Progressive Men of Western Colorado

Left an orphan in boyhood by the death of both his parents, and compelled from that time to make his own living, Thomas Waters, a prosperous rancher living on a good ranch in the neighborhood of Glenwood Springs, has come from poverty and obscurity to a condition of substantial comfort and consequence in his community through arduous effort, continued frugality and a willingness to do as well as he could anything he found to do. He was born in county Wicklow, Ireland, and is the son of Patrick and Anna (McDonald) Waters, also natives of the Emerald Isle, where their … Read more

Acquiring his first knowledge of Colorado in 1864, after making a trip to the territory overland with ox teams from Omaha, in which the progress of the train of one hundred wagons to which he was attached was stubbornly resisted by the Indians, and helping to fight a way through them, and then finding the conditions of life so entirely to his taste that wherever he has been since he has longed for them again, Hiram V. Ware, of near Newcastle, Garfield county, returned to the state in 1881 and has since made it his permanent home. He is a … Read more

Peter Wald, of Garfield county, a portion of whose ranch is within the corporate limits of Carbondale, and who is extensively engaged in general ranching and raising cattle, is a native of Switzerland, born on May 28, 1834, and descended from long lines of ancestors who bore well their part in the history of that inspiring little republic in peace and war. His parents were Conrad and Ursula (Margreth) Wald, who were born and reared in Switzerland also. They emigrated to the United States in 1852, and after a residence of six years in Grant county, Wisconsin, moved to Buffalo … Read more

One of the active and progressive business men of Glenwood Springs, where he conducts a prosperous livery business, Kilburn C. Voorhees has aided materially in promoting the growth and development of this section of the state and building up its interests. In addition to his business in town he carries on a flourishing and profitable ranching and stock industry in the county, and is active in every worthy enterprise for the advancement of the community and the benefit of its people. He was born in Wisconsin on September 10, 1862, and is the son of Tunis V. and Maria (Clifford) … Read more

Born and reared on the rich alluvial soil of Indiana, and learning the art of agriculture in Illinois, and now practicing it successfully in Colorado fields made fertile and productive by his own vigorous and skillful efforts, Philip H. Van Cleave, of the Glenwood Springs region of Garfield county, has between the two sections been tried by both extremes of fortune, enjoying at times a brave and comely prosperity and at others sounding all the depths of abject and oppressive adversity. His life began on August 5, 1841, in Orange county of the Hoosier state, where his father, James Van … Read more

The place of nativity of H. M. Van Cleave, a highly esteemed and successful farmer of Garfield county, residing on an excellent ranch of his own located fifteen miles north of the village of Debeque, is a native of the state of Indiana, where he was born in 1845. His parents were Benjamin and Nancy (Van Cleave) Van Cleave, cousins, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of Kentucky. They maintained a residence of many years in Indiana, where they were prosperously engaged in farming. The father died in 1879, aged sixty-three; the mother had preceded him to … Read more

Frank M. Toland, of Garfield county, living on a fine ranch of four hundred and forty acres in the vicinity of Raven, whose record in this state and elsewhere illustrate with force and impressiveness the necessity for push and energy, and persistent and well applied effort, even amid the boundless possibilities for success in the early days of Colorado’s history, is a native of Muskingum county, Ohio, born on June 17, 1852. His parents, Clark and Siddie (Crane) Toland, were also natives of Ohio, and moved to Johnson county, Missouri, when it was on the frontier, and there devoted their … Read more

Doubly orphaned in his childhood by the death of his mother at his birth and of his father when he was nine years old, Charles L. Todd, one of the successful and progressive ranch and cattle men living in the neighborhood of Rifle, Garfield county, this state, was thrown upon his own resources early in life and has been obliged to make his own way in the world ever since. He was born at Levant, Penobscot county, Maine, on November 7, 1855, and is the son of John and Helen Todd, the father a native of Nova Scotia and the … Read more

Born amid quiet rural scenes in the interior of Wisconsin in 1854, Dr. W.W. Tichenor, of Rifle, one of the leading physicians of Garfield county, this state, and also a prominent fruit-grower, saw little in the circumstances of his early life to suggest the stirring scenes of turbulence and danger through which he was destined to pass. He is a son of Alphonso F. and Elizabeth (Utt) Tichenor, natives of New York, and was the second born of their six children. His father was a prominent physician in his native state, Wisconsin, and also in Iowa. He now resides at … Read more

It was on June 14, 1857, and at the busy little mart of Sunbury, Pennsylvania, that the useful life of this enterprising and progressive ranch and stock man of Garfield county began, but his boyhood, youth and early manhood were passed in Henry county, Iowa. He got his education at the country schools and acquired the habits of industry, thrift and frugality which have distinguished him through life on the paternal homestead aiding in its arduous but invigorating labors. At the age of sixteen, with the self-reliance for which he is noted, he began to make his own living, first … Read more