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 89

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 89

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LOUIE E. MCKNIGHT. Among the distinctively promi- nent and brilliant lawyers of the State of Oklahoma none is more versatile, talented or well equipped for the work of his profession than Louie E. McKuight, who main- tains his home and business headquarters at Anadarko, in Caddo County. Throughout his career as an able attorney and well fortified counselor he has, by reason of unimpeachable conduct and close observance of the unwritten code of professional ethics, gained the admira- tion and respect of his fellow members of the bar, in addition to which he cominands a high place in the con- fidence and esteem of his fellow citizens. Mr. McKnight has been a resident of Anadarko since 1901 and here controls a large general civil practice.

Mr. McKnight was born in Ramsey, Illinois, March 11, 1876, and is a son of Henry and Caroline (Fuller) McKnight, the former of whom was born in New Phila- delphia, Ohio, in 1840, and the latter in Massachusetts, in 1850. The MeKnight ancestors were pioneer settlers in Ohio from Scotland and the founder of the Fuller family in this country came hither from England in the Mayflower. Henry McKnight was reared to maturity in Ohio and there, at the outbreak of the Civil war, enlisted in the Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He participated in many important battles and was wounded once: he receives a pension from the Government. Shortly after the close of the war he removed to Ramsey, Illinois, and in 1887 he 'located at Caldwell, Kansas, in which latter place he is engaged in business as a contractor in rock and concrete. He is a republican in politics and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

In the public schools of Ramsey, Illinois, Louie E. McKnight received his early education. Thereafter he attended the University of Kansas, in the law depart- ment of which institution he was graduated in 1900, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He engaged in the practice of his profession at Topeka, Kansas, but in 1901 came to Anadarko, where he has since resided. Here he controls a large and lucrative general practice and it is worthy of note that he was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States in March, 1911. He served as assistant county attorney from 1901 until October, 1902, on which latter date he was appointed assistant United States attorney for Oklahoma, serving in that capacity until 1908. He is a member of the county and state bar associations and in politics is a republican. In a fraternal way he is past consul of Anadarko Lodge, No. 10025, Modern Woodmen of America; is past master of Anadarko Lodge No. 21, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; and is a member of the Valley of Guthrie Consistory, No. 1; of India Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and Anadarko Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star.

In October, 1902, at Wellington, Kansas, Mr. Me Knight married Miss Odie Wimer, a daughter of J. J. Wimer. Mr. and Mrs. McKnight have four children : Mildred, Ruth and Lloyd are all pupils in the public schools of Anadarko; and Doris is the baby at home.

OWEN W. MALONEY. Among the enterprises of Tulsa the steady growth and development of which reflect the commercial and industrial prosperity of the city, one of the foremost is the Maloney Tank Manufacturing Com- pany. This concern had its inception in Wood County, Ohio, was subsequently moved to Independence, Kansas,

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and in 1909 was brought to Tulsa, where it has enjoyed its greatest era of prosperity. The founder and direct- ing head of this company, Owen W. Maloney, inventor of the Maloney Steel Portable Bolted Tank, and now one of Tulsa's leading business citizens, was born at Meadville, Pennsylvania, June 4, 1865, and is a son of H. M. and Hannah J. (Troutman) Maloney.

H. M. Maloney was born at Meadville, Pennsylvania, and was one of the pioneers of the oil industry at Oil City and Pit Hole, Pennsylvania. In later years he removed to West Virginia, where he established himself as the proprietor of a sawmill, and continued to be en- gaged successfully in that business until the time of his death, at the age of seventy-six years. He was for many years active in Masonic circles, both in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and in political matters was a democrat. Mrs. Maloney, who was a native of Perryville, Pennsyl- vania, died some years before her husband, in 1869. They were the parents of five children: Minna, who died in infancy; Owen W. and Newton, twins, the latter of whom died as a babe; and William and Carrie, twins, the former of whom died in infancy, while the latter is now the wife of Charles Sikes.

Owen W. Maloney was a child when taken by his par- ents to West Virginia, and there, in the public schools of the Town of Milton, he received his education. He was seventeen years of age when he began working as a market gardener, but after about two years returned to Pennsylvania, and engaged in pumping wells in the oil fields of Butler County. In 1890 he found his real life work when he commenced the manufacture of oil tanks in Wood County, Ohio, under the name of Maloney Tank Manufacturing Company, continuing to operate there until 1904, when he came to the West and located at Independence, Kansas. He remained there until 1909, on November 23d of which year he came to Tulsa and established the Maloney Tank Manufacturing Company, which now has offices in Plank and Tulsa, Oklahoma, the factory being also located at Tulsa. The product of this concern consists of portable bolted steel tanks, and a specialty is made of the Maloney Steel Bolt Tank, of which Mr. Maloney is the patentee. In the development of this industry Mr. Maloney is associated with Mr. H. Ross.

On July 29, 1890, Mr. Maloney was married to Miss Linnie Jolley, who was born in Butler County, Pennsyl- vania, and to this union there have been born three sons: Roy, J. G. and Wayne. Mr. Maloney is a thirty-second degree Mason, having been made a member of Caney Lodge No. 324, A. F. & A. M., at Caney, Kansas, from which he demitted, to become a member of Delta Lodge No. 425, at Tulsa, Oklahoma. He also belongs to Tulsa Chapter No. 52, R. A. M., and Indian Consistory, and holds membership also in Lodge No. 946, of the Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a democrat in political matters. As a citizen he participates in move- ments making for civic betterment, and has always been a supporter of good government and morality.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN LAFAYETTE, a merchant of Che- cotah, is in a very true sense a pioneer of Oklahoma. He came in 1887 to the Indian Territory, and together with his brother, Moses LaFayette, opened a trading store at Fort Gibson, then a federal military post, their store operating under a federal commission. Three years later,- in 1890, Mr. LaFayette removed from Fort Gibson to Checotah, where he has since carried on a thriving mer- chandise business.

Mr. LaFayette was born at Covington, Newton County, Georgia, on February 2, 1859, and is a son of William and Sarah (Born) LaFayette. William LaFayette was a native of France, and the mother was born in Ger-

many. When their son was a small child they moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and when the Civil war broke out the father joined the Confederate army, serving throughout the war under General Hood. In 1866 he went with his family to Montgomery County, Indiana, settling in the Town of Alamo, and in 1870 they went to the City of LaFayette, Indiana. There the father died in 1876. The next year Benjamin F. and his only brother, Moses, took their widowed mother to Missouri, where Benjamin clerked in a store at Carthage until 1880, and then moved to St. Louis. For the next three years he was occupied as a traveling salesman. It was in this time. that Mr. LaFayette gathered that experience so valuable to him in the mercantile business. In 1883 the brothers, under the firm name of Lafayette & Brother, engaged in the mer- chandise business at Pierce City, Missouri, and there the mother died in 1885. Two years later they opened a federal commission store at Fort Gibson, Indian Terri- tory, and in 1890 removed to Checotah, then a small vil- lage, but one that in their eyes promised a mercantile future. Mr. LaFayette may properly be regarded as one of the builders of the community. He has been promi- nent in the civic life of the place from the beginning. He served as chairman of the board of trustees for the federal incorporation of the town, and since that has served two terms as its mayor. He has been prominently identified with many of the movements and enterprises that have very materially contributed to the growth and development of Checotah, and his interest and enthusiasm in the welfare of the place is marked. During the years that he has been here engaged in business he has enjoyed a generous measure of success, and is known as the pio- neer merchant not alone of Checotah, but of the entire eastern part of the state. In addition to his mercantile interests, he has been an extensive dealer in cotton, and today is the owner of one of the largest, if not, indeed, the largest, cotton gin in the state. Furthermore, he has. contributed largely to the agricultural development of the county. At one time he owned and controlled 208 farms, and it may be said in all sincerity that he has done more to develop the agricultural activities of the county than any other single individual. Peach and apple grow- ing has been a hobby with Mr. LaFayette and he owns today the largest peach and apple orchard in Oklahoma. He is greatly interested in the building of good roads, was active in promoting the building of Jefferson High- way, vice president of Greater McIntosh County and Jefferson Highway Association.

From early life Mr. LaFayette has been the supporter of democratic political principles, and he was a promi- nent factor in the organization of the first democratic committee in Indian Territory, serving as a member of the organization, and he was instrumental in securing the recognition of the committee on the part of the national committee. In 1900 Indian Territory 's delega- tion to the Democratic National Convention in Kansas City presented and voted Indian Territory's six votes for / Ben F. LaFayette for vice president of the United States. In 1912 he organized the first democratic club in Indian Territory.

Mr. LaFayette is a Mason, an Elk and a K. P., and has been prominent in the Odd Fellow lodge. He served as grand master, I. O. O. F., for Indian Territory in 1905 and 1906, also as a representative to the Sovereign Grand Lodge in 1906-07-08 and at present is grand marshal of the Sovereign Grand Lodge, I. O. O. F. He has served as chairman of the. board of control of the State Orphans' Home until the home passed under the control of the State Board of Education, and all his active life has he been the friend of advanced educa- tional systems in our schools.

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Miss Estelle Selig, and they have one son-Jean Paul LaFayette.

WILLIAM HAWKINS HAMPTON. Many close students and observers of municipal government are of the opinion that efficiency and worthy management of city affairs depend rather upon the personnel than upon the form of civic machinery. For a number of years the commission form of government has been very popular all over America, and its adoption has undoubtedly brought about a great advance and improvement in the administration of urban affairs. However, even under the commission form of government, the success of the plan depends upon the quality of commissioners elected. In 1911, when Oklahoma City first went under the new law and charter, there was chosen for the position of commissioner of publie property a solid and successful business man whose experience and recognized integrity and energy have been a most valuable factor in giving efficiency to the new municipal government. William Hawkins Hampton, whose name will always be identified in nmunicipal history with the office of first commissioner of public property, was born in Jackson County, Tennessee, May 6, 1859. His parents, John R. and Sarah J. (Hawkins) Hampton were both natives of the same county, and the Hampton family have lived in America for a number of generations.

Mr. Hampton was educated in the conntry schools of Tennessee, graduated from a business college at Nash- ville, and for the past thirty years has been chiefly identi- fied with the grocery business, both retail and wholesale. In 1884 he located at Springfield, Missouri, conducted a grocery business there until the fall of 1889, and then continned the same business at Louisville, Kentucky. Moving from Louisville to Nashville, Tennessee, Mr. Ilampton began traveling for a wholesale grocery house.

In 1897 Mr. Hampton located at El Reno, Oklahoma, and identified himself with the El Reno Wholesale Gro- cery Company. During the following years he filled every position except that of bookkeeper and for the last three years was general manager. In January, 1905, he brought liis broad experience in the grocery trade to Oklahoma City and lecame president and manager of the Oklahoma Commerce Company. To the development of that pros- perous business he gave his entire attention until elected a city commissioner in 1911. Mr. Hampton is still presi- dent and a director of the company, but the active man- agement is now in other hands. At the time of his elec- tion as commissioner Mr. Hampton was serving his second term as a member and was president of the Oklahoma City School Board.

As commissioner of public property in Oklahoma City, Mr. Hampton has specialized in increasing the efficiency of operation and the economical conduct of the municipal waterworks plant. Some figures covering the first three years of his service will illustrate the successful manner , in which he has performed his duties. During the year 1910, the year before Mr. Hampton took charge, thie re- ceipts of the water department aggregated $126,335.17, with the expenses of operation, $77,847.01. Similar figures of aggregate receipts and expenses of operation, respectively, for succeeding years have been: In 1911, receipts, $144,426.70, operating expenses, $69,968.23; in 1912, receints, $149,709.10, expenses, $60,384.22; in 1913, receipts, $141,119.84, expenses, $58,476.84. Figures such as these are worthy of a place in the history of any state, and a credit to any man who can take credit for them.

On May 13, 1884, Mr. Hampton was married at Celina, Texas, to Miss Nannie P. Fowler, daughter of John and Permelia .Fowler. Mrs. Hampton was a native of Jack- son County, Tennessee, where her husband was also born. They are the parents of three children, two sons and one

daughter. The oldest, Charles D., married Miss Agnes Bradley, in June, 1911; the daughter Rose is the wite of P. R. Fritz, a resident of Kansas City; and Jack, the youngest, a young man of twenty years, lives at home.

Mr. Hampton is one of the stanchest democrats in Oklahoma. He is an active member of the Christian Church, a Master Mason, with affiliations in Siloam Lodge No. 276, at Oklahoma City, and is also affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

JAMES AMBROSE CARNES. Among the educators of Oklahoma, one who has won eminent success at an age when most men are but entering upon their careers is James Ambrose Carnes, superintendent of the city schools of Comanche. A man of fine attainments, it has been his fortune and privilege to work his own way to the forefront, and the position which he now occupies is not the result of fortuitous circumstance, but of well- applied effort and merit. Mr. Carnes was born iu Van Buren County, Iowa, September 19, 1882, and is a son of George W. and Jane (Burnett) Carnes.

The grandfather of James A. Carnes, George Carnes, was the founder of the family in the United States, and was a native of Scotland. He first emigrated to South America, but subsequently came to this country, becom- ing a pioneer of the State of Iowa and the first man to drive a wagon across the state. He was a latter by trade, an occupation which he followed for many years at Keokuk, where his death occurred. George W. Carnes was born at Keokuk, Iowa, in 1851, and as a young man adopted agriculture as the field in which to devote his life's labors. He remained in Iowa until 1897, when he removed to DeWitt, Arkansas County, Arkansas, and there has been engaged in farming and stock-raising to the present time. He is a democrat in his political views. A public-spirited eitizen and stanch supporter of educa- tion, he has for many years served as a member of the school board. He belongs to Keokuk Camp, Woodmen of the World, in which he is very popular, and has numerous friends and well-wishers in his eomnmunity. Mr. Carnes married Miss Jane Burnett, who was born at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1853, and to this union there were born eight children, namely: Alvina, who is the wife of G. C. Houk, of Des Moines, Iowa, secretary for the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad; Hop, who is a farmer and stockman and resides at DeWitt, Arkansas; George, who is a banker of Winthrop, Minnesota; William, a farmer of DeWitt, Arkansas; James Ambrose, of this notice; Maude, who is the wife of D. W. Lear, a farmer of DeWitt, Arkansas; Bertha, who is the wife of Mr. Frick, a telephone man of Warren, Arkansas; and Grover, who is a graduate, class of 1915, of the law department of Leland Stanford University.

The public schools of DeWitt, Arkansas, furnished Mr. Carnes with his early educational training, and he was graduated from the high school there with the class of 1901. He then worked on his father's farm for sev- eral years, following which he resumed his rreparation for an educational career by attendance at Washita Col- lege, Arkadelphia, Arkansas. When he received his degree of Bachelor of Arts there, in 1908, he started teaching school in Arkansas, where he remained one year, eoming to Comanche in 1909 as principal of the high school. Two years later, his unusual ability as an instructor having become generally recognized, he was made superintendent of the city schools of Comanche, a position which he has retained for the past five years. Mr. Carnes has two schools under his supervision, thir- teen teachers and 525 children as students. He has not ceased his own studies, but is constantly endeavoring to

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further his knowledge, and has spent three years as a summer student in the law department of the University of Chicago, viz .: 1912, 1913, 1914. The genial urbanity and native politeness of Mr. Carnes' manners engage and captivate the good will and confidence of all with whom le comes in contact, and his pleasing address and gentle suavity draw the affections of his students magnetically toward him, securing their closest attention, easy control and ardent interest in their studies. The untiring energy, unflagging zeal and ceaseless devotion he manifests for the promotion of educational improvements are highly appreciated. As a politician, Mr. Carnes is an active democrat, and at the present time is chairman of the Democratic Club, Comanche. With Mrs. Carnes, he is a member of the Baptist Church.

In June, 1909, at Magazine, Arkansas, Mr. Carnes was married to Miss Alice Daniel, daughter of the late Dr. T. J. Daniel, who was for some years a prominent physi- cian and surgeon at Magazine. They have no children.

JAMES B. A. ROBERTSON. This history of Oklahoma exercises a specially consistent and effective function when it accords individual recognition to those who have gained secure vantage ground as representative members of the bar of the state, and to such con- sideration Judge Robertson is eminently entitled, for not only has he maintained prestige as one of the lead- ing members of the Oklahoma bar but has also served in high judicial offices and has been prominent and in- fluential in public affairs in both the territory and the state, he having been a resident of Oklahoma for nearly a quarter of a century.

Judge Robertson, who is now engaged in the active practice of his profession at Oklahoma City, was born in Keokuk County, Iowa, on the 15th of March, 1871, and thus his progressive Western spirit comes as a nat- ural heritage. He is a son of James B. A. and Clara (Wright) Robertson, the former a native of Pennsyl- vania and the latter of Ohio. They were numbered among the early pioneers of Iowa, where they estab- lished their residence in the '50s and where they played effectively their part in connection with the civic and material development and progress of the fine Hawkeye commonwealth. The father represented that state as a valiant soldier of the Union in the Civil war, in which he served as a member of the Twenty-fourth Iowa Vol- unteer Infantry.

The fifth in order of birth in a family of six sons and five daughters, Judge Robertson is indebted to the public schools of his native state for his early educa- tional discipline, and that he made good use of these opportunities is signified in the fact that when but six- teen years of age he proved his eligibility for pedagogic honors and became a successful teacher in the district schools of Iowa. Later he studied law under effective preceptorship and was duly admitted to the bar. In 1892, the judge came to the Territory of Oklahoma and established his residence at Chandler, the judicial center of Lincoln County, where he engaged in the practice of his profession and where he served for a time as county attorney. With the passing years his close application and recognized ability brought to him a substantial and representative clientage and he became known as one of the versatile and resourceful trial lawyers and well fortified counselors of Oklahoma. In 1906, while still residing at Chandler, Judge Robertson became a meni- ber of the law firm of Hoffman & Robertson, and this alliance continued until 1908, when he was appointed to the bench of the District Court of the Tenth Judicial District of the state. He served effectively in this office during 1909-10 and was then appointed a judge of Division No. 1 of the Supreme Court Commission, his Vol. III-20

assumption of this office being attended by his removal to Oklahoma City, where he has since maintained his home. He continued a valued member of the judiciary of the Supreme Court Commission from 1911 until Feb- ruary, 1914, when he resigned the office to resume the private practice of law. In 1913 he was made presiding judge of the commission and he continued the incum- bent of this position until his resignation, as previously noted. Since resuming the practice of his profession Judge Robertson has built up a large and important law business, being a member of the firm of Burford, Robertson & Hoffman.

With no fear of consistent contradiction it may be said that Judge Robertson is one of the most prominent and influential representatives of the democratic party contingent in Oklahoma and he has given zealous and effective service in the promotion of its cause and the supporting of its candidates, both local and national. He had been repeatedly a delegate to democratie county conventions and in 1908 he was delegate to the party's national convention, in the City of Denver, where he warmly supported the candidacy and nomination of Hon. William J. Bryan for President. In 1914 the judge appeared in the primary election as a democratic candidate for nomination for governor of Oklahoma, and he ran a close competitor to the successful aspirant for this nomination. In the ensuing campaign he was an active and zealous worker in the support of the nominees of the party.

. In the time-honored Masonic fraternity Judge Rob- ertson is found a prominent representative in this state, as he has completed the circle of both the York and Scottish Rites, in the latter of which he has received the thirty-second degree and in the former of which his maximum affiliation is with Chandler Commandery, Knights Templar, at Chandler, Lincoln County, besides which he is a member of India Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. The judge is even more influential in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which fraternity he is past grand mas- ter of the grand lodge of the state, besides represent- ing the Oklahoma grand lodge in the sovereign grand lodge for many years. Of this latter and distinguished organization he was elected deputy grand sire in 1914, at the meeting in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and was elected Grand Sire, without opposition, at the session held at San Francisco in September, 1915, this prefer- ment being the more notable in view of the fact that the sovereign grand lodge has supreme jurisdiction of the Odd Fellows throughout the world.

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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