henry garner - Honeysuckle Farm, LLC

Lost and Found, Part 2

Early Day Mooreland
I want to begin with a couple of photos that I was excited to find on a Facebook group called Preserving Mooreland, OK History.

ca 1902 - Earliest known photo of Mooreland, Oklahoma. — ca 1902 – Earliest known photo of Mooreland, Oklahoma.

Earliest known photo of Mooreland, Oklahoma, circa 1902.

Photo dating between 1902-1907 Mooreland OK
The above photo shows early day Mooreland about the time Nicholas died (circa 1902-1907). You can find this photo and others at Preserving Mooreland, OK History, in the Early Day Mooreland album.

Heirs of Nicholas REITER, Deceased
John Wesley RITER
John Wesley RITER was Nicholas and Sarah (DAVIS) REITER’s first known child. He was born in 1854 in Perry, Pike County, Illinois. John married Lottie(RYAN) DAVIS in 1892. She had two children from a previous marriage when she and John married. In 1900 the couple was living in Webster Township, Woodward County, Oklahoma with Lottie’s two teenaged children. Based on the address in the probate file plus a brief paragraph in a local newspaper, I believe he moved from Mooreland, Woodward, Oklahoma to either Florilla, Douglas County, Missouri or Mountain Grove, (not sure if it was Texas or Wright County), Missouri in March of 1904- just 7 or 8 months before his dad died.

Newspaper community note indicating that J. W. Riter moved. J. W. was Nicholas' son. — Newspaper community note indicating that J. W. Riter moved. J. W. was Nicholas’ son.

In 1910 they were living in Welch, Craig County, Oklahoma where Lottie died.

Notice of death of Lottie Riter, wife of John W. Riter ("J. W."). — Notice of death of Lottie Riter, wife of John W. Riter (“J. W.”).

John died in Sulphur Springs, Benton, Arkansas in the summer of 1928. I have not been able to find much information about John. Final accounting documents on Nicholas REITER’s estate show that of the funds that remained after debts had been paid, John W. RITER received $60.02.

Rachel D. (RITER) AKIN
Rachel RITER AKIN was born to Nicholas and Sarah (DAVIS) REITER in 1856 in Perry, Pike County, Illinois. Rachel married John AKIN in 1884 in Pike County, Illinois. Right after marrying, John and Rachel spent a short amount of time living in Kansas. Their oldest child was born there in 1885. The next child was born in Missouri in 1888. The third child was born in Kansas in 1890. Their last child was also born in Kansas in 1891. Some time after that, the family moved back to Illinois. John and Rachel stayed there until their deaths as far as I can tell. In Nicholas’ estate file, Rachel’s last name is spelled ‘AIKEN’. Her name is often also seen spelled like this: Rachael AKINS. Final accounting documents on Nicholas REITER’s estate show that of the funds that remained after debts had been paid, Rachel AKIN received $60.02.

William Sherman RITER
William Sherman RITER lived with or near Nicholas REITER until Nicholas’ death. He then traveled to Arkansas where he met and married Laura Ann BULLOCK. William and Laura (BULLOCK) RITER are my great-grandparents. William was a veteran of the Spanish-American war. He died in Arkansas at age 63 from blood poisoning. In Nicholas’ estate papers, William is referred to as Will. Final accounting documents on Nicholas REITER’s estate show that of the funds that remained after debts had been paid, William RITER received $60.02.

Jennie Hurst (RITER) FULLER
Lastly, there was Jennie Hurst (RITER) FULLER. Jennie was born in 1859 in Illinois. She married James Franklin FULLER (also referred to as “Frank” or “J. F.”) in 1887 in Kansas. James was born in 1857 in Michigan. James and Jennie lived near both of their fathers in 1900 in Oklahoma. Other FULLERs in the Woodward County, Oklahoma area in 1900 were Charley FULLER and Willis FULLER. Willis owned land considerably south of Woodward and Mooreland on Sharon Shattuck Road just East of Sharon. Charley owned land several miles to the southeast of Nicholas REITER and Chester FULLER. Chester’s land was separated from William RITER’s by one section and was to the east of William’s. (Chester Fuller’s Homestead Claim.) The FULLER’s have been difficult for me to trace and I am uncertain whether Chester, Willis, and Charley were family or not.
The terms of the estate sale are listed in the court documents. The sale was to be held at “Frank Fullers place two miles and one half west of Mooreland, Oklahoma Territory. On the 10 day of March A. D. 1905”. Frank’s brand was on some of Nicholas’ cattle that were sold. According to documentation in the probate file, the sale actually occurred 19 March 1905. J. F. FULLER was one of the successful auction bidders who purchased 2 of his deceased father-in-law’s cattle. The cattle he purchased had Mr. FULLER’s brand and he paid $46.50 for them. James F. FULLER filed a Creditor’s Claim against the estate for feeding and caring for some of the cattle. Final accounting documents on Nicholas REITER’s estate show that of the funds that remained after debts had been paid, Jennie (RITER) FULLER received $60.02.

Community note indicating the departure of John and Lottie Riter.

All the articles in this blog post came from either Newspapers.com, the newspaper archive of The Mooreland Leader, or the Gateway to Oklahoma History website at http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

Other Family Members of Nicholas REITER (most of whom are not mentioned in the estate papers)
The CHENOWETH’s in Mooreland, Woodward, Oklahoma in 1900 were distantly related to Nicholas REITER’s mother-in-law, Rachel CHENOWETH DAVIS. Charles H. CHENOWETH and Charlotte J. CHENOWETH owned land southwest of Woodward, Oklahoma. It’s possible that Charlotte J. is not Charles’ wife but perhaps a sister-in-law. I have not found anything to indicate Charles was ever married to someone named Charlotte but he did have a sister-in-law named Charlotte. Charles’ wife was Jennie and I did not find her ever called by the name Charlotte anywhere. Also living in the area was Amelia (DULING) CHENOWETH (widow of David M. CHENOWETH) who owned two sections. Her sections were directly south of Chester FULLER’s and were separated from his by one section.
Nicholas’ father-in-law, John F. DAVIS, was born in New York. The DAVIS families in the Mooreland area in 1900 included Judge John T. DAVIS, Charles DAVIS, Mack DAVIS- all of whom were closely related to each other- and Frank P. DAVIS. Short biographical sketches of John T. and his sons Charles and Mack are included in Part 1 of this Lost and Found blog post.
Charles DAVIS owed $2 to Nicholas at the time of Nicholas’ death and Charles paid the debt to the estate. If I’m reading the records correctly, there are at least two men by the name Charles DAVIS in the area at the time Nicholas lived there. There is one Charles DAVIS who lived in the same census district in 1900. This Charles lived closer to Nicholas’ son, John. I think it is likely that this is the Charles DAVIS mentioned in the probate file. It is my opinion that these DAVIS families are probably related somehow to Nicholas’ in-laws although I can’t say for certain at this point. Some of the estate documents were notarized by Frank P. DAVIS who was the director for Mooreland’s Security State Bank in 1904. You will find Frank’s biographical sketch below.

Friends and Neighbors Who Were Mentioned in the Estate Papers
Frank P. DAVIS was a notary public who notarized some of the documents in the probate file. Mr. DAVIS was born in Ohio in 1853. He and his wife Mary and their children were living in Webster Township, Woodward County, Oklahoma in 1900- the same township as Nicholas REITER. The DAVIS family left Ohio sometime after 1881 after their first child was born. By 1892 they were in Oklahoma. Mr. DAVIS’ occupation in 1900 was grocer. At one point, Mr. DAVIS also owned “a fine hall for opera and ball purposes.” (Facebook- Preserving Mooreland, OK History, post dated August 27, 2015.) Mr. DAVIS donated the land for Curtis Cemetery located four miles east of Mooreland, Oklahoma. He has several children buried there. The cemetery was established in 1901.

John H. LAWRENCE was one of the appraisers of the estate property. Mr. LAWRENCE also signed the final settlement documents in the case. He was a member of Mooreland Red Cross (1918). I have been unable to find any other information about him. There were other LAWRENCE families in the area including Naomi LAWRENCE and Jacob H. LAWRENCE who both owned property in the section north of Nicholas. In 1900, Naomi was living with her brother, Jacob, and their aunt was also living with them. They were living 7 residences away from Nicholas in 1900.

Alois S. JENISCH was another one of the appraisers. He also signed the final settlement documents for the estate of Nicholas RITER. Mr. JENISCH’s residence was separated from Nicholas’ residence by one other home in 1900. His homestead claim was in sections that are now bordered on the south by Highway 50B, just west of the Mooreland Cemetery. Highway 412 now separates the original JENISCH and RITER claims. Mr. JENISCH was born in Austria. Like Nicholas, Mr. JENISCH’s native language was German. Mr. JENISCH ran for County Commisioners’ Trustee on the Democrat ticket in the fall of 1904. He was Vice President of the A.H.T.A. Lodge No. 263. He was also the D.D.D.M. officer in the Mooreland Lodge, No. 128, IOOF along with Treasurer Jesse WYCKOFF (see his profile below). The IOOF met every Saturday night at Mr. DAVIS’ opera house.

Fred WELLS signed as a witness on the estate documents. I have not found any information anywhere about Mr. WELLS. The only WELLS in the 1900 Woodward County, Oklahoma census is James A. WELLS. He was boarding with the HURLEY family in Marum Township. He was working as a stock herder.

Jesse Almon WYCKOFF successfully bid on and purchased 7 of Nicholas’ cattle for $75.30. In 1900, Mr. WYCKOFF was single and boarding with the BOUYACOT family. He was born in Iowa. He was a grocer in 1900. Mr. WYCKOFF came to the Oklahoma Territory in 1899 by covered wagon and homesteaded a claim north of Mooreland. His “general merchandise” business- Boguss & Wyckoff- was the first business in Mooreland, Oklahoma. He had previously owned a grocery store. Shortly after going into business together, Mr. BOGUSS and Mr. WYCKOFF dissolved their partnership and Mr. BOGUSS returned to where he had come from. Mr. WYCKOFF formed another partnership right away with his brother, Henry Martin WYCKOFF, and they ran a general merchandise store. Henry WYCKOFF came to Oklahoma Territory sometime between 21 June 1900 and 24 August 1901. The WYCKOFF brothers also had a sister living in Woodward County- Ada “Addie” Nora MOODY, wife of Merrick Green MOODY. Sometime between May of 1899 and 12 June 1900, Merrick and Addie moved to Oklahoma Territory and in 1900, they lived in Webster, Woodward County, Oklahoma. Their other brother, John Elmer WYCKOFF, never left Iowa. By 1906 Mr. WYCKOFF was in a partnership with J. J. BOUQUOT buying and shipping livestock. Ms. Eda KNITTEL worked at the Wyckoff Brothers store for a while. She was in charge of the dry goods department. If you recall, Ms. KNITTEL later married Omer SCHNOEBELEN and helped him run the newspaper (see Lost and Found part 1). Ms. KNITTEL was in charge of the dry goods at the Wyckoff Brothers’ store. In addition to his business, Mr. WYCKOFF was the Treasurer of the Mooreland Lodge, No. 128, IOOF. He was also a Mooreland Red Cross member (1918). (http://discoveramericasstory.com/sample/mooreland-4.pdf; Facebook- Preserving Mooreland, OK History, post dated August 27, 2015.)

WYCKOFF business ad.

Julius C. (“J. C.”) TRIPLETT successfully bid on and purchased 4 of Nicholas’ cattle for $76.50. Julius was born in Illinois in 1844 according to the 1900 census. In 1868, he married Ella R. CODDINGTON and together they had at least 10 children. In 1900 they were living in Macedonia Precinct, Chase Township, Nebraska. I can’t find a specific year the family moved to Oklahoma but they were there by the time Nicholas REITER passed away in 1904. Ella passed away in 1919 and was buried in Iowa. A couple of years before she passed away (1917) the couple celebrated their golden wedding anniversary.

Julius passed away in 1926 and was also buried in Iowa. However, Julius’ estate was probated in Oklahoma so I know he was here when he died. An ad in a 1907 edition of The Mooreland Leader gives some indication of Mr. TRIPLETT’s line of business.

Ad indicating Mr. Triplett's line of business. — Ad indicating Mr. Triplett’s line of business.

Elijah Harrison RICHARD successfully bid on and purchased 6 of Nicholas REITER’s cattle for $133.00. Mr. RICHARD was born in 1822 in Indiana. He first married Hannah CURRENT in 1844 in Indiana. In 1862 there was an epidemic and Hannah, along with their children Sarah and Charles, died in the epidemic (influenza or typhoid- it is unclear which). In 1863, Mr. RICHARD married Elizabeth JONES. She helped him raise the 7 living children that he had with Hannah and together he and Elizabeth had 13 additional children. Mr. RICHARD moved to Oklahoma sometime between 1900 (in the 1900 census he was living in Kansas) and 1904 (when he bought Nicholas’ cattle). In 1906 the “Richard Brothers” were doing business in Mooreland selling millinery goods (and possibly more- I can only go off of the newspaper ad). I have been unable to determine if Elijah RICHARD was one oaf the brothers doing business together. In 1907 he was definitely selling real estate for a living. Mr. RICHARD died in 1910.

Elijah RICHARD.

Annie E. ELLIS successfully bid on and purchased 1 cow for $25.50. Mrs. ELLIS’ homestead claim was to the south and east of Nicholas’ and William’s claims. If I have found the correct Annie ELLIS, she was born in March of 1849 in Indiana. In 1900 she lived in Renfrow, Kay County, Oklahoma and later moved to Woodward County where she lived out the rest of her life.

Michael Jhan DUGGER successfully bid on and purchased 4 cattle for $55.30. Mr. DUGGER was born in 1849 in Tennessee. In 1875 in Clay County, Kansas he married Sarah Elizabeth KAISER (known as “Sadie”). They had four children that I could find. Their daughter, Belle, died at a young age leaving behind two very young children. Michael and Sarah DUGGER raised Belle’s children after Belle died, at least for a little while. I haven’t been able to find them in the 1910 census so I’m not sure if the DUGGERs raised these grandchildren to adulthood or if one of their children took over and finished raising the two children. In 1900, Mr. DUGGER and his family (including his two orphaned grandchildren from his daughter, Belle) lived in Sherman, Clay County, Kansas. In 1915, Mr. DUGGER bought Mr. Frank P. DAVIS’ home in the west part of Mooreland. Mr. DAVIS planned on moving to the Northwest. Mr. DAVIS was featured in Part 1 of this post. Mrs. DUGGER died in 1917. Mr. DUGGER died in 1923. They are buried in Mooreland Cemetery in Mooreland, Oklahoma. The DUGGERs seem to have been well-liked and respected in the Mooreland community.

Roy A. SMITH (one of the attorneys) filed a Creditor’s Claim against the estate. Mr. SMITH filed some affidavits in the estate’s case and an appeal in the land office to obtain patent to Nicholas REITER’s homestead which had been deeded to Peter MARTINSON. Receipts were included in the file for Mr. SMITH’s “appeal & contest”. Mr. SMITH was born in 1878 in Missouri. In 1900 he was living with his sister and brother-in-law and their family in Judkins, Woodward County, Oklahoma. He was a practicing attorney at that time and was single. I am not certain he stayed in Woodward County very long as I have not been able to find information about him. I have found that in 1902 he was appointed as a Notary Public in Woodward County. He and a B. B. SMITH were both attorneys working in Woodward County in the 1902-1903 time period.

Sherman Mix SMITH was the attorney who did the financial accounting for Nicholas’ estate. He was a collector of historical documents. He applied to be a notary public in Woodward County, Oklahoma. He was a Scottish Rite Mason and was the postmaster of Woodward, OK from 1910 until early 1914 Mr. SMITH was born in 1867 in Ohio. In 1900 he lived with his wife and kids in Chillicothe Ward 1, Livingston County, MO. Mr. SMITH married Emma Della ESTEP in 1894. He died in 1941 and is buried in Woodward, Woodward County, OK. His wife died in 1948 and is buried in the same cemetery as Mr. SMITH.

Harry E. FINCK was an auctioneer who helped sell Nicholas’ possessions at auction after Nicholas’ death. Mr. FINCK was born in Iowa about 1867. He married Mary May “Mollie” HARDMAN. In 1905, Mr. FINCK was hired to fix the road leading from the new bridge into Mooreland. In 1906 Mr. FINCK was selling Advance threshing machines with J. I. WHEELOCK and was the Manager of the Advance Threshing Machine Company in Mooreland. There was also an H. E. FINCK who was a confectionary. It is unclear if these men were the same person. Here is a Wikipedia photo of an Advance Thresher:

In 1906 Mr. FINCK served on a lot of committees. He was a part of the committee appointed at the business men’s meeting in February, 1906 to investigate the matter of incorporating Mooreland. His fellow committee members included William LAIRD (who is profiled below) and John DAVIS (who was profiled in the first part of this blog post). Mr. FINCK also served on the July 4th fair committee for at least one year along with fellow citizens John HOOVER, John T. DAVIS, Omer SCHNOEBELEN, and Dr. Harry COCKERILL (all of whom were profiled in part one of this blog post), as well as Frank DAVIS and Jesse WYCKOFF both of whom are profiled above. It appears that by 1907 Mr. FINCK had moved to Arkansas. In Pitkin, Washington County, Arkansas he raised raspberries and was described as a “farmer” and “horticulturist”. He later lived in Kansas. He died in 1936 in Rocky Ford, Otero County, Colorado. Mollie died in 1949.

William Franklin Laird notarized some of the documents in Nicholas’ estate file. Mr. LAIRD was born 17 February 1870 in Kentucky. As a young teen, he learned his father’s part-time itinerant photography business. He also worked his father’s farm because his father was not well enough to do it himself. Mr. LAIRD arrived to the Cherokee Strip in 1893 and was a participant in the land run of 1893. Mr. LAIRD’s land was in a section adjoining the section in which Nicholas’ property was located. He became a clerk and then manager of of mercantile and milling business until 1899. Mr. LAIRD married Myrtle B. in August of 1896. In 1899 he organized and was a partner in Alva Rolling Mills Company. He was connected to that business until 1903. In 1900, Mr. and Mrs. LAIRD and their son lived in Medford, Grant County, Oklahoma. The census that year indicates they had one child that died in addition to the one son that was with them at that time. Mr. LAIRD’s occupation at that time was “Lumber Dealer”. In September 1903 a charter was issued for Mooreland’s Security State Bank. Mr. LAIRD was one of the five incorporators of the bank. His residence in 1903 was Medford, Grant County, Oklahoma. In November of 1903, Mr. LAIRD was a cashier at the bank as well as a Director at the bank. In December of 1903 he was issued a notary license (presumably to conduct bank business) and in 1904 he became the director of the Security State Bank. In 1905, Mr. LAIRD was elected President of the bank. He was a member of the IOOF Mooreland Lodge No. 128 at that time (along with John DAVIS and Dr. COCKERILL, both profiled in part one of this blog post) and was appointed as a trustee for the new lodge building that was being planned. Also In 1905, Mr. LAIRD was appointed to a committee to “look after the purchase” of land for the Santa Fe Railroad which was planning to build through and serve the area of Mooreland. Also on that committee was Mr. John T. DAVIS who was profiled in part one of this blog post. Mr. and Mrs. LAIRD adopted a three-year-old girl that year as well. In addition to all these responsibilities he presided as “President” over the July 4th parade/festivities that year. In 1906 Mr. LAIRD retained his Presidency of Security State Bank. That same year, The Flour Mill Company was organized and Mr. LAIRD was appointed as President of that company as well. In addition to working at the bank, Mr. LAIRD clerked some auctions in the area for Mr. FINCK whose profile appears above. Mr. LAIRD seemed to have some political interests. He attended the 1906 congressional convention in Woodward along with Frank DAVIS (whose profile appears earlier in this blog) and several other men from the community. In addition to all of these duties that year, he was also appointed to a committee to see to the incorporation of Mooreland. He served on that committee with John DAVIS (profiled in part one of this blog post) and Harry FINCK (profiled earlier in this post). In 1907, Mr. and Mrs. LAIRD traded their land in Oklahoma for a walnut grove in Anaheim, Orange County, California. They departed Mooreland on April 15, 1907 en route to California. Soon after, he went into the real estate business in Kern County, California with partner J. B. McFARLAND. The 23 April 1909 edition of The Mooreland Leader states that Mr. LAIRD was the President of Pacific Slope Oil Company in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, and that he had “oil land” in the Santa Maria oil district in California. In the 1910’s Mr. LAIRD worked as a promoter for an oil company. In the 1920’s Mr. LAIRD worked as a rancher, real estate dealer, and sanitation inspector. In the 1930’s he worked as a police court judge and it is said he never had a ruling overturned (although I’m not sure that would even be an issue for a police court judge). Mr. LAIRD was an active Mason and a member of many masonic organizations. Together Mr. and Mrs. LAIRD raised at least 8 children. Mrs. LAIRD enjoyed public speaking and even competed in local public speaking competitions. Myrtle LAIRD died in 1943 and has lodge-type symbols on her gravestone. William LAIRD died in 1961 in Bakersfield, Kern County, California. His gravestone has a lodge symbol on it also. Mr. LAIRD was a lifelong Republican.

Security State Bank, 1903.

Mr. & Mrs. Laird's wedding photo. — Mr. & Mrs. Laird’s wedding photo.

Mr. and Mrs. LAIRD’s wedding photo.

Mr. LAIRD.

Arthur L. OSGOOD was born in Illinois in May of 1876. In 1900 Mr. OSGOOD was 24 years old, single, and still living with his very large family in Bear Creek, Hancock County, Illinois. His occupation was listed as “farm laborer”. In 1910 he married Ida Lee WHEELER.

Arthur and Ida OSGOOD.

Mr. OSGOOD.

Throughout their marriage they took care of several different family members. They adopted twin girls – Helen and Ellen. They girls were born in 1918 but were not adopted until 1920. Mr. OSGOOD was active in the Knights of Pythias lodge- Palo Duro Lodge No. 166 at least during the years of 1911-1912. He may have also been involved with Shriners as he served on a Shriner committee in 1924. Mr. OSGOOD became a “monuments dealer” (gravestones). There is a receipt in Nicholas’ estate file billing $40.00 for Nicholas’ gravestone. Acknowledgement of all the other receipts showed up in court documents, however this particular receipt didn’t show up in any official document other than the receipt itself being in the receipt envelope. The company name on the receipt is Osgood & Gordon. The Osgood & Gordon Monument Company was located in Amarillo, Potter County, Texas. I’m guessing the headstone came from Amarillo by train. I loved the following ad where Mr. OSGOOD billed himself as “The Monument Man”.

It was a nice nod to the real monument men/veterans.

Mr. OSGOOD must have been well-connected in the community. I’m guessing the OSGOODs were Baptists as they hosted a large farewell party (200 guests in their home!) for members of a group from First Baptist Church in 1924. Additionally, Mrs. OSGOOD was elected Secretary of the Circle C group at the First Baptist Church in 1913. Mr. and Mrs. OSGOOD appear to have been active community and local business members. They participated in/sponsored various local events within the community throughout the years. In 1930 Mr. OSGOOD served as a pall bearer for the late former judge of Potter County, T. W. McBRIDE. Ida passed away in September of 1949. Mr. OSGOOD died in Amarillo in January of 1953. They are buried in Llano Cemetery in Amarillo, Randall County, Texas.

Nicholas REITER’s Close Neighbors Who Were Not Mentioned in the Estate Papers
There were neighbors of Nicholas’ who owned land joining his land but were not mentioned in the estate papers. If you are interested in knowing more about Nicholas’ close neighbors, you can research the following people. I’ve included a little information to get you started.

James Corwin WINEBURNER: There are multiple James Wineburner’s in Mooreland. I believe the James WINEBURNER in question was born in September of 1830 in Ohio. Mr. WINEBURNER married Sarah Elizabeth “Libby” MARSHALL in 1856 in Indiana. He owned property in the section north of Nicholas. Mr. and Mrs. WINEBURNER are both buried in Mooreland Cemetery. Libby died in 1908 and James died in 1910.

Jacob J. SMALLWOOD owned property in the section north of Nicholas. Mr. SMALLWOOD was born in 1856 according to his gravestone but according to the 1900 census he was born in May of 1852 in Indiana. In 1900 Mr. SMALLWOOD lived in Webster, Woodward County, Oklahoma and he was a farmer. He was living with his stepfather and mother, Henry and Catherine GARNER, and his siblings. Mr. GARNER was a brickmaker. Later in life Mr. SMALLWOOD was a wholesale shipper. In 1906 he used auctioneer house Long & Finck to sell his property. I haven’t found anything that identifies this FINCK (of Long & Finck) as being the above profiled Harry E. FINCK or a relative of Harry E. FINCK. Mr. SMALLWOOD married Nettie May CUMEFORT sometime around 1906. Mr. SMALLWOOD was a member of Mooreland Red Cross in 1918. He died in 1929 and is buried in Mooreland Cemetery.

Charles H. GARTEN owned property catty-corner to the northwest of Nicholas. He was born in August of 1860 in Kentucky. He married Lillie May LAWRENCE. Mr. Garten was still living in April of 1928. At that time he was the administrator of Leon GARTEN’s estate. He also lost his wife that same year. Mr. GARTEN died in 1952. Mr. and Mrs. GARTEN are both buried in Mooreland Cemetery.

Sherwood S. GUY owned property catty-corner to the northwest of Nicholas. He was born in June of 1866 in Illinois. He married in 1892. In 1900 he and his wife Harriet Louise “Hattie” BARKER GUY were living in Webster, Woodward County, Oklahoma. He was working as a locomotive engineer and she was listed as a farmer in that census. By 1905 the family had moved out of Woodward County. Mr. GUY died in 1940 and is buried in Shawnee, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma. Mrs. Guy lived until 1966 and is also buried in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

Finalities
Nicholas’ estate was finalized and discharged on 28 December 1905. Finalization of his estate involved many people. I’m sure James and Jennie FULLER were probably glad when it was over. They had taken care of their fathers in the men’s final years and had dealt with both burials and both probates at virtually the same time. It must have been a relief to be done with it.
None of Nicholas’ immediate family remained in the Mooreland area. James and Jennie stayed the longest but by 1910 they were in Benton County, Arkansas near Jennie’s brother (and my granny’s dad), William.
I hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know the family, friends, and neighbors Nicholas had during the final years of his life. If you’re interested in doing your own research, I got my information from the following sources: Ancestry.com; Newspapers.com; gateway.okhistory.org; The Mooreland Leader’s archive database; Facebook; various small websites devoted to preserving the history of Mooreland and it’s early residents; Findagrave.com; and Google Books.

Until next time,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives

Lost and Found

I was in Mooreland, Oklahoma for several weekends in September and October. I was able to find a couple of newspaper articles, some citizenship documents, the grave site, and the probate file of my great-great grandfather, Nicholas REITER. The most exciting thing I found though, was the location of the piece of land he homesteaded and the general area where my great-grandfather homesteaded land in the Cherokee Strip. Regarding the Cherokee Strip Land Run of 1893, Willie T. COOLEY had this to say, “Boy, it was the darndest race I ever saw! Some men rode their horses to death. We passed several dead horses. I rode a spirited Spanish horse.” (http://wt-cooley.net/WT.htm) You can read more about Mr. COOLEY below.
My original goal was to tell you the information I found in the probate packet and then give you a brief background on each person other than Nicholas who was mentioned in the paperwork. I had no idea so many people participated in probating an estate!! Nor did I expect so many of them to have such interesting histories. The post has become quite long so I’m going to break it into two parts. Each part will begin with information about family members who are mentioned in the probate file and then end with short biographies of other people mentioned in the file. Before we start though, here are a few photos of Nicholas’ homestead claim land:

The land that was Nicholas Reiter's homestead land, Mooreland, Woodward County, Oklahoma. — The land that was Nicholas Reiter’s homestead land, Mooreland, Woodward County, Oklahoma.

Standing at the southeast corner of Nicholas REITER’s homestead, looking out over his land.

Me, standing at the southwest corner of Nicholas Reiter's homestead land, Mooreland, Woodward County, Oklahoma. — Me, standing at the southwest corner of Nicholas Reiter’s homestead land, Mooreland, Woodward County, Oklahoma.

Me standing at the southwest corner of Nicholas REITER’s land. I’m not sure why this picture came out sideways and I can’t seem to rotate it. Sorry!

The section of land that was William Riter's homestead claim, Mooreland, Woodward County, Oklahoma. — The section of land that was William Riter’s homestead claim, Mooreland, Woodward County, Oklahoma.

Looking out over the section of land where William RITER made his homestead claim.

FINAL SETTLEMENT OF A LIFE
The probate file for the estate of Nicholas REITER starts with a listing of Nicholas’ heirs, their ages, and their addresses at the time of the court case:
* John W. RITER, 50 years the 28 of January 1905, post office Florilla, MO (Florilla, Missouri is in Douglas County near Cabool, East of Springfield.)
* Mrs. Rachel AKIN, 48 years the 14 of January 1905, post office Perry, ILL (Perry, Illinois is where the REITER family originated and is where Nicholas’ wife was most likely buried.)
* Mrs. Jennie H. FULLER, 46 years Feb 20th 1905, post office Mooreland, O.T. (Oklahoma Territory)
* William S. RITER, 40 years November 16 1904, post office Mooreland, O.T.
The Petition for Letters of Administration dated 17 November 1904 does not give an exact death date for Nicholas- only that he died in 1904. His obituary published in The Mooreland Leader states he died on the night of Wednesday, 26 October 1904. His gravestone says he died on October 27th. The funeral was held on October 27th according to The Mooreland Leader and he was buried at Mooreland Cemetery. He shares a stone with Chester FULLER. Nicholas’ daughter, Jennie, was married to Chester’s son, James, and both men (Nicholas and Chester) died within 5 months of each other. One of my questions- which may never be answered- is why did they bury him so soon? Any family that lived far away had no opportunity to pay their last respects- especially his son John who had just moved to Missouri a few months prior and his daughter Rachel who had remained in Illinois when the rest of the family moved away. Jennie and her husband had just lost her husband’s father- Chester FULLER. I suppose you could argue that grief causes you to to make decisions you wouldn’t otherwise make. Whatever the reason, Nicholas was buried right away and he shares a headstone with Chester FULLER.

Nicholas Riter's and Chester Fuller's gravestone. Nicholas' daughter married Chester's son. Both men were widowed and the daughter and son were the ones who cared for the men in their old age. This is the only reason I can think of that they were buried together. — Nicholas Riter’s and Chester Fuller’s gravestone. Nicholas’ daughter married Chester’s son. Both men were widowed and the daughter and son were the ones who cared for the men in their old age. This is the only reason I can think of that they were buried together.

Nicholas REITER’s side of the headstone.

Chester Fuller's side of the gravestone. — Chester Fuller’s side of the gravestone.

Chester FULLER’s side of the headstone.

Inventory of the Estate of Nicholas Reiter.

The initial paperwork in the probate file did not list a final residence more specific than just Woodward County, Oklahoma Territory. There was a handwritten note in the receipt envelope dated 11 January 1905 showing that John J. HOOVER (who was appointed administrator of the estate and was also a next-door neighbor to Nicholas in 1900) wrote a note to Judge WHITE indicating that he believed Nicholas REITER’s estate “[would] not amount to very much in case the Government does not accept the final proof on his claim.” Mr. HOOVER goes on to say, “[Nicholas Reiter] signed the claim over to Peter Martinson who also holds mortgage on other property. I thought perhaps you would not appoint appraisers until we get the Governments decision about the claim.” In trying to figure out where he might have lived in Woodward County, I looked at his 1900 census entry which said part of “Webster [Township] west of Rangeline between Ranges 18 & 19”. It showed that he and his son, William (my great-grandfather), were living with Nicholas’ daughter and son-in-law, Jennie and James FULLER. Initially, I didn’t have any information to indicate he was not living with James and Jennie when he passed away. There was another document in the probate file that said the auction of Nicholas’ personal property would happen at James FULLER’s residence two and one half miles west of Mooreland. After reviewing the file more thoroughly I found a legal description of property Nicholas owned, specifically: s e 1-4 sec 32 & 23 n r 19 w. My husband and I consulted several maps and we found the location of the property. Although the property is leased and we couldn’t go onto it, we were able to drive on the section line road around two sides of the property and we were able to look out over the section where William RITER owned his homestead property even though we didn’t know exactly where his property was within the section. (Nicholas REITER’s Homestead Claim in the Cherokee Strip; my great-grandfather William RITER’s claim in the adjoining section to the south of Nicholas; James F. FULLER (Nicholas’ son-in-law) owned property in the same section as Nicholas.
The probate paperwork lists his property at the time of death as “a small amount of Kaffir corn and hay” that “probably” does not exceed $150 in value. By the time the estate was through being probated his inventory read:

In the end, Nicholas’ estate brought in well over the $150 originally estimated by Mr. HOOVER. (Again, I apologize for the sideways picture. It wasn’t saved that way and I’m not sure why it won’t rotate.)
The probate file did not show that there were any problems in the process of probating the estate. It took just over a year to probate and make final settlement. Below I will give a little detail about the people whose names appear in the probate file.

OTHER PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THE PROBATE PAPERS

JOHN J. HOOVER
John Jacob HOOVER was appointed administrator of the estate. In 1900 he was living next door to Nicholas RITER. At that time Mr. HOOVER was living with his brother, Howard. Both of the HOOVER brothers were single in 1900 and both were born in Virginia. Mr. HOOVER’s homestead claim was in the same section as Nicholas RITER’s. (Henry GARNER also had a homestead claim in that section but he was not mentioned in the probate file.) Although Mr. HOOVER did not seem to show up in the newspaper a lot nor did I find any stories on the internet about his life on the internet, he did seem to be on very good terms with his neighbors. He shows up often on legal papers including homestead claim proofs, probate cases, etc. He was a witness for Mr. BORCHARDT (see below) when Mr. BORCHARDT filed his final proof for his homestead claim. He seems to have been a very good and trusted neighbor. If you’ve ever lived in the country, you know the value of a good and trusted neighbor. They’re worth gold! I have found nothing to indicate why Mr. HOOVER was chosen to administer the estate.

PETER MARTINSON
In regard to Peter MARTINSON who wrote the note in the probate file, he immigrated to the United States from Sweden. He lived with his wife and children in Judkins, Woodward County, Oklahoma Territory in 1900 and was a merchant/grocer. His homestead claim was about 13 miles to the south of Nicholas’ claim. Other than this property transfer mentioned in the probate file, I don’t know of any other connection between Nicholas and Peter. The museum in Woodward has the sign from outside the MARTINSON grocery displayed. You can see it here:

Martinson grocery display inside the museum in Woodward, Oklahoma.

Peter Martinson general store in Woodward, Oklahoma.

I think this is the Martinson sign while it was still on the store. Photo from the book Woodward County, by Ian D. Swart.
Peter came to America with 25 cents to his name. You can read a short summary of his achievements in America here and also see the building he built that housed his grocery store. Incidentally, Peter’s daughter Hanna married a man named Walter Arthur “Art” FULLER. I don’t know if Walter was related to Chester (meaning he would be related to Jennie (RITER) FULLER by marriage). You can read a couple of paragraphs about Walter and Hanna here (Scroll to the bottom of the page. The article is continued on the next page as well.). Walter, who was called Art, played baseball for a local team. Here he is with his team in uniform:

1912 Woodward baseball team, Woodward, Oklahoma.

From the book Woodward County, by Ian D. Swart.

In 1921, Peter MARTINSON and his daughter, Esther, applied for passports to go see Mr. MARTINSON’s 90-year-old mother in Sweden (Esther’s grandmother). Their plan was to depart fom the port in New York, USA, pass through England and end up in Sweden. Apparently his father, Hans, came to America and died here. I’m not sure why his mother did not also come. In 1921, Mr. MARTINSON was 60 years old. On his passport application he was described as 5’9, with a regular forehead, straight nose, blue eyes, gray hair, small/regular mouth, round/regular chin, round/full face, ruddy/light complexion, and he had a crippled and crooked index finger on his left hand. Here is Mr. MARTINSON’s passport photo:

Peter Martinson's passport photo. — Peter Martinson’s passport photo.

Peter MARTINSON held a deed to some of Nicholas’ land when Nicholas died. Peter paid the estate the remainder of what he owed before the estate was settled.

PROBATE JUDGE JOSEPH ANDREW PATTON
Probate Judge Joseph Andrew PATTON acted as the probate judge at the initial filing of the case. Although he was the judge when Nicholas’ probate case started, he was quickly replaced by a different judge due to an election. He was a lawyer in Woodward, Oklahoma. He was born in Kentucky. He was a Captain during the Civil War. He was a post-battle hospital worker after the Battle of Perryville and he fought in the battle of Chickamauga where he was wounded.

PROBATE JUDGE CHARLES W. WHITE
Probate Judge Charles W. WHITE presided over the case after Judge PATTON. He was born in Wisconsin. He was a lawyer in Woodward, Oklahoma. In the fall of 1904 he ran on the Republican ticket along with W. T. COOLEY running for Sheriff (R), and C. C. HOAG running for County Clerk (R). Apparently the Republicans won big or this was a largely Republican area since all three of these men were voted into office. Mr. PATTON did not run for office in the fall of 1904 (or if he did he was not advertised as a contender in the August or September 1904 editions of the paper).

WILLIAM THOMAS “WILLIE” COOLEY
As mentioned above, Willie T. COOLEY ran for sheriff of Woodward County in the fall of 1904. He ran on the Republican ticket and won. He is listed on some of Nicholas’ estate documents as the Woodward County Sheriff. Mr. COOLEY was born in Kansas. He tells his own story at http://wt-cooley.net/WT.htm. He has connections to a couple of different FULLER lines as well as a PAGE line (my husband’s family). I have not been able to make any direct connections to mine or my husband’s family yet but his story is worth reading. It seems he was in his mid-90’s when he told the story and it was written down. An article in The Curtis Courier (Curtis, Oklahoma) described him as “honorable and upright in every respect” and claimed he would “make a vigorous and level headed guardian of the law.” In 1900 Mr. COOLEY still lived in Garfield, Oklahoma. He lived with his wife and children. In 1900 his little boy Earl was one year old. According to the website where Mr. COOLEY’s life story is, Earl died just before his second birthday. The year 1900 was heading into a period of Mr. COOLEY’s life that he said was his favorite. In 1903, he was appointed Postmaster of Quinlan, Woodward County, Oklahoma. I loved his description of the Cherokee Strip run of 1893. If Nicholas and William RITER did indeed participate in the run, Mr. COOLEY’s description is helpful in understanding what it was like.

Mr. COOLEY as Sheriff. Mr. COOLEY is the adult male without a hat.

Mr. COOLEY with his wife, Clara (TOMLINSON) COOLEY.

CHARLES C. HOAG
As mentioned above, Charles C. HOAG ran for County Clerk of Woodward County in 1904. He already held the position from the 1903 election. I am assuming he won since his signature appears as the probate court clerk and notary on a document in the estate file. In 1900, Mr. HOAG was still single and living with his parents. One of his siblings was also living there. They were living in Kremlin, Garfield County, Oklahoma. In 1909 President TAFT sent a nomination to the Senate for Mr. HOAG to be the new receiver at the Woodward Land Office. Mr. HOAG was described as “an able man, loyal to his party, and will undoubtedly give universal satisfaction as receiver.” Mr. HOAG was born in Kansas.

From Newspapers.com

WILLIAM H. KINGTON
William H. KINGTON (sometimes written as ‘KINGSTON’ in the probate file) was an appraiser of Nicholas’ estate. His homestead claim was in the same section as William RITER’s- the section south of Nicholas’. Mr. KINGTON was born in Illinois. In 1900 he lived two residences away from Nicholas and William RITER. In 1900 Mr. KINGTON was 52 years old, single, and living with his elderly parents and siblings. I could not find any evidence that he ever married or had children. I was unable to find much information about him at all.

ADOLPH F. BORCHARDT
Adolph F. (“A. F.”) BORCHARDT was one of the people giving surety (presumably for John HOOVER so he could administrate the estate?). Mr. BORCHARDT’s homestead claim was in the section between William RITER’s and Chester FULLER’s claims and was to the east of William RITER’s claim. (Chester’s relationship to Nicholas is described above; Chester FULLER’s Homestead Claim. Chester’s land was separated from William RITER’s by one section. Chester’s land was to the east of William’s.) Mr. BORCHARDT was born in Wisconsin. Although I couldn’t find Mr. BORCHARDT in the 1900 census, his future wife (Daisy COVINGTON, whom he would marry in November of 1900) lived four residences down from Nicholas that year.

Above is Mr. BORCHARDT.

JOHN FRANKLIN “FRANK” CALDWELL
John Franklin (“Frank”) CALDWELL was the second person giving surety. Mr. CALDWELL owned property in the section between William RITER’s and Chester FULLER’s properties. In 1900 he lived 8 residences away from Nicholas. He was born in Iowa and had a large family. Mr. CALDWELL “cut and hauled cedars to Kansas. In his later years he was a night watchman for Mooreland. Being a father of twelve children he did not believe in sparing the rod.” You can find photos of his family and his homestead along with a little more information here.

JOHN TILFORD DAVIS, SR.
John T. DAVIS Sr. was the Justice of the Peace in Woodward County. He ran on the Democratic ticket in the fall of 1904 for Justice of the Peace for the Mooreland Precinct. He signed and notarized some of the probate documents. John T. DAVIS Sr. (as well as Charles H. DAVIS- possibly a son of John T.) owned property kitty-corner to the northeast of Nicholas. A Charles DAVIS owed Nicholas $2 when Nicholas died and Charles DAVIS paid the estate prior to the closing of the case. Mr. DAVIS (possibly the father of Mack DAVIS who was also a close neighbor of Nicholas in 1900) certified that the witnesses were who they said they were. Mack DAVIS signed as a witness on estate paperwork. John T. DAVIS Sr. was born in Illinois. In 1900 there were two residences in between the Davis residence and Nicholas’ residence. He was a trustee of the First Methodist Church in Mooreland when it received it’s charter in 1905. If the Charles DAVIS and Mack DAVIS on the estate papers are really John DAVIS’ sons, Charles (“Charlie”) was born in Missouri and Mack was born in Kansas.

Article about a fight Mr. DAVIS was in in 1903.

John T. DAVIS Sr. as a young man.

John T. DAVIS Sr. and his wife. (The photo’s original caption says this is “Emma” – Sarah “Emma” GUESS- but the photo is him as an old man which would indicate the wife in the photo is his second wife, Eliza M. JENKINS.)

HARRY SCOTT COCKERILL
Harry Scott (“H. S.”) COCKERILL was Nicholas’ physician prior to Nicholas’ death. Mr. COCKERILL was born in Iowa. Like John T. DAVIS Sr., Dr. COCKERILL owned property kitty-corner to the northeast of Nicholas. Dr. COCKERILL took some hay in lieu of money to cover some of Nicholas’ final doctor bill and then requested the remaining $12.40 in cash (the original bill was $25.85). Highway 412 now separates the original COCKERILL and RITER homesteads.) In 1900 he was living in and practicing medicine in Iowa but within several years he had a practice and a homestead claim in Mooreland, Woodward County, Oklahoma.
An ad that ran in the paper for Dr. Cockerill’s services:

Ad for Dr. Cockerill's services. — Ad for Dr. Cockerill’s services.

JAMES EVERETT SMITH
James Everett SMITH was born in Indiana. He graduated from Purdue University and was a teacher of mathematics at Northwestern Normal School. He was a member of the Masonic lodge and an active member of the Commercial Club. He moved to Alva in 1898. In 1903 he left the school, moved to Woodward and became the editor/publisher/part-owner of the Woodward Bulletin Weekly. He was a member of the Methodist church. He published notices for the estate of Nicholas RITER. Mr. SMITH was involved in politics in Woodward County and was a Republican. In 1904 he ran for Republican National Delegate. In 1900 he was single, a boarder with the EMBERSON family and living in Alva, Oklahoma. You can read a little more about him at this blog. Mr. SMITH was once excused from jury duty on a murder trial. You can read about the jurors here and some history about the murder here (several different blog posts on this page). The murder happened in the “Old Opera House”. The Old Opera House was the upper story of Peter MARTINSON’s grocery store. You can read about Peter MARTINSON above. You can read alumni-type articles about Mr. SMITH here. He graduated in the Class of 1893.

OMER FURMAN SCHNOEBELEN
Omer Furman SCHNOEBELEN was publisher of The Mooreland Leader newspaper. He printed sale bills and notices for the estate of Nicholas REITER. Mr. SCHNOEBELEN was born in Iowa. In 1900 he was living in Iowa with his parents. In 1903 at age 19, Mr. SCHNOEBELEN left Iowa and moved to Mooreland, Oklahoma, where he founded The Mooreland Leader newspaper. In 1914 he was appointed to the position of Postmaster in Mooreland. Mr. SCHNOEBELEN was a Democrat. He was active in politics and in his community. He was one of the first members of the Board of Trustees for the town of Mooreland and also served on the town council. He worked as an assistant cashier at Security State Bank in Mooreland, Oklahoma. You can read more about him here (Scroll down almost all the way to the bottom.). A short biography also appears in the book, A Standard History of Oklahoma, Volume 5 found here. I suspect that Mr. SCHNOEBELEN was Catholic. Several of his siblings professed Catholicism and he had a sister who was a nun of the Order of dePaul. I don’t know for certain what religion Mr. SCHNOEBELEN was – or if he professed any religious allegiance at all- but I do know he went to bat for the Catholic community in Mooreland in 1967 when a proposal was made to close down the Sacred Heart Catholic mission in Mooreland. The Catholic mission was established in Mooreland in 1904. Mr. SCHNOEBELEN stated, “When I see every trend being toward large centers or big cities, I also see every evil consequence of such congestion of population. I think it just as reasonable to require that the Woodward people come to Oklahoma City or to Tulsa as to require our people of the Mooreland Mission to go to Woodward or Alva or Enid- and some of them will not, because they deem it an imposition to take from us the thing that we have worked for and sustained all these years.” (The Road to Renewal: Victor Joseph Reed and Oklahoma Catholicism, 1905-1971by Jeremy Bonner) In all descriptions of Mr. SCHNOEBELEN that I could find he was described as being an impartial reporter and a man who cared deeply for his community. Mr. SCHNOEBELEN’s newspaper that he founded is still in operation today and is owned by 3rd and 4th generation family members. (The Mooreland Leader Case Study, July 2015) If you go to this link, you will find a nice article on page 13 about the linotype machinery Mr. SCHNOEBELEN used as well as photos of his descendants with the equipment. Here is a 1903 newspaper.com clipping about Mr. SCHNOEBELEN:

EDA (KNITTEL) SCHNOEBELEN
Mr. SCHNOEBELEN’s wife, Eda (KNITTEL) SCHNOEBELEN, notarized the estate documents he signed. Like Mr. SCHNOEBELEN, Ms. KNITTEL was born in Iowa. They both came from Riverside, Iowa. In 1900 she lived in Illinois with her widowed mother, Barbara, and her siblings. In 1900 she was 15 years old and attending school. She did not marry Mr. SCHNOEBELEN until early in 1904. Mrs. (KNITTEL) SCHNOEBELEN was a Notary Public and worked with her husband at the newspaper. She worked briefly as the assistant to the Postmaster and also worked for a time at Wyckoff Brothers’ general merchandise/grocery store.

GEORGE WHITE
George E./H. WHITE posted notices of the sale of Nicholas REITER’s property as required by law. On 13 February 1905 he posted notice of the Order for Sale of Personal Property in three public places including the front door of the Woodward County courthouse, the Mooreland Post Office, and the John Redman School House. His fee for posting was $1.00. Mr. WHITE was a next-door neighbor to Nicholas. Mr. WHITE was born in New York. In 1900 he was Nicholas’ next door neighbor. There is a detailed article about the historical schools in Woodward County. Part 1 is here and Part 2 is here.
I’m going to end part 1 of this blog post here. Part 2 will be coming up shortly. I hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know the neighbors and friends of Nicholas REITER, William RITER, and Jennie RITER FULLER- many of them pioneers of Woodward County and some who participated in the Cherokee Strip Land Run of 1893.

Until next time,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives blog

Tag: henry garner

Lost and Found, Part 2

Lost and Found