USA > Wyoming > History of Wyoming, Volume II > Part 8
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66
On the 3d of December, 1878, in Hartford, Connecticut, Mr. Stryker was united in marriage to Miss Lura L. Jacques, a native of Rome, Georgia, and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. W. Jacques, who have passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Stryker have become the parents of three children, two of whom are living : Donna Rena, the wife of D. N. Sudduth, who is a prominent stock raiser, residing at North Park, Colorado, being president and general manager of The Canadian Land and Live Stock Company, of which J. W. Stryker is secretary and treasurer; and Jennie Iris, the wife of Clifford Sawyer, living in Colorado. There are also six grandchildren, the Sudduth family having four-Iris, June, John S. and Neal, while the Sawyer family has two children, Florence and Clifford.
In politics Mr. Stryker follows an independent course, voting according to the dictates of his judgment. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and also of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He belongs to the Chamber of Com- merce and is interested in all those forces which have to do with the upbuilding and welfare of the city, giving his aid and support to all interests which are a mat- ter of civic virtue and of civic pride. His business record should serve to inspire and encourage others, for it shows what can be accomplished through individual effort and determination. Starting out in life empty-handed, obstacles and diffi- culties in his path have seemed but to serve as an impetus for renewed effort and concentration on his part and his close application and persistency of purpose, guided by sound judgment, have made him one of the foremost representatives of commercial interests in the state.
OLUF JEFSON.
Commercial enterprise in Kemmerer finds a worthy representative in Oluf Jefson, who is the manager of the Blyth-Fargo-Hoskins Company. In all that he does he is actuated by a spirit of progress and advancement and his experience along commercial lines has made him well qualified for the onerous and responsible duties which devolve upon him in this connection.
He was born in Bloomingdale, Wis., May 9, 1881, a son of the late John Jefson, who was a native of Norway and came to America in young manhood, arriving during the decade of the '6os. He settled in Wisconsin, where he con-
78
HISTORY OF WYOMING
tinued to make his home until his death, which occurred in Bloomingdale, that state, in 1900, at the age of sixty-nine years. He was a successful farmer, wisely and carefully directing his business interests, so that substantial results rewarded his labors as the years passed. In politics he was a stanch republican and took an active interest in advancing the growth and promoting the success of his party. He held at all times to high civic standards and he was a devout Christian man. holding membership in the Lutheran church. His widow still occupies the old home in Wisconsin. She too, is a native of Norway and came to America with her parents in her childhood days, the family home being established in Vernon county, Wisconsin, where she was reared, educated and married.
Oluf Jefson was the ninth in order of birth in a family of ten children. He acquired a public school education in his native city and afterward attended the Valparaiso ( Ind.) University, from which he was graduated on the comple- tion of a commercial course. His early life to the age of twenty-one years was spent upon the home farm. He then entered mercantile circles, securing a clerk- ship, in which capacity he served for two years. He afterward completed a two years' college course and removed to North Dakota, being employed in a general store in Ledgerwood, that state. He next removed to Green River, Wyoming, and was connected with the office of the Morris Mercantile Company, remaining there for four years. He later became associated with the Blyth-Fargo-Hoskins Com- pany in the capacity of bookkeeper and since the Ist of September, 1917, has been general manager, in which connection he is directing the policy of the store, which is enjoying a growing trade. He won his present position by reason of his merit and ability. The Blyth-Fargo-Hoskins Company has the largest general mer- cantile establishment in Lincoln county. The company was organized in 1903 and the firm employs on an average eleven people and carries a complete line of groceries, clothing, dry goods and other general merchandise. Mr. Jefson is thoroughly acquainted with the trade and its possibilities and is proving most capable in his present position as general manager, wisely directing the interests of the house.
In his political views Mr. Jefson has always been a stalwart republican, sup- porting the party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. Frater- nally he is a Mason of high rank. He has taken the degrees of lodge, chapter, commandery and Mystic Shrine and he exemplifies in his life the beneficent spirit of the craft. He also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, of which he was one of the organizers, and he is interested in all of its plans and projects for the upbuilding of the city, for the extension of its trade relations and the upholding of its civic and municipal standards. He is a man of high personal worth, en- joying the confidence and goodwill of his fellow townsmen, all of whom speak of him in terms of warm regard.
HON. BRYANT BUTLER BROOKS.
The specific and distinctive office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest estimate of himself and his accomplishments, but rather to leave a per- petual record establishing his character by the consensus of opinion on the part of his fellowmen. Throughout Wyoming, the Hon. Bryant Butler Brooks is spoken of in terms of admiration and respect. His life has been so varied in its activities, so honorable in its purposes, so farreaching and beneficial in its effects that it has become an integral part in the history of city and state. He has exerted an immeasurable influence upon matters of public policy, upon busi- ness life as a financier and ranchman, in social circles by reason of a charming' personality and unfeigned cordiality and in politics by reason of his public spirit and devotion to the general good as well as his comprehensive understanding of the questions affecting state an:1 national welfare. He is now identified with the interests of Casper as president of the Wyoming National Bank of that city and he has important connections with ranching and stock raising.
BB Books.
81
HISTORY OF WYOMING
Mr. Brooks was born in Bernardston, Massachusetts, February 5, 1861, a son of Silas Newton and Melissa (Burrows) Brooks. The father was a promi- nent manufacturer of farm implements and a leading business man of Massa- chusetts. He was also active in political affairs there and was called upon to represent his district in the state legislature. In 1871 he removed to Chicago and became a member of the firm of Sargent, Greenleaf & Brooks, lock manufac- turers. Both he and his wife were descendants of early New England pioneers who took an active part in the Indian wars and in the Revolutionary war.
In his youthful days Bryant B. Brooks was a pupil in the Powers Institute at Bernardston, Massachusetts, and continued his education in a Chicago high school and also in a business college. He was graduated from the high school as a member of the class of 1878 and from the business college in 1879. Almost immediately afterward he came to the west and rode the range over central Wyoming from 1880 until 1883. He concentrated his attention upon cattle rais- ing in the early 'Sos but afterward became associated with all kinds of live stock growing, including sheep and horses as well as cattle. In 1883 he settled per- manently on the Big Muddy at the foot of the Casper mountain and has since been engaged in stock raising and ranching on an extensive scale. He has large holdings and on his ranch are found big herds of cattle as well as large flocks of sheep and many horses, so that he has become one of the leading representa- tives of the live stock interests of the state. He was one of the first to practice irrigation and carry on ranching on a large scale in central Wyoming. A man of forceful and resourceful ability, his activities have covered a wide range and have been a source of value in the development of the natural resources of this state and the extension of its trade relations. Something of the breadth of his interests is indicated in the fact that while conducting important ranching proj- ects he is also the president of the Cole Creek Coal Company, is president of the Chihuahua Lumber & Manufacturing Company of Mexico, president of the B. B. Brooks Company, ranching and stock raising, president of the Wyoming National Bank and president of the Consolidated Royalty Oil Company.
On the Ioth of March, 1886, at Alexandria, Nebraska, Mr. Brooks was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary Naomi Willard, a daughter of Judge L. D. Willard. Their children are five in number, as follows: Jean, who is now the wife of Dr. H. R. Lathrop, of Casper ; Abby, who gave her hand in marriage to R. H. Nichols, a practicing attorney of Casper; Lena N .; Mary Melissa ; and Silas N., who is now serving in France with an aviation corps.
Mr. Brooks and his wife are members of the Episcopal church. He is one of the most prominent representatives of Masonry in Wyoming, the honorary thirty-third degree having been conferred upon him. He has held many stations in various Masonic bodies and he also has membership in the Odd Fellows lodge at Casper, the Elks lodge at Cheyenne and in the Mystic Shrine at Rawlins.
In politics he has always been an active republican and one who has done important work for his party in this state. He was appointed one of the com- missioners to organize Natrona county and in 1892 he was elected to the second Wyoming state legislature, in which he took active part in promoting many con- structive measures. He was a delegate at large to three national republican conventions and took most active part in the work of the St. Louis convention which nominated William McKinley. He was again made a delegate to the national conventions of 1904 and of 1908, both sessions being held in Chicago. In 1904 he was elected governor of Wyoming to fill the two years' unexpired term of Governor Richards, who died in office. At the close of the term he was reelected to the position and served from 1907 until 1911, so that his con- nection with the office of chief executive of the state covers six years. His administration was marked by many constructive measures for the benefit of the commonwealth. He was made a delegate to the first national conservation congress and he is interested in all those great projects which have to do with the development of the natural resources of the great west and, in fact, with all
82
HISTORY OF WYOMING
those things which bear upon the progress, stability and public prosperity of state and nation. He is a man of well rounded character, finely balanced mind, and of splendid intellectual attainments.
JOE E. R. KOEHLER.
Since Joe E. R. Koehler has taken charge of the Orpheum Theatre at Sheri- dan, Wyoming, this enterprise has taken on a new lease of life and has con- tinuously gained in the favor of the public. Mr. Koehler has had a considerable amount of experience in the theatrical field and the many new ideas which he has instituted in the plan of running the theatre are largely responsible for its present prosperous condition.
Mr. Koehler was born in Youngstown, Ohio, October 16, 1876, a son of Rudolph and Marie Koehler. In the public schools of his native city he ac- quired his education and when old enough laid aside his textbooks in order to make his own living. In his earlier years he joined the United States Navy and served faithfully, rendering service to his country until he was honorably dis- charged with the rating of carpenter's mate of the second class. Later in life he came to Sheridan, Wyoming, and became connected with the Orpheum Theatre. The enterprise had far failed of success under the management of several other parties who had been in charge before Mr. Koehler took hold. However, since he has been at the head of the organization the theatre has been very much improved and is a very popular attraction, well patronized by the public. It is in every way up-to-date and the photo plays presented to the public are of the latest and of the most interesting kind, and selected by the best of taste.
On the 14th of September, 1909, at Great Falls, Montana, Mr. Koehler married Miss Clara Louise Coleman, a daughter of T. H. and Lavina Coleman, and both he and his wife are well liked and popular in the social circles of Sheridan. Both take part in the moral and material upbuilding of their city and their efforts have been beneficial and have borne good results.
Politically Mr. Koehler is a republican, thoroughly believing in the policy of protective tariff. Along social and fraternal lines he belongs to Sheridan Lodge, No. 520, B. P. O. E. He also has membership in the Rocky Mountain Screen Club of Denver, Colorado, and through this connection often receives valuable suggestions in regard to his theatre attractions.
NEPHI J. DE LONEY. -
Nephi J. De Loney, who in 1916 was elected to the office of county as- sessor of Uinta county by a very large majority as the candidate of the repub- lican party, was born March 28, 1881, in the city of Evanston, where he still makes his home, his parents being Charles and Clara J. (Burton) De Loney, the former a native of Michigan, while the latter was born in England. The mother came to America with her father at an early day and settled at Piedmont, Wyoming, crossing the plains with some of the early emigrants. At the time of the Civil war Charles De Loney espoused the cause of the Union enlisting as a volunteer in a Michigan regiment and serving as a private throughout the entire period of hostilities between the north and the south. After receiving an honorable discharge and being mustered out in Michigan he resolved to try his fortune in the west and made his way to Wyoming, where he entered the employ of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, working in the timber. After the opening of the railroad he located at Beartown and subsequently removed to Evanston, where he first conducted a barber shop in a tent. The town was
83
HISTORY OF WYOMING
just being established and the conditions were those which one meets in pioneer communities. Mr. De Loney continued to work at the trade for several years and afterwards engaged in the liquor business. Through all the inter- vening years he has been a prominent factor in the public life of the com- munity and in its business circles. He was for four terms chosen to represent his district in the territorial legislature and after the admission of Wyoming into the union he served for two terms as a member of the state senate. Later he was appointed to the position of supervisor of the Teton forest reserve and he built the first house at Jackson, Wyoming. He now conducts most of the important business interests of Jackson. He was the founder of both Evanston and Jackson and remains active in the business of the latter place although he is now seventy-eight years of age. He was married in Evanston and his wife is still living at the age of sixty-five years. Their children are: Mrs. Clara Mills, of Evanston; Richard, who has passed away; Mrs. Hannalı Cook, also deceased; William C., living in Jackson, Wyoming; Nephi J., of this review; Joseph, deceased ; Herman; Mrs. Viola Lunbeck and Mrs. Frances Clark, all of Jackson, and James, who is a member of the national army.
Nephi J. De Loney spent his boyhood days largely as a pupil in the public schools of Evanston and then worked for his father, being employed for a time in his store at Jackson. Later he entered the accounting department of the Union Pacific Railroad Company. with which he was associated from 1899 until he was elected to his present position as county assessor in 1916. He was chosen to this office by a very large majority as the candidate of the republican party, the large vote being indicative of his personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him by his fellow townsmen.
Mr. De Loney was united in marriage to Miss Mae Stonebreaker, a native of Hoytsville, Utah, the marriage being celebrated in Evanston, November 23, 1901. Mrs. De Loney is a daughter of John P. Stonebreaker, of Hoytsville, who was one of the pioneer settlers of that section of Utah. Mr. and Mrs. De Loney have become the parents of four children: Claire, who was born in 1903; Charles, in 1905; Lucille, in 1912; and Burton, in 1914. The two older children are in school.
The parents are members of the Mormon church and fraternally Mr. De Loney is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Wood- men of the World. He is very widely and favorably known throughout this section of the state and enjoys the high regard, confidence and good will of all with whom he has been associated. He has always been a resident of Wyoming and in his life displays the spirit of western enterprise and progress.
HON. LOREN W. EMLER.
Hon. Loren W. Emler has been accorded high position by his fellow citizens. having been chosen to the chief office within their power to confer. He is now mayor of Rawlins and is giving to the city a businesslike and progressive admin- istration characterized by needed reforms and improvements. He has closely studied public questions and is working along lines of progress that are producing excellent results.
He was born in Ward, Colorado, August 5, 1872, a son of Daniel Emler, who was a native of Ohio and belonged to one of the old families of that state, of Ger- man lineage. He became a stationary engineer and, removing to the west, cast in his lot among the pioneer settlers of Colorado about the year 1871. He took up his abode in Boulder county and there engaged in his chosen avocation, con- tinuing his residence in Colorado until his death, which occurred in 1880, when he was thirty-six years of age. He passed away, however, in St. Louis, Missouri. He had become afflicted with quicksilver poisoning and was taken to St. Louis for treatment, but death claimed him. He had married Delia Hall, a native of
84
HISTORY OF WYOMING
Ohio and of English descent. She long survived him and passed away in Boulder, Colorado. in 1915 at the age of seventy-one years.
Hon. Loren W. Emler, their only child, was educated in the public and high schools of Boulder, pursuing his studies to the age of sixteen years, when he started out to earn his own living and entered upon an apprenticeship to the plumber's trade, with which business he has since been identified. He became an expert workman in that line and on the Ist of March, 1906, he removed to Rawlins, where he immediately became connected with the J. A. Bennett Hard- ware Company, with which he has since been identified. He also has other busi- ness interests, for he is conducting a ranch at Meeker, Colorado. Thoroughness characterizes everything that he undertakes and his business efforts have been followed by excellent results.
At Grand Junction, Colorado, on the 15th of December, 1910, Mr. Emler was united in marriage to Miss Grace Beemer, a native of that place, her parents being pioneer settlers of Grand Junction. In his political views Mr. Emler has always been a democrat and worker in support of the party and for the advancement of civic interests. He closely studies the vital questions and issues of the day effect- ing the welfare of city and state, and his progressive spirit led to his nomination to the office of mayor of Rawlins, to which position he was elected in 1916, so that he is now the chief executive of the city-an important position in this era of national crisis, when his duty involves not only the direction of the ordinary affairs but all those questions which have to do with the suppression of anti- American spirit. He is proving adequate to the situation and has the support of the best people of the city. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having been made a member of the organization at Boulder, Colorado, twenty-three years ago. He has filled all of the offices in the subordinate lodge and is a loyal advocate of the purposes of the organiza- tion.
ALEXANDER BROWN HAMILTON, M. D.
Dr. Alexander Brown Hamilton is one of the pioneer physicians of Laramie and throughout the entire period of his practice in the city, covering a quarter of a century, he has maintained a foremost place in public regard as a skilled and competent physician and surgeon.
He was born in Rouseville, Pennsylvania, January 3, 1861, a son of the late David Hamilton, who was also a native of the Keystone state and a representa- tive of an old Pennsylvania family of Scotch-Irish lineage. The family was founded in America at an early period in the development of the new world and representatives of the name participated in the War of 1812. David Hamilton became a successful agriculturist of Pennsylvania, where he resided to the time of his death, which occurred October 25, 1909. when he had reached the age of seventy-nine years. In politics he was an active republican, working untiringly for the success of his party yet never seeking office as a reward for party fealty. His religious faith was that of the Presbyterian church. He married Susan Offutt, a native of Pennsylvania and a representative of one of the old families of that state of English descent founded in America prior to the Revolutionary war. A representative of this branch of the family was a brother-in-law of Captain James Cook, the famous explorer of Australia and the South Sea, and discoverer of the Hawaiian Islands, where he was murdered. Offutt and Cook were sailors together in their younger years. Mrs. Hamilton passed away in April, 1905, at the age of seventy-five years. By her marriage she had become the mother of nine children, seven of whom are yet living.
Dr. Alexander B. Hamilton, who was the third in order of birth and is the only one living in Wyoming, pursued his education in the Grove City College of Grove City, Pennsylvania. His early life to the age of nineteen years was
a B stormmittos
87
HISTORY OF WYOMING
spent upon the home farm and he then started out on his own account, taking up the profession of teaching, which he followed in Lawrence county, Penn- sylvania, through two winter terms in 1881 and 1882. He regarded this, how- ever, merely as an initial step to other professional labor, for it was his desire to become a member of the medical profession and with that end in view he entered the Western Reserve Medical Department at Cleveland, Ohio, and was graduated therefrom with the M. D. degree in March, 1886. He immediately entered upon active practice at Garland, Pennsylvania, where he continued until the fall of 1892, when he removed to Youngstown, Ohio, but there remained only until the spring of 1893, when he heard and heeded the call of the west and made his way to Laramie, where he has since lived, being continuously engaged in practice during the intervening period, covering a quarter of a cen- tury. He was one of the pioneer physicians of the city and his ability brought him prominently to the front, a position which he has always been able to main- tain by reason of his wide reading, his close study and his investigations, which have kept him in touch with the most advanced and progressive methods manifest in the practice of medicine and surgery. He belongs to the Albany County Medical Society, the Wyoming State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He also has other business interests, being vice president and one of the directors of the First State Bank of Laramie.
On the 10th of September, 1885, Dr. Hamilton was united in marriage at Plaingrove, Pennsylvania, to Miss Margaret E. Martin, a native of the Keystone state and a daughter of the late Thomas and Maria (Jordan) Martin, who were representatives of prominent Pennsylvania families and have both passed away.
In public affairs Dr. Hamilton has taken an active and helpful interest and his efforts have contributed in marked degree to general progress and advance- ment. He is treasurer of the Albany County Free Public Library and he has cooperated in many movements that have had to do with intellectual progress. For the past seven years he has served on the executive board of the University of Wyoming. Politically he maintains an independent course, voting according to the dictates of his judgment, and religiously he is connected with the First Presbyterian church. He stands as a splendid example of a self-made man. He worked his own way through college and through the medical school, and his advancement is due entirely to his own efforts, his laudable ambition and his high purpose. He stands not only as one of the leading representatives of his profes- sion but also as one of the most prominent factors in connection with public and civic matters in Laramie and is widely and favorably known throughout the entire state.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.