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 74
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In March of 1894 Mr. Uhl purchased a claim six miles northeast of Pawnee, upon which he has since lived. In the meantime he had embarked upon his successful career as an archi- tect, builder and contractor in Pawnec, the ma- jority of the responsible work in the town hav- ing been entrusted to him. Aside from the demands of his profession, Mr. Uhl has shown commendable interest in the general progress of the town, and has been identified with many of the most important undertakings. As a stanch member of the Republican party he has held several offices, and is at the present time clerk of Pawnee township. From the inception of the township he has served in some capacity upon the school board, and has at times been clerk, director and treasurer. Fraternally he is asso- ciated with the Ancient Order of United Work- men.
In 1872 Mr. Uhl was united in marriage, at New Haven, Conn., with Amelia Hipelious, a native of New Jersey. Of this union there have been seven children, viz .: William, who is a mechanical engineer in New Haven, Conn .; Rudolph, who is a stonemason, and is with his father in business; Emma, Carl, Louise, Alvin and Fritz.
J. B. MURPHY, M. D. Of the professional men in Stillwater none is held in higher es- teem than Dr. Murphy. As a resident and as one of the oldest physicians in the town (and it may be said in the county) he has won the grat- itude and appreciation of a large following, no less by his fine personal characteristics than for his able mastery of one of the great profes- sions.
Dr. Murphy was born in New Albany, Floyd county, Ind., and was next to the oldest in a family of ten children, five of whom are still liv- ing. His father, John, was a carpenter and con- tractor in Virginia, and, upon locating in New Albany, engaged in the boat construction busi- ness in his shipyard. He later turned his atten- tion to farming near New Albany, and died at the age of sixty-nine years. He attained to con- siderable prominence in the locality in which he resided, and held several political offices, among them being that of county commissioner, county auditor for eight years, and afterward that of county assessor. The mother, Serilda (Clipp) Murphy, was born in Harrison county, Ind., and was a daughter of Philip Clipp, a native of Vir- ginia. He married a Miss Miller, of Virginia, and became a farmer in Indiana, Mrs. Murphy died at the age of sixty-nine years.
The early years of Dr. Murphy were spent at New Albany, and he received his education in the public schools and at the Paoli Academy, in Indiana. At the early age of sixteen he had qual- ified for a teacher, which occupation he carried on during the winters and attended the academy in the summer time. He was thus enabled to pay his own way, and is proud of his own exertion toward acquiring an education. After teaching school for eight years he began the study of medicine under the able tuition of Dr. J. M. Da- vis, of Greenville, after which he entered the Uni- versity of Louisville (Ky.) and was graduated from the medical department in 1881. After a year's practice in his former town of Greenville, he located, in 1882, in Caldwell, Kans., and en- tered upon a successful medical and surgical practice. In 1885 he changed the scene of his efforts to Ravanna, Kans., and was there dur- ing the three years' county-scat war.
Dr. Murphy's connection with Stillwater began in July of 1880. He at once undertook varied in- terests, including that of running a drug store. HIe also practiced medicine, and for two years was assistant postmaster. He resigned from the latter position and sold out the drug-store in order to devote his entire time to the duties of his life work. The office on Main street, occu- pied by the doctor, was erected by himself, but at the present time he is located in the Dalton block, at the corner of Main and Seventh streets. His office practice is a large one, and is of a gen-
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eral kind, best adapted to the requirements of a growing town. He is surgeon for the Eastern Oklahoma Railroad, and has been county physi- cian.
In Greenville, Ind., Dr. Murphy married Anna K. Smith, a native of Greenville. Of this union there have been two children, F. May and Ed- ward Palmer. In politics the doctor is a Demo- crat, and has been prominently identified with the undertakings of his party. For one year he served as mayor of the town, and was council- man of the second ward for two years. He also held the office of city clerk. Fraternally he is associated with the Masonic order, and joined the organization at Milan, Kans. He is a charter member of Lodge No. 6, A. F. & A. M., at Milan, and is a charter member of the lodge in Stillwater, and was raised to the dignity of Emi- nent Commander in the St. John's Commandery No. 4, K. T. With the Independent Order of Odd Fellows he is past officer of the Encamp- ment, and is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Fraternal Aid. He is a member of the Railway Surgeons' Association, and as a pharmacist is entitled to membership in . the Oklahoma Pharmaceutical Association. Dr. Murphy was appointed by President Harrison a member of the pension board, and held the posi- tion for seven years, being secretary of the board for the entire time.
C A. BUSHORR, a prominent and success- ful contractor and builder of Pawnee, has
. been actively identified with the business and agricultural interests of Pawnee county, Okla., since November, 1893, when he pur- chased a claim of one hundred and sixty acres three miles northeast of the city. He was born in Indian Ford, Rock county, Wis., on the 3d of April, 1862, and is the youngest child of the family. His father, Nelson Bushorr, was born at Three Rivers, Canada, and his grandfather, John Bushorr, was also a native of that coun- try. (More extended mention is made of his ancestry in the sketch of L. N. Bushorr, which follows this.)
Our subject spent the first three years of his life at his birthplace, and then accompanied his parents on their removal to Three Rivers, Can- ada, where the following two years were passed. The family next made their home in Warren county, N. Y., until the fall of 1869, when they removed to Effingham, Ill. There our subject attended the public schools until the fall of 1873. the following year being passed with his parents at Rockton, that state. In 1874 the family re- turned to Wisconsin, locating at Indian Ford, where he was reared in a farming community and pursued his studies in the district schools.
At the age of fourteen he commenced work on the farm, and soon engaged in general farming and tobacco-raising on his own account, meet- ing with excellent success in the latter industry. In 1881 Mr. Bushorr removed to western Kan- sas, but after following farming in Trego county for three years, he returned to Wisconsin, where he was again interested in tobacco culture for two years.
While in Kansas, Mr. Bushorr learned the stonemason's trade, at which he commenced work at Monico, Wis., in 1886. Later he fol- lowed the same pursuit at St. Paul, Minn., for two years, and then returned to Indian Ford, WVis., where he worked at his trade, and en- gaged in farming for a time. We next find him at Janesville, that state, where he made his home until the opening of the Cherokee strip in November, 1893, when he came to Oklahoma, and bought his present claim three miles north- east of Pawnee. This he has improved and placed under a high state of cultivation, but now makes his home in the city of Pawnee and is successfully engaged in contracting and build- ing. He was one of the first masons of the place, and has erected a number of buildings here, including the Tones building, the Cen- tury block, the Hughes residence, and the new high school buildings. He has also done con- siderable work in different parts of the county, and is considered one of the best in his line. In 1898 he formed a partnership with C. E. Bates under the firm name of Bates & Bushorr, and they have built up a large and profitable busi- ness, which is constantly increasing, owing to the excellent quality of their work.
At Edgerton, Wis., Mr. Bushorr married Miss Maggie Cox, a native of Ontario, Canada, who died at Janesville, Wis., leaving one son, Dewey C. Mr. Bushorr supports the men and meas- ures of the Republican party, and as a public- spirited, generous citizen he gives a liberal sup- port to all enterprises which he believes calcu- lated to promote the public welfare. He is prominent socially, and is the present noble grand of the Odd Fellows Lodge of Pawnee, also belonging to the Encampment at Stillwater.
L. N. BUSHORR, one of the leading and influential citizens of Pawnee, who is now successfully engaged in the real-estate and insurance business, was born at Indian Ford. on the Rock river, in Rock county, Wis., March 6, 1859, his parents being Nelson and Sophia (Beauman) Bushorr, both natives of Quebec, Canada, and of French extraction. The pater- nal, grandfather, John Bouchard (as the name was originally spelled), was a native of France. and on his emigration to America settled in Can-
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C. C. HUNTER, Lincoln County.
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ada, where he followed farming many years. His last days were spent with the father of our subject in Wisconsin. It was the father who Americanized the name. He removed to Rock county, Wis., in 1855, and conducted a carriage shop at Indian Ford, which is one of the oldest towns in the southern part of the state. He is now eighty-two years of age, and is living re- tired at the home of our subject. His wife died in Trego county, Kans., in 1884. Her father, Alexis Beauman, was also a native of France, and became a farmer of the Province of Que- bec, Canada. His surname was originally spelled Beaumier. Our subject is the sixth in order of birth in a family of seven children, four sons and three daughters. All are still living with the exception of Narcissus, who was a member of the Third Wisconsin Cavalry in the Civil war, and died in the service. Our subject's brother, Clair, is a resident of Pawnee, Okla., and D. J. makes his home in Galena, Kans.
L. N. Bushorr grew to manhood in the place of his birth, and after completing his education in the public schools he learned the carriage- maker's trade with his father. Later he engaged in that business on his own account at Edger- ton, Rock county, Wis., until 1888. In 1880 he assisted in organizing a mining company, and for three years was actively engaged in placer and lode mining in the Eureka district in northern New Mexico. At the end of that time he sold his mining interests and returned to Wisconsin. Disposing of his business at Edgerton in 1888, he removed to Beloit, Kans., and opened a shoe store on Mill street as a mem- ber of the firm of Kinsley & Bushorr, his part- ner being A. J. Kinsley. They continued in business there until 1890, when they sold out and removed to St. Joseph, Mo., conducting a shoe store on the corner of Felix and Fourth streets for three years, at the end of which time they disposed of their business and dis- solved partnership.
On the 16th of September, 1893, Mr. Bushorr came to Pawnee, and having brought a stock of shoes with him, he opened a store on the south side in a frame building, 24x48 feet. This he carried on until 1897, when he sold out, and has since engaged in the real-estate, loan and insurance business. In 1899 he formed a part- nership with O. M. Lancaster, and business has since been conducted under the firm name of Lancaster & Bushorr. They do the largest gen- eral real-estate business of any firm in the town, and are also agents for the leading old line in- surance companies.
Mr. Bushorr was married at Indian Ford, Wis., the lady of his choice being Miss Mitta I. Scofield, who was born at that place, where her father, George Scofield, was engaged in
farming. Four children bless this union, namely : Roy, Wilmer, Berta and Leon. Mrs. Bushorr is an active and consistent member of the Con- gregational Church.
Fraternally Mr. Bushorr is a member of the Commercial Club of Pawnee; Pawnee Lodge No. 17, A. F. & A. M., of which he was secre- tary three years; Tyrian Chapter No. 20, R. A. M .; and is also a member of Pawnee Com- mandery No. 7, K. T. The Republican party has always found in him a stanch supporter of its principles. He filled the office of city clerk one term, has been notary public since 1897, and in 1899 was appointed under-sheriff of Paw- nee county, which position he is now most cred- itably and satisfactorily filling.
C HRISTOPHER C. HUNTER. In the death of the honored subject of this trib- ute Chandler and Lincoln county lost one of their best citizens-a man upright, sincere and conscientious in word and deed. His life was a busy and successful one, and a complete record of the good deeds which he performed and of the kindness and sympathy which he ex- ercised toward others, could not be compiled, as he was unostentatious in all his acts, and few besides the recipient of his favors ever learned of them. As a pioneer of this locality he de- serves special mention, for he loyally aided in the great work of founding the county and plac- ing it upon a sound basis.
Mr. Hunter came of a family which has been noted in the upbuilding of frontier states for generations. His great-great-grandfather, Ja- cob Hunter, was born in North Carolina, and in 1780 removed to the wilds of Kentucky, where he lived in a fort much of the time for years, on account of the Indians. His home was on the banks of the Kentucky river, and. assisted by his four sons, John, Jacob, Samuel and Joseph, he commenced to develop the re- sources of the locality. One of the sons was the father of Daniel Hunter, a contemporary and comrade of the famous Daniel Boone. With his wife, Polly Judge, Daniel Hunter removed. from Jessamine county, his birthplace, to Boone county, Mo., where he was one of the first white settlers. Their son, Capt. William Hunter, was born in the last mentioned county, and through- out his career has been an agriculturist. During the Civil war he served as a captain of a com- pany of Missouri infantry, and later, he became a resident of Texas, owning a farm near Austin, where he is yet living. His wife, formerly Edith Roberts, came of an old Missouri family, and by her marriage she had eight children.
The birth of C. C. Hunter occurred July 8, 1842, on the pioneer farm in Boone county,
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Mo., and there he was reared to maturity. Like his father and ancestors, he was a true friend to the Union, and when the war came on, en- listed and served throughout that bitter period of our country's history in a Missouri regiment, subsequently joining the Grand Army of the Republic organization. At the close of the war he bought a homestead in Doniphan county, Kans., and in June, 1873, unfortunately removed to Jewell county, same state, where the plague of grasshoppers soon reduced his small fortune. In 1877 he located near White Rock, Republic county, Kans., and about two years later, de- siring to give his children better educational advantages, he took up his abode in Concordia. Buying thirty acres of land there, he turned his attention to market gardening and horticulture, meeting with success in his enterprises. At that time he invented the now well-known "Hun- ter's garden and seed drill," and having organ- ized a company in Topeka, its manufacture was commenced. In 1888 he became a citizen of Topeka, as it was necessary for him to super- intend the new industry, and, though his in- vention found a ready market, infringements already had been made by envious competitors, and it required a fortune to uphold his rights. His son, William F., now owns the patent, and has made some improvements upon the orig- inal invention. He lives in California, where the drill is manufactured under his supervision.
In September, 1891, C. C. Hunter filed a claim near Chandler, but for five years his rights were bitterly contested, and it was not his privilege to receive a title to the property in his lifetime. His widow prosecuted the case, however, and ultimately the authorities at Washington de- cided the matter, giving her a title-deed. Mr. Hunter had so thoroughly believed that he would win, in the end, that he instituted many valuable improvements, planting ten acres with a fine variety of fruit trees, and cultivating much of the property. Forty acres have been laid out, the tract being known as Hunter's Addition to Chandler, and this is being rapidly built up. The life of the estimable citizen, C. C. Hunter. came to a close while he was yet in his prime, March 30, 1896, and, according to his expressed wishes, his interment took place upon the farm for which he had so valiantly fought, as he had long de- clared that he would never leave the place. From his boyhood he had been a faithful mem- ber of the Christian Church, and, carrying out his strong views on the temperance issue, he was an ardent Prohibitionist. To his children and posterity he leaves an untarnished name and creditable record, and his loss is deeply felt in this community.
Mrs. Hunter, who is carefully following out the improvements planned by her late hus-
band, is a lady of excellent business ability, as has been amply manifested. Formerly Miss Myrtilla J. McRoberts, she was married at the home of her parents, Capt. J. W. and Sarah (Caldwell) McRoberts, who lived upon a farm near Mexico, Mo. She was born in Champaign county, Ohio, and her mother was a native of Cincinnati, but her father and both grand- fathers were Kentuckians. Her grandfather, William McRoberts, fought in the war of 1812, and at an carly day located upon a Champaign county (Ohio) farm, which is still in the pos- session of his descendants. His wife, Martha, was a daughter of John Wynn, a pioneer of Kentucky and of Champaign county, Ohio. Her mother was Myrtilla Minor, who was half Mo- hawk blood, related to the Powhatan family. The farm which was owned by Capt. J. W. Mc- Roberts in his early manhood was in the vicinity of Urbana, Ohio, and later in life he was the proprietor of farms near Fulton, Mo., Audrain and Jewell counties, Mo. His title was earned during the war of the Rebellion, and his last years were passed in Mankato, Kans., his death occurring in 1896. His wife also has been called to her reward, and their daughter, Susan, is de- ceased. Mrs. McRoberts' father, Robert Cald- well, sprang from the same family as John C. Calhoun, and was a merchant in Cincinnati at the time of her birth, but later became a farmer of Champaign county, same state. Her mother, Anna, was a daughter of Charles Avery, one of the first settlers in Cincinnati, the builder of the first hotel in that city, and the one at whose home the first courts of the place were held. Mrs. Hunter has two living brothers and four sisters. The eldest, Mrs. Mary L. Block, re- sides in Oregon; Mrs. Martha B. Ward lives in Jewell county, Kans .; J. W. is an attorney and ex-judge of Mankato; Mrs. Jemima Hepler lives in California; Douglas is a farmer of Jewell county, and Mrs. Sarah Chipman is in, Topeka.
All of her eight children are spared to Mrs. C. C. Hunter, who has abundant reason to be proud of them. As previously stated, William F., the eldest, is in California. John Arthur, the second, is engaged in mining operations in Alaska, and Elmer is foreman in the plumbing department of the Santa Fe Railroad shops at Topėka. Paul is a hero of the Spanish-Amer- ican war, and went through the siege of Santi- ago, being one of the renowned "Rough Riders" commanded by Roosevelt; he is now manager of a paper in Alaska. The elder daughter, Mrs. Mattie Tenney, lives in Chandler, and the younger children, Edith, Edgar and Joseph, are at home.
In her religious faith Mrs. Hunter is a be- liever in the simple primitive Christianity, and is an active member of the Disciples' or Chris-
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MARTIN C. MORRILL, Payne County.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
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tian Church, as was her noble husband. What- ever makes for the welfare of the people, she heartily endorses, and the influence for good which she exerts in her community cannot be overestimated.
M ARTIN C. MORRILL, deceased. Owing to ill health contracted during the war, and accentuated by later arduous effort along the lines of his various interests, Mr. Morrill spent his last years in retirement from active business life, and rented his well-improved farm on the northwest quarter of section 24, township 18, range I west, Payne county. Upon first coming to the territory, in 1889. he located upon this claim and at once began its improvement, with the result that it is now one of the best equipped in the locality. One hundred and thirty acres are under cultivation, the houses and out- buildings are of the best possible construction, the land is well fenced, and there is a good or- chard.
Mr. Morrill had a long life of activity. He was born in Orange county, Vt., in 1833, and was a son of William and Mary (Martin) Morrill, na- tives, respectively, of Vermont and Connecticut. William Morrill served in the war of 1812. About 1845 he brought his family west and set- tled in Van Buren county, Iowa, where they were successful farmers for sixteen years. They next located in Macon county, Mo., where the father and mother both died, and where they are buried, nine miles south of Callao. The father was a brick and stone mason, which trade he had learned from his father, and which he had combined with his farming interests ever since he arrived at the age of twenty-one years.
When the war broke out Martin Morrill was living in Macon county, Mo., and enlisted. April 15, 1862, in Company F, Second Missouri Cav- alry, which was mobilized in Macon and vicinity. The first engagement of the company was at Kirksville, with Gen. Joe Porter commanding the Rebel army of thirty thousand. The engage- ment lasted for three hours, and was won by the Second Missouri Cavalry. They also participa- ted in numerous other engagements, including Cape Girardeau, Pilot Knob, and Cape Bluff, after which they were mustered out April 15, 1865, at St. Louis.
When peace was restored Mr. Morrill returned to his home in Missouri, and engaged in farming until 1874, when he removed to Clay county, Tex., and bought a farm, upon which he lived until 1888. He eventually sold this piece of land and went to Grayson county, of the same state, and bought an hundred acres of land for $1,000, which he sold in 1889 for $4,000.
March 6, 1856, Mr. Morrill married Eliza Fix,
daughter of William and Catherine Fix, of In- diana. To this couple were born eleven chil- dren, five of whom are living: Hattie, now Mrs. White, has seven children, and is living in Hickory county,| Mo .; William is a prosperous farmer, lives on a claim adjoining that of his mother on the south, and has three children; Effie, who is the wife of Mr. Hopkins, has three children, and lives on the farm with her mother; Edna is married to Mr. Kennedy, has two chil- dren, and lives in Payne county; and Pearl is living at home. A son, twenty-one years of age, died in Oklahoma in 1894, and the other children died in infancy.
In political affiliation Mr. Morrill was ever a Republican, his first presidential vote having been cast for Abraham Lincoln. He held several important local positions, and for four years was justice of the peace. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, at Mulhall, and helped to organize the post at that place. Mr. Morrill won the respect and esteem of all who knew him, and who appreciated his honest and upright methods of conducting the business af- fairs of life. He did much for the advancement of the public good, and his death, in 1900, re- moved from the scene of his activities one of the county's most reliable citizens.
JAMES F. MAHAFFEY. As one of the most progressive pioneers, and as the larg- est stone merchant in Pawnee, Mr. Mahaf- fey has succeeded in establishing his claim as a reliable and substantial citizen, and in gaining the good-will and esteem of all who come within the range of his fine and upright business meth- ods and genial, optimistic personality. His con- nection with the territory began in September of 1893, when he located in the town of great promise, staked out some lots, and built a small residence for himself and family. He is now the possessor of the largest and finest stone dwelling in the place, and is, besides, the owner of ten other residences. To his skill as a con- tractor, builder and stonemason has been en- trusted a large number of the most prominent buildings in the locality, and his work is facili- tated by owning and operating his own quarry, which has proved a most satisfactory invest- ment. Few have more lavishly contributed to the general growth of the city, or have more intelligently planned for its position among the landmarks of progress in the territory.
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