Background
Born in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, Belford was the son of Samuel and Eliza Belford and cousin of Joseph McCrum Belford.
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James Burns
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He attended the common schools and Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1859.
Career
Belford moved to California, Missouri, and commenced practice. He was appointed an associate justice of the supreme court of Colorado in 1870 and moved to Central City. He moved to Denver in 1883.
Upon the admission of Colorado into the Union as a State, Belford was elected as a Republican to the Forty-fourth Congress as United States Representative for the first district of Colorado and served from October 3, 1876, until March 3, 1877.
He was presented credentials as a Member-elect to the Forty-fifth Congress and served as United States Representative for the first district from March 4, 1877, until December 13, 1877, when he was succeeded by Thomas M. Patterson, who contested his election. Elected to the Forty-sixth, Forty-seventh, and Forty-eighth Congresses Belford was United States Representative for the first district from March 4, 1879 to March 3, 1885.
He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Treasury during the Forty-seventh Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1884.
He engaged in the practice of law in Denver, Colorado, until his death.
Belford died in Denver, Colorado, on January 10, 1910 (age 72 years, 104 days). He is interred at Riverside Cemetery, Denver, Colorado.
Views
He was known as the “Red Rooster of the Rockies” because of his flaming red hair and “magnificently roseate beard.” In the mid-1890s he gained notoriety for successfully defending Denver bad man Soapy Smith in several cases.
Membership
He then moved to Louisiana Porte, Indiana, in 1860, and served as member of the State house of representatives in 1867.
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Born
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Died
January 10, 1910 (aged 72) -
Nationality
United States -
Political Party
Republican party