Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 33

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 33

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

he has since carried on a large general practice. He is a member of the Colorado State Medical Society and the American Medical Association.

Fraternally Dr. Ashley is a Knight Templar Mason, and is recorder and past commander of the commandery. At Ouray, December 1, 1879, he married Carrie, daughter of Thomas C. War- ren, after whose father Warrensburg, Mo., was named, and who died April 6, 1898. Dr. and Mrs. Ashley have one daughter and four sons, viz .: Mabel, a student in the classical department of the Colorado State University; Robert W., a graduate of the Ouray high school; Ray, Rollin E. and Charles C.

A RTHUR G. SHARP is one of the repre- sentative business men of Colorado Springs and has become a prominent and leading factor in its financial development. He was born near Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio, March 19, 1864, the son of Gideon T. and Sarah (Teter) Sharp, who were also natives of the above county and state, and who continued to reside there throughout their entire lives. The farm on which Gideon T. Sharp was born near Chillicothe was owned by his father, Henry Sharp, who was a native of Culpeper County, Va., and a descend- ant of one of the noted families of colonial Vir- ginia.

To the union of Gideon T. Sharp and wife were born five children, two of whom are deceased. Those living are: Arabelle, wife of John Hendry; Charles G. (both residents of Greenfield, Ohio) and Arthur G., the subject of this sketch. Prior to the Civil war Gideon T. Sharp was a merchant in Roxabell, Ross County, Ohio. In 1862 he en- listed in Company K, Sixty-third Ohio Infantry, with which he bore a part in many important en- gagements. He served actively until he was cap- tured by the Confederates, by whom he was con- fined in Andersonville prison. After months of hardship and suffering there, he died about the 9th of June, 1864. A short time before his cap- ture he had visited his family on a short fur- lough, which was destined to be his last glimpse of his home. He was a brave and gallant sol- dier, whose life was given up to the cause of his country. Fraternally he was a Mason. He was a member of and very active in the Methodist Church. His wife died April 15, 1877. She was .a woman of rare sweetness of character and de- voted her life to the care and education of her children. She was the daughter of Samuel

Teter, who was born and reared in Ross County, and from that primeval forest cleared a farm, on which he has made his home for more than seventy years. He is a well-known citizen of his part of Ohio and in spite of his ninety-two active years, he is in the enjoyment of good health. In religious belief he is a Methodist and a church of that denomination stands on his farm.

Arthur G. Sharp was educated in the excellent schools of Greenfield, Ohio. In 1885 he came west as far as Kansas, where for three years he was bookkeeper in the First National Bank of Burlingame, assistant cashier for the same period of time, and later was made cashier and a director of the bank. In 1895 he resigned his position in the bank and came to Colorado Springs, where for a short time he was connected with the First National Bank.

In August, 1897, Mr. Sharp was elected cashier of the Exchange National Bank of Colorado Springs. He is regarded as a very able, con- servative and careful financier. When he was elected cashier in 1897 the bank had only $180,000 on deposit, while at this writing (a year and a-half later), its deposits amount to over $1,000,000, thus attesting the splendid management of the bank.

The marriage of Mr. Sharp, March 31, 1887, united him with Miss Louie Milner, of Leesburg, Ohio, who is a graduate of the high school of that city, and a daughter of Alfred and Nancy (Denny) Milner. Mr. and Mrs. Sharp are mem- bers of the First Presbyterian Church of Colorado Springs. They are the parents of one son, Roy Milner.

Fraternally Mr. Sharp is a prominent Mason, having attained the thirty-second degree. He is a member of Pike's Peak Commandery, Knights Templar, and El Jebel Temple, Mystic Shrine, of Denver. Politically he is a Republican.

RIN A. DERBY, superintendent of the Kan- sas and Colorado division of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, has been identified with the citizenship of Pueblo since the road entered this city, December 1, 1887. The position of train master, which he had previously filled, he continued to hold until April, 1888, when he was appointed to the place he has since so efficiently and acceptably filled. The division of which he is in charge extends three hundred and fifty miles from Pueblo to Hoisington and Great Bend, Kan.

The Derby family was founded in Massachu-

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PORTRAIT AND. BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

setts in 1680 by settlers from England. Later generations removed to Connecticut, and from there to Vermont. J. M. Derby, our subject's grandfather, was born in Vermont, and engaged in farming in Corinth, that state, but in middle life migrated to Licking County, Ohio, of which he was a pioneer. He continued to reside there until his removal to Iowa, where he died October 6, 1864, at seventy-eight years of age. His father, who was a farmer at Corinth, was one of the Green Mountain boys, who bore so honorable a part in the Revolutionary war.

Hon. G. A. Derby, our subject's father, was born in Licking County, Ohio, and in 1856 re- moved to Iowa, where he became a grain merchant and dealer in agricultural implements. For four years, during the Civil war, he held the office of sheriff of Wapello County. In 1870 he removed to Utica, Seward County, Neb., of which he was almost the first settler. He platted the town, sold off lots as he had opportunity, made many val- uable improvements, and in later years held im- portant city and county offices. In 1896 he was an elector for the presidency, on the Republican ticket. Now seventy-eight years of age, he is living retired from the business cares that once engrossed his attention.

The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Harriet Brown. She was born in Ver- mont and died in Nebraska in 1893. Her father, James Brown, a native of New Hampshire and a farmer of Vermont, was the son of a Revolution- ary soldier, and his wife, a Miss Shafter, was the daughter of a patriot of the Revolution, while her nephew, Orrin A. Shafter, was a soldier in the war of 1812. The patriotism of the family may be judged from the statement that fifteen members took part in the Revolution, twenty- seven in the war of 1812 and one hundred and eighty-three in the Civil war. The Shafter family is one with many distinguished connec- tions, including General Shafter, of the Spanish- American war, John G. Saxe and the Slaughters.

The family of which our subject is a member consisted of fourteen members, all but two of whom attained maturity and seven are living. One of these, A. F., enlisted at sixteen years of age in the Union army, becoming a member of the Forty-seventh Iowa Infantry. Orin A. was born in Newark, Licking County, Ohio, Novem- ber 15, 1843. In 1854 he accompanied his par- ents to Union City, Ind., and two years later went with them to Ottumwa, Iowa. In 1862 he

enlisted as a member of Company B, Thirty- sixth Iowa Infantry, which was mustered into service at Keokuk, Iowa, and was assigned to the department of the Gulf. Francis M. Drake, the recent governor of Iowa, was lieuten- ant-colonel of the regiment, which took part in the siege of Vicksburg and some twenty engage- ments in southern Arkansas. He was mustered out, as sergeant, at Davenport, Iowa, September 7, 1865, after an honorable service of three years and one month.

After filling the position of deputy sheriff at Ottumwa for two years, Mr. Derby became inter- ested in the lumber business of E. D. Rands & Co. His railroad career began in 1870, when he be- came purchasing agent for the Midland Pacific, then building west of Nebraska City. After three years in that capacity he accepted a position with the Northern Missouri (now the Wabash) and for eight years was employed as conductor between St. Louis and Kansas City, his head- quarters being at Moberly. In 1882 he went to Hiawatha, Kan., where he was first a conductor, and later a yardmaster on the Omaha division of the Missouri Pacific. Finally he was promoted to be road master, and in April, 1887, was trans- ferred to Council Grove, Kan., as train master, during the building of the Colorado branch of the Missouri Pacific. From Council Grove he came to Pueblo. His long service has been such as to reflect the highest credit upon himself, and his retention in service by the same company proves their high estimation of his ability. He is a mem- ber of the Colorado Association of Railway Su- perintendents, of which he has been vice-presi- dent. A Republican in politics, he is a firm friend of the Mckinley administration and its representatives, and believes that the policy adopted by the government during the late war with Spain has been such as to reflect the great- est credit upon our country. At different times he has served as a delegate to conventions of his party. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Hia- watha (Kan. ) Post of the Grand Army.

During his residence in Ottumwa, Iowa, Mr. Derby married Miss Sarah E. Hedrick, who, was born in that city. They became the parents. of nine children, namely: O. A., who is employed by the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company in Pueblo; Mrs. Nellie G. Howell, of Kansas City; Orin A., Jr., agent for the Missouri Pacific at Arlington; Sarah E., Mrs. G. L. Walker, of

NOEL BYRON HAMES.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Pueblo; Edna, who is employed as a stenogra -. pher in her father's office; Clara, Virgil, Frank and Mary.

12 OEL BYRON HAMES, proprietor of Hotel Hoffman in Colorado City, has sometimes been called the "father" of the town. When he settled here, the only houses in the village were a log shanty near what is now the heart of the city and two rude buildings on the opposite side of the street. In April, 1887, he passed through here on his way to Manitou, and noticed that the site offered many advantages for a town. On his way back from Manitou he stopped here and started in a small way, meeting with success from the start. At that time there was but one stage running from here to the Springs, but soon there was a line of thirteen hacks, and it was not much more than a year until there was a line of street cars as well. In 1889 he erected the block in which he now has his hotel, and later he pur- chased the property adjoining on the east. He started a private bank and has since acted as banker for many business men, also cashes all the pay checks for the Midland Railroad Company and for other corporations.

Mr. Hames was born in Knox County, Ill., March 10, 1855, a son of Barney and Martha (Cheetham) Hames, both prominent representa- tives of well-known old families of Virginia. It is worthy of note that both the Hames and Cheet- ham families had representatives in the Civil war, but on different sides. Barney Hames, who was born and reared in Virginia, removed from there to Knox County, Ill., and engaged in farming. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in Com- pany E, Eighty-sixth Illinois Infantry, and served until he was wounded in battle after one and one- half years of active service. He was taken to the hospital in Chattanooga and there died. He left two sons, Joseph C. and Noel B.

Early in life our subject hegan the work inci- dent to farm life. When twenty-two years of age he started out to see something of the world. Go- ing to Texas, he spent two and one-half years in that state. In the spring of 1880 he came to Colo- rado, where he followed different camps as the excitement caused by new discoveries of gold took the crowd from one place to another. He spent about four years at Silver Cliff, Saguache County, and from there went to Salida, later was at Grand Junction and Buena Vista. Since 1887 his home

has been in Colorado City, in which he has been a large investor of real estate and a progressive citizen.

In political matters Mr. Hames is independent. He has taken an active part in politics, but has never sought office for himself nor desired public positions of any kind. He has maintained a con- stant interest in all enterprises originated in be- half of the people, and has himself been a potent factor in the development of local resources. His hotel is one of the best in the city, and those who have once been entertained within its walls after- ward show their appreciation of the place by making it their headquarters when in the town. He is fond of fine horses and always keeps one for his personal use, refusing to ride any but the best. In 1878 he married Vesta Viola, daughter of Ben- jamin and Harriet Moats, of Knox County, Il1. They became the parents of two children, but only one is now living, a son, Augustus.

AMES SLANE bought a ranch of three hun- dred and sixty acres on Upper Saguache Creek, twenty-one miles west of Saguache, in 1892, and here he engages in the stock busi- ness. The land, having running water, is admi- rably adapted both for stock and hay, and each year he cuts over three hundred and fifty acres of hay, all of which he feeds to his stock during the winter, and he also leases ten hundred and eighty acres for winter pasture. In stock his specialty is Shorthorns, of which he has from four to five hundred head. Trained to a knowledge of the stock business in youth and having a liking for the occupation, he has naturally made a suc- cess of it, and is now recognized as one of the most prosperous stockmen in the county of Saguache.

In what was then Auraria (now West Denver), Colo., the subject of this sketch was born May 21, 1861. His father, Andrew, a native of Indi- ana, engaged in farming there and in Nebraska. In 1858 he came to Colorado and the next year brought his family here, crossing by ox-team from Omaha. He operated the first dairy in Den- ver and there started in the stock business, meet- ing with success in his ventures, and continuing in business until 1893, when he retired. He made two trips to Montana, crossing first by ox-team and second by horses. In 1870 he removed to one hundred and sixty arcres south of Saguache, but later sold this property and bought four hun- dred acres on Saguache Creek, above the town.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

By his marriage to Lorena Joy, of Indiana, he had four sons and three daughters, viz .: Samuel J., who is now in Oklahoma; Jennie, who mar- ried Christopher Hearn, and resides in New Mex- ico; Ella, wife of Irvin Joy, of Oregon; Andrew B., in Sagnache; Rachel, Mrs. Edward Michod, of Petersburg, Va .; James; and Daniel, residing in Sagnache.

The education of our subject was mostly ac- quired in Saguache. When twenty-one years of age he started out for himself, and with two of his brothers leased his father's herd of cattle, which was then the largest herd in the county. With them he carried on business until 1880, when the entire herd was sold and each brother started out for himself. He then engaged in mer- chandising with his father, opening a store at Portland, four miles south of Ouray, on the Un- compahgre River. When the freighter, Jackson, who was hauling goods for him, was surrounded by the Ute Indians at Cimarron, he went after the goods himself, and was permitted to remove them, as in all his dealings with the Indians he had been so honest and kind that he had won their friendship.

On selling out his interest in the store to his father, our subject took up one hundred and sixty acres on Saguache Creek, eighteen miles west of town, and there he engaged in the cattle business. In 1892 he sold that ranch and bought his pres- ent one, comprising one-half section of land. While much of his time is spent on his ranch, he has a home in Sagnache, in order that his chil- dren may attend the excellent schools here. He has been quite heavily interested in developing the mining interests of the county. Fraternally he is connected with Centennial Lodge No. 123, I. O. O. F., and Saguache Camp No. 28, Wood- men of the World. In 1884 he married Alice Myers, of Indiana, and they have five children, Raymond, Walter, Emma, Florence and Ruth.

As a Republican, Mr. Slane has been active in local politics. That his services have been rec- ognized by his party was evidenced by the fact that in 1891 he was elected sheriff of Saguache County and two years later was re-elected. He filled this difficult position to the satisfaction of all the better classes of citizens. His work was one of great responsibility and required boundless courage, which quality he possesses to an unusual degree. On one occasion in pursuing a criminal, he made a trip of nine hundred miles into Texas, where he caught his man on horseback. As

sheriff, he was efficient, thorough and fearless, and his record was that of one of the best officials the county has had.

ILLIAM R. BARNES is one of the con- servative and reliable business men of Colo- rado Springs and has the reputation of be- ing the best judge of securities in the city. Since 1893 he has made a specialty of real estate and loans and has been placed in charge of the settle- ment of estates and business enterprises, for the responsible duties of which he is admirably qual- ified. On the re-organization of the Exchange National Bank, in August, 1897, he was elected a director and a member of the discount board. Subsequently he was elected vice president, in which capacity he has since continued. The last report issued by this bank shows it to be in a splendid condition. Deposits, which were re- ported to the comptroller of the currency July 15, 1897, as $185,518.59, have increased to $1,030,- 217.03, as given in report to the comptroller of the currency February 4, 1899. Every other de- partment has shown an increase that is equally gratifying. The officers are J. R. McKinnie, president; William R. Barnes and A. S. Hol- brook, vice-presidents; and A. G. Sharp, cashier; directors, William Lennox, W. R. Barnes, A. S. Holbrook, W. S. Nichols, A. L. Lawton, J. R. McKinnie and A. G. Sharp.

Near Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio, the sub- ject of this sketch was born Jannary 16, 1859. His father, R. B., and grandfather, R. M. Barnes, were born in Massachusetts, members of an old family of that state and of Revolutionary descent. His father, who grew to manhood on the home farm in Meigs County, engaged in the mercantile business at Albany, Athens County, Ohio, until his death, which occurred in Meigs County. He married Ruhama Hall, who was born in Virginia and accompanied her parents to Ohio, settling in Meigs County. She died in Albany, Ohio. Of her three sons, our subject is the sole survivor. He was educated in Albany schools, Mount Union College and Rio Grande College, of Ohio. In 1879 he became interested in the dry-goods business, opening a store at McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio. While he conducted this business, at the same time he engaged in insurance adjust- ing and as assignee, handling bankrupt stocks in Athens, Vinton and Meigs Counties, where he had a wide acquaintance.

On coming to Colorado Springs in 1885, Mr.

6.J. Porterfield

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Barnes bought the old Burr and Lamb ranch, two miles from the city, and this he carried on for two years. In 1887 he became deputy county clerk and recorder under Hon. E. J. Eaton, and during the two years in which he held this posi- tion he gained an accurate idea of credits. In 1889 he started in the real-estate and loan busi- ness, but did not devote his entire attention to it for some years, as from 1890 to 1893 he was sec- retary of the school board of Colorado Springs, during which time the high school, Lowell and Bristol grammar schools were built, and the Liller school was rebuilt. In the fall of 1893 he re- signed from the board, since which time he has devoted himself to his personal interests. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. In pol- itics a Republican, he was elected on that ticket as alderman from the fourth ward, and later from the third ward, but resigned the office before the expiration of his term. While in Vinton County, Ohio, he was made a Mason and for some years was a member of the Acacia Lodge, but is now connected with Tejon Lodge. By his marriage to Miss Ella Friedline, of Albany, Ohio, he has two sons, Walter and Paul.

ON. C. I. PORTERFIELD, who has ably represented the second district of Colorado

- in the state senate, is one of the prominent public meu of Pueblo, with whose business inter- ests and political affairs he has been long and in- timately identified. In 1896 he was the nominee of the People's, National Silver and silver Re- publican parties for senator, and while the leader of the opposition ticket carried Pueblo County by thirty-one hundred plurality, he was elected by six hundred and fifty plurality, a fact which proves his personal popularity. In the eleventh general assembly, session of 1897, he served as chairman of the revision committee, and as a member of a number of other committees; also succeeded in securing the passage of three house bills of local importance, introducing two bills which passed the senate, and one of which was signed, the other vetoed. In his advocacy of a United States sen- ator he gave his support to H. M. Teller.

The Porterfield family originated in Scotland, but removed from there to the north of Ireland, and prior to the Revolution three brothers of that name emigrated to America. One of them was a general in the Revolutionary war and rendered valuable assistance to his adopted country, and in payment of the same the celebrated Porterfield

scrip was used by the government. Two of the brothers never married, and the third, who set- tled in Virginia, was the ancestor of all who now bear the name. Charles Porterfield, grandfather of our subject, who was born in Berkeley County, Va., married a Miss Towson, a member of a dis- tinguished family of Maryland that founded Tow- sontown, the county seat of Baltimore Coun- ty, Md.

The father of the subject of this sketch was Charles Towson Porterfield, who was born in Berkeley County and educated in Georgetown, D. C. He was a graduate both in medicine and pharmacy, and became a prominent pharmacist and chemist in Washington County, Md. In thorough sympathy with the abolition movement, he volunteered his services in the Union army during the Civil war and was a commissioned of- ficer with "Black Jack" Logan and Sherman, serving until the close of the conflict. On his re- turn to his old home in 1865, he resumed the drug business. After the disintegration of the Whig party he became a Republican, which party he supported during the remainder of his life. Fraternally he was connected with the Odd Fel- lows and in religion was a Presbyterian. · His death, which occurred in 1876, resulted from dis- ease contracted in the war.

Margaret (Hollman) Porterfield, the mother of our subject, was born in Washington County, Md., and died there in 1891. She descended from an old Maryland family. Her father, Gen. Joseph Hollman, a native of Maryland, was a prominent public man of that state, and served both as a member of the legislature and the sen- ate. Besides the supervision of his large planta- tion, he was largely interested in the Chesapeake and Ohio canal and had other important moneyed interests. The family of Charles T. and Margaret Porterfield consisted of four sons and two daugh- ters, of whom our subject was the oldest.

In Williamsport, Washington County, Md., where he was born October 13, 1855, the subject of this article received his education in the public and high schools. His first salaried position was that of clerk in the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad office, where he continued until 1880. He then came to Colorado and spent one year in Lead- ville, then mined at Silver Cliff, Custer County, and for a year was employed as bookkeeper with a hardware firm in that place. Coming to Pueblo in 1882, he was for two years employed as a clerk iu the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe office, after

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

which he was assistant city freight and passen- ger agent for almost five years. In 1888 he em- barked in the wholesale hay and grain business, incorporating the Pueblo Supply Company, of which he has since been secretary and treasurer. In addition to this business he has important mining interests in the Cripple Creek district. He is actively identified with the Business Men's Association, and is deeply interested in every project for the advancement of the commercial welfare of his city. For years he was a member of the board of directors of the Pueblo Club and also served as its treasurer.

Fraternally Mr. Porterfield is a member of Pu- eblo Lodge No. 17, A. F. & A. M. Since com- ing to Colorado he has made a careful study of the great political questions of the age. The re- sult is that he stanchly supports the principles of the People's party, in which he has been active in local and state conventions and in committee work. Among the members of his party in the state he occupies a position of prominence, to which his devotion to the cause and his sacrifices in its behalf justly entitle him. It may be safely predicted that the important service he has ren- dered in the past will be recognized by his reten- tion in public office, where his previous efficient work has not only brought his own name into prominence, but has also conduced to the benefit and added prosperity of his home town.

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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 33

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