Beckham County, OK - Obits: Mr. Welfelt, 1924
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Submitted by: delma25@pldi.net (Delma Tindell)

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WELFELT, MALE
(13 Mar 1924, Elk City Newspaper, Elk City, Beckham Co, OK):
FATHER DIES IN 117th YEAR
Joseph H. Welfelt, caretaker of the Fairlawn cemetery, was called recently
to Maude, Okla., to help care for his father, who was ill, and who passed
away a short time afterwards in his 117th year.  If he had lived until the
14th of next month, April., he would have celebrated his 117th birthday
anniversary.  His mother still lives at Maude and she will be 106 years
old the 3rd day of May.
Mr. Welfelt said his father's mind was just as bright as it could be
before he passed away, and he told him much history he had not heard of
before concerning members of his family, and among other things he found
that Miss Bessie Howe a well known portrait artist, and daughter of Col.
Howe, was a relative, her mother and his grandmother being sisters.  He
and Miss Howe had painted together for two years in Seattle several years
ago, but did not know then of being related.  Mr. Welfelt is of
French-Holland- Indian descent.  His mother belonged to the Pottawattamie
Indian tribe, though his father a white man was from the Allegahaney (sic)
mountains of Pennsylvania and came out to Kansas near Topeka in the very
early day when Kansas was a territory.  His father was a Mexican war
veteran raised a company in the civil war and during late war said if he
had been a little older he would have gone after the Kaiser.  His father
had a family of 14 children, but only three are living at the present
time.
Mr. Welfelt will be 75 years old the 7th day of July and looks like a man
less than sixty years of age.  He is strong and healthy and says he tries
not to worry about anything, works hard and eats plenty of good
substantial food like cornbread, beans, bacon and greens.  He thinks there
is great value in dandelion poke and other greens.
Mr. Welfelt is quite an artist and has painted many portraits, several of
which he has in his home here, and some are in Shawnee in a room and from
the rent of same he receives $25 a month.  Being a natural born artist he
also learned sculpture and worked on the State Capitol of Topeka for
twelve years stone cutting and carving.  Among other things he has also
been a great traveler all over the world.  He is a great reader, and has
been a Master Mason for over thirty years, is a Shriner and belongs to the
Consistory.
Mr. Welfelt plays the violin and his wife has a piano with which she says
she can "second" when he plays violin.  They have ten children who live in
the state of Washington.
It is very interesting to talk to Mr. Welfelt and hear him tell of his
travels, etc.  Black Hawk was an uncle of his mother, and Chief Abram
Burnett the first judge in Shawnee, Kan., adopted his father when a boy. 
Mr. Burnett was a man who weighed 735 pounds.
Mr. Welfelt has some allotments in Old Mexico.

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