Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 66

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 66

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The first ballot cast by Mr. McLean was in favor of Benjamin Harrison for president, and he has since continued faithful to the Republican party. He has taken a warm interest in political affairs, and has served as delegate to county and state conventions. He served as a clerk in the ninth general assembly and also in the special session of the same. In 1898 he was nominated by the Republicans for the state legislature and was elected by a majority of forty-seven, over the combined fusion ticket. Fraternally he is con- nected with Lamar Lodge No. 80, I. O. O. F., in which he has filled several of the chairs. He is also identified with the Woodmen of the World, belonging to Lamar Camp No. 26. As a citizen he favors plans for the benefit of the people and the uplifting of the educational; commercial and moral status of his community.

OSEPH A. MERRIAM. The spirit of self- help is the means of bringing to man success when he has no advantages of wealth or influence to aid him. In the life of Mr. Merriam his self-reliance has brought him prosperity. He has shown what it is possible to accomplish when perseverance and determination form the keynote to a life. Depending upon his own resources, and by the exercise of economy, he has become the possessor of a competency. He is a druggist and registered pharmacist, and in addition to his large stock of drugs, stationery, paints, oils, etc., he also owns stock in the creamery at Westcliffe, and has nine houses in the town, which he rents; also owns mining interests in this (Custer) county.

The Merriams are an English family, whose first members in this country crossed the ocean in the "Mayflower" and settled in Concord, Mass. The father of our subject, Tarrant, and his only brother, Timothy Merriam, were born in Massachusetts and engaged in farming. The

former was in early life a Whig, and upon the disintegration of the party affiliated himself with the Republicans. In religion he was a Congre- gationalist. By his marriage to Annie Kimball eight children were born, and of these four are living: Elizabeth W., who married Samuel C. Flagg, and resides at Grafton, Mass .; Caroline E., wife of Jonathan Sibley, who for many years was deputy sheriff of Worcester County, Mass .; Joseph A., who was born in Grafton, Mass., December 23, 1823; and John Quincy, of Fort Scott, Kan.

After having gained the rudiments of his edu- cation in the Grafton schools our subject entered Leicester Academy, near Worcester, and there remained for a time. On returning home he assisted in the cultivation of the farm, but later was for two years with his brother-in-law in a store at Salmon Falls, N. H. His next business venture was as traveling salesman for a New York house. On starting out he resolved to save $500 a year, and this he continued to do for some time. With the money thus gained, in 1861 he bought a drug and book store at Pleasant Hill, Cass County, Mo., and conducted business there until he became so afflicted with asthma that a change of climate was necessary. In 1880 he came to Silver Cliff, Colo., where he bought out two drug stores and embarked in the drug busi- ness. He also bought a number of buildings in the village. When the rival town of Westcliffe was started he moved his buildings here, among them his store building, 25x 125, the bank build- ing and one adjoining, a large residence and sev- eral small houses. He was one of the starters of the town of Westcliffe and has been deeply inter- ested in its welfare, to which he has contributed by his ability and energy.

Upon the formation of the Republican party Mr. Merriam, who had been a Whig, identified himself with the new organization. Some years ago he served as chairman of the board of selectmen, but since coming to Westcliffe his business has absorbed his entire attention. Fraternally he is a member of White Mountain Lodge No. 5, I. O. O. F., at Concord, N. H. During his res- idence in the east he was connected with the Congregational Church, but that denomination not being represented in Westcliffe, he attends the Methodist Church. April 5, 1849, he mar- ried Ruth Maria, daughter of Jeremiah Pecker, of Concord, N. H. Of their four children three are living, namely: Samuel P., who is connected

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with a railroad at St. Louis; Walter E., who is interested with his father in mining; and Hattie A., who married Charles Stuart and lives in Kansas City, Mo. In business affairs Mr. Mer- riam has met with well-deserved success, and his straightforward course has gained for him the confidence of the people.

HARLES C. HUDDLESTON. The life of this business man of Lamar furnishes an example of what may be accomplished by industry and perseverance, and, in its practical results, is an encouragement for every young man who starts without capital. Now in the prime of life, the success with which he has been rewarded is doubtless only an index of what the future holds for him. In his store at Lamar he carries a full line of groceries, queensware, hard- ware and farming implements, which he sells at reasonable prices. His present large trade he has built up through honesty and energy, and from time to time has increased his stock until he now has as large a stock as any in Prowers County.

In Blandinsville, McDonough County, Ill., the subject of this sketch was born April 16, 1860, a son of Thomas and Mary (Robinson) Huddle- ston. He remained in his native city until 1872, his father, who was a merchant, having died two years before. His mother was married again and he accompanied her to Milton, Van Buren Coun- ty, Iowa, where he grew to manhood. From the age of twelve years he was thrown upon his own resources for a livelihood. For two years he worked on a farm, receiving as wages his board and clothes. At the age of fourteen he began to learn the barber's trade, and this occupation he followed for ten years, at different points in Iowa, Missouri and Illinois.

September 8, 1880, at Fort Madison, Iowa, Mr. Huddleston married Miss Emma Kraus, of that city, a native of West Point, Iowa, and a daugliter of Christian and Margaret (Kutcher) Kraus. After his marriage Mr. Huddleston began to save his wages, and during the last five years he carried on a barber business he made over $4,000. He had been loaning out his money, but finally decided he would prefer to invest it in some business. Looking for a suitable loca- tion, he traveled westward through Kansas, and learned of Lamar, a new town that had been started in the southeastern part of Colorado. To this place he came in 1887, and opened a

hardware and implement store, buying a build- ing in which he conducted a good trade from the start. He has since met with constant success, with one exception, having lost his building by fire in 1890, with no insurance. Interested in the development of Lamar, he has aided in push- ing forward every enterprise for the benefit of the people, and has erected liere one of the best resi- dences in town. In addition to his business interests he has engaged to some extent as a dealer in Hereford cattle.

In 1891 Mr. Huddleston was the Democratic nominee for county treasurer and came within seven votes of being elected, although the county was Republican by one hundred and thirty-five majority. In Lamar Lodge No. 90, A. F. & A. M., he has filled a number of the chairs, and he has also taken the Royal Arch Chapter degree here. The local camp of Woodmen of the World numbers him among its members. He and his wife have an only child, Fay, who was born in Milton, Iowa, in 1883. She is now a student in the Lamar high school and is also showing considerable skill in music, in which she has acquired commendable proficency.

A LBERT MATTHEWS, president of the school board of Colorado Springs and former chairman of the board of county commis- sioners of El Paso County, is well known as one of the influential citizens of this section of the state, where he has resided since 1877. While the immediate object of his removal to Colorado was to test the climatic influences upon his health, the years that have since elapsed brought him not only renewed strength, but business pros- perity and political prominence as well. Since 1890 he has been proprietor of the crockery business formerly owned by Perkins Brothers, but greatly enlarged under his management, and he has his building, of 25x160 feet, and two stories, stocked with a complete equipment of everything in his line.

The Matthews family was long resident in Massachusetts. John Matthews, who was born on Cape Cod, removed to Vermont, and engaged in farming until his death. His son, Josiah, who was born near Rochester, Vt., settled near Springfield, Ill., in 1835, and the following year moved to Tazewell County, the same state, where he improved a farm. He continued to reside there until his death, when sixty-five years of age. He was a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln,

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whose advice he sought in matters of a legal bearing. He married Mary F. Waters, who was born in Vermont, and accompanied her father to Illinois. At the time of her death she was fifty years of age. In religious belief she was a Congregationalist. The six children of Josiah and Mary F. Matthews were named as follows: Levi R., who owns a fruit ranch at Pomona, Cal .; William Waters, a retired farmer of Delavan, Ill .; Charles F., a fruit farmer of Tustin, Orange County, Cal .; Albert, who was born in Tremont, Tazewell County, Il1., December 4, 1840; Mrs. Sarah Sniffar, of Peoria, Ill .; and Laura, Mrs. J. T. Haywood, of Salina, Kan.

After completing the public school studies our subject spent one year in Eureka College. In 1862 he volunteered in the One Hundred and Sixth Illinois Infantry, as a private in Company H, and was mustered into service at Lincoln, Ill. He participated in the siege of Vicksburg, and afterward was sent to Little Rock, Ark., where he was assigned to garrison duty. He re- mained there and at Pine Bluff until the close of the war, when he was mustered out. In the spring of 1863 he was promoted from the ranks to be orderly sergeant; in July, 1863, was made second lieutenant, and in January, 1864, com- missioned first lieutenant, and as such was mus- tered out at Springfield, Ill., in August, 1865. On his return to Tazewell County he engaged in farming and became the owner of the old home- stead, which he operated until his removal to Colorado. In July, 1876, he came west, hoping that the mountain air would relieve him of asthma. After spending one year in Pueblo, Silverton, Lake City, Golden and Denver, in 1877 he came to Colorado Springs, where he spent some time in hunting and fishing. When his health was fully restored he bought a ranch one and one-half miles from Colorado Springs, and adjacent to Ivywild. He irrigated the land and raised grain and hay, the latter proving very profitable. On this place he raised among the first raspberries in the county and set out one of the first successful fruit orchards. In 1889 he sold the place, which comprised one hundred and fifty-three acres, to the Rapid Transit Com- pany, and the following year bought the crockery business which he has since conducted.

In Illinois Mr. Matthews married Miss Olive Ames, who was born in Tazewell County, her father, Augustus Ames, having removed there from Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Matthews reside at

Ivywild. They are the parents of five children: Albert H., a machinist in the employ of the Rock Island Railroad Company; Lillabelle F., Mrs. VanMeter, of this city; Arthur A., a student in the School of Mines at Golden; Mabel and Bruce.

Since 1894 Mr. Matthews has been a member of the school board of district No. 11, including Colorado Springs and Ivywild, and now holds the office of president of the board. In the fall of 1894 he was elected county commissioner, re- ceiving the largest majority of any candidate on the Republican ticket. He took the oath of office in January, 1895, and served until January, 1898, when he refused renomination. Socially he is connected with the El Paso Club. While in Tremont, Ill., he was made a Mason and is now connected with El Paso Lodge No. 13, A. F. & A.M .; Colorado Springs Chapter No. 6, R. A. M., Pike's Peak Commandery No. 6, K. T., and El Jebel Temple, N. M. S., of Denver. He is also a member of the Grand Army Post No. 22, in Colorado Springs. The fact that he is a man. of conservative judgment has made his service in public capacities especially valuable. What some might urge, with the rashness of a mis- guided enthusiasm, his sound sagacity would op- pose, and hence his opinion is always sought in matters relating to the interests of the public schools or affecting the welfare of the people.

EROY M. CAMPBELL owns and occupies a farm situated two miles southwest of Fre- donia, Bent County, on section 6, township 23, range 53 west. He arrived in this county for the first time ou the 27th of September, 1878, bringing with him $2,000 in gold which he had saved. For six years he was employed by John Prowers, meantime investing his earnings in cat- tle. In 1882 he was joined by his wife, and they established their home in Las Animas, where he had built a house. In January, 1885, he removed to land which he had homesteaded, on section 6, township 23, range 53, and there he made valu- able improvements. He was one of the first eighteen men who took water out of the Fort Lyon Canal Company's ditch. In 1894 he re- moved to the one hundred and sixty acres which he now cultivates.

A son of Leroy and Nancy (Petty) Campbell, the subject of this sketch was born in Roanoke County, Va., October 20, 1847. When he was a boy the war raged all about his home, and the home plantation was ravaged by both armies, the

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crops laid waste and possessions destroyed. The slaves, thirty-three in number, were freed, and the close of the war found the family with noth- ing but a tract of land that had been laid waste. Bravely they made the best of their misfortunes, which they shared in common with all the people of their state. Of ten children in the family only four were spared to mature years. The oldest son, Garrison Campbell, took part in General Walker's expedition to Central America in 1856, and was never heard from after he left this count- try; undoubtedly he perished in that unfortunate expedition. Another son, Clack Callihill Camp- bell, was a student in an Alabama college when the war began and at once enlisted in the Confed- erate service, becoming first lieutenant of the Eighth Georgia Regiment; he remained in the army until he was killed in the battle of Chan- cellorsville.

In the fall of 1863 our subject enlisted in the Confederate army. He was a member of Gen. Robert E. Lee's body-guard and served until the surrender at Appomattox. On his return home he found the slaves freed, the land devastated, the crops ruined. His father, an old man, who had served in the war of 1812, was no longer able to support the family; and he, as well as his two daughters, looked to our subject for support. The latter at once began to repair the shattered fortunes of the family. He planted crops, tilled the soil, gathered in the harvests, and in time had placed the family again in comfortable cir- cumstances. His father passed away in 1869, his sisters married and he was free to turn liis attention to personal matters; his mother had died in 1852.

In Rockbridge County, Va., February 10, 1871, Mr. Campbell married Miss Martha D. Stoner, who was reared in Virginia and Missouri. Af- terward he came to Colorado and was employed as foreman on a large ranch until he came to Bent County in 1878. He and his wife became the parents of six children: Leroy David, who was born in Virginia; Annie Petty, who was born in Virginia, became the wife of George Purvis, and is now living in Bent County; Samuel Stoner, who was born in Virginia; Harry Cole, who was born in Colorado and died at one year of age; Maude, who was born in Colorado; and Hugh Malcolm.

Politically a Democrat, Mr. Campbell was the Democratic nominee for the state legislature in 1887, but made no effort to secure the election.

However, he was defeated by only thirty-seven votes. While in Virginia he was made a Mason, and is now a member of King Solomon Lodge No. 31, A. F. & A. M., of Las Animas, in which he has been junior warden.

ZRA C. NOWELS. Through his success in the practice of law Mr. Nowels has risen to a position of influence among the legal fraternity. Coming west to Colorado in 1888, lie opened an office in Baca and began professional practice. In 1890 he was elected county judge and continued to fill that position until 1893, when he retired from office. In 1894 he was ap- pointed receiver of the United States land office at Lamar and removed to this city, where he has since resided. During the four years that he held office as receiver he also engaged in the practice of law, and since his retirement from office his attention has been concentrated upon professional work.

The son of David and Phoebe (Benjamin) Now- els, the subject of this sketch was born near Rens- selaer, Ind., January 30, 1845. His boyhood days were passed upon his father's stock farm in his native county. After completing his public school studies, at the age of eighteen he entered the Battle Ground University in Tippecanoe County, Ind., from which he graduated in 1868. Later he took a commercial course in Grand Prai- rie Seminary at Onarga, Il1. During the inter- vals of his college work he engaged in teaching, thus assisting in the defraying of his expenses. He taught four terms of nine months each. Upon graduating from the seminary in 1869 he began to assist his father in the stock business, and for several years gave his attention to that enter- prise. October 25, 1869, at Rensselaer, Ind., he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah J. Busey, of that city.

In 1877 Mr. Nowels was elected county auditor of Jasper County, and during the four years that he served in this position (from 1878 to 1882) he devoted his leisure hours to the study of law and took a course of law lectures in the law school at Bloomington, Ind. The establishment of him- self in practice, January 1, 1883, at Rensselaer, Ind., marked an era in his life, as from that time on his success was assured. The self-reliance he was called upon to exercise in his professional work developed his intellectual faculties. Case after case came to him, and the zeal with which he conducted them established his reputation in

Juin Mancilla

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Jasper County. He remained there until his re- moval to Colorado, which he believed would af- ford him a larger field for practice. He cast his first presidential vote for Seymour in 1868 and has since supported Democratic principles. Since coming to Lamar he has served as county attor- ney of Prowers County. He was his party's nominee for state senator from the twenty-third senatorial district, but withdrew in favor of the Populist candidate.

Mr. and Mrs. Nowels are the parents of six children, namely: M. E., who is married and has one child; Lucy M., who gradnated from Tillot- son Academy at Trinidad and is now a teacher in the Lamar public school; Trellgen E., a member of the class of 1899 in Colorado College at Colo- rado Springs; Lennie I., Odessa and Kenneth. Fraternally Mr. Nowels became a member of Iro- quois Lodge No. 143, I. O. O. F., in Rensselaer, Ind., in which he filled the chairs and which he twice represented in the grand lodge of Indiana. His membership is now in Lamar Lodge No. 80.

OHN K. VANATTA came to Colorado Springs in October, 1887, and opened a law office, beginning the practice which has since assumed important proportions. During the first five years of his residence in this city his prac- tice was principally in criminal law, and in- cluded almost the entire practice in that line here, but, not feeling satisfied, he turned his attention to civil, real-estate, mining and corporation law, in all of which he now has a valuable clientele. His office is at No. 16 North Nevada street. Be- sides his practice, he has been interested in Crip- ple Creek since December, 1891, and is president and a director of many companies, and interested in every hill in the camp, besides being inter- ested in one of the most valuable gold mines in southern California.

The Vanatta family came from Holland. Our subject's grandfather, Stephen Vanatta, came from that country to Allegheny County, Pa., where he engaged in farming until his death. His son, S. P. Vanatta, was born in Allegheny County, Pa., but removed to Columbiana County, Ohio, at nineteen years of age and learned the saddler's trade, which he followed for a time; however, the close confinement injured his health, and he abandoned the trade. Turning his atten- tion to the study of law he was admitted to the bar, and practiced for three years in Lisbon, Ohio, after which lie removed to Logan, Hocking

County, Ohio, where he remained for eight years. In 1860 he settled in Vinton, Iowa, where he had a large law practice and continued for sixteen years. Four years were spent in Sioux City, Iowa, after which he removed to Lincoln, Neb. In 1895 he settled in Cripple Creek, where he has since resided. Though seventy years of age, he is hale and hearty, and has retained all his facul- ties unimpaired, except his hearing, While in Iowa, in 1861, he enlisted and was made captain of Company D, Twenty-eighth Iowa Infantry, with which company he remained for two years, taking part in the battle of Duval's Bluff and the other engagements up to and including the siege of Vicksburg. Owing to disease contracted while in the service he was obliged to resign and was so ill that he was carried home on a cot; while he recovered from the illness, yet it left its unfortu- nate effects in the loss of hearing. He is con- nected with the Grand Army of the Republic and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

The wife of S. P. Vanatta was Miss M. J. Jor- dan, who was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, and is still living. Her father, Hugh Jordan, a native of Pennsylvania, became an early settler in Ohio. In 1849 he crossed the plains to Cali- fornia, where he spent some years in successful mining, then returned home via the Panama route. In 1858 he settled near Mankato, Minn., where he built a gristmill, and being himself a practical millwright, operated the mill successful- ly. After the death of his wife he sold his busi- ness_interests and, removing to Vinton, Iowa, made his home with his children. He died in that city at sixty-eight years of age. In religion he was a Presbyterian. There were ten children in the family of S. P. Vanatta, of whom eight are living. One son, Edward, is an attorney in El- dora, Colo .; another, Charles A., is corporal of Company M, First Colorado Infantry, and is now in Manila.

The oldest of the family is the subject of this sketch. He was born in Lisbon, Columbiana County, Ohio, August 12, 1853. In 1854 his parents moved to Logan, Ohio, and in 1860 to Iowa, where he attended the high school of Vin- ton, graduating in 1872. Afterward he taught school for six months and then read law under his father, being admitted to the bar October 6, 1874. He practiced law in Vinton until February 22, 1876, when he removed to Sioux City, Iowa. During the first week in the year 1879 he came to Colorado, hoping that the change would bene-

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fit his impaired health. He was benefited from the first. When he came he weighed one hun- dred and twenty-six pounds, and by November, 1880, his weight had increased to one hundred and eighty-five. The pure air, invigorating cli- mate, total rest from care, and outdoor exercise in hunting and fishing undoubtedly saved his life

Iu November, 1880, Mr. Vanatta opened a law office at Buena Vista, in partnership with P. C. Ellsworth, and remained in that place until 1887. Meantime he invested his earnings in mines. From that city he came to Colorado Springs, where he has built up a large and successful prac- tice. While in Buena Vista he married Miss Liz- zie Bowers, who was born near Chicago, Ill., and was taken by her parents to Boulder, Colo., when three years of age, receiving her education in the University of Colorado. They, with their only son, Jean, reside at No. 545 East Platte street. During his residence in Sioux City Mr. Vanatta was made a Mason, and later became an active member of the lodge at Buena Vista. Fraternal- ly he was connected with the Knights of Pythias, Uniform Rank, and is also a member of the Order of Elks. He is identified with the Pike's Peak Club. In politics he is a Republican. He is a painstaking lawyer and as an all around practi- tioner is recognized as a man of superior abilities.

ILLIAM HOLMES. The H. O. P. Live Stock Company, with principal office in Detroit, Mich., and home ranch in Chico Basin, Colo., has the following officers: John H. Plumer, president; William Holmes, vice-presi- dent and manager; and William T. Hurd, secre- tary and treasurer. They are the owners of seven hundred and eighty acres in their home ranch, which lies on section 29, township 17, range 63 west, sixth principal meridian, in El Paso County. Messrs. Plumer, Holmes and Hurd came to Colorado in 1871 and visited Denver, then traveled south to Fountain, from there to the Chico Basin, where they bought a claim owned by Jack Smith. The place contained no improve- ments whatever. No trees had been set out, and no buildings erected except a shanty so small that the bed had to be removed when they ate and the table when they slept. Besides this claim of deeded land, Mr. Holmes also entered a home- stead claim and a pre-emption, and bought a tract of land from Mr. Warren. In 1889 he purchased an interest in the Detroit & Rio Grande Live

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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 66

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