James L. Beaman, sheriff of Pueblo County and a resident of the city of Pueblo since 1890, is a member of an old New England family of American and Scotch ancestry. His father, an influential Denver attorney and general counsel for the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company, was born in Burlington, Lawrence County, Ohio, as a son of G. C. Beaman. [Brother to David C. Beaman]
In early life, he was given good educational advantages. He was a student at Oberlin and afterward studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1869, and practiced in Keosauqua and Ottumwa, Iowa, for some years. In 1887 he came to Colorado, where he practiced for one year at Glenwood Springs.
He then opened an office in Denver, where he has since resided. By marrying Luella A. Smith, he became the father of three sons and one daughter, all living. The grandfather of these children was born in Massachusetts and settled in Ohio at an early day. Afterward, he became a pioneer of Lee County, Iowa, where he was a prominent citizen and an influential minister in the Presbyterian Church.
He continued to reside in Iowa until his death. The oldest child of D. C. and Luella A. Beaman, the subject of this sketch, was born in Selma, Van Buren County, Iowa, on March 23, 1862. He attended the public schools of Keosauqua, Van Buren County. At the age of eighteen, he began to learn the printer’s trade in the composing room of the Daily Courier of Ottumwa and afterward was made foreman in the job room of that paper, which position he held for six years. Meantime, for two years, he served as deputy county auditor of Wapello County. In November 1890, Mr. Beaman came to Pueblo to take charge of the real estate department of the Colorado Coal & Iron Company. Afterward, he had charge of their real estate throughout the entire state until the consolidation of the company with another, thereby forming the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company.
He was then placed in charge of the Colorado Coal & Iron Development Company’s real-estate department, at the head of which he continued until his election as sheriff. He has for years been actively identified with public affairs and, from the time of coming to Colorado, has been an active worker in the Republican party of Pueblo County. In the fall of 1897, he was elected sheriff by a majority of three hundred and sixty-nine, and in January of the next year, took the oath of office for a term of two years.
For this position, his coolness, determination, and willpower admirably qualify him, and he is filling it in a manner highly creditable to himself and satisfactory to the people. While his attention is largely given to his official duties, he maintains his connection with the Colorado Coal & Iron Development Company. In Ottumwa, Iowa, Mr. Beaman married Miss Nettie R. Bowman, who was born in Illinois. Their three children are Crichton, Helen, and Frank. Mrs. Beaman is a member of the Episcopal Church, to the support of which our subject is a contributor.
Politically, as before intimated, he is a stanch adherent of Republican principles and an advocate of the platform for which it stands. In fraternal relations, he is connected with the Woodmen of the World, Ancient Order of United Workmen, Improved Order of Red Men, Junior Order United American Mechanics, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and Lodge No. 28, I. O. O. F., of Pueblo.
The Pueblo Club numbers him among its members. In 1884 he became a member of the International Typographical Union, which he still retains his membership. In 1888 he was a delegate to the I. T. U. convention in Kansas City, and the following year attended the national convention held in Denver. During his residence in Ottumwa, 1888-89, he held the position of state organizer for Iowa and is still an honorary member of that union.
“Biographical Record of the State of Colorado,” published by Chapman Publishing Company in Chicago in 1899
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