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 21
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the maiden name of Jane Beymer, her father, George Beymer, also being of Holland-Dutch descent. He was born in Ohio, as also was his daughter, and her entire life was spent upon farms in that state. Scott A., brother of George A. Masters, resides in Perry, while John H. is a farmer in Ashland county, Ohio, and the sister, Mrs. J. W. Wilson, lives in Warren county, Iowa.
Until he was twenty-three years of age, George A. Masters lived upon the old home- stead, where he had shouldered a large share of theresponsibilities when quite young. Hecom- pleted his education in the Savannah Academy, and in 1879 he went to Gallion, Ohio, where he was employed in a pump and well business for some time, later locating in Marengo, Ohio, where he was a hardware merchant until 1887. During the next six years he traveled in the interests of Aultman, Miller & Co., in southeast- ern Kansas, his home being in Garnett, Kans. In November, 1893, he came to Perry, and for nearly two years was in the employ of A. C. Hinde. Then, resigning, he turned his attention to the grain business, and for five and a half
years has been an extensive dealer. He was one of the first merchants who shipped any amount of grain from this place, and the capacity of the large elevator which he built is usually taxed to the utmost. It is situated on a switch railroad from the Santa Fe, on which line ship- ments are made to Kansas City and Galveston, Tex., and other points, north and south. Mr. Masters also ranks as the most extensive dealer in castor beans and broom corn in this section, and, perhaps, in the territory. He annually han- dles about sixty thousand bushels of castor beans and, besides, deals in garden, field and flower seeds. In 1900 he opened a branch grain station at Pawnee, Okla., and his business is increasing at an astonishing rate. He belongs to the Okla- homa Grain Dealers' Association.
The marriage of Mr. Masters and Miss Hattie E. Hanna took place in Ashland county, Ohio, in September, 1877. She is a native of Crawford county, Ohio, and by her marriage is the mother of five sons, namely: Charles C., who is the manager of the branch station at Pawnee; Ralph B., Harry S., George Lec, and Lloyd.
At present George A. Masters is a member of the city council, representing the fourth ward, and is chairman of the finance committee. He is serving his second term in this honorable body. and for some time has been connected with the Commercial Club, as well. At this writing he is chairman of the board of county commissioners. He is a Mason, connected with Perry Lodge No. 15, A. F. & A. M .; Perry Chapter No. 15. R. A. M .; and Perry Commandery No. 6, K. T. In the Knights of Pythias he is past chancellor of
his lodge. In political faith he is a zealous Re- publican.
N. W. MAYGINNES, M. D., is one of the few in Oklahoma or elsewhere who have accomplished most of the ambitions to which they are by nature heir. Interwoven with his childish occupations and sports was the ever-present desire to be a luminous acquisition to the medical profession, which, perhaps, ap- pealed to him at this early stage as an all-around outlet for a superabundance of energy and vital- ity. The wisdom of these youthful imaginings has been more than justified, and to their pros- pective buoyancy has been unlooked-for success in other lines of activity, including the prestige and influence arising from his position in the community as director in two different banks, the National Bank of Stillwater and the Bank of Ripley.
Of Scotch extraction on the paternal side, Dr. Mayginnes was born in Clinton, Henry county, Mo., April 29, 1856. The great-grand- father came from the north of Ireland, whither his Scottish ancestors had removed. He was called McGinnis, the original family name, and his son, Ahimaaze, the grandfather of Dr. N. W., and who was born in Pennsylvania, changed the spelling to the way now used by the latter- day descendants. The grandfather removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits, and where he died. The next in succession, Samuel by name, led a some- what eventful life, although engaged in the most peaceful of occupations, that of farming. He was the possessor of a farm, of four hundred acres near Clinton, Henry county, Mo., and the break- ing out of the war was the beginning of sorry times for him. Warned by members of the Confederacy that he had better take the oath of allegiance to the southern cause, an oath which he was determined never to swear to. he made his escape to Illinois under cover of the friendly darkness of night, and waited the com- ing of his family, remote from threats or venge- ance. He had not long to wait, for the members of his household soon joined him, leaving behind them the valuable stock, horses, and farm imple- ments, which were irretrievably lost. The land was, of course, reclaimed after the cessation of hostilities. With little left of this world's goods. this courageous pioneer settled with his family in Christian county, Ill., near Taylorville, where he farmed for a couple of years. In 1863 he went to Olathe, Johnson county, by wagon, and here in Kansas enlisted in the Thirteenth Kansas State Militia, as captain of the company, and served on the border of eastern Kansas. He took part in Price's raid, and fought until the
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Hennessey.
CHARLES AND CATHARINE B. BINDING
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close of the war, after which he returned to his former home in Henry county, Mo., sold his farm, and located at Mound Valley, Labette county, Kans., where he took a claim for himself and his seven sons, of three hundred and twenty acres in extent, upon which he died in 1899, at the advanced age of eighty years. He was a Republican, a Universalist, and a man of great kindness of heart, from the promptings of which he often suffered disappointments. Ever ready to do a favor, he lost much money through sign- ing security and other notes.
The mother of Dr. Mayginnes was formerly Mary Stewart, a native of Ohio, and a daughter of Era Stewart, who came at an early day from New England to Ohio. He was a farmer, and died in Ohio. Mrs. Mayginnes is now seventy- six years of age. She is the mother of eight children, of whom Ahimaaze is a farmer in La- bette county, Kans .; Theseus is a stockman in the Cherokee strip; Cornelia, Mrs. Gross, is living in Los Angeles, Cal .; N. Walker forms the subject of this sketch; John S. is a farmer in Iowa; Marvin O. is at the old home in Kansas; B. M. is a farmer near Oldham; and P. H., who is a graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons at St. Louis, is now practicing medi- cine at Cushing, Okla.
After his seventh year, Dr. Mayginnes was reared in Kansas, and was educated in the public schools. He later had a farm of his own, which he managed successfully, eventually engaging in the mercantile business at Mound Valley, Kans., for two years. Afterwards he sold out his interests and began the study of medicine with Dr. Gray, of Henry county, Mo. In 1881 he entered the University of Missouri Medical College, at Kansas City, and was graduated in 1884, after the three years' course. In Mound Valley, Kans., he began the practice of his pro- fession, and after a year went to Atlanta, Cowley county, Kans., where he combined practice with the management of a drug store. In June of 1891 he located in Stillwater and engaged in a general practice.
In order to keep in touch with the progress of the science of medicine in all parts of the world, Dr. Mayginnes entered the Post-Graduate Col- lege in New York City, from which he graduated in 1896. He was married in Mound Valley, Kans., to Flora A. Hall, a native of New York state, where she was educated at Claverack Col- lege. She was later engaged in educational work in New York. To Dr. and Mrs. Mayginnes have been born three children, Alpha, Arthur and Maryelva.
In 1893 the doctor was appointed to the United States Pension Board of Examining Sur- geons, and was president of the board for four years. Since 1897 he has been secretary of the
same board. He is also examining physician for many of the old and reliable insurance com- panies, including the New York Life, New York Mutual, Equitable, and the Northwestern of Mil- waukee. He was also one of the organizers of the Territorial Medical Association, and is a member of the Alumni Association of the Uni- versity Medical College. In politics he is asso- ciated with the Republican party, and identified with all of its important undertakings. With his family, he is a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a trustee in the same. In Stillwater he joined the Masonic fraternity, Lodge No. 6, and is also a member of St. John's Commandery No. 4, K. T .; the Knights of Pythias, Ancient Order United Workmen, of which he is medical examiner, and holds the same position in the Woodmen of the World.
Dr. Mayginnes is the highest type of a suc- cessful exponent of medical science, and a citi- zen of whom his adopted city is justly proud. His skill and erudition have won over to his side a large following, who appreciate his advanced and up-to-date methods of diagnosis and treatment.
C HARLES BINDING. The lovers of our grand republic take a special interest and pride in the brave boys who defended the Union and its fundamental principles in the stormy years of the Civil war, thus preserving it for a yet greater position among the nations of the world. Charles Binding, a representative business man of Hennessey, was a volunteer in Company B, Twenty-sixth Michigan Infantry, being mustered into the service at Jackson, Mich., December 1I, 1862. Then he was sent to the front, and, with his regiment, partici- pated in several of the most important cam- paigns of the war, serving upon many a dreadful battle-field, beginning with the seven days' fight in the Wilderness and continuing at his post in all the battles which followed, until, in the diffi- cult operations at Petersburg, he received seri- ous injuries, and, owing to his disability, was mustered out in April, 1865. about thirty days only before his regiment finished its service. He made a record of which he has reason to be proud, and several years passed ere he had re- 'gained his health and strength.
The paternal grandfather of Charles Binding was an English farmer, and the latter's father. James Binding, was reared upon a homestead not far from the city of London. At twenty years of age he determined to become a citizen of the United States, and soon after his arrival upon these shores settled upon a farm in Liv- ingston county, N. Y. Later he went to Michi- gan, and, entering land near Mason. Ingham county, in 1835, commenced making improve-
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ments on the place. The farm, which he reduced to a high state of cultivation, he continued to operate until his death, and it is now owned by his two younger sons. His wife, who was Miss Grace Stephens prior to their marriage, was a native of Belfast, Ireland. She departed this life at her Michigan home, and three of her ten children are deceased.
Charles Binding, who was born May 10, 1841, and his brother, Richard, are the only members of the family in Oklahoma, both being citizens of Hennessey. They attended a primitive log schoolhouse, and obtained a knowledge of the common branches under difficulties, the children of that time and locality possessing few of the advantages which most American children now enjoy. For several years Charles Binding was engaged in farming in his native state, and Feb- ruary 2, 1870, came to the west. Locating a homestead on Coal creek, in the Solomon Val- ley, in Ottawa county, Kans., he developed a good farm, and owned the property for sixteen and a half years. Selling the place in the fall of 1886 he went to Bennington, and embarked in the implement business, and in 1888 he also established a furniture store in Minneapolis, Kans., which enterprise he. conducted about three years.
In the fall of 1891 Mr. Binding disposed of his business, and in the following March came to Hennessey, where he started the first furniture store in the place, and, in connection with it, opened the first regular undertaking establish- ment here. Later he admitted J. A. Felt to the firm, which was known as Binding & Felt until three years ago, when the senior partner again succeeded to the entire business. In February, 1900, Mr. Binding disposed of his stock of fur- niture, and since has devoted himself to the undertaking business, in which he is well quali- fied to meet the wishes of the public. A charter member and ex-vice-president of the Oklahoma Funeral Directors' Association, and a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Embalming, of Boston, and also a graduate of the National School of Embalming, of St. Louis, he has few superiors in his profession in the west. Cen- trally located on Main street, he has beautifully fitted cabinet stock rooms and a pleasant office. For six years he also has been the local repre- sentative of the Estey pianos and organs, and several others of prominence, and is agent of the Wheeler & Wilson and New Home sewing ma- chines.
Mr. Binding is an honored member of the Grand Army of the Republic, being identified with the Hennessey post, and. in addition to this. is an Odd Fellow and a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Though the only Republican in his father's family, he has always
been an earnest believer in the policy of that party. In Bennington, Kans., he was a mem- ber of the city council for a period of two years; in Ottawa county was a school director, and was influential in the building of numerous schools there, and since coming to Hennessey served on the local board of education for three years and also was president of that body during the time of the erection of the Hennessey public school, and for two terms acted in the capacity of a councilman.
In Solomon City, Mr. Binding married Miss Catharine B. Sickenger, a native of Newark, N. J. They lost one child, Amy, who died at the age of eight years, and three children remain to them, namely: Orpha Maude; James Willis, who is a bookkeeper, and Charles Ross. Mr. and Mrs. Binding are members of the Daughters of Rebekah, and the latter was the first presi- dent of the general assembly of the order in Oklahoma. She also holds membership in the Baptist Church, and is very active in many good works.
W. A. T. ROBERTSON, M. D. Among the professional men in Ponca, none is more worthy of mention than Dr. Robertson, who, though practically a new- comer, has succeeded in impressing his ability and worthiness upon the greater part of his lo- cality.
From his northern home in Canada Dr. Rob- ertson brings many of the sterling traits of mind and character which we are wont to associate with the residents of that dominion of the queen. He received his education at Huntington Acad- emy, and McGill University, Montreal, from which latter institution he graduated in 1896. His first field of effort in the practice of his pro- fession was Junction City, Kans., in which lo- cality he remained for two years, removing to Ponca, Kay county, Okla., in 1898.
Outside of his general practice, which em- braces the greater part of the town, Dr. Robert- son has received considerable outside recogni- tion, and been appointed examiner for the New York Life Insurance Company, the Mutual Life Insurance Company, and of other well-known companies. He is a member of the Ponca City Medical Association, and vice-president of the same. Fraternally, he has many interests, and is associated with the blue lodge, A. F. & A. M .; Royal Arch Chapter, the Consistory at Guthrie, and has taken the thirty-second degree.
A portion of Dr. Robertson's success is un- doubtedly due to the fact that he is pleased with the western country, and with his patrons and friends. He has entered enthusiastically into the habits and customs of his cosmopolitan sur- roundings, and has great faith in the possibilities
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of the scarcely developed locality. While de- voting all his energies to an all-around medical practice, he yet makes a specialty of surgery, and is continually studying to attain the highest science of his profession. He has won the con- fidence and appreciation of his fellow-townsmen by his skill in diagnosis and successful treatment of apparently hopeless cases, and is thus on the high road to an enduring place in the world of medical science.
H. FRED SNIDER is one of the representa- tive business men of Ponca, Kay county. In his capacity as a real-estate, insurance and loan merchant, he has won the confidence and patronage of a large portion of the commu- nity, and is accounted one of the most reliable, progressive and enterprising of the later influx of residents.
Upon determining to start out in the world for himself, Mr. Snider left his native city of Cincinnati, Ohio, and located in Waterloo, Iowa, where he engaged in the drug business. In 1874, four years later, his plans were materially altered owing to the necessity of seeking a change of location and surroundings on account of failing health. He accordingly looked to the south as a possible recuperating ground, and removed to central Texas, where for several years he interested himself in real-estate and insurance, at Hico. He then engaged in the drug business at Dallas for a couple of years, eventually drifting to Ardmore, Chickasaw Na- tion, I. T., where he also engaged in the drug trade, and suffered a severe loss by being burned out in the fire of 1894.
February 16, 1899, Mr. Snider permanently located in Ponca, and bought out the general insurance agency of B. S. Hutchins, which at the time was practically valueless as a remunera- tive investment. The business has, however, under the able management of the present pro -. prietor, assumed proportions of activity exceed- ing the expectations of the most sanguine. Mr. Snider deals in all manner of real estate and farm and city loans, his premiums amounting to eight or ten thousand dollars a year. He has erected a comfortable and commodious home, which adds to the general appearance of the town, and has in many ways evinced a com- mendable pride and interest in all that pertains to the upbuilding of his town and county.
In political affiliation Mr. Snider entertains exceedingly broad and liberal views, but usually votes the Democratic ticket. During his resi- dence in Hico, Tex., he served as mayor of the city for two terms, and declined to serve again. He has ever been prominently identified with the cause of education, and is a member of the board
of education of Ponca. Fraternally he is asso- ciated with the Knights of Pythias at Ponca, with the Odd Fellows, and with the Royal Fra- ternity at Minneapolis.
In 1876 Mr. Snider was united in marriage with Mary E. Blossman, and of this union there is one child, Mabel F., who is the wife of Charles Ferris, of Ponca Reservation.
Mr. Snider has recently taken into partner- ship Willis K. Moore, an attorney, and they have added law and collections to the business, and will also add life and accident insurance. The firm will now be known as The Snider- Moore Agency.
J. A. SKAGGS. During the greater part of his mature life, J. A. Skaggs, of Shawnee, has been engaged in handling and shipping horses, and few are better judges of fine animals than he. For about six years he has conducted liveries in Shawnee, still dealing in fine horses, a number of which are always in his possession. Well known by the leading horsemen of this section of the west, a few pages from his history will prove of interest to many.
The Skaggs family is an old one in eastern Tennessee, and the grandfather of our subject, John Skaggs, was born on a pioneer farm of the state. Thence he removed to Monroe county, W. Va., and there occurred the birth of his son, James A., father of J. A. Skaggs, of this sketch. For a number of years the father carried on a farm near Salt Sulphur Springs, and spent his last years in the vicinity of Burlington, Kans. During the Civil war he served in the Twenty- first Virginia Cavalry, as a sergeant, and once was slightly wounded. His wife, Rebecca, who died in West Virginia, was a native of that state, as also was her father, Joseph L. Lively, a hero of the war of 1812.
J. A. Skaggs, born in Monroe county. W. Va .. February 27, 1852, is one of ten brothers and sisters, two of whom are deceased. His brother, James R., served in a Virginia artillery company while the Civil war was in progress, and now lives in West Virginia. Two other brothers reside in Kansas, and three of the sisters are in Oklahoma.
Living in the rural district of his native state. J. A. Skaggs had limited educational advantages. and in 1868 he settled in the vicinity of Des Moines, Iowa, where he was employed on a farm for three years. Subsequently he traveled for a year or more, and then, returning to West Virginia, he engaged in buying and shipping horses to North and South Carolina and Vir- ginia. In the Centennial year he went to Bur- lington, Kans., and for a year carried on agricul- tural pursuits there, then removing to Predonia,
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same state, where he became an extensive dealer in cattle, shipping to different markets.
In February, 1895, Mr. Skaggs came to Shaw- nee, and, erecting the first large building in the place, opened the Beard Street livery, sale and feed stable, which he managed for eighteen months. Then, selling out, he started another stable near his present place of business, after- wards removing to the well-known Union ave- nue barn. At the end of a year, he disposed of that enterprise, and located near the railroad, in what was called the Depot Livery barn, but this, too, he sold, and in the spring of 1900 built the largest and best-equipped livery in the city, it being 50x140 feet in dimensions. The loca- tion, at the corner of Union and Seventh street, is central, and a point is made of meeting al! trains and transacting all kinds of transfer busi- ness. As one of the pioneers in his line, he com- mands a large share of the local custom, and, as he makes a specialty of supplying travelers and salesmen with just what they desire in the way of roadsters and vehicles, he receives a liberal amount of outside patronage. Among the fine registered horses owned by him, special mention should be made of "Harry Oatman," a scion of "Domineer" and "Red Wilkes," and having a record of 2:29; "Symbol Hal," a son of "Symboleer," whose record is 2:09. Of the other registered horses owned by him, four fillies of "Phalis" and two of "Strangemore" are noted, and he also owns the standard-bred "Elayodord Reck," 2:24}; "Majie Hubard," 2:243; "Nichol Hazel" and "Shawnee Maid."
Though extensively interested financially in Shawnee real estate, Mr. Skaggs' investments are not confined to this place, as he owns a valuable farm in West Virginia and fine business property in Ripley. His own home is consid- ered one of the handsomest residences in Shaw- nee. His wife, formerly Miss Smith, was born and reared in West Virginia, and there occurred their marriage. Politically, Mr. Skaggs is a Democrat.
A NDREW SHAW. During the period of his residence in Oklahoma county, Mr. Shaw was looked upon as one of the foremost farmers of Mustang township, but in 1900 he closed out his interests there and established his home on a farm one mile north of Yukon, Canadian county, where he now lives. A native of Indiana, in which state his parents. John and Susan (Campbell) Shaw, were early settlers, he passed his boyhood upon a farm, and grew to manhood in the home circle, in which there were, altogether. seven brothers and sisters. The parents were natives of Delaware, and were highly respected in their community.
Andrew Shaw laid the foundation of a useful life when he was young, under the instructions of his father. He became a practical farmer, and continued to assist in the management of the home farm until his marriage. In 1878 he re- moved to Cowley county, Kans., and for several years carried on different farms in the same locality. When Oklahoma was opened, he made the race for a claim, but was unsuccessful and returned to Kansas. In the following July, how- ever, he purchased a farm situated three miles west of the corporate limits of Oklahoma City, buying out the original claimant. He com- menced making improvements, and had reduced affairs to a fine system, when, after three years, a contestant to the claim suddenly appeared upon the scene and started a suit, it being a plain at- tempt to swindle an honest man out of his hard- earned possessions. Though put to considerable expense in defending his rights, he fortunately won the victory, as he deserved. Thus he ac- quired the right to two hundred acres of bottom land, of which he devoted about seventy acres to wheat, garnering excellent harvests in return for his labor. The property constantly increased in value under his judicious management and im- provements. His large orchard produced an abundance of fruit, and he made a specialty of raising cattle and hogs. After some years on the farm he moved to Canadian county, where he is now improving a farm.
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