USA > Oklahoma > Tulsa County > Tulsa > The history of Tulsa, Oklahoma > Part 27
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Oliver H. Leonard, one of this number, was educated in the State University of Iowa at Iowa City, and graduated from business college, after which he became identified with the Poweshiek County Bank, filling the position of assist- ant cashier. After two years experience he was promoted to the position of cashier and continued to act in that capacity until 1889, when he resigned and disposed of his stock in the institution. He then went to Pipestone, Minnesota, where he became one of the organizers of the Farmers & Merchants Bank, of which he was elected president. Subsequently he returned to Iowa and pur- chased stock in the Citizens Savings Bank of Cedar Falls, which elected him to the office of cashier. He continued to fill that position until 1910, when severing his business connections in Iowa, he removed to Tulsa and was here elected vice president of the Exchange National Bank, of which he became one of the
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principal stockholders, after spending a year with the Union Trust Company. The Exchange National is the largest bank in the state of Oklahoma, and as vice president, Mr. Leonard had much to do with forming its policy, and direct- ing its affairs, giving his attention, throughout the years from 1911 to the time of his death, to administrative direction and executive control. His long ex- perience as a banker well qualified him for the responsible duties that devolved upon him and he ranked with the foremost financiers of the state and was honored by all, by reason of the honesty and integrity of his course and the progressiveness of his methods.
On the 22d of September, 1885, Mr. Leonard was married to Miss Nellie B. Bennett, a native of Brooklyn, Iowa, and a daughter of L. M. Bennett, who went to Iowa in 1862. To Mr. and Mrs. Leonard were born three children : Lucile, now Mrs. H. M. LeSourd of Columbus, Ohio, who is the mother of a son, Leonard; Virginia Kathleen, who passed away in December, 1920, greatly beloved by all; and Howard, eleven years of age.
The family circle was again broken by the hand of death when on February II, 1921, Mr. Leonard was called to his final rest. He had made for himself a notable place in the community. He was at one time president of the Com- mercial Club, now the Chamber of Commerce. He belonged to the Country Club, the City Club and the Petroleum Club, and was interested in all those forces which make for the development and upbuilding of a community along material, intellectual, social and moral lines. He had membership in the Meth- odist Episcopal church, of which he was one of the trustees, and he was a director and liberal supporter of Kendall College. His political endorsement was given to the republican party and his decision upon any vital question was never an equivocal one. He stood loyally for what he believed to be right and no one questioned the integrity of his motives. While a man of marked ability he was also one of modesty, free from ostentation in every way. He had splendid qualities that endeared him to all, and his character is perhaps best portrayed in the words of his pastor, the Rev. J. W. Abel, who in the funeral services took as his text: "And he wrought that which was good and right and faithful before Jehovah and his God." Speaking of Mr. Leonard, he said: "He was reared in a Christian home and converted when he was a young man and at once went about establishing a family altar in his newly made home, entering at once into the responsibilities of the work of the church, and from that hour was always in some responsible position in the church. Here you have the secret of this man's life. No doubt there are in this company today many men who have gone to Mr. Leonard in the hour of financial straits and have received from his assistance, encouragement and friendly advice." It was characteristic of Mr. Leonard that he was constantly extending a helping hand where it was needed and the world is certainty better for his having lived.
JOHN REAGAN HADLEY.
The interests which constituted the foundation for the activities of John Reagan Hadley are many, so that he has become well known as a lawyer, oil producer and philanthropist. He is a man of determined character who carries forward to successful completion well formulated plans and purposes, and his sound judgment precludes false moves and unwarranted risk. Mr. Hadley came to the southwest from Indiana, his birth having occurred on a farm in Hendricks
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county, December 16, 1805. His father, Atlas Hadley, was born in Indiana and devoted his life to the occupation of farming. He married Elizabeth Reagan and they celebrated their golden wedding two years ago. Since then the father has passed away but the mother still occupies the old homestead. They were members of the Society of Friends or Quakers, and were most highly esteemed in the community where they made their home. To them were born eight children, of whom five are living.
John Reagan Hadley was educated in the Quaker schools of Indiana, at- tending Earlham College at Richmond, Indiana. He afterward took up the profession of teaching and for three years was principal of a high school in Indiana, but regarded this merely as an initial step to other professional labors, it being his desire to become a member of the bar. He therefore made arrange- ments to read law under the direction of Judge John V. Hadley, afterward chief justice of the supreme court of Indiana, and was admitted to the bar in 1889. He practiced in Gas City and in Marion, Indiana, until 1903, and for nine years tilled the office of city attorney, making a most creditable record, as is indicated by his long continuance in the position. In 1909 he removed to Kansas City, Missouri, spending a year there and then made his way to the Cushing oil field at the time of the boom in that locality. He located there and became prominent and influential as a citizen of Cushing. He organized the Commercial Club, of which he became first secretary, and afterward director and officer. He was also prominent in the practice of law and was elected president of the Cushing Bar Association. Since coming to Tulsa he has attained mem- bership in the Tulsa County Bar Association, enjoying the high regard, confidence and respect of all of his professional colleagues and contemporaries. Keenly interested in the oil development of the state he secured a lease on two acres of school property in the famous Cushing field, on which a small schoolhouse stood. There he drilled an oil well and a year later, by drilling deeper he struck the first sand, drilled a second well and from these two wells produced about three thousand barrels per day for some time, giving to the school board more than fifty thousand dollars in royalties, so that the locality now has a fine big school building on its property, with two hundred and fifty pupils in attendance. Mr. Hadley is also a director and vice president of the Atlas Life Insurance Company of Tulsa, director of the Security State Bank and president of the People's Building and Loan Association. He does not continue as an active representative of the bar, but is giving his attention to his investments, for his operations in the oil field have made him one of the capitalists of this section of the state.
Mr. Hadley was married in 1904 to Miss Alma A. Tibbitts at Marion. They have one daughter, Susannah, now in the Tulsa high school.
Mrs. Hadley is very active in the work of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Hadley took a most helpful interest in the war work and was in philan- thropic and charitable activities. Politically he is a pronounced republican and a recognized leader in the ranks of the party in the state, serving as a member of the republican state central committee and as chairman of its credential committee. He was a delegate to the national convention in 1916, was a director of honest elections for and legal adviser of the state republican committee in 1920, and member of the industrial committee of the Chamber of Commerce of Tulsa, and at all times has cooperated heartily in the work of that organization for the benefit and upbuilding of the city, for the extension of its trade relations and the maintenance of its high civic standards. He is vice president and director of the Tulsa Purchasing Agents' Association and a member of the
Vol. III-17
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City Club. He is well known in fraternal circles, having for thirty years been a member of the Knights of Pythias, in which he has filled all of the chairs, serving as a member of the grand lodge in three different states. He likewise belongs to the Masonic lodge, including the Scottish Rite and the Shrine, con- sistory and chapter. The duties and obligations of life he has ever fully met and has always used his time wisely and well for the benefit, not only of his individual fortunes, but of the community, commonwealth and country.
AL BROWN.
One of the substantial business men of Tulsa is Al Brown, who for some years has engaged in the production of oil here, having been attracted to this city by its rapid growth and development as the metropolis of the oil and gas district of Oklahoma. He is a southerner by birth, his native state being Kentucky, and he first saw the light of day on the 23d of July, 1876, in Bowling Green, Warren county, that state. He was the seventh of a family of twelve children born to James W. and Cecilia Honora (Chamagne) Brown, the former being a native of Ireland and the latter of France. Their marriage occurred in Kentucky. James W. Brown lived in Ireland, where he received his educa- tion until at the age of fourteen years he came to the United States and located at New Orleans, Louisiana, where he was variously employed for three years. At the end of that time he engaged in the handling of hoop poles and as the result of sound judgment in the conduct of his affairs and by reason of his enter- prise and diligence, he soon developed an extensive and profitable business. He purchased stock at points along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers and operated a line of barges by which to transport them to his New Orleans home. His business interests netted him an income of from one hundred and fifty thousand to two hundred thousand dollars a year and he continued along that line for a period of about twelve years. Prior to the Civil war Mr. Brown had made extensive investments in farm land in Warren county, Kentucky, and upon moving onto that land developed a large and prosperous enterprise, taking his place among the substantial agriculturists of the state. He was a man of genuine personal worth and many sterling traits of character and the esteem and regard in which he was held by all with whom he came into contact is well illustrated by the following incident. He kept a corps of more than thirty-five slaves on his plantation and when he offered them their liberty, five of the oldest and most faithful refused to leave, with the result that he continued to care for them, paying them consistent wages, and as it was the custom in those days for slaves to adopt the family name, Mr. Brown readily conceded to the wishes of those of the number who wished to adopt his name. In 1885 the father disposed of his land in the Bluegrass state and removed with his family to Wichita, Kansas, where he engaged in ranging cattle until 1897, after which time he lived vir- tually retired until his death in 1908, at the age of sixty-nine years. His wife preceded him in death by eight years, she being sixty years of age at the time of her demise. Throughout his life Mr. Brown gave his political endorsement to the democratic party and he was an influential member of that party in Kentucky and Kansas. He was appointed police commissioner of Wichita, Kansas, after the adoption of the commission form of government and was democratic candidate for the state legislature but was defeated by a republican with a small majority. He also served as postmaster at Anness, Sedgwick
AL BROWN
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county, Kansas, under the first administration of President Cleveland and as one of the close friends of Governor Llewellyn was a dominant factor in bring- ing about his nomination. The governor offered him the position of warden at the state penitentiary, but he declined.
The public schools of Wichita, Kansas, afforded Al Brown a preliminary education, which was also continued in the schools of Ft. Scott, that state. At the age of nineteen years, upon the completion of his studies, he became a travel- ing representative and salesman for the Otto Kuehne Preserving Company, with headquarters at Topeka, Kansas, and Denver, Colorado, and he remained with that concern for about eleven years, winning a substantial amount of suc- cess in that connection. His progressiveness, energy and ability won for him constant promotion and at the termination of that period .he was made manager of the firm's branch at Oklahoma City. He was active along that line until 1906, when he came to Tulsa and established a residence. For five years he was en- gaged as city salesman for Ratcliff & Sanders, wholesale grocers, and then entered the insurance and real estate and loan business, building up a most .substantial and prosperous enterprise. In 1913 he severed his connections with that business and has since devoted his entire attention to the oil industry, in which he had first become interested in 1907. Mr. Brown is one of the men associated with the opening of the western extension of what is known as the Flatt Rock Pool and was also a dominant factor in opening the oil properties of the Collinsville Pool and the East Glen extension. As an oil producer he has been very successful but he has not confined his activities entirely to that line. He has made heavy investments in Tulsa real estate and his various city hold- ings have been brought to a wonderful state of improvement. He has erected and sold fifty or more excellent homes in Tulsa, the majority of them being completed in 1914.
In 1895 occurred the marriage of Mr. Brown and Miss Hattie May Gibbs, a native of Mexico, Audrain county, Missouri. To their union four children have been born: James H., whose demise occurred at the age of eight years; Cecilia Honora; Harold Victor; and Helen Louise, her death having occurred at the age of eight years.
The political allegiance of Mr. Brown has always been given to the demo- cratic party and it is well known that he is a stalwart champion of any cause which it espouses, although he has never sought personal preferment as a reward for party fealty. Fraternally he is a member of the Elks. Tulsa Lodge, No. 946, and likewise holds membership in the Chamber of Commerce. For recrea- tion Mr. Brown turns to outdoor sports and is a baseball fan in particular. He established the Association Baseball Park, which he improved at the cost of several thousand dollars and in this way made it possible for Tulsa to become represented in the Western League. He was owner and first president of the Tulsa Club of this league and is still maintaining an enthusiastic interest in the affairs of that organization.
LYNNE D. BAIRD.
While making a humble start in the business world. Lynne D. Baird has steadily advanced and is today manager of sales with the Superior Tube Com- pany of Tulsa. He has made good use of his time, his talents and his oppor- tunities and as the years have passed his labors have constantly broadened in
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scope and importance. He comes to the southwest from Iowa, his birth having occurred in Council Bluffs, that state, on the 8th of January, 1887, his parents being George G. and Laura ( Bell) Baird, who were natives of Ohio and Ken- tucky, respectively. The father was quite active in political affairs, serving as county clerk and in other positions of public honor and trust. He was a consist- ent member of the Methodist Episcopal church and also a loyal follower of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He died in 1919 and is survived by his widow, who yet makes her home in Council Bluffs. They were the parents of five children, four of whom are living.
At the usual age Lynne D. Baird entered the public schools of his native city and completed the work of consecutive grades, graduating from the high school there. When his textbooks were put aside he engaged in railroad work in a clerical capacity at Omaha, Nebraska, where he spent several years. He then became connected with oil interests by entering the employ of the Oil Well Supply Company of Wyoming, having charge of a store for that corporation at Basin, Wyoming, for three years. He next entered the employ of the Carter Oil Company of Denver, Colorado, where he continued for two years, at the end of which time he secured an interest with the Superior Tube Company and in 1918 came to Tulsa, and has since been sales manager of this company. His long connection with oil interests has made him thoroughly familiar with various phases of the business and what he undertakes he accomplishes, reaching the point of success by direct measures that are at all times resultant.
Mr. Baird belongs to the Petroleum Club and to the Country Club. He is well known in Masonic circles, having membership in Bluff City Lodge, No. 71, A. F. & A. M., and he has also taken the degrees of the York Rite, becoming a member of Mount Lebanon Commandery, No. 1I, K. T., at Thermopolis, Wyoming, and also Kalif Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., at Sheridan, Wyoming. His religious faith is that of the Episcopal church and his life has ever been guided by high and honorable principles, making him a man whom to know is greatly to esteem and respect.
JACOB A. BEARMAN.
Jacob A. Bearman, oil producer of Tulsa, is a native of Reidsville, North Carolina, his birth having occurred in 1879. He later moved to Mullins, South Carolina. In the attainment of his education he completed a high school course and then, attracted by the opportunities for investment in the southwest, he came to Oklahoma in 1905 from Mullins, South Carolina, and settled in the town of Broken Arrow, Tulsa county. Impressed with the natural agricultural advantages in this region he acquired large tracts of land, which he devoted to farming interests. Later he became president of the Broken Arrow Investment Company and through his connection with this enterprise his attention was directed to the oil possibilities of the state. In fact he became one of the pioneers in the development of the rich oil fields in Broken Arrow and is actively connected with the oil business as a producer, enjoying the fascination of the game and willing to take what fortune brings, yet basing his investments and activities upon sound judgment and broad experience, together with the best scientific assistance that can be gained. At the same time he has not forsaken farming and retains his agricultural holdings. He is, however, president of a number of important oil companies, including the Betty Ruth Oil Company, the
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Basic Petroleum Corporation and the Staple Oil Company, and is general manager of the Burk Petroleum Corporation, all of Tulsa. He is also associated with many other enterprises in Tulsa, and is a stockholder in these.
On the 3d of June, 1906, Mr. Bearman was married to Miss Alice Talbot, a daughter of William Talbot of Fayette, Missouri, and they have two children, both born in Broken Arrow: Richard, born July 25, 1910; and Agnes, born October 26, 1913.
Mrs. Bearman is a member of the Episcopal church and she is very active in club and social affairs, being a member of the United Daughters of the Con- federacy, and the Hyechka and Delphians. Fraternally Mr. Bearman belongs to the Masons, Knights of Pythias, the Odd Fellows and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is likewise a member of the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce, the Petroleum Club of Tulsa, the Auto Club and the Ozark Club. He is a big man physically, mentally and morally, of jovial disposition and very popular wherever known. He possesses wonderful energy and ability and his word is as good as his bond. He is always ready to help the unfortunate and extend a hand where aid is needed and the many sterling qualities which he has displayed in every relation of life mark him as a most valued addition to the citizenship of Tulsa.
RICHARD LLOYD JONES.
Richard Lloyd Jones, publisher and editor of the Tulsa Tribune, was born in Janesville, Wisconsin, April 14, 1873, a son of Jenkin Lloyd and Susan C. (Barber) Jones. The father was one of the most eminent preachers of Chicago, not only because of his pulpit work but also because of the active part which he took in meeting sociological and economic conditions affecting the general welfare. Both he and his wife have passed away.
In the acquirement of his education Richard Lloyd Jones spent five years as a student in the Universities of Wisconsin and Chicago, pursuing special courses, and later he matriculated in the Chicago Law School, from which he was graduated with the LL. B. degree in 1897, while the Master of Laws degree was conferred upon him in 1898. In 1918 Lincoln Memorial University at Cum- berland Gap, Tennessee, of which institution he was for eight years a trustee, conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. Throughout his life he has been identified with newspaper publication. He was editor of the Stamford (Conn.) Telegram in 1899 and in 1900 became special editorial writer of the Washington Times, so continuing until 1902. He was next associate editor of the Cosmopolitan Magazine in 1902-3 and in the latter year became associate editor of Collier's Weekly, remaining in active connection with that publication until 1911. For eight years thereafter he was editor and owner of the Wisconsin State Journal, published at Madison, and in November, 1919. he became publisher and editor of the Tulsa Tribune. He is most widely known in editorial circles throughout the country and his prominence in this connection rivals his father's eminence in the ministerial field.
On the 30th of April, 1907, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Mr. Jones was married to Georgia Hayden, a daughter of H. H. Hayden, a noted lawyer. Mr. and Mrs. Jones have become parents of three children: Richard Lloyd, Jr., Jenkin Lloyd and Florence Lloyd.
In his political views Mr. Jones is a democrat. He founded the Lincoln
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Farm Association in 1906, which preserved Lincoln's birthplace as a national park and erected there the Lincoln memorial and is still in charge of it as commissioner under the department of war. From 1911 until 1919 he was chair- man of the board of visitors of the University of Wisconsin. He is a member of four New York city clubs : the Players, the City, the National Arts, and the Phi Gamma Delta Clubs. His religious faith is that of the Unitarian church. His interest in public affairs is manifest in many tangible ways, not the least of which is his endorsement through the columns of his paper of all those projects and plans which have to do with the city's upbuilding and with the welfare of state and country.
WASHINGTON E. HUDSON.
Twenty-eight years have passed since Washington E. Hudson was admitted to the bar and in the intervening period he has won prominence as a trial law- yer, being regarded as one of the leading attorneys of Tulsa. In a profession where advancement depends entirely upon individual merit and ability he has worked his way steadily upward and it was his own efforts that provided the means for his education and enabled him to qualify for law practice. He has ever been actuated by high ideals and dominated by laudable ambition, and his steadfast purpose has carried him forward to the goal of professional success. He dates his residence in Oklahoma from 1902, coming to this state from Tennessee. He was born October 8, 1872, in Neely's Bend, Davidson county, Tennessee, near Nashville, and is descended from English ancestry, the family having been founded in America in colonial days, while representatives of the name served in the American army in the war for independence. His parents were Horatio and Annie (Schooler) Hudson, both of whom were natives of Ken- tucky. They became parents of three children. Mr. and Mrs. Horatio Hudson were among the early residents of Neely's Bend, Tennessee, and there the father passed away in 1882, leaving a widow and three children, of whom Washing- ton E. was the eldest, and still a young lad. His younger brother was Isaac, who passed away at the age of twenty-seven years, while the sister, Mary, died at the age of twenty-five. After several years of widowhood the mother mar- ried again and her death occurred in 1911. The only surviving child of her second marriage is Mrs. Herbert Talbot, now residing in Nashville, Tennessee.
Washington E. Hudson pursued his early education in the public schools of Neely's Bend and desirous of gaining broad knowledge as a preparation for life's practical and responsible duties, he utilized every opportunity to continue his education. After a time he entered the Woolwine Training school at Nash- ville, Tennessee, where he remained a student for a year, and later continued his studies in the South Kentucky College at Hopkinsville. Kentucky, in which he completed a regular four years' course in two years, being graduated on the 8th of June, 1890, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He had applied himself with great thoroughness and persistence to his studies, so that he managed to complete the course in a notably short space of time. At the Vanderbilt Univer- sity at Nashville, Tennessee, he became actively affiliated with the Sigma Epsilon Alpha fraternity. Attracted toward the practice of law as a life work, he became an employe in the office of George K. Whitworth, clerk of the chancery court at Nashville, and this constituted his initital step toward his professional career. He afterward began the study of law in the office of De Moss & Malone, attor-
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