Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 56

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 56

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

J. O'Brien, whose husband is an attorney in Denver; and Zetella E., who graduated from the Denver high school and from the Emerson School of Oratory in Boston; and is now a prominent member and the auditor of the Woman's Club, of Denver. The family are identified with the Episcopal Church.

ORACE O. DODGE, M. D., professor of clinical medicine in the Colorado University and secretary of the board of education of - Boulder, is, in point of years of practice, the old- est physician of the city now following the pro- fession. He has been identified with many enterprises for the benefit of the people and the advancement of the state. In the organization of the Colorado School of Music he took a warm interest, was elected the first president of the in- stitution, and has held the position from the time of its organization in 1894, his enterprise and excellent judgment doing much for the growth of the school.

The Dodge family has been represented in America ever since the "Mayflower" made its first trip across the waters. The doctor's great- grandfather was a soldier in the Revolution. The grandfather, Zebulon, was born in Massachusetts and engaged in farming there until his death. The father, Horace Dodge, was born in Belcher- town, Mass., and removed to the west in 1836, settling as a pioneer in DuPage County, Il1., twenty miles from Chicago, where he secured a deed to land from the government and improved a farm. The land is still owned by members of the family. He was eighty-four at the time of his death; his mother was ninety-nine when she died. Longevity is noticed in every generation of the family, many of whom reach ninety years of age.

The doctor's mother, Lucy A. Hickman, was born in Winchester, Va., in the Shenandoah Valley, and resides in Wheaton, Ill., at the age of eighty-three years. She is a member of the Baptist Church. Her father, W. Fielding Hick- man, was born at Natural Bridge, a member of an old Virginia family, and removed to the Shenandoah Valley, where he engaged in farm- ing. He started to remove to Indiana, traveling by team, but died while on his way west. One of his sons was in the navy during the war of

402

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

1812 and also accompanied Commodore Perry on his expedition for the opening of the Japanese ports. The Hickman family are lineal descend- ants of John Knox, the Reformer.

The family of Horace and Lucy A. Dodge con- sisted of six daughters and one son, all of whom are still living, the youngest sister, the wife of a minister, having for the past seventeen years been a missionary in Africa. The subject of this sketch was the fifth in order of birth. He was born on the home farm in DuPage County, De- cember 13, 1840, and grew to manhood on the homestead where he was born. At the age of eighteen he began to teach school, and with the money thus earned he expected to avail himself of a collegiate education. In 1861 he entered the freshman class of Wheaton College, but four weeks later he volunteered in Company E, Eighth Illinois Cavalry, and was mustered into service at St. Charles, Ill., as a private. Ordered to Washington, he remained there until Decem- ber 13, 1861, when he went to camp in Virginia. In March, 1862, he marched to Centerville and Manassas, where he took part in a battle, then retreated to Alexandria, and went by transport to join in the Peninsular campaign of 1862. He took part in the engagements at Williamsburg and Mechanicsville and the seven days' battle, then retreated to Harrison's Landing, ordered back to Alexandria, and from there to Bull Run, in time for the second battle there; afterward participated in the battle of Antietam, spent the winter in picket duty and scouting, took part in the battle of Fredericksburg, and in the spring of 1863 was present at Chancellorsville, Beverly Ford, Brandy Station, Aldie, Upperville and Gettysburg, where his regiment opened the battle on the first day and continued at the front until the close of the third day. Soon after that battle he was detailed to the division headquarters as a scout, and the winter of 1863-64 was occupied in scouting. In the spring of 1864 he was in the advance in the battles of the Wilderness and Spottsylvania, and after the latter engagement was transferred to Sheridan's headquarters as scout, taking part in Sheridan's raid on Rich- mond and continuing at his headquarters until the fall of 1864. In October he was mustered out and discharged in Chicago.

Returning to the home farm, our subject spent some time in improving it. In January, 1866,

he entered the Chicago Medical College, from which he was graduated in 1868. He was in the Hospital for Women and Children in Chicago for a year, also engaged in practice in Riverside for a year, and in January, 1871, settled in Denver, where he engaged in practice for eight months. He then removed to Valmont, at that time the most promising town in Boulder County. Eight- een months later the railroad was completed to Boulder, and he located here, where he has since carried on a general practice. For years he has been president of the board of pension examiners in Boulder, which he assisted in organizing. For four years he was county physician, has served as alderman two terms, as fire chief one term, county coroner two terms and health officer six terms. He has been professor of materia medica and therapeutics in the Colorado Uni- versity, and in the fall of 1898 was given the chair of clinical medicine. In November, 1897, he was appointed chairman of a committee to raise money for the erection of a hospital in con- nection with the medical department of the state university. The committee was successful and a commodious, well-appointed building now fur- nishes refuge for the afflicted, as well as clinical material for the students.

In Chicago, Dr. Dodge married Miss Laura H. Sturdevant, who was born in that city, daughter of Noah Sturdevant, member of an old York state family and a coal operator and lime manu- facturer in Illinois. Two children of Dr. and Mrs. Dodge are living and two are deceased, namely: Horace C., who graduated from the Boulder high school and is a member of the medical department of the state university, class of 1901; Laura, who was educated in the Rock- ford Female College; LeRoy, who was accident- ally killed at twelve years, being thrown from a horse; and Frederick, who died at four years.

Fraternally Dr. Dodge is identified with Col- umbia Lodge No. 14, A. F. & A. M .; Boulder Chapter No. 7, R. A. M., in which he is past high priest; Mount Sinai Commandery No. 7, in which he has been eminent commander four terms, and is a permanent member of the grand com- mandery; El Jebel Temple, N. M. S., of Denver; and is grand representative of the Grand Com- mandery of New Jersey. He is a charter member of the Nathaniel Lyon Post No. 5, G. A. R., in which he is past commander, and for one year,

405

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

1896-97, was commander of the department of Such mine successfully. At the time he went to Colorado and Wyoming, G. A. R., was also an that camp, there was but one cabin at the camp, and indications of future prosperity were meagre. In 1881 he came to LaPorte and bought eighty acres of unimproved land. Here he has since planted twelve acres to apples and plums, six acres to cherries, and ten acres to blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries and currants. The place is one of the finest fruit farms in the coun- try, and appropriately bears the name of "None- Such," after the mine Mr. Newlon once operated. aide on the staff of the commander of the National Encampment, General Lawler. In religion he is an Episcopalian. Politically he is a Republican. At this writing he is president of the Boulder County Medical Association. He was a charter member of the State Medical Society, and held the position of president of that body in 1876, He is also connected with the American Medical Association, American Clima- tological Association, and a member of the Alumni Association of Chicago Medical College, now the medical department of the Northwestern University.

ENRY BEAN NEWLON, who came to Colorado in December, 1863, and for some time engaged in mining, but is now pro- prietor of a farm and fruit ranch near LaPorte, . count of ill health he removed to Nevada, Iowa,

Larimer County, was born in Martinsville, Clark County, Ill., October 8, 1845, and traces his lineage to one of the F. F. V's. His father, James Newlon, was born in Culpeper County, Va., and was an own cousin of President James Madison, their mothers being Misses Bean, sisters. When a young man he came as far west as Illinois, where he embarked in the mercantile business at Tuscola, Douglas County. Later he removed to Texas and died at Gainesville in 1882. His wife, Ruth (Downs) Newlon, was born in Cul- peper County, of an old Virginian family, and died in Clark County, Ill., when her youngest child, our subject, was only two years of age. She left, besides this son, two daughters and a son, namely: Mrs. Cynthia Grant, who died in Illinois; Champion, who was killed in Illinois by being thrown from a horse; and Mattie, of Texas.

In the public schools of Clark and Douglas Counties, Ill., our subject received his education. In 1862 he went to Cairo and for a year worked on the Illinois Central Railroad. In 1863 he came to Colorado, outfitting at St. Joseph, Mo., and traveling along the Platte, his journey lasting from October I to December 18, when he arrived at Denver. He proceeded to Gilpin County and engaged in mining and milling at Nevadaville for a time, after which he prospected and mined under lease. He was there in 1871, at the time of the striking of the Caribou mine, the extension of which he developed, also operated the Nonie-

In Caribou, on New Year's day of 1878, Mr. Newlon married Miss Hilda L. Hoel, who was born in Madison, Wis., a daughter of John and Susan (Nelson) Hoel, natives of Christiana, Norway. Her father, who was a carpenter and architect, settled in Madison, Wis., and while there planned and built the capitol, courthouse, hospital and the university buildings. On ac-

and there he died in 1882. His wife, who is living in Nevada, Iowa, is identified with the Lutheran Church. She is the mother of three children, namely: Mrs. Inger Wells, who lives in the same town as her mother; Hilda Lillian; and Henry W., a successful architect and builder, of St. Louis, Mo. Mrs. Newlon was reared in Madison, Wis., until fifteen years of age, after which she resided in Iowa, and from there in 1876 came to Colorado. Mr. and Mrs. Newlon have an adopted daughter, Bertha May, who was graduated from the high school of Fort Collins in 1898, and is now a student at the State Agri- cultural College, at Fort Collins.

Politically our subject is a Democrat, while Mrs. Newlon is a Republican. While in Blackhawk he was made a Mason, and now belongs to Collins Lodge No. 19, A. F. & A. M. Both Mr. and Mrs. Newlon are members of the Presby- terian Church.

ZRA T. CARR is one of the most successful fruit-growers of Boulder County and is treasurer and manager of the Boulder Fruit Growers' Association, which organization he was very influential in founding. When a resident of Gilpin County he served for six years as county commissioner, and for two years of that period was chairman of the board. He was elected first in 1880, re-elected in 1883 and vacated the office in 1887, with a record of which he has just cause

406

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

to be proud, for it was eminently satisfactory to all concerned. He has always been a thorough- going Republican, and of late years has been ac- tively interested on the side of the silver question. While he was county commissioner the bonded indebtedness of Gilpin County, amounting to about $100,000, was reduced nearly half, and since then has been wholly wiped out, leaving the county free from debt. Mr. Carr possesses excellent business ability and almost invariably makes a success of the enterprises he undertakes.

The parents of the above-named gentleman were Josiah S. and Lucinda (Tracy) Carr, both na- tives of New York state, where they lived till death closed their labors. The father was a mer- chant at West Dresden for many years, and he lived to the ripe age of eighty-three years. His wife died when in her fifty-third year. Seven of their fourteen children grew to maturity, and of this large family Mr. Carr of this sketch is now the only survivor.

The birth of our subject took place in the town of West Dresden, N. Y., December 23, 1838. He was educated in the public schools of his native place, and learned the mercantile business with his father. In 1856 he went to Minnesota, arriv- ing in Minneapolis when the place comprised but five hundred inhabitants. He taught school the first winter, after which he engaged in farming nine miles from the city. In August, 1862, he volunteered in Company B, Ninth United States Infantry, for service in the Civil war. Soon af- terward he was sent on the frontier against the Indians, who had taken the occasion to rise in force because the country was already engaged in civil war. Mr. Carr was mustered into the service as first sergeant of Company B, at Fort Snelling, Minn., and was honorably discharged in June, 1863, at St. Peter's. He participated in a fierce fight with the Indians, when he was one of a little band of sixty against three hundred red- skins. Three of his comrades were killed and twenty-one were injured, himself being one of the number. His right arm was badly shattered by a bullet, and he was taken to the hospital for treatment. The young lady who shortly after- ward became his wife was most kind and tender in nursing the injured soldiers and though our hero had escaped being captured by the Indians, he found a more formidable foe within the bare hospital walls, and capitulated at once.

Up to 1868 Mr. Carr operated a farm situated about two miles from Hutchinson, Minn., but in that year sold out and located in Iowa, near Des Moines. The following year he came to Colo- rado, by way of Cheyenne, making the trip by rail and stage to Central City, and in July com- menced mining in Russell Gulch. Among the mines which he opened during the next few years are the Grizzly and Specie Payment and others, which have produced precious metal in paying quantities. Since 1885 he has lived in Boulder; but built his residence here two years after com- ing here, planted fruit trees and greatly improved his property. He purchased a block of land in Garden City Addition to Boulder. In 1893 the Fruit Growers' Association, for shipping and hand- ling fruit, wasorganized, and it has proved of material benefit to local producers. In 1897 Mr. Carr was very active in getting started the Boul- der Fruit Juice and Preserving Company, of which he is the president. At one time he was a mem- ber and senior commander of Ellsworth Post No. 20, G. A. R., in Central City, and was honorably discharged from the same by request. He was also formerly identified with the Masonic order and is of high standing in the Odd Fellows' so- ciety. He is past grand in the order, was grand marshal of the grand lodge of Colorado, and is a member of the encampment. He was captain of Canton, Boulder No. 16, and major of the fourth battalion. At the request of the Boulder Canton the Decoration of Chivalry was conferred upon Mr. Carr, April 26, 1898.

As previously mentioned there was a very pretty little romance attending the meeting of Mr. Carr and the lady who has been his faithful help- mate since their marriage, October 7, 1863. She was Miss Ludie Tucker, a native of the vicinity of Fort Smith, Ark., and daughter of Rev. Eber and Martha (Cox) Tucker, both of New York state. The father, who was a minister of the Baptist Church, went to Fort Smith in early days and was a missionary of his denomination there- abouts for some thirteen years. Thence he re- moved to Knox County, Mo., where his death occurred when he was in his sixtieth year. In 1861 the mother, with her son Hiram and daugh- ter Ludie, went to Minnesota. Mrs. Tucker de- parted this life in Russell Gulch, at the age of seventy-five years. The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Carr, Eben Tucker, Sr., was a native of

407

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Germany, and was a farmer in New York after his arrival in this country. The seven children of Mr. and Mrs. Carr are: Lois G., now Mrs. John L. Hazleton, of Boulder; Lillian M., Mrs. Harry Werry, also of this city; Mary E., wife of Nathaniel Lewis, of Russell Gulch; Edna J., wife

listed as a member of the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, in which he served from July, 1862, until the close of the war, being assigned to the Army of the Cumberland under General Rose- crans and General Thomas. Among the impor- tant engagements in which he participated were of Walter Booth, of Boulder; Olive, wife of C. L. . those of Stone River, Chattanooga, Chicka- Purmort, of Boulder; Ezra E. and Lucy M. The two eldest daughters are graduates of the schools of Central City, and Mary E. graduated from the University of Colorado in the class of '92.

ILLIAM K. BURCHINELL, president of several Colorado mining companies and sheriff of Arapahoe County 1892-96, is a representative of one of Maryland's oldest fam- ilies, his ancestors having come to this country with Lord Baltimore. It is said that some of the name are still to be found in Normandy, but the branch to which our subject belongs was estab- lished in England at the time of William the Conqueror and subsequent generations were iden- tified with the history of Great Britain. After coming to America they transferred their alle- giance to the colonies and during the Revolution William Burchinell, a planter of Kent County, Md., served valiantly in the cause of independ- ence.

Thomas, a son of this Revolutionary patriot, was born in Chestertown, Md., and grew to man- hood upon the eastern shore, receiving his educa- tion in William and Mary College, of which he was a graduate. He became an architect and builder in Baltimore, but later removed to Hunt- iugdon and was employed as master builder in the construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad. He died in Huntingdon when sixty-six years of age. His wife was Anna M. Wilson, who was born in Huntingdon, Pa., of Scotch descent, and was a daughter of Matthew Wilson, a native of Pennsylvania, but for some years a merchant in Baltimore. There were three sons and three daughters in the family of Thomas Burchinell, and all the sons come to Colorado. Thomas W. died while acting as receiver of the United States land office at Leadville; and John E. resides in Denver.

The second of the sons, William K., was born in Huntingdon, Pa., October 12, 1846. While a student in the Hollidaysburg Academy, he en-

mauga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, the march to Atlanta and then back to Nashville under General Tliomas. On being mustered out in 1865, he returned to Huntingdon and em- barked in the planing mill business. In the fall of 1873 he was elected, on the Republican ticket, to represent the district in the legislature, and while a member of the session of 1874 served on various committees and as chairman of the military and judiciary committees. In 1874 he was appointed by President Grant to the receiver- ship of the United States land office at Fairplay, Colo., and assumed the duties of the position in February, 1875. Four years later President Hayes re-appointed him to the office, which was removed to Leadville, and he served there until 1883. Meantime he had become interested in mining in the Leadville district. Though on the expiration of his term of office he removed to Denver, he still continued to operate in the Lead- ville region, and is now interested in the Welton, Nubian and Superior Consolidated mines there, besides being interested in scores of mines else- where. He is president of the Golden Ocean Mining Company, which operates at Victor; presi- dent of LaPlatte Placer Mining Company; presi- dent of the Grouse Mountain Gold Mining and Tunnel Company, operating in the Cripple Creek district; and president of the Mineral Hill Gold Mining Company in Park County.

In Huntingdon, Pa., Mr. Burchinell married Miss Mant Cunningham, daughter of Josiah Cunningham, who was a merchant and farmer there. They have one child, Annie C. Politi- cally Mr. Burchinell is a silver Republican, and he has been active upon committees, in conven- tions and as a member of the state Republican committee. His party, in 1891, elected him sheriff of Arapahoe County and two years later he was re-elected, holding the office from Janu- ary, 1892, to January, 1896. At the second elec- tion he won by a plurality of eleven hundred and ' eighty votes, in spite of the fact that he was opposed by the "machine" political element and

408

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the newspapers, who fought him because he The father of Ayres Stradley was a native of would not be dictated to. During his term of England, who, upon his arrival in the United States, located permanently in Baltimore. office occurred the celebrated attack on the city, when his coolness and determination saved blood- shed and his promptness in securing the aid of the United States troops and not allowing any demonstration kept both sides down. He is a member of Reno Post No. 39, G. A. R., and the Union Veterans' Legion. While in Huntingdon he was made a Mason and afterward identified himself with the fraternity in Leadville. He be- longs to Temple Lodge No. 84, A. F. & A. M., Colorado Chapter No. 29, R. A. M., Denver Commandery No. 25, K. T., Denver Consistory and El Jebel Temple, N. M. S.

2 R. AYRES STRADLEY has been associated with his brother in Longmont for about two years, both in the practice of medicine and surgery and in mining enterprises. Previously he was located at Platteville, Colo., for thirteen years, gaining an enviable reputation for skill in his profession during that period. He has made a specialty of nervous diseases and is in partner- ship with his brother, D. N., in the management of a sanitarium for the cure of the liquor habit. At present he is the city physician of Longmont, and is examiner for numerous leading life insur- ance companies here.

The parents of the doctor were Dr. D. W. and Elizabeth (Bell) Stradley, natives of Zanesville and Circleville, Ohio, respectively. They became residents of Wabash, Ind., in 1849 and thence- forth made their home in that city, the father dying there in November, 1895, aged fourscore years, and the mother many years before, when fifty-four years of age. Dr. D. W. Stradley was much esteemed by his professional brethren and took a leading part in public enterprises and edu- cational work. He acted as a director and was deeply interested in the development and improve- ment of the system of educating the young. His father, Ayres Stradley, was born in Baltimore, Md., married Rhoda Wilkins, of the same city, and followed farming and building as occupations. He lived in Hancock County, Ohio, for several years and spent his last days in Wabash, Ind., dying in his eighty-third year. His good wife also died in Wabash, in November, 1882, having attained the extreme age of ninety-six years.

Mrs. Elizabeth (Bell) Stradley was a daughter of Abner Bell, originally of Pennsylvania, but later of Hancock County, Ohio, and Winterset, Iowa. To the last-named place he removed in 1851, and, after living in the town for twenty-one years, he passed to his reward, in 1872, aged about eighty-six years. He was a hero of the war of 1812, and his wife was the daughter of Rev. John Smith, a soldier of the Revolution and also of the war of 1812. He was a noble minister of the gospel, for years was connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church in Ohio, and received his summons to the better land while he was occupying his pulpit, then past eighty years of age. His wife died in Winterset, Iowa, in 1881, at the advanced age of ninety-five years. Both Mr. and Mrs. D. W. Stradley were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They had ten children, four of whom died in childhood. Their four married daughters died in Indiana: Rhoda, Mrs. Baker; Margaret A., Mrs. Litsenberger, and Sarah E., Mrs. Comstock, all in Wabash; and Charlotte E., Mrs. Steele, in South Bend. Their two surviving sons are Ayres and Daniel N., who are represented in this volume. (See sketch of Dr. D. N. Stradley. )

Dr. Ayres Stradley was born in Mount Blanch- ard, Hancock County, Ohio, October 11, 1840, and was nine years old when the family went to Wabash, Ind. He received a good education in the common and high schools and then took up the study of medicine with his father. In April, 1861, he was among the first to respond to the president's call for troops but was rejected. In 1863 he entered the University of Michigan and took a course of lectures, after which he opened an office in Wabash and commenced practice. In 1866 he went to Bloomingdale, Mich., and remained there for ten years, giving his earnest attention to the duties of his profession. Then returning to Wabash, he continued his practice in that city up to 1883, when he came to Colo- rado, and for over thirteen years practiced in Platteville. His well-established reputation for ability preceded him to this place and in the brief period of his stay here he has won the respect and best wishes of all who know him, whether in a business or social way.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 56

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