Greer County, OK - Bios: The Dickey Family Wednesday, 02 May, 2007 Submitted by: jhhoward@comcast.net (Joseph H. & Patricia S. Howard) ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ************************************************ The Dickey Family in Early Greer (later Jackson) County Oklahoma by Joseph H. Howard The great region in southwestern Oklahoma lying between the two forks of the Red River and the one hundreth meridian was for a time claimed by both Texas and the United States. Settlers began to occupy it even before the opening of the Oklahoma lands to settlement and Texas eventually organized it as a county. In 1896, however, a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States declared that the south fork of Red River was the main stream and in consequence Greer County was not a part of Texas, but of the Indian Territory. President Cleveland then issued the following proclamation relative to the settlers of Greer County, and to the unoccupied lands within its borders. From Oklahoma Red Book, vol. 1, pp. 513-614. A PROCLAMATION: (MARCH 16, 1896) Whereas, in a suit between the United States and the State of Texas involving the title to, and jurisdiction over, all that territory lying between the north and south forks of the Red River, and the one hundredth degree of longitude, known and styled as "Greer County, Texas," the Supreme Court of the United States has decided that the title to, and jurisdiction over, said territory is vested in the United States; and, Whereas, the Choctaw Nation claims that the title to these lands passed to said Nation by virtue of treaties with the United States, and that the title of said Nation to said lands had not been extinguished, but that said Choctaw Nation has a right and interest therein; and, Whereas, it is claimed that divers persons settled upon said lands prior to the thirtieth day of December, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, acting in good faith, upon the belief that the same belonged to and were subject to the jurisdiction of the State of Texas, and that Congress will be asked to extend to all such settlers suitable relief, Now, therefore, I, Grover Cleveland, President of the United States, by virtue of the authority in me vested, not admitting in any wise the validity of such claim on behalf of the Choctaw Nation, but for the purpose of preserving the status of said lands intact until such time as said claim of the Choctaw Nation thereto may be duly determined, and that the settlers hereinbefore referred to shall not be disturbed until Congress shall have fully considered their claims for relief, do hereby withdraw said lands from disposition under the public land laws of the United States, and declare the same to be in a state of reservation, until such time as this order of withdrawal may be revolked; and I do further warn and admonish all persons against entering upon said lands with a view to occupying the same or settling thereon under the public land laws, during the existence of this order. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington this sixteenth day of March in the year of one thousand eighteen hundred and ninety-six. Into this area of old Greer County (then Texas) three Dickey brothers came: David (Rev. David Levi Lincoln Waterman Dickey, 1860-1937 who married Lulu Ora Echols, 1865-1927) in the Fall of 1888; Jim (James Witten Dickey, 1862-1922 who married Nevada Byrd, 1861-1922) in May of 1888; and Will (Rev. William Alfred Dickey, 1864-1941 who married Mary Crocker, 1862-c1924) in July of 1888. Their sister, Will’s twin, Mary (Mary Cutler Dickey, 1864-1941) married Dr. Samuel Houston Landrum in 1890. The Landrums arrived in Oklahoma first in Ardmore, Oklahoma, probably in the mid-1890’s. Subsequently they moved to Olustee and then to Altus, Oklahoma where he died in an automobile accident in 1919. These early Texas (later Indian Territory, later Oklahoma Territory, later Oklahoma) pioneers were the children of Rev. James Wesley Dickey (1829-1876) and his wife Susan Emeline Waterman (1830-1872) of Virginia. Two other children, Edward Warren and Susan Letitia Dickey, died young. These three brothers were important players in early Oklahoma history and, in particular, what later became Olustee (formerly Kylondike) in Jackson County. While their progeny are now scattered throughout the United States, many of them live or began their early life in this area of Oklahoma. Dickey Lineage: Robert Dickey (c1463-c1536) - Elizabeth Auchincloss (Scotland) John Dickey (1501-1567) - Janet Gayne (Scotland) John Dickey, Jr. (c1542-1606) - Janet Sproul (Scotland) John Dickey, III (1584-1641) - Agnes McIlvaine (Scotland/Northern Ireland) William Dickey (1619-1693) - Sarah McMurtry (c1628-1697) (Northern Ireland) Thomas Dickey (cl658-1728) - Jane Awl (c1663-1742) (Northern Ireland) George Dickey (c1690-1748) - Margaret Walker(?) (Northern Ireland/Pennsylvania) John Dickey (1724-1808) - *(1) Rachel Tanner (1724-1789) (Northern Ireland/Pennsylvania/ SC/NC) Samuel Dickey (1765-1840) - Rebecca Patterson (1764-1866) (North Carolina/Tennessee) David Houston Dickey (1799-1884) - *(1) Letitia Witten (1802-1844) (North Carolina/Tennessee) Rev. James Wesley Dickey (1829-1876) - (1) Susan Emeline Waterman (Tennessee/Virginia) Three remarkable documents concerning the history of Old Greer County are extant in Dickey descendants’ family history files. They were all written in the 1940’s by Rev. William Alfred Dickey, the youngest of the three brothers. Not only did he write an autobiography but he wrote biographies of his two brothers, James Witten and Rev. D. L. L. W. Dickey. Biography of Rev. David Levi Lincoln Waterman Dickey By his brother, Rev. William Alfred Dickey David Levi [Lincoln] Waterman Dickey was born May 22, 1860. He was the second son born to the Rev. James Wesley Dickey and Susan Emeline Waterman Dickey. The eldest son of this union, Edward Warren Dickey, died August 14, 1866. The family home was at Clear Branch, Washington County, Virginia. The most of David Levi Waterman Dickey's boyhood days were spent in this home of his grandfather Levi Lincoln Waterman. His father and mother having died and the home at Clear Branch broken up, at the age of sixteen he went to Tennessee to make his home with his Dickey relatives. He attended Hiwassee College for a number of years, and then took up the study of medicine, going to Atlanta, Georgia and studying under Dr. Duncan, and clerking in a drugstore. He never completed his medical course, lacking funds to attend medical college. After a few years' residence in Atlanta, he went to Florida, where his brother James was living at that time. Later, in the Fall of 1885, the brothers were joined by their sister Mary and their youngest brother William. Mary kept house for her brothers for several months, and this was the first time they had lived together since their home in Virginia was broken up in 1876. David lived in Florida for about a year. He next tried his fortune in Texas, and through hard work and economy saved up some money. In the year 1888 his brother James left Florida and came west, settling in what was then known as Greer County, Texas, in the month of May of that year. His brother William, leaving Florida, joined him in this new country in July 1888. These two brothers took up claims of a section of land each. They wrote their brother, David, of the opportunity of getting fine land in this new country. The good news was very welcome to David at that time, for he had the good fortune to fall in love with a farmer's daughter, Miss Lula Echols, of Lorena, Texas. So just as soon as he and his intended brother-in-law, Rufus Echols, could harvest their cotton crop, they made haste to start for the land of free homes. They arrived in Greer County in the early Fall of 1888 and immediately laid claim to a half section of land each, just south of the claim of David's brother William. That Fall and Winter the four pioneer young men "batched" and lived in a humble dug-out on the banks of Salt Fork of Red River. The beautiful days of the Fall and Winter were employed in turning over the virgin soil of their fine, level prairie land for a Spring crop. But with meager equipment and stock, and a tough sod to conquer, the work was slow and very difficult. David and Rufus, coming late in the Fall, were able to prepare few, if any, acres for wheat. As wheat was the principal money crop and the prospects for another year not very promising, David built some fences and did other work to establish his claim to the 320 acres of land, and decided to return to central Texas and make a cotton crop for the next year. David left Greer County around Christmas time and went back to Lorena, Texas, and arranged with his prospective father-in-law, Mr. Clark Echols, to take over his farming operations. He was soon married to his Texas sweetheart, Miss Lula Echols. And thus began to this young man, who never had much affinity for gold, his richest heritage: a beautiful married life and a large, capable and representative family of children. After gathering his cotton in the Fall of 1890, he came back to Greer County, with his wife, infant daughter (the first child), and Mr. and Mrs. Echols, in time to sow a wheat crop. In the meantime, Rufus Echols had built a house for the family and prepared a number of acres for wheat that Fall, and William had used David's team to break sod on his own and on his brother's claims. Hence David was able to sow a number of acres to wheat, also. The few good crop years following were replete with hard work, economy and pioneer hardships. But the little colony of relatives shared their joys and cooperated in the work of improvements. The year of 1891 was the last good crop year for wheat. With the season of 1892 there was a decrease of rainfall suitable for wheat, and during the years of 1893 to 1895 the yield of wheat fell off each year until 1895, which was a total failure for wheat when very few farmers were able to raise feed stuff for their stock. That year almost broke the heroic spirit of the pioneers of that country. Many of the old-timers had to leave to find work in east Texas to feed their families. But the Dickey colony stayed on. Not one of them could have told how they overcame all the hardships and discouragements. But they came through it all with honor and without disgrace. If one looked back through a noble line of praying ancestors, they might find the source of some of their staying qualities. They had been taught: "I will never leave thee or forsake thee." This strenuous experience had taught them that man can not trust to physical strength alone. Each of the three boys had renewed his covenant with the Lord, and the wives of David and Jim were dedicating their children to God in baptism. All of the adults had joined the Southern Methodist Church under the ministry of that noble pioneer preacher, Rev. J. W. Kizzar. This record would not be complete unless some reference were made to the heroic attitude of the two wives of the older boys. When the storms were moving fast and the black clouds had dropped low, shutting out every ray of hope, the first bright ray of mercy would fall on the smiling faces of two faithful wives, with their little children huddling about them wondering what it all meant. The part Vada played will be mentioned in Jim's record. There were three or four children at this time in the home of David and Lula. Lula was a woman of fine economy and excellent management, and but for these essential qualities and her supreme faith, the battle for a pioneer's home would have been lost. She always met her family and neighbors with a smiling face and undefeated mien. Those who knew her best were encouraged by her attitude and resolved in their hearts to stay on, too. She never faltered, never wavered -- always had the expression of a victor. Besides her family of little children, she had her aged parents to care for in their home life. Her father had been a helpless invalid for twenty years. Yet through all this care and anxiety she came smiling, and came off the victor. The children of this noble woman can show their appreciation of her heroic sacrifice by never allowing the hardships of this world to conquer them. Thus the early years of trial and hardships of the married life of David and Lula slipped by, while brighter days were beckoning to them to go forward ... The title to their land question was settled by the Supreme Court in 1896. The question of ownership of Greer County had been in controversy between the State of Texas and the United States for over fifty years. The old Spanish treaty between Spain and the United States called for "Up Red River to the 100 meridian". No question arose until a more accurate survey placed the 100 meridian where it is today. Texas immediately laid claim to the territory, contending that North Fork of Red River was Red River proper boundary; the United States claimed that South Fork was the main stream. Greer County lies between the forks of this river east of the 100 meridian. The Supreme Court decided in favor of the United States. In 1897, Congress passed an enabling act opening up the country to settlement. This was the first assurance the settlers had of obtaining title to their homes. During the years of labor and hardships the settlers had held title to their homes through the western custom of "Squatter's Sovereignty". The Act of Congress provided that every person who was a bonafide occupant on his land at the time of the Supreme Court decision should have the right to a homestead of 160 acres, and also the right to purchase 160 acres at $1.25 per acre of any of the land he was holding under the old Texas law. Jim had sold to Dr. Tom Hardin the north half of his section of land. He filed as his homestead the west quarter and purchased the east quarter. David, holding the north half of his section, homesteaded the east quarter and purchased the west. Will was holding three quarters at the time of settlement, but chose the south side of the section, homesteading the east and purchasing the west. He relinquished the northwest quarter to a very dear friend, Billy Williams, from Virginia. Going through all the requirements, they all received patents to their land after a few months, being allowed by the Enabling Act back residence to make final proof. The severe drought was the occasion of Congress granting the privilege of a purchase quarter. The drought was also the cause of revolutionizing the farming activities of all that northwest country, changing it from a small grain country to a cotton country. And cotton is King to this day [1940]. While the year 1895 was the most severe of the drought, it was also a remarkable year in the religious experiences of the adults of the colony. The Rev. Isaac Crutchfield, the Methodist minister, held a wonderful revival in the old Willowvale schoolhouse in that community. Three young men, Bob Byrd, Luke Hardin and William Dickey, relatives, surrendered to the will of God, responded to the call of His Spirit, and dedicated their lives to the ministry. David Dickey was restored to his boyhood profession of religion, and Mr. Clark Echols, his father-in-law, was wonderfully converted. It was a wonderful sight when the two of them took the vows of the church that Monday night, the last night of the meeting. A few months afterward, David surrendered to the call of the Spirit and became a Methodist minister himself. It is not improbable that he had felt his call to the ministry from childhood or young manhood. Many things point to this conclusion. One in particular might be mentioned: we read in his mother's diary, "May 22, 1870. David is ten. Oh Father, before he is ten more, let him by Thy Holy Minister." It is hard to get away from a mother's dedication and prayer. So, as the years went by, the religious life of David and Lula was complete. The older children joined the church and the younger ones were dedicated to God in baptism. The next few years were uneventful. Cotton was a pretty sure crop, but the prices were low and, as with the wheat crop, it had to be hauled 35 miles and across Red River to Texas points on the railroad. However, the long looked-for railroad materialized. The Frisco railroad, desiring an outlet to southwest Oklahoma and northwest Texas, began a survey through Lawton, Snyder, Altus, Olustee, Eldorado, and on to Quanah, Texas. The railroad was completed in the Fall of 1903 or Spring of 1904. The town of Olustee was laid out on the two north halves of the original sections taken up by Jim and Will. Dr. Tom Hardin and Mr. John Edwards were the two promoters in the township movement. This brought the market to the doors of the colony, laid the foundation for church and school activities, and contributed to the building of a nice little town, which became the trade center of all the surrounding country. With the advent of the railroad and privilege of town life, the lives of the families were much more pleasant and enjoyable. The children had better schools and their church activities were more attractive and helpful. David's older girls completed the grades of the local school and for some time attended the Weatherford College for girls at Weatherford, Texas. As the younger ones advanced in the grades, a high school department had been added to the school system, and they all had the advantage of a high school education. The brothers had built larger houses and provided more home comforts and were very pleasantly situated across the street from each other. Can you conceive of a transition from a two-room box house and a dug-out on a bald prairie to a comfortable home life on the edge of a lively and business-like town? Thus we find the two brothers in the initial years of the twentieth century. Conditions had increased the value of their property tenfold or more. They were rated as influential and substantial farmers. Their families were recognized among the best, most refined and cultured in the community. About this time David and his family severed connections with the Methodist Church and joined the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. This church was submerged into the Presbyterian Church of America. As a pastor of this church, David took an appointment in the church at El Paso, Texas. He served there one year and came back and took the pastorate of the local Presbyterian church in Olustee, which he served until the church was burned down some years later. David was a devout and thorough student of the Bible. He could defend the hope that was in him in a very forceful and convincing manner. His preaching was of a practical, analytical and expository type. Brevity was the secret of his popularity. His sister-in-law Mary said, "David Dickey could say more to the point in ten minutes than the majority of preachers could say in thirty minutes." David generally timed himself to twenty minutes in his sermons. He held his relation to the Presbyterian Church up to the time of his death. Getting back to the material and financial side of David's activities, he sold his ranch south of town for a good substantial sum of money, while the boom of prospectors coming in from the north was at its height. With this money he purchased a farm joining the incorporated limits of the city of Fort Worth, Texas. This he held for some years and then sold it for a good profit. Should he have held on to it for a few years longer, it would have made him quite wealthy. To the marriage union of David and Lula there were born eleven children, with one girl dying in infancy. There were four boys and six girls who grew to manhood and womanhood, and are yet alive at this date [1940]. As the older ones reached years of maturity, they married and established homes of their own, some remaining in Olustee and others moving to Dallas, Texas. Finally, the family was reduced to the father and mother and three children: the oldest daughter and the two youngest children, a daughter and a son. At this time, David had an opportunity for ministerial work in his church in Dallas, Texas. He purchased a modern, five-room house on Emmett Street in Oak Cliff Dallas, Texas. He settled in this new and thriving community and found an excellent opportunity for his ministerial work. With a number of his children and grandchildren living nearby, he and Lula were perfectly happy in the best home they had ever owned. The remaining years of their married life were like the balmy days of autumn when the leaves begin to turn to yellow and golden and red, and when the labors of the year are drawing to a close. No two were more worthy of these quiet days of eventide than David and Lula, who had labored and economized to raise and educate ten children to mature manhood and womanhood, and now to see them well and happily married and raising families of their own. These last years were the happiest for them and their children. After some years of residence in her beautiful and comfortable home, Lula's health began to fail, and as a year or two passed this noble and heroic wife and mother bade the loved ones around her goodbye and passed from a life of love, labor and sacrifice to a life of happiness and reward. She died in March, 1927 in her home in Dallas, Texas, and her body, accompanied by loving hands, was taken back to the old Willowvale burying grounds in Olustee, Oklahoma and placed beside the little daughter who went away so many years before. David remained in Dallas a few years after the death of Lula, but it was evident that he meditated on the years that had passed and was longing for the familiar scenes and friendly faces of his country of adoption. Two more of his children marrying, the house was sold and David went back to Olustee in the Fall of 1931 to be with his three children and their families living there. While his life was lonely, yet he enjoyed the fellowship of his children and the companionship of old neighbors and friends. Being a member of the Masonic Lodge, he found much pleasure in meeting with his brethren. He enjoyed the regard and fellowship of all of the churches in the community. He was loved, respected and honored by all who knew him. His youngest son, David Hardin Dickey, expresses his appreciation of his father in these words: "I am certainly glad to have had a father that I could always be proud of. The good that he did in Olustee will probably never be known, but I dare say there never has been a man that has had as much good influence over as long a period of time as my father." Thus, David filled to the full the days of his pilgrimage, the good works and noble deeds which he did. After a lingering illness, he passed away on March 27, 1937 in the home of his daughter, Alice Nevada (Dickey) Milner in Olustee, Oklahoma. A few hours before the Easter morning of March 28, surrounded by every member of his family and grandchildren, his heroic and undefeated spirit, released from the tired body, went out into that unknown realm of God, trusting in that gracious promise: "For I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also." The last record of David Levi Waterman Dickey is that now he is in that "prepared place." You can find him there by and by. Biography of James Witten Dickey By his brother Rev. William Alfred Dickey James Witten Dickey was born April 19th, 1862. He was the third son of the Rev. James Wesley Dickey and Susan Emeline Waterman Dickey. His father was a Southern Methodist minister, and served districts in this Church for some twelve or fourteen years in southwest Virginia and western North Carolina. His duties required him to be much away from home, hence his family made their home with his father-in-law, Levi Lincoln Waterman, who, with his young wife, Mary Ann Cutler Waterman, moved from Marietta, Ohio, in 1820, and settled at Clear Branch, Washington County, Virginia. The old homestead at this time had passed into the hands of his daughter and son-in-law. Yet Grandfather Waterman supervised the running of the farm and planned to keep the boys busy, as their father was away from home most of the time. So the two older boys were blessed with fine disciplinary training and, no doubt, in adult years reflected on their good fortune. Jim's mother having died in 1871, and his father in 1876, and his Grandfather Waterman having passed to his deserved reward eleven days before his father, the four children: David, Jim, Mary and Will bade goodbye to the old home with its sacred memories and went down to Sweetwater, Tennessee, to make their home with different members of Grandfather Dickey's family. David made his home with Uncle William Dickey until school opened that Fall at Hiwassee College. Jim lived for a year or so with Uncle Andrew Dickey until he could enter Hiwassee College. Mary made her home with Aunt Lettie Browder until she married. William, the youngest child at the age of eight years, was taken into the home of his Grandfather Dickey. Thus were the orphan children cared for by loving relatives until they grew to manhood and womanhood. James attended school at Hiwassee College for some two or three years. Afterward, he attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Tenn., for one or two years. After this period of schooling, he went to Florida and made his home in Orlando, Fla. for some three or four years. In 1888, having saved up a few hundred dollars through hard work and frugality, his pioneer spirit, inherited from both sides of his ancestors, led him into the wild and undeveloped section of Northwest Texas. He first stopped in Stephens County and visited with his cousin, Nathan Booher, whose family had migrated from the old Clear Branch community in Virginia to Texas in 1875. Here he outfitted himself with a span of horses, a new wagon and camp outfit, a gun and old Trailer, the dog, and started for the open Northwest. He traveled over strange roads, going from county seat to county seat which afforded the plainest trails. One night as he was camped in the brakes of the Wichita River, he narrowly escaped being robbed of his team and money. Awakening late in the night, he heard the whispering of two men, who had asked to camp nearby. He brought up his hobbled horses and tied them to the wagon, placed his shotgun on the ground by his bed, and passed the remainder of the night looking at the stars. The Wichita brakes had the reputation of being the hideout of highwaymen and robbers, and he had been warned to be on the lookout while passing through them. The extent of these brakes is from ten to twelve miles wide. He arrived at Quanah, Texas, without any further trouble. Here he was able to get the particulars of the Free State of Greer County. He crossed over Red River and began looking for a place to settle for life. Traveling on the Mangum trail north, he reached Turkey Creek, and found that all the land adjoining the creek was claimed except one section at the mouth where it emptied into the Salt Fork of Red River. He had never seen a more inviting and beautiful piece of ground for farming operations unclaimed and waiting to be subdued. His section had running water, some beautiful cottonwood trees for a camp site, the ground as level as a floor and covered with a heavy mesquite grass, and joining sections on the west and southwest just as fine and inviting. He envisioned a Dickey Colony there in the near future. He established his claim to the 640 acres on land by plowing around it and digging his dugout. This dugout was located on the east side of his section and in the second bank of the Salt Fork. Out in front were two beautiful cottonwood trees, and the first bottom of the river was two or three acres of level, well sodded land, set with cottonwood trees, while across the river on an adjoining section, was as beautiful a grove of cottonwood trees as any man ever saw. This first river bottom was quite sandy, and water could be obtained from a depth of six to eight feet. The setting was ideal for a bachelor's home. His next move was to spread the news of his discovery. He immediately wrote to his brother, David, at Lorena, Texas, and his brother, William, in Orlando, Fla., telling them of the fine sections of land joining his and unclaimed, advising them to make haste and come and lay claim to them before someone else did. The two brothers responded to the opportunity as soon as they could make financial arrangements. William came first, settling there on July 4, 1888. David came later in the Fall of that year. The months of the Summer and Fall of that first year were not particularly eventful. The construction of the dugout, the building of fences to protect their future crops from the range cattle that came by the thousands down to the Salt Fork for water, and the braking of the tough sod from the sowing of fall wheat, these were the things that occupied their time. Old Fox and Joe were not a heavy team and an eight inch plow was about all they could handle, so no great number of acres were sown to wheat that Fall. But sufficient was harvested the next Summer to tide the brothers over the next Fall and Winter. At the beginning of their settlement, James' finances were limited, while William's was nil. But they planned and worked together during the years of 1888 and 1889. It is necessary here to relate incidents in the life of William that the reader may learn how seemingly insignificant occurrences may sometimes lead up to the changing of the whole tenor of human lives. When William first joined his brother he was not twenty one years of age. He became of age on August 18, 1889. A part of his patrimony from his father's estate had been held through the years in trust by his guardian at Abingdon, Va. As his birthday approached, he went back to Tennessee and Virginia to claim his inheritance. While visiting his relatives in Tennessee, he was spending a day or so with his Uncle Andrew Dickey and family. Bob Byrd had ridden his high wheel bicycle from his home at Seven Islands on the Tennessee River to Sweetwater to visit relatives. There he learned that William Dickey had come from the west with an account of wonderful possibilities. After much riding from relative to relative he rode up to the Andrew Dickey homestead on Pond Creek, about dark. That night the boys, Bob, William, and the two Dickey boys, Hugh and Wesley, sat out on the plank fence and talked until the late hours of the night. The hardships, along with the opportunities, were told to Bob. This incident was crowded out of William's mind during the months to follow by things of more vital interest. But not so with Bob. One cold day in the Winter of 1889 and 1890, a blue norther blowing a gale, the three homesteaders, Jim, Rufus and Will, were enjoying themselves by the fire in the dugout. A cry came out above the storm: "Anybody home?" Will recognized the voice, opened the door, and there on the flat stood Bob Byrd, leaning on his big wheel bicycle. Another tenderfoot had taken up the role of a pioneer. About an hour afterward another cry rose above the storm: "Which one of these places do you go into?" The true picture to the newcomer was so realistic that the question caused a hearty laugh, for above and below the human dugout were three or four dugouts with thatched roofs for the stock of the boys. The scene did present the picture of a Comanche Indian settlement built somewhat on the style of the Cliff Dwellers of Arizona. "That is Stonewall Margrave," Bob said. A hearty welcome was given the newcomers and entertained and made to feel at home until they were settled on their own claims. Bob located on a section of land south of Boggy Creek about seven miles southwest. Stonewall purchased a half-section about five miles northwest, and a few miles south of where the city of Altus is now situated. So the Colony was being added to and a part of the history of Greer County development was beginning its record. Bob was lonely in his bachelor dugout, so he prevailed on his sister, Vada, to come out in the Summer or Fall of 1890, and keep house for him. Vada's health was not good, and they thought the climate and gyp water would relieve her of her awful headaches. Her health did improve and she adapted herself to the hard pioneer life as though "to the manor born." Jim Dickey, back in Tennessee, as a young man was quite a lady's man, but he did not seem to be particular interested in the western young women. But when the young lady from Tennessee became a member of the Colony, his interest in womankind became quite noticeable. As the weeks of Fall and early Winter were passing away, Jim would lay off Saturday afternoons, put on his best bib and tucker, saddle old Fox and ride off south, something he had never done before. Will called the two room box house that began to assume proportions across the road from his dugout in the last days of 1891: "Jim's little Byrd House." Which it certainly did prove to be within a very short time. Vada returned to Tennessee in December of 1891, and Jim had occasion to visit his relatives there in January 1892, and in January or February of that year, Jim and Vada were happily married, and came back to take up their lives of pioneers in the new west. Thus was laid the foundation of another happy home of the Dickey Colony. Of this union there were born four children, two girls and two boys that grew to mature womanhood and manhood. Sallie Byrd came out to Greer County in the Fall of 1892, to make a visit to Vada, and was with her in January of 1893, when Tommie, her oldest child, was born. Dr. Tom Hardin had accompanied Sallie from Tennessee. He had just completed his medical course at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, and came west to establish himself in the practice of medicine, which he accomplished in a remarkable degree. He became one among the best and most successful physicians ever to practice medicine in Greer County. He was much loved and respected by the people he served. He held the confidence of all. In the Summer of 1893, Mart Hardin, Tom's brother, and his wife, Abby, came out to Greer County for his wife's health. Mart purchased the east half of Bob Byrd's section and built a comfortable house for himself and wife. Tom made his home with Mart for a number of months. Mr. and Mrs. Tom Byrd, Vada's parents, came out to visit with their children in 1893, and were there in the late Summer or early Fall to witness the marriage of their daughter Sallie to Dr. Tom Hardin. Doctor Tom, having purchased the north half of Jim Dickey's section established his home a few hundred yards north of Jim's house. This was the second house built on the site which is now the city of Olustee, Okla. The old Bloker house was the first, and for many years was the best house in Greer County. At this point, if the reader recalls the occasion of the plank fence midnight conversation on Pond Creek, Tenn., in August 1889, between Boy Byrd and Will Dickey, he may consider the events, that have followed in the lives of those mentioned in this record, as happenings of mere chance, but this writer considers them the leadings and providences of God. Here we have the establishing of two happy homes, and the uniting in blessed and beautiful marriage relation of two couples, wonderfully adapted to each other, who had never known each other before. The married life of Jim and Vada was like that of Isaac and Rebecca, and no two people were better suited for each other. Vada had the true pioneer spirit to match her husband. And during the severe drought years just now beginning, she never faltered or became discouraged. Never compared the lovely home of her girlhood in Tennessee with the first discouraging years of the establishing of their home in Oklahoma. Each devastating year of the drought of 1893 to 1895, met with a fortitude only comparable to that of Lula's, mentioned in David's history. She loved her humble home, delighted in her children, and gave her husband undivided loyalty and support. The anxiety in Jim's face was noticeable during these testing years, but he never lost hope or courage. Labor and economy were the virtues in the lives of these three pioneer families that brought them through these lean years. The flood of 1891 had washed out the channel of Turkey Creek from ten to fifteen feet deep, and had provided as nice fishing resort as anyone need want. To provide a variety of diet, a fine quality of fish fried in butter and served with a little corn bread makes an excellent breakfast or supper, and is very nutritious for growing children. Canned wild plums made an excellent substitute for Tennessee peach cobbler. Apple vinegar rightly compounded with a little flour gives a delicious apple pie. The culinary ability of the women of the Colony was of the highest quality and added much to the conquest over "General Drought." In the history of David Dickey, a general detail was given of the years from 1890 to 1900, of the status of their land, the change of money crops, the coming of the railroad and the wonderful changes of the community as regards schools, churches and home comforts. Jim, Vada, and their children, all, shared in these benefits and were well worthy of them. Their children had the privilege of the better schools and as they completed the course of the local school, were enabled to attend schools or colleges of higher educational attainments. Thus the children grew to manhood and womanhood, and began marrying off and having homes of their own. Jim did not take advantage of the boom of real estate values after the advent of the railroad, but continued to do extensive cotton and wheat farming until after the World War. When values were at their high point then he sold his east quarter for $125 per acre. His pioneering spirit would not down, so he moved over to Durant, Oklahoma, in what was formerly the Choctaw Nation, and purchased two farms at very reasonable figures. He also purchased a residence in Durant, where they lived and operated his farm from there. Jim and Vada died here in five days of each other, Jim going away first, in the year 1922. They had both contracted the flu which turned into pneumonia. Jim had heart trouble and was not able to throw off the disease. Vada had weakened her resistance by trying to wait on Jim. The two lovers died as probably they wished, and went home together. Jim and Vada's religious lives were of the highest quality. They were never demonstrative, but their faith and hope were "Both sure and steadfast, and entered into that within the vale." They were much honored and respected wherever they lived. Jim was a man of sound business judgment and exemplary integrity. He was a fond father and devoted husband. Vada was an exceptional mother and a perfect housewife, a loving wife and helpful companion. Their children and grandchildren shall ever cherish their memory. The greatest achievements of David and Lula, and Jim and Vada can not be estimated by the money they made of the acres of land they acquired, but the final records of man will reveal that their highest accomplishments were in the children they trained and sacrificed for. This writer believes that their lives and influence will be perpetuated forever in the lives of their posterity. Like the unconquerable river which furnishes life and vitality to the fertile acres along its course from source to delta, the irrepressible lives and labors of these noble, heroic pioneers will live on and on in their offspring until all human records are finally sealed in the historic archives of states and nations, and until the records of Heaven are opened, and the victors receive the welcome plaudit, "Well done thou good and faithful servants, enter thou into the joys of thy Lord." God's conquering hosts are marching on to the conquest of sin. God is not defeated. “God is in His Heaven, and all is well with His world.” Let us pray! Rev. William Alfred Dickey An Autobiographical Sketch William Alfred and Susan Letitia Dickey were twins, the youngest of the Rev. James Wesley and Susan Emeline Dickey. They were born August 18th, 1868, in the old homestead house of their grandfather Levi Lincoln Waterman, who with his young wife, Mary Ann Cutler Waterman, came from Marietta, Ohio, in 1820, and settled at Clear Branch, Washington County, Virginia. The twins were very congenial and devoted to each other. The few years they were together, were joyous and happy ones. When they were six Susan went away to be with her mother who had died when the twins were about two and a half years old. Their father died two short years after, in 1876. These dear ones have been in Heaven over sixty years now, awaiting the coming of the other members of the family. There is really a great stimulus to a person to know that there is some loved one waiting for them. These references are noticed about the twins in their mother's diary: "August 18th, 1870, The babies are two years old. Lord bless them and save them in heaven." The blessings of the sainted mother have followed the son through a much varied life. He is sixty-nine now and making a great effort to help answer his devoted mother's prayer. William's father died in the spring of 1876, and in the summer of that year he went to Tennessee to make his home with his Grandfather and Grandmother Dickey. These two people, well advanced in years, received the orphan boy with loving embrace, and gave to him the same love, affection and care that would have been his, had his father and mother lived. This new mother's prayers followed him to the old Willowvale school house on the plains of Oklahoma one night in the Spring of 1892, and caused him to turn away from a life of sin. The Holy Spirit reminded him of his Grandmother's prayers for him that night and said to him: "You have no faith in your own prayers, but have faith in your Grandmother's prayers. What are you going to do about it?" The youth responded: "I will go, trusting in her prayers." Through all these years he has never regretted the move he made toward God that night. He has always revered the memory of that holy woman, and the Christian life and profession of this devout woman has ever been a great stimulus and source of strength to her grandson through all the years of his Christian experience. He never doubted his Grandmother's sincerity and fidelity to her profession, even though he might question others. What a heritage for any young man to have! More valuable than silver and gold or precious stones. The old homestead was precious with memories to children and grandchildren through many score years. There Grandfather brought his young bride, Letitia Witten, in 1824. There his ten sons and one daughter were born, grew to manhood and womanhood. There William's father was born, spent his boyhood and worked in the same fields that William worked in. Grandfather told William of many incidents of his father's life in boyhood and young manhood. There William was taught lessons of thrift and industry, how to labor and how to develop manly virtues, but best he was taught how to love and honor God. There he made a profession of religion at eleven years of age and joined the Methodist Church. He attended the free schools of the neighborhood until he became fifteen years old. Then he entered Hiwassee College and attended this institution for two years. The last five months of his schooling there he had a very heavy list of studies and his frail body would not stand the strain. Besides his studies of Greek, Latin and English, he was classified with a list of seniors in their mathematical course. Surveying and navigation were five months studies, and as the class came to these, he asked the President, Dr. J. H. Brunner, to be allowed to add these studies to what he already had. Dr. Brunner was very fond of the boy, besides being a life long friend of the boy's father in the Holston Conference, and after questioning the boy's ability to carry that heavy ticket, gave his consent. This incident, as you will see, changed the whole course of William's life. The two older brothers, David and Jim (known as Wit in Tennessee) being in Florida, Mary and William, neither very robust, decided to spend the Winter with them, and went to Florida in the Fall of 1885. William's mathematical studies, etc., were not particularly helpful in his landing a job --a white collar job. Growing disgusted with the reply: "We can't use you," and somewhat piqued at the household for joking about the kind of job he desired, he left the domicile one morning stating that he would get a job before he came back to eat. Passing a blacksmith shop he inquired of the old man if he could use a boy to help him. "I sure can, but you can't work in them clothes." William went to work that afternoon. The aged blacksmith used swagers, bulgers and flatters, instruments with long handles. All William had to do was to articulate these with the sledge hammer. Well, he completed his apprenticeship as a blacksmith in three weeks. He next worked in the machine shop, adjoining the blacksmith shop, firing the engine for some weeks, receiving $3 per week -- a fifty cent raise. His next venture was at the printing business, which trade he worked at until he left Florida for Oklahoma, something over three years. At this trade he became quite proficient, supporting himself and saving up some money. Florida did not agree with Mary's health, and in the Spring of 1886 she went back to Sweetwater, Tenn. That Summer David left for Texas. Jim made a prospective trip to Texas in the Spring of 1887. He came back to Florida that Fall and stayed until the Spring of 1888. He disposed of some real estate, and again went back to Texas. William, left alone for a number of months in Florida, resolved he would make his own way and not call on any of his relatives for help. He accomplished this in a credible way, batched with the other boys, and saved his money. Receiving a letter from his brother Jim, to make haste and come to the land of free homes, he left Florida the last of July, 1888. En route to Texas and Oklahoma, he was in a train wreck north of Mobile, Alabama. He was unhurt -- but for a few seconds just "thought that every minute would be his next." He landed in Quanah, Texas, July 3rd, 1888, was met by Jim, and on July 4th they crossed Red River into Greer Country, Oklahoma, where they made their home for a long period of years. In Oklahoma, William was known as Will -- no longer as Willie or Little Willie as in Tennessee. Jim requested his brothers to call him Jim or James, his first name, and not Wit as he was known in Tennessee. In the historic sketch of David Dickey, mention was made of the settlement of the three brothers, of the status of the land question, of their crops and of the drought of three years that almost submerged them. Mention will be made now of some incidents intimately connected with the life of Will. When he crossed Red River with Jim he had five dollars left of what he had saved in Florida. Hence he could do very little toward improving his claim. In the late Fall of that year he received $75 from his Uncle William Dickey, who was his guardian in Tennessee. With this money he purchased a yoke of cattle and a plow, and with David's yoke of oxen he plowed on his claim and his brother's. During the months and years following Will broke 100 acres of sod on his claim before disposing of his cattle. This was an accomplishment he never was ashamed of. It was also extremely conducive to the cultivation and strengthening of his voice. When Will became of age he went back to Virginia to receive the money coming to him from his father's estate. This was held in trust by his guardian, Mr. L. C. Cosby, of Abingdon, Va. The amount he received was $900. On returning to Oklahoma, he and his brother Jim went to Stephens County, Texas and purchased a bunch of twenty head of stock horses. In caring for and feeding these, Will derived a great deal of pleasure but no great amount of profit. Will's capital enabled him to provide himself with necessary farm machinery, such as grain drill, disk harrow, wagon and sulky plow. In this respect he was as well equipped as any of his neighbors. He also built a granary for wheat on his ranch. About this time one of his greatest accomplishments was the digging of a thirty-five foot well on his claim. The digging was through pack sand and hard sand rock. He considered his blacksmith experience in Florida was an aid in this work. But he persevered until completed, and brought in the best well of water in that community. In the summer of 1891, all that northwest country was subjected to an awful flood. All the rivers and creeks were out of bounds, and much loss and damage was the result. Many farmers had harvested wheat washed away, as well as some of their stock and houses. Salt Fork, east of the boy's dugout, was a mile wide, and at daylight, was one mass of floating bundles of wheat. The boys were compelled to abandon their much cherished "home", when the water rose two feet in it. That day the old "homestead" was abandoned forever. The boys moved to Will's claim and lived in a shed alongside the granary until Will's dugout could be completed. This dugout really became of historic significance in the community. Luke Hardin, who had been attending the University of Arkansas, came out to visit his brothers, Mart and Tom and other relatives, and decided to "reside" for a time with Will and keep him company in his "residence". This was in the Spring of 1892. Thus began a fellowship and regard only equaled by David and Jonathan. They were like two brothers sharing their joys and hardships together during the drought period. This northwest country is noted for its storms, cyclones and black clouds. One evening in the Spring of 1892, about dusk, there was every indication of a cyclone. Will's dugout was the only remaining one in the community. The two boys soon observed they were about to receive "callers". The Echols family, David Dickey, Lula and the children were the first to request shelter. Then Jim and Vada were hurrying to join the gathering. Next came the whole Bloker family. There were just seventeen, sociably inclined. The boys had heard of surprises, poundings and the like but, in all their lives, they never experienced anything to equal this. They were perturbed to find accommodations for their visitors. "They were crowded in the dugout -- not a soul had a chance to sleep" but the babies on the one bed. No one was sick but "they sat up with each other." The cyclone did not materialize there, but in the Aaron neighborhood, two to three miles northwest, a number of houses were blown to bits, several persons injured, and two killed. But the rain was a "pour", and continued to pour until daylight. The boys could not think of allowing any of their visitors to return home. They were the butt of many a joke through the night and through many days to come. We were all pioneers on the plains of Oklahoma and could stand it. Will experienced the drought of 1893 to 1895, but having no family, it was not so discouraging as to his brothers and relatives. In the Summer of 1892, during a revival held by Rev. J. W. Kizziah, he renewed his covenant with the Lord, and became a "twice born man," as his relatives and neighbors could testify. He had felt his call to the ministry from boyhood, but delayed responding after his restoration until he could get a title to his home and get a better education. He took an active part in the local church and Sunday school work, trying to excuse himself and postponing a definite decision as to the holy work of a minister. During all his boyhood and young manhood years he had never intimated to anyone his impressions. His sister and Grandmother had expressed a desire that he become a minister, and the boy was perplexed as to who was calling him -- God or his relatives. If he had confided in older persons, his life might have been very different to what it was. But through the years, he chose to fight his battles alone. In the Spring of 1895, it was corn planting time, he remembers, Brother Crutchfield, the pioneer Methodist preacher, was holding a revival meeting in the Willowvale school house, and it was toward the close of the first week. One day Will did not attend the morning meeting, but being in the neighborhood of Bob Byrd's dugout, where Luke was batching with Bob, he stopped to visit them. Luke had returned from the morning meeting, and had just finished writing to his father, stating he had that day definitely decided to be a minister. Luke handed his letter to Will to read. And sitting of the steps of Bob Byrd's dugout, he read it. That surrender of his cousin and friend stirred his emotions to a degree that he broke down and wept, and acknowledged to Luke, that first time in his life to anyone, that he too, felt called to the ministry, but was perplexed as to whether the call was from God or his relatives. Having revealed his heart's secret, Will cried out: "Luke, what shall I do?" Luke responded: "Let's have a talk with Crutchfield tonight before the preaching hour." Brother Crutchfield's advice was to pray over the matter. Will had prayed. Something more must be done now. Returning home that night, Will thought of the little man, in ages past, who thought God was making a mistake in calling him to a responsible position in the army of his nation. But God convinced Gideon that he was the man he wanted and with his help he would succeed. It was presumption on the part of Will to think God would consider him. But in his anxiety and distress he determined to appeal of the Loving Father. Alone in his dugout that night, he knelt down on the earthen floor by his humble bed, and asked the Omniscient One to look into his heart and see if he were not sincere in the problem of his life. He asked that God would reveal unto him unmistakable evidence of his call to the ministry. In anguish of soul and spirit he cried out for help. A calmness over shadowed, and in spirit he heard unmistakable the question: "What do you want?" He realized now he was getting on holy ground. Was God talking to him? Should he presume to speak back? In his perplexity, again came the voice in comforting Fatherly accent: "What do you want?" And then with more courage than he had ever experienced before, be spoke back to God: "Give me the conversion of Mr. Clark Echols before this meeting closes and I will preach." God's answer was: "I will." And He did, and Will was happy in his new-found life. All the incidents leading up to the conversion of Mr. Echols are too long to be related here. Briefly, though, it can be told that he was a very old afflicted man. He had to be lifted in his chair by his son, Rufus, and son-in-law, David Dickey, into the back end of the wagon bed, and then carried into the school house. He was under deep conviction but was wonderfully saved. The Colony was much moved by the events of this meeting and the changes began to take place. Bob, Luke and Will were recommended by the next quarterly conference for license to preach. Bob was licensed that Fall by the district conference, joined the northwest Texas conference that Fall and was appointed to work in the northern part of Greer County. Bob had a number of successful years in the ministry. Luke went back to Tennessee in August, and in September began his studies at Emory and Henry College in Virginia, where in 1899, he graduated with much honor and credit to himself. Luke worked his way through college. Will planned to join Luke in college, but first he must raise some money. As had been recorded, the year 1895 was a complete failure. Will had 60 acres sown, but did not put his binder in the field. Will's only resource was some young horses he had raised and trained. There was no demand for horses there, so he decided to take them to Arkansas and dispose of them. Joe Hardin, cousin to Tom, Mart and Luke, had to come to Oklahoma in 1893 with Molley, his wife, and two children, Spence and Icy. Molley died in the Spring of 1894, and Joe and Spence came and batched with Will. Another great friendship was formed between Joe and Will. During a good revival in the Summer, Joe became very much concerned about his soul. One night during the meeting, after they had retired, they were discussing saving faith, and soon Joe declared: "Will, I am all right." this memory of the old dugout is sacred. In August, 1895, Will, with six head of young horses, and Joe, with a fine team, started east. Joe intended to travel through to Chattanooga, Tenn. Will planned to travel until he sold his horses. The market was dull in Arkansas, and only one sale was made. There was nothing to do but keep traveling. They crossed the Mississippi River at Memphis, Tenn., crossed the northern parts of the states of Mississippi and Alabama, and on into Chattanooga. Will finally disposed of his horses in Tennessee, with the help of his relatives. They were on the road nine weeks -- a new experience to both of them. Will finally entered Emory and Henry College at the beginning of the Spring term of 1896 and remained there until the last of June 1897. During this fifteen months Will and Luke were roommates. A very happy and pleasing experience never to be forgotten. While in that part of the country, Luke and Will were licensed to preach at Maryville, Tenn. The two boys formed many fine friendships with their fellow students. The Greer County land question was settled in 1896. Congress passed the enabling act for the settlement of the country in the Spring of 1897. It was necessary for Will to return to Oklahoma to secure title to his land. His health was poor and his money was exhausted, so all he could do was to give up his schooling and return to Oklahoma. The parting of these two boys, who had shared together so much joy and happiness, was sad and distressing. Will realized that his road was leading far away from the one Luke was traveling, and that they might never talk together again here in this life, which has been their sad experience. Luke completed his course there in college, and taught for a number of years in that fine old college. He married some years after graduation, and at this time has two grown daughters that are a great comfort to him as well as capable assistance to him in his life's work. Luke is now superintendent of the Greenville Orphanage of the Holston Conference, Greenville, Tenn. Will visited for a while with relatives at Sweetwater, Tenn., and the last of July, 1897, again turned his face toward the west. He made final proof on his homestead and contracted to purchase his west quarter at $1.25 per acre in the Spring of 1898. He turned attention to his farm during the Fall of 1897 and Spring of 1898, taught a session of public school in the early months of 1898, and joined the Indian Mission Conference in November of that year at Norman, Oklahoma. He reached there one day late for the examination for admission on trial, but was not the low man in the report of the committee. He made the trip to Norman, of 150 miles with buggy and team, Selim and Nell. Will's first appointment was Wapanucka, on the line of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations. The unsettled state of the country made ministerial work difficult, but he held some good meetings and left his charge at the end of the year better than he found it. His Presiding Elder was Rev. A. K. Miller, an exceptionally fine man and very religious. Most of his membership were poor, but some were very fine characters. His health was not good, having contracted malaria, and at conference that Fall at Ardmore, Oklahoma, he asked to be transferred into the northwestern part of the Oklahoma Territory. He was sent to Cheyenne City on the Washataw River. This too, was a newly settled country, and the people were poor. There was one building at Cheyenne on the circuit. He held some good meetings and increased the membership of the church. His presiding Elder was Rev. W. A. Randell, a very fine man. Dr. Miller, a member of his church advised him to transfer to the New Mexico Conference for his health. He made the change that Fall, and again went among strangers and had to establish new friendships. He was stationed at Alamogordo, New Mexico. Again, he took to the road, and had as his traveling companions Luke and Selim -- none better. He traveled the lonely road across the plains of Texas, down into the Pecos Valley, across the Sacramento Mountains and into the Tularosa Valley to Alamogordo, a thriving new industrial city, ninety miles north of El Paso, Texas. He reached his appointment in November, 1900. There he found a fine hospitable people, with a nice new church and parsonage. But his pleasing and inviting prospects were not to last long. Their church building burned down in the Feb. following. Immediate steps were taken for rebuilding, but delays prevented the completion of the new church until just before conference that Fall. His new Presiding Elder, the Rev. E. F. Goodson, another fine Christian man assigned him to missionary work in the Sacramento Mountains to the north. Luke and Selim shared with him his lonely night camps in the pine forests. In church activities in Alamogordo his congregation accepted the invitation from the N. M. Methodist people to join in with them in their services, which they did, conserving their work in Sunday School and their two League organizations. The M. E. pastor offered Will half time in his church services, but he declined the liberal offer, but asked that he might preach occasionally to his people. Which he did. With revival meetings in the mountains; preaching to many who had no church privileges; and keeping his city congregation active and happy, Will thought the year was not altogether a failure, and thought he should be returned for another to pick up the broken thread of the weave. But God intended different. Conference met that Fall in El Paso. No expressions passed between Will and his Presiding Elder. Will resolved when he first joined conference that he would not be a place seeker, and never asked for any particular appointment. Will was assigned to Lordsburg, New Mexico, a railroad division point on the Southern Pacific near the Arizona line. The "wickedest" and most uninviting charge in the conference. Well, Will was hurt. He must needs go back to Alamogordo to get Luke and Selim, his traveling wagon, books and clothing. Some of his members tried to persuade him not to go, saying: "Brother Dickey, I just would not go. They are not treating you right. And, besides, the man they sent here is a new man in the conference." But Will "set his heart like a flint" against anything and everything but "order." With the boys to the wagon, his effects inside, little children with sad faces and loving friends gathered to tell him goodbye, he again set his face toward the "West". Will had made many trips. The reader has noticed he was "a traveling" preacher. But this was his most trying journey. Luke and Selim did not want to go and must be urged forward. He felt he was "going out, not knowing whither he went." Will had four days of lonely travel in which to pray, so that when he topped the last rise of the desolate mesa and came in sight of the old adobe town, he could ask the Father not to allow him to lay on the people his disappointments, who were not responsible for them. His two years there yielded the greatest religious results. They were the most comforting and satisfying of his ministry. Before Will decided to preach, and as an excuse not to preach, he tried to pick a companion, but none of his desired ones would consent to be "picked" for some reason. But the one he had pictured in his mind as a perfect minister's wife was waiting for him in that ungodly town. She might have been a Rebecca, she might have been a Rachel, but she proved to be a Ruth. She knew of the travels and the vicissitudes of William, journeying on short rations from Wapanucka to Alamogordo and then to Lordsburg. But she insisted: "I will never leave thee. Where thou goest, I will go, and thy people shall be me people." Another coincidence of this story is that this lady came from Denver, Colorado, a month or so before Will arrived in Lordsburg. The reader may say these were just "happen-sos," but Will is pleased to consider them as the leadings of Providence of the Heavenly Father. William A. Dickey and Mary Crocker were married February 19, 1902, in the little adobe church in Lordsburg, New Mexico. Their home was in a two room adobe parsonage 14 x 28 feet. Their lives, the two years they lived in Lordsburg, were very happy and serviceable ones. The hardships they were called upon to undergo in after life could not overshadow those two pleasant years. But Will was not through traveling. Dr. M. M. Crocker, his brother-in-law, advised him to return to his farm in Oklahoma for a needed rest. Will had been subjected to severe headaches, for a number of years, and was threatened with a nervous breakdown. So he and Mary and the faithful horses made the overland trip from Lordsburg to Olustee, Oklahoma. This was Mary's first experience with farm life, and it seemed easy for her to take it up. This was the Fall of 1903. From the Fall of 1907 to November of 1908, Will was pastor at Olustee and Eldorado and had a very pleasant and prosperous year, but again had to retire. In the early Fall of 1909 he received a letter from Bishop Waterhouse, who formerly was Will's college president at Emory and Henry College. He requested Will to transfer to the Pacific Conference as he desired him to take charge of First Church of Hollywood. Again Will and Mary started West. Arriving in Los Angeles, the seat of the conference, Will acquired a heavy cold and cough, and being tall, thin and pale, the Presiding Elders and members of the conference thought best not to accept his transfer. They considered him a consumptive. The next definite move of Mary and Will was to settle in Chino, Calif, February, 1911. In February of 1915, Will was appointed postmaster of Chino and served eight and a half years, or until October of 1923. Mary was his assistant postmaster, and during these years they had the opportunity of proving to this community that brotherliness and friendliness is business and professional life can advance the Kingdom of God. They are now living in their own home in Chino, have a nice duplex in Alhambra, and the old homestead in Oklahoma, which Will received the patent to as a Christmas present the first year of his ministry, in 1898. Mary has been identified with the M. E. Church here, Will is working with the Congregational Mexican Church. He is still a member of the Oklahoma conference. They enjoy the respect and confidence of both Americans and Mexicans. They are both old now and not very strong. They have walked and labored through thirty six years, and have tried to be faithful to the Father who has never forsaken them, and who has crowned them with loving kindness and tender mercies. "The very God of peace be with you all".