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 2
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95
"That portion of the territory lying east of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway chal- lenges the world in apple-growing; the central section rivals California for profitable grape cul- ture; and peaches are produced in all sections that surpass in quality and quantity those of any other district of equal area in the United States. At market prices, Oklahoma's fruit crop would provide food for every family in the territory. While small fruits of all kinds return handsome profits to the grower, when properly handled, the 'leader' is the grape, which seems to have found its natural habitat here. Three hundred varieties are grown at the Stillwater experiment farm. The vines survived the cold winter of 1898-99 without any material injury.
"The rich, rolling prairie lands and creek slopes, with their porous, sandy soil, furnisli ample drainage, while the altitude and the sum- mer breezes overcome any tendencies to rot or mildew. Further, the long ripening season en- ables growers to handle the fruit advantageously and matures it to the greatest perfection for wine.
"Almost all varieties of American grapes are grown to perfection. Three to four tons of fruit to the acre is a good yield for vineyards, even in the hands of amateurs. Prof. T. V. Munson, of Texas, who enjoys a world-wide reputation as a grape expert, pronounces Oklahoma to be the cream of the American grape-growing region. It has, he says, an ideal soil, equal to that of the country along the Rhine.
"Considerable wine is made, many growers reporting net profits of $50 to $80 per acre.
"The native varieties of plums produce abun- dantly.
"Cherries are a standby, sales of $1.000 wortli from a single orchard not being uncommon.
"Nor should the luscious watermelon be for- gotten. Several hundred trainloads of juicy melons are annually shipped to northern and eastern cities, netting the producer $35 to $50 a car. A 100-pound specimen is not uncommon. while fifty-pounders are an every-day sight. Many growers have sold a dozen wagon-loads and the vines were not all stripped then. Canta- loupes also grow to rare perfection."
In an enumeration of the industries that are bringing prosperity to the residents of Okla- homa, mention should be made of the raising of stock. The stock business, and particularly the cattle industry, is far more important than be- leved by those not conversant with the sub- ject. It is, of course, especially important in
12
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
the counties of Beaver, Woodward, Roger Mills, Day and Greer, and in parts of Dewey, Blaine and Woods counties, where are found nutritious grasses and abundant natural forage. The land there is mostly covered with heavy growths of buffalo grass. Here and there are patches of blue stem, principally in the red hills along the Cimarron river, and on the sandy slopes and treeless dunes of the Salt Fork, North Canadian and Beaver. The blue stem is valuable in af- fording early pasturage, while the buffalo grass furnishes pasturage the year around, and cattle on it produce a quality of beef excelled by none. It is in western Oklahoma that the stock busi- ness especially flourishes, that region being ap- parently better adapted for cattle-raising than for general farming, just as the reverse seems to be true of eastern Oklahoma. A constant improvement is shown in the grade of cattle raised. Few mavericks are to be found on the ranges now, but instead may be seen fine herds of Herefords, Shorthorns and other high-grade cattle.
Almost every Oklahoma farm has at least a few head of swine, and large shipments are made each year to eastern markets. In sheep-raising less has been attempted, few being interested in this industry outside of Beaver and Greer coun- ties, although experts believe that conditions in Oklahoma are favorable for sheep-raising, par- ticularly on the western ranges and in the park timber country. Some attention is given to the raising of horses, which in time will undoubtedly become a very important industry.
TRANSPORTATION.
ATCHISON, TOPEKA & SANTA FE RAILROAD.
By act of congress, in May, 1885, the Santa Fe secured the right of way from Winfield, Kans., to Denison, Tex., also through the In- dian country to the main line of the railroad in New Mexico. Immediately afterward the com- pany began to build its line through Oklahoma to the Gulf of Mexico. Its completion and oper- ation were important factors in bringing about the opening of the territory for settlement. As the pioneer in days of old blazed a path through the trackless forest, so the Santa Fe pio- neered its way through the unsettled regions of Oklahoma; and for months before the opening (when white men were forbidden within its bor- ders) the solitude was broken only by the whistle
of the engine as it sped across the country, be- tween the Kansas line and the Red river.
The Santa Fe by no means limited its interest in Oklahoma to the mere opening thereof. In the fall of 1900 the company distributed among the farmers, free of transportation, 10,000 bush- els of wheat, waiting one year for the pay. In many other ways they have contributed to the development of Oklahoma and the progress of the people, and therefore are entitled to mention among the factors entering into the present high standing of the territory.
CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND & PACIFIC RAILROAD.
In every part of the great west, the name of the Rock Island road is familiar. As a factor in the development of Oklahoma, it well merits the gratitude of the people of the territory. En- tering this region with the vast tide of emigra- tion in 1889. it made practicable the peopling of the vast areas to the west and south. From the first it was prepared to meet the rush of trans- portation flowing in this direction. Not only is its passenger equipment thoroughly modern, but its freight accommodations are also un- surpassed. Along its route are some of the most flourishing cities of Oklahoma, while it passes through a section of country affording every facility for the raising of cotton and grain and the cultivation of fruits.
This railway, in 1890, tendered the farmers of Oklahoma twelve thousand bushels of seed wheat. It has always been active in movements for the benefit of the territory and the devel- opment of its resources.
CHOCTAW, OKLAHOMA & GULF RAILROAD
As the Santa Fe and Rock Island systems form the great connecting links between north- ern and southern Oklahoma, so the Choctaw, Oklahoma & Gulf Railroad spans the territory from east to west. Through the building of this road was made possible the development of the rich country between Oklahoma City and Wister Junction. Since its opening to traffic, the region through which it passes has taken on an importance previously undreamed of. Its value cannot be overestimated. It renders pos- sible the transportation of timber and coal from fields along its route, as well as all kinds of grain, fruits and cotton; hence it contributes largely to the material development of southern Oklahoma.
-
A1.
HON. CASSIUS M. BARNES, Governor of Oklahoma.
13
HON. CASSIUS M. BARNES.
H ON. CASSIUS M. BARNES, Governor of Oklahoma. Under the wise administra- tion of Governor Barnes, Oklahoma has made unprecedented strides along the path of civilization, winning peace and prosperity in its every step, the most sanguine anticipations of the energetic and enterprising men who have contributed to its phenomenal development meeting with a happy realization. During the three years that he has filled the gubernatorial chair, the conditions for the farmer, on whom the prosperity of the territory so largely de- pends, have been materially changed through the further transformation of the wild land to a garden rich with fields of grain and cotton, or fruitful orchards, and by means of easier and better facilities for transportation; domestic and foreign commerce has greatly increased; and, most important of all, such attention has been given to the establishment of common schools and higher institutions of learning that the educational standard of the territory has been raised to a plane equal to that of many of the states. Although as yet agriculture is the chief occupation of the people. other sources of wealth lie in wait for the progressive settler, and in the near future mining and manufacturing will be numbered among the leading industries of this region. Coal has already been mined to some extent; indications of iron. copper, zinc and other minerals are given in various places ; large quantities of gypsum and salt exist; and oil and gas have been found in sufficient amount to warrant the sinking of wells in some counties. Manufacturing is well established. flouring mills, cotton compresses, cotton gins, cotton-seed oil mills, salt factories, stone quarries, ice plants, creameries, machine shops, planing mills, car- riage factories, cigar and broom factories, bot- tling works, etc., being already in operation. In the development and regulation of these sources of industry, the present governor has given judicious aid and encouragement, meeting the exigencies of the times with a characteristic wisdom and decision that has won for him the respect and esteem of the better class of the people.
Cassins M. Barnes was born near Greigsville, Livingston county, N. Y., in 1845, a son of Henry . Barnes, and a grandson of Gideon Barnes, a life-long farmer, and a pioneer settler of Greigsville. Henry Barnes was brought up
on the home farm in Greigsville, where he re- sided during the earlier years of his life. In 1846 he made a trip to Michigan with a view of becoming a permanent settler of the state, and was so much pleased with the country that in 1849 he removed with his family to Albion, Calhoun county, and was there successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, in 1877. He became a man of influence in the community, and was for many years an elder in the Presbyterian Church. Politically he was at first a Whig, but afterwards a strong adherent of the Republican party, and a stanch advocate of the temperance cause. He married Samantha Boyd, who was born in Massachusetts, a daugh- ter of Deacon Pliny Boyd, who subsequently became a pioneer of Livingston county, N. Y. She survived her husband, passing away in 1884. Five children were born of their union. as follows: Cassius M .; Darwin H., who was a major in the quartermaster's department during the Civil war, and is now postmaster at Port Arthur, Tex .; Lucian J., a major and assistant adjutant-general in the Civil war. afterwards a banker in Little. Rock, Ark., and subsequently a government employee in Washington, D. C., thence removing to Duluth, Minn., where his death occurred, in 1891 ; Julius A., a lumber mer- chant in southern Arkansas; and Mary L., of Camden. Ark.
Cassius M. Barnes was but four years old when he accompanied his parents to Michigan. where he was reared on a farm, and acquired his early education in the common schools, this being supplemented by a few terins' attendance. at different times, at the Albion Wesleyan Sem- inary. When nine years old he learned teleg- raphy in the Kalamazoo office of the Western Union Telegraph Company, working at it as he had opportunity. While but a boy, he went to St. Louis, Mo., as an operator in the office of the vice-president of the O. & M. Railroad Com- pany, and was later in the office of the vice- president of the old Pacific (now the Frisco) Railway Company. In 1857, with Mr. Clowry, superintendent of the telegraph line between St. Louis and Leavenworth, Kans., he went to the latter place as operator, Leavenworth then being the frontier station of the line. Return- ing from there to St. Louis, he was employed for some time as an operator on different roads. with an occasional term at school. In 1861 he
14
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
enlisted in the Civil war, entering the Battle Creek Engineers of Battle Creek, Mich., from which he was honorably discharged to join the Military Telegraph Corps as an operator. Ile was private secretary to Gen. Nathaniel Lyon, with whom he remained until the battle of Wil- son's creek, where the general met his untimely death. Mr. Barnes then returned to Michigan, where he, enlisted in Howland's Independent Company of Battle Creek Engineers, under Gen- eral Fremont, and at the end of one hundred and ten days' service was mustered out. Subse- quently as a member of the Telegraph Corps, he served with General Sherman at the siege of Corinth and campaign of Memphis, from the lat- ter city being sent to Missouri to take charge of the Jefferson City office for the government. Later, becoming connected with the quarter- master's department, under General Schofield, he went to Little Rock, Ark., to close up busi- ness with the troops, advanced to Fort Smith. where he remained till the close of the war, after which he engaged in business in Little Rock. In 1872, during the Brook Baxter war, he served as assistant adjutant-general on the staff of Governor Brooks of Arkansas, and was after- wards assistant assessor of internal revenue at Fort Smith for two years. The following three years he was city clerk at Little Rock, and was then appointed chief deputy United States mar- shal, eastern district of Arkansas, an office which he held three years, when he was trans- ferred to Fort Smith as chief deputy marshal, a position which he retained ten years, his district including Arkansas, Indian Territory, Okla- homa, and territory extending westward into the Panhandle country. From Fort Smith he was appointed receiver of the United States land office at Guthrie, in April, 1889, by Presi- dent Harrison, and at once took up his residence in Oklahoma. The Santa Fe Railway station was then the only building, and on Government Acre, he erected the land office, which is still standing. This he occupied four years, or until a change of administration, when he gave way to his successor. In the fall of 1894 he was elected to the territorial legislature from Guthrie district, and was made speaker of the house, over which he presided ably and well, every con- tested ruling that he made being substantiated by a vote of the house, an incident unparalleled in history. He was re-elected in 1896, and as temporary speaker opened the session; at the end of the second day, he was selected by the speaker to conduct business, and closed the session, March 12, 1897. During that session many measures were proposed by the Populists, but were defeated, as the three Republicans of the house in some cases held the balance of power.
April 21, 1897, Mr. Barnes was appointed Governor of Oklahoma by President Mckinley, and May 26, 1897, was inaugurated on the Public Square, or Government Acre. The ad- ministration of his office has since been above reproach, redounding to his credit, and to the honor of the entire people. The unjust charges once made by his political opponents on account of the actions of an adjutant-general since re- moved, were without foundation, and conse- quently ignored by the house when reported. The territorial, county, town and city indebted- ness has been materially reduced under his supervision; territorial warrants that in June, 1897, were quoted in the markets at eighty and eighty-five cents now bring ninety-seven and ninety-eight cents, and county and city bonds, then hawked about the markets of the country at six per cent, are now readily placed at four and one-half per cent, at par. At the present time the expenditures of the territorial execu- tive department are less than those of Logan or Oklahoma county, proving his financial wis- dom and economy. The Governor has been especially interested in advancing the educa- tional status of the territory, taking great pride in the erection of school and college buildings, and was largely instrumental in the building of the Northwestern Normal School, at Alva, to which some at first strongly objected, thinking there was little need for such an institution in that part of the territory. But the rapid progress of the school has proved its utility, the enroll- ment having grown from fifty-four students the first year to four hundred and sixty-seven pupils. the limit of the capacity of the building. many having been turned away from lack of accommodation.
Governor Barnes is a Mason of high degree, having joined the fraternity at Fort Smith, Ark .. becoming past master of the lodge there; and while there was also made a Royal Arch Mason and a Knight Templar. He is a charter member of Guthrie Lodge No. 2, A. F. & A. M., of Guthrie Chapter and Guthrie Commandery. He was first made grand commander of the Grand Commandery of Oklahoma by appointment, and at the end of six months was elected to the same high position, which he filled for a year. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic, and was the first department commander of Okla- homa and Indian Territory, and first commander of Hartranft Post No. 3. G. A. R .. of Guthrie. He is also a charter member of India Temple. N. M. S., and of Chancellor Commandery, K. P., of Guthrie. While living in Arkansas, he was past grand commander of Department No. I. G. A. R., of which he was assistant adjutant- general several years, and was a charter member of Fort Smith Lodge No. 452, K. of 11., of
,
F.C. Strang.
Oh 15
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
which he was grand dictator and grand reporter a number of years, and to which he still be- longs. He was there very prominent in Masonic circles, and as a delegate, and one of the com- mittee, visited Texas when the Greer county lodges were transferred to Oklahoma.
In 1869 Governor Barnes married Mary E., daughter of Judge Liberty Bartlett, the descen- dant of an early Puritan settler of Massachu- setts, the state of his birth. He was formerly a judge of the Arkansas circuit court, and was for many years a prominent attorney of Little Rock. The Bartlett family is of Revolutionary stock, and Mrs. Barnes is regent for the Society of the Daughters of the Revolution in Okla- homa. Governor and Mrs. Barnes have thrce children, namely : Cassius Bartlett, Harry Cooper and Eliza Louise. Cassius B., who was
graduated from Annapolis in 1895, is a lieu- tenant in the United States navy. During the Spanish-American war, he did blockade duty before Havana, and is now with the Alliance, on which he has just returned from a cruise to the Mediterranean sea. Harry C. Barnes, who was educated in the public schools and at a military academy, served as captain of Company C, Oklahoma Battalion, First Regiment, Territorial Volunteers, in the Spanish-American war, and is now Captain of the Thirty-fourth United States Infantry. He married Zella Maud McAllister, and they have one son, Harry Cooper. Eliza Louise Barnes was educated at Bethany College, Topeka, Kans., after which she completed the course at the Conservatory of Music, in Chi- cago, Ill. She now resides with her parents at the executive mansion. Governor and Mrs. Barnes are active workers in the Episcopalian Church, to which both belong, he being a lay reader; Mrs. Barnes is prominent in the Ladies' Society connected with the church, and in many of the charitable organizations of the place.
J UDGE J. C. STRANG, attorney-general for Oklahoma. Conspicuous among the fore- most lawyers of Logan county, noteworthy for his keen perceptive faculties and logical skill, is the subject of this personal history, who located in Guthrie in 1893, and has here met with the same flattering professional success that crowned the efforts of his earlier years. Hc was born December 31, 1852, in Newfield, Tompkins county, N. Y., which was also the birthplace of his father, Daniel Strang. He is the direct descendant of a French Huguenot family that emigrated to America on the revoca- tion of the edict of Nantes in 1685, and settled on the Hudson river, in New York, the name at that time having been spelled "Le Strange."
Daniel Strang, Sr., the judge's grandfather,
was born, probably, in Connecticut, but after his marriage became a pioneer of Tompkins county, N. Y., settling at first on the present site of the city of Ithaca, but afterward removed to Lan- singburg. Ile died in Tompkins county, being accidentally killed by the kick of a colt, his death occurring in 1828, on the day that Andrew Jack- son was elected president. He married Narcissa Chapman, who survived him many years, dying at the advanced age of ninety-two years. Her father, a Connecticut man, served in the Revo- lutionary war, and was on the staff of General Washington.
In his earlier ycars Daniel Strang followed the occupation of farming, to which he was reared, but subsequently devoted his attention to mechanical pursuits, utilizing his natural abili- ties at first as a pattern-maker. Afterward he built grist mills and threshing machines, and invented and built the first clover huller, using the same plan as the makers of to-day, but never had it patented. He is now living, retired from business, at Cayutaville, N. Y. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Case, was born in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., of good old Knicker- bocker stock, and when a small child was left an orphan. Five children were born of their union. as follows: Francis, now postmaster at West- field, Pa .; J. C., the subject of this sketch; Keziah, now Mrs. Culver, of Elmira, N. Y .: Mrs. Mary E. Dickens, who lives near the old home in New York; and Elvin T., of Schuyler county, N. Y.
J. C. Strang received excellent educational advantages, having attended the Ithaca Acad- emy, after which he was graduated from Wat- kin's Academy, in Schuyler county. He then continued his studies with John Gillette, of Peach Orchard, N. Y., and subsequently taught school five terms. during which time he read law. Returning to Ithaca he was a student for six months in the law office of Dana, Beers & How- ard, then continued his studies with Butler B. Strang in Westfield, Pa., until his admission to the bar in 1873. Being elected district attorney the same fall he served three years, then removed to Kansas in the spring .of 1877, locat- ing in the new town of Larned, where he com- menced practice with J. N. Van Winkle, now of Shawnee, Okla. In 1878 Mr. Strang was elected county attorney of Pawnee county, Kans., and served two years, when, in the fall of 1880, he was elected state senator, in which he served during the session of 1881. This legislature passed the bill creating two new judicial dis- tricts, of one of which, the sixteenth, Mr. Strang was appointed judge by Governor John P. St. John, receiving his appointment March 8, 1881. Taking the train that day for Kingsley, Kans .. he opened court the next morning and served
16
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
tlie ten months for which he was appointed. He was then nominated unanimously on the Repub- lican ticket for the same office, and having been elected by a large majority, filled the office four years. In 1885 he was again elected to the same position, receiving nearly every vote in the county, and served another four years. In Jan- uary, 1890, he was appointed by Governor Humphrey as one of the members of the supreme court commission of Kansas and served three years on the bench in Topeka, the other members of the commission being Judges Albert H. Horton, D. Valentine, W. A. John- son, B. F. Simpson and Judge Green.
At the close of court in March, 1893, Judge Strang formed a partnership with his associate, Judge Green, and opened a law office in Guth- rie, Okla., under the firm name of Green & Strang. In December, 1897, the partnership was dissolved, and Judge Strang continued in practice alone, engaging more especially in criminal practice, in which he has been espe- cially successful, prosecuting the cases brought before him with vigor and decision. He will be long remembered as having won the case against Mahoffey, who was convicted of murder, and having secured the conviction of Hodges for killing Christian. In1 1896 the judge was elected county attorney for Logan county, and served from January, 1897, until 1899. In February, 1900, he was honored by Governor C. M. Barnes, who appointed him attorney-general for Oklahoma Territory, and February 26, 1900, he took the oath of office.
Since attaining his majority Judge Strang has been in public life and has always been a Repub- lican in politics, and a strong advocate of the temperance cause. In 1888 he was a delegate- at-large to the national convention in Chicago that nominated Harrison for the presidency, and a delegate the same year to the anti-saloon con- vention held in Chicago to persuade the Prohibi- tion party to induce the Republican party to take up the measure. In the Kansas senate he was a member of the temperance committee, and assisted in the passage of the first prohibi- tory law of the state. He was also chairman of the committee on legislative apportionment, and drafted the bill therefor. He is now a leading member of the territorial Republican committee. He is also president of the Territorial Bar Asso- ciation, serving his second term of office.
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.