Grove Beginnings...Part 15
By Rose Stauber
Remember that Sept. 17 was the big day that voters in Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory voted on big issues: for or against the constitution which meant for or against becoming a state; for or against liquor; and election of officials at all levels of the new state, if it became a state, from governor to township justice of the peace.
Obviously, politicking was going on all over the state. William Jennings Bryan, speaking in Oklahoma City, was quoted in the Grove Sun as saying, "I have read your constitution carefully," he said, "and I want to say that you have the best constitution of any state of the Union, and better than the constitution of the United States." He didn't mention that the constitution supported segregation.
President Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican, was having trouble with the Oklahoma constitution. What is more, the Democratic nominee for governor, C.N. Haskell, and the President seem to have had differences, to put it mildly.
The Democratic and Republican parties in what would be Delaware County were carrying on in the usual way: party meetings, speaking tours around the county and all the things that go on. The tickets, printed in the Grove Sun had different symbols than today. The Democratic ballot was headed by a crowing cock and the Republican one by a large bird, probably meant to be an eagle, with wings spread and a striped shield in its claws.
Locally, the only campaign smear that made the newspaper involved the candidacy of Cherokee Steve Peak for county school superintendent. The Grove Sun of Sept. 6, 1907, carried the following under the headline, "Another Campaign Lie Nailed." The story was from Southwest City, Mo., Sept. 2, 1907. "We, the undersigned are citizens of Southwest City, Mo., and know Steve Peak, and know him to be a sober and law-abiding citizen. Understanding that there is a report being circulated to the effect that Steve Peak came to our town and got intoxicated, we feel it our duty to say to the people of Delaware county that we have never at any time seen Mr. Peak under the influence of whisky, nor was he ever arrested in our town." The item was signed by the mayor, the JP, the city marshal, Nichols Bros., J.C. Yeargain Jr, D.E. Havens, Thos. Holt, C. M. Dunlap, and J. I. McNabney. The notice was very nice of the Southwest City officials. Of course, everyone knew that Southwest City had a distillery and that the town was a main source of liquor.
Steve Peak won the job of county schools superintendent. Before and after his election, he seems to have been a popular teacher around the county.
The October 4, 1907, Grove Sun carried preliminary results. The official results were the same and carried in the October 11 issue. A recent centennial article in the Tulsa World carried the headline: "In 1907 vote, state came in as liquor went out". The other no news was that the Democrats won most offices in a landslide.
In what was to become Delaware County, 1,200 voted for the constitution, 398 against. In the liquor vote, 858 voted for prohibition and 624 against.
The list of county officers began with George W. Hogan elected sheriff over Jeff Muskrat. W. N. Smith was unopposed as county judge. Ad. V.Coppedge got 1,015 Democratic votes to win the county attorney job. Geo. A Cox, Democrat, won as clerk of the district court. Ed West, Democrat, with 972 votes became county clerk over Jeff D. Sexton. T.J. Williams, Democrat, beat Dan Taunneacie by 982 to 569 for treasurer. For recorder, G.W. Fields, Jr., Democrat, won 1,600 to 551 over W. Fox.
Steve Peak's margin over his opponent, J.P. Butler, was 961 to 554.
The county commissioners, all Democrats, were T.T. Rogers, District 1; Tal Gray, District 2, and Dee Jones, District 3. Two Republicans won minor offices in the election of officials in the six townships.
In the state offices, L.B. Smith, Democrat, was not opposed and would become the first Delaware County representative in the Oklahoma Legislature. E.M. Landrum, also a Democrat, was elected state senator.
One of the new U.S. senators from Oklahoma was Robert L. Owen. The new senator was a Cherokee, and on the Dawes Roll. His mother began life in what became Delaware County. She was born Narcissa Chisholm, daughter of Thomas Chisholm, who was one of the three chiefs of the Old Settler Cherokees at the time they were moved out of Arkansas to Indian Territory. Chisholm picked an area directly west of Maysville for his home. He died in 1834 and is buried in a cemetery there. This is the oldest marked grave known in Delaware County. Narcissa wrote her memoirs which have recently been republished. Plenty of material is available on Robert Owen.
After the election, President Roosevelt announced that he would sign the Oklahoma Constitution. His personal opinion of the document, the president laughingly said, was "not fit for publication." All obstacles were now removed to Oklahoma statehood.
© 2007 Rose Stauber
Remember that Sept. 17 was the big day that voters in Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory voted on big issues: for or against the constitution which meant for or against becoming a state; for or against liquor; and election of officials at all levels of the new state, if it became a state, from governor to township justice of the peace.
Obviously, politicking was going on all over the state. William Jennings Bryan, speaking in Oklahoma City, was quoted in the Grove Sun as saying, "I have read your constitution carefully," he said, "and I want to say that you have the best constitution of any state of the Union, and better than the constitution of the United States." He didn't mention that the constitution supported segregation.
President Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican, was having trouble with the Oklahoma constitution. What is more, the Democratic nominee for governor, C.N. Haskell, and the President seem to have had differences, to put it mildly.
The Democratic and Republican parties in what would be Delaware County were carrying on in the usual way: party meetings, speaking tours around the county and all the things that go on. The tickets, printed in the Grove Sun had different symbols than today. The Democratic ballot was headed by a crowing cock and the Republican one by a large bird, probably meant to be an eagle, with wings spread and a striped shield in its claws.
Locally, the only campaign smear that made the newspaper involved the candidacy of Cherokee Steve Peak for county school superintendent. The Grove Sun of Sept. 6, 1907, carried the following under the headline, "Another Campaign Lie Nailed." The story was from Southwest City, Mo., Sept. 2, 1907. "We, the undersigned are citizens of Southwest City, Mo., and know Steve Peak, and know him to be a sober and law-abiding citizen. Understanding that there is a report being circulated to the effect that Steve Peak came to our town and got intoxicated, we feel it our duty to say to the people of Delaware county that we have never at any time seen Mr. Peak under the influence of whisky, nor was he ever arrested in our town." The item was signed by the mayor, the JP, the city marshal, Nichols Bros., J.C. Yeargain Jr, D.E. Havens, Thos. Holt, C. M. Dunlap, and J. I. McNabney. The notice was very nice of the Southwest City officials. Of course, everyone knew that Southwest City had a distillery and that the town was a main source of liquor.
Steve Peak won the job of county schools superintendent. Before and after his election, he seems to have been a popular teacher around the county.
The October 4, 1907, Grove Sun carried preliminary results. The official results were the same and carried in the October 11 issue. A recent centennial article in the Tulsa World carried the headline: "In 1907 vote, state came in as liquor went out". The other no news was that the Democrats won most offices in a landslide.
In what was to become Delaware County, 1,200 voted for the constitution, 398 against. In the liquor vote, 858 voted for prohibition and 624 against.
The list of county officers began with George W. Hogan elected sheriff over Jeff Muskrat. W. N. Smith was unopposed as county judge. Ad. V.Coppedge got 1,015 Democratic votes to win the county attorney job. Geo. A Cox, Democrat, won as clerk of the district court. Ed West, Democrat, with 972 votes became county clerk over Jeff D. Sexton. T.J. Williams, Democrat, beat Dan Taunneacie by 982 to 569 for treasurer. For recorder, G.W. Fields, Jr., Democrat, won 1,600 to 551 over W. Fox.
Steve Peak's margin over his opponent, J.P. Butler, was 961 to 554.
The county commissioners, all Democrats, were T.T. Rogers, District 1; Tal Gray, District 2, and Dee Jones, District 3. Two Republicans won minor offices in the election of officials in the six townships.
In the state offices, L.B. Smith, Democrat, was not opposed and would become the first Delaware County representative in the Oklahoma Legislature. E.M. Landrum, also a Democrat, was elected state senator.
One of the new U.S. senators from Oklahoma was Robert L. Owen. The new senator was a Cherokee, and on the Dawes Roll. His mother began life in what became Delaware County. She was born Narcissa Chisholm, daughter of Thomas Chisholm, who was one of the three chiefs of the Old Settler Cherokees at the time they were moved out of Arkansas to Indian Territory. Chisholm picked an area directly west of Maysville for his home. He died in 1834 and is buried in a cemetery there. This is the oldest marked grave known in Delaware County. Narcissa wrote her memoirs which have recently been republished. Plenty of material is available on Robert Owen.
After the election, President Roosevelt announced that he would sign the Oklahoma Constitution. His personal opinion of the document, the president laughingly said, was "not fit for publication." All obstacles were now removed to Oklahoma statehood.
© 2007 Rose Stauber
Labels: Grove History
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