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 19
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Lorenzo D., the father of James L. Simpson, a native of the Blue Grass state, also occupied a distinctive place in the annals of the Missionary Baptist denomination in the west. He was act- ively associated with religious enterprises and held official positions in the church to which he belonged. He located in Missouri as early as 1847, and remained in that state until 1872, when he removed to Dallas county, Tex., and there spent his remaining years, his death occurring in 1897, when he was nearly seventy-eight years old. He was the owner of large estates, having eight hundred acres of fine land in Missouri and half a section of excellent land in Texas. He was extensively engaged in raising, selling and shipping cattle and mules, and in the Lone Star state made a specialty of raising fine horses. In his political convictions he was firm and un- shaken, and during the troublous days of the Civil war remained loyal to the Union, being strongly opposed to secession. He was a Demo- crat and fraternally was a Mason of the Royal Arch degree.
Lorenzo D. Simpson chose for a wife Louisa F. Thompson, a native of Tennessee, who sur- vives him, and, though in her seventy-fifth year, is well and enjoying life. She is making her home at present with her son, Luther Simpson, a farmer of Rockwall county, Tex. Seven of the children of L. D. Simpson and wife grew to ma- turity. Zephaniah, the eldest, who was in the Confederate army, was wounded in the battle at Hartwell, near Springfield, Mo., and afterward died in a hospital: Clementine, wife of Walter Wheeler, died in Collin county, Tex., in 1873: Clinton lives on the old homestead in Missouri: Alphonzo, of Dallas county. Tex., was deputy sheriff in that county fifteen years; Newton makes his home in Rockwall county, Tex .: Lillic is the widow of Richard Griffin, and lives in Dallas, Tex.
James Langston Simpson was born February 18. 1845 .. in Henry county, Tenn., and grew to maturity on his father's farm in Missouri. He was a youth of sixteen years when he enlisted. in 1861, in Company B, Third Missouri Cav- alry, under Colonel Green, and he continued to serve in General Price's division of the Confed- erate army throughout the war. He accompa- nied that officer when he made his celebrated and daring raid northward, and took part in
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numerous important engagements, including the battle fought near Independence, and those of the Big and Little Blue. He was captured once, but by the exercise of his accustomed wit and bravery managed to make good his escape. The army life, so trying to a youth, as he was, never- theless rapidly developed his manly qualities, and his superior officers always knew that they could place the utmost dependence in him, no matter how dangerous or difficult the duty which they assigned him.
When he returned home at the close of the war Mr. Simpson had not yet attained his ma- jority, and, having felt the need of a better edu- cation, he attended school and the local acad- emy for a period of two years. In 1867 he em- barked in business for himself, buying mules and horses in Missouri and driving them into Tennessee, where he sold them. After making three of these trips he accompanied his father to Dallas county, Tex., and helped select the land where the senior man spent his last years. He aided in the management of this farm until 1872, when he went to the western part of the state and for two years farmed on his own account. He then located in Cook county, Tex., and engaged in stock-raising, later driving his herds into the Chickasaw .Indian Reservation, and finally tak- ing his family there. He was very prosperous, and it was not until four years ago that he moved his herds from that region. In 1889 he came into Oklahoma on the opening day and located his present claim on section 21, Crutcho town- ship. Three times has this claim been contested, but after fighting the matter in the courts about five years he succeeded in proving his ownership. He has placed one hundred and twenty-five acres tinder cultivation, has planted an orchard of five acres, and has, from the eighty to one hundred acres which he devotes to wheat. averaged from thirty to thirty-six and a half bushels to the acre, a record beating that of any other farmer in this township. Ile owns fifteen hundred cattle. which are being pastured in Custer county, Okla., and makes a specialty of raising Short- horn cattle, high grade horses and Poland-China swine on his home place. He erected the first frame house on the Crutcho bottom lands, and since then, 1889. has made many improvements around the premises.
In 1870 Mr. Simpson married Rhoda Ful- bright, who died in 1894 and left six children to mourn her loss. Richard and William B. are stock dealers of Custer county, Okla .: john F. is at home: Bendetta married W. B. Franklin, of Canadian county; Hattie is the wife of L. F. Kramer, of Oklahoma City: and Della is at home. In 1800 Mr. Simpson married Mrs. Eliza M. Tibbetts, who presides over their pleasant home with womanly grace and dignity. She is
a daughter of Hanson and Martha J. (Pierce) Britton, natives of Indiana and Illinois, respect- ively, and was formerly the wife of William Tib- betts, of Homer, Ill., now deceased. Of her two children-Mamie C. and Georgia Alma -- the younger died at the age of six weeks, and the elder is the wife of Alonzo Sullivan, of this territory.
W F. BORT. Thing's apparently trivial in themselves really turn the tide of for- tune in men's lives; and reverses, of more or less importance, often lead to a change of location, and to those who sought homes in Oklahoma at the opening, prosperity has almost invariably come. Thus when, on the Ist of May, 1889, Mr. Bort stopped at Kingfisher on his way to California, the day was a memorable one in his career, for, after carefully investigating this region and weighing its advantages and prom- ises for the future, he decided to cast in his lot here. On the fifth day he purchased property in the city and at once began to deal in lumber, and thus is a pioneer merchant in this line. For two years the business was conducted under the name of the Michigan Lumber Company, but since 1801 Mr. Bort has been the sole owner and conducts the business under his name. By strict attention to the needs of his patrons and by ab- solute uprightness in all transactions he has won financial success, and at the same time has risen to a position of high esteem in the community.
Turning to the history of the Bort family, we find that Mr. Bort's great-grandfather was a native of Germany, and settled in New York at an early day, afterward fighting loyally for his adopted country in the Revolutionary war. His son John was born on the homestead in Herki- mer county, N. Y., and died in his native county when four-score years of age. John's son, Wil- liam, was born in Herkimer county and learned the business of a landscape gardener, and nurs- eryman with the firm of Moody & Sons, of Lockport, N. Y., whence, in 1851. he removed to Niles, Mich. For twenty-five years he was num- bered among the valued citizens of that place. where he followed his chosen calling shortly be- fore his death, in the Centennial year. His widow, who now resides in Oakland, Cal .. was Lydia Brickell: her father, Rev. Thomas Brick- cll. settled on a farm near Niles, Mich., in an carly period and did heroic service as an evan- gelist of the Missionary Baptist Church.
One of four children, himself the only son. W. F: Bort was born in Lockport, N. Y., May 17. 1845, and was reared in Niles, Mich., where he attended grammar and high schools. Subse- quent to his graduation he took a thorough commercial course in Mayhew College, Albion,
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Mich. His father being his instructor, he learned the essentials of landscape gardening and the care of trees, following the business until 1871. Then, going to Charlotte, Mich., he entered the employ of J. W. H. Smith & Co., manufacturers of lumber and wooden handles. For two years he acted as superintendent of the works, after which the plant was removed to Vandalia, Mich., and he was admitted to the firm.
In 1881, when the death of Mr. Smith necessi- tated a change of ownership, Mr. Bort purchased the business and continued to manufacture lum- ber into useful wooden articles, including staves, barrel heads, handles and novelties. In 1880 the. factory was transferred to Wood county, Ohio, and seven years later the plant was destroyed by fire, this being the second disaster of the kind which had overtaken Mr. Bort in the business. Though he had met with marked success other- wise, it is not to be wondered at that he decided not to rebuild his factory. This, too, was an in- direct cause of his coming to Oklahoma, a step that he has never regretted. In addition to his local lumber yard he owns one at O'Keene, Blaine county, Okla. He has built residence and business buildings here, among them being the Bort & Bennett building. In many material ways he has encouraged local undertakings tend- ing toward the permanent welfare of our people. He was one of the organizers of the Kingfisher Hotel Company and is treasurer of the same.
In addition to his other city enterprises Mr. Bort bought and improved three hundred and twenty acres of land, situated about three miles northwest of Kingfisher. Altogether he owns six hundred and forty acres of good land. The fine orchard which he planted on his farm near Kingfisher is said to be one of the very best in the territory, and, for that reason, a picture of the place was printed in the government reports of this region. His early experience with nursery stock doubtless proved of great value to him. Among his two thousand trees he has made nu- merous innovations and materially improved the varieties. A commodious farmhouse, substan- tial barns and other improvements add their due share to the value of the place. Mr. Bort is also known as a breeder of fine polled Durham cattle.
For several years, under Governor Renfrow. Mr. Bort was a member of the board of regents of the Agricultural and Mechanical College at Stillwater, Okla., and this entitled him to mem- bership in the Territorial Live Stock Sanitary Board. In political creed he is a stanch Repub- lican. Religiously he is a Congregationalist and aided in organizing the Kingfisher Church. of which he is a trustee and served as the first Sun- day-school superintendent. Fraternally he is identified with the Odd Fellows.
The first marriage of Mr. Bort united hin
with Miss Millie Smith, daughter of J. W. Smith, of Charlotte, Mich. She died, leaving four chil- dren: Mrs. Frances Noffsinger, wife of the county attorney of Kingfisher county; Fred, who is engaged in the hardware and implement business at Carwile, Okla .; Milo, who is studying law; and Anna, who is attending a college for young ladies at Aurora, Ill. In Fostoria, Ohio, Mr. Bort was united in marriage with Miss Addie H. Fall, who was born in that state. She died in November, 1899, leaving a son, Lloyd.
P HILIP VONDRAN. This representative farmer of Mustang township, Oklahoma county, is a native of Struth, Prussia; Ger- many, where he was born January 29, 1842, and passed sixteen years of his life. His father, Ja- cob Vondran, spent his entire life in Germany. and after his death the family decided to come to the United States. The widowed mother, Mrs. Mary Anna (Peck) Vondran, with her two sons and three daughters sailed to New Orleans, and, after making that long and wearisome voyage, they proceeded up the Mississippi river to Sin- sinawa, Grant county, Wis., where they resided several years.
For three years after reaching Wisconsin . Philip Vondran worked at whatever he could find to do, and attended school at intervals, in order to acquaint himself with the peculiarities of the English language. In 1860 he left home and went to Rabb's Barns, Ark., where he ob- tained a position as teacher of the German lan- guage, but the outbreak of the Civil war ef- fectually put an end to educational work in that locality. He remained there, however, until the spring of 1863, when he went to Nebraska, and later to Missouri. Searching for any kind of employment whereby he might make his living honestly, at length he became a bookkeeper in a brewery at St. Joseph, Mo., and held the position three years. He then returned to Nebraska with the small capital which he had accumulated by strict economy, and, investing the amount in a farm, proceeded to cultivate the place. He met with success in his enterprise and provided well for his family.
In March, 1890, Mr. Vondran came to Okla- 'homa and bought the farm on the southwest quarter of section 15, Mustang township, which he now owns, paying $550 to the original claim- ant. He makes a specialty of raising horses and cattle, and, as the climate is not very severe, finds that he can use his wheat-fields as pasture land during the winter season. At present he has large numbers of excellent horses and has no difficulty in finding a market for them when he chooses to sell. A thrifty orchard and vineyard provide many varieties of fruit, and, with the in-
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J. W. PRESTON AND FAMILY, Kingfisher.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
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dustry and watchfulness of his race, the propri- ctor of the farm attends to every detail, sparing no reasonable amount of labor and capital in its general improvement.
In 1870 the marriage of Mr. Vondran and Miss Caroline Walter took place in Nebraska. She is a native of France, but was only a year old when she was brought to this country by her parents. Eight children born to our subject and wife lived to maturity, namely: Joseph, Bene- dict, Albert, Philomena, Lucy, Dora, Martha and Anna. The two elder sons are now engaged in earning their own livelihood, and Philomena, the eldest daughter, is the wife of Joseph Ma- jarus, a farmer of this county.
Mr. Vondran adheres to the faith of the Ro- man Catholic Church, and was very influential in the building of a fine house of worship in this community, also assisting in organizing a school here, of which he is a director. He is popular in his neighborhood, and was honored by being made one of the trustees of the township, in which capacity he has served four years. In po- litical affairs he is independent, voting as he hap- pens to see fit, regardless of party.
J. W. PRESTON. As owner and manager of the Preston nurseries in Kingfisher, Mr. Preston has met with the appreciation and patronage due so thorough a student of horti- culture: To the carrying out of his truly inter- esting and agreeable work he applies a con- stantly increasing knowledge and exhaustive research, which places him in the front rank of those similarly engaged.
Upon locating in Kingfisher in 1889, Mr. Preston was appointed the first clerk of the town, and made the first assessment. This was one of the results of the bill passed by con- gress, placing Oklahoma under the Nebraska statute, and providing for the organization of towns and cities. After eighteen months of sery- ice for the government, Mr. Preston became in- terested in the nursery business, representing the Fairbury (Neb.) nursery firm, but in 1893 he launched upon an independent business of his own. His expectations were tardy of realiza- tion, owing to the non-adaptability of the soil, he having purchased eighty acres of land one mile north of Kingfisher. The drifting sand played havoc with the growing sprouts, and, rather than risk further encroachments upon his time and success, he moved, in 1898. into the town of Kingfisher, one-half mile east of the postoffice and land office. This location on Uncle John's creek is all that could be desired, and here the first and one of the largest nurseries in Oklahoma has since been successfully con- ducted. As an indication of the extent and va-
riety of the stock in trade, it is only necessary to say that Mr. Preston has twenty-five acres of actual growing nursery stock. In 1900 he had forty-eight thousand apple grafts, fifty-eight bushels of peach pits planted, two hundred and ten thousand grape vines, and a corresponding amount of other trees and shrubs. To add to the interest and variety of the business, Mrs. Pres- ton has undertaken the study of floriculture, and in 1900 started the greenhouses, which yield about two thousand roses.
The early life of Mr. Preston was of the un- eventful kind. On his father's farm in Ohio, where he was born May 15, 1851, he was reared to agricultural pursuits, and educated in the district schools. When eighteen years of age he received a teacher's certificate and taught school for two terms. In 1870 he located in Linn county, Kans., near Mound City, and availed himself of the higher advantages of the Kansas State Normal School, paying for the same by teaching.
The parents of Mr. Preston, William and Har- riet (Corp) Preston, were natives respectively of Pennsylvania and Ohio. William Preston died when his son, J. W., was seven years old. He was a farmer, and an industrious and enter- prising man. His wife was a daughter of John Corp, a native of England, and a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal Church. A farmer also, he became, upon arriving in this country, one of the early settlers in Ohio, where he accom- plished great good among the early pioneers, and started one of the first churches in the neighborhood. He was a missionary in the tru- est sense of the word, living from the revenue of his farm, and never accepting remuneration for his services as a preacher. He was in the first class graduated from Marietta College. Ohio, and died, after a life of usefulness and self-sacri- fice, at the age of eighty-seven years. Mrs. Preston died when her son. J. W., was nine years of age, leaving, besides him, seven other chil- dren, who, when thus thrown upon their own resources by the loss of father and mother, in- dustriously applied themselves to cultivating the home farm, upon which they all lived until they had attained maturity. The paternal grandfather was one of the very carliest settlers of Ohio, locating near Columbus, on the Scioto river. Of the children, two brothers. Benjamin and James, were in the Civil war: the former re- ceived wounds during the service, and after- wards moved to Dakota, where he was killed by the Indians: the latter, who survived the vicissi- tudes of war, is now residing at Chillicothe, Mo. The oldest sister. Hannah, Mrs. H. R. Flora. is living in Waynoka, Okla. A brother and sister are in Iowa, and one sister is in Tennessee.
In 1875 Mr. Preston returned to Linn county
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and engaged in farming and teaching until the spring of 1887, after which he went to the Pan- handle region, Texas, where he taught school for two years, or until April 22, 1889, when he took up his residence in Kingfisher.
In Bates county, Mo., Mr. Preston married Ada A. Yoakam, of Iowa, and of this union there are eight children: Emily is now Mrs. Pemberton, of Craig, Okla .; Linnett is at home and is a school teacher; Corney O. is attending the Agricultural and Mechanical College, at Stillwater, Okla .; Mabel .C. is a school teacher in the township; Ernest William is living with his father, as are Chester H., Washington Earl and Valentine. Mr. Preston is greatly interested in the cause of education, and has been a mem- ber of the board of education for four years. He is a Republican, but believes as does Bryan in regard to silver. Since fourteen years of age he has been identified with the Methodist Epis- copal Church. As organizer and charter mem- ber of the congregation, and as secretary of the building committee, he rendered valuable serv- ice. He has wielded an extended influence upon the moral and religious growth of the town. Among his business interests, Mr. Preston ably fills the office of secretary and treasurer of the Southwestern Nurserymen's Association, and he was one of the organizers of the same. He is also a member of the Territorial Agricultural, Horticultural and Irrigating Society. Frater- nally he is associated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
T. G. CUTLIP. Among the professional men in Tecumseh none is held in higher repute than that successful exponent of the science of law, T. G. Cutlip. Like many an- other who has found in this wonderful territory of resource an appreciative field for the exer- cise of their ability and enterprising citizenship. Mr. Cutlip has unbounded confidence in the sur- rounding possibilities of his adopted location, the more so because it is a Mecca attained after the surmounting of many obstacles, and repre- sents a success attributable only to his own sterl- ing qualities of determination and force of char- acter.
A native of Braxton county, Va., Mr. Cutlip was born February 27, 1856, and is a son of Perry S. and Roannah (Townsend) Cutlip. Though too young to personally participate in the struggle between the north and south, Mr. Cutlip has enduring memories of the stirring times of 1861-65 and the subsequent desolation of his family, owing to the loss of all they had in the world save the land upon which they had spent years of sacrifice and toil. In spite of the devastation wrought by war, the elder Cutlip
recognized the advantages of an excellent edu- cation for his son, and at the age of fourteen sent him to Glenville to attend the state normal school, from which he was graduated in 1876. His further education was the result of the ac- quirements of a fine intelligence, which permit- ted him to win a scolarship in the state university at Morgantown, which he entered in September, 1876, and from which he graduated from the law department in 1877. He carried off first honors in the state normal and second honors in the university.
The same year as his graduation Mr. Cutlip received substantial appreciation for his acquire- ments, and was elected county superintendent of schools. This position he creditably filled until 1879, when he resigned to go west, and located at Medicine Lodge, Barber county, Kans. Al- though having been admitted by examination to the bar of Braxton county, Va., August 18, 1878, Mr. Cutlip did not at once begin to practice his profession in Kansas, but went into the cattle business, which, for a time, held justifiably bright prospects. After seven years of activity on the Kansas plains a destructive storm demol- ished his property and he found himself minus $8,000 worth of cattle.
May 6, 1886, Mr. Cutlip returned to his pro- fession as a surer means of revenue than an in- dustry at the mercy of Kansas storms, and at Kendall, Hamilton county, Kans., applied the principles of law until about 1889. There he became prominently identified with the best in- terests of the community, and practiced in the supreme court. The prospects for an indefinite residence, however, were not sufficiently allur- ing, and the newly opened and undeveloped Oklahoma territory seemed to hold superior in- ducements.
April 22, 1889, Mr. Cutlip came on the train from Arkansas City and landed in Guthrie, on the second section of the train, and soon settled in Kingfisher, whither had gone many of his friends and acquaintances. In Kingfisher he worked up a satisfactory practice among many of the clients whose cases had been adjusted by him during his residence in Kansas, and after a time was prevailed upon, against his inclination. to become city attorney. After settling in T. cumseh, which has since been the field of his efforts, he has also been city attorney, and has a large and continually increasing law practic .. As a respite from the cares and responsibilities incident to professional life he has two large farms in Pottawatomie county, and is still, to some extent. interested in the cattle business. In Tecumseh he owns a comfortable residence and also has other property in the town. He entertains a keen personal interest in all that pertains to the upbuilding of his town, and has
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been identified with many of the substantial en- terprises,which are pushing it ahead to a place of prominence among the cities of the territory. Politically he is a believer in the principles and issues of the Democratic party, and, though a worker in its cause, has ever held himself aloof from office-seeking. At Medicine Lodge, Kans., he became identified with the Knights of Pythias, passed all of the chairs, and later represented Kingfisher lodge in the Territorial Grand Lodge. He is still connected with the Kingfisher lodge.
At Medicine Lodge, Kans., occurred the mar- riage of Mr. Cutlip and Susan Mills, a daughter of William C. and Hannah Mills. Of this union there have been three children: C. Guy was born in Barber county, Kans., on a ranch west of Med- icine Lodge, April 5. 1881; William C., born August 18, 1885, in Kendall, Hamilton county, Kans .; and Roy Lee, born at Medicine Lodge, Kans., in August of 1889.
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