BRYANT S. LAGRANGE.
Mardos Collection
BRYANT S. LAGRANGE.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 983
served as a school director ever since. Fraternally he was formerly connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, but has allowed his membership to lapse. His son Abe is identified with the blue lodge of Masons.
RYANT S. LAGRANGE, who died at his home near Greeley, Weld County, September 24, 1895, was a man of more than local reputation, for he occupied numerous public positions of importance during a long period, and was noted for the executive skill and ability which he manifested in the discharge of his duties. It was in 1870 that he came to this state, settling in the vicinity of Greeley, and for a quarter of a century he was actively interested in the development of this region.
The parents of Mr. LaGrange were Daniel H. and Experience N. (Stoddard) LaGrange, natives of New York and Connecticut respectively. Bryant S. LaGrange was born in the town of Vestal, Broome County, N. Y., August 14, 1823, and grew to mature years in his native county. He married Miss Susan Mersereau, daughter of Daniel and Susan (Latourette) Mersereau, of old Huguenot stock, their ancestors having first settled in New Jersey, and later removed to New. York state. Daniel Mersereau followed agriculture for a livelihood. His family comprised fourteen children, eleven of whom lived to mature years, while five yet survive, and, with the exception of Mrs. LaGrange, reside in the east.
Until 1863 Mr. LaGrange carried on a farm in Broome County, N. Y., but in the year mentioned he removed to Port Huron, Mich. There he cleared land and engaged in lumbering, and also did contracting for grading and road work. When he came to Greeley he homesteaded a tract of eighty acres, about five miles from the town, and two years later built a house and began improving the place, which was then barren and covered with wild grass and cactus. Within a few years, by irrigation and care, he had transformed the property, which is now one of the fertile and productive ones of the county. From time to time he invested in more land, until his estate comprised four hundred acres. He was placed in charge of the construction of the first ditch in Greeley district No. 3, which supplies this region with water from the river. Later he was interested in the building of ditch #2 as superintendent of the work. The governor then appointed him to attend to the proper distribution of water from the river, in order that one locality might not suffer at the expense of others. For seventeen years, during different party administrations, he served as a member of the state board of agriculture, belonging to the first assembly of the same in the state. During 1888-89 he was active in the construction of the Dolores Land and Irrigation ditch in the Montezuma valley, in the extreme southwestern portion of Colorado, and was made an honorary member of the irrigation engineering corps. Then he served as a member of a special commission for selecting the state school lands, and in 1892 was appointed by the governor to act on a committee on agriculture to arrange for the state exhibit at the Worlds Columbian Exposition. The same year he was sent as a commissioner by the government to Dakota, in order to introduce irrigation methods in that state. His extended experience and knowledge on this subject made his opinion most valuable, and it was considered authoritative. His life was an unusually busy and useful one, and all his old associates deeply mourn his loss. He was a member of the Masonic order, and was buried in the cemetery at Greeley with the honors of the fraternity. Politically he was loyal to the Republican party, though he never sought public distinction.
The four children born to Mr. and Mrs. LaGrange are: Ella M., wife of Daniel Witter; Catherine, wife of Thomas J. Stimson, of Greeley; Jennie L., wife of John Gladston; and Ward H., who is unmarried and lives upon the family homestead.
HARLES H. SCOTT, a successful business man of Denver, has invested considerably in real estate and now carries on an extensive abstract business, with his office in the California building. Though not a native of the United States, he is intensely devoted to the welfare of his adopted country and took out naturalization papers in 1873. At the same time he joined himself to the Republican party, by the members of which he was elected clerk. At various times he has been chosen delegate to county and state conventions, and for years he has been an active worker iii the political field.
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. In London, England, Mr. Scott was born in January, 1852, a son of Charles W. and Harriet M. (Paice) Scott. His father, who was connected with the government service from the age of eighteen until his death in London in 1893, was registrar for the colonies during much of his life and was a man of great energy and fearless integrity of character. In the schools of his native land our subject received a fair education, being for some time a pupil in the Mercer school. When he was almost twenty-one years of age, in 1872, he crossed the ocean to America and settled in Denver, where he at once entered into the abstract business. This he followed until 1875, when he became deputy county clerk. For eight years he filled the position of deputy with efficiency, and so satisfactory was his work that, at the expiration of that time, he was elected to the office of clerk, which he held for four years. On retiring from office he resumed the abstract business, in which he is still engaged.
The marriage of Mr. Scott occurred in Denver, January 7, 1888, and united him with Miss Anna M. Long, who was born in Fairfield, Iowa. One child, Margaret, blesses their union. The family stand high in the regard of their acquaintances and have many warm friends among the people of Denver. Fraternally he is actively identified with Occidental Lodge No. 3, Woodmen of the World, of which he is a charter member and to the development of which he has contributed. His business affairs are conducted with the methodical system characteristic of him in every matter, and all his transactions are fair, honest and satisfactory in even the smallest detail.
EWTON B. ALDERMAN. This well-known farmer of Douglas County, whose home is on section 21, township 10, range 65 west, ten miles west of Greenland, was born in Jacksonville, Ill., and is a son of James H. and Adelia (Beckman) Alderman. His father, a native of New Jersey, learned the tailor's trade, which he followed in Jacksonville, Ill., but after a time he moved to a small farm near the city. From the time of his birth, October 24, 1852, until he was nineteen years of age, our subject resided in Illinois, where he attended common schools and received a fair education.
In 1872 James H. Alderman came to Colorado and embarked in the tailoring business. The next year our subject joined him here and for three years carried on a dairy business in Denver. In 1876 he came to the divide and homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land, later bought two hundred acres of bottom land, and added other tracts from time to time until he finally became the owner of six hundred acres. In 1879 he erected a neat residence and in 1893 built a substantial barn, both of which form valuable improvements to Silver State farm, as his place is named. Besides general farming, he is engaged in the dairy business, and in 1894 he became a partner in a creamery known as the Spring Valley creamery.
In 1882 Mr. Alderman married Miss Ida Stark, who was born in Missouri, but was living in Douglas County at the time of their marriage. She died in 1887, leaving three children, Minnie, James Grant and Ida. In 1889 Mr. Alderman married Miss Georgia Sutphin, who was born in New Jersey and graduated from a normal school; she came to Colorado and taught school in Douglas County prior to her marriage. The first vote of our subject was cast in 1876 for Rutherford B. Hayes and he has continued since to support Republican candidates. Fraternally he is connected with Elbert Camp, Woodmen of the World.
Mr. Owen was an only child, and was educated and learned the trade of a carpenter in Whitesboro, and there began contracting and building. In 1865 he went to Paraje, New Mexico, and embarked in the general merchandise business for three years, when he came to Central
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 985
City. For several years he worked here at contracting and building, and finally drifted into the mining business. That he was a first-class mechanic is shown by the buildings erected by him, among which are the Teller House, Episcopal Church, high school,, and many others. He built a great many buildings that were destroyed by the fire of 1874. About 1878 he discovered and developed the Boss mine, of which he still owns about a mile of the lode. He was also interested in other mines, some of which were discovered by him.
He married in Whitesboro, N. Y., December 16, 1869, Miss Sarah E. Bush, of Sangerfield, same county, whose father, Lee Bush, was also a New Yorker. They have two children, Lena K and Frank H., both graduates of the high school, the latter superintendent of the Cayuga Lake Mining Company, of Quartz Valley district. He has been four years alderman of the city, and in the fall of 1897 was elected county commissioner for the second district on the silver Republican ticket. He took the office in January, 1898, to continue for three years. He was made a Mason in Central Lodge No. 6, and is past officer. He is past high priest in Central City Chapter No. 1, past eminent commander of Central City Commandery No. 2, and a member of El Jebel Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S.
RANK G. REEMAN, senior member of the firm of Reeman & Myers, dealers in lumber, coal and agricultural implements, at Eaton, Weld County, is a native of England, born January 18, 1856, to James and Mary Charlotte Parmenter (Meeking) Reeman. His father, a successful and prosperous man, was engaged in farming in Guildford, Surrey, where he was road overseer and a member of the board of health. Not only was he the possessor of business ability of a high order, but he was gifted as a poet, and many of his writings are gems of thought clothed in beautiful language. In his death, which occurred in May, 1897, the community lost a public-spirited citizen and the family a devoted, kind husband and father.
From among the poems of Mr. Reeman we select two which we quote. The beauty of the imagery will be apparent to even a careless reader, while the mind, trained to a love of beautiful thoughts, beautifully expressed, will dwell upon them with delight:
WHEN ROSE LEAVES PALL.
- The purple tints spread o'er the heath
- And autumn twines a flashing wreath
- Of gold for all,
- The swallows know their day is o'er
- And fly to seek a distant shore,
- When rose leaves fall.
- And so, when youth has passed away,
- With fleeting joys and fancies gay,
- Beyond recall,
- Our hopes, our dreams, one by one,
- With lingering sweetness soon are gone,
- As rose leaves fall,
- But love shall lead our hearts aright
- And into everlasting light,
- The light of all.
- Though earthly joys may fade away
- When softly dies the ebbing day--
- When rose leaves fall.
1800. PRIMROSE DAY.
- Sweetest of the early flowers,
- Primrose, born in shady bowers,
- Bringing back our childhood hours.
- In Cockfield tho' you will not grow,
- Or in Laushall thy pale blossom show
- The reason I've oft wished to know.
- While in places all around
- Thy sweet flowers may be found,
- In springtime decking all the ground
- Clad in robes of richest green,
- In the dark and mossy den,
- Where no human foot has been.
- There thy sweet and smiling face
- Looks up from its hiding place,
- With a look of tender grace.
- In recesses all unseen
- Thou of all spring flowers the queen,
- Yet with unassuming mien.
- Cheerless home, 'neath wintry trees.
- How ye live no mortal sees,
- Mystery of mysteries!
- Though a teacher to us sent,
- Silently thy days are spent;
- Yet in silence eloquent.
- Something human thou must be.
- Looking in thy face we see
- Innocence and modesty.
- Yes, a thought of God thou art,
- Of humanity a part;
- For you touch the human heart.
- Dainty primrose fair to see,
- May we learn and be like thee
- In thy sweet humility.
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. In the family of James Reeman there were eleven children, nine of whom are living, namely: William, who is rector of the Episcopal Church at Durham, England; James, a farmer living in Durango, Colo.; Charles P., a retired army contractor; Frank G., Fannie A. A., Charlotte S., Phoebe J., Louisa Mary and Susie P. The subject of this sketch was educated at Christ Church school, London. For three years he was an apprentice to Brice & Sons, of Northampton, with whom he learned the dry-goods trade. He then spent two years in London, with William Whiteley, of Westbourne Grove, after which he was employed by Thomas White, at Aldershot. In 1880 he came to America, and for two and one-half years engaged in farming with Kellogg Austin, at Owasco, N. Y. In 1882 he came to Eaton, Colo., and entered the employ of Gov. B. H. and A. J. Eaton, in their mercantile business. Five years later he bought one hundred and sixty acres one-half mile east of Baton, in township 5, range 65, which he still owns, but rents. For two years he conducted a meat business, after which he sold to Foster & Waldo and they in turn sold to Rudolph & Jacobs. With the latter firm Mr. Reeman remained for nearly four years, during which time the trade of the firm was large, owing principally to his wide circle of personal friends.
In connection with Mr. Myers, in 1898, Mr. Reeman bought the lumber business of Steele & Smillie, and with this enterprise he has since been identified. He has been successful and has a large trade, especially in the sale of farm machinery, having sold as many as seventeen binders in one week. Coming to Eaton when the village was just started, he has witnessed its growth to its present proportions and has assisted materially in the development of the county. Prior to the silver issue he was a supporter of the Republican party, but since the campaign of 1896 he has been independent in his political allegiance. In 1897 he was elected a member of the town board. He has interests in the Larimer and Weld Irrigation Company and the Farmers' Reservoir Company. He is the only honorary member of the Woodmen of the World at this place.
December 21, 1888, Mr. Reeman married Blanche Isabelle Stevens, daughter of Joseph Stevens, of Brixton, London. She was born in England and died at Eaton, January 3, 1890.
One month after her death her only child, Charles Wallace Stevens Reeman, also passed away. Both are buried in Lynn Grove Cemetery at Greeley. The present wife of Mr. Reeman, with whom he was united April 17, 1898, was Nellie M. Rowley, daughter of Michael Rowley, of Fort Covington, Franklin County, N. Y.
DWARD S. BLAKE, of Blackhawk, is an old soldier and one of the substantial citizens of Gilpin County. Descended from an old New England family, he was born in Rockland County, Me., in 1839, his parents being Osgood and Abigail (Simmons) Blake. His father was born in Maine, but during the gold excitement, in the early days, he went to California. He made two trips, and after the second one settled down to farming in Maine, where he remained until his death. The mother was also a native of Maine and died there. They had a family of seven children, five of whom are living.
Three of the brothers, Warren, Osgood and Edward, went from Maine to the Civil war. Previous to this our subject had remained at home, after attending the public schools until 1863. He then enlisted in Company F, Twenty-sixth Maine Volunteer Infantry, and served on the Mississippi from the capture of Fort Hudson until the expiration of his time, when he was mustered out and returned home. He again took up the work of teaming and farming, but received word that his brother Warren was in New Orleans, stricken with paralysis, and went down to bring him home. In 1867 he came to Blackhawk and has been engaged in teaming ever since. He hauls quartz and does transfer teaming, and at one time ran nine wagons, but at this time has only two or three. He has also been identified with the mines here for the past twenty-five years. He operates the Belmont, in Gregory, and is interested in the Argo, the United States and the Sunset, the latter of which he discovered and developed.
He married after coming here, Miss Kate Carr, a native of St. Louis. They have three children, all living in Blackhawk. Osgood has a position as a clerk; Otto is a bookkeeper; and Harry is still in school. Mr. Blake has a nice home on Clear Creek street, which he improved. For nineteen years he has served the city as alderman, acting
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