Hubert Reynolds

Hubert Reynolds (May 10, 1860 – December 12, 1938) was an American pharmacist, public servant and Colorado State Senator.

Hubert Reynolds
Hubert Reynolds, around 1900.
Member of the Colorado Senate
from the 7th district
In office
January 1, 1913 – September 1, 1913
Preceded byDelphus E. Carpenter
Succeeded byRobert E. Winbourne
Personal details
Born
Hubert Reynolds

(1860-05-10)May 10, 1860
South Amherst, Ohio, U.S.
Died(1938-12-12)December 12, 1938
Greeley, Colorado, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)
Minule A. Culver
(m. 1889; died 1901)

Mary M. Jones (m. 1903)
Children4

Early life and education

Hubert Reynolds was born on May 10, 1860 in South Amherst, Ohio to Lord Nelson Reynolds and June Reynolds, which where both natives of New York.[1] He moved to Monroe, Michigan, when he was nine years old. He went to school there for nine years.[2]

Reynolds came to Colorado in January 1878 to work on a ranch near Fowler, Colorado which was, at the time, owned by his brother-in-law Burrell D. Smith. After Smith sold the ranch in the fall of 1882, Reynolds briefly lived in a mining camp in Leadville, Colorado. He then moved to Las Animas, Colorado and worked in a pharmacy there. In 1886, he decided to study pharmacy at Northwestern University in Chicago. Reynolds graduated in 1888 and resumed his position at the Las Animas pharmacy.[1]

Professional life

In 1893, he opened a new pharmacy in Greeley, Colorado while he still hold a financial stake in the Las Animas pharmacy. He sold his pharmacy in Greeley and all his financial interests in other pharmacies in 1910. Later he invested in water stocks and ranches.[2] He founded the commercial club of Greeley, which later became the local Chamber of Commerce. Reynolds was considered a leader of the local business community in Greeley.[1]

Political career

Before moving to Greeley in 1893, Reynolds served one term as city alderman of Las Animas.[1] In the 1910 elections, Reynolds ran for County assessor of Weld County on the Democratic ticket. He campaigned on his business experience.[2] He lost that race to Republican A.R. Fischer by a 54-46 margin.[3]

In 1912, he was elected to represent Senate District 7 as a Democrat in the 19th Colorado General Assembly. At the time, the district contained all of Weld County.[4] The Democrats achieved a 24-11 majority in the Colorado Senate in the 1912 elections. Therefore, Reynolds was able to chair the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments.[5]

Reynolds received an appointment by President Woodrow Wilson to serve as the postmaster in his hometown Greeley. He was recommended by Democratic Congressman Harry H. Seldomridge. Democratic Congressman George John Kindel unsuccessfully protested Reynolds' appointment in a letter to President Wilson.[6] As a result of his appointment, Hubert Reynolds resigned his senate seat on September 1, 1913.[5]

Greeley Post Office robbery

During Reynolds service as Postmaster, the Greeley Post Office saw a robbery on December 26, 1918. The robbers stole United States stamps valued at $69,300 (equivalent to $1,177,947 in 2019). At the time, this robbery was third largest robbery of a United States Post Office in history. The crime has not been solved and the perpetrators have never been identified.[7]

In accordance to the law at the time, Hubert Reynolds was personally liable for the loss. Losses over $10,000 (equivalent to $169,978 in 2019) could only repaid to the respective postmaster if an act of the United States Congress allowed so. On November 4, 1921, the House of Representatives passed House Resolution (H.R.) 2003 "An Act For the relief of Hubert Reynolds" with 215-43 vote.[8] In the Senate, the relief bill was delayed due to filibuster tactics. On September 22, 1922, Congress finally approved H. R. 2003, which relieved Reynolds of the liability and repaid him the $69,300.[9]

The Greeley Post Office had been robbed before, on the night of July 1, 1911.[10] In that robbery stamps valued over $ 10,000 (equivalent to $274,393 in 2019) were stolen. In reaction to the 1911 robbery, a new post office building, which opened in 1914, had been constructed.[7]

Personal life

In 1889, Reynolds married Minule A. Culver who was the only daughter of a Las Animas family. His first wife died in Greeley on May 23, 1901. Reynolds married Mary M. Jones of Denver, who was a direct descendant of Daniel Boone, on June 3, 1903. Reynolds had four children, all born to his first wife Minule.[1] Hubert Reynolds’ home was originally located at 1117 9th Avenue in Greeley. It has since been relocated to the City of Greeley’s Centennial Village Museum.

His son Burton Ralph Reynolds died of influenza during World War I, while serving in United States Army Air Service in Stockton, California.[1]

Electoral history
Weld county assessor general election, 1910[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican A.R. Fischer (Incumbent) 4,817 54.07%
Democratic Hubert Reynolds 4,092 45.93%
Total votes 8,909 100.00%
Majority 725 8.14%
Republican hold
Colorado's 7th Senate district general election, 1912[4] [11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Democratic Hubert Reynolds 4,760 44.07% -4.47%
Republican Delphus E. Carpenter (Incumbent) 3,944 36.52% -14.94%
Progressive Robt. M. Haythorn 2,096 19.41% +19.41%
Total votes 10,800 100.00%
Plurality 784 7.55%
Democratic gain from Republican


References
  1. "Hubert Reynolds, Former Local Postmaster, Long Prominent in Business and Politics Here Dies". Greeley Daily Tribune. 12 December 1938. Retrieved 23 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Hubert Reynolds". The Windsor Beacon. 22 October 1910. Retrieved 23 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Democrats victorious in state and nation - Republicans sweep Northern Colorado". The Windsor Beacon. 12 November 1910. Retrieved 23 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Pearce, James B. (1913). State of Colorado. Abstract of Votes Cast at the Primary Election held on the Tenth Day of September, A.D. 1912 and the General Election held on Fifth Day of November, A.D. 1912 (PDF). Denver, Colorado: Secretary of State of Colorado. p. 88.
  5. Pearce, James B. (1913). Senate Journal of the General Assembly of the State of Colorado. Nineteenth Session. Denver: Secretary of State of Colorado. hdl:10974/journals:193096.
  6. "Kindel protests against Greeley P.O. appointment". The Larimer County Independent. 11 July 1913. Retrieved 23 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Historical Hindsights: 95-year-old robbery remains unsolved". Greeley Tribune. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  8. "TO PASS H. R. 2003 (APP. 9/21/22), A BILL FOR THE RELIEF OF HUBERT REYNOLDS". Govtrack.
  9. United States Statutes at Large: 1921-1923. Secretary of State. 1923. p. 1712.
  10. "Post office of Greeley robbed of $10,000". The Fort Collins Courier. 7 July 1911. Retrieved 23 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Pearce, James B. (1909). State of Colorado. Abstract of Votes Cast at the General Election Held the Third Day of November, A. D. 1908, for Presidential Electors, State, Legislative and District Officers, and the Constitutional Amendments (PDF). Denver, Colorado: Secretary of State of Colorado. p. 55.
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