USA > Wyoming > History of Wyoming, Volume II > Part 12
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LESLIE B. MAGOR.
Leslie B. Magor, county clerk of Carbon county, and ex officio register of deeds, makes his home in Rawlins, in which city he was born on the 9th of March. 1881, a son of the late Richard C. Magor, a native of Wisconsin, and a grandson of Henry C. Magor, who was the founder of the American branch of the family, coming to the new world from England during the early part of the nineteenth century. He was one of the pioneer residents of Wisconsin, where he engaged in farming and mining, and at one time he owned an extensive lead mine in that state. His last years were spent in Rawlins, where he departed this life in 1902 at the notable old age of eighty-three years, his last days being spent in the home of his son, Richard C. Magor, who had come Vol. II-6
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to Rawlins in 1880 and was engaged in general merchandising. That busi- ness he followed successfully during the greater part of his life and was one of the progressive merchants and valued citizens of Rawlins, where he passed away in 1901 at the age of fifty-seven years. He was a stalwart advocate of democratic principles but never sought or filled public office, yet he took a most active interest in civic affairs and lent the weight of his aid and influence to every cause which he believed would further public progress or advance the general interests of his community. His wife bore the maiden name of Grace Roberts and was a daughter of Henry and Grace Roberts, of Galena, Illinois, where they settled at an early period in the development of that section of the country. They, too, were of English lineage. The death of Mrs. Richard C. Magor occurred in Galena, Illinois, in 1897, when she was forty- eight years of age. She had a family of seven children, all of whom are liv- ing in Wyoming with the exception of one. The family record is as follows : Jennie R. is the wife of William F. Hopkins and resides in Encampment, Wyoming. Henry C. makes his home in Cheyenne. Grace is the wife of N. L. France, of Rawlins. Leslie B. is the fourth in order of birth. Edith is the wife of Charles E. Bates, of Rawlins. Richard A. is deputy county clerk and makes his home in Rawlins. Marguerite is the wife of D. J. Smith, of Denver.
Leslie B. Magor was educated in the public schools of Rawlins and when sixteen years of age started out to earn his livelihood, being first employed in the Wallace grocery, where he remained for eighteen months. He was after- wards with the Cullen Commercial Company for a period of about six years and during two years of that time was manager of their branch store at Wam- sutter, Wyoming. Before entering into connection with the Cullen Commer- cial Company, however, he spent five years in the employ of John A. Donnell, a general merchant. In 1912 Mr. Magor was elected to the office of county clerk and is now serving for the third term, his reelections being an indication of his ability, fidelity and the confidence reposed in him by the public. He is very prompt and capable in the discharge of his duties, conscientiously meeting the obligations that devolve upon him, and that his record is an unassailable one is shown by his repeated elections.
On the 9th of December, 1903, in Rawlins, Mr. Magor was united in mar- riage to Miss Martha A. Dailey, a daughter of L. C. Dailey, and they have become the parents of three children: Leslie D., who was born in Rawlins, November 9, 1904; Grace Elizabeth, born October 27, 1907; and Phyllis Jane, born April 5, 1910.
Fraternally Mr. Magor is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Loyal Order of Moose and with the Masonic fraternity. He has made his own way in the world and his success is due entirely to his efforts and perseverance. He is everywhere spoken of in terms of high regard and his official record is an unassailable one, proving highly satisfactory to his constituents.
HON. CHARLES W. RINER.
Hon. Charles W. Riner is now serving as a member of the state senate of Wyoming and is actively identified with commercial interests in Cheyenne as man- ager of the Wyoming Feed & Fuel Company and as a real estate and insurance agent. He was born in Middletown, Ohio, in 1854, a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Christman) Riner, both of whom lived to the very advanced age of ninety years.
Their son, Charles W. Riner, began his education in the public schools and also attended an academy at Seven Mile, Ohio, from which in due course of time he was graduated. His health failing, he removed to the west in 1870 and took up his abode in Cheyenne. After two years, having regained his health, he accepted a clerkship with the firm of Pease & Taylor, with whom he continued for nine years.
HON. CHARLES W. RINER
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His sister was then appointed to the position of postmaster of Cheyenne and Mr. Riner acted as assistant postmaster, continuing to occupy the position for four years. While in the postoffice he entered into partnership with Marshall Johnson and later William R. Schnitger, establishing their present business under the name of the Wyoming Feed & Fuel Company. Their trade has grown with the devel- opment of the city and the business enterprise has proven a profitable one. Mr. Riner is a man of energy who carries forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes. His plans are well formulated and his systematic methods and honorable dealing are factors in his growing success.
In 1878 Mr. Riner was united in marriage to Miss Delia Stanley, who passed away in 1879. For his second wife he chose Miss Mary Clark and their children were: Harry, who is a first lieutenant of the Wyoming National Guard, now in France; and Clarence, who is a captain in the Marine Corps, awaiting call for service abroad and now acting as adjutant of the post at Mare Island. Mr. Riner was again married to Miss Kate Davis and they have become the parents of two children, Florence and Elizabeth.
Mr. Riner is a Congregationalist in religious belief. Fraternally he is con- nected with the Masons and has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, while with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert. He is also connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and with the Knights of Pythias. His political allegiance has always been given to the republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and he is now serving as state senator and in this connection he is giving thoughtful and earnest consideration to all the vital questions that come up for settlement. He formerly served as a member of the territorial legislature and has been prominent in municipal affairs, acting as mayor of Cheyenne for four years and as a member of the city council for nine years. He also was supervisor of county assessors for two terms. When the new federal building was being erected in Cheyenne he filled the position of distributing agent. He was also state enumerator for the 1900 United States census.
He is a man of genuine personal worth and marked ability, widely known and held in the highest esteem by all. Everywhere his acquaintances speak of him in terms of high regard, for he has the qualities that make for leadership in public affairs, while his social traits of character are those which make for personal popularity.
ERNEST W. HOLMES.
Among the progressive business enterprises which are contributing to the upbuilding and development of Kemmerer is that of which Ernest W. Holmes is proprietor. The business is conducted under the name of Kemmerer Soda Bottling Works and has become one of the important productive industries of the city.
Mr. Holmes is a western man by birth and training and has the characteristic spirit of western enterprise and progress. He was born in Central City, Ne- braska, November 9, 1879, a son of S. J. Holmes, now a resident of Rock Springs, Wyoming, who came to America from Sweden in 1879 and took up his abode near Central City, Nebraska, where he successfully engaged in farm- ing. In 1884 he removed to Rock Springs and for years was connected with the Union Pacific Coal Company but is now living retired, enjoying a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves. He married Josephine Freeman, a native of Sweden, who came to America in 1879 with her husband. Her death occurred in Rock Springs, December 24. 1916, when she was sixty-six years of age, and her demise was deeply regretted not only by her immediate family but by many friends.
Ernest W. Holmes was the eldest in order of birth in a family of five chil-
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dren, all of whom are living. Spending his youthful days under the parental roof, he attended the public schools of Rock Springs and thus became well qualified for life's practical and responsible duties by his thorough educational training. Upon attaining his majority he started out in the world on his own account. Severing home ties, he went to Spring Valley, where he engaged in mining, there remaining for about eighteen months. He afterward served as engineer in the mines at Cumberland, where he continued for eight years, and through the succeeding five years he was engineer in the coal mines at Frontier, Wyoming. He next entered his present field of business, establishing the Kem- merer Soda Bottling Works in 1914. He began the business in a small way but has developed it to a large and profitable enterprise. He was the pioneer soda water manufacturer in Lincoln county and with the passing years his trade has steadily grown until it is one of large and gratifying proportions. He has always based his success upon the excellence of his product and the integrity of his business methods.
On the 20th of August, 1904. in Rock Springs, Mr. Holmes was united in marriage to Miss Mathilda Ackerson, a native of Sweden and a daughter of the late Olaf Ackerson, also a native of Sweden, who died in Rock Springs in November, 1908, at the age of fifty years. He came to America in 1890. His wife bore the maiden name of Maria Larson and is still living at Rock Springs. To Mr. and Mrs. Holmes have been born five children: Edna, who was born in Cumberland, June 23, 1905; Marie, born in Cumberland, January 28, 1907; Ethel, born in Frontier, Wyoming, February 28, 1909; Earl, born in Frontier, May 6, 1911 ; and Jack, born in Kemmerer, August 15, 1916.
Mr. Holmes votes with the republican party and for the past four years he has been chief of the fire department of Kemmerer. Fraternally he is con- nected with the Loyal Order of Moose and his religious faith is that of the Lutheran church. These associations indicate something of the nature of his interests and the rules which govern his conduct. His life has been spent well, for he has made good use of his time, his talents and his opportunities. Start- ing out in the world a poor boy, he was actuated by a laudable ambition to advance and today he is at the head of an extensive business in Kemmerer, owning his plant and his home, which are the visible evidences of a life of well directed energy and thrift. From his plant he ships his products to all neighboring counties, also to Idaho and to Utah, his annual sales amounting to seven thousand dollars. His advancement in a business way should serve as a source of inspiration and encouragement to others, showing what may be achieved through persistent energy wisely directed.
DAVID L. DARR.
David L. Darr, president of the Bighorn County Bank of Basin, has been identified with the business development of northwestern Wyoming since August, 1897, or for a period of more than twenty-one years. He was born in Ipava, Fulton county, Illinois, January 7, 1856, a son of G. B. and Harriet ( Meredith ) Darr, who were natives of Pennsylvania and were of Pennsylvania Dutch stock. Both the father and mother were the youngest children in large families and David L. Darr is the seventh in order of birth in a family of eight children. The father removed westward with his family and followed blacksmithing and farm- ing as a life work. Both he and his wife died in Nebraska, the former at the age of eighty-one years and the latter when seventy-six years of age.
David L. Darr acquired a public school education in Illinois and was reared to farm life, early becoming familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He continued to work in the fields until twenty-two years of age, when he became connected with general merchandising at Redbird, Nebraska. Two years later he was elected county treasurer of Holt county, Nebraska, and
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served in that position for two terms or four years. He became associated with a bank at O'Neill, Nebraska, in which he occupied the position of cashier for six years, and then disposed of his interest in the bank and built a flour mill at the same place which was destroyed by fire two years later. The insurance was far less than the loss, so that he was financially much embarrassed. In 1894 he removed to Westplains, Missouri, where he again took up the occupa- tion of farming but with poor success and in 1896 he returned to the northwest. He was employed in connection with the lumber business until August, 1898, when he removed to Basin and assisted in organizing the Bighorn County Bank, of which he took charge as cashier, holding that position until January, 1913, when he was elected to the presidency. He is also an official in the First State Bank of Kane, Wyoming, and an officer and director in the Basin Hall Company, the Basin Building Company and in the Torchlight Company. These interests are contributing to the material development of the community and Mr. Darr is thus actively connected with business enterprises which have to do with general progress and prosperity while at the same time they contribute to individual success. As the years have passed he has prospered and is now the owner of real estate in Basin and vicinity besides being a stockholder in several corporations and business enterprises elsewhere.
In May, 1891, at Redbird, Nebraska, Mr. Darr was united in marriage to Miss Ella Jones, a daughter of Thomas W. Jones. They have two children : Jessie L., the widow of Judge G. M. Cleveland, of Hot Springs, South Dakota ; and Mazie V., the wife of M. B. Rhodes, a banker of Kane, Wyoming.
In politics Mr. Darr has always been a straight republican and has taken an active and helpful interest in politics since living in Wyoming. He served as county treasurer from January, 1886, to January, 1890, and was for three terms mayor of Basin, giving to the city a businesslike and progressive administration. He belongs to the Masonic lodge and since 1879 has been an Odd Fellow, holding most of the offices in that order and belonging to all of its branches. He has been grand master and grand patriarch and has represented both the grand lodge and grand encampment in the Sovereign Grand Lodge. He has likewise been grand treasurer for both of these branches for the last four years and is promi- nently and widely known in the organization. He is greatly interested in good government, local, state and national, and is not generally a convert to the many so-called reforms, having lived to see that most of them have been illusionary. He stands, however, for progress and improvement, guided by sound judgment, and his cooperation can at all times be counted upon to further any movement which he believes will benefit community, commonwealth or country.
HILLIARD S. RIDGELY.
Hilliard S. Ridgely, a prominent member of the Wyoming bar, was born on a farm near Siam, Taylor county, Iowa, October 16, 1874, a son of Eli and Olive (Allen) Ridgely. There were eight children, six boys and two girls, and the subject of this sketch is the third child and the second son of the family. His father and three of his father's brothers served in the Union army during the Civil war, and three uncles on his mother's side of the house likewise fought for the preservation of the Union.
His father was a homesteader in Lincoln county, Nebraska, and in the early 'gos removed with his family from the homestead to North Platte, the county seat, where Mr. Ridgely was graduated from the high school. Taking up the study of law, he entered the law offices of Wilcox & Halligan. Later he was admitted as a student of law at the College of Law, University of Nebraska, where he was graduated, receiving the degree of LL. B., June 10, 1897. He at once entered the active practice of his profession and was elected county attor-
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ney of Lincoln county, Nebraska, the fall of 1898, and was reelected in 1900 by an overwhelming majority.
At the expiration ot his second term as county attorney, Mr. Ridgely removed from North Platte to Cody, Wyoming, where he was Colonel W. F. Cody's (Buffalo Bill) personal representative and attorney for a number of years. Upon the Burlington Railroad building from Frannie south through the Big Horn basin, he removed to Basin, the county seat, where he built up a large and lucra- tive practice. In 1911 he was appointed United States district attorney for the district of Wyoming by President Taft. This necessitated his removal to Chey- enne, where he has since resided and where he enjoys a large practice. Mr. Ridgely is considered one of the leading criminal lawyers of the state of Wyoming. As United States district attorney he discharged the duties with marked prompt- ness, fidelity and ability.
In politics Mr. Ridgely is of the republican faith and in 1908 was one of the delegates at large from the state of Wyoming to the republican national conven- tion at Chicago. This convention nominated William Howard Taft as the repub- lican candidate for president, and he was elected at the November election fol- lowing. Mr. Ridgely was one of the original Taft men in Wyoming and was active in his behalf before as well as after the convention.
In 1914 Mr. Ridgely was the republican candidate for the office of governor against the democratic nominee, Hon. John B. Kendrick. It was a close race, but the democrats had fused with the progressives that year and carried the state, and Mr. Ridgely was defeated by a small majority. At the close of the campaign he withdrew from active politics and is devoting his time and energy to the practice of the law. As a lawyer and business man he is successful, and as a citizen and friend he is popular.
On the 21st of June, 1899, at North Platte, Nebraska, Mr. Ridgely was united in marriage to Miss Evea J. Fenwick. To this happy union have been born three children : Lucile, Fenwick and Hilliard.
In religious faith Mr. Ridgely is a Presbyterian and fraternally is a Scottish Rite Mason, a member of the Mystic Shrine and also of the Knight Templar commandery. He is likewise connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and is a member of the Industrial Club.
ALEX. NISBET.
Alex. Nisbet, registrar of the United States land office at Evanston, was born in Knightswood, Dumbartonshire, Scotland, January 27, 1865, a son of Alexander and Isabella ( Porterfield) Nisbet, who were also natives of the land of hills and heather. The father was a coal and iron stone miner, de- voting his life to that pursuit. He passed away November 28, 1887, at the age of fifty years, after which his widow came to America in 1891, making her way direct to Almy, Wyoming, where she resided for a few years. She then returned to Scotland but again came to this state in 1898 and soon after- ward took up her abode in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she departed this life in 1914 at the age of seventy-seven years. In the family were twelve children.
Alex. Nisbet, who was the fifth in order of birth, was educated in the public schools of Knightswood and remained a resident of his native land until he reached the age of twenty-three years, when he determined to estab- lish his home in America, attracted by the better business opportunities which he believed to be existing on this side of the Atlantic. In 1888, therefore, he bade adieu to his native land and made his way to the United States. After reaching American shores he traveled westward across the continent to Ohio, where he engaged in coal mining, and in 1889 he came to Wyoming. first
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settling at Almy, where he was employed as coal check weighman in No. 7 coal mine by the Union Pacific Coal Company. He represented the miners as check weighman and continued in that position until 1894, when he be- came chief deputy county clerk of Uinta county. He served from 1895 until 1903 and from 1911 until 1914 again occupied that position. He was city treasurer of Evanston from 1907 until 1911 and on the Ist of February, 1915, he took charge of the United States land office as registrar, his incumbency in the position to continue until the ist of February, 1918. At that time he was reappointed for another term of four years and continues in the position. He has made an excellent record as a public official, being true and loyal to the trusts reposed in him, and prompt and faithful in the discharge of his duties. His record is most commendable and should serve as a source of inspiration and emulation to others. Mr. Nisbet is recognized as a stalwart champion of the democratic party and his position upon any important ques- tion is never an equivocal one. He stands fearlessly for what he believes to be right and gives clear utterance to his opinions. He filled the position of county chairman of the democratic central committee and was secretary of the central committee of Uinta county for five terms. He also was chosen a member of the democratic state central committee from Uinta county for two terms and his opinions have carried weight in the councils of his party. On the 24th of June, 1892, Mr. Nisbet was married in Almy, Uinta county, to Miss Maggie Campbell, a native of Scotland and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Campbell. They have become the parents of five children, of whom two, however, have passed away. Those living are: Alexander C., residing in Evanston; Matthew M., a yeoman of the United States Navy, now at San Francisco; and Maggie, who is also in Evanston.
Fraternally Mr. Nisbet is connected with the Knights of The Maccabees and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He was reared in the Presby- terian faith, to which he has always adhered, and is a trustee of the church in Evanston. His has been a well spent life, true to every manly principle and actuated at all times by high and honorable purposes. He started out in the business world a poor boy. He left home and came to America in order to provide a home for the family, which purpose he accomplished. He was the head of the family for some time after his father's death, and he has fully met every obligation, filial and otherwise, that has devolved upon him. His genuine worth is widely recognized, for he has ever been true to the ties of home and friendship, has been progressive and reliable in business, and loyal and public-spirited in citizenship.
EMIL KRUEGER.
Emil Krueger, a progressive business man of Rawlins, where he is engaged in the manufacture and sale of saddlery, harness and automobile goods under the firm style of the Knox & Tanner Company, was born in Shelbyville, Ken- tucky, August 11, 1870, a son of the late Louis A. Krueger, who was a native of Germany but came to America in the early '6os, and settled in Kentucky, where he engaged in the shoe business. He lived there for many years but in 1800 removed to Wyoming, taking up his abode in Rawlins, where he again con- ducted a shoe store until about two years prior to his death, which occurred on the 29th of November. 1915, when he was seventy-three years of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Caroline Knodle, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was also of German lineage. She, too, passed away in Rawlins. In their family were three children, the eldest being Rev. Fred Tevis Krueger, a Metho- dist clergyman, now located at Windsor, Colorado. The daughter, Flora H., has until a recent date been principal of the high school of Rawlins, which position
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she occupied for fifteen years, and is now engaged in government service at Wheatland in Normal preparatory work.
The other number of the family is Emil Krueger, who was educated in the public schools of Denver, Colorado, and who at the age of nineteen years started out in business on his own account, serving an apprenticeship at the harness and saddlery trade. He thoroughly mastered the business in Denver, Colorado, and afterward worked as a journeyman until 1905, when he became mana- ger and principal stockholder of the Knox & Tanner Company of Rawlins, Wyo- ming, manufacturers of and dealers in saddlery, harness and cowboy outfits. They also handle automobile goods. The business has grown steadily and has become one of the large commercial concerns of the city and of this section of the state. In fact their trade o'ertops that of any other of similar character in Carbon county, their annual sales amounting to sixty thousand dollars. Their success has been based upon thorough workmanship in the line of goods car- ried, fair prices and earnest efforts to please their patrons.
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