USA > Colorado > Sketches of Colorado: being an analytical summary and biographical history of the State of Colorado as portrayed in the lives of the pioneers, the founders, the builders, the statesmen, and the prominent and progressive citizens Vol. 1 > Part 19
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Joel F. Vaile received his education in the public schools of Indiana and at Oberlin College, Ohio, from which he was graduated in 1872. After leaving college young Vaile entered his father's office and two years later became associated with him in the practice of law.
While he never sought political office, he always took an active interest in public affairs and was soon recognized by the lead- ers of his party, as a young man of excep- tional promise, possessed of convincing de- livery and attractive address. When barely thirty years of age, he was elected prose- enting attorney of the Thirty-sixth Judicial District of Indiana, serving in that capacity during 1878 and 1879. He established for himself during that term of office an envi- able reputation as an able and fearless offi- cial.
The next year, 1880, was held the his- torie convention of the republican party at Chicago, where the Stalwarts, under the
leadership of Roscoe Conkling, sought to force the nomination of the beloved Grant for the third time. Although it was a dis- tinetion invariably conferred upon the older members of the party, yet the people of Vaile's district elected him a delegate to this memorable gathering. There, as a young man, he saw and came into close personal contact with the giants in intellect whose names are enrolled on the pages of national history.
Although a great admirer of President Grant and warmly disposed toward the im- petuous and commanding Conkling, Vaile could not support their program. He voted for the precedent established by Washing- ton. and Garfield was nominated.
In 1882, Mr. Vaile came to Colorado, settling at Denver. Soon thereafter he formed a partnership with Senator Edward O. Wolcott (q. v.) and through their offices passed the most important litigation tried in the state. Upon the death of Senator Wol- cott in January, 1905, Mr. Vaile became gen- eral counsel for the Denver & Rio Grande railroad.
While the heavy responsibilities of his position as general counsel of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Company have large claims upon his time, it is yet a fact that the firm of which Mr. Vaile is now senior partner has figured in most of the im- portant law suits tried in this state during the last two decades.
Mr. Vaile was married August 10, 1875, at West Brookfield, Massachusetts, to Char- lotte M. White. Two sons and two daugh- ters are the result of the union, William N. Vaile, junior member of the firm of Vaile, McAllister & Vaile ; Gertrude Vaile, Louis F. Vaile and Lucretia Vaile.
Mr. Vaile is a member of the Denver Club, and has memberships in the University Club of Denver, the Denver Athletic Club and the Metropolitan Club of New York.
During his residence in Colorado, Mr. Vaile has not participated actively in poli- ties, although he is recognized as one of the strongest men in the republican party. In recognition of his ability his name has been suggested a number of times as the choice of his party for the high office of United States senator.
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DELOS ALLEN CHAPPELL
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DELOS ALLEN CHAPPELL.
CHAPPELL, DELOS ALLEN, civil engi- neer, capitalist, born in Williamson, Wayne county, N. Y., April 29, 1846, was the son of Allen Darwin and Lydia DeLano (Hart) Chappell. The family was originally of French extraction, later finding a home in England. The American ancestor in the paternal line was George Chappell, who emi- grated from London, England, March 16, 1634, in the ship "Christian," first settling at Windsor, Conn., thence removing in 1649, to New London, Conn., where some of the later generations of the family still reside. During their respective times, the family partici- pated in the American Revolution, the Mexi- can and Civil Wars. His father, Allen Dar- win Chappell, a farmer, (son of Betsy (Allen) Chappell, niece of Col. Ethan Allen of Vt., one of the heroes of the American Revolution) born in Rutland, Vt., May 7, 1815, died Jan. 24, 1899, held a captian's commission under William H. Seward, Governor of New York.
Delos A. Chappell, the son, attended a country school near Kalamazoo, Mich., until 14, prepared at Olivet College for the Uni- versity of Michigan, becoming a student at the latter in the fall of 1866. At the close of his junior year, owing to an accident that befell his father, he was compelled to leave the university, and take charge of the farm, residing there until 1873. That same year, he removed to Chicago where he opened an office as an engineer and contractor. While on business at Appleton, Wis., in 1879, he was approached by some citizens of Trinidad, Colo., who requested him to visit that town, with a desire that he construct water works for that place. Complying with their re- quest, he went to Trinidad that year, and built the water works as a private enterprise. On this, his first trip to Trinidad, he realized the wonderful resources of that region, the state and the west, which resulted later in his making that town his residence in 1883, after ten years of activity from his Chicago office, in the construction of public works in New England and the middle west.
At Trinidad, Mr. Chappell acquired a one
quarter interest in the First National Bank, and in addition to operating the city water works, became identified with the develop- ment of the coal and coke industry of south- ern Colorado. During this period (from 1883 to 1905) a number of mines and coke plants were organized or acquired in Las Animas, Huerfano, and Fremont counties, and were finally consolidated under the cor- porate name of the Victor Fuel Company, with an owned area of 30,000 acres of selected coal lands. In October, 1897, he sold the water works to the City of Trinidad, and in May, 1898, removed to Denver with the Victor Fuel Company offices. In the sum- mer of 1902, in company with H. J. Alexander, he organized the Capitol National Bank of Denver. He sold his interest in the Victor Fuel Company, in 1905, to J. C. Osgood. The next two years, he spent in Europe, in rest and recreation, returning to Denver in 1907. He then accepted the presidency and management of the Nevada-California Power Company and the Hydro-Electric Company, furnishing light and power in Nevada and southern California. Since 1898 he has made Denver his residence, spending a part of his time in southern California.
Faith in the resources of Colorado, to- gether with good business judgment, and with the strong executive force and ability to plan and carry out great enterprises, re- sulted in making Mr. Chappell one of the wealthy men of the state, and one of its most prominent citizens and financiers. He is a member of the Denver Club; Denver Country Club; and Santa Barbara (California) Coun- try Club.
Mr. Chappell married, Dec. 19, 1883, Miss May C., daughter of Alonzo and Grace E. Hastings of Trinidad, Colorado. Mrs. Chap- pell is a lady of many accomplishements, de- scended from an illustrious ancestry of the colonial period, and is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. They have two children: Jean Louise, an accomplished musician; and Delos Allen, Jr.
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CHARLES CLARK WELCH.
WELCH, CHARLES CLARK, capitalist, was born in Pamelia, Jefferson county, New York, June 14, 1830; he died in Jack- sonville, Florida, February 1, 1908, where he had gone for his health.
He was the son of Charles Welch, Jr., and Pamelia La Valley Welch. He was of French ancestry through the La Valley family, which
the founders of Norwich, Connecticut, and deputy governor of the Connecticut colony. His great grandfather, William Webb, served in the Revolution on the Battleship Trumbull in 1777, was taken prisoner by the British and was confined on the notorious British priso n- ship Jersey; from which, after untold hard- ships, he escaped. After the Revolution was
CHARLES CLARK WELCH
originally came from France and settled in Rhode Island, and was among the founders of Providence. On the paternal side he was of Scotch and English extraction. Mr. Welch was a descendent of elder William Brewster, who was the pastor of the May- flower Colony, and came with the Pilgrim Fathers to Plymouth in 1620. He was also a descendent of Major John Mason, one of
over he came to northern New York, where he was a sturdy pioneer.
Mr. Welch's father, Charles Welch, Jr .. was descended from a distinguished colonial family of Connecticut; was a farmer, and was the first white child born north of the Black River, in the State of New York. Charles Clark Welch, the son, alternated his attendance in the public schools with work
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on the farm. At the age of fifteen, he en- tered the Academy of Watertown, New York, and there prepared himself for the profession ... of teaching; which he successfully followed until 1850.
In March of that year, he sailed for Cali- fornia via the Isthmus of Panama, and ar- rived in San Francisco the latter part of May. For two years he engaged in success- ful placer mining at Auburn, Placer county, where he was part owner of the first quartz mill erected in that state. In June, 1852, he sailed for Australia, and after a voyage of sev- enty days, visiting the South Sea Islands en route, he landed at Sidney.
He engaged in successful mining opera- tions in New South Wales for one year. Then he sailed from Melbourne, via Cape Horn, reaching New York after a ninety days' voy- age.
In 1855, Mr. Welch located in Chicago where he engaged in the real estate and brok- erage business for five years.
In 1860 he crossed the plains by the way of Ft. Kearney on the first tri-weekly west bound coach from that place, arriving in Den- ver the latter part of March. He located in Gilpin county, where he employed a large number of men at placer mining in the Nevada and Russell Gulches. Subsequently he engaged in quartz mining on the Kansas, German, and Burrows lodes. For several years he continued his operations in Gilpin, Clear Creek, Park and Boulder Counties, also operating large saw-mills at the same time.
In 1870 Mr. Welch became interested in railroad building. He was one of the pro- jectors and builders of the old Colorado Cen- tral Railroad from Golden up Clear Creek Canon to Georgetown, and to Central City, and from Denver to Cheyenne and Julesburg. It was a great undertaking to finance and to construct this road in those days, as the heavy mountain grades of Clear Creek Canon were a problem to overcome. After this railroad was completed Mr. Welch was vice-president and general manager for several years, when the road was sold and is now a part of the Colorado Southern system. He was also one of the directors of the Santa Fe Railroad.
Mr. Welch was one of the first to discover coal in Boulder county. In 1877 he sunk the first shaft at Louisville, Boulder county, hav- ing previously discovered a ten foot vein of coal at a depth of two hundred feet.
When constructing the Colorado Central railroad from Denver to Cheyenne, while boring a well to supply water for the men, this vein of coal was discovered and was subse- quently developed. This was known as the Welch coal mine and was owned and operated
by him for many years. He was president of the Louisville Coal Mining Company and was one of the principal stockholders. These mines are now operated by the Northern Coal and Coke Company.
Mr. Welch was a student and promoter of irrigation, of which he was one of the pioneer developers and was the owner of extensive farming interests. In 1878, he was one of the organizers and the president of the Handy Ditch Company of Larimer county. This ditch now irrigates more than twelve thousand acres of land. He had large tracks of farm- ing land in Larimer county, and in one year he raised on his extensive farms, fifty thous- and bushels of grain. In 1880, he built what is known as the Welch Irrigation Ditch, by constructing flumes in the rocks in Clear Creek Canon, and taking the water from Clear Creek, two and one-half miles above Golden and bringing it down almost to Den- ver.
In 1891, Mr. Welch was one of the pro- moters and builders of the Denver, Lakewood and Golden Railroad. He was for many years its president. This is an electric trolley road now, known as the Inter-Mountain Road, operating between Golden and Denver.
In 1872, Mr. Welch was elected a member of the territorial legislature from Jefferson county, and filled that position with credit to himself and benefit to his constituents. He introduced the bill for the establishment of the State School of Mines at Golden and gave the ground upon which the first building of that institution was built. He took great interest in and worked for the passage of the bill to establish this school, fully appreciating its importance to the mining industry of the state. For many years after the establish- ment of the school, he served as trustee, and was promptly on hand at each session of the legislature, watching and working for the interests of the school.
Mr. Welch belonged to the Society of the Sons of the Revolution, and was a thirty- second degree Mason.
Mr. Welch married May 22nd, 1878, Miss Rebecca Jeannette Darrow, daughter of H. S. Darrow of Michigan, a pioneer and one of the leading citizens of that state, and of distinguished colonial descent.
Mrs. Welch is a Mayflower descendent : She is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution; the Connecticut So- ciety of Mayflower descendants, and the So- ciety of the Daughters of 1812, and some of the best literary clubs of the state.
They have two children, Charles Clark and Jeannette Welch, wife of Dr. Henry Strong Denison.
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CHARLES BOETTCHER
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CHARLES BOETTCHER.
BOETTCHER, CHARLES, president of the Colorado Portland Cement Company, and vice-president of the Great Western Sugar Company, was born April 8, 1854, at Coellada, Germany. His father was Fred Boettcher, a merchant of that place.
The boyhood days of young Boettcher were spent in his native town, where he at- tended school and gymnasium and laid the foundation in mental and physical training that was to carry him to success in the new world.
At the age of seventeen he landed in America and proceeded almost immediately across the continent. He reached Cheyenne in 1871 and engaged in the hardware busi- ness. At that time it seemed as though the Wyoming city was destined to become the metropolis of the Inter-Mountain region and the pretensions of the cities to the south were jeered at by the citizens of the sister state. But with characteristic German prudence, Mr. Boettcher looked into the future from all angles, and although Cheyenne had the advantage of all Colorado cities in being on the main line of a trans-continental railroad. he decided that the character and energy of the early Colorado citizens, applied to the wonderful natural resources of the state, would enable her to outstrip all rivals.
Having thus made up his mind, he lost no time in joining his fortunes with Colo- rado, and the next year, 1872, saw him in Greeley, the new colony of eastern settlers that had been but recently organized. The next few years he engaged in business be- tween Greeley and Fort Collins, and in 1874, he moved to Boulder. For five years he re- mained in the latter place, moving again in 1879 to Leadville, when news of the won- derful gold discoveries in that camp were given to the world.
While he had enjoyed uniform success up to this time, it was in Leadville that Mr.
Boettcher laid the foundations of the for- tune which was to place him in the front rank of Colorado capitalists. He remained in Leadville from 1879 to 1890 and during those years, in which he engaged in mercan- tile business, banking and mining, Mr. Boett- cher steadily prospered.
During this time Mr. Boettcher had be- come heavily interested financially in Den- ver. He was a large owner of Denver real estate and had invested in banking and other securities of the capital city. In 1890, he moved to Denver, to make that city his per- manent residence.
It was about the year 1900 that Mr. Boettcher, C. S. Morey and several other far- sighted men of business organized the Great Western Sugar Company and built the first factory for the manufacture of beet sugar. From that beginning the company has grown by leaps and bounds until now there are operated eleven factories, while they own a railroad line and count among their assets a large acreage of the best lands in Colorado.
Apparently, there is no limit to the busi- ness activities of Mr. Boettcher. Whatever makes for the industrial and commercial development of Denver and Colorado finds him an enthusiastic supporter.
He was one of the organizers and heaviest stockholders of the Western Packing Com- pany. When the Colorado Portland Cement Company was organized, Mr. Boettcher was one of the most liberal subscribers and was selected as its president. He is also presi- dent of the Cement Securities Companies. In addition to all these engrossing affairs of business, Mr. Boettcher is constantly making investments in Denver real estate.
Mr. Boettcher is a member of the Denver Club, Denver Athletic Club, Denver Country Club and Colorado Traffic Club. He is mar- ried and has a son, Claude Boettcher (q. v.), and a daughter, Ruth Boettcher.
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CHARLES BREWER KOUNTZE
CHARLES BREWER KOUNTZE.
K OUNTZE, CHARLES BREWER, banker, born March 4, 1844, in Osnaburg, Ohio, died in Denver, Colorado, November 18, 1911, was the son of Christian and Margaret Kountze. His ancestors had been prominent in the establishment of the Reformation in 1524. Christian Kountze, his father, a native
of Saxony, and a Lutheran, as his family had been before him, immigrated to the United States when a young man. Although plain and practical, he was a cultured gen- tleman, a student of the arts and sciences, philosophy, and the higher branches of learn- ing, and was esteemed by all who knew him.
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The family consisted of twelve children, seven boys and five girls. Two of the sons died in infancy, and another, William, when twenty-three years of age, died in Nebraska. Christian Kountze located in Osnaburg, east- ern Ohio, where he owned a farm and a country store. When his sons, Augustus and Herman, each reached the age of six- teen, he took them into partnership, and they were thus given a practical business educa- tion. When Charles B. Kountze was sixteen, his father also made him a partner, he re- ceiving the same training in good business methods that had been accorded to his older brothers.
In the meantime, Augustus had proceeded to Iowa, in 1855, and continuing to Omaha, then a small town on the American fron- tier, where he established a small banking institution. Here he was joined by his brother Herman, and later by Enther, the latter serving his business apprenticeship with them, instead of working with his father, as the other brothers had done.
In the spring of 1862, Luther located in Denver, opening a banking and gold buying office in Walter S. Cheesman's (q. v.) drug store on Blake street, which was the second bank of the Kountze Brothers. This drug store being destroyed in the great Denver fire of April 19, 1863, Mr. Kountze reopened his bank in the mercantile house of Tootle & Leach, and in 1865, was elected city treas- urer of Denver, serving one year. In 1864, when only nineteen years of age, Charles B. Kountze joined his brother, Luther, in Den- ver, becoming a partner in 1866. In the spring of 1864, the Kountze Brothers erected a brick building on the north-west corner of Fifteenth and Market streets, in which their bank was established in a home of its own. In 1866, they organized the Colorado National Bank. They also founded the Rocky Mountain National Bank at Central City, Colorado, from which they later with- drew. Their Omaha branch had already become the First National Bank of that city. In 1867, the Omaha house had established a bank at Cheyenne, which was disposed of later. Charles B. Kountze, in 1866, became a partner in the firm, and assumed control and management of the two banks at Denver and Central City. In that same year, Luther Kountze visited Europe, and, on his return, established in New York City, in 1868, the third great banking house of the Kountze Brothers-Luther, Augustus, Herman and Charles B .- names all known in banking and financial circles the world over, steady and unshaken amid panics, wars, and commer- cial disasters.
When the Colorado National Bank was organized in 1866, the officers were as fol- lows: President, Luther Kountze; vice- president, Joseph H. Goodspead; cashier, Charles B. Kountze. In 1871, Charles B. Kountze was elected president of the Colo- rado National, being succeeded by William B. Berger as cashier. From 1871 until his death, Mr. Kountze remained the president of this bank. He continued through life to retain his interest in the First National at Omaha, and that of the Kountze Brothers, New York City. He has been the promoter of and interested in many large and suc- cessful enterprises in the west; was treas- urer of the old Denver, Texas and Fort Worth railroad; was interested in the con- struction of the Denver, South Park and Pacific road; and also in the building of the Globe Smelter in Denver. He was city treas- urer of Denver, 1868-1871, and for a number of years was treasurer of the Denver school board, but he never sought or aspired to public office. Although interested in many enterprises, yet all of these were secondary with Mr. Kountze, who, first of all, was a banker. He and his brothers all followed that policy, and hence, amid the great finan- cial disasters that have wrecked many an- other and old established institution, the three banking houses of the Kountze Bro- thers have stood firm, safe, and solid. High in the list of those who were empire build- ers in the west, stands the name of Charles B. Kountze. Quiet, unassuming, dignified, but always the genial friend and companion, generons, and public-spirited, he was be- loved in private life by the many who knew him and had the honor of his friendship.
Mr. Kountze married, in Denver, Colo- rado, September 26, 1871, Miss Mary, daugh- ter of Joseph H. and Mary (Ensign) Esta- brook. Her father was a Denver pioneer, and her ancestors have been among the illus- trious and distinguished families of this country from the colonial period. Mrs. Kountze is descended from William Brad- ford, who came over in the Mayflower, and for thirty-one years was governor of Ply- mouth Colony. Another ancestor was Cap- tain John Ensign, who served with the Con- necticut troops in the American Revolution. Mrs. Kountze is a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants, Colonial Dames, Daughters of the American Revolution, and United States Daughters of 1812.
To Mr. and Mrs. Kountze were born the following children : Harold Kountze ; Mary, wife of J. D. Skinner; Lina, Mrs. Samuel A. Ritter Brown; and Florence, the widow of J. W. Best.
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JOHN KERNAN MULLEN.
M ULLEN, JOHN KERNAN, miller, real estate, and farming, born June 11, 1847, in Ballinasloe, County of Galway, Ireland, was the son of Dennis (born 1806, died in Denver, March, 1886) and Ellen (Mulrey) Mullen. When about nine years of age, he came to this country with his people. The family settled in Oneida county, New York, where he attended the public schools. But
of the plant, both from the meehanieal and financial standpoint. His employers, appre- ciative of industry and sturdiness, steadily advaneed him from one position to another, until at the age of twenty, he was placed in charge of the mill as head miller. In that year, he left Oriskany Falls, where he had thus been employed, and started west, mak- ing a brief stay in Illinois. Then, removing
JOHN KERNAN MULLEN
early in life, he started out to make his own way in the world, and is a splendid example of the wonderful opportunities for sueeess open to every young man in this country.
At the age of fourteen, he went to work in a flour mill in Oneida county. He was not only energetie and useful, but made a study of the milling business, pieking up the details, here and there, as to the operation
to Kansas, after stopping for a few months at Atchison, he located at Troy, in that state, where he remained, until he came to Denver in 1871.
From the very first, he entered upon a career in this eity that led to the attain- ment of a high position in business and finan- eial eireles. Shortly after his arrival in Den- ver, he was placed in charge of the flour mill
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of Shackleton & Davis, Eighth and Curtis streets, now known as the Eagle mill. In 1875 he started in business for himself, and leased the Star mill in North Denver, and conducted the business under the firm name of Mullen & Seth (Theodore). In 1876, Mr. Mullen bought his partner's interest, and operated the plant, under the name and style of J. K. Mullen & Company, the "company" being merely nominal. With increasing trade and business, he leased in 1877-1878, the Iron Clad and the Sigler mills, and estab- lished a water power plant. In 1878, he was enabled to broaden his field of operations, and purchased the Excelsior flour mill, Eighth and Lawrence, from John W. Smith. This plant he enlarged and remodeled, con- ducting a successful and prosperous busi- ness until 1885. In 1880, he bought the ground and built the first grain elevator in the state, now known as the Hungarian Ele- vator, which is now operated in connection with the Hungarian flour mills, on Eighth and Wazee streets, and began making the famous Hungarian patent brand of Colorado flour.
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