The judiciary of Oklahoma finds an able representative in Judge Q. P. McGhee, county judge of Ottawa county and a man of high professional attainments, who has also won success in mercantile lines. He is a member of one of the prominent pioneer families of the state and was born on a farm situated on Cowskin prairie, in Delaware county, this state, November 22, 1886, his parents being Thomas Jefferson and Martha (Hannah) McGhee, the former a native of Georgia and of Cherokee descent, while the latter was born in Missouri. As a boy the father came to the Cherokee Nation and o tamed his education in the Indian schools. He acquired large land holdings and was a very successful business man. He took a leading part in civic and political affairs and was one of the associate chiefs of the Cherokee Nation. For twenty-four years he was clerk of the Delaware district of the Cherokee Nation and he also filled the office of judge for four years. He was one of the most prominent men in Indian affairs of that period, was very charitable, being ever ready to extend a helping hand to the poor and needy, and his home was one of the most popular meeting places in the district. His military record covered service as a lieutenant in General Standwaite’s army during the Civil war. He passed away in 1909, having for fifteen years survived his wife, whose demise had occurred in 1894.
Judge McGhee, the youngest in a family of ten children, spent the period of his boyhood upon his father’s farm, attending the Fairland and Cherokee schools until he reached the age of thirteen. He then started out to make his own way in the world and became a trader in live stock, also handling claims or allotments in the Cherokee Nation, being very successful along those lines.
He was thus occupied until nineteen years of age and then worked as a clerk in the store of his brother, S. B. McGhee, at Dawes, after which he carried the mail from Miami to Welch, Oklahoma, for a period of eighteen months. He next turned his attention to farming, developing his allotment near Narcissa, and for two years operated that tract of land. He then came to Miami and for a year engaged in merchandising, afterward returning to his farm. In the meantime he had devoted his leisure hours to the private study of law and continued his legal work after removing to Afton, where he entered the real estate business. During this time he had become extensively identified with mercantile interests, having stores at Afton, Oklahoma, and at Tar River, Pickens Mills and Dunniway, Missouri, and furnishing supplies to the mining camps in those localities. He has since disposed of those establishments and is now operating two stores at Ketchum, Oklahoma, being very successful as a merchant. In 1914 he was admitted to the bar, entering upon the work of his profession at Afton in association with J. J. Smith, but in 1916 he returned to Miami, where he has since made his home. He is well versed in all branches of the law, is strong in argument, logical in his deductions and has been connected with a number of important cases which have come before Vile courts of his district. & well established reputation for ability in his chosen field naturally led to his selection for public office and in 1921 he took his seat as county judge of Ottawa county. He possesses an analytical mind and is strictly fair and impartial in his rulings, which are characterized by a masterful grasp of every problem presented for solution. By virtue of his office he also has charge of a juvenile cases in the county and. has been very successful in this work, owing to his great sympathy with and love for children, who feel that when they are brought before him they are in the presence of a kind and understanding friend. He believes that a spark of good is latent in every individual and appeals to the best in their natures, placing them upon their own responsibility. With his law partner, Hon. J. J. Smith, a well known attorney of Miami, he laid out the Castle Park addition to the town, put in all the improvements, selling some unimproved lots, while on others he erected attractive homes which found a ready sale. He is recognized as an astute business man and has banking interests in Miami, while he also has made extensive investments in land in Craig, Delaware and Ottawa counties.
At Carthage, Missouri, on the 27th of November, 1906, Mr. McGhee was united in marriage to Miss Tic Hannah, who was born in that part of, Indian Territory known as the Cherokee Nation and is a daughter of J. H. Hannah, a well known real estate operator of Salina, Oklahoma, and an active worker in the Holiness church at that place. Mr. and Mrs. McGhee now have two children; Q. P., Jr., whose birth occurred on the 2d of May, 1916; and Russell Romaine, born October 7, 1917.
Mr. McGhee gives his political allegiance to the republican party and is a leader in its councils in this part of the state. He belongs to the Odd Fellows Lodge, No. 63, at Miami, and during the World war was active in support of the various government drives and other war measures.
He is a public-spirited citizen and does everything in his power to promote the welfare and progress of Miami. His work upon the bench is winning encomiums from members of the bar and proves the fact that in the practice of law he has taken up the line of work for which his natural ability well qualifies him. His life from early boyhood has been one of unremitting industry, and to him has come the reward of earnest, persevering effort-success and an honored name.