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ASHLEY R. WILSON. Distinguished alike for his ability, integrity and trustworthiness, and for the honored ancestry from which he is descended, Ashley R. Wilson is one of the best known and most popular and respected citizens of Mangum, Greer county. A son of John S. Wilson, he was born, March 22, 1855, in Searcy county, Arkansas. His grandfather, William Wilson, was a son of that eminent patriot, Gen. James Wilson, who fought with the colonists in their struggle for independence, and was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
     James Wilson was born and bred in Scotland, was educated for the bar at St. Andrew's University, in Glasgow, and received a military education in Scotland. After practicing law in his native country for awhile, he emigrated to the United States, when aged nineteen years, settling in Pennsylvania, where he continued his profession, attaining great success as a lawyer and a soldier. Taking an active interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of his adopted country, he took part in the Indian wars of his day. As a member of the First Continental Congress, held in Philadelphia, September 5, 1774, he strongly advocated the withdrawal of the colonies from England, and subsequently fought in the Revolutionary war, holding the commission of a general and being an ally of Washington and Lafayette. At the close of the struggle, General Wilson settled as a lawyer in Philadelphia, and had the honor of being one of the first judges of the Supreme Court of the United States. After the death of his wife, he removed to Edenton, North Carolina, where he was successfully engaged in the practice of his profession until his death. His remains rested quietly in the Edenton Cemetery until 1907, when Andrew Carnegie, the great steel magnate, who was, likewise, educated at St. Andrew's University, so aroused the patriotic enthusiasm of the Philadelphians, and others, that the body of General Wilson was brought back to the Quaker City, and buried by the side of that of his wife, in Christ Church Burying-ground. Appropriate ceremonies attended the burial services, speeches and addresses being made by men of eminence and prominence, Alton B. Parker, representing the American Bar, William H. Moody, attorney general, representing the United States as a nation, and others of equal note and importance. Ashley R. Wilson has several relics of this distinguished ancestor of his, among others being the neck-stock which he wore when he signed the Declaration of Independence.
     William Wilson was young when his father removed to Edenton, where he grew to manhood, and was well educated. After his marriage he settled in Tennessee, and there reared his family, among them being John S. Wilson, father of Ashley R.
     Born in 1810, in Tennessee, John S. Wilson received a liberal education, and during his life was for many years a successful and popular teacher. He was a Whig in. politics, and while a resident of his native state filled many offices of trust and responsibility. Subsequently becoming a pioneer settler of Arkansas, he took up land, and carried on general farming until the breaking out of the Civil war. He was a Union man, and opposed secession as long as he could, but when he found his influence was of no avail, he surrendered, staid with his countrymen, and, although too old for army service, supported the Confederacy, and looked after and cared for the wives and families of those at the front. He was prominent in local affairs, and was often beseeched to accept public offices, any of which might have been his if he had chosen, but he preferred the quiet of his farm and home, accepting no public position excepting that of county judge, which he filled for a number of years. He and his wife were active members of the Methodist church, and he was a Master Mason. He died in September, 1865, on the old homestead, in Arkansas. He married Dicey Hatchett, who was born in Tennessee, and died; in 1893, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Waldrum, in Montague, Texas. She was of English ancestry, being a daughter of Billy Hatchett, a pioneer Methodist minister of Tennessee, and a practical faimer, who bred and raised fine thorough-bred race horses, which he sold for racing purposes. Mr. Hatchett married Mamie Ross, and they became the parents of nine children. Of the union of John S. and Dicey Wilson eleven children were born.
Remaining at home after the death of his father, Ashley R. Wilson, who at that time was but ten years of age, had but little opportunity to obtain the education to which he was entitled by birth and inheritance, because of the mother becoming blind and he in consequence having to support his mother, a sis-

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ter and two orphan nieces, and at the age of sixteen years was practically untaught. He subsequently attended the high school at Marshall, Arkansas, after which he continued his studies under the tuition of Professor Wickersham, and later, taught school two terms. The Arkansas homestead, being sold, he subsequently moved mother and family to Texas, locating in Montague, where he was for three years in the grocery business. Selling out at the end of that time, he spent some time as a cattle trader, after which he was for eight months employed as a workman on the construction of the Fort Worth and Denver Railway. Subsequently while on a prospecting trip through New Mexico and Texas, Mr. Wilson heard favorable reports of Greer county, and in June, 1888, came on a freight wagon to Mangum, where he found about fifty people assembled, all living in camps or dugouts. Three months later, he went to Vernon, Texas, where for two years he clerked for a friend in a general store. In the meantime, in 1890, Mr. Wilson again visited Mangum, this time coming to claim for his bride the bonnie lassie whose acquaintance he had formed on his previous visit. After a brief honeymoon he returned to Vernon, and remained there until 1891, when he settled permanently at Mangum, locating under the Texas laws three hundred and twenty acres of land adjoining the corporate limits of the city, being in the valley of the Salt Fork of Red river. He fenced the land, put a portion of it under cultivation, doing his farming with steers, and raised fair crops. He made excellent improvements, having erected a spacious residence, set out shade trees, and has now a finely-bearing orchard which he planted. For several years he dealt in fur and hides to some extent, buying them from the Indians, raised cattle, and when not employed in farming would oftentimes clerk in some of the stores. In 1898, in company with Mr. Jackson, he operated a small grocery for a year, and met with such encouraging success that the firm, of which Mr. Wilson was the head, added, in 1899, a stock of dry goods. Subsequently erecting a suitable frame building, the firm put in a complete stock of general merchandise, and carried on an extensive trade until burned out, in 1902. With a small insurance that they carried the firm was somewhat handicapped, but soon after erected a two story stone building, fifty feet by one hundred feet, at a cost of $10,000, and have since built up a large and lucrative trade. They have added two large warehouses to their other equipments, and in addition to their other stock have added wagons, buggies, and farm implements of all kinds. They do an immense business, their annual sales, which are every year increasing, now amounting to $85,000 annually. This firm, Jackson & Wilson have been especially helpful to the farming community, buying cotton from the farmers, as well as farm produce, assisting the farmers as much as possible to clear up their claims, and in other ways. When the government surveyed Greer county, Mr. Wilson accepted his allotment of one hundred and sixty acres, and bought the other one hundred and sixty acres of his. homestead at the regular price, $1.25 an acre, payable within five years, and has now one of the most valuable and productive farming estates in this part of the state.
     In 1890, as before mentioned, Mr. Wilson married. The maiden name of his wife was Lucy Sweet. She was born in Texas, Dallas county, February 2, 1868, a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Pulver) Sweet, both of whom were born in Sangamon county, Illinois, moved to Dallas county, when young, and were there married. Her grandfather, Levi Sweet, a native of New York state, was an early settler of Illinois, and lived there until 1853, when he located in Dallas county, Texas, where he located land, and improved a farm, on which he resided until his death. He was well educated and taught school for many years, afterwards serving as a minister in the Christian church. He had three children. Fifteen years old when his parents removed to Texas, Henry Sweet studied civil engineering, and subsequently did considerable surveying in Texas. During the Civil war he enlisted in the Confederate army, and being taken prisoner was confined in a Yankee prison for a long time before being exchanged. Returning to Texas in 1865, he repaired there until about 1882, when, as a surveyor, he located much land for other people in Greer county. While thus employed he formed the acquaintance of Mr. Mangum, who fought under Gen. Sam Houston in the Mexican war, taking part in the battle at San Jacinto, and who had a land warrant given him for his services. . Henry Sweet made a contract to locate the land for Mr. Mangum, and was to have a portion of the land for so doing. Before he had, the land parented, Mr. Man-

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gum died, but his heirs carried out their father's contract, and in 1884 Mr. Sweet took possession of his part of it, and platted the county seat of Greer county, at first naming it Lanam, but subsequently changing it to Mangum. In April, 1884, he donated a square for a site for a courthouse and other public buildings, and thus laid the foundation for the now populous and prosperous city, of Mangum. The soldiers tried to drive Mr. Sweet from his land, but he refused to budge, and soon after established a small store, which he stocked with such articles as were necessary for the cow boys and wayfarers, and in 1885 established the first postoffice here, and served as postmaster. He also established a star rqute, and carried the mail himself, weekly, without, pay, to Doane's store and postoffice, south of the Red river, a distance of sixty miles. He was very prominent in Masonic circles, being a Master Mason, and gave the lot, upon which was erected a two-story building for the Masonic lodge. He was held in high esteem by the members of the craft, and a life-size picture of him now adorns the lodge room. Mr. Sweet died December 27, 1900. His first wife died in Dallas county, Texas, leaving five children. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson has been blessed by the birth of eleven children, namely: Dicey, Nellie, May, Leona, Wesley S., Frank H., Hester, George C., Elizabeth, Rachel, and Margaret. The youngest child, born July 31, 1906, died in August, 1907.

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cont.

SEABORN B. GARRETT is a popular and prominent attorney-at-law, for several years engaged in practice at Mangum, Greer county, and a real force in the development of the place. He is a strong Democrat, a most familiar figure at the county and state conventions of his party, occupies a handsome residence in the best part of Mangum, and socially, politically and professionally is a leader in the community.
     Born in Campbell county, Georgia, on the 28th of February, 1857, Mr. Garrett is descended from an old and highly honored southern family, whose earliest American founders were natives of Virginia. His parents were Lemuel and Martha (Cash) Garrett, his mother being a Virginia lady and his father, a Georgian—son of Isaac Garrett, a plain, honest planter and slave owner, without public ambition. Seaborn B. Garrett was reared on the old Georgia homestead, his father dying in the Confederate service and his mother doing her faithful part in keeping the family together as one household until its members were able to support themselves, or assist in the maintenance of the younger children. The boy was first educated, in the common schools of his home neighborhood, and afterward at the North Georgia College, located in Dahlonega. He then taught for four years in different schools of Georgia and Texas, and during this period also was engaged in the study of the law. In 1882 he was admitted to the State bar of Texas, and in 1885 to the State supreme court of Texas and federal courts. In the meantime be had located at Palo Pinto, Texas, where he had served as county attorney and remained in practice until 1886. In 1886 he removed to Gainesville, Texas, successfully practicing there until 1901, in which year he came to reside in Mangum, where he has since attained to the leadership of his profession.
     While a prosperous Georgia planter, Lemuel Garrett, the father of our subject, enrolled himself in the gallant army which, under Robert E. Lee, fought the historic campaigns of Virginia. He received several wounds in action, but in 1864 was finally laid low with typhoid fever, and died in the hospital at Savannah, Georgia. He was also buried at this place, and a marble shaft marks his last resting place. Lemuel Garrett was a brave and honorable man, and fully conformed to the biblical injunction to be faithful over the things especially entrusted to him in this life. His wife, followed in his Christian footsteps by fulfilling her duties as a widowed mother, being the uniting bond of her family until her death in 1898. She was a faithful Baptist, daughter of James Cash, formerly of Virginia and later a Georgia planter and slave owner. He served under General Jackson in the war of 1812, and participated in all his campaigns, including the battle of Mobile. He was a fine type of the old, gallant, brave southern gentleman, and met his honorable end at the old homestead in Georgia, a revered member of the Primitive Baptist church. The children of Mr. and Mrs. James, Cash were: John, Wylie, Elbert, Rebecca, Mary, Sarah and Martha, the last named the mother of our subject.
     Isaac Garrett, the grandfather, had the following children: William J., John, Lemuel (father of Seaborn), Tobias, Mary and Fanny. Mr. and Mrs. Lemuel Garrett became the parents of the following: Christopher C., a member of the medical profession Marion L.

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a leading lawyer in practice at Tishomingo, Johnston county, Oklahoma; Seaborn B., of Mangum; A. R., also an attorney at Mangum; Alexander S., a physician of Springtown, Texas, and Manecie, now Mrs. E. C. Lewis, of Cossu, New Mexico. Seaborn B. Garrett was married at Mineral Wells, Texas, in 1882 to Miss Jane Wilkins, a Georgia lady, born October 8, 1865, daughter of Henry and Josephine (Lewis) Wilkins, the former a successful farmer of that state, prior to the Civil war. He served as a soldier of the Confederacy throughout the conflict, undergoing the usual hardships and deprivations of the terrible Virginia campaign with typical fortitude and bravery. At the conclusion of the war he returned to his devasted and neglected plantation, and became an extensive cultivator of apples and peaches which he chiefly used in the manufacture pf brandies. He was an industrious, honored citizen, and a life-long Democrat, dying in Georgia in 1867, the father of the following: Exia, now Mrs. J. S. Campbell, who married a Baptist minister; Mary, wife of W. J. Bentley; Coonie, Mrs. J. L. Jones; Jane, wife of our subject; Henrietta, Mrs. H. Gatewood; Sally, Mrs. John West, and Helen, Mrs. E. Smith. The three children born to Mr. and Mrs. S. B. Garrett are: Martha L., now Mrs. S. R Baxter, of Albion, Oklahoma, whose husband was formerly a merchant but is now a farmer; David, a student at a medical college; and Wilkins B., a graduate of the Mangum High School and already prepared for college. Both the parents are worthy members of the Baptist church, with which many generations of the family have been identified.

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cont.

GEORGE W. BOYD, JR. prominent among the leading business men of Mangum is George W. Boyd, Jr., who has been familiar with life in Oklahoma since his boyhood, and has not only witnessed with pride and gratification its wonderful development and growth, but has actively assisted in bringing about these marvelous [marvelous] changes of scene. Especially interested in advancing the financial condition of this part of the county, he helped organize the first bank of Mangum, and was its first president; in 1896 he, with others, organized the State Bank of Mangum, under territorial laws, capitalizing it at $5,000, Mr. Boyd being made president, M. B. Claunch, vice-president, and J. C. Gilliland, cashier; in 1899 this bank was reorganized as the First National Bank of Mangum, the capital increased to $25,000, and J. A. Henry was made president, G. W. Boyd, vice-president, and H. Mathewson, cashier. The capital was later increased to $50,000, and now with H. Mathewson as president, Mr. Boyd as vice-president, and L. S. Noble as cashier, is carrying on a substantial business, having $75,000 undivided profits. The bank buys and sells exchange, and is carrying on a general banking business, ranking among the solid financial institutions of southwestern Oklahoma, with deposits amounting to $401,699.96, and loans and discounts aggregating $242,482.23.
     A son of George W. Boyd, Sr., George W. Boyd, Jr., was born, September 12, 1859, in Coryell county, Texas, and was reared on a farm. His grandfather, Henry Boyd, a native of Alabama was a farmer, a slave owner, and a Methodist minister, preaching the gospel, and ministering to the wants of the needy and afflicted with out remuneration or price, his only reward being the consciousness of faithfully performing as well as he could the work of his Master. Subsequently becoming a pioneer of Coryell county, Texas, he continued his agricultural work in that place until his death, likewise laboring equally as faithful in the Lord's Vineyard until his death. He was a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and a highly esteemed member of the community in which he resided.
     George W. Boyd, Sr., settled in Coryell county, Texas, in 1852, began life. as a farmer and stock-raiser on a modest scale, and, following in the footsteps of his father, looked after the spiritual welfare of the people thereabout, preaching the gospel as propounded by the Methodist church. free of charge, receiving no pay for his services. Enlisting in the cause of the Confederacy, during the Civil war, he was in service in Arkansas, Missouri and Louisiana, and suffered with his comrades, hardships and privations which caused his death ere the close of the war. He married Elizabeth Bertram, who was born is Louisiana, a daughter of Thomas Bertram. Mr. Bertram served, in 1846 and 1847, in the Mexican war, and subsequently was successfully engaged in fanning and stock raising in Coryell county, Texas. . Mrs. Boyd survived her husband, and is now living at the old homestead, in Coryell county. She bore her husband four children, namely: Sarah, now Mrs. Fitzgerald; George W., Jr., the subject of this sketch; Elizabeth, now Mrs. Ray; and William W., of Greer county, a farmer and stockman.

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     On account of the late Civil war, and the early death of his father, the school life of George W. Boyd, Jr., was necessarily short. In 1876, a boy of seventeen years, he entered the employ of a large stock firm, by whom he was sent with a herd of came to the Cheyenne country, the firm taking a great risk in sending cattle to that wild territory, while the men and boys that undertook the trip had to be well supplied with nerve and courage. Buffalo roamed the plains by thousands in those days, and the Indians were ever on the alert for travelers of all descriptions, and the camps were frequently visited by desperadoes of all kinds, including train and bank robbers. Mr. Boyd passed through. Greer county when it was in its pristine wildness, with no white settler. He slept many a night with his blanket for a bed, and, although his wages were good, they scarcely paid him for the many hardships and privations that he had to undergo, and the serious dangers he was forced to encounter. Mr. Boyd made many trips north with cattle, but has made his home in Oklahoma since beginning his active career, being engaged in the stock business, in the raising, buying, selling, and shipping of cattle being very successful. He now owns a finely stocked ranch in Wheeler county, Texas, and has made much money in buying and selling farms in this vicinity. He held possession of his first Oklahoma ranch until the government surveyed, platted, and divided the land for permanent settlement. He then retained the amount allotted to the old settlers, one hundred and sixty acres, and bought one hundred and sixty acres of adjoining land, paying $1.25 an acre, and has from it improved a valuable farm. He has also fifty acres of land adjoining the city, and here resides, having a commodious and attractive residence.
     Mr. Boyd has been especially active in establishing various lines of industry in Mangum, having stock in a wholesale grocery; and in the Mangum Brick plant, and being a stockholder in a number of banks in this locality. By his own efforts, he has accumulated a handsome property, and has been identified with the development and advancement of town, city and county. He is highly esteemed as a man and a citizen, and is an influential member of the Democratic party, and has served in the city council. Fraternally, Mr. Boyd is a Royal Arch Mason and a Shriner, and a member of the Order of Eagles.
     In February, 1893, Mr. Boyd married Maggie Isler, who was born in St. Louis, Missouri, a daughter of Henry A. Isler, of Mangum, who has two other children, Louisa, wife of H. M. Mallory, and Albert. Mr. Isler was born in Germany, came to America, when young, learned the trade of a locksmith, which he followed in St. Louis until 1882. Going then to Hopkins county, Texas, he was there engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1891, when he came to Oklahoma. Locating land in Greer county, he improved a farm, and later organized a government postoffice at Delhi and served as its first postmaster. Since disposing of his interests, in that vicinity, Mr. Isler has lived retired in Mangum. He is a Republican in polities, and a member of the Presbyterian church.
     Mr., and Mrs. Boyd have two children, namely: William W., born, June 16, 1894; and Albert Border, born January 25, 1902.

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cont.

J. C. GILLILAND. Among the pioneer merchants of Mangum, Greer county, J. C. Gilliland is now at the, head of the Gilliland Mercantile Company of that place, personally and through that well organized establishment being an active and a generous promoter of mercantile, financial and agricultural interests. The American branch of his family was founded in Virginia, but was afterward transplanted to Tennessee. In that state J. C. Gilliland was himself born on the 30th of April, 1867; was educated in the common schools, and reared to agricultural and business pursuits. His father served in the Confederate army and was a heavy loser in slaves and other property through the ravages of the Civil war, but before his death he partially repaired his fortune and was able to retire to a comparative1y comfortable old age. The mother resides at the home of our subject.
     J. C. Gilliland assisted his father until 1891, when he removed from his Tennessee home to Mangum, Greer county, then a portion of Texas. Soon thereafter he bought a half interest in the mercantile business of Johnson & Hightower, the firm becoming Johnson & Gilliland. Although the county was then organized and Mangum was the seat of government, it has been well described as simply a "wide place in the road," being provided with no railroad and considered as an unimportant trading point for the cattlemen, with any kind of a substantial standing yet to be attained. Johnson & Gilliland's stock of goods was conformable to the place, but the cattle

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men proved good customers and as the country settled around the town, and Mangum gradually developed into an important community, the business increased accordingly. The firm continued a successful business without change until 1895, when N. B. Claunch was received into the partnership, and the capital and stock greatly increased. They also organized the first bank of Mangum, a private concern, which in 1897 was reorganized and incorporated as a state institution, with George W. Boyd as president and J. C. Gilliland as cashier. In 1899 Messrs. Johnson and Gilliland disposed of their interests in the bank, Messrs. Boyd and others increasing its stock and later organizing the First National Bank, as at present. At that time Mr. Johnson also sold his interest in the mercantile business, which was reorganized under the name of J. C. Gilliland & Company. The operations of the latter were so profitable that in 1899, Mr. Gilliland invested his large surplus in New Mexico cattle of a high grade, continuing his controlling relations with the mercantile enterprise at Mangum. The venture in New Mexico was not profitable, and in 1903 he closed out his business there as well as in Mangum, but in the fall of the following year he founded the Gil1iland & Cook mercantile firm, incorporated with a capital stock of $10,000 and devoted to a general merchandise business. In 1905 the name was changed to the Funderburk-Gilliland Mercantile Company, capitalized at $50,000, which continued for a year, when Mr. Gilliland purchased the interest of his main partner and reorganized the business as the Gilliland Mercantile Company. The amount of the capital stock remained unchanged. Since its reorganization the company has added a store to the original Mangum concern, which carries a stock of about $20,000. The annual sales of both establishments now amount to, $130,000, the business employing twenty-two people. The firm not only owns the two store buildings, but other property in Mangum; a fashionable resort of Dallas, Texas, known as the Hotel Cliff; 1,000 acres of land in Texas and 700 acres of farm properties in Greer county, as well as other scattering pieces of real estate. Most of the land is in the hands of tenants. Personally, Mr. Gilliland also owns considerable rented property in Mangum, and he deals quite extensively in real estate, much of which he improves. His own residence is commodious, convenient and modern. located on a fashionable street, and by word and act he has always emphasized his confidence in the substantial present and future of Mangum and Greer county. One of the most noteworthy features of his business career in that locality is the system of credits which he early established, which enabled the cattlemen and other good customers to make improvements upon their properties, and draw upon the future. While safeguarding himself, as became a good business man, at the same time he rendered the poor, industrious and enterprising settlers of the new country a lasting service, which hundreds remember with gratitude to this day. His firm also gave directly in the encouragement of worthy enterprises. It donated $3,000 toward the bonus which brought the Rock Island railroad to Mangum, and has contributed liberally to the establishment and support of churches and schools throughout the county.
     Although a strong and influential Democrat, Mr. Gilliland has preferred to assist his friends to preferment in this line, rather than to advance himself. He is a Royal Arch Mason, having filled all the lodge chairs and served as secretary for a number of years. In his religious faith, he has followed the family traditions and has been through life an earnest Methodist. He was married at Mangum, April 7, 1894, to Miss Ola Claunch, a Texas lady born in September, 1877, and a daughter of E. R. and Daily (Burlason) Claunch. Both families were honored Texas pioneers, the father being a cattleman who came to Greer county in 1884. In 1887 he moved his .stock to the Cherokee Strip, but upon the opening of its lands to settlement he removed to the ranges of New Mexico, where he still resides, successfully engaged in his life-long occupation. He still owns considerable rental property in Mangum, and his son, N. B., was the first white child born in Greer county. E. R. Claunch was always a stalwart Democrat, without aspiring to office; is a worthy Mason and Methodist, and in whatever community he has fixed his home has been honored for his moral and sterling qualities. His wife, who is living with her husband in New Mexico, is a daughter of Jonathan Burlason, who, with his own wife, resides with Mrs. Claunch, his daughter. He is now a hale veteran of eighty-four years. The Burlasons were early Texas pioneers, and well known members of the Missionary Baptist

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church. The five children born to Mr. and Mrs. E. R. Claunch were as follows: Ola, the wife of J. C. Gilliland; Tena, Mrs. Mynatt, whose husband is a wholesale grocer at Lawton, Oklahoma; Edona, living in New Mexico; N. B., the first white child born either in Mangum or Greer county; and Stant, who is also living in New Mexico. The three sons are all interested in the New Mexico stock business. Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Gilliland have become the parents of the following: Susie, born November 15, 1896; Verna, born September 21, 1898; J. C., Jr., born November 7, 1900; and Janet, born on the 3d of December, 1906. Mrs. Gilliland, like her husband, is a firm Methodist, and an enthusiastic worker in the church.
     James C. Gilliland, the founder of the family in America, was one of three brothers who emigrated to Virginia during the early colonial days, and spent the balance of his life in the Old Dominion, having in the meantime reared a worthy family to perpetuate his name. His son, James C., Jr., was .the grandfather of our subject, who was born in Virginia, and in his manhood migrated to Tennessee, where he became a prominent merchant and planter, and died as a fine type of the old-style southern gentleman. He was a stanch Methodist, and the following nine children followed in his religious pathway: Allen T., father of J. C. Gilliland; Thomas, who died young; Moody, a Confederate soldier, who was wounded in the service and returned home to die; J. K. Polk, now of Mangum, who for many years was succesfully engaged in business with his brother, Allen T.; Frank, who succeeded his father in business at Oak Hill, Tennessee; Batheah, who became Mrs. Wells and died leaving six children; Lima, now Mrs. High; and Emma, Mrs. Officer.
     Allen T. Gilliland, the father, was born and reared on a Tennessee farm, and passed the peaceful years of his life either as an agriculturalist or a merchant. He entered the Confederate service, and after a long season of activity and hardships returned home to recuperate. He was a heavy loser by the war, but after its close bravely worked out his salvation, and finally created a competency for his old age and those depending upon him. He was a Royal Arch Mason, and highly honored for his uprightness and faithfulness. He died in Mangum, Oklahoma, on the 17th of June, 1904, at the age of sixty-seven. His wife now resides in Mangum with her son, J.C. Gilliland. The widow is a daughter of George C. Williams, of Kentucky, a prominent planter and slave owner, and colonel of a Confederate regiment during the Civil war. He was a prominent and honored citizen of his locality, and died at his old Kentucky homestead (changed much for the worse since the ante-bellum days) at the venerable age of eighty-two years. His children were: Ophelia, Mrs. Wilburn; Susan A., mother of our subject; Rebecca, Mrs. Johnson; and Loretta, who became Mrs. Haggard. The children of Mr. and Mrs. A. T. Gilliland were as follows: J. C., of this biography; Mary E., who married Rev. T. J. Beckham, a Methodist minister of Texas; Robert E., a wholesale merchant of St. Louis, Missouri; Thomas H., a member of the Mangum mercantile firm; Lillie M., Mrs. Sutton, whose husband is a banker at Walters, Oklahoma; Maud, wife of Rev. N. B. Taylor, a Methodist minister engaged in the work of his church in Oklahoma; and Sallie B., Mrs. Goodner, whose husband is an Oklahoma City druggist.

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cont.

HON. CHARLES M. THACKER, a leader of the bar of southwest Oklahoma and a Democrat and public man of wide state influence, is a lawyer and honored citizen of Mangum, Greer county. He is of an old Virginia family, presumably of Scotch ancestry, and was born in Brunswick county, Virginia, on the 17th of January, 1866. There he received a good elementary education in the public schools and under private instructors. and was reared on the paternal farm. Excepting about six months' service as clerk for an uncle by marriage and a like period spent with a cousin not far away, he remained at home until his removal to Ennis, Texas, in 1885, and he then and there took a commercial course and received business training. In 1887 he secured employment as a bookkeeper in a law, land and loan office, where he also commenced the study of his profession. On June 20, 1888, he was admitted to the bar at Dallas, Texas, but continued his work as a bookkeeper for a short time thereafter, prior to locating at Garland, Texas, for permanent practice. There he remained until April, 1889, when he became a resident of Mangum.
     At that time the town was very small, and there was insufficient business in the legal line to fully occupy Mr. Thacker's time; He therefore first taught a class in bookkeeping. In

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August, 1889, he received the appointment of county attorney, and creditably completed the unexpired term in 1890, refusing to become a candidate for election. During the months of his official service he had formed a partnership with J. W. Craig, and their associated practice continued until 1891, when the firm was dissolved and Mr. Thacker became financially and editorially interested in the Mangum Star, a Democratic newspaper. At the same time he formed a law partnership with G. G. Eubanks, who was also associated with him in the publishing business. The combined interests expanded and prospered in a moderate degree until February, 1892, when Mr. Thacker was appointed county judge to fill a vacancy, and at the conclusion of the term voluntarily retired to private practice. The partnership subsequently formed with T. P. Clay, was dissolved in 1896 by the appointment of that gentleman to the probate judgeship, when Judge Thacker associated himself with A. R. Garrett, and the firm thus formed continued until the expiration of 1900. In that year the Judge was elected to the upper house of the fifth legislature of Oklahoma Territory, and at once took his place among its Democratic leaders. He was placed on several important committees, and acquitted himself with such earnestness and good judgment that when he returned to his constituents in 1900 they elected him to the office of county attorney. His service in that capacity was of such a nature that he succeeded himself at each election until the coming of statehood. He was not a candidate for the office at the first election under the state constitution, in September, 1907, and was succeeded by his official assistant. From early in 1901 until Oklahoma became a state he also served as a member of the Territorial Board of Education for Normal Schools. Through his signally satisfactory public career he has constantly increased his reputation as a successful general practitioner at the bar, so that he is an acknowledged leader of the new state. He is well known throughout Oklahoma and is especially popular in his home town, in whose progress and upbuilding he has taken an enthusiastic and effective part. He has a fine library, and is widely versed in matters of law and state.
     Judge Thacker is a son of William J. and Allie P. (Parham) Thacker, both of Virginia, where they were reared, married, brought up a family and died. The paternal grandparents were Robert and Emma (Gee) Thacker, also natives of the Old Dominion, the old-world ancestors of the family coming from England in the pioneer period of the American colonies and settling on the Potomac. Members of it afterward participated i: the Revolutionary war, and later still became the owners of large plantations and many slaves, but few of the earlier representatives evinced any ambition for public honors. Robert Thacker, the grandfather, was of this disposition, and died a quiet, unostentatious Virginia farmer. His wife, who also died in Virginia, was the daughter of William Gee, of an Old Dominion family, a large land owner, and of high character as a man and a private citizen. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Thacker were the, parents of one child, William J., father of Charles M. Thacker of this biography.
     William J. Thacker remained on the old Virginia homestead until a short time before he was married, and then assumed agricultural pursuits on an independent basis continuing a prominent farmer for many years prior to the opening of the Civil war. As a Whig he was opposed to secession, and, being within the exemption of the law as to larger slave owners, was not called into the service of the Confederacy until the repeal of the law about eight months prior to the close of hostilities. He then promptly joined the service as a cavalryman, but, although frequently under fire and always exhibiting his innate courage and although he knew his large estate in slaves depended on the success of the cause of secession he adhered to his antebellum declaration that he would never fire a gun or strike a saber blow in a war of secession. He clearly saw the end from the beginning, and at the outbreak of hostilities discussed with his wife the plan of converting the slaves into gold and burying the treasure, until the war was over, but they finally decided to sustain the anticipated loss, as they did.
     At the close of the Rebellion the elder Mr. Thacker returned home to reconstruct his farm and continued at his old vocation, under the altered conditions, until his death in 1897. He was an intelligent, moral and highly respected man, and his good and faithful widow, who remained on the family estate, survived him only until 1900. Mrs. William J. Thacker was the daughter of Lewis and Catherine (Harwell) Parham, both of Virginia, where she herself was born in 1832. She was a lady of rare intelligence, and a devoted mother.

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Lewis Parham, her father, was a. prosperous, influential and honorable planter, and died before the Civil war. The Harwell family, of whom his wife was a representative, has a wide connection with the agricultural, business and professional interests of Virginia, and for generations the majority of its members have been identified with the Methodist church. On his mother's side his ancestors were Democrats and favored secession. The children in the Parham family, of which Mrs. William J. Thacker was the third, were as follows: William; Mary Ann; Thomas; Allie P., Mrs. Thacker; Marvin D.; Mattie, Mrs. Lunsford; Ann, Mrs. Goodrich; Thomas B., and Ella, who became Mrs. Edmunds. William and Marvin D. Parham were Confederate soldiers. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. William J. Thacker were: Charles M., of this sketch; William P., died at the age of twenty-one ; Robert E., living on the old homestead; John R., who died at the age of twenty; Emma M., who died unmarried in 1904; Harry M., assistant county attorney of Greer county; and Thomas T., a medical student.

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cont.

B. FRANK SIMPSON. A pioneer settler of Greer county, B. Frank Simpson has been actively and prominently identified with its agricultural development and growth, and during his many years' residence in Mangum has been influential in promoting its highest and best interests. A son of Robert T. Simpson, he was born, September 13, 1859, in Nodaway county, Missouri, and was reared and educated in Texas.
     Robert T. Simpson, a native of Tennessee, was married in Kentucky, and was subsequently employed as a tiller of the soil in Nodawa county, Missouri, until 1861. Migrating then with his family to McLennan County, Texas, he carried on farming and stock-raising in that vicinity for a number of years, being quite successful in his labors. Coming with his family, household goods and stock to Greer county in 1888, he located a section of land, under the Texas laws, about ten miles southeast of Mangum. The country was then in its virgin wildness, but little having been done towards developing it. He was one of the first to fence his land and do much farming. Having a large amount of stock, he tried the experiment of raising wheat, corn and Milo maize, and succeeded in harvesting fairly good crops of food stuffs. He made no attempt to raise cotton until about 1895 on account of the absence of cotton gins and it being too far to market for such crops. It always rained enough to make good to fair cotton crops, but now, under changed conditions, cotton and alfalfa are considered profitable crops, and are largely raised by progressive farmers. When he first settled in Greer county. Wichita Falls, Texas, one hundred and ten miles away, was the nearest market for supplies, but later Vernon, but sixty-five miles distant, became the chief trading point for the Greer county residents. The inhabitants were principally stockmen, living from ten to fifteen miles but all were neighborly and friendly, and wide-awake, progressive citizens were potent factors in aiding the development and advancement of town and county. Robert T. Simpson was held in high respect by all who knew him. Charitable and benevolent, the latchstring of his door was always out; and strangers and wayfarers were ever welcomed at his fireside. He was very conscientious in his scruples against capital punishment refusing to sit on a jury that would take from a man what he could not give back. He united with the Cumberland Presbyterian church; when fifteen years old, and remained a true, and faithful member of that organization until his death, in October, 1891.
     Robert T. Simpson married Canzada West, a native of Kentucky, and daughter of Mercer West, who was engaged in farming in Kentucky during his active career, but his retirement from business spent his time, until his death, with his children, dying in Texas. His children, seven in number, as follows: John, Milton, Richard, James, Daniel, Canzada, and Mrs. Hettie Ferguson. Mrs. Simpson survived her husband, remaining on the Greer county homestead, and when the government platted the lands she retained her allotment of one hundred and sixty acres and bought one hundred and sixty acres at $1.25 an acre. She died in 1895, leaving three children, namely: B. Frank, of this sketch; James Horace, of Mangum, of whom a sketch appears elsewhere in this volume; and Emma, wife of Dr. G.P. Curry, of Wise county, Texas.
     Growing up on the Texas farm, B. Simpson remained an inmate of the household until about seventeen when he began the free and independent life of a genuine cowboy, being employed by cattle firms, until 1880 remaining in Texas. The firm for which he was, working then removed their stock to Oklahoma, locating in Greer

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county, which was then a vast, unfenced, open range, with cattle camps scattered here and there, usually from ten to fifteen miles apart, the few stockmen that constituted the white population living in dug-outs. There were at that time but few buffalo, but the Indians were numerous, and sometimes quite troublesome, frequently running off the stockmen's horses, which they returned for a small ransom, and taking young cattle to eat. The Territory was then a hiding place for those fleeing from justice, and highway, bank and train robbers, most of whom were social, genial fellows, often applied to the camps for work, and quite frequently were employed. Mr. Simpson made many trips to Dodge City, Kansas, with cattle, journeys fraught with dangers. It required courage and nerve to stay here in those days, but in order to win out it must be done. Never a quitter, Mr. Simpson remained, saved his earnings, and in 1891, embarked in the cattle business, on his own account. Meeting with encouraging success from the start, he leased from the Territory twenty-five thousand acres of land, stocked it with a fine herd of cattle, established and fenced a ranch, and continued there successfully until the government began preparations for the allotment of lands. Emigrants began pouring in, and when they desired land which he was occupying he would re-lease it for a bonus. His grazing lands thus growing less in extent, he reduced the size of his herd, in 1904, to fifteen hundred head, and now, in 1908, has about one thousand head.
     After the government opened up this section of the country, Mr. Simpson bought sixty-five hundred acres of land, not all of it being good for cultivation, and utilized it for grazing purposes for some time. He has since sold all but three thousand acres, and this he has divided with fences, having twelve hundred acres of it under cultivation, from it, rentals receiving a good income. His original homestead, one hundred and sixty acres of which he got by allotment, and one hundred and sixty by paying the government price, he keeps under his own management, employing a man and his wife to look after the house and assist him. He raises alfalfa, maize and corn, the latter crop averaging from twenty-five to fifty bushels an acre, and never fails to raise plenty of food for his stock. In 1901, Mr. Simpson moved with his family to the commodious residence which he had erected in Mangum, coming here in order that his children might enjoy the advantage of its superior public school system. He is a Democrat in politics, and takes an intelligent interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of town or county, but has never been an aspirant for public office, his personal affairs requiring his whole time and attention.
     In October, 1894, in Texas, Mr. Simpson married Mrs. Laura (Naudian) Train, widow of the late W. B. Train, a farmer, who died in Greer county, leaving one child, Olin Train. Her father, Theodore Naudian, moved from Maryland, his native state, to Illinois, settling on a farm, and there all of his children were born. Going in 1886 to Texas, he lived in Eastland county for six years, and then, in 1892, settled on land in Greer county, opened a farm, but subsequently returned to Texas, settling near Belcher, Montague county, where he remained until his death, in 1895. He married Mariah Lyerla, of Montgomery county, Illinois, by whom he had four children, Laura, wife of Mr. Simpson; Homer, of Chickasha ; Mrs. Leah Gordon; and Mrs. Stella White. His widow subsequently married for her second husband J. H. Trice, a well known merchant of Ryan, Oklahoma. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Simpson has been blessed by the birth of four children, namely: Irene, born September 14, 1896; Emma, born February 11, 1898; Frankie, born December 31, 1899; and John R., born July 9, 1906. Religiously, Mrs. Simpson, true to the faith in which her good parents reared her, b a member of the Methodist church, toward the support of which Mr. Simpson generously contributes.

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cont.

R. A. WILLIAMS of Hollis is a pioneer merchant of that place, and has long been associated with the development of the gin industry both in Texas and Oklahoma. He was born near Clarksville, Tennessee, on the 30th day of October. 1856, and is of an old Virginia family.
     Mr. Williams helped organize the First National Bank of Hollis, of which he was president, but since he has withdrawn and sold his stock. He is an earnest supporter of churches and schools, and a progressive citizen, generous of his time and means in the support of all enterprises which tend to develop the community in the right direction. In politics, he is a Democrat. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, also a member of the Odd Fellows, and in religion is a member of the Methodist church.

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CHARLES W. AUSTIN, M. D. Prominent among the leading physicians and surgeons of Greer county is Charles W. Austin M. D., of Granite, whose ski11, ability and thorough knowledge of medicine have won for him the confidence and good will of the people, and gained for him an extensive and lucrative patronage in this section of Oklahoma. A native of Tennessee, he was born December 14, 1860, a son of John Austin. His grandfather, Stephen Austin, the descendant of one of the more prominent families of Virginia, his native state, was of distinguished stock, among his ancestors having been men eminent in professional, educational and financial circles. He took the first American colony into Texas.
     His father, John Austin, was born in Virginia, began life for himself as a farmer in Tennessee, where he owned land, and was a slave holder. He took no active part in the Civil war, but used his influence in favor of the Confederacy. He was a strong Democrat in politics, a consistent member of the Methodist church, and belonged to the Masonic fraternity. He died in 1895, at the venerable age of eighty-one years. He married, in Tennessee, Jennie Lamb, who was born in Virginia, and died, at the age of sixty-five years, in Tennessee.
     The only surviving child of his parents, Charles W. Austin was brought up on the home plantation, and received his elementary education in the common schools. He was subsequently graduated from Hardin College, in Savannah, Tennessee, after which he taught school for five years. In the meantime, he read medicine with Dr. L. E. Covey, and later took a full course of lectures at the Memphis Hospital Medical College, from which he was graduated with the degree of M. D., in 1895. Beginning the practice of his profession in Lowryville, Tennessee, Dr. Austin remained there five years, and was afterwards located in Banner, Mississippi, for two years, in each place having a fine practice. In July, 1901, the Doctor took up his residence in Granite, Greer county, and by strict attention to his professional duties has here built up a large and constantly increasing patronage, his services being in demand throughout Granite and the surrounding country. The diseases which he has here to combat are practical1y the same as in other places, though, mayhap, in a milder form, noticeably in typhoid fever, pneumonia and diphtheria, while tuberculosis and catarrh are not native diseases, and seldom appears unless brought to this place from a malarial locality. The Doctor Has a fine reference library containing the most recent works on medicine and surgery, and has a finely equipped office, with every up-to-date appliance and instrument necessary in his work. He stands high among the leading members of his profession, and is a member of the Greer County Medical Society, and of the Oklahoma State Medical Society.
     Dr. Austin has great faith in the future possibilities of Oklahoma as an agricultural and business state and has wisely invested in landed property, owning seven quarter sections, or 1,120 acres, of land in Greer county, six hundred acres of which is in cultivation, this tract including six farms which he rents, the remainder of his land being good pasture, and accessible to cultivation. He has also good rental property in Granite, from his investments receiving substantial income. He likewise owns a section of valuable land in Texas, and sometimes, as an accommodation, loans money.
     In 1881, in Tennessee, Dr. Austin married Letitia Bevins, a daughter of W. S. and Nefosa (Ross) Bevins, both of Tennessee. Her paternal grandfather, Hugh Bevins, was born in North Carolina, of Welsh antecedents. He was a prominent farmer, and as a man and a citizen was held in high respect. He married Harriet Nolan, also of North Carolina, and they became the parents of nine children, as follows: W. S., Elijah, Glen, Milton, John, Andre, Eliza, Puss, Susan, and Amanda. W. S. Bevins was born in Tennessee, and there spent his life, being employed in farming, and also working at his trade of a carriage and wagon maker. By his first wife, Nefosa Ross, he reared seven children, namely: Frank, deceased; Hugh, of Tennessee; Filora; Hattie; George; Letitia, wife of Dr. Austin; and Nannie. By his second wife, he had one child, Willie. Dr. and Mrs. Austin have four children, namely: William B., a salesman; Hardy M., engaged in farming in Greer county; Lora W., attending school; and Frank D., a student.