VERY REV. MODEST WIRTNER, O. S. B.
Mardos Collection
VERY REV. MODEST WIRTNER, O. S. B.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 215
When nineteen years of age the subject of this sketch secured a position as teacher of a school in Maine. Two years later, in 1873, he removed west to Michigan and taught school in Midland, at the same time carrying on the study of medicine. In 1876 he entered the medical department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, from which he graduated in March, 1879, with the degree of M. D. He came to Colorado on the 31st day of the same month and settled in Boulder, where he has since engaged in professional practice, his location being No. 1425 Pine street. At one time he was a director in the Boulder Electric Light Company and is still interested in it.
In this city Dr. Bartlett married Miss Mary Holbrook, who was born in Belleville, Ill., a daughter of John Holbrook. She was graduated from the Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio, and for a time engaged in teaching school. The four children of Dr. and Mrs. Bartlett are: Myrl, Chenery, Mary and Reuella. For years Dr. Bartlett was a member of the school board and during much of the time he served as secretary. When he came here there was but one school-house, and while he was a director the Mapleton, Highland and Pine street schools were erected, and many improvements introduced. For three years he has held the office of county physician and for a similar period served as city treasurer. He was made a Mason in Midland, Mich., and is now connected with Boulder Chapter No. 45, A. F. & A. M., Boulder Chapter No. 7, R.A.M., and Mount Sinai Commandery No. 7, K. T. His wife is identified with the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the Presbyterian Church, being a leading member of both organizations, with which he is also in hearty sympathy. In politics he is a silver Republican and professionally holds membership in the Colorado State Medical Society.
ACRED HEART CATHOLIC CHURCH, of Boulder. The history of the Catholic church in Boulder County dates back to an early period in its history. The first priest to visit the county and hold services was Rev. Joseph P. Machebeuf, V. G., who passed through here in January, 1861, going north. On the 9th of that month he celebrated mass at the Big Thompson and after services baptized a child. This was the first baptism in the then unorganized western district of the territory of Nebraska. During the first part of March he made another such visit. January 7, 1862, Rev. John B. Raverdy passed through the county going north. He celebrated the sacrifice of mass at the residence of John DeBaker, near the mouth of South Boulder Canon, and after the services were over he baptized two children. September 7, 1866, Rev. Joseph P. Machebeuf V. G., held services at Boulder and baptized two. These two priests ministered to the spiritual wants of Catholics in this region, coming here when opportunity offered. In August, 1867, Father John U. Faure came here, and from October, 1868, to May, 1869, Father John O. Keefe served the people. From February, 1870, to September, 1872, Father Thomas McGrath was with the little band of worshipers; in May, 1871, Father Vincent de Vilas; from September, 1872, to November, 1873, Father Henry Robinson was here. During that year a mission was given here by Rev. J. M. Schneider, C. S. S. R., then followed Father Louis B. Lebouc from March to September of that year, after which, two mouths or more, Father J. H. Defouri, of Kansas, ministered to the Catholics, and from October, 1873, to 1874, followed Father L. Duroc. The two original promoters of the work came frequently to preach to the people and perform the ordinance of baptism. Then Father Hugh A. Quigley lived in South Boulder for six months. In the spring of 1868, Rev. J. DeBlieck accompanied Father Machebeuf to South Boulder and for several months made regular visits to his fellow Belgian countrymen.
The first resident priest was Father Vincent Reitmayr, who came herein August, 1875. From here he attended the missions at South Boulder, St. Vrain, Fort Collins, Longmont, Erie, Magnolia, Gold Hill, Caribou, etc. Like his predecessors, he was obliged to hold services in private houses, but later preached in the old city hall and in Allen hall. In September, 1877, Father A. J. Abel took charge of the mission. Through John O'Brien he obtained the present site for a church and at once began to build. On Christmas day of 1877 he celebrated midnight mass at the Sacred Heart of Mary Church, South Boulder, from which point he rode to Erie and celebrated early mass, finally arriving in Boulder, where he celebrated high mass for the first time in the new
6
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. Sacred Heart Church. The four walls of the church were completed, a few rough boards laid as a floor, while a few overhead kept out the hot rays of the sun; though on that day the sun did not shine, for the sky was cloudy and the wind sharp and blustering. This building yet stands and is 24x55 feet in dimensions.
In March, 1881, Father J. W. Cummings became pastor, but in December, 1882, on account of illness, Father G. Raber was made his assistant, and remained to June, 1883. In October, 1882, Father Edmund Ley took charge. Father John I. Riordan assisted him during January and February, 1884. In April Rev. Lawrence M. Halton became pastor, but in July resigned in favor of Father Patrick J. Gleeson. Father G. F. Emblen followed in June, 1885, and remained two months. In August, 1885, Rev. Godfrey Raber took charge, and in December, 1887, Rev. Rhaban Gutman, O. S. B., followed, and was assisted by Father M. Wirtner, O. S. B., until February, 1888. March 23, 1889, Rev. Eusebius Geiger, O. S. B., took charge of the congregation, and in July was succeeded by Father Gutman, who had previously held the pastorate. Very Rev. Placid Pilz, O. S. B., took charge August 19, 1889, and in July, 1890, he removed the partition in the church, enlarging the interior by one-third of its former size. In October, 1894, Father Henry Hohman, O. S. B., became pastor, followed May 25, 1896, by Very Rev. Modest Wirtner, O. S. B., the present pastor. The building when erected was too large for the congregation, while now it is not large enough for the large number of Boulder Catholics.
Church history in Boulder County may be summed up, in brief, as follows; 1871, Coal Creek visited by Father McGrath; 1875, Canfield visited by Father Vincent; 1878, Caribou visited by Father Abel; 1879, Louisburg (now Louisville) visited by Father Abel; 1880, Nederland, by Father Abel; 1879, Fossil Creek, near Caribou, and Sauna, by Father Abel; 1885, Langford (also called Marshall) by Father Godfrey Raber, also, during the same year, Crisman and Gold Hill; 1889, Ward, by Rev. I. Geiger (however, there had been a priest at Ward before, who between 1862-66 had built the frame part of the church, but the town went down and records of the time and the priest were lost); 1890, Sunset, Father Hohman; 1893, Brainerd's (or Talcott) Camp, by Father Hohman; 1893, Copper Rock, by Father Hohman; 1897, Springdale, by Very Rev. M. Wirtner; 1897, Magnolia, by Father Cornelius Enders, O. S. B., and 1898, Eldora, by Father Wirtner.
In 1867 Rev. J. P. Machebeuf, V. G., bought one hundred and sixty acres on South Boulder, six miles south of Boulder and four miles northwest of Louisville. In the fall of 1874 he built a church on the land, the Sacred Heart of Mary, which was 22x45 in dimensions. The cemetery for the Catholics of the county is also at that place. The list of priests in charge is the same as that for Boulder, until 1888, when Father Eisesser, O. S. B., took charge. In October of that year he was followed by Father Hohman, under whose care it continued until May 25, 1896, when Father Wirtner took this charge, in connection with the one at Boulder, having charge until February, 1898. From that time Rev. Michael Rank, O. S. B., had charge until May 8, when he gave it up, since which time the people attend either at Boulder or Louisville.
The Catholic Church at Louisville was established by Father Abel, and the church was built by Rev. Godfrey Raber, who continued as priest in charge until November, 1887, after which Father Wirtner had the pastorate until February, 1888, and then Rev. C. Elsesser succeeded to the pastorate. In October of the same year Father Hohman took charge, and in July, 1889, he was followed by Rev. R. Schrembs, O. S. B. November 4, 1892, Father Wirtner took charge, and he was succeeded May 25, 1896, by Father B. Staudigel. September 23, 1896, Rev. Macar Schmidt became pastor. October 22, 1896, Father Cornelius Enders became pastor and has continued to the present time. The original edifice was enlarged in 1894 by Father Wirtner and was made 24x80, with a sacristy adjoining 24x12.
St. Benedict's Church at Ward was built in 1897 by Father Cornelius Enders, who has been in charge since. The Longmont Church was established in 1882 and has since been in successful operation. The Catholic Church in Boulder has the various societies usually to be found in large and progressive churches. There is, in connection with the church, a school with fifty advanced pupils and fourteen teachers (Sisters of Charity); the school is known as St. Gertrude's Academy. The first superior of the priory of the
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Sacred Heart was Rev. R. Gutman, who was followed by Rev. P. Pilz, and May 25, 1896, Father Wirtner became prior.
Very Rev. Modest Wirtner, O. S. B., was born in Carrolltown, Cambria County, Pa., March 20, 1861. His father, John Wirtner, was born in Loretto, the same county, and was a son of John, Sr., a native of Germany and proprietor of a tannery at Loretto. John, Jr., was a hardware merchant in Carrolltown, a place named in honor of Archbishop Carroll. He continued in business there until he retired from active labors. He is now living in St. Augustine, the same county. His wife, Catherine, was born in Loretto, a daughter of Augustine Farenbocher, a farmer who came to this country from Germany. His descendants have changed the spelling of the family name to Farabach. John Wirtner, Jr., and his wife had eleven children and of these nine are still living. They are all active in the Catholic Church and one daughter is a Sister of Mercy in Pittsburg. Two cousins are priests, O. S. B.
The education of Father Wirtner was carried on for a time in St. Benedict's parish school. In 1873 be entered St. Vincent's College in Westmoreland County, Pa., and remained a student there until his graduation, in the classical course, in 1880. At the same time be entered the order to which he now belongs, O. S. B., and July 11, 1881, made a profession of his desire to enter the priesthood. He took the degree of philosophy and theology at St. Vincent's Seminary and was ordained July 8, 1886, at St. Vincent's Church by Bishop Phelan of Pittsburg. His first pastorate was St. Mary's Church, Elk County, Pa., where he remained as priest until he came to Boulder, assisting here and taking charge of the work in Louisville. December 23, 1887, was the date of his arrival in Colorado, where he has since make his home. On the 17th of February of the following year he was placed in charge of the church at Breckenridge, Summit County, where he remained until March, 1890, and then took a charge in Park County. After January, 1891, he combined the work in Park and Summit Counties and remained at the head of both until June 13, 1892, when be went to Pueblo. Six months later he came to Boulder. In November, 1892, he took charge of the work at Louisville, Erie, Ward and mountain missions. May 25, 1896, he was made pastor and prior of Sacred Heart Church, where he has an able assistant in Rev. Cornelius Enders. The latter was born in Bavaria, December 7, 1866. He received his education principally in St. Vincent's College, where he took the regular classical course. July 11, 1887, he entered the order. He was ordained to the holy priesthood, September 23, 1892, in St. Vincent's Church, Bishop Phelan of Pittsburg officiating, and was stationed at Peru, Ill., as an instructor in St. Bede College. His next location was with St. Mary's Church in Allegheny City, Pa. In October, 1896, he came to Colorado, and has since been connected with the churches of Boulder County.
OL. S. K. HOOPER. The family represented by this leading citizen of Denver has been identified with American history for many generations. The lineage is traced through D. M. Hooper (born in Durham, Me., November 3, 1802, died in New Albany, Ind., September 23, 1880) and Nehemiah Hooper (born in Manchester Township, Essex County, Mass., September 3, 1773, died in Durham, Me., May 10, 1840) to David Hooper (also a native of Manchester Township, born June 9, 1745, died in Freeport, Me., February, 19, 1835). The last-named was a descendant of English ancestors who settled at Cape Ann about 1700. In 1763 he married Rachel Story, a relative of the jurist of that name. Some years later, at the opening of the Revolution, he enlisted in the American army and took part in the battle of Bunker Hill, as well as in numerous other memorable engagements of the war. Upon being honorably discharged he removed to Freeport, Me., where he died at the age of eighty-nine years.
Col. Jonathan Mitchell, of whom our subject is a lineal descendant, was born in Hingham, Plymouth County, Mass., in 1723, and died at North Yarmouth in 1821. During the Revolution he was colonel of a regiment in which were his three sons. Some time before the old French war, probably about 1748, he removed from the southern part of Massachusetts to Yarmouth, Me., where he and other settlers were so troubled by Indians that they were obliged to take refuge in the blockhouse. The trouble with the savages continued during the French war that closed in 1759. He died about 1821, at the
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. age of ninety-eight. His son, Bela Mitchell, was born at North Yarmouth, Cumberland County, Me., in 1752, and died at Martinique, West Indies, in 1786. He, with other members of his family, served in the Revolution, after which he returned to his occupation as a sailor. While in command of a vessel in the West India trade he fell a victim to yellow fever in 1786. Some years before this he married Susannah Sweat in Newburyport, Mass., and during their residence in Salisbury their daughter, Susannah, was born, in 1783. This child, after her father's death, was adopted by her grandfather, Col. Jonathan Mitchell, with whom she remained until her marriage to Nehemiah Hooper. She died in Durham, Me., in 1860. Their son, Dummer Mitchell Hooper, was born in Durham November 3, 1802, and died in New Albany, Ind., September 23, 1880. He married Annabella Brown, who was born in Baltimore November 3, 1813, and became his wife November 3, 1832. She is still living at the old homestead, where she has resided since 1834.
The father of Mrs. Annabella Hooper was Edward Brown, a descendant of Absalom Barney, brother of Commodore Barney, who removed from Baltimore to Louisville and engaged in freighting between that city and Pittsburg. Finally, in his old age and with ample means, he retired to New Albany, where he died about 1857, at the age of eighty-four. He and three brothers, Nicholas, George and a third whose name is not known, took part in the war of 1812 and he was in service for a time before that war. George was a famous preacher and author, and one of the most prominent ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Ohio. Edward married Miss Elizabeth Kemp, and it was her brother, Shadrach Kemp, for whom our subject was named.
In 1850 D. M. Hooper went to California overland, with ox-teams outfitted at St. Joe. His wagon box for the trip he built in the form of a flat bottom boat, so that it might be used in crossing streams. The idea was an excellent one. It was used as a ferry boat on the Humboldt River and reimbursed its owner for the entire expense of the trip. From March to August he engaged in the steamboat business, building boats for the Sacramento River and being located in San Francisco. In 1852 he returned to Indiana, where he resumed boat building; and during the same year he visited Maine for the first time since boyhood. The boats that he built were used for the steamboat trade, but the outbreak of the Civil war rendered the business unprofitable and he retired. He was prominent in local affairs, also served for several terms as a member of the city council and for two terms as mayor of New Albany. While in Evansville, Ind., he was taken sick and at once returned home, where he died soon afterward. He was buried with Masonic honors, having been a thirty-third degree Mason and a member of that order from boyhood. He is said to have been a fluent writer, with an easy and graceful diction that made his articles interesting. During early years he was a Whig, and after the war he became a Republican, being the first member of that party ever elected mayor of New Albany.
In the family of D. M. Hooper were seven children. Susan E. resides in New Albany. Rev. William Story Hooper was formerly president of a college, later was pastor in the Methodist Episcopal denomination, then served as an elder, and is now retired. David Edward Hooper, who was in the United States navy, was engineer on the famous "Queen of the West," that ran down the "Vicksburg." After the ship was wrecked he made his escape on a bale of cotton. On retiring from the navy be became a contractor, and is now superintendent of bridges for the Louisville Southern Railroad, with headquarters at Lawrenceburg, Ky. Shadrach Kemp was next in order of birth; and younger than he were three daughters, Mrs. Frances Taylor, a widow residing in New Albany; Mrs. Maria M. Smith, who died in New Albany in 1875; and Eleanor M., also of New Albany.
The subject of this sketch was born in New Albany, Ind., May 30, 1841. In boyhood he learned the steamboat blacksmith's trade, and in the winter seasons, while learning his trade, he ran the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers from 1856 to 1861, part of the time as cabin boy and later as third engineer. In 1861, after having been for a time on the steamer "John Briggs," he returned home, and enlisted for three months' service in the Twelfth Indiana Infantry, but the quota was filled, and the company disbanded. He then enlisted in Company E, Twenty-third Indiana Infantry, June 1, 1861, was mustered in as corporal of the company July 29, 1861, received
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promotion to quartermaster-sergeant of the regiment March 1, 1863, and was commissioned first lieutenant and adjutant April 14, 1864. The regiment was organized at New Albany July 27-29 1861, and left for Paducah, Ky., August j,; it was attached to the Second Brigade, Third Division, Army of Tennessee, February-March, 1862, Third Brigade, Third Division, to November, 1862; Third Brigade, Third Division, right wing, Thirteenth Corps, Department of the Tennessee, to January, 1863; First Brigade, Third Division, Seventeenth Corps, to September, 1863; Third Brigade, Fourth Division, Seventeenth Corps, to February, 1864; First Brigade, Fourth Division, Seventeenth Corps, to April, 1865. He was on duty at Paducah until February, 1862, meantime marching to the relief of Grant at Belmont, Mo., November 212, 1861, was at Fort Henry, Tenn., January 2-14, 1862, took part in the operations against Fort Henry February 2-5, and against Fort Donelson February 12-16; accompanied the expedition to Yellow Creek March 14-17; took part in the battle of Shiloh April 6-7; the advance on and siege of Corinth, Miss., April 17-May 30; was on duty at Purdy and Bolivar until September, taking part in the action at the former place August 30; marched to Iuka September 1-19; took part in the battle of Iuka September 19-20; the battle of Metamora, Hatchie's River, October 5; the pursuit to Ripley October 6-12; Grant's Central Mississippi campaign, operations on the Mississippi Central Railroad to Oxford and Grenada, Miss., November 26, 1862, to January 10, 1863; moved to Colliersville, Tenn.; thence to Memphis, Tenn., January 20, 1863, and to Lake Providence, La., February 21; moved to Milliken's Bend April 17; thence to Rowensburg and Grand Gulf April 25-30; was at the battle of Port Gibson May 1; Bayou Pierrie May 2-3; Bruinshurg May 6; battle of Raymond May 12; Jackson May 14; Champion Hills May 16, where his horse was killed under him; Big Black River May 17; siege of Vicksburg May 18-July ; assault on Vicksburg May 19-22; surrender of Vicksburg July 4 and on duty there until February, 1864, took part in the expedition to Monroe, La., August 28-September 1, 1863; the expedition to Canton October 12-22; the Meridan campaign February 3-March 5, 1864; Baker's Creek February 5; Meridan February 14-15; Canton February 26; on veteran's furlough until April; moved to Bird's Point, Mo., thence to Pittsburg Landing, Tenn., from there in a short time marched back to Acworth, Ga., via Huntsville, Ala., May 5-June 8; operations against Kenesaw Mountain June 9-30; Busby Mountain June 15-17; Big Shanty June 17; assault on Kenesaw Mountain June 27, where his horse was killed; Nickajack Creek, July 6-8, where another horse was killed; Chattahootchie River July 8-12; Decatur July 19; Leggett's Bald Hill July 20-21; battle of Atlanta July 22; siege of Atlanta July 22-September 2 Ezra Chapel July 28; Utoy Creek August 5-7; was acting major of the regiment from August 2, 1864, to April 5, 1865; took part in the flank movement on Jonesboro, August 25-30, 1864; the battle of Jonesboro (temporarily in command of regiment) August 31-September 1; Lovejoy Station September 2-6; pursued Hood into Alabama October 3-26; Snake Creek Gap October 13; marched to the sea November 15-December 10; was at Oconee River November 24-25; Ogeechee River December 7-9; siege of Savannah December 10-21; campaign of the Carolinas January-April, 1865; Pocolalego, S. C., January 14-16; Salkeholdue Swamps February 3-5; South Edisto River February ; North Edisto River February 12-13; Congaree Creek February 15; Columbia February 16-17; Cherow March 2-3; Fayetteville, N. C., March 11; battle of Bentonville March 19-21; occupation of Goldsboro, March 23; was mustered out April 5, 1865, at Goldsboro, N. C., and honorably discharged.
It will thus be seen that the connection of Colonel Hooper with the army was one reflecting the highest credit upon his valor and patriotism. From first to last he was unswerving in his allegiance to the Union, and on many a hard-fought battlefield he proved the depth of his devotion to his country. On returning home be resumed the pursuits of civic life. January 1, 1866, he began his connection with the railroad, accepting a position as clerk in the general ticket office of the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago Railroad, which he filled until March, 1867. He then became terminal agent for the Union Pacific when the end of its track was at North Platte. During, the Indian trouble in October, 1867, he was in the government service, in charge of the Indian supplies, which he distributed. He then returned to New Albany and in November became chief clerk in the general ticket office of the Louis-
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. vile, New Albany & Chicago Railroad, but in March of the following year was made general passenger and ticket agent of the same road at New Albany, retaining the position until February, 1873. December 1, 1873, he was chosen general passenger agent for the Fort Wayne, Jackson & Saginaw (now a part of the Lake Shore) Railroad.
As general passenger agent for the Hannibal and St. Joe road Colonel Hooper established his headquarters at Hannibal January 1, 1880. Later he removed his headquarters to Kansas City, where he continued in the same capacity until May, 1884. On the 15th of that month he accepted the position of general passenger agent for the Central of Iowa, with which he remained until June 1, 1884, and then became general passenger agent for the Denver & Rio Grande, his present position. While connected with the Hannibal & St. Joe road he was frequently in Colorado and took such a liking to the state that he was glad to accept a position in Denver. In September, 1881, he was at Toltec Gorge, at the time of the funeral of James A. Garfield and it was through his effort that the Garfield monument was erected at this point.
At New Albany, Ind., May 17, 1865, Colonel Hooper married Miss Nancy Welch, who was born in Harrison County, Ind., a daughter of Morgan Welch, who was a native of Virginia and engaged in steamboat building in connection with our subject's father. He married Lucy Snyder, of Kentucky; her mother was a Miss Gail, whose father was a member of David Crockett's band of Indian fighters. The father of Morgan Welch was John Welch, who migrated west and engaged in farming in Harrison County, Ind., where he died at the age of about ninety years. Colonel and Mrs. Hooper have a son and daughter: Charles E., who is now an officer in the regular army, and Jean, Mrs. Page, who is a poet and author.
Colonel Hooper is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and in 1897 was colonel on the staff of General Clarkson. Twice he has represented the Loyal Legion as delegate to national conventions, and at this writing he is vice-commander of the order. He has served for a term as vice-president of the Colorado Society, Sons of the Revolution. During the administration of Governor A. W. McIntire of Colorado, he was a colonel on the latter's staff. For many years he has been identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a member of the Colorado board of the Omaha Exposition and was the originator of the festival of the mountain and plain, which has grown to be one of the most widely known annual celebrations of the west. From its inception he has been a leading director in the festival and chairman of important committees. He has taken an active interest in the work of the National Association of General Ticket Agents and years ago became recognized as one of the foremost workers in advanced lines of passenger and ticket business.
As an administrative officer in the special field which he has filled for more than a quarter of a century, Colonel Hooper has no superior. He is essentially practical in his business methods and his rare social qualities, keen discrimination and broad acquaintance not only with the passenger departments, but with men in general, have peculiarly fitted him for the responsibilities he has so ably filled. His military record, early in life, demonstrated that quality of his character which was destined to achieve for him success in any avenue of life he might have selected. As a railway officer he has the happy faculty of inspiring his associates and assistants with his own zeal and it is in a large measure due to this talent that he occupies a place in the front rank of the general passenger agents of the United States.
As intimated above, the ability of Colonel Hooper has not been restricted to the railway field. His talents have embraced a wider scope and it is doubtful whether any citizen of Colorado has contributed more, during the past fifteen years, toward the material advancement of the commonwealth than the subject of this sketch. In the broad acceptation of the term, he is a public-spirited citizen. He has been identified with every large movement originating in Colorado for the growth of the state that has been known since his advent in the mountain region. His work each year upon the board of the festival of the mountain and plain is a monument to his energy and keen business sagacity. No man has done more than he in presenting to the world the advantages of Colorado as a scenic and health-giving resort. Fertile in resources, never failing in expedients, popular to a degree rarely known by men even in positions of the largest responsi-
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bility, generous, loyal to friends and patriotic to country, the impression which he has made in Colorado is one which his children can remember with pride, a record which in future years will be pointed out as worthy of honest emulation. In the midst of a busy life, he has been an extensive reader of history and poetry and a close student of the philosophy of man's progress toward a higher ideal in government, religion and all that enhances the value of life. He is a fluent writer and a conversationalist of the highest order. His remarkable memory is stored with numberless thrilling incidents and reminiscences, whose presentation in book form has many times been urged upon him by his friends. It is to men of his character that Colorado and the mountain empire owe their prestige as the most promising field for activity and enterprise on the continent.
D. BEST, one of Denver's most extensive wholesale business men, came to this city in 1872 and has since been closely identified with the history of the place, having witnessed its location as the capitol of the state and its growth from a town of seven thousand inhabitants to a city which is the metropolis of the central west. With one exception he is, in point of years of business activity, the oldest wholesale grocery and grain dealer in the city. At first, upon settling here, he had many obstacles to overcome, many hardships to encounter. He began in business, on a small scale, on Fifteenth street, but about 1874 moved to Holiday street (now Market), where he carried on a commission business for several years. Gradually, however, he merged his business into a wholesale grocery business, and during the '80s he opened a grain, hay, flour and feed store on Nineteenth and Wynkoop streets, which he has since successfully conducted.
The early days of our subject's life were spent in Bath, Me., where he was brought into contact with sea-faring men. Through the influence of these associations he was led, at the age of fifteen, to ship before the mast, and for many years he followed the sea. After his first voyage he sailed to Charleston, S. C., where the ship was loaded with cotton for Liverpool, and at Liverpool the cotton was replaced by iron for New Orleans, also carrying many passengers. On the return trip, when in Providence channel, off Florida coast, the vessel struck some hidden rocks and went down. Over two hundred passengers and two of the crew were lost. After swimming about one mile, Mr. Best was picked up by a boat and that in turn was picked up by a brig, which took the men to New York. There he shipped on the "John C. Calhoun," which, about five days out from New York, was wrecked in the Bay of Fundy, but in this instance all hands were saved. They were taken to St. John's, and there he again secured employment as a sailor, but the master of the sunken ship refused to permit him to sail, insisting that he return home to see his mother. He did this, remaining at home until November, when he shipped on the ship "Clinton" for Turk's Island, near Cuba. While there, the vessel was anchored off the coral reefs, but a fierce gale came up and parted the chains, driving the ship on the reefs and splitting it in two. All hands were rescued and all went back home except our subject, who was determined to go onto New Orleans. While at Turk's Island his hammock was swung between two trees for a bed and home for three weeks. After a time an English mail steamer anchored off Turk's Island and as its quartermaster had been washed overboard they were glad to employ him for the position. He went with the ship to the island of St. Thomas and from there shipped back to the United States, landing in Boston.
From that city he shipped before the mast on the ship "Franconia" and went to New Orleans, thence returning to Boston as second mate. With the same vessel and in the capacity of mate he again crossed the Gulf of Mexico, but on reaching New Orleans he heard so much said about the great west that he determined to go thither. Accordingly he resigned his position and took passage on a steamer bound up the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers to Peoria, thence went by steam cars to Chicago, landing in that city during the cholera epidemic. After paying the hack fare to the hotel he had fifteen cents left. The landlord kindly consented to wait for his money, so he remained in the hotel for three weeks, and then went on the lakes as sailor between Chicago and Buffalo in the grain trade. In the autumn he was made second mate, a few months later was promoted to be mate, and the
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. promotion of his captain in the same summer raised him to the command of the vessel. He remained on the lakes until 1865, being master of the best vessels then used, among them the bark "Chicago Board of Trade." He was also in the iron ore trade on Lake Superior.
In Buffalo, in 1860, Mr. Best married Martha C. Hooper, a former schoolmate of his in Bath, Me. Not wishing to be away from his family so much, in 1865 he decided to quit the lakes. He then entered the ship chandler's business, which he carried on until the great fire of 1871. Being burned out at that time, with insurance only in home companies, he lost everything. He and his partner were chosen by the executive committee of the relief board as distributors of the relief funds, a work which kept him busy until the spring of 1872, and he then resumed his former business. However, his health had been poor for some months and, believing that the mountain region would relieve him of asthma, from which he suffered, he sold out his Chicago business and came to Denver. Here he has since built up a profitable and important business in grain and groceries. He has never sought public office and is inclined to be independent in politics, though leaning toward Republican principles. He has two daughters, Mrs. Frank H. Leonard and Mrs. J. McCullough Terry, both of whom reside in Denver; also two sons, Charles F. and John W., both of whom are associated with their father in his business.
EORGE E. BERMONT, senior member of the firm of Bermont & Zook, of Lafayette, Boulder County, is a wide-awake, progressive business man, of extended experience and undoubted ability. He assisted in establishing the mercantile business of which he has since been the leading spirit, and has succeeded in building up a large and lucrative trade in this locality.
Mr. Bermont is a native of Chambersburg, Pa., born November 19, 1866. He is on of six children whose parents are George and Clara (Gilbert) Bermont. The others are: Harry K., a tanner by trade and a resident of Chambersburg, Pa.; John G.. engaged in mining in Creede, Colo.; Alice, wife of William McCune, of Pennsylvania; Lizzie, Mrs. James Leonard, of Jeannette, Pa.; and Maggie, also a resident of Pennsylvania.
The senior Bermont was a native of Franklin County, Pa., born about 1833. When he was old enough he commenced learning the trade of a brick-mason, and after he had mastered it he continued to follow the calling for many years. After his family were grown and some of them had gone to other homes and states, he settled down upon a farm for a few years. Later he again worked at his trade for a period, and then retired with a comfortable competence.
The subject of this article received ordinary school advantages and when he was sixteen years of age he began earning his own living. For a year he worked on a Pennsylvania farm, and then, with his savings, paid his passage to northwestern Illinois, where he became the manager of a large farm. He kept this position for four years, by the end of which period he had a snug little sum of money to serve him as capital in future enterprises. Having determined to try his luck in Colorado, he landed in the town of Yuma, March 14, 1888, and soon bought a homestead relinquishment, pre-empted it, and after proving up on the place, went to Denver. There he passed a couple of weeks and then went home on a five weeks' visit to his relatives.
The attractions and business possibilities of Colorado seemed of much greater weight than those of his native state, and he soon returned to Denver. He obtained a position with the wholesale lumber firm of Bingham & Tage, in their order department, but in a short time he gave up the place and came to Lafayette, where for a year he operated a machine in one of the local mines. The Ingersoll Rock Drill Company then engaged him to assist in the erection of a plant at Thurber, Tex., to which point he went, but the firm soon desired him to go to Carbon Hill, Ala., to work for them there, and he declined, as he did not wish to live in the south. Therefore, resigning his position, he returned to Lafayette, and from that time until the spring of 1891 he was employed by the Hathaway Mercantile Company: That house having been bought out by the Lockwood Trading Company, young Bermont was retained by them in his old position until he resigned in May, 1892. When the new firm of Noble & Faull was organized our subject entered their employ and was with them for over a year. In the autumn of 1893 he became an employe of the Citizens' Coal and Coke Company. In the
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