For forty-one years J. H. Truskett has devoted his attention to farming in Washington county and is numbered among the pioneer settlers of Oklahoma whose labors have been a potent factor in the development of the agricultural resources of the state, while he has also contributed in substantial measure to the promotion of educational interests in his section. A native of Ohio, he was born August 31, 1845, and in 1880, when thirty-five years of age, he settled at the forks of the Caney river, where he purchased a farm, upon which he engaged in raising grain and cattle, continuing active in the cultivation of that property for fourteen years. He then removed to the Hog Shooter creek district, in which he has since resided, having here a valuable ranch of three hundred and forty acres, upon which he has erected a fine modern home. He also has a sixty-five acre tract in Nowata county, which he uses as a pasture for his stock, and he has worked diligently and persistently to improve his farm, which through his practical and progressive methods he has converted into one of the best in this district. He likewise has an interest in a general store at Caney, Kansas, which is operated by his nephew, and is now living retired from the active cares of business in the enjoyment of a well merited rest.
In 1887, when forty-two years of age, Mr. Truskett was united in marriage to Miss Malinda Casto, a native of Kansas, who came to Indian Territory with her parents soon after the close of the Civil war. To this union were born three children : James E., twenty-eight years of age, who is cultivating a farm on Hog Shooter creek near his father’s land; Pearl, the wife of Ben Graham, who is connected with the oil industry and resides south of Bartlesville; and Albert Allen, who is a young man of eighteen.
Mr. Truskett knew many of the old-time bushwhackers, with whom he frequently had encounters, and during the Civil war he acted as scout for Captain Mills of the militia of Syracuse, Morgan county, Missouri, receiving two wounds while in service, one being in the neck and the other in the ribs. His father’s family were strong adherents of democracy, but since the administration of President Grover Cleveland Mr. Truskett has been a stanch supporter of the republican party and an active worker in its ranks, being always successful in electing his candidate. He has done all in his power to promote educational standards in the state, and the Truskett school, in district No. 22 was named in his honor. When he located in the Hog Shooter district no schools had as yet been established here, and there seemed to be no likelihood of the settlers getting together and providing adequate educational facilities. Realizing the necessity for immediate action along this line, Mr. Truskett purchased land, on which he built the first school-house in district No. 22, paying the teacher’s salary for the first year, this being just after Oklahoma’s admission to statehood. On the site of the first structure a fine modern school building is being erected at a cost of ten thousand dollars, the work being done under the supervision of Mr. Truskett, who for a number of years has been a member of the school board. He has watched with deep interest the development and up-building of the state, and in the work of progress and advancement he has borne his full share. His life has been a long, active and useful one, crowned with successful achievement and filled with good deeds, so that he has justly earned the unqualified respect which is accorded him on the part of his fellow citizens.