OTTO A. ERDMAN.
Mardos Collection
OTTO A. ERDMAN.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 245
agent for the California and a number of other blocks. The first time he ever saw Denver was in 1860, when the now flourishing city was a small and insignificant hamlet. Since coming here he has borne a part in public enterprises and in projects for the benefit of the people. In politics he is a silver Republican. He attends the First Congregational Church, of which his wife is a member. He has two children, a son and daughter. Bert H., who was educated in the Denver high school and Cornell University, rose from the ranks in the regular army and is now second lieutenant of the Eighth Regiment of infantry, stationed at Fort Russell. The daughter, Maude M., is a graduate of the Denver high school.
TTO A. ERDMAN. It is the aim of the public-spirited citizen to do all within his power to advance the welfare of his city and state. Measures that he deems prejudicial to the prosperity of his fellow-citizens he firmly opposes, while he is as stanch in his support of plans for the highest good of the people. Mr. Erdman is a patriotic citizen, devoted to the welfare of Denver and unswerving in his allegiance to whatever will promote its moral, educational and religious interests. An attorney by profession, he finds time outside of his duties in office and court to take an active part in public affairs; and as chairman of the Christian citizenship department of the Denver Christian Endeavor Union he has not only ably represented the Endeavorers, but has also done much, by earnest speeches and personal influence, to create a sentiment against pernicious laws and win friends for the temperance movement.
Mr. Erdman is of German parentage. His father, Frederick C. Erdman, came to America at the age of eighteen, and being the son of well-to-do parents, he brought some means to this country with him. In Chicago he met and married Miss Wilhelmine M. Sonneman, who had come with her parents to the United States at the age of fourteen. It is a rather curious fact that his name, in English, means "Earth-man," while hers is "Sun-man," which made their marriage a union of the earth and sun. He invested his money in land in Jackson County, Iowa, where he and his wife settled and where their eldest child, Otto A., was born November 28, 1859.
From Jackson County he moved to Jones County, where he engaged in the mercantile business and also served as postmaster under President Grant, being the only Democratic postmaster in his part of the state. A little later on he moved back to Jackson County and engaged in the hotel business in the town of Preston. He is now living on the divide about twenty miles from Denver, where he carries on farm pursuits. In politics he is a Democrat and has always voted the party ticket in national elections except once, when, being a great admirer of James G. Blame, he cast his ballot for that illustrious statesman for president.
When the subject of this sketch was about eight years of age the family moved from the farm in Van Buren Township to the village of Sabula, Iowa, where he was a student in a private school about four years. He accompanied his parents to Jones County and assisted his father in the store and postoffice. In Preston he attended the public school, the principal of which had been his preceptor in the private school at Sabula. In the same school he also took a normal course, completing his studies at seventeen years. He then secured a position as teacher of a country school in Clinton County, Iowa, but after one term there removed with his family to Greene County, where he lived on a farm and engaged in teaching. For three years he taught in Greene and Carroll Counties, meantime devoting his leisure to the study of law. April 18, 1879, he was admitted to the bar, and afterward for one year practiced law in Rippey, Greene County, Iowa. His constant application to his studies impaired his health to such an extent that a change of climate and outdoor employment became necessary. He left Iowa and came to Colorado, where he secured a position with a mercantile house in Central City that enabled him to be out of doors most of the time. With the exception of the summer of 1883, when he engaged in prospecting, he remained with the firm five years. While in their employ he went to Kimball, S. Dak., and there, May 20, 1885, he married Miss Clara May Cummings, with whom he became acquainted in Rippey, Iowa. She was born in Whiteside County, Ill., the daughter of a Methodist minister who died before her birth.
September 1, 1886, Mr. Erdman came to Denver and became collector and city salesman for
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. N. B. McCrary & Co., this position giving him the outdoor exercise so necessary to his health. March 1, 1890, he embarked in the real-estate business, buying and selling city property, and would have been very successful in that enterprise had it not been for the panic. He is now engaged in the practice of law, of which he is very fond and in which he is meeting with success. He is still interested in silver and gold mining to some extent. He has invariably declined to become a candidate for public office, but is deeply interested in the issues of the age. His first presidential vote was cast for James A. Garfield, and he continued to vote the Republican national ticket until 1896, when he supported the silver cause. He is an elder in the North Presbyterian Church and previous to his connection with this church he served in a similar capacity in another congregation of the same denomination. He was made a Mason in 1881, in Jefferson, Greene County, Iowa, and now holds membership with Union Lodge No. 7, A. F. & A. M., in Denver.
NDREW HAGUS is a progressive farmer of section 24, township 1 south, range 67 west, Arapahoe County, his postoffice address being Brighton. He is one of the pioneers of northern Colorado, as he settled here in 1859 and experienced the many hardships which were the common lot of his early associates here. For long years he labored unremittingly until success crowned his efforts, and now, when approaching the decline of life, he is well off in this world's goods and enjoys the feeling that he has faithfully done his duty toward his family and his fellowmen.
A son of Joseph P. and Elizabeth (Leasch) Hagus, our subject was born in Prussia, Germany, near the celebrated old city of Cologne, June 27, 1837. He attended the government schools there until 1849, when he came to America with his parents. The family settled at Galena, Ill., and there the father, who was a tailor by trade, plied his accustomed vocation. Young Hagus acquired a knowledge of English in the Galena public schools, and at the age of fourteen he commenced to earn his own living by working in a nursery. At first he was paid $4 a month, later $6, and finally, for two years he received $8 a month. In 1857 he entered the employ of a mercantile firm and continued with them for nearly two years.
In 1859 Mr. Hagus, a Mr. Hazzard, and two other men, set out for Colorado, driving their own teams all the way. The trip, begun in March, took about two months, as they arrived at the present site of Denver in May. The little party proceeded to Deadwood and soon were busily occupied in mining. In June they removed to the Gregory mines, and after a few months of successful work they sold out and returned to Denver, with the intention of passing the winter there. They did not do so, however, but came to Brighton and began raising vegetables and supplies for the miners. They were the first in this line of business in this region and found ready sale for their products. They brought the first mowing machine, rake, etc., ever seen in this locality. In the fall of 1860 Mr. Hagus went to the mines, and, having made the discovery of a good one, sold out and began hauling supplies to the miners in different parts of the mountains. In 1863 he pre-empted his present farm under the homestead act. The amount of land granted to him at that time was a quarter-section, but he has since bought additional, and now owns two hundred acres, all under fine cultivation. He was one of the prime movers in the building of the Fulton Ditch and is a stockholder and the vice-president of the company. He also owns stock in the Brighton Mills, and has valuable Denver property in his name. Politically he is a loyal Republican, and voted first for Hayes in 1876. He has not been an office seeker, as he finds his time fully occupied in attending to his own business affairs and to his little family. In religious belief he is a Catholic, as were his ancestors, and he has been a member of the Brighton parish for years.
In 1864 Mr. Hagus returned to Galena, Ill. and there was married June 4 to Miss Katie Ziegler, who, like himself, was a native of Germany. They were the parents of five children, namely: Emma, who married Fred Milheim; Henry J., who assists in the management of the home farm; Louise, Mrs. Albert R. Ritter, of Denver; Katie, wife of John Barnard, of Steamboat Springs; and Fred, who is at home with his father. Henry J. is married and has two children, William Louis and Lydia Elizabeth. His wife was formerly
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Miss Martha Bruhart. Mrs. Katie Z. Hagus died in 1883 and was buried in Riverside Cemetery. The present wife of Mr. Hagus, whom he married in Denver, July 10, 1885, was then Miss Magdalena Baden, and is a native of Germany. One child blesses this union, Andrew Hagus, Jr., born in August, 1890.
ILBUR HILL. While still a young man, in 1872, Mr. Hill came to the then territory of Colorado, bringing with him sawmill engines, together with the other equipments and machinery necessary for the manufacture of lumber. From boyhood he was interested in lumbering, and at an age when most boys are in school he was gaining a thorough knowledge of the business in its every detail. The expense incident to the removal of his machinery to Colorado was not small, but his faith in the future of this country prevented him from hesitating over incidental matters. Arriving here, he erected a sawmill, with the necessary equipments, at an expense of $30,000, and was the first man in the state who embarked in the manufacture of lumber upon a large scale, his total investment in the business amounting to more than $50,000. The prosperity that rewarded his efforts proved that his judgment had not erred in the selection of his field of operations. At the time of his death he was the possessor of large holdings and valuable property, both here and elsewhere.
The father of our, subject, James Hill, was a pioneer lumber manufacturer in Saginaw, Mich., and afterward became interested in lumber districts in different parts of the United States, including Colorado, amassing a large fortune through energy and judicious management. Being with his father much of the time, our subject in that way early gained a thorough knowledge of the lumber business in all of its branches. He was born and reared in Michigan, and there engaged in the lumber business with his father, Having acquired large lumber interests in Colorado, he came to this state in 1872 and established a lumber camp at Fort Collins, subsequently starting two other camps. Meantime he continued his lumber interests in Michigan and other states, traveling back and forth between the two states. In later years he became the possessor of much valuable property in British Columbia, where he also engaged in lumbering. At the time of his death, December 18, 1888, he was wealthy, having gained a fortune through his lumber interests, principally in Michigan and adjoining states.
He had rare mental gifts which predominated in the commercial sense. He was never intended for a man of small affairs, but for the manipulating of large interests, as manifested in his wholesale lumber transactions. His judgment in selecting Colorado as a lumber state and securing vast pine forests was amply rewarded by the success which crowned his efforts. Politically he was a Republican and supported that party by voice and vote. He was not a member of social clubs and secret societies, preferring the companionship of his wife and a few choice friends, who often accompanied him on excursions to hunt and fish. He was very generous and open-hearted and in every way a true type of sterling American manhood.
In Denver Mr. Hill married Miss Laura N. Nichols, daughter of Edward and Sarah (Bidwell) Nichols, natives respectively of Connecticut and New York, and pioneers of the Greeley (Colo.) Colony. On the maternal side Mrs. Hill is a lineal descendant of Capt. Benjamin Bidwell, who enlisted in a Connecticut regiment during the Revolution and served as commander of a company from that state. She erected and occupies a residence on Pennsylvania avenue that is one of the most elegant and tasteful in appointments of any home in the city. The walls of the house are adorned with works of art, some of which are the products of her brush and show an artistic skill that merits admiration. A devotee of art, she has studied both in this country and abroad and has had the advantages offered by study with the best artists of the age.
RANK X. AICHER came to Colorado in 1872, and has resided in Denver since May, 1881. His principal occupation has been that of dealer in meats and he is now a member of The Standard Meat & Live Stock Company, with office at No. 1538 Wazee street. In addition to the management of the wholesale meat market, they are also engaged in the breeding of sheep.
Mr. Aicher was born at Mahlstetten O. A., Spaichingen, in the province of Wurtemberg, Germany, and received an excellent education in
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. the public schools there. Crossing the ocean at the age of eighteen, he settled in Iowa City, Iowa, where he followed the butcher's trade until his removal to Colorado in 1872. His first home in this state was at Georgetown, where he opened a meat market and built up a good trade in the butchering business. From Georgetown he came to Denver in 1881 and five years later, in connection with his present partners, formed the company with which he is still identified and which is incorporated under the laws of the state.
May 17, 1877, Mr. Aicher was united in marriage with Miss J. R. A. Kenuecke, at State Center, Iowa. She was born in Brunswick, Germany, but has spent the principal part of her life in the United States. They are the parents of three children, namely: Frank A., Edna M. and Addie J. During his residence in Georgetown Mr. Aicher was elected an alderman and served in that capacity until his removal from the city, when he resigned. Since coming to Denver he has devoted himself closely to his business duties and has not cared to take a part in public affairs.
AMES W. McGREGOR, M. D., of Brighton, proprietor of a drug store and a practicing physician of this place, was born in Belmont, Ont., June 8, 1861, and is a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Wismer) McGregor. His father, who was born and reared on a farm near Aberdeen, Scotland, received a good education, studying Latin as well as the common branches in an academy. When he was about seventeen his father, Alexander McGregor, brought the family to America and settled among the hills of Canada, near London, selecting a location that reminded him as much as possible of his old Scotch home. Members of the family are still living on that farm. Thomas McGregor died in 1892 and his wife, now sixty-nine years of age, has since his death managed the homestead without the aid of son or daughter. There were six children in the family and four of these are still living. Henry G. is a well-to-do farmer in Canada; Louise C., who married Edward Moore, resides in Aberdeen, S. Dak.; and Violet, who is unmarried, is a successful teacher in Canada.
After having gained the rudiments of his education in common-schools, our subject entered the high school at St. Thomas, Ont., at the age of fourteen, and two years later began to teach a country school, engaging in that occupation for three years. He then entered the Hamilton Collegiate Institute, where he did two years' work in one year, but his health was impaired by overstudy, and he left Canada, going to Michigan, where he hoped he might gain renewed strength. Soon he entered the medical department of the University of Michigan, from which he graduated in 1884. While he had gained a little in health, his father said he would not live a year. Hoping another change might be of benefit, he went to Hawkeye, Iowa, where he immediately began a country practice.
Seeking another change for the sake of his health, in 1890 Dr. McGregor came to Brighton, Colo., where he began to practice, and in May of the following year he had the largest month's practice he has ever had. In Hawkeye, Iowa, October 30, 1887, he married Miss Ella B. Chesley, of Volga, that state, where she was born and educated. For a time prior to her marriage she engaged in teaching school. Four children blessed their union: Archie N. and T. Vernon, who were born in Hawkeye; and Ella B. and James Duncan, both born in Brighton.
In May, 1895, Dr. McGregor bought a drug store and has since carried on a drug business in addition to his practice. In 1884, when in Minneapolis, he took out his naturalization papers about the time of an election. He voted for Cleveland that year and has since continued to support Democratic principles. In 1897 he served as delegate to the county Democratic convention, and in May, 1898, he was elected an alderman, but resigned the position, not caring to serve. He was elected a member of the school board in 1893 and served continuously until May, 1898. Largely through his efforts was due the erection of the substantial new schoolhouse, and he also labored to promote the efficiency of the teachers and the standard of scholarship. He and his wife are both good singers and members of the choir of the Presbyterian Church, of which Mrs. McGregor is a member. She is also an excellent organist.
Dr. McGregor is connected with the Masonic fraternity, Knights of Pythias, Woodmen of the World and Knights of the Maccabees. He was made a Mason in Standard Lodge, at Waucoma, Iowa, and now holds membership in Brighton
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Lodge No. 78, in which be served as secretary, and by special dispensation was elected W. M. from the floor, without having filled other positions. He served for three years and represented his lodge in the grand lodge. In 1885 he became identified with the Knights of Pythias at Arlington, of which he was a charter member, and after coming to Colorado transferred his membership to the lodge at Brighton
In Weisbaden, Nassau, Germany, Mr. Gregory was born in 1839, the son of Anthony and Elizabeth (Miller) Gregory, also natives of Nassau. His father, who was born in 1794, was an attorney and real-estate owner, and when a young man participated in the battle of Waterloo as an officer, receiving a medal for bravery in that engagement. In 1853 he brought his family to America and purchased real estate in Chicago, also farming lands near Sycamore, De Kalb County, Ill. He died of cholera in Chicago in 1854. His wife, who was born in 1797, and died in De Kalb County in 1886, was a daughter of Justius Miller, who was proprietor of a brewery and hotel in Koenigstown, Germany, where he died.
Our subject was the youngest of twelve children. In 1853 the family went from Amsterdam to Liverpool and there took passage on the American sailing vessel "Star of the Empire," which landed in Boston after a voyage of eight weeks. He attended the common schools in Chicago, but soon became an apprentice to the painter's trade, which he followed there until 1858. Later he worked at his trade in St. Louis, Memphis and New Orleans, then went to Mobile, where he remained until 1861. The war coming on he went back to the north and bought a farm in De Kalb County, Ill., where he engaged in farming. Four years later, however, he was obliged to seek a change of climate, as his health was very poor. He sold his place and came to Denver, en route to Old Mexico, but was so pleased with the climate here that he decided to remain, so Denver has been his home since June 8, 1865. He worked for others for three months, then with Henry Rietze; started in business on Lawrence street, His subsequent history has been closely identified with that of Denver and Colorado, where he has many and important interests.
In the establishment of the chamber of commerce Mr. Gregory was actively interested, as he has also been in the inception of other local enterprises of importance. At one time he was active in the Odd Fellows' lodge, but is now demitted. In this city he married Elizabeth Filbeck, who was born in Buffalo, N. Y., and grew to womanhood in Indianapolis, Ind. She is the daughter of John Filbeck, who was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, and came to America in young manhood, settling in Buffalo, but afterward removing to Indianapolis, where he died. Mr. and Mrs. Gregory have a daughter and son: Mrs. Elizabeth Leighton, of Durango, Colo.; and William, who is attending the mercantile school here.
REDERICK HELD, a retired farmer of Weld County, is one of the hardy pioneers of California and Colorado, and many were the experiences which he had in those early days of frontier life. He has seen Colorado developed from almost a desert to a paradise under the wonderful ingenuity and work of man, and has assisted in the grand result. Formerly he was engaged in mining operations to a greater or less extent, then teamed and transported merchandise across the plains, and finally, thirty-five years ago, settled down to a quiet agricultural life. His homestead during all of these years has been the one he owns and carries on to-day. It is situated on section 30, township 1, range 66, near the line which divides Weld and Arapahoe Counties, his postoffice being Brighton, in the last-named county.
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. The parents of our subject were Gottlieb and Christian Held, natives of Saxony, Germany, and farmers by occupation. Frederick Held was born on the old home place in Saxony, February 8, 1824. He was reared on the farm until he was fourteen and attended the public schools of the district. When he was fourteen years old he went to the neighboring city of Leipsic to learn the trade of a printer. There he served an apprenticeship of four years, in the meantime receiving nothing but his board in payment for his services. As a journeyman he worked in the cities of Leipsic, Dresden and Began up to the year 1850, when he decided to go to America. His father had died when our subject was but five years old, and there being still some money coming to him from the estate, he knew that the amount would serve to give him a start in the new land.
After a voyage of twelve weeks, during which the good ship on which Mr. Held was a passenger battled with terrible storms, he arrived at his destination, New Orleans, from Bremen, in June, 1850. As he knew nothing of English, the young man's knowledge of printing was of no value to him and he accepted a position in a large sugar house. He remained there for about two years, and diligently strove to master the difficulties of the language. Then, going to Cincinnati, he worked at his trade for three years. In 1855 he went to San Francisco, by way of New York and the Nicaragua route. The trip took twenty-eight days and when it was ended he had but $2 of his little store left. He sorted oranges for a shipping firm for a few days, and next went to the San Joachim mines, where he worked for over a year. His profits in that line being small, he then tried farming, taking up a claim which he afterwards sold. When he had laid aside about $1,500 he returned to New York, going across the Isthmus of Panama. Returning to his old trade in Cincinnati he resided there until 1860, when he, with others, started for Pike's Peak. The trip was made in thirty days, and after spending a couple of mouths in Denver Mr. Held went to the mines in South Park, and later across the divide to Breckenridge, where some new discoveries of importance had been made. Two years were spent by him in the mines there, after which he made two trips to St. Joseph, bringing back provisions and supplies.
In 1863 he bought the land where his home is to-day, and on which he has made material improvements, including irrigating ditches. In the Indian troubles of 1864 he enlisted in Company F, Third Colorado Cavalry, and was placed on guard duty near Fort Morgan, serving for one hundred days. Years ago, when living in Denver, he was associated with the Odd Fellows' society. Politically he is a Republican. In 1876 he went to Europe to visit the scenes of his childhood, but was glad to return to his Colorado home.
May 29, 1863, Mr. Held married Mrs. Anna Stoltz, widow of Christian Stoltz, and a daughter of John Munck. By her first marriage Mrs. Held has two children, Christopher, now of Denver, and Lena, who is the wife of Benjamin F. Twombly, and lives near Lupton. The two children of our subject and wife are Ennis F., now married and a resident of South Dakota, and Francis Julius, who superintends the homestead here. He is married and has two children, Lena and Laura. Mr. Held was reared in the Lutheran faith, while Mrs. Held is a Catholic in religious belief.
HAUNCEY JEROME PARRETT, who has been a resident of Colorado since 1874, was born in Goshen, Ind., to which place his father, David, had in early manhood removed from his birthplace in Ohio, but afterward went still further west and became one of the earliest settlers of Marshalltown, Iowa, engaging in the mercantile business there until his retirement from active labors. He is now eighty-seven and his wife seventy-two years of age and they still make their home in Marshalltown. Their family consists of five sons and one daughter. Two of the sons, W. B., now on the Pacific coast, and Milton L., a resident of Marshalltown, were soldiers in the Union army, the former enlisting in the Fifth and the latter in the Twenty-third Iowa Infantry. The other sons are: Arthur, who is editor of the Iowa Times-Republican; and D. O., who is in Denver.
In 1865, when a small boy, our subject made two trips from Omaha to Denver, in company with his brother, Milton L., who was freighting on the plains. In 1871 he went to California and spent a short time near Sacramento, returning to Denver eighteen months after his departure for the coast. Locating in Colorado in 1874,
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he embarked in sheep-raising on a ranch near Byers, Arapahoe County, on the Bijou. In 1893 he established feed yards in St. Mary's, Kan., which he still owns and from which he feeds about fifteen thousand sheep. He owns lands in different parts of Arapahoe County, the most of which is used for the pasturage of sheep. He ships to the eastern markets, and finds his best shipping-point is Deertrail, in this county. In his business enterprises he has been very successful. In addition to property in other places, he is interested in city real estate, and owns a half corner on Seventeenth and Glenarm streets and a lot on Welton street, between Sixteenth and Seventeenth streets. For some years he was interested in the mercantile business at Byers, in partnership with two other men.
In 1890 Mr. Parrett came to Denver, where he resides on Downing avenue. He has never taken an active part in politics, but is always stanch in his allegiance to the Republican party. He was married in this city to Miss Maud Gildersleeve, who was born in Missouri and accompanied her parents to Denver when this city was in its infancy. The three children born of their union are Grace, Blanche and Chauncey.
AJ. JAMES DUNLAP MOORE, JR., an honored veteran of the Civil war, resides on a finely improved farm about five miles west of Brighton, Arapaho County. He came to Colorado on account of poor health in August, 1879, having been given by his physicians but a short time to live. The higher altitude and outdoor life to which he settled down benefited him from the first. With characteristic energy he began the cultivation of the tract of land now included in his homestead, and developed a good farm from what was little better than a wilderness.
In many respects the career of the major has been unusual and interesting, and the history of it well repays the student of biography and human nature. His parents, James Dunlap and Sarah Ann (Shipler) Moore, were both natives of Pennsylvania. The Moores, who were of Scotch-Irish descent, settled in western Pennsylvania in colonial days. The grandfather of our subject, Samuel Moore, was born in Pennsylvania January 11, 1772. His wife, whose maiden name was Agnes Gault, was likewise a Pennsylvanian, and a daughter of Adam and Agnes (Dunlap) Gault. Adam Gault was of English extraction, while his wife was a native of Scotland, and came to this country when a little girl. The couple were married in Pennsylvania.
The birth of J. D. Moore, Jr., took place in Mercer, Pa., November 22, 1839. As he grew up he mastered his father's trade, that of carpentering, and worked for a period in a sash and door factory in Warren, Ohio. Later he clerked in a store at Sandy Lake, receiving about $100 a year in salary. The war coming on, he enlisted as a private October 6, 1861, in Company I, Fifty-seventh Pennsylvania Infantry. That winter he spent in camp near Washington, after which he was sent to the front with the Army of the Potomac. Within a short time he was made sergeant, then quartermaster's sergeant, and adjutant, after the former official had been shot in front of Petersburg in June, 1864. The following December our subject was made captain of his old company I, which subsequently became Company D, and was mustered out as such, at Harrisburg, Pa., June 30, 1865, after having been in service three years and eight months.
Altogether the major participated in about twenty-seven battles and skirmishes, though he was absent from a few that his regiment took part in while he was serving in the quartermaster's department. April 2, 1865, at the siege of Petersburg, he was in command of the brigade picket line, First Brigade, Third Division, Second Corps, and was standing near a pine tree watching his men, when a shell passed close to his head, and, striking the tree, tore it into a thousand fragments. He was stunned and unconscious for some time, but, upon reviving, led the charge with his command, though the blood kept oozing from the pores of his skin on the left side of his head. Among the important battles in which he was actively engaged were the following: Yorktown, April 11, 1862; Fair Oaks, May 31 and June 1; attack on Richmond, June 25; Glendale, June 30; Malvern Hill, July 1; second Bull Run, August 29; Chantilly, September 1; Antietam, in September; Fredericksburg, December 13; Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863; Gettysburg, July 2; Kelley's Ford, November 3; Orange Grove, November 28; Wilderness (three days' battle), May, 1864; Spottsylvania, May
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 12 (in the fiercest of the fight at the spot called the Bloody Angel, where trees of eighteen inches were cut down by musket bullets); Cold Harbor, June 1; Petersburg, June 16-22; Deep Bottom, July 26-29; Petersburg Mine, July 30; Deep Run, August 16; Poplar Grove, October ; Boynton Plank road, October 27 (where some of the major's company were captured, but managed to make their escape); Weldon Railroad attack, December 1-13; Hatchies' Run, February 5; 1865; and, finally, he was present at the surrender of Appomattox Courthouse, and at the grand review in Washington. He was mustered out with the rank of captain. In after years he organized Company I, Fifteenth Regiment of Pennsylvania National Guard. He was made its captain, and while in attendance at the Philadelphia Centennial was promoted to the rank of major. The following year he and his command assisted in quelling the great Pittsburg riots, and went into the anthracite coal region, where they took seventy-two prisoners, and conveyed them to jail in Wilkesbarre, Pa.
Returning to his old home in Mercer County, Major Moore carried on a store in the town of the same name some ten years. In 1879 he sold out and came to this state. His health being very poor, he thought best to live in the open air as much as possible, and therefore resumed his old employment, carpentering. Even at this line he found himself too weak to do much, but he heroically persisted, and in time began to gain in strength. Then he accepted a position as bookkeeper in the City National Bank, Denver, his old-time friend, J. R. Hanna, whom he had known in the east, having procured the place for him. He remained in the employ of the bank for five years, and in the meantime had invested in a tract of land in Arapahoe County. This land, three-quarters of a section, lay in one body, and, as it was ten miles distant from water, was considered worthless. Not discouraged, however, the major made a furrow from the old Golden Canal and endeavored to irrigate his farm. For six years he kept hard at work, but was not making very much of a success of his undertaking, until he and Mr. Gallup were appointed to make a survey for a ditch. They advocated the plan of tapping the creek further up, and, a company being organized, with our subject as its secretary, the Golden Canal was purchased by them. Enlarged and improved at an expense of $300,000, it is now known as the Farmers' High Line Canal & Reservoir Company. Later another company was formed, which constructed a lateral ditch, carrying water from the first-mentioned canal to the farms of this locality. Thus the problem has been solved, and the major's farm on section 8, township 1 south, range 67 west, has become one of the most valuable homesteads in the county.
There was quite a pretty romance in the courtship of this hero of the Civil war. In November, 1864, the regimental headquarters' mess received a turkey, which had been sent for a Thanksgiving treat to a New York regiment, but as the aforesaid regiment was not accessible, the turkey fell into the hands of young Captain Moore and his friends. Around the neck of the gratefully received bird a strip of paper was securely fastened. It bore a request that the donor might be notified as to the recipients, and how they enjoyed their Thanksgiving dinner. The surgeon complied with the generous giver's wish, and wrote a little note of thanks, this being then signed by the officers. This letter was later read at a gathering of friends in the north, and a Miss Sill was challenged to answer it. Though she at first demurred, she finally selected a name from the list and it happened to be that of the major, then captain. A correspondence naturally followed, and, in time, an exchange of photographs. When the young officer had been mustered out he accepted the invitation of the lady's father, Dr. B. S. Sill, and visited the family. The couple were married at Bainbridge, N. Y., October 17, 1866. Their four children were born in Mercer, Pa. Erastus B. married Miss Ermal Demerest, and has one son, Harry Blin. They live on a farm of eighty acres, a part of the major's original homestead, and presented to the young couple by him. Jeanette Sill is the wife of Fred P. Watts, a teacher and farmer, and has one child, Ruth C. Catherine is the wife of Louis A. Stueland, a teacher, and their only child is named Stella Bertha (the first name in honor of our subject's wife). James D., unmarried, has been engaged in teaching for the past six years. To each of his children Major Moore has given an eighty-acre tract of land.
Until 1876 the major was a stanch Republicans but that year he supported Peter Cooper, and
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