A standard history of Oklahoma; an authentic narrative of its development from the date of the first European exploration down to the present time, including accounts of the Indian tribes, both civilized and wild, of the cattle range, of the land openings and the achievements of the most recent period, Vol. III, Part 36

Author: Thoburn, Joseph B. (Joseph Bradfield), 1866-1941
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 660

USA > Oklahoma > A standard history of Oklahoma; an authentic narrative of its development from the date of the first European exploration down to the present time, including accounts of the Indian tribes, both civilized and wild, of the cattle range, of the land openings and the achievements of the most recent period, Vol. III > Part 36

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The early education of Mr. Ross of this review was found in the neighborhood schools of his community. Later he was able to attend the Presbyterian College at Durant, where he spent four years in diligent study. He then entered Jones Academy at Hartshorne, and in 1909 matriculated in the University of Oklahoma, graduating from the law department in 1912, as a member of the first class of the law department. In August following his graduation he began the practice of law in Idabel as the co-partner of Louis A. Ledbetter, a classmate, and this association continued until Mr. Ledbetter 's appoint- ment as probate attorney in the year 1913. Since then Mr. Ross has conducted an independent practice in Idabel, consisting largely of probate and civil work. His success has been noteworthy and well deserved.

Mr. Ross being of Indian blood on his father's side, has been sought widely in his district by young men of the Choctaw tribe now resident in McCurtain County, many of them having been his schoolmates in Jones Academy. He has been able to serve them in his pro- fessional capacity to an unusual degree, and the business

relations existing between them of a particularly happy nature.

Mr. Ross was married at Madill, where his father is now living and is occupied in the hardware business. His marriage took place on December 23, 1913, and Miss Minnie Contway became his bride. They have one son, Louis Contway Ross, born August 3, 1915.

Mr. Ross is a Mason of the Scottish Rite branch, and his college fraternity is the Kappa Sigma. He also has membership in the Woodmen of the World and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and is popular and prominent in all his social and fraternal connections. He is a democrat in politics and is a member of the Young Men's Democratic League, and of the County and State Bar Associations.

CHARLES NATHANIEL HASKELL. The first governor of the State of Oklahoma, Charles N. Haskell, has been one of the most striking figures in the life and affairs of the new state. Whether as governor or as a business man he has never been content to be a mere figurehead, and his positive personality, his firmness in decision and action, and his courageous leadership, has necessarily placed him between two hostile factions of opinion and his career is almost as much distinguished for the enemies he has made as for the thousands who have accepted his leadership and given a prompt and loyal following to his principles and policies.

Charles Nathaniel Haskell was born at Leipsic, Put- nam County, Ohio, March 13, 1860. His father, George Haskell, was born in Vermont, and came to Ohio in 1848, first locating in Huron County, and in 1854 set- tling on a wilderness claim in Northwestern Ohio, twelve miles from any other clearing. He was a cooper by trade and died in January, 1863, before the future governor had passed his third birthday. The Haskell ancestry is traced back to two brothers, Henry and Jonathan Has- kell, who came from England to this country in 1622 and located in the Massachusetts colony.

As one of a family of five fatherless children, Mr. Haskell had to begin earning his own living as early as possible. In 1870, at the age of ten, he became a hired boy to a farmer named Miller, whose home was in the country, six miles from town. With that family he remained until the spring of 1878. There he grew to manhood, developed strength and capacity in body and mind, and while his employment interfered with regular attendance at school, he confesses a lasting debt to Mrs. Miller, the farmer's wife, whose training and influence were the largest single factor in the development of his plastic character. Mrs. Lydia J. Miller is still living in Wood County, Ohio. She had been a school teacher, and was a woman of thorough Christian character. She took charge of his education, and under her direction he studied at night and on Sunday, and made such advance- ment that on March 12, 1878, he took the examination and was granted a certificate to teach common school. During the following three years until March 4, 1881, he taught two terms each year and as a teacher he spent more days in a schoolroom than at any other time as a student. In the meantime he had studied law under the direction of Jacob Warner, a lawyer at Leipsic, and was admitted to the bar at Columbus, December 6, 1880. On March 7, 1881, he opened his office and began practice at Ottawa, Ohio, and soon rose to a position as a successful lawyer and likewise attained some influence as a leading democrat in that section of Ohio. In addition to the practice of his profession he soon became interested in the work of general contractor and from 1888 to 1900 built the first sections of six different railroads in Ohio and Michigan. His first work as a railway builder was in his native county in 1888, and in 1895 he assisted in

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constructing the railway north and south from Lima, Ohio, to Adrian, Michigan.

Mr. Haskell came to Muskogee, then in Indian Terri- tory, in April, 1901, as a railway contractor. He organ- ized and built all the railroads running into that city with the exception of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas. His first work was the construction of what is now the Mus- kogee Division of the Frisco Road in Indian Territory. In 1902 he constructed a portion of the Midland Valley Railroad, and in 1904 the M. O. & G. Railroad, and started the Muskogee street railway. In 1911 he built the Interurban from Muskogee to Fort Gibson. During 1914-15 he built the Oil Belt Terminal Railway from Jennings into the Cushing oil field, but sold this prop- erty in March, 1915.

Before his election to the office of governor Mr. Has- kell is said to have built and owned fourteen brick buildings iu Muskogee. He was probably the most active promoter of large industrial and business affairs in that city. It is said that when he arrived in Muskogee in 1901 he found the capital of the Creek Nation a sleepy village of 4,500 people, but that immediately on his arrival the town took new life, business blocks were constructed, Mr. Haskell himself having erected the first five-story business block in the territory, street car lines and railways were promoted, and through his influence Muskogee grew to be a center of business and industry with 20,000 inhabitants.

While still a resident of Ohio Mr. Haskell served in 1892 as a delegate to the Democratic National Conven- tion from the Fifth Ohio District, and again in 1908 was a delegate at large to the Democratic National Convention and chairman of the committee which wrote the national platform. Of his political career in Okla- homa leading up to his election to the office of gover- nor, perhaps the best and most intimate account will be found in an article published in 1908, while Mr. Haskell was still governor. Briefly stated, he was a delegate in 1905 to the Separate Statehood Constitutional Convention, and in 1906 and 1907 was a delegate in the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention, followed by his election and service as governor during 1908-09-10. In the Sequoyah convention he wrote a large part of the Sequoyah Constitution. "With this he became a per- manent power in the politics of Indian Territory. For the constitutional convention called in response to the enabling act of June 16, 1906, he was elected a delegate from the Seventy-sixth District, including Muskogee, by the largest majority of any member in the entire new state. Mr. Haskell owned the 'New State Tribune' and through its editorial columns advocated certain specific propositions for the new constitution, most of which he eventually saw, in substance if not in form, incorporated in the basic law. Among these provisions were some that affected the labor problems, and which had been advocated by the representatives of organized labor. It is said that Governor Haskell during his business experi- ence covering many years of handling and dealing with the various classes of labor was particularly successful in avoiding difficulties and never had a strike among his men. In 1905, when all the contractors of Indian Ter- ritory were having trouble with the labor unions, he immediately signed the scale and his men lost not an hour.

"As constitutional delegate Mr. Haskell was present every roll-call and voted on every proposition during the eighty-seven days of the session."

In reply to some information concerning his career, Governor Haskell recently wrote to a young friend at Norman a letter giving some of the biographical facts already stated, and concluding with a paragraph which is of special interest both as biographiic and historical

material. In response to a question as to the most effective and beneficial single act in official life done by him, Governor Haskell writes: "I believe it was oney of the first rules adopted by the Oklahoma Constitu. tional Couvention, which you can find in the records and which I wrote and endorsed. The purpose of which was to prevent and limit the work of lobbyists before the Constitutional Convention. I well remember that when the Convention assembled at Guthrie the 20th day of November, 1906, practically all of the best rooms in the hotel had been engaged for the winter by paid lobbyists for the great corporations. In several instances, suites of five or six rooms, well stocked with cigars and drinks, to make the lobbyists and visitors comfortable and prob- ably hilarious. The day this rule limiting lobbying was adopted, these lobbyists vacated all their hotel rooms and removed to Oklahoma City, intending to entertain members of the convention, who would be invited to go to Oklahoma City at night and over Sundays. This was on Tuesday. The following Friday an invitation was extended at the instance of these lobbyists to the whole Constitutional Convention to come to Oklahoma City Sat- urday afternoon on a special free train and receive a: banquet Saturday night and return to Guthrie on al special train at their pleasure. It will be remembered that when this invitation was presented to the conven- tion, I made a motion to lay the invitation on the table without acceptance, among other reasons for the follow- ing: (1) It would not be a good idea for the Constitu- tional Convention to waste time on junketing trips over the two territories. (2) It would not be proper for the convention to accept a free train from any railroad. (3) It was not proper for the convention to accept a free banquet from any lobbyists or agents of special inter- ests who desired to influence the convention. By au almost unanimous vote the convention adopted my mo- tion, and from that time until the end of the Constitu- tional Convention I believe that no body of men ever worked with more loyalty to the public welfare and with more freedom from improper influences. I have always considered that the membership of the Oklahoma Consti- tutional Convention drafted our State Constitution in the interest of the mass of the people and absolutely free from corrupt or improper influences."

To quote again from the article above mentioned: "At Tulsa on March 26, 1907, during the recess before the final adoption of the Constitution by the Conven- tion, was held the big democratic banquet and love feast, attended by 500 or 600 of the leading democrats of the new state, at which the first campaign was formally inaugurated. It was during the course of that evening that Charles N. Haskell was presented by his friends for the honors of the gubernatorial candidacy. Thomas Doyle of Perry, and Lee Cruce of Ardmore, were already in the field for the governorship, and with the primaries set for June 8th, Haskell had only brief time to present his cause to the people. During the campaign Mr. Has- kell made eighty-eight speeches in forty-five days, and reached nearly every county, while the lieutenants of the respective candidates were vigorously working the school districts and securing support in every commun- ity. The intensity of the campaign will long be remem- bered by those who passed through it. Haskell's victory in the primaries was gained by over 4,000 majority, and he immediately confronted a new opponent in the opposite party, the republican territorial governor, Frank Frantz, who was nominated at Tulsa. A former Rough Rider, a friend of the President, and with the federal prestige and support backing him, he was the strongest candidate the party could have presented. There were several interesting features of the campaign between the two candidates. Mr. Haskell challenged his opponent

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to joint public discussion throughout the state, and every problemi concerned with the administration of the new state came up and was debated during the campaign. It is claimed that the large corporate interests of the country joined in the opposition to the democratic can- didate, and that material support was furnished Hask- ell's opponent by the railroads and other trust interests. It is of interest to recall that both Mr. Bryan and Mr. Taft spoke during the campaign, and the latter's disap- proval of the constitution and his advice that the people vote against it undoubtedly reacted in favor of demo- cratic success. After Mr. Haskell's election and the approval of the constitution on September 17th, a re- publican approached the governor-elect and is reported to have said, 'You have so written the constitution and carried on this fight in a way that the republicans can't get anything in the state for fifty years.' Mr. Has- kell's eyes had a twinkle in them when he rejoined, ' Well, that's soon enough, isn't it?'

"Governor Haskell impresses the stranger who is unacquainted with his identity as governor, first of all by his evident business ability, and this distinction of practical and astute executive capacity is more promi- nent than some of the less valuable characteristics that are often associated with statesmanship. In dealing with Mr. Haskell, either in official or business affairs, one would expect straightforward, incisive handling of the subject under consideration. Circumlocution and specious argument would be out of place in the governor 's office." For a detailed account of his administration as governor, the reader is referred to other pages of this publica- tion. Since only five years have passed since he left the gubernatorial chair, it it too early to give a concise judgment on his varied performances in that office. There is no question as to his vigorous and effective leadership and his fearless independence in acting and advocating measures which he believed to be essential to carrying out the many ideals of the democratic plan on which Oklahoma came into the Union. Since leaving the office of governor Mr. Haskell has lived in Muskogee, has continued his work as a railway builder, and has also acquired extensive interests in the oil and gas fields of the Southwest.

Governor Haskell was married in October, 1881, to Miss Lucye Pomeroy, of Ottawa, Ohio. She came from a prominent New England family, of colonial settlement and represented by soldiers in the Revolutionary war. To this union were born three children: Norman, a lawyer of Oklahoma City; Murray, president of a bank at Muskogee; and Lucie, wife of Prentiss Hill. Mrs. Haskell died in March, 1888. The present Mrs. Haskell was Miss Lillie Gallup, of Ottawa, Ohio. Her parents were Josiah and Naomi (Cox) Gallup. Her father was born in Ohio June 12, 1830, and was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war. The ancestry in the paternal line goes back to John Gallup, who came from England to the American colonies in 1633. In the maternal line the ancestry of Mrs. Haskell is traced to an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower and located at Rochester, Massachusetts. Both Governor Haskell and his wife are eligible to membership in the Society of Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution. Mrs. Haskell is a woman of many accomplishments, and while prominent as a social leader has devoted her time prin- cipally to the rearing of her children. Her three chil- dren are: Frances, wife of Col. L. G. Niblick of Guth- rie; Jane, wife of Joseph L. Hall; and Joseph, who is now actively associated with his father in the oil business.

W. E. CONGER. While there are probably some legiti- mate criticisms that can be made against the commis-

sion form of government for cities, it is undeniable that in a great majority of cases the commissioners have been chosen with greater care than was given to the selection of city officials under the old methods and the offices have likewise attracted men of higher caliber and of greater capabilities than could be claimed for the offi- cials of the time honored plan. One of the best examples of the commission form of government in Oklahoma is supplied by the City of Ada. Some of the features of that municipal administration are mentioned elsewhere in a sketch of E. S. Ratliff, the present chairman of the commission, or mayor. Mr. Conger is another of the three commissioners, and has the department of account- ing and finance.

Students of the art of accounting could get valuable lessons from the neat, clean and well kept books and records of Commissioner Conger. Years of training in auditing and accounting, in various lines of business, fitted him admirably for the duties of this position, and nothing but words of praise have been given his methods and his accuracy. He is essentially a careful, methodical business man, and with these traits also combines the faculty of a genial personality, a combination which put him into politics in 1914 and won for him one of the highest offices in the gift of the people of Ada. There is felt the warmth of interested friendship in his hand- shake and scarcely ever does he forget the name of a man to whom he is introduced. These characteristics probably are the result of his long training as a suc- cessful salesman, a business he followed for a number of years. His personal popularity was put to the test in 1914 when he defeated for a second term the man who filled the office he now occupies.

Mr. Conger was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi, Sep- tember 27, 1872, a son of Eli Amos and Sallie (Fort) Conger. His father was born in Indian Springs, Georgia, in 1833, and settled in Mississippi in 1856, where he became a successful farmer and where a few years later he entered the Confederate army and fought for the southern cause until the close of hostilities. Mr. Con- ger's mother was a cousin of Clinton Fort, one of the best known men of his day in Mississippi and one of the most daring scouts in the Confederate service, having received frequent commendation from General Forrest and taking an important part in the historic raid on Memphis. An extended account of the Conger family and its relationship in America would fill many pages. The first to establish the name in this country was John Conger, who was a member of the colony that founded the Town of Woodbridge, New Jersey, in 1687, and in addition to helping lay out the town and adjoin- ing community he served as first clerk of the town. Jonathan Conger, another of the early members of the family, was prominent in the State of North Carolina, where he was born in 1810. His relationship to W. E. Conger is that of great-uncle. Commissioner Conger's great-grandfather, Eli Conger, as also the grandfather, Amos Conger, were pioneer and well known citizens of Butts County, Georgia. The Conger family originated in Alsace, France, but on account of religious persecution left that country and went first to Holland and later to England.

Mr. Conger after finishing his public school education in Mississippi was for a time a student in the Agricul- tural and Mechanical College in that state, and at the age of eighteen graduated from a business college in Memphis with honors. Thence followed an unsuccessful venture as a merchant at Lulu, Mississippi. This did not discourage him permanently from a career for which his inclination and ability well adapted him, and returning to Memphis he became bill clerk for the William R. Moore Dry Goods Company, a wholesale

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house, with which he earned the reputation of an expert in that position. Subsequently he went on the road as representative for S. E. Worms & Company of New Orleans, and still later traveled for the Ferguson-Me- Kinney Dry Goods Company of St. Louis. It was this work which brought him into Oklahoma, and his wide acquaintance with the people and his favorable impres- sions of the state caused him eventually to leave the road and locate at Ada. There after three years of residence he was elected to the office he now holds. Mr. Conger writes in elegant business style and his books are models of neatness and accuracy. The board of commissioners meets each Tuesday and Mr. Conger's diligence and care in the performance of his official duties are well illustrated in the fact that every item of each session is entered into the books before he calls his day's work concluded. He stamps the claim number on each city warrant and on checks drawn against the warrant and then the check number on the warrant, thus affording a double check on each transac- tion. He handles all the city's money and bonds, and in addition to the duties of his special department has an equal vote with the other two commissioners on every matter that comes before the board.

Mr. Conger was married in 1899 at Scobey, Missis- sippi, to Miss Lulu Robertson, who is a member of the widely known Duke family of that and other southern states. They have three children: Lucile, aged four- teen; Josephine, aged eleven; and Lorine, aged nine. Mr. Conger has one brother and one sister and one half- brother and two half-sisters. John T. Conger, an expert bookkeeper in the employ of a firm at England, Arkan- sas; Mrs. M. F. Crosslin, wife of a real estate man at Waco, Texas; W. C. McGaha, a merchant at Renalara, Mississippi; Mrs. T. J. W. Devlin, wife of a merchant at Sherard, Mississippi; Mrs. R. S. Arrington, whose husband is a plantation and store manager at Sherard, Mississippi.

Mr. Conger is a member of the Methodist Church in Mississippi, has affiliations with the Knights of Pythias Lodge and with the Ada Commercial Club. He is one of the vice presidents of the Oklahoma Municipal League, an organization in which he takes much interest. He has contributed considerably to the upbuilding of his city since becoming a resident of Ada. He gained the gratitude of a large number of people by securing the reinstatement of a Frisco passenger train between Ada and Fayetteville, Arkansas, after a petition by local citizens had failed to accomplish that end. It is said of Mr. Conger that he knows more people by name in Ada than any other resident, and it is his genuine pleasure to meet the poorest as well as the best dressed and that he seeks always to scatter sunshine and cheer wherever he goes.

DAVID W. GRIFFIN, M. D., F. A. A. M. A man of eminent abilities, both in the line of his profession and as a public executive, Dr. David W. Griffin, superintend- ent of the Oklahoma State Hospital, at Norman, has become widely and favorably known among the people of his adopted state, to which he came October 8, 1899. He is a native of Caldwell County, North Carolina, and was born October 28, 1873, a son of David A. and Louise (Bush) Griffin, both of whom are still residents of the Tar Heel State, where they have passed their entire lives. David A. Griffin, who has always been engaged in agricultural pursuits, served for four years in the Confederate army during the Civil war.

The Griffin family originated in Ireland, from whence the progenitor of the family in America came in Colonial times and settled in Virginia. The Bush family's his- tory in the United States dates back to the year 1808,

when the great-grandfather of Mrs. Griffin emigrated to this country from Germany, locating at Charleston, South Carolina, where for a time he followed the trade of shipbuilder. Subsequently moving to Caldwell County, North Carolina, he was married and reared a family. Of this ancestor an incident is chronicled which will prove of interest as a now almost forgotten custom of the early days. John Bush's intended wife's family were opposed to the marriage, and it was decided to settle the matter in a manner which now, to say the least, seems queer. The agreement was that fisticuffs should be restored to, and if John Bush was able to defeat his sweetheart's brother in a test of physical endurance and prowess, he should not only receive his bride, but a tract of land as well. He was successful in the contest, winning his bride, and the land which was given him is still in the family name.

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Author: Thoburn, Joseph B. (Joseph Bradfield), 1866-1941 Publication date: 1916 Publisher: Chicago, New York, The American Historical Society Number of Pages: 660

Author: Thoburn, Joseph B. (Joseph Bradfield), 1866-1941
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 660