Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 55

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 55

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Three times Mr. Donovan has served as one of the trustees of Longmont. He is active in the Democratic party, and has frequently attended the state conventions of the same. In 1892 he was honored by being elected as a delegate to the national Democratic convention which assembled in Chicago and nominated Cleveland. He is connected with the Woodmen of the World. His marriage was solemnized in Longmont in 1885, Miss Clara Henretty, daughter of Peter and Mary (Dillon) Henretty, being the lady of his choice. Mrs. Donovan was likewise born in Ohio, though in Warren County. Five children comprise their family, namely: Irene, Alice, Clara, Herbert and Sheridan.

OM BEACH, who has resided in Fort Col- lins since 1881, is of English birth, a native of London and a member of an old family of that city. His parents, George and Caroline (Reeder) Beach, were born in London and Dor-

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setshire respectively, and died at the ages of six- ty-five and sixty-two. His grandfather, George Beach, was engaged in the whaling business, having vessels made for his use in his long expe- ditions upon the North Sea, and continuing in the same occupation until he died. George, Jr., was a miller by trade, and operated two mills at Croydon; he was also a custom house or excise officer. In his family there were six children, namely: George (3d), who was a wheelwright in London; Alfred, who died in London at twenty years of age; Tom; Arthur, who is engaged in the cattle business in Old Mexico; Caroline, Mrs. Joseph Latham, of London, England; and Alice, who died in London.

In London, where he was born, October 4, 1855, our subject attended the national schools. In 1871, a lad, friendless and alone, he came to America, landing in New York, and from there journeying to Alton, Ill., where he arrived with- out a dollar. Fortunately he at once secured work, being taken into a meat market, where he learned the butcher's business. He remained in Alton for ten years. In 1881 he came to Fort Collins, where he bought an old meat market from James Fletcher and embarked in the meat business on Linden street, then located on College avenue, where he has continued almost ever since. In addition to the sale of meat, he has engaged in raising and feeding stock. He bought a ranch of two hundred and forty acres on the Cache la Pondre, four and one-half miles from Fort Col- lins, where he has two hundred head of cattle and fifteen hundred sheep and lambs. Here, too, he raises alfalfa for feed, averaging eight hundred tons a year. Until a few years ago he owned a cattle ranch in Chalk Bluffs, Weld County.

In 1895 Mr. Beach took a partner into his busi- nesss, Ward Stewart, since which time the firm has been Beach & Stewart. They have two mar- kets in Fort Collins, one on Linden street, the other on College avenue, and carry a full line of fresh meats. Their slaughter house is on a ten- acre tract west of town, with feed yards attached. They cure their own pork, and sell large quanti- ties of bacon and smoked ham; also pack consid- erable pork and manufacture sausage of all kinds, operating their plant with a gasoline engine. The delivery outfits are the finest in the city, the wagons and horses being the best that can be bought. If Mr. Beach has a hobby, it is a desire

to have everything connected with his business carried on systematically and satisfactorily. Those who are acquainted with the business know that he has succeeded in this desire. In addition to his business property he owns a comfortable home.

In Alton, Ill., Mr. Beach married Miss Lucy Douglas, who was born in that city, daughter of Henry Douglas, a native of Durham, England, and an old settler and farmer near Alton. Sheis identified with Unity Church and is a lady of cult- ure and refinement. The five children born of their union are: Alice, Annie, Nellie, Tom, Jr., and George, all at home. Formerly Mr. Beach voted the Republican ticket, but when his party declared for the gold standard, he identified him- self with the People's party, believing that the cause of silver should be supported by all who wish to arrive at a satisfactory settlement of the currency problem.

ERY REV. HENRY ROBINSON, V. G. No priest now living in Colorado has been identified with the history of the Catholic Church in this state for a longer number of years than has the vicar-general of the Denver diocese. Assigned to work among miners, in the fall of 1874 he went to his new field of labor, which comprised Park, Chaffee, Summit and Lake Counties, containing, altogether, not more than one hundred Catholics. Those were days of hard- ships, which tested the power of physical endur- ance. Often, in the discharge of his duties, the young priest crossed the mountains on foot, carrying with him a lunch and blanket, and fre- quently journeying for forty miles without passing a house. Wild game was plentiful and herds of antelopes were sometimes seen, with as many as one thousand head in a herd. The surroundings were those of primeval nature, except where might be seen a mining camp and near by a village with a few rudely constructed houses.

The years that have since elapsed have wit- nessed many changes, but the growth of the population is not more remarkable than the in- crease in the number of Catholic communicants, a fact that is due to the efforts of Father Robinson in no small degree. When after twenty-five years of tireless labor he celebrated the silver jubilee of his work as priest, the occasion was

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justly a memorable one. Solemn high mass was held in the Church of the Annunciation, of Den- ver, the pastorate of which he holds, and he officiated as celebrant, while other priests assisted in the ceremonies. The clergy and laity of the city tendered him a banquet at the Brown Palace hotel, at which toasts and responses were given, and two beautiful gifts were presented, represent- ing the clergy and laity respectively.

The oldest of seven children, three of whom are living, Father Robinson was born in Salem, Ill., the son of William and Jane (O'Hara) Rob- inson, natives of Ireland. His father removed from Utica, N. Y., to Illinois, thence to Wiscon- sin, settling on Lake Winnebago, and there en- gaged in farming until his death at an advanced age. His wife, who also died when quite old, was a daughter of James O'Hara, who emigrated to New York from Ireland, later removed to Illinois, and from there to Appleton, Wis., where he spent his remaining years as a farmer.

In youth our subject entered St. Francis de Sales Seminary at Milwaukee, and later carried on his studies in St. Vincent's Seminary at Cape Girardeau, Mo. There he was ordained a deacon by Archbishop Kendrick in 1871 and graduated the next year. He then came to Colorado and was ordained to the priesthood January 21 of 1872, by Bishop Machebeuf. For two and one- half years he was an assistant in the Cathedral, after which he went to Fairplay and built the Church of the Assumption, later working as a missionary in the mountainous districts. When Leadville was started, in the spring of 1878, he went there and organized the Annunciation con- gregation, afterward building a church and par- sonage. At the same time he attended the Fair- play church until 1880, when another priest was appointed. Tlie congregation at Leadville origi- nally comprised twelve members, but grew con- stantly, and at the time he left it was one of the largest and best congregations in the state. In 1881 the Church of the Annunciation was com- pleted, at the corner of Seventh and Poplar streets, a structure that has the distinction (owing to the altitude) of having the highest spire of any church in the world. A fine hospital was built, in which the nurses were Sisters of Charity; a school build- ing with accommodations for six hundred cliil- dren was erected, and also a neat parish house.

While in Leadville Father Robinson often

mediated between strikers and employers, and during the smallpox plague he visited and minis- tered to the sick, unmindful of the danger of contagion. His heroism was remarkable during all the trying days in the early history of Lead- ville; his courage was unfaltering and won him the admiration even of those who, as a rule, had no respect for ministers of the gospel. In 1889 he visited Europe and the Holy Land, devoting considerable time to those places associated with our Savior's life upon earth. In 1889 he was appointed vicar-general of the Denver diocese, to succeed the recently deceased Father Raverdy. In 1890 he was appointed pastor of the Church of the Annunciation, which he organized in 1890, building a three-story stone structure, 60x 108, one floor of which is used for the church, and the remainder for the school. In the latter four hundred pupils are taught the public school branches by the Sisters of Charity, and are also given instruction in bookkeeping, drawing and music. The church is located on the corner of Humboldt and Thirty-seventh streets. It has a membership of over two hundred English-speak- ing families, besides one hundred others. The usual sodalities of the Catholic church have been organized and are in active operation. The growth of the congregation is remarkable and is certainly a tribute to the ability and energy of Father Robinson. The growth of the church speaks, far better than mere words could do, of the tact, tireless industry and excellent management of him who stands at the head of the congrega- tion.

ESTBROOK SCHOONMAKER DECK- ER, attorney-at-law, of Denver, was born in Tyre, Seneca County, N. Y., April 22, 1839, the son of Albert and Gertrude (Schoon- maker) Decker, natives respectively of Orange and Ulster Counties, N. Y., and descendants of Holland-Dutch ancestors who were among the earliest settlers of Manhattan. He was reared on the home farm, for his father, in addition to being proprietor of a mercantile store, also en- gaged in agricultural pursuits. Primarily educa- ted in public schools, at the age of sixteen he entered Brockport Collegiate Institute, where he was a student for three terms. When eighteen he began to teach, going west to Charleston, Coles County, Ill., and engaging in that profes-

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sion until 1861. In the summer of 1860 he taught at Milton Station, in the same county, but with that exception he was employed continuously at Charleston.

It had been his intention to apply his earnings to his tuition in a college, where he could take a thorough literary and classical course, but the outbreak of the Civil war changed his plans. He returned to New York and taught near his native place until the summer of 1862, when he enlisted as a private in Company I, One Hundred and Twenty-sixth New York Infantry, and was mustered into service on the 22d of August. His first battles were those of Maryland Heights and Harper's Ferry. At the latter place, Sep- tember 13-15, he was taken prisoner, but was soon paroled and sent to Camp Douglas, Chicago, being exchanged in December. Sent to the defense of Washington, he did duty at Union Mills and Centerville early in 1863. His regi- ment with others became the Third Division of the Second Army Corps, under General Hancock. At Gettysburg, where he served under the com- mand of Gen. Alexander Hays, he was wounded in the hand and hip, and was removed to the hospital at Newark, N. J., where he was obliged to remain for four months. Next he was com- missioned second lieutenant in the Nineteenth, United States Colored Troops, and in the winter of 1863-64 was on detached service on the east- ern shore of Maryland. In the camp at Balti- more he acted as assistant quartermaster. His regiment became a part of the Fourth Division, Ninth Army Corps, commanded by General Burnside, the Ninth Corps forming a part of the Army of the Potomac, under General Meade. With other troops he was on duty in front of Petersburg

From June to November he was ordnance offi- cer of the Third Division, Ninth Army Corps, and was later transferred to the same position in an independent command, occupying the Federal lines between the Appomattox and James Rivers. After the evacuation of Petersburg, the forces entered that city, and he was appointed ordnance officer of the district of Nottoway under Gen. George L. Hartsuff, with headquarters at Peters- burg. In June, 1865, he was ordered to Browns- ville, Tex., and was appointed assistant provost marshal, which position he filled until August 18, when he resigned and returned to New York.

In the fall of 1865 Mr. Decker entered the law department of the Michigan State University, at Ann Arbor, and remained a student there until his graduation in 1867. He began the practice of law at Kankakee, Il1., where he remained un- til January, 1874. Meantime he establislied a home of his own, having married, August 1, 1867, Miss Catherine Worden, who lived near his child- hood's home, and with whom he had been ac- quainted for years. In 1869, without opposition, he was elected county judge of Kankakee County, and held the position for the four ensuing years. Previous to this he had served as city attorney.

On account of failing health it became neces- sary for Mr. Decker to seek a change of climate. Accordingly, in 1874, with his wife and two chil- dren, he came to Denver, then a city of about twelve thousand inhabitants. As soon as his health had improved sufficiently he opened a law office and began practice. In February, 1877, under the administration of President Grant, he was appointed United States district attorney, being the first to hold this office under the state government of Colorado.

Public announcement was made April 16, 1880, that Mr. Decker, one of the ablest, most conscien- tious and efficient prosecutors the Federal gov- ernment had selected for the management of its legal cases in Colorado, had resigned his office to resume the regular practice oflaw. He had filled the position with ability and success. Familiar- ity with the conduct of the office of public prose- cutor in the United States court and in those of the district under the territorial regime, teaches us that for the most part the multiplication of fees was the paramount consideration. Scores of men were brought to these courts upon charges that, when investigated, could not be sustained. The greedy cormorants who had arrested these men were reprimanded from the bench and warned not to repeat the offence. As the first United States district attorney, Judge Decker established an honorable precedent for the guidance of his successors.

To fill an unexpired term of one year, Judge Decker was elected district judge in the fall of 1887, and in 1888 was elected for the full term af six years, but resigned the position January 1, 1891. He has a large practice in the state and federal courts, and has the reputation of being one of the ablest attorneys in the state. Politi-

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cally he has always been a stanch Republican. He was reared in the doctrines of the Old Dutch Reformed Church, but now attends the First Congregational Church of Denver. During the most of the time since the organization of the chamber of commerce, he has been one of its members. He is identified with the Denver and Colorado Bar Associations, in the latter of which he has served as a member of the executive com- mittee and the committee on admissions. Like the majority of Denver business and professional men, he has mining interests in the state.

Mr. Decker is the father of three children: Cora E., wife of George W. Sargent, of Trini- dad, Colo .; Howard, who died at seven years; and Mason L., who married Jeanne Stewart, of New York City, and is now a member of the law firm of Decker & Mead, of Denver. Mrs. Decker was a daughter of Edwin and Emily (Bailey) Worden, natives of New York. She was born at Seneca Falls, N. Y., April 10, 1844, and died March 18, 1897.

L UGUST L. ROHLING, the prosperous and popular merchant of Fort Collins, is a na- tive of Dielingen, Westphalia, Germany, and a son of Philip and Agnes (Heitplocke) Rohling. He was fifth in order of birth among six children, the others being Mrs. Angeline Wellman, who lives at the old homestead; Henry, a namesake of his grandfather Rohling, and an officer in the war of 1870-71, since which time he has been a shoe merchant; Philip, of Blackhawk, Colo .; William, a merchant of Dan- ville, Ill .; and Herman, who was an officer in the German arıny, and is now a veterinary surgeon at the old home in Germany. The father, who was fond of military affairs, served in the Ger- man army as an officer. He followed the occu- pation of a veterinary surgeon until his death, which occurred at the age of seventy-eight years and six months. His wife is still living in West- phalia.

In Dielingen, where he was born February 28, 1858, our subject passed the first fifteen years of his life, meantime attending the gymnasium. In 1873 he accompanied his brother Philip to America and settled in Indianapolis, where he se- cured employment in the wholesale dry-goods house of Hibbon, Patterson & Co. Remaining there three years, in 1876 he came to Colorado,

the first member of the family to locate in this state. The name, Blackhawk, being peculiar, attracted his attention and led him to the town, where he secured employment as clerk for Ritt- master & Co. In 1882 he was joined by his brother Philip, and they formed a partnership as Rohling Brothers, starting a store on Gregory street and building up a large trade. In 1892 they opened a store at Fort Collins and our sub- ject came here to superintend it, since which time he has acquired a valuable patronage. In 1894 he bought the block he now occupies, and which was built in 1892.

The Rohling Block, as it is known, has a front- age of fifty feet, divided into two store rooms, and is one of the largest blocks in the city. The entire first floor and the basement are occupied by the stock of dry-goods, carpets, clothing, fur- niture, etc., which is the largest of its kind in the place. February 1, 1896, the partnership was dissolved, and our subject retained the Fort Collins interest, his brother taking the Black- hawk store. In addition to the store he is in- terested in mining in the Manhattan district of this county, and is developing the Lynn lode, the extension of the Ida May mine. He is also in- terested in mines in the Tip Top district. With his brother he worked the Belmont mine for many years, but finally sold his interest. He is also interested in the Greeley and Fort Collins Mining Company, of which he has been treas- urer, and has invested some in placer mining in North Park at Owl Mountain.

In Blackhawk Mr. Rohling married Johanna Rudolph, who was born in Newark, N. J., and died in Blackhawk, leaving one child, Elizabeth Augusta. His second wife, whom he married in Longmont, was June Stephenson, who was born in Carthage, Mo., a daughter of W. T. Stephen- son, of Joplin, Mo. Their union has been blessed with two children, A. Lynn and Lois.

During the period of his residence in Black- hawk Mr. Rohling was a member of the council for one term and for three years a member of the school board, of which he was president for a year. He was made a Mason in Blackhawk Lodge No. 4, A. F. & A. M., and now belongs to Fort Collins Lodge No. 19. In the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows he belongs to Fort Col- lins Lodge No. 19, which he has represented in the grand lodge, and is also identified with the

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encampment and Rebekah Lodge. He is a char- ter member of Larimer Lodge No. 101, K. of P., in which he was the first chancellor commander, and is grand district deputy; also a charter mem- ber of the Uniform Rank, K. of P .; also repre- sented the Knights of Pythias in the grand lodge. His wife is connected with the Eastern Star.

ON. FREDERICK J. EBERT. It would be impossible to write an accurate history of Denver without making mention of the life and works of Mr. Ebert, who was a prominent citizen of this place from 1875 until his death, May 3, 1888. In many different ways that showed the versatility of his talents, he contributed to the development of the city and the advancement of its interests. Especially was his influence given to the public schools, and, recognizing his assistance in the promotion of educational inter- ests, it was deemed a fitting memorial to his labors to name in his honor one of the fine school buildings of Denver. Believing that iron manu- factures could be successfully established in the west, he took an active part in founding the first rolling mill in this city, and at the time of his death he was president of the Colorado Iron Works. In spite of the fact that he was one of the busiest of men, he nevertheless found time for scientific and classical studies, and acquired a conversational knowledge of six languages, be- sides a broad fund of historical information that made him one of the most learned men in his state.

Reviewing the ancestry of the Ebert family, we find that the name was originally Aberhart and that many years ago it was founded in Ger- many by emigrants from France. Our subject was born in Brunswick, Germany, January 27, 1822, and attended the gymnasium for some time, after which he was. a student in the Academy Collegium Corolinum, a polytechnic institution of high reputation, from which he graduated with first honors. He selected the science of forestry for his occupation, and in his twenty-fourth year was given the degree of A by the government and was duly commissioned as forest engineer. He was an officer under the duke of Brunswick in the Revolution of 1848, and during the troubled times that followed he deemed it best to seek a home in another country. After starting

to America in 1850, a pardon was sent him for his connection with the Revolution, but he preferred to continue his journey to a land of freedom and liberty of thought. Reaching New York in June, he went on to Milwaukee, Wis., where he re- mained a year, studying the English language and the customs of the people. He spent two years in St. Louis, where he was employed as a civil engineer in the building of the bridge across the Missouri, and from there went to St. Joseph, Mo., where he engaged in civil engineering for seven years.

Coming with an engineering corps to Denver in 1860, Mr. Ebert surveyed what is now the Kansas Pacific Railroad as far as the headwaters of the Republican River, one hundred and twelve miles from Denver, but the Indians under Little Wood and Left Hand attacked them and while by par- leying they saved their lives, still further advance was considered impracticable. The engineers came via the Platte to Denver, arriving here De- cember 12. Mr. Ebert soon secured work with W. A. H. Loveland in surveying a line for a mountain road from Denver to Central City, which was the first railroad survey in the Rocky Mount- ain district. In 1862 he drafted the first map of the territory and assisted Surveyor-General John Pierce in making its first land survey. In 1863 he was chosen city engineer of Denver and served for two terms, his surveys being the only ones that have stood the test of time and the law. In 1865 he embarked in the stock and dairy busi- ness near Denver, but ten years later moved back to the city in order that his children might have educational advantages.

On the organization of the Exchange Bank, Mr. Ebert was a stockholder and director, con- tinuing in that capacity until his election as presi- dent; the latter office he resigned in 1878, but continued connected with the bank as vice-presi- dent until his death. He was elected a member of the constitutional convention that framed the fundamental law of the state, and his services in that body were of a distinguished and honorable nature. To him and Mr. Golden, more than to any other men, may be ascribed the establish- ment of the schools of Denver and their subse- quent success. At the time of his death he was president of the board of regents of the State University at Boulder. Politically he was a Re- publican.

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In St. Joseph, Mo., in December, 1855, Mr. Ebert married Miss Mary Davies, who was born in Shrewsbury, England, a descendant in the third generation of a Frenchman who crossed the channel and settled in Shropshire, England. Her father, Thomas Davies, was born in 1800, and some years after his marriage he came to America, settling in Buchanan County, Mo., in 1849, but later removing to Troy, Doniphan County, Kan., where he died in 1892, at the age of ninety-two. Before leaving England he mar- ried Phoebe Nooks, who was born in Mont- gomeryshire and died in St. Louis while en route to the west. Of their five children, two sons took part in the Civil war as soldiers in the Union army; and during his service the younger son took both of his brothers-in-law and a number of friends prisoners-of-war and sent them back to his father in Kansas in order to save their lives. Mrs. Ebert was reared in St. Joseph, Mo., and re- mained there for a time after her marriage, but in 1862 came to Colorado, reaching Denver after a five weeks' trip, October 22 of that year. She is a woman of superior business ability and since the death of her husband has managed the estate in a most efficient manner. She was left four hundred and eighty acres, a portion of which was in the city, extending from Twenty-fourth street to Downing avenue, between the Platte and Whit- tier school; but after her husband's death she was compelled to go to law in order to retain the land. For four years the matter was in the courts, but she was finally successful in retaining a large share of the tract. She owns a farm of three hundred and twenty acres, within the present limits of the city, and this by irrigation she keeps in a high state of cultivation, building upon the place, on Hyde Park street, just beyond City Park, a little town known as London farm. She also owns twenty acres on North Capitol hill, and has in addition what is the largest dairy farm for miles around, having the ranch stocked with registered Jerseys, Holsteins and Shorthorn Durhams. One-half block of land on her farm she donated for school purposes. In the manage- ment of the property she is assisted by her son, Alfred G., who is a graduate of the high school and for two years a student in the University of Denver. Her other children are daughters, namely: Mrs. Leonore M. Hall, who graduated from Wolfe Hall and resides in Denver; Mrs. Ida

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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 55

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