AUGUSTE COURVOISIER.
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UGUSTE
COURVOISIER. Both in physical and mental endowments this
well-known watchmaker of Denver is a remarkable man. Though
advanced in years, he is hale and robust, his hand is as steady
and his eye as keen as in days gone by. His skill in the repairing
of watches is so well known that they are sent to him to be
repaired from every part of the country, between the lakes and the
gulf, the Atlantic and the Pacific, and never yet has he failed to
repair a watch perfectly. In fact, he has offered a reward of
$1,000 for any watch that he cannot repair, but it is not probable
that he will ever be called upon to pay this amount.
In points of years of work at the trade, Mr. Courvoisier is the oldest watchmaker in the state, having followed the business for sixty-six years; and he is third in point of time spent in Denver. His location in this city was partly the result of chance, as he had started from the east as Montana as his objective point, but the Indians being dangerous, he deemed it best not to proceed further on his journey, so located in Denver in the fall of 1866. He began in business on Larimer street and built at Nos. 1732-34 during the early days of his residence here, this being the first brick building in the block. From there he removed to Lawrence street, near Nineteenth, where he also built, and both of these properties he still owns. In 1889 he visited Europe and attended the Paris Exposition, and after his return he built a two-story block, 60x60, corner of Broadway and Dakota avenue, where he still carries on a jewelry business.
In Canton, Neuchatel, Switzerland, our subject was born November 11, 1821, the son of Hipolite and Felicite (Pernoud) Courvoisier, also natives of Switzerland, but of French descent. His paternal grandfather, David Louis Courvoisier, was a farmer, and his maternal grandfather, Henry Francois Pernoud, followed the watchmaker's trade; the latter attained the age of nearly one hundred years. Our subject's father was a woodturner and cooper and manufactured all kinds of woodwork. When an old man he came to America and joined his son, Auguste, in Madison, Wis., where he died. Twice married, by his first wife he had five children, of whom Auguste was next to the oldest and is the only one living; by his second marriage he had one child.
At the age of ten our subject was apprenticed to a watchmaker for seven years and at the close of his time he traveled in France, following his trade. He took part in the Revolution of 1848. When the republic was overthrown and an empire again established, he came to America, settling in Providence, R. I., in 1852. For eight months he was in the employ of Sharp & Brown, after which he started in business for himself. During eight months of 1854 he worked at his trade in Attleboro, Mass. In 1855 he, removed to Madison, Wis., and opened a store on Pinkney's street. During the Pike's Peak gold excitement of 1859 he started for Colorado, but instead of mining settled in what is now DeSoto, Neb. In the fall of the same year he removed to New Orleans, where he spent two years, returning thence. to Madison, but later going back to New Orleans. When the war opened the Confederate government attempted to force him into service; not desiring to enlist, he started for France, but was blockaded for forty-three days on shipboard. Finally he succeeded in making his way up the Mississippi to St. Louis, from which city he went to Madison. In the fall of 1862 he started for France, where and in Switzerland he spent a year, then returning to Madison, Wis., remained there until 1866, the date of his location in Denver. He made the journey westward by means of a mule train, enduring all the hardships of such a trip.
Mr. Courvoisier has always had
the greatest faith in the future of Denver as a metropolitan city.
After being in Denver one year, and in spite of the entreaties of
some friends who wanted him to locate in Golden, he answered that
he wanted to see Denver with fifty thousand inhabitants. While
there was no room in Golden for such a population, the said
friends laughed at him and asked if he expected to live a couple
of hundred years. He believes that at no distant day Denver will
rise to a foremost position among the cities of the United States,
as it is now the principal city of the great west. He owns a ranch
two and one-half miles from the heart of Denver and consisting of
one hundred acres, twenty of which are within the city limits. His
possessions here are large and valuable, but he does not desire to
sell, preferring to hold all his property awaiting the further
growth and development of the city. However, he does not believe
that the west can
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expect any continued prosperity until the currency question is adjusted on a more satisfactory basis and the double standard is adopted. He is a member of the Gruetli Verein, the Swiss society here. While in Besancon, France, he was made a Free Mason and was master of the lodge there. In France he married Victorine Colard, who was born there and died in Denver September 21, 1896, aged seventy years.
AMES
IZETT. When a mere boy Mr. Izett came from Scotland to America and
settled with the other members of the family in Denver, then a
comparatively small and unimportant place, with few indications to
the unobserving eye of its present greatness. October 31, 1888, he
opened a shop at No. 1131 Welton street, where he has a building
two stories in height and 25x100 feet in dimensions, devoted to
the manufacture of vehicles of all kinds, though making a
specialty of delivery wagons.
The Izetts are a Scotch family, Grandfather James Izett was born in Ayrshire, and for years was a toll-gate keeper at Lanark, but afterward kept a country inn in the same place. His son, James, Jr., who was a native of Ayrshire and a carpenter by trade, came to America in 1871 and settled in Denver, where he was joined by his family the following year. He worked at his trade, being for a time in the shops of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, but in 1878 he turned his attention to merchandising, opening a store on Welton street. After his death, which occurred in 1889, at the age of forty-seven, the business was continued by his second wife, Jane (Harvey) Izett. His first wife, Elizabeth, daughter of John Harvey, was born near Lanark and died in Denver in 1872. She was of distinguished Covenanter descent; one of her ancestors, William Harvey, was burned at the stake on account of his religious belief. Of her six children all but one are living.
James was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, June 2, 1863, and was the eldest of the family. At the age of nine he came to Denver, where he attended the grammar school. Afterward he carried on his studies in the Boulder high school for a year. At the age of fourteen he secured employment on a ranch near Byers, where he remained for six months; then returning to Denver, he clerked in a hardware store for six months and for a similar period was on a farm near Clear Creek. At the age of sixteen he began a four years' apprenticeship to the general blacksmith's trade under William Reid, and at the expiration of his time he engaged in journeyman work. He worked for the Colorado Iron Works, and later worked eighteen months in the Denver & Rio Grande shops. In 1883 he sailed for Europe on the ship "Devonia," spending ten days between New York and Glasgow. During the winter he worked in Perth, Scotland, then went to Glasgow and secured employment in the Dubbs Locomotive Works as a blacksmith, remaining there for eighteen months. In 1885 he came back to the United States, and the following three and one-half years he worked as a blacksmith in the employ of David Orrock.
While in Scotland Mr. Izett was made a Mason and is now a demitted member of the fraternity. He was united in marriage, in Denver, with Miss Alexandra Fraser, who was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, but has spent ten years of her life in Denver, where her father, Gordon Fraser, was a carpenter. The three children of Mr. and Mrs. Izett are: Jeannie I., Elizabeth H. and James Izett, Jr.
As a workman Mr. Izett has few equals, having learned his trade thoroughly in two continents. His growing business is in itself a testimony of the appreciation Denver people have for his ability.
HILIP
ZANG, founder of the Ph. Zang Brewing Company, of Denver, is a
native of Bavaria, Germany, and is next to the oldest among the
six sons and two daughters of John and Fredericka (Kaufman) Zang.
His father, who was a member of an old Bavarian family, engaged in
farming and the milling business, and took part in the Napoleonic
wars, accompanying the illustrious general on his march to Moscow.
He died in 1849, at the age of sixty-two. Of his children two sons
and one daughter are living, the latter being still a resident of
Bavaria. One of the sons, Alexander, came to America and during
the Civil war served in the Thirty-ninth New York Infantry; he
died in Denver in 1892.
In accordance with the national custom, the subject of this sketch attended school until he was fourteen, when he was bound out to learn a trade.
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For two and one-half years he was a brewer's apprentice, after which he traveled around Germany, working at his trade as he had opportunity. In 1853 he came to America, going from Rotterdam to Hull, thence to Liverpool, and from there on the "City of Glasgow," which landed him in Philadelphia after a voyage of eighteen days. Ignorant of the English language, his first endeavor was to gain sufficient knowledge to converse with the people here, and during the first six months in this country, while working as a railroad hand, he was storing in his mind a knowledge of our customs and language. In January, 1854, he went to Louisville, Ky., where he worked at his trade for one year. Later, desiring to learn engineering, he secured employment in a woolen mill, and remained there until January, 1859, meantime becoming familiar with the engineer's occupation. During the latter year he built a brewery in Louisville and this he conducted alone until 1865, when he erected a large brewery, which was carried on under the firm name of Zang & Co. Selling this in February, 1869, he decided to locate in the growing town of Denver.
Here Mr. Zang was engaged as superintendent of the brewery owned by John Good until July, 1871, when he bought out his employer and continued the business alone. The business had been started by Mr. Good in 1859 on the same spot, under the title of the Rocky Mountain Brewery, which continued to be its name for some years. In July, 1871, Mr. Zang enlarged the brewery, which now has a capacity of one hundred and fifty thousand barrels per annum, and is the largest between St. Louis and San Francisco. There are also a malt house, with modern equipments; an ice plant, lager beer vaults, boiler house, brewery stables, and a switch from the railroad connecting with the main lines, in order to facilitate the work of shipment. In 1880 the name was changed to Philip Zang & Co., and in July, 1889, the business was sold to an English syndicate, who changed the name to the Ph. Zang Brewing Company. Adolph J. Zang, our subject's only son, is now the manager of the brewery, and our subject assists him by his counsel and experience. He is interested in mining companies in Cripple Creek and Eagle County and also has interests in Silverton mining districts.
In Philadelphia Mr. Zang married Miss Elizabeth Hurlebaus, who died in Chicago, leaving an only child, Adolph J. In Denver, October 18, 1870, he was united in marriage with Mrs. Anna B. Boch, nee Kalberer, an estimable lady and one who has many friends in this city. The family residence, built in 1887, stands at No. 2342 Seventh street. For one term Mr. Zang served as an alderman of the sixth ward, to which position he was elected on the Democratic ticket, but he himself is independent in politics. While in Louisville he was made a Mason and an Odd Fellow, and he now belongs to Schiller Lodge No. 41, A. F. & A. M., and Germania Lodge No. 14, I. O.O. F., of Denver, of both of which he is a charter member. He is also connected with the Turn Verein, Krieger Verein and Bavarian Verein, and takes a prominent part in all local affairs.
ILLIAM
ALBERT WEIGELE. In his special line of business, no man in the
west is better known than Mr. Weigele, who is proprietor of the
Weigele Pipe Works at Nos. 2949-51 Larimer street, Denver. The
building he occupies, remodeled under his supervision to meet his
special needs, is two stories in height and 25x125 feet in
dimensions. Here are manufactured riveted steel water pipe, for
placer mining, water power and water works, for pressure as high
as five hundred pounds to the square inch, and sheet steel work of
all kinds. In 1895 he manufactured sixty thousand feet of steel
pipe and the following year did even a larger amount of business,
his orders coming from all parts of Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming
and Idaho.
The Weigele family was founded in America by John C., our subject's father, who was born near Stuttgart, Germany, and emigrated with three brothers to America, all settling in Lafayette, Ind.. These brothers were George, Charles and Jacob, the last named now deceased. In Lafayette John C. engaged in the bakery business for many years, but upon retiring from active labors he joined his children in Denver, where he died at the age of fifty-five. His wife, who was also born near Stuttgart, bore the maiden name of Anna C. Hederly and accompanied her parents to America, settling in Lafayette. Her death occurred in Denver. Both she and her husband
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were consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They were the parents of six children: E. George, who was the first to come to Denver and still resides here; Caroline, wife of Frederick Neef, of Denver; John C., who was the second member of the family to settle in Denver, and is now foreman in the Weigele Pipe Works; Eda L, wife of Alonzo Hewitt, of Kansas City; William A., of Denver; and Margaret, wife of W. R. Freeman, cashier of the Colorado Midland Railroad.
During the residence of his parents in Lafayette, Ind., the subject of this sketch was born, July 24, 1869. July 8, 1880 he came with his parents to Denver, where he completed his education in the public schools. In 1885 he began in the sheet iron business with a brother, later serving an apprenticeship under John Young and in the Colorado Copper and Sheet Iron Works. He began for himself in 1892, having his shop on Thirty-second and Market streets, but in the spring of 1893 he removed to his present location. He does the heaviest and largest business of anyone in his line in the city and has built up not only a large business, but also a reputation as an honest, reliable and efficient business man. He does not take an active part in politics, contenting himself with depositing a Republican vote at elections. He was married in Denver to Miss Beatrice Coad, who was born in Blackhawk, Colo., her father having been one of the pioneer miners in that town. They are the parents of one child, a daughter, Doris Weigele.
The success which has attended Mr. Weigele is an object lesson to every young man who has his own way to make in life. He was qualified for the struggle of life by having inherited the sterling virtues of honesty and industry, which he brought into his every action and contact in business with his fellow-men. His word is never doubted and the reputation he has built up in the mountain states rests upon a solid foundation and reflects honor and credit on his name.
LEXANDER
B. POTTER; representative of the Manitou Mineral Water Company in
Denver, is of Canadian birth and English descent. His grandfather,
David Potter, a native of Scotland, and of English parentage,
emigrated to America and settled in Albany, N. Y. In that city
occurred the birth of P. M. Potter, who in early manhood moved to
Canada and embarked in business at Elora, Ontario, remaining there
as a manufacturer of machinery until his retirement from business.
He married Elizabeth Buchanan, who was born in Canada, of Scotch
lineage. Both still make their home in Elora. Of their six
children three sons and two daughters are living, Alexander being
next to the oldest. He was educated in his native town of Elora
and in youth was connected with his father in business. For a time
he was employed in the States, but returning to Canada he bought
his father's business and engaged in the manufacture of machinery.
Prosperity continued with him until the burning of his property,
which proved a serious loss; however, he rebuilt a part of the
plant and engaged in manufacturing shingles, having his water
power furnished from the Grand River.
Selling out the business in 1889, Mr. Potter came to Denver and became city salesman for one of the most prominent business houses here, but after a short time he accepted a position as traveling representative for the Manitou Mineral Water Company, his territory comprising all the district west of Chicago. In their interests he traveled throughout the western states and territories and British Columbia. When General Adams was accidentally killed in the Gomery Hotel disaster in August, 1895, Mr. Potter was chosen to succeed him as representative of the company in Denver, and has since had exclusive charge of the warehouse at No. 1317 Thirteenth street. In April, 1897, he also accepted the position of manager for the Pabst Brewing Company for the state of Colorado, the headquarters of the company being at No. 1824 Stout street, and their cold storage warehouses at the same place and also on Blake street. Fraternally he is a Mason.
Mr. Potter was married June 21, 1898, in Buffalo, N. Y., to Luella H. Schlund, of Buffalo, where her father, John B. Schlund, was formerly a well-known business man.
ARL A. LAMMERS, proprietor of the C. A. Lammers Bottling Company, of Denver, was born and reared in the province of Hanover, Germany, and received an excellent education in the gymnasium at Osnabrueck. In 1882
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he came to America and settled in St. Louis, where he clerked with several well-known firms and finally became a traveling man, selling brewers' supplies in sixteen states east and west of the Mississippi. His travels enabled him to obtain a splendid insight into different localities, their resources and prospects, and among other places visited by him, Denver he found especially pleasant and inviting. He was here in 1885 for the first time and during the ensuing five years frequently came here on short business trips, which, however, enabled him to ascertain that the city was enjoying a steady growth, with the brightest prospects for the future.
Resigning his position with the St. Louis house in 1890, Mr. Lammers visited his old home in Germany and other places in Europe. Meanwhile his building in Denver, the C. A. Lammers Bottling Works, was being erected. In July, 1891, he started the business, which, two years later, was incorporated with himself as secretary, treasurer and general manager. The works have a capacity of one hundred barrels per day, and shipments are made to Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah and Nebraska. The building is a three-story stone structure, 88x80 feet in dimensions, and the firm are the sole and exclusive bottlers for the Philip Zang Brewing Company.
In Germany, in 1891, Mr. Lammers married Miss Mary Ohlhorst, who was born in the city of Hanover. They have one child, Siegfried Alexander. In fraternal relations Mr. Lammers is identified with the Turn Verein.
TEPHEN
NEUMAN, M. D., was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, September 2,
1827, the son of Gen. Jacques and Leonore (Raffalovitch) Neuman.
His paternal grandfather, Henry Neuman, M. D., a native of
Stuttgart, Germany, accompanied Napoleon Bonaparte from France to
Russia in 1812 and remained in the latter country, where he filled
the same position as in France, that of physician to the army,
with the rank of general. He died in Moscow in 1858, at the great
age of one hundred and fourteen years. Dr. Jacques Neuman
graduated from the Academy of Surgeons in St. Petersburg and
afterward held the position of physician in the Russian army,
participating in the Polish, Turkish and Hungarian wars. He died
in 1863, at the age of sixty-eight. His wife was a daughter of
Col. Alexander Raffalovitch, a member of the nobility and an
officer in the Russian army.
The subject of this sketch was the eldest of five children. His education was completed in the St. Vladimir University of Russia, in 1859; he subsequently took a three years' post-graduate course in the Berlin University, where he graduated in medicine in 1861. He was then appointed a surgeon in the Russian army, and attained the rank of general, accompanying the army to various fields of wars. He was present in the engagements of the Crimean war, twice was sent to Turkey and twice went to Poland during the revolution there. Only once was he wounded and then but slightly. After retiring from the army he was surgeon in a hospital in St. Petersburg, but in 1889 resigned his commission and came to America. He spent six months in New York and then located in Denver, where he has a general practice in medicine and surgery.
In St. Petersburg Dr. Neuman married Emelia Raffalovitch, daughter of Alexander and sister of Daniel Raffalovitch, counselor-at-law for all the railroads and ship companies for the Russian government and representative of his country in the bimetallic conference at Brussels in 1893. Dr. Neuman is a member of prominent medical societies in Germany and Russia, Denver and Arapahoe, and also the American Medical Association. He has frequently contributed to medical journals, both in Russia and America, and stands high in the councils of the medical profession.
ANIEL NEUMAN, M. D., has resided in America since 1889. He came to Denver in January of the following year, and in 1892 entered Gross Medical College, from which he graduated in 1895 with the degree of M. D. While at college he held the position of chemist to the County Hospital. He began in practice here, having his office at No. 1311 Nineteenth street. For a time he held the position of clinical instructor of laryngology and rhinology in Gross Medical College. He is a member of the county, state and American medical societies, and was vice-president of the alumni society of his alma mater, 1897-98. A fluent writer and clear
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thinker, his contributions to medical journals are valuable additions to the medical literature of the times. In his native land he was a member of the Society of the Fourth Gymnasium and the Young Men's Literary Club of St. Petersburg.
The Neuman ancestry appears in the sketch of his father, Dr. Stephen Neuman. Daniel was the second of five children, the others being Jacob, an attorney, who holds the office of supreme judge in Eastern Siberia; Agate, whose husband is the city physician of Moscow; Matilda and Sophia, who are with their mother in Moscow. After graduating from the gymnasium of his native city, St. Petersburg, our subject entered the College of Pharmacy at St. Vladimir and graduated with the degree of Master of Pharmacy. Since coming to the United States he has built up a large practice in Denver and has become known as one of the rising physicians of the city. His attention is closely given to his profession and he has little time for politics or fraternal organizations, though he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and Woodmen of the World.
The marriage of Dr. Neuman took place in Denver, where he was united with Miss Grace Bailey, a native of England. They are the parents of a daughter, Lizzie.
AVID
H. COOVER, M. D., professor of clinical ophthalmology and otology
in Gross Medical College, oculist and aurist to St. Anthony's and
St. Joseph's hospitals and to the Union Pacific, Denver & Rio
Grande, and Denver, Leadville & Gunnison Railroads, is a
well-known and successful specialist in the treatment of diseases
of the eye and ear and has his office in the California building,
Denver. He is a member of the American Association of Railway
Surgeons and the American Medical Society, and since coming to
Denver he has identified himself with the Colorado State Medical
Society, Denver Pathological Society and Denver and Arapahoe
County Medical Society.
The Coover family originated in Germany, where the name was Kober, but Jacob, the doctor's grandfather, changed the spelling to Cover, and in the next generation it was changed to the present form of spelling. Dr. E. H. Coover, father of our subject, was born in Cumberland County, Pa., and in 1840 graduated from the Jefferson Medical College, after which for twenty years he carried on a general practice in New Cumberland. From there he removed to Harrisburg, where he is still, though now advanced in years, engaged in active practice. His wife, who was born in Harrisburg and died therein 1889, was Annie, daughter of David Rummel, of German descent, and a native of Hummelstown, Dauphin County, Pa., but for many years a saddler in Harrisburg, where he died. His wife's maternal grandfather was Christian Kunkle, a quartermaster in the Revolutionary war. The two sons of Dr. E. H. Coover are D. H. and H. R., the latter a graduate of Jefferson Medical College and a practicing physician in Harrisburg.
The subject of this sketch was born in New Cumberland, Pa., in 1852, and received his education in the public school there and the high school in Harrisburg. The study of medicine he continued under his father. In the year 1871 he entered Jefferson Medical College, where he studied for three years, though the regular college course was only two years. After graduating in 1874 he engaged in practice with his father, but two years later went to Philadelphia and spent a year in study under Dr. P. D. Keyser, in Welt's Eye Hospital. For the purpose of extending his studies he went to Europe in 1878 and studied diseases of the eye and ear in the hospitals of Berlin, Paris, Vienna and London, remaining abroad for two years. On his return to Harrisburg he at once entered upon the practice of these specialties, in which department of therapeutics he had gained a thorough practical knowledge by his studies in America and Europe. He acquired a large practice and a reputation as a skillful oculist and aurist, but his wife's health made a change of climate necessary and he therefore came to Colorado.
In Harrisburg Dr. Coover married Miss Annie Gross, by whom he had a son, David Gross. In politics he is a Republican, but not active in party affairs. He is a member of the University Club and in religious connections is identified with Central Presbyterian Church.
HEODORE SESS, member of the firm of Combs & Sess, of Denver, and a resident of this city since 1889, was born in St. Louis, Mo., May 31, 1852, and is a son of Henry and
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Elizabeth (Menke) Sess, natives of Germany. His father, who engaged in carpentering in New York and St. Louis, took his family to Leavenworth, Kan., in 1855, and there engaged in contracting and building, and also operated a sawmill. During the exciting days of slavery agitation he was an advocate of a free state. He was accidentally killed at his mill in 1863. His wife is still living in Leavenworth. Of their six children, all but one are living, Theodore being the oldest of the family and the only one in Colorado.
From the age of three years our subject spent his childhood years in Leavenworth, where he attended the public schools. At the age of sixteen he began an apprenticeship of three years to the trade of carpenter and cabinet-maker, and at the expiration of his time he went to Creston, Iowa, where he worked in the carpenter shop of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. For eleven years he held the position of assistant foreman in the coach and cab department, after which he engaged in building for two years. Coming to Denver in 1889, he worked in the employ of contractors until 1893, when he began in business for himself, forming a partnership with O. N. Combs. He has made a specialty of store and office fixtures and fine cabinet work.
In politics Mr. Sess is a silver Republican. He is a member of the Carpenters & Builders' Association and the Woodmen of the World. He was married in Creston to Miss A. E. Smith, a native of Illinois. They have two children, Herbert and Mildred.
ILLIAM
H. WEST. Among the business men of Denver this gentleman occupies
a responsible place. He is a contractor, builder and jobber, with
a specialty of laundry work, in which department he has been
particularly successful. Since taking tip-this work as his
specialty in 1896, he has refitted nearly every laundry in the
city, manufacturing their woodwork and furnishing their supplies.
In this line he is considered the best workman in Denver. He has
his office at Nos. 1421-27 Eighteenth street.
Born in Keokuk, Lee County, Iowa, Mr. West is of English descent. His grandfather, for whom he was named, was born and reared in England, where he learned the trade of weaving. He came to America on a visit when advanced in years and died here. Samuel West, our subject's father, was born in Manchester, England, where he learned the trade of gas manufacturer. He went to Keokuk to take the superintendency of the works there and remained in the city for seventeen years. At this writing he resides on a farm in Clark County, Mo. He married Mary Bowden, a native of England and daughter of James Bowden, who was an engineer there.
The eldest of five children now living, William H. West spent the first ten years of his life in Keokuk, after which he settled with the family on a farm in Clark County. At the age of twenty he began carpentering and cabinet-making in Keokuk, Iowa, where he worked at the trade for two years. In 1880 he came to Colorado and settled at Silver Cliff, where he assisted in erecting the mill for the Silver Cliff Mining and Milling Company. On the completion of the mill he was made foreman of the pan and amalgamating rooms. In January, 1881, he began to assist in the erection of a wet process mill in the same county and for eight months he was foreman of the sluice. Later for a year he engaged in prospecting, but then returned to Clark County, where he settled upon his farm of one hundred and sixty acres. The succeeding five years were devoted to the cattle business and general farm pursuits. In 1887 he returned to Denver, where he worked at his trade a short time, then went to Colorado Springs and engaged in contracting and building for two years as a member of the firm of Weight & West. Returning to Denver in 1889, he worked at his trade for others until 1893, since which time he has been a contractor, with the exception of seven months in 1894, when he was erecting and starting a mill in Idaho Springs.
In Colorado Springs, Mr. West married Miss Belle Fox, who was born in Missouri. Politically he is a silver Republican. He was made a Mason while in Keokuk, Iowa, where his membership remains. He is past officer of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, in which he has received the degree of honor.
HARLES ARTHUR BEAMER. The opera stables, of which Mr. Beamer has been manager since 1891, are situated at Nos. 1012-18 Fifteenth street, Denver, where a livery, boarding and sales business is conducted in a two-story
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building, 50x100 feet in dimensions. The barn was built about 1865 by John Hughes and was then considered out of town, but the tide of business has changed so as to make it now in the heart of the city.
Mr. Beamer was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, and is of German and French descent. His father, William Jesse, was born in Ontario, but removed to New York and engaged in the mercantile business on Broadway, after some years going west to St. Louis. During the Civil war he enlisted in a Missouri regiment and was made first lieutenant of his company, remaining in the service until he died at Springfield, Mo., at the age of thirty-five. His wife, who was Miss Emeline Woods, was born in Buffalo, N. Y., the granddaughter of a Revolutionary patriot, who died in St. Louis at eighty-nine years of age. Her father, Stephen, was born in Kentucky in 1805 and removed to Ohio, thence to Buffalo, N. Y., where he was an architect, contractor and builder. After the death of her first husband Mrs. Beamer married John R. Parsons, of St. Louis, by whom she had seven children, but only one survives. Of her first marriage there were four children, but our subject is the sole survivor. He was two years of age when his parents went to St. Louis, and his education was obtained in the public and high schools of that city. When not attending school he clerked for his step-father, who owned a store on Fourth, between Olive and Locust, a business that is still conducted there, with branch stores in New York.
At the age of twenty-four our subject embarked in business for himself, opening a men's furnishing store on Sixth street, St. Louis. In 1885 he sold out and came to Denver. He was then a widower, his first wife, who was Miss Nellie Stewart, a niece of Congressman William H. Stone, of St. Louis, having died in 1875, less than a year after their marriage. In this city he became buyer for McNamara & Co., in which capacity he went east five times a year. After continuing with the firm about four years he resigned his position, and has since managed the opera stables. He is a stanch advocate of bimetallism and fraternally is connected with Mount Moriah Lodge No. 40, A. F. & A. M., in St. Louis.
Five children, Charles Arthur, Jr., William Jesse, Elsie Marie, Berenice Beryl and Laura Frances (the latter deceased aged nine months) have been born to the union of Mr. Beamer and Miss Elva Hughes, an accomplished lady, who was born in Kentucky, and received an excellent education in eastern schools. She is one of eight children, six of whom are living, comprising the family of John and Laura F. (Carter) Hughes. Her father, who settled in Denver in early days, became largely interested in the development of the place and had important real-estate interests here. For some time he was engaged in the mercantile business, in which he was prominent and successful. In politics he was a leader of the Democratic party in this section. At the time of his death, which occurred in 1883, he was the owner of a large amount of valuable property situated in Denver, and the estate, divided among his widow and children, left them in comfortable circumstances. He is remembered as one of the most progressive and enterprising among the early business men of Denver, which owes its growth to the energy of such citizens as he.
J.
DUNLEAVY, M. D. C., has built up a large business as a veterinary
dentist and surgeon. His practice is not limited to Denver, but
extends through the surrounding country and is constantly
increasing. Being skillful and accurate, he has gained an enviable
reputation in his chosen calling and has won the confidence of the
people as to his efficiency and reliability. He is a graduate in
his profession, and to the knowledge acquired in college has added
the information obtained by experience.
The parents of Dr. Dunleavy, M. J. and Bertha (McHugh) Dunleavy, were natives of New York state. The former, who was a stockman, resided for a time in Albany, but afterward located in Owensboro, Ky., and thence removed to Belvidere, Boone County, Ill., where he died at the age of seventy-seven. His widow makes her home in St. Louis. Of their family of three sons and two daughters all are living except one of the sons. Our subject, who was next to the youngest, was born in Steuben County, N. Y., in 1863, and was eight years of age at the time the family removed to Owensboro. His education was obtained in the public school of that place and the high school of Belvidere, from which he graduated in 1881.
