Portrait & Biographical Record

Mardos Collection

DENNIS C. DONOVAN.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
395

dren: Allen B., who died in May, 1897; Indiana; wife of Samuel Cushman, of Deadwood, S. Dak.; Irene, formerly the wife of J. Sidney Brown, of Denver, now deceased; Elbridge B., of Trinidad; Simpson T. and George L., both residents of Denver, the latter a member of the board of county commissioners; Levi S., whose home is in Texas; and Henry C., deceased.

ENNIS C. DONOVAN, senior member of the firm of D. C. Donovan & Co., of Longmont, is one of the live business men of this place. Coming here early in his commercial career, some sixteen years ago, he soon gained a foothold among our leading, progressive business men and has steadily advanced in the esteem of Longmont's best citizens. By degrees he built up his trade, which is now second to none in the place, and in all his transactions he is strictly reliable, prompt and painstaking.

     Mr. Donovan is one of the sons of the good old Buckeye state, which has produced so many of the men who stand pre-eminent in the business circles of this land, as well as in the so-called learned professions and in the ranks of statesmen. Born in Cincinnati, he passed the greater part of his boyhood in Hamilton and Butler Counties, Ohio. The parental homestead stood on the line between the two counties, near Crescentville. The parents, Dennis and Mary (Dugan) Donovan, are still living, though well along in years, their home being in Longmont, where they came to be near their children. The father is over fourscore years and the mother is now in her seventy-third year. They had six children, of whom two died in Ohio and one in this state. Timothy and John are residing in Longmont.

      When he was a lad of about thirteen D. C. Donovan embarked in the world of business in the neighboring town of Crescentville by entering the employ of the Friend & Fox Paper Company. He worked in their mills, where paper was manufactured, and was gradually promoted from one position to another. He learned every detail of the business and laid the foundations of his future success in life by acquiring correct methods and principles of action. He remained in the employ of the one firm until he was twenty-three years of age, when he engaged in business on his own account as a merchant.

     This pursuit he followed with fair success for three years, but feeling the need of special training in commercial transactions, he entered the Normal school at Lebanon, Ohio, graduating from the business course in 1880.

     Having a desire to try his wings in the outside world and to see something of the great west, where he believed larger opportunities awaited him, Mr. Donovan came to Colorado in April, 1881. He entered the employ of the B. F. Hallock Lumber Company, of Denver, and, having mastered the general run of the trade, came to Longmont the following year and started a lumber yard here. His business location has been changed three times, but he has occupied his present site for the past seven years. The yards are about half a block in extent and are situated on Main street, between Second and Third avenues. Good sheds, warehouses and offices are on the premises, and a full line of builders' materials are kept in stock. About thirteen years ago Mr. Donovan entered upon the manufacture of brick, and of late years has added a retail coal business to his other enterprises. His brick yards, south of Coffman's addition to the city, cover five acres. The plant has a capacity of one million bricks per annum. In 1887 the present firm, composed of himself and brother, J. A., was formed, under the style of D. C. Donovan & Co.

     Three times Mr. Donovan has served as one of the trustees of Longmont. He is active in the Democratic party, and has frequently attended the state conventions of the same. In 1892 he was honored by being elected as a delegate to the national Democratic convention which assembled in Chicago and nominated Cleveland. He is connected with the Woodmen of the World. His marriage was solemnized in Longmont in 1885, Miss Clara Henretty, daughter of Peter and Mary (Dillon) Henretty, being the lady of his choice. Mrs. Donovan was likewise born in Ohio, though in Warren County. Five children comprise their family, namely: Irene, Alice, Clara, Herbert and Sheridan.

OM BEACH, who has resided in Fort Collins since 1881, is of English birth, a native of London and a member of an old family of that city. His parents, George and Caroline (Reeder) Beach, were born in London and Dor-
   15

396
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

setshire respectively, and died at the ages of sixty-five and sixty-two. His grandfather, George Beach, was engaged in the whaling business having vessels made for his use in his long expeditious upon the North Sea, and continuing in the same occupation until he died. George, Jr., was a miller by trade, and operated two mills at Croydon; he was also a custom house or excise officer. In his family there were six children, namely: George (3d), who was a wheelwright in London; Alfred, who died in London at twenty years of age; Tom; Arthur, who is engaged in the cattle business in Old Mexico; Caroline Mrs. Joseph Lathamn, of London, England; and Alice, who died in London.

     In London, where he was born, October 4, 1855, our subject attended the national schools. In 1871, a lad, friendless and alone, he came to America, landing in New York, and from there journeying to Alton, Ill., where he arrived without a dollar. Fortunately he at once secured work, being taken into a meat market, where he learned the butcher's business. He remained in Alton for ten years. In 1881 he came to Fort Collins, where he bought an old meat market from James Fletcher and embarked in the meat business on Linden street, then located on College avenue, where he has continued almost ever since. In addition to the sale of meat, he has engaged in raising and feeding stock. He bought a ranch of two hundred and forty acres on the Cache la Poudre, four and one-half miles from Fort Collins, where he has two hundred head of cattle and fifteen hundred sheep and lambs. Here, too, he raises alfalfa for feed, averaging eight hundred tons a year. Until a few years ago he owned a cattle ranch in Chalk Bluffs, Weld County.

      In 1895 Mr. Beach took a partner into his businesss (sic), Ward Stewart, since which time the firm has been Beach & Stewart. They have two markets in Fort Collins, one on Linden street, the other on College avenue, and carry a full line of fresh meats. Their slaughter house is on a ten acre tract west of town, with feed yards attached. They cure their own pork, and sell large quantities of bacon and smoked ham; also pack considerable pork and manufacture sausage of all kinds, operating their plant with a gasoline engine. The delivery outfits are the finest in the city, the wagons and horses being the best that can be bought. If Mr. Beach has a hobby, it is a desire to have everything connected with his business carried on systematically and satisfactorily. Those who are acquainted with the business know that he has succeeded in this desire. In addition to his business property he owns a comfortable home.

     In Alton, Ill., Mr. Beach married Miss Lucy Douglas, who was born in that city, daughter of Henry Douglas, a native of Durham, England, and an old settler and farmer near Alton. She is identified with Unity Church and is a lady of culture and refinement. The five children born of their union are: Alice, Annie, Nellie, Tom, Jr, and George, all at home. Formerly Mr. Beach voted the Republican ticket, but when his party declared for the gold standard, he identified himself with the People's party, believing that the cause of silver should be supported by all who wish to arrive at a satisfactory settlement of the currency problem.

ERY REV. HENRY ROBINSON, V. G. No priest now living in Colorado has been identified with the history of the Catholic Church in this state for a longer number of years than has the vicar-general of the Denver diocese. Assigned to work among miners, in the fall of 1874 he went to his new field of labor, which comprised Park, Chaffee, Summit and Lake Counties, containing, altogether, not more than one hundred Catholics. Those were days of hardships, which tested the power of physical endurance. Often, in the discharge of his duties, the young priest crossed the mountains on foot, carrying with him a lunch and blanket, and frequently journeying for forty miles without passing a house. Wild game was plentiful and herds of antelopes were sometimes seen, with as many as one thousand head in a herd. The surroundings were those of primeval nature, except where might be seen a mining camp and near by a village with a few rudely constructed houses.

     The years that have since elapsed have witnessed many changes, but the growth of the population is not more remarkable than the increase in the number of Catholic communicants, a fact that is due to the efforts of Father Robinson in no small degree. When after twenty-five years of tireless labor he celebrated the silver jubilee of his work as priest, the occasion was