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ROMAINE W. 'DARB' HOSLEY
Vol. 3, p. 1199-1120
Book has photo

On May 10, 1908, death removed from the circle of his family,
friends and associates in Washington County, one of the most forceful
figures known in the early days of the cattle industry of old Indian
Territory and in the business enterprise which in later years has
transformed the wilderness into stock ranches, agricultural farms and
centers of city and industrial life. Romaine W. Hosley left a
permanent impress upon that community known as Ramona in Washington
County. By reason of his success in business he was in a position to
exert a large influence in local affairs, and his memory deserves to
be kept green in the community which represented his home for a
number of years. He spent most of his life either in Kansas or in
Oklahoma. He was born at Antioch in Lake County, Illinois, September
13, 1847, a son of Columbus and Ruth (BRIGGS) Hosley. His parents
were born and married in New York State, and were early settlers in
that district of Illinois north of Chicago, where the father became a
farmer. A few years after the war he moved to Kansas, and was
likewise an early settler in Chautauqua County of that state,
locating near Niotaze, where he died. The mother passed away at the
home of her son, Austin, at Nowata, Oklahoma. The four children were:
Austin, who died at Nowata, Oklahoma; George, who died in Lake
County, Illinois; Elias, who went to the war with an Illinois
regiment and was killed in the battle of Shiloh; Eleanor, now the
only surviving child and the wife of T. P. WASKEY of Pittsburg,
Kansas; and Romaine W.

During the first twenty-one years of his life Romaine W. Hosley
gained an education from the country schools of Lake County,
Illinois, and also went from that locality to serve as a soldier in
the War of the Rebellion. He enlisted at the age of seventeen in
Company H of the One Hundred and Fifty-third Illinois Volunteer
Infantry, became a sergeant of his company, and was in the army
during the last year of the war. About 1868 he accompanied his
parents on their removal to Southern Kansas, and continued to live
with them on the farm until he was twenty-five years old.

At Elk City, Kansas, in 1872, Mr. Hosley married Miss Cynthia
BRASHEAR. Mrs. Hosley, who since the death of her husband has
continued to reside at Ramona, was born at Kirksville, Missouri,
September 11, 1848. After his marriage Mr. Hosley took up farming on
a farm of his own in Kansas, and was also interested in stock
dealing. In 1874, having sold his interests in the Sunflower State he
removed to the Cherokee Nation of Indian Territory, and his interests
and his home were in that section of Indian Territory from the time
until his death, nearly thirty-five years later.

The late Mr. Hosley was not only successful in his business
operations but enjoyed the high esteem and respect of his community.
How much he was appreciated will be better understood from the
following quotation from the Ramona Herald, in an editorial published
at the time of his death; "More than thirty years ago R. W. Hosley or
'Darb' as his many friends knew him, came to the Indian Territory. He
engaged in the stock business for many years and his cattle ranged
from Texas to the Kansas line. He accumulated wealth in the stock
business before the days of railroads in the Territory. In years
following and before the railroads were constructed through the new
country, he confined his business operations to this section, and
both Indians and white people all over the northern part of the old
Indian Territory came to know 'Darb' Hosley and remember him as a man
who dealt fairly by everybody and one whose word was as good as his
written promise. Eight years ago (1900) he came to Ramona, which was
then being built upon a wheatfield. In this place he engaged in the
general merchandise business, and in 1904 established a hardware and
furniture store, which was afterwards continued by John C. ASAHL. Mr.
Hosley was enterprising and progressive and never let an opportunity
pass to do a part in building his home town. The big Hotel Hosley was
erected by him a few years ago at a time when the future of the town
was by no means assured. He engaged in real estate business and was
connected with several business enterprises during his residence in
Ramona." Much might be said about his enterprise and progressiveness
as a business man at Ramona from the beginning of that village. He
did much to establish the town permanently during the oil boom, and
not only constructed the hotel which bears his name but also lent his
influence and means to various other enterprises which served to
place the town securely on the map. From 1905 until his death he was
a member of the Ramona Real Estate and Insurance Agency.

His friends remember in addition to his business activities his
kindly nature. He was especially kind hearted and gentle to those in
sickness and distress, and it is said that in the early days of his
pioneer life he would ride for miles to help the sick. In politics he
was a republican and always interested in public affairs, especially
of a local nature, and was a member of the Grand Army of the
Republic. The year before he married he spent hunting buffalo on the
western plains before those animals were finally exterminated and
another of his early experiences was his connection with a cattle
outfit operating in the old Cherokee Strip during the early '80s.

Typed for OKGenWeb by: Earline Sparks Barger, October 9, 1998.