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 35
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Selling out in Linn county, he traveled from May to July and then settled in Dade county,
Mo., where he seeured forty acres of land, only eight acres being broken. There he remained three years. His next move was to Indepen- denee, Kans., near which place he bought a farm, but remained only ten weeks on account of illness, then went to live in the city of Inde- pendence. The next February he set out for Deadwood in the Dakotas and traveled as far as the Nibera river, but after driving from place to place sold his team and went to Council Bluffs and from there returned to Dade county, Mo .. bought a team and wagon and started for Hot Springs. However, while on the way, he met a preacher who persuaded him not to go, so he turned around and went to Colorado Springs instead. After a few weeks'. sojourn there he proceeded to Denver and thence to Cheyenne. There he sold his team and bought tickets to Walla Walla, Wash., where he lay ill and it was thought that he would die, but he finally recov- ered. Going to Kansas City, thenee to Coluni- bus, Kans., and from there (by courtesy of the conductor) to Joplin, Mo., he stopped on the farm of John Simms and lived in that vicinity three years, and then went to Girard, Kans. From there he removed to Vernon, Mo., remain- ing two years. In 1889, while making the run to Oklahoma, his horse was taken sick on the line an hour before the opening. However, thirty minutes afterwards, he reached his pres- ent claim, and here the horse again dropped down. Mr. Roy concluded to stay. He has made all the improvements, assisted by his sons, and now has a good farm.
Mr. Roy and his estimable wife are the parents of seven children: Mrs. Lucinda Adams, Will- iam T. Sherman, Frederic, Minnie (wife of Wm. Compton), Okay, Alta and Nellie. The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Of the sons, Frederic is a fine worker and good farmer, and stands high in his community.
J JOHN R. SHUFF. Sixty-three years ago the birth of John R. Shuff, of Canadian county, occurred in Morgan county, Ill., the date being September 18, 1837. He grew to maturity upon the homestead owned by his par- ents, Jolm and Angelina (Lindsay) Shuff, who early inculcated in their son the upright princi- ples of conduct which always have animated him in all of life's vicissitudes. He is sincerely esteented and looked up to by every one who knows him, and his earnest desire to aid and uplift his fellow-men has been a great influence for good wherever he has dwelt.
After completing his public-school course. it was the privilege of our subject to attend a col- lege at Jacksonville, Ill., for three years, after
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which he pursued higher studies in Bethany college, in Virginia. He was there at the time the Civil war broke out, and as his health was poor, he could not respond to Lincoln's call for troops, though he had supported him by his bal- M. and was in thorough sympathy with the Fed- erals. "Therefore he returned to his native state, and engaged in teaching school in Sangamon und Morgan counties for several terms.
On the 24th of December, 1863, Mr. Shuff married Elizabeth Ann Artt, whom he had known for a number of years. She was born near Georgetown, Ky., and went to Morgan county, Ill., when she was young. In 1868 the young couple went to Nodaway county, Mo., where they purchased a farm, but within a few years a financial loss was sustained which neces- sitated the sale of the property. Then for a period Mr. Shuff cultivated a rented farm in Holt and Nodaway counties, and finally bought a farm in Montgomery county, Iowa. After residing there but a year, he went to Taylor county, same state, and subsequently the family dwelt in west- ern Kansas for a few years.
The large expenses incident to the rearing of several children, added to the reverses which he had suffered frequently by the failure of crops and the uncertain markets, at length decided Mr. Shuff in the question of removal to Oklahoma whenever it should be opened to settlement, as it seemed a veritable "promised land" to those who were acquainted with its resources. Au- gust 17, 1889, he came to Canadian county, and filed a claim to his present property, and in De- cember he moved his family here. They were sheltered in a sod house for several years, but later better accommodations came as the result vi indefatigable labor. The farm is situated on section 34, township 14. range 6. Mathewson being the postoffice. Mrs. Shuff inherited some money from a relative and invested a portion of it in a quarter-section of land adjoining the prop- erty belonging to our subject.
Ervin A., their eldest son. is unmarried and assists his father in the work of the farm. Eva E ... who died when seven years of age, rests in the cemetery near the old family home in Noda- way county. John Artt. who is married and has two children, is a farmer of Rice county, Kans. D. Edwin is engaged in farming in Reno county, Kans., and James W. is similarly occupied in Coffey county, Kans. Lizzie L. is the wife of Charles J. Hunter, of this county. Her twin, Jesse R., died when in his third year. Mollie A. died when twenty-four years old. and with the young- est member of the family, Laura Euzetta, who died when in her thirteenth year, was buried in the Mathewson cemetery. Harvey O. is a sti- dent in the normal school at Edmond, Okla., and Benjamin F. resides in Reno county, Kans.,
while Armilda Ann is living with her parents and is engaged in teaching.
John R. Shuff, when he was in his seventeenthi year, became' identified with The Church of Christ in Illinois, his parents having previously become members also. He early was called upon to occupy pulpits, and for a great many years has preached the gospel. Politically, he was a Republican until 1884, when he espoused the cause of the Union Labor party and at one time was its nominee for the position of probate judge of Hodgemian county, Kans., though he was not elected, and had not expected to win.
P ETER SCHAFER is an enterprising agri- culturist located on the northwest quarter of
section 13, township 17, range 2 west, Logan county. He also has four hundred acres of land on section 5, Antelope township, or town- ship 17, range I west. Mr. Schafer was born in Sheboygan, Wis., October 11, 1840, and is a son of Jerry and Susannah (Snyder) Schafer. He was reared on a farm and received a good educa- tion in the common schools. At the age of twenty-one he started out for himself and went to farming on rented land. He was married in Milwaukee when he was about thirty-three years old, having moved to that town, where he worked in the roller mills and slaughter houses. In the latter place he learned the butcher's busi- ness, having worked under Philip D. Armour.
Moving to Seward county, Neb., Mr. Schafer farmed on rented land for four years. He then bought one hundred and sixty acres in Gage county, Kans., which he transformed from a wild and uncultivated state into a fine farm. After thirteen years he sold out and received $5.000 for the place. He was foremost in the run for Oklahoma, but failed to locate a claim. Six months after he bought his present farm, to which he has added from time to time until he now has three quarter-sections of land. He is interested in general farming and stock-raising. His early efforts to become settled in Oklahoma were somewhat retarded by a series of calamities which, while not enormous, were very aggravat- ing. but he is somewhat of a philosopher, and ar- gues that his loss is someone's else gain. The people who wanted his possessions took at least five hundred dollars' worth, including a new plow, harness, meat, chickens, and a team of three fine horses.
Mr. Schafer married Mrs. Frederica Schmidt, a daughter of Christian and Christine (Thiele) Langerich. She came to America from Germany when thirteen years old. The result of her mar- riage with Mr. Schmidt was five children: Wil- liam Schmidt lives in Fairmont, Neb., and has two children: Hermann also lives in Fairmont,
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Neb., is a railroad mechanic, and has seven chil- dren; Henry lives in Oklahoma, and has four children; Frank lives in Oklahoma, and has two children; Charles, also a resident of Okla- homa, has one child. Mr. and Mrs. Schafer have adopted a little girl named Maud Schulz. She is an orphan and was born AApril 23, 1887.
A. H. SCHOWALTER. With certain reser- vations, it may be maintained that success, at least in a fair measure, comes to those who are deserving of the blessing. The anibi- tious, enterprising, industrious American citizen is rarely to be found in the great class of mal- contents, who clamor against the institutions and policy of this great nation, but, rather, is grateful and proud of the fact that he is classed among the loyal sons of the republic.
Mr. Schowalter of this sketch is aworthy Amer- ican, and an honored citizen of Kingfisher, with whose destinies his own have been linked since the opening of Oklahoma. He is a son of Peter and Mary (Eymann) Schowalter, natives of Bava- ria, Germany. The father was born in Septem- ber, 1818, and after his marriage crossed the Atlantic, thenceforth to make his home in the United States. In 1845 he settled in Ashland county, Ohio, and seven years later, in 1852, pur- chased a homestead in Lee county, Iowa. After spending three decades in that county, engaged in the tilling of the soil, he passed to his reward, loved and respected by all. His faithful wife survived him twelve years, dying in 1894, when about seventy years of age. Her father, Jacob Eymann, also was numbered among the farmers of Iowa for several years prior to liis deatlı. Peter Schowalter and wife were adherents of the religious sect called Mennonites, and the former was one of the trustees in his church. Of the ten children who lived to maturity, seven sons and a daughter survive.
A. H. Schowalter was born near Franklin Center, Lee county, Iowa, March 28, 1856, and passed his boyhood in the quiet routine of farm life. Hfe had but limited educational advantages. but possessed a determination to learn, which has made him the well-informed man that he is to-day. He continued to assist in the manage- ment of the home farm until 1878, when he went to Summerfield, Ill., and became an employe of a prosperous agriculturist in that vicinity. With him he continued for two years, and in the meantime attended a private school, where he perfected himself in several branches of practical knowledge.
In 1880 Mr. Schowalter went to Halstead. Kans., where he devoted his time to farming until 1882, when he became interested in the lumber business. For two years he was in the
employ of D. C. Ruth, and then during the ensi- ing three years was with the Halstead Lumber Company, buying timber for the firm in different parts of the south. In 1887 he became a citizen of Tribune, Greeley county, Kans., where he was connected with its development, and trans- acted a lucrative real estate business. He served as a member of the city council and accomplished much for the place, though he resided there but little over two years. April 22, 1889, he came to Kingfisher, located some lots here and at once commenced making improvements. Dur- ing the following six years he was associated with the Michigan Lumber Company and then. selling out, he bought out the Alexander Lumber Company, whose yards cover over a quarter of a block, at the corner of Admire avenue and Seventh street. The firm is now known as A. H. Schowalter & Co .. and a large stock of lumber is always carried. An extensive trade has been built up by the en- terprising firm, and in addition to their other enterprise they deal extensively in coal and wood. Mr. Schowalter is identified with the Missouri & Kansas Retail Lumber Dealers' As- sociation.
At the organization of Kingfisher. Mr. Scho- walter was chosen as a member of the council. and when elected to represent the first ward of Kingfisher he served as chairman of the finance committee. At present he holds the office of treasurer of the city school funds. A fine school- house has been constructed, besides which other improvements are being made here in the edu- cational system. In politics he is an earnest ad- vocate of the Republican party. Fraternally, he belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America. and to the Ancient Order of United Workmen. in both of which orders he has held official posi- tions. Ile is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and is a liberal contributor to many worthy religious and benevolent enterprises.
The marriage of Mr. Schowalter and Miss Liz- zie Ashworth, a native of Jewell county. Kans .. took place in Kingfisher. November 6th. 1894. They have a pleasant home, the sunshine of which is their charming little daughter, Twyla, four years of age.
H AVARD KANE ROWLAND. Oklahoma is making rapid strides toward prosperity, and the day cannot be distant when it will take an honored place among the common- wealths of the United States. Here to-day are gathered sterling representatives from every state in the great trans-Mississippi region, the cast and the west. the north and the south. and probably no state or territory in the Union is more thoroughly cosmopolitan in this sense.
JOHN D. FAIRES. Logan County.
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Among the pioneers of this future great state Havard Kane Rowland is numbered and de- serves to be remembered.
A native of Lewis county, Ky., Mr. Rowland was born January 25, 1860, a son of William B. and Mary ( De Atley) Rowland. He was reared upon a farin and early learned agriculture in all its details, besides mastering the common branches of knowledge. as taught in the public schools. His father having died when the youth was but fourteen years of age, the serious re- sponsibilities of life came to him, and thenceforth he was practically seli-supporting.
When in his twenty-sixth year, Mr. Rowland concluded to try his fortunes in the west. and, going to Ford county. Kans., he pre-empted a homestead. During the four years which foi- lowed he expended all of his means in the im- provement of the place, and eventually sold out at a loss. In the spring of 1889 he came to Okla- homa, and, after making a thorough search for a suitable tract of land. located upon his present farm, on the southwestern quarter of section 1.4. township 14, range 6 west, Canadian county. Constructing a comfortable sod house. he was sheltered within its walls for nearly eight years. In the meantime he devoted his time exclusively to the cultivation of his farm, and surely. though perhaps somewhat slowly. made marked progress from year to year. Shortly before his marriage he built a substantial frame house, 14x24 feet in dimensions, and made other desirable im- provements.
The marriage of Mr. Rowland and Anna Rat- cliff, of Mathewson township. Canadian county, took place March 31. 1897. She is a daughter of John R. and Maria L. (Cummings) Rateliff, and is a native of Adams county. Neb. She has lived in Missouri and Stafford county. Kans., and came to this territory in the spring of 1890, joining her father, who had entered land here the previous year. Mr. and Mrs. Rowland are the parents of one child. Rex. a promising lad.
In his political affiliations. our subject is a Republican of no uncertain stripe. He cast his first presidential ballot in 1884. Blaine being the man of his choice. Everything of mo- ment to his country and community is a matter of concern to him, as it should be to every pa- triot. and he endeavors to perform his entire duty as a citizen and neighbor.
JOHN D. FAIRES, a prominent agricul- turist of Logan county, is located on the southwest quarter of section 27, township 18, range 2 west. He was born in Washington county, Ohio, April 2, 1842. and is a son of John and Cassander (Ball) Faires.
When John Faires was one year old his father
mnoved from Washington county to Morgan county, and eight years later to Athens county. He was a successful agriculturist and a hard worker, and the lad was taught to assist in every department of farm labor. At the same time he studied hard in the district schools and thereby gained a fair education, supplemented by a course of reading which he took up later on. With the call to arms in 1861. he enlisted in Company E, Eighteenth Ohio Vol- unteer Infantry. After a service of eleven months he was discharged for disability, hav- ing been laid up in the hospital with typhoid fever and rheumatism, which finally terminated in paralysis. Before his discharge he was in the hospital at Bacon Creek, and later sent to Eliza- bethtown, Ky., and finally to the barracks at Louisville, Ky. His partial recovery was rapid. as it was unexpected, and he rejoined his regi- ment in Elk River, Tenn., where he was honorably discharged. Upon his return to Athens county, he was for a long time unable to perform even slight duties, and it may be said that he has never entirely recovered his health.
Mr. Faires was married July 26, 1866, in Mc- Donough county, Ill., to Lizzie Decker, and of this union two children were born; Charles War- ner, who is a farmer in McDonough county, ill., and Lora Belle, who is married and living in Chicago. Owing to continued ill-health, Mr. Faires went back to Ohio, where he was some- what benefited by a change of surroundings and climate. October 27, 1874, occurred his second marriage, his wife being Maggie Litle, of Vin- ton county, Ohio, where she was born. Mrs. Faires is a daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Stevens) Litle.
In March, 1878, Mr. Faires moved to Kansas, but after a short residence there he went to Ray county, Mo., bought sixty acres of land, and later went to Jackson county, Kans., where hie purchased one hundred and sixty acres. on which he lived for eight years. He subsequently returned to Ray county and bought ninety acres of land which he afterwards traded for four hundred acres in Oklahoma, this land being divided as follows: one hundred and sixty upon which he now lives, one hundred and sixty three miles east, and eighty situated seven miles east. all of which is under a high state of cultivation. . The political sympathies of Mr. Faires are with the Republican party. Mr. and Mrs. Faires have eleven children: John, born April 24. 1876, in Ohio, who was married and has one child living. Kilbert Courtney, and lives on his father's farm: Mary, born December 8. 18;8. in Ray county, Mo., where she now lives, the wife of George MeQuerrey, by whom she has one child, Mary R .; Lewis Henry, born in Jack- son county, Kans., April 2, 1881; George W.,
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born in Jackson county, July 17, 1883; Robert Selby, born in Jackson county, August 10, 1885; Frank Ellison, born in Ray county, Mo., July I, 1890; Dora E., born in Ray county, February 26, 1892; Lawrence D., born in Ray county, May 10, 1894; Lillie May, born March 28, 1896; Clarence A., born in Payne county, Okla., Feb- ruary 14, 1898, and Albert Dillard, born January 11, 1900.
R ALPH V. SMITH, M. D. The medical pro -. fession in Oklahoma has within its ranks a number of exceptionally talented young men, who to eastern-acquired educations add the spirit and enterprise of the pioneer, and are play- ing an important part in the founding of this future state. One of the foremost practitioners of Guthrie is Dr. Ralph V. Smith, whose father, Henry L. Smith, M. D., also was in the front ranks of our pioneer citizens. Knowing that a resume of their careers will be of interest to many, the following has been compiled:
On both sides of the house, Dr. R. V. Smith is of old and honored Pennsylvania fami- lies, and the same is true of his respected father. Dr. Henry L. Smith was born in Armstrong county; his father. Adam Smith, and grand- father, Yost Smith, were natives of Northampton county, Pa., and all were sterling, upright citizens. Adam Smith carried on a farm in Armstrong county. His principal occupation in early life was the lumber business, which proved remunerative during the early settlement of that part of Penn- sylvania, his home being on Red Bank creek. a tributary of the Allegheny river, down which the lumber was rafted to the Ohio river and the towns of Pittsburg. Pa., and Cincinnati, Ohio. His wife, Mary Ann, was born in Westmoreland county, Pa., and was a daughter of Philip Shoe- maker, who spent his last years in Armstrong county, Pa. Two brothers of Dr. Henry L. Smith were privates in the Seventy-eighth Penn- sylvania Infantry during the Civil war.
Dr. Henry L. Smith, whose birth occurred May 16, 1845, received a high school education in Glade Run, and after leaving the local acad- emy he engaged in teaching school, at the same time devoting his leisure to the study of medi- cine. In 1876 he was graduated in the Columbus Medical College. in Ohio, and for a year prac- ticed in Maysville. Pa. Then for six years he was located in Kelly Station, same county, and in 1885 came to the west, settling at Potwin, Kans. Coming to Guthrie April 23, 1880. he opened an office in a tent, on Second street, but within a few days he took possession of a small building which he had had erected there. Later his office was situated on Oklahoma avenue, and his practice steadily increased. He was consid-
ered one of the best physicians and surgeons of this place, and from the time of his settlement here until his death he was the local surgeon of the Santa Fe Railroad. Besides this, he was a member of the first board of pension exam- iners of this territory, serving for eight years. both under Harrison and Cleveland, and from 1893 to 1897 was medical adviser to the Federal prison of Guthrie. He owned a good farmi near this city and had money invested in other local interests. He was affiliated with the Ter- ritorial Medical and American Medical Societies, was connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and was a Mason, belonging to Guthrie Lodge No. 2, A. F. & A. M. Polit- ically, he was an ardent Democrat, and relig- iously, was a Presbyterian, a member and trustee of the Guthrie Presbyterian Church. His busy and useful life came to a close November 16, 1898, and his loss has been deeply felt in this community.
For a wife, Dr. Henry L. Smith chose Re- becca, daughter of Jacob Mohney, and a native of Clarion county, Pa. Her father and mother (whose maiden name was Christine Kaster) were natives of Northampton county, Pa., where John Kaster, grandfather of Mrs. Smith, had located at an early period. Jacob Mohney, who died in the prime of life, took his family in wagons over the mountains to Clarion county, Pa., the trip consuming nine days, and thenceforth he was engaged in the cultivation of a farm near New Bethlehem, Pa. Mrs. Smith is one of nine chil- dren, eight of whom reside in the Keystone state. and in her girlhood her educational advantages were excellent, as she pursued her higher studies in the academy at Glade Run. To the doctor and wife four children were born, namely: Mrs. Maud Ball, of Guthrie; Ralph V .; Clyde, who died in his twentieth year, June 20, 1894. and Samuel M., of Guthrie. Mrs. Smith is deeply in- terested in worthy enterprises calculated to uplift and benefit humanity, and in the Presbyterian Church, and in the Ladies' Benevolent Society of this place she is a great worker and beloved by all.
Dr. Ralph V. Smith was born January 23. 1871, in Armstrong county, Pa .. and during the first six years of his life dwelt in the town of Red Bank. From 1877 to 1885 he lived at Kelly Station, Pa., and then came west to Kansas. For two years he attended the state normal school at Emporia, Kans .. after which he engaged in teach- ing for three years. In the meantime he visited Oklahoma during the first year of its extensive settlement, and, though he returned to Kansas to complete his engagement in the schools. he soon came back to stay. For about a year he was employed as a clerk by Ball Brothers, and in 1893 hie accepted a position with the Santa
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Fe, and until the spring of 1895 was a contractor in the fuel department.
Five years ago the doctor put into effect a resolution he had formed long before-that he would prepare himself for the medical profession -- and, laying the foundations of knowledge in that science under the efficient tutorage of his father, he then entered the Missouri Medical College, in which he was graduated in 1898. with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. With his father he continued to practice until the latter's death, and now has an office located in the Bee- hive block. He is an earnest student. neglecting no opportunities for improvement : he reads the leading medical journals published and is identi- tied with the Territorial Society. He also is a member of and the medical examiner for local lodges of the Ancient Order of United Work- men and the Woodmen of the World. In relig- ious faitli he is a Presbyterian and connected with the Guthrie congregation.
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