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and then for five years served as jailer of Arapahoe County. Previous to this he had served as street commissioner and city jailer. In politics he always adhered to the Republican party. After his marriage to a Quakeress he became a member of that society. He was a sir knight in Masonry and held various official positions. He passed away February 27, 1887, and his remains lie in Riverside Cemetery.
The only child of his parents, our subject early began to assist his father, learning to lay brick and do other manual work. From sixteen until twenty-one he was employed as a bricklayer, and then engaged in the wholesale produce business on a small scale. He prospered until the panic of 1873, when, after paying one hundred cents on every dollar of indebtedness, he closed out the business. With his father he bought a ranch of one hundred and sixty acres two miles west of Sedalia, Douglas County, Colo., where he at once began farming and stock-raising. While working as a brick-layer he gained a knowledge of civil engineering, a taste for which he inherited from his grandfather. In 1882 he was elected surveyor of Douglas County, and twice was re-elected, but resigned before the last term was out.
From time to time Mr. Lambert added to his ranch, until he now has nearly two thousand acres, all well stocked. At another place he has four thousand acres. He has planted many fruit trees on his ranch, having now twenty thousand cherry, plum and apple trees, and four hundred thousand trees in the nursery. Over two hundred acres are irrigated by one windmill under the Lambert sub-irrigation system. In the study of irrigation Mr. Lambert spent several months in California, examining the various systems in use there, and after much thought and study he evolved a system for which he has applied for a patent. This will, without doubt, enable the people to irrigate the hills, and will thus be of great financial benefit, not only to Colorado, but also to the entire desert country, as it will be cheaper than irrigation by ditches, even on the plains where ditches can be maintained.
January 11, 1874, Mr. Lambert married Rachel Parman, of Fort Worth, Tex., who was born in Missouri, a daughter of Giles Parman. They are the parents of four living children and lost one in infancy. The eldest, J. F., who is now eighteen years of age, is president of the Lambert Orchard Company, which was organized by his father in 1896, originally with ten thousand shares, but now having fifty thousand of $1 each. It is exclusively a family company, and no one outside of the family is allowed to hold stock. The second son, W. T. Lambert, Jr., is secretary of the company, Bessie is assistant secretary, and Webster, a nine-year-old boy, is assistant manager. Mrs. Lambert is treasurer. Mr. Lambert's idea in this is to make his children familiar with business matters and give them, by practical experience in youth, the knowledge that will be so valuable to them in after years. The family spend the winters in Denver and the summers on their ranch.
In 1872 Mr. Lambert cast his first presidential vote for General Grant, and he has since been a stanch Republican. He served for three terms as county surveyor and one term as county assessor under the territorial jurisdiction, later under the state board. He introduced the first system of land book entry for the assessor, and through this means between five hundred and a thousand little errors were detected, which were afterward corrected. In 1882 he joined Denver Lodge No. 5, A. F. & A. M., and soon afterward became identified with Denver Chapter No. 2, R. A. M., still later becoming a member of Colorado Commandery No. 1, K. T., and finally joining Denver Council No. 1, Royal and Select Masters, and El Jebel Temple, N.M.S.
RANK
L. PECK, clerk of the district court of Clear Creek County, is
also the owner of the Gold Dirt group and the Atlantic mines; the
former, which consists of a group of four mines, is the best in
the Clear Creek County. Our subject was born in Oswego, N. Y., the
date of his birth being December 6, 1843, and is a son of James
and Mary (Parsons) Peck, and grandson of John Peck, a farmer, who
descended from an old New England family.
Joseph Peck was born and reared at Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence County, N. Y., and although educated to agricultural pursuits, early in life he began to clerk in the flour store of Fitzhugh & Littlejohn; in 1843 he migrated west and located in the city of Chicago, where he engaged in the grain business, first becoming agent for an Oswego
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line and later had charge of a grain elevator. This he conducted until the panic of 1859, in which year he gave up that line of business. In the following year he journeyed across the plains to Colorado, and locating at Nevadaville, better known as Whitcomb, he purchased the Whitcomb quartz mill, which he operated one year. In 1861 he became interested in the Van Dearn mill at Trail Creek, now known as Freeland, and operated the same until 1862, when he moved to Empire. There he founded the Peck Company, of which our subject later became the owner. Mr. Peck died in 1880, at the age of seventy-nine years. He was twice united in marriage; by his first wife he reared one daughter, Mary, the wife of Charles Brown, of Chicago, Ill. His second wife was Mary Parsons, a native of Connecticut, and a daughter of Maj. Joseph Parsons, who was of Revolutionary fame, and a native of Enfield, Conn., where he was engaged in merchandising. Four children blessed this union, three of whom are still living, namely: Frank L., the subject of this personal history; James, Jr.; and Harry Bristol, the latter two being located in Routt County, this state.
Frank L. Peck was reared in Chicago, Ill., and received his education in the public schools of that city and then attended Dr. Reed's Walnut Hill Preparatory school at Geneva, N. Y.; returning to Chicago, he entered and graduated from Sloan's Business College. In 1861, in company with his father, he went to St. Joe, Mo., from which place he took the stage and crossed the plains to the state of Colorado. He first located on Trail Creek, where he engaged in milling and mining, and in 1862 he came to Empire, then the best mining camp in the state, and in the following year he took charge of a merchandise store for his father; remaining in that capacity until 1867, he then moved to Georgetown, where he accepted a like position with Charles B. Patterson; later the business was known as Peck & Patterson, under which name the business was conducted until 1868, when our subject sold his interests and returned to Empire.
Afterward Mr. Peck engaged in a stock company at Deer Creek in the southeastern part of Jefferson County, in which company he remained until 1871, when he began railroading. He accepted a position as agent at Golden, on the Colorado Central Railroad, and when the track was extended to Blackhawk he became agent at that town, remaining there until June, 1872; in that year Mr. Peck returned to Empire and with his father embarked in the hotel business, the establishment being known as the Peck House. In January, 1873, he returned to the employ of the Colorado Central Railroad, upon the earnest solicitation of General Sickler, and was located at Floyd Hill, where he had charge of the company's interests, including money and all. In 1875, when the Denver-Western forcibly took possession of the road, he was the only agent to retain his position with the new company. In 1877 the railroad was completed to Idaho Springs, where our subject was agent until August of that year, when he became financial agent at Georgetown. Upon the death of his father, our subject in 1880 resigned his position and came to Empire, where he took charge of his father's interests in the Gold Dirt property and the Atlantic mines, and has operated the same up to the present time. In 1886 he went to Denver, where he was engaged in the mining business until 1889, when he returned to Empire and started the Peck House, which was the principal hotel in the town.
Politically Mr. Peck has always been an unswerving supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, and has served as mayor of Empire several terms, in the town council a number of years, as a member of the school board, and as county clerk and recorder. In 1879 he was a candidate for county clerk and recorder, but was defeated by a scanty six votes; in 1881 he was again a candidate for the same office and was elected by a majority of about one hundred votes; was re-elected in 1883; and in 1885 he was again a candidate for that office, but as he was summoned to the death bed of his daughter at Denver on the morning of election day, he was unable to be at the polls and the result was he was defeated by seventy-eight votes. In 1868 he was a candidate for county treasurer of Clear Creek, but was defeated by his opponent, J. W. Dripps, as that was the year of Republican triumph all over the United States.
Mr. Peck was married at Golden to
Miss Malvina V. Mclntire, who was horn in Montgomery County, Ky.,
and this union resulted in the birth of five sons and one
daughter, namely: Charles P., who is under sheriff and deputy
clerk of the
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district court of this county; Grace, who died aged fourteen years; Howard Gorman; Mabel Olmstead; and Frankie Elliott. Fraternally our subject was a member of Idaho Springs Lodge No. 26, A. F. & A. M., but was demitted and became a charter member of the Georgetown Lodge No. 48, A. F. & A. M.; he is also a member of the I. O. R. M. of Empire. He is popular in both business and social circles, is public-spirited, and performs all the obligations of a patriotic citizen.
HARLES
ATMORE, whose home is in Brighton, was born in the parish of old
Buckingham, county of Norfolk, England, March 26, 1828. His
parents, Matthew and Maria (Pond) Atmore, were born in 1797 and
1800 respectively, the former being the son of a wealthy farmer,
while the latter was the daughter of poorer, but equally
honorable, parents. On account of the difference in their social
positions, objection to the marriage was made on the part of the
Atmore family, but John Atmore, the father of Matthew, overruled
the objections, believing that poverty was not a bar to the
marriage, as the Pond family were respected and well educated. The
young couple were married in 1823, and there still may be seen a
solid silver spoon, bearing the date of the event, as well as
other souvenirs.
Of the Atmore family two are known to be in Africa, one of whom, a cousin of our subject, was at one time mayor of Cape Town. Another, Robert Atmore, located in Philadelphia and there established the business of making English plum pudding, canned and mince meat. His descendants are still living in Philadelphia. Another member of the family is prominent in Kentucky.
When our subject was six years of age he began to study under a governess employed by the family and continued in that manner until ten, when he was sent to a private school. To this school he and his brother, with their three sisters, rode back and forth each day in a covered cart, and sometimes they were accompanied by the children of neighbors. It was one and one-half miles from the farm to the town of Lodden, where the boys attended a boys' school and the girls a school for girls. There our subject was taught reading, writing, arithmetic, geography and grammar, but on account of the harshness of the teacher he left the school. He was next sent to a boarding school in the city of Norwich in Golden Dog Lane, where he studied under an excellent teacher, one who knew how to manage boys and how to instruct them. During the two years spent there he finished the common branches and also studied Latin, but he did not enjoy that language, although his father was an excellent Latin scholar and loved the classics. Only once was he threatened with a whipping in this school, a mode of punishment frequently resorted to in his first school. On that occasion he was to be punished for something he felt himself not to blame for. He refused to take the punishment and was for that reason assigned to do extra study in the room of a professor of astronomy, and during the two weeks he remained there he gained a knowledge of many things unknown to him before. He was permitted to read Robinson Crusoe and books of a similar character while he was in school, though other boys were not allowed such privilege.
The father of our subject was a local preacher in the Methodist Church. He lost his property by giving it to that denomination, and believing he could do better in America, he crossed the ocean, accompanied by his family, in 1844, on the "Mediator," a sailing-vessel, Captain Chadwick, that started on the voyage March 17 and landed in New York after twenty-three days on the ocean. The mother being very ill was taken to a hospital and the father remained with her, while all the children except the youngest (a babe in arms) were taken to Michigan by a friend. The father overtook them at Albany, where they were awaiting the subsidence of a flood. They went via Erie Canal to Buffalo, thence by steamer across the lake to Detroit, and settled in Calhoun County, Mich., on a farm near Battle Creek, driving through from Detroit by wagon. While journeying through the wilderness the boys passed the time in hunting quails and other game.
When they reached their destination the father, who was then a man of more than forty years, bought a tract of eighty acres of timber land with some little improvements and a snug little frame house. While farming he also continued to preach. As time passed by, he purchased more land, and this he cultivated. He made one trip back to England and during the year he spent there delivered lectures on America.
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To slavery in any form he was opposed. Two of his sons served four years in the army, one of them fighting the Indians and the other as a teamster. Both are still living, John being in Middle Park, Grand County, Colo., and Matthew being in Santa Paula, Ventura County, Cal. The father died in 1878, at the age of eighty-one, and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Battle Creek, Mich.
Soon after coming to America the subject of this sketch was bound out to his brother-in-law, James Bryant, a farmer, with whom he remained for five years, it being the agreement that he was to have two winters in school, also $100 in money and two suits of clothes when he was twenty-one. When he reached his majority he began to work for $14 a mouth, being foreman on a farm. He had kept his $100 intact, but was hurt and unable to work, on which account he was obliged to spend all his earnings. After he recovered, he hunted game, in which way he earned about $50. He had bought a small tract of land and intended to have a home of his own, but his sickness forced him to postpone this plan. He returned to work at $14 a month, and during the winter again hunted, thus earning quite a neat sum of money. In the spring of 1852 he went to Paw Paw, Mich., where he sold his pelts. On his return home he found the gold fever in full blast. With two brothers, Richard and John, and with George Blunderfield, he started for California with a four-horse team and wagon, himself being captain of the company. He had about $300, his brothers had $100 each and his friend the same amount. They left Battle Creek March 22, 1852, and traveled through LaPorte, Ind., then traveled across Illinois, going forty miles south of Chicago, thence to Rock Island, where they ferried across the river. They found the mud axle-tree deep, all the way to St. Joseph, Mo. They crossed the corner of Iowa near where Iowa City now stands, a village then marked alone by a log house. With his rifle he supplied the party with game. They stopped at houses until in Iowa, where they began camping out, either on a small stream, or in a little grove. Their first night in Iowa, being afraid of Indians, they slept in the wagon, with feet to feet, and guns by their sides. In the night the friend aroused our subject, saying Indians were near, and our subject was about to shoot, when he discovered the noise was caused by one of their horses. Many a joke was cracked about the Indians they had seen, and the man who thought he had seen them was not allowed soon to forget his mistake.
When the party reached St. Joseph, the river was so high that they were obliged to wait ten days before they could cross. In the meantime there had congregated in that place about one thousand wagons, four thousand or five thousand horses and mules, and about the same number of people, of all classes and dispositions. May 10 they crossed the river and then proceeded through timber land and mud, often waist deep. All along the road they passed wagons stuck in the mud, but they traveled without an accident, each one wading through slough with a shoulder to the spoke.
In Nebraska they found a camp of Sacs and Fox Indians on a little stream, where there had been a bridge built by them, and for crossing this they demanded $1 per capita. About twenty-five miles from St. Joseph they came to Iowa Mission, where were a stockade and some outbuildings, the only buildings west of the Missouri River that they found, except the forts, until they reached Nevada, going north of Salt Lake some distance. After they had gone two or three hundred miles they found many discouraged men returning east, but these kept off to one side as much as possible on account of the jeers with which they were greeted.
About twenty miles west of Iowa Mission they came to a deep slough, where they found in abundance, bacon, corn, oats, etc., left by those who had overloaded their wagons. All who needed helped themselves. They crossed the Big Blue which, having steep and muddy banks, was difficult to cross, and for some distance it was deep swimming. When they reached the Little Blue, they turned to the north to avoid crossing. On reaching Fort Kearney they learned that a Sioux Indian, who had been captured by the Pawnees, had been in training to run for his life, which privilege had been secured by the United States government. The Indian had acquired great speed, and to watch the race, a great company of Indians had been brought together.
From Fort Kearney to Fort Laramie the roads were excellent and game plentiful. From the former fort, the party went up the south fork of the Platte to Ash Hollow, where they forded the
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river. They found Fort Laramie a lovely place, in a beautiful location. After traveling for three days up the river they forded and struck northwest into what is now Wyoming. They crossed at Pacific Spring, but were unconscious of the fact until one day, when they discovered the stream flowing in a different direction. They crossed Raft River seven times in one half day. From Independence Rock they descended toward the Pacific through a canon and reached Harris Park, where they forded the South Platte River, which had quicksand and was three-quarters of a mile wide. They followed Ash Hollow and struck the North Platte about fifteen miles south of the junction of the rivers. Cholera was prevalent and they saw many new made graves. They met a company of men digging a grave in the road in which they were to bury their father, and every day for a month they saw human bones along the trail that had been dug out by the coyotes.
Saturday night, July 3, the party camped out, it being their rule not to travel on Sunday. The next morning, about ten o'clock, they were visited by two Indians, who begged for food and after eating laid around the camp for several hours. When it was time for our subject to go on guard, he heard the neighing of horses and found that the Indians had stampeded their horses and were rolling stones off the divide in order to keep the animals excited. Our subject and another of the party at once began to pursue the Indians and followed them until one o'clock at night. When they reached the divide the wind was high and the night so dark it was impossible to pursue their way, so they were obliged to turn back to camp. On their way they heard a bell winch they judged to indicate that Indian ponies were near. They threw rocks at the object, and soon men approached, with a very forcible salutation, inquiring what they were doing. After some parley they found friends. As soon as possible they made their way back to camp, five miles distant. The camp was soon astir and preparing breakfast for those who started at day-break in search of the horses. The men went to the divide, where each one took a separate trail, and our subject soon saw the horses, a quarter of a mile away. He told his friends of his discovery and all followed in the direction of the animals. When they reached the place there was but one Indian, and they concluded the other had gone for help. The Indian jumped on the back of his pony and lassoed one horse, but it pulled back, and gave the men an opportunity to catch up with him. He finally was obliged to out the rope. With four of the horses the men started back toward camp. Soon about twenty-five Indians were pursuing them, but they found friends and were enabled to get to their wagons and out of danger.
After crossing the Sweet Water, the men traveled over the country to the Green River, which was so high that a man had been drowned the day before they reached there. However, they forded it successfully, pulling the wagons across with ropes and carrying provisions across on horseback. The next important stream was Bear River in Colorado, which they ascended till they reached Steamboat and Soda Springs. There they found Indians encamped, in the hope of trading horses for powder and tobacco, but as the party had neither of these articles, they gave the red men a wide berth. Two days afterward, when out after game, our subject and his brother saw some white wolves and though a long way off our subject tried his marksmanship, but failed to kill any of them. Soon afterward they saw at a distance some Indians who proved to be friendly and with whom they traveled for a time, going through Thousand Spring Valley.
The party reached California in August. On the way they had buried one member of the company. Soon after crossing the desert their provisions were exhausted, but later they succeeded in getting some that had been sent out from California by the state government. In Carson Valley they found a Mormon settlement in a most uninviting location. Later they camped in a beautiful grove of cottonwood trees, where they found many others. It was there that one member of the party died. He was buried in the middle of the road, with suitable funeral services. When on the Sierra Nevada they sold their teams for $500 in gold, with the privilege of using them for the next seventy-five miles, to Mud Spring, in Eldorado County, Cal. There they turned the teams over and took their blankets, sleeping in these for one night in a barn.
At daybreak our subject started to join a friend who lived near Sacramento. He walked slowly, spending three days in going twenty-five
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miles, when he arrived at the ranch of old Squire Gilson. After a week there he went on to Sacramento, where the money was divided equally among the members of the company; this, too, although he had put in the most money on starting west. He secured board at $3 per day, and in a few days was made sick by the food he ate. He received an offer of work if he would go three hundred miles into the mountains. Immediately after he heard of this, he took passage on a steamboat, traveling one hundred miles by water, up the Sacramento to Marysville, then one hundred miles by stage, and one hundred miles on foot. For his work it was agreed that he would be paid $75 a month and board. He spent two weeks in reaching his destination, and had with him a brother who was ill and had to be carried.
After working a month our subject's employer asked him to go to Marysville, one hundred and fifty miles distant, and carry a sack of gold to Ragtown. When he saw the sack, which weighed twenty-six pounds, he concluded it was too heavy to be carried by one person, whereupon the owner agreed to carry it half of the time. When they were about twelve miles from camp they heard the bush crackle and expected to be attacked, but a black-tailed deer put in an appearance, much to their relief. They reached their destination without any incident of note. For his second month of work our subject received $100 and for the third $150. Afterward he fitted out to hunt, but the great fire in Sacramento occurring, he changed his plans and went to that city, where he was paid $15 a day for himself and team and $10 a night for watching hay. He continued in that way for two mouths, in order to save the hay from the flood, which was from two to four feet deep in the streets.
With $3,000 that he had accumulated, our subject returned to Michigan in the winter of 1853-54, going via the Nicaragua route. While en route a German sitting near him was robbed, but recognized the robber, and after an exciting attack secured his money; for attempting to rob, the man was lashed. From New York our subject went to Michigan, where he bought horses to take to California. March 22, 1854, he started upon his second overland trip, with twelve horses, and accompanied by a younger brother and a friend. He reached St. Joseph, Mo., about the 15th of May. His first trip was made in the remarkably short time of sixty-two days from St. Joseph to Sacramento, but the second trip from May 15 to September 25. On the second trip, at Devil's Gate, on Sweet Water, they camped on Saturday night upon a little stream. Our subject had been ill for some time and they were traveling with others for protection. Captain Grove, a veteran of the Mexican war, was in command. They had with them three tents, four wagons heavily loaded, a two-seated carriage, forty head of horses and two mules. For two weeks our subject had been too sick to know what was going on about him, but that night (July 4) as he lay awake, he heard a great rushing sound and in a moment Indians swept through the camp and drove off all the horses, except two that were tied to the wagons. Though sick, our subject and another man jumped on the two horses and pursued the Indians. After about three miles, they heard the neighing of horses, but were afraid to go near, believing them to be the horses of Indians. Our subject's brother decided to watch to daylight, and our subject returned to camp, but before he had reached the camp, his brother joined him with ten of the horses. They mounted and started a second time in pursuit, having with them supplies cooked by the women in the night. They divided into squads and after leaving the stockade, our subject soon struck a trail of horses with shoes. After two miles were traveled he caught a glimpse of something going over the divide at full speed. He followed, and when he reached the top he saw Indians mounted. When they saw him they began a race, but he was well mounted and gained on them.
On coming close to the Indians, our subject called to them, but they denied any knowledge of the horses. However, he was convinced they were near. He went into camp near by where some Missourians were, and when they denied any knowledge of the horses, he insisted on inspecting the stock, and there he found five of the horses. These he took with him. He soon found another trail, which he followed for a time, and then rested his horse while he sent back for help. He followed the trail leisurely and finally came to the place where he expected to see them. While he could not be certain about the horses, the horse that he rode recognized a half-sister
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and at once hastened to join her. When they reached a sandy place he recognized the foot track of a large horse that belonged to him, and it was not long before this horse began to show signs of recognition. While he was drinking at a brook his horse neighed and soon the twenty-two horses were coming at full speed, having broken away while the Indians were asleep. At once transferring saddle and bridle to one of them, and cutting the ropes that had been fastened to them, he started at full speed. He was shot at time and again by the Indians, but escaped by lowering his body to the side of his horse. He succeeded in getting his horses safely through to California, but did not realize a large profit on their sale.
During the eighteen months our subject remained in California he engaged in mining. In 1856 he returned to Michigan via the Isthmus of Panama, with about $1,500 he had saved. The steamer took fire in mid ocean, but the fire was extinguished. He bought land and soon married, being united January 1, 1857, with Miss Eliza Jane Knight, who was born in Calhoun County, Mich., of English parentage. He established his home in Marengo Township, Calhoun County, where he cleared a tract of eighty acres of heavy timber land in a rocky district, also forty acres one-half mile away. After the Civil war he sold the farm for $4,500 and then bought his father's old homestead. That place he sold in 1888, upon coming to Colorado. Here he bought one hundred and sixty acres, which he has improved, and from this place in 1897 he cut four hundred tons of hay, also a crop of corn and oats, and milked a dairy of forty cows.
The three children of Mr. Atmore are George P., of Denver, who is a traveling salesman, is married and has an adopted daughter; Anna Maria, who resides with her father; and Rose Alleta, who married F. W. Hill and resides at No. 22 West Bayaud street, Denver. Politically our subject has always been a Republican. While in Michigan he served as a director of a school district, In Brighton he was a member of the board of aldermen for several years. He was identified with the grange at one time and still supports the principles of the society, but failing hearing caused him to drop his active membership. Though now over seventy years of age, he is as active as many a man of forty.
He can ride any broncho on his farm, can tie a steer, or pick his rope from the ground when his horse is running. Every year he goes to the mountains, where he camps out and acts as captain of the party accompanying him. In 1882, a few months before he came to Colorado, a family reunion was held at his home in Michigan. Over eighty members of the family were present from all parts of the country and representatives of four generations might be seen, including his mother, who was then eighty-three years of age. Two years later she passed away and was laid to rest beside the body of her husband in Oak Hill Cemetery, at Battle Creek, Mich.
ON.
H. H. METCALF, secretary of the State Board of Cattle Inspection
Commissioners, secretary of the Colorado Cattle Growers'
Association and of the executive committee of the same, has
resided in Colorado since 1870. He was born in Providence, R. I.,
and is a descendant of English ancestry. The origin of the family
name was peculiar: During the time of the Knights of the Round
Table, there was a tanner, who, one day while crossing the king's
park, encountered a bull calf that attacked him, but he was strong
and dexterous, and succeeded in killing the calf, in memory of
which feat he was knighted Sir William Metacalf. Later the name
was shortened to its present form.
Henry Metcalf, our subject's father, was a son of Joel Metcalf, a tanner and currier in Providence, and this trade the former also learned, continuing in it until his death, in 1854, at the age of thirty-six. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Lydia French, was born in Rhode Island, and still resides in Providence. Her father, Zachariah French, was for years a sea captain. She was the mother of five children, but only two are living, a son and a daughter. Our subject was educated in the public and high schools of Providence and the year after graduating he entered the army, his name being enrolled in 1861 as a member of Company D, First Rhode Island Infantry. At the expiration of three months he was honorably discharged, but at once re-enlisted in Battery C, Third Rhode Island Heavy Artillery, and went to Virginia, later assisted in taking Port Royal, S. C., and then went to Fort Wagner, in front of Charleston. Next he was ordered
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to Florida, then returned to Virginia as first lieutenant of the battery, and served through the Virginia campaign until the surrender of Petersburg.
At the close of the war Mr. Metcalf was honorably discharged in Rhode Island. He then entered the general freight office of the Atlantic and Great Western (now the New York, Pittsburg and Ohio), with whom he remained one year at Meadville. In 1866 he went to Leavenworth, Kan., where he was western agent for the Star Union freight line for two years; afterward, for a year, he and a friend hunted buffaloes on the plains of western Kansas. In 1870 he settled at River Bend, on the Kansas Pacific road, in Elbert County, Colo., where he established a ranch and has since engaged in the stock business. He makes a specialty of Durham bulls, but also has some fine Holsteins.
In Topeka, Kan., Mr. Metcalf married Miss Bertha Snyder, who was born in Altoona, Pa., but in childhood went with her parents to Lawrence, Kan., her father building the first house in that place. Later she removed with them to Topeka. She died in Colorado. Afterward Mr. Metcalf married Mrs. May (Barker) Pierce, a native of Cincinnati, and they have one child, Lydia May.
Fraternally Mr. Metcalf is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In politics he is a Republican. He served in the Kansas legislature of 1870-71, that elected Caldwell to the United States senate. When Elbert was a part of Douglas County, he was the Republican candidate for the territorial legislature, but the issue was sprung that he was a friend of railroad corporations and his opponent was against them, and on that issue he was defeated. For several years he was a director of the Colorado Cattle Growers' Association, and is still secretary of its executive committee. In 1883 he was elected secretary of the association, which position he has since held by annual re election. In 1893 Governor Cooper appointed him a member of the State Board of Cattle Inspection Commissioners and he was elected secretary each year, during the term of four years. Governor Adams tendered him, in 1897, a continuance of the same position, which he accepted, and was again chosen secretary of the board. He is a member of the Colorado Commandery of the Loyal Legion. In all the positions he has held it has been his ambition to discharge every duty faithfully and conscientiously, and especially has he endeavored to promote the cattle interests of the state, realizing that in the prosperity of the stock business the prosperity of the state itself can be secured.
W.
NEELEY, who has resided on a ranch of three hundred and twenty
acres, situated near Longmont, Boulder County, since October,
1896, was born in Schuyler County, Mo., June 6, 1850, a son of R.
S. and Julia (Jones) Neeley. He was one of four children, and of
these three survive, of whom W. B. is represented elsewhere in
this volume. The father, who was a native of Lancaster, Ohio,
migrated to Missouri in young manhood and there married and
invested in a woolen mill, which he conducted for a number of
years. Through his business ability he became the owner of large
landed possessions, but afterward reverses overtook him and he
lost heavily. In 1879 he determined to come to Colorado, hoping to
recuperate his losses. He settled in San Luis Valley, where he
purchased relinquishments on claims, and as prosperity attended
him he acquired additional land, his landed possessions now
aggregating about eleven hundred acres.
Twice married, R. S. Neeley had, by his first wife, Sarah M. Smith, eight children, five of whom are living. They are: James H., a prominent farmer of San Luis Valley; Robert F., a well-to-do agriculturist of Mitchell Bottom, Neb.; Perry; Jane, wife of A. C. Coe, of Alamosa, Colo.; and Charles, a farmer of Lancaster, Mo. The subject of this sketch had very few advantages when a boy, as he began to work in a factory when small and from that time forward he was self-supporting. At eighteen years of age he left home and went to Johnson County, Mo., where he was employed at teaming. In September, 1868, he came to Colorado and a short time afterward began to work for Henry Church, with whom he remained for three months. However, after working night and day during that time, his employer refused to pay him for what he had done, because the boy refused to remain longer. Hoping to secure more satisfactory employment, Mr. Neeley went to work as hay bailer, but in this he was also unfortunate, failing to collect the amount due him. Subsequently he
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went to the mouth of Four-Mile Creek, where for three months he got out fence posts. At Wide Awake he cut cord wood, which he hauled to Blackhawk. Afterward he spent three months in Middle Park, thence went to Russell Gulch and from there to Pine Creek, where he worked in a sawmill for four years. The town of Apex was built on the old mill site. There he hired with a man to go to Washington Territory at $120 per month, but on reaching the Cache la Poudre River he turned east and went to Missouri with an uncle. There he farmed for two years, but met with no success.
April 16, 1876, Mr. Neeley married Miss Dora F. Lockett, and afterward for a year farmed in Sheridan County. In March, 1877, he went back to Schuyler County, where he engaged in farming for three years. He then sold out and went to San Luis Valley, Colo., where he remained about four months. Then, returning to Missouri, he resumed farm work, which he followed up to 1888, with the exception of one year when he was manager of a cattle ranch. In 1888 he again came to Colorado and settled on his brother's ranch in Boulder County, near his present place of residence. In 1896 he purchased his present property, to which he removed in October of the same year. He is a member of the Pleasant Valley Grange and takes an interest in all matters pertaining to agriculture. He and his wife are the parents of five children, namely: Mary K, Timothy G., Verde Esther, Robert S. and John Wesley.
OHN
PURSE, JR., is one of the most promising and thrifty citizens of
Arapahoe County, and was born in Gray Abbey, near Belfast,
Ireland, April 17, 1853. He is a son of John Purse, who was born
in the above place and who came to America in advanced manhood and
settled in Colorado, where he is still engaged in farming. He
married Jane Lemon, a native of Ireland, and they reared a family
of seven children. Of this family, James is the eldest; William is
a farmer and in the dairy business; Frank and Hugh are also
farmers and dairymen; Annie married James McFerran; and Jennie is
at home, unmarried.
John Purse, Jr., came to this country with his father when a lad. His schooling was begun in Ireland and completed this side the ocean. At the age of seventeen he began to work in a brick yard in Denver, and then teamed for some time there. In 1885 he started in the dairy business, and bought a half-interest with Mr. Epler, subsequently buying the whole of Mr. Epler's interest. Six years ago he purchased his present home, putting on all the improvements since then. He has a good brick house, good barns, and a large dairy. Besides his dairy he also raises large quantities of oats and alfalfa.
He was married June 10, 1887, to Miss Mary E. McFerran, whose father, John McFerran, is a farmer in Ireland. They have four daughters, Adalaide, Ruth, Lillian and Marie. Politically he has been a Republican, but is now an advocate in the cause of silver, voting more for the best man, often regardless of party lines. He has served as director and secretary of the school board. The family are members of the Twenty-third Avenue Presbyterian Church of Denver, which he helped to build. He has also been an officer in the organization.
ARL
R. LUPLOW, a prosperous farmer and stock-raiser of Elbert County,
is living on the family homestead on section 32, township 7, range
62 west. He is a son of Carl and Wilhelmina Luplow, and was born
in Chicago, Ill., April 14, 1866. Carl Luplow left Chicago in
1869, and moved to LaPorte, Ind., where his time was employed in
the manufacture of doors, sash, etc. After residing there for a
period of four years he moved to Denver, Colo., and there was
successfully engaged in contracting and building for a few years.
In 1878 he purchased a ranch of three hundred and twenty acres and
embarked in the cattle business; and, although unfamiliar with it,
he soon had it on a paying basis. He acquired considerable wealth
and from time to time purchased additional land, owning six
hundred acres at the time of his death. He and his wife,
Wilhelmina, had five children, namely: Minnie, the widow of
William King, and now a resident of Chicago; Herbert, who conducts
a ranch at Jamestown, Boulder County, Colo.; Carl R., the subject
of this record; Lizzie, who became the wife of Arthur Turner and
lives in Chicago; and William, who is a miner located in
Jamestown.
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Carl R. Luplow was but three years of age when his father moved to LaPorte, Ind., and four years later he accompanied him to Denver, where he received a limited education in the public schools. He then remained on his father's ranch near Kiowa until the latter's death, when he fell heir to a portion of the estate and purchased the remainder. He has since lived upon the home farm, and by industrious and energetic work has been decidedly successful, from time to time adding to his property until he now owns one thousand and one hundred acres. He is a man of excellent habits, a good citizen, and stands high in the estimation of his fellow-men.
November 12, 1895, Mr. Luplow married Miss Lizzie Rachel Blessing, of South Charleston, Ohio, who came to Denver with her parents in 1889. They have one daughter, Miriam. In political belief Mr. Luplow's opinions conform to the principles of the Democratic party, and he cast his first vote for Grover Cleveland. He is president of the school board, and uses his influence in elevating the standard of education in the district. Religiously he is a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and is an active worker in the Sunday-school.
D.
MORRISON, one of the representative men of Boulder County, was
elected in 1897 to be alderman in the city council of Boulder,
from the first ward. He is chairman of the committee on sewers,
and takes great interest in all local improvements which he
believes will be of permanent value to the community. He is an
ardent Republican and ranks high in the fraternities. In Monroe,
Iowa, he was initiated into Masonry, and now holds membership with
Riverside Lodge, of Colfax, Iowa. He is a Royal Arch Mason,
belonging to the chapter in Newton, and is connected with Oriental
Consistory, K. T., of that place. Since, coming to Boulder he has
joined Queen City Lodge, I. O. O. F. A charter member of the
Caledonian Club, of this town, he is now its first assistant
chief.
The father of our subject, James Morrison, is still living and is remarkably hale and hearty, in view of the fact that he is ninety-six years of age. He was born in Sutherland, Scotland, and inherited from sturdy Scottish sires not only strength of body and constitution, but love for freedom, humanity and God. He has led a life worthy of emulation, a life replete with acts of kindness and love towards his fellow-men and all who have known him have been made the better for having met him. In his early manhood he left the land of his birth and became a farmer on Prince Edward Island, where he is still living and attending to his business affairs. For sixty-five years he has been an elder in the Presbyterian Church. His wife, whose girlhood name was Wilhelmina McKay, was a native of Edinboro, Scotland. She lived to be over fourscore years old, and was then summoned to her reward. Of their twelve children who grew to mature years, eight are living to-day. Three of the sons are living in Iowa and one daughter, also, while one son and two daughters are residents of Canada. William participated in the Civil war, enlisting first in a Massachusetts regiment, and later serving as captain in a Wisconsin regiment, and died some time after the war, while serving as county clerk at Fort Scott, Kan.
M. D. Morrison was born in Prince Edward Island, August 9, 1853, and attended the public schools of that locality until he was a youth of fourteen years. He then began serving an apprenticeship to the blacksmith's and carriage-maker's trade, and was thus employed for about five years. In 1872 he came as far west as Monroe, Iowa, and was in business with his brothers, at one time six of them being in partnership together. They manufactured all kinds of carriages, wagons, plows, farm implements, etc., and had an extensive trade. From there our subject went to Colfax, Iowa, where he carried on the manufacture of buggies and wagons for twelve years quite successfully. While a resident of that town he served for three terms as alderman, and was prominent in all local affairs.
In 1891 Mr. Morrison came to Boulder, bought a piece of land and built his large and well-equipped factory, which has a frontage of forty feet. He manufactures all kinds of carriages and wagons, and has built up a substantial reputation in his line of business. Six months after his arrival here he started out on a prospecting tour of the mining region, and in 1892 he discovered the mine now called the Village Belle, which, after being worked for three years, proved profitable. The Mayham Investment Company purchased the mine in January, 1898. It was the
