J. H. PHILLIP ROHLING.
Mardos Collection
J. H. PHILLIP ROHLING.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 977
Bishop Mills. During his active life the father was a farmer, but now, at eighty-six years of age, is living retired from active labors. His wife is eighty-one.
When a boy our subject had few advantages, as he was obliged to work early and late on the home farm. In 1875 he came to Colorado and for a time engaged in freighting, making Denver his home. Later, for some years, he herded cattle for ranchmen in Douglas County. In 1872 he entered one hundred and twenty acres where his house now stands, and two years later he moved to the place, the cultivation of which he at once began. From time to time he has added to his possessions, until he now owns eleven hundred and sixty acres and, besides, has leased two hundred and eighty acres, which he uses as a stock range. His place contains the usual improvements of a western ranch, and has proved a very profitable investment for the owner. His entire time is given to the management of his estate, and he has had little leisure for participation in public affairs. However, he is a stanch Republican and always supports the candidates of his party.
November 25, 1890, Mr. Johnston was united in marriage with Miss Orie Dakan, of Perry Park, Douglas County, Colo., a daughter of William A. and Elizabeth Dakan. They have two children, William Ross and Gladys Belle.
H. PHILLIP ROHLING, a prosperous business man of Black Hawk, Gilpin County, has, it is said, the largest dry-goods store in the county, and it is certainly one of the best equipped. He has conducted business at this location for fourteen years and enjoys the confidence and good will of the entire community. In 1896 he started a branch store on Main street, Central City, and has placed a manager at the head of the same. There, however, he deals exclusively in boots and shoes, while here he keeps a full line of dry goods, clothing carpets, etc., in addition to footwear. From 1895 to 1897, two terms, he was mayor of Black Hawk, and from 1892 to 1894 he was treasurer of the city. For several years he was a member of the school board here, and all public matters concerning the local advancement and welfare receive his earnest attention.
The parents of the above-named gentleman were Phillip and Agnes (Heidplacke) Rohling, natives of Westphalia, Prussia. The father was a butcher by trade, but followed the veterinary surgeon's business for years and at one time was swimming master in the Prussian army. His death occurred in the Fatherland. His five sons and one daughter are all living, and three of the number are residents of the United States. August is a merchant in Fort Collins, Colo., and William is a business man of Danville, Ill. Grandfather Henry Rohling was employed by the Prussian government.
J. H. Phillip Rohling was born in Westphalia, Prussia October 12, 1850, and as soon as he reached a suitable age he entered the local schools, which he attended, according to the law of that land, until he was fourteen. He was then apprenticed to a dry-goods and grocery merchant in Lemforde, near the old home, and continued there for two years. In 1867 he sailed for the United States, and, in order to gain knowledge of the English language and customs, he hired out to a farmer near Indianapolis, Ind., going to school during the winter season. Afterwards he worked in Indianapolis for a year or so and in 1870 went to Deer Lodge, Mont., where he clerked in a wholesale grocery. In 1872 he returned to the land of his birth on a visit and stayed there for six months. Coming back to America, he took a position as stockman in the wholesale drygoods house of Murphy, Hibben & Co., at Indianapolis, Ind. He was a faithful employe of the firm for several years and thoroughly mastered the business. In 1878 he opened a retail dry-goods store in the same city and successfully managed the enterprise up to 1884, when he brought his stock to Black Hawk. Here he started in business in the same building which he now occupies. He has two floors, 25x80 feet each, and owns the building in which his store is situated.
In the autumn of 1885 Mr. Rohling purchased the old Prospect mine and began its development. It is now known as the Chemung Belmont mine, and is located on Bobtail Hill. He has partners, but is the chief stockholder and manager, and in addition to this he is financially interested in mines in Stewart Gulch, Tip-top, Rallinsville, Pine Creek and Central and is a director in the Rocky Mountain National Bank of Central City. In his political belief he was
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978
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. a Republican for years, but of late has been an adherent of the People's party, and has been quite active in support of its nominees. He is a Knight of Pythias and has been treasurer of the local lodge for the past seven years.
In the city of Indianapolis Mr. Rohling was married in 1874 to Miss Louisa Witthoft, a native of Pennsylvania. They have four daughters and two sons. Louisa is Mrs. Klein, of Black Hawk. John P., the eldest son, is in business with his father. The younger children are named respectively: Agnes, Annie, Laura and Phillip, Jr. The family attend the Presbyterian Church.
PHRAIM C. PHILLIPS, one of the largest grain and potato raisers in Boulder County and the owner of extensive lands here and in Weld County, was born in Adams County, Ohio, October 11, 1842, a son of Theophilus and Mary A. (Moore) Phillips. He was one of a family of ten children, five of whom are now living. His father, a native of Adams County, born in 1812, resided upon a farm in his native place until 1862, when he removed to Iowa and settled in Wayne County. After some three years there he removed to Saline County, Kan., where he continued to reside until his death, in 1875. His wife, who like himself was a native of Adams County, was a daughter of John Moore, a prominent farmer of that section of Ohio and a man well known for his integrity and industry. John Phillips, grandfather of our subject on his father's side, was born in Ohio and was connected with an iron manufacturing plant; his ancestors, for years before him, were foundry men and iron workers.
In the schools near his home our subject acquired a fair education. At the breaking out of the Civil war he enlisted in Company H, Fifty-sixth Ohio Infantry, October 25, 1861, and was ordered with his regiment to Fort Donelson, where he was assigned to service under General Grant. His principal engagements were at Fort Donelson, Pittsburg Landing, siege of Corinth, the Vicksburg campaign, battle of New Orleans and the Red River campaign under General Banks. Going back to New Orleans, he was mustered out of the service November 27, 1854. In the battle of Champion Hill, near Vicksburg, he was wounded May 16, 1864.
On his return to his Ohio home, Mr. Phillips resumed life on the farm, with its attendant duties. He felt, however, that the west offered greater opportunities for a young man and in 1866 he drove a team across the plains for Mr. Perry, who accompanied a train of seventy-five wagons. He reached Helena, Mont., July 29, 1856. On his arrival at that point he bought three teams and began to haul drifting timbers for the mines, continuing successfully in that work for one year. Next he took a contract to deliver ore to the old Jim Whitlatch mill, which occupied his attention for seven months. During that time he made as high as $44 per day.
Returning east to Wyoming he secured employment on the Union Pacific Railroad, in construction work on the Green River. Buying a lot of Texas bronchos he broke them and put them to use, receiving $12 per day, of weekdays, for each team, and $24 on Sundays. As they cost only $15 to $20 apiece the investment proved a profitable one. After one year, the road being completed, he came to Colorado in 1869. On the trip from Cheyenne he drove the stage to Denver and passed through the yard of a wild cattle ranch, for which property he was destined to pay $50 per acre twenty-one years later. Arriving in Denver he began to buy and sell cattle. On his arrival he was offered the Mammoth corral for $10,000 and could possibly have bought it cheaper, as the parties were anxious to sell. A few years later it sold for $150,000. While in Denver he married Miss Estella Barnhizer, a native of Lima, Ohio.
In 1870, on the construction of the Kansas Pacific Railroad, he went to Kansas, and took contract work. While at old Fort Wallace, his outfit was stolen by Indians. Afterward he worked on the Lawrence & Galveston road. During the twenty-four years that followed, he built many miles of railroad for different companies. In 1890 he returned to Denver and put one hundred teams at work on the old Bob Creek ditch. The same year he bought his present farm of three hundred and twenty acres, two and one-half miles north of Longmont. At the same time he built the St. Louis Valley Railroad. In 1891-92 he had extensive contracts in widening the gauge of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad from Leadville to Denver. In 1893 he moved to his farm, bringing with him two hundred teams,
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 979
which he had used in his contract work. A short time afterward he sold his stock to advantage, and settled down to the life of a farmer and stock-raiser. With his son, he owns eight hundred and forty acres in Boulder and Weld Counties and also rents three hundred and twenty acres, all of which he has planted to grain and potatoes. His cattle interests are also large and important. He has made a scientific study of the cattle business, and consequently has met with success in it. When starting for himself in Helena, he had only $60, but through energy and perseverance, combined with good business judgment, he is now one of the substantial men of his section. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and McPherson Post, G. A. R. He and his family are identified with the Methodist Church.
Four children were born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Phillips. Henry R., the oldest, is a graduate of Wesleyan College, Salina; Kan., and resides at Eaton, Weld County, where he is interested with his father in the farming and stock business. Lucy, the oldest daughter, is the wife of Dr. St. Clair, of Longmont; Nora married Leon Rash, patentee and manufacturer of body braces, residing in Salina, Kan.; and Pearl is the wife of Charles Newby, a farmer of Boulder County.
DIN H. NEWTON. Alike in business, political and fraternal connections Mr. Newton has become one of the prominent men of Denver. He is the proprietor of a grocery and feed store at No. 3352-56 Clear Creek avenue, with a branch at No. 1632 Thirty-fourth avenue west, his building being 50x125 feet in dimensions, with basement. In 1897 he was nominated for alderman by the silver Republicans, endorsed by the tax-payers of the sixth ward, and was elected to the council by the largest majority ever given in the ward. Since his term of service began he has served as chairman of the committee on public grounds and buildings and as a member of the fire, judiciary and license committees.
The connection of Mr. Newton with the Patriotic Order Sons of America has been one of trust and responsibility. He is a member of Washington Camp No. 15, and was a charter member of Camp No. 1, organized in 1881, in which he was an officer. He assisted in instituting the order in Colorado and has always been one of its most progressive workers. For two terms he has served as state president, and he is also the national district commander-general for Colorado of the Uniform Rank, to which position he has been twice elected.
In Moretown, near Montpelier, Washington County, Vt., the subject of this article was born May 10, 1852, being a member of an old Puritan family that originated in England. His grandfather, Ebenezer, settled in Vermont when it was a part of New Hampshire and when Ethan Allen was the most famous man in that part of the country. Settling upon a farm he remained there until his death, at eighty-nine years. In religion he was identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church. Harry Newton, father of Adin, was born in Vermont, where he engaged in farming and also operated a sawmill that was run by water-power. He married Matilda Colby, whose father, Hezekiah Colby, was a farmer in the town of Berlin. Of their six children four attained mature years and three are living: Mrs. Matilda Warren, of Vermont; Ira E., of Denver; and Adin H. The mother died in 1871.
After the death of Harry Newton, which occurred when he was fifty-six years of age, his family became scattered. Our subject, then a small child, remained in Vermont until he was eight, when he went to Lewis, Essex County, N. Y., and there worked on a farm until he was fourteen. Returning then to Vermont he secured work in Burlington, where he remained until 1876. In the fall of that year he came west and settled in Guthrie Center, Iowa, where he clerked for two years. Starting from there to Leadville he was delayed at Wa-Keeney, Kan., by the outbreak of the Cheyenne Indians. Wa-Keeney had just been started and work was plenty. He secured work as a teamster, but soon was made freight agent for the Kansas Pacific Railroad, remaining in that capacity for eighteen months. In June, 1880, he proceeded westward with a team and after a tedious journey reached Denver. He had been troubled with rheumatism, but under the influence of this genial climate soon became free from the disease. For three months he was employed under Colonel Ellsworth as driver on the old street-car line.
The next venture of Mr. Newton was in the
980
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. grocery business. He built a store on the corner of Nineteenth and Hartford, where he carried on business for a time. Later he was in business for seven years at Nineteenth and New Haven. Meantime, in 1882, he bought property at No. 737 Clear Creek avenue, where he built one of the first houses in that section. He now resides at No. 3333 Witter street. In May, 1887, he built a store on the corner of Clear Creek and Kent, now Thirty-fourth avenue west. He is a member of the Woodmen of the World. When permitted to take a vacation from his store and public duties he seeks a quiet place in the country where the fishing is good and where wild game may be found, and he always returns home with some trophies of his skill with the fish-hook and the gun.
In Essex County, N. Y., in 1874, Mr. Newton married Miss Mary Lewis, who was born there, a daughter of Fred and Lovinia (Nichols) Lewis. Her grandfather Horace Lewis, was born in Connecticut, but became an early settler in the town of Lewis, Essex County, which was named in his honor. He was of Welsh descent. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Newton was John Nichols, a farmer, who removed from Connecticut to New York. Fred Lewis engaged in farming and the lumber business in Essex, his native county. In his family there are four living children, of whom Mrs. Newton is next to the oldest. They are the parents of four children: Walter, Jessie, Bertha and Dora.
In 1857 Mr. Howarth took passage on a sailing vessel bound for America, and arrived in this country after a voyage of seven weeks and four days. After having spent some time in the eastern states he went to Chicago. He had no money and secured work through an intelligence office, on a farm in McLean County, Ill. Though he had never done farm work, his services proved satisfactory to his employer. While there he was married, in Bloomington, October 21, 1859, to Miss Alice Barlow, who was born near Manchester, England, and to whom he had been engaged before coming to the United States. She was a daughter of Robert and Sarah (Dutson) Barlow, and by her marriage has become the mother of three children, namely: Abe, who was born in England and assists his father on the farm; Sarah, Mrs. Arthur B. Mitchell, of Littleton, and the mother of one child, Alice Helen; and Alice, who was born on the farm where the family now live.
After farming for some time on rented land in McLean County, Mr. Howarth went to England, in 1862, and spent some six years there. However, he had been in America too long to remain contented with the customs and environments in England, even though he might attain a greater prosperity in his native land. On his return to this country he worked in a cotton factory in St. Louis for a time, thence went to Kansas, where he worked in a packing house, and during the three years spent there he was joined by his family. From Kansas City he came to Denver, where he built a residence, but soon afterward, in 1875, removed to the farm he now occupies. On coming here he had but little of this world's goods. For nine years he cultivated the land, meantime accumulating a large amount of money, which, however, he did not make an effort to save. He finally concluded it would be wiser to save a little, and in three years' time he had saved enough to buy the place, consisting of one hundred and seventy-five acres, and to this he has since added, until at the present writing he has nearly five hundred acres.
Politically Mr. Howarth votes the Republican ticket in national issues, but is independent in local matters. In 1897 he was elected county commissioner, but the election was in direct opposition to his wishes, as he has always refused to hold office. His interest in educational matters led him, soon after he came to this county, to accept a position on the school board, and he has
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