USA > Wyoming > History of Wyoming, Volume II > Part 9
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CLARENCE A. SLONAKER.
Clarence A. Slonaker is one of the enterprising business men of Douglas, where he is conducting business in the ice and coal trade and also has a transfer line. He was born in Pennsylvania on the Ist of April, 1867, and is a son of John P. and Mary Slonaker. He acquired his education in the public schools of his native state, passing through consecutive grades to the high school, and in young manhood he devoted his attention to various lines of business. He was employed in a store in the east for fourteen years and when thirty-five years of age he bade adieu to friends in that section of the country and made his way westward, for he believed that better business oppor- tunities might be secured in this section of the country. Douglas, Wyoming. became his destination and here he worked for a number of years. Fven- tually he turned his attention to the ice trade and gradually developed his inter- ests until he now handles ice and coal and also conducts a transfer business. His interests along these various lines have constantly grown and developed
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and his patronage is now extensive, making his business one of the profitable enterprises of Douglas. His equipment includes ten teams and one auto truck and he employs twelve men.
In November, 1891, Mr. Slonaker was united in marriage to Miss Belle Chambers and they have become the parents of five sons and three daughters, namely: Thomas Urie, Ollie, John, Charles, Clarence, Helen, Thelma and Vic- toria, all at home with the exception of Thomas Urie, the eldest, who is serv- ing his country in the United States Navy.
In his political views Mr. Slonaker is an earnest democrat and while not a politician in the commonly accepted sense of office seeking, he has served as county treasurer of Converse county for four years, and was a most faith- ful custodian of the public funds. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons as a member of the lodge at Douglas and he also belongs to the Commercial Club. He is interested in civic movements that have to do with the welfare and upbuilding of Douglas and is devoted to the best interests of his adopted state. A spirit of progress has actuated him at all points in his career and he is classed with the valued and representative citizens of Converse county.
HON. FRANK L. HOUX.
Hon. Frank L. Houx, secretary of state for the second term and acting gov- ernor of Wyoming, has in many ways left the impress of his individuality upon the history of the state, not only as its chief executive but also as the pro- moter of those material interests which take cognizance of the natural resources of the state, leading to its settlement and upbuilding. He has studied closely many of the problems of Wyoming and 'has been active with those who have done much toward promoting its irrigation projects, thus greatly enhancing the productiveness of the land.
A native of Missouri, he was born in Lexington on the 12th of December, 1854, and is a son of George W. and Fannie (Price) Houx. The father was a farmer by occupation and served for four years in the Confederate army under General Price, who was an uncle of his wife. Both Mr. and Mrs. George W. Houx have passed away. They had a family of three sons and three daughters.
Governor Houx, who was the second in order of birth, was educated in pri- vate schools of Missouri and also had the benefit of instruction in a high school and in a business college, attending Shaw's Business College at Kansas City. He afterward took up the study of law, reading in the office of John S. Blackwell, of Lexington, Missouri, but did not complete his course. Afterward he turned his attention to commercial pursuits, in which he was engaged for ten years, and in 1886 he went west to Montana, where he engaged in the live stock business for ten years. He then removed to Cody, Wyoming, where he took up his abode on the 16th of June, 1896. Here he has since made his home and it is in the vicinity of Cody that his business interests largely center. In 1901 Hon. Frank L. Houx was elected the first mayor of Cody, while from 1902 to 1903 he served as police judge. For the terms from 1905 until 1909 he was again elected to the office of mayor. For a time he was associated with Colonel William F. Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill, in the construction of the Cody canal and in the settlement of the lands which then were under their united interests, and these enterprises constituted an important element in the growth and progress of that section of the state. Recognizing the possibilities for development in that section of the state, he has put forth most earnest efforts to advance its up- building and his labors have been farreaching and resultant.
Endowed by nature with qualities that work for leadership, Frank L. Houx has been called upon to serve in many public positions of honor and trust. He was the first mayor of Cody and later again occupied the position for four years,
HON. FRANK L. HOUX
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thus largely directing the policy of the city during its formative period. In the tall ot 1910 he was elected secretary of state, the first and only democrat ever chosen to the office in Wyoming. After four years' service he was reelected in 1914, so that he is now occupying the position for the second term, which extends until 1919. When Governor John B. Kendrick was elected to the United States senate, Frank L. Houx, as secretary of state, became governor and is therefore the chief executive of Wyoming at the present time.
Governor Houx has been married twice. He first wedded Miss Augusta Camp in 1875 and in 1896 she passed away. Their children were: Carrie P., now the wife of Joseph Newell; Florence, the wife of Richard Marlow ; and Earl. In 1898 Governor Houx was again married, his second union being with Miss Ida Mason Christy, a daughter of Joseph and Hannah Christy, and the children of this marriage are Christy, Vera, Mercedes. and Thora.
Governor Houx has always given his political allegiance to the democratic party and has been one of the most active workers in party ranks in his state. He has closely studied the vital and significant problems of the age and keeps abreast with the best thinking men in their attitude concerning the questions which have to do with the welfare and upbuilding of commonwealth and country. Fraternally he is a Royal Arch Mason and his religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church. He is fond of fishing, hunting and other phases of ont- door life, to which he turns for needed rest and recreation. In manner he is genial. affable and kindly, and his cordiality is unfeigned, for he feels a deep in- terest in his fellowmen and their welfare and believes that every citizen should have a chance to develop the best that is in him.
For the last eight years he has been very active in prison reform and has made resultful efforts for the benefit of the condition of the convicts. In order to keep informed in regard to the conditions prevailing in the prisons, he has kept in close touch with the warden and has for a length of time been a member of the board of pardons, of which he is now chairman. He has been a forceful advocate of prohibition for many years and has been active in bringing about temperance conditions and molding public opinion in regard to the adoption of this important measure. He has made numerous speeches for the cause and especially one of his lectures is famous that is based upon his personal experiences during his long years of residence in the west.
An enumeration of the men of the present generation in Wyoming who have won honor and public recognition for themselves and at the same time have honored the state to which they belong would be incomplete were there failure to make prominent reference to the one whose name initiates this review, for in every connection he has borne himself with such signal dignity and honor as to gain the respect of all. He is not only a political leader but has been and is distinctively a man of affairs and one who has wielded a wide influence. A strong mentality, invincible courage, a most determined individuality have so entered into his makeup as to make him a natural leader of men and a director of opinion.
JOHN G. RUMSEY.
A spirit of enterprise seems a part of the very atmosphere of the west. There is continually opportunity which is a call to action and a spur to ambi- tion. The constant growth of the district offers splendid chances for business development and success is being continually won by the men of sagacity and industry. To this class belongs John G. Rumsey, who is now the president and manager of the Stock Growers' Mercantile Company of Rock Springs.
He was born January 29, 1856, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a son of the late James M. Rumsey, who was a native of New Jersey and was of English descent, the family, however, having been founded in America at an early period by James Rumsey, the inventor of the first steamboat in association
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with George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. The trial of this boat was made on the Potomac, after experiments on a pond on his farm in Virginia. He came to America prior to the Revolutionary war and his descendants were among those who participated in the struggle for independence, one of the family serving as a colonel in the immediate command of Washington, and a letter written to this colonel by General Washington is now in possession of his descendant, John G. Rumsey of this review. James M. Rumsey became a successful dry goods merchant of Portsmouth, Ohio, removing from Pennsyl- vania to the Buckeye state prior to the Civil war. The business was conducted under the firm name of James M. Rumsey & Company and at one time was the largest wholesale dry goods enterprise in the state. At the time of the outbreak of hostilities between the north and the south James M. Rumsey put aside all other considerations and went to the front, serving for ninety days. Following his return he continued a factor in the commercial inter- ests of Portsmouth and there developed a business of large and gratifying proportions. He carried forward to successful completion whatever he under- took and in his vocabulary there was no such word as fail. His interests and activities contributed to the material progress of the community in which he lived. In 1897 he removed to the west, taking up his abode in Denver, Colo- rado, where he lived retired, enjoying the fruits of a well spent life until called to the home beyond. He was born July 29, 1829, and had reached the age of seventy-four years when called to his final rest in Denver in 1903. In early manhood he had wedded Harriett A. Gaffy, who was born in New York city, November 18, 1832, and belonged to one of the old families of the Empire state, her father being Captain John S. Gaffy, who through three administra- tions was connected with the United States custom house in New York. Prior to that time he was a captain on the Hudson river on one of the boats of the Stevens Steamship Line, which also owned a number of ocean-going vessels. The Gaffvs were of Irish descent and in the maternal line the ancestry was Scotch. Mrs. Rumsey is still living and makes her home at Rock Springs. By her marriage she became the mother of seven children, four of whom survive, namely : John G .; Eliza W., a resident of Rock Springs; James M., who is a banker of Rawlins and is also a well known stock man of Wyoming: and William T., who is yet living in Rock Springs.
John G. Rumsey was quite young when his parents removed from Phila- delphia to Ohio, so that his education was acquired in the public schools of Portsmouth and later he entered Princeton College, in which he pursued his course to the junior year. At the age of eighteen he started out to provide for his own support and has since been dependent entirely upon his own re- sources, his progress being the result of unfaltering industry and laudable am- bition on his part. He served an apprenticeship in the mammoth mercantile establishment of A. T. Stewart & Company of New York city. the predecessors of the establishment of John Wanamaker. That store at the time was the largest in the world, having over four thousand employes. There Mr. Rumsey remained for four years and later he entered the employ of the Markley-Alling Company of Chicago, wholesale hardware dealers, with whom he continued for three and a half years. He was afterward general manager for United States Senator George L. Shoup of Idaho, being associated with him in gen- eral merchandise interests at Bonanza, Idaho, for a period of three years.
Mr. Rumsey's identification with Wyoming dates from the Ist of December, 1906, when he arrived at Fort Steele and became general manager for the Cosgriff Brothers Company, with whom he continued until the 4th of March, 1907, when he removed to Rock Springs and in connection with others pur- chased the business in which he is now engaged and which was then conducted under the name of Tim Kinney & Company. This was one of the first mer- cantile establishments in the state. On the 4th of March. 1907, the business was incorporated under the style of the Stock Growers' Mercantile Company and from that time has been one of the successful and growing commercial
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interests of Wyoming and is today the most extensive general mercantile estab- lishment in the state conducting both a wholesale and retail business. The officers of the company are: John G. Rumsey, president; WV. H. Gottchie, of Rock Springs, vice president; J. W. Hay, secretary ; while Mr. Rumsey is also the treasurer. As the executive head of this enterprise he has done much to shape its policy and control its interests. The company has ever been most careful concerning the personnel of the house, the line of goods carried, the treatment rendered customers and the methods followed. The reputation of the house for integrity and reliability is an unassailable one and in all that they undertake here the officers are actuated by a spirit of progressiveness that has brought good results. Mr. Rumsey is also president of the J. K. Moore Company at Fort Washakie and is the president of the Arapahoe Trading Company of Arapahoe, Wyoming. He is a man of marked business ability, forceful and resourceful, and carries forward to successful completion what- ever he undertakes. The steps in his orderly progression are easily discernible. Obstacles and difficulties in his path have seemed but to serve as a stimulus and an impetus to renewed effort on his part and he has ever been watchful of all indications pointing to success in the lines of his trade and he meets every emergency that arises with the confidence that comes from a right conception of things and an habitual regard for what is best in the exercise of human activities. He now occupies an attractive home in Rock Springs, where his mother also resides, being hale and hearty at the age of eight-five years and keenly interested in current events. Mr. Rumsey delights in surrounding her with all of the comforts of life, thus repaying her in filial care for her devo- tion to him in his youthful years.
In his political views Mr. Rumsey is a republican, while his religious faith is that of the Episcopal church. Fraternally he is an Elk and a thirty-second degree Mason and has crossed the sands of the desert with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
ROBERT H. HOMER.
Robert H. Homer, a prominent figure in banking circles and a gentleman of liberal culture, "well descended and well bred," is president of the Albany County Bank of Laramie and in other connections has been a leading factor in the devel- opment and progress of his adopted city and state. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, May 16, 1849, and is a representative of one of the oldest families of that state of English lineage. The family was founded in America by Captain John Homer, who came to the new world in 1672. He owned a sailing vessel and on board his ship came from Great Britain to the new world when twenty-five years of age. He took up his abode in Boston and his descendants have since been found in Massachusetts and have also scattered to other sections of the Union. He married Margery Stephens and passed away in Boston, November I, 1717, leaving six sons and two daughters.
The father of Robert H. Homer was the late Peter Thatcher Homer, who was born in Boston, February 22, 1804, and was a successful dry goods merchant and importer of his native city. At the age of twenty-one years he became a member of the dry goods firm of B. F. Adams & Company and spent many years in England as the representative of that firm, purchasing goods direct from the mills and otherwise looking after the foreign trade. He thus became intimately acquainted with many of England's leading manufacturers and representative people. In time, through changes in the personnel of the firm, the style of Homer, Adams & Company was assumed and their house was one of the leading com- mercial enterprises of New England. Mr. Homer was also prominent in railway building in that section of the country, was actively identified with manufacturing interests and was the founder of a large number of corporations which con-
Robert H Homes
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tributed in marked measure to the business development and substantial prog- ress of his city and state. He was a stanch democrat in politics and was at one time a candidate for congress as the opponent of Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, who was elected. During the third term of Governor John A. Andrews, in 1863, Mr. Homer was made a member of Governor Andrews' council and thus served through the Civil war, representing the first Massachusetts district as councillor. He was very active in affairs bearing upon the welfare of state and nation and became widely known throughout the entire country. He died in 1886 at the age of eighty-two years and his remains were interred in Mount Auburn ceme- tery in Boston. His father was a soldier of the War of 1812 and witnessed the fight between the Shannon and the Chesapeake. He, too, was active in affairs which had to do with the upbuilding of commonwealth and country. The mother of Robert H. Homer bore the maiden name of Caroline Bunker and was a daugh- ter of William J. Bunker, of New York, a representative of one of the old fami- lies of the Empire state and of English descent. Mrs. Homer passed away three months prior to the death of her husband. In their family were four children, three of whom are still living: Anna B., who is a resident of Boston; Margaret, the wife of Charles Davis, of that city; and Robert H., of this review. One son, William Homer, is deccased.
Robert H. Homer obtained his education in the public schools of Boston, which he attended until he reached the age of seventeen years and then started out in the business world in connection with the dry goods trade, representing the firm of Harding, Converse & Gray, with which he continued for three years. He next went abroad and was in France during the period of the Franco- Prussian war. On his return from Europe he removed to the west, settling in Albany county, Wyoming, in August, 1871. Here he turned his attention to the business of stock raising and ranching and he became one of the most prominent ranchmen of the state. He is the owner of Flag Ranch, one of Wyoming's finest ranch properties, splendidly equipped. The exceptionally attractive residence thereon, shown elsewhere in this work, was planned and constructed under the personal direction and supervision of Mr. and Mrs. Homer. It was built entirely of home products, constructed of materials found on the ranch, save the windows and doors, and is artistic in design, workmanship and furnishings. Mr. Homer has witnessed many of the events which figure on the pages of Wyoming's history in early times and has vivid recollection of those trying and turbulent border days. His reminiscences of the state during its formative period are most inter- esting. Not only did he become prominently connected with ranching and stock raising, but has extended his efforts into other fields with good results. He became one of the incorporators of the Laramie National Bank and was at one time president of the Wyoming Bank of Laramie, both of which have since been absorbed by the First National Bank of Laramie. Mr. Homer became president of the Albany County National Bank in January, 1901, and has since occupied that position, covering a period of sixteen years, during which time he has largely shaped the policy of the institution. He has ever recognized the fact that the bank is most worthy of support which most carefully safeguards the interests of its depositors, and in the conduct of his business he has furthermore displayed keen discrimination and sound sagacity.
On the 26th of February, 1888, in Providence, Rhode Island, Mr. Homer was united in marriage to Miss Belle Stuart White, a native of Dorchester, Massa- chusetts, and a descendant of Peregrine White, the first child born after the land- ing of the Pilgrims from the Mayflower, while through the Stuarts she comes of an old New England family of Scotch lineage, being a descendant of Maria Stuart. Her grandmother in the maternal line was Susan Moies, who at the time of her death was the oldest member of the Congregational Board of New England and a confrere of Dr. Constantine Blodgett, a noted Congregational divine. Mrs. Homer is a lady of refinement, cultured and well bred, whose education has been supplemented by extensive travel, bringing broad general information. She has readily adapted herself to western life and during her long Vol. II-5
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residence in Wyoming has become endeared to hosts of warm friends, Mr. and Mrs Homer occupying a very enviable position in the leading social circles of their section of the state.
Mr. Homer gives his political endorsement to the democratic party and served as a member of the legislature of Wyoming from 1877 until 1883, or for three terms of two years each, during which he gave thoughtful consideration to all the vital questions which came up for settlement and left the impress of his individuality and ability in large measure upon the laws of the state. He is prominently known in club circles throughout the country, holding membership in the Somerset Club of Boston, the Boston Athletic Club, the Boston Country Club, the Reform Club of New York city and the Rocky Mountain Club of New York city. He holds membership in the Unitarian church in Laramie and he is interested in all those forces which have to do with the uplift of the individual and the betterment of the community.
He is interested in those things which have cultural value in the lives of men and he has greatly enjoyed travel, with the opportunities which it brings. In company with Mrs. Homer, he has traveled extensively over Europe and in fact has visited almost every country on the face of the globe, making several trips around the world and having personal acquaintance with the distinguished men of many countries. He was a national commissioner in Paris during the World's Fair held there in 1900. His ranch home, which he occupies, nine miles south of Laramie, contains a rare and valuable collection of art and other treasures gathered from all parts of the universe, suggesting the artistic tastes of both Mr. and Mrs. Homer. This is a source of great interest and pride to the owner and to the citizens of the community.
Mr. Homer is indeed a most highly cultured gentleman of innate refinement, is a magnetic speaker and is widely known for his lovable character. He has the faculty of placing all at ease in his presence and there is one point in his career to which the old settlers refer with pride-that as a financier or business man he has always been the same genial, courteous gentleman whose ways are those of refinement and whose word no man can question.
A. D. KELLEY.
A. D. Kelley is one of the well known representatives of commercial enter- prise in Cheyenne, being president of the Kelley Mercantile Company. Under that name he is successfully engaged in the wholesale and retail grocery business.
He was born in Indiana on the 2d of February, 1858, and is a son of Francis M. and Jane (Burge) Kelley, the former a native of Ohio, while the latter was born in Kentucky. A. D. Kelley pursued his education in the public schools of Indiana and of Nebraska, the family having removed to the latter state when he was but seven years of age and before there was a railroad west of the Missis- sippi river. He feels, however, that his most valuable lessons have been gained in the school of experience. He has tried to benefit by each new experience that has come to him and by reading and study he has greatly broadened his knowledge. For a year he engaged in teaching school, after which he made his way to the Black Hills during the gold excitement in that section of the country. He was there engaged in prospecting and freighting for two years. On the 16th of Feb- ruary, 1878, he came to Cheyenne and was employed in a grocery store for four years, during which period he carefully saved his earnings, ambitious to some day engage in business on his own account. He then felt that his capital justified him in taking the step and he at once established the wholesale and retail grocery house which he has since conducted, his business steadily growing as the years have gone by and as this section of the country has become more and more thickly settled. He is today active in control of his interests as the president of the Kelley Mercantile Company and in this undertaking has met with very substantial and
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