Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 26

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 26

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Immediately after graduating, Mr. Downing

settled in Leadville, Colo., where he engaged in mining and also read law. The following year he was admitted to the bar and began to practice .in Leadville, whence he removed to Aspen in 1881. Maintaining the interest of a public-spirited citizen in affairs bearing upon the growth of the town and the welfare of the people, he has him- self been a contributor to the development of practical projects and the upbuilding of local in- terests. While necessarily much of his time and thought is given closely to professional work, he still keeps posted concerning the great issues of the age. He is a thorough believer in the estab- lishment of bi-metallism. His vote is cast with the silver wing of the Republican party; prior to 1896 he voted and worked with the regular party, and in 1896 he represented Colorado as a delegate in the national convention. At one time he was a candidate for district attorney and in 1892 he was nominated for lieutenant-governor, but was' defeated by a small majority.

In 1885 Mr. Downing was united in marriage with Alice, daughter of Col. Richard Ritter, of Sedalia, Mo. A daughter, Alice, blesses their union.

OHN LAWRENCE, member of the state legislature and senior partner in the hard- ware firm of Lawrence & Williams, at Saguache, was born in St. Louis, Mo., Novem- ber 15, 1835. His parents died when he was six years of age and he was put in an orphan asylum, but after a few years there he ran away and went to Iowa. From the time he was fourteen until twenty-one he worked on a farm in Iowa and meantime he attended the first public school in the state. For two years after leaving Iowa he was engaged in breaking prairie in Minnesota, using for that purpose six yoke of oxen. At the time of the discovery of gold in Colorado in 1858 he resolved to seek the great west. In the year 1859 he came to Leavenworth and drove for his passage six yoke of oxen, traveling in a " prairie schooner." He saw very few improvements, but everywhere were indications of frontier exis- tence. Many Indians passed him, but none showed hostility. June 26, 1859, he landed in Denver. From there he went to Central City and began mining. In 1860 he engaged in freight- ing from Omaha to Denver, and in the fall of the same year, when the Baker excitement was started where Silverton now stands, he took his team and brought some passengers to the valley,

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arriving in Fort Garland about Christmas of 1860. He went to Conejos and stayed till April 4, 1861, when he began mining. Finding nothing in the mines, he returned to Conejos.

By intercourse with Mexicans, Mr. Lawrence readily acquired a knowledge of the Spanish language. The territory having just been organ- ized and there being need of some one who could talk with the Mexicans, he was elected assessor for two years and also was appointed deputy in- ternal revenue assessor, which positions he held for seven years. He assisted in organizing the county and started the various officers in their work. There were then but five or six white persons in the entire county. During this time he also served as interpreter of the senate branch for three terms, as the Mexicans had their own members. He always watched closely the inter- ests of the Mexicans, who have ever since relied upon him with the utmost confidence. In the session of 1866-67 he introduced the bill and secured its passage, providing for the organiza- tion of Saguache County. March 7, 1867, he re- moved to Saguache and brought the commissions appointing the commissioners, bringing one who was not a resident. Taking up land in the San Luis Valley, he commenced farming and stock- raising on the Saguache River, three miles above Saguache. He accumulated land until he had eleven hundred and twenty acres, with about fifteen miles of fence, and the same amount of ditch, and continned farming until 1889, since which time he has given his time to sheep-raising. In 1896 he embarked in the mercantile business in Saguache, as a member of the firm of Law- rence & Williams, and they now have the largest hardware business in the county.

In politics a straight and stanch Democrat, Mr. Lawrence has worked for the success of his party, of which he is the local leader. He attends all county conventions and many of the state meetings. That his services have been appre- ciated by his party, it is only necessary to state that when the county was organized, June 18, 1867, he was appointed assessor by the board of county commissioners, which was composed entirely of Republicans. He held the position for five terms consecutively and was again elected after an interval. Upon the organization of the county in 1867 he was elected representative from the entire San Luis Valley, which is now com- posed of five counties. Under appointment from a Republican board, he served as superintendent

of schools. By the same board he was twice appointed county judge and later was elected county commissioner. For twenty-one years he served as secretary of school district No. 1, and has for four years been president of school dis- trict No. 6, which district comprises the high school in the town of Saguache. He has been mayor of Saguache for three years and is now a member of the board of aldermen. In October, 1898, he was nominated for representative on the fusion ticket, and was elected to the position, which he now fills. December 25, 1895, he married Julia Anna Woodson, of this county. Fraternally he is a charter member of Olive Branch Lodge No. 32, A. F. & A. M.

In the ceding of all the lands of the Ute Indians to the government, Mr. Lawrence acted as inter- preter, and his signature appears on all of the papers connected with that transaction. In im- portant transfers or matters in county, district and United States courts where the services of an interpreter have been necessary, he has acted as such. Since coming to Colorado years ago he has never been away from the state, save for a very few days at a time. By reading and obser- vation, however, he learns as much as most people do by wide travel. He is a great reader and a man of excellent memory. Although his educational advantages were meager, he has ac- quired an excellent education, and, with all of his hard work, he has managed to give a good share of his time to study. He has read the American Encyclopedia (sixteen volumes) liter- ally through not less than five times. During the entire period of his residence in the state he has been interested in mining, for which industry he has done much, especially in Saguache County, though he has also owned interests in Aspen and other places.

OBERT PARSELL DAVIE, president of the R. P. Davie Investment Company, which he organized in 1896, president of the Santa Rosa Gold Mining Company of Crip- ple Creek, president of the Eldora Tamm Gold Mining Company of Eldora, president of the Irish- American Gold Mining Company of Cripple Creek, an organizer and the first president of the Prin- cess Gold Mining Company, in which he is now a director, and one of the largest operators in real estate in Colorado Springs, where he resides, was born at Flushing, Genesee County, Mich., August 22, 1867. He is a descendant of a Mo-

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hawk-Dutch family. His grandfather, Henry Davie, was born in Monroe County, N. Y., in 1806, and became a blacksmith and axe-maker in Attica, that state, but in 1857 removed to Flint, Mich., where he was employed as a black- smith. In 1861 he enlisted as fife-major of Com- pany C, Sixteenth Michigan Infantry, and served for three years, after which he resumed business pursuits. He died in Flint at eighty-four years of age. Four of his sons served in the Union army, Jefferson being in the Sixteenth Michigan, William, a lieutenant of Company I, Tenth Michigan, and James and Lyman E., also in Michigan regiments.

Lyman E. Davie was born in Orangeville, Wyoming County, N. Y., April 10, 1841, and engaged in farming and the manufacture and sale of lumber at Otsego, Mich., afterward carrying on a real-estate business at Flushing, where he built and still owns the Flushing opera house, and also erected many business blocks and houses. November 4, 1861, he volunteered in Company I, Tenth Michigan Infantry, and was promoted from the ranks to be first lieutenant. Among the battles in which he took part were those at Shiloh, Corinth, Murfreesboro, Asheville, Missionary Ridge (where he was commissioned first lieuten- ant), and on his return to Nashville he was for six months on the staff of General Mussy. He was mustered out in 1864. In 1896 he came to Colorado Springs, where he erected the finest residence in the city and is a large real-estate owner and contractor here. Fraternally he is a Grand Army man and a Knight Templar Mason. His wife, who was born in Flushing, Mich., and died in 1896, was Puella Parsell, daughter of Robert Parsell, who removed from Niagara County, N. Y., to Michigan in 1836 and en- gaged in farming there, later carrying on a hotel business in Flushing. Mr. and Mrs. Davie were the parents of four children: W. H., a pharma- cist in Florence, Colo .; Robert P .; Bessie, Mrs. C. T. Moss, of Flushing; and Laura, Mrs. Ray- mond Ellis, also of Flushing.

When twelve years of age our subject began to study pharmacy, and at the age of sixteen, by examination, he became a registered phar- macist. He took a course in the National In- stitute of Pharmacy, from which he was grad- uated. In 1887 he went to Pratt County, Kan., where he engaged in the drug business for a year. In 1888 he came to Colorado Springs and for two years was engaged as clerk in a drug store, after

which he bought an interest, the firm title becom- ing the Torrence-Davie Drug Company, which later was changed to the Church-Davie Drug Company. In the spring of 1893 he sold out and went to Cripple Creek, where he opened the finest store in the camp, on the corner of Second and Bennett streets, and also became interested in similar stores in Victor and Florence. In the fall of 1895 he sold the drug business, retaining the buildings. Returning to Colorado Springs, he purchased an interest in a well-established real-estate business, of which he soon assumed the control and has since conducted. His trans- actions in real estate are very large and important. He built the Davie block in Colorado Springs and a building of the same name in Colorado City. Since 1895 he has built over thirty-five residences in the Springs. His office is at No. 28 South Tejon street.

At the time of the panic, in 1894, every drug store in Cripple Creek except his own failed, but he carried his business through, paying ten per cent a month. His business often reached $100 a day, for, with the growth of the camp, his trade increased. During all the financial depres- sion of past years he has not only maintained his position as a substantial business man, but has increased his resources and enlarged his business, which proves him to be a man of good judgment and great energy. He is a director in the Chamber of Commerce. Politically a Democrat, he served for three years as a member of the county central committee, but is too busy now to take an active part in public affairs. While in Cripple Creek he took an active part in the Y. M. C A. and charitable work, and in Colorado Springs is a contributor to the First Presbyterian Church, of which his wife is a member.

In Pueblo Mr. Davie married Miss Mattie Hays, who was born in Vermilion County, I11., daughter of the late F. C. Hays, who was en- gaged in the insurance business at Tithian, Il1. Four children were born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Davie, namely: Marjorie, Lois; Rachel, who died at fifteen months; and Robert Sydney, who died at the same age.

While in Cripple Creek Mr. Davie organized the Knights of Pythias, of which he was the first chancellor; he is now a member of Myrtle Lodge No. 34, in Colorado Springs. He was made a Mason in El Paso Lodge No. 13, A. F. & A. M., to which he still belongs; he is also a member of Chapter No. 6, R. A. M., Pike's Peak

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Commandery No. 6, K. T. (in which he is a senior warden), is a thirty-second degree Mason, and belongs to El Jebel Temple, N. M. S., in Denver. He is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In 1890 he was a member of Troop D, Colorado National Guard, at Monte Vista.

ILLIAM DOWNING WATSON, justice of the peace and notary public, real-estate dealer and mine operator, came to Silverton in 1874 and bought his present home, since which time he has devoted himself to his official duties and business pursuits. Of the original settlers of this camp F. M. Snowden is the only surviving member here. Mr. Watson arrived at Silverton about two years after the town was first settled. Since coming here he has held the office of justice of the peace for nine consecutive years (except- ing only one year), for three years has served as police magistrate, and for six years has been notary public.

In Mount Vernon, Ill., Mr. Watson was born April 30, 1831, a son of John H. and Elizabeth (Rankin) Watson, natives respectively of Har- per's Ferry, Va., and Frankfort, Ky. His father, when a boy, moved to Frankfort, Ky., and in 1818 settled in Mount Vernon, Ill., where for twenty-two years he was justice of the peace, for many years held office as master of chancery, also served as county treasurer and in other prominent positions. By trade he was a carpen- ter. He was respected and honored, and in re- ligion was a leading worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Of his eight children our sub- ject was next to the oldest. The oldest child, John R., went to Iowa in 1852, there married Mrs. Black, a widow, and died early in the '70s, leaving two children. The other children are: William D .; Amelia Jane, wife of Bennett Miller, of Mount Vernon, Ill .; Thomas P., who is en- gaged in the undertaking business at Mount Ver- non, Ill .; Samuel Henry, a prominent Repub- lican of Mount Vernon, who has served two terms in the legislature, one in the senate, and is now postmaster of Mount Vernon; Millie, wife of John Wall, former postmaster of Mount Vernon; Joel Perry, a farmer and the postmaster at Ash- ley, Washington County, Ill .; and Hon. James H. Watson, M. D., of Woodlawn, Ill., a promi- nent Democrat, who represented his district in the state senate for two terms.

At fifteen years of age our subject went to

St. Louis and secured employment in a shoe factory owned by Howe, Cook & Co. At that time St. Louis was a small city and destitute of railroads, street cars and all modern con- veniences and improvements. His special work with the firm was the buying of hides, brought to the town in wagons or boat, but soon he was given a more remunerative position. When the cholera epidemic of 1848 fell upon the city, the heads of the firm left town, giving the charge of the business into his hands, and for three months he saw hundreds dying daily; finally the epidemic passed, and business could again be resumed with energy. He remained with the firm for six years. In 1856 he bought the Missouri hotel, at the corner of Main and Morgan streets, paying for it $6,400, and this he conducted until 1861. On account of his father's failing health he gave up the hotel and returned to his old home to look after the interests of the family. There he engaged in the mercantile business until September, 1873, when he sold out and came to Colorado, stopping in Denver for a short time. On the 19th of October he arrived in Del Norte, where he engaged in the real-estate business and erected twelve houses; while there he served as justice of the peace for three years. In 1878 he went to Gladstone, near which are the Gold King and Sampson mines, and there built a mill and other buildings.

July 8, 1878, Mr. Watson bought Grassy Hill station, where he erected an hotel, stables, store rooms, etc., and furnished supplies for miners throughout the San Juan country, the goods be- ing freighted from Alamosa to that point. In his yards he has had at times as many as three hundred and fifty pack animals, while one hun- dred and fifty head could be seen there almost any time. He arranged a rope for letting wagons down the almost perpendicular grade to Stony Gulch, for which work he received $5 per wagon. He once received $320 for a ton of hay to be de- livered at a mine (the Highland Mary) six miles distant; his son George conveyed it on his back in small quantities. He remained at that place for four years (lacking three days) and in that time cleared $20,000. From there he went to Howardsville, where he carried on a store. Since then he has resided in Silverton. In 1874 he was the first inan to locate a mine in Red Mountain; in 1882 he patented the International mine, which he now leases, and he also owns one-sixth in- terest in the Highland Mary group, which is a

7000 Galy

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paying mine. Fraternally he is past grand of Marion Lodge No. 13, I. O. O. F., at Mount Vernon, Ill., which lodge he represented in the grand lodge.

In 1856 Mr. Watson married Nancy A. New- comb, of St. Louis, Mo. In his family there are five sons and one daughter. John H. was sergeant in the cowboy band of Torrey's Rough Riders; William A. died in Illinois June 27, 1863, in infancy; Albert Z., also a member of the cowboy band in Torrey's regiment, is now in Cuba; Mary is the wife of Thomas T. Wilson, who is connected with the Independent mine at Victor, Colo .; George A. is engaged in mining; Frank L. met with a serious accident in youth, which resulted in the loss of a limb; he is 110w clerk of the district court. The family are highly esteemed by all to whom they are known.

ON. ALEXANDER T. STEWART. The city of Pueblo numbers among its citizens a number of men who are eminent in the annals of the state, men of ability, energy and honor, who, in every duty of private and public life, have been true and loyal. Such a man is the subject of this sketch, who represents the second senatorial district of Colorado in the state senate. The high position to which he has been called is one in which his ability finds abundant scope for exercise, in assisting in the solution of those problems brought before the senate, and upon the settlement of which vast interests de- pend.

The success which has come to Senator Stew- art, in business as well as in politics, is the result of his unaided efforts. He started out for him- self, a boy of thirteen, without influence or friends, and by the force of his energy and deter- mination he has won prosperity, influence and friends. The business of which he is the head is a large and important one, and furnishes em- ployment to as many as thirty-five hands. The plant is located on South Union avenue, where an extensive blacksmith and carriage business is conducted, the products of the factory being among the best carriages and wagons made in the state.

The son of Archibald and Rose (Donley) Stewart, the subject of this sketch was born in New York City September 15, 1855. He was educated in local public schools. At thirteen years of age he began to learn the blacksmith's trade, and this occupation he followed for some

years in his native city. Coming to the west, he arrived in Pueblo January 13, 1876, and at once established a general blacksmith and carriage business, which he has since owned and managed, having through his ability and judgment built up a large trade and an extensive plant. In 1880 he married Miss Mary E. Morrissey, of Maine. They have three sons and two daughters: Alex- ander T., Jr., Hamilton, Edwin H., Mary and Ethel.

From early manhood Mr. Stewart has been a high-tariff Democrat. For years he has served as a member of the Pueblo city council, of which he was often the president. He was one of the first chairmen of the committee on water works and also served as chairman of the committee on public works. In 1898 he was elected state senator, and has since given his attention largely to the duties connected with this office, He bore a conspicuous part in the legislation of the winter of 1898-99. He was author of the bill establish- ing compulsory education, which became a law; secured the passage of a law for the benefit of workingmen, enabling them to secure a lien for their pay from cities, towns and school districts as well as individuals; also secured the passage of a bill permitting cities of the first class to pave streets and put in storm sewers and assess the same against the property owners; besides assist- ing in much other beneficial legislation. The high opinion in which he is held is shown by the following letters, which, with many others, were received by him at the time of his nomination for the senate.

"Denver, Colo., October 4, 1898.

A. T. Stewart, Pueblo, Colo.

My Dear Sir: I am glad to note that your nomination for the office of state senator from Pueblo County is receiving the approval of every one in the county, irrespective of party. Your election will be a guarantee that Pueblo will be found in the right column in 1901, and that no administration Republican will be returned to the United States senate by your vote. It is par- ticularly gratifying to an old friend like myself that this distinction should have been conferred upon you, and I earnestly hope that all the friends of the principle involved in the state fusion of this year will cast their ballot for, and. elect you triumphantly to the state senate.

Sincerely your friend,

C. S. THOMAS."

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

"Denver, Colo., October 13, 1898.

Hon. A. T. Stewart, Pueblo, Colo.

Dear Sir :- I congratulate you on your nomina- tion for state senator from the second senatorial district. It affords me pleasure to do so, not only because of our personal relations, but because I know your election will be a guarantee that the silver sentiment of your district will be properly represented in the session of the legislature that elects a United States senator. As a Sam Ran- dall protectionist Democrat I believe your nom- ination will be especially satisfactory to the silver Republicans of your district, who will not only be in accord with you on the silver question, but also on your moderate views on the tariff.

I have not changed my views on the tariff question, if I did not vote for the Dingley tariff bill in the last session. I did not vote for that bill because it was not a just and proper one and was an attempt on the part of the party in power to prostitute the principle of protection to com- pensate the sugar trust and other combines for the aid they rendered the Republican party during the last presidential campaign.

I feel very confident of your election. I am, Very respectfully,

H. M. TELLER."

"Denver, Colo., October 14, 1898. Hon. A. T. Stewart, Pueblo, Colo.

My Dear Mr. Stewart :- I sincerely congratu- late you and the multiplied interests of Pueblo County on your nomination by the allied silver forces for the honorable and responsible position of state senator. It is a good omen when such men as you will forego the demands of business for a time to serve the state. It is the highest evidence of good citizenship to assume the bur- dens and responsibilities of such a position with no reward to an honest man but the conscious- ness of serving the people well and truly. I feel confident of your election, knowing as I do your long residence in Pueblo, your extensive business interests there, your complete and enthusiastic identification with them and the power you have been in forwarding every enterprise to build up your city and make it great and prosperous. With all your cares you have never lagged in the constant struggle we have been engaged in to re- establish the silver money of the constitution- a result fraught with more assure prosperity than the accomplishment of every other attainable measure besides.

I sincerely hope that every friend of mine will bend his energies to make your race a winning one. Anything in my power to aid you and the good cause is at your command.

With sincere best wishes, I remain,

Your friend,

T. M. PATTERSON."

"STATE OF COLORADO, Executive Chamber, Denver. October 20, 1898.

Hon. A. T. Stewart, Pueblo, Colo.

My Dear Sir :- As I told you yesterday, your election means more than the triumph of A. T. Stewart. It means a victory for bimetallism; an endorsement of the principles of Bryan and Teller.

This is not a contest of individuals, but of ideas. You stand for the silver sentiment-true bi- metallism as against the gold standard-and you should receive the suffrage of every voter who believes in the coinage of gold and silver at a 16 to 1 ratio. I am sure that the voters of Pueblo County will prove true to the faith that means so inuch for Colorado and the nation.

Very truly,

ALVA ADAMS."

ILLIAM E. JOHNSON. "Their is a tide in the affairs of men" and of localities as well "that, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune." Such a tide came in the history of the Cripple Creek mining region and in the life of Mr. Johnson, when, in 1892, he conceived the idea of building a railroad there from Florence. The idea, once formed, was soon carried out. He in- corporated the Florence and Cripple Creek Rail- road Company, and, with his associates, built the road, running the first train into Cripple Creek July 2, 1894. From that time Cripple. Creek prospered and is now the greatest gold camp known, notwithstanding claims to the contrary by others. In 1896 he retired from the active management of the road, though still remaining a director, and since then he has been interested in the working out of a new line running from Florence south to Custer County. At the time of his location in Florence, in 1889, it was a mere cross-road, and it was due in no small measure to his enterprise that it has grown to a thriving city of four thousand.

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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 26

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