A history of the state of Oklahoma, Volume II, Part 92

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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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA

ritory. It is a work of which he has every reason to be proud, as it has been the means of incalculable benefit and convenience in facilitating travel and building up the coun- try. It is notable also from the fact that building bridges in this country was an en- terprise that ordinarily capitalists would not touch on account of the risks involved.

Mr. Baird may truly be said to be one of the leading spirits to whom Tulsa owes its present prosperity and progress, for le has been one of its most public-spirited citi- zens in the promotion of its growth and development along substantial and perma- nent lines. He was one of the organizers of the Manufacturers' Club and later of the present Commercial Club, into which the first named was merged. At no time has his aid or cooperation been solicited in vain for the benefit of the city. He owns valuable real estate and business interests in Tulsa and the surrounding country, and while deriving his income from a valuable property, he stands ready at all times to further the interests of the community and cooperate with his fellow townsmen in every movement that he deems will prove of public benefit. He organized the first stock company in Tulsa, and built the first sidewalk and bridge in Tulsa.

HON. DAVID L. SLEEPER. The rapid de- velopment of Oklahoma in its various com- mercial centers is attributable to the fact that its leading citizens are not men who have to work out the problems of town building through slow, tedious processes of development, but are men of marked enterprise and activity who have been con- versant with municipal and government in- terests in other sections of the country and have, therefore, brought to bear upon the questions that arise here the broad expe- rience and knowledge gained ere their re- moval to this district. Such a one is Hon. David L. Sleeper, now a prominent law- ver of Tulsa and one of the leading pro- moters of its growth and progress. He is recognized as an influential factor in Re- publican circles and was formerly promi- nent in the ranks of the party in Ohio, serv- ing in that state as a member and speaker of the general assembly.

Mr. Sleeper, however, is a native of Iowa, his birth having occurred in War- ren county in 1856. His parents had set- tled in that state in 1852, removing from Ohio to the middle west, but later they returned to their old home in Athens coun- ty, Ohio, and David L. Sleeper was, there- fore, reared upon a farm in the Buckeye state. Prior to his removal to the south- west he spent the greater part of his life in Athens county, although for a time his home was in the city of Columbus. He completed his education in Otterbein Uni- versity at Westerville, Ohio, and prepared for a professional career as a law student in the Cincinnati Law School, from which he was graduated with the class of 1880. He then began his practice in Athens, Ohio, where he remained for sixteen years, and then, seeking a broader field of labor, opened an office in Columbus, where he continued as a member of the bar for some time. He was prosecuting attorney of Athens county for six years, and his fellow townsmen, in recognition of his worth, abil- ity and loyal citizenship, elected him as their representative in the Ohio legislature, where he served in the seventy-first and seventy-second sessions-from 1893 until 1897. During the latter he was speaker of the house and made a fair and impartial official, whose course was highly commend- ed not only by the members of his own party, but also by the opposition. He was also chief counsel for the dairy and food commission of Ohio for two years, and in Columbus was president of the city board of equalization. While he attained success at the bar and won recognition as an able and learned lawyer, he also studied closely those questions which are to the statesman and the man of affairs of vital importance, becoming thoroughly informed concerning the sociological, economic and political questions of the day. His clear expression of his views and the advanced stand which he took upon many subjects gained him a position of leadership and in many ways he ranked among the distinguished citizens of Ohio.

In 1900 Colonel Sleeper was appointed state agent of the general land office at

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Oklahoma and came to the territory in that capacity. He was located first in Okla- homa City and later at Lawton, where he assisted officially in the opening of the Ki- owa-Comanche reservation, which took place on the 6th of August, 1901. He was engaged in that work in southwestern Okla- homa for two and a half years and came to his present home in Tulsa early in 1903, having resigned his position in the general land office. He had become deeply inter- ested in the Territory and its possibilities and resolved to make it his home, so, ac- cordingly he established himself in the prac- tice of law in Tulsa, where he has since re- mained, securing a liberal clientage, which is now large and of a distinctively repre- sentative character. His title by which he is always known here has come to him as a courtesy from his fellow townsmen, who recognize in him a citizen of unfaltering de- votion to the public good. Indeed, he has taken a very active prominent and helpful part in all the forward and progressive movements that are making Tulsa one of the wonderful cities of the southwest, pro- ducing its rapid and substantial develop- ment, whereby it has already become rec- ognized as an important industrial and commercial center. Colonel Sleeper is al- ways chosen as a leader of delegations and as orator for welcoming committees, and his ability as a public speaker and his happy manner in expressing any thought make him a particular favorite on such occasions. He has unselfishly devoted much of his time to public matters without pecuniary re- ward, but has the satisfaction of having drawn to himself a wide circle of devoted friends who recognize the fact that he places the general good before personal ag- grandizement and the welfare of the pub- lic before partisanship. He has, however, remained a loyal defender of the political principles in which he believes and in the statehood campaign of 1907 was selected by the Republican party as its candidate for state senator from Tulsa county.

Colonel Sleeper was married in Athens, Ohio, to Miss Della Burson, who was born and reared in that county. They now have

five children, John B., Mrs. Ethel ·B. Dole, Frances B., Clarence B. and Dorothy B.

Colonel Sleeper is prominent in frater- nal circles, having been exalted ruler of the local lodge of Elks, and is now serving as District Deputy for Oklahoma East, in that order. In Masonry he has become a Knight Templar and a member of the Mys- tic Shrine, while in the Scottish Rite he has attained the thirty-second degree. That he occupies a prominent position in his pro- fession is indicated by the fact that he has been honored by the presidency of the Tulsa Bar Association. There are in every community men who, without any particu- lar effort on their part, leave an impress upon the community which can never be effaced. Colonel Sleeper is one of these. He is taking an active and helpful part in shaping the destiny of Tulsa and his labors arise from a sincere interest in the city and its permanent welfare. He is a splendid type of the noble American citizen, and kindliness and patriotism, sincerity and friendship are instructively associated with his name.

DR. W. ALBERT COOK, now serving as president of the Tulsa County Medical As- sociation, has, since locating in Tulsa in 1902, built up a large and lucrative prac- tice, making a specialty of the diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. He was born in Charles City, Floyd county, Iowa, in 1875, where he was reared and received his literary education, graduating from the Charles City high school. Choosing the prac- tice of medicine as a life work, he began preparation in this direction in the Univer- sity of Iowa and finished in Rush Medical College, of Chicago, from which he was graduated with the class of 1897. Return- ing to his home city he there began practice as a physician and surgeon, continuing there until 1900, when he returned to Chi- cago and took post-graduate work in the diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat in the Chicago Post-Graduate Medical Col- lege. After completing his special course he returned once more to Charles City. where he remained until 1902, in which year lie made his way to Tulsa, Oklahoma,

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believing that the southwest offered great opportunities for the ambitious professional man. During the first two years of his res- idence here he was a general practitioner, but since that time has practiced exclusive- ly as a specialist in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, in which he has achieved distinction, having built up a large and lu- crative practice commensurate with the re- markable growth that Tulsa has made in the last few years. In the line of his pro- fession he is identified with the Tulsa Coun- ty Medical Society, of which he is now serving as president, and of the State and American Medical Associations. In the winter of 1907-8 he took a post-graduate course in Manhattan Hospital, of New York, eye, ear, nose and throat hospital.

Dr. Cook was united in marriage to Miss Irene Lowe, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and their marriage has been blessed with one daughter, Elizabeth Cook. The family is prominent in the social circles of the city and in the line of his profession the Doctor is meeting with unbounded success, for he possesses a genial and sympathetic nature, which wins him friends wherever he goes. He belongs to the F. & A. M. and Knights of Pythias, and politically is a Republican. The Doctor and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church. He has been very successful and now owns four farms in Tulsa county.

ROBERT NEWTON BYNUM. With the in- terests of Oklahoma during its pioneer epoch, when it was a part of the Indian Territory, and through the period of its later development and progress, Robert Newton Bynum has been closely associated and is well known because of his activity as a stockman, his later efforts as a mer- chant and now as a banker and capitalist. He was born in Jackson county, Alabama, February 17, 1858, his parents being J. M. and Mary (Proctor) Bynum. This is the well-known family of Bynums which has produced several citizens of prominence in public life, including the former congress- man of that name, of Indiana.

Robert N. Bynum came with his parents and their family to the southwest in early

youth, a settlement being made in Arkan- sas, where he attended school. The year of their removal was 1867, and Robert N. Bynum remained with the parents until 1874, when he came into the Indian Terri- tory and began raising cattle in the Choc- taw Nation, his headquarters and shipping point being at South McAlester. He dis- continued active business in the stock in- dustry in 1886 and in that year established himself in the mercantile business in Tulsa, which has been his home continuously since. Few residents of this enterprising and rap- idly growing city can claim so long a con- tinuous connection therewith. At the time of his arrival there were not more than a dozen houses of any pretention in the town, yet the village commanded quite an exten- sive trade which it drew from a large scope of surrounding country. Mr. Bynum opened a store at the southwest corner of First and Main streets, in a building which is still standing, but has been moved back, however, to serve as a warehouse for the present Wright store-a brick structure that has been erected in more recent years. The old building still shows the hole that was made by Grant Dalton, the desperado, on one of his shooting escapades in Tulsa's early days.

Mr. Bynum remained in mercantile busi- ness with continued success until October 4, 1902. when he retired, having, in the meantime, developed a trade of large and satisfactory proportions, bringing him a good financial return annually. Since with- drawing from commercial pursuits he has engaged in banking and other enterprises demanding the investment of capital. He is the second vice president of the Union Trust Company, known as one of the strongest and safest financial institutions in the new state. He has also erected and is the owner of the Bynum building, a busi- ness block, at the corner of Main and Sec- ond streets, now occupied by the Farmers' National Bank. His home, a splendid mod- ern brick structure, is one of the largest and most costly of the city, standing at the corner of Fifth street and South Cheyenne. It is built in most attractive style of archi-

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tecture, supplied with every modern con- venience and is indeed an ornament to the city.

In 1878, near Eufaula, Indian Territory, Mr. Bynum married Miss Electra McElroy, a daughter of the well-known pioneer citi- zen, John H. McElroy, who was born in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, in 1835, and was reared in Allen county, Ohio. There he enlisted in November, 1861, as a member of Company E of the Sixty-sev- enth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Joining the Army of the Potomac, he participated in the battle of Winchester, the engagements of the Peninsular campaign, the capture of Hatteras Island and Newbern in North Carolina and several engagements in South Carolina. Rejoining the Army of the Po- tomac in Virginia, he fought in the battle of the Wilderness, the battle of Cold Har- bor and aided in the capture of City Point and Bermuda Hundred. He was also in the sieges of Petersburg and Richmond, and was also present at the surrender of General Lee at Appomattox and marched through the streets of the capital in the grand review at Washington. Returning to his home in Ohio, he there remained un- til 1867, when he removed westward to Kansas, where he took contracts for carry- ing mail in Indian Territory-routes that had been discontinued during the war. He opened up the mail route between Fort Gibson and Wewoka and other routes, mak- ing his headquarters at Muskogee and Eu- fala. During the early years there he like- wise engaged in freighting to some extent and visited the present site of Oklahoma City as early as 1870. In 1883 he located in Tulsa, where he has since made his home and in 1890 he discontinued his contracts on mail routes. This business had brought to him a wide acquaintance, and wherever known he commanded respect and friend- ship of those with whom he was associated.

Mr. McElroy is well known as the or- ganizer of the first Grand Army post in Creek Nation at Tulsa. His efforts for the development and improvement of this sec- tion of the land along various lines have been most effective, beneficial and far- reaching. To Mr. and Mrs. Bynum have

been born six children : Arthur H., Wil- liam T., Mabel M., Zella, Robert Roy and George Therin. Both Mr. and Mrs. By- num have a wide acquaintance in this part of the state and have been active in those lines whereby the material, social, intellec- tual and moral progress of the community has been promoted. Mrs. Bynum is par- ticularly prominent in church work and for three years has been president of the La- dies' Aid Society of the Methodist Epis- copal church. Possessing literary tastes, she is also connected with one of the book clubs of the city. Mr. Bynum, active in municipal affairs, served as the second mayor of Tulsa, having been elected in 1899 and giving to the city a businesslike, progressive administration. He also served for two terms in the city council and ex- ercised his official prerogatives for the pub- lic good. As the years have advanced he has become a wealthy man, but is entirely free from ostentation or pride, and mani- fests the same kindly, cordial and genial spirit which characterized him in his ear- lier years. He is in every respect a repre- sentative and valued citizen of Tulsa and without invidious distinction may well be termed one of its most prominent residents.

CHARLES W. GRIMES, a representative of the Tulsa bar and the efficient county su- perintendent of schools in whose hands the education interests of the community are ably conserved, was born at Decatur, Brown county, Ohio, in 1876. His parents are Wilson and Mary (Hizer) Grimes, and in both the paternal and maternal lines he is descended from Revolutionary stock. His grandfather, John Grimes, settled in Brown county, Ohio, in 1812, and there the birth of Wilson Grimes occurred. Both he and his wife are still living at the old home in Decatur.

Charles W. Grimes received thorough ed- ucational training and equipment, being graduated from the literary department of the Ohio Northern University at Ada, that state, in the class of 1903, while in the law department of the same institution lie was graduated with the class of 1905. Before completing his college course he taught school at intervals in Brown and Adams

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counties and thus became closely associated with educational work, gaining an experi- ence which has proved of the utmost value to him in the prosecution of his duties as the present county superintendent of schools in Tulsa county, Oklahoma.

Mr. Grimes located for the practice of law in the city of Tulsa in October, 1905, and has been in practice since. A man of ability in his profession, Mr. Grimes never fails to give a thorough and comprehensive preparation to his cases, while his presenta- tion of his cause in the courts is character- ized by logical and sound deductions. He is seldom, if ever, at fault in quoting a le- gal authority or a precedent, and his com- prehensive knowledge of the law commands the respect and confidence of his fellow practitioners.

In July, 1907, Mr. Grimes received the Democratic nomination for county super- intendent of schools for Tulsa county and at the general election of September 17th was chosen for the office by popular suf- frage. It is generally recognized that he is peculiarly qualified for this position from the fact that he is both a successful law- yer and teacher, for it is probable that many legal technicalities will arise in organizing an entirely new county school system in a new county, that until the establishment of statehood was a portion of the Indian Ter- ritory.

Mr. Grimes was married to Miss Jo- sephine Templeton, of Lawrence county, Ohio, and they have a little son, Philo Wil- lis. The parents are well known socially and have many warm friends, while Mr. Grimes' salient qualities as a lawyer, a citi- zen and a public official commend him to the confidence, trust, respect and friendship of all with whom he is associated.

JOHN W. KIEFF, a practitioner at the bar of Tulsa and a former United States com- missioner, comes to the southwest from Tippecanoe county, Indiana, his birth hav- ing occurred near Lafayette in 1859. His early boyhood was spent on the farm and he supplemented his preliminary education, acquired in the public schools, by a course in Wabash College, at Crawfordsville, In- diana, being graduated therefrom with the

class of 1887. He taught school for sev- eral years, principally in Oregon, Missouri, where he was the principal of the local schools. He read law in the office of L. R. Knowles, at Oregon, and was admitted to the bar in 1890. Locating for practice in that town, he afterward, believing that the west offered a better field of labor, re- moved to the state of Oregon, where he es- tablished himself in practice at the town of Dallas, in Polk county, and was admitted to practice in the supreme court of the state. He afterward resided for a time in Latah county, Idaho, and was enrolling clerk of the Idaho senate in the session of 1894-5. Mr. Kieff continued in practice in Indiana until 1900, in which year he came to the Indian Territory and opened an of- fice at Holdenville, where he soon secured a good clientage and also for two years filled the office of deputy United States re- corder. On the Ist of June, 1907, he was appointed United States commissioner and in the autumn of that year removed to Tul- sa, where he is now making his home. Here he entered into a partnership with Charles W. Grimes, for the practice of law under the firm name of Kieff & Grimes. His term as United States commissioner ex- pired with the establishment of statehood on the 16th of November, 1907.

DR. WALTER E. WRIGHT, a physician and surgeon of Tulsa, is one of those active, energetic and ambitious young professional men who, in these modern times, seems to have leaped over the traditional "starva- tion period" of the young doctor in the achievement of success in his profession, while yet young in years. He has an ex- tensive patronage and his ability is widely recognized and acknowledged by the gen- eral public.

A native of Kentucky, Dr. Wright was born in Washington county in 1882 and represents an old family of that state, well known in connection with the raising of fine stock. His boyhood days were spent on the Wright plantation in the heart of the richest section of the Blue Grass state. In 1890 the family removed to Springfield, Missouri, and although Dr. Wright con- sidered Springfield his home, he yet spent

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much time in the state of his nativity as a student in the school and in the work con- nected with the old plantation there. He acquired an excellent literary education, which he completed by graduation from Drury College, at Springfield, Missouri, in the class of 1900. He then matriculated in the medical department in the University of Louisville to prepare for a professional career and was graduated therefrom with the class of 1904.

Dr. Wright located for practice in Springfield but the following year removed to Tulsa, realizing the fact that this new but rapidly developing town offered excel- lent opportunities. He has become one of the well-known young men in the medical profession in the new state and has an of- fice splendidly equipped for practice in gen- eral surgery and medicine. He is thor- oughly in touch with the most modern methods known to the fraternity and his skill and ability are widely acknowledged. He is seldom, if ever, wrong even in the preliminary diagnosis of a case and in fore- telling the outcome of disease, and his con- scientious zeal and devotion to the interests of his patients has resulted in notably suc- cessful work in his chosen field of labor. He keeps in touch with the best thinking men of the medical fraternity as a member of the County, the State and the American Medical Associations, and in non-profes- sional lines he is connected with the Benev- olent and Protective Order of Elks.

DR. W. W. BRYAN, a prosperous dentist of Claremore, Rogers county, and influen- tial in its public affairs, is also a farmer and a breeder of standard roadsters. He was born at Otterville, Missouri, and vari- ous members of his family have been leaders in the governmental affairs of that state. Hon. John H. Bryan, of Rolla, North Carolina, his grandfather, was a representative to Congress of North Caro- lina during the ante-bellum period and was one of the pioneers in influence and active affairs of state. The father, Hon. Charles S. Bryan, of Cassville, Missouri, has filled nearly all the offices of the Barry county government and has also been the repre- sentative of his district in the state legisla-

ture. The mother (formerly Miss Mildred Wear) is of a prominent Missouri family, daughter of a cotton broker of Memphis, Tennessee, who became a merchant of Ot- terville, Missouri.

Dr. Bryan obtained his early education in the public schools of the above named town, where he was born September 7, 1868. He also pursued a course in the business college at Springfield, Missouri, and not long after its completion com- menced the study of dentistry. In 1893 he graduated from the Western Dental Col- lege of Kansas City, Missouri, with his degree of D. D. S., and commenced the practice of his profession at Cassville, Mis- souri.

Dr. Bryan located at Claremore as its pioneer dentist, arriving on the scene in time to secure office rooms in the first brick structure of the city. He also arrived in time to become thoroughly identified with the development of the community in all its affairs, having served both as mayor of the city and as a member of its aldermanic board. He is a director of the Bank of Claremore, and, as an index to his profes- sional standing, holds the presidency of the State Board of Dental Examiners, under appointment of Governor C. N. Haskell. As a recreation the Doctor indulges in ag- riculture, and, as a combination of country and urban surroundings, his homestead is ideal in its improvements and appointments. He is an enthusiast on the subject of stand- ard and high-grade roadsters, and has in his stables some fine specimens of trotters.

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A history of the state of Oklahoma, Volume II, Part 92

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