Morton Everel Post (December 25, 1840March 19, 1933) was an American businessman, farmer, and politician who served as a delegate to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from Wyoming Territory's at-large congressional district.

Early life

Morton Everel Post was born on December 25, 1840, in Henrietta, New York, to Morton A. Post and Alary Wickware. He attended schools in Medina, New York. In 1860, he traveled by railroads to the Missouri River and later lead a wagon train from the Missouri River to

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Territory The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado. The territory was organized in the w ...

. In 1864, he left Denver and headed to

Alder Gulch Alder Gulch (alternatively called Alder Creek) is a place in the Ruby River valley, in the U.S. state of Montana, where gold was discovered on May 26, 1863, by William Fairweather and a group of men including Barney Hughes, Thomas Cover, Henr ...

in the Montana Territory during a

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

and left with $75,000 in gold. In August, he served as a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

. In October, he married Amalia Barney Simons Nichols and remained married until her death on January 28, 1897. In 1865, he was freighting cargo with twelve other men from Atchison, Kansas to Denver, Colorado Territory when he was attacked by one hundred Native Americans. One man was killed and nine were wounded. In 1866, he moved to North Platte, Nebraska where the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

ended and continued working as a freighter. In 1895, he moved to

Rancho Cucamonga, California Rancho Cucamonga ( ) is a city located just south of the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and Angeles National Forest in San Bernardino County, California, United States. About east of Downtown Los Angeles, Rancho Cucamonga is the 28th ...

and started farming. In 1901, he purchased 2,800 acres of land and later sold it in 1910.

Career

Business

In July 1867, he moved to

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...

, and built the first mercantile house in Cheyenne after traveling to Denver for wood. In the city he ran a store, the post office, made cattle investments, and purchased banking interests. By 1885, he was a millionaire. However, the

Great Blizzard of 1888 The Great Blizzard of 1888, also known as the Great Blizzard of '88 or the Great White Hurricane (March 11–14, 1888), was one of the most severe recorded blizzards in American history. The storm paralyzed the East Coast from the Chesapeake Ba ...

destroyed around $15,000,000 worth of property and heavily affected Post. He later became a real estate agent in Ogden, Utah Territory. In 1890, he traveled to Europe and after returning moved to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

where he became investing in mining until 1895.

Politics

From 1870 to 1876, he served as a member of the Laramie County Commission. From 1878 to 1880, he served as a member of the Wyoming Territorial Senate. From 1881 to 1885, he served as Wyoming's territorial delegate to the

until he declined another term in 1884. His wife was a suffragette and met with

Isabella Beecher Hooker Isabella Beecher Hooker (February 22, 1822 – January 25, 1907) was a leader, lecturer and social activist in the American suffragist movement. Early life Isabella Holmes Beecher was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, the fifth child and secon ...

, Victoria Woodhull, and Susan B. Anthony while serving as Wyoming's delegate to the

National Woman Suffrage Association The National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) was formed on May 15, 1869, to work for women's suffrage in the United States. Its main leaders were Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. It was created after the women's rights movement spl ...

in 1871. She asked for Territorial Governor

John Allen Campbell John Allen Campbell (October 8, 1835July 14, 1880) was a politician and officer in the United States Army, as well as the first Governor of the Wyoming Territory. Biography Campbell was born in Salem, Ohio and attended public school in Ohio. As a ...

to veto legislation that would have repealed

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

in Wyoming, and Campbell returned the legislation unsigned.

Later life

Post retired in 1916, and lived in Los Angeles, California, until he moved to Alhambra, California in 1928. He died on March 19, 1933, in Alhambra and was buried in

Inglewood Park Cemetery Inglewood Park Cemetery, 720 East Florence Avenue in Inglewood, California, was founded in 1905. A number of notable people, including entertainment and sports personalities, have been interred or entombed there. History The proposed est ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Post, Morton Everel 1840 births 1933 deaths 19th-century American politicians Burials at Inglewood Park Cemetery County commissioners in Wyoming Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from Wyoming Territory Members of the Wyoming Territorial Legislature People from Alhambra, California People from Henrietta, New York Wyoming Democrats