Stephen Wheeler Downey

Stephen Wheeler Downey (born July 25, 1839 in Westernport , Allegany County , Maryland , † August 3, 1902 in Denver , Colorado ) was an American politician . Between 1879 and 1881 he represented the Wyoming Territory in the US House of Representatives .

Early years

After graduating from school, Stephen Downey joined the Union Forces on October 31, 1861, as a member of an infantry unit from Maryland. During the civil war he rose to the rank of colonel. After being badly wounded in the Battle of Harpers Ferry , he was forced to retire. Then he studied law. In 1863, Downey was admitted to the bar.

Political advancement to Congress

In 1869, Stephen Downey moved to Laramie , Wyoming Territory. There he worked as a lawyer and land surveyor. Between 1869 and 1870 he was also a district attorney in Albany County . Downey became a member of the Republican Party . In 1871, 1875 and 1877 he was elected to the Territorial Government Council. From 1872 to 1875 he was a treasurer in the Wyoming Territory and from 1877 to 1879 he headed the local audit office. In the congressional elections of 1878, he was elected to succeed William Wellington Corlett in the US House of Representatives. So he represented his territory there between March 4, 1879 and March 3, 1881 as a delegate. Since Wyoming was not yet a state in the United States at that time, he had no voting rights as a delegate in Congress .

Further life

In 1880, Downey declined to run for Congress again. For this he was elected to the territorial House of Representatives in 1886 and 1890. In 1889 he was a member of the Wyoming Constituent Assembly. After the new constitution came into force, Wyoming became an official state of the United States in 1890. In 1893 and 1895, Stephen Downey was an MP in the Wyoming House of Representatives . From 1899 until his death, he was again District Attorney in Albany County. Downey was also a co-founder, curator, and president of the University of Wyoming .

Web links

• Stephen Wheeler Downey in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Stephen Wheeler Downey in the database of Find a Grave (English)