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 18
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H ENRY R. MILLER. The record of a man who has risen to a position of affluence and honor in a community possesses much of inspiration to the general public, and the younger generations cannot too often have impressed upon their minds that success rarely comes to any one who does not exercise indefatigable en- ergy and the best judgment of which he is ca- pable. Prosperity is the portion of those who are not afraid of hard, honest labor in carly man- hood, for a fortune, like Rome, is not "built in a day," and sooner or later it crowns the efforts of the deserving. In tracing the career of this worthy citizen of Britton township, Oklahoma county, many lessons may be gleaned, and we are glad to present the following facts in relation to him:
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Rufus Miller, father of Henry R. Miller, was born in North Carolina, and when he was a lad of twelve years accompanied Lafayette Miller, his father, to Illinois. The family was of German extraction, and the virtues of the Teutonic race have been noticeable in every generation. They made a home on the prairies of Illinois, and when ยท he reached maturity Rufus Miller commenced farming on a large scale. He owns three hun- dred acres of fine land, situated in Alexander county, Ill., and is considered an authority on the subject of agriculture in his community. He has been a stalwart Republican since he became a voter, and takes great interest in the welfare of his country and all worthy enterprises. His wife, who was Miss Julia Ann Casper, was born in Johnson county, Ill. Of their four children, Henry R. is the only resident of Oklahoma.
The birth of H. R. Miller occurred in Wetaug, Pulaski county, Ill., September 24, 1861. In his youth he received liberal educational advantages and early mastered the details of farming. Then he engaged in business on his own account, and for eight years conducted a farm in Christian county. In September, 1891, he came to Okla- homa and bought the northeast quarter of sec- tion 21, Britton township, and four years later purchased the southeast quarter of the same section. In addition to this, he leases a quarter section of school land, and thus has four hun- dred and eighty acres under his care. Three hundred acres of this is under cultivation, wheat being his chief crop. He keeps a large number of Shorthorn cattle, horses and mules, and a large proportion of his income is derived from this source. A well kept orchard and vineyard contribute to his revenue, and the five hundred vines which he has planted are now producing a fine crop each season. Substantial buildings stand upon the place, and all of the numerous im- provements now to be seen here have been insti- tuted by the progressive owner. Within the last few years he has made his means, for at the time he came to this locality he had only three horses, and was. moreover, to some extent in debt, for financial reverses had been suffered by him, and he literally had to begin at the bottom rounds of the ladder leading to success.
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In all of the joys and sorrows which his ma- ture life has brought to him, Mr. Miller has found a true helpmate in his wife, whom he mar- ried in Illinois in March, 1886. Her maiden name was Leona B. Martin, and her former home was in Christian county, Ill. Six children bless their union, namely: Fred, Ivo, Velma, Earl, Fern and Mervyn.
For several years Mr. Miller has given his po- litical support to the Populist party. The cause of education finds a sincere friend in him, and for six years he has acted as a member of the
local school board. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Britton, and, be- sides being one of its trustees, is a valued worker in the Sunday-school. Fraternally he is asso- ciated with the Modern Woodmen of America. His word is considered as good as his bond, and in every relation of life he lives up to his high standards of right and duty.
W ILLIAM HIXSON, who has one of the best farms of Canadian county, resides on the northeast quarter of section 12, township 13; range 7 west, his postoffice being El Reno.
Mr. Hixson was born in Fayette county, Ohio. April 21, 1831, and is a son of Reuben and Ma- tilda (Heath) Hixson, natives of Pennsylvania. He was reared on a farm in his native county and lived there until he was twenty-six years of age, meantime receiving a fair common- school education. At the age of twenty-three years he married Miss Ellen Barrett, who died in Cowley county, Kans. Four children were born to them: Alexina Florence, wife of Peter Snyder, of Coldwater, Kans., by whom she has four children; Minnie, deceased, who was the wife of William Hamlin; George, who lives at home; and Katy, who married John Overocker, of Comanche county, Kans.
When Mr. Hixson was twenty-six years old. he moved to Stark county, Ill., and bought eighty acres of wild land, which he proceeded to clear and improve. After a residence of seven years in that place he moved to Jasper county, Iowa, where he owned a farm of one hundred and forty acres, residing there for twelve years. His next removal was to Cowley county, Kans., where he lived on a farm for seven years. From there he moved to Sumner county, Kans., and remained about three years; thence he moved to Morton county, Kans .. which continued to be his home until he came to Oklahoma. He bought and improved five hundred and twenty acres of land there, but later traded for land in Texas.
About seven years after the death of his first wife, Mr. Hixson was married, in Morton county, Kans., to Mrs. Sarah Mckinney, nee Downs, who was born in Madison. Ind .. and received a good education. By her first mar- riage, with John McKinney, she had a daughter, who became the wife of George Bound, of In- dianapolis, and died in that city. In 1889 Mr. Hixson came to Oklahoma and filed on his pres- ent claim. For a time he lived in Kingfisher. where he bought a lot, and while he carried on freighting, his wife took in washing and earned $12 a week. In the fall of 1880 he built a two room frame house, 12x20 feet, and they moved
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into it. Now he has the finest place in the township. He has an orchard of six acres, a good barn and other necessary outbuildings, though he had only a team and wagon and a few other traps when he came here.
Mr. Hixson is independent in politics and has never sought political preferment. He and his wife are members of the Christian Church, al- though she was reared a Catholic.
C HARLES C. POTTENGER. In the Shaw- nee National Bank building is to be found the finest drug-store in Shawnee, and one of the best located and most thoroughly. equipped stores of the kind in Oklahoma. C. C. Pottenger, who is at the head of this establishment, is deservedly popular with the public, and by his uniform courtesy and desire to accommodate , his customers and friends in general exemplifies one of the first principles of good citizenship. Sterling integrity and due regard for the rights of others also are numbered among his attributes, and, while the mere mention of this fact may appear to a stranger as a trifle eulogistic, his business associates and fellow-citizens recognize it as bare justice.
Born in Crawfordsville, Ind., November 8, 1874, the youngest child of John and Elizabeth (Snyder) Pottenger, C. C. Pottenger was reared in his native place and in the neighborhood of Burlington, Kans. His father is a native of Eton, Preble county, Ohio, and throughout life has been a farmer. In 1885 he removed from Crawfordsville to Burlington. Kans., where he also operated a farm, and in 1892, locating in Chickasha, I. T., he and his two elder sons em- barked in their present business, that of hard- ware and implements. The wife and mother was born in Crawfordsville, where her parents were very early settlers.
When eleven years of age our subject went to Burlington, Kans., where he received much of his education in the high school. In 1891 he began the study of pharmacy, and continued his residence in Burlington until 1894, when he went to Chickasha, I. T. In the fall of 1895 he located in Shawnee, becoming clerk for Mr. Remington, and in the following spring purchased a half- interest in the business. In February, 1900, he . became the sole owner of the business, which was removed to its present beautiful quarters about four years ago. In 1898 the firm of Rem- ington & Pottenger opened another drug-store in Chandler, and continued to carry on the same until September, 1899, when the junior partner withdrew from the business. Since he has given his entire attention to his rapidly increasing trade here, doing a large wholesale as well as retail
business, and keeping a full line of drugs and sundries, paints and oils and wall paper. He makes a specialty of filling prescriptions, and is the assistant secretary of the Territorial Pharma- ceutical Association. One of the organizers of the Shawnee Club, he is a member of its board of directors. Politically he is affiliated with the Democratic party. Initiated into Masonry in Shawnee Lodge No. 27, A. F. & A. M., he was raised to the Royal Arch degree in Cyrus Chap- ter No. 7, R. A. M., of Oklahoma City: to the Knight Templar degree in Oklahoma Com- mandery No. 2, and also belongs to India Tem- ple, N. M. S.
In Chandler occurred the marriage of Mr. Pottenger and Miss Loa Hoffman, in 1899. A daughter of P. S. Hoffman, president of the Hoffman, Charles & Conklin Bank, of Chandler, she is a native of Kansas and possesses an ex- cellent education. She was graduated in the academy at Monticello, Ill., and is a lady of pleasing social qualities.
G RANT STEWART. As an enterprising and successful real-estate man in Shawnee. Mr. Stewart has been prominently con- nected with this promising town, and has con- tributed not a little to its material, moral and in- tellectual growth. To him is due a large amount of credit for the wise and judicious disposition of lands and for the interest which his own enthu- siasm and faith in his adopted town have inspired in others.
A native of Blair, Washington county, Neb., Mr. Stewart was born February 14, 1864. and is a son of James S. Stewart, who was born in Louisville, Ky., in 1824. The paternal grand- father, George W., was born in Kentucky, and was of Scotch descent. He was a large land- owner in his native state, and subsequently, hav- ing freed his slaves in Kentucky, took up his abode on the Ohio river, in Indiana. He was a member of the Baptist Church, and died in In- diana. His son, James S., was a farmer and stock-raiser, and in 1856 migrated to Washing- ton county, Neb., where he was one of the very carly settlers.
When Blair, Neb., was but a suggestion of its present prosperity, Mr. Stewart settled within its limits and entered the hardware business, which engaged his attention until his retirement. He died in 1893. The history of Blair is closely in- terwoven with the most effectual of Mr. Stew- art's efforts. His enormous farm. comprising one thousand and seventy acres of land, was partly located on the site of Blair, one hundred acres having been purchased from him for the erection of the city. He fostered every worthy enterprise for the growth and development of
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the town and was one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Blair. He was an ardent supporter of the principles of the Republican party and was fraternally associated with the Masonic order. His capacity for work and his honest business methods resulted in the accumu- lation of wealth and an. enviable position in the esteem and affection of all who knew him. His wife, formerly Mary Hungate, was born in In- diana and came from an old Hoosier family. She became the mother of seven children, and died in 1890. Of her five living children, Grant Stew- art is the youngest. One son, J. H., is in Wag- oner, I. T., and is engaged in the merchandise business; E. A. is a traveling salesman out of St. Louis; and Thomas is living in Blair, Neb.
Until his seventeenth year Grant Stewart lived on his father's farm, and attended school in Blair and graduated from the high school. When seventeen he started in to farm for himself on his father's land, and succeeded in managing about one thousand and eighty acres. He turned his attention to general farming and stock-rais- ing, and raised very fine cattle and horses. He also fed and shipped cattle and hogs in all direc- tions. In 1893 the farm was sold and the estate settled. Mr. Stewart also owned a farm of his . own.
In 1897 Mr. Stewart located in Shawnee, hav- ing made the journey overland. He at once be- gan buying up lots and building residences, and has since been successfully engaged in the real- estate business. An added responsibility has been connected with the organization of the Cit- izens Bank of Holdenville, I. T., of which he is a stockholder. The general appearance of the town is added to by the substantial and com- fortable residence erected by Mr. Stewart. He was married in Blair, Neb., to Iris Byerley, born in Pennsylvania and reared in eastern Indiana. Her father, Daniel, was born in Pennsylvania and died in Iowa. In national politics Mr. Stew- art is a believer in the principles and issues of the Republican party. Fraternally he is associated with the Maccabees and the Masons.
D R. MICHAEL VANDERVOORT, a phy- sician in high standing and the oldest prac- titioner of medicine'in Guthrie, has had a very interesting career. He was engaged in mining in the west and in British Columbia be- fore taking up his profession, and many exciting experiences befell him while roughing it on the frontier. He enjoys an extensive practice and is one of the most highly esteemed residents of the citv.
Dr. Vandervoort was born in Clinton county, N. Y., August 24, 1840, and comes of Revolut- tionary stock. His grandfather, Paul Vander-
voort, was born in Amsterdam, Holland, and was brought to this country by his father, Cor- nelius, who became a pioneer farmer of Am- sterdam, N. Y. Paul Vandervoort served as captain in the Revolutionary war, and in the bat- .tle of Bunker Hill was but a few feet from Gen- eral Warren when he fell, being one of those who caught him and gave him assistance. He served through the entire war and was wounded twice, once through the knee and again through the shoulder. The sword used by him in the battle of Bunker Hill is now in the possession of our subject. His vocation was that of a farmer.
Peter Vandervoort, the father of the gentle- man whose name heads this sketch, was born in Johnstown, on the Mohawk river, in New York, and served as sergeant in the war of 1812, and among other engagements participated in the battle of Plattsburg. He made his home on a farm at Plattsburg until 1846, when he removed to Fond du Lac, Wis., and there improved a farm. He spent his last days at Millbank, S. D., where he died at the age of ninety years. When a young man he was converted and became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He established the first congregation in Eden, Wis., and was a pioneer missionary minister, preaching until he was eighty-five years old. In politics he was originally a Whig, and later be- came a strong Abolitionist and Republican. He was united in marriage with Maria Bartlett, who was born at Sandusky Bay, Ohio, in 1806, and died at the home of our subject March 5, 1899, aged ninety-three years. Her father, George Bartlett, was born in England and settled in Rut- land county, Vt., but later removed to Sandusky Bay, Ohio, where he was among the pioneer farmers. Seven children blessed this union, five of whom are now living, as follows: Dr. Peter, a physician of Millbank, S. D .; Paul, a physician in Fond du Lac, Wis .; Cornelius, a miner of Montana; Dr. Michael, our subject; and Annie, a graduate of the Homeopathic Medical School of Detroit, who is now considered the finest phy- sician of Minneapolis.
Michael Vandervoort was reared in New York until 1846, after which he lived on a farm in Wisconsin, receiving his education in the public schools and the Fond du Lac high school. In 1860 he started on a Pike's Peak excursion from Fond du Lac with four others. They had two yoke of oxen, and crossed the Mississippi river at Dundee, the Missouri river at Omaha, thence journeying across the plains to Denver, where they arrived July 4. Going to Blackhawk, they engaged in mining at Russell Gulch for two years, with much success. In 1861 he followed the fortunes of Baker and went to New Mexico, but had a very difficult time in getting back to civilization. Of five hundred who went on the
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expedition only about one-half of the number returned to civilization. He was with a party of twelve among the Navajoe Indians in New Mex- ico. Once they camped at Navajoe Rock at twelve o'clock in the night in a heavy rain, and at one o'clock they were fiercely attacked by the Indians. The fight was terrific and ended in a hand-to-hand encounter, in which the whites were successful. In 1862 he engaged in mining at California Gulch. A year later he caught the Montana mining fever and went there by team, experiencing much difficulty from the Indians, who killed several of the members of the expe- dition. Arriving at Bannock, Mont., he located a claim, which he subsequently sold and then went to Virginia City. Meeting with success he remained there until 1864, when he went to the Cotney mines in British Columbia. He was the first discoverer of gold there and found the fa- mous Cotney mines, which he and others oper- ated for six months before being discovered, and then the British Government levied such high taxes upon them that Dr. Vandervoort sold out at a big figure. He then returned to Vir- ginia City, Mont., and mined until the fall of 1865, when he went back to Wisconsin.
It had always been his desire to study medi- cine, and he had begun to do so, under the direc- tion of Dr. Patchen, of Fond du Lac, continuing for eighteen months before going west. Six months after returning to the east he entered the Hahnemann Medical College, of Chicago, from which he received his degree March 6, 1868. He began practicing in Fond du Lac, and remained there until 1874, then went to Walla Walla. Wash., where he continued for two years. Re- turning to Fond du Lac he practiced there un- til 1883, when he located in Clark, Clark county, S. D., and conducted a large cattle ranch, besides which he followed his profession. In 1889 he returned to Wisconsin to settle up his affairs, and : on April 22 of that year located in Guthrie, ar- riving on the second train that entered Guthrie. IIe practiced medicine from the start, and is one of the most successful of his profession here, having a large general and surgical practice.
In Byron, Wis .. Dr. Vandervoort was united in marriage with Lois J. Sweet, who was born there, being a daughter of Sumner Sweet, from Massachusetts. The doctor served one term as president of the Medical Examining Board of the Territory, and is a Republican in politics. He is a member of the Wisconsin Medical Insti- tute. Fraternally he is connected with Guthrie Lodge No. 2. A. F. & A. M .: the Roval Arch Chapter; Guthrie Commandery No. 1. K. T., and the Knights of Pythias. He is eligible to mem- bership in the Sons of the Revolution and the Holland Society. His wife is a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
W ILLIAM WHIPPLE. The latter-day de- scendant of the Whipple family, William Whipple, has led a life as varied in its undertakings and as interesting in its scope and nature as were those of his ancestors, who lived in Connecticut, and contributed with their ability and enterprise to the upbuilding of their respective communities. Worthy of mention is the fact that Mr. Whipple was born in the same year with Queen Victoria, to whose country his ancestors claimed allegiance, married the same year as Her Majesty, and his first child was born the same year that witnessed the birth of the Prince of Wales (now King Edward VII.). His early life was spent in his native town of New London, Conn., and his educational advantages were limited to a few months of winter school- ing in the district schools. When sufficiently developed, he learned the millwright's trade, and became a general mechanic, but devoted most of his efforts to constructing in stone work, tak- ing large railroad contracts and employing as many as eighty men in the fulfilling of his con- tracts.
In 1849 he sought the larger opportunities of the west, and for five years lived in Illinois, where he applied his trade and worked at con- tracting. In 1854 he went to Iowa and settled in Adams county, where he pre-empted a claim on government land, removing his family there in 1854. For six months after their arrival they were the only family in Union township, and in the midst of these crude conditions and lonely surroundings they hewed their way to prosperity and a prominent place in the community. Dur- ing the thirty years of residence in Iowa, Mr. Whipple not only conducted his large farm, but added to his revenue by working at his trade, and by contracting and building. In fact, it may be said that about all of the houses in the neigh- borhood were erected under his able manage- ment.
In 1868 Mr. Whipple took a contract to repair the pier under the bridge near Des Moines City, Iowa, the contract specifying that during the work traffic should continue uninterruptedly. For this satisfactory work Mr. Whipple received extended mention and appreciation. The gold mining episode of Central City, Colo., found a willing adherent in Mr. Whipple, who spent eighteen months on the ground, prospecting and building houses. Upon returning to Union township, he sold out his interests there, and removed to Creston, Union county, where he spent six years, raising fruit upon ten acres of ground. Of this enterprise he made a decided success, especially in the line of strawberries, of which he raised one hundred and twenty-five bushels a year; his blackberries brought him $300, his red raspberries $200, and the product
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of the ten acres $650 or more. In connection with this, he worked somewhat at his trade, and also built several houses and rented them. While raising fruit near Creston, he met with an acci- dent, caused by a runaway team, which necessi- tated the amputation of his leg below the thigh. In 1886 a change of location was made, the place chosen being Rush county, Kans., where he bought four hundred and eighty acres of land and devoted himself to farming and stock-rais- ing.
April 22, 1889, Mr. Whipple sought to still. further improve his conditions, and, with his family, consisting of two sons and one daughter, made the run from the north line, each member . of the family securing claims adjoining, the father locating on the northwest quarter of sec- tion 24, township 19, range 6, Kingfisher county. Here, at the age of seventy years, this truly successful and enterprising man began again to round out a new set of circumstances, and the result is a finely improved farm, whereon is grown all that tends to the general comfort and convenience, and includes, among other im- . provements, a fine orchard.
Mrs. Whipple was formerly Hannah Geer, a native of New London county, Conn., and of English descent. She is the mother of eleven chil- dren, six of whom are living. Louise is the wife of Dr. E. Frasier; Orrin P. lives in Canon City, Colo .; Orva L. is in Garfield county, Okla .; Oscar Y. lives in Hennessey; Della is the wife of W. H. Thorpe, and Ernest W., is in Hennes- sey. The Whipple family own over five hun- dred shares in the Farmers Milling Company, at Hennessey, and Oscar Y. is the leading stock- holder and one of the promoters of the project. The family wield a wide influence in the locality in a religious and educational sense, and are act- ive members of the Church of Christ in Christian Union. In politics Mr. Whipple is identified with the Republican party, and has been a mem- ber of the school board. He is a progressive man in the truest sense of the word, and inter- ested in all that pertains to the improvement of- his locality. Along the course of his active and successful life he has made friends galore, who appreciate his many excellent traits of character and his devotion to the public and individual good.
Mr. and Mrs. Whipple celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of their wedding on November 22, 1900.
J AMES LANGSTON SIMPSON. a thor- oughly representative farmer and stock- raiser of Crutcho township. Oklahoma county, comes of the honored old Simpson fam- ily, which at a very early period emigrated from
Scotland to Kentucky, and in that state had a county named for them. Our subject's grand- father, James Simpson, was born in Simpson county, Ky., but removed to Missouri when it was considered one of the frontier states, and there followed farming and stock-raising exten- sively. He was a very earnest worker in the Missionary Baptist Church, and died, strong in the faith, when in his eighty-fourth year.
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