Block, Upload, Automoderated users, edit, move, protect, rollback
57,799
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Created page with "{{Infobox officeholder |name Irving Howbert |image= |office=County Clerk and Recorder for El Paso County, Colorado |term_start=1869 |term_end=1879 |preceded =Charles C. Jo..."
{{Infobox officeholder
|name Irving Howbert
|image=
|office=County Clerk and Recorder for El Paso County, [[Colorado]]
|term_start=1869
|term_end=1879
|preceded =Charles C. Jones
|succeeded =Edwin J. Eaton
|office2=[[Colorado]] State Senator for El Paso County]]
|term_start2=1882
|term_end2=1886
|party=[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|birth_date=April 11, 1846
|birth_place=Columbus, Bartholomew County<br>[[Indiana]], USA
|residence=Colorado Springs, Colorado
|death_date=December 21, 1934
|death_place= [[Colorado Springs]], Colorado<br>
'''Resting place''':<br>
Evergreen Cemetery (Colorado Springs)
|occupation=[[Business]]man (silver mining, banking, and railroads)
|spouse=Lizzie Copeland Howbert (married 1874-1922, her death)
|children=Two children
|parents=Mr. and Mrs. William Howbert
|religion=[[Methodist]]
}}
'''Irving Howbert''' (April 11, 1846 – December 21, 1934) was a pioneer settler of [[Colorado]], who with [[General]] William Jackson Palmer was instrumental in the establishment of [[Colorado Springs]].
==Early life==
Of [[German American|German ancestry]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IN/german.html|title=German ancestry Politicians in Indiana|pubilsher=The Political Graveyard|accessdate=Novembern27, 2020}}</ref> Howbert was born in Columbus in Bartholomew County in southern [[Indiana]]. When he was six his family moved westward to [[Iowa]]. In 1860, he joined his father, William Howbert, in relocating to the Colorado Territory, where he resided briefly in Hamilton in Park County, and Old Colorado City, the temporary territorial capital.<ref name=ihqf/> Howbert recalled his first view of the South Park region from the top of Kenosha Hill: "As young as I was it made a lasting impression on my mind. ... It was a scene I have never forgotten," he said of the valley and wooded hills framed by rugged mountains.<ref name=vandusen>Laura King Van Dusen, ''Historic Tales from Park County: Parked in the Past'' ([[Charleston]], [[South Carolina]]: The History Press, 2013), ISBN 978-1-62619-161-7, pp. 33-35.</ref>
In Hamilton (not to be confused with another community in Craig County, Colorado), Howbert established a general store because most settlers brought with them six months' worth of supplies. He wrote that he had seen trout teeming in the streams which were not being placer mined and considerable deer and available quality beef as well. Gold dust was the medium of exchange. Settlers carried a buckskin bag of gold dust with which to make purchases.<ref name=vandusen/>
From 1861 to 1864, Howbert lived on a ranch at Cheyenne Creek near the future Colorado Springs.<ref name=ihqf>{{cite web|url=http://more.ppld.org:8080/kids/Colorado/biographies/IrvingHowbert.pdf|title=Irving Howbert: Quick Facts|publisher=ppld.org|accessdate=January 20, 2014}}</ref>
==Military service==
In 1864, the 18-year-old Howbert enlisted in the Third Colorado Cavalry and fought with Colonel John Chivington in the Indian battle known as the Sand Creek Massacre in southeastern Colorado. Howbert had first met Chivington as a 14-year-old he arrived in Colorado. Though it is generally believed that the militia crushed helpless Cheyenne and Arapaho tribesmen by the use of the most brutal means available, Howbert long defended Chivington's role in the turn of events.<ref name=vandusen/>
In his autobiographical ''Memories of a Lifetime in the Pike's Peak Region,'' Howbert argued that the Indian women and children were not attacked, but a few who did not leave the camp were killed once the fighting began. He claimed that the number of warriors in the village was about equal to the force of the Colorado cavalry. He said that Chivington was retaliating for Indian attacks on wagon trains and settlements in Colorado and for the torture and killing of citizens during the preceding three years. Howbert said the evidence of the previous Indian attacks on the settlers was shown by the confiscation of "more than a dozen scalps of white people, some of them from the heads of women and children." He claimed that the account of the battle to the U. Congress made by Lt. Col. Samuel F. Tappan was inaccurate. Howbert accused Tappan of giving a false view of the battle because Tappan and Chivington had been military rivals.<ref name=vandusen/>
==Political and business career==
From 1869 to 1879, Howbert was the elected County Clerk and Recorder of[El Paso County, which includes Colorado Springs. In that capacity, he worked to secure land to establish the city of Colorado Springs, situated between [[Denver]] and Pueblo. He was nominated as clerk by the [[Republican Party]] and endorsed as well by the [[Democratic Party |Democrats]]. At the time the county had a valuation of only $225,000 and some three hundred registered voters. In his autobiographical ''Memories of a Lifetime in the Pikes Peak Region,'' Howbert recalls: "All the county officers elected at that time were men of more than usual efficiency and business ability. Although little revenue was at their disposal, they managed the affairs of the county during the next three years without incurring any indebtedness whatever." <ref name=elpasocounty/>
When Howbert assumed his office, the structure had been one room behind a house on Colorado Avenue in the area known as "Old Colorado City." Howbert recalled that the house was so poorly built that the office's inkbottles would freeze overnight. His first daily task was hence to thaw the ink for use during the day. The commissioners permitted Howbert to rent an adjacent log cabin for additional space. The cabin later became a [[China|Chinese]] laundry.<ref name=elpasocounty>{{cite web|url=http://car.elpasoco.com/Pages/HistoryoftheClerkandRecorder.aspx|title=History of the clerk and recorder's office|publisher=elpasoco.com|accessdate=January 20, 2014}}</ref>
From 1882 to 1886, Howbert was a member of the Colorado State Senate.<ref name=ihqf/> During his Senate tenure, the chamber designated the pioneering Methodist circuit rider missionary, [[John Lewis Dyer]], who had also arrived in Colorado about the same time as Howbert, as the Senate's official chaplain.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://legisource.net/2012/02/23/verifiable-oddities-in-colorados-history-the-snowshoe-chaplain-of-the-state-senate/|title=Verifiable Oddities in Colorado’s History - The Snowshoe Chaplain of the State Senate|publisher=legisource.net|accessdate=January 20, 2014}}</ref>
Howbert made his fortune beginning in 1878 through part ownership of a [[silver]] mine in Leadville, Colorado. In 1880, he became the president of the First National Bank of Colorado Springs. Howbert was also an officer and investor of the Colorado Midland Railway and held many positions of civic responsibility in Colorado Springs.<ref name=ihqf/> He was instrumental in the development of the Colorado Springs municipal water supply and in the organization of the first [[natural gas]] company. He built the Colorado Springs Opera House with profits from his silver mine.<ref name=findagrave>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=16414989|title=Irving Howbert|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=November 27, 2020}}</ref>
In 187, Howbert married the former Lizzie Copeland, and the couple had two children.<ref name=ihqf/> Lizzie died in 1922, and after twelve years as a widower, Howbert also died in 1934 and is interred with his wife at Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs.<ref name=findagrave/> His ''Indians of the Pike's Peak Region'' was published in 1914. ''Memories of a Lifetime in the Pikes Peak Region'' followed in 1925 and was released again in 1970.<ref name=ihqf/>
The Irving Howbert Elementary School in Colorado Springs is named in his honor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.d11.org/Schools/Pages/Howbert.aspx|title=Irving Howbert Elementary School|publisher=d11.org|accessdate=January 19, 2014}}</ref> The former town of Howbert, Colorado, which lies submerged under the waters of Eleven Mile Reservoir inside Eleven Mile State Park in Park County, was named for Irving Howbert though he never lived there.<ref name=vandusen/>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howbert, Irving}}
[[Category:Colorado]]
[[Category:Indiana]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:Methodists]]
[[Category:American Authors]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:State Senators]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
|name Irving Howbert
|image=
|office=County Clerk and Recorder for El Paso County, [[Colorado]]
|term_start=1869
|term_end=1879
|preceded =Charles C. Jones
|succeeded =Edwin J. Eaton
|office2=[[Colorado]] State Senator for El Paso County]]
|term_start2=1882
|term_end2=1886
|party=[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|birth_date=April 11, 1846
|birth_place=Columbus, Bartholomew County<br>[[Indiana]], USA
|residence=Colorado Springs, Colorado
|death_date=December 21, 1934
|death_place= [[Colorado Springs]], Colorado<br>
'''Resting place''':<br>
Evergreen Cemetery (Colorado Springs)
|occupation=[[Business]]man (silver mining, banking, and railroads)
|spouse=Lizzie Copeland Howbert (married 1874-1922, her death)
|children=Two children
|parents=Mr. and Mrs. William Howbert
|religion=[[Methodist]]
}}
'''Irving Howbert''' (April 11, 1846 – December 21, 1934) was a pioneer settler of [[Colorado]], who with [[General]] William Jackson Palmer was instrumental in the establishment of [[Colorado Springs]].
==Early life==
Of [[German American|German ancestry]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IN/german.html|title=German ancestry Politicians in Indiana|pubilsher=The Political Graveyard|accessdate=Novembern27, 2020}}</ref> Howbert was born in Columbus in Bartholomew County in southern [[Indiana]]. When he was six his family moved westward to [[Iowa]]. In 1860, he joined his father, William Howbert, in relocating to the Colorado Territory, where he resided briefly in Hamilton in Park County, and Old Colorado City, the temporary territorial capital.<ref name=ihqf/> Howbert recalled his first view of the South Park region from the top of Kenosha Hill: "As young as I was it made a lasting impression on my mind. ... It was a scene I have never forgotten," he said of the valley and wooded hills framed by rugged mountains.<ref name=vandusen>Laura King Van Dusen, ''Historic Tales from Park County: Parked in the Past'' ([[Charleston]], [[South Carolina]]: The History Press, 2013), ISBN 978-1-62619-161-7, pp. 33-35.</ref>
In Hamilton (not to be confused with another community in Craig County, Colorado), Howbert established a general store because most settlers brought with them six months' worth of supplies. He wrote that he had seen trout teeming in the streams which were not being placer mined and considerable deer and available quality beef as well. Gold dust was the medium of exchange. Settlers carried a buckskin bag of gold dust with which to make purchases.<ref name=vandusen/>
From 1861 to 1864, Howbert lived on a ranch at Cheyenne Creek near the future Colorado Springs.<ref name=ihqf>{{cite web|url=http://more.ppld.org:8080/kids/Colorado/biographies/IrvingHowbert.pdf|title=Irving Howbert: Quick Facts|publisher=ppld.org|accessdate=January 20, 2014}}</ref>
==Military service==
In 1864, the 18-year-old Howbert enlisted in the Third Colorado Cavalry and fought with Colonel John Chivington in the Indian battle known as the Sand Creek Massacre in southeastern Colorado. Howbert had first met Chivington as a 14-year-old he arrived in Colorado. Though it is generally believed that the militia crushed helpless Cheyenne and Arapaho tribesmen by the use of the most brutal means available, Howbert long defended Chivington's role in the turn of events.<ref name=vandusen/>
In his autobiographical ''Memories of a Lifetime in the Pike's Peak Region,'' Howbert argued that the Indian women and children were not attacked, but a few who did not leave the camp were killed once the fighting began. He claimed that the number of warriors in the village was about equal to the force of the Colorado cavalry. He said that Chivington was retaliating for Indian attacks on wagon trains and settlements in Colorado and for the torture and killing of citizens during the preceding three years. Howbert said the evidence of the previous Indian attacks on the settlers was shown by the confiscation of "more than a dozen scalps of white people, some of them from the heads of women and children." He claimed that the account of the battle to the U. Congress made by Lt. Col. Samuel F. Tappan was inaccurate. Howbert accused Tappan of giving a false view of the battle because Tappan and Chivington had been military rivals.<ref name=vandusen/>
==Political and business career==
From 1869 to 1879, Howbert was the elected County Clerk and Recorder of[El Paso County, which includes Colorado Springs. In that capacity, he worked to secure land to establish the city of Colorado Springs, situated between [[Denver]] and Pueblo. He was nominated as clerk by the [[Republican Party]] and endorsed as well by the [[Democratic Party |Democrats]]. At the time the county had a valuation of only $225,000 and some three hundred registered voters. In his autobiographical ''Memories of a Lifetime in the Pikes Peak Region,'' Howbert recalls: "All the county officers elected at that time were men of more than usual efficiency and business ability. Although little revenue was at their disposal, they managed the affairs of the county during the next three years without incurring any indebtedness whatever." <ref name=elpasocounty/>
When Howbert assumed his office, the structure had been one room behind a house on Colorado Avenue in the area known as "Old Colorado City." Howbert recalled that the house was so poorly built that the office's inkbottles would freeze overnight. His first daily task was hence to thaw the ink for use during the day. The commissioners permitted Howbert to rent an adjacent log cabin for additional space. The cabin later became a [[China|Chinese]] laundry.<ref name=elpasocounty>{{cite web|url=http://car.elpasoco.com/Pages/HistoryoftheClerkandRecorder.aspx|title=History of the clerk and recorder's office|publisher=elpasoco.com|accessdate=January 20, 2014}}</ref>
From 1882 to 1886, Howbert was a member of the Colorado State Senate.<ref name=ihqf/> During his Senate tenure, the chamber designated the pioneering Methodist circuit rider missionary, [[John Lewis Dyer]], who had also arrived in Colorado about the same time as Howbert, as the Senate's official chaplain.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://legisource.net/2012/02/23/verifiable-oddities-in-colorados-history-the-snowshoe-chaplain-of-the-state-senate/|title=Verifiable Oddities in Colorado’s History - The Snowshoe Chaplain of the State Senate|publisher=legisource.net|accessdate=January 20, 2014}}</ref>
Howbert made his fortune beginning in 1878 through part ownership of a [[silver]] mine in Leadville, Colorado. In 1880, he became the president of the First National Bank of Colorado Springs. Howbert was also an officer and investor of the Colorado Midland Railway and held many positions of civic responsibility in Colorado Springs.<ref name=ihqf/> He was instrumental in the development of the Colorado Springs municipal water supply and in the organization of the first [[natural gas]] company. He built the Colorado Springs Opera House with profits from his silver mine.<ref name=findagrave>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=16414989|title=Irving Howbert|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=November 27, 2020}}</ref>
In 187, Howbert married the former Lizzie Copeland, and the couple had two children.<ref name=ihqf/> Lizzie died in 1922, and after twelve years as a widower, Howbert also died in 1934 and is interred with his wife at Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs.<ref name=findagrave/> His ''Indians of the Pike's Peak Region'' was published in 1914. ''Memories of a Lifetime in the Pikes Peak Region'' followed in 1925 and was released again in 1970.<ref name=ihqf/>
The Irving Howbert Elementary School in Colorado Springs is named in his honor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.d11.org/Schools/Pages/Howbert.aspx|title=Irving Howbert Elementary School|publisher=d11.org|accessdate=January 19, 2014}}</ref> The former town of Howbert, Colorado, which lies submerged under the waters of Eleven Mile Reservoir inside Eleven Mile State Park in Park County, was named for Irving Howbert though he never lived there.<ref name=vandusen/>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howbert, Irving}}
[[Category:Colorado]]
[[Category:Indiana]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:Methodists]]
[[Category:American Authors]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:State Senators]]
[[Category:Republicans]]