Mardos Collection
 

HON. JAMES W. McCREERY

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national committee. In April, 1897, Governor Adams appointed him to the position he now holds, that of associate judge of the court of appeals. He is a member of the Pioneers' Association of San Juan, and fraternally is connected with the Masonic lodge of Del Norte. In Arrow Rock, Saline County, Mo., he married Miss Margaret E. Edwards, who was born in Pettis County, that state, being the daughter of Philip W. Edwards, who was born in Kentucky in 1800, removed to Missouri in an early day and engaged in business there until his death. This union was blessed with the following children: Katharine W., who married Austin H. Brown; Edwards Adair, Alva Adams and Margaretta. 

ON. JAMES W. McCREERY, state senator, and one of the ablest attorneys not only of Greeley, but of the entire state as well, was born in Indiana County, Pa., July 13, 1850, a son of William G. and Mary (Work) McCreery. His paternal grandfather, William McCreery, was born in County Donegal, Ireland, in 1772, of Scotch descent, and emigrated to America in 1793, settling in Indiana County, Pa., where, in 1804, he married Margaret McLain, born in America in 1781. He was a son of Samuel McCreery, who came to America at the same time with a brother and sister; their father, Samuel, Sr., was a native of Scotland, who removed thence to Ireland.

     In Pennsylvania, where he was born July 4, 1821, William G. McCreery devoted his active years to farming, and he is still living on the family homestead in Indiana County. He has been a Republican since the organization of the party. The only office he ever accepted was that of school director, in which position he aided the public schools. To the work of the United Presbyterian Church he has for years given liberally of his time and means, and been one of its faithful members. His first marriage united him with Mary, daughter of James Work. They became the parents of seven children, four of whom are living, viz.: Margaret E., James W.; Samuel Fletcher, who is engaged in the insurance business in Greeley; and Robert C., a farmer residing at Fort Morgan, Colo. Mrs. Mary McCreery died in 1860, and afterward Mr. McCreery married Rachel Miller, by whom he had two children, Silas H. and Alexander H. His second wife is still living.

      In local schools, an academy and the State Normal in Indiana County the subject of this article received his education. While teaching for several years he devoted his leisure hours to the study of law. In December, 1880, he was admitted to the bar, and in the spring of 1881 came west to Greeley, reaching here on the 1st of June. He was pleased with the location and determined to make the city his permanent home. Confining himself to civil law, he has succeeded in that line of the profession and has built up a remunerative practice. By his energy and native ability he has placed himself in the front rank of the bar of northern Colorado. In all the prominent irrigation cases that have come up in the past seventeen years he has been interested, and a fair percentage of these he has won. During the same time he has also been connected with all irrigation legislation. His practice extends throughout the entire state, and in 1897 he was called to Illinois to take charge of an important will case involving $500,000.

     An ardent Republican, Mr. McCreery has been active in almost all of the county and state conventions. In 1888 he was elected to the state senate from the district then comprising Weld, Logan and Washington Counties. During the four years that followed he made an enviable record as a legislator. One of his most important works was the introduction and passage of a bill providing for the establishment of time State Normal School at Greeley, a school intended for the preparation of teachers in the common schools of the state. For the past eight years he has been a trustee of the institution, and during part of the time served as president of the board.

     In 1896 he was again nominated for the senate and was elected by a plurality of nearly nine hundred. In the session that followed he was one of the most prominent members, and as a member of the committee on finance took a firm stand for retrenchment in public expenses, and openly advocated reform in such expenditures. Having made the subject of finance a close study, he was well fitted for that kind of work.

     One noticeable trait in Mr. McCreery's character is his kindness to young men just starting out as attorneys. Many a one owes to his sym-

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pathetic interest the start in the profession to which he owed his later success. In 1897, when the rules relative to admission to the bar were drafted again and a committee appointed to act as a board of law examiners, the supreme court of the state named him as a member. He practices before all the courts, including the supreme court of the United States. In addition to his other practice he is attorney for the First National Bank of Greeley and for ex-Governor Eaton in the latter's irrigation matters.

     In religion he is connected with the Presbyterian Church. August 27, 1883, he married Mary M., daughter of Mathew Arbuckle, of Madison, Ind. They are the parents of four children now living: Mary, Donald, Edith and Dorothy. 

RANK C. AVERY, president of the First National Bank of Fort Collins and a resident of Colorado since 1870, was born in Cayuga County, N. Y., at Ledyard, near Cayuga Lake, April 8, 1849, a son of Edgar and Eliza (Worthing) Avery. He is a descendant, on the paternal side, of a pioneer family of New England. His grandfather, Benjamin Avery, who was born in New London, Conn., went to Cayuga County, N. Y., at the age of eighteen years, and began the improvement of a farm from the wilderness. At the time he settled there Auburn had but two houses, and they were built of logs. He engaged in farming and stock-raising until his death. His son, Edgar, who was born and reared in Cayuga County, removed from there to Colorado and died in Greeley in 1887. His wife died in Fort Collins in 1897. She was a daughter of Rev. Jonathan Worthing, a pioneer minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and for some time a presiding elder of that denomination. He died in Binghamton, N. Y.

      The subject of this sketch was second among five children. His older brother, Edward, is living in Fort Collins. Louise, the wife of Alexander Mead, resides in Greeley; George is a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, now stationed in Fort Collins; and William, who came to Colorado about 1880, became a land owner in Larimer County and was also connected with the First National Bank until his death, in 1890. Our subject attended Cazenovia Seminary. Upon completing the engineer's course he joined the Union colony and came to Greeley, where he arrived May 9, 1870. He made the surveys and laid out the town; also surveyed the ditches. After eighteen months in that place, in the fall of 1871, he located near La Porte, Larimer County, where he embarked in the stock business. In 1872 he made the original plat and laid out the town of Fort Collins, changing the old town as much as possible in order to make the streets run straight. He became interested in the real-estate business here, and was among the first to improve and sell town lots. In the fall of 1872 he was elected county surveyor and in 1874 was reelected. The first noticeable growth of the city took place in 1873, after which its development was steady. As long as the colony existed he continued its engineer.

     In January, 1880, Mr. Avery organized the Larimer County Bank, a state institution, with a capital stock of $30,000, and himself as president. After a few months the name was changed to the First National Bank and the capitalization was increased to $50,000. In addition to building the first bank building, he also erected ten stores near the bank, comprising the Avery block, and a commodious and substantial stone residence, set in the midst of large grounds. He had a one-fourth interest in the building of the opera house, and has aided in the improvement of other property. In a number of ditch companies he has been largely interested, serving as president of several. Through his efforts was organized the Water Supply and Storage Company of Fort Collins, of which he is still a director. This company built the most expensive ditch for its length in the entire state, having spent $100,000 in blasting through the solid rock in order to bring the ditch over the Snowy range, nine thousand feet elevation, for feeding the Larimer County ditch. The company also built two large reservoirs, which, after two years of work, were completed in 1893. For this work he made the preliminary survey. He is interested in ranches in Larimer and Weld Counties, and owns several sections which he has fenced and improved. In the organization of the Akin Live Stock Company he took an active part. They feed about six thousand sheep and own a number of fine thoroughbred horses.

      Politically Mr. Avery is a Republican. For three terms he served as a member of the city

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council. In New York state, February 24, 1876, he married Miss Sarah Edson, who was born near Auburn. Three children were born of their marriage: Edgar, Ethel and Mettie. The children are being given the benefits of good educations. Mrs. Avery is identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church, to the maintenance of which Mr. Avery is a regular contributor.

     In reviewing the history of any community there are always a few names that stand out preeminent. In the history of Fort Collins the name of Mr. Avery is prominent. Doubtless few have accomplished more than he in behalf of the city's interests, the development of its resources and the enlargement of its commerce. He has aided by his means and influence those projects calculated to promote the welfare of the people and advance their prosperity. Progressive plans have been promoted by his co-operation and local interests have received his fostering aid. Justly, therefore, he occupies a position among the most influential men of the town and county. 

DWARD C. PARMELEE. The record of the life of Mr. Parmelee since coming to Colorado is a record of the growth and progress in Masonry during the same period. No one has been more prominent in the order than he and no one has contributed more to its advancement. Upon the organization of the grand chapter of Colorado be was elected grand secretary, which position he has since held. He has also been grand recorder of the grand commandery of Colorado since its organization in 1876. He is identified with the consistory of Colorado in Denver and for a number of years has been recorder and secretary of the several bodies of the Scottish Rite.

      The connection of Mr. Parmelee with human activities began in Waterbury, Vt. The family of which he is a member came from Wales to America, but originated in Holland, where the name was Van Parmelee. William Parmelee was born in Londonderry, Conn., in 1775, and removed from there to New Hampshire, but later became a pioneer farmer of Summit County, Ohio. His son, Lucius, was born in New Hampshire, whence in early manhood he removed to Waterbury, Vt., and embarked in the boot and shoe business, continuing the same until his retirement. He died at seventy-seven years of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Ann Wallace, was born in New Hampshire, the descendant of an old Scotch family, and died in 1840, at the age of thirty. Her father, James Wallace, was born in Connecticut, but removed to New Hampshire, where he owned and conducted a boot and shoe store.

     The third in order of birth, and the only survivor of six children, the subject of this sketch was orphaned by his mother's death when he was quite small. He attended the public school of Waterbury, where he obtained a fair education. At the age of seventeen he went as far west as summit County, Ohio, and there became a clerk in a mercantile store. It was not long, however, before the excitement occasioned by the discovery of gold in the mountains of Colorado brought many argonauts from the east. With them came many who have since resided in the state and have been influential factors in the development of its resources. Among them came Mr. Parmelee in 1860 making the long journey via ox team from Kansas and finally arriving at what is now Central City, in Gilpin County, where he began prospecting and mining. While still connected with mining interests there he formed a partnership with Mr. Sayr and opened the first abstract office in Gilpin County, later also starting the first abstract office in Clear Creek County. In 1887 he went to Pueblo County, where he also engaged in the abstract title business. In 1891 he sold out, and this time settled in Denver, where he has since given his entire attention to the duties of his position as grand secretary.

     In 1857, in Monroe, Iowa, Mr. Parmelee was made a member of Monroe Lodge No. 88, A. F. & A. M. On coming to Colorado he became identified with Central Lodge No. 6, A. F. & A. M., and later was connected with Georgetown Lodge No. 48, A. F. & A. M., of which he is still a member and past master. While in Central City he joined Central City Chapter No. 1, R. A. M., and at Georgetown he became a charter member of Georgetown Chapter No. 4, of which he was the first high priest. His membership is now in Colorado Chapter No. 29. In 1866 he was made a Knight Templar, in Cuba, N. Y., becoming a member of St. John's Commandery No. 24, later of Central City Commandery No. 2 (in which he was an officer) and afterward of Georgetown

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Commandery No. 4, in which he is past commander. He is now identified with Denver Commandery No. 25.

     Though without political aspirations, Mr. Parmelee is not without decided opinions upon the issues of the age and has allied himself with the silver Republicans, being a stanch advocate of bimetalism. 

OL. J. L. HANDLEY, M. D., supreme secretary and vice-president of the Fraternal Union of America, was one of the original promoters of this order, for which he assisted in securing a charter in 1894. With the formation of Union Lodge No. 1, of Denver, he was actively connected; a noteworthy fact connected with the history of this lodge is that its first candidate for admission was Mayor Van Horn, and he was also the first of the members to die. From the first Colonel Handley was supreme secretary of the order, and upon the reorganization, in September, 1896, he was made supreme vice-president, both of which offices he has since filled, having full charge of the order. The purpose of reorganization was to change the modus operandi, profiting by the experiences of the past and making of the order the most modern institution of its kind. Since actively commencing the work of organization in 1896, the Union has gained lodges throughout the country, as far east as Ohio, and west to the Pacific Coast. The entire time of the supreme secretary is given to the work of organization and the supervision of lodges. The supreme president is F. F. Roose, of Omaha, and the supreme treasurer S. S. Baty, of Denver. The Union is a fraternal, social and benefit order, and provides accident, total disability, old age and death benefits, creating a maturity or reserve fund which guarantees its permanency. It combines the most equitable features and guarantees cheapness in the future, when most orders will be expensive. The fact that both sexes are admitted on equal terms wins many friends for the fraternity.

     Colonel Handley was born in Sheffield, England, February 9, 1834, the son of James and Martha (Ennis) Handley, the former of whom died of paralysis in Sheffield. One grandfather, Lawrence Handley, was a manufacturer in Sheffield, and the other grandfather, John Ennis, was in the English navy during the Napoleonic wars, 1812-15, and afterward was connected with the shipping interests of Dover, England. Mrs. Handley had three children, but two died in childhood, and she spent her last days in the home of her only surviving child, our subject, in Carmi, Ill., where she died at the age of sixty years.

     At the age of fourteen our subject began an apprenticeship to the tanner's and currier's trade, but he did not like the work and decided to come to America. With a cousin, in 1848, he left Liverpool on the sailer "Harriet Augusta," which encountered severe storms and landed in New York after a voyage of six weeks. He secured employment as clerk in the store of Priest Brothers, in Albany, and while there, in 1850, sent for his mother to come to this country. In 1851, with a corps of engineers, he made surveys for the widening of Erie Canal, and after a year in that work he came as far west as Evansville, Ind., where he was assistant engineer on the Evansville & Crawfordsville Railroad. In 1854 he settled in Carmi, White County, Ill., where for two years he was bookkeeper for Stewart & Graham, and for a similar period was with Albert Shannon, dry-goods merchant. Meantime he began the study of medicine, under Dr. E. L. Stewart. In the fall of 1857 he entered Jefferson Medical College, from which he graduated in 1859, with the degree of M. D., and then engaged in practice at Carmi.

     In 1862 he was commissioned assistant surgeon, with the rank of captain, of the Eighty-seventh Illinois Infantry, the surgeon being his former preceptor, Dr. Stewart, and he served with the regiment during the entire war. After the fall of Vicksburg the regiment was sent to New Orleans, and from there accompanied Banks' expedition up the Red River to Sabine Cross Roads, where his command brought on a fight by attacking Dick Taylor's forces. From there they went to Morganzes Bend at the month of the White River and later scouted through the country, finally reaching Helena, Ark. He was mustered out at Springfield, Ill., July 3, 1865.

     After the war Dr. Handley located in Mount Erie, Wayne County, Ill., which was quite close to his former home in Carmi. In 1868 he was nominated, on the Democratic ticket, for the position of clerk of the circuit court and recorder of the county, and was elected, taking the oath of

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