USA > Wyoming > History of Wyoming, Volume II > Part 15
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66
148
HISTORY OF WYOMING
ing and lumber business, as well as becoming the first furniture dealer in the city. His business also included retail ice and coal. These projects were profit- ably conducted, and as his capital increased he became connected with other lines. About 1882 he became connected with the ranch business, first with a desert claim of two hundred and eighty acres, from which modest beginning the great Daley ranch of today is the outgrowth. Until 1892 his ranch interests were confined to cattle and horses, since when the sheep industry has been extensively followed. From time to time Mr. Daley has relinquished his interests other than ranching and banking. The former have attained extensive proportions and the Daley ranch now includes about twenty-four thousand acres, and the Red Desert prop- erty about forty thousand acres, with Table Rock as headquarters. These inter- ests have been incorporated as The William Daley Company, with William Daley as president and William W. Daley as general manager. The Daley ranch, four- teen miles west of Rawlins along the line of the Union Pacific Railroad, is one of the finest ranch properties in this section of the west. The stock barn, a modern structure eighty-eight by one hundred feet, is one of the largest in the state. The station of Daley's Ranch on this line was named for it. During the presidential campaign of 1900, Theodore Roosevelt and a party of fifty-two other prominent men of national and state reputation were over-Sunday guests of Mr. Daley at the ranch. Several years later, while Mr. Daley was the guest of President Roosevelt in Washington, when presented to Mrs. Roosevelt, the president remarked: "This is the gentleman you have heard me speak of and at whose home in Wyoming I had the grandest dinner I ever sat down to."
In the latter '8os, in company with I. C. Miller, J. C. Davis, John W. Hugus and others, Mr. Daley organized the First National Bank of Rawlins and was for some years a director of that institution. Later he disposed of his interests therein, and on January 1, 1899, was one of the organizers of the Rawlins State Bank, which on June 9, 1900, became the Rawlins National Bank. Mr. Daley served as vice president until 1913, when he became president, a relationship that he has since maintained. The Rawlins National Bank was organized with a fifty thousand dollar capital, which has since been twice increased and now stands at one hundred thousand dollars. Its growth has been steady and con- tinues, and it now ranks with the strongest and best managed financial institu- tions in the state. Mr. Daley's connection with banking institutions in Rawlings has not only been marked by their substantial growth and progress but has extended through a longer period than that of any of his contemporaries.
On December 15. 1871, Mr. Daley was united in marriage at Salt Lake to Miss Rhoda S. Tilden, born at Allegany, Cattaraugus county, New York, on July 14, 1854, a daughter of Samuel J. and Loretta (Bywater) Tilden. The father was a cousin of Samuel J. Tilden, who was, in 1876, presidential candidate on the democratic ticket. The father of Mrs. Daley was engaged in the lumber business in different sections of the west, having migrated there with his family before the Union Pacific was completed across the- state of Wyoming. Mr. and Mrs. Daley have become the parents of six children. Their eldest, William W., born in Evanston, Wyoming, is a graduate of the high school of Rawlins and has since been extensively engaged in stock raising in this state, where he is well known and has served in the state senate. He married Miss Margaret E. Edwards, of Rawlins, on the 12th of January, 1901. She is a daughter of William and Rose Edwards and was born at Woodstock, Ontario. By her marriage she has become the mother of a son, Percy Edward, who was born in Rawlins, No- vember II, 1902, and is now attending high school in his native city. The second of the family is Mrs. J. A. Hobbs, who was born in Rawlins, where her husband is a well known merchant. They have two sons, William A. and Harry J. Hobbs. Etta M. Daley became the wife of E. F. Steward and has one child, Edgar Perce, who was born in Rawlins. Perce E. Daley, born in Rawlins, graduated from the high school and is now in the Engineering Corps of the United States Army. Florence, now Mrs. G. B. Weller, born in Rawlins and a graduate of the high school, has become by her marriage the mother of three children, George B.,
149
HISTORY OF WYOMING
Rhoda and Ruth. John R., born in Rawlins and a graduate of the high school, is now engaged in the brokerage business in Sacramento, California.
Mr. and Mrs. Daley are members of the Episcopal church and are promi- nent in the social circles of the city, having many warm friends throughout Rawlins and this section of the state. William Daley is one of the best known Masons in the state. He was the first Master Mason raised in Evanston Lodge, U. D., March 14, 1876; worshipful master, Rawlins Lodge, 1882; grand master, Most Worshipful Grand Lodge, 1888; grand treasurer from 1899 to the present time : Chapter, Royal Arch, May 9, 1886; Knight Templar, Ivanhoe Commandery, 1886; Eminent Commander, Ivanhoe Commandery, Knights Templar, 1892; Grand Commander, Wyoming, 1889-90; A. A. Scottish Rite, 1894; elected K. C. C. H. February, 1897; Potentate, Korein Temple, A. A. O. N. Mystic Shrine, 1896-97; honorary life member, Imperial Council, A. A. O. N. Mystic Shrine, 1916; Emeritus Member Imperial Council, A. A. O. N. Mystic Shrine, 1916; October 30, 1912, he was made honorary member of Medinah Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Chicago, Illinois.
For two terms he served as mayor of Rawlins and was for two terms a member of the Wyoming territorial council; while for several terms he repre- sented his district in the state legislature and has left the impress of his indi- viduality, ability and public spirit upon the laws of the state. Mr. Daley has been one of the "wheel horses" of the republican party in Wyoming for a great many years and has twice declined to become the party's candidate for governor. However. he has worked and contributed toward the success of the party at all times. He is a self-made man, who owes his advancement entirely to his indi- vidual effort, merit and ability. On removing to the west his cash capital was less than one dollar, while at the present time he has become one of the important factors in the business circles of the state, ranking very high in connection with banking interests, and at the same time has found opportunity to render valuable public service to the commonwealth. Forty-two years after the flag-raising inci- dent at Fort Phil Kearney a reunion of the survivors of those present on October 31, 1866, was held on the site of the old fort. The services on this occasion were most appropriate and included the hoisting by Mr. Daley of the identical flag that forty-two years before he had unfurled to the breeze at Fort Phil Kearney. This flag had in the meantime been presented to him by General Car- rington, the commander of the fort, and is yet in Mr. Daley's possession as a most cherished souvenir of a period in Wyoming's history of which there are but very few survivors.
His acquaintance has included the prominent men of Wyoming for fifty years and today there are few men in the state in public or private life who are any better known. He is well preserved in mind and body, considering all he had to undergo in his early days but his natural robust physique has helped him greatly, for as a young man of twenty-one he weighed two hundred and thirty-five pounds, standing six feet three and one-half inches.
HON. GEORGE E. BRIMMER.
Hon. George E. Brimmer is a member of the law firm of Brimmer & Brim- mer, of Rawlins, Wyoming. He was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, April 10, 1870, and is a son of E. C. and Ada (Crysler) Brimmer, the former a native of Massachusetts, while the latter was born in Canada. E. C. Brimmer re- mained a resident of Massachusetts throughout his entire life. His wife has also passed away. They were the parents of six children, of whom George E. was the second in order of birth.
At the usual age he became a public school pupil in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. and after mastering the branches of learning there taught he became a student in Columbia University, where he pursued his law course and was graduated
150
HISTORY OF WYOMING
with the class of 1901. He then began practice at Glens Falls, New York, where he continued until 1905, when he removed to Rawlins, where he has since ære- mained, practicing as a member of the firm of Brimmer & Brimmer. He belongs to the Wyoming State Bar Association and the breadth of his interests is indi- cated in his connection with the American Academy of Political Science. In addition to his other interests Mr. Brimmer is identified with the First National Bank of Rawlins and with live stock corporations.
On the 24th of February, 1910, in Baltimore, Maryland, Mr. Brimmer was married to Miss Anna Gould, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. K. Gould, of that city. They have become the parents of three children: Nancy, who was born in Rawlins in 1911 ; John Godfrey, born in 1915; and William Nicholson, in 1917.
Mr. Brimmer is prominent in Masonic circles. He has taken the degrees of the Consistory and York Rite, and is a past commander of Ivanhoe Com- mandery, K. T. He is deputy grand master A. F. & A. MI., and he is identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks.
HON. HENRY ASA COFFEEN.
Hon. Henry Asa Coffeen was one of the honored pioneer settlers of Wy- oming who contributed much to the development of the state in its material upbuilding and also to the establishment of its political policy. Actuated by a public-spirited devotion to the general good, he labored earnestly and ef- fectively for the best interests of the commonwealth and his efforts were far- reaching and beneficial.
Mr. Coffeen was born in Gallia county, Ohio, February 14, 1841, and was a representative of one of the oldest New England families, being a direct de- scendant of Captain John Coffeen, who was born at Topsfield, Massachusetts, and was a son of Michael Coffeen, a native of Ireland, who belonged to a wealthy family of that country. At the age of sixteen, while in college in Dublin, he was enticed on board a vessel bound for America, where in due time he arrived. At the age of twenty years he married and settled in Topsfield, Massachusetts, where he reared a large family of children, of whom Captain John Coffeen was the eldest, In early manhood John Coffeen became master and owner of a coasting vessel, which a little later was wrecked. About that time he married Susanna Goldsmith, a native of Boston, and removed to Middletown, Connecticut, where he resided for four years. He then went to Ringe, New Hampshire, where he remained for fourteen years and assisted in organizing the town and developed a new farm there. In 1768 he went to Vermont and for two years and three months his was the only family residing at what has since become the city of Cavendish. It was in June, 1769, that he took up his abode there. Following the outbreak of the Revolutionary war he was appointed captain of militia in 1775 and he represented his town in the state legislature in 1781, 1785 and 1786. He was also a member of the convention which signed the revised Declaration of Inde- pendence of Vermont and which framed the constitution of that state. He reared a large family of children, many of whom partook of his own enterpris- ing and adventurous disposition and became pioneers in the west. He died respected and lamented, leaving a long line of descendants to mourn his departure.
The pioneer spirit has ever been manifest in the family. Henry Asa Coffeen was but a young lad when his parents removed from Ohio to become pioneer set- tlers of the state of Illinois. The family home was established at Homer and there Henry A. Coffeen was reared, meeting with all the hardships and privations incident to the settlement of the frontier. On the twenty-fourth, anniversary of his birth he was married.
In the meantime he had completed a course in the public schools near his home and he had continued his education in Butler College of Indiana, while
Houry A Coffeen-
153
HISTORY OF WYOMING
subsequently he became a student in Abingdon College of Abingdon, Illinois. In his studies he displayed special aptitude and made a splendid record. His course attracted the attention of prominent educators of that period and following his graduation he was offered the chair of natural science in Hiram College of Ohio, at which time James A. Garfield, afterward president of the United States, was president of the institution. A warm friendship sprang up between the two men that was broken only by death. Mr. Coffeen, after severing his connection with Hiram College, became one of the organizers of the Eastern Illinois College, in which he also filled the chair of natural science. He afterward became a lecturer and when the Lyceum was a form of popular education he traveled extensively in connection with Lyceum work, visiting most of the larger cities of the United States as a public lecturer. Throughout his entire life Mr. Coffeen was a close student of questions of the day and of the trend of public thought and progress, and with the organization of the Knights of Labor he became one of the prominent men of that society and was elected to a position cor- responding to that of vice president. He became one of the most efficient national lecturers of the organization, occupying the position for two years, but his opinions concerning strikes and boycotts differed so radically from other leaders of the society that he resigned. His interest in the west led him to remove from Danville, Illinois, to Wyoming, in April, 1884, at which time he took up his abode in the Big Horn country, and after completing arrangements for the reception of his family he was, five months later, joined by his wife and children. As previously stated, Mr. Coffeen was married on the twenty-fourth anniversary of his birth, to Miss Harriet Newell King and to them were born three children : Mrs. Hallie C. Gillette ; Mrs. Mabel Telander ; and Herbert A. Coffeen, who has passed away since his father's death. The daughters yet reside in Sheridan. The wife and mother passed away June 4, 1901, and on the 28th of June, 1904, Mr. Coffeen was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Alice Dwight of Denver.
With his arrival at Big Horn, Mr. Coffeen at once became identified with its business and public interests. He at first turned his attention to merchan- dising and afterward became owner of a ranch. At that time it was believed that the town of Big Horn was the coming city of northern Wyoming and Mr. Coffeen decided to make it his permanent place of abode, but within three years Sheridan had so far outstripped its neighbor in the race for metropolitan honors that Mr. Coffeen decided to remove to the larger place, and in 1887 established his mercantile business in Sheridan, where he continued to make his home until his demise. He was a man of marked business enterprise, of keen sagacity and notably sound judgment and his commercial interests were most carefully, wisely and successfully conducted. As he prospered in his undertakings and his financial resources increased he made extensive investments in real estate.
The worth of his character, his ability and his public spirit was soon manifest and it followed as a logical sequence that Mr. Coffeen's services were sought in connection with the public interests of his city and state. He was made a member of the state constitutional convention which framed the organic law of Wyoming, in reference to which a contemporary biographer has written: "It was in this position that he performed a service for the state that, had the remainder of his life as a statesman been void of results, this alone should accord him a niche in the hall of fame and cause his memory to be honored by all residents of the commonwealth, for it was due to his efforts perhaps more than to those of any other one person that the equal suffrage section of the territorial constitution was written into the constitution of the new state. Many opposed this section and the fight was bitter. Not alone did Mr. Coffeen stand for the recognition of women, for there were other brilliant men who fought nobly for the cause. But the contest was so close that, had one man wavered, the cause must have been lost, and because he stood firm, Mr. Coffeen deserves the gratitude and respect of every citizen of the state, without regard to political affiliation. Another section written into the Wyoming state constitution was with regard to the tonnage taxation on the coal output. This was a new idea at
154
HISTORY OF WYOMING
that time and it was strongly opposed. Mr. Coffeen did not claim that he origi- nated the idea. but he led the fight for its adoption and won." In 1892 Mr. Cof- feen was chosen as the second representative of the state of Wyoming in con- gress. Again we quote: "Being of the minority party and the only democrat from this state ever elected to congress, he remained but one term, but during his service in Washington he proved himself to be an able statesman and made an enviable record. His services in assisting to secure the location of Fort Mackenzie in Sheridan placed the citizens of this city under lasting obligations to him. During his term he also secured the passage of a bill establishing a federal court in Sheridan, but the law never became operative until last fall. During his term Congressman Coffeen made the first speech ever heard in congress advocating reclamation of semi-arid lands along the lines that have since been put in practice, and which has added millions of acres of rich and valuable lands to the wealth of the country. Many give to him the credit of being the father of the present reclamation idea, for his speech on this subject was made August 15, 1894, and in it he advocated many of the laws since passed and now in force." Years before Mr. Coffeen represented Wyoming in the national halls of legisla- tion he had resided in Danville, Illinois, which was also the home town of Hon. Joseph Cannon, ex-speaker of the house of representatives. In the early '80s there was a triangular contest for congress between Cannon, Mr. Coffeen and General John Charles Black, all residents of Danville. The last named became the candidate of the democratic party for congress at that time. Mr. Cannon won the election. A decade afterward, when Mr. Coffeen was sent to congress as the representative of Wyoming, he there met his two competitors of former years. "Uncle Joe" and General Black, who were also members of the house at that time.
The death of Henry A. Coffeen occurred December 8, 1913, and in his passing Wyoming mourned the loss of one of its most honored and valued citizens. He had always been a tireless seeker after truth, a deep thinker and a great reader. and his library of theosophical and religious works as well as metaphysical and philosophical literature, was probably as complete as any in the state. He was also a writer of much more than average ability, his introduction to the Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ, by Levi, published both in America and London, having a large circulation. In early manhood he had been editor of a paper in Danville, Illinois, and afterward had edited a Chicago magazine known as the Cosmos. He ever kept in touch with the great political, sociological and economic questions of the age, and in Wyoming was recognized as one who largely directed and molded public thought and opinion.
GEORGE E. PEXTON.
Among the rapidly developing business interests of Evanston is that con- ducted under the name of the Bear River & Scofield Coal Company, of which George E. Pexton is the president. He was born in Vernon, New York, Sep- tember 23, 1863. and is a son of George Pexton, a native of England, who came to America in 1850 and settled at Vernon, where he has followed the occupation of farming quite successfully. His political allegiance has always been given to the republican party and George Pexton, Sr., has ever taken an active interest in its work, supporting all those measures which he deems of value in advancing the growth and promoting the prosperity of his community. He has held to high civic standards and maintains his interest in community affairs, although he has reached the advanced age of eighty-nine years. He still resides upon the old home place at Vernon, his birth having occurred in May. 1829. He married Catherine Rivenburgh, a native of the state of New York, born near Troy, and descended from Dutch ancestry that was originally established in the Mohawk valley. Mrs. Pexton passed away in 1894, at the age of sixty-five years. In
Groupexton
156
HISTORY OF WYOMING
their family were three children: Lorenz R., who is residing in Vernon, New York; George E., of this review ; and Sidney A., who makes his home in Chicago.
George E. Pexton, spending his boyhood and youth in his native city, acquired his education in the public schools, passing through consecutive grades to the high school. He started out independently when twenty-four years of age. His youth had been passed upon the home farm and he early became familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. In 1887 he sought the opportunities offered in the great and growing west, making his way to Evanston, Wyoming, where he became engaged in mercantile lines. He carried on business in that way until 1893 and was also connected with the hotel business in Evanston and in Ogden, Utah. He became largely interested in the meantime in coal mining and is now president of the Bear River & Scofield Coal Company, which is operating extensively in this section of the country, having valuable mining properties. He is also a director of the First National Bank and is the owner of the Z Bar ranch, located in Uinta county. His business investments have been most judiciously made and his sound judgment and enterprise have constituted the broad basis upon which he has built the superstructure of his substantial success.
In 1895, in Evanston, Mr. Pexton was united in marriage to Miss Annie S. Saunders, a native of Salt Lake City, Utah. They have two sons, George Ellsworth and Sidney Vernon.
Politically Mr. Pexton is an earnest republican, giving stalwart support to the party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and doing everything in his power to advance its success. He is recognized as one of the leading and influential residents of his part of the state and in fact is promi- nently known throughout Wyoming. He was made vice president of the state commission to the St. Louis and to the Portland expositions and since 1902 he has been Wyoming's representative on the republican national committee. Fra- ternally he is a Knight Templar Mason and is also connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. His religious faith is that of the Episcopal church and he is serving as one of its trustees. In a word, his interests are broad and in every connection of life he has borne himself with such signal dignity and honor as to gain him the respect of all with whom he has been associated. He has been and is distinctively a man of affairs and one who has wielded a wide influence. A strong mentality, an invincible courage, a most determined indi- viduality have so entered into his make-up as to render him a natural leader of men and a director of opinion.
WILLIAM H. DAVIS.
William H. Davis is a well known figure in banking circles in eastern Wyoming and is now one of the chief executive officers of the First National Bank of Douglas, holding the position of vice president in that institution: He has closely studied financial problems and recognizes the fact that the bank is most worthy of credit and support that most carefully safeguards the interest of its depositors. Mr. Davis has worked his way steadily upward since entering into banking connections in a clerical capacity.
He was born in Minnesota on the 25th of October, 1870, and is a son of Daniel P. and Sarah E. (Drake) Davis. The public schools afforded him his edu- cational privileges, the family removing to the vicinity of Harrison, Nebraska, in the year 1887, their home being near the Wyoming line. Mr. Davis afterward took up the profession of teaching and his ability in that direction was such that he was chosen county superintendent of schools in Nebraska. He also gave his attention in early manhood to the newspaper business for a time and since 1899 has been connected with banking, at which time he secured a clerical position in the First National Bank at Harrison, Nebraska, in which institution he was
157
HISTORY OF WYOMING
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.