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 71
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99
H ON. JAMES I. McDANIEL. The educa- tional and political interests of Logan county have been upheld and advanced by energetic, brainy men, of wise forethought and ability, among whom Mr. McDaniel occu- pies a firm position. He was born July 7, 1858, in Lee county, Iowa. His father, Lewis McDaniel, was born in Illinois, and there mar- ried, after which he located in Iowa as a farmer. From there he removed with his family to Oklahoma, of which he is still a resident.
James I. McDaniel received but limited edu- cational advantages in the pioneer town in which he was reared, having attended school but little during the first ten years of his life, going occasionally during a winter term, when there was but little he could do on the farm. IIc after- wards studied as he had opportunity, and at the age of twenty years entered the Iowa State Nor- mal School at Cedar Falls, the third grade course of which he had then nearly completed, and there spent a school year, putting in nine months of solid work. Commencing life as a teacher in Iowa, he continued in the profes- sion there three years in the winter seasons, al- ternating with farm work in the summets. En- tering then the employ of the Chicago & North- western Railway Company as clerk, he contin-
.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
1125
ued in that position for a time, after which he became a subcontractor, and in the opening of the new railway lines in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and the Indian Territory labored most successfully. On the opening up of Oklahoma he, with the enterprise that had marked his other efforts, made the race for a claim in the new territory, securing a homestead on the southwest quarter of section 31, township 16, range I west. In its development and improve- ment he made good headway, and, in addition to general farming, became interested in sheep- raising to a considerable extent, making a fair success in that branch of his business.
Mr. McDaniel was not very active in politics until after his settlement in Oklahoma, when he assisted in the organization of the People's party, having withdrawn from the Democratic ranks in which he was reared. Becoming an ac- tive worker in the new party, he was elected as a member of the second legislative assembly of Oklahoma in 1892, and during the entire session of that body was prominently associated with the introduction and passage of the more impor- tant measures brought before the House, his intellectual ability and force of character making him a leader. In 1896 he received the nomina- ·tion of his party for sheriff of Logan county, but, with the rest of his ticket, was beaten by a small majority. Since that time he has been en- gaged in his profession, and is now one of the popular and prosperous teachers of the county. Fraternally he is an Odd Fellow. He is a man of progressive and liberal views, and a Unitarian in his religious beliefs.
C F. McELRATH. As a physician and ag- riculturist, Dr. McElrath has had much to do with the best development of his locality, and has won for himself a substantial place in the appreciation of his acquaintances in Oklahoma. The childhood of Dr. McElrath was spent in Danville, Pa., where he was born June 23, 1846. His parents, Dr. Robert and Sarah (Wattles) McElrath, took him to St. Joseph county, Mich., in 1859, and located at Three Rivers, where he grew to manhood and further completed his education at the public schools of that place and at Kalamazoo. This training was supplemented by a short course of study at Hillsdale College, and at a school in Chicago, after which he diligently applied himself to the study of medicine, under the able instruction of his father. In 1864 he went to Philadelphia to complete his medical instruction, and in 1867 was graduated from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. McElrath's first years of practice were associated with that of his father, in Three
Rivers. While there he married Emma Perrin, who became the mother of one child, now Mrs. Maud Bobb, of Chardon, Ohio. In 1885 the doctor removed to Kiowa, Kans., where he prac- ticed his profession about three years. While living in Kiowa, he married Susan Day, and of this union there is one child, Robert, who is now twelve years of age, and lives with his par- ents. A change of location was soon entered into by Dr. McElrath, when he returned to Michigan and remained in Parkville for a couple of years. In 1890 he came to El Reno, Okla., and began to practice in the new country. Here he has attained to considerable political promi- nence. He served as the first mayor of the place, and so satisfactory were his services that it insured his re-election for two terms.
In 1893, at the time of the opening of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe reservations, Dr. Mc- Elrath made the run with the thousands of others, and located upon the southwest quarter of section 35, township 23, range 6 west, re- maining there until his return to El Reno. Al- though reared to Democratic ideas, Dr. Mc- Elrath has formulated his individual faith according to Republican principles, but has never had an opportunity to vote for a president. In 1898 he was elected to the legislature, and was chairman of the committee on appropria- tions, and served on several other committees, particularly with reference to medicinal and san- itary arrangements. He is said to be the father of the Farmers' Mutual Insurance bill, and by dint of hard work and judicious management succeeded in securing its passage. With refer- ence to the suffrage bill, in which he was much interested, the fact that he was called to the bedside of his sick father had much to do with its defeat.
Fraternally Dr. McElrath is variously associ- ated, and at the age of twenty-one became iden- tified with the Masonic order as a member of Park Lodge No. 206, at Schoolcraft, Mich .; he is a member of the Knights Templar, Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows No. So, and Knights of Pythias No. 52, at Three Rivers, and also of the Woodmen of the World.
G. L. MONTOOTH, an architect in Okla- homa City, enjoys an extended reputa- tion in his line of work. Although he has been located here but two years, he has drawn the plans for and erected some of the fine homes in the city, in which work he has displayed a thorough knowledge of his business and an artistic taste in drawing designs.
Mr. Montooth is a native of Ashland county, Ohio, and is a son of Andrew and Rachel (Palmer) Montooth. His grandfather, Andrew
II26
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Montooth, was born in Scotland, and at an early age came to this country, settling in Virginia and later in Ohio, where he followed the trade of a millwright. Andrew Montooth, Jr., the father of our subject, was born in Virginia. He followed the trade of a carpenter and builder in Ashland county, Ohio, and at Tower Hill, Ill., but is now engaged in agricultural pursuits in Shelby county, Ill. His wife was a native of Ohio and a daughter of George Palmer, a farmer of that state. Of eight children born to their union, five are still living. Mrs. Mon- - tooth is now deceased.
The oldest child in the family, and the only one to locate in Oklahoma, G. L. Montooth was born February 14, 1862, and in 1867 was taken by his parents to Illinois, where he re- ceived his preliminary education in the public schools. He evinced an aptitude for drawing in his boyhood days, and at the age of sixteen learned the carpenter's trade, subsequently tak- ing a thorough course in the architectural de- partment of the University of Illinois, at Cham- paign, Ill., from which he was graduated. He then returned to his trade, and from 1888 to 1898 engaged in contracting and building at Pana, Ill. During that time he drew the plans for and erected many public and private build- ings throughout the state, and acquired an en- viable reputation. His work assumed large pro- portions and in 1893 amounted to $9,000 in sixty days. November 28, 1898, he came to Oklahoma City and here has since engaged as an architect. His residence and office are lo- cated at No. 429 East First street.
In Shelby county, Ill., Mr. Montooth married Leah Bell, who is a native of that county. They became the parents of four children, as follows: Ralph, Glenn, Fern, and Silas who died at the age of nine years. Fraternally Mr. Montooth is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In politics he is unwavering in his support of the Republican party.
-
.
M ONROE NEAL. In the agricultural class is found the mainstay of any nation, and the United States has special reason to be proud of these sturdy, independent sons of toil. Within a decade the farmers of Oklahoma have developed her vast natural resources to an amaz- ing degree, and we may safely predict still more wonderful things for the future. One who has not been to this region for the past ten years, on now making a tour of the territory, is lost in admiration and surprise at what has been ac- complished in so short a time, and can but note that the great majority of our inhabitants are people of superior attainments and good stand- ing.
Monroe Neal is a descendant of sterling New England families, his ancestors having settled in that portion of the United States in colonial days. His grandfather, Aaron Neal, was born in North Carolina, however, and in 1830 went to the prairies of Illinois, where he became one of the pioneers. He took part in the Black Hawk war, developed a large share of the gov- ernment land which he had taken up, and for several years was engaged in raising mules for the southern markets. He departed this life in 1854, when he was in his forty-fourth year. To himself and wife, formerly Martha Elizabeth Clampett, eight children were born, and only one of the number has been called to the silent land.
Major Moses Neal, father of our subject, was born in the pioneer cabin on the prairies of Franklin county, Ill., November 15, 1833. When he arrived at his majority he left home and took up a claim in Kansas, the site of the present city of Topeka, and not long afterwards he became the owner of some land on which a portion of Lawrence was subsequently built. For three years he was actively engaged in conducting a mercantile business there, and then he located in the town of Humboldt, Kans. For many years he was in the government employ, en- gaged in freighting supplies across the plains, and for a period officiated as postmaster at Humboldt. He also was the owner of land in the neighborhood, and spent some of his time in cultivating the same, and in the meanwhile traded more or less with the Osage Indians. In 1885 he was appointed by President Cleve- land to the important post of agent to the Sac and Fox Indians, and under the second ad- ministration of that executive he was allotting agent to the Kickapoos. He had served as a member of the state militia, and held the rank of captain of a company, doing efficient work in the protection of the settlers and law-abiding
citizens. Under Major Woodson he was leas- ing agent for the Arapahoe and Cheyenne In- dians, his home being in Chandler, and he also has devoted much attention to agriculture in this territory. By diligence in business and a conscientious regard for the rights of his fellow-men and the demands of duty, he has justly earned the commendation of those acquainted with him.
The sterling principles which have actuated Major Neal have been inculcated in the minds of his children, all of whom are upright, hon- orable citizens. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary R. Brinkley, and her birthplace is in Kentucky. Of their six children five are sons, namely: Monroe, Lyman G., Thomas A., Fred and Charles H. The daughter, Theresa, is the wife of John B. Charles.
DAN MODINE, Blackburn.
04
1129
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
The birth of Monroe Neal occurred Septem- ber 10, 1855, in Lawrence, Kans., and most of his early years were spent in Humboldt, where he obtained a liberal education, completing his studies in a university. When he arrived at . man's estate, he chose agriculture as his voca- tion, and for several years was numbered among the farmers of Allen and Montgomery counties, Kans. When Oklahoma was opened to general settlement, he laid claim to his property on sec- tion 26, Hartzell township, Oklahoma county, and, at the close of a year's litigation, was de- clared the rightful owner of the land. Here he has made substantial improvements, and, in view of the fact that he had only a small capital when he came to this region, aside from a team and farming implements, his progress has been re- markable. He now owns two hundred and fifty acres, and annually harvests a fine crop of wheat. At the World's Columbian Exposition, in Chi- cago, he had some specimens of the wheat grown upon his farm here, and was awarded premiums for the same. He also has exhibited prize cattle in the Street Fair, at Oklahoma City. On his homestead fine live stock is always kept, some of the Short-horn cattle being regis- tered, and the same is true of his Poland-China swine.
Politically Mr. Neal is a Democrat, taking an active interest in the silver question and other issues of the day. Frequently he has attended conventions of the party and in 1900 he was present at the National Convention held in Kan- sas City. Fraternally he is a member of the Woodmen of the World.
The marriage of Mr. Neal and Jennie Walker was solemnized September 17, 1878. A son and two daughters bless their union, namely, Robert, Nellie M., and Theresa.
D AN MODINE. A typical frontier char- acter, much of the existence of Mr. Modine has been associated with the expansive life of the western plains, and his nature has im- bibed the breadth of thought usually acquired by the rovers and stockmen of the prairies. Few have a more comprehensive knowledge of the good and bad qualities of stock, a knowledge accumulated by years of practical observation. In Kansas Mr. Modine is now leasing about four thousand acres of Osage land upon which are conducted his vast enterprises, and he has about four hundred head of cattle. During part of his residence in Kansas he led a truly open-air life, and for two years did not sleep under the roof of a house. He came to Oklahoma in 1882, and his original claim, the northwest quarter of section 19, township 22, range 7, is largely the land upon which Blackburn is built.
He drove the first stake himself. On the part of the claim, which is outside the town line, he has erected a good house and outbuildings, and instituted many modern improvements.
A native of Iowa, Mr. Modine was born in 1862, and is a son of Dan and Mary (Anderson) Modine. When but four years of age the family of Dan, Jr., came west and located in western Kansas in the Osage country. From that time on he was made familiar with western prairie life, which probably accounts for his liking for, and success in, his chosen life work. In 1892 he married Josephine Campbell, a native of Texas, and of this union there are four children.
In political preferment Mr. Modine is a Re- publican, but he has never lived where he could vote. His father was also a Republican, and was in the war of 1861 and also in the Minnesota massacre. He died in Kansas in 1885, and his wife died in the same state in 1886. Mr. Modine is fraternally associated with the Woodmen of the World, and is a charter member of the lodge at Blackburn. He is also a member of the Anti- Horse Thief Association.
W ILLIAM RITTERBUSCH, who has been identified with various prominent cities of Oklahoma and is now making his home in Stillwater, was born in Nebraska City, Neb., December 13, 1870, a son of Ferdi- nand Ritterbusch. His parents were natives of Germany and descendants of pioneer Lutherans of that country. His father moved from Nebraska City to a farm in Otoe county and later settled in Grand Island, the same state, where he engaged in business. In 1894 he came to Oklahoma and settled in Guthrie, where he has since resided. At this writing he holds of- fice as county treasurer of Logan county. Of his twelve children, six sons and three daughters are now living, and all. are in Oklahoma.
When the family moved to Grand Island, William Ritterbusch was sixteen years of age. In 1889 he went to Idaho and secured em- ployment as a baggage man with the Union Pacific Railroad at Pocatello. With other men- bers of the family, he settled in Guthrie, Okla., in 1894. His first position in that city was as an employe of Albert Ruemmeli in the ice busi- ness. In the spring of 1899 he accepted a posi- tion as local agent for the Pabst Brewing Com- pany in Oklahoma City, where he established the agency and built up a business. He had his office on East Second street, in the brew- ing company's plant. That position he filled until February 1, 1901, when he resigned and moved to Stillwater.
Politically Mr. Ritterbusch is a Republican. As might be expected, he believes in the doc-
1130
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHIICAL RECORD.
trines of the Lutheran Church, which has been the religion of the family ever since the days of the Reformation by Luther. He is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Guthrie. While living at Pocatello, Idaho, he married Miss Lulu Witt, a native of Washington county, Ill. They are the parents of two daughters, Minnie Verona and Carrie Anna.
-
T. J. SANFORD, while being regarded as one of Enid's most reliable and enterpris- ing citizens, Mr. Sanford's chief claim for distinction has been the outgrowth of his pro- found legal acumen, and his position in the com- munity as a Republican politician of broad and liberal tendencies.
A native of Seneca county, Ohio, Mr. San- ford was born October 7, 1855, and comes of stanch New England stock. His parents were James and Harriet (Wall) Sanford, natives of Steuben county, N. Y. James Sanford is the only son of Benjamin, who was also born in Steuben county and was likewise an only son: He was a farmer who afterwards removed to Hillsdale, Mich., where he died at an advanced age. James Sanford was a pioneer in Ohio, and in 1863, thinking to better his prospects for the future, he took his family to Decatur county, Iowa, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits, In 1869 he removed to Christian county, Ill., near Taylorville, where was terminated his active and useful life. The mother of T. J. San- ford was of Holland descent, and is now resid- ing in Coffey county, Kans. Her father was a Baptist clergyman, and died in Illinois.
T. J. Sanford was the only son of his father's family, and of the four daughters who completed the number of children, three are now living. While moderately successful, his father was un- able to secure for his children the education which their ambitious natures craved, and as opportunity offered, the son worked on the farms of the surrounding agriculturists, and with the money thus earned prepared for a future active life by securing a good education. In 1876 he entered Shurtleff College, at Upper Alton, Ill., that venerable institution of learning founded in 1836, and one of the oldest in the west. After attaining to the junior year, he dis- continued his association with the college to engage in the study of law, with John B. Jones, of Little Rock, Ark. To pay his way while thus employed, he taught school during the win- ter. He was admitted to the bar at Mount Vernon, Ill., in 1882.
For the following two years Mr. Sanford de- parted from his intended course, and combined his teaching with the duties of a traveling sales- man, but in 1884 began the practice of his pro-
fession in Morrisville, of the same county. After a trip through the south, he availed himself of the larger opportunities of Oklahoma, and on the memorable 22nd of April, 1889, made the run with the vast army of home seekers, and filed his claim on school land near Union, Cana- dian county. He then took up his residence in Kingfisher, where he practiced his profession until 1891, when he removed to Oklahoma City. His public recognition as a substantial addition to the community was at once evinced by his appointment to the position of law clerk in the land office, which he continued to fill with credit until 1892. His subsequent partnership with J. H. Everest was amicably continued until 1893, at the time of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe opening, when Mr. Sanford decided to change his field of usefulness to Enid. Here he has since met with a gratifying degree of suc- cess, and conducts a constantly increasing prac- tice. He is chief clerk to the supervisor of census, and his office is headquarters for all mat- ters pertaining to work in that line.
Mrs. Sanford was formerly Mrs. Etta M. (Jackson) Hollar, and her marriage to Mr. San- ford occurred September 30, 1893. She is a native of Mason, Ill., and a daughter of George W. Hollar, who settled in Oklahoma City in 1889, and is now deceased.
Among Mr. Sanford's interests may be men- tioned his connection with the organization of the Enid Investment Company, which is at pres- ent considering the erection of the Masonic Temple. He served as chairman of the Repub- lican Central Committee during 1898, and was secretary of the same during 1896-7. Himself and family are interested members of the Bap- tist Church, and contribute generously towards its support. Fraternally he is associated with the Masonic order at Enid, Chapter No. 19, R. A. M.
TUDGE EDWARD L. LEMERT. One of the distinguished citizens of Oklahoma is Hon. Edward L. Lemert, of Paw- nee. That he stands high in the estimation of his professional brethren is shown by the fact that he was chosen as president of the Pawnee County Bar Association, in which capa- city he is now serving. That his gallant service as a soldier in the crucial years of the great Civil war endeared him to his comrades was manifested when, some time ago, he was made commander of H. W. Slocum Post, No. 38, G. A. R., of which post he was one of the charter members; and that he is considered a power in the councils of the Republican party was die- monstrated, nine years ago, when he was elected as a representative of Marshall county in the
1131
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
legislature of Iowa. In all of these offices, he gave abundant evidence of his superior ability and devotion to the public welfare, adding new laurels to those which he earned upon the threshold of manhood.
1 According to a tradition which has prevailed in the family for generations, the Lemerts orig- inated in France, and, during the persecution of the Huguenots, fled to Holland, whence came the founder of the family to America. The worthy man, who bore the name of Joshua Lemert, was a native of Holland, and, upon set- tling in Fauquier county, Va., became a well- to-do planter and miller. His son, Lewis, grandfather of the Judge, was born in 1769, and was a lifelong resident of the Old Dominion. He carried on a mill and a farm, which he held under one of the time-honored Lord Fairfax leases. He was identified with the Society of Friends, and, abhorring the slavery system, he had nearly completed arrangements to sell his plantation, with a view to removing to Ohio. On his death-bed, he requested his family to carry out his wishes, and, it is needless to say, this was done.
Beverly Lemert, father of our subject, was born in Fauquier county, Va., in 1798, and was eighteen years of age when he accompanied the other members of the parental household to the Buckeye state. Embarking in the busi- ness of packing pork at Dresden, Ohio, and shipping largely to New Orleans, he met with success in the enterprise. Later, he became a partner of his wife's father, Nathan Fleming, a distant relative of Governor Fleming, the pres- ent governor of Virginia. For several years the partners conducted a mercantile business at Ir- ville, Ohio, and from 1834 until his death, twenty-one years later, Mr. Lemert lived upon a large farm which he owned-originally a mili- - tary tract. He was one of the commissioners of his county for some years, and was honored by all who knew him. Both he and his wife were zealous members of the Christian church. She bore the maiden name of Margaret Fleming, was born near Irville, Ohio, in 1809, and at- tained the extreme age of eighty-eight years. Her grandfather Fleming was born in Ireland, and was an early settler in Virginia, while her father, Nathan Fleming, born near Morgan- town, Va., was one of the pioneers of Muskin- gum county, Ohio, as he located near the site of Irville in 1803. He died at the age of sixty- eight, and his wife, Mary (Wood) Fleming, reached the remarkable age of ninety-three. She was born on a plantation situated on the south fork of the beautiful Potomac River, in Vir- ginia, and came of an influential family of that state, her father's brother being Governor Wood.
Not many mothers in this great republic have
had all of their sons-four manly boys, the youngest barely sixteen-leave home to battle for the land of their birth, and few, fortunately, have been called upon to endure the anguish and sorrow which came to her within two or three years. John A., the eldest, first lieutenant of Company A, Seventy-sixth Ohio Infantry, was killed in the battle at Ringgold, Ga .. Novem- ber 5, 1863. Thomas J. the second son, belong- ing to the One Hundred and Sixty-fifth Ohio National Guards was captured July 4, 1863, at Little Mountain, W. Va., and sent to Anderson- ville prison, where he was starved, his death oc- curring September 14, 1863. Nathan F., the third son, who enlisted for three months, in the Twelfth Ohio Infantry, and later was orderly- sergeant of the Twenty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, died at Benton Barracks, St. Louis, in October, 1861.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.