USA > Oklahoma > Tulsa County > Tulsa > The history of Tulsa, Oklahoma > Part 18
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Mr. McFann has been twice married, his first marriage occuring in 1902. There were two children of that union: Mary Alice, eighteen years of age ; and Kenneth, seventeen years of age, now attending high school. The daughter is a student in Lindenwood College. On the 18th of November, 1914, Mr. Mc- Fann was married to Miss Letha A. Frank of Joplin, Missouri, and they have one child, Harry Miles, now in his third year.
Mr. McFann's greatest activity outside of business is perhaps in connection with Masonry. He is prominently known as a representative of both York and Scottish Rites, is captain of the patrol and has recently been elected the potentate of Akdar Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to the Country Club, the City Club, the Lions Club and the Petroleum Club. His life has been actuated by a progressive spirit and such is his determination and his initiative that he never stops short of the successful accomplishment of his purpose, which is the direct outcome of careful consideration of every question.
PAUL FROST COLE.
Paul Frost Cole, treasurer of the Oklahoma Central Oil Company with headquarters at Tulsa, is one of the energetic and enterprising young men, who, attracted by the opportunities offered by reason of the oil fields development in this section of the state, have here made steady progress toward the goal of success and gained a most satisfactory and creditable position in business cir- cles. A native of Indiana, he was born in Angola on the 23d of February, 1894. and is a son of Ellsworth A. and Rosella ( Frost) Cole, both of whom were also natives of Indiana. The father is a minister of the Christian church and is still active as a preacher of the gospel, being now pastor of the church at Washing- ton, Pennsylvania. He likewise belongs to the Masonic fraternity.
Paul F. Cole, one of a family of four children, obtained a public school edu- cation in Washington, Pennsylvania, passing through consecutive grades to the high school and later he attended the schools of St. Louis and in Pittsburgh, while for one year he was a student in the Washington and Jefferson College at Washington, Pennsylvania. Throughout his business career he has been con- nected with the oil industry in one phase or another. He was with the Pure Oil Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for two years and afterward became secretary of the Quaker Oil & Gas Company. Subsequently he was elected secretary and treasurer of the Oklahoma Central Oil Company, which is his pres- ent connection. He has thus become identified with the rich Tulsa fields and is capably and wisely directing the interests of the corporation which he repre- sents.
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In 1915 Mr. Cole was married to Miss Hazel Douglas McGlaughlin of Pitts- burgh, and they have one child, Paul F., Jr., four years of age. The parents are consistent members of the Christian church and Mr. Cole also belongs to the Masonic fraternity, having membership in Petroleum Lodge, No. 474, A. F. & A. M., also in the Royal Arch Chapter and in the Consistory. He likewise belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and manifests deep and helpful interest in many activities and projects for the public good. He is a splendid representa- tive of the modern business spirit, his alertness and energy enabling him to overcome all obstacles and difficulties, and step by step he is advancing toward the goal of success.
EARLY BEE GUTHREY.
Early Bee Guthrey, the efficient secretary of the Oklahoma Automobile Club, who was named in honor of two distinguished Confederate commanders, General Early and General Bee, was born in Saline county, Missouri, near Miami, February 24, 1869, a son of Patrick Henry and Addie (Brown) Guth- rey, who were natives of Virginia and Lexington, Kentucky, respectively. The father was a farmer by occupation and prior to the Civil war made an overland trip to Missouri, establishing his home in Saline county. He entered the Con- federate army under General Price, was twice wounded and for a time was held a prisoner of war. When hostilities between the two sections of the coun- try had ceased he returned to Saline county, Missouri, where he again engaged in farming, there residing until 1876, when he removed to Parker County, Texas, and became a contractor in connection with the building of the Texas & Pacific Railroad. He remained there until 1879 and afterward again took up farming, becoming a resident of Seward county, Nebraska, in 1884. He home- steaded there and became one of the leading and influential residents of that district just as he had been when living in Saline county, Missouri. In 1889 he came to Oklahoma and was one of the original "Payne county boomers." He surveyed and platted Payne Center and was one of those who contended most strenuously to make Payne Center the county seat. He was associated with John G. Payne in work of early development and improvement and made valu- able contribution to the progress and upbuilding of that section of the state. He continued to devote his attention to farming in Payne county until his re- tirement from active business life, when he removed to Sulphur Springs, Ar- kansas, where his death occurred in 1911. He had long survived his wife, who passed away in 1877. Throughout his entre life he had been exceptionally active in politics and gave unfaltering allegiance to the democratic party. His religious faith was that of the Episcopal church.
Early Bee Guthrey, whose name introduces this record, was for two years a pupil in one of the oldtime log schoolhouses in Texas and for a year he studied in Nebraska. When a lad of fourteen he became "devil" in a printing office at Seward, Nebraska, and worked his way upward to the position of foreman. During this period he had attended night school, for he realized the value and worth of education as a factor in the attainment of success in life. After leav- ing the printing office he entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1888 and worked his way through college by waiting on tables and working in printing offices at night, also doing tutoring from time to time. He concentrated his attention upon the study of law and was admitted to the bar in 1891. He
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then engaged in practice at Stillwater, Oklahoma, and while there residing served one term as deputy county attorney and was also assistant United States attorney for a year. It was while engaged in law practice that he established the Oklahoma Hawk, now the Advance Democrat, which is the oldest paper published in Payne county. He was always interested in democratic politics and throughout his life has done everything in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of the party.
Mr. Guthrey left Stillwater in September, 1893, at the opening of the Cher- okee strip and took up a claim adjoining the town of Perry. He also became a member of the law firm of Howe, McMeeham & Guthrey, general practitioners at the bar, establishing an office in a tent. The practice was continued in that partnership relation until Mr. McMeeham was appointed the first United States attorney for northern Oklahoma, when the firm became Howe & Guthrey, the partnership being continued until June, 1897, when Mr. Guthrey began practic- ing alone. He also opened a law office at Ponca City, practicing in the two places. He became a member and the secretary of the Ponca City Improve- ment & Land Company, which platted and sold the townsite, having its head- quarters at Ponca City from 1897 to 1901. He went to Texas at the time of the Beaumont oil boom and there engaged in the oil business and also organ- ized the Beaumont Marble & Supply Company, opening big marble quarries in Sequoyah county, Oklahoma. Of this company he became the president and directed its operations and he also platted and sold the townsite of Marble City, Oklahoma. He was elected mayor of the town, filling the position for two years and aiding in laying broad and deep the foundation of municipal progress as well as material advancement there. In 1906, however, he disposed of his interests at Marble City and purchased the townsite of Sulphur Springs, Ar- kansas, where he engaged in banking, becoming president of the Bank of Sulphur Springs and so continuing for two years. In 1913 he returned to Okla- homa, where he has engaged in the real estate and oil business. For a time he was at Sallisaw, Oklahoma, and in 1915 came to Tulsa, where he has since made his home. He acted as highway commissioner for the Chamber of Com- merce until 1918, when he resigned to accept the position of secretary of the Auto Club of Tulsa, so continuing until July, 1920, when he resigned the latter position and became state distributor of the United States Compression Inner Tube Company of Tulsa. In 1919 he was elected president of the White River Trails Association, which position he still fills and he was one of the organizers of the Albert Pike Highway Association, of which he has been the secretary since 1917. In January. 1921, he was made secretary of the state organization of the Automobile Club of Oklahoma. He is also the editor of The Nation's Highways, the first issue of which appeared April 1, 1921, this being the official organ of the Albert Pike and White River Trails Associations. Mr. Guthrey is the editor of the publication, with Colonel Clarence B. Douglas as associate editor and the former is also the owner of the paper. This magazine deals with road promotion, road building and road maintenance and it is the purpose of Mr. Guthrey to make it national in its scope.
Mr. Guthrey is also actively identified with the Chamber of Commerce and with the City Club and is an enthusiastic supporter of every plan and measure that has to do with the upbuilding and progress of community, commonwealth and country. He belongs to the Masonic lodge at Sulphur Springs, Arkansas, to the Elks lodge at Rogers, Arkansas, of which he was a charter member, to the Automobile Club of Tulsa and to the Tulsa-Ozark Club. Throughout his life he has continued his activity in the political field and while in Payne county
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was a member of the democratic county central committee and also served in a similar capacity in Arkansas.
Mr. Guthrey was married in Ponca City, December 27, 1897, to Miss Addie R. Newman, a daughter of Joseph A. and Margaret (Polson) Newman, natives of Decatur, Illinois. The father was a farmer and was a veteran of the Union army in the Civil war. He removed to Louisiana, afterward to Butte, Kansas, and later to Cowley county, Kansas, and in 1906 he went to Arkansas, locating on a farm near Siloam Springs in 1907. Three years later, or in 1910, he came to Tulsa to live with his daughter and passed away in this city in 1917.
A review of the life record of Mr. Guthrey will show that he lias always been a stimulating force in the upbuilding and development of every community and district in which he has lived. Moreover, he has recognized the opportuni- ties for advancement and has been most active in formulating and executing plans which have led to the founding and improvement of cities and there is no more enthusiastic champion of good roads in this state than he. His work has indeed been far-reaching and resultant and Oklahoma is proud to claim him as one of her representative men.
MICHAEL MARCUS VALERIUS.
Michael Marcus Valerius was the organizer and is the head of M. M. Valerius Company, petroleum geogolists, with offices in the Mayo building in Tulsa. Iowa claims him as a native son, his birth having occurred in Sigour- ney, January 16, 1872. His father, Peter Valerius, was a native of Wisconsin and during an active life devoted his attention to contracting and building, which he followed at various periods in Wisconsin, Iowa and Missouri. He married Emma Fritz, a native of Germany, and she is now living in Eldon, Missouri, but Mr. Valerius has passed away. In their family were five chil- dren, four of whom survive.
Michael M. Valerius was graduated from the high school at Sigourney, Iowa, and afterward attended Drake University at Des Moines. Still later he became a student in the Missouri School of Mines at Rolla, Missouri. His life has been devoted to professional work of this character and for a number of years he has given his attention particularly to petroleum geology, his work in this connection taking him all over the oil fields of the southwest. He has developed a high degree of skill and proficiency in this connection and his enviable professional position is further indicated in the fact that he is a member of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, of the Southwestern Geo- logical Association and the Tulsa Geological Society.
In 1903 Mr. Valerius was married to Miss Ina M. Brinton of Stuart, Iowa, and they have one son, Claude M., now attending the Stuart high school, but in the fall of 1921 he expects to enter the School of Mines at Rolla. Mr. Valerius turns to hunting when leisure permits, greatly enjoying a trip into the open. He is a member of the Lions Club and the Chamber of Commerce, associations which indicate his interest in matters of progressive citizenship, for both organizations have for their object the betterment of the community through the development of business conditions and through strict adherence to high civic standards. Politically Mr. Valerius is a republican. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, having become a member of the lodge in Kansas,
Copyright Underwood & Underwood, N. Y.
MICHAEL M. VALERIUS
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since which time he has taken the Scottish Rite degrees, and is also a member of Akdar Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He has likewise extended his mem- bership relations to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is at all times a worthy follower of the teachings of these organizations, which are based upon man's obligations to his fellowmen.
WILLIAM LEMUEL EAGLETON, JR.
There have been no spectacular phases in the business and professional career of William Lemuel Eagleton, Jr., who is now practicing at the Tulsa bar and who has won his professional advancement through thorough preliminary study, careful preparation of his cases, devotion to the interests of his clients and allegiance to the majesty of the law. Mr. Eagleton is a native son of Oklahoma, his birth having occurred in a cave in Pawnee, March 28, 1894, his parents being William Lemuel and Martha Ann (Saunders) Eagleton. By appointment of the governor of Oklahoma the father became judge of the fourteenth judicial district in September, 1920, and is now serving upon the bench. He was born in Woodbury, Tennessee, November 7, 1860, a son of John A. and Mary J. (Bethell) Eagleton, the former a merchant of Tennessee and afterward of Kentucky. Judge Eagleton attended the Southern Normal and Business Col- lege at Glasgow, Kentucky, and won his Bachelor of Science degree as a grad- uate of the class of 1884. He started out in the business world as a clerk in a general merchandise establishment and for a time in early manhood was a teacher in the country schools but eventually entered upon the practice of law and by close application, consistent ability and the development of his powers gained a creditable position as a representative of the bar. He was city attorney at Cisco, Texas, for a part of the time between 1889 and 1892. Removing to Oklahoma he settled in Pawnee and occupied the position of city attorney there in the latter part of the 'gos. In 1914 he was called to the office of city attorney in Norman, Oklahoma, and served in that position for about a year. His first judicial experience came to him in the summer of 1898, when he was made probate judge of Pawnee county, and continued to act in that capacity until January, 1903. His appointment to the district bench came to him from the governor in September, 1920, and he has since served as judge of the fourteenth judicial district. His decisions are strictly fair and impartial and his opinions indicate comprehensive knowledge of the law, with ability to apply accurately its principles. Judge Eagleton has always been a democrat in his political views and his opinions have carried weight in the ranks of the party, but he has never sought political prominence nor preferment outside the strict path of his profes- sion. He is a Knights Templar Mason, a companion of the Red Cross of Con- stantine, a member of the Mystic Shrine and a member of the Eastern Star. He has filled every presiding office both in the subordinate and grand bodies of the York Rite and of the Eastern Star and is today an honorary thirty-third degree Mason. He holds membership in the Chamber of Commerce at Norman, Okla- homa, over which he has presided, and for many years has been a devoted mem- ber of the Presbyterian church, in which he has filled the office of presiding elder. In a word his aid and influence have ever been given on the side of progress and improvement and his labors have been effective forces in the ma- terial and intellectual progress of the state and in upholding its legal and moral status.
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On the 15th of August, 1888, near Purdy, Tennessee, Judge Eagleton was married to Miss Martha Ann Saunders, representative of a family that has fig. ured prominently in connection with the political history of McNairy county, Tennessee, while others of the name have gained prominence through contribu- tions to literature. Judge and Mrs. Eagleton have become parents of the follow- ing named; Mary Eloise, who was born May 16, 1889, and died while serving as an army nurse at Camp McArthur, in Waco, Texas, October 19, 1918; Olive, the wife of Elton B. Hunt, an attorney of Tulsa, Oklahoma ; Elizabeth, the wife of Raymond O. Courtright, physical director and member of the faculty of the University of Nevada at Reno; William L., Jr., a successful practicing attorney of Tulsa; John Saunders, who died in infancy ; Isabel, who also passed away in infancy ; and James R., seventeen years of age, who is now a sophomore in the University of Nevada.
In his youthful days William L. Eagleton, Jr., was a pupil in the public schools of his native city and there completed his high school course, after which he entered the University of Oklahoma in 1914 and was graduated there- from in 1919, winning the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws. During his college days he made excellent records in his studies and was also very active in religious work among the younger set. He made excellent credits in his studies and thus displayed the elemental strength of his character and the laudable ambition which prompted him early in his career. He was admitted to the bar in 1917 and engaged in practice at Norman, Oklahoma. In June, 1919, Mr. Eagleton becaine a partner in the firm of Hunt & Eagleton of Tulsa and has since engaged in general practice, enjoying a good clientage through the intervening period. He belongs to the local and state bar associations.
Mr. Eagleton has membership with the American Legion and is post com- mander, Joe Carson Post, No. I, at Tulsa, the largest in the state. He is one of the veterans of the World war, having served with the One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Field Artillery, a Missouri regiment. He saw active duty in France, being on the St. Mihiel and Argonne fronts all during the active fight- ing, and upon the western front until the signing of the armistice, stationed in the Verdun sector from the 2d of November until the 19th of that month.
Mr. Eagleton is a Mason, belonging to Delta Lodge, A. F. & A. M., also to the chapter, the council, the consistory and to Akdar Temple of the Mystic Shrine. Religiously he is a Presbyterian and his work in the church has been far-reaching and resultant. He stands high socially and morally and his posi- tion as a young attorney is above the average.
WILLIAM JOSEPH TRAINER, M. D.
Dr. William Joseph Trainer, who, practicing as an internist, has made steady advancement as a physician of Tulsa, was born in New York city, March 2, 1876, a son of James A. and Mary (Reed) Trainer. The father was born in Belfast, Ireland, while the mother's birth occurred in Poughkeepsie, New York. Coming to the new world, James A. Trainer was for a time teacher of languages in Columbia University and was also interested in the immigration department at Castle Garden, where in earlier days the immigrants were landed. He died in 1892.
William J. Trainer of this review completed a course in the high school at Montgomery, New York, and afterward entered the University of Vermont,
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from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Science degree. Ile then attended the Medical School at the University of Vermont for a year and in 1898 he enlisted at Boston in the Hospital Corps of the United States army. upon the outbreak of the Spanish-American war, and for a year was stationed at Fort McPherson, Tampa, Florida. Following his return home he resumed his medical studies in the University of Maryland and won his professional degree upon graduation with the class of 1903. For a time he was surgeon to the Sparrows Point Steel Works and then went to Smithfield, West Virginia. where for two years he was surgeon for the steel works. He afterward became ocean steamship surgeon, being thus connected with the Pacific Mail and with the P. & O. line until 1915, when he came to Tulsa. Here he has concen- trated his attention upon internal medicine. He has taken postgraduate work at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and has pursued three post- graduate courses in internal medicine in the University of Maryland.
Again Dr. Trainer responded to his country's call for military aid and on the Ist of April, 1918, enlisted as first lieutenant in the Medical Corps, being in the training school at Fort Riley. He was sent to Camp Benjamin Harrison at Indianapolis with the rank of captain and there remained until mustered out February 29, 1919. At Camp Benjamin Harrison he was battalion surgeon with the One Hundred and Eighteenth Engineers, having charge of pneumonia cases at Base Hospital, No. 29. He is now a captain of the Medical Reserve Corps. Prior to entering the army he served on the Tulsa county draft board, not through regular appointment, but giving his services gratis in that connec- tion.
Dr. Trainer is a member of the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce and is inter- ested in all those forces which make for development and upbuilding in the city. He is well known in Masonic circles, belonging to Delta Lodge, No. 425, A. F. & A. M .; Tulsa Chapter, No. 52, R. A. M .; Trinity Commandery, No. 20, K. T .; Akdar Temple of the Mystic Shrine and also to the Knights of Pythias. He is likewise a member of the Rotary Club and belongs to the Spanish War Veterans and to the American Legion, his patriotism and loyalty to American interests being just as marked in days of peace as in times of war. Along pro- fessional lines he has membership with the Tulsa, Oklahoma State and Ameri- can Medical Associations.
LOUIS H. WITWER.
Louis H. Witwer, secretary of the Janellen Company, also of the Valley Oil Company and who is in the real estate business for himself under the firm name of L. H. Witwer & Company, has made his home in Tulsa since the Ist of Jan- uary, 1917, and through the intervening period of four years has not only be- come well known as a representative of oil interests, but has gained high regard as a citizen, owing to his cooperation in many projects and measures for the general good. He was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, December 13, 1887, a son of H. E. and Harriet (Baker ) Witwer, both of whom were natives of Pennsyl- vania. In their family were six children, four of whom are living. The father, who was born in Williamsburg, Pennsylvania, engaged in the wholesale grocery business in Cedar Rapids for many years following his removal to the middle west, but is now retired, enjoying in well earned rest the fruits of his former toil. At the time of the civil war he put aside all business and personal consid-
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erations and joined the army, so that he now proudly wears the little bronze button which proclaims him a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He has membership in the Masonic fraternity and his religious faith is manifest in connection with the Christian church.
Louis H. Witwer at the usual age became a pupil in the public schools of Cedar Rapids and there also pursued his high school course. He received his initial business training and experience under the direction of his father, spend- ing eight years in the latter's wholesale grocery house, and winning through individual merit and ability promotion to the position of traffic salesman and later to that of sales manager. He afterward turned his attention to the real estate business which he conducted in Cedar Rapids, and on the Ist of January, 1917, he arrived in Tulsa, where he has become well known through his connec- tion with the oil interests, being now the secretary of the Janellen Company and also of the Valley Oil Company.
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