Mary A. Boyd ~ Hon. Hiram R. Brown

Denver, Colorado

In 1874 Mr. Brown settled upon his present farm, two and one quarter miles northeast of Arvada, Jefferson County, where he had purchased one hundred and sixty acres of railroad land some two years before. Here he has since resided, having in the meantime added to his landed possessions until his farm now comprises two hundred and thirty-five acres. As a Republican he has been closely identified with public affairs of his county. In 1889 he was elected to represent his district in the state legislature; two years later he was elected to the state senate and served in the eighth, ninth and tenth general assemblies. During his term in the senate the Australian ballot system was introduced, the police system of Denver was enacted and the woman suffrage was carried.

In Bedford, Lawrence County, Ind., the subject of this sketch was born December 13, 1836. He was one of nine children, five of whom are still living: Caroline P., widow of Elisha McMillan, and residing in Berkeley, Arapahoe County; William B., also of Berkeley; Hiram R.; Richard T. who lives in Lincoln, Neb.; and Sarah E., wife of P. W. H. Miller, a retired farmer living in Tecumseh, Neb. The father of this family was John Brown, a native of Virginia, but reared in Kentucky, and after his marriage to Mathilda Board he moved to Indiana, settling in Bedford, where he secured employment as clerk in a bank. After filling this position for twenty-two years he removed to Lee County, Iowa, where he purchased an extensive tract of land and laid out the town of Franklin, now a flourishing village. After a number of years he removed to Mount Pleasant and there died. In political life he was prominent and served for one term as a member of the legislature. He was a member of the committee chosen to locate the state capitol when it was changed from Iowa City to Des Moines. He was a stanch advocate of Republican principles and contributed largely to his party's success in his locality. He was well situated financially, being the owner of large tracts of land. By observation and reading he became the possessor of a broad education that made him an entertaining companion.

After having completed the studies of the common schools, our subject entered the Iowa University at Mount Pleasant, and there completed his education. Afterward he taught one term of school in Pike County, Mo., and two terms in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. In 1862 he came to Colorado, making the journey down the river in company with another man, and landing at Louisiana, where he took a steamer up the Missouri to Leavenworth. There he hired out to some parties to drive ox-teams across the plains. On the 4th of July he arrived in Denver, with fifty cents in his pocket. With a desire to mine, he went to Tarryall Gulch, South Park, where he worked in the mines, and from there he went to Montgomery and worked in a lead mine. In the fall of the same year he went to Colorado City, where he was appointed deputy county clerk and deputy postmaster. While there he organized the Colorado Town Company and secured from the government the title for the town site. During this time the Indian troubles came up and a company was organized for service, but the government refused to permit them to act as an independent regiment, and they were mustered in as United States troops, our subject being quartermaster-sergeant of Company F, Third Colorado Cavalry. When the quartermaster-sergeant of the regiment was taken ill shortly afterward, Mr. Brown was detailed to fill his position, in which he afterward served. He took part in the battle of Sand Creek.

Shortly after his return from the Indian fights, Mr. Brown was appointed provost-marshal and assigned to Park County, where he served for nine months. In 1866 he came to Denver, where he engaged in the mercantile business with a brother-in-law for two years. When the Union Pacific Railroad was in process of construction to Cheyenne, he decided to go to the latter city, and during the building boom there he found employment at large wages. After eighteen months he came back to Denver and with a Mr. McCune engaged in the painting business, having large and important contracts. After four years of successful business, in 1874 he came to his present farm, where he has since engaged in farming. He is a member of the Clear Creek Valley Grange and the Grand Army of the Republic and is junior vice of the post. In the fall of 1863 he married Miss Mary A. Boyd, and four children were born to them, viz.: Edgar A., deceased; Maud J., who is a student at Wolfe Hall; Hiram A., who is attending the Agricultural College at Fort Collins; and Carrie B., who graduated from the East Denver high school in June, 1898.

Source: Portrait and biographical record of Denver and vicinity, Colorado: containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States. Chicago: Chapman Pub. Co., 1898. -FHL Film 1000144 Item 3