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WILLIAM VINCENT PROVOST
Vol. 3, p. 1117

Perhaps there are no more progressive and enterprising
agriculturists than those who, like William Vincent Provost, of
Lambert, have made their own way, unaided, in the world. The
necessity for self support seems to develop in some men latent
abilities which would perhaps have lain dormant under other
circumstances. At any rate, Mr. Provost stated to make his own living
when he was but ten years of age, and the success which he has made
of life would seem to indicate that the training in self reliance was
an excellent one. At this time he is the owner of 360 acres of well
cultivated land, situated three miles from Dacoma, on which he has
resided continuously since his arrival in 1893.

William Vincent Provost was born May 17, 1862, on his father's farm
in Tazewell County, Illinois, and is a son of Lawrence R. and Carrie
M. (HIGH) Provost. His father was born in 1834, at Newark, New
Jersey, at which place his parents, natives of France, had settled on
their arrival in the United States. As a young man he learned the
trade of carriage maker and followed that vocation in his native
state and elsewhere, and at the outbreak of the Civil war was living
at Norfolk, Virginia. A stanch friend of the North and a bitter enemy
of the institution of slavery, he was accused of being connected with
the underground railway, the famous organization which assisted
escaping slaves to run away from their masters and reach the safe
haven of Canada, and the suspicion of being connected with this
institution, caused the threats of the Southern sympathizers to
become so strong that he deemed it better to seek a residence
elsewhere and accordingly went to Tazewell County, Illinois. There he
was engaged in carriage making for a time and then moved to Decatur,
Illinois. In 1868 Mr. Provost removed to Kansas, where he homesteaded
a claim in Osage County, but remained only until 1871, when he went
to Goshen, Indiana, resumed his trade, and for eight years conducted
a carriage factory. At the end of that time he returned to Decatur,
in the vicinity of which city he is now engaged in growing fruit.
When he first arrived in Illinois after being driven from Virginia,
Mr. Provost was without capital and in a community where he was
unknown. A life of industry and perseverance, however, has gained him
a handsome competence, and he is now accounted one of the substantial
men of his locality. Mr. Provost has been twice married. His first
wife was Miss Carrie High, with whom he was united in 1851, and who
died in 1870. They became the parents of five sons and two daughters:
James; Emma; Jasper; William Vincent, of this review; Mary; George
and Lawrence, all of whom are living. In 1874 Mr. Provost was married
the second time, his wife being Nannie SCROGGS, and to this union
there were born two daughters, Sadie and Daisy, who also survive.

The early educational training of William Vincent Provost was
decidedly limited in its character, as his father was in modest
circumstances, and such assistance as the boy could give was an
appreciated help in the family resources. He attended the public
schools at times, but as he began to make his own way when ten years
of age, the greater part of his training came in the schools of hard
work and experience. He was sixteen years of age when he returned to
Kansas, and there for a number of years worked as a farm hand in
various communities, always showing himself faithful and industrious
and winning the friendship and commendation of his employers. In 1893
he came to Oklahoma and settled on Government land, three miles from
where Dacoma now stands, where he has continued to reside to the
present time. At the present time he has 360 acres of rich and
productive land, all under cultivation, where he is carrying on
diversified farming, as well as breeding Jersey cattle, in which
department he has met with decided success. His property has been
improved with modern buildings, substantial in character and handsome
in architecture, which not only add to its appearance but also
enhance its value. He is a firm believer in the use of modern
machinery and methods, is shrewd, careful and persistent in his
operations and displays great vigor in his undertakings, but is
honorable and straightforward in his transactions and has won the
confidence of those with whom he has been associated. His energy and
business acumen have carried him into other lines of enterprise, and
at present he is a member of the board of directors of the Bank of
Dacoma and of the Dacoma Grain and Elevator Company, prominent
enterprises of this community.

Mr. Provost has been twice married his first union taking place
August 4, 1883, when he was united with Miss Carrie M. HOPKINS, who
was born July 30, 1866, in Pennsylvania. She died February 8, 1909,
having been the mother of thirteen children, as follows: Warbass R.,
born November 21, 1885; James E., born November 11, 1886; Clarence,
born May 14, 1888; Grace, born June 1, 1890; Muriel M., born November
15, 1892; Caroline M., born February 9, 1894; Wilhelmina, born April
14, 1896; Emma, born February 19, 1897; Mae, born July 24, 1901, who
died in infancy; George Wesley, born November 19, 1902; Dora, born
August 27, 1904; Lenora, born December 14, 1905; and Nina, born
December 9, 1908. Mr. Provost's second marriage occurred April 6,
1911, to Mrs. Anna D. HOLLENBAUGH, a native of Pennsylvania. Mr. and
Mrs. Provost are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Typed for OKGenWeb by: Earline Sparks Barger, November 5, 1998.