Pioneers -- Oklahoma

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Cowboy. Typescript (n.d.) of a personal reminiscence by Howe regarding his experience in the West including visits to Dodge City, Kansas, Beaver County, Oklahoma, and No Man's Land. Also included are words to a song entitled "The Little Old Sod Shanty on My Claim.".

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Merchant. A typescript (1947) of an account by Wright regarding his participation in the Land Run of 1889, his settlement in the towns of Guthrie and Chandler, Oklahoma Territory, and his experiences in each. Albert Daniel Wright Photograph Collection also in repository.

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Surgeon and naval officer. Correspondence (1860-1913) to and from Griffith regarding his experiences as a medical cadet with the U.S. Army during the Civil War, his participation in a U.S. naval expedition to Darien (modern Panama), and also regarding New Hope Seminary in the Choctaw Nation; diaries (1864-1870) regarding Griffith's travels abroad, and his emigration to Indian Territory; naval medical reports and requisition requests (1870-1871); petition (1894) from the residents of Sans Bois, Choctaw Nation, requesting that Griffith establish a medical practice there; certificates (1900-1917); a passport (1871); manuscripts (1864-1865) by Griffith concerning his Civil War experiences with Sherman's army in Georgia and North Carolina; and programs (1888-1931).

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Back and white original and copy prints of Watonga, Oklahoma, along with scenes of Cheyenne, Arapaho, Caddo and Creek Indians. William Houston Munger Manuscripts Collection also in repository.

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Black and white copy prints of the towns of Lawton, El Reno, Perry and White Rock, Oklahoma Territory. The collection includes scenes of settlement, businesses, railroads, the opening of the Cherokee Strip, the land drawing at El Reno, and a wagon train of settlers during the Land Run of 1889.

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Historian. Student grade books (1929-1951) from history courses taught by Rister at the University of Oklahoma; manuscripts (1889-1920) regarding the settlement of Oklahoma prepared by Rister's students; and typescripts of the official reports (1868-1871) of Generals William T. Sherman and Philip Sheridan regarding the actions of their commands with the Indians. The original reports are in the Library of Congress. Carl Coke Rister Photograph Collection also in repository.

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Black and white original and copy prints of the Hume family, Anadarko, Indian Territory and the University of Oklahoma. The collection also includes photographs of Kiowa, Wichita, Caddo, Mohave, Sioux, Comanche and Apache Indians. Carlton Ross Hume Manuscript Collection also in repository.

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Huggard’s master’s thesis (1987)“The Role of the Family in Settling the Cherokee Outlet” with chapters regarding the land run of 1893, settlement and housing patterns, and interaction with neighbors. Also in this collection is a paper by Huggard later published in the Chronicles of Oklahoma, titled “Culture Mixing: Everyday Life Among the Choctaw in the Mid-Nineteenth Century” and a postcard (1989) commemorating the Land Run of 1889.

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Oral history collection. Typescripts of interviews conducted with hundreds of American Indians in Oklahoma regarding the histories and cultures of their respective tribes. Included are accounts of Indian ceremonies, customs, social conditions, philosophies, and standards of living. Members of every tribe resident in Oklahoma were interviewed.

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Transcripts of interviews with pioneers who took part in the 1893 Land Run into the Cherokee Strip of Oklahoma, with accompanying township maps showing the homesteads of settlers. The collection also includes historical and cultural information about the Indian tribes, including the Tonkawa, Kansa (Kaw) and Ponca, that lived in the eastern portion of the Cherokee Strip. The final part of the collection consists of correspondence and field notebooks written by Orville Stanley Smith and Theodore H. Barrett during an 1871 survey of the Sisseton and Wahpeton Indian reservation in Dakota Territory. Edna Greer Porter Hatfield Photograph Collection also in repository.

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Housewife and pioneer. Manuscripts (n.d.) by Mrs. Ramsey recording her impressions and experiences as a participant in the Land Run of 1889. Mrs. Ramsey and her family settled near Stillwater, in Payne County, Oklahoma. Flora Belle Simmons Ramsey Photograph Collection also in repository.

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Collectors. Correspondence (1876-1900) between members of the Helphenstine family, which settled in Oklahoma Territory in 1889; scrapbook of newspaper clippings (n.d.) concerning the history of Palo Pinto County, Texas; copies of the STAR NEWS Centennial Edition (1957) of Palo Pinto County, Texas; and a ledger (1907) belonging to L.E. Patterson. Frank and Patty Grass Photograph Collection also in repository.

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Rancher. Two manuscripts, one (1950) by Frank Dale Healy, Jr., concerning Healy family history and life in the Oklahoma Panhandle during Territorial days, including a description of related photographs; and one (ca. 1920) written by George Henry Healy, concerning ranching on Padre Island, Texas. Frank Dale Healy Photograph Collection also in repository.

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Minister. A typescript of the Rev. Smith's autobiography (1946) which includes accounts of his experiences in Oklahoma Territory and the origins of Oklahoma place names, as well as stories concerning religion, settlers, cowboys, marshals, the weather, and public opinion regarding the Spanish-American War and the Crazy Snake Rebellion in Indian Territory. The collection also includes a typescript of Smith's biography of James Patrick Major, C.S.A., who held important commands in the Southwest during the Civil War.

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Journalist. Typescripts and manuscripts (1889-1939), and clippings (n.d.) regarding the history and settlement of Oklahoma; and correspondence (1904-1950) between Wenner and the Territorial Board for the Leasing of School Lands, of which Wenner was secretary, and with notable personalities in Oklahoma regarding Oklahoma history. Fred L. Wenner Photograph Collection also in repository.

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Homemaker. Gwen Hendrickson's reminiscences of her father, Samuel Harvey Hendrickson, who settled in the Cheyenne-Arapaho Lands (Oklahoma) in 1892.

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The autobiography of Parker, an Oklahoma cattleman, relating his family's migration to the Oklahoma Panhandle in 1887. Included is an account of an immigrant family who killed several people before being apprehended.

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Black and white original and copy prints of the towns of Chickasha and Minco, Indian Territory and Oklahoma, and Tuttle, Oklahoma. The collection includes photographs of street scenes, businesses, agriculture, railroads, schools, ferries, fire fighters, airplanes, and electric railroads.

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Collector. A photocopy of a letter by Newt Locke to his brother, Tom, describing his participation in the Run of 1893 into the Cherokee Strip, with accounts of the settlement of the towns of Hennessey and Enid, Oklahoma.

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Black and white copy prints of Cheyenne Indians, and scenes of settlers waiting for the land run near Tipton, Oklahoma Territory.

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Pioneer. Typescripts of manuscripts (ca. 1922) by Mrs. Reeve, entitled "Early Days in Western Kansas" "Santa Fe Trail" and "Early Days in Oklahoma.".

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Attorney. Legal documents (1891-1900), including tax and pay receipts; judicial documents (1894-1899), including injunction bonds, writs of injunction and transcripts of injunction, all from Greer County, Texas and Greer County, Oklahoma. Also included are sheriff deputization certificates (1895-1899), citizen announcements of cattle brands claimed (1894), a homestead certificate (1903) and a teacher certification (1899), also from Greer County, Oklahoma. Lemuel Hensley Tittle Photograph Collection also in repository.

Scope and Contents FULL FINDING AID (PDF) Teacher. White taught in Oklahoma and Wyoming at secondary schools, and at the Oklahoma Methodist University. Correspondence (1891-1952) includes her employment, her historical research, her investments in Montana real estate and oil in Oklahoma, and personal matters with family and friends. Teaching certificates and notes from college courses, thesis, and memorabilia from Park College. Journal (1891-1907) along with items from the Old Regime (Literary group) and miscellaneous personal items. Post cards, Christmas cards, address books, newspapers, pamphlets, and booklets. Interviews (1934-1942) that White conducted with elderly Indians in Tulsa, Oklahoma and with early settlers of the Oklahoma City area, along with others around the state. Some of these are typed, while all have the original notes. Notes on education in Oklahoma, especially the different...

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Journalist. A photostatic copy of a typescript (n.d.) by Parks entitled "Prairie Prelude: 1897-1903" describing her childhood in Pawnee, Indian Territory.

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Black and white copy prints of the towns of Moore and Snyder, Oklahoma Territory; Norman, Cement, Welch, Frederick, Stroud, Davidson, Vinita, Tipton, Peek, Ioland, Damon, and Elmore City, Oklahoma; and Coweta, Indian Territory. Included are scenes of businesses, the oil industry, railroads, parades, the University of Oklahoma, football, cotton marketing, and fire fighters.

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An account written in 1913 by Mrs. Jarboe of her family's move from Texas to Indian Territory and their subsequent move to Greer County, Oklahoma. The manuscript contains anecdotes about their experiences with Choctaw and Kiowa Indians, as well as a general description of pioneer life.

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Ballerina. Articles concerning Yvonne Chouteau's ancestor and the first White settler in Oklahoma, Jean Pierre Chouteau, and his brother, Auguste Chouteau, founder of St. Louis, Missouri, and concerning Ms. Chouteau's dance career from early appearances in Oklahoma to appearances with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.

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Biographical material by Bowen describing pioneer life in Oklahoma and Indian Territories.

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Typed manuscript (1938) concerning the life of Preston Duvall and his experiences in the run into the Cherokee Strip in 1893.

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Pioneer and banker. Memoirs (1949) of Sam Smith, recording his family's life in frontier Kansas and Colorado, and their participation in the Land Run of 1893 into the Cherokee Strip.