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 14
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
Mr. Wallace was born in Montgomery town- ship, Orange county, N. Y., September 5, 1844, and is. of Scotch-Irish descent. His grand- father, William Wallace, was born in Ireland. and engaged in farming there throughout his entire life. His father, Samuel Wallace, was born in Ireland, but at an early day came to America and located in Montgomery township. Orange county, N. Y., where he followed farm- ing. Later he resided in Little Britain and died there at the age of sixty-five years. His wife. Elizabeth, was born in Antrim, Ireland, where her father, John Wallace, was a paper mant- facturer, but he afterward came to America and engaged in the same business at Hartford, Conn. Mrs. Wallace died at Hopkinton, Iowa, leaving three children, all of whom are living.
Reared in Orange county, N. Y., Mr. Wallace attended the district schools of his locality. He worked upon a farm until he was seventeen, and was then apprenticed to the tinner's trade in Washingtonville, N. Y., for three years. In 1864 he settled in Hopkinton, Delaware county, Iowa, where he worked at his trade and conducted a tinshop for a gentleman for some five years. He then established a hardware store and tinshop of his own and continued in business there un-
711
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
til 1884, after which he traveled for the D. M. Osborne Machine Company until the fall of 1886. Subsequently he was identified with the Singer Sewing Machine Company at Topeka, Kans.
April 22, 1889; he came to Oklahoma on the second stage over the Kingfisher trail and lo- cated a claim one and a half miles north of Hen- nessey on Turkey creek, but remained there only three weeks. June 5, 1889, found him in Oklahoma City. He started in the tin business at his present location. He does a large busi- ness in gravel roofing and sheet-iron and tin work. His work is not confined to the limits of Oklahoma City, but extends on the Santa Fe Road to Gainesville, Tex., and north to Ponca City, on the 'Frisco Railroad to Choctaw, east to Holdenville, I. T., and west to El Reno. .. For years he has been engaged in raising fancy poul- try, bringing a large stock with him to Okla- homa City, and now makes a specialty of Amer- ican Black Cochins. He organized the first poultry association in the territory, the Okla- homa Poultry and Pet Stock Association, and served as president during the first five years of its existence. Through his efforts the first poul- try show was held and was a success in every way.
Mr. Wallace was united in marriage with Ella Kentz, who was born in Hopkinton, Iowa, and died there, leaving one daughter, Mrs. Winona Milton, of Oklahoma City. He formed a second union in Iowa with Mrs. Sarah Charles, who is a native of Carroll county, Ohio. His residence at No. 401 Third street was erected by himself. Fraternally he is a member of Lodge No. 3, A. F. & A. M., of Oklahoma City, having joined that order while a resident of Hopkinton, Iowa. In politics he is a Republican, and served as city treasurer of Hopkinton for one term.
J. R. SHIVE, M. D. One of the pioneer phy- sicians of Oklahoma, Dr. J. R. Shive, now of Shawnee, merits a place of honor in its history. A native of Barren county, Ky., he was born April 8, 1842, a son of John and Nancy (Hurt) Shive. The father, who was born in Germany, came to the United States in his young manhood, at first settling in Pennsylvania. Later he lived in North Carolina, and for many years prior to his death was numbered among the far- mers of Barren county, Ky. His busy and useful life came to a close when he was in his sixty- fourth year. His wife, who was a native of Vir- ginia, attained the age of seventy-two. Her parents, John and Eve (Gorman) Hurt, also were Virginians. The father was a hero of the Revo- lution and was an early settler of Cumberland county, Ky. At the ripe age of eighty-four he was summoned to the better land, but his widow,
who was of German descent, reached the re- markable age of one hundred years, three months and six days.
Only two of the parental family now survive, the subject of this article and his brother, John Q. A. Shive. The latter, now of Pratt, Kans., served throughout the Civil war in the Seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry, much of the time as a second lieutenant, and at Richmond received a serious wound. The youngest of twelve broth- ers and sisters, all of whom lived to maturity, Dr. Shive was reared on the old homestead near Glasgow, the county-seat of Barren county. His education was acquired in a primitive log-cabin schoolhouse, and early in life he formed the am- bition of becoming a physician. Dr. Beachem, of Edmonton, Ky., fostered this idea in the youth, and was of invaluable assistance to him, supervising his studies and allowing him to prac- tice to some extent under his direction. When only sixteen the young man took his first course of medical lectures in the University of Louis- ville, and then, after an interval spent in prac- ticing, as mentioned, he returned to the college, where he was graduated in 1863 with the long- desired degree.
For nine years, until 1872, Dr. Shive carried on a successful practice at Summer Shade, Ky., after which he was located in Center Point, same state, for eight years. Feeling that a post-grad- uate course in special lines of study would be of benefit, he attended the medical college of Vanderbilt University, at Nashville, Tenn., for the school year of 1879-80, after which he com- menced the practice of his profession in Burton, Kans. Five years later he established an office in Greensburg, same state, and was there when Oklahoma was opened, in the meantime serving as a member of the board of pension examiners.
April 22, 1889, Dr. Shive went to Kingfisher, and at first had his office in a tent, later building a residence and enjoying liberal patronage of the public. In 1893 he went on a trip for his health and spent ten months in the southern part of Texas and in Mexico. On his return he decided to become a citizen of Shawnee, and here, at the corner of Main and Union avenue, built- one of the first business blocks in the town. This sub- stantial building, 25x70 feet in dimensions, he later sold. His own residence, at the corner of Beard and Eleventh streets, was also built by him.
Employed as the local surgeon for the Choc- taw, and carrying on a large general medical and surgical practice, the doctor has become well and favorably known in this locality. One of the charter members of the Oklahoma Medical So- ciety, he also was the first president of the Pot- tawatomie Medical Society. Altogether he has served on the board of pension examiners for
712
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
seventeen years, now being treasurer of the local body. In 1892 he was a delegate to the Chicago Democratic national convention, where Cieve- land was nominated for president. Initiated into Masonry in Tompkinsville, Ky., he held mem- bership in the Burton lodge; was a charter mem- ber of the Kingfisher lodge and aided in obtain- ing the charter of Shawnee Lodge No. 27, A. F. & A. M.
Dr. Shive's wife formerly bore the name of Anna Frohberg, and, like her forefathers, she was born in Germany. Two sons were born to this worthy couple, namely: William E. and Horatio S. The elder is a farmer of this county, and the younger is engaged in the manufactur- ing of carriages in Indianapolis, Ind.
G I EORGE P. ROSE. Although one of the largest land-owners and most enterprising farmers of the vicinity of McLoud, Potta- watomie county, Mr. Rose is variously interested in many lines of activity, and has perhaps con- tributed in a greater degree than any of the surrounding agriculturists to the growth and de- velopment of his promising and flourishing town. In company with the thousands of others also in search of greater possibilities, he made the run April 22, 1889, and a little later settled on a farm in the vicinity of Yukon, where he has at the present time three hundred and twenty acres of finely-improved land, upon which he lived for some time. Incidentally he engaged in the loan business, which has engaged his attention, more or less, up to the present time. With a judg- ment born of long business and farming expe- riences he decided to permanently settle in Mc- Loud, to which he removed in September of 1895. Here he has been identified with all of the forward movements for the improvement of the locality, which date from his interest in the orig- inal town site. As the owner and intelligent manager of over five hundred acres of land in Pottawatomie county. he finds abundant exercise for his ability, and his wide interest in the public welfare would seem to be an additional responsi- bility of weight.
In Whitley county, Ky., Mr. Rose was born August II, 1840, and is a son of Benjamin F. and Elizabeth (Powers) Rose. His early days were spent on the home farm and in pursuit of the various duties that fall to the lot of all industri- ous farmers' sons. In a little log schoolhouse, without a floor, he studied the common branches and acquired a fair education. The first event of importance that came into his life was at the breaking out of the war, when he enlisted, Sep- tember of 1861. in Company A, Eighth Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, and served until November 17, 1864. He participated in the battles of Stone
River, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge and many minor skirmishes. At Chickamauga the regi- ment suffered such severe vicissitudes that its duty was lightened by consolidation into a bat- talion, and assignment to post duty. At this battle Mr. Ross was severely wounded in the left hand, and as a result was laid up in the hospital for a couple of months.
In Bedford county, Tenn., in 1866, Mr. Rose married Julia Lloyd, of Tennessee. Subse- quently he carried on an extensive farming, mer- cantile and lumber business in Whitley county, Ky., and continued the same until the opening of Oklahoma. Since coming to his present resi- dence he has been enabled to realize many of his expectations in regard to the glowing prospects of Oklahoma, and is an ardent advocate of its resources and future prominence. In politics he is identified with the Republican party. In 1874 he was elected county assessor of Whitley county, Ky., and served four years. At Wil- liamsburg, Ky., he became identified with the Masonic order, and is now a member of the lodge at Yukon. To Mr. and Mrs. Rose have been born three children: M. C., who is a farmer on his father's Kentucky property; Mrs. Nannie Bird, who lives in Kentucky and has five chil- dren; and J. L. is married, has two children and lives on a farm near Yukon,
P ARKER J. BROWN, whose well managed farm is located on the southwest quarter of section 8, township 8, range 2 west. Cleve- land county, three miles south of Norman, was born in Ripley county, Ind., January 25, 1849. His parents were James and Hannah (McKas- son) Brown. On the maternal side the grand- parents, James and Hannah (Martin) McKasson, were born in New Jersey, and settled in Butler county, Ohio, as early as 1818. After years of farming in that locality, they went to Ripley county, Ind., when their daughter Hannah was about ten years of age. The acquaintance of Mr. and Mrs. Brown dated back to this early age of his wife, when they were playmates and schol. ars together in Ripley county. After their mar- riage, February 6, 1848, they engaged in farm- ing.
When about seven years of age, Parker J. Brown accompanied the family to what is now Douglas (then Coles) county, Ill., settling near Camargo, but after a time returned to Indiana. In the meantime his youth had been saddened by the loss of his father, who died in Douglas county. The mother, who is living at the pres. ent time, kept the children together, and looked after their interests to the best of her ability Parker J., who was the oldest of four children,
02 715
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
went, in, 1872, to Smith county, Tex., and worked in a sawmill, and made preparations for the family to join him in 1874. For a number of years subsequently they lived in Upshur county, Tex., where Parker J. was engaged in farm- ing, and where he was married August 27, 1879. Mrs. Brown was formerly Elizabeth Johnson, and became the mother of one son, James M., who was born in the Chickasaw Nation, Sep- tember 16, 1881. Mr. Brown removed to the Chickasaw Nation in 1879, and there he carried on agricultural pursuits until the opening of Oklahoma in 1889, when he settled on the claim which has since been his home.
Upon coming to the territory Mr. Brown had little in the world save his own ability and ca- pacity for work, but he has been very successful here. His farm is under a high state of cultiva- tion, and is worked by modern machinery and fitted with good buildings and modern appli- ances. In national politics he is a Democrat, but has never had a chance to vote for president. He is not an office-seeker, for he considers that his home duties require all of his time and atten- tion.
C. J. BENSON. Undoubtedly one of the most popular and public-spirited citizens of Shawnee is he of whom the following history has been compiled, C. J. Benson, presi- dent of the Oklahoma State Bank, formerly cashier of the Shawnee National, Shawnee State and Tecumseh State Banks. It may here be stated that the progress of the bank of which he is president has been truly remarkable, as within five months the business has grown from a de- posit of $30,000 to $140,000, a fact which speaks eloquently of the able management of the finan- ciers who stand at the head of the enterprise, and of the confidence which the public has in their integrity and business judgment.
Now in the prime of early manhood, C. J. Ben- son was born November 27, 1868, in Akron, Ohio, a son of Jarvis and Sarah (Underwood) Benson, the former a native of the vicinity of Lake Champlain, N. H., and the latter of Mas- sillon, Ohio. Both came from old colonial fan- ilies of New England. The Bensons, of Scotch-Irish descent, were represented on the Mayflower on her first trip to Massachusetts, in 1620, and the father of Jarvis Benson took part in the war of 1812. By occupation a farmer, he operated a homestead near Lake Champlain, N. H. Dr. Underwood, father of Mrs. Benson, was a dentist and an early settler of Massillon, Ohio. During the Civil war Jarvis Benson served in the defense of the Union in the One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry. His chief occupation for many years
was the raising of sheep in Randolph county, Ohio, whence he went to Longmont, Colo., in 1871. Buying ten thousand acres in Boulder county, he engaged in raising wheat, and was active in many local enterprises. One of the founders of the town of Longmont, and, indeed, one of the men who 'laid out the place, he was successful in establishing a colony there, and held a large amount of stock in the town-site and irrigation company. During a drouth of three years his hard-earned fortune melted away, and after a period he returned to Akron, Ohio, where he is-retired. His wife was summoned to the home beyond in January, 1900, and one of their eight children has joined "the choir in- visible."
The only representative of his family in Okla- homa is C. J. Benson, who has been identified with . the upbuilding of Pottawatomie county since October, 1891. From 1871 to 1875 he lived in Longmont, Colo., then returning to Akron, Ohio, in whose excellent grammar and high schools he was educated. In 1886 he was graduated in the latter, and then became a bookkeeper in the Standard Oil Company's plant in Cleveland, remaining there until 1888. when he went to Washington, D. C., in order to pursue a course in the law department of Georgetown University. At the end of a three years' course he was graduated in that institu- tion, and, as stated above, came to this territory. In the meantime, from 1888 to 1891, he had held a position in the treasury department, thus hav- ing double duties. Locating in Tecumseh, he began the practice of law, and when the state bank was opened there was made its cashier. When that institution was removed to Shawnee. he made a change of residence, and continued to act as cashier. August 8, 1895, the Shawnee State Bank was opened for business, and March I, 1898, it was incorporated as the Shawnee Na- tional Bank, with a capital stock of $50,000. October 1. 1900, having disposed of his interest in the Shawnee National, he, in connection with other parties, purchased the Oklahoma State Bank, capital of $25,000, in which he holds a controlling interest. The progress of this bank in five months has been phenomenal.
Mr. Benson is a member of the Territorial Bankers and the American Bankers Associa- tions. In 1899 he organized the Shawnce Ex- press Company, of which he has been the treas- urer and a director from the start. The fine plant of the company is well equipped with mod- ern machinery, and. as it stands, cost about $20,000. Largely through his instrumentality, the Shawnee Stockyards Company was organ- ized for the feeding of cattle, and he is a heavy stockholder in the concern, also acts as treas- urer. Besides, he is a stockholder in the Shaw-
716
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
nee Oil Company, and a director and the treas- urer of the Shawnee Realty Company, which controls a fine tract of land, three hundred and twenty acres adjoining the town on the north.
Mr. Benson's residence, which he built at the corner of Beard and Tenth streets, is one of the most attractive homes of Shawnee. It is pre- sided over by one of our popular young matrons, formerly Miss Grace D. Adams, and the little son of this estimable couple, Richard W., justly is the pride of his parents. Mrs. Benson is a na- tive of Van Buren, Ark., and her father, F. Adams, who formerly engaged in the furniture business here, is a-Kentuckian.
In politics Mr. Benson is a stanch Republican, at one time served on the territorial committee of the party, and was chairman of the county committee. As treasurer of Shawnee and as secretary of the board of education here, he has made an excellent record, and during the period of his connection with the board of regents of the Agricultural and Mechanical College, at Stillwater, great improvements were carried into effect. Appointed by Governor Barnes to that board in 1898, he was chosen as treasurer of the same. In 1891, under the appointment of Gov- ernor Steele, he became the first superintend- ent of Pottawatomie county schools. In the fraternities, he is a man of high standing, be- longing to Shawnee Lodge No. 27, A. F. & A. M., and, having taken the Royal Arch and Knight Templar degrees in Oklahoma City, also being a member of India Temple, N. M. S., and a thirty-second-degree Mason, member of Guthrie Consistory. His father belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic, while he is a member of the sons of Veterans, and also is a Knight of Pythias. For four years he was the superin- tendent of the Sunday-school of the Society of Friends Church, in which he holds member- ship.
C APT. JOHN F. RICE, who has won an en- viable reputation in military circles, and is to-day one of the most prominent business men of Norman, was born in Franklin county, Ga., January 9, 1833, his parents being Edward and Elizabeth (Vessels) Rice, the former a native of Mecklenburg county, N. C., the latter of Vir- ginia. His paternal grandfather was Edward Rice, Sr., a native of Scotland, who on his emi- gration to America settled in Mecklenburg county, N. C., and later became a pioneer planter of Tennessee. He was captain of a company of troops sent to West Tennessee to quell an Indian disturbance. They were cut off from the regi- ment and massacred on the banks of the Ten- nessee river, only one man of the many-a Mr. Baker-making his escape. After her husband's
death Mrs. Rice removed to Georgia. Our sub. ject's father was a stone mason and bricklayer, and as a contractor built the first brick ware- house in Atlanta. He died in Banks county, Ga., in 1865, and his wife passed away at Atlanta in 1859. Her father, James Vessels, was born in France, and came to this country with LaFayette during the Revolutionary war, fighting as a com- missioned officer under General Washington. After the war he became an extensive planter of Virginia. He married Elizabeth Derr, a daugh- ter of Marmaduke Derr, who was a Frenchman by birth and fought for the freedom of the col- onies in the Revolution; he also became a resi- dent of the Old Dominion and married a half- breed Powhatan squaw.
Captain Rice is the fifth in order of birth in a family of seven children, and is now the only survivor. His brother, Edward F., was a mem- ber of the Seventh Georgia Regiment in the Civil war and was killed in the battle of Gettys- burg; and A. P., who was a member of the Sixty- fourth Georgia Regiment, died in that state.
The Captain was reared on the Chattahoochee river, fourteen miles above Atlanta, and was edu- cated in a private school. The schoolhouse was a primitive log structure, with one log cut out for a window, slab benches, no floor, and an im- mense fireplace, which occupied one end of the room. His text books consisted of a speller and the Testament, and he learned to write with a quill pen. When his school days were over he learned the brick and stone mason's trade, and served an apprenticeship as a cabinet-maker and car builder in the Southwestern Railroad shops at Macon, Ga., which he entered in 1848. During the three years of his apprenticeship he received only $12 per month, and $io of this was paid for board. He remained in the employ of the com- pany until the Civil war broke out in 1861. Meantime he attended the night school of the Macon Military Institute, and was graduated therefrom in 1857, and in 1860 was examined by the Military Institute at Marietta, Ga., and re- ceived a diploma.
Captain Rice entered the Confederate army in June, 1861, for six months, being commis- sioned captain of Company E, First Georgia Vol- unteer Regiment, which he raised. At the ex- piration of his term of enlistment he raised a new company, which became Company E. Sixty- fourth Georgia Regiment, of Wright's brigade. and he again entered the service as captain, par- ticipating in the battles of Ocean Pond, the Wil- derness, the Seven Days' fight, Gettysburg, and the engagements around Richmond and Peters- burg. On the 16th of August, 1864, at Deep Bottom, he was captured, and was first sent to Washington, D. C., and three weeks later to Fort Delaware, where he remained until the close
-
1
717
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
of the war, being discharged April 29, 1865. As a skirmish driller he had but few equals and no superiors, and was nearly always sent in charge of a brigade on the skirmish line, so successful was he in such work.
In 1866 Captain Rice went to Houston, Tex., as master car-builder in the Central Texas carshops, and was later engaged in farming, milling and general merchandising in Paulding county, Ga. He was next master car-builder in the Atlanta & Chattanooga Railroad shops at. Chattanooga, and on leaving there returned to his farm in Georgia, where he remained until 1883, when he went to Gordon, Tex. After working at his trade for a short time he embarked in the furni- ture business, which he carried on for four years, and later engaged in contracting and building. In 1889 he spent nine months in California, and on his return made preparations to locate in Oklahoma. In the fall of 1891 he took up his residence in Norman, where he bought property, and has since made his home. He first engaged in contracting and building, and in 1892 was ap- pointed supervising architect by the board of regents of the University of Oklahoma, which position he most satisfactorily filled. He erected the Tate residence, the Norman State Bank (now the First National Bank) and many other build- ings. In 1893 he opened a furniture store on West Main street, which he has since success- fully conducted. He also carries a large line of musical instruments and does cabinet work. He purchased the Adkins building, which is 50x80 feet and two stories in height. On the second floor of this building the University of Okla- homa was started, and held its sessions during the school year of 1892-93.
In Georgia Captain Rice married Miss Martha A. Mason, a native of Clarke county, that state, and a daughter of William Mason, who was born in North Carolina and became a planter of Geor- gia. Having no children of their own, they have given homes to several, including Miss Mattie Lane, who lived with them and engaged in teach- ing music, until her marriage, November 28, 1900, to Mark Stine, a prominent farmer of Cleveland county, Okla.
Captain Rice gives his political support to the Democracy, and has been a member of both the city and county central committees of his party. Since 1857 he has been a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge at Marietta, Ga., of which he is past grand; was made a Mason at the same place in 1858, and now belongs to Lodge No. 634, A. F. & A. M., at Gordon, Tex. In 1871 he united with the Improved Order of Red Men, and to- day holds membership in the tribe at Norman and is past sachem of the same. Religiously he is a member of the Methodist Church South, while his wife is identified with the Cumberland
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.