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 47

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 47

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In 1906 was solemnized the marriage of Doctor Sadler to Miss Addie E. Caldwell, of Sherman, Texas. This union has been prolific of three children, namely: Isa- bel, born in 1909; Doris, born in 1911; and Ewing Cald. well, born in 1913.

Doctor and Mrs. Sadler are devout members of the Presbyterian Church at Coalgate and in a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks. Doctor Sadler is greatly interested in the general progress of his home community and at the present time. is giving most efficient service as a member of the Coal- gate Board of Education. As a man of refinement and culture, as well as unusual medical skill, his residence in Coalgate is much appreciated by his fellow citizens.

JOSEPH M. FRANKLIN. Though he is now retired from legal practice, Joseph M. Franklin for upwards. of forty years gave a distinctive service as an attorney. in the old Chickasaw Nation and during the tribal days of goverment there was probably no more influential white man in the Nation than Mr. Franklin. He has always been loyal to his adopted people, and they owe him much for the interest and enthusiasm with which he has handled their affairs. Mr. Franklin is now taking life somewhat quietly at Colbert.

Born in Sullivan County, Missouri, on December 3, 1854, he is the son of Edmond Franklin and a grand- son of Conrad Franklin. The latter was born in Eng- land of English parents, came to America in young man- hood, and after moving about for several years settled permanently in Missouri. Reared in Missouri, Edmond Franklin became a farmer and a preacher of the Metho- dist Episcopal faith. He was married in that state to Miss Didema Knifong, whose father was a native Ger- man and had settled in Missouri where he reared a fam- ily. To Edmond Franklin and wife were born six chil- dren. The oldest, James H., died near Mead eighteen years ago, and his son Edward Q. is still living there. W. C. Franklin, who died four years ago, was a resident of Texas. Anna married a Mr. Dennis of Milan, Mis- souri. John Wesley lived at Joplin, Missouri, until his death. Jesse H. is now living at Milan, Missouri. Of the six children Joseph M. was the youngest. All the others served in the Civil war, and his youth alone pre- vented Joseph M. from participation.

Mr. Franklin finished his education in the public schools of Dennis, Texas, in 1871. The following year he was attracted into the Indian Territory and located in what was known as Panola County of the Chickasaw Nation. In 1873 he was licensed to practice law in the Indian courts of that Nation, and was later admitted to practice in the Federal courts, while with the coming of statehood he was admitted to the Oklahoma bar.

Mr. Franklin has an enviable reputation in the Chick- asaw Nation as a public servant, due to the fidelity and care which he exercised in every responsibility entrusted to him. His first elective office in his adopted nation was that of representative. Before he entered the campaign he pledged his people that he would not seek more than one term, and that if they wanted him to ryn again and felt that he had served them justly, he would do it, but he would not seek election on his own initiative. He was elected to office in the campaign which followed, and in the second campaign his party brought him forward as a candidate, while in the third

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city for bunty , and he was the unanimous choice of all parties. After serving several terms as representative, he ran for the office of attorney general of the Chickasaw Nation on the ticket with Governor Guy, but they were counted out by the Byrd party, after they had legitimately won ailer This the race. When the Chickasaw Council passed a law disqualifying any intermarried citizens from holding office, Mr. Franklin did not ask the indulgence of the Cald. people. He was content to serve them in an unofficial capacity, and his interest in their welfare was as strong the then as it ever had been. He was prominent in the fight for statehood and was a member of the first party er of Jeral time oa and organized with that end in view. After statehood he aligned himself with the democratic party, though he was a strong opponent of the Haskell faction in that party, and was equally stanch in his support of Bruce and also of the present Governor Williams.

Some months ago Mr. Franklin gave up his active practice of law altogether and now devotes himself chiefly to the operation and management of his farm.

In 1875 he married Miss Tennie S. Colbert, a member of one of the most noted families of the old Chickasaw country, a daughter of Sam and Elizabeth (Reynolds) Colbert of Rock Springs, Oklahoma. Sam Colbert was a cousin of Frank and Jim Colbert, and members of the Colbert family are given considerable space on other pages of this work. Mrs. Franklin died in February, 1876, less than a year after her marriage. In 1881 Mr. Franklin married Miss Eliza A. Shelton. To their union have been born seven children: Jesse Edmond, who finished his education in the Durant Presbyterian Col- lege; William, who lives at Lehigh, Oklahoma; Joan, who was also educated in Durant Presbyterian College and is the wife of G. E. Kennedy of Texas; Benjamin Guy, also a graduate of Durant College; Mary Ellen, now the wife of O. P. Jones of Kingston; Lilah, a graduate of the Colbert High School, of Durant Col- lege, and now a student in the Southeastern State Nor- mal; and Erma, a student in the Colbert High School. The Franklin family represents some of the finest quali- ties of citizenship, and its members are popular in what- ever circles they move. They are members of the Pres- byterian Church, and Mr. Franklin has served the church as one of its ruling members for the past thirty-six years. He is a Mason and an Odd Fellow and promi- nent in - both orders.

H. J. SMITH. The work by which Mr. Smith has most closely identified himself with the affairs of the world and from which he has gained his chief success has been in the general commercial field, first as a merchant, and more recently around his home town of Dewey, Okla- homa, as an oil operator and producer. Mr. Smith sank some of the pioneer wells in some of the richest oil dis- tricts of Northern Oklahoma, and should be remembered for his important work in this development of some of Oklahoma's greatest resources.

His life has been spent in many parts of the country. He was born in Henderson, Minnesota, October 24, 1866, and comes of a family of missionaries, who spent their lives largely on the frontier in the service of church and humanity. His parents were Rev. D. Z. and Emma (Ricksecker) Smith. Both the maternal and paternal grandparents were of that splendid sect of early Ameri- can pioneers known as the Moravians, and many mem- bers of both families were missionaries. The maternal grandfather of Mr. Smith was a missionary in the West Indies, and the latter's mother was born at Kingston, Jamaica, in May, 1826, and died at Mound City, Mis- souri, in 1909. Mr. Smith's father was born at Spring- place, Georgia, in 1822, and died in 1882 at Laketown,

Minnesota. He had for fully forty-two years been in the active service of the church both as a missionary and as pastor. Much of his work had been done among the Indians and he was a natural linguist who spoke fluently the Cherokee, Delaware, Pawnee and half a dozen other tribal dialects. Mr. Smith's paternal grandfather was a cousin of Count Zinsendorff of Saxony, Germany, who is best remembered in America for his laudable though unfortunate enterprise in attempting to colonize the German people in the Texas republic. Both Rev. D. Z. Smith and his wife received their early education at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

H. J. Smith gained his early schooling at Salem, North Carolina. From there he went to Minneapolis, Minne- sota, and followed the trade of machinist from 1881 to 1888. During one winter of that time he taught school and for two winters worked in a store. In 1888, going to Craig, Missouri, he engaged in the mercantile business under the firm name of H. J. Smith & Company, and remained there until 1897. His next location was at Warrenton, Missouri, and while there his business inter- ests were of a somewhat more varied nature. While there he established his first rural mail route in 1901.

Mr. Smith has been identified with the Dewey com- munity in Oklahoma since 1902. He was bookkeeper for J. H. Bartles & Son until August 1, 1906, and then resigned to become an active operator in the oil industry. To Mr. Smith's credit should be mentioned the drilling of the first well in the Turkey Creek pool. This well started off with a production of 750 barrels per day. He also drilled the first well in the Rice Creek pool. For several years he has done an extensive business in the buying and selling of oil leases.

While looking after his business interests Mr. Smith has not neglected his duties to the public, and his name has been associated with several local offices. In 1910-11 he served as police magistrate, and was city assessor during 1913-14. Politically he is independent. He was the first president of the school board at Dewey after statehood, having been chosen as one of the three directors of that board, and the other two members made him president. In this capacity he deserves most of the credit for getting the present school built at Dewey, and in fact he planned and closely supervised its construction. Mr. Smith also organized Dewey Lodge No. 292 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and was its first representative to the Grand Lodge which met at Tulsa in 1905.

On August 31, 1892, he married Miss Mary L. Ward, who was born October 6, 1872, in Harlem, Kentucky, a danghter of John A. and Mildred D. (Price) Ward, her father a native of Kentucky and her mother of Vir- ginia. Mrs. Smith was one of four children, namely : Charles M., who lives in Missouri: Joseph H. and Harry, both of St. Joseph, Missouri; and Mrs. Smith. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have one child, Hubert A., who is now a student in the law school of the State University at Norman. This son was born January 27, 1894, at Craig, Missouri. Mr. H. J. Smith was one of the six children of his parents. The oldest, Elizabeth, married Rev. A. W. Benson, a Presbyterian minister at Minneapolis ; Emma L. is deceased; Rev. D. C. lives at Lawrence, Kansas; C. T. lives at St. Paul, Minnesota; Alberta C. is the widow of G. W. Murphy of Oregon, Missouri; and the next two children died in infancy. Mrs. Smith is a member of the Presbyterian Church at Bartlesville. In addition to other business activities Mr. Smith has per- formed a great deal of commercial service as an auditor both in Oklahoma and Kansas, and has been commis- sioned to examine the books of a number of corporations in these two states.

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HISTORY OF OKLAHOMA

ROBERT H. WILSON. That the honored citizen whose name initiates this paragraph is a man of high intellect- ual attainments and marked executive ability needs no further vouch than the statement that he is the valued and efficient incumbent of the exacting and important office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction for Oklahoma. This mere statement does not, however, con- vey to the casual reader an idea of the vigor and earnest- ness he brings to bear in his official service, nor does it deal to au adequate objective conception of the basic reasons for his enthusiasm in making strenuous efforts to afford to the youth of Oklahoma the best possible educational advantages. This desire has been primarily the result of the difficulties he encountered in his own efforts to acquire a liberal education, for he felt the lash of necessity in his youth, had to make opportunities for himself and emerged triumphant only after a battle that proved the true caliber of the man-invincible courage and determination and steadfast and worthy purpose having been his animating motives in this formative period of his character, even as they have been in his later years of definite achievement for the benefit of himself and his fellowmen.

Near Scottville, the judicial center of Allen County, Kentucky, Robert H. Wilson was born on the 25th of August, 1873, and in the same fine old Bluegrass State were born his parents, John A. and Mary E. (Briley) Wilson, he being the eldest of a family of eight children -five sons and three daughters. In his native state Mr. Wilson was reared to the age of eighteen years under the sturdy discipline of the farm, and in the meanwhile he attended the country schools of the locality whenever opportunity presented. The school terms in the vicinity, however, were very short, and at no time did he attend more than three months in any one year, the while the study work of the farm caused to wax strong in physical power and to gain a lasting appreciation of the dignity and value of honest toil. Early in life he determined to acquire the best education within the compass of his ability and opportunities, and this ambition was even then one of action, for he applied himself to reading and study at home, his diligence in these lines having been on a parity with the time and means afforded him.

When Mr. Wilson was eighteen years old he accom- panied his parents and his brothers and sisters on the removal of the family from Kentucky to Texas, and settlement was made near Whitewright, Grayson County. The financial resources of the family being very limited and he being the eldest of the children, he gladly did his part in assisting his father in the work and manage- ment of the new homestead farm in the Lone Star State, and up to the time when he attained the age of twenty years his entire scholastic discipline had been confined to that received through his desultory attendance in the rural schools of Kentucky and to the advancement he had been able to make through individual application. As has often proved the case with others trained under similar conditions and circumstances, what he had learned he had learned well, and when finally there came to him an opportunity to enter Grayson College, at Whitewright, Texas, he found himself sufficiently forti- fied to take up the studies of the preparatory depart- ment. Boarding at home and riding four miles to the college, he started his work when twenty years of age and with a determination to finish his collegiate course. To meet his incidental expenses while thus striving to attain his ambitious purpose he was compelled to borrow money and to pay on the same interest at the rate of ten per cent. This seeming handicap inured in fact to his advantage, because he denied himself all of the priv- ileges and pleasures of school society and while his classmates were enjoying themselves in the social amen-

ities incidental to school life, he could be found in his roomn digging away with no time for envy, but resolute in his purpose to cover within the shortest possible time the most extra school work, in order to get advanced standing as soon as this could be compassed.

After three years in college, Mr. Wilson devoted one year to teaching, and in the following autumn he re- entered college. During the time he was teaching he worked as diligently at his college studies as though he had been still attending regular sessions and upon re- suming his place at Grayson College he found himself sufficiently advanced in his studies to become a member of the senior class. He was compelled to leave the insti- tution, however, before the end of the term, owing principally to his limited financial resources, and soon afterward he was offered and accepted the position of teacher in a country school in his home community. From that time forward until December, 1903, he con- tinued as a successful teacher in the rural schools of Texas during the winter terms and during the interven- ing periods he gave his attention to farming, he being the only member of his immediate family who ever be- came a representative of the pedagogic profession. He is essentially and thoroughly a type of the self-made man that true and loyal Americans have ever delighted to honor, and it is doubtful if any man serving in public capacity has worked his way forward under more diffi- cult conditions and circumstances than the present state superintendent of public instruction in Oklahoma. He often has stated that his enthusiasm for better school conditions is inspired more because of the hardships which he had to overcome than by any other one agency. He believes that no one can fully understand and appre- ciate the real problems of rural life unless he himself has faced them in childhood and youth. His spirit of helpfulness has been vitalized and accentuated by his own struggles, and in aiding others he manifests a high sense of stewardship as well as an inviolable determina- tion to spare to other aspiring young men and women the difficulties and obstacles which he himself was compelled to overcome.

In December, 1903, Mr. Wilson established his resi- dence at Chickasha, Indian Territory, and later he be- came a teacher in the public schools of that city, where he continued his efficient services in this capacity until November, 1907, when he assumed the duties of county superintendent of the public schools. Upon the organi- zation of the state government he was elected without opposition to the office of county superintendent of public instruction in Grady County, of which Chickasha is the judicial center, and of this position he continued the incumbent until January, 1911. Mr. Wilson entered upon his first race for the office of county superintendent of public instruction very much against his own wishes. He has never placed other than unduly modest estimate upon his own ability and it never had occurred to him that it would be possible for him to secure the position to which he was elected at that time. As county super- intendent of Grady County he effected the organization of seventy-one new school districts and the erection of an equal number of new school buildings. He was one of the first county superintendents in Oklahoma to organ- ize and establish consolidated and graded schools for children living in rural districts. When he assumed the office of superintendent Grady County, as a county, had no definite corps of teachers, and he forthwith applied himself to securing for the county the best possible coterie of teachers, his selections having been carefully made and his enthusiasm having inspired earnest co- operation on the part of those whose services were thus enlisted. When he left the office of county superin- tendent there were only three counties in Oklahoma that

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HISTORY OF OKLAHOMA

could claim a greater number of first-grade teachers em- ployed within their limits than could Grady County, and these other three counties had been somewhat favored through being situated in the former Oklahoma Terri- tory, while Grady County had been within the limits of Indian Territory.

In 1908 Mr. Wilson was elected president of the Oklahoma School Officers' Association, and in the follow- ing year he was elected chairman of the executive com- mittee of the Oklahoma State Teachers' Association. While the incumbent of the office of county superin- tendent of public instruction in Grady County he also served 21/2 years as a member of the board of education of the City of Chickasha.

In his first campaign for the office of state superin- tendent of public instruction Mr. Wilson was nominated by a majority of 15,000 in the primary election, and in the ensuing general election, in November, 1912, he was one of only four on the state ticket who received a ma- jority of all the votes cast, the result being that he defeated his leading opponent by a plurality of 25,000 votes. In August, 1914, Mr. Wilson was renominated for the office of state superintendent of public instruc- tion by a majority of 28,000, after having made an active campaign of only seven days' duration. On the 3d of November, after having given but one day's time to the general campaign, he was re-elected, being one of the three at the head of the ticket. On the 6th of the same month further distinction was conferred upon him, in that he was elected president of the Oklahoma State Teachers' Association by an overwhelming majority, notwithstanding his previous declaration that he did not wish his name to be presented to the association in connection with such official preferment.

Within the period of his administration as state super- intendent Mr. Wilson has endeavored to have the laws of the state so revised as to improve the rural school conditions and to assure for the rural schools a better qualified class of teachers. Through his efforts laws have been passed which have put teachers' warrants at par-a condition never previously existent in the state. He has sought to take the state educational institutions from the domination and influence of the cities in which they are situated and to make them in fact as well as in name institutions of the state at large. He has estab- lished the rule that no teacher shall be elected without first being nominated by the president or superintendent under whose administration such teacher must work. He has raised the standard of state certificates for teachers and also the requirements for county certifi- cates. He was the first to advocate the millage tax for state institutions, and recommended this measure to the Fourth Legislature. He was the first to take the stand for a cleaner class of moving-picture shows, which as properly conducted he believes may be made a valuable educational agency. Superintendent Wilson is a strong believer in the county-unit plan of school government, as he realized that justice demands that the country child shall have an equal opportunity with the child residing in the town or city. He maintains that teach- ers' certificates should be issued on the basis of breadth and thoroughness of scholarship instead of on technical examinations, which are often abortive and have slight specific significance, and he has given the assertion that during the four years of his second term as state super- intendent he will give his time largely to the improving of rural-school conditions throughout the state. He greatly favors the so-called moonlight schools and be- lieves that the state owes to the people who have been denied early educational advantages the opportunity to make good this handicap.

In politics Mr. Wilson is a staunch advocate of the Vol. III-11

principles and policies for which the democratic party has ever stood sponsor in a basic way, and though none of his immediate family has ever taken any active part in politics other than to exercise the franchise, the family name has stood for simon-pure democratic alle- giance in past as well as the present generation and he is the only representative who has ever become an aspir- ant for public office. It may consistently be said that no public officer puts in a greater number of hours of hard work than does Mr. Wilson. He and his family hold membership in the Baptist Church. He is loyal to his friends, considerate and tolerant in his judgment, with naught of intellectual bigotry, and while he never shrinks from opposition and has the courage of his convictions he is in no sense a man of bellicose tenden- cies but openly and firmly stands for the principles which he believes to be right, so that opposition cannot daunt or flattery cajole him, nor will he sacrifice con- viction for the sake of personal expediency. What Mr. Wilson has done and shall do for the advancement of the educational interests of Oklahoma will become an integral part of the history of this favored common- wealth, which shall ever owe to him and his memory a tribute of honor. Under such conditions, together with the consideration of his courtesy in acting as one of the advisory board of this History of Oklahoma, it is most gratifying to the publisher of the work to be able to incorporate within its pages this review of his career and to mark their appreciation of his services.

On the 17th of September, 1899, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Wilson to Miss Grace Womack, daugh- ter of William M. and Maggie (Blanton) Womack, of Whitewright, Texas, and they have two children- Robert Lee, who was born January 6, 1901, and Mary Grace, who was born October 16, 1909.

CHARLES HOOPES. A specially efficient corps of execu- tive officers is in charge of the affairs of the Oklahoma Railway Company, which owns and operates one of the finest electric street-car and interurban systems in the West, and of this representative corporation in Okla- homa City Charles Hoopes is secretary and auditor. He is not only one of the most alert and progressive busi- ness men of the Oklahoma capital but his popularity and influence are enhanced by his distinct civic loyalty and publie spirit.

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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