Carey family

Joseph Maull Carey, Wyoming governor and senator, was born 19 January 1845 in Milton, Delaware, the son of Robert Hood and Susan Davis Carey. He was educated at Union College in New York and the University of Pennsylvania. In 1867 he was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Philadelphia before coming to Wyoming in 1869.

Carey was appointed the first United States Attorney for the newly organized Wyoming Territory in 1869. President U.S. Grant then appointed him as associate justice of the Wyoming territorial supreme court, a position he served from 1872-1876. After retiring from the judiciary, Carey began his long and influential career in politics.

Carey served as mayor of Cheyenne from 1881-1885 and territorial delegate to the United States Congress from 1885-1891. He remained a member of the Republican national committee from 1876-1896. In 1890 Carey introduced the act establishing Wyoming statehood and authored the famous Carey Act, a bill which contributed to irrigation progress in the Rocky Mountain states. He was then elected United States Senator and served until his term expired in 1895. In 1910 Carey was elected governor on the Democratic ticket, serving until 1915.

In addition to his political role in shaping early Wyoming history, Carey engaged in many business and agricultural pursuits. He organized the J.M. Carey and Bros. Land Company, the Wheatland Development Company, and Wheatland Industrial Company. In addition he was a member of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association and president of the Wyoming Livestock Association.

Joseph Carey married Louisa David on 27 September 1877 in Cheyenne. They had two sons, Robert Davis and Charles David. Robert Carey served as governor of Wyoming from 1920-1924 and U.S. Senator from 1930-1937. In addition he served as manager of the Wheatland Development Company and Wheatland Roller Mills Company, and he was president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association from 1917-1918. Both Carey sons continued to manage the J.M. Carey and Bros. Land Company after their father died on 5 February 1924. Robert Carey passed away in Cheyenne on 17 January 1937.

From the guide to the Joseph M. Carey family papers, 1869-1978, (University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.)