WALKER BROTHERS
The four Walker brothers—Samuel S., Joseph R., David F. and Matthew
H.—were sons of Matthew and Mary (Long) Walker and were all born at
Yeadon, Yorkshire, England. In the spring of 1850 the mother and her
children came to America, landing at New Orleans, the father coming by
way of New York. They met at St. Louis, where the father engaged in the
mercantile business, buying many of his goods at auction. He died in
St. Louis and the family came to Salt Lake City in 1852. David had been
engaged as a clerk in the store of William Nixon in St. Louis and
continued in his employ after Mr. Nixon opened a store in Salt Lake
City. Joseph R. and Samuel S. had been employed as clerks in St. Louis
by a merchant named Hill. Upon coming to Utah Samuel engaged in farming
and David and Joseph entered the employ of Mr. Nixon. In 1856 Joseph
took charge of a merchant train for Mr. Nixon bound for Carson, Nev.
(then in Utah). When Mr. Nixon went out of business in Salt Lake, David
became a farmer until Camp Floyd was established, when he was made post
storekeeper there.
All this time Matthew, the youngest of the brothers, born in 1845, had
been living with his mother. When the three older brothers organized
the mercantile firm of Walker Brothers in 1858, Matthew entered the
store as a clerk. The firm had only a small capital, but P. J. Hickey
offered them credit to the amount of $10,000 or $15,000. Camp Floyd was
evacuated in 1861 and the Walker Brothers purchased a large quantity of
the Government stores at extremely low prices, thus laying the
foundation of their fortunes.
At that time their place of business was in what was known as "Daft's
old store," but a little later they moved to "Walkers' Corner." In 1859
they established the first bank in Utah and they erected the first
stamp mill ever put into operation in the state. Whether in mining,
mercantile pursuits or banking, the Walkers established a reputation
for integrity and executive ability, and they have left their impress
upon the State of Utah.
[Source: Utah since statehood:
historical and biographical, Volume 1; Edited by Noble Warrum; Publ.
1919; Transcribed and submitted by Andrea Stawski Pack.]
JOSEPH ROBINSON WALKER
The name Walker for more than sixty years has had a continuous
identification with the business and financial life of Utah and no
family name has during that period constantly occupied a more prominent
position in the various channels of progress and development or
contributed more largely to the upbuilding of both city and state.
This family was among the pioneers to come to the territory now
comprised within the state of Utah and consisted of the brave little
mother and her four sons— Samuel S., Joseph R., David F., and Matthew
H., ranging in age from seven to sixteen years. These four boys were
destined to become history-making citizens of the territory, honored,
talented and possessing the varied qualities of men who accomplish
great things. There was not a failure in the family and perhaps this
fact may be better appreciated and understood if a glance is taken of
their sturdy English ancestry and the spirit in the face of hardship
which gave them their priceless heritage.
The family line of the Walker is traced back as far as the year 1700.
Matthew Walker, the father, was a resident of Yeadon, Yorkshire,
England, and as an innkeeper and dealer in cloths had been very
successful, so that at the age of thirty-six practically retired from
business. Unfortunate investments later swept away his fortune so that
his attention was attracted to America, where he planned to take his
family and start anew. His wife was Mercy Long, also a native of
Yorkshire, and to them were born the four sons named above and three
daughters, Emma, Mercy and one other who died young. Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, was the destination of the family in America, when the
mother and her six children preceded the father to Liverpool by about
six weeks and sailed on the vessel "Hartley" for New Orleans. After
landing at the latter port the journey was resumed up the Mississippi
river to St. Louis, where they were joined by the husband and father a
few weeks later, who immediately opened up a small business.
Brighter opportunities and the irresistible lure of the new country had
brought them to America but instead of finding here the good fortune
for which they had hoped, prayed and of which they dreamed, the next
year they met with the direst of tragedies, when the father and two
daughters were fatally stricken during the cholera scourge of 1851. The
situation which then confronted the mother and her four sons may well
be imagined; it was one approaching utter desperation and which would
have daunted even braver hearts. The boys secured positions in fancy
goods and notion stores, Joseph R. going into one on Broadway in St.
Louis. In this manner the sons managed to support themselves and their
mother as well as accumulate a small capital. All four of the boys
early exhibited the talents of born merchants and in the few months of
apprenticeship which they served in St. Louis they learned many things
pertinent to business life and at the same time came into the notice of
William Nixon, a prominent merchant of St. Louis and later known as the
"father of Utah merchants."
At this time the broad areas beyond the continental divide were
attracting attention, especially the gold excitement in California, and
too, land thought to be arid waste was blossoming under the care of the
settlers, communities were growing, business of all kinds was being
established, so it was only natural that Mercy Walker and her sons
should consider seriously the advisability of emigrating to the new
country. In April, 1852, their decision was made.
They disposed of most of their household goods, purchased a stout wagon
and some oxen and then joined a wagon-train which was beginning the
journey across the plains. This long trip proved to be one of great
hardship, super induced in large measure by the fact that they lost
most of their cattle en route and were forced to trade the remainder to
the Indians, in exchange for ponies and other equipment with which to
continue the journey. The wagon train halted at Green river, Wyoming,
and the Walkers proceeded alone, arriving in Salt Lake City on
September 22, 1852. Their wagon was drawn into the settlement by what
was then known as a "spike team," consisting of one steer, one heifer
and an Indian pony, rather a motley equipage, but one which they traded
for an adobe house and a small plot of ground, where they lived for a
time. Afterward they moved from this site, which was in the third ward,
into the seventh ward, and leased a small log house where years later
the magnificent Walker residences were to be located. The intrepid
mother lived long enough to see her sons well started on life's
journey, then passed away in Salt Lake City in December, 1863.
Until 1856, Joseph R. Walker and his brothers worked during the winter
in hauling wood from the mountains. Meanwhile, however, the Indians had
begun to attack the settlements and were killing a great many people,
and among the volunteers who enlisted to help protect the inhabitants
of the farming regions near Salt Lake was Joseph R. Walker. When the
excitement has apparently subsided, thirteen men—Mr. Walker among the
number—were detailed to drive a herd of cattle into Salt Lake City, a
distance of eighty miles. The first night out they took proper
precautions against surprise at night by Indians, and the result proved
their wisdom. The stockade was attacked during the night by the
Indians, who made several furious assaults in an effort to stampede the
cattle and horses. The foe was beaten off, however, with a loss of five
or six of their number, and without having damaged the stockade, but
two horses and twenty cattle were shot and one of the men in the detail
was wounded.
To hearken back a little, Joseph R. Walker, was born August 29, 1836,
at Yeadon, a small place near Leeds, Yorkshire, England, the second son
of his parents Matthew and Mercy (Long) Walker. He received a good
practical education for a boy before leaving his native land and early
gave promise of being of great assistance to his father in mercantile
lines. The trading instincts of Joseph R. Walker prompted him early in
his career in Utah to obtain a mule team, a wagon, and a stock of dry
goods and notions, all on credit, and to begin business on his own
account. His early training then proved of value to him, and this,
combined with unusual talent and address, made him successful from the
start. The entire outfit was paid for in the first few months, and from
that time forward his progress was rapid. In 1856 Mr. Walker started
for California, and in 1857 settled in Carson valley as clerk for a
trader, and later built a store at Gold canyon, in a placer-mining camp
named Johnstown, near the afterwards famous Comstock lode. Here he
found occupation and profit in a large trade and the exchange of goods
to miners for gold dust.
In August, 1858, Mr. Walker returned to Utah. General Albert Sidney
Johnston had established a camp of United States troops at Camp Floyd,
about fifty miles from Salt Lake, and Mr. Walker, repairing to that
point, served as a clerk with the army long enough to find out what the
situation was. and then with his three brothers, opened a store at Camp
Floyd with a general supply of dry goods, groceries, cigars and
tobacco, and such other articles as could be sold to the soldiers, all
bought in Salt Lake on credit, at sixty per cent, advance on first cost
and thirty cents more per pound added for freight. The first year the
brothers made a profit of twenty thousands dollars. Meanwhile, in Salt
Lake, in 1859, the Walker brothers had opened a large general store and
bank, and this business was the beginning of the largest mercantile and
financial institutions in the intermountain country, the Walker
Brothers Dry Goods Company, and the Walker Brothers Bankers.
The original place of business in Salt Lake was opened in a building
known as "Daft's Old Store," on the west side of South Main street.
Later the property almost opposite on the east side of the street was
bought, where the business was conducted until it was removed to the
northwest corner of Main and Second South. A building was erected upon
the new site, the front part of the structure on Main street being
utilized for the dry goods department and the rear accommodating the
grocery section, also a small banking business, which had been
inaugurated, principally in favor of the trade and to further the
selling of goods. But the banking business grew at a startling speed,
owing to the immense popularity and thorough reliability of the owners,
and finally they were led to establish the Union National Bank, which
was a very successful venture but was later merged with the Walker
Brothers Bank.
In 1891 Joseph R. Walker, with his brothers, erected at the southwest
corner of Main and Third South streets the home of the Walker Brothers
Dry Goods Company, now one of the largest and most exclusive of the
department stores in Utah and still under the management of the Walker
family. This with the handsome new skyscraper known as the Walker Bank
building on the northeast corner of Main and Second South streets are
two great institutions, leaders in their respective fields, which have
arisen from the energy, foresight and ability of the Walker brothers.
Illustrative of the difficulties Utah merchants labored under in the
early times, it is stated that, when in 1864 Mr. Walker went to New
York City and bought a stock of goods worth two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars, he had to pay fifteen to twenty cents a pound for
freight and found that it was impossible to get insurance on the stock
while it was in transit, and when the goods were unloaded in Utah, they
had cost him three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Mr. Walker was
always a merchant and banker but was later largely interested in real
estate in Utah and California and in mining enterprises in both states.
The first stamp mill in Utah was built by the Walker brothers in the
Ophir district.
Joseph R. Walker was the "father" of Butte, Montana, as in that great
mining district he was a pioneer. The town of Walkerville, was named
for him and it was in his employ that Marcus Daly went to Butte. Mr.
Daly had been superintendent of the mine at Ophir for Mr. Walker, who
took him to the Butte camp to superintend properties there.
In addition to being the leading spirit in the immense Walker Brothers
Dry Goods Company, Joseph R. Walker was a member of Walker Brothers,
Bankers, and president of the Alice Gold & Silver Mining Company,
at Walkerville, Montana, and extensively interested in mines and other
enterprises in various sections of the west. While he derived great
pleasure from the management of large interests, he was a lover of home
and family. He contributed liberally to worthy objects and promoted all
measures calculated to advance the welfare of the community in which he
lived. He was a strong, genial, capable man, untiring in labor, alert
to opportunity, a man of ideas and always sound in counsel. He was not
a politician, but a business man, but took the lively interest in
public affairs which every American citizen must feel. He died in the
early evening of January 6, 1901. His death left four sons and a
daughter, Joseph R. Jr., Charles A., Bert, Ray and Mrs. M. J. Cheesman.
His wife, formerly Mary A. Carson, died some years before. Two years
after the death of Mr. Walker, the heirs sold their interest in Walker
Brothers Bank, and acquired control of Walker Brothers Dry Goods
Company.
The "Tribune" at the time of Joseph R. Walker's death, said of him
editorially in part: "Joseph R. Walker has been one of the directing
forces in Utah for quite forty years. He was one of the strong pioneers
and in following the line of what he believed to be duty, he could not
be turned aside; neither the prospect of financial ruin nor of imminent
personal danger, for a moment made him recoil. When he believed that
there was a power here which threatened his independence as a man, and
was becoming a menace to the state, he did not hesitate a moment, but
sturdily, fairly, honestly and bravely opposed it. It was not a passing
crisis of a few days, but a long drawn out fight for years, and he
never wavered, never for an hour left friend or foe in doubt as to his
position. What he did too was without malice; if one hand was drawn
back to strike, the other was stretched out to save. In that way he
held the respect of his enemies even as he held the love of his
friends. In the business life of Utah for forty years, up to four or
five years ago when his health failed him, he was a very strong factor.
As the head of the bank and business of Walker Brothers; as the
president of extensive mining companies in Utah and Montana, he exerted
a controlling influence, not only in the business of which he was
directly interested but in the business of the state. On subjects of
national concernment, especially financial subjects, he was
magnificently equipped intellectually, and could give the reasons for
his belief in terms as clear as ever a judge used in delivering an
opinion.
"He was the most approachable of men; one of the most hospitable of men
under his own roof, and every appeal to his charity found him lending
an eager, willing ear. The love of his family for him was a kind of
worship, and the grief that will follow him to the grave will be
pitiable to see.
"Of all the strong men who have helped to build up and give character
to this city and state, we can think of no one who has borne his burden
more gently and bravely; no one has followed the exact line of duty
with less variation. The Utah of today bears the impress which J. R.
Walker stamped upon it; the character of the state is higher than it
would have been had he never walked these streets."
[Source: Utah since Statehood:
Historical and Biographical Volume 2; By Noble Warrum; Publ. 1919;
Transcribed and submitted by Andrea Stawski Pack.]
MATTHEW H. WALKER
Among the first pioneers to come to the territory now comprised within
the state of Utah was the Walker family, consisting of the brave little
mother and her four sons— Matthew H., Samuel S., Joseph R. and David
F.—the sons ranging in age from seven to sixteen years. These four boys
were destined to become history-making citizens of the territory,
honored, talented and possessing the varied qualities of men who
accomplish great things. There was not a failure in the family and
perhaps this fact may be better appreciated and understood if a glance
is taken of their sturdy English ancestry and the spirit in the face of
hardship which gave them their priceless heritage.
The family line of the Walkers is traced back as far as the year 1700.
Matthew Walker, the father, was a resident of Yeadon, Yorkshire,
England. He was a wool merchant until unfortunate railroad investments
reduced him financially and he became an' innkeeper. His wife was Mercy
Long Walker, also a native of Yorkshire, and to them were born the four
sons named above and three daughters, Emma, Mercy and one other who
died young. Matthew Walker learned of the Mormon faith in England and,
like hundreds of others, prepared to make the long journey to America.
The mother and her six children preceded him to Liverpool by about six
weeks and sailed on the vessel "Hartley" for New Orleans. After landing
at the latter port the journey was resumed up the Mississippi river to
St. Louis, where they were joined by the husband and father a few weeks
later, who immediately opened up a small business.
Brighter opportunities and the irresistible lure of the new country had
brought them to America, but instead of finding here the good fortune
for which they had hoped, prayed and of which they dreamed, the next
year they met with the direst of tragedies, when the father and two
daughters were fatally stricken during the cholera scourge of 1851. The
situation which then confronted the mother and her four sons may well
be imagined; it was one approaching utter desperation and which would
have daunted even braver hearts. The boys secured positions as peddlers
of fancy notions and in this way managed to keep themselves and their
mother away from actual want. All four of the boys early exhibited the
talents of born merchants and in the few months of apprenticeship which
they served in St. Louis they learned many things pertinent to business
life and at the same time came into the notice of William Nixon, a
prominent merchant of St. Louis and later known as the "father of Utah
merchants."
At this time the broad areas beyond the continental divide were
attracting attention, the mountains were yielding up their mineral
wealth, land thought to be arid waste was blossoming under the care of
the settlers, communities were growing, business of all kinds was being
established, so it was only natural that Mercy Walker and her sons
should consider seriously the advisability of emigrating to the new
country. In April, 1852, their decision was made.
They disposed of most of their household goods, purchased a stout wagon
and some oxen and then joined a wagon-train which was beginning the
journey across the plains. This long trip proved to be one of great
hardship, super induced in large measure by the fact that they lost
most of their cattle en route and were forced to trade the remainder to
the Indians, in exchange for ponies and other equipment with which to
continue the journey. The wagon train halted at Green River, Wyoming,
and the Walkers proceeded alone, arriving at Salt Lake City on
September 22, 1852. Their wagon was drawn into the settlement by what
was then known as a "spike team," consisting of one steer, one heifer
and an Indian pony, rather a motley equipage, but one which they traded
for an adobe house and a small plot of ground, where they lived for a
time. Afterward they moved from this site, which was in the third ward,
into the seventh ward, and leased a small log house where years later
the magnificent Walker residences were to be located.
Until 1856 Matthew H. Walker and his brothers worked during the winter
hauling wood from the mountains. In this manner the family began life
in Salt Lake City and during the period of little over a half century
grew to the position of one of the most influential, respected and
wealthy families of the whole west. The intrepid mother lived long
enough to see her sons well started on life's journey, then passed away
in Salt Lake City in December, 1863.
Joseph R. and David F. Walker found employment with their St. Louis
friend, William Nixon, whom "Rob" Walker accompanied to Carson Valley,
while David (known as Fred) remained behind and like his brother
"Sharp," already a farmer, engaged in agriculture. Matthew H. attended
the common schools.
To hearken back a little bit, Matthew H. Walker was born at Leadon,
Yorkshire, England. January 16, 1845, and was the youngest of the
Walker sons. The first seven years of his life were spent in his native
country, after which he accompanied his mother to America and to Utah,
as described in the above, and continued his schooling here until 1860.
In the year 1859 there was started the mercantile business which was to
make the Walker brothers famous. This was about one year after the
establishment of Camp Floyd by General Johnston. The coming of the
government troops had caused the return of the colonies previously sent
out from Salt Lake City and among those who then came home were William
Nixon and Joseph R. Walker. The latter continued in business with Nixon
at Salt Lake and his brother David also returned to Nixon's employ,
taking charge of a sutlership at Camp Floyd. Such was the situation
when the opportunity came to establish the firm. A representative of
Loud, Hosmer & Company, wholesale merchants of San Francisco, who
supplied Nixon with goods, offered to let the Walker brothers have a
stock on credit, amounting to fifteen thousand dollars in value
approximately. The offer was quickly accepted and a store was built at
Camp Floyd. The brothers soon acquired a very respectable fortune for
the day and when the time came for the departure of the troops,
entailing the loss of their best customers, they also found opportunity
to obtain vast stores of government goods at reasonable prices. This
purchased, they carted their stock and belongings and came to Salt Lake
City.
Business was opened in a building known as "Daft's Old Store" on the
west side of Main street. Later the property on the east side of the
street was bought, where the Walker Bank is now located. A building was
erected upon the new site the front part of the structure being
utilized for the mercantile business and the rear accommodating a small
banking business, which had just been inaugurated, principally in favor
of the trade and to further the selling of goods. But the banking
business grew at a startling speed, owing to the immense popularity of
the owners, and finally they were led to establish the Union National
Bank, which was a very successful venture, but was later merged with
the Walker Brothers Bank.
In 1891 Matthew H. Walker, with his brothers, erected at the southwest
corner of Main and Third South streets the home of the Walker Brothers
Dry Goods Company. now one of the largest and most exclusive of the
department stores in Utah and still under the management of the Walker
family. This with the handsome new skyscraper known as the Walker Bank
building on the northeast corner of Main and Second South streets are
two great institutions, leaders in their respective fields, which have
arisen from the energy, foresight and ability of Matthew H. Walker and
his brothers.
After the death of J. R. Walker, which occurred January 6, 1901,
Matthew H. Walker gradually withdrew from the dry goods business and
turned his attention more to the banking, in which profession he was
widely and well known throughout the country. He purchased the
interests of his brother and in 1903 became the president of the
institution, which place he held until his death in the year 1916.
Further details concerning the Walker Brothers Bank itself may be found
in the banking chapter in Volume I.
During his life Matthew H. Walker was twice married. His first wife,
whom he married in 1865, was Elizabeth Carson, and to this union were
born two children— a daughter who died at fourteen years and John
Henry, now vice president of the Walker Brothers Bank. Mrs. Walker died
in 1896. Mr. Walker was married again to Angelena Andrews Hague, who
became the mother of a daughter, Francese Glenn Walker. Mrs. Walker was
born in London, England, and came to Salt Lake City when but a young
girl. She survives her husband and maintains her residence in both Salt
Lake City and Boston, at the same time carrying on with commendable
ability the works begun by Mr. Walker. Both she and Matthew H. Walker
were lovers of things artistic and in their home could be found many
examples of the finest of French painting as well as one of the most
complete private libraries in the west.
Politically, Matthew H. Walker never sought public office but always
considered himself affiliated with the republican party. The only
position which might be called political which he held was that of a
member of the school board from 1898 until 1902.
He liked outdoor life and those sports played in the open air and was
one of the early players of tennis in the city. In club life he was one
of the well known men, in fact has been spoken of as the factor of club
life in Salt Lake. His social qualities made for personal popularity
and he was ever a welcome figure in club meetings, being a prominent
member of the Alta, Commercial and Country Clubs. In social and
fraternal matters he took a great interest, was a Mason of high
standing, advancing through the various degrees of the order and imbued
at all times with the beneficent spirit that underlies the craft.
Moreover, in matters of citizenship he stood for those things which are
most worth while. He was never content to choose the second best and he
looked beyond the exigencies of the moment to the possibilities and
opportunities of the future. He gave hearty and generous aid and
cooperation to all movements that were calculated to upbuild city and
state, and his sound judgment also became a potent factor in shaping
public policy along many lines. He was a director of the Utah Power
& Light Company, the Independent Coke Company and was interested in
many other large corporations.
As a business man he was broad, courageous and successful, not of the
ultra conservative type, neither was he impulsive but willing to take a
chance. When he considered his course or position the right one he was
firm, determined and would fight to hold it. His business judgment was
of the best and his foresight was many times borne out by subsequent
results in a manner that gave him the reputation of being one of the
most farseeing men of his time. He was one of the largest holders of
real estate in Salt Lake and the heaviest holder of M. H. Walker Realty
Company, owners of the Walker Bank building. The old Walker Opera
House, now the Atlas block, which twice burned, the last time in 1903,
was another of his contributions to the growth of the city.
Matthew H. Walker was a representative of a family which won fame,
fortune and lasting honor. Of the four brothers, all made a long,
successful record. Matthew H. was the best known in Salt Lake City, for
here he always made his residence, while the other brothers found
interest in other states. Matthew H. Walker belonged to Utah and in the
history of the commonwealth, from the earliest days of the territory
down through the period of great development during statehood no name
was more dominant, more significant or more influential than his. His
death occurred July 29, 1916, and was the occasion of deep and
widespread regret by reason of the important place which he made for
himself as a man who for many years had been in the forefront of
everything which made for the advancement of the city.
The Salt Lake Tribune at the time of Mr. Walker's death said
editorially: "Wherever progressive civilization exists men of Matthew
H. Walker's type are held in highest esteem. It is the greatest honor
of such men that they take their part year after year in doing the
world's work well. They have won leadership by being servants of the
common good.
"Civilization imposes a heavy task upon its leaders, and the task has
become constantly heavier in these later years. Once having put the
hand to the plow it is difficult ever after to cease from labor. Death
comes in kindly fashion breathing rest and reward, to those who have
nobly and unfailingly fulfilled their task, no matter how heavy the
burden.
"Matthew Walker was one of the pioneers of our western civilization
which has grown into a great structure. The beginning and the
fulfillment appear to be typified by the two bank buildings that
confront each other on Main street—the one built in 1865 and the other,
the magnificent skyscraper, completed only a few years ago. Our
civilization has grown and offers vast opportunities and much comfort
and happiness to the present generation, because such men as Matthew
Walker were willing to utilize their last drop of energy and the
ultimate spark of intellect to do their duty. And yet Mr. Walker was
not one of those who could find no interest in his life's work. He
preserved an open mind and a generous, kindly heart, frequently and
especially in his later years, he had been able to make extended trips,
and some of these took him to Europe. Being devoted to art, he became a
collector of pictures, and in his home are some of the finest examples
of modern painting.
"The leisure which he enjoyed in his later years was made possible by
the loyalty of the able men with whom he had surrounded himself. That
leisure, however, did not prompt him to retire from business and he
remained in the harness to the last. He was one of the most loyal of
men. and this won for him the loyalty of others. Moreover, he was
filled with loving kindness in spite of his somewhat cold and reserved
exterior. In a business way he was the embodiment of the calculating
commercial mind, but every public undertaking found his purse open and
overflowing. Old cronies will testify to his friendship which expressed
itself in liberal and continued donations. And, among those who were in
his service but who were not his intimates, were many pensioners who
enjoyed his bounty.
"The outdoor life appealed to him with a fascination which often is an
obsession with the office man. He was accustomed to go on long fishing
and hunting trips each year, roughing it with an enjoyment which the
outdoor man could never know.
"Two ambitions were at the center of his life. He was eager to leave
behind him a building which should be a credit to the Walker brothers
and to the growing metropolis, and he wished to organize the private
bank into a public concern which should make it a permanent financial
institution. In his later years he saw both ambitions realized.
"In his public and private life he earned the respect of his neighbors
and the public generally. His charities, while unostentatious, were
many and generous. He was by no means what might be termed a church
man, but he was a devoted member of the Episcopal Church and was one of
the trustees of St. Mark's hospital.
"From this brief and inadequate sketch of a truly good man, it will be
apparent why Mr. Walker occupied such a large place in the life of Salt
Lake and why he is so universally mourned."
[Source: Utah since Statehood:
Historical and Biographical Volume 2; By Noble Warrum; Publ. 1919;
Transcribed and submitted by Andrea Stawski Pack.]
WILLIAM ROSS WALLACE
William Ross Wallace, a native son of Utah, was born in Salt Lake City,
December 10, 1865, the second child of his parents, Henry and Elen
(Harper) Wallace. The father was a native of Somersetshire, England,
while the mother was born in London. They were married in Salt Lake, to
which city Henry Wallace came in October, 1862, having walked across
the plains from St. Joseph, Missouri, with the Harmon Company. William
Ross Wallace was a student in the University of Utah, where he pursued
his studies for two years.
On March 7. 1890, Mr. Wallace was married to Annie McChrystal, a
daughter of John and Sarah Ann (Hancock) McChrystal. To Mr. and Mrs.
Wallace have been born four sons and a daughter. The latter, Helen, is
deceased, while the sons are: John M., Henry A., William R. Jr., and
Alexander C.
[Source: Utah since Statehood:
Historical and Biographical Volume 2; By Noble Warrum; Publ. 1919;
Transcribed and submitted by Andrea Stawski Pack.]
FREDERICK G. WARNICK
Frederick G. Warnick, the assistant cashier of the Knight Trust &
Savings Bank of Provo, was born at Pleasant Grove. Utah, August 30,
1872. His father, the late Adolph F. Warnick, was a native of Sweden
and came to America in 1870, making his way direct to Utah, for he had
embraced the religious belief of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints and desired to cast his lot with the members who had
colonized Utah. He originally settled at Pleasant Grove and in the
spring of 1880 he removed to Deseret, where he continued his residence
to the time of his death, which occurred January 25, 1905, when he was
seventy-two years of age. He was a farmer and stock raiser by
occupation and won a very substantial measure of success.
The attainment of prosperity was not the end and aim of his life,
however, for he gave much time and energy to the work of the church and
was bishop's counselor for many years. Prior to his emigration to the
new world he labored in his native land for many years as a missionary
and traveling elder and did everything in his power to advance the
cause in which he so firmly believed. His entire life was characterized
by unfaltering uprightness and honor in every transaction. The mother
of Frederick G. Warnick, Mrs. Christine (Olson) Warnick, is also a
native of Sweden and came to America in 1871, making her way direct to
Utah to join Mr. Warnick, becoming his wife in the Endowment House,
October 30, 1871. They had a family of six children, five sons and a
daughter. The mother survives and is now a resident of Deseret.
Frederick G. Warnick was the eldest of the six children and was
educated in the schools of Millard County and in the commercial
department of the Brigham Young University, from which he was graduated
with the class of 1906. He was also graduated from the Rochester
Business Institute at Rochester, New York, in 1900. He started out to
earn his own livelihood when twenty-two years of age and his first
position was that of manager of a branch store at Hinckley, Utah, owned
by W. A. Ray, who was proprietor of a number of general merchandise
establishments in southern Utah. Mr. Warnick continued active in
mercantile lines for a year and was then called on a mission to the
southern states, with mission headquarters at Chattanooga, Tennessee.
He labored for a year in the West Virginia Conference and was then
transferred to the East Tennessee Conference, laboring as first
assistant to Elder James E. Hart. He completed his missionary labors in
August, 1898, having served altogether for thirty-seven months.
It was after his return that he entered the commercial department of
the Brigham Young University and in the fall of 1899 he began teaching
in the commercial department of that institution, with which he was
thus connected until the spring of 1906. He then served as accountant
with the William M. Roylance Company of Provo until October, 1907, when
he resigned his position to become associated with the Knight
Investment Company and so remained until the fall of 1911, when he was
elected to the position of secretary and treasurer of the Knight
Consolidated Power Company. He made an excellent official in that
position until the properties were sold to the Utah Power & Light
Company. On the 1st of March, 1913, the present Knight Trust, &
Savings Bank was organized, with Mr. Warnick as assistant cashier. In
this position he has since continuously served, contributing in large
measure to the development and upbuilding of the business of the
institution.
On the 3rd of January, 1900, Mr. Warnick was married in the Salt Lake
City Temple to Miss Clara Black, a native of Kanosh, Millard County,
Utah, and a daughter of William V. and Victoria (Ayers) Black. They
have become the parents of seven children: Elva, who was born June 3,
1901, and died September 14, 1902; Leland, who was born November 4,
1902; Inez, born March 6, 1905; Paul E., September 22, 1907; Carl G.,
February 9, 1910; Don C., November 29, 1911; and Erma, December 26,
1914.
The family resides at No. 760 North Third street, East, where Mr.
Warnick owns a pleasant home. He is a member of the Provo fifth ward,
where he served as bishop's counselor for five years. He belongs to the
Provo Commercial Club and is interested in all that has to do with the
upbuilding and welfare of his adopted city. Along progressive business
lines he has put forth earnest effort, contributing to the material
upbuilding of Provo, and his standing in business circles is very high.
[Source: Utah since Statehood:
Historical and Biographical Volume 2; By Noble Warrum; Publ. 1919;
Transcribed and submitted by Andrea Stawski Pack.]
WALTER SCOTT WEILER
Walter Scott Weiler, a self-made man, who has reached a creditable
position as a mining stock broker of Salt Lake City, where he was born
on the 18th of June, 1879, is a son of Elijah Malin and Emily P.
(Crismon) Weiler. The father is a native of Chester county,
Pennsylvania, while the mother was born when her parents were crossing
the plains with the first company of Mormons that made their way to
Utah in 1847. Jacob Weiler, the paternal grandfather, also came to Utah
with the first company, while Elijah Malin Weiler, the father of Walter
Scott Weiler, was a member of the second company. He became a railroad
contractor, carrying on the business for some time, while later he
engaged in mining on an extensive scale in connection with George
Crismon. He is still living at the advanced age of eighty years, his
birth having occurred in April, 1839, but his wife passed away in Salt
Lake City in 1915. In their family were the following children, two of
whom are deceased, these being: Charles Raymond, who died in San
Francisco in 1918; and Mrs. Annie L. Sheets, who passed away in Salt
Lake City. Those still living are: E. M. Weller, Jr.; Dr. George L.
Weiler, Katheryn, now Mrs. Ellis A. Smith; Agnes Pearl, now Mrs. Harry
S. Ridgeway; and Walter Scott, who was the fifth in order of birth. All
are yet residents of Salt Lake City.
The boyhood days of W. Scott Weiler were largely devoted to the
acquirement of a public school education in Salt Lake and to further
study in a business college, from which he was graduated in 1902. He
then went upon a mission to Germany for the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints and spent two and a half years in that country. Upon
his return to his native land he was employed along various lines until
1907, when he entered the real estate business, in which he continued
actively until 1912. He then entered the stock brokerage business on
his own account and has continued successfully in that field. He is a
director of the Wasatch Realty Company, also of the Liberty Investment
Company and of the Deseret Building Society. He is likewise connected
with the Mining Exchange and is a member of the Commercial Club. His
business interests are of an important character and his enterprise has
constituted the foundation upon which he has built his growing success.
In Salt Lake on the 25th of September, 1907, Mr. Weiler was married to
Miss Claire Pratt Eldredge, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L Nathan
Eldredge and a granddaughter of Parley P. Pratt, a very prominent find
influential resident of Utah in the early days. They have one child,
Phyllis L., who was born in Salt Lake in 1908 and is attending the
public schools.
Mr. and Mrs. Weiler are well known in the city, where they have spent
their entire lives. They are representatives of early pioneer families
and the spirit of progress which dominated the early residents of the
state has been manifest in the career of Mr. Weiler, who has made good
use of his time, talents and opportunities and as the years have passed
has gained a very substantial position in connection with the handling
of mining stock. He has thoroughly familiarized himself with the value
of all such paper and is thus enabled to assist his clients in making
judicious and profitable investments.
[Source: Utah since Statehood:
Historical and Biographical Volume 2; By Noble Warrum; Publ. 1919;
Transcribed and submitted by Andrea Stawski Pack.]
C. F. WESTPHAL, D. D. S.
Dr. C. F. Westphal, a leading dentist of Magna, as been prominently
identified with public interests of the community, was formerly a
member of the state legislature and is now president of the Commercial
Club. Magna being an unincorporated village, its civic work
is all done through the Commercial Club, so that Dr. Westhal is a re
cognized leader in all those activities which are looking to the
upbuilding and development of the village.
He was born in Provo, Utah, April 15, 1868, and is a son of John F. and
Eliza (Mickelson) Westphal, the former a native of Germany and the
latter of Holland. They were married in Denmark. The father
was a shipbuilder, contractor and builder in Denmark until 1862, when
he came to Utah. He was one of the first residents of Denmark to
embrace the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints and he became an active worker in the church there before
emigrating to the new world. His last days were spent in Pleasant
Grove, Utah, where he passed away in 1903 at the age of eighty-five
years.
Dr. Westphal was the youngest son in a family of thirteen
children. He pursued a district school education, supplemented by
a business course, and then began working in the dental parlors of Dr.
J. N. Cristensen, of Provo, one of the pioneer dentists of that
place. He spent several years with Dr. Cristensen and was
afterward engaged in practice for four years at Heber City. Late
he removed to Pleasant Grove where he continued for twenty-five ears,
and in 1916 he removed to Magna, where he opened an office and has
since engaged in practice. Broad experience in his chosen
profession and reading of the leading dental journals have kept him in
touch with the trend of modern professional thought and methods and he
has been accorded a liberal patronage.
In 1894 Dr. Westphal was married to Miss Mary E. Swenson, of Pleasant
Grove, and they have become the parents of six children: Etta, who is
the wife of Evean Clawson, of Salt Lake; Shelby, who has recently
returned home after eighteen months’ service with the United States
army, being connected with the Medical Corps as a dentist; Virginia,
the wife of Howard Harris, of Ogden, who is employed in connection with
the United States forest reserve; Theron; Keane; and Paul.
Dr. Westphal is an elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, in which he is an active worker, and while at Pleasant Grove he
was president of the Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Association.
His wife is also active in the Relief Society. Fraternally Dr.
Westphal is connected with Copper Lodge, No. 57, I. O. O. F., of which
he is noble grand, and he is also identified with the Maccabees and the
Knights of Pythias. His political endorsement is given to the
republican party and in 1907 he was elected to the seventh state
legislature, where he was made vice chairman of the fish and game
committee and also chairman of the building committee that built the
first fish hatchery in Utah. He was re cognized as one of the
leading, prominent and progressive citizens of Pleasant Grove while
thee living and served s its mayor and city councilman for three terms,
also as justice of the peace for ten years. Associated with Mayor
J. D. Wadley, D. H. Robinson and Albert Cooper,
Dr. Westphal is responsible for the present waterworks at Pleasant
Grove and served as chairman of the waterworks committee. Since
coming to Magna he ahs been an official in the Commercial Club, serving
as a director until 1919, when he was elected its president, and as
such he takes a most active part in all that pertains to the village
and its development. His public service as been of recognized
genuine worth wherever he has put forth his efforts for the general
good.
[Source: Utah since Statehood: Historical and Biographical Volume 2; By Noble Warrum; Publ. 1919; Transcribed by Richard Ramos]
HARRY A. WHITE, D. R.
The system of chiropractic has come rapidly into popular favor in
recent years. Health problems have been kept continually before the
public through the press as scientific research and discovery has been
carried forward and the use of drugs and remedial agencies is becoming
more and more a thing of the past, so that medical practitioners in
many cases do not resort to the use or internal remedies. Thoroughly
conversant with the most advanced scientific methods of chiropractic,
Dr. White in the few years of his connection with the profession in
Salt Lake City has won a substantial success. He was born in King City,
Missouri, May 13, 1884, a son of James Henry and Hannah (Smorthet)
White, the former a native of Wisconsin, while the latter was born in
England. The parents went to Nebraska during the childhood days of
their son Harry and he was there educated in the public schools of
Wahoo.
After his textbooks were put aside he made his initial step in the
business world in connection with railroad interests. He was thus
employed for fourteen years, acting as telegraph operator. At length he
took a course of study in the American College of Mechanic Therapy at
Chicago, Illinois, and following his graduation practiced at Ogden for
two years. He next entered the National School of Chiropractic at
Chicago, from which he was graduated in the fall of 1917, and in 1918
pursued a post graduate course in the Palmer School at Davenport,
-Iowa. Locating in Salt Lake City, he has since practiced his
profession with good success and he is a member of the Salt Lake County
Chiropractic Association.
On the 12th of December, 1912, Dr. White was united in marriage to Miss
Edna A. Blair, of Ogden, and they are widely and favorably known in
Salt Lake, where their circle of friends is constantly increasing as
the circle of their acquaintance broadens. Fraternally Dr. White is a
Mason and exemplifies in his life the beneficent spirit of the craft.
[Source: Utah since Statehood:
Historical and Biographical Volume 2; By Noble Warrum; Publ. 1919;
Transcribed and submitted by Andrea Stawski Pack.]
PARLEY LYCURGUS WILLIAMS
Parley Lycurgus Williams, for forty-eight years a member of the bar of
Salt Lake City, largely specializing in his practice in railroad and
corporation law and gaining distinction by the wise use of the talents
with which nature endowed him, came to the west from Perry county,
Illinois, where his birth occurred April 7, 1842, his parents being
Samuel and Andromache (Moore) Williams. He acquired a common school
education in his native state, afterward became a student in Duquoin
Academy and for two years attended McKendree College at Lebanon,
Illinois. When twenty-five years of age he sought the opportunities of
the growing west by removal to Wyoming and following through
preliminary study was admitted to the bar of that state in the year in
which he took up his abode within its borders. In 1871 he was admitted
to practice at the bar of Utah and in that year became a resident of
Salt Lake City. He had previously been district attorney of Wyoming for
one term and had obtained his initial experience in professional labor
there.
In 1886 he was called upon to serve as territorial superintendent of
schools and after one year in that office he became commissioner of
schools when that office was created by act of congress, and filled
that office for one year. He has continued in active practice and has
ever won for himself very favorable criticism for the systematic
methods which he has followed. He has displayed notable concentration
and application and his retentive memory has often excited the surprise
of his professional colleagues. He stands particularly high in the
discussion of involved legal problems before the court.
He throws himself easily and naturally into the argument, displaying a
self-possession and a deliberation which indicate no straining after
effect. On the contrary there is a precision and clearness in his
statements, an astuteness and strength in his arguments which speak a
mind trained in the severest school of investigation and to which the
closest reasoning has become habitual and easy. Largely specializing
upon railroad and corporation law, he has acted as general attorney for
the Oregon Short Line Railroad Company, general attorney for Utah for
the Southern Pacific and Union Pacific Railway Companies and also for
the Utah Light and Railway Company. On May 10, 1919, the fiftieth
anniversary of the completion of the Union Pacific Railroad was
observed in appropriate manner and Mr. Williams was selected by the
president of that company, E. E. Calvin, to speak on behalf of the
company, which he did.
Mr. Williams has always given his political allegiance to the
democratic party, which he has supported since age conferred upon him
the right of franchise. He was a member of the council of the last Utah
territorial legislature. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and was
thrice grand master of the Grand Lodge. He is a prominent figure in
club circles of Salt Lake, belonging to the Alta, University and
Country Clubs.
In 1876 Mr. Williams was married to Katherine Sharp, who passed away in
1901. The record of his family of four sons and a daughter is one of
which Mr. Williams has every reason to be proud. Parley L. Williams,
Jr., the eldest of the family, was born in Salt Lake in 1878 and was
graduated from the Rensselaer (N. Y.) Polytechnic School in 1900 with
the degree of Mining Engineer, since which time he has devoted his
attention to the profession. He offered himself for service in the war
but being in charge of an iron mine near New York city, he was
continued there, the country so greatly needing the development of its
mines of that character.
Samuel Williams was born in Salt Lake City, March 22, 1886. He was
educated in the district schools of this city, at Belmont School for
Boys' of Belmont, California, at the Phillips Exeter Academy of Exeter,
New Hampshire, and in Cornell University, from which he was graduated
with the class of 1910, winning the degree of Mechanical Engineer. He
entered the first officers training camp at the Presidio, in San
Francisco, May 15, 1917. After pursuing the course in field artillery
for two months he was rejected at the final physical examination on
account of a heart murmur. He had been an oarsman on the crew while at
Cornell and had a touch of what is called "athletic heart." On his
return from the Presidio, seriously disappointed at being rejected, he
was examined by surgeons here who considered his heart defect as
insignificant.
He was anxious to get into the army in some department, and in August,
1917, joined the volunteer American ambulance force then operating in
France with the French army. He left for France during September, 1917,
paying his own passage, providing his own equipment and all expenses
incident to the trip. He arrived in France in October, 1917, and in a
few days after his arrival the American ambulance force was taken over
by General Pershing and at that time all men who had entered that
service were given permission to enlist in the regular army in any
branch of service they might select, provided they passed all the
required examinations. Considering the Signal Corps as a more important
one and more interesting, he enlisted in the aviation section of that
corps. He passed all the physical and mental examinations without
difficulty, it being considered that there was nothing the matter with
his heart in France.
He was trained in the various branches of the air service at different
places in France until August, 1918, having been commissioned a second
lieutenant in May of that year. His first assignment was to the
Eighty-sixth Squadron. Later he was transferred to the Fourth
Observation Group, consisting of three American squadrons and one
French squadron. Later he was assigned to the First Pursuit Group as
radio officer. He was at the front in the St. Mihiel and Argonne
sectors from August until late in October, when he was ordered to Tours
for special duty. After a few days there he was ordered to some place
he did not name near the Swiss border to look after' some radio repair
work and remained there until the armistice was signed. He arrived in
New York on his return, January 3, 1919. He was mustered out in
January, 1919, at New York.
Paul Williams, born December 30, 1887, in Salt Lake, was educated in
the public schools of that city; the Lowell school of Salt Lake; the
Belmont Military Academy of California, 1902-04; Phillips Exeter
Academy of New Hampshire, 1904-06, and Cornell University, 1906-10,
graduating with the degree of A. B. He also attended the Columbia Law
School, 1910-12, and was graduated with the degree of LL. B. He was
admitted to the bar of the supreme court of Utah in August, 1912, and
to the United States district court of Utah in 1913. He was assistant
attorney in the law department of the Oregon Short Line Railroad
Company until he entered upon the general practice of law in Salt Lake.
He is now associated with his father in the law firm of Williams &
Williams. Early in 1916 he joined the State National Guard and in June
of that year was mobilized with the guard and went to the Mexican
border, where he remained until November of that year, when he was
mustered out. On our entry into the World war he applied for admission
into the first officers training camp at the Presidio and reported
there at the opening of school the 15th of May, 1917.
On his arrival he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Field
Artillery branch of the service, which he had chosen. He concluded the
three months' course in that school in August, 1917, when he was
commissioned a first lieutenant. He was then ordered to Camp Lewis
about the end of August. On reporting there the cantonment buildings
were incomplete and it was found men would not be assembled there for
about a month later. He, with other young officers, was then sent to
Camp Doniphan, Oklahoma, where he remained during September and
October, 1917, temporarily assigned to and assisting in the training of
a Kansas National Guard regiment of field artillery. About the 1st of
November, 1917, he was transferred to Camp Kearney and temporarily
assigned to assist in the training of the One Hundred and Forty-fifth
(Utah Regiment) Field Artillery. About January 1, 1918, he was selected
by Brigadier General Lyon, then commanding the Sixty-fifth Brigade of
Field Artillery, as a member of his staff. He remained with him until
he was promoted to a major generalship and Colonel Young promoted to
Brigadier General, the latter having succeeded General Lyon in the
command of the brigade. He remained on the staff, going with General
Young to France in August, 1918. About the 1st of November he was
promoted to a captaincy and was assigned to the Headquarters Company of
the One Hundred and Forty-fifth Regiment but detailed for and continued
to act upon the staff of General Young. He arrived in New York on
Christmas day and was ordered to the Presidio at San Francisco, where
he was mustered out of the service on January 18, 1919.
Hugh Williams, born in 1889, spent a year in Cornell University and in
1915 was graduated from the Utah Agricultural College at Logan. In
August, 1918, he was drafted and sent to Camp Fremont, California, and
assigned to Company B, Twenty-fourth Machine Gun Battalion. In October,
1918. he was sent first to a camp on Long Island, en route to France,
and on the 2d of November was put on a transport and two days later
ordered back to shore and to Camp Lee at Petersburg, Virginia. He was
mustered out at Fort Logan, Colorado, February 19, 1919.
The daughter, Kate, educated at Bryn Mawr, was active in Red Cross and
war work. She is secretary of the Charity Organization Society of Salt
Lake and prominent in the city’s best social circles.
[Source: Utah since Statehood:
Historical and Biographical Volume 2; By Noble Warrum; Publ. 1919;
Transcribed and submitted by Andrea Stawski Pack.]
WILLIAM C. WINDER
Among the capable business men of Utah, identified with many lines of
activity, each of which constitutes an element in the material and
substantial development of the state as well as in the promotion of
individual fortune, is numbered William C. Winder, who is widely known
as the president of the Utah State Fair Association, as one of the
directors of Hotel Utah and as one of the proprietors of the Poplar
Farm, being the senior partner in the firm of W. C. Winder & Sons,
who are owners of the farm and are engaged in the breeding of
registered Jersey cattle. They also deal in farm and dairy products,
and thus the business interests of Mr. Winder are extensive and
important.
He was born in Salt Lake City, September 30, 1858, and is a son of
President John R. and Elizabeth (Parker) Winder. His father was first
counsellor to President Joseph Fielding Smith from the time the latter
was chosen head of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
until his death on the 27th of March, 1910. John R. Winder was born at
Biddenden, England, December 11, 1821, and the mother was a native of
Missouri. The former learned and followed the trade of shoemaking in
England and also engaged in teaming in that country. He left England in
the spring of 1853 and crossed the Atlantic on the ship Elvira Owen,
from which he landed at New Orleans, whence he made his way to Keokuk,
Iowa, by way of St. Louis, Missouri. At Keokuk he joined a company
under Joseph W. Young and travelled with ox teams across the plains,
arriving at Salt Lake City on the 10th of October, 1853. Soon afterward
he became associated with Samuel Mullner in the manufacture of saddles,
boots and shoes and in the conduct of a tannery. In 1855 the business
was enlarged and he entered into partnership with William Jennings,
then owner of a meat market and tannery. He also carried on the
manufacture of boots, shoes, saddlery and harness and remained in that
business until 1858. He joined the Nauvoo Legion in 1855 and was
captain of a company of lancers that did military service in Echo
canyon in the winter of 1857-8. In the following spring he went to
Tooele County with General George D. Grant after the Indians, who had
stolen many horses from the settlers. Thus he became familiar with all
of the phases, the hardships and the privations of pioneer life and
also enjoyed its privileges and its opportunities. Dissolving
partnership with Mr. Jennings, he became associated with Brigham Young
in the building of a tannery on Parleys Canyon creek. Soon afterward he
purchased a farm, a part of which is now owned by his son, William C.
Winder of this review. From 1865 until 1867 he took part in the Black
Hawk war in Sanpete County and during a portion of that time acted as
aide to Governor Wells, while later he was assistant adjutant general.
In 1870 he was appointed assessor of Salt Lake county and filled that
position for fourteen years. In 1872 he was elected to the city council
and by re-election was continued in the office until 1878. He then
resigned as assessor to be appointed water master of Salt Lake City,
from which position he retired in 1887 to enter upon the duties of
counsellor to Presiding Bishop Preston. To him was entrusted the work
of completing the temple, which was accomplished in April, 1893, forty
years from the time that the foundation was laid. Mr. Winder was first
assistant to President Lorenzo Snow, in charge of the temple, and
filled that office to the time of his death. In 1882 he became a member
of the High Council of the Salt Lake stake. He was also United States
gauger of internal revenue for a number of years. He likewise served as
president of the Deseret Agricultural & Manufacturing Society from
1872 until 1900.
He was a director of the Utah Iron Manufacturing Company and the
Utah-Idaho Sugar Company and president of the Deseret Investment
Company. He was likewise a director of Zion's Cooperative Mercantile
Institution, a director of the Deseret National Bank, one of the
organizers of the State Fair Association, of which for years he was
president, and in fact he was always called the father of the state
fair. He was a member of the constitutional convention of Utah and
there is no phase of the state's substantial development and
improvement with which he was not in some way connected. Winder ward
was named in his honour. On the 17th of October, 1901, he was made
first counsellor to President Joseph Fielding Smith in the church
presidency. He was recognized as one of the best posted men on public
affairs in the state and was an outstanding figure in the history of
Utah during his day and generation.
John R. Winder was the father of twenty children and the husband
of three wives. The full brothers and sisters of William C. Winder are
ten in number, all of whom are living: Alice, now the wife of William
Bradford, of Salt Lake; Richard, also a resident of Salt Lake; Mary
Ann, who is the wife of James Stedman, of Riverton, Utah; Edwin J., of
Vernal, Utah; Luella, the wife of James Giles, of Salt Lake; Matilda,
the wife of R. S. Hamilton, of Riverton; Ella; the wife of Walter
Mackey, of Taylorsville; Gertrude, the wife of M. Y. C. Croxall, of
Seattle, Washington; and Rex Parker, who is mentioned elsewhere in this
work.
After obtaining a common school education William C. Winder remained
upon the home farm, there living to the time of his marriage. In 1884
he wedded Rose Taylor, of Salt Lake, a daughter of Thomas Taylor, a
prominent mining man of Utah. They became the parents of eight
children: Elizabeth, the wife of Parley Little; William C. Jr.; John
R.; Miles S.; Edwin K.; Phyllis; George G.; and Joseph M.
A number of years ago Mr. Winder inherited a part of the old homestead
property at No. 403 East Twenty-seventh street in Salt Lake and has
built thereon a large brick residence, together with large barns. He
has developed one of the best dairies in the state, keeping
thoroughbred Jerseys, now known as the native strain but originally
from the Isle of Jersey. His father had established a dairy business in
the early days and since that time William C. Winder has been more or
less closely associated therewith. He now has about fifty head of
cattle, including thirty milking cows, and all of the time sells milk.
His sons are associated with him in this undertaking, save William C.,
Jr., who is in Salt Lake City. The father and sons have a large farm in
Granger.
Mr. Winder filled a mission to -the southern states from 1891 until
1893, having charge of the North Carolina conference during the last
year. He is a high priest and is a member of the Granite Stake High
Council, thus serving for ten years. He was also the first
superintendent of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association of the
Granite stake. His sons, William C. and John, both served on missions
to Germany, while Miles S. was on a mission to the southern states, and
Edwin K. is now filling a mission to the Hawaiian islands. The mother
has been a Sunday school teacher and member of the Relief Society.
In April, 1919, Mr. Winder was elected president of the State Fair
Association, of which he had formerly been Tice president for four
years. He was also second vice president for four years and a director
for sixteen years. He is likewise a director of Hotel Utah and is
interested in other enterprises which have to do with the state's
development and up building. For an extended period the name of Winder
has figured prominently in connection with the annals of Utah, and
William C. Winder has furthered public progress, has stood for general
advancement, and his labours have constituted an important element in
the work of improvement and up building.
(Source: Utah since Statehood
Historical and Biographical, by Noble Warrum, editor, Vol 1, Publ 1919.
Transcribed by Wayne Cheeseman)
JAMES WOOD
Wood, James, Superintendent, Calumet & Arizona Copper and Smelting
Company, Douglas, Arizona, was born at Lachuta, Argentine County,
Canada, March 27, 1860, the son of John Wood and Grace (Wilson) Wood.
His family is one of the oldest on the American Continent and traces
back for more than three hundred years in a direct line. He married
Mary Ames at Anaconda. Montana, May 24, 1891, and to them there were
born seven children, John H.. Thomas Albert. James Jr., Earl, Grace.
Mary and Carlton Wood Like a great many men who have made a success of
their lives in the United States, Mr. Wood had only scant educational
advantages in his youth and with the exception of a few brief months in
the country schools of his district, has educated himself. From the
time he was about nine years of age until he reached the age of
seventeen he worked on his father's farm and in the lumber mills of
Canada, and in 1877 left home for the western part of the United States.
First locating at Fort Benton, Montana, he worked for about three years
in the employ of his uncle, who was a cattleman there, and in 1881 went
to Butte, Montana, where he started in the copper business. He began in
the freighting service of the Montana Copper Company, now the Boston -
Montana Copper Company. He worked in this capacity for about two years,
part of the time in hauling material for the company's smelting plant
at Mitreville, Montana. He followed this with work in the mining end of
the company's holdings at Anaconda, Montana, and then returned to the
cattle business. He went to the Gerton Ranch outside of Butte, as
manager, and conducted this property for nearly two years.
In 1884 Mr. Wood resigned his position and returned to Butte, where he
re-entered the copper business as a puncher on the converter plant of
the Parrot Smelter. He remained there for about six years, working in
various capacities, and in 1890 went to the Anaconda Smelter as Manager
of the experimental plant of the converters. He had by this time come
to be regarded as one of the expert smelter men of the West and in 1892
accepted a position with the Nichols Chemical Company, in charge of the
construction of a converter plant at Laurel Hill, New York. Upon the
completion of the plant, he managed it for about six months, then
returned to the West and located at Durango, Colorado, as
Superintendent of the Standard Smelter. Later he went to Salt Lake
City, Utah, with the Salt Lake Copper Company and remained in charge of
its smelter plant for about two years.
In 1893 Mr. Wood was called to Arizona by the famous Copper Queer.
Company and placed in charge of its converter department. He remained
with this company for more than nine years, the last five of which he
had entire charge of its smelter operations, over about four hundred
men. In 1902 Mr. Wood, who had purchased an interest in various copper
mining properties, joined the Calumet and Arizona Copper Company as
Superintendent of its smelter works at Douglas.
When Mr. Wood took charge of the company's plant it had a capacity of
five hundred tons of smelted ore daily, but owing to the vast increase
in the production of copper within recent years this has been more than
quadrupled, so that the plant over which Mr. Wood has supervision
smelts 2200 tons each day.
Mr. Wood is one of the practical men of the copper business, and in
addition to holding stock in the Calumet and Arizona and other copper
corporations, is a stockholder and director of the First National Bank
of Douglas.
He is a Mason, Shriner and Knight Templar, also a member of the Douglas Country Club.
Source: [Being The Portraits and Biographies of the Progressive Men of the West, Press Reference Library, 1915]
Submitted and transcribed by Therman Kellar
M. CHARLES WOODS
M. Charles Woods is a member of the firm of Woods & Jensen,
architects of Ogden, and has reached an enviable professional position.
He is practicing successfully, being accorded a large clientage, and
public opinion recognizes the superiority of his work, which is
evidenced in some of the finest buildings in Ogden and this section of
the state. He was born in Malad, Idaho, January 11, 1882. a son of the
late Francis C. Woods, who was a native of Glasgow, Scotland, and of
English descent. He was reared and educated in London, England, and
coming to America, made his trip to the west on the first railroad
train that entered the city of Ogden. He, too, was an architect by
profession and an organ builder and he assisted in the reconstruction
of the organ in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. He was one of the first
architects in Ogden and was the oldest in the state in years of
continuous connection with the profession in Utah at the time of his
death.
The firm was originally known as Woods & Company and they secured a
liberal clientage because of the recognized excellence and superiority
of their work. Mr. Woods went to Idaho to build the State Insane Asylum
there and also the courthouse at Malad and the courthouse at Blackfoot,
Idaho. It was during the residence of the family at Malad that the
birth of his son, M. Charles, occurred. Francis C. Woods, however,
continued to regard Ogden as his home and there passed away in 1912 at
the age of sixty-eight years, his birth having occurred in 1844. His
political support was given to the republican party and his religious
faith was that of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The
mother, Mrs. Evelyn (Pratt) Woods, was born in Salt Lake City and was
the youngest daughter of Parley P. and Agatha (Walker) Pratt, the
latter the first white woman seen in Parley Canyon, the family owning
that entire section of the state. Her father conducted a tollgate in
the canyon for many years and in various ways left the impress of his
individuality upon the history of Utah, being one of the most honored
and prominent men in its development and upbuilding. The death of Mrs.
Woods occurred in 1918 at Ogden. She had become the mother of thirteen
children, five sons and eight daughters, all of whom are living.
M. Charles Woods, the fifth in this family, was educated in the public
schools of Ogden and after his textbooks were put aside began learning
the cigar maker’s trade, which he followed for two years. He then
entered upon an apprenticeship to learn the carpenter's trade and
afterward took up the study of architecture under the direction of his
father. Eventually he was admitted to a partnership in the firm of
Woods & Company, which association was maintained until the
father's death, but for five years prior to that time he had full
charge of the business. In 1915 he admitted a partner to an interest in
the business under the firm style of Woods & Jensen and today they
rank with the leading architects of the west. During the past fourteen
years the firm has erected most of the principal school buildings of
Weber county and many in southern Idaho and surrounding counties of
both Utah and Idaho. They have also been the builders of a large number
of fine homes and business blocks and public buildings. Mr. Woods'
training was most thorough and in his plans he combines beauty, utility
and convenience, his structures constituting an element of worth in the
upbuilding and adornment of the district in which he operates. He
belongs to the Utah Institute of Architects, of which he is an ex-vice
president, having served in that office for two years.
On the 1st of May, 1907, Mr. Woods was married in Salt Lake City to
Miss Elline Shaw, of Salt Lake, a daughter of Lewis C. and Sarah M.
(Lambert) Shaw, representatives of old families of the state. Mr. and
Mrs. Woods have become parents of five children, of whom four are
living: Charles Casper, Roger Shaw, Elline, deceased; Charleen and
Janet.
Mr. Woods is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, in the work of which he has taken a very active and helpful
part. He is a member of the high council of the Weber stake, serving
for several years, and from 1893 until 1895 he was on a foreign mission
in New Zealand. He speaks the language of the people of that island
very fluently and conducted a very successful mission. In politics he
is a republican where national issues and questions are involved but at
local elections casts an independent ballot, regarding the capability
of the candidate for the office which he seeks. At all times he is
actuated by a public-spirited devotion to the general good. He was a
four minute speaker during the war activities and a member of the
subscription committee for the Red Cross, in fact he cooperated in
every possible way in promoting war work and in upholding the interests
of the government. His record is that of a self-made man, for from the
age of sixteen years he has depended entirely upon his own resources.
He has ever been guided by the watchwords of thoroughness and
efficiency in everything that he has undertaken and he has thus reached
a point of progress in his business career that places him with the
able architects of the state.
[Source: Utah since Statehood: Historical and Biographical Volume 2; By
Noble Warrum; Publ. 1919; Transcribed and submitted by Andrea Stawski
Pack.]
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