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 38
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quarter section of land about four miles south- west of Shawnee. Two windmills, substantial buildings and excellent fences are among the improvements noted on the place. A specialty is made of raising Short-horn cattle and thor- oughbred hogs, chiefly Berkshires and Poland- China, and from three to five hundred are annually placed on the markets. One of the most influential in organizing the Commercial Club of Shawnee, Mr. O'Brien was its first presi- dent, and the two stores and two residences which he built in the town were a material assistance to its prosperity. In Richmond, Ky., Mr. O'Brien married Miss Jennie Gilbert, daughter of Rice. Gilbert, a farmer of that locality. Five children were born to this worthy couple, namely : Mrs. Lulu May Robinson, whose home is near Wichita, Kans .; William J., who assists his father on the homestead; Mrs. Julia Rose; Charles, chief bill clerk for Carter Brothers, of Louisville, Ky .; and Myrtle, who lives at home. Mr. O'Brien is a demitted mem- ber of the Odd Fellows and Masons' societies, and usually votes for Democratic nominees.
W H. H. PITTMAN, one of the progres- sive business men of Stillwater, enjoys a deserved popularity, nor is his adopted town unmindful of the credit due him by reason of many admirable traits of mind and character which place him in the front rank of reliable and enterprising citizens.
A native of McDonough county, Ill., Mr. Pitt- man was born September 6, 1864, and is a son of George M. Pittman, a native of Kentucky, who moved with his parents to Illinois and there engaged in farming, but removed in 1871 to Sumner county, Kans. There he died in the fall of 1872, while his son, W. H. H., was yet but seven years of age. During the war he was a soldier in the Seventy-Eighth Illinois Volun- teer Infantry and served for one year, at which time he was discharged for physical disability. The mother, Esther A. (Dale) Pittman, was born in Indiana, and is a daughter of John Dale. a native of England, who, upon coming to America settled in Illinois. He later became one of the early pioneers of McDonough County, and subsequently removed to Califor- nia, where he died in 1899, aged eighty-seven.
Mr. Pittman was reared on his father's farm in Sumner county, Kans., and educated in the public schools. Later he attended Pond's Busi- ness College in Topeka, Kans., from which he was graduated in 1884. For the three following years he engaged in clerking, and then became a traveling salesman in Kansas and Missouri, for a Rock Falls, Ill., manufacturing company. At the opening of Oklahoma he located in Payne
EWERS WHITE, Pottawatomie County.
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county, on a claim sixteen miles southwest of Stillwater. This farm was improved and culti- vated by Mr. Pittman, who successfully con- ducted his agricultural interests, and at the same time received recognition for his ability and aptitude for public office. In the fall of 1892 he was nominated on the Republican ticket for county clerk, elected by a large majority, and assumed control of the office in January of 1893. In 1894 he was the only candidate on the ticket that was elected, and he held the position until 1897, when he retired.
Mr. Pittman continued the work of man- aging his farm until 1898, when he was again nominated candidate for the position of county clerk, and elected by a majority of six hundred votes. This office he re- tained until January 1, 1901. In 1899 he received a patent from the United States gov- ernment on the "Pittman Suspension Bridge." He has already built a number of these bridges which are meeting with universal satisfaction. He has built a plant for their manufacture at Stillwater, and the bridges are also being built in Oklahoma city. He was married in Cow- ley county, Kans., to Grace C. Smith, a native of Ohio. Of this union there have been five children, viz: George Roy, Frank Wallace, Pearl Hazel, William Chester, and Lucius Lisle. He is a Republican of pronounced affiliations, and a firm believer in the issues and principles . of his party. Fraternally he is associated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and with the Modern Tonties. With his family he is devoted to the interests of the Congregational church, and contributes generously towards its maintenance.
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E WERS WHITE. To Mr. White belongs the distinction of being the largest raiser of hogs in Oklahoma. As a farmer on broad and liberal lines, he represents the best element in his locality in Pottawatomie county. Previous to coming to the territory, he was variously engaged in mercantile and political enterprises, and has ever been prominently con- nected with the growth of the communities in which he has resided.
A native of Belmont county, Ohio, he was born August 27, 1861, and is a son of Samuel and Emily (Moore) White, who, during the years of their activity, were industrious, and worthy farmers. When their son Ewers was seven years of age the family removed to Wilson county, Kans., and located upon a farm, where he grew to manhood and received the excellent home training which so ably fitted him for the future responsibilities of life. With diligence he ap- plied himself to a mastery of the education to be
derived at the public schools, and when seven- teen or eighteen years of age evinced a com- mendable spirit of independence. Going to Muskingum county, Ohio, he undertook to learn telegraphy, which he later applied for one and a half years. Upon returning to Kansas he was appointed under sheriff, his term of service ex- tending from 1882 until 1889. At the same time he served as deputy United States marshal for three years, and in the discharge of these differ- ent offices offered such service as met with the approval of the people who had honored him with their preference.
At the opening of Oklahoma, Mr. White, with the thousands of others also in search of im- proved conditions, made the run and filed the sixth claim, which was a quarter section corner- ing on Oklahoma City. His claim was a matter of contest, and was the first of the kind ever started in Oklahoma. There were two other would-be possessors, and Mr. White finally re- linquished his right to one Samuel Murphy, who secured the deed. Later he purchased back one hundred and twenty acres. He was the first un- der sheriff of Oklahoma county, and was also the first commissioner of deeds for Oklahoma and the Indian Territory.
Mr. White came to Pottawatomie county as United States commissioner, and as postmaster at Shawneetown, the old Indian trading post. The first position was held by him for one and a half years and the latter for about nine months. A later position of trust was as postmaster at Tecumseh, which he held for three years, after which he purchased the place upon which he now lives, comprising the northeast quarter of sec- tion 22, township II, range 2 east, near McLoud. The original lease mentions thirteen hundred and seventy-five acres, and at the present time he owns seven hundred and five acres. This land is under a high state of cultivation, and is devo- ted to general farming, hog and cattle raising. An idea of the enormous number of the hogs raised may be estimated when it is known that Mr. White raises twenty thousand bushels of corn, all of which he feeds to the stock. During the present year he is putting in five hundred bushels of potatoes, and it is his intention to in- crease the amount planted each year.
In Pottawatomie county, November 15, 1893, Mr. White was united in marriage with Mac Amos, who was born in West Virginia. Of this union there are no children. With the politics of the localities in which he has resided Mr. White has ever shown great interest, and has devoted much time and money to the propagation of the best Republican principles. Since his residence in the terrtiory he has been chairman of the county central committee, and, with one excep- tion, has attended every Republican territorial
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convention. In 1900 he took the census of Bales township. At Fredonia, Kans., he became a member of the Masonic fraternity, and as a mem- . ber of the Knights of Pythias has filled all the chairs and represented his order in the Grand Lodge.
F RED C. SEEGER. On that eventful April day of 1889, when hundreds of people made the run into Oklahoma for homes, Mr. Seeger succeeded in securing a lot in Okla- homa City, and followed contracting and build- ing there until 1893, when he purchased his present farm in Greeley township, Oklahoma county. He is a typical self-made man, having started out in this world $52 in debt, and his worldly possessions of to-day are the result of his own untiring energy. He has been suc- cessful in all his undertakings, and his honest and straightforward business methods have gained him many stanch friends.
Mr. Seeger was born in Nieder Wehren, Prussia, Germany, December 1, 1836, and when seventeen years of age, he boarded a sailing vessel for the United States, landing in New York City, July 5, 1854. He spent but one week in the metropolis, after which he went to Dayton, Ohio, where he followed stone- masonry at fifty cents per day, and at the same time was obliged to pay $2 per week for board. He worked around Dayton two years, then went to Miami county, Ohio, where he lived with a friend and followed his trade. In 1860 he mar- ried and settled on one hundred acres of fine farming land. Six years later he sold his farm and, returning to Dayton, assisted in the com- pletion of Grace Methodist Church. Next he took the contract for building the Presbyterian Church at a cost of $75,000, and it was two years before the structure was completed. He continued to reside there until 1885, during which time he built many churches, public buildings, business blocks and dwellings, a large number of which are standing to-day.
In 1885 he went to Sumner county, Kans .. where he bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, and remained until Oklahoma was opened by the government. Making the run from Arkansas City, he secured a lot on Reno avenue, Oklahoma City. He at once erected on Noble avenue the finest house in the city, in which he resided until 1893. Meantime he contracted for and put up the following buildings : First National Bank building, Okla- homa Bank building, the Wedemeyer block, and Bachelder block, besides many other smaller business buildings and numerous resi- dences. Upon the completion of the Bachelder block, Mr. Bachelder presented to Mr. Seeger a
handsome $75 gold watch, which bears the following inscription on the inside: "From B. W. Bachelder for faithful work on the Bachelder block." Mr. Seeger is now engaged in agricultural pursuits and has a fine farm, on which is a four-acre vineyard. His many acquaintances in Oklahoma county hold him in high esteem and know him to be a man of many sterling qualities.
In 1860 Mr. Seeger married Miss Mary Jones, a native of Ohio, and they have four children, viz .: Callie. the wife of C. A. McNabb; Ella. the wife of J. Epperson; Henry and Irving. In politics Mr. Seeger is an ardent Republican. He is now serving his third term as justice of the peace, and was elected treasurer of Greeley township in 1900. He is a member and trustee of the Presbyterian Church and for many years was elder and Sunday-school superintendent. . His family are also identified with that church.
W ILLIAM M. SHIPLEY, one of the veterans of the Civil war, is entitled to a place of honor in the annals of that Union which he loyally helped to preserve for posterity, to that day of prosperity and peace which it now enjoys, and to prominence among the great nations. He enlisted August 16. 1862. in Company K, Twelfth Kansas Volunteer Infantry, and was employed in skirmishes chiefly along the borders of Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas. For some time he was located at Fort Smith and Fort Camden, and when his services were no longer needed he was mus- tered out of the army at Little Rock, April 26, 1865, and honorably discharged at Lawrence, Kans. He has been no less patriotic and faith- ful to his duties as a citizen in the years of peace which followed, and enjoys the esteem of all with whom his lot has been cast.
Born in Kentucky, in 1838, our subject is a son of Joel. and Amy (Cook) Shipley, likewise natives of that state. In 1841 the family re- moved to Missouri, and settled upon a farm in Henry county, five years later going to Bates county, same state. When the war clouds began to darken ominously. W. M. Shipley went to Linn county, Kans., where he later volunteered as a soldier. He had married in 1858, and left his wife and little ones to fight for his country. Upon returning home, he resumed his agricul- tural labors, and for twenty-five years was iden- tified with the farmers of Kansas. In iSor he came to Oklahoma, and located a claim at a point about seven miles southeast of Perkins. Having made material changes for the better in the property, he finally sold it in 1800, and became a resident of Perkins, Payne county, where he leases a habitation. He has been very
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industrious and successful in business, and now is enjoying the fruits of his former years of toil. He has always given his political support to the Republican party, "fighting as he voted." Religiously he adheres to the creed of the United Brethren denomination.
In 1858 the marriage of Mr. Shipley and Miss Eliza Pyles was solemnized in Missouri. For twenty-three years they pursued the journey of life together, and in 1881 the devoted wife and mother was called to her heavenly reward. Their children, William M., Mary Jane, Martha B., Luther, Ida M., and Lillie, are respected citizens of Kansas and Oklahoma. In 1883 Mr. Shipley married Mrs. Mary R. Williams, daugh- ter of Jonathan Adams, and a former resident of Allen county, Kans.
D. P. SPARKS, proprietor of the English Kitchen Restaurant, of Shawnee, is the pioneer in this line of business here, and has made a splendid success of the enterprise. He is known far and near, owing to the fact that the people of the surrounding territory are liberal patrons of his in their frequent trips to this thriving town. He makes a point of pro- viding well for them, even though his accon- modations have been greatly taxed at times, as on one occasion, when he furnished meals to fifteen hundred persons within one day.
A native of Louisiana, born near Shady Grove, St. Mary's parish, near Centerville. April 3, 1845, D. P. Sparks is a son of D. P. and Maliza (Vincent) Sparks, the father of English and the mother of Irish-English descent. The great-great-grandfather of our subject emigrated from England to Virginia in colonial days, and his son, Capt. D. P. Sparks, grandiather of the present bearer of his name, was born in Vir- ginia, and just before the Revolution located upon a plantation in South Carolina, also being a merchant there until some time prior to his death. During the great war he served in the colonial army with the rank of captain under the leadership of General Benton. D. P. Sparks, father of our subject, was born on the old South Carolina plantation, whence he re- moved to Louisiana, there becoming a wealthy, sugar planter, his property being situated on the Bayou Teche. A short time before the Civil war he sold out and bought another large sugar plantation across the river from. New Orleans, and there he died in 1867. Though of an old southern family, and a life-long inhabi- tant of the South, he was firmly opposed .to secession from the Union, and it was a great sorrow to him that his two only sons joined the Confederate army. J. C., who belonged to the Hampton Legion, South Carolina Volun-
teers, was killed while employed as a scout in West Virginia. Of his three sisters, one is deceased. The mother, who departed this life in Texas, was a native of Tennessee, and daugh- ter of Enoch Vincent, also a Tennesseean, and of an old family of that state.
The happy days of boyhood were passed by D. P. Sparks at the old plantation home, "Shady Grove," in Louisiana. His education was pursued under private tutors and in private schools. At the beginning of the Civil war he was attending Furman University at Green, S. C., and when his professor of mathematics, Jolm F. La Meau at once set about organizing a company for Hampton's Legion, it is not strange that the youthful ardor of this lad of sixteen led him to respond to the call. After proving his bravery on many a battlefield, he was assigned to a body of scouts, commanded ยท by his brother and a Mr. Mickler. Their duties lying chiefly in the field between the lines of the two opposing armies, their escapes and dangers were multitudinous, it is needless to say. On returning from one hazardous trip, the tired scouts scattered, finding entertainment in different houses in a certain locality. Captain Farnsworth, of Illinois, with three hundred boys in blue, seized his opportunity, and had his soldiers surround the houses and capture as many of the scouts as possible. Mr. Sparks, at the house of a Mr. Howison, with some of his comrades, made a rush for liberty, mounted horses and started for a tract of timber, but while endeavoring to capture a small squad of Federals, were surrounded and made prisoners. After spending three months in prison at Wash- ington, he was exchanged, and later was the second lieutenant of Peterkin's Cavalry com- pany, attached to L. M. Keitt's Regiment of South Carolina. For nearly eight months he was stationed in the state last mentioned, mostly on picket duty, and later returned to the Hamp- ton Legion. For a period prior to the evacua- tion of Charleston, S. C., he was on duty there, and then was sent to Wilmington, N. C., where he remained until the evacuation of that city. Starting to join the main army corps at Appo- mattox, he arrived in the vicinity of General Bragg's forces. That officer, desiring to know the strength of the Federals, asked for two volunteers from his army to return to Wilming- ton, in order to get pointers from Federal's. No one would volunteer. The captain of the com- pany to which Mr. Sparks belonged, Captain Williams, appealed to Mr. Sparks and a Mr. Smith, but they did not wish to attempt the work, on account of the near termination of the war; however, they finally consented, and re- turned to the edge of Wilmington. capturing the courier who came with dispatches to the
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army at the front. Bringing the dispatch with them they returned to their army. General Schofield marched out on the Newbern road to intercept General Bragg and keep him from going to join General Lee. On this trip Mr. Sparks and his comrade ran the risk of their lives many times. About five days after their return, the army surrendered and disbanded.
While on picket duty in South Carolina, Maloney, an Indianapolis boy, made his escape from Andersonville and fled down the Santee river, where he was captured by the Confed- erates and taken into camp. Maloney was ragged and wanted a pair of trousers, and talked so constantly about his needs that Mr. Sparks gave him the only pair he had besides the pair he was wearing.
Returning home at the close of the war, Mr. Sparks found that his father had lost much of his property as a result of the conflict. Though he personally was a Union man, the fact that he had two sons in the Confederate army preju- diced the Federals against him and his lands were confiscated. Fortunately, however, the lands were returned later by the government. For a time Mr. Sparks operated the home place. In 1868 he removed to Houston, Tex., where he first clerked, and later was employed as messenger by the Texas Express Company, his line being between Denison and Galveston. His next position was that of bookkeeper in Hous- ton, after which he settled in Hearne, Tex. For one year he engaged in the general mercantile business at Mumford's Prairie, after which he carried on a lumber business at Belleville, Tex .. and also manufactured lumber at Brantley Sta- tion for four years. Selling out, he settled at Greenville, Tex., where he carried on a grocery and restaurant business, but was not successful, losing all that he had previously made. Starting anew in a small restaurant, he gradually worked his way to a prosperous position.
In 1897 Mr. Sparks came to Shawnee and bought an interest in the English Kitchen with James Stewart, the two continuing together for a year. Mr. Sparks then purchased his partner's interest, and continued the business alone. At first, he had a small restaurant across from the station, but after a month he established himself at his present location, and later added to the building, taking out a partition and enlarging his quarters. This is not only the oldest, but also the largest restaurant in the city, and has a capacity for accommodating fifteen hundred persons in one day. During the fall season, when trade brings many farmers to the town, the restaurant often entertains from four to five hundred people in a single day.
Politically Mr. Sparks is a Democrat, but not radical in his opinions. In religion he is an
Episcopalian and has officiated as a vestryman in his church. He was made a member of the blue lodge and Royal Arch Chapter in Belle- ville, Tex., and is also connected with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a stock holder in the Oklahoma State Bank. Recently he purchased the home of A. B. Dunlap, formerly a banker at Shawnee.
The marriage of Mr. Sparks took place in Belleville, Tex., and united him with Miss Jose- phine Haggarty, who was born in Georgia and grew to womanhood in Texas. They are the parents of four children: Chesley, who was engaged in the insurance business at Shawnee until his death, September 8, 1900; Josephine, who is a graduate of the high school of Green- ville, Tex., and is now teaching in the Shawnee high school; J. Calhoun, and D. P., Jr.
H ENRY STEGELMAN. Since 1892 the above named gentleman has been a resi- dent of Oklahoma, and is the owner of a fine farm in Greeley township, Oklahoma county, which he has put under a high state of cultivation. He was born in the city of Kiel, Holstein, Germany, and is a son of David and Louise (Lench) Stegelman, who emigrated to this country with his family, our subject being thirteen years of age at the time. He located in Dodge county, Neb., where he successfully carried on farming the remainder of his life. Of his twelve children the following seven are now living: David, who homesteaded a tract of land in Dodge county, Neb .; Ernest, who re- sides in Oklahoma : Christian W., a large farmer of Dodge county ; Henry, our subject; Adolph, a farmer in Dodge county, Neb .; Ada, the wife of Jacob Byer; and Kate, the wife of Conrad Maurer. The parents of both died in Fremont, Neb., and are buried there.
Henry Stegelman grew to manhood on his father's farm and has a good education in both the English and German languages. Upon leaving home, he spent two years in the Black Hills, working in the mines, but the following few years were passed in roaming over the country. Then, returning to Dodge county, Neb., he bought one hundred and eighty acres of land, where he carried on farming and raised considerable stock. In 1802 he sold his home- stead, and coming to Oklahoma purchased his present farm, which is situated in the southeast- ern quarter of section seven. During the first year he broke up his whole farm and in the next year (1893) one hundred and ten acres were sown in wheat. He has erected a good house and barn, with a number of smaller buildings, and his entire farm is enclosed by a woven wire fence. Besides his harvests of corn, wheat and
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FRANK J. WIKOFF, Stillwater.
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oats, he raises Poland-China swine and Short- horn cattle. He is a practical farmer and enjoys the friendship of a large acquaintance through- out his county.
Mr. Stegelman was married in 1882 to Miss Mary Gildenpfennig, and four children have been born to them. They are named as follows : Meta, a school teacher; Henry, Arthur and Verna. Mrs. Stegelman was born near Magde- burg in the Province of Saxony, and was brought by her parents, Henry and Louise (Ott) Gildenpfennig, to America when an infant in arms. In politics Mr. Stegelman is a Democrat. He is a member of the Woodmen of the World; Oklahoma Tribe No. I, I. O. R. M .: The Ancient Order of United Workmen and Sons of Hermann.
F RANK J. WIKOFF. Stillwater can boast of no more progressive business man and citizen than Frank J. Wikoff, who assisted in surveying and laying out the town in June, 1889, and thenceforth identified himself with its upbuilding. Nor has he confined his attention to his chosen place of abode alone, as is generally known, for he has been a great and effective worker for his county and the territory and long has been recognized as a power throughout Oklahoma.
The present spelling, Wikoff, was adopted as the simplest form of the old Holland-Dutch name, which appears in numerous forms in America, namely: Wycoff. Wicoff, Wykoff. Wic- koff and Wyckoff, the latter probably having been the original style. Mr. Wikoff is a direct descendant of one Peter Wyckoff, who was one of the early colonists from his native land in old Manhattan, or New York City. He built and was the proprietor of the Nassau Street Hotel, of colonial note, and his posterity lived in New Jersey. New York state and Pennsylvania at the beginning of the war of Independence, in which many of the name participated. Our subject's grandfather. John Wikoff, who was born in Lan- caster county, Pa., attained the age of ninety, his death occurring in Lacon, Ill., where he was a pioneer. He was an early settler in the vicinity of Dayton, Ohio, and thence removed to a farm on the Illinois river, near Lacon, Ill. He ex- perienced the hardships of frontier life, and was obliged to haul his wheat to Chicago, one hun- dred and twenty-five miles away. Once, when he reached Joliet. on his way to the future metropo- lis, the axle of his wagon broke, and the entire proceeds of the trip went to pay the cost of the blacksmithing work on the vehicle. He was a member of the Baptist Church and of the Ma- sonic fraternity and was highly esteemed by all.
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