RN-G1 on 1883 check of Geo. L. Shoup & Co., Salmon City, Idaho

George Laird Shoup (June 15, 1836 – December 21, 1904) was an American politician who served as the first governor of Idaho, in addition to its last territorial governor. He served several months after statehood in 1890 and then became one of the state’s first United States Senators.

During the Civil War, he enlisted with the independent scouts working in New Mexico Territory, Colorado Territory, and Texas. Shoup was commissioned as a second lieutenant when the 3rd Colorado Cavalry Regiment was formed in 1861 and was mustered out as a colonel in December 1864. He took part in the Battle of Apache Canyon in New Mexico Territory during the Civil War and the Sand Creek massacre during the Colorado War.

After the war, Shoup moved to Virginia City, Montana Territory, and then settled across the continental divide in Salmon, a city in Idaho Territory that he helped found. He owned general merchandise stores in both locations. Shoup was appointed commissioner to organize Lemhi County, and in 1874 he was elected to the territorial legislature. With few interruptions, he served on the Republican National Committee for Idaho from 1880 to 1904.