1862 Birth:707,1256 Birth date of 15 May 1862 in California taken from George Musser's Colorado death certificate. Possible birth place in Nicolaus or Nicholas, a village in Sutter County, California taken from obituary in Denver Times.

1862 Birth Place:2518, p. 530. Nicolaus, village, 16 miles south of Yuba City near Feather River. Named on Nicolaus quadrangle. "Called Nichols on Jefferson’s (1849) map, and called Nicholaus on Scholfield’s (1851) map. Derby’s (1849b) map has the name "Nicholas Alleger" at the place. Postal authorities established Nicolaus post office n 1851. (Frickstad, p. 202). Nicolaus Allgeier, a Hudson’s Bay Company trapper, received land at the place from John A. Sutter as compensation for helping to build an adobe house at Sutter’s Hock farm; Allgeier operated a ferry across Feather River in 1843, put up an adobe house in 1847, erected a hotel in 1849, and sold over 300 town lots in 1850 (Hoover, Rensch, and Rensch, p. 544) Gibbes’ (1852) map shows a place called Oro located at the mouth of Bear River about 2.25 miles north of Nicholas (present Nicolaus) at or near present Placer-Sutter County line. Thomas Jefferson Green bought land from Sutter along the south side of Bear River and laid out a townsite that he called Oro; Green, a state senator, then used his influence to have Oro declared the county seat when the state legislature created Sutter County in 1850, but the place failed to develop (Hoover, Rensch, and Rensch, p. 545). Barham’s Crossing later was at this site; a settler named Barham built a bridge there in 1850 (Hendrix, p. 107)."

1870 U.S. Census: Musser family not located.

1880 U.S. Census:2112
Indiana, Adams County, Hartford Township
Enumerated 10 June 1880
Charles Lonkman •• white, male, age 37, married, millwright, born in Prussia, father born in Prussia, mother born in Prussia
Rachel •• white, female, age 30, married, wife, born in Ohio, father born in Switzerland, mother born in Switzerland
Emma •• white, female, age 5, daughter, born in Indiana, father born in Prussia, mother born in Ohio
Jennett •• white, female, age 2, daughter, born in Indiana, father born in Prussia, mother born in Ohio
Reuben •• white, male, age 7 months, born in October 1879, born in Indiana, father born in Prussia, mother born in Ohio
Eddie Clouse •• white, male, age 14, single, laborer, born in Ohio, father born in Ohio, mother born in Ohio
George Musser •• white, male, age 18, single, laborer, born in California, father born in France, mother born in Ireland
Albert Musser •• white, male, age 6, laborer, born in Indiana, father born in France, mother born in Ohio
Research Analysis: George Musser, along with 6 year old Albert Musser who is presumed to be a half-brother, is living in the household of an apparently unrelated family in Hartford Township, Adams County, Indiana. My assumptions are: 1) that father Christian Musser and mother Mary O’Reilly were both dead by 1880; 2) that at least one of them was living at the time of their relocation to Indiana; 3) that Albert Musser, based on his birthplace of Indiana, his father’s birthplace of France and mother’s birthplace of Indiana, is the son of Christian Musser and an unnamed second wife; and 4) Christian was remarried and living in Indiana by 1873, the probable year of Albert’s birth. There are Mosser families (also spelled Moser and Mosier) living in Hartford Township in 1880, headed by men which family lore indicates are probably younger brothers of Christian Musser.

1880-1887 School Principal:1867, p. 252. According to the Biographical and Historical Record of Adams and Wells Counties, Indiana, published in 1887, "The other four graded schools in this county and the dates of their organization are as follows: The Linn Grove school is located at Buena Vista, in Hartford Township. It was organized in 1877, with G. W. A. Luckey as principal. The principals who followed him are L. W. A. Luckey, F. F. Mendenall, G. W. Musser, and Geo. W. Bolds, the present principal."

1900 U.S. Census:1049
Colorado, El Paso County, Colorado Springs
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 born 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:1051 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:1050
Colorado, Denver County, City of Denver
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:707 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:1256 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:1257 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:1258 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 offices, 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.