USA > Oklahoma > A history of the state of Oklahoma, Volume II > Part 45
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA.
Princeton. Gibson county, Indiana, Andrew J. married Hannah Humphrey, and in 1839 located in Livingston county, Missouri. In 1846 settled in Portland, Oregon, where he died.
Elijah H. Culbertson, father of William T., was the third child of the above named; was born in Gibson county, Indiana, in the year 1824, and in 1854 married Helen H. Curtner, a native of Davis county, Missouri. In 1857 Mr. Culbertson became a resident of Fort Worth, Texas, where he built and owned the first brick residence of that place. For some eleven years he there followed his vocation as a builder and contractor, and settled at Sulphur Springs (now String- town), Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory in June, 1868. His home was made a station on the old overland stage route from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to Sherman, Texas, and he there established quite a prosperous in- dustry in the building of wagons at that point, erecting a shop for that purpose. As there were no railroads in the territory at the time all his raw material was hauled by team from Fort Smith. one hundred and thirty miles away ; but despite such obvious drawbacks, his wagons were in demand for a distance of fully one hundred miles in all directions. Soon after his coming to Stringtown he built a church for the Meth- odists, and in all the religious affairs of the section was an earnest worker and a liberal contributor of his means. In 1880 he moved from Stringtown to Kiowa, Indian territory, where he remained until 1884, when he located at Savanna and died there January 28, 1902. His widow, who resides with her son (William T.), at Kiowa, is the mother of the following: Frances. who married E. A. Robinson, now deceased : William T., of this review; Charles E., of Kiowa; Medora J., who is Mrs. J. Ladd Smith, of Macon, Geor- gia ; George D., of Hood River, Oregon; Anna J., who became the wife of J. W. Col- lard. of Macon, Georgia: Jesse W., also a resident of Kiowa ; Alice M .. now Mrs. J. A. Ingraham, of Savanna, Oklahoma : and John M., also living at Hood River. Oregon.
William T. Culbertson is a native of Chil- licothe. Livingston county, Missouri, born on the 22nd of June, 1857, and first came to the Indian territory with other members of the family in 1868. After receiving substan- tial instruction at the neighborhood schools and from a private teacher at his home, he
entered business at Stringtown and, through his proficiency in the Choctaw language, was enabled to establish quite a large trade with the Indians, and his services were con- stantly in demand. In 1877 he went to St. Louis to assume the position of traveling salesman for a wholesale shoe house, but, on account of a threatened break-down in health, hie resigned, spent a winter in Flor- ida and two years in Colorado, being en- gaged in the latter state on various pros- pecting tours. Returning to the Indian ter- ritory in 1880, he located at Savanna as man- ager of the coal company's store at that place, and in 1886 established himself there as a general merchant. He thus continued until 1895, when store and goods were de- stroved by fire and, as there was very little insurance. the loss was great. When the Indian lands were thrown open to white set- tlement, however, Mr. Culbertson engaged in the real estate business in connection with civil engineering, and continued in these lines after his removal to Kiowa, in 1905. His business is now firmly established and continually growing in volume and impor- tance, and his high general standing as a citizen is illustrated by his election to the mayoralty in 1908. He is an active Dem- ocrat. in politics. His fraternal affiliations are with the Royal Arch Masons and Modern Woodmen of America. His time and his means have also been earnestly devoted to the furtherance of the religious interests of the place, and especially to the work of the Methodist Church South of Kiowa.
On January 6, 1886, Mr. Culbertson mar- ried Miss Ida Harris, daughter of Dr. E. Poe and Jennie (Wolf) Harris. Mrs. Cul- bertson was born at Old Fort Washita. Choctaw Nation, October 25, 1865. while her father was stationed there as chief sur- geon of General Hineman's army. Dr. Har- ris was a nephew of William McGuffev, of spelling-book fame, a native of Ohio, and both a noted physcian and writer. Dr. Har- ris died at McAlester in 1898, and is espec- ially identified with Oklahoma history as being the first advocate of allotting Indian lands in severalty. Mrs. Culbertson, who is one-eighth Cherokee, commenced her edu- cation in the native schools of hier nation. and completed it at the Christian College. Columbia, Missouri, from which she was graduated in 1885. For many years she has been one of the most prominent figures in
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA.
the southwest in connection with the United Daughters of the Confederacy. She first or- ganized a division of the order in Indian Territory, of which she was president for four years, and, with the coming of state- hood and the amalgamation of the Oklahoma and Indian Territory divisions, she was elected the first state president which office she holds at this date. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. William T. Cul- bertson-one died in infancy; Edwin E., born September 29, 1888, and F. Harris Cul- bertson, April 5, 1897. The elder son men- tioned received his higher education at the Polytechnic College, Fort Worth, Texas, and is now holding a prominent position with the McAlester-Edwards Coal Company at Edwards, Oklahoma, having held that position for over three years.
JAMES B. MCALESTER. The name and fame of McAlester have spread "to the four winds," as it were, and a familiarity with the conditions contributing to its phenomen- al growth in the brief period of a quarter of a century leads one to announce com- merce as the dominating element in its greatness. While many able and active men have been identified with the development of the town, perhaps none has been more conspicuously and apparently indispensably wound up in its varied affairs than has the man whose name it bears. It was he who blazed the way and greeted the first bear- ers of civilizing agencies, and it was his presence that mollified the natural opposi- tion of the Indian to the white man and be- came a power among them in the negoti- ations, commercial and political, which have been going on during the past third of a century. This man was James J. McAles- ter.
James B. McAlester, oldest son of James J. McAlester, was born at his father's early home on the site of this town, June 2, 1826. The versatility of the father prepared many opportunities for the son, and the ranch and the store both contributed to his prac- tical bringing-up. After attending the prim- itive schools of Choctaw county, young Mc- Alester enrolled as a student at Marmaduke Military Academy, Sweet Springs, Missou- ri, and when he had completed the course there he entered Vanderbilt University. Nashville, Tennessee, where he pursued a law course, being graduated in 1892. After this he took a course in Eastman's Business
College at Poughkeepsie, New York, and thus equipped, he returned to McAlester and assumed the management of all of his fath- er's commercial interests here and else- where. In 1899 he engaged in the retail hardware business in the new town, on Choctaw avenue, where he remained until the Knights Templar Building was erected, when he took the first floor, 50 by 144 feet, and filled it with a line of hardware unex- celled in Pittsburg county, and has since been conducting business under the firm name of The J. B. McAlester Hardware Com- pany.
Mr. McAlester has been closely connect- ed with the building of McAlester. His father's extensive interests here have been under his supervision ; he has had charge of the actual construction of many of the lead- ing business houses on both Choctaw and Grand avenues. Although the blood of the Choctaw and the Chickasaw course through his veins and his features bear strongly the Indian mark, his capacity for business af- fairs is pronounced, and the great interests which his able father acquired and fostered, are prospering under the careful manage- ment of the younger man.
September 17, 1899, Mr. McAlester mar- ried Miss Asa, daughter of Edward Jewett, of Paris, Texas, and the children of their union are Rebecca, Leo and James Jackson. Mr. McAlester is a Master Mason and an Elk. His political affiliations are with the Democratic party, and by his party he was elected city treasurer of McAlester.
JUDGE WILLIAM H. H. CLAYTON, of McAl- ester. Oklahoma, stands out as one of the prominent figures in the history of his locality. Judge Clayton was born on his father's farm near Delaware Bay, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, October 13, 1840, and is a descendant of William Clayton, who came to this country with the Penn colonists in 1664. The direct line of descent is as fol- lows: William, Richard, Powell, John and William H. H. The old house in which John Clayton and his sons were born was built about the time of the first settlement at Philadelphia. John Clayton married Miss Ann Clark, a daughter of Captain Clark, of the English army ; and their sons grew up to occupy honored and influential positions in life. John M. Clayton, a twin brother of the Judge, served in the Union army, was a member of both branches of the Arkansas
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA.
legislature, three times was elected and served as sheriff of Jefferson county, Arkan- sas, and, in 1880, died at the hand of an assassin at Plummerville that state. Oth- er brothers are Thomas J. Clayton, Ex- Judge of the common pleas court of Dela- ware county, Pennsylvania; and General Powell Clayton, who rose from the rank of captain to that of brigadier general in the Union army and was governor of Arkansas from 1868 to 1872. and from 1872 to 18:8 was a United States senator from Arkan- sas.
William H. H. Clayton was reared on his father's farm, and received his early educa- tion at the Village Green Seminary. In 1864 he was a teacher of military tactics in that institution. Previous to this service, he had, in 1862, raised a company in Delaware coun- ty, Pennsylvania-Company H-which was assigned to the 124th Pennsylvania Infantry, under Colonel Hawley. With his company, as second lieutenant. young Clayton marched to the scene of action and fought for the Union cause, in the battles of South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. After the expiration of his service in the army Mr. Clayton went to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where he rented a plantation from the government, and raised a crop of cotton. He then joined his broth- er, Powell, in the purchase of a large tract of land in that state, and was engaged in cotton raising until the spring of 1868, when he sold his interest in the property to his brother.
In 1868 Mr. Clayton received the appoint- ment of circuit superintendent of public in- struction for the Seventh judicial circuit, comprising seven counties of Arkansas. This district at that time did not have a single public school, and illiteracy and preju- dice against public education were univer- sally prevalent. The result of Mr. Clayton's work here was approximately fortv schools to the county. with an average of forty pu- pils to the school. In many communities school buildings were erected, and in local- ities where young men and women of twen- ty years of age where wholly illiterate and not one in forty of the children could read and write, Mr. Clayton created a friendly sentiment for public education.
While yet on the farm, in 1867, Mr. Clay- ton began his preparation for the law by a course of reading. The next year he joined
the class of Judge Stevenson, at Huntsville, and, in 1811, was admitted to the bar before that official. March 23, 1871, Mr. Clayton was appointed prosecuting attorney for the first judicial circuit of Arkansas. April 23rd, two years later, he was appointed by Gov- ernor Baxter, to the position of judge of the first judicial circuit, which he filled till July, 18:4. The following August, President Grant appointed him United States district attorney, for the western district of Arkan- sas, comprising one-third of the state and all of the Indian Territory which at that time included all of the territory comprising what now is Oklahoma. He was re-appointed by President Hayes, January 20, 1879, was continued by President Arthur in 1883, and in 1889 his appointnient to the same place was renewed by President Harrison. Dur- ing President Cleveland's two administra- tions, Judge Clayton was engaged in the practice of law at Fort Smith. At the hands of President McKinley, Judge Clay- ton received the appointment of judge of the federal court for the Central District of the Indian Territory ; in December, 1901, he was re-appointed by President Roos- evelt, and, in 1905, again appointed to suc- ceed himself. During the period of his judgeship he was a member of the United States court of appeals of the Indian Ter- ritory, and was, for a time, its chief jus- tice.
In the spring of 1907. President Roose- velt appointed Judge Clayton a member of the districting and canvassing board, with Honorable Tams Bixby chairman of the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, and Judge Joseph A. Gill, which board ar- ranged the constitutional delegate districts and conducted the election of delegates to the Constitutional convention of Oklahoma. By virtue of his being the senior judge of the United States court of appeals. Judge Clayton with Governor Frantz, certified the result of the delegate election, and deliv- ered the constitution to President Roose- velt for his action. Upon the advent of statehood the old federal judgeship of the Indian Territory expired, and Judge Clav- ton resumed the practice of law in McAl- ester, where he had maintained his res- idence since 1892.
His administration of the office of Dis- trict Attorney is noted for its terror to evil doers. During the sixteen years of his in-
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA.
cumbency of that office, his convictions for murder ran into the hundreds. Judge Par- ker with whom Judge Clayton served, said of the latter: "He is a close, shrewd and prudent examiner of witnesses." From an- other associate at the bar, we quote: "Judge Clayton has a most wonderful method of presenting to a jury the strong points of his case. He is a man of great energy and concentration of thought, active and push- ing, prompt and reliable."
October 15, 1869, Judge Clayton married, at Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Miss Florence A. Barnes, daughter of William K., and Car- oline (Skull) Barnes, the latter a daughter of Hugh Skull. Mrs. Clayton was born at Arkansas Post, December 10, 1846, and died at McAlester, November 16, 1906. Her grandmother was a Miss Bogy, an aunt of the late United States Senator Bogy of Missouri, of French origin. Judge and Mrs. Clayton became the parents of the follow- ing named children: Mary I., born in 1870; Ann, born in 1872, is the wife of Charles C. Parker, of Durant, Oklahoma; Florence, born in 1877, is the wife of H. S. Kaiser, of Buck, Oklahoma; William H. H., Jr. was born in 1879; Melanie, born in 1881, mar- ried J. E. LeBosquet, of McAlester ; Adele, born in 1883, is Mrs. S. G. Brink, of McAl- ester, and Beatrice, born in 1891, is a stu- dent in Visitation Convent, St. Louis, Mis- souri.
William H. H. Clayton, Jr., is a graduate of the high school at Fort Smith, Arkansas, the Michigan Military Academy at Orchard Lake, Michigan, and holds the degrees of A. B. and LL. B., from the University of Michigan. He was admitted before the United States court of appeals to practice law in all the Federal courts of the Indian Territory. After practicing law three years in Muskogee, as a partner of Ezra Brain- erd, he joined his father, in December, 1907, at McAlester, and they have since conduct- ed a law practice under the firm name of Clayton and Clayton.
As intimated from his connection with office, Judge Clayton is a Republican, as also are his worthy and distinguished brothers. General Powell Clayton repre- sented our country as ambassador to Mex- ico under the Roosevelt administraton, and is among the distinguished men of his party. Judge Clayton has lived in the stronghold of Democracy ever since the war, but he
has upheld his party's banner. In Arkansas, Judge Clayton was prominently identified with the Masonic Order. He is a thirty- second degree Mason, is a past grand mas- ter of the grand lodge of Arkansas and a past grand commander of the Knights Templar of the same state. Also the judge is identi- fied with the B. P. O. E. He is the first exalted ruler of the lodge at McAlester. Reared by Methodist parents he is in sym- pathy with Christian work.
LEWIS E. CHRISTIAN, the present super- intendent of public instruction of Pitts- burg county, Oklahoma, has earned the position which he holds by eleven years of earnest educational work in the state, nine of which have been passed within the limits of Pittsburg county. The ancestors of Mr. Christian of this sketch have always been patriotic citizens, his mother's family of Pennsylvania and his father's family of Virginia, taking active part in the Revo- lutionary war, Washington, himself, hav- ing their friendship and support. Lewis E. Christian's great-grandfather, James, his great uncle, William, and his grandfather, Charles H. Christian, were all soldiers in the war of 1812, the grandfather drawing a government pension at the time of his death, July 4, 1885. The great great-uncle, (also William Christian), was a colonel in the Revolutionary war, commanded about twelve hundred men, operated in Virginia, and kept the Tories and Indians in effect- ual check. After the war he moved into Kentucky, and was a member of the con- vention which framed the state constitu- tion. When the Indians made their last raid into Kentucky the brave old colonel led his neighbors against them, overtook the savages, but at the first fire from the enemy, was killed.
Charles H. Christian, the grandfather, was born in Virginia, July 6, 1795, and ac- companied his parents to Kentucky when a boy. At the age of seventeen he enlisted in the Kentucky Rifles for service in the war of 1812. He participated in the his- toric battle of Moravian Towns on the banks of the Thames river, in the Ontario Peninsula, in which the British and In- dians were so decisively defeated by the American forces under Generals Harrison and Shelby, the latter the hero of King's Mountain, and governor of Kentucky. Lat- er Charles H. Christian was one among the
Fais &ristian
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA.
brave Kentucky Rifles who joined General Andrew Jackson in Louisiana and at the battle of New Orleans, defeated the veter- ans of the British army who had fought successfully against Napoleon, and on oth- er great battle-fields of Europe.
In the Civil war, grandfather Christian had four brave sons in the Confederate army. He had married Dolly A. Wiley, who was born February 27th, 1796, and whose father, William Wiley, and grand- father, Samuel Wiley, were both min- ute men at the battle of Yorktown where Samuel Wiley was killed. William Wiley was at this time about seventeen years of age. His son, Wmn. Wiley, was a private in Capt. Samuel Curd's Company of the Fourth Regiment of Mounted Kentucky Volun- teers, commanded by Colonel Ewing in the war of 1812. The Wileys moved from Vir- ginia to Kentucky where Dolly A. married Charles H. Christian and migrated to Mar- ion county, Missouri. They were the par- ents of Edmund, who died in early man- hood, Marion, Wesley, James, William B., Franklin N. W. (father of Lewis E.), Dr. W. K. of Moberly, Missouri, George W., and Elizabeth, who first married Armstrong Caruthers, and afterwards Jonathan Woos- ter, and died in the state of Oregon. Among the sons of this family, Marion served in the Confederate army in Texas; James and Wesley were under General Porter and en- listed in a Missouri regiment, James being taken prisoner and shot at Kirksville, Mis- souri; George W. served under General Price, was wounded at the battle of Lex- ington, Missouri and died several years lat- er from the effects of the wound; and Wil- liam B. Christian died while in service con- nected with the quartermaster's department of the United States army.
Franklin N. W. Christian married Eliz- abeth Forsythe, daughter of Lewis and Margaret (Williams) Forsythe, whose fam- ily migrated to Missouri from near Pitts- burg, Pennsylvania, and were among the first settlers of Shelby county, Missouri. Mr. Forsythe died in Shelby county, leav- ing his widow, Margaret, a son, James, who was killed in battle at Centralia, Missouri, wine serving in the Union army, and two daughters, Elizabeth (Mrs. Franklin N. W. Christian), and Susan Z. Margaret For- sythe, the widow, died only a few years since in Missouri.
The only one of the present generation to serve in the army is George W. Chris- tian, (brother of Lewis E. Christian). He was a member of Company E., Thirty-fourth Infantry, United States Volunteers, and, with forty others, joined the expedition of Gillmore's rescue under Lieutenant Colonel Howze. The following telegram sent to the American commander at Manila requires no explanation :
"Vigan, P. I., Jan. 5, 1900.
"Schwan, Manila: Hare and Howze just arrived with all our prisoners. Their work unparalleled. I urge Hare and Howze be appointed brigadier generals of volunteers. and all officers and men will be mentioned by name, for medals of honor
"(Signed) Young, "Brigadier General."
The following, which is an extract from the copy of a recommendation made by Major Howze for the conferring of a special medal, is also self-explanatory :
"June 10, 1902. "For most distinguished service in the campaign of northern Luzon, participating in the release from captivity of about five hundred Spanish officers and fifteen hun- dren enlisted men, and in the rescue of Lieutenant J. C. Gillmore, United States Navy, and twenty-five other Americans, held as prisoners of war by the insurgent army :. . Company E, Thirty- fourth Infantry, United States Volunteers, private George W. Christian."
Lewis E. Christian was born April 10, 185%, in Shelby county, Missouri, a son of Franklin N. W. and Elizabeth ( Forsvthe) Christian. The father was born in Marion county, Missouri, April 27, 1829, and the mother near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, April 18, 1840. They were married in Shelby county, Missouri, June 24, 1856, and were the parents of seven children now living: Lewis Edmund, of this sketch; Elizabeth J., of Missouri; Margaret A., of Colorado; James F. of Missouri : George W., of Ari- zona: Albert P., of Colorado, and Laura W., who resides in Missouri, and two chil- dren, Ella and Susie, who died in early childhood. The mother, well educated, taught school before her marriage, and the father was a man of education, having taught in the schools of Missouri a number of years. He was both a farmer and teacher
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA.
and died in Vernon county, Missouri, De- cember 25, 1872, having removed with his family from Shelby county to Vernon, in 1871. After the father's death the mother returned to Shelby county with the children and located on a farm.
During the Civil war and for some time after, there were no public schools on ac- count of the disorganized condition pre- vailing at that period, and during that time Lewis E. was trained carefully by his fa- ther, and taught at home by his mother. they laying the foundation and instilling in his mind the desire for education which he was able to complete in after years. As soon as the public schools were opened Lewis E. attended in the winter season work- ing on the farm in the summer until his father's death. After his twenty-first birth- day Lewis E. Christian immediately pre- pared himself for teaching and taught two years in Shelby county. He then went to Vernon county, where he taught in the country and town schools, us- ing the money earned in paying his way through college, from which he was graduated. His reputation as an educator was such that he was elected as county com- missioner of schools (superintendent) for Vernon county, for two terms of two years each without opposition, no opponent con- testing. During this period he studied law and was admitted to the bar in Missouri. He also taught two years in Bates county, Missouri. His reputation was so thorough- ly established by his educational labors in Missouri, that he was chosen principal of the company school. Hartshorne, Indian Territory in 1897. The school was main- tained by assessment from the coal miners, and by tuition paid by those who were not miners, and by funds paid by the Choctaw Nation as tuition for Indian children who attended the school. Mr. Christian taught here six years. He then taught one year at Pryor Creek, Cherokee Nation, and one year at Gowen, Choctaw Nation, maintain- ing his residence at Hartshorne.
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