USA > Oklahoma > A history of the state of Oklahoma, Volume I > Part 79
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The population of Tulsa county in 1907 was 21,693. Its taxable wealth of about
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA
twelve millions exceeds that of any other .here in 1895, and the town began to grow county in the state considering the popula- and reach some commercial importance about this time. Tulsa was incorporated in 1898, Col. Edward Calkins being the first mayor. Until about 1903 Tulsa had but the one railroad line. Its railroad facil- ities are now a large factor in promoting the rapid growth of city and its business. The Midland Valley is the line that reaches the famous Glenn Pool oil district. Both the M., K. & T. and the Santa Fe rail- roads pass through Tulsa. The Arkansas Valley & Western is a branch of the Frisco System, extending from Tulsa through Pawnee and Enid to the western part of the state. tion. The population of the town of Tulsa in 1900 was 1,390. The special census just before statehood showed 7,580. It is claimed that the suburban districts, includ- ed in "Greater Tulsa," increase this num- ber to over twelve thousand. The growth of this city is the most remarkable part of the history of the county, and indeed of the entire state. The environs of the city are those of the newly founded town, many of the streets are so new that the grass was not worn from the surface. But pass- ing the border where city building is in progress, the central area shows a munic- ipal development of which many cities both east and west and of undoubted age and maturity might well be proud. In 1908 several miles of the streets were paved either with brick or asphalt. The gas fields gave light and heat, and all the essential conveniences of city life could be found.
Modern Tulsa is a product of the twen- tieth century. Yet a town was here for nearly two decades preceding. As is true of a number of Oklahoma towns, the Tulsa of modern civilization is founded on or near the site of the old Indian settlement known in earlier history as Tulseytown. The Frisco Railroad brought white men and commercial development to this point in the valley of the Arkansas. H. C. and J. M. Hall established their store here while the railroad bridge was being built across the river. This was in 1882, and for some years Tulsa was nothing more than a fron- tier village. Gambling and boot-legging flourished, and some of the noted outlaw bands of the time made this a rendezvous. The establishment of a commissioners' court at Tulsa about 1890 helped to estab- lish better order.
The first large flouring mill was erected
Tulsa claims the honor of being the first municipality of Indian Territory to main- tain a free public school (meaning of course a school for the benefit of white children of the non-citizen class). In re- cent years some handsome school buildings have been erected, and education holds a high place among the interests of this busy commercial center.
Besides the metropolis of Tulsa, other towns in this county are: Broken Arrow, 1,383 population; Jenks, 456; Red Fork, 397; Owasso, 379; Skiatook, 342. Broken Arrow was laid out as a town at the time of the construction of the M., K. & T. Railroad through the east part of the county, in 1903-04, and has grown rapidly.
. Wagoner County.
A small portion of Wagoner county was originally in the Cherokee Nation, but most of the county is the northwest corner of the old Creek Nation. The Verdigris river crosses the county centrally, while on the south border is the river Arkansas. The territory of the county has therefore been tributary to and itself the scene of
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA
many events in the early history of the five. the present decade the steady pursuits of tribes.
The county has a population of 19,529. There is much diversity in the industries and products of the county. Agriculture, with the corn and cotton crops, is perhaps the best permanent resource, but the county also produces oil and other mineral wealth.
The principal towns are Wagoner, popu- lation (in 1907), 2,950; Coweta, 1,105; Porter, 448; Clarksville, 334; Red Bird, 140. The Iron Mountain and the M., K. & T., which forms a junction at Wagoner, are among the oldest railroads of the state. The Tulsa branch of the M., K. & T. gives railroad facilities to Coweta and Red Bird. Wagoner is the northern terminus of the new road, the Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf. Coweta was a place of interest and importance during the early Indian Terri- tory days. The Coweta Mission was one of the best known Indian schools.
The city of Wagoner is said to have originated with an order from a train dis- patcher named Wagoner in directing that a switch be placed midway between Gibson Station and Lelietta. It was named "Wag- oner's Switch," and so appeared for a time in the railroad time tables. When the Iron Mountain road was built, in the late eight- ies, this point became the junction, and rapidly grew in commercial importance from that time until Wagoner was the sec- ond city of the Creek Nation.
Washington County.
Washington county, which is forty miles long and ten miles wide, extends along the eastern side of the old Osage Nation, and contains the richest natural gas fields and some of the best oil wells in the state. During the territorial days this region pro- duced the usual farm crops and sustained a large number of live stock, but during
agriculture have been in large measure abandoned, and the entire district is given over to the development of the oil and gas deposits. Bartlesville is rapidly becoming a manufacturing center, with some large ore smelters, glass and brick works already lo- cated.
The population of the county according to the federal census of 1907 was 12,813. More than half of this was concentrated in the cities and villages of the county, these being as follows: Bartlesville, 4,215; Ramona, 873; Dewey, 748; Ochelata, 359; Copan, 305; Vera, 175.
Until the close of the last century there was no railroad in the Cherokee Nation west of the Iron Mountain line through Nowata and Claremore, nor in the entire Osage Nation. Except the scattered homes of the Cherokee citizens and a few ranch- men and traders who had their establish- ments at a. few points, this region has scarcely begun to be civilized. Some of the pioneer features of Bartlesville are de- scribed on other pages (see index). This was the first real town community in what is now Washington county. Nearly forty years ago a store was established near this city on the Caney creek for trade with the Indians, and a grist mill run by water power on the east side of that stream was the first mill of the kind in this vicinity. This mill later became the property of Jacob H. Bartles. Bartles' Mill in time be- came Bartlesville, and the nucleus of pop- ulation slowly expanded.
About 1899 the line of the Santa Fe Railroad was extended south from Kansas through the western border of the Chero- kee Nation. The presence of great oil and gas deposits along this route was already known and preparations had been made to take advantage of these natural resources.
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA
The regulations and restrictions of the in- D. H. Linebaugh, S. A. Mills, J. G. Ralls, terior department deterred the general de- G. T. Ralls, G. F. Robertson. velopment of the district until about 1903.
In the meantime the growth of Bartles- ville proceeded at a remarkable pace after the advent of the railroad. By the census of 1900 the population was 698, and the greater portion of the site covered by the present city was then fields. Since that time Bartlesville has obtained another rail- road, and is one of the principal gas and oil centers of the southwest. The entire valley in which the city is located promises to become a scene of manufacturing, pro- vided the oil and gas continue unfailing, and already a large number of factories and plants of a varied industry are located in this vicinity. In the past five years Bartlesville has advanced in a remarkable degree as a municipality. The principal streets are paved with brick, and are well lighted. A system of waterworks is in operation, and a street railway was under construction at the date of this writing.
Roll of Members of the Oklahoma Bar Association.
Ada-W. G. Currie, C. H. Ennis, B. H. Epperson, H. M. Furman, C. A. Galbreath, T. P. Holt.
Albion-Wm. A. Welch.
Alva-F. M. Cowgill, J. J. Dunn, Claud McCrory, T. J. Womack.
Antlers-W. P. Stewart.
Anadarko-F. H. Heskett, A. J. Morris. Ardmore-S. A. Apple, S. T. Bledsoe, C. D. Bunn, H. H. Brown, C. M. Campbell, A. C. Cruce, L. S. Dolman, J. E. Hum- phrey, W. A. Ledbetter, H. A. Ledbetter, H. C. Potterf, Stillwell Russell, J. C. Thompson.
Atoka-G. M. Ashcraft, W. S. Farmer, J. H. Gernert, V. Hicks, J. M. Humphreys,
Bartlesville-B. B. Foster, Tom George, R. L. Gordon, J. T. Shipman.
Beaver-R. H. Loofbourrow. Blackwell-W. C. Tetirick.
Boswell-Jas. R. Armstrong.
Broken Arrow-F. B. Righter.
Chandler-John Davis, John Embry, Roy Hoffman, J. B. A. Robertson.
Chickasha-F. M. Bailey, B. B. Bare- foot, Reford Bond, J. D. Carmichael, J. T. Dickerson, C. M. Fechheimer, Alger Melton, A. H. Melton, C. G. Moore, John W. Speake, Ransom Stephens, N. M. Will- iams, S. W. Hayes, John H. Venable.
Claremore-E. S. Bessey.
Coalgate-D. D. Brunson, G. A. Fooshee, P. E. Wilhelm.
Cordell-S. C. Massingale.
Duncan-E. H. Bond, W. I. Gilert, E.
E. Morris, Robert Burns. Durant-W. E. Utterback.
Edmond-John Roaten. Eldorado-W. C. Austin.
El Reno-Thos. R. Beman, E. E. Blake,
C. O. Blake, H. L. Fogg, Homer B. Low. Enid-W. O. Cromwell.
Eufaula-C. H. Tulley.
Garvin-G. A. Spaulding.
Guthrie-Henry E. Asp, John Adams, J. H. Burford, J. H. Cotteral, J. R. Cot- tingham, Fred W. Green, Geo. M. Green, S. S. Lawrence, O. T. Smith, C. H. Woods. Guymon-M. G. Wiley.
Hobart-L. M. Keys, N. Rummons, J. C. Tolbert. .
Holdenville-F. L. Warren.
Hugo-Claud P. Spriggs, T. C. Hum- phrey, A. A. McDonald.
Kingfisher-G. L. Bowman, D. K. Cun- ingham, M. J. Kane.
Lawton-A. E. Hammonds, B. M. Par- menter, R. J. Ray, J. H. Wolverton.
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA
Lehigh-A. T. West. Lindsay-F. E. Rice. Luther-Grant Stanley.
Mangum-T. P. Clay, G. A. Brown, Chas. M. Thacker.
McAlester-J. S. Arnote, W. E. Browne, R. E. Campbell, W. H. H. Clayton, W. P. Freeman, E. J. Fannin, W. H. Fuller, J. E. Gresham, J. H. Gordon, S. Guerrier, G. A. Grace, E. P. Hill, F. H. Kellogg, Field- ing Lewis, T. B. Latham, J. W. McMillan, H. P. Robbins, C. B. Stuart, J. H. Wilkins, Allen Wright.
Miami-H. B. Durant.
Muldrow-Thos. J. Watts.
Muskogee-De Roos Bailey, Chas. Bragg, E. E. Brooks, Leo E. Bennett, W. W. Ben- nett, Fred P. Branson, Chas. A. Cook, W. J. Crump, Edgar A. DeMeules, N. A. Gib- son, J. M. Givens, Maurice D. Green, P. B. Hopkins, Grant Foreman, W. T. Hutch- ings, C. L. Jackson, E. R. Jones, John H. King, Geo. A. Murphy, B. E. Nussbaum, R. L. Owen, Masterson Peyton, Geo. S. Ramsey, S. M. Rutherford, W. G. Robert- son, W. F. Schuermeyer, Thos. A. Sanson, Edgar Smith, P. L. Soper, John R. Thomas, Preston West, G. W. Wheatley, W. M. Mellette, J. W. Zevely, S. E. Gidney.
Mountain Park-John M. Hays.
Newkirk-S. K. Sullivan.
Norman-J. B. Dudley, J. W. Field, Geo. G. Graham, Wm. W. Gresham, John H. Mosier, W. M. Newell, N. E. Sharp, Ben Williams.
Nowata-W. A. Chase, J. C. Denton, Wm. F. Gilluly, W. D. Humphrey, E. B. Lawson, J. A. Tillotson.
Oklahoma City-C. B. Ames, Oliver C. Black, Jas. L. Brown, B. F. Burwell, Fred Brasted, S. A. Byers, S. A. Calhoun, Geo. W. Clark, A. H. Classon, R. M. Campbell, A. P. Crockett, J. O. Davis, B. M. Dilley, John E. Dumars, H. E. Elder, A. D. En-
glesman, J. H. Everest, J. L. Francis, M. Fulton, E. J. Giddings, J. H. Grant, Ledru Guthrie, S. H. Harris, Mont Highley, S. A. Horton, John S. Jenkins, Chas. E. John- son, J. W. Johnson, D. I. Johnston, J. R. Keaton, R. A. Kleinschmidt, J. C. Leeper, Russell G. Lowe, Edward H. Manning, L. J. Miller, John H. Meyers, A. F. Moss, A. N. Munden, R. N. McConnell, A. J. Mc- Mahan, T. F. McMechan, Moman Pruitt, Xavier Ryan, J. W. Shartel, B. D. Shear, C. F. Smith, W. A. Smith, Victor Sniggs, Henry C. Snyder, C. W. Stringer, C. M. Turner, Ed. S. Vaught, Frank Wells, W. F. Wilson, D. B. Welty, John H. Wright.
.
Okmulgee-J. Belford, Wm. M. Mat- thews, E. H. Moore, H. E. P. Stanford, J. C. Stone, Orlando Swain.
Pauls Valley-R. N. Coffee, O. W. Patchell, Albert Rennie, Y. E. Taylor, C. H. Thomason.
Pawhuska-John E. Palmer, C. R. Peck, J. M. Worten.
Perry-Chas. R. Bostick, W. M. Bowles, R. H. Hudson, J. R. Scott, H. E. St. Clair. Ponca City-W. L. Barnum.
Pond Creek-A. M. Mackay.
Poteau-Wm. H. Harrison, M. E. Ros- ser, T. T. Varner.
Purcell-Dorset Carter, Ben Franklin, T. F. Green, J. W. Hocker, J. F. Sharp, W. H. Woods.
Ryan-J. H. Harper, Cham. Jones. Salisaw-W. L. Curtis.
Shawnee-B. B. Blakeney, W. N. Maben, J. H. Maxey, Jr.
Stillwater-J. W. Reece, J. S. Workman.
Tahlequah-J. D. Cox, W. W. Hastings,. David A. Kline, K. S. Murchison.
Tishomingo-Nick Wolf.
Tulsa-H. F. Aby, A. J. Biddison, C .. W. Butterworth, Gray Carroll, Jas. B. Diggs, L. M. Poe, D. L. Sleeper, W. F. Tucker, C. S. Walker, C. J. Wrightsman.
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA
Vinita-P. S. Davis, John S. Davenport, W. H. Kornegay, Samuel F. Parks, Sey- mour Riddle, C. B. Rogers, John B. Turner, D. H. Wilson.
Watonga-Seymour Foose, A. J. Low- rey.
Wagoncr-C. E. Castle. Weatherford-G. O. Davis. Wewoka-H. H. Rogers.
Woodward-W. A. Briggs, D. P. Ma- rum, Chas. Swindall, Chas. W. White.
THE BAR OF LINCOLN COUNTY is one of the ablest in Oklahoma. It is composed of twenty-eight attorneys, nineteen of whom are located in Chandler, viz .: Firms-Rit- tenhouse and Rittenhouse, Hoffman and Robertson, Owen and Neeley, Decker and Decker, and Wilson and Wilson; also, Emery A. Foster, S. A. Cordell, W. T. Willis, R. H. Galyen, W. L. Johnson, John J. Davis, Fred A. Wagoner and C. O. Lasher. At Stroud, H. M. Jarrett and W. G. Pardoe; Ira E. Billingslea, Wellston ; Wilberforce Jones, Davenport; J. L. Mc- Kamy, Sparks; Sandlin and Wells, Prague; and Edgar N. Sweet, Meeker. Col. Roy V. Hoffman was a prominent candidate for United States senator before the Demo- cratic primary in 1907. John Embry, United States attorney for the western dis- trict of Oklahoma, is also a member of the Lincoln county bar. S. A. Cordell was three times elected probate judge of the county and is at present a member of the state senate. Fred A. Wagoner is the pres- ent county judge and John J. Davis is the present county attorney. J. B. A. Robert- son and Emery A. Foster have each served as county attorney. J. M. Sandlin was a member of the convention that wrote Okla- homa's constitution and is now private sec- retary to Governor Haskell.
Vol. I.
Religious Denominations.
Religious teaching and the spread of church influence among the inhabitants of Indian Territory have been coincident with the history of the five tribes in their western homes. Work of missionaries began among the Indians long before they left their old homes, and some of the preachers and teachers of this race followed the tribes be- yond the Mississippi. Perhaps the two most noted of these were Samuel Worcester and Evan Jones. The hardships and per- secution which the former endured in be- half of his people merit a large place for his name in the history of Oklahoma. The . work of Isaac McCoy, the Baptist mis- sionary, has been referred to elsewhere. Among the missionaries who during the past century served the various tribes of Indian Territory, the following names were selected for mention in an article published a few years ago: Samuel Worcester, Evan Jones, John B. Jones, Ard Hoyt, William Potter, Rev. Berkrich, Cyrus Kingsbury, A. N. Chamberlan, Phineas Scruggs, Dr. John Hanna, T. M. Wrights, John Gam- bold, John Harrell, Willis F. Folsom, Francis M. Paine, William B. Austin, E. R. Shapard, John Page, Thomas W. Mitchell, J. Oscar Shanks, John C. Robin- son, Thomas B. Ruble, Wilson L. McAlis- ter, Thomas Bentholf, David B. Cumming, E. B. Duncan, T. K. B. McSpadden, John C. Powell, D. H. Carruthers, James Essex, Young Ewing, Samuel Chicote, James Mc- Henry, John Sevier, J. F. Boot, C. S. Jones, George W. Adkins, N. M. Talbot, James Y. Brice, Isaac Sanders, P. W. Cosby, W. A. McIver, Peter Stidham, Jesse H. Walker, J. N. Moore, H. J. Brown, T. F. Brewer, M. L. Butler, A. C. Pickens, F. M. Moore.
The growth of organized religion among
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA
the intruding white population of Indian Territory naturally was not rapid. The early schools among the whites were sub- scription schools, and likewise the first churches were an expression from a por- tion of the people recognizing the need of and providing the means of religious wor- ship. The itinerant preacher was the source of the first religious instruction. The first record of religion in many of the towns and cities of Oklahoma is of some now forgotten preacher who spoke from a goods-box the first sermon in the town.
After the towns of Indian Territory were given a legal status, a more systematic ex- tension of both schools and churches took place. The principal denominations had organized societies in all the larger cen- ters, though often these were but "sta- tions" and services held but once or twice a month. Some kind of church building would usually be found in every town, though it was often a "union" church and used in turn by the different denominations represented there.
On the Oklahoma side the 89'ers brought their religious life with them, as did all the later settlers at the other openings. The conditions attending the settlement of a new country were not favorable to the highest attainments of religious growth, but from the first Sunday after the original opening, public worship, at first in the open air, on the street or under the trees, was conducted and participated in by a large portion of the settlers. The Oklahoma pio- neers as a whole had been accustomed to religious practices in their former homes, as they had been accustomed to the usages of law and to public schools, so that they were not a people who had to undergo a process of reform to accept the forms and institutions of Christianity among them.
However, the church was not established
at once in the prosperous circumstances which characterized the institution in older communities. As the original homes were tents or the plainest sort of wooden houses, so the churches harmonized with the primi- tive conditions of the early Oklahoma. But as the frame shacks changed to comfortable dwellings of brick and stone, so the churches soon stood in evidence of the pros- perity of the material life of the people and their liberality toward religion.
Some statistics for comparison are fur- nished in the reports of the governor of Oklahoma territory for the years 1896 and 1904, though it is hardly possible that the figures represent a reliable census of the churches.
Presbyterian : 1896.
1904.
Number of churches
44
.....
Number of buildings 24
50
Members 1,480
4,000
Ministers 27
53
Congregational:
Number of churches 91
..
Number of buildings 55
75
Members 2,222
2,700
Ministers 49
50
Methodist North :
Number of churches 46
....
Number of buildings 193
Members 5,405
18,580
Methodist South :
Number of churches 90
.....
Number of buildings. 25
90
Members 3,000
10,691
Christian :
Number of churches. 70
317
Number of buildings 12
123
Members 4,300
18,000
Baptist :
Number of churches 190*
....
Number of buildings . . 150
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1896. 1904.
Members
6,700* 16,000
Ministers
165* 500
Eighty these churches were colored churches, 3,500 of the total members were col- ored and 100 of the preachers.
Episcopal:
Number of churches and
missions
22
29
Number of buildings 7
18
Members
350
891
Ministers
9
13
Catholic :
Number of churches 73* 109
Number of buildings 24
63
Members 10,000
20,000
Ministers
18
31
* Recorded as "stations visited."
The statistics for the various churches covering the entire new state, though in- complete in some cases, show a surprising strength among the denominations. The Methodist Episcopal church, in 1907, had 325 church organizations and 194 church buildings, and 19,117 members in Oklahoma territory, and 36 churches and 2,623 mem- bers on the Indian Territory side of the state. The Methodist Church South, whose conference covered the whole state, had 320 church buildings and about 40,000 mem- bers.
The Presbyterian church, in the Okla- homa synod, had when statehood was given,
338 congregations and 184 ministers, and 13,800 members. The United Presbyterian denomination was represented in this state by seven church organizations and a mem- bership of 302.
The Baptist general convention of Okla- homa has jurisdiction over 900 congrega- tions, white and Indian, with 550 church buildings, and a membership of 55,000.
The Christian denomination has 491 or- ganizations and 259 churches, with a mem- bership in the state of 39,000.
The Catholic church has 500 organiza- tions in the state and 120 church buildings, besides the numerous parochial schools and higher institutions of education. Its ad- herents in the state are about 33,000.
The Protestant Episcopal church had in 1907, 35 organized missions and 24 sta- tions, and a total number of communicants of 3,242.
The Congregational church in 1907 had 50 church organizations on the Oklahoma territory side of the state, and a total mem- bership of 2,600.
The United Brethren had about 80 church organizations, with a membership of about 3,000.
At the admission of the state there were over a thousand Jews in the state, the larg- est group being at Oklahoma City, where they maintain a church.
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA.
GOVERNOR GILBERT W. DUKES, Talihina, Okla .- The name of Dukes is associated with the settlement of the Choctaw Nation from its earliest occupancy by the tribe, and one of its representatives has achieved the distinction of the governorship of the nation to which he belongs. The multi- farious affairs of the Nation developed and brought out the men of strength, and among them was Joseph Dukes, the founder of the pioneer family, and the father of Gilbert W. Dukes, of this review.
Joseph Dukes and his family were of the first of the Choctaws to leave their Mis- sissippi home in the early forties and estab- lish new homes in the wild country recently treated for in the Red River country of the far west. He settled near Fort Towson and there became a man of prominence as a farmer and a minister of the Presbyterian church. Among his children were Gilbert W., Charles, and Josephine, who married Benjamin Woods and died in the Choctaw Nation. The father and mother both passed away near Fort Towson, where they are buried.
Gilbert W. Dukes attained his majority in the vicinity of Fort Towson and received a liberal education, joining the Confederate troops raised in the Choctaw Nation and in after years served his people in many civic positions. As sheriff and district judge his services marked him as a proper man for the safe and conservative conduct of the nation's affairs in the executive chair. He was a member of the Progres- sives, and in the deliberations looking toward final dissolution of tribal relations and the coming of statehood he showed his friendship for the movement and gave it his support. He was chosen governor and served two years. Since the advent of statehood he has espoused the principles of the Republican party. Governor Dukes was married to Miss Angelina Wade, a daugh- ter of Governor Wade, who had also filled the gubernatorial chair. She died in 1893, the mother of Joseph A. and Henry Dukes, of Garvin, Oklahoma. For his second wife Governor Dukes married Mrs. Isabel Sex- ton, and their children are as follows: Minnie, Letta and Dee Dukes.
Joseph A. Dukes was born in the Wade neighborhood near Talihina, where his parents settled more than forty years ago, and on the farm his childhood and youth were passed. He was educated in Arkansas and Virginia colleges, having attended the famous school at Roanoke in the old Do- minion. He remained on the farm until 1904, when he became connected with Townsend's wholesale grocery house in McAlester. About a year later he returned to Talihina and was soon appointed post- master of the village. While he is giving his personal attention to the office he has farming and real estate interests of value, chiefly comprised in his allotments near Tuttle and Lindsay, Oklahoma. He is a Republican in politics and cast his first vote for president of the United States at the general election of 1908. with many other men who had passed their lives in the In- dian country. On July 1, 1904, Mr. Dukes was married in Tishomingo to Miss Lillie, a daughter of G. M. Powers, and one in a family of six children. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Dukes are Theodore F. and Justine R. Dukes.
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