USA > Oklahoma > Tulsa County > Tulsa > The history of Tulsa, Oklahoma > Part 8
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JAMES E. WEBB, M. D.
Dr. James E. Webb, engaged in the practice of medicine in Tulsa, is a native of Higginsville, Missouri, and a son of William C. and Helen M. (Jones) Webb, the former born in Orange county, Virginia, while the mother's birth occurred in Rappahannock county, of the same state. In early manhood Wil- liam C. Webb prepared for the practice of medicine and became a field surgeon in the Confederate army during the Civil war and was also private physician to General Joe Shelby. He served with the rank of captain for a time and later was promoted to major. He was afterward with Dr. Poe and one other physi- cian, the three composing the medical board west of the Mississippi river. It was in 1837 that he became a resident of Missouri, casting in his lot with the pioneer settlers of that section of the country. His father was John V. Webb, who served as a captain in the Mexican war and who was a representative of a prominent family of Virginia. With the removal of Dr. W. C. Webb to Mis- souri he established his home at Higginsville and became a large land owner there. His professional training was received in the University of Kentucky, from which he was graduated and in the University of Pennsylvania where he also pursued a course in the medical department, thus winning his professional degree. He was one of those splendid country doctors of the old school, never hesitating to perform a professional service no matter how much personal dis- comfort and sacrifice might be involved therein. A courtly old gentleman, he commanded the highest respect and confidence of all who knew him to the time of his death, which occurred in Higginsville, February 4, 1896. His widow sur- vived him for about four years, passing away in 1900.
Their son, James E. Webb, attended the public schools of his native town and afterward became a student in the collegiate department of the University of Missouri. He then began preparation for his professional career as a student in the Ohio Medical College, where he completed his course in 1881, after which he practiced at Corder, Missouri, until 1884. He then removed to Hartville, Missouri, where he remained for eleven years or until 1895 and through the succeeding period of five years he practiced successfully in Norwood, Missouri, but the opportunities afforded by the rapid and substantial growth of Tulsa called him to this field at the beginning of the century and here he has lived while Tulsa has grown by leaps and bounds from a town of eleven hundred into a great metropolitan city of more than seventy-two thousand. Dr. Webb was serving as a member of the city council when Oakland cemetery was purchased at twenty dollars per acre, then considered a fabulous price. Such has been
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the growth of Tulsa that the cemetery is today situated in the center of the city. Throughout the intervening years Dr. Webb has continued in practice, becoming the loved family physician in many a household and he has also filled the posi- tion of superintendent of public health. A lover of children, he has been par- ticularly successful in treating children's diseases, for he easily wins the con- fidence of the young who not only like him, but look forward to his visits as a pleasurable occasion in their lives. Dr. Webb also became one of the original stockholders and first directors of the old First National Bank of Tulsa.
In this city Dr. Webb was married to Miss Lyda Brummett, a daughter of Thomas E. Brummett, one of the pioneer grocers of this city. By a former marriage he had one son, William R. Dr. Webb turns to hunting and fishing for recreation. His political endorsement has always been given to the democratic party and he has ever kept well informed on the vital questions and issues of the day. Along strictly professional lines he is connected with the Tulsa, the Oklahoma State and the American Medical Associations and through the pro- ceedings of these bodies keeps in touch with the trend of modern professional thought and progress. He has by reading and study developed his ability and his practice has increased with the rapid growth of Tulsa, so that heavy demands are now made upon his time and energy.
CHARLES TOWNSEND KIRK.
Among the oil geologists whose activities are based upon thorough scientific knowledge and broad practical experience is Charles Townsend Kirk, who main- tains an office in Tulsa and practices his profession in this section of the south- west. He is a native of Indiana, his birth having occurred in Francisco, Gibson county, June 22, 1876. His father, David Henry Kirk, was born in Indiana, in 1836 and was of Scotch descent, the ancestral line being traced back to one who landed at Jamestown, Virginia, in the early colonization of the new world. David H. Kirk devoted his entire life to the occupation of farming, save for the period of his service as a soldier of the Civil war. He became corporal of Company F, Thirty-Third Indiana Volunteer Infantry and was on duty from 1861 until 1865, also acting as assistant civil engineer in his brigade. He wedded Martha Jane Townsend, who was also a native of Indiana and came of New England ancestry. She was born in 1840. In the year 1890 Mr. and Mrs. Kirk removed to Oklahoma county, Oklahoma, where the father had home- steaded the previous year. The mother passed away in 1893, the father sur- viving for fifteen years or until 1908. They were the parents of four children, Ulysses D .; Nana E., the wife of W. R. Burton of Hutchinson, Kansas; Nellie G. and Charles Townsend.
The last named, after acquiring a public school education in Gibson county, Indiana, became a student in the University of Oklahoma, following the estab- lishment of the family home in this state, and won his Bachelor of Science degree in 1904, and his Master of Arts degree in 1905. Later he continued his educa- tion in the University of Wisconsin, which in 1911 conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. He won all degrees in geologic majors, with minors in chemistry. For ten years he devoted his attention to the teaching of geology, being connected successively with the School of Mines at Butte, Montana ; with the correspondence department of the University of Wisconsin ; with Hunter College of New York city and with the University of New Mexico
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at Albuquerque. During those years he also served as junior geologist on the United States geological survey at Washington, D. C., and as assistant geologist on the Oklahoma geologic survey at Norman, Oklahoma. Gradually in his teach- ing connection he rose from the position of laboratory assistant to the rank of full professor, and during the four years spent in the University of New Mexico he was also state geologist of New Mexico. He came to Tulsa in 1917 as consulting geologist and has since practiced his profession here. He is inter- ested in a few operation companies in the mid-continent and Texas oil fields, and also has certain mining interests in the northwestern part of the United States.
In Oklahoma City, on the 22d of August, 1906, Mr. Kirk was married to Miss Bessie Keller, a daughter of Martin and Mary Jane (Thompson) Keller, both natives of Indiana, and now residents of Wichita, Kansas. They were early homesteaders in Oklahoma, and Mr. Keller had a military record as a soldier of the Union army during the Civil war. To Mr. and Mrs. Kirk have been born the following named: Ora Jane, Betty Clare, David Keller, and Florence Nell, whose ages range respectively from fourteen to seven years.
Mr. and Mrs. Kirk are members of the First Christian church of Tulsa. He belongs to the Rotary Club of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and fraternally is a Mason, while politically he is a democrat. Along professional lines his mem- bership is with the Geological Society of America, the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. His business activity has always centered in one line and since 1917 he has been a member of the firm of Kirk & Hoover, geologists with offices in the Lynch building in Tulsa. He is fond of reading English and Spanish works, which largely constitutes his source of recreation, and for diversion he turns to hunting large and small game, having indulged in this pursuit both in the Rocky mountains and in the Andes.
CHARLES M. HICKEY, M. D.
Dr. Charles M. Hickey, oculist, aurist, laryngologist and rhinologist, whose success in his profession is based upon thorough preliminary study and broad experience, is now enjoying an extensive practice in Tulsa, to which city he came from the Keystone state. His birth occurred in Allentown, Pennsylvania, May 14, 1872, his parents being Charles and Margaret (Sullivan) Hickey, who were likewise natives of Pennsylvania. The father conducted business as a whole- sale dealer in cordials in Allentown and in New York.
The. son, Charles M. Hickey, after attending the Manhattan Academy con- tinued his studies in the New York University and won his M. D. degree in 1897. He then entered upon practice in New York and made steady professional progress, but desirous of still further promoting his efficiency he went abroad in 1910 and studied in some of the leading medical centers of Europe. In 1918 he came to Tulsa, where he has since specialized in the treatment of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. Back of his success in this field lies abundant and comprehensive experience, for he was assistant surgeon of the Manhattan Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital of New York, attending ophthalmologist to the Misericordia Hospital of New York, chief of the eye clinic in St. Vincent's Hospital of New York, chief of the eye clinic in the Harlem Dispensary and was connected with the Otological Clinic, the New York Polyclinic and the
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New York Post Graduate school. He studied the ear, nose and throat in the University of Vienna at Vienna, Austria, and in the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital in London, England. He is now a member of the Tulsa, the Oklahoma State and the American Medical Associations and belongs to the Medico-Legal Jurisprudence Society of New York.
Dr. Hickey was married in New York to Miss Janis Roberts Hopkins, a daughter of John Hopkins, who was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and was a relative of Johns Hopkins, the founder of the famous Johns Hopkins University of Baltimore. Her father was a contractor and builder who carried on business in Philadelphia for many years. The religious faith of Dr. Hickey is that of the Catholic church. His interests concentrate, however, upon his profession and he is one of the eminent specialists of Tulsa.
JAMES MAX GILLETTE.
James Max Gillette, a Tulsa capitalist who is numbered among her pioneer citizens, has been closely associated with activities and interests which have left their impress upon the history of the city, and no one rejoices more sincerely in what has been accomplished by the combined efforts of enterprising men, who within a comparatively brief period of twenty years have transformed Tulsa from a little village of a thousand inhabitants into a great metropolitan center, whose population numbers more than seventy-two thousand. Mr. Gil- lette was born on a farm in Lawrence county, Missouri, March 7, 1867. His father, William K. Gillette, was a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, and devoted his life largely to agricultural pursuits. He removed to Missouri soon after the Civil war, having previously served in the Union army. He died in 1908 and is still survived by his wife, who bore the maiden name of Ida Andrea and who is living in Tulsa. They became the parents of six children, two of whom have passed away.
James Max Gillette was educated in the schools of Missouri and his youthful experiences were those of the farm bred boy, his time being largely devoted to the work of the fields until he had attained his majority. He then turned his attention to the farm implement business in Carthage, Missouri, where he remained until 1892, then came to Tulsa and has since been very active in the upbuilding and promotion of the city. For years he was a leading merchant here, carrying a large stock of general merchandise and winning a very sub- stantial patronage. He afterward turned his attention to the lumber trade and also became a well known figure in real estate circles and in connection with oil production. His holdings of Tulsa realty are very extensive and his invest- ments have at all times been most judiciously and wisely made, while the rapid growth of the city has added greatly to the value of the properties he has acquired. He was also one of the organizers. of the Central National Bank and for many years served on its board of directors. He ise likewise the presi- dent of the J. M. Gillette Investment Company, handling extensive property interests, and is the president of the Max Oil Company and of many other im- portant business concerns. It has been said that every well balanced man has a hobby-an outlet for his superfluous energy and enthusiasm. If this is true Mr. Gillette's hobby may be said to be the raising of pure bred cattle, for he is the possessor of fine herds on his country place near Tulsa.
In 1908 Mr. Gillette was married to Miss Minnie Stratton of Topeka,
JAMES M. GILLETTE
RESIDENCE OF JAMES M. GILLETTE
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Kansas, a daughter of one of the pioneers and early builders of Topeka, Kansas. Mr. Gillette belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and was formerly identified with its predecessor, the Commercial Club, of which he served as vice president. He belongs also to the Country Club and City Club and is likewise a member of the Petroleum Club. He is extremely public-spirited, keenly interested in everything that has to do with Tulsa's welfare and development, and, moreover, has been most charitable. While his business affairs have been crowned with success, the attainment of wealth has never been the sole end and aim of his life but has been a matter of gratification to him inasmuch as it has enabled him to extend constantly a helping hand where aid was needed. He is widely known for his philanthropy, but his benefactions are unostentatiously made and are the expression of his realization of the obligations which man owes to his fellow- men.
WILLIAM GLADSTONE LEMMON, M. D.
Tulsa, with its pulsing industrial and commercial activities leading to its marvelously rapid growth, has offered a splendid field for the professional man and among those active in the field of medicine and surgery in the city is Dr. William Gladstone Lemmon, who took up his abode here in 1914 and is now giving his attention largely to surgical practice. He was born in Honeywell, Kansas, July 15, 1885, a son of William W. and Matilda (Crowe) Lemmon. Both were natives of Indiana, the former born in Dubois county and the latter in Greencastle. The father served for three and a half years as a member of an Indiana infantry regiment during the Civil war and afterward studied med- icine, being graduated from the medical department of the University of Indi- ana. He then practiced in Washington, that state, for a time, but in 1885 re- moved to Honeywell, Kansas, and after some years took up his abode in Indian Territory in 1898. He was very prominent in the early days as a factor in public affairs, as well as in the practice of his profession, and gave his support to the republican party. In 1913 he removed to Texas and is now engaged in practice at Aransas Pass. He has long been a strong temperance worker, exer- cising a wide and beneficial influence in that connection, and he is a loyal member and supporter of the Methodist church. He is likewise numbered among those who consistently follow the teachings of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while in Masonry he has attained the Knights Templar degree.
Dr. William G. Lemmon, after mastering the branches of learning constitut- ing the public school curriculum, attended the Kansas Agricultural College and still later the Oklahoma University, which conferred upon him the Bachelor of Science degree in 1907. During his college days he became a member of the Gamma Kappa Chapter of the Kappa Sigma and was also prominent in athletic events, being a member of the track team and president of the athletic associa- tion during his senior year. He afterward went east to Columbia University of New York city and was graduated with the M. D. degree in 1910. He has given special attention to surgery in his practice and is ex-house surgeon of the Post Graduate Hospital, New York. He has taken special postgraduate work and since 1914 has practiced surgery in Tulsa, save that from the 31st of May, 1918. to the 16th of March, 1919, he was connected with the medical department of the United States army, being assigned to duty with Base Hospital, No. 2, at Fort Bliss, Texas.
On the 27th of June, 1918, Dr. Lemmon was married to Miss Lucille Cusac,
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a daughter of Charles and Janet (Truax) Cusac, her father being a prominent oil producer of Arkansas City, Kansas.
Dr. Lemmon votes with the democratic party, which he has supported since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. In Masonry he is connected with Delta Lodge, No. 425, A. F. & A. M., and with Indian Consistory, A. A. S. R., at McAlester. His has been an industrious life, with close attention to details and with wise use of every opportunity to promote his knowledge and advance his efficiency. He belongs to the Tulsa, Oklahoma State and American Medical Associations and likewise has membership with the American Legion, following his World war service.
FINIS E. RIDDLE.
Finis E. Riddle, junior partner in the firm of Linn & Riddle, attorneys at law of Tulsa, with offices in the Mayo building, has been a representative of the bar of this state for more than a quarter of a century. In fact he began prac- ticing in Chickasha and Ardmore, in what was then Indian Territory, in 1894 and through the intervening period has continued an active representative of the profession, his ability enabling him steadily to climb toward prominence and success. He was born in Moore county, Tennessee, July 13, 1870, a son of Martin Van Buren and Theresa (Tucker) Riddle, who were also natives of Ten- nessee. The father devoted his life to the profession of teaching and was regarded as one of the capable educators of his native state. He was also an active and prominent member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, in which he filled the office of elder, and he belonged to the Masonic fraternity. He married Theresa Tucker, a daughter of Dr. Tucker, and died in the year 1913, while the mother died in 1911. In their family were ten children, nine of whom are living.
After leaving the public schools Finis E. Riddle continued his education in an academy of Tennessee and afterward pursued a literary course in Holbrook's Normal at Lebanon, Ohio. He took up the study of law in the office and under the direction of Judge Samuel A. Billingsley, and was admitted to the bar of Indian Territory in 1894. He located at Chickasha, where he remained for a quarter of a century and since that time he has practiced in Tulsa, where he has gained wide recognition as an able and resourceful representative of the legal profession. He belongs to both the Oklahoma State and American Bar Associations and enjoys the highest regard of his colleagues and contemporaries in the profession, for they recognize his allegiance to the highest standards and ethics, his course always indicating that while his devotion to his clients' inter- ests is proverbial, he realizes the fact that he owes a still higher allegiance to the majesty of the law. He was appointed by Governor Cruce, to succeed Chief Justice Samuel S. Hays, resigned, on the supreme bench of Oklahoma in 1914. and is credited with writing a larger number of opinions than any justice on the bench during the same period of time. His work in the highest court in the state was highly commended generally by the bar throughout the state.
In 1806 Mr. Riddle was married to Miss Letitia Cloud, a native of Texas and a daughter of Isaac Cloud of Alabama. They have become parents of one daughter, Frances A., who has just completed five years of study in New York city. Mr. and Mrs. Riddle are members of the Presbyterian church and they occupy an enviable social position, the hospitality of the best homes of the city
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being freely accorded them. Mr. Riddle withholds his aid and cooperation from no plan nor measure which he deems of value in the upbuilding of the commu- nity and commonwealth and he ranks high among those who have done much to uphold the legal and moral status of the state.
JOHN T. PERRY, M. D.
Dr. John T. Perry, junior partner in the firm of Perry & Perry, his associate being his brother, Dr. Marcus Lafayette Perry, was born in Greenwood, Arkan- sas, May 27, 1875, and when his public school course of study was over he en- tered the University of Arkansas and was graduated from the medical depart- ment with the class of 1906. He then located at Branch, Arkansas, where he engaged in general practice for seven years and on the expiration of that period established his home in Greenwood, where he became associated with his brother, Marcus L. Perry. In 1910 he went east for special work in the New York Polyclinic and on the completion of his studies there returned to Greenwood, Arkansas. He filled the position of county health officer in Sebastian county and was also local surgeon of the Midland Valley Railroad. During the World war he served as a member of the medical advisory board of Sebastian county. In September, 1919, he came to Tulsa, where he joined his brother, Dr. M. L. Perry, in general practice and the firm is recognized as a very strong one, the brothers presenting marked ability in their chosen life work.
There is, moreover, an added tie beyond that of brotherhood and of profes- sional relations, for the two brothers married sisters. Dr. John T. Perry wedded Miss Lela Johnson, a daughter of Dr. James Johnson of Greenwood. Five children have been born of this marriage: Daniel L., who during the World war was at the Base Hospital at Corpus Christi, Texas, for one year was at West Point and is now pursuing a pre-medical course in Kendall College; Hugh is also a student in Kendall College and the younger sons of the family are Ralph, James Thomas and Fred. Mrs. Perry passed away in 1918. Since then Dr. Perry has wedded Miss Edith L. Mccullough, a native of Arkansas and a daughter of William McCullough, a planter and merchant who has successfully carried on business at Alicia, Arkansas. To Dr. Perry's second marriage has been born a daughter, Nancy Louise.
Like his brother, Dr. J. T. Perry belongs to all the various medical societies and keeps in touch with the trend of modern professional thought and progress. He belongs to the City Club and gives his political endorsement to the demo- cratic party. He is a Mason, faithfully following the teachings and high pur- poses of the craft and his life is actuated by his religious faith, manifest in his membership in the Second Baptist church, of which he is a deacon.
COLONEL LAWRENCE KING CONE.
Colonel Lawrence King Cone, whose military title was won in connection with the World war and who for a considerable period figured prominently in the banking circles of Tulsa but disposed of his interests along that line in 1920, is now living retired. He was born in Lawrence, Kansas, April 21, 1869. His father, Titus K. Cone, served for nearly four years in the Civil war as a mem-
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ber of the Fifth Kansas Cavalry. He was born in Delaware, Ohio, March 28, 1836, and passed away in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, February 25, 1904, when about sixty-eight years of age. His wife, who was born in Findlay, Ohio, November 29, 1843, is living with her son Lawrence in Tulsa.
In the common schools of Kearney, Nebraska, Lawrence K. Cone pursued his education and after his school days were over he entered the employ of E. N. Porterfield, city engineer of Kearney, Nebraska, and county surveyor of Buffalo county. Colonel Cone was at that time a youth of sixteen years. He performed willingly and carefully all the tasks assigned him and worked his way upward, becoming assistant to Mr. Porterfield and remaining in his service for a period of six years. In 1892 he removed to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to accept a position in the general office of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad Com- pany. Again his fidelity and industry won him advancement and he was pro- moted from one position to another until finally he became chief traveling audi- tor. Later he went to Chicago, Illinois, in the same capacity for the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad. It was on the IIth of March, 1905, that he arrived in Tulsa and in association with G. R. Mccullough and A. E. Bradshaw organized the Bank of Oklahoma in 1908. This institution was later national- ized and then purchased the First National Bank, the two being consolidated under the name of the First National. Colonel Cone became the active vice president thereof and took a most helpful part in formulating the policy and shaping the development of the institution, which became one of the strong banks of the southwest. He remained an important factor in its control and growth until 1920, when he sold his interests in the bank and retired.
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