Charles Nettleton Strevell
From birchyHistory
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| − | Charles Nettleton Strevell, was presumably born | + | Charles Nettleton Strevell, was presumably born in 3 June 1858 to Zelus 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. |
In 1969, when Charley was about 11 or 12 years old, he went on a surveying adventure that almost cost him his life. | In 1969, when Charley was about 11 or 12 years old, he went on a surveying adventure that almost cost him his life. | ||
| Line 9: | Line 9: | ||
When he was about 21 or 22, 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 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. | When he was about 21 or 22, 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 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 in 1881 in Pontiac, Illinois, and after several years in Miles City, they extended the hardware store to Ogden, Utah in 1890. He and Elizabeth then moved themselves and their store to Salt Lake City, consolidating with the George M. Scott Co. The firm later became the Strevell-Paterson Hardware Co., of which he was president for 28 years before his retirement in 1931. | + | Charles married Elizabeth Crawford (b. Illinois c. 1856) in 1881 in Pontiac, Illinois, and after several years in Miles City, they extended the hardware store to Ogden, Utah in 1890. He and Elizabeth then moved themselves and their store to Salt Lake City, consolidating with the George M. Scott Co in 1899. The firm later became the Strevell-Paterson Hardware Co., of which he was president for 28 years before his retirement in 1931. |
| − | While hardware was his vocation, his real love was archeology. It is supposed that this was the reason for the move to Utah. He became known for his rare collection of historic, geological and archeological relics and established a museum. He became well known for his essay, "Dinosauropodes," which was published several times during the 1930s. | + | While hardware was his vocation, his real love was archeology. It is supposed that this was the reason for the move to Utah. He became known for his rare collection of historic, geological and archeological relics and established a museum. He became well known for his essay, "Dinosauropodes," 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"). |
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. | ||
| Line 17: | Line 17: | ||
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. | 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. | ||
| − | Charles died in a Salt Lake City hospital 21 September 1947 of causes incident to age (89). | + | 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. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Elizabeth died 10 March 1950 in Salt Lake City of pneumonia, after a year of "generalized emanciation". She was 94 and was buried in Chicago. | ||
