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. V, Part 113

Author: Thoburn, Joseph B. (Joseph Bradfield), 1866-1941
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 644

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. V > Part 113

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Since 1910 Mr. Willis has been in active practice at Fairview in Major County. He is one of the leading democrats of the state, served as state committeeman, and has given his time generously to the public welfare. He is recognized as one of the ablest lawyers of his county. Mr. Willis has been an active member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows since 1890.

On May 12, 1893, in Comanche County, Kansas, he married Miss Josephine L. Bratcher. She was born in Kentucky November 9, 1872. To their union have been born three children: Mabel O., born July 22, 1896;

Roland Emmet, born June 1, 1898, and died June 1, 1899; Jessie Lillian, born November 16, 1900.

DEE RODMAN is one of the successful newspaper men of Oklahoma, entered the professiou through the ranks of a priuter, and is now editor and publisher of the Fair- view Enterprise at Fairview in Major County.

Mr. Rodman is a young man, and has spent most of his years in Oklahoma. He was born March 6, 1884, on a farm in Erath County, Texas, a son of John B. and Nancy Jane (Kimbro) Rodman, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Arkansas. John B. Rodman was born December 17, 1860, at Paducah, Kentucky, fol- lowed farming and stone masonry for his active career, and is still farming in Beaver County, Oklahoma. He was married in 1880 and his wife was born May 22, 1861, in Hope County, Arkansas, daughter of Thomas W. and Clementine Kimbro, both of whom are natives of Tennessee. John B. Rodman and wife have the follow- ing children: Arthur, born August 3, 1882; Dee; Ella, who was born December -19, 1886, and was married in 1902 to L. R. Houx, and they live in Colorado; Fred L. born February 14, 1888; John J., born June 21, 1891; Ila Belle born December 28, 1894; Daisy, born December 21, 1896; and Hugh B., born June 30, 1901.

The first sixteen years of his life Dee Rodman spent on his father's farms in Erath and Ellis counties, Texas. His parents then moved to Oklahoma, locating in Chey- enne, and there he continued his education in the public schools. Mr. Rodman also had the benefit of a two years' business course in the University of Oklahoma at Norman. In 1903 at the age of nineteen he entered the office of the Beacon at Cordell, Oklahoma, and learned by prac- tical experience the printer's trade. In 1905 he came to Fairview and followed his trade as a journeyman printer until 1914. In that year he bought the plant of the Enterprise at Ames, Oklahoma, removed it to Fairview and has since published the Fairview Enterprise, one of the leading papers of Major County. Politically Mr. Rodman is a republican, and he and his wife are members of the Christian Church.

On March 12, 1910, at Fairview he married Miss Vie Morse. Mrs. Rodman was born at Girard, Kansas, November 20, 1891, a daughter of J. E. and Sadie (Nunally) Morse. To their marriage was born one child, Roberta Marian, born' May 28, 1914.

THE CITY NATIONAL BANK, of Lawton, Oklahoma, the pioneer bank of Comanche County, was organized March 23, 1901, as the First National Bank of Fort Sill, with a capital of $25,000, authorized to do business by the comptroller of the currency as No. 5753. It was the first bank organized to do business in the Kiowa, Comanche and Apache Reservation, comprising the coun- try now included in Comanche, Kiowa, Caddo and Till- man counties, as well as part of the counties of Stephens, Jefferson and Grady.

When this country was opened for settlement, and the City of Lawton entered upou its career, the name of this institution was changed to the City National Bauk, of Lawton, and doors thrown open for business at nine o'clock, A. M., August 6, 1901. From that time to the present this bank has prospered and developed, growing with the needs of the country and contributing to the growth of that country and the wealth and welfare of its citizens. The first home of the City National Bauk was in a small frame structure, located on a lot adjoin- ing the United States Land Office property, but this was soon found to be too small, although the institution con- tinued to have its residence there until its new brick building, the second brick building in the City of Lawton,

ts ed 18- In er ate ty age ted at fra- las ises om eart

mas ness

dary sage sline fine- and Mr. rmer

and Texas enter e Mr. ice in erests, ry 16, enham ok up me to nd for

aptain e town mise in ad was vitally wn has kristian pecially merican party

town of

2142

HISTORY OF OKLAHOMA

was ready for occupaucy, July 1, 1902. The bank's continued prosperity aud growing business has com- pelled its present removal to still larger and better quarters.

On April 16, 1906, the capital of the City National Bank was doubled out of its earuiugs, and at the present time its capital, surplus and profits approximate nearly $100,000, while its deposits average in the neighborhood of $500,000. The City National was designated as a depositary of the United States by the Treasury Depart- ment, July 19, 1906, and since that time this institu- tion has handled millions of dollars of the moneys of the United States Government.

The success and growth of this bank may be ascribed to the judgment, acumen, foresight and ability of its officers, all well known business men of Lawton, whose well known integrity has inspired confidence in deposi- tors aud has naturally attracted business. They are: Frank M. English, president; Samuel M. Kiug, vice presi- dent; Edwin E. Shipley, cashier, and Charles W. Crab- tree, assistant cashier.

DR. TOLBERT BARTON HINSON. The Hinson family was long established in Tennesee before one of its number migrated in a westerly direction and located in Arkausas. It was in that state that Dr. Tolbert Barton Hinson was born, and his father before him, one A. J. Hinson, was also born there, in the vicinity of Cave City, on May 25, 1855. He died there on July 16, 1915, having spent his entire life in that community, barriug a period of one year's time spent in Walden, Arkansas, and a brief time in Philadelphia, Arkausas, sometime in the early eighties. It was in Walden that Doctor Hinson was born, on February 8, 1882.

A. J. Hinson was a farmer and stockman, prosperous and progressive, and he was a lifelong member of the Presbyterian Church. He married Elizabeth McGee, who was born in Arkansas in 1858, and who died in Oxford, Arkansas, in November, 1890. Their children were six in number, aud are briefly mentioned as follows: George Franklin, the eldest, is living in Newport, Arkansas, where he is a dealer in marble; Doctor Hinson was the second born; W. E. resides at Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he has charge of a cut glass and china store; Parkie Elmore is a farmer and lives in Day, Arkansas; Lily married William Hood, a farmer of Day; and Sturling Alexander is a farmer and lives near Thomas, Oklahoma.

Doctor Hinson had his early education in the public schools of Arkansas. His ambition was toward the medical profession, however, and he entered the Hospital Medical College, in Louisville, Kentucky, and for four years pursued a rigid course of study. He was gradu- ated in the class of 1905 with the degree M. D., since which time he has taken post graduate work in Chicago in 1913 and 1915. In June, 1908, Doctor Hinson located in Thomas, which place was the center of his profes- sional activities until 1915, when he located in Enid, forming a partnership with Doctor Boyle and buying a half interest in the Enid Springs Sanitarium and Hos- pital with Doctor Boyle. Enid Springs Sanitarium and Bath House was established by Dr. Boyle on September 1, 1814. This institution filled a long felt want and is the only institution in the state combining the three features of sanitarium, hospital and bath house. It has an ideal location within a half block of Enid's famous Mineral Springs. Its house physicians Doctors Boyle and Hinson. Doctor Hinson was the founder of the Thomas Hospital. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and is a Mason of high degree. His Masonic affiliations are with Enid Lodge No. 80, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Enid Chapter

No. 27, Royal Arch Masons, Enid Commandery No. 13, Knights Templar, Council No. 35, Guthrie Consistory No. 1, and Akdar, Ancient Arabic Order of the Noble Mystic Shrine, of Tulsa Oklahoma.

In Salem, Arkansas, in the year 1901, was recorded the marriage of Doctor Hiuson to Miss Docia Gault, daughter of J. H. Gault, now living retired in Day, Arkausas. They have three children: Amy, born Novem- ber 15, 1902; Bruce Ratliff, born August 4, 1906; and Kirk, born May 7, 1909.

NATHAN A. ROBERTSON. Among the mnen of Okla- homa who have been counected with financial enter- prises, few are more widely known than Nathan A. Robertson, of Lawton. While his activities are ceutered in this city, his connections are of such au extensive uature that they include this entire part of the state. Mr. Robertson was born in Appanoose Couuty, Iowa, January 30, 1855, and is a son of Moses C. and Elizabeth Jane (Streepey) Robertson. The Robertson family originated in England, and Mr. Robertson's great- grandfather was a participant in the Revolutionary War, while his great-uncle was the founder of the City of Nashville, Tennessee.

Moses C. Robertson was born in Tennessee, in 1811, and at twelve years of age removed to Indiana, where he engaged in farming. He was a pioneer of Appa- noose Couuty, Iowa, in 1851, a strong Presbyterian and elder in the church, and a stalwart abolitionist. He died at Cincinnati, Iowa, in 1889. Mr. Robertson was mar- ried first to Mildred Pringle, who died in Indiana. His second wife was Elizabeth Jane Streepey, who was born in Indiana, in 1826, and died at Cincinnati, Iowa, in 1863, and they became the parents of five children, namely: Edward, deceased, was a farmer and stockman of Cincinnati, Ohio; Nathan A., of this review; J. H., who was formerly a large farmer and stockman of Montana, and is now living retired at Butte, that state; M. M., who is a ranchman in Montana; and Charles Sumner, of Des Moines, Iowa, who was formerly a mer- chant and traveling salesman, but is now engaged in the real estate and insurance business. Moses C. Robertson was married a third time, his wife being a Miss Sheppard, who died at Cincinnati, Iowa.

The early education of Nathan A. Robertson was secured in the public schools at Cincinnati, Iowa, where he completed the high school course in 1871. At that time he became a grain buyer for a concern of that place, continuing as such until the year 1875, when he went to Promise City, Iowa, and established himself in the grain and stock business, with which he was connected until 1910, when he disposed of his interests there. As early as 1882 Mr. Robertson became interested in financial matters, when he established a private banking business at Promise City, and from that time to the present he has been an important figure in the financial world of Oklahoma and Iowa. In 1895 he incorporated his bank at Promise City into the Farmers State Bank, continu- ing as its president until coming to Lawton, Oklahoma, in 1910. In the meantime, in 1903, he had opened the Farmers and Commercial Bank at Cincinnati, of which · he is still president. At the present time he is a stock- holder in the National Bank at Walter, Oklahoma, presi- dent of the National Bank of Waurika, Oklahoma, and president of the National Bank of Hastings, Oklahoma, a position which he has held since 1901. On coming to Lawton, in 1910, he became interested in the First National Bank, and in that same year purchased the Oklahoma State Bank, which was consolidated, December 31, 1912, with the First National Bank, of which Mr. Robertson has been president since January, 1913. He

HARD "thoug! aviable E Okla hear the ne he y ia wn opp gunty, B. av ermam le ferti Reared ised hi vacati e becam 2 when Phool, R gan tea ring th duties le outsid je to de water th Valpara Tel. T-2

in flex various rake Jourse areut ! Pa tank ated i d tr Lawtou

lege Arts. Laut Join story Lela

the aud in poli

Miss Lesu to t

2143

HISTORY OF OKLAHOMA

is also president of the Citizens State Bank, of Geronimo, Oklahoma, a director in the Bank of Tuttle, Oklahoma, and president of the J. J. Brown Cotton Company, of Lawton. There is probably no name in this part of Oklahoma that stands in greater degree for integrity, probity, honorable dealiug and devotion to the highest ethics of business life than that borne by Mr. Robertson. He has been deeply interested in every movement which has tended to secure the best interests of his community, and with this end in view has been a hearty worker in all elevating undertakings. With his family, Mr. Rob- ertson is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He belongs to Lawton Lodge No. 183, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is past master; Centerville (Iowa) Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Centerville Con- mandery, Knights Templar, and Za-Ga-Ziz Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and also holds membership in the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a member and active worker of the Chamber of Commerce, and in political matters is a republican, although not a politician.

Mr. Robertson was married at Cincinnati, Iowa, to Miss Emma Lesney, daughter of the late Jonathan Lesney, a hardware .merchant. Nine children were born to this union, as follows: R. L., who attended Drake University for three terms, a graduate of Parson's Col- lege, Fairfield, Iowa, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and now engaged in the real estate business at Lawton; Guy C., a graduate of C. C. C. College, Des Moines, Iowa, and now cashier of the First National Bank of Lawton; Cecile, a graduate of Des Moines Conserv- atory of Music, who died at the age of twenty years; Lela J., who lives at home; Mabel, a graduate of elocu- tion at Drake University, a talented speaker and much in demand at entertainments and public gatherings of various kinds; Pansy I., residing at home, a graduate of Drake University, in music, who also took a four-year course at Howard Hall; James B., residing with his parents; Nathan Ray, educated in the high school at . El Paso, Texas, and now cashier of the Citizens State Bank of Geronimo, Oklahoma, and Rex Wayne, also edu- cated in the El Paso High School, who is now secretary and treasurer of the J. J. Brown Cotton Company, at Lawton.

HARRIS L. DANNER, of the law firm of Shirk & Danner, although still so young a man, has already attained an enviable degree of prominence among the legal fraternity of Oklahoma City. He has fairly earned the right to bear the honorable title of self-made man, for from the time he was fourteen years of age he has made his own way in the world, educationg himself and making his own opportunities. He was born at Astoria, Fulton County, Illinois, February 13, 1888, and is a son of A. B. and Melissa (Moore) Danner, the father being of German descent and for many years an agriculturist in the fertile fields of the Prairie state.

Reared amid rural surroundings, Harris L. Danner re- ceived his early education in the country schools, while This vacation periods were spent in the work of the farm. He became self-supporting at the age of fourteen years, and when he had graduated from Rushville Normal School, Rushville, Illinois, at the age of seventeen years, began teaching school in Schuyler County, that state. During the next three years, in addition to discharging lis duties in the school room, he accepted whatever honor- ible outside employment presented itself, and also found ime to devote to the study of law, finally being enabled o enter the law department of the University of Indiana, t Valparaiso, from which he was graduated with the Vol. V-25

class of 1909 with the degree of Bachelor of Law and was immediately admitted to the bar of Indiana, and in the same year came to Oklahoma and was here admitted by the Supreme Court, taking up his residence and prac- tice at Oklahoma City. Shortly after his arrival, Mr. Danner formed a partnership with John Shirk, under the firm style of Shirk & Danner, and this combination has continued to the present time, offices being maintained at 604-610 Security Building. The firm carries on a general practice, which has steadily increased in volume and importance.

Mr. Danner is unmarried and resides at No. 1210 North Broadway, Oklahoma City.

CHESTER C. CLARK. In education circles of Southern Oklahoma, Chester C. Clark has, within recent years, become known as a young man of energetic spirit, whose zeal is leading him toward an elevation of educational standards and whose abilities and talents undoubtedly will bring him to a realization of his ambitions. Himself au earnest, conscientious and untiring scholar, he is pos- sessed of the happy faculty of being able to imbue others with his own ideals, and the period of his incumbency of the position of superintendent of schools of Pauls Valley has beeu characterized by marked advancement in system and efficiency.

Mr. Clark is a Kansan by nativity, born at Mayetta, Jackson County, December 30, 1885, a son of Charles C. and Alice (Morrow) Clark. His branch of the Clark family originated in England and its early members in this country were pioneers of Ohio. The Morrows were of Scotch-Irish origin and early settlers of Tennessee. Charles C. Clark was born in Southern Ohio in 1852, and as a lad of five years accompanied his parents to Leavenworth, Kansas, where he was reared, educated and married. In 1884 he removed to Mayetta, six years later went to Holton, in the same state, and in 1899 took up his residence at Law- rence, Kansas, from whence he came in 1901, to his present home at Comanche, Oklahoma. He has devoted his energies to agricultural work and at the present time is the owner of a tract of 160 acres of valuable land lying six miles west of Comanche on which he does stockraising and diversified farming. Mr. Clark is a republican and fraternizes with the Masons. He married Alice Morrow, a native of Southern Missouri, and they have had five children: Chester C., of this notice; Glenn, a graduate of the Oklahoma State University at Norman, where he was captain of the varsity football team, and now head of the mathematical department of the State Normal School at Ada, Oklahoma; Hazel, who died aged one year; William, a graduate of the Oklahoma State Normal University, at Norman, where, like his brother, he captained the football team, and now a teacher in the Shawnee High School; and Grace a graduate of the State Normal School at Edmond, Oklahoma, now a teacher in the Pauls Valley schools.

After attending the school at Holton, Kansas, through the eighth grade, Chester C. spent two years in the Lawrence (Kansas) High School, then returning to the farm, where he assisted his father for four years, or until 1905. He then resumed his studies as a student at the Norman preparatory department of the State University, being graduated from the university proper in 1910, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Many of the wiseacres are inclined to make us believe that ath- letics and intellectual attainments cannot be formed into a happy combination, but in refutation of this idea we may state that the name of Clark is one idelibly in- scribed upon the athletic annals of the university, while the brothers bearing this name have all shown rare

1, re 8 - nd ed

Tis in ren, nan H. of ate rles mer- the rtson pard, was where that place, ent to grain | until searly nancial usiness sent he orld of is bank continu- lahoma, ned the f which a stock- la, presi- ma, and oklahoma, oming to the First based the December which Mr. 1913. He

2144

HISTORY OF OKLAHOMA

worth and ability in the field of education. Like his brothers, Chester C. Clark showed a wholesome desire for athletics and his prowess upon the gridiron won him a place in the hearts of students and faculty alike. He played with the varsity team, and not only won his full share of honors in the strenuous game of football, but proved himself a valuable man in track events. During the school year of 1910-11 he was principal of Cordell (Oklahoma) High School, and in the summer of the latter joined the United States Geological Survey, gain- ing valuable experience during the four and one-half months he spent in the service in Montana and North Dakota. To further prepare himself, in October, 1911, he entered Columbia University, New York, where for three months he specialized in geology. The school year 1912-13 found him principal of Tishomingo (Oklahoma) High School, and during the summer of the latter year he was an instructor at the Ada State Normal School. In the fall of 1913 he left this position to become prin- cipal of the Pauls Valley High School, where his work attracted such favorable notice that in September, 1914, he was made superintendent of schools of Pauls Valley, a position in which he has under his supervision three schools, twenty-two teachers and 900 scholars. In the summer of 1914 Mr. Clark took post-graduate work at Chicago University, and in the summer of 1915 again attended that institution, taking a course in educational work. He is in line to receive the degree of Master of Arts, in 1916. Popular, capable, and possessed of much executive ability, Mr. Clark is undoubtedly doing great things for the Pauls Valley schools, and, naturally, for the future welfare and advancement of the community.

Mr. Clark is on the Garvin County Examining Board for Teachers, and belongs to the Garvin County Teachers' Association and the Oklahoma State Teachers' Associa- tion. He is a democrat, a Methodist by religious faith and a member of Valley Lodge No. 6, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Pauls Valley. He is unmarried.

D. C. MAHER. One of the men of real business leader- ship in Osage County is D. C. Maher, who has been cashier of the Fairfax National Bank since its organiza- tion. Mr. Maher has spent all his years since early childhood in this part of Oklahoma and in point of resi- dence is one of the oldest white citizens among the Osage people.

He was born in St. Lawrence County, New York, October 29, 1877, a son of John B. and Amelia (McEwen) Maher. On both sides his grandparents came from Ire- land. His parents were both born in northern New York, and his father died at the home of his son in Fairfax November 10, 1913, aged seventy-three. The mother died at Pawhuska November 20, 1904, at the age of fifty-nine. The family lived in New York until 1885, when they moved to Indian Territory, and for about twenty-five years the father managed the Leland Hotel at Pawhuska. His later years were spent in practically total blindness, and in spite of this affliction he knew all the people around him by the sound of their voices and their footsteps. He possessed a wonderful memory, and was one of the kindly and loved characters of Paw- huska. While living in the East he performed clerical work and was a cattle buyer. D. C. Maher was the fifth in a family of six children, record of the others being as follows: Alice, wife of H. L. Cox of Cedarvale; Ransom J. of Pawhuska; Daniel B. of Pawhuska; How- ard M., who died October 5, 1912, at the age of thirty- eight; and Bertha, wife of N. D. Sanders of Phoenix, Arizona.

When the family removed to Indian Territory in 1885 D. C. Maher was eight years of age. He grew up in

Pawhuska, attended the subscription school there, and the high school at Cedar Vale, Kansas, two years, but since boyhood his life has been one of independent ven- ture and of increasing commercial experience. At 17 years of age he went to work at Hominy, and was en- ployed by the old Indian traders Read & Bopst for about three years until that firm went out of business. The following three years he worked for Prentice Price in mercantile business. It was during these associations that Mr. Maher gained his fluency and command of the Osage language and for years he has spoken it like a native. Mr. Maher in association with Mr. Price and R. J. Inge bought a store at Cleveland and Maher & Inge conducted this establishment for six years. They sold it during the oil boom. For a time Mr. Maher was con- nected with the oil industry.

In 1905 he came to Fairfax and soon afterward organ- ized the Fairfax National Bank, which opened its doors to business May 12, 1906. He has since been its cashier and has much to do with the solid prosperity of this institution. The bank was first housed in a frame build- ing, but since 1910 has been in its fireproof and modern bank home. The Fairfax National Bank is a strong institution for a town of the size. Its total resources in June, 1916, according to the official statement at the time, were $154,491.02. It has capital stock of $25,000, surplus of $5,000, undivided profits of $2,411.11. The deposits at that time were upwards of a hundred thou- sand dollars. The officers of the bank are: G. M. Car- penter, president; J. L. Bird, vice president; D. C. Ma- her, cashier.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Author: Thoburn, Joseph B. (Joseph Bradfield), 1866-1941 Publication date: 1916 Publisher: Chicago, New York, The American Historical Society Number of Pages: 644

Author: Thoburn, Joseph B. (Joseph Bradfield), 1866-1941
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 644