USA > Utah > Men of affairs in the state of Utah (biographies) > Part 7
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Many other interesting facts appear in his life. He served as deputy clerk for the court of common pleas at Wichita, Kan- sas in 1890 to 1892. He made the race into the "strip country," now Oklahoma, won a fine claim, and was a member of the first Republican central committee of Garfield county, Oklahoma. He was also the first county clerk elected in Garfield county, Okla- homa. He made the entire campaign in a covered wagon, his wife and baby accompanying him, the three sleeping in the wagon and cooking their meals by the camp fire. He has been associated with the MeCormick Harvesting Machinery Co. and the Acme Harvesting Machinery Co., and later with the Kansas Moline Plow Co. and then the Oklahoma and the Western Moline Plow companies.
Men of Affairs in The State of Utah
S. H. CLAY
S A booster for the general advancement of matters concerning Utah's welfare none can be spoken of more highly than is Samuel Harry Clay, secretary and general manager of the Commercial Club of Salt Lake City. Mr. Clay was born August 24, 1879, at Lexington, Kentucky. His parents are M. G. and B. F. Clay, members of one of the best-known Clay families of Kentucky.
After attaining a general education at the public schools of the state in which he was born, he attended the Transylvania University at Lexington, Kentucky, later attending the Univer- sity of California, at Berkeley. Mr. Clay first came to this state in 1890. Later, after a period of absence of about seventeen years, he came to Utah, where he stayed a short time. Has been here permanently since December, 1914, at which time he was elected to his present position in the Commercial club.
Mr. Clay was marrid to Miss Lucile Martha Weiser, a native of Kentucky, February 6, 1909. He lived in Salt Lake City from 1890 to 1898, where he declares that he spent the happiest days of his life. He is well known as the author of a publication called the "City Builder," the first and only reference guide for the use of commercial organizations. This work was first pub- lished in 1913, and has had a strong sale. It is now used in several universities and colleges as a text book.
Men of Affairs in The State of Utah
LEONIDAS GEORGE SKLIRIS.
EONIDAS GEORGE SKLIRIS was born March 25, 1878 at Sparta. Greece. His father was George Nicholas Skliris, a leading attorney of that city. He at one time served as mayor of Oinountus, Greece. Mr. Skliris' mother was Helen S. Economo- upolos, her ancestors being great soldiers and lead- ers in Grecian art and professional lines.
His grandfather was Capt. Skliris, a famous soldier, whose courage endeared him to the Hellenic government. At that time Greece was under the Turkish yoke and all of Mr. Skliris' family saw service in the War of 1821. It was largely due to the efforts of this family that Greece gained her independence. The fam- ily was substantially recognized by the Kingdom, the govern- ment granting to Capt. Skliris an estate of 6,000 acres in the valley of the Eurotas lying between the mountains of Taydetos and Parndeos, this estate still being held by the family.
Leonidas G. Skliris came to the United States when a boy, during the Columbian exposition at Chicago in 1893. Seeing the great possibilities of the country he decided to make this land his home.
He recognized the tremendous advantages of the railroad and industrial enterprises in the western states. So, combining marked ability as an organizer with great influence with heads of big American corporations, he induced his fellow countrymen by the thousands to engage in structural work and farming.
In the twenty-two years Mr. Skliris has been in Utah he has guided many Greek immigrants to this country to settle in the west and has furnished much of the labor that has built and de- veloped mines, railroads, farms and other industries. He is a Republican. Firmly believing in Americanizing his race, he has induced thousands of his countrymen to become naturalized citi- zens.
Men of Affairs in The State of Utah
CHARLES HENRY GRIFFIN.
HARLES HENRY GRIFFIN, commissioner of the Intermountain Demurrage Bureau, was born in Peoria, Ill., November 17, 1855. He came to Salt Lake City in 1887 and soon became a leader in the business world.
Mr. Griffin is married, his wife having been Mary Eudora Tilford. They have one daughter, Mrs. Elbridge L. Thomas, her husband being a son of former Governor A. L. Thomas of Utah.
Mr. Griffin is a district superintendent of the Western Min- ing & Inspection Bureau, and is also chairman of the Colorado- Utah and the local Utah freight bureaus.
Mr. Griffin is thus in a peculiar line of business, being iden- tified with the railroads of the intermountain region and also with the large shippers of this region.
He gives considerable time to the interests of several clubs, including the Salt Lake Commercial Club of which he is an active member.
Mr. Griffin is an earnest and loyal Republican.
During the days of the Liberal party he took an active part in the success of that party having gotten out the registration which was used in the campaign which brought the Liberal party into control of Salt Lake City in 1890.
Since 1880 he has been associated with western railroads, going to Denver from the Pan Handle at Indianapolis in that year to take service with the Colorado Railway Pool.
Mr. Griffin was one of the organizers of Salt Lake's first professional baseball team-buying the franchise of the Port- land team of the Pacific Coast League and transfering the same to this city.
Mr. Griffin also laid out and drew the plans of Pioneer Park and was a member of the park commission that was authorized by the legislature, until the new form of city government was adopted.
Men of Affairs in The State of Utah
CLIFF DOUGLAS BLANKENSHIP
S MANAGER of the Bees, known officially as the Salt Lake baseball club of the Pacific Coast League, in 1915 Cliff D. Blankenship extended his reputation as an expert baseball manager to wider fields than he had before been known. Cliff D. Blankenship was not a stranger to the great national game when he was chosen as manager of the team upon which Salt Lake fans set their hopes. His life has been an interesting one in which baseball plays no small part.
Cliff D. Blankenship was born at Columbus, Georgia, April 10. 1880. His father was William Blankenship, and his mother Josephine Hollenbeck Blankenship. He was a Virginian, she a Georgian. His father was engaged in the real estate business in Columbus.
It was at Auburn College, Alabama, that Blankenship broke into other baseball than the corner lot variety. He made good on the college team, and the call of the diamond was so strong and so alluring that he never resisted it, but followed the game consistently.
"Blank" came to Utah in 1911, three years after lie left college, and has made his home in the Beehive state since. He was married in 1906 to Miss Hazel Ludwig. They have one son, named for the father. Cliff D. Blankenship is a member of Columbus (Georgia) lodge No. 111, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Men of Affairs in The State of Utah
BERKLEY OLSON
N' A growing country like the western states of the Union, there is a peculiar importance laid upon the promoting and banking business. One of the best known men in this line to be found in the intermoun- tain country is Berkley Olson. Mr. Olson was born at Mount Pleasant, Utah, July 31, 1883. His father was William Olson and his mother Mrs. Sarah Jane Olson. His father was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and his mother in Pleas- ant Grove, Utah. Both were among the early settlers of this state.
Mr. Olson was educated in the public schools of his native town and then entered the L. D. S. Business College of Salt Lake City, being graduated from that institution in 1890. He soon took up the profession of banking and promoting, and is also interested in mining matters. He is president of the Selma Mines company and has been prominent in real estate activ- ities in Salt Lake City and throughout Utah generally. He has done an extensive banking business, having been instrumental in organizing banks at Bingham, Garfield, Randolph, Midvale and Pleasant Grove.
He is married, his wife's maiden name having been Miss Jessie P. Tucker. They have three children: William B., 7 years of age; Rodney T., 4 years of age, and J. Ross, 2 years of age.
Mr. Olson is an ardent Democrat. He is an enthusiastic Utah man and a "booster" for Salt Lake City.
Men of Affairs in The State of Utah
CHARLES SNEAD McDONALD.
N architect of fame in Utah and a man who is well known among his associates as one in whom trust may be placed at any and all times is Charles Snead McDonald. He is respected in Utah and Salt Lake as one that may at all times be relied upon. His business associates respect him and the same regard is paid to him by his social acquaintances.
Mr. McDonald, son of Fanny B. McDonald and Allan Lane McDonald, was born in Louisville, Kentney, February 19, 1879.
His ancestors were well known. He is the grandson of Charles Scott McDonald of Louisville and of Angus William Mc- Donald of Virginia. His occupation has been that of an archi- tect since his early training.
At the present time he is a member of the firm of McDonald and Cooper, located in the Boston building, Salt Lake. Mr. McDonald's early education was acquired in the city schools of Louisville, Ky., his home town. Eventually he became a mem- ber of the class of 1899 of the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology. After his course at the college Mr. MeDonald decided to come to Utah. Ile first arrived in that city in 1906. After his arrival here he at once became well acquainted, both in a social and a financial way. The firm with which he is now as- sociated were the architects for the Keith-O'Brien building. They were also associated with Eames and Young in connection with the construction with the Walker Bank building. Mr. Me- Donald is also interested in modern fire-proof construction. As to clubs, he is a member of the Salt Lake Tennis Club, the Salt Lake Commercial Club and is the vice-president of the Inter- mountain Technology Association.
Men of Affairs in The State of Utab
OVANDO C. BEEBE
D ESCENDED from the family of John Rogers, who was burned at the stake at Smithfield, England, for his religious beliefs, Ovando C. Beebe comes from morally courageous stock. He was born at Pork City, Polk county, Iowa, and was a son of George Beebe and Hester Ann Robers Beebe.
Mr. Beebe attended Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, from 1881 to 1886, he having come to Utah in 1875.
He is married, his wife's maiden name having been Clara M. Woodruff. Their children are Vedi V. Byer, Woodruff C. Beebe, Emma Beebe, Hester Beebe, Margaret Beebe and Ruth Beebe.
Mr. Beebe is not a member of any fraternal order, his whole time being devoted to his family and to his business interests. He is, however, a member of the Commercial Club of Salt Lake. He was national bank examiner for the district of Utah from 1902 to 1906.
He is cashier and a director of Zion's Savings Bank and Trust company ; a director of the Utah State National Bank, and vice president of the Utah Savings and Trust company. He also is vice president of the Clayton Investment company, and of the Daynes-Beebe Musie company and identified with many other Utah corporations.
Men of Affairs in The State of Utah
HENRY GORDON WILLIAMS
MINING engineer of wide experience and general manager of the Utah Fnel company, with vast inter- est in Utah, Colorado and other states, Henry Gor- don Williams is second to none as an expert and an authority in connection with every branch of the fuel business. The firm of which he is such an able repre- sentative is one that is known universally as one of the largest and most influential coal concerns in the United States, con- trolling millions of dollars' worth of coal properties in Utah as well as vast interests in other states.
Mr. Williams, son of Amanda L. McMillan and Henry Nor- ton Williams, was born in Merton, Wisconsin, March 19, 1856, and has been a resident of Utah for several years. Since his arrival here he has gained hundreds of friends both in business and social circles, and is highly esteemed and well thought of by all with whom he has been associated.
Mr. Williams still follows the occupation of mining en- gineer, although he is considered as an authority on local finan- cial matters, and has been exceedingly successful in a financial way. His early education was gained in the city of his birth. Later he attended the University of Chicago, but owing to seri- ous sickness shortly after his arrival at that institution was compelled to leave while in his junior year.
Mr. Williams has been married for several years. His wife was formerly Miss Mary B. Fidler. No children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Williams. Fraternal orders and politics have never appealed to Mr. Williams, although he is a well-known member of the Salt Lake Commercial Club.
Men of Affairs in The State of Utah
MORONI HEINER
ELL KNOWN in several branches of Utah's business, Moroni Heiner came to Salt Lake City in 1909. He was born at Morgan City, Utah, February 17, 1877, the son of Martha Stevens Heiner and Daniel Heiner. Mr. Heiner's father's parents came direct from Ger- many to the United States in the early part of the nineteenth century. His mother's father was one of the state's pioneers, having come to Utah with Brigham Young.
From 1895 to 1899 he attended the Brigham College at Logan, from which institution he graduated. He was later mar- ried to Miss Eva Purnell. They have nine children-Glen, Iona, Florence, Keith, Verna, Frank, Louise and Daniel.
As a sportsman and all around club man, Mr. Heiner is iden- tified closely with the Commercial Club, the Bonneville Club, the Rudy Gun Club, the Chesapeake Duck Club and the Sunnybrook Fish Club. Formerly he was a believer in the Republican doc- trines, but later identified himself with the Progressive party, having been appointed as a national committeeman. Mr. Heiner is well known as a student, is connected with Utah's Coal, Bank- ing, Farming, Merchandising and Mining business. Although not a member of any fraternal organization he carries insurance with one of the largest eastern companies.
Mr. Heiner is a director and vice-president of the Castle Valley Coal company ; a director and vice-president of the Castle Valley Railroad company; director and vice-president of the Utah Coal Sales agency; director and vice-president of the Mohrland Mercantile company; director and president of the Western Fuel company; director of the First National Bank of Morgan, and a director of the Granite Furniture company. He was appointed State Dairy and Food Commissioner twice by Heber M. Wells.
Men of Affairs in The State of Utah
SAMUEL MOORE TAYLOR.
rather interesting detail attaches to the record of the Taylor undertaking establishment, as repre- sented in the east side concern, which was founded by Joseph Edward Taylor, one of the Mormon pioneers and the first undertaker in Utah. This de- tail found in the fact that more than 30,000 bodies of the dead of Salt Lake and elsewhere have been prepared for burial in the mortuary of S. M. Taylor & Co.
This important establishment is now headed by Samuel Moore Taylor, son of Joseph Edward Taylor, known officially as president and manager of the company. Mr. Taylor followed rather a enstom of the old families of Utah when he, as the son, stepped into his father's shoes in the undertaking business.
Mr. Taylor's mother was Lisadore Williams Taylor and the date of his birth was March 11, 1880, in Salt Lake. His educa- tion was gained in the schools of the city and in the Latter-day Saints University.
Mr. Taylor was married to Miss Lucile Badger and is the father of three children-Harold Badger Taylor, age 10; Marion Badger Taylor, age 4, and Virginia Badger Taylor, age 2.
Mr. Taylor has gained a position of prominence in the com- mercial affairs of Salt Lake and is a member of the Commercial Club of this city.
Men of Affairs in The State of Utah
BYRON CUMMINGS.
MONG the noted of living educators in Utah is Byron Cummings, Dean of the University of Utah. An East- erner by birth and training, he has brought to the West the best of the training and traditions of the East, and has shown an admirable willingness to adopt the West- ern viewpoint. As a result, Prof. Cummings is a leader among educators in the West.
Born at Westville, N. Y., September 20, 1861, Byron Cum- mings came of excellent stock. His father was Moses Cummings and his mother Mrs. Roxana Hoadley Cummings. They were of noteworthy ancestry, their forebears being New England and Scotch-Irish stock from American Revolutionary days.
Mr. Cummings received a common school education at West- ville, and then entered Rutgers College, attending from 1885 to 1889, when he was graduated. Immediately after his graduation he took up the work of teaching.
He came to the West, locating in Utah in September, 1893.
Professor Cummings is a member of the University Club and the Commercial Club of Salt Lake City, and belongs also to the fol- lowing other societies, all noted for the brilliant personelle of the scholars who form their membership: The American Association for the Advancement of Science; the American Anthropological Association; the Archaelogical Institute of America, and the Anthropologie, Berlin, Germany.
Men of Affairs in The State of Utah
JAMES WILLIAM M'KINNEY
AMES WILLIAM M'KINNEY was born January 10, 1872, at Hannibal, Mo. His parents were Albert and Bonna de Ella (Snapp) Mckinney. He is a grand- son of James McKinney and the Rev. William De- laney Snapp, and a grandson of John A. Mckinney, Texas patriot. His forbears were prominent in the history of the Republic of Texas.
J. W. Mckinney was educated in the public schools of Hen- rietta, Texas, 1879; San Marciel and Rincon, New Mexico, 1880-1; Duncan, Arizona, 1882-4; Green Brier School, Texas, 1879; public school, MeKinney, Texas, 1885-6; St. Michaels Col- lege, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1887-8; Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 1892-4. He studied law in the offices of Sen- ator W. E. Borah, Boise, Idaho, for several years, beginning 1897. He developed his knowledge of shorthand and law by solitary night study.
He moved to Salt Lake in 1889, engaging in shorthand and reporting for years. He moved to Boise, Idaho, in 1894. In 1887 he established the Boise Business and Shorthand College. Hle was police judge, Boise, July 20, 1897, to July 21, 1899. He . was secretary of the Democratic county convention, Ada county, Idaho, September, 1896, and again in August, 1898. He was a delegate to many state and county conventions in Idaho and Utah in the years that followed. He was nominated probate judge, Ada county, Idaho, September 22, 1898. Later he was private secretary to Frank Steunenberg, governor of Idaho.
He married Rose Kohlhepp at Boise, January 19, 1901, re- turning to Utah that year. They have two children, George Ward Mckinney, 12, and James Orlando McKinney, 3 years of age. He was admitted to the bar in Utah, October 9, 1905, and to the United States district court of Utah December 16, 1905. He became associated with the law firm of Powers & Marion- eaux, 1905, and in 1913 with Powers, Marioneaux, Stott & Mc -. Kinney. He is now practicing law alone.
Men of Affairs in The State of Utah
LEROY G. DINWOODEY
ISING with a city in its commercial growth and great- ness, and seeing his business develop along with that of his birthplace, is the pleasurable experience of the subject of this brief biography. Leroy G. Dinwoodey was born in Salt Lake City on December 23, 1880, and is proud to call himself a native son, not only of Utah, but of its great capital city. His father was Henry Din- woodey and his mother Mrs. Anne Hill Dinwoodey.
After receiving the education afforded in the common schools of this city, Mr. Dinwoodey was sent to the Pacific coast by his parents, where he entered Leland Stanford university in 1902. He left that institution in 1905, and was married to Miss Lucile Jennings. Their home is blessed with three children: Margaret, 9 years of age; Henry, 7 years of age, and Paul Devereux, 5 years of age.
While in college Mr. Dinwoodey joined a Greek letter fra- ternity, the Phi Kappa Psi. He is a member also of the Uni- versity club, the Alta club, the Country club, the Duckville Gun club and the Salt Lake Temis club.
Politically Mr. Dinwoodey is nonpartisan. He is a member of the firm of H. Dinwoodey Furniture company, being vice- president, treasurer and assistant manager of that large con- cern, which is one of the leading commercial houses in Utah's capital.
Men of Affairs in The State of Utah
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ERNEST L. GODBE
HEN the industrial eminence of a state is largely up- held by the mining industry, as in Utah, it is not sur- rising that many sons of that state drift into or are projected into the technical side of the industry and make of mining and metallurgical engineering a life work. In some instances they are almost born to the work, as in the case of Ernest L. Godbe, prominent mining man and metallurgist of Salt Lake City.
W. S. Godbe, father of Ernest L. Godbe, entered Salt Lake valley in the summer of 1847 with the first band of Mormon pioneers. Before many years had passed over the slab roofs and adobt walls of the village, the first Utah Godbe had hied him to the hills and found that mining was to figure largely in the development of the state. W. S. Godbe married Mary Hampton.
Ernest L. Godbe was born in Salt Lake City September 13, 1867, and was educated in the grade and high schools and col- leges of the state. Virtually all his life he has been in touch with mining affairs of Utah, and many years ago took up prac- tice as a mining and metallurgical engineer. Among the corpor- ations in which Mr. Godbe is interested are the Prince Consol- idated Mining & Smelting company and the Ohio-Kentucky Con- solidated Mining company, both large producers in the Utah district.
Mr. and Mrs. Godbe, who was Miss Sallie Wertheimer, are the parents of nine children, two of whom are married. Mr. Godbe is a Republican in politics and a member of the Commer- cial club of Salt Lake.
Men of Affairs in The State of Utah
DR. FREDERICK E. STRAUP, M. D.
ROBABLY no one man in this state is more widely known or more generally liked than Dr. Frederick E. Straup, M. D., mayor of Bingham Canyon, Utah, and physician and surgeon for the Utah Copper company. Dr. Straup is the son of Sarah and Daniel B. Stranp. He was born in South Bend, Indiana, October 31, 1871. His early education was received in the schools of South Bend. In 1891 he entered Hahnemann Medical college of Chi- cago and was gradnated a physician and surgeon in 1895.
The doctor moved to Utah in 1896 and settled in Bingham Canyon, where he rapidly gained fame as a physician and sur- geon and popularity as a public spirited man. His popularity is not limited to Bingham Canyon, but rather extends throughout the state of Utah. He is a member of the Salt Lake Commer- cial club, the Bingham Canyon Commercial club and the Uni- versity club of Salt Lake City.
A life-time Republican, Dr. Straup, soon after his arrival in this state, became actively engaged in the state's politics. He has twice been elected mayor of Bingham Canyon. He is an indefatigable worker in the interest of his party, and in all things that work for the betterment of Bingham Canyon and the state of Utah at large. This, in connection with his attrac- tive personality, has made for him many friends throughout the state.
In addition to his duties as a general practitioner, the doctor conducts, at Bingham, a hospital for the benefit of the employees of the Utah Copper company and the residents of Bingham.
Dr. Straup is married. He married Mrs. Florence Rickert of Salt Lake City. He is the father of one child, a son, Wesley Newton Straup, 6 years of age.
The doctor is also well known in the fraternal circles of Utah. He is a member of the Salt Lake City lodge B. P. O. E., the Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and the Fraternal Order of Eagles.
Men of Affairs in The State of Utah
JESSE H. WHEELER
ESSE H. WHEELER, Progressive member of the board of county commissioners of Salt Lake county for the years 1914 and 1915, is a native of Salt Lake county. He was born at Murray, Utah, September 14, 1868, a son of Thomas and Anna Walker Wheeler, who came to Utah in the early '50s. Wheeler's early life was spent on the family farm near Murray, and he attended the district public schools in his boyhood. He amplified his education by extensive reading, and from personal choice studied political economy.
He was married in 1896 to Miss Rena Doty, and there are the following children resulting from this union: Kelch, Ar- della, Ruth, Clandins, Annabella, Zettalla and Luella.
Commissioner Wheeler has been identified for many years with the Republican party, but when a change of sentiment swept over a part of that party, he affiliated with the Progressive party, and has been closely identified with the work of that organization in Salt Lake county since the organization of that party. His earnest advocacy of the party's principles led to his election to the commissionership in 1914, for the two-year term. He is a member of no fraternal order, but enjoys the friendship of an unusually large number of persons with whom business and politics have caused him to come in contact.
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