USA > Oklahoma > A history of the state of Oklahoma, Volume II > Part 14
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MR. AND MRS. J. F. TRIMMER
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his reward in the attainment of an honor- able reputation in two states of the Union.
Born in Aberdeen, Mississippi, on the 3rd of September, 1849, Mr. Trimmer is a son of William Gillespie and Adeline (Melton) Trimmer, his parents removing soon after his birth to Tennessee. His father was a farmer, and the son has followed in the pa- ternal pathway all his life, studying and ap- plying the best methods in agriculture as a subject worthy the life-long attention of any man. He received his education in the pub- lic schools of Tennessee, and remained as a farmer of that state until 1878, when he mi- grated to Texas. He was then twenty-nine years of age, and after a thorough examina- tion of the agricultural sections of the state purchased a farm and located in Montague county. There he remained for twenty years, and attained a substantial standing both in his chosen calling and as a man of affairs. He rendered efficient public service to the county, among other local offices holding that of tax assessor for a decade.
In 1900, attracted to Garvin county by the fertility of its valley lands, Mr. Trimmer removed thither with his family, and has since attained increased prosperity as a farm- er and stockman. The fine farm which he operated is near the town of Robison, where he resided at the time of his election to the county treasurership, in 1907. In the performance of his official duties, Mr. Trimmer has maintained his fixed reputa- tion for efficiency and honorable dealings, and is a fine illustration of the county offi- cial who is administering and developing the public service of the new state. He was married at Waynesboro, Tennessee, to Miss Mary Elizabeth Dixon, and has become the father of Belle Zora, Sallie Dorinda, Ida Belle, Elizabeth and James Fountain Trim- mer.
THOMAS JORDAN AUSTIN, clerk of the district court, residing at Pauls Valley, the county seat of Garvin county, is a native of Collin county, Texas, being born in the town of Weston on the 29th of August, 1875. He is a son of William A. and Eliza J. ( Han- ner) Austin, and obtained his early educa- tion in the public schools of his native town and at Belle Plaine, Texas. He then went with his father to Louisiana, where he en- gaged in the cultivation of bees, owning a flourishing apiary there. In 1897 the son re- moved to Coalgate, Indian Territory, where for nine months he was employed as a cow-
boy by P. P. Hannen. The youth then re- turned to Louisiana, and finished his edu- cation at Texarkana, by taking a course in bookkeeping at Draughon's Business Col- lege.
But Mr. Austin's taste for the far south- west remained with him as a pleasant flavor, and he returned to the territory, after finish- ing his business course, and entered the em- ploy of the Wagner Hardware Company. Later, he located for three years at Wayne, as a farmer and a school teacher; was then for two years in the employ of T. J. Dobyns ; subsequently established himself in a gen- eral mercantile business at Maysville, and followed this by an association with I. H. Sample in the drug line. Mr. Austin's business like qualities and popularity had gained him not only numerous appreciative supporters but a remarkably strong follow- ing of warm friends, so when he entered the campaign for clerk of the court he carried the nomination with a rush, and his hand- some majority, which carried him ahead of the general ticket, was composed not only of Democratic voters but a large element drawn from other parties. In 1900 Mr. Austin married Miss Rebecca Clements, the wedding occurring at Mira, Louisiana, and their three children are: Ara R., B. Bonner and Boyd A.
WALTER JACKSON HARRIS. Occupying a position of honor and distinction among the more influential and prominent residents of Pauls Valley is Walter Jackson Har- ris, who is now filling the office of Register of Deeds. A man of integrity and ability, he possesses those sterling qualities of heart and character that have won for him the respect and regard of the people of his community, and have made him worthy of their fullest confidence. He was born, October 14, 1877, in Rome, Georgia, a son of Joseph F. and Elizabeth (Camp) Harris.
Educated in his native city, Mr. Harris was graduated from the Rome high school, and from the Rome Commercial College, becoming while yet young well fitted to take his place in the business world. Going from there to Tecumseh, Alabama, he began life for himself as a bookkeeper and stenogra- pher in the Tecumseh Iron Works. Subse- quently realizing the wonderful opportuni- ties often given to a young man in a new country, he came as a prospector to Okla- homa, and immediately located at Pauls
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Valley, where he was for awhile employed in the mercantile establishments of Samuel J. Garvin and later with A. J. Hullum. Set- thing in Maysville in 1905, of which town he was, in 1906, elected the first mayor, Mr. Harris was there prosperously engaged in business for himself until the occurrence of the disastrous fire in which he was burned out, when he returned to Pauls Valley.
In 1904 Mr. Harris was elected city re- corder of Pauls Valley, and filled the posi- tion until going to Maysville, when he re- signed. The primary election of 1907 made him the Democratic candidate for register of deeds, and at the election he received a handsome majority of the votes cast, his victory at the polls being a proof of his pleasing personality, and of his popularity with his fellow townsmen. A lover of the chase, fond of outdoor recreations of all kinds, Mr. Harris' favorite pastime is hunt- ing, and in his fine hunting equipment he takes great pride and pleasure.
WILLIAM BETHEL CRUMP, a leading merchant and banker of Wynnewood, Gar- vin county, is a typical southerner educated and practically trained in his section of the country, who has made a pronounced suc- cess of his new life in the southwest. Born in Etowah county, Alabama, in May, 1860, he is a son of Memory Walker and Elizabeth (Tabor) Crump, his father being for many years a farmer of that state. The son was trained to that vocation until he was twenty years of age, when, endowed with a common school education and a saving common sense in place of more liberal advantages, he com- menced the experience which was to pre- pare him for his mercantile career in the southwest. His first position in this line was as a, clerk in a general store at Gedson, Alabama, and after a similar ex- perience of several years he bought out a country store and ventured into the field as a principal.
Successful both as employee and em- ployer, in 1888 Mr. Crump came to Indian Territory, locating at Thackerville in Janu- ary of that year, After remaining there for a year, as a member of the mercantile firm of Crump & Liddell, he located at Wynne- wood. From that point his progress as a business man, financier and citizen, has been continuous. In 1905 his mercantile venture had advanced to such proportions that he started a store on a large scale, in- corporating the business as the Crump-Har-
gis Mercantile Company, of which he has remained president. In 1895 he had become vice president of the First National Bank of Wynnewood, and at the time of the incor- poration of his business bought a controlling interest in the Southern National Bank of Wynnewood, of which he is still president. He is also president of the First National Bank of Blanchard, and is therefore a re- markably strong factor in the material de- velopment of the city and county. He is also active in the municipal affairs of Wynnewood, having served for some time as a member of its aldermanic board. Mar- ried to Miss Lucy Nuckalls in the year 1889, he has become the father of four children- Earl, Bessie, Wilkinson and William B. Crump, Jr.
SAMUEL OLIVER RICHARDSON, the popular and prosperous farmer, stockman, land- owner and financier of Wynnewood, Garvin county, is a product of Oklahoma, old and new, being upon the ground even before it became subject to the homesteading of the whites. He was one of the rushers and boomers of '89, and has maintained a rapid progress and a stanch support of its inter- ests ever since. Mr. Richardson is a Geor- gian, born in Chattaooga county, May 17, 1857, son of Mather B. and Fannie (Ram- sey) Richardson. The father was a farmer, who died when the son was a young boy, and the latter received his education in the subscription schools of his native com- munity. He assisted in the work of the home farm, and engaged as an agricultural laborer until he was nineteen years of age, when he removed to McMiliin's Mill, South Carolina, where for two years he was em- ployed by James McMillin, as a clerk in the latter's dry goods store. While thus engaged he invented a cotton planter and fertilizer and patented it, but owing to his lack of capital the development of his device was slow. After selling his patent rights in Mis- sissippi, he resumed his life as a farmer, both in Texas and Oklahoma. His experience with his patent and as merchant's clerk, however, had given him an insight into mer- cantile ways, and he became also a licensed trader on the authority of the Chickasaw Na- tion. During this time he was also employed in the dry goods store of D. McCoy, at Cad- do, now Bryan county, and later with Mr. I. A. Taylor at Wynnewood.
Throughout all his wanderings as an itin- erant merchant, the Indian country was al-
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ways a favorite territory with Mr. Richard- son, and the fertile lands near Wynnewood always possessed an especial attraction for him. When old Oklahoma was therefore thrown open to white settlement in April, 1889, he left the employ of I. A. Taylor, in that locality, that he might be ready for the "line-up" and the "rush." He made the run from the North Canadian river, near the "Crutcho" ranch, then returned to Wynne- wood and opened a general store, which he conducted alone for a year and then became a partner in the firm of Grundy and Rich- ardson. Subsequently he remained identi- fied with the business which was conducted as Crump, Grundy and Company, then sell- ing his interests to Mr. Crump and initiating his career as a ranchman. For the past seventeen years he has been pushing his stock interests in the vicinity of Wynne- wood, and is now an acknowledged leader in the industry. He is also an extensive dealer in real estate, and holds the title to two thousand acres of choice valley lands, part of which lies adjacent to the southern part of the city. He assisted, further, in the founding of the Southern National Bank, of which he is a director. Mr. Richardson was married, in 1891, to Miss Lucinda Cordelia Jones, and the children born to them are as follows: Fannie E., Panolia, Neta J., Lela
B., Robert D., Samuel O. and Mattie Cor- delia Richardson. Mr. Richardson, in 1904, erected a substantial brick home, the finest in the city. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Mrs. Richardson, nee Lucinda C. Jones, was born in Smith county, Texas, May 28, 1871, daughter of R. T. and Lo- rena (Buckholts) Jones, who were from Georgia and Louisiana respectively and who came to Texas over fifty years ago. The father is deceased, but the mother is living at Wapanucka, Oklahoma. They removed to the Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory, in the fall of 1821, when Mrs. Richardson was but seven months old. She was reared near Boggy Depot, attending the schools there, her mother being a Choctaw, and is now aged 64 years, residing as mentioned, at Wapanucka, Oklahoma.
SAMUEL J. GARVIN. Few citizens of Okla- homa have so run the entire gamut of typi- cal life in the southwest as Samuel Johnson Garvin, of Pauls Valley, Garvin county, one of the most influential financiers and men
of affairs of that section. Freighter of the great western plains, in such capacity con- nected with the government during the Civil war, ranchman of the Indian Territory and by marriage a member of the tribal organi- zation, merchant and banker-such are the successive steps which cover a life of ad- venture, activity and practical success. There are few parallels to this record, even among the stirring and changeful lives of the men of Oklahoma.
Mr. Garvin was born on the 28th of Jan- uary, 1844, near Poplar Plains, Fleming county, Kentucky, and is a son of John and Mary (Stithe) Garvin. He received his edu- cation in the district schools found in the vicinity of his home, and remained there until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he migrated to Colorado to engage in the handling of stock, in which he had become an expert. His first employment was with a freighter outfit about to take the old Santa Fe trail with a load of merchandise for the southwest. The outfit, owned by Henry Myers, consisted of seven wagons, with five or six teams of oxen to each wagon. Having accomplished this journey and obtained valuable experience, in 1862 he was engaged by the federal government in similar work for the quartermaster's department, with headquarters at Leavenworth, Kansas, and Fort Smith, Arkansas. He remained con- nected with this service until the close of the war, his duties as a freighter from Fort Smith to Fort Arbuckle bringing him into the Indian Territory, where he located in 1865. He married an Indian woman, in- vested in cattle, and by virtue of his marital citizenship acquired a vast acreage of graz- ing and farm lands. Later he abandoned these holdings, and, under the new order, received his legal allotments. As the coun- try developed he located at Pauls Valley, opened a large general store, and still more recently became widely identified with the banking institutions of the locality. With C. J. Grant, he first organized a private bank, which was succeeded by the First National Bank of Pauls Valley of which he was president at the time of his death, July 20, 1908. He was also president of the First National Bank of Maysville, and a director and the vice-president of the State Bank of Elmore. In addition he was president of the Pauls Valley Mill and Elevator Com- pany, and was, in many respects, the lead- ing man of affairs of this section of Garvin
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county. He was a merchant at both White Bead and Pauls Valley. Mr. Garvin mar- ried his wife, July 12, 1870, at Tishomingo (translated from the Indian, "Ringing Bells"), Indian Territory, her maiden name being Susan Mouncrief, and the surviving children of the union are as follows: John B., formerly a ranchman of El Paso, Texas, but now a resident of Pauls Valley ; Birdie, now Mrs. T. G. Mays, of Maysville, Okla- homa ; and Vivian Garvin, unmarried and living with her parents. Mr. Garvin was a thirty-second degree Mason, member of Wichita consistory; also of the I. O. O. F., and K. of P. of White Bead and Pauls Val- ley respectively. He was a member of the Presbyterian church.
HENRY MANSON CARR, PH. B., LL. B. A man of intellectual vigor and force, well versed in legal lore, Henry Manson Carr is widely known throughout Garvin county as an especially able and skilful lawyer, who is devoting his energies to the practice of his profession in Pauls Valley, where he has a large and lucrative clientage. A son of Hon. Dulaney R. Carr, he was born, No- vember 3, 1865, in Albany, Clinton county, Kentucky, where his earlier years were passed.
A man of splendid attainments, talented and cultured, Hon. Dulaney R. Carr was a man of mark in his community, and was universally respected for his honesty, man- liness, and many Christian virtues. Ever loyal to his country he served in the federal army during the Civil war, being captain of Company C, First Kentucky Cavalry, com- manded by Colonel Frank Woolford. Prom- inent in public affairs, he filled many offices of importance, serving as judge of the cir- cuit court of his district, as prosecuting at- torney of his county, and as representative to the state legislature of Kentucky. His wife whose maiden name was Vienna L. Buster, was a daughter of C. C. Buster, a prominent merchant of Creelsboro, Ken- tucky.
After completing the course of study in the public schools, Henry M. Carr took the mathematical and literary course at the Glas- gow (Ky.) Normal School, from which he was graduated with the class of 1887, re- ceiving the degree of Ph. B. Two years later, in 1889, he was graduated from the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, with the degree of LL. B. Soon after his gradua- tion, he went to Texas, and for a few months
taught school at Sherman. From there he came, June 9, 1890, to Oklahoma, and was appointed by Governor Steele county attor- ney, a position which he ably filled. In 1892 Mr. Carr was appointed by Governor Seay, county judge of Roger Mills county, and subsequently, at the regular election, was elected to that office, having the distinction of being the only Republican on the ticket to come off victor at the polls. Locating in Pauls Valley in 1900, Mr. Carr soon iden- tified himself with the leading lawyers of this part of the country, and by persevering industry and professional skill built up a fine practice, which he continued alone un- til 1906, when he formed a partnership with R. A. Rogers, becoming head of the legal firm of Carr & Rogers. Continuing active in public affairs, Mr. Carr received the nomi- nation to the constitutional convention at the instance of the Republican party, the personnel of which he is a fine representa- tive.
At Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1899, Mr. Carr married Mary M. Beale, a daughter of Cap- tain A. J. Beale, of Cythiana, Kentucky, who was elected mayor of Oklahoma City during the provisional government after the opening. Of their union two children have been born, Robert Gordon and Henry Rog- ers.
THOMAS PAYNE ROLLOW, mayor of Wynnewood. Garvin county, has been a suc- cessful merchant and a substantial man of public affairs in three of the southwestern states. Throughout his entire mercantile career he has taken a deep and steady inter- est in the cause of popular education, and for seventeen years has been identified of- ficially with some municipal board devoted to its development. Such a record is most creditable both to his sound American citi- zenship, and to his good judgment and high-mindedness as an individual. Mayor Rollow is a native of Tennessee, born in Coffey county, on the 17th of January, 1848, being a son of Peter J. and Permelia (Payne) Rollow. The grandfather was a Virginian, who spent most of his mature life in Ten- nessee as a slave owner and the proprietor of a plantation.
Mr. Rollow obtained most of his early education in the subscription schools of his home community, and until he was thirty- six years of age was a thorough-going agri- culturist. When he was ten years old he went to Arkansas with his parents, assist-
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ing his father in the conduct of the farm and obtaining such further education as was pos- sible from the neighborhood schools. Later he became an independent farmer, raising corn and cattle. In 1884 he entered com- mercial life as a partner with W. F. Moore in a general store at Quitman, Arkansas, and continued thus for eight years. There he made a substantial record as a merchant, and became a member of the city board of edu- cation. From Quitman he removed to Ne- vada, Collin county, Texas, continuing in the mercantile field as a partner with W. F. Moore, with whom he has been associated since his coming to Wynnewood in 1902. In fact, for nearly a quarter of the century the firm of Moore & Rollow has remained intact and prosperous, and has become fay- orably known in Arkansas, Texas and Okla- homa. At Nevada, Collin county, and in his present residence city, Mr. Rollow continued his fine record as a promoter of public edu- cation, either as a school director, a member of the school board or a representative of the common council. In 1907 he was ap- pointed mayor of Wynnewood, and April 7, 1908, was chosen its mayor at its first elec- tion as a first-class city. He was a member of its pioneer board of education before it attained to that dignity. Besides holding the mayoralty, he is a trustee of the Indian- ola College and a director of the Southern National Bank. He is also a trustee of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is found identified with the most prominent institut- tions which are developing and elevating the community. Mr. Rollow's wife was known before her marriage in 1811 as Sarah J. Moore, and of the union the following chil- dren have been born: John A., now asso- ciated with his father in business, besides be- ing active as a grain buyer : and Mary Bell, now Mrs. G. G. Evans, a resident of Texas. For his second wife, Mr. Rollow married Miss Eva W. Pierson, of Quitman, Arkan- sas, and their children are: Thomas P., who is a student at Cornell University, New York; Frank W., attending the University of Oklahoma, at Norman ; Irene, pursuing a course at Howard Payne College, Fayette, Missouri, and Cecil B., attending Indianola College. Mr. Rollow has added to the strength of his record as a practical support- er of education by thus providing the chil- dren of his family with the most liberal privileges, thereby doubly emphasizing his position that a thorough mental equipment
is the most valuable working capital which can be possessed by the ambitious member of an American community.
WILLIAM EUGENE SETTLE, M. D., of Wynnewood, Garvin county, is a physician and surgeon of thorough education and wide experience, having found substantial favor, both as a professional man and a citizen, in the community of which he has been so valued a resident for the past decade. He is a native of Mills, Freestone county, Texas, and is a son of Frank M. and Sallie (David) Settle. After obtaining a thorough education in the fundamental branches, he was matric- ulated at the Louisville Medical College, from which he graduated in 1894 with the de- gree of M. D., and immediately took up prac- tice at Wynnewood. His professional quali- fications were further enhanced by a post- graduate course at the Chicago Clinical School in 1898.
Upon thus identifying himself with the professional life and progress of the terri- tory, Dr. Settle associated himself with Dr. J. A. Winfrey, under the style of Settle and Winfrey, and the partnerships subsequent- ly formed have been Settle and Norvell and Settle and Baker. His high reputation has been extended and emphasized by his effi- cient service as city physician of Wynne- wood. Outside of his profession the doctor is known as a skillful husbandman, having assumed that vocation both as a means of recreation and as a health-giving occupation. Dr. Settle's wife, to whom he was united in 1894, was known before marriage as Flor- ence Brown, and in her girlhood resided in Paola, Kansas. They have become the par- ents of Bessie, Dorothy, William E. Jr., and Newell Duncan Settle.
JAMES RICHARD CALLAWAY, M. D., of Pauls Valley, has been a practicing physi- cian and surgeon in this locality for only about eleven vears, but as he had lived in what is now Garvin county for nearly a dec- ade he had become thoroughly familiar with the country and its institutions, and his rapid professional progress is to be placed not only to the credit of his ability, but to the wide personal acquaintance and favor which he had enjoyed as a ranchman. He is a native of Denton county, Texas, born on the 22nd of August, 1854, son of Dr. Thomas H. and Mary (Allen) Callaway. His father was also a physician of good standing, and the son obtained his early education in the pub- lic schools of Idaho. Throughout all his
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experiments and adventures in the western country, James R. Callaway had the medi- cal career as his final goal, his interest in the profession dating from early youth. In October, 1889, he located in Elmore, then in Pickens county, and later settled at Pauls Valley. At the time of his coming, white men, who desired to settle in this country, were obliged to obtain a permit from the tribal government, and those that intermar- ried with the Indians were allowed as much land as they could cultivate, even with the assistance of tenants. Many thereby became small feudal lords, controlling estates of ten square miles, and the country rapidly filled up with settlers from Texas, Arkansas and neighboring states. They introduced churches, schools and other civilizing insti- tutions, and, considering that they were sub- ject to no constituted law, made a remark- able record, really laying the foundation of the new state of Oklahoma. Of these hardy and remarkable pioneers was Dr. Callaway.
In the midst of this distracting life the doctor continued his medical studies as best he could, but finally went to St. Louis, Mis- souri, and at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of that city commenced to attend regular lectures. He completed his profes- sional studies at the Fort Worth University, Fort Worth, Texas, graduating from the medical department of that institution in 1897. He immediately located for practice at Pauls Valley, Garvin county, where he has since established a substantial practice both in medicine and surgery.
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