after some months of litigation he won the case. From that time he engaged in buying and shipping cattle, one car- load at a time. His earnings were invested in ranch property. In 1894 a drought in Nebraska caused a short crop of farm products there. He was a heavy shipper of alfalfa to that state and also a large buyer and shipper of alfalfa seed. He made money rapidly and extended his busi- ness of shipping cattle, alfalfa and seed through 1895 on a larger scale. Meantime the price of cattle had gradually risen and the demand for stock had increased among the ranchmen. Early in 1896 he went through Idaho and, Montana, buying cattle, which he shipped into Colorado and disposed of among ranchmen in this section. He also bought many steers and shipped to Neb- braska feeders. In 1897 he continued to buy on an increasing scale and shipped many carloads of cattle into, as well as out of, the state, handling during that year twelve thousand head of cattle. At the time that he first began to ship cattle, his second car was consigned to an Omaha commis- sion house, but, before returns had been made for the cattle, the firm failed and he feared there was no hope for payment; the loss at that time would have been a heavy blow to him. How- ever, in the final settlement of the business, he

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received a check in full for his stock. During 1897 he began running cattle on the range and increased his herd constantly. He buys almost all of the cattle shipped from this section of the country and is considered an authority in the cattle business. In the transaction of his busi- ness, he has traveled over sixty thousand miles by rail. In 1898 he opened an office in Sterling, where he makes his headquarters, but necessarily much of his time is spent in other places. His success has been truly remarkable. Even in Colorado, where instances of rapid successes are common, it is not often that a man is found wlio, in a short space of five or six years, has risen to a position of such influence and prominence as has he, and his standing proves that he is a man of sagacious judgment and great energy.

ETER P. KENNEDY, who has been en- gaged in business in Lake City, was born in New York February 27, 1834, a son of James and Catherine (Reynolds) Kennedy, na- tives of New York and Pennsylvania respectively. His father, who was a farmer, removed from New York to Richland County, Ohio, and there died when his son, our subject, was a boy of fourteen years. The wife and mother had previously passed from earth. They were the parents of six sons and one daughter.

When fifteen years of age our subject went to Mount Vernon, Ohio, to learn the shoemaker's trade. Upon completing his apprenticeship he went to Flemington, N. J., and established a shop of his own, but one year later removed to another town in that state, where he remained about eight years. Going to Illinois he worked at his trade in Galesburg for a year, then went to Rosetta, Henderson County, where he carried on a store for two years. In 1863 he went to Mon- tana, where he engaged in mining, with some success, for a year. On his return east he spent six months in Galesburg, then went to Kirkwood, Il1., and established a shop, erecting a building and remaining for ten years. In 1874, at Minne- apolis, Kan., in partnership with G. H. Justice, he established the firm of Kennedy & Justice, and built up an extensive business in the repair and manufacturing line.

Coming to Colorado in 1876, Mr. Kennedy en- gaged in mining for two years, although at the same time he retained his interest in the Kansas store. In 1878 he settled in Lake City, where for several years he retained his interest in mines, at

the same time working at his trade. In 1882 he disposed of his business interests in Kansas and three years later bought a store in which he car- ried a full assortment of boots and shoes, cloth- ing, men's furnishings and notions. In the early history of the Golden Fleece mine he was owner of a one-third interest in it, and he is still one of its stockholders. He was also interested in the Gov- ernor Pitkin mine, and it was largely through his instrumentality that the mine was sold for $135,000. He is still interested in mining stock.

Mr. Kennedy is a Master Mason, belonging to A. Lincoln Lodge No. 518, A. F. & A. M., at Kirkwood, Ill. Active as a Baptist, he was in- strumental in the building of the church here, and has served as a trustee since its organization. For ten years he served as a member of the town board. In 1881 he erected a residence that is one of the finest in the town. At Rosetta, Ill., in 1862, he married Caroline A. Hildreth, who was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio, but did not meet Mr. Kennedy until after her removal to Illi- nois; she died in Kirkwood, that state, in 1872. The present wife of Mr. Kennedy, whom he mar- ried in 1874, was Mrs. Mildred A. (Taliaferro) Mc- Farland, who was born in the city of Richmond, Va., member of a prominent southern family, and was first married to Capt. John McFarland, of Ohio.

3 F. SANDERS, president of the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Delta, and the present mayor of the town, is well known among the people of western Colorado. His interests are inseparably associated with the growing town of Delta, which, situated fifty-one miles east of Grand Junction, in the center of a fine fruit- growing country, has before it a future of impor- tance and influence. In reviewing the history of any community there are always a few names that stand out pre-eminent among others, because those who bear them are men of ability, culture and energy. Such men increase the prosperity of a place and promote its commercial importance, while their wealth, put in circulation in the neigh- borhood, becomes a factor in the general pros- perity.

Such a man is the subject of this article. It would be impossible to write a correct history of Delta and omit his name therefrom; for, while he has not been a resident of the town for an ex- tended period of years, his connection with its interests has been very intimate. He is a son

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of Henry and Catherine (Sheare) Sanders, natives of Pennsylvania, where the latter died at seventy- three years of age. The former, who was for some years a farmer of Bucks County, moved to New York state in 1848, settling in Broome County, where he followed merchandising and farming. I11 1894 he came to Delta, and has since made his home with his son, our subjeet.

Born in Broome County, N. Y., in 1854, J. F. Sanders spent the first fifteen years of his life on a farm in New York, but from there accompanied his parents to Luzerne County, Pa. He received a public-school education, but when quite young was apprenticed to the blacksmith's trade, which he followed for some years in Pennsylvania, and on that account his educational privileges were limited. In 1880 he came to Alma Park, Colo., and for several years engaged in mining and pros- pecting, also carried on the blacksmith's trade. In 1886 he went to Ouray, where he in 1893 loca- ted the Bachelor mine, now one of the largest sil- ver producing mines in the San Juan country, and in this he still owns a one-third interest. Asso- ciated with G. R. Hulbert and C. A. Armstrong, he brought the mine up to its present producing point.

Coming to Delta in 1894, Mr. Sanders embarked in the grocery business, which he carried on for a few years, and he also operated a canning fac- tory. During 1894 he purchased the controlling interest in the Farmers and Merchants Bank, of which he has since been president and which is recognized as one of the solid financial institu- tions of this section. His bank and mining in- terests, however, by no means represent the limit of his activities. He is connected with all of the leading bridge and ditch companies of Delta County and is president of a number of these. Other projects for the benefit of local interests re- ceive his hearty co-operation. He owns a grain ranch of one hundred and sixty acres and a fruit orchard of one hundred and twenty acres, contain- ing about fifteen hundred trees, the most of which are apples. In the town of Delta he has impor- tant property holdings. In 1896 he built the Sanders opera house and the following year erec- ted the Farmers and Merchants Bank building, these being two of the best buildings in Delta. In 1894 he built his residence, the finest in the town1, and besides this he owns six other dwelling houses here.

With so many important business interests in his charge, it might be supposed that Mr. Sanders

would find it impossible to give any attention to public affairs, but he finds time to keep posted concerning the great problems before the nation to-day. In politics he advocates Democratic principles. As mayor of the town, he has used his influence for those measures which he believes will promote the prosperity of the people and the welfare of the town. In fraternal relations he is past grand of Delta Lodge No. 116, I. O. O. F., and Delta Encampment No. 36, and is a member of the state grand lodge and grand assembly. In 1879 he was united in marriage with Catherine Ferguson, by whom he has five children, Dora M., Charles H., Cora B., Robert R. and Mary E.

EROME A. WEIR, a pioneer of Colorado, is the owner of Beaver ranch, comprising two hundred and sixty acres four miles south of Colorado Springs. In the early days of this city he operated a lumber yard, on the site of which he afterward built Weir's block, compris- ing fourteen rooms in one story, on the corner of Tejon street and Bijou avenue. He is also the owner of large interests in Dakota and has prop- erty in Glenwood Springs. Through his efforts a postoffice was established at Weir's Mill, and he was appointed the first postmaster.

At Wiretown, Sussex County, N. J., Mr. Weir was born March 4, 1840, being a son of George and Elizabeth (Kennedy) Wire. His father, who was of German descent and a native of New Jer- sey, engaged in wagon, plow and carriage manu- facturing, and was also a merchant, justice of the peace and the postmaster at Wiretown, a town named in his honor. The family name was originally Wire, and has been changed to its present form within recent years. About 1847 he removed to Philadelphia, and eighteen months later came as far west as Illinois, where he spent one winter in Peoria, and then removed to Nan- voo, Ill. He died in that town when fifty-two years of age. Twice married, he had seven chil- dren by his first union. His second wife, our subject's mother, was Elizabeth Kennedy, a na- tive of New Jersey. Her grandfather, Dr. Samuel Kennedy, was born in Scotland, and was a member of a noble family there. During the persecutions of those days a price was set upon his head and he fled to America, settling at John- sonburg, N. J., where he engaged in the practice of medicine. Her father, Moses Kennedy, who was born at Johnsonburg, participated in the Revolutionary war, with four brothers, all phy-

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sicians. When a young man he removed to the vicinity of Cleveland, Ohio, making the long journey with an ox-team and settling in the wil- derness. Mrs. Wire was twice married and had seven children, three of whom were born of her marriage to George Wire. They are: Mrs. Cath- erine Smith, of Muscatine, Iowa; Jerome A. and Austin H. The last named, a lumber merchant and twice mayor of Lincoln, Neb., and past grand master of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Nebraska, during the Civil war was a member of the Third, and afterward the Second, Colorado Infantry, and served from 1862 until the close of the Rebellion. He is a prominent worker in the Baptist Church. The mother of this family died when eighty-two years of age.

When the subject of this sketch came to Colo- rado in the spring of 1861, he located claim No. 28, immediately above the claim owned by H. A. W. Tabor. Securing employment, for which it was agreed he was to receive $2.50 per day, he worked for three weeks, but as he failed to be paid a cent of his wages, he proceeded to Buffalo Flats, near the present site of Brecken- ridge, and in the fall of the same year he returned to his old home. It was his intention not to come back to Colorado, but when he reached Mo- line and took his way across lots to his home, he found the lots were all fenced up, and he then and there resolved to return to Colorado, and in reply to his mother's inquiry if he was going back, he promptly answered "Yes." In 1862, with his brother Austin and George Van Horn and George W. Kennedy, a cousin, he again came west, driving a two-yoke ox-team and a wagon, and bringing with him three yoke of cows bought in Iowa. The party proceeded up the Platte River and at Fremont's Orchard turned toward Denver. They were attacked by a party of seventy-five Indians and had a running fight, but when our subject showed his intention of using his gun, the red men hastily dispersed. At that time they were within seven miles of Denver. He prospected in Buffalo Forks, where he had a cabin above the timber line; but as it took much of his time to obtain provisions and take them to his remote home, he determined to go lower. In January, 1863, he went to the Little Buttes and obtained work as a carpenter, which trade he had learned in boyhood. Learning that a sawmill was being operated at Dead Man's canon on the Little Fountain he started there. On the day before he reached that place Espanosa, a Mexi-

can, had killed a man at the mill, and Mr. Weir was followed at some distance by men who mis- took him for Espanosa, but fortunately they soon discovered their mistake. During the summer he was employed at the mill, but before he had received any pay the mill burned down and he lost all that was due him. He, however, con- tinued in the milling business, becoming a part- ner of C. T. Judd & Co., and locating a mill on the divide, fifteen and one-half miles from the present site of Colorado Springs. Later he bought the controlling interest in the mill, which was afterward known as Weir's mill. A letter to different forts brought him orders for lumber and he soon had charge of a flourishing business. During the Indian raids of 1865 and 1868 he nar- rowly escaped with his life. After the first fire in Denver he shipped lumber there for the use of carpenters in rebuilding. Shingles he sold at from $15 to $20 per thousand, and lumber at $65. With an eight-yoke ox-team hitched to a wagon he hauled $500 worth of shingles to Denver.

On selling his interest in this mill Mr. Weir lo- cated another mill sixteen miles below Canon City, where he engaged in the manufacture of lumber. In1 1868 he again went to the divide, locating a mill near the east end of the pinery on Squirrel Creek. When-the Indians threatened the life of the settlers in 1868, and in fact killed three boys and a man near his place, one day from seventy-five to one hundred Indians came to the mill and demanded food, but he refused to permit them to enter, knowing that they would destroy everything in the mill, once they were permitted to enter. Undoubtedly they must have been very hungry, as he saw them devour- ing a pigeon and a hawk, raw. A party of set- tlers were on their trail and they soon left.

From the mill on the divide Mr. Weir furnished the lumber used in the erection of the first build- ings in Colorado City (now the Springs), and also the lumber from which was constructed the first hotel, a building afterward used as an annex to the beautiful "Antlers," destroyed by fire Octo- ber 1, 1898. When the sheep business became profitable to El Paso farmers he was able to sell large quantities of lumber that was used in the building of sheds, etc. In 1882 he removed from the divide to a point eighteen miles from Mont- rose. toward Ouray. He also purchased a mill at Gunnison and manufactured lumber for the Den- ver & Rio Grande Railroad. Since the burning of his mill in 1883, he has engaged in the real-

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estate business in Colorado Springs, and built the Weir block, which has a frontage of two hundred feet in Bijou avenne, and a depth of one hundred and eighty feet. He was made a Mason in El Paso Lodge No. 13, in Colorado Springs, and became a charter member of Lodge No. 6. In the El Paso Pioneers' Society he is a prominent worker. While living on the divide he served as school director and aided in building the first schoolhouse there.

The first wife of Mr. Weir died August 24, 1886, leaving a daughter, Mrs. Rouse, of Colo- rado Springs. His second marriage took place in Moline, Ill., and united him with Miss Mary H. Huntoon, who was born in Illinois. Of this union two children were born.

LBERT BARBEZAT is engaged in raising cattle and also carries on a general farming 2 IXON BUCHANAN, superintendent of Har- mony ranch, the largest in Logan County, is one of the pioneer ranchmen of this part and threshing business in Yuma County. He came to Colorado in 1887 and pre-empted one . of Colorado. He was born in Clermont County, hundred and sixty acres of land three miles north- east of Yuma, where he settled; and, with a few head of cattle and horses, he began working in the stock business. To-day he is one of the sub- stantial ranchmen of the county. Besides his farming and stock interests he has operated a threshing machine since 1892 and has had charge of almost all of the threshing done in this section.

A son of Frederick and Louise Barbezat, our subject was born in Switzerland September 9, 1845. He and his sister, Lise, wife of William Hujuenin, of Switzerland, are the survivors of the three children of their parents. His father was born in Switzerland February 20, 1818, and in youth learned the watchmaker's trade, which he followed until his death. His wife was also a native of Switzerland, born November 21, 1819. Our subject received a fair education in the in- dustrial school at Neufchatel, Switzerland, from which he graduated in 1863. Immediately after- ward he came to the United States. Landing in New York City, he continued his journey west- ward, arriving in McLean County, Ill., May 17, 1863. He had learned the trade of a watch- maker in his native land, but did not follow the occupation in America. Instead, he secured em- ployment on a farm in McLean County. Work- ing for others for some years, he saved his earn- ings and applied them to the purchase of prop- erty. In the fall of 1868 he married and after- ward settled down to independent farming.

From Illinois Mr. Barbezat removed to Neb-

raska in 1884 and established his home in Seward County, where he spent three years in farming. In 1887 he came to Yuma County, where he has since made his home. He and his wife have had nine children, and all but two are living. The political belief of our subject brings him into sympathy with the Populist party. During his residence in Illinois he was tax collector for one year, and since coming to Colorado he has served as justice of the peace in his district for six years. He is interested in educational matters and for some years has served as a member of the school board. Fraternally he is connected with the Robert Morris Lodge No. 247, A. F. & A. M., of Minonk, Il1., and Rutland Chapter No. 117, R. A. M., of Rutland, Il1.

Ohio, March 21, 1856, a son of William D. and Louise (Simmons) Buchanan. He was one of fourteen children and the fifth among seven now living, the others being : George M., who is en- gaged in the confectionery business in Sterling, Colo .; Laura V., also of Sterling; Leonora, wife of A. G. Sherwin, a dealer in lumber and coal at Sterling; Kossuth, a stockman at Iliff, Logan County; Eugene, a cattleman living at Sterling; and Ida, wife of G. W. McClain, of Sterling.

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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 194

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