Wordless Weekend: H. O. Green, courtesy of www.cardinkids.com
H. O. Green is #6 in this photo taken at the Picher fire station.
H. O. GREEN, 1891-1959, Patriot, Barber, City Councilman
We’re wrapping up this week’s City Council participants with H. O. GREEN who was sworn in as a new Picher City Councilman in May, 1946 (see Monday’s blog entry for the newspaper transcription). The final two participants that were named were Dr. H. C. HUNTLEY and Mr. NEEL. I have been unable to identify these two men.
Henry Oscar GREEN (aka H. O. and Oscar) and his twin brother, James Arthur (aka J. A. and Arthur), owned a barber shop in Picher. They both served in WWI. They were born in 7 February 1891 in Booneville, Logan, Arkansas, to Henry Augustus and Matilda Jane McNERLIN GREEN. Their siblings included Thelma A., John B., Annie M., Cordia V., Marvin I., Rosa “Rose” Ella, and Casper Taylor.
In 1900 and 1910, both boys lived with their parents in Logan County, Arkansas. Then WWI came. It is unknown whether the brothers served in the same unit or same places together. J. A. was a Private in the Army. I was unable to find H. O.’s rank. J. A.’s WWI Draft Registration card gave his home address as Booneville, Logan, Arkansas in 1917/1918. He listed himself as single and a farmer and stated he had no one depending on him for support. I was unable to locate a WWI Draft Registration card for H. O..
However much time the two of them spent together before the war, after the war was different. In 1920 H. O. (going by Oscar) was in Sallisaw, Sequoyah, Oklahoma, living on Choctaw or Chickasaw Avenue. He lived in the home of Mary B. SALES as a boarder and he was single. Mary’s son and the other boarder in the home were both barbers. It would seem that this is where H. O. learned his trade as a barber. No occupation was listed for him on the census record. J. A. was living next to his parents in Logan County, Arkansas, and working as a farmer. He, too, was single.
Whatever happened to separate them, they were living close to each other again in 1921 in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, where J. A. (going by the name Arthur) married Lottie Corley on 10 August 1921. A couple of years later, H. O. marred Edna PIERSON on 25 December 1923. H. O. and Edna listed their residences as Sallisaw, Sequoyah, Oklahoma, but the marriage record was filed in Ottawa County, Oklahoma. So the assumption is that when they married, they also moved from Sequoyah County to Ottawa County.
J. A. and Lottie must have followed then or shortly after because by 1930 J.A. was living in Picher and H. O. was living in nearby Quapaw, Ottawa, Oklahoma. In 1930, H. O. listed his occupation as barber and stated he was working at a barber shop. He and Edna had two children- Billy Ann who had just turned 4 at the time of the census and Bobby (a son) who was a month shy of turning 3. Both children were born in Oklahoma. J. A. listed the same occupational information (barber working at a barber shop) and he and Lottie had one girl, Joyce, born in Oklahoma. J. A. was living on the 600 block of River Street. H. O.’s address was not specified on the census record.
As with the WWI Draft Registration cards, I could only find one of the brothers’ WWII Draft Registration cards. Henry Oscar GREEN was residing at 427 Emily in Picher, Oklahoma, in 1942. He stated he received mail at 218 South Connell Avenue in Picher. This was also the address he gave for his barber shop. He listed his nearest relative as his brother, J. A. GREEN, who lived in Picher at that time. The card describes H. O. as being 5’9, weighing 205 pounds, and having brown eyes and brown hair and a light complexion.
The next we hear of H. O., he was being sworn in as a new City Councilman in Picher in May, 1946. According to a family history found online, H. O. had a second marriage to a woman named Grace and he passed away on 11 November 1959 in Picher, Ottawa, Oklahoma. J. A. passed away on 30 December 1983 in Picher, Ottawa, Oklahoma.
Finally, sometime after WWII, this photo was snapped that includes H. O. Green. He seemed to be very active in his community later in his life. One thing I noted about the photo is that it lists H. O. as “Chaplin”. I am uncertain whether that pertains to his position within the VFW or his position during his military service. This would be one avenue of research that interested family members could pursue. This photo was found at www.cardinkids.com which is an excellent resource about people in the Picher-Cardin, Oklahoma area.
Thank you, H. O. and J. A. GREEN for your service to the American people.
Mayor L. VOYLES, 1946 Picher, Ottawa, Oklahoma
The exciting or stressful times in our lives are easy to talk about, but most of our time is spent on mundane things. This week we’ll focus on the more mundane tasks- specifically, the Picher City Council meeting of Monday, May 6, 1946. There were a couple of highlights to the meeting for at least 4 of the attendees since they were sworn in as the newly elected officials to City Council. Here is the newspaper transcription from The Tri-State Tribune of Picher, Ottawa County, Oklahoma dated Thursday, May 9, 1946.
“City Council Meets”
The regular meeting of the City Council was held Monday night, with the mayor, L. VOYLES presiding. Claims were approved and the new elective officers were sworn in. They were: Ed DOBBINS, Frank POOLE, Archie HISE and H. O. GREEN.
Sufficient funds were set aside to buy a street truck and $500 was voted as a payment on the grader. Dr. H. C. HUNTLEY and Mr. NEEL of Miami, county health officers, were present at the meeting ad a discussion was held on sanitation in the city.
[Note: If more of this article exists, it was cut off on my photocopy of the paper. Also, capitalization of last names was added by me to more easily identify names for genealogical purposes.]
This week’s participants were difficult to identify. Upon review of records, residents in the area who may have been Mayor L. VOYLES include Lawrence VOYLES who resided in Picher as of the 1930 census. He was born about 1891 in North Carolina and was a collector in 1930.
Another possibility includes James Lawrence VOYLES, born about 1889 in North Carolina who resided in Quapaw (Picher area) in 1920 and was a miner. It is very possible that Lawrence and James Lawrence are the same person.
There is a Louis Sumner VOYLES residing in neighboring Craig County, however I have found nothing to indicate that he ever lived in Ottawa County. Since all records indicate that Louis Sumner VOYLES lived in Craig County all his life, I have discounted him as a possibility.
In both the 1920 and 1930 censuses, Lawrence VOYLES and James Lawrence VOYLES are single. Records indicate that James Lawrence’s parents were William Lafayette and Talitha Rose REES(E) VOYLES. One of James’ siblings, Goldey I. (a brother), also lived in Ottawa County, Oklahoma in 1920. James Lawrence was residing with an Osburn family who also had other persons of different last names residing in the home in addition to James Lawrence.
I was able to locate a website stating that Lawrence VOYLES was Picher City Clerk in 1921. (http://www.cardinkids.com/OTHERS/Picher%20History-1.htm) I have not found any further information about the Lawrence VOYLES residing in Picher in 1930.
This is, unfortunately, all the information about either Lawrence or James Lawrence VOYLES that I have found. I have been unable to find any other articles, photographs or any other information to help positively identify Mayor VOYLES. For being a public figure, Mayor VOYLES left very few clues that he existed.