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 61
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Mr. Williams married for his first wife an at- tractive maiden of the Caddo Nation, by whom he had eleven children, namely: Ella, who died
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in 1883; Margaret, wife of C. B. Campbell, of Minco; Amanda, wife of L. K. Brigham, of Kentucky; Charles S., who is in the cattle busi- ness in the Chickasaw Nation; Robert L .; Lucy, who died when a young lady; Lucetta, wife of William McCambell; Eva; Jessie; Aimee and Mabel. In 1894 Mr. Williams married Mrs. S. W. Romick, of Oklahoma City, a daughter of Henry Williams, who was formerly a well- known pork packer, in Indiana. Mrs. Williams lived in Indiana until seventeen years old, then went to Kansas, living first in. Independence, then in Coffeyville. She married for her first husband J. C. Romick, then a stockman in the Osage Nation, but a resident of Oklahoma City from 1889 until his death. Of their union two children were born, Ethel and John M. Ro- mick.
Within the last four years Mr. Williams has been mining in Park county, Colo. He has pat- ented claims and machinery on same at a town named Puma City, where he has town property, and several claims not patented. The winters he spends at his ranch on the Washita river, and the summers in Colorado, he having a comforta- ble residence in Manitou.
W TILLIAM J. McCORD is without doubt one of the most progressive and ener- getic citizens of Guthrie, and earned this rank on the first day that the. town was legally opened to the public. He has never faltered in his allegiance to his chosen city from that time to the present, and to him much of its prosperity and stability should be attributed.
The McCords are of Scotch descent, and for generations have been adherents of the Presby- terian denomination, our subject's father, James, having been an elder in his church. James McCord was born in Center county, Pa., and there was engaged in farming, also following his trade of wagon-maker. In 1854 he removed to Illinois, and located upon a farm situated be- tween Ottawa and Mendota. Later he dwelt in the vicinity of Mexico, Mo., on a farm which he purchased in 1867. He attained the ripe age . of seventy-three years, and is survived by his widow, formerly Sally Milligan. She, too, is a native of Center county, Pa., and on the 24th of December, 1899, she reached the age of four- score years. Three of her five sons were in the Union service during the war of the Rebellion, Thomas being in a Pennsylvania regiment, and a recruiting officer at one time; Dickey being first lieutenant of the Seventh Illinois, and Samuel L. being a sergeant in the same regiment. Thomas died at. Pittsburg, while Dickey resides in Morganville, Kans., and Samuel L. is a citi- zen of Audrain county, Mo.
The birth of William J. McCord took place March 23, 1854, in Center county, Pa., and until he was thirteen years of age he lived in Illinois, whence, in 1867, he accompanied his parents to Missouri. Having served a two years' apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade in Fulton, Mo., he took charge of a farm near Mexico, Mo., for a period, and in 1886 went to Mulvane, Kans., where for three years he was engaged in contracting and building. On the 22nd of April, 1889, he came to Guthrie on the first train arriving here from the north after the legal opening of the territory. He located a residence lot at the corner of Third and Springer streets the same day, and at once put up a rude hut, but this he supplanted during the summer by a substantial house, which for a long time was the best in that part of the town. The day following his arrival here, he made contracts with eight or ten carpenters who had accompanied him and at once commenced the building of the old Guthrie Hotel, which stood on Second street. The first lumber unloaded from a train here was used in the construction of this hotel, and he employed a force of forty men day and night until the work was completed. He now resides on a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres, situated on section 34, Lawrie township. This homestead, which he has owned since 1890, he has carefully superintended, and he has reason to be proud of the place, which is a model coun- try-seat. He has given his chief attention to contracting and building, and has prospered, as he richly deserves. He superintended the build- ing of four schoolhouses here, erected at a cost of $48,000; had the contract for the building now used for the sessions of court; and, among others, put up the Royal Hotel, the Goodrich and Beehive buildings, the Rush, Schuell and Dewey blocks, two of Weinberger's blocks, part of the Gray and Victor buildings, and several warehouses. The Presbyterian Church, the fin- est house of worship in the city, is one of the best monuments to his skill. Every building with which he has been identified bears the im- press of stability, integrity and intelligent work- manship. He takes great pleasure in his farm, where he raises a large variety of crops and a good grade of live stock, and he also is a stock- holder and director in the Guthrie Creamery Company.
In Missouri Mr. McCord married Miss Mag- gie Moore, who was born in Utica, Ohio, a daughter of D. Q. A. Moore, a farmer of that state and later of Missouri. The only son of our subject, and wife is Quinn William McCord, and their only daughter, Gertie, died February 10, 1899, at the age of sixteen years. The family attend the First Presbyterian Church, Mr. and Mrs. McCord holding membership there. He is
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a member of the Woodmen of the World, and politically is a Democrat. Interested as he is in all public matters, he has served as a school director and as treasurer of Lawrie township, acquitting himself to the satisfaction of all con- cerned.
A. L. NICHOLSON, who is identified with a number of successful business ven- tures, has engaged in dental practice in El Reno since 1890. He was born in Independ- ence, Iowa, July 4, 1870, and is of English de- scent, his great-grandfather, who was a Quaker, having come to this country from England and settled in Pennsylvania. His grandfather, Dan- iel Nicholson, was born in Pennsylvania, and was an early settler in Washington county, Ohio. In 1848 he became a pioneer settler of Linn county, Iowa, in which locality he died at the age of ninety years.
J. S. Nicholson, the father of our subject, was born in Washington county, Ohio, and went with his father to Iowa. He graduated from the University of Iowa, and then studied dentistry under Dr. Tullus, of Iowa City, after which he practiced his profession at Independence, Iowa, for six years, then at Denison, Iowa. Next he took up the study of law, was admitted to the bar and practiced at Denison for many years. Finally he removed to Ainsworth, Neb., on ac- count of poor health, and engaged in stock- raising and farming. Upon recovering his health he settled in Gordon, Neb., in 1887, and was there interested in real estate and the newspaper business for a time, after which he resumed the practice of dental surgery. In 1890 he lo- cated at El Reno, Okla., where he entered into partnership with his son, under the firm name of J. S. & A. L. Nicholson. The partnership has since continued, although he is now prac- tically retired. He was united in marriage with Margaret Gertrude Young, who was born in Pennsylvania, and is a daughter of George Young, also a native of that state, who became a pioneer of Buchanan county, Iowa. Her great-grandfather came from Holland and es- tablished the family in this country. Three children were born to Dr. and Mrs. Nicholson, two of whom are now living, namely: Arthur L., and Daniel A., a stenographer for the Bone- brake Hardware Company, at El Reno.
Arthur L. Nicholson was reared in Denison until eleven years of age, and in 1881 went to Ainsworth, Neb., where he attended the public and high schools, graduating from the latter in 1887. He then began the study of dentistry under his uncle, and in 1890 located in El Reno, where he and his father have since practiced to- gether. They have a very extensive practice,
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and have an office in the First National Bank building. He took a post-graduate course in the Chicago College of Dental Surgery, receiv- ing a diploma in 1897. He is interested in the Mount View Town Site Company, of which he is a director and one of the promoters. In addition, he is interested in the Gresham Vitri- fied Brick Company, of which he was an incor- porator and is now secretary. The company has a steam plant, which is located two and one- eighth miles from El Reno, and has a capacity of seventy-five thousand bricks per day. He also owns some city property in El Reno.
At Paris, Tex., Dr. Nicholson was joined in marriage with Roberta Virginia Gresham, a native of that place. They have two children: Mary Annette and Margaret G. Fraternally Dr. Nicholson is a member of the Knights of Pythias, of which he is past chancellor; Knights of the Maccabees, of which he is record-keeper; and El Reno Club. His wife is a member of the Christian Church. Politically he is a Demo- crat. He is a charter member of the Oklahoma Dental Association.
R UFUS W. SMITH is numbered among the extensive landholders of Oklahoma county, and, with his estimable wife, occupies an enviable place in the best social circles of Mus- tang township. They are people of education and culture, and with the public spirit of the patriot, they take great interest in the advance- ment of the community in which they have come to dwell, and are faithfully bearing their due part in the great work of progress.
The old chivalrous blood of the South flows in the veins of our subject, who is a native of Tennessee, as were his parents before him. His father, E. S. Smith, removed with his family to the prairies of Illinois in 1850, when Rufus W. was a child of four years, and there, with the wife and mother, formerly Miss Mary Wintin, he spent many years, during which time they developed a valuable farm.
The birth of R. W. Smith occurred in 1846, and in his boyhood he received a good educa- tion in the practical branches of knowledge, and ere arriving at maturity he was familiar with agriculture in its varied departments. For twenty years he was engaged in the tilling of the soil in McDonough county, Ill., and in Nebraska, but when it became known that Okla- homa was to be thrown open to white settlers, he concluded to try his fortunes in this productive country. Accordingly, he came to this region in 1891, and bought a farm in Mustang town- ship, and later, as financial success smiled upon his labors, he invested in additional land, until, at this writing, he is the owner of about six hun-
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JUDGE J. D. F. JENNINGS, Tecumseh.
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dred acres. As a raiser of wheat lie has be- come widely known and a specimen of the kind styled "Fultz," grown on his land here, was awarded premiums at the World's Fair in Chi- cago in 1893. He also makes a specialty of raising Duroc Jersey Red hogs, and has no diffi- culty in disposing of them at the highest market prices for high-grade stock. He feeds and ships live stock extensively.
On the 30th of January, 1892, Mr. Smith mar- ried Alice Lane, in Chicago, the daughter of Richard Lane, a native of Ohio, and one of the honored early settlers of Illinois. He was a carpenter and cabinet-maker by trade, and his residence in the Prairie state dates from 1853. Mrs. Smith obtained a liberal education in the public schools of Illinois, and then for two years she was engaged in teaching. Desiring to per- fect herself in certain branches, she attended the Cook County Normal School in Chicago, and in 1891 was graduated in that excellent in- stitution of learning.
Five daughters came to bless the hearts and home of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, but death entered the happy circle, and removed the eldest, Mary Helen. Those living are named, respectively, in order of birth: Alice Katharine, Freda Wintin, Estel Lane and Eva May.
J UDGE J. D. F. JENNINGS. For four years the probate judgeship of Pottawatomie county has been dominated by the strong and substantial personality of Judge Jennings, who has evolved a record worthy his sound and discriminating judgment, and the years of expe- rience which preceded his activities in the newly opened territory. Since taking up his residence in Tecumseh the wise and impartial decisions handed down by him have won encomiums of praise from bench and bar, and have built up a reputation for fairness as admirable as it is rare. It is worthy of mention that of all the cases tried before him, while there have been appeals taken, there was but one reversal, and that reversal was subsequently proved to be wrong.
A native of Tazewell county, Va., Judge Jen- nings was born April 23, 1830, and is a son of William R. and Mary (Chapin) Jennings. At a very early age this farmer's son evolved large schemes for future independence, in the carrying out of which he has more than realized the prom- ise of his youth. While devoting the more ma- ture years to a mastery of the exact and unchang- ing science of law, he erected a partial foundation upon a profound knowledge of medical and surgical science, and was first of all an educator of broad and liberal views. At the age of four- teen, when inost boys are still immature in thought and judgment, he had formulated a plan
whereby he might qualify as a teacher, and when twenty years old began to teach in Virginia, later following the same occupation in Ohio and Kentucky. During the eight years thus employed the study of medicine was engrossing the spare hours, culminating in his graduation from the University of Virginia in 1855. In 1861 he entered the Confederate army as sur- geon of the Sixty-first Tennessee Infantry, and was captured with his regiment at Vicksburg. After being paroled, he was allowed to return home, and remained there until after the sur- render of General Lee.
With the cessation of hostilities, Dr. Jennings repaired to Williamson county, Ill., and at Marion, the county seat, practiced medicine and began the study of law. Subsequently, upon being admitted to the bar, he was permitted to practice in all county and state courts in Illinois, and also in the supreme court. A natural in- clination was to abandon the medical for the legal profession, and in the pursuit of this desire Mr. Jennings returned to Virginia, and was suc -. cessfully engaged in the practice of law for a number of years. A later venture was in Fort Scott, Kans., from where, after a few years, he removed to Las Animas county, Colo., and prac- ticed in the courts of Trinidad until the open- ing of Oklahoma.
In June of 1889 Mr. Jennings came to Okla- homa, and at first located in Kingfisher county, where for a year he practiced law. He was ap- pointed first probate judge of Woodward county by Governor Renfrow, and was later elected to succeed himself. In 1895 he removed to Shaw- nee, and in 1896 was nominated probate judge, elected, and re-elected in 1898. This position was the result of the valuable services rendered by Judge Jennings, and entirely independent of any desires on his own part for the honor.
Judge Jennings has been twice married. In Smith county, Va., he was united with Mary R. Scates, a native of that county. Of this union there were seven children, five of whom attained maturity, and four are now living. John is a clerk in the probate court of Pottawatomie county; Frank and Alphonso are attorneys in El Reno; Edward, who died at Woodward, Okla., was also a lawyer, and left one son, John- nie. Mary, our subject's only daughter, is the wife of Austin Eggleson, a farmer near Kingfisher. Mrs. Jennings died in Ohio. In Comanche county, Kans., Judge Jen- ning's married Mattie Holt, and of this union there are no children. In national politics Judge Jennings is a stanch Democrat, and is known as the "old war horse" of Pottawatomie county. Fraternally he is associated with the Masonic order, having taken the third degree in Vir- ginia. At Marion, Ill., he became a Royal Arch
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Mason, and a member of the Grand Council, and still retains that membership. He has filled all of the offices in the chapter degree.
W ILLIAM MORTIMER JORDAN, pro- prietor of the Oklahoma Foundry and Machine Works, has been engaged in this line of work since boyhood, and owns the pioneer foundry and machine shops of the terri- tory. He is a well-known resident of Oklahoma City, and enjoys the respect and esteem of a large circle of acquaintances.
Mr. Jordan was born at Watertown, N. Y., April 3, 1837, and is a son of John and Clarissa A. (Tuttle) Jordan. He is of English descent, his grandfather having been master mechanic to the Earl of Mortimer in England. His fam- ily have all been of strict Presbyterian faith. John Jordan was born in England and came to America when fourteen years of age. He learned the trades of a founder and machinist at Montreal, Canada, binding himself out for seven years. Having thoroughly mastered the busi- ness. he settled in Watertown, N. Y., where he worked at his trade and built the first circular saw mill used in Canada. Later he returned to Belleville, Canada, and established a foundry and machine shop. In 1859 he removed to Lex- ington, Mo., and lived in retirement. In 1868 he was accidentally shot and instantly killed by a friend. Fraternally he was an Orangeman, Knight Templar Mason and an Odd Fellow. He was united in marriage with Clarissa A. Tut- tle, who was born in Watertown, N. Y., and was a daughter of Theodore Tuttle, also born in Watertown. She died at Eau Claire, Wis .. in 1897, aged seventy-seven years. Six children blessed their home, one son and five daughters; so far as known, all are living but one daugh- ter.
The oldest child in the family, William M. Jordan, was reared in New York and Canada, receiving his education in public schools. He learned his trade in part under his father, and completed it at Watertown, in the engine works of Ford & Son. In 1857 he went to Grand Haven, Mich., where he was employed by the Montague Foundry and Machine Company for two years. Going, in 1859, to St. Louis, he worked at his trade until 1860, when he sctiled in Lexington, Mo. After the war started, he engaged in business for himself. With but $90 in money, he established a small business, which grew with remarkable rapidity. He manufac- tured plows and engines, the latter being from ten to one hundred and fifty horse-power. In the manufacture of engines he was particularly successful. In ISSS he sold out and moved to
Kansas City, where he established a foundry and machine shops, with George Leas, the firm name being Jordan & Leas. In 1891 he sold his interest and again started for himself, but in 1893 sold out to the Belt Line Railroad Com- pany. Immediately thereafter he located in Oklahoma City, purchased new tools and ma- chinery, and started the first foundry and ma- chine shop operated in the territory. He built his present building, 180x190 feet, at the foot of Broadway, equipped it throughout with mod- ern machinery, and has since been located here. He manufactures well-drilling machinery, en- gines and elevators, and does structural iron work and general jobbing. His business has constantly increased since its inception, and the plant is one of the reliable industries of the city.
Mr. Jordan was united in marriage with Caro- line Foster, who was born in Washington county, Kans., and is a daughter of George Fos- ter, an early settler of that county, who served in a Kentucky regiment during the Civil war. In Lexington, Mo., Mr. Jordan served two terms as councilman, and was offered the nom- ination for mayor, but declined. He is a mcm- ber of the Society of Mechanical Engineers of Kansas City. In politics he is a Democrat. In religious faith his wife is a member of the Christian Church. They occupy a comfortable residence on the corner of First and Robinson streets.
H ON. J. W. JOHNSON. Whatever else may be said of the legal fraternity, it can- not be denied that members of the bar have been more important actors in public af- fairs than any other class of American people. This is but the natural result of causes which are manifest and require no explanation. The ability and training which qualify one to practice law also qualify him in many respects for duties which lie outside of the strict path of his pro- fession and which touch the general interests of society. The subject of this record is a man who has brought his keen discrimination and thor- ough wisdom to bear not alone in professional paths, but also for the benefit of the community in which he resides.
. Mr. Johnson was born in the late '40s, near La Grange, Mo., and is the only child of Don Q. and Elizabeth (Rogers) Johnson. The father was born near Parkersburg, Va., and was a son of Thomas Johnson, also a native of the Old Dominion, and an early settler of Ohio, when he removed to Lewis county, Mo., about 1840. He died at Palmyra, that state. He was an offi- cer. in the war of 1812, and was the son of a Revolutionary hero, who was born in England,
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and on his emigration to America first settled in North Carolina, but later moved to Virginia. The father of our subject was reared in Ohio, and in early manhood moved to Missouri, be- coming a farmer and stock dealer of Palmyra, Marion county, where he died in July, 1861. He was never a slave-owner, and was a strong Union man. He was a member of the Christian Church. The mother of our subject died in Illinois. She was born in New York City, and was a daughter of Sanderson Rogers, who was born in England, of Scotch descent, and was a merchant of New York City for some time, but later became one of the early settlers near Athens, Ohio, where he owned a large tract of land.
The early education of J. W. Johnson was ac- quired in the schools of Palmyra, Mo., and he later attended Bethel College, a Baptist institu- tion. He was a mere boy when the Civil war broke out, but in September, 1863, he joined the boys in blue, enlisting in Company D, Seven- teenth Illinois Cavalry. He was mustered in at St. Charles, Ill., and was sent to Missouri to take part in the guerrilla warfare. He was in the battles of Independence, Westport, and the Big and Little Blue, and was later on de- tached duty at St. Louis, where he was mus- tered out December 2, 1865.
Returning to his home in Palmyra, Mo., he engaged in teaching and studying law for a time, and in 1870 he removed to Barry, Pike county, Ill. He taught in El Dara and New Canton, and in the fall of 1873 was elected su- perintendent of public schools in Pike county, in which position he served for four years, mak- ing his home at Pittsfield. He refused a renomination. He had been admitted to the Illinois bar in 1874, and on his retirement from office, in 1877, he turned his attention to the practice of law at Pittsfield. He was elected states attorney in 1880 and filled that position for four years. In the fall of 1884 he was elected to the state senate on the Democratic ticket for the full term of four years, being a member of that body during the senatorial con- test of Morrison and Logan in 1885, and Mor- rison and Farwell in 1887. In July, 1887, he was appointed special attorney in the treasury department of the United States, and came to Indian Territory to take evidence in Indian mat- ters.
In February, 1889, Mr. Johnson resigned his position, and the following July removed to Oklahoma City, where he has since suc- cessfully engaged in the practice of law, being one of the most noted criminal lawyers in the territory. Since September, 1898, he has had an office in Purcell, I. T., as a member of the firm of Johnson & Carter (the latter being the
author of the Indian Territory code). He also practices in the United States courts.
In Palmyra, Mo., Mr. Johnson was united in marriage with Miss Margaret Nichol, a native of Norfolk, Va., and a daughter of Henry and Catherine Nichol, who were of French and Ger- man descent. She was educated in the ladies' branch of St. Paul's College, Palmyra. Our subject and his wife are the parents of five chil- dren: Nina E., a graduate of the high school of Pittsfield, Ill .; Leta J., who also graduated from that school, and is now the wife of S. S. Price, of Oklahoma City; Allie, who died in Oklahoma City in 1895; Albert Sidney, who was second lieutenant in Troop M, Roosevelt's Rough Riders during the Spanish-American war, and is now a dentist of Oklahoma City; and James Irvin, a resident of the same place.
Politically Mr. Johnson has always affiliated with the Democratic party, and he has taken a very influential and prominent part in public af- fairs. In 1896 he was unanimously nominated as a candidate for the territorial council (or sen- ate) by both the Democrats and Populists, and was elected. During the session of 1897. he was unanimously chosen president of that body, and took a very important part in its work, drawing up many bills and working hard for their suc- cess. He took an active part in organizing the Democratic party of Oklahoma, and has always labored untiringly for the interests of his party. Religiously he is a member of the Christian Church. He was made a Mason in the blue lodge at Pittsfield, Ill., in which he still holds membership, and also belongs to Oklahoma Chapter No. 7, R. A. M .; Oklahoma Command- ery No. 2, K. T .; India Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S .; and the Grand Army of the Republic in Illinois. He is an honored member of the Terri- torial Bar Association and the bar of Kansas and Missouri. Prominence in his profession comes through merit alone, and the high posi- tion which he has attained attests his superiority. He is a pleasant, affable gentleman, who makes many friends, and is quite popular both in busi- ness and social circles.
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