A history of the state of Oklahoma, Volume II, Part 11

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 the public schools and the Arkansas College at Batesville Dr. E. J. Gray received Iris literary training, and his medical studies

N. P. WILLIS

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA.

were pursued in Vanderbilt College, where he graduated in 1889. He immediately be- gan practice at LaCrosse, Arkansas, but after a time moved to Hickory Valley, that state, and in 1896 came to Tecumseh, where he has since held a high place among the city's general practitioners. For four years he has represented his ward in the city coun- cil, and is the president of the board. He is a member of the County, State and Na- tional Medical Associations, and has frater- nal relations with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Dr. Gray married Ollie Gardner, a native also of Arkansas and a daughter of Joseph Gardner. Their three children are Maud E., Bernice A. and Gilbert. Dr. Gray is a mem- ber of the Methodist church.

ISAAC B. LITTLETON has the honor of be- coming one of the pioneer residents of Okla- homa, but he is a native son of Georgia, born in Wilkes county, in 1843, a member of a family who has long resided in the south and of Scotch descent. His paternal great- grandfather took part in some of the early wars of the country, and his son, Enoch Littleton, was born in South Carolina and became the father of Anderson Littleton. He in turn was the father of Isaac B. and was born in Georgia and died in Oklahoma at the advanced age of eighty-two years, a life-long farmer, a Democrat politically and religiously a member of the Baptist church. He married Addie Tolbert, who was born in his home state of Georgia and was of Eng- lish descent. She also died in Arkansas at the age of eighty-two, while there on a visit. In their family were four children, three sons and a daughter. Mary, whose home is in Texas ; Jesse, in the Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory; Charles, also of Texas and Isaac B.

The early years of the life of Isaac B. Littleton were spent on a farm, and at the opening of the Civil war he enlisted in the Thirtieth Mississippi Infantry, serving under Generals Bragg, Johnston and Hood. He participated in the battles of Franklin and Nashville, Tennessee, and being captured by the Federals he was held as a prisoner of war at City Point for six weeks. He was with General Joe Johnston at the time of his surrender to General Sherman, and re- turning to his home after the close of the conflict he took up again the quiet pursuits of the farm. He was married shortly after his return from the war, and in 188? he went

to Hayes county, Texas, from whence seven years later he continued his journey to the Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory. There he made his home until coming to Okla- homa and securing his present claim in Pottawatomie county, where he has his own home and also the house in which his son-in- law lives. During the past ten years he has also farmed one hundred and sixty acres of Indian land. successfully engaged in the raising of cotton and stock. He is one of the most prominent workers in the Democratic party in the county, and has served in the office of tax assessor, as a trustee and as a delegate to many of the party conventions. He had the honor of being chosen as a delegate to the constitutional convention at Guthrie in October, 1907, which framed the constitution for the present state govern- ment. He is a member of the Masonic fra- ternity, Earlsboro Lodge No. 22, and of the Free Will Baptist church.

On the 14th of September, 1865, Mr. Lit- tleton married Mary Edwards, who has proved a true and worthy helpmate in the journey of life. She was born in Tennessee, a daughter of Joseph and Evy (Harvey) Edwards, both of whom died in Texas. Sev- en children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Littleton, (four of whom are living) namely : Benjamin, whose home is in New Mexico and who was one of the territory's early set- tlers: Anna Victary, of Hico, Texas ; Pugh, who resides in Earlsboro township, and is serving as master of the Masonic lodge at Earlsboro; Ada Valandingham, who resides on her father's farm: John W., who left a widow and three children ; Cornelia Heath, who left five sons and a daughter ; and G. P.

S. R. MILLER. The later history of the life of Judge S. R. Miller is closely identified with the history of Pottawatomie county and especially of the town of Wanette, of which he was one of the first settlers, and to him belongs the honor of being its pioneer merchant and of building the first house. He arrived in Oklahoma in January, 1891, and on the ?? d of September, 1891, filed and settled the N. E. { of section 13, township 7, N, range 2, E, spending the first three years on this farm, and in 1894 he located in Te- cumseh to enter upon his duties as the clerk of the county, in which he served with credit and honor. On the 27th of July, 1897, he be- came a citizen of Wanette and in time one of the promoters of the State National Bank, of which he has since been president.

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA.

Mr. Miller was born in St. Clair county, Missouri, October 11, 1851. His father, Ab- ram Miller, of Tennessee, served as a Con- federate soldier in the Civil war, and he died in Pottawatomie county, Oklahoma in May, 1895, aged sixty-eight years. He was a farmer and stock man, was a Missouri coun- ty assessor for eleven years, a Democrat politically and a good and true member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. His wife, Mary A. Thompson, was born in Ten- nessee and died in Texas, aged sixty-eight, leaving six children, three sons and three daughters, and two of the sons, and one daughter are now in Texas, and one daughter is in the Chickasaw Nation, Oklahoma.

S. R. Miller moved from his native state of Missouri to Texas, in 1875 where he taught successfully for some years, but pre- vious to his removal from Texas to Okla- homa he went to Morgan county, Missouri, at the age of thirty-three, and was married to Sarah Lamm a daughter of William Lamm, of Barnetts, Missouri. He is a prominent Democratic worker here and was the first justice elected at Wanette, an office equivalent to that of judge in other states, and he was also a delegate to the Hobart state convention in June, 1907. He has fra- ternal relations with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Wanette Lodge No. 8%, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.

J. W. HATFIELD is one of the most prom- inent men of McLoud, where he has been prominently engaged in the furniture and un- dertaking business for a number of years, and at the present time is also serving as the mayor of the city. He became a resident of Oklahoma in 1892, first locating on leased land in the Chickasaw Nation, west of Nor- man, and after farming for five years he came to McLoud and opened his present business.

Mr. Hatfield was born in Tennessee, March 20, 1866, and is the son of a farmer, M. G. Hatfield, who was also born in that state, as was his wife, Margaret Rains, but both are now deceased, the father's death occurring when he was sixty-five years of age. He secured a claim in this state in 1900. There were eight children in their family.

When J. W. Hatfield had attained the age of seventeen he went to Greene county, Mis- souri, where he was engaged in farming for eight years, and from there he came to Ok-

lahoma. When he was twenty-one he mar- ried Miss Emma Murray, who was born in Springfield, Missouri, and was reared and educated in that state, a daughter of A. D. Murray, also of that state. They have one son, Alfred R., who is in the store with his father. Mrs. Hatfield's mother is deceased. Mr. Hatfield is a Democrat in his political affiliations, and in May of 1907, he was elect- ed the chairman of the city council of Mc- Loud. He is a member of the Masonic or- der, the Woodmen of the World, and the Modern Woodmen of America and his church membership is with the Baptist de- nomination. He is a self-made man and has been very successful in his business.

JESSE MOONEY, M. D. During a number of years Dr. Mooney has been engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Mc- Loud, and is the oldest representative of the profession in point of years of service in the town of McLoud. He began the study of medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. C. C. Ridley, in his native town of Mountain Home, Arkansas, and coming to Indian Ter- ritory in 1888 he practiced for three years in Tamaha. This was during an early epoch in the history of this part of the country, when all was new and wild, and going from there to the Chickasaw country he practiced there for five years. From the Chickasaw country he went to Moral, a town in the southern part of Pottawatomie county, in 1896, and was in practice there for three years or until his removal to McLoud, where he was one of the first to engage in the prac- tice of medicine and surgery. His practice has constantly increased during the passing years, and in addition he also conducts two large and well stocked drug stores in part- nership with J. Frank Cox. He has served the county as a coroner, was president of the Pottawatomie county board of health for two years, is ex-vice-president of the Fort Worth Medical Society, is president of the school board of McLond and is ex-mayor of the town.

Dr. Mooney was born at Mountain Home, Baxter county, Arkansas, in 1866, a son of a prominent attorney and a judge of that place, Jesse Mooney, Sr., who also served as a Confederate major during the Civil war. He was born in Tennessee, in 1818, and is now deceased, but his widow, nee Olivia A. Williams, a native of Georgia, is yet living and is a resident of Mountain Home. She is the mother of seven children. Mr. Moon-

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA.

ey was three times married, and became the father of eighteen children.

Dr. Mooney, one of the seven children of Olivia A. Williams, was reared in the town of his birth, receiving a good common and high school education, and in 1884 he went from there to Lampasas county, Texas, where he found employment on a ranch and thus started out in life for himself. When but a youth of eighteen he married the daughter of his medical preceptor, Ella C. Ridley, and they have had seven children : Addia Beatrice Nickel, whose home is in Shawnee; Jesse C., of the state of Washing- ton ; Monta Hayes; Nina Ollie; Major Dow ; and Sergeant Prentiss and Leon Ridley. The Doctor gives his political support to the Democratic party and is a member of lodge No. 53, I. O. O. F. With his family he re- sides in a pleasant rural home, Fairview Cor- ner, one mile west from the town of Mc- Loud.

OWEN E. WILLIAMS, township clerk of Forrest township, Pottawatomie county, is one of the best known citizens of the town- ship. He was first appointed to his present office in 1901, to fill out the unexpired term of J. C. Milner, resigned, and now a resident of Asher, and in the fall of 1907 he was elect- ed to the office by his party, the Democratic. His residence in the county dates from 1900, and the seventeen years previous to this time was spent in Gerald county, South Dakota, and thus he has "pioneered" in two of the newest states of the Union, coping with the many privations and hardships which are the inevitable attendants, but the privations, hardships and earnest labors of these pi- oneers have resulted in establishing com- monwealths of which the Union may well feel proud.

Mr. Williams was born in Barmonth, Wales, August 5, 1853, a son of Owen and Mary (Jones) Williams, both of whom were also born in that country. When their son, Owen, was a lad of eighteen they came with their family to the United States and estab- lished their home on a farm in Iowa county, near Iowa City, Iowa, where the father fol- lowed his chosen pursuit of agriculture un- til his life ended in death, dying at the age of fifty-nine. He was a Democrat politically and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. The mother now makes her home with her son Owen, and she has reached the advanced age of eighty-four years. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Wil-

liams, three sons and three daughters, name- ly : Owen E .; William, whose home is in California; Edward, in business with his brother Owen; Ellen, of Clay county, Iowa ; Jane, whose home is in Pottawatomie county ; and Mary, of Union county, Iowa.

It was in 1882 that Owen E. Williams left Iowa and secured a homestead claim in South Dakota, farming there with his broth- er, E. G., and together they came to Okla- homa in 1900 and are now farming eighty acres of fertile and well improved land. Owen E. Williams has been an active work- er in politics throughout his residence here, and not only has he been elected to his pres- ent office of township clerk, but he has also served his party as a delegate to conventions. He was a member of the Farmers' congress held at Oklahoma City in 1907. He is a member of the Quaker church.

In 1888 Mr. Williams married Sarah John- ston, who was born and reared in Linn county, Iowa, her parents being Isaac and Lovania (Brownlee) Johnston, both of whom died in that state. The two children of this union are Lloyd and Ethel, aged respect- ively nineteen and seventeen years. A great bereavement came to this home in 1894, when the wife and mother was taken away, dying at the early age of twenty-nine years. She was a faithful Christian woman, a mem- ber of the Congregational church, a loving and kind wife and mother and an excellent friend.

J. A. KEYS. Of the stanch and true pion- eers who came to Oklahoma in its formative period none were more worthy than J. A. Keys, at present the leading contractor and builder of Wanette. It was on the 17th of March, 1878, that he landed in the territory, and establishing his home first at Paul's Valley he remained there until his removal to Oklahoma City a few years afterward, there erecting many of the first houses of the town. He also bought and improved land in that vicinity, but selling his prop- erty there he came to Wanette in 1904 and has since been one of its leading business men. His home, however, is in the out- skirts of the town, on a beautiful ten acre plot of land, on which he raises a variety of fruit. Many of the principal buildings of the city and vicinity stand as monuments of his ability, and they include the modern and well built school house.

Mr. Keys began his business career in the state of his birth, Virginia, where he was

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA.

born in Washington county March 27, 1852, a son of Andrew Keys, who was also a native of the old Dominion state and a son of John Keys. Andrew, the father, served the south as a member of the Thirty-seventh Virginia Infantry during the Civil war, under Colonel Fulkerson in General Stone- wall Jackson's brigade. He died in Okla- homa City at the age of sixty-seven years, and just a few months afterward his wife followed him to the home beyond, dying at the age of sixty-eight, and both lie buried in Oklahoma City. They had three chil- dren : Susan Higgins, who also died in Oklahoma City; George G., whose home is in Grenola, Kansas; and J. A. The young- est of the three remained in his native state until a young man of seventeen, at- tending meanwhile the public school and preparing himself for a business life. Going thence to Dade county, Missouri, he worked at the carpenter's trade until 1872, then went to Texas and was in the stock business and hunting buffalo until his removal to Oklahoma in 1878. Just afterward, in 1879, he married Ella Smoot, who was born and reared in Sebastian county, Arkansas, a daughter of Peter and Mary (Trammell) Smoot, both of whom are now deceased, the father dying before the war. Mrs. Keys is also deceased, dying at the age of forty- three, in 1892, leaving three children. In 1898 Mr. Keys wedded his present wife, Ida S. Surbough, who was born and spent her early years in Greenbrier county, Vir- ginia, a daughter of Henry Surbough, de- ceased. Both Mr. and Mrs. Keys are earn- est Christian people, and are highly es- teemed residents of Wanette.

JAMES M. NICHOLS, well known through- out Pottawatomie county as a dealer in real estate and insurance and as a justice of the peace, has been in what is now Oklahoma since his boyhod days, and throughout the years which have since come and gone he has been closely allied with its interests and upbuilding, a factor in its wonderful trans- formation.

Mr. Nichols was born in Polk county, Arkansas, in 1867. His parents, Fletcher and Charlotte (Stinnett) Nichols, were farming people there, and his father during the Civil war served in the Confederate army under General Sterling Price and made a gallant record in the cause of the south- land. In 1879 the father with his three children left their home state of Arkansas

and located in Ryan, Indian Territory, where their son James was reared to years of maturity and received his educational training. He also edited and published a paper at Johnson, and also at Byers, In- dian Territory, for some time, and from a journalist drifted into the real estate and insurance field. His long residence in this part of the country makes him an excellent judge of its lands, and he has been very successful in his present business.

Mr. Nichols wedded in 1905 Mrs. Martha McDowell, a widow with three children, and one child has been born to their union. Mr. Nichols votes with the Democratic . party.

GEORGE W. SHUMAKE, who owns and op- erates a gin in Wanette, established his home in Oklahoma in 1891, and for over seventeen years has been one of its repre- sentative business men. His first home here was in Cleveland county, where he lived on a farm for a time and finally became interested in the ginning business, and it was while in business there that he suffered the loss of an arm. From Cleveland coun- ty he came to Pottawatomie county and re- sumed his ginning business five years ago, and he is now one of the leaders in his line of business in the countv. During the season of 1907 his gin turned out ten hundred and ninety-seven bales of cotton, certainly a most creditable showing.

Mr. Shumake is an Ohian by birth, born near St. Marys in Auglaize county, August 28, 1862, and his mother, Elizabeth Shu- make, was also born in that county, and · was an earnest and faithful member of the Mennonite church. The father was born in the east. They were farming people, and both are now deceased, the father dying at the age of thirty-six years and leaving sev- en children, three sons and four daughters, the mother surviving until the age of forty- eight. They reared their son George as a farmer lad, teaching him to be honest and industrious, and finally leaving the farm he spent two years at work at the carpen- ter's trade and for a time was employed in a blacksmith's shop. When he had reached his twentieth year he left his home state for Kansas, living for some years near Min- neapolis, in Ottawa county, but later be- came a resident of Niles township. In Sol- omon, Dickinson county, Kansas, he mar- ried Kate Lynch, who was born, reared and educated in Ottawa county, that state,

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA.

a daughter of John and Maggie Lynch, the mother now deceased. The four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Shumake are, William Walter, John Frederick, Charles Leroy and George Ralph. Mr. Shumake upholds the principles of the Democratic party.

PETER BECOTTE, of the firm of Paris & Be- cotte, proprietors of a cotton gin in Wanette, came to the territory of Oklahoma in Sep- tember of 1896. He was born near Quebec, Canada, May 5, 1873. a son of Ferdinand and Philiminee Decotte. The paternal fam- ily is of French origin, and long resided near Quebec, which was the birthplace of three generations, Peter, his father, Ferdin- and, and his grandfather. The mother was also born in Canada, and she died at Sacred Heart, Pottawatomie county, Oklahoma, leaving eight children, three sons and five daughters. Two of the sons and one daugh- ter reside in Kansas, but the others have found homes in Oklahoma, as has also the father, who is living retired in Wanette. The family are of the Catholic faith.

It was about thirty years ago that the Becotte family left their Canadian home and journeyed to the then wilds of Kansas, es- tablishing their home on a farm near Salina in Saline county, where the father with the aid of his sons placed his land under cultiva- tion. But after 1896 in the Sunflower state they again broke camp and journeyed to Okla- homa, settling near Sacred Heart in Potta- watomie county. Peter Becotte has be- come one of the well known and substantial citizens of the county, active in its various interests, and as a member of the firm of Paris & Becotte he has won a place at the head of the business interests of Wanette. He is a member of the fraternal orders of Odd Fellows and the Woodmen of the World.

F. H. REILY. Among Shawnee's city of- ficials who have been instrumental in direct- ing the municipal progress and business- like administration and improvement is F. H. Reily, one of the city's foremost lawyers. For two years he was a member of the city council, and during that time which was a very important time in the civic history of the city, was acting president of the council or mayor. His effective work as chief exe- cutive is well remembered by the citizens. During 1905-06 he served as city attorney. In 1901, only a year after locating in Shaw- nee, Mr. Reily was chosen to serve out an unexpired term of county attorney, and it is

a noteworthy feature of his record while in that office that only one verdict of "not guilty" was passed, showing his vigilance and energy in the prosecution of real of- fenders against the law.

Though he has been identified with the southwestern country nearly all his life, Mr. Reily is a native of Missouri, having been born in Calloway county, August 24, 1872. His father, John G., was also born in the same house, their family being among the old residents of that part of Missouri. His mother was Sarah (Guy) Reily, a native of Virginia, who died in 1906. The father moved to Fort Worth, Texas, in 1881, and was engaged in the real estate business until his retirement, and now lives in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. F. H. Reily obtained his education in Fort Worth's public schools, and has the distinction of being the first male graduate of the high school of that city. His law studies were carried on under the general attorney for the Fort Worth & Denver Railroad, better known now as Judge E. R. Meek, one of the leading lawyers of northern Texas and judge of the northern district of that state. After being admitted to the bar February 16, 1891, he practiced with Judge Meek at Fort Worth until he came to Shawnee in 1900, since which time he has engaged in practice and in public life in this city. Politically a Democrat, he has been active in behalf of his party's interests but more so as a factor for good government. He has fraternal affiliations in Shawnee with the Eagles, the A. O. U. W., and the Modern Woodmen. He was married in 1896 to Miss Lola Hearn, a native of Waco, Texas, and daughter of John Hearn of that city. They have one son, Joseph Hearn, born Septem- ber 30, 1898.

WESLEY LEWIS, one of the prominent early settlers and pioneers of Pottawatomie coun- ty, has been a resident of Eason township .since 1891, and in that time has improved one of the best farms in the township. He was born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, in what was then known as the Western Re- serve, April 22, 1838, and on the paternal side is of Welsh descent, and his paternal grandfather was one of the early Indian fighters. His parents were Sylvester and Anna (Smith) Lewis, natives respectively of the state of New York and of Ohio, and she was of English descent. When their son Wesley was two years of age they moved to Lagrange county, Indiana, when

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA.

that section of the country was new and wild, and later they removed to Porter county, that state, where the mother died, when Wesley was eight years old, leaving a husband and four children. The father moved to Kansas where he died at West- moreland in Pottawatomie county when eighty years of age. He was a farmer and stockman, and was also one of the early day California miners, making the journey to that state with pack mules during the memorable gold excitement of 1849.

Wesley Lewis is a selfmade man having made his own way since his mother's death and was a boy of seventeen when he became a resident of Polk county, Iowa, where he resided for two years near Des Moines, and from there went to Lawrence, Kansas, thence to Wabaunsee county and finally to Pottawatomie county. He thus in his youth followed the tide of emigration westward, and was well fitted to cope with pioneer condition in the southwest at the time of his coming to Oklahoma in 1891. But many years before this, as many as thirty-five years ago, he visited this section of the country, and at that time there were no white settlers here, the country having since become wonderfully improved and settled. His homestead farm of four hun- dred acres two and a half miles northwest of Wanette, contains many substantial and valuable improvements, including an excel- lent orchard, and the land is rich and fertile.

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A history of the state of Oklahoma, Volume II, Part 11

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