CHAPTER XX
The Full Blood Cherokees' Progress, Political, Business and Social Activities
Pig Redbird Smith, (the name Smith being added by the white people in Georgia because he was a blacksmith by trade), was an old and ardent adherent of the ancient rituals, customs and practices of the "Long House" group of eastern Indians of which the Cherokees were the head band or tribe.
The wife of Pig Redbird Smith and mother of Redbird Smith was Lizzie Hildebrand Smith, a woman who carried the best blood-lines of the Cherokees.
At an early date in the boyhood life of Redbird Smith, his father dedicated him to the services and cause of the Cherokee people in accordance with ancient customs and usages. At the early age of ten years, Redbird received instruction at the council fires. At this time, the latter part of 1850, Pig Redbird Smith, Budd Gritts and Vann, all being impressed with the virtues of the religious and moral codes of the ancient Keetoowah order, concluded to reorganize.
REDBIRD SMITH'S HOME
On the porch are Redbird Smith, his Councilmen and his 5th son, George. On the ground are his wife, 2 daughters, 8 sons, their wives and grandchildren.
Budd Gritts, who was a Baptist Minister, was prevailed upon to draft a Constitution and Laws of government for the use of the people in their group, which was compatible with the changing conditions religiously and
politically. The constitution and Laws of Government was formally adopted
and the Keetoowahs prospered and lived in peace under it for many years. On the porch are Redbird Smith, his Councilmen and his 5th son, George. On the ground are his wife, 2 daughters, 8 sons, their wives and grandchildren.
During the period from 1859 to 1889, the Keetoowahs flourished and were strongly united. Almost without exception the Keetoowahs went with the North in the Civil War. In all this period the Keetoowahs were either Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, a few Quakers, and a part of them worshipped according to the rituals of the ancient Keetoowah, but all got along harmoniously. Dissentions came only after the white Missionaries objected to and condemned what they termed "the Pagan Form of worship'' of the ancient Keetowahs, and designated as "The work of the Devil."
Influenced by these white teachers, who were conscientious and sincere in their efforts of Christian work, the members of the diferent denominations became strictly sectarian in their practice, but there was still no enmity existing.
The Keetoowah Constitution and Laws of Government was amended in 1889, making it rather a political organization in character. From this period the differences between the Christian Keetoowahs and the Ancient Keetoowahs became more marked, and there was lack of harmony even in their policies of political effort.
In 1895 when the question of the allotment of lands to the members of the Five Civilized Tribes was being agitated, the ancient Keetoowahs became very active in opposing the proposed change. In this, however, all the Keetoowah element were united in their opposition to any speedy change. From this time to 1900 the following of Redbird Smith were designated universally as the "Nighthawk Keetoowahs" because of their vigilence in their activities.
On January 31st, 1899, a general election was held for the purpose of determining on what is known as the Dawes Commission Treaty. The Full-bloods lost by two thousand fifteen votes. The Keetoowahs were united in their opposition to the allotment of lands and dissolution of their government, but a part of them saw that the change was inevitably coming and adjusted themselves accordingly.
Redbird Smith, however, took the position that it was grossly unjust for the United States Government, their Trustee, to precipitately plunge a large number of his people into so radically changed conditions, he accordingly advised his following (about 5789 according to the roll of their number at that time) that he reposed confidence in the integrity of the intentions of the Government of the United States to uphold its Treaty Stipulations; that sooner or later the Government would see the injustice to the Full-bloods and would take active measures to make amends. He therefore counselled his people not to participate further in the deliberations of what he termed the majority of the advocates of the change. He and his group stood steadfast in this recalcitrant attitude until about KMO when he became convinced that it was useless.
In 1908 his position as Chairman was officially changed by the Nighthawk Keetoowah Council to that of Chief. An election was held for this purpose and he was unanimously elected in that capacity for life, which he held and ably filled until his death, November 8th, 1918, after a short illness of forty-eight hours.
Redbird Smith was a man endowed with a great native ability and great enough to admit his own mistakes. In this matter he said: "After my selection as a Chief, I awakened to the grave and great responsibilities of a leader of men. I looked about and saw that I had led my people down a long and steep mountain side, now it was my duty to turn and lead them back upward and save them. The unfortunate thing in the mistakes and errors of leaders or of governments is the penalty the innocent and loyal followers have to pay. My greatest ambition has always been to think right and do right. It is my belief that this is the fulfilling of the law of the Great Creator. In the upbuilding of my people it is my purpose that we shall be spiritually right and industrially strong."
"I have always believed that the Great Creator had a great design for my people, the Cherokees. I have been taught that from my childhood up and now in my mature manhood I recognize it as a great truth. Our forces have been dissipated by the external forces, perhaps it has been just a training, but we must now get together as a race aud render our contribution to mankind."
Redbird Smith, (left), and Bluford Sixkiller, Asst. Chief (right), instructing children in the Kotoowah Retual.
"We are endowed with intelligence, we are industrious, we are loyal, and we are spiritual but we are overlooking the particular Cherokee mission on earth, for no man nor race is endowed with these qualifications without a designed purpose. Work and right training is the solution of my following. We as a group are still groping in darkness in many things, but this we know we must work. A kindly man cannot help his neighbor m need unless he have a surplus and he cannot have a surplus unles he works. It is so simple and yet we have to continually remind our people of this."
"Our Mixed-bloods should not be overlooked in this program of a racial awakening. Our pride in our ancestral heritage is our great incentive for handing something worth while to our posterity. It is this pride in ancestry that makes men strong and loyal for their principle in life. It is this same pride that makes men give up their all for their Government."
In the last few years of his life Redbird Smith became obsessed with his ambition for his people. He insisted in securing the services of one who was willing to co-operate with him in working some industrial plan for the Nighthawk Keetoowah Group, and he did not give up his program until he secured an agreement with this party to serve with his people for seven years, beginning with January 1st, 1918.
His program covered not only the Nighthawks, but all people of Cherokee blood. His great ambition was to accomplish a united spirit of co-operation among all the factors of the Cherokee people. It was distinctly not his idea to reestablish the old and discarded regime of the Cherokee Government, but to awaken a racial pride, so that the more fortunate of the race may become great factors in helping their less fortunate brethren.
It is this spirit and ambition of his that has prevailed even after his death, and that which his survivors in Office are carrying out in the selection of Levi Gritts as Chief of the Cherokees. It should be understood that it is purely a purpose of unifying the Cherokee people to a grand effort of agrandizing the race that it may acquit itself as a contributor to a grand race of men in America, as Redbird called it "The Mother of the New World."
To fulfill these purposes the Cherokee Executive Council was organized, with the following members:
| Cherokee Executive Council | |
|---|---|
| W. Tate Brady, Chairman of Executive Counsel, | Secretary W. M. Gulager. | Ketoowahs Incorporated: |
| John B. Smith, Tahlequah, Oklahoma | Robert Meigs, Parkhill, Oklahoma. |
| Rider Ratler, Lyons, Oklahoma. | Peter Cramp, Porum, Oklahoma. |
| Isaac Greece, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. | For the Eastern and Western: | Watt Mayes, Pryor, Oklahoma. E. N. Washbourne, Jay, Oklahoma.
| James Hilderbrand, Bernice, Oklahoma. | J. R. Mcintosh, Claremore, Okla. |
| Geo. Mayes, Pryor, Oklahoma. | Cherokee Personal Committee: |
| S. R. Lewis, Tulsa, Oklahoma. | W. T. Brady, Tulsa, Oklahoma. |
| W. M. Gulager, Muskogee, Oklahoma. | J. G. Sanders, Tulsa, Oklahoma. |
| S. G. Maxfield, Tulsa, Oklahoma. | Nighthawk Keetoowahs: |
| Sam Smith, Gore, Oklahoma. | Sam R. Smith, Gore, Oklahoma. |
| John R. Smith, Gore, Oklahoma. | Osie Hogshooter, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. |
| Alex Deerinwater Tahlequah, Oklahoma. | Lincoln Towie, Tahlequah, Okla. | Delaware Cherokees: |
| Jo. A. Barles Dewey. Oklahoma. | Geo. Bullett, Tulsa, Oklahoma. |
| A. H. Norwood, Dewey, Oklahoma | Solomon Ketchum, Vinita, Oklahoma |
| L. Wilson, Nowata, Oklahoma. |
Bluford Sixkiller died November 23rd, 1921, aged 73 years.
Sam Smith, the son of Redbird Smith succeeded to his father's place as Chief of the Nighthawk Keetoowahs. April 7th, 1919. He is successfully carrying out his father's program. Makes a wise and conservative leader and yet very progressive.
Oce Hogshooter, the secretary of the organization has served in that capacity since 1908. A man fifty years of age and an active worker and a wise counsellor to his people.
John Redbird Smith, the official Interpreter of the Organization since 1900 and a steadfast assistant of his revered father. A man of strong convictions, conscientious, fearless and a very strong factor in the work of bringing the Nighthawks out of the wilderness.
All of Redbird's ten living children are ardent followers of their father. Redbird left surviving him, his wife, two daughters, eight sons and thirty-five grandchildren.
Lucy Fields Smith, the surviving wife of Redbird's, was born near Braggs, Oklahoma, in 1852. Her father was Richard Fields, who at the time of his death in Washington, D. C, was the attorney general of the Cherokee Nation. Her mother was Eliza Brewer Fields, who survived until Jan. 1890.
This noble and loyal wife of Redbird Smith was largely responsible for his sucess in life. She is a wonderful mother. When her two youngest boys departed for the Army encampment, Kian and Stokes, she calmly gave her boys up and bade them to be courageous and acquit themselves as men.
It is a noteworthy fact that Chief Redbird, issued an edict to all the fires of the Nighthawk Keetoowahs, calling upon all members of draft age to offer themselves without reserve and to take no advantage of the exemption provided for. This was carried except in two cases.
The following named were all great factors in the work of the Keetoowah organization: Anderson Gritts, Ned Ten Killer, Nagada Seweegbe, Joe Chewy, Lacy Hawkins, Daniel Redbird, George Benge, Stool Jacksonm George Hughes, Ned Bullfrog, Sanee Goo-vah, Sand, Wilson Girty, Tom Horn, Charley Ketcher, John Wycliff, Jim Wycliff, Charley Scott, Alex McCoy, Paul Glass, Joshua Glass, Jim Alex, Alex Deerinwater, Jim Hogshooter, Will Sand and George Smith.
(1) Chief Redbird Smith. (2) Lucy Smith, his wife. (3) Mrs Ella McLain, daughter. (4) John Redbird Smith. (5) Sam Smith. (6) Mrs. Susie Starr, daughter. (8) Thomas Smith. (9) George Smith. (10) Mose Smith. (11) Kiah Smith. (12) Stoke Smith.
The following notice of election' of Levi Gritts, Chief of the Cherokees, is a splendid written document and fully explains the necessity and importance of the election:
Box, Oklahoma, December 9th, 1920.
Mr. Levi Gritts, Muskogee, Oklahoma.
My dear Mr. Gritts:—Pursuant to a well defined plan and program of the Nighthawk Keetoowahs of Full-blood Cherokee Indians, you have seen designated by the Council of said Society to serve our suffering cause in the capacity of CHIEF OF THE CHEROKEES.
With the death of the late Chief Rogers, terminated the officially recognized position of Cherokee Chief. The elimination of this office seemed at the time to be natural and it was the concensus of opinion on the part of the Cherokees themselves as well as the Departmental administrators of our affairs that there was no further need of the office of a Chief in our changed conditions.
Your attention is respectfully invited to the following analysis as we have, in our humble way, been able to reach:
Taking the Full-blood, particularly the Nighthawk Keetoowahs, as a basis of this analysis, we find, first; That beginning with the trying times of the year Nineteen Hundred, these people were overwhelmed with what seemed to them an attempt on the part of the United States government to divest them of what they considered their vested rights; they were all too suddenly divested of the rights and prerogatives of self determination in their National Gvernmental affairs, with the result that they eventually crystalized into a recalcitrant attitude. They looked askance upon every movement of the government, taking the position that every move now, meant exploitation of what little they may have left of a once vast holdings.
This unfortunate position was largely justified and amplified by the fact that a large number of their own blood, who had been fortunate enough to have received the advantages of literary training, now became the allies of the unscrupulous and exploiting hordes, who infested the country during the said "trying times," an element, who seem to destiny itself to have designed to always precede the wholesome citizenry, who eventually supercede and predominate, and held full sway for a number of years.
A further elaboration of this particular phase of our analysis is unnecessary with you, who lived and survived through a period of bitter and trying experiences. The incarceration of an educated Full-blood Indian in a Penal Institution of our new state was not beyond the intelligence of our Full-bloods. Ihey recognized the brazen rebuke and the NOTICE TO THEM of their futile ind hopeless position as a group and kind.
Proceeding now to the SECOND and final analysis, we submit the following deductions: The advance and gradual increase numerically of the subtantial class of citizens, home builders and hence nation builders, and the two decades of close contact and living in the atmosphere of intensive constructive effort, of which our young state stands without a precedent; and last but not least, the loyal and unequivocal response of not only our Full-blood Nighthawks but of all the American Indians, to the Nation's call to Arms and service in our recent World Struggle; all contribute to rehabilitate the Indians' self respect and confidence in themselves, as well as confidence in the integrity of purpose in their behalf on the part of the Government of the Unitd States.
It is gratifying to note, that with all the effusive commendations and extravagant expressions of appreciation on the part of the American people, for the creditable manner in which our people acquitted themselves in the War with Germany, the Indians have not become imbued with the idea of self-importance. In fact, the Indians of America merely had a chance to show what is inherently in them as a race. In their own estimation they did no more than any loyal citizen should have done. It was a spontaneous reciprocal response to a Great Government, who by virtue of being entangled in a World crisis, called upon its whole people to a united effort.
There is carried with this, a new psychological angle so far as the Full-blood Indian is concerned. For the first time in history he realizes through the attitude of the United States Government, that his material effects and his manhood are a National asset; that he is a part and parcel of the body politic of a great Commonwealth. He is alert to the responsibilities of his new position.' He is expecting participation in the administration of his affairs. He is keenly cognizant and sensible of the new responsibilities with which he is about to be endowed. Within a decade the restricted period shall terminate and during that same space of time all our Claims against our Government may be adjudicated and finally settled.
Now, confidently and sincerely these Full-blood Cherokees point out that by virtue of their new position and relations they must come into closer touch and cooperation with the supervisory and administrative agencies of the Government, and of their number many have no other means of communcation except through the medium of the Cherokee language. These conditions demand and require more than a mere Official Interpreter at the Departmental offices.
From now on for the next few years the Cherokees must have a real REPRESENTATIVE at the headquarters of the Five Civilized Tribes' agency, for the following potent reasons: First, the unrestricted intermarried and mixed-blood Cherokee citizens, while to all intents and purposes are like any white American citizens, they are interested and have equitable rights in all matters pertaining to our unadjusted claims against the United States, it is of imperative importance that their efforts should co-ordinate with our efforts in the accomplishment of said adjustments. This can be achieved by uniting all forces through the one proposed REPRESENTATIVE. Secondly, the restricted full-bloods, who are still possessed of restricted landed assets as well as restricted funds, are most vitally ineterested in the administerial agencies of the Government, particularly at this time of anticipated important changes in the personnel as well as policies in the Departments directly affecting them. This group being largely composed of non-English speaking people, and being by custom and practice trained to do their business through a Chief, it is but natural and logical that now, when a united Cherokee effort is so apparently necessary to accomplish anything for the good of all, they should demand and designate a CHIEF.
Our determination on you for the place is not because of our desire to confer an HONORARY position upon you, as a recognition of your former positions in our behalf, but because we know your DEPENDABILITY AND EFFICIENT QUALIFICATIONS for such responsibility. You are a Full-blood Cherokee, reared and developed under Full-blood life conditions. You understand and sympathize with the thought and life of the Full-blood. You have had the advantages of an academic training. You are master of both the Cherokee and the English languages. You have survived the crucial test of the transition period of the last decade in our country. You have reached the age of calm and conservative discernment. Those enumerated experiences and advantages of your life, together with your native-born ambitions for your people, commend you as a safe and sane leader and counsellor for us all.
We, of the Nighthawk Keetoowah contingent of the Cherokee Indians repose implicit confidence in the integrity of your thought and regard for the various groups and interests of our people and sincerely feel that you are capable and will render us most valuable service.
In accepting the arduous task we are thrusting upon you, we desire to urge the necessity of immediate action and co-operation of the other factors and groups to the end that we may be properly and effectively organized for a united effort in the prosecution of our various interests. We believe that now is the opportune time to make our representations to the dispensers of patronage of the incoming administration. If the Indian manhood and his material assets were of so vital a part to the United States in time of trouble it is certainly no more than just and right that we participate in a careful selection of men of recognized calibre coupled with unimpeachable character for administrators of our material possessions of millions of dollars in value is well as the more momentous question of our moral and intellectual developnient.
THE KEETOOWAH COUNCIL, 1916. The office of COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS is one of paramount interest to every Indian of the United States. Next in importance, particularly insofar as we are concerned, is the office of Superintendent of The Five Civilized Tribes and it is absolutely necessary that a petition in this matter be immediately submitted to the proper sources of authority, to the end that the demands of our INTERESTS may receive a satisfactory degree of consideration.
You are therefore, by virtue hereof, and the urgent immediate demands of our interests, and the interests of all the Cherokees, made and constituted the CHEROKEE CHIEF.
With sincere regard and respect,
(Signed) SAM SMITH,
Chief of the Nighthawk Keetoowahs.
(SEAL) Attest.
(Signed) Oce Hogshooter,
Secretary Nighthawk Keetoowahs.
Isabel Cobb, graduated from Female Seminary, January 27, 1879, Glendale Female College, Glendale, Ohio, June 8, 1881 and the Womans Medical College of Pennsylvania May 5,1892. Since that date she has been a regular practitioner at Wagoner. Martha Cobb graduated from Female Seminary, June 30, 1888 and Kansas Agriculture College June 6, 1888. Married June 11, 1891, Clement George Clarke, born Febru- He graduated from Kansas Agricultural College, June 6, 1888, Yale Academy in 1895, and the Theological Course in Yale in 1900. A Congregationalist minister, he was lecturer on social hygiene with the American Army in France. They are the parents of Helen Isabel born November 13, 1894, educated at Smith College North Hampton, Massachusetts and Columbia College, New York City; Dana Cobb, born January 27, 1898, graduated from Yale, June 21, 1821 and Clement Cobb Clarke, born January 29, 1904.
O. LONZO CONNER
Conner, (See Duncan and Grant) O. Lonzo Conner, born Feb. 12, 1877 at Fairland, Okla. son of Francis Marion, (born Mar 29, 1852, in Jasper Co., Missouri, married December 24, 1873) and Rebecca Jane (Duncan) Conner, born October 29, i858 and died at Fairland March 12, 1911. He was educated in the Cherokee public schools, Male Seminary and graduated from Robbin's Business College, Sedalia, Missouri; he married December 30, 1896 at Beattie's Prairie, Kate Eugenia Yeargain, born March 31, 1878; she was the daughter of James Chambers, born February 27, 1842 in Lebanon, Tenn. and married March 4, 1866, and Mary Jane (Kinney) Yeargain, born June 25, 1848 at Ft. Smith, Arkansas, and died December 25. 1912 at Southwest City, Missouri. .Mrs. Kate E. Conner was educated in the Cherokee public schools and the Female Seminary. Mr. and Mrs. O. Lonzo Conner are the parents of Nevada Maude, born Oct. 24, 1897, graduated from the University of Okla. in 1919, is an Easter Star and Gamma Phi Beta; O. Lonzo I., born July 18, 1900; Clifton Sidney, born July 16, 1902; James Marion born December 26, 1910 and Ramey Eugene Conner born September 24, 1914.
The steps in O. Lonzo Conner's Masonic history is as follows: Initiation July 7, 1898, passed August 7, and raised September 24, 1898 in Frisco Lodge No. 24 at Fairland. Received Royal Arch Degree at Vinita Chapter No. 18 September 24, 1899; Commandery Degree at Muskogee Commandery No. 2 September 20, 1900; Council Degree from Muskogee Council No. 2 May 26, 1915; Consistory Degree in India Consistory McAlester April 1907; Honorary Degree K. C. H. Washington D. C. October 1911. Royal Order of Scotland, Washington D. C. October 1911; received the 33rd. Degree Honorary October 28, 1915 at Washington D. C; elected Knight of the Red Cross Constantine in October 1914, by St Louis Conclave No. 19; elected Junior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge A. F. and A. M. of the state of Oklahoma in February 1916. Senior Grand Warden February 1917; Deputy Grand Master February 1918 and Grand Master April 1919. He was also the first Exalted Ruler of Vinita Lodge 1162 B. P. O. E.
CHIEF LEVI GRITTS
Flippin, Mrs.. J. F. (See Grant)—Mary Lane Little, born June 24, 1875 in Walker Co. Ga,, educated at Vinita. Married September 30, 1894, James Fugett Flippin, born January 8, 1870 in Denton County, Texas. They are the parents of Mary Theresa, born June 29, 1S96; Ruth Aline, born January 1, 1902 and Rebecca Lane Flippin, born May 16, l905. Mr. Flippin has been prominently identified with the Farmers Bank and Trust Co. from its inception. Joseph Martin, born in Charlottsville, Virginia in 1840, as a fur trader and planter he became quite wealthy. He held the following military offices in the revolutionary army: Captain of the Transylvania Militia, elected in March 17 76, became Mayor February 17, 1779 and Lieutenant Colonel in March 1781. His daughter Rachel married Daniel Davis and the oldest son, Martin Davis, born August 27, 1S09, married April 29, 1?90 Julia Ann Tate, born January 5, 1822 in Habersham County, Georgia. Martin Davis died November 11, 1859 and his widow died September 28, 1882.
Martin and Julia Anna Davis were the parents of Jane, who married William C. Patton; Rachel, married George W. Hill; Martin and Theresa Lane Davis, born September 11, 1853, married February 29, 1872 William Little, born July 8, 1840 in Walker County, Georgia. Theresan Lane Little died March 21, 1888, and William Little died April 23, 1911. William and Theresa Lane Little were the parents of Mrs. Mary Lane Flippin.
Agnew, Walter S. (See Grant, Foreman and Cordery)—Walter Scott Agnew was born May 16. 1842. Served the Confederacy in Company B, First Cherokee Mounted Rifles and Company E, Second Cherokee
Mounted Volunteers. He married in December, 1866, Sarah Seabolt nee Riley,
daughter of Felix and Susie (Bigby) Riley. ,Mr. and Mrs. Agnew had one child, Laura Agnew, who married William H. Robinson. Mrs. Sarah Agnew died and Mr. Agnew married in July, 1870, Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Andrew Jackson and Lucy (Vickory) Cobb, born May 19, 1849. Mr. and Mrs. Agnew are residents of Muskogee. They are the parents of: Ellen, John Lowrey, Robert Miller, Walter Lee and Josephus E. Agnew. Walter Scott Agnew was elected a member of Council from Canadian District in 187, Senator in 1889 and District Judge of the same District in l895.
LULU M. HEFNER
Hefner, Mrs. Lulu M. (See Ward)—Lula May, daughter of James Marion and Annie Henrietta (Prather) Tittle was born August 9, 1874, educated at Vinita and the Female Seminary; married at Lenapah December 29, 1892 John Emory Heffner. They are the parents of: Roy Emory, born March 13, 1903, and married Fredda Vinyard; Edith Lena, born December 18, 1905; Helen K., born October 2, 1905 and Ruby L., born January 20, 1907.
Handsome attractive and resourcesful, she has been more than ordinarily successful in business. At the time Nowata was beginning to be one of the busy oil town of Oklahoma, Mrs. Heffner opened and conducted the first millinery store in the city, run on a regular metropolitan basis. She disposed of this business and drilled a producing oil well on her own property. This stimulus to the first lady oil operator in Oklahoma was followed by more oil wells, and so keen was her discernment and judgment that she had the rare honor of never having some of her surplus in Nowata realty, she is the largest lady property owner in the city. Mrs. Heffner finds time to take part in the social affairs of the community, and is a favorite member of different clubs. She is also active in all movements for public welfare.
MRS. DR. LOU G. HOWELL
Howell, Mrs. Lou G. (See Curdery. Grant, Ghigau and Oolootsa)—Lou Gott Harris, born at Ft. Gibson July 31, 1880, educated at Nowata High school and Oswego. Kansas, graduated from the former; she was married January 7, 1905 to Dr. Duniont D. Howell, born January 14, 1874 in Murphy, North Carolina, graduated from the Nashville .Medical College in 1903. Died December 6, 1919; he was a Mason and Elk. They are the parents of: Sue Catherine, born April 25, 1906. Alfred Dumont, born April, 30, 1908; Lucile Genevieve, born December 2, 1912 and Margaret imogene, born December 2, 1914.
Charles Joseph Harris, born April 6, 1848, married Emma J. Walker. He died January 30, 1892. They were the parents of Mrs. Lou Howell.
D. W. LIPE
Lipe, Nannie E. (See Oolootsa and Downing)—Major Downing of the British Army married in the early part of the eighteenth century a full blood Cherokee of the Wolf Clan. Their only daughter Nancy was the mother of Margaret McSwain who married Avery Vann and their eldest child; Joseph Vann whose Cherokee name was Teaultle, was born on February 11, 1798. He married Catherine Rowe. Joseph Vann was a signer of the constitution of 1827 from Cooweescoowee Dist,, elected assistant Chief of the Cherokee Nation September 9, 1839 and August 1859. Joseph and Catherine Vann were the parents of Mary Francis who married Edwin Archer. Mr. and Mrs. Archer's daughter, Mary Elizabeth, born October 19, 1847 married Mar. l, 1871 DeWitt Clinton Lipe, born February 17, 1840 in Tahlequah District. Mary E. Lipe died March 18, 1914. D. W Lipe died December 6, 1916. They were the parents of; Nannie E. born June 14, 1872; Victoria Susie born February 1, 1874 and Lola Vann Lipe born January 28, 1877. By a previous marriage Mr. Lipe had a son, John Gunter Lipe born December 16, 1864 and died May 19, 1913.
Misses Nannie E. and Lola V. Lipe belong to the Wolf Clan the Cherokee name of the former is, Conaluga and that of the latter is, Ahniwake. They are both graduates of the Oswego Female College of Oswego, Kansas. and University Preparatory School, Claremore. DeWitt Clinton Lipe attended the Male Seminary from 1852 to 1854. Handsome, efficient, gracious with the soul of integrity, Mr. Lipe was often called upon to serve his people. Elected clerk of Cooweescoowee District January 21, 1874 and August 2, 1875; Senator August 5, 1877, National Treasurer November 11, 1879, Senator August 3, 1885 from which he resigned and was elected for another four year term as National Treasurer on November 14, 1895. On the coming of Statehood he was elected County Clerk of Rogers County for the first two terms.
Walter A. Mayes
Mayes, Walter A. (See Grant, Foreman, Adair, Koss and Conrad)—Charlette, daughter of Reverend Jesse and Eliza (Wilkerson) Bushyhead, was born March 16, 1830. Married May 21, 1846, George Washington, son of Samuel and Nannie (Adair) Mayes, born November 5, 1824. He was a member of Captain M. Adair's Company, Second Cherokee Mounted Rifles. He was a member of the Committee representing Going Snake District in the Confederate Cherokee Council, from 1862 to 1865. He was elected a member of the Cherokee Citizenship Commission on December 4, 1879; and elected High Sheriff of the Cherokee Nation in November 1891. Mrs. Charlette Mayes died January 23, 1878, and he died October 28, 1894. They were the parents of Jesse Bushyhead, George Washington, Nancy Jane, Elizabeth, Edward, Walter Adair, John Thompson, and Samuel Houston Mayes.
Walter Adair Mayes was born December 9, 1860, and married in December 1890, Nannie Wright, daughter of Joseph Rogers and Mary (Hicks) McCoy, born March 25, 1866. They are the parents of: Hall, George Washington, Mary Diana, Jesse Lamar, and Joseph Mayes.
Farrar, Richard L. (See Cordery)—Sallie Martin, daughter of Henry Hawkins and
Mary Savannah (Harris) Oliver, was born June 24, 1876. She married December 21,
1890. Richard Lee Farrar, born February 18, 1866, in Gibson County, Tennessee. They are the parents of Jessie May, born February 11, 1896; and Bruce Farrar, born Sept. 5, 1898. Mary Savannah, daughter of James S. Harris, born January 12, 1858, married December 8, 1874, Henry Hawkins Oliver, who was born November 28, 1856, in Milton Countv, Georgia. They were the parents of Mrs. Richard L. Farrar.
GEORGE W. FIELDS
Fields, George W.—Born in the Same room, on July 10, 1882, in which the sterling old patriot, Stand Watie died on September 9, 1871, Senator George W. Fields seems to have in some mystical way been imbued with a similar character of reticent perseverance. Reared in a community of earnest honest integrity, where the mass was willing to receive limited educations and settle to lives of arduous husbandry, thus contributing to the sane thinking and deliberate backbone of the glorious republic. George Fields, as others of his mould have done since the dawn of civilization, by steady pertinacity, gained by frugal care and close application on a common school education and while working on the farm and closing his days in the public schools came to him the listless longing for a Male Seminary education, the acme of solicitude of the patriotic Cherokee. The quiet, gentlemanly and agreeable country lad, stintingly saved small sums that gained the coveted goal of an entrance into the Seminary, where he graduated on May 28, 1902, using as the subject of his oration, Sequoyah. The best indication of the regard that the instructors and fellow pupils had of him could be gained by their soft inflection of speech when they spoke of him.
Of generous physical proportions, manager of the Seminary baseball and football teams, an athlete of more than ordinary acquirements, he listened not to the call of the plaudits of the diamond and roped arena, but sought the quieter vocations, the teacher and farmer.
On April 3, 1904, Mr. Fields married at Southwest City, Missouri, Miss Jennie, the accomplished and talented daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Glass of Chelsea, Oklahoma.
Mr. Fields like all of the prominent Cherokees, transferred to the State of Oklahoma an equal mead of patriotic love and fealty that they had evinced for their Nation, as they felt that it was a natural fruition.
A democrat, he was nominated and elected as the first register of deeds of Delaware, his native county, in the first state election. The approval of his course in this office was bestowed in reelection by his fellow citizens, the people that had known him from boyhood. Five years were encompassed in these two terms and he was then elected State Senator from the thirtieth district in 1912. In the senate he never missed a roll call, was seldom heard on the floor but had the reputation of being one of the most eficeient workers of that body of able men.
In 1913, he was admitted to the bar and opened an office early in 1920, when he became established in Oklahoma City where his volume of business, within two years would bear favorable comparison with any in the state. His reticence is that of the anglist and omniverous student. As Attorney in the Texas-Cherokee suit for reparations for one and one-half million acres of land, he has developed and is forwarding the largest civil case of the Cherokees.
Fraternally Mr. Fields is a Mason of the 32nd degree, an Elk and Shriner; also a member of the American Legion, Oklahoma State Bar Association and of the Christian church.
CHAS. W. POOLE
Poole, Emma G. (See Ghigau and Sanders).—Emma Gazelle, daughter of William W. and Julia (Van Olhausen) Musick, born in St. Louis, Missouri, March 20, 1864, educated in that city and graduated from the Kndergarden Instruction School, taught in that branch in St. Louis and in Worcester Academy at Vinita, married January 11, 1888 in St. Louis Mission Charles Walton Poole, born in the Cherokee Nation, October 25, 1859, son of John and Sarah Myra (Harlan) Poole. He was the pioneer merchant of Chelsea, and postmaster of that place for nine years. He was a 32nd degree Mason and Shriner. He died May 14, 1910. Mrs. Poole is an Eeastern Star and White Shriner, a Methodist and belongs to the Dephian Club.
Charles W. and Emma G. Poole were the parents of Charles Walton, born September 25, 1889; Carlisle A., born April 21, 1894; Scolt O. born October 2, 1889, enlisted in the Navy in 1917, was a yoeman on the Minnesota, and honorably discharged in January 1920; Gladys C, born August 29, 1901 member Senior class Chelsea High School 1921 .
The parents of Emma G. Poole were natives of Virginia; her father was born September 2, 1862, and her mother, October 25. 1829.
JOHN E. DeLOZIER
DeLozier, Mrs. Georgia (See Adair)—Georgia Virginia Adair was born in Whitfield County, Georgia, January 29, 1869, educated in Flint and and Cooweescoowee District, Indian Territory. Married near Adair January 8, 1888 to Reuben E. DeLozier, born June 20th, 1855 at Osceola, Mo. He died at Adair, Okla., April 23, 1921. They were the parents of Fountain G. born Sept. 19, 1888: Manford E. born Sept. 25, 1891; John Edward, born July 16th. 1893; Ralph Adair, born April 4th, 1896; Hazel M. born August 18, 1898 and Vivian V. DeLozier born September 3, 1901.
John Edward DeLozier was a Master Mason. John Edward enlisted in the World War September 23, 1917 at Camp Travis, Texas. Assigned to Company A 344th Machine Gun Batallion, 90th Division. Sailed for France June 21, 1918 and arrived July 7. Corporal DeLozier was carrying ammurition for his platoon in the St. Mihiel drive, when an officer asked for volunteers to go forward and get military information and he offered his services. In crossing the battlefield he was struck on the helmet by a machine gun bullet which severely wounded him in the head, from which he died the following day. Sept l5, 1918. The body of the young hero was returned to Adair and buried with military honors May 29, 1921.
Edward Alexander, son of John and Ann Berry (Graham) Adair was born at Dalton, Georgia, February 25, 1847, was a member of Company C, Edmondson's Batallion, Georgia Confederate service. Married in October 1867 to Narcissa M. Harrison, born December 25, 1846, in Murray County, Georgia. He was elected sheriff of Cooweescoowee District August 5, 1889 and was elected Councilor from the same District August 7, 1899. He was killed by runaway team December 3, 1901 and Mrs. Adair lives at Adair, Oklahoma.
DARIUS E. WARD
Ward, Darius E. (See Ward and Oolootsa)—Darius Edwin, son of James and Esther Susan (Hoyt) Ward was born on Beatties Prairie, Delaware District, November 25, 1854. Educated in Nazareth Hall, Northampton County, Pennsylvania. Married at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania November 20, 1875, Sarah Caroline, daughter of Mrs. John Rifter, born September 27, 1857 in Bucks County, Penn. She died February 29, 1896. They were the parents of Minnie Esther, born September 2, 1876, married Boone Forst Gray; Jay Herbert, born February 10, 1876, James Darius, born October 20, 1880, Hindman Hoyt, born December 14, 1885 and died June 13, 1906; Sidney Rueds, born January 19, 1888; Gertrude Irene, born July 31, 1889; Ruth Edna born June 22, 1893; Sarah Ruby, born February 3, 1896. Mr. Ward married August 9, 1897 Mary Murph, nee Hester, born July 1, 1870 in Davidson County, Tennessee. They were the parents of Martha Ann born Nov. 14, 1898. Mr. Ward is a cabinet maker. He belongs to the Holly clan and his Cherokee name is Keetoo-wha-gi. Is P. S. R- of Knights of Pythias. a member of the Moravian church, was Secretary of the "Old Settlers Commissioners, elected a member of the Cherokee Board of Education November 15, 1900 having previously been the Inspector of the building of the Female Seminary on the part of the Nation. Was County Commissioner of Cherokee County 1910-1912.
S. R. LEWIS
Lewis, S. R.—One of this nation's oldest families at Jamestown in 1607 together with those other pioneers they began hewing this great nation from a Virginia wilderness.
This family has direct lines of descendency through the Randolphs, Washingtons, Carters and Lees each of which bears many pages of historical importance. Each epoch of the nation's history has brought forward a Lewis to fulfill his destiny in lending his effort to the up-building of the country. For the purpose of this family's connection with the Cherokee Nation the line will begin of record when Thomas Jefferson sent his young kinsman Merriweather Lewis to join Clark in the eventful exploration of the great Northwest. From the landing of the cavaliers in Virginia to the present day the Lewis family has been conspicuous in the affairs of this great Republic.
Alexander S. Lewis was born November 28, 1842 at Blountsville, Alabama and is the son of Rev. Stephen M. Lewis born in 1810 also in the state of Alabama an ordained minister in the Presbyterian church, removed to the State of Texas in 1850 was a Chaplain in Col. George Baylors regiment of Texas Cavalry Confederate Army and served throughout the Civil War in such capacity. Rev. Stephen M. Lewis was a direct male relative of the family of Merriwether Lewis, the great explorer above mentioned. He died in 1907 at the age of 88 years. Alexander S. Lewis settled at Dawson, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, in the early eighties of the nineteenth century, having moved from Texas, where his parents had lived since their removal from Alabama, and in common with the best families of the old South they had been reduced from affluence to poverty by the Civil War. Mr. Lewis married Elizabeth P. Dawson, related to the well known Dawson famliy of the Cherokee Nation, whose members were admitted to Cherokee citizenship after the Civil War. With their arrival at Dawson the family had again acquired a small competence, but through all their vicissitudes they had retained and cherished the priceless inheritance of gentility and integrity. The children were given the best educatonal advantages the parents could afford, which was the equipment with which Stephen Riley Lewis entered business life. From his beginning in the small town he has through honest enterprise arrived at the point of success which rehabilitates the old family name in financial prominence, while it always held the social position that the family standard at ail times required.
Stephen Riley Lewis was born December 27, 1873, in Hill County, Texas. He was educated in the Dawson neighborhood and in the Quaker Mission at Skiatook, Oklahoma. He was admitted to the practice of law by the United States Interior Department in January 1902, admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Oklahoma June 10, 1910 and the United States Supreme Court March 20, 1916. He married on March 23, 1898, Minnie Carter born in Cooweescoowee District of the Cherokee Nation September 16, 1876. She was the daughter of David Tecumseh and Emma Williams (Chambers) Carter, and first cousin to Congressman Charles D. Carter. Mrs. Minnie Lewis died December 20, 1898. Stephen Riley Lewis married June 12, 1907, Elizabeth Belle Scrimsher, born September 3, 1S73. She is the daughter of John Gunter Scrimsher, born August 17, 1835 who was educated in the schools of Tahlequah and at the Male Seminary, taught at Green Leaf school in 1859 and married on Septembr 15th of that Juliette Melvin Candy, born August 7, 1841, John Gunter Scrimsher enlisted in the Confederate service at the beginning of the Civil war and was a captain in Colonel Stand Watie's regiment. At the close of the war he settled on Dog Creek in Cooweescoowee District, and was honored by that district in the following elections: Sheriff, 1877; Senator 1883, 1887 and 1897; District Judge 1893 and he was elected by council a delegate to Washington in November 1883. Judge Scrimsher was killed on his farm by lightning July 5, 1905. Judge and Mrs. Scrimsher were the parents of Sarah Catherine born July 27, 1866 and married William E. Sanders; Elizabeth Bell; Ernest Vivian, born July 24, 1875, and Juliette born January 12, 1878, married Abraham Vandyke Robinson.
Mrs. Lewis' paternal grand-parents were Martin Matthew Scrimsher, born in 1806 in Blount County, Tennessee; married September 22, 1831 at Creek Path, Alabama to Elizabeth Hunt Gunter, born in September 1804.
Martin Scrimsher was one of the argonauts of 1849 that made the trip to California. He died in 1865, and Mrs. Elizabeth Hunt Scrimsher died a sudden death at the residence of Judge Scrimsher in Claremore on February 14, 1877. She was the daughter of John Gunter an Englishman, who came to the Cherokee Country East of the Mississippi in 1760. He was a powder maker and owned and operated a mill at Nicojack. His wife was Catherine, a full blood Cherokee of the Paint Clan. She died August 11, 1835, and he died the 28th of the same month and year.
Mrs. Elizabeth Lewis' maternal grandparents were George Washington, and Elizabeth Hughes (Bell) Candy. George Washington Candy was District Judge of Flint District in 1845-7.
Adair, William P. (See Grant, Ghigau, and Adair)—William Penn, son of Dr. Walter Thompson and Mary B. Adair was born
January 10, 1861, educated at Male Seminary. Married at Salina, April 12, 1891
Margaret, daughter of Virgil and Eliza Rogers, born May 25, 1875. They are the parents of DeWitt Jacob, born January 14, 1892, married Josephine Hume; Walter
Thompson, born June 2, 1894, married Lina B. Reagan; Mary Ellen, September 18, 1897 and William Commodore Adair, born October 17, 1905. Mr. Adair belongs to the Deer Clan and his Cherokee name is Augona. He is the owner of the telephone exchange at Adair.
John and Edward Adair, Scotchman and brothers, married into the Cherokee Nation in about 1770. John was the father of Walter Adair, called "Black Watt' and Edward had a son, Walter Scott Adair, called "Red Watt' Adair. Dr. Walter Thompson Adair, son of Geo. Washington and grandson of "Black Watt' married Mary Buffington Adair the daughter of "Red Watt" Adair and they were the parents of William Penn Adair, the Subject of sketch.
Mary Buffington Adair graduated from the Female Seminary in the first class in February, 1855. While the parents of Mrs. Adair were both Rogers' before their marriage, they were not blood relatives.
Gourd, Ellis R. (See Conrad and Riley)—Ellis R., son of Ellis R. and Susan (Riley) Gourd was born April 22, 1864. Educated in the Cherokee national schools. Married October 10, 1886 Martha Miller, born September 15, 1865. They are the parents of John Ellis, William Penn, Bonnielynn and Lucinda R. Gourd. Rattlinggourd Conrad married Polly Toney and their son Jackson Rattlinggourd was born in 1809. Married Elsie Wilson, born in 1808. He was judge of Tahlequah District from 1862 until 1873. Mrs. Elsie R. Gourd died October 4, 1884 and he died April 10, 1885. Their son Ellis R. Gourd married Susan, daughter of Felix and Annie (Hendricks) Riley. Ellis R Gourd Sr. died March 22, 1864.
JOHN GUNTER SANDERS
Sanders, John Gunter (See Ghigau, Sanders. Ooloosa and Adair)—John Gunter, son of William Edward and Sarah Catherine (Scrimsher) Sanders was horn at the Sanders homestead, southwest of Claremore Mound on April 23, 1841. He was educated at Claremore Public Schools, A. and .M. College, Stillwater, Okla., and Henry Kendall College, Tulsa, Okla. Gentlemanly and reserved Mr. Sanders is one of the foremost and most progressive members of his tribe. Of distinguished lineage it is but naturel that he should take a leaders place in the councils of the Cherokee.
His father was born in Going Snake District April 2, 1861, just as the calamitous war clouds spread desolation over the happy homes of the Cherokees. Four years later the impoverished tribe returned to their desolate land, when during the next several years not only was the educational advantages inadequate but stark poverty was general in the entire border land. During these years of privations William Edward Sanders passed through the ordinary school years with scant educational advantages. He did not despair hut worked and applied himself until it would have been hard to imagine that Halsell's genial and polished young ranch boss had not had the advantages of a university. His party in seeking a strong man for sheriff of Cooweescoowee District chose him in 1885. He was elected and gave such general satisfaction that he was easily reelected. He refused to run in 1889 and devoted himself to improving his farm on Verdigris River. This farm site had in the first quarter of the eichteenth century been the location of a peach orchard that was owned and maintained by Claremore's band of Osages and for that reason it had been known locally as the "Osage Peach Orchard."
Mr. Sanders was married at the residence of his friend. Judge Walter Adair Starr, on March 2, 1890 to Sarah Catherine, the popular and gracious daughter of Judge and Mrs. John Gunter Scrimsher, born July 27, 1866. Two happy years sped by for them, John Gunter was born and at the succeeding August election the suffrages of a satisfied constituency recalled the father to the office of sheriff. But on January 28, 1892 the dark angel of death called the blessed mother, after a few days of pneumonia. So well had Sheriff Sanders served his people that they elected him to the Senate at the election of 1893. As sheriff and county commissioner, Mr. Sanders is at present one of the most popular and respected citizens of Rogers County. Adair, Gunter, Sanders and Candy, a noble heritage to represent and defend by life's actions. John G. Sanders, the subject of this sketch, is a member of the Cherokee Executive Council (The business committee designated to attend to Cherokee tribal affairs.) He has devoted a good part of his time during the past two years to tribal matters and is one of the delegates appointed to represent the Cherokee Executive Council before the Congress at Washington D. C. at the present Session. Mr. Sanders lives in the City of Tulsa with his uncle. Mr. S. R. Lewis, and is a very popular and highly respected young man.
BUENA VISTA WHITE
Buena Vista White—Daughter of Jackson and Harriett White, Talala, Okla., born October 22, 1891. Graduated from Henry Kendall College June 9, 1909; Hardin College. Mexico, Mo., degree of L. B, and Voice. May 28, 1912. Did special work in voice with Composer Daniel Prothero, Chicago; special work in Pedagogy at University of Chicago; was special instructor in city schools of Collinsville. Claremore, Tulsa. Bartlesville and Muskogee; at present Musical Supervisor in Central High School. Muskogee.
White, Mrs. J. C (See Grant and Duncan)—Helen Duncan, daughter of George W. and Mary (McLaughlin) Hughes, born at St. Gibson April 21, 1871. Educated at Tahlequah and the Female Seminary. Married at Ft. Gibson December 25, 1890, Jackson Calhoun, son of Joseph and Harriett White born February 17, 1862 in Calhoun county, Mississippi. They are the parents of Buena Vista White, born October 22, 1891. Graduated from the Henry Kendall college June 9, 1901; graduated from Hardin College, Mexico, Missouri, May 28, 1912 with B. L. degree and Voice. Has done much special work in voice with composer Daniel Prothero of Chicago; also special work in Pedagogy at the University of Chicago. Was special instructor in the city schools of Collinsville 1913-14, Claremore 19i5, Tulsa, Bartlesville and Muskogee; was special instructor in music at the Northeastern Normal at Tahlequah, summer of 1915. Is at present musical supervisor at Central High School Muskogee.
Mr. White conducts a grain business at Talala. He is a member of the W. O. W. and Modern Woodmen Fraternities.
The royal families of Melaghlins of the Hy-Nial race of Meath are so named because they are the descendants of Maelseachlain II, king of Ireland who died in 1022 A. D. In the mutations of time the name has been changed to McLaughlin, or the sons of Laughlin.
MRS. EMMA CAREY
Carey, Mrs. Emma. (See Downing and Thompson).—Emma McDonald was born at Fort Gibson, August 13, 1871, educated at Western Female Seminary, Oxford, Ohio, and Presbyterian Mission, Muskogee, from which she graduated. She taught five years in the public schools of the Cherokee Nation, and married at Fort Gibson January 27, 1894, William Vann Carey, educated in the Cherokee public schools and Male Seminary. He was a handsome man of charming personality, had the inherent polish of a scholar and wrote an excellent hand. He was elected Clerk of the Cooweescoowee District August 3, 1885, and August 1, 1887, and was President of the Cherokee Board of Education from 1893 to 1897. He died June 19, 1900.
Mr. and Mrs. Carey were the parents of: Fiona Vann, born October 2S, 1895, graduated from Stevens College, Columbia, Missouri, and is a commercial artist in Chicago. Sansa Vera Pann, born April 5, 1897, educated at Stevens College Conservatory of Music, and is one the Lyceum and Chautauqua circuit; Majora Bartles, born November 27, 1898, graduated from Stevens College and is instructor in Domestic Science in Nowata City Schools; and William Vann Carey is a member of the 1922 class at Westminster, Fulton, Missouri.
William Vann Carey was the sun of Rev. Walker and Malinda (Downing) Carey and Mrs. Emma Carey is the daugter of Jack and Jane (Scott) McDonald.
GEORGE ADAIR
Adair, George (See Adair and Grant)—George Adair, born at Braggs May 24, 1887, educated in the Cherokee Public Schools. Married at Nowata in 1907 Edna F., daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Adolphus McCoy. He enlisted for the World War on September 19, 1917 and was assigned to the 36th Division, was taken from the firing line in France and placed with other full blood Cherokees in the telephone service, where they foiled the German "listeners in" by repeating, receiving, and transmitting the military orders in the Cherokee language. Young Adair, who like all full blood Cherokees, is intensely patriotic and counts this service among the proudest days of his life, for was he not fighting shoulder to shoulder with his kilted kinsmen of Scotland.
Henry Ganoe, son of George M. and Catherine (Fields) Adair married Caroline Bunch and they were the parents of George Adair (See sketch of his brother, Levi Adair)
DAVIS HILL
Hill, (See Grant and Ghigau)—Davis Hill born Sept. 21, 1863 at Lafayette, Georgia was educated at Ringold and Cedar Grove, Ga. He married at Vinita on November 29, 1888 Fannie Elizabeth Parks, born January 9, 1871 at Elk Mills, Missouri. She was educated at the Orphan Asylum and Howard Payne College. Fayette, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Davis Hill are the parents of: George Robert born Oct. 26, 1890; James Julian, born Sept. 20, 1892; Wm. Thompson, born February 22, 1895; Rachel born August 23, 1897; John Ruskin born May 18, 1899; Maria Anna born April 6, 1901; Francis Elizabeth born July 5, 1903; Mary Davis born January 25, 1906; Orval Hall, born Feb. 12, 1908 and Josephine Almira born Sept. 16, 1911.
Mrs. Davis Hill is the daughter of Thomas Jefferson Parks, born Oct. 18, 1821 and married Anna Thompson born Sept. 11, 1830. He died May 6, 1883.
Joseph Martin born about 1740 in Albermarle County Virginia; he was elected Capt. of Transylvania Militia of the Revolutionary army in 1776; became Major on Feb. 17, 1779 and Lieut. Col. in March 1781. His daughter Nannie married Jeter Lynch and was the great grand-mother of Mrs. Davis Hill. Sabra the daughter of Joseph Martin and the sister of Mrs. Nannie Lynch married Daniel Davis and was the great gand-mother of Davis Hill.
Davis Hill has an enviable record as an ex member of the state School Board which was an unsolicited appointment. Three of the sons of Mr. and Mrs. Hill saw service in the World War, James J. Capt. William T. and John R., while their brother George was rejected on account of being underweight.
LUCIEN W. BUFFINGTON
Buffington, Nancy G. (See Grant, Ghigau, Oolootsa. Adair and Ross)—Nancy G. Gunter was born lebruary 19, 1867 in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. She was educated in the Public Schools of the Cherokee Nation and at the Female Seminary. She married at Vinita on April 15, 1886, Lucien Webster Buffington, born August 15, 1857 on Beatties Prairie, Deleware District. He was educated in the Public Schools of that vicinity. He came as a boy to Vinita, shortly after it was established and lived there until his death, which occurred on December 3. 1919. Quiet, unostentatious and gentlemanly he accumulated an extra competence and for several years preceding his death had been president of the Vinita National Bank. He was elected Town Lot Commissioner in 1886 and 1888. He was the son of William Wirt and Josephine (Bell) Buffington and his parental grand-parents were John Adair and Jennie (Martin) Bell.
Nancy G. Buffington is the daughter of Samuel and Fannie (Daniel) Gunter. Samuel Gunter was born March 16, 1840 in Skia Bayou district. He was the most intrepid and daring of Watie's Captains. He married in 1864 at Spencer Academy, Choctaw Nation, Fannie, the daughter of Robert Buffington and Ann (Taylor) Daniel. Robert B. Daniel was elected Senator from Deleware District in 1847, Clerk of the Senate in 1849 and Assistant Chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1871. He died January 16, 1873.
Captain Samuel and Fannie Gunter were the parents of Nannie E, John Edward, born November 12, 1869 and Sarnie, born July 31, 1873 and married Andrew Bell Cunningham.
GEORGE McCOY
McCoy, George (See Downing)—Major Downing, an officer in the British army, married a full blood Cherokee woman of the Wolf Clan and their daughter, Nannie, married Elizabeth Welch had no children by her marriage with Nix and her children by her other three marriages were: Nannie Buffington, David Welch and Winnie Jane Ragsdale; Eli Snow and George Washington Alberty.
George Washington and Margaret (Jones) Welch's children were: David, born September 15, 1819: Lemuel Bruenton, born September 15, l824; Sidney, born July 9, 1827; Diana, born June 9, 1831; Margaret Ann, born December 17, 1832; George, born July 2 , 1837, and Rosanna Welch, born in May, 1840. David Welch married Harriette Elizabeth Smithwick. Lemuel Bruenton Welch married Mary Ann Harris; Sidney Welch married Prince Albert Carnes, and John Wilkey. Diana Welch married Joseph Henry Carnes. Margaret Ann Welch married William Green Ward. George Welch married Nannie Jones. Rosanna Welch married McCoy and their children were: Julia Ann, George, John William, James Willis, Elizabeth, Lucinda, Sallie and Ida McCoy. Julia McCoy married William Oscar Ames. George McCoy married Victoria Fuller. John William McCoy married Isabelle King. James Willis McCoy married Martha Thomason. Lucinda McCoy married Irving Ward. Sallie McCoy married James Odle.
George and Victoria (Fuller) McCoy were the parents of William B., Ida R. V., and Elsie McCoy.
HOUSTON B. TEEHEE
Tehee, Houston Benge (See Oolootsa)—Houston Benge Tehee, whose activity has spelled success, is well known as the Register of the Treasury of the United States, whose name appears on all of the Government bonds issued during the world war period and is now a Vice-President and the Treasurer and General Manager of the Continental Asphalt and Petroleum Company, with headquarters in Oklahoma City. In various ways he has been closely identified with the development and upbuilding of this section of the country, his efforts being at all times a tangible element in the growth and progress that has wrought a most wonderful transformation in Oklahoma within the past few decades. Mr. Tehee was born in the Cherokee Nation, now Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, October 31, 1874, and as a representative of two of the old prominant Cherokee families ,the Teehee and Benge families. On the rolls of the Cherokee Nation his father is listed as seven-eigths Cherokee. Houston B. Teehee as five-eighlhs. His mother was a one-half Cherokee, her death occurring prior to the enrollment. The father, Stephen Teehee, was born in the Cherokee Nation of Georgia, December 25, 1837, and died in the Cherokee Nation of the Indian Territory in 1907. The mother, who bore the maiden name of Rhoda Benge, was born in the Cherokee Nation of the Indian Territory and passed away in 1886 at the comparatively early age of thirty-nine years. The father had come to the Indian Territory in young manhood. He had obtained a common school education in the Indian schools and afterward engaged in farming. Throughout his life he remained a student of men and events and became one the most prominent citizens of the future State of Oklahoma. From 1867 until 1916 he was closely identified with public affairs of the Cherokee Nation serving as district clerk, as district solicitor and as circuit judge and his decisions in the last named office were noted for justice and impartiality. He served likewise as a member of the council and of the senate and was a member of the Executive Council. He likewise was made a member of the grand council and was assistant chief of the Nation. He also did most effective religious work. being a minister of the Baptist church and preaching extensively to his people. He spoke entirely in the Cherokee tongue and was universally honored and loved. His life was an example to the younger generation and an inspiration to all with whom he came in contact. He made his home near Sallisaw, Oklahoma. His was a large family, there being two sets of children, but only two of the first set survive; Houston B. and Stephen B., the latter now connected with the United States Merchant Marine. The name was originally Tehee but on the Indian rolls the spelling was changed to the present form. The name has figured prominently upon the pages of history of the Indian Territory and later in connection with the development of the State of Oklahoma and the work instituted by the father has been carried on by the son, for Houston B. Teehee is today one of the prominent and influential residents of Oklahoma City.
His boyhood days were spent on the home farm, and imbued by the example of his father, his boyhood ambition was to become as good and upright a man as was his sire. He attended the common schools and afterward the Male Seminary at Tahlequah. while for one year he was a student in the Fort Worth University. He afterward returned to Tahlequah, where he engaged in merchandising as a clerk for a period of ten years. He afterward spent two years as cashier in the Cherokee National Bank of Tahlequah. While thus engaged he studied law under the direction of the Hon. John H. Pitchford, who is now a Justice of the Supreme Court of Oklahoma, and in March, 1907, was admitted to the bar. He resigned his position as bank cashier in June. 190S. and entered upon the practice of his profession in Tahlequah, devoting his attention to probate oil and gas law. His practice soon became extensive and of a very important character, connecting him with much of the notable litigations heard in the courts of the district. He likewise became very prominent in connection with public affairs there, serving as Alderman of Tahlequah from 1902 until 1906. In 1908 he was elected to the office of Mayor and remained the chief executive of the city for two years. He also filled out an unexpired term as County Attorney, succeeding his law partner W. L. Johns. In 1911 and 1913 he was elected to represent his district in the third and fourth general assembly of Oklahoma, where he was noted as an authority on constitutional law, and in 1914 he was appointed United States probate attorney. In 1915 he went to Washington, D. C, as Register of the United States Treasury. His entire career has been marked by steady progress. The money which he obtained from the Cherokee strip was used in paying his tuition in the Fort Worth University. He thus early displayed his ambition and the elementary strength of his character. Step by step he has advanced, each forward step bringing him into a field of wider opportunities and broader usefulness. In 1919 he became Treasurer of the Seamans Oil Company and The R. E. Seamans Company, Inc., of New York City and Oklahoma City, and in 1921 he was made Treasurer and General Manager of all of the Seamans Oil Company interests under the name of the Continental Asphalt and Petroleum Company and was elected as one of its Vice-Presidents. While in Washington he was very active in promoting Indian matters generally, as well as in performing the duties of his position in connection with the United States Treasury. He now devotes the major part of his attention to his oil business. He makes his legal home in Cherokee County where he has a beautiful residence of the bungalow type, the house being surrounded by spacious grounds and being one of the show places of Cherokee County.
Mr. Teehee was married in Tahlequah. December 11, 1898, to Miss Mayme Hagelund, who was born in Marion, Alabama. Her parents were natives of Sweden and in their youth came to the United States, settling in Alabama, the father's death occurring in Marion. They were parents of two children. Mrs. Hagelund went to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and later became the wife of Dr. Stephen Foreman, one of the foremost physicians and leading citizens of the Cherokees. In 1893 they removed to Tahlequah. Mrs. Teehee occupies a very prominent social position. While they have no children, they have reared the children of Dr. Stephen and Mrs. Foreman since the latter's death. These are: Sue, now the wife of Roy J. Wiggins, an officer of the First State Bank of Tahlequah; John D. R. Foreman of Chattanooga, and Frank Foreman living in Sapulpa.
Mr. Teehee acts as counselor and adviser to many representatives of the Cherokee Nation. He greatly enjoys the out-of-doors and is a lover of nature and all that is beautiful. He also finds keenest pleasure in literature and his constant reading keeps him in touch with the trend of modern thought and progress. He belongs to Cherokee Lodge A. F. & A. M., the oldest Masonic lodge of Oklahoma, and he likewise has a membership with the Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen of the World, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Presbyterian Church.
RICHARD FIELD
John G. Schrimsher settled in Cooweescoowee District before the Civil war, and represented that district in the Confederate Council from 1862 to 1866. He was a Captain in the Confederate service and at the close of the Civil war in 1867, was Sheriff of Cooweescoowee District; and was elected to the same office in 1877. He was elected Senator of Cooweescoowee District in 1870 and 1883; and was elected a delegate to Washington in 1883 and 1885. Was elected Judge of Cooweescoowee District in 1893. and Senator from the same District in 1897. He was killed by lightning on the morning of July 5, 1905.
Mr. and Mrs. Schrimsher were the parents of Sarah Catherine, who married William Edward Sanders; Elizabeth Bell who married Stephen Riley Lewis; Ernest Vivian, who married Susan Phillips; Juliette Melvina Schrimsher who married Abraham Vandyke Robinson.
Mrs. Schrimsher makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Stephen Riley Lewis in Tulsa.
Mr. Schrimsher was a man of rare judgment and discernment. He was exceedingly popular as was evidenced by the number of offices to which he was elected. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity.
JOHN C. STARR
Starr, J. C. (See Ghigau and Grant)—James, son of Ezekial and Mary (Upshaw) Starr, was born in Tennessee on February 13, 1883. He served the Confederacy in Captain George Harlan Starr's company. His first wife was Sarah Byers and they were the parents of: Mary, who married James Manuel Price; Charlotte Elizabeth, who married Richard Welch, John Stocker and Henry Harrison Sanders. George Washington Starr was the third and youngest child of James and Sarah Starr. After the death of Mrs. Sarah Starr, James Starr married on December 28, 1869, Mrs. Emma Jane Evans, daughter of John and Rachel (Smith) Rider, born September 8, 1842. Mrs. Emma Jane Starr had by her first husband, one daughter: Minnie Louisa Evans, who married Teesee Chambers.
James and Emma Jane Starr were the parents of: John Caleb, Lulu, Jessie, Emma, Ezekial and Susan Starr. John Caleb Starr was born October 15, 1870. Graduated from the Male Seminary December 12, 1890 and received the following diplomas from the Fort Smith Business College: Bookkeeping, May 28, 1891; Penmanship, May 26, 1892; and Stenography May 29, 1893. He married October 16, 1894, Miss Elizabeth Belle Zimmerman, born March 9, 1870, in Clinton, Missouri. They are the parents of: Jessie Belle, James Clarence, Martha E. and Charles J. Starr. Jessie Belle Starr married John Turner Dameron.
John Caleb Starr, who was one of the best, if not the best, stenographers and penmen among the Cherokees, was the secretary to the Cherokee Commissioners that made the final roll of the tribe. When this task was finished he was admitted to the bar and became actively interested in oil production. He is at present one of the largest land owners in Oklahoma and his oil interests are so large that he requires a large office to house his records and employs a stenographer and bookkeeper, besides doing an immense amount of the executive and clerical work himself. His hobby is farming. An omniverous worker, a tireless student and an analytical thinker, Mr. Starr is always a man of the people and progressive citizen. His son, James Clarence Starr, has won lau rels as an orator in the eastern colleges.
T. J. and Q. P. McGHEE
McGhee. Quilliki P —Quilliki Phillips, son of Thomas Jefferson and Martha (Hanna) McGhee, is a native of Delaware District in which District he was educated. He married Miss Letitia Hanna and they were the parents of two children. Airs. Letitia McGhee died and he married her sister.
Thomas Jefferson, son of Ambrose and Judith (Cochran) McGhee, married Martha Hanna and they were the parents of: Samuel Albert, James M., Thomas Jefferson. Viola, Clero, Saladin C., Joseph Fox and Quilliki P. McGhee. Thomas Jefferson McGhee, Sr. was First Lieutenant of Company E of the First Cherokee Mounted Volunteers in the Confederate service. He was elected Sheriff of Delaware District in 1867 and was elected Clerk of the same District in 1880, 1881, 1883, 1885 and 1889. A brilliant interpreter and orator, he was one of the most popular and progressive citizens of Delaware District. Reared by such a father it was but natural that the talented and forceful son, Quilliki P. should be endowed with a logical and analytical mind that would render him one of the most successful attorneys and jurists of northeastern Oklahoma. He was admitted to the bar in December 1914 and his large legal practice has rendered him a wealthy one. While active in the councils of the republican party he never allowed his name to be used in connection with any office until 1920, when he was elected County Judge of Ottawa County by an immense majority.
OCE HOGSHOOTEE
Secretary of the Nighthawk Katoowah
Secretary of the Nighthawk Katoowah
JANANNA BALLARD
W. H. BALLARD
Ballard, W. H. (See Grant, Ghigua, and Ward)—William, son of Archibald and Annie (Fields) Ballard, was born May 29, 1852. Married December 26, 1871 Charlotte Mayes and they were the parents of: Janana, Anna, Ruth May, Ethel Savilla and Zoe Wyly Ballard.
This family furnished the largest number of graduates from the Seminaries, they being as follows: Janana in 1896, Anna in 1897, Lucinda in 1899, Sarah Eleanor in 1902, William Houston in 1904 and Ruth May in 1906. Miss Janana is and has been a teacher in the Northeastern State Normal since its inception. Anna married Crawford Conner. Lucinda married William Lee Harlan. Sarah Eleanor married Roy Woods. Ruth May married Frank Fleming. Ethel Savilla married Robert Hall. Zoe Wyly married Harold Bunch. William Houston, born May 21, 1881, married Anna Buchanan, born December 25, 1889. They were the parents of Tesquantnee Swimmer Ballard, born February 14, 1906. Mrs. Anna Ballard is now deceased. William Houston Ballard was elected District Clerk of Delaware County in 1910 and 1912. He is at present Deputy Clerk of Muskogee County.
MARY RILEY ROBERTS
Roberts, Mrs. W. A. (See Reily and Ghigau)—Mary, daughter of Samuel King and Sallie A. (Rider) Riley was born at Doaksville, Choctaw Nation, February 2, 1866, educated at the Cherokee Orphan Asylum. Married July 29, 1885 William Emory Roberts, born September 24, 186l near Parkerburg, Indiana. They are the parents of: James Thomas, born November 20, 1886, married Mabel N. Howard and has one son, James Thomas Roberts, a soldier in the World War. Charles Arthur, born September 10, 1891, served with the 20th Engineers in the Worldr War, married Ethel Shufeldt; William Edward born November 5, 1888, was a Second Lieutenant in the World War; Floyd Bryan Roberts, born October 29. 1896.
Of reserved, gracious presence, Mrs. Roberts has always been a social favorite. She is a Methodist, Eastern Star, White Shriner and Historian of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
Harris, Dr. James Grady (See Cordery)—Parker Collins born November 9, 1845, married Anceline Davis born July 19, 1859, in DeKalb Co., Ala. They are the parents of Robert Harris, born Dec. 19, 1882; Colonel Parker Harris, born July 3, 1885; Emily Harris, born April 29, 1887; Dr. James Grady Harris, born February 18, 1889; Susie Ella Harris, born September 4, 1890; Mary Vann Harris, born October 10, 1893; George Harris, born November 14, 1895; Martha Harris, born, June 2, 1899; Ida Harris, born March 1, 1901, and Catherine Harris.
Dr. James Grady Harris was educated in the Male Seminary, Northeastern State Normal, and the Medical Department of the University of Tennessee, graduating from the latter institution. He is a 32nd degree Mason. Shriner and Elk. He is also a member of the Kappa Psi Medical Fraternity. He served in the U. S. Army during the World War as Captain, and served at the Base Hospital at Camp Bowie, Texas, from September 1917 to September 1918; and Assistant to Camp Surgeon, Camp Shelby, Mississippi from September 1918 to April 1919. He is a member of the Muskogee County and State Medical Societies, and of the Southern Medical Association.
MRS. EMILY W. BREEDLOVE
WILLIAM T. WILSON
OF
WILSON'S ROCK, ARK.
OF
WILSON'S ROCK, ARK.
Breedlove—Malinda, daughter of William and Jamima (Bryant) Wharton, was born in Virginia December 25, 1803. Married in 1819 Thomas, son of John D. and Martha (Holmes) Chisholm, born in 1793 and died November 12, 1834. They were the parents of: Jane Elizabeth, Alfred Finney, William Wharton, and Narcissa Clerk Chisholm. Mrs. Malinda Chisholm married in January 1S36 William, son of George and Ruth (Springston) Wilson, born October 14, 1911. She died February 19, 1864 and he died June 30, 1897. They were the parents of Emily Walker and William Wilson. Jane Elizabeth Chisholm married Joseph Blagne Lynde and Caswell Wright Bruton. Alfred Finney Chisholm married Margaret Harper. William Wharton Chisholm married Susie Pindar; they had two children: Alice, who married James Henry Cobb and Narcissa Chisholm, married Matthew Archer and Frank Taylor.
Narcissa Clark Chisholm married Robert Latham Owen; they were the parents of Major William Otway Owen, M. D. and United States Senator Robert Latham Owen. Emily Walker Wilson born October 5, 1836 married October 1, 1875 Napoleon Bonaparte, son of James W. and Maria (Winchester) Breedlove, born August 11, 1825 in Sumner County, Tennessee. He was successively regimental, brigade, division and departmental quartermaster of the Trans-Mississippi Confederate Units. He died November 9, 1911. They were the parents of: Lelia Wilson, Waller Winchester, Emma Maria, Florence and Jennie Breedlove. Lelia Wilson Breedlove, born April 13, 1859 in New Orleans. Married September 27, 1881 James Senora Stapler, born September 27, 1856. She died April 16, 1898, and he died in July 1906. They were the parents of: Lorena Oklahoma, born March 26, 1885; Anna Bryan, born November 13, 1887; Otway Hicks, born September 13, 1890 and John Wharton Stapler, born July 25, 1897. Waller Winchester Breedlove was born January 13, 1861. Married June 1, 1887 Priscilla Williams, born July 10, 1866 in Shawnee, Kansas. He was elected a member of Council from Delaware District, August 3, 1903. Emma Maria Breedlove was born September 16, 1863. Graduated from the Female Seminary June 28, 1883, and was drowned May 24, 1888. Florence Breedlove, born December 28, 1869, married September 6, 1893 Othie Andres Smith, born April 21, 1868. They are the parents of: Lee Breedlove, born July 28, 1894 and died October 16, 1918; Lelia Lucile, born February 15, 1896; Ruth Emily, born December 4, 1897, and Owen Philip Smith, born February 4, 1906. Jennie Breedlove was born April 1, 1873 and died January 30, 1895. William Wilson born January 9, 1843 married Alice Coody and they died without descent.
Thomas Wharton was created Marquis of Wharton, by King George I, in 1715 and his son Philip Wharton, born in 1698 was, on account of his brilliant attainments as an orator and leader in parliament, made Duke of Wharton on January 20, 1718. He died at Catalona, Spain May 31, 1731. His son, Sir William Wharton was the father of Samuel Wharton. Jesse son of Samuel Wharton was the father of Jesse Wharton, Jr. William, the son of Jesse Wharton, Jr. married Jamima Bryant of Abingdon, Virginia and they were the parents of Malinda, Margaret, Mary and Violet Wharton. Malinda, daughter of William and Jamima (Bryant) Wharton married Thomas Chisholm and William Wilson.