Bios, George and Eva Slaughter Booco, Minturn, Eagle County, Colorado Transcribed by Shelley Barnes, Jan 10, 1999. From Portrait & Biographical Record of the State of Colorado 1899. BOOCO, George G. George G. Booco, the owner of real estate and ranching interests in Minturn, Eagle County, was born in Indianapolis, Ind., and reared in Anderson, that state. In early manhood he was for a short time at West Lancaster, Ohio. At twenty-two years of age he came to Colorado and settled in Leadville, in 1879, during the boom days of that town. For several years he engaged in the mining business, leasing and bonding many well-known mines in that district, and he still owns shares in a number of mines there. Before the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad had extended its track to Eagle County he located a ranch at what is now Minturn, and it is upon his land that the town is built. It is situated in a small valley between the mountains, with a beautiful stream, Eagle River, running through its entire extent. There are rich mines of gold and silver in the vicinity and many mines waiting for capital to develop their valuable resources. The prospects for the growth of the town are bright. Mr. Booco has realized a considerable amount from the sale of his lots and still owns other lots that are advantageously located, besides which he has a fine ranch and a comfortable home. The father of our subject William Booco, came west in 1879 and is now a well-to-do-ranchman at Wolcott, Eagle County. He is the grandson of the founder of the family in this country, a Frenchman who accompanied Lafayette to this country and aided that famous general in liberating the colonies from their bondage to England. The mother of our subject was Margaret G. Gwinnup, who had three brothers that enlisted in the Union army during the Civil war and two died while fighting for the government. The paternal grandmother of George G. Booco was a sister of General Sherman. In matters of politics Mr. Booco was a Democrat until the People's party was organized, since which time he has voted with the Populists and worked in their interests. He is deeply interested in educational affairs and has rendered able service as a member of the Minturn school board. BOOCO, Eva Myra Mrs. Eva Myra Booco, superintendent of the public schools of Eagle County, and wife of George G. Booco, was born in Keokuk, Iowa, a member of a southern family that owned large numbers of slaves, besides valuable plantations. Her father, Henry Halloway Slaughter, was born in Virginia, to which commonwealth his ancestors had emigrated with the colonists of Jamestown. He was related to Governor Slaughter, at one time chief executive of New York state. In spite of the fact that his family were mostly southerners and slave owners, he took his stand on the side of the Union. Receiving a number of slaves as his share in the family estate, he took them to Iowa and set them free. For his act he was severely censured by other members of the family. The freeing of the slaves left him a poor man, and when he started in business it was without capital. He opened a dry-goods store in Farmington, Iowa, and by industry and good management accumulated a competence. The marriage of H. H. Slaughter united him with Mary Denny, whose ancestors crossed the ocean from Ireland in the "Mayflower", and some of the name, in after years, became large slave holders, but she was a strong believer in the Union cause. One of her brothers was killed in the Civil war. She is still living and makes her home in Keokuk, Iowa. Of her children, Charles Henry is a wealthy man and lives in Iowa, where for years he has been connected with a hardware business; Mrs. C. L. Becker, of Keokuk, is the wife of a wholesale dealer in hardware; Mrs. E. B. Nixon is the wife of a wealthy stockman of Arcata, Cal.; Mrs. W. F. Dwight lives in Kansas City; Mrs. William Coombs is a resident of Lynn, Mass.; and Mrs. H.A. Becker is the wife of a hardware merchant of Keokuk. Upon completing her education, the subject of this sketch taught for five years, after which she traveled in California and the west for two years, and then taught in the schools of Topeka, Kan., for two years. About 1885 she cmae to Colorado, where she bagan to teach in Chaffee County, and for a time was employed at Poncho Springs. She came to Minturn to accept a position in the school here, and in this town met Mr. Booco, who was a member of the school board. They were married in 1891, and are the parents of a daughter, Florence Irene. Mrs. Booco is identified with the People's party and it was upon that ticket she was elected superintendent of schools of Eagle County in 1897, a position that her previous experience in teaching admirably qualifies her to fill. She has given educational work considerable thought and attention and is not only gifted intellectually, but is also a logical reasoner and acute observer, and labors constantly to improve the conditions of the schools under her charge. She is a sincere Christian and in religious belief is a Congregationalist. =================================================== Contributed for use by the USGenWeb Archive Project (http://www.usgenweb.org) and by the COGenWeb Archive Project USGenWeb Project NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the internet, this data may be used by non-commercial researchers, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format for profit, nor for presentation in any form by any other organization or individual. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than as stated above, must obtain express written permission from the author, the submitter and from the listed USGenWeb Project archivist.