Grove Beginnings...Part 16..More on Mayors

By Rose Stauber

We have established that the first Grove mayor was James Caleb Starr, elected when the town was incorporated in 1897. The next known mayor was John H. Gibson in 1899. The county history lists the mayor in 1900 as Simps Melton. He apparently was mayor at some point and perhaps 1900 was the correct year.

First, let's get his name correct. It was Simpson Foster Melton. Sounds much better than Simps. Like his two predecessors named above, he was a Cherokee. He was born in the Cherokee Nation in 1851. His father was Samuel N. Melton, a white from Bates County, Mo., who had come to the Cherokee Nation where he married Narcissa Monroe. She had first married John M. Ward. One of the children of that marriage was George M. (Monroe) Ward. So Simpson and George M. Ward were half-brothers.

Simpson married Isabelle Graham, daughter of William and Nancy Matoy Graham formerly of Georgia. She had married Thomas Murphy who died leaving two daughters, both married. The marriage of Simpson and Isabelle resulted in five children: Narcissus, George A., Rosa B., Maud M., and Simpson Jr. The family was enrolled by the Dawes Commission.

According to a biography in Gideon's History of Indian Territory, Simpson had been prominent in agricultural circles and operated a farm west of Grove. In 1899, he sold that property and moved to Grove while retaining 600 acres of good land south of Vinita. Simpson reportedly did not take part in business in Grove, but supported improvements for the town. He fitted right into Grove; he was a Democrat and his wife a Methodist.

The family seems to have gone West in later years. According to David Hampton's Cherokee Mixed-Bloods, Isabelle died in Denver and is buried at Vinita, and Simpson died at Boise, Idaho, at age 79.

The next identified mayor was William A. Walton who is said to have served in 1902-1903. Not much is known about Walton but he apparently was prominent in public affairs. He served as chair of the school board in 1906. In the sale of town lots, Walton had lots 3 and 4 in Block 19 which was on the north side of Third Street. The frame house on one lot was valued at $500 and two barns on the other lot were valued at $100.

The 1910 census shows a William A. Walton, age 76, widowed, with a nephew and a daughter-in-law and four grandsons. The adults were born in Virginia and West Virginia.

James P.Butler, is said to have served as mayor in 1903-1904. A classmate and friend of John H. Gibson at the Cherokee Male Seminary, Butler was active in affairs in Grove. He had lots 1, 2, and 3, in Block 31 on the corner of Cherokee and 4th Streets. A barn and a large frame house worth $800 occupied the lots. The county history gives Butler's middle name as Proctor; in other places the middle initial is "E".

Butler's obituary in the Grove Sun of Feb. 8, 1945, offers the most information found on this man. His parents were Rev. Elisha Butler and Dorcas Landrum. He had three brothers and five sisters, one of whom, Elizabeth, married James Crittenden, subject of a previous column. James married Nancy Muskrat. One son, James, survived of this marriage. Butler was survived by his second wife, Laura Inlow Paden.

In his early life he had served as a Cherokee Nation policeman. Later he was elected to serve two terms as representative from Delaware County to the Oklahoma Legislature. In early Grove, Butler was one of those who worked to build the Methodist Church in 1899 and 1900.

He had joined the Methodist Church as a young man. Later he become so interested in religion that he began preaching and continued as a minister until his death. The family home of the Butlers is on Honey Creek. Today the Butler Cemetery is the resting place for many including the Butlers.

W.H. Morgan was listed as mayor when the Grove Sun of April 14, 1905, gave the list of new city officials. The Grove Sun of April 20, 1906, announced that a new council was sworn in by the retiring mayor, W.H. Morgan. The paper explained that due to installing a new steam press the Sun was unable to get full particulars.

William Thomas took office as mayor April 20, 1906. Thomas and his family had come to Grove since the 1900 census when they were in Arkansas. Thomas was born in Kentucky in 1841, the son of Isaac and Elizabeth Thomas. He and his wife Susan had been married about 40 years and raised a family of nine children. On an 1885 census of Colorado, the family is found in Weld County.

Public service was something Thomas seemed to like. He had been elected to two terms as county judge in Kentucky and was elected and served as sheriff for a term. Thomas bought Lot 4 in Block 35, the lot on the west side of the Christian Church. It had a frame house valued at $145. The Thomases, husband and wife, died within four days of each other in late January, early February, 1919 and are buried in Olympus Cemetery. William's obituary says he had 40 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren.

Tom Witty, who grew up on Cowskin Prairie and spent his working years away from Grove, retired here some years ago. He is a grandson of the Thomases.

In May 1907, John H. Gibson again became mayor and served for the beginning of statehood. The council was concerned enough to inquire how statehood might affect the incorporated towns. They were told just to continue the march. Nothing changed their governments or ordinances.

© 2007 Rose Stauber

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

Grove Beginnings...Part 14

Crittenden Grave

By Rose Stauber

Some things catch your attention and make you want to know the answers. Such a situation is a lone grave in downtown Grove. It took us several years just to get into the overgrown lot where the grave is located. When I finally was taken to the gravestone, it was lying on the ground, but still in great condition.

The engraving on the stone reads: Electa Crittenden Born Dec. 25, 1835 Died Jan. 20, 1879. A verse follows:

"Her gentle ways will ever dwell in hearts of those who knew and loved her well."

For the record, Electa's son James gave his mother's date of death as Feb. 28, 1878, on his Guion Miller application.

Electa died at age 43 or 44, and those years were surely filled with troubles and sorrow known by all Cherokees during that period. I haven't tried to prove it, but she probably came over the Trail of Tears as a young child. She lived in Goingsnake District, probably in the part of that district which is now Adair County. Her maiden name was Hopkins. She married Henry Crittenden and had children. Henry died, likely killed, in 1865 in the violence of the Civil War.

Two sons, James F. and Charles W., and two daughters, Elizabeth and Jennie, would have been quite young when their father died. James gave his date and place of birth as Carey's Ferry, Nov. 15, 1863. The bereft family must have lived in what is now Grove when Electa died in 1879. The custom of the time would be for her to be buried near the home. Who caused the gravestone to be made and placed and when is not known. Did the two sons, barely out of their teens, if both were, have the marker placed? We cannot know.

We do know that the sons left the Cherokee Nation for a period, possibly going to Texas.
In 1880, the two brothers went before the Cherokee Nation Commission on Citizenship and petitioned to regain their citizenship. To explain, leaving the Cherokee Nation was to forfeit citizenship. The Crittenden brothers were again members of the nation. The quality of both parents' families was noted by the commission.

They appear not to have lived near each other after that. Charles told the Dawes Commission of being in the Choctaw Nation working around the coal mines. After his marriage in 1886 he lived in Checotah.

James came back to the home area where his father had owned land in the Grand River Valley. Mentions of James are found frequently in early issues of "The Grove Sun." He seems to have farmed, as did most people in those days, and perhaps had some business interests. He married Elizabeth Butler, daughter of Elowie and Dorcas Landrum Butler. One child was born to this marriage; Electa Crittenden was born Dec. 4, 1889. and named for her grandmother.

Elizabeth died Feb. 29, 1896, and was buried in Butler Cemetery on the south side of Honey Creek. James later married Esther Caudill who died Sept. 21, 1948.

James died May 25, 1953, at a rest home near Miami where he had lived since Esther died. The obituary, which has some errors, says James was survived by "his daughter, Electa Crain of Los Angeles, Calif., and several distant relatives." Nothing else has been found on Electa Crain. James' obituary says that he was buried in Olympus Cemetery, but we have found no monument for him or Esther also said to be buried there.

Jarrell Browning, who owns the property where Electa Crittenden' s gravestone is, grew up in the house on the property. The house, Jarrell says, was a Carey house moved in from the Patricia Island area when Grand Lake was built. Jarrell remembers that a man wearing a dark coat visited the grave over the years Jarrell was growing up. The visitor must have been James Crittenden. Jarrell says there have been no visitors to the grave since he was young.

There are more of these family graves in Grove. One child's stone is near a house in northeast Grove where it is being protected. The gravestone reads "Our Fannie" with no surname. The date of death is early 1870s. So far I have been unsuccessful in identifying what family this child belongs to.

In another case, two children's gravestones are loose near a house in inner Grove. Undoubtedly, other graves may be unmarked in the older sections of the town.

Copyright © 2007 Rose Stauber

Grove Beginnings...Part 13, The Grove Sun

The Grove Sun, the True Story

By Rose Stauber
The just past owners of the "The Grove Sun'" produced a flawed version
of the history of the newspaper. The newspaper is the best source for the
history of Grove and the people who lived in the town and the
surrounding area. I think it important that the correct story be told about the
newspaper. So here goes.

Some scraps of evidence of early newspapers include a copy of the
front page of "The Grove Cimeter", Vol. I, No. 1, dated November 25, 1898.
It was reproduced in the "The Grove Sun" of April 12, 1952. The page
contained no local news. W.N. Moore was publisher. Of him I know nothing else.

Another fragment of a newspaper was "The Messenger." The reproduction
I have of part of this front page was in the June 30, 2006, "The Grove
Sun." It is given as Vol. I with no issue number visible and dated Jan. 12,
1900. Another reproduction of the top half of a front page of "The Grove
Messenger" is dated June 7, 1900. It is Vol. I, but the number has
been cut off.

Then we have Lula Dale Duckworth Jones reporting that John Gibson and
Gus Ivy have started a newspaper. Nothing more is known of Gus Ivy. Her
report gives no date. The first surviving copy of "The Grove Sun" is the issue
of October 7, 1904, and is Vol. V, No. 32. The issue of March 3, 1905, is
Vol. VI, No. 1. When I do the math, it means that "The Grove Sun" was
founded in March 1899. These early copies carry a masthead with "J.H. Gibson
Editor and Publisher." The newspaper is printed every Friday at Grove, I.T.,
and a subscription is $1 a year.

Last year "The Grove Sun" began a new volume, Vol. 109, No. 1, on Nov.
27, 2006. The Sun claims it began publication in 1898 with an
anniversary in November. This would appear to be based on claiming "The Cimeter" as
the ancestor. I have no evidence to support that assumption.

In the biography of Gibson in the history, "Oklahoma – State and
People," we find this: …
"in 1889 (sic), he founded the Grove "Messenger," and was its editor
until the fall of 1904, when he leased the paper, and later, in 1906, sold
it."
The founding date is obviously wrong, and the dates of lease and sale
are not quite right.

These early copies of the "The Grove Sun" are found on Oklahoma
Historical Society microfilm. OHS has the responsibility for preserving Oklahoma
newspapers, and has microfilmed everything it could find. The Grove
Public Library has microfilm of all existing newspapers published in Delaware
County, and has a standing order for the "The Grove Sun" and "Delaware
County Journal."

Statements have been made that O.E. Butler (Orlando E.) founded "The
Grove Sun". That statement is refuted by O.E. himself who wrote in his
Indian-Pioneer statement that he was born in Siloam Springs, Ark, in
1880. The family, the father Henry M. Butler, moved with their nine children
to Pryor Creek, Indian Territory, in 1897. This was a family of printers.
They were almost interchangeable parts. At one time the names of three
Butlers are on "The Grove Sun" masthead.

O.E. says that he had some newspaper experience in Afton and then in
Southwest City, Mo. The 1900 census of Prairie Township, McDonald
County, was taken by Matthew C. Falkenbury, publisher of the Southwest City
newspaper. In his household as a boarder was Orlando E. Butler, age
19, occupation compositor. He came to Grove in 1905. The issue of March
3, 1905, stated that S.L. Tucker had severed relations with the "The Grove
Sun" and that O.E. Butler from the Pryor Creek "Clipper" was now the
business manager. He was listed on the masthead with J.H. Gibson, editor and
proprietor.

Gibson's name remained on the masthead until May 26, 2005, when O.E.
Butler was listed as editor and manager. Gibson's name seems not to have
appeared on the masthead after that date. The next change is more than a year
later when O.E. is editor and manager and S.J. Butler is listed as publisher
on the Aug. 30, 1907, issue. S.J. is O.E.'s brother Joe.

If the paper was sold, nothing is found in surviving issues about the
sale of the name or assets until the issue of Jan. 1, 1909. An item in the
usual column of local doings reads:

"Wednesday, O.E. Butler purchased J.H. Gibson's interest in the
printing materials of this plant. Consideration $650. We now own a plant
valued at $1500."

Dorothy D. Welsh is author of a hard-to-find book "The Butlers: A
Newspaper Family."
She writes: "Apparently, O.E. took over as editor or had a working
interest in the Sun before the actual purchase." Welsh states as fact but with
no proof that "Sometime in 1900, the "Grove Messenger was started by John
H. Gibson and J.T. Whiteside. Gibson purchased the interest of Whiteside
before 1901 and changed the name of the paper to "The Grove Sun" in
July 1901."
I find that John H. Gibson was, as both he and O.E. Butler stated, the
founder of "The Grove Sun."

In the July 12, 1934, issue, the Butlers marked the 34th year of the
Sun. It was Vol. 34, No. 1. Just when was the paper founded? The founder
made it 1899, the Butlers called it 1900, and the just past owners called it
1898.

O.E. Butler did spend most of the rest of his life with "The Grove
Sun", but he moved at one time to Tahlequah and at another time to Pryor.
His son, Owen L. Butler, became his assistant with the newspaper. Butler
died Aug. 5, 1948. After services in Grove, he was buried at Pryor.

Copyright © 2007 Rose Stauber

Grove Beginnings...Part 12

Election Coming


By Rose Stauber

The serious stuff that would lead to Oklahoma actually becoming a
state and stop being two territories began in 1906. Congress had passed a law
stating what had to be done before statehood. The key element was that the
state had to have a constitution written by elected delegates of the people.

Nominees for the delegates to the constitutional convention were made
on party lines, Democratic and Republican, just like now. The election of
delegates was held Nov. 4, 1906, falling right into the big gap in the
surviving copies of the Grove Sun so we have no reporting on local
events.
For whatever reason, the administration in Washington at the time was
Republican, or just the way it was, the elected delegates included 99
Democrats, 12 Republicans, and one Democrat elected as an Independent.

The Constitutional Convention convened Nov. 20, 1906, and worked for
months. The delegates eventually came out with a preliminary report.
This called for an election to be set for Sept. 17, 1907, at which voters
would face four matters:

1. For or against state-wide prohibition, meaning yes or no on
liquor.
2. For or against adoption of the constitution.
3. Vote on state, district, and county officers.
4. Vote on township officers and representatives to Congress.

The local parties went into high gear. Both Democrats and Republicans

organized and elected precinct members, and delegates to their party's
state
conventions. The July 12, 1907, Grove Sun is full of the goings-on.
Note
that these activities were carried on using the boundaries of what
would be Delaware County.

This might be a good time to explain the political townships in
Delaware County. Political townships have nothing to do with geographic
townships which are laid out by the U.S. Geographical Survey. All counties have
townships, except Louisiana which has parishes, which are political
subdivisions and generally speaking, these townships are named, such as

Prairie Township, etc. Not in Delaware County. The political
townships are numbered, always have been. Take an outline of Delaware County, draw a line straight down the middle. Now draw two east-west lines dividing the
area into six about equal parts. Beginning at the southwest corner of the
county, number the townships beginning with 1 and 2 in the south, 3 and
4 in the middle, and 5 and 6 in the north. Grove sits on the western edge
of Twp. 6. and is mostly located in geographic Twp. 24 Range 24. Each
political township in Delaware County has about four geographic
townships.

Just to throw in a bit more of what happened during the process. As
first laid out, all of the four townships 25 across the top of the county
were in Delaware County. Ottawa County apparently raised enough ruckus that
the top row of sections in those townships were taken from Delaware County and
assigned to Ottawa County. Officers to be elected in each township
included a trustee, a clerk, treasurer, justices of the peace, and constables.

The Grove Sun of July 12, 1907, carries the ticket for the Democrats
elected at the primary June 8, 1907. The nominees were: for U.S.
Senator, Col. Robert L. Owen and T.P. Gore: for Governor, C.N. Haskell; for
State Senator, W.H. Doherty; Judge First District, John N. Pitchford; Justice
Supreme Court, John B. Turner; Congress Third District, Jas. S.
Davenport; Railway and Corporation Commissioner, JJ. McAlester; Representative,
Delaware County, Capt. L. B. Smith; County Judge, Wilson N. Smith;
County Attorney, Ad V. Coppedge; Clerk District Court, Geo. A. Cox; County
Clerk, Ed West; County Treasurer, T.J. Williams; County Sheriff, G. W. Hogan;

County Surveyor, D.A. Smith; County Commissioner, No. 3, T.T. Rogers;
Trustee, No. 3, C.W. Foley; Constable, Twp. 24-24, C.L. Merrill.

The county Republicans met with James P. Butler as chairman and
proceeded to elect delegates to the Republican state and congressional
conventions. T.S. Remsen was the Grove delegate to the state convention.

Capt. L. B. Smith, Democratic nominee for state representative, lived
on the Line Road, the road out on Cowskin Prairie that separated Missouri
from the Territory. He had served from Georgia in the Civil War, and
probably the title, "Captain," was no more correct that when applied to T.S.
Remsen. L.B. Smith may have served as a lieutenant. Retired soldiers seemed
to acquire these honorary titles. However, L.B. Smith was another leader.
A white, he married Florence Perry, a Cherokee, and they came west soon
after the Civil War with both his and her parents. He taught school in
Southwest City for a time, then went into farming, and later established
Fairland. He was elected to the Cherokee Nation Council before becoming the first
representative from Delaware County to the Oklahoma legislature.

The next step in this process will be the state-wide election Sept.
17. Watch this space for full information on election results.

Meanwhile, a few notes of interest:

"The new circle seats for the M.E. Church of this city, were received
Monday and duly installed during the week. The ladies of that place of
worship united and put in the day Monday cleaning the interior part of
the church, and from now on it will be a $5 fine for anyone to spit upon
the floor."

"I. Goodwin, the contractor, has completed concrete walk in front of
Forbes Med. Co., and we confess that is the hot stuff. The appearance
of that corner now looms up like a morning star, and we are anxious to see
more of these concrete walks constructed in this city."

"The dog owners of Grove are hereby notified that the dog tax is past
due."


Copyright ©1907 Rose Stauber

Grove Beginnings...Part 11

By Rose Stauber

Nothing beats proof when you are telling a story, and I have proof that
John
H. Gibson was elected mayor of Grove in 1899. Remember that we don't
have
the newspaper record. But an official record fell into my hands while
I was
copying a Dawes Commission application for someone. The commission was

pretty sticky about having marriage records which is how this record
ended
up in the Dawes file.

Seems that W.M. Fields and Miss Sally Lauean (?), both of Fairland,
wanted
to get married. This was 1899, and the only place anyone, white or
Indian,
could get a marriage license in the Territory was from the Northern
District
Court at Vinita. So William and Sally got their license and then asked
John
H. Gibson to marry them. Gibson filled in the Certificate of Marriage
by
writing "John H.Gibson Mayor for the Incorporated Town of Grove I.T."
He
proceeded to conduct the rites and publish the Banns of Matrimony. The
date
was July 16, 1899. Gibson signed his name and repeated "Mayor for
etc."

We probably need to have a footnote when we call John Gibson the
second
mayor.
Remember that J.C. Starr appears to have left office early. However,
there
is information that the major and council were elected annually.

John Gibson and his biographers say that he served four terms as mayor
of
Grove. We know he was elected again in 1907, the statehood year. This

service was only a part of a long career of service to his community.

Gibson was born in 1861 in Rusk Co., Texas, where his mother's family
had
gone to avoid the dangers of the conflict in the Cherokee Nation
between the
Treaty Party, to which the Bell family belonged, and the Ross party.
His
mother, Nancy Abigail Bell, daughter of John A. Bell and Betsy Harnage,
grew
up in Rusk County where she married Quinton K. Gibson, a white
Georgian.
His father was serving in a Texas unit in the Civil War and was killed
in
1864.

Nancy Gibson had a daughter, Rosa. The mother with her
two
children returned to Indian Territory on Feb. 17, 1872, according to
John.
Nancy Gibson married James E. Harlin. Nancy is the one who cooked the
wedding dinner for the Remsens. The Harlins had five children of whom
one
died young. John and Rosa, who married Robert Wann, seem to have
remained
close all their lives.

John entered the Cherokee Male Seminary at Tahlequah in 1878, at
least
that is the first time he was on the Honor Roll carried in the
"Cherokee
Advocate." The 1880 census lists John by himself with the remark, "At
the
Male Seminary going to school." Also from the "Advocate" in 1882, we
are
told that the Cherokee Debating Society had reorganized and elected new

officers to include John Gibson as vice-president, and his friend, John
E.
Butler, as critic.

About this time, according to one account, John dropped out of school
for
lack of money and sought a job teaching. He taught some years
including at
Olympus School in 1884. Also John began working his own farm. On July
8,
1886, he married Ary T. Sturdivant, daughter of Martin and Matilda
Sturdivant who lived nearby.

Not long after Remsen got the post office, Gibson started a small
store.
For years he was continuously involved with the growing town, partner
in
businesses and taking an active role. In addition to his service as
mayor,
he was continuously on the council. In a dispute over some of the
council
members paying taxes in 1906, John Gibson was appointed to investigate
and
resolve the problem. Just how it came out is not known because of the
missing gap in the newspaper.

John's first political efforts beyond Grove were with the Cherokee
Nation.
He was elected to the Cherokee legislature in 1897 and again in 1903
and was
chosen speaker of the lower house and served in that position until
tribal
government was dissolved in 1905.

John Gibson may have been to school on winning elections according to
the
following extract from an Indian-Pioneer Interview with E. Lee Brown
who
said this:

"One year while I was in Grove, Mr. Gibson, my employer, ran for the
Cherokee Senate which met in Tahlequah, the capital of the Cherokee
Nation.
Those were perilous times. The man who could pass out the most whiskey

usually got the most votes. Mr. Gibson and I went back in the
mountains and
took a barrel of 'firewater' to the Indians. On the voting day I stood

outside the door and voted for these full blood Indians. We had no
booths
in which to vote. We would hold the ballot against the building and
mark
it. Mr. Gibson won."

I have been told similar stories about voting in much more recent
times in
Delaware County.

John was a member of the sixth and seventh Oklahoma legislatures. He
was
elected county commissioner for two terms.

At home, he had his sorrows. In 1904, Ary died. The obituary ran
right
under the masthead of the Grove Sun, John H. Gibson, Editor and
Proprietor.
The next year, the youngest daughter, Hudnall, had her clothes catch on

fire. She did not survive. The Grove Sun carried the sorrowful story.
Now
in Olympus Cemetery were the graves of the mother and three small
daughters.
Five children of the marriage survived: Quinton, Mattie B., Mary L.,

Jennie C., and John L.

John Gibson married Mrs. Mattie McDonald June 16, 1906. Three
children
were born of this marriage: Nannie A., Paul W., and Charles Obediah.

John Gibson and his family had lived in various houses around Grove,
but
about 1911, he bought Arwood Springs which was on the west side of
town.
Today you would take State Park Road. The land had been owned by
Wilson
Suagee, and the Suagee Cemetery, or what remains of it, is still there.
It
was where Gibson would spend the rest of his life.

In a letter to Rosa in April 1939, he wrote, "The damn water will
cover
all of our good land here and on Honey Creek. They have not yet made
me a
bid on the land taken. We hate to be compelled to give up our home,
but
will have to do so."

"I look forward to your coming with great pleasure for I know I am
to you
what you are to me, an unbroken line of LOVE and Sunshine."

John H. Gibson died April 13, 1940. His long-time friend James E.
Butler
took part in the services. The Masonic Lodge conducted graveside
services
for the last charter member of the lodge. He is buried beside Ary.


Copyright © 2007 Rose Stauber

Schools History Book Now on Sale

The Delaware County Genealogical Society announces pre-publication sales of the book "The History of Schools in Delaware County, Oklahoma." The pre-publication price of $15 is good through Labor Day weekend. After that date the price will be $22.

The book is a reprint of the book prepared and published under the last
county school superintendent, Bessie Duggan, in 1986. The new version
is a hefty 270 pages with 133 photos reproduced using the latest techniques.

Some of the photos are the same as some in the original book. Other
photos are entirely new.

A 37-page index has been added to make searching the book much easier.
Two brief appendices have been added. The first provides more information
on Cherokee schools, and the second gives a roundup of WPA projects for
the schools.

The third appendix is a roster of the graduates of the Grove High
School from 1916- 1986.

The book is an invaluable tool today for those seeking information
about communities and families as the schools were the center of the
community.
Schools often served double duty as places of worship.

Those wanting to buy a copy at the pre-publication price can contact
the society by email at dcgsinc@hotmail.com. Please put "School Book" in
the subject line. By mail, the society address is DCGS--School book, 1140
NEO Loop, Grove, Oklahoma 74344.

Order forms can be picked up at the Grove Public Library. The order
form will be on the society's website in the near future.

To order, complete the form and return it to the society with cash,
check, or money order for the required amount. Purchases in Oklahoma must
include sales tax of $1.32. For purchases to be mailed, include $4 for S&H.
Buyers can pick up their purchases at the Grove Public Library or have them
mailed.
Pickup dates will be announced, but the books are expected to be
available about Labor Day.

Grove Beginnings...Part 10

By Rose Stauber
A Grove Snapshot

In June 1900 the federal census came to Indian Territory for the first
time. Well, in 1860, a census taker had wandered in and taken a census
of whites only. And he included the slave schedule so that if you want
to know who owned slaves on the eve of the Civil War, that record is
available.
The only names are of the owners. Each slave is listed by sex, age,
and color. Just to make sure who the census taker was enumerating, after
the name John Ross, he added, "Chief of the Cherokees".

Now it is 40 years later and everyone is to be counted on the census.
Of course, this was indicative of the plan for Indian Territory to become
part of the United States. For those who don't remember, the federal census
is taken every ten years in years ending in zero. They are numbered
beginning with the first census in 1790. The 1900 census is the twelfth census.
For anyone who doesn't know why the census is taken, it is required by the
Constitution in order to determine each state's representation in
Congress.
But since the government is taking a census, it is used to provide
information on various things. The 1900 census is very informative,
asking month and year of birth, number of years married, and how many children
a woman had given birth to and how many were living at the time of the
census.
Always important, it asked the place of birth of the person and of
the person's mother and father. Three questions about immigration were
asked.

The 1900 census and the 1910 census had two schedules, one for the
general population and one for Indians. The Indian schedule added a number of
questions such as tribe, degree of white blood, whether living in a
fixed or movable dwelling and whether living in polygamy. Keep in mind that the
Dawes Commission was enrolling the Cherokee Nation at the time the 1900
census was being taken.

The census date was June 1, meaning each family was to be recorded as
to their status on that date. Children born later did not go on the
census and persons alive on June 1 were to be on the census even though they might
have died before the census taker arrived. That is why the census is a
snapshot.

The date was June 28 when Grove pharmacist Oliver F. Mason began recording
the town, those living in the 200 acres of the original plat. The
township is listed as Township 24 N R 24 East. The town is listed as
"Incorporated Town of Grove". The page number is 110A, Microfilm T-623-1843. It is
available at the Grove Public Library, online, and in major libraries
and archives.

The big question – how many people lived in Grove in 1900? I count
234 on the white schedule and 80 on the Indian Schedule for a total of 314.
Not all 80 on the Indian schedule were Indians. Of the 18 households,
eleven were mixed marriages. W.P. Mayes' boarding house, which Lula Dale
Duckworth Jones praised, had eight boarders, all white. Three other boarders,
including two with Letha Tabler, were white.

One might conclude that the town had a disproportionate number of
whites. Actually, for Indian Territory as a whole, the census found that whites
outnumbered Indians five to one.

Occupations covered what would be expected in a town: at least ten
merchants of various kinds. They included Tredwell Remsen and John
H. Gibson, and about as many salesmen.

Jasper Cal Holland, Henry Thompson, and Cephus J. Wells were listed
as physicians. Andrew H. Emery was a lawyer, Robert Pickens was listed as
dental surgeon. Two druggists and a chemist were listed including the
census taker.

Two were listed as restaurant keepers; two, including Mayes, as
keeping hotel/boarding houses. There was a barber, a freighter, a money
loaner, and two pool hall keepers, Allie Whitley and Haywood Thomason. Skills
found in town were carpenters, a brick and tile worker, printer, watch repairer,
two blacksmiths, stone masons, manager of a threshing machine, harness
maker, and an engineer stationary. Strangely, three heads of household listed
their occupation as lead miners. The manager of the mill was Walter
Doherty, a Cherokee.

The postmaster, as we learned earlier, was George P. Dibble. The one
banker listed was David Fink. John L. Brown was the one minister
listed.

The whites had come to Indian Territory primarily from adjoining
Missouri and Arkansas, but also from Ohio, Kentucky, Kansas, Illinois, Iowa,
and, believe it or not, New Mexico as well as other places. The new town
was being settled by strangers who would have to work together.

What of the children? Ten children on the Indian Schedule were shown
as having attended school. Four of these were children of William P. and
Annie Mays. Annie Mays was very interested in education. John H. Gibson's
four children of school age are not shown as attending school, but are
recorded as being able to read and write. The only Indian teacher found was
Mary Smith, 17–year-old daughter of Thomas and Polly Smith who lived just
outside the town limits.

Eighteen white children had attended school, probably a low percentage
of those eligible. No white teacher was identified. The supposition is
that some kind of school was being held for white children, and that it was
the forerunner of the school we know existed just a few years later.
Claude Hanna discusses the first school for non-Indian children as being as
being a one-room log house. See page 71, Claude Hanna Retraces Memory's Road.

This is our snapshot of Grove in June 1900, seven years before
Oklahoma statehood.

Copyright © 2007 Rose Stauber

Grove Beginnings, Part 9

The First Mayor
By Rose Stauber

In the first column in this series, I said that we don't know when
Grove was incorporated. Now we have some information which strongly
suggests that the year was 1897, the year that was a likely prospect.
The information comes from and about the first mayor, John Caleb
Starr, usually called J.C. or Cale. His father was James Caleb, or J.C.,
Starr, usually called Hickory. His mother was Emma J. Starr, daughter of John
and Rachel Smith Rider. Hickory Starr was born in 1832 in Tennessee. The
family is listed as Old Settlers, those who arrived in the west before
the 1835 Treaty of New Echota.

J.C. Starr, the son, was born in Flint District October 15, 1870. The
father brought the family north to Delaware District where Hickory
Starr was well-known in the community. The Starr School was on the site of what
is now the Cowskin Community Center on Hwy. 10 east of Grove. The family
is associated with the Cayuga community where they are buried in the
Cayuga Cemetery.

The son attended, it is reported, local schools and then attended and
graduated from the Cherokee Male Seminary in 1890. J.C. apparently was
an ambitious and studious young man. He next enrolled in the Commercial
College at Fort Smith where he graduated from the bookkeeping and
banking department, received his diploma from the shorthand and typewriting
department, and in June 1893 graduated in the plain and ornamental
penmanship department. He had also attended lectures at the college on
commercial law and read law. He then taught school for awhile before
becoming official stenographer for the Cherokee National Council. He
was later appointed assistant treasurer under E.E. Starr who paid what is
called the Starr Roll, the big payment for the sale of the Cherokee Strip.

Somewhere, along with his studies, J.C. met and married in St. Joseph,
Mo., Elizabeth B. Zimmerman, on Oct. 16, 1894. She was the daughter of John
T. and Martha Zimmerman.
With the Starr Roll payment over, J.C. brought his wife home to Grove
where he opened a general store and was appointed postmaster April 2, 1895,
for the remainder of President Cleveland's term. Cleveland was elected in
1892 and served until 1896. Postmasters were a political appointment at
that time, and J.C. had certainly mingled with politicians during his time
in Tahlequah. From the records, it appears the J.C. was postmaster until
succeeded by George P. Dibble May 15, 1897.

"In February, 1897, the little town became incorporated and he (J.C.
Starr) was chosen mayor on the Democratic ticket, receiving fourteen of the
twenty-four votes cast at the polls."
(Joseph B. Thoburn and Muriel H. Wright, A History of the State and Its
People. New York. Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc. 1929.
174-175.)

This sentence gives an interesting insight on the first city election.
We have political parties that endure until today. And what seems a
surprisingly low number of voters. Keep in mind that women could not
vote.

During his time in Grove, Starr continued to pursue his law studies,
and in the spring of 1898 he is reported to have moved to Vinita where he was
admitted to the bar of the United States Court of the Northern
District. He spent the rest of his life in Vinita, eventually being admitted to
practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Starr died at his home in Vinita Nov. 23, 1930, having served as
Vinita mayor, been prominent in legal areas, the oil business, and farming.

With the loss of the Grove paper, except for a few issues. during this
period until late 1904, we have trouble confirming who served as mayor
to complete Starr's term which presumably was for two years. But we have
proof of who was mayor in 1899. That's another column.

Copyright © 2007 Rose Stauber

Grove Beginnings...Part 8

The First Mayor
By Rose Stauber

In the first column in this series, I said that we don't know when Grove
was incorporated. Now we have some information which strongly suggests
that the year was 1897, the year that was a likely prospect.

The information comes from and about the first mayor, John Caleb
Starr, usually called J.C. or Cale. His father was James Caleb, or J.C.,
Starr, usually called Hickory. His mother was Emma J. Starr, daughter of John
and Rachel Smith Rider. Hickory Starr was born in 1832 in Tennessee. The
family is listed as Old Settlers, those who arrived in the west before
the 1835 Treaty of New Echota.

J.C. Starr, the son, was born in Flint District October 15, 1870. The
father brought the family north to Delaware District where Hickory
Starr was well-known in the community. The Starr School was on the site of what
is now the Cowskin Community Center on Hwy. 10 east of Grove. The family
is associated with the Cayuga community where they are buried in the
Cayuga Cemetery.

The son attended, it is reported, local schools and then attended and
graduated from the Cherokee Male Seminary in 1890. J.C. apparently was an
ambitious and studious young man. He next enrolled in the Commercial
College at Fort Smith where he graduated from the bookkeeping and
banking department, received his diploma from the shorthand and typewriting
department, and in June 1893 graduated in the plain and ornamental
penmanship department. He had also attended lectures at the college on
commercial law and read law. He then taught school for awhile before
becoming official stenographer for the Cherokee National Council. He
was later appointed assistant treasurer under E.E. Starr who paid what is
called the Starr Roll, the big payment for the sale of the Cherokee Strip.

Somewhere, along with his studies, J.C. met and married in St. Joseph,
Mo.,Elizabeth B. Zimmerman, on Oct. 16, 1894. She was the daughter of John
T. and Martha Zimmerman.
With the Starr Roll payment over, J.C. brought his wife home to Grove
where he opened a general store and was appointed postmaster April 2, 1895,
for the remainder of President Cleveland's term. Cleveland was elected in
1892 and served until 1896. Postmasters were a political appointment at
that time, and J.C. had certainly mingled with politicians during his time
in Tahlequah. From the records, it appears the J.C. was postmaster until
succeeded by George P. Dibble May 15, 1897.

"In February, 1897, the little town became incorporated and he (J.C.
Starr) was chosen mayor on the Democratic ticket, receiving fourteen of the
twenty-four votes cast at the polls."
(Joseph B. Thoburn and Muriel H. Wright, A History of the State and Its
People. New York. Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc. 1929.
174-175.)

This sentence gives an interesting insight on the first city election.
We have political parties that endure until today. And what seems a
surprisingly low number of voters. Keep in mind that women could not
vote.

During his time in Grove, Starr continued to pursue his law studies,
and in the spring of 1898 he is reported to have moved to Vinita where he was
admitted to the bar of the United States Court of the Northern
District. He spent the rest of his life in Vinita, eventually being admitted to
practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Starr died at his home in Vinita Nov. 23, 1930, having served as
Vinita mayor, been prominent in legal areas, the oil business, and farming.

With the loss of the Grove paper, except for a few issues. during this
period until late 1904, we have trouble confirming who served as mayor
to complete Starr's term which presumably was for two years. But we have
proof of who was mayor in 1899. That's another column.

Copyright © 2007 Rose Stauber

Grove Beginnings...Part 8

By Rose Stauber

In 1939 the Grove Sun editor called on the memory of one of the founders, John H. Gibson, to recount the early history of Grove. Gibson was brought here Feb. 17, 1872, by his mother and step-father, Mr. and Mrs. J.E. Harlan. They settled on a place known as the old peach orchard about two miles east of town.

Gibson named the families living on the old trail from Southwest City
to Carey's Ferry on Grand River. Gibson named Oss Harlan living near
where Dodge would be, then came Bud Fields to the southeast on the trail to Southwest City,"a town that boasted three mercantile stores."
In what became Grove, a man named Ezell, who had a family of nine
children, had built a double-log house where the cheese factory was later.

George Ward had a house north of town, and then going west was the house of Ed Carey.
"George Ward owned about 10 acres of what is now Grove, and two years
later was dispersed of by the Monroe heirs. . ." The Monroe family, as noted in an earlier article, had gone south during the Civil War. "In 1874 they returned and claimed land, and the courts returned the land to the Monroes."
"In the years of 1876 to 1880, many people came and settled on the
famous Cowskin Prairie.
"In 1889 (sic. 1888) Capt. T.S. Remsen received a permit and established the first post office in a building near the present Frisco Depot, and from then on the town of Grove started out in a big way." The depot was on the west side of Main Street and just south of Remsen Street.
John H. Gibson gives the pioneer and historian's view of early Grove.
Let's pick up the subject as told by a young woman, Lula Dale Duckworth
Jones, a Cherokee. Lula Dale had grown up in what was obviously a
cultured home. She was a graduate of the Cherokee Female Seminary and, like many of the graduates, was teaching school. She had met and married W.I. Jones from Illinois. The Joneses came to Grove and W.I. and partners started a store.
Lula recalls earlier going through Grove with her father. "At the
east edge of the little community, he would say, "Here is Doughertyville" – an unpainted frame building, was the store." "Then we would drive a short way through trees and bushes and native vines and came to another building, my father said, "Remsenville," beyond that the third building was "Gibsonville."

"When Mr. Jones and I went to see about a building for a store and a
house in which to live, things were already stirring. We stopped at the Mayes Hotel, a rather pretentious building, homey, with eight or nine bedrooms, an office, a dining room and what we appreciated most, good home cooked food. No houses were for rent. There were a few homes,
Doherty's, Remsen's, Gibson's, and farm homes near enough for the springs along the branch to supply them with water. Some people I remember were Dr. Holland, Jim Holland, a Mr. Beattey or Batie, Aunt Jane Longmire, Aunt Letha Tablor and more."

"We paid a man to vacate a little house on the hill above the main
Grove Spring. The house was about half way between the top and the bottom of the hill. Instead of a high foundation in front to level the house, it was set in an excavation letting the kitchen down until the lower half of window was below the surface." If the reader will go north of the American Legion building and look down the hill, you get an idea of what the hill would be like walking on a rough path.

Lula writes: "The street was steep, the few board walks were lifted
from one level to another by steps. There was in the street a little to the west of us, a large pile of stones. We drove on each side of this as one would a boulevard."

Lula's account reports the growth of Grove. "A frame hotel or
boarding house had been built up the hill south of our new location. That day while we were moving, this rooming house, being operated by Mr. and Mrs. Jack Buzzard, burned. No water, but we did have a telephone system, built by a Mr. Boogher. We had a phone in our new house and one at the new store, number 3 at the store."

"Gus Ivy and John Gibson had started a little newspaper."

In 1903 the Jones' moved out of the incorporated area to Lula's
allotment and built a home and farm there. The house still stands. Go to the intersection of Center and 10th Street and look south to what would be a continuation of Center Street. The big, old house is still imposing looking . Lula ran a farm and garden while her husband was a traveling salesman. The road into town from the south came by the property.

Grove Springs was the attraction for the trail and then the town.
The Oct. 7, 1904, Grove Sun carried this letter from a reader:
Town Officials. Please investigate the public spring. The surrounding
has become a nuisance in our opinion to the health of the people in this part of the town and we might say to all the people in town as they all use the water, more or less. It is being used as a hog wallow for stock shippers and a stamping ground for the town cattle, which creates a stench that is very disagreeable, and when a heavy rain comes all this filth is washed by the water from "Give-a-dam river" back into the spring."

For readers who want to read more of the articles used in this column,
John H. Gibson's interview is from the Dec. 28, 1939, Grove Sun, and
available on microfilm at the Grove Public Library.
Lula Dale Jones' article begins on page 170 of "Heritage of the Hills,
A Delaware County History." We thank the Delaware County Historical
Society for permission to quote from the article. Copies of the book are available for sale at the Grove Library and at the Historical Society Museum in Jay.

Copyright © 2007 Rose Stauber

Grove Beginnings...Part 7

Government Reports, 1907
By Rose StauberOne hundred years ago the Grove Board of Education made a financial report for the year which was published in the "Grove Sun" July 12, 1907. The report follows:

Report of Board of Education
For Scholastic Year Ending
May 30, 1907

Receipts

3-5 of Town taxes applied on school fund 1906
$1238.04
100% tuition received and applied to school fund
70.80
3-5 occupation applied to school fund
148.00
Balance on hand of fund for 1905
395.20

_______

Total 1852.04

Disbursements:

Principal teacher, 8 months at $65
$520.00
Assistant teacher, 8 months at $40
320.00
Janitor, 8 months at $8
64.00
Scavinger
5.00
Wood
35.61
Appraisment on school lots
135.00
Rent
250.00
Well and pump
59.00
Repairing pump
4.20
Furniture
5.40
Brooms, erasers, crayons, etc.
19.35
Sun Office
3.75
Stationary
2.00

_______
Total expenses for 8 months
1423.81

Balance
428.73
Less as per Treasurers report
59.05

_______

Balance
on
hand July 1st $369.68

George A. Cox, Recorder.

According to the School Fund receipts and warrants paid, the principal
was W.C. Jordan and the assistant Sadie Barnes.

On May 11, 1906, the Grove Sun ran an announcement of the Annual meeting of the Stockholders of Grove Educational Association which was to be held at the Court House in Grove on Tuesday, May 22, at 4 p.m.. The purpose of the meeting was to elect a board of directors for the coming year, and transact other important business. The notice was signed by O.W. Killam, Pres. and Ad V. Coppedge, Sec'y.

O.W. Killam and his brother, W.T., were Missourians and partners in
various businesses around Grove. Ad V. Coppedge had been in the same law class
as O.W. at the University of Missouri. Ad went on to a distinguished law
career in Grove and Delaware County.

It was O. W. Killam, as president of the association, who had signed
for Lot 5 in Block 57, appraised value of $54 for the lot and estimated
value of the stone foundation was $200. The town of Grove bought the other
five lots in Block 57 for $54 each when the lots were sold. Block 57 is the southwest corner of the intersection of Center and 7th Streets. It is the anchor that the school has spread from in that area.

What is this about meeting at the Court House? The Northern District
Court, one of the federal courts established in 1890 to provide law in
Indian Territory between the 1890s and statehood, was seated at Vinita.
It appears that the court did work a circuit and held court in Grove on
some schedule. The "courthouse" was the second floor of the building on
Third Street now known as "Courthouse Apartments". With statehood getting
nearer and Grove sure to be the county seat, it appears the city fathers had
already decided that they had a courthouse.

A word about the "scavenger" in the list of school expenses. The
dictionary meaning of the word includes one who removes dirt, filth and
such from the streets. The term used here appears to include cleaning
outhouses.
There's no doubt that it was a dirty job and paid very poorly.

Copyright © Rose Stauber 2007

Grove Beginnings...Part Six

The Founder, Tredwell Remsen, Part 3

Tredwell Remsen, New York farm boy and Civil War veteran, is well-settled into life in the Cherokee Nation. He is the Grove postmaster and a merchant. He has set in motion actions which would result in a town by 1900. Remsen served as postmaster until April 2, 1895, when he was succeeded by J.C. Starr, a Cherokee and son of Hickory Starr and Emma J. Rider. The 1890s were a prelude to major change in Indian Territory. The United States had forced the Cherokee Nation to sell "The Strip", the land that ran along the top of the territory and was leased to cattlemen. The long-awaited Strip payment, or the Starr Roll, came in 1894.

Human nature, then like now, had caused many Cherokees to spend the money before they got it. The crowds attending the payment included merchants and others waiting to get their payment for goods already purchased. Julia Remsen and two daughters, Josephine R. and Alvia, are listed on the Starr Roll. Julia signed for $797.10. About the same time, the Remsen's oldest daughter, Rebecca, but always known as Bessie, and J.B. Broaddus, a young man who had a dray business in town, decided to get married. Bessie was 14 years old, and her parents reacted as could be expected. No way. The couple ran off.

Remsen brought them back, then put Bessie in a school in Kansas. When Remsen discovered that Broaddus knew where Bessie was, she was brought back to the Remsen home and kept under close control. J.B. kept track of the situation and waited for an opportunity. One day Bessie was going down the hill to the spring for water. J.B. drove up; Bessie hopped in, and the couple were off. They eventually returned home and set up housekeeping.

This story was recorded by Lula D. Jones, published in Heritage of the Hills, and used with permission of the Delaware County Historical Society. The Remsens had five girls, only two of them lived to be adults. Remsen recorded the children on a form for the Bureau of Pensions. He listed: Catherine Remsen born in November 1875. Dead Rebecca J. Remsen born June 12, 1880. Living. This is Bessie. Alvie M. Remsen born June 24, 1884. Living Effie May Remsen born August 27, 1889. Dead Grace E. Remsen born November 11, 1895.

The Dawes Commission was already working in Indian Territory, charged by Congress with allotting the land to individual Indians and closing down the tribal governments.The Commission began recording Cherokee families in 1900. The commission traveled with typewriters and clerks and interviewed applicants. Tredwell appeared to enroll himself, Julia, and Alvie. He was questioned about his eligibility, claimed through his marriage to Julia. Which whites, adopted Cherokee citizens by marriage to Cherokees under Cherokee law, would be placed on the Dawes Roll and receive land allotments became a matter for the federal courts.

In 1906, the court ruled that in accordance with Cherokee law, the marriage had to have occurred before Nov. 1, 1875. Persons whose cases were approved by this decision were called back before the Dawes Commission to confirm that they were qualified. Tredwell had his date with a commissioner. He answered that he and Julia were married "the 6th of February 1875." But Tredwell didn't have the license. "The license was lost or burned 7 or 8 years ago."

Tredwell presents a family Bible showing the marriage was performed by T.J. McGhee, judge of the Delaware District. Witnesses are T.J. McGhee and Rebecca Monroe. Remsen was told he had to have evidence of the marriage license. He was then asked, "Have you and your wife lived together continuously as husband and wife, in the Cherokee Nation, from the time of your marriage in 1875 up to and including the present time?" Remsen answered, "Yes, sir." "Are you still living together? A. No, sir. "When did you separate? A. October 5, 1905."

Further questions reveal that Julia has divorced Tredwell without telling him, and that they are both still living in the home with their daughter and her family. Tredwell says this: "She was about 17 years old, and I took her on east and showed her all my folks out in New York, after we were married, a few years afterward." The commissioner told Tredwell to present more evidence of the marriage. So Remsen got affidavits or testimony from everyone he could round up. James E. Harlin says he issued the license and received and recorded it. His wife, Nancy, testifies to the license and that when the couple came back from being married by T.J. McGhee, she gave them their wedding dinner.

Remsen was put on the Dawes Roll. This license which couldn't be found in 1907 is now on file in the Grove Public Library. Tredwell Remsen's health was declining. He had worked to found a community, for schools, for churches, but he no longer could carry on. The pension that had begun as $2 in 1865 and gone up slowly over the years was $50 a month when he died. Bessie took care of both her parents' in their final days. Remsen died Jan. 16, 1922. The headline on his obituary was "Capt. T.S. Remsen Founder of Grove Dies." The obituary said services were held at Buzzard Cemetery, presumably the Buzzard Springs Cemetery now under water. Julia Remsen died Feb. 6, 1922. The headline was "A Good Woman Called." The article stated, "She is now resting beside her late husband. . ."

The gravestone in Olympus Cemetery has the names of both and the words "Father" and "Mother". Bessie had yet another shock when B.J. died suddenly March 26. She was left a widow with three surviving children. An article accompanying B.J.'s obituary noted that he had bought the bell in the Methodist Church where it had tolled for B.J.'s services. Bessie died March 13, 1937, survived by daughters Mrs. Tom Nichols and Mrs. Percy Wood, and son Grady.

Alva Vandergriff returned to Grove before Feb. 5, 1931, when she married G.W. Rutherford. She died March 2, 1943. She was survived by a son, Tokio Vandergriff. Both Bessie and Alva are buried in Olympus. Claude Hanna, in one of his columns, said he remembered Cap Remsen. Claude described a 4th of July when Remsen and George M. Ward were parading down the street, arms around each other and a big U.S. flag draped over their shoulders. "They were both veterans of the Union Army," Hanna wrote. He got it wrong. George M. Ward served in General Stand Watie's Confederate Brigade. Just two old soldiers.
Copyright © Rose Stauber 2007

Grove Beginnings...Part Five

Tredwell Remsen, The Founder, part 2

By Rose Stauber

Tredwell Remsen, born in Queens County, N.Y., a farm boy, served four years in the Union Army in the Civil War, was captured, escaped, now suffered greatly from his experience, went west to the Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory, in 1871, according to the record. He would be 28 that year.

Nothing in the record or anything else I have found even addresses why he came west. But he did and began living in the area around present Grove. The post office Remsen usually used was Carey's Ferry. The ferry was established in the 1830s by Thomas Carey and was run by the family into the 20th Century. It was a major landmark providing a crossing of the Grand or Neosho River.

When Grand Lake was created in the late 1930s, it covered the ferry site and the Carey Cemetery which was the largest cemetery in Delaware County affected by the lake. All identifiable graves were relocated with permission of the next of kin. Carey Bay is the name of the area now. The first USGS map of the area is available at the Grove Public Library.

Cherokee allotment maps, also available at the library, show the location of the ferry and cemetery and the Carey allotments. From what is now downtown Grove, Carey's Ferry is about three plus miles. Probably not an easy roundtrip for a veteran with problems, but Remsen continued his steady correspondence with the Pension Office. He was always trying to get the pension increased and to get the accusation of having joined the Confederacy taken out of the file.

The correspondence shows that Remsen had a good basic education. His writing is readable and literate, spelling good, and we'll not quibble about some punctuation and capitalization. Remsen married Julia Esther Monroe Feb. 6, 1875. She was the daughter of Simpson F. Monroe and Rebecca Hopkins. The Monroe family was the original owners of the land around Grove Springs according to the Cherokee system. They had gone south for safety at the beginning of the Civil War. Reports say that they returned in 1874, and the Cherokee courts returned their land to them. I'm still looking for that court record. Indications are that the young couple was living near the Grove spring.

In 1880, the Cherokee Nation took an extensive agricultural census. The couple are on it as "Rinson" They have one dwelling, two other structures, one farm, 25 acres enclosed, 33 acres in cultivation, had 200 bushels of corn, and 8 bushels of sweet potatoes, and 1 and a half tons of hay in 1879. Livestock consisted of 11 cattle, 18 hogs, and a horse. Remsen obviously had an interest in schools. An article published in 1937 said that he had taught in three or four schools.

The "Cherokee Advocate" published the schedule for the 1882 Teacher's Institute of the Cherokee Nation. On the schedule was "Discussion – Question—Should we have a text book on morals for our schools." T.S. Remsen was one of two moderators. Mrs. Dova L. Suagee gave an interview for the Indian-Pioneer History in which she said, "My husband hired him (Captain Remsen) as a private teacher and under his supervision, finished his education and later taught a country school . . ."

Not everything went well all the time. The records have yielded a couple of examples. On April 1, 1875, Remsen wrote Col. Bell," Dear Sir, My trial came of yesterday and as I failed to prove that the farming utensils were attached by the Cherokee Nation they are about to send me to Oswego, were I will have to lay in jail, for 3 months before trial, and then probably be convicted, and sent to the State Penitentiary for 3 – 5 years.. Now Col. – I have committed no offense and have stole nothing, yet here I am, on account of Larkins who has sworn Eternal Venjence against myself and you & Barker." The letter went on.

Apparently the trouble was resolved. Ten years later, Remsen appears before the Delaware District Clerk to swear that when he went bond for Julia E. Remsen vs Tabler he was worth the amount, but in the year since he has had to dispose of some of the property to live on, and that at present he is not worth what the bond calls for. The document is signed by Delaware District's long-time clerk, T.J McGhee. My guess is that the dispute involved the Monroe land.

Remsen's major contribution to Grove was to get the post office established, which opened Dec. 27, 1888. He opened a small store, the first in what became Grove, and had the post office in a corner. The application gave the population to be served as "about 200". No more trips to Carey's Ferry which lost its post office that year.

Why do you think Remsen applied for a post office? Remsen became a notary public which undoubtedly must have added to his income without physical effort. Research in the records of that time and place turn up many documents with T.S. Remsen's signature. My Great Grandfather Rose drowned after driving his buggy into a swollen Elk River at Cayuga in1903. An uncashed Mexican War pension check was found in his pocket, turned in to T.S. Remsen who certainly knew the address of the Pension Office to send the check to. It became part of the estate probated at Neosho, Mo. The 1890 Cherokee census showed the improvement in Remsen's property. The census credited him with two dwellings, 100 acres enclosed, 75 acres in cultivation, all with a value of $1,000. He had harvested 600 bushels of corn, six tons of hay, 100 pounds of Irish potatoes and half as much of sweet potatoes, and grown some sorghum cane. Livestock included 15 hogs, 23 cattle, and two horses. The next column will cover the last decades of Cap Remsen's life, his family, and the role he played in the growth of Grove.Copyright © 2007 Rose Stauber.

Early Day Grove Photos on Exhibit at Library

Dozens of photographs taken over the years form a centennial exhibit that is attracting the attention of visitors to the Grove Public Library. The photographs are from the collection of the Gibson family which operated a studio in Grove from the 1930s to 2003.

Joyce Gibson, who helped her mother in the studio after her father, Ed Gibson, could no longer do the work, has filled the library's display case with photographs of Grove and surrounding areas. The Gibsons were able to collect some photos which pre-date their arrival. The result is a fascinating display of how things used to be.

The photographs are dated and identified. The subjects range from scenic spots to floods, bridges, schools, and businesses. Joyce Gibson says that her parents, Ed and Frances Gibson, came to this area as newlyweds in September, 1934, and settled on a farm in the Delaware community south of Grove. They started the Gibson Photography Service at their home without electricity and running water. The developing and printing process became much easier after the Grand River Dam was built and electricity came to rural areas.

Ed Gibson covered weddings, babies, graduations, birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions. Five children came along. The parents took part in all community activities and supported them. Two of the cameras Ed Gibson used also are on display with an explanation of particular interest in the postcard camera.

The library invites everyone to come by and enjoy the exhibit of local history. It will remain on display until July 1. The library opens at 8:30 a.m. each weekday and closes at 5 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It is open until 9 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Saturday hours are 8 a.m. to 12 noon.

Grove Beginnings, Part 4

The Founder, Tredwell Remsen

By Rose Stauber

Local histories haven't paid much attention to Grove's founder, Tredwell Remsen. The county history notes that he had a store at North Main Street and Remsen Street and gave him the title of captain. At least they got his Civil War unit right, but that is on his gravestone in Olympus Cemetery. A more recent book simply notes that he was a Confederate captain and obtained the first post office which was in his store.

The object here is to tell the reader much more about the founder of Grove. Most of the information comes from his military file, his military pension file, and his Dawes Roll application, all from the National Archives. Various documents will be noted as introduced.

Tredwell Remsen is found on the 1860 census of the town of Hempstead, Queens County, N.Y., in the household of his father, John H. Remsen. His mother is said to be Mary. Tredwell is listed as age 17 and by occupation a farm laborer. "Lived with my father and worked on a farm five years previous to enlistment." The census shows his father's real estate valued at $3,000.

For those who don't know the area, it is Long Island adjoining nearby New York City. Tredwell was born Oct. 16, 1843, in Hempstead. His first name is usually spelled Tredwell in both military and other records and was the way he signed his name although sometimes it is spelled Treadwell. All the military records give his middle initial as W. He signed one statement, "My whole name Tredwell Walter Remsen."

After he came to Indian Territory, the middle initial became S., perhaps for Scott. I am just leaving out a middle initial. The next year, on Aug. 20, 1861, the now 18-year-old enrolled as a private in Co. H, 48th New York Volunteer Infantry, and served in the Union Army the next four years until the end of the of the Civil War. The records describe him as 5' 10", complexion florid, eyes gray, hair dark brown, and occupation farmer. This description varies little into the 20th Century in the numerous physical examinations in the pension file.

The 48th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, formed in August 1861, was ordered to Washington, D.C., Sept. 15 and departed by boat two days later. Next it was ordered to go to Annapolis and then by ship to near Fort Monroe where the unit joined a major expedition to Port Royal, S.C., landing Nov. 10, 1861. (For information on the 48th N.Y. Infantry see the National Park Service Civil War website and the online history of the unit.)

For the next two and a half years, the regiment operated in the rivers and mud and swamp and diseases of the southern coastline. The original three-year enlistments were running out. The regiment was hustling to reenlist the men. Tredwell was discharged and signed up again Jan. 24, 1861.

In April 1864 the 48th was called back north to join Grant's Army in front of Petersburg, Va., on the way to Richmond and the end of the war. Tredwell's war got worse. The 48th was in the Aug. 16 battle of Strawberry Plains, the date that prisoner of war records show that Remsen was captured. He was confined at Richmond, Va., Aug. 17, and sent to Salisbury, N.C., Oct. 9, 1864. A different handwriting wrote, "Joined the Rebel Army while a prisoner of war at Salisbury, N.C., date not given."

Actually, his unit had first carried him as dead, then gotten the report of desertion. There is in the file a "Final Statement of Corp'l Tredwell W. Remsen, 48th Reg't of Infantry N.Y.S. Volunteers Died Aug. 16, '64." The appointment to corporal was on June 6, 1864. The rank seems to have reverted to private after his return. The record goes on to report: "Escaped from Fayetteville, N.C., March 16, 1865; reported at Camp Parole, Md., April 6, 1865." In a later statement, Remsen wrote, "I remained in Libby prison on Belle Island and Salisbury prison, N.C., until February '65 when I made my escape and joined Sherman's Army at Fayetteville, N.C. Was sent to Camp Parole, Annapolis, Md." Remsen was given a 30-day leave, and on return was discharged from the Army on June 13, 1865.

Now he began what became a life-long search for help with his medical problems and payment as a wounded veteran. In a statement made April 6, 1880, Remsen said he "was wounded in the left ankle at Fort Wagner near Charleston, S.C. on the night of July 18, 1863." He continues... "was in 15 regular engagements, was taken prisoner at Strawberry Plains, Va. . . . On the 16th day of August 1864." In several statements, Remsen said, "I contracted acute rheumatism while prisoner of war, and never have been clear of it since." In another statement talking about his time in New York City, he tells of an attack which lasted four months, that he had helped in a grocery store for 3 years, had "lived at No. 326 West 26th St. N.Y. City for 2 yrs. & done nothing. Then removed to the Cherokee Nation where I have lived ever since at Carey's Ferry, C.N. Am following farming for a livelihood and have had several attacks here. . . ."

In yet another statement, Remsen wrote, "On the 9th day of March 1871, I left N.Y. City." A doctor in the Cherokee Nation stated that he did not know Remsen before March 1, 1871, and had been his family physician since. He said he knew of Remsen's problems partly from "His diary that he kept while a prisoner of war."

The next article will cover Tredwell Remsen in the Cherokee Nation.
Copyright © 2007 Rose Stauber