Mardos Collection
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 641
toric cities of the continent. The winter of 1895 he spent in Florida, and while there crossed over to Cuba. He has visited the far-famed Yellowstone Park and was one of the visitors at the World's Fair in 1893. During 1898 he traveled through Mexico and spent some time in its capital city. Being a man of close observation, he has learned much from travel and has gained a breadth of information that makes him an entertaining companion.
HARLES WESLEY BOWLES, who occupies a large ranch near Littleton, is one of the progressive and energetic young men of his locality and has already won noteworthy success as a stockraiser. After having been in charge of a cattle ranch in Wray, Yuma County, for four years, he returned to Arapahoe County and leased from his father the large ranch owned by the latter. Here he cultivates about one thousand acres of land, raising ten thousand bushels of grain, cutting eight hundred tons of hay annually, and in addition he is extensively engaged in raising stock. He possesses excellent judgment, which, coupled with his tireless energy, will undoubtedly bring him constantly increasing prosperity.
Mr. Bowles was born in Denver November 10, 1868, the son of Joseph Wesley and Cynthia R. Miller (Blackburn) Bowles. His father, who was born in Rockford, N. C., July 17, 1836, accompanied his parents to Johnson County, Ind., in early boyhood, and from there, in the fall of 1847, removed to Keokuk County, Iowa. Again changing his place of residence in 1848, be settied in Marshall County, Iowa, when that section of country was comparatively a wilderness, with a population not to exceed twelve families. He settled upon a place, which he cleared, improved and cultivated. In March, 1858, he went still further west and settled in Riley County, Kan., where he cast his first vote, it being for the free state constitution.
When the news of the discovery of gold in Pike's Peak reached Mr. Bowles, he determined to try his luck in Colorado. Accordingly, in the spring of 1859 he joined a band of fortune-seekers and crossed the plains, reaching the Cherry Creek settlement on the 25th of May. Having come in search of gold he at once turned his attention to prospecting for that metal. He went to the mountains, where he endured many hardships and privations. In the fall of 1859 he settled on Quartz hill, Nevada district, where for three years he engaged in mining on the Burroughs lode. During his residence there he was twice elected sheriff of the district under the miners' organization. In the fall of 1862 he purchased a homestead claim near the present town of Littleton, where he has since resided, and by subsequent purchases and many improvements he has made the ranch one of the largest and best in Arapahoe County. For some years he was extensively engaged in raising stock, his ranch being on the Republican River, in Yuma County.
In public affairs Mr. Bowles has been influential and prominent. In September, 1869, he was elected to the board of county commissioners and on the expiration of his term, in 1874, was again chosen to occupy the office, in which he was accounted an able, efficient and conscientious officer. In the fall of 1880 he was elected to the state legislature. For some years he was a director in the City National Bank, and continued interested in the institution after its absorption by the American National Bank. By the enhanced value of his landed estate and by his success in the cattle business, he has become wealthy, and after more than thirty years of honorable labor he now lives in contented retirement. By his marriage to the daughter of Gideon Blackburn, a resident of Pettis County, Mo., he became the father of five children: Charles W.; Edward V., an extensive cattle grower in Wray; Josie C. and Harry, deceased; and Walter A., a youth of sixteen years. Through all the years of his residence in Colorado, Mr. Bowles has never entirely abandoned mining and he now has extensive mining interests in Eldoro, Colo., which promise much.
When our subject was three years of age the family settled upon the ranch. He attended time public schools of Littleton, later took a commercial course at Notre Dame, Ind., and also spent one year as a student in the State University at Boulder. On completing his education he went to Wray, where he was employed for four years as foreman on his father's ranch. Since that time he has resided on the home ranch. March 20, 1892, he married Addie N., daughter of T. J. and Susan E. (Randolph) Lee, the former a prominent farmer of Fort Logan. Three children have been born of their union: Nellie C.,
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. who was born October 13, 1893; Albert, deceased; and Baby Ed. Politically Mr. Bowles is a Republican. In May, 1897, he was elected a member of the Littleton school board and in that office has striven to advance the educational interests of the town.
AMES B. TOURTELLOT. During the thirty-five years of his residence in Boulder County Mr. Tourtellot has owned many tracts of land, and now has in his home place some two hundred and eighty acres, where he is giving his attention to the cattle business. Besides this, he is the owner of three hundred acres scattered in different parts of this county. As a stockman he is enterprising, judicious and persevering, and the prosperity he now enjoys represents his intelligent labor through the past years.
In Rhode Island, February 26, 1841, the subject of this sketch was born to Jonathan A. and Maria (Wade) Tourtellot, and is the only survivor of four children comprising the family. His parents were natives of Rhode Island. His father, who was born in 1812, was a son of Jesse Tourtellot, whose family resided in Rhode Island while he engaged in business in Cincinnati, Ohio, he being one of the first pork packers in that city. Once every year he visited his family in the east, making the trip both ways on horseback.
A man of versatile ability, Jonathan A. Tourtellot was interested in various enterprises, having farming interests, also engaged in the mercantile and woolen mill business. In 1853 he moved to the western part of Connecticut, and there remained until 1855, when he returned to Rhode Island. The following year he came west as far as Geneseo, Henry County, Ill., where he remained until 1860. There his active disposition found a channel for its outlet in various enterprises, such as farming, the hotel business, the management of. a flouring mill, etc. In 1860 he formed one of the Colorado pioneers, coming to Boulder, where he opened a hotel and general store and became interested in mining. He was one of the active business men of this city until his death, which occurred in 1870.
At the age of eighteen years our subject left the parental home. In 1859 he went to California and worked for an uncle in San Francisco in the milk business, spending the greater part of five years in that city. From that state he took a steamer to the isthmus and thence to New York, after which he visited his relatives for a short time. It was his intention to proceed by stage from Atchison to Colorado, but at Atchison he found the Indian depredations had resulted in an abandonment of the stage line, so he went to Omaha, where he traveled by stage to Fort Kearney, and from there hired out to drive a four-mule team to one of a train of freighters' wagons bound for Denver. Notwithstanding that Indians were exceedingly hostile, they arrived at their destination without having encountered any of the red men. From Denver he came to Boulder County, where he has since engaged in the cattle business.
The marriage of Mr. Tourtellot to Miss Sarah, daughter of Marinus G. Smith, a Colorado pioneer of 1858, occurred April 8, 1866. Eleven children were born of their union, namely: Charles, who is a farmer in Arizona; James, of Leadville; Maria, wife of Arthur H. Allen, a druggist in Denver; Albert; Louise, deceased; Ralph, who lives in Leadville; Amy, a graduate of the preparatory school in Boulder and now a teacher in district schools; Jo, also a graduate of the preparatory school; Curtis, who is engaged in farming in Boulder County; Frank and Walter, who are still at home. In politics Mr. Tourtellot is liberal, with sympathies toward the Democratic party. In 1866, being the lowest bidder, he was appointed to assess Boulder County. He has had no desire for public office, preferring to give his attention wholly to business affairs.
OLDEN RENNINGTON ELDRED. Of the pioneers of Colorado few crossed the plains more times then did the gentleman whose name stands at the head of this review, and very few had more narrow escapes and thrilling experiences in dealing with the hostile Indians than fell to his share. He has lived to see peace and plenty, civilization and progress possess those once barren valleys, and "the desert blossom like the rose," and can truly feel that he has been no unimportant factor in the happy result. He is justly entitled to an honored place among the Colorado Pioneers' Association, to which he has belonged for many years.
Born in Medina County, Ohio, May 3, 1837,
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 643
our subject is a son of Dr. Holden and Polly (Tryon) Eldred, natives of London, England, and Glasgow, Scotland, respectively. Dr. Holden Eldred was a graduate of a London medical college, and in the early part of this century crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a sailing vessel, here to found a home. He lived at first in New York state, but later removed to Medina, Ohio, and in 1842 to Lowell, Dodge County, Wis., where he was actively engaged in the practice of his profession until he retired from arduous labor. He was ninety-four years old at the time of his death. His wife was a daughter of David Tryon, who was an Ohio farmer for many years. Mrs. Eldred was severely injured when sixty-five years old, by a runaway team, and died from the effects of the injuries received. Dr. Eldred and wife were the parents of thirteen children, all but one of whom lived to maturity. Six of the number are now living. Two of the sons were soldiers in the Union army during the Civil war; Daniel was a colonel in the Tenth Wisconsin, of which his brother Martin was also a member. Frederick has been engaged in mining in Boulder since 1875.
H. R. Eldred received good common-school advantages in Wisconsin in his youth. March 25, 1860, he married Ophelia P. Allen, who was a native of Wisconsin, and is a daughter of Judge A. P. Allen and sister of Dr. H. W. Allen, of Boulder. (See his sketch, which appears elsewhere in this volume.) Upon the second of April, 1860, the young couple set out upon their wedding tour, a journey across the plains. They were accompanied by Judge Allen and other members of his family, and by some friends and neighbors. The party went to Denver by way of Plattsmouth, ox-teams conveying them and necessary equipments. Our subject then engaged in freighting to and through the mountains, and crossed the plains nineteen times with teams. Several times in 1853 and 1865 he participated in skirmishes and fights with the Indians, and in the intermediate year was lieutenant of the Tyler Rangers, who were organized at Blackhawk, for protection of settlers and in order to keep the route to the west free from attacks by the Redskins. He then took up his abode in Blackhawk, and was there occupied in merchandising until 1867. He next went into partnership with his brother, Frederick, and carried on a store in Valmont, but the grasshoppers became a burden, and in 1868 H. R. Eldred resumed his former occupation of transporting goods. He freighted from a point about three hundred miles east of Cheyenne to that village, and thence to Blackhawk, Valmont and Boulder. Later he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, his ranch being near Valmont, on the Boulder River. From 1880 to 1883 he dwelt in Boulder, after which he returned to his farm and cultivated the place for ten years. In 1893 he sold the homestead, and has since lived in Boulder. Here he purchased the old Colorado livery stable and has since managed it. The location of the livery is on Thirteenth street, west of the courthouse. Years ago Mr. Eldred became identified with the Masonic order, and still holds membership with Central City Lodge No. 6, A. F. & A. M. Politically is a silver Republican.
The five children of Mr. and Mrs. Eldred are: Frank, of Sheridan, Wyo.; Schuyler, who is engaged in freighting, with his headquarters in Boulder; Hanley Holden, now in the preparatory school, of the class of '99; May, who died at the age of six months; and Bertie, who lived to be three years and seven months old.
HOMAS CARROLL HAYES is the only stone contractor doing business in Denver who learned the trade in America. He began contracting in this city in 1878, his first work being for ex-Governor Evans, Colonel Archer and Edwin C. Platte, since which time he has had contracts for some of the best buildings here. Frequently he has been given the preference over bidders lower than himself, a fact which speaks volumes for his efficiency, skill and reliability. For years he furnished the stone for every building erected in Denver (including the granite for the United States Mint), and he is still one of the largest contractors in the city, where since 1891 he has had his business headquarters at Lawrence and Sixth streets.
Mr. Hayes was born in County Kerry, Ireland, in 1849, the fourth among nine children, all of whom came to America and all are still living. His parents, Patrick and Johanna (Carroll) Hayes, came to this country when advanced in years and joined their children in Ohio. The father died while visiting in Ireland, and the
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. mother passed away in Toledo, Ohio. Our subject was educated in the national schools at Banna and Ardfert, and about 1868 came to the United States, settling in Toledo, where he attended the School of Design and learned the stonecutter's trade. This occupation he followed in Ohio, Michigan and Canada, and while in the latter country had the contract for the erection of a large bank building in Montreal. While in Ohio he was foreman in the erection of a block for ex-President Hayes and Gen. Ralph Buckland. In November, 1875, he came to Colorado and engaged as foreman with Alexander Young, under whom he had been apprenticed in Ohio and who now owned quarries in Morrison, Colo. In 1878 he began contracting in Denver as a member of the firm of Hayes & Cain, with shop first on Sixth and Larimer streets, then on Tenth and Wazee streets, and finally on Sixth and Lawrence. After dissolving his partnership with Mr. Cain he was alone for a time, then became the head of the firm of Hayes & McGilvery. He owns an interest in large granite quarries in Fremont County, and is also interested in the Platte Canon quarries in Jefferson County.
Among his contracts may be mentioned the following: Walla Halla Hall for Charles Leisenring; City Hall, built of. Castle Rock stone; Glenarm Hotel, Alkire block, Colorado National Bank and Lathrop blocks, Times building, Symes block and the Daniels and Fisher building, the above by the firm of Hayes & Cain. While alone he had many important contracts, among them that for the first stone front in Cheyenne, Wyo., built by United States Senator (then Governor) F. E. Warren, and for a time used as the state capitol, but now utilized for business purposes. While in partnership with John D. McGilvery he built the postoffice, custom house, St. Leo's Church, Barth and Jacobson blocks, Wolfe Londoner and Pioneer blocks, Granite building, Lewis block, East Denver high school building, Logan school, North Denver high school building, Masonic Temple, I. O. O. F. block, East Turner Hall, Kittredge building, McPhee building, Welsh building (now the Albert Hotel), McClintock and McCune blocks, power houses for both the tramway and cable, Kinneavy block, both cable viaducts and bridges across the river. Since he has been alone a second time he has built the Printers' National Home in Colorado Springs and rebuilt the Union Depot after the fire; also the Hayes terrace on Thirteenth and Curtis streets.
Mr. Hayes was one of the incorporators of the Denver Paving Company, of which some of the prominent men in Denver and on the Pacific coast are members. He is a director of the Master Builders' Association, and is treasurer of the Stone Cutters' Association. On the organization of the Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade he became identified therewith. He is a strong and faithful friend of the white metal, and in national politics is allied with the Democrats. In Denver he married Miss Jessie McGilvray, who was born in Ireland, but lived in Forfarshire, Scotland, from the age of three until she came to the United States. They have two children, Alice and William Gladstone.
ICHAEL P. FOX is an energetic and prosperous citizen of Boulder County, and in the varied operations to which he has given his attention he has met with almost invariable success. His executive talent and foresight are truly remarkable and well he deserves the good fortune which he now enjoys. As late as 1884 he began farming in earnest, and year by year he has increased his landed possessions until he is now one of the most extensive property holders in the county. In all public affairs he is conservative, keeping out of politics and devoting himself almost exclusively to his business, home and family.
The parents of our subject, Michael W. and Delia B. (Prior) Fox, had eight children. Ann is the wife of T. McTierman, a Denver builder and contractor; Margaret is the wife of T. McNulty, a coal miner; James and Timothy are residents of Pennsylvania; Frank is engaged in mining in San Juan, Colo.; and Mary and Delia are living in Ireland. Delia B. is the wife of Louis Cull, of County Leitrim. The father was a native of County Leitrim and followed agricultural pursuits during his whole life.
Michael P. Fox was born in County Leitrim in 1844 and resided under the parental roof until he was sixteen years old. He acquired a general education, sufficient for all his needs, in the common schools, and in 1860 he concluded to strike out for himself. In August of that year
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