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 31
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. Ryland was born in Randolph county, Mo., August 15, 1865, and is a son of William and Sarah (Beard) Ryland, natives of Iowa. There were in the family four brothers and two sisters, and of these a brother and sister are in Oklahoma, another brother and sister in the Osage Nation, and a brother in Kansas, who is a merchant at South Haven. William Ryland was variously interested as to occupations, hav- ing been engaged in general farming, stock-rais- ing, and the saw-mill and grist business. When Benjamin F. was a youth he moved with the fam- ily March 3, 1883, to Sumner county, Kans., and there his father died; his mother had died in Missouri. Subsequently he became the posses- sor of three hundred and twenty acres of land in Sumner county, which he afterward rented, and engaged in the mercantile business. He was thus occupied for one year, when he sold out and lo- cated on his claim in Oklahoma, April 22, 1889.
November 6, 1884, Mr. Ryland was united by marriage with Miss Mattie A. Strange, a daugh- ter of George W. and Malissa Strange, agricul- turists of Sumner county, Kans. They became the parents of the following named children: Emma Elsie, deceased; Albert F., Orel C., Wil- liam E., Forest Z., Harry C., and an infant son, deceased.
D AVID DUNN MARTIN, M. D. To Dr. Martin belongs the distinction of being not only one of the best, but one of the oldest physicians in Oklahoma, from the standpoint of age and professional experience. For over half a century this skilled ameliorator of the physical woes to which mortals are heir has taken his trained eye, correct diagnosis and common-sense methods of treatment into thousands of homes in different parts of the country, and has brought relief to suffering and hopeless humanity. It is true also that his success is due not a little to the conviction carried by his faith in his work and to the confidence imparted by his noble personality. For as a citizen he has no superior in kindliness or good will, nor has Newkirk a more ardent champion of all that pertains to her growth and upbuilding.
Coming from a long line of ancestors, who distinguished themselves in various lines of occu- pation, and were conspicuously identified with the
intellectual and professional growth of their re- spective localities, Dr. Martin was born in Jef- ferson county, Ohio, June 28, 1828. Of Puritan stock, he is a descendant of sons of England who came from their native land in 1635 and settled in Weymouth, Mass. They were people of pro- found religious conviction and were associated with the Baptist Church. Their children and children's children were eventually scattered to the different parts of the country, and, with few exceptions, fashioned their lives on superior lines, devoting their abilities, in a large measure, to the professions of medicine and religion.
The father of Dr. Martin, Jesse Martin, who was born in Plainfield, N. J., moved to Ohio with a colony formed in his native state, and there became prominent in the affairs of his lo- cality. He fought with courage and distinction in the war of 1812, and held the commission of captain. The mother of Dr. Martin was for- merly Elizabeth Pumfrey, of West Virginia, and of her fourteen children three became doctors: D. D .; N. S., of Arkansas City; and William R., of Toledo, Ohio. While being reared on his father's farm in Ohio, Dr. Martin received his early education in the public and select schools, and subsequently graduated from the Starling Medical College, of Columbus, Ohio. He also attended lectures at the Rush Medical College of Chicago, and holds certificates of practice in five different states.
In 1850 Dr. Martin entered upon the practice of his profession in Wheeling, WV. Va., where he remained until 1854, and then returned to Craw- ford county, and stayed until 1866. He subse- quently resided in Knox county, Ill., for twenty- one years, when he went to Dakota to visit his sons, and while there practiced medicine for three years. At the time of the opening of the Cherokee strip, in 1893, he was living in Arkan- sas City, and from there made the run into the territory, locating on school land in Kay county. Soon after he erected his residence in the town of Newkirk, and since then has made it his home. His residence here has been marked by signal acts of appreciation on the part of his fellow- townsmen, which acts have extended the sphere of his usefulness and responsibility beyond the demands of his profession. He has been mayor of the town for one term, and has also served on the city council, and is an ardent Republican in politics. He is a member of the Territorial Med- ical Association, the Illinois Medical Association and the Kansas State Medical Association. When eight years of age he became a member of the Presbyterian Church, and has since taken a vital interest in all of its undertakings, and is now an elder in the church.
December 20, 1854, occurred the marriage of Dr. Martin and Caroline II. Johnson, of Brooke
832
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
county, W. Va. Of this union there have been four children, viz .: George E., a practicing phy- sician of Carthage, S. D .; J. Watson, of Chicago; Lloyd J., an attorney in Howard, S. D., and state senator from his district; and Eva B., wife of William Rouse, a lawyer of Newkirk. On the day of the "run," Mrs. Martin was the first lady to arrive in Newkirk.
Endowed with an intensely artistic tempera- ment, Dr. Martin has developed a pronounced talent for painting, which has been a solace from the worries incident to his professional career, and a delight to his friends, who have profited by his two hundred or more productions. Many times he paints from nature, and often portrays finely intricate and delicate allegorical themes. It is a wonder to many that into a life so crowded with benefits to humanity, and so loaded with responsibilities, there has been room for the in- troduction of so beautiful and comforting a pas- time. For now, at the age of seventy-three years, he is still the active and enterprising practitioner, and at times rides forty or fifty miles a day into the country on an errand of mercy or good will.
J. R. McILVAIN, M. D., who has resided in Oklahoma City since September, 1889, is one of the most successful physicians of this vicinity. The combination of superior nat- ural ability and educational advantages, with long years of experience in practice, well quali- fies him for the treatment of the most complica- ted cases coming up in ordinary practice.
Dr. Mellvain was born in Flemingsburg, Ky., August 21, 1851, and is a son of James and Mary (Morgan) Mellvain. His grandfather, James Mellvain, was born in Virginia, and early set- tled in Kentucky, where he followed farming and cabinet-making. He had two sons, John and Alexander, who served in the Mexican war. James Mellvain, the father of our subject, was born in Bath county, Ky .. and in early life took up the trade of a machinist and blacksmith, which he followed there and at Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1871 he settled at Council Grove, Kans., where he followed farming until his death, at the age of sixty-six years. He married Mary Mor- gan, who was born in Montgomery county, Ky., and is a daughter of Raleigh Morgan, who was born in Tennessee, and later moved to Ken- tucky, where he engaged in agricultural pur- suits. Mrs. Mellvain now resides in Kansas, and is the mother of nine children.
The oldest son born to his parents, J. R. Mc- Ilvain was reared in Cincinnati, Ohio, and New- port, Ky., and in 1871 accompanied the family to Council Grove, Kans. He had learned the trade of a machinist, but never followed it, and in-
stead entered upon the study of medicine for five years at Council Grove. He studied under the direction of Dr. Bradford, with whom he practiced. March 1, 1882, he was graduated from the Kansas City Medical College, with the degree of M. D. He then returned to Council Grove and practiced there until 1889, when, in September of that year, he located in Oklahoma City and engaged in the practice of his chosen profession. Being greatly pleased with the country, he decided to make his home here. From the start he met with success, and now has a large general practice. He aided in the or- ganization of the first Medical Association of Oklahoma, and served as its first president. He was county physician for two years, city physi- cian. for two years, superintendent of the board of health of Oklahoma county for two years, and president of the city board of health for one year. He served in the city council from the third ward for two years.
In Council Grove, Kans., Dr. McIlvain was united in marriage with Miss Flora C. Bradford, who was born in Savannah, Andrew county, Mo., and is a daughter of his former preceptor, Dr. J. H. Bradford. They are parents of three children: Cornelius Todd, James Hallie and Thomas Harvey. Religiously the doctor ad- heres to the faith of the Seventh Day Adventists. and is treasurer of the church. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Order of Red Men, and is a Mason. In politics he is independent, voting for the best men and measures, regardless of party lines.
W H. MASON, M. D. Though practically a new comer to Newkirk, having located here in 1898, Dr. Mason has already received substantial recognition from the citizens of his adopted city, and has built up a large city and county practice. Although a general prac- titioner, he has developed a special aptitude for abdominal surgery and gynecology, and devo- ted the greater part of his research to perfecting himself along these lines.
Born in Clark county, Mo., in 1861, Dr. Mason is the son of parents who removed from Kentucky to Missouri in 1858, and who are still living there. He was educated in the common schools and at Monticello Seminary, after which he taught school in Clark and Lewis counties for five years. In 1883 he began the study of medicine at the Missouri State University, from which he was graduated in 1886, and at once began the practice of his profession at Sandhill, Scotland county, Mo., where he remained for two years. Subsequently, with the view of het- tering his prospects, he located at Barnard, Lin- coln county, Kans., but after a year of experi-
L. A. NYE, M. D., Keokuk Falls.
gh 835
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
ment returned to his former patients in Scotland county. For nearly seven years he engaged in a lucrative and successful practice, and at the end of that time was compelled, owing to failing health, to effect a change of location and sur- roundings. In 1897 he removed to Shawnee, Okla., but did not experience the desired benefit from a residence there. Reluctantly icaving a good practice and bright business prospects, he resorted to the expedient of travel in the high altitudes of the northwest, from which change came gratifying results and a complete restora- tion to health.
In March of 1899 the doctor permanently lo- cated in Newkirk, which has since been the scene of his home and success. In order to keep in touch with the progress of medical science in all parts of the world, he took a post-graduate course at the Chicago Polyclinic in 1896, and in 1898 took a special course in the Post-Graduate School of Gynecology and Abdominal Surgery in Chicago.
Mrs. Mason was formerly Minnie May Mat- lock, and she is the mother of three children. Ada B., Forest L. and Gross, who is deceased. Dr. Mason is medical examiner for the Modern Woodmen of America and several other com- panies. Besides being a member of the Wood- men, he is connected with the Odd Fellows in Newkirk Lodge No. 27.
L UTHER ARMBRISTER NYE. Three generations of the Nye family have been prominently identified with the medical pro- fession, and it is therefore not surprising that this latter-day descendant, Luther Armbrister Nye, of Keokuk Falls, should turn his ability in the direction of the calling of Aesculapius, and should be confronted by a future holding en- couraging possibilities. A native of Hurricane, Putnam county, W. Va., he was born November 25, 1872, and is a son of Dr. George L. and Emma (Hudson) Nye.
During the last century the great-grandfather Nye came from Germany and settled in Mary- land, later removing to Virginia, where he lo- cated upon a claim in Wythe county, granted him by Henry VIII. of England. His active life was devoted to the medical cause, and his son, Jackson Nye, was also an able exponent of med- ical and surgical science. The next in succes- sion, George L. Nye, was born in .Wythe county, Va., and is a graduate of Richmond, College. At the time of the breaking out of the Civil war he was engaged in a large practice in Tazewe !! county, Va., and tendered his services to the Confederate cause. Throughout the war he served as surgeon in the Forty-fifth Virginia In- fantry, under Lee's command, and rendered val-
uable service to the sufferers from the vicissi- tudes of war. After the restoration of peace he returned for a time to Tazewell county, but about 1878 bought the old homestead, with its memories of the first Nye to settle in America. He subsequently made the discovery that Henry VIII. had given his grandfather the finest min- eral spring in the world. Dr. Nye is still living in Wythe county, Va., and though well along towards the inactive side of life, is yet engaged in the practice of his profession, and has amassed quite a fortune. His life is a record of obstacles overcome, for when first settling in West Vir- ginia a five-dollar gold piece represented the ex- tent of his wealth, and during the Civil. war he lost all that he had in the meantime gained.
As a boy, Luther Nye had fortunate educa- tional advantages and the example of his father's erudition and perseverance. He attended school at Wytheville, the county seat of Wythe county, living the while with an uncle. He early showed an aptitude for analysis and investigation, the forerunners. of the mastery of medicine. The names of the victims of his research are not mentioned, but it is stated on authority that he borrowed his father's forceps and manipulated them with satisfactory results. He also brewed various kinds of syrups from herbs and plants, the efficacy of which was tested upon the feline members of the neighborhood, and other ani- mals whose systems were utterly unused to drugs or treatment. He subsequently graduated from the Southwest Virginia Institute at the age of eighteen, and soon after began to read medicine with his father, and to attend lectures at the University of Tennessee, from which he was graduated in 1895. He then spent one year as an interne at the Davidson County Hospital, at Nashville, having won the position by carry- ing off honors at the university. Later he served for one year as assistant demonstrator of anat- omy at the University of Tennessee, and, after practicing in Henry county, Tenn., for a few months, came to Oklahoma in July of 1898.
In Keokuk Falls, Dr. Nye has already built up a good practice, and is one of the most prom- ising professional men in the county. He is a member of the Mutual Protection League of Insurance, at Keokuk Falls, and is examining physician of the order. The doctor was married in Nashville, in 1897, to Arizona Lane, of Indi- ana, and of this union there was one daughter. Emma L. Nve, who was born in Keokuk Falls. Mrs. Nye died about four months after her daughter's birth. Later Dr. Nye married Sallie Curtiss, who was born in the vicinity of Nash- ville. They have one child, Luther A., Jr .. born December 5. 1900. Dr. Nye is devoted to the interests of the Democratic party, and has served as village clerk, and is now treasurer of
836
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
the village. Fraternally he is connected with the Keokuk Lodge of Masons and the Modern Woodmen of America.
J UDGE JOEL R. SCOTT, who was ap- pointed by President Mckinley to the re- sponsible post of receiver of the United States land office at Perry, April 14, 1899, is still acting in that capacity. He is a prominent mem- ber of the Territorial Bar Association, and has been actively engaged in the practice of law for about a quarter of a century.
The Scott family, to which the judge belongs, is an old and honored one in New England. His great-grandfather Scott was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, and his grandfather, who was born in Vermont, became a pioneer farmer of Herkimer county, N. Y. In that county sev- eral generations of the Scotts were born, lived and died. G. H. Scott, our subject's father, continued to dwell in the Empire state until 1856, when he removed to Dwight, Ill., and there de- voted himself to farming. In his early manhood he learned the trade of a millwright, and until 1856, when his plant was destroyed by fire, he was the proprietor of a large paper-mill at Johnstown, N. Y. For a wife he chose Eliza- beth, daughter of Joel R. Hardy, a hero of the war of 1812, and son of a Revolutionary patriot. He came of an old Connecticut family, and his birthplace was near Hartford. He removed to New York state, and there was employed as a millwright, and carried on a saw-mill of his own. He died in 1880, at the advanced age of ninety- four years. Mrs. Scott, who was born in the Empire state, is in her seventy-fifth year, as also is her husband.
Of the nine children of this estimable couple. two have been called to the better land, and Judge J. R. Scott is the only one of the family in this territory. He was born March 7, 1855, at Little Falls, N. Y., and was educated in the public schools of Dwight, Ill. At eighteen years of age he commenced teaching in the vicinity of his home, and was thus employed for three years. Then he pursued a course in the Wes- leyan University at Bloomington, Ill., for four years, in the junior year turning his attention to law, and in 1876 was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Laws.
After embarking in the practice of his profes- sion at Grand Island. Neb., he soon concluded to try his fortunes in Loup City, same state, and in 1879 established an office there. He became one of the most esteemed citizens of that county, steadily rising in his profession. For five years he published the "Loup City Northwestern" newspaper, but finally the pressure of his law practice induced him to abandon journalistic
work and concentrate his energy. For two terms, or four years, he was the prosecuting at- torney for Sherman county, and for one term he occupied the position of judge of the probate court. In September, 1893, he settled in New- kirk, Okla., where he was actively engaged in legal practice until the spring of 1899, when he came to Perry, in order to enter upon the duties of his new office.
Politically the judge is an ardent Republican, and has served on the county committee, being chairman of the first Kay county central com- mittee. He is a past officer in the Knights of Pythias, and is connected with the Ancient Or- der of United Workmen and with the order of Red Men.
Twenty-one years ago occurred the marriage of Judge Scott and Miss Margaret Sharp, who was born near Ottawa, and grew to womanhood in the vicinity of Dwight, Ill. Four children bless their union, namely: Lola, Edna, Joel R., Jr., and Oklahoma. The eldest daughter is a graduate of the high school at Loup City, Neb., and the younger children are attending the Perry schools. Mrs. Scott is a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church, and, like her husband, is highly esteemed in the best local circles.
W. O. KUECH, who has been engaged in the grain and elevator business during his entire business career, is manager of the Oklahoma Star Elevator at Oklahoma City. He is a man of exceptional business ca- pabilities and his efforts have been attended by success.
Mr. Kuech was born in Concordia, Lafayette county, Mo., October 16, 1870, and is a son of Herman and Christiana (Frerking) Kuech. His grandfather, Claus Kuech, was a native of Ger- many and came to America after the birth of his children, dying at Concordia, Mo. Herman Kuech was born at Hanover, Germany, and was eighteen years of age when he came to this coun- try. At Concordia, Mo., he was a merchant and also engaged in the grain business. He built the first elevator at Concordia, and continued there until he retired from business. He served in a Missouri regiment during the Civil war, and was wounded in Price's raid. His wife was born in Concordia, of German parentage, and died in Missouri about 1885, leaving four sons and two daughters. The sons are: Fred H. and H. C., of Concordia, Mo .; W. O., our subject; and A. O., who is located at Oklahoma City.
Reared in Concordia until his thirteenth year. Mr. Kuech then went to Alma, Lafayette county. and attended the public schools. From boyhood he was identified with his father's grain and ele- vator business, and continued with him until the
837
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
latter retired in 1892, after which he started in business for himself at Alma as a grain dealer and shipper. He continued there until 1896, and then became associated with his brothers in a similar business at Aullville, Mo., managing the affairs of the firm there until 1899. On June II of that year he came to Oklahoma City and as- sumed charge of the Oklahoma Star Elevator, which is located at the foot of Grand avenue. The company carries on an enormous grain bus- iness. (principally in wheat) and ships to mills in Missouri. He has charge of the business for his brother, F. H. Kuech. They also run two large elevators in Missouri, one at Concordia and the other at Aullville. Mr. Kuech is well known throughout this section of the territory and is very popular.
At Alma, Mo., Mr. Kuech was united in mar- riage with Ella Alberts, who was born in Iowa. While living in Alma he served on the town board of trustees. He is a strong Democrat in his political affiliations. In religious faith and fellowship he is a Lutheran.
O. W. ANNIS. The life of Mr. Annis has been rather on the eventful order, for in the pursuit of occupation, experience, and permanent location he has wandered over a large part of the country and seen many sides of life. His position of sheriff of Payne county was prolific of ample opportunity for the ap- plication of his wide range of information and for the knowledge of human nature acquired by the intelligent when traveling over the country.
Of sturdy Scotch descent, Mr. Annis was born in Knox county, Ill., near Halesburg, June 12, 1859. His parents, Andrew and Leah (Brown) Annis, were born, respectively, in Maine and Pennsylvania. The paternal grandfather, Elli- son, was born in Maine, and came from an old New England family of Scotch descent. During the war of 1812 he served in the American army. He was a sailor in the coasting trade, which oc- cupation he followed until an old man. He died in Knox county when his son was a youth of twelve years. Thrown thus upon his own re- sources, Andrew Annis early settled on a farm in Knox county, and in time became a promi- nent man and a large land-owner. His farm consisted of four hundred acres and was finely improved. His useful life terminated at the age of sixty-three years. His wife lived to be fifty years old.
The second in a family of six sons and one daughter, all of whom are living, O. W. Annis was reared on his father's farm and educated in the public schools. He had an ambitious nature. and the surroundings in Illinois seemed far too
circumscribed, so in 1878 he set out for the far west, and in the Black Hills engaged in the cat- tle business, and worked on ranches in South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming. After three years of this kind of life he returned to Illinois, and in LaFayette, Ill., engaged in the meat market business, continuing the same until 1884. He then located in Sumner county, Kans., near Arkansas City, and engaged in agri- cultural enterprises and stock-raising until the opening of the territory in 1889.
In April of 1889 Mr. Annis made the run from the north line and located a claim adjacent to what is now Perkins, and to the east of the town. This claim was improved to the utmost, and fitted with all modern appliances, and given over to general farming and stock-raising. This farm is the special pride of its owner, in whose possession it still is, and it is accounted one of the finest and best managed and cultivated claims in the county. While living on his claim Mr. Annis also engaged, at times, in the mer- chandise business in Perkins, and later in the meat market trade, and, for the carrying on of his enterprises, built a frame store.
In 1896 Mr. Annis was nominated on the Pop- ulist ticket for sheriff, and was elected by one hundred and four plurality over two of his op- ponents. In 1898 he was renominated on the Fusion ticket, and was the only one on the ticket that was elected. He took the oath of office January, 1897, and served until January of 1901. After his first election he settled in, Stillwater, where he built a residence, his farm proving a relaxation from the worries and cares of public political life. In 1900 he was one of the organ- izers of the Ripley State Bank, and is vice-presi- dent and director of the same. He is also Grand Organizer of the Fraternal Order of American Farmers, and is a charter member of the same. For six years he served as trustee and assessor of Perkins township. Fraternally he is associated with the Masonic order, and is a member of Fron- tier Lodge No. 6. A. F. & A. M., at Stillwater. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is past officer of Perkins Lodge No. 21, and of the Encampment.
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.