LibGuides: American Heritage Center, Laramie History Subject Guide: Greenhill Cemetery/Influential Families

Influential Families in Laramie

Greenhill Cemetery is almost as old as Laramie itself. Once a lawless town that struggled to be governed, Laramie and the surrounding landscape was dotted with various graves wherever people could find an open and available space.

When the first high school was built just beyond Seventh Street, graves of suspected outlaws were found. More graves were found near the intersection of Twelfth and Garfield as well as near Knight Hall and the College of Nursing. Northwest of the Laramie river was a Catholic cemetery and other cemeteries could be found in west Laramie.

By the 1880s, the need for an established city cemetery was recognized and land was obtained from rancher James M. Ingersoll for the proposed cemetery. By 1882, the cemetery began the process of transferring bodies from the various other graves and cemeteries around town. This took time due to the permission required for bodies to be moved, but eventually, all found their way to Greenhill Cemetery. Some of Laramie’s most influential and famous people and families are now buried there.

Item: American Flag, undated, box 6a, Coll. #10555, Downey Family Papers, University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center.

The Story of the Misnumbered Star

Wyoming officially entered the Union as the 44^th state on July 10, 1890. This flag, with its added 43^rd star, names Wyoming as the 43^rd state. The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate passed the bill of Wyoming statehood after long deliberations but by that point, Idaho had already become the 43^rd state. When President Harrison signed the Statehood Bill on July 10, 1890, Wyoming became the 44^th state.

As the Statehood Bill moved through Congress, communities across Wyoming celebrated statehood preemptively. This led to the creation of flags with 43 stars, naming Wyoming as the 43^rd state. When statehood was achieved, these flags could no longer be used.

This flag was discovered folded in a scrapbook in the Downey Family collection.

Item: American Flag, undated, box 6a, Coll. #10555, Downey Family Papers, University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center.

Influential Families Collections

Influential People of Laramie Buried at Greenhill Cemetery and their Collections at the AHC

Collections of Influential People Buried at Greenhill Cemetery

Thurman Arnold Papers, 1895-1970

Acc. #627

Thurman Wesley Arnold, the son of lawyer C.P. Arnold, was born in Laramie, Wyoming, and educated at the University of Wyoming, Princeton, and Harvard, where he earned a law degree in 1914. He practised law briefly in Chicago before serving with the U.S. Army in France during World War I. Arnold returned to Laramie, where he practised law from 1919 to 1927, served as mayor from 1923 to 1924, served one term in the Wyoming House of Representatives (1921) and lectured in the University of Wyoming law school. He was dean of the University of West Virginia College of Law from 1927 to 1930 and taught at Yale from 1930 to 1938.

Arnold was named assistant attorney general of the U.S. in charge of the antitrust division in 1938 and was a Department of Justice representative on the Temporary National Economic Committee from 1938 to 1941. He was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 1943 and left the bench in 1945 to resume private practice with the Washington, D.C., law firm of Arnold, Fortas & Porter, where he remained active until his death in 1969.

Collection contains 38 boxes of professional and personal correspondence as well as an extensive index to the correspondence (1910-1970); case files of legal documents, correspondence, memorandums, press releases, reports, and notes related to his work with the Antitrust Division (1923-1943); files of notes, galley proofs of opinions, and printed opinions of cases decided by Judge Arnold (1943-1945); drafts, manuscripts, publisher’s correspondence, and reviews of three books; manuscripts of numerous articles and book reviews by Arnold and others; personal financial, legal, and general files (1919-1965); photographs (1895-1950s); professional files (1929-1967); speeches; a scrapbook; biographical information on Arnold and family members; and miscellaneous awards and certificates. The collection contains virtually no material from the years 1919 to 1927 when he was living and practicing law in Laramie.

Downey Family Papers, 1866-1997

Acc. #10555

Stephen Wheeler Downey (1839-1902) was born in Maryland and was admitted to the bar in 1863. He served in the northern army during the Civil War, attaining the rank of colonel. He married during this time and had two daughters. In 1869 S.W. Downey followed a brother, William O. Downey, to Laramie. His wife died shortly after their arrival, and he married Evangeline Victoria Owen in 1872. Downey practiced law in Laramie and served in the state legislature. He drafted the bill creating the University of Wyoming; and he also attempted to develop several mines in the area.

Eva Owen Downey (1853-1937) was born in England and traveled to Salt Lake City as an infant. In 1868 her mother brought Eva, her sister Etta, and her son William east to Laramie, Wyoming, where they settled. Eva and Stephen Downey had ten children together, including Stephen Corlett (1873-1934), who became a lawyer and partner in his father’s practice; June Etta (1875-1932), who was a professor at the University of Wyoming and became nationally prominent in the field of psychology research; Sheridan (1884-1961), who pursued a political career as a liberal in California; and Alice (1892-1969), who acted as the historian of the family.

The collection contains biographical information about various family members; writings of family members, including poetry, moral and philosophical treatises, and publications on family history; a diary from 1869-1870; ephemera of Laramie social clubs, Laramie Jubilee celebrations, and the University of Wyoming; business records of the Keystone and other mines in the Albany County area; correspondence of Downey’s law practice; photographs of the family, Laramie, the university, and mining operations; and a scrapbook.

Finfrock Family Papers, 1862-1940

Acc. #7

John Henry Finfrock was born on December 9, 1836, in Columbiana, Ohio and attended county and city schools until the age of 20. He joined the Union Army on March 12, 1862 and served as Captain of Company F, 64th Regiment Ohio Volunteers. He married Anna Catherine McCollough on June 22, 1862. Due to poor health he resigned from the army and studied medicine in Cincinnati in 1863. After passing his medical exam boards, he reentered the army as Assistant Surgeon 11th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry on July 8, 1863. On October 10 he arrived at Fort Halleck, Dakota Territory, located approximately 40 miles west of Laramie, Wyoming.

Fort Halleck was abandoned in 1866, and the Finfrocks moved to Fort Sanders and, in 1868, to Laramie. There Dr. Finfrock practiced medicine and opened a drug store. He also worked as the Union Pacific Railroad Physician for Albany County. He held many public offices while in Laramie. He was appointed Probate Judge and treasurer in December, 1868 when the legislature of Dakota Territory organized the county of Albany. He also served as councilman and mayor of Laramie for several terms each; member of the Penitentiary Commission; member of School Trustees for Albany County; Superintendent of Schools of Albany County; medical director of the Grand Army of the Republic; and member of the first Board of Regents of the University of Wyoming. Dr. Finfrock died in Boise, Idaho, on October 29, 1893 of heart failure.

The Finfrock Family Papers, 1862-1940, include four diaries, transcripts, correspondence, and photographs documenting the lives of the Finfrock family. The diaries of John H. Finfrock record his life in the Union Army during the Civil War, while attending a medical college in Cincinnati, at Fort Halleck, and in Laramie. There are transcripts of the 1862-1864 diaries which mostly comment on the weather, a few of his acquaintances, his illnesses and daily concerns. They also mention his work as an Assistant Surgeon during the Civil War and his experiences in medical school. The 1876 diary is a physicians diary containing mainly lists of patients. The biographical and historical material includes transcripts of newspaper articles about the lives and deaths of the Finfrock family with some correspondence and legal documents. The photographs are primarily portraits of the family and their friends. Many are unidentified.

Grace Raymond Hebard Papers, 1829-1947

Acc. #400008

A noted western historian who collected source materials relating to the American West, Dr. Grace Raymond Hebard became a University of Wyoming librarian and instructor in political economy in 1891 and was a prominent woman suffragist. She conducted extensive research on Wyoming, the West, pioneers, and American Indians.

Collection includes correspondence with publishers, other historians, friends, and family; manuscripts of published works; scrapbooks on Wyoming, the University of Wyoming, Wyoming place names, and local politics; photographs of students, professors, and buildings at the University of Wyoming; her subject files from the University of Wyoming; newspaper clippings on Hebard and book reviews by and about Hebard; and the writings of Dr. Agnes Wergeland, who lived with Hebard, and who taught History at the University of Wyoming.

Isberg Family Papers, 1884-1930

Acc. #215

Christian Isberg (1839-1908) was a native of Sweden who came to Laramie, Wyoming, in 1868, when the town was first founded as a supply depot for the Union Pacific Railroad. Isberg settled in the town, and he and his wife (Emily?) had two sons, William H. and John, and a daughter, Emily.

William H. Isberg graduated from Laramie High School in 1895. He was a clerk in the dry goods department of other Laramie stores before opening his own establishment. William was an amateur photographer who took pictures of Laramie streets and events. His wife, Ginx Rich Isberg, was also an amateur photographer. The couple enjoyed camping, hunting, and picnicking. Their excursions with parties of friends into the surrounding area provided opportunities for many photographs of their activities.

The Rich and McElwain families lived in Hartley and Mason City, Iowa. Tibbie Rich Kline and Marjorie McElwain were visitors to Laramie who accompanied the Isbergs on some of their camping trips. Other camping companions included Ran Kline, Otto and Mary Piper, Marge Brebner, Bertha Boyd, McAuley and Margaret Carr, and Alice Marsh Spalding.

The Isberg Family collection contains photographs and glass plate negatives, primarily taken by William H. Isberg in Laramie and Albany County. The Laramie photographs document the town as it appeared in the 1890s to about 1918. Included are images of President Theodore Roosevelt's 1903 visit to Laramie. Other photographs show recreational activities in the country outside Laramie. Included are rock climbing, hunting, fishing, picnicking, and visiting at nearby ranches. The collection also contains some family documents; scrapbooks of Marjorie McElwain, a friend who lived in Iowa; a scrapbook of William Isberg containing cards and chromolithographs; and lantern slides of Utah and Colorado tourist sites.