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Page 444

The regular quarterly meeting of the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Historical society was held in the Historical Building, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, October 29, 1942, with Judge Robert L. Williams, President, presiding.

The Secretary called the roll and the following members were shown to be present: Judge Robert L. Williams, Judge Thomas H. Doyle, Dr. Emma Estill-Harbour, Gen. Charles F. Barrett, Mr. Jim Biggerstaff, Hon. George L. Bowman, Judge Harry Campbell, Dr. E. E. Dale, Dr. Grant Foreman, Hon. Thomas J. Harrison, Judge Robert A. Hefner, Mrs. Frank Korn, Mrs. Blanche Lucas, Hon. J. B. Milam, Mr. H. L. Muldrow, Judge Baxter Taylor, Mrs. John R. Williams, and Mr. James W. Moffitt, the Secretary.

The following members were excused on account of being unavoidably absent: Gen. William S. Key, Mrs. Jessie E. Moore, Dr. James H. Gardner, Col. A. N. Leecraft, and Judge John B. Meserve.

The minutes of the Board meeting held July 23, 1942, being presented upon motion, duly seconded, the reading of same was dispensed with subject to consideration at a subsequent meeting.

The President presented the certified photostatic copy of a joint Certificate from the Circuit and Chancery Court at Manchester, Coffee County, Tennessee, dated September 3, 1895, licensing George S. (George Samuel) Ramsey to practice law in all the courts of law and equity in the said State of Tennessee, and also a certified photostatic copy of order of the County Court of the same date and at same place, stating "That he (George S. Ramsey) is a citizen of Coffee County, Tennessee, the age of twenty-one years old, and of good moral character," same being a required preliminary for admission to the bar, the executor of his will having presented these photostatic copies, same were received with thanks and expression of appreciation therefor and ordered to be preserved in the archives of the Historical Society in the George Samuel Ramsey papers, and on motion of Judge Doyle, duly seconded and carried, a vote of thanks for same was extended to the executor.

Mrs. Korn moved that a vote of thanks and an expression of appreciation be extended to Judge Doyle, then in attendance as a Member of the Board, on account of his long service for the Historical Society. Motion was seconded and unanimously carried.

The President delivered to the board a copy in longhand of the Diary of the late Rev. J. T. Peery, presented by his daughter, Mrs. Mary Peery Whitaker, 3521 Wabash Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri, to be placed in the archives of the Historical Society with the Peery papers and on motion duly made and seconded same was accepted and filed with an expression of appreciation and thanks, and further on motion duly seconded and unanimously carried, the said Mrs. Mary Peery Whitaker was made an honorary life member of the Oklahoma Historical Society.

The President presented to the Historical Society, an old horn spoon which formerly belonged to Jim Tims, who was a negro slave in the Choctaw country in Mississippi and as such was brought in the 1830's by his Choctaw master, John McIntosh, to the Choctaw Nation in the Indian Territory, where he lived long after emancipation as a fine negro citizen and Choctaw freedman, and same was accepted to be appropriately preserved. Also at the same time the President presented a cannon ball that was recently found in the ruins of old Fort Washita, which evidently had been there ever since it was occupied prior to the Civil War by an

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artillery battery under command of Braxton Bragg then an officer of the United States Army (afterwards a General of the Confederate States of America), and also a wooden instrument which was customarily used by the Indians in hunting squirrels in lieu of the modern way with a gun and powder and ball; and also a stair-round from the hotel where General Ellsworth was killed in the Civil War which had formerly been the property of John W. Flenner, transmitted to the President by Mrs. J. W. Flenner of Muskogee, Oklahoma for the Oklahoma Historical Society, all of which was accepted to become a part of its collections to be preserved in appropriate places in the Historical Building of the Historical Society of Oklahoma and all of same were accepted with appreciation and thanks. The Secretary was instructed to appropriately express thanks and appreciation to Mrs. A. C. Risner of Durant, Oklahoma on account of the Jim Tims horn spoon and to Mrs. John W. Flenner of Muskogee, Oklahoma on account of the stair-round from the said hotel, and to Mrs. Lula O. Austin of Durant, Oklahoma for the wooden instrument used by the Indians in hunting squirrels, and to Ben F. Pinson of Durant, Oklahoma on account of the cannon ball.

The President made a verbal report as to the Robert M. Jones Cemetery, the same having been visited by him and Hon. William Parrish, a Member of the Legislature from Bryan County, and Walter H. Attaway, a Member of the Society who is a member of the appropriate committee relating to said place, with the further statement that tentative plans had been made for Hon. Bayliss Irby, a Member of the Legislature from Choctaw County, with said Walter Attaway of Bennington, Oklahoma, to visit this place again for inspection on Sunday, November 8, 1942 and that H. M. Cook who had been looking after the cemetery known as the Rose Hill place was to be with them on that inspection.

Dr. Grant Foreman having brought up the matter as to the Whipple papers, it was moved, seconded and carried as follows:—

That whereas, at the meeting of the Board of Directors of this, the Oklahoma Historical Society, on October 29, 1942,

The President read a letter from Dr. Grant Foreman relating to the papers, diaries, etc. of Lt. A. W. Whipple who made a survey for a railroad from Fort Smith, Arkansas to the Pacific Coast, and after considering same,
Hon. George L. Bowman moved that the Board request Dr. Grant Foreman to continue communication with the grandchildren of Lt. A. W. Whipple relative to securing said collection for the Oklahoma Historical Society and the placing of same for safe keeping in one of our fire proof vaults in our fire proof building and that the same be catalogued and indexed for reference and examination if received from them. Motion was seconded and carried.

And Dr. Foreman verbally reports that he had further communicated with the grandchildren or heirs therein referred to and they had stated to him that with the consent of the other heirs the collection of papers of the late Lt. A. W. Whipple (a distinguished officer on the part of the United States in the Civil War), that our proposition would probably be agreed to and it was then moved and seconded that Dr. Foreman be requested to carry on the appropriate communications to the end that said collection which relates to the survey made from Ft. Smith west as to the location of an east and west continental railroad as well as other papers, may be received and kept in a fire proof vault in the fire proof historical building, and that all may be calendared and indexed for appropriate reference and examination and reasonably kept in such safe and acceptable place for such permanent preservation, any reasonable requirement to be complied with by our board.

Judge Baxter Taylor, as a special committee, reported as to the busts of the Governors of Oklahoma by Jenkins and was continued as said committee with the understanding that the Society would accept them tem-

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porarily as custodian but to be without any responsibility other than as such temporary custodian without compensation and without any liability, such motion having been made and seconded was passed.

Judge Robert A. Hefner called attention to the presence of three representatives of the '89ers Association, who made a statement as to exhibits heretofore placed with former representatives of the Society, including a collection of early day pictures, scenes, etc. and a manuscript from the Samuel Crocker collection. The matter was deferred for consideration at a subsequent meeting when a complete list of same with inventory that particular presentation may be made and authorization for same to be placed with and housed by the Historical Society in its building and the President and the Secretary of the Historical Society were authorized to consummate such agreement as deemed proper by them.

On motion, between $1000.00 and $1200.00, not to exceed $1200.00, of the private funds of the Society were frozen and set aside for the acquirement of appropriate flag cases for the preservation of the flags already in hand and flags to be later acquired, including flag trophies that Oklahoma troops may bring back from foreign shores and our own land during World War II. The motion was duly made and seconded that the President be authorized to invest said sum of as much as $1200.00 in United States Bonds, to be utilized therefrom as soon as the glass and material for such cases could be utilized under reasonable cost and rules of priority. The motion as seconded was unanimously carried.

On motion, Judge Thomas H. Doyle was requested to revise an article heretofore prepared by him as to the life, work and necrology of the late Judge Henry M. Furman and submit the same to the Editorial Board for early publication in The Chronicles. Motion was seconded and unanimously carried.

Mrs. Anna B. Korn, having presented a miniature of Mrs. Lorena Cruce Norris, daughter of the late Governor Lee Cruce, which on motion was duly accepted with appreciation and thanks, was requested to prepare an appropriate article relative thereto for submission to the Editorial Board for publication in an early issue of The Chronicles. Said motion was seconded and carried.

On motion, seconded and carried, Mrs. Korn was appointed as a special committee to endeavor to secure miniatures of the wives of the Governors of Oklahoma, and the Governors of Oklahoma Territory.

Mr. H. L. Muldrow presented to the Society for its library the following books:

(1) The Baltimore Conference of Grand Masters, by Arthur Francis Pimbley.

(2) Constitution, Treaties and Laws of the Chickasaw Nation, 1867; and

(3) The Chickasaw Nation, A Short Sketch of a Noble People, by James H. Malone of Memphis, Tennessee.

On motion duly made and seconded and carried, same were accepted with appreciation and thanks extended to the donor, who was present.

Mrs. John R. Williams presented (1) a map of the old Oklahoma Territory, 1891, and (2) also of the old Indian Territory, showing the different Indian Nations or Tribes and their locations. On motion duly seconded and carried same were accepted to be appropriately placed in the archives of the Society and thanks then and there expressed to the donor, who was present.

The question of the necessary repair of old maps in the custody and archives of the Historical Society arose and on motion duly made and seconded such repair was authorized and a committee of three was appointed, to-wit: (1) H. L. Muldrow, chairman, (2) Mrs. Emma Estill-Harbour, and (3) J. W. Moffitt, Secretary, but the amount of the expenditure therefore, in order to vouchsafe that same comes within the available budget and funds for such purpose, before such expenditure, to be approved by the President.

The question of the damage to the base boards on the first floor of the Historical Building was considered and on motion duly seconded the

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President and Secretary were authorized to take the matter up with the Board of Affairs that this condition may be speedily remedied.

As to the condition of the Fort Gibson buildings, an inspection had recently been made by Dr. Foreman, Hon. Thomas J. Harrison and other members of the committee and roof leaks were found which made repairs immediately necessary and on account of lack of funds for such specific purposes, Thomas J. Harrison, a Member of our Board, offered to contribute and expend not to exceed $25.00 for such repairs and his generous offer was accepted with thanks and appreciation and he was accordingly authorized to have such repairs made.

The matter of the annual meeting of the Oklahoma Historical Society for 1943 was discussed, which has a 50th anniversary to occur in May, 1943, and to be appropriately held it would be essential for it to be at the same time of a meeting of the State Press Association. The matter was discussed with a Member of its Board, Mr. Jim Biggerstaff, then present, it was thought advisable to continue this matter until the January, 1943 meeting, as on account of the World War conditions and priorities as to travel and the use of cars and rubber tires would be necessary to be considered, and the probability being that such meeting might necessarily be deferred until a later year, the matter was continued for further consideration at the January, 1943 meeting of the Board.

Mr. Jim Biggerstaff reported on the exhibit book for use by visitors, stating that ten thousand, 16-page folders would cost approximately $225. The matter was continued until after the convening of the Legislature in 1943, and the committee with Mr. Biggerstaff as chairman was continued.

The budget for the Historical Society for the next biennium including the need for improvement in the lighting system of the Historical Building and other necessary and pressing repairs was presented, after which the budget officer was requested to submit in writing suggestions as to all the matters discussed with him at this conference.

The matter of preserving historic places in Oklahoma was considered and a special committee to make study as to such places and make suggestions relative thereto was appointed, to-wit: J. B. Milam, Mrs. Emma Estill-Harbour and Mrs. Blanche Lucas. It was suggested that new historic places might be before us on account of World War II. The new Army Camps from which World War II soldiers having been trained and go forth, may become proper for consideration, and the work of this committee is not only to consider the historic places pressing upon our memories from the past but also historic places that may be now in contemplation.

The question of flags of a historic nature pertaining to World War I and World War II, as well as those pertaining to the Civil War and the Indian Wars and the Mexican Wars and the War of the Revolution, was to go to the respective committees whose duties related directly or incidentally thereto, to consider the matter so it could be discussed and passed on later.

Hon. J. B. Milam presented before the Board the question of asking the Legislature to impound the royalty derived from the oil wells on the Historical Building grounds in a fund to be used solely and exclusively for repair and permanent betterments of the Historical Building. On motion duly seconded the suggestion was approved with the instruction that a proper memorial be presented to the legislature for such segregation of said fund and its authorization and restriction for such uses. The motion was seconded and unanimously carried.

Dr. E. E. Dale presented an autographed copy of his books as follows:

(1) Cow Country,
and autographed copies of monographs and pamphlets as follows:

(2) The Cherokee Strip Live Stock Association.

(3) The Cow Country in Transition.

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(4) The Speech of the Frontier.

(5) A manuscript of "The Cheyenne-Arapaho Country."

Motion was seconded and carried that each and all of the same be accepted with appreciation and thanks expressed and tendered to Dr. Dale in person who was present.

The Board expressed its appreciation for the attendance of W. L. Blessing and Mrs. Florence Pigg, members of the Pottawatomie Historical Society, both of Shawnee, the former, W. L. Blessing, a Member of the original Board of the Industrial Commission at the time of its creation and organization in 1915, and the latter, the widow of the late Dr. Pigg.

Mr. H. L. Muldrow, chairman of the Membership Committee, made a verbal report and the committee was further continued.

Mr. H. L. Muldrow moved with a second which was duly carried, that the President be authorized to grant Secretary J. W. Moffitt, as necessity arises, a leave of absence to enter the Military Service of his country and to take appropriate action during the absence of and until the next regular meeting of the Board as to his place that it may be temporarily filled according to the necessity of the occasion.

Hon. J. B. Milam reported on the centennial celebration of the Indian Mission at Oaks, Oklahoma, which was also attended by one or two other members of the Board.

Mrs. John H. Wright and Mrs. Hubert Ambrister, representatives of the Art Renaissance Club of Oklahoma City, were present officially to make inquiry as to result of the decision of the Board in regard to the paintings of the Club now in the Historical Building. The President explained to them that under the decision of the Kay County Free Fair vs. Martin, 122 Pac. 2nd, 303, the Historical Society could not continue to hold them, except in case the title was completely vested in the Historical Society.

The following list of applicants for Membership was submitted and read:

Annual: James Anderson, Kansas City, Missouri; Dr. Frank Balyeat, Norman; Mrs. P. C. Bolger, Poteau; H. P. Daugherty, Claremore; Mrs. O. O. Dawson, Wayne; Dr. Thomas E. Dixon, Mooreland; Joseph S. Ewing, Norman; H. I. Faulkner, Spiro; Edgar Fenton, Oklahoma City; Mark L. Goodwin, San Antonio, Texas; Herman S. Gurley, Blackwell; O. E. Hatcher, Stroud; Wade H. James, Tulsa; E. N. Jones, Ada; Clifford W. Kelley, Chattanooga; Mrs. L. P. Lawrence, Britton; L. C. Lindsay, Norman; Lester Lloyd, Oklahoma City; Miss Julia Mattson, Grand Forks, North Dakota; Lamar Moore, Winslow, Arizona; Mrs. C. W. Nichols, Ardmore; Rev. Roy T. Nunn, Tecumseh; Earl Boyd Pierce, Muskogee; J. W. Price, Humboldt, Tennessee; Floyd V. Studer, Amarillo, Texas; G. K. Taylor, Oklahoma City; Dr. E. W. Thornton, Shawnee; Mrs. W. L. Thurston, Wewoka; Preston C. West, Lexington, Kentucky.

On motion duly made and seconded, same were received as Members in the class as shown in said list.

The artist, Mr. Boris B. Gordon of Washington, D. C., was introduced to the Board.

The Board also extended its best greetings and thanks to Mrs. Jim Biggerstaff for being present in attendance with her husband who is a Member of the Board.

The Indian artist, Mr. Carl Swazey, was introduced and gave explanation as to his collection of Indian paintings.

Upon motion of Hon. George L. Bowman the meeting stood adjourned subject to call.

—Robert L. Williams,
President.

James W. Moffitt,
Secretary.

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