Indian Pioner Papers - Dr. J.A. Young



Submitted by Brenda Choate   bcchoate@yahoo.com

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                    Garvin County Indian Pioneer Papers
                                      
                             Dr. J.A. Young



Interview #9060

Field Worker: Maurice R. Anderson

Date: October 27, 1937

Name: Dr. J.A. Young

Residence: Maysville, Oklahoma

Date of Birth: January 28, 1863

Place of Birth: Arkansas

Father: A.A. Young, born in Arkansas

Mother: Sarah Ann Abee, born in North Carolina





I was born in 1863 in Arkansas.  I came to the Indian Territory 

in 1898.  Before coming to the Territory, I had been corresponding 

with Dr. Calloway, who lived at Elmore, and he wanted me to come to 

Elmore and form a partnership with him.



When I left Arkansas, I had that in mind but after reaching Pauls 

Valley I met a young doctor named Berry.  I formed a partnership 

with Dr. Berry.



At that time Congress had passed a bill permitting any town or 

city in the Indian Territory to incorporate and Pauls Valley was 

the first town in the Chickasaw Nation to incorporate.  That was in 

1898.



After the town was incorporated the Board of Education was appointed.   

The Board of Education, with Honorable J.B. Thompson, went to the 

bank and borrowed enough money to run the school the first year.  

This was the first public school in the Chickasaw Nation.  The 

school was held in the old subscription school house, located where 

the Stufflebean Funeral Home is now.



I was elected the second mayor of Pauls Valley, in 1899, and was 

re-elected as mayor of Pauls Valley.  At that time the mayor was 

only elected one year at a time.



In 1899, along about the middle of the summer, and epidemic of 

small pox broke out at Pauls Valley.  My first case was a man 

named Mr. Bishop, who ran the hotel across from the depot, 

now known as the Rice Hotel.  I did not want to quarantine the 

hotel so his wife said to find a place to take him and she 

would pay all costs.  Dr. Berry and I found an old two-room 

house that no one was living in.  We looked up the owner and 

rented the house but before we moved our patient into this house 

I was met by a group of Pauls Valley citizens and was told if I

 moved that case of smallpox into that house the house would be 

burned and that I would be taken care of.  This committee told me 

I could either quarantine the hotel or move the patient out to the 

edge of town.  I finally located a man who owned three tents.   

I bought these tents and had them put up behind the cemetery across 

Rush Creeek, at the south side of Pauls Valley.  One tent was used 

for a cook-house. I put cots in the other two and hired a negro to 

do the cooking.  This was Pauls Valley's first hospital.  Dr. Berry 

and I took care of about fifteen cases at our tent hospital.   

This epidemic lasted until October of 1899.

J.T. Jones was the first mayor of Pauls Valley.



I was on the Board of Education for six years and Miss Jean Tippitt 

was the first pupil to graduate from the public school at Pauls Valley.   

She also was the first to graduate in the Chickasaw Nation.



I helped organize the Garvin County Medical Association in 1906.



At this time I met a Doctor Patterson from Maysville, and in giving 

the place and date of our birth I found that Dr. Patterson was born 

in the same town and state and the same day, month, and year as I was.  

We both had graduated from the same medical school, but had never met 

until that day in 1906.   Later, Dr. Patterson was killed at Maysville 

and I took his place as doctor of Maysville, Oklahoma.