Andrew McMicken is recognized as one of the distinguished representatives of the Wyoming bar, practicing at Rawlins. In no profession is there a career more open to talent than that of the law and in no field of endeavor is there demanded a more careful preparation, a more thorough appreciation of the absolute ethics of life or of the underlying principles which form the basis of all human rights. Unflagging application and intuitive wisdom and determination to fully utilize the means at hand are the concomitants which insure personal success and prestige in this great profession, which stands as a stern conservator of justice; and it is one into which none should enter without a recognition of the obstacles to be overcome and the battles to be won, for success does not perch on the fortune of every person who enters the competitive fray, but comes only as the direct result of capacity and unmistakable ability. Possessing all the requisite qualities of the able lawyer, Andrew McMicken has made for himself a prominent place at the Wyoming bar, practicing now as senior partner in the firm of McMicken & McMicken of Rawlins, successors to the firm of McMicken & Blydenburg.
    He was born on McMicken avenue in Cincinnati, Ohio, November 13, 1851, a son of the late Andrew McMicken, a prominent lawyer and banker of that city and a direct descendant of Charles McMicken, who settled in Cincinnati in 1732, when the city was but a tiny village. The McMicken family is of Scotch origin and was early founded in Pennsylvania. Representatives of the name participated in the Revolutionary war with the American army and the family became one of distinction and prominence in Pennsylvania and in Ohio. Andrew McMicken. Sr.. was married April 20, 1844, to Anna R. McDowell, a daughter of Joseph J. McDowell, a leading citizen of Cincinnati and member of congress, in which he served for two terms. His father was a Revolutionary war soldier and member of the Continental Congress and belonged to a distinguished family of Fairfax county, Virginia, of Scotch descent. The McDowells were extensive planters and large slaveholders in the Old Dominion. The McMicken family has ever been characterized by marked patriotism and loyalty. During the Mexican war Andrew McMicken, Sr., organized a company, of which he became major, but the company was not accepted for active service. He passed away in 1893 and his wife, Mrs. Anna R. McMicken, died at Westwood, Ohio, in 1890 at the age of sixty-six years and was laid to rest in Spring Grove cemetery, where so many members of the McMicken family are buried. A very prominent member of the familv was Charles McMicken, granduncle of Andrew McMicken of this review, one of Cincinnati's wealthy and well known philanthropists, the founder of McMicken University, now the University of Cincinnati. Upon his death he endowed this institution with the sum of eight hundred thousand dollars, an enormous amount in those frugal times of the past. He was so deeply imbued with the importance of the cause of education that he even sent educators to Liberia to establish schools in that country to teach the natives. The city of Cincinnati erected in his honor a monument at a cost of ten thousand dollars, which was placed in the Spring Grove cemetery, where his remains were interred and where all of his ancestors are buried. It was a public recognition of the value of his contribution to the general welfare and upbuilding of his city, where he exerted a marked influence over many events that have left their impress upon the history of that community. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew McMicken, Sr., were born nine children, of whom four have departed this life, while the living are: Mrs. Benjamin P. Runkle, widow of the late Benjamin P. Runkle, a noted Civil war commander, who resided in Highland county, Ohio, where .Mrs. Runkle still makes her home; Andrew, of this review; Mary, the wife of William M. Strowbridge, of Cincinnati; and Jennie, who resides with her sister, Mrs. Strowbridge; and Lucy Belle Hine, of Portland, Oregon.
    Andrew McAIicken pursued his education in Jameson's private academy at Keokuk, Iowa, and spent two years in study at Princeton before entering the Cincinnati Law School, from which he was graduated with the LL, B. degree as a member of the class of 1872. He entered upon the practice of his chosen profession at Atchison, Kansas, where he remained for several years, and then returned to Cincinnati, where he entered the county prosecutor's office as an assistant. He spent four years in that connection, at the end of which time ill health prompted him to resign and he sought a change of climate, returning to the west. For eight years he was engaged in the cattle business, spending much of his time on the trail and on the range, and in the outdoor life fully recovered his health. He came to Wyoming in 1881, arriving in Rawlins on the 5th of March, and through the intervening period to 1889 became thoroughly familiar with every phase of ranch life. He then reentered upon the practice of law, in which profession he has since been continuously and successfully engaged. For a considerable period he practiced in connection with Judge Blydenburg as a member of the firm of McMicken & Blydenburg, but at the present time is senior partner in the firm of McMicken & McMicken. While he was well grounded in the principles of common law when admitted to the bar, he has continued through the whole of his professional line a diligent student of those elementary principles that constitute the basis of all legal science and this knowledge has served him well in many a legal battle before the superior and appellate courts, where he has successfully conducted many cases. He always prepares his cases with great care. If there is a close legal point involved in the issue it is his habit to thoroughly examine every authority within his reach bearing upon the question and this makes him a most dangerous adversary. When he comes to the discussion of the most intricate questions before the court it is perhaps then that his greatest powers as a lawyer show to the best advantage. With a thorough knowledge of the subjects he discusses and of the legal principles applicable to them, his addresses before the courts are models of clearness and logic.
   Mr. McMicken has always affiliated with the democratic party and is of the Jeffersonian type. He has ever taken an active part in support of the principles in which he believes and is regarded as one of the party's councillors. On various occasions he has been a candidate for office. In 1890 he was its candidate for the state senate. He led the ticket, receiving a vote far in advance of the normal democratic vote, but was defeated, and again he went down with the entire ticket when a candidate for county prosecuting attorney, losing, however, only by the small margin of forty-four votes, notwithstanding the fact that the county is overwhelmingly republican. He was also defeated as a candidate for the Constitutional Convention and yet the fact that he has always run ahead of the party vote is indicative not only of his personal popularity but also of the confidence reposed in him as a citizen and the recognition of his professional ability and power. He served as county prosecutor of Carbon county for two terms, winning at the first election over his opponent by six hundred and fifteen votes and at the second election by a majority of three hundred and fifteen votes. He also served as city attorney of Rawlins, being elected in 1893 and continuing in the office for a number of years, during which time he revised the major portion of the city ordinances. He afterward again served as city attorney from 1908 until 1914. As county prosecutor he successfully convicted more than fifty criminals, who were sentenced to the state penitentiary, and while he was city prosecutor he collected for Rawlins many thousands of dollars in fines and jail sentences for violators and during his entire term of office as city and county prosecutor he had only three cases reversed and holds the unchallenged record of being the ablest prosecutor the county of Carbon has ever had in all of its history. He has been connected with many notable cases, being attorney for the defense in the trial of T. O'Hama, a Japanese, charged with murder and convicted in May, 1916. and sentenced to the death penalty on the 28th of October. Mr. McMicken entered the case in September, 1916, after it had been defended by other lawyers and sentence had been passed. He reopened the case by appeal to the supreme court, the latter granting a new trial, in which Mr. McMicken succeeded in proving the innocence of his client, who was completely vindicated and discharged.
    Mr. McMicken was married in Rawlins to Miss Helen Cannon and they have become the parents of two children: Andrew Revelle, who was graduated from Harvard with the LL. B. degree in June, 1916. and who on the 1st of November. 1917, became a member of the new firm of McMicken & McMicken; and Ann Helen, who is at home.
    Mr. McMicken is prominent in Masonic circles. He has filled all of the chairs in the Blue Lodge save that of worshipful master and has attained high rank in the order, being now a past illustrious potentate of Korein Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He has also taken the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite. He belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, of which he is a past exalted ruler, and he has been chancellor commander of the Knights of Pythias.
    Attracted to the west for the benefit of his health, he has found here a splendid field for professional activity and has become a prominent factor in the development, progress and upbuilding of the section in which he has located. Like his ancestors, who were builders of Cincinnati, he has become one of the builders, of a growing and enterprising western city, his efforts along many lines being far-reaching and beneficial. All who know him attest his worth in public connections and recognize the fact that he has carved his name high on the keystone of Wyoming's legal arch.