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 62
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P. JACKSON is one of the progressive . and substantial farmers of Cleveland county, and has helped to place the locality in the prominent position which it occupies in the ter- ritory. His claim, located on the northeast quarter of section 8, township 8, range 2 west, is under a high state of cultivation, and is a source of pride to its owner. Unlike many who seek the newly developed soil for its promise of better things, Mr. Jackson had, in former years, accumulated some wealth, and upon reaching here was able to at once develop his claim to the
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utmost, and to erect a fine residence from the first. While engaged at the present time solely with the cultivation of his farm, he has had other interests in the territory, and in 1890 undertook with a partner to run a feed store, and later erected an elevator and mill. These were the first enterprises of the kind to be started in Nor-
quently removed to Jasper county, Ind., locating near the town of Rensselaer, where he is still en- gaged in the pursuit of agriculture, being now seventy-one years of age. He is a Republican in politics, and a consistent member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Tilbery, was born man. The feed store was run by Mr. Jackson . in Ohio, of German ancestry, a daughter of Stuf- for about three years and the elevator for a year. Since then he has lived on his farm, and aside from general farming and stock-raising, makes a specialty of fine fruit.
A native of Cedar county, Mo., Mr. Jackson was born November 21, 1843, and is a son of Dr. Josiah Jackson. Until his sixteenth year he was reared on his father's farm in Cedar county, and then accompanied his parents to Cooper county, Tex., where he grew to man's estate, and received a fair education in the public schools. When twenty-three years of age his lot in life was brightened by marriage with Rhoda Win- ton, of Grayson county, Tex., and a native of Cedar county, Mo. She is a daughter of J. C. and Margaret (Duncan) Winton, who were suc- cessful farmers in the localities in which they resided.
After his marriage Mr. Jackson continued to farm in Texas until 1873, when he removed to the Chickasaw country, near Erin Springs, and lived until the opening of Oklahoma. A Dem- ocrat in politics he is much interested in the tin- dertakings of his party, but has never been an office-seeker. Himself and wife are members and workers in the Methodist Episcopal Church South, of which Mr. Jackson has been a trustee and steward, and Sunday-school teacher. While living at Noble he became associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. During the Civil war he served in Company A, Wells' Texas Regiment, Walker's Division, and saw duty mostly in the territory. He participated in the battle of Prairie Grove and Newton, and was in several minor skirmishes.
T HOMAS E. DOWELL has been a resident of El Reno since June, 1890, and is widely and favorably known as an energetic, up- right business man, who, as a former alderman and a former chief of the fire department, has been actively identified with the growth and ad- vancement of the city. A native of Wabash / county, Ind., he was born March 23, 1853, a son of Eli Dowell. His father was born in · Pennsylvania, but in his boyhood removed with his parents to Wabash county, Ind., of. which they were early pioneers.
Choosing as his life work the independent occupation to which he was reared, Eli Dowell began farming in Wabash county, but subse-
fle Tilbery, who was a native of Pennsylvania, but removed to Ohio, and thence to Indiana, where he spent his closing years of life. Six children were born of their union, as follows: Thomas E., the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Mary Adaline Thomas, of Indiana; Mrs. Laura Ponsler, also of Indiana; William, a blacksmith in Huntington county, Ind .; Mrs. Lizzie Rice, of El Reno; and David A., a farmer in Indiana.
Thomas E. Dowell was brought up on a farm, receiving his education in the public schools of Wabash and Jasper counties, in Indiana. At the age of eighteen years he entered the black- smith shop of Mr. Ball, at Goodland, Ind., re- maining there a year. The following three years he worked at farming, then went to Rensselaer, where he served an apprenticeship of two years at the blacksmith's trade with Schindler & Rob- erts. Wishing to perfect himself in his trade, he spent the ensuing two years in Peru, Ind., in the shoeing shop of William A. Ventrouth, a professional horseshoer, who had received a diploma in Germany. In 1877 Mr. Dowell went to Kansas, locating at Fordham, where he car- ried on his trade two years. In 1883 he removed to Caldwell, Kans., where he commenced black- smithing on a modest scale, building first a small shop, which he soon found not sufficient for his business. Buying then a commodious brick shop, he continued there a few years, car- rying on an immense business, employing eight men, and keeping four fires going. He did work of all kinds, including wagon-making, working for the Fort Reno freighters, and for Evans, Vail & Co., proprietors of the stage line, his horseshoeing business alone being very large. He built a fine residence there, and remained until 1889, but as the boom that inspired the rushing business of the place had burst, he lost in the last three years all the wealth that he had acquired. He was quite influential while there in local affairs, having been a member of the city council four years, and foreman of Com- pany No. I in the city fire department two years, resigning the position on his removal from the city.
April 22, 1889. Mr. Dowell located in King- fisher, Okla., and, building, from lumber which he brought with him, a small shop, established himself as a blacksmith in that place April 24, being the pioneer blacksmith of the territory. Disposing of his property there in June, 1890,
GEORGE R. WILLET, Blackwell.
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he came to El Reno, and opened a smithy on Wade street, two doors from his present shop. In 1897 he erected the shop that he now occu- pies, on the corner of Choctaw and Wade streets, where he is very successfully engaged as a general blacksmith and repairer and wagon- maker, although he makes a specialty of horse- shoeing, his establishment being the oldest and best known in the city. Since becoming a resi- dent of El Reno, he has been prominently iden- tified with municipal matters, having served one term in the city council, representing the third ward, being chairman of the Fire and Water Committee. He was instrumental in the organ- ization of the fire department, in which he served at first as captain of Company No. I, and afterwards being chief of the department six years, resigning the position in 1898. having in the meantime changed it from hand-power to horse-power. During the time the city water- works were introduced and the present plant built.
Mr. Dowell was married in Hodgeman county, Kans., July 2, 1880, to Miss May Bald- win, a native of Iowa, and they are the parents of five children, namely: Eva; Floyd, an ex- pert accountant, now billing clerk for the Chi- cago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company at El Reno: Clyde, a clerk in a grocery store; Ethel and Effie. Mr. Dowell was made an Odd Fellow in Indiana, and is now a member of El Reno Lodge No. 7, of which he is Past Worthy Grand; and of El Reno Encampment No. 3, being Past Chief Patriarch. He was a charter member of Caldwell Lodge No. 3. A. F. & A. M., of Kansas, and is a member of El Reno Chapter No. 9, R. A. M. He is a strong supporter of the principles of the Republican party, and has served as a delegate to territorial conventions.
G EORGE R. WILLET. Previous to com- I ing to Blackwell in 1896, Mr. Willet had led a somewhat roving life, his occupation of traveling salesman covering a number of years and taking him into a large portion of the middle west. A native of Louisville, Ky., he was born November 23. 1863, and is a son of G. W. and Bell Willet, natives of Kentucky.
The mother of Mr. Willet was left a widow before her son George's birth, and the boy was thus the heir of a large farm in Missouri. When eleven years of age he left his native state and went to school in Greensburg, Ind., where he was educated in the public schools and graduated from the high school, and also from the Harvev Institute in 1880. He then went to Cincinnati and engaged as a clerk for about nine months. Then began a long association with Walter A. Wood, as traveling salesman, selling goods in
Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and the Dakotas. For two subsequent years he lived on his farm in Johnson county, Mo., and engaged in general farming and stock-raising, and also taught school during winter months.
Upon returning to the employ of W. A. Wood, Mr. Willet continued to represent his interests in the western states for eight years. At the end of that time he decided to try Oklahoma as a field of endeavor, and in February of 1896 came to Blackwell and opened a hardware and agri- cultural implement store. This enterprise has been attended by gratifying success, and, with the continually increasing demand, has grown to large proportions, in fact, the largest in this part of the west. To accommodate the enormous stock necessary for the supply demanded a build- ing has been erected 100X140 feet in dimensions. with sheds and yard 50x140 feet. There is also a warehouse 25x60 feet. These buildings have all been erected by Mr. Willet since he took up his residence in Blackwell.
In addition to the numerous responsibilities incurred in his regular business, Mr. Willet has a farm of a half section four and one-half miles north of the town, which is under a high state of cultivation, with fine house, barns, fences and all modern improvements. The barn is 50x56 feet. and the claim is devoted to general farming and the raising of cattle. Mr. Willet is president of the Blackwell Commercial Club. In politics he is associated with the Democratic party and in- terested in all of its undertakings. In 1897 he was elected councilman, and in 1898 was chosen mayor of the town. Fraternally he is connected with Lodge No. 19, K. of P., and is a charter member.
Mr. Willet has gained the confidence of his fellow townsmen to a flattering degree, and has in numerous ways evinced his deep personal in- terest in the welfare of the community and the upbuilding of his adopted town.
A. B. DUNLAP. Much of interest and in- 1. spiration is to be derived from a review of the careers of A. B. Dunlap and brother. A. J. (elsewhere represented in this work), for even in the West, where men ofttimes rise rapidly in the business world, some fea- tures of their lives are rarely equaled. With ap- parent case they transact an amount of business which would require at least six or eight ordi- nary men, yet so systematic are their methods that everything runs like clockwork. Known far and near as conservative bankers, great con- fidence is reposed in them by the general public and in the Territorial Banking Association they are honored members.
A son of Austin and Melissa (Betsinger) Dan-
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lap, the subject of this sketch spent his boyhood chiefly in Iowa, where he lived upon his father's homestead, assisting in the work of the farm. Such education as he obtained in his youth was acquired during the winter terms in the district schoolhouse, and thus experience and private study have been his best teachers. When only sixteen he left home and commenced earning his livelihood, and at nineteen entered upon his business life.
Making his headquarters at Ledyard, Iowa, A. B. Dunlap, in partnership with his eidest brother, embarked in the wholesale hay busi- ness, pressing and shipping that staple to differ- ent markets. Beginning on a small scale, they soon increased their facilities and year by year handled greater quantities of hay. By strict at- tention to the wishes of their customers, and by the exercise of every quality contributing to success, they laid the foundations of their future prosperity. In 1895 they embarked in the bank- ing business at Ledyard, the institution being known as the Dunlap Brothers Bank-a guar- antee of its success, as it appeared.
In November, 1897, the brothers came to Oklahoma, but it was not until February, 1899, that they disposed of their bank at Ledyard. In November, 1897, they started the Oklahoma State Bank, the brother as president, while A. B. Dunlap has been its vice-president. In De- cember, 1898, they organized the private bank of Holdenville, I. T., which was incorporated as the First National Bank of Holdenville in April, 1900, its capital stock being $50,000. At the head of this popular institution is A. B. Dunlap, while his brother is the vice-president. June I, 1899, the Washita county State Bank was or- ganized at Mountain View, Okla., with A. J. Dunlap as president and our subject as vice- president, and the same offices are held by them in the Valley State Bank, of Cloud Chief, Okla., which opened its doors for business in April, 1900. In the following June the Cotton Na- tional Bank, at Oakland, I. T., with a capital stock of $25,000, was founded, with our subject as its president and his brother as one of the directors. They also are members of the firm of Rankin & Dunlap Lumber Company, of Hol- denville. They are charter members of the Shawnee Club, and are Gold Democrats in polit- ical faith.
C. C. BROWN. The pleasing impression. that the appearance of El Reno invariably produces on the newcomer is in part due to the sound judgment and artistic tastes of the surveyors and architects who have assisted in laying out its streets and avenues and in erecting its public buildings and its residences. Promi-
nent among these men stands Mr. C. C. Brown, of El Reno, who is a professional architect and civil engineer, and the present county surveyor of Canadian county.
Mr. Brown was born February 3, 1862, near Belleville, St. Clair county, Ill., a son of William H. Brown. The father was born near Berlin. Germany, and grew to manhood in the Father- land. Emigrating from there to America, he settled as a farmer in Illinois, living in the vicin- ity of Belleville until 1869. Going thence to Kansas, he spent a year in Topeka, but in 1870 removed to Wichita, where he has since been successfully engaged in the transfer business. He married Charlotte Brinkmeyer, who was born in Germany, not far from the city of Ber- lin, and they are the parents of seven children, as follows: W. H., who is engaged in the har- ness business in El Reno; C. C., the special sub- ject of this brief sketch; Minnie, wife of John Enders, of Coffeyville, Kans .; Fred, also of Cof- feyville; Lewis, a merchant tailor in Wichita, Kans .; Mrs. Kate Williams, of Coffeyville; and Otto, of Wichita.
C. C. Brown acquired his preliminary educa- tion in the public schools of Kansas, in Topeka and Wichita. After his graduation from the Wichita high school, he learned the trade of a stonecutter, which he followed six years, the last four years of the time being spent in differ- ent parts of Kansas, Missouri and Colorado. While living in Colorado Springs, he erected a substantial residence and acquired a good busi- ness property, both of which he still owns. Be- ginning there the study of architecture, for which he had a natural inclination, he completed the course at the Academy of Architecture and Building, in St. Louis, Mo., receiving a diploma, and winning the third prize in a class of seventy- two competitors.
In 1893 Mr. Brown removed from Colorado Springs, which had been his home for five years, to Wichita, Kans., where he was employed as an architect for a year. In 1894 he located in El Reno, establishing himself as an architect and a civil engineer. In both of these professions he has since been successfully employed, hav- ing drawn the plans for many of the more im- portant buildings of the city, including many private residences besides his own. In the fall of 1898 he was elected county surveyor of Ca- nadian county, on the Republican ticket, having no opposing candidate, and in January, 1899. assumed the office for a term of two years. Since coming here he has had charge of the city en- gincering for El Reno, and has given universal satisfaction in the work.
In 1887, in Greenwood county, Kans .. Mr. Brown married Miss Jennie E. Beamer, a native of Ohio, and they have a son, Lorenzo. Polit-
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
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ically Mr. Brown is a stanch Republican, and does all that he can to advance the interests of , that party. Fraternally he' is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is con- nected with the Territorial Association of Civil Engineers and County Surveyors, of which he is the treasurer.
W ILLIAM J. DURANT. In the Civil war William J. Durant saw a great deal of hard service in the ranks of the Federal army, and abundantly proved his devotion to his country. His record as a soldier is such that he has reason to be proud of it, and many of his friends will take pleasure in perusing his history.
The parents of the above-named gentleman, John and Margaret Durant, were natives of Alsace, France, but as early as 1835 they came to the United States, and at once settled in Ohio, the father following the blacksmith's trade. The family continued to reside in Zanesville, Ohio, until 1857, when a removal was made to a farm in the locality.
William J. Durant was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, in 1844, and for thirteen years lived in Zanesville, where his father was em- ployed at his trade. From 1857 until the out- break of the Civil war he lived upon a farm, attending school in the neighborhood of his home. Though he was only seventeen when his country's foundations were threatened, he hastened to volunteer his services to the Union, and became a private of Company H, Sixty-sec- ond Ohio Infantry, October 7, 1861. One of his first battles with the enemy was at Kerntown, Va., March 23, 1862, and on the 24th of the fol- lowing May, while sick with typhoid fever in a hospital train, he was taken prisoner at Cedar Creek, Va. He was not exchanged until in the next November, and was unable to reach his regiment before May, 1863. A little later, July Io, he aided in the taking of the south end of Morris Island, and September 7, of the same year, helped to capture Fort Wagner. In No- vember he went to Hilton Head Island, and on New Year's day, 1864, re-enlisted in the same company and regiment, then going home on a veteran's furlough. He returned to his post at Fortress Monroe, and accompanied Butler's force in an attack upon Richmond, remaining in that locality until Grant's forces passed to the south of them, when they became part of the Army of the Potomac, acting as part of the right wing commanded by that great general. At Deep Bottom, August 16, the Sixty-second made a gallant maneuver, taking the works of the enemy in the face of a fierce fire, losing thereby sixty-four men, but scoring a success ere the foe was able to fire a second volley. Then
stationed on the south bank of the James his regiment spent some time in skirmishing, and September 29, 1864, fought the battle of Cha- pin's Farm, in the forepart of following month that of Darbytown Road, and October 14 lost heavily in an encounter about two miles from that point. Still later in the month a sortic was made and some fortification of the enemy, on the south bank of the river, recently lost by another regiment, was retaken by the daring Sixty-second. April 1, 1865, it joined the left wing of Grant's army. On the 21st his regi- ment formed-a skirmish line, advanced on Fort Gregg, went in the ditch around the fort, and remained one hour and five minutes until the colors of the Thirty-ninth Illinois came upon the field, when they took the fort, this being the last fort taken at Petersburg.
In a skirmish April 6 the colonel of the Sixty- second was wounded, and eight of his men were killed and wounded, and three days later, when moving eastward, over ground which the Union cavalry had evacuated, Gordon was encountered and his command cut the regiment to pieces, for fifty men were lost, and the rout was dread- fully disheartening to the boys in blue. News of Lee's surrender, however, swiftly came to them, and this was their last engagement. Our subject, who had faithfully stood at his post of duty throughout his service, was honorably dis- charged August 23, 1865, at City Point.
After this important chapter in the life of Mr. Durant had been closed, he soon took another very momentous step by wedding Miss Julia E. Longstrath, in March, 1867. She was a daugh- ter of Philip and Anna Longstrath, of Ohio, and the young couple continued to make their home in that state until 1881, when they re- moved to Jasper county, .Ind., and there the devoted wife and mother was called to her heavenly home, nine years later. In 1890 Mr. Durant married Miss Mary Alice Hurley, daugh- ter of Gilbert H. and Catherine Hurley, of Jas- per county. Eleven children were born to our subject's first union and only one of the num- ber is deceased, and by his second marriage he has two children.
In 1894 Mr. Durant came to Pawnee county, Okla., and located a farm on the southwest quarter of section 34, township 24 north, range 5 cast. The place is fairly well improved, and eighty acres are under cultivation, the remain- der being used for pasture land. Five springs of pure running water are on the place, and add much to its desirability. The owner is making a success of his business undertakings, and is much esteemed in his neighborhood.
Politically Mr. Durant is independent of party lines, voting as he happens to see fit at elections. Hle belongs to the Anti-Horse Thief Association
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and is greatly concerned in everything which relates to local progress. For several years he was an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic, while in Indiana. Both he and his wife are identified with the Catholic Church.
A. J. DUNLAP. Special aptitude for the . banking business has been manifested by A. J. Dunlap and his two brothers, who have accomplished a remarkable work within the past few years, and have won a place in the front ranks of western financiers. Sterling in- tegrity, decision of character and rare foresight are among their attributes and the secret of their prosperity. Only a few years ago, the sub- ject of this sketch was quietly pursuing the routine of farm work, as little expecting to take a prominent part in the affairs of the world of commerce as did his associates expect it of him, but gradually he rose from place to place, making the best of the opportunities within his grasp.
Perhaps from their maternal grandfather, who was an extensive farmer and a keen business man, the Dunlap brothers inherited their marked financial ability. The worthy gentleman re- ferred to bore the name of Peter Betsinger, and at his death left a valuable estate in New York, where he had dwelt for years. Born in Penn- sylvania, he came of a fine old family of that section of the Union. On the paternal side, Mr. Dunlap comes of an honored New England family of Scotch descent. His father, Austin Dunlap, was born in Oneida county, N. Y., and his mother, Melissa (Betsinger) Dunlap, also was a native of the Empire state. In 1860 Ans- tin Dunlap and family removed to Dane county, Wis., and located upon a farm near Madison. In the fall of 1864 they went to Story county, Iowa, where the mother died ere the new year. Later the family removed to Dallas county, same state, where the father died in 1887, at the age of fifty-three years. His son, E. F., a graduate of Simms Medical College, of St. Louis, Mo., is a practicing physician of Charles City, Iowa, and is the president of the First City Bank, of Ledyard, Iowa, and occupies a like office in the First City Bank of Fort At- kinson, same state. A. B., the youngest of the three children, is represented elsewhere in this volume.
A. J. Dunlap was born at Oneida, Oneida county, N. Y., June 12, 1857, was three years old when taken to Wisconsin, and four years later went to Iowa, in whose public schools he was educated. His advantages were not of the best, and his summers were spent in the arduous la- bors of the home farm. At the age of eighteen he volunteered as a private in Company K,
Second United States Cavalry, and served for a year, being mustered out and honorably dis- charged at Fort Steele in the spring of 1877. In the meantime he had been stationed at Fort D. A. Russell and at Fort Steele, and went on the expedition against Crazy Horse and his warlike braves, who were forced to surrender in the Big Horn mountains. Returning to Iowa, ·he spent a year at Perry, after which he em- barked in a mercantile enterprise at Gowrie, same state. In 1878 he went to Adair, lowa. and dealt in produce in wholesale quantities for two years, and then for a like period was a trav- eling salesman for a Des Moines firm. From 1882 to 1895, as a member of the firm of Dun- lap Bros., he was engaged in the wholesale ship- ping business, making a specialty of dealing in hay, in the meantime living in Webster City and later in Ledyard, Iowa.
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