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 78

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 78

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Miss Cole, at that time an infant, having lost her parents, was taken into the home of a relative, Mrs. Burn- ham, then living in Philadelphia. After the landing of the Three Bells in New York, in 1855, Jefferson Davis, at that time Secretary of War in the Pierce administra- tion, appointed Mrs. Burnham a matron in the United States army. General Harney's expedition was organ- ized to go to the far West, to the Upper Missouri River, to establish a military post for the protection of the frontier against the powerful tribes of the Sioux Indians. They took five steamers loaded with troops and supplies, and early in 1855 steamed up the Missouri River, making their first permanent landing at the village of Omaha. The commander of the troops called on Governor Izard of Nebraska, reporting an outbreak of cholera among the soldiers on the steamers. The governor promptly called Doctor Miller, a young physician, to take the post as surgeon of the expedition. His young and beautiful wife bravely faced the danger of cholera and accom- panied her husband. After a long and tedious voyage the destination was reached, and Fort Pierre was estab- lished at the mouth of Bad River ou the west side of the Missouri, opposite the present site of the City of Pierre, the capital of South Dakota. This location was aban- doned the following spring and the great military post was established 300 miles down the river, as Fort Ran- dall. Here about 1856 Mrs. Emmons' memory and con- sciousness began among the soldiers, the barracks, the camp fires and the Indians on the frontier. In 1857 her foster mother resigned her position in the army, and found a home in the embryo Sioux City. There Mrs. Em- mons grew to womanhood, and it was there that she first met her future husband in May, 1870. Since then she has been his companion and the inspiration of his life. As a pioneer woman she has the honor of having her name in the Township of Burnham, in Pawnee County. Mrs. Emmons is a lovable character, and having grown up on the frontier has been accustomed from early girl- hood to exert herself in those beneficent acts of kindness which are so characteristic of the old-fashioned people, and still continues her active interest in the welfare of all her neighbors in Oklahoma. After this sketch was compiled and after a long illness Nina B. Emmons on July 7, 1916, closed her eyes to all earthly scenes, and loving friends laid her to rest at Meramac, Oklahoma.

WILLIAM REED LEVERTON, M. D. The entire absence of competition at Cloud Chief cannot account for the success which has been obtained in his profession by Dr. William Reed Leverton, who, since his arrival in 1910,

has gained a liberal patronage, the confidence of his fel- low eitizens who have elected him county superintendent of health, and the respect and esteem of his fellow-prac- titioners who have chosen him secretary of the Washita County Medical Society. Doctor Leverton was born at Bowie, Texas, August 20, 1882, and is a son of W. B. and Mary Agnes (Sandefer) Leverton. On his father's side he is descended from a family which originated in Ger- many and became pioneers of Georgia, while on his mother's side he is of Scotch-Irish descent.

W. B. Leverton was born in Georgia, March 19, 1844, removed to Arkansas when about eight years old, and from Arkansas state enlisted, at the age of sixteen years, in the Confederate army during the war between the South and the North, in which he served four years as a member of Parsons' Brigade. Following the war he went to Arkansas, and in 1874 removed to Bowie, Montague County, Texas, that community continuing to be his home until 1893. In that year he came to Okla- homa and located in Washita County, eleven miles west of Cordell, on a homestead of 160 acres, on which he resided and carried on operations until his death, in October, 1902. He was a man of sterling integrity of character, well meriting the esteem and regard in which he was held. In political matters he was a democrat, while fraternally he was affiliated with the Masons, having been the first worshipful master of Cordell Lodge No. 127, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Mr. Lever- ton married Miss Mary Agnes Sandefer, a native of Indi- ana, who now resides at Cordell. Nine children have been born to this union: John B., a cattleman, residing at Patterson, California; Fannie, who is the wife of J. W. Ferguson, a ranch and stockman of Alpine, Texas; Indiana, who is the wife of T. H. Armstrong, a farmer of Dill, Oklahoma; Matthew O. and A. C., who conduct a farm in the vicinity of Dill; Mattie, who is the wife of W. A. Albin, a farmer of Cross Plains, Texas; Dr. William Reed; Almedia, who is the wife of James Par- man, a merchant at Cordell; and George Elmer, who is assistant cashier in the Farmers National Bank at Cordell.

William Reed Leverton was reared on the homestead farm in Washita County, Oklahoma, where he remained until he was twenty-one years of age, but it was no part of his plans to follow the life of a farmer. He had received a common and high school education at Cordell, and when . he left the ranch took preparatory work in the University of Oklahoma, at Norman. He next pursued a two-year course in the medical department of the same university, and his junior and senior years in the study of his chosen vocation were passed in the medical department of Saint Louis University. He was graduated therefrom in the class of 1909, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, and while a member of college was affiliated with the Alpha Kappa Greek letter medical fraternity. Doctor Leverton began the practice of medicine at Cordell, but in 1910 came to Cloud Chief, where he has offices on Main Street, and is the only physician here. He is known as a careful student, keeping fully abreast of the advancements made in the profession, and as a. skilled and steady-handed surgeon. A democrat in politics, he is serving as county superintendent of health, and for three years was also a member of the school board of Cloud Chief. He is an elder in the Christian Church and has been active in the work of that denomination. Doctor Leverton is fraternally affiliated with Cordell Lodge No. 127, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is a charter member. His abilities and respect for the ethics of the profession have been recognized by his election to the office of secretary of the Washita County Medical Society and he belongs also to the Oklahoma State Medica]

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HISTORY OF OKLAHOMA

Society and the American Medical Association. As a citizen he has withheld his support from no movement which has promised the advancement of the general welfare.

Doctor Leverton was married August 2, 1909, at Plainview, Texas, to Miss Lillian May Colwell, daugh- ter of S. N. Colwell, a ranchman of Hamilton, Texas. Two children have been born to this union: Edith Forest, boru November 17, 1913; and Wilfred Bailey, born May 2, 1915.

MOSES E. WOOD, PH. D. Among the highly educated men who in recent years have been raising the standard of instruction in the higher institutions of learning of Oklahoma, Dr. Moses E. Wood is easily one of the most noteworthy. He came to the state during the reorganiza- tion of the faculty of the Central Normal School, and in 1913 was elected head of the department of psy- chology and pedagogy. He brought that position a broad and thorough scholarship and a long and varied experience as a practical school man.

Professor Wood was born in Clermont County, Ohio, March 25, 1869, and is a son of Thomas H. and Clara E. (Dungan) Wood. The paternal ancestry was English, the first of the family settling in Virginia. The paternal great-grandfather settled at Jarrett Station, the present site of Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1779. The maternal grand- father was born in Baltimore and was descended from Col. William Dungan, a soldier in the days of James II, and descended from Irish earls of Kildare. Professor Wood's father was a native of Ohio and was a con- tractor and builder. Professor Wood has one brother, W. A. Wood, at the head of the machinery department of a manufacturing concern in Cincinnati.

Doctor Wood as a boy attended the public schools of Ohio and finished his high school course in Muncie, Indiana. He then entered the National Normal Uni- versity at Lebanon, Ohio, from which he was graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1894. Several years later he was granted a special life diploma from the educational department of the University of Kentucky and special certificates from the Summer School of the South at Knoxville, Tennessee. His advanced university training was obtained in Clark University at Worcester, Massa- chusetts, from which he received his Master of Arts degree in 1911, and during 1911-12 was a senior fellow in psychology, pedagogy and history in Clark University. His Doctor of Philosophy degree comes from Clark University.

For five years he was superintendent of schools in Ohio and for two years president of Summerville Col- lege in Tennessee. His school work in Kentucky covered a period of fourteen years, as superintendent at Horse Cave, Hodgensville, Litchfield, Wickliffe and other places. For one year he was superintendent of schools at Skyko- mish, Washington, and came from that state to Okla- homa in 1913.

Doctor Wood was married in 1884 at Lebanon, Ohio, to Miss Ida Kirtley, who was a school principal. Since marriage she has remained in educational work, taking her A. M. and Ph. D. degrees with her husband at Clark University. She is a modern, progressive woman and takes an active interest in the leading subjects that are engaging the attention of federated club women. They have a son, Edwin K. Wood, who is a graduate of the high school at Worcester, Massachusetts, a post-graduate of the high school at Skykomish, Washington, and holds a life diploma from the Central State Normal School of Oklahoma. He expects to complete his education with a Ph. D. degree in Clark University.

Professor Wood is a member of the Christian Church

and is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America. His name is well known in educational circles, not only as a teacher but also as an author. He is a member of the Oklahoma Educational Association, the Central Okla- homa Educational Association, and the National Educa- tional Association, also the Washington Educational Association and the Massachusetts Psychological and Pedagogical Association. His name appears as author of a work entitled "History of Superintendency in the United States, " and of "The Development of the South since 1860." He has a special talent for historical research, and in the course of a few years it is safe to predict that his labors will result in the publication of several historical volumes. Professor Wood is a live, active, practical educator, completely in love with his work, and possessed of a thorough sympathy and under- standing of the needs of young men and young women with whom he is constantly associated.

HANS A. KROEGER. A somewhat eventful and varied career has been that of this representative member of the bar of Oklahoma City, and his advancement has been achieved entirely through his own ability and well ordered endeavors. Mr. Kroeger is recognized as a man of high professional attainments and controls a large and im- portant general law business, in connection with which he is a representative of the legal department of the Oklahoma Railway.

Hans Adolph Kroeger was born on a farm near the Village of Watkins, Benton County, Iowa, on the 4th of February, 1872, and his parents, Martin and Amelia (Emke) Krocger, were both born in Germany. Martin Kroeger gave signal manifestation of his loyalty to the land of his adoption by serving as a valiant soldier of the Union in the Civil war. In the City of St. Louis, Missouri, in 1861, he enlisted in a regiment of volunteer infantry, and he continued in active service during the entire period of the war. He was in the command of General Sherman in the memorable Atlanta campaign, but after the capitulation of Atlanta he was assigned to detached duty and sent to the North. He and his wife later became pioneer settlers of Iowa, where he became a prosperous farmer.

Hans A, Kroeger availed himself fully of the advan- tages of the public schools of his native state, where he continued his studies until he had completed the curriculum of the high school at Traer, Tama County. At the age of sixteen years he assumed a position as clerk in a dry goods establishment in the City of Des Moines, Iowa, where he continued to be thus employed until he had attained to his legal majority. He then took a course in a business college in that city, after which he returned to Traer, where he continued to be identified with the mercantile business for a year.

With the opening to settlement of the Cherokee Strip in Oklahoma Mr. Kroeger "made the run" from Cald- well, Kansas, and located a claim at Pond Creek, but this land later proved to be on a section reserved for the support of the territorial schools, and his claim being thus nullified he went to Enid, where he remained about two weeks, after which he visited also the towns of King- fisher and El Reno, aud finally remained for some time in Oklahoma City. In the meanwhile Mr. Kroeger had admirably fortified himself for the profession of which he is now a prominent representative in Oklahoma, as he had completed a thorough course in the law department of the great University of Michigan, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1896 and from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In 1899, after his sojourn in Oklahoma Territory, he re- turned to Des Moines, Iowa, where he was engaged in the practice of his profession about four years and where

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he was associated with George Wemback, one of the distinguished members of the bar of the Hawkeye State.

In 1903 Mr. Kroeger returned to Oklahoma Territory and established his residence at Francis, Pontotoc County, where he effected the organization of the First State Bank, of which institution he served as cashier about four years. The bank building was destroyed by fire thirty days after the institution opened for business, but luckily none of the funds of the bank was destroyed, as no safe had been installed and the cashier safeguarded the money by carrying the same to his home at the close of business cach night, the means of transfer having been an ordinary pail or heket. Soon after the new building had been completed and a safe and time-lock installed, the bank was burglarized by two outlaws, Ed Cody and Dave Vaughn, and in this connection Mr. Kroeger and his wife met with a strenuous and exciting experience, as denoted by the following brief record:

The two highwaymen proceeded to the little home of Mr. Kroeger about bedtime, disarmed him and made him and his wife prisoners. Mrs. Kroeger succeeded in escaping from the house, hoping to alarm the neigh- bors, but when one of the bandits started in pursuit her husband called to her to return, which she did. After forcing Mr. and Mrs. Kroeger to sit quietly in their home about two hours, the two outlaws started to march them to the bank, but upon discovering that other persons were still on the streets they returned to the house, where they guarded their captives until midnight. Mr. and Mrs. Kroeger were then compelled to accompany their captors to the bank and a demand was made that he open the safe. He opened the outer doors of the vault and then informed the captors that the time lock pre- vented him from proceeding further, as neither he nor any other person could open the inner vault until about 8 o'clock in the morning, the time for which the clock had been set. After cursing for an hour or two and fre- quently threatening the life of Mr. Kroeger, the bandits finally abandoned hope of attaining their ends, and under these conditions they took their captives onto the street once more and ordered them to proceed quietly to their home. As Mr. and Mrs. Kroeger started to walk away, one of the men, enraged over the failure of the venture, said to his companion, "I've a h-1 of a notion to shoot the top of his d-d head off anyway!" At this juncture was the only time during the entire experience that Mr. Kroeger really had any fear for his life.

During the period of Mr. Kroeger's identification with banking interests at Francis the merchants of that town were preyed upon by an organized band of thieves who were operating extensively in that section of the territory and who frequently set fire to store buildings after having sacked the same of a large amount of its contents. Several reputable business men were financially ruined in this manner, but Mr. Kroeger obtained the co- operation of other citizens and they finally ran down the gang and were able to avoid further havoc in the com- munity, as they succeeded in sending twelve or more of the malefactors to the penitentiary for long terms, the headquarters and "fence" of these outlaws having been at Randolph, Johnston County.

In 1907, the year which marked the admission of Oklahoma to statehood, Mr. Kroeger returned to Okla- homa City, where he resumed the active practice of his profession. For four years he served as general attorney, secretary and auditor of the Patterson street car system, and when Mr. Patterson's interests were purchased by the Oklahoma Railway Company and the two systems were consolidated, Mr. Kroeger continued his service as a valued member of the legal department of the corporation, with which he has continued to be identified in this capac-

ity, besides controlling a large and important general practice, extending into the various courts of the capital city and involving his appearance in a number of spe- cially important litigations.

At Rockford, Iowa, on the 18th of August, 1901, was solennized the marriage of Mr. Kroeger to Miss Marian Teape, who was born and reared in that state and who is a daughter of Theodcus S. and Emily (Montrose) Teape. The one child of this union is Earl, who was born on the 5th of September, 1905.

HON. RICHARD A. MITCHELL. In noting the qualities which have advanced Hon. Richard A. Mitchell to a position of prominence among the citizens of Roger Mills County one is forced to renewed appreciation of courage, moral strength, honesty in public and private life, and fidelity to business, political and social obliga- tions. When he came here, in 1907, he entered the journalistic field as the editor and owner of the Roger Mills Sentinel, a newspaper which started in a modest manner but which under Mr. Mitchell's able manage- ment has grown to important proportions, being known as one of the strong democratic organs of Western Okla- homa. While he was succeeding as a journalist, Mr. Mitchell was also taking an active part in civic affairs, and finally, in 1914, was chosen by his fellow-citizens for the mayoralty of Cheyenne.

Mr. Mitchell was born in Clay County, Missouri, June 30, 1881, and is a son of G. W. and Josephine (Harris) Mitchell. The family originally came from Ireland, probably before the Revolution, settling first in Virginia and then removing to Kentucky, where the grandfather of Editor Mitchell was born. He was a farmer and merchant and as a young man moved to Ray County, Missouri, where he passed the remaining years of his life and died at the age of seventy years. G. W. Mitchell was born at Lexington, Missouri, in 1843, and has passed his entire life in his native state, at present being a resident of Excelsior Springs. He was educated for the law and in his younger years passed some time as an attorney, but later became a minister of the Christian Union Church, in which he became president of the general council and served as such for twenty years. He was a man of broad education, being a graduate of Lexington College with the degrees of Bachelor of Laws and Doctor of Divinity, and was president of Grand River College of Edinburg, Missouri, for twelve years. He is now living a retired life. Reverend Mitchell fought as a soldier in the Confederate army under the noted leader, General Price, during the war between the states. He is a democrat in his political affiliation and a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows orders. Mrs. Mitchell, who was born in Kentucky, in 1845, also survives, and has been the mother of ten children, as follows: B. S., a newspaper editor of Shattuck, Okla- homa; G. W., Jr., who is engaged in the mercantile business at Excelsior Springs, Missouri; O. F., also a resident of that place, engaged in the real estate and farm loans business; H. S., a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, residing at Centerville, Iowa; E. B., superintendent of the Colorado Southwestern Railway, at Denver, Colorado; Iona, who is the wife of R. S. Yates, a druggist of Edinburg, Missouri; E. L., an attorney of Cheyenne, Oklahoma, and a member of the state senate; E. Daisy, who is the wife of Charles Helmandollar, of Edinburg, Missouri, a farmer; Richard A., of this notice; and Grace O., who is the wife of Charles Sanderson, a telegraph operator of Hardin, Missouri.

Richard A. Mitchell was graduated from the high school in the vicinity of his home in Clay County, Missouri, and at the age of nineteen years entered

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Grand River College, Edinburg, Missouri. At that time he began his connection with newspaper work at Edin- burg, and after one year came to Oklahoma and settled at Grand, where from 1903 until 1907 he was connected with the Canadian Valley Echo. In September, 1907, Mr. Mitchell came to Cheyenne, where he established the Roger Mills Sentinel, which has steadily grown to be one of the leading democratic organs of Western Okla- homa, with a large subscription list in this part of the state. Mr. Mitchell is the owner of the building, plant equipment and office, situated at the corner of Main Street and Broadway, and of his residence in the eastern part of the town, in addition to which he has invested in several other pieces of realty including a business building on Main Street. He has been active and energetic in support of every movement which has promised to benefit Cheyenne and Roger Mills coun- ty, contributing personally and through the columns of his paper to the general welfare. A stalwart democrat in politics, in 1914 he was chosen by the citizens as chief executive of Cheyenne, and is giving the community excellent service in this capacity, his administration having been made notable by several progressive enter- prises for civic improvement. Editor Mitchell is a member of the Christian Union Church, and is fra- ternally affiliated with the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Woodmen of the World.

In 1910, at Cheyenne, Editor Mitchell was united in marriage with Miss Myrtle Repass, daughter of E. S. Repass, a farmer of Grimes, Oklahoma. They are the parents of three children: Roger Mills, born March 29, 1911; Iona, born July 5, 1913; and Robert Agles, born September 28, 1915.

Mr. Mitchell has been a leader in the democratic party, has been a member of the democratic central committee of his county for ten years, and is at present state committeeman from his county.

On Friday morning, June 2, 1916, between the hours of 2 and 3 o'clock A. M. the Roger Mills Sentinel newspaper plant, building and library was destroyed by fire. The fire was of incendiary origin, Mr. Mitchell being a noted newspaper scrapper was strong in his fight against socialism. But not an issue of the paper was missed, for Mr., Mitchell ordered new equipment at once. The Roger Mills Sentinel is considered by all the leading citizens of the county as the county paper.

ROBERT F. MEADOWS. Pawnee County has enlisted in the development of its natural resources a due quota of energetic, reliable and progressive citizens, and worthy of designation as one of the representative farmers and stock-growers of the county is he whose name introduces this paragraph and whose well improved landed estate is situated in the vicinity of the Village of Jennings.

Mr. Meadows was born at Albany, Clinton County, Kentucky, on October 14, 1860, and on a farm in that county he was reared to the age of thirteen years, when he accompanied the family on their removal from the old Bluegrass State to Chautauqua County, Kansas, where his stepfather became a pioneer settler and where R. S. he reclaimed a productive farm. Mr. Meadows is a son of Robert and Mary Ann (Brown) Meadows, the former of whom was born in Germany and the latter of whom was born in Virginia, she, as an orphan girl, having accompanied her grandparents on their immigration from the historic Old Dominion to Kentucky, where she was reared to maturity and where her marriage was solemnized.

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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: 644

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