Oklahoma Genealogy

From Wooden Rigs to Test Tube Methods

Oil has been central to Ardmore’s growth, starting with an 1888 discovery in Healdton. Significant exploration began in 1903 by H.B. Goodrich, who found the Wheeler Field, with wells still active today. The Healdton Field boom commenced in 1913, and by the next year, over 275 wells were operational. The Hewitt Field discovery in 1919 and its record-breaking well in 1924 furthered Ardmore’s prominence. Recent efforts focus on rediscovering oil in older fields. Carter County is home to 11% of Oklahoma’s oil wells, equating to 10 wells per square mile. Ardmore houses major oil firms and the Ben Franklin Refinery, the county’s second-largest employer.

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The Good Old Days

Carter County

On September 1, 1955, J. E. Williams wrote to the editor of the Daily Ardmoreite reflecting on the way life has changed since 1889. He contrasted the limited resources, poor educational system, absence of public infrastructure, and prevalence of diseases of his boyhood in Ardmore, Indian Territory, with the modern advancements enjoyed in 1955. Williams recalled a world without telephones, electricity, or paved roads, where survival amidst diseases and crime was a harsh reality, vastly different from the conveniences and opportunities available to children of his day. Despite hardships, Williams felt proud of societal progress, including improved employment conditions, community support through the Community Chest, and increased church participation. He commended the present advancements in technology and education, hoping for a bright future for the youth of his time.

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Early History of Carter County Oklahoma

Carter County

Before 1820, Southern Oklahoma was mostly inhabited by scattered plains Indian tribes until treaties with the federal government ceded lands to the Choctaw Nation, one of the Five Civilized Tribes. The Choctaws moved west of the Mississippi to their new home beginning in 1832 on the difficult trek known as the “Trail of Tears.” Throughout the following decades, the land transitioned from Indian to white ownership, as the Chickasaws purchased the right to establish districts in Choctaw land, later forming the Chickasaw Nation with its own government and counties.

Over time, the increasing presence of white men, such as ranchers from Texas utilizing the permit system for grazing, led to a blend of populations and the gradual erosion of Indian land rights. As railroads and settlers flooded into the area, tensions and conflicts arose, culminating with the Curtis Act and Dawes Committee which all but dismantled communal land ownership, allotting individual plots to tribe members.

Ardmore emerged as a significant settlement in the Chickasaw Nation, becoming the Carter County seat at Oklahoma statehood in 1907. The discovery of oil in 1913 greatly impacted the county’s economy, transforming it industrially and socially. Carter County’s history reflects a complex tapestry of expansion, indigenous resilience, and the evolution of community through adversity.

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Historic Oklahoma Divorce Laws

Statewide / Research

In historical Oklahoma, divorce jurisdiction varied among Native American Nations, with Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Muskogee courts overseeing cases and maintaining records. The Choctaw Nation uniquely mandated clerks to use a “large blank book” for record-keeping. Post-1890, Nebraska’s laws, followed by Arkansas’s laws under the Organic Act, governed divorces in Oklahoma Territory, initially placing jurisdiction in district courts. By 1895, sole authority rested with district courts. Divorce records reported to the state board of health starting in 1908 were poorly complied with, resulting in a lack of health department records of divorces.

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American Indian Land Records Research Guide

Statewide / Research

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History of Vinita, Oklahoma

Craig County

Vinita, the county seat of Craig County, is located southeast of the center of the county at the intersection of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway with the Frisco. Mr. D. M. Marrs, an old citizen, and for many years editor of the Vinita Leader gives the following sketch of the origin and growth of the city. “A generation ago, or to be more explicit, in the fall of 1869, there might have been seen struggling through the rank underbrush, or toiling through the tall prairie grass, a party of men locating a route for a railroad along the line

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History of Craig County Oklahoma

Craig County

Craig County has an area of 775 square miles of land, mostly level prairie land, nearly all of it being of first class agricultural soil. During the years gone by, great quantities of prairie hay were cut each year and much of it shipped to northern markets. Some of the largest and most prosperous cattle ranches were formerly located in this section of the state, but when lands were allotted to the Indians and cut up into small farms, a much greater portion of the land was put into cultivation, and, as a result, the immense pastures disappeared and the

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History of Tahlequah, Oklahoma

Cherokee County

Their first tribal councils after arriving at their new Indian Territory were, by common consent, held in the vicinity of the present site of Tahlequah, on account of the beautiful natural surroundings and the numerous sparkling springs which bubbled up from the level ground on all sides, but in the Autumn of 1841 the Cherokee National Council enacted a law making Tahlequah the capital of the Cherokee Nation, and it continued to be their capital, their principal town and their principal public meeting place from that date until the final dissolution of the tribal government. Their first council house and

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Death of John Ross

Cherokee County

As stated elsewhere, John Ross died while on a trip to Washington, D. C., in August, 1866, and was buried at the old home of his second wife, near Wilmington, Del., but his body was soon taken back to his old home and buried near Park Hill. Upon the occasion of his burial at the latter place, his gifted nephew, William P. Ross, who succeeded him as chief, delivered an eloquent, oration before the Cherokee council at Tahlequah, a portion of which was as follows, taken from the little book “The Life and Times of Hon. William P. Ross” “My

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Oklahoma State Home

Mayes County

The Oklahoma State Home for the orphan children of the state is located on a 550 acre tract of land adjoining the town of Pryor Creek. This is one of the state’s best institutions and represents an investment of $350,000. The institution is complete in every respect. Besides the administration building, there are eight brick cottages which house from 25 to 35 children each, a well equipped hospital, being a two-story brick building, a commissary, garage, laundry, power plant and a nice new two-story brick school building which is so situated that it is completely surrounded by the other buildings

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Washington County, Oklahoma ~ Industries

Washington County

Manufacturing And Other Industries While the manufacturing industries of Bartlesville are not large, yet it has a number of well established firms and others are being added. The eleven shops well prepared with foundry, welding, and manufacturing machinery for drilling tools, engines, oil tanks, well packers, pumps, pattern devices, and repair work of all kinds are in operation all the time. These shops employ several hundred men and are always running at full capacity. Bartlesville being the center of oil and gas interest for this district, there are many oil well supply stores having offices here. Three large smelter companies

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Washington County, Oklahoma Experiment Station

Washington County

Congress passed a law a few years ago providing for the establishment of ten mining experiment stations, at the same time appropriating an annual fund from the Federal treasury for the operation of these stations, all of which were to be under the supervision of the Bureau of Mines. In the latter part of 1917 the Secretary of the Interior, realizing the magnitude and importance of the petroleum industry as well as the many problems confronting the producers and refiners, decided that one of these stations should be devoted exclusively to petroleum and natural gas. The question immediately arose as

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Washington County, Oklahoma Industry

Washington County

While the manufacturing industries of Bartlesville are not large, yet it has a number of well established firms and others are being added. The eleven shops well prepared with foundry, welding, and manufacturing machinery for drilling tools, engines, oil tanks, well packers, pumps, pattern devices, and repair work of all kinds are in operation all the time. These shops employ several hundred men and are always running at full capacity. Bartlesville being the center of oil and gas interest for this district, there are many oil well supply stores having offices here. Three large smelter companies are located in Bartlesville

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Washington County, Oklahoma Towns

Washington County

Dewey is located but four miles north of Bartlesville on the Santa Fe and M. K. & T. railroads. Like Bartlesville, it owes its beginning to Jacob Bartles. Mr. Bartles was instrumental in securing the first railroad to build down through Washington County. It was called the Kansas, Oklahoma & Southwestern, but was soon absorbed by the Santa Fe system. When the railroad reached the present site of Dewey, Mr. Bartles moved one of his country stores over to the railroad. This took place shortly after Admiral George Dewey won his great victory over the Spaniards by destroying their fleet

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Washington County, Oklahoma History and Genealogy

Washington County

Its soil is principally of the sandy loam character and produces excellent crops of corn, wheat, oats, fruits and vegetables. The rougher portions of land produce good grass and are well adapted to raising peaches, grapes and berries. This county is just a little too far north to be included in the cotton belt of the state, yet small fields of cotton are occasionally found in the valleys of Caney Creek and its tributaries. For several years past some of the most progressive farmers have become interested in raising thoroughbred horses, cattle and hogs, and herds of Shorthorn and Holstein

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Washington County, Oklahoma Genealogy

Washington County

Washington County is located in the northern part of Oklahoma, bordering on the State of Kansas and adjoining the rich Osage County on the east. It is forty miles in length, north and south, but only eleven miles wide. Although it is one of the smallest counties in the state, by reason of its fertile farm. lands, its apparently unlimited supply of oil and natural gas, and its progressive citizenship, it has become one of the wealthiest and most important counties of Oklahoma. It is well watered by Caney Creek, quite an important stream, which flows southward through the entire

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Bartlesville, Washington County, Oklahoma

Washington County

Bartlesville, the county seat of Washington County, is located near the west central part of the county at the junction of the M. K. & T. and the Santa Fe railroads. The town was named in honor of Jacob H. Bartles who came down from Kansas to this section of the country soon after the Civil war. He was so favorably impressed with the appearance of the country that he settled near the present site of his city namesake, on the banks of Caney Creek. He was a practical farmer and within the space of a few short years he

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Wagoner, Wagoner County, Oklahoma

Wagoner County

Wagoner, the county seat of the county bearing the same name, is located fifteen miles north of Muskogee, at the junction of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas (Katy line), with the branch of the Missouri Pacific, known as the Iron Mountain Railroad, but originally called the Kansas & Arkansas Valley Road. This latter road crossed the Katy line in 1887, and the town of Wagoner was placed on the map at this railroad crossing. Captain Shannon furnished the lumber and W. H. McAnally built the first house which was occupied by McAnally as an eating house and patronized principally by

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Wagoner County, Oklahoma Towns

Wagoner County

Porter Oklahoma History Porter is a town of 600 inhabitants, located in the western part of Wagoner County on the branch of the M., K. & T. Railroad, which extends up the Arkansas River Valley from Muskogee to Tulsa. and Osage Junction. The town is located about half way between the Arkansas and. Verdigris rivers and is the trading point for the farmers of the fertile valleys of these two streams. A good quality of coal is found near the surface of the ground in this vicinity and underneath the coal in some places is found a good grade of

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Wagoner, Wagoner County, County Seat

Wagoner County

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Wagoner County, Oklahoma History

Wagoner County

In 1883 a side track was built on the Katy Railroad about a mile south of the present site of the town and named “Wagoner Switch,” in honor of the chief dispatcher of the railroad. The laying of track was continued six miles farther south and Gibson Station was established during the summer of 1871, and until the spring of 1872, during which time the Arkansas River bridge was in process of construction this station was the terminus of the Railroad. Captain George Shannon, now a resident of Wagoner, conducted the principal store at Gibson Station for forty years following

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More Wagoner County, Oklahoma History

Wagoner County

Joseph Casaver, who is still an active business man in Wagoner, is one of its pioneer citizens. He arrived there soon after the junction of the two railroads was completed and served both companies as telegraph manager. A few years later he established a drug store which he continued to manage for several years, at the same time being interested in the ice business. He was elected mayor of the city a few years after it was incorporated. He was also interested in the livery business in those days antedating the arrival of the automobile, when the pony teams were

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Wagoner County, Oklahoma History and Genealogy

Wagoner County

Wagoner County adjoins Muskogee County on the north, the Arkansas River being the boundary line between them. Perhaps no county in the state affords better agricultural advantages than Wagoner. The very fertile valley of the Arkansas River extends across the entire southern portion of the county, the Verdigris River crosses the central portion from the northwest to the southeast and the Grand River flows southward along the east side. The valleys of these rivers afford many acres of exceedingly fertile soil, adapted to almost every kind of crops. The uplands are mostly prairie, containing the rich black prairie soil. This

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Sequoyah County, Oklahoma History

Sequoyah County

Almost every grade of land can be found in this county, varying in character and quality from the rough, rocky spurs of the Ozark hills which project across the state line from Arkansas, into the northeastern section of this county, to the very fertile valley of the Arkansas River, which forms its whole southern boundary. It naturally follows that the diversity of soil makes it possible to produce many kinds of crops. Cotton, corn and potatoes are the staple crops produced, while oats, peanuts, kaffir and vegetables grow abundantly. Until recent years not much attention was paid to raising wheat,

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Sallisaw, Sequoyah County, Oklahoma

Sequoyah County

Sallisaw, the county seat of Sequoyah County is now a city of 2,600 inhabitants, centrally located at the Junction of the Arkansas Valley Railroad (now known as the Missouri Pacific), with the Pittsburg & Gulf Railroad (now the Kansas City Southern). The first mentioned road was built in 1887, while the other was not completed until 1895. Soon after the arrival of the Valley Road, Argyle Quesenbury and W. W. Wheeler, two white settlers, platted a portion of their land into town lots and brought the Town of Sallisaw into existence. Mr. Quesenbury settled in that neighborhood in 1875, being

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