GEORGE E. BERMONT
George E. Bermont, engaged in merchandising at Lafayette, was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, November 19, 1866, a son of George and Clara (Gilbert) Bermont, who were likewise natives of the Keystone state. The father there passed away, but the mother is still living. They reared a family of six children and all yet survive.
George E. Bermont spent his youthful days in his native state and is indebted to its public school system for his educational privileges. He continued there until about seventeen years of age, when he removed westward to Carroll county, Illinois, where he resided for four years, during which period he was employed as a farm hand.
The opportunities of the far west, however, attracted him and he made his way to Colorado, settling in Boulder county. Throughout the intervening period he has been identified with commercial interests, establishing a business at Lafayette, where he handles all kinds of merchandise and machinery. He has built up a large and gratifying trade and has an extensive stock, being thus ready to meet the demands of his customers at all times. He has otherwise been closely and prominently identified with the business development of the community, for during eight years he was president of the First National Bank of Lafayette and he is the owner of valuable property, including a brick store building and a residence in the town.
In 1892 Mr. Bermont was married to Miss Katherine Jones, of Youngstown, Ohio, a daughter of John W. and Katherine (Fletcher) Jones, both of whom have passed away. Mr. Bermont gives his political allegiance to the republican party but is not an office seeker. He has prospered since coming to Colorado and is a self-made man who as the architect of his fortune has builded wisely and well. He and his wife are well known socially in Lafayette and enjoy the hospitality of the best homes of the city.
MICHAEL F. O’DAY
Michael F. O’Day, postmaster of Lafayette, Colorado, was born in Keokuk, Iowa, January 9, 1876, a son of John and Catherine (Newell) O’Day. who were natives of Ireland, whence they came to the new world in 1S68, first settling in Hancock county, Illinois, while subsequently they removed to Iowa and took up their abode upon a farm.
In 1884 they became residents of Nebraska, where they lived for a year, and then came to Colorado, where they still make their home. The father is now retired from active business affairs. In their family were eleven children, nine of whom survive.
Michael F. O’Day was a lad of ten years when brought to Colorado and his education was largely acquired in the schools of this state. He remained at home until he reached the age of twenty-four years, when he was married to Miss Anna F. Schweiger. who was born in Colorado and is a daughter of John and Margaret (Mayhoffer) Schweiger, the former a native of Austria and the latter of Germany. Her parents came to the United States in the ’60s and settled first in Pennsylvania but afterward removed to Colorado, where both passed away. To Mr. and Mrs. O’Day have been born two children: David W., who is a graduate of the Lafayette high school; and Catherine M.
Following his marriage Mr. O’Day devoted his attention to coal mining and was engaged in that business for a number of years, or until 1913, when President Wilson appointed him to the position of postmaster of Lafayette, in which connection he has made an excellent record, reappointment continuing him in the office for a second term.
He is very prompt, systematic and capable in the discharge of his duties and has proven a popular official. His political allegiance has always been given to the democratic party and he is a firm believer in its principles. Fraternally he is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and his religious faith is that of the Catholic church, of which his wife and children are also communicants.
WILLIAM BARROWMAN
William Barrowman, who follows farming in Boulder county, was born in Maryland, August 8, 1851, a son of William and Agnes (Kinnon) Barrowman, who were natives of Scotland, whence they came to the new world about 1847. They settled first in Maryland and afterward removed to Kentucky, while later they became residents of Wisconsin, where they lived for eleven years. They then took up their abode in Iowa, where their remaining days were passed. They had a family of eight children, of whom five are living.
William Barrowman was reared in Wisconsin and Iowa and his education was acquired in the common schools of those states. In 1872 he arrived in Colorado, making his way to Denver. During the early period of his residence in this state he followed farming and mining and later he purchased the tract of land whereon he now resides, becoming the owner of one hundred acres, which he has since cultivated and improved.
He has lived upon this farm for thirty-five years and its neat and thrifty appearance is an indication of his well directed energy and industry. He has won substantial success as the years have passed and his labors have made him one of the prosperous agriculturists of the community.
Mr. Barrowman has been married twice. In 1880 he wedded Miss Jennie McFarland, who passed away in 1882, and in 1884 he was joined in wedlock with Miss Eliza A. Carter, who was born in Wisconsin, They have become parents of seven children: Nellie, at home; Jennie, the widow of E. Johnson; Roy L. ; William; Sadie, the wife of Arthur Mosher, of Ward, Colorado; one, who died in infancy; and Hazel, at home.
Mr. Barrowman is a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has filled a number of offices. He is ever loyal to the craft and its purposes, exemplifying in his life its beneficent teachings concerning the brotherhood of mankind and the obligations thereby imposed. He has served for six years as a member of the school board in his district and is a stalwart champion not only of the cause of public education but of all interests that tend to promote the welfare and progress of the community in which he has so long lived. Forty-six years have passed since he arrived in Colorado and great indeed have been the changes which have occurred during this period. His own record is an illustration of the progress of the state, for Mr. Barrowman started out in life empty-handed, and working his way steadily upward, is now classed with the substantial agriculturists of Boulder county. The state a half century or more ago was a wild district with great stretches of sandy plains, but the labors of a progressive class of men have wrought a transformation that is almost magical. The rich mineral resources of the state have been utilized, its arid lands converted into productive farms and the work of development carried forward until Colorado today occupies a position of leadership along various lines, making it one of the important states of the Union.
Biographies reprinted from History of Colorado, Vol. IV, S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919