USA > Wyoming > History of Wyoming, Volume II > Part 28
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A native of Pennsylvania, he was born in Johnstown, September 9, 1853, a son of George and Catherine L. (Gordon) Mclaughlin, the father a native of Scot- land, and the mother of Pennsylvania. The father came to the new world as a youth with a brother and in this country he met his future wife. They were mar- ried in the Keystone state and took up their abode in Johnstown, where Mr. McLaughlin became a contractor and builder. It was he who built the canal from Johnstown to Pittsburgh. He was drowned when his son, W. J. McLaughlin, was but ten months of age. The mother, however, kept her little family of three sons and a daughter together, carefully rearing them to manhood and woman- hood, providing for them in every possible way that a devoted mother could do.
W. J. Mclaughlin was educated in the public schools of Johnstown, where he resided until his twenty-fourth year. In 1877 he went west to Kansas and for ten years was engaged in farming in Rooks county. In 1887 he removed to Alliance, Nebraska, where he accepted a contract on the construction of the Bur- lington Railroad from that point to Sheridan, Wyoming. He located his family in Newcastle, Wyoming, and after the completion of his contract accepted another contract with the Burlington Railroad to furnish the company with ties. He then went to the Black Hills of South Dakota, removing his family to Spearfish, that state, and for some years he was engaged in getting out ties for the railroad com- pany. In 1911, however, he returned to Wyoming, and after spending two years in Sheridan took up his abode in Riverton. where he accepted a contract with the
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Northwestern Railroad Company to furnish them a half million ties a year for ten years. While conducting his tie business he became identified with the Hall Oil Company and was made a member of the board of directors and vice president of the company. He contributed materially to the success of the corporation and to the development of the oil resources of the state. Recognizing the opportunities in this direction as the indications were that a large tract of Wyoming land was underlaid with oil, he assisted in organizing four other oil companies, of which he is the vice president and a member of the board of directors. He has been a dominant factor in the organization of the Wyomont Company, of which he is also vice president and a director. In these connections he is bending his efforts to ad- ministrative direction and executive control and the results achieved have been highly satisfactory to the companies with which he is identified.
On the 28th of December, 1876, in Braddock, Pennsylvania, Mr. Mclaughlin was united in marriage to Miss Edintha Johnston, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and to them have been born four children, namely: Leo E., who is associated with his father in various business enterprises ; Ethel M., the wife of Melvin McCoy, of Riverton; Ray F., who is also his father's business associate; and Grace A., the wife of George Boland, of Riverton. Mrs. McLaughlin holds membership in the Methodist church.
Mr. Mclaughlin gives his political allegiance to the republican party and fraternally he is well known as a Mason, having attained high rank in the order. He belongs to Riverton Lodge, No. 26, F. & A. M .; to Spearfish Commandery, K. T .; and to Black Hills Consistory, No. 3, A. & A. S. R. He is also a member of the Naja Temple. A. A. O. N. M. S., of Deadwood, South Dakota. His equip- ment for life's practical duties was good and he soon passed on to positions of executive control, subsequently bending his energies largely to organization, to constructive efforts and administrative direction. Possessing broad, enlightened and liberal-minded views, faith in himself and in the vast potentialities for develop- ment inherent in his country's wide domain, his has been an active career, in which he has accomplished important and farreaching results, contributing in no small degree to the expansion and material growth of the state, from which he himself has derived substantial profit.
ISIDOR KASTOR.
Isidor Kastor, one of the progressive business men of Evanston, dealing in men's clothing, was born in Bavaria, Germany, on the 13th of May, 1860, and is a son of S. Kastor and Babetta Kastor, who spent their entire lives in their native land. The father was there engaged in merchandising and both he and his wife are now deceased. The mother bore the maiden name of Babetta Allen- berg and was a native of Bavaria. There were four children of that marriage, of whom Isidor is the eldest.
In his boyhood days he attended the public schools of his native country and in 1883, when a young man of twenty-three years, determined to try his fortune in the new world. Accordingly he crossed the Atlantic and made his way into the interior of the country, settling first in Arkansas. In 1885, however, he ar- rived in Wyoming and took up his abode in Evanston, where he established one of the first mercantile enterprises in Uinta county. He has built up a splendid business as a dealer in men's clothing and furnishings, and although he started the business on a small scale, he has today an extensive and profitable trade. He occupies one of the finest business blocks in Evanston and his store is equal to that to be found in any city in the state.
On the 20th of December, 1889, Mr. Kastor was married to Miss Fannie Lewis, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Lewis, who were pioneer settlers of Wyoming. They have four children. Louis, who was born in Evanston in November, 1890, and is a graduate of the public schools here, is married and now
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resides in Kemmerer. Selma, born in Evanston in 1892, attended the Conserva- tory of Music at Boston, Massachusetts, and also studied music in Europe. She was a teacher of languages in the high school at Evanston, and has become the wife of M. L. Katz, an attorney of Worcester, Massachusetts. Shirley, born in Evanston in 1895, was graduated from the high school and is now in business with his father. He is also a graduate of a commercial school at Boston, Massa- chusetts. Bertha, the youngest of the family, was born in Evanston in 1905 and is still in school.
Mr. Kastor is a thirty-second degree Mason, prominent in the order, and he is also connected with the Woodmen of the World and the Modern Woodmen of America. His political endorsement is given to the republican party and he- served as mayor of his city from 1914 until 1916, having been elected on the citizens' ticket. He was also a member of the board of education for six years and at all times he stands for progress and improvement in relation to those interests which have to do with the upbuilding and welfare of his community, his county or the commonwealth. He is, judged from a business standpoint, entirely a self-made man and he deserves much credit for what he has accomplished. Starting out empty-handed, he has so utilized his opportunities that he has ad- vanced steadily step by step and is today one of the foremost merchants and lead- ing citizens of Uinta county.
WILLIAM F. MECUM.
William F. Mecum, attorney-at-law of Douglas, who for more than a third of a century has been actively engaged in practice, was born on the 10th of January, 1856, in Henry county, Illinois, a son of Charles B. and Frances Helen (Richards) Mecum. The father was descended from French and Irish ancestry, while the mother came of Welsh and English lineage. The great-grandfathers on both sides, however, were reared in the new world. Charles B. Mecum was numbered among the California Argonauts who in 1849 made their way to the Pacific coast in search of the golden fleece. He afterward returned to Illinois, where he made his home for a considerable period, but eventually removed to Iowa. He was a well to do farmer and stock man. In the family were three sons and two daughters.
William F. Mecum, who was the eldest of the family, after completing his education by a high school course in Illinois, took up the profession of teaching. He was nineteen years of age when the family removed to Iowa and later he turned his attention to the study of law, devoting three years to the mastery of the principles of jurisprudence in the office and under the direction of the firm of McDuffy & Howard at Jefferson, Iowa; and with Norris Brown, of Omaha, Nebraska, who had also been a law student at the same time, was admitted to the bar on the Ist of September, 1883. The two young men then formed a partnership under the firm name of Mecum & Brown and opened a law office at Perry, Iowa, where Mr. Mecum remained until April, 1886, when he left the middle west and came to Wyoming, settling at Fort Fetterman. Mr. Mecum was the first attorney to take up his abode in Douglas, going there on June 9, 1886. He afterward removed to Grand Island, Nebraska, where he practiced law one and a half years and then was in the hotel business, coming back to Douglas, Wyoming, in the spring of 1895. He then taught school three years, after which period he filled the office of county attorney for three two-year terms. He was the first justice of the peace elected and the first police judge of the city. He also served as under sheriff with J. T. Williams, who was then occupying the position of sheriff. Mr. Mecum filled that position for a year and a half and he also acted as prin- cipal of the schools of Douglas in an early day, for at that period there was not much business for an attorney, as there were about fifteen attorneys here wait- ing for business, the county seat being at Laramie City, a distance of about one
WILLIAM F. MECUM
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hundred and forty miles away. With the settlement of the county, however, his clientage increased and has long since enjoyed a good practice which has con- nected him with much of the important litigation heard in the courts of his district. Few lawyers win a larger percentage of their cases before either judge or jury than does Mr. Mecum. He convinces by his concise statement of law and facts rather than by word painting, and so high is the respect for his legal ability and integrity that his assertions in court are seldom questioned.
Mr. Mecum was united in marriage on the 25th of December, 1888, at Grand Island, Nebraska, to Miss Kate G. Roush, a daughter of David S. and Sarah M. Roush, and their children are: Grace E., now the wife of Elmer Clark, residing at Douglas; Frances H., the wife of R. F. Bower, of Worland; Jessie L .; Clara A .; and Verna H. The family occupy an enviable position in social circles and their home, one of the most beautiful in the town, is noted for its warm-hearted hospitality. Mr. and Mrs. Mecum hold membership in the Meth- odist church.
Judge Mecum is fond of athletics and his interest therein has been a factor in maintaining his excellent health. He belongs to the Commercial Club and fra- ternally is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day but has never been an office seeker. He prefers to concentrate his undivided thought and attention upon his professional interests and duties. He gives to his clients a service of great talent, unwearied industry and broad learning, but he never forgets that there are certain things due to the court, to his own self-respect and, above all, to justice and the righteous admin- istration of the law which neither the zeal of an advocate nor the pleasure of suc- cess permits him to disregard.
WILLIAM GIBSON.
Among those who are active in connection with the conduct of commercial interests in Basin is numbered William Gibson, who is proprietor of a furniture and undertaking establishment, which he is successfully conducting. He was born in Scotland, July 12, 1864, and is a son of George and Mary (Hutchinson ) Gibson, who were also natives of the land of hills and heather, where they spent their entire lives, never coming to the new world. They had a family of thirteen children, eight of whom are yet living.
William Gibson was reared and educated in Scotland, there remaining until he reached the age of twenty-three years, when he bade adieu to friends and native country and sailed for the new world with Canada as his destination. He remained in that country for three years or until 1890, when he came to the United States, settling first in Rawlins, Wyoming, where he engaged in the sheep business. In 1896 he made his way westward to the Big Horn country and ran sheep in the Big Horn basin until 1902, when he sold his interests in that connection in order to concentrate his efforts and attention upon commer- cial interests. He then established a clothing store, which he conducted until 1907, when he sold out but later turned his attention to the furniture and under- taking business, in which he has since been engaged at Basin, having a well ap- pointed store in which he carries a large and carefully selected line of goods. His business methods, which are thoroughly reliable, and his unfaltering enter- prise have been the chief sources of his growing success. In addition to his mercantile interests he is the vice president of the Bighorn County Bank and he is also a member of the Basin Hall Company, of which he is the treasurer.
In 1902 Mr. Gibson was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Keith, a native of Indiana, and to them have been born the following children: Lester H., who is attending high school; Frederick W., at school; Alberta, who is deceased; and Richard K. Mrs. Gibson is a member of the Seventh Day Adventist church.
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The family occupies an attractive residence in Basin and Mr. Gibson also owns a brick store building in the city and a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres not far distant. His political allegiance has always been given to the repub- lican party and he is now serving for a second term as a member of the city council of Basin. In 1910 he was appointed postmaster under President Taft and served for four and a half years. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has filled all of the chairs in the local lodge. He is also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is actu- ated in all that he does by a spirit of enterprise and progress that never stops short of the successful accomplishment of his purpose.
ABRAHAM CRAWFORD.
Abraham Crawford, attorney at law, actively engaged in practice in Evans- ton, was born on the 9th of September, 1870, in Renfrewshire, Scotland, a son of Jeremiah Crawford, who was likewise born in the land of hills and heather and who came to America in 1896. Making his way westward, he took up his abode at Almy, Uinta county, Wyoming, where he lived retired to the time of his death, which occurred November 30, 1901, when he had reached the age of sixty-four years, the month of his birth having been February, 1837. His wife bore the maiden name of Janet Reid and she, too, was a native of Scotland. She accompanied her husband to the United States and passed away November 20, 1912, at the age of seventy-four years, her birth having occurred in August, 1838. The children of their marriage were ten in number, six sons and four daughters, eight of whom are yet living, Abraham being the seventh in order of 'birth.
Abraham Crawford pursued his early education in the public schools of his native country and later matriculated in Glasgow University. It was his mother's wish that he should become a Presbyterian minister and to that end he was given liberal educational advantages. He continued in the university for several years but at length determined to follow some line of business and sev- ered home ties, leaving Scotland for the new world. On the 23d of June, 1893, as a passenger on the steamship City of Rome, a vessel of the Anchor Line, he landed at New York and thence made his way directly westward to Evanston, Wyoming, where he arrived on the 28th of June. He secured employment in the mines at Almy and gave his attention to coal mining until May, 1899, during which time he took up the study of law and perfected himself for his chosen profession. He then removed to Mercur, Utah, where he was employed along metal lines, and while thus engaged he continued his legal studies and was ad- mitted to practice before the supreme court of Utah on the 12th of February, 1900. After having been elected city marshal of Mercur and serving in the position for a time he went to Nevada, where he engaged in mining and pros- pecting, continuing active along the latter line until 1907. He then returned to Almy, Wyoming, and again worked in the mines until 1908, when he removed to Evanston. He was then elected county attorney of Uinta county and served in that capacity for two years, after which he was reelected in 1912 and again in 1914, so that he served altogether in that office for a period of six years. At the same time he continued in the private practice of his profession and his record is most creditable by reason of the fact that he has been untiring in his devotion to the interests of his clients, nor does he ever forget that he owes a still higher allegiance to the majesty of the law. The thoroughness with which he prepares his cases and the clearness of his arguments are salient features in his growing success.
On the 2d of October, 1890, in Scotland, Mr. Crawford was united in marriage to Miss Maggie Bella Gray, a native of Scotland and a daughter of William and Janet (Tennant) Gray, the former now deceased. Mr. and Mrs.
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Crawford became the parents of seven children: Janet, Maggie, William, Abra- ham, Annie and Maud Ethel who were twins, the latter dying seven weeks after birth, and one who died unnamed in infancy. The wife and mother passed away February 9. 1914, at Evanston, when forty-five years of age, her birth having occurred March 25, 1869. On the 21st of December, 1916, Mr. Craw- ford was again married, his second union being with Miss Agnes Hurst, a native of Scotland and a daughter of William and Sarah (Rankin) Hurst, the former now deceased.
Mr. Crawford is connected with the Royal Highlanders and is a past grand of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His military record comprises serv- ice as a sergeant in the Home Guard of Evanston. From the age of eleven years Mr. Crawford has been dependent upon his own resources. His ambition and his initiative have enabled him to work his way steadily upward. He was employed in the mines of Scotland in his youthful days and was afterward connected for many years with mining interests in Wyoming and Utah but at length, actuated by a laudable ambition to enter upon a professional career, he took up the study of law and since his admission to the bar has made rapid progress in his profession. In politics he is a republican and was elected second vice president of the Wyoming State Bar Association at their last meeting.
JOHN E. MEAD.
John E. Mead, of Newcastle, one of the prominent cattle and sheep men of Wyoming, operating in Weston and Niobara counties of this state and also in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation of South Dakota, is a native son of Iowa, his birth having occurred in Harrison county on the 3Ist of October, 1870. His father was a native of Scotland who, having left the land of hills and heather in 1850 and sailed for the new world, finally located in Iowa in the early '50s, where he was afterward married to Einma O'Neill, a native daughter of Iowa. Subsequent he removed to Nebraska and later became a resident of South Dakota, establishing his home at Hot Springs, where he spent his remaining days, his death there occurring in the early 'gos.
John E. Mead, whose name introduces this review, pursued his education in the district schools, acquainting himself with the common branches of learning which constitute the foundation for all educational progress or business success. As early as his nineteenth year he became interested in a partnership with his father in the live stock business in Nebraska, afterward removing to the Hot Springs country of South Dakota, where he was engaged in sheep raising. He operated a sheep ranch in that section for three years and then trailed his flocks over the border into Weston county, Wyoming. He has since been identified with business interests in this section and not only is he engaged extensively in raising sheep, but also cattle, and his business affairs are wisely, carefully and profitably conducted. He is a man of determined purpose, diligent and pro- gressive, and his well controlled interests have brought to him a gratifying meas- ure of prosperity.
Mr. Mead was married to Miss Marie Baker of Boyd, Wyoming, in 1907, and to them have been born two children, Keith and Frances.
ALFRED F. STOTT.
Alfred F. Stott, filling the position of postmaster in Douglas, was born in Milton, New York, on the 10th of December, 1868, and is a son of Charles E. and Elizabeth (Place) Stott, in whose family were four daughters and two sons, Alfred F. being the youngest child. The public schools of Poughkeepsie,
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New York, afforded him his early educational privileges and his studies were continued in the public schools of Brooklyn, where he passed through consecu- tive grades to the high school, from which in due course of time he was gradu- ated. He made his initial step in the business world as an employe of the Chem- ical Bank of New York, but ill health at length compelled him to seek a better climate and he went to Florida, where he remained for three years. In 1890 he removed westward to Colorado and while living in Douglas county, that state, filled the position of county sheriff in a most creditable and acceptable manner and also made an equally enviable record as postmaster at Castle Rock, serving during the second administration of President Cleveland. In the fall of 1907 Mr. Stott arrived in Wyoming, where he has since made his home. Locating in Douglas, he secured a clerkship in a general merchandise store and occupied that position until appointed postmaster of Douglas. He has since occupied the position and is very thorough, systematic and methodical in the care of the mails and in the performance of all the duties connected with the office.
On the 17th of July, 1895, Mr. Stott was united in marriage to Miss Alma Calkins and they are the parents of two sons and a daughter : Charles E., who is with the United States Signal Corps as a member of the regular army ; Helen E. ; and Alfred F., Jr. The religious faith of the family is that of the Episcopal church and Mr. Stott also has membership with the Woodmen of the World and with the Royal Highlanders. His political endorsement is given to the demo- cratic party and he has been an active and earnest worker in its ranks, believing firmly in its principles. He is interested in all that has to do with the welfare and progress of his city and state, and his influence is ever on the side of ad- vancement and improvement. As a public official and as a business man he has become widely known in Douglas and the sterling traits of his character have won for him a large circle of warm friends.
WALTER A. MUIR.
Walter A. Muir, occupying an enviable position as a representative of the bar at Rock Springs, is one of the substantial citizens that Pennsylvania has furnished to Wyoming. He was born in Scotthaven, Westmoreland county, November 6. 1885. a son of David M. and Christina (McQuarrie) Muir, of whose family of eleven children ten are yet living.
Walter A. Muir was the tenth in order of birth in that household. Both of his parents were natives of Scotland. The father came to America in 1866, settling first in Maryland, where he engaged in mining. He afterward returned to Scotland and several years later again came to the new world. He took up his abode at that time in Pennsylvania, where he resided until 1886, when with his family he removed to the west, establishing his home in Rock Springs, Wyo- ming, where he resided for three decades, departing this life October 27. 1916, at the age of seventy-six years. During the period of his residence in this state he was engaged in coal mining and in ranching and was, quite successful in the conduct of his business affairs. His political allegiance was given to the repub- lican party and he took an active interest in the political situation of the coun- try, doing all in his power to promote the growth and advance the success of his party. He stood at all times for those interests which are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride and he rendered valuable service to his community as a member of the police force of Rock Springs. He also served as county coroner and was a member of the school board, the cause of education ever finding in him a stalwart champion. His religious faith was that of the Pres- byterian church and he was a devout Christian, his religion constituting one of the strong elements in his life and guiding him in all of his relations with his fellowmen. His wife was born near the estate of Sir William Wallace, in the highlands of Scotland. They were married in the land of hills and heather Vol. IT-14
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