Mardos Collection
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 723
her children one of whom was Thomas, from whom Eugene Wilder is directly descended. He was a freeman of Charlestown in 1640, as the colonial records show. His father, Thomas, Sr., had been the proprietor of the Sulham estates, in Berkshire, England. John, a son of Thomas, Jr., was a farmer of Lancaster, Mass., as was also his namesake, John, Jr., after him. The last-mentioned married Sarah Sawyer, and one of their children, Jonas, born in 1733, removed from Lancaster to Lynn, Conn., and in 1760 to Hartland, Conn. He was a farmer by occupation and lived to the extreme age of ninety-eight years. His soil, Jonathan, who was a native of Connecticut, married a Miss Austin, and their son Clement was the grandfather of our subject. He was born in the Genesee Valley N. Y., and married Urania Doolittle, by whom he had two children, Maurice, who died while young, and Marvin W. The latter was the father of Mr. Wilder of this sketch. He was engaged in the manufacturing of cloth in Canandaigua, N. Y., until 1842, when he settled in Wilmington, Ill., and there manufactured fabrics for the clothing trade. During the Civil war he served in the quartermaster's department and went with Banks on the Red River expedition. In 1872 he came to Boulder, where his remaining days were quietly passed. His wife, Louisa, was a daughter of William Bryant (own cousin of the poet, William Cullen Bryant), of New Hampshire. He was the owner of large estates and was a cloth manufacturer.
ON. WILLIAM A. WILLIS, county commissioner of Boulder County and a pioneer of Louisville, was born in Todd County, Ky., May 18, 1846, a son of Oliver G. and Martha A. (Thompson) Willis. He was one of seven children, of whom five are living, those besides himself being as follows: Robert I., superintendent of the Boulder County farm; George S., also a farmer of this county; Mary B., wife of J. W. Dameron, a farmer of Christian County, Mo.; and Thomas N., a farmer of Boulder County.
The father of this family was born in Todd County, Ky., in 1823, and graduated in medicine, after which he practiced his profession in Elkton. He was prosperous and became the possessor of lunch valuable farming land, also the owner of many slaves. In 1856 he disposed of all his property in Kentucky and removed to Dade County, Mo., where he continued the practice of medicine and became the owner of two hundred acres of land. Shortly after the breaking out of the war he removed to Texas and settled in Fort Worth, where he remained until his death, in 1868.
Educational facilities being very meagre in his locality, our subject had few advantages when a boy. In 1864 he secured employment as teamster in a wagon train bound for Colorado. He drove six yoke of oxen to a wagon, which comprised one of a train of fifty-two wagons. Indians were very hostile, and the party were often compelled to form stockades and corrals in order to protect themselves and their cattle from the red men. They arrived in Denver August 23, 1864, and from there proceeded to Golden, where they laid over for two days; then went to Central City, where they arrived August 28. Going on to the present site of Greeley, our subject freighted in the employ of the man for whom he had driven across the plains. He hauled hay to Denver and the mountains. After three months he began to freight for other parties, with whom he remained some months. In the summer of the next year he worked in the Golden Gate Hotel near Golden. In September he came to Weld County and once more resumed freighting. In the spring of 1866 he went to Arvada and farmed on a place owned by George C. Swadley. In the fall he came to Cole Creek and herded cattle, remaining until the fall of 1867.
After his marriage to Miss Rachael A. Eggleston, which occurred at this time, our subject began general farming and the dairy business, In 1871 he went to Georgetown and commenced to mine, but three years later returned to the valley, settling near his present place and engaging in stock-raising and fanning. In 1876 he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres where he now lives. In the fall of 1879 he sold forty acres, and continued to improve and cultivate the remaining tract. At the time that he settled here, there were no improvements and no timber for miles around, and he and James F. Jones and Owen Kilkerr were the first settlers in this section. Since then he has devoted himself to cattle-raising and farming. In July, 1894, he discovered coal on his land and in April, 1897, he sold the entire property, with the exception of five acres, to the Citizens' Coal and Coke Company. He is
724
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. now erecting a substantial and comfortable residence on his five-acre tract, and is planning to put his land in fruit.
For two terms Mr. Willis served as constable. In the fall of 1897 he was elected on the People's ticket to the board of county commissioners. He was one of four candidates (all old settlers) who ran for the office, and much to his surprise, he was elected by a majority of three hundred and eighty-six votes. Fraternally he is a member of Camp No. 137, Woodmen of the World, at Louisville. Mr. and Mrs. Willis have one son, Oliver, who married Ida M. Jones, daughter of Hon. J. F. Jones, of Louisville, this county, and settled near the old homestead.
REDERICK WHITE is one of the most extensive real-estate dealers of Boulder, and is thoroughly enterprising and progressive in all his ideas. The cause of temperance is one which is especially near his heart, and in national politics he uses his ballot on behalf of the platform and nominees of the Prohibition party. He was a candidate for the legislature and for the state treasurership on the Prohibition ticket a few years ago. Fraternally he belongs to Boulder Lodge No. 45, A. F. & A. M., of which he is past officer, and in the local lodge of the Woodmen of the World he is a charter member and a past official.
The parents of our subject were John Charles and Sarah Ann (Harris) White. The father was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and was a member of the firm of William White & Sons, manufacturers of tobacco pipes. The senior member of the firm, William White, the grandfather of our subject, was at the time of the battle of Waterloo a sergeant in a company of infantry. He was a native of the county of Roxburgh, Scotland. Mrs. Sarah White was a daughter of Jonathan Harris, senior partner in the firm of Jonathan Harris & Sons, manufacturers of thread in the town of Cockermouth, England. The family were members of the Society of Friends. By the marriage of John Charles and Sarah White five children were born, and all but one of the number are living.
Frederick White was born in Glasgow, Scotland, October 25, 1860, and is the only representative of his family in America. He received his education in the northern part of England, and when he was fifteen years of age he entered his father's office, and was well trained in business. In the spring of 1880 he came to Colorado, where his father had investments in mining property, and has since looked after the same. Included in this is the Melvina mine at Salina and mines at Camp Albion, which are now being operated under his supervision. In 1890 he came to Boulder and embarked in the real-estate business, in which undertaking he has met with deserved success. He is a member of the board of trustees of the First Presbyterian Church of this place and is also treasurer of the same.
The pleasant and attractive home of Mr. White is presided over his charming wife, formerly Miss Edith Ingram, of Boulder. She is a native of Wisconsin, and is a daughter of Moses Ingrain, who removed to Boulder from his former home in Albany, Wis., many years ago, and is still! living here. The two children of Mr. and Mrs. White are named respectively Kenneth and Winifred.
OSEPH N. WOOLLETT, president and general manager of the Woollett & Brown Lumber & Supply Company, of Boulder, is one of the most enterprising and energetic young business men of this locality, though he is comparatively a newcomer here, he has already won hosts of friends, both in business and social circles. He has been connected with the Odd Fellows' society for several years, and has identified himself with the local lodge. Moreover, he is a Mason, belonging to Boulder Lodge No. 4, A. F. & A. M., also a member of the Knights of Pythias, Uniform Rank.
The records of the Woollett family show that they originated in England many generations ago. They were well-to-do and prominent people, and the great-great-grandfather of the subject of this article was an architect and carver of wood of such skill that he was retained in the employ of George III., King of England, and at his death was honored by being interred among the great ones of the realm in Westminster Abbey. His son, the next in the line of direct descent, was William L. Woollett, and he, too, was a woodcarver and an architect of much ability. William L., the second of the name, and our subject's grandfather, was a native of Oxford,
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 725
England, and a graduate of the celebrated college of that place. He came to the United States in early manhood, and, settling in Albany, N. Y., engaged in the same occupation that had engrossed the time and energies of his sires. He died in his adopted city and country at the age of fifty-seven years.
William L. Woollett the third, father of J. N. Woollett, was born in Albany, and had just fairly embarked in business life when he was cut down by death. He had started in the footsteps of his forefathers, whose great talents had apparently been handed down to him. At the time of his death he was only thirty years of age, and when his son, the fourth William L., had attained maturity, he succeeded to his father's business, and is now pursuing it with success. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Fannie C. Nelligar. She is a daughter of Joseph Nelligar, who came of an old New England family, and though he is now retired, he formerly carried on a drug store in Albany, the birthplace of Mrs. Woollett (now Mrs. E. C. Lewis, of Boulder).
Of the four children born to William L. Woollett and wife, Fannie C., J. N. Woollett is the second. He was born in Albany in 1874 and passed his childhood uneventfully in that city. After leaving the public schools he completed his education in Albany Academy. At the age of fifteen years he was given a position with a large lumber firm in Albany, and became their delivery foreman. Having gained invaluable experience he decided to strike out for the west, and in the spring of 1894 landed in Boulder. He embarked in the lumber trade, having his yards at the corner of Fifteenth and Walnut streets. He has manufactured lumber extensively, his mill having a capacity of fifteen thousand feet per day. Six delivery wagons are kept running constantly, in order to meet the demand for building material, and everything connected with the enterprise is in a most flourishing condition. In December, 1897, the Woollett & Brown Lumber & Supply Company was organized, with Mr. Woollett as president and general manager, and under his good methods and supervision the trade has been on the increase, and the outlook is most promising for the firm. He is interested, also, in the P. C. Lewis Company, which represents several important fire insurance companies in Boulder. Politically Mr. Woollett is a silver Republican. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church and is very liberal toward all worthy charities. June 15, 1898, he married Nan Katharine Brown, daughter of W. P. Brown, secretary and treasurer of the Woollett & Brown Company.
MILE J. RIETHMANN, Swiss consul for Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona, and one of the pioneers of '59, was born in Canton Lausanne, on Lake Geneva, in the French part of Switzerland, March 5, 1844. His father, John, who was a son of Jacob Riethmann, an agriculturist, was born in the German part of Switzerland and in youth learned the butcher's trade, which he followed for some years in Lausanne. In 1848, accompanied by his family, he took passage on a sailing vessel from Havre and after fifty-four days landed in New York City. His first two years in this country were spent in Utica, N. Y., from which place he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, and thence to Switzerland County, Ind., where he was employed as a drover to the Cincinnati market. Moving to Council Bluffs in 1856, he engaged in the stock business and in farming. March 23, 1859, his sons, E. J. and J. J., arrived in Denver, and in June of the same year the father and other members of the family joined them here. Soon afterward he entered a large tract of land four miles from Denver and there he engaged in farming and stockraising until his death at eighty-one years. His wife still resides on the old homestead of four hundred and thirty acres. She bore the maiden name of Mary Hunzeker and was born in Switzerland eighty-six years ago.
Of the family of seven children all but one attained mature years. J. J. resides in Denver, where the second son, L. D., died; Mary married John Milheim and makes her home in this city; Emile J. is next in order of birth; Victoria, Mrs. Foreman, lives in Leadville; and Fred owns and operates a farm at Brighton. At the time the family crossed the ocean our subject was four years of age. During the winters, when the family lived in Indiana and Iowa, he attended the country schools, but in summer he helped his father on the farm. In 1859, when he was fifteen, he and his brother, J. J., were induced to come to Colorado by reason of the discovery of
726
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. gold in Pike's Peak. His older brothers had come west in the fall of 1858 and L. O. remained, but J. J. started back, and he was the first to bring the news of the discovery of gold dust in Colorado to Council Bluffs, Iowa. The brothers started west with two teams and a wagon and arrived in what is now West Denver, in the spring, finding only a few log houses in this place. They settled on the east side of Cherry Creek, building a log house in what is now East Denver. The house was of a primitive character, built of logs and covered with dirt, while a rude chimney of mud and sticks formed an outlet for the smoke. The building of a house entitled a settler to thirteen lots, six of which they could choose, while seven were drawn by lot. They constructed several cabins and thus became the owners of some forty lots, some of which in time became very valuable property.
In May, 1859, the three brothers went to the mountains at South Boulder, then called Deadwood Diggings. From there they went to Gregory's Diggings (Central City) and Russell's Gulch, where they struck a lead and mined until they received news of their father's arrival in Denver. They then sold their claim and returned to Denver, soon after which our subject began to work upon the farm that the family entered. While there, in 1864, he joined an independent company, with Captain Brown in command and Jim Baker as guide, and started in pursuit of Indians who had molested the settlers. They went toward Fort Lupton, twenty-eight miles down the Platte River, and remained out scouting for two weeks.
In 1866 Mr. Riethmann started in the dairy business five miles north of Denver, where he had bought one hundred and sixty acres from his brothers. From the dairy business he drifted into raising stock. He called his place the Pioneer dairy and milked as high as one hundred and twenty-five cows, selling the milk in the city. He started the first dairy wagon in Denver (it was drawn by oxen) and was one of the first dairymen in the state, having had charge of a dairy wagon for his father as early as the fall of 1859. After having conducted the dairy business for twenty-two years, in 1888 he sold out to Cooke Brothers, who carried it on under the same name. The old homestead is still owned by our subject, but in 1890 he removed to the city and built his comfortable residence at No. 2030 Stout street. He still superintends the management of his farm at Brighton, which is irrigated from, the Platte River and contains valuable improvements. In Denver he married Miss Mary Yeisley, who was born near Mansfield, Ohio, and is the daughter of Henry Yeisley, deceased. They have an only son, John F.
In 1896 Mr. Riethmann was appointed Swiss consul, which position he has since held. He is a member of the Gruetli Verein and the Association of Colorado Pioneers. Politically he is a Democrat, which party he has represented in state conventions. The election of James E. Bates as mayor of Denver left a vacancy in the board of county commissioners in 1885 and he was elected to that position, afterward being chosen for a full term. He served from November, 1885, to January, 1889, refusing the chairmanship of the board, but holding many positions of responsibility on its various committees. He was chairman of jail, roads and bridges, and in the latter capacity opened more roads and built more bridges than had been secured during any previous term of county commissioners.
The first member of the Walters family in America was our subject's grandfather, who located in Buffalo nearly fifty-five years ago. The father, Leonard Walters, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, and in youth learned the baker's trade, but the work was not congenial nor the confinement healthful, so he changed his occupation and became an employe of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. He died in
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