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. IV, Part 104

Author: Thoburn, Joseph B. (Joseph Bradfield), 1866-1941
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 656

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. IV > Part 104

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James J. Hunter received his education in the public schools of Dallas County, Texas, being graduated from the Garland High School in the class of 1889, in the meanwhile having also prosecuted a business and com- mercial course at Garland, Texas. When he was eighteen years of age he became self-supporting, securing a posi- tion in the freight department of the Santa Fe Railroad, at Garland, Texas, with which he was connected from 1889 until 1892. In the latter year he removed to Greer County, Oklahoma, as a pioneer, there filing on a claim and working as a cowboy for several years. His claim, which consisted of 160 acres, and was located near Old Trail Crossing, in the vicinity of Warren, he retained until 1905 and then sold at a handsome figure. Mr. Hunter entered the laundry business at Mangum, in 1903, and continued there for nearly a year when, believing opportunities to be more attractive at Hobart, he moved to this rapidly-growing little city. Here he established his present laundry business in partnership with Geo. W. Caldwell, this being now located in a handsome, modern plant at 316-318 Washington Street, and being the only steam laundry in Kiowa County. As a business man, Mr. Hunter has impressed himself upon his associates as an alert, progressive, energetic business man, of sound, practical judgment and enlightened views. He has been successful in the development of a substantial and pay- ing business, generally accepted as one of the estab- lished institutions of Hobart and filling an accepted place in the life of the people. He is also identified with a number of other ventures and is a director in the Hobart Building and Loan Association.

A democrat in his political views, Mr. Hunter has always taken an active interest in civic . and political affairs, and his record as a public official is an excellent one. After serving on the school board for two terms and as a member of the city council of Hobart for a like period, in 1914 he was chosen to complete the un-

expired term of Mayor R. B. Ash, and acquitted himself so efficiently in that capacity that in 1915 he was elected to the mayoralty for a term of two years. He has already shown himself possessed of an earnest and con- scientious desire to contribute to the welfare of his com- munity in every way, as well as the ability to carry his plans through to a successful issue. Mayor Hunter is a member of the Christian Church. His fraternal connec- tions include membership in the Modern Woodmen of America, in which he has been banker of the Hobart Lodge for one term; Hobart Lodge No. 2775, Brother- hood of American Yeomen, in which he is past foreman; and Hobart Lodge No. 881, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

In March, 1898, while a resident of Mangum, Okla- homa, Mayor Hunter was united in marriage with Miss Eulalia Smith, daughter of the late Dr. Sanders J. Smith, formerly a physician of Martha, Oklahoma, who is now deceased. Eight children have been born to this union, namely: Miss Ruth, who is a sophomore in the Hobart High School; Miss Tina, who is a member of the freshman class at the same institution; Irma, Byron, Marguerite and Lenora, who are attending the graded schools; and Lovena and Mary Nell.

HON. J. ROSS BAILEY. In 1912 the citizens of Hughes County chose one of the most capable younger members of the local bar to the office of county judge. Judge Bailey is now serving his second term in that office and his administration has been marked by progressiveness and efficiency in all departments at the same time by proper economy of resources, and has been of special benefit to the fiscal welfare of the county.

Judge Bailey is a graduate in law from the Texas University Law School, and has been in practice in Okla- homa for the past nine years. He was born at Lin- dale in Smith County, Texas, November 16, 1884, a son of J. B. and Emily (Copeland) Bailey. His father was born in Smith County, Texas, in December, 1850, while his mother was born near Chattanooga, Tennes- see, in 1852. She was reared in Texas, and both parents are still living at Lindale, where the father is a farmer and fruit grower, and has long been actively interested in local politics. For fifteen years he was superin- tendent of the Convict Farm in Smith County. Judge Bailey is the oldest of six children. His sister Stella is the widow of Leslie Sikes and lives at home with her parents. Rena is the wife of Dr. J. T. Landum of Holdenville, Oklahoma; Lurlene is the wife of Sid Lowe of Holdenville; W. S. Bailey lives in Lindale; J. B. Jr. is at home with his parents.

J. Ross Bailey grew up on his father's farm in Smith County, Texas, and lived there until 1900. In April of that year he graduated from the high school at Lin- dale and soon afterward entered the University of Texas, beginning with the fall term of 1900. At the university he pursued both the academic and the law courses, and in June, 1907, was graduated with the well earned degrees Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Law. In the fall of 1907, coming to Oklahoma, he was admitted to practice at Chickasha, and for one year was an agent in the United States Indian service.

In December, 1909, Judge Bailey moved to Holden- ville and for a year and a half was deputy county attor- ney under W. P. Langston. He then became a mem- ber of the law firm of Crump, Skinner & Bailey, and his qualifications as an attorney were quickly recog- mized. In November, 1912, he was elected county judge of Hughes County, beginning his official duties January 1, 1913. In 1914 he was re-elected and has now served more than a year of his second term. Judge Bailey has been a democrat ever since casting his first vote. In

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Masonry he has attained the thirty-second degree of Scottish Rite and belongs to the Indian Consistory No. 2 at McAlester.

SAMUEL H. LITTLE. One of the old names in America today is that of Little, the family having been established in the South in early colonial times, and being identified with American history in a worthy manner from that time down to the present date. The house of Little supplied many of the pioneers that have figured so prominently in the development of the new places within our borders and much history has been written around certain picturesque and immortal souls connected with this family, as a result of their lives of aggressive and progressive activities.

Samuel H. Little has carried the pioneer spirit that dominated his ancestors into one of the most recent developed sections of our country. He came to Custer County, Oklahoma, a pioneer in the best sense of the word, and from then to now he has been identified in a creditable manner with the development of this district. He is mayor of Custer City, aud president of the Peoples State National Bank, and altogether, is one of the fore- most men in the county today. He was born in Lincoln County, Tennessee, on November 5, 1858, and is a son of Samuel and Sarah (Jones) Little.

Samuel Little is a uative son of North Carolina, born there in 1810, and he died in Lincoln County, Tennessee, in 1888. From North Carolina he moved to Smith County, Tennessee, and then to Lincoln County, where he was married, and where he speut the remainder of his life. He was a successful farming man and stockgrower, and was a leader in his community all his days. He was a rela- tive of Daniel Booue, that historic old character, and was himself an interesting raconteur of pioneer tales. He was a lifelong member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and was for forty years a steward in its service. He was married to Sarah Jones in 1840. She was born in Ten- nessee in 1820 and died in that state in 1898.

The son of these worthy people, Samuel H. Little of this review, attended the common schools of Lincoln County, Tennessee, in seeking the elements of an educa- tion. Beyond that his educational advantages were neg- ligible. He remained on the home farm with his parents until he was twenty-two years old, and from 1880 to 1900 he farmed on his own responsibility in Lin- coln County.

The year 1900 saw Mr. Little's advent into Custer City, Oklahoma, where he was drawn by the irresistible call of a new country to a man of pioneer ancestry and instincts. He filed on a government claim of 160, six miles southeast of Custer City, lived on it until 1904 and sold it advantageously. He then moved to Elk City, where he held an interest in the telephone exchange there until 1906, and in that year he went to Deaf Smith County, Texas, and operated a ranch for two years. In 1908, however, he returned to Custer City, and here he engaged in cattle buying and selling. He is still active in that line, though his numerous other interests make heavy demands upon his time and attention. In the same year of his return to Custer City, Mr. Little entered the Peoples State National Bank in an official capacity, and since 1909 he has held the office of president of that in- stitution. The bank was organized in 1903 as the Peoples State Bank, under the direction and manage- ment of C. O. Leeka and the Messrs. Peckham. In 1911 it was nationalized under the name of the Peoples State National Bank. Its present officers are as follows: Mr. Little, president; vice-presidents, Dr. K. D. Gossom and G. G. Hostutler; cashier, Tom Chatburn, and assistant-

cashier, Herman Klinger. The bank has a capital stock of $25,000, and a surplus of $5,000.

Aside from his banking activities, Mr. Little owns and operates an extensive livery business in Custer City. He is the owner of some real estate in the city, and has au interest in a fine farm in the county. He recently dis- posed of a part of his farm property.

Mr. Little is a democrat, and he has served the city two years as a member of its council. In the spring of 1915 he was elected to the office of mayor on the democratic ticket, and is now filling that office in a highly creditable manner. He is a member of the Primitive Baptist Church, and he is a Mason and a Wood- man of the World. His Masonic affiliations are with Custer Lodge No. 258, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and is past master of that lodge.

Mr. Little was married in 1877 in his native state, to Miss Maggie George, who died in 1899, the mother of five children. They are: Samuel Jesse, a practicing physician in Minco, Oklahoma; John Lee, a farmer in Custer City; J. B., similarly occupied here; W. P., a hardware merchant in this city; Thomas Boone, a Custer County farming man.

In 1902 Mr. Little was married in Custer County, to Miss Anna Chalfant, daughter of W. F. Chalfant, a prominent farmer of the county, now deceased. Two children were born to them: Helen and Aaron, both attending school in Custer City.

The Littles have a pleasant home in Custer City, and enjoy the friendship of a wide circle of the best people in the county. They are prominently identified with the leading social activities of their community, and are reckoned to be representative people in the city and county.

DR. CHARLES E. HOUSER. America has lately been designated in a celebrated cartoon as "The Melting Pot That Wouldn't Melt. " Whatever the truth of that state- ment may be, every thinking individual can locate in his mind one or more instances to prove the contrary-that foreign blood will, with the passing of time, melt into genuine American citizenship. This is notably true in the case of the Houser family, of German ancestry, coming to American shores in Revolutionary times, and identified with America and her history down through the changing years, to the present day.

Dr. Charles E. Houser, practicing physician and surgeon of Vici, Oklahoma, is a representative of that family. He was born in Putnam, Illinois, March 18, 1860, and is the son of Jolin Houser, born in Ohio in 1836, and the grandson of Phillip Houser, born in Pennsylvania in 1804.

Phillip Houser moved from his native state to Ohio and thence to Missouri, where he was a pioneer stock raiser and general farmer. He was a successful man, and a man who was held in general high esteem through- out his section of the country. He died in 1864. His son, John Houser, moved out of his native state, Ohio, and settled in Putnam, Illinois, when he was still a very young man. He married in Putnam, and in the year 1866 he made his way with his family to Missouri and settled in Mercer County. He lived there, engaged in rural pur- suits, until 1894, when he went to Texas. Five years later he left that state and came to Oklahoma, settling in Dewey County, on a homestead tract of 160 acres. This land he sold after he had proven title to the satis- faction of the government, and at the present time he is living on his farm one mile east of Vici. This is a well cultivated tract of 120 acres, which he acquired soon after he had disposed of his government land. He has been a farmer and stockman all his life, and has

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always enjoyed a great deal of success in that line. He is a Mason, and in politics is republican.

Mr. Houser married Nancy Bailey, born in New York State in 1833. She died in Mercer County, Missouri, in 1880, leaving four children, the eldest of them being Doctor Houser of this review. Morris L., the second born, is a farmer and lives nine miles southeast of Vici. Oswin W. is also an Oklahoma farmer, and Wil- liams B. has a fine farm adjoining that of his father, one mile to the east of Vici.

Charles E. Houser attended the public schools in Mercer County, Missouri, and was graduated from the high school in Lineville, Iowa, with the class of 1880. Following that he studied telegraphy and was with the Metropolitan Lines in Chicago for two years, and later was assistant to the operator at Lineville, Iowa, for the Rock Island Road. Each of these positions gave him a valuable experience. In 1881 he became engaged in teaching and for the next eight years he was occupied in the teach- ing profession in the public schools of Missouri and Kansas. In 1889 he began the study of medicine in the Keokuk Medical College, and he was graduated with the class of 1891, degree of M. D. In the same year he estab- lished a practice in Millgrove, Missouri, where he remained until 1896. He then located in Marion, Missouri, spend- ing two years there, and in 1898 he settled in Aulville, Missouri, where he was occupied professionally until 1906. It was in that year that he severed connections with that community and came to Vici, where he has since been engaged in practice along general medical and surgical lines. He has his offices in the Houser Build- ing, on Broadway.

Doctor Houser has augmented his training by a post- graduate course in the Chicago Medical College and Polyclinic, and has constantly studied to keep abreast of the times in his profession, so that he is one of the best equipped medical men to be found in this section of the state.

In 1912 Doctor Houser, a republican in politics, was appointed under President Taft, postmaster of Vici, which office he held until August, 1914. He is a mem- ber of numerous fraternal orders, prominent among them being the Masonic order, in which he has Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and Eastern Star affiliations. Other fraternal societies in which he has membership are the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Gentry, Missouri; the Modern Woodmen of America, Vici Camp No. 11310, and the Mystic Workers, of Aulville, Missouri. He was at one time a member of the Knights of Pythias, but has lately withdrawn from that order. In all these societies Doctor Houser is prominent and popular, and he has a wide circle of friends in and about the city.

Doctor Houser was married in Ravenna, Missouri, in 1896, to Miss Dora E. Coates, daughter of Jesse Coates, a farming man of Kansas, now deceased. One child has been born to Doctor and Mrs. Houser-Jessie Gwendolyn, born March 5, 1902. She is now a student in the Vici High School.

REV. DENZIL CLARKE LEES. In the Episcopal ministry of Oklahoma, a name which is becoming well and widely known is that of Rev. Denzil Clarke Lees, rector of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church at Enid. Still a young man, he has gained a distinguished position, not alone as a minister of the gospel, but as an author of articles on Palestine and Syria, and as a lecturer whose services are constantly in demand on the platform.

Doctor Lees was born October 22, 1884, at Clayton West, Yorkshire, England, and is a son of the Rev. G. Robinson Lees, M. A., F. R. G. S., now vicar of St. Saviour's Church at Brixton Hill, London, England.

The latter was born October 19, 1858, in Yorkshire, England, where his father, Ezra Lees, was a manufac- turer of cloth, and was given good educational advan- tages, graduating from the University of Durham, England, and at the age of twenty-three years adopting the profession of teaching. After two years thus spent at London, he was appointed to the principalship of a college in Jerusalemi, where he was stationed for six years, and at the same time carried on explorations for the Royal Geographical Society of England. He is the discoverer of a Roman road across Southern Bashan, as shown now on the maps of Palestine and Syria. On leaving Jerusalem, Reverend Lees returned to England, where he took up theological work, entering the ministry of the Church of England, and progressing until he became vicar of St. Saviour's Parish. In 1914 he toured the United States, lecturing on the Chautauqua platform, in this way becoming personally acquainted to those who had known him before as the author of six different works on Palestine and Syria. Reverend Lees was mar- ried in 1882 to Miss Edith Ann Clarke, who was born in 1863, in Yorkshire, England, and died in Jerusalem in 1888. She was a woman of deep religious convictions and while she lived was of the greatest assistance to her husband. Two children were born to this union: Denzil Clarke and Victor Robinson, who was born May 29, 1887, in London, England, and died in Jerusalem, July 8, 1888.

Denzil Clarke Lees was educated at Christ's College, London, and next entered Cambridge University, where he applied himself to the study of theology. In 1910 he came to America, locating first in Canada, where for two years he was engaged in missionary work in the Protestant Episcopal Church, and in 1912 came to the United States, having been called to the Oklahoma Diocese to work as a missionary under Bishop Brooke. Stationed at Alva, in charge of the missions at that place, Woodward and Carmen, he continued in this capac- ity until July 1, 1915, when he was appointed rector of St. Matthew's Protestant Episcopal Church at Enid. Doctor Lees, who has endeared himself to every man, woman and child in the large district under his control, is a man of varied gifts. He is an eloquent preacher, and as a speaker for national and other gatherings is in request to an extent that it is not possible for him to gratify, and his lectures on the life and customs in Palestine and Syria, where he lived five years, have been heard and enjoyed by thousands. A thirty-second degree Mason, he is widely known as a speaker upon Masonic topics.

On December 25, 1912, Reverend Lees was united in marriage with Miss Monica Daisy Lloyd, Reverend and Mrs. Lees are the parents of one daughter, Jane Marie Monica, who was born November 23, 1913.

COLONEL L. CLAY. As a lawyer and as president of the Kiowa County Abstract Company, Col. L. Clay lias been an active factor in the life of this section of Okla- homa since the opening of the country to settlement fifteen years ago. His family were among the Oklahoma eighty-niners, and as a boy he attended some of the first public schools opened in the original Oklahoma Territory.

For the origin of his family in America it is neces- sary to go back four generations to his great-grandfather who ran away from his home in England and came to America with Burgoyne's army during the American Revolution. He was takeu prisoner by the Americans when Burgoyne was forced to surrender in Northern New York, and as he had been fighting more for a spirit of , adventure than as a matter of principle, he soon after- wards deserted the English and during the rest of the war fought on the American side. After the war he settled in New York State, and his descendants have

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since been identified with a number of western states and territories.

Col. L. Clay was born in Charlotte, Michigan, Decem- ber 31, 1875, a son of Charles E. and Louisa Clay. His father was born in Auburn, New York, in 1824, and died at Kingfisher, Oklahoma, in 1890. The mother was born in 1838 and died at Kingfisher in 1902. From Auburn, New York, Charles E. Clay removed to Charlotte, Michi- gan, was married there and in 1889 participated in the opening of the original Oklahoma Territory, first locating at Guthrie, and in the spring of 1890 removing to King- fisher, where he secured and began as a farmer and stock- man, his career being soon cut short by death. He was a member of the United Brethren Church and in politics a democrat. Colonel L. was the second in a family of three children. The oldest is Evaline I., wife of Charles A. Perry, a machinist living at Charlotte, Michigan, while the youngest is Lacy H., a jeweler at Drumright, Oklahoma.

Col. L. Clay attended the public schools one winter in Guthrie, Oklahoma, and after that was a student in the public schools of Kingfisher, until graduating from the high school there. He grew up on his father's farm near Kingfisher until 1899, and in the meantime had pur- sued a course of law studies in Col. John T. Bradley's office at Kingfisher and was admitted to the Oklahoma bar April 26, 1899, and admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the territory February 5, 1903.

Beginning in 1899 he was in practice at Weatherford, Oklahoma, for a year and a half, then returned to King- fisher and was a partner with D. K. Cunningham until August 6, 1901, and on that date located as one of the pioneer attorneys at Hobart. Mr. Clay continued to prac- tice law at Hobart until 1904, and has since given his chief attention to the abstract business, being president of the Kiowa County Abstract Company. The vice presi- dent and treasurer of this company is W. B. Cuppy, and the secretary is John R. Williams. The offices are in the Abstract Building, which is owned by the company, and they maintain the only complete set of abstracts for Kiowa County.

Outside of his business Mr. Clay has been active in political affairs and is especially prominent in Masonry. He is a democrat, and in the fall of 1899 was elected city attorney of Weatherford, serving one year until he resigned. He is now secretary of the County Elec- tion Board of Kiowa County, and has held that office since statehood. In Masonry he is past master of Hobart Lodge No. 198, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; is thrice illustrious master of Hobart Council No. 322, Royal and Select Masters; a member of Hobart Chapter No. 37, Royal Arch Masons; is past eminent commander of Hobart Commandery No. 15, Knights Templars. He also belongs to India Temple of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine at Oklahoma City, and other affiliations are with Hobart Lodge No. 881, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks in which he is exalted ruler, and with the Knights and Ladies of Security.

On December 31, 1902, at Hobart Mr. Clay married Miss Edna Finley. Her father was the late Judge Harris Finley, who was the first county judge of Kiowa County after that jurisdiction was organized. Mr. and Mrs. Clay have three children: Lillian Irene, Donis Louise and Leslie Bruce, all of whom are students in the public schools at Hobart.

HARRY C. CYPHERS. One of the most complex, intri- cate and interesting studies among the Choctaw Indians relates to the matter of ancestry and heirship. The problematic phase of the study arises from the character of the records that were kept for several generations in the tribal government, and the lack of records in many

cases. Issues involving Indian heirship are matters of daily encounter in business dealings, for practically every business transaction of the Indian requires a research into the records that show his standing in the tribe. In addition to the intricate records as a hindrance to business transactions the lack of business capacity in the average Indian and his almost utter disregard of the golden rule, present a problem to the other parties to such transactions. For instance, there are cases where Indians have made transfers to the number of twelve to fifteen times, involving the identical parcel of property, receiving a consideration in each case, and each trans- action, of course, adding something to the density of the cloud on the title. Clouded titles have been a bar to what would otherwise have been a profitable business to firms and individuals dealing in farm mortgages.

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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: 656

Author: Thoburn, Joseph B. (Joseph Bradfield), 1866-1941
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 656