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GEORGE W. THATCHER.

    In the death of George W. Thatcher there passed away one who had
 been an outstanding
figure in connection with the development and progress of Logan and the
 state. He is
justly classed with the builders and promoters of Utah, so extensive
 and important were
his business interests and extended was his connection with the work of
 progress and
improvement. From the earliest epoch-in the settlement of Utah he was
 identified with its
interests. One needs but to picture him as a pony express rider to know
 that he
experienced all the hardships and privations of pioneer times, and a
 review of his
business career will indicate how largely he contributed to the
 upbuilding of the state.

    George W. Thatcher was born in Springfield, Illinois, February 1,
 1840, a son of
Hezekiah and Alley (Kitchen) Thatcher. In the spring of 1844, his
 father, having accepted
the gospel as preached by the Latter-day saints, moved his family to
 Macedonia. This was
about the time when mobs began to rise in Illinois, where the Mormon
 people had found a
brief refuge after their expulsion from Missouri. After the martyrdom
 of Joseph Smith and
his brother Hyrum at Carthage Mr. Thatcher's father bought a one
 hundred acre farm near
the city of Nauvoo, from which the family was driven at the time of the
 expulsion of the
saints from that city. The spring of 1846 found the Thatchers traveling
 westward through
Iowa, and they were at the Bluffs when the Mormon Battalion was
 mustered into service.
After a hard winter and much privation the family started west to the
 Rocky Mountains and
arrived in Salt Lake valley in September, 1847. While George was but a
 boy of seven
years, yet many of the tasks he was called upon to perform in the long
 journey across the
plains would have taxed the strength and courage of a much older
 person. The experiences
passed through in his early youth during the drivings of the saints and
 the crossing of
the plains no doubt did much to prepare him for the responsibilities in
 after life. The
experiences and hardships of pioneer life were by no means ended when
 he arrived in Salt
Lake valley, for in the spring of 1849, after having raised one crop,
 father Thatcher
left with his family for California and after three months of travel
 landed In Sacramento
on the last day of June. At that time there was not a house in that now
 important city.
The next eight years of his life George spent working in the mines and
 on the ranch where
he developed into a very powerful youth, being a great rider, jumper
 and very fleet of
foot. In 1857 he with his father and mother and one or two brothers and
 sister Harriett,
returned to Salt Lake City. In this early day of no railroads in the
 Rocky Mountains nor
yet stage lines, the mail was carried over a great part of the wildest
 country through
the mountains by pony express. George, being of the courageous kind,
 secured a position
as express rider and the division given to him was one of the wildest
 of the express
route. He had quite a number of hair raising experiences during his
 services as pony
express rider. Upon one occasion, very early in the spring while the
 snow was very deep
but the sun quite warm, George not being very well, having a sharp pain
 in his side, had
got off his horse, taken hold of the horse's tail and was running
 behind when a large
wolverine jumped on him knocking him down and breaking his hold on the
 horse's tail.
Having learned to think and act quick, George doubled up and rolled
 over like a ball and
as the animal rushed upon him again managed to get his feet under it
 and with great force
threw it several yards away. Springing to his feet he sped along the
 trail and before the
animal could catch him he had succeeded in reaching and mounting his
 horse. In
out-distancing the wolverine one can well imagine that the oft repeated
 statements that
George W. Thatcher in his' youth was one of the fastest sprinters that
 ever lived was
true. Several years later, after having been out on an Indian campaign
 for a number of
months and stiff and sore from exposure, he was met on his return to
 Salt Lake by one of
his friends who accosted him  saying, "George, there are some fellows
 down  here in my
blacksmith shop who say they have a man who can beat any d____ Mormon
 that ever lived,
running a hundred yards. I told them that I knew a man who could beat
 their sprinter no
matter how fast." It resulted in a match being made, and though only a
 few days were
given him to get into shape-less than a week-he succeeded in beating
 his man quite
easily. This man with whom he ran was George Adams, the world's
 one-hundred yard champion
sprinter, at that time holding the world's record of nine and
 four-fifths seconds. He,
with quite a large company, was on his way to the coast and Australia.
 Their departure,
however, was delayed for some time owing to the fact that they bet
 practically their
entire outfit, horses, mules and wagons as well as cash, on the race,
 which left them
stranded.

    As the years passed on, Mr. Thatcher utilized the opportunities
 that came in
connection with the development of a new district and his carefully
 conducted business
affairs at length brought him to prominence as a mill owner and a
 banker. With the
extension of railway lines west, he became a contractor and completed a
 number of
important grade sections. In 1877 he accepted the position of
 superintendent of The Utah
& Northern Railroad, which then extended from Ogden, Utah, to Franklin.
 Idaho. The road
was building north and he was given complete charge of the letting of
 all contracts and
the purchasing of all material. It was but a short time after his
 taking charge that the
Utah & Northern was purchased by the Union Pacific Interests.
 Recognizing his worth to
the corporation he was retained and continued the building of the road
 north to Garrison,
Montana. One can well Imagine the difficulties and obstacles that were
 met with and which
had to be surmounted in building a railroad through Idaho and into
 Montana in the early
'80s-the blockades from the heavy snows In the winter; the extreme cold
 weather, at times
more than forty degrees below zero; the washouts from floods in the
 spring; the
establishing of sawmills and organizing of logging companies, etc.; and
 a hundred and one
other things that are comparatively easy today that were extremely
 difficult then. Many
anecdotes are told of Mr. Thatcher's resources and quick action when
 the necessity
required. Upon one occasion when making a trip over the road, several
 men, the toughest
kind of characters, who had been discharged for making trouble, got on
 the train. Mr.
Thatcher was in the rear car and saw the men get on and intuitively
 knew that they had
got on to get him. His companions were several cars forward so that he
 was practically
alone in this car save for these men who were behind him. He got up and
 went forward and
the men followed him, the first one a big husky fellow with his hand on
 his gun for a
quick draw. Mr. Thatcher knew that one false move on his part spelled
 death. In order to
appear unconscious he put his thumbs in the arm-holes of his vest and
 without turning
around went through the car whistling. He passed out onto the platform
 and into the next
coach and to the other end of that car, the men following close behind
 him. The coaches
in those days were not heated by steam but by a stove and each stove
 was furnished with a
very heavy, hooked poker made of about three-quarter inch iron and
 about four or four and
one-half feet long. As he came abreast of the stove. he seized the
 poker and whirled
around holding the weapon above the first man's head. This was so
 quickly done the man
had no chance to draw his gun. "Now what do you want?" was the query.
 The man stammered
out something about getting on, the wrong train. Just then the
 conductor and the brakeman
came along, the train was stopped and the men put off.

    His orders to his men were always short and very much to the point,
 the following
story being a good sample. Upon a hot summer day a passenger train
 pulled into the
station of Camas. When they tried to fill with water they found the big
 water tank was
empty, and the nearest water was in the creek which was quite a
 distance away and hard to
get at. The conductor was at his wit's end; he rushed into the station
 and sent the
following wire: 
    "Geo. W. Thatcher, Supt. Logan, Utah.    Tank empty-fill-how?"
  (signed)
    "Geo. S_____   Conductor."
In about five minutes he received the following answer:
    "Geo.  S____,  Conductor,  Camas, Dip,-how."   (signed) "Geo. W.
 Thatcher."

    During the building of the Utah & Northern, north, the Union
 Pacific decided to build
another line into the northwest connecting with their main line from
 the east at Granger,
Wyoming. Mr. Thatcher was also given charge of the building of this
 road which he
completed as far as Huntington, Oregon. The great task and
 responsibility of building and
operating the long lines of railroad began to affect his health which
 was the cause of
Mr. Thatcher resigning from the Union Pacific in September, 1882, and
 organizing in
January, 1883, the Thatcher Brothers & Company Bank, taking charge of
 same. Later the
bank was incorporated, January 3, 1889, G. W. Thatcher being made
 president which
position he held until his death.

    In 1893 Mr. Thatcher was appointed one of the Utah commission by
 President Grover
Cleveland, which position he held until the commission was dissolved by
 Utah's becoming a
state. Honored and respected by all, no man occupied a more enviable
 position in
commercial and financial circles, not by reason alone of the success he
 attained but
owing to the straightforward business principles which he ever
 followed. He was decisive
in his actions, had a quick temper and was at times sharp of tongue,
 but whenever he
discovered that he had wronged a person, no matter how humble that
 person, he would
immediately go to the one wronged and make it right.

    On the 4th of April, 1861, George W. Thatcher was united in
 marriage to Miss Luna C.
Young, of Salt Lake City, a daughter of Brigham Young and Mary Ann
 (Arigel) Young. Mrs.
Thatcher was born August 20, 1842, at Nauvoo, Illinois, and by her
 marriage became the
mother of the following named: Virginia Mary, Alice Young, who died in
 infancy, Nellie
May, George W., Nettie Young, Brigham Guy, Kathryn, Luna A., Constance,
 and Phyllis.

    Mr. Thatcher was an active and zealous member of the Church of
 Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints and in 1871 was sent on a mission to England, where
 he labored for one
year. His interest in the cause of education is shown in the fact that
 he was made
president of the Brigham Young College board by Brigham Young. He was
 elected mayor of
Logan and gave to the city a businesslike and progressive
 administration. He died in
Logan, December 23, 1902, at the age of sixty-two years. His life had
 been one of signal
benefit and service to the community which he represented, and his name
 is associated
with events of vital importance to the history of the state that time
 cannot efface.

Extracted from:

UTAH SINCE STATEHOOD
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL

ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME IV
CHICAGO-SALT LAKE: THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY
1920