USA > Wyoming > History of Wyoming, Volume II > Part 42
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On the 3d of April, 1916, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Mr. Henkel was married to Miss Elizabeth Lembie Longi, a native of Kemmerer, Wyoming, and a daugh- ter of William Longi, who is now a resident of Astoria, Oregon, but was one of the pioneers of Wyoming. Mr. and Mrs. Henkel have become the parents of a son, Harry Oscar, who was born at Rock Springs, January 1I, 1917.
Mr. Henkel maintains an independent course in regard to politics, voting for men and measures rather than party. Fraternally he is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks at Rock Springs, and his religious faith is that of the Congregational church. He is widely known as a progressive and representative business man, his life record being the expression of the dominant spirit of the west. He never stops short of the successful accomplishment of his purpose and regards the obstacles and difficulties in his path rather as an impetus to renewed effort. His life history indicates the fact that it is under the pressure of adversity and the stimulus of necessity that the strongest and best in man is brought out and developed. As the years have gone on he has wisely used his opportunities and step by step has worked his way upward until he has reached a most gratifying position among the business men of his section of the state.
GEORGE D. BERCU.
George D. Bercu, president of the Chicago Hide, Fur & Wool House, Incor- porated, with headquarters in Douglas, has built up the largest business of this kind west of the Missouri river and has become one of the most prominent rep- resentatives of commercial activity in Wyoming. He was born in Roumania on the 21st of September, 1884, a son of Don and Hannah Bercu. The family came to the United States in July, 1904, and settled first at Omaha, Nebraska, where they lived for ten years.
George D. Bercu was a young man of twenty years at the time of the emigra- tion to the new world and had attained the age of thirty years when in 1914 he came to Wyoming. He arrived in this state with a cash capital of three hundred and seventy-five dollars. He chose Douglas as the scene of his future labors and embarked in the hide, fur and wool business, in which he has since continued. gradually building up a two hundred and fifty thousand dollar corporation. His younger brother, Louis D. Bercu, is associated with him. They deal in furs and hides, their products coming principally from the states west of the Missouri river, and through the careful conduct of their interests, their sound judgment and sagacious management they have built up the largest business of the kind west of the Missouri river, their yearly sales amounting to over a million dollars. They employ twelve people all of the time and the employes frequently number eighteen. The company not only handles the raw product but also engages in the manufacture of fur garments which are shipped extensively all over the country.
On the 3d of September, 1916, Mr. Bercu was united in marriage to Miss
GEORGE D. BEROU
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Olive Mistachkin, of Duluth, Minnesota, and to them has been born a daughter, Nina Dorothy. In politics Mr. Bercu maintains an independent course, supporting men and measures rather than party. Fraternally he is identified with the Benev- olent Protective Order of Elks. He is president of the Commercial Club of Douglas, which indicates his high business standing and the recognition on the part of his fellowmen of his ability and enterprise. He is ever looking to the advancement of his community and the extension of its trade relations, and his well defined plans and projects have been carried forward to success. He brings to bear in the discharge of his public duties the same efficiency and thoroughness which characterize the conduct of his private interests, leading to the upbuilding of the extensive business of the Chicago Hide, Fur & Wool House, Incorporated. In addition to his interests in that direction, he is the president of the Safe Investment Oil Company and president of the Reliance Oil Company and has thus become a factor in the development of the oil interests of the state.
His plans are carefully formulated and promptly executed. He seems to have a genius for devising the right thing at the right time, joined to resistless will power and guided by that quality of common sense which is too often lacking in the business world, this constituting the cause of many a failure. He is force- ful and resourceful and as the years have passed on he has made for himself a most enviable and creditable position in the business circles of his state.
HENRY WILLIAM JENSEN.
The spirit of enterprise which has been the dominant factor in the upbuild- ing of the west finds expression in the business record of Henry William Jensen, a member of the Star Grocery Company of Laramie. He was born in Elba, Howard county, Nebraska, April 17, 1888, a son of Chris F. Jensen, a native of Denmark, who came to America about 1865 and first settled at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, where he followed agricultural pursuits for four years. He then removed to Nebraska, settling in Howard county, where he again engaged in farming, there remaining until 1908, when he removed to Laramie and became one of the ranchmen of this section of the state. He has been quite successful, winning a place among the men of affluence in Wyoming. In Nebraska he was active in politics as a Bryan democrat and there filled various offices. He mar- ried Freda Frederickson, a native of Denmark, who came to America during the early '60s. The wedding was celebrated in Iowa and the mother is also living.
Henry W. Jensen was the sixth in order of birth in their family of nine children. He acquired a public school education in Nebraska and his early life was spent upon the home farm to the age of fourteen years, when he started out on his own account, being first employed as a clerk in a general store at Elba, Nebraska, where he remained for two years, thus acquainting himself with principles of general merchandising. Since 1908 he has been a resident of Laramie, where he arrived a comparative stranger. In connection with C. E. Cady he established his present business and the Star Grocery Company was organized. They have built up an extensive trade in this connection and have one of the leading stores of their section of the state. Their business methods have ever been such as would bear the closest investigation and scrutiny and they have recognized the fact that satisfied patrons are the best advertisement. They have therefore put forth earnest and unremitting effort to please their customers and the fine line of goods which they carry, together with their straightforward dealings, have brought to them a very gratifying success.
On the 2d of June, 1900. Mr. Jensen was united in marriage to Miss Elida Peterson, a native of Laramie and a daughter of the late Charles T. Peterson, who was a pioneer merchant tailor of this city. Her mother, Mrs. Wilma Peterson, is still living.
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In his political views Mr. Jensen is a republican but not an office seeker. He belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and is interested in all those forces and projects which have to do with the upbuilding and development of his city, the extension of its trade relations and the upholding of its civic standards. He is one of the progressive business men of the west and his advancement is due entirely to his close application, his unabating energy and his industry that never flags. Starting out in life for himself at the age of fourteen years, he has steadily worked his way upward and each forward step in his career has brought him a broader outlook and wider opportunities.
JACOB SHERMAN.
Active among the sagacious, enterprising and determined business men of Cheyenne, whose labors are constituting a most important element in the sub- stantial growth of the city, is Jacob Sherman, conducting business as a wholesale and retail dealer in paints and wall paper under the name of the Sherman Com- pany. He has a splendidly equipped establishment of this kind and his business has reached large and gratifying proportions. Mr. Sherman is a native of Hun- gary, born on the Ist of May, 1872, and is a son of Judah and Mary Sherman. The mother is now living but the father has passed away.
In the public schools of his native country Jacob Sherman pursued his edu- cation to the age of fourteen years and then crossed the Atlantic to America, taking up his abode in Circleville, Ohio, where he continued his studies but at an early age also became an active factor in the business world. He was em- ployed in various ways there. He had to learn the English language and make his own way in the world. Although he had to overcome obstacles and diffi- culties that do not confront many boys, by reason of his unfamiliarity with the speech of the country, he nevertheless progressed, recognizing that unabating industry is the basis of advancement that leads ultimately to success. He came to the west in 1894, taking up his abode in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He had pre- viously learned the painter's trade in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but he came to Wyoming with the United States army and when he had received an honorable discharge he resolved to ally his interests with those of the western country and became connected with business affairs in Cheyenne in 1897. He again joined the army in 1898 as a volunteer in the First Battalion, Wyoming Volun- teer Infantry, for service in the Spanish-American war and was on duty for sev- enteen months in the Philippine islands with the rank of corporal, or until his regiment returned. He then reentered business ranks and has continued in active connection with the commercial interests of the city to the present time.
On the 15th of November, 1899, Mr. Sherman was united in marriage to Miss Mary Aman and they have become the parents of four children: Herman S., attending the U. of M .; and Sadie, Julia and Ruth.
Mr. Sherman has exercised his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party since becoming a naturalized American citizen and has been an active worker in party ranks because of his firm belief in its principles. In 1909 he was elected to represent his district in the state legislature and then after two years out of office was again chosen to the position in 1913. He proved himself an able member of the general assembly, carefully considering the questions which came up for settlement, and he was identified with much important constructive legislation. He has also served as chairman of the city central committee and has been a very active and earnest worker in local affairs, his aid and influence being always on the side of those interests which tend to advance civic virtue and civic pride. He is a member of the Masonic lodge, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Industrial Club and the United Spanish War Veterans. His religious faith is that of the Jewish people and he is ever loyal to the principles which he
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espouses. He is president of the local Jewish congregation and has served for the past fifteen years.
Mr. Sherman is truly a self-made man and one who deserves much credit for what he has accomplished. Starting out in life on his own account when but a young lad, he has since depended entirely upon his own resources and step by step has worked his way upward, his power and ability increasing through the exercise of effort until he is today one of the foremost merchants of his state. Moreover, he has proven his loyalty to his adopted country through active military service and he is ever as true and faithful to American interests as when he followed the stars and stripes at the call of military authority.
J. E. HANWAY.
On the list of capable newspaper men of Wyoming appears the name of J. E. Hanway, who is proprietor of the Casper Daily Tribune, published at Casper. A native of Indiana, he was born in Greensburg, that state, June 25, 1866, his parents being Israel G. and Martha Hanway, who were natives of Kentucky but removed to Indiana in early life. The ancestry of the family is traced back to Jonas Hanway, who is mentioned in the history of London as being the first man to appear on the streets of London carrying an umbrella. This was in the six- teenth century.
J. E. Hanway, whose name introduces this record, acquired his education in the public schools of Topeka, Kansas, and in the school of actual experience, where he learned valuable lessons. Starting out in life, he held a government position in the postoffice department through the. first five years of his business career. He then entered the newspaper field, becoming connected with the circulation department of the Kansas City Star when that paper was a very small factor in the community. He was afterward employed by different newspapers in Kansas City for several years and then accepted a position with the business and circu- lation department of the Topeka State Journal, one of the great papers of Kansas. After five years' connection with that paper he embarked in business on his own account, leasing a newspaper at Horton, Kansas, which proved to him that there was no money in working on a salary for anyone. He then decided to go west and in 1905 closed out his business in Horton and started for Wyoming, having in mind the purchase of a newspaper in that great young state. While en route he stopped in Denver and became identified with a number of Colorado newspapers, with which he was associated at different periods. In 1907 he went to Utah and Nevada as a representative of one of the Denver dailies. When the gold field boom sub- sided in 1907 he purchased a half interest in a weekly paper published at Rich- field, Utah, but sold this inside of six months at a handsome profit. He then entered the field and followed the vocation of buving run-down newspapers and building them up, after which he would sell at top prices. At one time he was the owner of five different newspapers, four weeklies and a daily, which were all put on a firm basis and sold at a good advance over the original price which he paid for them. After nine years he arrived in Casper, Wyoming, in October, 1914, and purchased the Natrona County Tribune, which at that time was the leading weekly newspaper of Casper. It was at that period that the city was just beginning to throw off its swaddling clothes and take on the robes of a city of twenty-five hundred people. From the beginning it was evident that Mr. Hanway had at last found the location for which he was looking, and from the progress and success of the Tribune it was evident that Casper was looking for Mr. Hanway. as under his ownership the paper has now developed into one of the leading jour- nals of Wyoming. The plant has been enlarged until today it is one of the most complete in the state, occupying handsome quarters in the new Oil Exchange building. The Tribune is now published daily under the name of the Casper Daily Tribune. The plant is equipped with three of the latest improved linotype
J.E. Hanway
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machines, a Goss Comet webb perfecting press and all the latest machinery used in the production of a first-class daily newspaper. In addition to his newspaper interests Mr. Hanway is a director and the treasurer of the Out West Petroleum Company, is the president of the New England Wyoming Oil Company and a director in the Wyoming Kentucky Petroleum Company, so that he has become closely associated with the development of oil properties in this section.
On the 18th of September, 1888, in Topeka, Mr. Hanway was united in mar- riage to Miss Effie E. Grice, a daughter of John Grice, who was at one time prom- inent in republican politics of Shawnee county, Kansas, having been honored by his party with the office of sheriff. Mrs. Hanway was born and reared in Kansas and lived on a farm near Topeka until fifteen years of age, when she removed to Topeka. which was her home until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Hanway have two children: Earl E., who wedded Miss Sunshine Perry, of Denver ; and Isabel Martha Dorothy, who is now a first-year student in the Casper high school.
In politics Mr. Hanway is a republican. He has never held public office of any kind, as he has always found plenty to do in his chosen profession. He has, how- ever, recently become interested in the oil game in Wyoming and is at the head of several very promising companies that are becoming factors in the development of the oil regions of the west.
WILLET L. ROBERTSON.
There are no cities which depend upon a single line of business for existence, even those which have grown up about a great industrial plant, for the demands of modern civilization are varied and the progressive community is that in which are to be found all lines of modern business, each under the direction of a wide-awake, alert and progressive manager. In Rawlins, Willet L. Robertson has won for himself a creditable place as a leading merchant, being now actively and successfully engaged as optician and jeweler.
He was born in Indianola, Iowa, July 31, 1883, a son of William Robertson, who belonged to an old Ohio family of Scotch lineage founded in America prior to the Revolutionary war. He turned his attention to the milling business and became an early settler of Warren county, Iowa, where he established his home in the early '6os. He passed away in Indianola, Iowa, in 1895, when sixty-one years of age. His wife bore the maiden name of Lovina Kimball and was born in Ohio, belonging to a pioneer family of that state, also of Scotch origin. Mrs. Robertson still survives and is living in the old home at Indianola, Iowa.
Willet L. Robertson was the fourth in order of birth in a family of six children. He was educated in the public schools of his native city and after his textbooks were put aside started out to earn his own living when a youth of fifteen years. He entered upon an apprenticeship to learn the jeweler's trade, which he afterward followed as a journeyman for twelve years, and during that period he was associated with leading jewelers in Des Moines, Oskaloosa, Dav- enport and other Iowa cities. He removed to the west in 1911, establishing his home in Rawlins, where he opened his present store. He has since been engaged in the jewelry trade and as optician and in point of business has one of the leading jewelry shops in the county. His store is thoroughly modern in every detail and he carries an attractive line of jewelry and precious stones. He is watch inspector for the Union Pacific and has built up a private patronage of substantial proportions, his business growing continuously as the years go by, the public recognizing the integrity of his methods and the enterprise which actuates him in all business connections.
In Rawlins, on the 15th of February, 1917, Mr. Robertson was married to Miss Elizabeth Niland, a daughter of William and Elizabeth Niland, who were early settlers of this state. Mr. Robertson is a Mason, belonging to the blue lodge and to the commandery. He is also identified with the Benevolent Pro- Vol. II-21
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tective Order of Elks. His political endorsement is given to the republican party, which he has supported by his ballot since reaching adult age. He started out in life a poor boy without capital and today he is one of the progressive merchants of Rawlins, his success being the legitimate outcome of his persistent effort, intelligently directed. He has social qualities which have won for him warm friendships, while his business discernment and enterprise have placed him with the leading merchants of his adopted city.
HUGO DONZELMANN.
Hugo Donzelmann is one of the prominent and distinguished attorneys of Cheyenne who since 1882 has engaged in the practice of law, and in a profes- sion where advancement depends entirely upon individual merit and ability he has gained a place in the front rank. His life experiences have been varied. If one could turn back the hourglass of time to about the year 1865 they might find Hugo Donzelmann blacking boots in St. Louis in order to provide for his own support. From early youth he has been dependent entirely upon his own resources and though many difficulties have beset him at various points in his career, he has ever been actuated by a laudable ambition and an honorable pur- pose that have brought him eventually to the prominent position which he occupies today as a representative of the Wyoming bar. He was born in Ger- many on the 23d of August, 1848, and is a son of Henry and Charlotte ( Herold) Donzelmann, whose family numbered two sons and five daughters, Hugo being the second in order of birth. The father was an expert railroad accountant. Both he and his wife have long since passed away.
Hugo Donzelmann obtained his first education in the schools of Germany up to the time when he came to the United States, establishing his home in St. Louis. As previously stated, he engaged in blacking boots on the streets of that city and in four weeks earned four dollars and eighty cents. Being thrown upon his own resources, he worked at anything that he could do to make an honest living and was employed in various ways until he reached the age of seventeen years, when he joined the United States Army. He served through the Indian wars in California until 1869, when, at the age of twenty-one years, he went to Alexandria, Virginia, and entered upon the study of law, for he had determined to make the practice of that profession his life work. All through his previous experience he was learning many valuable lessons of life, and his ambition, as the result of his keen observation, prompted him to prepare for a professional career. In 1873 he came to Wyoming and took up his abode in Cheyenne, where he engaged in bookkeeping and other mercantile pursuits until he had accumulated a sufficient sum of money with which to build a home. In the meantime he studied law when the opportunity offered and on the 22d of May, 1882, he prepared for admission to the bar, passed the required examina- tion and was admitted to practice.
Advancement at the bar is proverbially slow and yet no dreary novitiate awaited Hugo Donzelmann. He had already developed those powers which make for success in any legitimate walk of life. He recognized the necessity for care and thoroughness in the preparation of his cases and he never entered the courts until well qualified to defend his own position as well as to attack the position of his legal adversary. For two terms he filled the position of attorney general of Wyoming and then, because of the failing health of his wife, he sought a change of scene and climate and in order to obtain the best medical skill he applied to the government for the position of consul at Prague, Bohemia. He received the appointment in July. 1897, and when, under the excellent med- ical treatment there received, his wife had recovered her health, he resigned on the 20th of May, 1901. his resignation to take effect in September of that year. He then returned to Cheyenne, where he resumed the private practice of his
HUGO DONZELMANN
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profession. His record as consul was such that the government has on five dif- ferent occasions offered him other appointments, but he has preferred to remain in the private practice of law and has therefore declined the offices tendered him. While in Prague, Mr. Donzelmann was instrumental in unearthing the fact that the Austrian government was furnishing arms and ammunition to Spain, which was then at war with the United States. This discovery was of the most vital importance to the country, and in other ways he also rendered valuable service to the United States. With his return to this land, which is the land of his adoption but also the land of his love and of his allegiance, he resumed the practice of law. Many men who have become prominent repre- sentatives of the legal profession in various sections of the country have had their early training in Mr. Donzelmann's office. During his practice he has con- ducted important litigated interests in the federal and state courts with gratify- ing success, winning well earned fame and distinction. While he possesses much natural ability, he has always been a hard student and has never been con- tent until he has mastered every detail of his cases. He gives to his clients and to his profession a most unqualified allegiance and has ever been an able, faithful and conscientious minister in the temple of justice.
On the 22d of November, 1871, Mr. Donzelmann was married to Miss Anna Mack, of Lincoln, Nebraska, who passed away on the Ist of December, 1913. In Masonic circles he is well known as a member of lodge and chapter and he also has membership with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and with the Army & Navy Union. He has been most interested in the state and its development, giving active aid to many projects for municipal progress and for the upbuilding of the interests of the commonwealth. He is a great believer in thorough Americanism, in the lofty standards of the country, and he stands as a splendid type of American manhood and chivalry.
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