Mardos Collection
 

DAVID CROCKETT WYATT

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for the land, and in addition to this property Mr. Jones owns some alfalfa land on Stonewall Creek. He raises Hereford cattle and does an extensive business in alfalfa.

     In 1882 Mr. Jones was married in Clifton, Kan., to Miss Emma Powell, a native of Indiana. Her father, John I. Powell, was a Baltimore man, and her grandfather, William B. Powell, was a native of London, England. The latter, who was a captain, engaged in trans-atlantic trade, was a soldier in the war of 1812. He took up his residence near Baltimore, later went to Ohio and finally became a pioneer in Indiana, in which state his death occurred. J. I, Powell, the father of Mrs. Jones, was noted for his horsemanship, and for the fine Kentucky horses which he raised. He had lived in Clifton, Kan., but a few years when death put an end to his labors, he being in his sixty-first year. His wife, Louisa, was a daughter of Benjamin N. Denton, both of Lexington, Ky. The Denton family were originally from Virginia. B. N. Denton removed to Indiana at an early day, and was the first assessor in his county, besides holding other offices. Mrs. Jones' mother returned to Indiana after her husband's death in 1893 and has since died. Mrs. Jones is well educated, being a graduate of the high school at Clifton, Kan., and at present she is a member of the Livermore Club. She is quite an artist and possesses ardent love for the beautiful. Mr. Jones has been a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and of the Knights of Pythias for several, years. For many years he was a Democrat, but is now a stanch Republican. 

AVID CROCKETT WYATT, the gentleman who holds the honored office of president of the Colorado Cattle Growers' Association, is one of the pioneers of the state, having come here May 5, 1859, soon after the rumor of the discovery of gold spread eastward. With the history of the succeeding years he has been intimately identified. Especially has he been helpful in developing the stock industry and the agricultural resources of the state, and his efforts in these lines have been of the greatest benefit to others. Since 1883 he has resided in Denver, where he built a comfortable residence at No. 304 Lincoln avenue, but much of his time is spent at his ranch, in the vicinity of Greeley.

     The Wyatts are of English descent and were represented among the F. F. V's. The grandfather of our subject, William Wyatt, removed from Virginia to Kentucky, where he died in February, 1801. His son, John S., was born in Bardstown, Ky., September 30, 1796, in youth learned the blacksmith's trade and soon after his marriage to Margaret Greggsby, also a native of Bardstown, he removed to St. Charles County, Mo., where he and his brother, L. L., became the pioneer settlers of the county. He improved a farm and engaged in raising stock, also followed his trade of blacksmith. Later, however, he removed to Lincoln County, Mo., where he cultivated a farm until his death, November 10, 1854, at the age of fifty-eight. His first wife, our subject's mother, who was born April 13, 1800, a descendant of Virginian ancestry, died September 22, 1839. Of her children we note the following: William S. went to California in 1850 and died there; Mary E., Mrs. Shelton, died in Missouri; Nathaniel G. came to Colorado in 1859, but later went to California, where occurred his death; James R. went to California in 1853 and there died; Henry A. took part in the Civil war as a member of a Confederate regiment from Missouri and afterward went to Kansas, where he died; Rebecca M., Mrs. Cochrane, died in Missouri; and David C., the youngest of that family, was born in St. Charles County, Mo., in 1837. The second marriage of our subject's father resulted in the birth of four children. John Thomas died in Maryland at ten years of age; Louis L. (the namesake of his uncle, who served under Jackson in the battle of New Orleans) resides in Greeley, Colo.; Francis Eaton is engaged in ranching in Idaho; and Demosthenes Bland is engaged in the stock business in Greeley, in partnership with his brother, David C.

     In 1852, at the age of fifteen, our subject went to Texas with a mule-team and established his headquarters in Paris, Lamar County, from which place he engaged in trading in cattle and horses. In 1858 he returned to Missouri with a lot of horses bought by himself and his brother, Henry A., in Old Mexico and these he sold after reaching the north. In the spring of 1859 he started west with two pack mules, one of which he rode while the other carried the pack. He went via Independence, Mo., and Lawrence, Kan., up the Arkansas River and from Pueblo to Denver,

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where he spent about twenty days. From this point he proceeded to Blackhawk, Gilpin County, where he assisted in starting the town that afterward became so prominent during the days of the mining excitement. Hearing of new diggings in the mountains, he bought some mules and with a pack of goods started for the new mining camp, but at Central City sold his provisions. Afterward he engaged in freighting between Denver and the mountains some twenty miles away, packing goods from Golden up to Blackhawk, using six mules, and for two months charging ten cents per pound freight, but afterward the prices were reduced. A few months after coming to the state he bought some milch cows and established a dairy farm at the head of Russell's Gulch, his being the first enterprise of the kind there. In the fall he drove his cows to a ranch near Fort Lupton, where he wintered them. At the same time he began making improvements on his place, situated on the Platte River, and he made it his home for two years, but sold out in 1862 and engaged in dealing in stock and in the hay business. Later, with A. G. Reed as a partner, he started a ranch on Plum Creek and engaged in raising and dealing in cattle. After twelve years Mr. Reed returned to Missouri and Mr. Wyatt continued the business alone. For some years he had the government contract to furnish meat and cattle for army troops at some five or six posts, but the enterprise did not prove a financial success. During the early days he was more than once attacked by Indians and several times was in peril of his life, but fortunately always escaped.

      The ranch owned by Mr. Wyatt and his brother is situated northeast of Greeley, and north of the mouth of the Cache la Poudre River, and comprises three thousand acres of land, stocked with several thousand heads of cattle (brand 33), furnished with an abundance of water by the Eaton ditch, and planted to hay, grain and potatoes. Shipments of cattle are made to the east, usually two train loads at one time. In addition to this property, Mr. Wyatt has for years owned a ranch in Wyoming, and he also owns real estate in Denver.

     In Evans, Colo., Mr. Wyatt married Miss Virginia Lucas, who was born in Dekalb County, Mo., the daughter of C. B. and Rebecca (Black) Lucas. Her father, who was a farmer and stock-man in Missouri, removed to Colorado in 1872, but now resides in Wyoming; her mother, who was born in Columbia, Mo., died in Denver. Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt have four children, Maud R., Kenney D., Moss B. and William J. Formerly Mr. Wyatt was a Democrat, and upon that ticket he was a candidate for the state legislature and senate, and in 1875 was elected sheriff of Weld County for a term of two years. Now, however, he is a champion of the Populist party. He is a member of the Colorado Pioneer Society. In 1882 he become identified with the Colorado Cattle Growers' Association, which had been started during the time he was ranching in Wyoming, and on his return to this state he at once united with the society. For a time he was a member of the board of trustees and in 1890 was made president of the association, which position he has held ever since by successive reelections. 

ILLIAM A. DRAKE, who came to Colorado in 1882, is one of the large farmers and sheep dealers in the state. His first purchase was an eighty-acre tract in Larimer County. This land he improved and after four years bought an adjoining eighty-acre tract and in three years purchased another piece of land of the same size, making two hundred and forty acres in one body, all of which he has improved. He has recently completed a substantial barn, 44x60 feet in dimensions, with a wing on each side, 24X30, and here he stores grain and furnishes a shelter for his stock. In 1891 he began to ship sheep, being among the first to embark in this industry in the state. In his corrals he feeds about four thousand sheep and during a year handles about thirty thousand head, bringing them to his farm from New Mexico, Arizona and the southern part of Colorado. On his place he has two hundred acres seeded to alfalfa and raises nearly eight hundred tons, which he uses for feed. In addition to his sheep and some cattle, he raises Percheron and Clydesdale horses.

     Mr. Drake was born on Cayuga Lake in Cayuga County, N. Y., March 4, 1853. His father, William A., Sr., was born in Goshen, Orange County, N. Y., and was a descendant of Sir Francis Drake, the famous voyager. He engaged in farming at Coventry, from which place he removed to Des Moines, Iowa, in 1837, and has

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since resided near that city, engaged in farming. His wife, who was Roxanna Andrus, was born in Ithaca, N. Y., and died in Iowa at sixty-six years of age. Of their seven children, Charles Oliver died in boyhood, and six are living, namely: William A., Georgia Ann, A. H., J. H., Edla and Helen, all of whom are in Iowa but the subject of this sketch.

     When our subject was four years of age he was taken by his parents from New York to Polk County, Iowa. He attended the public schools of Des Moines and the Baptist University in the same city, and during this time devoted his vacations to teaching, in order to defray his expenses at the university. The summer of 1876 he spent in Oregon, teaching, then returned to Iowa. Since coming to Colorado, in the spring of 1882, he has engaged in farming and the stock business. He is president of the school board of District No. 16, in Larimer County, and largely through his influence was erected the finest country school building in the country, if not the state, the building being of pressed brick, with every modern equipment. He was the first president of the Larimer County Sheep Feeders' Association. Politically he votes the Republican ticket.

     In Des Moines, Iowa, Mr. Drake married Miss Emma A. Darnell, who was born in Illinois and accompanied her father, Thomas Darnell, from that state to Iowa, settling upon a farm. Mr. and Mrs. Drake have three children, namely: Nellie, who is a member of the class of 1900, State Agricultural College; Arthur and Ray. 

ROMWELL TUCKER, grand master of the grand lodge of Colorado, A. F. & A. M., is one of the most prominent members of the fraternity in this state. He was made a Mason in 1881, becoming identified with Denver Lodge No. 5, in which he held the office of W. M., in 1891. In 1882 he became a member of Denver Chapter No. 2, R. A. M., and in 1892 was high priest of the chapter. While holding that office the Grand Conclave of Knights Templar was held in Denver and no chapter did more than his in preparing for the vast crowds and in entertaining their guests. In fact, its record for the year was the highest of any chapter in the world. The position of grand lecturer for Colorado was given him in 1893 and the following year he was chosen junior grand warden of the grand lodge, from which position in 1895 he was promoted to be senior grand warden, and the next year became deputy grand master. His present position, that of grand master of the grand lodge, was conferred upon him in September, 1897, in election by the grand lodge.

     Denver Chapter No. 2 exalted one hundred and twenty members in one year, and increased its membership to one hundred and thirty-nine, after deducting losses by death, suspension and dimissions. They exalted one hundred and two in the first six months of 1892, and claim that they hold the record for the United States, which means the world.

     In addition to his important position in Masonry Mr. Tucker has connection with the railroad interests of the state, being freight claim agent for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. He is of English birth, and was born in Camelford, Cornwall, July 19, 1852, being a member of an old family of that section. His father, William, was the son of Thomas Tucker, and, like him, was an agriculturist by occupation, following it until his death at forty-six years. In religious belief he was a Methodist. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Hannah Hicks, was born in Cornwall, her father, Charles, being a farmer there. She died t the age of forty-three. Of their eight children, five are now living, one of whom, William Charles Hicks, is treasurer of Douglas County, Kan., and resides in Lawrence.

     The oldest of the family and the only one in Colorado is Cromwell Tucker. At the age of nine he was sent to a boarding school at St. Columb, but left at the time of his father's death. Soon afterward he was apprenticed to the grocery business, and later to the dry-goods trade, in Camelford, where he also learned the trade of chemist or pharmacist. Coming to America in 1871 he settled in Lawrence, Kan., where he engaged in the dry-goods business for four years. He then returned to England and also visited France, remaining abroad for a year. On his return to America in 1876 he located in Kansas City, where he was in the auditor's office of the Kansas Pacific (now the Union Pacific) Railroad. The year 1877 found him in Denver, where he was employed in the auditor's office of the Denver (now the Union) Pacific Railroad. His con-

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nection with the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad began in 1879, when he took a position in their employ. For two years he was claim superintendent for the company and is now the freight claim agent of the system. In national politics he adheres to the Republican party, but in local elections votes for the man whom he believes to be best qualified for the position. Fraternally he is connected with the Woodmen of the World.

     In England Mr. Tucker married Miss Jessie Henwood, who was born in Callington, Cornwall, and died in Denver in 1895. She was a daughter of William Henwood, who was engaged in the mercantile business in Cornwall. Mr. Tucker has two daughters and one son, namely: Dora, Mrs. Nicholl, of Denver; John Hicks, a graduate of the Denver high school and now an assistant in his father's officer; and Jessie May. 

OHN W. BROWNING. The subject of our sketch was born in the city of New York, June 10, 1842, and was educated in the public schools of that state. Prior to the war he was an indentured apprentice to the brick-laying trade. When President Lincoln called for his first seventy-five thousand volunteers in April, 1861, young Browning enlisted in Company E, Twelfth Regiment, N. Y. S. M., and re-enlisted for three years in the First New York Engineers; was appointed sergeant-major, and on July 4, 1862, for special services while in action, he was made second lieutenant of Company F of the regiment, which position he held until November, 1863. He was then transferred to the war department at Washington, and remained there until November, 1867, when he resigned and returned to New York, under appointment of Commissioner Rollins, of the internal revenue department, assigned to the duty of looking after all the breweries in New York City; he resigned this position, however, in December, 1868, to accept the position of inspector of the building department of New York City. This position he resigned in May, 1872, to accept the position of Albany correspondent of the New York Star and New York Evening Express which position he retained until January 1, 1878, having been elected the fall previous to the general assembly. In the fall of 1878 he was reelected. In the fall of 1879 he was elected to the state senate, but was counted out. In 1880 he was again returned to the assembly and in 1881 was elected to the state senate, serving in that body during the sessions of 1882-83. In 1881 he was admitted an attorney and counselor-at-law by the state supreme court and was associated with Hon. Arthur Palmer until he came to Colorado in December, 1884.

      Arriving in Denver on Christmas day he at once secured offices in the Symes block and took up his profession. In August, 1885, he was persuaded by Postmaster Speer to accept the position of assistant postmaster of Denver, which he held until June, 1888, when he was appointed by President Cleveland, melter of the United States mint, but resigned the same in February, 1890, and resumed the practice of law.

     He joined Martin Camp, afterward called Unity Camp, No. 25, in the fall of 1889 and from that day until this has been an active worker in the field of Woodcraft. When Head Consul Falkenburg went to Colorado to organize the Pacific jurisdiction in the fall of 1890 he found the general one of his most earnest supporters and appointed him a head manager, which position he continued to hold until the 25th of May following, when he was appointed head clerk. He was elected head clerk at the Pueblo session in 1892, again at Portland in 1894 and again at Helena in 1896. There is probably no head camp officer upon whom the head consul has relied and depended for active support in all of his efforts to build up our honorable order so much as our esteemed head clerk. He is regarded as a safe counselor and steadfast friend, and is always patient and courteous with all with whom he has official relations. As a public speaker he is very direct, going from premise to conclusion without much regard to the grain. He is always earnest and impresses his hearers that he believes what he says.

     He was elected in March, 1888, at Cheyenne, department commander of the department of Colorado and Wyoming, G. A. R. He is also a member of the Loyal Legion, is a Knight Templar, Knight of Pythias and a member of several other orders, and at the present time holds the honorary position of national commander of the Veteran Legion, U. S. A.

© 2002 by Pam Rietsch, Ted & Carole Miller