PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF OKLAHOMA 1901
Biographies on this page:
Beam, A.H.
Cosby, Alonzo A.
Cooksey, Thomas A.
DeBaun, W. S.
Gunn, L. J.
Jones, Daniel
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A. H. BEAM
deals in real estate, loans money, writes insurance, and is an all-around business man of Okarche, with a wide acquaintance and a reputation as a square-dealing, upright business man. He has been in this city since 1893. and was closely identified with the experiences of early days here.
Mr. Beam was born in Huron county, Ohio. in the town of Sherman, where his father had settled when he left New York. The father was a farmer and died when his son was only a year old. Five years later the widowed wife and mother moved to Michigan, where the subject ot this article grew to manhood, attending school at Lowell and college at Hillsdale. He was left an orphan at the age of fifteen, and two years later enlisted in the Union army, being enrolled as a member of Company I. Twenty-sixth Michigan Volunteer Infantry. During his three years' service he was wounded at Cold Harbor and Farmersville. His regiment was a part of General Miles' Brigade, Second Army Corps, Army of the Potomac. General Miles was colonel of his regiment, and he remained under his command throughout the war. He took part in all of the great battles of the Army of the Potomac, excepting those that occurred while he was in the hospital. Honorably discharged July 6, 1865, while in the hospital at West Philadelphia, Pa., he went back to Michigan, where, he recovered his health under the faithful care of kind friends. He followed farming in that state and in South Dakota, buying a large ranch near Mitchell in 1879. The place he devoted to fancy stock and farming, dealing in line cattle, blooded horses and high-grade hogs. He lived there fourteen years, and in 1893 came to Okarche through the influence of a friend. Liking the climate and having faith in the future of the town, he opened a real estate office, secured the agency of several prominent fire insurance companies, and almost immediately entered into a comfortable income. He was elected justice of the peace in 1896, and at the same time received the commission of notary public. All kinds of legal business are transacted by him. and he has been quite successful. He has built a good building on Sixth street, in which he has his office, and owns other valuable property. Thus, in the business world, he is regarded as one of the solid men of the community. In political matters he is a Republican, with independent inclinations, but takes part in the workings of the party organization. He is a strong worker in the cause of temperance, and helped very materially in the organization of the local lodge of Good Templars, of which he has served as worthy chief templar. He has been clerk of the school board for five years, and anything calculated to advance the educational interests of the community finds in him a ready helper. He has always taken a lively interest in Masonic matters, and was one of the first members of the Valley City Lodge, No. 486, at Grand Rapids, Mich. An earnest and active member of (he Congregational Church, he does much to promote the religious interests of the city.
Mr. Beam was married to Miss Sarah A. Cilley, at Lowell, Mich. She died in 1875. leaving an infant boy and girl (twins), both of whom died a few davs after the mother.
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ALONZO A. COSBY.
No county official has greater responsibilities devolving upon him than Mr. Cosby, who is sheriff of Canadian county, and no one is more worthy of the trust placed in him by his fellow citizens. He was born July 3, 1869, in LeSeuer county, Minn., a son of Eli Cosby, and a grandson of Benjamin Cosby, both natives of Jefferson county, Ind. The family is of Scotch descent, and on coming to America settled in Virginia, where Richard Cosby, the great-grandfather of Alonzo A., was born and reared, although he afterwards became a pioneer of Jefferson county, Ind. Benjamin Cosby removed from Indiana to Minnesota in 1856, locating in Dakota county, where he took up land, on which he engaged in general farming until his death. He participated in the Indian wars of 1862, fighting against the Sioux in one severe battle.
Eli Cosby was born in 1846, and was a boy of but ten years when he accompanied his parents to Minnesota, where he assisted in the improvement of the home farm until he was sixteen years of age. August 15, 1862, he enlisted in Company G, Tenth Minnesota Infantry, which guarded the Indian reservations of Minnesota for a year. In 1863 he went with his regiment to the front, joining the army of the Tennessee, and taking part in the engagements at Tupelo, Nashville, Mobile, Spanish Fort and Blakeley Fort, remaining in the south until August, 1865, when he was discharged from the service. Returning to LeSeuer county, Minn., he there engaged in farming and milling for a while, bxit subsequently transferred his operations to Winsted, McLeod county, where he resided until 1893. Coming then to Canadian county, Okla., he carried on farming and stock-raising until 1899, when, having been appointed deputy sheriff of the county, he removed with his family to El Reno. He is a Republican in politics, and a member of the El Reno Post, G. A. R. His first wife, whose maiden name was Jemima West, was born in Jennings county, Ind., a daughter of Israel West, who removed from his early home in Kentucky to Indiana, thence to Illinois, where he enlisted in an Illinois regiment during the Civil war, serving several
months in the army. She died in March, 1879, in Minnesota, leaving three children, namely: Alonzo A., the subject of this sketch; Eva, now Mrs. Roush, residing in El Reno; and Estella, also of El Reno. His second wife, Emma L. Carty, was born in Ohio, and of their union three children were born, Annie, Charles, and Martha.
Alonzo A. Cosby received a practical common-school education in Minnesota, and at the age of twelve years, began the battle of life on his own account, working as a clerk in various cities, chiefly in Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. Coming to Oklahoma in the fall of 1889, he located a claim in the northwestern quarter of section 23, township 13, range 6 west, on which he put up a residence and commenced life as a farmer, engaging principally in stock raising. Subsequently selling his first claim, he purchased one hundred and twenty acres of bottom land in section 5, township 12, range 6 west, where he carried on a successful business as a stock raiser and dealer, at the same time being interested to a considerable extent in real estate and building. In 1895 Mr. Cosby was appointed chief deputy sheriff under John M. Canon, with whom he served three years. In 1898 he was nominated for sheriff of Canadian county by the Republicans, and was elected by two hundred and seventy-five votes, the largest majority ever attained by a sheriff, running ahead of his ticket, notwithstanding the fusion element. In January, 1899, he took the oath of office and removed with his family to El Reno.
Mr. Cosby was married January 31, 1888, in Wellington, Kans., to Miss Emma Riley, who died in El Reno, November 11, 1898, leaving two children, Lillie and Leola. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Red Cloud Tribe No. 3, Order of Red Men, and of the Modern Woodmen of America.
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THOMAS A. COOKSEY,
who came to Oklahoma from Sumner county, Kans., in May, 1889, and now is successfully engaged in general farming and stock raising on the southwestern quarter of section 12, El Reno township, Canadian county, was born in southwestern Kentucky, a son of Townsend and Celia Ann Cooksey, who died during the infancy of our subject. The father, a farmer by occupation, was born in Maryland, near the District of Columbia, but lived many years in Caldwell county. Ky., where he died at the age of fifty-five.
In his native place Thomas A. Cooksey grew to manhood among strangers, receiving a very limited education, and in 1854 moved to Johnson county, Mo., where he lived until after the Civil war broke out. In the spring of 1862 he went to Jefferson county, Kans., and for a time was a member of the Kansas State Militia, after which he made one trip as a freighter from Kansas City to Fort Scott. After the war he sold his farm and returned to Missouri, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1876, when he went to Nemaha county, Kans., and followed railroading two years, being connected with the building of roads. Later, he located in Sumner county, Kans., where he owned and operated a farm until 1889, and was also interested in cattle, at times having several hundred head on the Cherokee strip.
At Knobnoster, Mo., Mr. Cooksey was married, in 1856, to Miss Eliza Workman, a daughter of Samuel Workman, who moved from Pennsylvania to Missouri in 1840, and to them have been born eleven children,namely: Thomas Melvin; Alice, wife of W. H. Thompson; Charles; Ella, wife of Morris Rowen; W. Grant, a resident of Kansas City, Mo.; Sallie, wife of Harvey Williams; Katie, wife of Leport Campbell, of Caldwell, Kans.; Walter A., of Renfrew, Okla.; Fannie, a school teacher of El Reno, Okla.; Frank, a resident of El Reno; and Carrie, at home with her parents.
About 1878, Mr. Cooksey took up his residence in Caldwell, Kans., which continued to be his home until coming to Oklahoma in 1889, when he sold his land in that state and also some of his cattle and bought a tract of government land, where he now resides. He has placed acre after acre under the plow until he now has one hundred acres under a high state of cultivation and is making a specialty of the raising of wheat. He also has a good bearing orchard of over one hundred apple trees, and a vineyard, and devotes considerable attention to fruit culture. He raises a good grade of Short-horn cattle and Poland-China hogs, and in all his undertakings is meeting with well-deserved success. As a Republican he always has taken an active interest in political affairs, assisting in organizing the party in his locality. In district No. 33 he served as the first school director, and continued to fill that office in a most creditable manner for several years.
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W. S. DE BAUN,
an honored veteran of the Civil war and a prominent early settler of El Reno township, Canadian county, came here from Arkansas in 1889. He is a native of Indiana and a son of Samuel De Baun, who is still living in Farmersburg, that state, and is still quite active despite his eighty years. The family is noted for longevity. Our subject's paternal grandfather, Samuel De Baun, Sr removed from Kentucky to Indiana at an
early day, and there both he and his wife died of cholera when-their son Samuel was quite small. The latter, who for four years operated a coal mine in Shelbyville, Ill., later became quite a prominent farmer and stock man of Indiana. He has been twice married, his first wife being Phylinda Shattuck, who died in 1866, leaving five children, namely: Amanda, wife of T. K. Sherman, a merchant of Sullivan, Ind.; Maggie, wife of William Gaskins, of Farmersburg, Ind.; Emma, wife of W. H. Bennett; Isabel, wife of Joseph McClain; and W. S., our subject. For his second wife the father married Mrs. Susan (Riggs) Ernest.
On the home farm in his native state, W. S. De Baun grew to manhood, and engaged in agricultural pursuits until the Civil war broke out, when he enlisted as a private in the Eighth Indiana Volunteer Battery, but was mustered out as a sergeant after three years and three months of faithful service, his regiment being in the Army of the Cumberland. He was in a hand-to-hand encounter during the battle of Chickamauga and narrowly escaped being killed, while in the same engagement his clothes were pierced by seven bullets.
After the war, Mr. De Baun returned to Indiana, where he remained two years, and in 1867 moved to Shelby county, Ill., where he improved half a section of land and successfully engaged in general farming for several years, removing to Nevada county, Ark., in 1880. There he was engaged in railroad work as a contractor, constructing a section of the Iron Mountain and Cotton-Belt roads. He also built a part of the line fr6m Texarkana to Shreveport. Coming to Oklahoma in 1889, he located on the southwest quarter of section 3, El Reno township, Canadian county, and soon transformed the place into a fine farm, placing one hundred and twenty-five acres under the plow, and planting an orchard of one hundred and fifty peach trees, besides other fruit. In connection with general farming he is engaged in stock raising, making a specialty of thoroughbred Short-horn cattle.
In 1866 Mr. De Baun was united in marriage with Miss Angelina Pogue, a native of Indiana, and a daughter of John Pogue. She died June 17, 1898, leaving two children: lona, who has successfully engaged in teaching in the city of El Reno seven years and owns a well cultivated farm of eighty acres, which she homesteaded soon after coming to the county and which she now rents; Nora A., a teacher in Union City, Canadian county.
By his ballot Mr. De Baun always supports the men and measures of the Democratic party, but will never accept office. He is an active and prominent member of the Christian Church of El Reno, in which he has served as an elder several years. He also organized the Sunday-school at the Rich Valley schoolhouse, has served as superintendent of the same; and conducts a Bible school at Pleasant Hill, Canadian county.
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L. J. GUNN,
the genial editor of the El Reno News, has contributed largely to the development and growth of the town of his adoption, and is an important factor in its social and intellectual life. He was barn in La Salic county, Ill., November 23, 1867, and is a son of Levi Gunn, a native of Massachusetts, and who removed first to Vermont and then to Davenport, Iowa. In 1849 he took up his residence in La Salle county, Ill., where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits, and was prominently identified with the affairs of the community. His wife, Sarah C. (Lewis) Gunn, who was born in Ohio, comes from an old Virginia family, and is of Welsh descent. They were Quakers, and among the early settlers of La Salle county.
Mr. Gunn received an excellent home training, and was surrounded by the usual influences incident to the life of the average western farmer's son. He studied in the public schools, and later at the normal school at Great Bend, graduating in the scientific course in 1889. He then spent a year in Texas, and in 1890 began the study of law in Great Bend with Day & Smith, and was admitted to the bar in 1892. As a starting point for the practice of his profession he selected Kansas, where he lived until 1893, when he took up his residence in El Reno. For seven years he here engaged in the practice of law with the most gratifying results. In 1895, Mr. Gunn was appointed receiver of the Canadian County Republican, which, however, did not interfere with the carrying out of his large and lucrative lay business. In 1896, in partnership with Mr. Clyde Musgrove, he started the El Reno News, which since has been conducted under the most auspicious and amicable conditions, and is of immense influence among the members of the Republican party, because of its lucid and impartial adherence to the principles of Republicanism. Mr. Musgrove, a seasoned newspaper man from South Haven, Sumner county, Kans., came to El Reno in the fall of 1890. The News is a weekly publication, and supports a good job office in connection with its general printing.
Mr. Gunn's varied interests include his position as a member of the territorial board of education of the normal school, the appointment coming through Governor Barnes in 1897. He also is a member of the El Reno club. In El Reno he was married to Carrie Wattson, a daughter of George F. Wattson, postmaster of El Reno.
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DANIEL JONES.
As he was the proprietor of a ranch on which the town of Dover now stands, fully a quarter of a century ago, Daniel Jones may well be entitled one of the pioneers of this region, and, in fact, he spent manv years prior to 1875 on the frontier, becoming thoroughly familiar with western life in all of its phases, he possesses the enterprise and energy of the true frontiersman, and, being a natural leader, has been chosen to occupy numerous public positions in the past, at present serving as deputy United States marshal in Kingfisher county, Okla.
A son of Endsley and Lydia (Wright) Jones, members of the Society of Friends, Daniel Jones was born near Winchester, Randolph county. Ind., in 1845. His father, who was a native of North Carolina, died while making a visit in Dover in 1894, when he was in his eighty-second year. His widow, now living in Iola, Kans. has reached the age of eighty-two years.
Reared upon the parental homestead in the Hoosier state, Daniel Jones acquired a liberal education in the common schools and local seminary. He delighted in hunting, and at an earlv age determined to see something of the great west. Making a memorable trip along the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers, he finally settled near Wellington, Kans., where, he bought and proved up a claim. He was one of the first town marshals and trustees of Wellington township, and was an earlv deputy sheriff of Sunnier county, Kans. In 1873 he again commenced his travels in the west and southwest, and as his uncle, Hiram Jones, was then agent to the Oua-paw and Seneca Indians, he spent some time in that vicinity. In 1875 he bought the Traders' Ranch, owned by Lee and Reynolds, and changed the name to Red Fork Ranch. Here supplies of all kinds were kept for sale to the cattlemen, freighters and Indians. This ranch occupied the present site of Dover and was on the old Chisholm trail. It was operated by Mr. Jones for five years, and, as it was situated on the old stage line, a relay of horses was also kept.
In 1870 Mr. Jones located in Caldweil, Kans., where he remained for three years, in the meantime holding the offices of town marshal and deputy sheriff. Then, returning to this territory, which always has had great attractions for him, he became the owner of Post Oak Grove Ranch, on Preacher creek, and turned his attention to the cattle business. Again, however, he went back to Caldwell, and there was connected with the real estate and loan business until Oklahoma was opened to settlement. Filing a claim in section 14, Cimarron township. Kingfisher county, he established stage stations on ranches at various points, in the interests of the Rock Island
Railroad and spent eight years in these enterprises. Since 1897 he has made his home in Dover, and for a period carried on a livery business here. In 1890 he was appointed by Governor Steele as a census enumerator, and at present is serving as deputy United States marshal, under H. C. Thompson. Always an active Republican, he was chairman of the Kingfisher county central committee during the presidential campaign of iSeiG. Usually he is sent as a delegate to all county and territorial conventions, being considered one of our representative citizens and an able exponent of progress.
In 1879 Mr. Jones married Miss Jennie McDonald, of Peoria, Ill. Two sons were born to them, namely: E. D. and Benjamin M. Mrs. Jones departed this life August 10, 1894, and his mortal remains were placed in the Dover cemetery.