Ezra A Burrell
1867-1931
History of Idaho Volume 14, page 1113-1114
In 1890 there came to Idaho a young Illinois school teacher who, like the state was but entering upon an independent career and had yet to prove his merit. The young man was Ezra A Burrell, now of Montpelier. In the interim of twenty two years since then Idaho has changed from a domain of the sage brush, with her only boats those of her mineral wealth and her lumber resources to one of the leading agricultural and horticultural states of the west. The young school teacher in that period has served as lieutenant governor of Idaho, is the present grand master of the Idaho Masonic grand lodge and as a business man and in every aspect of his citizenship has long been ranked with the strong and forceful men of the state. He came here with a good education and a large stock on energy and pluck; Idaho gave him the opportunity to turn them to account.
Mr. Burrell was born at Carmi, White county Illinois 3 Nov 1867 and is a son of Samuel and Mary A (Staley) Burrell. The father was born in New York, but at the age of ten came west with his parents who located at Carmi, Illinois, and were among the first settlers in White county. He grew up there and has ever since made it his home being well known thereabout through a long identification with flour milling. He has now reached the advanced age of eighty years. In 1861 h felt that the Union must be preserved and to serve that cause he enlisted in the Fifth Illinois Volunteer Calvary, which was organized at Carmi in 1861, for three years service and in which he was made a captain. He was with Grant throughout that general's Mississippi campaign.
The mother of Mr. Burrell was a native of Tennessee and came to Illinois in her childhood with her parents who also were pioneers in that state. She is deceased, have passed away at the age of forty. To these parents were born eight children, of which Ezra A was fourth by birth and is one of four surviving. The public schools of southern Illinois and the Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute, Indiana provided Mr. Burrell his education and for four years after his attendance he taught school. In 1890 he came to Idaho locating at Blackfoot, where he was principal for two years. Following that he was in the service of Bunting & Company at Blackfoot two years and for at similar period at St Anthony Idaho, where he conducted a store. From that time until the spring of 1903 he was in the employ of Consolidated Implement Company and the Consolidated Wagon & Machine Company at Idaho Falls and Salt Lake City, and from there he went to Montpelier to take charge of similar interests.
In 1904, together with R A Sullivan, he organized the First National Bank of Montpelier and remained in control of it until 1911, when he sold his banking interests. In February 1912, he organized the Burrell & Thiel Hardware and Implement Company which prospered from the start and they have one of the large hardware and implement stocks of Montpelier. He has ever been a Republican and in 1906 was called into public service as lieutenant-governor serving until 1908. He is now grand master of the Masonic grand lodge of Idaho and thus has received the highest honor which the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the sate could confer.
On February 4, 1902 at Salt Lake City, he was
married to Edith F Speck, who was born at Grayville Illinois. Her father
Samuel Speck is yet living and now resides at Evansville Indiana. Mrs.
Speck died in Grayville in 1909. Mr. and Mrs. Burrell have one daughter,
Emelie, born at Grayville, 10 Jan 1904 and now attending school at Montpelier.
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Ezra Burrell was a Republican alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention from Idaho in 1916. He died in Los Angles California.