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 86

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 86

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).

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HISTORY OF OKLAHOMA

process of development. For years, both in season and out of season, Mr. Cunningham has labored for a railroad that would give direct communication from great graiu and coal fields north and west of Kingfisher with the Gulf of Mexico. At times it seemed as if the project was in the way of direct fulfillment. Right of way over hundreds of miles had been secured, a charter worth a possible fortune was kept alive, and considerable grad- ing done. However, opposition has developed from various sources, and some of this opposition has been apparently incomprehensible. An influence has been exerted even upon local men so as to make them stand against the enterprise, which clearly meant the greatest good to themselves and to their city. Kingfisher was for some years one of the world's greatest primary wheat markets. Grain fields for 100 miles to the west marketed their products at Kingfisher. Curiously enough, a num- ber of local meu argued, very shortsightedly, that if the proposed railroad should be built it would mean the establishment of a number of new towns along the line and closer to the sources of production. Thus for the sake of a temporary good they were willing to sacrifice the great price which would eventually bring permanent prosperity to the city. Other insidious influences have also operated to prevent the construction of the road. Financiers who had previously stated their approval of the plan and were apparently ready to finance the enter- prise mysteriously and suddenly lost interest. With all these hindrances Mr. Cunningham still retains faith in having that line built, and it is his greatest ambition to make Kingfisher a great entrepot for the surround- ing district even as it once was, Mr. Cunningham's name appears in perhaps more important cases than any other lawyer in the state.

EDWARD C. CAMPBELL. One of the youngest school superintendents of the state is Edward C. Campbell, at the head of the public schools at Asher. Mr. Campbell is only twenty-three years of age, but already has a record which shows his proficiency as a teacher and school executive.

Born in Dubois County, Indiana, March 11, 1893, Edward C. Campbell got his early education in the schools of his native county and was reared on a farm, From the district schools he went to the county seat at Jasper, and graduated from the high school there in 1912. After one year in the Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute, he took charge of a school in Dubois County, and remained in active educational work there for three years. In the spring of 1915, with a view to identifying himself with educational work in the State of Oklahoma, Mr. Campbell entered the Central State Normal at Edmond. In September, 1913, he began his duties as principal of schools at Asher. Mr. Campbell is a democrat in politics and a member of the Chris- tian Church.

His parents are Daniel and Rosa (Zehr) Campbell. The Campbells emigrated from Scotland to the Province of Ulster, Ireland, during Cromwell's time. From North; ern Ireland they came to South Carolina, and one of the family commanded a brigade in the battle of King's Mountain during the Revolutionary war. Mr. Campbell's paternal grandfather, Horace Campbell, was born in North Carolina, became an early settler in Indiana, and died in Orange County of that state in 1897. By occupa- tion he was a carpenter and farmer, and during the Civil war he was a Union volunteer and helped to repel Morgan 's raids. The maternal grandfather, William Zehr, was born in Prussia, emigrated to America and settled at Cincinnati, and from there moved to Dubois County, Indiana, about 1859. He was born in 1837 and

is still living in Indiana. While a young man in Prussia he had a thorough military training, and during the American Civil war he served four years in the Union army, being all through the campaign of Sherman into Tennessee and Georgia and following that great leader on his march to the sea.

Daniel Campbell, father of Edward C., was born in Washington County, Indiana, in 1855 and was quite young when the family moved to Dubois County. There he married, and has since followed farming and stock- raising. He is a democrat, and is a member and has served as trustee of the Christian Church and is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His wife, Rosa Zehr, was born in Saxony, Germany, in 1858, but since infancy he has lived in this country. Their chil- dren are: Charles, a senior in the Central State Normal School at Edmond, Oklahoma; Sophia, who graduated from a business college at Louisville, Kentucky, in 1913, and is now a stenographer for the Falls City Bottling Works at Louisville; Edward C .; Frank, who lives on the farm with his parents back-in Indiana; Clarence, a soplo- more in the high school at Jasper, Indiaua; and Emil, who is in the eighth grade of the public schools ..

JOHN COLLINS. During the greater part of a lifetime of fifty-six years John Collins was identified with the country and people of the Osages. He was one of the pioneer farmers and stock men in the locality of Avant, and his years were spent with accomplishments not only from a business standpoint, but also in conferring a benefit upon the community in which he lived. He gave service as a member of the board of county com- missioners, and in many other ways his name was well known throughout Osage County.

While a resident of Kansas and, Northern Okla- homa from boyhood, John Collins was born in Cumber- land, Guernsey County, Ohio, October 15, 1859. John and Nellie (Kelley) Collins, his parents, were born in County Galway, Ireland, were married there at the ages of seventeen and eighteen, respectively, and took their honeymoon on a sailing vessel bound for the United States. They landed after many weeks voyage, and for a number of years lived in Ohio. When John Collius was twelve years of age his parents removed to Inde- pendence, Kansas, and six years later they went along with the Osage people into the Osage Nation of Indiau Territory, locating in the same general locality where John Collins lived until his death. His father died when about thirty-three years of age, and his mother passed away April 3, 1914, aged eighty-six. John Collins, the elder, was a soldier in the Civil war, enlisting in the One Hundred and Twenty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was twice wounded, though out of active service only a short time on that account, and was present with Grant's army at Lee's surrender at Appo- mattox, Outside of his military service his years were spent in farming and stock raising. He was a member of the Catholic Church and a democrat in politics. His six children are: Mrs. Mary Clark, who lives in Chicago; James, who died at the age of forty years, leaving a widow and one child; Ellen Shultz, who lives with her family in Illinois; Charles W., who died unmarried at the age of thirty; and Richard, who was killed while handling a horse at the age of twenty-six.

From the time he was eighteen years of age Mr. Collins lived in the present County of Osage. He grew up on a farm, had only fair opportunities to attend school, and gained a thorough training in the vocation which became his life work, that of farming and stock raising. His wife and two sons are both members of the old Osage tribe, and their allotments of laud make a

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HISTORY OF OKLAHOMA

total of about 1,900 acres, all located within the vicinity of Avant. They reside in an excellent home, and have about 400 acres out of the three allotments under culti- vation, the remainder being in pasture lands. Over this large estate Mr. Collins for many years until his death, on the 30th of November, 1915, supervised his farming aud stock raising activities, and accomplished a more than ordinary success.

As to politics he was a republican voter from the time he came to his majority. For three years he was a member of the board of county commissioners after statehood, and from the time Oklahoma became a state was continuously a member of the local school board. On June 7, 1895, Mr. Collins married Lulu Payne. She was born in the Cherokee Nation, lost her parents when she was an infant and was reared in the home of her mother's brother, Judge T. L. Rogers, the distinguished citizen of the Osage tribe, of whom a sketch is published on other pages of this work. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Collins: John W. and Roy W.

L. H. KERR. Since the establishment of the com- mission form of government at Enid in 1908 the local citizens have exercised a commendable discretion and discrimination in selecting men to fill the chief offices of responsibility. It has been the custom to choose men whose previous experience with business would give them special efficiency for their respective departments, and as a result of this care in selecting officials the City of Enid has probably gone forward as rapidly in general municipal development during the last ten years as any other community in the Southwest. It was due to this careful discrimination that L. H. Kerr was selected as commissioner of streets, alleys and public property in April, 1913. The capable manner in which Mr. Kerr has performed the duties of his office has proved the wisdom of his election, and he has made it a matter of pride as well as duty to keep up the affairs of his department at the highest point of efficiency.

Mr. Kerr took office on the first Monday of May fol- lowing his election. In his department he has super- vision of the city engineering department, the city health officer, the milk and dairy inspector, the building inspector, and inspector of dump grounds. Two men are kept constantly at street cleaning, and for a part of the year this force is increased by these additional men. Enid has 200 miles of streets, with sixteen miles of paving. With the exception of six blocks of brick, the paving is entirely of asphalt. The streets are laid out on the broad basis of 100 feet width, with paving about sixty feet wide.

L. H. Kerr was born in Marshall County, Illinois, near Sparland, a village on the west bank of the Illinois River not far from Lacon, the county seat, on September 24, 1873. His father located there in 1868. When Mr. Kerr was seven years of age his parents embarked in a typical prairie schooner and journeyed out to Greene County, Iowa. In March, 1901, the family came to Enid. The parents are Albert and Luana Kerr. Albert Kerr was a soldier in a Pennsylvania regiment during the Civil war. He became a prosperous farmer, and a number of years ago visited Oklahoma and was so pleased with the prospects that he determined to make it his home as soon as circumstances would permit. In Iowa he was a man of considerable prominence in public affairs, serving as county supervisor six years, the duties of that office including oversight of roads and bridge building and maintenance. Since coming to Enid he has devoted his energies mainly to carpenter and building work.

L. H. Kerr was associated with his father while the

latter was supervisor iu Iowa, and thus gained a practi- cal experience in road construction, a knowledge that has served him well in his duties as street commis- sioner. Since coming to Enid he has worked as a carpenter, and for several years was foremau for the leading building contractor and has also been an inde- pendent contractor. Nearly all of the best homes in Enid and several of the churches were erected under his superintendence.

Mr. Kerr is a member of the Baptist Church. He has been specially prominent in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, has been secretary of Enid Lodge No. 31 since 1911, has passed all the chairs in the subordinate lodge and encampment, and has represented both bodies in the grand lodges, being now grand marshal of the grand encampment. He is also affiliated with the Knights of Pythias. Outside of business he finds his chief pleasure in hunting, and takes one or two trips for that sport every year. April 2, 1898, in Greene County, Iowa, Mr. Kerr married Miss Bertha M. Newing- ham. They have a family of three sons: Frank, Keith and Carl.

WILLIAM T. HAWN, M. D., a successful young physician and surgeon at Binger, Oklahoma, is descended from fine old colonial stock, his ancestors having come to this country from Germany. The original progenitor of the name in America settled in North Carolina and subsequently members of the family removed to the Middle West, locating in Missouri, where John D. Hawu, father of the Doctor, was born in 1859. He lived in Bollinger County, Missouri, until 1913 when he came to Oklahoma and established his home at El Reno, there en- gaging in business as a merchant. In Missouri he farmed for a number of years, was hotel proprietor, and for several years served as county assessor of Bollinger County. He is a stalwart democrat in his political ad- herences and in religious matters is a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He married Miss Nancy Shell, who was born at Patton, Missouri, in 1863, and this union was prolific of three children, uamely : Rayford, in business with his father at El Reno; Charles W., died in El Reno at the age of thirty years; and William T., subject of this review.

A native Missourian, Doctor Hawn was born at Patton, that state, February 1, 1885. He was educated in the public schools of Patton and graduated in the local high school in 1903. He then entered the Marviu Collegiate Institute, at Fredericktown, Missouri, and after com- pleting his junior year there was matriculated as a student in Barnes University, at St. Louis, Missouri, in the medical department of which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1910, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. His initial experience as a doctor was ob- tained at Glen Island, Missouri, where he remained for eight months, at the expiration of which he came to Caddo County, locating at Lookeba. After two years in the latter place he established his home and profes- sional headquarters at Binger, and here he has since resided. He has built up a large general practice in Binger and in he country normally adjacent to this city and has met with unusual success in curiug the sick. He is possessed of a genial disposition and his kind personality invariably inspires hope in the heart of his patient. His offices are on the north side of Main Street

In politics Doctor Hawn is a democrat and in a fra ternal way he is affiliated with Binger Lodge, Independ ent Order of Odd Fellows. In connection with his life work he is a valued and appreciative member of Cadd County Medical Society, the Oklahoma State Medica Society, and the American Medical Association, being vice president of the first mentioned.

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HISTORY OF OKLAHOMA

In St. Louis, Missouri, in 1910, Doctor Hawn was united in marriage to Miss Opal F. Cander, a daughter of Fletcher Cander, a civil engineer who died in Cripple Creek, Colorado. Doctor and Mrs. Hawn have two chil- dren : Helen, born February 28, 1911; and Ruth, born July 1, 1914. The Doctor and his wife are members of the Congregational Church, to whose charities and good works they are liberal contributors.

JAMES WALLACE STEEN. One of the pioneer attorneys of the City of Enid, a participant in the opening of the strip in 1893, James Wallace Steen has been a prom- inent member of the Oklahoma bar for more than twenty years, and is specially remembered for his services as a district judge. He was appointed judge of the district including Enid by Governor Haskell, and served four and a half months, and also served three years and three months in the same office under appointment by Lieuten- ant Governor McAlester.

James Wallace Steen was born June 16, 1855, on a farm in Logan County, Ohio. Three weeks before his birth his father died, and his mother lived only nine days. An only child, he was reared in the home of his grandfather in Ohio until sixteen, spending these years ou a farm near Huntsville. What he has accomplished in life is largely the product of his individual ambition and energy. In 1874 he entered the freshman class at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, and was grad- uated A. B. in 1877. Three years later that institution gave him the degree Master of Arts. He studied law at Bellefontaine, Ohio, in the office of Judge J. A. Price, and was admitted to the bar at Cleveland in September, 1879. Judge Steen practiced law at Cleveland and Belle- fontaine until March 19, 1888, and then located in King- man, Kansas. That was his home until the spring of 1893, when he removed to Kingfisher, Oklahoma, and on the date of the opening of the Cherokee Strip on Septem- ber 16, 1893, was one of the many thousands who sought homes in the new country. He staked out a lot on the public square at Enid, but could not prove his claim and therefore was not among the lucky ones in gaining a piece of real estate. There were about 200 lawyers in the throng of honieseekers who arrived at Enid on that open- ing day, and Judge Steen is one of the few who still remain in active practice. Some of the others who were his contemporaries are W. E. Cogdal, H. J. Sturgis, L. N. Huston, C. H. Parker, John F. Curran, Jake Roberts, J. B. Cullison, and I. G. Conkling. Judge Steen in company with Judge L. M. Conkling and Mr. I. G. Conkling set up their first office in a tent on the public square, with a rough board sign on the outside announe- ing the firm of Conkling, Steen & Conkling, lawyers. A number of other lawyers and professional men like- wise had their first offices in tents.

Judge Steen is a democrat in politics. He is a mem- ber of the Episcopal Church and when the first services of that church were held at Enid on September 17, 1893, by Bishop Brooks Mr. Steen was appointed the first senior warden of the newly organized congregation. As a lawyer Judge Steen has always enjoyed a liberal prac- tice, and while on the bench proved himself a painstaking and impartial judge. One of his most important deci- sions was that upholding the rights of lessees of state school lands, and his decision sustaining the vote against the repeal of the anti-gambling law was also of far-reach- ing effect.

In 1887 at Bellefontaine, Ohio, Judge Steen married Miss Sallie Pate, who is of Virginia birth and parentage. Mrs. Steen is well known as a contributor of fiction under her own name to magazines. Among other public services Judge Steen was named by Governor Haskell as a mem-

ber of the board of control of the Institute for the Feeble- minded; and he served on that board while the buildings of the institution were in course of erection.

CHARLES BYRON HILL. It was the unusual qualifica- tions and attainments demonstrated during fifteen years of practice at Guthrie that brought Dr. Charles B. Hill the appointment in the summer of 1915 as superintendent of the Oklahoma Hospital for the Insane at Supply. Doctor Hill has had an unusually broad and thorough experience in life. He earned his professional education, worked as a teacher and clerk for several years during his earlier career, and since gaining his title as a doctor of medicine has had unusual opportunities in professional. lines.

Though most of his life was spent in Kansas up to the time he came to Oklahoma, Doctor Hill was born on a farm in Marshall County, Illinois, December 1, 1871, a son of Byron A. and Amanda (Leigh) Hill, his father and grandparents having been natives of Oneida County, New York. His father was born in 1829 and in 1850 moved to Marshall County, Illinois, worked for a few years as a carpenter, then bought land and during the rest of his life followed farming almost altogether. He moved out to Kansas in 1881, locating also in Marshall. County of that state, and continued farming there until 1890. He then retired from farming, and for nine years served as postmaster of Stolzenbach, Kansas. In 1903 he came to Oklahoma, bought property in Guthrie, and lived retired in that city until his death on July 18, 1914. He was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was married in 1852 to Miss Leigh, who was born in Illinois, in 1832. Her father was a native of England and her mother, whose first name was Elizabeth, was born in Virginia. Byron A. Hill and wife became parents of nine children, five sons and four daughters, mentioned briefly as follows: Rhoda, de- ceased; Alice, wife of J. C. Smith, a farmer at Great Bend, Kansas; Horace W., a farmer in South Dakota; Frank L., a dairy farmer at Norman, Oklahoma; Cher- man S., who is a gold miner in California; Renette, ho is unmarried and is superintendent of trained nurses in the State University Hospital at Oklahoma City; Dr. Charles B. who is seventh in order of birth; and Harry and Catherine, both of whom died in infancy.

When the family moved out to Kansas Dr. Charles B. Hill was ten years of age. He grew up on a farm, and in 1892 finished the course in the Marysville High School. After that came two years of work as a teacher in Marshall County, Kansas, followed by one year as a salesman in a bookstore at Marysville. Partly with the earnings of his work in these occupations he entered, in 1895, the University Medical School in Kansas City, and after four years of hard study earned his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1899. He was very fortunate in his next appointment to the position of assistant superin- endent of the General Hospital for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad at Topeka, Kansas. He remained in the railroad hospital until September 18, 1900, and on that date arrived in Guthrie and took up his general practice as a physician and surgeon. In a few years he came to be recognized as one of the leading medical men of Oklahoma, and it was entirely without solicitation on his part that he was appointed, August 1, 1915, as su- perintendent of the Oklahoma Hospital for the Insane at Supply.

Doctor Hill has long been interested in Masonry. In 1902 he attained the thirty-second degree of Scottish Rite, in 1912 was given the title K. C. C. H. and in 1914 received the supreme honorary thirty-third degree which was conferred upon him at Guthrie in 1915. His local affiliation is with Albert Pike Lodge No. 162, Ancient

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HISTORY OF OKLAHOMA

Free and Accepted Masons, at Guthrie. He also retains membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church at Guth- rie. For three years of his practice in that city he served as city physician.

On January 7, 1901, at Haddam, Kansas, Doctor Hill married Miss Florence Taylor, daughter of William H. and Mary Taylor, who were natives of Indiana. Mrs. Hill was born in Washington County, Kansas, August 7, 1876. To their marriage was born one child, Ruth, at Guthrie, July 3, 1909.

JOHN H. KANE is a member of the prominent Bartles- ville law firm of Brennan, Kane & McCoy, and has been a factor in the prestige which this firm enjoys in Wash- ington County and Northeastern Oklahoma. He is a lawyer of exceptional attainments, of great energy and resourcefulness, and has made his profession a medium of important public service since locating in Oklahoma twelve years ago.

Aside from his profession he has become interested in the Oklahoma oil industry as an individual operator and a stockholder in several different companies. In this connection it is a matter of interest to record that the place of his birth was an oil camp in Pennsylvania. This was at Fagundus, in Warren County, Peunsylvania, where John Henry Kane was born November 12, 1875, a son of James R. and Catharine (Strickler) Kane. Both parents were natives of Pennsylvania and his father was identified with the early petroleum industry of Pennsylvania until the early '80s, when he brought his family to the West and established a home in what is now Kiowa County, Kansas. There he was success- fully identified with stock raising for many years.

The only son among four children, John H. Kane was seven years old when the family moved to Kansas and he grew up on his father's ranch in Kiowa County. Graduating from the high school at Greensburg, the county scat, he continued his education in the Kansas State Normal School at Emporia, where he was gradu- ated in 1896 and from there entered the University of Kansas at Lawrence, where he graduated A. B. in 1899. With his liberal education as a foundation, Mr. Kane then entered the University of Kansas law department and took his degree LL. B. iu 1900. He mixed his courses, thus taking both degrees withiu one year of each other. His preliminary service and experience as a lawyer was gained in Kansas City, Missouri, where he remained until 1904. In that year he came to Bartlesville, and his natural ability together with an untiring industry in working up his cases brought him a very active practice. For years he was associated with Frank Burford under the firm name of Kane & Burford. In 1907 Mr. Kane had the distinction of being chosen the first county attorney of Washington County under the state government. After one term he resumed his private practice and soon afterwards formed a partner- ship with Messrs. Brennan and McCoy. The firm of Brennan, Kane & McCoy have a splendid clientage, and most of their work is in corporation law.

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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