Montrose County CO Archives Biographies.....Norton, Enos H. 1851 - ? ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/co/cofiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Judy Crook jlcrook@rof.net March 26, 2006, 1:17 am Author: Progressive Men of Western Colorado The scion of old New England families, whose traditions of the dignity of labor he fully inherited and whose habits of industry he formed, and reared amid the bustling activities of that section of the country, well educated too in accordance with the custom of that hive of intellectual productiveness, and having all the proverbial Yankee’s thrift and self-reliance, Enos H. Norton, of Montrose, Colorado, came to the West well prepared for the exactions of its strenuous life and equipped to bear his part creditably in almost any field of its multitudinous opportunities. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1851, and is the son of Hart Z. and Emily (Hine) Norton, both natives of Connecticut, and their only living offspring, his brother Eugene having died in childhood. His mother died at the age of twenty-three years, when he was only six months old, and he was reared under the careful supervision of his father, who in his early manhood was in the insurance business in New Haven. In 1861 he moved his family to South Norfolk and there engaged in the manufacture of steam boilers until 1873, when he was burned out. After this disaster he moved to New York city and became a prominent plumber and steam fitter, in the meantime having married a second wife, Miss Sophia Hine, the sister of his first wife who is still living at the age of sixty-two. The elder Norton continued in the plumbing business until his retirement from active pursuits in 1895, and is now living in New York at the age of eighty-three. All of his life he has been a Democrat in politics and active in the service of his party. In 1870 he was a member of the Connecticut legislature, and during the Civil war was the United States recruiting officer at Norfolk, that state. In his business he was a far-seeing and progressive man, ever on the lookout for new devices, and for years was the only manufacturer on the American continent of patent wire ferules for holding the bristles fast in paint brushes. In fraternal relations he is an Odd Fellow and a member of the Masonic order, belonging to lodge, chapter and commandery for many years. The first five years of Enos Norton’s life were passed in his native city, and he then went with the rest of the family to Norfolk where he grew to manhood. He was liberally educated, completing the public school course of instruction, and then attending a good college at Fort Edward, New York, from which he was graduated in 1868. Four years later he came west to Chicago, and for two years thereafter was employed on the editorial staff of the Fireside Friend, a literary paper published in that city. Returning in 1874 to Connecticut, he engaged in plumbing in association with his uncle, Morris Norton, for a year. In 1875 he came to Colorado and located at Lake City as the representative of Colonel Hopkins, of Denver, and the mercantile house of Swetzer & Company. He remained in their employ until the winter of 1879, then went to Leadville where he followed the real estate and insurance business until 1881, returning at that time to New York city to take part in his father’s plumbing business. Two years were passed in this association, and he then branched out for himself, opening an establishment in the upholstering, hardware and jobbing trade, which he conducted until 1886, when he became the New York representative of Cushman Brothers, of Boston, dealers in wood and brass upholstering supplies. In 1890 he was sent to Staunton, Pennsylvania, as superintendent and manager of the Kroder Woodenware Company, in whose interest he erected a manufactory and remained in charge of it until 1895. He then once more turned his steps to the western slope of the Rockies, coming to Montrose, this state as chief bookkeeper for the A.J. Mathers Mercantile Company, with which he remained a year. At the end of that time he entered business on his own account as a real estate and insurance agent. Since then he has served four years as chief game warden of the thirteen southwestern counties of the state, and justice of the peace and police magistrate of Montrose for two years. During his residence at Lake City he was clerk of Hinsdale county from 1878 to 1880. In politics he is a Populist, and he proves his faith in the principles of the party by giving its platforms and candidates loyal and effective service in every campaign. He is also prominent in the fraternal life of the state, belonging to the Masonic order, the lodge and encampment of Odd Fellows. Mr. Norton was married in 1880 to Miss Hettie A. Simons, a native of Ohio who came to Colorado with her parents in 1865. She is the daughter of Peter and Hettie Mackelroy. Her father, a native of Ohio, came to Colorado by ox teams in 1859 and settled in Denver. In 1870 he moved to Kit Carson, in 1873 to Colorado Springs, in 1875 to Lake City, in 1879 to Leadville, and in 1886 back to Denver, where he is now living at the age of seventy-two. He is a lawyer by profession, and in 1878 was county judge of Hinsdale county. His wife is also living and aged seventy-two. She and her daughter, Mrs. Norton, were the first white women in Lake City. Mr. and Mrs. Norton have had five children, Esther, Hettie (who died at the age of eighteen), Russell, Irene and Enos, Jr. Mr. Norton’s career and character are highly appreciated wherever he is known, and his capacity has been of great service in many places where he has lived. Additional Comments: From Progressive Men of Western Colorado. Chicago: A.W. Bowen & Co., 1905 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/co/montrose/bios/norton460gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/cofiles/ File size: 6.1 Kb