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 75
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
Mr. Mahaffey comes of sturdy Scotch ances- try, and was born in Ripley, Brown county. Ohio, February 9, 1845. The paternal grand- father was born in Scotland, and upon crossing the seas to America, located with his family in Pennsylvania, and later settled in Ohio, where
1
1156
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
he died. His son, Samuel, the father of James F., was also born in Scotland, and in early life learned the trade of stonemasonry, which he combined during the years of his activity with the occupation of builder and contractor. After living for a time in Ripley, Ohio, he located in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and subsequently went to Washington county, Kans., in the vicinity of Strawberry, where he homesteaded a claim, and where he terminated his useful and active life in 1876. His wife, Eliza (Frazier) Mahaffey, was born in Pennsylvania, and was a daughter of Andrew Frazier, a native of the north of Ire- land, and of Scotch descent. He was a weaver of fine linens, and worked at his trade in Penn- sylvania, and later removed to Ohio, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits. Mrs. Mahaffey died in Washington county, Kans. She became the mother of nine children, seven daughters and two sons, of whom two sons and three daughters are living, J. F. being the second youngest. One son, Alfred B., served during the Civil war in the Eleventh Iowa Regiment, and participated in twenty-eight regular engage- ments. He was wounded at the battle of Shi- ioh, and is at the present time living in the ter- ritory.
The youth of Mr. Mahaffey was spent in Rip- ley until 1855, when he went with his parents to Iowa, where he was reared to agricultural pur- suits. At the time, his educational facilities were extremely limited, but have been more than counteracted in later years by study along many lines, by keen observation, and an intuitive knowledge of human nature. In 1864 he em- barked upon an independent venture, and at St. Louis, Mo., was in the employ of the govern- ment at Benton Barracks. In February of 1865 he volunteered in Company F, Twenty-third Illinois, at Chicago, and until August of 1865 was stationed at Richmond, Va. The company was mustered out at Chicago during August, and Mr. Mahaffey returned to Mount Pleasant, where his marriage took place. He then bought a farm in the vicinity of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, which was cleared and eventually sold, and in 1870 came to Washington county, Kans., where he homesteaded a claim thirteen miles south of the town of Washington. For fourteen years he successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits, and at the same time worked at the trade of mason with the McGregors. In 1884 Mr. Ma- haffey located in Kingman, Kans., and engaged in the hotel business, and bought a farm near there, and in 1887 located in Reno county, Kans., near Arlington, and engaged in the mer- chandise business. A still later venture was in 1890, when he removed to Hutchinson, of the same state, where he followed his trade of builder and contractor. He subsequently plied
his trade in Arkansas City, Fort Worth, Tex., and in Dallas, Tex., and in 1893 took up his per- manent residence in the newly opened territory, where he has since been the leading builder, con- tractor and stonemason.
April 8, 1867, occurred the marriage of Mr. Mahaffey and Maggie C. Forbes, a native of Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Her father, Riley, was born in Ohio, and was a farmer. The paternal grandfather, Joseph, was also born in Ohio, and was one of the very carly settlers of Mount Pleasant, Iowa. The mother of Mrs. Mahaffey was formerly Lydia Heath, who was born in Indiana, and a daughter of Lambert Heath, who was an early settler in Indiana, and in 1849 removed to Texas. Mrs. Heath died in Indiana, and left eight children, four of whom are liv- ing. Mr. Heath contracted a second marriage, and of this union there were four children, who are since deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Mahaffey were born ten children, eight of whom have lived to mature years: Dora is now Mrs. Os- good, and lives in Kingman, Kans .; Frank A. is an agent for the Singer Sewing Machine Company at Pawnee; Harry O. is a merchant in Pawnee; Flora B. is now Mrs. Morton, of Pawnee; Omer H. is a blacksmith in Pawnee; Morris E. is a barber in Pawnee; Elmer L. is a printer in this town; and Mabel B. is a stenog- rapher.
In national politics Mr. Mahaffey is a Poput- list, and has been prominently identified with the undertakings of his party. He served. for two terms as councilman, and was on the school board for three years. Fraternally he is asso- ciated with the Masonic order, and is connected with Pawnee Lodge No. 17. Mrs. Mahaffey is a member of the Eastern Star. The Mahaffey family is one of the most delightful in the town of Pawnee, and their home is the scene of gen- erous hospitality and rare good fellowship. Much of their pleasure in life has been derived from their knowledge of and fondness for music, in which all of the family excel. During the resi- dence of Mr. and Mrs. Mahaffey in Kansas they were the life and spirit of the neighborhood, and furnished the music for many memorable fes- tive occasions, Mr. Mahaffey playing the violin and his wife the bass viol.
W ILLIAM BRUINGTON, the senior member of the firm of Bruington Bros., is an important factor in the business circles of Pawnee, and his popularity is well de- served, as in him are embraced the characteris- tics of an unbending integrity, unabated energy and industry that never flags. He is a leading merchant of the town, and as a public-spirited
-
1157
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
citizen is thoroughly interested in whatever tends to promote the moral, social and material welfare of the community.
Mr. Bruington was born near Monmouth, Warren county, Ill., April 11, 1862, and is a worthy representative of honored pioneer fam- ilies of that state. His paternal grandfather, Thomas Bruington, was born in Kentucky, and as early as 1835 removed to Illinois, where he followed farming throughout the remainder of his life. The father, James Bruington, was a native of Breckenridge county, Ky., and in early life engaged in farming and stock-raising in the Prairie state. For eight years he was a merchant of Galesburg, and on leaving that city in 1884 removed to Winfield, Kans., where he was engaged in the milling and grocery busi- ness for some time, and then located on his farm near that city, devoting the remainder of his life to agricultural pursuits. He died in 1898, and his wife departed this life in Kansas in 1900. She bore the maiden name of Jemima Wallace, and was a native of Warren county, Ill., where her father, Thomas Wallace, a native of Ken- tucky, settled in 1835 and continued to make his home throughout life. Of the ten children born to Mr. and Mrs. Bruington, four sons and four daughters are still living, and four of the number are residents of Pawnee, Okla., these being William, Edwin, Orla and Mrs. Cora Newby.
During his boyhood and youth William Bru- ington attended the public schools of Illinois and Lombard University, at Galesburg. He also acquired an excellent knowledge of business af- fairs by clerking in his father's store when not in school. In 1884 he accompanied the family on their removal to Winfield, Kans., and after 'spending a short time upon the farm, became a partner of his father in the milling business, under the firm name of the Akron Milling Com- pany. They put in a roller process in the mill, and successfully conducted it in connection with the grocery business until 1890, when our sub- ject sold out and went to Attica, Harper county, Kans., where he opened a hardware and notion store. On disposing of his business there he came to Pawnee, Okla., in June, 1898, and in partnership with his brother Edwin started a store, in which they carry general hardware, stoves, furniture of all kinds and undertaker's supplies. They also have a fine line of sporting goods, and carry the largest stock of furniture and shelf hardware of any firm in the city. They also have a hearse. The brother of our sub- ject is a graduate of a school of embalming and has charge of that branch of the business. Their store is a two-story structure, 25x140 feet, and they occupy both floors with their immense stock. As business men they rank among the
most popular in the city, being enterprising, pro- gressive and reliable.
William Bruington was married in Winfield, Kans., to Miss Lizzie M. Thompson, a native of Lebanon, Mo. Her father, Thomas Thompson, removed from Ohio to that state, and later went to Kansas, but now makes his home with our subject in Oklahoma. He served in the Union army during the Civil war as a member of the Eighth Missouri Regiment, and followed farm- ing as a life-work. To Mr. and Mrs. Bruington were born two children: Lois, who died at the age of fifteen months; and Lloyd, who is still living.
In political sentiment Mr. Bruington is a Democrat, though not radical. In the spring of 1899 he was elected to the city council from the third ward and made president of the board. He is a charter member and director of the Com- mercial Club of Pawnee; is a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge of the city and the En- campment of Stillwater; and the Camp of Mod- ern Woodmen of America at Pawnee, of which he is venerable consul. Religiously he is an ac- tive and prominent member of the Congrega- tional Church, and is now serving as trustee of the same and superintendent of the Sunday- school.
J. S. BADGER. Few men in the territory are more familiar with the conditions as they have existed from the opening in 1889, up to the present time, than is Mr. Badger. As an hotel man, postmaster, farmer, stage coach driver, druggist, and all-around progressive citi- zen, he has watched the expanding possibilities of this truly wonderland of resource, and lent the aid of his intelligent and far-sighted discern- ment to the discovery of the best means of de- velopment and growth. As the proprietor and manager of the largest and best hotel in Paw- nee, he has been instrumental in securing the interest of a large amount of the traveling pub- lic, and by judiciously catering to their ideas of comfortable surroundings and culinary expec- tations, has made himself a happy medium be- tween the tradesmen of the town and the sellers of goods.
The early life of Mr. Badger was centered in Mercer county, Pa., where he was born Novem- ber II, 1842. His parents, John and Lucinda (Fowler) Badger, were born, respectively, in New York, near Whitehall, and in Wheeling, WV. Va. The paternal grandfather, Ephraim, was born in New York state, and in later life be- came a farmer near Windsor, Vt. The family is of Scotch descent. and the first members to come to America located in New England. John Badger was a manufacturer of potash in
1158
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Ohio, and continued in the same occupation after his removal to Mercer county, Pa. In 1854 he located in Kansas City, going thence in 1855 to Junction City, and eventually settling on a farm in the vicinity, where he farmed until his death, in 1868. The mother was raised in Ohio, and died in Milford, Kans., in 1897, at the age of eighty years. To this couple were born twelve children, who all grew to maturity, and ten of whom are living, J. S. being the third oldest.
In 1854 the Badger family left Mercer county, Pa., and settled at Junction City, where J. S. received his education in the public schools. At the age of fifteen he entered government em- ploy at Fort Riley for two years, and later re- turned to the home farm, where he worked until the war. January 20, 1862, he enlisted in Com- pany F, Sixth Kansas Cavalry, at Fort Riley, and was engaged in Missouri and Arkansas, and mustered out in February of 1865, at Clarksville, Ark. Upon returning to his home, he bought a farm in what is now Grear county, and in 1867 homesteaded a claim in Clay county, on Chap- man creek, near Oak Hill, Kans. After having conducted farming interests there for some time, he bought the old homestead near Junction City, but sold it after two years. He then re- turned to the vicinity of Oak Hill and farmed for two years. Later he engaged in the drug business until 1888. He then spent a short time in Kansas, and in 1889 came to the Otoe agency. As a government mail agent he drove the stage from Red Rock to Pawnee, and made a round trip every day in the week but Sunday. The contract closed in 1894, and he then discontin- ued to drive the stage.
In the meantime, in the fall of 1893, Mr. Bad- ger had become interested in the hotel business, with a view to devoting his future efforts in that direction. He had erected a portion of the Na- tional Hotel, which has since been enlarged to its present proportions, of 66x66 feet. It con- tains forty rooms, and is the largest and oldest hotel in the town. He is now erecting a new modern stone hotel, adjacent to the present one, seventy-five feet square, the whole making 75x140 feet.
In Clay county, Kans., occurred the marriage of Mr. Badger and Adeline Gebhart, a native of Kentucky. To this couple have been born six children, viz .: Maggie, who is now Mrs. Wit- croft, of Kansas City; John, assistant postmas- ter; Lucetta, assistant deputy postmaster: Nel- lie, also an assistant in the postoffice; Frank, who died at the age of twelve years; and Min- nie. In national politics Mr. Badger is affiliated with the Republican party, and is a firm adher- ent of its issues and principles. He was chair- man at the organization of the County Central Republican Committee. He is a member of the
Pawnee Post, G. A. R. Mrs. Badger is con- nected with the Methodist Episcopal Church.
ISAAC MILLARD. One of the busiest, most energetic and most enterprising men of Paw-
nee is the subject of this review, who is not only engaged in the harness and saddlery busi- ness in Pawnee, but also follows farming and stock-raising, owning and operating one hun- dred and sixty acres of land three miles from that place. He bears in his veins some of the best blood of our early colonists, and is in every way a splendid type of our best American citi- zenship.
Mr. Millard was born in Ballston Spa, Sara- toga county, N. Y., June 7, 1835, and is the youngest child of Solomon and Jane (Van Ornam) Millard, the former a native of Still- water, Saratoga county, the latter of Albany, N. Y. His paternal grandfather, Johida Mil- lard, was born in England and emigrated from Yorkshire to New York state, where he fol- lowed agricultural pursuits. The battle of Sara- toga was fought on a part of his farm, and as his buildings were destroyed by fire at that time, he removed to Rock Creek, the same state. The maternal grandfather, Isaac Van Ornam, was a Hollander and an early settler of Albany. By trade our subject's father was a hatter, but later in life he followed farming near Ballston Spa, and from there he removed to Cohoes, N. Y., where he died when past the age of ninety-one years. His wife passed away at Fredonia, Wil- son county, Kans., at a very advanced age. To them were born eleven children, of whom two sons and five daughters reached manhood and womanhood, and two sons and two daughters are still living. Our subject's brother Solomon resides in Albany, N. Y.
In' the county of his nativity, Isaac Millard was reared and educated, and at the age of fif- teen began learning the saddlery and harness trade, at which he served a four years' appren- ticeship. In January, 1858, he went to California by way of New York and the Isthmus of Panama to San Francisco. Later he went to Walla Walla, Wash., which at that time was a govern- ment post, and there he worked at his trade for the government for a time. Subsequently he followed the same occupation at Portland and Albany, Ore., and during the summer was en- gaged in placer mining on the Moore's creek at Bannock, Idaho. He then returned to San Francisco, and later crossed the mountains to Arizona, stopping at Tucson, from which place he engaged in freighting to Denver in the gov- ernment employ until 1865. He next worked at his trade until the fall of 1866, when he returned
FAMILY GROUP, JAMES L. MILLER,
Pottawatc mie County.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
GR 1161
home, crossing the plains with a mule team to Atchison, Kans.
Arriving in New York, Mr. Millard embarked in business at Seneca Falls, but having a long- ing for the west, he removed to Kansas in 1869, and located a claim four miles from Fredonia, which he improved. Not meeting with success in the cattle business, to which he gave his at- tention, he opened a shop in Fredonia, and worked at his trade there and later at Elk City. Montgomery county, Kans. Subsequently he took up a homestead at Coneyville, the same state, remaining there until his removal to Paw- nec, Okla., in 1897. Here he has since success- fully engaged in the manufacture of saddles and heavy and light harness, and to-day has the larg- est establishment of the kind in the place. He also carries on general farming and stock-rais- ing, as previously stated.
At Fredonia, Kans., Mr. Millard wedded Miss Mary Clark, a native of Indiana, and they have become the parents of five children, namely: Cary, a harnessmaker, now engaged in business with his father; Mrs. Lou Neal, a resident of Pawnee county; Isaac, a farmer of the same county; Solomon, and Ralph. The wife and mother holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. Millard is connected with the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In politics he is inde- pendent.
J JAMES L. MILLER, who has been a very suc- cessful farmer, and whose labors have con- tributed largely to the upbuilding and devel- opment of the west, now lives on the southwest quarter of section 21, township II, range 3 east, Pottawatomie county. He is a native of Tippe- canoe county, Ind., his birth having occurred August 27, 1836. He resided upon the parental farm there until he was about seventeen years of age, when he went with the family to Macon county, Mo. The parents, Thompson and (Isley) Miller, were thrifty agriculturists and gave their children fair advantages.
When he had reached a suitable age James L. Miller assumed much of the management of the homestead, as his father, who was a millwright by trade, was kept busy the greater part of his time in that calling. In 1861, the opening year of the war, when Missouri was a literal battle- field of the opposite factions, the young man be- came a member of the home guards, and in that capacity took part in a skirmish at Kirksville. In the following year he joined Company B, Sixty- second Missouri Infantry, and continued in the ranks until the close of 186.1.
In the meantime Mr. Miller had married Miss M. C. Griffin, October 27, 1862. A native of
Overton county, Tenn., she is a daughter of Wil- liam and Matilda (Gimmels) Griffin, and was eleven years of age when she went to Missouri with her family. Mary, eldest living child of Mr. and Mrs. Miller, is the wife of S. E. Tate, of Ma- con county, Mo., and has one daughter, Vassie. William T., elder son of our subject, married Viola Hesner, and has two children, Ora and Virgil. Elizabeth, wife of James Shanks, of this county, has one child, Thessie. James L. Miller, Jr., also of this county, chose Maude Burns for a wife, and their two little ones are Lou and Earl. Cassie, the youngest of our subject's family, is yet at home.
In Macon county Mr. Miller owned and im- proved five hundred and twenty acres of land, and thus was known as one of the practical and enterprising business men of his community. In 1895 he came to this territory, with a view to set- tlement here, and, liking the country, made ar- rangements enabling him to take possession of a quarter section of land, his present homestead. buying off two contestants to the land. In the spring of 1896 he planted a crop and during the summer lived in a tent. That autumn, after he had harvested his crop, he completed the house upon which he had spent his spare time, and his family soon were made thoroughly comfortable. Of late he has not only cultivated his own farm, but also has leased a quarter section of school land.
In 1860 Mr. Miller voted for Douglas, but four years later supported Lincoln, and ever since has been a stanch Republican. In Missouri he rep- resented his township in the county central com- mittee for several terms, and on one occasion, when made his party's nominee for a position as county judge, he came within one hundred and one votes of being elected, though the Demo- cratic majority there had previously been about eight hundred. For a quarter of a century he served as superintendent of the Sunday-school of the Protestant Methodist Episcopal Church in Missouri, and both he and his wife are actively interested in the work of this denomination, be- ing members of the church. Before coming to this territory Mr. Miller was an active member of the Odd Fellows, Masons and Grand Army of the Republic, being highly esteemed by the sev- eral fraternities.
G EORGE W. HUGHES, who is now suc- cessfully engaged in the grocery, bakery and confectionery business in Pawnee. where he has made his home since September. 1893. was born in Covington, Ky., on the 8th of March, 1855, and is of Welsh descent. His paternal grandfather spent his entire life in Wales, his occupation being that of a farmer,
.
1162
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
but four of his sons, Even, Harry, John and George, came to America at an early day. John owned the mineral wells at Rome, Ga., and died at that place. Harry was in California when last heard from. George, a prosperous merchant of Brooklyn, N. Y., and a prominent Mason, is now living a retired life in that city.
Even Hughes, father of our subject, was born in Glamorganshire, Wales, and there learned the puddler's trade. When a young man he came to the United States and first located in Cincinnati, where he married Margaret Evans, a native of Aberistworth, Wales, and a daughter of Thomas Evans, who brought his family to America and located on a farm near Pomeroy, Ohio. After his marriage Mr. Hughes made his home in Covington, Ky., until 1858, when he went to California by way of the Panama route and was successfully engaged in placer mining . at Cantonville for a time. He owned a farm near Salem, Ill., but spent his last days in St. Louis, Mo., where he died in 1892. His widow is now a resident of Emporia, Kans. Of the three children born to them our subject is the oldest and the only one who reached years of maturity.
George W. Hughes lived with his parents in California in 1858 and 1859. and then went to Pomeroy, Ohio, where he made his home until his removal to Cincinnati in 1865. His educa- tional advantages were limited as he commenced work when a small boy. He acted as cash-boy in John Shelto's store at Cincinnati for a time, and then learned the barber's trade in that city. In 1872 he went to Burlington, Kans., where he worked at his trade a short time, and then located a claim in the three-mile strip on the Oklahoma line. On disposing of his property in 1875, he removed to Emporia, Kans., where he followed his trade, and on leaving that place went to Osage City to conduct the Royal meat market. Subsequently he was engaged in the nursery business at Emporia for eighteen monthis, and opened a barber shop in Eureka, Kans., before the railroad was built to that place. Later he worked at his trade in Hum- boldt and Fredonia, and also conducted a res- taurant at the latter place for about twelve years.
On the opening of this strip, Mr. Hughes came to Pawnee in September, 1893, and started the first barber shop in the town. He erected a building on the south side of the square and worked at his trade until 1896, when he sold out his shop and started a lunch counter, which he has since disposed of. In the meantime he had opened a restaurant which he later sold and now conducts a grocery and a bakery which has a capacity of five hundred loaves of bread per day. He is also engaged in the manufacture of ice cream and confectionery, and does a large
catering business. He carries a good line of fancy groceries, and has built up an excellent trade. He leases a store building on the south side of the square, which is 31x31 feet. As a business man he is prompt, energetic and re- liable, and commands the respect and confidence of all with whom he comes in contact.
At Fredonia, Kans., was celebrated the mar- riage of Mr. Hughes and Miss Sadic E. Reed, a native of Henry county, Ill., and a daughter of William Reed, who is now extensively engaged in farming near Fredonia. The children born to them are Aurellia, Grace, Bessie and Owen Reed. Mr. Hughes is a prominent member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Paw- nce. He joined the order at Fredonia, Kans., and there served as district deputy grand master. He was also high priest of the Encampment at that place, but now belongs to the Encampment at Stillwater, and has been a representative to both the grand lodge and grand encampment. He is a member of the Commercial Club at Pawnee. In his political affiliations he is an ardent Republican. He owns a substantial stone residence and six acres of valuable land, six blocks from the business portion of the city.
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.