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 7
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The Territorial and National Bar Associations number Mr. Asp among their members. In pol- itics he is a Republican, as previously intimated. In 1896 he was a delegate to the national con- vention at St. Louis, and was there made a member of the national Republican committee. He is connected with Guthrie Lodge No. 2. A. F. & A. M .; Guthrie Chapter, R. A. M .: Guthrie Commandery No. I, K. T., and the Consistory at Wichita, Kans. At Winfield, Kans., he married Nellie M. Powers, who was born in Illinois, received her education in Bethany College, at Topeka, Kans., and is an active member of the Episcopal Church. Her father, Nathan Powers, was for some years a merchant in Winfield. The only son of Mr. and Mrs. Asp, Alfred A., is now a student in the Kenyon Military College in Ohio.
G I ARRETT H. BLOCK. Kingfisher county can boast of few citizens whose enterprise and public spirit have done more for the development of its natural resources and its commercial interests than has the gentleman who forms the subject of this article and who is now (1900) serving his fourth term as mayor of Hennessey. He was born in Germany, Decem- ber 22, 1853, the son of Heye Johnson Block, and the grandson of John Block, both of whom were small farmers. He is the second in a family of seven children, all yet living. While a boy of eleven years, he began earning money as a hired farm hand. Through reading and inquiry, he learned not a little of the republic across the sea. with its possibilities for gaining wealth and advancement. Hle was fired with a desire to cross the ocean, and this desire was heightened by a wish to avoid the inevitable military service which awaited him in his native land. Largely as the result of his arguments and importunity, in November, 1869, the family emigrated to America. The passage from Germany to New
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Orleans was made in the ill-fated steamer Her- man, which went to the bottom three years later. From New Orleans parents and children went inland, settling near Greenville, Tex., where a brother of the father had taken up his home six years before and had become a prosperous cattleman. Heye J. Block engaged in general farming and stock-raising with success, and died in 1876. He had married Angelina, daughter of Garrett Barnhart, a sailor engaged in the coast- ing trade. She survived her husband for ten years.
The boyhood and youth of Mr. Block were devoted to laborious toil, while his educational advantages were of the meager variety incident to country schools of the day and locality. He helped his father improve the farm and also worked for his uncle, through whose advice he had persuaded the family to take the grave step of emigrating to a new country. On the death of his father, the management of the homestead fell upon his shoulders. vet he found time, as well, to care for his own farm, where he was conducting a successful business as a cattle- raiser. However, in 1886 he abandoned stock farming, and removed to Canadian, Tex., where he embarked in business as a lumberman. For three years he remained in the Panhandle, after which he turned his steps northward, to find suc- cess and fortune in Oklahoma. It was in 1889 that he arrived in Hennessey, with whose growth and advancement he has ever since been prom- inently identified. He opened the first lumber yard in the young and growing city. His pres- ent yard, on West Fourth near Main street. covers a half-block, and in 1809 was visited by a disastrous fire, which entailed upon him a loss of $7,000. However. he is not a man to be dis- couraged by misfortune, even if of a most serious character, and he suffered no interruption of his business by reason of the fire. In addition to his lumber yard. he carries a complete stock of sash, door and blinds, and also handles cement, lime, sand and building stone. He owns lumber vards at Dover, Waukomis, Keil and . Sheridan. His real-estate holdings are extensive and valu- able, and include several farms in the vicinity of Hennessey. He was one of the organizers of the Citizens' State Bank, and was its president until a reorganization was effected under the United States statutes. in 1900. as the First National Bank of Hennessey. He now fills the president's chair in the latter institution, in which he is a large stockholder and a member of the board of directors.
In Wellington, Kans .. Mr. Block married Miss Eliza Fletcher, who was born near Mattoon, Ill., and is a member of the Christian Church and a lady of culture. In politics Mr. Block is a Democrat and stands high in the councils of his
party, being a member of the county central committee, and chairman of the city committee. As before stated, he is serving his fourth term as president of the Hennessey board of trustees. which office carries with it all the duties of mayor. He has discharged his duties with a fidelity and capability that commend him to the suffrages . of the people. He is a member of Coronado Lodge No. 9, A. F. & A. M., of Hen- nessey; past noble grand in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and a member of the Woodmen of the World and the Knights of Pythias. -
C. H. BESSENT, cashier of the First Na- tional Bank, of Norman, has been a citizen of this place for the past ten years, and by his enterprise and public spirit has been an important factor in the upbuilding of this now flourishing county-seat. His ability as a financier is recognized, and his fellow-citizens made a wise choice when they honored him with the office of city treasurer. During the two terms of his incumbency he made a highly creditable record, and placed Norman upon a secure financial basis. He favors all improve- ments which are calculated to permanently ben- fit the community, and is liberal to all worthy enterprises.
The family of which C. H. Bessent is a sterling representative originated in France several gen- erations ago, and one branch adheres to the old orthography-Besant. At an early day in the colonial history of North Carolina the family was established there, and the grandfather of our subject. William Bessent, was born and passed his life upon a plantation in that state. His son, William P., father of C. H. Bessent. was a native of Salisbury, N. C., whence he re- moved to Trenton. Tenn., in early manhood, and there was employed at his trade of wheelwright. manufacturing carriages and wagons. He de- parted this life in Humboldt. Tenn., when in his sixty-third year. His widow. Mrs. Elizabeth ( Repult) Bessent. likewise a native of Salisbury. N. C., and daughter of a well-to-do planter. now resides in Ferris. Tex. J. C., eldest son of William P. and Elizabeth Bessent. belonged to a Tennessee regiment during the Civil war. and now is a citizen of Greenfield, Tenn. Another son. George M .. is the proprietor of a grocery in Norman, and Jesse is a merchant of Sadler. Tex. One of the nine who constituted the par- ental family died when young, and two have since passed away.
The birth of C. IT. Bessent occurred in Tren- ton. Tenn., January o, 1857. and in the schools of that place he received his elementary educa- tion, later becoming a student in Andrew Col-
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lege. At twenty years of age he embarked upon his business career by obtaining a position as a clerk, in Whiteboro, Tex. For ten years he was employed by one mercantile firmi in that place, a portion of the time having entire charge of the books. In 1887 he was in business on his own account at Gainesville, Tex., and in 1888 went to California, traveling in the interests of a wholesale grocery house.
In February, 1891, Mr. Bessent came to Nor- man and assisted in organizing the Norman State Bank, the first one in the place. T. M. Richardson was chosen as president of the new institution, George T. Reynolds as its vice- president, and C. H. Bessent as cashier. The bank had a capital of $30,000 during the first nine years of its existence, and in February, 1000, it rose to the dignity which it now enjoys- that of being capitalized at $50.000, and known as the First National Bank of Norman. In 1893 the bank officials built the substantial build- ing occupied by the bank ever since the com- pletion of the structure. Doing a general banking business, and finding great favor with the public, the bank has prospered, and is steadily growing in importance, ranking well in the Oklahoma Bankers' Association.
In Whitesboro, Tex .. Mr. Bessent married Miss Jennie Godfrey, who was born near Cor- inth, Miss. They have an attractive home, and chief among their treasures are their four little daughters, who are named respectively, in order of birth, Erma, Nina, Bertha and Edna.
One of the charter members of the Cumber- land Presbyterian Church, Mr. Bessent loyally worked in its interests when it was in its infant stage, and as one of the building committee ac- complished much for the congregation. At present he is serving as one of the ruling elders. He belongs to Norman Lodge No. 5. A. F. & A. M., and was raised to the Royal Arch degree in Cyrus Chapter No. 3. of Oklahoma City. His ballot is given to the nominees of the Demo- cratic party.
A. B. WEBBER, M. D., one of the most pro- gressive and enterprising business men of Pawnee, is a member of the well- known firm of Webber & Driesbach, prominent and successful druggists of that place. Starting otit in life for himself with no capital he has shown in his successful career that he has the ability to plan wisely and execute with energy, a combination which, when possessed by men in any walk of life, never fails to effect notable results.
The Doctor is a native of Iowa, his birth having occurred in Savannah, Davis county, June 5. 1863. His paternal grandfather, David 11. Webber, was also a physician, and a gradu-
ate of Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. Ile was a native of the Empire State, and was successfully engaged in practice at Dayton, Ohio, for many years, but after the Civil war removed to Paris, Tex., where he followed his chosen profession until his death, which oc- curred when he was over eighty-four years of age. Our subject's father was born in Dayton, Ohio, and also bore the name of David. By trade he was a chairmaker, and after his removal to Iowa, in 1857, conducted a chair factory in Savannah until called to his final rest in 1871. He belonged to an Iowa regiment in the Civil war. In early life he married Miss Frances Skain, a native of Vincennes, Ind. Her father was a pioneer farmer of that state, where he and his wife both died when Mrs. Webber was only a year old. Her death occurred in Savannah, Iowa. She was the mother of five children, namely: John C., a graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Keokuk, Iowa, and now a practicing physician of Perth, Kans .; Sarah J., wife of J. A. Brunk, of Savannah, Iowa; A. B., our subject; I. D., a farmer of Missouri; and D. H., a farmer of Savannah, Iowa.
Dr. Webber grew to manhood in his native town, and obtained his elementary education in its public schools, subsequently attending the Southern Iowa Normal School at Bloomfield. He made his own way through college by work- ing on farms and at other occupations. He began his preparation to enter the medical pro- fession in the office of Dr. Kratzer and his brother, and in ISS7 attended a course of lectures at the College of Physicians & Surgeons at Keokuk. He was then engaged in practice with his brother at Perth, Kans., until 1889, when he entered the senior class at the Ensworth Medical College in St. Joseph, Mo., graduating there in 1800, with the degree of M. D. After his gradu- ation the Doctor was engaged in practice at Greenwich, Kans., until the opening of the Cherokee strip on the 16th of September, 1893. when he came to Pawnee. At first he was en- gaged in the practice of medicine at this place, but there being no drug store here, he opened one on the 13th of October, the same year, in a building twenty-four feet square. as a member of the firm of Webber & Reid. In April, 1894. he purchased a lot on the south side and erected a frame building 20x52 feet, which he occupied until April, 1900, when he sold that property and built his present store on the south side, which is 25x80 feet and is quite modern in all its ap- pointments, being finished in quarter-sawed oak and containing a double-deck show-case and entirely new 'fixtures. A new stock of drugs has been put in, and the firm now have one of the best stores of the kind in the territory. In the summer of 1900 Dr. Webber formed a part-
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nership with Dr. C. W. Driesbach, and under the firm name of Webber & Driesbach they are now doing business.
Dr. Webber was made an Odd Fellow at Ben- ton, Kans., but now holds membership in the lodge No. 22, at Pawnee, and is past noble grand of the same. He also belongs to Pawnee Lodge No. 17, A. F. & A. M., and the Knights of Pythias fraternity. In politics he is a stanch Democrat.
J. C. McCLELLAND. As a banker, agricul- turist, stock-raiser and all-around enter- prising business man, Mr. McClelland has substantially impressed his ability and personal- ity upon the community wherein he has elected to reside. Upon coming to the vicinity of Pond Creek in September of 1893, he located on a claim adjoining the town on the south, which was later sold. Subsequently another farm west of the original claim was purchased.
From this comparatively small beginning in the land-owning industry, Mr. McClelland has evolved broad interests, and accumulated much of this world's possessions, and is to-day one of the large land owners, and among the most thrifty and broad-minded of the pioneers. Be- sides four hundred and eighty acres of land, he owns a fine residence in Pond Creek, the build- ing in which his banking enterprise is conducted, and a large store building. The farm is stocked with about two hundred head of cattle. and is one of the best improved and well equipped in the neighborhood.
Alinost from the first of his residence in the territory, Mr. McClelland became interested in the bank of which he is now the president, suc- ceeding to his present responsible position in 1896. The Pond Creek Bank enjoys the con- fidence and patronage of the entire community, and is conducted on sound business principles.
A native of Callaway county. Mo .. Mr. Mc- Clelland was born September 15, 1856, and is a son of Jolin R. and Martha A. McClelland. The former is now living in Joplin, Mo., and the latter died in Colorado. When their son T. C. was fourteen years of age, they moved to Colo- rado, where he grew to manhood, and received his education in the public schools. When twenty-one years of age he decided to start out in the world for himself, and consequently settled in Kingman county, Kans., where he en- gaged in the mercantile business. There he at- tained to considerable prominence in the political world, and served as sheriff of his county from 1886 until 1800, being twice elected to the office. Hle also served as delegate to the national con- vention of his county.
In 1878 Mr. McClelland married Mary W. Lawson, a daughter of John B. and Zerelda F.
Lawson, farmers of Kingman county. Of this union there have been two children: Helen W., is a graduate of Hardin College in Missouri; and John L. is now connected with the Rock Island Railroad at Houston, having formerly been a student at military schools in Missouri and Indiana, and at the Wichita Business Col- lege. Mrs. McClelland and children are mem- bers of the Presbyterian Church.
Mr. McClelland is connected with the Masonic order, having joined that order at Kingman, and was made a Knight Templar at Hutchinson, and now is connected with the chapter, R. A. M., in Enid.
J. J. EVANS, M. D. The Evans family have for many years been distinguished in their different lines of occupation, and have been prominent in the intellectual and professional life of the localities in which they have resided. The science of medicine has claimed the abilities and life-work of J. J. Evans, who has been a worthy follower of the seer, Aesculapius. His mother's father, Dr. J. C. Westerfield, was for forty years an able medical exponent in south- east Kentucky, and had a far-reaching reputa- tion for skill as a healer of men. J. J. Evans' father, J. F. Evans, was a minister of the Bap- tist Church, in and through southeastern Ken- tucky, and passed the years of his activity in Kentucky.
At Barbersville, Ky., which had been the home of his father for many years, Dr. J. J. Evans was born in 1872. During his youth he was sur- rounded by fine and uplifting influences, and had before him the example of a life of industry and usefulness. He naturally selected the science of medicine as a fitting field for his fittare ef- forts, and with this in view entered the Univer- sity of Louisville Medical Department, from which he was graduated in 1893. Subsequently he practiced in Conway Springs; Kans., and at Rogers, 'Ark .. and located in Stroud, Lincoln county, in April of 1898. He has here met with a high degree of appreciation, which his con- scientions and painstaking methods will always elicit. He has had the advantage of a new and promising locality, and of the enthusiasm born ' of a devoted faith in the best tenets of a great profession.
Aside from his regular duties in the commit- nity, Dr. Evans has been called by virtue of his ability in several directions, and has received substantial recognition of the estimation in which he is held. He is superintendent of the County Board of Health, and is surgeon for the Northwestern Cotton Seed and Oil Company. For one year he served as a member of the Board of Pension Examiners. He is a mem- ber of the Oklahoma Territorial Medical Asso-
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ciation, and of the American Medical Associa- tion. Fraternally the doctor is associated with the Masonic order, and is a charter member and master of the Stroud Lodge, of forty-eight Ma- sons. As a Knight of Pythias he is a member of Stroud Lodge No. 26, and in the Modern Woodmen he is connected with the lodge in Kansas. He is also a member and medical ex- aminer of the Ancient Order of United Work- men. In 1895 Dr. Evans was united in marriage with Lulu B. Nunn. There are no children of this union.
C HARLES E. BILLINGSLEY. Within a comparatively short period Guthrie has come to the front ranks of western cities. This remarkable growth and prosperity must be attributed largely to its sound financial insti- tutions and its energetic business men. Many of its young men, possessing the enthusiasm and zeal of early manhood, have achieved honorable positions and enviable reputations here, and by the deep interest which they take in the city's advancement have earned a place in local his- torical records.
Of this number, Charles E. Billingsley is a leading citizen, popular with all classes. As president of the Capitol National Bank of Guth- ric, he is carrying forward the work begun by his honored father, the late George E. Billings- ley, from whom he undoubtedly inherited his marked talents as a financier. The only child of his parents, he was born in Warrensburg, Mo., April S, 1872. In his boyhood he attended the private school in Greenville, Miss., and com- pleted his collegiate education in the University of the South, at Suwanee, Tenn., from which he graduated in 1890, with the degree of Bache- lor of Arts. Afterward he earned the further honor of Master of Arts, which degree was con- ierred upon him by his alma mater. Soon after leaving college he commenced his career as a financier by entering the Rome (Ga.) National Bank, of which his father was the president, and, gradually working his way upward, by his own merits, he was given the position of as- sistant cashier.
In January, 1894, Mr. Billingsley came to Guthrie, and was soon made cashier of the Cap- itol National Bank, which position he held until after his father's death, when he was made presi- dent of the bank. As is commonly known, this is one of the oldest banking houses in the ter- ritory. It now has a capital of $50,000, a sur- plus of $10,000, and undivided net profits of $5.200, while the deposits (report of December 2, 1900) amounted to nearly $400,000. As a financial institution, it is everywhere regarded as one of Oklahoma's most reliable and solid concerns.
Besides his interests in Guthrie, Mr. Billings- ley has investments in farm lands in Logan county. In financial circles he is considered to be a rising young man. He is a member of the Oklahoma and the American Bankers' Associa- tions. Politically he gives his influence to the Democratic party. In fraternal relations he is connected with Guthrie Lodge No. 2, A. F. & A. M., and has attained the thirty-second degree in Masonry. At this writing he is a director in the Guthrie Club. Reared in the Episcopalian faith, he is connected with that denomination and holds the office of vestryman in the Guthrie Church.
G EORGE EDWARD BILLINGSLEY. I From the time of his settlement in Guth-
rie, in 1894, until his death, five years later, George E. Billingsley was one of the most prominent financiers of this city. He was born in Bradford, England, October 21, 1846, and was a son of Edward and Martha (Pratt) Billingsley, natives of Bowling York, England, where the family was well connected and highly esteemed. His father emigrated from England to Canada some years after his marriage, but soon came to the States and settled in Girard, Ill., where he embarked in the live-stock business. His ob- ject in coming to America was principally to engage in farm pursuits, in order that his son should become a farmer and thus avoid the anx- ieties of a business career. With that end in view, he bought a farm near Zanesville, Ill., but, finding that his son had no taste for a farmer's life, and becoming weary of it himself, he sold the farm and removed to Kansas City, Mo., where he made his home about twenty years. Finally retiring from business pursuits, he set- tled in Warrensburg, Mo., where he died at the age of eighty-three years.
At the time the family settled in this country George E. Billingsley was twelve years of age. He was a student in Shurtleff College, at Alton. Ill. Though a mere boy at the opening of the Civil war, he was desirous of entering the Union army, and his father, to circumvent that youthful ambition, sent him to a school in Can- ada. Returning to the States, he finished his literary education in Shurtleff College, and after his graduation there he attended Bryant & Strat- ton's Business College, Chicago, from which he also graduated. Thus he laid a good founda- tion for the business career that awaited him. His first position was as bookkeeper for Dog- gett & Moore Dry Goods Company. Later he conducted the flour mills in Girard, Ill. In that place he was married, December 27, 1870. to Miss Lizzie A. Magoon, daughter of Willard A. and Adeline (Blake) Magoon, natives of Canada.
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His wife was educated in Girard and was a faithful and worthy helpmate.
After his marriage, Mr. Billingsley sold his flour mills and removed to Warrensburg, Mo., where he conducted a hardware store for four years. In this enterprise he prospered. At the solicitation of his uncle, W. H. Stead, of South- port, England, he accepted a position as man- ager of the W. & W. H. Stead Cotton Seed Oil Company, at Greenville, Miss., in which he was also a stockholder. In this business he was re- markably successful. After twenty years he sold out his interests and embarked in the banking business at Rome, Ga. While in the cotton seed oil business he crossed the Atlantic ocean twelve times. He managed the large cotton seed plants of Natchez, Vicksburg, Arkansas City and other points, in the interests of a New York syndicate. After a successful year at Rome, Ga., he went to Mammoth Springs, Ark., and managed the busi- ness of the company that owned the springs and most of the town. Such inducements were made to him by the owners, Messrs. Cochran and Hill, old business friends of his, that he re- mained there for three years, meantime putting the venture upon a solid financial basis.
January, 1894. found Mr. Billingsley in Guth- rie, where he bought an interest in the Capitol National Bank. After one year he became sole proprietor and was its president until his death, which occurred October 14. 1899. He brought with him to Guthrie such high social standing and such a reputation as a financier that the people were favorably impressed at the outsct, and subsequent events but deepened their confi- dence in his judgment and ability. He was rec- ognized as a man of superior ability, high moral standing and unimpeachable integrity. A kind heart was one of his noticeable attributes. He never foreclosed a mortgage. Strictly honest in every transaction, he never took advantage of the confidence reposed in him, but proved him- self worthy of his high reputation. His charities were quietly and unostentatiously distributed, and were known to none save the special objects . of his benefactions. The poor, the needy and the distressed always found in him a wise coun- selor and helpful friend. Fraternally he was con- nected with the Knights Templar. At the time of his death he was officiating as a vestryman in the Episcopal Church of Guthrie. His body was taken to Warrensburg. Mo., where it was interred with Masonic honors.
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