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 80
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The patriotic spirit which animated so many of our subject's ancestors in "ye olden days" found new expression in the Civil war, for three of the sons of John and Mary Boles, the only three who, by any stretch of the imagination, could be considered beyond the age of child- hood, did all within their power for the defense of the Union. The oldest, now Judge Thomas Boles, of Fort Smith, Ark., organized the Third Arkansas Cavalry, serving as captain of Com-
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pany E, while his next younger brother, Wil- liam, was a lieutenant in the same company. As he was born March 5, 1849. Alfred H. was barely twelve years old when the war broke out, but two years later, notwithstanding the fact that he obviously could not enlist, he joined his brothers' company and continued with them for one year, doing everything that he could to as- sist in the numerous raids and skirmishes in which they were engaged. At Sabine Cross Roads, where a severe battle was fought, the two brothers, officers, were captured by the Con- federates, but, very fortunately for the young men, they were speedily rescued by some of Gen- eral Steele's forces, at Camden, Ark.
The boyhood of our subject thus was passed in the thickest of impending, and finally actual, battle-clouds. His birthplace was on the pa- rental plantation near Bluffton, which was thor- oughly devastated by the contending armies. The mother, recently widowed, was forced to take her children to a place of safety, and lived in the southern part of Illinois during the last year of the war. Then our subject. a brave- hearted lad of sixteen, returned to the ruined home and endeavored to reduce order. Until he could harvest his first crop, he and the family were obliged to live almost entirely upon wild game, which, fortunately, was plentiful. His education was obtained in a private school in Dardanelle, and in Normal, Ill., and, after spend- ing a year in the state normal, in the last-named place, he engaged in teaching school in Arkan- sas.
Soon after reaching his majority, Mr. Boles was appointed county surveyor of Yell county, bv Governor Powell Clayton, and held that posi- tion for two years. Then, taking up the study of law with his brother. Judge Thomas Boles, and with Judge Caldwell, of Little Rock. he was admitted to the bar of his native county in 1874. He then was elected county attorney there, and served for one year. but at the expiration of that period the Democrats came into power in that locality, and he quietly devoted his entire attention to his profession, having an office in Dardanelle, Ark., until 1875, and then, for nine years, being located in Ozark. From 1887 to 1803 he was in partnership with his brother, Judge Thomas Boles, at Fort Smith, Ark. He received the unanimous nomination at the hands of the Republican congressional convention for congress, at Mount Nebo. Ark., in 1802, but declined on account of business engagements.
In September, 1893, our subject came to Perry, where he has since carried on a large practice. In the following fall he was elected to the Third Territorial Assembly, being the first senator sent from the district comprising Noble and Pawnee counties. He was the chairman of
the ways and means committee, and served as a member of several others. He was very active in the deliberations of that honorable body, and to him is specially due the credit of defeating the pugilist bill. for a number of his own townsmen had banded together for the purpose of securing the passage of the bill. He originated the bill providing that the plaintiff in petty cases relat- ing to misdemeanor should give bond for the costs of prosecution, should the charge not be sustained, this being done in order to prevent the accumulating of costs in cases brought for vexation and out of prejudice.
In February, 1898, Mr. Boles was appointed by President Mckinley to the position he has since held-that of register of the United States Land Office at Perry, the district comprising Noble, Kay, Pawnee and part of Payne county. As generally known, he has been an ardent worker in the Republican party, attending county conventions, and was the president of the first Mckinley Club ever organized in this ter- ritory, it being founded in February, 1896. He was sent as the representative of this and Indian territoriesto the general international conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Chicago in May, 1900, and assisted in preventing the pro- mulgation of the views of some of the extreme Prohibitionists-the arraignment and denuncia- tion of President McKinley on the army can- teen score. He is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Perry, is presi- dent of the board of trustees, and has been since 1894, and since 1894 has been the superintend- ent of the Sunday-school. A true friend to edu- cation, he was president of the Board of Educa- tion during 1895-96, officiating in that capacity while the school buildings were in process of construction. Fraternally he was initiated into Masonry in Dardanelle, Ark., and now belongs to Perry Lodge No. 12, A. F. & A. M .; Perry Chapter No. 7. R. A. M .; and Perry Command- ery No. 5, Knights Templar. Ile also occupies an official position with the Woodmen of the World, and is an honored member of the Terri- torial Bar Association.
In Humphreys county, Tenn., the marriage of HIon. A. H. Boles and Miss Nannie R. Hust took place in January, 1876. Mrs. Boles was educated in the Female Academy at Dardanelle, Ark., and is a daughter of Rev. William Hust. a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was born, and recently died. in Humphreys county, and though he has carried on a farm and given some attention to mercantile af- fairs, having a store at Hustburg, Tenn., he al- ways has occupied pulpits and has labored faith- fully for the promotion of religion. He married a Miss Bayliss. One of her uncles was one of the heroes of the Alamo, with that stanch fron-
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tiersman, Sam Houston. Six fine sons and a charming little daughter bless the union of Mr. and Mrs. Boles, namely: Roscoe C., whose edu- cation was completed in the Edmond Normal and in the Commercial College at Fort Smith, and now is a stenographer; Arthur M., who also pursued a course in the normal at Edmond, and was one of the proprietors of the Perry Republican until recently, when he sold his inter- est; Alfred H., Jr., and William H., who were graduated in the Perry high school, and now are students in the normal at Alva; Edwin K., Robert A. and Marjorie are attending the public school in Perry. The attractive family residence is sit- uated on lots which Mr. Boles staked out at the time of his arrival in Perry, at the opening of this country in September, 1893.
H ON. GEORGE W. CAMPBELL, a well- to-do farmer of Logan. county, resides on the southwest corner of the southwest quarter, section 33, township 18, range I west, and throughout this region he has hosts of ac- quaintances. He descends from Scotch ances- try. The progenitor of the Campbell family in America was John Campbell, a native of Scot- land, and an officer in the Revolutionary war; his son, Thomas L., was a soldier in the war of 1812. Next in line of descent was Thomas L. Campbell, Jr., who married Clarissa Witter. Their son, George W. Campbell, was born in Upshur county, Tex., February 23. 1845. His father, who in boyhood accompanied his parents to Ohio, settled in Texas in the early part of 1833, and there engaged in farming and stock- raising. During his residence in that state he was a member of the Texas Rangers, over which General Houston had command. When his son, George W., was twelve years of age, he removed with the family to Pettis county, Mo., but in 1870 changed his place of abode to Cherokee county, Kans., and later moved to Howard (now Chautauqua) county, Kans. In the run for Oklahoma he located in township 17.
During his boyhood George W. Campbell had little opportunity for obtaining an education. When the Civil war began, he became a private in Company A, Sixth Missouri Cavalry, and was first under fire at Marshall, Mo. He served successively under Generals Grant, Banks and Granger, his last campaign being from Shreve- port, La., to Tahlequah. I. T. After a service of two and one-half years, during the latter part of which time he ranked as sergeant, he was taken sick and remained in the hospital at St. Louis until he received an honorable discharge, on account of disability. Upon returning home, realizing the need of a better education, he en- tered the public schools of Sedalia, Mo., where
he remained for two years, and later spent a few years as a school teacher in Pettis county. Joining his father in Chautauqua county, Kans., he spent a year there, but in 1873 returned to Missouri and bought a farm in Benton county, where he remained for many years. In 1891 he came to Oklahoma and purchased his present farm from three of the original settlers. Scarcely any improvements had been made on the land and it has required years of labor on his part to transform it into its present fine condition.
October 1, 1868, Mr. Campbell married Miss Susan H. Fowler, a daughter of Samuel and Mary A. (Eastwood) Fowler. She was born and reared in Benton county, Mo., and received a good education, having attended school in St. Louis and St. Charles. As a result of this union the following children were born: Annie B .; Samuel T., who was educated at Kansas City, and is now a practicing physician at Crescent City, Okla .; George C., who attended school at Kansas City, and is a practicing physician at Campbell, Logan county, Okla .; William F. and Mary Maude, at home. Our subject has always been actively engaged in politics, being a stanch Republican, and he has voted regularly for that ticket since the time General Grant was made president. While a resident of Benton county, Mo., in 1875 he was elected county collector of taxes and two years later he ran for the office of county clerk, but as the Democrats and Populists fused, he was beaten. He was then elected by the Republicans to the thirty-third assembly of Mis- souri, and upon the completion of his term was chosen circuit clerk and recorder of Benton county. He filled that office for four years, but for the following term he was beaten by the Demo- crats and Populists. Since residing in his pres- ent vicinity he has been a delegate to several Republican conventions, and was nominated by his party as councilman for his senatorial dis- trict, but though he made a good run, he was beaten by a narrow margin. He is a member of the Farnsworth Post, G. A. R., of Missouri, and has attended several grand reunions. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Church.
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A LLEN G. F. CHILDERS, M. D. The Oklahoma Territorial Medical Association has within its ranks a host of able, well- informed physicians and surgeons, and few of the western states can surpass us in this respect. Ill-health having been the cause of innumerable removals to this fine country, the services of skilled physicians are in constant demand, and thus many have been led to establish themselves in practice here.
Among the successful physicians of Logan county is Dr. Childers, of Mulhall. Just in the
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prime of life and usefulness, he possesses a per- sonality which inspires respect and confidence, and long acquaintanceship with him increases the esteem in which he is held by the public. His birth occurred in Jay county, Ind., July 5, 1863, and his parents are James H. and Hannah H. (Vanskzock) Childers. When he was in his fifteenth year, the doctor removed with the fam- ily to Worth county, Mo., where the father pur- chased land and engaged in farming.
Though he became well versed in the duties of agriculture, our subject carly determined to enter the medical profession, and thoroughly prepared himself in the general branches of knowledge in the public schools of Isadora, Mo. He made such excellent progress, indeed, that at sixteen he took an examination and as a re- sult was placed in charge of a school. Then, in order to further qualify himself, he pursued a course of study in the Northwestern Normal at Shenandoah, Iowa. Being graduated in that institution in the class of '86, he resumed educa- tional labors in Missouri, and in the meantime took up the study of medicine. He was aide 1 in this endeavor by Dr. William Cox. of Ox- ford, Mo., and later he entered Elsworth Medical College, at St. Joseph, Mo. After he had been graduated, in the spring of 1890, he returned to Oxford and shared the work and was counseled by his former preceptor, Dr. Cox. During the three years that he was thus assisted, he acquired a practical knowledge which he could not other- wise have attained in the same period, and thus he was fully equipped for independent practice.
Seven years ago Dr. Childers came to Mul- hall, where he soon won the patronage of many families. Year by year he has won fresh lau- rels, and, as he is progressive, he keeps fully abreast of the times by reading all of the leading medical journals and thoughtfully considering the experiences of older practitioners, as related by them in societies organized for the diffusion of knowledge. In 1897 he became a member of the firm of Kincaid-Childress Drug Company, which is proving a successful enterprise, as it fills a need in this community, and is appreciated by our citizens.
While a resident of Oxford, in 1892, the doc- tor married Carrie W. Adams, who is a native of Ohio, and is a lady of good education and social attainments. Two sons bless this worthy couple : Leo, born in Athelston, Mo., and Paul M., born in Mulhall. The family occupies a pleasant resi- dence, which often is hospitably opened to re- ceive their many friends.
Politically Dr. Childers' preference is the Democratic platform, though he spares little time from his arduous professional duties for those of a public character. Fraternally he is a member of Mistletoe Lodge No. 21, K. of P.,
and St. John's Lodge No. 12, I. O. O. F., and worthily exemplifies in his daily life the high principles of those organizations.
G OLDSMITH G. NORRIS. Among the many who have cast their lot with the carly pioneers of Oklahoma, and contrib- uted by their industry and enterprise to its mate- rial and social advancement, may be mentioned Goldsmith G. Norris, who, since taking up his residence in Logan county, has added to his own interests and to the well-being of the community.
Born in Delaware county, Ind., February 25. 1841, he is a son of John and Sarah (Kilgore) Norris, natives of Kentucky. Of the eleven chil- dren in the family, four only are now living. The children were born in Kentucky. The
father was a valiant soldier in the Mexican war and served his country with courage and dis- tinction. G. G. Norris was reared on his father's farm, and received a thorough home training which fitted him for the later duties and respon- sibilities of life. He received good educational advantages, and studied in the graded schools after completing the course in the district schools. Subsequently he interested himself in further increasing his fund of knowledge, and taught school before and after his marriage.
In 1861 Mr. Norris enlisted in Delaware county, Ind., and participated in the important battles of Shiloh, Stone River, Missionary Ridge, Rocky Face, Resaca, New Hope Church, Muddy. Run, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Lovejoy, Springfield, Frank- lin and Nashville. Entering as a private, Mr. Norris was made sergeant of his company in 1864, after he had re-enlisted at Blaine's Cross- roads, in eastern Tennessee. June 27, 1864, he was wounded at the battle of Kenesaw Mountain and laid up in the hospital for several weeks with a troublesome arm. When called on to re- sume operations he was delegated to enlist and train a company of colored men, and of the eleven who originally started out to serve their country, but three survived the vicissitudes of war.
Mr. Norris was married in 1868 to Eliza Jane Thompson, a native of Jackson county. Ind., and a daughter of Samuel and Teresa (Grisse- more) Thompson. In 1877 he settled in Cloud county, Kans., where he bought two different farms which he eventually sold, and went to Dodge county, Neb. After remaining there for about three years, he returned to Sumner county. Kans., where he rented a farm until the opening of Oklahoma. He made the run for the territory with three other men, three mules and a wagon, and located on the southwest quarter of section 23, township 18, range 4 west. For a time he
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lived in a dugout and wagon, finally erecting a one-room house, in which his family lived after their arrival, in October, for three or four years.
Mr. Norris is public-spirited and enterprising, and variously interested in the institutions of the community in which he lives. He is a member of the Masonic order, having joined in Newberry, Ind., in 1866. He is now a charter member of the No. 11, Crescent City, and has passed all of the chairs, and for three years has been master of No. II. Mr. Norris, his wife and children are members of the Christian Church. To Mr. and . Mrs. Norris have been born ten children. Min- nie M. is the wife of Mr. Peeples and lives in Kansas; Alfred H. is married and lives east of Guthrie ; John T. is at home ; Saretta E. C. is the wife of W. W. Rahe; William F. is at home; Clara A., who is now Mrs. Armstrong, resides in Logan county; Marion E., Fannie O. and Marjorie V. are at home.
Originally a Democrat, Mr. Norris now claims allegiance to the Republican party. For two years he has been justice of the peace in his township.
S. R. KEAN has a well-managed and success- ful farm on the southwest quarter of sec- tion 21, township 23, range 6 west, Garfield county, which he has lived upon since the open- ing of the strip in 1893. His first effort toward improvement was the erection of a box-house 12x16 feet in dimensions, in which he lived until 1900. Since coming to the claim the owner has realized many of his expectations from his farm, and has gained from its occupation all that hard work and close application could command.
Born in Russell county, Ky., February 16, 1850, Mr. Kean is a son of Edward and Priscilla (Dunbar) Kean. His youth was spent on his father's farm in Kentucky, and in 1892 he re- moved to Hennessey, Okla., where he farmed and worked at his trade of carpentering. He had previously married, in Russell county, Frances C. Jackman, who died in Oklahoma April 20, 1894. Five children were born to this couple, three of whom are living, viz .: Edward, Chester, and Sina, who was born November 1, 1889. Liz- zie, the oldest, died in December, 1893, and Sarah Frances died in infancy.
Mr. Kean is deserving of great credit for the headway which he has made in life. His youth was handicapped by lack of educational advan- tages, which, however, has been in a measure counteracted, and to-day he is devoted to the reading of books and periodicals and to the all- around broadening of his knowledge. In the political world he has found much to occupy his attention, and is interested in all of the undertak- ings of his party. He is a Republican, and dur-
ing his residence in Kentucky served as justice of the peace for six years. A remarkable showing is the fact that of all the cases tried by him none was ever appealed, and most of them were set- tled out of court through the medium of com- promise.
Fraternally Mr. Kean is associated with Lodge No. 2844, A. F. & A. M., at Jamestown, Russell county, Ky. While living in Kentucky he belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church.
P ATRICK H. DILLON is numbered among the reputable citizens of Logan county. He is comfortably situated on the southwest quarter of section 27, township 18, range 3, on an improved farm of about one hundred and sixty acres of fertile and well-watered land. Upon the place may be found a substantial house, a barn and all the necessary outbuildings, all represent- ing the owner's diligent toil. With justice he is considered no unimportant factor in the general interests of his community.
A native of Franklin county, Va., born April 29, 1846, Mr. Dillon is a son of Snelling E. and Lucy (Sanders) Dillon, who were likewise na- tives of that county, the father born in the year 1805. The paternal grandfather was an early settler of the Old Dominion, settling in Monroe county, where he spent his last days. Grand- father Sanders was a soldier in the Revolutionary war.
When the Dillon family left the birthplace of our subject, he was a lad of eight years. The father took up land in Missouri, and there Pat- rick spent his boyhood days, his education being limited to the district school. The family in- cluded four brothers and six sisters, of whom Sarah Ann and Alfred are deceased, the latter dying in infancy, in Virginia; Louisa, Mrs. Bruner, lives on a farm in Barber county, Kans .: Mary and Lizzie are deceased; Martha, now Mrs. Cokerhan, lives on a farm in Lynn county, Mo. Another sister, Mrs. Belle Johnson, lives in Boone county, Mo.
Upon reaching his majority, Mr. Dillon started out to seek his fortune, going first to Colorado and working on a farm by the month. After a year he went to Nevada and entered the employ of a lumberman, continuing in the wooded districts for four years. Then he pushed on into Oregon, and worked in lead mines a year or more. Going from there to the northern part of Nevada, he bought a number of teams and began freighting across the desert plains, in which occupation he continued about seven years. He himself often drove ten yoke of oxen, attached to three wagons loaded with freight. and for seven years he never slept in a house. Becoming tired of this life, he went back to the
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mines and was thus engaged four years longer.
The marriage of Patrick Dillon and Miss Nan- nie C. Holliday took place in Gainesville, Tex., December 18, 1890. The parents of Mrs. Dillon, Joseph and Kate (Ayres) Holliday, are living in Calloway county, Mo., which was the birthplace of Mrs. Dillon. At the opening of Oklahoma, Mr. Dillon made the run from the north line of section 27 and located his present farm. He set industriously to work to improve his land, and now has a well-improved farm with running water and many other natural advantages. About one hundred acres are in a good state of cultivation. Mr. Dillon votes the straight Dem- ocratic ticket. He and his excellent wife are members of the German Baptist Church, which they have generously supported, and which they assisted in organizing.
M OSES M. STANDLEY. One of the honored veterans of the Civil war, Moses M. Standley, of Logan county, is justly entitled to a place in the history of his country. In his youth his educational advantages were very meager, but since reaching maturity he has made the best of his opportunities, and may justly be termed self-made and self-educated.
Charles Standley, a native of Bourbon county, Ky., when sixteen years of age, located in In- diana, and there married Anna Kaufman, whose birth had occurred in Darke county, Ohio. When he was forty-eight years old, Charles Standley enlisted in the Twenty-fourth Light Artillery of Indiana, and, with his son, the sub- ject of this article, he served in the same com- pany. He was at his post of duty until he was claimed by death, in April, 1863.
Moses M. Standley was born in Carroll county, Ind., June 9, 1841, and his youth was passed in the quiet pursuits of agriculture. At twenty years of age he married Mary E. Kerlin. of his own neighborhood, the date being June 20, 1861. They became the parents of one child, now Mrs. Martha Bescau, of St. Mary's, Kans., and she has several children.
In October, 1862, Moses M. Standley en- listed in the Twenty-fourth Indiana Light Artil- lery, and soon was sent to the battle-fields of the south. Among the numerous engagements in which he participated, the following may be men- tioned: Horse Shoe Bend and Marlboro, Ky .; Louden, Tenn .; Campbell's Station, Strawberry Plains, Dandridge and Resaca. His battery traveled over four thousand miles, encountering all kinds of obstacles and vicissitudes, and often the time consumed in crossing rivers was very great, as but one gun at a time could be trans- ported. As he was a corporal, our subject had the responsibility of focusing the guns on the
enemy. At the siege of Knoxville he and his comrades were so hard pressed by the Confed- erates that, their supplies of rations being cut off, they were obliged to eat the bran provided for .
the horses and mules, and the poor animals suf- fered for food so greatly that they ravenously chewed the spokes of wheels and the wagon- poles of the vehicles near which they were pick- eted.
Being under orders to capture and burn Moore's Bridge, our subject's battery took part in a spirited charge, and in trying to leap across a ditch twelve feet wide and twelve feet deep the horse which he rode missed his footing and threw him heavily forward against the pommel of the saddle, causing, a serious rupture. The bridge fell into the hands of the Federals the more readily owing to the strategy to which their colonel resorted-the clothing of two of his companies in the rebel's uniform. While en- camped near Sandtown, on the Chattahoochee river, a large force of men were chosen to make a raid to Andersonville, with the hope of releas- ing the prisoners kept there. and, learning of this plan, our subject eagerly offered what money he had in his possession-twenty dollars-for the privilege of taking the place of one of the men who had been selected for the duty. His brother, William H. Standley, as he supposed, was con- fined in the prison, but he did not know until later that he had died. Just after having made arrangements with a comrade to go in his place to the prison, he was interrupted by his captain, who would not consent to this infringement upon his military plans. Next he was sent to Nash- ville, and later was engaged in the siege of that city and in the battle of Columbia, Tenn. As so few of his battery was left at the close of that campaign he and his comrades were sent to Louisville, Ky., to act as guards over prisoners. The young wife of Mr. Standley unfortunately went to visit him at Louisville and there con- tracted typhoid fever, of which she soon died. While serving under the leadership of General Sherman in Georgia Mr. Standley received a sunstroke while on a forced march to Jonesboro, and, as there was no opportunity for his admis- sion to a hospital for some time, he says, facetiously, that he "borrowed a mule and buggy which he found hitched to a fence." His service in the army came to a close when he was no longer needed, and he was honorably discharged August 3, 1865.
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