USA > Oklahoma > Portrait and biographical record of Oklahoma; commemorating the achievements of citizens who have contributed to the progress of Oklahoma and the development of its resources, V. 1 > Part 11
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The first wife of Mr. Adams was Tennessee Albert, of Missouri, by whom he had the follow- ing children: Olive M., who married George Faulkner, of Payne county, Okla .; Lillie. who married Lemuel Smith, of Missouri: Harvey, who married Maude Soulsby, of Pawnee, Okla .: Minnie Bell, who married Joseph Proctor, of Pawnee, Okla .; and Frank, who resides at home and is attending school.
At Columbus, Kans .. Mr. Adams was mar- ried, September 17, 1886, to Miss Nellie E. Gates, who was born near Montrose. Susque- hanna county, Pa., but was reared in Missouri and Kansas. Her parents. Nelson H. and Esther A. (Griswold) Gates, were also natives of the Keystone state, and the father was a member of a Pennsylvania regiment in the Civil war. By occupation he is a carpenter and builder. and followed that pursuit for some time in Texas county, Mo., but is now a resident of Galena county, Kans. His wife died in Pawnee. Okla. 'To them were born nine children, four sons and five daughters, but Mrs. Adams is the only daughter now living. Two of her brothers re- side in Pawnee county, Okla .; while one is a
J. M. Coulter
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resident of Colorado, and the other of western Kansas. After the death of her husband Mrs. Adamis carried on the business with marked suc- cess until 1899, when she sold out. She is a woman of good business ability and sound judg- ment, and possesses many sterling qualities which have won for hier a host of friends. She is the mother of four children, namely: Golden, who died at the age of thirteen months; Estella; Nellie, who died at the age of six months; and Audroff, who died at the age of four years.
October 1, 1899, Mrs. Adams married ior her second husband J. H. Manning, her former hus- band's partner, who is now engaged in the real- estate and loan business in Pawnee.
J. N. COULTER, one of the most enterpris- ing business men of Pawnee, is equally prominent in political circles, and is recog- nized as an influential worker in the ranks of the Democratic party. He has made a point of at- tending its conventions, and frequently has been sent as a delegate. As a member of the terri- torial general convention of the party he as- sisted in its organization, and from that time until the present has labored assiduously in the advancement of its interests.
J. N. Coulter was born in Waterloo, Hunt- ingdon county, Pa., July 22, 1860, and when ten :ears of age accompanied his parents, William and Elizabeth (Briggs) Coulter, to Indiana. They settled upon a farm near Crawfordsville, where the father subsequently departed this life, while his widow yet lives at the old home. Both were natives of the Keystone state. Of their twelve children four are deceased.
The only representative of his father's family in Oklahoma is the subject of this sketch. He was educated chiefly in the schools of Indiana, and, after attending the Central State Normal at Ladoga for a period, he pursued a course at Wabash College. Returning to his former pur- suit he continued to devote his attention to ag- riculture for many years. April 22, 1889, he came to this territory, and located in Guthrie. Later he took and proved up a claim in Logan county, and September 16, 1893, made the race into the "strip." He soon canie to Pawnee and embarked in the hardware business, but in 1894 soll ont to H. C. Hanna.
In April, 1895, Mr. Coulter was appointed deputy United States district clerk, and was the first official in the new county court-house. He occupied that position acceptably for about three years, or until the spring of 1898. In Janvary, 1899, he received the appointment to the posi- tion of deputy county treasurer, and served under Mr. Green and J. T. Craig. He was elected treasurer of Pawnee county in the fall
of 1900. For two terms he was numbered among the "city fathers," both terms being pres- ident of the council. In addition to this he was chairman of the city board of education for one term. As stated above, he is zealous in the pro- motion of Democratic party welfare, and at the time of the organization of the Pawnee county central committee he was chosen as its chairman and acted in that capacity for four years, also being honored by the chairmanship at the first county convention of his party. Fraternaily he was initiated into Masonry in Pawnee Lodge No. 17, A. F. & A. M. He is also a member of Tyrian Chapter No. 20, R. A. M., and York and Scottish Rites; thirty-second degree. He is identified with the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
One of the leaders in the organization of the Arkansas Valley Telephone Company, Mr. Coul- ter deserves great credit for what is destined to be a great and flourishing system of untold ben- efit to the people of northeastern Oklahoma. Manifesting his great confidence in the ultimate outcome of the enterprise, he was one of the first to invest capital in it, and since the organi- zation of the company has been secretary and treasurer of the same. Success is attending him, and the matter is receiving general atten- tion, as the merits of the system are becoming known.
Mr. Coulter built a pleasant residence in Paw- nee, and in his home circle finds his happiest hours. He was married in Guthrie to Miss Pearl Laws, whose birth took place in Illinois. They are the parents of a little daughter, Ella by name. Each member of the family is popu- lar in the best circles of Pawnee, and their home plainly attests to the refined tastes of its inmates.
E DWARD H. COOKE. a representative busi- ness man of Oklahoma City, since the be- ginning of the year 1900, has officiated as president of the State National Bank, which was organized in May, 1893. The possessor of broad banking experience, he has been connected with the different departments of a bank, and by his persevering industry and good business ability. has attained his present high position.
In Brenham, Washington county, Tex .. Mr. Cooke was born in 1860. His father, W. H. Cooke, a native of Raleigh, N. C., was left an orphan and was the youngest of a family of eight children. When a young man, about 1845, he went to Texas, and at Brenham he engaged in the lumber and cotton business, in which he met with success. He now resides in Oklahoma City." He married Miss Ellen S. Norton, a native of Connecticut, and a daughter of Samuel Nor- ton. Six children were born to them, of whom
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five are now living. One son, George L., is assistant cashier in the State National Bank of Oklahoma City.
Edward H. Cooke was the oldest child of his parents. He received his early schooling in his native town of Brenham. At seventeen, he en1- tered the bank of Giddings & Giddings, of Bren- ham, and remained with them until 1886. Hethen went to Colorado, Tex., where he became cashier of the Colorado National Bank, and he occupied that position until 1893, when he resigned to locate in Oklahoma City. He assisted in the organization of the State National Bank, which has a capital of $50,000, and is the largest in the city. Its doors were opened in May, 1893, and it now has over $750,000 in deposits. Until Janu- ary, 1900, Mr. Cooke was cashier of this institu- tion, but on that date he was elected president. Possessing the highest order of financial ability, through his exertions, and the assistance of competent men in all departments, the State Na- tional Bank has kept pace with the rapid onward growth of the city and territory. He is inter- ested in the growth of his adopted city, and en- courages all enterprises that tend to promote the welfare of the city and territory at large. He is also secretary and treasurer of Oklahoma City Light and Power Company.
In Brenham, Tex., Mr. Cooke married Miss Mabel Giddings, who was a native of that village, and died there leaving a daughter, Hallie B.
December 20, 1900, at Houston, Tex., Mr. Cooke married Miss Edna Earle Key, a daugh- ter of Alonzo Key, a well-known business man of Houston. She is a native of Texas and was educated in Houston, where she was a prom- inent member of the most select society.
Mr. Cooke is a member of the following or- ganizations: Lodge No. 3, A. F. & A. M., at Oklahoma City; the Consistory at Guthrie, Lodge of Perfection No. 1; Knights of Pythias; Benevolent Patriotic Order of Elks, in which he has been past exalted ruler ; Territorial Bankers' Association; American Bankers' Association: and is a charter member, director and ex- treasurer of the City Commercial Club of Okla- homa City. In politics he is an ardent Demo- crat.
C. T. SOULSBY came to Pawnee on the opening of the reservation in September, 1893, and the following month estab- lished the hardware store, which. he still con- ducts, it being the second store started in the place. He has since been numbered among its leading business men who by fair and honorable dealing have won a merited success in the new territory with which their lot has been cast.
Mr. Soulsby was born on the gtli of Novem-
ber, 1840, in Baltimore, Md., and is the older in a family of two children, his brother being Robert Soulsby, a builder of Talbot county, Md. His father, Robert Soulsby, Sr., was also a native of Baltimore. The grandfather located on the eastern shore of Maryland on his emigration from England to America, being engaged in merchandising there throughout the remainder of his life. In early life the father was also a merchant of that city, but later located on a farm in Lancaster county, Pa., fourteen miles from the city of Lancaster, where he conducted a store in connection with his farming opera- tions. His last days, however, were spent upon a farm in Talbot county, Md., where he died at. the age of seventy-two years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Amelia Hain, was born in Alexandria, Va., and was a daughter of Daniel Hain, who was born in Berks county, Pa., of German descent, and was a soldier of the war of 1812. For some time her father was engaged in milling in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and from there removed to Baltimore, Md., where he was engaged as a general contractor. Subsequently he lived in Safe Harbor, Lan- caster county, Pa., where he died at the age of seventy-six years. The mother of our subject is still living in Talbot county, Md., at the age of seventy-eight years.
C. T. Soulsby spent the first eight years of his life at his birthplace, and then accompanied the family on their removal to Lancaster county, Pa., where he made his home until 1869, in the meantime attending the public schools of that locality. At the age of eighteen he commenced learning the blacksmith's trade in York county, Pa., and after serving a three years' apprentice- ship went to Washington, D. C., and found em- ployment in the government repair shops, where he remained during the Civil war. At its close he went to Rawlinsville, Lancaster county, Pa., where his father owned a hotel, and remained there five years. In 1869 he removed to Talbot county, Md., and turned his attention to agri- cultural pursuits. On his father's death he came into possession of one-half of the home farm, which he operated for eight years, and at the same time carried on the blacksmith's trade at Easton, Md.
As previously stated, Mr. Soulsby came to Pawnee, Okla., in September, 1893, and two weeks later opened a hardware store, which was conducted under the name of C. T. Soulsby until 1897, when his son was admitted to partnership, and the name was changed to C. T. Soulsby & Son. Their store room is 50x65 feet in dimen- sions, and is stocked with both hardware and agricultural implements. They carry the Cham- pion binders and mowers; the John Deere plow goods, of Moline, III .; the James Moon car-
MR. AND MRS. CONRAD STRECKER. Pond Creek.
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riages; and the Moline and Lake City wagons. Upright and honorable in their business deal- mgs, the firm enjoy an excellent trade and are steadily prospering.
In York county, Pa., Mr. Soulsby wedded Miss Mary Ella Cronin, a native of Staunton, V'a., and a daughter of Rev. John Cronin, a Methodist Episcopal minister, who died in the Old Dominion. Her death occurred in York county, Pa. In 1866 Mr. Soulsby was again married, at Rawlinsville, Pa., liis second union being with Miss Mary Ann Smithson, who was born at that place. Her father, Dr. George Smithson, a graduate of the Medical Department of Maryland University, Baltimore, Md., was born in Harford county, Md., and was engaged in the practice of his chosen profession at Raw- linsville, Pa., where he died. Mr. and Mrs. Soulsby have six children, namely: Caroline D., at home; C. Milton T., a blacksmith of Easton, Md .; George S., who was educated at the Easton, Md., high school, and is now a partner of his father in the hardware business and a member of the Commercial Club of Pawnee; Joseph D., lead bookkeeper for the Farmers & Merchants' National Bank of Easton, Md .; and Russell A. and May D., twins, at home.
Mr. Soulsby served as treasurer of Pawnee in 1896, and has always taken an active and com- mendable interest in public affairs, giving his support to every enterprise which he believes calculated to advance the moral, social or ma- terial welfare of his community. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias; and re- ligiously he is an Episcopalian, holding member- ship in Trinity Cathedral at Easton, Md., where lie served as vestryman during his residence there.
C ONRAD STRECKER. As mayor of Pond Creek Mr. Strecker has won the highest municipal office in the gift of the people, and as the most extensive hardware dealer in the county he has received the merited patronage and confidence due his upright methods of trans- acting business. That he is ably qualified to fill these and other positions that the future may liave in store, admits of no doubt, for his varied and many-sided experiences have rounded out a practical knowledge of the affairs of life and have furnished a large, general fund of information.
Germany has furnished a large part of the sub- stantial element that has proved the backbone of American enterprises, and this former subject of the Kaiser is no exception to the rule. Mr. Strecker was born in Germany in 1861, and is the son of German parents, Adam and Dorada Strecker, who lived and died in their native land.
Conrad was second youngest in a family of four children, and was the first to come to America, in 1883, the other children crossing the ocean at a later period. The journey was undertaken on the steamer Boliver, and, after landing in New York, Mr. Strecker went at once to St. Louis, where he remained for six months. Next he set- tled in Independence, Kans., and engaged in carriage building, which he had learned in Ger- many. After the expiration of ten years he came to Oklahoma, in 1893, during the month of Sep- tember, locating immediately in Pond Creek. With commendable energy he readily seized upon a line of occupation for which there must be a continual and growing demand, and in Feb- ruary. of 1894 opened a hardware and im- plement store. The business was conducted at first in rather circumscribed quarters, but with the increase of population in the surrounding country, and the consequent demand for his wares, the necessity arose for more extended room. A store was constructed, 25x145 feet in dimensions, which is unquestionably the largest and most complete affair of the kind in the county. In addition, there is an implement house, 50x100 feet.
To add to the appearance of the town and to the convenience of his family and friends, Mr. Strecker has erected a commodious and com- fortable residence, which is in every way worthy of its surroundings and of the prominent posi- tion of its owner. He is the possessor also of large real-estate interests, and has a farm of one hundred and fifty-five acres, four miles east of Pond Creek, every foot of which is under culti- vation and where general farming and stock- raising are carried on. As president of the Bank of Pond Creek, Mr. Strecker has been enabled to further demonstrate his business acumen and interest in the public welfare, as well to add to his responsibility and already arduous tasks.
As might be expected from the representative of a family who dates his ancestral genealogy through five hundred years of culture and prog- ress, and who have distinguished themselves in the intellectual and commercial world, and who still retain evidence of their close proximity to royalty, as handed down by a coat-of-arms, Mr. Strecker is vitally interested in the cause of edu- cation, and has expended time and money in per- fecting the system inaugurated in his town. As a member of the school board up to the time of his election as mayor, he had ample opportunity to carry out his ideas, which were always heartily welcomed by his colleagues. In April of 1899 this promoter of the public good was unani- mously elected to the mayorship, and his admin- istration has met with the approval of even those who are politically opposed to him. As a men- ber of the Democratic party he is a firm believer
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of the principles which it advocates and an up- holder of the issues which are from time to time inculcated in the platform. As a moral factor, Mr. Strecker is identified with the interests of the Catholic Church, and was largely instru- mental in securing the erection of the Catholic Church in his adopted town. His wife and family are also active workers in the same church.
June 1, 1886, occurred the marriage of Mr. Strecker and Katherine E. Callahan, a daughter of Owen and Rosa Callahan, of Independence, Kans. Of this union there are four children. viz .: Aloysius C., Herbert J., Owen E. and Frank C. The children are all at home. In sumining up their distinguished ancestors these children will doubtless dwell with interest upon the fact that their father's uncle is a general in the Ger- man army; also that an own cousin of their father, Gen. Wilhelm Strecker, under the as- sumed nomenclature of Rechid Pascha, was the distinguished general-in-chief of the Turkish ar- tillery, and undertook and accomplished the re- construction and reorganization of the entire Turkish artillery.
J OHN W. PERRY. As the genial and successful owner of the Perry House at Te- cumseh, as town justice, and as an enter- prising and progressive citizen, Mr. Perry has contributed not a little to the convenience of the traveling public, and to the growth of his prom- ising town. The hotel, erected in 1900, is in every way a credit to the owner and to the local- ity in which it is situated. The rooms are large and well ventilated, the dining room service is such as to win praise front those who profit by the excellent management, and mine host has the necessary traits of kindliness, tact, and gen- eral knowledge of human nature, which are the invariable accompaniments of the popular hotel- man.
In Crawford county, Ark., Mr. Perry was born November 29, 1861, and is a son of Henry and Martha J. (Pope) Perry, natives respectively of Canada and Missouri. On the paternal side the Perry family is of Scotch descent, and these lat- ter-day descendants have many of the sterling and substantial traits for which the Scotch nation have ever been famed. When fifteen years of age J. W. Perry accompanied his parents to the Cher- okee nation, where his father carried on a mer- cantile venture. As a boy he assisted in the work around the store, and early displayed hab- its of thrift and industry. As a student. also, he diligently applied himself to the acquisition of knowledge, and attended the Baptist University near Muscogee, Cherokee nation, where he was graduated from the academic department in due time. He then entered the state university at
Fayetteville, Ark., and after a year went to a commercial college at Fort Smith, and gradu- ated in the business course.
In the fall of 1892 Mr. Perry became identi- fied with the promising possibilities of Okla- homa, and started a mercantile business with his father, which association was amicably and satis- factorily continued for four years. November 25, 1894, occurred the marriage of Mr. Perry and Ella Edmunds, of Keokuk Falls, and a daughter of D. C. and H. F. (Esque) Edmunds. Of this union there are three children, J. T., Mabel, and Reva Mildred, who were born in Keokuk Falls.
With the undertakings of . the Democratic party Mr. Perry has been actively identified, and among other local offices within the gift of the people, he has served as township clerk for two years, and was elected township justice for Keokuk Falls in 1898, to fill a vacancy. So satisfactory were his services that they resulted in his election in 1899, and re-election in 1900. Although several cases have been tried before him, no dissatisfaction has been expressed, nor have any appeals been made. Fraternally Mr. Perry is associated with the Free and Accepted Masons, having joined that organization at Ar- lington, Okla., and is a charter member of the Keokuk Lodge.
E. M. BROWN. Judging from the success which has attended his efforts as a hard- ware merchant, and manufacturer of sheet iron, Mr. Brown seems to have realized many of the expectations in regard to a residence in Pawnee. He has a monopoly of the sheet iron trade of the town, and has filled all of the large contracts intrusted to him in a highly satisfac- tory manner.
Born October 27, 1864, he is a native of Man- hattan, Kans., on the Kansas river, near what was then old Fort Kearney. His father, Cor- nelius, was born at Sandusky, Ohio, and was of French descent. 'He led an interesting and ad- venturous life, and one fraught with incessant danger. As a government spy he went all through the war, having, in 1860, gone to Kan- sas, where he inspected all of the forts. He was several times wounded, and fatally so when at- tempting to arrest some moonshiners in the Indian Territory in ISSI. The mother, formerly Jane Elizabeth Slade, came from other shores. and was a native of London, England. She is now living in Pierce City, Mo. Of the five chil- dren in this family three are living. E. M. being the oldest, and the only one in Oklahoma.
The early youth of Mr. Brown was passed in St. Louis, Mo. He later went to San Diego. Cal., where he apprenticed to a tinsmith, D. Knox, for three years. In the different cities of
FATHER GERMANUS, O. S. B., Shawnee.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
California he later made practical application of his trade, and for a time also lived in Washing- ton territory. Upon his return to St. Louis he worked in several Missouri shops, and for eight months was with the firm of Cochrane & Powers. A later place of residence was in Denver, Colo., from which he was unexpectedly recalled to St. Louis, owing to the illness of his brother. In Joplin, Mo., in 1889, he started a galvanizing cornice works, and in the spring of 1893 he located in Guthrie, where he engaged in the same line of occupation.
Mr. Brown made the run to Perry, but did not remain there, and after a few days came to Pawnee and opened a hardware store and iron works, under the firm name of Coulter & Brown. In March of 1894, he sold his interest to Mr. Coulter, and started a store of his own on the south side. A continually increasing trade soon rendered larger quarters imperative, and in June was erected the present commodious structure in which the affairs of the concern are con- ducted, and which is 23x60 feet in dimensions. His trade in the sheet iron business is not merely local, but extends to many other towns and lo- calities in the territory. Among his possessions in the township are two residences, and some property in other towns.
The marriage of Mr. Brown and Mary Red was solemnized in Mount Vernon, Mo., and to this couple have been born three children, Fred, Nellie, and Wilma. A Democrat in politics Mr. Brown is not an office-seeker. Fraternally he is associated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a member of the National Association of Tin & Sheet Iron Workers.
F ATHER GERMANUS, O. S. B. To France more than to any other Latin country it has been given to send forth into the world of necessity many of her most capable and devoted sons of the church, who, in the midst of crude. but ofttimes enormously promising surround- ings, have wielded an extended influence for good in the moral and material development. The magnitude of the work accomplished by the adherents of the most powerful religious organ- ization in the world is inconceivable from any point of view, and undoubtedly has its founda- tion in the hearts of the disciples whose faith, no- bility and self-sacrifice have found no country too remote, and no condition too austere for the dis- semination of a saving light, sifted through cen- turies of unchanging belief. It is doubtful if this particular corner of the world contains a more sincere advocate of truth and justice than is em- bodied in the untiring efforts of Father Germa- nus, who, as pastor of the Church of St. Benedict,
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