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 94
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Having resided in various towns of the terri- tory, Mr. Remington has a large circle of ac- quaintances. In fact, there are few men more widely known than he, and his reputation is that of an energetic, wide-awake and progressive business man. He has served as president of the territorial board of pharmacy. Interested in the organization of the Oklahoma Pharmaceutical Society, he assisted in securing its charter, and has since constantly officiated as an officer in the sante, among his positions being that of secre- tary for one year and treasurer for three years. In politics he is a Democrat. He has the dis- tinction of having been elected the first mayor of Tecumseh, and in that office he proved him -.
self to be a capable executive, well qualified to govern a new town, whose residents had not yet proved their citizenship.
While he was living in Purcell Mr. Remington married Miss Lena Johnson, a native of Mis- souri. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias, Ancient Order of United Workmen, Encampment of Odd Fellows, and Masons. He was made a Mason in Shawnee Lodge No. 27. A. F. & A. M., and is now con- nected with Chapter No. 7, R. A. M., Com- mandery No. 2, and India Temple, all of Okla- homa City.
C HARLES W. SCHROEDER, a successful farmer and stock-raiser, of Crutcho town- ship, Oklahoma county, is a native of the province of Brandenburg, Prussia, Germany, born March 1, 1848, and came to this country with his father, Karl Schroeder, in 1856. The father located in the vicinity of Omaha, then one of the most important frontier towns in the west, as from that point the majority of the trains bound for the great west and northwest started. Mr. Schroeder became a wealthy and prominent business man in that section, and owned a large ranch, about forty miles west of Omaha. where he raised cattle and hogs extensively. He died about ten years ago, having the respect and gen- uine regard of a large circle of acquaintances.
Charles.W. Schroeder was reared to the varied duties of agriculture, and in the free open air of the country laid the foundations of a robust con- stitution. In 1872 he went to Colorado, where he engaged in mining for one year, and then turned his attention to freighting and other en- terprises. For six years he did little but hunt and kill buffalo on the plains of western Kansas, eastern Colorado and Texas, and during that period about seven thousand of the now scarce and highly-valued animals fell before his well- aimed bullets. He made considerable money in that business, and he next began transporting goods and supplies from Canyon City. Colo., to Saguache, same state. through the San Luis Valley and to Lake City, Colo. The following season lie prospected in northwestern Wyoming after which he again engaged in freighting with mule teams, going from Trinidad to Las Vegas and Santa Fe, and to various points in New Mexico and Arizona. Later he was engaged in the freighting traffic between Alamosa, Silver- ton, Ourav. Lake City. Montrose and other Col- orado points. Still later he went to Wyoming and freighted through Buffalo Valley, from Chevenne and Rock Creek to Fort Laramie and Fort Mckinney.
When Oklahoma was opened to white settlers Mr. Schroeder decided to cast in his lot with
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those who were to possess the promised land. On the 5th of May, 1889, he filed a claim to his present fine homestead and at once commenced its improvement. He put ninety acres under the plow, and raises a good variety of crops, and in his splendid meadow-lands keeps from thirty to fifty head of cattle and from fifty to one hundred Poland-China hogs. To his original farm he since has added a quarter section, and thus his place, comprising three hundred and twenty acres, af- fords plenty of room for the various products which he wishes to raise. He has planted a good orchard and vineyards, and keeps them, as well as his farm buildings and everything about the place, in good order.
Mr. Schroeder is energetic and enterprising in the management of all of his affairs, and pos- sesses the good will of his neighbors and all with whom he has dealings. He is independent when it comes to politics, voting for the one who is best qualified, in his opinion, to hold office. He is the present treasurer of the school board and takes patriotic interest in educational matters and all public affairs. He belongs to the Anti- Horse Thief Protective Association.
Six years ago Mr. Schroeder married . Mrs. Lizzie (Lance) Smith, who is a daughter of Sa- lem Lance, a native of Ohio. By her former marriage she had one child. a daughter. Josic.
D. W. WARD. Not to be outdistanced by others of an enterprising nature, Mr. Ward came to Waukomis in the fall of 1893. and when the town was first laid out started the original livery business of the town. In lieu of an appropriate building, a temporary shed was erected, and later the present barn put up, to which was added more room as the grow- ing business of the town demanded larger quar- ters. The present structure is 62x96 fcet in di- mensions. Since living in his adopted town, Mr. Ward has also been interested in the furni- ture and undertaking business for a short time. For a time also he had as partner in the livery business Howard Copper, whom he bought out in 1900. He is now in the grain and coal busi- ness exclusively.
Mr. Ward was born in Texas, his father, John Ward, being one of the first settlers of Navarro county. At the time. the country was exceed- ingly wild and dangerous as a place of residence, and the red men held undisputed possession. John Ward was a farmer and stock-raiser, and now lives in Coleman county, Tex. The paternal grandfather. William Ward, was a typical fron- tiersman, and in the pioneer days of Alabama and Mississippi operated extensively in those states, managing large herds of cattle. Mary (Want- land) Ward, the mother of D. W., died in Texas.
and left six children. D. W. received his early training in his native state, but eventually found his way to Oklahoma, where for some time he followed the cattle business on the plains, and led a free and easy life as a cowboy on the trail. September 16, 1803, he started from the south line of the newly opened territory and secured a claim on section 30, Hackberry township. He is a competent judge of good horses, having been associated with them all his life, and he keeps on hand many fine specimens of blooded stock and jacks.
In 1896 Mr. Ward married Myrtle E. Palsley, and they had one child, now deceased. Mr. Ward has been very successful in his business in Waukomis, and has won the esteem of all who know and deal with him. He has continu- ally demonstrated the universal truth that up- right methods and strict integrity are the best advertisers, and while conducting his affairs along these lines, he receives the patronage of a large number of his fellow-townspeople.
W ILLIAM STEWART. A special place of honor in the annals of this country is re- served for the heroes of the Civil war- those who placed their lives and all personal am- bitions and plans on the altar of their beloved land. The army record of William Stewart is of such a character that he and his posterity may well be proud of it, and in the quiet walks of pri- vate life he ever has endeavored to perform his entire duty as a citizen.
His father, John Stewart, as his name plainly indicates, came from the stalwart old Scottish stock, and his birth occurred in the land of the thistle and heather. He was employed as a salesman for a large linen merchant for several years, and, in the course of his travels, came to this continent. He met and married a lady in Canada, Miss Ann Glower, a native of that do- minion, and later took her to Ireland, whither his business affairs called him. Subsequently they went to Scotland, and then to Canada, and finally they became permanent residents of Clay- ton county. Iowa. The father bought a small farm there and devoted his attention to its culti- vation during the remainder of his life, which came to an end in 1866.
William Stewart was born November 28, 1840, during his parents' residence in Belfast, Ireland, but was quite young when they re-crossed the Atlantic, and here he grew to manhood. He was sixteen years old when the family located in Iowa, and there he mastered the essential features of agriculture and gained a practical education. In the fall of 1861 he enlisted in Com- pany B, Fourth Regiment of Iowa Cavalry, and was assigned to duty in Missouri, Arkansas, Mis-
REV. AND MRS. DE WITT M. PIERCE. Kingfisher County.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
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sissippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia and Ala- bama. He saw a great deal of service in many of the most important campaigns of the war, and though he took part in numerous battles never was wounded nor sufficiently ill to be assigned to a general hospital, a few days at a time in the regimental hospital comprising the sum of his absence from the post of duty. He veteranized and returned to the ranks, and served, altogether, about four years, receiving the commendation of his superior officers.
When the clouds of war were rolling away William Stewart resumed his former labors in Iowa, and also ran a threshing machine during the season. In 1869 he went to Butler county, Kans., where he pre-empted a homestead and proceeded to improve the property. It was not until the spring of 1889 that he came to Okla- homa, and at that time he located his present farm on the southwest quarter of section II, township 15, range 3 west. For a period he resided in a tent, and later a box-house served as a shelter for two years, this being superseded by the substantial log house of the present. Many good improvements have been instituted by the owner of the place, which now is accounted a valuable tract of land.
In Butler county Mr. Stewart was married July 3, 1872,. to Harriet E. Reed, a native of " "raising fruit. Twenty years ago he located in Noble county, Ind., and daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Skidgel) Reed, who located in Kansas in 1870. The eldest-born of Mr. and Mrs. Stewart is Mrs. Jeannette Aaron, who is the mother of three children. She and her sister, Mrs. Zoe Bennett, who has two children, are residents of Sedgwick county, Kans. Mrs. Jennie Crosley, whose home is in Seward, has one child. Ida and Walter Scott are yet at home with their parents.
In 1864 Mr. Stewart voted for Lincoln, and in 1868 cast his ballot for Seymour, and for Peter Cooper. Later, when a candidate, he voted for Butler, and of late years has been identified with the Populists. Fraternally he is a member of William Watts Post No. 40, G. A. R., of Seward, and has occupied several offices in the same. He was appointed township clerk in 1890 and served in that capacity acceptably.
R EV. DeWITT M. PIERCE enjoys the dis- tinction of being the first minister ordained in the Oklahoma Territorial Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the ceremony having been performed in Oklahoma City in 1893 by Bishop Goodsell. He has experienced many of the hardships incident to pioneer life, and for more than a score of years has devoted much of his time to the great work of organizing Sunday- schools.
The paternal ancestors of our subject were from Scotland, and at an early period settled in Providence Island, R. I. They took part in the - war of the Revolution, and the grandfather of Mr. Pierce, Samuel Pierce by name, served in the war of 1812. He, too, was born in Provi- dence Island, and thence ' went to New York state, where he was a pioneer. His son Stephen, the next in the line of descent, was born in the Empire state in 1807, and attained the age of seventy-two years. In 1835 he located in the wilds of Indiana, and was identified with its de- velopment until his death. His wife, Permelia B., daughter of Peter Olds, was born near Syra- cuse, N. Y., and, like him, was of Scotch extrac- tion. . She was summoned to the home beyond in 1889, when in her seventy-seventh year. Of her four children, DeWitt is the oldest; Oril M. is the wife of . Joseph Schofield, and resides in Hammond, Ind .; Amos J. and Amasa J. are twins. The former resides near St. Louis, Mo., and the latter in Ottertail county, Minn.
The birth of Rev. DeWitt M. Pierce occurred in LaGrange county, Ind., in 1843. He was reared as a farmer and continued to cultivate the soil of his native county until 1880, raising excel- lent crops on his one-hundred-acre homestead, and giving much attention to the business of Wilson county, Kans., and for two years served as assistant pastor in the Altona circuit. Thence, going to Kingman county, same state, he was occupied for a similar period in organizing Sun- day-schools, and for a period was pastor of churches in the Kingman circuit, and labored as an evangelist throughout that section of the country. His initial work as a minister of the gospel had been in Noble county, Ind., where he aided in revival services and for some time occu- pied the pulpit of a United Brethren church. Thus, altogether, he has been engaged in his grand endeavors to uplift humanity for fully a quarter of a century.
In 1890 Mr. Pierce came to Oklahoma and purchased school land on section 36, Banner township. Kingfisher county. That winter he remained here, and in March returned to his former abode for his family. He built a good sod-house, 16x24 feet in dimensions, and began making many improvements upon his place. He now has an orchard and vineyard, which covers fifteen acres, and here a great quantity of fruits is raised every season. In the vineyard there are over a thousand vines, and nearly every variety of fruit (save apples) can be found in the orchard. A fine system of irrigation, devised by the enter- prising owner, adds to the productiveness of the farm. For six weeks or more every year the blackberry bushes yield fully one hundred and twenty-five quarts.a day, and a good revenue is
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obtained from this source. He is an authority on the subject of fruit culture, and was one of those who organized the Horticultural Society of Kingfisher county, and for several years was present at all of its deliberations.
Giving educational affairs his due share of at- tention, Mr. Pierce has served as a member of the local school board, and was chairman and now is treasurer of the board of directors. The first pastor in this circuit, he was a great power for good here in the formative days of its civili- zation, and has supplied pulpits in the Downs and Columbia circuits also. In his joys and sor- ยท rows he has found a true helpmate in his devoted wife, whose maiden name was Christine Bassler and whose birthplace was in Germany. Of the eleven children born to this worthy couple ten survive, and loyally have they shared the bur- dens and labors which have devolved upon their parents.
In his early manhood Mr. Pierce gave four years, five months and fourteen days absolutely to his country. At the first call for soldiers in the three years' service he responded and be- came a member of Company A, Twenty-first Indiana Infantry. For the first six months he served on garrison duty in Baltimore, Md., and then went to New Orleans under the leadership of General Butler. He took part in the Red River expedition' and in the siege of Port Hud- son, La., and was under the command of General Steele in Arkansas. In the general hospital at Baton Rouge, La., Mr. Pierce was placed on detached service, acting as quartermaster's ser- geant of the institution. At the end of two and a half years' of infantry life liis regiment was changed into a heavy artillery one, using some guns which had been captured by their brave men while in action. After peace had been declared he was retained in the army and was kept in the gulf garrisons in Mississippi. On the 10th of January, 1866, he was honorably discharged at Baton Rouge.
W ILSON E. WORDEN. Prominent among those who have contributed by their en- terprise and ability to the growth of Waukomis, may be mentioned with the universal sanction of the community the name of Wilson E. Worden. That he has appreciated the pos- sibilities of life in the newly opened territory, and has seen and taken advantage of opportu- nities not apparent to the casual observer, utilizing them to his own and the general advan- tage, is in a measure responsible for his influ- ential and substantial standing in the town of his adoption. At the opening of the Cherokee strip in 1803. Mr. Worden was one of the vast num- ber who sought to find in the undeveloped re-
sources a panacea for disappointing losses, for, while formerly conducting large and varied busi- ness interests in Texas and Virginia, he found himself, like the great majority, waiting to re- habilitate his material welfare.
Of Puritan maternal and paternal stock, Mr. Worden was born in Angelica, western New York, in 1861. His paternal grandfather was a native of Rhode Island, and in later life re- moved to New York, where, long before the railroad was built there. he cast his lot with the very early settlers of Allegany county. In the main, his useful life was devoted to general farming, although he derived a substantial in- come from running a tannery and other impor- tant enterprises. He died at the age of sixty years. The father of W. E. Worden was a prominent business man in Angelica, N. Y., but he was also interested in a farm of which he was the owner and manager. Upon this farni he built and successfully ran a cheese factory, and conducted a large dairy business. He was an unassuming man, who never aspired to pub- lic notice, although, as a prominent and valued adherent of the Democratic party, he served as delegate to various conventions and other un- dertakings of his party. In the community in which he lived he was esteemed for his integrity and devotion to duty, and was ever mindful of the interests of those around him. His wife, Susan (Barber) Worden, was born in New York and was a descendant of an old Rhode Island family. To this couple were born three chil- dren: Irving E., cashier of the Exchange Na- tional Bank, at Oleon, N. Y .: Wilson E .; and Ethel, wife of A. A. Crowell, the present mayor of Waukomis.
Mr. Worden spent his youthful days at An- gelica, N. Y., and received his education in the public schools of that place and at the academy at Friendship, N. Y. He also studied law while living in New York. Upon attaining his nine- teenth year his independent and ambitious nature asserted itself, and he went west, settling first in the newly opened Dakota territory, where for a time he engaged in the implement business in the northern part of the territory. He was later admitted to the North Dakota bar, and was a member of the first Democratic convention held there. He later lived in Fargo, subsequently going to Duluth, Minn., in 1889, where he was interested in the brokerage -of real estate and mining stocks. He was a member of the stock- exchange, operating on the floor for about a year. In 1802 he went to West Virginia, and formed a partnership with W. T. Thompson. state treasurer, and R. T. Hemdon, assistant state treasurer. The firm, operating under the firm name of Hendon. Worden & Co., dealt in Texas and Indian Territory property, and ran
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a special car from West Virginia to Velasco, taking state officials and others connected with the enterprise. . Although beginning with bright prospects, the firm suffered an ignominious col- lapse in 1893, the different members being obliged to look around for other means of live- lihood.
Mr. Worden secured an excellent claim in the Cherokee strip, and located on section 18, town- ship 19, range 6, Garfield county, which he has utilized to the best possibleadvantage. When first settling in Waukomis, he had the forethought to buy up a great deal of land, which has con- stantly increased in value, and since, as a mem- ber of the Waukomis Town Company, he has been extensively engaged in real-estate, and the handling of loans and fire-insurance.
Fraternally, Mr. Worden is associated with the Enid Masonic Lodge, as a Master Mason, and with the Chapter in Lisbon, N. D .; also with Mystic Lodge, I. O. O. F. He is identified to a large extent with the social life of the town, and is at present the president of the Waukomis Citizens Club.
Too much cannot be said of the excellent work accomplished by Mr. Worden as one of the lead- ing citizens of Waukomis. He has been identi- fied with all of the enterprises for its upbuilding, and has ever lent a ready hand and purse when the needs of individuals or the community were at stake. As a social factor he is pre-eminent, and his Hamiltonian bays and natty trap are conspicuous on the streets of the town. Though practically a young man, he has attained to an enviable prominence, and his high principles and genial personality have won him a host of friends
Mr. Worden has recently organized the West- ern State Bank of Waukomis, of which Sidney F. Beech, of Chicago, is president; Wilson E. Worden, cashier, and Milton O. Garrett, assist- ant cashier. The stock is entirely owned by the above officers, who are also the directors.
A. . B. CARROLL, JR. From a compara- tively small beginning, Mr. Carroll has kept pace with the increase in population and consequent demand, and has now the larg- est mercantile establishment in Pottawatomie county, and one of the largest in the territory. It is doubtful if the country contains a man more enthusiastically interested in business and general enterprise, and the town of Shawnee has fortunately profited by his push, and rewarded his efforts with substantial appreciation. As in the large department stores in the outlying states, one may purchase under one large roof all of the articles in general de- mand by the shopper, and the depart- ments of furs, notions, cutlery, carpets, dress-
making and millinery are each complete in their respective lines of goods, and of such uniformly excellent selection, and with due regard for the multiplicity of tastes to be satisfied, that the general and far-reaching patronage accorded the establishment would seem but a natural con- sequence. The shoe department is the largest in the territory, and contains ten thousand pairs of shoes. The infant store erected in 1898, and which was 25x75 feet in dintensions, is almost lost to memory in its capacious and more preten- tious successor, which is 60x100. The internal architectural effect is perceptibly heightened by a gallery, which runs around the whole build- ing.
The Carroll ancestors were conspicuously identified with some of the most important oc- currences in the early history of the country, and were, with few exceptions, men of pro- nounced and forcible characteristics. The first of the family to be represented in America was one Charles F. Carroll, to whom the continental congress granted a part of the land on which Philadelphia now stands. He was the last sur- vivor of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and was own brother of the great- great-grandfather of A. B. Carroll. The grand- father, Lewis Carroll, was born in Carroll county, MId., and in later life removed to North Carolina, where he became a man of extended influence, both as a citizen and as a large planter and land owner. During the war of 1812 he served his country with courage and distinction. and is affectionately remembered for his many sterling traits of mind, character and attainment. His son, A. B. Carroll, was born at Six Runs, N. C., and his early occupation was that of a planter. He subsequently engaged in the mer- cantile business, and was a dealer in cotton and turpentine in his native state. During the Civil war he served in the Confederate navy, which he entered when sixteen years of age, and was located on the old receiving ship, Indian Chief. at Charleston. He later became an officer in the navy, in recognition of superior services. When peace was declared, he returned to his former occupation in North Carolina. In 1891 he changed his place of residence to Texas, where he engaged in the cattle business near Waco. In 1896 he located near Enid. Okla., on a farm. to which he has since added another claim, and here he is successfully engaged in general farm- ing and stock-raising. His wife, formerly Mar- tha M. Borden, is of Scotch descent, and was born at Six Runs, N. C. Her father. Jolin, was a large planter in North Carolina, where he eventually died. Her mother is still living, and has had eleven children, ten of whom are living. Eight of A. B. Carroll's immediate family are in Oklahoma.
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The early life of A. B. Carroll was passed at Clinton, N. C., where he was born January I, 1868. He was educated at the Newbern public schools and at the Bingham Military Academy, from which he was graduated. His first inde- pendent venture was as a clerk in the wholesale dry-goods house of the H. B. Duffy Company, with whom he remained until 1892, when he re- moved to Dallas, Tex. He there engaged as a traveling salesman for R. G. Dun, his territory covering the whole of the state. In view of superior inducements, after a while he resigned his position, to assume charge of the dress-goods department of M. Arron & Co., at McKin- ney, Tex., where he remained from September of 1893, until 1898, at which time he located per- manently in Shawnee.
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