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but has no desire for public office. He is a member of the Masonic lodge, a Knight Templar and a member of the Mystic Shrine.
ILLIAM
S. FLORA, proprietor of a grocery and meat market at Berthoud, is
one of the well-known business men of Larimer County. He is a
stockholder in the Handy Ditch Company, and for five years served
as superintendent of construction, also held the office of
director for four years. When the ditch was building he made the
first application for water from it, to be turned on his place. He
is also a stockholder in the Berthoud rolling mill and Longmont
creamery. As one of the first settlers of Berthoud, he has
witnessed its growth from a barren tract of land, destitute of
houses, to the present thriving little village. Before the town
was laid out, he delivered the first load of wheat ever brought
here.
In Monroe County, Ind., in 1847, the subject of this sketch was born to Elijah and Arminda (Atwood) Flora. When he was six years of age he accompanied the family to Greene County, the same state, and later went to Sullivan County, Mo., and from there removed to Page County, Iowa. In the different places where he resided he attended the public schools whenever opportunity offered. At the age of fifteen he came alone to Colorado and for some time engaged in teaming. While he was on the plains, hauling freight, the Indians were on the warpath and for three years he was in almost constant danger of attacks from them, having many narrow escapes and thrilling adventures during that time. After four years he purchased a team and began teaming for himself, following it for a year. In 1867 he went back to Iowa, where he engaged in general farming and stock-raising for seven years. During this time, in 1868, he married Miss Susannah E. Scarlett.
Failing health caused Mr. Flora to come to Colorado in 1876. This time he settled in Longmont, where he farmed for two years. In 1878 he took up government land near Berthoud, and began farming and stock-raising, becoming in time one of the most extensive cattle men of his locality. He still owns and cultivates the farm. For one year he carried on a meat business in connection with farming, and then added to that a general grocery store, of winch he has since been the proprietor. In its management and in the care of farm lands and handling of stock in trades, his time is busily passed. In political opinion he is a Democrat and fraternally is identified with Berthoud Lodge, I. O. O. F., in which he passed the chairs and from which he was the first representative to the grand lodge.
Mr. and Mrs. Flora are the parents of eleven children, as follows: May E., wife of G. A. Saltzman; Arminda, who married John B. Sloan; Susannah E., Mrs. Albert Beeler; William H.; George M., who died at nine years of age; August, Peet, Rosie, Pink, Elijah and Carl.
ON.
ELTON T. BECKWITH. The Beckwith family is of English lineage.
George C. Beckwith was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to which
place his father had removed from Connecticut. For a time he
engaged in the mercantile business in Ellsworth, Me., but
afterward became a builder and owner of ships engaged in the
Mediterranean, West Indian and South American trade. During the
war a part of his large fleet of vessels was chartered by the
government as transports. He was then living in Boston, but later
went to Philadelphia, and in 1869 came to Colorado for his health.
His last years were spent in Oakland, Cal., where he died at his
beautiful villa in 1892, aged seventy-four years. His wife, who
was of English descent, was a native of Mount Desert Island, Me.
She was a collateral descendant of General Heath, famous in
Revolutionary annals. Her death occurred in Denver.
On Mount Desert Island, one of the fashionable watering places of the people in this country, Elton P. Beckwith was born, April 1, 1847. He was educated in the schools of Cambridge and Boston. In 1866 he embarked in the wholesale flour and grain business in Philadelphia, but in 1869 closed out the business and in April of the following year came to Denver to engage in the stock business. The previous year his brother, Edwin F., had settled in what is now Custer County, and the two formed a partnership and have since carried on a large and profitable business.
While residing upon his ranch, known as the "Waverly Ranch," Custer County was estab-
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lished. In 1886 he was elected upon the Republican ticket to represent his district in the state senate, and served as chairman of the committee on education and educational institutions, and was chairman of the stock committee. Not desiring re-election, he retired to private life at the close of his term. He has been a delegate to county and state conventions and in other ways has been actively identified with the party of his preference.
Mrs. Beckwith, who was formerly Miss Elsie A. Chapin, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and graduated from the Michigan Female Seminary at Detroit. She is a daughter of Adam and Polly (Stone) Chapin, natives of Massachusetts and residents successively of Boston, Detroit and Chicago, where Mr. Chapin was engaged in business. In religious belief she is an Episcopalian and takes a warm interest in the work of that church. The culture of Mrs. Beckwith and her daughter, Velma, who is a graduate of Ogontz Seminary, makes them ornaments of society, while their taste for the beautiful is evinced by the appointments of their home.
The business career of Mr. Beckwith has been a successful one. His honorable dealings with all men have become proverbial with the business men of Colorado, who look upon him as one of the most substantial and enterprising citizens of the Centennial state. There are many lessons in his life to a younger generation; and now, as the shadows lengthen and the pathway down the mountain side enters the peaceful glow of life's evening, he can look back upon the heights with a satisfaction few are privileged to enjoy.
EORGE
WASHINGTON ALLEN, a widely known pioneer of Boulder County, was
born upon the anniversary of the birth of the "father of his
country," February 22, 1854, and, as was most fitting, was named
in honor of the great general, statesman and patriot. The subject
of this narrative has had a very interesting and eventful history,
as it is indissolubly interwoven with that of the early settlement
of this portion of Colorado, and he has always borne his full
share of the enterprises which have resulted in the civilization
and present high standing of this state in the great
commonwealth.
The parents of the above were Alonzo N. and Mary (Harris) Allen, natives of New York and England respectively. (For sketch of the mother and her people see biography of W. H. Dickens, a son by her first marriage.) A. N. Allen removed from his native state to Ohio, and thence to Columbus, Wis., where he was a pioneer farmer and mill operator. He owned large stone quarries, raised immense crops of wheat and was very prosperous until the panic of 1857 crushed him financially. Two years later he set out for Pike's Peak, driving yokes of oxen and cows attached to the primitive wagons or "prairie schooners" of the period. He settled on the St. Vrain River, homesteading a tract of land, and soon embarked in haymaking on a large scale. The hay, which was all cut and raked by hand, he hauled to Blackhawk, receiving incredible prices for it, but groceries and everything in the line of merchandise was proportionately high. Later he turned his attention to stock-raising and mining. He went to the Black Hills, where he was in the placer mines, and upon his return to this county he continued his mining enterprises. His last years were spent in Longmont, where he died in 1895, aged seventy-eight years. His eldest son, Rudolphus N., died in Longmont. Charles F., the third son, is proprietor of the Imperial Hotel of Longmont; and A. H., the youngest, is foreman in the Longmont Canning Factory.
G. W. Allen was born in Columbus, Wis., and in the summer of 1863, with his mother, crossed the plains by way of St. Joseph and the Platte River. They reached the small log house that the father had erected on his farm for the family October 25, 1863. The old-time stage lines passed right near their cabin door, and the senior Allen kept an inn and built large barns for the use of the stage company. The nearest town, now Longmont, was then called Burlington. Our subject and his brothers drove teams for the colonists, and the former, in 1864, though but ten years of age, accomplished the work of a full-grown man by driving three yoke of oxen in the difficult task of "breaking prairie." For this labor he was paid $10 per month, while men were given $60. With his money thus hardly earned he bought an Indian pony captured by his stepbrother, W. H. Dickens, at Sand Creek, and started to raise horses, and within a few years
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had sixty head. For a few months he was employed by the Ben Halliday Stage Company at $25 per month, and in the winter he attended school. In 1871 he ran a stage between Erie and Burlington and kept a feed, stable at the last-named point up to 1875. Then, in company with his brother, R. N., he leased a herd of cattle, eight hundred in number, for five years, on shares, and took them to Cedar Creek, one hundred and ten miles northeast of Longmont. The venture was not altogether successful on account of one particularly hard winter, but at the end of the five years our subject started a herd of his own and continued in the stock-raising business up to 1889, when he sold out. For the past fourteen years he has handled live stock for various parties in the west, and upon one occasion one thousand head of cattle were given to him to sell on commission by the Wabash Cattle Company, of Navajo Springs, Ariz. He was not asked to give one cent of security, and transacted the business to the entire satisfaction of the interested parties, who afterward wrote a highly commendatory letter to him. At another time he sold a ranch and stock for a Mr. Panley, of St. Louis. This was the largest land deal of the kind ever known in the annals of Boulder County, the total sum which changed hands amounting to $60,000. Mr. Allen owns considerable land himself, one tract being in the vicinity of Golden, Colo. For years he has borne the reputation of being the most extensive cattle dealer in the county, and his shipments are generally to Denver and Omaha. When actively engaged in ranging cattle he was a member of the Colorado Cattle Growers' Association.
Some years ago Mr. Allen improved a piece of ground at Coffman and Third avenue, Longmont, and now resides in the comfortable home which he established here. He was married in Longmont, in 1881, to Miss Carrie Smith, daughter of William and Annie (Skeel) Smith. The father was a British subject who came to the United States in his early manhood and at first lived on the Hudson River, where he worked at his calling of architect and builder, but in the fall of 1860 he went to California, and a few months later died in the city of San Francisco. Mrs. Smith, a native of Scotland, was a daughter of William Skeel, whose death occurred in that country. She reared her family in Tarrytown, N. Y., and is still living there. Mrs. Allen grew to womanhood in the Empire state and in 1878 came to Longmont. She has three children by her marriage, namely: Vernett S., who is a member of the class of 1902 of the agricultural college; Annie Pearl and Wilhelmina Fern.
Fraternally Mr. Allen belongs to the Odd Fellows' society, to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and to the Knights of the Maccabees, while his wife is associated with the Ladies of L. O. T. M. In his political convictions Mr. Allen is a Republican.
OSEPH
O. DOSTAL. Soon after the close of the war, in which he had borne
an honorable part as a soldier, Mr. Dostal determined to seek a
home in the west. April 1, 1866, he and a comrade who had served
in the same regiment with him left Iowa City and proceeded
westward along the line of the Platte, but at North Platte the
friend started on the Salt Lake trail and Mr. Dostal proceeded
toward Colorado, settling at Central City, where he engaged in the
butchering business, first working for William Nicholson, a
Scotchman, but not a practical butcher. After working eighteen
months here and learning the ways and customs of the people, he
returned to Iowa City and married Miss Mary Hamllik, who
accompanied him back to Central, via Cheyenne, to which point they
traveled by rail, then took the stage to Central.
He immediately started a meat market at Nevadaville (now Bald Mountain) with William Nicholson as partner, where they successfully conducted the business for one year. Mr. Dostal then purchased Nicholson's interest and moved to Central on Spring street, where by close attention to business he built up a large trade, which necessitated his engaging larger quarters. He moved to a more central location on Main street, purchasing a building in which he fitted up the finest market in the city, enjoying the patronage of the surrounding towns and mining camps.
In 1874, when the great Central City fire swept the entire town and reduced it to a mass of ruins, his market was a total loss, but, not discouraged with his severe loss, he at once opened a market stall in the only building then standing, the Hasard Powder Company building, into which,
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shortly after, the O. K. clothing store, and the Henry Swerder boot and shoe house, moved, each of the three merchants managing to conduct his respective business in this one room, without interfering with the others.
December 19, 1874, Mr. Dostal moved to his new building, the handsome Dostal Block, on which work was commenced at once. In this block he conducted a first-class business for one year, building up an excellent trade, but failing health from overwork compelled him to change his occupation and seek the open air; it was then he rented his store and moved to his ranch at Aroya, Colo., in Bent (now Cheyenne) County, on the Kansas Pacific Railway, about one hundred and thirty miles east of Denver, which ranch he stocked with sheep, cattle and horses; in 1896 he closed out his sheep and now handles cattle and horses only. He has constructed an under-flow irrigating ditch from the Big Sandy and his extensive alfalfa fields make his ranch one of the best in eastern Colorado. While he and his family were living on the ranch, the Indians made a raid near them and killed a man, which caused the settlers to feel their daily peril, and he soon afterward removed his family to Denver, where he resides at No. 2550 Stout street.
Mr. Dostal was born in Reichnau, Bohemia, a university city sixteen miles from Prague. His grandfather, George Dostal, was born there and engaged in business as a millwright and builder. One of his sons took part in the Revolution of 1848. Another son, George, Jr., our subject's father, was a manufacturer of woolen cloth in Reichnau, his native town; but in 1856 he brought his family to America, going first from Hamburg to Liverpool, and thence to New York by sailing vessel. After a voyage of four weeks and five days he reached this country and at once went to Iowa City, Iowa, where he remained until his death in 1866, at the age of fifty-five years. His wife, Jennie, was a daughter of John Blazek, a woolen cloth manufacturer. She was born in Bohemia and died in Iowa in 1893, aged seventy-eight. Of their eight children all are living but James, who came to Colorado in 1868 and died here; and Frank, who died in Iowa. Three of the daughters are living in Colorado and one in Iowa, while the oldest son, John P., is a resident of Iowa City.
At the time of coming to America, the subject of this sketch was thirteen years of age. He had previously studied in the night schools in his native land and had acquired a good knowledge of both the Bohemian and German languages. He began to work at once after reaching Iowa, first following any occupation that was presented, then working upon a farm, and at the age of fifteen beginning in the butcher's trade. In 1862 he volunteered as a member of Company K, Twenty-second Iowa Infantry, which was mustered in at Davenport, Iowa, and ordered from there to Springfield, Rolla, West Plains and St. Genevieve, Mo., successively, and then to Vicksburg, Miss., joining Grant's army there in the Thirteenth army corps. He took part in the siege of that city and at its close was sent to join the Nineteenth Corps in New Orleans, going from there to Matagorda Bay in Texas, later returning to New Orleans, then marching to New Iberia, La., from there back to New Orleans, next transferred to Petersburg, Va., and from there three weeks later to Washington, D. C., where new outfits were furnished. From the capital city he marched to Harper's Ferry, then joined General Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley and participated in that famous campaign, in which he bore an honorable part in three battles and four skirmishes, all fought within thirty days of one another. From Baltimore he went on a transport to Savannah, marched from there to Augusta, returned to Savannah, where he was mustered out, then went back to Baltimore and from there to Davenport, Iowa, where he was honorably discharged August 23, 1865. During his long term of service he was but once wounded (at Cedar Creek, Va.,) and then but slightly. As a noncommissioned officer, he was detailed in the quartermaster's department, but with that exception spent the entire time in the service.
After two years in Colorado Mr. Dostal returned to Iowa City, where, June 10, 1868, he married Miss Mary Hamllik, who was born near Prague, Bohemia, the daughter of John and Catherine (Rha) Hamllik, also natives of Bohemia. Her father, who was a carpenter, brought his family to America in 1854 and settled in Iowa City, where he engaged in contracting and building during the remainder of his active life. Now at the age of eighty-four, he is living retired. His wife is still living and is seventy-eight years of age. Of their eight children, six are living, two sons and
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two daughters in Colorado, one son in Oregon and a daughter in Iowa. Mrs. Dostal was nine years of age when the family came to America and from that time until her marriage she resided in Iowa City. She is the mother of three children: George, a graduate of the Denver high school, teller in the Denver National Bank and president of the Knights of St. John; J. F., a graduate of the Denver manual high school, class of '98, and member of class of 1902, University of Colorado, where he is fitting himself for an electrical engineer; and Mrs. Della Livingston, who graduated from the Academy of the Ladies of the Sacred Heart and now resides in Denver.
Mr. Dostal was one of the original promoters of the Colorado Cattle Growers' Association and is now a member of its executive committee. Politically he is a silver Republican. He has served in the city council in Central, and as county commissioner in Cheyenne County. He holds membership in Lincoln Post and takes a warm interest in all Grand Army matters.
ARRY
T. HALLOCK, M. D., is a physician in the prosperous little town of
Arvada, Jefferson County, and is also interested in a drug and
mercantile business here. Coming to Colorado in 1893, he opened an
office in Denver and engaged in professional work there for three
years, then removed to Arvada, but still retaining much of his
practice in Denver. His medical education was obtained in the
east, and there, too, he acquired a thorough experience in the
profession, both by hospital work and by private practice.
The Hallock family was founded in America in 1635, when some of that name emigrated from England to Southold, Long Island. Related to this branch of the family is Gen. William H. Hallock, commander-in-chief of the United States army at one time. Luther C. Hallock, our subject's father, was born in Smithtown, Long Island, in 1816, and at the age of about twenty-seven graduated from the Auburn Theological Seminary, after which he accepted the pastorate of the Congregational Church at Wading River, Long Island. Later he was called to a Brooklyn pastorate, and from that city went to Charleston, S. C. While in the south the war cloud darkened the horizon, and, his sympathies being with the north, he preferred to return to his old home. He was given a charge at Port Jefferson, and from that time until 1880 his time was divided between Port Jefferson, Brooklyn and Huntington. A chronic throat trouble that rendered articulation sometimes painful, caused him to retire from the ministry, and at the same time he settled on a farm near Port Jefferson, where he remained until his death, in 1890. His father, Minor Hallock, was a sea captain and made his home in Smithtown.
The marriage of Luther C. Hallock united him with Fannie Tuthill, who was born in Wading River, Long Island, in 1828, and is now living with her daughter, Margaret, in Buffalo. Her father, Harry Tuthill, was an old sea captain, and made his home at Wading River, becoming a large land owner in that locality. Mr. and Mrs. Hallock had four children, and three of these are still living, Harry T. being the eldest. Reuben P. graduated from Yale College in 1881, and is now principal of the Louisville (Ky.) high school; and Margaret S., who graduated from Vassar College in 1889, was for two years afterward a professor in the Halifax (N. S.) Ladies' College, later for three years professor of natural science in Elmira Free Academy, and then resigned as instructor, and began the study of medicine in the Buffalo Medical College, graduating four years later, since which time she has engaged in practice in Buffalo.
The birth of Dr. Hallock occurred in Port Jefferson, Long Island, January 16, 1860. Until fifteen years of age he remained at home, and then went to sea, taking several trips with an uncle, Thomas Hallock, on whose ship he visited several ports in Central and South America and the West Indies. After his return home he entered the high school at Riverhead, and later took a course of study in Bridgehampton Academy, of which Prof. Lewis Hallock was the principal. He then spent two years at the New Haven military Academy, of winch Gen. William H. Russell was the principal. He finished his literary course in the University of the City of New York in 1873, after which he taught mathematics in the White Plains Military Academy for one year, resigning the position to study medicine with Dr. Allen Parker, of New York City. Later he spent one year in the medical department of the University of the City of New York, and three
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years afterward graduated from the Long Island College Hospital, For one and one-half years he was physician to the hospital for women and children in Brooklyn, and then for eleven years served as physician to the hospital in Brooklyn, where nervous and mental diseases are treated. At the same time he carried on a private practice in Brooklyn. In 1893 he came west to Denver, and three years later settled in Arvada.
October 12, 1894, Dr. Hallock married Miss E. A. Crowe, of Iowa. During his residence in Brooklyn he was a member of the church to which Henry Ward Beecher ministered. Politically he is independent, never having allied himself with any party. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of St. John & Malta, the National Providence Union and the Woodmen of the World. He is a member of the American Medical Association, and while in Brooklyn was actively identified with the Kings County Medical Society. For four years past he has been an associate editor of the New York Medical Examiner.
ORACE
NORMAN HAWKINS. The record of the Hawkins family shows that its
first representatives in this country came from England and
settled in Pennsylvania during an early period in the history of
that state. John Hawkins, who was born in Pennsylvania, removed
from there to Kentucky and settled on the Blue Lick River, in Bath
County, where he engaged in farming. His family consisted of
thirteen sons, eleven of whom attained mature years, and the
majority of these became professional men. Probably the most
prominent among them was Alvin, who served as governor of
Tennessee in 1880-82, also held office as judge of the supreme
court of Tennessee and was consul to Havana, Cuba. Albert, a
prominent attorney, for fifteen years held the office of judge of
the circuit court. Joseph, the third son, has been prominent in
legal circles and served efficiently as judge of the circuit
court. Camillus is a successful attorney of Tennessee. James is a
farmer and minister in Kentucky. Samuel, now deceased, was a
minister in Texas, where William is engaged in farming. Frank
served in the Civil war, where he fell in battle. Elvis was a
prominent physician in Tennessee.
The fifth of these sons was Ashton W., who was born in Bath County, Ky., and read law in that state, intending to become an attorney. This profession seems to be the favorite one with the family, over fifty of whose members are lawyears (sic). However, he became interested in medicine, which profession he practiced throughout active life. Politically a Republican, he served as commissioner of agriculture in the state of Tennessee and was commissioner of internal revenue for the western district of Tennessee under President Grant; later he served as clerk of the circuit court of Carroll County, Tenn., in which capacity he was engaged at the time of his death. He also held the office of railroad commissioner of Tennessee.
When a young man Dr. Hawkins enlisted in the Mexican war, and participated in the storming of Vera Cruz, Mexico, and other engagements. When the Civil war came on, it found the family divided in opinions. The father, who was a Whig, had died prior to the war. The mother, Mary (Ralston) Hawkins, was a member of one of the most influential families of the south and was intensely southern in her sympathies. In her sentiments her sons sympathized and they all became adherents of the Confederacy, excepting the oldest, Alvin, and Ashton W., who, like their father, were stanch Whigs and supporters of the Union. Albert was an adjutant under General Forrest, the famous Confederate leader; William was a captain in a Confederate regiment; Frank fell while fighting under the stars and bars; and Joseph also was a soldier of the Confederacy. Carrying out his convictions, Ashton W. enlisted in the Federal service and became a captain in the army. Thus the different members of the same family were arrayed in battle against one another; such were the horrors of our civil strife.
In Dickson County, Tenn., Dr. Hawkins married Miss Sarah May, a member of an old Tennessee family. He settled at Huntingdon, Carroll County, Tenn., but during the war, on account of having northern sympathies, he removed to Olney, Ill., where he remained until peace was declared. He died in Huntingdon when sixty-two years of age, and his wife passed away at the same place and age, in 1894. Both were Methodists in religious belief. They were the parents of six children, namely: Wilhella, widow of A. S.
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Brevard, of Huntingdon, Tenn.; John M., of Los Angeles, Cal.; William A., who lives in El Paso, Tex.; Horace Norman, the subject of this article; Lena, wife of Rev. C. A. Waterfield; and Effie, Mrs. J. B. Luten, of Florence, Ala.
In the public schools of Tennessee Mr. Hawkins, of this sketch, obtained a fair education. He studied law with his uncle, Joseph R., and was admitted to the bar at Huntingdon, Tenn., where he practiced until 1892. Afterward he took the regular course of study in Vanderbilt University, from which he graduated in June, 1893. On the 18th of September he arrived in Denver, where he has since resided. He entered the office of Thomas M. Patterson, and in September, 1895, was admitted into partnership. Politically he was in youth a Republican, but has affiliated with the Democrats for some years. While living in Tennessee he served as deputy circuit clerk under his father, and when the latter died, before the expiration of his term, a Democratic judge held open the office for the son, until he should attain his majority and be eligible for office. He was then appointed clerk. On the expiration of the term he was elected to the office, but at the expiration of that term he declined renomination.
In Nashville, Tenn., May 14, 1896, Mr. Hawkins married Miss Frances Rubin, who was educated in that city. They have all only child, Mary O'Neill, born June 13, 1897. Socially Mr. Hawkins is identified with the University Club of Denver.
MELE
E. POUPPIRT, D. V. S., who is a successful ranchman and practicing
veterinary surgeon of Arapahoe County, was born November 27, 1865,
in the county where he still resides. His father, Modest Pouppirt,
a native of France, emigrated to America in early manhood and
settled first in Colorado, but later removed to Leavenworth, Kan.,
where he now resides. In early life he engaged in farming, but he
now lives retired from active labors. Politically he was a
Democrat in early life.
The parents of Emele E. Pouppirt were Modest and Louise Pouppirt. They had five sons and two daughters, namely: Oscar, a carpenter in Leavenworth, Kan.; Modest, Jr., a farmer, of Douglas County, Colo.; Eddie, a farmer in Douglas County; Annie, wife of W. H. O'Brien, of Leavenworth, Karl.; Emma, who resides with her father; Frank, a veterinary surgeon in Leavenworth; and Emele E., of this sketch.
The boyhood days of our subject were passed principally in Kansas, where he attended the public schools of Leavenworth. He studied veterinary surgery in the Kansas City Veterinary College and Denver University Medical College, and began to practice in Denver, where he remained until 1897. He then purchased a half-section, where he has since engaged in raising cattle and horses. He is an extensive stock-dealer and has met with success in that department of agriculture. In politics he is independent, voting for the men and measures he believes to be best adapted to the welfare of the people. He is identified with the American Medical Association. October 26, 1887, he married Mamie, daughter of John Wilson, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and became a resident of Henry County, Ill. His wife, Hattie Wilder, was born in Rhode Island.
ANIEL
W. PAINE, superintendent of the Platte canal, has held this
position since 1890, but had been connected with the company for a
number of years prior to his appointment as its manager. From 1890
to 1895 he made Denver his home, but the company having built a
house one mile from Oakes Postoffice, he moved here, and in this
place he has continued to reside. He homesteaded one hundred and
sixty acres of land in Platte canon and bought additional tracts
until, at this writing, his landed possessions aggregate six
hundred and forty acres, all in one body. Of his property one
hundred acres lie below the ditch line. The farm is well improved
and is operated under lease by tenants, Mr. Paine giving his
attention principally to the management of the canal company's
affairs.
A son of James L. and Maria J. (Boardman) Paine, the subject of this sketch was born in Fulton, Mich., April 23, 1853. His boyhood days were passed on a farm situated in the county where he was born. He attended the country schools and acquired a fair education. At nineteen years of age, in the spring of 1873, he came to Colorado, where for six years he engaged in tinning at Central City. However, his adventures in this line did not prove profitable,
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and he concluded to turn his energies to other enterprises. Going to Littleton he leased a dairy, and embarked in the dairy business. After two years, in March, 1881, he began to work at building flumes on the Platte irrigation canal, and continued in the employ of the company in different capacities, until 1890, when he was made superintendent of the canal.
The marriage of Mr. Paine June 17, 1879, united him with Miss Lydia A. Worthmann, who was born in New York City, and in her childhood accompanied her parents to Oxford, Iowa, later settling in Central City, Colo. Six children have been born to them, namely: Arthur Watson, who died at the age of three years and eight months; Albert L., Hugh E., Lydia Estella, Olive May and Judene C. (twins), the latter of whom died at the age of four years and six months; Jane Catherine and David W.
In matters political Mr. Paine affiliates with the Republican party. His first presidential ballot was cast in 1876, when he supported Rutherford B. Hayes. He has, however, never sought official position for himself; nor cared to actively identify himself with partisan politics, his interest being that of a private citizen rather than a politician. Fraternally he is associated with Camp No. 71, Woodmen of the World, in Denver.
OHN
S. FLOWER. In the early days of American history, when as yet few
from foreign lands had brayed ocean storms and the no less danger
of Indian hostility in order to found homes on an unknown shore, a
shipload of emigrants, under the leadership of Lord Baltimore,
anchored on the west coast, of the Chesapeake Bay and founded the
town of St. Mary's, the first settlement in Maryland. The people
who came on this expedition were for the most part men of
education, energy and determination, therefore the colony
prospered. Among those who came on this pioneer expedition was the
first representative of the Flower family in America. Nothing is
known of his life work and his character, but it may safely be
presumed that he possessed great enterprise and dauntless
perseverance.
Subsequent generations were connected with the history of St. Mary's City. Gustav Flower, who was born there and owned large tracts of land in the same locality, served as a soldier in the war of 1812. His son, John Burnett Flower, also a native of that town, succeeded to the possession of a large tract of land, in the cultivation of which and in the management of his mercantile store, he passed his active years, dying there in 1872. He married Mary, daughter of William Bean and granddaughter of William Bean, Sr., who was a soldier in the Revolution and was of English and Scotch descent. She died in St. Mary's City; of her seven children two daughters and one son are now living.
In St. Mary's City, where he was born in 1862, the subject of this sketch spent the days of early childhood. He was orphaned at the age of ten and two years later went to Baltimore, where he was a student first in St. Mary's, then in St. Martin's Academy. On leaving school he secured employment with a publishing house in Baltimore, where he remained for three years. Coming to Denver in 1880, he became an employe of the Tribune Publishing Company, but after two years in this position he changed to the Merchants' Publishing Company and continued in their employ for eighteen months. In 1886 he started the loan and real-estate business he has carried on since. He bought one hundred and twenty-five feet frontage at the corner of Seventeeth and Glenarm streets in 1894 and with C. J. Parrott, his partner, built the block in which he has his office and which he still owns. He is a director in the Colorado Building and Loan Association.
In Monroe, Wis., Mr. Flower married Miss Nellie, daughter of Arabut and Caroline (Sanderson) Ludlow. Her father, who was of a Vermont family, was a pioneer in Monroe, where he built the Ludlow, the finest hotel property in the state, and in that city he engaged in business as a banker, merchant and farmer, until his death. Mr. and Mrs. Flower have two children, Caroline and Ludlow.
DOLPH COORS. Many of the most successful brewers of the United States have come to this country from Europe, and among these is Mr. Coors, owner and manager of the Golden brewery. He was born at Rittershausen, in the province of Rhine, Prussia, February 4, 1847, and grew to manhood in his
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native land, where he learned the business in which he has since engaged. In the spring of 1872 he came to Colorado and for more than a year afterward engaged in bottling beer and wines at Denver. In the fall of 1873 he formed a partnership with Jacob Schueler in the Golden brewery and since that time has been a resident of the city of Golden. The business was established with a capital stock of $20,000, of which Mr. Schueler contributed $18,000 and Mr. Coors $2,000. The first output of beer was placed upon the market in 1874, and from that time on there has been an ever-increasing sale for the products of the brewery. In May, 1880, Mr. Coors purchased his partner's interest and has since carried on the business alone. Through his energy and sound business judgment the business continued to prosper, and seven years after he became sole owner the output was seven thousand and forty-nine barrels per annum. Since then an even greater increase has been shown. In 1890 the output was seventeen thousand six hundred barrels. In 1892 over twenty thousand barrels were produced, while since then a gratifying increase has been shown.
The brewery has established agencies at Denver, Pueblo, Trinidad, Colorado Springs, Aspen, Fort Collins, Louisville, Blackhawk, Como, Meeker, Buena Vista, Del Norte, Creede, Gunnison and Aquilar. The Denver branch is in charge of William Coors, a brother of our subject, and formerly superintendent of the bottling department at Golden. About one-third of the entire output is bottled, the sale for which has extended throughout the entire west.
The grounds occupied by the brewery are 340x200 feet in dimensions, with the South Table Mountain in the rear, the city of Golden on the west, and Clear Creek flowing nearby. Shade trees have been planted, with carriage drives between, and artificial lakes to add picturesqueness to the scenery. The buildings are commodious and provided with every modern improvement that will facilitate business. A large corps of workmen are given steady employment, which fact adds to the importance of Golden as an industrial center. In addition to the force of workmen large sums of money are paid out for coal and barley, thus aiding these two lines of business in the vicinity of Golden. The stimulus thus created is felt in every line of trade. The DeCoppett absorption process is used in the manufacture of ice, the machine having a capacity of forty tons per day.
April 12, 1879, Mr. Coors married Louisa Weber, by whom he has six children. The family occupy a beautiful home, provided with all the luxuries that wealth will secure.
RITZ
NIEMEYER, of Evans, one of the most successful farmers and
stock-raisers of Weld County, was born in Germany December 2,
1839, and was a son of August Niemeyer, a successful farmer, who
spent his entire life in his native land. Fritz remained in
Hanover, Germany, until 1865, when he crossed the ocean, landing
in New York November 9, 1865, on the steamer "America" after a
voyage of eighteen days. He remained in that city until the middle
of January, 1866, when he went west as far as Atchison, Kan. There
he bought teams and wagons with which to make the overland journey
to Colorado. In company with a party of over one hundred men, with
forty-six teams, he crossed the plains, reaching Denver in April.
There he sold the goods he had brought with him, reaping a large
profit. He also sold a number of his teams and with the remainder
secured work in hauling brick. With two horses he hauled five
thousand bricks per day. He continued in that business until the
fall, when he sold his teams and went to Jamestown, Boulder
County. Prior to leaving Denver he bought a number of residence
lots there which he still owns (about twenty-five altogether).
In partnership with others Mr. Niemeyer began prospecting and mining at Jamestown, where he remained until the fall of 1867. During the winter that followed he built a house in Cheyenne, Wyo., and kept an hotel for two years afterward. In the fall of 1869 he came to Evans, then a new town, just laid out. In partnership with another gentleman he engaged in the brewing business. On the founding of the Greeley colony he went there, but soon returned to Evans, where he has since resided. In 1872, with Eldridge Gerry, he built the Gary block, which still stands.
Near Harding Station Mr. Niemeyer took up a pre-emption claim in township 4, range 64, and also bought a timber claim in the same locality. He is now the owner of an entire section
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near Harding. He irrigated the land from the Latham ditch, made improvements and placed the land under cultivation. In the construction of the Latham ditch he took an active part, and is now a stockholder in the company. For a number of years he served as president of the Latham Extension ditch, which he assisted in building. In 1884 he bought a half-section situated on section 8, township 4, range 65, and he also now owns four hundred and eighty acres in the Box Elder country in Weld County. He owns altogether fifteen hundred acres. In 1884 he embarked in the stock business and for some time had two hundred head of cattle, and now owns one hundred head of fine horses. Since taking up land he has followed farming and stock-raising. He was an active factor in the organization of the Evans creamery, and owned a large share in the stock. In politics he usually votes the Republican ticket, but is inclined to be independent. For a number of years he has served as town trustee.
In 1879 Mr. Niemeyer married Agnes Freudenberg, who was born in Berlin, Germany, and came to the United States in 1868. Their marriage was solemnized at the residence of Mr. Rose, a friend in Denver. They have three daughters living: Rosie, Blanche and Phoebe, and lost two sons, Frederick Charles and Rudolph.
NTON
KAEMPFER came to Colorado via railroad to Cheyenne and thence by
stage to Denver, making the trip in 1870. Soon afterward he
settled upon his present property in Douglas County, where he
pre-empted a soldier's homestead of one hundred and sixty acres.
At a later date he purchased other property and is now the owner
of six hundred and forty acres, embellished with valuable
improvements, and devoted to general farming and cattle-raising.
The land lies on section 8, township 9, range 65 west, and eight
miles southwest of Elizabeth.
The birth of Mr. Kaempfer occurred August 10, 1832, at Nassau, on the Rhine, in Germany. His father, Jacob, died when the son was only eleven days old, and he was reared by his mother, Anna Maria (Kuhn) Kaempfer. His educational advantages were excellent, and he gained a thorough knowledge of German, French and English. He also studied mining engineering, at which he worked, as well as in the iron mines, until he was twenty-three years of age. He was drafted to serve in the army, but was afterward released. In 1855 he came to America, spending thirty days in a sailboat on the Atlantic. From New York, where he landed, he went to Milwaukee, joining a brother in that city. There he was employed by others for some time, but finally started a store for himself.
During the war, in 1862, Mr. Kaempfer enlisted in Company A, Twenty-sixth Wisconsin Infantry, in which he served for six months. During a skirmish in Virginia he was injured, and being unable to serve longer, was honorably discharged in 1863. Returning to Milwaukee, he resumed business pursuits, remaining in that city until 1870. In 1862 he was united in marriage with Miss Wilhelmina Augusta Pieritz, who was born on the ocean while her parents were en route to America and was reared on a farm near Watertown. Five children have been born to them, namely: Emma E., who married Gus H. Ingersoll and has three sons; Mrs. Adelia J. Adams, who has four children; Anton C. G., who is a teacher and a blacksmith; Mrs. John A. Kroeger, of Silverton, who has one daughter; and Minnie C., who is with her parents.
In politics Mr. Kaempfer in independent. In 1876 he was nominated by the Democrats for assessor. He is identified with Elbert Post, G. A. R., at Elizabeth. In religion he was reared in the faith of the Reformed Church, but is liberal in his views and has never allied himself with any denomination. He is, however, a friend of the churches and a contributor to philanthropic effort.
OHN
A. LITLE, who resides one mile east of Loveland, Larimer County,
was born in Iowa in 1843, a son of Robert and Catherine (Miller)
Litle, 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 the Old Dominion to the Buckeye
state. About 1842 he removed to Ohio and became a pioneer of Lee
County, where he was living at the time of the Mormon outbreak. In
1867 he removed
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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. Litle 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. Litle 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 afterward he carried it on alone for a short time.
Politically Mr. Litle 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. Litle has been a member of the board of trustees and took an active part in the building of the new church in 1893.
BRAHAM
ASHBAUGH, M. D., of Central City, came to Gilpin County in 1879
and has since attained a high position as a skillful physician.
For many years he held the office of county physician and also
acted as surgeon for the Union Pacific Railroad at this point. He
is now local surgeon for the Union Pacific Denver & Gulf
Railway. He has been most successful in building up a lucrative
practice, although he gives medical attention alike to poor and
the rich, and he is one of the busiest professional men in the
county. Besides his practice he has other interests, particularly
mining, and owns and operates the Lombard group of mines, which he
discovered and developed and which are seven miles from Central
City.
Dr. Ashbaugh was born in Aledo, Mercer County, Ill., August 27, 1852, and is a son of John Meek and Catherine (Artz) Ashbangh. His father was a son of John Ashbaugh, Sr., who started a poor boy and became a noted chemist, claiming the distinction of compounding and manufacturing the first lard-oil. John Meek Ashbaugh, the doctor's father, removed from Ohio with his father to Mercer County, Ill., in the days when Illinois was considered the great west, settling upon a farm near Aledo. In 1868 Mr. Ashbaugh again turned his face toward the setting sun and migrated to Missouri, settling in Vernon County, when the deer, the wild turkey and prairie chickens were there in abundance. His death occurred in Central City, Colo., in 1881, when he was sixty-two years of age, having came to the mountains for his health and to visit his two sons who were in business, practicing medicine at this point.
Dr. Ashbaugh's mother was born in Virginia, in 1820, whither her grandfather came from Holland; later her father moved to Ohio and thence to Illinois, where he died. Mrs. Ashbaugh, the doctor's mother, is living in good health on the old homestead in Missouri; a pleasant old Dutch lady, who, true to her Dutch habits, milks her cow, makes her cheese and cultivates her flowers under the sunny skies in old Missouri. Of her
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thirteen children nine are living; three of the sons served in an Illinois regiment during the Civil war, and two were wounded. Three sons are now practicing physicians, all having graduated at Rush Medical College, Chicago, and one daughter, Olla Ashbaugh, was a dentist.
In the schools of Illinois and Missouri the subject of this sketch received his education. For two years he was employed in the Vernon County Nursery, after which he began the study of medicine. In the fall of 1875 he entered Rush Medical College and after two years of study graduated with the degree of M. D. He at once began the practice of his profession in Reynolds, Rock Island County, Ill., where he remained two years. In 1879 he came to Central City, where he has a large practice extending throughout the entire county. He is identified with the Colorado State Medical Society, the American Medical Association, and is treasurer of the United States Board Grand Counties. This board was established in 1893, when he was appointed to the office of treasurer.
In Rock Island County, Ill., Dr. Ashbaugh married Miss Sarah, daughter of Joseph Asquith, who came to Illinois from England. Two children, Guy and Roy, comprise their family. Politically Dr. Ashbaugh is a Republican. He was made a Mason in Pre-emption, Ill., and is now past officer in Nevada Lodge No. 4, A. F. & A. M. For five years he has served as high priest of Central City Chapter No. 1, R. A. M., and is generalissimo of the Central City Commandery No. 2, K. T. He is also identified with El Jebel Temple, N. M. S., of Denver. He is medical examiner for the Knights of Pythias, with which he is connected as a member, and is also examiner for the majority of the insurance companies represented in Central City.
