Biography of Joseph A. Bartles

Joseph A. Bartles, prominently identified with the development of the oil and gas industry in northern Oklahoma, makes his home in Dewey and has spent almost his entire life in Washington County. Actuated by a spirit of progress and enterprise at all times he has become a dynamic force in connection with the development of this section of the state. His judgment is sound, his enterprise unfaltering and the essential features of success he readily recognizes and utilizes. Joseph A. Bartles was born December 15, 1874, on Turkey creek, in the Cherokee Nation, his parents being Colonel J. H. and … Read more

Biography of J. W. Smith

The demise of J. W. Smith, which occurred at Dewey on the 27th of October, 1921, when he was sixty-seven years of age, removed from the scene of life’s activities a man who was straight-forward and reliable in business, progressive and loyal in citizenship and true to the ties of home and friendship. He was born at Franklin, Venango County, Pennsylvania, August 18, 1854, and two of his brothers, John and Will, are still living in that state, while another brother, Wesley, a veteran of the Civil war, is residing in Iowa. In 1907 Mr. Smith came to Oklahoma, establishing … Read more

Biography of A. T. Hill

Among those whose progressive methods and intelligently directed efforts have constituted factors in the agricultural development of Washington county is numbered A. T. Hill, a member of one of the pioneer families of the state and the owner of a desirable farm near Bartlesville which in all of its appointments reflects the progressive spirit and capable management of the owner. A native son of Oklahoma, he was born in Dewey, August 3, 1874. His father, who as known as Mr. Top-of-the-Hill, was a native of Kansas and a member of the Delaware tribe, with whom he came to Indian Territory, … Read more

Biography of Dutch White Turkey

Dutch White Turkey, long identified with the farming interests of Washington county and in more recent years connected with the oil development of this part of the state, was born on the 18th of June, 1857, in Kansas, seven miles east of Lawrence on the Delaware reservation. He was the eldest in a family of eight children, the others being: Sam; Robert; Albert; George; Katie, who became the wife of James Day of Bartlesville; Lilly, the wife of Dolph Fugate of Dewey; and Lucinda, deceased. Both of the parents were full-blooded Delawares and their name was really Simon. White Turkey … Read more

Biography of George Brown

As head of the Dewey Mill & Grain Company, George Brown is a dominant figure in industrial circles of Washington County and northeastern Oklahoma and his influence is one of broadening activity and strength in the field in which he operates. He was born at Lynn Grove, Kentucky, July 17, 1887, and is a son of W. T. and Ida (Steel) Brown, who are also natives of the Blue Grass state, the father being now a resident of Torrance County, New Mexico, where he located in order that his health might be benefited by the dry climate of that section … Read more

Biography of C. O. Davis

C. O. Davis, one of the enterprising and progressive young agriculturists of northeastern Oklahoma, residing five miles north-east of Dewey, devotes his attention to the pursuits of farming and stock raising with excellent success. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, on the 7th of December, 1889, and there pursued his education. It was in 1909, when a young man of twenty years, that he came to Oklahoma, locating in Dewey, where he was placed in charge of the gas department of the W. F. Cowen Cement, Oil & Gas Company and laid all of their pipe lines here. Subsequently he … Read more

Biography of Willie Longbone

After many years of active connection with agricultural interests of northeastern Oklahoma, Willie Longbone is now living retired at Dewey in the enjoyment of a substantial competence, acquired through close application and the capable management of his business interests. He is a native son of Oklahoma and a representative of one of the old and prominent families of the state. He was born in Washington County, December 18, 1868, of the marriage of dames and Susan (Washington) Longbone, the former a native of Kansas. The father came to Indian Territory in 1867, locating on a farm near Silver lake, in … Read more

The Delaware in Kansas

Black Beaver, Delaware

In 1682, the seat of the Delaware government was at Shackamaxon, now Germantown, Pennsylvania. There Penn found them and made his famous treaty with them. Although extremely warlike, they had surrendered their sovereignty to the Iroquois about 1720. They were pledged to make no war, and they were forbidden to sell land. All the causes of this step were not known. Because of it the Iroquois claimed to have made women of the Delaware. They freed themselves of this opprobrium in the French and Indian War. The steady increase of the whites drove the Delaware from their ancient seat. They were crowded … Read more

Biography of Colonel Jacob H. Bartles

Time is the perspective which places the individual in his true position in relation to the history of the community with which he has been identified and time serves but to heighten the fame and brighten the good name of Colonel Jacob H. Bartles, in whose honor the town of Bartlesville was named and who was also the founder of Dewey. He was ever a man of most progressive spirit, of which many tangible evidences may be cited, including the fact that he was the first man to establish electric light and waterworks plants in the state. He was also … Read more

Biography of Robert I. Allen, M. D.

One of the best known surgeons in northeastern Oklahoma is Dr. Robert I. Allen, who was born at Coodys Bluff on the 9th of September, 1877, a son of Dr. R. M. and Mary (Journeycake) Allen. His father was a native of Illinois, in which state he resided until after the close of the Civil war. Upon the outbreak of that war he enlisted in the Federal army and became a member of the medical staff. He was a stretcher bearer at the battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. Dr. R. M. Allen received his medical training at Rush … Read more

Biography of W. F. Maberry

In the final analysis farming is the basis of prosperity in America. It is the very beginning of the intricate operations which furnish man with food, and among those whose activity in the cultivation of the soil has promoted the development of northeastern Oklahoma, is numbered W. F. Maberry, who resides on a well improved farm in the vicinity of Bartlesville. A native of Missouri, he was born December 12, 1874, and in 1899, when twenty-five years of age, he came to Oklahoma, first locating on Marmon creek, in Nowata county. For two years he engaged in farming in that … Read more

Biography of William Grant Rogers

William Grant Rogers, a member of one of the honored pioneer families of Oklahoma, has the distinction of being the oldest settler in Dewey, coming here long before the establishment of the town. He has been called to public positions of honor and trust and for many years has been engaged in general farming and stock raising in this section of the state but is gradually retiring from the more arduous cares of business, devoting his attention to the supervision of a well improved ranch lying adjacent to the town. He was born April 13, 1865, in the neutral land … Read more

Biography of C. F. Reid

C. F. Reid, who has devoted much of his life to public service, is now acceptably filling the office of county treasurer and his thorough reliability and efficiency have won for him the confidence and respect of his fellow townsmen, who have found him faithful to every trust reposed in him. He was born in Bowling Green, Pike county, Missouri, and his parents were Alexander Finley and Anna M. (Blaine) Reid, the former a native of Kentucky, while the latter was born in Missouri. The ancestors of the subject of this review in both the paternal and maternal lines participated … Read more

Biography of Fred B. Woodard

Fred B. Woodard, prominent member of the Washington County bar, residing at Dewey, has been a resident of this section of the state since 1898 and through the intervening period has left the impress of his individuality and ability upon the legal history of the commonwealth. A native of Indiana, his birth occurred in Parke County, near Bloomingdale, on the 21st of October, 1871, his parents being William Penn and Martha Ellen (Kelley) Woodard. The father’s birth occurred on a farm in Parke County, Indiana, which his father, Thomas Woodard, had entered from the government in pioneer times. The latter … Read more