Progressive Men of Western Colorado

Early Life in Colorado

This manuscript, in its essence, is a collection of 948 biographies of prominent men and women, all leading citizens of Western Colorado. In this context, Western Colorado encompasses the counties of Archuleta, Chaffee, Delta, Eagle, Garfield, Gunnison, Hinsdale, La Plata, Lake, Mesa, Mineral, Moffat, Montezuma, Montrose, Ouray, Pitkin, Rio Blanco, Routt, San Juan, and San Miguel.

Biographical Sketch of Mrs. Joseph W. Adair

Adair, Mrs. Joseph W. (See Ross)—Cora Ann Sayers, born near Pryor, February 28, 1896. Married at Big Cabin, July 2, 1916, Joseph William, Son of Allen and Kittie Adair, born September 8th, 1891, in Harri­son County, Kentucky. They are the par­ents of Virginia Elizabeth, born August 22, 1918 and Allen Sayers Adair, born March 26, 1919. Mr. Adair is a farmer near Pryor. Henry Drew, son of Abner and Nancy Jane (Coody) Sayers was born March 9, 1862. Married October 5, 1892. Dora Thompson. born March 11, 1869 in Macom County, Missouri. Henry Drew died March 28, 1899.

Biography of T. J. Adair

Though not of the royal line, Harold, the son of the great Earl Godwin, had been elected and served for forty weeks as King of England, until on the fated fourteenth of October 1066 he was overthrown by the victorious legions of William, Duke of Normandy. Thenceforward known as William I, King of England and popularly called The Conqueror. The polish and elegance of the world at that time was best exemplified by the Norman Knights and Nobles, many of whom accompanied Arlotta’s son, settled in and directed the destinies of England. Among the proud cavaliers was d’Heanage. Hundreds of … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Samuel Adair

(See Adair)-Samuel, the son of Rufus and Jennie (Fields) Adair, was born in the Cherokee Nation August 12, 1869; was educated at the Cherokee Orphan Asylum. He married March 6, 1892, Mary the daughter of Dick Welch, born May 30, 1877. They were the parents of Jennie, born November 28, 1892; Edna, born April 27, 1897; Levi, born December 15, 1898; Griffin born April 3rd, 1905; Sue, born December 8, 1900; and Benjamin Adair, born December 15, 1910. Their son Levi, enlisted and was on the firing line in France during the recent war. Mr. and Mrs. Adair are members … Read more

Biographical Sketch of John M. Adair

Adair, John M.-(Oolootsa and Adair)- John Martin Adair, born at Fort Gibson, June 3, 1858. Attended Shurtleff College. Served in Troop L. First United States Volunteer Cavalry’ in the Spanish American War. This regiment was known as the “Rough Riders and his commander was Colonel Theodore Roosevelt. Captain Allyn Capron, Captain of Troop L was in the battles of that war that was fought in Cuba. John M. Adair married at Tahlequah in 1903 Triphena Terrell, born in 1871.

Biographical Sketch of Arthur F. Adair

Arthur F. Adair was born August 28, 1858, at Mayesville, Cherokee Nation, son of John L. Adair and Mary J. Jeffreys. In early boyhood he was sent to the primary schools, and completed his education at the national male seminary, Tahlequah, about 1883. Arthur commenced life as a schoolteacher; receiving charge of the Blue Springs school, ten miles from the capital, which he taught for five months. After this he went to Webber’s Falls and taught the Prairie Grove School for ten months, which was followed up by two sessions spent likewise in the Coowescowee district institutions. The subject of … Read more

Choctaw Hunting Practices

Adair (p. 89) says; “the Choctaws, in an early day, practiced the custom of flattening the heads of their infants by compression, and were first known to the whites by the name of Flat Heads.” Be that as it may, the custom had long ceased to be practiced, when later known. Wherever they went, distant or otherwise, many or few, they always traveled in a straight line, one behind the other. (They needed no broad roads, nor had they any; hence, they dispensed with the necessity of that expense, road-working, so grudgingly bestowed by all white men. Paths alone, plain … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Mrs. Luther H. Adair

(See Ghigau and Adair)-Lillie M. daughter of Allen and Lou (Fisher) Waldrop was born in Texas Friday Dec 8, 1865. Married Nov. 17, 1883 Luther Martin, son of Captain Ephriam Martin and Sallie (Starr) Adair, born in Flint District April 30, 1859. He died January 3, 1908. They were the parents of. Sarah Leola, born June 3, 1885; William Luther, born Feb. 16, 1887; Mary, born Aug. 5, 1889; Myrtle Lucinda, born December 11, 1891; Altie, born Nov. 4, 1894; Collie Bessie, born Jan. 1, 1897; Emmet Marshall born July 11, 1899; Nona Bertha, born Sept. 17, 1901; Arnie C., … Read more

Biography of J. H. Adair

J. H. ADAIR. This gentleman was born in Independence, Autauga County, Ala., on March 3, 1828. His father was James Adair, born in Morgan County, Ga., in 1806, a successful merchant in Alabama for ten years, then a farmer of Talladega, Ala., until August 5, 1845, when he died, leaving a widow and nine children-five sons and four daughters. His widow, Sarah Adair, remained there until after the late war, when she returned to Georgia, where she now resides in Gainesville, and is in her eighty-fifth year. Her maiden name was Sarah Dean. She was born February 19, 181O, in … Read more

Biography of T. M. Adair

T. M. Adair, a well known farmer residing thirteen miles east of Delaware in Nowata County, was born in Flint district, now Adair County, on the 2d of September, 1882. His paternal grand-father, Walter Scott Adair, better known as “Red Watt” Adair, was a Cherokee emigrant from Georgia. Adair County was named in his honor, for he was well known throughout the community, having been commissioned by the United States government to look after the Cherokees and see that all of their needs were supplied. In addition to the duties devolving upon him in that capacity, he engaged in farming. … Read more

Massacre at Howard’s Well and Other Depredations – Indian Wars

Closely following the outbreak of the Cherokees and half -breed renegades at Whitemore‘s, Barren Fork, came on attack by a similar party of Indians, half breeds, and Mexicans combined, on a train of supplies, en route to Fort Stockton, at Howard’s Well, near old Fort Lancaster. The facts of this one of the most inhuman massacres in history were reported to the “War Department, by Col. Merritt, through General Angua, under date of April 29th, 1872. We give the report as written: On the 20th inst, I arrived with the cavalry of my command at Howard’s Well, a few hours too … Read more

Biographical Sketch of George Adair

(See Adair and Grant) George Adair, born at Braggs May 24, 1887, educated in the Cherokee Public Schools. Married at Nowata in 1907 Edna F., daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Adolphus McCoy. He enlisted for the World War on September 19, 1917 and was assigned to the 36th Division, was taken from the firing line in France and placed with other full blood Cherokees in the telephone service, where they foiled the German “listeners in” by repeating, receiving, and transmitting the military orders in the Cherokee language Young Adair, who like all full blood Cherokees, is intensely patriotic and counts … Read more

Biographical Sketch of A. Frank Adair

(See Grant)-Arthur Frank, son of John Lynch and Mary Jane (Jeffreys) Adair was born August 28, 1858, educated in Male Seminary. Married at Tahlequah September 1, 1886 Mollie Elizabeth Miller, born February 22, 1868. They were the parents of: Arthur Lynch, born May 11, 1891 and Owen Lewis Adair, born March 18, 1893. Rachel, daughter of Jeter and Nancy (Martin) Lynch married Thomas Benjamin Adair and they were the parents of John Lynch Adair who married Mary Jane Jeffreys a native of Virginia.

A Genealogy of the Lake Family

Ancestor Register of Esther Steelman Adams

A genealogy of the Lake family of Great Egg Harbour in Old Gloucester County in New Jersey : descended from John Lade of Gravesend, Long Island; with notes on the Gravesend and Staten Island branches of the family. This volume of nearly 400 pages includes a coat-of-arms in colors, two charts, and nearly fifty full page illustrations – portraits, old homes, samplers, etc. The coat-of-arms shown in the frontspiece is an unusually good example of the heraldic art!

Pioneers of Elk Valley, Del Norte County, California

Pioneers of Elk Valley, Del Norte County, California

In the heart of Northern California lies a hidden gem steeped in history and natural beauty: Elk Valley in Del Norte County. This manuscript, titled “Pioneers of Elk Valley, Del Norte County, California: Fifty Years in the History of Elk Valley from 1850 to the Turn of the Century,” authored by Frances Turner McBeth, embarks on a vivid journey through the transformation of this enchanting valley over half a century. From the early days of exploration and settlement to the bustling activity of the turn of the century, McBeth’s narrative weaves together the lives of the pioneers who braved the unknown to establish a community in one of California’s most picturesque landscapes.

Choctaw Culture

Choctaw Village near the Chefuncte, The women appear to be making dye to color the strips of cane beside them, by François Bernard, 1869

The Choctaws, like all of their race, had no written laws, and their government rested alone on custom and usage, growing out of their possessions and their wants; yet was conducted so harmoniously by the influence of their native genius and experience, that one would hardly believe that human society could be maintained with so little artifice. As they had no money, their traffic consisted alone in mutual exchange of all commodities; as there was no employment of others for hire, there were no contracts, hence judges and lawyers, sheriffs and jails were unknown among them. There were no beg gars, … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Rollin K. Adair

(See Adair, Grant, McNair, Halfbreed, Cordery and Duncan)-Rollin K. Adair, whose Cherokee name is Takatoka, of the Blind Savannah Clan, was born March 17, 1855, at Locust Grove in Salina District. Educated in the Cherokee Nation and at Dartmouth College. He married August 25, 1881, Rachel Landrum, born November 18, 1859. She died December 5, 1919. They were the parents of: Charles Bertram, born February 15, 1882; Robert McLeod, born July 5, 1884; William David, November 8, 1885; Sue M., born January 17, 1887; Sadie K., born July 6, 1889, and Rachel L., born December 24, 1897. William Martin, a … Read more

Slave Narrative of Selie Anderson

Interviewer: Miss Irene Robertson Person Interviewed: Selie Anderson Location: Holly Grove, Arkansas Age: 78 Occupation: House girl “I was born near Decatur, Alabama and lived there till I was fifteen years old. Course I members hearin’ em talk bout Mars Newt. I named fur my ma’s old mistress—Miss Selie Thompson and Mars Newt Thompson. Pa died when I was three years old. He was a soldier. Ma had seven children. They have bigger families then than they have now. Ma name Emmaline Thompson. Pa name Sam Adair. I can’t tell you about him. I heard em say his pa was … Read more