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Denver County, History of Colorado, BIOS: DOLLISON, William A. (published 1918)
"History of Colorado", edited by Wilbur Fisk Stone, published by The S. J.
Clarke Publishing Co. (1918) Vol. II p. 94-95
WILLIAM A. DOLLISON.
William A. Dollison, of Denver, is president of the Great Divide
Petroleum & Refining Company, which has been operating extensively in
oil fields in three states. He was born In Guernsey county, Ohio, February 9, 1868, and is a son of Harvey C. and Johanna (Lindsey)
Dollison, both of whom were also natives of the Buckeye state. The grandfather in the paternal line came to America from Scotland and on
the maternal side the family is of Pennsylvania Dutch lineage. Both grandparents were early settlers of Ohio and there Harvey C. Dollison
and Johanna Lindsey were born, reared and educated. Their marriage was celebrated in Guernsey county, Ohio, and Harvey C. Dollison took up the
occupation of farming, to which he continued to devote his attention and his energies up to the time of his death, which occurred when he
was sixty-one years of age. His wife survived him for a long period, passing away in 1912 at the age of eighty-two years. They had a family
of six sons and four daughters.
William A. Dollison, the youngest of this family, pursued his
early education in the schools of his native county and when his textbooks were put aside began earning his living by clerking in
clothing stores in Cambridge and Zanesvllle, Ohio. He continued in the clothing trade altogether for four years and Just prior to the time of
his removal to Colorado he had charge of the largest clothing business in southeastern Ohio. He early displayed that quality which for want of
a better term has been called commercial sense. In other words, he had marked ability in salesmanship and executive power, which enabled him
to carefully direct the interests under his control. On the 27th of January, 1899, he arrived in Denver and here he engaged in the clothing
business on his own account, continuing active in that field for three years. He then disposed of his store and became a factor in the public
life of the community, being elected a member of the city council of Denver In 1904 and serving in that capacity until 1906. He then entered
the office of the Internal revenue collector In the position of deputy collector for Wyoming and Colorado and served in that capacity for two
years. Subsequently he was connected with the state auditor's office, with which he continued until he became chief license inspector for the
city of Denver. As such he remained until he was appointed to a position in the office of the district attorney, with whom he was
connected for four years. On the expiration of that period he took the general agency for the Southern Surety & Bonding Company of St. Louis,
Missouri, for the Colorado district and continued very successfully in that connection until he sold out in the fall of 1917.
Prior to taking over the Southern Surety & Bonding agency he was appointed county clerk
and recorder on the 1st of June, 1915, and occupied that position for one term, discharging his duties, as he always did in any public
office, with capability, promptness and fidelity. On the 8th of October, 1917, he organized his present business and incorporated the
Great Divide Petroleum & Refining Company, of which he is now president. The other officers of the corporation are: Charles E.
Barrick, secretary-treasurer; and M. H. Mayers, vice president. This company is operating in the proven fields of three states, holding
leases and options on extremely well situated oil lands in Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma. The company was not organized for exploration
purposes, but is primarily a drilling company, with the sole object of drilling the greatest possible number of wells for the largest possible
production and the maximum profit of its stockholders. The company therefore is confining its operations to actually proven fields, where
the opportunities for oil production are most favorable and the chances of disappointment are reduced to a minimum. In Wyoming the Great Divide
Petroleum & Refining Company holds three hundred and twenty acres on
the Geary dome, in the Big Muddy field, surrounded by some of the biggest oil companies operating in this country. They also hold
valuable properties in Kansas and Oklahoma. They retain the services of a geologist of recognized authority-A. L.
McKercher.
On the 10th of June, 1894, Mr. Dolllson was married to Miss
Elizabeth W. Williams, of Zanesville, Ohio, and they have one child, William A. Dollison, Jr., who was born in Denver and is now attending
school.
Politically Mr. Dollison is a republican, active in the ranks of
the party, and is now serving as chairman of the party organization in Denver. He is a self-made man who has worked his way upward entirely
unaided and he is one of the popular citizens of Denver, who has made for himself a creditable place in business circles and whose
opportunities for the future seem most bright. |
