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. 2 > Part 11
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99
A native of Lewis county, Mo., Mr. Risk was born May 8, 1873, and is a son of Henry C. and
Elizabeth (Baker) Risk, natives of Williamstown, that county. When ten years of age he was taken by his father, who was a druggist, to a farm, and there he grew to manhood. He stud- ied diligently in the district schools, and in Lion high school for one year, subsequently going to the Christian University, at Canton, Mo. When eighteen years of age he decided to avail himself of the promising conditions in Oklahoma, and at Norman entered a printing office in order to learn every detail of newspaper work. He learned to set type, and remained at Norman un- til 1895, when he became part owner in a paper at Shawnee. He was subsequently connected with three different papers, and attained a fair measure of success.
In 1895 occurred the marriage of Mr. Risk and Kate Waltermire, who was born in Kansas and reared in Texas. Mrs. Risk has a very ex- cellent education, and is also engaged in journal- istic work, being editor-in-chief of the Herald. Mr. Risk is a Democrat in national politics, and was elected city clerk soon after coming to Mc- Loud. Fraternally he is associated with the An- cient Order of United Workmen at McLoud. Mr. and Mrs. Risk are ardent members of the Chris- tian Church, of which Mr. Risk was clerk at Norman and deacon at Shawnee. Mrs. Risk devotes a great deal of time and attention to church work, and is prominent in the best social life of the town.
J ESSE MOONEY, M. D., of McLoud, phy- sician and surgeon, registered pharmacist, purveyor of drugs, and also undertaker, has been successfully carrying on his various enter- prises here since January of 1899.
Dr. Mooney was born in Marion county, Ark., July 7, 1866, and is a son of Jesse and Olivia (Williams) Mooney. His father was a very prominent man during the years of his activity, and was an able exponent of the science of law. Near Mountain Home he conducted a large practice, and was appreciated in his neigh- borhood for his many sterling qualities of mind and character. For a long time he served as county judge, and was the first sheriff of the county, and represented his district in the state legislature for several terms. In the Civil war he served with courage and distinction as a major in the Confederate army. During the three years of his service he was taken prisoner twice, and was held at Johnson Island and also at St. Louis.
The boyhood days of Dr. Mooney were spent in his native county, and at the age of fifteen he entered Mountain Home College, where he stud- ied for one year, and subsequently spent one year in a college at St. Louis. At the Fort Worth University he was graduated in 1896,
.
1
MRS. NETTIE K. REPPETO, Guthrie.
04 691
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
having taken the courses of chemistry and med- icine.
When a little over seventeen years of age, August 12, 1883, Jesse Mooney was united in marriage with Ella C. Ridley, a native of Ken- tucky. Mrs. Mooney had fortunate educational advantages, and is at the present time a regis- tered pharmacist in Oklahoma. Shortly after his graduation Dr. Mooney located at McGee, in the Chickasaw Nation, where he started a drug store and also practiced his profession. A later venture along the same line was in Moral, Pot- tawatomie county, where he was fairly success- ful for two years, or, until taking up his perma- nent residence in McLoud, of the same county. Here he has met with a high degree of apprecia- tion, and is regarded as one of the most sub- stantial and reliable professional men of the promising town. As a stanch Democrat he is active in all of the undertakings of his party, but has no desire for political preferment. Though elected coroner of Pottawatomie county, he was obliged to refuse to serve, owing to the various other responsibilities which claimed his time.
Fraternally the doctor is a member of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, and helped to institute the lodges at Moral and McLoud. He has filled all of the chairs and represented his town in the Grand Lodge. He is also a member of the Encampment at Tecumseh. Dr. and Mrs. Mooney are members of the order of Rebekah. The doctor is a member and ex-vice-president of the Medical Society at Fort Worth, ex-secretary of the Texas Alumni Association, vice-president of the Pottawatomie County Medical and Sur- gical Society, and vice-president of the Potta- watomie board of health. He is also medical ex- aminer of the Equitable and Hartford insurance companies. The watchword of Dr. Mooney is "Forward," and he keeps in touch with the prog- ress along the lines of his chosen work in all parts of the world. His own broad and liberal ideas find vent through the medium of papers printed in the best medical journals of the day and read before the associations of which he is a member.
To Dr. and Mrs. Mooney have been born four children, viz .: Beatrice, who was born in Lam- pasas, Tex .; Jesse, born at Salem Springs, Ark .; Montie, also born at Salem Springs; and Ollie. born at McGee, I. T.
M RS. NETTIE K. REPPETO. Many a plucky, energetic woman has made a suc- cess of a business enterprise in the west. but few have entered the field in which Mrs. Nettie K. Reppeto now ranks high. As the proprietor of the Royal Hotel, of Guthrie, she is known far and wide, and during the two years
of her connection with this popular house she has abundantly proved her ability to cope with the manifold difficulties which constantly con- front the manager of a hostelry.
Mrs. Reppeto comes of an old southern fan- ily, and her maternal great-grandfather, Dr. Charles Harriman, a native of Virginia and of Scotch descent, was a hero of the Revolution. Both of her grandfathers were gentlemen of prominence and superior education. Joel Mc- Guire, her paternal grandfather, as well as his father before him, were wealthy Virginia plant- ers, and the former finally decided to leave his beloved native state on account of slavery, which he believed a menace to her future prosperity. Going to Belleville, Ill., he became a pioneer of that region, and dwelt there until he was called to his reward. Dr. Charles Harriman, Jr., born in Virginia, took up his residence in St. Clair county, Ill., at an early day, and was one of the pioneer physicians of that section of the state.
Next to the youngest of the nine children born to her parents, Col. Joel and Rachel (Harriman) McGuire. Mrs. Reppeto is a native of Randolph county, Mo. Her father was born in Illinois, and won his title by distinguished services in the Union army during the Civil war. The mother. who was born in St. Clair county, Ill., departed this life in Oklahoma January 3, 1897, and all of her children survive. One of the number, B. S. McGuire, is a resident of this territory, and at present is acting as deputy United States attor- ney. Colonel McGuire enlisted in the Union army at the beginning of the Civil war, and served until the close of the conflict as colone! of the Second Missouri Volunteer Cavalry. His record reflects great credit upon him, and on one occasion he received a severe wound. At the close of the war he went to Randolph county, Mo., where he became well known as a dealer in live stock. In 1883 he removed to Chautauqua county, Kans., where he was actively engaged in business until his death, which event took place when he was in his sixty-sixth year. For years he had been prominent in the ranks of the Grand Army of the Republic and in the Republican party. Both he and his wife were exemplary members of the Presbyterian Church, and were ·highly esteemed by all who knew them.
In her girlhood Mrs. Reppeto obtained a lib- eral education, completing her studies in the Kirksville Normal. By nature endowed with the qualities which insure success in the business world, she engaged in a mercantile venture in Sedan, Kans., in 1890, and for three years per- severed in her undertaking; at that point. When the Cherokee country was opened Mrs. Reppeto came to Ponca City and established the Oxford Hotel, which she managed with marked ability for several years. In January, 1899, she located
)
692
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
in Guthrie, and, as previously stated, has since been the owner and proprietor of the Royal Hotel. In the fall of 1899 large additions were made to the building, and she instituted radical changes in the whole economy of the establish- ment, which now ranks with the best hotels of the southwest.
Mrs. Reppeto is a lady of pleasing social char- acteristics, as well as of business attributes, and her friends are many. She is a member of the local golf club, a fine equestrian, and takes great interest in all of the leading questions of the day. A member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, she contributes generously toward the great work carried on by that denomination, and her private charities are extensive.
T HOMAS MORAN was born in Providence, R. I., December 20, 1841. His parents, Thomas and Mary (Geatley) Moran, were born in Ireland, where they were reared with the usual advantages that fall to the lot of the av- erage country-bred Irish boy and girl. That they were ambitious and far-sighted is proved by the fact that almost immediately after their marriage they decided to try their fortunes in the far western country. They accordingly engaged passage and set sail, the voyage covering many days and weeks, in which their hopes for the future were constantly menaced by the angry moods of the sea. Their stanch craft was equai to all emergencies of the deep, and finally plied American waters and moored beside American soil. They settled first in Providence. R. I .. where they lived until 1850, when they joined the pioneers of Jefferson county, Mo., settling on a farm thirty-five miles south of St. Louis. Here the father enjoyed a successful, peaceful agri- cultural existence until his death, at the age of seventy years.
Thomas Moran, Jr., shared his father's ups and downs, and, while fitting himself for every branch of farm work, had extremely meager op- portunities for acquiring even a rudimentary education. The knowledge that has since been of such benefit to him is the result of later ap- plication and close observation. At the age of eighteen years, desiring greater scope than was offered on the home farm, he started out in the world for himself, and was variously employed by the farmers in the vicinity for several years. With the call to arms in 1861 he enlisted in the Confederate army. Company I, Tenth Missouri Infantry, and served nearly three years, partici- pating in the battle of Prairie Grove and many minor skirmishes. While at Helena. Ark., he was captured and imprisoned twenty months. first at Alton, Ill .. and later at Fort Delaware.
After the war Mr. Moran worked by contract.
and was mostly engaged in clearing the wild land of timber and underbrush and in preparing it for the seed. In 1867 he drove a team of horses through to Texas for another party, and, after reaching there, decided to spend the winter, re- turning to Jefferson county in the spring. Mr. Moran was married May 8, 1870, to Mary Hil- debrand, a native of Jefferson county, and a daughter of Hiram and Elizabeth (Pepper) Hil- debrand. Soon after his marriage he was forced to a change of climate and surroundings owing to continued ill health. His experiment in an agricultural line in Clay county, Tex., proving a failure, he moved to Henrietta, that county, and began to work at the trade of stone mason, which he has since followed intermittently. During the famous rush of April, 1889, he pre-empted the claim in Oklahoma on which he now lives, on section 3, township 17, range I west. He loca- ted his claim by piling timber and stones on it. April 29 he started back to Texas for his team, and upon returning began to break prairie for himself and others. He built a box house, 14x18 feet, with a good stone chimney, and, though the house was not finished until the following year, he had his family come from Texas in July. His present residence is a very comfortable and roomy farmhouse. At the present time his land is in a highly cultivated state, his particular pride being an orchard of thirty-five acres.
In politics Mr. Moran is a Democrat. He is not an office-seeker. To Mr. and Mrs. Moran have been born three children: Anna, Mrs. Da- vid Edwards, who has one child and is living in Blackwell, Okla .; Edward, at home; and Emma, Mrs. Joseph B. Barnet, of this township.
E. H. WILKINSON. The agricultural pros- ,perity of Pottawatomie county has been materially benefited by the presence in its midst of Mr. Wilkinson, who, from all stand- points, is one of the most energetic and pros- perous farmers in the community where he has elected to reside. His claim, on the northeast quarter of section 28, township II, range 3, is well improved and fitted with the most advanced and convenient devices, and it is conceded that the house erected by him in 1900 is one of the most commodious and imposing in the county.
To the management of his farm Mr. Wilkinson brings a wide general knowledge of business, having engaged in various mercantile occupa- tions previous to and after coming to Oklahoma. He was born in Warren county, Pa., March 12. 1869, and is a son of James and Sarah (Stout) Wilkinson. When he was three years of age his parents removed to Osage county, Kans .. where they engaged in farming and stock-raising for two years. They then went to Sumner
693
.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
county, Kans., and for a time the father engaged in the drug business at Oxford. When thirteen years of age, the son went to Wabaunsee county, and lived with an uncle. He attended school at Manhattan, Kans., until within a year of grad- uation, when he accompanied his uncle to San Francisco, Cal., to assist him in the shipment of horses and cattle, and remained in the far west for about seven months. Upon returning to Kansas, he continued to live with his uncle, and to engage in the cattle business for about two years. He subsequently engaged in an inde- pendent venture along the same lines in Co- manche county, Kans., which, though promising at the outset, terminated disastrously for Mr. Wil- kinson. Hoping to better his condition, he came to Oklahoma in 1889, and dealt in real estate in Oklahoma City for about a year. He next engaged as a clerk for J. J. Wetzel in the con- fectionery business for three years, and was then associated with Brown & Robinson, wholesale and retail grocers, for about the same length of time. In 1897 he located upon the claim which has since been the scene of his untiring efforts, and which has proved a pleasing and remunera- tive venture.
In Oklahoma City, January 17, 1895, Mr. Wil- kinson was united in marriage with Minnie Dob- bins, a native of Indiana, and who came to Okla- homa from Denver. Of this union there are three children: Glen, born in Oklahoma City; Lois and Paul, born on the home farm. In na- tional politics Mr. Wilkinson is devoted to the issties and principles of the Republican party, but has never had any political aspirations. He considers that his farm interests demand all of his time, and prefers to leave the manipulation of the political machinery to others.
M. F. MERRILL, one of the representative business men of Norman, who for five years faithfully served his country in the regular army, was born in Richland county, Wis., on the 3d of June, 1856. His father, T. A. Mer- rill, was a native of Ohio, and a son of M. Merrill, who was born in Maryland and became one of the pioneers of Richland county, Wis .. after having resided in the Buckeye state for a ' time. He cleared and improved a farm in Wis- consin, and there spent his last days. The father of our subject served for three years in the Civil war as a member of Company D. Twentieth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and continued to make his home in the Badger state until his re- moval to Wright county, Mo., but he was not long permitted to enjoy his new home, as he died the same year. By occupation he was an agriculturist. He married Mary A. Briggs, a
native of Somerset, Ohio, and they became the parents of six children, five sons and one daugh- ter, of whom our subject is third in order of birth. Three of the sons are still living. The mother's death occurred in Missouri.
Mr. Merrill of this review was reared on the western frontier and educated in a primitive log schoolhouse. He served an apprenticeship at the blacksmith's trade in Astora, St. Clair county, Ill., where he remained until 1875, and then returned to Missouri, operating his mother's farm for two years. Later he spent some time in the lumber woods of Minnesota, and in .1878 joined the army, enlisting at Chicago as blacksmith in Com- pany G, Fourth United States Cavalry. He was first sent to Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, and from there to Fort Reno. The regiment was or- dered out during the Dull Knife Indian raid, and took part in the engagement at Turkey Spring, Okla. In 1879 and 1880 they drove Payne and his men out twice. In 1882 they went to Fort Baird, N. M., and when the Indians escaped from the Carlos agency they chased them into Mexico, where they were met by the Mexicans. Our subject's company took part in the engagement in Horse Shoe Canon. Mr. Merrill remained at Fort Beard until honorably discharged in 1883, after five years of service. He was then engaged in stock dealing in Shasta and Tehania counties, Cal. In 1887 he settled in McAlester, Choctaw Nation, where he was employed as blacksmith by the Osage Coal & Mining Company for three years, and for the following three years was en- gaged in the blacksmith business at Durant, the same nation. Subsequently he conducted a gro- cery and hardware store at that place and erected the first brick building there.
In 1895 Mr. Merrill purchased eighty acres of land and laid out Avoca, in partnership with Mr. Rutherford, and there built a blacksmith shop. which he carried on in connection with the im- provement and cultivation of his farm for three years. Coming to Norman in 1897, he built a shop at this place, and successfully engaged in the blacksmith business until February. 1000. when he sold out and embarked in his present enterprise as a dealer in groceries, flour, feed and wood. His place of business is on West Main street, and he has already built up an ex- cellent trade by fair and honorable dealing and by the courteous treatment of his customers.
At Silver City, N. M., Mr. Merrill was united in marriage with Miss M. H. Barker, a native of Ohio, and to them have been born three chil- dren, namely: William O., E. J. and J. A. The wife and mother is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Merrill holds member- ship in the Woodmen of the World and the Ma- sonic Lodge No. 5. of Norman, having been made a Mason at MeAlester.
694
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
W ILLARD JOHNSTON, ex-clerk of Pot- tawatomie county, and cashier of the First National Bank of Shawnee, has been largely instrumental in the upbuilding of this lo- cality, and by his own faith in its future has inspired capital to make liberal investments here. In all public enterprises and improvements he is deeply interested, contributing more than his due share toward the general good. For nearly eleven years he has been a citizen of Pottawato- mie county, and thus has witnessed its entire growth under civilization.
Coming of stanch old Scotch Presbyterian stock, Mr. Johnston's great-grandfather, John Johnston, was born in the northern part of Ire- · land, and was one of the first settlers of Wash- ington county, N. Y., as he accompanied the little colony which, with Rev. Mr. Clark, D. D., located at Hebron. In that place occurred the birth of James and David Johnston, the grandfather and father of our subject, and the former, a wealthy and prominent farmer, died there in 1851. The father, David Johnston, lived in a neighboring town, Salem, during his mature life, and was known as the most extensive dealer in potatoes in the northern part of New York state, also as a successful dealer in grain and other produce. His last years were spent in retirement from business cares, and when making a visit to our subject at Eureka, Kans., in his sixty-sixth year, he received the summons to the silent land. In his community he was justly held in high es- teem, and his personal popularity was demon- strated when he was elected sheriff of his county, the only Democrat elected to that office there since the Civil war. He also served as a super- visor of his township, and was chairman of the board of county commissioners at one time. Re- ligiously he was an active member of the United Presbyterian Church.
For a wife David Johnston chose Miss Jane Nelson, whose paternal grandfather also had come from northern Ireland with Dr. Clark's . Hebron colony. His son James, father of Mrs. Johnston, was born in Hebron, became a suc- cessful farmer, and for a period served as a su- pervisor. His brother, Judge Nelson, was prom- inently mentioned in New York state for the presidency of the Union some years ago. Mrs Johnston died in Salem, N. Y., and of her seven children six are yet living, namely: Stephen D .. who is engaged in the livery business in Madi- son, Kans .; Mrs. Sarah Grace Collins, of Syra- cuse, N. Y .; John W., who carries on the old! homestead in the Empire state: Mrs. Martha J. Barnett, of Washington C. H., Ohio: and Wil- liam and Willard, twins, the former the present sheriff of Greenwood county, Kans .. and a lead- ing merchant and cattleman of that locality.
The birth of Willard Johnston took place in
the town of Hebron January 21, 1863. After completing his common-school course he be- came a student in Salem Academy, the oldest academy in the state. For many years his father was one of the trustees of this institution. At the close of the senior year the young man came to the west, and for four years, until 1885, devoted his attention to farming and sheep-raising near Waverly, Coffee county, Kans. Then for a pe- riod he was engaged in the cattle business in Greenwood county, same state, and at Piedmont carried on a flourishing mercantile trade until the fall of 1891, owning a cattle ranch in the vicinity and dealing in live stock.
At the opening of this county Mr. Johnston sold out his former enterprises and located a claim on the southeast quarter of section 9, town- ship 8, range 2 east, and continued to cultivate and improve the tract until he was elected to the office of county clerk on the Democratic ticket. Assuming the duties of his new position at the beginning of 1893, he faithfully and creditably discharged them, winning hosts of friends. When his term of two years had been completed he became the cashier of the bank of Shawnee, which, in company with J. H. Maxey and others, he had organized. In that institution and in its successor, the present First National Bank of Shawnee, he has continued as the cashier. In October, 1897, the bank was incorporated under its present title, with a capital stock of $50,000. Under the able management of its officers it has flourished and now occupies the fine First Na- tional Bank building, 100x140 feet in dimen- sions, which was erected for its use.
Of the National Bank of Holdenville. I. T .. Mr. Johnston is a director and the president: in the bank of Geary. Okla., holds the same of - fices, also vice-president of the Ada National Bank, Ada, I. T., and in the Bank of Watonga, Okla., is a stockholder and a director. Individ- ually he has been actively connected with the real-estate and building interests of the place, at present being the treasurer of the Shawnee Building and Loan Association. On his own account he built the Johnston & Beard building. since sold; the McLogan & Johnston block, also sold, and others. His finely improved farm is still in his possession, and he makes a specialty of raising cattle there. Formerly he dealt exten- sively in live stock, buying, selling and shipping.
From its organization Mr. Johnston has been the treasurer of the Shawnee board of educa- tion. IIe is identified with the Shawnee Club and the Oklahoma Bankers' Association. be- longs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and to Shawnee Lodge No. 27, A. F. & A. M. In the Presbyterian Church he is an elder and trustee and is the superintendent of the Sunday- school. While the church was in process of
-
1
W. L. TAYLOR, Dover.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
6h 697
construction he was chairman of the building committee.
The pleasant residence of the Johnston fam- .ily, situated on Beard street, was built by our subject and is presided over by his estimable wife, whose maiden name was Kate Moore. She was born in Fayette county, Ohio, a daughter of John Moore, who was a farmer in the Buckeye state, and near Howard, Kans., in later years. Mr. and Mrs. Johnston have three children, namely: Grace C., Ross W. and Paul X.
W L. TAYLOR. One of the stauch Repub- licans of Kingfisher county is W. L. Taylor, who officiated as treasurer of Cimarron township for more than eight succes- sive years, at first being appointed by Governor Steele, and subsequently, for four terms, being elected by the people. He also acted as a mem- ber of the school board of his district for four years, during which period its debt was reduced from $1,500 to a cash basis. As may be seen from the above, even without other evidence, he is a public-spirited citizen, deeply interested in the welfare of his community. He also is worthy of honor as a veteran of the Civil war, and has been the commander of Henry Martin Post No. 26, G. A. R., of Dover, at present hold- ing a minor office in the same.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.