Charles Alfred Stillman-Philbrick who was born with a twin, James W. Stillman-Philbrick, July 26, 1869, to Emma Wilson Stillman Philbrick and James W. Stillman at South Pass City, Wyoming. The father of Mr. Philbrick and his twin brother, James, who died here in 1937, was J. W. Stillman, pioneer justice of the peace in South Pass City, serving both under the jurisdiction of Dakota and Wyoming territories. They were the first white children born in South Pass City.
Mrs. Esther Morris’s twin sons were godfathers for Charles and his twin brother, James, who were christened with Episcopal services in South Pass City. According to the “Life History of Pearl Zimmerman” by Ruth Lauritzen in the Sweetwater County Museum, “When they (Charles and James Stillman) started school, they took the name Philbrick instead of staying with the name of Stillman, and so later in history they couldn’t prove they were Stillman.”
Charles’ mother, Emma Wilson Stillman started living with Elroy P. “Bronco Jim” Philbrick in about 1878. Emma went to work for Jim Philbrick cooking as he had the management of the stagecoaches based in Green River running west and east. There was also a stage station in Rock Springs and it was down under the bank on Killpecker Creek and Philbrick managed it too. On the 1880 census, she was keeping house for Philbrick with her two sons. E.P. Philbrick and Emma Wilson Stillman were married in 1887.
Charles Philbrick married Lizzie Allen first and they divorced without having any children after about two years. Charles then married Anna Marie “Annie” Jensen on November 8, 1901, in Sweetwater County. According to the “Life History of Pearl Zimmerman” by Ruth Lauritzen in the Sweetwater County Museum, after they were married, Charles was working on a ranch up Ham’s Fork from Granger and Annie was living in Granger through 1906 after she had “Buddy…I don’t remember whether it was the next year or the following one, but anyway they tore the old log cabin down and moved to the Sam Harvey house one mile up the creek. It was a big four-room house, great big rooms, and it was a story and a half tall, but they put it on skids and drug it up through the meadows a mile to put it on the home place. Now this outfit from Salt Lake did this and after they got it set, they built a kitchen on it. In the meantime, we’re living in this log cabin. So, they set this big house and then tore the log cabin down. We lived in that then until after Nels was born.”
According to his obituary in the Green River Star, Charles Stillman-Philbrick was associated with the Taliaferro Livestock Company for years, later going in ranching business near Big Island where he lived for fifteen years, prior to this moving to Granger where he became the town marshal and water commissioner. The family had moved to Green River about 55 years ago.
Mr. Philbrick grew up in the atmosphere of the Old West and knew many of the Wyoming empire makers. His knowledge of pioneer cattlemen and sheepmen of Wyoming was almost unequalled. Mr. Philbrick served as deputy sheriff of Sweetwater County under Charles Young and again under Matt McCourt.
In Emma Wilson Stillman-Philbrick’s Oral History in Tom Cullen’s book, Rock Springs: A Look Back, she remembers, “Charles rented the Phil Mass ranch on Henry’s Fork and they lived there from 1907 to 1911. At this time Mrs. Mass was dead and Phil Mass used to enjoy coming to the old home place on which he had put so much time and money to make it one of the best ranchers in the valley. Charles’ son, John Philbrick, was born in this house. When my granddaughters were small, they used to play with bones from cows’ legs for dolls. There were many different sizes of bones and so the children dressed whole families of dolls. Charles and Anna were divorced by 1914.
On the 1920 census, Charles was living in Green River with his mother Emma and children Ada, Charles, and Nels. The following is an excerpt from page 11-12 of “Reminiscences with Emma Philbrick” by Williams Yates from Sweetwater County Museum in Green River, Wyoming: “She told of her other boy, Charlie, during prohibition days… Charlie was looking for some of the Taliaferro cattle that were lost, and, as he was a long way from home when night came on he looked for the nearest place to stay for the night. He saw a light in a window and made for it. When he got to the house, a man came to the door and spoke in a very broken English. Charlie told him the circumstances and that he would like to stay for the night, which was a request usually granted very cheerfully in Wyoming, but on this occasion, the man said, ‘No, he couldn’t stay there.’ This raised Charlie’s suspicions, and then another man came out to see what was going on. This man and Charlie knew each other, and they exchanged greetings. ‘You no officer? Charlie,’ said this man; and motioned for Charlie to turn back his coat so he could see if he was wearing an official badge. ‘No, I’m no officer,’ said Charlie, complying with his wishes. ‘All right, Charlie, you stay here tonight. You good fellow, me knew your father too. He was good man also.’ Next morning he showed Charlie his layout and told him he was making lots of money making whiskey. About midnight a truck loaded with 50-gallon barrels left to drive through the night to Ogden, Utah. Other nights, the truck would go to Kemmerer or Evanston. When Charlie was ready to leave, he wanted him to take a gallon with him, but Charlie wouldn’t; however, he persuaded him to have a little drink, and to promise he wouldn’t tell of him. Now prohibition is over, and law enforcement is dispersed, the story may be told.”
By 1930, Charles had married May Wisdom and they were living at Big Island in Sweetwater County, which is about 30 miles north of Green River on a ranch where the stumps of the original Mormon ferry across the Green River could be seen. Charles Alfred Stillman-Philbrick died on January 4, 1942, and was buried in Green River.