Yavapai-La Paz County AZ Archives Biographies.....Wormser, M. 1835 - living in 1896
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com March 6, 2005, 6:31 pm

Author: McFarland & Poole

p. 509

  M. WORMSER, who has experienced many of the ups and downs of Western life, was
born in Lorraine, France, in 1835, and in 1858 came to America. He landed at New
York with but $15 and without friends or acquaintances and unable to speak or
understand the English language, he started out to seek his fortune. He first
found employment at $10 per month, working from 6 o'clock in the morning to 7
o'clock at night, but after four months worked at $75 per month for five months.
The great West then claimed him, and at San Luis Obispo, Cal., he went into a
partnership in the livery business. For five months he had charge of this, doing
the work, sleeping on the hay and doing his own cooking. The existing rule at
that time was to do business on credit, settling once each year, and, in the
absence of money, paying in cattle. When Mr. Wormser attempted to collect he
could not do so because his partner owed creditors of the firm and the creditors
withheld their payments until they were first paid. Again Mr. Wormser started
out anew, this time with only ten cents to call his own. After a time he secured
goods from a store-keeper on credit to the amount of $2,000, and, with a
partner, started peddling. The partner proving a gambler, he dissolved the
partnership and continued the business alone, continuing it for eight months.
During this time he experienced many strange adventures, and, owing to the
sparsely settled condition of the country, was often compelled to sleep on a
mountain top without knowing what direction he should take the following
morning. Having thus acquired some money, he located at San Luis Obispo and
began purchasing horses, fattening and then selling them, and in this way made
considerable money. With the money thus acquired Mr. Wormser began loaning his
funds, and as the prevailing rate of interest was 10 per cent per week, he
secured, in his five years' residence in San Luis Obispo, a handsome sum. He
then went to La Paz, the shipping point for Arizona, and became interested in
mines, but at this lost considerable money. In 1863, with a partner, he began
placer mining and was among the first of the whites at Weaver. About two miles
from this point, on the mountain top, gold was freely found in pieces worth from
$2 to $100 and was dug up with large knives. Here Mr. Wormser started a store
and sold goods at an immense profit. Flour brought $26 per hundred weight and
other goods were in a like proportion. The camp was peopled by the roughest
class and murder was an everyday occurrence. Upon gold being discovered at
Workes Creek Mr. Wormser opened a. store there, and when the Territorial
government was established, the seat of government being at Fort Whipple, near
the present site of Prescott, he also opened a store at the latter place. As all
of his stores had to be brought in by pack train many thousands of dollars'
worth were lost through Indian depredations. So bold became these troubles that
once Mr. Wormser, with a pack train protected by twenty-seven men, ten soldiers
and a corporal, was attacked by the Apaches. In this engagement he lost $3,000
worth of goods, was wounded in the leg and two soldiers were wounded. For ten
years Mr. Wormser was engaged in merchandising at Prescott. In 1874 he removed
to Phoenix, and, opening a store, conducted a large trade with the farmers,
taking grain in payment for merchandise. Owing to the great reduction in the
price of grain and through bad accounts, Mr. Wormser lost a large amount in
money—-in fact, almost his entire earnings of previous years of toil and
anxiety. Borrowing horses, harness and land, he began farming as his third start
from poverty. The first year, over all expenses, he cleared 83,000, and he
continued agricultural pursuits, clearing from $8.000 to $10,000 per year until
a marked decrease came in the prices of products. He then rented his land and is
now employed in caring for his large estate, consisting of 8,000 acres, canals
and other property.


Additional Comments:
From:

A Historical and Biographical Record of the Territory of Arizona
Published by
McFarland & Poole, Chicago, 1896

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/az/yavapai/bios/gbs80wormser.txt

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