George W. Cobb, a prosperous Ouray county farmer and stock-grower, living three miles east of Ridgeway, is a pioneer of 1862 in Colorado, and a native of Michigan born in 1842. He is the son of Septimus and Caroline (Brook) Cobb, who were born and reared in New York state. Their son George was reared on the farm which they made their home in Michigan soon after their marriage, and when he was seventeen years of age went to Missouri and located in Springfield, where he remained three years. In 1862 with four yoke of oxen he crossed the plains to Denver, Colorado, and from there moved to Fairplay and engaged in merchandising, remaining until the Granite excitement broke out, when he went to that place, but after a short residence there transferred his base of operations to Canon City and was one year with the Colorado Improvement Company. He then began merchandising again and continued it until 1876, when he sold out and made a trip East. In 1877 he came to Ouray county and merchandised for a while at Portland, later moving to Dallas and in 1885 taking up his residence at Ridgeway, where he carried on a store for two years. In 1901 he moved to the farm which he now occupies, which comprises one hundred and twenty acres of excellent bottom land and yields abundant crops of hay and some grain and generously supports his band of high-grade cattle. He takes an active interest in public affairs, giving earnest attention to every commendable enterprise for the improvement of the county, and inspiring others to a similar activity by his example. He belongs to the Masonic order. At Portland, in May, 1879, he was married to Miss Blanche Jacknick, a native of Iowa, whose father was for eleven years chief clerk in the interior department at Washington, D.C. They have four children, Chester G., Etta R., Ethel V., and Clarence M. In addition to his farming industry Mr. Cobb is also interested in mining and owns a number of valuable claims. He has been a man of great industry and energy, and has won the reward of his efforts in a substantial competency in worldly wealth and the lasting esteem and good will of his fellow men.
(Source: Progressive Men of Western Colorado, Publ 1905. Transcribed by Marilyn Clore)
Charles ("Charlie") Polk Nutter was born October 22, 1844 in Alton, Madison Co, Illinois.?He married Emma Frances Lidey in 1870 in Watson, Effingham Co, Illinois.?Together, with two children, they came to Pueblo, Colorado in April of 1876.?In 1877 they traveled by covered wagon from Pueblo to Ouray, leaving April 18th and arriving May 19th. Charlie Nutter and several other men "grubstaked" a prospector who found a promising silver mine near Rico, Colorado.?Because of "claim jumpers", Charlie and several of the men had to often stay in Rico to prevent them from taking over the mine.?Although Rico (in Ouray County at this time) was tamer than most mining camps, it still had its troubles and Charlie made mention in one of his letters to Emma of only one man killed this time.?He later sold his interest in the mine to some investors from New York for $1,200.?With these proceeds he opened a cured and fresh meats store and livery and feed stables business in partnership with a man named William ("Billy") Clark, the firm being known as "Nutter & Clark". This was in late 1879 or early 1880.
The meat business was right next door to the grocery store owned and operated by Charlie's good friend Miles Standish Corbett, who was at that time the mayor of Ouray.?(The Nutters had met the Corbetts while staying in Pueblo and they traveled together from Pueblo to Ouray.)?The livery stables were located on Third Street (now Main Street) on the southwest corner of Third St. and 7th Avenue, where the Fox Building, Buckskin Trading Post, and the north half of Cecilia's are today (lots 256, 257, & 258).?All of this is shown on the 1886 Sanborn map of Ouray.
Charlie was a Mason for 70 years and a charter member of the Ouray Masonic Lodge.?In 1888 he sold his businesses in Ouray and moved to Delta, Colorado where he died on 28 November 1941, 97 years old.
For further information about this family contact G. David Thayer
* Collected by Dr. Doris H. Gregory, historian, of Ouray, CO
Born and reared on an Indiana farm and learning the science and the practical work of agriculture in that region where they are highly developed and vigorously followed. George R. Couchman, of Ouray county, with a fine ranch and comfortable residence about four miles and a half northeast of Ridgeway, came to this country when it was new and undeveloped well prepared for his part in starting its agricultural interests forward on a career of gratifying and almost unexampled success. He was born in 1846, the son of Andrew and Margaret (Evans) Couchman, natives of Indiana, and prosperous farmers in that state, and on the parental homestead he grew to manhood and in the neighboring district schools received his education. His father died when he was quite young and the burden of helping to conduct the farm and the affairs of the household fell heavily on his shoulders early in his life. He remained at home until the breaking out of the Civil war, then enlisted in Company G, Thirty-third Indiana Infantry. After a service of one hundred days in this command he was discharged, and he then enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Indiana Infantry, in which he served to the end of the war, and although his regiment was in active field work and confronted the enemy on many a bloody field, he escaped unhurt, and at the close of the contest returned to his Indiana home, later he moved to southwestern Missouri, and the next year to Kansas. Here he engaged in farming five years, and in 1873 came to Colorado, locating at Colorado Springs. During the next five years he was farming and carrying on a lumber business at this point, and in 1879 moved to Leadville and turned his attention to mining. In 1884 he came to Ouray county and located his present ranch, which consists of two hundred and eighty acres of superior hay land that yields abundant crops and furnishes a plentiful supply of provender for his stock. He was also engaged in merchandising for four years at Ridgeway, and is now conducting, in addition to his farming and stock operations, a large flouring mill that has an appreciative body of patrons and supplies an extensive district with its high-grade products. Mr. Couchman has been a wide-awake and progressive citizen, deeply interested in the welfare of the county. He served a number of years as county commissioner, and in many other ways has aided in the development and proper growth of his section of the state and the improvement and increased comfort of its people. In fraternal relations he is a zealous and energetic member of the Knights of Pythias. In 1870, while living in Kansas, he was married to Miss Sarah Holbrook, a native of Michigan. They have four children, Mary, Jessie, Lulu V., and Mabel. The family occupies an attractive residence at Ridgeway, which is maintained there in order that the children may have the best school facilities available. Among the enterprising, far-seeing and progressive citizens of Ouray county none stand higher than Mr. Couchman in the public esteem, and none has done more to deserve the cordial good will and confidence of his fellow men.
(Source: Progressive Men of Western Colorado, Publ 1905. Transcribed by Marilyn Clore)
The pioneer merchant of Ridgeway, whose arrival in this section antedated the birth of the promising little town, and one of the leading and most public-spirited citizens of Ouray county, J. L. Criswell is a native of Missouri, born in 1857, and the son of Wesley and Martha (Hudson) Criswell, also natives of that state. He was reared on his father's farm in Missouri and educated in the neighboring district schools. In the exacting but manly labors of the farm he acquired habits of industry and thrift and also a spirit of self-reliance and independence, learning to depend on his own acumen and energy in every emergency and use his faculties to good advantage under any circumstances. After reaching the estate of manhood he was engaged near his home for a period in farming, and afterward followed the same occupation in Nebraska and Wyoming for a time. In 1880 he came to Colorado, and for a year was employed as bookkeeper for the railroad company. In 1881 he settled where Ridgeway has since been built and engaged in mining, and also helped to survey the southwestern counties of the state in the employ of the United States government. He continued his mining and prospecting operations until 1886, making a number of important discoveries which he sold. In the year last named he opened a general store at Dallas which he continued for a short time, after which he returned to the site of Ridgeway and started the merchandising business here which he still carries on, and which was the first of the kind in this neighborhood. His establishment is a large and complete one for its locality and carries a stock of merchandise well selected to suit the wants of the people who patronize it, at the same time satisfying and cultivating the taste of the community, and laying under tribute to its trade a large extent of the surrounding country. He also owns a ranch on which he conducts a thriving stock industry, pushing his business in that line with the same energy and capacity that he exhibits in his merchandising. As a pioneer in this locality he has had much to do with the development of the section, and has been conspicuous in every line of useful activity that has been put in motion among its people. He was one of the founders of the town, and its interests and the spread of its influence and the growth of its vitality he has sedulously devoted himself. For six years he served as its postmaster, and while in the office greatly enlarged its postal conveniences. In many other ways he has stimulated its forces for progress, and subserved the convenience and lasting good of its inhabitants. In 1892 he was married here to Miss Edith King, a native of Michigan but reared in Colorado, and a sister of Cassio King, the gifted poet of San Juan whose muse has embalmed the natural beauties and social features of the region in the amber of their inspiring lines. Mr. and Mrs. Criswell have four children, their sons Walter and Robert, and their daughters Ruth and Lillian. Mr. Criswell is a valued member of the Woodmen of the World and has given the order a due share of his stimulating and serviceable attention. Successful in business, esteemed as a citizen, potential as a civic force, and inspiring as an example in all the relations of life, Mr. Criswell is living a useful and commendable career in which all the best elements of American manhood are worthily exemplified.
(Source: Progressive Men of Western Colorado, Publ 1905. Transcribed by Marilyn Clore)
With a fine valley farm of one hundred and fifty-four acres and a flourishing stock business, located in a good section of the country, a mile and a half south of the town of Ridgeway, Ouray county, Alec Gould has won out of the difficult conditions of the far western life a good estate and a substantial comfort which expands with the flight of time through his own efforts and become more firmly established as the application of his systematic industry and fruitful labors continue. He is a pioneer of 1881 in this state, but a native of Canada, where he was born on February 23, 1852. His parents were John and Margaret Gould, also native in the dominion, where he was reared and received a district school education. In 1870 he came to Nevada, and six years later moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he remained a short time, then went to the Black Hills and engaged in mining. In 1881 he came to Colorado and, settling at Ouray, again went to mining, and a short time afterward bought the place on which he now lives and turned his attention to farming and raising stock. To this business he has since devoted himself with regular and close application, studying its development with care and thoughtfulness, and applying the results of his study and observation with judgment and discrimination. His ranch is one of the best and most promising in his neighborhood and his business is growing with gratification, steadiness and healthy progress. Mr. Gould is not married, but he is none the less deeply and intelligently interested in the welfare of his community and none the less active in promoting it by substantial aid to every good enterprise. He is a man of breadth of view and experience, having seen much of the country and his native land, and has been taught by association with men in various pursuits and under a wide range of circumstances that the real prosperity of a country depends upon the prosperity and intelligence of the great body of its people, and not on the showy acquisitions of any particular class. He is well esteemed throughout his district as a useful citizen, an industrious and far-seeing man and a force for good in the section of the country where he lives.
(Source: Progressive Men of Western Colorado, Publ 1905. Transcribed by Marilyn Clore)
H. VON HAGEN
H. Von Hagen, the largest land owner in Ouray county, and occupying one of the most beautiful and completely equipped rural homes in Colorado with an extensive and profitable stock industry to furnish him a reliable and considerable income, seems proof against the winds of adversity and may laugh a siege of fortune's buffets to scorn. What is more to his credit and comfort, his possessions are the legitimate results of his own industry, thrift and business capacity and those of his parents. Mr. Von Hagen was born in Germany in 1862, the son of Otto and Adelaide Von Hagen, also natives there, and emigrating from that country to this state in 1869. On their arrival here they settled near Colorado City and engaged in the stock business on a large scale. In 1876 they changed their residence where their son now lives, and continued their industry, building up an unusually extensive business and making their ranch one of the choice estates in this part of the commonwealth. It is known as the Pleasant Valley stock farm and comprises two thousand, five hundred acres of excellent land, on which Mr. Von Hagen now runs about one thousand five hundred thoroughbred and high grade cattle and a large band of well-bred horses. The ranch is located six miles west of Ridgway, and by means of the railroad there is a ready means of shipment for the output of the place and easy reach to the best markets. Mr. Von Hagen is a careful herdsman, feeding his stock all winter and thereby suffers no losses through exposure to the weather and scarcity of provender. On this place his parents expended the energies of their later life, and here when their labors were ended they lay down to their long rest, the father dying in 1893 and the mother in 1897. Their offspring numbered eight, four of whom are living, but the subject of these paragraphs is the only one residing in this neighborhood. In the public life of the community he has always taken an active and serviceable interest contributing everything for the erection of his home schoolhouse, and leaving his impress in generosity and enterprise on almost all undertakings for the advancement and general improvement of the section in which he lives. He is known far and wide as one of the most progressive and public-spirited citizens of the county, and stands well in the esteem of all his fellow citizens, not only for his qualities as a broad-minded and capable aid in the development of the region in which he has cast his lot, but also as a man of high character, generous impulses, agreeable social qualities and a wealth of world wisdom which is everywhere and always useful and freely available to all who seek his counsel. He is a member of the order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America, and each of these orders has felt the force of his influence and the benefit of his energy. In 1895 he was married to Miss Lucy Woodhouse, a native of New Jersey, who came to this section with her parents in early life. Their family consists of four daughters, Alma, Elizabeth, Hilda and Dora.
[Source: Progressive Men of Western Colorado, Publ 1905. Transcribed by Nancy Overlander]
CHARLES R. HOTCHKISS.
Charles R. Hotchkiss, one of the prominent and successful stock-growers and farmers of southwestern Colorado, whose postoffice is Colona, Ouray county, near the Montrose county line, is a native of Michigan, born in 1857, and came to this state as a pioneer in 1878. He is one of the sons of Roswell and Jane (Cobb) Hotchkiss, a sketch of whom will be found elsewhere in this work. While he was yet quite young his parents moved to Nebraska and soon afterward to Dakota, where they lived until 1878, when they settled in this state. He was twenty-one at the time, and had been reared to a life of useful industry on the farm, and received his education in the district schools in the various localities where the family lived. On his arrival in Colorado he settled near the town of Montrose, and there he was engaged in freighting until 1889. He then moved to the Norwood mesa, where he took up a homestead and engaged in farming and raising stock. In 1901 he sold this property and moved to his present location, purchasing one hundred and twenty acres of superior land, and continuing thereon his industry as a stock man from that time until the present. He has a large herd of fine cattle and a good-sized band of horses of excellent grades and desirable breeds. He is one of the prosperous and progressive men of the section, conducting his business with vigor and skill, and giving his active aid to every commendable enterprise in the community. Fraternally he is connected with the order of Odd Fellows. In Nebraska, on June 22, 1877, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary J. Manley, a native of Texas. They have five children, all sons, Fred, Frank, Roy, Eugene and Clyde. The father of Mr. Hotchkiss, who is one of the leading men of Ouray county, is a prominent merchant at Ridgeway, and his brother Virgil, the only other son and child, is like himself, an enterprising and successful farmer and stock-grower in Montrose county. Father and sons have done much for the development of this section, and are held in the highest esteem. They are men of enterprise and high character with breadth of view and public spirit.
(Source: Progressive Men of Western Colorado, Publ 1905. Transcribed by Marilyn Clore)
ROSWELL A. HOTCHKISS
Roswell A. Hotchkiss, one of the pioneer merchants and stock men of Ouray county, and a leading citizen and business man of Ridgeway, is a native of New York state, born on November 21, 1829, and is the son of Samuel and Medosa (Ackley) Hotchkiss, of the same nativity as himself. While he was yet an infant they moved to Pennsylvania, and in that state he was reared and educated, and after he grew to manhood he followed lumbering there until he was twenty-three years of age, then came west. On June 22, 1857, he crossed the Missouri river into Nebraska, and, locating in Dixon county, in company with his brother he built the first flouring mill in the territory. They prospered in the enterprise and acquired valuable interests in that state and Dakota. Some years afterward they sold the mill and engaged in farming and raising stock. In 1876 Mr. Hotchkiss came to Colorado, and after living nearly a year at Lake City, his family joined him and they moved to Ouray. In 1880 he opened a general merchandising establishment at Portland in what is now Fremont county, which he conducted for some time and then moved to Dallas. From there he moved to Ridgeway and built the store he now occupies, and since then he has been carrying on an extensive general trade in one of the large and well appointed emporiums of this part of the country, displaying to the choice of his numerous patrons a large, varied and judiciously selected stock of general merchandise, and offering it for purchase with every regard to fair dealing and the most obliging attention to wishes and desires of his customers. It has been the aim of this establishment to meet the requirements of the most exacting taste and at the same time to supply the widest range of demands for such commodities as the people in the locality can make, keeping his stock up to date in every respect, both as to variety and quality. He is also interested in the general business of the section, owning and operating two large ranches with a flourishing stock industry on each, wisely managed and vigorously conducted. He was one of the first postmasters in the county, and served the people in this important capacity for a number of years. In 1853, before leaving New York, he was united in marriage with Miss Jane Cobb, a native of that state, and they have two children living, their sons Charles R. and Virgil, both of whom are stockmen in Montrose county, and men of consequence and influence in their localities. Mr. Hotchkiss has done well in business wherever he has been, and has always taken an active interest in the local affairs of his community, giving judicious aid to good enterprises and using his influence for the general welfare. He is well esteemed by all who knew him and stands high in the public regard of the whole people.
(Source: Progressive Men of Western Colorado, Publ 1905. Transcribed by Marilyn Clore)
It was in Canada, the province of Ontario, that the active and serviceable life of Arthur B. Hyde, of Ouray county, a prosperous farmer and stock-grower, living about one mile south of Ridgeway, began, and in 1840 that he was born. His parents were George and Eunice Hyde, and his father was a captain in the royal navy. The son grew to man's estate in his native land, and in its excellent schools he received his education. After leaving school he was employed in various avocations until 1876. He then determined to emigrate to the United States, and came direct to Denver, this state. In March, 1877, he moved to Ouray county and after mining for a year and a half with varying success, he settled on the land which is now covered by the town of Ridgeway, where he lived until he sold his farm to the townsite company and moved to the place of his present comfortable and fruitful establishment. His farm comprises one hundred and twenty acres of land of a very superior grade and he has a herd of fine cattle. To these he gives every care necessary to keep them in good condition and is zealous in holding his breeds up to a high standard of excellence and purity. He was married in 1867, before leaving Ontario, to Miss Susan M. Jones, a native, like himself, of that province. They have five children living, Arthur J., Letitia, Harris, Naterly and Richard. Since living in this section Mr. Hyde, while industriously pushing his own business and endeavoring to get the best results from it, has also been sedulously and eagerly interested in the development and improvement of his part of the county along the lines of the most approved and desirable progress, giving his influence and his substantial aid to every commendable undertaking looking to that end and inspiring others by his example and his force to the same activity. He is loyal to the land of his adoption and is deeply concerned for its enduring welfare in county, state and national affairs. And while not seeking to be prominent or potential, he is energetic and intelligent in the use of his citizenship, displaying breath of view as well as devotion to lofty ideals.
(Source: Progressive Men of Western Colorado, Publ 1905. Transcribed by Marilyn Clore)
James R. McDonald, one of the prominent and successful farmers and stock growers of Ouray county, is a typical pioneer, well versed in woodcraft, fearless of danger from man or beast or the elements, laughing hardships and privations to scorn, and ever ready for any duty that fate may mete out to him. He has lived in Colorado since 1868, and has partaken of all the phases of life incident to her early settlement and subsequent growth and development. He was born in Glengarry county, Ontario, Canada, on the banks of the St. Lawrence, in 1845, and is the son of Ronald and Margaret McDonald, of the same nativity as himself. He comes of marital strain, his great-grandfather, John McDonald, having fought in in the French and Indian war under Washington, and borne himself valiantly in the struggle. After the war he settled in Canada, and there he and his wife ended their days. There also the father and mother lived and died, and there the son grew to manhood and was prepared for the duties of life. After reaching his maturity he emigrated to Pennsylvania, and a few years later moved to Michigan. In both states he followed lumbering, spending six years in the pine forests of the later as bookkeeper. He then made a trip through the territories looking for business opportunities, but returned to Michigan, where he remained until 1872. In that year he came west again and located in what is now Park county, Colorado, where he engaged in mining for a year. In 1873 he moved to San Jaun country, and there he continued his mining operations until 1875. Then he came to Ouray county and, in company with George Scott, he built the first house in what is now the town of Ouray. In 1877 he was appointed the first marshal of the district and in 1878 located the farm on which he now lives, and began the enterprise in farming and raising stock in which he has ever since been engaged. He has one hundred and sixty-seven acres of fine valley land on which he raises excellent crops and breeds superior grades of stock, having as pleasant a home and all the necessary appurtenances for the vigorous and successful management of his business. Like others of the old settlers, Mr. McDonald experienced all the horrors of Indian warfare and all cruelty of Indian treachery. He was in this country and took an active part in suppressing the outbreak of 1875 and elsewhere and in an individual capacity he confronted the arrows of savage hatred of the white race and helped to overcome its resistance to the onward march of civilization. He had many thrilling adventures and numerous narrow escapes. In his mining operations also he experienced all the varied emotions incident to the calling, now successful in this work, discovering some very valuable properties, and now losing all he had in unexpected and unavoidable turns in fortune's wheel. He was married at Colorado Springs in 1878, to Miss Mary Hasmer, a native of Missouri. They are the parents of seven children, Ronald, John A., Alexander, James, Neal, Mamie and Kate.
(Source: Progressive Men of Western Colorado, Publ 1905. Transcribed by Marilyn Clore)
John Merling, a prominent farmer, stock grower and dairyman of Ouray county, is a native of Germany, where he was born on January 29, 1839, and is the son of Daniel and Margaret Merling, who were also born in Germany and belonged to families that had lived in that country for generations. When he was seven years old his parents emigrated to American, bringing their children with them. They located in Vermont, there he lived at home and went to school until he reached the age of seventeen. He then came west to Iowa, and in 1859 drove an ox team across the plains to Camp Floyd in Utah; and from there he went to California, where he engaged in mining in 1861. At that time he enlisted in the Union army for the Civil war as a member of Company B, First California Infantry. He served three years and three months, and was then discharged in New Mexico, his regiment having been engaged principally in fighting the Indians who took advantage of the opportunity furnished by the war to rise and seek to regain their lost prestige and drive the whites out of the country. After his discharge he returned to Vermont, and after remaining there a year came to Omaha, Nebraska, and was employed in railroad work on the Union Pacific. He continued in the employ of this company until the road was completed into Wyoming. In 1869 he came to Colorado and, locating at Las Animas engaged in raising stock and dairying, and also ran a meat market. In 1876 he moved to Ouray county and settled on his present ranch, which comprises one hundred and sixty acres of excellent farming and grazing land. When he took possession of it the Indians claimed the ownership and he had difficulty in defending his rights. But he succeeded after a struggle in establishing himself firmly on the land, and at once began to raise stock and sometime later started a dairy which he has since been actively and profitably conducting. He has always taken an active interest in the affairs of the county and has served it well as county commissioner and county school superintendent. He was married in Vermont in 1866 to Miss Mary E. Pepler, also a native of Germany. She died in Ouray county in 1901, leaving five children surviving her, George, John D., Charles, Frederick and Lillie. In his business ventures Mr. Merling has prospered, and in his association with his fellow men he has won their high and lasting esteem, being now considered one of the leading men of the county in a commercial way and in public affairs. His life has been useful and upright, and his influence for good in the development and progress of the county has been considerable and has always been wisely and judiciously exercised.
(Source: Progressive Men of Western Colorado, Publ 1905. Transcribed by Marilyn Clore)
Pleasantly established on an excellent ranch of eighty-five acres three miles west of Ridgway, and a pioneer of the county who came here in 1877, George f. Overman is a good representative of the Ouray county farmer, who by thrift and industry has acquired a competence and is securely fixed in the confidence and good will of his fellow men. He is a native of Indiana, born on August 16, 1855, the son of John and Maria Overman, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Indiana. In early life the father emigrated with his parents to the place of the mother's nativity and there grew to manhood, was educated and when he reached maturity was married. When their son George was thirteen years old they moved to Missouri, and after a residence of two years in that state, came farther west to Kansas. There George reached years of maturity and completed in the public schools of that state the education he had begun in those of Indiana and continued in those of Missouri. In 1877, at the age of twenty-two, he drove a band of cattle from Kansas to this state and finding the country promising, he homesteaded a tract two miles above the land on which he now lives. In 1887 he sold that and bought his present place and has since been engaged in the stock business. He now has a beautiful ranch of eighty-five acres on which he has built a comfortable and commodious residence and other necessary buildings, and which by systematic and skillful labor he has made one of the attractive and valuable farms of his section. His stock industry comprises horses and cattle, and he omits no effort on his part to keep his standards high and the condition of his stock first-class. In 1879 his parents also came to this county, and here the father died in 1897, since which time the mother has lived at Ridgway. Mr. Overman was married in 1888 at Portland, Colorado, being united with Miss Lizzie Hays, a native of Texas, and they have one child, their son Clyde. In the affairs of the county, and particularly those of his immediate community the head of the house takes an active and helpful interest. In November, 1904, he was elected a county commissioner, for a term of four years, on the Democratic ticket. He has been especially zealous in the cause of public education, serving for a number of years as a member of the school board. In all the relations of life he has lived acceptably and he stands well in the community.
(Source: Progressive Men of Western Colorado, Publ 1905. Transcribed by Marilyn Clore)
Lewis V. Ornis, of Ouray county, is one of the progressive farmers, stock men and dairy men of this part of the state who has done much to develop its resources and push forward its progress with rapid but wholesome activity. He is also proprietor of the celebrated hot springs of this region which experts claim are equal in curative powers to those in Arkansas. Mr. Ornis was born in Wisconsin in 1855, the son of Harrison F. and Johanna (Corbin) Onis, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Iowa. When he was five years old the family moved to Nebraska and a month or two later came on to Colorado, settling at Central City where the father engaged in mining. A short time afterward they moved into Boulder county, and there he carried on a farming and stock industry. Here the mother died in 1865, when her son was ten years old, and here he grew to manhood and received his education. The father now resides in Oklahoma. In 1878 the son came to Ouray county and in the locality of his present residence began mining, and also engaged in farming and raising stock. In 1882 he was united in marriage with Mrs. Sarah E. Jarvis, a native of Illinois, who came to this neighborhood in 1886, and was established on the farm they now occupy when they were married. They have four children, Lewis F., Jr., Della, Edith A. and Edna, and Mrs. Ornis has a daughter by her former marriage, Lucy Jarvis. Their farm comprises eighty acres and is devoted to general farming and raising stock which are carried on vigorously and attentively, and it also supports a flourishing dairy industry to which Mr. Ornis gives his close personal attention. On the land the noted hot springs of this county are found, as has been stated, and they seem destined in time to become as celebrated as their prototypes in Arkansas, the curative powers of the waters being equal in the judgment of competent experts to those of the Arkansas product, and the surrounding fully as attractive. No systematic effort has been made as yet to make a resort of the place, but such a movement is under contemplation, and it promises abundant success.
(Source: Progressive Men of Western Colorado, Publ 1905. Transcribed by Marilyn Clore)
The jurisprudence of the western states, and the propriety and learning of their courts, notwithstanding the wild conditions of their early life, have challenged the favorable criticism and admiration of the English speaking world, and emphasized the fact that the American people, under all circumstances, look to judicial tribunals as the last bulwark of liberty and the ultimate protection of life and property. Among the men who have adorned the bench in this part of the world Judge William Rathnell, of Ouray county, county judge since 1889, is entitled to high regard. He is the son of William and Mary A. (Stimmel) Rathnell, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. The father emigrated from his native state in his young manhood in Ohio, where he was married, and soon afterward became a farmer in Illinois. He lived there until the breaking out of the Civil war, when he enlisted in the Union army and was in active service throughout the momentous contest in which this country was then engaged. After the war he moved to Douglas county, Kansas, and located land on which he lived for a few years, then moved to Johnson county in the same state. Judge Rathnell was born on January 26, 1862, and received a district-school education and when near the estate of manhood began life as a school teacher. In 1880 he came to Colorado, and for a number of years engaged in the same occupation, and also in mining and teaching. In the meantime he prepared himself for a professional career by studying law. In 1899 he was elected county judge of Ouray county, and was re-elected in 1902. He has filled the office with credit and won high commendation from the people of the county, without regard to party or station, for his legal learning, his judicial bearing and his fearless independence in the administration of his official duties. He has not, however, lost his interest in the general run of business, being a partner in the abstract office and still holding and having worked vigorously several valuable mining claims. In the general welfare of the community in which he lives he also displays an active and admirable interest, giving his cordial support to every good enterprise and aiding in directing public opinion along lines of healthy and proper development. On April 1, 1894, he was married to Miss Lottie Smith, a native of this state. She died in August, 1895, leaving one child, their daughter Ella. In March, 1902, the Judge married a second wife, Miss Minnie Halady, a native of Kansas, and a cultivated and public-spirited lady, who is now giving the county excellent and highly appreciated service as superintendent of the public schools. She and her husband are among the social and intellectual leaders of the county, and are recognized as factors of influence and potency in all the public life of this people. They are well esteemed and have the confidence, good will and earnest admiration of the whole people and the cordial regard of a host of warm and loyal friends.
(Source: Progressive Men of Western Colorado, Publ 1905. Transcribed by Marilyn Clore)
Active in several lines of life, Dr. B. B. Slick, one of the leading professional men of Ouray county, one of its prominent physicians and surgeons, and a noted hunter throughout a wide scope of the western country, illustrates admirably the versatility and general adaptiveness of American manhood and its indifference to circumstances as a controlling force in any essential way. He was born in Washington, D. C., September 6, 1867, and is the son of Dr. Josiah and Caroline (Ferris) Slick, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Fairfax Court House Virginia. When he was yet very young his parents moved to Iowa, and from there soon afterward to Albion, Nebraska, then to Gibbon, Nebraska, where the Doctor received his scholastic training in the public schools. After leaving school he was for a number of years a range rider. In that dangerous and invigorating life he gained strength and suppleness of body and independence of spirit, with reliance on himself for almost any emergency and a resourcefulness that made him ready for it. In 1887 he began the study of medicine at the Gross Medical College in Denver, and was graduated from that institution in 1891. He then settled at Minturn, Eagle county, and engaged in the practice of his profession there until 1892, when he came to Ridgway, where he has since been similarly occupied. Here he has become well established in the profession and also in the public life of the community. He has built up a large and lucrative business in his chosen line which numbers among its patrons many of the leading and most representative citizens of the county. In his professional work he makes a good use of the natural good judgment with which nature has endowed him in applying the results of his careful and systematic study, and has withal a wide and accurate knowledge of human nature which is of very material service in his practice. But devoted as he is to his profession, and exacting as he finds it, he is still able to indulge and cultivate his taste for outdoor manly sports, and continues in the maturity of his manhood the habit of hunting which was one of the acquisitions of his early life; and as a Nimrod he has a wide and well-earned reputation both for his general knowledge of the sport and his success in the enjoyment of it. He is also interested in mining to good purpose. In 1891, at Minturn, he was married to Miss Lela M. Palmer, a daughter of Dr. N. E. Palmer, of Iowa. They have five children Nelson Earle, Bee, Bessie, Bruce and Dorothy.
[Source: Progressive Men of Western Colorado, Publ 1905. Transcribed by Nancy Overlander]
With his childish fancy kindled and his boyish enthusiasm quickened by narratives of thrilling interest from the great wars waged at the close of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century, in which his father was an active participant under the Prussian General Blucher, and who doubtless regaled his offspring with graphic accounts of his campaigns, and with the voice of America ever in his ear persuasively calling him to a share in her bounteous rewards for effort, energy and skill, H.M. Stark, of Montrose county, was early in life prepared for emigration to this country and for whatever might befall in its stirring activities and the requirements of its necessarily intense and strenuous life; and when he came hither at the very dawn of his young and ardent manhood, he was not disappointed in either the abundance of the opportunities for useful labor in the country, or the diligence and alertness needed to seize and use them properly. He is a native of the little village of Vilkenfelde, Prussia, born in 1846, the son of John Frederick and Anna (Retzloff) Stark, who were born and reared there and who at the end of life were laid to rest beneath its soil. His father was a soldier in the Prussian army during the early part of his mature life and fought in many campaigns under General Blucher against Bonaparte. After quitting military service he retired to a little farm near the village, and on this his family was reared. He died about 1878 between eighty and ninety years old, leaving to his offspring but little more than the priceless legacy of a good name and a record of duty faithfully performed under all circumstances. The mother died in 1851 at the age of forty-five years. Their family numbered seven children, of whom H.M. was next to the youngest. He received a good elementary education in the state schools of his native land, remaining at home until he was twenty-one years old, then came to the United States, making his first stop in this country at Tyrone, Pennsylvania, where he lingered only three months, then proceeded to Pittsburg. A few weeks in that busy city satisfied him with that portion of the country. His vision was set to the gauge of the swelling prairies and the farther mountains, and he promptly sought its gratification by going on to Indiana, and locating in the northern part of the state in the neighborhood of Plymouth and South Bend, where he remained several years engaged in farm work and other occupations. He then spent a summer in Illinois, and after that made an extensive slow tour of inspection through the southern states, and reached Indian Territory in the course of his wanderings and remained there about eleven months. From there he returned to Illinois and wintered. In the spring following he came to southern Missouri, and here secured an engagement to drive cattle across the plains from that section to Colorado. After stopping some time at Colorado Springs he went further west, then engaged in prospecting, freighting and road building, coming after a time with a load of supplies to Ouray, a section of country with which he was not wholly unfamiliar, having previously visited Lake City and the Gunnison region. He built one of the first shanties for human habitation at Ouray, and in the vicinity of that village followed mining for a number of years, locating several valuable silver mines there, and taking out quantities of rich ore. In 1881 he settled on the ranch where Mr. Shores now lives, taking up two claims in association with a partner. A little later he bought his partner's interest and traded the land to Mr. McConnell and purchased the place on which he now lives after visiting a number of states with a view to securing a desirable location. On this he has made valuable improvements, built an attractive and commodious brick dwelling with good outbuildings, and developed an extensive and profitable farming and stock business, his principal crops being grain and hay, and his stock operations being confined to cattle. In 1882 he was married to Miss Mary Stokoe, a native of Quincy, Illinois, daughter of John and Hannah (Ascough) Stokoe, of that state, who emigrated to that state from England. Mr. Stark has been prominent and active in the public life of the community and has been one of the serviceable factors in developing its material resources and building up its commercial and industrial interests. He is held in high esteem as a leading and progressive citizen. In politics he is independent, though keenly alive to the welfare of his county and state.
(Source: Progressive Men of Western Colorado, Publ 1905. Transcribed by Kim Mohler)
Banker and stock-grower, Amos E. Walther, of Ouray County, has been an important factor in the development of this portion of the state, and by his own energies and business capacity is just at the beginning of what promises to be an active and useful career, having passed the period when a desperate struggle for maintenance sharpens the faculties and calls for the expenditure of all the vital forces in reaching and securing a foot-hold and establishing himself well and worthily in the confidence of his fellow men. Mr. Walther is a pioneer of 1872 in Colorado, having come with his parents to this state when but eight years old. He was born at Hoboken, New Jersey, on August 14, 1864, and shortly thereafter, his parents moved to Syracuse, New York. He is the son of Frederick and Mary (Amos) Walther, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Syracuse, New York. On account of the ill health of the father, the family moved to Colorado and settled in Denver in 1872, where the father was engaged in the drug business until 1877, when he was compelled to retire on account of ill health, and died in 1895. Their son, Amos, received a public school education in Denver, which terminated in 1878 and, leaving Denver in 1879, he accepted a government position at the Uintah Indian Agency, Utah, following the removal of the White River Indians from Colorado. In 1883, he came to Montrose County and was engaged in Placer Mining on the lower San Miguel River. He came to Ouray in the spring of 1884, and during the four years following, was engaged in various occupations; in 1888 he accepted a position in the Miners & Merchants' Bank of Ouray and severed his connection with that institution in 1891 to accept the position as cashier of the Bank of Ridgway in the then new town of Ridgway, ten miles north of Ouray. This position he held until 1901, at which time he purchased the bank, and has since been its owner, controlling spirit and inspiration. He also owns large herds of a superior grade of cattle, several fine ranches and is interested in valuable mining properties and real estate. Successful in all his ventures, he is attentive to the wants of the community in which he lives and devotes his time and energy to the promotion of its best interests. He may be said to be entirely a self-made man, with all his acquisitions as the fruits of his earnest labor, thrift and business acumen. On November 8, 1891, he was united in marriage with Louise A. Corbett, a native of California, and daughter of Miles S. Corbett, an Ouray County pioneer of 1878. Their offspring numbers one, a daughter, Mary Elizabeth, who was born at Ridgway on August 25, 1892. Mr. Walther served five years in the Colorado State Militia and in the service was promoted to corporal and afterward to sergeant, being discharged at the end of his term with the latter rank. In this line of duty, as in all others, he was faithful and capable, omitting no effort necessary to the success of the cause with which he was in sympathy and doing his part at all times with his utmost skill and energy. He is one of the substantial, progressive and enterprising men of the county and the general esteem in which he is held demonstrates that his qualities of manhood and his public spirit are highly appreciated by his fellow citizens of every grade and condition.
(Source: Progressive Men of Western Colorado, Publ 1905. Transcribed By Joanne Scobee Morgan)
Born and raised on a farm in Pennsylvania, and exchanging the highly cultivated and well developed agricultural industry of that great state in the full flush of his young and vigorous manhood for the hard conditions and unsettled state but more promising opportunities of the industry in the farther west, and accepting the lot he found here with a manliness and self-reliance which has made the most of them, L. S. Wheeler, of Ridgeway, has not been a loser by the change and state of Colorado has been largely the gainer. His life began in 1843, and he is the son of S. A. and Clarissa (Hale) Wheeler, who were also natives of Pennsylvania. He grew to manhood on his father's farm and expected to devote his energies through life to the vocation of his ancestors for many generations. But the West called him to her open fields and more inspiring chances before he reached the prime of life and became too well established in his early surroundings to leave them without too keen a pang. In 1880, when he was about thirty-seven years of age, he came to Colorado and, locating at Gunnison, engaged in mining. Three years later he moved to Silverton, where he discovered some of the valuable properties which have been yielding handsomely since then, and in some of which he is still interested. He also has holdings of great worth at Eureka which he still works, although he maintains his residence at Ridgeway, and takes an interest in farming and raising stock as a side issue. He was married at Ouray in 1889, to Mrs. Jennie Masenia, who is, like himself, a native of Pennsylvania but has been for many years a resident of this state. Mr. Wheeler has been an industrious developer of his mining properties, and given a stimulus to the business wherever he worked. He has also shown a good citizen's active and intelligent interest in the general welfare of his home locality, and zealously supported every undertaking for its advancement. For years he has been an earnest and loyal member of the Masonic fraternity, entering into the spirit of its teachings and living it principles in his daily life. No citizen of Ouray county is more worthy of public esteem or has it in larger measure.
(Source: Progressive Men of Western Colorado, Publ 1905. Transcribed by Marilyn Clore)
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