Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 62

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 62

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).

ON. REUBEN BERREY, who has resided in Colorado Springs since 1884, has for a quarter of a century been identified with the interests of this state, and has participated actively in the development of its resources. For six years he was clerk of the district court in Elbert County, for four years officiated as county superintendent of schools of El Paso County, and in 1881 served as secretary of the state senate, at the time of the election of Tabor and Bowen to the United States senate.

Mr. Berrey was born in England, near London, October 11, 1835. When he was an infant his parents, William and Sarah (Charman) Berrey, emigrated to America, settling at Bramford, On- tario, where they remained upon a farm until their death. They were the parents of eleven children, nine of whom attained years of maturity, and seven are living, Reuben being the sixth of the family, and the only one in the United States. He was a boy of eleven years when he began to be self-supporting. As soon as he was large enough to use a cradle and scythe he was put to work on a farm, and during the summer months had little leisure for study or play, but in the winter was permitted to attend school. At the age of sixteen he began to teach school, and with the money thus earned he paid his way through the Normal University in Toronto. After com- pleting his education he was for several years employed as principal of a school in Ontario.

Removing to Illinois in 1858, Mr. Berrey set-

the DuQuoin Tribune. After a time Maj. A. J. Alden became interested in the business, and they remained together for three years, when Mr. Ber- rey bought his interest. It was while publishing this paper that Mr. Berrey took an active part in promoting the political success of John A. Logan. When General Logan was elected to congress, Mr. Berrey supported him with enthusiasm, and later, through his paper, he advocated the gen- eral's election as United States senator, and was afterward the first man in the United States to present his name as a presidential candidate. When Major Alden became a supporter of Horace Greeley, Mr. Berrey bought him out, at the close of Grant's second term, and continued the paper alone as a Republican organ.

On account of his wife's ill health, in 1874 Mr. Berrey disposed of his interests in DuQuoin and came to Denver, buying a herd of cattle and em- barking in the cattle business west of Elbert. Not wishing to take his family to the ranch, he sought occupation that would enable him to make his headquarters in the city. He had been so long identified with the newspaper business that he naturally desired to continue in the line in which he had been so successful. He bought one-third interest in the Agriculturist and Stock Journal, the agreement being that he was to do outside work for the paper. He traveled through the western country, and furnished for the paper splendid articles relating to the resources of Colorado, and at the same time securing a large patronage for the journal. During the two years he was thus engaged he greatly increased the value of the paper and its importance as a periodical. How- ever, he found that the man with whom he had- left his cattle had failed to protect his interests, and it would be necessary for him to give his per- sonal attention to that business. He sold his interest in the paper, as did his associate, Robert Strayhorn. In 1876 he located his cattle on a ranch in Elbert County, and continued in the business there until 1884, when he sold out.

In 1876 Mr. Berrey organized the Republicans of Elbert County, forming a central committee, of which he was made chairman, and continued at its head as long as he resided there. Through his influence the district clerk's office was estab- lished, and he received appointment as the first clerk of the district. After coming to Colorado Springs in 1884, he carried on a wholesale meat business and was proprietor of two markets, but

FRANK FINNEY, M. D.

445

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

his son did not care for the business, and he sold ont after five years. In 1887 he was elected county superintendent of schools and re-elected in 1889, serving until January, 1892. During his second term the building of a new railroad and increase in settlement rendered necessary the establishment of new districts, and he organized many new districts, the last being that of Crip- ple Creek.

In common with other citizens of Colorado, Mr. Berrey has had interests in Cripple Creek. He was the prime factor in organizing the Ivan- hoe Company, which was later consolidated with the Greater Gold Belt Mining and Milling Com- pany, and he is now a director of the latter con- cern. He is also a director in the Iron Clad Company. While in the mountains a severe at- tack of rheumatism caused him to return to Colo- rado Springs, where he has since led a quiet life, with no other duties than those of superintending his property interests. He owns real estate in this city, and built and was part owner of the Berrey & Davie block in Colorado City. During war times he was a firm Abolitionist. He was allied with the regular Republicans until the re- peal of the silver bill, since which time he has been an adherent of the silver cause and a stanch admirer of Senator Teller, of whose course in the monetary issnes he thoroughly approves.

The marriage of Mr. Berrey took place in On- tario, his wife being Frances E. Hoag, who was born in Dutchess County, N. Y. They became the parents of five children: Ida E .; Charles R., who is engaged in the cigar business in this city; Julia May, a graduate of the high school and a teacher in the public schools of this city; Walter H., who is interested in business with his older brother; and Max L., member of the electrical engineering class of 1900, in Cornell University.

RANK FINNEY, M. D., surgeon in charge of the Santa Fe hospital in La Junta, is rec- ognized as one of the most skillful surgeons in the entire state of Colorado, and, while he is scarcely yet in the prime of life, he has already achieved noteworthy distinction in his chosen profession. In addition to his work in connec- tion with the hospital, he is also in charge of a large private practice in Otero and adjoining counties.

Born in Martinsburg, Ohio, May 13, 1858, Dr. Finney is a son of Thomas Mckean and Jane

(Orr) Finney, natives of Pennsylvania. His father, who was a graduate of Little Washington College in Pennsylvania, in young manhood en- tered the ministry of the Presbyterian Church, and continued to preach the Gospel until he died, in 1859, when fifty years of age. The death of his wife also occurred when she was about fifty. Of their eight children the youngest, Frank, was only one year old when he was left fatherless. When he was seven years old, in 1865, his mother removed to Iowa, then a comparatively new country, and in that state she died a few months later. The children then scattered, our subject being taken into the home of a sister in Lawrence, Kan. There he was educated in the high school and state university.

The first employment secured by Dr. Finney was that of traveling salesman for a patent medi- cine firm, his territory comprising Missouri, Kan- sas, Arkansas and Nebraska. Meantime, his leisure hours were spent in reading medicine. After four years he returned to Lawrence, where he carried on special studies for a year. He then entered the medical department of Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, where he studied for two years, but completed his course in the medical college at Georgetown, D. C., from which he graduated in 1882. On the day of graduation he received an appointment as agency physician at Quapaw agency, Indian Territory, and going to that place, he continued to hold the position for two and one-half years, resigning when Grover Cleveland was elected president.

Desiring to broaden his professional knowledge, Dr. Finney entered Bellevue Hospital Medical College in New York, from which he graduated in the spring of 1885. He then returned to his old home in Lawrence, Kan., and opened an office, but after he had engaged in practice there for a year he received an appointment as surgeon of the Santa Fe Railroad hospital at Las Vegas. There he continued as surgeon until November, 1887, when he was transferred to the hospital at La Junta. In every position which he has held his depth of professional knowledge, ability and skill have brought him prominence and success. In professional organizations he maintains a constant interest. He has been active in the Pan-Ameri- can Medical Congress, and represented his state in the conventions held in Washington and the City of Mexico. He is also identified with the American Medical Association, county and state

446

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

medical societies, and the hospital and railroad surgeons' societies.

The principles of the Republican party receive Dr. Finney's active allegiance. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of La Junta and has served the congregation as an elder. Frater- nally he is connected with Euclid Lodge No. 64, A. F. & A. M., and the chapter of Royal Arch degree in this city. By his marriage to Miss Grace Houghtelin, of Lawrence, Kan., he has two children, Roy H. and Carrie G.

ACOB S. TRUEX, mayor of Westcliffe, Custer County, is engaged in the furniture and undertaking business, and is also a notary public. He is a member of an old family in America that traces its ancestry back to a physician, who emigrated from France prior to the Revolutionary war, and settled in Amster- dam, N. Y. His father, John Truex, was born in Monmouth County, N. J., and in early life settled in Sussex County, the same state, whence he removed to Orange County, N. Y., and fol- lowed farm pursuits. A strong Democrat, he was active in political matters. His marriage united him with Anna Stanaback, who was of German descent, and died when she was ninety- four years of age. Of their ten children the fol- lowing are living: Thomas, of Milford, Pa .; Jacob S .; George A., whose home is in Newton, N. J., and Levi H.

Born in Sussex County, N. J., November 9, 1824, our subject was educated in Orange Coun- ty, N. Y., and engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1851. Then, going to New York City, he remained in that city for eight years, having charge of the buying, shipping and delivering of goods for an oyster firm. In March, 1859, he went to LaPorte, Ind., where he engaged in the mercantile business for two years. Thence he removed to Elgin, Ill., and followed the carpen- ter's trade in that city from 1861 to 1880. In January of the latter year he came to Colorado and settled at Silver Cliff. When Westcliffe was started in1 1885 he moved two good residences to this village and settled here permanently. In 1889 he engaged in undertaking, to which busi- ness, in May, 1898, he added a stock of furni- ture.

From the time of Buchanan to the present Mr. Truex has voted the Republican ticket. He has taken an active part in local affairs. In 1889 he was elected justice of the peace, which position

he held for seven years, and then resigned, ow- ing to the press of other business. He served as notary public as well, and this latter office he has held ever since. For five years he was county coroner. In the spring of 1898 he was elected mayor, and had previously served as a member of the town board and as clerk and recorder. The various offices he has held have been tendered him without solicitation on his part and without electioneering, which fact shows that his fellow- citizens appreciate his fitness for office and his ability to represent them efficiently. At this writing he is chairman of the local Republican central committee. During a part of two terms he has acted as deputy postmaster. Fraternally he is a member of Westcliffe Camp No. 309, Woodmen of the World, and he is also identified with the Good Templars, of which lodge he is past chief templar. In the Presbyterian Church he has served as a ruling elder.

July 20, 1854, Mr. Truex married Eliza R. Lown, of New York City. They became the parents of six children, namely: Albert H., who is engaged in mining in Colorado; Elenora, wife of J. S. Ward, of Elgin, Ill .; Arthur, deceased; Lawrence S., who is in New Mexico; Stella May, who is with her parents; and Edgar E., who died in boyhood.

RANK COTTEN, who is one of the pro- gressive business men of Colorado Springs,

- has spent his entire life in El Paso County, and was born at what is now Buttes, June 5, 1863. He is a descendant of one of three brothers who crossed the ocean together from England and settled in Virginia. His grandfather, William Cotten, was the son of a Revolutionary soldier from Virginia, and was himself a native of the Old Dominion, but removed to Indiana, and after- ward established his home on a farm in Berrien County, Mich, where he died.

Oliver M. Cotten, father of our subject, was born in Indiana and received his education in Olivet College, after which he engaged in teach- ing. While in Michigan he married Nancy Ste- phens, a native of Indiana. When the news of the discovery of gold in Colorado reached him, he determined to try his fortune in the great moun- tain regions of the west. In 1859, with a horse- team, he drove across the plains, following the Platte route, and going to Gregory Gulch and Black Hawk. At one time, with his brothers, he owned an interest in the famous Bobtail mine.

447

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

He engaged in mining at California Gulch, near the present site of Leadville. In 1860 he returned east for his wife. About the same time he located a ranch on the Fountain and started a cattle herd, but continued liis mining interests for several years. Finally, repeated attacks of rheumatism obliged him to discontinue mining, and he then settled down to farm life. He made ditches and irrigated his land, and improved the place, which consisted of about six hundred and forty acres. Politically lie was a radical Republican. He took a warm interest in public affairs, and was well known among the pioneers of El Paso County. On the establishment of a postoffice at El Paso, he was appointed the first postmaster, and con- tinued, at intervals, in the office until his death. As a member of the school board lie assisted largely in the organization of school districts and erection of needed buildings. He served efficiently as county commissioner. In all the positions to which he was called he rendered able service in behalf of the people. His death occurred in 1886, when he was fifty-nine years of age. At the time of his death he was identified with the Baptist Church.

· A brother of Oliver M. Cotten, William, was a member of the Third Colorado Cavalry during the Civil war, and took part in the battle of Sand Creek. He died at Alma, this state. Another brother, James M., crossed the plains in 1859, but went on to Arizona and died there.

The wife of Oliver M. Cotten was a daughter of Joseph Stephens, and was of English and Welslı descent. The first of the family in this country were three brothers, who settled in Connecticut, western New York and North Carolina respect- ively. The one who settled in the south had two dauglitersand a son. The latter, Joseph Stephens, was born in the Yadkin River, in Mocksville, N. C., and after the death of his father he made liis home with an uncle near Lexington, Ky., where he was educated. In early manhood he removed to Centerville, Ind., where he married a cousin, Anna Stephens. In 1829 he settled near Niles, Berrien County, Mich., where he engaged in farming until his deathı in 1881, at eighty-one years of age. His wife died in 1876, at the age of seventy. six. Politically he was a Whig until the disintegration of the party, when he became a Republican. He served as a captain in tlie Black Hawk war. A man of energy, intelligence · and influence, he ranked high in his community, and exerted considerable influence in the devel-

opment of local resources and the extension of local interests. He and his wife were the parents of eight children: Sarah, Elizabeth, Nancy, Car- oline, William, Isom, Calvin and J. Newton. Nancy, who was our subject's mother, died Oc- tober 30, 1897. Of her children, Edwin died at four years, and Ella lives in Denver. Frank, who was the eldest of the family, was reared on the home farm. From sixteen until nineteen years of age he was a student in Colorado College, after which he spent one summer in mining at Leadville and one year in cultivating the home farm. For three years he taught school in his home district, and then accepted a position as deputy county assessor, in which capacity he served for eight years. Since resigning that posi- tion he has been interested in real estate, and for some time was a member of the firm of Irvine, Cotten & Jones.

In common with the majority of the business men of Colorado, Mr. Cotten has mining inter- ests. He is a director in the Theresa mine on Bull Hill, Cripple Creek, which is a valuable property, and is also interested in other claims in the same region and at Eldora. Besides real estate, he is engaged in the loan and insurance business. He is a member of the El Paso County Pioneers' Society, Lodge No. 38, I. O. O. F., and the Y. M. C. A. In the Second Presbyterian Church, of which he is a member, he serves as president of the board of trustees. Politically he is a Republican.

Mr. Cotten married Miss Sarah McShane, who was born at Monument, El Paso County, and is a member of a pioneer family. Her father, David McShane, is represented on another page. Mr. and Mrs. Cotten and their two children, Chester and Frank, reside at No. 9 Boulder place, in Colorado Springs.

EN. ADDISON DANFORD, ex-attorney- general of Kansas, now of Colorado Springs, came to this city April 1, 1875, and engaged in the practice of law, also, in 1879, served as city attorney. With the exception of two and one-half years in Lake City, and seven years (1880 to 1887) in Leadville, he has continued to make this city his home up to the present time. While in Leadville he was connected with some of the most important litigations in that district, all of which he managed with care and skill, proving his thoroughi knowledge of mining law and liis ability as an attorney. His partners in

448

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

that city were F. Danford and Col. A. J. Ster- ling. On his return to Colorado Springs he re- sumed practice here, with mining law as his specialty, and has acted as attorney for a number of important mining companies in Cripple Creek. His office is located at Nos. 43-44 Bank building.

General Danford was born in Laconia, N. H., on the 4th of July, 1829. He descends from English ancestors who were early settlers of New England. His father, Ebenezer, who was a son of Jonathan Danford, was engaged in the mer- cantile business at Laconia for twenty-five years, and in 1837 removed to Illinois, settling at Geneva, Kane County, where he was a pioneer farmer. His death occurred in 1841. He mar- ried Hepzibah Dufur, who was born in Vermont, a descendant of Revolutionary stock. Her pa- ternal ancestors were Scotch people, who settled in Montpelier in an early day. She died in Illi- nois in 1866. Of her nine children, one son, Wil- lis, was surgeon (with the rank of major) in the One Hundred and Twenty-first Illinois Infantry, during the Civil war.

The youngest of the family and the only one now living is the subject of this sketch. When six years of age he was taken to Kane County, Ill., where he attended the pay schools. At six- teen years of age he began the study of medicine under Prof. G. W. Richards, of St. Charles, Ill., and afterward studied for two terms in the med- ical department of LaPorte (Ind.) University, graduating at the age of twenty years in the class to which belonged Judge John F. Dillon, anthor of law books. He also graduated from the Keo- knk Medical College, at Keokuk, Iowa, in 1850, with the degree of M. D. For two and one-half years he engaged in the practice of medicine at Plainfield, Will County, Ill. Within that time he found that the profession was not to his taste, and, having given it a thorough test by his many months of practice, he decided to abandon it. In 1853 he engaged in the mercantile business in Geneva, Ill., where he remained until July, 1856. The next year he removed to Mound City, Linn County, Kan. He was one of the first free state members of the legislature, being elected from Linn County in 1857, and met at Locampton in the extra session of December, 1857. The con- stitution there drawn up was submitted to the di- rect vote of the people, but was voted down by a majority of ten thousand. In the spring of 1858 he was elected a member of the Leavenworth constitutional convention, and in the fall of the

same year was re-elected to the legislature on the free state ticket. The legislature met at Law- rence, where he took a prominent part as mem- ber of all the important committees. In Septem- ber, 1863, he removed to Fort Scott, where he engaged in the practice of law. The following year he was elected to the state senate on the Re- publican ticket, but resigned at the close of the first session, in order to devote his entire atten- tion to his law practice. In 1868, on the Repub- lican ticket, he was elected attorney-general of Kansas, and took office in Jannary, 1869, continu- ing until 1871, when he resumed his practice at Fort Scott. From that city he came to Colorado Springs in 1875.

In the various public positions which General Danford has held, it may be said of him that his acts have been marked by prudence, and a due regard for the wishes of his constituents. All en- terprises having for their object the good of his locality or the increase of the material wealth, always have found in him an advocate ready to ex- tend influence and give of his means for their sup- port. He possesses a natural aptitude for the law, being a concise, logical reasoner and a deep thinker. In politics he is a Republican, as firm in his devotion to his party as the needle is to the pole.

AMUEL D. MC CRACKEN, proprietor of the New York Cash Store, of Colorado Springs, came to this city in 1892 and bought an interest in the business with which he has since been identified. Largely through his energy and sound judgment, the trade increased to such an extent that it was necessary to secure larger quarters, and in 1894 the store was re- moved across the street to its present location, Nos. 120-122 Sonth Tejon street, where a general department store business is conducted.

Mr. McCracken was born on a farm uear Ran- somville, Niagara County, N. Y., in June, 1855. The family of which he is a member consisted of two sons and three daughters, of whom all but one are still living, he being next to the oldest and the only one in Colorado. His father, Rich- ard McCracken, who was born in Ireland, emi- grated to America at the age of seventeen years, and engaged in farming near Ransomville. He has lived in the same locality for a half-century or more, and is highly esteemed by the people of his county. His wife, whose maiden name was Clarissa Putnam and who has spent her entire life

HON. W. E. ROHDE.

451

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

in New York, was a daughter of Daniel Putnam, a native of New England, but for years a resident of Niagara County, N. Y.

In the cultivating of the homestead and the gaining of an education our subject passed his boyhood years. While he had a thorough knowl- edge of agriculture, his tastes were in the line of a mercantile life, and in 1882 he engaged in mer- chandising in Ransomville, where he remained until 1892. Meantime, for eight years, he held office as justice of the peace and also served as town clerk. Since 1892 he has lived in Colorado Springs, and is now sole proprietor of the New York Cash Store, which occupies two floors, 50x180 feet in dimensions, and contains a full line of goods. The millinery department is in charge of Mrs. McCracken, who was formerly Ruth Carrigan, of Ransomville, N. Y. In politics Mr. McCracken is a stanch Republican, but he is not identified with public affairs in any way, his entire attention being devoted to the manage- ment of his business interests. He is a member of the Baptist Church and a contributor to its various enterprises.

ON. WILLIAM E. ROHDE, county treas- urer of El Paso County and a former mem- ber of the state legislature, is a son of Frederick C. and Sarah (Collier) Rohde, natives respectively of Constantia, Oswego County, N.Y., and Fayette County, Ohio. The Colliers are of Scotch descent, while the Rohde family origi- nated in Germany. Their first representative in America settled in New Jersey in an early day and became proprietor of a tannery there; he had a son, Henry, who was born in New Jersey and removed to Oswego County, N. Y., establishing his home on the north shore of Oneida Lake, where he engaged in farm pursuits until his death at sixty years. In religion he followed the faith of his ancestors, that of the Lutheran Church.

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 62

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