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 70
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The parents of William R. Meek, Nathan and Amanda Ann (McCammon) Meek, were mar- ried in Indiana, and their family consisted of eleven children, seven of whom died in infancy and three after reaching maturity. Thus, Wil- liam R. is the sole remaining child. His child- hood days were spent in a manner akin to that of other farmers' sons, and he was educated in the district schools of his township. In 1867 he moved to Nemaha county, Kans., where he engaged in agricultural pursuits for a year, after which he went to Washington county, Kans .. and remained there two years. From 1870 until 1892 he lived in Sumner county, Kans., and after he had located upon his farm there, his parents came to live with him, residing there . from 1872 until their deaths.
Mr. Meck was married in 1859 to Rachel Johns, and of their five children, three only are living: Nathan is married. has two children, and lives in Sumner county, Kans .: James, also married, lives in Fayette county, Iowa, and has two children: William V. is married. has one child, and also lives in Fayette county, Iowa. Mrs. Meek died in Sumner county, Kans .. in 1889. In 1892 Mr. Meek married Miss Eva Sturgis, and of this union there is one child, John Meek.
In 1892 Mr. Meek came to Oklahoma and purchased property which he hastened to im- prove, and, in connection with the management of which, he opened a mercantile establishmen: in Crescent City, which is being successfully conducted. He is still the possessor of his orig- inal farm in Sumner county. Kans., to which he also added forty acres before leaving that state. In political affiliations Mr. Meek is a Democrat, and cast his first presidential vote for Stephen
A. Douglas. He also is a member of the Ma- sonic order, belonging to lodge No. II, Cres- cent City. He is an enterprising citizen and his agricultural and mercantile pursuits have been attended with gratifying results.
William R. Meek enlisted in July. 1862, in: Company B, Eighty-second Regiment, Indiana Volunteers, was sent to Kentucky, and was at the battle of Perryville. Then he went to Ten- nessee, where he campaigned under Generai Thomas; he participated in some skirmishes, and later was wounded at the battle of Chicka- mauga, Ga., 'in the left shoulder, and was sent to the hospital at Nashville, Tenn. Having been honorably discharged there, June 30, 1865, he re- turned home, and, when recuperated, resumed farming.
E. .
E. KIRKPATRICK, D. D. S., who enjoys a large practice in the dental profession in Oklahoma City, is also president of the Oklahoma Dental Association and secretary of the Board of Dental Examiners of Oklahoma.
Dr. Kirkpatrick was born in McDonough: county, Ill., April 11, 1869, and is a son of J. E. and Elizabeth (Gibony) Kirkpatrick. His grand- father, Joseph A. Kirkpatrick, was of Scotch de- scent and came of an old Virginia family. He was born in that state and was an early settler in Brown county, Ohio. J. E. Kirkpatrick was born in Brown county, Ohio, and became a pio- neer farmer of McDonough county, Ill. He served in an Illinois regiment during the Civil war. In 1879 he removed to Holton, Kans .. where he now lives in retirement, after having spent many years actively engaged in agricul- tural pursuits. He married Elizabeth Gibony. who was born in Brown county, Ohio. Her father, John Gibony, of Scotch ancestry, came from a well-known Pennsylvania family and was a pioneer farmer of Brown county. The eight children of this union now reside in Kansas, with the exception of our subject and his brother. A. J., who is a pharmacist in Oklahoma City. Mr. and Mrs. Kirkpatrick are both of the Presbyterian faith. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
E. E. Kirkpatrick was reared in MeDonough county, Ill., until he reached the tenth year of his age, when he went to Kansas with his par- ents. He received a good education in the pub- lic schools and in Campbell University, of Hol- ton, Kans., and in 1889 entered upon the study of dentistry under Dr. A. W. Doves of Holton. In 1890 he entered the Kansas City Dental Col- lege, and after attending one year engaged in practice at St. Mary's. Kans., where he remained until the fall of 1892. He then entered the Chi- cago College of Dental Surgery and was gradu-
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ated March 28, 1893, with the degree of D. D. S. On May Ist of that year hie located in practice at Oklahoma City, where he has since contintted, his office being located on Main and Robinson streets. August 21, 1897, he was appointed by the governor as a member and secretary of the Board of Dental Examiners of Oklahoma, his headquarters as secretary being at his office. He is a member of the Oklahoma Dental Asso- ciation, and was elected president of that body in 1897, secretary in 1898, president in 1899 and again in 1900, being the present incumbent of that office. He is also a member of the National 'Association of Dental Examiners.
Fraternally Dr. Kirkpatrick is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias. In religious attachment he is a strict adherent to the Presbyterian faith. He is a Republican in politics. He is also a member of the Commercial Club.
L A FAYETTE PERCIFIELD, who first came to Oklahoma before it was opened to settlement, is a large contractor and builder in Oklahoma City, where he has erected many fine residences. He was born in Nashville, Brown county, Ind., and is a son of George Percifield, a grandson of Gilbert, and a great- grandson of Samuel Percifield, who served in the Revolutionary war.
Samuel Percifield's parents came from North Carolina, and were of English extraction. He was born in Tennessee, where he was a planter. Gilbert Percifield was born in Granger county, Tenn., where he was a planter, but later settled near Nashville, Ind., where he followed farming until his death. George Percifield, the father of our subject, was born in Granger county, Tenn., and after moving to Indiana with his parents, followed farming until his death, which occurred in 1897. He was united in marriage with Elizabeth Clopton, who was born in Vir- ginia, and they became the parents of twelve children, nine of whom are now living. Mr. Percifield had two brothers who served with honor in the Eighty-second Indiana Infantry during the Civil war. He died December 12. 1897, at Nashville, Ind.
La Fayette Percifield, the oldest child of his parents, was born January 24, 1848, and was reared on a farm until seventeen years old, re- ceiving the advantages of a public-school edu- cation. He took to the carpenter's trade natu- rally, beginning at seventeen, and followed that trade and then engaged in contracting and build- ing at Nashville, Ind., until he moved west in 1886. In that year he went to the Darlington Indian Agency in Oklahoma, as a government carpenter, and had charge of all the work there
for three years. April 22, 1889, he located a claim on Deer creek, in the township of Deer Creek, Oklahoma county, but his claim was con- tested, and in the end he compromised, entail- ing a large loss. From 1892 until 1896 he en- gaged in contracting at Edmond, Okla., building some of the finest residences and stores and also the public school at that place. He next went to Shawnee and successfully engaged in con- tracting and building until 1899, erecting a fine home there, which he still owns. In the spring of 1899 he came to Oklahoma City, where as a contractor and builder he enjoys the patronage of the leading citizens. He erected the hand- some residences of Judge Keaton, Mr. Alien, Mr. Harnes, D. C. Lewis and many others. His business has been constantly on the increase, and during the busy season he employs from twenty- five to forty men. In 1899 he built the residence on East Seventh street where he resides with his family.
While a resident of Indiana, he married Su- sanna Rodgers, who was born near Nashville. Ind. They are the parents of eight children, as follows: James, a carpenter by trade, and a successful contractor and builder of Edmond. Okla .; Belle, the wife of Dr. Tibbetts, of Rich- land, Kans .; Mrs. Sadie Hunley, of Edmond, Okla .; Mrs. Nellie Davis, of Wichita, Kans .; Alva, a tinsmith of Oklahoma City; Cleo, Weed and Ada, the last-named of whom died at the age of six years. Fraternally our subject is a. member of the Royal Tribe of Joseph. In poli- tics he is independent and in religious affiliation he is a member of the Christian Church.
. JAMES H. SCOTT, a veteran both of the Mexican and Civil wars, and an honored citizen of Canadian county, whose home is on the northeast quarter of section 23, township 14, range 7 west, seven miles from Okarche, was born in Switzerland county, Ind., March 16. 1825. On the paternal side, he is of Scotch descent, his great-grandfather being a native of Scotland and a relative of Sir Walter Scott, the poet. He was the founder of the family in America and an early settler of Georgia. In his family were six sons, five of whom perished in the Revolutionary war, while the grandfather of our subject was too young to enter the service. James Harris Scott, father of our subject, was born in Georgia, and from that state removed with his parents to South Carolina, and later to North Carolina, where he followed the stone cut- ter's trade, which he had learned with his father. Subsequently moving to Ohio, he there met and married Mary Cullom, who was born in Rhode Island and had gone to Ohio with her parents. After their marriage they moved to Switzerland
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county, Ind., where they continued to make their home throughout life, and where the father owned and operated a good farm.
Our subject grew to manhood on the farm and received a fair common-school education. When almost twenty-one years of age, in the fall of 1845, lie conunenced learning the blacksmith's trade, it being agreed that he was to receive dur- ing his apprenticeship $3 per month the first year; $4 the second; and $5 the third. However, in 1846 hie concluded to enter the army, the Mexican war being then in progress, and he en- listed in Company C, Third Indiana Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to General Taylor's command. He participated in the battle of Buena Vista, and was in the service one year. Meantime a cold that lie contracted terminated in a gathering in his neck, from which he has never fully recovered. His regiment was commanded by Col. "Jim" Lane. He witnessed the recon- ciliation between Jefferson Davis and General Taylor after the battle of Buena Vista, the for-' nier having previously eloped with the general's daughter and the two men being at enmity up to this time. At the battle of Buena Vista Mr. Scott's regiment was formed in a hollow square to receive the charge of four thousand men, and repulsed them, losing but few men. The charge was made in double columns at half distance.
Soon after his return home Mr. Scott was married May 10, 1848, to Miss Eliza A. Had- lock, who was also born in Switzerland county, Ind., February 18, 1828, a daughter of Nathan and Ellen (Haycocks) Hadlock. By this union were born ten children. Clarence, the eldest. who enlisted at the age of seventeen years in the Tenth Indiana Cavalry, was in the hospital at Vicksburg from February, 1864, until the close of the war, and died soon after his return home. Mrs. Martha Bernacasel lives near Shawnee, Okla., and has four children. Alva is married, has two children and lives near his father. Mrs. Mary Wilson is a resident of El Reno, Okla., and has four children. Mrs. Ida Patton is a resi- dent of Kansas City. Mrs. Alice Collins makes her home near our subject and has two children. Charles is at home with his father.
Mr. Scott followed farming in his native county until the fall of 1850, when he removed to Wa- pello county, Iowa, where he placed his land warrant for one hundred and sixty acres. Hav- ing no means to build a house, he lived near by until 1853, when he traded the place for a farin in Pike county, Ind., and returned to that state. Having finished learning the blacksmith's trade. he formed a partnership with Herbert Dixson and opened a shop in Dubois county, Ind .. in 1856, but later returned to Pike county. At the opening of the Civil war. in 1861. he enlisted in Company E, Twenty-fourth Indiana Volunteer
Infantry, which was assigned to the Twelfth Di- vision, Thirteenth Army Corps. When the com- pany was organized Mr. Scott was made first duty sergeant. He participated in several skir- mishes and the siege of Vicksburg, and in 1862 went up White river. While there he, with others, was detailed one morning at three o'clock to go out and meet four hundred of the Texas cavalry. A lively skirmish ensued, during which he saw a Texan aiming at him, but he dropped on one knee to get a better view, and while in that position a Mr. Harris was shot through the neck and fell over him, covering him with blood. He was discharged from the service in March, 1864, and returned to his home in Pike county, Ind., where he worked at his trade until his removal to DeKalb county, Mo., in 1871. In 1883 he went to Ottawa county, Kans., and lived there until 1890, when he came to Canadian county, Okla., and settled on the farm where he now resides, making his home here ever since.
Mr. Scott cast his first presidential vote for Zachary Taylor in 1848, and afterward contin- ued to support the Democratic party until 1860, when he voted for Abraham Lincoln, and has since supported the Republican party. In early life he was a member of the Cumberland Pres- byterian Church, but since coming to Oklahoma has united with the United Brethern denomina- tion and helped to build Liberty Church. The territory has no more patriotic or loval citizen than Mr. Scott, and he is deserving of the high regard in which he is uniformly held.
C HAARLES SEELY, who, with his brother Frank, ranks among the most extensive agriculturists and largest land owners in Logan county, is located on the southeast quar- ter of section 28, township 15, range 3 west, and also has a claim on the northeast quarter of sec- tion 32, township 15, range 3 west. He was born in Andrew county, Mo., February 7, 1868, and is a son of S. E. and Mary I. (Brown) Seely.
Charles Seely spent his youth and early man- hood in Andrew county, Mo. Though he was born on a farm and subsequently was more or less. associated with farm life, he had all of the advantages of the towns, educationally and otherwise. During eight years of his boyhood, his father. S. E. Seely, was clerk of the court. and at all times during his practice at the bar was a man of prominence and influence in the community. Charles Seely graduated from the high school in 1885, at the age of sixteen, and subsequently took a business course in Ritner's Commercial College, at St. Joseph, Mo. In a short time he was appointed deputy collector of Andrew county, which position he filled for three
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years. In 1889 lie came to Oklahoma and set- tled on the claim which is now his home.
October 8, 1893, in Newton, Kans., Mr. Secly married Miss Isabel Dayton, of Chicago, Ill., and a native of Columbus, Ohio.
After acquiring the deed to his land Mr. Seely went to Des Moines, Iowa, where he became the cashier in the freight department of the joint station of four different railroads, and was also auditor of the terminals at the same time. Later he settled on his farin with his brother Frank, and has since carried on an extensive farm and stock business. Politically he is a member of the Republican party and cast his first presiden- tial vote in 1892 for Benjamin Harrison. He has taken a very active part in local politics.
F RANK SEELY, agriculturist and partner of Charles Seely, on the southeast quarter of section 28, township 15, range 3 west, Lo- gan county, and also on the northeast quarter of section 32, township 15, range 3 west, was born in Andrew county, Mo., September 30, 1869. He received a high-school education in his native county, and at the age of sixteen en- tered his father's store as a clerk. Later he went to Bird City, Kans., and engaged in the mercantile business until 1890, when he came to Oklahoma, and has since carried on agriculture.
Mr. Seely is a Republican, but has never had the pleasure of voting for a president. He was elected township trustee, and as such assessed the township for two years. He has taken a commendable interest in local politics and is well versed in the affairs of liis county and territory.
C HARLES SHERER. The life record of Charles Sherer, of Enid. possesses much of interest, and, could his experiences be detailed, the average citizen of old and prosper- ous regions of the Union would more thor- oughly understand what it means to be a fron- tiersman 'and patriot, ever ready to defend the interests of his country and to protect the rights of her loyal sons. Almost all of his mature years have been directly devoted to his country, and upon scores of battle-fields of the south and of the west, and by the endurance of untold pri- vations and wounds he has won a prominent place in the national roll of honor.
At an early age Mr. Sherer was orphaned and thrown upon his own resources, a significant beginning to a career filled with hardships that few experience. Possessing the self-reliance and resolution for which his German ancestors were noted, he proved equal to every contingency, and, in spite of all obstacles, has forged his way to a position of influence and respect. His
father, George Sherer, was born in Germany. and, upon coming to America, settled near Mill- ville, Butler county, Ohio, where he was en- gaged in market gardening and general farming. In 1856 he removed to Shelby county, Ill., and there carried on a homestead for six years, when he was killed by lightning. His wife, formerly Mary Straub, and also a native of Germany, died soon after their arrival in Illinois. Of their five children one is deceased. Henry, one of the four sons, was a soldier in the Ninety-third Ohio Regiment during the Civil war, and now resides in Illinois.
Born September 19, 1847, and reared upon farms, the first great event in the life of Charles Sherer, after the death of his mother, was the outbreak of the Civil war, and, like his elder brother, he was an ardent patriot, determined to enter the fray as soon as he could do so. In the fall of 1861 he returned to Ohio in order to find a place in the ranks, and on the 16th of Septem- ber-three days before his fourteenth anniver- sary-his naine was enrolled in Company G, Thirty-fifth Ohio Infantry, his commander being Colonel, later General, Vandeveer, and his regi- ment being under the orders of General Boyn- ton. Briefly passing over his long army ser- vice, the mention of the numerous important battles in which he was engaged will convey an idea of his arduous campaigning. Though such a lad he bravely stood at the post of duty and won the connnendation of his appreciative supe- rior officers. He fought in the battles of Chicka- manga, Missionary Ridge, Shiloh, Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, Athens, Stone River. Peach Tree Creek, Buzzard's Roost, Atlanta, Resaca. Dallas. Mill Springs, Somerset. Fort Donelson, Iuka, Nashville, Spring Hill, Franklin, Perry- ville and Jonesboro. Though never seriously wounded he sustained several painful flesh wounds, and had many narrow escapes. Once, while engaged in making a reconnaissance at Tuscola, he and some of his comrades were cap- tured at breakfast by a party of John Morgan's men, and, with rare presence of mind, repre- sented themselves to be deserters from the Union army. Charles Sherer, who was excep- tionally keen, and popular with his associates wherever he went, soon made himself so well liked by, and useful to his captors, that he was given more liberty than was expedient, front their point of view, and one day he selected a fine horse and inade a dash for the Union lines, which he succeeded in reaching uninjured. . \t the expiration of his three years' service he was mustered out in Tennessee, October 16, 1864, then being only seventeen years old.
For the next six years our subject carried on a farm in Shelby county, Ill., and in September, 1870, entered the government employ in the
JAMES W. MANEY. El Reno.
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west. Here he devoted nearly two decades of liis life to the great work of preparing the west and southwest for coming civilization, acting as a scout and deputy United States marshal for many years, and frequently participating in fights and skirmishes with the Indians. He be- came thoroughly familiar with many sections, and acted as a guide to Colonel Weigel and J. W. Scothorn when they were occupied in lay- ing out the Cheyenne and Arapahoe country. April 22, 1889, he located a claim in Canadian county, Okla., but lost the property, another claimant being the fortunate possessor. After living in El Reno for a period, Mr. Sherer went to Darlington, where he carried on a livery busi- ness, finally selling out at good advantage. Since September 16, 1893, he has lived in Enid, where he was the seventh arrival, and during these seven years lie has owned and managed a livery, also dealing extensively in live stock and horses, keeping some fine animals of high breeds.
This pioneer liveryman, for as such Mr. Sherer is known in Enid, was one of the organizers of the Garfield County Fair Association. He is a inember of McDonald Post, G. A. R., and is popular among thie veterans of the great war. In his political standing he is an uncompromis- ing Republican.
In Pond Creek, Okla., in 1896, occurred the marriage of Mr. Sherer and Miss Maggie How- enstine. She is a native of Ohio, and by her marriage is the mother of one child, Margaret Pearl. She holds membership in the Presby- terian Church.
J AMES W. MANEY. A record of the life of Mr. Maney is, to a large degree, a history of the building of the railroads of the south- west. It is probable that he is the largest rail- road contractor in Oklahoma, and certainly no one similarly engaged has had a more successful career than he, for his work has been uniformly satisfactory and his contracts conscientiously filled. Since 1889 he has made his home and headquarters in El Reno, although necessarily the demands of his business require his almost constant presence elsewhere. In 1899 he erected the residence lie now occupies, and in addition to this property he owns twelve houses in El Reno; also a farm of two hundred and forty acres five miles south of town, on Four-Mile Creek. In the organization of the Canadian County Bank lie was interested. He was elected a member of the first board of directors, also served as vice- president of the institution until he disposed of his stock in the same.
Mr. Maney was born in Pittsburg, Pa., Jan- ary 3, 1862, a son of Michael and Johanna (Hart-
nett) Maney, natives of County Kerry, Ireland, and now residents of El Reno. His father was for a time employed in a foundry in Pittsburg, Pa., but in 1865 settled on a farm near Osceola, Iowa, and later made his home in Omaha, Neb., thence coming to El Reno in 1892. He still owns property in Iowa. Of his four living chil- dren, Michael is a Roman Catholic priest in Atchison, Kans. Anna, wife of Jolin C. Fogerty, resides in Odebolt. Iowa. John is secretary and treasurer of the Weatherford Milling Company in Oklahoma. James W., who was the second of the sons, received his primary education in a district school, and later spent five months in a select school at Red Oak. Iowa, paying his tui- tion in the school by working on a farm.
The age of seventeen marked the beginning of Mr. Maney's connection with railroading. He then became an employe in the civil engineering department of the Union Pacific Railroad at Laramie, Wyo., and assisted in making a survey from Laramie southwest into North and Middle Park in Colorado. He continued surveying over the range to Egeria, Park (now Routt) county, and then worked past Steamboat Springs to Bear river, spending two years in the work. Before the expiration of the two years he was surveyor in charge of a division. His next work was in Kansas with the Union Pacific road, after which he was employed for a year in the construction of the Oregon short line, making his headquar- ters at Bellevue, Idaho. The next four months were spent on the Union Pacific in Nebraska, in charge of construction between Lincoln and Omaha, and west of Lincoln.
In June, 1884. Mr. Maney began railroad con- tracting, his first work being under Mallory & Cushing, of Omaha. He built three miles on the Burlington & Missouri road, between Aurora and Grand Island, Neb. His next contracts were for street work in Omaha. after which he filled a contract on the Fremont. Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad. All of these contracts were filled in 1884. The following year he built eight miles into the Black Hills for the Fremont. Elk- horn & Missouri Valley road. During the winter of 1885-86 hie engaged in freighting in the Black Hills with his outfit, after which he contracted for building a part of the railroad west from Chadron. Neb .. through Wyoming as far as Cas- per. In July. 1886, he took a contract for three miles on the Chicago, St. Paul & Milwaukee road from Bristol, S. D. In January, 1887. he had a contract on the Rock Island Railroad near White City, Kans., after which he built a part of the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad east of Fremont to Omaha. Next he constructed three miles of the Illinois Central road between Manchester and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. During the fall of 1887 he engaged in street contracting
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