-387-
(page 386 cont.) J. L.
TREVATHAN, attorney o.f El Reno, and member of the
well known firm of Babcock & Trevathan, is a native of
Paris, Tennessee, born on the 25th of August, 1871. His father,
who was a native of Tennessee, removed to Springfield, Missouri,
in 1880, and died in (387) that place in the following year.
The son was educated in the public schools of Missouri, and
later in the State University, from which he graduated in
law in 1899. During the year of his graduation he removed
to El Reno, and after practicing for about a year became connected
with the office of the clerk of the United States court. He
remained thus associated until 1907, when he resumed partnership
with Lucius Babcock. The firm Babcock & Trevathan
is engaged in general practice of the law, and has a growing
business.
Mr. Trevathan has attained prominence
in politics, standing high in the councils of the Republican
party. His marriage to Miss Carrie Matthey occurred
in 1901. His wife is a native of West Virginia, and the daughter
of F. G. Matthey, a pioneer of Oklahoma and Canadian
county.
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-387-
cont.
FRANK E. GILLETTE,
a brilliant attorney of El Reno, Canadian, county, and, for
several years prior to Oklahoma's assumption of statehood,
an occupant of the territorial supreme court, is a native
of Ashtabula county, Ohio, born on the 7th of January, 1848.
His paternal grandfather, Asa, was a pioneer of that
section of the state, and his father, of the same name, was
born there. In 1861 the family removed to Kansas, locating
at Emporia, where the father died in 1875. He married Cornelia
Fisk, an Ohio lady, who became the mother or our subject.
Judge Gillette obtained a portion of his
higher education at the State Norn1al College, at Emporia,
and after his graduation therefrom commenced the study of
law, being admitted to the Kansas bar at Hutchinson, in 1876.
There he commenced the practice of his profession, but in
1879 removed to Kingman, where he continued his professional
work and advancement for thirteen years, or until his coming
to Oklahoma. Always interested in public affairs, Judge Gillette
soon became a recognized Republican leader in Kansas, serving
in the lower house of the legislature in 1882-84 and 1886,
and in the senate during 1888. This creditable public service
extended over a period of four years. When first commencing
practice in El Reno (1892) he entered into partnership with
M. D. Libby, and they were associated until 1902, when
Mr. Gillette was appointed by the president as assistant justice
of the territorial supreme court. His services were of such
a satisfactory character to all concerned that he was re-appointed
to another four-year term in 1906, being also judge of the
seventh judicial district consisting of the new country opened
to settlement in 1901. The admission of Oklahoma as a state
cut short his term, and, under the new regime, he resumed
private practice with Mr. Libby. Judge Gillette is widely
known, in connection with Masonry and other fraternities,
and enjoys a broad popularity, as well as general respect
for his professional abilities and his sterling traits as
a man. In 1870, Judge Gillette wedded Emma Foster Brown,
a native of Ireland, and the following children have been
born into their household: Cornelia, now Mrs. M.
B. Libby; Mary, who became the wife of C. L.
Engle, cashier of the City National Bank of El Reno; Frank
E., Jr.; F. A., and Charles S., the last
named being the postmaster at Hobart, Oklahoma.
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cont.
DR. R. E. RUNKLE
has been a progressive physician of El Reno, Canadian county,
for seven years past, and during most of that period has devoted
his professional skill to treatment of diseases of eye, ear,
nose and throat. In these specialties he is among the leaders
of the state, and is to be particularly congratulated, since
success in this field demands unusual skill as a diagnostician
and extreme delicacy as a surgeon. The Doctor is a native
or Ohio, born on the 26th of February, 1878, being a son of
W. S. and Meriam (Evans) Runkle. Lewis Runkle, the
paternal grandfather, brought his family from New Jersey and
became a pioneer of Ohio, where W. S. Runkle was educated
and for years practiced medicine. In 1885 the latter removed
to Kansas, where, at Washington, he is still active in his
profession.
Dr. R. E. Runkle received his preparatory
education in the public schools of Kansas and at the Friends'
Academy, Washington. As a boy he commenced his medical studies,
under his father's tutelage, finally graduating from the Barnes
Medical College of St. Louis and for two years thereafter
being associated with his rather in practice at Washington.
In 1901 he located in El Reno, and for two years conducted
a practice along general lines. In 1903 he decided to devote
himself to diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, affections
so closely related as sometimes hardly to be distinctly separated
by the keenest pathologist. In preparation for his later career
he went to Chicago, and spent one year as a house surgeon
in the Illinois Charitable Eye and
-388-
Infirmary. Upon returning to El Reno he took
up the special line of professional work in which he has already
attained well merited prominence. In 1894 the Doctor was united
in marriage with Miss Clara Lowe, born in Kansas and
a daughter of Hon. J. G. Lowe, judge of the Thirteenth
judicial district of Oklahoma. He is an active member of the
County Medical Society (of which he is president), the Central
Oklahoma and the State Medical associations, Medical Association
of the Southwest and the American Medical Association. Fraternally,
he is related to the Masonic order and the B. P. O. E.
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cont.
J. W. VOGEL, the
well known architect of El Reno, Canadian county, is a native
of Illinois, born on the 24th of April, 1870, son of J.
W. and Mary (Hoffmann) Vogel. The father, who was, a native
of Germany, came to the United States when a young man and
died in 1886. The mother is a native of Germany. Our subject
was a sailor in early life, going upon the high seas with
only a common school education, but with a faculty of meeting
the world squarely and making progress in it. For a period
of four years he visited nearly every country in the world,
and on leaving the marine service held a third-mate certificate
on an English ship. Upon returning to the work of a landsman
he learned the trade of a carpenter, and, in connection therewith
studied architecture. Thereafter he had much experience in
various sections of the country, as an architect and a building
superintendent. In 1902 he located in Chickasha, Grady county,
where he remained for several years and accomplished considerable
public work. Subsequently he removed to Oklahoma City and
Shawnee for a short time, after which he resided in Los Angeles,
California, but soon afterward (in 1906) came to El Reno,
There he established himself as an architect, and has since
obtained, a large share of the business in his field which
naturally develops with the growth of a vigorous western city.
He designed and built the El Reno Opera House, and the Southern
Hotel, both architectura1 features of the place, and has also
constructed other buildings, most creditable to him as an
architect.
Aside from his professional prominence,
Mr. Vogel is a leader in the fraternal work of Masonry, having
reached the thirty-second degree and the Shrine, in the mysteries
of the Order. He was married, in 1907, to Miss May Carmichael,
a native of Indiana, and a daughter of David Carmichael,
who is one of the old and substantial pioneers of Oklahoma.
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cont.
H.
C. BRADFORD. There are few enterprises which promise
well for the city of El Reno, county seat of Canadian county,
in which H. C. Bradford has not identified himself,
either as a founder or a promoter, his activities having ranged
from the manufacture of ice to the creation of a beautiful
Opera house, which is a source of pride to this section of
the state. He is largely interested in cotton and in banking,
is a rising Democratic leader, and in everything which he
undertakes evinces a versatility, a determination and an enthusiasm,
which is so typical of the southern character. Like his father,
whose family traditions and home interests logically drew
him into the brave ranks of the Confederacy, the son is a
valued factor in southern life, but the younger man is devoting
his strength and ability to futherance of its interests in
a prolonged period of peace.
Born at Columbus, Mississippi, on the
7th of July, 1869, H. C. Bradford is the son of J.
W. Bradford, a native of Arkansas, where his entire life.
The paternal grandfather (also H. C. Bradford) was
an early pioneer of that state, and the family was well and
highly honored for many years. William B. Bradford,
a grand uncle, was military governor of Arkansas, and founder
of the city of Fort Smith. During his term of office he established
the fort mentioned, and named it in honor of his wife. It
was in the state with which, his family has become so prominently
identified that H. C. Bradford was educated. The public
schools furnished him with the foundation of his mental training,
as well as the preparatory institution of Professor Jordan,
one of the best known educators of Arkansas. Inheriting his
father's business ability; he early ventured into various
mercantile enterprises, at the age of eighteen becoming agent
for the Waters-Pierce Oil Company his jurisdiction including
250 miles of territory. This position of responsibility he
held for five years, with a judgment and decision which would
have done credit to one of long business experience. In 1893
he came to El Reno, and it was typical of his enterprise that
he should have embarked in an industrial field which is comparatively
new to the southwestthe manufacture of ice. His establishment
of an ice factory and his promotion of the enterprise have
resulted in the founding of the largest manufactory of
-389-
the kind in the state. He is a large stockholder
in the controlling company and also its secretary and active
manager. His ventures into the grain and cotton compress business
have also been marked with like success. The latter interest
is conducted by the Traders' Compress Company, which Mr. Bradford
also organized, and its operations are rapidly expanding,
while the business of the ice company has been so developed
as to include the output of two factories outside of El Renoone
at Weatherford and the other at Clinton. From 1904 to March,
1908, he was president of the First National Bank of El Reno,
and he is a joint owner of the Calumet, Sayre and Erick state
banks; so that he is a recognized financial leader in this
section of Oklahoma. Not only this, but it was Mr. Bradford
who built the beautiful opera house of El Reno, costing $31,000,
and really a gem of its kind. He is still president of the
controlling company, He has many other interests in the city
and surrounding country, but the list is of sufficient length
to indicate that he is one of the live, progressive men of
the state. His popularity, added to his practical ability,
has often prompted his Democratic admirers to request the
political use of his name, but his varied and expanding business
interests have thus far prevented him from acceding to their
wishes. In his fraternal relations, he is a thirty-second
degree Mason and a Shriner, and is a past exalted ruler of
the B. P. O. E.
J. W. Bradford, the father, was
long engaged in the mercantile business at Pine Bluff, Arkansas,
and was thus engaged at the outbreak of the Civil war. From
the first he was an enthusiastic supporter of the Confederacy,
and his service with the Jefferson Guards stamped him as a
brave and efficient soldier. In this organization he first
served as first lieutenant, and was at one time paymaster
of the army of General Sydney Johnston, with the rank
of major, and when that gallant commander was shot, Major
Bradford was bravely fighting at his side. For four years
he faithfully participated in every battle of his command,
and was honorably mustered out of the service as major, only
when the Confederacy had reached the limit of human endurance
and its financial resources, and laid down its arms as the
victim of circumstances. The brave and faithful soldier died
at the age of sixty-nine years. His wife, and the mother of
our subject, was known before marriage as Georgie Turner,
being the representative of an old and honorable family of
Mississippi. H. C. Bradford was united in marriage,
in 1900, to Miss Donnie Modrall, a native of Gainesville,
Texas, and to this union has been born one child, Mary
Louise Bradford, her natal day being September 13, 1904.
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-389-
cont.
DR. G. W. TAYLOR,
an able and honored physician of El Reno, Canadian county,
is a
native of Nacogdoches, Texas, where he was born on the 14th
of August, 1860. His father was a widely known physician,
who practiced his profession for many years at Hot Springs,
Arkansas, where he spent his last days. He had commenced his
career in Texas, where the son was born and mainly educated.
Dr. G. W. Taylor studied medicine in St. Louis, Missouri,
and Memphis, Tennessee, and graduated in 1887 from a professional
college in the latter city. He then joined his father at Hot
Springs, being thus associated until 1897, when he located
in El Reno, where he has since resided. The Doctor is a member
of all the leading medical societies, being ex-president of
the county association. He is county superintendent of health,
and is the local sanitorian for the Rock Island Railroad.
Since attaining his majority, he has been an active Mason,
and also since an early age has been a member of the Methodist
church South.
Dr. D. T. Taylor, the father, successfully
practiced his profession in Texas for a number of years, and
then removed with the family to Hot Springs, Arkansas, where
he remained in the enjoyment of a wide practice and a high
standing for a quarter of a century. He died in that city
in 1901, at the age of sixty-seven. His wife (nee Mary
Fall) was the daughter of a Texas pioneer who was prominently
associated with Sam Houston.
Dr. G. W. Taylor was married, in
1893, to Beulah Kirkley, also a native of Texas, and
the child born to their union is Horace, by name.
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-389-
cont.
CHARLES G. WATTSON,
the present postmaster of El Reno, Canadian county, is among
the most active and influential Republicans of the younger
citizens of Oklahoma. His father, George F., held the
postmastership for nearly ten years, and was prominent in
the politics both of Iowa and Oklahoma. Charles G. Wattson
is a native of Northwood, Iowa, where he was born on the 20th
of March,
-390-
1875. His schooling was obtained in Iowa, and
as a young man he engaged in the newspaper business in Texas
and Oklahoma, the family having removed to the Lone Star state
in 1888 and to El Reno in 1892. He continued his connection
with journalism until 1897, when his father was appointed
postmaster of El Reno, and Charles G. served as his
assistant until August, 1906. At that time the elder Mr. Wattson
resigned on account of ill health, and the present incumbent
succeeded him as postmaster, since which time the administration
of local postal affairs has continued to be maintained at
its former high standard. Since settling in El Reno, the Postmaster
has taken a hearty interest in its affairs, and was a member
of the committee which purchased the Oklahoma building from
the World's Columbian Exposition and transformed it into a
club house. He is a Mason of high standing, being a member
of chapter, commandery and shrine) and in the B. P. O. E.
is a past exalted ruler. His wife, to whom he was married
in 1898, was formerly Alberta Kensley, a native of
Pennsylvania.
George F. Wattson, the father of
the postmaster, is a native of Adrian, Michigan, and is descended
from an old English family. His wife, the mother of Charles
G., is a native of Illinois, and died in 1895, aged fifty-two
years. Mr. Wattson removed to Iowa when a young man. At the
commencement of the Civil war, he joined Company K, of the
Fifth Iowa Cavalry, and served throughout the war with that
regiment. As
a member of the company named, he participated in the engagements
at Fort Madrid, Iuka, Corinth, Vicksburg, Champion Hill, Red
River Bridge, and Jackson, Mississippi, receiving his honorable
discharge in August, 1864. In the following month he re-enlisted
in the same regiment, but was assigned to Company M, being
in action at Franklin and Nashville, and along the route of
the famous march under Sherman through Alabama and Georgia.
After receiving his honorable discharge at Nashville, Tennessee,
Mr. Wattson returned to Iowa and engaged in business at Northwood.
In 1873 he was elected sheriff of Worth county, which he held
for six years. He was also honored with the mayoralty of his
residence city, and in 1883 his Republican friends sent him
to the legislature as a representative of the Eighty-sixth
district. He came to El Reno in 1892, was appointed postmaster
in 1897, and since his retirement in 1906 has not led an active
life. In such retirement, he is highly honored for his useful
life, so faithfully devoted to the best interests of his household
and his country.
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cont.
DR. M. FITZGERALD,
one of the prominent Irish-American practitioners and citizens
of El Reno, Canadian county, is a native of Chicago, Illinois,
where his father also resided for many years prior to his
death. After receiving a partial education at St. Mary's-by-the-Lake
College, of that city, in 1861 he joined the Union army as
a member of the famous Mulligan's Irish Brigade, Twenty-third
Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He participated in all the engagements
of this fighting command, and in 1865 was honorably discharged
as captain of Company H. Captured in the action at Lexington,
Missouri, he was a prisoner of war for four months, or until
exchanged. His good service was chiefly, however, in the famous
campaigns of Virginia, in connection with the operations of
the Army of the Potomac.
At the conclusion of the war, Captain
Fitzgerald returned to Chicago, commenced the study of medicine
with Dr. J. H. Taggart, and finally graduated from
Rush Medical College. Soon afterward, in 1877, he went to
Iowa to commence practice, and remained in that state until
coming to El Reno in 1902. During the period of his residence
in the Hawkeye state, he acted as special pension examiner
under appointment of President Cleveland, and also served
as postmaster of Vail, for about eight years. His Democracy
was as pronounced then, as it is now, and his popularity has
always extended far beyond the limits of his professional
activities. Coming to El Reno, he at once entered active practice
and his professional standing was soon assured, while in 1905
his personal popularity was demonstrated by his election to
the office of county coroner, in which capacity he served
for two years. He is a member of the County, State and American
Medical associations, and, fraternally, is affiliated with
the Knights of Columbus. In 1880, the Doctor was united in
marriage with Miss Ellen O'Connell, a native of Indiana,
born of Irish parents, and the four children of their union
are Catherine, Mary, Ellen and Anna.
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-390-
cont.
HON. THOMAS R. REID,
receiver of the United States land office, at El Reno, Canadian
county, is one of the leading Republicans and public men in
Oklahoma. The son of Robert and Elizabeth (Campbell) Reid,
-391-
he was born in Illinois on the 16th of July,
1864. His parents were both born in Scotland, and came to
America before their marriage. The Reid family settled first
in Nova Scotia, where they resided for several years, when
their home was transferred to Pennsylvania and afterward to
Illinois. The elder Mr. Reid died in 1906, at the age of eighty-five.
Mr. Reid obtained the foundation of his
general education in. the public schools of Illinois and at
the State Normal School, but a short season of teaching convinced
him that his life work was to be in another field. He therefore
commenced the study of law, was admitted to the bar in 1889,
and for the succeeding five years practiced in Illinois. He
had already attained considerable prominence in Republican
politics, and served a creditable term in the state legislature.
In 1894 Mr. Reid removed to El Reno, and at once took his
place as an active and strong practitioner, also entering
the political arena with energy and ability. While it was
a territory, he served two terms in the Oklahoma legislature,
and one term acted as speaker of the house. He was also county
attorney of Canadian county for one term, and in July, 1901,
was appointed to his present government position as receiver
of the United States land office. In fraternal circles he
is a Shriner (Masonry) and a member of the B. P. O. E., while
in general social affairs he is popular and genial, and loyal
to his friends. In politics, he is respected by his associates
for his ability and wise counsels, and his opponents respect
him for his straightforward methods of warfare. He is a capable
official, his sound, legal training making his services as
head of the local land office of special value.
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-391-
cont.
REV. J. F. STILLEMANS,
in charge of the Catholic parish at El Reno, Canadian county,
where he .is doing effective work for his church, is a native
of Belgium, born on the 24th of February, 1878. He is a son
of Francis and Louisa (DeRaens) Stillemans, both also
natives of Belgium, where the father died when the boy was
an infant. Father Stillemans was educated in his native country,
completing his studies at the American College of Louvain
University in preparation for his anticipated work in the
United States. His uncle is the honored Bishop of Ghent, and
at the completion of his theological studies the nephew was
ordained to the priesthood at the great cathedral of that
city. In 1902 (the year of his ordination) he was sent by
his church into the Oklahoma field, and the first two years
of his priestly labors he acted as assistant to the pastor
at Enid. He was then transferred, in the same capacity, to
Oklahoma City, where he remained for a year. In 1905 he was
placed in charge of the parish of which El Reno is the center,
having as his associate Father Herman Feyen, a Hollander.
In October, 1906, the latter was appointed pastor of the church
at Manchester, and Father P. P. Schaeffer succeeded
him as assistant. As the spiritual guide of his present charge
Father Stillemans has met with gratifying success, which has
been brought about by his geniality, his ability and the practical
helpfulness of his ministrations.
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-391-
cont.
DR. RALPH F. KOONS,
of El Reno, Canadian county, is one of the rising physicians
of the younger generation whose efficient services are becoming
a part of the progress of the new state. He was born in New
Columbus, Pennsylvania, on the 6th of January, 1876, being
a son of J. R. and C. C. (Cortright) Koons. Both parents
are living in Pennsylvania, where the father was long engaged
in the manufacture of paper. This was also his native state,
his wife being born in New York state.
Ralph F. Koons obtained his literary
education at Bucknell University, Union county, Pennsylvania,
pursuing his medical studies at the University of Michigan,
from which he graduated in 1901. He then spent one year as
interne in the United States Marine Hospital at Cleveland,
Ohio, and in 1902 came to El Reno, where he has since established
a large practice and a fine reputation as a physician and
surgeon. During four years of this period he served as health
officer of the county. He is a member of the American Medical
Association, and of the state and county societies, serving
at this writing as secretary of the last named organization.
Among the fraternal orders with which he is identified is
the B. P. O. E., and his religious faith is that of the Baptist
church. The Doctor was married in 1904 to Maud A. Conklin,
a native of Nebraska, whose father is V. Conklin, a
resident of El Reno. They are the parents of one child, John
Redman Koons.
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-391-
cont.
ARTHUR T. MARCH,
cashier of the El Reno State Bank, was born in Saunders county,
Nebraska, on the 11th of April, 1874. He comes of an immediate
ancestry of patriots,
-392-
his grandfather, Jacob March, being a
veteran of the Mexican war, when, at an early day, he removed
with his family to Nebraska. The latter is still living at
Lincoln, at the venerable age of eighty years. His son (the
father of Arthur T.), was born in Iowa, and when a
boy was taken to Nebraska with other members of the family.
At the breaking out of the Civil war he joined the Third Iowa
Cavalry, and served with that command throughout the term
of the Rebellion. His civil pursuits were farming and banking,
the latter calling being followed at Weston, Nebraska, until
he retired from active business life and also became a resident
of Lincoln.
Arthur T. March obtained his education
in the public schools of Nebraska and at Cotner University,
graduating from the institution named in 1895. Prior to this
time he had obtained a foretaste of banking in his father's
institution at Weston, in which he was employed for several
years. In 1896 he came to El Reno, engaging in the insurance
business for some time, and also serving for three years as
deputy county treasurer. In 1904 he became identified with
the El Reno State Bank as assistant cashier, and in the following
year was elected cashier, his present office. His marriage
to Sarah E. Keay, a native of Nebraska, occurred in
1895, and they have become the parents of two daughtersSarah
Irene and Helen. Mr. March is a Royal Arch Mason,
is active in B. P. O. E., and as popular in the organized
fraternities as he is in private circles.
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cont.
RANDOLPH
B. FORREST, one of the old and able lawyers of El
Reno, Canadian county, and for years one of the most prominent
figures in the statehood movement of Oklahoma, is an Ohio
man, born in Scioto county, on the 20th of October, 1850.
His family is of the same ancestral stock as that of the famous
Confederate leader, General Forrest, and was first planted
in the Old Dominion. In 1808 the branch from which he is directly
descended took root in Ohio. The paternal grandfather, William
Forrest, settled in Guernsey county in 1809, joined the
American forces for service in the war of 1812, and raised
a family in that section of Ohio, which was a credit to the
community. He was a Scotch-Presbyterian, and died in 1857.
A son of this family, Joseph H., married Vanceline
Vance, also a native of Ohio, and of original Virginian
ancestry, and one of their children is Randolph B. Forrest,
of this sketch. In 1851, when he was less than a year old,
his father settled in De Witt county, Illinois, but later
moved the family home to Logan county. Here he enlisted for
service in the Civil war and served the Union for three years.
It was in Logan county, Illinois, during
the progress of the Civil war, that Randolph B. Forrest
was receiving his earlier education. Later he passed through
the high school, at Atlanta, and pursued a course at the State
Normal School. He also taught in Logan county for two years,
but, craving a more active career, engaged in the newspaper
business, editing and publishing, first, the Logan County
Journal and then the Times. In 1874 he commenced the study
of law under Beason & Blinn, of Lincoln, also in the same-
county, and, after his admission to the bar, two years thereafter,
commenced practice in that city. It was evident from the first
that he had found his congenial calling, and one in which
he would succeed, and in 1880 the strength of his private
practice was verified by his election as state's attorney
on the Democratic ticket. After filling that position for
four years, in 1885 he removed to Minneapolis, Minnesota,
where he continued in private practice until 1893. The latter
year marks his location at El Reno, and from the first he
entered with earnestness into the movement which eventuated
in the admission of Oklahoma ,to the Union as a state. In
1894-5 he was a member of the territorial committee on statehood
and represented the cause at Washington. Although a Democrat
in national politics, and held an independent attitude, and
never deviated from his honest convictions for the sake of
gaining a personal advantage. His stanch moral fiber has often
stood in the way of his political advancement. In 1900 he
might have received the Democratic nomination for Congress,
but declined to run unless his party would name its candidate
without going into joint convention with the People's party.
Prior to 1901 eastern Oklahoma had a great
preponderance of population and political power, and 1898,
although Mr. Forrest was strongly supported for Congress by
the western sections of the territory, he failed to secure
the nomination. In 1904 he broke with his party on the statehood
issue, advocating the single statehood doctrine, and regretfully
abandoned his political friends in favor of his conscientious
judgment, and
-393-
supported the Republican nominee for Congress
on the theory that no Democratic delegate could secure statehood.
As a lawyer at the bar he is also a victim of his honest convictions,
and, although genial, popular, scholarly and eloquent, throughout
his entire career the one eminent trait which has won him
the unbounded honor of friend and foe alike has been his unswerving
loyalty to the truth. as it became fixed in his own mind.
In 1872 Mr. Forrest was united in marriage with Miss Mary
E. Randolph, daughter of W. H. Randolph, of Logan
county, Illinois, and descended from an old Virginia family.
Domestic in his tastes, his sociability is broadly extended
as well, and he is an active member of such fraternities as
the B. P. O. E. and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
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cont.
GEORGE S. PEARL,
a well known practicing attorney of El Reno, Canadian county,
is a native of Perry, Ohio, where he was born on the 30th
of December, 1872, son of W. A. and Elizabeth (Studer)
Pearl. His parents were both born in Ohio. The family
lived originally in Virginia, the paternal grandfather, Lawrence,
migrating from the Old Dominion with his family and locating
in Ohio in 1820. It was an overland journey the entire distance.
in 1886 the family homestead was moved to Nebraska, where
the father engaged in the wholesale cigar and tobacco business.
In 1894 he located in El Reno, where he is now living in comfortable
retirement.
George S. Pearl obtained his education
in the University of Nebraska, graduating from its law school
in 1895, with the degree of L.L. B. In the year of his graduation
he removed to El Reno, and commenced the practice of his profession,
which for the first three years he conducted in association
with W. H. Grigsby, now deceased. He was alone for
the succeeding six years, and in 1904 formed a partnership
with W. H. Criley, the business being conducted under
the name of Criley & Pearl. Since March 1, 1908, Mr. Pearl
has practiced alone, the firm at that time having been dissolved.
Mr. Pearl is one of the most prominent members of the I. O.
R. M. in the state, and at the present time holds the office
of great Sachem for Oklahoma. He is also identified with the
Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of Columbus. On
the 23rd of February, 1903, Mr. Pearl wedded Susan C. Miller,
a native of Texas, and the two children of their union are
Mary C. and James C. Pearl.
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cont.
J. W. CLARK. A lawyer
of great practical ability, and since his coming to Oklahoma,
several years ago, keenly alive to its best interests, J.
W. Clark, county attorney of Canadian county, residing
in El Reno, is known as one of the stanchest defenders of
the rights and institutions of this section of the state.
He is a native of Adams county, Ohio, born on the 13th of
January, 1859, and is a son of John S. Clark, a native
of that state, coming of one of its most substantial pioneer
families. During the active and earnest years of his useful
life he was both a carpenter and a school teacher, and still
resides in Fayette county, Ohio. Early in the nineteenth century
his grandfather came from Ireland, being accompanied by his
brother; the latter settled in Kentucky, the former in the
Buckeye state. The mother of J. W. Clark was Isabel
Moore, who died when he was but a child.
J. W. Clark was educated in the
public schools of Ohio, and at the high school of Washington
Court House, Fayette county, that state. The death of his
mother, however, threw many responsibilities upon him at an
early age, and from the age of eleven years he virtually supported
himself, and earned the money with which to complete his education.
In 1878 he removed to Iowa, where he taught school for nine
terms, at the same time farming in Appanoose county. Through
all his struggles of boyhood and manhood, however, his ultimate
ambition was to engage in the practice of the law, and, while
earning a livelihood and establishing himself in the community
as a citizen of substance and true worth, he was patiently
studying and striving toward that end. In 1900 he was admitted
to practice before the supreme court of Iowa, although he
had been a practitioner since 1898. Mr. Clark removed to El
Reno in February, 1901, and has been a progressive figure
since that time, both in law and politics. A stanch Democrat
and a good campaigner, as well as a thoroughgoing lawyer,
in 1903 he was elected city attorney, and after energetically
and capably filling the office for about four years was chosen,
in 1907, to the even more responsible office of county attorney,
the latter, of course, being under the new state constitution.
During the first year of his incumbency as city attorney,
the Rock Island road was about to cut through the El Reno
cem-
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etery, but, in his official capacity, he enjoined
the company, and put up such a stanch legal fight that the
project was abandoned. In 1906 the Topeka and El Reno Telegraph
Company was purchased by the Pioneer Telegraph Company, and
patrons of the service were being charged a double price.
Through the efforts of the city attorney a close consolidation
was effected, and all lines were provided with one switchboard
operated at a reasonable price. These are but illustrations
of the close and successful attention given by him to the
public interests which fall to his keeping. Mr. Clark is also
one of the leading Masons of Oklahoma, having filled all the
offices in the order. He is master of El Reno Lodge, No.7;
is a member of Ascension Commandery No.3, serving as eminent
commander in 1907, and of the Mystic Shrine at Oklahoma City.
He is identified with the B. P. O. E., and in his religious
faith is identified with the Christian church. He is widely
popular, entirely trustworthy, able professionally, a broad
and useful citizen, and a strong member of the community,
who is universally esteemed for his high character as well
as his good works. In 1880 Mr. Clark was married to Catherine
Thomas, the ceremony occurring in Centreville, Iowa, which
was her home. Mrs. Clark was born in Kansas, but reared in
Iowa, and by this union has become the mother of three children,
as follows: Cora E., now Mrs. George H. Lane,
of Leadville, Colorado; Austin R. and John W.
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cont.
H. L. FOGG, probate
judge of Canadian county, residing in El Reno, is one of the
young, popular and efficient members of the legal profession,
who are performing such valuable service in the establishment
and promulgation of the laws in the young state of Oklahoma.
Like many other of its stanchest settlers, he comes of an
old southern family. His ancestors were Kentuckians, and he
himself was born in Montgomery county, of the Blue Grass state,
on the 15th of September, 1878. He is a son of Thomas L.
Fogg, an honest Kentucky farmer, and his mother was known,
in maidenhood, as Katherine Gillaspie.
Judge Fogg received his education, literary
and professional, in the schools of Kentucky, and in 1901
was admitted to the bar of that state. In the same year he
removed to El Reno and commenced the practice of his profession
there, and, with the other first officials of the new state
of Oklahoma, was elected to his present position. As a Democrat,
he had been quite active in politics, under the territorial
regime. In October, 1907, the Judge wedded Miss Blanche
Fryberger, daughter of W. E. Fryberger, a well
known pioneer who is now a business man of El Reno. By nature,
Judge Fogg is social and companionable, but his connection
with the organized fraternities is confined to his membership
with the Masons and the B. P. 0. E.
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cont.
R. S. TRULOCK.
The manufacture of ice is becoming an important industry in
the south and the southwest, and has been the means of bringing
relief and comfort to thousands of the citizens of these localities.
Both in sickness and in the common affairs of the household
it is one of the great blessings of modern society. R.
S. Trulock, of El Reno, is one of the successful promoters
of this industry, having associated himself in the work with
H. C. Bradford. Mr. Trulock is the president and active
manager of the ice factory at that place, and its business
has been expanded to goodly proportions. He is also vice-president
and director of the First National Bank, and has other interests
which are participating in the progress of the community.
R. S. Trulock is a native of Pine
Bluff, Arkansas, being born on his father's cotton plantation
August 11, 1868. The elder Mr. Trulock is still a highly respected
and leading man of affairs in the state named. The son was
educated in the schools of Connecticut (his mother's native
state) and Arkansas, and remained with his father until 1894,
when he became a citizen of El Reno, With Mr. Bradford he
established the plant for the manufacture of ice, of which
he is still the head. In 1891 he had been united in marriage
with Miss Joe Johnston, a native of Arkansas. Fraternally,
he is identified with the B. P. O. E.
Nichols. B. Trulock, father of
R. S., is a native of Georgia, and when about ten years of
age went to Arkansas with his father, James Hines Trulock.
The former became one of the extensive cotton. planters of
the state, but has been for years past chiefly engaged in
banking, real estate and other interests of a practical character.
His wife was formerly Marianna Phelps Lewis, of Welsh
descent, and a native of Connecticut.
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cont.
A. O. CROMER, D. D. S.,
is one of the leading members of his profession in Oklahoma,
having been a resident of El Reno, Canad-
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ian county, for some seven years. He is a native
of Troy, Ohio, where he was born on the 24th of February,
1875, being a son of Daniel and Clara (Fuller) Cromer.
His father was Daniel Cromer, a Virginian, who came
from his native state with his sire, Owen Cromer. Early
in life the boy assisted in the work of the home farm, but
as a man engaged chiefly in the lumber business, passing away
in 1889. His wife (the mother of A. O. Cromer) was
born in Ohio.
Our subject obtained an education of a
primary and commercial nature before he assumed his professional
studies, and finally graduated from the Central College of
Dentistry, Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1900, soon after his
graduation, he came to El Reno, and entered into an active
and lucrative practice, both his reputation and his business
having reached a high mark. He is a leading member of the
Oklahoma Dental Society, of which he was elected vice-president
in 1907, and is also identified with the Kansas Dental Society.
By his marriage to Evelyn Imboden in 1903 he has become
the father of Carl, Constance and Imboden. Fraternally,
he is a member of the B. P. O. E.; his religious faith is
Methodism, and his standing from every point of view is substantial
and honorable.
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cont.
W. A. MAURER. A
leading lawyer and Republican of Oklahoma, residing in El
Reno, Canadian county, W. A. Maurer is a Pennsylvanian,
born at Altoona, on the 25th of October, 1872. He is a son
of George and Eliza (McCartney) Maurer, the father
being a native of Pennsylvania, where both parents still reside,
the husband having reached the age of seventy-seven. The father
is of German descent, and the mother, of Scotch ancestry.
W. A. Maurer was educated, primarily,
in the public schools of the Keystone state, where he also
commenced the study of law. In 1890 he continued his legal
training at E1 Reno, and in 1893 was admitted to the bar of
Oklahoma, having then become a resident of Canadian county.
In the following year he was appointed assistant county attorney
under Thomas R. Reid, retaining that office for two
years. He was elected city attorney of El Reno in 1898, and
completed his term of two years to the complete satisfaction
of the public. In 1907 he received the endorsement of Republicans
as a congressional representative; in 1902 was unanimously
nominated for the legislature, and in 1904 was unanimously
endorsed by Canadian county as a candidate for senator. The
other county in the senatorial district, Kingfisher, having
a majority of the delegates the endorsement was unavailing.
Notwithstanding that the prevailing political sentiment of
the state is against him, Mr. Maurer is stanchly devoted to
his principles, and has served as a delegate to every territorial
and state convention of his party since 1894. In his fraternal
relations, he is classed with the Masons, being a Royal Arch
in degree. In 1897 Mr. Maurer was married to Miss Hettie
D. Evans, whose father, Neal W. Evans, came to
Fort Arbuckle, Oklahoma, in the capacity of a post trader
as early as 1864. In 1868 he removed to Fort Sill and in 1875
to Fort Reno. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Maurer have
been born two sons, Neal Evans and William.
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cont.
JOHN D. PENNEBAKER,
clerk of the district court and a popular and efficient official,
is a native of Scotland county, Missouri, born on the 13th
of July, 1868. His father, Henry Clay Pennebaker, was
a native of Kentucky who migrated to Missouri in 1853, where
he engaged in farming for a period of forty years. In 1893
he removed with his family to El Reno, and on a tract of land
twenty miles northwest of town continued the avocation of
his life. In 1900 he died upon this homestead, at the age
of sixty-nine years, and the property is still owned by his
son, John D. The mother, also a Kentuckian, was known
before marriage as Susuan Leslie.
John D. Pennebaker was first educated
in the common schools of Missouri, and before he really assumed
the practical work of life took a course in the Southwestern
Baptist College of Bolivar, that state. He then secured employment
with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Company,
afterward returning to the family homestead in Missouri for
the purpose of assisting his parents. Accompanying the family
to Oklahoma, in 1893, he continued agricultural operations
until his election in 1907 to the office of clerk of the court
for the Thirteenth judicial district. In 1901 Mr. Pennebaker
was united in marriage with Miss Anna A. Renfrew, and
there are three children in the family. Like his father, Mr.
Pennebaker has always been a sturdy Democrat, and prior to
assuming his present office served as treasurer of Valley
township. He is an active member of the I. O. O. F. and, like
most other citizens who earnestly believe in (page 396) law
and order, is a vigorous supporter of the principles of the
Oklahoma Horse Thief Association.
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CAPTAIN
T. J. MITTS, of El Reno, is an old soldier, a leading
Republican and a public man, and a fine specimen of an Oklahoma
citizen and a southwestern pioneer. Born in Iowa, on the 4th
of September, 1845, he is a son of James M. and Eveline
B. Mitts, his father being a native of Kentucky, who when
a young man removed successively to Illinois and Iowa. The
elder Mr. Mitts became a resident of Iowa in 1843, and after
remaining in that state until 1858 returned to Illinois, settling
twelve miles north of Springfield, Illinois, dying there in
the following year. His mother was an English lady.
Captain Mitts obtained his preliminary
education in the public schools of Illinois, and as his father
died when the boy was only thirteen years of age, from that
time he performed a man's work in the world; and from the
first he has always performed it energetically, faithfully
and ably. At the breaking out of the Civil war, when less
than sixteen he joined Company G, Seventh Regiment, Illinois
Volunteer Infantry, and was discharged from the service in
December, 1861. In March, 1862, he joined Battery F, First
Illinois Light Artillery, serving in this organization for
three years. He participated in the famous Sherman campaigns,
fought at the battle of Nashville and other engagements; was
wounded at Dallas, Georgia, May 28, 1864, and was honorably
discharged on the 1st of March, 1865, then only nineteen years
of age. At the conclusion of the war he went to Springfield,
Illinois, near which place for several years he engaged in
farming. In 1866 he married, having not yet reached his majority,
and after farming for a time near Springfield (as stated)
gave his studious and practical attention to mill engineering,
which he so thoroughly mastered as to qualify for the position
of master mechanic. In this field he filled many positions
of responsibility, but on account of the failure, of his health
he was obliged to abandon it. During this period of his life,
in 1877 he became identified with the state troops in the
suppression of the great railroad riots, acting as ordnance
sergeant for Illinois. In 1889, with health broken, he removed
to Oklahoma, whose invigorating climate and surroundings have
closely bound him to the country; and the benefit has been
mutual.
At the opening of Oklahoma, Captain Mitts
was ordered to Guthrie, and was on duty there until the territory
was organized. As a stanch and active Republican he soon came
into prominence. He received the presidential appointment
of special deputy marshal, and creditably filled that position
until the territorial form of government was adopted. In that
capacity, he had charge of the first grand jury which sat
at Muskogee, and on the opening of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe
country he took up a claim in Washita, proved it up and made
it his homestead for several years. While residing there he
was appointed a county commissioner by Governor Sayre, and
at the first election was chosen to the office by popular
suffrage. He was honored with a re-election, although the
only Republican office holder in the county, and was also
chosen chairman of the board. The Captain was a member of
the executive committee of the first Republican club formed
in Oklahoma. When in Washita he was also president of the
Free Home League of the county, an organization which exercised
great influence in public affairs of county and territory,
and did much toward passing the Free Home bill. In 1899 he
located in El Reno, and in the following year was elected
a justice of the peace, assuming the office on January 1st,
of the following year, and serving for four years. In 1901
he also received the federal appointment of United States
commissioner, and held that office until Oklahoma became a
state. He received the Republican nomination for representative
from the fourteenth legislative district in 1904, but although
he made a strong run, the defeat of one of his party was a
foregone conclusion. Although a faithful Republican, the campaigns
which he has managed have always been characterized by clean
and honest methods, and he has always retained the confidence
and admiration of his associates in whatever field of endeavor
he has been a factor. In 1866 Captain Mitts married Miss Amanda
Minerva Stratton, member of an old English family, widely
and honorably known in the United States. The four children
of this union are: Edwin Dewey, a newspaper man and
for years edited the Minco Minstrel, a journal of the
then Indian Territory, and now editor and proprietor of the
Okemah Tribune; May, now Mrs. J. M. Luttrell,
of El Reno; Richard T., who is en- (page 397) gaged
in western mining, and Jessie H., who is the wife of
C. L. Crum, residing in Montana.
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MISS KATE E. MEADE,
the present popular and efficient superintendent of schools
of Canadian county, with headquarters at El Reno, is a native
of Hyde Park, New York. Her parents, Philip and Rachael
(Murphy) Meade, were both natives of Ireland, removing
with the family to Franklin county, Kansas, where both died.
The mother passed away on the 24th of October, 1902, and the
father, November 17, 1903, at the age of seventy-eight years.
Miss Meade obtained her education in Kansas,
first graduating from the Pomona High School and afterward
teaching for a number of years. She then took a business course
at the Ottawa University, which was followed by a professional
training at the State Normal School, located at Emporia. She
then returned to Pomona, as assistant principal of its schools,
holding that position during the three years which preceded
her coming to El Reno. In 1902 she located in that city, and
was for three years principal of the schools at Union City
and one year held a similar position at Calumet, Canadian
county. She thus became thoroughly familiar with the conditions
and needs of the schools of the county, and her ability and
courtesy had been so manifest, that her candidacy for the
general superintendency met with a warm welcome. She was elected
county superintendent, with the other pioneer officers under
the new state government, assuming its duties on the 16th
of November, 1907, and her conduct since, of the one hundred
schools within her jurisdiction, has demonstrated the wisdom
of the selection.
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cont.
T. F. ADDINGTON,
the present postmaster of Yukon, Canadian county, is one of
the stanchest Republicans and most enthusiastic Oklahomans
within the limits of the state. He is a shrewd and popular
Indiana man, born on the 6th of January, 1854, son of John
L. and Nancy (Fansher) Addington. The family was originally
located in North Carolina, from which state the paternal grandfather,
James Addington, moved to Wayne county, Indiana, where
his son (the father of T. F.) was born. John L.
Addington was a farmer, a carpenter and an itinerant Methodist
preacher in that section of the state, but in 1858 removed
with his family to Kansas. He transported them by ox-team,
returning by means of the same conveyance in 1860. But this
taste of the farther west remained so agreeably with him that
in 1865 he moved to Iowa, where he died in 1878. His wife,
who was a Tennessee woman, passed away during the same year.
Postmaster Addington was educated in the
common schools of Iowa, and after farming for several years
went to Texas. This was in 1874, when he was twenty years
of age. He at once entered with vim into the life of the country,
scouring the ranges as a cowboy and joining Company C, Frontier
Battalion of the Texas Rangers. He remained with this noted
and useful military organization for about a year, participating
in several exciting scouting expeditions against the Indians,
in pursuance of the determination of the state and national
authorities to keep the savage marauders out of the state.
In 1889, with the opening of the lands, he located six miles
south of Yukon, returned to Texas and brought his family hither,
and remained on his farm in that locality until 1902. In the
year mentioned he was appointed postmaster of Yukon, then
bringing his family to reside in the city. Since almost a
boy Mr. Addington has been active in politics and since coming
to Oklahoma has served as a delegate' to nearly all the Republican
convention's in which his home locality was concerned. He
has been chosen county commissioner of Canadian county for
two terms, and in March, 1907, was honored with the chairmanship
of the committee which presented the resolutions to the El
Reno convention endorsing Taft for the presidency. In 1883
he was married to Myrtle Maxey, daughter of T. J.
Maxey, a native of Illinois but a pioneer of Oklahoma.
Four children have been born of their union, as follows: Macy
L., assistant postmaster of Yukon; Maxey 0., Luceille
and Arkie. The Postmaster is a member of the Masonic Lodge
of Yukon No. 22, and is also identified with the W. O. W.
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cont.
DR. S. S. SANGER,
of Yukon, Canadian county, a well educated and skillful young
physician of the modern school, is a native of Arkansas, born
on the 19th of August, 1874. He is a son of S. S. and Emma
L. (Bailey) Sanger, his father being a native of Virginia
who moved when young to Arkansas. From 1877 to 1884 he was
stationed at Old Town, Indian Territory, engaged there as
a trader. In the latter year he removed to Texas, in which
state he resided until shortly before
-398-
his death, which occurred at Yukon in 1904.
His wife was a native of Arkansas.
The Doctor obtained his education chiefly
at El Paso, Texas, and at the McTyiere Institute of Tennessee,
his medical course being pursued at the Fort Worth University,
from which he graduated in 1900. Prior to his graduation he
had been engaged in practice (on license) for two years at
Yukon, and upon his graduation in medicine settled there as
a regular M. D. Since 1898, therefore, he has been identified
with that city, both in his professional capacity and as a
wide-awake and useful citizen. In line with the progressive
members of his profession, he has taken post-graduate work,
having already pursued two courses at Chicago, so that he
is fully abreast of strictly up-to-date methods, both in the
practice of medicine and surgery. He has also performed the
part of a good citizen, by taking his share of the public
responsibilities, having already served two terms as a member
of the school board. He was married, in 1901, to Etta I.
Griffith, a native of Texas. The Doctor is a member of
the Masonic Lodge No. 22, of Yukon, is a member of the Methodist
church, and altogether a substantial member of the community.
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cont.
D. B. PHILLIPS,
cashier of the First National Bank of Yukon, Canadian county,
has been a strong factor in the growth of that institution
and its predecessor (the Bank of Yukon) for the past decade.
Although never a politician and identified officially with
the public affairs of this section, he has long promoted its
higher interests in his capacity of an earnest, intelligent
and influential citizen. He is a charter member of the State
Historical Society, and has always been a promoter of education
in every form.
A native of Kentucky, born on the 8th
of March, 1867, Mr. Phillips is a son of John B. and Martha
A. (Lane) Phillips, both Kentuckians. The paternal grandfather,
David Phillips, came from Virginia and settled in Kentucky
in pioneer times, and there his son, John B., was born
and reared. In 1889, the latter removed to the southwest,
locating about six miles southeast of Yukon, where he resided
until his death in 1897, at the age of seventy years. His
widow still resides with her son, D. B. Phillips, of
this review. The latter obtained his education at Liberty,
Missouri, and at the University of Oklahoma, and for two terms
taught school in Canadian county. In 1898 he became bookkeeper
with the Bank of Yukon, and in the following year was prom6ted
to the cashiership. In 1902 the institution was converted
into the First National Bank, the management retaining Mr.
Phillips as cashier; so that the substantial growth of the
bank, under its present name, has been largely due to his
energetic and judicious performance of his important duties.
In 1898, Mr. Phillips wedded Miss Clara Artt, a native
of Iowa and a daughter of Jefferson Artt, a pioneer
of Canadian county. Their five children are as follows: Lucille,
Daniel A., Dorace, Dudley Bernard and George Dayton. In
his fraternal relations, Mr. Phillips is a member of the Yukon
Lodge No. 22, A. F. & A. M., and in his religious faith,
is a Baptist.
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cont.
DR. V. KUCHAR. Educated
natives of Bohemia all over the country are becoming known
as among its most reliable, enterprising and useful citizens.
As scientists they are coming into special prominence, and
the medical centers of the United States, as well as the more
remote fields of practice in the west, are welcoming them
in ever increasing numbers and cordiality. Canadian county
and Oklahoma presents a fine representative of the Bohemian-American
in the person of Dr. V. Kuchar, a progressive practitioner
of Yukon. He was born in the historic city of Prague, on the
3rd of August, 1872, a son of John and Marie (Vysusil)
Kuchar, both also natives of that place. The Doctor received
his preliminary education at the University of Prague and
commenced the study of medicine therein, but in 1897 came
to the United States and completed his professional studies
in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1900, soon after his graduation
from the Kansas City Medical College, he located in Yukon
and quietly, but confidently, commenced the practice of his
profession.
Possessed of the racial trait of thoroughness,
Dr. Kuchar was not satisfied with his attainments in medicine
and surgery, and in 1902 returned to his Austrian home, and
at the famous clinics and universities of Prague and Vienna
eagerly pursued post-graduate work. On the 14th of August,
of that year, he also married a friend and fellow countrywoman,
Vilma Waraus, a native of Prague. The Doctor returned
to Yukon, and within the intervening years has established
a fine practice and a most honorable standing as a citizen.
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