Utah County, Utah Biographies
 
 

 

 

 Edward Scherer
 Thomas L. Schofield
 William B. Smith
 O. Parley Smoot
 Irving P. Snell
 J. Lawrence Snow
 Roswell Snow

 Willis K. Spafford
 George A. Storrs
 Joseph H. Storrs
 David Strasburg
 Raymond E. Sutton
 George C. Swan
 
 
Utah Since Statehood
Author is Noble Warrum - 1919

 

EDWARD SCHERER.

Edward Scherer, proprietor of the City Bakery and a representative business man of Provo, was born in Freiburg, Germany, April 18, 1856, a son of Frederick and Pauline (Schmurr) Scherer, who were also natives of Germany. The father was a very successful man who passed away in his native land in 1888 at the age of seventy-two years. He took a very active part in the Revolution in Baden in 1848. His wife, who was born in 1828, passed away in Germany in 1907 at the age of seventy-nine. They were the parents of three children.

Edward Scherer. who was the second of the family, was educated in Freiburg and when fifteen years of age severed home ties in order to come to America. He arrived In New York on the 20th of September, 1871, and made his way direct to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was apprenticed to learn the baker's trade, being employed there for two years.  He then removed to St. Louis, Missouri, where he worked for two years, after which he became a resident of Denver, Colorado, and lived in that city and in other sections of the state for twenty-one years. In 1900 he established a home in Provo and immediately entered the bakery business in a small way. He has since developed his interests until he has now the largest wholesale and retail bakery business in southern Utah. He is also a stockholder in the Knight Trust & Savings Bank and in the State Bank of Provo and has become the owner of large property interests. 

On the 2d of October. 1887, Mr. Scherer was married in Denver, Colorado, to Miss Theresa Kuerc, a native of Germany and a daughter of Alois and Catherine (Kern) Kuerc. Four children were born of this marriage: Pauline, the wife of R. V. Shipman, of Provo; Augusta; Karl; and Josephine.

Mr. Scherer became a naturalized American citizen in San Francisco, California,, in 1881 and has since given his political allegiance to the republican party. During the period of the great war he was active in support of the Red Cross work and the Liberty Loan drives. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, also the United Commercial Travelers and the Provo Commercial Club. His religious faith is that of the Christian Science church.


THOMAS L. SCHOFIELD.

Thomas L. Schofield is widely known in connection with the automobile trade in Utah, for he is the president and general manager of the Schofield Auto Company, conducting business at No. 40 East First street. North, in Provo, and is also the president and a director of the Spanish Fork Motor Company of Spanish Fork. Utah, distributors for the Ford automobiles, the Fordson tractors and dealers in farm implements and automobile supplies and accessories. Mr. Schofield is ranked with the alert, energetic and progressive business men of the state. His entire life has been passed within Utah's borders.

He was born at Nephi on the 19th of January, 1881, a son of N. W. Schofield, a native of England, who was brought to America when but two years of age by his parents, Thomas and Martha (Whitworth) Schofield, who became pioneer residents of Nephi. N. W. Schofield was reared and educated at that place and after starting out in the business world became a successful wool grower, stock raiser and farmer. He removed from Utah to Oregon and is now a resident of La Grande, that state. While living in Utah he was quite prominent in political circles and for several terms filled the office of councilman in Nephi. In Oregon he has served as bishop's counselor and is an active worker in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The mother of Thomas L. Schofield, Mrs. Mary Eleanor (Ord) Schofield, has passed away. She was born in Nephi, a daughter of Thomas and Eleanor (Grant) Ord, who during the period of frontier development in Utah became pioneer settlers of Nephi. The death of Mrs. Schofield occurred July 24, 1918, and was the occasion of deep and sincere regret on the part of many friends as well as her immediate family, numbering her husband and seven children, three sons and four daughters. One daughter had passed away before the mother's demise.

Thomas L. Schofield was the eldest of the family and supplemented his public school training, received in Nephi, by study in the Brigham Young University of Provo, where he completed a commercial course. His early experiences were those of the farm-bred boy. He worked in the fields and upon the range with his father until he reached the age of eighteen years, when the family removed to Oregon and Thomas L. Schofield then took up farming on his own account. In gathering his first crop he harvested twenty-one thousand bushels of grain raised in Union county, Oregon. He continued successfully in farming there for a brief period and then sold his interests. wishing to turn his attention to commercial pursuits. He became connected with the Tintic Lumber Company of Mammoth, Utah, and there remained until 1912, when he came to Provo. In the following year he established his present business, in which he has since been actively engaged. He is now the president and general manager of the Schofield Auto Company, handling Ford motor cars, Fordson tractors, farm implements and automobile supplies and accessories and enjoying a very extensive patronage.  That he has prospered in this undertaking is indicated in the fact that he has also extended his efforts into other fields, becoming the president and a director of the Spanish Fork Motor Company of Spanish Fork, Utah. He likewise has some mining interests.

On the 23d of August, 1917, Mr. Schofield was married in Salt Lake Temple to Miss Venice Brough, a native of Nephi and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter J.  Brough, the former a native of Nephi and the latter of England. Mr. and Mrs. Schofield had but one child, Audrey, who passed away. They reside at No. 231 East Second street, North, and in the social circles of Provo they occupy an enviable position.  Mr. Schofield belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the fifth ward. He served on a mission to Sheffield, England, and was connected with the conference from 1905 until 1908, or for a period of two and a half years. During the latter part of that time he presided over the conference and in church matters he has always taken a helpful part. He belongs to the Provo Commercial Club and he gives his political allegiance to the republican party. He is deeply concerned in everything that has to do with the welfare and progress of the community and the state in which he makes his home. At the same time he devotes much attention to his business affairs, which are wisely and carefully managed, so that his interests are constantly broadening. In 1916 he established a Ford agency at American Fork, which he has since sold, and in 1917 he established the Spanish Fork branch of his business. His trade at Provo is constantly increasing and in all that he does he is actuated by a most progressive and determined spirit.


WILLIAM B. SMITH.

William B. Smith, identified with farming and sheep raising at Alpine, Utah county, was born in Lancashire, England, November 22, 1873, a son of Robert and Ruth (Atherton) Smith. In their family were four sons and four daughters who are yet living, while eight children died in England in infancy.

William B. Smith is the seventh in order of birth of those who survive. Ann is a resident of England, while the others-Ellen, Richard, Elizabeth, Rachel. James and Thomas-are residing in the United States. William B. Smith obtained a common school education and also supplemented the knowledge that he had early acquired by special correspondence courses. He was yet quite young when he took up the work of shearing sheep and throughout the intervening period he has been identified with sheep raising interests in Utah. He and his brother James are now partners in the sheep industry and at present run two bands of sheep. Their business has been successfully conducted and in connection with the raising of sheep and the production of wool they carry on farming, William B. Smith owning forty acres of farming land, all of which is under cultivation, in addition to which he and his brother own sixteen hundred acres of grazing land. They are men of sound business judgment and of unfaltering energy and their success in business is the direct outcome of their close application and wise management.

In January, 1901, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Okey, who was born in Alpine, a daughter of Edwin Okey. a pioneer settler and leading citizen of Alpine who has been active in church work. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have become parents of seven children: Mabel. Ralph, LeRoi, Virgil, Howard, John and Waide. The parents are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and from 1898 until 1900 Mr. Smith filled a faithful mission in Missouri. He is one of the seven presidents of the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Quorum of Seventy, and from 1901 to 1919 has been secretary of the quorum. He is also president of the religion class, and his wife is treasurer of the Relief Society, while previously she was secretary for two years.

In politics Mr. Smith is a republican and for six years has served as a member of the city council at Alpine, taking active and helpful interest in promoting the welfare and up building of the city through the exercise of his official prerogatives. He and his family occupy an attractive and commodious brick residence in Alpine and as the years have passed he has gained a substantial measure of success, becoming one of the men of affluence in his community.


0. PARLEY SMOOT.

No history of Utah would be complete without extended reference to the Smoot family, of which 0. Parley Smoot is a representative. He is actively connected with the business development of Provo as manager of the Bonneville Lumber Company.  He was born May 15, 1876, in the city which is still his home, and was the eleventh in order of birth in a family of thirteen children whose parents were A. O. and Diana (Eldredge) Smoot. Extended reference to the family is made in connection with the record of Senator Smoot on another page of this work. The mother, a native of Indiana, was of English lineage and a daughter of Ira and Nancy (Black) Eldredge, who became pioneer residents of Salt Lake City and afterward removed to Provo. They settled in Utah in 1847 and Mrs. Smoot was the second white woman who entered the fort. Upon many chapters in the annals of Utah the names of the Smoot and Eldredge families are prominently found. The death of Mrs. Smoot occurred in Provo, January 28, 1915, when she had reached the advanced age of seventy-seven years. 

0. Parley Smoot, after pursuing a public school education, entered the Brigham Young University of Provo, from which he was graduated with the class of 1893,  having completed a course in the commercial department. Following his graduation he became connected with the Smoot Lumber Company as bookkeeper and accountant and there remained for twenty-four years. During the last thirteen years of that period he was manager of the business and had active part in the development and control of the undertaking until April, 1917. On the 20th of June of that year he became connected with the Bonneville Lumber Company and has since occupied his present responsible position as manager. His business experience since he started out on his own account has been continuously in connection with the lumber trade and he is thoroughly well informed concerning every feature of the lumber business.  He is thus splendidly qualified to act as manager of the important interests now under his direction. He is energetic, resolute and determined and his persistency of purpose enables him to carry forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes Moreover he is thoroughly reliable and he enjoys an unassailable reputation for integrity as well as enterprise.

On the 21st of February, 1906, at American Fork, Mr. Smoot was married to Miss Helen Condor, a native of that place and a daughter of John Condor, whose people settled at American Fork during the period of early development there. To Mr. and Mrs. Smoot have been born four children: Cleo, whose birth occurred on the 7th of February, 1907; Douglas, born January 1, 1909; Condor, born May 24, 1912; and Helen.  July 27, 1916. All are natives of Provo and are with their parents in an attractive home at No. 385 South Third East, which is owned by Mr. Smoot.  The religious faith of the family is that of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, their connection being with the first ward organization, of which Mr.  Smoot is an elder. In politics he maintains an independent course, voting according to the dictates of his judgment with little regard for party ties. Fraternally he is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and he belongs to the Provo Commercial Club, being deeply interested in all of its plans and projects for the up building of the city along lines of permanent development and improvement. His military record covers service with Companies M and G of the Utah National Guard and in the latter company he held the rank of first lieutenant.


IRVING P. SNELL.

Irving P. Snell, well known in financial circles as the cashier of the First National Bank at Spanish Fork, his native city, was born July 1, 1882, and is a son of the late George D. Snell, who was a native of New Brunswick and belonged to one of the old families of that province of English descent. The ancestral line is traced back to Miles Standish and the founder of the American branch of the Snell family was Thomas Snell, who came to the new world as one of the passengers on the Mayflower.

George D. Snell was educated in New England and came to Utah with his parents. Cyrus and Rhoda (Barnes) Snell, who were pioneer settlers of Spanish Fork, arriving in 1854.  The grandparents here remained throughout their lives and the grandfather devoted his attention to farming and also engaged in general merchandising. His son. George D. Snell, was a farmer and stock raiser and became one of the organizers of the First National Bank, serving as its president from the beginning. The bank was organized under its present form in 1908 and was the successor of the Bank of Spanish Fork, which had been established in 1890. Of the latter George D. Snell was also the president and organizer. He thus took an active and helpful interest in the business development of the portion of the state in which he lived. During the gold excitement of California he went to the coast in 1850 in company with his brother Cyrus, who remained in that state. George D. Snell, however, returned to Utah on the coming of the Johnston army and served with the troops at Echo Canyon. He was also at one time a colonel in the state militia and was connected with civic as well as military affairs, serving as mayor of Spanish Fork and at one time as a member of the state legislature. His political allegiance was given to the republican party and he was the organizer of the party in Spanish Fork. He was prominent in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving as bishop of Spanish Fork for thirty-six years, and prior to the organization of the wards was bishop of the entire city and was a patriarch at the time of his death. He filled a mission to settle the Muddy district and was always very active in religious, political and civic matters, doing much to shape public thought and opinion along the lines of progress and improvement, he died in 1912, at the age of seventy-six years, his birth having occurred in 1836. The mother of Irving P. Snell bore the maiden name of Alexandrena McClain. She was born in England and came to America with her parents, Francis and Fannie (Porter) McClain, during her girlhood days.  The grandfather died in Cincinnati. Ohio, but the grandmother became a pioneer settler of Payson. Utah. Mrs. Snell is still living and makes her home in Salt Lake City. 

Irving P. Snell was the fifth son in a family of seven children, six sons and a daughter. He was educated in the district schools of Spanish Fork and at the age of seventeen years started out to provide for his own support. He was first engaged in farm work in the employ of others and in 1906 he became connected with the United States forest service and was thus employed for four years. He next turned his attention to the banking business, securing a position as bookkeeper in the First National Bank, of which he has been cashier since 1914, contributing in substantial measure to its success and to the continued growth of its business. 

On the 16th of February, 1903, Mr. Snell was married in Spanish Fork to Miss Mary Malcolm, who was born in the city in which she still makes her home. She is a daughter of David T. and Margaret (Bell) Malcolm, who belonged to old families of Utah. Her father is now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Snell have been born three children: Blanche, who was born in October. 1903. at Spanish Fork; Margaret, in January, 1905; and Irving Dixon. April 22, 1917.

Politically Mr. Snell is a republican and is the present efficient mayor of Spanish Fork, having been elected to the office in the fall of 1916. He belongs to the Commercial Club and also to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of the second ward.  During the period of the great European war he has been active in all movements promoting the interests of the government in its preparation for the war, in the support of its armies in the field and in the aid given to allies. He has taken active part in furthering the drives for the Liberty Loan, including the Victory loan.


J. LAWRENCE SNOW.

J. Lawrence Snow is the first mayor of Orem and is proving a most capable official.  He is keenly and enthusiastically interested in the welfare of his city, which is rapidly developing and which is being built along modern lines, resulting in rapid, substantial and desirable growth. Mr. Snow was born at American Fork in 1887, a son of John L.  and Anna (Eastman) Snow.

He acquired a high school education and devoted a number of years to merchandising in Logan and in Provo, where he continued until 1912, when he bought a mercantile business on the Provo bench known as the Snow Mercantile Company. He now conducts a business amounting to thirty thousand dollars annually, success attending him, through the years of his connection with this enterprise.  He also owns a twenty-four acre farm in connection with his store and is a man of most progressive spirit, carrying forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes.  Mr. Snow was very active in organizing the town of Orem, which has been incorporated, the papers of incorporation being received May 5, 1919. The purpose of organizing and incorporating the town was to get water for the district. Orem covers nine square miles, being about two and a quarter by four miles and with an assessed valuation of about a million and a half dollars. It is proposed to put in water works at a cost of one hundred and ten thousand dollars, which will make Orem one of the finest residence sections in Utah. The soil is such that a greater variety of fruit can be raised in Orem that in any other section of the state and the district is fast developing into a great fruit raising region. Back of all the enterprise and progress that is being made stands Mr. Snow ready to aid any project or plan for public improvement.

In 1909 Mr. Snow was married to Miss Ruby Taft, of Provo, and they have one child, Beth. In religious faith Mr. Snow is connected with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in which he is serving as an elder. The Utah county commissioners appointed him chairman of the board of trustees. Orem on its organization chose a most progressive man for mayor and he is putting forth every possible effort to advance the interests of the new city and promote its development along the most progressive lines.


ROSWELL SNOW.

No higher testimonial of efficient service can be given than the fact that for eight years Roswell Snow has been retained in the position of superintendent of the city waterworks at Provo. He thoroughly understands every phase of the work that is entrusted to his care and his loyalty to the interests given over to his charge stands as one of the salient features in his record.

Mr. Snow is a native son of Provo, born June 11, 1878. His father. James E. Snow is a representative of one of the old families of Missouri and was born in that state.  The first of the name in Utah was James C. Snow, who cast in his lot with the earliest settlers who planted the seeds of present-day civilization in the soil of this state. He took up his abode at Salt Lake in the early '40s and in 1846 removed to Provo, where he resided to the time of his death. He was the grandfather of Roswell Snow of this review. The grandmother, Mrs. Eliza R. (Carter) Snow, shared with her husband in the hardships and privations incident to the settlement of the frontier and she, too, passed away in Provo.

Their son, James E. Snow, was reared and educated in Provo and from his boyhood days has successfully followed farming and stock raising. He yet makes his home in Utah county and is a very prominent and influential citizen, not only by reason of the success he has attained in business but also because of the helpful part he has taken in promoting political and moral interests of the community. He is a stanch democrat and for eight years served as county road supervisor. The mother, Josephine (Ferry) Snow, is also living and in their family were five sons and three daughters.  Roswell Snow, who was the third in order of birth in this family, supplemented his public school education, acquired in Provo, by study in the Brigham Young University.  From the age of fourteen years he has been dependent upon his own labors and was first employed at clerical work with the Utah Power & Light Company. He remained with that corporation for five years and afterward turned his attention to farming. In 1902 he first became connected with the city government in the department of inspector of sewers and water and was thus active until 1911, winning promotion from time to time and in the latter year assuming entire charge of the city's waterworks and other kindred interests. Through the intervening period he has continued as superintendent and his course has given entire satisfaction to the general public. 

On the 29th of November, 1901. Mr. Snow was married in Provo to Miss Mary Alice Halladay, a native of Provo and a daughter of D. H. and Harriett (Carter) Halladay, both of whom have now passed away, the mother having died in 1918. Mr. and Mrs. Snow have become parents of five children: May Lucille, Alton Roswell, Reava, Delba and James Earl, all of whom were born in Provo. The family residence is at No. 468 East Second street, North.

In politics Mr. Snow maintains an independent course, voting according to his belief concerning the capability of the candidate. He belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of the fifth ward and he is interested in all that has to do with the substantial development and moral progress of the community. During the period of the war he was active in the sale of Liberty Bonds and War Savings Stamps, doing whatever he could to promote the interests of the country and maintain its stability during the trying period through which America has just triumphantly passed.


WILLIS K. SPAFFORD.

No matter in how much fantastic theorizing one may indulge as to the cause and attainment of success, he must eventually reach the conclusion that indefatigable industry, intelligently directed, constitutes the basis of all honorable business advancement. This is again demonstrated in the record of Willis K. Spafford, who is the manager for the Smoot & Spafford Coal Company of Provo. The story of his life is the story of earnest progression resulting from close application and diligence. He was born at Springville, Utah, May 17, 1866. His father, William Nelson Spafford, was a native of Canada, born January 23, 1827, and was a son of Horace and Martha Spafford. His ancestors were French Canadians, but during the period of pioneer development at Springville, Utah, the family home was there established in 1850 and the grandfather, Horace Spafford. continued a resident of that place throughout his remaining days.  William Nelson Spafford spent his early life in Canada and during the Mexican war joined the United States army, with which he rendered valiant service to his adopted country. He marched to Mexico, where he served under General Scott at the storming of the capital. In the autumn of 1850 he came with his parents to Springville and was a prominent factor in the pioneer development and early progress of this section of the state. He took an active part in scouting expeditions incident to the settlement of the new country and was with the party that went to rescue the hand-cart company in the bleak winter of 1856. The emigrants who were making the journey across the plains, pushing their hand carts before them, were in a pitiful condition and William Nelson Spafford and others did gallant service in helping rescue the unfortunates from sinking into frozen graves. At the call of the bishop he and other young men turned out with their teams to aid the travelers by carrying food to them and assisting them in reaching their destination. Mr. Spafford built the first timber bridge across Hobble creek on the site where the present bridge is now found.

The first marriages in Springville were celebrated in the Nichols building and the third marriage was that of William Nelson Spafford and Emma Johnson, the ceremony being performed by William Miller. Speaking of these early marriages, a writer in "A Brief History of Springville, Utah," said: "On each occasion an excellent feast was spread and all within the fort partook. The health's of the young couples were pledged in bumpers of rustic beverage, all concluding with a cotillion party, where the beaux and the sweethearts 'tipped the light fantastic toe' to the inspiring strains of music furnished by the village fiddlers." Emma Johnson, the bride on this occasion, was a daughter of Aaron and Polly Zerviah (Kelsey) Johnson and was born at Haddam, Connecticut, September 13, 1836. They became the parents of the following named: Minerva Z., Emma M., Azalia M., William N., Lillian T., Horace, Willis K., Laura. Weltha, Con C. and Ida La Prele. Mr. and Mrs. Spafford resided in Springville until 1875 and then removed to Annabella, Sevier county, Utah, where Mr. Spafford followed farming and stock raising and where he continued to reside until called to his final rest in 1903, when he had attained the advanced age of seventy-seven years, while Mrs. Spafford passed away at the age of sixty-one years.Willis K. Spafford pursued his education in the schools of Annabella and in the Brigham Young University. When nineteen years of age he started out in the business world on his own account and in 1890 became connected with the wholesale and retail coal trade. In 1893 the present firm of Smoot & Spafford was formed, the partner of Mr. Spafford in this undertaking being the Hon. Reed Smoot, whose name has figured most prominently in shaping the history and promoting the development of the state.  A large trade has been built up at Provo and the business is now one of the profitable commercial concerns of the city. Mr. Spafford is also a member of the board of directors of the Provo Building & Loan Society and is a director of the Grand Central Mining Company. There have been no esoteric phases in his business career, his course being marked by a steady progression that has resulted from unfaltering industry and sound judgment manifest in all of his business affairs.

At Manti, Utah, on the 7th of January, 1891, Mr. Spafford was married to Miss Ann E. Stubbs, a native of Provo and a daughter of Peter and Ann (Wride) Stubbs.  Her people have been residents of Utah from pioneer times. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Spafford: W. Earl, Ann, Marie, Emma, Harold S., Reed, Jesse White and Louise.

The family hold membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of the first ward, in which Mr. Spafford was for eight years counselor of the first ward bishopric. He is identified with the Provo Commercial Club and is in hearty sympathy with all of its plans and projects for the city's improvement and up building. His political endorsement is given to the republican party, but he has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking. He is never neglectful of his duties of citizenship, however, and during the recent war was a very active figure in the Liberty Loan drives and during the "Victory Loan drive served as chairman of the first ward. His well organized work in this connection has done much to put Utah county "over the top" at an early period in the drives. The same determined spirit that has prompted him to reach the goal of his business endeavors has been equally manifest in his work in behalf of his community and his country.


GEORGE A. STORRS.

George A. Storrs, warden of the Utah state prison, is one of the well known men of the state, and during the period of his incumbency in this office he has instituted many reforms that have gained for the penal institution wide and well merited and enviable reputation. Others have followed his leadership in the matter of reforming and bringing back to worthy citizenship those who have stepped aside from the path of duty and rectitude. He studies closely individual cases as well as the methods of the institution at large and treats the offenders as human beings for whom there is possibility of reform and not as individuals entirely without the pale. 

George A. Storrs is a native son and comes from one of Utah's most prominent pioneer families. He was born in Springville, July 5, 1863, being the eldest son and child of his parents, George and Lydia Mary (Kindred) Storrs. George Storrs, the father, was born January 31, 1825, in Missen, Yorkshire, England, a son of Joseph and Mary (Scott) Storrs. George Storrs left England in the early part of 1851 for the Salt Lake valley and crossed the plains as a member of the Ernest Bates company reaching Utah in October, 1851. Lydia Mary Kindred, the mother of George A. Storrs, was born April 11, 1844, at Farthingham, Suffolk, England, a daughter of Edmund H.  and Harriet (Lord) Kindred, and was but a girl when her parents crossed the plains with the Milo Andrus company, reaching Salt Lake on the 24th of October, 1855. She walked most of the distance across the plains. George Storrs was a miller and for some time operated the old Neff mill located on Mill creek. Subsequently he removed to Springville, where he conducted a flour mill until he reached the age of seventy years and then retired from active business. His last days were spent at American Fork, Utah, where he passed away September 1, 1911, and it was there that the mother of George A. Storrs also departed this life. They had a family of eleven children, of whom five sons and two daughters are still living, namely: George A., of this review; Bishop Joseph H. Storrs, a resident of American Fork; John W., who is living in Salt Lake City; William S., residing at American Fork; Charles Arthur, agent for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad at Richfield, Utah; Lavina, now Mrs. Spicer W.  Bird, of Middleton, Utah; and Harriet Luella, now Mrs. Alma Olsen, of American Fork.  George Storrs served as president of the Seventy at Springville, as high priest and also as a Sunday school and ward teacher. He represented the highest type of citizen one whose work and influence were always for the good of the community, wherein he was well known and highly respected. He reared a most excellent family and one that would be a credit to any parentage. His five sons represent an unusual contribution, from one family, to the state's best class of citizens.

George A Storrs attended the schools of Springville and afterward continued his education in the Brigham Young Academy at Provo. He was but a boy when he began acquiring a practical knowledge of the business side of life. Among his early experiences of this character was driving a scraper team on construction work at Leamington and Frisco, Utah, for the Union Pacific Railroad, for which he received a dollar and a quarter per day. In the fall of 1880 he went into the San Juan country in Colorado, where he was similarly employed on Denver & Rio Grande construction work. He returned to Springville, Utah, in the spring of 1882 and shortly afterward went to Soda Springs, Idaho, where he took a small contract on that branch of the Oregon Short Line Railroad. This was the beginning of the railroad contracting business which he followed for a number of years. The company in which he was interested filled contracts involving railroad work in sections of Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and California. The last contract work done by them was the Feather River Canyon section of the Western Pacific Railroad, which entailed an expenditure of more than a million dollars and was completed in 1911. At length he gave up that class of business to become actively associated with the interests of Jesse Knight, for whom he built the first prohibition coal camp in the state at Storrs, in Carbon county. He continued in mining operations until he was appointed warden of the Utah state prison in March, 1917. It was on April 1, 1917, that Mr. Storrs entered upon his duties as warden of the state prison. He had on many occasions prior to that date been brought in close contact with the underdog. For years as a peace officer, particularly as sheriff of Utah county, Utah, in which capacity he served for three terms in the days of "bad men," he had learned to study and analyze character. In that capacity he had also met many of the flotsam and jetsam of humanity whose condition was due mostly to weakness and inefficiency, which had reached out, as it were, and joined hands with criminality of one kind or another. Mr. Storrs had also known, in his work as a contractor on railroad construction, the underdog of still another type. In addition to that he had been in a managerial capacity with one of the large coal companies of the intermountain region and there had had occasion to meet and study and understand men from practically all walks of life. And with such understanding of men in general, he took up his work as warden; and from the first day of his warden ship the Utah state prison and policies of management began to undergo a complete transformation. He established the honor system, having at the present time throughout the state many camps devoted to road making entirely composed of prisoners without guard to look after them. So far but very few attempts have been made to escape among the hundreds of prisoners placed on the honor roll. Those who violate this honor are never again trusted but are placed in the prison proper. A moving picture show is put on once a week at the prison and other efforts are made to break the monotony in the life of these men. A large swimming pool has been installed in the prison yard. All of his . charges love and respect him for his humane treatment and his appeal to their better nature.

In 1884 Mr. Storrs was married to Miss Sarah Corcelia Oakley, of Springville, Utah, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Oakley, pioneer people of the state. Mr. and Mrs.  Storrs have become parents of eight children. Beulah, now Mrs. A. E. Lewis, was born in Springville and was educated in the Manchester School of Arts and Elocution.  Vira, now Mrs. Nat Shanklin, also a native of Springville, was educated in the Brigham Young University and resides in Trenton, Missouri. She has two children. Nat, Jr., and Blaine Shanklin. James Russell, who was likewise born in Springville and was educated in the Brigham Young University at Provo, married Miss Ida Brown and is engaged in ranching in Carbon county, Utah. They have five children: Beulah, Fay, Dorothy, Lorna and George Russell. Joseph Lewis Storrs, the fourth of the family, was born in Springville, Utah, attended the Brigham Young University and now resides in Carbon county. Utah. He married Miss Ruth Carlson and they have one child.  Emma Lou. Fred Oakley, born in Springville, attended the Brigham Young University at Provo and married Miss Lottie Gibson, by whom he has three children: Donna, Erma and Arthur. Leland Vere, born in Provo and educated in the Brigham Young University now resides in Carbon county, Utah. He married Miss Ruth Schultz and they have one child, Maxine. Kindred Lane, born in Provo, attended the public schools there and the high school of Salt Lake City. George Elmo died at the age of two and a half years.

Mr. Storrs gives his political allegiance to the democratic party and his first political position was that of city marshal of Springville, Utah. Aside from other business connections he has been largely interested in oil properties, principal among these being the Rainbow Petroleum Production Company. He is also connected with several others and in business affairs displays sound judgment. He is associated with his brother Joseph in the ownership of the Storrs Mercantile Company at Storrs, Carbon county, Utah, and is identified with a number of mining companies in the Tintic, Park City, Bingham and eastern Utah mining districts. He was an incorporator and has since been president of the Cedar Mesa Farm Company of Helper, Utah. It is his work, however, as warden of the Utah state prison for which he is best known and here he displays his ability to read and understand men. He believes that the spark of goodness may be kindled into a flame in almost every individual and he conducts the prison along constructive lines with the hope of building up character and promulgating high ideals among those who have hitherto not held themselves amenable to law.


JOSEPH H. STORRS.

Joseph H. Storrs is a well known and prominent figure in business and church circles, contributing in substantial measure to the material and moral progress of American Fork, where he makes his home. He is now superintendent of the American Fork Cooperative Institution and since July 14. 1901, has been bishop of his ward.  He was born in Springville, Utah, August 25, 1867, a son of George and Lydia M. (Kindred) Storrs, both of whom were natives of England. The father came to America in 1852 and the mother made the journey to the new world in 1856 with her parents, Edmund Henry and Harriet (Lord) Kindred.

Mr. and Mrs. Storrs were married in the Endowment House of Salt Lake City and they had a family of eleven children, five sons and six daughters, of whom Bishop Storrs was the fourth child. The father came to the new world because of his conversion to the church and settled in Salt Lake City in 1856 he removed to Springville and in 1904 became a resident of American Fork, where he resided to the time of his death, which occurred September 1, 1911, when he had reached the advanced age of eighty-seven years. He was a miller by trade and followed that business throughout his active life. In the work of the church he took very active and prominent part and was president of the Seventies. He did not retire from active business life until he had reached the age of seventy-five. The mother died in 1916, when seventy-two years of age, her birth having occurred in 1844.  Joseph H. Storrs was educated in the public schools of Springville to the age of sixteen years, when he started out to provide for his own support. He was first employed as a clerk by the Springville Cooperative Institution and was connected with the store there for seven and a half years. He then entered the employ of H. T. Reynolds & Company, with whom he continued for an equal period, and afterward he removed to American Fork, where he purchased a farm, devoting his attention to its further cultivation for a year. He is still the owner of that property, which he now operates in connection with a brother. In 1899 Joseph H. Storrs entered the store of the American Fork Cooperative Institution as a clerk and in 1907 was advanced to the position of superintendent, in which capacity he has since efficiently served, largely developing the interests of the business. He has also become a director of the People's State Bank of American Fork, of which he was one of the incorporators, and he is likewise a member of its executive committee. In business affairs he displays sound judgment and unfaltering enterprise and his progressiveness has brought him steadily to the front.

On the 24th of October, 1888, in Manti Temple, Bishop Storrs was married to Miss Arvilla Harrison, a native of Springville and a daughter of George and Rosella D.  (White) Harrison, the latter now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Storrs have become parents of seven children, six of whom are yet living, three sons and three daughters: Joseph Bertrand; Rosella, now the wife of Elmer Miller; Norven Lloyd; Myrl; Wilfred; and Bertha. Their third child, Duane Harrison, has passed away.  Mr. Storrs is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, American Fork second ward, and on the 14th of July, 1901, at the organization of the ward, he was ordained bishop and has since filled that position. He has also been active in support of all movements that furthered the interests of the war, being chairman of every Liberty Loan, Red Cross and also other drives at American Fork and acting as second vice chairman of the Council of Defense for Utah county


DAVID STRASBURG.

David Strasburg, a fruit farmer residing on the Provo bench, was born in Rush valley, Tooele county, July 15, 1873, a son of Louis and Mary (Armstrong) Strasburg, the former a native of Germany, while the latter was born in England. The father on coming to America made his way to Utah with Johnston's army. The mother became a resident of Utah in 1848, crossing the Atlantic to the new world with her parents, who became pioneer residents of American Fork, Utah. While coming to this state with Johnston's army, Louis Strasburg decided to remain and took up land in Weber county, Utah, where he resided for a short period. He then removed to Rush valley, where he homesteaded, and became a very prominent and prosperous sheep and cattle man and large landowner. He continued to develop his fields and care for his flocks and herds until 1898, when he retired from active business, selling his interests to his son David.

The latter was educated in the public schools and was reared to farm life, early becoming the active assistant of his father in the further development of the home property and in the care of the stock. As stated, he purchased the business in 1898, when twenty-five years of age, and afterward continued in the raising of sheep and cattle until 1918, when he sold that property and purchased his present place on Provo bench, having here a farm of twenty-eight and a half acres, which he purposes to develop into a fine fruit farm, devoted to the raising of all kinds of fruit, the soil and climate being especially adapted for that purpose. He already has several acres planted to fruit, and his orchards are in excellent condition. He had gained a very substantial measure of success when he left Rush valley and he intends to take life with moderate ease. He removed from that place in order to have better educational opportunities for his children, which he could secure at Provo.

It was on the 23d of March, 1900, that Mr. Strasburg was united in marriage to Miss Sarah St. Joer, who belongs to one of the pioneer families of Rush valley. Her grandfather, Francis St. Joer, was the first bishop of Clover creek and later was patriarch. He was a very zealous and devout churchman and in secular affairs was a rancher. To Mr. and Mrs. Strasburg have been born five children who are yet living and they have lost two, the third in order of birth, Olive, died at the age of twenty-one months, and Reva, the fifth, died at birth. Those who survive are Albert, Ephraim, Mabel, Lewis and Lawrence. The family residence is a modern brick house standing two and a half miles from Provo on the bank of the Provo river, so that the opportunities of the city are easily available, while the pleasures of farm life can also be enjoyed.

In politics Mr. Strasburg is a stalwart republican and his keen interest in the party is shown in the fact that he has several times been a delegate from Rush valley to the county conventions of Tooele county. He supports every measure which he believes will prove of public benefit, and his position upon any vital question is never an equivocal one.


RAYMOND E. SUTTON

Among progressive young business men of Provo is Raymond E. Sutton, the proprietor of the Strand theatre at No. 150 West Center street. He was born in Provo. March 29, 1891, and is a son of Ephraim D. and Fannie (Sutherland) Sutton, the former a native of Salt Lake City and the latter of Springville, Utah county.The paternal grandfather was Isaac Sutton, a native of England, who in the period of early development in Utah became a resident of this state. The maternal grandfather was Alexander Sutherland, who also arrived in Utah in pioneer times. Ephraim D.  Sutton was one of the early merchants of Park City and won success in the conduct of his business affairs there but is now living retired, enjoying well earned rest. The mother is a sister of Senator George Sutherland.

Raymond E. Sutton is the only survivor of a family of three children. The public school system of Provo provided him with his early educational opportunities and later he continued his studies in a high school of San Diego, California, and afterward pursued college and university work in the George Washington University at Washington, D. C. He specialized in the study of architecture there and after completing his course he returned to Provo and entered upon his active business career in mercantile lines. For five years he was the manager of the grocery department of The Sutton Market and he was also the manager of the grocery and hardware departments of the Tintic Mercantile Company at Eureka, Utah, for a year. On the expiration of that period he established the Strand theatre, which he opened on the 18th of May, 1917. From a small start he has built up and developed one of the leading moving picture theatres in southern Utah. The house is modern in every equipment and detail and the film features present the leading attractions of the screen. The house has a seating capacity of four hundred, is conducted on the popular price plan and is most liberally patronized. Mr. Sutton also has other business interests and in everything that he undertakes displays sound judgment and a progressive spirit.  On the 24th of February, 1915, in Provo, Mr. Sutton was married to Miss Helen Daley, a native of Provo and a daughter of Joseph Daley. Mr. and Mrs. Sutton have become the parents of twin daughters, "Virginia Frances and Helen Kathleen, who were born May 3, 1916. The family occupies an attractive home at No. 239 East First.  North, street, which is owned by Mr. Sutton.

In his political views Mr. Sutton has always been an earnest republican, giving stalwart allegiance to the party and its principles. Fraternally he is a Mason. He was initiated into the order in Story Lodge, No. 4, of Provo, on the 27th of March, 1919.  He is also connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, with the Provo Commercial Club and with the Kappa Sigma, a Greek letter fraternity. These connections show the nature and breadth of his interests and are indicative of the progressive spirit which actuates him in every relation of life. He is a young man, alert and energetic, and what he has already accomplished through his own efforts indicates that his future career will be well worth watching.


GEORGE C. SWAN.

Thorough training and experience have well qualified George C. Swan for the responsible position which he now occupies as city engineer at Provo. His work is of an important character and he is conscientious in the performance of all of his duties, which are discharged with thoroughness and accuracy. He was born in Salt Lake City. October 6. 1874.

His father, the late Douglas A. Swan, was a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, and in the year 1862 arrived in Salt Lake City, being at that time a youth of fourteen years. It was not until the following year that his father, George Swan, came to the new world. All of the family had previously been converted to the faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and George Swan remained in Scotland on a mission, while his wife and seven children emigrated to America and made their way to Utah, where he joined them in 1863. In political circles he was very active. During his residence in Scotland he was the organizer and manager of the largest shoe factory in that country and after reaching Salt Lake City he immediately set about to establish a similar plant in the capital. The business, however, was not a pronounced success, as most people in that day wore rawhide shoes. When the railroad was built through this section of the country he became the secretary of the Utah Central and at that time his son. Douglas A. Swan, entered upon railroad service. The latter became a member of the American Society of Public Accountants. In young manhood he was employed in the Salt Lake City post office, where his father. George Swan, was then acting as assistant postmaster. As previously stated, George Swan filled the position of secretary with the Utah Central Railroad and later was city auditor of Salt Lake. He died in 1900, at the age of seventy-three years.

On entering the railroad service Douglas A. Swan started as a truck man and from that position was promoted to transfer agent and stationed at Ogden, where lie learned telegraphy. He was later transferred to the superintendent's office and when the road was built south from York became secretary of the Utah Southern, which was the name of the road from that point south. He remained in that position until called to serve, on a mission to Australia, and in response to the desire of his church he went to that country, where he remained successfully in the work of the church for two years, beginning in 1875. It was also during the period of his early manhood and prior to his connection with the railroad that he learned the carpenter's trade and worked on the Salt Lake tabernacle. On his return from Australia he again took up carpentering, which he followed for a year. He next worked as dispatcher on the Utah Northern, the terminus of which was at Arimo, with the principal offices at Logan. He took an active part in the construction of the road during the building of the line from Arimo to Butte but on account of ill health had to retire from that field of labor. He served altogether for four years with the Utah Northern Railroad and he next became bookkeeper for the Deseret National Bank and occupied other positions in the institution until the failure of the banks in Provo. He was then appointed special examiner for the banks and closed but one. Later one of the Provo banks was reopened and Mr. Swan became its cashier. This was the First National Bank of Provo and he occupied the position for six years. He then left Provo and returned to Salt Lake City, where he became deputy city treasurer, later filling out the unexpired term of his father, who had passed away. He next became connected with the Utah Power & Light Company and took a very active part in its business preparatory to the sale and the organization of the present company, which was formed by consolidating various interests of this kind. Later Mr. Swan followed accounting to the time of his death, which occurred in 1907, when he had reached the age of fifty-eight years. He was likewise very active in church work, particularly in the Sunday school and in the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association. He possessed marked musical talent and while in Provo had much to do with promoting the interests of the orchestra. His political support was always given to the democratic party and throughout his entire life he stood for progress and improvement in civic affairs, in the public interests of the state and in the business, social and moral life of the communities in which he made his home. He was at the time of his death chairman of the state board of accountants by appointment of Governor Spry. The mother of George C. Swan was in her maidenhood Miss Melissa Coray, a daughter of the late William and Melissa (Burton) Coray, who established their home in Utah in pioneer times. Her mother was one of two women that went through the Mexican war. Her father was a sergeant in Cook's company of the Mormon Battalion. Mr. and Mrs. Coray were driven out of Nauvoo with the Mormon people, who crossing the desert, made their way to Salt Lake. Mrs. Swan is still living and now resides in Los Angeles, California. She became the mother of eight children, five sons and three daughters.

George C. Swan, the eldest of the family, attended the public schools of Logan and Salt Lake, also the Latter-day Saints College at Salt Lake and later completed a course in the University of Utah. He studied civil engineering and at the age of twenty-one years started out to practice his profession. He has since specialized in civil and mining engineering and was first connected with what was called the Salt Lake & Pacific Railroad He was connected with sonic reservoir and canal work in northern Utah and afterward took a government contract for land surveying. He likewise worked with the Mammoth Mining Company and with the Eureka Hill Mining Company. Later he was connected with the mining interests of the Daly-West Mining Company and was employed for one season on location survey for the Union Pacific Railroad. Returning to the government employ, he again served as land surveyor and with his associates surveyed about one-fourth of the reservation when it was opened. After completing this task he entered upon the practice of general engineering. In 1901 he went north to do work for the Oneida irrigation district and was later made chief engineer of that project, with which he was connected until the completion of the work to the point of appropriation of the water. He was subsequently with the Utah Power & Light Company in the Weber plant and next turned again to government employment in the public land survey. During the opening of 1912 he went to work for Salt Lake City as an inspector and continued there until May, when he resigned his position to accept the post of city engineer of Provo. His experiences along professional lines have indeed been broad, varied and valuable and his powers have constantly increased until his ability is widely recognized throughout the state. He is regarded as one of the prominent civil and mining engineers of Utah and has been connected with many important railroad, irrigation and other projects. He has membership with the Utah Society of Engineers.

On the 30th of August, 1899, Mr. Swan was married in Salt Lake Temple to Miss Florence Hoover, a native of Provo and a daughter of John W, and Mary (Corsa) Hoover, the former now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Swan have been born ten children, of whom eight are now living: Douglas H.; Elsie; George W.; Mary and Melissa, twins; Robert and Herbert, twins, who have passed away, the latter dying at the age of six months; Allen Adair; Howard McDonald; and Eudora.

During his college days, while a student in the University of Utah, Mr. Swan had military training and was first lieutenant of Company C, while during the last year of his university course he was commander of the artillery squad. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of the third ward and is secretary of the One Hundred and Twenty-third Quorum of Seventy. He is also secretary of the Seventy class of the Utah stake. Mr. Swan belongs to the Provo Commercial Club and takes an active and helpful interest in everything that pertains to the progress and up building of his city and the advancement of its interests. His political allegiance has always been given to the democratic party since he attained his majority and he has taken an active and leading part in promoting its interests. During the period of the war he took a helpful part in promoting the Liberty Loan and Red Cross work. The Coray family were among the very early American settlers and Mr. Swan is also descended from the Burtons, who came originally from Canada and settled in New York, General Robert T. Burton being a brother of Melissa (Burton) Coray, the mother of Melissa (Coray) Swan, who is the mother of George C. Swan. Both Mr. and Mrs. Swan occupy an enviable position in social circles of Provo and enjoy the high regard of all who know them. Their aid and influence is ever on the side of progress and improvement and they have done effective work in upholding the interest and aims of the government during the crisis through which the country has just passed.

 

  

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