RICHARD D. MILLER.
Mardos Collection
RICHARD D. MILLER.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 1119
ICHARD D. MILLER, the owner of a large cattle ranch in Arapahoe County, was born in Cumberland County, Ky., July 28, 1826, a son of Gaddis E. and Catherine (Degraffenreid) Miller. His paternal grandfather, Gaddis Miller, and the maternal grandfather, John Degraffenreid, were natives of England, and the latter was a cabinet-maker by trade. Gaddis E. Miller, who was born in Prince Edward County, Va., spent his entire life as a farmer and planter, and moved from the Old Dominion to Missouri, where he spent the remainder of his life. During his residence there he served in the state legislature and for many years held office as justice of the peace. Politically he was a Democrat and in religion held membership in the Baptist Church. In his family there were three sons. William B., who died at twenty years, remained at home until his death. Gaddis E., deceased, was a stockman in New Mexico.
The education of our subject was obtained in the private schools of his home neighborhood in Missouri and Arkansas. At the age of seventeen he started out in life for himself. After a short time spent in Arkansas, in 1845 he went to Texas, where his time was principally spent until 1866. He then came to Colorado and settled upon his present farm, where he has since engaged in raising stock. He has witnessed the improvement of the county and has assisted in the development of its agricultural resources.
In 1855 Mr. Miller married Miss Mary J. Cureton, who was born in Franklin County, Ark., where her father was for some years a farmer and where her mother died. Mr. and Mrs. Miller became the parents of two sons and two daughters, the latter, Ollie and Maud, being with their parents. The older son, Warner D., is married and has three children now living. He is a stockman and owns land adjoining his father's property. The younger son, William B., who married Ruth M. Van Wormer, daughter of I. P. Van Wormer, had one child, a son, named Braxton Miller. He was engaged in the cattle business near the homestead. When in the prime of manhood he was called from this life, September 26, 1898. He had many good qualities of head and heart and consequently numbered many friends among his acquaintances. Fraternally he was a member of Union Lodge No. 7, A. F. & A. M., and was buried with the impressive ritual of the Masonic Order.
The political affiliations of Mr. Miller are with the Democratic party, and he has always voted for its men and measures. He served in both the Mexican and Civil wars, in the latter spending much time on the frontier under Gen. Kirby Smith. His wife is connected with the Methodist Church, to which, as to other praiseworthy enterprises, the family contribute liberally of their means.
ILLIAM LITTLE, who has efficiently served in the capacity of clerk of Elbert County since 1897, is a man of intellectual attainments and a substantial citizen of Kiowa. He is of English nationality, having been born in Manchester, England, November 20, 1866, and is a son of William and Harriet (Rennison) Little. As a boy he attended the Bolton high school and after the completion of his course entered Tettenhall College at Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1886. As a life vocation he decided upon the profession of an architect and became an apprentice under George Woodhouse, Esq., serving time until 1888, when he came to America, realizing that as a new country it offered greater advantages to the rising generations. He immediately proceeded to Colorado, where he purchased a tract of land four miles south of Kiowa, Elbert County, and engaged in the stock business. Although inexperienced in that line, he was a man of exceptional business qualifications, and by the exercise of good judgment and hard work, the business prospered. In political affiliations he is a stanch Democrat and in 1893 was appointed deputy county clerk under Mr. Turtle, serving for four years. The satisfactory manlier in which he discharged the duties of that office resulted in his nomination for clerk of Elbert County in 1897, and he was in due time elected for a term of two years. He has since retained that office, to the entire satisfaction of everyone concerned. He is a man of noble impulses, kind-hearted and gentle in manner, and occupies a prominent place in the affections of his fellow-citizens.
December 31, 1891, Mr. Little married Miss Nellie Maguire, a woman greatly admired and
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. loved for her many estimable traits of character. She is a daughter of Thomas and Letitia Maguire, and was born in Russell Gulch, near Central City, and educated in Denver University. This union is blessed with one son, who was born October 31, 1892. Our subject is a charter member of Fowler Lodge No. 108, I. O. O. F., of Elizabeth; and of the Woodmen of the World.
ON. THEODORE S. HARPER, ex-representative from Lincoln and Elbert Counties, is a resident of River Bend, Colo., and is well and favorably known throughout the entire state. He was born in Fox Chase, Pa., June 6, 1854, and is a son of William and Elizabeth Harper. His father was also a native of Pennsylvania, and in his early life was a machinist and inventor of some note. He invented some of the first presses for making hoes and rakes, but during the past thirty years he has given his life to the more peaceful pursuits of agriculture, as did his father. He is a Republican. His wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Abel S. Hallowell, a retired farmer living near Philadelphia on the property that has been in his family since they first settled there, before the Revolution. They have eight children. Smith is a stockman in Elbert County, Colo.; William is a farmer in Pennsylvania; Alice married Henry Edwards, and lives near Philadelphia; Eva married Jacob Auer, of the same place; Mary, the wife of George Blake, also lives there; Anna Bell married Albert Boileau, of Chester County, that state; Rebecca is the wife of Albert Ridge, of Somerton, Pa.; and Theodore S. is the subject of this sketch.
His childhood was spent in his native state, where he obtained his education in the schools of Philadelphia. At the age of nineteen he started for Colorado, arriving here with a capital of sixteen cents. He first went to Manitou, where he spent the first year in surveying, and the following year (1874) engaged in hunting buffalo and antelope for the Denver and Kansas City markets, at which he continued for some ten or twelve years. He also mined during the summer, and in this way got the means to embark in the stock business. He began dealing in cattle and horses in this vicinity, and has lived in his present quarters for ten years. His principal stock now is cattle, but he also has some horses. He retains his mining interests. His home, Rockledge, is one of the most pleasant and well-appointed ranches in the state.
October 12, 1887, Mr. Harper married Miss Lillian Hertel, a daughter of George W. and Artemissa Hertel. George W. Hertel was born in Kentucky, but spent much of his life in this state, crossing the plains with an ox-team in 1861, and he worked sawmills in the state. First by appointment and afterward by election he served as commissioner of Grand County. Mr. Harper has always been a Republican, and worked for the interests of that organization. He was elected sheriff of Elbert County in 1886 and re-elected in 1888. In 1893 he was elected to the legislature the first time, and again in 1895, receiving large majorities over his opponents. He is a prominent Mason, and has taken the thirty-second degree.
NTHONY SHABLE is one of the aggressive farmers of Weld County, and, in his due measure, has been responsible for the prosperous condition of this fine farming section of Colorado. A few years ago this was a wilderness of prairie, coveted with rank grass, and giving small prospect of the fertility and beauty which it would soon assume under the genius and labor of man. Mr. Shable found the secret of comfort, peace and plenty when he turned his back on the mines, in which he, like hundreds of others, had wasted an endless amount of toil and anxiety for years, and settled down to an agricultural life. The wealth of any country lies in her farmers, so the philosophers say, and, certainly the soil contains true wealth for the honest, industrious worker.
The ranch owned by Mr. Shable is located on section 6, township 4, range 66, and his postoffice is Evans. By birth he is a German, and about sixty-eight years ago he entered upon the battlefield of life, January 8, 1831. His parents were, like himself, natives of Wurtemberg and were well-to-do farmers, owning their own well-improved homestead. They were named respectively Xafera and Barbara (Burnhart) Shable. The father held the office of justice of the peace and was a man of prominence in his neighborhood. Of his six sons and three daughters Anthony is the only one who ever came to America.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 1121
Until he was twenty years of age our subject remained on the old homestead, working at farming and in a brewery not far distant, at intervals. Determining to seek his living in the United States, he sailed for these hospitable shores, and reached New York City August 26, 1852. Within a few days he went to Philadelphia, and going into the country, found employment with a farmer for a couple of years. Afterwards he worked for another man during a year, and in this period saved about $100 from his wages. In the spring of 1856 he went to Audubon County, Iowa, and there rented land. Part of the year he carried on agricultural labors and during the winter operated a sawmill.
In the spring of 1860 Mr. Shable crossed the plains and, upon reaching the end of his journey, engaged in mining at Gregory Point and California Gulch for some time, but was not very successful. In the autumn of 1860 he went to the valley of the Big Thompson and put up some hay, but, unfortunately, this was destroyed by fire. The next three years he industriously labored at mining, being chiefly in California Gulch. In 1863 he abandoned that business and bought one hundred and sixty acres of land from a man in whose employ he was at the time. He had become responsible for a herd of two hundred cattle, finding pasturage for them and taking as his payment a share in them. For his newly acquired property, laying in the Thompson Valley, he paid $300. This land he sold in 1865 and homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of his present farm, since adding forty acres to the original amount. It is watered by the Big Thompson and Platte River ditch. This company was actively supported by our subject in the beginning of the enterprise and he has served for the past four years as its president. In the organization of the Little Thompson ditch he was one of the prime movers. In matters of political bearing he is independent, and uses his franchise as he deems best, without regard to party.
The marriage of Mr. Shable and Miss Mary E. Kempsey was solemnized in this state November 9, 1876. She is a daughter of David and Sarah (Woodsides) Kempsey, natives of Kentucky, though she was born in Perry County, Ill. A son and daughter were born to Mr. and Mrs. Shable. Jennie, the daughter, died April 24, 1894, aged seventeen years and six months. The son, William A., is a promising young man and is of great assistance to his father in the work of the farm.
OHN F. ELLIOTT, M. D. Numbered among the leading citizens and members of the medical profession of Clear Creek County is this representative physician and surgeon of Idaho Springs. During a period of sixteen years he has been a valued member of the State Medical Association and is now holding the important office of president of the pension board. He is also identified with the American Medical Association and neglects no means of keeping thoroughly posted in everything pertaining to his profession.
Dr. Elliott comes from a worthy line of patriots and pioneers of America. His remote ancestor in this country was one of the passengers in the celebrated "Mayflower," and his great-grandfather, Joseph Elliott, was one of the early settlers of Bradford County, Pa. The old home which sheltered him and his, situated near Camptown, was built prior to the war of the Revolution and is still standing. He was a native of Connecticut and was a young man at the time of the dreadful Wyoming massacre. He and one companion, Lebbeus Hammond, though captured by the red men, managed to escape, but in doing so Mr. Elliott was shot through the left lung and carried the bullet to his dying day. Nevertheless he lived to reach the remarkable age of ninety-three years. His son John, next in the line of descent, was born in Bradford County, as was also the father of the doctor. John Elliott, time grandfather, was an industrious and well-to-do farmer, respected by all his contemporaries, and at one time served them in the Pennsylvania legislature. He was about fourscore and four years old at the time of his demise.
The parents of Dr. Elliott were George W. and Lois (Pickett) Elliott, natives of Bradford County and Jessup, Susquehanna County, respectively. The father of Mrs. Elliott, Jared Pickett, was a native of Vermont, and in early life was occupied chiefly in fishing in Lake Champlain. Later he took up his abode in Pennsylvania and thenceforth devoted himself to farming. George W. Elliott improved a homestead in the wilderness and made a good living for his large family. He held various local positions in the community where
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. he dwelt and was a man esteemed by all. He died in 1883, when in his sixty-fifth year. His widow, who survives him, is now approaching threescore years and ten, and is living with the doctor. Nine of her ten children grew to maturity and seven of the number survive.
The birth of Dr. J. F. Elliott occurred in Camptown, Pa., in 1851. After his public-school education had been completed he entered the normal school at Mansfield, Pa., and attended that institution at intervals for several years, in the meantime teaching in order to meet the expenses of his higher education. He graduated from the normal in 1872 with the degree of Bachelor of Elements and soon afterwards began his initial work in the field of medicine. In 1878 he went to New York City and became enrolled as a student in the medical college. In 1881 he graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the Long Island medical college, of Brooklyn, N. Y. The succeeding year he served as surgeon on the Atlas line of steamships plying between New York and the West Indies and South American ports. In 1882 he decided to locate permanently in the west and settled in Clear Creek County, Colo. Until nine years ago he practiced his profession in the town of Empire, and has since been a resident of Idaho Springs. Here he has built up a large and remunerative practice, and has a place second to none in the estimation of our citizens. He was married in Wyoming County, Pa., in 1882, to Miss Harriet Sterling. Mrs. Elliott was born and reared to womanhood in the little village of Meshoppen, Wyoming County. Three children have blessed their marriage, George, Ida Lois and Sterling.
EORGE L. HAMES, a successful business man of Elbert County, is a member of the Cort-Hames Mercantile Company at Elizabeth. He was born in Hawley, Pa., November 4, 1857, a son of John B. and Mary (Engle) Hames. His father, who is still living near Newfoundland, Wayne County, Pa., was for some years interested in a lumber business, but now makes his home on a farm, winch he cultivates.
During boyhood our subject worked in a sawmill and in the woods, getting out lumber and assisting his father. When he was twenty-one years of age, in 1879, he came to Colorado and settled on a ranch, where he worked by the month for two years. Later he clerked in a store at Elbert for a year, then spent two years working in a sawmill. His present partnership was formed in Franceville in 1885, and in 1892 the firm came to Elizabeth, where he has since resided. At the time of coming to this state he was without means, as his lather had been bankrupted. The competency he has obtained represents his industrious and intelligent effort in this state, and proves that he is a man of business ability.
Since the organization of Elizabeth Camp No. 304, Woodmen of the World, Mr. Hames has been identified with it as an officer. In political opinion he advocates Democratic principles and always votes the straight party ticket. While he never cared for office, his fellow-citizens influenced him to accept the mayoralty of Elizabeth in 1893, and as the chief executive of the town he was instrumental in advancing its well-fare (sic) and promoting its prosperity.
The father of our subject spent his entire life upon the farm where he was born, but died at his summer home in Pennsylvania when he was eighty-five years of age. He was recognized as one of the most enterprising and efficient agriculturists of his locality, and was also esteemed as a citizen, being progressive and public-spirited. Politically he voted the Whig ticket. His wife passed away when eighty-seven years of age.
It was in 1874 that the subject of this sketch came west and settled in Greeley, Colo., where he remained for six years. While residing in that place he bought the stage line between Greeley and Namaqua, and this he operated for
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 1123
seven years. In 1881 he sold the stage line and removed to Loveland, becoming connected with Mr. Stoddard in the livery and sale stable business, which firm has since carried on a successful business. In 1880 he bought one-eighth of a section of land, to which he later added another eighth; upon this place in 1887 he built a handsome residence, and at different times has made other valuable improvements. He owns nine hundred and sixty acres of ranch land near the mountains at the foot hills, and raises cattle and horses of the best breeds. Besides his other interests, since 1894 he has been vice-president of the Larimer County bank. In political affiliations a Republican, he has, however, never shown any partisanship in his preference, but is fair-minded and broad. He takes a warm interest in local affairs and favors any plan whereby the welfare of the county or town may be advanced and the prosperity of the people promoted.
The first wife of Mr. Foote was Sarah A. Woodward, who died in 1892, leaving an only child, James Lindsey. After her death he was a second time married, choosing as his wife Della E. Weaver, of Muscotah, Kan., by whom he has a son, Lester G.
When nine years old J. M. Copeland was taken to Indiana, where he attended the district school until he was thirteen. He then secured work as clerk in a general mercantile establishment, remaining there until 1874, when he came to this state, and located in Georgetown, where he has since resided. He first secured employment as clerk in the furniture store of Henry Boyer. Another three years was spent in the hardware store of Mr. Curtis, and in January, 1880, he started in the banking business, and has held the position of cashier since that time. He is a director in the bank also, and is recognized as a wide-awake, energetic business man. He is the receiver for Pay Rock Silver mines, and has the management of the mines this side of Silver Plume.
After coming to this city Mr. Copeland married Miss Eliza McArthur, who was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and came to this place with her father, Duncan McArthur, in 1874. They have three children, Ruth, J. M., Jr., and William. The bank is in the Fish block, on the corner of Sixth and Rose streets. The remainder of the ground floor is used for stores, while in the rooms above the different lodges of the Masonic fraternity meet. Mr. Copeland is the present city treasurer, as he has been at different times during the past seven years. He has been a member of the school board for nine years, serving as treasurer of that body the entire time. He was made a mason in Washington Lodge No. 12, A. F. & A. M., and is treasurer of the local lodge, as he is in Chapter No. 4, R. A. M., and also belongs to Commandery No. 4, K. T. In religion he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He has been a Republican and is now a strong silver man.
OHN J. SHERWIN, president of the chamber of commerce of Idaho Springs, is a prominent business man of this place. He was born in Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minn., August 30, 1858, and is a son of John H. and Cynthia W. (Smith) Sherwin. His grandfather, John Sherwin, was born of Scotch-Irish parents who settled in New Hampshire at an early day and later moved to New York, where he was
1124
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. born. He moved to Michigan, where he married and reared his family. John E. Sherwin, the father of our subject, was born in that state, and when he reached mature years he went west to Minnesota, where he married. He bought government land in Scott County, which he improved and upon which he lived. While clearing his land and engaging in its cultivation, heat the same time followed his trade, which was that of a cabinet-maker. When the Indian trouble broke out in 1862 a company was organized in St. Paul to quell the disturbance, and passed through Belle Plaine on the way to the seat of trouble. John E. Sherwin joined them at that point and furnished them with horses. In September of that year they fought a battle with the Indians at Birch Coolie, where he was badly wounded, having been struck with two arrows and two bullets, receiving such injuries that he died at Fort Ridgely in his thirty-third year. His wife, Cynthia W. Sherwin, was born near Bellows Falls, Vt., where her parents were engaged in farming. She now resides in Monticello, Minn., and is the mother of three children, as follows: John J., our subject, who is the eldest; Etta Mae, now Mrs. Mealey; and Edward H., a merchant, both living in Monticello.
When John J. Sherwin was five years old he went to Saxton River, Vt., where he attended school for four years. Later he attended the public schools of Monticello, Minn., graduating from the high school of that place when eighteen. He then began the study of pharmacy, and in 1879 opened a store in Hancock, that state, and there continued until November, 1883, when he disposed of the stock and came to this state, locating in Idaho Springs. Here he bought out the drug business of a Mr. Horton, and is still engaged in that line, having the oldest as well as the largest and finest establishment of that kind in the city. He is also interested in mining, being the owner of some valuable mining property.
In Boston Mr. Sherwin married Miss E. M. Moore, a native of London, England, by whom he has one child, John Hastings. He was one of the incorporators of the Idaho Springs chamber of commerce in January, 1896, and was chairman of the committee on railroads and rates. The following year he was elected president, and was re-elected in 1898. He was alderman one term, and served as secretary of the school board for three years, until 1897. He belongs to Lodge No. 26, A. F. & A. M., of which he is past master, as he is in Idaho Springs Chapter No. 30, R. A. M. He is a member of Central City Commandery No. 2, K. T., and El Jebel Temple, N. M. S. He is a member of the State Pharmaceutical Association, and in politics is a silver Republican.
HARLES FREDERICK BLUNCK ranks among the most successful farmers and lamb dealers in Larimer County. In June, 1886, he came to Fort Collins and has since engaged in agricultural pursuits, owning a farm of one hundred and seventy-five acres three miles southeast of Fort Collins, upon which he has made valuable improvements in fencing and ditching and which he devotes to raising alfalfa for feed. He also owns another farm seven miles southeast of this town, in Harmony District, consisting of eighty acres, which he rents. He was among the first to engage in the lamb-feeding industry in this section of the state and for three years or more he has also engaged in dealing in sheep, which he brings here from Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico and southern Colorado. He feeds about four thousand and handles twenty-five or thirty thousand per annum, raising for their feed almost one thousand tons of alfalfa.
The Blunck family is of German origin. Henry Blunck, father of our subject, was born in Sybeck, Germany, and removed to Davenport, Iowa, where he followed the carpenter's trade. From there he went to Winona, Minn., where his son, our subject, was born December 23, 1856. In that city he engaged in business as a contractor and builder for a time, also homesteaded a claim near the town, but on account of trouble with the Indians he deemed it best to return to Davenport, where he resumed carpentering. During the war he enlisted in the Sixth Iowa Infantry and was injured in the service. While in Germany he had served for four years in the Danish war. In 1868 he moved to Johnson County, settling on a farm near Iowa City, then moved to Ringgold County, Iowa, where he died in 1895, at the age of seventy-five years. He was a member of a Grand Army post. His wife, Dora, bore the same family name as his own, but was not related; she was born and married in Ger-
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 1125
many, and now lives in Ringgold County, Iowa. Of her seven children all but two are living, three of these in Iowa, and two in Colorado, John being near Loveland.
In 1868 the subject of this sketch accompanied his parents to Johnson County, where he attended the district schools. At the age of twenty-two he began farming independently, remaining in Iowa until 1886, when he came to Fort Collins. Politically he is an adherent of Republican principles. He was a charter member of the Larimer County Sheep Feeders' Association, in the work of which he takes a warm interest. Fraternally he is identified with the Woodmen of the World. His marriage, which took place in Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa, December 18, 1883, united him with Miss Mary Atz, who was born in Switzerland and accompanied her parents to Iowa when she was twelve years of age. They are the parents of four daughters, Viola G., Elva M., Mary A. and Ruth D.
Until about fifteen years old, Mr. Burkholder lived near Shreve, Ohio, and received his educational training at the public schools. He then went to Fort Wayne and entered his father's factory, learning the different departments of that industry. He spent one winter in Florida, and then returned once more to Fort Wayne to rebuild the factory which had burned down. He conducted this business until 1880, when he came to Denver and accepted employment with Halleck & Howard for one year, and then went to Gunnison and engaged in prospecting until that fall, when he returned to Denver. In the spring of 1882 he came to Georgetown to take charge of G. W. Hall's ore sampling and lumber mill. He was there nine years, until 1891, in the ore sampling business and then had to leave, as the dust in the mill was injurious to him. Later he prospected and mined, and helped to build a mill at Empire. He also spent a short time in Blackhawk, experimenting on tailings with a table he had invented. His next position was as mill man with Dewey, in his concentrator and sampling works, where he remained until April, 1896, and then bought out Henry Siefreid, and opened a hardware store. He has greatly increased the stock and now occupies a building one story high with an area of 25x96 feet, and a warehouse for heavy irons, ore cars, wheelbarrows, etc. He handles stoves, a complete line of miners' supplies, glass, paints and oils, and also does pipe laying, plumbing and heating, and puts on tin and iron roofing.
In Denver Mr. Burkholder married Miss Sarah Harrison, a native of Nova Scotia. They have two children, Edward and Hazel. Mrs. Burkholder is the landlady of the Elliott House, the leading hotel of Georgetown, and one of the best in the county. Her success is shown by the large patronage accorded her, and no effort is spared to cater to the comfort of her guests. Mr. Burkholder is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Daughters of Rebekah, and the Red Men. He is a strong silver man, but is not an aspirant for office.
HILIP POIRSON, of Silver Plume, Clear Creek County, is a gentleman whose history is unusually interesting, partaking, as it does, of military life and honors gained in the service of his native land, fair France. Both his grandfathers were soldiers in the French army under the great Napoleon, and their heroic example as patriots was emulated by our subject in later years.
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. Born in Nancy, Lorraine, September 4, 1840, Philip Poirson is a son of Claude and Catherine (Genire) Poirson, natives of the same place. The father was a coppersmith by occupation. Our subject is the youngest of six children, and the only one of the number in America. In 1855 he volunteered in the French navy and went aboard the training-ship "Jambard" for three years. At the expiration of that period he enlisted in the French army as a private in a Zouave company, and the next year was sent to Algeria. After taking part in a few battles in the mountains he returned home for the purpose of assisting the Italians to drive the Austrians from Lombardy. That year, 1859, he fought in the battles of Palestro, Magenta and Solferino, and at the close of the campaign was presented with a medal by the Italian government. He personally was granted a special medal for illustrious bravery at the battle of Solferino, in saving the life of an Italian officer. His services no longer needed, the gallant young soldier returned to France, and in the autumn of the same year was assigned to duty in Pekin, China, where dreadful massacres of missionaries had been committed and further trouble was expected. There he took part in the battles of Pekin and others in 1860, acting as a sergeant, and for his meritorious services was awarded a medal by France. His next duty was in Cochin-China, where he remained until 1863. Once more returning to his native land he continued in the army up to 1868, being a second lieutenant these later years, and attached to the staff of Marshal Magnau, as his private secretary. In 1868 he resigned and received an honorable discharge.
For a brief time only Mr. Poirson was destined to enjoy the pursuits of peace in his beloved France. He was engaged in the banking business for a year or two with his brother, under the name of Poirson Brothers, in the town of his birth, but the war-cloud followed him, and in 1870 the great Franco-Prussian war broke upon the peace of Europe. When it became certain that his birthplace, Lorraine, was to become the possession of the enemy, Philip Poirson determined to leave and make a new home in America. He sold out his business and in September, 1871, landed in New Orleans, La. There misfortune seemed to have followed him, for, though he opened a grocery and did well for a couple of years, his place of business was then destroyed by fire. He went then to Missouri and found employment in the iron and lead mines. In 1879 he came to Colorado, and located in Silver Plume. Here he was in the lumber business for three years, after which he mined and prospected for eight years. In 1890 he bought out Mr. Cliff and has since freighted and handled ore, conveying the products of several mines hereabout to Georgetown. He also deals in coal, feed, grain and hay, mine timbers, etc. In addition, he has built up a good trade in groceries and provisions and general supplies. He owns a substantial house, store and warehouses, as well as large barns, and by his well-applied energy is gradually acquiring a competence.
Politically Mr. Poirson endorses the platform of the People's party. He was one of the aldermen of Silver Plume for four years and for three years was a member of the school board. He is past grand in the Odd Fellows' society and is past chief of the encampment. For his wife he chose a lady, who, like himself, is a native of France. Their marriage was solemnized in Europe and the ten children who bless their home are: Henry and Frank, who are in business with their father, and Henrietta, Louis, Sophia, Leo, Emma, Jennie, Matilda and Edward.
A native of Boulder County, Colo., Mr. Prince was born May 7, 1874, and is a son of Hiram and Helen M. (Lindsay) Prince, to whose sketch upon another page the reader is referred for the family history. He grew to manhood on the home farm and had such advantages as the common schools afforded. February 24, 1896, he
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