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 53
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Young Eliam's education was acquired in the early subscription schools, and he assisted his father in the work around the farm. In 1856 he moved to Iowa, where he remained for a year. going thence to Kansas, Coffey county, where he homesteaded a claim, and remained on it until 1870, when he went to Butler connty, Kans. About 1878 he went to Iowa, thence to Missouri, and returned to Sumner county, where he re- mained until the opening of the territory. He lo- cated on the northwest quarter of section 2, township 17, range 4 west, Logan county, where he industriously labored to improve his land, adding all modern improvements, fine house. barns, and setting out a good orchard. The farm is also fenced all around, and wells dug.
In 1861 Mr. Lemasters enlisted in Company H, Ninth Kansas Cavalry, at Iola, Kans. With headquarters at Leavenworth, he spent the first two years of the war doing border duty, handling the rough border characters that contributed to terrorize the community. He was thrown into close proximity with Quantrell and Bill Ander- son and the James boys. After the Lawrence massacre he was one of those who chased the perpetrators to the southeast part of the state.
Mr. Lemasters was first married in 1870 to Mattie Moore, and of their three children one is dead, and the others are Frank and Minnic Belle Lemasters. Mr. Lemasters was married the second time to Mrs. Margaret J. Dalley, of Crescent City. He is a Democrat in politics and interested in the undertakings of the party. In religion he is an active member of the Church of Christ, and contributes towards its support and charities.
W ILLIAM W. PARKS. The ancestry of the Parks family is German, and the first members to immigrate to America came during the last century, settling in the state of William Penn. There the great-grandfather, David, was born, and thence he took his family to Coshocton county, Ohio, and pre-empted land upon which he conducted general farming until his death at the remarkable century mark. The farm is still in the possession of the family, the original owner having improved it from a wide stretch of dense woodland to a condition of util- ity and resource.
William W. Parks, than whom there is no one more enterprising in Hennessey, was born Jan- uary 3. 1858, in Coshocton county, Ohio, and is a son of Joseph, a farmer who lived and died on the old farm which had been the home of his grandfather and his father, William. The mother of William W. Parks was Mary, a daughter of Absalom Walford, a native of Ohio, and a farmer during the years of his activity. Mrs. Parks is
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living in Trinway, Ohio. She is the mother of four boys and one girl, of whom one son is de- ceased, the oldest, and only son in Oklahoma, being William W. He remained on his father's farm until twenty years of age, after which he combined farming with school teaching for six years. This same means of occupation was con- tinued in Stafford, Kans., until 1882, when he engaged in a general merchandise business in the same place, and after a few years went to Sumner county. There he successfully con- ducted his mercantile enterprises until 1890, at which time he permanently located in Hennes- sey.
In Hennessey Mr. Parks intersperses his va- rious interests with the management of his farm, upon which he resides, and which is located north of town. His land comprises adjoining claims amounting to four hundred and eighty acres, and is an ideal place, whereon are raised wheat, corn and stock. A specialty is made of high-grade cattle and hogs, which include Short- horns, and some registered stock, mostly Poland- China hogs. In addition to his country resi- dence, Mr. Parks has built a home in Hennessey, and owns considerable city property. He was one of the organizers of the First National Bank. of which he has served as director from the be- ginning.
Mrs. Parks was formerly Mary C. Shambaugh. and is the mother of five children: Eltha C., Jo- seph, Elva, Teresa and Agatha. In politics Mr. Parks is a Republican. Among the many local offices he has held are those of director and treasurer of the school board of his district, and he was instrumental in building the new school- house. Fraternally, he is associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the En- campment, also with the Red Men.
W ILLIAM M. BAKER. Few citizens of Logan county are better known or more highly esteemed than is William M. Baker, who not only has won an honored posi- tion among our agriculturists as a hard-working, progressive farmer, but also has accomplished a great and gratifying work in the vineyard of the Master. He often has carried cheer and comfort to homes darkened by sickness and sorrows and perils, and, with a firm. abiding trust in the ulti- mate good awaiting the righteous, he has been a powerful factor in the advancement of Chris- tianity wherever his lot has been cast.
Our subject's paternal grandfather served throughout the war of 1812 as a spy in the serv- ice of this government, and when the war with Mexico came on he was prompt to enlist, and his army experiences were replete with startling incidents. He was engaged in the battle where
Santa Ana lost his horse and buggy and his wooden leg. Later he and two of his comrades became separated from their command by some peculiar fortune, and for eighteen months they led a life full of poril, as they were in a section of Mexico where the Indians, as well as the Mexicans, were deadly enemies to them, and all of their efforts to join the United States troops were futile. For this long period of a year and a half they lived on such wild game as they could trap or kill, and when, at lengthi, in desperation. they tried to exchange a wild turkey for a pan of corn bread, they were overjoyed at making the barter with the Mexican woman. Before the war of 1812, Mr. Baker joined a colony which went from Carolina to Shelby county, Ill., and when the land was regularly opened to settlers he already had made substantial improvements on certain lands, and had orchards bearing fruit. The same can be said of the maternal grandfather, Bruce, of the subject of this sketch, for he, too, was a leading member of this south- ern colony, and had developed his chosen farm lands no less than had his respected neighbor. Mr. Baker. Both were converted to the Chris- tian faith under the teaching of Tobias Grider, one of the old members of their colony, and the latter administered the rite of baptism to them on the same day. They were thenceforth truc and able exponents of their church. In the early, troublous days of the pioneer life the members of the congregation took turns in acting as guards. for the Indians were liable to make an attack at any time.
William M. Baker, whose name heads this ar- ticle, was born in Shelby county, Ill., March 3. 1844. his parents being David and Mary (Bruce) Baker, who were natives of Illinois and Tennes- see, respectively. The latter was a child when she accompanied her parents to the west, and after her marriage she and her husband con- tinued to dwell in Shelby county, Ill .. until they received the summons to their reward.
When he was eighteen years old, William M. Baker left his parental home in Shelby county, and, going to Hamilton county, Ind., found em- ployment in a sawmill. At the end of two years he returned on a visit to his old home, remaining for six months, and then resumed his labors in the Hoosier state. At the time that his country appeared to be in sore straits, in 1864, when he was twenty years of age. he enlisted in the Thir- tieth Illinois Regiment. This was not the first time that he had earnestly appealed to the author- ities to be allowed to fight for his country, but on many an occasion he had been rejected. With his regiment, he was sent to Georgia, and under the leadership of General Sherman he par- ticipated in the famous march to the sea, thence to Savannah and Beanford's Island, and to Rich-
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mond and Washington, and at Springfield. Ill .. a little later, he was honorably discharged.
When he returned to his native county, Mr. Baker entered into an agreement to buy and sell cattle for a man who had borrowed $800 to in- vest in the business, and the young man was so energetic and conscientious in his work that he earned $13,000 for his employer in the course of about five months. Then. returning to In- diana. Mr. Baker resumed his former work of sawmilling, and for eighteen years, or until 1880. he dwelt in that part of the Union. Then he de- cided to try his fortunes in the west, and for a period he carried on a farm near Wichita, Kans. His next move was to Kingman county. Kans .. where he took up a claim and for eight years devoted his time to the development of the place. In. 1890 he located two hundred and forty acres of land on section 1, township 16, range 4. Logan county, and for a few years he and his family suffered severe hardships. He had brought with him some of the corn which he had raised the preceding year on his Kansas farm, and until he harvested his first crops in Oklahoma the family had little to live upon save the cornmeal thus furnished. They lived in a small log cabin with a dirt floor, and it was not until one of his daugh- ters earned a dollar by working for a neighbor that the humble abode was entirely shingied. Prosperity at last blessed their industrious efforts and to-day Mr. Baker's fine orchard. covering twenty acres, and including a great variety of fruit, to say nothing of berry bushes which will produce about one hundred bushels of berries annually, is one of the chief attractions of his finely improved homestead. In the vicinity of the house is a pretty fish pond, fed by living springs in an adjacent hillside. A fine modern house was built in the winter of 1900-1901.
The first marriage of Mr. Baker was celc- brated in Hamilton county. Ind .. April 12, 1868. his bride being Amanda Kounse. Their only child. John Henry, is a resident of Indiana. The present wife of our subject formerly bore the name of Elizabeth J. Robes. her parents being George and Margaret Robey. The three elder children of William M. and Elizabeth Baker are: Rachel E., William E .. and Amanda E., who are married: llattie E., Arthur E., Charles E .. and Bertha E. are at home. and are faithfully seek- ing to aid their parents in all their labors.
H ON. J. M. FARIS. The welfare of the vil- lage of Yukon, Canadian county, has been conserved largely by the enthusiasm and intelligence of such men as Mr. Faris. On the opening of Oklahoma. in April. 1889, he came to the territory: This, however. was not his first
glimpse of the newly opened strip, for he had spent some years previous in the country and was aware of its wonderful possibilities of growth and development. Arriving here as a permanent settler, he turned his attention to the practice of law, in which, in connection with the joan business, he has since engaged. From the first he has stood stanchiy for improvements that would benefit his village and county. He has favored measures of a progressive nature and has himself contributed to their advancement. A pioneer of Yukon, he erected the first store building here and was the first man to hold the office of postmaster. In 1892 he was honored by election to the territorial legislature, in which he served with credit to himself; he has the dis- tinction of having been the only Republican ever elected to the legislature from this district, which usually gives large Democratic majorities. Dur- ing his term of service, he was appointed by Gov- ernor Steele as chairman of the board of aid. He was the first citizen of his county to offer a reso- lution, in favor of the gold standard, to be added to the Republican platform, and it was largely due to his influence that the prevailing sentiment favoring the silver cause was changed to a stanch and sturdy support of gold.
Mr. Faris was born in Jackson county, Ill., in 1852, a son of Edward and Sarah (Tignor) Faris, natives, respectively, of Tennessee and Illinois. When he was a child his parents settled in Mis- souri, and there his father followed cabinet-mak- ing until the opening of the Civil war. He then enlisted in the army, in which he served with credit until he fell in battle, in 1863. The mother was left with the care of five sons, and to hier self-sacrificing efforts, no less than the earnest efforts of the boys themselves, their success in after years was due.
During the years of his youth Mr. Faris worked in lead mines in Missouri. When he was twenty he began the study of medicine, and two years later commenced to practice. For fit- teen subsequent years he engaged in professional work in Missouri, Arkansas and the Indian Ter- ritory, but since his settlement in Oklahoma he has given his attention principally to the law. While living in Missouri, he married Miss Le- nora Messick, whose parents had moved to that state from Hlinois when she was a child. In fraternal relations, he is connected with the Masons and Odd Fellows. To the credit of Mr. Faris it may be said that no enterprise has been inaugurated for the benefit of his home town in which his sympathies have not been enlisted and his active support gained. He has proved himself public-spirited, and his progressive and enterprising disposition has enabled him to act- ively promote movements of a most helpful na- tire.
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A LBERT C. RINGOLD has achieved impor- tance in the territory of his adoption, not only as an agriculturist. but as a broad- minded, resourceful citizen, with his finger on the pulse of the intelligent requirements and in- terests of a growing community. His well-culti- vated land is located on the southwest quarter of section 31, township 17, range 3 west, Logan county.
Mr. Ringold first looked out upon the world in Scott county. Ind., where he was born Novem- ber 29. 1841. He is a son of George L. and Elizabeth ( Mccullough) Ringold. He well re- members his departure from the old home when eleven years old, and the beginning of his resi- dence in the peaceful little village of Clarksville. Clark county, Ill. His father was a cobbler and from dawn to setting sun plied his awl and ham- mer, keeping in good repair the shoes of the neighborhood: a necessary and important man. the village cobbler. The growing son the while led a happy boy's life, his attendance at the dis- trict schools being interspersed with hunting and fishing. After a time the shoemaker bought a little farm in the vicinity, which the family con- ducted, living meantime in the town.
In 1860 Albert C. Ringold went to Nodaway county, Mo., to run another farm owned by his father. August 30. 1861. he enlisted in Company C. Thi.teenth Missouri Infantry, and served in the cavalry troop attached to the regiment. He was in the thick of the fight at Blue Milis and later at Lexington, where he served as a ser- geant, and was afterward paroled. He re-enlisted in 1862 in Company K. Twenty-fifth Missouri Volunteer Infantry. After three months' service he was mustered out, and re-enlisted in Company K. Fourth Missouri Cavalry, participating in the battles of Springfield. Prairie Grove, and many minor skirmishes. After the Prairie Grove fight he was promoted to be lieutenant, and as such served honorably until the close of the war. finally being mustered out at St. Louis. During the campaign he was at one time ill with the measles, and laid up in a hospital in St. Joe; later he had typhoid fever and his father came and took him home. After the war he returned ' to Nodaway county, and went to work in a saw- mill. becoming later the engineer, and finally head sawyer. In this way he managed to save some money, with which he bought eighty acres of land in another part of Nodaway county. This land proved an expensive investment, as he was obliged to pay for it exactly three times; first at a sheriff's sale. next a second mortgage. and lastly he was compelled to pay the widow's dower ..
August 20, 1865. Mr. Ringold married Eliza- beth McGuire, of Nodaway county, a native of Richmond county, Ohio, and a daughter of John
and Martha (Charles) McGuire, of Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively. Her parents were mar- ried in Ohio, and after removing to Indiana the mother died in 1864. Mr. Ringold lived in Mis- souri until 1877 when he moved to Fillmore county, Neb., and bought a claim, on which he lived for eight years. Next he moved to Nuck- olls county, and lived there eight years, thence coming to Oklahoma in 1802. At this time he purchased the site of his present home, and had a son and daughter homesteading claims ad- joining, he eventually purchasing his daughter's claim.
Mr. Ringold is a Democrat and has been con- spicuous in politics, although he is not an office- seeker. On the contrary. he has refused many tempting offers, absolutely refusing to qualify when elected justice of the peace. He is a mem- ber of the Ancient Order of United Workmen at Hardy, Neb.
Ten children liave been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ringold. Francis A. is at home and owns a quarter-section of land; Effie L. is the wife of Meredith Brown, lives in Woodland township. and has two children; Myron A. is married, has two children, and lives in Woodland township: Della J., who also lives in Woodland township. is the wife of Francis Brown, and has one child : Elston married Lena Arnold, has one child, and lives in Woodland township; Albert and Myrtle are living at home. Of the other children. two died in infancy, and one at the age of sixteen lost his life through the accidental discharge of a gun.
C HRISTOPHER C. FISHER, a practical farmer and business man of Mustang township, Canadian county, is greatly con- cerned in the welfare of his community, and spares himself no effort in advancing the gen- eral interests of Oklahoma. He has served very acceptably as a justice of the peace, road over- seer and member of the school board. and for years he has officiated as clerk of the same and as township clerk, as well. In political views. he sides with the Populistic platform, as he believes the interests of the western farmers are best ex- pressed by that party.
Our subject's father, John L. Fisher, was a native of Germany, and in that land he learned the trade of a painter, serving a full apprentice- ship. When he came to the United States he set- tled in Kentucky, where he plied his accustomed business and continued to make his home until his death, in 1853. lle had married a Kentucky lady, Phoebe Gibson, whose ancestors were Vir- ginians, and when he was summoned to the silent land he left a widow and several young children to mourn his loss.
The birth of C. C. Fisher took place in the
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Blue Grass state in 1844. He left home when he was about seventeen years of age, and, going to Missouri, he found employment upon a farm. and was similarly engaged until the close of the civil war, when he proceeded from Clark to Cal- laway county, Mo., and there embarked in agri- culture on his own account. In 1879 he went to Texas, and during the decade of his residence there he met with fair success in financial affairs and becante well known as a stock-raiser. When Oklahoma was opened in the spring of 1889 he look up a homestead on section 21, township II. range 5. pleasantly located along the Mustang ercek. Then returning to Texas for his family. he soon had them safely housed on his new es- tate, and his older children have shared his ardu- ous labors in placing the farm in good condition. He has been especially successful in raising fruits, and besides his large orchard he has de- voted a number of acres to small fruits. He reaps a goodly harvest from his vineyard and strawberry patch, and obtains good prices for all of the products of his place.
In 1877 Mr. Fisher married Annie E. Davis. whose parents were early settlers in Missouri. They have twelve children. two of whom are married, namely: Addie, wife of Charles Asbill, of Yukon, Okla .: and Kate. wife of Henry Gate- wood, of the Chickasaw Nation. Edgar L. re- sides at Yukon; Vollie N. is making his own livelihood, independently; John L., who is at home, aids in the management of the farm. The younger children are named, respectively. Dol- lie, Cora, Ella, Bonnie. Charles C., Clara and Maggie. Two children, Cecil and Clyde (twins), died in infancy. The children still at home are receiving good educations and are being prac- tically fitted for the serious duties of life.
G EORGE V. MENTEL. For three-score and ten years the Mentels, father and son. Valentine and George V., have been prom- inently connected with the dry goods business in the United States, and built up enviable repu- tations for enterprise and sterling integrity wherever they conducted mercantile establish- ments. With true patriotism. they met every obligation of citizenship, thoroughly identifying themselves with the welfare of their respective chosen cities.
Valentine Mentel was a native of Germany. and in early manhood came to the United States. After passing two or three years in the south. he located in Cincinnati about 1835, and thence- forth made his habitation in that rapidly growing city. Embarking in the dry goods business. he carried on a large store at the corner of Fifth and Race streets until 1858, when he retired. having an abundance of means for his remaining
years. He departed this life in Cincinnati when he was sixty-nine years of age. His wife's father, George Grodhaus, a native of Hesse- Darmstadt. Germany, was a wealthy man, his fortune having been made in his own province, where he was the most extensive manufacturer of soap at that period. He was in the possession of $80,000 when he arrived in Cincinnati, and there met with deplorable fortune, as, having in. vested heavily in real estate in the city. it was afterward learned that the title to the property was not good, and thus he lost the whole amount. His daughter, Amelia, Mrs. Valentine Mentel. was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, and departed this life at her Cincinnati home. Only four of her twelve children survive.
George V. Mentel was born at the parental home on Fifth street, within one block of the celebrated Tyler-Davidson Fountain, June 16. 1850. He was reared in Cincinnati, and fitted himself for his business career by attending the public schools and a commercial college. He was a mere lad when he commenced to work as a clerk in his father's dry goods store, and at twenty he started out independently, and for six- teen years or more was the proprietor of a store in his native city. In 1887 he located in Kansas City. Mo., and devoted himself to the same call- ing for six years, then removing to Kansas City. Kans., where he owned the largest dry goods establishment in the place. In the spring of 1897 he came to Enid, and, opening a store, suc- ceeded in building up a large and lucrative trade. In the fall of 1898 he sold out, and since has been retired from the calling to which he gave more than thirty years of his life. Uprightness and fair dealing have characterized his entire com- mercial career, and he has made sincere friends wherever he has resided.
Mr. Mentel has been much interested in im- proving the hill property at Enid, and probably has built more residences here than any other citizen. His own home is beautifully situated and is modern in every respect, being furnished in a manner which does credit to the excellent taste of himself and family. His wife, whom he married in Leavenworth, was Miss Helena Falk, a native daughter of that city. She is a lady of fine education and social qualities, and in reli- gion is a Presbyterian.
In political matters Mr. Mentel is independ- ent. Fraternally, he identified himself with the Masonic order in Cincinnati, and now is a mem- ber of Enid Lodge No. 10. A. F. & A. M. He also is connected with the Knights of Pythias and the Odd Fellows order. When a young man he was one of the Cincinnati Zouaves, which organ- ization had a national reputation for efficiency. even the famous Heath Zonaves of Pittsburg being considered less skilled in tactics.
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J JAMES K. POLK MARTIN, a successful farmer, stock-raiser and fruit-grower, is lo- cated on the southeast quarter of section 12, township 17, range I west, Logan county. He was born in Davidson county, N. C., July 12, 1854, and is a son of Alexander and Mary (Idell) Martin. Alexander Martin, his brothers and brothers-in-law, were soldiers in the southern army, and, with the exception of one brother and one brother-in-law, who were wounded, all returned intact. Their departure for the war left James P. Martin the responsible party at home, and although his years at the time were few, he proved himself equal to the emergency. When he was seventeen years of age his family moved to Doniphan county, Kans., and up to this time he had had practically no edu- cational advantages, his entire time being consumed with work on the farm. Sub- sequently , his family bought land at White Cloud. Doniphan county, and on this farmi he lived until grown to man's estate. By way of celebrating his twenty-first birthday, his father gave him a horse, and, desiring another, he bought that of his father, paying for it by labor. At this time, also, he happened, one day, while feeling under the weather and in need of rest, to pick up an elementary spelling book. Out of curiosity at first. and later with a sincere desire to learn, he scanned its pages and learned all the letters, and in fact made such rapid progress that before the day was ended he had written his - first letter. During 1880 and the following year he worked the home farm of one hundred acres.
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