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 U.S. House of Representatives.

Early years

After leaving school, Stephen Downey resigned on October 31, 1861 as a simple soldier an infantry unit from Maryland in the armed forces of the Union. During the Civil War he rose to the colonel. After he was severely wounded at the battle of Harper's Ferry, he had to give up the military service. He then studied law. In 1863, Downey was admitted to the bar.

Political rise in Congress

In 1869, Stephen Downey moved to Laramie in the Wyoming Territory. There he worked as a lawyer and surveyor. From 1869 to 1870 he was district attorney in Albany County. Downey was a member of the Republican Party. In the years 1871, 1875 and 1877, he was elected to the Territorial Government. From 1872 to 1875 he was treasurer in the Wyoming Territory, and from 1877 to 1879, he headed the local Court. In the congressional elections of 1878, he was elected as the successor to William Wellington Corlett in the U.S. House of Representatives. With that he took there between 4 March 1879 to 3 March 1881 as a delegate its territory. Since Wyoming was not yet a state of the United States, he was a delegate in Congress not to vote.

Another Journey

In 1880, Downey opted not to run again for Congress. For this he was elected to the Territorial House of Representatives in the years 1886 and 1890. In 1889 he was a member of the Constituent Assembly of Wyoming. After the new constitution came into force, Wyoming in 1890 the official U.S. state. In 1893 and 1895, Stephen Downey deputy in the House of Representatives from Wyoming. From 1899 until his death he was again district attorney in Albany County. Downey was also co-founder, curator and president of the University of Wyoming.