Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 4

Author: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1530

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delphia Dispensary. In 1876 he was physician to the eye and ear department of the Philadelphia Dispensary and attending physician to the Cath- erine Street Dispensary. From 1875 to 1881 he was quiz-master on physiology and during these years gave lectures before the students of Jeffer- son Medical College. In 1879 he was a lecturer on physical diagnosis at the Philadelphia School of Anatomy and attending physician to St. Mary's Hospital. In 1880 he was elected attending physician to Jefferson College Hospital; in 1882, neurologist of Howard Hospital, and in 1883 post- graduate instructor in mental and nervous dis- eases in Jefferson Medical College.

The duty of filling so many positions neces- sarily was a great strain upon Dr. Eskridge, and his health broke down in the winter of 1883- 84. In August, 1884, he came west on account of tuberculosis of the lungs and located in Colo- rado Springs, where he spent four years in recuperating his health. In 1888 he removed to Denver, where he has his office in the Equitable building. In 1889 he was appointed neurologist and alienist to the Arapahoe County and St. Luke's Hospitals, and the next year began giv- ing a course of lectures on the diseases of the nervous system, in the University of Colorado. In 1892 he was appointed dean of the medical faculty of the same institution and professor of nervous and mental diseases and medical juris- prudence, but in 1859 he resigned, severing all connection with the college. Each year he has delivered a course of lectures at Colorado Col- lege, in Colorado Springs, on cerebral localiza- tion and physiology of the nervous system. In 1894 Governor McIntire appointed him commis- sioner of the State Insane Asylum, and since that time he has been the president of the board, to which position he was elected shortly after he became a member.

In Philadelphia, in 1876, Dr. Eskridge mar- ried Miss Jane Gay, who was born in Ireland, but came to this country in childhood, her father, James Gay, becoming a real-estate owner and capitalist of Philadelphia. While a resident of the Quaker City Dr. Eskridge was president of the Philadelphia Northern Medical Society (now the Clinical Society of Philadelphia) ; was a meni- ber of the board of directors of Philadelphia County Medical Society; a member of the Phila- delphia Pathological Society; the Philadelphia

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Neurological Society and the American Neu- rological Society. Later he was elected a mem- ber of the American Climatological Society and the American Medical Association, with all of which he still retains his connection. He also belongs to the New York Medical-Legal Society, the Denver and Arapahoe County Medical So- ciety and the Colorado State Medical Association (president of the last-mentioned) and also presi- dent of the El Paso County Medical Society. Dr. Eskridge has devoted the best years of his life to the noble work of alleviating the sufferings of his fellow-men and his scholarly research, indefatigable labors and invaluable experience make him an authority on subjects relating to his profession. His fame is far-reaching, and his carefully prepared articles for publication are al- ways eagerly sought for and thenceforth quoted. Toward the young and aspiring physician he has proved a sincere friend and adviser.

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la AVID H. MOFFAT. He who contributes to the commercial prosperity of a place; who, by his judgment and foresight, assists in the development of its resources; in whose hands large financial trusts are placed and safely, faith- fully guarded; such an one may justly be called a public benefactor. To this class belongs Mr. Moffat, president of the First National Bank of Denver, and long one of Denver's most progress- ive and distinguished citizens. It would be im- possible to write an accurate history of Denver and omit mention of his connection with the city, which has been his home since 1860, and the scene of his financial successes. The supremacy acquired by Denver over other towns of the mountain states is due in no small measure to his business acumen and sagacity, for he used his it- fluence to bring railroads to the city and to intro- duce manufacturing enterprises and business proj- ects that would be of permanent value to the place.

The success attained by Mr. Moffat is especially deserving of mention when the fact is considered that lie left home at the age of twelve years, with little money, to begin the battle of life for him- self. He went from Orange County, N. Y., where he was born July 22, 1839, to the city of New York, and there, by a strange providence, he found employment in the line of business for

which he was best fitted by nature. He was given a place in the New York Exchange Bank as mes- senger boy, and this apparent chance determined the occupation of his life. He was quick to learn, and his increasing knowledge of the bank- " ing business was recognized by the president, Selah Van Duser, who promoted him to a clerk- ship in the bank.

In 1855, having received an offer of employ- ment in Des Moines, Iowa, he went to that city and there for a time was teller in the banking house of A. J. Stevens & Co. While connected with that bank he made the acquaintance of B. F. Allen, of Des Moines, who, recognizing his finan- cial talents, offered him a more lucrative position in Omaha. Going to that city, he took charge of the Bank of Nebraska, as cashier. At the end of four years he closed the bank, paid its indebt- edness in full, and divided the surplus among the stockholders. He then left at once for Denver, making the trip in a wagon drawn by mules and loaded with a full supply of provisions. When he reached his destination, he found on the banks of the Platte River a settlement of a few thousand people, the most of whom were prospectors. In partnership with C. C. Woolworth, he opened a book and stationery store, which was carried on for six years. In those days gold dust was the medium of exchange. Interest rates were very high, and there was a profit in the purchase of bullion and its'shipment east.

When Mr. Moffat came to Denver he was a slender youth, weighing only one hundred pounds, and bearing the appearance of one in delicate health. However, he was much stronger than his appearance indicated, and as he became older he increased in weight, being now a man of splendid pliysique and robust health. Two years after he came to Denver he established a home of his own, being united in marriage with Miss Fannie A. Buckhout, of Saratoga, N. Y., by whom he has a daughter, the wife of J. A. McClurg.

April 17, 1865, the comptroller of treasury authorized the organization of the First National Bank of Denver, and it was opened for business May 9. The original stockholders and directors were: Austin M. and Milton E. Clark, Bela S. Buell, Jerome B. Chaffee, Henry J. Rogers, George T. Clark, Charles A. Cook and Eben Smith; the officers being: J. B. Chaffee, presi-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

dent; H. J. Rogers, vice-president; and George T. Clark, cashier. The private banking busi- ness of Clark & Co. was merged into the new institution, which was located on Blake street, then the business center of the city. No especial success rewarded the investments of the stockhold- ers until 1867, when Mr. Moffat was elected cashier, but after that there was an immediate improvement and from that year the bank enjoyed a steady and increasing prosperity. It now has a capital of $500,000, with a surplus larger than that, and deposits amounting to $13,000,000. During the panics that engulfed so many banks throughout the country it retained its credit unimpaired, meeting every demand on time.

Besides being connected with Mr. Chaffee in the bank, Mr. Moffat was, with him, interested in real-estate and mining operations. They owned the Caribou mine, near Boulder, the Breece iron mine, in Leadville, and the Henrietta, also in Leadville. They also purchased Senator Tabor's stock in the Little Pittsburg Consolidated Mining Company, of which Mr. Moffat became vice- pres- ident and from which he derived a large income. In addition, they together owned nearly a hundred mines in different parts of the state.

In projects for building railroads Mr. Moffat has always borne an active part. In 1869 he co- operated with Governor Evans in building the Denver Pacific Railroad from Denver to Chey- enne, thus securing a connection with the Union Pacific. After silver was discovered at Leadville he took part in organizing a syndicate that built the Denver & South Park Railroad, one hundred and fifty miles long, and which at one time yielded larger profits then any railroad of its length in world. Upon the construction of the Boulder Valley Railroad he was chosen treasurer of the company and himself built the extension from Boulder to the Marshall coal banks, in Boulder County. For years he held the responsible posi- tion of president of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Company, of whose stock he was a heavy owner, but in 1891 he resigned the position. He was largely interested in the building of the Florence & Cripple Creek Railroad, connecting Cripple Creek with Florence, and one of the most profitable lines in the state.

During the administration of Governor Evans, Mr. Moffat hield the office of adjutant-general. For four years he was territorial treasurer. In

the organization of the Denver City Water Com- pany he took an active part and was for years its treasurer. Other local enterprises have received his warm support and active assistance. Perhaps no trait of his character is more worthy of admi- ration then his generosity. In great financial crises he has helped many men to brave the storm and retain their financial credit, who, without his aid, would have succumbed to the tempest. The amount of his gifts no one knows, unless it be himself, but they must amount to thousands annually. Fitz-Mac, in an admirable character sketch of Mr. Moffat, says: "His friendship takes not so much the smiling as the helping turn. I speak not of what he gives away in charity, but in a straight business way he has helped more men then any other man in the state. That would be little to say of him now because he is the richest man in the state, but it could have been truly said of him long before he became the richest man; and actually was widely said." Great riches bring great responsibilities, but, did all our men of wealth possess the help- ful, practical sympathy that has made Mr. Moffat a man among men, there would be less of the socialistic spirit prevalent in our country, and anarchism would be relegated to the dark ages, or to unenlightened countries, where it might hope to find followers.

ON. HORACE A. W. TABOR. The old adage, "Truth is stranger than fiction," finds exemplification in this, the most famous of the men who crossed the plains in 1859 and became the pioneers in the development of the mining resources of Colorado. For years newspapers chronicled his successes, reporters wrote glowing descriptions of his triumphs in this modern El Dorado, and people, both in this country and throughout the entire civilized world, were attracted by the spectacle of a man who rose by such rapid bounds to the pinnacle of fortune and under whose leadership, like that of Midas of old, every path became a road to fortune.

The record of the life of such a man has more than temporary or local interest, and it will there- fore be the biographer's effort to present it in full, so that the reader may understand the circumstances and characteristics that contributed to his success. Horace A. W. Tabor was born in Orleans County,

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Vt., November 26, 1830, and in early life acquired habits of industry and perseverance. His parents being poor, he had meagre educational advan- tages and was forced to supply by observation and experience the knowledge that most boys gain in school. In youth he learned the trade of a stone- cutter, which he followed in Vermont until twenty-five years of age. In 1855 he came west as far as Kansas, where he settled upon a farm. While he failed to gain financial success there, he gained a position of prominence among the Free Soil party, and when Kansas became a state he was elected a member of the Topeka legisla- ture in 1857, but that body was dispersed by Federal troops, acting on the orders of the war department.

His experience in Kansas offered little induce- ment to Mr. Tabor to remain there, and when rumors of the discovery of gold in Colorado reached him he resolved to join the Argonauts westward bound. He spent the winter of 1859- 60 in Denver, and in the spring started for Cali- fornia Gulch (now Leadville), he and his wife making the trip in a "prairie schooner" drawn by oxen. After six weeks of travel he reached his destination in April, and at once began pros- pecting and mining. The mining camp was then in the zenith of its prosperity and when the sea- son was over he had $5,000, a fair fortune, as it seemed to him then. When cold weather rendered mining impossible, he opened a grocery store, but in the spring resumed mining, and at the end of his second season he had a total sum of $15,000. In 1865 he sold out his mine and moved to the Buckskin Joe district, in Park County, where was then a booming camp, but is now a wilder- ness. He opened a store there and also served as postmaster. When the Printer Boy mine was discovered in California Gulch, in 1868, he moved back there and opened a store at Oro City, also officiated as postmaster. For a long time his life was only ordinarily successful, but in the spring of 1879 the tide of fortune changed.

In Fairplay, Park County, were two shoe- makers, August Rische and George T. Hook, who, being poor, applied to Mr. Tabor for assist- ance in their search for carbonates. Mr. Tabor had always been kind and accommodating, as many a poor miner knew, and he generously aided these two men, They went to the apex of Fryer Hill, and began digging. late in April. Many

laughed at their credulity in imagining any hid- den wealth there, but they worked patiently, undisturbed by ridicule or sneers. Early in May, at a depth of twenty-six feet, they struck a vein and discovered what has since been famous as the Little Pittsburg mine. During the first half of July the yield from the mine was $8,000 a week, and soon the mine was producing seventy-five to one hundred tons of ore daily. The three part- ners purchased neighboring claims. In Septem- ber Mr. Hook, who had gained a fortune from the intermediate sale of ore, sold his interest to his associates for $90,000, and soon Mr. Rische disposed of his interest to J. B. Chaffee and David H. Moffat for $262,500. In November the New Discovery, Little Pittsburg, Dives and Winne- muc properties were merged into the Little Pitts- burg Consolidated Company, with a capital of $20,000,000, and the production of the mines from the spring of 1878 until April 1, 1880, was $2,697,534.91 for receipts of ore sold, and $4,246, - 239.81, actual yield. Afterward Mr. Tabor sold his interest to his partners for $1,000,000.

Meantime the other interests owned by Mr. Tabor became important and extensive. He bought about one-half of the stock of the First National Bank of Denver, purchased the Match- less mine at Leadville, and bought a one-fourth interest in the mines of Borden, Tabor & Co., the receipts from which were $100,000 a month. In company with Marshall Field, of Chicago, he acquired possessions that yielded millions. The Matchless, which he bought for $117,000, yielded him a net income of $2,000 a day, and for a time its returns amounted to $100,000 a month. He owned the Alaska, Adelphi, Acapulco and Vic- tory mines in the San Juan country, and was the sole owner of the Red Rogers and the Saxon. He bought interests in mines in Arizona, New and Old Mexico, and became the wealthiest man in the state. No other man in the state has ever made money so rapidly. It seems almost as if everything he touched turned into gold, and the reports of his phenomenal career spread all over the world.

It has been said that no man in the state made money so rapidly as Mr. Tabor. With equal truth it may be said that no man did more for the upbuilding of the state. He did not remove to foreign lands, there to dazzle nobles and royalty with his wealth, but devoted it to the advance-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ment of his state. He was especially interested in the growth of Denver. February 1, 1879, he purchased the Broadwell corner, on Sixteenth and Larimer streets, for $30,000, and at the same time paid $40,000 for a block of ground and a residence on Broadway. In the spring of 1880 he built the Tabor block, of sandstone cut at Clough's quarries in Ohio. March 8, 1880, he bought the corner of Sixteenth and Curtis streets, and at once made preparations for the building of an opera house to equal or surpass the finest in the country. A Chicago firm was employed to draw the plans, with instructions to visit the best theatres in America and Europe and erect a building that would be above criticism in every respect. How well the contractors succeeded all residents of Denver know. September 5, 1881, the house was formally opened to the pub- lic by Emma Abbott's opera company. He pur- chased the corner of Arapahoe and Sixteenth streets, and offered it to the government as a site for a postoffice, which was afterwards erected there. Other lots he also bought and improved, thus adding to the prosperity of Denver. He was also interested in Leadville, of which he was the first and second mayor. He built an opera house there, aided in securing the water works and gas works, and was a factor in the securing of the fire department.

In 1878 Mr. Tabor was elected lieutenant-gov- eruor of the state. When Henry M. Teller be- came a member of President Arthur's cabinet, Mr. Tabor was chosen to fill his unexpired term of thirty days as United States senator. He was a candidate for election to the office, but his op- ponent, Judge Bowen, was elected by a majority of one vote. As chairman of the state central committee, he conducted the Republican cam- paign of 1886 with success. In 1891 he was chosen president of the Denver Chamber of Com- mercé and Board of Trade. His present position as postmaster of Denver was tendered him in 1898. There was a time when his friends hoped to see him elected the chief executive of the state, and had he been chosen for the position undoubt- edly he would have done his utmost to advance the welfare of his adopted state.

Although unfortunate investments, the most of them in other states, have deprived Mr. Tabor of almost his entire property, it has not robbed him of the esteem of the people among whom he

has lived for so many years. When the last rem- nant of his property was gone, he was not deser- ted by his acquaintances. Through the medium of Senator Wolcott, he received the appointment of postmaster; everyone, no matter of what political belief, rejoiced that this honor should be conferred upon one who had done so much for the advance- ment of the state, and who had, through so many years, been an important factor in the develop- ment of its resources.

B RADFORD H. DUBOIS, president of the State Sanitary Board, has been very success- fully connected with the mining interests of Colorado. Coming to Colorado in 1877, he, with Gen. John A. Logan, Governor Routt and J. V. Holcomb, hired a large carriage for the season and, amply provided with provisions, set out for the mining regions of the state. In July of that year they arrived in Oro. In February of the next year Leadville, three miles below Oro, was located and named. At the suggestion of J. J. DuBois, the only brother of our subject, the original name of Stabtown was changed to the more pleasing and appropriate appellation of Leadville. After some months among the mines, in November, 1877, General Logan and Mr. DuBois returned to Illinois; but in the spring of the next year the latter again went to Leadville, where he engaged in mining. With three others he located the Maid of Erin, which has produced nearly $6,000,000 and paid div- idends to the amount of about $3,000,000. This mine is still being worked and is one of the most famous in the world. After some time, by consolidation, the Henrietta and Maid Con- solidated Mining Company was incorporated in 1884. The same gentlemen also discovered and located the best portion of the Crystallite, that has since become famous, but their interest in this they soon sold. In addition to other mining interests Mr. DuBois is vice-president of the Hill Top Mining Company, which is in active operation, and owns the largest lead-producing mine in Colorado.

Tracing the record of the DuBois family, we find that Louis DuBois was born in France, but on account of religious persecution fled to Hol- land, where he married. In 1624 he came to America and was one of the original twelve

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

patentees of Ulster County, N. Y., where he bought a large tract of land at New Paltz. His son, Jonathan, had a son, Cornelius, who was a captain in the Revolution. Next in line of de- scent was Mathelsohn, a large land owner. His son, John B. DuBois, our subject's father, was born near Kingston, Ulster County, and engaged in the mercantile business at Libertyville until his retirement, when fifty-two years of age. For years he held the office of supervisor. His wife was Mary Hand, who was born in Libertyville, and died in Denver in 1895. Her father, Abel Hand, was born in Connecticut, removed to New York and carried on a mill at Libertyville, later going to Palatine Bridge, the same state, where he died. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. He had only two children, sons, and they reside in Colorado, J. J. being proprietor of a ranch six miles east of Denver.

Born in Ulster County in 1853, our subject attended the Libertyville school and New Paltz Academy, then was a student in the Illinois University at Champaign, remaining there until the close of the junior year. Later he engaged in business in Decatur, Ill., where he remained until his removal west. In 1885 he became interested in ranching, purchasing a tract one- half mile from the city limits, and at once pro- ceeded to improve its seven hundred and fifty acres, which he irrigates from the High Line ditch, beside having artesian water in every field. General farm products are raised here, also standard ·bred horses, several of which have made world's records, and Jersey cattle.

Politically Mr. DuBois is a Democrat. He made his headquarters in Leadville until 1885, when he removed to Denver. Under the adminis- tration of Governor McIntire he was appointed president of the state sanitary board, and when Governor Adams became chief executive he was again chosen for this responsible position. In Denver he married Mrs. Eva (Speer) Moore, the first girl born in Lawrence, Kan., of which her father, John Speer, was one of the most promi- nent pioneers, also editor of the abolition paper that excited the wrath of the slavery supporters. In his family there were eight children, the eldest of whom, John, a married man, was mur- dered August 21, 1863, and the second son, Robert, who it is supposed was murdered, was buried on the day his older brother was killed.

The third son, William, is a railroad man in Wichita, Kan .; Mary, Mrs. Wood Neff, died in Topeka in 1886; Eva was next in order of birth; Rosa died when a young lady; Hardin lives in Denver; and Joseph was accidentally killed by a playmate when seven years of age. Mrs. DuBois was educated in the University of Kansas, at Lawrence, and when a young woman was married to Charles D. Moore, who was born in Bridge- ton, N. J., and grew to manhood in Kansas, . but in 1881 removed to Robinson, Colo., where he was manager of the Robinson mine until his death in 1886. He left one daughter, Edna. The year after her husband's death Mrs. Moore came to Denver, where afterward she was married to Mr. DuBois. She is a member of the Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, and a lady of fine mental endowments, whose superior attributes of character attract many friends.

Hon. John Speer, father of Mrs. DuBois, was born in Armstrong County, Pa., December 27, 1817, of Scotch descent on both sides. One of the ancestors, Donald Cargill, was a leader of the last struggle against Charles II., and was beheaded in 1661. John Speer emigrated from Ireland in 1792 and settled in South Carolina, but his anti- slavery opinions made the neighborhood un- pleasant and he removed to Mercer County, Pa., where he purchased a farm now owned by de- scendants. His son, Capt. Robert Speer, learned nail manufacturing in Pittsburg, and followed the trade until steam power took the place of hand work. In 1830 he removed to a farm in Armstrong County, where he died at ninety-five years. His wife, Barbara, was a daughter of Adam and Nancy Lowrey, who were born in Ireland, of Scotch descent.

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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 4

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