Charles Nettleton Strevell
From birchyHistory
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| − | Charles Nettleton Strevell, was presumably born in 3 June 1858 to Zelus H. Nettleton (possibly Z. N. Nettleton, one of the founding fathers of Pontiac, Illinois) and Elizabeth Butler Kelly in Pontiac, IL. His parents had two other children before him: John & Mary. When his mother was pregnant with him, his father died (late 1857). In 15 August, 1858, his mother married local founder [[Jason W. Strevell]]. Strevell was a lawyer who also operated hardware stores. When Charles was 10 years old, Strevell adopted him, although it required a special act of the legislature to do so. At this time, his father was a legislator and Charles was a page. | + | Charles Nettleton Strevell, was presumably born in 3 June 1858 to Zelus H. Nettleton (possibly Z. N. Nettleton, one of the founding fathers of Pontiac, Illinois) and Elizabeth Butler Kelly in Pontiac, IL. His parents had two other children before him: John & Mary. When his mother was pregnant with him, his father died (late 1857). In 15 August, 1858, his mother married local founder [[Jason W. Strevell]]. Strevell was a lawyer who also operated hardware stores. When Charles was 10 years old, Strevell adopted him, although it required a special act of the legislature to do so. At this time, his father was a legislator and Charles was a page. |
| + | [[File:CNStrevell.jpg|thumb|300px]] | ||
In 1969, when Charley was about 11 or 12 years old, his older brother John Nettleton went on a [[Nelson Buck massacre|surveying adventure]] that almost cost him his life. Three years later, John sued his stepfather for the inheritance and received all the property plus a share of the farm's proceeds for the previous 15 years. He then married and soon left the county. | In 1969, when Charley was about 11 or 12 years old, his older brother John Nettleton went on a [[Nelson Buck massacre|surveying adventure]] that almost cost him his life. Three years later, John sued his stepfather for the inheritance and received all the property plus a share of the farm's proceeds for the previous 15 years. He then married and soon left the county. | ||
| − | + | He missed two winters of education while in Springfield, and afterwards contracted typhoid fever, which sidelined him for almost a year. At age seventeen, he entered the business world (?working for his father's hardware store?). | |
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| + | Broken in health when he was 20, the family doctor advised them to go west for a drier climate. After his next birthday, his parents moved to the new frontier town of Miles City, Montana in 1879 (3 years after Custer's Last Stand and 2 years before the railroad reached town). Those seeking a fortune were getting into the open range cattle business as the Native Americans were subjugated and the bison herds decimated. Charley's father combined livestock and law in the new town. Charley's younger sister married the nephew of the town's namesake and top military officer. George M. Miles followed his uncle Nelson A. Miles to the new post and started a business selling things to the soldiers. Soon he and the Strevells had gone into the hardware store business together ("[[Miles & Strevell]]", then "[[Miles, Strevell & Ulmer]]", which later was just "[[Miles & Ulmer]]"), as well as founding a local Presbyterian church together. | ||
Charles married Elizabeth Crawford (b. Illinois c. 1856) in 1881 in Pontiac, Illinois. | Charles married Elizabeth Crawford (b. Illinois c. 1856) in 1881 in Pontiac, Illinois. | ||
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It was customary for Charles to return to Miles City twice a year. | It was customary for Charles to return to Miles City twice a year. | ||
| − | While hardware was his vocation, his real love was archeology. | + | Among his various other pursuits, he was involved in a coal mine, which may have been hoped to help him with his hobbies. |
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| + | While hardware was his vocation, his real love was archeology. This may have influenced the move to Utah (or it may have just been a frontier-seeking, entrepreneurial spirit). He became known for his rare collection of historic, geological and archeological relics and established a museum. He became well known for his essay, "[http://allanmccollum.net/amcnet3/reprints/dinosauropodes.html Dinosauropodes]," [http://www.birchy.com/history/ExtPgsArchv/Dinosauropodes.html] which was published several times during the 1930s. The Charles Nettleton Strevell Museum was located in the old Lafayette School on South Temple Street from 1939 until 1947. Some of his specimens went to the Utah Museum of Natural History on the University of Utah campus, which opened in 1963 (now called the "Natural History Museum of Utah"). The plaque from his museum read "Strevell Museum - Presented to the Board of Education May 9, 1939 - For the boys and girls of Salt Lake City - by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Nettleton Strevell - In memory of their son". The door jamb from their Pontiac home, with Lincoln's height marked on it was put in the museum, as well. | ||
As a member of the Utah state constitutional convention in 1895, he helped draw up the state's first constitution. | As a member of the Utah state constitutional convention in 1895, he helped draw up the state's first constitution. | ||
| − | + | As an employer, he and his associates were fairly progressive, providing benefits and personal assistance to employees. Employees of his business interests had 1% of their pay deducted and the company matched. This provided them life ($1000), medical and disability (2.6% of salary) insurance, as well as $25 to help pay for a marriage and $25 to help pay for birth of a child. While the payouts weren't high, they would help a person survive. Often, assistance was extended beyond the stated terms. | |
| + | In 1943, he published a 304 page memoir: "As I Recall Them". Recollections of Abraham Lincoln in Illinois in 1860, and Strevell's father persuading Lincoln to stand against a door frame and have his height verified as 6'4"; experiences in cattle ranching in Montana in the 1880s including the brands of prominent ranches, hardware sales in Ogden and Salt Lake City, Utah during the 1890s, as well as various banking and Mormon activities in Utah. "This privately printed book has some mention of Calamity Jane and the hanging of Big Nose George Parrott, as well as the hanging of Cold Turkey Bill and his gang, and Beaver Creek Jake and his bunch of rustlers." An informative and interesting book of the author's lifetime experiences in Illinois, Montana, and Utah. | ||
| + | [[File:CNStrevell_Sig.jpg|thumb|200px]] | ||
Last residence was 105 E. South Temple St. | Last residence was 105 E. South Temple St. | ||
Charles died in a Salt Lake City hospital (Utah State Miners Hospital) 21 September 1947 of causes incident to age (89). His death certificate gives the cause as colon cancer, prostate cancer and myocarditis. He had been in the hospital for 8 days. He was buried in Chicago. | Charles died in a Salt Lake City hospital (Utah State Miners Hospital) 21 September 1947 of causes incident to age (89). His death certificate gives the cause as colon cancer, prostate cancer and myocarditis. He had been in the hospital for 8 days. He was buried in Chicago. | ||
