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 51
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
The four children of our subject and wife are industrious, loyal citizens, and until they left home they took an active part in the busy home life of their parents. David, the eldest son, is unmarried, and still resides in Atchison county, Kans .. while George, who has a wife and two sons, is engaged in the management of an eighty- acre farm not far from the home of our subject. Catharine is the wife of Christian Berker; Julia, who married Adam Dorson, lives in Atchison county, Kans., and is the mother of two little girls, Julia and Ruth.
Mr. Rouse had the principles of the Demo- cratic party strongly instilled into him in his youth, and in 1856 he cast his first presidential ballot for Buchanan. He still gives his alle- giance to the party, but has found little time or inclination to participate in politics, his business and domestic interests being paramount in his mind. As a result of his industry, he now finds himself in the possession of a competence for old age, and enjoys the respect of a large circle of friends.
J UDGE EMORY D. BROWNLEE. One of the youngest, if. indeed, he may not lay claim to being the youngest, register of land offices ever appointed in the United States, the subject of this article is especially deserving of notice in the annals of Oklahoma. Moreover, he is very popular in social circles, and, judging by what he has accomplished within the past few years as a public official and business man, it is safe to predict for him a brilliant future.
As his surname indicates. Judge Brownlee is of Scotch extraction. His great-grandfather Brownlee died in Scotland just after selling his estate and after he had made all preparations to come to America. Knowing his wishes, his widow carried out the plans he had made, and with her seven sons crossed the Atlantic and settled in Ohio. One of the number. David Brownlee, grandfather of our subject, thus be- came one of the pioneers of the Buckeye state. Ile engaged in farming and spent his entire life
in Ohio, his death occurring in Poland, Mahon- ing county.
The judge's parents, William R. and Mary E. (Cook) Brownlee, were natives of Covlesville and Poland, Ohio, respectively. The father was engaged in the practice of law for many years in Ohio, and for a period was editor of newspapers in Canfield and Chillicothe, Ohio. Subsequently he went to Anderson, Ind., where he likewise was engaged in the practice of law and editorial work. In 1884 he removed to Kingman, Kans .. and embarked in the cattle business. However. he was soon appointed by President Cleveland as register of the United States land office at Larned. He continued to serve in that capacity until the day of Oklahoma's opening to settle- ment. Since that time he has been engaged in professional practice in Kingfisher. At the close of the Civil war he officiated as United States attorney in Virginia, under the appointment of General Grant. Though he has been a stanch Republican, the reason for his appointment as register of the land office at Larned is that he was a personal friend of Hendricks. He was also a schoolmate of President Mckinley.
As previously stated, William R. Brownlee chose for a wife Miss Mary E. Cook, of Poland. Ohio. Her parents, Philo and Mary (Sanderson) Cook, were carly settlers in the vicinity of Po- land, and were there engaged in farming for many years. The father was born in Walling- ford, Conn .. and the mother was a native of Ken- dall, England. He died in early life. being sur- vived by his widow. who attained the age of sixty-five years. Five children were born to W. R. Brownlee and wife, and the number has not yet been invaded by death. One son, Rich- ard G., is clerk of the district court of Dewey county, Okla .: and also is the editor of the Taloga Times.
The birth of Emory: D. Brownlee occurred in Canfield, Ohio, September 8, 1872. He received an excellent education in the public schools of . Anderson. Ind., and Larned, Kans. Subse- quently he pursued a course of study in the Southwestern Kansas College. at Winfield. Kans .. where he was graduated in 1893 with the degree of Bachelor of Sciences. In the fall of 1893 he matriculated in the University of Michi- gan at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated two years later with the degree of Bachelor of Laws.
A few days after Oklahoma was thrown open to settlement Mr. Brownlee arrived within its boundaries, and until the fall of 1803 made hi- home at Kingfisher. On the 16th of September. 1893, he made the race into the Cherokee strip. and succeeded in locating a quarter section of land in Garfield county, about twelve miles fromn Enid, and this claim is still in his possession. After his graduation he was admitted to the bar
327
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
and engaged in the practice of his profession at Enid for four years. In the fall of 1897 he was appointed register of the United States land office at Kingfisher by President Mckinley, and soon entered upon his arduous duties. His dis- trict embraces the counties of Kingfisher, Blaine. Dewey and Day, and portions of the counties of Logan, Oklahoma, Canadian, Custer and Roger Mills. While a resident of Enid he served as the attorney of the Citizens Bank. He belongs to the Territorial Bar Association, and has taken a very active part in the movement relating to free homes and statehood for Oklahoma. He is pres- ident of the Territorial Republican Club of Okla- homa. While a resident of Enid he was identified with the Garfield County Republican central committee. He is interested in all organizations which tend toward the elevation of men, and for some years he has been a valued worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
ยท
December 5. 1900, Mr. Brownlee married Miss Mary E. Wilde, of Iowa.
D. M. CAREY. From his fourteenth year D. M. Carey has been actively associated with the milling business, and is a prac- tical miller and millwright, understanding thor- oughly every detail of the business. He has superintended the construction of numerous mills, and thus has contributed effectively to the prosperity of the several localities in which he has dwelt in the past. Nor has he achieved suc- cess in one direction alone: on the contrary, he has prospered in all undertakings to which he lias given his serious attention, and to-day enjoys the distinction of being the owner of the finest farm in Garfield county, the most desirable from many points of view.
.A son of Joseph A. and Mary Ellen (Carney) Carey, our subject was born October 12, 1861. near Richford. Wis. His father, who died while engaged in the defense of the Union, then a sol- dier in a Wisconsin regiment, was a native of Ireland. At an early day he settled in Rutland. Vt .. and later located at Richford, Wis., where he was a pioneer. He was married while in the Green Mountain state to Miss Carney, whose birth had taken place in Rutland, and who came of an old and respected New England family. She departed this life in Wisconsin, and three of their four children survive, James A., living near Stevens' Point, and William J., residing at Sioux Falls, S. D.
The youth of D. M. Carey was passed at his native place, and, owing to the untimely death of his father, he was obliged to embark in the bat- tles of life at an early age. Indeed, he was only thirteen when he was apprenticed to a miller at Kichford, and his first experience in the business
was in an old-style water-power mill. In 1876 the lad went to Valley Springs, S. D., where he remained about a year, then returning to Richt- ford, where he completed his trade. He won the regard of the proprietor, who entrusted the man- agement of the mill to him, and, after a period, he began working as a millwright, repairing and building mills in different localities. At length he leased the White River Mills, at White River, Wis., but, after operating them for some time. they were destroyed by a cyclone.
In 1883 Mr. Carey removed to the west, and for more than a year managed the Denver City Eagle Mills, at Denver, Colo. Then for three years he was head-miller of the Arkansas ( Kans.) City Milling Company. Later, in partnership with two others, he built a mill at Cheney, Kans., and then operated what was known as the Cheney Mill and Elevator. Disposing of his in- terest at last, Mr. Carey went to Iowa, and ac- cepted a position as head-miller of mills at Farragut, Iowa, owned by Replogle & Brown, and also built two other mills for the firmn.
In March, 1891, Mr. Carey succeeded in inter- esting local capital at El Reno, Okla., and planned and built the Canadian County Mills. then acting as superintendent of the same until 1896. When Garfield county was opened. Sep- tember 16, 1893, he located a claim on section 10. township 21, range 8 west, after making a run of fourteen niiles in a rude vehicle, consisting of the axle and rear wheels of a wagon, and the dis- tance was covered in less than an hour. At once he began making improvements, and in 1899 erected a commodious modern farm-house at a cost of $2.500. Subsequently he bought adjoin- ing land, and now owns four hundred and eighty acres. The land is rich and productive. well watered by Turkey creek, and thus it is especially suitable for the raising of live stock. The owner of the place keeps large herds of high grade Herefords. Shorthorns and Durhams. At pres- ent -his step-son, Irvin Godfrey, is managing the farm, in addition to which he owns a quarter section, and thus they possess the entire section. one of the most valuable tracts in Oklahoma.
After Garfield county had commenced to pro- duce grain in large quantities Mr. Carey suc- ceeded in interesting capital in the matter of properly handling the output, and when the Enid Mill & Elevator Company was organized he was employed to superintend the buikling of the plant. It now ranks among the largest mills in the territory, and since its completion Mr. Carey has officiated as the head miller.
The pleasant farm-house recently built by our subject is presided over by his wife, formerly Mrs. Lizzie 1. ( Bower) Godfrey. She is a native of Indiana, and was a resident of Arkansas City. Kans., at the time of her marriage to Mr. Carey.
338
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
They are members of the Christian Science Church of Enid.
M ARTIN S. MOSTELLER, M. D. The bracing, healthful air and surroundings of Oklahoma have attracted a large share of its population, and among those who are being greatly benefited is included the honored subject of this article. Ile takes an earnest interest in the welfare of this section of the Union, and in every possible manner seeks to promote its per- manent prosperity.
The paternal grandfather of Dr. Mosteller, who bore the same Christian name, was a native of Germany, but his wife, Phoebe Sackett, was born in Ohio. They lived in Ohio for many years during its early settlement, and there the doc- tor's father, Thomas Mosteller, first saw the light of day. He was an agriculturist by occupa- tion, and when he was a young man he decided to seek his fortune in the then frontier state of Illinois. He was one of the first white settlers of the central portion of the state, and his expe- riences were full of hardships and privations for a number of years. His faithful helpmate and de- voted wife was Miss Charlotte Morris in her girlhood, and Tennessee was her birthplace.
Martin S. Mosteller was born upon the pioneer farm owned by his father in Illinois, and there he early mastered the details of agriculture. With inherent energy and ambition he determined to acquire a thorough education. and when he had gleaned a fair knowledge of the common branches he commenced teaching local schools, thus obtaining the means for further advantages. Going to Cincinnati, Ohio, he pursued a course of study in the Eclectic Medical College. and finally was graduated from that institution. Then. returning to his native state, he practiced medi- cine for two years in Mason county, after which he located in Sangamon county, same state, and for twelve years was successfully occupied in the duties of his chosen field of usefulness. At length failing health led him to remove to Jackson county. Mo., and there, as formerly, he built up a large and lucrative practice. For ten years he assiduously gave his time and attention to the alleviation of suffering and illness in that locality. When Oklahoma was thrown open to general settlement he joined the multitudes of home- seekers and secured the fine claim where he now resides. It is the southeastern quarter of sec- tion 22. township 11, range 5. Canadian county. Here he first found his time fully occupied in making improvements and cultivating his land. but when his merits as a physician became known he was obliged to return to his old vocation. To-day he combines the free, healthful ont-door life of the tiller of the soil and that of the physi-
cian and surgeon, and is enjoying his existence better than ever before.
. Prior to the years which he spent in the med- ical College in Cincinnati, Dr. Mosteller married Sarah Antle, a daughter of Leonard and Rachel (Spainhower) Antle, all carly inhabitants of Illi- nois. The only daughter of the doctor and wife is Maud M., who is the wife of Francis Woods, of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe country. Fred F. and Albert A. are enterprising young men, and the youngest of the family, Bert B., is attending college.
A man of liberal education and general infor- mation, Dr. Mosteller heartily supports schools and churches and all movements which he be- lieves to be beneficial to the country. For some five years he has been a director on the school board, giving his influence toward the mainte- nance of good educational facilities for the young. Politically he favors the Populists. Re- . ligiously he is a Methodist in belief.
H ON. F. E. GILLETT, a well-known and prominent citizen of El Reno, occupies a fine position among the successful lawyers of Oklahoma, and as the head of the firm of Gillett & Libby is carrying on a substantial prac- tice. A native of Ashtabula county, Ohio, he was born January 7, 1848, a son of Asa Gillett. Jr. His grandfather. Asa Gillett, Sr., was born in .Connecticut, of English ancestry, the founder of the Gillett family having emigrated from Eng- land in colonial days, becoming one of the earliest settlers of that New England state. He was a young man of enterprise and ambition, who followed the tide of emigration westward as far as Ohio, and in Ashtabula county pre- empted a tract of forest-covered land, from which he literally hewed out a homestead, and there he was engaged in tilling the soil until his death, at the age of four-score years.
Asa Gillett. Jr., was born and reared on the parental homestead in Ohio, living there until 1861, when he removed with his family to Em- poria, Kans., and was, to the close of the war of the Rebellion, engaged as an employe of the commissary of the west. and stationed at Olathe. Kans. After the war he engaged in the whole- sale grocery business, and later in the hardware business at Emporia. Kans .. from thence going to Cottonwood Falls. Kans .. where. until his death, he became interested in the hardware busi- ness. fle married Cornelia Fisk, who was born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, a daughter of Zede- kiah Fisk, who was a pioneer farmer of Ashta- bula county. removing there from New York. the state of his birth. She died in Emporia. Kans. Of the children born of their union, five grew to years of maturity, and one daughter and
A. J. SLIEF, Kingfisher County.
33[
04
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
three sons are living, the sons being as follows: Frank E., the subject of this sketch; Judge Pres- ton B., residing in Kingman, Kans., an attorney, and judge of the twenty-eighth judicial district : and Guy, residing in Hennessey, and now with the Dowes Commission in Indian Territory.
Frank E. Gillett attended the public schools of his native town until May, 1861, when, a boy of thirteen years, he accompanied his parents to Emporia, Kans. Froni 1863 until the close of the war he served as orderly on the staff of Colonel Plum. On returning home he was one of the seventeen students to organize and estab- lish the normal school at Emporia. Being de- sirous of entering the legal profession, he read law under Samuel N. Wood, of Cottonwood Falls, and under Judge L. Houk, of Hutchinson, Kans., being admitted to the bar in the latter place in 1876, and afterward practicing there for two years. In 1878 he located in Kingman, Kans., where he continued to practice until com- ing to El Reno in July, 1892. He took a very active part in political affairs in Kansas, having been elected to the house of representatives, on the Republican ticket, in 1882, re-elected in 1884 and in 1886. In the sessions of 1883, 1885, the special session of 1886, and the session of 1888 he served as chairman of the judiciary commit- tee of the house. In 1888 he was elected state senator from the Hutchinson district, and served until 1892, being chairman of the judiciary com- mittee during the entire four years. While in the senate he was delegate to the convention composed of members of the legislatures of sey- eral states, which met in St. Louis, Mo., and was there elected chairman of the convention.
Since coming to El Reno, in 1892, Mr. Gillett has been very successful, and has won an envia- ble reputation for his legal ability and skill. Among his other varied undertaking's may be mentioned his connection with the organization of the Oklahoma Farmers' Mutual Indemnity Association, of which he has been secretary since its inception in March, 1899. Politically, he is prominently identified with the Republican party. Fraternally, he is associated with the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, in which lodge he is past grand master, and he is also a Knight of Pythias. As a member of the Commercial Club, he has wielded an extended influence, and as one of its founders foresaw its benefit in pro- mulgating sound business principles.
January 7, 1870. in Kansas, occurred the mar- riage of Mr. Gillett to Miss Anna F. Brown, a native of Dublin, Ireland, and who was educated and grew to womanhood in Lawrence, Kans. ller adopted father. Rev. J. S. Brown, was an varly settler in Lawrence, where he now re- sides, deserving the distinction of being the oldest resident in that part of the state. To Mr.
and Mrs. Gillett have been born five children: Cornelia, wife of M. D. Libby, of the firm of Gil- lett & Libby: Mary, who is now Mrs. Engle, of El Reno: Charles, of El Reno: Frank, who is in business in Oklahoma City: and Fred, who is a member of the junior class at the Agricultural and Mechanical College, at Stillwater, Okla. Mrs. Gillett is a member of the Congregational Church.
A. J. SLIEF comes from the thrifty country of Holland, where he was born, seventy- five miles south of Amsterdam. He came to America in 1883. and settled in Missouri, where he lived for a year, and in 1884 moved to Sumner county, Kans. While there he rented land and conducted general farming and stock- raising.
April 22, 1889. Mr. Slief made the run from Big Camp, at Buffalo Springs, and located on the land which has since been the scene of his untiring efforts. In November of the same year his family joined him in the newly opened terri- tory and with their aid greatly facilitated the work of starting the machinery of their farm in Kingfisher county. The house upon the farm was built of lumber brought into the territory on the first train into Dover. The improvements are of the best possible kind, and ten acres de- voted to the raising of all kinds of fruits, and there is, besides, an orchard.
In 1895 Mr. Slief added to his possessions by the purchase of another quarter section of land on northwest section II, township 17. range 6. Kingfisher county, and in 1897 he bought south- west section 8, and now owns four hundred acres, thus making him the largest land owner in Ban- ner township. The land is largely used for rais- ing wheat and corn, with a preference for the former. In addition, Mr. Slief devotes much time and attention to the raising of stock, and usually has from forty-five to a hundred head. With the raising of his crops he has been unusu- ally successful, and has rarely suffered any se- rious losses or failures. To facilitate the watering of stock, artificial ponds have been constructed on the farm, from which good results have been derived.
In political affiliations Mr. Slief is associated with the Populist party, and has held several important township offices, including that of township treasurer for two years. With charac- teristic modesty he refused the office of county treasurer, but has served as a member of the school board for several years. His well-known generosity has extended to the field of education, and he has contributed largely toward the main- tenance of a superior system. He was united in marriage with Anna Elsenrath in 1885, and the
332
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
result of this union is eight children: Clara E., Dollie R., Minnie R., Goldy R., Walter A., Floyd L., Verna M. and William A. Like many others who have sought to better their fortunes in Okla- homa, Mr. Slief began at the bottom round of the ladder, and his perseverance, enterprise, pa- tience and grit have accomplished more in a short time than have others after many years of toil and experience.
C YRUS A. MUNDELL. No resident of eastern Canadian county is better known than the genial proprietor of Hotel Yukon, and certainly none is more deserving of the high position he occupies in the public es- teem. Possessing a very enterprising nature, he has worked his way to prosperity where a man of less determination would have suc- cumbed to adverse circumstances. Much of his active life nas been passed on the frontier, for which existence he is admirably qualified by nature. In addition to the management of his hotel, which is the leading place of its kind in Yukon, he manages the farm that he has owned for some years, and superintends the crops that are raised upon it. He also does considerable business in the buying and selling of land.
Mr. Mundell was born in Woodford county, Ill., in 1855, a son of James O. and Sarah (Cling- man) Mundell, natives, respectively, of Indiana and Ohio, and both of Pennsylvanian ancestry. His mother's father, John Clingman, of Ohio, descended from an English family who owned a ship line from Liverpool to Australia. When Cyrus was a boy, he assisted his father in the cultivation of the home farm in Woodford county. At the age of twenty he went to Texas and settled in Young county, where he engaged in the freighting business for four years. During the winter of 1877-78 he engaged in hunting buf- faloes. The hides of the animals he left on the prairie until April, 1878, when he loaded them on his freight wagons and hauled them to Sher- man, Tex., disposing of them at $1.75 each. The best of the buffalo meat he saved by drying, and sold one thousand pounds of the dried meat in the markets. While this venture did not bring him large financial returns, yet his experience will always be treasured as among the most in- teresting epochs of his life.
During the winter of 1878-79 Mr. Mun- dell settled on leased land adjacent to the Washita river, in the Chickasaw Nation, I. T., and there he embarked in farming. However, he had much to contend with. Not only was the land raw and unimproved, markets remote and people scattered, but, in addition, a severe and protracted drought caused a partial failure of the crops, and left him with practically no finan-
cial returns for his labor. Believing he could better his condition in Illinois, he returned to that state and engaged in farming, but again his returns were less than he might reasonably expect ; so, after three years of floods and dis- aster, he concluded even such a dry climate as the Indian Territory would be preferable. and accordingly returned to the Chickasaw Nation, where he leased farm land. As the land was raw and the surroundings those of the frontier, it took him some time to get a start, but finally a measure of success rewarded him efforts, and at the time Oklahoma was opened he had two teams, a few head of cattle, and $400 in cash. Coming to Canadian county in 1889, he secured a claim on Shell creek, near Yukon. His money he used in the improvement of the claim. At the same time he had an income from his leased land in Chickasaw; having sold his lease to his father-in-law, some years later, he then gave his entire attention to farming and stock-raising in Canadian county. After a time he met with suc- cess. From his wheat erop one year he realized $1.000 above expenses. With this money he bought another farm, which he sold a year later. clearing $7co in the transaction. Later he bought a house in Yukon, for which he paid $1oo down and the remainder in installments. After a time he traded the house for Hotel Yukon, paying the difference in cash. Since then he has given his attention to the management of the hotel.
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.