Bio of Asa L. Perdue (p630) - Latimer County, Oklahoma Submitted by: Ginger McCall 11 Sep 2003 Return to Latimer County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/latimer/latimer.html ========================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ========================================================================== Asa L. Perdue Transcribed by G McCall from: A HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA By Luther B. Hill, A. B., With the Assistance of Local Authorities, Volume II, Illustrated, The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago / New York, 1909, Page 311-312 ASA L. PERDUE is the county clerk of Latimer county, and has resided in Wilburton, its county seat, since 1899. He was born at Mount Vernon, Illinois, May 31, 1866, a grandson of Adkins Perdue, a farmer who died near Paducah, Kentucky, and who was of French origin. Joseph L. Perdue, his son, was born near Nashville, Tennessee, December 1, 1828, and in his early life was engaged in boating on the Ohio river and its navigable tributaries. He married Sarah F., a daughter of James F. Perdue, and they settled in Illinois about 1855, where they were farming people. In 1874 they came to Arkansas and located at Hacket City, where the wife passed away in 1894. During many years or until age decreed his retirement Mr. Purdue was engaged in contract work in Hacket City, and is now a retired citizen of Wilburton. The children of this couple were: Asa L., mentioned below, and James F., a prominent mechanic of Wilburton and as such is conspicuously identified with the building of the town. The schools of Springdale and of Hacket City, Arkansas, educated Asa L. Perdue, and one of his first employments was on the survey of the Frisco Railroad from Fort Smith to Paris, Texas. During many years of his life he was a merchant clerk in Hacket City, and he was also interested in the mill and gin business there at one time. Conscious of his disadvantage in not possessing a trade, he took up the subject of engineering with the Scranton Correspondence School, and institution which has turned many ambitious young men into profitable channels, and when he had completed the course he found employment as a stationary engineer in his home town with the K. and T. Coal Company. He subsequently came to Wilburton to assume the position of machinist with the Great Western Coal Company, and remained with that corporation for five years. By this time he had amassed a small sum of money, and in 1905 he became a member of the grocery firm of Randle and Perdue, and was an active partner in the business until his retirement to assume public office, but he still holds his interest in the firm. In the summer of 1907, when matters were shaping themselves for statehood, he became one of the five candidates for the office of county clerk before the Democratic primary and won the nomination. The first election in Latimer county showed it to be Democratic, and he defeated his Republican opponent by four hundred votes. His experience as a clerk in Hacket City and as a deputy postmaster there and his general knowledge of clerical matters made the opening of the first set of records for the county an easy matter, and the details of his office are matters as carefully as of the greatest moment. Mr. Perdue was also elected a member of the first council of Wilburton, and had a hand in the movement and the actual building of the city water works, as well as in the giving of a free franchise to the Degnan people to light the town from its private plant. He holds to the principle of co-operation where the public is served by a corporation and thus benefitting their interests. The contribution of corporations in the way of taxes is an item of much importance to municipalities, and if it can be attained by the giving of a free franchise the public are the gainers thereby. On the 11th of December, 1892, Mr. Perdue was married in Hacket City, Arkansas, to Minnie C., a daughter of James Erwin, originally from Tupelo, Mississippi, and they have one son Clarence Bryan, born February 8, 1898. Mr. Perdue is a charter member of the Wilburton lodge, No. 108, of Masons and a past master, and is also a member of the fraternal order of Knights of Pythias and of the Junior Order of American Mechanics. The family are members of the First Baptist church of Wilburton. Mr. Perdue is a stanch Union man, he being a stationary engineer. He was president of Division No. 52 of Coal Hoisting Engineers in 1903-4. On resigning as engineer for the Great Western Coal Co. he accepted a position as salesman for J. R. Frazier & Co. of Wilburton, remaining with said firm two years, when he resigned and became a member of the firm of Randle & Perdue mentioned above. Mr. Perdue while clerking for the above firm of J. R. Frazier & Co. was a member of the Retail Clerks Protective Association of which he served as its president for one year. And he is today a member of the County Clerks Association of the State of Oklahoma. (Note from transcriber: Errors and variations in spelling are as they appear in the actual article.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to Latimer County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/latimer/latimer.html