USA > Oklahoma > A history of the state of Oklahoma, Volume II > Part 42
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Mr. Turman was born at Patrick, McLen- nan county, Texas, December 3, 1873. The family has been distinctly southern for sev- eral generations, but originally is German and Scotch, the paternal grandfather being a native of Germany who came to America when a small boy, and was a soldier in the war of 1812, and his son, William Turner's grandfather, Turman, was a native of Vir- ginia, while the maternal great-grandfather was a Scot who died in Georgia. The ma- ternal grandfather was Thomas Garrett, who came to McLennan county, Texas, in 1855, and served through the Civil war with the Confederate army. The parents of the Okmulgee lawyer were B. C. and Cordelia (Garrett) Turman, the father a native of North Carolina and the mother, of Georgia. B. C. Turman was county surveyor in Geor- gia and Texas, served four years in the Con- federate army, and was living in Texas at the time of his death, March 28, 1886. There were ten children in the family, and the widow lived in Duncan, Indian Territory, after her husband's death. She died at Erath, Texas, August 5, 1907, aged sev- enty-two years. As a member of this fam-
Tro. W.Mithel
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ily, William S. Turman spent his youth on a farm, and besides the education gained in the neighborhood schools, is a graduate of Valley Mills College, Texas, and was also a student in Baylor University. He studied law in the Northern Indiana Law School at Valparaiso, where he graduated in 1900. From June until the first of November, after leaving law school, he had an office in Waco, Texas, but then moved to a newer field, in the town of Duncan, in the Chickasaw Nation. For several months he was in partnership with W. A. Hussey, but dissolved that relation shortly be- fore leaving Duncan. For about a year he practiced in Oklahoma City, and then came to Okmulgee. Mr. Turman is commander of the Okmulgee Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. He was married, June 2, 1900, to Miss Bessie L. Fisher, who was born in Ashland, Ken- tucky, April 10, 1877. She was a student in the art department of Valparaiso College, and in this way came to know her future husband. Both are well educated and taught school at the beginning of their ca- reers. They have four children : Mabel L., Virginia, Mildred and Mary Frances.
GEORGE W. MITCHEL is the president of the Citizens National Bank of Okmulgee, one of the solid banking houses of eastern Oklahoma. It was originally established in 1901 as a private bank, but was reorgan- ized and nationalized, May 2, 1902, and it now has a capital, surplus and profits amounting to $71,000, a strong and popular financial institution.
Mr. Mitchel became its president on the 17th of August, 1907.
He was born in Brown county, Ohio, in 1866, a son of A. W. and Mary A. (Mefford) Mitchel. When he was thirteen years old he left the farm and went to the west, for a number of years residing in Colorado, principally at Kit Carson and its vicinity, engaged in the cattle business. That local- ity was one of the centers of the cattle in- dustry of eastern Colorado, particularly in the earlier years. In 1890 Mr. Mitchel came to the Creek Nation, Indian Territory, and has lived here since that time, engaged in the cattle business on his valuable ranch, seven miles southwest of Okmulgee, in Ok- mulgee county. Since about the time of the advent of the railroad in this community he has also maintained business interests in this city, which has also become his home, although still retaining his ranch and cattle
business. He is also a member of the hard- ware firm of McCracken, Mitchel & Com- pany, but is perhaps best known as the president of the Citizens National Bank. Besides these prominent business relations, he is one of the leading and influential mem- bers of the Democratic party in eastern Oklahoma. He belongs to Okmulgee Lodge, No. 78, I. O. O. F., and the B. P. O. E .. Lodge No. 1136.
Mr. Mitchel married Miss Louise Reh- kopf, a native of Iowa, and they have three children-Nellie, Irene and Ellen.
JACOB BOZARTH, prominent in the real estate and kindred circles of Okmulgee, came to this city in 1900, and has ever since been one of its leading residents. He built and owns the well known Bozarth Hotel, in Okmulgee, and has been engaged in vari- ous capitalistic interests in this city and sur- rounding towns and is well known in busi- ness circles throughout the eastern half of the state.
Mr. Bozarth is a "Hoosier" by birth and training, born near Knox, in Starke county, Indiana, in February, 1852, a son of Jacob and Charlotte (Warrington) Bozarth. Ja- cob Bozarth was one of the first residents of Starke county and had the honor of being elected its first county recorder, serving in that capacity for several years after the or- ganization of the county. He was a young man when he moved to Starke county, and he married there Miss Charlotte Warring- ton, of a Delaware family. The Bozarth family is of French Huguenot origin, its original members in America having set- tled first in Virginia, New Jersey and the eastern part of Maryland, from whence they later emigrated west and located in Penn- sylvania, and still later, in Ohio and In- diana. Jacob Bozarth was a son of George Bozarth, born at Ten Mile Creek, Pennsyl- vania, in 1774, and he was also the father of Gilbert Bozarth, born in 1815, and who became a well known pioneer in the west. His letters, giving some of his experiences on the border land, form an interesting por- tion of the history of the Bozarth family. Nelson J. Bozarth, a grandson of George, is a prominent lawyer in Valparaiso, Indiana, and was a leading candidate for the nomina- tion for governor in 1904.
Jacob Bozarth, of this review, was reared on the home farm in Indiana, receiving a good education, and like his father he was later elected the county recorder of Starke
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county, elected in 1882, and he served con- tinuously in the office for eight years. Until he came to Okmulgee, in 1900, he had lived all his life in Starke county, Indiana, and for a long number of years was in business in Knox, principally as a dealer in real estate, loans and abstracts, and in various ways was intimately associated with the history of that community.
Mr. Bozarth is a Democrat in politics, and one of his sons, Mark L. Bozarth, is an attorney in Okmulgee, a graduate of the law department of the Valparaiso Univer- sity, while another son, Ernest L., is a graduate in pharmacy from the same insti- tution. There are also two daughters in the family, Mary B. and Daisy F. Mr. Boz- arth's wife, to whom he was married in Starke county, bore the maiden name of Phebe Westhafer, and was born in Ohio. Mr. Bozarth is a member of the I. O. O. F. and the Rebekahs.
T. F. RANDOLPH. The banking institu- tions of a community indicate in a large de- gree the prosperity and business standing of the citizens, and when properly managed they reflect credit upon the cities in which they are located. Oklahoma is especially fortunate in the character of its banks and financiers, and among the latter is numbered T. F. Randolph, the president of the Ok- mulgee National Bank, an exceptionally strong institution. It is a source of credit- able pride to this bank that during the panic of 1907 it gained in deposits during the en- tire period, instead of losing, and for the year from January 26, 1907, to February 14, 1908, the deposits had increased from $57,396 to $111,759, a period that covers the worst days of the financial depression. The capital stock of the bank is $50,000.
Mr. Randolph was born at Peoria, Illi- nois, where he was reared and received his education. From 1892 until August of 1903 he was a resident of Wellington, Kansas, and from there he came to Okmulgee, Ok- lahoma, and organized the Okmulgee Na- tional Bank. But for several years before entering the banking business he was en- gaged in dealing in real estate and loans and in financial enterprises. Mr. Randolph laid out and was the original owner of the townsite of Morris, in Okmulgee county, eight miles east of the city of Okmulgee. This town is noted for the wealth of the ag- ricultural country surrounding it and more recently for its oil and gas wells. The fra-
ternal societies to which Mr. Randolph be- longs are, Okmulgee Lodge, No. 78, I. O. O. F., and Okmulgee Lodge, No. 1136, B. P. O. E.
JOHN PARKER BRADBURY, postmaster of Wetumka, Hughes county, is now serving his second term, both appointments being made by President Roosevelt. Mr. Brad- bury also retains considerable interest in farming and live stock, so that altogether he is a man of varied and substantial activ- ities. Born in Edgar county, Illinois, No- vember 27, 1858, he is a son of William and Jennie ( Larkins) Bradbury, his father's an- cestors coming from England and his moth- er's from Wales. It will thus be seen that he is of pure British stock. From early boyhood he assisted about the home farm and completed his education at the Edgar County College, from which he was gradu- ated as a student of Professor Hurdy. Soon afterward he came to Kansas on a pros- pecting tour and finally located in Green- wood county, where he purchased a sheep ranch and conducted it until 1891. In that year he became a resident of the Indian Territory and in December, 1901, located in Pottawatomie county, as foreman of the large ranch owned by William Griffenstein.
At the founding of the new town of We- tumka, in 1901, he here established a real estate business, which he conducted for several years in connection with his actual business. In 1902 Mr. Bradbury received his appointment as postmaster of Wetumka, and he has since held that office with credit. Naturally, he is a Republican in politics and has served as a member of the county central committee of his party, in which he has been an active and useful worker. March 17, 1881, Mr. Bradbury married Miss Susan M. Patterson, daughter of Sam- tel and Mary Margaret ( Blair) Patterson, of Edgar county, Illinois. Their four chil- dren are : Minnie, born, March 9, 1882; Mable, January 4, 1885, Fisher J., August 30, 1889, and Charles Bradbury, December 2, 1894.
WILLIAM LYTOR WOOLEY, who is a pio- neer merchant of Stuart, Hughes county, is a native of Louisville, Kentucky, born, November 4, 1855. His parents are John and Catherine (McMullen) Wooley, his father being an Englishman, born in Glouc- estershire, who came to the United States when a young man. His mother is a native of Pennsylvania, of Scotch parentage. Mr.
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Wooley was educated in the public schools of his native state and obtained his first busi- ness experience as a clerk in the general store of J. J. McAlester, at Savannah, In- dian Territory. He remained at that point, engaged in various mercantile pursuits, for a period of seven years. This long and thorough experience enabled him to suc- cessfully establish an independent business at Stuart.
When he first located there the place was known as Hoyuby, Mr. Wooley being main- ly instrumental in having the name changed to Stuart, in 1895. Obviously, he was enti- tled to this honor, as he was not only the pioneer merchant of the place, but its first postmaster, holding the latter position for ten years. He was an earnest and success- ful promoter of the town, both in mercan- tile, real estate and financial matters, and is still a leader in all of these lines. He is a director and vice president of the bank of Stuart and is fully alive to all the best in- terests of the town and county. In com- mon with many men of broad energy and activity, Mr. Wooley has his special forms of recreations and is widely known as a successful fisherman and hunter of small game.
In 1879 Mr. Wooley was united in mar- riage to Miss Sarah Choate, daughter of Allen Choate, and the children born to them have been as follows: Samuel L., Annie L., now Mrs. O. S. Penney, of Chickasha, Oklahoma; Catherine, who became the wife of J. H. Bruce, a merchant of Stuart ; Irene, Mrs. Edward Vaughn, of Alex, Oklahoma ; and Clara, wife of Dr. Whitaker, of Stuart. Mr. Wooley's second wife was Miss Mil- dred Reynolds, and their two children are, Helen MI. and Willie Ruth Wooley.
JAMES MULLENS GRIFFICE. Having en- joved a long and prosperous career in vari- ous lumber and mercantile pursuits before coming to Oklahoma, in 1899, James M. Griffice, of Yeager, Hughes county, was well qualified to become an important factor in the development of the county. He is an Alabaman, born in Perry county, No- vember 23, 1848, a son of James and Eliza- beth (Smith) Griffice, his father's family having long been established in the old Dominion and being of ancient Welsh ori- gin. His mother's old world ancestors were Scotch, her father, Robert Smith, being a native of Edinburgh. Scotland, who came to North Carolina at an early day. Mr.
Griffice was educated in the public schools of Perry county until the outbreak of the Civil war, which completely wrecked the prospects of any further education. The father was a mechanic and manufacturer and also the owner of a considerable plan- tation, operated by slaves. But the Civil war threw him entirely upon his busi- ness resources, and in various ventures of this kind he was assisted by his son, James M. The young man as- sisted his father until he was twenty- one years of age, when he left home and removed to middle Tennessee, where, on account of poor health, he abandoned his business ambitions and engaged in the raising of cattle and horses. This outdoor occupation he followed profitably and to the benefit of his health until he was twenty- seven years of age, when he entered into a new field, as proprietor of a sawmill. He was thus engaged for eight or ten years, the principal scenes of his operations being near Gallatin, Tennessee, where he became widely known as a lumber manufacturer.
Mr. Griffice's next change of location was to Wellington, Kansas, where in 1889, he was placed in charge of the branch office of the Singer Manufacturing Company, re- maining thus employed until 1899, when he became a resident of Oklahoma City, engag- ing in the hardware business as an employe of the N. B. Utt Hardware Company. In 1900 he was appointed manager of a store operated by the Bonebroker Hardware and Implement Company, at Geary, thus con- tinuing until 1902, when he removed to Watonga, and there engaged in the imple- ment business. He next located at Enid, as proprietor of the Enid Pump and Supply Company, which was then one of the heavi- est hardware stores in that part of the ter- ritory. In 1904, Mr. Griffice settled at Yea- ger, Hughes county, and established a house for the sale of general merchandise and ag- ricultural implements, which he has since developed into an extensive and profitable business. In 1902 Mr. Griffice was married to Mrs. Callie M. Welch, a widow, of Nor- man. ()klahoma, and they have one child, Parrie Marie Griffice.
JOHN WILLIAM GEORGE, postmaster at Yeager, Hughes county, has had experience and training which has well qualified him to conduct the affairs of his office in a busi- ness-like and creditable manner. He is an Illinoisan, born in Perry county, near Tam-
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aroa, December 1, 1867, son of John M. and Amanda Rebecca (Farmer) George. His father, who was a native of Virginia, came to Illinois in his young days and was there educated and there met his future wife, who was a native of Illinois.
John W., of this sketch, received his edu- cation in the public schools of his native county, and entered into business life as an employe of George A. Hill, at Woodlawn, Jefferson county, Illinois. After serving with him as a buyer and clerk in his store until he had become thoroughly posted in the details of the business he himself bought a stock of general merchandise and estab- lished a store at Drivers, Jefferson county. After continuing his enterprise three years, he sold his establishment and started from Texas on a tour of inspection in view of lo- cating in that state. In 1900, however, he became a traveling salesman for the Schuyl- kill Mills, of Philadelphia, his line being general dry goods, and his territory, the state of Illinois. After a few months of this experience he located at Mt. Vernon, Illinois, and opened a hotel and restaurant at that point. His next business venture was to connect himself with the Osgood & Johnson Tie Company, as timber inspector. In their interests he traveled to Oklahoma, becoming so much impressed with the pos- sibilities of the country that during the same year he located at Roff, in the Chick- asaw Nation. He there formed a partner- ship with William Bond, his father-in-law, and under the name of George & Bond, con- ducted a general merchandise business for three months, when he became sole pro- prietor. Believing that Yeager was more favorable for the conduct of his enterprise he removed thither and continued in the same line.
After a short time he abandoned his own business in favor of the responsible position of loading foreman for his old employers, Osgood & Johnson, and remained with them until the dissolution of the firm, after which he retained his position with their succes- sors, the Lee N. Robinson Tie Company. He continued in their service until July, 1903, when he returned to Yeager and as- stimed a more responsible business of gen- eral contracting, being still associated with the Lee N. Robinson Company. Subse- quently, he he-established himself as a gen- eral merchant and continued thus until 1906, when he disposed of all his business
interests and, with Dr. E. D. C. Wing, or- ganized the Farmers Bank of Yeager, of which he became president. Soon after sell- ing his stock in this concern he was appoint- ed postmaster of the place. Besides having creditably performed the duties of this office he has served as treasurer of the city and has been a member of the school board since the town was founded.
On May 11, 1891, Mr. George married Miss Ida Bond, of Jefferson county, Illi- nois, a daughter of William Bond, still a resident of that county. Their three chil- dren are: Berthold M., Sherron H. W., 'and Floe George.
BERNARD NAPOLEON HICKS, a young and thoroughly educated lawyer of Hughes county, has been a resident of Hol- denville, its seat of government, since his election to the county superintendency of schools when Oklahoma became a state. He was born in Cannon county, Tennessee, on the 18th of August, 1873, and is a son of B. N. Hicks, Sr., and Avy (Hutchison) Hicks. The ancestors of the paternal branch of the family are traced to France, while the Hutchisons are of Irish extrac- tion.
Mr. Hicks obtained his earlier education in the schools of Carthage and Smithville, Tennessee, graduating from the high school of the latter city with the class of 1895. His next step was to take a scientific course at Fountain College, at Smithfield, and in 1898-9 he was a student in the law depart- ment of the Cumberland University, at Leb- anon, Tennessee. After a period spent as a teacher in his home schools and those of Smith county, Tennessee, Mr. Hicks com- menced the practice of his profession at Carthage, passed four years as a lawyer at that point, and in 1903 removed to In- dian Territory, first locating at Wetumka. In 1907, when Oklahoma became a state, Mr. Hicks opened an office at Holdenville, the county seat, becoming a member of the law firm of Langston, Hicks & O'Neil, and assuming at the same time the office of superintendent of schools of Hughes county. As he assumed its duties with the first county and state officers of Oklahoma, in common with his associates, he was obliged to organize his department and accomplish the hard task of placing the schools of the county on a working basis, as indicated by the new constitution and statutes. That this radical work was eminently satisfactory
Felix P. Canard.
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is proven by the fact that he has retained the office to the present time. Superintend- ent Hicks was married, in 1893, to Miss Allie Lamberson, of Carthage, Tennessee, a daughter of Ira B. Lamberson, of that place. One child, Pauline, has been born to their union.
JAMES KNOX KING, sheriff of Hughes county, Oklahoma, residing at Holdenville, is a native of Arkansas, born, January 27, 1869, in Perry county, a son of W. J. G. and Amanda (Glass) King. His father was a wheelwright, of the old school of mechanics, who was engaged in farming in his com- munity. He was a native of Tennessee and from an old and well established family, which traced its origin to the Scotch-Irish. His wife was also of the same ancestry.
The education of James K. King was ob- tained in the district schools of his native vicinity, and as a young man, he assisted his father upon the home premises. When he came to the western territory he was engaged in the manufacture of lumber and was employed in the mills near the bound- ary line between Arkansas and Louisiana. Later, he went to the eastern part of In- dian Territory, settling at Cameron, where there was then only one store and a depot building. He obtained a position in the em- ploy of the Martin Cotton Gin, for a short time-about a year. He then headed far- ther west and landed in the Cherokee Na- tion, where he followed farming, and later became a contractor at drilling wells. Sub- sequently, he was found in the Chickasaw Nation, where he engaged in the live-stock business and dealt extensively in mules. Coming to Holdenville, he resumed the role of a well driller and contractor, operating in the vicinity of Holdenville and at We- tumka.
Mr. King was elected to the office of sheriff of Hughes county, Oklahoma, in 1907, going into office at the time the new state was admitted into the Union, Novem- ber 17, 1907. He is a careful and conscien- tious official. His devotion to his office is only exceeded by that toward his family and his efforts to give his children good educa- tional advantages. He was united in mar- riage to Miss Kansas Green, daughter of a physician, of Arkansas. Six children were born of this union: James William, Fred- erick M., Gladys May, Cecil, Grace Irene, Jessie. Mr. King is a member of the Ma- sonic fraternity and is accounted a progres-
sive, painstaking man, such as is always ap- preciated in new states and counties, where the formation of good government has not yet been fully completed.
FELIX P. CANARD. Thoroughly educated both in literary and commercial branches, Felix P. Canard, a well known real estate dealer of Wetumka, is one of the foremost representatives of the former Creek Nation in this part of the state. He was born within the limits of that nation, December 19, 18:9, his father, Thomas Canard, being a native Creek Indian and a public official of great activity and prominence. The elder Mr. Canard had much to do with the regulation of the tribal relations of his peo- ple, being for many years a judge, admin- istrating their laws. The mother of Felix P. died March 9, 1899. The grandparents on his father's side were of old Alabama stock of the Creek Nation and came, with other members of his people, to the lands allotted them in the Indian Territory.
Mr. Felix P. Canard, of this sketch, was educated in the schools of the Creek Nation at Wetumka Mission and in the Eufaula high school, subsequently enjoying a course at the University of Oklahoma, located at Norman. Having thus laid a thorough foundation in literary and general branches he pursued a business course at the Dallas Commercial College, where he was gradu- ated, April 27, 1901. His education well fits him for the responsible position of Creek interpreter, which position he fills. At the death of his father, May 2, 1897, Mr. Canard entered actively into business pursuits, his first position being as an employe of H. H. Homan, in the capacity of clerk and inter- preter at Old Wetumka. At the death of his mother, March 9, 1899, he removed from that place to accept a position in the store of E. J. Scales, at Holdenville, Indian Territory, where he worked one year, using this money to complete his business course in Dallas. Later, he became connected with Meodors Bros. & Busey, at Wetumka. retaining this latter position until 1902. In that year he established his present business as a real estate dealer, in which he is singu- larly prosperous. His wife was formerly Miss Lulu Carr, a native of the Creek Na- tion and a daughter of Rev. Robert Carr, a Baptist clergyman. One child has been born to them-Alice Canard.
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THOMAS WALTER MACKEY, secretary of the Doak-Mackey Hardware Company, of We- tumka, Hughes county, is a native of old Choctaw county, Mississippi, where he was born August 26, 1866, being a son of A. R. and Sallie (Moore) Mackey. The family originated in Ireland but for many genera- tions has been established in the south. Both parents are natives of Alabama, the maternal ancestors being of Scotch-Irish de- scent. A. R. Mackey, the father, is a true southerner in every respect, even to the fact of his stanch service in the Confederate army under the great cavalry leader Gen- eral Forrest. A. R. Mackey and wife were married in April, 1865. To this union were born eight children, five boys and three girls.
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