Born in Pittsford , New York , Merrell served in the American Civil War as a soldier and a military correspondent . After the war , he entered the mercantile business in Philadelphia , and then the real estate business in Chicago , where he read law to gain admission to the bar . In the wake of the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 , Merrell " moved to Laramie and later Rawlins , Wyoming " , where he " built a large practice and invested in real estate "
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Homer Merrell