Laramie’s Living History — People
A series of stories prepared for the Albany County Museum Coalition, an alliance of institutions that promote Laramie’s historic and cultural resources. This series originally appeared in the Laramie Boomerang.
The people who comprise the Albany County community come from several social strata, ethnicities, and races.
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How a myth is created: the saga of Esther Hobart McQuigg Slack Morris
When Esther McQuigg was born in upstate New York in the early 19th century, there was no indication that it would be her fate to become known in the Equality State as the “Mother of Women’s Suffrage.” One thing is for certain: in 1869 she was the first woman to serve in a government office in Wyoming Territory. She died in 1902 and after that, people began to attribute more to her than she ever claimed when she was living.
Case of Mistaken Identity at the Museum
When the Browns were not the Browns - case of mistaken identity at the museum.
THE BANKER VERSUS THE CATTLEMAN
A banker sues a cattleman over money due and an attorney gets barred from the territorial supreme court for insulting the justices.
Who began the UW Geological Museum? Guess again!
Unless you’re very familiar with UW history, you probably guessed it was one of the Knights, likely Wilbur Clinton Knight or his son Sam, but you’d be wrong.
The Short Tenure of Laramie's First Mayor
It is a widely-repeated story that Laramie’s first mayor, Melville C. Brown, was elected on May 12, 1868 and resigned after three weeks in office because the town was “ungovernable.” But, is the story true?