William McReynolds

One of the representative business men of Converse county, Wyoming, is William McReynolds of Manville, the president of the Manville Mercantile Co. He was born on August 26, 1869, in McLean county, Ill., the son of Perry and Susan  (Eaton) McReynolds. both natives of Indiana. The family is of ancient Scotch individuality, his paternal great-grandfather  being a native of bonnie Scotland, who removed to Kentucky when a young man and was truly one of the earliest pioneers  of that state, where he followed stock raising. His son, Leonard McReynolds, the grandfather of the subject of  this sketch, removed in early life to Indiana, where he married, subsequently removing with his family to Illinois.

His son, the father of Mr. McReynolds, still makes his home in that state, being the owner of a fine farm near  Stanford, He has practically retired from business and is passing the later days of his life in the ease and comfort  earned by his many years of activity. He is one of the leading citizens of his section of Illinois and has been  the mayor of the town of Stanford. Mr. McReynold's mother is also living at the family homestead near Stanford.

Of the family of six children born to his worthy parents, Mr. McReynolds is the third child. He received his preliminary  education in the public schools in the vicinity of his boyhood's home in Illinois, and subsequently attended the  Presbyterian University at Lincoln in that state. Upon leaving that institution he engaged in farming and remained  with his father until 1888, when he came to the state of Nebraska, where he remained for about five years, engaged  in farming and stock raising with considerable success, in the spring of 1893 coming to Wyoming, and to Manville,  where he has since resided. Here he embarked in the raising of stock, which he followed with great success up to  the spring of 1901, when he disposed of his extensive holdings and made a visit to his old home. Upon his return  to Wyoming he organized the Manville Mercantile Co., of which he became the president, and erected a fine store  building at Manville for the accommodation of the large stock and business of this house. The building is large  and modern and the company carries an extensive and well-selected stock of general merchandise, and conducts a  profitable and constantly increasing trade and Manville post office is located at their store. On August 18, 1881,  Mr. McReynolds was united in marriage with Miss Martha Simpson, a native of Tazewell county, Ill., and a daughter  of Henry Simpson, one of the representative men of that county. To their union have been born five children, Abbie,  now the wife of C. W. Roush of the business college at Brokenbow, Neb.; Della, Alice, Perry, and Mertin, deceased.

They all are prominent in the social life of the community where they reside and Mr. McReynolds has recently completed  a large and fine modern residence at Manville, which is the center of a generous and genial hospitality. Fraternally,  he is affiliated with the order of Modern Woodmen of America and also with the Woodmen of the World. Politically,  he has served the people of his county and district as a member of the board of county commissioners and also as  a school trustee, and takes an active and prominent part in all public affairs. He is one of the leading factors  in the business and public life of his section of the state and one of the progressive, successful and rising men  of Wyoming.

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