USA > Wyoming > History of Wyoming, Volume II > Part 18
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On the Ist of January, 1875. Dr. Harrison was married to Miss Mary Creed, of Evanston, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Creed, formerly of Dixon, Illi- nois. They have become the parents of three children who are still living and lost one son, James Francis, who died in 1914 at the age of thirty-seven years, while acting as manager of the Evanston Drug Company. Those who survive are: Mary, who was born in Evanston in 1880 and is a graduate of the high school and of the Notre Dame Academy at South Bend, Indiana; Helena, who was born in Evanston in 1884 and is a graduate of the high school of that city; and Frederick William, who was born in 1889 and is also a graduate of the Evanston high school. He is now in business with his father.
Dr. Harrison is connected through fraternal relations with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and with the Masons. In the latter organization he has taken the degrees of lodge, chapter and commandery. His political endorsement is given to the democratic party and he has several times been called upon to serve in positions of honor and trust. For four years he filled the offce of county commissioner and for six years was county treasurer of Uinta county. For one term he served in the second territorial legislature and at all times his aid and in- fluence have been given on the side of right, progress, reform and improvement. He is today one of the most valued and prominent citizens of Wyoming, standing very high in professional circles, and no story could contain more exciting or in- teresting chapters than could be found in the life record of Dr. Harrison if space would permit this to be written in detail. His memory goes back to the time when this entire region was but sparsely settled, when the Indians were more numerous
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than the white men, when the land had not been reclaimed for the purposes of civilization but remained in the primitive condition in which it came from the hand of nature. His life activities constitute a connecting link between the primi- tive past and the progressive present and no history of Wyoming would be com- plete without his record.
S. C. VANSKIKE.
Throughout most of his life S. C. Vanskike has been identified with the banking business and is now assistant cashier of the Bank of Glenrock at Glen- rock. Wyoming. He is a native of Nebraska, his birth having occurred in Greeley county, March 2, 1889, his parents being Charles and Carrie ( Scott) Vanskike. The father was a native of Indiana, while the mother was born in Nebraska, where they are still living. They have become the parents of seven children, six of whom survive.
S. C. Vanskike spent the days of his boyhood and youth under the parental roof and began his education at the usual age as a pupil in the common schools of Scotia, Nebraska, there passing through consecutive grades to the high school, while subsequently he became a college student and thus was well qualified for life's practical and responsible duties. When his textbooks were put aside he turned his attention to the banking business, which he followed in Scotia, Nebras- ka, until August, 1917, when he removed to Glenrock to become assistant cashier of the Bank of Glenrock.
The bank was organized on the 5th of June, 1917. with A. A. Spaugh as the president and was capitalized for fifteen thousand dollars. Mr. Vanskike brought broad experience to bear in the performance of his present duties and his efforts are contributing to the growing success of the institution, which has already become well established on a firm and substantial basis. He is a cour- teous and obliging official, doing everything in his power to please the patrons of the bank to a point that will not hazard the interests of the institution.
In 1910 Mr. Vanskike was united in marriage to Miss Ella Sautter and to them have been born two children, Cecil and Zola M.
Mr. Vanskike belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and to the Royal Neighbors. His political endorsement is given to the democratic party and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They have already won many warm friends during the period of their residence in Wyoming and he is regarded as a valuable acquisition to the business circles of Converse county.
FRANK G. ABEL.
Frank G. Abel is sole proprietor of the Kemmerer Cigar Factory and is one of the representative business men of Lincoln county. He was born in Newport. Kentucky, December 17, 1859, a son of the late Henry Abel, a native of Germany, who came to America in the early '50s, settling in Newport, Kentucky, where he engaged in the manufacture of horseshoe nails. He was quite successful in the conduct of that industry and remained an active factor in the business circles of Newport throughout his remaining days. He passed away in 1884, at the age of seventy-six years, while his wife died at the age of fifty-three years. She bore the maiden name of Sophie River and was a native of Germany, coming with her husband to the United States. Their family numbered five children, of whom Frank G. was the third in order of birth.
In the public schools of his native city Frank G. Abel pursued his education and when a youth of fourteen began earning his living. serving an apprenticeship at the
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cigar maker's trade. He afterward followed that pursuit as a journeyman for a number of years. He came to Wyoming on the 17th of April, 1914, and estab- lished his present business at Kemmerer and is today conducting the only cigar manufacturing establishment in Lincoln county. He manufactures on an average of ten thousand cigars per month and confines his attention to the local trade. His chief brand is called the "Lincoln County Booster." He maintains the highest standards of excellence in the processes of his manufacture and that the factory is conducted along modern scientific and sanitary lines is indicated in the fact that he welcomes visitors at all times, allowing them to fully inspect the work that is being carried on. From the beginning his trade has shown a steady and satisfac- tory increase and is still growing.
On the 17th of December, 1911, Mr. Abel was united in marriage at Ogden, Utah, to Miss Hattie Baer, a native of Peru, Indiana. Politically Mr. Abel is a democrat where national questions and issues are involved but casts an independ- ent local ballot, supporting the men whom he regards as best qualified for the offices they seek. Fraternally he is connected with the Order of Owls. He con- centrates his time and attention largely upon his business affairs and by capable management, close application and indefatigable energy has won a gratifying measure of prosperity.
HON. JACOB M. SCHWOOB.
Hon. Jacob M. Schwoob is a resident of Cody, where he is well known as vice president and manager of the Cody Trading Company, but his interests have been far from local. Although he was the first treasurer of the town of Cody and its mayor, he has also been a most important factor in shaping the history of the state, and served most ably and creditably in the council chambers of the commonwealth, taking active part in the business transacted through legislative enactment. His course has ever been above suspicion. The good of the state he placed before partisanship and the welfare of his constituents before personal aggrandizement. He always commanded the respect of the members of the house and senate, and at home, where he is best known, he inspires personal friendships of unusual strength, all who know him having for him the highest admiration by reason of his good qualities of heart and mind.
Mr. Schwoob is of Canadian birth. He was born on the 8th of July, 1874, in Wellandport, Ontario, Canada, a son of William H. and Elizabeth (Steward) Schwoob. He was educated in the public schools of St. Thomas and in the collegiate institute of that place, after which he became identified with the hotel business in Buffalo, New York, where he remained from 1892 until 1898. In 1897 he became a naturalized American citizen.
It was in October, 1898, that Mr. Schwoob became a resident of Cody, where he embarked in merchandising as a partner in the Cody Trading Company, of which he became manager. This is one of the most important mercantile enterprises of the state, conducting an extensive business which is wisely directed through the management and control of Mr. Schwoob, who is a man of keen discernment, of sound judgment and of indefatigable energy. His plans are always well defined and take cognizance of both the incidental and accidental circumstances of a case as well as its more important features. He therefore knew what to eliminate and what to retain and in thus discriminating between the essential and the non-essential he has carried his interests forward to notable success. He also became interested in promoting irrigation projects, including the Lakeview Irrigation Company on the south fork of the Shoshone river.
Mr. Schwoob is perhaps even more widely known through his official con- nections than in business life. He was called to office in Wyoming when elected the first treasurer of the town of Cody in 1900. In 1903 he was chosen mayor of the city for a two years' term and in 1905 he was elected from Bighorn
gard Michwool
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county to the Wyoming state senate, where he was continued by reelection for eight years. He was president of the senate in 1911. In the session of 1909, Mr. Schwoob and Charles E. Hayden, as well as D. E. Hallister and Dr. W. S. Bennett, created Park county, Wyoming, carrying through the house and senate the bill which resulted in the organization of the county.
Fraternally Mr. Schwoob is well known as a prominent Mason, having attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in the Wyoming consistory, the Knight Templar degree in the commandery, while with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert. He is also identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and he is regarded, by reason of his business associations, his political activity and his fraternal connections, as one of the foremost men of the Big Horn country.
PALMER J. BLACK.
Business enterprise and commercial stability find expression in the life record of Palmer J. Black, who is the president and manager of the P. J. Black Lumber Company of Cheyenne. His business affairs are always wisely and sagaciously directed and his efforts are attended with a substantial measure of success that has made him one of the well-to-do residents of Laramie county.
He was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, on the 18th of February, 1857, and is a son of Alexander and Elizabeth ( Mitchell) Black. The father was a farmer by occupation and in following that pursuit provided for the support of his family, which numbered five sons and two daughters.
Palmer J. Black, who was the third in order of birth, acquired his education in the public schools of Windsor but put aside his textbooks at the age of fifteen years in order to learn the carpenter's trade. In 1873 he crossed the border into the United States and took up his abode in Boston, Massachusetts, where he worked at carpentering for about nine years, or until 1882. He then removed to the west, being attracted by its boundless opportunities, and locating in Chey- enne, he again worked at the carpenter's trade for a decade, being thus employed from 1882 until 1892. He then began contracting and building, in which busi- ness he was active until 1901, and during that period he erected various sub- stantial structures of the city which have added much to its improved condition. In 1901 he purchased the business of the Hurd Lumber Company, which he con- ducted under the firm style of Black & Clark from 1901 until 1904. He then established the P. J. Black Lumber Company in 1905 and incorporated the busi- ness in 1913, since which time he has been president and manager. This com- pany not only conducts a large and profitable business at Cheyenne, but has also established a branch yard at Grover, Colorado, that is now managed by a son of Mr. Black.
On the 14th of April, 1883, occurred the marriage of Palmer J. Black and Miss Leonora B. Meese. They have two children, Norman R. and C. Arthur, the latter his father's associate in business. There is also one grandchild.
In religious faith Mr. Black is a Congregationalist. His political endorse- ment is given to the republican party and he has been an active and earnest worker in its ranks, doing everything in his power to promote its growth and extend its influence. He served as a member of the Wyoming house of repre- sentatives from 1895 until 1897 and was a member of the Wyoming state senate from 1897 until 1901 and again from 1903 until 1911, so that through an ex- tended period he has been closely associated with the legislative interests of Wyoming and has had much to do with the enactment of various beneficial laws. Fraternally Mr. Black is a Mason. He has taken the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, having been identified with Wyoming consistory since 1886, and he is also a member of the Mystic Shrine. He likewise has membership with Vol. II-9
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the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He is a most public-spirited citizen, one that subordinates partisan interests to the public good and self-aggrandize- ment to the welfare of the community. Those who know him, and he has a wide acquaintance, esteem him highly as a man of genuine worth. He is distinctively a man of affairs, outside of business interests, and has wielded a wide influ- ence, being numbered among the directors of public thought and action in his state.
RIGHT REV. PATRICK A. McGOVERN.
Right Rev. Patrick A. McGovern, bishop of Cheyenne, was born in Omaha, Nebraska, October 14, 1872, a son of Patrick and Alice ( McGearty) McGovern. Accorded liberal educational advantages, he was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree from Creighton University at Omaha, Nebraska, with the class of 1891. Having determined upon the priesthood as a life work, he completed his theological course in Mount St. Mary's Seminary at Cincinnati, Ohio, and took holy orders in 1895. He at once entered upon the active work of the church, being assigned to duty as priest of St. Philomen's cathedral at Omaha, his native parish. There he remained from 1898 until 1907, when he took charge of St. Peter's church in Omaha, continuing to officiate in that parish until 1912.
Bishop McGovern was also prominent in connection with many civic affairs during that period and was especially active as a member of the board of directors of the Associated Charities. He was appointed by Pope Pius X to preside over the diocese of Cheyenne, being made bishop on the 18th of January, 1912. He was consecrated on the 11th of April of that year and is now directing the interests of the church in Wyoming, where his labors are being attended with excellent results. He has studied the problems of the church from every possible stand- point and his directing hand has led to the substantial growth and development of the church in the many communities which come under his jurisdiction.
A very interesting and exhaustive article on the history of the diocese has been furnished through the kindness of Bishop McGovern and appears in another part of this work.
EDWARD T. STOREY.
Edward T. Storey, until recently filling the position of office manager with the P. J. Black Lumber Company, but now city commissioner of Cheyenne, is one of Wyoming's native sons and the spirit of western enterprise is manifest in his career.
He was born in Laramie, this state, July 2, 1887, a son of William and Anna (Smith) Storey. His father and mother were married in Laramie in 1883. The former has engaged in railroad work and is still active in railroad service, with which he has been connected for thirty-five years. The mother is also living and has reared a family of six sons, of whom Edward T. of this review is the second in order of birth.
In the public schools Edward T. Storey began his education and attended the Cheyenne high school. He then attended and was graduated from the Chey- enne Business College, having completed the course with the class of 1906. He worked for the Union Pacific Railroad Company in a clerical capacity for a time and afterward was engaged in the United States government survey work in the summer of 1907, aiding in making the boundary line northward. In the fall of 1908 he became connected with the Union Pacific Coal Company and was thus associated for a vear, after which he accepted the position as office manager with the P. J. Black Lumber Company. He filled this responsible position until
BISHOP PATRICK A. MCGOVERN
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recently making himself thoroughly familiar with the work of the office and capably directing the interests under his control. He now acts as city commis- sioner, his former varied experiences well qualifying him for the onerous duties of the position.
In religious faith Mr. Storey is a Catholic and he has attained the fourth degree of the Knights of Columbus. He is also connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, of which he is a past exalted ruler. In politics he is a democrat and has been elected to the office of city commissioner by the largest vote ever given a candidate to that position. He enjoys outdoor life, especially hunting and fishing, but he allows nothing to interfere with the faithful per- formance of his official duties. He is widely known in Cheyenne and his record as a man and citizen commends him to the confidence and goodwill of those with whom he has been associated.
ANDREW McMICKEN.
Andrew McMicken is recognized as one of the distinguished representatives of the Wyoming bar, practicing at Rawlins. In no profession is there a career more open to talent than that of the law and in no field of endeavor is there de- manded a more careful preparation, a more thorough appreciation of the absolute ethics of life or of the underlying principles which form the basis of all human rights. Unflagging application and intuitive wisdom and determination to fully utilize the means at hand are the concomitants which insure personal success and prestige in this great profession, which stands as a stern conservator of justice; and it is one into which none should enter without a recognition of the obstacles to be overcome and the battles to be won, for success does not perch on the fortune of every person who enters the competitive fray, but comes only as the direct result of capacity and unmistakable ability. Possessing all the requisite qualities of the able lawyer, Andrew McMicken has made for himself a prom- inent place at the Wyoming bar, practicing now as senior partner in the firm of McMicken & McMicken of Rawlins, successors to the firm of McMicken & Bly- denburg.
He was born on McMicken avenue in Cincinnati, Ohio, November 13, 1851, a son of the late Andrew McMicken, a prominent lawyer and banker of that city and a direct descendant of Charles McMicken, who settled in Cincinnati in 1732, when the city was but a tiny village. The McMicken family is of Scotch origin and was early founded in Pennsylvania. Representatives of the name participated in the Revolutionary war with the American army and the family became one of distinction and prominence in Pennsylvania and in Ohio. Andrew McMicken, Sr., was married April 20, 1844, to Anna R. McDowell, a daughter of Joseph J. McDowell, a leading citizen of Cincinnati and member of congress, in which he served for two terms. His father was a Revolutionary war soldier and member of the Continental Congress and belonged to a distinguished fam- ily of Fairfax county, Virginia, of Scotch descent. The McDowells were exten- sive planters and large slaveholders in the Old Dominion. The McMicken fam- ily has ever been characterized by marked patriotism and loyalty. During the Mexican war Andrew McMicken, Sr., organized a company, of which he became major, but the company was not accepted for active service. He passed away in 1893 and his wife, Mrs. Anna R. McMicken, died at Westwood, Ohio, in 1890 at the age of sixty-six years and was laid to rest in Spring Grove cemetery, where so many members of the McMicken family are buried. A very prominent member of the family was Charles McMicken, granduncle of Andrew McMicken of this review, one of Cincinnati's wealthy and well known philanthropists, the founder of McMicken University, now the University of Cincinnati. Upon his death he endowed this institution with the sum of eight hundred thousand dollars, an enor- mous amount in those frugal times of the past. He was so deeply imbued with
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the importance of the cause of education that he even sent educators to Liberia to establish schools in that country to teach the natives. The city of Cincinnati erected in his honor a monument at a cost of ten thousand dollars, which was placed in the Spring Grove cemetery, where his remains were interred and where all of his ancestors are buried. It was a public recognition of the value of his contribution to the general welfare and upbuilding of his city, where he exerted a marked influence over many events that have left their impress upon the history of that community. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew McMicken, Sr., were born nine children, of whom four have departed this life, while the living are : Mrs. Benjamin P. Runkle, widow of the late Benjamin P. Runkle, a noted Civil war commander, who resided in Highland county, Ohio, where Mrs. Runkle still makes her home; Andrew, of this review; Mary, the wife of William M. Strowbridge, of Cincinnati ; and Jennie, who resides with her sister, Mrs. Strow- bridge; and Lucy Belle Hine, of Portland, Oregon.
Andrew McMicken pursued his education in Jameson's private academy at Keokuk, lowa, and spent two years in study at Princeton before entering the Cin- cinnati Law School, from which he was graduated with the LL. B. degree as a member of the class of 1872. He entered upon the practice of his chosen profes- sion at Atchison, Kansas, where he remained for several years, and then returned to Cincinnati, where he entered the county prosecutor's office as an assistant. He spent four years in that connection, at the end of which time ill health prompted him to resign and he sought a change of climate, returning to the west. For eight years he was engaged in the cattle business, spending much of his time on the trail and on the range, and in the outdoor life fully recovered his health. He came to Wyoming in 1881, arriving in Rawlins on the 5th of March, and through the in- tervening period to 1889 became thoroughly familiar with every phase of ranch life. He then reentered upon the practice of law, in which profession he has since been continuously and successfully engaged. For a considerable period he prac- ticed in connection with Judge Blydenburg as a member of the firm of McMicken & Blydenburg, but at the present time is senior partner in the firm of McMicken & McMicken. While he was well grounded in the principles of common law when admitted to the bar, he has continued through the whole of his professional line a diligent student of those elementary principles that constitute the basis of all legal science and this knowledge has served him well in many a legal battle before the superior and appellate courts, where he has successfully conducted many cases. He always prepares his cases with great care. If there is a close legal point in- volved in the issue it is his habit to thoroughly examine every authority within his reach bearing upon the question and this makes him a most dangerous adver- sary. When he comes to the discussion of the most intricate questions before the court it is perhaps then that his greatest powers as a lawyer show to the best ad- vantage. With a thorough knowledge of the subjects he discusses and of the . legal principles applicable to them, his addresses before the courts are models of clearness and logic.
Mr. McMicken has always affiliated with the democratic party and is of the Jeffersonian type. He has ever taken an active part in support of the principles in which he believes and is regarded as one of the party's councillors. On various occasions he has been a candidate for office. In 1890 he was its candidate for the state senate. He led the ticket, receiving a vote far in advance of the normal dem- ocratic vote, but was defeated, and again he went down with the entire ticket when a candidate for county prosecuting attorney, losing, however, only by the small margin of forty-four votes, notwithstanding the fact that the county is over- whelmingly republican. He was also defeated as a candidate for the Constitu- tional Convention and yet the fact that he has always run ahead of the party vote is indicative not only of his personal popularity but also of the confidence reposed in him as a citizen and the recognition of his professional ability and power. He served as county prosecutor of Carbon county for two terms, winning at the first election over his opponent by six hundred and fifteen votes and at the second elec- tion by a majority of three hundred and fifteen votes. He also served as city attor-
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