Bio of Gilbert, William Isaac - Stephens County, Oklahoma Submitted by: Gene Phillips 18 Jun 2006 Return to Stephens County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/stephens/stephens.htm ========================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ========================================================================== WILLIAM ISAAC GILBERT. A dozen years ago, a certificate of admission to the bar was the only basis for reputation and distinction as a lawyer that William Isaac Gilbert possessed, Since that time he has achieved a place among the leaders of the Oklahoma bar, and as a criminal lawyer has a record of remarkable success. He had completed his course of reading and passed the examination and received admission to the Logan county bar when only eighteen years of age. Soon afterward he was appointed by Judge Buford to prosecute a negro for violating the revenue laws of the Territory, this being his first case. The conditions in the Territory and in the new state preclude the possibility of a member of the bar choosing some specialty of practice to the exclusion of all others, and while Mr. Gilbert's career marks him as especially effective in criminal practice, he has engaged the attention of a large clientele in general practice. In southwestern Oklahoma he has defended many of the noted murderers of this section of the state. He and A. J. Jennings of Lawton defended the Thomas Brothers in what is regarded as the most celebrated murder case in the state, and secured their acquittal. Among other cases might be cited the defense of Charles Lochran for the murder of J. W. Penson because of slander of the former's wife; Dorset Brothers, for killing Drew Wade on similar provocation; Frank Thomas, for taking the life of a baseball umpire; William Alexander, for shooting a negro woman; Smiley and Dixon, at Lawton, for murder. He has defended more than one hundred cases of this character, from which the government has been able to secure, all told, but four convictions for manslaughter and one sentence of four years. As a trial lawyer, especially when on a hard case for the defense, Mr. Gilbert exhibits a strength and variety of resources that mark the born lawyer. Aside from his court and jury practice, he attends to the local legal work for the Rock Island, the Frisco, and the Santa Fe railroads. As a resident of Duncan since 1896, he has become closely identified with the business affairs of the town, being a director in the City National Bank of the town, and also in the First National Bank of Comanche, in the First National Bank of Terral, and the Bank of Cornish. William Isaac Gilbert was born at Martinsville, Missouri, August 18, 1876. After spending the first sixteen years of his life at Martinsville, where he attended the public schools, he came to Oklahoma with his parents, in 1892. With his arrival in this new county he began his career of practical effort. His father, who was also a lawyer, had been a member of the bar at Martinsville for many years, and had gained more than ordinary professional honors. Watonga, in Blaine county, was the first home of the family in this territory, and the sixteen-year-old boy began earning his way by hauling freight from the railroad at Kingfisher to Watonga. From this occupation he took up the study of law in his father's office, and made such creditable progress that within two years he had prepared himself for professional work and was admitted to the bar by examination. Horace Gilbert, his father, was born in Vermont, in 1830, a son of William H. Gilbert, with whom he came out to Missouri in 1852 and located on a farm in Clay county. Having received his education in his native state, Horace Gilbert took up the study of law in Missouri and had established himself in practice before the beginning of the war. As a sympathizer with the south, he entered the Confederate service, and after two years in the army returned to his practice. He was a successful lawyer, and continued in his work until his death in 1898. His wife's maiden name was Trescindia Wren, whose father was a Kentuckian and at an early date had moved to Bethany, Missouri, and passed the remainder of his life in that state, being a farmer and man of means. Mrs. Horace Gilbert is now a resident of Oklahoma City. She was the mother of the following children: Cora, wife of J. M. Lewis, of Kinsley, Kansas; Emmett, formerly in business in Montana, but who died in New York in 1893; Harry E.; a lawyer, who died in El Paso, in 1904, being at that time associated in practice with his brother, William L.; Mattie W., wife of J. D. Vinson, of Sapulpa; Bessie, wife of Edward H. Brewer, of Oklahoma City; William Isaac; and Sadie, wife of Robert O. Cull. William I. Gilbert married, December 10, 1898, at Dallas, Texas, Miss Lucy Witt. They have had four children: Emmett, who died in infancy; Jeanne, now six years old; Marjorie, who died at eighteen months; and William Isaac, Jr., born in July, 1906. Mr. Gilbert is a Democrat, though not actively identified with party politics. He was a delegate to the Sequoyah convention, one of the notable movements in the history of statehood. Fraternally he is a Knight Templar, Mason, a Shriner, a Knight of Pythias and an Elk. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to Stephens County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/stephens/stephens.htm