Local History: Earlsboro, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma
The following excerpt was taken from LOCALIZED HISTORY OF POTTAWATOMIE
COUNTY, OKLAHOMA TO 1907, copyright 1971 by Charles Wm. Mooney, Jr.,
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 75-121116.  

Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives through the generosity and
permission of Mariella Mooney Becker, daughter of the author. Information
transcribed by Nana Barrett Cornwell, a native of Earlsboro, Oklahoma,
bcornwell98@att.net
No changes in spelling or grammar have been made by the transcriber.

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"EARLSBORO
Page 208
The first postoffice in what is now known as Earlsboro, was established
on May 26, 1894 under the name of LOFTUS.  Before June 16, 2001 this,
when the first store opened, it was called "Bomber Ray."  The town
postoffice was changed to Earlsboro on June 12, 1895.  The namesake of
the new town was James Earls, a popular negro barber who had his own
barber shop for the colored people.  He had been the personal orderly
during the Civil War for Confederate General Joe B. Wheeler.  The first 
Page 209
postmaster for Loftus was Arthur C. Goodall, and he remained postmaster
when the name changed to Earlsboro.

One of the early day settlers near the town was Henry Ingram, who came
from Texas, and shortly after his arrival he went into partnership with
his brother, Bud Ingram in the "Box X" ranch east of the town, part of it
in the Seminole Nation.  Bud later went to Oklahoma City at the
stockyards.  Henry Ingram's son was Joe Ingram, who later opened a large
general store in town, that soon mushroomed with new stores and saloons,
cotton gins, and a two story hotel.  A Mrs. Devault had one of the early
day stores in town.  Like many of the early day towns in the county,
their word of mouth history is embellished with the fantastic stories of
the number of saloons, like the unrealistic number of 11 for
Earlsboro.  Actually there were never more than three at any one time
here.  Homer Knight had the first saloon soon after the town began.  Then
John Quimby and Ben Barker opened saloons.  Later, O. D. Horn bought one
of the saloons.  There was a rough element that patronized these saloons,
with many of their customers coming from the Indian Territory.  Later,
both Sam Norton and Mike Lawless had saloons in town in 1897.  Norton
owned a ranch north of town.  A man named Melton was drunk and was killed
with a knife in the Homer Knight's saloon.  Lewis Kaplan, a jewish store
owner was killed on the railroad by a train.

George Demick tried unsuccessfully to "scare" a negro family off their
property, and was killed in his attempt.  J. F.Olney had a store
here.  Early day doctors here were Dr. Kilborn, Dr. Fessenger,
Dr. Sampson, Dr. J. E. Walker, who later moved to Shawnee,
Dr. E. R. McAlester (1872-Ark.), who was a Mason and a member of the IOOF
#77 in Earlsboro, who married Stella Murray in 1900.  Their two children
were Vera and Veva.  Dr. J. E. Cullen (1859-Ind.)came here in 1901,
married Velma Freeman, daughter of Dr. J. E. Freeman of
Tecumseh.  Dr. Cullum was Supt. of the Methodist Sunday School in
town.  He later retired in Tulsa.

The first drug store in town was owned by Charley Rodman (1866-Tex.)  He
had previously settled seven miles west of Tecumseh.  He was a member of
the Earlsboro Masonic Lodge #72.  His two sons were Carl and
Doyle.  Later, Fred Day owned the second drug store in town, and at one
time Walter White was his partner.  George Fred Day came to the community
in 1896 and died in 1905. Dr. J. E. Walker then ran the drug store. (In
1970, Fred Day's daughter, Mrs. Barrett, is President of the Bank of
Commerce at McLoud, and is believed to be the only woman president of a
bank in Oklahoma at the time.)

Page 210
There were many negro families living in the community, and many of them
originally were Seminole Freedmen and their descendants.  Among those
remembered were Neff Crane, Nippy Burner, Nora Bruner, Tecumseh Bruner,
and Dina Walker who had a son named Gene; Will Stargel, who came from
Georgia and had 4 boys.  Some of the Bruner family were Lighthorsemen in
the Seminole Nation, or Indian Police.

Henry Day and his brother Frank Day at one time had been deputized to
arrest suspects in the area.  The Mayhews family Lived near here, and had
a son named George who later moved to Ada.  P. H. (Phil) Cooper of Maud
(grandfather of Astronaut Gordon Cooper) owned a freight line from Maud
to Earlsboro.  Eugene Arnett also owned a store in Earlsboro.

The old Brown School, later named Liberty Hill, was two miles north of
town.  Celestia Robinett and Claude Hendon went to school here before
1900.  The teacher then was J. M. Allen.  Harry Brown and Lice Brown
lived here.

In 1901 the Bank of Earlsboro was chartered, with A. J. Grayson as
President and B. B. Blakeney as Vice-President.  Later Eugene Arnett was
the banker here.  Appropriately, a Mr. Butcher had a large meat market in
town.  His daughter Emily Butcher later married Joe Ingram.  A
Mrs. Skaggs was an early day Postmaster here.  In 1904 there were two
cotton gins in town, one was owned locally by Bill Maloney, the other
owned by out of town interests.

Usaac Newton Neal, the founder of Neal, O.T. (See Ghost Town #38, moved
here in 1901 and opened a store.  He later died of Typhoid Fever.  Dick
Day, early day settler on the Robinson place, suffered an epeleptic
seizure and fell into the fireplace.  A Doctor from the Indian Agency
near Shawnee attended him, bringing with him Thomas Alford who assisted
him in the amputation of the leg.

Joe Robinett (1854-Ga) bought a 240 acre Indian allottment from "Lttle Bear"
In 1896, and later bought 80 acres from Will and George Carson of
Tecumseh.  Robinett came from the Chicksaw Nation.  They had three
children; Celestia, Jessie and John.  The McFarland family lived near
here, and a son, Earnest was born here.  He was later Governor of Arizona.

Jesse J. Vulgamore (1862-Ohio)first arrived 12 miles north of Shawnee in
1894, came to Earlsboro in 1904 and established a sawmill and Grist mill
one mile southeast of town on 11 acres.  He had a 20 HP engine then that
could turn out 2000 feet of lumber a day.  He ground feed and meal only
on Saturdays.  He formerly had a dray and transfer business in town.

Page 211
His parents, Joseph and Amelia Vulgamore lived adjoining his place.

John L. Shelton (1878-Ill)was the second grade teacher in Earlsboro about
the time of Statehood.  He married Blanche Day of Wewoka in
1905.  Prof. W. W. Cunningham (1875-W.Va) was Principal and Supt. of the
Earlsboro school when the new school was built in 1905.  They had 350
pupils then.  Teachers then were J. L. Shelton, May Olney,
Mrs. Compton. The Cunninghams had three children:  W. Hollie, Donella & Corine.

John H. Guinn (1850-Mo) came here in 1893.  He was a Civil War veteran,
enlisting at age 14.  He had a farm in Sec. 2 a mile north and 2 1/2
miles west of town.  Thomas E. Finnegan (1858-S.Car) had arrived in the
Choctaw Nation in 1882, came here in 1894 when the town started.  He was
later Justice of Peace here and member of the IOOF. Severn D. Moulton
(1846-N.Y.)came near here in 1891, and in 1898 was Postmaster here and
had a general store.  He was a Civil War veteran for the Union, and a
member of the IOOF.  Chas. H. McAlister (1832-Ind) came here in 1882,
owned a farm two miles south and a mile east in Sec. 21. Herschel Barret*
(1853-Ga) owned 80 acres in Sec. 18, a half mile southwest of town.  He
was a member of the Earlsboro Lodge #77 of the IOOF.  William Monroe
Montgomery (1860-Ill) homesteaded near here in 1891 in Sec. 32, four
miles south of town.  He had been 2 years in the Creek Nation before
coming here.  In 1907 he was a member of the School Board here.

W. L. Conway (1866-Ohio), a Union Civil War veteran, owned 152 acres near
here, was a partner in the Oak Park Farm with G. W. Gander.  Wm. D. Adams
(1858-Mo) homesteaded here in 1891, and his quarter section was named the
Pecan Valley Farm.  Wm. Foreaker (1846-Ohio) was Prop. Of the Buckeye
Farm, coming here from Texas in 1905, and specialized in fruit
farming.  W. O. McGruder (1853-Mo) was Supt. Of the Farmers Union Gin
Mill since 1905. He had arrived here in 1898 and bought 160 acres 1 1/2
miles south of town.  His son George was a livery man in town.  McGruder
was Dist. Grand Master of the IOOF Lodge and charter member of Earlsboro
Lodge #77 and was a deacon in the Baptist Church. Wm. Oscar Timms
(1839-Ill) arrived near here in 1894, owned 480 acres, the "Sunny Slope
Farm."  His son was Homer H. Timms (1870-Ill).  Christopher C. Leonard
(1832-France) came here in 1890, 4 miles from town.  He was a Union Civil
War Veteran and had formal been a steamship clerk.  Isaac B. Littleton

Page 212
(1843-Ga) a confederate war veteran, homesteaded near here, was a member
of the local Masonic Lodge #72.  His son Pugh was Master of the Masonic
Lodge here.

Earlsboro proudly boasts that one of her native sons became a
U. S. Senator and a Governor of a State.  Ernest W. McFarland was born a
half mile east of Earlsboro on October 9, 1894.  His parents were
Wm. T. & Keziah (Smith) McFarland, who made the run in a covered wagon
and homesteaded here in 1891.  Ernest W. McFarland was the first native
born Oklahoman ever to be elected to the U. S. senate, first elected in
1940, serving two terms from the State of Arizona.
He was Majority leader of the U. S. Senate from 1951 to 1953, then was
elected Governor of Arizona for two terms from 1955 to 1958.  In 1964 he
was elected to the Supreme Court as a Justice, and in 1970, is Chief
Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court.  As far as known, he had the
distinction of being the only person in the U. S. to have been elected to
the three highest positions in his state, .... In all three branches of
government, the Legislative, Executive and Judicial."