FREDERICK AFFOLTER.
Mardos Collection
FREDERICK AFFOLTER.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 795
REDERICK AFFOLTER, deceased, was a man who was universally respected and esteemed by his neighbors and associates. About thirty-five years ago he settled on a farm, two miles southwest of Longmont, Boulder County, and here he passed the remainder of his busy useful life. He was successful as a general farmer and each year reaped abundant harvests of hay and grain; nor was he less fortunate as a dairyman and cattleman, for to each of these various lines he gave much time and labor. In a business point of view he won prosperity, providing well for his large family, and at the same time was never neglectful of his duty to the public and his responsibility as a citizen of his adopted country.
Mr. Affolter was a native of Switzerland, and possessed the exalted sense of liberty, love of peace and regard for the rights of his brothermen, that are characteristic of the sons of the mountain-land. He was one of the nine children of Jacob and Elizabeth (Bombagger) Affolter, of whom but one, Jacob, now survives. He is a prosperous farmer of Phelps County, Mo. The father, also of Swiss birth, was a stone-mason by trade and died when the subject of this sketch was a child. The latter, who was born June 10, 1832, grew up at home and under the roof of an uncle. The relative mentioned was the owner of a large hotel and of a distillery, besides having considerable farm land in his possession.
When he was in his twentieth year Mr. Affolter and a brother set sail for the United States, and reached these hospitable shores after a voyage of six weeks' duration. Going thence to Ohio they found employment with farmers, but, ere a year had rolled away, our subject suffered so greatly with chills and fever, that the brothers decided to go elsewhere. Accordingly, they went to Highland, Ill., and in that vicinity worked for farmers some three years. Then, going to Missouri, they settled upon rented land. near St. Joseph, and commenced farming for themselves. The: country was not exactly to their fancy, and later they went to Kansas, with a view to locating there permanently, but they liked it even less than Missouri, to which state they returned, after a short time.
Having acquired something of the Pike's Peak' excitement our subject and his brother started across the plains in 1861, with the usual accompaniments of wagons drawn by yokes of oxen, etc. After numerous adventures and hardships they reached Denver at the end of six weeks, and a few days later continued their journey towards the mountains. They met numbers of dissatisfied men, and, acting upon their advice, turned back, also. Instead, they went to Boulder and tried gulch mining in Left Hand Canon, but without very gratifying success. Soon they took up a claim on Left Hand, just below Haystack Mountain and the following year cut hay and hauled it to Blackhawk. In the winter of 1862 our subject again crossed the plains to Missouri, and returned in the spring with a large drove of milch cows and cattle, Near Longmont he pre-empted a claim of eighty acres, the land now owned and cultivated by his family. With energy an well-applied effort he set to work to improve the property, which, in time, became very valuable.
In 1868 Mr. Affolter formed the project of returning to Switzerland, in order to learn the process of making Swiss cheese, for which he was convinced that he could find a ready market in Colorado. He went as far as Ohio, where, on stopping for a visit with an aunt's family, he was persuaded to abandon his plan of going to Europe, and he learned the business in Ohio. When on the way back to this state he visited some cousins in Greenville, Ill., and there met the lady who became his wife March 21, 1870. She was Miss Elizabeth Ruch, a native of Switzerland, who, as both her parents were dead, had come to Illinois with some friends in the spring of 1869. The young couple returned to Colorado after their marriage and began housekeeping on the farm which Mr. Affolter had pre-empted before he went east. They were industrious and enterprising and within a few years were enabled to buy other property adjoining, until their farm comprised two hundred acres.
Mr. Affolter was a quiet, unassuming man, fond of his family and caring little for public life, but in 1893 the People's party made him their nominee for county commissioner, and, though he was defeated by a small majority, his popularity as a neighbor and a citizen was abundantly proven. The whole community mourned his loss when death took him from their midst, June 17, 1895. He left eight children, two having preceded him to the better land. They were named respectively, Frederick and Frank. The
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. others, all unmarried and living at home, are named as follows: Emil, Mary, Edward, John, Anna, Rosa, Paul and Lena.
ILLIAM R. JONES has been a resident of Colorado since 1860, and has followed various occupations here with more or less success. For nearly thirty years he has lived in the neighborhood of his present home, on section 31, township 6, range 66, One of the organizers of district No. 17, he has been active in the promotion of good schools and teachers and for several years served as a member of the board of education. He is a stockholder in the Union Bank at Greeley, and has been prominently connected with different ditch companies in this locality.
Born July 18, 1838, W. R. Jones is the son of John and Catherine (Foglesong) Jones, who were natives of Virginia. The father was one of the pioneers of Indiana, and about 1840 removed to Schuyler County, Mo. In 1863 he again moved westward, and, having brought with him from Missouri a herd of young cattle, devoted himself to their care for some time. He then sold out and turned his attention to the management of a ranch in Boulder County. His death took place in 1873. While he lived in Missouri he was occupied in the manufacture of woolen goods, first having a mill in the country, and afterwards in Lancaster. The following are the names of his children: Mary, Mrs. William Buford, of Lancaster, Mo.; Juda, Mrs. Robert Neeley, of Lancaster; Lena, Mrs. Joseph Groseclose; Eliza, Mrs. James Beasley, of Longmont; Lydia, widow of Thomas Newman, of Colorado; W. R., of this sketch; Isaac, a farmer of Oakland, Ore.; Wiley, a ranchman and stockman of Idaho; and Missouri, widow of Joseph Shelton, of Lowell, Wash.
The boyhood of our subject was spent in Johnson County, Ind., his birthplace, and in Missouri. He assisted his father on the farm and in the factory during his youth, and in 1860 struck out for himself. Coming to this state, he engaged in mining at Breckenridge for three years, at the end of which period he went to Poudre Valley, and in company with T, W. Whiting (or Whitney) commenced work on the Whitney ditch, for the purpose of watering his land and that of his partner. Subsequently Mr.
Jones sold out his business interests there and engaged in freighting from Omaha to Denver and out-lying camps. In 1867 he homesteaded his present ranch and at once began digging the Jones ditch, a private ditch which he still owns. Up to 1886 he and his brother Wiley were occupied in feeding cattle, after which he raised horses for a few years. He bought some thoroughbred animals and started in the business of raising horses, but the ruinously low prices at the time he wished to sell was disastrous, and he lost nearly $20,000. Since then he has only raised a few horses and cattle, sufficient for his own needs on the farm, and has been interested in general agriculture. He has bought and sold land extensively and is now the owner of over three hundred acres of fine bottom-land. In his political opinion he is a strong Democrat.
June 16, 1876, Mr. Jones married Miss Alice Goetchins, daughter of George G. Goetchins, a native of Ohio. Three children comprise the family of our subject and wife, namely: Carrie, Millie and William R., Jr. Carrie is the wife of James Warren, a ranchman and stockman of Kersey, Colo. The two younger children are at home
.EORGE J. ZILAR, who is engaged in the stock business on section 23, township 4, range 65, Weld County, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1854, a son of Reuben and Priscilla (Blair) Zilar. His father, who was a native of Kentucky, removed to Ohio in early manhood, and spent the remainder of his life in that state, principally in Cincinnati. For a number of years he engaged in the mercantile business. His death occurred in Cincinnati in 1883, when he was sixty-five years of age. His wife passed away in 1873, at the age of about forty-nine years. Of their nine children George was the third son. He was educated in the public schools of Cincinnati. At the age of sixteen he began to learn the printer's trade, but soon abandoned it. Afterward he held a clerkship with the Cincinnati Ice Company and held clerical positions until 1883, when he started west, in search of a suitable location for a stock farm.
After having spent a few months in New Mexico, Mr. Zilar arrived in Denver in 1884. Afterward he took up a pre-emption claim on section 26, northeast of Denver, on the Bebee
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 797
Draw Valley, and started in the stock business with a small herd. In 1885 he bought one-quarter of section 23, adjoining his pre-emption, and from time to time he increased his herd, until he now keeps about two hundred head on his place. He has one hundred and sixty acres in one body, which he rents, and also has one hundred and sixty arces (sic) on which he resides, eighty acres of which are planted to alfalfa, which he raises for feed. He makes a specialty of Shorthorn cattle, in raising which he has been successful. He has erected a comfortable house and suitable farm buildings, and has improved the land from barren prairie to a cultivated farm, with fences and a lateral for irrigation purposes. In 1895 he dug a well on his home farm, reaching water at a depth of one hundred and fifty-three feet; and in June, 1896, he dug a well on his property that is rented, and at a depth of one hundred and eighty-three feet struck an abundant supply of pure water.
Besides his other interests, Mr. Zilar is a stockholder in the Platte Land Company, Limited, commonly known as the English Ditch Company. Politically he is a silver Republican. For several terms he served as judge of election. In the organization of school district No. 84 he took an active interest and for six years has been connected with the board of trustees, of which he is now the president. His interest in educational work has been of long duration and has borne fruit in the increased facilities for schooling in his locality. He represented the department of agriculture in this district in the way of statistical information. Mr. Zilar is unmarried.
ARON McGRAW, M. D., a successful physician and surgeon of Boulder, has been engaged in the practice of the medical profession for forty-five years and for a score of years has been a resident of Colorado. He is an honored member of the Boulder County Medical Association and keeps thoroughly posted in all modern methods and discoveries along the lines of medical science
The paternal grandfather of the doctor was of Scotch extraction. He was a soldier in the war of time Revolution serving as second lieutenant. He participated in the battle of Bunker Hill and in that engagement received a wound which resulted in his death. His son William, the doctor's father, was a native of Albany, N. Y., and for many years was a farmer of Steuben County, N. Y. His declining days were passed at the home of our subject in Burton, Ohio. The mother, whose maiden name was Margaret Van Zandt, was likewise a native of New York state, her birth having occurred in Albany County. She was of Holland-Dutch descent, and of that hardy stock which laid the foundations of the state of New York, in large degree.
Dr. A. McGraw is the youngest in a family originally numbering nine children. He was born in March, 1832, in Greenwood, Steuben County, N. Y. There his early years were passed on the old homestead, and after leaving the public school he went to Alfred Seminary, in Allegany County, N. Y., and later attended Troopsburg College. Then he took a course of lectures in the Buffalo (N. Y.) Medical College, and subsequently was a student in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. Graduating in 1852 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, he opened an office in Hornellsville, Steuben County, N. Y., and practiced his profession there for ten years. He then became a contract surgeon in the employ of the government, in the western department of the army, and for three years served in the south during the war. He next settled in Burton, Geauga County, Ohio, where he continued successfully occupied in the duties pertaining to his chosen work up to 1878, when, on account of poor health, he came to Colorado. He spent about nine mouths in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and then returned to Ohio, where he took a postgraduate course in the Cleveland Medical College. Thus more thoroughly equipped for his future work, he came back to the west, and traveled in California and other states, his intention being to settle down in Denver, ultimately. He was not strong, however, and concluded to follow the advice of authorities and take up his permanent residence in the foot-hills. Selecting Boulder as a suitable town he opened an office here and practiced medicine for about five years in this locality. Having become much better in health, he went to Denver, where he made his home for the following six years; from there he came to Boulder in the interests of the health of his son. As a general practitioner he has been exceptionally successful, and much
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. surgical work has fallen to his share. He is always very busy, and is constantly in demand in the out-lying districts. His political preference is for the principles of the Democratic party.
The doctor was first married in Greenwood, N. Y., to one of his youthful companions, Miss C. Bowlby, and their three daughters, Louise, Emma and Lillie, are all living in Denver. The doctor's present wife, formerly Miss Fannie Wood was born in Missouri, and is a lady of lovable disposition and pleasing social attainments.
OHN HARTLEY, whose home has been in Colorado since 1875, was born in Rochdale, England, November 19, 1836, a son of Abraham and Ann (Stott) Hartley, natives of the same locality. His maternal grandfather, Robert Stott, a mill operator, spent his entire life in his native land. The paternal grandfather, Richard Hartley, a native of Yorkshire, was a member of the family whose most prominent representative was a large coal operator of Yorkshire. Moving to the vicinity of Rochdale, he embarked in the cattle business and was successful until he lost much of his property by fire. He continued to reside in the same locality until his death. Abraham Hartley, who was a null operator, made his home near Rochdale until his death, when more than seventy years of age. His wife passed away at sixty-two. Of their five children, three are living, John being the eldest of the family.
At the age of eight years our subject began to work in the mills and when only ten he worked regularly twelve and one-half hours per day. It was not long until he was working overtime two and one-half hours, which made his work extend over fifteen hours of hard labor. His pay was a shilling (the same as twenty-five cents) a day. After a time he began in the weaving of woolen goods, for which he was paid $2.50 per week, and extra for overtime. After he had been working hard for fifteen years he felt the need of a better education and, the way being open, he began to attend night school, devoting six hours each day to study.
In England, in 1856, Mr. Hartley married Miss Elizabeth Kirshaw, the only child of James and Eliza (Mellor) Kirshaw, natives of England. Her paternal grandfather, James Kirshaw, was a gentleman who inherited entailed property; her maternal grandfather, Ralph Mellor, was a merchant in England. In 1855 Mr. Hartley commenced to teach school, and for three years he had charge of the school at Haugh, England, meantime also engaging in the tea and coffee business, soliciting orders on Saturdays and during evenings. In 1858 he settled at Oldham, where he opened a general store, and soon he became the proprietor of two stores. Oldham was a cotton manufacturing town, and when the Civil war broke out in the United States, an embargo was placed on cotton, so that it was impossible to obtain any. His business consequently declined and collections were poor. Hoping to better his fortune, he resolved to come to America, and with his wife and one child crossed the Atlantic, settling in Owego, N. Y., where for two years he was employed on the railroad at $1.10 a day. For a time he was also in the government employ in railroad construction in Virginia. A second time, in 1864-65, he was sent south in the government employ.
Removing to Dubuque, Iowa, in 1865, Mr. Hartley engaged in carpentering, and for a time, about the time of the close of the war, he was employed by the government as construction carpenter. He bought land near Dubuque and for two years engaged in the soap manufacturing business, later engaging in the manufacture of potash in Dubuque. The year 1873 found him in Greeley, Colo., and two years later he settled in Sunshine, Boulder County, where he combined mining with contracting. In 1877 he moved to Ballyrat and at first engaged in mining, but later bought a ranch and from 1880 to 1890 engaged in the stock business. In the year last named he started a store at Ward, where he has built a store building and carries on a large trade in dry goods, groceries and hardware. The firm title was first J. Hartley & Son, and, in 1894, when another son was taken in, became J. Hartley & Sons. While in Dubuque he was made a Mason; he is also connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Politically he is a Republican. For five years he has served as a member of the school board of Ward. He is a member of the Congregational Church, which he serves as deacon.
Mr. and Mrs. Hartley are the parents of seven children: Mrs. Eliza Gardner, of Boulder; Mrs.
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