John W. Metzger - Early Life

Early Life

John W. Metzger is widely reported to have been born on April 4, 1911 in Logan County, Colorado though some reports place his birth in Cripple Creek, Colorado as late as 1914. Metzger's father, Charles William Metzger, homesteaded in Logan County in the early 1900s but abandoned it after a number of years to move to Cripple Creek and take up mining. Metzger's mother, Nora Mahoney Metzger, was previously married to miner named Lacaille and had three children with him. After Lacaille's death Nora married Charles who was now working as a miner. The date of their marriage and the fact they married in Cripple Creek lead the current Metzger family to believe John was born in 1911 or 1912 in Cripple Creek.

Together Charles and Nora had three children, the youngest of whom was John. In 1917 Charles was seriously injured in a mining accident and died shortly after. A few years later Nora died after developing ovarian cancer leaving the three children without any family to care for them. The younger two were declared wards of the state and sent to live in the Colorado Children's Home in Denver. As was the practice at the time, when the children reached the age of 12 they were sent to work for a family in exchange for room and board.

Metzger was sent to the Johnson family near Sterling, Colorado and worked on their farm. At fourteen he ran away to Denver where he eventually met Hugh Neville. With guidance from Neville, Metzger finished high school and attended Westminster School of Law (now part of Denver University). Neville represented many Spanish-American war veterans and when he began to have difficulty speaking he had Metzger present to the court on his behalf. In 1936 Metzger was admitted to the bar by Hadlett P. Burke, even though he had not yet finished his formal law degree.