HON. LEWIS LEROY BAKER.
Hon. Lewis Leroy Baker, deceased, was for many years a prominent attorney of Tooele and carved his name high on the keystone of the legal arch in Utah. He was born in Greeley, Iowa, November 19, 1871 a son of Jerome and Sarah (Witter) Baker. His father was a cabinetmaker by trade and engaged in the undertaking and furniture business. His family numbered six children, namely: Emma, Orrin. Byron, Elma, Lewis Leroy and Glenn.
Spending his youthful days under the parental roof. Lewis L. Baker pursued his early education in the schools of Greeley and afterward entered the State University of Michigan at Ann Arbor as a law student. After completing his law course there he was admitted to the bar at Manchester, Iowa, and thinking to find better professional opportunities in the west, he removed to Salt Lake in 1896. There he remained for two years and in 1898 came to Tooele. He was associated with his brother Orrin in Salt Lake, where he clerked in a store. Following his removal to Tooele he opened a law office and through the intervening period to the time of his death occupied a prominent position as a member of the bar of his district. He enjoyed a large private practice that connected him with much important litigation tried in the courts of the state and he was also attorney for the San Pedro Railroad. In 1898 there came public recognition of his ability in his profession by election to the office of county attorney and at a later period he was twice elected to the same position. He possessed a very large law library, with the contents of which he was largely familiar. He was seldom if ever at fault in the application of a legal principal and prepared his cases with the greatest thoroughness and care. His presentation of a case was always clear, cogent and logical, and he seldom failed to win the verdict desired.
Mr. Baker also became known in banking circles, being active in the organization of the Tooele County State Bank, of which he was elected the vice president. He was likewise agent for fire insurance companies and in every business connection made for himself a creditable name and place.
On June 21, 1899, Mr. Baker was united in marriage to Miss Georgia Warburton, a daughter of Richard and Emily (Atkins) Warburton, who were pioneer residents of Tooele county. Mr. and Mrs. Baker became the parents of four children: Leroy A., now a high school pupil: Charmian, who is attending the junior high school; and Kermit and Richard, who are pupils in the graded schools of Tooele.
Mr. Baker was a prominent Mason, joining the order when twenty-one years of age. He attained high rank and became a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason and also a member of the commandery at Salt Lake. He was likewise identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and was largely instrumental in organizing the Masonic lodge of Tooele. Of the Commercial Club be was a prominent and influential representative and did everything in his power in connection with that organization to promote the welfare and up building of the city and uphold its civic standards. His political allegiance was always given to the republican party and aside from serving for three terms as county attorney he was chosen in 1918 to represent his district in the state legislature, where he gave most thoughtful and earnest consideration to all the questions that came up for settlement affecting in any way the welfare of the state. Following his service in the general assembly he was appointed by Governor Spry a member from Utah on the commission for the promotion of uniform state legislation. In 1912 he was appointed city attorney of Tooele and it was in 1912 that he was re-elected county attorney and again in 1914. He belonged to the Utah State Bar Association and the American Bar Association and he enjoyed the highest regard of his professional brethren by reason of his devotion to the most advanced standards of law practice. He was made chairman of the legal department on the County Council of Defense, was an untiring worker in behalf of the Red Cross and was accounted one of the foremost members of the Masonic fraternity in his part of the state. He served as deputy grand master of the Grand Lodge of Utah and was a past potentate of El Kalah Temple of the Mystic Shrine, while in June, 1918, he was a delegate from that body to the national convention held at Atlantic City. Nature endowed him with keen mentality and he used his talents wisely and well. He was the possessor of a large private library in addition to his many volumes on law and he made himself familiar with the contents of the library. There were few subjects broached on which he could not speak intelligently and illuminatingly and association with him meant expansion and elevation. He passed away October 1, 1918, his death being the occasion of deep and widespread regret throughout Tooele county and other sections of the state. He was a man whom to know was to esteem and honor, for his life measured up to the highest standards of manly conduct and citizenship.
GEORGE W. BRYAN.
George W. Bryan is actively connected with mining interests in Tooele county and has been an active factor in the business development of this section of the state. He has also figured prominently in political circles and in connection with the moral progress of the community and therefore deserves classification with the representative men who have aided in making history in this part of Utah. He was born August 21, 1871, and is the eldest of a family of eleven children whose parents were George W. and Margaret (Broughton) Bryan, both of whom were natives of England, the father having been born in Lincolnshire, while the mother's birth occurred in Yorkshire.
George W. Bryan, Sr., became one of the early settlers of Tooele county, where he established his home in 1849. For a number of years prior to his death he filled the office of county commissioner and was always a very active and prominent figure in local political circles. He was also a most earnest and zealous worker In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was a member of the Seventy and a great home missionary worker. In business he devoted his attention to farming and stock raising and his energy and determination along that line constituted the measure of a desirable success. His worth as a man and citizen was widely acknowledged, causing his death, which occurred in 1888, to be the occasion of deep and widespread regret in the community in which he lived. While he was a supporter of the democratic party, he was always a protectionist and he stood loyally as the champion of any cause in which he believed. The mother still survives and makes her home in Tooele. She spends her time among her children, although she is the owner of a home in Tooele which she rents. The eleven children of the family are: George W., of this review; Arthur, who was at one time county clerk of Tooele county and passed away in 1911; John; William, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work; Fred; Harry; Parley; Ellen Ann and Maggie Elizabeth, twins; Mary Jane; and Emma. There is also an adopted son, John, who was adopted by the father and his first wife before her death and before Mr. Bryan was married a second time.
Spending his youthful days under the parental roof, George W. Bryan acquired a common school education. His has been an active and useful life. In early manhood he engaged in clerking for Peter A. Drouby, he and his brother Arthur being the leading clerks in Mr. Drouby's establishment. He there remained for four years and then went to the southern states on a mission, which occupied his attention for three years, his labors covering the districts of North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. He was active in charge of Sunday school work there, having seventeen Sunday schools in North Carolina under his direction. "When his labors in the south were 'over he returned to Utah and again spent two years in the employ of Mr. Drouby. He then went to Mercur, where he engaged in clerking for the Union Mercantile Company until the business was largely destroyed by fire in 1902. In that year he entered the employ of the W. C. Goodman Grocery Company and became a partner in that undertaking. Later he sold his interest in the business and was again with the Union Mercantile Company for a short time. Afterward he was appointed postmaster at Mercur and was reappointed to the position on three different occasions, acting as the last postmaster of the town, which at one time was a very thriving mining camp with a population of five thousand, but which has utterly passed out of existence since mining operations have ceased at that point. At a later period Mr. Bryan became a druggist at Opbir, where he successfully conducted his store for a considerable period but at a recent date has sold the business and is now concentrating his efforts and attention upon his mining interests.
In 1900 Mr. Bryan was united in marriage to Miss Mary Gillespie, a daughter of Peter R. Gillespie, the eldest son of John Gillespie, who was one of the pioneer settlers of Tooele county. The mother of Mrs. Bryan bore the maiden name of Mary Atkins. To Mr. and Mrs. Bryan have been born four children who are still living: Floyd, eighteen years of age, who is employed by Joseph R. Bithell at Ophir; George, who is also a clerk in the same store; Edith and Allen, who are in school.
The religious faith of the family is that of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and in 1900 Mr. Bryan organized the ward, completing the church building and served as bishop for five years. He has been a very active and prominent in connection with public affairs of a political nature and in 1904 was elected county commissioner of Tooele county, in which position he served for a four years' term. While at Mercur he filled the office of city councilman, was also a member of the school board and justice of the peace. He has likewise served as justice of the peace at Ophir for a number of years and his decisions have ever been strictly fair and impartial, winning him golden opinions from all sorts of people. He is a public-spirited citizen, his life measuring up to high standards in every connection, and with the development of Tooele county he has been closely associated in many ways.
JOSHUA R. CLARK.
Joshua R. Clark is numbered among the honored pioneers of Tooele county, now making his home at Grantsville. He has passed the seventy-ninth milestone on life's Journey, his birth having occurred on the 11th of December, 1840, near Canton, in Stark county, Ohio. His parents were Hendricks and Esther (Rinker) Clark, the former a native of Virginia and of Scotch Irish descent, while the mother was also born in the Old Dominion and was of Pennsylvania Dutch lineage. Removing to Ohio, Hendricks Clark became a farmer of that state and afterward followed agricultural pursuits in Indiana. His family numbered eight children: David, Hendricks. Thomas, Daniel, Emanuel, Martin, Rebecca and Joshua R.
The last named, the youngest of the family, acquired a common school education in Ohio and Indiana and left home in 1863, when a young man of twenty-three years, going to Minnesota. He afterward made his way to Montana, where he worked on a farm, and while in Minnesota he had engaged in guarding the Indians as well as in farming. Following the removal to Montana he was identified with mining. The year 1867 witnessed his arrival in Utah and for a year he resided in Salt Lake City. He became a convert to the faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1868 and for a year he taught school in the tenth ward of Salt Lake City before his removal to Grantsville, where he established his home and resumed the profession of teaching, which he followed for four years in the district schools, while for two years he conducted a private schools. He then turned his attention to farming and concentrated his efforts upon general agricultural pursuits until 1900, when he retired from active business life. He had eighty acres of land under cultivation and by reason of his diligence and careful management annually gathered good crops. He has been quite prominent in connection with public affairs as the years have passed and from 1870 until 1880 was superintendent of schools in Tooele county and did much to place the schools of the county upon a substantial basis. He served as postmaster of Grantsville from 1873 until 1878 and again from 1880 until 1895, or for a period of fifteen years during the second terra. From 1872 until 1878 he was also manager of the Cooperative Store and it was subsequent to the time when be left the store that he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, which claimed his energies then for a period of twenty-two years.
On the 11th of July. 1870, Mr. Clark was united in marriage to Miss Mary L. Woolley, an aunt of Eugene T. Woolley, mentioned elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Clark have become parents of ten children, seven sons and three daughters. J. Reuben is the owner of a large and valuable farm at Grantsville. comprising two hundred acres, of which he has thirty-six acres under irrigation. He is engaged in feeding cattle and is meeting with a very gratifying measure of prosperity in his undertakings. He married Louise Savage, of Salt Lake City, and they have four children: Louise, Marion, J. Reuben and Luacinea. While J. Reuben Clark is the owner of farm property, he gives the greater part of his attention to law practice and is now a well known attorney of Washington, D. C. In fact he is regarded as one of the eminent authorities upon international law in the United States and was solicitor in the department of state under President Taft through appointment of Secretary Knox. He is a graduate of the University of Utah and also of the Columbia Law School of New York city. He has also figured in military circles as a major of the United States Army under General Crowder in connection with the draft division of the army. He was advisor on the staff of the attorney general of the United States and was chief consul for the Cuban government. Edwin, who follows farming at Grantsville and is the second of the family, married Matilda Ratcliffe, of Grantsville, and they have six children: Marion, Rachel, Marcellus, Ruth, Lou and James. Elmer died at the age of eighteen years. Esther is the wife of Arthur Naylor, a wool merchant and farmer residing at Bountiful, and they have three children: Dale, Louine and Ellis. Frank R. is a United States geologist at Washington. D. C., being employed by the government in locating oil wells and mining properties. He married Theresa Burton, a daughter of Robert T. Burton, and they have three children: Frank, Virginia and Rosalia. Alice is the wife of Leroy Sutton, a farmer, sheep man and coal merchant, recognized as one of the representative business men of Tooele county and mentioned elsewhere in this work. Samuel, who follows farming at Grantsville, married Ada Pocock, of Tooele, and they have two children, Florine and Wayne. Lucile became the wife of Theodore Johnson and died in 1917, leaving three children: Lucile, Theodore and Kenneth. John was in the army with the war risk insurance department, stationed at Paris and at Tours, France. He was overseas for a year, and although he entered the service as a private, he rose to the rank of regimental sergeant major. Gordon W., also a member of the United States Army, is at Camp Dix with the Medical Corps Base Hospital. He married Lucile Anderson, a daughter of A. Fred Anderson. Of the above named, Samuel Clark spent four years on a mission in the Hawaiian Islands, while John served on a two years' mission in the southern states. In young manhood Mr. Clark of this review was also sent on a mission to the northern states, covering two years, and was president thereof during the last year and a half of that period. He is a patriarch in the church and has ever been a most earnest and active worker in behalf of the faith which he espoused more than a half century ago. In politics he is a stalwart republican and has served as a member of the city council. He is now living retired, enjoying a rest which has come to him as the reward of many years of active labor and of a life of integrity and honor.
WILFORD HUDSON.
Wilford Hudson, deceased, was one of the pioneer settlers of Utah. He was one of the first to establish his home in Grantsville and Tooele county and for a long period he was identified with its business development. He had reached the advanced age of eighty-seven years when death called him to the home beyond. His birth occurred in Harrison county, Indiana, in 1818. He was a son of Robert Hudson, whose father was David Hudson, representative of an old Virginian family and a soldier of the Revolutionary war. The same military spirit was manifest in Wilford Hudson, who served in the war with Mexico. He became a member of Company A of the Mormon Battalion and held the rank of colonel under General George Grant. He early learned the carpenter's trade and followed that pursuit, in connection with farming, as a life work.
In early pioneer times Wilford Hudson went to California and in 1849 retraced his steps as far as Utah. He afterward made his way eastward to Council Bluffs, Iowa, from which point he brought his family to Utah in 1850. At that time he had a wife and three children. He was married first to Julia Ann Graybill, a native of North Carolina, and they became the parents of three daughters: Mary Jane, Mary Ann and Amanda.
For his second wife Mr. Hudson chose Mary Ann Graybill, a sister of his first wife, and they had a family of twelve children, of whom eight reached adult age. Emeline is deceased. Wilford F. and William C. are associated in farming and other business enterprises. Emma married Frederick Brim, who has passed away, and she lives in Grantsville. She has two sons and three daughters: Frederick R., William M., Claudie, Beatrice and Elsie. Simeon A. and David J" the next members of the family, are associated with their elder brothers. Wilford and William, in farming operations in Tooele county. Andrew J. married Katie Mills, of Salt Lake City, and they became parents of five children: Mary A., Amy, Laura, James and Elsie. John and Don C. died in infancy. Elsie became the wife of Lewis Hunter, a farmer residing at Oakley, Idaho, and they have thirteen children. Samuel E.. who is engaged in mining at Gold Hill, Utah, married Clara Dailey, a native of this state but reared in Idaho, and they have three children: Rada, Rex and Annie. Beatrice died in infancy.
For his third wife Mr. Hudson chose Miss Jane Brandon, a native of South Carolina, and they became parents of a son and a daughter: Orson, a sheep farmer living at Brigham; and Eveline, the wife of Joseph Strang, a well known wool buyer of Salt Lake City who was accidentally killed. His widow survives and lives in Salt Lake City with their one child. The sons, Wilford F., William C., Simeon A. and David J., are residing upon the home farm and they are also interested in mining. Simeon A. recently realized most handsomely from his mining properties at Gold Hill, Tooele county, and his brother Andrew is associated with him in their mining investments. The mines in which they hold stock are the Horseshoe and the Mohawk, producers of silver and lead. These have been very successfully operated and have placed the two brothers in a position of financial independence. Simeon A. Hudson has recently built a fine bungalow in Grantsville, where the four brothers reside.
The mother has recently passed away, her death occurring in 1917, when she was eighty-six years of age. The father died in 1907, at the venerable age of eighty-seven years. His death was the occasion of widespread regret to many friends as well as to his immediate family, for he had been accounted one of the substantial and representative citizens of the community who had contributed to its progress and up building from pioneer times. He was active in the work of the church and his aid and influence were ever on the side of progress and improvement in everything relating to the welfare of the community. He lived to witness remarkable changes as the years passed by, for at the time of his arrival in Utah this section of the state was a wild and undeveloped district. With determined spirit, however, the settlers took up the arduous task of reclaiming the land and converting it to uses of civilization and Mr. Hudson bore his full share in the task. He followed carpentering and farming and in both ways contributed to the development of the district in which he lived. He was one of the very first to settle at Grantsville and thus he aided in laying broad and deep the foundation upon which has been built the present progress and prosperity of the city. The family has always been connected with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and William C. Hudson went on a mission to Nebraska which covered two years. The brothers own fifteen acres of land at Grantsville. where they reside, and in addition they are engaged in dry farming. Their political allegiance is given to the democratic party and they are highly esteemed as substantial citizens and representative business men who have added new luster to an untarnished family name.
LEO JOHNSON.
Leo Johnson is the manager of the Standard Horse & Mule Company and one of the representative citizens of Grantsville who is also identified with the raising of cattle and sheep and with general farming. In financial circles, too, he figures as vice president of the Grantsville Bank. He was born March 7, 1873, in Grantsville, and is a brother of Alexander Johnson, with whom he is closely associated in business. After acquiring a common school education he turned his attention to sheep raising, in which he was extensively and successfully engaged from 1893 until 1906, during which time he and his brother Alexander had as high as ten thousand sheep. Since then they have largely concentrated their efforts and attention upon the raising of cattle, mules and high grade horses. Their business interests have been organized under the name of the Standard Horse & Mule Company, of which Leo Johnson is the manager, with J. L. Wrathall as president and A. Fred Anderson as secretary, while Alexander Johnson is one of the directors. This company has three hundred mules and six hundred horses, and owns a ranch in the Cedar mountains. There they run their stock and during the early part of the war Leo Johnson sold many head for the company to the English and French governments and later to the American government. Under his capable management the business has been wisely and profitably conducted, and with various other concerns Leo Johnson is also actively connected. He and his brother are most closely associated in business, the former devoting much of his time to the interests of the Standard Horse & Mule Company, while Alexander Johnson looks after their cattle and sheep. The Standard Horse & Mule Company, in addition to the Cedar Mountain property, has a one hundred and twenty acre ranch to the east and the Johnson brothers are the owners of two hundred acres .of laud which is being largely cultivated by Alexander Johnson. In addition they have four hundred acres of pasture and another tract of seven hundred acres of pasture and hay land. The brothers own five hundred head of stock and also one thousand head of sheep This, however, by no means constitutes the scope of their business, for they are partners in the ownership of the interests carried on under the name of the Desert Mercantile Company. The store which they own was formerly the property of the father but has been taken over by the sons and Leo Johnson is now the president of the company, with Alexander Johnson as one of the directors, while a nephew, C. W. Johnson, the son of an elder brother, is the active manager of the business. Leo Johnson was likewise one of the organizers of the Bank of Grantsville and has from the beginning been its vice president. Both brothers are representative business men, alert to their opportunities and throughout their entire lives they have made wise use of their time and talents. They own business property in Grantsville and Leo Johnson has a most attractive modern residence there.
It was on the 12th of March, 1901, that Leo Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Goldie Judd, a daughter of W. R. Judd, who is mentioned on another page of this work in connection with R. R. Judd. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have a son, Raleigh, who is now a second year high school pupil. The religious faith of the family is that of the Mormon Church, and the political belief of Mr. Johnson is that of the republican party. He has served as a member of the city council and he also filled the position of county commissioner from 1916 until 1918. Whatever he undertakes is for the benefit of the community in which he lives or for the substantial and honorable up building of his own fortunes and the advancement of public prosperity. He is highly esteemed in the district in which he makes his home, his many substantial traits of character having gained for him the confidence and goodwill of all with whom he has been associated.
THOMAS JENNINGS.
Thomas Jennings is a plastering contractor who has led a busy and useful life but is to some extent living retired, his former toil having brought to him a comfortable competence that enables him in considerable measure to put aside the more active duties of a business career. He is an esteemed resident of Grantsville, where he has a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of his acquaintance. His birth occurred in Bradford, Yorkshire, England, February 20, 1861, his parents being Thomas and Maria (Hillam) Jennings. The father was a plastering contractor of England and the son learned his trade with his father in that country. He also acquired a common school education in England, his course being equivalent to that of eighth grade work.
He came to America in 1883, making his way to Salt Lake City, where he remained for a year. He worked at his trade at Fort Douglas for one year while building the quarters for the soldiers at that place. They were first built of lumber but have since been rebuilt of brick. In 1884 Mr. Jennings came to Grantsville, where he has since followed his trade and to some extent has engaged in farming. He has plastered in every house in Grantsville with the exception of about three houses and has never had any competition. He always carries on work at a contract of so much per yard and people know him to be thoroughly reliable and trustworthy. He has therefore been accorded a liberal patronage and his success has increased as the years have passed. His home was built about eight years ago, following the destruction of his previous residence by fire. His present house is thoroughly modern throughout and is one of the attractive homes of this section.
In England, in 1882, Mr. Jennings was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Veanland, a native of that country, who passed away in 1884. They had two children. Thomas H., who acquired a common school education and is now a farmer living at Grantsville, married Mel Johnson, of Grantsville, a daughter of Gustav Johnson, and they have two children, John P. and Hyrus. Mrs. Mary Ellis, the daughter, is the wife of a farmer living at Bountiful, Utah, and they have six children: Joe, Allie, Lowell, Earl, Volney and Wanda. In 1885 Mr. Jennings was again married, his second union being with Marintha Butler, who was born in Sheffield, England, and came to Utah with her parents in 1868, the family home being established at Grantsville. There are three children of this marriage. Emily is the wife of Leonard Butterworth, a resident of Franklin, Idaho, and they have one child, Virginia, who is with her parents upon the Idaho farm. Harriet is the wife of Hyrum Argyle. a resident of Bountiful, Utah, and they have one child. Donna. Mr. Argyle is foreman for Holt & Company of Salt Lake City. Violet, the third member of the family, is the wife of William Spiking, who is connected with Culmers Paint & Oil Company of Salt Lake City and also resides at Bountiful.
In 1880 Mr. Jennings was converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has been active in the church during the period of his residence at Grantsville. He is president of elders in the second ward of Grantsville, is choir leader in the church and is well known in musical circles, being also leader of the Grantsville Orchestra. He possesses considerable skill as a violinist, having learned to play the violin when in England. Mr. Jennings has ever been keenly interested in educational affairs and is a member of the Board of Education, having first been elected in 1916 and again in 1918. He was chairman of the building committee of the Board of Education of Tooele county. His political allegiance is given to the republican party but he has never sought office nor cared for political preferment aside from educational lines. He and his wife occupy an attractive home in Grantsville and he is a stockholder in the bank of the town. He is now comfortably situated in life and his prosperity is the direct result of his indefatigable effort.
