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New York City and Mobile, receiving promotion to second and later to first mate. In 1846 he was made master of a schooner, in which capacity he continued until he left the sea in 1869. He made a number of trips to Europe. From 1861 to 1865 he was master in the United States navy, on the store ship "Relief," and the gunboat "Sonoma," in the North Atlantic and Flying squadron, being for nine months in the West Indies after privateers. He secured two prizes, one the "Virginia," which he took to New York, and the other the steamer "Ida," which he brought from the coast of Georgia.
Resigning from the government service in 1864, Captain Post engaged in the West India trade and made nine voyages to the island of Porto Rico. At one time, while visiting his sister in Connecticut, he saved her house from being burned, but the effort he made in so doing caused him to be seriously burned, and, by a miracle only, his left hand was saved. For some time afterward he was ill, and for that reason was unable to command his brig, "John R. Plater," on one of its voyages. Another captain was secured in his place, but the ship was wrecked in a hurricane and went to pieces on the island Eleuthera, the crew being fortunately rescued,
On retiring from his seafaring life, Captain Post came to Colorado and bought a homestead ten miles west of Fort Collins, near Bellevue and improved the place, bringing the land under irrigation and engaging in raising alfalfa and cattle. He has also been interested in the real-estate and loan business and has loaned money for eastern parties, some of whom he has never seen, but who have the fullest confidence in his judgment. In 1880 he settled in Fort Collins, and three years later was elected alderman when the town was made a city of the second class. A lifelong Republican, he took the side of the silver branch of the party during the campaign of 1896, holding the opinion that a standard of bimnetallism should be established.
In Connecticut, May 27, 1847, Captain Post married Miss Almena T. Collins, who died in that state April 5, 1862. Afterward he was married, in East Haddam, Conn., March 30, 1863, to Miss Emeline E. Jones, who was born in that place, a daughter of A. P. and Emeline (Emmons) Jones, who lived on a farm near East Haddam; Samuel Emmons, her grandfather, enlisted in the Revolutionary war when fourteen years of age, and later was a major of the militia. She is a descendant of a family that settled in New Haven July 10, 1639, the original progenitor being Thomas Jones, who for years served as marshal of the plantation in Guilford, Conn., then returned to England, where he died. His son, Samuel, became very wealthy and was the legatee of the Indian chief, Uncas. At his death each of his sons inherited over one thousand acres. One of these sons, Samuel, had seven children, one of them being Daniel, the next progenitor of the family of Mrs. Post.
Captain and Mrs. Post have a son and daughter. The former, Frederick Edward Post, was educated in the State Agricultural College, and now has a photographic studio on the corner of Fifteenth and Lawrence streets, Denver, where he is known as a successful artist, with a special talent for taking babies' pictures. He is a man of strong character, fond of his chosen occupation and winning in it a reputation that he deserves. The daughter, Lillian Ellen, who received her education in the State Agricultural College, married H. H. Griffin, superintendent of the Rocky Ford Experimental Station of the Agricultural College.
AMES
W. WOODROW, mayor of Empire, Clear Creek County, was the only man
elected on the People's ticket in the spring of 1898, a fact which
attests his great popularity among his fellow townsmen. He is a
young man of superior business talent and unusually extensive
experience for one of his years, and by travel and education has
become broad-minded, liberal and public-spirited. He graduated
from Princeton College in 1886 with the degree of civil engineer,
after a four years' course of training, and is now an honored
member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers and of the
Colorado Mining Association. In May, 1896, he came to Empire to
take charge of the Conqueror Gold Mining and Milling Company's
plant, as manager and vice-president of the concern. He acted in
those capacities up to 1898, when he was made secretary and
general manager of the company. The general offices of the same
are in the Equitable building, in Denver, and E. F. Welles is
president of the company, which is capitalized at $600,000.
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The Conqueror group of mines includes seventy-two patented acres, with shafts and tunnels, and four veins of ore crossed by the tunnels. A first-class mill and concentrator with a capacity of fifty tons, situated about two miles north of Empire, was erected by the company, which thus handles its own ores.
The Woodrow family can be traced back to the eleventh century, the progenitor of the same having accompanied William the Conqueror from Normandy. The name at that time was spelled Wodrow. The great-great-grandfather of our subject, Rev. Robert Woodrow, a native of Scotland, was the leading historian of the Presbyterian Church. James Woodrow, uncle of our subject, was appointed to the scientific congress in Russia, and is now president of the University of South Carolina, and Dr. Woodrow Wilson, now of Princeton, is a cousin. The grandfather, Thomas Woodrow, B. D., was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and graduated from the University of Edinborough. Coming to America, he was pastor of a Presbyterian Church in Rockford, Canada, later preached in Chillicothe, Ohio, for years, and died in Columbus at the ripe age of eighty-four years.
The parents of our subject were Thomas and Helen (Sill) Woodrow, the former born in Carlisle, England, in 1825, and the latter in Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1843. The father graduated from the University of Glasgow, and accompanied his parents to this country. Going to Chillicothe, he became one of its pioneer merchants, and was interested in the construction of the old Dayton & Southeastern Railroad. He died in 1886, aged sixty-two years. His wife was the daughter of Joseph Sill, an attorney, and one of the first settlers of Chillicothe. He lived to the extreme age of ninety-one. His family, which had a crest and coat-of-arms, was one of the oldest in England, as it dates back to 1323. In 1637, Capt. John Sill, the founder of the family on these shores, came to Massachusetts with his wife and settled in Newtown, later Cambridge. Some of the Sills were active participants in King Philip's war and in the Revolution there were no less than nineteen of the name who served honorably in defense of the rights of the colonies, several of the number having ranks of lieutenant-colonel, major, etc. The grandfather of our subject's mother, Rev. Richard Sill, was a minister, and his brother Zachariah was a hero of Dorchester Heights, in the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Helen Woodrow is now living in Ann Arbor, Mich., where her three younger children, Thomas, Helen and Herbert, are students. Thomas will graduate from the University of Michigan in the class of '99, with the degree of Doctor of Laws. The elder sister, Hattie, Mrs. E. F. Welles, resides in Denver.
James W. Woodrow was born June 26, 1865, and was reared in Chillicothe, Ohio, there receiving his elementary education. Upon finishing his high-school course he entered Princeton in 1882. In 1886 he went to Fort Wayne, Ind., and was in the employ of the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railway, in the engineering department, up to June, 1888. The following months he worked for the Smith Bridge Company, of Toledo, Ohio, and in February, 1829, he went to Venezuela, South America, on a four months' contract. There he remained, however, until June, 1891, being occupied in locating and constructing railroad lines for a Paris and London Company. The Tehauntepec Railway Company, of Mexico, next commanded his services, after which he operated for time Mexican Central, laying out a line from the City of Mexico to Tanipico. Two years and a-half he was "engineer of maintenance of way" for the Mexican Northern Railroad. In the spring of 1895 he was employed by the Kansas City Consolidated Smelting and Refining Company at Sierra Mojada, Mexico, but he continued there only until the close of the year, then coming to Colorado.
August 4, 1897, Mr. Woodrow married in Chilicothe, Ohio, Miss Nancy Mann Waddle, whose name is familiar in all parts of this country as that of a writer of great ability. For some three years she was a regular contributor to the Ladies' Home Journal, later on the editorial staff of the Daily News, of Chillicothe, owned by her brother, C. C. Waddle. She is a regular contributor to the leading magazines and papers of the day, such as the New York Herald, Harper's, Munsey's and the Illustrated American. Her parents, Dr. William and Jane S. (McCoy) Waddle, were both natives of Chillicothe. The doctor, who died in 1895, at the age of eighty-five years, was a graduate of Jefferson Medical College, and was engaged in the practice of his profession in his home city for half a century. For many years he was
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president of the Ohio state board of examining physicians, and was a director in numerous state public institutions. His father, John Waddle, was a farmer and merchant and one of the pioneers of Chillicothe. Grandfather John McCoy, born in Carlisle, Pa., was also a business man and early corner to Chillicothe, where it is said that he cut the first tree and built the first house. Mrs. Jane S. (McCoy) Waddle is still living in her old home. Her great-grandfather, Rev. Samuel Finicy, was one of the early presidents of Princeton College. Mrs. Woodrow is next to the youngest of nine children. Two are deceased and the others are: Mrs. Elizabeth Renick, whose husband is president of the First National Bank of Chillicothe; Eleanor; Jane, Mrs. F. M. Guthrie, of Duluth, Minn.; Lucy; Edward, M. D., assistant surgeon of the Seventh Ohio Regiment; and Charles, ex-mayor of Chillicothe and editor of the Daily News of that city. Mrs. Woodrow is a member of the society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She is a woman of fine literary ability, a strong and versatile writer, easy and graceful in her diction, and fluent in language.
HARLES
J. NICHOLAS, an experienced mine developer and owner of
Georgetown, Clear Creek County, was born in the county of
Cornwall, England, January 27, 1858, and is a son of William and
Annie (James) Nicholas. The father was a merchant and farmer,
whose entire life was passed in that vicinity, and the mother was
also born there of Welsh parentage, and died when Charles was but
four years old. Eight children were born to them, of whom there
are three living, in remote parts of the earth. John is a mine
foreman in Bessemer, Mich.; William M. is in Australia, a minister
of the Wesleyan Methodist Episcopal Church; and Charles J., our
subject, and the youngest of the family.
He was reared in Cornwall, educated in the national schools of that place, and later on attended the Royal School of Mines. In 1876 he went to Africa, landing at Capetown and at once making his way to Beufort, the west extension of the English government's public works, where he had charge of the books in the government office for two years. At the expiration of that time he returned to England by way of Capetown, and after a few months spent there came to America and located in Eureka County, Nev., in the fall of 1878. He engaged in mining there until the spring of 1880, when he came to Georgetown and continued the same work. Two years later he became superintendent for Mr. Cole, of Wisconsin, owner of the Montreal mine and other property. He remained with him in that capacity four or five years, and still looks after his business. In 1890 he became identified with the Terrible mines, and later on was made superintendent of them. These mines are composed of thirty or forty patent claims, are operated by shafts, tunnels, drifts, etc., and are the best producers in this section of the county. He is also interested in other mines in different parts of the county, and in a store in Anaconda which is known as the N. D. Cornish & Company store.
He was married in Nevada City, Cal., to Miss Mary E. Rowe, who was born in Tennessee, of English parents. They have one child, Gwendoline. Mr. Nicholas served as city clerk for one year, and for three years has been a member of the school board, of which he is treasurer. He was postmaster from December 9, 1890, until February 15, 1895, under President Harrison, and during the entire time kept up his supervision of the mines. He is a past officer and ex-representative of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and was a member of the encampment. In politics he has been a Republican, and is now a silver Republican. He is a genial, kindly man, and deservedly popular throughout the community.
HARLES
L. REED is one of the most reliable and prominent citizens of
Longmont, and has achieved his present standing here entirely by
his own efforts and integrity. Coming to the state in 1877, he
worked his way from a grocers' clerk to his present honorable
position, that of city clerk and superintendent of the water
works, and the probity of his public life will admit of no
question.
Mr. Reed was born in Clayton County, Iowa, May 17, 1859, his parents being Josiah P. and Lydia (Post) Reed, and his grandfather, Samuel Reed, formerly of Indiana, but later of lowa, where he died. Josiah D. Reed was born in Indiana, and became a merchant of Clayton County, Iowa, but afterwards followed farming in Dodge Coun-
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ty Minn., where he died in 1873. He married Lydia Post, a native of New York. Her father, Joel Post, came from New York and settled on a farm in Iowa, halfway between Prairie du Chieu and Fort Atkinson, Iowa. There he kept a government station, winch afterwards took the name of Postville, in honor of him, his farm being the present village site. He wife, who was a Miss Stevenson, survived him and continued living in the same place until her death, in 1883, at the advanced age of seventy-six. Mrs. Reed now resides in Longmont. She was the mother of eight children, five of whom, four daughters and one son, grew to adult years.
Of these Mr. Reed was second in order of birth. When four years of age he was taken by his parents to Dodge County, Minn., where he attended public school until he was fourteen. On the death of his father the family returned to Postville. He attended the high school at that place until 1877, when he decided to try his fortune in a more western state, and came to Colorado, locating at first on Ralston Creek, near Golden City, where he spent two years in farming. Not finding this employment congenial to his taste, he moved to Longmont and was clerk in the grocery store of R. M. Hubbard until December, 1883. At that time Mr. Hubbard was appointed postmaster, having the office in his store, and our subject was made his deputy, with such satisfaction to the patrons of the office that he was continued in that capacity under the administration of Dr. J. J. Topliff, from 1886 to 1890, and succeeded the latter as postmaster, serving until 1894, when he in turn was succeeded by A. C. Oviatt. In 1896 when A. C. Oviatt died, his bondsmen selected Mr. Reed to take charge of the office until a new appointment could be made. He was appointed city clerk and superintendent of the water works in April, 1895, by the board of trustees, and was re-appointed each year until 1898, when Longmont became a city of the second class and the office became elective. He was then elected, without opposition, as city clerk, and the board of aldermen appointed him superintendent of the water works. He has charge of the collection of the water rents and licenses, etc. The works are supplied with over twenty-two miles of mains, two reservoirs and five hundred and seventy-five taps.
In 1886 Mr. Reed married Miss Sallie E. Ferguson, who was born in Missouri. She was a daughter of Horace W. Ferguson, who located in Weld County, this state, in 1871, and was au extensive stock trader. Four children have blessed their home: Louise, Mabel, Charles and Roland. Mr. Reed has always been prominently identified with the Republican party, and is now a strong silver Republican.
OHN
F. WITHEROW is a leading farmer of Boulder County, and is
recognized as one of her most reliable, conscientious and
thoroughly wide-awake men. He was born near Fairfield, Adams
County, Pa., September 30, 1849, and was but a lad of thirteen
when the battle of Gettysburg took place. As his home was distant
but about six miles from the scene of the battle, he was an
interested spectator of the greater part of the engagement, and at
its close went all over the field. The scene was a
never-to-be-forgotten one, and continues in Mr. Witherow's memory
as clearly as if it actually occurred before him. His father was a
Union man, and being thoroughly conversant with the surrounding
country he guided that army, by short cuts and by roads, across
the country, hoping to cut off Lee's retreat.
His great-great-grandfather came from Scotland, settling first in Virginia, and later in Frederick County, Md. The name was spelled Wathcrow in Scotland, and is so inscribed on the tombstones in that country. The grandfather, David, changed the spelling to Witherow. He was a native of Virginia, married a Miss Stewart and settled in Fairfield, near Gettysburg, where he died. Joseph Witherow, the father, was born here and became a farmer, his farm lying on the Maryland line, half his house lying in that state and half in Pennsylvania. He died here at the age of sixty-seven years. He was married to Lydia Ann Ridinger, who was born near Taneytown, Carroll County, Md. She was a daughter of Peter Ridinger, of German extraction, who fought in the war of 1812, and died in the county in which she was born. She died in her seventy-second year, at the home of her husband in Pennsylvania. Ten children were born to this family, four sons and six daughters, all living. The war was an exciting time for them, as for many other families, and during the battle of Gettysburg they
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took their horses, for safety, to a sort of natural island formed in a swamp by Marsh and Rock Creeks. This island was at times covered with a rank growth of underbrush, making it a good hiding place.
John F. Witherow was the second child of the family, and attended public and private schools at Taneytown, at the same time assisting about the farm in his spare hours. He remained at home until 1873, when he was twenty-three years old, when he went west on a prospecting trip, and located in Central City for two years, meeting with good success in his business. In 1876 he crossed the mountains and visited Steamboat Spring and Cady, and in the fall of that year returned to Pennsylvania, where he remained eighteen months. He then went to Missouri, near Kingston, where he remained about seven months, then to Delavan, Tazewell County, and engaged in farming there for eight years. In the fall of 1887 he once more set out for Colorado, and in the spring of the following year bought and moved onto his present farm. This property already possessed a good house, but he has otherwise improved it by building barns, fences, and setting out a fine orchard and a large quantity of small fruit. His orchard covers five acres and contains a very choice variety of fruit, being a source of much pleasure as well as profit to the owner. His farm is devoted to the raising of grain and potatoes, for which Colorado is noted. He has also a dairy of grade jerseys which bring him a neat income. His farm consists of eighty acres and lies near the city line of Longmont.
While in Pennsylvania in 1878, he was married to Miss Martha J. Gordon, of Franklin County, near Shady Grove, a daughter of Alexander Gordon of the same vicinity, and a granddaughter of Alexander Gordon, a farmer and innkeeper of that state. He and his wife, who was Elizabeth Smyth, of Scotch descent, kept the stage inn on the road leading to Pittsburg. Mrs. Witherow's father was a farmer of Shady Grove and died there when in his eighty-fifth year. Her mother was born in Greencastle, Pa., and was Joanna, a daughter of Hon. David Fullerton, who represented his state in the senate. He married Miss Joanna Lind, and was a large farmer between Greencastle and Chambersburg. They were Scotch-Irish and strong Presbyterians. Her mother died in 1849, and six of her ten children are still living. One brother, J. C. R. Gordon, was in the Civil war in Company K, One Hundred and Twenty-sixth regiment, known as the Pennsylvania Guards. He is living in Lyons, this county. Another brother, Matthew, is residing at La Junta, Colo. Mr. and Mrs. Witherow have five children, viz.: Nanny L. F., John G., Martha E., Anna Lind and Joseph Stuart. He has an interest in the Farmers' National Bank, and is also a stockholder in the Longmont Building and Loan Association. For many years he has filled his present office of director and president of the Oligarchy Ditch Company. This ditch is about fifteen miles in length and irrigates a large tract of land. He is a Republican and takes a prominent part in local politics, having served on different committees and been a number of times delegate to conventions. They are members of the Central Presbyterian Church of Longmont, in which he is ruling elder. He is also a zealous worker in the Sunday-school, and is the acting secretary.
HARLES
L. PALMER. Upon a portion of the homestead located by his father
in 1860, the subject of this sketch is engaged in market gardening
and the fruit business. In the raising of vegetables he has been
especially successful and now makes larger shipments of these than
any other gardener here, marketing the produce in the mountain
towns through Jefferson, Gilpin and Clear Creek Counties. During
the season not a train leaves Golden that does not bear some of
the products of his farm. Finding there would be a sale for
hothouse vegetables, he built three greenhouses, 16x60 feet, in
which he raises vegetables, principally lettuce and radishes, and
it is said that he raises larger quantities of lettuce than anyone
in the vicinity of Golden. The hothouse is kept at an even
temperature by means of hot water pipes and is admirably fitted
for the winter growing of vegetables. On the farm there is a
packing and shipping house, where vegetables and fruits are crated
and weighed, and bills of freight are made out. In addition to the
raising of vegetables he has given some attention to fruits, and
has planted two orchards, with apple, plum, pear and peach
trees.
Mr, Palmer has the distinction of being the
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third or fourth white child born in Colorado. He was born October 6, 1860, on the farm near Golden, where he now resides. He is the son of Joseph K. Palmer, of whom mention is made upon another page of this volume. His education was obtained in the public and high schools of Golden. In 1881 he began as a market gardener and later bought fifty-nine acres of the old homestead, situated on the south side of Clear Creek, where he has since engaged in gardening and the wholesale produce business.
In 1881 Mr. Palmer married Miss Fannie Blatter, who was born in southern Illinois, but has spent most of her life in Golden. Their children are: Ethel, Mabel, Lillian and Roy. Fraternally Mr. Palmer is connected with the Woodmen of the World and the Woodmen's Circle. The temperance cause has in him a warm supporter and he does all within his power to promote its success. He is a friend of the white metal and believes that silver should be restored to its proper standard, that he is meeting with success is due to the fact that he understands his business thoroughly and grasps each detail connected with its management. The prosperity that has already come to him is undoubtedly but an indication of the success which future years will bring him.
ON.
ROBERT T. SHAW, A. B., M. D., is a man of integrity and sterling
worth, and by his kindly bearing and upright life has made
innumerable friendships. He came to this state in June, 1882,
locating in Silver Plume, and ten years later moved to Georgetown.
He was born near Washington, in Washington County, Pa., February
14, 1849, a son of John Shaw, and grandson of Joseph Shaw of the
same locality. His grandfather bought and improved the farm there
upon winch both the doctor and his father were born. His father
was an agriculturist on this property until his death at the age
of seventy-five years. Sarah Harsha Shaw, the mother, was also a
native of that county, and was a daughter of John Harsha, a chair
manufacturer there. She died at the age of fifty-nine years. She
was the mother of thirteen children, of whom seven grew to adult
years and five sons are now living. Three of these served in the
Civil war, viz.: William, in the Eighty-fifth Pennsylvania, now a
resident of Iowa; Joseph, who was a member of the same regiment,
and lives in his native county in Pennsylvania; and James, of the
First Virginia Cavalry, who lives in Cambridge, Ohio. The other
brother cultivates the old homestead.
Dr. Shaw is the youngest son and was reared on his father's farm. He attended the public school until he entered the Washington-Jefferson College, at Washington, Pa., from which he graduated in 1874, with the degree of A. B. The following year he entered Jefferson Medical College, of Philadelphia, and graduated two years later as an M. D. He was appointed resident physician to West Pennsylvania Hospital, of Pittsburg, for one year, gaining valuable experience in his work. He then practiced in his home county until June, 1882, when he located in Silver Plume and began a general practice of his profession. So rapid was his advancement in the estimation of the people that two years later he was nominated on the Republican ticket for the legislature, and was elected, serving in the session of 1885 for Clear Creek, in the Fifth General Assembly, and voted for H. M. Teller for United States Senator, after Hammill retired from the contest. In 1890 he was again elected, and in the session of 1891 again voted for teller. He was chairman of the committee on temperance and medical affairs, and a member of a number of other committees. In 1892 he moved to this city, where he has since practiced medicine and surgery, and is physician to St. Joseph's Hospital here. His success in both places of residence has been most flattering. Politically he is a silver Republican, he has been delegate to county and state conventions, served as a member of the town council in Silver Plume, and was county coroner one term. In fraternal relations he is identified with the Knights of Pythias and the Red Men. He has been connected with the State Medical Association.
OHN A. LITTLE, who resides one mile east of Loveland, Larimer
County, was born in Iowa in 1843, a son of Robert and Catherine
(Miller) Little, natives respectively of Ireland and Virginia. His
father, who was born in 1813, emigrated to the United States at
sixteen years of age and settled in Ohio. There he met Miss
Miller, who had accompanied her parents from
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the Old Dominion to the Buckeye state. About 1842 he removed to Iowa and became a pioneer of Lee County, where he was living at the time of the Mormon outbreak. In 1867 he removed to Baxter Springs, Kan., and opened a store, which he carried on for a number of years. On disposing of his stock of goods he settled on a farm in Kansas. He continued in agricultural pursuits until 1890, when he retired from active labors, and since then he has made his home with his children. Politically he has always been a stanch Democrat. He still retains his faculties in spite of his advanced years.
When a boy our subject attended common schools. At the age of twenty-two he and his brother Charles took a load of goods from Kansas to Colorado, and sold the stock in Central City. Coming on to Boulder City, he worked for Andrew Doudey in the construction of a flour mill, after which he accompanied his employer to Big Thompson, to Old St. Louis, and aided in building a mill. After its completion Mr. Little and his brother George leased the mill, which they ran for two years. Returning to Kansas, our subject married and with his wife came to Colorado in the spring of 1868. Here he resumed the mill business, which he followed successfully until 1869. During early days he also followed the carpenter's trade and made all the coffins in this vicinity.
In 1869 Mr. Little bought a quarter-section of land on the Big Thompson River, and here he has since engaged in general farming and stockraising. He assisted in the construction of the Chubbuck ditch, now called the Loveland and Greeley ditch, in which he is a stockholder. For a number of years he served as secretary and treasurer of the company. He has made many improvements on his place, which is considered one of the finest in the county. He makes a specialty of raising blooded cattle, of which he has a herd of one hundred and fifty. Besides farming and milling, he has had other interests. In 1883, with E. A. Seibert, he became interested in the Loveland Reporter, which the two conducted together for a number of years, and afterwards he carried it on alone for a short time.
Politically Mr. Little is independent, voting for the men whom he considers best qualified for official positions. However, he leans toward the Prohibition party. In 1868 he married Miss Frances Silsbee, daughter of Erastus Silsbee, of Wisconsin. They are the parents of four children, Erastus, Lillie, Grace and Ralph. The family are identified with the United Presbyterian Church, in which Mr. Little has been a member of the board of trustees and took an active part in the building of the new church in 1893.
ILLIAM
P. MULLIGAN is the owner of a ranch of two hundred acres, lying
eight miles northeast of Longmont, in Weld County. Here he settled
in 1875 and here he has since resided. He has added forty acres to
his original tract of a quarter-section and has carried on general
farm pursuits industriously. and efficiently. He came to Colorado
from South Bend, Ind., where he was born October 5, 1851, and
where his boyhood days were spent in the home of his parents,
Edward and Mary A. (Gribbon) Mulligan. The family of which he was
a member consisted of ten children, all but one of whom are still
living. His father, a native of County Cavan, Ireland, was born in
1803, crossed the ocean at twenty-one years of age and settled in
Indiana, where he embarked in farm pursuits in Mishawaka, St.
Joseph County. There he continued to reside until the time of his
death, in 1868.
Believing he could gain greater success in Colorado, the subject of this sketch crossed the plains in 1873 and went direct to the mountains, working in the mines at Georgetown for nine months, after which he worked for Governor Evans, who had claims at the head of Snake River, near the foot of Gray's Peak. Three months were spent there, after which he came to St. Vrain Valley in the spring of 1874, and for a year worked as a farm hand, then took up the land where he has since engaged in general agricultural pursuits. By untiring industry and perseverance he has brought this property to a high state of cultivation, and is recognized as among the prominent farmers of the locality.
November 22, 1885, Mr. Mulligan married Miss Jennie E. Wilson, a native of Iowa, and a daughter of James L. Wilson, who came from Iowa to Colorado in 1872. Her mother was in maidenhood Mary A. McCorkle. Mr. and Mrs. Mulligan are the parents of four children: Mark L.; James E. and William, both of whom are de-
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ceased; and William Philip. The family are identified with the Catholic Church, In fraternal relations Mr. Mulligan is a member of Mountain Valley Camp No. 31, Woodmen of the World.
RANK
E. HARTMAN, senior member of the firm of Hartman & Romigh, and
a well-known business man of Longmont, is the pioneer in his line
in this city, having been the first to establish a first-class
meat market here. The firm of which he is a member commands the
largest trade in this section and is recognized as an enterprising
and honorable business concern. Mr. Hartman is a self-made man, in
the best sense of the term. Early in life he started out for
himself and came west, where, by energy and application to
business he has become well-to-do. He is popular with his
customers and with all who have any transactions with him, for he
is fair and honorable in his treatment of all and looks out for
the interests of others.
The father of our subject was Henry Hartman, a miller by trade. He was a native of York, Pa., from which state he went to Ohio, pursuing his calling in Cincinnati for some years. Later he removed to Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and after a period spent in the milling business there he went to live upon a farm. He died while a resident of Iowa, some years ago. His faithful companion and helpmate, whose name before their marriage was Mime Brown, was born in Cincinnati, and is now living in Carthage, Ill. They were the parents of five children, four sons and one daughter, and all but one son survive.
Frank E. Hartman was born September 3, 1848, in Hamilton County, Ohio, and with his parents went to Mount Pleasant, Iowa, in the spring of 1850. When old enough he was sent to the schools of that town, and at the age of fifteen he began working regularly in a mill. He learned the trade and continued to follow this means of earning a livelihood until 1871, in Weeping Water, Cass County, Neb. At that time he came to Colorado, and for a year or two was employed at farming in old Burlington. In 1873, when the Fox mill was completed, he became a miller in it, remaining there for about eight years. He then came to Longmont and embarked in the business he is in to-day, that of keeping a meat market. He has been located in this same place during all the intervening years. He deals more or less extensively in live stock and manufactures sausage, packs hams, etc. In 1896 he entered into partnership with O. H. Romigh, under the firm name of Hartman & Romigh.
Fraternally Mr. Hartman belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Woodmen of the World and the Ancient Order of United Workmen, being a charter member of the last-named lodge here. He is a stalwart Republican. June 8, 1885, he married Josie Carmean, who was born in Hancock County, Ill. Her father, John Carmean, now a resident of this place, was formerly of Ohio. The two children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hartman are named respectively, Orville and Vernon.
AVID
D. DEWEY, of the firm of Dewey Brothers, ore samplers and brokers,
has 14 been a resident of Georgetown, Clear Creek County, since
1891, and is ranked among the most progressive men of the place.
He is manager of the company's ore sampling and concentrating
works here, and is a young man of undoubted business
qualifications. He was born July 27, 1866, near Syracuse, N. Y.,
and traces his ancestry back, through a long line, direct to one
Thomas Dewey, who came from Sandwich, Kent County, England, to
Massachusetts in 1630 or 1633, and in 1634 to Windsor, Conn, He
was cornetist of the town troop of mounted light infantry, and was
also juror and deputy to the general court. He married the widow
of Francis Clark, and died April 27, 1648, after which she moved
back to Massachusetts. Their children were: Thomas; Josiah, the
ancestor of the renowned Commodore Dewey; Anna; Israel, the
forefather of our subject; and Jedediah. Among the children of
Israel Dewey was David, who also had a son David, born in the year
1700. His son, also David, was the great-great-great-grandfather
of our subject and was born in 1725. David was a family name, and
when a son was born April 18, 1725, in Massachusetts, he was given
that name and became a soldier in the Revolutionary war. He was a
private in the company of Capt. William Douglass, and also served
in the regiment of Col. Benjamin Simonds from December 16, 1776,
to March 22,
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1777, where he fought at the battle of Ticonderoga under Captain Lush. He was under Col. John Brown from September 21 to October 13, 1777, as corporal, and received the commission of second lieutenant of the Twelfth Company on the 17th of February, 1780. He was married February 23, 1774, to Serviah Knowlton, and died January 16, 1836. His son, the great-grandfather of our subject, was also named David, and came from Massachusetts to Herkimer County, N. Y., December 22, 1775. Later he went to Deerfield, some six miles from Utica, where he engaged in running a distillery. He was not successful in this business and removed to Bridgeport in 1808, and resided there two years. During this time he was at work on an invention which proved of some value, and he rode the entire distance to Philadelphia in order to secure a patent on it, after which he sold out, obtaining a good price, with which he returned to his former home and paid up his entire indebtedness. In 1812 he removed to Cambridge, and later to Madison County, where he took a farm three miles south of Bridgeport, upon which he spent the remainder of his life. May 28, 1794, he married Margaret Tracy, with whom he lived until his death, May 27, 1837. One of his sons, Chauncey, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Westfield, Mass., April 13, 1800. He engaged in agriculture in the vicinity of Bridgeport, and on February 20, 1823, he married Lucina Hulbert. Their children were: Almira, Franklin, Bradley, Louise, David, Edward and Newton. Bradley S. Dewey, the father, was born on the farm near Bridgeport, February 16, 1827, bought the place formerly owned by his grandfather, and continued its cultivation until his death, February 2, 1873. He married Dorothy A. Dunham, who was born in Bridgeport, October 20, 1834. She was a daughter of Frederick Dunham, who ran a fulling mill in that city. They were members of an old New England family. She had three children: Harriette L., Mrs. F. E. Jennings, of Denver; Chauncey Edward, of the same city; and David D., our subject. She resides in Denver with her son Chauncey, who came to the state in the spring of 1880. He first went to Georgetown, where he worked as civil engineer and surveyor until 1885, when he embarked in the mining and milling business, in partnership with our subject, under the name of Dewey Brothers. They run a concentrating and ore buying works at Georgetown, and he individually built and operated a large mill at Lake City, where he operated the Hidden Treasure mine. He belongs to the society of Colonial Wars, in which wars many of his ancestors participated.
Mr. Dewey first attended the district school and later graduated from Phoenix Academy. He devoted the next five years to farming, and seeing the necessity of a thorough knowledge of stock and their ailments, he entered the Toronto Veterinary College, from which he graduated in 1889, as D. V. S. After practicing one year in Phoenix, he engaged in the lumber business in Georgia, manufacturing lumber for the market, and in 1891 came to Georgetown, Colo., and associated with his brother in business. They bought the old Clear Creek mill, remodeled it, and engaged in ore sampling and concentrating. Their ore sampler has a capacity of seventy-five tons per day, and the concentrator has a capacity of forty tons. In 1895 they built works of the same capacity in Idaho Springs, which were managed by David Dewey until December, 1897, when they disposed of them to the Kilton Company. He then returned to Georgetown and took charge of the plant there. They have a pleasant office in the Boston building, Denver, which is occupied by C. E. Dewey.
Our subject was married in Denver to Miss Georgie Johnson, who was born in Big Rapids, Mich., a daughter of Harley M. Johnson, who settled in that city and is connected with the Denver and Rio Grande Express Company. Mrs. Dewey is a graduate of the east Denver high school, and is an intelligent, pleasant lady. Mr. Dewey is a member of the Woodmen of the World. He was a Republican until 1895, when he joined the ranks of the Democratic party.
ILO GUERDON SECOR, a successful farmer and stockman, is also engaged in the seed business, and has, on Main street in Longmont, what is undoubtedly the largest store of its kind in northern Colorado. From his youth he has been interested in farming and stock-raising, and in both industries he has engaged with profit. In 1889 he bought a half interest in a lumber yard and the business was con-
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ducted as Hall & Secor until 1892, when he bought his partner's interest, but the following year sold out the entire business. He owns a ranch adjoining Estes Park, at Muggins Gulch, where he has nearly five hundred acres, all fenced.
The father of our subject, William W. Secor, was a son of Gordon Secor, whose life history is given in the biography of his son, Judge F. P. Secor, presented elsewhere in this volume. William W., who was the eldest of three sons, was reared in York state and Wisconsin, and about 1859 came to Colorado, at the time of the Pike's Peak excitement. Subsequently he made four trips across the plains. He came through Boulder County as early as 1860. He engaged in mining and for a time drove a stage. About 1866 he went to Cheyenne, Wyo., and for some time afterward carried mail and engaged in freighting. In 1869 he settled in Boulder County, near what is now Idaho Station, where he engaged in farming and the stock business. In 187o he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres and by the Colorado Central Railroad (now Union Pacific) land grant eighty acres was taken from him by the railroad. He bought of the Jacob Coffman estate one hundred and sixty acres and to this he added until he had four hundred and eighty acres, which the family still own, our subject managing it.
In 1872, with Mr. Buckingham, on Main street, Longmont, Mr. Secor embarked in the livery business, which he continued until 1876 and then sold. He built a brick store on Kimbark street, where he carried on an implement and lumber business, continuing thus engaged until his death, October 19, 1888. Meantime he also engaged in stock-raising and the cattle business on his several ranches. Politically he was a Democrat, loyal to party principles. For four years he served as deputy sheriff of Boulder County. Fraternally he was a Knight Templar Mason, and was buried with Masonic honors.
The mother of our subject was a sister of Hon. E. J. Coffman, to whose sketch the reader is referred for the Coffman history. Of her five children Milo Gordon was the eldest and was born in Cheyenne, Wyo., June 5, 1868. His boyhood years were spent in Boulder County. He attended the grammar and high school of Longmont, and at an early age began to assist his father in the care of the cattle. On the death of his father he succeeded to the management of the estate, which is under high cultivation and is improved with ditches and fences.
In Galena, Ill., Mr. Secor married Alice M. Fiddick, who was born in that city and attended the high school there. Her father, R. H. Fiddick, was engaged in the wholesale and retail dry-goods business in Galena and was a man of prominence. In politics Mr. Secor is inclined to be independent, though he agrees with the Republican party in favoring protection of borne industries. Fraternally he is connected with St. Vrain Lodge No. 23, A. F. & A. M., Longmont Chapter No. 8, R. A. M., Long's Peak Commandery No. 12, K. T., and El Jebel Temple, N. M. S.
ILLIAM
G. CHAMBERLAIN, the artist who introduced the now popular Rocky
Mountain views to public notice, was born in Newburyport, Mass.,
November g, 18 15. His father, Ichabod Chamberlain, was born in
Chelsea, Vt., and was a well-known and successful engineer in
Massachusetts. The mother, Caroline Gunnison, was born in
Newburyport, Mass., and reared five children. William G. was the
eldest of the family; Charles died in Peru; Caroline (Mrs.
Vincent) lives in Boston; Louisa (Mrs. Matthews) died in New York;
and Edward resides in McPherson, Kan. The Chamberlain family was
of English origin, and the remote ancestors were among the
earliest settlers of New England and figured prominently in her
Indian and colonial wars.
When Mr. Chamberlain was about nine years of age his parents removed to Boston, where, with the exception of a few years in Lowell, he remained until 1839. Being then in his twenty-fourth year, and possessing the natural ambition of youthful years (and probably its adventurous impulses also), he improved a proffered opportunity to visit South America, and took passage in New York, via Cape Horn, for Lima, Peru. The journey was accomplished in ninety-three days without incident other than usual to an ocean voyage. He resided in Peru thirteen years, with the exception of a few months in 1844, when he returned by way of Panama to Boston, on business matters. These attended to, he returned to Peru, and suffered shipwreck on entering the harbor of
