|
|
||
|
1280 |
|
|
dence at No. 2422 Grant avenue, where they spend the winters, returning to the ranch for the summer. In religion they are identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which Mr. Smith is steward and Sunday-school superintendent.
OHN
HELMER. Ten miles south of Littleton, on section 26, township 6
south, range 69 west, Douglas County, stands the homestead of Mr.
Helmer. He was born in Tyrol, Austria, January 16, 1858, and is a
son of Frank and Judith (Scholl) Helmer. During the year of his
birth his parents came to America and for a time made their home
in New Jersey, where the father followed the blacksmith's trade.
During the war he enlisted in the Ninth New Jersey Infantry as a
musician, and served for three years and five months. After the
close of the war he came to Colorado, going to St. Joseph, Mo., by
train and steamboat, and from there he and his son, our subject,
who was then eight years of age, walked across the plains,
accompanying a party of emigrants. The long tramps over the plains
were very hard on the boy, who, often, when night came, threw
himself on his blanket, too weary to eat. Added to other
hardships, water was scarce and they were put on short allowance.
Finally, after thirty-one days, they arrived in Denver, where they
remained until 1872. Some months after they arrived they were
joined by another son, Anton, and in 1867 the mother arrived from
the east. In 1872 the father entered government land one mile
south of our subject's present home. Later he bought the two
hundred acres our subject now owns. In 1888 he moved back to
Denver, and there his death occurred March 27, 1892. His wife died
December 10, 1891. Of their twelve children only three attained
maturity: Anton, who is a ranchman in this locality; John; and
Mary, who married Louis Miller, of Elbert County, and has three
sons. The father was a Republican in politics and in religion
adhered to the Catholic faith.
When the family removed to Douglas County our subject was about fourteen years of age. He received a fair education in the common schools. When eighteen years of age he began to haul freight, and while thus engaged was in most of the towns about Denver. September 15, 1888, he married Miss Nellie Regan, who was born in County Cork, Ireland, a daughter of William and Margaret Regan. When about eleven years of age she crossed the ocean, spending nine days on the voyage, and encountering a severe storm that endangered the lives of the passengers. At first she lived in Hannibal, Mo., but in 1886 came to Denver, thence removing to Georgetown, and was married in Denver. Since their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Helmer have resided on their ranch. They are the parents of three children: Julia, who was born August 18, 1892; John William, who died at the age of one year and eight months; and Pauline Anna, born October 20, 1896. The family are identified with the Roman Catholic Church, in which Mr. Helmer was confirmed in New Jersey and his wife in Ireland. Politically he is a Republican.
DWARD
T. GARTLEY is one of the progressive farmers of Bear Creek Valley.
In 1892 he purchased forty acres of land near Morrison, Jefferson
County, and shortly afterward added another forty acres, giving
him a neat little farm to cultivate and improve. He has since
given his attention to the development of this place, and, being
industrious and persevering, has already achieved a large degree
of success. He is prominent in his community and has the respect
of those with whom he has business or social relations.
In Ontario, Canada, the subject of this sketch was born October 19, 1855, son of Edward B. and Jane (Sheridan) Gartley. He was one of seven children, six of whom survive, viz.: William; Martha, wife of Oliver Curlis; Edward T.; John; Margaret, wife of Joe Gibson; and Grace, Mrs. William Hood. His father, who was a native of England, came to Ontario in his boyhood days and there grew to manhood, married and engaged in farm pursuits. He still makes his home in the province of Ontario.
When a boy the subject of this article learned the trade of a miller, which he followed until he was twenty-four years of age, in his native land. In 1880 he came to Colorado and for two years followed milling in Littleton, as an employe in the Old Rough and Ready mill. Afterward he worked for one year on a reservoir four miles west of Littleton, and from there came to Bear Creek Valley and began to work as a ranch hand.
|
|
||
|
|
1281 |
|
He was economical and saved his earnings; until he was able to purchase the farm he now owns and occupies. Politically a Republican, he was elected road overseer on his party ticket in 1889, and for eight consecutive years held the office, discharging its duties with efficiency and success.
March 28, 1883, Mr. Gartley was united in marriage with Miss Mary Schaefermeyer, daughter of Christian Schaefermeyer, a prominent farmer of this valley. One child was born of their union, a son, Edward C., now deceased.
ENRY
CASADAY, a successful business man of Boulder, first came to
Colorado in 1877, and though he returned to the east at the end of
a few months, he was not content to remain there permanently,
having once beheld the beauties of this state and foreseen its
brilliant future. He has made his home in Boulder for the past
fourteen years, and has been actively interested in its growth and
prosperity.
The paternal grandfather of the above-named gentleman was a native of Westmoreland County, Pa., while the latter's parents, W. H. and Mary (Miller) Casaday, were of Pennsylvania and Delaware birth respectively. The father, W. H., was connected with the First National Bank of Allegheny, Pa., from the time of its organization until he retired late in life from business cares. He was an attorney-at-law. Mrs. Casaday is still living at her home in Allegheny, Pa. Their family comprised three sons and three daughters, of whom five are yet living. One son, J. B., is a resident of Colorado Springs.
Henry Casaday was born December 5, 1856, in Allegheny City, Pa. His education was obtained in the public schools, and after he had completed his higher studies he took a position in a drygoods store. The close and confining work, however, proved injurious to his health, and in July, 1877, he came to Colorado, hoping to be benefited. He remained here four months, and then returned to his old home, where he stayed for a year or more. In the spring of 1879 he became manager of the Pueblo (Colo.) branch of the Continental Oil and Transportation Company and continued there for two years. Thence he was sent by them up the Rio Grande Railroad, and established a station for his company at Gunnison City. Up to 1884 he was the manager of that branch and since then he has held a similar position with the same company in Boulder, though it is now known as the Continental Oil Company. Mr. Casaday has under his supervision the branch stations in Longmont, Louisville and Erie, and smaller towns in this county, shipments of oil being made to them from Boulder, in iron barrels, by freighters. He has been very energetic in his undertakings, and his company owe to his excellent executive ability and forethought the large trade which they have in this region. He is financially interested in the Boyd Concentrating Mill, having originally bought the old Boyd plant, and now handles the ore with the most approved modern methods. He also organized the Brooklyn Mining, Milling and Investment Company, the oldest of the kind in the valley, and is the president of the same. When the company laid out Mapleton Addition to Boulder he was influential in the work, and was the first person to build a residence vest of the ditch. His home is a very attractive and handsome modern residence, located near the western end of Pine street.
In politics Mr. Casaday was always actively concerned in the success of the Republican party until the presidential campaign of 1896, when he took issue with it on the money question. Formerly he attended county and state conventions and did effective service for his party. He is a member of Columbia Lodge No. 14, A. F. & A. M. He holds membership with the Baptist Church, and is chairman of the board of trustees.
The marriage of Mr. Casaday occurred in Allegheny, Pa., the lady of his choice being Miss Elizabeth Robertson, likewise a native of that city. Her parents were from Scotland. The three children born to Mr. and Mrs. Casaday are Barton, Edith and Arthur.
ICHAEL JOSEPH McMAHON, of River Bend, Elbert County, was born May 15, 1845, in Limerick, Ireland, and came to America with his mother, who died soon after reaching Washington, D. C., leaving him, a boy of eleven years, alone in the world without any means of support, except such as he was able to obtain by his own industry. He was a lad with great strength of purpose, and this enabled him to win his way where another would have failed.
|
|
||
|
1282 |
|
|
His father, Michael McMahon, was an officer in the British army, where he was arrested in 1848, for treason, and died shortly after of cholera. His mother, Margaret Lyons, was a native of the same vicinity, and after the death of her husband, thought to try this country with her youngest children, with a view to bettering their condition, but died, as before stated, soon after her arrival.
There were eight children: James was a captain of artillery in the French army, and came on a visit to this country with McMahon and O'Neil; Patrick, who was a midshipman in the English navy, afterward came to America and kept a boot and shoe store in Bridgeport, Conn.; Dennis, who after years in France, finally located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he kept a boot and shoe store; John, who was educated for a Catholic piest (sic), died in Ireland before he was ordained; Thomas also died in Ireland while young; Sarah was married in England to a Mr. Regan and died in Washington, D. C.; Margaret married in Washington, a Mr. Howe, who died of wounds received in the Civil war; she is also deceased; and Michael J. completes the family.
Mr. McMahon received his schooling in Ireland, before he was eleven, but he is a great reader, and has added to his general fund of information, until to-day he is far ahead of many who boast a college education. After his mother's death he went to Connecticut, where he met Mr. Baldwin, a machinist, who took him as an apprentice, and with him he remained about two years when he went to Baltimore, Md., and there he found himself in a strange city, with the princely sum of three cents on which to subsist. He managed to live on this for three days, when fortunately for him, he ran across a cousin who was a large railroad contractor and furnished him work. He went to Virginia and worked for his cousin two years, until the war broke out, when he enlisted as a guard in President Lincoln's house. On the 1st of April, he accompanied the Sixty-ninth regiment that had come from New York to Arlington Heights. He crossed the Potomac at Georgetown, D. C., and from there his regiment was sent to Harper's Ferry. Thence he returned to Washington. He was all through the war serving under Generals McClellan; Mead and Sherman, and was mustered out at Louis, Ky., after the grand review in Washington. In 1865, he attended the funeral of President Lincoln. Later he went west to Leavenworth, Kan., thence to Hayes, this state, where he stayed until the fall of 1868, and then entered the employ of the United States Express Company at Chalk Bluff, seventeen miles east of Wallace, Kan. The following year they sent him to Park Station, next he went to California, then returned east and remained a short time, after which he came to Denver and remained a year before purchasing his ranch in Elbert County, where he has lived for the past fourteen years. He has a large ranch of twenty-three hundred acres, and deals principally in sheep.
In 1862 Mr. McMahon married Miss Mary Ellen Collison, of Maryland, whose father was an Englishman. She died about a year ago, leaving the following-named children: Thomas a hotel keeper in the mountains; John Emmett, a section foreman on the Denver & Rio Grande Railway; Patrick S. and Wolf Tone, both at home; Eliza Margaret, wife of William Mack; Mary, wife of W. E. Brookman; and Jennie, wife of M. L. Moore, of Denver. Mr. McMahon was a, Democrat in early life, but for the past twenty years has been a strong Republican. For two years he has been surveyor of Elbert County, and for six years sheep inspector. He was reared in the Catholic faith.
OHN
J. THORNTON is known as one of the largest and most successful
horse dealers and as an extensive farmer of Weld County, his home
property being near Berthoud. He was born in Wyoming County, N.
Y., in 1856, and is a younger brother of Wilber R. Thornton,
elsewhere represented. In his boyhood he was a student in
neighboring schools, and alternated work at home with attendance
on the school. On leaving school he learned the cabinet-maker's
trade, which he followed in the home neighborhood for a few
years.
Coming to Colorado in 1877, Mr. Thornton settled upon a farm west of Loveland and embarked in farming and stock-raising. After six years on the same ranch, in 1883 he purchased a claim on the Big Thompson River in Weld County, and here became interested in the dairy business and in raising Jersey cattle and Cleveland horses, which branches of agriculture he has since followed with success. He is the owner of seven
|
|
||
|
|
1283 |
|
hundred acres of good farming land, a large part of which is under cultivation. The stock which he owns are all of the best grades, and command good prices, by reason of their acknowledged superiority. Besides his other interests, he is a stockholder in the Partners' mill at Berthoud.
Politically Mr. Thornton is an advocate of the People's party. In religion he is a believer in the doctrines of the United Brethren Church, with which denomination he affiliates. He has passed the chairs in Berthoud Lodge No. 83, A. F. & A. M., and has also been active in the work of the Woodmen of the World. In 1878 he was united in marriage with Miss Frances E. Neville, daughter of Edward Neville. They are the parents of seven children.
HOMAS
E. WARD, who is one of the keen and capable business men of
Jefferson county, was born March 7, 1853, on Cow Creek, near the
Little Muskingum, in West Virginia. He was one of thirteen
children, nine of whom are still living, whose parents were
Stephen G. and Cassinda (Joy) Ward. His father, who was a native
of Ohio, born in 1814, grew to manhood in his native place and,
with the Testament for his only text book, he acquired an
education that was broad and thorough. As years passed by, he had
an opportunity to read books of worth in the line of history,
science and fiction, and this careful study of good books made him
a well-informed man. He studied medicine, and, being especially
skillful in the treatment of diseases of the eye, he had
considerable practice as an oculist. A gifted orator, his services
were frequently utilized by the Republican party, of which he was
a member. During the Abraham Lincoln campaign he "stumped" his
section of the country. In religion he was identified with the
Christian Church, in which he preached for years and also did
considerable evangelistic work. Viewed from all sides, his
character was well rounded and admirable. He won the esteem of men
with whom he had business or social relations and was held in the
highest regard by his personal friends. During the Civil war he
was wounded and captured by the Confederates, who confined him in
Andersonville prison; and his sufferings while there eventually
led up to his death, which occurred in Great Bend, Kan., in 1877.
He had been a wide traveler in the states, and had made his home
in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, Kentucky, Colorado
(where he settled in 1873) and Kansas.
The subject of this sketch had meagre advantages when he was a boy. His entire period of schooling did not exceed six months. In 1870 he started out in life for himself and came to Colorado, landing in Denver May 27. Here he witnessed many wild scenes, for the town was new and its inhabitants rough and reckless men. Board was high, and his first meal cost him $1. While he had no money, he was fortunate in securing work at $30 per month and board, and by Christmas had saved $300. Afterward he rented land and began its cultivation. Saving his earnings each year, he applied them to the purchase of property. In 1889 he bought his present place of forty-six acres near Golden, Jefferson County, and erected a substantial residence, where he has since made his home.
Returning to Illinois in 1881, on the 5th of April of that year, Mr. Ward was united in marriage with Miss Mollie Trago, of Fairfield, Wayne County, and the two came at once to Colorado. They are the parents of three children, Edna V., Viola M. and Howard L. In politics Mr. Ward votes the Republican ticket, and fraternally he is identified with the Woodmen of the World. He is a man of fine business ability, shrewd, energetic and persevering. His fine farm and pleasant home are monuments to his industry, economy and good judgment; and the bright prospects which seem to await his future efforts are the legitimate results of his exemplary course.
OHN W. GANLEY, ex-treasurer of Clear Creek County, is secretary
and treasurer of the Colorado Trading and Investment Company, and
since August, 1895, has been engaged in conducting an extensive
business in Nevadaville, Gilpin County. This establishment is the
largest of the kind in the county, and, centrally situated on Main
street, the store has a frontage of fifty feet, extends back to
the next street, occupies two floors and two additional
warehouses. All kinds of general merchandise and supplies may he
found here in endless variety, quantity and quality, at reasonable
prices. Mr. Ganley is an enterprising and progressive busi-
59
|
|
||
|
1284 |
|
|
ness man, thoroughly understands the demands of the trade and has always been successful in his undertakings.
Born in September, 1850, John W. Ganley spent the first five years of his life in Ireland, his native country. He came to America with his parents, James and Eleanor (Kirwin) Ganley, in 1855, and for two years lived in Plainfield, N. J. In 1857 they settled in Joliet, Ill., and later removed to Chicago, where the father's death occurred. The wife and mother is still a resident of Chicago. She had three daughters and one son who lived to maturity.
The education of our subject was obtained in the public schools of Joliet and in Grower's Institute. In 1865 he went to Chicago and obtained a position in a grocery, where he was employed for a couple of years. In 1867 he came to Colorado, and was employed by his uncle, M. McLaughlin, a pioneer of this state and then engaged in merchandising in Nevadaville. In 1869 the young man became interested in mining operations and developed the Jones mine near this place, during the next four years. Then, going to Silver Plume, he was one of the first business men of the place, being a member of the firm of Dee & Ganley, and later of the firm of John N. Ganley & Co. He assisted in getting the postoffice located there and was the first postmaster of the town, being appointed by President Grant. He served for six and a-half years and during this period was also occupied in mining enterprises in that locality, and, in fact, still has interests there. He located and developed the County Treasurer group of mines. These have since been operated by him, and are tunneled five hundred feet into the mountain. In 1883 Mr. Ganley was elected on the Democratic ticket to the office of county treasurer, receiving a large majority and in 1885 was re-elected. Thus he held the position from January 1, 1884, to January, 1888. In June, 1888, he went to Denver, where he was with the Hubert Mining Company as assistant secretary and treasurer for two years. In July, 1888, he was influential in the organization of the Colorado Trading and Investment Company, Thomas Burke being made president of the concern, and himself secretary and treasurer. They dealt in real estate, etc. The present president is F. S. Bolsinger, and John J. Clark is the vice-president, while Mr. Ganley retains his old office and is the only one of the original incorporators left in the business. He is also secretary and treasurer of the company which owns the Champion mine.
The thriving town of Silver Plume is greatly indebted to Mr. Ganley for its start. He was one of the founders of the place and was a member of its first board of officials and for six years was a school director there. He is a silver Democrat. An influential member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, he was the state president of the organization for a period of six years, making a most efficient officer. In Georgetown, Colo., he married Miss Ellen V. Sullivan, who was born in Wisconsin. They have five children. For the past ten years the family has resided in Denver, where better school facilities and advantages can be within reach of the children.
AMES
S. JELLISON, justice of the peace at Villa Park, Arapahoe County,
settled upon a farm on the South Golden road in 1883 and for the
past fifteen years he has been extensively interested in the
cattle and dairy business, in connection with his farming. He now
cultivates three hundred and twenty acres of land and has on his
place about $5,000 worth of stock. As a farmer and stock-raiser he
is energetic, keen to discern improved methods and quick to adopt
them for his own use, and in the improvement of his place he has
shown himself efficient.
The son of Ivory and Eunice (Smith) Jellison, our subject was born in York County, Me., October 7, 1842. He was fourth among eight children, seven of whom are still living. Mary A. is the widow of Stephen Grant, of Berwick, Me.; Cynthia is the wife of R. C. Clark, of Berwick; Electa married H. J. Austin, also of Berwick; Charles E., now retired, was for twenty-two years a member of the police force of Boston, Mass.; Ellen is the wife of Thomas Brown, of Lewiston, Me.; and Lloyd I. lives in Boston.
The father of our subject was born in York County, Me., in 1816, and was reared on a farm. He engaged in raising and selling stock and in cultivating a farm, and became a man of much influence in his neighborhood. His death occurred in 1894. Our subject's maternal grandfather, James Smith, was a native of York County, where he engaged in farming until his
|
|
||
|
|
1285 |
|
death, at eighty years of age; his wife, Mollie, also a native of York County, attained the age of eighty-four.
At the age of eighteen years our subject went to Boston, where for a year he was employed as driver of an express wagon. He then returned to Maine and apprenticed himself to the blacksmith's trade, which he finished in two years. Going to Watertown, he became an employe in the arsenal, where he worked for two years. He then took a western trip, and while in Chicago the government issued a call for mechanics for the army. He volunteered his services and went to St. Louis, where he was sworn into service. From that city he went to Nashville, where he remained one month, afterwards spending four months in Chattanooga and five months in Augusta, Ga. On the expiration of his term he was honorably discharged. While in Maine, in 1862, he had enlisted as a volunteer, but was rejected; the following year, while working in the arsenal, he was drafted but was again rejected.
On leaving the army our subject returned to Maine and opened a blacksmith shop in Berwick, which he conducted for a year. Afterward for two years he and a brother-in-law, who was also a blacksmith, carried on the old homestead which they had bought, and at the same time they conducted a blacksmith shop in the village of Ross' Corners, one mile distant. In 1869, when the severe financial depression came on, our subject went to Boston, and secured employment as a fireman in the engine room in the American House, one of the leading hotels of the city. After three weeks in the engine room he was transferred to the kitchen, where for five months he was employed as fireman. He was then transferred to the cooking department and acted as the boiler, and three months later was promoted to the position of head meat cook. He left the American to accept a position as head broiler in Young's Hotel, where he received a better salary. However, his health soon failed, and after six months he returned to his farm in Maine. His experience in the army had fitted him for successful work in a hotel, for he had been commissary-sergeant at Chattanooga, having one hundred men or more in his shops; and in Augusta he had been employed as foreman of the shop.
After returning to the old homestead Mr. Jellison devoted himself to farming for one year. The place was his own, he having bought his brother-in-law's interest in 1869. Selling the property, he removed to Ross' Corners, where he opened a blacksmith shop, and there he continued, doing a prosperous business, until 1880, when he was taken down with pneumonia. He was ill for weeks and as soon as able to leave, was compelled to seek a milder climate. Accordingly he came to Colorado, and for five months remained at the hot springs at Buena Vista. On regaining his health, he went back to Maine, but was dissatisfied there, and in the spring of 1882 he moved his family to Colorado. After one year in Denver, during winch time he was superintendent of the agricultural ditch, he settled down to farming on the South Golden road, where he has since resided.
In York County, Me., in 1869, Mr. Jellison married Miss Anna Stevens, who died the following year. He was again married in 1872, his wife being Miss Abbie M. Pitts, of York County. Seven children were born of their union, but two died unnamed in infancy. The others were named as follows: John P., deceased; Mabel L.; Charles E, who died in boyhood; Alva H. and James B.
ARION
HODGSON, one of the capable and enterprising young farmers of
Boulder County, is the subject of this sketch, who owns and
occupies a place situated eight miles east of Boulder. His farm is
one of the best eighty-acre tracts for miles around. It was given
to him by his father shortly after he was married and he has since
made it his home, giving his attention to its cultivation. He is
well versed in the principles of agriculture, employs the best
methods in the cultivation of his land and derives a comfortable
income from the sale of his farm products. He personally
superintends the management of his property and gives to his
valuable business interests the thoughtful attention
characteristic of him in every department of activity.
Born in Linn County, Kan., October 6, 1872, the subject of this sketch is a son of William E. and Christina (Payton) Hodgson, to whose sketch upon another page the reader is referred for particulars in regard to the family history. He grew to manhood on the home farm and acquired a
|
|
||
|
1286 |
|
|
common school education. October 6, 1894, he married Miss Lena E., daughter of J. J. Wallace, who is represented elsewhere in this volume. One child blessed this marriage, Gladys, born September 74, 1896.
In fraternal relations Mr. Hodgson is identified with Lignite Lodge No. 69, K. of P., and Louisville Lodge No. 37, Woodmen of the World: He is also a member of the Boulder Valley Grange.
OHN
FRANCIS CAMPION, of Denver, was born on Prince Edward Island
December 17, 1849, a son of M. B. and Helen (Fehan) Campion,
natives of that island, and of English and Scotch descent. The
progenitor of the Campion family in America was John Francis
Campion, Sr., a native of England, where for many generations his
ancestors had been large landed proprietors. Accompanied by his
wife and children, he crossed the ocean and settled on Prince
Edward Island, where he bought property and in time became a man
of great local influence. He died at seventy-five and his wife
when seventy years of age. They were the parents of four sons and
five daughters, all of whom are deceased except one daughter.
Of the sons M. Brevort was a ship owner and captain, and built his vessels in his shipyards. He sailed to foreign ports and was well known in the maritime world. He represented Kings County, his home county, in the Prince Edward Island parliament. In politics he was a liberal first, but later a conservative. Regarding public affairs he had broad and keen views. He was a man of affairs and took a deep interest in matters of common interest. The last twenty years of his life were spent in Colorado, and his death occurred in Leadville. His wife, Helen, was the daughter of a well-known physician of Prince Edward Island, who perished one winter night, while crossing Northumberland Strait, nine miles in width. Of her four children, one, George F., resides in Denver; two daughters live in Canada.
The oldest of the four children was John Francis, of this sketch. In 1862 his parents removed to California, but being desirous to give their sons good educational advantages, he was sent back, with his brother, to Prince Edward Island, where he attended the Prince of Wales College at Charlottetown. While in school the boys ran away, in order to enlist in the United States navy. George F., who was only fifteen, was rejected; but John F., who was seventeen, was accepted at Boston, where he enlisted, and having passed a satisfactory examination, was appointed assistant quartermaster. He was sent to the United States dispatch boat, "Dolphin," and on it carried the first dispatches to General Sherman at Savannah when the latter had just completed his famous march to the sea. The river at Savannah was a seething furnace of burning cotton, making the passage dangerous; and it was also filled with sunken hulks of boats. However, the trip was made without misfortune and the dispatches delivered.
At the close of the war, in 1865, Mr. Campion visited his parents in Sacramento, Cal., and from there went into the mountains as a miner. In 1868 the discovery of the White Pine silver mine induced him to locate there. At once he became a successful mine operator, but after his good luck had continued for some time, he met with misfortune and lost his all (some $5,000) in the mine. However, he soon made a fortune in Eureka, Nev., where he developed and sold mines. Later, going to Pioche, Nev., with his father and brother, he bought a valuable silver mine, known as the Pioche Phoenix mine. Soon the Pioche Phoenix Mining Company was organized. There was much contention over the possession of the mine, which others claimed, and the latter tried again and again to gain possession of the mine by force, but each time they were repulsed with loss. The strife was finally settled by recourse to the law, and Mr. Campion retained possession. After some years he sold the mine. In April, 1879, he went to Leadville, Cola, then at the height of its "boom." He immediately bought several producing mines and claims, of which he subsequently disposed. He still considers Leadville his home, though his business interests take him into other parts of the state much of the time. At this writing he is interested in the Bison, Elk, Reindeer and Ibex (better known as the Little Johnny) mines, all of which were started by him and named after some animal; also properties at Breckenridge, Summit County and Larimer County.
The mining enterprises with which Mr. Campion is connected are of large value. They are of a nature requiring great courage to start
|
|
||
|
|
1287 |
|
and wise judgment to conduct, both of which qualities he possesses to an unusual degree. As an operator in mines, he was bold and inspired all with faith in his enthusiasm and judgment. The qualities required of a mining operator are of no unimportant magnitude. New conditions confront the operator like a constantly changing kaleidoscope. Great expectations sometimes bring great defeats, but if the operator is a man qualified by nature and experience, great triumphs reward his efforts as well.
Many exciting experiences have occurred in the life of Mr. Campion, whose name and success are known in every mining camp in the Rockies. In his operations he has usually been alone, relying on his own resources and reaping his own reward. His varied experiences before coming to Leadville aided him in his operations here. He is fond of mining. Its continual shifting scenes and its rich promises of reward fascinate him. When he was still a young man, his name became known as a talisman for success among the miners of Nevada, and he was known in Leadville as a successful miner before he came here. However, he has had his share of reverses, and the ultimate success he achieved has depended upon the lessons learned in the stern school of experience. That he has profited by these lessons is well known, for he now stands foremost among the mining operators of America.
In 1895-97, Mr. Campion built a palatial home at No. 800 Logan avenue, Denver. His summer months are spent at Twin Lake, fifteen miles from Leadville, where he has a beautiful summer home. He was married in Denver, April 18, 1875, to Miss Nellie May Daily, a sister of Thomas F. Daily, of Denver. They have one son, John Francis Campion, Jr., born June 26, 1896.
Politically Mr. Campion has always been a Republican and is a supporter of the silver cause. His time has been given so closely to business that he has not had leisure for official positions, even had he a taste in that direction. In personal characteristics he is known for his equipoise of power, which taken by itself would probably not be supreme, but taken in conjunction with other qualities, constitute a genius of high order. Brave in spirit, to him reverses mean fresh resolves, and hardships mean greater rewards in the future. He is worthy to rank with the great mining operators and financiers of our republic. Younger men are indebted to him for a splendid example of perseverance and determined efforts. From an early age he relied upon his own efforts, thus attaining a self-discipline winch is indispensable to success. He is essentially straightforward and manly and is by nature a well-equipped man, a typical product of American life in the nineteenth century and affording an example of the opportunities offered by our great west.
HARLES
A. BRANHAM, who is engaged in the real-estate and insurance
business at No. 1617 Lawrence street, Denver, was born in Vernon,
Ind., April 20, 1857, and is a son of James and Eveline (Allen)
Branham. His paternal ancestors were of English extraction and
were prominent in the early days of Virginia and Kentucky, from
which states they removed to Indiana, and became wealthy and
influential. Some of the name are now extensively engaged in the
mercantile business in St. Louis, of which city they are prominent
citizens. A brother of James Branham was one of the pioneers of
Kansas City, with the growth and development of which he was
intimately associated; he was the prime mover in the organization
of the First National Bank, of which he served as president, and
he was also president of the chamber of commerce and board of
trade. He died in that city about 1890.
During his entire business life James Branham was a railroad contractor and at the time of his death, which occurred when he was fifty-six and his son fourteen years of age, he had on hand contracts to the amount of $150,000. He held the position of superintendent of construction of the Indiana & Vincennes Railroad, which was built and operated by relatives of his own name. Three times married, he had six children by his first wife, four by his second, our subject being next to the youngest of the family. Besides himself two are now living.
Prior to the death of his father our subject assisted in railroad construction, but afterward he went to Indianapolis and became connected with the Indianapolis Coffin Manufacturing Company as shipping clerk. He began on a salary of $6 per week, but his services were so valuable that he soon received promotion. For eighteen months he traveled for the firm and at the time of his
|
|
||
|
1288 |
|
|
resignation he was receiving $125 per month. In 1875 he made his first trip to the west, going to Cheyenne and the Black Hills, but was obliged to return east on account of the hostilities of the Indians. Afterward he entered the transportation department of the Pennsylvania Railroad, with which he continued until 1880. During the latter year he came to Colorado and at Colorado Springs had charge of A. L. Millard's furniture and undertaking establishment for one year. Coming to Denver in 1881 he entered the employ of B. H. Bayler, and when the latter sold out, in 1882, he took charge of the closing of the furniture establishment and the settling of accounts. Having finished that work, he and two other employes of Mr. Bayler formed a partnership in the upholstering business, having their store on the site now occupied by the Ernest and Cranmer building. After a year he bought out one partner and later purchased the other's interest.
On selling out the business after six years, Mr. Branham went to Los Angeles, Cal., where he entered the mercantile business, but through unfortunate investments lost most of the money he had made in Denver. In 1889 he came back to this city and entered the real-estate business, platting land for lots, buying and selling, and during the four years that followed he cleared over $60,000, which he invested in city property. The unfortunate decrease in value of property obliged him to sell land that had been worth $35,000 at $1,100, and he, in common with all owners of property in the city, suffered heavy financial losses.
July 1, 1884, in Denver, Mr. Branham married Miss Josie B. Turner, of Louisiana, Mo., with whom he had become acquainted during a visit she made in Denver. They have one son, who was born in Denver, May 26, 1889. Accompanied by his wife, in 1887, he made a tour of the world, sailing from San Francisco to the Sandwich Islands, where they spent six weeks. From there they journeyed to Australia, touching at Samoa and Auckland, New Zealand. After two months in Sidney they went to Wellington, and from there to London via South America, touching at Rio Janeiro. One of their never-to-be-forgotten experiences was in the latter city, where they witnessed the celebration of the emancipation of slaves. After touring through Great Britain, they visited all the points of interest on the continent, enjoyed the magnificent view from Mount Blanc, crossed the Mer de Glace and Glacier der Bossons, visited the scene of the fateful battle of Waterloo, crossed the German Pass, thence down the Rhine through Belgium, and visiting the castle of Chillon on Lake Geneva, so well known through Byron's description of the prisoner of Chillon. Before they had completed their tour as planned, business matters called Mr. Branham to the United States in 1888, and they therefore crossed the ocean to New York, and from there proceeded west to Colorado and California.
Though reared in the Republican faith, Mr. Branham supported the Democracy from early youth until recent years, when he became convinced that the principles of the Republican party would conduce to the best interests of the people and the welfare of the country. He is prominent in the work of the Central Christian Church, of which he is a deacon and chairman of the finance committee. He became a member of this church shortly after settling in Denver, and was chosen assistant superintendent of the Sunday-school. While acting in that capacity he was married at a pic-nic (sic) given by the Sunday-school at Palmer Lake. He is a public-spirited citizen, active in all enterprises for the advancement of the city and the promotion of its welfare.
HOMAS
J. MILLER, who was the first mayor of the now thriving little city
of Lafayette, Boulder County, is a native of this county, and from
his earliest recollections has been earnestly interested in its
upbuilding and development. He occupied the office of mayor for
two successive terms, giving general satisfaction to the citizens,
and later he served in the capacity of justice of the peace for
four years. He is identified with Lignite Lodge No. 64, K. P., and
is past chancellor of the lodge. In his political proclivities he
is a Democrat, strongly in favor of free silver.
The birth of T. J. Miller took place upon his parents' farm about three miles east of Longmont, Boulder County, June 22, 1864. The parents, Lafayette and Mary B. Miller, most worthy people and pioneers of this section, were the founders of the town of Lafayette. Subsequent to the death of the father the family removed to a farm
|
|
||
|
|
1289 |
|
near the town mentioned and here our subject grew to manhood, his education being acquired in the district schools. In 1887 he took a position as a stationary engineer, and being a thorough and practical mechanic and a conscientious, careful man, his employers placed the utmost confidence in his skill and judgment. For some time he was in charge of the engines of a mine owned by the Citizens' Coal Company. In 1895 he turned his energies to the sale of farm and mining implements and tools at Greeley, but at the close of the year, when he cast up his accounts, he found that the business was not paying him and he returned to the old homestead. Here in partnership with his two brothers, Charles L. and George I., as Miller Brothers, he began the cultivation of the farm. In 1896 he purchased a threshing machine, which he runs during the season.
September 2, 1890, Mr. Miller married Miss Sarah Abernethy, whose father, Thomas Abernethy, came to Colorado in 1883 and was one of the first settlers of Lafayette. He is a native of Scotland, and upon his immigration to America in 1864, settled in Pennsylvania. There he lived for a number of years, working in the coal mines. To Mr. and Mrs. Miller three children have been born, but only one remains to them, namely: Mollie A., born March 29, 1897. A little son, Lafayette, and the eldest child, Maggie Pearl, died in infancy. Our subject and wife have many sincere friends in this vicinity and enjoy the respect of all who know them, here or elsewhere.
HARLES
E. KUHN. One of the largest ranches in this part of the state is
situated near Kuhn's Crossing, in Elbert County, and covers an
area of ten square miles. This land is devoted principally to
grazing. It is owned by Charles E. Kuhn, who came here in 1872,
after traveling over a large part of the United States, and was
chosen by him as a most desirable location for a home. He was born
in 1836, in East Berlin, Adams County, Pa., about twelve miles
from the famous battleground of Gettysburg.
His parents were Joseph J. and Jane R. (McCabe) Kuhn; his grandfather, John J. Kuhn, was a native of, Reading, that state, and was a farmer during the early days of the state. The father was also born in Adams County, and was a drummer boy in the war of 1812, and during the Civil war a colonel of the state militia. His occupation was that of farming, but for fifteen years he acted as associate judge of Adams County, besides holding many minor offices. He was born in 1803 and lived to be seventy-six years of age. He married Jane R. McCabe, a native of Pennsylvania, but of Irish descent, her father, Edward McCabe, having emigrated to this country from Ireland about the time that that people were coming under the dominion of the English. She lived to the advanced age of eighty-two years and was buried beside the husband and father.
Of their children we note the following: Edward J. is a wealthy farmer of Hanover, Pa. Louis DeBarth, who was surgeon in the United States navy during the war, is now a practicing physician in Brooklyn; he married Miss Pettygrove, of Portland, Ore., daughter of the founder of that city. Joseph A. is a lawyer of considerable wealth, president of a bank at Port Townsend, Wash.; he has been in the legislature and state senate for twenty years and is a prominent Mason, a past master of the grand lodge of Washington, and a shriner. John R. is a lawyer in Brooklyn; and George K. a physician of the same city. Maria R. married C. F. Leison, and died while on her wedding journey, in Cuba. Jane is the widow of P. Riley, an eminent lawyer of New York, where she is still residing. Charles is the subject of this sketch.
He received his education in the public schools of his native state and still further supplemented it by a course in Calvert College, Carroll County, Md., finishing at the age of nineteen. He then went to Mexico, where he and a brother bought horses, selling them in Missouri. After that he was for years engaged in driving cattle across the plains, until 1872, when he came from Missouri with a yoke of oxen, some cattle and horses, and took up his residence on his present home place. This property had no improvements whatever when he took possession of it, and he has just completed a nice residence and will soon irrigate five hundred additional acres of his land.
In 1862 Mr. Kuhn married Miss Jennie Myers, a native of his own county and daughter of a farmer there. They have one child, Cora, who is at home. Mr. Kuhn has always been a Democrat, and treasurer of Elbert County for years,
