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 90
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April 22, 1889, found Dr. Munger in Okla- homa City. Hle first established a temporary . office on Broadway, by putting up two crotches, four feet long, and running three poles from
crotch to crotch, and then three poles to the ground. This he covered with his overcoat, and hung out a sign which he had brought with him, being the first established physician here. He located a lot. and as soon as lumber was to be had erected a building 18x36 feet, which stood until January, 1900, when it was moved back to make room for the new business block now located on the site. May 11, 1889, he opened a drug store, which he conducted until 1891, when he quit that business to devote his entire time to practice. In 1896 and 1897 he took post-graduate courses in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at St. Louis, taking special courses in surgery, diseases of women and diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. At this writing he makes a specialty of gynecology and obstetrics. He was appointed pension ex- aminer and served as president of the board dur- ing the administration of President Harrison. Again appointed in 1897, he is now serving as president of the board. He is superintendent of the County Board of Health, and a member of the Territorial Medical Society. He is con- nected with Grant Post No. I, G. A. R., and was department commander of Oklahoma in 1898. Fraternally he is a Mason. In politics he is an unswerving Republican.
Dr. Munger was united in marriage with Eu- nice M. Chase, of Dundee, whose father, Alvin S. Chase, was a cousin of Chief Justice Chase.
S AMUEL S. DENISON. The agricultural knowledge of Mr. Denison is an acquisition of later years, his previous life having been spent in the cities of the country, and in occupa- tions quite remote from those which engage his attention at the present time. As proof of the long distance which he has traveled to his posi- tion of authority and prominence as one of the most substantial and progressive farmers in the county, it is only necessary to state that his friends predicted dire failure should he undertake to till the soil, backing their belief in his incom- petency by the vouched-for fact that the first time he harnessed his team he put, the collars on backwards. From reversed collars to his present position among the farming element of the com- munity argues a commendable amount of perse- verance and a dogged determination to succeed.
The Denison family have been closely identi- fied with the early history of America's struggle for independence. the first members having come from England about 1631. One William Deni- son settled in Roxbury, Mass., where he attained to considerable prominence in the material and religious world, and was a deacon in the Rox- bury church. A later descendant, the paternal grandfather, Samuel, was born in Stephentown,
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N. Y., about 1774, and was by occupation a farmer, having obtained land grants in Con- necticut. He served with courage and distinc- tion in the early wars of the country, and held the commission of captain.
S. S. Denison was born in Oneida county, N. Y., in 1851. Ilis father, Alison Denison, was born in Massachusetts, and spent most of his life in New York and Connecticut. He is a farmer and mechanic, and is now living in Sid- ney, Iowa, enjoying a well-earned respite from business responsibilities. He is eighty-seven years of age. His wife was, before her mar- riage, Jane C. Goodnoe, of English parentage, and the mother of eight children, five of whom are living: Urbam is in Washington, D. C .; S. S. is in Oklahoma; Louise is now Mrs. Jud- kins; Jessie is the wife of Charles D. Kelley: and Emily is Mrs. Maurier. Mr. and Mrs. Deni- son are both living and are in excellent health and spirits.
For the first few years of his life S. S. Deni- son was reared in Henry county, Ill., and edu- cated in the common schools. He subsequently attended the college at Greenville, Iowa, and as a means of livelihood learned the photographic art. He took the matter up on a broad and comprehensive scale, and studied it from the best possible standpoints. For the furtherance of his methods he established a school of photography at Chicago, which he successfully conducted until 1884. He then removed to Hastings, Neb .. and undertook the occupation of traveling pho- tographer, which was continued for some years, through Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa, and met with gratifying success and appreciation. In 1891 he located in Kansas City, and opened a drug store on Fourteenth and Penn streets, which was continued for two years.
In 1893 Mr. Denison came to Oklahoma and located on the farm which has since been the object of his enterprise and solicitude. The land was at first in a crude and unpromising condi- tion, but by well-directed energy has been put on a paying basis, and enabled the owner to purchase more land in the territory, as well as a large farm.in Nebraska. By additional pur- chase the Oklahoma farm now contains two hundred and forty acres, where general farming is conducted, and stock-raising carried on to the extent of cattle and hogs. There is a fairly good orchard and vinevard, and Mr. Denison is an- ticipating a large fruit business in the future.
The first marriage of Mr. Denison took place at Winona, Ill., November 20, 1883, and united him with Alice A. Halstead, who was born at Long Point. Ill., June 26, 1851. Of this marriage was born one son, Sidney H. Mrs. Alice A. Denison died at Grand Cloud, Neb., June 22. 1888.
In 1890 occurred the marriage of Mr. Denison and Elizabeth Merritt, a native of Louisville, Kans., and daughter of James S. Merritt, a prom- inent attorney of Louisville. For several years he was attorney for the Union Pacific Railroad Company, and was a member of the Kansas state legislature during 1878-79. He was also one of the electors who elected U. S. Grant to the presidency, and was delegate-at-large to the con- vention which nominated Blaine and Logan. His political life has been an ambitious and praiseworthy one, and among his many under- takings in the cause of Republicanism was his work as political manager for the late Senator Ingalls, when he was nominated for congress. To Mr. and Mrs. Denison have been born the following children: Leslie L., Nigel and Muriel Bernice.
E DWARD CORDIS. The early life of Mr. Cordis was somewhat clouded with loss and misfortune, and he had many obstacles to overcome which do not fall to the lot of boys who have parents to guide their destinies until they are arrived at years of maturity. He was born in St. Louis county, Mo., in 1854, and is a son of Henry and Eliza Cordis, who were farm- ers, and who died when their son Edward was nine years of age. Thrown thus early upon his own responsibilities, he was taken into the fam- ily of strangers, who treated him kindly, and gave him common-school educational advan- tages. As soon as he was able to earn his own living, he began to work out for the surround- ing farmers by the month, receiving for his services $6 a month. This occupation he con- tinted for several years, and eventually went to Texas, in 1876.
In Texas Mr. Cordis was united in marriage with Edith E. Adams, a daughter of Robert Wil- liam and Eliza J. Adams. He continued to live in Texas until after the opening of Oklahoma, and in the fall of 1889 located on the southwest quarter of section 23. township 18, range 1 west, Payne county, which has since been the scene of his earnest efforts, and success in his chosen occupation. His farm is in every way a credit to himself and to the locality in which it is situated. and is one of the best fruit farm. in Payne county. He makes a specialty of ti .. cultivation of peaches, and the peach orchard of Columbia seedlings ripens about September I, and produces one of the largest and soundes peaches that grows. The fruit industry is car ried further, and includes a fine apple orchard and a vineyard. The farm is well stocked, and has excellent facilities for the raising of stock. including running water, fine fences and . outbuildings. The residence is constructed with
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a view to comfort and utility, and the location is desirable, being but half a mile from Clarkson postoffice.
In politics Mr. Cordis is affiliated with the Populist party. While often urged to serve in different capacities, he has never had a desire for public office. He feels that his farm requires all of the time and attention that can be crowded into a day, and leaves to others the manipula- tion of political affairs. Mrs. Cordis and two of the children, Robert and Nellie, are active workers and members of the Seventh Day Ad- vent Church.
To Mr. and Mrs. Cordis have been born eight children, of whom Robert, Nellie, Myrtle and Edward were born in Texas, and William, Orson, Bertha and Floyd were born in Okla- homa.
C. B. BRADFORD, M. D., is one of the . most faithful of physicians, ever looking to the interest and progress of his pro- fession. He has been identified with the growth and development of Oklahoma City and county since May, 1889. Near Savannah, Andrew county, Mo., he was born, October 3, 1855, and is a son of Dr. J. H. Bradford, a native of Ohio. The paternal grandfather, James Bradford, a native of Ohio, was a son of Israel Bradford, who was born in Virginia, where he was a planter and large slaveholder. He was a Demo- crat and a stanch member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, a strong and noble character, who liberated all of his slaves, he having become thoroughly convinced of the justice of this act. In later years he removed to Ohio. The Brad- ford family is of English descent.
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When a young man, Dr. J. H. Bradford set- tled in Andrew county, Mo., and in 1860 he graduated from the St. Louis Medical College. Settling in Council Grove, Kans., he began in his chosen profession and built up a lucrative prac- tice. Well known throughout that locality, the people of his district honored him with a seat in the Kansas legislature, of which he was a member for two terms. He was one of the "boomers" of Oklahoma, through which country he made his first trip on a hunting expedition. He came to Oklahoma City April 22, 1889, but when our subject also came to this point, in May, he returned to Council Grove, Kans., where he continued his practice. He now re- sides with his son in Oklahoma City. In politics he is a Democrat. He was united in marriage with Miss Lucretia Pollard, a native of Ken- tucky, and whose paternal grandfather, a farmer, moved from that state to Andrew county, Mo., where he died. They had a son and a daugh-
ter, C. B., and Mrs. Dr. J. R. McIlvain, of Okla- homa City.
Dr. C. B. Bradford was reared in Council Grove, Kans., and there he received a high- school education. At eighteen he commenced studying medicine under his father. Later he entered the Kansas City Medical College, from which he graduated in 1882, and, returning to Council Grove, Kans., he at once commenced to practice. During his residence there he served' on the school board. May 3, 1889, he came to Oklahoma City, where he has since es- tablished a large and lucrative practice. For the past six years he has been connected with the school board of Oklahoma City, serving as secretary of the same four years, and is known as an earnest advocate of the education of the common people. He was instrumental in se- curing the erection of the Washington, Emer- son and Webster schools, also the high school. to which a new eight-room building was added. in 1900, to meet the rapid increase in the num- ber of pupils. A friend to any enterprise hav- ing for its object the improvement and elevation of humanity, he has done much for local proj- ects.
In Council Grove, Kans., Dr. Bradford mar- ried Miss F. O. Whittaker, a native of Ohio. and a daughter of James Whittaker. To this union six children have been born, namely: Wal- ter, who graduated from the Oklahoma City high school, and is now a student in the Kansas City Medical College; Nina, who died aged eleven years; Jennie and James, who are stu- dents in the high school; Thomas, who died in 1899, at eleven years of age; and Bertha, who died at three years.
In 1890 Dr. Bradford was appointed a mem- ber of the board of pension examiners by Presi- dent Harrison, and continued to serve under Cleveland's administration. During seven years on that board, he served for four years as sec- retary. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Ancient Order of United Workmen. In politics a Democrat, he was formerly secretary of the Democratic county central committee. He is a member of the Methodist Church and is a trustee in the samc. At one time he held the position of president of the Territorial Medical Association, and is still connected with this organization.
G EORGE WILLIAM COPELAND. Elect- I ed to the office of sheriff by the citizens of Oklahoma county, Mr. Copeland ably filled the office from January 1, 1800. to January 1, 1901. He is a native of Danville. Vermilion county, II., his birth having occurred February 28, 1859, and is a son of William Cope-
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land. Samuel Copeland, his grandfather, the son of an Irishman, was born in Virginia, and in early life settled in Ohio, where he lived a number of years. Going next to Illinois, he died there at the advanced age of ninety-eight years. During the Black Hawk war he ren- dered efficient service.
When George William Copeland was a iad of ten years, his father settled in Vermilion county, Ill., where he engaged in agricultural pursuits. For many terms he served as county commis- sioner and was prominently known throughout his county. He reached the age of eighty-one years, passing away February 12, 1901. He married Miss Rachel Sterns, a native of Wil- liamsport, Ind., and a daughter of Zerah and Polly (Smalley) Sterns. Her father moved from Ohio to Indiana, where he was an early settler. Mrs. Copeland passed from this life in Illinois. Of her ten children, eight grew to maturity, and six are still living.
The grandfather of Rachel Copeland, Wil- liam Smalley, was a native of Ohio, and when thirteen years of age was captured by the Del- aware Indians, who killed his father at the time he was taken captive. He remained in captivity about seven years, during which time he ob- tained a fair knowledge of the Indian language. Finally making his escape, he returned home. He took part in the war against the Cherokee Indians, and, with two other men, was sent into their camp with a flag of truce; his two com- panions were killed, but as he was a brave and fearless man, and possessed a knowledge of their language, his life was spared and he was adopted by the chief. He was afterwards known as "Bil- lies," and his name appears as such in the United States census of the Cherokee Indians. The Indians always had the greatest respect for him. He remained a prisoner seven years, but finally made his escape. Returning home, he located in Indiana, but his later years were spent at the home of our subject's father in Illinois.
George W. . Copeland was the seventh child born to his parents, and his early life was spent on his father's farm. His elementary training was obtained in the district schools of his native community and in the Potomac high school. At twenty-one years of age, he started to earn his own livelihood, and at first operated a ditching machine, but later owned and operated two ma- chines. For eight years he continued at that occupation, in which he was successful. Then, purchasing a farm in his native county, he en- gaged in tilling the soil until 1890. Selling out. lie came to Greeley township, Oklahoma county, and bought one hundred and sixty acres two miles cast of Oklahoma City. He also bought property in Oklahoma City, which he still owns. Farming and stock-raising have been his chief
pursuits, and he has attained success in the same. He makes a specialty of raising Holstein cattie, and also keeps a dairy of about twenty milch cows. He has erected a cheese factory on his farm, which he operates. He is an up-to-date farmer and is an honor to his chosen occupa- tion.
Mr. Copeland was married, in his native county, to Miss Nettie Magruder, a descendant of General Magruder, of Fredericksburg, Md. She is a native of Indiana and a daughter of Thomas Magruder, who was a farmer in that state, and a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war. She is a graduate of the Po- tomac high school. As a result of this union, two children have been born, Floyd and Lisle.
In the fall of 1898 Mr. Copeland was a candi- date, on the fusion ticket, for sheriff of Okla- homa county, and received a majority of two hundred and eighty votes, the largest majority received by any sheriff since the organization of the county. In politics he is a Populist, and was one of the organizers of the party in this county. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, both Lodge and En- campment in Oklahoma City, and the Woodmen of the World. He belongs to the Sheriffs' Asso- ciation of Oklahoma.
A LONZO KETCHAM is one of the most prominent and substantial business men re- siding in Oklahoma City, where he is en- gaged in the lumber business. He is one of those enterprising and public spirited men who labor constantly for the upbuilding and advance- ment of Oklahoma. He is a native of Mokena. Will county, Ill., the date of his birth being Feb- ruary 15, 1844. His father, David Ketcham, Jr., was a son of David Ketcham, Sr., who was a na- tive of the Empire State, and a descendant of an old Mohawk Holland-Dutch family.
David Ketcham, Jr., was a native of Onon- daga county, N. Y., and during his early man- hood he settled in Frankfort township, Will county, Ill., where he followed farming, con- tracting and merchandising, and built eight miles of the Rock Island Railway near Mokena. He died there at the age of seventy years. lie married Miss Almira Richmond, who was a na- tive of Onondaga county, N. Y., and a daughter of Loron Richmond, a farmer near Stockman. N. Y. The Richmond family was of English origin. Our subject's mother died in Ne- braska. A family of twelve children, eight boys and four girls, were born to Mr. and Mrs. David Ketcham, and of these two sons and a daughter are living. One son, Alasco, was a member of an Illinois regiment of volunteer infantry during the Civil war, and he died in Illinois, Another
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son, William, now resides in Dallas, Texas, where he is engaged in the lumber business. He is the inventor of the Ketcham dry kiln.
Reared and educated at Mokena, Ill., on leav- ing home Alonzo Ketcham went to Cassopolis, Cass County, Mich. When that deadly struggic broke out between the North and South, in Att- gust, 1861, he enlisted in the Second Michigan Cavalry under Colonel Sheridan, and was as- signed to the Second Department of the West, which took the regiment through Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia. He took part in the following engagements: Island No. 10, near Commerce; first battle at Corinth; Booneville, Miss .; Chaplin Hill, Ky .; several battles in Kentucky and Tennessee; Chickamauga, Chattanooga, the Georgia cam- paign, the siege of Atlanta, battle of Spring Hill, Franklin, Nashville and many engagements in Alabama and Georgia. His only wound was a saber cut on the right hand, which he received in the battle of Booneville, Miss: At Macon, Ga., his regiment was mustered out in August, 1865, at which time he was first sergeant. After the regiment had returned to Michigan they disbanded.
In the summer of 1865 Colonel (for by this. title he is familiarly known) Ketcham went to Bremer county, Iowa, where he purchased a farm. After farming there until 1872, he went to Dallas, Tex., and later engaged in the lumber business at Glade- water, Tex. A subsequent venture was in the mercantile business, and he conducted busi- ness at Will's Point and Hubbard City, Tex. Still later he engaged in the lumber business at Athens. On the opening of Oklahoma he started a lumber yard on his present site. Sell- ing out, he settled on a farm near Kickapoo, Lincoln county, Okla; thence went to McCloud, where he spent two years in the lumber business, and at the end of that time he returned to Okla- homa City, where he is now similarly engaged. In his yards, on Third and Robinson streets, he handles all kinds of lumber. His honest and straightforward business methods have won for him hosts of friends as well as assisting him to build up a lucrative business.
Colonel Ketcham was married in Michigan to Miss Josephine Shanafeldt, a native of Cassop- olis, Mich., and they have two children. The son, William Henry, graduated from St. Charles College in Louisiana, and was the first priest or- dained in Oklahoma; in 1900 he was called to Washington, D. C., to assume the duties of chief of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions. The daughter, Ella A., is a graduate of high school and is now at home. Colonel Ketcham is con- nected with Mcclellan Post, G. A. R .; the Odd Fellows, Knights of Honor and Masons. He
was elected alderman from the second ward, but on account of poor health was forced to resign toward the end of his term. In securing elec- tric lights, sewers, waterworks and a fire de- partment for the city, he took a warm interest. During his term he was a member of the finance committee. He is a member of the Mis- souri, Kansas and Oklahoma Lumber Dealers' Association. He belongs to the Commercial Club, in which he takes a prominent part. In politics he is a strong Republican, and uses his influence in support of the principles of that party.
J ESSE GWYNN. When first coming to
Skeleton township, Kingfisher county, in
1889, Mr. Gwynn had little to depend upon save his own ability and capacity for labor. That he has been successful is owing to his own untir- ing efforts and close application to the manage- ment of his claim. He located on the northeast quarter of section 7, September 16, and put his first crops in the ground in the spring of 1890. With him from Kansas he brought a herd of cat- tle which was the basis of his present prosperity. and at once began to improve his land, and at the present time has cultivated one hundred and ten acres, using the remainder as pasture. Among the numerous improvements which have developed under the progressive methods of Mr. Gwynn may be mentioned an eight-acre orchard. in which are grown many varieties of fruit, and a vineyard which produces a creditable crop of grapes. To accommodate his constantly in- creasing stock and grain business he has added to his original purchase another quarter section. namely the southwest quarter of section 7. He also rents a quarter of school land, which has so far produced a fine crop of wheat, the general average being from twenty to thirty-five bushels to the acre.
Born in Hancock county, Ind., in 1852, Mr. Gwynn is a son of Josephus and Mary (Schroy) Gwynn, the former of whom was born in Penn- sylvania and came at an early day to Indiana. where he died in 1868. During his residence there he became prominent in the affairs of the community, and was an enterprising and well- to-do farmer. He took up exceedingly wild land in the early days, and developed therefrom a successful and paying farm. When but two years of age Jesse Gwynn's mother was taken from him by death, leaving four children, two older than himself and an infant two weeks old. Of these children Lydia is now Mrs. James Schultz, Emeline is Mrs. Fremont Shull, and they, with James and the younger brother, are still in Indiana. The elder Gwynn contracted a second marriage with Elizabeth Galbreath,
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and of this union there were six children, five of whom are living. The old homestead is still a treasured possession of the family and is owned by the widow of Mr. Gwynn.
In 1876 Mr. Gwynn was married to Merica Davis, who, ten months later, died and left an infant son, Charles. In 1879 Mr. Gwynn went to Lane county, Kan., where he was one of the earliest settlers and where he homesteaded a claim on government land. This project proved a failure from a farming standpoint, and he therefore turned his attention to stock raising, which proved more remunerative and better suited to the land and location, and which he continued until the opening of the Oklahoma territory. Out of his possessions in Kansas he reserved the forty head of cattle which accom- panied him on the run to Oklahoma.
In 1889 occurred the marriage of Mr. Gwynn and Mary (Clark) Curfess, a widow, and the mother of a daughter, Daisy, who is the wife of Henry John. In national politics Mr. Gwynn is an adherent of the principles of the Republican party, but has never entertained political aspira- tions.
E LIHU H. COX, one of the enterprising and successful agriculturists of Logan county, is located on the northwest quarter of section I, township 16, range 4 west. He was born in Randolph county, Ind., October 5, 1842. His father, William Cox, was born. near Chillicothe, Ohio, and died in Pottawatomie county, Kans., in 1872. His mother, who died in 1875, was a daughter of Amos Smith; the latter's grandmother, Elizabeth (Ashby) Smith, was a daughter of Colonel Ashby, a distin- guished colonel in the Indian wars east of the Mississippi.
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