Trails to the Past
Uinta County Wyoming Biographies
 
 

JOHN T. HAWKINS.

A good type of the industrious, adventurous men who by their energy, thrift, economy and good judgment have attained success in the West and demonstrated the possibilities awaiting the earnest worker in the wild lands of {his wonderful western section of the American Union, John T. Hawkins, now a Progressive and successful rancher and stockman on Smiths Fork, near Robertson, Uinta county, Wyoming, may be considered an old timer, as he has been identified with the new land for many years, industriously occupying his time and energies in such vocations as have tended to the material development of the territory and state. He was born in New London, Iowa, on November 28. 1863. a son of Michael and Elizabeth (McNulty) Hawkins, his father being a native of Scotland, a son of Daniel and Mary Hawkins, and his mother having her birth in Ireland. Michael Hawkins was for many years a farmer in Iowa, uniting for years with that vocation the buying of cattle, in which he was an acknowledged expert. He is now living at Dendale. Iowa, his cherished wife having closed her eyes in death in October, 1898, at the age of sixty years, her remains being tenderly deposited in the Dendale cemetery. The third of the ten children of his parents, J. T. Hawkins was early taught the practical lesson that honest labor was the first duty of man, being an assistant to his father in the care of his stock even at an early age. He attended the district schools and made such progress that he continued his education in the excellent academy at New London, and was duly graduated there from. Thereafter he was connected with railroad work in Iowa until 1885, when, continuing the same employment, he came to Colorado, and was identified with the Union Pacific Railroad for two years, thence going to Utah and entering the employ of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, but not long thereafter, he closed his connection with railroad operations, coming to Fort Bridger and engaging with Mrs. W. A. Carter as an employee until the reservation was thrown open to settlement, when he filed on the 160 acres where he now makes his home, securing the second choice on the reservation and becoming the possessor of a valuable tract of land. Here he has since given his energies to the development of a superior cattle ranch, and has been prospered in his undertakings, using wise discrimination in the selection of his stock and confining his attention to the finest strains Of thoroughbred and graded Hereford cattle, being held in high esteem as a stockman of merit and Progressive ways, while his long residence in the West has given unto him a large circle of personal friends. His herd on an average consists of from fifteen to twenty thoroughbreds and from seventy five to eighty head of finely graded stock. Pleasant, accommodating and unassuming, it is no wonder that he should make friends all along his pathway, for his earnest efforts arc always given to all causes of public benefit or worthy private benefactions.  (Source Progresive Men of Wyoming)  Biographie Index

Inheriting: the vigorous constitution and habits of centuries of Scandinavian .ancestors, and yet himself a child of the West, the popular and energetic ranchman, Albert G.  Heder,  is doubly equipped for a successful career.   He was born in Utah on May 1, 1869, a son of Gustavus and Charlotte (Bockman) Heder, natives of Sweden, and of whom and their parents extended notice is given previously in this volume.   He was barely four years old when he accompanied his parents to Wyoming, and here he attained a vigorous manhood, applying himself to the practical life of a rancher, acquiring in the public schools a solid foundation for the education that has come to him through experience and from mingling with the affairs of the world.   As soon as he was large enough to do a creditable days work, he became an employee of Hon. W. A. Carter in the stock business, continuing to be thus engaged for four years and until the fertile land of the Fort Bridger reservation was given up to settlement, when he located the farm where his father now resides, and permanently identified himself with the stock industry on his own account, being favored in his enterprise and winning success by his proper application of the principles and methods that make for success in his chosen field of endeavor. In association with his father he has here developed one of the beautiful ranches of the countryside, and their success has been deserved. Albert G. Heder is one of the alert movers in all matters of public importance, and to him is due the distinction of being one of the originators of Robertson post office and of circulating the petition in this portion of the state asking for the passage of a bill allowing the people here to secure a second quarter section of government land. This petition was placed in the hands of U. S. Senator Clark, and, through his activity and efforts, the bill was drafted and made a law. Mr. Heder is a forceful factor in all matters of public interest. Miss Metta Marshall, the winsome daughter of Ephraim and Ida (Dotson) Marshall, became his wife on June 22, 1899.  They have one child, Myrtle Lucille. For ancestral and other data of the Marshall family, the reader is referred to the sketch of Mr. and Mrs.  Marshall, on other pages of this work.  (Source Progresive Men of Wyoming)

GUSTAVUS HEDER.

One of the sturdy sons of far distant Sweden, who has personally demonstrated the possibilities of the West in providing a competence and an enjoyable home, Gustavus Heder, a ranchman on Smiths Fork, Uinta county, Wyoming, not far from Robertson post office, can surely bless the day when his enlightened courage caused his emigration from Sweden, the land of his forefathers for long generations, for it has resulted in his acquiring here an independence and fortune that he could never have aspired to reach in his native land. He was born near Wennersborg, Sweden, on January 5, 1845, a son of John and Christina (Erickson) Heder. His father, who died before Gustavus was born, was for many years a soldier, and the son was the youngest of three children. Mr. Heder came to the United States when he was a young man of seventeen years, having before this availed himself most studiously of the advantages of the Swedish schools, and, coming directly to Utah, he at once commenced the life of untiring industry through which he has attained his present prosperity, by engaging in agricultural pursuits, which he steadily continued in Utah until 1873, when he came to HilIiard, Wyo., here following his earnest labors of farming, by engaging in various occupations, such as hauling timber, burning charcoal, etc., pursuing these employments with satisfactory financial results for fourteen years, thence removing to Fort Bridger and to the employ of J. Van A. Carter, with whom he remained until the opening of the reservation to settlement, when he soon located the 160 acres of land, where is now his home, engaging at once in its active development, and here, with his son, Albert, he is now conducting a profitable business in the raising of cattle and horses. He has recently taken up 160 acres on the bench near his home ranch, so that his landed property now embraces 320 acres, a large proportion of which is in a fine state of improvement, having substantial buildings and other accessories of ranch life. In Utah, on June 10. 1866, Mr. Heder was married with Miss Charlotte Rockman. a daughter of Oliver and Helena Rockman. natives of Sweden, who emigrated from the old world to Utah in 1866.  Their seven children are Albert G.. who is married and located near his father; Helena C, wife of John Ovary; Alma H., wife of James G. Megeath; Joseph; Anna. John N. and George O.  died in Utah in very early life. Mr. Heder is a Progressive citizen and takes an active part in public matters of a local character.  (Source Progresive Men of Wyoming)  Biographie Index

MRS. AGNES HEWITT.

All honor and reverence is due and is most heartily given to those courageous women who, daring all of the uncounted dangers of the West in pioneer days, sacrificed the delights, comforts and amenities of life in the established communities of long years of settlement, to aid in founding the new nations which have arisen in the Rocky Mountain region and the Pacific Slope.  Of this number, no one is held in higher esteem or has done her part more bravely in the great contest between civilization and barbarism, than the admirable lady whose name heads this review, and who is now the truly hospitable hostess of the unique Harvey Hotel, at Mountain View, Wyo. It is with great pleasure that we herewith transcribe a very brief synopsis of her eventful life for the perusal of coming generations and the present gratification of her numerous friends. Mrs. Agnes Hewitt was born near Wigdon, Scotland, on April 22, 1837, a daughter of Robert and Mary (McGill) McCulloch both descended from families identified with Scottish history from time immemorial. The family was a prominent one, entitled to bear arms, and owning vast estates in past generations.  The great-grandfather of Mrs. Hewitt, Robert McCulloch, was a sea captain and his son, Peter, who married a Mary Brown, was a well-to-do farmer on his own land. Her father, a farmer, emigrated from his native land in 1865 and locating in Montgomery County, Iowa, both parents resided there until their deaths, and they now await the resurrection in the little cemetery at Villisca. They were zealous Presbyterians, bringing up their children in the fear of the Lord.  There were eight of these, and the five now living, met in reunion at Muscatine, Iowa, in 1900.  Mrs. Hewitt acquired a solid education in the Scottish and English schools and came to the United States in 1855. where her first residence was made for three years in Connecticut. Here she met and married with her old schoolmate and quondam sweetheart in Scotland. William Harvey, he being a son of James and Isabel Harvey, natives of County Wigton, the family having emigrated thence in 1851, locating in Rye, N. Y., where the fathers death early occurred. Mr.  Harvey was a contractor on the New York and New Haven Railroad, and in the fall of 1857 he and his wife removed to Iowa and engaged in agriculture, where was the family home until the death of Mr. Harvey at Muscatine, on October 23, 1873, at the age of thirty-three years. He left four children, Robert B.. William H., George P. and Isabel J., now the wife of Archie Marchessault, all married and living near their mother.  On March 23, 1878, Mrs. Harvey contracted a second marriage with Avery C. Hewitt, a native of Virginia of old Colonial stock, his mothers family, the Averys, being among the first settlers of Massachusetts, and founders of the Connecticut colony, while Hon. Abram Hewitt, of New York, was a cousin. They continued fanning operations in Iowa until Mr. Hewitts death in 1883, and in 1884 his courageous widow and family took up their westward march of hundreds of miles, over the dreary plains to Wyoming, she locating here 160 acres when the reservation was thrown open for settlement, being extremely fortunate in her choice as she has since sold much of it for townsite purposes, reserving, however, fortytwo acres and two town lots for herself. By her second marriage she had one child. Ethel M.. now Mrs. R. R. Hamilton of Smiths Fork, Wyo. Mrs. Hewitt has been a veritable mother in Israel all through her life. She has reared her children loyally and well, living to see them occupy responsible and creditable positions in society and in independent financial circumstances. To the weary stranger within her gates she has ever extended a mothers kindness, and no one is more beloved or cherished than she in a large extent of country. That the autumn of her life may pass pleasantly and happily is the hearty wish of her numerous friends.  (Source Progresive Men of Wyoming)  Biographie Index

AMOS HILL.

Descending from families identified prominently with the history of the Eastern states, and possessing a distinct and a positive individuality that early threw him into a strenuous life in the Wild West. Amos Hill stands as one of the sterling pioneer characters that. alas, are fast passing away. In detail his life story would read like a romance, and, to rehearse it fully, would occupy far more space than the limitations of a work like this would allow, for his life has been a busy and a useful one. an example of honorable dealing, steadfast purpose, fidelity to principle and invincible physical and moral courage. He is a typical old timer, and. as such, he is honored and reverenced by all who know him. His life began on December 16, 1851, as a son of Elihu and Elmira (McLallin) Hill, natives of New York, his father being a son of William and Ruth (Padin) Hill, who were born in Pennsylvania, while his mother was the daughter of an eloquent Methodist divine. Rev. Isaac Mclallin, who was born in Massachusetts of Scotch ancestry, and his wife. Lucinda, a native of Virginia. Amos Hill was one of thirteen children and attained his later teens on the paternal homesteads in Illinois and Kansas, learning more from actual experience and hard labor than from the teaching and textbooks of schools.    He was vigorous and healthy, and yearned for a life of freer action, which he acquired, in 1889. by going to the then primitive Colorado and starting in business for himself with a freighting outfit, traversing the wild country from Canyon City through Leadville to Pueblo and Alamosa, continuing in this strenuous vocation until 1878, often having thrilling adventures with wild beasts and with wilder men. His outfit, on leaving Colorado, consisted of four six horse and mule teams. This he sold to a Colorado man coming to Wyoming, and, to secure his pay, he came with him and worked in his employ. While so working he had an altercation with the buyer about the deferred payments, and the quarrel developing into a fight, during the progress of it another employee of the man shot Mr. Hill in the head, the bullet, however, glancing off from the skull, only making a wound that left a good sized scar. The next day the rest of his money was paid to Mr. Hill and the trouble was over. In 1882 he came to the Fort Bridger section of Wyoming, and here conducted freighting for two years with ox teams, from 1882 to 1884, however, being engaged in profitable trapping for beaver. When these occupations closed he started an enterprise in cattleraising, increasing his herds annually. When the reservation became public land, he located on a homestead on Smiths Fork, and developed a prosperous and attractive cattle ranch, the business of which was cumulative and of marked value.   In the course of time his acquisitions were such that he felt able to retire from the life of unremitting labor he had so long pursued, and, disposing of his land and cattle, with his aged arid cherished mother he makes his home at Mountain View.  (Source Progresive Men of Wyoming)  Biographie Index

WILLIAM HINTON.

This gentleman one of the old, old timers of Evanston, Wyoming, was born May 1, 1831, in Scott county, Ky., the son of De Alfred and Betsey (Sutton) Hinton. De Alfred Hinton, who was also a native of Scott County, Ky., was also a man of affairs, being a financier and capitalist as well as interested in mercantile business.  He died in 1866, aged sixty-five, and is buried at Newport, Ky.   His wife, the mother of William Hinton, was born in Virginia of English parents.  She was married in Kentucky where she lived until 1834, when she died and now lies buried at Christiansburg, Shelby county, also in that state.  Both she and her husband were members of the Baptist church. William Hinton acquired his education in the public schools and in the old Augusta Methodist College in Kentucky, where he took a three years course. His father wished him to become a physician and with this end in view he entered the office of Doctor Muzzey. a prominent physician of the time, but after a year of diligent study in this connection the gold fever, which was then raging strongly, caught him and he started for San Francisco by the Panama route. This was in 1850 and in the fall he went from San Francisco up into the mining countries, first to Feather River and later to the Yuba. . He also established a trading post in Sandy Gulch between the forks of the Mokelumne River. In 1856 he went to Hannibal, Mo., and engaged in coalmining, in which he continued until 1864. Selling out he went to Miongona, Iowa, where he was also interested in developing coal mines, but having only a small vein of coal he again sold out and went to Chicago. Here he conducted an auction store until 1868 when he came to Carbon, Wyo., and was given the charge of all the mines of the Wyoming Coal and Mining Co. This position he held for two years and then started in coal mining for himself at Almy, Wyo., continuing his endeavors for about three years. His first year was successful but he soon found that the railroads were hard competitors and held the upper hand of him by their charges for transportation, and he was thus forced out of the business. Since then he has been engaged in speculating and lending money, making his home in Evanston. but he is now practically retired from active business, maintaining an office chiefly for his convenience and comfort. Mr. Hinton was married in 1858 to Margaret L. Marsh, a native of Ohio. This union resulted in one child.  James P., of Hannibal. Mo., now engaged in the wholesale ice and coal business in that city and also in office as the cashier of the Hannibal Bank.  Mr. William Hinton is the very oldest or almost the oldest one of our settlers, for there was but one log cabin and one tent in the town when he first came to and located at Almy. His life has been one of great usefulness; while with the prosperity which he has earned have come honors increasing with his increasing years.  (Source Progresive Men of Wyoming)  Biographie Index

HENRY HOMER.

This veteran stockman, whose ranch is on Bear River, eighteen miles south of Evanston, Uinta County, Wyo., was born in Milwaukee, Wis., on April 12, 1850, a son of Andrew and Ingabar (Adams) Homer, both natives of Norway and who came to the United States in 1848.  Andrew Homer was a farmer by calling and on coming to America he located in Salt Lake county, Utah, in 1860, after having passed the intervening time in the East, and later came to Uinta county, Wyo., dying, however, in Utah in 1890, his remains being interred in Mill Creek Ward cemetery. He has been a very prominent leader in the Church of the Latter Day Saints and was also very active in the management of the local affairs of his county, filling several minor offices with the sole purpose of being of use to his fellow citizens, rather than for the sake of the emolument they afforded. Mrs. Ingabar (Adams) Homer died in Wisconsin in 1854 and was buried in Milwaukee. She had borne her husband five children, as follows: Henrietta, the deceased wife of H. O. Young, of Park City, Utah; Ellen M.; Netta; Malinda; who all died young, and Henry, whose name heads this biographical narrative. By his second wife, Jennie, to whom he was married in 1855, in Wisconsin, Andrew Homer had four other children, Jerry, now living in Kansas, Summit county, Utah; Andrew, a well-known resident of Big Piney, Uinta county, Wyo.; Maggie, now residing in Salt Lake City; Hiram, whose residence is in Park City, Utah.  Henry Homer was educated in Utah and after quitting school he was steadily engaged in mining in that state for about seven years. He next engaged in farming and stock raising, which he continued to follow in Utah until 1884, when he came to Wyoming and entered the homestead in which he now lives, where he owns a ranch of about 800 acres, which he devotes to cattle raising. He was united in the bonds of matrimony in Utah, on October 8, 1874, with Miss Kate Johnson, daughter of Andrew and Mary Elizabeth (Johnson) Johnson, both natives of Norway.  Her father was a son of Andrew and Elizabeth Johnson and the mother a daughter of Christopher Johnson. Mr. and Mrs. Homer have had a family of eleven children,  Elizabeth H., who died at the age of six years and whose remains were interred in Summit county, Utah; Irene M., wife of Robert McClaren, of Park City, Utah, died July 24, 1896, at the age of twenty-two years, and was buried in Park City; William II., who died at the age of two years and was buried in Marysville, Utah; Henry W.; Rodney F.; Emma E.; Frank T.; Curtis L.; Ralph C.; Burtch D.; Robin J., all still living. The father of Mrs. Homer died on March 27, 1896, in New Mexico at the age of seventy-four years and her mother is now living in that place at the advanced age of eighty-four years. She bore her husband five children, as follows: Margaret, now the widow of Rodney Dutcher; Kate, who is Mrs.  Henry Homer; Mary A., wife of Albert Farnsworth of New Mexico; James, deceased; Emma, wife of James Jensen, of New Mexico. Mr.  Homer has been very successful as a cattle raiser and dealer since he took up his abode in Wyoming, and is now one of the prominent citizens of Uinta county. He is a very public spirited citizen, being ever ready with his means to aid in the promotion of improvements of all kinds and encourages all projects designed for the increasing the comforts of the general public, by whom he is held in the highest esteem.  (Source Progresive Men of Wyoming)  Biographie Index

VAUGH HUFFORD.

Vaugh Hufford, a prominent young business man of Evanston, Wyoming, was born in 1873 at Jenningsville, Pa., being the son of Jeffery and Adeline E. (Dull) Hufford. His father, a retired farmer, still living at Strasburg, Pa., was born there in 1832. He was proud of his calling as a farmer and made it his devotion as well as his business. No doubt it was thereby that he is now able to live in comfortable retirement. He served four years in the Civil War, enlisting at its outbreak in Co. M, One Hundred and Fifty-second Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery.   He was the son of Peter and Katie (Trydetey) Hufford, the former, born in Germany, settled in Pennsylvania as a farmer and lumberman, and died aged seventy-seven years, the latter a native of Connecticut, married in Pennsylvania, where she died in 1836. Vaugh Huffords mother was born in Burlington, Pa., in 1836. She is a woman of the home loving order. She was married in her native state, and still lives there. She is a member of the Methodist church. Her parents are Joseph and Mary Dull. Vaugh Hufford was reared and educated in Pennsylvania, graduating in 1891 from the Pennsylvania State College, a master of the science and art of drafting, in which he, has found steady and remunerative employment from the first. He went from college to the Bethlehem iron works in his native state, thence to the Brooklyn navy yard; later to Rhode Island, thence to the Dixon Manufacturing Co., at Scranton, Pa., to Clark Bros., Belmont, N. Y.. to the Atlas iron works, Wilkesbarre. Pa., to Cramps shipyard, Philadelphia, to the Lehigh Valley Railroad, to the Walker iron works, of Cleveland, Ohio., and back to the Lehigh Valley Railroad.  Next he went with the Union Pacific, and with this road he remained until the May preceding this writing. Since then he has been in the oil and map business, and located at Evanston, Wyo.  He has extensive oil claims in Wyoming, and is connected with the American Consolidated Co.  and other corporations and industries. Mr. Hufford is a clean cut young man of affairs, unmarried, in all matters being a quick, prompt, resolute and successful man of affairs, who holds a conspicuous place in business and society circles.  (Source Progresive Men of Wyoming)  Biographie Index

JOHN P. ISHERWOOD.

Tracing his ancestry back through centuries in America and England along a prominent line of representatives, who have ever made the name a synonym of honor, integrity and unwavering loyalty to established institutions, also furnishing in his own career corresponding elements of character, John P. Isherwood, of Fort Bridger, Wyoming, through his intelligence, industry, marked energy and honesty of purpose, has attained a prosperous station in life and the friendship and esteem of the large circle of friends he has acquired in his busy life. He was born on December 10, 1869. near Mason. Ingham county, Mich., a son of John L. and Polly A. (Waban) Isherwood, natives of Pennsylvania, where his paternal grandparents, Pilgrim and Rebecca (Afford) Isherwood, long conducted one of the old fashioned inns for which that commonwealth was so noted. His father was for many years a prosperous merchant in Michigan and both himself and his excellent wife are living in that state.  John P. Isherwood was the sixth of their seven children, and, after a diligent attendance at the public schools, from the proficiency he there displayed, it was decided to supplement his education by further advantages in that line and he thereafter continued his studies in the college at Franklin, Ind., for two years, then, engaging in pedagogic labors, he became a successful instructor, soon, however, relinquishing this profession for the more congenial one of merchandising, in which he continued to be employed in a clerical capacity in Indiana until 1895, when he came to Wyoming and assumed a similar position in the post store at Fort Bridger until after the abandonment of the fort by the government soldiers, when his services were retained by the Guild Mercantile Co. until 1901. In that year he engaged in farming and stock raising on the eligible ranch of 160 acres which he had previously claimed from the government, and here he has developed a prosperous stock business, raising fine herds of excellent strains of cattle and arranging for a further expansion of his herds as advantageous circumstances may furnish opportunity. His activities have not been confined to the store and ranch, for, taking great interest in public matters, he has had much to do in civil and political relations, while, in 1900. he was in service as a most capable deputy sheriff of the county, and for one year at Fort Bridger he was in office as a justice of the peace. Mr. Isherwood married with Miss Georgianna Pearce, a daughter of William A. and Mary M. (Clucas) Pearce, at Randolph, Utah, on December 29, 1898. Her father was a native of New Jersey and her mother of Missouri, both being adherents of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, and now residing on the bench near Fort Bridger, Wyo.   Mrs. Isherwood retains her membership in the church of her parents, while her husband is a Baptist in religion. They have one son, John L. Isherwood, who bids fair to maintain the family record.  (Source Progresive Men of Wyoming)  Biographie Index

FRANK H. JAMES.

The popular and efficient sheriff of Uinta county, Wyoming, whose name heads this article, is a native of Wisconsin, having been born about eight miles from Waldwick in that state in 1861. His parents were Richard and Emily (Rowe) James, natives of England, whence the father, Richard James, came when young with his parents to America. They settled first in Pennsylvania, later moved to Wisconsin and followed farming, but in 1849 Richard took an ox team and crossed the plains to the goldfields of California, where he was successful and later returned to his farm life in Wisconsin, and at present he is living near Mineral Point in that state, being among the early settlers of that state, where he is now a prominent school officer and an active Republican in politics and also an ever ready helper of the poor and needy, as he has ever been. His wife, who was also brought from England by her parents in early life and was married in Wisconsin, still lives with her husband in the state of their mutual adoption.  Frank H. James learned his trade of harness making at Mineral Point, Wis., where also he first engaged in business on his own account, but selling out in 1886 he went to Omaha and worked a few months for Marks Bros., whence he came to Evanston, Wyo., arriving here on May 30, 1887. Here he was employed at A. C.  Beckwiths training stables as harness maker and remained at this employment until March 1, 1888, when he again went into the harness business for himself, at the urgent request of Cashman & Co. of Evanston, however, he soon quit this and assumed charge of their large harness and saddle department, continuing here in this employment for nine and one-half years, making a record of which to be proud. From Evanston he went to Kemmerer, Wyo., and established a harness and saddle business for himself, which he continued until the fall of 1900, when he was elected sheriff of Uinta county on the Republican ticket. He has since held this office to the complete satisfaction of his fellow citizens and the increase of his own renown, serving also in 1900 on the board of county commissioners, filling the vacancy left by George Gill. Socially, Mr. James is affiliated with the Freemasons and with the Maccabees. He is a man of sterling worth, well-known and highly esteemed, being a man of good cheer, a loyal citizen and a true friend, always frank and open, he is also careful and prudent and a safe business man and conservative adviser in financial matters. He was married, in 1885 with Miss Mary Uren, a native of Wisconsin, who has borne him five children, of whom three survive, Henry M., Nellie and Mildred. Two others have passed away, one, Cora, died at the age of two at Mineral Point, Wis., where she had been taken in the hope of benefit. The other, Richard R., a general favorite everywhere he was known, was drowned at the age of eleven and one-half years while crossing the Hams Fork River in a wagon, being in the company of another boy and the driver of the team. The driver escaped, but both boys and the team perished. Mrs. James is the daughter of William C. and Ellen (Riley) Uren. The mother died in November last, aged fifty-five years, and is buried at Mineral Point, Wis., which is the home of the father, a native of England.  (Source Progresive Men of Wyoming)  Biographie Index

JAMES JENSEN

Bishop James Jensen of Grover, Uinta county, is a native of Denmark, where he was born on October 3, 1833, a son of James and Mary (Larscn) Jensen, also natives of that country and of families long resident there. His father was a farmer and a son of Jense and Kistil Nelson. The family consisted of seven children, of whom James was the first in order of birth and four of them are living. James attended the state schools in the vicinity of his home, and, after securing their fine educational advantages he went to farming in his native country.  On April 20, 1862, he was married with Miss Bodiel Larsen, a daughter of Larse Petersen, and at once set sail with his bride for the New World, where they arrived in due time and without incident worthy of note made their way to Utah. Here Mr. Jensen went to work as a laborer, and continued his operations in that capacity for a number of years. He then cultivated a tract of land in Utah until 1886 when he came to Uinta County, Wyoming, and followed the same pursuit. He was a pioneer in the neighborhood where he lives, and, although the place was lonely, the conditions hard and danger ever present, he persevered in his determination to make a home in this land and kept improving and reducing to productive cultivation the quarter section of government land he had taken up, which he still owns and which he has brought to a high state of fertility, and on which he conducts a prosperous and profitable business in raising cattle. Mr. Jensen takes a prominent part in local affairs, earnestly and actively interested in the government and progress of his church, that of the Latter Day Saints. For thirteen years he has served this people as its faithful and capable bishop, and has been of substantial benefit to their church interests. As has been heretofore noted, he married just before leaving his native country, Miss Bodiel Larscn, who died in Utah on November 22, 1869, leaving two children, James, who is married and living at Grover, and Larsc P., who is married and living in Utah. On July 6, 1870, at Salt Lake, Mr. Jensen married with Miss Henrietta Christensen, a native of Denmark, and a daughter of Jacob and Mary Christensen. Six years thereafter, on April 3, she died, leaving all her four children, Joseph, who, in 1892, perished in a snow storm in Wyoming; Hiram; Martin, who is married and living in Utah, and Henrietta, now the wife of R. T. Astle of Grover. Mr. Jensen in September, 1879, solemnized his third marriage in Utah, marrying then with Miss Albina Jensen, also a Dane by nativity, a daughter of Jense C. and Anna M. Jensen. The third marriage has brought to the household eight children, Alfred, who is married and a resident of Grover, Wyo.; Lorenzo, Nephi, Anna E., Nellie Bodiel, Heber C, Wilford L. and Leland L.   (Source Progresive Men of Wyoming)  Biographie Index

LARS E. JOHNSON.

One of the representative and successful ranchmen of Uinta county, whose home ranch is most eligibly located only one mile from the post office of Fort Bridger, is a citizen of foreign birth, who has surely no reason to complain of the treatment his adopted country has accorded him, and who has acquitted himself so ably in various spheres that his adopted country should surely be proud of his citizenship and grateful to the land that has furnished such valuable material toward the building up of a mighty nation. We refer to Lars E. Johnson, whose life history is eminently worthy to be recorded in this volume of the Progressive men of the state. Mr. Johnson was born in Sweden on June 16, 1851, a son of John and Christina (Larson) Anderson, and was the fourth in a family of nine children, three of whom came to the United States. His parents were farmers in Sweden, but, becoming converts to the Mormon doctrine, they came to this country in 1873, settling in San Pete County, Utah, where the father died in July of the same year, the mother still living at Gunnison. Receiving his educational training in the excellent schools of Sweden and there also receiving a technical and practical knowledge of the trade of carpentry, he came to Utah .in 1877 and in San Pete county followed that trade with diligence and acknowledged skill until he removed to Wyoming, in 1893, and took up the land where he now resides and has developed a fine property. From that time he has carried on farming and stock raising, being prospered in his efforts and counted among the leading Progressive citizens of the county.  He takes much interest in all matters of public character, being elected a justice of the peace in the fall of 1900 by a very complimentary vote and by virtue of the office he is popularly entitled judge.   Mr. Johnson is  actively connected with the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, being one of the teachers in the Sabbath school, one of the priesthood and one of the Seventy. In 1894 he was called to be president of his church in this locality, and held this high office until 1898. He married Miss Matilda Anderson, a daughter of Andrew and Clara (Haglund) Anderson, in Salt Lake City, Utah, on November 5, 1877. Of their six children, four survive, Rhoda M., wife of Charles Hamilton, of Mountain View, Wyo.; Hannah C.; Ernest J.; Lilly E., all useful members of society.  (Source Progresive Men of Wyoming)  Biographie Index

WILLIAM WALLACE JOHNSON.

Descended from long lines of Irish and Welch ancestry, who were among the pioneer settlers in Alabama, bearing their part well in the affairs of their adopted country, as their progenitors had done in the land of their nativity. William Wallace Johnson, now of Robertson, Wyoming, came into life and its duties with family traditions and records that were an inspiration to lofty endeavor, attaining mans estate under domestic training well adapted to the development of the manly and self reliant traits for which his race has ever been distinguished. He was born at St.  Charles, Idaho, on February 5, 1867, the son of Snellen M. (popularly known as Cub) and of Rebecca (Baker) Johnson. The father was a native of Alabama, where his parents, Willis and Nancy (Greer) Johnson, of Irish and Welch origin respectively, were pioneers, and where they resided on a large plantation until he was seven years old, when they emigrated to Texas, rearing their family on a cotton plantation in that then young and undeveloped country. Later, while they were crossing the plains to Utah to join their religious associates in the Mormon church, Willis Johnson died of cholera; and his widow was accidentally drowned in Twin Creek, Wyo.. in 1879. Their active son, Snellen M. Johnson, was reared and educated in Texas, and there he married. After his arrival in Utah, in 1853, he became a member of the Mormon faith and married Miss Rebecca Baker, a native of Iowa, but then a resident in Utah. Her father was one of the personal followers of Joseph Smith, and was at Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1846 when his sect was expelled from that state, himself crossing the Missississipi on horseback to save his life. In the autumn of 1879 Snellen Johnson started with his fathers family to Arizona, but, on account of the hostility of the Indians they settled in Wyoming, taking up a homestead on Henrys Fork, in what is now Uinta County. Here they lived for several years, the father directing an enterprise in farming and stock raising, but not being able to do much physical labor, owing to disability incurred in his military service in the Mexican War, throughout the whole of which he participated as a Texan ranger. And, while on account of this disability he received a pension from his grateful government, that was no recompense for his inability to take his place among the workers of the community to perform his part in actual labor towards advancing its interests.  He, however, three times bought cattle and drove them across the plains to Utah in the early and dangerous days, and thus gratified his ambition for productive effort. He died at the home of his son, Snelling, on Smiths Fork, Uinta County, Wyo., on June 10, 1890, leaving a widow, who still survives, living at Robertson. William Wallace Johnson was thirteen years old when his parents settled in Wyoming, where he received a limited public school education, when he was eighteen taking up a squatters claim on the Henrys Fork, filing on and completing his title to it when he was twenty-one He has since greatly improved the place and made it comfortable as a home for his mother. In 1895 he went to Idaho, spent six years working in the mines, returning to Wyoming in 1901 and purchasing 160 acres of superior land on Smiths Fork, to which he has since added eighty acres. On these tracts he has a pleasant home and conducts a profitable stock industry. On November 25, 1901, he married with Miss Alice May Townsend, a native of Silver City, Idaho, and a daughter of William H. and Nellie (Scales) Townsend.  the former born in the state of Maine and the latter in Ireland, from whence she came to America with her parents when she was eight years old.  They are Methodists in religious affiliation, and in politics he is an ardent Democrat, giving his party good service in all its campaigns.  (Source Progresive Men of Wyoming)  Biographie Index

ISIDORE KASTOR.

A leading commercial man of Evanston, Wyoming, who was born in 1860, in Kaiserslautern, Rhine Bavaria, Germany, his parents being Salomon and Babette (Alcnbcrg) Kastor, Isidore Kastor well deserves the pen of the local historian. His father was born in 1834 in Wattenheim, Germany, where he became a prominent merchant, and was at one time a sergeant in the Bavarian cavalry, holding that position for several years. He also served as a commissary in the Franco Prussian War in 1870-71. He was an imposing personage, of commanding figure and strong physical makeup, but, better than all, a devoted husband and parent. He died at the age of fifty eight and was buried at Kaiserslautern. Mrs.  Solomon Kastor took that name by marriage at the age of eighteen. A domestic woman, caring only for her family, she is still living at Kaiscrlautern, aged sixty, with her son, a brother of Isidore, who is in business there.  Isidore Kastor was educated in German colleges and he engaged in commerce at the age of sixteen and came to America at the age of twenty-two, and spending his first nine months in mercantile work in New York. Thence he went to Pocahontas, Ark., and there was similarly employed for two years, after which he came to Evanston, Wyo., and started business for himself in a clothing and general store in December, 1885, and he has conducted it with signal success ever since. He is a wide-awake, up-to-date business man of genial personality and engaging manners, consequently of great popularity. In addition to his regular business, he is interested in several oil and mining properties. He is affiliated with numerous fraternal bodies, being a member of the Masonic lodge of Evanston, also of the Scottish Rite Hall of Cheyenne, of the Woodmen of the World and the Modern Woodmen of America. He also holds the degree of Honor and is a member of Ancient Order of United Workmen. He was married in. December, 1889, with Miss Fannie Lewis, a native of Germany and a daughter of Isaac N. and Sarah (Frank) Lewis. Her father was born in Kibarty, Prussia, and was formerly in business in Evanston, but is now in Salt Lake City. Mr. and Mrs. Kastor have three children: Louis, Selma and Shirley, and the family stands in most genial relations with the most Progressive element of the community.  (Source Progresive Men of Wyoming)  Biographie Index

WILLIAM H. KENNINGTON

The life story of this prominent citizen and Progressive farmer and stock grower of Uinta County is full of the tragic element, and, if narrated in detail, it would make a thrilling recital.  It embodies the hazard of the deep for more than five weeks on a sailing vessel when he was but a youth, a long and tiresome journey on foot across the great American plains, with its attendant horrors of threatened Indian cruelty, the dangers of attack by wild beasts, hunger, thirst and inclement weather, war to the knife, and the knife to the hilt, against ferocious and relentless savages, the continual struggle against adverse circumstances and conditions of difficulty and the peril experienced in reducing a wild country to subjection, the supreme joy of final triumph over every obstacle and a serene and stable peace after arduous and long continued trial. Unhappily the limits of this article permit only the bare narration of the salient facts sufficient to make up a consecutive account. Mr.  Kennington was born on August 7, 1842, in England, where his forefathers lived for two or three generations, having emigrated to that country from Prussia. His parents were Richard and Mary (Davidson) Kennington, who came with their young family to the United States in 1856 and settled in Utah. The father was a professional gardener in England and in this country became a farmer on a larger scale, following that industry until his death in 1879. The family consisted of thirteen children, seven of whom died in infancy. William had but limited opportunities to attend school, and gained his education mostly in the world of work and effort.  When he was fourteen years old the family left their native land, and, after a tempestuous and uncertain voyage of five weeks and three days, landed on the shore of America, only to find before them a journey as hazardous, far more trying, and of almost equal length, across the country to their final destination near the new metropolis of the Latter Day Saints in Utah.   A portion, less than half, of the distance could be traveled in railroad coaches, but from Iowa City, Iowa, the young lad walked every foot of the way, in company with an older sister drawing a handcart containing supplies. When they arrived in Utah he went to work on a farm and was there engaged in that line of industry until 1870, when he removed to the Bear Lake country of Idaho. There he passed sixteen years in successful farming and stock growing, and, in 1886, came to Wyoming, locating in what is now Uinta county, on the farm since his home and which he has made a cultivated domain of value and attractiveness. It is mainly devoted to the raising of cattle and yields abundant supplies for their maintenance in addition to the usual crops of bread stuffs and vegetables for the support of the family. Being among the earlier arrivals in this valley and equipped by nature and experience for direction in public affairs, he has filled various offices of trust and responsibility. He has been town clerk, recorder in the church councils for the last ten years or more, and for the past four years he has been a U. S. Commissioner for the district. He served in the Utah militia for a period of time and saw active and trying service in many Indian outbreaks. On April i, 1865, at Salt Lake City, he married with Miss Annie R. Seward, a native of England and a daughter of George and Esther (Frewin) Seward, also natives of that country.  Her father died there when she was fifteen months old, and her mother brought the family to Utah in 1863. Seven children have brightened the home of Mr. and Mrs. Kennington, all but two of whom are living. They are: Annie E., who died in Idaho, aged thirty-one, then being the wife of Samuel Matthews, and leaving five children, one of whom, Esther S., has been reared by her grandparents; Mary C, who died in Utah in infancy; William H., Jr., married and living in the lower Star Valley; Mary A., married to Osborne Low of Star Valley; Alonzo, married and living at Fairview; George; Ida E., now wife of Adolph Jensen of Afton; Albert, living at home. All are prosperous and respected, worthy followers of the example of thrift and integrity they have had presented to them by their industrious parents.  (Source Progresive Men of Wyoming)  Biographie Index

HON. JESSE KNIGHT

It has been well said that the law is a jealous mistress and demands of her votaries an undivided loyalty and singleness of purpose and this is exemplified in the career of every conscientious man who chooses this most exacting of all professions for a life-work. The bar of Wyoming has ever maintained a high standing and among its individual members in Laramie county is Hon. Jesse Knight, associate justice of the Supreme Court, who enjoys distinctive precedence as one of the leading jurists of the state. A native of Oneida county, N. Y., he dates his birth on July 5, 1850, being the son of Jesse and Henrietta (Guion) Knight, both parents having been born in the Empire state. Paternally, the Judge is descended from an old sturdy New England ancestry, his grandfather, Isaac Knight, claiming Rhode Island as his place of birth and in this commonwealth the emigrant forefathers of the family settled in an early day. Isaac Knight migrated to New York, locating in the wildwoods of Oneida county, where he lived the life of a pioneer tiller of the soil to the end of his days. In the same year in which his son, now the Hon. Jesse Knight, of this review, first saw the light of day, Jesse Knight started for California by the Isthmus of Panama, but did not live to reach his destination, contracting the Panama fever, which resulted in his death while crossing the isthmus. Judge Knight is indebted to the public schools of his native county for his preliminary educational discipline and subsequently he pursued the higher branches of learning in the Falley Seminary, at Fulton, N. Y. When about seventeen years old he severed home ties and went to St. Peter, Minnesota, where he lived with an uncle until 1869, then made his way to Omaha,. Neb., and accepted a clerkship in a mercantile house, later becoming the head bookkeeper for the firm, removing to South Pass, Wyoming, in 1871, and entering the employ of Sydney Ticknor. He remained in that gentleman's establishment about one year, when he was appointed clerk of the court for the Third Judicial District, in addition to which he was also made postmaster of South Pass, Wyo. He discharged his dual duties until 1874. at which time the district was reorganized, necessitating his removal to Evanston, where he continued as clerk of the District Court for ten years longer, meanwhile devoting his leisure to the study of law. being duly admitted to the bar in 1877, and some time thereafter he opened an office at Evanston and entered upon the active practice of his profession in the courts of Uinta county. In 1888 he was elected county attorney and served in that capacity until 1890, making an honorable record as an able and- judicious official, adding to his already well-established reputation as one of the successful attorneys of the Evanston bar. In the latter year at the time of the first state election he was further honored by an election to the district judgeship, in which position he exhibited judicial abilities of a high order and won much more than a local repute by his faithful and conscientious administration of the office, his career on the district bench demonstrating great aptitude and capacity for high judicial station. Accordingly after seven years of service in this connection he was appointed in 1897 to fill the unexpired term of Judge Conway as associate justice of the Supreme Court and a year later he was elected his own successor for a full term of eight years, and is now efficiently discharging his official functions with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of the people of the state, by whom he has been so signally honored. Judge Knight's rapid rise in his profession has scarcely been paralleled in the annals of jurisprudence. From the beginning of his career to the present time his course has been a series of advancements, as his elevation to the highest judicial tribunal in the state abundantly testifies. He possesses a keen, incisive intellect, broad capabilities and carries forward to successful completion every undertaking to which he addresses himself. As already indicated he won by patient study and indefatigable industry a leading place at the bar of the state, and his position as a profound lawyer and distinguished jurist is fully assured. In the practice of law he was able and patient in the preparation of his cases, and in their trial skillful and successful, while in the preparation of a case and its presentation to court or jury he has had few equals in discovering in advance all of the controlling points and so marshalling the testimony and handling it in argument as to produce the conviction that the cause of his client is just and ought to prevail. He is a good judge of human nature and remarkably conversant with the modes of thought on the part of juries. With these, and other equally meritorious qualifications, together with his ability in the way of public addresses, he is forcible and successful in jury cases. Judge Knight brought to the Supreme Bench not only a personal reputation, but a character for integrity unquestionable and unquestioned, a wide knowledge of the law and of the difficulties which attend its administration and practice: a mind, which while it does not readily adopt for his own opinion the opinion of others, is quick to comprehend an argument and ready to follow it to a logical conclusion, however far that conclusion may differ from an opinion previously entertained. What has been said regarding his character and attainments as a lawyer, affords the key to his career on both the Circuit and the Supreme Benches. To his many friends throughout the state, who have carefully scrutinized his work as a judge, no word is necessary; to the general public it need only be said that the same careful, conscientious application of thought and study is given to his official duties as judge as secured his success at the bar; the result being uniformly satisfactory alike to litigants, the legal profession and the people. In the capacity of an able, unbiased arbiter of justice, he has served with the fullest appreciation of the duties and responsibilities imposed upon him by the exalted station with which he has been honored. Outside the line of his profession the Judge has long been identified with the public affairs of Wyoming in a prominent way. He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1890 and took an active interest in its deliberations. In politics he is an orthodox Republican of the Lincoln. McKinley and the Roosevelt school, and as such has been prominent in the councils of his party local, state and national. In matters pertaining to the industrial improvement of the state he is by no means a passive spectator, but to the limits of his ability he has aided and abetted all the movements and enterprises having a laudable object in view. In the private walks of life his name stands above reproach and those who knew him best are not only proud to have won, but appreciate his citizenship. He is one of the most prominent Freemasons in the West, having risen to the Thirty-third degree in that ancient and honorable fraternity, a distinction which but few attain . He is also identified with the Commandery and the Mystic Shrine, having been honored with high official position in the different departments of the order. He is also a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and of the Maccabees. Referring to the domestic life of Judge Knight it is learned that he was united in marriage on February 14, 1876, with Miss Mary L. Hezlep, of Ohio, a union blessed with five children, namely: Harriet, a graduate of the State University, and the New York School of Journalism; Jesse, Margaret, Joseph C. and Dorothy E.  Biographie Index

LEOPOLD KRAUSS.

Leopold Krauss, a well known and highly trusted engineer of the Union Pacific Railroad, running between Evanston, Wyoming, and Ogden, Utah, in the latter of which places is his residence, is a native of Avon, Ohio, where he was born in 1858, the son of Peter and Anna Marie (Myers) Krauss. The father was born at Navel, France, in 1820. He came to the United State at fourteen, settling in Ohio. He engaged in farming, about six miles west of Dover, Ohio, where he continued until 1861. when he enlisted in the Twenty-eighth Ohio Cavalry and died of pneumonia while his regiment was in camp at Cleveland. He is buried at Avon, Ohio. His father, another Peter, paternal grandfather of Leopold, followed the young Peter to America, and engaged in farming near Cleveland. He died in 1873, and is also buried at Avon. His wife was Kate Hacker. She died in 1864, aged sixty-two years. His father, the great grandfather of Leopold, was mayor of Navel, France, and his wife was Madeline Cufiler. Their remains rest in the province of Lorraine. Annie Marie Myers, mother of Leopold Krauss, was born in Bavaria, Germany, on November 9, 1824.   She came to Rockport, Ohio, with her parents, Nicholas and Maria (Baker) Myers, in 1842. Miss Myers became Mrs. Krauss in Cleveland, Ohio. She died on October 16, 1891, and lies buried at Sheffield, Ohio. She was a devout Catholic, who devoted her life to her home and family. Her father, Nicholas Myers, passed the most of his life in France, where, at one time, he was a trusted lieutenant under Napoleon. His trade was that of a cabinetmaker, and his later years were spent in labor at it in Ohio. He passed away from life at Rockport in that state, where his wife died in 1865. being buried at Avon. Leopold Krauss received his education in the public schools of Ohio.  At the early age of fourteen he entered the service of the Union Pacific Railroad as a locomotive fireman, and he has remained in the service of the company ever since. For seven years he was a fireman, and then, on attaining his majority, he was promoted to be an engineer. He has never been in a wreck, and is regarded as a model of trustworthiness in his responsible and nerve testing occupation. Mr. Krauss is a Republican in politics, a member of the Order of United Workmen, and of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. He is a frank, open spoken man of our best type. In 1879 Mr. Krauss married Mary Gifford, a native of Lansing. Minn..  born on December 23, 1862, a daughter of David and Jennie (Hughes) Clifford. Four children have blessed this union. George L.. Jessie P..  Florence and Lillie. The last named one died in 1888. and was buried in Evanston, Wyo.  (Source Progresive Men of Wyoming)  Biographie Index

CLEMENT LACHAPELLE.

Thoughtful historians, who have paid careful attention to the sources of strength that have been elements in the building up of this wonderful American republic, have taken note of the fact that prominent among them are the wealth, industry and valuable qualities brought to its shores and utilized by the best people of foreign lands. In the development of the Great Northwest, has the French nation contributed more than an ordinary share. In writing of the Progressive men of Wyoming, it will be seen that many men of French extraction are among them and whose reviews appear on the pages of this work. Among this number Clement Lachapelle has a very highly improved and productive ranch of 1,280 acres situated at Willow Creek, three and one half miles south of the town of Hilliard, in Uinta County, Wyoming. Generations ago his French ancestors left their native land and made their home in the province of Quebec, Canada, then a portion of the great French empire, and, here, amid all of the various political changes and proprietorship, the family has since been domiciled. His grandfather, Raphael Lachapelle, was an industrious farmer, and his son, Joseph, also followed the tilling of the soil for a livelihood. Joseph Lachapelle married Mary Richards, and Clement was one of their family of children. He was horn near Montreal, Canada, on April 6, 1822, and, on the farm of his father, was early inured to hard work and steady application. In connection therewith he received a common school education in the government schools, and early developed into a quick, resolute, strong and ambitious youth. Possessing these qualifications, it will he seen that the cramped and cribbed conditions of the land of his birth did not appear to him as a profitable or satisfactory field wherein to pass his life, while the great mountain and valley section of the Northwest was beckoning to him with its attractive and alluring features to come and take possession of mines yet undeveloped, of fields never yet cultivated, of forests in which no ax had ever sounded, so, in i860, crossing the international boundary line, he traversed the thousands of miles of distance leading across the United States to California. Here he engaged in mining with a miners luck, and from that state proceeded to Fraser River, in British Columbia, where he also sought for the yellow metal. He at a later period followed mining in the Treasure state, Montana, but in 1869 he located in Wyoming for a year and was engaged in teaming, with hrs headquarters at Piedmont, later he established himself in business at Ogden, Utah, continuing there for a time, but returning to Piedmont, Wyoming, in 1872. Mr. Lachapelle, after working in the woods for a time, became a burner of charcoal at Aspen, returning to Ogden, however, to pass the winter of 1872 and 1873. In the spring of 1873, he again came to Piedmont, where he passed the season in manufacturing charcoal.   The next year he erected a hotel in Hilliard, which became quite a place of resort, and which he conducted successfully for about five years, then took up a. portion of the land, where is now located his home on Willow Creek, and here he has. by his diligent labor and wise calculation, placed most of his acreage under cultivation. His land is especially adapted to the raising of hay, of which it produces large annual yields, and by its sale receives a satisfactory income. Mr. Lachapelle was married, on April 2, 1872. in Ogden, Utah, with Miss Mary Molly, a daughter of Joseph and Mary Molly.  Her parents were natives of England, early emigrating to the United States. Mrs. Lachapellcs birth occurred also in England, and to Mr. Lachapelle and his estimable wife have come eight children, Mary Louisa; Clement, who is now in Alaska: Mabel, who married Thomas Blight, Jr., of Evanston, Wyo., where they now maintain their home; Beatrice; Florence; Valan; Roger; Frank. Mr. Lachapelle believes that the ultimate good and permanent prosperity of a country can best be brought out through the medium of the Republican Party, and his support is strongly given to its campaigns. In religious faith, he was conscientiously reared in the Roman Catholic Church. He is a good representative of the old timer of the Rocky Mountain section, showing the characteristics transmitted to him from his French and Canadian ancestors. From a poor boy, through his good habits and good management, he has acquired a position of financial independence and is yearly adding to the value of his property. He sagaciously calculates his business changes, and arranges his affairs to take advantage of business conditions, and richly reap the benefits of good judgment. The family is highly esteemed and Mr. Lachapelle and his wife have a large host of friends, for they have won the friendship of the community.  (Source Progresive Men of Wyoming)  Biographie Index

HENRY LESTER.

. Henry Lester, of Hilliard Flats, Uinta County, Wyoming, was born in Nottinghamshire, England, on May 11, 1857. a son of Henry and Ann (Hankin) Lester. The father was a son of William and Mary (Bradford) Lester and the parental grandfather of the Wyoming Lester was a native of Sheephead, Derbyshire, England, and Mary Bradford Lester was born in Derbyshire. William Lester was a successful stocking manufacturer, which, business he conducted for a long term of years, while Henry Lester, Sr., was an agriculturist as were his wifes people. He is still living in England. The mother of Mr. Lester came of a long line of English agricultural forebears. She was born on July 22, 1830, and died on November 30, 1898, in England. Of their ten children, four came to the United States and Henry was the eldest son of the family. He received a comprehensive education in the public schools of England, for some years in early life was engaged in agriculture, following this with about three years labor in the coal mines. He then became an able seaman, soon, however, enlisting in the Royal Sherwood Forest Second Battalion of the English army, in which he served with honor and credit for four years. Following this he learned the trade of lace making, but after two years of steady application to this sedentary occupation, in 1884, he emigrated to the United States, settling . in Almy, Wyoming, where he was employed in the mines until 1890. Desiring to have a home of his own, and a place that would be a permanent habitation for his family for coming years, in 1890 he took up 160 acres of government land, a portion of his present very desirable ranch, to which he has since also added 320 acres purchased from the railroad, and eighty acres more o{ desert land. This land he has improved and developed to meet his necessities and requirements and here he is successfully engaged in extensive and profitable cattle raising. He is very public spirited, being one of the school trustees and a person whose judgment and strength of character make him prominent in the community.   He is financially connected with several extensive ditch companies, of which he is the president. On October 7, 1882, Mr. Lester was married in England to Miss Mary A. Powell, a daughter of James and Mary (Bebb) Powell, natives of Wales. The family of this worthy couple consists of six living children, one having been called away by death.  They are James H.; Mary; Joseph; William P.; Evan Arthur, died on November 27, 1892, aged one year and ten months; Walter L.; Merle. Mr.  and Mrs. Lester are faithful members of the Church of Latter Day Saints and Mr. Lester a second counselor to the bishop and also superintendent of the Sunday school. In political relations Mr. Lester is stanchly arrayed in the ranks of the Democratic Party, using discrimination however in the support of candidates and not blindly following the dictates of any individual. He is considered one of the representative citizens of the community and holds a high place in the regards of a wide circle of friends, and the hospitality of the Lester household is known throughout an extensive area.  (Source Progresive Men of Wyoming)  Biographie Index

ERNEST E. LEVERS, M. D.

Ralph Waldo Emerson affirmed that "a man is what his mother made him," yet, much of truth as there is in that statement, it does not express the entire truth, for bygone generations as well as parental influences are concerned in the building of the man. Physical characteristics, traits of individuality and mental tendencies have been transmitted and come down to him from a long series of ancestors, and, wherever these have believed in improving their own intellectual powers, in cultivating and developing a healthy and vigorous physical organism and in elevating their moral nature by watchful selfdiscipline, they were not only benefiting themselves, but making it possible for distant generations of their posterity to be the stronger, not only in body, but in the higher department of intellect, better fitted in every .way to make a vigorous appearance upon the stage of life. So, in writing of Dr. Ernest E. Levers, it is well to consider that the energy of past generations is his also. Running back through several generations of American ancestors residing in Ohio and Pennsylvania, both his parental and maternal ancestral lines cross the Atlantic Ocean and are found connected with the great German Fatherland for so many years that the memory of man knows nothing of any other origin. Many of the characteristics of the deep thinkers, brilliant scientists, and painstaking medical men and scholars of that leading nationality are shown in him and verify the reasoning we have presented. Ernest E. Levers, the popular physician and surgeon of Spring Valley, Uinta county, Wyo., was born in Stark county, Ohio, on April 21, 1871, a son of William and Liew (Hassler) Levers. His paternal grandfather, David Levers, a native of Pennsylvania, soon after his marriage became a pioneer farmer in the heavy forest wilderness of Ohio, where, by his industrv and persevering efforts through a long series of years, he transformed the face of nature and developed a large extent of productive acres of valuable land. Here he reared his children to be good, industrious and patriotic citizens, and at his death besides his material possessions, left them the precious heritage of an honorable name. His son William also followed agriculture in Ohio, and by his marriage with Miss Liew Hassler, also of German lineage, established a home to which came two sons and three daughters, the second one in order of birth being the subject of this sketch. Intensely loyal in his nature, when the storm of civil war burst over the country William Levers became one of the soldiers of the Union and served with honor for two years in the 114th Ohio Volunteers. He and his estimable wife are now living in Ohio, where they hold an honored place in the regards of the community. The early educational discipline of Doctor Levers was obtained in the excellent public schools of Ohio, and, being a natural student and having a desire to become a thoroughly educated physician, he entered Heidelberg University, at Tiffin, Ohio, and took a full classical course of study at this reputable institution, graduating with the class of 1895. Having thus laid a solid foundation for the technical study of the sciences of medicine and surgery, he pursued his medical education at the Ohio Medical University of Columbus, Ohio, and, acquitting himself with credit, was graduated therefrom as M. D. in 1898. His qualifications for a successful professional career were so marked, even in his college days, that upon graduation he became interne in the hospital at Columbus, which position he successfully filled for one year, therein acquiring a practical experience that has since been of great value. Succeeding this service, deeming that the new West afforded opportunities for usefulness and profit that would be in accordance with his wishes, he came to Wyoming and was the house surgeon of the Wyoming General Hospital for six months, meeting with good success and acquiring a valuable acquaintance. In 1899 he made his permanent residence at Almy, Wyoming, and established himself in the general practice as a physician and a surgeon and soon his abilities were manifested in the acquisition of a valuable circle of patrons coming from the representative families of that section. Here he was actively engaged in medical labors until 1901, when he removed to Spring Valley to become the local surgeon and physician of die U. P. Coal Co., which position he is now filling. He is also an assistant surgeon for the Union Pacific Railroad, while an extensive and lucrative individual practice has already been built up. Doctor Levers keeps himself fully in touch with the latest developments and discoveries and is a close and thoughtful student along all lines of medical progress. He is a member of the board of U. S. Pension Examiners, of the state board of Medical Examiners and has held the distinguished office of president of the Wyoming Medical Society, of which he is an active member. Doctor Levers reads, travels and thinks. He is an intense radical in support of everything, in public, professional or private life, which has for its object the improvement, the development or the advancement of the community or the people. He holds advanced opinions on all subjects, can support them ably and pungently with tongue or pen, and is active in all matters and particularly so in his support of the Republican party, in whose success he takes great interest. In the fall of 1902 he was a candidate of his party for the State Senate and was elected by a flattering majority. Fraternally, he holds membership in Evanston Lodge, No. 4, A. F. & A. M. Doctor Levers consummated a very fortunate matrimonial alliance, when in Columbus, Ohio, on December 29, 1899, he wedded with Miss Bessie M. Long, a lady of education and culture, a daughter of the Rev. M. DeWitt Long. D. D.. and his wife Pauline (McCahoon) Long. Her parents were natives of Ohio, her father of German extraction and her mother of Scotch. Doctor Long is now the venerated pastor of the Knox Presbyterian church of Omaha. Nebraska, where is his family home. Mrs. Levers is the possessor of a very musical voice, of great range and capabilities, being extensively known as a vocalist. She passed the winter of 1901-2 in the cultivation of her voice in one of the best schools of voice-culture in New York City. Doctor and Mrs. Levers occupy a high place in social circles and have a large number of friends to whom they extend a charming hospitality. A strong friend and a kind neighbor. Doctor Levers is one of the most highlv-valued citizens of the county of his home and worthily has the universal esteem and confidence of its leading men, both as a medical man, an official and as a citizen.  Biographie Index

JOHN LOST LEWIS.

The Lewis family is of very ancient Welch and English descent, on the maternal side, extending back even to the time of Queen Adelaide, of England. John Lost Lewis, now residing on Bear River, Uinta county, Wyoming, was born in Carmen then shire. Wales, in October, 1846, a son of William and Adelaide M. (Bushell) Lewis, the former of whom was a farmer by vocation, and a son of Lewis Lewis and his good wife.  The latter was a daughter of James Barton, her mother being a descendant of the noble Queen Adelaide, of England, who was born in 1792.  died in 1849, and was the consort of William IV.  James Parton, however, was born in Ireland, but died in Wales, at the age of sixty-seven years, and his widow, who was of English parentage, also died in Wales, when seventy-four years old.  John L. Lewis received a sound education in his native land, where he was reared to farming and followed the vocation until 1897, when, allured by the prospect of an earlier attainment of a fortune in the New World than the conditions in the Old World gave promise of, he came to the United States, and at once took up his present farm on Bear River, and engaged in stock raising, in which he has met with the success that ever attends those who exercise the proper amount of intelligence and diligence that ought, as a matter of course, to be devoted to the calling. John L.  Lewis had married, in Wales, on October 23.  1879. with Miss Catheryn M. Lewis, a daughter of William M. and Anna (Lewis) Lewis. William Mortimer Lewis was a son of William M.  and Louisa (Edwards) Lewis, the latter a daughter of Col. John Edwards, who was a son of John Edwards and a brother of Lord Kensington, who married a daughter of the Earl of Warwick, the kingmaker. Her mother is a daughter of Dr. Evan Prethroe and Elizabeth (Lewis) Lewis, and is also of royal descent, one of her ancestors having been Caractacus, the first Prince of Wales.  The father of Mrs. Catheryn M. Lewis died in Wales at the age of sixty-five years, but the mother is still living in Cardiff, Wales, at the age of seventy-four. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. John L. Lewis are seven in number, and are named William L., Frederick B., Mortimer L., Adelaide A., Florence M., Catheryn M.( and Rose Veletta. John L. Lewis and family are held in very high esteem throughout the Bear River region, being leaders in its social circles.  Mr. Lewis is broadminded and public spirited and has done much to advance the material prosperity of his community. He has, as has been noted, made a success of the calling in which he is engaged, and has no complaint to make of his choice of location. He is enterprising, attentive to his business, setting a good example to his neighbors and the rising generation well deserving its emulation.  (Source Progresive Men of Wyoming)  Biographie Index

ISAAC LOVEDAY.

One of the most skillful and prosperous farmers in Uinta county, Wyoming, is Isaac Loveday, who resides five miles west of Evanston. He was born in Wiltshire, England, September 14, 1821, and is a son of Solomon and Mary (Godin) Loveday. the former of whom was a son of Jonathan and Sarah Loveday and was a farmer by vocation. Isaac Loveday, naturally enough, was reared to agricultural pursuits, and his youthful days were so closely occupied by his duties on the home farm that little opportunity was afforded him to acquire an education; nevertheless, he attended the common school for a season or two and learned what little was absolutely necessary for him to know in carrying on the calling which was to be his life work. For some years he worked as a farm hand for his neighbors in England, and also passed a few years in Wales, engaged in the same capacity. In 1.880, Mr.  Loveday came to the United States, with the hope of improving his circumstances in life, and in this hope he has not been disappointed, as from the start he has met with encouraging success.  For the first year after his arrival in America, he worked on a farm near Honesdale, Pa., and then went to Illinois, where he was employed in the same occupation about a year and a half, when he came to Wyoming and entered the ranch on which he still lives, west of Evanston. The marriage of Mr. Loveday took place in Wales on August 5. 1840. with Miss Mary Danks, a daughter of Peter and Anna (Powell) Danks. natives of Wales, and to this union there were born seven children, namely, Hiram, who is married and who .is farming in Idaho; Marintha Althera, married to Edward Blacker, a farmer in Star Valley;  Kemuel, living in Diamondville; Fannie E., wife of Thomas Lewis, of Canonsburg, Pa.; Thomas, who was born in Wales, February 25, 1859, also died in that country when nineteen years of age; Isaac, who is a farmer, is married, and is living in Cache Valley, Utah; Sarah A., who was born in Wales, October 25. 1865, and there died July 1, 1866. Mrs. Mary (Danks) Loveday was born in Wales in 1832, and passed away in Uinta county, Wyo., April 14, 1902, a member of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, her remains being interred in the cemetery at Almy, Uinta county, Wyo. Of the Church of the Latter Day Saints Mr. Loveday and his surviving children are also faithful adherents, wherever they may live. Too much credit cannot be given to Mr. Loveday for the energy and perseverance he has exercised since becoming a resident of Wyoming, and his fortune is of his own making.  He is a good citizen and is greatly esteemed by his neighbors, and from such men as he, it may he said, the greatness of a state is derived.  (Source Progresive Men of Wyoming)  Biographie Index

 

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