George M. Willing
George Maurice " Doc" Willing junior ( * 1829 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; † 12 or March 13, 1874 in Prescott, Arizona Territory ) was an American physicist, prospector and political lobbyist. He is known for his time as an unelected delegate of the Jefferson Territory in Congress. He continued to be the person who introduced James Reavis in the fraudulent acquisition of supposedly free country in Colorado.
Biography
George M. Willing was born in Philadelphia, the son of a wealthy family. He was trained as a physicist and married the daughter of a successful businessman, Mary Ann. Willing was active as a physician and got into legal trouble because he performed abortions. To escape the pressure, he moved in the early 1850s in California.
In the late 50s Willing lived in St. Louis in Missouri. As part of the Pikes Peak Gold Rush, he left the city in April 1859. He worked for several months after his arrival in the Goose Pasture Diggings.
From the Rocky Mountain News described as a "good geologist and brilliant gentleman ," Willing was a candidate for the office of Delegate for the Jefferson Territory in October 1859. Though he lost the election, he traveled to Washington DC to work as for lobbyist for the interests of Pikes Peak to enter.
During his work as a delegate Willing claimed to have invented the name of the State of Idaho, inspired by a girl named Ida. There is no definitive evidence to confirm or refute this claim; dated is the first use of this name to a session of Congress in 1860. The first written evidence of Willings assertion can be found in an article by Willings friend William O. Stoddard ( 1835-1925 ) in the New York Daily Tribune of 11 December 1875.
While it has been selected for the territory around Pikes Peak, the name " Colorado ", remained " Idaho " in the area popular and was used as a name for a steamboat, the town of Idaho Springs and a county in Washington Territory, before leaving for the Idaho territory was chosen.
Willing returned in August 1860 to Denver. His next appearance was confirmed in Prescott in Arizona Territory in 1867. He claimed to have acquired the rights to a large Spanish land, by a man named Miguel Peralta on 26 October 1864.
The shares will be expired in a primitive camp in Southeast Prescott, without the benefits of a typical documentation. It was not a normal document, the transaction was recorded on a smudged piece of paper, signed by numerous witnesses. Willing was published in Prescott to sell part of his property. It was for sale at this time in financial difficulties and ready half of the country to the store owner James D. Monihon for 250 U.S. dollars, as well as the adoption of outstanding invoices. After Monihon would have signed the contract, both the land would sell back to the settlers who lived in the area. Monihon refused and informed Willing, that he was afraid of being lynched by the local inhabitants when they erführen from the plans. Willing rapidly regulated his affairs and left the next morning the city towards Santa Fe.
Willing arranged James Reavis, a real estate dealer from St. Louis, which was prone to fraud, to assist in the development of its claims. The two began to meet with William W. Gitt - a man who was known after a series of questionable land auctions as the " Old Spanish Land Title Lawyer" - should review which Willings papers. Willing and possibly Reavis joined an alliance and Willing left the Arizona Territory in January 1874. He completed his contract in Yavapai County Courthouse in Prescott and was found dead the next morning. There was never an official investigation to determine the cause of death. Were suspected, among other poisoning, " too little light and deprivation " or simply " crazy and yet unknown circumstances".