Cowboy Charlie Irwin

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Birth: Aug. 14, 1875 Chillicothe Livingston County Missouri, USA

Death: Mar. 23, 1934 Laramie County Wyoming, USA

Charles Burton Irwin was one of the Wild West's best showmen, ever. He was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1907. He employed horse trainer Tom Smith (see Seabiscuit). CB was World Champion Roper in 1906 with a record time of 38 1/5 seconds. He is possibly most famous for singing at Tom Horn's hanging - Life is like a Mountain Railroad. He was in charge of baggage and livestock for the Union Pacific Railroad in Cheyenne, WY. He owned the horses Steamboat and Teddy Roosevelt among others. He was the owner of the Irwin Brothers Wild West Show and is responsible for making rodeo popular from Coast to Coast. In addition to promoting wild west shows, Irwin was a lobbyist for the Union Pacific and president of the Cheyenne Feature Film Co. which in 1911 produced a movie apparently inspired by the life of Tom Horn, Round-Up on the Y-6 Ranch.

At the time of his death Irwin's weight has been estimated to have been 400-450 lbs. Prior to his death in an automobile accident, Irwin campaigned for governor under a slogan suggested by his friend Will Rogers, "Popular government at popular prices." The accident, 14 miles north of Cheyenne, was caused by a blow-out on a front tire on the car driven by Irwin's son-in-law Claude Sawyer. The Elks service conducted by Past Exalted Ruler Al Leslie was attended by 1300 mourners and concluded with the singing of The Last Roundup.

In his lifetime, Irwin owned Irwin Brothers Cheyenne Frontier Days Wild West Show, the most buckingest horse of em all - Steamboat, who C. B. put down with Tom Horn's 30-30 rife in 1914, - managed the race track in Frontier Park, was president of the Cheyenne Feature Film Company.. see movie...Roundup on the Y-6 Ranch - - and who all knows what else. When he died, 100 Sioux mourned his passing outside of the funeral home, Hobbs, Huckfeldt and Finkbiner in Cheyenne, which is now the Grier Furniture building, keeping the entire town of Cheyenne awake. "The funeral was held at the junior high school auditorium." Thousands of mourners stood in long lines for more than three hours to pass by the wooden casket that was eight feet by three and a half feet by thirty-two inches deep." "the Inside capacity was thirty six cubic feet, while a standard casket contains only 16 cubic feet" (from Anna Lee Waldo's book, Prairie). Will Rogers was one of the 8 men acting as honorary pallbearers.. as were General John J. Pershing and Carl R. Gray, president of the Union Pacific Railroad.

He Was A COWBOY.

Family links:

Parents:

• Joseph Marvin Irwin (1846 - 1913)
• Mary Margaret Brassfield Irwin (1845 - 1897)

Spouse:

*Etta McGuckin Irwin (1874 - 1953)*

Children:

*Floyd Leslie Irwin (1895 - 1917)*

• Pauline Louise Irwin Sawyer (1898 - 1966)*

Siblings:

*William H Irwin (1867 - 1942)*

• Letitia Ellen Irwin Miner (1871 - 1950)*
• Charles Burton Irwin (1875 - 1934)
• Frank R Irwin (1877 - 1959)*
• Calculated relationship

Burial: Lakeview Cemetery Cheyenne Laramie County Wyoming, USA

Created by: zizzy Record added: Aug 17, 2005 Find A Grave Memorial# 11549782