Mardos Collection
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Two of their sons, Edward Wesley and Wiley, fought in the Mexican war, and of their entire family of four girls and two boys, only three survive.
Since the death of her husband Mrs. Duncan has lived in Boulder, at No. 735 Pine street, though she still owns the old homestead and other property. Of the seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Duncan, Margaret J. and Robert A. reside in Boulder; John T. is superintendent of the Dewdrop Mining Company, at Ward; Mary W. is engaged in mercantile business at Camp Francis, Boulder County, Colo.; Edward E., after an active life as a farmer, stock grower and miner, died in Denver in 1896, at the age of thirty-three years, leaving one son, Claude Irving, and his wife, Elcena Duncan, daughter of Turner Wright; Guy D. lives in Boulder; and James Dell died June 9, 1893, but four days after reaching his majority. At the time of this death a peculiar coincidence was noted by the father. The first corpse which he could recall was that of his uncle James, while his oldest daughter, Margaret, remembered that the first corpse she ever saw was that of her uncle James, and his three grandchildren then beheld their uncle of the same name as the first corpse they had ever seen. Mrs. Duncan recalls her early experiences in this state with a feeling of relief that such times do not now exist. Many a night she has lain awake, dreading lest the hostile Indians should surround the lonely cabin. In 1864 Mr. Duncan and other pioneers built a sod fort, near his farm in Weld County, into which his family were to take refuge should they at any time have warning of an attack of the Redskins. She and her husband were proud that several of their children were among the first to enter the State University and that all of them have received the best education which their economy and energy rendered possible.
UY D. DUNCAN, one of the prominent young members of the legal profession in Boulder, is very popular with the citizens of this place and has a brilliant future in store. He ably and efficiently served as deputy district attorney for three years and has been the secretary of the Boulder County Bar Association. He takes great interest in all of the occupations and industries which absorb the attention of the people of this region, and is foremost in advocating all improvements and enterprises calculated to upbuild and develop the resources of the community in which he dwells.
Our subject is a son of Elisha and Mary W. (Myatt) Duncan, whose biography appears elsewhere in this volume. Guy D. is a native of Colorado, his birth having occurred a few years subsequent to the arrival of the family in this state. The date of this event in his history is July 5, 1866, and his birthplace was his father's fine homestead on the St. Vrain River, east of Longmont, Weld County. In his boyhood he attended the district schools and later, coming to Boulder, was a student here. He graduated from the preparatory department of the University of Colorado in 1885, and then matriculated in the university, continuing there until the close of his junior year. In 1888 he enrolled in the University of Michigan, and in the summer of 1890 graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy. Prior thereto, and from that time forward, he devoted himself assiduously to the study of law, and was duly graduated from the University of Michigan with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, in June, 1891.
Returning home he at once embarked in his chosen life-work and soon established an office in Boulder, and has since been industriously and busily occupied in attending to the needs of his clients. At present his office is centrally situated, being in the Masonic Temple. His practice is general, and he is authorized to appear before all the state and federal courts. From 1895 to 1898 he was deputy district attorney, serving under A. C. Patton. Since attaining his right of franchise he has used the same in favor of the People's party, and has been their candidate at different times, for the positions of county judge and city attorney; he is at this writing a candidate for county judge. He is financially interested in the Boulder County Development Company, which has mines in this locality and he is also individually connected with several mining and farming enterprises. He is now interested in the establishment of an electric railway in Boulder and vicinity. Personally, he is well liked and a general favorite in society, as well as in business circles. His superior education and general knowledge of men and
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. affairs, the culture he has acquired in travel and in college life, make him an entertaining conversationalist.
OBERT A. DUNCAN, a well-known citizen of Boulder, has literally grown up among mines, and cannot recall a time when he was not deeply interested in the subject. He was but five years of age when, in 1860, he crossed the plains with his parents in a mule train, and landed in Colorado, and from that time to the present he has been more or less intimately associated with mining operations. Though now but in the prime of manhood, he is entitled to be called a pioneer of this region, and few of the residents of the state have had the privilege of watching its marvelous development for a longer period. Years ago, when the Democratic party was in a minority in Boulder County, he was a candidate on that ticket for the office of county commissioner and also for the legislature, and since the monetary system has been the most prominent feature of politics he has advocated silver.
The birth of our subject took place in Carlyle, Clinton County, Ill., August 14, 1855. He is next to the oldest in a family of seven children. (See sketch of his father, Elisha Duncan, for family history.) The journey across the plains in wagons drawn by mules and oxen was a wonderful event to the boy, and after the party reached Colorado his father decided to locate at Golden Gate, above Golden City. There the lad went to school for a short time and also was a pupil in the school at Golden, but his educational advantages were quite limited, owing to the few facilities within his reach in the sparsely settled districts in which he, resided. When he was a mere child he accompanied his father in his prospecting expeditions and frequently carried provisions and supplies to the mining camp. In 1865 he located in Longmont; and in 1877 he went to Leadville.
It would be difficult to tell exactly when Robert A. Duncan first actively engaged in mining operations on his own account, but certain it is that he was very young. In the vicinity of Leadville he was concerned in numerous enterprises of the kind for two or more years, but in the spring of 1879 went into Gunnison County, and prospected and mined near Gothic and Ruby. There he discovered several good gold and silver mines, most of which are still being worked with profit. The chief producers, Little Chief, Lead Chief; Oakes and Independence, were very successfully run by Mr. Duncan up to 1885, when he commenced his labors in Ward and vicinity. There he opened the Puzzler, the Dewdrop, the Protection and the Red Lion group of mines. The Puzzler was for years one of the best paying mines of its class. The Dewdrop was operated by our subject and his brother, John T., for some time, as was the Protection, which he discovered, put into fine condition and later sold. At present among his property is Chief Big-Finger mine, and the east extension of the B. and M. mine. The outlook for this mine is most promising, and the Lois and the Lucky Star, in Sugar Loaf district, are also doing well. In addition to the others named Mr. Duncan owns six claims in Gilpin County, the Orear group, situated in Travis Gulch. He is a practical miner, understanding thoroughly the best methods for this peculiar region, and has made the subject a serious study.
Several years ago Mr. Duncan erected his comfortable house at No. 430 Mapleton avenue, the first residence put up on this street. His marriage to Miss Myrtle Wright took place in Longmont in 1890. She was born in Weld County, Colo., and is a daughter of Turner Wright, who was one of the pioneers of this state, and is now a resident of Denver. Mr. and Mrs. Duncan have three children, Ralph, Ella and Lawrence.
M. JORALMON. The causes which led to the rapid development of Colorado were principally her enormous resources and the able business men who helped to develop them. Among the active, wide-awake business men of Denver, who by their tireless energy and thorough business methods have made Colorado famous as one of the great banking and business centers of America, we confidently mention the subject of this sketch. In a remarkably short time, Mr. Joralmon has gained the good will and confidence of our older financiers and by his honorable dealings and courteous bearing secured the confidence of the people, who are the best judges of a man's worth and ability.
Mr. Joralmon descends from the best of old Huguenot stock, who for the sake of honest con-
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 467
victions and religious principles left home and lifelong friends, to live in a far-away land, the faith they held being dearer than life itself. We hear much of the Pilgrim Fathers, but little is said in history of the intelligent and liberal-minded Huguenot who brought his knowledge and art into a new country, ill-fitted to receive them, and yet who left upon our western civilization the indelible impress of his sterling character, which has descended through many generations.
The old French ancestors found a refuge in America about 1620 and eventually settled in Westchester County, N. Y., where they became prominent. One of them, Capt. Henry Joralemon (as the name was then spelled) was a Revolutionary soldier, of whom mention is made in Barker's History of New Jersey. Through the Kierstead family they are related to the Bogardus and Anneke Jans families. Members of the family were among the founders of Brooklyn, N. Y., and one of the principal streets in the business center of that city bears the family name to this day.
Rev. John Sansom Joralmon, the father of our subject, was born in New York City. He received excellent educational advantages, graduating from Rutgers College in New Brunswick, N. Y., in classics and theology, and receiving the degree of A. M. Shortly afterward he was ordained to the ministry of the Dutch Reformed Church and at once offered himself to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. He was assigned to Amoy, China, where he remained for three years. On his return to America he became pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church at Belleville, N. J. Later, for twenty-five years he resided at Fairview, Fulton County, Ill., after which he accepted the pastorate of the Dutch Reformed Church at Norwood Park, Chicago. Since his retirement from an active ministerial service, he has resided in Denver. His wife, Martha Bogart Condit, was a daughter of Peter Condit and was born, of English descent, in Newark, N. J. She is the mother of two children, Harry McDonald and Louis Bogart Joralmon, who are associated together in business.
The subject of this sketch was born near Chicago, Ill. He was educated at Knox College, Galesburg, from which he later received the degree of A. M. He has decided literary tastes, which he cultivated while associate editor of the American Field for a period of six years. To his friends it is a surprise that he chose a business life, when nature had endowed him with rare mental gifts that would have brought him honor, if not wealth, in the world of letters. His energetic spirit, clear perceptions and a good knowledge of business methods, however, led him to engage in the investment and private banking business in Chicago. He came to, Denver in 1889 and here, principally by his own energy and ability, he rose in a remarkably short time to the enviable position he now occupies. He is a director of the Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade and has other important business connections. He is the senior member of the firm of Joralmon & Co., investment bankers, financial agents and attorneys, with elegant offices in the Equitable building. The business was first established in 1873 in Colorado Springs, but removed to Denver in 1883. Mr. Joralmon is a man of business ability and sound judgment, and his advice is often sought by experienced business men, who look upon him as a man destined to take an important part in the management of finances in Colorado and the great west.
Politically Mr. Joralmon is a gold Democrat. Socially he is a member of the Denver Club and the Overland Park Club. His wife, Katherine (Gaddis) Joralmon, is a graduate of the well-known Illinois Female Seminary and a lady of culture and refinement. Their home is brightened by two daughters, Berenice and Catherine. Mrs. Joralmon is a daughter of Dr. John Van Dyke Gaddis, a well-known physician of Illinois, and is a descendant of Sarah Rappelje, the first white child born in Long Island.
HARLES TURNER NEWMARCH, a retired dairyman and stock-raiser, whose home is three miles northwest of Sedalia, Douglas County, and who is the owner of a ranch comprising five hundred and thirty acres, was born in Lincolnshire, England, September 15, 1825, being a son of Thomas and Mary (Turner) Newmarch. He was reared on a farm in England and began to be self-supporting when a mere lad. In 1853 he came to America, landing in Montreal after a voyage of nine weeks and three
468
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. days on a sailing vessel, during winch time they encountered a severe storm and gave themselves up for lost. After a few days in Montreal he came to the United States, joining a cousin in Washington County Ohio. For a year he worked on the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad in that locality.
Starting down the Ohio River in a skiff, Mr. Newmarch deserted the skiff for a steamer, and continued on the latter until he reached Point Pleasant, where he disembarked and took a stage to Charleston, W. Va. He went to a place where a tunnel was being cut through the Allegheny Mountains, and there for several years he had charge of the laborers. July 7, 1858, he left that place and went by stage to Charleston, where he took a boat for Cincinnati, and thence journeyed by steamer to St. Louis. From there, via another steamer, he traveled to Comanche, Clinton County, Iowa, to which place his cousin had removed from Ohio. He remained in that county until May 12, 1859, when he started for Pike's Peak, accompanying B. H. Frank and O. B. Lowell, and making the trip with a wagon and an ox team. They reached Boulder just as the raspberries were ripening, and as there was an abundance of the fruit, they subsisted largely upon it. They made a general survey of the mines. Their camp was on Clear Creek, a few miles below Golden. Some of the party went to Georgia Gulch, but returned, reporting no gold. They then went to Blackhawk and mined in Gregory Gulch until autumn, but were not very fortunate, barely making their expenses. Returning to Denver they camped in a tent near the present site of the Union depot, which property they could have secured for almost nothing. Mr. Newmarch took a claim near where Rufus Clark had settled. In the spring of the following year he left Denver on the day of the famous duel fought between Bliss and Stone. Going to Russell Gulch he worked there, also at Idaho Springs and Spanish Bar. Finally he and his companions reached a lake where they found some gold, but soon afterward one of the men fell a victim to the mountain fever, and the others traded their claim for a team. They went to Jefferson County and gave the name of Deer Creek to a small stream, naming it this on account of the large number of deer and other game found there. Settling there the men turned their attention to farming, and were quite successful, selling one hundred tons of hay for $25 a ton, and receiving cash in payment.
In 1863 Mr. Newmarch sold out and moved to Platte Canon, in Douglas County, where he traded for a squatter's claim. In 1866 he sold out and moved to Indian Creek, squatting on a claim' where W. T. Lambert now lives. He had a cabin on Wild Creek, and there lived for some time, but finally moved to the land now owned by W. P. Lambert. Soon after his marriage, which occurred November 15, 1868, he moved to his present property, building a neat residence there in 1873. His wife, Elizabeth M. Ferry, was born in Somersetshire, England, a daughter of James and Elizabeth Ann (Dowden) Perry. She was about nine years of age when she came to America with her parents and settled in Pennsylvania, but after a few months removed to Delaware, and one year later went to New Jersey, thence after a year settled in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and in 1857 went further west to Davenport, Iowa, and from there in 1860 removed to St. Joseph, Mo. In July, 1861 they came to Colorado, and have since lived in Douglas County. Mr. and Mrs. Newmarch are the parents of three children now living: Charles James, who is a farmer; George Thomas, who married Susan B. Harlin, and has one child; and Ida M. A., who resides at home.
Politically a Democrat, Mr. Newmarch has never actively identified himself with politics, and has always refused to become a candidate for office. He was reared in the Methodist faith, but became an Episcopalian, and all of his family are also connected with that denomination.
In 1867 the Indians became troublesome and attacked settlers in this part of the state. One day, while Mr. Newmarch was looking after his cattle, a man hurried along and gave warning that the Indians were approaching and had already driven some of the cattle away. The savages had encamped and fortified themselves near where Benjamin Quick now lives. Our subject and others went to the place, but found the Indians had gone down to Platte Canon. The white men followed. Meantime the red men were stealing horses and cattle, and killed a man near where Mr. Perry now lives, hurrying away after the awful deed, and leaving the man's scalp in the bushes. While the settlers were riding along,
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