Texas

Biography of Richard M. Kleinhans

Richard M. Kleinhans is a veteran railroad man, having been in the active service more than twenty years. He started in his native State of Michigan, worked through various grades of promotion with the Lake Shore Branch of the New York Central lines, and finally came to the Southwest in the employ of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas. He is now car accountant for that road with headquarters at Parsons. Born in Detroit, Michigan, September 8, 1877, he is a son of George and Cecelia (Hunt) Kleinhans. His father was born in Pennsylvania in 1813, moved from that state to … Read more

Biography of Alonzo O. Blair, M. D.

Alonzo O. Blair, M. D. By nearly forty years of practice in Southeastern Kansas Doctor Blair has become widely known as a successful physician and surgeon, and for more than a quarter of a century has been identified professionally and also in a business way with the City of Pittsburg. By ancestry he is of Scotch-Irish stock. His great-great-grandfather came in colonial times from England and settled in South Carolina. Doctor Blair’s grandfather was a native of South Carolina, but was opposed to the institution of slavery and moved from that state to Tennessee and thence to Illinois. He was … Read more

Biography of Hon. J. J. Smith

Hon. J. J. Smith, an able representative of the Miami bar, who has here practiced his profession since 1915, is specializing in criminal law, in which branch of jurisprudence he has been very successful, and he has also done effective service for the public good as a member of the state senate. He was born June 23, 1889, near Ranger, in Eastland county, Texas, upon the farm of his parents, Benjamin F. and Catherine (Simpson) Smith, the latter also a native of that section of the Lone Star state, while the former was born in Madison county, North Carolina. While … Read more

Biography of G. O. Hall, M. D.

The career of Dr. G. O. Hall, a leading physician of Bartlesville, is proof of the fact that it is only under adverse conditions that the best and strongest in the individual are developed, for he is a self-educated, self-made man whose indomitable purpose and untiring effort have enabled him to overcome all obstacles and difficulties in his path and work his way steadily forward to the goal of success. A native of Texas, he was born September 1, 1882, and is a son of Dr. P. B. Hall, who for the past twenty-one years has been engaged in the … Read more

Finstad, Clara – Obituary

Lostine, Wallowa County, Oregon Clara L. Finstad, 99, of Port Lavaca, Texas, a former Baker City resident, died May 24, 1997, in Texas. Her funeral was held Saturday, May 31, 1997 at 2 p.m. at Gray’s West and Co. Pioneer Chapel. Pastor Dennis Hickman officiated. Burial followed in Mount Hope Cemetery. Mrs. Finstad was born to Jacob E. and Emily ( Hammack ) Womack July 10, 1897, in Lostine. She had been a lifelong Oregon resident except for the few past years when she lived with her daughter in Port Lavaca. She moved from Baker City in 1984. She enjoyed … Read more

Biography of Middleton L. Perry, M. D.

Middleton L. Perry, M. D. Among the men of Kansas who are carrying on the highly important work of caring for the afflicted and irresponsible members of society, one of the best known is Dr. Middleton L. Perry, superintendent of the State Hospital for Epilepties, at Parsons. Doctor Perry was born at Lancaster, Dallas County, Texas, August 15, 1868, and is a son of Middleton and Ellen (Ellis) Perry. The family is of English extraction and settled during colonial times in Virginia, where the grandfather of Doctor Perry, Franklin Perry, was born. He was a farmer by vocation and in … Read more

Biography of Kelly Brown

Kelly Brown, whose ripened powers place him among the capable representatives of civil law practice in Muskogee and who is also numbered among the lawmakers of the state, having been a member of the fifth general assembly of Oklahoma, is descended from an old English family, several of the representatives thereof with the nobility. Having incurred the being connected with nobility incurred the displeasure of the reigning monarch, the original progenitors of the family in America were obliged to flee to the new world, this occurring about the time of the Revolutionary war, settlement being made by them in Virginia. … Read more

Biography of Omer Romanes Young

An extensive clientele attests the ability of Omer Romanes Young in the practice of law, to which he has devoted his attention since 1915, and he now ranks with the leading representatives of the Miami bar. He was born on a farm near Hartville, in Wright county, Missouri, October 16, 1883, his parents being Jackson Davis and Sarah Ann (Smith) Young, the former a native of Tennessee and the latter of Illinois. In young manhood the father went to Missouri, settling in Wright county, where he devoted his attention to farming and stock raising, in which he won a gratifying … Read more

Opelousa Tribe

Opelousa Indians (probably ‘black above’, i. e. ‘black hair’ or ‘black skull’). A small tribe formerly living in south Louisiana. It is probable that they were identical with the Onquilouzas of La Harps, spoken of in 1699 as allied with the Washa and Chaouacha, wandering near the seacoasts, and numbering with those two tribes 200 men. This would indicate a more southerly position than that in which they are afterward found, and Du Pratz, whose information applies to the years between 1718 and 1730, locates the Oqué-Loussas, evidently the same people, westward and above Pointe Coupée, rather too far to … Read more

Biography of Judge Napoleon B. Maxey

Judge N. B. Maxey has the distinction of holding the oldest license to practice law in the Oklahoma courts. Notwithstanding the fact he is still active in the profession, maintaining his once in Muskogee but frequently called to other sections of the state in connection with his specialty of insurance and surety law. He was born in Smith County, Tennessee, July 15, 1853, and the fact that his father, Thomas J. Maxey, was of French extraction probably accounts for the name given to the future Muskogee lawyer, Napoleon Bonaparte Maxey. Whether the name carries with it any qualifications that to … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Harry Hollister Bell

Harry Hollister Bell, farmer, stock raiser and oil man, living in Muskogee, is now controlling interests that make him a prominent representative of the agricultural and business life of Oklahoma. He was born in Montague county, Texas, January 20, 1881, and is a son of Elvin Golladay and Margaret (Finch) Bell. The father devoted his life to farming and stock raising, thus providing for his family. The early educational opportunities of Harry Hollister Bell were those afforded by the public schools of his native state. He afterward attended Bacone College of Muskogee and also Henry Kendall College, now at Tulsa, … Read more

Biography of Patrick Cleburn Woodruff, M. D.

In the passing of Dr. Patrick Cleburn Woodruff the medical profession lost a representative member. For twelve years he resided in Stilwell and during that time endeared himself to every one in the community. A man of great charity, he served rich and poor alike and his sudden demise, on the 29th of December, 1914, came as a severe shock to his many friends. A native of Mississippi, Dr. Woodruff was born on the 31st of January, 1865, a son of T. P. and Elizabeth (Leatherwood) Woodruff, both natives of that state. In 1871 they removed to Paris, Texas, and … Read more

Biography of J. H. McMorrow

Coming to Bartlesville in 1965, J. H. McMorrow has since been actively and prominently identified with the commercial development of the town and as secretary and treasurer of the Rood Oil Company he has contributed substantially to the attainment of the success which has attended the activities of that corporation. He was born in Cohoes, Albany county, New York, December 9, 1859, of the marriage of Francis and Mary (McCusker) McMorrow, both of whom were natives of Ireland, the latter being brought to this country in infancy. The father came to the United States in 1833, settling in Cohoes, Albany … Read more

Biography of William S. Vernon

William S. Vernon is a prominent figure in financial circles of northeastern Oklahoma as president of the First National Bank of Coweta, which he organized in July, 1903, and of which he has been the chief executive officer since 1910. His birth occurred near Fayetteville, Arkansas, in October, 1871, his parents being James A. and Woodson (Alexander) Vernon, the former a native of Arkansas, while the latter was born in Missouri. James A. Vernon has devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits in Arkansas and Texas throughout the greater part of his life, having made his way to Texas in 1874. … 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 Bertrand Rockwell, Captain

Bertrand Rockwell, who had had his home at Kansas City, Missouri, since 1906 was one of the constructive figures in Kansas from the close of the Civil war until he retired from business. Apart from the individual interest of his career, his activities have had the greatest value in connection with Junction City and that section of the state. Before he had reached his majority he had left school and entered the army, and came out with the rank of captain. Two weeks after being mustered out, in September, 1865, Captain Rockwell reached Leavenworth, Kansas. From there he was carried … Read more

Biography of William Lester Kellogg

William Lester Kellogg. The superintendent of motive power of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad, William L. Kellogg, had worked his way to his present position through his own initiative. At the outset of his career he had no favorable influences to assist him, and he had depended upon no happy circumstances to aid him in his promotion. The chances he had had have been the chances that have come to every man who had been placed in a position similar to his own; the reason that he had gone further than some of his fellow workmen is due to … Read more

Biography of Samuel Brownlee Fisher

Samuel Brownlee Fisher of Parsons, consulting engineer of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad Company, is one of the eminent railway engineers of America. He had had nearly fifty years of active experience and had been identified with the construction of various railway lines in the West and East. He comes of an old Scotch family of Covenanter stock. On the maternal side his ancestors were the Brownlees, who were Covenanters in Scotland and were exiled because of their religious belief and settled in Pennsylvania. Mr. Fisher’s great-great-grandfather in the maternal line, George Wilie, was a soldier in the Revolutionary … Read more

Biography of J. E. Zimmerman

J. E. Zimmerman. President of the Citizens State Bank of Bronson, Mr. Zimmerman had been a factor in the citizenship of Bourbon County for the past fifteen years, and had been an extensive farmer, stock man and oil producer as well as a banker. He was born in Ashland County, Ohio, October 10, 1873, descended from a family which as the name indicates came out of Germany and were early settlers in the State of Ohio. D. H. Zimmerman, his father, was born in Ohio in 1838, spent his early life in that state, was married in Ashland County, and … Read more

Biography of Judge J. Sidney Swinney

Among the prominent public officials of Haskell is numbered Judge J. Sidney Swinney, judge of the police court and justice of the peace, whose record upon the bench is in harmony with his record as a man and citizen-distinguished by marked fidelity to duty and a thorough grasp of every problem presented for solution. He was born in Williamson county, Texas, April 2, 1879, and is a son of Wilson R. and Sarah A. (Skinner) Swinney, the former a native of Georgia and the latter of Kentucky. In 1834 the father removed to Texas, where he engaged in ranching and … Read more