Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 43

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 43

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

theology and philosophy. December 23, 1882, he was ordained to the holy prieshood by Bishop McNeirney, of Albany, and was assigned to the Denver diocese. In January, 1883, he came to Colorado and was stationed successively at Breckenridge, Summit Park, Eagle and Garfield as assistant pastor, utilizing houses, depots and other buildings for religious services. In the fall of 1883 he was assigned as assistant to Bishop Machebeuf, at the Cathedral in Denver, and after fifteen rionths there, was made pastor of St. Ann's, now the Church of the Annunciation, where he remained for three months. From there he came to St. Patrick's parish, which at that time included all of the north side and a portion of the west side. Since coming here he has en- larged the church aud school to the present size and has built the parsonage. He has remained here constantly with the church, with the ex- ception of a portion of 1894 and 1895, when another priest was assigned to his parish while he took a post-graduate work in the Catholic University of Washington. Alive to the interests of the church, he devotes himself closely to its welfare and has been effectual in increasing its membership and standing among the other churches of the city.

ROF. GEORGE L. HARDING, superin- tendent of the public schools of Boulder County, is an able educator and by years of practical experience in teaching is especially qualified to occupy the responsible position with which the people of his county of Colorado have honored him in three successive elections. The numerous and varied duties which rest upon a man in such an office cannot be laid down by rule and precedent to any great extent, but depend largely upon the character of the person, his en- ergy and interest in the work and his desire to make his country a banner one in the common- wealth to which it belongs. Fortunately for the citizens of Boulder County, Professor Harding is devoted heart and soul to the noble work he has in charge, and under his judicious administration the standard of our local schools has been wonder- fully advanced.

The gentleman of whom this sketch is written is a native of Cork, Ireland, born July 26, 1847. With his parents, Thomas and Mary (Lester)

Harding, of the same isle, he came to the United States in 1861, and in the following year removed from New York, where they had first settled, to Sturgis, Mich. Both parents were of English de- scent, the Hardings having taken up their res- idence in Ireland during the time of Cromwell. Thomas Harding was engaged in the manu- facture of pumps and machinery and was interest- ed in the shipping trade while in Ireland. He has been connected with the Studebaker Company as an employe, and has been variously occupied in a business way since coming to the United States. He and his wife are residents of Sturgis, Mich., where they have dwelt for many years and are much respected and loved. His father, William Harding, was engaged in a private bank- ing business in Ireland, and his wife's father, George Lester, was a sea-faring man, interested in trade with the West Indies and trans-Alantic ports.

Professor Harding is the eldest of the four sur- viving children of his parents. In boyhood he learned the trade of making chairs, and by in- dustry earned sufficient money to enable him to complete his higher education. In 1874 he grad- uated from the University of Michigan, and three years later had the degree of Master of Arts con- ferred upon him by his alma mater. His natural tastes lying in the direction of pedagogic work, he soon embarked upon his career as a teacher and has met with success from the first. For several years he taught in his native state, in Minnesota and in Indiana. It 18go he resigned the position that for five years he had filled most acceptably in Middlebury, Ind., and coming to Colorado, he took charge of the city schools of Longmont. This position he resigned in 1893,- as he had been elected to the superintendency of the county schools. Upon the expiration of his term he was re-elected, and again in 1897. He has inaugurated many valuable reforms and changes in our school system, and his earnest and constant aim is to elevate the standard and en- courage teachers and pupils to greater efforts. He was a member of the committee that succeed- ed in securing the Texas Chautauqua for Boul- der; is a member of the State Teachers' Associa- tion; has been president of the State Association of County Superintendents and of the Boulder County Teachers' Association. In 1892 he took the required state teachers' examination in Colo-

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rado, and received a diploma. Previously he had been granted a similar certificate in Indiana.

In 1895 his name was on the Populist ticket and in 1897 he received a plurality of about eight hundred votes. For some time he has been the president of the People's Publishing Company, which carries on a general publishing business and edits the Colorado Representative as well. Fraternally he was made a Mason in 1886 in Mid- dlebury, Ind., and is now identified with Boulder Lodge No. 45, A. F. & A. M. He also belongs to the Order of the Eastern Star.

In 1878 Professor Harding married Miss Alice Stansbury, daughter of John Stansbury, of Ligo- nier, Ind. She has been of great assistance to him in his work and is a lady who is beloved by all who have the pleasure of her acquaintance. With their two daughters, Eva and Mildred, she holds membership with the Methodist Episcopal Church.

UNIUS F. BROWN. Since 1870 Mr. Brown has been identified with the business in- terests of Denver, and has contributed to its advancement by his connection with progressive enterprises and public-spirited movements. As the president of the Brown and Iliff Land Com- pany he is intimately associated with a concern widely and favorably known for reliability and extensive operations. He is also vice-president of The J. S. Brown & Bro. Mercantile Company, an old and well-known wholesale house of Denver. For a number of years he was president of the con- struction company of the Denver & New Orleans Railroad Company (now the Union Pacific, Den- ver & Gulf Railroad), and from the organization of the Denver Tramway Company until 1896 he was one of its directors. He was for many years vice-president of the City National Bank, but withdrew in 1894, before its consolidation.

The ancestry of the Brown family is given in the sketch of J. Sidney Brown. In Conneaut, Ohio, where he was born September 3, 1827, Junius F. Brown received public-school and academic advantages. In 1850 he began clerk- ing in a mercantile house in his native place, but two years later removed to Toledo, where he clerked in a dry-goods house one year, and then spent a similar period with the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. His next position was with Buckingham & Co. In May, 1857, he

went to Atchison, Kan., and embarked in the manufacture of lumber for the home market. The mills were located on the Missouri side, and when the war broke out his strong northern pro- clivities made it undesirable for him to continue business there, so he abandoned the enterprise.

Wishing to utilize the large number of teams on hand, he loaded a wagon train with merchan- dise and placed his brother in charge, with in- structions to cross the plains to Denver. While waiting for the latter's return, he continued in charge of affairs at Atchison, but afterwards per- sonally engaged in freighting until 1865, and then became a member of the firm of Drury & Brown, wholesale grocers, in Atchison. Closing out the business in 1870 he came to Denver, with the business history of which he has since been intimately connected.

In Conneaut, Ohio, Mr. Brown married Jane B. Kilborn, who was born in Canada, and accom- panied her father, John H. Kilborn, to Conneaut. She died in 1877, leaving two daughters and a son, namely: Helen, Mrs. S. H. Nesmith, of Denver; Jane M., Mrs. F. S. Titsworth, of Ana- conda, Mont .; and Harry K., a graduate of Yale College in 1892, and secretary of The J. S. Brown & Bro. Mercantile Company. The second mar- riage of our subject, solemnized in Denver, united him with Miss Mary L. Brundage, by whom he has one child, June Louise. Mrs. Brown is a lady of intellectual attainments, and is a member of the Woman's Club, the Fortnightly Club and the Daughters of the Revolution. Her father, Marcus B. Brundage, was born in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., the youngest of twelve children, and was orphaned at fourteen years. After completing his education he went to New Haven, Conn., where he engaged in carriage manufacturing, but removed from there to Tallmadge, Ohio, engag- ing in the same business. Failing health brought him to Colorado, and afterward to California, where he died in 1883. He married Harriet Parmelee, who was born in Ohio, the daughter of Theodore Hudson Parmelee, of Goshen, Conn., and a descendant of a Revolutionary patriot. The family came to this country in 1639 from England, where the name was originally Parmly. Mrs. Brundage died in Ohio, at the age of seven- ty-five years, leaving four children, of whoni Mrs. Brown is next to the oldest.

The business interests of Mr. Brown and his

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brother have been in common for many years, having achieved satisfactory results, not only in the mercantile business, but also in real-estate and banking interests. Mr. Brown has always been interested in the election of good men to fill responsible official positions, and has given them every assistance. He has assisted in the development of Denver and in the progress of its material prosperity by the energy he has dis- played in private affairs, and by the executive ability he has shown in the capacity of director in many important organizations. A worthy cause of a philanthropic, religious, social or edu- cational character is sure of his prompt and gen- erous assistance, and in a way that the left hand will not know what the right hand does.

Mr. Brown is a man of untiring energy in his devotion to every business interest committed to him, the smallest detail receiving the attention it deserves, and this, in a great measure, has led to his success in the financial world.

The lives of Mr. Brown and his brother Sid- ney have been closely interwoven, both having taken a firm stand as Republicans, although neither has accepted political preferment. They have been devoted to their business, and have demonstrated to the world at large what the con- centration of energy, indomitable will and splen- did courage, even in adversity, can accomplish.

ARREN C. DYER, ex-sheriff of Boulder County, is engaged in the real-estate busi- ness. He has his office in the Camera block, Eleventh and Pearl street, Boulder, and has built up a large business in general real estate, insurance and conveyancing. He platted Dyer's addition to Boulder, consisting of the southeast forty acres of section 26, adjoining Chautauqua and University place; also handles Newland's addition, consisting of one hundred and forty acres, which has been platted in town lots.

It is supposed that the Dyer family came to America from England. From Cape Cod, Mass., one of the name migrated to Maine, where oc- curred the birth of our subject's grandfather, a farmer, who died aged eighty-seven years. The father of our subject, Hon. Zachariah Dyer, a native of Maine, served as under sheriff of Frank- lin County for six years and as sheriff for a similiar period, also represented his district in

the state legislature for two terms, being in public service during much of his active life. Meantime he also superintended the management of his farm. He is now living retired, having justly earned the freedom from business cares that he enjoys. His wife, Emily Cram, was born in Maine and died there in 1859. Her father was a member of an old Maine family that came from England; he died at seventy-four years of age. Of the four children of whom our subject was the youngest all but one are still living. The oldest son, Augustus, a veteran of the war, is a merchant in Lewiston, Me .; a younger son, Row- land, resides in North Dakota.

The subject of this sketch was born in New Sharon, Me., September 21, 1855, and was reared in his native town. In the spring of 1877 he went to the Black Hills, where he remained for three months, and then moved to Hastings, Neb. Five months after settling in that place, he was appointed under sheriff to Mr. Martin, and con- tinued in the position until he came to Colorado. In June, 1880, he began prospecting and mining at Breckenridge, and later was appointed under sheriff to William Iliff, of Summit County, con- tinuing in the position for two years. He still owns three patent claims in that county. In the spring of 1887 he went to Denver, where he engaged in building, contracting and selling, but in 1890 sold out the business and removed to Lyons, Boulder County. There he engaged in the mercantile business until the fall of 1893, when he was elected sheriff on the People's party ticket. After two years of successful, efficient service, he was re-elected by a large majority. The time of his service extended from January, 1894, to January, 1898. At the close of his second term, the bar of Boulder, though opposed to him politically, showed their apprecia- tion of his valuable services by presenting him with a gold-headed cane and at the same time gave a set of resolutions commending him for his ability in filling the office. During the time he served as sheriff he had forty-eight insane people in his charge and also had five murder cases. The Democratic platform, adopted by the Chicago convention in 1896, is in accord with his opinions, for he favors free silver and free trade. While in Lyons he held the position of alderman and was at one time mayor pro tem, but resigned the position on being elected sheriff,

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In Summit County, Colo., Mr. Dyer married Mollie T. Churchill, who was born in Florence, Ala., and accompanied by her father, Willard Churchill, to Breckenridge, Colo., in 1880. Mr. and Mrs. Dyer are the parents of two daughters, Laura E. and Elvie C. Fraternally he is con- nected with the Knights of Pythias at Boulder; also the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which he joined in Hastings, Neb., in 1879, but afterward became identified with Breckenridge Lodge No. 49, then was a charter member of Denver Lodge No. 96, later a charter member of Lyons Lodge No. 102, and finally a charter member of Boulder Lodge No. 112, also a mem- ber of Unity Encampment No. 13, in which he is a past officer, and Boulder Canton No. 5. He is also a member of Columbia Lodge, A. F. & A.M., of Boulder. In the lodges with which he has been identified he has held various official posi- tions.

A ARON S. BENSON, president of the Bank of Loveland, president of The Louden Irri- gating Canal Company, and also connected with several other irrigation and business enter- prises, is a native of the state of New York, the son of Sherman and Jane E. (Shaw) Benson, both of New York state.

The boyhood years of our subject were spent in New York and Iowa. In 1862 he returned to New York for the purpose of settling his grand- father's estate. In 1865 he returned to Louden, Iowa, where he was engaged in the nursery busi- ness for some years. His health failing, he con- cluded to try a change of climate and came to Colorado, settling at Golden, Jefferson County, where he carried on the nursery business, con- nected with market gardening and fruit growing. In 1878 he came to Larimer County for the pur- pose of constructing the Louden Canal, and has since been an officer of the county. At the same time he purchased and improved farm lands and engaged in stock-raising and the dairy business, in which he has successfully continued.

He owns about one thousand acres of cultivated farm lands in Larimer County, which is divided into five farms, and is also the owner of a fine residence and property in Loveland. In 1882 he became interested in the Bank of Loveland, of . which he has been president since 1883.

The first wife of Mr. Benson was Eliza Cleg-

horn, who died in 1862, leaving three children, Perry, Mary (now the wife of J. A. Lewis), and Charles. In 1864 Mr. Benson was united in marriage with Miss Marion Vanderburgh, of New York. Four children blessed their union, Clarence V., who is cashier of the Bank of Love- land; Velma V., wife of Alfred Beebe; Franc V. and Aaron V. The family is identified with the Baptist Church. Fraternally he is a Mason, be- ing a member of Lodge No. 53, A. F. & A. M., of Loveland. In his political belief he is a Repub- lican and as such has been active in local and state affairs.

While in Jefferson County he was for three years a member of the board of county commis- sioners. Soon after coming to Larimer County he was elected county commissioner and after serving for three years he was elected a member of the state legislature. Having served his time he was again elected a member of the board of county commissioners for three years. He served as school director in Jefferson County for six years, and in Larimer County he has for sixteen years filled a similar position in District No. 1. He is a member of the board of trustees of the State Agricultural College. As a friend of education he favors any plan whereby the educa- tional interests of the state may be fostered and promoted.

OSEPH T. ATWOOD is a successful attor- ney-at-law, and a member of the firm of Minor & Atwood, who have offices in the Masonic Temple building in Longmont. He is the legal adviser of the Farmers' National Bank of Longmont, and has a large practice in Long- mont and vicinity. In the political world he is very prominent and popular, and has frequently been chosen to preside as chairman over conven- tions of the Boulder County Democratic party in late years. Moreover, he has frequently been sent as a delegate to the state conventions of the party, and has been an active and aggressive worker in the cause. For several terms he has served as city attorney, and has made a good record for himself and constituents.

Marsylus Atwood, father of the above-named gentleman, was a native of Greene County, Ind., born in 1823. He was a son of George B. Atwood, who was born in Massachusetts, and came from an old and respected New England

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family. George B. Atwood married a Miss Lawrence, who, though born in Georgia, was of English parentage. The couple moved to Indiana at an early day in the history of that state, and in 1837 went to Texas. Mr. Atwood took up a tract of forty-five hundred acres of land in Hen- derson County, under the peculiar laws theu in force in that region, and died just prior to the Mexican war. His wife returned to Indiana at the outbreak of hostilities between the two countries, and thus the property was lost to the family under the statute of limitations. Marsylus Atwood was reared to manhood in Indiana and Texas, and after he returned to his native state lie was occupied in farming in Greene County until his death, during the Civil war, in 1863. He married Martha Ann Martindale, likewise a native of Indiana, and five children came to bless their union. Two of the number are deceased. Mrs. Lee resides in Longmont and William is living in Boulder. The Martindales were origin- ally from England, and settled in Virginia at an early period. Mrs. Atwood was the daughter of William Martindale, who was born and brought up in Virginia and went to Indiana on arriving at maturity, there to engage in cultivating a homestead during the rest of his active life. Mrs. Atwood departed this life in Indiana when but forty years of age.

Joseph T. Atwood was born in Newark, Greene County, Ind., in 1862. His father died when the boy was scarcely a year old, and the mother died a few years later. Until he was fourteen our subject attended the public schools of Newark, and in the fall of the Centennial year he started for the west. For nearly a year he lived in Taylor County, Iowa, but in 1877 came to Boulder County. Here he spent about ten years in agricultural pursuits, giving as much time as possible to his studies and going to the district schools several terms. In 1887 he en- tered the State Agricultural College, and con- tinued until the close of his junior year. In 1890 he returned to the east and in the fall matricu- lated in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He was one in a class originally number- ing three hundred and twelve, but twenty-two failed to graduate, a large percentage. It was in the summer of 1892 that he received the honors for which he had been striving, that of Bachelor of Laws. The same year he opened an office in

Longmont and has since been engaged in the practice of general law. The following year he entered into partnership with Mr. Minor and the present firm of Minor & Atwood was formed. Mr. Atwood has rapidly risen in his profession, and his friends predict for him a brilliant future. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Woodmen of the World, and is a great favorite in social circles.

N. BRADLEY, who is engaged in the mer- cantile business at No. 720 Sixteenth street, Denver, was born in Sunderland, Vt., May 6, 1846, and is a son of Gilbert and Mary (Lock- wood) Bradley. His father, who was born in the same town in 1800, was a son of Ethan Brad- -ley, who removed from Connecticut, his birth- . place, and settled in Vermont, engaging in the mercantile businesss there. Gilbert, who was also a merchant, was a man of considerable prom- inence in his locality aud in politics was an old- line Democrat. He died at eighty years of age. In his family there were seven children who at- tained mature years, and five of these are still living, namely: Frances, who lives in New York; Jane, Mrs. Isaac G. Johnson, of New York; Gil- bert W., a manufacturer living in Manchester, Vt .; Herbert N., who was next to the youngest; and John, a manufacturer, living in Buffalo, N. Y.

In the schools of Sunderland and the academies at Manchester and Bennington, Vt., the subject of this sketch gained his education. At the age of sixteen he left school and began to give his attention exclusively to his father's store, where he continued until 1866. Having meantime saved his wages, he started in business for himself at Rupert, Vt., where he remained for seven years. In 1873 he sold out and came to Colorado, open- ing a store in Boulder in the spring of the follow- ing year and continuing in the same place until 1897. At the organization of the bank in Boul- der he was chosen its head and for several years served as president, when he resigned, sold his stock and went east, remaining several years, but not engaging in business. Ou his return he ac- cepted the position as vice-president of the bank, which he still holds. In June, 1895, he began in the mercantile business in Denver, where he has a large and lucrative business. He has invested

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in real estate in various parts of the country from Vermont to Colorado.

In Orange County, N. Y., in 1884, Mr. Brad- ley married Miss Margaret Brodhead, who was born and reared in that county, a daughter of Capt. Edgar Brodhead, who graduated from An- napolis Naval School, served for many years in the United States Navy and is now living retired in Orange County. Mr. and Mrs. Bradley have two children: Mary, who was born in Boulder in June, 1886; and Herbert N., born in Boulder Oc- tober 12, 1888. Though reared a Democrat, Mr. Bradley has always supported Republican prin- ciples, and cast his first vote for Gen. U. S. Grant. While in business at Rupert he became a member of Morning Flower Lodge, A. F. & A. M., in which he filled all the chairs. After he had been living in Colorado for some time, and during a trip east, he took the chapter degrees at Man- chester, Vt. He became a charter member of the chapter in Boulder and later took the com- mandery degrees there, being the first to do so after its organization.

ON. JAMES P. MAXWELL. Since the admission of Colorado as one of the states of the Union, the name of Senator Maxwell has been closely identified with its history. Elected to the first session of the state senate in 1876, after having ably represented his district in important territorial positions, he drew the long term and served until 1880. In the second ses - sion, in 1879, he served as president pro tem of the senate. He was prominently connected with early legislative acts and took a warm interest in securing the appropriations for the state uni- versity. In 1877 he had the distinction of plac- ing in nomination for the United States senate Hon. H. M. Teller, who then began his long and distinguished connection with public affairs. Elected mayor of Boulder in 1878, he served for one term of two years, resigning in 1880, after which he held the office of county treasurer for two years. He was again elected to the state senate in 1896, as the candidate of the silver Re- publicans and Democrats, and was the recipient of a large majority in a county that usually gives a majority to the People's party. At the close of the eleventh session he was elected president pro tem of the senate for the next session.

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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 43

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