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 78
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In Lucas county, Iowa, Mr. Carter and Miss Emma Grass were united in marriage in 1879. They are the parents of four living children, namely: Rettie, Frank, Grace and Adelbert. Mrs. Carter is a native of Wapello county, Iowa, and is a daughter of George Grass, who was born in Kentucky.
From the history outlined above, it may be seen that Mr. Carter is a model citizen, fore- most in everything pertaining to the upbuilding of the county. In the Oklahoma Anti-Horse Thief Association he is ex-vice-president of Ar- lington Lodge No. 97. He also is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and of the Sons of Veterans.
C. O. WILSON. Upon making inquiries about C. O. Wilson, the present popular register of deeds of Lincoln county, the opinion of one of his enthusiastic friends, "He is one of the finest men I ever met. You can- not say anything too nice about him," appears to be the general verdict of his fellow-citizens. Liberal and public spirited and an extremely careful and conscientious official, he certainly merits the high regard which is bestowed upon him, and a review of his career will be appreci- ated.
Many years before the war for Independence was entered upon in this country, the founder of the Wilson family in America settled in Vir- ginia. The great-grandfather of our subject, who was a hero of that war, was one of the first white settlers in Grayson county, Ky. He was a local minister of the Missionary Baptist Church, and upon his own farm built a school- house and church. His son, Samuel, grand- father of C. O. Wilson, was born in Virginia
of an old Virginia family, and granddaughter of that official, Eskridge, who served on General Washington's staff during the Revolution, Nine sons and nine daughters were born to Samuel Wilson and wife. At an early day he removed to Decatur, Macon county, Ill., and on his farmi. which comprised three hundred and twenty acres, the county seat is located. He passed his last years upon a farm in Wayne county, same state.
The parents of our subject are Newton and Eliza (George) Wilson, natives of Grayson county, Kv .. and of South Carolina, respect- ively. The mother's father, John George, was born in Scotland, and after living in the South for some time, he removed to Union county, Ky., later becoming a pioneer of Illinois, where he participated in the Blackhawk war. Only two of the ten children of Newton and Eliza Wilson survive, and the mother de- parted this life when our subject was in his four- teenth year. The father is strong and well. though over eighty years of age. During the Civil war he served for over two years in Com- pany K, Eighty-seventh Illinois Infantry, and four of his brothers also fought for the-Union. For years previously, they were ardent abo- litionists and Union men, and the Wilson family certainly contributed much to the cause. The oldest brother of our subject, John W., served throughout the war, and was a lieutenant in the Fifty-sixth Illinois Infantry. He was promoted to his office for meritorious conduct at the bat- tle of Corinth, and his life was a sacrifice to his patriotism, for he died on account of his army hardships. For thirteen years after the termi- nation of the war, Newton Wilson lived in Thayer, Mo., after which he removed to Crosby, Tex., where he has been retired from active cares for several years.
Born near Fairfield, Ill., November 10, 1853, C. O. Wilson is the only surviving son of his parents. Until over twenty-three years of age he lived on Illinois farms, and in 1877 came to the West. After traveling in Kansas for a year or more, he returned to Illinois, and located upon a farm in Edwards county, where he lived until 1881. In the meantime, he took an in- terested part in local affairs, and served as clerk and treasurer of his own township, also acting as a member of the Republican central committee. In 1881 he went to Denver, Colo., and later went to Egbert, Wyo., where he passed a year or more. Again returning to Edwards county, Ill .. he continued to make his home upon a farm near Albion until he came to this territory. In March, 1893, he bought a claim in the south- western part of section 23, township 17, range 3.
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C. O. WILSON AND FAMILY, Chandler.
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Jameson di barnack
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Lincoln county, and with characteristic energy, devoted himself to its cultivation.
In the fall of 1898 nominated by the Repub- licans to the office of register of deeds of Lin- coln county, he was elected by a good ma- jority over the fusion ticket nominee, and in the following January took up his new duties. Un- der his careful administration of affairs the earn- ings of the department for 1899 were $4,180.35, and the excess turned into the treasury of the county amounted to $1,090.17, and during the first quarter of 1900 nearly $500 excess were turned into the treasury. The books and rec- ords are being kept in a systematic manner that meets the approval of the public, every detail being under the watchful care of the register. Fraternally he is an Odd Fellow of the local lodge and belongs to the Royal Tribe of Joseph.
The wife of Mr. Wilson's youth was Miss Jercy E. Root prior to their marriage. She was born in Illinois, and with her young child, died in that state. Subsequently Mr. Wilson wedded Miss Elizabeth Wheatley, who was born in In- diana and then was living in Illinois. Four children bless their union, namely: Estella, Olive, Elmer and Walter. Mrs. Wilson is a member of the Methodist Church of this place, and with her husband is identified with many works of benevolence.
J AMES M. McCORNACK, a prominent and successful farmer residing in Oklahoma City, was born in Copley township, Knox county, Ill., October 18, 1849, and is a son of Robert and Gordon (McDowell) McCornack, both natives of Ayrshire, Scotland, of which country his paternal grandfather was a life-long resident and a farmer by occupation. The ma- ternal grandfather, John McDowell, also a far- mer, came to the new world in 1838 and located in Knox county, Ill., where he died at the age of eighty years. It was in 1837 that the father of our subject crossed the Atlantic and took up his residence in the same county, where he secured a tract of government land and developed a large farm near Oneida, upon which he died at the ripe old age of eighty-six years. In religious belief he was a Presbyterian. He had five chil- dren, of whom our subject is the youngest. The others still living are Mary, widow of Alexander Scott, and a resident of Altona, Ill .; and Robert, a farmer, living in Oklahoma City.
Having lost his mother when only six weeks old, James Milroy MeCornack was reared by an uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Milroy, upon a farm, and his education was begun in a log schoolhouse. At the age of eighteen years he returned to his father and made his home with him until he attained his majority, when he
started out in life for himself, as a farmer and stock-raiser. In 1885 he went to Norton county, Kans., where he remained one year, and then pre-empted land in Sheridan county, the same state. He next moved to Logan county, where he purchased a farm, and with others established the county seat at Russell Springs, where they erected a court-house at a cost of $30,000, and laid out a town on a quarter section of land in the center of the county. There Mr. McCor- nack met with success until drought caused his failure. April 22, 1889, he came to Oklahoma City, where he established his claim May 23. 1889, and located thereon in December, 1890, but his right to the property was contested, and he did not receive his government deed until the fall of 1899, having to fight his claim through all the courts to the Department of the Interior. He has one hundred and forty acres of well-im- proved and valuable land in and adjoining the city, having deeded twenty acres for a site to the compress and oil mills. He is successfully en- gaged in farming and stock-raising, making a specialty of feeding cattle, and has stockyards covering five acres, his place having a railroad frontage of eight hundred feet, admirably adapted for shipping purposes. Upon his land he has six hundred yards of the finest building sand to be found in the territory, and he also deals in that commodity. The sand is handled by a steam cen- trifugal sand pump, upon a barge on the North Canadian river. He is an energetic, enterprising and reliable business man, and generally carries forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes.
December 27, 1887, in Russell Springs, Kans., Mr. McCornack married Mrs. Elizabeth J. (Harvey) Alizond, who was born in Coburg, Ontario, Canada, but was reared in Illinois. Of this union there are two children: Ruth, born in Illinois May 28, 1889; and James, born in Okla- homa June 14, 1898. William Harvey, Mrs. McCornack's father, was a native of Plymouth, England, and a son of William Harvey, Sr., a farmer of that country. At the age of twenty- seven years the son came to the new world, and first located in Coburg, Canada, where he was superintendent of lumber slides on Lake Onta- rio until 1866, when he removed to Loda, Iro- quois county, Ill., and turned his attention to farming. He is still residing there, at the age of sixty-eight years. Religiously he is a member of the Congregational Church, and politically is identified with the Republican party. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Maria Simmons, is also a native of Plymouth, England, and a daughter of William Simmons, who kept the big toll bridge at that place for many years. He later came to America and first settled in On- tario, Canada, from there removing to Iroquois
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county, Ill., and subsequently to Hector, Minn., where he died in 1899, when past the age of eighty-eight years. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey have four children: William Henry, a hardware mer- chant of Manteno, Ill .; Elizabeth J., wife of our subject; Mary Ann, now Mrs. Potter, of Brooks, Ind .; and Bertha, at home. Mrs. McCornack is a member of the New Century Club, which aids in maintaining the public library and is pledged to other benevolent works.
Socially Mr. McCornack is a member of the City Club of Oklahoma. In the Congregational Church he is now trustee and deacon. He has assisted in building two churches in this city. In his political affiliations he is a stanch Repub- lican. He has witnessed the marvelous trans- formations that have taken place in Oklahoma in the last decade, and as a generous, liberal- minded and progressive citizen has aided in its development.
G EORGE WILLIAM RUSSELL CHINN. Among the prominent pioneers of Okla-
homa is the gentleman whose name ap- pears at the opening of these lines, and who is, without doubt, one of the most enterprising and persevering business, men in Oklahoma City. For a time he was proprietor of the Oklahoma Transfer Company, which was one of the first enterprises inaugurated in this city. Both in business and social circles he stands high, and is regarded as one of Oklahoma City's representa- tive citizens.
Born in Bourbon county, Ky., March 19, 1843, a son of L. F. Chinn, he descends from English ancestry. William Chinn, his grand- father, a soldier in the war of. 1812, was a native of Virginia, but during his early life he removed to Kentucky. Our subject's father was also a native of Bourbon county, Ky., but upon attain- ing his majority he moved to Adams county, Ill., from which county he later moved to Knox county, Mo. He was a farmer by vocation. When the Civil war broke out he and our subject enlisted in Company F, Second Missouri Volun- teer Infantry, of which he was lieutenant. After the war was over, he went to Santa Rosa, Cal., and now conducts a fruit farm five miles from that city, also deals extensively in real estate, and laid out what is known as Chinn's addition.
Miss Lucy M. Jackson, of Bourbon county, Ky., who became the wife of L. F. Chinn, was a daughter of Joseph Jackson, a native of Vir- ginia, who settled in Kentucky and with Daniel Boone served in the Indian wars, both being captured at Blue Lick, Ky. Her grandfather was taken by the Indians, who kept him five or six years, and upon his release he became an Indian trader and interpreter. Altogether, he
remained with them about thirty years. It is said that he buried a copper kettle full of gold and silver somewhere in Bourbon county, but it has never been found. He died in Kentucky when almost ninety years old. Our subject's mother died at the age of sixty years. She had two sons and two daughters, namely: Lucy A. and America, who reside in California; Joseph M., who died in that state; and our subject.
When a boy, George W. R. Chinn attended school in log buildings, where the desks con- sisted of a slab plank nailed to the sides of the wall, and goose-quill pens were used for writing. The larger part of his education was obtained through-actual business experience. In 1861 he and his father enlisted in the Confederate army and were among the first soldiers to be sworn in with the state troops by Governor Jackson of Missouri. Enlisting as a private, when he left the service he was second sergeant. Among the battles in which he took part were the foi- lowing: Lexington, Mo., Kirkville, Shelbina, and Glasgow. At Rose Hill, Johnson county, Mo., he was taken a prisoner, and after being held three months at St. Louis, was paroled. Returning home in 1863, he remained a short time, when he went to Montana, and then to Idaho. He drove a mule team from Atchison. Kans., to Salt Lake City, and from there hauled freight to Virginia City, Mont., after which he engaged in mining.
October 1, 1865, he left Helena, Mont., and with a saddle and pack pony, started across the country for home, a distance of seventeen hun- dred miles. His success in evading the Indians, who were at that time on the warpath, was se- cured by riding at night some distance from the trail. During the day he cooked his meals, as a light by night would attract the attention of the Indians, who, if they had caught sight of him. would have no doubt taken his life. Traveling via Denver, Colo., he reached Atchison, Kans .. December 3, 1865. In January, 1866, he settled in Platte county, Mo., but soon went to Adams county, Ill., where he remained only a short time, when he returned to Missouri, this time settling in Marion county. He resided there a year, after which he returned to Platte county, and there engaged in contracting and building. In Platte City he engaged in the lumber busi- ness and later commenced buying and shipping grain, becoming the largest grain buyer in that county, and having seven scales in Platte, Bu- chanan and Clinton counties.
After having made his home in Platte county for twenty-six years, on the opening day of Oklahoma, April 22, 1889, he came to Okla- homa City, bringing two teams and two wagons. On the following day he commenced the transfer business, having the first two wagons and teams
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at the depot, and he backed the first wagons up to the freight depot to haul away freight. In time he became the owner of four busses, scven large stake wagons and two baggage wagons .and made calls to all parts of the city and to all the hotels. In April, 1900, he sold out the trans- fer business and the seven heavy wagons, and now conducts a bus and baggage business alone, with headquarters at No. 12 Broadway and barns at No. 430 California avenue. A progres- sive and public-spirited citizen, he has always taken an active interest in the welfare of his adopted city. He is well worthy of large pat- ronage.
Mr. Chinn was united in marriage with Miss Harriett M. Davis, a native of Platte county, Mo., and a daughter of John Davis, who was born in Tennessee, but who in early life moved to Platte county, where he carried on farming. The following children were born to this union: John L., who was chief engineer of the Okla- homa City water-works, and died here in Febru- ary, 1899; Mrs. Harriett Barcus, who resides in Denver, Colo .; George W., who is manager of the freight department of the Oklahoma Transfer Company; Mrs. Lillie Pelcher, who resides in Oklahoma City; James H., who is manager of the bus and baggage business of the Oklahoma Transfer Company; and Ollie H.
In politics Mr. Chinn is a Democrat and has always given his influence and support to the principles of his party. He served as a council- man of the south town, and when the two towns were joined he became an alderman from the third ward, which position he held several years, but resigned to become city marshal. Later he served as deputy United States marshal. While a resident of Platte City, he served as chief of police of the fair grounds and of other public places and gatherings; he was also a member of the council and at one time a member of the school board. He has been a delegate to all the city, county and territory conventions, and has taken a warm interest in local affairs.
H ON. J. B. UNDERWOOD. Now serving for a second term as county clerk of Lin- coln county, Hon. J. B. Underwood en- joys the honor of having been chosen as the first person to fill this office after the organization of the county. For nearly a decade he has been intimately associated with the development of this immediate district, and no one is better qualified to deal with the affairs which concern our citizens. Patriotism is one of his promi- nent traits, and love for his country has been the first consideration with him from the time, when, a youth of seventeen, he left everything to fight for the Union.
From loyal ancestors the subject of this ar- ticle inherited his public spirit and patriotic ardor, for his maternal grandfather, Capt. John Dowden, was a hero of the war for Independ- ence, and won his title in that long struggle. His father, also, Finley L. Underwood, enlisted and served in the Civil war, being a member of Company B, Fifth Kansas Cavalry, and after serving for fifteen months was honorably dis- charged, owing to a wound, accidentally in- flicted, at the battle of Helena.
The Underwoods trace the family back to the time of William the Conqueror, when the found- ers of the line in England left Normandy and crossed the Channel. The great-grandfather of our subject was born in Virginia and was one of the hardy pioneers of Kentucky. His son, Will- iam, the grandfather of J. B. Underwood, was reared in the wilds of the Blue Grass state, and for several years prior to his death, which oc- curred when he was still in his prime, he was engaged in the business of taking flat boats down the Mississippi to New Orleans. Finley L. Underwood, who was born near Shelbyville, Ky., was a very early settler of Indiana. For a score of years, or from 1837 to 1857, he carried on a farm situated near Lebanon, Boone county, and thence removed to Lawrence county, Mo., where, as formerly, he became prominent among the agriculturists. Honored and highly es- teemed by all, he was called to his reward in 1894, when in his eightieth year. He had long survived his wife, Mrs. Mahala (Dowden) Un- derwood, who likewise, was a native of Shelby- ville, Ky., and was reared in a rural district. She entered the silent land in 1878, and five of her thirteen children are deceased. . Two of the family are in Oklahoma, George Underwood, a farmer, living four miles east of Choctaw.
The eldest son is J. B. Underwood, born April 22, 1844, on the old homestead near Lebanon, Ind. In the poor schools of the period in Law- rence county, Mo., he received limited advan- tages, and, consequently, he is practically self- educated, but he studied to such good purpose that he won more than local notice among the teachers of that region. The war and preced- ing disturbances greatly impeded his progress, and after his return from southern battle-fields he attended school for two terms. In April, 1867, he commenced teaching and in 1870 was elected superintendent of schools of Lawrence county. After serving as such for two years, he taught for a like period, and was principal of the Washburn and Verona (Mo.) schools. In the meantime, Mr. Underwood served for three months in an independent company of Missouri militia, acting as a scout. August 23, 1861, he volunteered in Company E, Third Kansas In- fantry, and in the following spring the regiment
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was re-organized, becoming the Fifth Kansas Cavalry. The young man was mustered into the service as a private, at Fort Scott, and among the battles and skirmishes in which he took an active part a few will be mentioned, namely: Ballstown, Johnstown, Cotton-plant, Helena, Brownsville, Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Mount Elba and Baker's Mill. At the expiration of his term of enlistment, September 6, 1864, he was discharged at Leavenworth, Kans., from Com- pany D, in which he had served for two years and a half.
From 1876 to 1889 Mr. Underwood devoted his time and attention to farming and stock raising. In 1888 he was nominated on the Re- publican ticket to the state legislature and was elected by a large majority. Thus he was a mem- ber of what is termed the "long sessions," when the statutes of Missouri were revised, and served on the committees on education, fees and sal- aries and others. Having succeeded in securing some amendments and getting several bills passed, besides transacting important business on the committees, his record reflects great credit upon him and his constituents.
In September, 1891, Mr. Underwood located a claim on the Dry Fork, nine miles northeast of Chandler, and resided there until the beginning of the year 1899, in the meantime making sub- stantial improvements on the property. In the fall of 1892 he was nominated by the Repub- licans to the office of county clerk, and so thor- oughly satisfied the general public that when, in 1898, he was again a nominee to the office he was elected by a flattering majority-four hun- dred and seventy-seven votes-the largest ma- jority vote in the county ticket, though the fusion ticket majority was estimated at six hun- dred or more. Entering upon his duties New Year's Day, 1899, he located in Chandler, and, having built a comfortable residence, makes his home here. In the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic he is highly esteemed, and in all of the affairs pertaining to the town or county he takes deep interest. Initiated into the Odd Fellows order in Mount Vernon in 1868, he now belongs to the Chandler lodge.
The family of Mr. Underwood comprises his wife and six children. The former, Mary E., daughter of M. H. Lantz, was born in Marietta, Ohio, and accompanied her parents to Missouri in 1866. Dewey L., eldest son of Mr. Under- wood and wife, has been the principal of schools in Mercur, Utah; J. N. lives in the county, and Finley Floyd is carrying on his father's farm in this county. Mrs. Elda O. Deacon lives in this place, and Amy E. and Powell Dowden are at home. The parents are active members of the Christian Church, and have been a power for good wherever they have dwelt.
A USTIN J. RITTENHOUSE. For just a quarter of a century the subject of this ar-
ticle has been identified with the legal pro- fession, for which, by natural attributes and thorough preparation and research, he long ago proved his fitness. Realizing that in this calling, more than in most, success depends upon the effort of the individual exponent of the law, and that an unusual degree of keenness, power of analysis and logical summarizing of the chief points in a case, among scores of other qualities, are essential, he spared himself no labor in the attainment of the supremacy which he now holds. Freely accorded a foremost place in the Oklahoma bar, to-day he is especially held in high regard in Chandler and Lincoln county, where he has made his home for about three and a half years only.
A grandson of David Rittenhouse and son of James Rittenhouse, both natives of Fayette county, Pa., our subject probably is of remote German ancestry. His father and grandfather were well-to-do farmers and stock-raisers, and at an early period the latter became a resident of Jefferson county, Ohio, owning a farm near Bloomfield. In 1858 he removed to Cadiz, Ohio, - where he passed the rest of his life, dying at the age of sixty-six years. The wife and mother, Mrs. Rebecca (Bell) Rittenhouse, was born in Westmoreland county, Pa., and departed this life in Ohio. Of her nine children, four died when young, and one has since passed away. A son, Judge A. P. Rittenhouse, who served in the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Ohio Regiment during the Civil war, is a prominent lawyer of Denver, Colo., where he was judge of a district court for a period.
The birth of Austin J. Rittenhouse took place in Jefferson county, Ohio, February 1, 1850, and from his ninth year he lived in Harrison county, same state, attending the public schools. Then he entered Harlem Springs College, where he pursued his higher studies until his junior year. In 1873 he went to southern Missouri, where he taught school for two years, and for some time was connected with the editorial staff of the Vienna Courier, his brother, the judge, being a partner in the enterprise. Under that gentleman's supervision he commenced the study of law, and after returning home. in 1875. continued his efforts along that line in the office of Cunningham & Hollingsworth, of Cadiz. Going to Seymour, Iowa, the same year, he taught school for several terms, in the mean- time being admitted to the bar, January 26, 1876. For a short time he had a law office there, and in the spring of 1877 located in Unionville, Mo., but, not liking the outlook, soon removed to Aurora, Neb., where he built up a large and remunerative practice. After
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