Biography of George W. Thatcher: 9th Mayor of Logan
Dates in Office: 1894-1896
Terms in Office: 1
Age when elected: 54
George W. Thatcher was born 1 February 1840 in Springfield, Illinois, a son of Hezekiah Thatcher and Alley Kitchen. He married two daughters of Brigham Young, Eunice Caroline Young in 1861 with whom he had ten children. With his second wife, Fanny Decker Young, who he married in 1867, he had seven children. He died the 23rd of December 1902 in Logan, Utah and is buried in the Logan Cemetery.[1]
The Thatcher family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1844. They bought a farm near Nauvoo and were among those expelled from Illinois in 1846. They arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in September 1847. In the spring of 1849 the family moved to Sacramento, California. 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 the family returned to Salt Lake City. 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 a 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.
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.
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. He served for many years on the Cache Stake High Council. 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.
In the death of George W. Thatcher (in Logan, Utah) 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 privation to pioneer times, and a review of his business career will indicate how largely he contributed to the upbuilding of the state.[2]
In politics he was a staunch Democrat, and was a formidable candidate for his party's nomination for governor. He was a delegate to the Kansas City convention in 1900, and had been honored in other ways by the state Democracy.
George W. Thatcher's greatest honors were not won alone in public life, for as a man, a citizen, and father, he shone most brightly. His charity was bestowed upon every hand, to the deserving and many of the poor there are in Logan who will bless his memory. As a citizen, he was always ready to do his part in advancing the interests of the community. He family relations were almost perfect, the most sincere affection for him being evidenced by every member of his household.[3]
[1] Family Group Record (FamilySearch Ancestral File v4.19)
[2] Warrum Noble, ed., Utah Since Statehood: Historical and Biographical (Chicago : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1919) 4:14
[3] Obituary, The Tri-Weekly Journal, Logan,Utah December 25, 1902.
