A history of the state of Oklahoma, Volume II, Part 10

Author: Hill, L. B. (Luther B.)
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 810

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In his native commonwealth of Kentucky, in 1888, Dr. Caldwell wedded Emily Jordan, a member of a prominent old family of that state and a daughter of Peter Jordan, de- ceased. The only child of this union is a son, Wallace, a young man of eighteen years and a student in the A. and M. College of Stillwater, Oklahoma. Dr. Caldwell is a member of the time-honored order of Ma- sons, and is also a valued member and an earnest worker in the Baptist church of Tecumseh, which he has represented in the state convention, and for four years he served as auditor of that body. As an earnest Christian gentleman no man is more highly respected where known than Dr. A. G. Caldwell, the popular physican of Te- cumseh.

DR. N. SEWELL is one of the pioneer phy- sicians of Pottawatomie county, where he has practiced since 1899, and in all these years he has been a prominent factor in the medical profession of Oklahoma, especially well known throughout the southern part of the county. He prepared for his profes- sion in a well known medical college in his home state of Georgia, where he graduated when twenty-five years old. He at once entered actively into the practice of medi- cine, and after a time he moved from Georgia to Benton county, Arkansas, where for nine years he practiced in Springtown, and for six years in Gentry. From there he came to Oklahoma in 1899 and prominently iden- tified himself with the early life of Pottawa- tomie county, his practice in those days ne- cessitating long rides over rough and bad country roads, but no night was ever too dark, too cold or too stormy for the Doctor to go when called to a sick bed. Shortly after his arrival here he bought a fine tract of land near Tecumseh, and when the rail- road located its station nearby it was named Sewell in his honor. The farm now adjoins the town of Sewell and contains two hun-

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA.

dred and forty acres of rich and fertile land, adapted principally to the raising of alfalfa, and the place is known as Dance Creek Alf- alfa Farm. Dr. Sewell, however, maintains his home in Tecumseh, where he attends to his large practice.

He was reared to the life of a farmer and was born on a farm in Forsyth county, near the county seat of Cummings, Georgia, May 24, 1853, and is a member of an old family of that state. His grandfather, Joshua L. Sewell, made his home in that state many years ago, and his father, A. J. Sewell, was born there more than eighty years ago and is yet numbered among its inhabitants, be- ing a farmer in Dawson county. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Kitty Moore, was born in Georgia and died there some years ago, leaving two children, the daughter being Julia Ann Tolerson, of Atlanta, Geor- gia. The son is the elder of the two. Be- fore leaving his native state, when a young man of twenty, he was married to Matilda C. Pool, a native daughter of the state, where her father, Dr. M. L. Pool, is a suc- cessful physician and a Confederate veteran of the Civil war. His wife, Lucy (Mangrum) Pool, is deceased. To Dr. and Mrs. Sewell have been born nine children: Eliza Alice Brown, Lenora Peny; Laura Mckinney, Oscar V., Pearl, Maggie, Ava and two who are deceased. Dr. Sewell votes with the Democratic party and is a Royal Arch Ma- son, and Odd Fellow and a Knight of Py- thias. With his wife he has membership relations with the Baptist church of Tecum- seh.

WILLIAM G. PARIS is one of the well known and representative business men of WVanette, a member of the firm of Paris & Becotte, proprietors of a cotton gin and saw mills. He has been identified with the in- terests of Oklahoma since 1894, where for nine years he operated a gin in Georgetown, and at the close of that period, in 1903, he came to Wanette to engage in the same bus- iness here. The Paris & Becotte cotton gin and mills were erected in 1904, the former having a capacity of thirty-five bales in ten hours, and in 1907 their output was 2,087 bales of cotton. In their mills they are kept busy sawing the various kinds of native lumber.

the city of Paris, France, at one time owned city real estate there to the amount of one million dollars. But as he was a Protestant in his religious belief, he was obliged to leave his native country, and he came to America. One of his sons was named Lewis D., and the latter's son, C. G. Paris, became the father of William G. Paris of this re- view. C. G. Paris was born in New Jersey, and was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war, a member of the Seventy- ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Becoming a school teacher, he taught for thirteen years in one school in Ohio, and proved himself a successful educator. He married Sarah J. Harner, born in Warren county, Ohio, and in 1869 they moved to Miami county, Kan- sas, and from there one year later to near Osborne, in Osborne county. This was an early day in the history of that state, when the buffaloes were yet numerous and roamed at will, and locating on a farm on the fron- tier they passed through the memorable drouth and grasshopper scourge of 1874. Mr. Paris served the county of Osborne for four years as its clerk, proving an efficient and competent officer. The wife and mother died at Sacred Heart, Pottawatomie county, Oklahoma, at the age of seventy years, but the father, who was born in 1829, is still liv- ing and the father of nine children: George L., E. E. (deceased), Mary, William G., Sally A., C. B., Anna M., Nellie E. and Maud M.

On his parents' pioneer farm near Bloom- ington, Kansas, W. G. Paris was reared to years of maturity, but leaving his boyhood's home he went to near Siloam in Benton county, Arkansas, where he farmed until his removal to Oklahoma. He was married in Pottawatomie county, November 7, 1900, to Laura Ellen Wright, who was born and reared in Missouri, a daughter of D. L. and Lou (Clements) Wright, the father born in Buffalo, New York, and the mother in Ala- bama. Mr. Wright served as a member of an Iowa regiment during the Civil war. In their family were three daughters-Mrs. Paris, Addie and Nora. The four children of Mr. and Mrs. Paris are Ben F., Lewis D., Barney Mckinley and Nelly J. Mrs. Paris is a member of the Christian church. He has membership relations with the Masonic and Woodmen of the World fraternities, an ex-council commander of the latter order,

Mr. Paris was born in Warren county, Olio, near Lebanon, June 4, 1865, and on the paternal side is a descendant of the French. His great-grandfather, a native of 'and he has served his party, the Republican,

W. G. PARIS

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA.

as a central committeeman and as a dele- gate to county conventions.

W. E. JOHNSTON. The postmaster at Te- cumseh is W. E. Johnston, one of the veter- an printers and newspaper men of Okla- homa. He located in Oklahoma City coin- cident with its settlement, and for several years was foreman of the Times-Journal of that place. When he transferred his resi- dence to Tecumseh in 1895, he bought the Tecumseh Republican, associating with him in this enterprise E. M. Blackwell, the firm being Johnston and Blackwell.

Mr. Johnston was appointed postmaster at Tecumseh in May, 1902, and now, in his second term, is giving this growing town an efficient administration of an office that has very intimate relations with its business welfare and progress. Mr. Johnston was born in Kentucky, October 23, 1869, a son of Jesse C. and Addie (Davis) Johnston, the former a native of Virginia who moved to Kentucky when young, and the latter a native of Tennessee. The family moved to Kansas while W. E. was a boy, and he was educated in the public schools of that state. Like many successful printers and news- paper men, he began learning the business during tender years. He was only twelve when he first became acquainted with some of the routine of a printing office, and was a practical printer long before he reached majority. In Tecumseh he affiliates with Tecumseh Lodge No. 13, F. & A. M., and also with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In 1895 he married Miss Mattie James, a native of Kentucky. They have three children, Hazel, born October 23, 1899; Mildred. April 17, 1901; and Genera, February 8, 1906.

E. W. MILLER. The name of E. W. Miller is familiarly associated with the banking interests of Oklahoma, he being now cashier of the Tecumseh State Bank of Tecumseh. He was born in Ida county, Iowa, June 27, 1871, a son of Chas. W. and Alice M. (Ober- dorf) Miller. The mother was born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, and moved with her parents to Iowa in 1855. C. W. Miller is a native of Butler county, Penn- sylvania, born June 27, 1845, and is a descen- dant of Edward Fuller, who came to this country on the Mayflower. Chief Justice Fuller is of the same family. C. W. Miller moved to Iowa in 1866, where he resumed his trade of blacksmithing, but in 1885 left that state for Nebraska, and in 1899 he came

from there to Tecumseh. While in Nebras- ka he was for several years a merchant in Concord after which he transferred his activities to the banking business, and after coming to Tecumseh he organized the Te- cumseh State Bank, of which he was made the president. He still retains this high office, although he has practically retired from the active work of the bank. During the period of the Civil war he served for a year and a half as a member of the Second Pennsylvania Cavalry, and has always been a Republican in his political affiliations, act- ive in the party ranks. At one time he was the nominee for the constitutional conven- tion of Oklahoma. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have a son and a daughter, and the latter, Viola J., is now Mrs. Peterson and a resident of Cal- ifornia.

The year following the organization of the Tecumseh State Bank E. W. Miller became its cashier. At that time its capital stock consisted of ten thousand dollars, but its capital now represents twenty-five thousand dollars, with deposits amounting to one hundred and twenty-five thousand. He is a successful banker and business man, and has been instrumental in raising this finan- cial institution to its present high standard.

Mr. Miller married in 1895 Edna Martin, a native of Washington county, Nebraska, ·and a daughter of W. M. Martin. Their seven children are: May E., born March 2, 1897; Francis E., September 24, 1898; Gert- rude, June 23, 1900; Pearl I., March 4, 1902; Alice M., December, 1903: Elma M., Sep- tember 19, 1905; and Carl W., January 14, 1907. Mr. Miller is a member of the Odd Fellows fraternity and of the Methodist church.

S. P. LARSH is one of the most prominent of Tecumseh's business men, and is now at the head of one of its leading hardware establishments. He was born in Christian county, Illinois, January 25, 1865, a son of L. M. and Nancy (May) Larsh, both of whom were born in Ohio. L. M. Larsh went from his native state to Illinios when young, and followed farming there until his removal to Kansas in 1879. He still resides in that state.

After completing his education in the pub- lic schools of Kansas S. P. Larsh was in the employ of the Santa Fe Railroad Company until 1892, first serving as their chief clerk at Purcell, and from there was transferred to Oklahoma City in 1889 as their cashier.

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA.

Thus he is familiar with the scenes incident to the opening of the country for settlement, and when the strip was opened he went to Perry and engaged in the feed business, final- ly coming to Tecumseh and opening a hotel here. From 1895 until 1900 he served as the assistant cashier of the First National Bank, and then becoming a partner of E. C. Nichols in the hardware business he contin- ued with him until becoming the sole pro- prietor of the business in 1905. He has been a member of the city council almost contin- uously since his residence here. He is a Mason, a member of the chapter at Shawnee and the commandery and shrine at Okla- homa City, and in 1903 was the grand mas- ter of the territory.

Mr. Larsh married, in 1889, Dora L. Han- on, a native daughter of Illinois.

J. S. ENGLAND. One of the best known and most progressive men of Bales town- ship is J. S. England, who made the race for a homestead claim in Oklahoma on the 22d of April, 1889, and secured land three miles from the present business center of the city of Oklahoma. He improved this claim, but it was ten years before he received his deed thereto, as the title was contested during all that time, and in 1902 he sold that farm and bought his present homestead of three hun- dred and twenty acres. This is a valuable farm, splendidly improved with good build- ings and in many other ways, and the rich bottom land is splendidly adapted to the raising of alfalfa and corn. A good orchard of one thousand trees, is one of the princi- pal features of this homestead, and there is also a school house on the farm and a church but a mile distant. Thus in many ways the farm lays claim to being one of the most valuable in the county, and its owner is a progressive business man.

Mr. England was born in Bradley county, Tennessee, September 5, 1852, and his father, Horace England, was also a native of that state, and was a Confederate soldier through- out the period of the Civil war. He died in Dallas county, Texas, at the age of sixty- seven years, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and honored and revered by all who knew him. His wife was Frances Gold, also born in Tennessee, and they be- came the parents of seven children. One son is a resident of Medford, Oklahoma, while another lives at Pryor, this state.

J. S. England left the farm in Tennessee where he was born and reared and came to

Oklahoma, arriving here at the age of nine- teen, and for three years thereafter he was engaged in freighting goods over the mountains to Aspen, Colorado. Going thence to Texas he was engaged in railroad building and contract work in Dallas and Lamar Counties, and from there came to the Choctaw country in Indian Territory and secured employ- ment on the building of the old Choctaw Valley Railroad. It was at the close of his connection with railroad operations that he entered into the race for land in Oklahoma and eventually became the possessor of his present valuable homestead in Bales town- ship, Pottawatomie county.

In Benton county, Arkansas, in 1875, Mr. England was united in marriage to Mary Rutherford, who has been his life compan- ion for thirty-three years and has proved a true and worthy helpmate in establishing their home in the new southwest. She is a daughter of J. R. and Evaline ( Pierce) Ruth- erford, and by her marriage has become the mother of three children: Bertha Prentice, Rosa McDonald and Maud Smith, all of whom live in Bales township near their father's home. Mr. England is an active and influential Democrat, and has served his party as a delegate to county and congres- sional conventions and also as a selectman. The cause of education finds in him a stanch and helpful friend, and he is a public spirited and progressive citizen. Mrs. England and her daughters are members of the Baptist church.

CAPT. SAMUEL J. SCOTT. The name of Cap- tain Scott is perhaps more closely associated with the early history of Pottawatomie coun- ty than any other. In 1886 he was appoint- ed a U. S. licensed Indian trader and located on the Pottawatomie reservation, two miles from where Tecumseh now stands, and for many years conducted a large store there. At that time there were few white men here excepting the government employes, and he had many stormy experiences and was in many exciting scenes in those pioneer days when desperadoes had almost full sway. But he has ever been a man of indomitable courage and daring heroism, and his earnest labors assisted in no small degree in estab- lishing the present government. There are few men in the state who have had more exciting experiences, and his reminiscences of the early days are intensely interesting and entertaining. When Tecumseh was

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA.

opened for settlement he came here and opened a general store, which he conducted until 1905, and has since been successfully engaged in the real estate, loan and insur- ance business. He also served for one term as president of the school board.

Mr. Scott is a native son of Alabama, born on the 31st of July, 1837, and his parents, Joseph and Elizabeth (Mayes) Scott, were natives respectively of Tennessee and Vir- ginia. The father lived and followed farm- ing for many years in Mississippi, where he died when sixty-eight years of age. S. J. Scott farmed with his father until reaching the age of maturity, after which he followed mercantile pursuits for a time, and then going to Fort Smith became identified with the oil business. It was from there that he came to Oklahoma in 1886.

Mr. Scott was married in 1861 to Eva Mc- Clendon, a native daughter of Mississippi, and they have a pretty cottage home in Tecumseh. Their four children are : Berma, Mrs. Watson; W. S., a resident of Fort Smith : Lillian E., now Mrs. Davidson ; and Nina Lee, now Mrs. Gilt. Mr. Scott is a Mason and a Presbyterian.

FRANK L. THOMPSON. The business inter- ests of southeastern Oklahoma are well rep- resented by Frank L. Thompson, a dealer in all kinds of native timber and railroad ties at Maud. He is one of the leading represen- tatives of this line of business in Oklahoma, annually transacting a business amounting to fifty thousand dollars, and thus he has contributed not a little to the financial stand- ing of Maud and Pottawatomie county. In addition to this he is also interested in four saw mills, two at Seminole and two in the Chickasaw Nation. To Mr. Thompson be- longs the honor of being a pioneer in the native lumber business here, his identifica- tion with the line covering a period of eighteen years. He ships extensively to D. B. Husey, of 919 Wainwright Building, St. Louis, Missouri, a dealer in all kinds of railroad supplies and one of the leading bus- iness men of that city.

Mr. Thompson was born in Alabama, near Montgomery, in 1856, a son of M. D. and Polly (Bryan) Thompson, natives respec- tively of Georgia and North Carolina, and both died in Texas. They were members of the Baptist church, and were the parents of seven children, two sons and five daugh- ters. One of the sons, S. J. Thompson, is a well known business man of Okeene, Okla-

homa. The first business venture of Frank L. Thompson was as a clerk in the store of N. C. Davis, of Sherman, Texas, was later with Joseph Bettes in Dallas, that state, and for some time thereafter was in business in the Chickasaw Nation and other places.

In 1883 he was united in marriage to Sally C. Johnston, who has been his companion on the journey of life for twenty-five years. She was born in Clarksville, Texas, a daugh- ter of Henry and Susan Johnston, both now deceased. Mr. Thompson gives his political allegiance to the Democratic party.

S. F. BAILEY, an attorney at law in Maud, is a graduate of the Law School of Texas with the class of 1897, and in the same year was admitted to the bar. It was in 1902 that he came to Pottawatomie county, and he has ever since been prominently identi- fied with the professional and business life of Mand. For in addition to his law prac- tice he is also quite extensively engaged in the insurance business and in farm loans throughout Pottawatomie county.

Mr. Bailey was born in the state of Ala- bama, Jefferson county, November 15, 1875, and is a member of one of the oldest fam- ilies of that county. They established their home there at its organization, moving from Kentucky and Tennessee, and from that time until the present its members have been more or less identified with its various interests. The family is of Scotch-Irish des- cent. William J. Bailey, the father of the Oklahoma lawyer, served as a soldier dur- ing the Civil war, engaged principally along the sea coast in the Confederate service. He is living now in Texas, a farmer, and his wife, Sarah E. Bailey, is also living, as are also six of their eleven children. One of their sons, Robert, is a business man of Keefer, this state, and another son, Milton, is also in business in Oklahoma.

Although a native son of Alabama, S. F. Bailey was reared in Texas, attending its public schools and the University of Texas, where he studied in both the normal and law departments and graduated in 1892. For sixteen years he was identified with educational work, teaching in both Texas and Oklahoma, and during three terms of that time he taught in the schools of Potta- watomie county. Since coming to Okla- homa he has built up a large and successful practice and is winning for himself a name and place in the front rank of its legal fra- ternity.

Vol. II-4.

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA.

In Pottawatomie county, in 1904, Mr. Bailey was united in marriage to Mary Holt, who was reared and educated in this county, a daughter of J. W. and Mary (Pierce) Holt, and their only child is Theodore. Mrs. Bailey is a member of the Baptist church. Mr. Bailey is a member of the County and State Bar Associations, of the fraternal or- der of Woodmen of the World, and politi- cally he gives his allegiance to the Demo- cratic party.

N. P. WILLIS, proprietor of the Eason Nursery and Fruit Farm, is one of the best known horticulturists in Pottawatomie coun- ty and perhaps as well known as any in Oklahoma, for he has done more than any other man in this part of the state in devel- oping the fruit interests and demonstrating the practicability of fruit raising in Potta- watomie county. His farm in Eason town- ship contains two hundred acres of rich and fertile land, and seventy acres of the tract is devoted to his orchard, on which he raises a large variety of apples, including the Ben Davis, Mammoth, Black Twig, Missouri Pippin, Jonathan, Wine Sap, Red June, Maiden Blush and Summer Rainbow varie- ties. He first planted twenty apple trees, and one tree alone bore twenty-six bushels in one year. He has also developed the India peach from a seedling to the large lus- cious fruit which won the prize at both Guthrie and Shawnee. His fruit also se- cured the silver medal at the Louisiana ex- position in St. Louis.

Mr. Willis is one of the earliest of the Oklahoma pioneers, but is a native son of Tippecanoe county, Indiana, born on the Wabash river at Lafayette July 30, 1852. His father, Joseph D. Willis, was a railroad man and rode on the first train from Lafay- ette to Indianapolis. He was also a Union soldier during the Civil war, a member of Company E, Tenth Indiana Infantry. He married Maria Ann McIntosh, who was born in Sligo, Ireland, a member of a Protestant family of Scotch-Irish descent, and some time after their marriage they moved to Knox county, Illinois, where they lived for ten years. From there they went to Perry county, Illinois, and later to Texas, where Mr. Willis died at the age of sixty-one years and his wife when sixty-two. He was both a farmer and a machinist. a Republican po- litically and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. Mrs. Willis was a mem- ber of the Presbyterian church, and they

became the parents of ten children, two sons and eight daughters.

N. P. Willis, one of this large family of ten children, spent twelve years of his early life in Wise county, Texas, and then came to Oklahoma. He arrived at the farm where he now lives in January of 1892, and so new and wild was this part of the country at that time that he was obliged to cut down the trees in order to clear a sufficient space on which to pitch his tent. His financial capital at that time consisted of but a few dollars, but he was rich in determination and courage, and these have won for him the battle of life and placed him among the prosperous men of Pottawatomie county. He was ably assisted in his frontier exper- ience by the courage and fortitude of his wife, who faithfully and nobly shared with him all the dangers and hardships incident to the founding of a home in a new and un- developed country. She has borne him fif- teen children, and of this number the fol- lowing are living: Charles N., Lula, Belle, William, Alice, Annie, married Earl C. Pat- terson of Norman, Oklahoma, May, Louise, Harry and Dennis. One daughter, Ella Mid- kiff, died in Colorado when twenty-eight years of age, while another daughter, Rosa, died at the age of twelve and three died when young.

Mr. Willis is a prominent and influential Republican in Oklahoma. In 1898 he made the race for representative to the legislature, and in 1904 was again the choice of his party for that office, receiving a large vote at both elections. He was a delegate to the last ter- ritorial convention of Oklahoma, which met at Tulsa in 1907. Both he and his wife are members of the Christian church.

E. J. GRAY, M. D. Pottawatomie county numbers among its medical practitioners Dr. E. J. Gray, a prominent and well known resident of Tecumseh. He was born in Ar- kansas January 27, 1863, a son of E. C. and Ann Mecham Gray, natives respectively of North Carolina and Arkansas. The father moved from North Carolina to Arkansas in 1850, and has since been identified with its agricultural interests. He has also taken an active part in the public affairs of his community, and in 1877 represented Inde- pendence county in the legislature. Mrs. Gray died in 1906.

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A history of the state of Oklahoma, Volume II, Part 10

Author: Hill, L. B. (Luther B.) Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 810

Author: Hill, L. B. (Luther B.)
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 810