USA > Wyoming > History of Wyoming, Volume II > Part 2
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Although Mr. Balch disliked political activity, he nevertheless answered the call of the people when it came and he served with honor and distinction in every position in which the voice of the people placed him. He served as county commissioner for two terms in the 'Sos and again was chosen to that position in 1898. As chairman of the board he was fearless and energetic to a degree that was realized by only such persons as came in contact with him in his official capacity. He felt that it was his duty to give his county the best service that he was capable of doing and to administer public affairs with the same care- fulness that he managed his own interests. He was never afraid to do what he thought was right and even felt a pride in the momentary antagonism he some- times created by his firmness in dealing with matters of taxation and other things of vital importance to the community. He had the courage of his con- victions, and it was said of him by an intimate friend of twenty-five years' acquaintance, "You always know exactly where to find H. G. Balch."
In the old territorial legislature Mr. Balch served for one term with credit. He was elected to the state senate in the fall of 1900. He did not want the office but consented to become a candidate because he thought it was his duty. In the senate he was regarded as an authority on finance and county affairs and was looked upon with respect and admiration and personal liking by all his associates in the legislature. In politics he was ever a stanch republican. Not- withstanding his very retiring nature, Mr. Balch made hosts of friends and these he had "grappled to his heart with hoops of steel." In his friendship and even in his acquaintance he was, as in his business, faithful, honest and true. Prob- ably no man of his time had more personal friends than Mr. Balch. His kindness of heart was often in evidence by acts of generosity that were known only by the recipient. His fine rearing was ever in evidence. He never paraded it, but he could not hide it. He was the same wherever you found him, and respect was instinctively given him. He was fond of whist and at the time of his death was president of the Laramie Whist Club.
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Bishop Talbot said of Mr. Balch, that while he was not a church man, yet he was as much of a Christian man as it was possible to be. At the time of his death the Laramie Republican said of him editorially: "One of the foremost men of the state has been removed. For twenty-five years the life of Henry G. Balch was devoted to the material progress of Wyoming. As a ranchman he studied improved methods and achieved success beneficial alike to himself and his fellows. As business man and banker he was courteous, obliging and just ; as public official he was incorruptible, painstaking, energetic, thoughtful, the interests of the public being guarded with even greater fidelity than his own. As friend, companion, adviser, husband, father, he was a charming, lovable man. The entire commonwealth mourns the loss of a great man."
In St. Matthew's Episcopal church in Laramie on the 15th of January, 1889, Bishop Talbot performed the marriage ceremony of Mr. Balch and Mrs. Alfred W. Crandell, formerly Harriett Emily Crowe, a native of Troy, New York, and a daughter of Levi and Anna (Charlesworth) Crowe, both of whom were natives of England. Mrs. Crandell came to Laramie in 1887, her husband being connected with the Union Pacific Railroad to the time of his death, at which he left two daughters, Anna Charlesworth and Ethel Mercelia, the former resid- ing in Laramie with her mother, while the latter is the wife of Dr. James Allan Ballard, formerly of Hayward, Wisconsin, but now a lieutenant in the United States Medical Corps, doing duty in France. To Mr. and Mrs. Balch were born a son and a daughter, twins, Gordon Henry and Marjory Hallet. The son was graduated from Harvard with the class of 1912 and was for some time private secretary to Lars Anderson, United States minister at Brussels, Belgium, but not liking the diplomatic service, he became connected with the Boston banking house of Stone & Webster in the security department. He is now a lieutenant in the hydro-aeroplane service of the United States navy. He had been actively interested in aviation for some time prior to joining that branch of the service. The daughter, Marjory Hallet, was educated in Mrs. MacDuffie's School in Springfield, Massachusetts, after which she traveled around the world with her mother and subsequently gave her services to the Massachusetts General Hos- pital in preparation for Red Cross work. She was married at Jamaica Plains, Boston, October 20, 1917, to John Earl Cunningham, of Baltimore, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who for one and one-half years was in France, serving as an ambulance driver. He is now connected with the great shipbuilding project at Hog Island, New Jersey.
Mrs. Balch, a most estimable lady, has since her husband's death spent a number of years in the east, covering the period of her son's and daughter's educational training, and later she traveled in various countries and around the world. She now resides in Laramie.
HON. JOHN L. BAIRD.
In many ways Hon. John L. Baird has left the impress of his individuality upon the history of Wyoming. Not only has he served as treasurer of the state, but has been connected with various business interests which have had to do with its material development and upbuilding and he has been an active factor in advancing legislation highly beneficial to the commonwealth. He is now president of the First National Bank of Newcastle and is a prominent stockman.
He was born in Lafayette county, Wisconsin, on the 12th of October, 1857. and is a son of John F. and Amanda J. (Criss) Baird. He was educated in the public schools of his native county and in the State Normal School at Platteville. Wisconsin, being thus accorded liberal educational opportunities which well qual- ified him for life's practical duties and responsibilities. He was reared to farm life, early becoming familiar with the labors that fall to the lot of the agricul- turist, and in 1876 he left the middle west for the Black Hills, locating at Dead-
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wood, South Dakota, where he served as a clerk in a mercantile establishment for two years. On the expiration of that period he developed a telephone system in the Black Hills, with which he was identified until 1884, when he came to Wyoming, settling at Sundance. There he concentrated his efforts and attention upon stock raising and ranching and in 1888 he established himself in the mer- cantile business in Sundance. The following year he removed to Newcastle, where he opened a branch store, and he also became identified with the banking business, organizing the First National Bank, of which he was made cashier. In 1904 he was elected to the presidency of the institution and has since served in that capacity. His activities in the field of banking have constantly extended and. he is now also president of the Bank of Upton. His wide experience and close study have given him thorough familiarity with all phases of the banking business and he most carefully safeguards the interests of depositors by the methods which he follows in the management of the institutions of which he is the head. He is also extensively engaged in the live stock business in Weston county and is heavily interested in oil development work in the state.
In politics Mr. Baird is a stalwart republican and has served as county treas- urer of Crook county, filling the position from 1887 until 1889. He was also county treasurer of Weston county from 1899 until 1903 and for eight years served as a member of the city council of Newcastle. In 1905 hie was elected to represent his district in the Wyoming state senate, where he served for a four years' term, and in 1911 he was made the candidate of his party for the office of state treasurer, to which he was elected and thus became custodian of the public funds of the commonwealth for four years. Over the record of his official career there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil and his efficiency has been of great worth to the state. Fraternally Mr. Baird is a thirty-second degree Mason, holding membership in Wyoming Consistory, No. I, A. & A. S. R., of Cheyenne, and he is also identified with Kalif Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Sheridan. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias lodge and also to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and his pronounced traits of character are those which make for personal popularity as well as for public prominence.
CASSIUS M. EBY.
Cassius M. Ebv is a prominent attorney of Laramie to whom opportunity has ever been the call to action. With no special advantages at the outset of his career, he turned his face toward the future, and imbued with a laudable ambi- tion, he has advanced steadily toward the goal of success, making for himself a creditable place in the ranks of the legal profession in his adopted state.
Mr. Eby comes to Wyoming from the middle west, his birth having occurred in Cass county, Michigan, July 31, 1862. His father, Peter Eby, was a native of Ohio and a representative of one of the old families of that state of Swiss origin. In the latter part of the sixteenth century his ancestors emigrated from Switzerland to Germany and thence made their way into England, whence came the founder of the American branch of the family, Theodorus Eby, who arrived in the new world about 1725 and settled in Pennsylvania. The great-great- grandfather of Cassius M. Eby was a soldier of the American army in the Revolutionary war. His descendants became early settlers of Virginia and also of Stark county, Ohio. Peter Eby, the father, was born in the latter state and removed thence to Michigan when a youth of eighteen years. He followed agricultural pursuits in Michigan and was quite successful in the conduct of his farm. His political endorsement was given to the whig party until its dissolu- tion, when he joined the ranks of the republican party and became one of its active supporters. He died in Cass county, Michigan, in October, 1892, when he had reached the age of seventy-two years. His wife bore the maiden name of Margaret Miller and was also a native of Ohio, of German descent. She
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became the mother of three children, of whom a daughter died in infancy. The brother, Elias Eby, is a resident of Boulder, Colorado.
The other member of the family is Cassius M. Eby of this review, who began his education in the rural schools of Michigan and pursued his more advanced literary course in the Valparaiso (Ind.) University, from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1889 and with the Bachelor of Science degree in 1887. He also won the LL. B. degree in 1891, having com- pleted a course in the law department of the University of Valparaiso, supple- mented by post-graduate work in the University of Michigan. His early life to the age of eighteen years was spent upon his father's farm and his first essay in professional activity was made in the schoolroom. He devoted four years to the profession of teaching in the schools of Cass county, Michigan, and after preparing for the har entered upon the active practice of law, opening an office in Cassopolis, Michigan, where he remained until 1903. He then removed to the west, settling first in Boulder, Colorado, where he remained until 1910, when he went to Laramie. where he has since remained in active and continuous practice. His position at the bar is a recognized one. He prepares his cases with thoroughness and skill, and his devotion to his clients' interests is pro- verbial. During the eight years of his connection with the Laramie bar he has been accorded a very gratifying clientage. He belongs to the Wyoming State Bar Association and enjoys the goodwill and high regard of his colleagues in the profession.
In Cass county, Michigan, in 1883, Mr. Eby was united in marriage to Miss Eva Shelhamer, a daughter of Aaron and Mary (Dibble) Shelhamer, who be- longed to one of the old pioneer families of Michigan. To Mr. and Mrs. Eby were born three children: LeRoy, now deceased; Eugene D .; and Mabel Evelyn, the wife of A. R. Lauk, whom she married on the 12th of August, 1917. All of the children were born in Michigan. Having lost his first wife by death, Mr. Eby was again married, April 21, 1913, in Hutchinson, Kansas, his second union being with Miss Estelle Hitchcox, a native of Michigan and a daughter of Harvey and Emorette Hitchcox. The Hitchcoxs were also one of the pioneer families of the Wolverine state. The father of Mrs. Eby is now deceased.
In his political views Mr. Eby is a republican and while living in Michigan he served for six years, from 1892 until 1898, as circuit court commissioner and was also prosecuting attorney of Cass county from 1896 until 1900. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons. He became a member of Baccus Lodge, F. & A. M., and also of Kingsbury Chapter, R. A. M., in Michigan, and he is a member of the Eastern Star in Laramie. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the First Baptist church, in which he has served as a trustee and as deacon. For four years he filled the position of superintendent of the Sunday school and in religious work he has taken a very active and helpful part, doing all in his power to promote the growth of the church and extend its influence. His life is actuated by its teachings and therefore his entire career has measured up to high standards.
L. W. CLELLAND.
L. W. Clelland, filling the office of county clerk of Converse county and making his home in Douglas, was born in Ohio on the 13th of December, 1847. a son of William. A. and Betsy (Ricketts) Clelland. The father was a cabinet maker by trade and in 1849 he left his Ohio home en route for Council Bluffs, Iowa, after which he was never heard from again. His wife died when their son, L. W., was three months old. The boy was thus left an orphan when but two years of age. He pursued his education in the public schools of Ohio and at an early age went to work on a farm, being thus employed until he came to
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the west in 1881. Attracted by the opportunities which he believed might be secured in this section of the country, he made his way to Wyoming, settling at Wagon Hound creek, where he turned his attention to stock raising. In this venture, however, he lost all that he had saved. Undiscouraged, he nevertheless started again in the live stock business and is making good in the undertaking. Losses at times seem a great blow but in realty may be counted a substantial gain, for in addition to the strength and capability which the individual pre- viously possessed he adds an experience that has been a valuable asset and the new combination of strength, capability and experience ofttimes constitutes the broad foundation upon which is built substantial success. Thus it has proven in the case of Mr. Clelland and by determined effort, perseverance and capable management he has steadily worked his way upward, being today one of the substantial residents of Converse county.
His fellow townsmen, appreciating his worth and ability, have several times called Mr. Clelland to positions of trust and responsibility. In 1902 he was chosen county treasurer and occupied the position for four years. In 1906 he was elected to the office of county clerk and served in that capacity for four years. In 1910 he was chosen to represent his district in the state legislature and in 1912 became the candidate of his party for the state senate but lost the election by a single vote. In 1916 he was once more elected county clerk, a fact indicative of the confidence and trust reposed in him by the people of his home county, who had tested his ability, efficiency and his devotion to the general good.
On the 25th of February, 1873, Mr. Clelland was united in marriage to Miss Olive L. Guthrie. Fraternally he is a Mason and has attained the Knight Templar degree of the York Rite. His political allegiance has always been given to the democratic party and he has been found true and loyal to every trust reposed in him. Those who know him, and he has a wide acquaintance, entertain for him warm personal regard by reason of his social nature, his genial disposi- tion and his many admirable traits of character.
ALEXANDER KEMP DE JAARNETTE, M. D.
Although a comparatively young man Dr. Alexander Kemp De Jarnette has already made for himself a recognized place among the physicians and surgeons of Sheridan, Wyoming, where he is now located, enjoying a gratifying prac- tice. Dr. De Jarnette well merits the clientage which is accorded him, for while undertaking his medical studies he has seriously occupied himself with the problems of the profession and has become efficient along lines of general medicine.
He is a Missourian by birth, his native city being Rich Hill, where he was born January 31, 1889, a son of James Kemp and Nancy Florence De Jarnette. After having completed his preliminary studies he entered the University of Louisville with the intention of making the practice of medicine his life work and became a student in the medical department of that university at Louis- ville, Kentucky. On June 8, 1916, he received his degree and subsequently located in Sheridan, considering that the great west of this country would hold for a young physician greater opportunities than the east. Although Dr. De Jarnette has been established in Wyoming for only a few years he has made for himself a respected place in the profession, for he always closely follows the highest ethics and standards of the same. His colleagues have readily welcomed him among them and the general public has come to know him and many have sought his services, which have always been rendered efficiently. He has re- mained a student and is interested in the latest discoveries and procedures along medical lines and keeps in contact with these through reading and also by attending experimental cases. He brings to bear upon the investigations and solutions of professional problems a highly trained intellect and skill in scientific
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thinking, and his earnest efforts have borne fruit, for while he has gained a number of grateful patients whom he has successfully treated, he has also estab- lished and added to his professional prestige.
Dr. De Jarnette is a democrat and gives faithful support to the candidates and measures of the party. He has, however, never sought political office for himself, preferring to give his time to his professional duties. In the profes- sional and social circles of Sheridan he is decidedly a welcome addition and although he has been located here for only a comparatively short time he has already gained a great ·many friends, who appreciate him for his sterling quali- ties of character and the interest which he takes in all measures which are under- taken for the moral, mental and material betterment of the community.
DAVID ALLEN REAVILL.
Wyoming has reason to be proud of the high rank of her bench and bar. Her attorneys, well trained, have on the whole maintained high professional standards and their ability would enable them to cross swords in forensic combat with the ablest lawyers in any section of the country. Moreover, this is a profession in which advancement must depend upon individual merit, and that David Allen Reavill has steadily advanced is due to his comprehensive knowledge of the law and ability to accurately apply its principles to the points in litigation.
He was born in Flat Rock, Illinois, May II, 1865, a son of A. J. and Martha A. (Seaney) Reavill. The father was likewise born in Illinois and was of French descent. The grandfather was David Reavill, a descendant of a French soldier who came with Marquis de Lafayette to America to aid the colonists in their struggle for independence. Pleased with the country and its prospects, he took up his abode in Delaware and his descendants have since been loyal and patriotic citizens of the republic which their ancestor aided in establishing. A. J. Reavill became a successful stock man and farmer of Illinois, where he resided throughout his entire life, passing away at Flat Rock on the 13th of March, 1898, at the age of sixty-four years. In politics he was a stanch democrat and figured as one of the leaders of his party in the state, and for twelve years he represented his district in the house of representatives and in the senate of the general assembly of Illinois. He was one of the active workers who placed John M. Palmer in the United States senate. He was also a prominent representative of Masonry in early life, taking a helpful part in promoting the interests of the craft. His wife was a native of Crawford, Illinois, and a daughter of John A. Seaney, who became one of the early settlers of Crawford county, where he took up his abode about 1817, the year before the admission of the state into the Union. The maternal ancestors came from North Carolina and were of Irish lineage. The death of Mrs. A. J. Reavill occurred in the old home in Illinois in 1903, when she had reached the age of sixty-five years. She had become the mother of nine children, five of whom are still living, namely: John D., a resident farmer of Crawford county, Illinois; Charles McClellan, who also follows farming in that county ; David A., of this review; Palmer Seymour, who is living in St. Louis, Missouri, and is now connected with the Brown Shoe Company but was formerly engaged in the practice of law ; and Dora, the wife of Professor Melville T. Cook, professor of biology in Hanover University at New Brunswick, New Jersey.
David Allen Reavill was educated in the district schools near Flat Rock, Illi- nois, and spent two years in the preparatory department and four years in the collegiate department of De Pauw University at Greencastle, Indiana, from which he was graduated in 1887. winning the degrees of Master of Arts and Bachelor of Philosophy. He afterward took up the study of law in the office of Ex-Gov- ernor Palmer of Illinois, of whom his father was a warm personal friend. For a year he continued his reading under Governor Palmer at Springfield and for a similar period was a student in the law school of the State University of Michigan,
Vattenvier
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after which he was admitted to the bar in Wyoming in 1889 and entered upon active practice at Rock Springs, where he has since actively followed his pro- fession save for a period of four years, from 1893 until 1897, when he was a resident of Logan, Utah, where he engaged in law practice. He first came to Rock Springs, January .19, 1889, and with the exception of the interval indicated has been continuously identified with the work of the courts. His clientage is extensive and of an important character and he has been connected with many of the leading cases which have been tried in this section of the state. He prepares his cases with great thoroughness, never failing to give a careful study of every question relative to the points in litigation, and his presentation of his cause is always strong, logical and convincing. His arguments never fail to impress court and jury and seldom fail to gain the verdict desired.
On the 14th of January, 1892, Mr. Reavill was married in Robinson, Illinois, to Miss Claudia Olwin, a native of that state and a daughter of Judge Jacob C. and Anna Olwin, both deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Reavill have become parents of two children : Tobey Olwin, born in Robinson, Illinois, September 29, 1892, a graduate of Harvard College, in 1916; and Robb Afton, born in Logan, Utah, November 30, 1893. She graduated from Wellesley College in 1918.
Politically Mr. Reavill is an earnest democrat and has taken an active part in politics, greatly desiring the success of his party because of his firm belief in its principles as factors in good government. He stands for all those interests which are a matter of civic virtue and of civic pride and has cooperated in many movements which have been of great benefit to the community. He served as city attorney of Logan, Utah, for two years, has been city attorney of Rock Springs and was county attorney for Sweetwater county for three terms, covering a period of six years. In 1899 he served for a short term as state senator from Sweetwater county but was unseated on contest. He belongs to the Phi Kappa Psi and he is identified with the Wyoming State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. In his profession he has made a most creditable record, holding to high standards, careful at all times to conform his practice to the advanced ethics of law work.
HON. J. ROSS CARPENTER.
Hon. J. Ross Carpenter is actively and prominently identified with important business and public interests. He is the president of the Federal Land Company and also of the Carpenter Live Stock Company of Cheyenne. At the same time he has been a director of public thought and opinion as one of the leading repre- sentatives of the democratic party in Wyoming and he is representing his state on the democratic national committee.
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