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 76
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R. C. SPINNING. While conducting a suc- cessful livery and feed business in Paw- nee, Mr. Spinning has also been interested in the care and breeding of fine horses, and at the present time is the possessor of some of the best bloods in the territory. His success is tin- doubtedly attributable to the fact that he has a natural fondness for the noblest of the mem- bers of dumb creation, and knows how to de- velop and appreciate their intelligence and worth.
From his Scotch and German ancestry Mr. Spinning inherits the sterling and reliable traits that we are apt to associate with the sons of these countries. A native of Watertown, N. Y., he was born August 18, 1859. and is a son of Jack Spinning, who was born in Cape Vincent. N. Y. The paternal grandfather, John, was born in Scotland, and upon coming to America with his parents, located in New York. His long and useful life was spent as captain upon the lakes, and after his retirement from active service, he died in New York. His son, Jack Spinning, followed in his father's footsteps, and as a boy spent the greater part of his time on the lakes. In 1860 he removed to Baxter Springs, Kans .. where he engaged as a farmer and miller, and died in Cherokee county, Kans., in 1879. His wife, formerly Melinda Helmer, was born in Canada, a daughter of Philip Helmer, and also a native of Canada. He was a farmer by occu-
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pation, and of German descent. Mrs. Spinning died at Wolf Island, Ontario.
The only child of his parents, R. C. Spinning lived until his twentieth year in Watertown, N. Y., and was educated at the public schools. In 1879, upon the. death of his father, he came to Kansas, and in 1880 entered the employ of Clen- denning & Jones, horse dealers, and for three years trailed horses from Texas to Kansas. When the demand for horses had subsided, and the prices became lower, he was employed by Colonel Townsend, of Iowa county, now Lin- coln county, on his ranch, and here continued in the cattle business until the opening of the Oklahoma territory. He then bought a claim on the Cimarron river, upon which he lived for a year, and then sold it. At the Sac and Fox opening in September of 1891, he bought a claim in what is now Payne county, near the Cimarron river, which he improved, and which is now in his possession. He also filed a claim upon a quarter section on Skull creek, Union township, Payne county, which was proved up, and improved. At the opening of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe reservations in April of 1893, Mr. Spinning was on hand with the many other as- pirants for land, but did not succeed in making any addition to his claims.
September 16, 1893. he located at Pawnee, and opened a meat market which was success- fully conducted until April of 1899. In 1890 he sold his claim in old Oklahoma, and re- moved to Lebanon, Potter county, S. D., and engaged in the livery business for eight- een months, or until 1891, when he returned to his claim on the Cimarron river. In the fall of 1899 he purchased the livery, feed and sale stable to which he has since turned his attention. The barn is a large and well con- structed affair. and has accommodations for one hundred horses. It is 50x130 feet in dimen- sions. Among the many valuable animals owned by Mr. Spinning may be mentioned Wilkesinc, who is registered No. 30536, and has a record of 2:173, and sired by Opulence; Lady Holmes, sired by Cassius M. Clay; Topsey M., sired by Joe Young; Daisy K., with record of 2:25; and Minnie Reed, by Biue Bull. On his farm there are many fine bred Jersey cattle. As an additional interest and source of revenue. Mr. Spinning is engaged in loaning money.
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In Payne county, Okla., Mr. Spinning was united in marriage with Sarah E. Harter, of In- diana, a daughter of John Harter, who was a miller by occupation, and who removed to Kan- sas, and then to the Osage Nation, where he eventually died. To Mr. and Mrs. Spinning has been born one child, Dennis T. In national politics Mr. Spinning is a Republican, but has never been an office seeker. With the general
upbuilding of his locality he has been prom- inently identified, and is at all times recog- nized as an enterprising and reliable citizen. He constructed the half mile track at Pawne. and organized the Pawnee Driving Association He was president of the same until the railroad divided the track, since which the undertakings of the association are temporarily suspended.
B. FOUTS. The town of Carney is founded . upon the energy, success and foresight of the enterprising citizen and merchant, Mr. Fouts. Before the residents of the promising locality hrad left their homes in the east and west and north and south, to cast their fortunes with its undeveloped possibilities, the accumulations of years of patient toil and application in the cattle business enabled Mr. Fouts and others to purchase the land upon which Carney has arisen. and to endow others with his faith in its pros- pects, to the extent that they came in and availed themselves of its fertility and excellence of situation. Since then he has kept pace with its growth, and stimulated many of its most sub- stantial and reliable enterprises.
In Sullivan county, Ind., Mr. Fouts was born in 1850, and was reared to the pursuit of farm- ing, under his father's able instruction. He early acquired a talent for management, and in 1876 went to Chase county, Kans., and as- sumed charge of a farm for Mr. Pinkston, of seven hundred acres. After remaining on this farm for three years he spent a year in Indiana. and in 1880 took up school land in Sumner county, Kans., near Geuda Springs. This land was improved and a deed taken out, and here Mr. Fouts lived until the fall of 1882, when he went to the Cherokee strip and took charge of two enormous ranches. One was owned by S. H. Foss and comprised sixty-six thousand acres. and the other was located on Bitter creek. and was fifty-four thousand acres in extent. These ranches were devoted entirely to the raising of cattle, and Mr. Fouts had supervision over be- tween five and six thousand head of cattle, and a herd of several hundred horses. This large responsibility was ably discharged until the opening of Oklahoma in 1889, when he took a claim near Crescent City. Logan county, proved it up, and lived upon it for two and a half years.
In the fall of 1801 Mr. Fouts sold his pos- sessions in Logan county, and came to Lincoln county, and engaged in general merchandise in a small way. As the population increased, and the demands for his wares multiplied, he broad- ened out in his business, and continued the same for two and a half years. He then came to the site of Carney, and from that time began his association with the town of his adoption. In
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August of 1893, he erected a good sized build- ing, 20x50 feet in dimensions, stocked it with a full line of general merchandise, and some time later built another store, which he stocked with furniture and undertaker's materials, and has since busied himself with the successful man- agement of these concerns.
In 1895 Mr. Fouts contributed still further to the prosperity of the town by erecting a cotton gin, in partnership with G. Z. Page, the firm operating under the name of the Carney Cotton Gin Company. When the concern had approached a paying basis Mr. Fouts sold out his interest to Mr. Page, and has since devoted his entire time to his mercantile enterprise. He also owns a comfortable and commodious dwell- ing. In politics Mr. Fouts is connected with the Democratic party, and is actively interested in its principles and issues. He has served for several years as township trustee and school treasurer. For twenty-eight years he has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is now Past Noble Grand of lodge.
In 1882 occurred the marriage of Mr. Fouts and Lizzie Cummings, and of this union there is one daughter, Golda.
J ULIUS SANDERS NEWBY, county attor- torney of Lincoln county and one of the well-known lawyers of Chandler, has been identified with the history of this town and county since October of 1892. Soon after com- ing here, he became a member of the firm of Fra- zier & Newby, his partner being an influential lawyer who, in 1894, was elected county attor- ney. At the time Mr. Newby was selected to act as deputy county attorney, which position gave him his initial knowledge of the office in Okla- homa, and the information thus obtained has proved helpful to him in later years. In 1899 he became a member of the law firm of Newby & Decker. Meantime, he was active in political and public affairs. The Republican party, in 1896, tendered him nomination as probate judge, but the fusionists were particularly strong dur- ing that year and the Republican ticket met with defeat. In 1898 he was nominated for county attorney by his party and was elected by a fair majority, over the fusion ticket. He took the oath of office in January, 1899, and entered upon the discharge of the duties to which he has since given his close attention. He has been partic- ularly forceful in his work as an official. Law- abiding citizens are warm in their expressions of approval of his service. During a term of circuit court, lasting twenty-eight days, he suc- ceeded in having nineteen law breakers sen- tenced to terms in the penitentiary. He is not a candidate for re-election, preferring to devote
his time and efforts wholly to his practice, in which he so markedly excels.
Near Arcadia, Ind., Mr. Newby was born August 31, 1859. His father, Squire Newby, a native of Owen county, Ind., was a son of John WV. Newby, who was a native of Pulaski county, Ky., and in 1827 settled in Owen county, Ind., thence in 1836 moved to Hamilton county, the same state, and improved a farm near Arcadia, where he died. His father, a Revolutionary sol- dier and a Virginian, was the first man who ever drove two yoke of cattle over the Blue Ridge Mountains when establishing his home in south- ern Kentucky. The family is of Scotch-Irish descent.
The active life of Squire Newby has been passed on a farm near Arcadia. For two terms he served as county commissioner. He married Mary Jane Collip, who was born near Straw- town, Hamilton county, Ind., a daughter of John Collip. Her father, by birth a Virgin'an. settled in Indiana at an early day, and speculated in lands and real estate. He had the first gov- ernment entry to land where Indianapolis now stands, but the outlook was so unpromising that he did not remain, Strawtown being more thriv- ing and having a better chance of securing the capital site. The Collip family canie from Hesse, Germany. Mrs. Mary Jane Newby died in In- diana in 1874. Of her nine children, six attained mature years and four are living, Julius S. being the sixth in order of birth and the only one in Oklahoma. He was reared on a farm near Ar- cadia, Ind. His education was begun in public schools, continued in Spicewood Academy, after which he spent a year in Butler University at Irvington, Ind. He began to read medicine under his brother, Dr. John C. Newby, and Dr. Barber, with whom he studied for two years. In 1879 he went to Louisa county, Iowa, and taught one term of school, returning then to Arcadia, where he conducted a drug store for two years. In 1883 he settled on a farm in Tip- ton county, Ind., and the next year began to study law in Tipton. He was admitted to the bar in February, 1885, and came to Kansas, opening an office in Pratt Center, where he built up a general practice. In the fall of 1885 he removed to Wichita county, Kans., where, in the spring of 1887 he was elected county attorney. During the county-seat, fight he secured the indictment of the men convicted as murderers.
The climate of Kansas not agreeing with his wife, Mr. Newby removed to Missouri in 1800. In the fall of 1892 he came to Lincoln county, and has since made his home in Chandler. In 1895 he located a claim in the Kickapoo country and this property he has to some extent im- proved. He is a member of the Territorial Bar Association and is interested in all matters per-
Cleveland County.
A. A. HAYES AND FAMILY,
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taining to the public welfare and general prog- ress of Oklahoma.
In Arcadia, Ind., August 8, 1880, Mr. Newby married Miss Hester A. Miller, who was born in Tipton county, Ind. Her father, Daniel Mil- ler, was a native of Pennsylvania, and in an early day accompanied his parents to Hamilton county, Ind., where he engaged in farm pur- suits. The family of Mr. and Mr. Newby con- sists of nine children, viz: Roland, Orrin and Earnest (twins), Lenna, Kittie, Mary, Edith, Harry and Hester.
A LPHEUS A. HAYES comes of a family whose members have ever been a credit to
the localities in which their lot has been cast, and to the occupations which have engaged their attention and ability. He was born in Cal- houn county, Mich., September 11, 1848, and is a son of Horace B. and Martha (Robinson) Hayes. His father is held in fond remembrance by his industrious and successful son, for he was a man of mark in the community in which he lived, and possessed many fine traits of mind and character. When a young man he went from the county of his birth, Seneca county, N. Y., to Michigan, but after a time returned and married, his wife being a native of Albany, N. Y. He then returned to Michigan, where he spent the remainder of his days. During his younger days he profited by excellent educa- tional advantages, and practically applied his knowledge, as a school teacher. As a stanch Republican he wielded an extended influence, and for many years held the office of justice of the peace. He was a profoundly religious man and served as deacon in the Free Will Baptist Church, of which he was treasurer for a great many years. His enterprising life terminated in Calhoun county at the age of seventy-five years.
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The mother of A. A. Hayes died in 1861, when he was. thirteen years of age. Of her marriage one daughter and five sons were born, A. A. being the third child. In 1864 the father married again, his wife being Avaline Hyde, by whom he had two daughters and one son.
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Like his father, Alpheus Hayes had fortunate opportunities for acquiring an education, and his training in the public schools was supplemented by two terms at Hillsdale College. Had he had the inclination he could have studied still fur- ther, but at the age of nineteen his independent spirit asserted itself, and he longed to start out in the world for himself. For seven years he worked by the month in different capacities, and in 1873 was united in marriage, in Linn county, Mo., with Margaret Bullock, who was born in Lenerick, Canada, a daughter of Archibald and Jane (Boyles) Bullock. When but three years
of age her parents emigrated to Hancock county, Ill., and went from there to Linn county, Mo., when she was fourteen.
After his marriage Mr. Hayes purchased eighty acres of land in Linn county and for seven years conducted successful agricultural and stock-raising enterprises. He then removed to Sullivan county and bought three hundred and eighty acres, and continued his former occu- pations on a much extended scale. His land was extremely wild and uncultivated, and re- quired much arduous application to reduce it to a condition of utility and resource. In 1891 Mr. Hayes followed a still leading ambition, and in Oklahoma sought to succeed on even broader lines. He purchased a claim on the northwest quarter of section 16, township 8, range 2 west; later bought the southeast quarter of section 9, township 8, range 2; subsequently added to his possessions the southeast quarter of section 26, township 8, range 2, and recently acquired the northwest quarter of section 15, township 8, range 2 west. He is thus one of the largest land- owners in Cleveland county. His claims are fitted with all modern improvements, and farm- ing is here conducted in the most scientific and up-to-date manner. For the past eight years he has operated a threshing machine. In national politics he is affiliated with the Republican party, although he is not an office-seeker.
To Mr. and Mrs. Hayes have been born nine children, of whom Martha, the oldest, died when . two years old, and Justin, the second, died when six years old; both were born in Missouri. Seven children are now living, viz .: Cora, who is the wife of Russell Chastine, has one child, and lives in Norman; Edwin, who was born in Linn county, Mo., October 28, 1888; Evelyn, Ger- trude, Mabel, Noble and Nora. AH were born in Missouri except the two youngest, who were born in Oklahoma. Mrs. Hayes is particularly interested in floriculture, and her flower garden is very attractive to the eye, showing the results of her care and painstaking oversight.
E MERY A. FOSTER, a well-known attor- ney-at-law of Chandler, is a worthy repre- sentative of a stanch colonial family of Massachusetts, and many of his relatives, on the maternal as well as on the paternal side. have achieved distinction in the annals of New England and the United States. They have been noted for loyalty to the government, for abso- lute integrity of character, and for marked tal- ents of mind. Several generations of the Fos- ters were identified with the development of the Bay state and with Vermont, and the great- great-grandfather of the subject of this article officiated with the rank of a captain in the war
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for independence. Nathan, grandfather of E. A. Foster, was born in New York state, and thence removed to Edgerton, Wis., when that state was considered on the western frontier. Later he went to Iowa, where he was living when he received summons to the silent land.
The parents of our subject are Goodell and Madee (Hamilton) Foster, natives of Adams, N. Y., and Wisconsin, respectively. The latter is a daughter of Horace Hamilton, who was born in Alfred, N. Y., and was a prominent con- tractor of Milton, Wis., until his death. His family originated in Rhode Island several gen- erations ago, and there were related to the Greenes and to Roger Williams. In his early manhood Goodell Foster obtained a good educa- tion, and, after studying law in Ottawa, Iowa, was admitted to the bar. Subsequently he was occupied in professional labors in Dayton, Mo., and Independence, Kans., where he now resides.
The birth of Emery A. Foster occurred in Dayton, Mo., in 1868, he being the eldest of five children, two sons and three daughters. His carly years were passed chiefly in Independ- ence, where he attended the grammar and high schools. His education was completed in Mil- ton College, of Milton, Wis., where he pursued his studies for three years, and in the University of Michigan. Supplementing his literary course by a course in law, he returned to Kansas, and was admitted to the bar in Independence in 1889.
On the day of Oklahoma's opening to the settlement of the white race, Mr. Foster came within its borders, and for about two and a half years was engaged in the practice of law in Guthrie. In September, 1891, he came to Chandler, where he has been successfully forg- , ing his way to the front ranks of his profession. His franchise he uses in behalf of the nominees of the Republican party.
The marriage of Mr. Foster and Miss Hattie Wagner was solemnized in Guthrie in 1891. She was born in Sac county, Iowa, and in her girl- hood received excellent educational advantages. Two little daughters and one son bless the hearts and home of this estimable couple, their names being, respectively: Ruth, Gladys and Emery J., Jr.
W ILLIAM J. ARTHUR. A business en- terprise well known in Oklahoma county. and particularly in the northern part thereof, is the one owned by Arthur & Adams, buyers and ginners of cotton, and owners of cot- ton-gins at Edmond, on the Santa Fe Railroad, and at Luther, on the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad. At the opening of Oklahoma, on the famous 22d of April, 1889, Mr. Arthur made the
run into the territory and secured a claim on Bluff creek, in Oklahoma county, where he has engaged in farm pursuits, in addition to the man- agement of his business interests.
Born in Philadelphia, Pa., in January, 1848, William J. Arthur received a common-school education in his native city. His father, John Arthur, was of Scotch parentage, his ancestors having come from Ayr. His mother, Nancy (Standish) Arthur, was of English birth, having been born in Lancaster, England. About 1847 they came to the United States from London- derry, Ireland, and settled in Philadelphia, Pa. During the Civil war John Arthur enlisted in the Eighty-eighth Pennsylvania Volunteer In- fantry, and soon after being mustered out, in 1865, he died from the effects of wounds received and disease contracted in the service.
At an early age William J. Arthur entered the employ of the Mine Hill and Schuylkill Haven Railroad Company, serving as messenger and rod boy in the engineer corps. In 1863 he joined the United States navy, and until the end of the year 1864 served in the South Atlantic squadron on blockade duty off the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia, participating in the engagements and bombardment of the city of Charleston. His term of enlistment having expired, he imme- diately joined the army, and was assigned to the Forty-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Army of the Potomac, with which command he participated in the different engagements around Richmond; the storming of Petersburg, etc., until the final surrender of Lee's army at Appo- mattox Court House. Afterward he went to Washington and took part in the grand review.
The war being over, and Mr. Arthur having been mustered out, he spent a short season in Philadelphia, after which he went to Omaha, Neb., and took service with the Pacific Railroad. working in their car and machinery departments at Omaha, Neb., and Sacramento, Cal., about three years. In 1868 he married Dora Shatswell, of Waukegan, Ill., daughter of George and Es- ther (Thayer) Shatswell, the former of Salem, Mass., whose ancestors were settlers of that piace during colonial times and were long connected with shipping interests. The Thayers were set- tlers of Salem during the reign of King George the Third. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur are Edwin S., born in June, 1878; William J., Jr., December, 1882; and Annie, September, 1884.
In 1872 Mr. Arthur entered the service of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad Company, remaining with the same until 1882. when the Gould interests secured control of the road. ITis services were later engaged by the Cotton Belt Railroad (or St. Louis & Southwest- ern, as it was afterward called), and he held po-
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sitions of trust, from foreman to superintendent, in the machinery department of that road. In 1889 he gave up service with that road and cast his lot with the new country of Oklahoma, where he has since made his home, on the southwest quarter of section 15, Spring Creek township, Oklahoma county, In July of that year his fam- ily joined him, and together they commenced the task of developing the property. Finding the soil adapted to cotton-raising, Mr. Arthur has made a specialty of that crop, and in 1891 built a gin on his farm, but, desiring better facilities for transportation, he moved the gin to Edmond, where he has since continued in business. In 1898 he built a gin in the town of Luther, in the northeastern part of Oklahoma county. By de- grees he has increased his business until he is now the most extensive ginner and buyer of seed in this part of the territory. A natural mechanic, he instituted many improvements in his cotton- gins, and this, doubtless, led to much of his suc- cess. His two partners attend to the operation of the gins, while he gives his attention chiefly to farming. He makes a specialty of raising Shorthorn cattle and standard-bred horses, his herds of cattle being quite large. In politics he is a stanch Republican. He is well posted in all the leading issues of the day and performs his whole duty as a citizen, neighbor and head of a family.
M RS. SARAH SIMKINS. While substan- tiating the increasingly prevalent belief among thinking people in the simpler methods of healing over the more complex, Mrs. Simkins has won for herself considerable prom- inence in Orlando, the town of her adoption, and the neighboring districts.
A native of West Virginia, she was reared on a farm there until her fourteenth year, when she moved with her family to Knox county. Ill. Her father, Richard Benson, who died in Knox county, had been a soldier in the Mexican war: her mother, Rebecca (Mowry) Benson, was a native of West Virginia.
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Sarah Benson was fortunate in receiving an excellent education and in being surrounded by influences of a particularly broadening and ele- vating nature. She was ambitious of work along out of the ordinary lines, and mental science seemed to offer scope for her reserve force. After taking a course in the science her convictions were strengthened, and later she studied with Professor Weltmer, of Nevada, Mo., since which time she has been in constant practice, and has won the confidence of the community by her skillful handling of cases of a particularly ag- gravating and complex nature. In 1875 Miss Benson became the wife of John Simkins, who
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