and was thus engaged until he reached the age of twenty-six years, conducting, his
interests along those lines in both Utah and Idaho. He then removed to Wayne county,
Utah, where he took up the occupation of farming and also established and conducted
a lumberyard, there remaining until 1909, when he removed to Delta. Here he has
been concentrating his efforts and energies largely upon the construction and pro-
motion of irrigation projects. He is the president of the Melville Irrigation Company,
which now supplies water for ten thousand acres, a portion of which includes the
Delta townsite. He is likewise the vice president of the Sevier Land & Water Com-
pany and is a director of the Delta State Bank. He is a director of the Fremont
Irrigation Company and is the owner of a farm of two hundred and forty acres lying
west of Delta, devoted to the raising of beets, grain and alfalfa. His business affairs
are wisely and carefully directed, and his undaunted enterprise and energy have
brought him a substantial measure of success.

Throughout his life Mr. Maxfield has remained an active worker in the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and formerly was counselor to the bishop of
Fremont, being appointed to" that office when but twenty-six years of age. He was
afterward set aside as bishop and ably filled the post for fourteen years. He .was
also high counselor for three years and after his removal to Delta he was made pre-
siding elder and ten months later was set aside as bishop, which important position

Vol. IV 47



740 UTAH SINCE, STATEHOOD

he has since filled. While residing in Wayne county he was connected with public
interests of a political character. He was chosen to represent the county in the second
state legislature of 1897 and 1898. He likewise served as county commissioner of
Wayne county for three years and since removing to Millard county he has occupied
the position of county commissioner for a period of six years, discharging his duties
with marked capability, promptness and fidelity.

In June, 1882, Mr. Maxfield was married to Miss Ruth Covert, a daughter of Wil-
liam Spencer Covert, one of the early members of the Mormon church and a resident
of Nauvoo, Illinois, under Joseph Smith. Mr. and Mrs. Maxfield have six living chil-
dren : Mrs. ; Ruth Searle, Horace Clyde, Archelus H., Helen A., Blanche and Ethel.
Archelus was a member of the famous Second Division of the American Expeditionary
Force in the World war and served in France for more than two years, while later
he was with the army of occupation in Germany. Since being discharged from the
army he has farmed a portion of his father's holdings. Helen and Blanche are grad-
nates of the Latter-day Saints University of Salt Lake and the former is now a stenog-
rapher for the county agricultural agent, while the latter is acting as bookkeeper
for the Hub Mercantile Company of Delta. Such in brief is the history of Mr. Max-
field and his family. Throughout his entire life he has been actuated by a spirit
of progress and improvement and he never stops short of the successful accomplish-
ment of his well formulated plans, whether for the benefit of his individual fortunes,
the advancement of public welfare or the upbuilding of the church.



HENRY KENNEDY NEILL, M. D.

Dr. Henry Kennedy Neill was a pioneer physician and druggist whose death
removed from Sevier county one of its highly respected and valued citizens. He
was born in Scotland in 1856. His father was a weaver by trade, but the boy was
ambitious to become a practitioner of medicine and surgery and all of his early
efforts were directed toward that end. He is practically a self-educated man, at-
tending night school while working in shipyards. He took up the study of pharmacy
and dentistry and after receiving his diplomas for" completed work in those con-
nections he at once entered upon the study of medicine in one of the most famous
institutions in Scotland, paying for the course with the salary which he earned.
Before he was thirty years of age, thus entirely through his own efforts he had
obtained his degree of M. D. in his native country.

In 1887 Dr. Neill came to Utah, intending to visit a sister, who was then re-
siding in Beaver, Utah. It was his purpose to return to Scotland to practice but
finding southern Utah was without a physician at the time, he decided to remain.
People of the district called upon him so frequently for professional services that
he believed a good field was here offered and in 1889 he established an office in
Richfield, there remaining until his keenly lamented death in 1917. Being the
only physician in the county at an early day it would seem that Dr. Neill would
have accumulated a large fortune, but his charities were so numerous and so large
that he did not accumulate wealth. He was constantly extending a helping hand
where aid was needed and ofttimes his generosity was known only to himself and
the recipients. Kindly almost to a fault, he frequently never sent a poor patient
a bill for services and in addition secretly helped those who were in distress.

On the 20th of July, 1890, Dr. Neill was married to Miss Maria Peterson,
whose father, Andrew Peterson, was one of the pioneers of Sevier county who were
driven out by the Indians in the early '60s. The family returned, however, in
1867 and has since resided in Sevier county. Early in his career in Richfield,
Dr. Neill found that the lack of drugs was a serious matter in the city and to
meet this want he established the first drug store of the town. As the city grew he
erected a handsome two-story building on Main street and removed his business
to that location. At the time of the erection of this building it was the finest
structure in Richfield and is now one of the four best.

Great sorrow was manifest throughout Richfield when on August 6, 1917,
its residents learned that Dr. Neill had passed away. For many years he had
ministered to them not only as a physician but as a kind and generous friend. He
was most devoted to the welfare of his family and is survived by a widow and




DR. HENRY K. NEILL



UTAH SINCE STATEHOOD 743

four children. Henry K., the eldest son, is a licensed pharmacist, while Glenn is
a medical student in the University of Utah. Bessie has graduated from a steno-
graphic school and is a public school teacher, while Annie completes the family.
They still conduct the drug business as the Neill Drug Company and in addition
to handling a large stock of drugs, chemicals and druggists' supplies, the company
is the Richfield representative of the famous San Tox line of drugs and toilet
articles, each of which carries a money refunded guarantee. The Neill store is
accorded a most liberal patronage by those who gave their trade to its genial
founder and who receive the same courteous and fair treatment at the hands of
those who are now guiding its affairs. Dr. Neill's name has indeed long been an
honored one in this section of the state, and his memory remains as a blessed
benediction to all who knew him.



CALVIN CRAGUN.

That Calvin Cragun has occupied the position of chief clerk at Clearcreek with
the Utah Fuel Company for the past eighteen years is proof positive of his capability
and fidelity in that position. The great corporations with their multiplicity of inter-
ests and the magnitude of their business do not retain in their service men who are
in any way incompetent for the work entrusted to them and no higher testimonial
of Mr. Cragun's ability could be given than the fact that he has been with the Utah
Fuel Company for almost two decades. He was born at Millcreek, Utah, May 15,
1862, a son of Thomas Calvin and Amelia (Chambers) Cragun, who were pioneer
settlers of this state and endured the hardships of the early days.

Mr. Cragun was liberally educated, supplementing his early training by study in
the Brigham Young College at Logan. At eighteen years of age he started out to
provide for his own support and entered railroad circles as clerk and depot agent,
filling these positions at various places until he was appointed chief clerk at Clear-
creek for the Utah Fuel Company. He has become a stockholder in the Price Com-
mercial & Savings Bank and is a man of recognized business ability and enterprise.
His religious faith is that of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and he
is now serving as clerk of the ward. Thoroughness and system characterize his work,
and reliability manifests itself in all of his life's relations.



RUSH BROWN STEVENS, M. D.

Dr. Rush Brown Stevens, engaged in the active practice of medicine and surgery
at Fillmore, was born in Curtis, New York, tn 1882. His parents, Jason and Rilla
(Turnbull) Stevens, were both members of old New York families. The doctor was
educated in the graded and high schools of Corning, New York, and pursued his
academic course in the University of New York, while his medical training was re-
ceived in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Baltimore, Maryland, where he
won his M. D. degree upon graduation with the class of 1908, and during the suc-
ceeding two years he was superintendent of Mercy Hospital at Baltimore, thus gaining
that broad and valuable experience never to be obtained as quickly in any other way
as through hospital practice.

In 1910 Dr. Stevens removed to the west, settling at Fillmore, Utah, where he
has since built up a large practice. For nine years he has remained in this city, and
his business today covers all of Millard county for a radius of forty miles around
Fillmore. In 1914 he pursued a post graduate course at Rochester, Minnesota, under
the direction of the famous Mayo brothers, America's most eminent surgeons. In
1916 he again journeyed eastward and pursued a post graduate course in surgery at
the New York Polyclinic. While he has not specialized along a particular line Dr.
Stevens leans to surgery and were he residing in a larger city would doubtless devote
himself to that branch of the profession. He is most careful in the diagnosis of his
cases, is earnest and conscientious in his practice, and has won the high regard not
only of the general public but of his professional brethren as well.

In 1911 Dr. Stevens was married to Miss Anna Huntsman, a daughter of Orson



744 UTAH SINCE STATEHOOD

H. Huntsman, of Fillmore, and a granddaughter of Gabriel Huntsman, who was one
of the earliest settlers of this city. Two children have been born to them: Weir
Cloyd, a fine boy of seven years; and Beth, who is but two years of age.

Dr. and Mrs. Stevens occupy an enviable social position and the lady presides
with gracious hospitality over many attractive social functions in their own home.
Dr. Stevens is recognized as % man of high personal worth as well as of marked
business ability, and both his professional and personal qualities make for popularity
among those with whom his lot is now cast.



PETER FORSTER.

Peter Forster, mine foreman at Mohrland for the United States Fuel Company,
was born in Lancashire, England, April 5, 1878. His parents, John and Ann Forster,
are still living in England, where the father has devoted his life to coal mining.
After acquiring a common school education Peter Forster came to the United States
in 1905, then a young man of twenty-seven years, and made his way to Castlegate,
Utah. He pursued a course of study in coal mining under the direction of the Scran-
ton (Penn.) Correspondence Schools in 1907 and secured a position as mine foreman
in 1908. He was with the Utah Fuel Company at Castlegate for a period of six years
and was then transferred to Somerset, Colorado, where he was connected with the
Art Wall Mining & Machinery Company to demonstrate the work of the machinery
made by the Jeffery Manufacturing Company. He continued in that position for three
years and made the notable record of cutting a thousand tons of coal in seven hours
with the Art Wall machine. Returning to Utah, he went to Storrs, in Spring canyon,
as mine foreman for the Jesse Knight interests and in 1918 removed to Mohrland as
mine foreman for the United States Fuel Company, which position he is now filling.
His wide study and broad practical experience have made him familiar with every
phase of mining, not only in the actual work of taking the coal from the ground, but
in an understanding of the scientific principles which underlie the business.

In Salt Lake City, on the 20th of February, 1909, Mr. Forster was married to
Margaret Rorrester, a daughter of John and Jennie Rorrester, who came from Scot-
land, the father occupying the position of mine foreman at Castlegate for a time. Both
he and his wife, however, are now deceased. For seven years Mrs. Forster filled the
position of postmistress at Castlegate and is now acting in that capacity at Mohrland.
By a former marriage she had four children: John, who was born at Sunnyside,
January 27, 1894, and married Hazel King, by whom he has three children; Alex, who
was born at Winterquarters, November 2, 1896; and Jennie and Margaret, twins,
who were born at Winterquarters in 1900.

Mr. Forster since becoming a naturalized American citizen has given his political
allegiance to the republican party. His religious faith is that of the Methodist church,
and he is a loyal follower of its teachings. He has never had occasion to regret his
determination to come to the new world, for here he has found the opportunities
which he sought and in their utilization has made steady progress. He has made
friends and made money, his genial disposition and courtesy gaining him the former,
and his industry and enterprise winning for him the latter.



GEORGE ROMNEY LUND.

George Romney Lund, a prominent member of the Utah bar residing at St. George,
is a son of Robert C. and Mary (Romney) Lund, the former born in Wisconsin, while
the latter was a native of St. Louis, Missouri. Removing westward to Salt Lake City,
Robert C. Lund became a pioneer of St. George and was one of the earliest tele-
graphers of the state. He was married in Salt Lake City and afterward had charge
of the telegraph office at St. George and also at Pioche, Nevada. He studied conditions
in southern Utah, took a broad view of the needs of the state and did more for the
development of that section than any other man. He established a mercantile busi-
ness, .developed a number of mining interests and afterward entered into a partner-
ship as a member of the firm of Woolley, Lund & Judd, which became recognized as



UTAH SINCE STATEHOOD 745

one of the leading firms of Utah, with business interests all over the west. Their
activities covered a broad scope. In addition to controlling important commercial
affairs they took over the Karran ranch and the herds of stock thereon, and after so
doing James Andrus became associated with the firm. Mr. Lund at all times dis-
played a spirit of marked initiative and progressiveness. He was very prominent as
well in shaping the political history of the state and represented his district in both
branches of the territorial legislature. He was also mayor of St. George, was chair-
man of the county commission and served on the board of equalization both before and
after statehood was achieved and was acting as chairman of the board at the time of
his demise. He left an indelible impress for good upon the development and upbuild-
ing of Utah, his entire career being actuated by a most enterprising spirit.

George R. Lund attended the public schools of St. George and pursued a commer-
cial course in the Brigham Young University, from which he was graduated in 1894.
He afterward taught school in Washington county for two years. While in school
at Provo he had spent all of his spare time in the law office of King & Houtz, reading
law, and in 1896 he concentrated his attention upon law studies. In September, 1895,
he was admitted to the bar, this being the year before statehood was acquired, and he
was then only twenty-one years of age. Since that time he has continuously engaged
in practice and has made constant advancement in professional ranks, being now re-
garded as one of the eminent members of the Utah bar. He has practiced in the
three states of Utah, Arizona and Nevada and has handled some very important cases.
He also has a number of mining interests and owns stock in a number of the local
corporations. At the present time he is very busy consolidating all the mining in-
terests of Silver Reef and the future possibilities of the district are even greater
today than in the palmiest days of 1885.

At St. George, on the 27th of December, 1897, Mr. Lund was united in marriage
to Miss Tamizin Andrus, a daughter of James and Laura (Gibson) Andrus. Her father
went to Dixie in 1861 and turned his attention to the stock business. The success
which he achieved in his young manhood led to his being given charge of the common
herd of the, Mormon church. Later he formed a partnership with Woolley, Lund &
Judd and purchased their herd of cattle. He was recognized in his community as
"the man of the hour." He could do more with the Indians than any other resident
of this part of the state and had the faculty of making friends of them all. Through-
out all history James Andrus and Robert C. Lund will be remembered as southern
Utah's most progressive citizens.

To Mr. and Mrs. George R. Lund have been born eight children, but three sons
have passed away. Those living are: Aleath, who was born in 1901; Laura, born in
1907; Kathleen, in 1912; Phyllis, in 1914; and George Kenneth, in 1917.

The family has always adhered to the faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. In politics Mr. Lund is a republican and a recognized leader in
party ranks. He was a candidate for judge of the fifth district, comprising Millard,
Juab, Washington and Kane counties, in 1916 and has served as city and county at-
torney. From his success as a member of the bar it seems that he chose as a life
work that for which nature intended him. He has ever been a close and discriminat-
ing student of the principles of jurisprudence and is seldom if ever at fault in the
application of such principles to the points at issue. His mind is analytical, logical
and inductive, and his highly developed qualities and clear judgment have made him
a formidable adversary in legal combat.



J. H. WOOD.

J. H. Wood, a prosperous farmer and stock raiser of San Juan county, specializing
in Hereford cattle, makes his home at Monticello. He was born at Cedar City, Utah,
March 8, 1875, and in the paternal line comes of English ancestry. He is a son of
Samuel and Josephine C. (Chatterley) Wood, the former a native of England, whence
he came to Utah when a lad of fifteen years. He was married at Cedar City and in
1883 removed to Bluff, while in 1893 he came to Monticello, where he passed away in
1910. He was, a pioneer at Cedar City, Iron county, and at Bluff and was a most
progressive man, contributing in substantial measure to the upbuilding of both Bluff
and Monticello. He was at all times most practical and his labors were therefore



746 UTAH SINCE STATEHOOD

far-reaching and resultant. In his farming operations he followed progressive methods
and aided in reclaiming the wild land of this region for the purposes of civilization.
He was also active in the work of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

J. H. Wood attended the public schools of Bluff and the Brigham Young Uni-
versity at Provo. When eighteen years of age he began farming and undertook the
task of building up a herd of cattle at Bluff. At the end of eight years thus spent
he removed to Monticello, where he secured a homestead that he still owns. He has
since added to it a large tract secured from the state and has valuable farming inter-
ests, while in his stock raising he has also won substantial profit, specializing in
Hereford cattle. Extending his efforts in still other directions, he has become a stock-
holder and a director of the Monticello State Bank and of the Monticello Cooperative
Company and a stockholder of the Blue Mountain Irrigation Company.

At Salt Lake City, on the 17th of December, 1902, Mr. Wood was married to Miss
Lillian Decker, who was born November 13, 1876, a daughter of James B. and Anna
M. (Mickelson) Decker. Both were natives of Utah and their marriage was cele-
brated at Parowan, this state. They settled in San Juan county in 1880 and Mr.
Decker assisted in building the roads to get to Bluff, on the San Juan river. He died
at Bluff in 1901 and the mother afterward removed to Monticello. One of her daughters
was born while the family were removing to Bluff, the trip being a very arduous and
difficult one owing to the fact that portions of the road had to be blasted out, so
that travel was very slow. To Mr. and Mrs. Wood have been born eight children:
Joseph E., whose natal day was October 11, 1903; Frances Claire, born February 12,
1905; Bernice, whose birth occurred on the 3d of September, 1906; Fern who was
born November 1, 1907; Clark, born November 25, 1909; Merrill, born November 3,
1911; Josephine, born August 9, 1914; and Mark, who first opened his eyes to the
light of day on the llth of December, 1917.

Mr. Wood is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and
filled a mission of two and a half years to the central states, while for five years he
served as bishop of Monticello ward. He was all through the Cuban campaign in the
Spanish-American war. He is a republican in his political views and is a member
of the town board of Monticello. He has also filled the offices of county sheriff
and assessor for one term each and is now serving for the third term as county
commissioner. He cooperates heartily in all plans and projects for the general good
and his aid and cooperation can always be counted upon to further any movement that is
calculated to benefit his community or advance its wonderful development.



GEORGE WILLIS SKIDMORE.

For sixteen years George Willis Skidmore has filled the responsible position
of manager of the Union Knitting Mills of Logan and is thus actively identified
with one of the important productive and manufacturing interests of the city. He
was born in Richmond, Cache county, Utah, August 25, 1877, a son of William
Lobark Skidmore, who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 22, 1844.
The grandfather was the late Charles Skidmore, a native of Sheffield, England,
who became the founder of the American branch of the family and was originally
connected with the Henry Diston saw factory. It was he and his son, Henry B.
Skidmore, who taught the Distons the business of saw manufacturing. It was in
1855 that William Lobark Skidmore, then a lad of eleven years, first came to Utah.
He was one of the pioneer settlers of Richmond, Cache county, arriving there in
April, 1861. He was bishop of the Richmond ward in the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints for twenty-one years and at this writing, in 1919, is president
of the High Priests Quorum of the Benson Stake. He married Sarah Armina
Knapp, who was born in Farmington, Davis county, Utah, February 10, 1852, and
who passed away in Richmond, Utah, when thirty-nine years of age. She was
the mother of twelve children.

George Willis Skidmore acquired his early education in the public schools of
Richmond and supplemented his training there received by a normal course in
the Brigham Young College at Logan, from which he was graduated on the 6th
of June, 1896, winning the valedictorian honors and also being chosen president
of his class. In early manhood he was identified with educational work, teaching
in the public schools for six years and acting as principal of the Richmond city




GEORGE W. SKIDMORE



UTAH SINCE STATEHOOD 749

schools and of the Wellsville city schools in Cache county. He filled a two years'
mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Georgia and Florida
and was president of the Florida conference. After his return to his native state
he became manager of the Union Knitting Mills Company at Logan in 1903 and
still holds this position. His advancement along business lines, however, has
been secured only at the cost of earnest and self-denying labor. He was thrown
upon his own resources at the age of thirteen and since that time has depended
entirely upon his labors for the place he has occupied in the business world. The
first money he earned was secured through the sale of an apple peeler which was
sent out by Montgomery Ward & Company of Chicago. He saw this advertised
in the catalog of the Chicago house and from the sale of the peeler during two