Pueblo County Biographies

Pueblo County, Colorado
WILLIAM L. REES

Contributed by Karen Mitchell.

William L. Rees. who is successfully engaged in the real estate and insurance business in Pueblo as the junior partner in the firm of Hoffman & Rees, is numbered among the honored pioneers of Colorado, the period of his residence here covering thirty-seven years. His birth occurred in Johnstown. Pennsylvania, on the 2nd of September, 1857, his parents being Lewis and Sarah (Morris) Rees, both of whom have passed away. The father died while on a visit to Pueblo in 1885. William L. Rees attended the public schools of his native town but began providing for his own support at the early age of nine years, obtaining work in the mines, while subsequently he was employed in a steel mill. It was in 1881, when a young man of twenty-four years, that he determined to try his fortune in the west, believing that he might have better opportunity for business advancement in this section of the country. Accordingly he made his way to Colorado and after learning the bricklayer's trade turned his attention to contracting. He first worked on what is known as the Philadelphia smelter at Pueblo and continued active in his trade until elected to the position of county commissioner in 1894. He continued to serve in that capacity for six years and made a most creditable record, establishing the county poor farm and promoting other valuable work in his official connection. After leaving that position he was identified with the post office department for a year and then entered the revenue department, in which he remained for twelve years. He also held a state position for about two years and in these various connections won an enviable reputation for efficiency and fidelity. In February, 1917, he embarked in the real estate and insurance business as a member of the firm of Hoffman & Rees and has since gained a most gratifying measure of success along those lines. Alert, enterprising and progressive, he has accomplished what he has undertaken and in his vocabulary there is no such word as fail. On the 12th of April, 1882, Mr. Rees was united in marriage to Miss Margaretta Rees, who though of the same name is not a relative. They have two daughters: Ida, who is the wife of Earl Litz, of Chicago, Illinois; and Gertrude, a public school teacher. In his political views Mr. Rees is a republican. Before Bessemer became a part of Pueblo he was a very prominent factor in its public life and in fact was largely instrumental in its development and upbuilding, the improvements there instituted being directly attributable to his efforts. He is now a member of the Local Draft Board No. 2 in Pueblo and is widely recognized as a most loyal and public-spirited citizen. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, while in religious faith he is a Protestant. He has witnessed the growth and development of his adopted state from early times to the present and Pueblo numbers him among her most highly respected and valued pioneer citizens. History Of Colorado Illustrated Volume III Chicago The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company 1918

Rees, William L. of Pueblo, Pueblo County, Colo. Republican. Delegate to Republican National Convention from Colorado, 1932. Presumed deceased. Burial location unknown.

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