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A resident of Wyoming for nearly a quarter of a century and occupying during much of that time a position of commanding influence in the civil and political councils of the territory and state, Hon. Joseph A. Black, of the Big Piney section of the country, has been a potential force in the settlement and development of his portion of the state, and has exhibited in his work here the self-reliance, strength of mind, courage and general resourcefulness he acquired in a varied and eventful experience elsewhere. On August 23, 1853, in the state of Indiana his life began as the son of B. F. and Louisa (Matthews) Black, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Indiana, both being children of ministers in the Christian church and prominent men. The father was also a minister of that faith and a veteran of the Civil War, in which he served as master of transportation in his command. They were the parents of eight children, five boys and three girls, of whom six are yet living. Joseph A. Black was educated in the public schools of Indiana and at a reputable private school in Iowa, whither his parents had removed before he was of age. In 1873 he sought the free and adventurous life of the plains in Texas where he rode the cattle ranges and followed trail work, continuing this in every state and territory west of Missouri until 1890, a part of the time serving as foreman in charge of extensive interests. In 1881 he came, to Wyoming and within her promising and rapidly improving bounds he has since resided, carrying on a prosperous and extensive stock industry on a tract of 320 acres of land which he owns and has well improved, and on which he has fine herds of graded Hereford cattle and on which he has resided continuously since 1890. Mr. Black is a Freemason, belonging to Evanston, Wyo., Lodge, No. 4, and he manifests great interest in its progress, although so situated that he is unable to be a frequent lodge attendant. He was elected a member of the Wyoming legislature in 1900 and was re-elected in 1902. His course in the body was highly commended and his services to his constituents were of great and appreciated value. Although a Republican in politics, he is free from extreme partisanship and sees the interests of his county with breadth of view and in an enterprising spirit. He was married on January 1, 1887, with Miss Mary Jaycox, a native of Illinois, at the time of the marriage living in Wyoming. They have five children, Ida, Orline, Edna, Joseph A. and Mary. Mr. Black is one of the leading citizens of the state and takes an active and intelligent interest in all her affairs. He has been a resident of Wyoming since 1880 and has made substantial contributions to her development and improvement. Return To Sublett County Biographies
Nurtured amid the memorable and
historic scenes- of the old Keystone state and receiving his education in
the common schools, where loyalty to one's country was as faithfully
taught as were the all important "three R's", it was the natural sequence
of early training for Daniel C. Budd to be among those who early enlisted
in Co. I, Seventh Kansas Cavalry as
defenders of the Union in the great Civil
War and he continued to share his country's perils while "grim war
smoothed her wrinkled front" and until his country was victorious,
receiving his discharge on May 27. 1865. He was born in Lawrence county, Pa., on
February 24. 1838, a son to the marriage of John C. and Caroline (Painter)
Budd, both native Pennsylvanians and descendants of old Colonial families.
He was the seventh in a family of eleven children, only four of whom are
living, Joseph of Oregon, William P. of Missouri, Mary J. Johnston of Ohio, Florence M. Dicks of Pennsylvania, and
Skidmore, the youngest. After peace was restored Mr. Budd for five years
was engaged as an officer in the penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kan., after
which he pursued agriculture until 1880, when he came to Big piney, Uinta
county, Wyo., and took up 360 acres of land about four miles from where
the family now resides. Later he sold that and bought a tract of 640
acres, also 160 acres where they now live, engaged in stock raising and
also in running a store and the post office. From his war record one is
not surprised to find him active in public affairs
and doing efficient work as a notary public for a number of years, besides
being an enthusiastic member of Grand Army of the Republic at Atchison. Return To Sublett County Biographies
For many years an industrious and a hardworking miner in the mines of the old and the new world, and now the popular restaurant keeper of Fossil, Wyoming, Mr. Fred Cook has witnessed many experiences and changes in the less than half-a-century of his existence. He was born in South Wales, Great Britain, in the year 1855, the son of George and Jane (Painter) Cook. The father was born in South Wales in 1826, and, after a more than superficial education, he became a foreman on the line of the London & Great Western Railway of England, and is now living a retired life, passing the close of an eminently useful life at his residence at Newbridge in South Wales, being now seventy-seven years of age. Family tradition gives his descent from the celebrated Captain Cook, whose tragic death in the Hawaiian Islands is a matter of historic note. The paternal grandfather of Fred Cook was Archibald Cook, also of South Wales. Mrs. Jane (Painter) Cook was born in the same romantic portion of the British Isles in 1826, a daughter of George and Jane Painter, who were progressive agriculturists, by their thrift and industry acquiring a fortune. She is now living in the eventide of a charming life of domestic virtues and Christian activity as a leading worker of the Baptist church. Fred Cook passed his boyhood and youth in his native country, where the prevailing industry is the mining operations connected with the extensive coal mines of that section, and where these offer flattering promises of remuneration to aspiring and energetic youth. Is it not strange that at the age of seventeen Fred was obtaining fair pay for a man's work in the mines. He continued to be thus employed until he had arrived at the age of twenty years, when he carried into effect a plan, that he had long been contemplating, by bidding farewell to the home and friends of his youth and crossing the Atlantic to the land of mightier possibilities on its western shores. Three years of interesting activity then came to him in the coal mines of Pennsylvania, and, subsequently to this labor, he took "Westward Ho!" for his motto, and, making Wyoming the objective point of his journey, he terminated it at Almy. Here he was successfully identified with mining for three more years, changing entirely the nature of his industrial activities by locating on homestead and desert claims in the neighborhood of Fossil, his present post office address. Here the years have come and gone with ever increasing prosperous conditions and here a fine herd of blooded cattle are ranging under Mr. Cook's brand, while, in connection therewith, he has recently established a much needed institution in the way of a restaurant at Fossil, where he is receiving a steadily increasing patronage and is manifesting the qualities of an excellent caterer. All public and local matters of importance to the community find in Mr. Cook an earnest champion and his interest in the success of his political party is evidenced by his earnest labors in its behalf. In 1877 Mr. Cook was united in marriage with Miss Jane Davis, a daughter of- William and Mary (Brown) Davis, who are now living in South Wales, where Mrs. Cook was torn and where her marriage was celebrated. Their children are Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine. Gwendoline and George, who died in Wales, and Christopher and Clara, both of whom died in Pennsylvania, where they are buried. As a typical representative of sterling characteristics of both his native and his adopted lands, Mr. Cook stands out preeminent, being one of whom his best friends, and those who have known him the most intimately, have words of praise for his qualities of head and heart and his progress in enterprise. Return To Sublett County Biographies
Beginning the battle of life for himself at the age of twelve and since then making his own way in the world, Norris W. Griggs, of Big piney, (Sublette) Uinta county, Wyoming, got his education in the hard school of experience and fully paid the price of that exacting schoolmaster in toil and struggle for every foot of progress he has made. He was born on December 29, 1864, in the state of New York, where his parents, Reuben and Asenath (Aikens) Griggs were born and reared, flourished and grew old, the father, who was educated for the ministry but followed farming as an occupation, dying in 1892. He was a man of great public spirit and popularity and had an honorable record in many official stations. The mother still lives in New York and both were of old Colonial stock of English ancestry. Mr. Griggs was one of a family of six children, five of whom are still living. He attended the public schools at intervals until he was twelve years old, and then going to live with a sister, worked for himself from that time forward. At the age of sixteen he came west and locating on the Fontenelle, engaged as a hand on a ranch. In 1880 he came to his present location and for four years was employed by McKay & Budd. After this he worked for A. W. Smith five years while he had the "circle" cattle. In the meantime he had taken up land and at the end of his employment with Mr. Smith he began a cattle business on his own account. Devoting himself assiduously to his work, bringing to bear on its improvement all his natural faculties of mind and body, "he has built up his industry to proportions of magnitude and value and increased his landed estate to 1,000 acres. His land is fertile and bountiful in product, yielding large annual crops of excellent hay and much grain. His cattle are graded Herefords and his horses of superior breed. He is recognized as one of the leaders in the business and has high standing among the people who know him in business or socially. On January 6, 1895, Mr. Griggs was united in marriage with Miss Marcia Merrill, a native of Ohio and a daughter of Orson and Rebekah (Allen) Merrill, the father a native of Maryland and the mother of Ohio. They emigrated from Ohio to Utah and died in that state. Mr. and Mrs. Griggs have two children, Percy M. and Norris R. Their home is a pleasant resort for their many friends who find in it an inspiring and gracious hospitality. Return To Sublett County Biographies
One of the leading stockmen of his section, who has made a success in life entirely by his own exertions, skill and industry, and is now the proprietor of a productive estate of 1,120 acres in the Big Piney district of Wyoming. William S. Hughes well deserves a representation in this volume, which is devoted to the progressive men of the state. He was born in Indiana on August 19, 1860, a son of Stephen F. and Charlotte (Simpson) Hughes, his parents being natives respectively of Kentucky and Indiana. His father, a wagon maker by trade, was a man of great public spirit and patriotism, demonstrating this most clearly by his protracted service in the Union army of the Civil War, where, at the battle of Chapin's Farm, he sacrificed an arm to his country's cause. He now resides in Leavenworth, Kan., the mother having died in 1876, at thirty-seven years of age. The scanty school advantages offered to Mr. Hughes were presented in a sod schoolhouse in Kansas, and, at an early age, he took up the task of earning his own livelihood, engaging in the stock business, which he followed in Kansas for six years, as an employee of Jerry McGaw, better known as “Wild-horse Jerry.” Then, coming west to Nevada, he rode the range for two years, thence coming to Wyoming, where he was employed in the same capacity for The Middle Six and the P. F. outfit until 1885, in which year he worked on the trail for the Hash-Knife proposition, continuing to be so occupied until he came to Big Piney in 1887. Desiring the greater independence afforded in business operations of his own, and, by his unremitting efforts, having acquired sufficient financial reinforcement to accomplish this, he then made claim to a tract of government land of 320 acres, which was the nucleus of his present extensive realty of 1,120 acres. Here he at once engaged in cattle raising, which, under his discriminating care and successful methods, has attained wide scope and importance, large herds of fine grades of cattle being now marked with his brand. Here also he has developed a fine estate, with a commodious residence of modern architecture and all of the necessaries and auxiliaries required for a successful prosecution of his special branch of agriculture. He is considered one of the leading cattlemen of this section of Wyoming, his judgment and opinion in the line of his business carrying marked weight with his brother ranchmen. In public matters Mr. Hughes is broad-gauged, and liberal, generously aiding all worthy objects, while in politics he actively supports the principles of the Republican party, giving its campaigns appreciative assistance. Mr. Hughes was married on September 10, 1892, with Mrs. Hibbard, a native of Virginia and the widow of T. F. Hibbard. Her parents were natives of Virginia, where her father, John, now resides, her mother being deceased. By her first marriage, she has a gifted daughter, Clarissa A. Hibbard, now a student of the Academy of the Sacred Heart, at Ogden, Utah. Mr. and Mrs. Hibbard have a son, John S. Hughes. Return To Sublett County Biographies
The great state of Ohio, which has contributed so liberally to the official life and governmental control of the nation, has not been inactive or niggardly in contributions to other lines of useful activity. Her sons have exemplified the best elements of American manhood in every forum, and helped in the development of every frontier state and territory. Among those born on her soil, who have been potential factors in building up Wyoming, and also in bringing her resources to the knowledge and service of mankind, Levi Lehmer, of Big piney, Uinta county, holds a deservedly high rank. He was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, on October 30, 1852, and, four years later, his father, Henry D. Lehmer, a native of Pennsylvania, descended from old Holland Dutch ancestors, died in Ohio at the age of forty-six years. When her son, Levi, was twelve years old, the widowed mother removed her young family to Indiana, and there she reared and educated them as best she could on the slender means available for the purpose. Rut, early in his life, even when he was but fourteen, Levi Lehmer was obliged to shift for himself and .then and there began the career of industry and frugality that has brought him his present prosperity and standing, by working on farms in the neighborhood of his Hoosier home and at such odd jobs as he could get in other lines. When he was nineteen years old he made a long stride into the then far West, stopping in Nebraska, where he engaged in farming three years, in 1874 coming to Wyoming, where for a year he worked for the Union Pacific at Medicine Bow. From there he went to Green River and continued with the same company for seven more years. He began his railroad service as a section hand and by regular promotions became an engineer before he quit it. In the year of 1879-80 he was engaged in the cattle business on the Spur ranch, which he owned at that time, but, in 1883. he settled on the pleasant and fertile one he now owns and occupies, which consists of 306 acres of productive land, all under irrigation, much of it being cultivated for the benefit of his cattle and horses, of which he has a large number of a good quality. In addition to his stock industry he runs a sawmill about fifteen miles northwest of Big piney on Middle Piney Creek, and, with all its capacity, which is considerable for its kind, he is unable to supply the demand for its product. Being a public spirited and enterprising man, he has in contemplation the enlargement of its equipment which the trade demands. Mr. Lehmer has been deeply and actively interested in the advancement and improvement of the community, and to this end has given time and attention to local public affairs in many ways. He has served as a justice of the peace and he has been at the front of every commendable movement along the lines of safe and healthful progress. On March 3, 1895, he was united in marriage with Mrs. Alice J. Bugher, widow of Dr. J. O. Bugher, of this county, and a daughter of Edward and Jane (Hargraves) Davis, natives of England. Mrs. Lehmer had five children by her first marriage, Archie C., Ralph C, John C., Christina F. and Ruby E. Bugher. One child has blessed her second marriage, a daughter, Bessie M. Lehmer. The father of Mrs. Lehmer is still living, at. the age of eighty years, at Whitewater, Kan., with his son, Edward Davis, who is the editor of the Whitewater Independent. Mr. Lehmer's mother, some years after the death of his father, contracted a second marriage, being then united with Jacob Sliffe of Pennsylvania. Return To Sublett County Biographies
Now a prominent and respected business man and citizen of Salt Lake City, Utah. Otto Leifer has also a good record to his credit as a pioneer and civilizer in Wyoming, having been one of the very first settlers on Big Piney Creek in Uinta county, there aiding in transforming the wilderness into an abode fit for civilized man and making it an element in the progress and growth of our country. He was born in Germany and lost his mother by death in his infancy and when he was but four years old his father left his desolated home and came to the United States, locating first in Baltimore, Md., from there removing to Frederick county, Va., and four years later he left his orphan boy in that county and returned to the Fatherland. The son grew almost to manhood in his new home, receiving his education in its public schools. In 1861 he made his way to Iowa and after attending school at Fremont for a year, he joined an expedition going across the plains with ox teams and reached Auburn, Ore., in the fall of 1861 after having been three months on the road and experienced considerable trouble at the hands of hostile Indians, and near Rock Creek, Utah, while trying to rescue some horses that had been stolen, the expedition had eight men killed and sixteen wounded. After his arrival at Auburn Mr. Leifer drove a government team from Walla Walla to Fort Boise during the summer of 1863 and then went to Montana and engaged in mining at Virginia City until 1865, when he moved to the Bitter Root valley and started a stock growing industry, owning and using the celebrated ranch which was later the magnificent estate of the late Marcus Daly. In 1878 Mr. Leiffer came to Wyoming with Edward Swan and settling on the Big Piney. he there took up land and began raising cattle. He and Mr. Swan were the first settlers in this part of the state and Tor years they were obliged to freight every article for their use from Green River, 100 miles distant, and also to get their mail there, it being the nearest post office until one was established at Big Piney, after which they had a weekly mail. In this locality Mr. Leifer lived and prospered, enjoying the free life and the growth and development of the country until 1896, when on account of his wife's failing health he removed to Salt Lake City, where he is carrying on a large real-estate and mining business and winning golden opinions as an enterprising and public spirited citizen. In March, 1887, Mr. Leifer was married with Miss Delia M. Sollers, a native of Winchester, Va., and a daughter of William R. and Anna Sollers, also natives of Virginia. Mrs. Leifer died at Salt Lake City on July 7, 1902, aged forty-eight and one-half years and her remains were laid to rest beside those of her parents at Schuyler, Neb. She was universally esteemed as a lady of refinement and tender sensibilities, very affable in disposition and courteous in manner. Mr. Leifer owned a fine farm of 368 acres near Schuyler which he sold in 1902, receiving a cash price of $20,350. In Salt Lake City he occupies his elegant home at 122 N street. The story of his life is very incomplete without the statement that he fought valiantly and was wounded in the great battle with the Nez Perces Indians in 1877, at Big Hole, Mont., a fact greatly to his credit, which he modestly withholds from public notice Return To Sublett County Biographies
Born in Warren county, Pennsylvania, in 1863, Reuben A. Miller, now a representative stockman of Uinta county, Wyoming, is a son of Joseph and Mary (Westfall) Miller, both natives of Pennsylvania, the mother being a daughter of James and Hannah Westfall. Joseph Miller has been a farmer and stockman all of his life, coming to Wyomingin 1880. He is now located in Idaho, a hale old gentleman of seventy-five years, while the mother now maintains her home at Ham's Fork, Wyoming. Reuben A. Miller was nineteen years old when he accompanied his people from the East, where he had received the education given at the schools of his native county, and, after various mutations and changes of occupation, the principal ones, however, being the care of cattle and riding on the range, in 1893 he homesteaded 160 acres on Ham's Fork, sixteen miles from Kemmerer and engaged in cattle raising, for which he was by this time particularly well qualified. His herds increasing he soon added eighty acres more to his estate, which he has put well under improvement, but he has recently made his home on section No. 12, township 23, in Uinta county, near the Big Piney post office, continuing there to be employed in raising choice breeds of cattle. In politics Mr. Miller supports the Democratic party and is of much importance in local matters of public interest, being a good citizen and a useful member of the cattle raising fraternity. Mr. Miller married in 1896, Miss Lizzie Sutton, a daughter of William Sutton, a prominent citizen, who is more particularly mentioned in the sketch of Edward Sutton elsewhere in this volume, and to which we refer the reader for further details. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have three children, Bertha May, Agnes Irene and Edward. Return To Sublett County Biographies
What was to the last generation a living, struggling, controlling reality, to this one a fading, but still potential, entity and institution, and what will be to the next a memory and a reminiscence, the cowboy of the wild West, is interesting from every point of view. Poets have caroled about him, historians have fixed his place in the course of empire in this new domain, novelists have made him their engaging theme, and dramatists have gladly welcomed his coming upon their mimic stage "to hold, as it were, the mirror up to nature." It is not within the province of these pages to deal with types abstractly, but to take them in concrete form and to show thereby how they have aided, all, in building here great states and polities, a refuge and a home for men of every clime and kin. Eugene R. Noble of Big Piney, Uinta county, Wyoming, is a cowboy of the olden time, having good service to his credit in every phase of the range rider's wild life, exhibiting in himself all the essential traits and holding fast to all the traditions of the class. Mr. Noble was born on May 3, 1854, in Henry county, Iowa, where his parents, Richard and Elizabeth (Carroll) Noble, had settled and were engaged in farming. His father was a native of Pennsylvania and his mother of Ohio, but only one generation removed from Scotland, the home of her ancestors, her father having emigrated from that country to America when he was in youthful years. Their son, Eugene, was educated in the good public schools of Iowa and, leaving school at quite an early age, he at once began farming and raising stock near the paternal home, remaining there until 1877, when he removed to Nebraska and there devoted his energies wholly to the cattle industry. He helped to drive the first herd that went in on the Middle Loup River, 100 miles north of North Platte City. This herd belonged to D. R. Rankins, now living in Missouri, and contained about 9.000 cattle. In the spring Mr. Noble returned to North Platte, during the next three years working there for Nichols, Beach & Co., riding the range, herding cattle and performing the other duties of the alert and accomplished cowboy. Following his service for this firm, he worked for two years in the employ of Coe & Carter in Nebraska, then went to Missouri to buy cattle and set up in business for himself. Finding the stock there in poor condition he went to Wisconsin and bought a herd which he drove to Nebraska, which, after herding and feeding them for two years, he sold to advantage and again engaged in range-riding for Mr. Rankins. He kept at this in Mr. Rankins' employ for two years and then engaged to work on Hat Creek for Richard Fruin, taking a herd of cattle to the Missouri River. There he was in the service of Mr. Fruin's brother, Morton Fruin, driving 9,500 head of cattle from Buffalo, Wyo., to the Northwest Territory, Canada, remaining there in charge of the outfit for a year, when he returned to Nebraska and later to his former home in Iowa, where he passed the winter. In the spring he came west again, taking charge of. an outfit in Colorado and Wyoming for Nelson Morris of Chicago. Soon after, finding that the range in the neighborhood where he was located was eaten out by sheep, he came to Uinta county and took the management of the 67 outfit and continued in charge of it until 1897 when he homesteaded on part of the land he now owns and occupies, increasing his holding by purchase until it now embraces 1,000 acres, most of it excellent meadow land and admirably adapted to stock growing, in which he is extensively engaged, running principally graded Herefords, but he also raises horses of a superior breed. He has prospered financially by his care and knowledge, his close attention and fair dealing, and has grown strong in the esteem of his fellow men. His interest in the affairs of the community has been constant, earnest, serviceable, and his influence for good on every enterprise for the welfare of the people has been potent and active. He is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and holds his membership in Lodge No. 55, at Cozad, Neb. On New Year's Day, 1900, he was married in Iowa, to Miss Margaret A. Pence, a native of that state and daughter of William and Mary (Thomas) Pence, the mother being a native of Wales and the father of Lycoming, Pa. Mr. Pence belonged to an old Colonial family, whose members have always been at the front in the service of their country, whether called by military or civil life. One of his ancestors fought under Washington at FortDuquesne where Braddock fell, and he and others followed that great commander through the Revolution. The family settled in Iowa in 1838, and were pioneers where they "pitched their tents." Return To Sublett County Biographies
The sturdy independence and love of liberty which impelled the followers of William Penn to leave the home of their forefathers and plant their domestic altars in the unbroken wilderness of the New World, daring danger, courting toil and cheerfully enduring all privation incident to the change, have furnished forth for the civilization, development and aggrandizement of the unknown land to which they came many of the most valuable and productive elements of our citizenship and many families of our most esteemed citizens in different parts of the Union. One of the number, who is entitled to a high regard on account of his own sterling worth and because of the forces for good which he has set in motion by his influence and example, is Zachary Taylor Noble of the Big Piney district of (Sublette) Uinta county, who, born at Burlington, Iowa, on November 7, 1848, the day on which "Old Rough and Ready" was elected to the Presidency of the United States, very properly bears his honored name. His parents were Richard and Elizabeth (Carroll) Noble, the father a native of Pennsylvania and the mother of Ohio. Mr. Noble is descended from an old Irish family, some members of which left the uncongenial soil of their native Erin and came to America with the great Quaker leader, William Penn, and settled in that part of his domain now Washington county. There the family lived and flourished, pursuing with commendable industry and frugality the fruitful vocations of peace, but, although fervently patriotic and deeply imbued with the spirit of freedom, never taking part in any of their country's wars because of their Quaker faith. In the course of time they spread out over the new country lying to the west of them and, in this way, Richard Noble, the father of Zachary T., became a resident of Ohio. He there carried on prosperous business as a farmer and stock grower and also worked at his trade of bricklayer. In 1851. he crossed the plains to California, reaching the terminal of his long journey after much difficulty, being obliged to walk all of the last thousand miles, although he had the best outfit that crossed the plains that year. After three years of successful mining and prospecting, he returned to New York by way of Cape Horn and soon after found an agreeable home in Des Moines county, Iowa, where he at once became prominent in politics, being the first representative to the State Legislature from that county. He died there in 1891, aged eighty-three years. Zachary T. Noble was reared and educated in Iowa and when he left school began farming in that state. After following this occupation there for five years, he removed to Nebraska in 1871, and, three years later, by reason of the hard times then general throughout the country, he was obliged to relinquish all of his interests in the place where he was residing and locating then at North Platte, where he at once engaged in riding the range for various large companies, among them Bratt, Coe & Carter. He also rode with Cody and North and afterwards conducted an outfit out of Cheyenne for the Frontier Co. for five years until that company went broke. Then on account of his wife's failing health he removed to Uinta county, Wyo., and, purchasing the claim of Walter Nichols, located on the land he now occupies. His ranch consists of 1.120 acres, the entire tract being fenced and ditched and the property well improved. It is one of the pleasant and desirable homes of the section, largely owing its attractiveness to his industry and skill in caring for and improving it. He also owns 320 acres in the Fall River basin. He is largely engaged in raising Hereford and Shorthorn cattle and superior breeds of horses. In fraternal relations Mr. Noble is connected with the order of Freemasons, holding membership in a lodge at Danville, Iowa. At Mount Pleasant, Iowa, on October 8. 1872. he was married with Miss Sarah E. Webster, a native of Lee county, Iowa, and a daughter of Caleb and Margaret A. (Wiggins) Webster, natives of Ohio. Her father was a cousin of the great American commoner, Daniel Webster. They have no children save an adopted son, Charles Powers, whose mother died at the time of his birth, and his father, a railroad engineer, was killed in the performance of his duty in a wreck on the road. This adopted son, Charles Powers, was born at Joplin, Mo., on April 28, 1880. Return To Sublett County Biographies
A “pioneer of pioneers” in two states and one territory of this Union, the sheriff of an immense county in the most troublous times, a county surveyor when the lines of new counties were to be established, and a legislator when the formative period of a new commonwealth had not yet passed, Hon. Daniel C. Nowlin, one of the leading stockmen of Wyoming, in the Big Piney district, and the game warden of the state, has had all the hazard of frontier life and contributed his full share to the organizing and development of many portions of our country in the West. He was born in Texas on September 1. 1857, the son of Dr. James S. and Elizabeth A. (Gathing) Nowlin, natives of Kentucky and Mississippi respectively. His father was a physician and surgeon in the famous Texas Rangers between 1870 and 1877, and died in that state in 1899 at the age of eighty-one years. His ancestors were Virginians of old Colonial stock who came from Ireland in the early days.Daniel C. Nowlin was educated in the primary and high schools of his native state and after leaving school followed land surveying, holding for a short time there the office of county surveyor, then removed to New Mexico, where he served as deputy mineral surveyor for seven years. After his experience in New Mexico he returned to San Antonio, Tex., for a short time and from there-came to Wyoming in 1891, having his desire to live in this state quickened by a previous residence here for a few months in 1880, when he came hither with a band of cattle, during his stay aiding in organizing Johnson county. He then went back to New Mexico and worked in that territory and Texas on a surveying corps of the Southern Pacific Railroad. He also served as county superintendent of schools in Lincoln county, N. M., and was its last sheriff before it was divided, it being then the largest county in the United States and held under a reign of terror by the lawless element led by the renowned “Billy, the Kid.” In 1891 Mr. Nowlin sold out his interests in Texas and, as has been noted, came to Wyoming, Fettling in Uinta county, where he has since resided and conducted a ranching and cattle growing industry of constantly expanding magnitude. His close and systematic attention to business and his general usefulness in every public enterprise in the community commended him to favorable notice and in 1901 he was appointed state game warden, a position he is now filling with eminent success and general satisfaction to the people. He was well-known throughout the state as deeply interested in the preservation and protection of game in the state, having, when a member of the Fifth Legislature, fathered and championed the present game law. For a number of years, while residing in the Jackson Hole country in the northern part of the county, he served as a justice of the peace and in that capacity was of material assistance in establishing the supremacy of law and order in the neighborhood, giving stability and form to its civil forces. This was in keeping with his former experience, when, as a member of the frontier battalion of the Texas Rangers, he aided in ridding Texas and New Mexico of a number of very bad characters. In fraternal relations Mr. Nowlin is a Freemason, holding membership in Rising Star Lodge, No. 421, of Texas, and also a Knight of Pythias, belonging to Lincoln Lodge, New Mexico, of which he has been chancellor commander. On November 19, 1887, Mr. Nowlin was married with Miss Laura Leonard, a native of Missouri and daughter of Levi and Jane (McDaniel) Leonard, whose father was born and reared in Pennsylvania and her mother in Missouri. They have five children, Bryan, Percy, Bruce, Bernice and Pera. Return To Sublett County Biographies
One of the prominent citizens and progressive, enterprising stockmen of Uinta (Sublette) county, in the Big Piney section, Amos W. Smith beholds the products of his intelligence and public spirit blooming and growing fruitful around him in the excellence of the industrial, educational and civic forces he has helped to put in motion, and the elevated tone of the social life he has aided in quickening into healthy and vigorous activity. Missouri is his native state, where his life began on October 7, 1846. His parents, Samuel and Sarah (Groom) Smith, were natives of Tennessee and Kentucky respectively, but both descended from old Kentucky families who were among the first settlers in that state. They settled in Missouri soon after their marriage, there engaged in farming and reared their family of five children, three of whom are yet living. Amos W. Smith received a common-school education in his native county, and when he was eighteen years old he left the paternal fireside and, journeying westward, found promising employment in the mines and mining districts of Idaho and Nevada for eight years. At the end of that time he gave up mining and turned his attention to stock growing, in 1879 coming to Big Piney as one of the first settlers in this now favored region, where he homesteaded the nucleus of his present ranch of 640 acres and at once began to give it the appearance and accommodations of a home for civilized man and he has steadily continued to improve it and add to its acreage since. He now owns in all about 2,800 acres of good hay and pasture land, and has made it, by judicious improvement and cultivation one of the finest ranches in this part of the state. He is extensively engaged in raising graded Hereford cattle and superior breeds of horses, keeping his standard up to the requirements of an expanding market, which he has helped to create and make exacting. He is a gentleman of fine public spirit, seeing in the advance of the community in which he lives one of the best contributions to the general weal, withholding from the service of his people no aid he can give in counsel or in active effort toward its progress. For five years after his arrival he served as postmaster for the convenience of the people and has ever been at their command for any good he can do them. He was married in this county on September 15, 1885, to Miss Frances Griggs, a native of New York and daughter of Reuben and Asenath (Aikens) Griggs of that state, where the mother is still living, the father having died in 1892. |