Bio of Tuttle, James H. - Grady County, Oklahoma Transcribed by: Gene Phillips 18 Jun 2006 Return to Grady County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/grady/grady.html ========================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ========================================================================== JAMES H. TUTTLE. Conspicuous among the earlier settlers of Grady county is James H. Tuttle, in whose honor the village of Tuttle was named, and in which he has for many years been a valued and respected citizen. A man of ability and excellent judgment, he is a fine representative of the men whose shrewd foresight and determined energy opened the way for the settlement of this part of the country, and who have since been active in developing its varied resources. Like many of the pioneers of the present, he came here in his youth and as an employe of a man who for many years made history in the cattle industry. A son of James H. Tuttle, Sr., he was born, June 4, 1860, in Grayson county, Texas, and was there bred and educated. A native of Alabama, James H. Tuttle, Sr., was born, in Alabama, near Mobile. His father died in early life, leaving three children, two of them being daughters, and his widow subsequently married for her second husband a Mr. Harley, by whom she had several children. In 1840, while Texas was yet a republic, he sought the wilds of its confines, settling in Grayson county, where for a number of years he was engaged in mercantile pursuits. Enlisting, during the Civil war, in the Confederate army, he served bravely, rising from rank to rank until, before the dose of the conflict, he was commissioned captain. Accepting most philosophically the results of the war, he subsequently entered cordially into relations with the new Federal sentiment, and materially aided its establishment and reorganization. Identifying himself with the Republican cause., he served a number of years as sheriff of Grayson county, making a capable and popular official. He was afterwards appointed, by President Grant, collector of Internal Revenue for the district of Jefferson, Texas, and held the position eight years. Returning then to his home, he was again elected sheriff of the county, as was serving in that capacity at the time of his death in 1875. James H. Tuttle, Sr., married first Virginia, daughter of Colonel Henderson, a prominent planter and slave owner of Red River county, Texas, who served as an officer in the Mexican war. She died in Grayson county, Texas, leaving three children: Virginia, who married W. J. Erwin, and died in Chickasha, Oklahoma; Robert, of Lindsay, Oklahoma; and James H., of this review. The father subsequently married Miss Budge Brockett, daughter of Dr. M. B. Brockett, and they became the parents of three children: Claude, of Hobart, Oklahoma; Ernest, who died in Oklahoma City; and William, of Minco, Oklahoma. Mr. Tuttle was a charter member of the Grayson county lodges of both the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. At the age of seventeen years, having completed his studies in the public schools of his native county, James H. Tuttle came to Oklahoma, and the following eight years was in the employ of R. M. Smith, herding cattle along the Washita river, in the Indian Territory, receiving a monthly stipend of thirty dollars for his labors. Proving himself unusually capable and efficient he was admitted to partnership with Mr. Smith, his employer, and his nephew, Bud P. Smith, the now well known Chickasha stockman and financier, and under the firm name of Smith, Tuttle & Co., carried on an extensive cattle business for a number of years, being the largest concern of the kind in the Washita vaI1ev. At the death of the senior member of the firm, in 1901, the remaining partners dissolved by mutual agreement, Mr. Tuttle continuing alone. He carried on an excellent business in the vicinity of old Silver City, his operations having been curtailed, by the encroachments of the settlers, only, and has even yet a few hundred cattle feeding and fattening upon the domains of his family allotment, on the south bank of the Canadian river. For many years, Mr. Tuttle made his home in Minco, then the metropolis of the valley, while there being identified with its mercantile interests, being at the head of the firm of James H. Tuttle & Brothers. He was influential in the establishment of various enterprises in that locality, holding stock in the Bank of Minco, in the Minco Mill and Elevator Company, and in the Purcell Mill and Elevator Company. In 1899, Mr. Tuttle organized the Citizens' National Bank of Chickasha, served as its president four years, and then disposed of his stock, and has since devoted himself to his rural interests on the banks of the Canadian stream, maintaining his home almost on the identical spot occupied by the old town. Here, in 1904, he erected his handsome and commodious residence, overlooking the valley of the Canadian for miles. The family allotment, with the exception of that of one child, lies in one body, two miles north of, Tuttle, where extensive farming operations are being carried on successfully. Mr. Tuttle married first, November 16, 1889, Nora W., daughter of James H. Bond, whose wife was a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation. She lived scarce a year after marriage, dying June 16, 1890. Mr. Tuttle married second Carrie Campbell, a daughter of the late L. C. Campbell, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, and of their union seven children have been born, namely: Molette V.; Nora Alma; James B.; Charles C.; Annie; Harley, deceased; and Holmes P. Politically, Mr. Tuttle is a zealous supporter of the principles of the Republican party, at every election upholding his party banner with the enthusiasm of a sure victor. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to Grady County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/grady/grady.html