Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 198

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 198

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Had he chosen, he might have occupied many positions of trust and responsibility, but he has pre- ferred concentrating his attention upon his busi- ness and professional interests. It 1863 he was made a Royal Arch Mason in Mauch Chunk, Pa. He was one of the organizers and a charter mem- ber of Columbia Lodge at Boulder, Colo. For many years he has been identified with the Pres- byterian denomination. He was one of the prime movers in the building of the first large church of this denomination in Denver and has always been interested in religious work. His member- ship is still in Denver, where his family reside, in order that the children may receive the educa- tional and social advantages of that city. Though not one of the earliest settlers of Colorado, he is nevertheless a pioneer of the state and has been identified with its development for many years. A genial, whole-souled, large-hearted manı, he has a host of friends among his circle of acquain -. tances and is one of the most popular lawyers of the town.

EORGE R. ELDER, county attorney of Lake County and since 1878 an attorney of Lead- ville, is one of the well-known members of the bar of this city. He is a member of a family that has been honorably identified with American history since 1782, when one of that name emi- grated from Scotland and settled in Lancaster County, Pa. James Elder was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, serving as first lieutenant of a company made up of Franklin County patriots. Afterward he made his home in Center County, Pa., where, in 1802, he was nominated for sheriff on the Federal ticket.

George W. Elder, our subject's father, is a man of superior ability and splendid endowments. After graduating from Harvard College he e11- tered upon the practice of law, and won merited distinction in the profession. Besides his large general practice, for more than fifty years he acted as the leading counsel for the Pennsylvania Rail- road. During the Civil war he served in the Union army and took part in the battle of Gettys- burg. Though now seventy-seven years of age, he retains much of the activity of younger years, and is now in partnership with his son, Rufus C.

The mother of our subject was Margaret Scott Shaw, a native of Pennsylvania, and of Scotch descent. Her maternal grandfather, Capt. John Little, a man of wealth and prominence, was an officer in the Revolutionary war; her paternal

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grandfather, William Shaw, was an intimate friend of Benjamin Franklin and a member of the committee of safety during the Revolution. Her father, James Shaw, who engaged in farming in Northumberland County, Pa., served as connty surveyor for more than forty years, and was su- perintendent of the Freedom forges, the first foundry in Mifflin County, Pa., and which is still in operation.

In Lewistown, Mifflin County, Pa., our subject was born in 1856. At fifteen years of age he ma- triculated in Princeton College, from which he graduated in 1875. He was a member of the col- lege football team and stood high in all athletic sports. After completing his college course he studied law in his father's office and in 1878 was admitted to the bar, after which he began to prac- tice in Leadville, and has since resided here. In addition to his practice he has been interested in · mining, and for eight years was a director and stockholder in the Duncan Mining Company.

In early manhood Mr. Elder favored Republi- can principles, but after he made a careful study of the currency question he transferred his alle- giance to the People's party, and has since been prominent in its councils. In 1885 he was the Republican candidate for district attorney. In 1889 he became a Populist, since which time he has been chairman of the county central com- mittee. In 1895 he was elected to the office of county attorney, which he has since held. He is married and has one son, Robert D.

AMES ROBERT CURTIS, manager of the Allen Omnibus and Carriage Company, of Leadville, and a resident of Colorado since 1880, was born in Brookfield, Linn County, Mo., in 1860, a son of John C. and Hester Ann (Moore) Curtis, natives of Kentucky. His father, who was born in Louisville, and was a farmer by occu- pation, in 1860 removed to Missouri, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death in 1891. During the Civil war he enlisted in the Union army and was commissioned an officer in Company A, Twenty-second Missouri Infantry, in which he served until the close of the war. His wife, who is now living in Nevada, Mo., was a daughter of John C. Moore, a farmer, who owned a large estate two and one-half miles east of Brookfield and died there when our subject was a small child.

When seventeen years of age our subject began in the world for himself. Going to Iowa, he

worked on a farm near Corning for three years. At the age of twenty he came to Colorado, where he engaged in teaming at Pueblo. Returning to his old home, he remained there for a year, and then came back to the west. He spent a short time in Gunnison County, and from there came to Leadville, in which city he has since resided. At first he engaged in mining and the horse busi- ness, and for two years was foreman of barns, but finally abandoned other work to accept the posi- tion of manager of the 'bus line. Politically he is a Republican.

EORGE NEIDHARDT, the first white set- tler of Saguache County, now engaged in stock-raising and ranching, was born in Germany, February 17, 1837, a son of Xavier and Anna Maria Neidhardt, representatives of prominent German families. In the possession of our subject is the Neidhardt coat-of-arms. One of the members of the family came to Amer- ica at the time of the Revolution and at the close of the war assisted in the re-organization of the American army. Our subject's father was con- nected with the official life of Neiderstotzingen, and was mayor for fourteen years, and a man of prominence in his locality.

It was his mother's ambition that our subject should become a priest, but his tastes did not lie in that direction, and consequently he did not improve his opportunities for study. When seventeen years of age, having secured his father's reluctant consent to come to America, he crossed the ocean and settled in Pennsylvania, where he first worked on a farm, later in a saw and flour mill, and afterward at other vocations. In May, 1856, he went to Iowa, where he learned the baker's trade. From that state he went to Kansas in November, 1859, and in the spring of 1860 came to Colorado, walking the entire dis tance from Kansas, while his supplies were car- ried by ox-team.

After working in a bakery in Denver for more than a year, November 4, 1861, Mr. Neidhardt enlisted in Company I, First Regiment Colorado Volunteers, and served for three years, receiving his discharge November 17, 1864. March 23, 1862, he took part in the battle of Pigeon's ranch, through which the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad now passes. Here his regiment de- feated thirty-five hundred Texans, who had whipped the regulars and Mexicans at Ford Creek. In this battle he was wounded in the

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arm, but did not go to the hospital, as he was working for the officers and they needed his serv- ices. After he was discharged he returned to Fort Garland to cook for the officers, at their urgent request.

In the spring of 1865 Mr. Neidhardt came to his present location and took up one hundred and sixty acres, far from any human beings except Indians. He began to raise oats, wheat, barley and potatoes. While in the army he had saved $460, and with four other men who came to this locality after their discharge from the army, he bought one hundred and forty-three head of stock, which was his start here. To his original tract he added until he now has three hundred and sixty acres. He raises as much as two thou- sand oue hundred bushels of grain annually, having sixty tous of hay that he uses for feed. Besides this he raises twenty tons of alfalfa, and is increasing the latter so that he can keep more stock, for he believes in keeping only as many head of stock as he can feed during the winter. His ranch is under irrigation, and contains other needed improvements. He is assisted in the cultivation of the place by his step-son, John, who is a son of his wife by her first marriage.

Ever since the organization of the county, Mr. Neidhardt has been active in its affairs. At the first election there were but eight votes in the valley, and he acted as judge of the election. Always a Republican, he has been a delegate to county and state conventions for many years. From 1872 to 1881 he served as county commis- sioner. In 1891 and 1892 he was superintendent of water division No. 3, and since 1894 he has been water commissioner for district No. 25. For twenty years he has been president of the school board. Fraternally he is connected with Cen- tennial Lodge No. 23, I. O. O. F. Besides his other work, he has done considerable toward the development of the mining interests of this county, on the Sangre de Cristo range.

G EORGE S. LOVETT. The ranch of six hundred and forty acres owned by Mr. Lovett lies in Conejos County, near· La Jara. Here, since 1887, he has engaged in the breeding of fine trotting horses. He owns about one hundred head of horses, among them being some of the finest saddle-bred and trotting stock in the entire valley. Of late years he has also given considerable attention to the raising of potatoes, and for these he has received premiums

at the La Jara, Alamosa and Monte Vista fairs. He is also the owner of mining interests in Taos, N. M., where he owns mines that present good prospects in gold and copper.

Born in Grand Rapids, Mich., in 1857, our subject is a son of George S. and Caroline (Bee- len) Lovett. His father, who removed from New Haven to Grand Rapids in an early day, became one of the leading attorneys of the city, where for twenty years he practiced his profession. In 1867 he moved to Washington, and was living there, retired, at the time of his death, in 1882, when fifty-five years of age. By his marriage to Miss Beelen, who was a native of Pittsburg, Pa., he had six children, namely: Anthony, a mer- chant at Geneva, N. Y .; Louisa D .; George S .; Anna, wife of George H. Beaman, an attorney, of Washington, D. C .; Charlotte; and Caroline, wife of R. S. Bright, an attorney, of Philadelphia.

In the Kenwood school at New Brighton, Pa., our subject acquired the rudiments of his educa- tion. Afterward he studied in an academy and from there entered Swarthmore College, Phila- delphia, finally completing his studies in the Col- umbian University at Washington, D. C., and then took a business course in the Spencer Busi- ness College. In 1876 he was awarded a contract from the city of Washington and the national government to furnish material for the paving of Pennsylvania avenue and the foundation of the war and navy building. In three days he put in thirty-six hundred cubic yards of rock. He also furnished the foundation for the national museum and many private residences. For four years he carried on a large and profitable busi- ness.

Coming to Colorado in the spring of 1880, Mr. Lovett took up a school section in the San Luis Valley. He settled in Conejos, where he en- gaged with a firm of railroad contractors to do some grading for the Durango branch of the Den- ver & Rio Grande Railroad. At the same time he devoted considerable time to ranehing, and on his place cut about three hundred tons of hay, which he sold. In 1883 he bought his present home and erected one of the finest houses in the valley. At first he engaged in the cattle busi- mess with Hon. Alva and William H. Adams, and kept on an average of thirteen hundred head of Galloways, but in 1887 the partnership was dissolved, and he has since given his attention principally to horses.

On the Democratic ticket, in 1886, Mr. Lovett

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was candidate for treasurer of Conejos County, and was defeated by only thirty-three votes. He has taken an active part in local affairs and is a progressive and liberal citizen. His home is pre- sided over by his wife, Mary (French) Lovett, whom he married in 1885 and who is a daughter of Charles S. French, of Philadelphia.

ON. GEORGE W. SWINK. Often alluded to as the "father" of Rocky Ford, Mr. Swink's life has been inseparably associated with the development of this growing town of Otero County. The oldest settler of the place and owner of the land on which the town was built, he has lived to see what was in years gone by a barren waste transformed into a popu- lous village of fifteen hundred or more inhabit- ants, situated in the midst of a fertile section where small fruits and grains are raised in large quantities. He is the most prominent man of the village, and is, indeed, well known throughout this part of the state. He belongs to the class of pioneer residents to whom so large a debt of gratitude is due for their labors in developing hidden resources and in opening the way for civil- ization in the wilderness.

When the town site company was organized by ten men, each of whom owned a tenth interest, Mr. Swink made one of the number who entered into this combination, and he still owns a great deal of land adjoining the town limits. In the development of horticultural and agricultural in- terests he has been a leader, having done more for them in this locality than any other man in the Arkansas Valley. He was also the first man to start an apiary in this part of the state. Through his bee, fruit, melon and land enterprises he has become the possessor of ample means; this, too, in spite of the fact that he never attended school thirty days in his life, and has no education save that which all may obtain in the great school of experience.

Born in Breckenridge County, Ky., June 30, 1836, our subject was taken by his parents to Schuyler County, Ill., when he was four years old. He was reared on a farm and assisted in "grubbing," clearing and improving land. When nineteen years of age he purchased the second hand-sawmill in his county and this he operated for fifteen years. On selling it he pur- chased a farm near Bardolph, Ill., and there farmed for four years, at the same time dealing in stock. In November, 1871, having sold his

Illinois property, he came to Colorado, settling at the old Rocky Ford, three miles northwest of the village of that name. Here he opened the first store in what is now Otero County, having as his partner Asa Russell. In the spring of 1874 the partnership was dissolved and he continued in business alone. About the same time he moved his family from Illinois to Colorado. Afterward he carried on his store and engaged in raising cattle and horses. In the winter of 1876 he came to what is now Rocky Ford, and after the rail- road had been built through here in 1877 he opened a store with William Beghtol as partner. In 1884 he sold his interest in the store, after which he turned his attention to horticulture and ranching. In order to secure necessary water he assisted in building the Rocky Ford ditch, in which he was a prime mover and which is fifteen miles long; the Catlin ditch, built by a stock company, and thirty-five miles long; Rocky Ford High Line ditch, eighty-four miles long, in all of which he is a stockholder, and he has also as- sisted in the construction of other ditches. In 1874 he grew the first canteloupes in the county, but did not begin to market melons until 1878, since which time he has been the largest melon grower in the valley, having about two hundred acres planted to melons.

The landed possessions of Mr. Swink aggre- gate two thousand acres, all lying along the ditches and all under cultivation, but operated by renters. He assisted in the organization of the State Bank of Rocky Ford, of which he was the first president and is now the vice-president. During the campaign of 1896 he left the Repib- lican party, of which he had always been a meni- ber, and allied himself with the silver forces. In 1893 he was elected to the senate on the Repub- lican ticket, and in 1896 was re-elected on the silver Republican ticket. On the organization of Otero County, in 1889, he was appointed by the governor as one of the first county commissioners. He was the first mayor of Rocky Ford and con- tinued to be re-elected to the office until he re- fused to serve longer.

By the marriage of Mr. Swink to Mary J. Cook, of Illinois, eleven children were born, seven of whom are living. L. C. is an attorney in Colo- rado Springs; Louis is a large cattle dealer in this state; Edward is engaged in farming and the fruit business in Otero County; Schuyler is also a farmer and fruit grower in this vicinity; Clem- entine died at twenty years and Minnie when

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twenty-three; Mattie is the wife of Samuel Hulse, of Rocky Ford; Hannah is also married; Belle is at home; Alonzo died in 1893; and Will- iam was killed by being kicked by a horse. The family have many friends through this section of the country, and occupy a high position socially in the locality where they have so long made their home.

ENRY SCHATTINGER. From early man- hood Mr. Schattinger has been a resident of the west, where at first his life was one of travel and adventure, but for some years past he has given his attention to ranching, and is now the owner of a valuable ranch of six hundred and forty acres situated near Jefferson, Park County. During the period of his residence in South Park he has been identified with its growth and prog- ress, and has made many friends who esteem him highly for his sterling worth.

The family history of our subject appears in the sketch of his brother, Peter, who is a promni- nent ranchman of Park County. Henry was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, July 1, 1851. Like hundreds of others he acquired his education in the common schools. By subsequent travel, ob- servation and experience he has become a well- informed man, possessing a general fund of infor- mation that enables him to converse intelligently on almost any subject. Devoting his attention to the potter's trade, he worked in different pot- teries in Cincinnati until he was twenty-five years of age. When the Black Hills gold excitement began in 1876, a company was formed in Cincin- nati, of which he became a member. In May of that year he started for the west. They met with many adventures in their long journey and lost two or three men of the company in fights with the Indians. The summer was spent in the Black Hills, prospecting.

Returning to Cincinnati in the fall, Mr. Schat- tinger resumed work at his trade. In 1877 he and his brother, Peter, came to Colorado, and spent the summer and fall working in a sawmill on the divide, and also engaged in trapping and hunting for a time. In December they returned to Denver, sold their outfit and went back to Cin- cinnati, for the purpose of settling up their busi- ness affairs in that city. Soon our subject se- cured a government position as mail carrier on the Cincinnati force, in which capacity he con- tinued for a year, but resigned on again start- ing, with his brother, for the west in 1879. On

arriving in Denver, they outfitted for the Repub- lican River country and started on the journey, but the scarcity of water caused them to turn back when they had reached River Bend. A day after they went back to Denver, they came into Park County and purchased a quarter-section of land, where they began haying and the cattle business. Their partnership continued until 1890, when our subject purchased his brother's inter- est in the ranch, which was six hundred and forty acres in extent. Here he has since resided. Besides his ranching interests, he has been en- gaged in mining in this county since 1880 and owns some valuable properties.

Interested in educational matters, Mr. Schat- tinger has been a member of the school board of his district and has acted as its secretary. Fra- ternally he is a member of Como Lodge No. 17, A. O. U. W. His marriage took place May 17, 1883, and united him with Miss Joanna Place, by whom he has four children: George F., Mary L., Clara B. and Joanna J.

M. COHN, member of the mercantile firm of Ittleson & Co., owners of a large dry- · goods store at Carbondale, Garfield Coun- - ty, and also of a smaller establishment at New- castle, was born in Russia in 1864, a son of Julius and Rosa Cohn, also natives of Russia. He was one of four sons, all of whom are in Colorado, Abraham being a merchant of Newcastle, while David and Meyer are living in Denver, where their parents also reside. The father, who de- voted his active life to stock-raising and farming, is now quite an aged man and is living retired from business cares.

In the schools of Russia our subject received his education. At eighteen years of age he came to America and settled in Kansas, where he be- came interested in a mercantile business. In 1888 he removed to Denver, Colo., but after a year there came to Carbondale, where he has since been identified with the firm of Ittleson & Co., proprietors of a dry-goods and clothing establishment here, and a store in Newcastle. In 1887 he was united in marriage with Emma Ittle- so11. They are the parents of four children: Henry, Rosa, Freda and Etta.

As mayor of Carbondale, Mr. Cohn was help- ful in advancing needed improvements. He has also rendered helpful service as a member of the city council. Educational matters receive his thoughtful attention, as, indeed, do all measures

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calculated to promote the local welfare and pros- him. He taught in the Boston Latin school until perity. Politically he adheres to the Republican party, the principles of which he believes will best promote the permanent prosperity of our country. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and also takes an active part in the work of the Knights of Pythias.

RANKLIN E. BROOKS. In January, 1898, a law partnership was formed and the firm of Brooks, Stimson, Willcox & Campbell or- ganized, with Messrs. Stimson and Campbell rep- resenting the firm in Cripple Creek, while Messrs. Brooks and Willcox have charge of the office in Colorado Springs. They have a large practice in civil, mining and corporation law and are well known throughout this part of the state. In ad- dition to their private clientage, they are local at- torneys, representing the Gulf, Union Pacific and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroads.

A resident of Colorado Springs since June, 1891, the subject of this article is of eastern birth and lineage. The first of his family in this country came from Chester, England, in 1635, and settled in Dorchester, Mass., our subject representing the ninth generation in descent from this man. His great-grandfather, Edward Brooks, was an officer both in the French and Indian and Revo- lutionary wars, but died, at Dorchester, before the latter conflict had closed. The grandfather, Benjamin, was a farmer and died in Massachu- setts. The father, E. T. Brooks, was born in Sturbridge, Worcester County, Mass., where he engaged in farming. Removing to Saginaw, Mich., he put in a large plant and engaged in the manufacture of salt, besides which he also en- gaged in the manufacture of lumber. From 1866 to 1874 he resided in Saginaw, then returned to Massachusetts and died at his old home, when seventy-five years of age. His wife, who was born in Sturbridge, was Annie Elizabeth Bemis, daughter of Samuel F. Bemis, a farmer of Wor- cester County. The Bemis family emigrated from England to Watertown, Mass., in 1636, and dur- ing the early wars of our country furnished nu- merous soldiers to aid in the subjection of enemies.

The subject of this sketch was the only son among his father's children, five of whom are liv- ing. He was born in Sturbridge, Mass., Noven1- ber 19, 1860, and in boyhood attended the South Bridge high school. In 1883 he graduated from Brown University, with the degree of A. B., and afterward the degree of A. M. was conferred upon

1886, when he began the study of law in Boston University, and in 1888 was admitted to the bar in Boston. He opened an office and continued in that city until 1891, when failing health caused him to seek the more congenial climate of Colo- rado Springs. On recovering his health he en- tered the office of Lunt & Armit, and six months later was admitted to the firm, which was changed to Lunt, Armit & Brooks, continuing as such until the senior member was elected to the bench in 1895. The firm title then became Brooks, Armit & Blackmer. In January, 1898, Mr. Brooks entered the firm of which he is the senior member.

Besides his extensive law practice, Mr. Brooks is interested in different mining companies, being president of several, a director in twelve or more, vice-president and manager of the Rattler on Raven Hill, and a director of the Last Dollar Gold Mining Company. He is a member of the State Bar Association, the Society of Colonial Wars, the El Paso Club, and was made a Mason in Hyde Park, Mass. In religion he is identified with the Baptist Church, while in politics he is a Repub- lican, interested in his party's success. He was united in marriage, in Leicester, Mass., with Miss Sarah B. Coolidge, who was born in that city, graduated from Wellesley College in 1885, with the degree of A. B., and is a prominent member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. They are the parents of two children, Elizabeth and Franklin Coolidge.

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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 198

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