Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 39

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 39

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Born near Bucyrus, Ohio, August 29, 1841, the subject of this memoir spent the years of youth in the east. In 1861 he enlisted in Com- pany F, First Wisconsin Cavalry, in which he served for nearly two years, and was then dis- charged on account of a bronchial complaint. From this disease he never recovered, and it pre- vented him afterward from engaging in manual labor. In 1870 he came from Tennessee to Colo- rado, accompanying the colony that settled in Greeley. For a time he engaged in stock-raising and farming. Early in the '8os he engaged in the construction of irrigation ditches, having large con- tracts or building entirely the Ogilvey ditch near Greeley, the Platte and Beaver systems, the Fort Morgan and Bijou canals in Morgan County and the Del Norte canal in Rio Grande County, be- sides doing contract grading on several railroads then building, notably the Denver & New Or- leans, which is now a part of the Gulf system. Through his various enterprises he accumulated a modest fortune.

In 1883 Mr. Baker began to build the Fort Morgan canal, and the next year platted the town site of Fort Morgan. The building of the canal exhausted his resources and involved him in debt, so that in a few years it passed entirely from his control. However, he never lost hope that he would eventually regain the loss, and doubtless he would have done so had it not been for a succession of afflictions. The loss of his fa- ther, the death of his wife, and the sudden tak- ing away, by accident, of his eldest son, a youth of unusual character and talents, combined to sadden his life and weaken his courage. While attempting to put the Bijou canal property in shape he was taken ill, and after five weeks in St. Joseph's hospital, Denver, he died there,

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April 18, 1898, aged fifty-six years, seven months and twenty days. The remains were brought to Fort Morgan, and funeral services were held at his former home. The body was interred in Riverside Cemetery, the ceremonies at the grave being in charge of the Grand Army of the Republic post, assisted by the Woman's Relief Corps.

On Christmas day of 1877 Mr. Baker married Miss Sarah Graham, who preceded him in death. He left three children, Lois, Abner S., Jr., and Frances, who are being tenderly cared for by his relatives.

Mr. Baker will long be remembered for the work he did in the early history of Fort Morgan. This prosperous town owes much to his energy in its early days. The task required great energy, but he and his co-laborers were equal to the emergency. As a result of their efforts, hand- some brick blocks, a good school, neat cottages, with shade trees and lawns, may be seen where a few years ago ranged cattle over unbroken stretches of buffalo grass. Of those who were stockholders in the original company, the most active were G. W. Warner, secretary and book- keeper; J. S. Courtney, foreman of the grading work; John H. and Robert M. Glassey; F. E. and E. E. Baker, and H. N. Rouse. These men aided materially in the construction of the canal, to which the town owes its existence. Through their labors a territory of rich farming land was brought under irrigation, all tributary to the trading point and mercantile center, Fort Mor- gan. During all of this time, it was Mr. Baker's hope that his town might become the county-seat of a distinct county. With this object in view he carefully watched the proceedings of the state legislature, and when Weld County was cut in pieces, he felt the time had come for the organi- zation of a new county. In the spring of 1889 the people of Fort Morgan petitioned the legis- lature to form a new county, to be called Mor- gan. The project was favored by Senator J. W. McCreery and Representative George C. Reed, and permission was given for the creation of a county, to comprise within its limits all of the Fort Morgan flat, the Weldon Valley country and tributary sheep and cattle ranges, making one of the richest, though one of the smallest, counties in the state. If the future of this coun- ty proves as prosperous as its past (and there is every reason to believe that it will), it will in . time rank among the greatest stock and farming counties in the state and in the west. For what

it may accomplish in the future, it should never be forgotten that credit is due to its founder, who laid the foundations broad, deep and strong.

ON. JAMES F. DRAKE, ex-state senator and an able attorney of Pueblo, was born on a farmi near Belvidere, Boone County, Ill., January 13, 1851, being a son of Charles E. and Martha. (Heaton) Drake, natives of New York. His father, who was born in 1810, devoted his entire active life to agricultural pursuits in Illi- nois, but the infirmities of age now prevent him from mingling actively in business or public affairs. In his family there are five sons and a daughter, the latter making her home with our subject. Charles B., the eldest of the sons, is en- gaged in railroading and makes his home in Bel- videre, Ill .; Frank V. is an attorney in Portland, Ore .; George L. is a ranchman in southern Cali- fornia; and Edgar W. is employed on a railroad in Illinois.

Primarily educated in district schools, James F. Drake gained a thorough classical education in the Illinois State University at Champaign, from which he graduated in 1876, after having been a student there for five years. He taught school for one year and also carried on the study of law, after which, in the fall of 1877, he entered the law department of Michigan State University at Ann Arbor, and remained a student there until his graduation in 1879. Shortly afterward he came to Colorado, and being admitted to the bar of this state, began to practice in Leadville. In the fall of 1881 he came to Pueblo, where he has since carried on a general practice.

As the candidate of the Republican party Mr. Drake was elected city attorney of Pueblo. In the fall of 1892 he was the successful candidate for the state senate, in which distinguished body he remained for four years. While a member of the senate he introduced a number of important bills, some of which were passed. He was a strong supporter of the woman's rights bill and assisted in its passage. He introduced the anti- trust bill, which was killed by a combination of Democrats and Populists. The bill to unite within one corporation Bessemer and Pueblo was carried by both branches of the assembly. With all the energy of his nature he fought the bill providing that the city council and mayor should be replaced by a commission of three members, and after a stubborn contest he defeated the meas- ure. As a senator his ability was fully demon-

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strated and his service was highly creditable to himself and satisfactory to his constituents. Be- lieving that it is the duty of every good citizen to identify himself with politics, he has kept thor- oughly posted concerning every issue before the people, and has sustained such measures as in his opinion will prove of general benefit. I 1888 he served as a delegate to the national con- vention of the Republican party that nominated Benjamin Harrison for president; in that famous meeting he was stanch in his allegiance to James G. Blaine, the "plumed knight," of whom he had ever been an ardent admirer. In 1897 he was his party's candidate for district attorney and carried the city of Pueblo, but was defeated in the other sections of the district.

While he has been active and influential in pol- itics, Mr. Drake's chief ambition has been to attain success in his profession. The fact that he stands high throughout the state as an attorney is the result of his unwearied application through years of study and research. He is a student and a thinker, one who reasons logically and observes closely. Accurate in analysis, keen in discern- ment, and judicious in action, he justly ranks high among the members of the legal profession in this city and couuty.

ENRY SCHNEIDER. From the time of the organization of Logan County Mr. Schneider has been one of its most success- ful and prominent cattle-raisers. As early as 1871, while on a buffalo hunt in northeastern Colorado, he selected his present ranch as a de- sirable location. Two years later he settled here, making his home in a sod house that he had built the previous year. As yet the country had not been surveyed, and there were no settlers nearer than forty-five iniles. Undismayed, however, by the remoteness of his position, he set himself res- olutely to work. When the section was surveyed he entered his land, securing, by pre-emption and tree claim, three hundred and twenty acres, to which, as the years passed by, he added by purchase from time to time. His ranch now numbers three thousand acres, most of which is under ditch. For a long time he was largely ill- terested in sheep raising, but of late years has given his attention wholly to haying and the cat- tle business. Upon the incorporation of the town of Evans he was selected as one of the first trus- tees; and when Logan County was organized he was appointed by Governor Adams one of the

first county commissioners. In politics he allies himself with the Democratic party.

Mr. Schneider was born in County Wiltshire, England, December 27, 1844, a son of Thomas H. and Mary (Gough) Schneider. He was one of seven children and next to the youngest of the five now living. Of these, Elizabeth is the wife of H. Hulbert, of London, England; Catherine married James Gough, of Wiltshire; John R. is engaged in the transfer business in Denver, Colo .; and James G. is in Arizona. The father was born in County Wiltshire about 18 1 1 and descended from an old English family that originated in Holland. During the time of William and Mary some of the name went to England, and, being nursery- men, brought with them large supplies of nursery stock. While our subject's father was a graduate pharmacist and chemist, he preferred to engage in farming, and settled down to that occupation. He filled inany of the minor offices of his parish and was well known there. He died in 1867. His father, Thomas H. Schneider, Sr., was a gen- eral merchant, but his ancestors were all nursery- men.

When eight years old our subject lost his 11other. After finishing the studies of the common schools he was for two years a student in a pri- vate boarding school. When he was fifteen he took up his home with James Gough, a brother of his mother and a wealthy farmer and cattle- dealer. On account of having to buy and sell stock Mr. Gough was often away from home, and the management of the farm of six hundred acres and the oversight of the dairy of one hundred and twenty milch cows were almost entirely in the lands of our subject. As about thirty men were employed, all of whom he superintended, his task was no slight one for a youth. In addition he had charge of much of his uncle's correspondence and kept his books. In this way was laid the foundation for his successful business career. He was forced to be self-reliant and judicious, and these qualities have ever since been factors in his character. Desiring to engage in the cattle busi- ness in America, in 1869 he crossed the ocean1, landing in New York December 18, after a very tempestuous voyage of fourteen days. The vessel on which he crossed was wrecked on the return voyage and of all the crew and passengers but one man was saved, he being picked up front some wreckage by another boat.

From New York Mr. Schneider went to Onta- rio, thence to Michigan and then to Chicago. In

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February, 1870, he went to Mississippi and rented land in Pontotoc County, where he put in a crop of cotton and general farm products. After this had been harvested he left and returned to Chi- cago, where he heard William N. Byers lecture on Colorado. He was so attracted by the de- scription of the west that he determined to come here. Going to St. Louis he joined the St. Louis & Western Colony Company, with which he came to Colorado. He settled in Evans in the spring of 1871, and during the summer worked under the chief surveyor in laying out the town site and opening ditches. ' In the fall he opened a coal, lime and feed business. A year later he sold out and returned to England on a visit. Coming back in the spring of 1873 he settled on the ranch where he has since resided. In1 1892 he married Mrs. Hattie H. (Jewett) Peyton, widow of William N. Peyton, and mother of three children, of whom the only survivor is Joseph C. Peyton, deputy sheriff of Logan Coun- ty and a resident of Sterling.

MAURICE FINN. The gratifying success that has crowned the efforts of Mr. Finn is

, the more noticeable and praiseworthy be- cause of the few opportunities afforded him for that training and help which are sometimes con- sidered indispensable for a start in the profes- sional world. His has been a useful and busy life, and now, while in his prime, he has attained a position among the influential attorneys and suc- cessful mine operators of Cripple Creek. His prominence in politics, at the bar and in mining circles is the result of his acknowledged ability and energy of character. In the midst of a busy life as clerk he obtained much of his legal education, studying diligently every night and at leisure mo- ments in the day. When he started out for him- self, it was with a determination to win a leading place in his profession, and he has not failed in this worthy ambition. He is a man who has ever maintained a deep interest in the welfare of the people and the progress of his community, and his labors have been instrumental in accom- plishing many needed improvements.

Besides his law practice, which is of an impor- tant nature, Mr. Finn has been quite prominent as a mine operator. It is said that he is probably interested in and controls more mining lands than any other man in the Cripple Creek district. He · organized the Mountain Beauty and the Lady Campbell Mining Companies, and is president of

both, as well as a large owner of their stock. He is also general manager of the Wilson Creek Con- solidated Mining and Milling Company.

Mr. Finn was born in St. Clair, Mich., Jan- uary 10, 1857. At twelve years of agehe acconi- panied his parents to Royal Oak, a suburb of De- troit, Mich., and there his education progressed favorably. His father, Rev. Silas Finn, who was born in Benton Center, Pa., in 1811, and for years was a pioneer minister in Michigan, dying there at eighty-five years of age, was a man who well knew the value of an education, and had his means been ample, would have given his son every educational advantage the country afforded. As it was, he give him a good start. In 1874 our subject entered the high school at Pontiac, Mich., and there took a three years' course in two years, graduating in 1875. Needing money to continue his studies, he began to clerk in Royal Oak, and at the same time devoted such leisure time as he had to the study of the profession he determined to enter. In 1880 he moved to Gray- ling, Mich., and three years later was admitted to the bar, Hon. Thomas M. Cooley being one of the examining committee before whom he ap- peared. Opening an office at Grayling, he re- mained there until 1889, and then removed to Ishpeming, Mich., where he carried on a general practice for three years.

An ardent believer in Democratic principles, Mr. Finn early became prominent among the leaders of his party in Michigan. In 1888 he was a delegate to the national convention at St. Louis, Mo., and four years later was a delegate to the convention at Chicago. At one time he was his party's candidate for congress from the twelfth congressional district of Michigan, but wascounted out by trickery. He was one of the first ex- ponents of the free silver faith in the entire coun- try. At a meeting held by the Trans-Mississippi Congress in Omaha in 1891 he delivered the ad- dress favoring the establishment of silver upon a basis of 16 to 1. Had he been elected to congress and W. J. Bryan defeated, it is very probable that he would have made the free silver speech in con- gress, as he was recognized as one of the leading silver advocates in the country. In the conven- tion of 1892 he received the credit for the nomi- nation of President Cleveland and the influence he exerted was recognized by the Associated Press. During that exciting convention, when party leaders were in doubt as to who should be selected for their standard-bearer, and while the

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balloting was proceeding, he left the hall and had a Cleveland banner made, which he brought into the convention hall at the proper time. This little incident caused a turn in affairs and Cleve- land was given the nomination, by only six votes. At times of national campaigns he spoke for his party in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, and became well known through the central states. He was successful, too, in the practice of his profession and accumulated con- siderable property, but lost the greater part of this in unfortunate investments, so that he had but little when he came to Cripple Creek. Since settling here he has been a candidate for attor- ney of the fourth judicial district, but was de- feated on account of the emblem question. At Toledo, Ohio, on Thanksgiving day of 1897, Mr. Finn married Miss Belle Downing, of Ishpen- ing, Mich.

ON. ORA HALEY, president and manager of the Haley Live Stock and Trading Com- pany, is one of the most prominent and suc- cessful cattle men in the United States, and is the owner of ranches in Wyoming and Routt County, Colo. He is of eastern birth and Scotch descent, the grandson of a Scotchman who, with his two brothers, settled in New Hampshire. His father, Benjamin, who was born in Exeter, N. H., removed to East Corinth, Penobscot County, Me., where he was a farmer and drover and for years held office as selectman. Accompanied by his family, in 1864 he removed to Malaga, N. J., where he followed fruit-growing and farming until his death. His wife, who was Nancy Jane Rollins, was born in Charleston, Penobscot County, Me., and died in East Corinth, the same county. Of her seven children our subject is the sole surviving son, and he has one living sister, Nancy J., Mrs. A. J. Gregory, of Oasis, Wyo.

In East Corinth, where he was born in 1845, Mr. Haley received a public school and academic education. In 1861 he went to Bangor, where he clerked for three years, and then went to Waukon, Allamakee County, Iowa, securing a position as clerk in a general mercantile store. In June, 1865, he outfitted at Prairie du Chien, Wis., and joined a party that drove through to Denver, with seven five-yoke teams of oxen, going via Plattsmouth, up the south side of the Platte, and arriving in Denver September 19, 1865. From this city he went to Black Hawk

and Central City and embarked in the meat busi- ness, but after three months an attack of mountain fever obliged him to discontinue business. Going next to Excelsior, near South Boulder, he opened a store and meat market, of which he was pro- prietor for a year, but the abandoning of the adjacent mines rendered the enterprise unprofit- able. For a year he had a market in Ward, Boulder County, but a lull in the work there caused him to change his location. In the fall of 1867 he went to Cheyenne, just as that place was beginning its era of prosperity. From Tom Hill, of North Boulder, he hired two five-yoke teams and engaged in freighting and hauling lumber from Cache la Poudre to Cheyenne, but after two months began freighting hay from Cache la Poudre to the end of railroad construction, west of Chey- enne. During the latter part of December, 1867, he discontinued freighting and drove a bunch of beef cattle from Colorado to Wyoming, stopping at Fort Sanders, where he waited for the town of Laramie, three miles away, to start, and as soon as business began there, in May, 1868, he opened a meat market, supplying the people there and also the fort.

In 1871 Mr. Haley located a ranch on the Little Laramie and began in the cattle business, to which he gave his entire attention after disposing of his meat business in 1874. He was one of the first cattlemen who turned a herd of cattle upon the prairies to look for pasturage for themselves, in which plan he was soon followed by others. Selling out that ranch in 1876, he bought a tract 011 Rock Creek, not far distant; and during the same year he began to buy cattle in Oregon, Idaho and Nevada, which he traded in Colorado and Wyoming ..

The Thornburg massacre occurred in Routt County, Colo., in the fall of 1879 and a few months afterward the Indians were removed to a reservation, which opened up the land for set- tlers. Knowing it to be a fine stock country, Mr. Haley located there in the spring of 1880 and took up a number of ranches, securing valuable water rights along Lay Creek and later at the mouth of Elk Head Creek on Bear River. He established a camp on the Little Snake River and fenced and improved Cross Mountain ranch, for the wintering of cattle. Here he has a herd of high grade Hereford and Shorthorn cattle. On the Oasis ranch for years he has been engaged in raising full blooded Herefords. This ranch, which is situated along the Laramie River, thir-

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teen miles from Laramie, contains thirty thou- and the erection of buildings necessary for the sand acres of tilled land under fence, of which six thousand acres are irrigated for the raising of hay and grain. The village of Wyoming, on the ranch, was by his influence changed in name to correspond with his place, and is now known as Oasis. Besides the station, he has built here a creamery, general store and blacksmith shop, and there is also a postoffice. Besides the cattle raised on the ranch, he with a partner has bought and sold in Utah and Idaho about ten thousand head of cattle, also about seventy thousand head of sheep per year for the past two years.

January 8, 1872, in Omaha, Neb., Mr. Haley married Miss Augusta Pfeiffer, who was born near St. Louis. They have four children, namely: Annie G., who is secretary of the Haley Live Stock and Trading Company; Addie, who is studying music; Mattie and Ora B. Mrs. Haley is a member of the Episcopal Church.

In the fall of 1870 Mr. Haley was elected to represent Albany County, Wyo., to the second session of the territorial legislature. Later he served for four years as a member of the state senate of Wyoming. In 1890 he was elected to the state legislature, and during the session of 1891 he was chairman of the committee on ways and means. His record as a public official was unstained by the slightest reproach. At all times he sought to conserve the interests of his constitu- ents and the welfare of the state.

In Laramie, Wyo., Mr. Haley was made a member of the blue lodge and chapter of Masonry, and at Cheyenne joined the commandery, from which he was demitted to the commandery at Laramie. He is also a member of Kohren Temple, N. M. S., at Rawlins, Wyo. He is identified both with the Wyoming and Colorado Cattle Growers' Associations and is a charter member of the national organization of cattlemen. Under Gov- ernor Richards he was appointed a member of the State Board of Live Stock Commissioners, in which responsible position he has rendered most efficient service. He has never been active in politics, but is known to be a stanch Republican, unfaltering in his allegiance to party principles.

REDERICK GREVE. At the time of com- ing to Colorado, in the spring of 1887, Mr. Greve pre-empted a tract of land lying eight · miles northeast of Crook, in Logan County. He at once began the improvement of the property

proper conduct of a stock farm. At first he had but a few head of stock, but as time passed, his herd increased. However, there was an insuffi- ciency of water on the place, which rendered it unsuitable for stock-raising. For this reason, after six years, he located a homestead to the southeast one and one-half miles, and here he has since made his home, having acquired one thou- sand acres of land, besides owning extensive in- terests in the land of the Settlers' Ditch Com- pany. He was one of the organizers of this company and one of the builders of its ditch, which was built in 1898. On the completion of the work, he was made secretary of the company, which position he now fills.

Mr. Greve was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, June 30, 1854, a son of Frederick and Frauke Greve. Of five children comprising the family, he and two other sons survive. The old- est of the brothers occupies the old homestead in Germany, and the second born, Claus, is a civil engineer and government employe in Germany. The father, a native of Schleswig-Holstein, born about 1808, grew to manhood on a farm, and, in connection with his farming pursuits, on reach- ing manhood he became interested in the hotel business. For many years he was one of the well- known landlords of his section. His death oc- curred in 1863.

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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 39

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