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 47
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When he was eight years old Cary Pearson accompanied the family to Huntington county, Ind., and when he was three years older death deprived him of his one remaining parent. He lived upon a farm until he was seventeen, when he was apprenticed to the baker's trade in Xenia, Ind. In 1879 he went to Ottawa, Kans., where he worked at his trade for a year, after which he was seized by the mining fever and went to Col- orado. For five years he devoted his energies to prospecting and mining in Leadville and vicin- ity, but evidently at last came to the conclusion that a regular trade or business, diligently pur- sued is a more certain means of accumula- ting a fortune. In 1885 he returned to Ot- tawa, and in December embarked in the
bakery business, which he continued to carry on for about two years, then selling out to a good advantage. For the next three or four years he was the proprietor of a bakery at San Bernardino, Cal., returning east in time to enter a claim on the Wild Horse creek, ten miles southwest of Stillwater. He proceeded to develop a farm, and, during the five years of his residence there, transformed it into a very de- sirable place. He still owns it, and leases the place to responsible tenants. In 1892 he started a bakery in Stillwater, being the first practical baker engaged in business here. Once his shop was destroyed by fire, and his present quarters are commodious, light and well equipped for his trade. The building, which he owns, is situated on Main, near Eighth street, and the new brick ovens have a capacity of six hundred loaves daily. He employs two other bakers, and manufactures confectionery and ice cream, in addition to his regular line of bread and pastry goods.
In Ottawa, Kans., the marriage of Mr. Pear- son and Miss Sarah Moore took place in 1885. She was born in Franklin county, Kans., where her father, James P. Moore, was then carrying on a farm, but he later removed to this county, and died some time ago. The five children who bless the hearts and home of our subject and wife are named, respectively: Charles, James, Frederick, Catherine and Ralph.
G I
EORGE STEES, who is representing the first ward in the council of Stillwater, was nominated by his friends of the Demo- cratic party, though contrary to his wishes, and subsequently was elected by a good majority. He is serving as chairman of the finance com- mittee, and is a member of seven other com- mittees, including those on water-works and electric lights. The enterprise just mentioned is in process of construction, and its value to the city is beyond question. Mr. Stees is an intelli- gent, upright citizen, thoroughly concerned in the welfare of Stillwater, where he has been en- gaged in business for about seven years.
On both sides of the family. Mr. Stees is of German extraction. His grandfather Stees was born in Germany, and lived in Harrisburg, Pa., for many years prior to his death. His son, Rev. Elijah Stees, father of our subject, was born in Dauphin county, Pa .. and devoted the greater part of his life to the Methodist Episco- pal denomination. In the pioneer days of La Fayette county, Wis., he removed, with his fam- ily, to the vicinity of Darlington, and died dur- ing the first year of his residence there. His widow, Mrs. Margaret (Moor), was thus left with several young children to rear, and nobly did she perform the task. She, also, was a na-
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tive of Dauphin county, Pa., and her long and useful life came to a peaceful close in 1887, at Nora, Ill. Her sons were intensely patriotic, and two, Thomas and Elijah, enlisted and served in a Wisconsin regiment during the Civil war, while the subject of this sketch, who was only twelve and a half years old when Fort Sumter was fired upon, was nearly broken-hearted that he could not go to the defense of his country. Indeed, hie endeavored to enlist as a drummer- boy in the Thirty-first Wisconsin, but his mother refused to give her consent to this, feeling it impossible to allow her third, and youngest, son go to war. Thomas Stees now lives in Dubuque, Iowa, and Elijah is a resident of Omaha, Neb.
The birth of George Stees occurred November 2, 1848, in Harrisburg, Pa., and his youth passed quietly on a Wisconsin farm, his education being obtained in the district and public schools of Darlington. At seventeen he commenced driv- ing a stage between Waverly and Osage, Iowa, devoting about a year to that enterprise, and then farmed in the neighborhood of Nora, Ill., for a period. Returning then to Iowa, he carried on a farm near Coburn, and ran a meat market at Essex at the same time, and later was num- bered among the farmers and stockmen of Mo- nona county, same state, for three years. For a similar period he was engaged in merchandis- ing at Soldier, Iowa, after which he operated a farm in that locality for a year or more. Next we find him occupied in conducting a mercantile venture at Moorhead, same state, and later en- gaged in the cattle business at Woodbine, Iowa, for eight years.
In the spring of 1893 Mr. Stees came to Still- water, and in November purchased the market which he has carried on ever since. He owns the lot on Main street on which he built his substantial store. He also built a slaughter- house near the city, and in winter packs pork extensively. The plant is provided with a good refrigerating system, and modern machinery. He owns a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, and makes a business of raising hogs.
While living in Iowa Mr. Stees served as clerk of his township for four years, and was a school director for a number of years. He was initiated into the Masonic order at Essex, Iowa, and is a demitted member of Mount Lodge No. 360, A. F. & A. M., of that place. He always has taken great interest in educational matters and works of improvement.
The wife of Mr. Stees' early manhood bore the maiden name of Olive Miller. She was born in Ohio, was living in Red Oak, Iowa, at the time of her marriage, and died, a few years later. in Kansas. Of the two children born to this estimable couple, only one survives, Bert, who
is a graduate of the Nora (Ill.) high school, and is now associated in business with his father. The second wife of Mr. Stees was Miss Dora Isom, of Monona county, Iowa. She was born in Carroll county, Mo., and died about two years after her marriage. The lady who now bears the name of our subject was Frances Isom, a sister of his second wife, and their union took place at her home in Monona county, Iowa. Their three children, Blanche, Harry and Clyde, are students in the high school.
W. H. POFFENBERGER, cashier of the Bank of Tonkawa, is one of the well- known financiers of Kay county, and, while the period of his residence in Oklahoma has been comparatively brief, he has already risen to a position of influence that speaks much for the prospects of his future success. He came to the territory in 1898, from Marshall county, Iowa, and at once after his arrival organized the Bank of Tonkawa, which was capitalized with $5,000, and of which he was the first and has been the only cashier. His entire time is given to the banking business. In the invest- ment of money he has shown great caution, and his loans, which are principally on farm prop- erty, are made with a conservatism and keen judgment that renders them above par.
On the battlefield of Antietam, near the his- toric old Dunkard Church, Mr. Poffenberger was born in 1858, being a son of Alfred and'Har- riet Poffenberger, both natives of Maryland, and for years residents of Sharpsburg. He was six years of age when the battle of Antietam was fought, and their house being between the line of battle, the parents took the children along the Potomac for safety. The house was entirely destroyed by the soldiers and the homstead was left destitute and forsaken, so that the father was obliged to start over again. In 1873 he moved west to Marshall county, Iowa, and there he remained until his death, in 1895. His widow is still living in Iowa.
At the time Mr. Poffenberger settled in Iowa, in 1876, he was eighteen years of age. Soon afterward he embarked in the manufacture of brick, first as an employe, and later as the owner of a plant, which he conducted for some years. At the same time he dealt in real estate at Mar- shalltown. In 1893 he went to California, but after one year he returned to Iowa, and became a partner in the Farmers Bank of Melbourne, with which he was actively connected as an offi- cer until 1808, and in which he still holds stock. His years of experience in the banking business have given him keen discrimination. Ile is re- garded as one of the rising bankers of his county, where he is becoming well known. Fra-
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GUY GRAHAM, Blackwell.
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ternally he is connected with the Odd Feilows at Melbourne, Iowa, the Masons at Blackwell, Okla .; and the Knights of Pythias at Tonkawa. In 1882 he married Miss Mary H. Manwaring, by whom he has two children, Charles A. and Max A.
G I UY GRAHAM. Among the promising exponents of the law in Blackwell, none is held in higher esteem than Mr. Graham, who, though practically a newcomer to this city of glowing possibilities, has in a short time es- tablished a reputation for all-around reliability, enterprise and good fellowship.
A native of Madison, Ind., Mr. Graham was born in 1873, and is a son of J. M. and Emma Graham, also born in the Hoosier state. In 1879 the family took up their residence in Ma- rion, the county seat of Marion county, where the son grew to manhood, surrounded by refining home influences and public-school educational advantages. After graduating from the high school, Mr. Graham entered upon the study of law, as a possibly appropriate field for his future activity, under the able guidance of the firm of Carpenter & Dickinson. In due time he was admitted to practice in the supreme court of the statet of Kansas, in 1898.
The special ability of Mr. Graham received almost instant recognition, and among other evidences of the popular desire to give him a helping hand was his appointment as deputy sheriff of Marion county, which position he ably filled until January of 1900. While thus signally honored at the beginning of his professional career, the future prospects of Marion county were not of a sufficiently ambitious nature to warrant an indefinite residence there, the possi- bilities of the newly opened strip offering far greater inducements. Accordingly, Mr. Graham located in Blackwell in the early part of 1900, and entered into partnership with S. A. Jetmore. A more recent addition to the firm is A. T. Moss, the affairs of the firm now being conducted under the name of Graham & Moss, Mr. Jetmore having retired. A general law business is con- ducted, and the correct methods, fair dealing and successful outcome of the cases entrusted to them have been instrumental in securing a continually increasing patronage.
In political affiliation Mr. Graham is associ- ated with the Republican party, and is active and interested in all the undertaking's of his party. In July of 1900 he was nominated for county attorney on the Republican ticket, but was de- feated by a small vote. Mr. Graham is interested in all that pertains to the development and growth of his adopted town, and during his resi- dence here has made hosts of friends, who will
interestedly follow his advancement in profes- sional and social life.
JOSEPH M. STOCKTON. The Stockton family includes among its members many
who have been conspicuous in the early de- velopment of America, who fought with courage and fidelity as occasion demanded,and braved the dangers of residence among the red men. The paternal grandfather, Thomas by name, was a brother of that Richard Stockton who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independ- ence. Thomas Stockton was an old settler in Virginia, who later removed with Daniel Boone to East Tennessee, and located in Stockton Val- ley. There, among the lonely surroundings of the undeveloped country, with his nearest neigh- bor forty miles distant, this faithful pioneer reared his family and prepared the soil for the great yields of the future. His son, Robert, born in Stockton Valley, in 1806 settled in Illinois, and was among the very first white residents in the vicinity of Springfield. Up to the time of his death he retained vivid remembrances of life among the Indians, and in the early days was engaged in an encounter with these rovers of the plains, who still regarded the continent as their own. In this engagement the Indians were all killed, with the exception of one. Mr. Stockton was a courageous soldier in the war of 1812, and during a battle had the little finger shot from his left hand. He was a farmer during nearly all of his active and industrious life, but for a couple of years engaged in the manufacture of cow-bells, and found a ready market for his wares in all parts of the country.
The next in line of succession, Joseph M. Stockton, was born in Jefferson county, Ill., May 19, 1831. Until his twenty-first year he lived on the home farm, and from his father learned the trade of manufacturing cow-bells. After starting out in the world for himself, he also learned the carriage and wagon manufac- turer's trade, in the application of which he was engaged for nearly twenty-one years. During this time the Civil war broke out, and, in 1861, he enlisted in Company I, Forty-fourth Illinois Infantry. He participated in many of the im- portant battles of the war, and was in the en- gagement during which Fremont drove Price out of Missouri, Company I being in advance of Fremont. Then followed the battle of Pea Ridge, Cape Girardeau, the evacuation of Corinth, Prairieville, Stone River, Chickamauga, and in many minor skirmishes. At Chickamauga Mr. Stockton was wounded in the head. in the ear, and between the eyes with buckshot, and also received a shell wound in the back. He
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was taken prisoner and started on the way to Libby Prison, but managed to escape before reaching there, and made his way to the Union lines, at the head of Shenandoah Valley, in West Virginia, rejoining his regiment. Later he was under fire for sixty-seven days during the At- lanta campaign. He served his country for three years and forty-three days, and was discharged September 4, 1864.
After the war, Mr. Stockton resumed his trade in his old home in Illinois, and was a successful carriage and wagon manufacturer until 1870, when he removed to Howard county, Kans., and worked at the carpenter's trade. In 1887 he went to the Cherokee Nation and leased one hundred acres of land, which he broke and began to improve. He was subsequently obliged to dispose of this land owing to the unreliability of the Indians and their failure to keep to the contract. On the memorable opening day, April 22, 1889, he made the run, but did not succeed in locating a claim. In May, however, he lo- cated on the southwest quarter of section 27. township 18, range 3, which he has since im- proved to the satisfaction of himself and the sur- rounding agriculturists. Eighty acres have been broken out, and he has good buildings, fences and plenty of running water. Walter S., the son of Mr. Stockton, has a claim just south of his father's property.
In national politics Mr. Stockton is a Repub- lican, and cast his first Republican presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln. Previous to that ' he had been a Democrat. For the past five terms he has been a justice of the peace in his township. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, at Clayton. The marriage of Mr. Stockton and Julia A. Musgrave occurred in 1854. She is a daughter of Robert and Margaret Musgrave, of Illinois, and natives of Kentucky. Of this union there were five children; Osvold. who died in Oklahoma in 1895, and left a wife and three children; Theodore, who is a farmer in the territory; Walter S., who has a farm south of his father's land; Thomas S., who occu- pies a place south of that owned by Walter S .; and Eudora, now Mrs. McCall, who is living on the northern part of her fathers' farm.
C' HARLES H. MARTINDALE. Since he came to Tonkawa, Kay county, in March, 1894, Mr. Martindale has been engaged in the general mercantile business, and has aiso. as a citizen, promoted numerous enterprises of value to the village. When he opened his store he had only a small stock of goods, but during his first year he sold $Io,oco worth of stock, which was so encouraging that he increased his varieties of merchandise, and now has full lines
in every department. At this writing the trade amounts to about $50,000 annually, which is a remarkable showing, considering the compara- tively few years of his business career. Move- ments for the benefit of the town receive his cordial co-operation, notably that for the bring- ing of the Santa Fe road into the village, which enterprise had in him a stanch champion.
Though a native of Indiana, Mr. Martindale spent the years of his boyhood principally in Beloit, Mitchell county, Kans: At the opening of the Cherokee strip, September 16, 1893, he made the run across the border and entered a claim four miles northwest of Tonkawa, coming into the village in March, 1894. Here he built the first store building and opened the first gen- eral store. In 1899 he erected a substantial building, 24X112, which he has since occupied, and in which he carries a stock valued at about $10,000. Besides this building, he also put up two stores, 24x40, with a rear room; and erected a neat and substantial residence that he and his family occupy. Besides the management of his store, he superintends his wheat farm on the Tonkawa reserve, and is a stockholder and a director in the Tonkawa State Bank, which he assisted in organizing.
The fusion party receives the support of Mr. Martindale. He was the first trustee of Carlisle township, holding the office during the period of his residence there. Since settling in Tonkawa he served as city treasurer for two years. Fra- ternally he is connected with the Tonkawa Lodge No. 40, I. O. O. F., also the Fraternal Aid Association. In religion he is connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church of Ton- kawa. In March, 1890, he married Candace Bowker, who was born in Illinois. They have two children, Herman A. and Gladys R.
W ILLIAM S. PRETTYMAN. In the ranks of those who have been identified with the growth and progress of Black- well, mention belongs to Mr. Prettyman, who is a prominent pioneer and the owner of one of the finest homes in the city. He was born near the town of Princess Anne, on the eastern shore of Maryland, and is a son of Henry R. and Pauline (Anderson) Prettyman, both descend- ants of pioneer families of Maryland. Soon after the Civil war he accompanied his parents to Philadelphia. A few years later the father and mother went back to the eastern shore, but he remained in Philadelphia and took up the study of architecture. In 1881 he came west, settling in Emporia, Kans., but after a few months he removed to Arkansas City, where he took up photography. At first he was successful and invested considerable money in town property,
RUDOLPH KLEINER, Oklahoma County.
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but the decadence of the boom there caused him a heavy financial loss.
At the opening of the Cherokee strip, Sep- tember 16, 1893, Mr. Prettyman made the race and secured a claim south of Blackwell. He brought little with him, as he had been unsuc- cessful in Arkansas City. . However, he was energetic and determined, and did not allow a former failure to daunt him. Hence he has met with deserved success. He was chairman of the first meeting held in Blackwell, at the old tabernacle, at which steps were taken toward securing the county seat for Blackwell. He was also a charter member of the board of trade, which is now the Blackwell Commercial Club, and a member of its executive board, which has done more than any other organization toward making Blackwell a city. His interests here became so important that he sold his claim and established his home in a residence that he erected. He also completed the first two-story brick building in the city, and this he uses for his photograph gallery and for the display of artistic views and portraits.
Aware of the immense importance of Grst- class educational advantages, Mr. Prettyman has spared no pains to promote the school in- terests of Blackwell, and as president of the board of education he has been a very helpful factor in the establishment of the excellent sys- tem of training that characterizes the schools. He was one of a committee of three that met the committee from the Oklahoma Baptist Associa- tion and secured the location, in Blackwell, of the Baptist College, now in course of construc- tion. At this writing he is a member of the advisory board of the college. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias and is past master workman in the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
The marriage of Mr. Prettyman, which took place in Osage City, Kans., in 1885, united him with Emma Lamb. They are the parents of three sons, Ray, Donald and Ross.
R UDOLPH KLEINER. The people of Oklahoma need no introduction to Ru- dolph Kleiner, who has been the president of the Horticultural Association of Oklahoma (his own) county for several years, and also has held the important position of president of the Agricultural & Horticultural Association of the territory. Undoubtedly he stands at the head in the province of fruit culture, and his numerous interesting experiments along that line have been of untold value to the general public of this territory. He is extremely enterprising and am- bitious, sparing neither time, energy nor expense in demonstrating to himself and other horticul-
turists what this soil and climate is capable of producing in the realm of standard fruits.
Born May 3, 1843, Mr. Kleiner is a native of Mettnenstetten, Switzerland, as also were his parents, Henry and Katherine (Spinner) Kleiner. The family came to the United States in 1859 and settled in Cooper county, Mo., where they engaged in farming. Our subject had received a collegiate education in his native land, and has kept up his scientific studies to some extent in later life. He proved his devotion to his adopted country when, in 1863, he enlisted in Company D, Ninth Provisional Militia, of Mis- souri, and when he had completed his term of service, became a member of Company H, Forty-fifth Missouri Volunteer Infantry, and continued in the ranks until the Civil war was ended. He was in the battle, under General Marshall, at Jefferson City, where his opponents were Price's force, and in 1864 his regiment took part in the battle of Nashville. and thereafter was actively enmploved in guard duty or in skirmishes with the enetny. He accidentally re- ceived some injuries during his army life, but never was wounded in battle. Being honorably discharged and inustered out at Benton Bar- racks, St. Louis, June 29, 1865, he icturned home and resumed the ordinary routine of life.
For four years Mr. Kleiner gave his attention to the management of a stationary engine, but in 1869 he bought a farm in Missouri and con- ducted it until the autumn of 1873, when he moved to Texas, and there devoted himself to agriculture sixteen years. In June, 1889, he took up a claim in Mustang township, Oklahoma county, and in the following November brought . his family to their new home. He has been very successful as a general farmer and stock- raiser, and now owns one hundred and sixty acres of fine land here, besides leasing a quarter- section of school land, a large share of which is under cultivation.
Fifty acres of his property is given up to orchards and small fruits, of which he makes a specialty. He has traveled in all parts of this territory and immediate region, making a study of existing conditions of soil and climate and their relations to horticulture, and is the voluntary reporter on crops in the territory, to the United States authorities. He not only has all ordinary and valued varieties of fruit in his orchards, but has introduced many special kinds from Europe and other places, with a view to testing their apti- tude for cultivation in this zone. His services to the general public cannot be overestimated, for he faithfully gives them the benefit of his experiments, and is justly entitled to the high post of honor conferred upon him as president of the two organizations previously mentioned. He has been chairman of the board of county
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commissioners, and at present officiates in a like capacity in the county central committee of the Populists. The Grand Army of the Republic, to which he has long belonged, is much loved by him, and for some time he has been the adju- tant of John A. Logan Post No. 22, of Council.
In 1867 Mr. Kleiner married Eleanor Thomp- son, a native of Zanesville, Ohio, and a daughter of John Thompson, a pioneer merchant of Zanesville. Three children were born to this estimable couple, but only one, Ella, remains with them at home. Charilla became the wife of Daniel D. Kinchen, and lives in Caddo, Tex., and Katie, who married Mr. Edward A. Fightmaster, died February 7, 1898.
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