Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 75

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 75

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. P. W. SWEENEY. Among the resi- dents of Huerfano County Judge Sweeney occupies a position of honor and prominence. Since coming to Walsenburg, in 1883, he has identified himself with the interests of the place, has assisted in the development of its resources, and, by the purchase of property and the erection of a number of dwelling-houses, has personally contributed to its growth. To the office he now holds, that of county judge, he was first elected in 1892, and his service in this capacity was so satis- factory that in 1895 and 1898 he was re-elected to the office.

Born in Syracuse, N. Y., in February, 1854, the subject of this sketch was a mere lad when, in 1866, he went to St. Louis. At the age of sixteen he secured employment in a railroad shop in St. Louis. In 1878 he removed to Kansas, and for one year was employed in Garden City, after which, in 1879, he came on to Colorado, settling at Hall's Gulch, where he began pros- pecting and mining. Returning to St. Louis in the fall of 1880, he accepted a position with the Vulcan Steel Company, but one year later resigned his position and came back to Colorado, where he became foreman for the Colorado Coal and Iron Company at Bessemer. Resigning this position in June, 1883, he removed to Walsen- burg. During the first three years of his resi- dence here, he was employed by the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Company.

For years Mr. Sweeney has been active in local

affairs and a worker in the Republican party. While in St. Louis, in 1877, he served as assistant supervisor of the poor of St. Louis County, and also held a position in connection with the city parks. For two terms, after coming to Walsen- burg, he was a member of the town board. In 1886 he was elected a representative from this district in the legislature, and four years later was appointed under-sheriff, serving for one year. Since his election as county judge he has devoted his leisure hours to the study of law and has been admitted to the Colorado bar, with the privilege of practicing in all the courts of the state. In fraternal relations he is a member of the Order of Foresters, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Woodmen of the World.

At St. Louis, February 26, 1876, Judge Sweeney married Miss Jennie C., a daughter of Willianı Deering, and a native of Georgia, but from childhood a resident of St. Lonis. They are the parents of four children, namely: Edna, who is a law student in the Colorado State Univer- sity at Boulder; Nellie, who is her father's clerk; Roland and Genevieve.

AMES MCINTYRE, county commissioner of Cheyenne County, came to this part of Colo- rado in 1879 and entered the service of the Kansas Pacific Railroad Company, with which he has since been connected. His place of busi- ness and his home are in Kit Carson, west of which town, and near Wild Horse Station, is his sheep ranch, which he has carried on since 1885. He was elected to his present office of county com- missioner in 1892 upon the Republican ticket, and has since continued to serve efficiently in this po- sition.

Mr. McIntyre is of Irish birth and parentage. His father, James, was a life-long resident of Ireland, where he engaged in farm pursuits, and was also the local scribe for the community, be- ing a man of excellent education. In religion he was a devout Roman Catholic. His death oc- curred in 1893, at eighty-three years of age. He was a son of William McIntyre, who came to America in 1846 and settled in Grand Rapids, Mich., continuing to reside there until his death; he had sons who participated in the Civil war.

The mother of our subject was Catherine Levy, who was born in the house where also had oc- curred the birth of her father, Dennis Levy, a small farmer of County Longford, Ireland. One of her brothers was living in Petersburg, Va., at

544

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the time of the Civil war, in which he lost all of his property and also sacrificed his life. Mrs. Catherine McIntyre died at sixty-two years of age. In her family there were three sons and two daughters. Of these John is in partnership with his brother James in the stock business in Chey- enne County; William is engaged in farming on the old homestead in Ireland; Mary is a sister in a Roman Catholic convent; and Annie is the wife of Frederick Goodier, of Cheyenne County.

In County Longford, Ireland, where he was born in 1855, James McIntyre spent his early years. At the age of twenty-three, in 1878, he came to America and the following year settled in Cheyenne County, where he now resides. He has been a hard working and energetic man, and in spite of the disadvantages under which he labored as a foreigner, he has succeeded remarka- bly well. He has always remained true to the faith of the Roman Catholic Church, and has been a contributor to its work.

C HARLES E. SMITH, ex-city clerk of Col- orado Springs, ex-chief clerk of motive power Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, is now secretary and treasurer of the Colorado Dry Ore Concentrating Company, with office at Colo- rado Springs. Mr. Smith was born in Galena, Ill., to which his father, Frank Smith, who was born near Troy, N. Y., and was reared by a Quaker family, had removed about 1840, engag- ing there in the wholesale grocery business about thirty-five years, first as a member of the firm of Fuller & Smith, later as Smith, Wheeler & Smith. Their business was largely wholesale, their sales covering northern Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. Finally, however, he sold his interest in the business aud removed to Sailor Springs, Clay County, Il1., where he engaged in the mercantile business. Fraternally he was connected with the Odd Fellows and in religion was a Presbyterian, holding membership in the First Church of Galena. He died February 7, 1896, at seventy-six years of age. His wife was Jane Kirby, who was born in Bellevue, Ohio, was married in that state and is now living with our subject, at seventy-five years of age. Of her five children three daughters and one son sur- vive. The former are: Mrs. Charles O. Link, of Colorado Springs; Mrs. A. S. Bowen, of Denver, Colo .; and Mrs. M. M. Wheeler, of St. Paul, Minn.

In Galena, where he was born January 13, 1849, our subject attended the public school, graduating from the high school, after which he studied in Princeton College until the close of the sophomore year. He then took a business course in Bailey & Parson's Business College in Free- port, Il1. After his graduation he was admitted to the firm of which his father was a member and the title of which became Smith, Wheeler & Smith. He continued in the wholesale grocery business until 1876, when he closed out. His business place in Galena was only two doors from that of Orville Grant, the brother of General Grant.

In the spring of 1877 Mr. Smith settled in Den- ver, where for three years he was bookkeeper for Jensen, Bliss & Co. Afterward he was first chief clerk in the motive power department Den- ver & Rio Grande Railroad, and later was private secretary for N. M. Sample, who is now general superintendent of the road. After five years with the same railway company, in 1888, he went to Albuquerque, N. M., where he was general man- ager of the wholesale and retail grocery house of A. W. Cleland, Jr. In 1890, on account of the ill health of his wife, he resigned and came to Colorado Springs, where he had charge of the Inmber yard of Reynolds & McConnell. In 1893 he was appointed city clerk by the council. The next year, when the position was changed from au appointive to an elective one, he was elected on the Republican ticket by the largest majority ever given any candidate in the city, and that, too, in spite of having two opponents. In 1896 he was re-elected and served until April, 1898. At the end of his first year in office his accounts were checked up and were found O. K. At the expiration of four years they were checked up by an expert, the examination showing that he had handled $1,059,000, and there was only a dis- crepancy in his accounts of eight cents, which amount the city owed him.

Leaving the city clerk's office April 18, on the next day Mr. Smith became private secretary and financial manager for the George W. Jackson Construction Company, general contractors, of Chicago, who built the Strickler tunnel and were interested in concentrating machinery for concen- trating low grade ore by a dry process. The process is an interesting one, ore being treated as low as $2 a ton, so as to pay the operator; while ore has been treated at a cost of seventy-five cents a ton. He is also secretary and a director

545

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

in the Eldora Gold Mining & Water Power Com- pany, which supplies the water for the village of Eldora.

In Galena, Il1., Mr. Smith married Miss Mary Wirsching, who was born in that city, of German descent. They have two children, namely: Will- iam Malvin, who attends Colorado College; and Dora Isabelle, a student in Nazareth Academy, at Concordia, Kan. In national politics Mr. Smith is a Republican. He is a trustee in the Order of Elks, a member of the Maccabees, also El Paso Lodge No. 13, A. F. & A. M., and Lodge No. 38, I. O. O. F., having become a member of the last-named order in Galena.

AN C. BARKSDALE, a prominent resident of Lincoln County, and the owner of a ranch four miles from Hugo, came to Colorado in 1881, after having engaged in the cattle business in Texas since 1879. From the time of establish- ing his home in this state, he has been interested in the stock business in Lincoln County, and in 1896 purchased what is known as the Bent ranch. Here he has since resided, engaging in the cattle and horse business, and putting a num- ber of valuable improvements on his place.

The Barksdale family is among the oldest in Virginia. The grandfather of our subject, Elisha Barksdale, was a large slave owner in the Old Dominion and died during the Civil war, in which conflict several of his sons enlisted on the Con- federate side. Albert W. Barksdale, our subject's father, was educated in Richmond College, and after graduating, entered the ministry of the Baptist Church. He spent his entire life in Vir- ginia, where he died at fifty-six years of age. He married Amelia K. Foote, a native of North Car- olina, and daughter of Henry Foote, who was a large slave owner and planter in North Carolina. During the war several of her brothers enlisted in the southern army, and one of these, Dr. William Foote, was a surgeou in the army. Another, James H. Foote, who was a major and served with great valor, has since the war been a prominent man in his part of North Carolina, serving at different times as postmaster of his town, superintendent of schools and justice of the peace. At this writing he is eighty years of age. The Foote family is of English descent and was first represented in America by three brothers, one of whom settled in North Carolina, another in Mississippi, and the third in the north. Among their uear relatives was Commodore Foote. Mrs.

Amelia Barksdale is still living and makes her home with our subject. Besides him she has three sons and three daughters, namely: Elisha S., who is mining in the Red Mountain district; Henry Foote, who is engaged in the cattle busi- ness in Colorado; Albert T., who is foreman for Hector Matheson, in this county; Rebecca F., wife of Louis Martin, of Staunton, Va .; Mary W., who married B. Wilkes, and lives in Halifax County, Va .; and N. Willie, who is a professional nurse in Colorado. There was another daughter, Laura G., the youngest of the girls, who was killed by a runaway horse at the old homestead in Virginia.

After having studied in local schools and the Blacksburg Agricultural College, at the age of sixteen our subject started out for himself. For a time he engaged in the tobacco business near his old home. From there he went to Texas in 1879 and for eighteen months carried on a cattle business, thence coming to Colorado and settling near Hugo. In September, 1887, he married Amanda, daughter of George K. and Clarice (McClelland) Burch, of Johnson County, Mo., her father having been a pioneer farmer in that section of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Barksdale are the parents of two sons and one daughter, namely: Richard V., Everett Foote and Mary E.

The political views of Mr. Barksdale bring him into affiliation with the Democratic party. He served as marshal of Hugo in 1887, and, upon the organization of Lincoln County, was elected its first assessor, holding the office from 1890 to 1896. As a citizen he is respected for his enter- prise and progressive spirit. By industry and economy he has acquired a competency. In manners he is quiet and unostentatious, but, at the same time, energetic, efficient and possessing the determined spirit that leads to success.

OHN P. DICKINSON, who is engaged in the hardware business in Hugo and was formerly county treasurer of Lincoln County, is of English parentage and descent. His pa- ternal grandfather, Jonathan Dickinson, was born at High Flats, Yorkshire, England, February 20, 1785, and at Waddington, in the city of Lin- coln, England, March 10, 1814, he was united in marriage with Alice Hunt, by whom he had four- teen children. Of this large family George, our subject's father, was born in Lincolnshire, and in 1841 crossed the ocean to the United States, settling upon a farm near Richmond, Wayne

546

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

County, Ind. In 1857, two years after the birth of our subject, the father took his family to Kan- sas and engaged in farming there, at the same time taking an active part in the anti-slavery agitation. In 1878 he removed to Colorado and engaged in the commission business in Denver, making a specialty of handling game. Now, at seventy-six years of age, he is living retired in Denver, in the full possession of his physical and mental faculties. He was reared in the Quaker faith and still holds membership in the society. From 1858 to 1861, during his residence in Kan- sas, he served as commissioner of Leavenworth County.

The mother of our subject, who bore the maiden name of Sarah Poole, was born in Pasqu- otank County, N. C., and was a member of a Quaker family, of English descent. Her father, John Poole, removed from the south to Indiana and settled on a farm near Richmond, near the Ohio line, where he made his home from 1822 until his death. He was a descendant of an Englishman who settled in North Carolina about the commencement of the eighteenth century. Following the faith of his ancestors, he adhered to the Society of Friends, and for almost a quarter of a century he was at the head of the society in Richmond.

The family of which our subject was a mem- ber consisted of three sons and four daughters. Of these Charles W. is engaged in the wholesale lumber business in Kansas City, Mo .; William H. died in infancy; Elizabeth, of Denver, is the widow of John A. Clayton, who served in the Civil war and died soon afterward; Alice H. is the wife of A. Cocklin, a farmer of Jefferson County, Kan .; Susan L. married W. H. Seltzer, who is engaged in business in Denver; and Min- nie B. is the wife of George Welsh, a farmer liv- ing near Denver.

The youthful years of our subject were princi- pally spent in and near Leavenworth, Kan., and he was educated in the public schools of the city. Starting out for himself in 1874, when nineteen years of age he entered the employ of William T. Holt, a cattleman. During the twelve years that he was employed by the W. T. Holt Live Stock Company, he accumulated sufficient prop- erty in cattle to render him independent, but in common with other cattlemen, he accumulated debts, and incurred further loss in 1884, when the Texas fever raged in this vicinity and caused a loss of about one-third of all the cattle in the

country, resulting in a panic in the cattle busi- ness. When he finally had business matters straightened out and his debts paid, he was about even financially.

After leaving Mr. Holt's employ. Mr. Dickin- son was for two years store-keeper for the Union Pacific Railroad at Hugo. In the spring of 1889 Governor Cooper appointed him county treas- urer, and afterward he was three times, by election, chosen to fill this position. On retiring from office, in January, 1896, he purchased the lumber and coal business which, together with his hardware store, he has since conducted. He owns a fine herd of cattle, and has other interests in this county. A prominent Republican, he has been a member of the state central committee for ten years and chairman of the county central committee for several years. In 1899 he was ap- pointed by President Mckinley to the official po- sition of receiver of public moneys for the Hugo land district for four years, his commission as such bearing date January 24, 1899. Fraternally he is connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and Denver Lodge No. 5, A.F. & A.M. In December, 1880, he married Annie P., daugh- ter of Stephen and Ellen Saunders, living near Linwood, Leavenworth County, Kan. They have an only daughter, Ellen Muriel.

ON. WILLIAM H. ADAMS. The serv- ices which Mr. Adams has rendered the people of Conejos County and the twenty- fourth senatorial district entitle him to rank among the eminent men of Colorado; and it is but fair to suppose that the future will bring him greater honors than the past, and that he will be instrumental in securing for the people even greater privileges than heretofore. In fact his energy and abilities are of such a character that death alone will terminate his activities and use- fulness. As long as life shall last his interest in the prosperity of his adopted state will be un- ceasing, and his efforts to advance its interests tireless.

Mr. Adams is a member of a distinguished family of Colorado, his brother, Hon. Alva Ad- ams, having twice been elected governor of this state. His parents, John and Eliza (Blanchard) Adams, were natives respectively of Kentucky and New York. The father was engaged in stock-raising and the mercantile business in the southern part of Wisconsin, and founded the town of Adamsville, Wis., where he built a flour

VAN ELBERT ROUSE.

549

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

mill and store. He is now living retired in Pasa- dena, Cal. In politics he has always adhered to the Democratic party. Upon that ticket he was several times elected to the upper and lower house of the state legislature of Wisconsin, and also served as sheriff of Dane County. He and his wife were the parents of nine children, five of whom are living: Hon. Alva Adamıs, to whose sketch upon another page the reader is referred for further information concerning the family his- tory; John, of Alamosa; Frank, Elizabeth and William.

From the age of ten years the subject of this sketch has made his home in Colorado. In 1874 he came to the San Luis Valley, and continued here until the age of twenty-five, when he bought a ranch near Alamosa and embarked in the stock business. He and his brother Alva were among the first settlers of Alamosa. At this writing he is largely interested in the stock business (mostly cattle) and owns and controls one of the largest ranches in southern Colorado. He is one of the most successful stockmen of the valley, and his success is the result of the close study he has given the work.

As a Democrat Mr. Adams has been an active factor in county and district politics. At the age of twenty-two he was elected city treasurer of Alamosa, and for a year was a member of the board of trustees. In 1885 he was elected mayor of Alamosa, and was re-elected at the expiration of his term. In the fall of 1885 he was chosen county commissioner of Conejos County, and a year later, while serving as mayor and commis- sioner, was chosen to represent Conejos County in the lower branch of the legislature. Upon the expiration of his term, in the fall of 1888, he was nominated by the Democratic party for senator from Conejos and Archuleta Counties, and was elected by a large majority. In 1892 and 1896 he was re-elected from the twenty-fourth dis- trict. As a senator he has rendered able service on the corporation and railroad committees, and has supported all bills that promise to promote the prosperity of his constituents.

In 1891 Mr. Adams married Emma, daughter of C. R. Ottaway. His time is closely given to his stock business and official duties, and he has little leisure for participation in the work of so- cial and fraternal organizations. He is a mem- ber of the San Luis Valley Stock Association, and takes an interest in every plan or organization for the increased success of the stock business.

2 AN ELBERT ROUSE, member of the board of aldermen of Colorado Springs, was elected in 1896 to fill a vacancy in the board and two years later was re-elected for a full term, as rep- resentative of the second ward in the city coun- cil. The various duties of his position he dis- charges with ability and faithfulness. As chair- man of the cemetery committee he has rendered able service, while as a member of the finance and water committees his labors have been equally effective. He is prominent in the ranks of the local Democracy, and has acted as chairman of the county and city central committees of his party.

A resident of El Paso County since March, 1880, Mr. Rouse was born, at Wellington, near Lexington, Mo. His paternal great-grandfather, who was born near Heidelberg, Germany, and was of a wealthy family, came to America with a brother and settled in Pennsylvania. The grand- father, who was born near Pittsburg, Pa., and owned coal lands in that locality, removed to Boone County, Ky., where he died. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. Next in line of descent was Judge Ezekiel Rouse, a native of Boone County, Ky., born in 1818; removed to Missouri in 1837, settled at Lone Jack, Jackson County; there studied law and was admitted to the bar. For years he practiced at Trenton, Grundy County, and also served as judge of Grundy County. On retiring from practice he bought a farm, where his last days were spent. He was a Democrat and a supporter of the Union during the war. Fraternally he was a Mason, and in religion ad- hered to the Lutheran faith, following the ex- ample of his forefathers. His death occurred

when he was seventy-two.

The mother of our subject was Sarah, daughter of Col. Richard Lomax. Her father, who was a native of Fauquier County, Va., removed to Kentucky after her birth and some time later set- tled in Richmond, Ray County, Mo., where he engaged in merchandising. He married a daugh- ter of Colonel Simms, who was an officer in the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Sarah Rouse died in Texas while visiting a daughter; she was sixty- four years of age. Her family comprised the following-named children: Anna, Mrs. T. W. Tate, of Tipton, Mo .; Etta, Mrs. J. J. Corun, of Salt Lake City, Utah; Bennetta, who died at six- teen years; Lizzie, Mrs. L. B. Coates, of Salt Lake City; Van Elbert and his twin brother, Julian, who died in infancy; Ollie D., who is en-

550

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

gaged in ranching at Rocky Ford, Colo .; Mrs. E. D. Miller, of Liberty, Mo .; Margaret, Mrs. H. B. Turner, who died at Houston, Tex .; and Elizabeth, who died at two years of age.

Born September 12, 1854, our subject spent his childhood years, after the age of five, in Liberty, Mo., where he attended William Jewell College until the close of the junior year. On account of poor health he was obliged to leave college. During all of the time he carried on his studies he devoted the summer months to teaching, and in this way paid his expenses, but the hard work undermined his constitution. In 1880 he came to Colorado Springs, and engaged in teaching, first in the country, later in the city school, be- ing for a time superintendent of the Colorado city schools. At the same time he was deputy county superintendent of schools for several terms and deputy county assessor two terms.

On account of the increasing importance of his mining interest, Mr. Rouse ceased to teach. He formed the Elkton Mining and Milling Company, of which he was secretary and treasurer at first, and later acted as general manager; he is still connected with the company as a director. In 1891 he became interested in the Cripple Creek district, where he now owns valuable interests. In addition to the oversight of his property, he acts as mining broker. He is a member of the Colorado Springs Mining Association and the Board of Trade. Fraternally he is connected with El Paso Lodge No. 13, A. F. & A. M., and the order of Elks. In the first Baptist Church he is treasurer and a trustee, and has officiated as Sunday-school superintendent, and at this writing he is a member of the state missionary board of the Baptist Church in Colorado.

In Fountain, Colo., Mr. Rouse married Miss Edith Corbin, who was born in Nebraska City and was brought to Fountain in 1867 by her father, M. B. Corbin. Mr. and Mrs. Rouse re- side at No. 510 East Pike's Peak avenue, where he erected a neat and comfortable residence. They have an only son, Van Elton.

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 75

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