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Post by Eric Standridge on Oct 26, 2011 9:51:02 GMT -6
In The Birth of Poteau, I want to devote the last chapter to the early pioneers of Poteau - the movers and shakers, the ones who made Poteau Possible. I'm looking for stories, biographies, photos, or anything else that may be useful in helping others learn about the early people of Poteau. If you have any information you would like to share, feel free to post it here.
Some of the people that I would like to include in The Birth of Poteau include:
Walter Beard Melvin Fleener "Bud" Tate Benjamin H. Harper Melvin or Bud Tucker C. Dixon Hill C. M. Bagwell Captain Ed McKenna David Robert Welch William Anderson Welch Eli Woolridge R. S. Bridgman W. W. Lowery W. F. Lawson Gerhard H. Witte Jap Evans Uriah Henderson
We are mainly looking for stories on how these people have had an impact on Poteau, as well as some information on their histories: Where did they come from? What brought them to Poteau? What significant impact did they have on the future town?
This is just a short list to get started. Any information is welcome.
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Post by wamiller on Oct 26, 2011 19:15:05 GMT -6
You probably know most of this information but I'll post what I have found and continue to add to it. Walter Beard What does it take to be a mountain? Cavanal is 1,999 feet above the surrounding terrain and only likes 1 foot becoming a mountain. The word “Cavanal” is derived from a French word meaning “Cave.” It was a favorite mountain for the French & Indians one hundred fifty years ago. On the mountains eastern side is the site of the Historic Witteville Coal Mines. At the turn of the century orchards were established by Captain McKenna. Also, during the same period, Walter Beard, an early Mayor of Poteau, operated a summer resort. Senator Kerr constructed a summer lodge at the site where the famous resort/hotel once stood. The senator also planted pine seedlings on the mountain. At this time, none of the above structures existed. www.facebook.com/cavanalhill?v=info
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Post by wamiller on Oct 26, 2011 19:51:22 GMT -6
Melvin Fleener The link below contains information from articles in the Le Flore County Sun in 1952 about the building of the Frisco Railroad tracks. Fleener is mentioned. archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/FRISCO-RR/2001-03/0986016264Melvin Fleener was born in March 1846 in Kentucky. His wife Georgia, was born in April 1852 in the state of Georgia. They had a son, Orill, in 1892 in Indian Territory. 1900- Melvin is living in Township No. 7 North Range No. 25 E in Poteau, Choctaw County, Indian Territory. He was listed as a Hotel Keeper 1910- Melvin lived in the 3rd Ward in Poteau City, Le Flore County. He was listed as a retail merchant in the grocery industry and his son, Orill, worked as an electrician at a “light plant”.
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Post by Eric Standridge on Oct 26, 2011 22:07:10 GMT -6
This is some great stuff! I have a little bit on Mr. Beard, but virtually nothing on Captain McKenna..
What really surprised me was what you found in your second post. Melvin Fleener ran the Fleener Hotel in Poteau for many years. This hotel was the largest and grandest in Poteau. At times, it was a rowdy place, resembling scenes found in an old west saloon. There were gunfights, poker games, and women - lots of them. But, after several years of running the hotel, Fleener decided to close it down in 1898. We never could find what all happened to him after that.
There's also not a lot known about Fleener's early days, but at some point he began working with the railroads. From what I understand, he came to Poteau when the Frisco was being built and was in charge of one of the workers camps. It is also known that he was in charge of the railroad bridge construction that crossed the Poteau River. In 1886, Melvin Fleener built the Fleener hotel across the street from Welch's store. It appears that Fleener was a busy man; two verified accounts show him working with the railroad and on building his hotel at the same time.
If I had to make an educated guess, I would assume that he built up quite a bit of money through the years. Once he arrived in the Poteau area, he decided to stay. He used his savings to start the hotel business while he continued to work for the Frisco. Once the hotel was completed, and the Frisco tracks laid, he moved into the hotel and began operations there. We know that this was very successful, and it can be assumed that he made quite a bit of money from it. While working at the hotel, he must have had his kid. After he shut it down, he must have started a grocery store. His kid probably helped with it until he went out on his own. By 1910, Orill would have been 18, so it'd make sense that he was out on his own. Melvin would have been 64, and probably continued on in the grocery business until he was too old to work.
I just wonder what else he was involved in, and how much truth there is to my speculation. The information you've provided has been a tremendous help! I'll have to do a lot more research to verify my educated guesses, but it all just makes sense.
Thanks for the help!!
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Post by wamiller on Oct 26, 2011 22:24:44 GMT -6
Glad I could help some. I'm going to try to research a few people each day to see if I can spark some other educated guesses and ideas on your part.
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Post by wamiller on Oct 26, 2011 22:26:38 GMT -6
Also, Melvin's son was living with him in 1910 when he was 18 years old and working as an electrician. Can't find what happened to the family in the next 10 years. Orill appears to be living as a boarder in Ft. Smith. Maybe his father lost all the money or passed away during that decade.
I'll try to look for more information.
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Post by Eric Standridge on Oct 27, 2011 22:02:29 GMT -6
Every little piece of information is helpful. I tried to get a bit done today, but finding good, reliable information seems to be next to impossible. I keep finding little snippits here and there. Maybe if we can find enough of these snippits then a full picture will start to emerge. Genealogy sites help, but most of them only list dates when they were born and died, along with family members. This is good, but a few dates doesn't really tell the full story of who a person was. Hopefully some other people will jump on board here as well and help out.
I really appreciate your help with this. Even if I can only add a few biographies, it's definitely worth it!
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Post by wamiller on Oct 27, 2011 22:12:47 GMT -6
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Post by wamiller on Oct 27, 2011 22:22:14 GMT -6
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Post by Eric Standridge on Oct 28, 2011 6:31:30 GMT -6
Without a doubt, Bud Tate has been one of the hardest people to track down. For everyone else, I have been at least able to get a little information. I think that information came from P. C. Bolger's notes about Poteau, but I haven't been able to find that yet either.
I believe that "Bud" is just a nickname, as it was pretty common back then. If it was possible to find out his real name, then I think we could get more information on him.
The book, "A History of the State of Oklahoma" is an excellent resource. I've found quite a few names of people from Poteau in that. If you try to search Google by typing this in, 'Poteau "A History of the State of Oklahoma"', then you'll get a lot of results like that. Since you're looking for Monroe as well, you can also type in: Monroe "A History of the State of Oklahoma", and it should pull up people from Monroe as well. If I remember right, there are four volumes to this book, the first two of which are online.
Thanks for finding these! If I get a chance then I'll post more of the information that I have as well.
For now though, I have to get to the office. I'll probably be out most of the weekend for work; I have a small but decently paying contract that has to be completed by Tuesday. Hopefully though, I'll be able to pop in and share some more information.
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Post by wamiller on Oct 31, 2011 23:06:30 GMT -6
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Post by Eric Standridge on Nov 14, 2011 11:48:46 GMT -6
I wish there was a full biography on this guy, but I still haven't seen one yet. Hopefully it'll show up eventually. Thanks for the link! It's given me a little more than what I had previously..
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