Washington County OK

Biography of O. S. Somerville, M. D.

Dr. O. S. Somerville, who has been actively engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery at Bartlesville during the past sixteen years, is also a prominent factor in financial circles as Vice President of the Bartlesville State Bank. His birth occurred in Parkersburg, West Virginia, on the 11th of February, 1871, his parents being Andrew and Margaret (Slaven) Somerville, the latter also a native of West Virginia. Andrew Somerville, who followed general agricultural pursuits in that state throughout his active business career, passed away in 1899, while his wife was called to her final rest in 1913. In the … Read more

Biography of Andrew Henderson

Andrew Henderson, sheriff of Washington county, Oklahoma, was born at Bates City, Missouri, May 2, 1878, a son of A. J. and Katherine (Ferguson) Henderson. The father, who was a native of Illinois and a highly educated man, was a farmer and stock raiser. He left his native state when eighteen years of age and on removing to Texas he located in Limestone county, where he engaged in the cattle business for many years, driving his cattle to the market at Kansas City, Missouri. He then obtained a lease on the entire site where the town of Dewey now stands, … Read more

Biography of L. W. Servey

The lumber industry of Washington County finds a prominent representative in L. W. Servey, who as President of the Ochelata Lumber Company is controlling a large and growing business, which he has developed through close application, capable management, energy and determination. He was born in Dempsey town, Venango County, Pennsylvania July 2, 1813, of the marriage of A. J. and Adeline (Weikal) Servey, both now deceased. The father, who was a building contractor, went to Kansas in 1868 and there took up a homestead, which he improved and developed. L. W. Servey completed a course in the high school at … Read more

Biography of H. G. Laughlin

H. G. Laughlin, who follows the occupation of farming, his home being situated about two and two-thirds miles northwest of Ramona, in Washington county, was born in Milan, Texas, August 27, 1867. He is a son of James McClellan Laughlin, who was a native of Mississippi and went to California in the year 1849. There he engaged in farming in the Sacramento valley for several years, after which he returned to Georgia and was married in that state. He then started again for California but became water bound while en route and returned to Texas, where there was no danger … 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 Nelson F. Carr

It is more than six decades since Nelson F. Carr became a resident of Oklahoma and he is known to the people of Bartlesville and Washington county as the “Pioneer of Big Caney.” A native of New York, he was born in Wilton, Saratoga county, September 2, 1844, a son of William Henry and Sarah M. (Clancy) Carr, the former also a native of the Empire state, while the mother’s birth occurred in Vermont. He has a very faint recollection of his father, who died in September, 1848, at the age of thirty-one years. In 1859 the widowed mother, with … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Mrs. Reuben Harris

(See Foreman)-Andrew Taylor, a native of Orange County, Virginia married Jennie Bigby and they were the parents of Minerva Jane Taylor who married Robert Wesley Walker, a native of North Carolina. Their daughter Senora Adelaide Walker born December 23, 1859 in Tennessee married June 16 1878 Morgan Lemuel Pyeatt born in Washington County, Arkansas December 29, 1851. He died April 29, 1889. Their daughter, Bessie Lee Pyeatt was born at Tahlequah in 1883. Educated in the Female Seminary. Married at Collinsville in 1901 Reuben, son of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson Harris. They are the parents of: George, born Dec. 1911; … Read more

Biography of William W. Vanbuskirk

The rich lands of Washington county furnish splendid opportunity to the farmers and stock raisers and the men of enterprise who have taken advantage of the chances here offered along agricultural lines have won substantial success as the reward of their efforts. To this class belongs William W. Vanbuskirk, who was born in central Indiana, near Indianapolis, on the 18th of March, 1863. His father, Bennett Vanbuskirk, was a native of that state, while the mother, who bore the maiden name of Arvey Smith, was born in Georgia. Both have passed away. William W. Vanbuskirk was educated in the country … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Mrs. Joseph Little

(See Grant)—Joseph Carter, son of William and Theresa Lane (Davis) Little was born at Vinita, Monday May 19, 1879. Educated in Worchester Academy, Vinita. Married at Chelsea Oct. 23, 1904, Myrtle, daughter of E. M. and Victoria (Powell) Arnold, born Oct. 23, 1884, and educated at Chelsea, Cherokee Nation. They are the parents of: Joseph, born April 5, 1907; William, born Sept. 30, 1909; Robert, born Aug. 31, 1911; Mary, born Nov. 12, 1913; Ruth, born March 9, 1918; James, born March 3, 1920. Mr. Little is one of the largest range and feeding cattle men in Oklahoma owning and … Read more

Biography of L. E. Phillips

To the list of the many names that are synonymous with the commercial development of Bartlesville may be added L. E. Phillips, who is vice president of the First National Bank and of the Phillips Petroleum Company, and who since 1904 has been one of the substantial and influential citizens of Bartlesville. He was born in Taylor county, Iowa, August 18, 1876. He spent his childhood and early youth on a farm there, attending the common schools to the age of sixteen and also learning many valuable lessons in the school of experience. When seventeen years of age he took … Read more

Biography of B. F. Rowland, M. D.

Important and varied interests claim the time and attention of Dr. B. F. Rowland, a leading druggist of Ochelata, who also figures prominently in financial circles as Vice President of the Ochelata State Bank, and he is likewise the owner of a good farm in this vicinity, his business affairs being most judiciously managed. He was born in Moniteau County, Missouri, June 7, 1866, his parents being Powhatan and Mary W. (Longdon) Rowland, the latter a daughter of a circuit rider in Missouri, who was one of the well known ministers of the early days. B. F. Rowland’s father engaged … 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 Addison Fox McCaleb

Addison Fox McCaleb, one of the most prominent and prosperous citizens of northeastern Oklahoma, where he first took up his abode forty-three years ago, was elected mayor of Bartlesville in April, 1920, and has since capably discharged the duties devolving upon him in that important position. He was born at Harrison, Tennessee, on the 10th of January, 1861, a son of Charles and Elizabeth (Gardenhire) McCaleb, the former a native of east Tennessee and the latter of Hamilton county, that state. The father held the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Civil war and was wounded in battle, but his … 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 John C. Asahl

John C. Asahl, a resident of Ramona since 1903 and connected with its mercantile interests throughout, the period, has also figured prominently in connection with public affairs of the city and no man has labored more earnestly, zealously and effectively to bring about public progress, reform and improvement than he Mr. Asahl is a native of Missouri, his birth having occurred in the city of California, March 7, 1870. His father, Charles Asahl, was a native of Germany and came to the United States in 1850, settling in Chicago in the year of the yellow fever plague. He was a … Read more

Biography of John B. Fowler

Long connection with the oil industry has made John B. Fowler an expert in this branch of activity and through the capable management of his business affairs he has accumulated a substantial competence which now enables him to live retired in the enjoyment of a well earned rest, his home being in Bartlesville. He was born in Butler County, Pennsylvania, September 16, 1852, and his parents were John P. and Margaret (Keppler) Fowler, who were also natives of the Keystone state, the father’s birth occurring in the same County. John P. Fowler became a resident of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, in … Read more

Biography of David Lee Stokes

For forty-one years David Lee Stokes has been a resident of Oklahoma and after many years of activity as an agriculturist he is now living retired in Bartlesville in the enjoyment of a good income, gained through untiring industry, perseverance and intelligently directed effort during his earlier years. He was born in Marshfield, Missouri, January 12, 1866, his parents being Granville and Pheobia (Haymes) Stokes, who established their home in the Indian Territory, in what is now Washington county, Oklahoma, in 1880, becoming early settlers of this region. The father leased a tract of land four miles northwest of Bartlesville, … Read more

Biography of J. C. Sheets

One of the events which has had much to do with turning the tide of progress and shaping the course of development in Washington county was the discovery of oil, and prominently known among the oil producers of the state is J. C. Sheets, now living at Copan. Opportunity has ever been to him a call to action-a call to which he has made ready and immediate response. The chances that have come to him he has eagerly utilized, for his sound judgment enables him readily to understand the real value of such chances. His labors have been an element … Read more

Biography of Zachariah Taylor Preston

Zachariah Taylor Preston, who is successfully engaged in farming a mile north of Ramona in Washington County, was born on Grand River, twenty-five miles east of Vinita, Craig County, Oklahoma, on the 23d of January, 1883. His father, Charles Henry Preston, was a native of Virginia and on coming to the Indian Territory settled near Grove. He was a surgeon and served in the Confederate army during the Civil war. He practiced medicine and surgery in the Indian Territory and in the state of Oklahoma until fifteen years prior to his death, passing away at the home of his son, … 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