Achievements of John Wesley Iliff - Research Paper Example

John Wesley Iliff Early Life and Education John Wesley Iliff, Sr. was born in December 18, 1831 to Thomas Iliff and Salome Reed, in Ohio. Wesley went to Ohio Wesleyan College; however, he never graduated. His father was a remarkably successful rancher, and he worked for him for some time before moving to Ohio City, Colorado. Achievements John Wesley Iliff, Sir is a prominent name in the history of Colorado because of his contributions in trade and development, as well as achievements as a cattle rancher, which earned him the name the ‘Cattle King’. At the age of 26 years, he convinced his father to give him $500 to go seek opportunities that he had heard of in the West. As a result, he moved to Ohio City, Kansas and opened the first retail store in the place. However, in 1859, he moved to Denver, Colorado after learning about the discovery of gold, and here he also established a new store and sold supplies to the miners. Iliff saw that there was a high demand for beef in the area, and he was not able to meet these demands, as a result, he took advantage of his background of farming and entered into the business of ranching (Wood 46). Consequently, he sold his business and bought herds of cattle, and in 1862, he acquired acres of land on the South Platte River and established a ranch. Iliff established a cow camp in 1867 in the Wyoming Territory as his cattle continued to enlarge, which made him move his headquarters to Cheyenne, Wyoming. For several years, Iliff supplied the United States government with beef for army detachments in Indian reservations and local forts, sold cattle to the constructions crews of the railroads and shipped cars to the Chicago Stockyards. Iliff bought one hundred miles of land from the funds he got from these contracts. The land in Colorado was from Julesburg to Greeley, and this is what earned him the name the ‘Cattle King’. Iliff bought as many cattle as he could afford every season and sold them later mostly after one year after fattening them on grass. When he bought the cows, they cost $10-$15 per head and weighed 600-800 pounds, but, when he sold, they cost $30 to $50 and weighed between 1,000 to 1,200 pounds[Tom08]. The land consisted of 15,000 square acres of grazing land attached to essential water sources; besides, he could also herd his cattle on public domain land covering 650,000acres within the boundaries of Colorado Territory. In 1869, the first bank in Cheyenne, Wyoming was opened by Iliff and Company where Iliff became one of the National Bank of Cheyenne directors. Iliff owned such an extensive property that he could take a week to travel from one end to another before reaching a land that he did not own. His extensive holdings also included 25,000 heads of cattle at the peak of his ranching business, and this was enormous wealth in those days. Ranching was a challenging business in those days because they had to deal with Indian uprisings and unrests, inadequate transportation systems, rustlers, land use fights with farmers, severe water shortages and finally uncertainties in the economy of a frontier economy. Though, Iliff was a prominent and successful rancher, the ‘King of Cattle” does not fit a stereotypic cowboy character as the other of ranchers. This is because he did not he befriended American Indians instead of fighting them as other people. Moreover, when he saw starving Indians feeding on one of his many cattle, he looked the other way and let them continue feeding. In addition, he is also different because, while the cowboys of Colorado made about a dollar a day, he was one of Colorado’s first self-made millionaire[Tom08]. Despite being a teetotaler and a Christian, John Wesley Iliff, Sr. donated his first Curtis and 18th Streets mansion to the Keely Institute, which was a treatment center for alcoholics. During his death, fellow cattlemen eulogized him as “the squarest man who ever rode over these plains” (Noel 13). On his burial, rather than a typical cowboy wooden tomb, Iliff was buried at Denver’s Riverside cemetery under an enormous obelisk, which became the centerpiece of the cemetery. However, in 1820 his daughter moved his remains together with the monument to a more fashionable Fairmount Cemetery. The Denver Street where Iliff’s ranch headquarters once was commemorates the clean-cut cowboy and the cattleman who put in place the hugest ranch ever seen in the highest state. Marriage and Family Life John Wesley Iliff married Sarah Elizabeth Smith on January 11, 1865; they had met when before traveling west in Ohio. Unfortunately, Sarah died two months after giving birth to their son, William Seward Iliff, and was buried in Ottawa, Kansas. Five years later, Iliff married again to Elizabeth Sarah Fraser who was from Fitzroy, Ontario. The two met in Denver and consequently got married in Chicago on March 3, 1870. Following the marriage, they had a brief honeymoon and then returned to live in Cheyenne. However, Elizabeth did not like Cheyenne and thus persuaded her husband, and they moved to Denver. This is because; the equal-rights agenda in Wyoming did not appeal to Elizabeth because of the newly won women rights. It meant that she would serve on juries with those of her ‘social inferiors’ and the thought of this were just unbearable to her. The couple lived at Curtis and Eighteenth streets and had three children. Their first child was born in 1871 named Edna, second child, Louise in 1875 and the third child, John Wesley Iliff, Jr. in 1877. While living in Denver, a friend of Iliff and Elizabeth’s brother continued to manage the holdings in Wyoming as Iliff continued with his cattle business in Denver. Apart from the cattle business he also invested in real estate in Denver, where he was staying. Unfortunately, in 1877, Iliff became ill due to excessive drinking of alkali water on the plains of Colorado, which resulted in an obstructed gall bladder. This resulted in his death on February 9, 1878 at an early age of 47 years when he was at the peak of his achievements. In February 1878, his funeral was conducted by Rev. Ellis of Denver and Rev. Thomas Corwin Iliff from Utah who was also a cousin to Iliff. His burial was done at the Riverside Cemetery, and it remained there until April 1920 when his daughter Louise moved it to a prestigious Fairmount Cemetery on a family plot[Ric051]. John Wesley Iliff left behind his wife, Elizabeth, the three children they had together, Louise, Edna and John Wesley, Jr. together with his son from the first wife, William Seward. Following his death, Elizabeth continued to manage his business, and to honor her husband, she played a key role in educational and religious development of Denver. Consequently, she invested the proceeds wisely and donated $100,000 towards the foundation of Iliff School of Theology, which is the namesake of John Wesley Iliff, Sr. (Buckley, Schaff and Potter 665). Iliff’s wife, Elizabeth Sarah Fraser, was a Singer Sewer Machine employee from Chicago, but, she came to Denver as western region regional manager. She worked in Denver and out where she peddled sewing machines out of a buckboard wagon. One day, she was rescued by a handsome man on the plains when her buckboard broke down. The blue-eyed, brown-haired handsome man was John Wesley Iliff, and that is how they met. Elizabeth gave up her sewing machine career to be with the most eligible and affluent bachelor, and this resulted in marriage. After his death, Elizabeth got remarried to Bishop Henry White Warren, a Methodist in Colorado[Ili02]. The Iliff became key figures in the development of religion, education and industry in Colorado. As a Warren, Elizabeth participated actively in keeping the University of Denver running, and together with step son and daughter Louise, they contributed to the establishment and running of the Iliff College of Theology. Members of the Iliff family were influential as the late John Wesley Iliff, for instance, they served on the Board of Trustees of the College. William Seward Iliff got married to Alberta Gearhart Bloom, which created a union with another pioneer family like them in Colorado, thus their influence intensified even more. In conclusion, John Wesley Iliff together with his entire family was influential, prominent and contributed to the crucial development of Colorado both in industry, religion and education as well as economy. Hence, it is appropriate to remember and honor the memory of the ‘King of Cattle’ for the enormous contributions he made for Colorado. Works Cited Tom08: , (Noel), Ric051: , (Wood), Ili02: , (Iliff School of Theology), Read More