Luke Murrin (died after 1885) was an American politician who served as the 2nd Mayor of

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Wyoming, most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is the county seat of Laramie County, Wyoming, Laramie County, with 65,132 reside ...

, and was the first following its chartering.

Early life

Luke Murrin was born in

County Sligo County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, and immigrated to the United States in 1855. He attended Brown County College and a commercial college in Cincinnati.

Career

On June 3, 1861, he resigned from his position at a Cincinnati post office and enlisted into the Union Army where he was given the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in Company K, 10th Ohio Infantry. He was later given the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

and was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

on March 13, 1865. On March 15, 1865, he was commissioned to the staff of the 193rd Ohio Infantry before being mustered out on August 4, at Winchester, Virginia.

Mayor

On August 10, 1867, a provisional municipal government was organized in

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...

, with H. M. Hook as mayor. On December 24, the Dakota territorial legislature approved an act incorporating Cheyenne and was later approved by territorial Governor

Andrew Jackson Faulk Andrew Jackson Faulk (November 26, 1814 – September 4, 1898) was an American politician. He served as the third Governors of Dakota Territory, Governor of Dakota Territory. Early life Faulk was born at Milford, Pennsylvania, Milford, Pike Coun ...

. On January 23, 1868, the first local elections in Cheyenne following its chartering were held. Murrin was given the Democratic nomination for the mayoralty and defeated Republican nominee W. W. Corlett with 593 to 345 votes. On August 31, 1868, he placed guards around Cheyenne to prevent attacks from Native Americans. When the Denver Pacific Telegraph line was extended to Cheyenne on January 1, 1869, he exchanged congratulatory messages with William M. Clayton, the mayor of

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Colorado Territory The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the 38th State of Colorado. The territory was organized ...

. When Murrin left office in January, 1869, Cheyenne was $9,965.47 in debt.

Later life

On December 15, 1877, territorial Governor

John Milton Thayer John Milton Thayer (January 24, 1820March 19, 1906) was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and later a United States Senator from Nebraska, Governor of Wyoming Territory, and Governor of Nebraska. Early life Thayer wa ...

appointed Murrin, Simon Durlacher, and Thomas Lanktree as a penitentiary commission to oversee prisoners in

Laramie County, Wyoming Laramie County is a county located at the southeast corner of the state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 100,512 or 17.4% of the state's total 2020 population, making it the most populous county in Wyoming, ...

. In 1880, he was selected to serve as a delegate from Wyoming to the

Democratic national convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1885, he was selected to serve as the chairman of the Wyoming Territorial Democratic Committee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murrin, Luke 19th-century mayors of places in Wyoming Irish emigrants to the United States People of Ohio in the American Civil War Mayors of Cheyenne, Wyoming Wyoming Democrats