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 81

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 81

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).

For many years Mr. Lynn has found full employment for his energies in ranchiug and stock raising. His wife and each of their five children have allotments of Indian lands, to the amount of a section for each person, and Mr. Lynn has charge of the operation of this large estate, and is also the individual owner of 1,400 acres which he has bought at different times. His home is in Pawhuska, and is a large and commodious residence at the east end of Main Street. He built the old part of this home soon after his marriage, but remodeled and added extensively two years ago. He has witnessed the entire development of the city, and some of the business and residence structures stand on land- which he platted as the Lynn addition. Lynn Avenue was named for him, and he has a section of land along that thoroughfare at the east end of Main Street. Mr. Lynn has done con- siderable in improving the city, has built and sold several homes, but for the most part sells unimproved lots. In his home farm he has fifty acres of alfalfa, and keeps about 250 head of hogs in the fields. He is also a feeder of the black muley or Angus cattle. Other interests are as a stockholder in the Pawhuska Oil & Gas Company, the largest corporation in Osage County. Mr. Lynn is a democrat and a member of the Catholic Church.

When Mr. Lynn first came to the vicinity of Pawhuska and found employment with the sisters of the St. Louis School, there were no railroads through this section of country, and he frequently drove to Elgin and Cedarvale in Kansas, the nearest railroad stations, twenty-five and forty miles away. He made these trips on a uumber of occasions to meet the bishop or other missionaries, aud the journeys were often made in bad weather, with no bridges over the swollen streams and the fords were not passed without some danger and iuconvenience. At dif- ferent times also in the early days Mr. Lynn drove hogs across the country to Elgiu, the nearest place for ship- ment. These drives were also made in the cool winter seasons, and required three or four days. At night he would wrap his blanket around him and lie down among

the hogs, and several times would get up in the morning with his blanket covered with snow. Another interesting fact in connection with the family record is that Mrs. Lyun's father in the early days had his corral on the site now occupied by the postoffice iu the heart of the city at Pawhuska.

VERNON B. BROWNE is one of the youngest bankers in Oklahoma, and a few years ago organized and has since been cashier and chief executive of the May State Bank of May. This bank was established February 20, 1912, with a capital stock of $10,000. Its deposits on March 7, 1916, aggregated $87,684.92. While Mr. Browne is cashier and active manager the president is Charles H. Martiu. The stockholders in the bank are largely local people, and it is a local institution aud has thoroughly deserved the prosperity it has enjoyed.

Vernon B. Browne was born June 25, 1885, at Seueca, South Carolina, a son of A. C. and Anna M. (Hubbard) Browne, who were also natives of South Carolina. His father was born December 5, 1857, and his mother December 1, 1860, and they were married November 7, 1878. In 1888 the family removed to Texas, and in 1896 to Fargo, Oklahoma, where A. C. Browne is now engaged in the grain business. Of their five sons and four daugh- ters only three are now living, Vernon, the son, and two daughters; T. Browne, was born June 27, 1889, and was married October 20, 1909, to J. W. McGinley, a farmer at Wheatland, Oklahoma, aud their three children are: Onetia, Hugh and Vernon; and Anna M., born October 12, 1895, and still at home with her parents at Fargo.

Vernon Browne received his education in the public schools of Panhandle, Texas. At the age of twenty-one he took a business course at Oklahoma City, and in 1907 became bookkeeper in the Stock Exchange Bank of Fargo. On January 1, 1909, he was elected cashier of this institution, but resigned on January 1, 1912, in order to organize the May State Bank. He has been actively identified with that town in all its public spirited movements, and besides his interests as a banker he has extensive farm holdings.

Mr. Browne is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, being a member of Consistory No. 1 at Guthrie, is also an Odd Fellow, and politically is a democrat, but without official aspirations. On August 5, 1914, at Cherry- vale, Kansas, he married Miss Myrtle Williams, who was born November 24, 1887, in Kansas, a daughter of J. M. and Mollie (Laird) Williams. Mrs. Browne was a teacher for four years prior to her marriage in the city schools of Woodward, Oklahoma. They have one child, Eugene Vernon, born at May, October 24, 1915.

HON. ED BAKER. While it is in the office of county judge of Blaine County that Mr. Baker is best known to the general public, having administered that position : with impartial ability and efficiency since 1912, he has for more than twenty years been identified with this section of Oklahoma, having come in as a pioneer, and has lived a life of usefulness and honor as a teacher, farmer, homesteader, and has been in the active practice of law at Watonga since 1901.

Of an old American family, the Bakers originally came from Germany and settled in Maryland prior to the Revolutionary war. Judge Baker was born in Creston, Iowa, September 23, 1866. His father, Britton Robert Baker, who was also a pioneer in Blaine County was born in Maryland in 1827, and died on his home- stead in Blaine County, Oklahoma, December 25,, 1910 From Maryland he removed to Eastern Iowa, and was married near Burlington to Louisa Jane Anderson. She was born in 1832 in that portion of old Virginia now

We In Ok

of in fat Ark riag Hig bis elass F. Lo 1915 Hitch

horizo He liv

HISTORY OF OKLAHOMA

2035

West Virginia, and died at Watonga in October, 1911. After his marriage Britton R. Baker moved to Creston, Iowa, and in 1872 to Mount Ayr, Iowa, where he changed his vocation as a farmer to that of a merchant. He also lived in Nebraska and Kansas, and in 1887 went to Benton County, the center of the great fruit growing district of Northwestern Arkansas, and was a farmer there until 1893. In that year he joined the early colonists of Blaine County, Oklahoma, and bought a farm on which he lived until his death. As a young man he gave four years of active service in the Federal army during the Civil war, enlisting in the Twenty- ninth Regiment of Iowa Infantry. As a young man he had been an active worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church. The children were: Ulysses R., who was last heard of in 1880, and is thought to have been killed by the Indians in Arizona; Ida F., wife of William H. Boyce, a retired farmer living at Watonga; Ira L., a blacksmith at Colgate, Oklahoma; and Judge Ed Baker.

Judge Baker has been identified with the new West during most of his active life. He gained his education in the public schools of Mount Ayr, Iowa, up to the time he was fourteen. He helped his father in farming a Nebraska homestead in Knox County until 1885, and then went with the family to Ness County, Kansas, engaged in farming there two years, and after removing to Benton County, Arkansas, in 1887 taught school for three years. He continued his vocation as a school teacher for one term after going to Barber County, Kansas, in 1891, and from there came to Blaine County, Oklahoma, in August, 1892. Here he first identified himself with the primary work of developing homesteads, and secured for himself a claim of 160 acres in the north end of Blaine County. That was his home and the scene of his labors as an agriculturist for ten years. In the meantime he had taught a number of terms in the local schools, and while teaching diligently pursued his studies in the law, until admitted to the bar at Watonga in 1901. In 1902 Mr. Baker sold his farm and has since lived in Watonga. In that year he was elected county attorney, and the two years spent in that office were engaged in a creditable fulfillment of his public duties and also proved a valuable experience in his career as a lawyer. Judge Baker conducted a large general practice in civil and criminal law until 1912, in which year he was elected county judge of Blaine County, and in 1914 was re-elected for another term of two years. His offices are now in the courthouse at Watonga.

Judge Baker is a democrat, and fraternally is affiliated with Watonga Lodge No. 176, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Geary Chapter No. 59, Royal Arch Masons; Weatherford Commandery No. 17, Knights Templar; India Temple of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine at Oklahoma City; with Watonga Camp of the Modern Woodmen of America; and with the Knights and Ladies of Security at Watonga. In Benton County, Arkansas, in 1891, Judge Baker married Miss Lula B. Locke, whose father, S. B. Locke, was a farmer in that part of Arkansas. Two children have been born to their mar- riage. Britton R., who graduated from the Watonga High School in 1913, spent the next year as a teacher in his home county, and is now a member of the freshman class of the University of Oklahoma in Norman. F. Locke, the second son, graduated from high school in 1915 and is now a teacher in the public schools at Hitchcock, Oklahoma.

JOHN FRANK STOTTS. During his early boyhood the horizon of J. F. Stotts was bounded by a Texas farm. He lived in a country where hard work was the rule and

an education a difficult matter to obtain. He has earned his opportunities, and for the past thirteen years has been in the broader realm of business affairs, and is now a well known banker in Southern Oklahoma and cashier of the First State Bank of Ringling.

John Frank Stotts was born in Montague County, Texas, September 15, 1882, and his family originally came from Germany and settled in the State of Indiana. His father, J. M. Stotts, was born in Missouri in 1845 and died at Woolsey, Oklahoma, in December, 1903. He moved from Missouri to Texas and in 1891 to Woolsey, Indian Territory. He was a farmer and had a cotton gin at his place. As a boy he saw four years of service in the Confederate army, enlisting from Missouri in Price's army. He was three times taken prisoner, but effected his escape each time. He was a member of the Christian Church and for many years a deacon, and also affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. J. M. Stotts married Miss Anna Scott, who was born in 1855 and died at Loco, Oklahoma, in 1907. Their children were: Hattie, wife of W. J. Gossage, a farmer at Mangum, Oklahoma; Sim, a cattle man and deputy sheriff at Cornish, Oklahoma; John F .; Ida, wife of Clayton Durling, a painter and decorator at Comanche, Okla- homa; and Charles, who is assistant cashier of the First State Bank of Ringling.

John F. Stotts as a boy attended subscription schools maintained in log houses in the vicinity of Woolsey. His early life was spent on the farm and in assisting around the cotton gin, but in 1902 he graduated in a business course at Draughon's Practical Business College in Fort Worth, and from that time forward began making his ability and influence felt. In 1903 he entered the employ of the Chickasha Cotton Oil Company, and in 1904 became connected with J. M. Robberson 's general mercantile house at Loco, Oklahoma, with which busi- ness he remained six years. He next became cashier of the State Bank of Loco, and continued in that office until May, 1914. He left Loco to organize the First State Bank of Ringling, of which he has been cashier, and has also served as vice president of the State Bank of Loco. The First State Bank of Ringling occupies a building constructed April, 1914, on Main Street, but a modern brick structure is now in course of construc- tion, one block further west, and this will provide a splendid home for the institution, which has been growing rapidly. The officers of the bank are: J. M. Robber- son of Loco, president; W. W. Woodworth, vice presi- dent; J. F. Stotts, cashier; and Charles Stotts, assistant cashier. The capital stock is $25,000, and a recent report already shows surplus and profits of $2,500.

Mr. Stotts is a democrat, and is affiliated with Loco Lodge No. 361, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he is a past grand and a representative to the Grand Lodge two terms. He is past consul commander of Loco Camp No. 682 of the Woodmen of the World and was its representative to the head camp.

In 1906, at Loco, Mr. Stotts married Miss Lucy Wyatt of Montague County, Texas. Their children are: Orlando, born in 1908, and Maysel, born in 1910.

E. E. BREWER and NEATHA HOMER SEGER. The pro- prietor and editor of a newspaper occupies a certain ground of vantage from which he may make or mar the reputation of individual or community, build up or tear down a cause worthy of public approval or sup- · port. Not only the City of Geary, but Blaine County at Jarge has reason for congratulation that the Geary Booster is in such safe, sagacious and clean hands. Founded in 1912, it is considered one of the best gen- eral newspapers published in this part of the state, as well as an outspoken, fair play exponent of the best

h is al T

İş er 16 ed b-

nd 9. ee f., its Lic ne in nk ier 12, en ted has

ite rie, but Ty- rho ter

unty

tion has this and her, tice ally r to in tton anty ome 910. was She DOW

in are 15.

2036

HISTORY OF OKLAHOMA

elements of the republican party-in fact, it is in all respects worthy of the eare and sound judgment dis- played in its columns, and reflects credit upon its editors and publishers, Messrs. E. E. Brewer and Neatha Homer Seger

E. E. Brewer was born September 20, 1874, in Ver- milion County, Illinois, and is a member of a family which originated in Holland, emigrated thence to New York in colonial times, and finally became pioneers of Ohio. His father, Rev. J. W. Brewer, was born in Sullivan County, Indiana, in 1831, and was there mar- ried and for some years followed preaching as a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He then removed to Vermilion County, Illinois, where he followed con- tracting and building, and in 1875 removed to Sherman, Texas. Five years later he went to the Texas Pan Handle, in 1889 became a pioneer white settler of Oklahoma when he located at El Reno, and in 1901 came to Geary, Oklahoma, where he continued to be engaged in business as a contractor and builder until his death, June 24, 1913. He was a man of industrious and ener- getic habits, won friends through his many sterling qualities, and was considered a good and public-spirited citizen in whatever community he found himself located. He married Miss Emily Hawkins, who was also born in Sullivan County, Indiana, in 1835, and who died at Geary in 1904. They became the parents of four chil- dren, as follows: William A., who resides at Springfield, Missouri, and is a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church; Estella, who married E. E. Carhart, a bank cashier and automobile dealer of Pan Handle, Texas; Jessie M., who is the wife of D. M. Yonng, a real estate dealer of Chicago, Illinois; and E. E.

E. E. Brewer attended the public schools of Pan Handle, Texas, and El Reno, Oklahoma, until reaching the age of fourteen years, at which time he engaged in newspaper work at Mobeetie, Wheeler County, Texas, on the Mobeetie News. There he remained nine months, receiving his initiation into the mysteries of journalism as represented in the office of a country newspaper, and in 1889 became a pioneer of Oklahoma when he came to El Reno and entered the employ of the El Reno News. From that time forward he was identified with various newspapers, always adding to his knowledge and capacity as a newspaper man, until 1901, when he came to Geary, Oklahoma, and after being with the Geary Bulletin for a time helped to establish the Geary Journal, in com- pany with Mr. Stackhouse. After two years of operation the partners disposed of their interests and in 1912 Mr. Brewer became the founder of the Geary Booster, choosing as the name for his paper that word which must always hold a prominent position in the vocabulary of the industrial history of Oklahoma, as typical of what has caused its business, agricultural and general growth. Mr. Brewer continued as sole proprietor of this paper, until April 1, 1915, when he sold a half interest to Neatha Homer Seger, thus forming the firm of Brewer & Seger, which has since continued. The paper has republican policies and is considered as strong and influential among the people of Blaine and the surrounding counties where it has a large subscription list and secures its full share of advertising contracts. The plant and offices are on Main Street and are well equipped with news- paper and general printing machinery.

Mr. Brewer was married at Yukon, Oklahoma, in 1897, to Miss Ida Garrison, daughter of the late Oliver Garrison, who was a farmer, the ceremony being per- formed by Mr. Brewer's brother, the Rev. W. A. Brewer. Two children have been born to this union: LeRoy William and Lamara L., who are both members of the sophomore class at the Geary High School. Mr. and Mrs. Brewer are members of the Methodist Episcopal

Church. He is independent in politics, and while not an office seeker has served four years as city elerk of Geary. His fraternal connection is with Geary Lodge No. 139, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Lodge No. 6976, Modern Woodmen of America; and Lodge No. 138, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is interested in several local industries and is a stockholder in the Okla- homa Oil Company.

Neatha Homer Seger, junior partner of the firm of Brewer & Seger, was born at Darlington, Canadian County, Oklahoma, December 2, 1876, and is a son of John H. Seger, of Colony, Oklahoma, in the sketch of whose career, elsewhere in this work, will be found a complete account of the family. Neatha H. Seger was educated in the district schools of Reno City, Canadian County, Oklahoma, following which he attended the Bryant Normal University, at Stromsburg, Nebraska, and was graduated from the business department of that institution in 1895. Following this Mr. Seger was en- gaged in teaching school for one term, when he turned his attention to the mercantile business at Colony and continued to be engaged therein in 1905. Removing at that time to Tuttle, Oklahoma, he continued in the same business for nearly four years and in 1909 re- turned to Colony, where he worked on a farm. In 1910 he received his introduction to newspaper life when he bought the Colony Courier, a publication which he edited at Colony until April 1, 1915, then coming to Geary and buying a half interest in the Geary Booster. While a resident of this place for only a comparatively short period, Mr. Seger has already established himself firmly in the confidence of the people, and has many friends in a wide acquaintance. Through the columns of the paper he is assisting Mr. Brewer in his efforts to advance the best interests of Geary and to encourage every movement for the making of better education, greater morality and a finer citizenship.

Mr. Seger was married December 30, 1903, at Colony, Oklahoma, to Miss Jessie Mattoon, daughter of the late William H. Mattoon, who was in the engineering de- partment of the United States Government service. Two children have been born to this union: Genevieve Geral- dine and Lloyd Francis, both of whom are attending the public school. Mr. Seger is a republican, and has served as a member of the school board of Colony and as justice of the peace for five years. He belongs to the Dutch Reformed Church, at Colony, and his fra- ternal connections are with Weatherford Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and the Modern Woodmen of America at Colony.

GILBERT W. DUKES. The name of Dukes is associated with the settlement of the Choctaw Nation from its earliest occupancy by the tribe, and one of its repre- sentatives has achieved the distinction of the governorship of the nation to which he belongs. The multifarious affairs of the nation developed and brought out the men of strength, and among them was Joseph Dukes, the founder of the pioneer family and the father of Gilbert W. Dukes.

Joseph Dukes and his family were of the first of the Choctaws to leave their Mississippi home in the early '40s and establish new homes in the wild country recently treated for in the Red River country of the Far West. He settled near Fort Towson and there became a man of prominence as a farmer and a minister of the Presby- terian Church. Among his children were Gilbert W., Charles, and Josephine, who married Banjamin Woods and died in the Choctaw Nation. The father and mother both passed away near Fort Towson, where they are buried.

Gilbert W. Dukes attained his majority in the vicinity

la th

the Ge ne bu has acc mer

Mar Jam a f in ( bers H. and Ja was bei pris Sta

HISTORY OF OKLAHOMA

2037

of Fort Towson and received a liberal education, joining the Confederate troops raised in the Choctaw Nation and in after years served his people in many civic positions. As sheriff and district judge his services marked him as a proper man for the safe and conservative conduct of the nation's affairs in the executive chair. He was a mem- ber of the Progressives, and in the deliberations looking toward final dissolution of tribal relations and the coming of statehood he showed his friendship for the movement and gave it his support. He was chosen governor and served two years. Since the advent of statehood he has espoused the principles of the republican party. Governor Dukes was married to Miss Angelina Wade, a daughter of Governor Wade, who also filled the gubernatorial chair. She died in 1893, the mother of Joseph A. and Henry Dukes, of Garvin, Oklahoma. For his second wife Governor Dukes married Mrs. Isabel Sexton, and their children were Minnie, Letta and Dee Dukes.

MATTHEW J. KANE. Justice Kane, of the state Supreme Court, is a native of the Empire State, born in Niagara County on the 28th of November, 1863. In 1887 he graduated in law from the Georgetown University, District of Columbia, with the regular degree of LL. B. He commenced the practice at Wichita, Kansas, in 1888, but upon the opening of Oklahoma to settlement, April 22, 1889, located at Kingfisher. In 1907 he served as a member of the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention, his first term as justice of the state Supreme Court com- mencing in September of that year. He was chief justice of that body in 1909-12. His present term expires in 1917. It is needless to say that he stands high in his profession. A further mark of his leadership was his selection, in 1904, as a delegate to the Universal Congress of Lawyers and Jurists, held at St. Louis in that year.

HENRY FRANKLIN BENSON. While the great metro- politan dailies, with their tremendously long lists of subscribers, exert a great influence in the country in molding public opinion, it is probable that their more modest and unassuming brethren of the fourth estate, the newspapers of the smaller cities and the country districts actually come into closer contact and are more in sympathy with their readers. Many of these latter are edited by men of journalistic capacity and broad knowledge, whose opinions are frequently quoted by the larger papers as indicative of the trend of public thought in their communities. An excellent representa- tive of this type of alert and progressive newspaper, which has its recognized place and an important one in the scheme of things, is the Geary Journal, published at Geary, Blaine County. The proprietor and editor of this newspaper, Henry Franklin Benson, is still a young man, but his entire business career, covering half of his life, has been passed as a, journalist, and he has already accomplished as much in his chosen vocation as many men attain after a lifetime of effort.

Mr. Benson was born on a farm six miles east of Marlow, Oklahoma, March 6, 1888, and is a son of James H. and Amanda (Squires) Benson, and belongs to a family which, originating in England, was founded in Colonial days in Massachusetts, from whence its mem- bers moved to Mississippi and later to Texas. James H. Beuson was born in Burnett County, Texas, in 1855, and was but eight years of age when, with his father, James Benson, a pioneer ranchman of West Texas, he was attacked by a band of Comanche Indians, his father being killed. Young James H. was captured and held prisoner for two years, when the red men were rounded up and the lad's release was purchased by the United States Government. He grew to manhood in West

Texas, where he became a cowboy during the days of the open range. Later he was married and with the coming of the agriculturists he settled down to farming, continuing to be engaged therein in Texas until 1887. In that year he came to Oklahoma and settled east of Marlow, and five years later became a pioneer in Roger Mills County, where he homesteaded 160 acres. He resided there until 1897 and then moved back to Marlow and engaged in the mercantile business until 1902, when he moved to Anadarko at the time of the opening. He remained there only two years, however, after which he came to Geary, where he has since been engaged in business as a carpenter and contractor. He has erected a number of the buildings of this city and is known as a skilled and reliable workman, a business man of the soundest integrity and a man faithful in the keeping of engagements. He is a stanch democrat, a supporter of progressive and beneficial movements, a consistent member of the Baptist Church, and a valued member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Benson was married iu West Texas to Miss Amanda Squires, who was born in the Lone Star State in 1864 and died at Marlow, Oklahoma, in 1899. Of their children, two are living: Henry Franklin, of this review; and Roy, born in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma, March 16, 1895, received a public school education in this state, began to work at the age of fourteen years in connection with newspapers, has followed that voca- tion at various places in Oklahoma, and is now associate editor of the Geary Journal.

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