Birth: 15 May 1862 Possibly Nicolaus, Sutter County, California[1],[2]
Death: 7 Aug 1921 Denver, Denver County, Colorado[3] Age: 59
Burial: 10 Aug 1921 Fairmount Cemetery, Denver, Denver County, Colorado[3]
Father: Christian MUSSER (~1824-)
Mother: Mary O'REILLY (~1825-)
Marriage: 2 Apr 1891 Long Point, Livingston County, Illinois[4],[5]
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Spouse: Isabelle (Belle) McCOY
_____________________________________________
Birth: 27 Dec 1863 Long Point, Livingston County, Illinois[6],[7]
Death: 10 Feb 1963 Lakewood, Jefferson County, Colorado[8] Age: 99
Burial: 12 Feb 1963 Fairmount Cemetery, Denver, Denver County,
Colorado[5],[8]

Notes for George Washington MUSSER

1900 U.S. Census:
Colorado, El Paso County, Colorado Springs[9]
103 Washington Ave.
George W. Musser--head of household, white male, born May 1862, age 38,
married 9 years, born in California, father born in Germany, mother born in
Ireland, lawyer, employed all year, can read, can write, can speak English,
own home free of mortgage
Belle--wife, while female, born December 1864, age 36, married 9 years, 3
children born of this marriage, 3 still living, born in Illinois, father
from in Ohio, mother born in Ohio, can read, can write, can speak English
Ruth M.--daughter, white female, born October 1892, age 7, single, born in
Colorado, father born in California, mother born in Illinois, at school 8
months, can read, can write, can speak English
Georgie Belle--daughter, white female, born July 1894, age 3, single, born
in Colorado, father born in Colorado, mother born in Illinois
John--son, white male, born July 1899, age 10/12 (i.e. 10 months), single,
born in Colorado, father born in California, mother born in Illinois
Daisy Wallace--servant, white female, born August 1883, age 16, single,
born in Colorado, father born in Missouri, mother born in Missouri,
servant, can read, can write, can speak English

1910 U.S. Census: No Soundex for Colorado. (NARA 7/2/98)

1914 General Affidavit:[10] State of Colorado, City and County of Denver.
In the matter of the widow, original claim no. 1,034,621 Mary E. Musser
widow of John Musser, Co. C., 6th Regiment, California Volunteer Infantry
and Co. H, 8th Regiment, U.S. Cavalry, on this 2nd day of November 1914,
personally appeared before me, Clerk of the Supreme Court of the State of
Colorado, duly authorized to administer oaths, George W. Musser, aged 52
years, a resident of Denver in the City and County of Denver and State of
Colorado, whose Post Office is 2244 Eudora St., Denver, Colorado, well
known to be reputable and entitled to credit, and who, being duly sworn,
declared in relation to aforesaid case as follows: I am a brother of the
said John Musser and was well and personally acquainted with him from my
youth. My remembrance of him was back to a time eleven or twelve years
before his marriage. I was associated with him and had intimate knowledge
of his life. From this personal knowledge of and association with him I can
say that he was never married prior to his marriage to Mary E. Ames on or
about Dec. 3, 1878. I further declare that I have no interest in said case
and am not concerned in its prosecution. Signed, George W. Musser.

1920 U.S. census
Colorado, Denver County, City of Denver[11]
Enumerated 13 & 14 January 1920
2244 Eudora
George W. Musser--head of household, home is owned, free of mortgage, male,
white, age 57, married, can read, can write, born in California, father
born in Germany, and mother tongue French (? very faint), mother born in
Ireland, and mother tongue English, can speak English, lawyer in attorney's
office, works on own account
Belle--wife, female, white, age 52, married, can read, can write, (places
illegible, very faint), no occupation
Georgie Belle--daughter, female, white, age 23, single, can read, can
write, (places illegible, very faint), teacher, public school, salaried
John W.--son, male, white, age 20, single, attended school since Sept. 1,
1919, can read, can write, (places illegible, very faint), no occupation
Richard C.--son, male, white, age 17, single, attended school since Sept.
1, 1919, can read, can write, (places illegible, very faint), no occupation
Evelyn Johnson--maid, female, white, age 20, single, immigrated to the U.S.
in 1912, alien, can read, can write, born in Sweden, mother tongue Swedish,
father born in Sweden and mother tongue is Swedish, mother born in Sweden
and mother tongue is Swedish, maid in residence

1921 Death Certificate:[3] George W. Musser, 2244 Eudora Street, Denver,
County of Denver; date of death, 7 August 1921; male, white, married;
husband of Belle Musser; born 15 May 1862; age 59 years, 2 months, 22 days;
business, Justice, Supreme Court; born in California; father, Christian
Musser; father born in Alsace Lorraine; mother, Mary O'Reilly; mother born
in Ireland; informant, Mrs. Belle Musser, Denver, Coloraro; burial,
Fairmount, burial date, 10 August 1921.

1921 Obituary:[4] George Washington Musser, Former State Chief Justice,
Dies in Heart Failure Attach. Prominent Coloradoan for Thirty Years
Succumbs At a Time When Doctors Believed He Was Recovering from Stroke of
Paralysis. George Washington Musser, former chief justice of the Colorado
Supreme Court and grand master of Colorado Masons, died Sunday at his home,
2244 Eudora street, as the result of a heart attack.

Judge Musser had been confined to his home much of the time since he
suffered a stroke of paralysis in January. Physicians believed him well on
the road to recover until recently, when his condition took a sudden turn
for the worse.

Public funeral services will be conducted at the First Congregational
Church Wednesday afternoon at 2 o'clock, in charge of the grand Masonic
Lodge of Colorado. Colorado Springs Masons will attend in a body. Burial
will be at Fairmount Cemetery.

Judge Musser was 59 years old. For many years he had held a position of
prominence in the affairs of the state and came to Colorado thirty years
ago. He was a leader in the Democratic party and in Masonic circles.

Boyhood Spent on Farm in Nevada. He was born in Nicholas, Sacramento
Valley, California, May 15, 1862. His boyhood was spent on a farm in
Nevada. Unable to attend high school after completing grade school, he
gained much of his preparatory education by studying at home. He entered
Northern Indiana normal school, now Valparaiso University, and was
graduated in 1886 with the degree of bachelor of science in civil
engineering. After graduation he removed to Colorado Springs, where he
taught school, becoming principal of the grade school. He studied law
during his spare hours and later in a Colorado Springs law office. He was
admitted to the Colorado bar at the age of 29 years, five years after his
graduation as a civil engineer. He soon qualified for practice in the
federal courts. April 2, 1891, he married Miss Belle McCoy of Livingston
County, Illinois.

Elected in 1909 to Supreme Court. He practiced law in Colorado Springs for
many years, specializing in corporation and irrigation and mining law. In
1909 he was elected to the supreme court of the state, later becoming chief
justice, which position he held until the end of his term in 1915. Upon
becoming a justice of the supreme court he removed to Denver, where he
since had made his home. During his term on the supreme bench he wrote the
opinions in many of the most important cases which ever came before the
supreme court. In 1914 he served as mediator between employers and
employees during the coal strikes in the southern Colorado coal fields. He
was chosen as mediator with the late Verner Z. Reed during the Leadville
strike and was selected by the federal government as mediator during the
labor trouble in the copper mining district of Arizona.

Mediated Strike on Rio Grande. He also mediated the strike of the Denver &
Rio Grande railroad shopmen in 1917 and the strike of Denver foundry and
machine workers in 1918. His thoro knowledge of labor conditions in the
west caused him to be summoned to Washington on several occasions during
the war for important conferences with the secretary of labor.

Judge Musser was a member of the Odd Fellows and was a leader of the
Masonic order in Colorado. He was knows as one of the most ardent students
of the history of the Masonic fraternity in the United States. He was grand
master of the Colorado masonic grand lodge in 1909 and 1910.

Besides his wife he is survived by a sister and four children. The sister
is Kate Conroy of Los Angeles . . .

1921 Obituary:[12] G. W. Musser, Jurist, Dead. Heart Attack Fatal to Former
Chief Justice. Colorado lost one of its foremost citizens in the death at
12:30 o'clock yesterday morning of George Washington Musser, former chief
justice of the Colorado Supreme court. Judge Musser had been a resident of
Colorado for thirty five years, during which time he had been engineer,
educator, lawyer, chief justice, coal strike arbiter, United States labor
mediator and grand master of the Colorado Masonic grand lodge.

Death occurred at his home, 2244 Eudora street, as he was apparently on the
road to recovery from a stroke of paralysis suffered in January.
Recuperation had been steady, his physicians declared, auguring a return to
his law offices within a few weeks. He died following a heart attack.

The little town of Nicholas, Calif., was the birthplace of Judge Musser on
May 15, 1862. In his early youth he moved to a farm in Nevada. Here he was
unable to gain a high school education, so that he had to study his books
at home in the evenings.

Made Chief Justice. Success crowned his diligence, however, and in 1882 he
entered Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Ind., from which he was
graduated four years later with a bachelor of science degree in civil
engineering. Even after graduation he continued his studies, and five years
later, meanwhile teaching and serving as principal in a Colorado Springs
grammar school, he was admitted to the Colorado bar.

In November 1891, he qualified before the federal bench in Colorado, just
seven months after he had married Miss Belle McCoy of Livingston County,
Ill. Until 1909 he conducted a private practice, specializing in
corporation, irrigation and mining law in Colorado Springs. Shortly
thereafter he was elected to the supreme bench and succeeded almost
immediately to the post of chief justice, where he remained until 1915.

His fame as a judge spread rapidly while on the bench. Many important cases
gave him opportunity to write opinions that will live long in the legal
annals of the state. Chief among these was his adjudication of the strike
difficulties in the southern Colorado coal filed in 1914. he served as
arbitrator between employee and employer and was the most important factor
in bringing the strike to an end.

Acts as Federal Mediator. His intimate knowledge of Western affairs gained
for him the post of United States official mediator in labor disputes
during the war. His jurisdiction extended over Colorado, Nevada, Texas,
Washington, and Arizona. Since re-establishing his private practice here in
1915 Judge Musser become one of the most widely was prominent [sic] in
Democratic circles, was grand master of the Colorado Masonic Grand lodge
during 1909 and 1910 and was also a member of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows.

The Masonic order will conduct the funeral services, which will be held
Wednesday morning at 10 o'clock from the First Congregational church.
Interment will be at Fairmount Cemetery under the auspices of the Martin
mortuary.

Surviving the judge are his wife, Mrs. Belle M. Musser; two daughters, Miss
Georgiebelle Musser and Mrs. Kenaz Huffman, 2536 Elm Street; and two sons,
John M. Musser, graduated from the University of Colorado in June, and
Richard Musser, recently graduated from the East Denver High school. A
sister, Mrs. Katherine Conroy, of Los Angeles, Calif., is coming to Denver
to attend the funeral.

1921 Obituary:[13] Ex-Justice Musser Dies of Heart Attack. Was Recovering
>From Stoke of Paralysis Suffered Six Months Ago. George Washington Musser,
former chief justice of the Colorado Supreme court, and for more than
thirty years a resident of Colorado, died at his home, 2244 Eudora street,
yesterday morning at 12:30 o'clock following a heart attack. Altho he was
confined to his home more or less for the past six months while recovering
from a stroke of paralysis, his death came unexpectedly. Attending
physicians were hopeful that he would soon be able to return to duties,
despite a weakened heart condition, following his steady recuperation.

Born in California. During his long services as a member of the Colorado
bench and bar, Judge Musser, a self-made man, held many outstanding
ofofices, most important of which were those of arbitrator during the coal
strike in the coal fields of southern Colorado several years ago, and his
appointment as federal arbitrator during the recent world war, as well as
his connection with the supreme bench. As a leading member of the Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons he served as grand master for this Colorado
jurisdiction in 1909 and 1910.

Judge Musser was born in Nicholas, Calif., May 15, 1862. His early years
were spent on a farm in Nevada and the Middle west during which time he
attended school when time availed itself. Unable to obtain a secondary
education by attending high school, the future lawyer of note managed to
obtain an education for himself by studying at home in the evenings.

Admitted to Practice. He later entered Valparaiso University at Valparaiso,
Ind., from which he was graduated in 1886 at the age of 24, as a bachelor
of science graduate in civil engineering. Following his graduation he
taught school and removed to Colorado Springs where he became principal of
a grammar school. This position he held for several months at the same time
studying law after school hours, and later in a law office at that place.
Five years after his graduation as a civil engineer he was admitted to the
practice of law in Colorado and soon qualified to appear before the federal
bench in Colorado.

On April 1, 1891, he was married to Miss Belle McCoy of Livingston county,
Illinois, just seven months before qualifying to appear before the federal
courts. He lived with his family in Colorado Springs, where he established
law offices and developed a special practice in corporation irrigation and
mining until 1909 when he was elected to the Supreme bench, followed by an
early succession to the office of chief justice, which he held until the
close of 1915. While serving in that capacity he is accredited with having
written the opinions in a number of the most important cases ever
adjudicated in Colorado, and has been considered at all times one of the
most prominent men in public life in this state.

Chosen Labor Arbitrator. He was considered a friend by employee and
employer alike during the strike difficulties which prevailed in the coal
fields in southern Colorado in 1914. He served as an arbitrator at the
time, and it is said that many of his suggestions for remedying the
situation were favorably accepted by both parties. During the war he served
as United States official mediator in numerous labor disputes in various
parts of the United States, particularly Colorado, Texas, Nevada,
Washington and Arizona, and was frequently called to Washington DC, for
important conferences with government officials there. He conferred with
the secretary of labor in Washington on more than one occasion because of
his intimate knowledge of affairs in the Western section of the United
States.

Widely Known. He returned to the private practice of law on leaving the
Supreme bench in 1915 and was especially engaged as counsel in number large
enterprises here. Judge Musser was at all times considered an important
factor in Democratic circles over the state and was one of the most widely
known lawyers in the Rocky Mountain region.

As a leading member of the Mason fraternity, Judge Musser was considered
one of the most ardent students in the history of that order. He held the
office of grand master of the Colorado Mason grand lodge in 1909 and 1910.
He also was a member of the Independent Order of odd Fellows, in which
lodge he held various offices.

At his bedside at the time of his death were his widow, Mrs. Belle M.
Musser and four children, all of Denver, as follows: Miss Georgiabelle
Musser, and Mrs. Kenaz Huffman, 2536 Elm Street and two sons, John Musser,
a student at the University of Colorado, and Richard Musser, a student at
East Denver High school. He also is survived by a sister, Mrs. Katherine
Conroy of Los Angeles, Calif., who is on the way to Denver.

Public funeral services will be conducted at the First Congregational
church Wednesday morning at 10 o'clock, it is planned, and will be in
charge of the grand Masonic lodge of Colorado. The body is now in charge of
the Martin Mortuary. Interment will be at Fairmount cemetery.

Sources
1. George W. Musser death certificate, 7 August 1921, Denver, Denver
County, Colorado, No. 7266, Colorado Bureau of Vital Statistics. (15 May
1862).
2. "George Washington Musser, Former State Chief Justice, Dies in Heart
Fail Attack," Denver, Denver County, Colorado, Denver Post, 8 August 1921,
p. 2. (Nicolaus, Sutter County, California).
3. George W. Musser death certificate, 7 August 1921, Denver, Denver
County, Colorado, No. 7266, Colorado Bureau of Vital Statistics.
4. "George Washington Musser, Former State Chief Justice, Dies in Heart
Fail Attack," Denver, Denver County, Colorado, Denver Post, 8 August 1921,
p. 2.
5. Belle Musser obituary, Denver, Denver County, Colorado, Denver Post, 12
February 1963, p. 28.
6. Isabelle McCoy Musser death certificate, 10 February 1963, Lakewood,
Jefferson County, Colorado, File 2164, Colorado Bureau of Vital Statistics.
(27 Dec 1863).
7. Belle Musser obituary, Denver, Denver County, Colorado, Denver Post, 12
February 1963, p. 28. (Long Point, Livingston County, Illinois).
8. Isabelle McCoy Musser death certificate, 10 February 1963, Lakewood,
Jefferson County, Colorado, File 2164, Colorado Bureau of Vital Statistics.
9. 1900 U.S. Census, El Paso County, Colorado (Colorado Springs, ED 31);
George W. Musser, sheet 20B, dwelling 455, family 985; National Archives
Microfilm T-623, Roll 124.
10. General Affidavit, George W. Musser, 2 November 1914; Mary E. Musser,
widow of John Musser, Soldier's Certificate 785,414, Company C, 6th
California Infantry; Civil War and Later Pension Files, Records of the
Veterans Administration, Record Group 15; National Archives Building,
Washington DC.
11. 1920 U.S. Census, Denver County, Colorado (City of Denver, ED 299);
George W. Musser, sheet 10A, dwelling number 222, family number 226, lines
41-46; National Archives Microfilm T-625, Roll 162.
12. "G. W. Musser, Jurist, Dead," Denver, Denver County, Colorado, Denver
Times, 8 August 1921, p. 3.
13. "Ex-Justice Musser Dies of Heart Attack," Denver, Denver County,
Colorado, Rocky Mountain News, 8 August 1921, p. 1.
14. Belle Musser obituary, Denver, Denver County, Colorado, Rocky Mountain
News, 13 February 1963, p. 97.

_____________________________________________
Last Modified: 4 Jun 1999
Created: 15 Jun 1999
_____________________________________________
Please report corrections or additions to...
Sue Phillips
http://www.phillipsplace.net/genealogy/surnames/musser.html
email: sue@phillipsplace.net[3]