Gilpin observer., 1907-06-06
District Court Session.

DlStr1ct court convened Monday al
ternoon at l 80 o'clock. The fore par
of the afternoon session was devoted b,
the court and members of the bar tt
eulogizing the late Judge A. H. De
France. H. A. Hicks one of the com
mittee that had been appointed by the
bar of the district to draft suitable res
olutions of coincidence read the same
and asked that they be spread upon the
records of the court. Attorneys H. A.
Hicks, w. E. Withrow, w. C. Fuller.
ton, w. C. Matthews and L. j. Will
liams delivered brief addresses in
which they spoke in the highest terms
of the deceased jurist as lawyer,
judge and citizen and expressed pro-
found sorrow over his death. Judge
Ashbaugh in ordering that the resolu-
tions become part of the court rec
ords discoursed upon the life of Judge
DeFrance and told of the esteem and
regard in which he held his predecessor
The resolutions follow:
''The members of the bar of the
state of Colorado learned with sorrow
of the news of the death of Allison H.
DeFrance, judge of the district court of
the First Judicial district of Colorado.
Judge DeFrance was born in Penn
sylvania on August 9Th, 1885 and came
to Colorado in June 1861. He lived in
several parts of the state, practicing
law and farming until 1868, when he
settled in Golden, which has since been
his home and where he has since prac-
ticed law, when not on the bench.
'In 1867 Judge DeFrance was elected
prosecuting attorney for Jefferson
county. In 1869 he was elected men,
ber of the territorial legislature and in
1871 member of the council. When
Colorado was admitted as a state he
was chosen as the first state senator
from jefferson county. He served in
the senate from 1876 to 1884. In 1887
he was appointed a commissioner of the
supreme court of Colorado and served
until 1889. In 1894 he was elected
judge of the district court of the First
Judicial district of the state; in 1900 he
was reelected, and again in 1906. The
last time he consented to accept the
nomination only after much urging.
AS lawyer he was known for his de-
votion to his work and for the clearness
of his reasoning; as judge, for his
impartiality and ability.
'When Allison H. DeFrance came to
Colorado as a young man he found il
a frontier wilderness. He applied him.
self conscientiously to the work before
him, whether public or private, and
did much in quiet and unostentatious
way for his neighbors and his state.
On Sunday morning, May 18th, 1907, he
peacefully departed this life at his home
in Golden, occupying high office in the
great and prosperous state which he
had helped to build, and occupying a
still higher position in the esteem and
love of all who knew him.
Resolved, That the life of this gooc
and useful man has been a benefit tc
the state and an inspiration to the bar
and that in his demise the bench anc
bar of this state have suffered the los:
of an able, kindly and honorable man
whose long and valuable service at the
bar and on the bench has fixed stand
ard Of integrity, learning and fairnes!
which we hold as our invaluable heri
tage; and
Resolved, That copy of these reso
lutions be transmitted to the bereavet
family as an expression of our SINGER,
sympathy and coincidence with then
and that the district court of each coun
ty of the First Judicial district, the su
preme court of the state and the cir
cult court of the United States for tn
district of Colorado be requested t.
spread the same upon their records.
w. G. SMITH,
w. A. RUcKER,
| II. A. HICKS,
H. F. ADAMS,