Monthly Archives: August 2007

In November, I finished gathering my crop and on the ninth of that month went to the land office and filed on my claim. Mr, Griffin in the meantime had told the claim seekers that my land had been taken. I hired a neighbor, a Mr. Caddis, and his son with two wagons to move us to our new home. My wife and Mr. Caddis’ son drove his teams while Mr. Caddis drove my oxen to my wagon loaded with corn. I walked and drove our cattle which numbered seventeen head. We started early in the morning of November 20th and after driving hard, arrived on our claim by 11 o’clock of the second day. We put up the tent and set the cook stove outside under the trees, and by the time we got the wagons unloaded my wife had dinner ready to serve. (more…)

Thomas and Martha Catlege had two children when they gave up everything they owned in order to make the land run in 1891. A century is a long time, but it’s still difficult for me to imagine, when reading his accounts, that they settled Oklahoma only about 100 years ago — Catlege speaks extensively about the hardships they faced not only in clearing the land, but also in terms of isolation. At the time, there were no roads in Oklahoma, no neighbors, very few towns, very little commerce. Not to mention a lack of modern amenities such as electricity, telecommunication and easy access to medical care. Below, Catlege explains the hardships facing the women who settled Oklahoma, who shared not just manual labor responsibilities, but also full responsibility for the children of the family. Above, Old Grandma with my grandmother and my father, circa 1960.

During the summer of 1892 I built a log house with a side room to it which was our home for several years. Month by month and year by year my wife and I toiled, constructing buildings as needed, fencing and clearing more land. We knew there was only one way to establish a home in the new country and that was by hard work. The younger generation will never know the hardships and sacrifices the early pioneers endured to establish homes in the new country. It seems that there was a scarcity of everything except hardships and hard work. But we endured the hardships without know they were hardships, and few complained. With the passing of the years saw more land cleared, better houses built, roads constructed and our lot improved in other ways. We visioned better days ahead and struggled hard to make those dreams come true. (more…)

Oklahoma Land Rush — public domain photo via Wikipedia

At the time of the opening and for several years afterwards there was not a railroad in the county. Outside the small villages, Lexington, in Cleveland County, and Purcell, in the Chickasaw country, were the nearest trading centers for those who lived in the southern part of the country. On account of the long distances and poor roads, few trips were made to these towns. Wagons and horseback were the only means of transportation, and the trip usually required two days. Families made about one trip a year to these towns, and that in the fall of the year to buy their winter supplies; the night was usually spent in the wagon yard of which every town had one or more. (more…)

Thomas Catlege sums up his experiences as a pioneer and talks about how the world has changed in the 50 years since he settled in Oklahoma.

My wife and I are particularly proud of our family; we have taught them to work, to be self-reliant and honest and to make their own way in the world. We have long realized that the most valuable thing we could do for our children was to develop in them a strong and sturdy character. Besides our six children we now have 39 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren. Our fondest hope is that they will all be strong, resolute men and women and be a blessing to all who know them. We always keep and open house and it is our proudest moment when some of them come to visit us. (more…)