William M. Jenkins, Territorial Governor of Oklahoma

William Miller Jenkins

William M. Jenkins was born in Stark County, Ohio, on April 25, 1856. His parents were Quakers. He was educated in the public schools and at Mount Union College. He taught school and read law. He settled at Arkansas City, Kansas in 1888. In 1893, he secured a homestead in the Cherokee Strip, in Kay County. In June 1897, he was appointed secretary of the Territory by President McKinley. In April, 1897, he was named by President McKinley for the governorship of Oklahoma Territory. For a number of years after his retirement from public life, Governor Jenkins was engaged in farming in Kay County. He then moved and made his home in Sapulpa in Tulsa County, where he later died on October 19, 1941. He was a republican.

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Ann Maloney, Bartlesville, OK.
Copyright © 1998 Ann Maloney all rights reserved.