Prior to this he served as a fire commissioner under William Lafayette Strong, replacing Austin E.

[2] In the Pacific Historical Review, Gene M. Gressley wrote that Sturgis was "one of the few young easterners who came west in search of a fortune and stayed long enough to become one of the most respected men in the cattle industry.

[5] Upon the outbreak of the American Civil War, Sturgis joined the twenty-second regiment of the New York State Militia.

[5] After the conclusion of the war, Sturgis briefly studied law,[4] before moving to west to Neosho[3] in Southwest Missouri in spring 1868.

Sturgis moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1878[5] and was involved in banking, railroads and stockraising, spending fifteen years in the city.

He was appointed to the Civil Service Commission of New York in 1896 and was made a trustee of the Elmira Correctional Facility in 1899,[4] being elected president of the latter's board.