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 56
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September 4, 1887, Mr. Lockhart was united in marriage with Lena Tye, of Missouri, daugh- ยท ter of John H. Tye, a native of Kentucky. Of this union there have been seven children, Al- bert, Mary J., Bonnie, Bessie, Lucy, Eugenia and Georgie. In political affiliation Mr. Lock- hart is a Democrat.
Z ACH HILTON McCUBBINS is one of the interesting citizens and enterprising busi- ness men of Perry. Although now retired from active participation in commercial affairs, he is still a factor of wide influence in the com- munity, and has behind him a record of wisely- conducted enterprises and rare devotion to the public good.
The first of the McCubbins family to come to America located in Virginia, subsequently re- moving to Tennessee, where they became prom- inent and worthy pioneers. They were success- ful and patriotic, and many of them fought with courage in the Revolutionary and Indian wars. Z. H. McCubbins was born in East Tennessee July 5, 1826, and when but a babe was deprived of the future care and assistance of his father. When four years of age he was taken by his mother to Illinois, the journey being accom- plished by horse teams, and on a farm adjacent to the city of Paris he spent his boyhood days and received a fair education in the district schools. He was an ambitious and independent lad, and, when arrived at the age of nineteen. started out to face alone the responsibilities of life. The cattle business seemed to afford pres- ent scope for his energy, and he began to buy and drive cattle to Chicago, at that time but the nucleus of its present greatness. Stock yards were then but dimly outlined in the minds of the few thousand residents, and the bunch of cattle brought from down in the state were herded together on the prairies near the town and sold there. After the last animal had been disposed of, the youthful herder would return to his native heath and collect another lot for the market. In this way he managed to make two . trips a year, with considerable profit to himself.
Some time before the war Mr. McCubbins re- tired from the cattle business, and, with the
money thus accumulated, bought land in Jasper county, Ill., upon which he built a store and stocked it with the necessities of life in the coun- try. This small commercial beginning seemed as a magnet, for in time a town grew up around it, and the newcomers found it a cheery place to purchase their wares. In this town of Yaicville Mr. McCubbins continued his interests until the breaking out of the war.
In August, 1862, Mr. McCubbins calisted in Company E, One Hundred and Twenty-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry, at Mattoon, Ili., and was commissioned second lieutenant, later be- ing raised to the rank of lieutenant, and cvent- ually becoming captain. He fought in the Wilderness Brigade, and was wounded with a Spencer rifle. His service was most effective. and he fought with courage and fidelity during the entire war. His brigade went to the relief of Andersonville, and was instrumental in secur- ing the capture of Jefferson Davis. He was mustered out in Tennessee in 1865, and returned to his former home in Illinois. At Yaleville his ambition had outgrown the limits of the original store, and he built a larger one, and continued in the general merchandise business for nearly fifteen years, and was also interested in the rais- ing, buying and selling of stock.
His next location was at Bentonville, Ark., where he somewhat changed his habits of life and engaged in the nursery business. After four years he removed to Rogers. Ark., and again in- terested himself in a general merchandise en- terprise. In 1893 he took up his permanent residence in Perry. Within a couple of weeks he had started the erection of a store on the southwest corner of the square, consisting of two stories, and 35x60 feet in dimensions. Here he conducted a grocery business until 1898, when he sold out and retired, having earned a much-needed rest. He has also erected in the town of his adoption a handsome residence. which is in every way a credit to this prosperous and promising town.
In Jasper county, Ill., Mr. McCubbins was united in marriage with Mary F. Clemmons, a native of Kentucky, but who was reared and educated in Illinois. Of this union there have been four children, viz .: Callie, Mrs. Kraemer, who died in Jasper county, Ill .; Churchill H., a successful farmer of Noble county, Okla .; Avilla V., now Mrs. Hayes, of Arkansas; Pearlee, who was accidentally killed in Illinois, when seven years of age, by the kick of a horse. Mr. Mc- Cubbins is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and organized the General Thomas Post at Rogers, Ark. He is past commander of the post. He is prominent in church circles, and is identified with the Methodist Episcopa! Church, of which he is a trustee and treasurer,
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A Republican in national politics, he has been conspicuously identified with the undertakings of his party, especially in Illinois, where for many years he served as a supervisor. In Illinois also he was one of the organizers of the Chicago & Paducah Railroad, and from the start a direc- tor, which position he sustained for many years.
J. P. MARTIN, one of Oklahoma City's most successful and enterprising business men, is a retail lumber dealer, and has been identified with the lumber industry, in various states, continuously since early manhood. He was born in Waukesha, Wis., June 29, 1847, and is a son of Thomas and Margaret (Bradley) Mar- tin, and a grandson of John Martin, who was a farmer in Ireland throughout his entire life.
Thomas Martin was born in County Meath. Ireland, and in early life was a surveyor. Imme- diately after his marriage he emigrated to Amer- ica, settling in Waukesha, Wis. After remain- ing there for a few years he removed to Fond du Lac, Wis., where he purchased government land and engaged in farming the remainder of his days, dying at the age of eighty-three years. His widow was born in County Mcath, Ireland, being a daughter of William Bradley, a farmer in Ireland, and she now resides in Fond du Lac. Of seven sons and three daughters born to Mr. and Mrs. Martin all are now living with the exception of one son, our subject being the only one to locate in Oklahoma.
Reared on his father's farm near Fond du Lac, which he assisted in clearing, J. P. Martin re- ceived his early education in an old log school- house in that vicinity. He remained at home until he reached the age of twenty-one, when he began for himself. In 1867 he secured employ- ment in a saw-mill at Oshkosh, and one year later was placed in charge of the yard there. He next rafted lumber from Warsaw over the rapids of the Wisconsin river down to St. Louis. and. continued this during the summer months for five years, having charge of the rafts after the first trip. During the winter months he at- tended Fond du Lac Academy.
In 1881 Mr. Martin went to Eau Claire, Wis., and, after serving one year as tallyman in a wholesale lumber yard, held the position of head bookkeeper with the Empire Lumber Company for six years. He assisted in the organization of the Fort Scott Lumber Company at Fort Scott, Kans., of which he was made vice-presi- dent and manager .. He continued there until the opening of Oklahoma. April 22, 1889, when he 'started a branch vard of the Fort Scott Lumber Company in Oklahoma City. After conducting it for a period of one year he sold out and moved to Clinton, Mo., where he established and con-
ducted a branch yard for the Fort Scott Lumber Company until 1894. Having disposed of that business, he purchased the Clinton lumber yard, and successfully operated it until September. 1808. He then returned to Oklahoma City and established his present business at No. 303 West Main street, where he has extensive and well- stocked yards, conveniently arranged, and equipped with a complete stock of building ma- terials. He understands the business thor- oughly, being the most experienced lumberman in Oklahoma, and all of his transactions have been characterized by a display of shrewdness and sagacity.,
At Fond du Lac, Wis., Mr. Martin was united in marriage with Sarah E. Martin, who was born in that city, and is a daughter of John Martin. who was a farmer by occupation. This union is blessed with two children: Joseph Thomas . and John Francis. Mr. Martin is a member of the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin, the Fraternal Aid Society, the Woodmen of the World, and the Missouri and Kansas Lumber Dealers' As- sociation. In political affiliation' he is an un- swerving Democrat. He is a member of the congregation of St. Joseph's Catholic Church of Oklahoma City.
A. E. LUNDBERG, V. S. D., who is act- ively engaged in the practice of his chosen occupation at Oklahoma City, has been a horseman of prominence for many years, and has had an interesting career. He is weil-in- formed on all matters pertaining to his calling. and in former days owned valuable race horses. Born in Frankfort, Ky., he is a son of James Lundberg, and a grandson of Silas Lundberg. a native of Germany, who came to this country and settled in Pennsylvania, where he died. James Lundberg was born near Meadville, Pa., and settled in Kentucky, where he was engaged in merchant tailoring for some time. After dis- posing of his business, he engaged in breeding standard-bred horses on a farm four miles out of Frankfort, and raised some of the finest horses in that section. He moved to Iowa in 1885 and settled at Spirit Lake. During the Civil war he served in a Kentucky regiment in the Union army with much credit. He was united in mar- riage with Mary Ferguson, who was born in Kentucky, of Scotch descent, and comes of good old Kentucky and Virginia ancestry. They reared five sons and two daughters, all of whom are living.
A. E. Lundberg, the second child of his parents, was born June 20. 1856, and was reared in the Blue Grass country, receiving his e.luca- tion in the public schools. When but eleve.i years of age he began riding running horses,
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
and followed the circuit in Illinois and Wiscon- sin every season. At the age of nineteen years he began driving trotters, and raced all over the country, having horses of his own. He met with success, and always had fine horses, in 1886 having the well-known Newton B. and Demon- strator. In 1879 he moved to Denver, Colo., where he lived for ten years. While there he .entered the Toronto School of Veterinary Sur- gery, graduating from that institution in 1885 with a degree of Doctor of Veterinary Surgery. He engaged in successful practice in Denver, and each summer took his string of horses to the eastern states.
April 22, 1889, he came to Oklahoma City on the first train from the south, and here engaged in his occupation, in addition to following the races. September 16, 1893, he settled at Cross, on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, and erected a livery barn, which he conducted . until January, 1895. He then sold out and re- turned to Oklahoma City, where he entered upon a practice and conducted a boarding stable for some time. He has since disposed of the board- ing stable, but still retains his practice, his office being at No. 319 West Main street. Possessing a thorough knowledge of veterinary surgery, his practice has been attended by gratifying suc- cess. He now owns a fine two-year-old, Prince T., a grandson of Ignus Phalatus, whose record is 2:123.
Dr. Lundberg was united in marriage with Sadie Martin, who is a native of Illinois. They attend the Congregational Church. Fraternally he is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In political belief he is a stanch sup- porter of the Republican party.
OHN W. MEDEARIS. 'Of French ances- -
try, the Medearis family was first repre- sented in America by the paternal grand- father, Wilson F. Medearis, who was born in France, and crossed the seas to America about 1776. During the Revolutionary war he served with courage and distinction, and held the com- mission of captain under Lafayette. After the restoration of peace he settled in Norfolk, Va., and followed his trade of shoemaker until his deatii.
The father of J. W. Medcaris, Wilson F., was born in Virginia, and when grown to manhood removed to Tennessee, where he remained for a number of years. About 1847 he took his fam- ily to Greene county, Ill., which was then in a very crude and unsettled condition, and remained there for several years. He then went to Ray county, Mo., and in 1857 to Washington county, Ark., where he died in 1893, at the age of sev- enty-six years. During the years of his activity
he was a farmer. A man of deep religious con- viction, he was prominently identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church. His wife, Elwine D. Young, was born in Tennessee, and subse- quently became the mother of twelve children. nine of whom are living, two being in Okla- homa. Mrs. Medearis died in Arkansas, at the age of forty-five years.
J. W. Medearis was born in Knox county, Tenn., in 1846, and was reared in Illinois and Missouri. He went with his parents to Arkan- sas in 1857, and here completed his education in the public schools. His early life was practically uneventful until the breaking out of the war, when he enlisted in the Confederate army in Company B, Second Cherokee Regiment of Cavalry, under General Stamweighty and Colonel Adair. His service included Arkansas and the Indian Territory, and extended from a short time after the battle of Prairie Grove until the close of the war. He was wounded at the skirmish at Sugar Hill, Ark., and fought at the battle at Tabin, Ark., in the Cherokee Nation. His company surrendered in June, 1865, at Van Buren, and Mr. Medearis returned to Washing- ton county, Ark., and resumed his occupation of farming. In 1867 he removed to Lawrence county, Ark., and there engaged in farming and stock-raising until 1889, and also made a spe- cialty of horticulture.
On Christmas day of 1889 Mr. Medearis camne into the territory, and for a time lived at Pur- cell, locating on his present farm in Lexington township, Cleveland county, in June of 1890. He at once began the erection of a house and the general improvement of his land. He has since added to his possessions by the purchase of eighty acres on section 22, which makes one hundred and sixty acres in all. He here carries on a general farming, stock and fruit-raising enterprise, and has a good orchard of fifty-five acres, wherein is raised all manner of fruit grow- able in the territory. He is especially proud of his apples and peaches. Aside from his other property, he owns some land in Lexington, on which he built a house, which he rented for a time, but has since disposed of. In 1801 he was interested in the erection of the Medearis Cotton Gin, which he ran for three years, and which was probably the first gin built in Cleveland county.
Mr. Medearis and Elizabeth Munger were married in Lawrence county, Ark., in ISON. Mrs. Medearis is a cousin of George Munger, of Oklahoma county. Of this union there have been three children: James Clark, a farmer in Cleveland county: Mary, the wife of Frank Boydstun; and John A. In political affiliation Mr. Medcaris is associated with the Democratic party, but has never been an office-seeker. In
HON. A. J. BIDDISON, Pawnee.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
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the cause of education he has been much inter- ested, and helped to erect the first schoolhouse in Lexington township, at Willow View. Him- self and family are members of the Baptist Church, of which he is a deacon, and toward the support of which he is a generous contributor. He is deserving of great credit for the success which has come out of his efforts, and which is due entirely to his natural ability and capacity for work. He is one of the township's most en- terprising and valued citizens and is esteemed for his many excellent traits of attainment and character.
H ON. A. J. BIDDISON. Enjoying the dis- tinction of having opened the first law office and having the first case presented in the court of Pawnee, Hon. A. J. Biddison may justly claim precedence among the lawyers of this county-seat. But not upon such comparatively trivial matters does his reputation rest, though probably his alertness of mind and ability to seize opportunities are indicated by the instances cited. Naturally he is not slow in mastering the difficulties of any proposition, and, added to a comprehensive knowledge of the law, he is a speaker of considerable note, his arguments being advanced in a clear, earnest and convinc- ing manner. His service in the fifth general assembly of Oklahoma entitles him to the es- teem of the public, for he labored earnestly in the promotion of the interests of this future state, and fearlessly stood for whatever he be- lieved to be right and expedient.
The paternal ancestors of A. J. Biddison were English and Welsh. At an early date the Bid- disons were numbered among the colonists of Virginia, and in that state occurred the birth of our subject's grandfather and father. The former was one of the pioneers on the Musk- ingum River, in Ohio, there conducting and owning a mill and farm. The Rev. Jeremiah, father of A. J. Biddison, was reared in Ohio and educated in Oberlin College. For several years he was connected with the Southern Ohio con- ference of the Methodist Protestant Church, but since 1866 has labored in Kansas in the Meth- odist Episcopal conference. He has held pastor- ates at Ottawa, Olathe, La Cygne, Spring Hill, Centralia, Troy, Havensville, and now is located at Holton. His wife, Drusilla (Hull) Biddison, was born in Ohio, and is of English descent. Her ancestors took a prominent part in the carly American wars, and were honored citizens of New England. Her paternal grandfather was a pioneer in Ohio, owning a farm near Cincinnati. Only two of the children born to Rev. Jeremiah Biddison and wife survive. One, Rev. Valida II., in Emporia, Kans., served as chaplain of the
Twenty-third Kansas Infantry in the late Span- ish-American war.
The birth of Hon. A. J. Biddison occurred June 6, 1864, in McConnellsville, Ohio, and from his third year he lived in Kansas. When four- teen years old he commenced earning at least a portion of his livelihood, and at a very early age was placed in charge of a school, for he was an apt student, much ahead of his years. Upon the twentieth anniversary of his birth he was grad- uated with the degree of Bachelor of Sciences in Baker University, and subsequently pursued special courses in civil engineering and mental science. He filled the chair of mathematics and mental philosohy in Carleton Institute, at Farm- ington, Mo., from 1884 to 1886, acquitting him- self admirably.
In November, 1885, the young professor took an important step in life, as he then married Miss Adelia Steele, in Coffeyville, Kans. She was born in Illinois and was reared in Cam- bridge, that state. Soon after his marriage Mr. Biddison embarked in a journalistic career, and for about a year owned and edited the Clay Center (Kans.) Argus, one of the largest news- papers published in the state-an eight-page, eight-column weekly. Then, selling out, he re- moved to Wellington, Kans., where he became a part owner of the Daily and Weekly Press, of which Jacob Stottler was editor-in-chief. Eighteen months later he accepted a position as president of the Whittier College, at Salem, Iowa, and completed two school years there, resigning in June, 1890, in order to devote his attention to the practice of law.
Settling in Coffeyville, Kans., and being admit- ted to the local bar, Mr. Biddison was honored with election to the office of city attorney, serv- ing as such for two terms. September 16, 1893, he came to Pawnee, and in the following year was appointed United States Commissioner. That office he held for eighteen months, and since 1895 has been the United States Court Commissioner. He ranks well in the Pawnee County Bar Association and in the Territorial Bar Association, being district vice-president of the latter body. In 1898 he received the nomi- nation on the Republican ticket to the territorial council, and, though his party was in the minor- ity by about seven hundred, he was elected that year by a majority of eighty-nine votes. He was chairman of the investigating committee, and he also acted on the codification committee. Ile devoted much time and effort to the defeat- ing of needless legislation, and to the perfect- ing of the laws relating to banking and elections. To his generalship also must be attributed much of the honor of securing the Farmers' Insurance law. In the Odd Fellows order he is a past grand of the Pawnee Lodge.
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
J. J. SHAFFER. While conducting an ex- tensive hardware business in the prosper- ous and growing city of Stillwater, Mr. Shaffer has ever been mindful of the best inter- ests of the community, and has been connected with many of the most ambitious undertakings for its intellectual and material growth. Men of like ambition and enterprise have, from time immemorial, been the founders of the prosperity of their respective localities, and have seen, with clear vision, the latent possibilities within their borders.
On his father's farm in Indiana, where he was born in 1840, Mr. Shaffer grew to manhood, and was educated in the district schools. His parents, John C. and Sarah (Shaffer) Shaffer, although of the same family name, were not re- lated. They were born in practically the dawn of the century, 1803, in Pennsylvania and Vir- ginia, respectively. The father was a farmer and millwright, and in 1832 settled in Indiana, where the remainder of his useful life was spent.
The early surroundings of Mr. Shaffer were akin to those of thousands of other farmer lads. He learned to be an excellent farmer, and availed himself to the utmost of the opportunities for observation. He was married on the 13th of June, 1861, to Nancy L. Nixon, a daughter of
William Nixon. The same year the war broke out, and he enlisted in Company O, Thirty-first Indiana Infantry, at Anderson, Ind., and served for one year. He was eventually discharged at Camp Wickliffe, Ky. Upon returning to condi- tions of peace he engaged in the grain business at Lagro, Ind., and for three years bought and shipped grain on the Wabash and Erie canal. This same occupation was continued after his removal to Des Moines, Iowa, the grain being shipped to Chicago. After a time he undertook to learn the carpenter's trade, at which he worked for two years, and in 1871 removed to Franklin county, Neb., where he homesteaded and proved up on a claim. After six years of residence thereon the place was sold.
The next business venture of Mr. Shaffer was in the mercantile line, and the beginning of the occupation in which he has since been so suc- cessful. While running his hardware business he attained to considerable political importance in the neighborhood, and during his residence in Franklin county was the first probate judge elected by the Republican party. This position he was obliged to decline, owing to the demands upon his time from the pressure of business. In 1885 he removed his hardware interests to Lane county, Kans., and while there was appointed by Governor Martin one of the organizers of the county, and in the following fall he was elected one of the county commissioners.
At the memorable opening of the territory in
1889 Mr. Shaffer was among the thousands who practically demonstrated their faith in the unde- veloped country. He built the first store in Still- water, and from a comparatively small beginning has evolved a business which required a struc- ture 25x140 feet in dimensions. He carries the largest and most complete stock in the city and caters to a continually increasing trade. The responsibility incident to the conduct of such large interests is ably shared by his son, Curtis D., who is his partner. The marriage of C. D. Shaffer occurred in 1882, and united him with Mamie Munhall, a daughter of T. and Anna Munhall. Of this union there are three children. Harry, Ralph and Hazel, who are all at home.
Mr. Shaffer has built and occupied a very de- sirable residence on Lewis street, in Stillwater. and also owns another residence, which he rents. In politics he has always been in touch with the Republican party since he cast his first presiden- tial vote for Abraham Lincoln. In 1893 he was elected to the territorial council and served for one term. He has also served as mayor of Stillwater. Fraternally he is a Mason, having joined the organization in 1864 in Indiana, and is a charter member of Frontier Lodge No. 6, at Stillwater. He is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic Post at Stillwater. For twenty years he was a member of the Christian Church, and has given much time and money to the support of the church and has been promi- nent in religious circles.
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