Indian Territory

Biography of Ad V. Coppedge

Ad V. Coppedge, the pioneer lawyer of Delaware county and the first county attorney, has also been connected with every important constructive measure that has led to the up building, development and progress of this section of the state. He became a resident of Grove in 1963 and throughout all the intervening period has taken active part in shaping the county’s up building. Mr. Coppedge was born on a farm in Missouri near the Arkansas line, January 26, 1870, the old homestead being situated at Thayer. His parents were Houston Harrison and Tennessee Martha (Bledsoe) Coppedge, and the mother, a … Read more

The Meeting in 1811 of Tecumseh and Apushamatahah

Peter Perkins Pitchlynn was the Choctaw Principal Chief from 1864-1866

The meeting in 1811, of Tecumseh, the mighty Shawnee, with Apushamatahah, the intrepid Choctaw. I will here give a true narrative of an incident in the life of the great and noble Choctaw chief, Apushamatahah, as related by Colonel John Pitchlynn, a white man of sterling integrity, and who acted for many years as interpreter to the Choctaws for the United States Government, and who was an eye-witness to the thrilling scene, a similar one, never before nor afterwards befell the lot of a white man to witness, except that of Sam Dale, the great scout of General Andrew Jackson, … Read more

Biography of Thomas P. Smith

Thomas P. Smith was born in Clinton County, New York, in 1861, and died in Muskogee, Okla., on October 4, 1917. He attended the village school of Clinton until he was twelve years of age, when his family moved to Plattsburg, N. Y., where he entered the public schools. Graduating from the high school, he became associated in the mercantile business with his two brothers, M. A. and M. J. Smith. In 1884 he was made deputy postmaster at Plattsburg, which place he held until 1887, when he was appointed chief clerk at the San Carlos Indian Agency in Arizona. … Read more

Biography of S. B. Ward

S. B. Ward, a pioneer farmer and stock raiser of Oklahoma residing near Ramona, in Washington county, is conducting his operations on an extensive scale and in the management of his business interests he displays marked executive ability, firm determination and sound judgment. A native of West Virginia, he was born January 21, 1860, and his parents, Simon and Savannah (Hammer) Ward, were also born in that state. In 1881 they removed to Missouri, settling near Appleton City, where the father engaged in farming and in that year he planted five hundred acres to corn which averaged between sixty and … Read more

Biography of Terry A. Parkinson

The name of Terry A. Parkinson has been prominently connected with the agricultural and stock raising interests of Oklahoma for many years. Kansas claims him as a native son, for he was born in Coffey County, that state, in May, 1866, a son of James and Emma Jane (Randall) Parkinson. The father was born near St. Augustine, Illinois, on the 18th of May, 1840, and removed to Iowa with his parents at an early day. When fifteen years of age he ran away from home, and going to Kansas became identified with the cattle business as night herder of four … Read more

Koasati Tribe

Koasati Indians. An Upper Creek tribe speaking a dialect almost identical with Alibamu and evidently nothing more than a large division of that people. The name appears to contain the word for ‘cane’ or ‘reed,’ and Gatschet has suggested that it may signify ‘white cane.’ During the middle and latter part of the 18th century the Koasati lived, apparently in one principal village, on the right bank of Alabama river, 3 miles below the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa, where the modern town of Coosada, Alabama, perpetuates their name; but soon after west Florida was ceded to Great Britain, … Read more

Biography of J. W. Jackson

Among the public-spirited citizens and progressive farmers of Washington County whose intelligently directed labors are valuable assets in promoting the agricultural development of northeastern Oklahoma is numbered J. W. Jackson, who resides on a highly productive farm situated on the Caney river, near Vera. He was born in Logan County, Kentucky, December 16, 1865, and his parents were George C. and Josephine (Anderson) Jackson, the former a native of Tennessee, while the latter was born in the Blue Grass state. The father established his home in Kentucky during the Civil war, in which he served until the close of hostilities … Read more

Biography of Judge James M. Shackelford

This eminent soldier and judge was born July 7, 1827, in Lincoln County, Ky., the seventh son of Edmond Shackelford and Susan Thompson, both of Virginia. At the age of twelve years he was placed at Stanford University, Kentucky, for two years, after which he became a pupil of the celebrated teacher, James F. Barber. In 1848, under the last requisition of the government, he was elected by a company in Washington County, Kentucky, as lieutenant, and received a first lieutenant’s commission from the government, in Company I, of the Fourth Kentucky regiment of infantry, which was commanded by John … Read more

Biography of John E. White

One of the prominent merchants of Lenapah, Nowata county, is John E. White, who was born at Boyds Creek, Tennessee, on the 21st of March, 1875. His paternal great-grandfather came to America from England and was a missionary to the Indians in North Carolina. His father, N. B. White, was a farmer and is now deceased. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Charlotte Huffaker, is still living and is residing on the home farm John E. White was named for his mother’s half-brother who died in the prison at Andersonville while serving in the Civil war. In the … Read more

Biography of Walter N. Evans

The subject of this sketch was born September, 1843, in Lebanon County, East Tennessee, and is the eldest son of Dr. James P. Evans, of that State, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and a leading physician and scholar, having contributed to the chief medical journals of the United States. His mother (a white woman), Miss Melville Noel, was a daughter of Dr. Noel, originally from Virginia. Walter was educated in Green County, Tennessee; Fayetteville, Arkansas; Springfield, Missouri, and Van Buren, Arkansas, until the spring of 1861, when he joined the Arkansas State Troops, in the Confederate service. Later he … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Henry Clay Crittenden

The subject of this sketch is the son of Henry Clay Crittenden, generally known as Harry Crittenden, a half-breed Cherokee, who emigrated from Georgia in 1837, and died about 1871. Henry was born in Going Snake district, in April 1857, and attended the neighborhood school at Barren Fork for several years, and later the Prairie Grove School, in Going Snake district. In 1877 he began farming close to the Arkansas line, near Cincinnati, and married Miss Mary Morris, daughter of Gabriel Morris, a Cherokee, in October 1879. By this union they have five children: Charles, William Cicero, Pearl and Thomas … Read more

Biography of Benjamin F. Fortner, M.D

The subject of this sketch was born August 15, 1847, third son of M. F. Fortner, who resides eight miles north of Dallas, and is one of the few living who first settled in that country from Kentucky. Benjamin’s mother was Miss Hall, of Simpson County, Kentucky, daughter of a prominent farmer in that State. Mr. Fortner attended private and public schools in Texas until his seventeenth year. In 1864 he volunteered in the Confederate service, and served until the close of the war, after which he returned home, and again went to school until 1866. That year his parents … Read more

The Discovery Of This Continent, it’s Results To The Natives

Columbus Landing on Hispaniola

In the year 1470, there lived in Lisbon, a town in Portugal, a man by the name of Christopher Columbus, who there married Dona Felipa, the daughter of Bartolome Monis De Palestrello, an Italian (then deceased), who had arisen to great celebrity as a navigator. Dona Felipa was the idol of her doting father, and often accompanied him in his many voyages, in which she soon equally shared with him his love of adventure, and thus became to him a treasure indeed not only as a companion but as a helper; for she drew his maps and geographical charts, and also … Read more

Slave Narrative of Henry F. Pyles

Person Interviewed: Henry F. Pyles Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma Date of Birth: August 15, 1856 Age: 81 That’s how the niggers say old Bab Russ used to make the hoodoo “hands” he made for the young bucks and wenches, but I don’t know. ’cause I was too trusting to look inside de one he make for me, and anyways I lose it, and it no good nohow! Old Bab Russ live about two mile from me, and I went to him one night at midnight and ask him to make me de hand. I was a young strapper about sixteen years … Read more

Treaty of March 21, 1866

Articles of a treaty made and concluded at Washington, D.C., March 21, A.D., 1866, between the United States Government, by its commissioners, D.N. Cooley, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Elijah Sells, superintendent of Indian affairs, and Ely S. Parker, and the Seminole Indians, by their chiefs, John Chup-co, or Long John, Cho-cote-harjo, Fos-ha[r]-jo, John F. Brown. Whereas existing, treaties between the United States and the Seminole Nation are insufficient to meet their mutual necessities; and Whereas the Seminole Nation made a treaty with the so-called Confederate States, August 1st, 1861, whereby they threw off their allegiance to the United States, and … Read more

Biography of George E. Easley

George E. Easley, a native son of Oklahoma and a member of one of the old and prominent families of the state, is now living retired at No. 1326 Johnstone avenue, Bartlesville, receiving a substantial income from his oil holdings. He was born near Pawhuska, Indian Territory, February 19, 1895, his parents being William and Margaret (Reward) Easley, the former a native of Kansas, while the latter was born in Indian Territory and is of Osage extraction. The father came to this state over forty years ago during-the territorial period and has since been an active and influential factor in … Read more

Biography of Joseph E. Roberts

Joseph E. Roberts, conducting a furniture and undertaking business at Nowata, is one of the wide-awake and alert young men of the city, whose success is the result of thoroughness and enterprise. He was born October 23, 1892, about twelve miles east of the city in which he still makes his home. His father, Edward Taylor Roberts, was a native of Indiana, his birth having occurred on a farm near Lebanon in Montgomery County, his parents being James Thomas and Lydia A. (James) Roberts. His parents were Kentuckians but were married in Indiana, to which state they had removed in … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Mrs. Allen D. Holloway

(See Rogers)-Eva, daughter of Artemus Andrews and Mary A. (Rogers) Barker, born near Kinnison, June 20, 1886. Educated in Female Seminary, St. Teresa Academy, Kansas City and Forest Park University, St. Louis, Missouri. Married at Vinita May 10, 1906 Allen D. Holloway, son of William and Cordelia Holloway, born 1879 in Cass County, Mo. They are the parents of: Mary Dee, born May 1, 1910 and William Andrew Holloway, born July 11, 1917. Mrs. Holloway is a member of the Methodist Church and the Eastern Star Chapter. Mr. Holloway is the cashier of the Oklahoma State Bank at Welch, Okla.

Biographical Sketch of James F. Mitchell

James F. Mitchell was born November, 1856, in Green County, Indiana, being the eldest son of James H. Mitchell, of Muskogee, Indian Territory, formerly a stock-raiser and agriculturist, who recently retired from business, owning to ill health. His mother was Miss M. G. Crabtree, whose family were from Ohio, and who moved to Indiana when quite young, and married Mr. Mitchell in 1836. James F. attended district school until the age of seventeen, moving West with his parents, he then followed school teaching until he was twenty-two years of age, after which he attended normal school at Fort Scott, where … Read more

Biography of Joel B. Mayes

The subject of this sketch was born October 2, 1833, in Bates County, Georgia, near Cartersville, at that time in the Cherokee country. Joel was the second son of Samuel Mayes and Nancy Adair, the former of white blood from the State of Tennessee, but whose ancestors emigrated from England and Wales. His mother was the daughter of Watt Adair, a Cherokee who held many high offices in the old nation, while his great-grandfather Adair was an illustrious man during the reign of King George the Third of England. Joel moved to the Cherokee country with his people in 1837, … Read more