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 18
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From the foregoing it will be seen that great strides have been made in the improvement of agricultural con- ditions under the able supervision of Mr. Yoakum in one short year and at this rate what he will accomplish in the future is almost beyond comprehension. His success is due to his untiring efforts as combined with his expert knowledge of methods and his thorough familiarity with the territorial conditions as they exist in this county. Although he has but a small section of the state under his jurisdiction his work is proving a stimulant to farm- ers in other sections and a general improvement in agri- cultural affairs is going on throughout the state. Okla- homa farmers have a great friend in him and they are showing their appreciation of his efforts by working in hearty co-operation with his ideas.
At Dustin, Indian Territory, was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Yoakum to Miss Annie Dudley, in 1906. Three children have been born to this union, namely : Muzette, Kenneth and Juanita.
Mr. Yoakum fraternizes with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has filled all the chairs includ- ing Noble Grand, and he is likewise a member of the Anti-Horse Thief Association. Formerly he was a mem- ber of the Farmers Union and for a time was business manager of that organization in Hughes County. He is a man of high-minded principles and one who is ever anxious and willing to lend a helping hand to a fellow man in distress. His residence is at Coalgate and there he commands the high esteem of all who know him.
CLARENCE H. TINGLEY. A young man whose study and experience has made him proficient in the domain of electrical engineering of practical order, Mr. Tingley not only had the supervision of the construction of the electric light and power plant and waterworks system in the thriving little industrial town of Sand Springs, Tulsa County, but has served as superintendent of the plant from the time of its completion and has also been further honored in being chosen the first mayor of the thriving little city after its incorporation, in which office he served two terms.
Clarence Harvey Tingley was born in Sullivan County, Missouri, on the 26th of November, 1881, and is a son of William Thomas and Mary Matilda (Kelley) Ting- ley, who are still residents of that state, their marriage having been solemnized in Sullivan County, where Mrs. Tingley was born and reared. William T. Tingley was born on his father's farm in Trumbull County, Ohio, in the year 1845, and the place of his nativity now in- cludes a considerable portion of the fine little City of Warren, the judicial center of the county and one of the thriving and attractive industrial centers of the his-
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torie old Western Reserve. William T. Tingley was a boy at the time of his parents' removal to Kansas, in the late '40s, and his father became one of the early pioneer . farmers of that state. There William T. was reared to maturity, his educational advantages being those offered by the pioneer schools, and there he even- tually engaged in farming and stock-growing in an inde- pendent way. Finally he removed to Sullivan County, Missouri, where he purchased tracts of hardwood timber and engaged in the manufacturing of lumber. He de- veloped a prosperous business and became one of the successful men of affairs in that section. He finally removed to Putnam County, where he and his wife still reside. They became the parents of six children, all of whom are living, and of the number the subject of this sketch was the third in order of birth.
He whose name introduces this article acquired his early education in the public schools of Putnam County, Missouri, and as a lad he began to assist in the work of his father's saw mill. When seventeen years of age he put his scholastic attainments to practical use by engaging in teaching in the district schools, and he de- voted two terms to such service in the pedagogic profes- sion. He then served a practical apprenticeship in the plant of the electric power and light company at Union- ville, the county seat of Putnam County, and he contin- ued in the service of this company seven years. He then found employment in the testing department of the establishment of the Maxwell Motor Company, manu- facturers of automobiles, at Newcastle, Indiana, and after having been thus engaged about one year he came, in 1909, to Oklahoma, and established his residence at Tulsa, where he served about nine months as city elec- trician. He then engaged in the automobile business in that city, where he conducted a well appointed garage until April 26, 1911, when he removed to Sand Springs to take charge of the construction of the municipal light, power and water plant, of which he has been superin- tendent since the same was placed in active operation. He was elected the first mayor of the ambitious young city and has retained this office by successive re-elections to the time of this writing, with ardent desire to do all in his power to further the development and progress of the town and to promote the best interests of the community in general. At Unionville, Missouri, Mr. Tingley is still affiliated with Unionville Lodge, No. 210, Ancient Free & Accepted Masons, and he holds member- ship also in the Knights of Pythias. He was reared in the faith of the democratic party and is aligned as a staunch advocate of its principles.
Mr. Tingley was married September 14, 1904, to Miss Laura Torrey and they have two children: Edison and Clarence H., Jr.
L. VARNER STINSON. The Oklahoma Legislature of 1915 passed a law providing a method by which public highways might be constructed in every county in the state. The law made it possible for townships to vote bonds for highway purposes and created the county and township machinery for carrying on the work. That part of the state formerly included within the limits of In- dian Territory was particularly in need of such a law by reason of the fact that so small a percentage of lands were taxable for any purpose, Congress having pro- vided that lands remaining in possession of most Indians should not be taxable for twenty-one years from the date of the passage of the Oklahoma Enabling Act. Until the highway act became effective it was possible to construct only a few miles of highway in a county. Private subscription, which was usually meagre, was the only method of raising road funds in many commu- nities. In Bryan County, where only 42 per cent of
the lands are taxable, road work began in earnest in 1915, when the county commissioners designated County Surveyor L. Varner Stinson as county engineer. From 10 per cent to 15 per cent of the highway built in a county are designated as state highways and one-half the expense of construction is borne by the state, while the county engineer makes the necessary surveys, draw- ings, plats, specifications, etc.
L. Varner Stinson was well qualified for the work of county engineer, being a graduate in civil engineering from the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas and having had several years of experience in field work. Another qualification lay in the fact that he had for eight years been surveyor of the county, being the only man to fill that office since statehood. During those eight years he had been the commissioners' engineer in the construction of all highways, bridges and other work of an engineering nature.
Mr. Stinson was born at Campbell, Hunt County, Texas, September 27, 1880, and is a son of A. W. D. and Ida (Eiland) Stinson. His father, a native of Texas, is now sixty-seven years of age, but is still actively en- gaged in the real estate business at Durant, Oklahoma, where he is a member of the city council and a leading and influential citizen. His grandfather was a lawyer and jurist of more than local note for many years in East Texas. The mother of Mr. Stinson was a native of Georgia and at the age of fifteen years accompanied lier parents to Texas, the family traveling 100 miles overland from Terrell, the nearest railroad point, to their new home in Hunt County. There were three sons and four daughters in the family: L. Varner; Samuel D., who is agent at Durant for the American and Wells Fargo Express companies; Mrs. B. W. Bussell, who is the wife of a public school principal at Durant; John D., who is an express messenger for the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad between Fort Worth and San Antonio; Miss Ruth, who is a music teacher and student at Dallas, Texas; Miss Esther, a graduate of the South- eastern State Normal School, class of 1915, and now a public school teacher of McAlester, Oklahoma; and Miss Lois, aged fourteen years, who resides with her parents at Durant.
L. Varner Stinson, after attending the public schools of Texas until nineteen years of age, moved with his parents to Indian Territory, and for a year the family lived on a farm near Durant, the son being a student at Halsell College, Durant, for two years. In 1901 he entered the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, from which he was graduated in 1904, and for a year thereafter was employed in the maintenance de- partment of the Santa Fe Railroad Company, at Beau- mont, Texas. Later he assisted in surveying the route of the Beaumont, Sour Lake & Western Railroad from Beaumont to Houston, and still later assisted in the con- struction of that road. Returning to Oklahoma, he was employed by the Gulf Pipe Line Company in the location of a line through Texas, and in 1907 was elected the first county surveyor of Bryan County, Oklahoma.
In December, 1910, Mr. Stinson was married to Miss Julia Kyser, of Durant. Mr. and Mrs. Stinson are mnen- bers of the Baptist Church. He is popular with his fel- low-members in the Masonic and Elks lodges, and in the State Association of County Surveyors and Engineers.
PAUL E. BURNEY. Thero is probably no better known family in the Chickasaw Nation than that which bears the name of Burney, a family that has made history for this part of Oklahoma and the members of which have held important positions in business and the pro- fessions, as well as in public life. A worthy representa- tive of this old and honored name among the Chickasaws
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is found in the person of Paul E. Burney, assistant cashier of the First National Bank of Woodville, Okla- homa, and a young man who is living up to the best traditions of the name he bears.
Ben C. Burney, the father of Paul E. Burney, was born of Chickasaw parentage, in Mississippi, and his father was killed on a steamboat on the Red River when the Chickasaws were removing from that state to their new western homes. Ben C. Burney became one of the most influential men in the Nation, which he represented at Washington, D. C., and of which he was the governor for a number of years after the location of the Nation in Indian Territory, and at one time had 70,000 acres of land under his control. He married a member of the prominent Gaines family, of the Chickasaws, and they became the parents of the following children: Ella, who is deceased; Ada, also deceased; Ben B., who is county treasurer of Marshall County, Oklahoma; Paul E., of this notice; and Arvilla, who is the wife of R. E. Me- Gongh, who is engaged in farming and stock raising operations in the vicinity of Aylesworth.
Paul E. Burney was born on the old Burney home- stead place near Aylesworth, Oklahoma, June 17, 1886. His education was secured at the Chickasaw Rock Academy at Wapanucka, Harley Institute at Tishimingo, Hargrove College at Ardmore and the University Prepar- atory School at Tonkawa, and at the last-named institu- tion secured the business training which has enabled him to fill the important position which he now holds. After leaving school, Mr. Burney engaged in farming and raising stock until his election in 1910 to the office of county clerk of Marshall County, a position in which he established an excellent record for faithful and capa- ble service. At the end of his term he came to Woodville and accepted the position as assistant eashier of the First National Bank, which he has retained to the pres- ent time. He bears a reputation for integrity and probity that has gained him the confidence of the people of his adopted place, and among his associates is known as a young man of much business and financial ability.
In 1913 occurred the marriage of Mr. Burney with Miss Myrtle Watterson, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. J. O. Watterson, of Woodville, Doctor Watterson, who is now deceased, was for twenty years a well known physician and surgeon of this place. Mrs. Burney was educated in the public schools of Woodville and at Olympia, Washington, and is a lady of many accom- plishments, being, like her husband, a general favorite at Woodville. They are the parents of two sons: Paul E., Jr., and Ben B., Jr. Mr. Burney is a thirty-second degree Mason, a member of the Shriners at Oklahoma City, the Knights Templar at Ardmore, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Ardmore, the Knights of Pythias at Madill, the Woodmen of the World at Cum- berland, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Woodville.
JOHN BENTON DUDLEY. With the qualifications of a lawyer of sound learning and long and successful experi- ence, the appointment of John Benton Dudley to the Supreme Court Commission in April, 1915, by Governor Williams was regarded with peculiar satisfaction by all interested in the workings of that commission and not alone by the republican party, of which Mr. Dudley is the only representative on the commission. He has been in practice at Norman for fifteen years, and stands high among the bar of the entire state. He is now chairman of the executive council of the Oklahoma State Bar Association, and is a member of the Cleveland County and the American Bar Association.
A native of Tennessee, he was born at Lobelville
December 20, 1877. The Dudley family came from Scot- land and located in North Carolina during colonial days. George W. Dudley, his father, was born in North Caro- lina in 1847, grew up and married in that state, and shortly after his marriage moved to Tennessee, where he became a farmer and stock raiser and died at Lobel- ville in 1888. He was an active member of the Chris- tian church and in politics a democrat. The maiden name of his wife was Charlotte Greer, who was born in Tennessee in 1853 and died in that state in 1890. Their children were: Ida, who died unmarried at the age of twenty ; W. H. Dudley, a farmer at Lobelville; John Benton; W. S. Dudley, a farmer at Lobelville; Ada, wife of Clint Shepard, a farmer at Lobelville; George M., who is in the railroad shops at Amarillo, Texas.
John Benton Dudley was only ten years of age when he lost his father and shortly afterwards was made an orphan by the death of his mother. He grew up in his native section of Tennessee, and after finishing a high school course at Lobelville paid his way by teaching for about four years in his native state. In 1896 he was graduated Bachelor of Science from the State Normal School at Dickson, Tennessee, and thus continued his work in educational lines for one year. Entering the Southern College of Law at Nashville, he gained his degree LL. B. in 1900.
In 1901 Mr. Dudley came West and established his home and practice at Norman, Oklahoma, and his law offices are now in the Walsh Building at Norman.
For three years, 1903-05, Mr. Dudley served as city attorney of Norman. He was a member of the Norman School Board five years, and has considerable business interests, being a director of the First National Bank of Noble and a stockholder in the First National Bank of Norman. Fraternally he is affiliated with Purcell Lodge No. 1260, Benevolent and Protective Order Elks, with Norman Lodge No. 38, American Free and Accepted Masons, with Norman Chapter 24, R. A. M, with Norman Commandery No. 38, Knights Temp- lar, with India Temple of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine at Oklahoma City, and has taken fourteen degrees in the Scottish Rite in the Valley of Guthrie Consistory No. 1. He also belongs to Norman Lodge No. 7 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
In December, 1905, at Norman Mr. Dudley married Miss Maud Wingate. Her father was the late W. W. Wingate, a miller and grain dealer. They are the par- ents of two children : Paul, born December 11, 1907; and J. B. Jr., born November 16, 1911.
ARTHUR R. GARRETT is county attorney of Grier County and has been a regular practitioner here in the courts since 1888. His career has been a varied one, and he has risen mainly by his own efforts to his present position. Born in Campbell County. Georgia, on May 27, 1859, he is a son of Lemuel L. Garrett, of Irish ancestry, the family having originally come from Ireland to North Carolina, and a branch of it drifting into Georgia. Lemuel Garrett was born in Campbell County, Georgia, in 1829, and he died in Savannah in 1854. He was a farmer up till the outbreak of the Civil war, when he was one of the first company that was formed in Georgia for serviee in the Southern army. In 1864, while in the service, he contracted typhoid and died in Savannah, as previously noted. He was a member of the Baptist Church and of the Masonic fraternity. In young man- hood he married Martha Cash, born in Campbell County in 1829, and she died there in 1900. They were the parents of six children. C. C., the eldest died in Douglas County, Georgia, when he was a practicing physician and surgeon. Menesia C. married E. C. Lewis, farmer, and
Ch Garrett
-
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they live in Comanche County, Oklahoma. M. L. lives in - Tishomingo, Oklahoma, and is a practicing attorney. He is also United States Indian Commissioner. S. B. resides in Altus, Oklahoma, where he is engaged in the practice of law. Arthur R. of this review was the fifth born. A. S. lives in Springtown, Texas, and is a success- ful physician and surgeon.
Arthur R. Garrett was reared on his father's home farm in Campbell County, Georgia, to the age of eight- een, and in 1877 he went to Coryell County, Texas, where he worked on a farm for eight months. He went from there to Wise County, Texas, farmed for about six months, and then returned to the family home in Georgia, where he spent a year. He then went back to Texas, settling in Smith County, and then moved to Palo Pinto County, Texas, where he taught school for six years. In 1887 Mr. Garrett came to Grier County, then a part of Texas, and there opened the first public school ever held in what is now the State of Oklahoma, conducting a small school in a dug-out with about twenty-five pupils. It was while thus engaged that he undertook the study of law, and in 1888 was admitted to the bar before Judge Frank Willis. In the same year he began practice in Mangum, and has carried on a general prac- tice here ever since.
In 1912 Mr. Garrett was elected to the office of county attorney on the democratic ticket, and in 1914 was re- elected to another term of two years. He has his- offices in the courthouse. He is a member of the County and State Bar Associations, and has been active in county and state conventions of the democratic party, whose man he has always been.
Mr. Garrett is a member of the Methodist Church, and he is fraternally associated with the Elks and the Masons. In the latter he is a member of Mangum Lodge No. 61, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of which he served as master for five years, and of Mangum Chapter No. 35, Royal Arch Masons.
In 1878 Mr. Garrett was married in Wise County, Texas, to Miss Kate Argo, a native of Campbell County, Georgia. She died on July 4, 1898, in Mangum, leaving six children. They are Hattie, who married S. L. Lanier, and lives on a farm north of Granite, Oklahoma; Chester, a farmer in Missouri; Coke, living on his father's 500- acre ranch near Granite; Clytie, who married P. W. Lee, and lives on a farm in the vicinity of Granite; Ross and Paul, both living on their father's ranch.
Mr. Garrett married on December 7, 1899, Miss Jessie H. Hart, daughter of James S. Hart, a farmer of Man- gum. Three children have been born to this union. Rada is a sophomore in the Mangum High School, and Agnes and Foster attend the grade schools of the city.
JOHN EDWARDS CAMPBELL. Undoubtedly one of the noble and uplifting emotions of mankind is pride of ancestry, this cherishing of a heritage leading to emula- tion, and through it families have perpetuated great deeds as well as famous names. No matter how a man may have prospered through his individual efforts, he is never beyond feeling that inward dignity that comes from a realization of being well-born, of having a family background of stable ancestry. There are some historic names-no land can claim them all-that embellish the pages of history and for ages have furnished themes for song and story. Claimed originally by Scotland, but, through generations honored in many countries, has heen the name of Campbell. From early settlement in Virginia, the Campbell "clan" as the bearers of the honored name love to call the great family, has spread farther and farther westward and for many years past Oklahoma has been enriched by such citizenship. The Vol. IV-5
records of few families offer so much to interest the general reader.
John Edwards Campbell, president of the First Na- tional Bank of Nowata, Oklahoma, was born March 23, 1847, at the old family homestead, "Stony Mead,"' in Frederick County, Virginia. This old homestead still recalled with tender memories, was beautifullly situated on a gentle slope near a famous stream in the Shenan- doah Valley, shaded by hoary old trees and inviting in appearance through the beauties of its old fashioned gardens and riot of honeysuckles. Here John Edwards Campbell spent his boyhood and early youth.
The earliest records of the Campbell clan now 'avail- able, relate to James Campbell, of the North of Ireland, and his wife, Mary (Reed) Campbell. Their son, William Campbell, the grandfather of John Edwards Campbell, appears to have settled in Virginia in the latter part of 1700, and died at his home near Round Hill, Frederick County, in 1839. He was twice married, three children being born to his first union, and seven to his second, with Mary Johnson, the fourth member of the second family being Robert Madison Campbell, the direct ancestor of John Edwards Campbell.
Robert Madison Campbell was born at "Aspen Shade,"' Frederick County, Virginia, April 4, 1809, and died January 7, 1892. On June 19, 1833, he was married to Rebecca Anne Lockhart, a daughter of Gen. Josiah and Nancy (O'Dell) Lockhart, and a granddaughter of Rob- ert and Margaret (Denny) (Wilson) Lockhart. Josiah Lockhart was born on the place of his parents, in Fred- erick County, Virginia, near the line of Hampshire County. He served in the war of 1812 and was in Hull's surrender. Afterward he went to Ohio and mar- ried Nancy O'Dell, daughter of Rev. Thomas and Grace (Austin) O'Dell. In 1843 Robert M. Campbell and wife moved to what was called the Greenwood farm, near the head of Opequon Creek, but a few years later he pur- chased "Stony Mead,"' situated a half mile farther down the creek, where they reared a large family, con- sisting of seven sons and four daughters, one daughter having died in infancy, in 1853. Those who reached mature years were: Josiah L., Mary E., William H. H., Bean C., Nannie R., Robert M., John Edwards, Emma E., Roberta B., Herbert C. and Allan W. Robert M. Camp- bell and wife were permitted to see their children be- come well settled in life, all the sons prominent in af- fairs, in their own localities and all the daughters re- flecting the virtues of an admirable mother. In 1889, Mr. Campbell gave up the management of his farm to his youngest son, retiring then to a home in the neighbor- hood which had been purchased for his parents by their son, John Edwards. For over fifty-five years Mr. Camp- bell and wife were permitted to travel life's path to- gether, this happy association being broken by his death in 1892. She survived until June 3, 1897. Her birth took place in Adams County, Ohio, January 26, 1815. They rest side by side in Mount Hebron Cemetery, at Winchester, Virginia. For years they had been iden- tified with all Christanizing movements in their neigh- borhood. In 1840 they had united with the Loudoun Street Presbyterian Church of Winchester, and in the summer of 1841 Mr. Campbell was ordained a ruling elder. In 1880 he assisted in forming an organization as Round Hill Church, a few miles from Winchester, where he served as ruling elder the remainder of his life. His influence in that vicinity for well nigh two- thirds of a century was of that character which com- manded respect from all.
Josiah T. Campbell, the eldest son of the family, was born in 1834, in Frederick County, and died at Nowata, Oklahoma, February 12, 1912, a physician of note for many years, organizer and captain of a company in
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