JOSEPH B. FINUCAN, M. D.
Mardos Collection
JOSEPH B. FINUCAN, M. D.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 911
of Gideon K. Carson of Sparta, Ill., and has one son, Vernon C.
The Republican party has always found in Mr. Morrison a stanch supporter. He holds membership in the Reformed Presbyterian Church, and for many years was superintendent of the Sabbath school, and when at length forced to resign he was presented with a fine cane by the school in recognition of his long and effective service in its behalf. In temperance and reform work he and his son both take an active and prominent part, and both have been elected on the temperance ticket to the office of mayor, the duties of which they discharged to the entire satisfaction of the general public, law and order prevailing throughout their administrations. As a business man Mr. Morrison has been remarkably successful, and the prosperity that he has achieved is due to his own industry, good management and the able assistance of his worthy wife, who has indeed proved a true helpmeet to him. The son now has charge of the store in Evans and is proving a most progressive and capable young business man. He is a graduate of the Greeley Business College, and enjoys the respect of all his associates, either in business or social life.
OSEPH B. FINUCAN, M. D. The hot soda springs of Idaho Springs, Clear Creek County, have been justly famed for thirty-five years or more, but have not yet received their due meed of commendation. It is only of recent years that their merits have been spread abroad to any great extent, and few inhabitants of distant states are aware that the springs possess the same properties as do the world-famed Carlsbad Springs in Europe. Here, among the beautiful mountains of our own land lies a panacea for numerous of the "ills that flesh is heir to" and the time is not far distant when this fact will be more universally recognized.
The gentleman whose name appears at the opening of this sketch has recently leased the hot springs tract, some ten acres, with the bath houses, swimming pool and other improvements, which were originally made by his father-in-law, H. Montague. In addition to these he is instituting others of practical utility and beauty and has the finest natatorium in the state. The water from the springs descends, by the simple law of gravity, into the baths and large pool, which is 40x80 feet in dimensions. A well-appointed hotel, with dressing rooms, refreshment parlors, and various accessories for the comfort of visitors, is a thing of the near future.
Dr. Finucan is a native of Mendon, N. Y., born February 17, 1863. His parents were Daniel and Margaret (Fitzell) Finucan, natives of Ireland. Grandfather Thomas Finucan was a farmer of County Kerry during his whole lifetime. His ancestors were of Holland origin; possessed a coat of arms and spelled the surname with a slight variation from its present form. Daniel Finucan, after his marriage, emigrated to America, and buying some land in Monroe County, N. Y., lived there until his retirement from active cares. He died at the age of sixty-three years. His widow is still living, her home being in Mendon, N. Y. She is a daughter of Adam Fitzell, who was a native of Ireland, but whose grandparents were born in Germany. The family of Daniel Finucan and wife numbered nine children and six are living, the doctor being the youngest of the sons. His boyhood days were passed in the locality of his birth. His education was completed in Lima Seminary, Lima, N. Y., after which he took up medical studies under the guidance of Dr. P. D. Carpenter, of Pittsford, N. Y. Later he entered Buffalo Medical College, and graduated therefrom in February, 1888, with the degree for which he had labored. His initial practice was undertaken in Bloomfield, N. Y., and at the expiration of two and a-half years he purchased the practice of his old family physician, Dr. T. D. Rupert, of Mendon.
Two years rolled away, and all was going well and promising gratifying success for the future, but about this time the health of the ambitious young doctor gave way, and it became advisable for him to seek a change and rest for a time. Deciding to travel in the west, he arrived in Denver January 13, 1893, and July 77 following came to Idaho Springs. By the spring of 1894 he was so far recovered that he wished to resume his professional work and opened an office here in the Elliott building. He is a member of the United States board of pension examiners and is now secretary of the same. Formerly he was identified with the Ontario County Medical Society in New York, and is also connected with the Monroe County Medical Association. Fraternally he be-
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. longs to the Uniform Rank, K. of P. Active in the ranks of the Democratic party, he has been chairman of the county and city committees of the same here.
The doctor has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Cora Pillsbury in her girlhood. She was born and reared to womanhood in West Bloomfield, N. Y., and was a daughter of S. Edward Pillsbury, a relative of the great flour merchant of Minneapolis. Mrs. Finucan died in Idaho Springs. The present wife of the doctor was formerly Miss Maude Montague, daughter of Harrison and Helen (Webster) Montague, of this place. Mr. Montague has been a representative citizen of Idaho Springs since 1866, and for years has owned the hot soda springs property. He was county superintendent of schools here for two years and was one of the charter members of E. D. Baker Post, G. A. R. In New York, his native state, he married Miss Helen M. Webster, of Ellisburg, Jefferson County, and their two children are Mrs. Finucan and Harrison Phelps.
EORGE M. LAIRD. For a period of twenty years the Register-Call, published in Central City, Gilpin County, has been the leading newspaper of this section. That it can safely lay claim to being the oldest paper in the county is shown by the fact that it has been issued since 1861, and but two other journals in the state have had a longer existence. The paper has experienced the varied fortunes common to all publications of nearly two-score years of age, but it has triumphantly gone through every difficulty and has long been the standard news organ of this prosperous region. Started in the initial year of the Civil war under the title of the Daily Miner's Register, it came into the hands of Mr. Laird in 1878 He had come to this town five years previously, and accepted a position on the paper as foreman, and in 1876 he started a job printing office, which was a great financial success. A year later he and Den. Marlow established the Evening Call, a daily paper, and when, in 1878, the Register was for sale, the partners became the purchasers of the plant, which they consolidated with their own. Then began the reconstructed journal known as the Register-Call, and until 1890 it was published both daily and weekly. Since that date it has been found best to print the paper but once a week. Mr. Marlow continued as a partner up to the time of his death, in 1895, since which Mr. Laird, having bought the interest of the deceased from the heirs, has been the sole proprietor.
In tracing the history of the well-known and popular editor of the Register-Call, it is found that he is a native of Ohio. His birth took place in Columbus, the state capital, December 4, 1847, his parents being David C. and Henrietta (Oyler) Laird, who were natives of Virginia and Pennsylvania respectively. The Lairds are a very old family in the annals of Virginia, and descended from Scotch ancestors. In his early manhood David C. Laird settled in the Keystone state and from there went to Columbus, Ohio. He was engaged in running a boot and shoe business there until about 1850, when he went to Freeport, Ill., and there was interested in general merchandising. In 1871 he took up his residence in Montgomery City, Mo., and is now retired from business, being in his eighty-sixth year. His wife, who was of German descent, died in Missouri at the age of seventy-six years. She was a daughter of Jacob Oyler, whose ancestors settled in Pennsylvania many generations ago. Mrs. Laird's brother, Thomas J., came to Colorado in 1861, and is a merchant of Blackhawk at this time. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Laird, and two of the number are deceased. Charles has been in the postoffice department in Washington, D. C., for a quarter of a century; and William, a resident of Texas, represents the Brown Tobacco Company, of St. Louis, Mo.; Belle, the only sister living, resides in Missouri.
George M. Laird was the eldest of his parents' family. He was educated chiefly in the grammar and high schools of Freeport, Ill., and in 1863 commenced serving an apprenticeship to the printer's trade in the office of the Freeport Bulletin. After three years in that office he took a position in Polo, Ogle County, as foreman of the Polo Press. Two years later he went to Missouri, and in 1872 came to the vest. He was a compositor for a short time on the Blackhawk Daily Journal and then became foreman of the office. He has greatly improved the Register-Call since he took the management of the paper. In connection with it he operates a job-printing department, and has steam-power presses and various up-to-date machinery and all necessary
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 913
appliances known to the trade. The politics of the paper are strongly Republican, and thus reflects the views of the owner, in large measure, as he is loyal to the principles of the party.
In Freeport, Ill., Mr. Laird married Miss Anna A. Buckman, a native of Rochester, N. Y., and daughter of Guy J. Buckman, a contractor, now a resident of Denver. The four living children of Mr. and Mrs. Laird are: Guy, Lottie, Ray and Leah. One child, Glenn, died when a year and a-half old.
REDERICK S. BOLSINGER, of Nevadaville, Gilpin County, was born in Chatfield, Minn., March 26, 1860, and is a son of Maxwell D. and Emily (Atchison) Bolsinger. His grandfather, John Bolsinger, who was of sturdy German stock, died in New Salem, Fayette County, Pa., and in that town and county Maxwell D. was born and reared, but about 1855 he removed to Colesburg, Iowa, where he married Miss Atchison, a native of Illinois, and a daughter of Frederick Atchison, who served in the Black Hawk war and died in Chatfield, Minn.
In November, 1858, Mr. Bolsinger moved his family to Chatfield, but two years later came to Colorado and located in Gilpin County, where he engaged in mining. He took up the Herbert mine in Nevada and became the owner of other mining property, some of which is now operated by his children. During the campaigns against the Indians he served in the Third Colorado Cavalry. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and the Gilpin County Pioneer Society. His death occurred in 1892, in this state, and his wife passed away in Chatfield, Minn., five years later. The following are the children of Maxwell D. Bolsinger: Henry C.; Frederick S.; Charles C., who resides on the old homestead at Chatfield, Minn.; and Maxwell D., also a resident of Chatfield.
ON. HENRY C. BOLSINGER is and has been for many years an influential man in the councils of the Democratic party in Colorado. He was a member of the sixth general assembly of the state, having been chosen to represent Gilpin County in the legislature, and for the past eight years he has ably served his party and constituents in the senate. He was elected to that honorable body in 1890, and again in 1894. He has probably been interested in the development of more mines in the Nevadaville district than any other man, and few are better posted in the mineral geology of this county than he.
Born in Colesburg, Iowa, September 12, 1858, H. C. Bolsinger is a son of Maxwell D. Bolsinger, whose history is given in the biography of Frederick S. Bolsinger, which precedes this sketch. The early years of our subject passed uneventfully in the town of Chatfield, Minn., much of his time being devoted to mastering the elementary branches of learning up to 1873. At that time he came to Nevadaville with his father, and assisted actively in the development of the Hubert mine. Later he was engaged in operating one after another of the important mines of this district, until he has been connected with nearly all of them. Among these were the Shafts, the American Flag, Fourth of July, California, Gardner, Centennial, Clayton, Price and extension of the Hubert.
In 1885 he, in company with his father, Thomas J. Burke and William Bush, of Denver, bought the old Hubert mill property. The mill, built in 1860, was the first stamp mill put up in this county, and was operated steadily from that year until 1896. The gentlemen mentioned operated the mill and the mines as the Hubert Milling Company for about eleven years, after which they organized the Vendome Mining and Milling Company, now in an active and successful condition. In addition to being a director in that corporation, Mr. Bolsinger owns an interest in, and and (sic) is a member of, the board of directors of the Colorado Trading and Investment Company, and is now developing the Parole vein, one of the most promising mines he has heretofore worked.
In the Centennial year occurred the marriage of Mr. Bolsinger and Miss Mary Stirling. She was born in Wisconsin, in the pretty town of Mineral Point, and is a daughter of the sturdy pioneer, Samuel Stirling, who came to this state in 1865. The three children born to Mr. and Mrs. Bolsinger are: Hubert, Henry C., Jr., and Gladys.
In the various fraternities Mr. Bolsinger, has for years taken a high place. He is a member of the Masonic order, being connected with Nevada-
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. ville Lodge No. 4, A. F. & A. M.; belongs to Chapter No. 1, R. A. M, of Central City, and Centennial Commandery No. 2, K. T., of the same place. He has also been associated with the Patriotic Order Sons of America, the Knights of Honor and the Red Men.
Henry H. Hornbaker is the only one of the family residing in Colorado. Educational advantages in those days were meager, and he was compelled to be content with a short attendance at the district school, while the greater part of his time was spent in chopping trees, grubbing, and otherwise assisting his father in the clearing of the land. When seventeen years of age he accompanied his parents to Iowa, the trip being made with wagons and horses. He remained at home and worked for his father until he was twenty-four, when he married and began farming for himself. In 1864 he brought his family, with that of his father-in-law, Enoch Way, through to Colorado. This journey was made by ox-teams, their cattle being driven along, through Nebraska City, across the plains to where Ni Wot now stands. They were seventy-three days on the way, and reached here July 9, shortly before the Indian outbreak. The day of their arrival he located a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, which he irrigated and improved, making it among the most desirable farms in that section. This land he still owns, and he added to it until he at present owns a farm of six hundred and forty acres, all nicely improved and fenced. He carried on general farming and stock-raising, having a large herd of cattle on his range. These cattle were graded and mixed breeds and were all branded with the letter "H" on the left shoulder. He has rented his farm since 1888, when he moved with his family into Longmont in order to give his children better educational advantages. He has also been largely interested in mining during late years, and now operates the Summit mine, near Eldorado, which he spent two years in searching for, following the float. This mine has been in successful operation four years and shows ore of the best grade. He also has a quarter interest in the Ground Hog mine and a half interest in the Surprise mine. He was among the originators and controlling factors of the Farmers' Milling and Elevator Company.
Mr. Hornbaker married a most estimable lady, Sarah Isabelle Way, who was a true helpmate to him in all the vicissitudes of life. She died in April, 1898, leaving six children and a large circle of friends to mourn her loss. These children are: William, Frank, Ora Belle (Mrs. McWithey), Enoch Edward, Phena (Mrs. Titus) and Samuel. Mrs. Titus resides in Idaho, and the others live in Colorado. Mr. Hornbaker has been a director in the schools from the time the first school was established here and helped build the first school house, which was a log house and stood on the corner of his farm. The location was moved in later years, in accordance with the formation of new districts. The family were formerly members of the United Brethren Church, but as there was no organization of that denomination in Longmont, they united with the Congregational Church, in both of which Mr. Hornbaker has served as trustee. In politics he affiliates with the People's party. He is a man who has added to a naturally keen intellect habits of close observation, and is among the best informed men of his day.
Mrs. Hornbaker's father was a native of one of the Carolinas, but moved to Iowa at an early day and there engaged in farming in Wapello County until 1864, when he came to Colorado
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