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 41
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W. L. WINN, M. D., Perry.
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directors of the Enid Investment Company, which he assisted in organizing. For the past four years he has served as a member of the board of education, and for a year acted in the capacity of president. He also is a charter member and one of the directors of the Com- mercial Club of Enid. When a resident of Harper, Kans., he joined the Masonic Order, and after coming to this city he assisted in the formation of Enid Lodge, No. 19, of which he . is a charter member and the present master. He has reached the Royal Arch degree in Ma- sonry, and, besides, is identified . with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In his political creed, he is a stanch Republican.
The marriage of Mr. Weatherly and Miss Lucy E. Munger took place in Harper, Kans., in 1884. She was born near Montezuma, Iowa, and her father, Joseph Munger, who died in 1898, was a leading citizen and banker' of Harper. Mrs. Weatherly received an excellent education, completing her studies in the Uni- versity of Grinnell, Iowa. Three daughters and three sons bless the union of our subject and wife, namely: Ethel, Irene, Edna, Joseph and Jesse (twins) and Newton.
W ILLIAM LEE WINN, M. D. What- ever may be said and believed, in gen- eral, in this democratic nation, about the minor importance of heredity, students of history know that most talents and tendencies. traits of character, as well as physical and mental endowments, are .handed down from father to son. The sterling Scotch and English ancestors of the subject of this sketch were of the sturdy old Puritan order, intensely patriotic, upright and inflexible on questions of principle. In the early part of the seventeenth century the founder of the Winn family in Virginia came to America from his native Scotland. Sir William Wallace Winn is the present head of the old family in Scotland.
A brother of the Virginian emigrant settled in Pennsylvania, and his descendants spelled their surname Wynne, while the Southern branch always have adhered to the other style. The great-grandfather of the doctor. James Winn, was a commissioned officer in the War of the Revolution, and in private life was a well- to-do planter of the Old Dominion. The grand- father of our subject was William Wian. sho was a prominent physician in Virginia, his na- tive state, until his death. ITis wife was Mil- dred, a relative of Gen. Wade Hampton, who Served in the War of 1812 with distinction : and her uncle was the first Gen. Wade Hampton, of Revolutionary War fame. This, and much . ther very interesting data, was obtained from
the third Gen. Wade Hampton, who now is four-score years old. The family has played an extremely important part in the history of the United States, was influential in the upbuilding of Virginia and South Carolina; the City of Winnsborough and the schools of that town were founded by ancestors.
Dr. J. B. and Huldah A. (Jones) Winn, parents of our subject, were natives of Virginia and Howard county, Mo., respectively. The mother, who departed this life in the fall of 1899, was a daughter of Dr. Jones, a pioneer physician of Howard county, Mo. For a wife he chose a Miss Patrick, a direct descend- ant of Bishop Patrick, of Ireland. Dr. J. B. Winn was graduated in the last class of medical students in the Transylvania University, at Lexington, Ky., in 1847, and the same year he established himself in practice in Macon county, Mo., where for fifty-two years he has commanded a fine business. In the fall of 1899 he retired from active life, yet is hale and hearty in mind and body, and retains his genuine interest in the affairs of his own com- munity and the world in general. He is a Mason of the Knight Templar degree, and has long been connected with the Consistory. In religion, he is connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Eight of his ten children grew to maturity and seven are yet left to him.
The youngest of his family, Dr. W. L. Winn, was born in Macon, Mo., December 12, 1869, and in his youth was graduated in the high school of that city. Later he attended the Gar- field Normal School at Wichita, Kans., and for the ensuing three years was engaged in teach- ing schools in his home neighborhood. In the meantime he pursued medical studies under the supervision of his father, and in 1891 entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons of St. Louis. The following years he pursued a course of study in Barnes Medical College. where he was graduated in the spring of 1894 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He had the first honors of his class bestowed upon him and three prizes for pre-eminence in dif- ferent lines of work fell to his share. After serving for two years in the hospital the young man practiced with his father, at Macon, for a year, and then established an office in Sedg- wick, Kans.
In July, 1898, Dr. Winn located in Perry, Okla., where he soon found his time fully occu- pied with patients. He is fully abreast of the times and neglects no opportunity of increasing his proficiency in medical lines. He belonged to the Macon County Medical Society and the Southern Kansas Medical Association, and now is identified with the Tri-State and American
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Medical Associations. In March, 1901, Dr. Winn took into partnership Dr. Roland A. Felt, for- merly of Iowa and also a graduate of the Barnes Medical College, to assist him in caring for his continually growing practice.
In Wichita, Kans., the marriage of Dr. Winn and Miss Pluma Kirkbride was solemnized in 1896. She is a lady of high standing and accom- plishments, a native of Eureka, Ill., and a grad- uate of the Garfield Normal School, of Wichita, and of Fairmount College. She is a member of the Christian Church, and is actively interested in religious work. The doctor differs from his wife a little in religious creed, as he is a Congre- gationalist. They are the parents of one child, Mildred Kirkbride Winn.
W ILLIAM W. ABERCROMBIE. This esteemed citizen of Stillwater comes from the same family as did the celebra- ted English admiral, Sir Ralph Abercrombie. The family originated in Scotland many genera- tions ago, and some branches lived in England for centuries. The founder of the American line came from England to South Carolina in early colonial days here, and his son, next in descent to our subject, and his great-grandfather, partici- pated in the War for Independence, enlisting in Charleston. He was a planter in that state, and later of Jefferson county, Ga. His son, John, grandfather of W. W. Abercrombie, was born on the old Jefferson county plantation, and, in his turn, he became a wealthy planter, devoting his attention to the raising of cotton.
Clement and Emeline (Jones) Abercrombie, as well as their son, William W., were born in Lumpkin county, Ga., and the parents continued to live on their plantation there until 1869. Then, removing to Mitchell county, Kans., they took up their abode upon a farm to the south of Beloit. The father is yet living there, now about four- score years old, but his wife departed this life in October, 1899. She was of Welsh descent, a daughter of Henry Jones, who was born in one of the Carolinas, and was a prosperous planter in Georgia. During the Civil war, Clement Abercrombie, his sons, John and William W., and two of his brothers all enlisted and served in a Georgia cavalry regiment, known as Cobb's Legion. John, the only one of the relatives who sustained injuries, was wounded at Hanover Court-house, and now is a resident of Mitchell county, Kans. He is one of twelve brothers and sisters, all of whom survive, their homes being widely separated, some in Canada and some in the United States.
The birth of William W. Abercrombie oc- curred April 16, 1846, and in his youth he at- tended private schools in Georgia. IIe was cager
to join his comrades on the battle-field, but yielded to his mother's prayers and remained at home until he was sixteen years old, when he became a member of Cobb's Legion of cavalry. He then took part in many important battles. including the Wilderness, Spottsylvania and the siege of Petersburg. In February, 1865, he was sent to Columbia to meet Sherman's forces, and there joined Johnston's army, after which he par- ticipated in the battles of Goldsboro, Averys- boro, Fayetteville and Bentonville. One of the exciting charges which Cobb's Legion made was near Fayetteville, where our subject, under Gen- eral Hampton, led a column, captured the pick- ets, and had proceeded fully a quarter of a mile into the camp ere the maneuver was discovered. A fierce fight at once began, and Kilpatrick made his escape with difficulty, in his night-clothes. and on an unbridled horse. Mr. Abercrombie's horse was mired in the swamp, and, though he thus happened to be the last one of his advancing comrades, he escaped uninjured.
In 1869 the young man went to Mitchell county, Kans., where he took a claim and gave his attention to the raising of live stock and the general management of the farm. For eighteen years he dwelt there, in the vicinity of Beloit. and from 1887 to 1892 he lived in Corpus Christi, Tex., where he was engaged in the transfer busi- ness. For the past eight years he has been a citizen of Stillwater, being occupied in running a meat and produce business, in partnership with P. D. Miller. For the past five years they have dealt exclusively in farm produce, poultry, but- ter, eggs, etc., in wholesale and retail quantities, shipping extensively to other markets. Five years ago they also commenced dealing in cot- ton, and built a cotton-gin and electric light plant in the southeastern part of Stillwater. In 1900 they removed to their present business site, in the northeastern part of the city, where they have a fine modern electric plant, with Stanley dyna- mos, and supply light to the whole city.
" In the order of United Confederate Veterans Mr. Abercrombie stands high, being adjutant of his own camp and lieutenant-colonel and inspec- tor-general of the Department of Oklahoma. Politically he is active in the Democratic party, served as chairman of the county central com- mittee for one term, is an ex-member of the ter- ritorial Democratic committee, and is district representative of the national committee. He belongs to the Commercial Club, and in the Ma- sonic fraternity is past master of Frontier Lodge No. 6, A. F. & A. M., and is identified with Still- water Chapter No. 14, R. A. M., and St. John's Commandery No. 4, K. T. In his religious faith he is a Baptist
For his home Mr. Abercrombie built a pleas- ant modern residence in the eastern part of Still-
H. W. NICHOLS, Payne County.
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water. He married Miss Elizabeth Brookshier, in Georgia, where she then was living, though she is a native of South Carolina. Four of their ten children remain at home, namely: Georgie Anne, Kittie Lee, Myrtle and Galveston. Arvie, wife of P. D. Miller, her father's partner in busi- ness, was the first white child born in Mitchell county, Kans. Mrs. Emeline Peck, and Mrs. Sarah E. Sinett, the elder daughters of our sub- ject and wife, live on farms in this county. Clem- ent, the eldest son, died in Washington at the age of twenty years. John is employed as weigh- master with the Santa Fe, at Trinidad, Colo., and W' iam A. is in Colorado Springs, Colo.
H ICKS WRIGHT NICHOLS comes of an old, patriotic family in Maryland, his birth having taken place on the eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay half a century ago. His grandfather Nichols was the hero of the two wars with the mother country, serving in the colonial army during the Revolution and later in the war of 1812. Our subject's parents, Benja- min F. and Hester (Towers) Nichols, spent their whole lives in Maryland, the former dying in 1865, and the latter surviving him about ten years.
Hicks W. Nichols passed his boyhood on the parental homestead, and continued to live in his native state until December, 1868, when he removed to Decatur, Ill., and for the following eleven years operated rented farms. In 1879 he went to the southeastern part of Kansas, and there was successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits for twelve years. In the spring of 1891 he came to Oklahoma, and for a year lived in the town of Stillwater. Having thoroughly looked this locality over, he decided to buy his present property, a tract of rich land situated in the southwestern part of section 16, township 19, range 2 east. Only a small portion of the prairie had been broken, but the new owner diligently set to work and soon had one hundred acres under cultivation. He also built a com- fortable farmhouse and substantial barns and fences. The orchard which he planted is in good condition, and Stillwater creek and Cow creek, which run through this homestead, greatly increase its productiveness and add to its value. He raises large crops of corn, wheat and cotton each season, and never has had to endure a failure since he settled here. Prosperity blessing his efforts, he was enabled to purchase another farm five years ago, the place now carried on by his eldest son. It is located in the south- eastern part of section 17, township 19, range 2 east, and is improved with a good house, barn and fences.
In 1871 Mr. Nichols married Miss M. C.
Adams, whose parents, William B. and Mar- guerite Adams, are still living upon their home- stead in Christian county, Ill. John E., eldest child of our subject and wife, is managing their farm on section 17, this township. He chose for his wife Irene B., daughter of H. B. Hus- ton, a prominent citizen of this county, and three children bless their union. Mrs. Dora F. Burnsides, eldest daughter of our subject, and the mother of three children, lives in this terri- tory. The younger sons and daughters are yet at home, and are named, respectively: Albert H., Clara M., Joseph L., Ray V., and Mildred B.
Mr. and Mrs. Nichols are connected with the Fraternal Aid Society, being charter members of the Stillwater lodge. Mrs. Nichols and two of her children are identified with the Christian Church, and a daughter is a member of a Con- gregational Church. In his political faith Mr. Nichols is a Populist.
H IRAM S. BARGER. The ancestry of the Barger family is German. The great- grandparents crossed the seas from the fatherland during the last century and cast their lot with the very early pioneers of Virginia.
A native of Pope county, Ill., H. S. Barger was born in 1828, and is a son of Simon and Hannah Barger, natives of Virginia. His youth was un- happily clouded by the loss of both parents, and his schooling of a very limited nature, as public schools were unknown in the locality in which he resided. In a family of ten children he was the sixth, and is one of the three now living. Noah, a brother, is living near the old home in Illinois, as is also John, another brother.
In 1870 Mr. Barger came to Kansas and pre- empted a claim, upon which he lived until 1887, when he took up his residence in the Cherokee Nation. During the war he served his country as a member of Company E, One Hundred and Twentieth Illinois Infantry for three years, and was discharged at the close of hostilities at Camp Butler. He was married in 1847 to Adeline Twitchell, a daughter of Asa and Orilla Twitch- ell, of Hardin county, Ill. Of this union there were three children: Asa, who was born in Illinois; and died in Oklahoma in 1894; George, who was born in Illinois, and lives in the terri- tory. George married Mary Jones, of Illinois, and they have the following named children: Ella, Florence and Willie; and David, who died in Illinois.
In the Cherokee Nation George Barger leased land from the Indians and entered into the cattle business. This venture proved to be an unfor- tunate one, for a fever infested the region, and he lost nearly all that he had invested. Later he purchased one hundred and sixty acres com-
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prising the southeast quarter of section 27, town- ship 18, range 3, Payne county, and Asa, his brother, secured a claim in the Iowa country. After the death of Asa the father proved up on the claim and eventually sold it. George has im- proved his farm until it is now a successful and remunerative investment. He has good build- ings, a fine orchard, and running water. He is greatly interested in the cause of education, and has served as school director and clerk. In poli- tics he is a Populist. His father, Hiram S., also supports the People's party, and while living in Kansas was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
JOSEPH M. BEAVER, an honored veteran of the Civil war, is a well-known agricul- turist of Stillwater township, Payne county. His pat' Mal grandfather, a Virginian by birth, was a hero of the war for Independence. His parents, John and Nancy (Hutchison) Beaver, were natives of Virginia and Kentucky, respect- ively, and the greater part of the former's life was passed in the Blue Grass state. He died November 4, 1897, and is survived by his widow, who still lives in Kentucky and now is in her ninetieth year.
The birth of J. M. Beaver took place in Green county, Ky., sixty-three years ago, and for just half a century he was engaged in agricultural pursuits in his beautiful native state. On the Ioth of October, 1861, he enlisted in Company. E, Twenty-seventh Kentucky Infantry, and was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland. He took part in many of the severe battles in which that illustrious force was engaged, and, among others, he was active in the engagements of Shiloh, Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mountain and Chickamauga. At the close of the war he received an honorable discharge at Louisville in June, 1865.
Returning to his old home in Kentucky, Mr. Beaver resumed his accustomed duties. March II, 1869, he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Jane Pruitt, daughter of Major and Ber- netta (Drain) Pruitt. Her father was a Virgin- ian by birth, while she was born in Kentucky. The only daughter of our subject and wife, Nancy Bernetta, became the wife of George Land, and died July 7, 1900. She left four children to mourn her loss, namely: Ella, Thomas, Alta and May. Mrs. Sarah Beaver, who was a faith- ful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, departed this life February 27, 1892, and was buried in the cemetery at Stillwater. Thus left alone, our subject gladly welcomed into his home his son-in-law, Mr. Land, and his beloved grandchildren. His son, Anthony Thomas, who was born in Kentucky, also lives with him, and.
assists in the management of the farm. He was married, February 4, 1900, to Bertha Salisbury, daughter of John and Eva Salisbury. The father is now a resident of Pawnee, and the mother is deceased.
In 1887 Mr. Beaver came to the West, and for two years carried on a farm in Cowley county, Kans. Then, when this territory was opened, he located a claim in the northeastern part of section 14, township 19, range 2 east, which land is watered by Boomer creek. He since has greatly increased the value of this property by judicious expenditure of labor and capital, and the fields, divided by substantial fences, are now yielding abundant harvests. The excellent orchard, the commodious and neatly kept house and barns, and everything about the premises bespeak the energy and watchfulness of the owner.
The first presidential vote cast by Mr. Beaver was for Abraham Lincoln. Of late years he has espoused the free-silver plank, and in 1900 gave his political influence to W. J. Bryan. About twenty years ago, in Marion county, Ky., he joined the Masonic order, and after his arrival in Payne county he became a charter member of Frontier Lodge No. 6, of Stillwater.
M. L. BLACKWELDER. The world in- stinctively pays deference to the man whose success has been worthily achieved, overcoming the obstacles in his path and reaching a high position in the business world. This is a progressive age, and he who does not advance is soon left far behind. Mr. Blackwelder, by the improvement of opportu- nities by which all are surrounded, has steadily and honorably worked his way upward and has attained a fair degree of prosperity. As a mem- ber of the Blackwelder Company, he is now doing a large and successful real-estate, loan and insurance business in Oklahoma City.
Mr. Blackwelder was born in Litchfield, Mont- gomery county, Ill., March 18, 1846, and on both sides is of German descent. Members of the Blackwelder family were soldiers of the Revo- lutionary war, and were Lutherans in religious faith. Our subject's paternal grandfather was a native of North Carolina, whence he removed to Illinois about 1830, becoming one of the pioneer farmers of Montgomery county, where his death occurred. Our subject's father, Peter Blackwelder, was also born in North Carolina, and his boyhood was passed there and in Illinois. He died in the latter state in 1856, at the age of forty-seven years. By occupation he was a farmer and wagon-maker. He married Nellie Scherer, who was born in North Carolina, and at an carly day removed to Montgomery county,
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Ill., with her father, Frederick Scherer, an ex- tensive farmer, who died at the age of sixty-five years. Mrs. Blackwelder died in Illinois about 1852. In the family were seven children, four sons and three daughters, of whom one daughter is now deceased. The sons are: Isaac S., of Chicago, who is western manager for the Niag- ara Fire Insurance Company; James, a physi- cian of Litchfield, Ill., who was a member of the First Illinois Cavalry during the Civil war, was a prisoner in Lexington, Mo., and, after being paroled, served one year as assistant sur- geon; M. L., our subject; and George. H., a real-estate dealer of St. Louis.
The subject of this review passed his boyhood and youth upon a farm, and attended the district schools and Hillsboro Academy, completing his ducation, however, at the Illinois State Uni- versity, then located at Springfield, where he was a student for one year. For four years he suc- cessfully engaged in teaching school in Mont- gomery county. He was then married, in Litch- field, to Miss Emma Elliott, also a native of Montgomery county, and to them were born four children, namely: Clarence, who died at the age of eighteen years; Guy E., who graduated from the high school of Oklahoma, and is now engaged in the insurance business with his father; Gertrude, also a graduate of the high school; and Nellie.
In 1869 Mr. Blackwelder removed to Water- ville, Marshall county, Kans., where he secured a homestead and engaged in farming for two years, at the end of which time he sold out and went to Washington county, Kans., locating near Haddam. After farming for a time, he opened a general store in that village, which he conducted for some years. He also engaged in feeding cattle, and in 1890 became interested in the insurance business. In 1891 he removed to Washington, Kans., where he engaged in the travelers' insurance business, and was spe- cial agent and adjuster for the Niagara Insur- ance Company of New York and the Caledonia Company of Scotland. He traveled throughout Kansas and Nebraska from 1890 to 1894, and came to this territory as early as 1893, but did not locate in Oklahoma City until January of the following year. Here he has successfully engaged in the real-estate, loan and insurance business, representing seven old line companies: the Royal, Manchester, North British & Mercan- tile, Niagara, Orient of Hartford, Milwaukee Me- chanics and the Providence Washington of Rhode Island: Mr. Blackwelder is also inter- ested in both city and farm property in this terri- tory. In 1898 his son became a member of the firm, and business has since been conducted under the name of Blackwelder Company, with office at No. 15 Robinson street.
The Republican party finds in Mr. Black- welder a stanch supporter of its principles, and for two years he was a member of the school board from the second ward. He is a Mason and an active member of the Methodist Episco- pal Church, of which he is now a trustee. His son holds membership in the City Club, and the family is one of considerable prominence in the community.
W H. BOWYER. Through all of the pe- riod that has elapsed since June, 1889, Mr. Bowyer has been actively engaged in agricultural pursuits in Payne county, and though for several years he worked very hard and struggled under great difficulties, he finally won the victory over circumstances, and to-day is prosperous and influential in his community.
W. H. Bowyer is a son of Samuel and Ann (Thomas) Bowyer, natives of Virginia, but his paternal grandfather was a Pennsylvanian. Our subject was born October 30, 1845, in eastern Virginia, and when he was six years old the family removed to the western part of that state. He received a common-school education, and remained with his father, occupied in farm- ing, until he was twenty-five years of age. Six- teen years ago he came to the West, and for a short time was a. resident of Peabody, Kans., then settling in Butler county, same state. He carried on a farm there until Oklahoma was opened, and in June, 1889, he located a claim in Payne county, it being the southwest quar- ter of section 23, township 18, range 2. The land is very productive and is well watered by springs and running streams. He instituted many good improvements upon the place, planted a large orchard and cultivated the fields, raising good crops.
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