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 70
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William E. Gorton received his education in the public schools of New York and at Eau Claire, and also studied at Bryant & Stratton's Business College, in Milwaukee, Wis. From boyhood up he had familiarized himself with the millwright and milling business under the able tuition of father and brothers, and for a time continued the trade independently. He then engaged as a contractor and builder of flour mills at Eau Claire, and was also interested in
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civil engineering and surveying. In 1884 he changed his field of operation to Chicago, Ill., where he became draughtsman in the mill ma- chinery manufactory of Chesholm Bros. & Gunn. While here he patented a flour dressing and grain reducing machine. In 1885 he be- came identified as draughtsman with the Bar- nard & Leas manufactory at Moline, Ill., and was thus occupied for four years. In the mean- time his inventive ability had not been idle, and he turned out several mill patents and improve- ments. In 1889 he removed to Warsaw, Iowa, and entered upon the manufacture of his own mill machinery under the firm name of Maish & Gorton Manufacturing Company, which en- terprise was successfully carried on until 1894. At this time Mr. Gorton sold his interests and patents and several months later located in Ingalls, Payne county, Okla.
In accord with the enterprise everywhere manifest in the territory since the opening, Mr. Gorton applied his ability to the advantage of his locality, and erected the first and third mill in Payne county, which was steam operated and had a capacity of sixty barrels. Believing that he saw greater possibilities in a residence in Pawnee, he removed hither in 1897, erected new buildings, enlarged and brought his ma- chinery from Ingalls. This mill has a capacity of one hundred barrels, and machinery of fifty- horse power. Among the different grades of flour manufactured at this plant are the Pride of Pawnee, Daisy, Pawnee Princess and several others. The mill turns out also corn meal and feed of all kinds. The elevator has a capacity of fifteen thousand bushels, and the transporta- tion facilities are excellent, owing to a switch from the Santa Fe road. Mr. Gorton's inter- ests extend beyond the limits of his mill, as he is engaged in the wholesale and retail coal busi- ness and is a general grain dealer. His pro- gressive influence is felt in other parts of the ter- ritory, for he owns considerable real-estate in Stillwater, and in the fall of 1900 built an ele- vator there with a capacity of ten thousand bushels, and where he conducts a wholesale flour and feed business. In 1898 was incorpor- ated the Pawnce Mill Company, with William E. Gorton, president; Mrs. Gorton, vice-presi- dent; Newton E., secretary, and Dr. R. M. Carr, treasurer. Dr. Carr, the son-in-law of Mr. Gor- ton, was born in Whiteside county, Ill., and is a graduate of the Bennett Medical College, of Chicago, class of 1884, but at the present time devotes all of his attention to his position as treasurer of the mill company.
In Eau Claire, Wis., occurred the marriage of Mary Livermore and Mr. Gorton. Mrs. Gorton is a practicing physician in Pawnee, and is a graduate of the Bennett Medical College of
Chicago. She occupies a prominent profes- sional and social position in the territory. To Mr. and Mrs. Gorton have been born three chil- dren-Mary, is a graduate of the high school at Blue Island and at Moline, Ill., and also a grad- uate of the Indiana Commercial College at Dav- enport. She is the wife of Dr. R. M. Carr, and is now treasurer of the Federation of Woman's Clubs of Oklahoma and Indian Territory. Newton Eddy is a graduate of the Warsaw high school, and is now attending the Oklahoma University at Norman; Willard Livermore is also attending the University of Oklahoma.
Mr. Gorton is a Republican in national politics, but holds exceedingly liberal views regarding officeholders. Fraternally he is associated with the Masonic order, Lodge No. 17, at Pawnee, also a member of Pawnee Commandery No. 7, K. T., and has taken all the degrees in the York Rites. He is a charter member of the Pawnee Commercial Club and of the Oklahoma Grain Dealers' Association.
M ARTIN GERBER, one of the valued sales- men employed by Newell & Ross, dealers in farm machinery, resides on his well- improved farm, which is situated about five miles east of Enid, county seat of Garfield county. He was named in honor of his paternal grand- father, and his parents were natives of Switzer- land, passing their entire lives in that country, where the father was a blacksmith and owned and carried on a farm.
The birth of Martin Gerber occurred April 5, 1849, in the same locality where his parents were born. He is one of four brothers and sis- ters (one deceased), and is the only member of the family in America. He attended the public schools until he was deemed to be of an age when he should begin learning a trade. Ac- cordingly he went to Biello, Piedmont, Italy, and devoted four years to the baker's and con- fectioner's calling, becoming an expert workman and commanding high wages.
In 1869 Mr. Gerber made an important deci- sion, and, crossing the Atlantic, became a citizen of Dubuque, Iowa. For a period he was em- ployed at his trade, and then turned his attention to farming, carrying on a homestead in Du- buque county. In 1871 he located in Monroe county, Iowa, and for seven years managed a farm there, subsequently removing to another one in Ringgold county, same state. He won the esteem of his neighbors wherever he dwelt. and for some time acted as township assessor in Ringgold county, where he made his home for nine years. In 1887 he went to Greeley county. Kans .. and embarked in a merchandise busi- ness at Tribune, but at the opening of Oklahoma
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he concluded to try his fortunes here. From April, 1889, until his store was burned, he. was engaged in general merchandising at Kingfisher, and was making a success of the. enterprise, when he met with that heavy loss. The pluck and perseverance which have always been among his chief traits carried him through his dark days, and eventually prosperity again blessed his industrious efforts. On the 16th of September, 1893, he located a claim in the 'northeastern part of section II, township 22, range 6 west, Garfield county, and soon insti- tuted many improvements. He has carried on general farming and stock-raising here ever since, and of late years has also devoted a large share of his time to the sale of agricultural ma- chinery for the house of Newell & Ross.
While living in Iowa, Mr. Gerber married Miss H. A. Hendricks, a native of that state, the ceremony which united their destinies being performed at Albia. They are the par- ents of one child, Louis, who is an enterprising young farmer, now occupied in carrying on his father's homestead. Mr. Gerber is a stalwart Republican, and was trustee of Enid township for two years.
C. E. GANNON. As the oldest real-estate . man in Enid, and as a builder, as well as the promoter of many enterprises for the upbuilding of the city, Mr. Gannon is entitled to the appreciation which he receives from his fellow-townsmen. He came to Oklahoma from Wichita county, Kans., in April, 1889, and es- tablished his home in Kingfisher. Having brought with him from Wichita a stock of liv- ery horses, he entered actively into the occupa- tion which had engaged his attention while in Kansas. Building a barn, he embarked in a general livery business, carrying on the same until his removal to Enid, September 16, 1893.
At the opening of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe country, Mr. Gannon located a claim near King- fisher, but this he eventually sold, in order that he might devote his entire time to his business affairs. While a resident of Kingfisher, he erected the Gannon building, which he still owns. Since coming to Enid, he has been largely instrumental in securing the erection of the county courthouse. Another enterprise in which he is interested is the Enid Investment Company. From the start he devoted himself to the real-estate business in Enid, and the wisdom of his choice has been many times apparent. He assisted in laying out the south side addi- tion, which he has since, to a large extent, sold. In addition, he has bought and sold farm land, and has built up an extensive loan and broker- age business, The office which he occupies is
on Monroe street, in a brick building, 50x80, and two stories high.
, Mr. Gannon was born in Genoa, Ottawa county, Ohio, March 3, 1863, being a son of William and Sarah (Compton) Gannon, natives of New York state. His grandfather, Daniel, descended from a colonial family of New York state, where he was born; at an carly age he settled in Seneca county, Ohio, and his death occurred in Genoa, that state. William Gannon still occupies a farm in Ottawa county. During the Civil war he served as a member of an Ohio regiment. His wife died in Ohio some years ago.
Until his twentieth year, C. E. Gannon re- mained on his father's farm, meantime attending the public schools of Genoa. His first inde- pendent venture was conducted in Eaton Rapids, Mich., where he carried on a meat market for eighteen months. In 1884 he removed to Ar- gona, Sumner county, Kans., where for two years and nine months he was engaged in the hardware business. Subsequently he became in- terested in a livery business in Wichita county, Kans., and was there during the long and bitter county-seat war, and until the opening of Okla- homa. After he settled in Kingfisher he mar- ried Katie Conner, by whom he has two daugh- ters, Florence and Ruth.
As a member of the People's party, Mr. Gan- non has been a factor in the politics of his local- ity. In 1899 he was elected to represent the fifth ward in the city council. Not only was he an organizer of the Commercial Club, but he has also served upon its board of directors. Fra- ternally he is associated with the Woodmen of the World, and in 1899 joined Lodge No. 19, A. F. & A. M., at Enid. His connection with the progress of Enid has been close, and his name is inseparably identified with many im- portant measures. In 1901, in partnership with F. S. Rogers and H. C. Henry, he erected one of the finest brick business blocks in Enid, a substantial building that stands on the corner of Monroe street and Grand avenue.
F RANK BRADFIELD. From the first offi- cial day of Oklahoma's settlement by the Anglo-Saxon race, Frank Bradfield has been associated with its development. The esteem in which he is held by the public has been shown time and again by his being called to positions of responsibility and trust, and in each office which he has occupied he has abundantly proved the wisdom of his friends.
Frank Bradfield is of Scotch-Irish descent on the paternal side, while in the maternal line he is of English and German extraction. Five gon- erations ago three brothers by the name of Brad-
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field came to America from the northern part of Ireland, and settled in Virginia, whence their descendants went to different parts of the Union. William Bradfield, grandfather of our subject, was a pioneer in Ohio, and subsequently was one of the early settlers of Pike county, Ind. He died at the age of ninety-eight years, on the old homestead which he had improved. He is known as the founder of the town of Al- giers, Ind. His son, Theodore, father of our subject, was born in Ohio and reared in In- diana. In embarking upon independent life, he settled near his father's home and improved a farm, where he is yet living, now in his fifty-sixth year. He is a Mason and religiously is a Presby- terian. During the Civil war he was in the service for about four years as a private of Com- pany G, Ninety-first Indiana Volunteer Infan- try. For a wife he chose Miss Mary Case, a native of Indiana, and daughter of one of the pioneers of the Hoosier state. She departed this life in the Centennial year, and was sur- vived by her two children, Frank and Anna, the latter of North Platte, Neb.
Frank Bradfield was born in Petersburg, Pike county, Ind., July 16, 1867, and consequently was only nine years old when death deprived him of his mother. Four years later he em- barked in the serious business of life on his own account, and in 1880 found himself in North Platte, Lincoln county, Neb. Determin- ing to further qualify himself for his future ca- reer, he sturdily began working his way through college, being employed summers on a ranch, and the remainder of the year attending Doone College. When he had reached the sophomore year in 1885, he left school and devoted his time to farming enterprises on the North Platte for about four years.
On the day that Oklahoma was opened to the settlement of the white race, Mr. Bradfield came to Guthrie and looked the country over, with the result that he decided to make his perma- nent home here. For three years he was em- ployed as an instructor in the schools of Chilco, Okla., and then for a period dwelt in Guthrie. April 19, 1892, when the Cherokee and Arapa- hoe lands were made eligible for white men, he located in the town of Arapahoe, Custer county, and soon was appointed deputy register of deeds and also deputy county treasurer. At the end of nine months he resigned his positions and engaged in the real-estate business until Septem- ber 16, 1893. when he came to Enid. About a month later he was given a position as a clerk in the city postoffice, and served in that capacity from October 10. 1893, to January 8, ISOS. In the autumn of the last-mentioned year he be- came the nominee of the Republican party for the office of register of deeds, and was elected
by a majority of five hundred and thirty votes over the fusion candidate. He assumed the du- ties of his important position on New Year's Day, 1899, and is making an enviable record. For one term he was a member of the city coun- cil, representing the third ward, and though he is a loyal Republican, faithful to the principles of that party, he is justly popular with even his political opponents, as he is thoroughly con- scientious in discharging his duties, and hoids his personal interests secondary to the welfare of the public.
Since coming to Enid, Mr. Bradfield has been identified with the Masonic order, belonging to Enid Lodge No. 19, A. F. & A. M., and to the chapter. He is the keeper of the records and seals in the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias; has been the clerk of the lodge of the Woodmen of the World for five years, and is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
In this city, occurred the marriage of Mr. Bradfield and Miss Rosa Kelley. She is a native of South Carolina, and possesses traits of char- acter which endear her to her numerous friends. They have two daughters, named, respectively, Emma May and Ruth.
W ILLIAM L. HASKEW, who conducts a well-stocked general store at Wilcox, is also extensively engaged in stock- raising on his farm in Garfield county, and is the owner of the northwest quarter of section 15, Logan township. He was born in Tennessee in 1860, a son of J. W. and Mary (Stout) Has- kew, the latter of whom died when her son and only child was an infant. In 1870 father and son moved to Texas, settling in Johnson county, near Fort Worth, where the former is now a leading farmer.
In the vicinity of Fort Worth, William L. Haskew grew to manhood, receiving a common- school education. He worked upon his father's farm until 1893, when he moved to Oklahoma. Upon the opening of the strip, he went eighteen miles from the line and located on school land, but left after a few days. His next step was the purchase of a wholly unimproved tract of land, comprising' his present homestead. He was the first man on the section to build a house. The structure that he erected. IOXI2 feet, served him as a home until 1894, when he built a larger and more comfortable residence. He has been engaged chiefly in stock-raising, and has one hundred and forty head of cattle, besides swine and horses. With characteristic industry, he has improved the place, putting one hundred acres under the plow and sowing chiefly to wheat. The crops are not marketed, but used as feed for his stock.
JOHN COOPER AND FAMILY, Pawnee County.
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In 1895 Mr. Haskew established on his farm a general store for country trade, and has since carried on a line of general merchandise. He has also been postmaster at Wilcox ever since the postoffice was established in 1895. Polit- ically he is independent. He served one term as township trustee. Since the opening he has held office as school trustee, and was one of the . first directors of district No. 61, in the organ- ization of which he assisted. He takes an ear- nest interest in the development of the county.
The marriage of Mr. Haskew, in 1883, united him with Carrie M. Wilson, by whom he has three children, Frank, Mary and Mabel. Fra- ternally he is a member of Lahoma Lodge No. 43, I. O. O. F. He is well known throughout this locality and is very popular among his fel- low-citizens.
J JOHN COOPER. The life of Mr. Cooper has been extremely varied, his occupations taking him in many different directions. He was born in Virginia in 1844, and is a son of William and Elizabeth (Quail) Cooper, natives of Virginia. His father was a farmer, and served with courage and distinction in the war of 1812. For his services to his country he received a grant of land, which was afterwards sold.
When twelve years of age William Cooper re- moved with his family to Tennessee, where they lived until 1858, going thence to Saline county, Ill. While residing here the war broke out, which interrupted John Cooper's very meager educational advantages, but at the same time infused an item of interest into an otherwise un- eventful youth. July 4, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company E, Third Illinois Cavalry, at Eldorado, Ill. The regiment spent a great deal of time scouting, and were in several im- portant engagements, including the battle of Pea Ridge, Augusta, Cottonplant, Magnolia Ridge, Vicksburg, Raymond, Champion Hill and Big Black. After a three years' service he re-enlisted in the same regiment for three years, and crossed the plains to Devil's lake and to Fort Bush on the Missouri river, thence back to Devil's lake. After a year he was discharged at Fort Snelling, in 1865.
Upon returning to Illinois Mr. Cooper staid for a couple of years in Springfield, and for the same length of time in Eldorado, after which he went to Arkansas and engaged in farming for six years. He then spent a year in Saline, Mo., and after removing to Callaway county started for Texas, and located in Cook county and Dal- las. His next venture was on the railroad, where he was engaged as a constructor, and continued the same 'line of occupation after his removal to Coffman, Tex. While living in Coffman Mr.
Cooper sustained a severe loss through the death of his wife and two children. After a time he went to live in Dade county, Mo., and lived there for six years, subsequently going to Grant county, Kans., where he was disappointed in his expectations.
In the hope of retrieving his fortunes Mr. Cooper located in Guthrie in 1889, and after a short time took up his residence in the Osage county, going thence to Canadian county, where he remained for one year. At the opening of the Iowa reservation he made the run, and lo- cated on a claim which he retained long enough to raise one crop, and then sold out, and re- moved to Montgomery county, Kans. After an eighteen months' residence there he came, in 1898, to this section and for a time leased a farm, and now has a lease on the southeast quarter of section 3, township 22, range 6 east, and also on the southwest quarter of section 2, township 22, range 6 east. The place is well improved, has a cottage, good buildings and fences, and is abundantly supplied with water, having two springs, and the additional advantage of the Black Bear river, which runs through the prop- erty. Mr. Cooper raises a staple crop, and also engages in the raising of fine stock and cattle.
Mr. Cooper is now a widower, but has been married four times. The first Mrs. Cooper was formerly Mary J. Harris, who became the mother of one child, Elizabeth, now deceased. His second marriage was with Isabel Kennedy, and of this union there were four children, who died in infancy. Mr. Cooper was next married to Caroline Divine, and their three children are: Oran, who was born July 14, 1881, and is living at home; Nancy, born in 1883, and now Mrs. Vassar, of Oklahoma; and Elves, who was born August 31, 1885, and is living at home. The fourth marriage of Mr. Cooper was to Mrs. Louise Matthews, and they had one child, Ar- thur, who is three years of age. By her previous marriage Mrs. Cooper was the mother of three children, Eddie, Bessie and James.
During his residence in Kansas Mr. Cooper was a member of the Grand Army of the Re- public, Kansas Lodge No. 434.
H ON. THOMAS J. LOWE, who has a bril- liant record for service in the Confed erate army during the Civil war, is ex- secretary of Oklahoma Territory and is now .. prominent insurance man of Guthrie.
Mr. Lowe was born in Caldwell Parish. Co- lumbia county, La., September 12, 1846, and is of English-Scotch descent. His great-grand- father was born in England and came to this country, serving in the Revolutionary war; his brother, Hudson Lowe, conveyed Napoleon to
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the Island of St. Helena and had charge of him there. Frederick Lowe, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Mississippi and became a large planter at Caldwell Parish, La. He served as captain in the war of 1812. His brother, John Lowe, was the largest cotton planter in the south, and owned four thousand negroes. Henry J. Lowe, the father of Thomas J., was born in Louisiana, and was also a large planter. He died when our subject was young, the latter being the only child born to his union with Mary Buil, who was born in Louisiana, of Scotch descent. Her father, Gilbert Buil, of North Carolina, removed to Louisiana and be- came a planter. He served as lieutenant in the war of 1812. His father came from Scotland in 1796 and settled in Louisiana, where he was a pioneer planter. The latter served in the Rev- olutionary war. After the death of her first hus- band, Mrs. Lowe formed a union with Mr. Daniels, by whom she had three children, two now living. She died in Texas in 1898.
Thomas J. Lowe was reared in Louisiana until 1850, when he was taken by his mother to Upshur county, Tex., and there grew to man- hood on a plantation. He received his education principally in Dangerfield Academy. In 1862 he enlisted in Company B, Seventh Texas In- fantry, C. S. A., under Gen. Joseph Johnston, and participated in many engagements, includ- ing Fort Donelson, Port Hudson, Jackson, Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge, Lookout Moun- tain, Ringgold Gap and Atlanta. He saw one hundred days of fighting from Daiton to Jonesboro and Lovejoy and at the siege of Atlanta. His brigade consisted of thirteen regi- ments of fourteen thousand men before the battle of Franklin, but afterward only a small proportion reported for duty. His company was reduced from one hundred and forty-four to fourteen men. He was wounded at Jackson, shot at Missionary Ridge, and at Jonesboro, each time being laid up for a short time. Owing to physical disability, he returned home after the battle of Jonesboro. During most of his service he was color-bearer, and first lieutenant of color guards.
After the close of the war, Mr. Lowe read law under Judge Camp, of Gilmer, Tex., and was admitted to the bar in 1871. He began to prac- tice in Gilmer and served as county judge of Upshur county for two terms. April 22, 1889, he located in Guthrie, securing a lot on Harri- son street and opening an office in a small tent. Shortly afterward he erected an office. He was the first councilman of East Guthrie, and served as such until he resigned. In June, 1893, he was appointed by President Cleveland as regis- trar of the United States land office. September 12 of the same year he was appointed secre-
tary of Oklahoma, and served in that ca- pacity until he resigned in 1897. At the time of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway fight at Pond Creek, he served as acting gov- ernor during the absence of Governor Renfrow for one month, and was obliged to call out the United States troops to guard the road until the matter was satisfactorily adjusted. At the present time he conducts the largest life and ac- cident insurance business in the territory. He is district manager for the New York Mutual Life for all of Oklahoma, and is general agent in Oklahoma for the Fidelity and Casualty Com- pany of New York.
In Alabama, Mr. Lowe married Eliza Bag- gett, a native of that state, who died in Toronto, Canada, leaving two daughters, both of whom are married. Mr. Lowe formed a second matri- monial alliance with Mrs. Felder, a daughter of Judge G. L. Camp, of Gilmer, Tex. By her first union she had two children: Lawson and Camp Felder. Mr. Lowe joined the Masonic fraternity at Gilmer, Tex. In politics he is a Democrat, and has been on the territorial com- mittee, the county committee, and in the early days of the territory was a national committee- man. He is a charter member of the Guthrie Club. Religiously he is an adherent of the faith of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and is one of the trustees of the congregation.
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