OKGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of OKGenWeb State Coordinator. Presentation here does not extend any permissions to the public. This material can not be included in any compilation, publication, collection, or other reproduction for profit without permission. Files may be printed or copied for personal use only. ===================================================================== U. G. WINN Vol. 3, p.1124 Much that is of consequence in the history of the last twenty years in the old Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma -- its most important epoch -- is reflected in the experiences of Judge Winn, who as one of the pioneer United States commissioners of this section assisted in ridding it of outlaws, whiskey peddlers and other undesirable characters. The once thriving Town of Center, situated twenty miles from Pauls Valley, which for years was the nearest railroad town, was the home of Judge Winn while he was a servant of the Federal Government. The country was sparsely settled, and afforded a free range for refugees from justice and the active violators of the law. Many of these renegades appeared at one time or another in his court, to which was attached a constable and two deputy marshals. Judge Winn by his actions practically set a date for the end of lawlessness in his district. Time after time the outlaws were remanded in this decree when they were held for trial before the United States courts, over which at that time in that district Judge Hosea TOWNSEND presided. Such prompt and courageous handling of the forces of justice soon gave indication that the stronghold of lawlessness was to be broken up, and facing such an issue the ill-assorted characters attempted to intimidate the fearless commissioner. At length he received word that he was to be attacked by the outlaws and strung to a tree with a rope. They meant business, and Judge Winn knew it. He therefore called in his official force and instructed them to arm citizens of the town in a body of defense. All good men rallied to the call and when the outlaws appeared they were completely routed by the Winn forces. That was the beginning of the end of the reign of lawlessness in that part of the present State of Oklahoma. The end came a few years later when respectable men of Pontotoc County incensed by the slow processes of justice, took four of the leaders of the outlaws from the county jail in Ada and lynched them on a public street. Judge Winn, who had for many years been one of the substantial lawyers of Southern Oklahoma, and is now again practicing at Ada, was born in Christian County, Missouri, May 30, 1864, a son of Larkin David and Sophia A. (LOONEY) Winn. His father, a native of Tennessee and an early settler of Missouri, was descended from Irish and Scotch emigrants who came early to America from Ireland. Judge Winn has four brothers. John C. Winn is a minister at Sparks, Oklahoma; Willis M. Winn is a merchant at Seminole, Oklahoma; Ira B. Winn is an architect of Springfield, Missouri; and Columbus M. Winn is a farmer and stockman at Nowata, Oklahoma. Judge Winn obtained his early education in Arkansas to which state the family moved in 1870. The father had died in Missouri. After finishing the course of the common schools he took a teacher's course in the State Normal School at Mount Nebo, following which came a law course in the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. When seventeen years of age Judge Winn was a teacher, and for three years had charge of schools in country districts prior to entering the State Normal. With a certificate from the State Normal he continued his educational work for seven years. In the meantime he had come to Oklahoma, and in 1894 located at Duncan where for two years he was in the mercantile business. Judge Winn was admitted to the bar at Chickasha in 1896, being licensed to practice in the United States Courts. A year later he began the practice of law at Center, Oklahoma, and in October of the same year received his first commission as judge of the United States Commissioners' Court. He served in that capacity until 1901, and that was the period during which he was most exposed to the dangers of the frontier and in which his prompt execution of justice brought about such important reforms in his district. In 1901 he resumed the practice of law at Ada, and during the following four years he had a large private business and was also attorney for the Frisco Railroad Company. Then came another appointment as judge of the United State Commissioners' Court, and he discharge the duties of that office until 1907. During the first three years of Oklahoma statehood he was a farmer and stock raiser at Ada, and on May 4, 1910, was appointed postmaster at Ada, and remained in charge of the Federal office until February, 1914. More than ten years of Judge Winn's life in Oklahoma has been spent in the service of the Federal Government. Since leaving the post-office Judge Winn has continued in the practice of law at Ada and is enjoying a most lucrative practice. Judge Winn has come in touch with the developing life and interest of old Indian Territory and new Oklahoma at many points. In 1893 he organized the first public school at Rush Springs, Oklahoma, taught a part of the term, but resigned later in the same year to make his run into the Cherokee Strip. He staked a piece of ground in Enid, only to find later that his stakes were driven into a street. He then went into the country and located a homestead, but subsequently abandoned it before proving up. While serving as commissioner his district embraced an area that was twice as large as the present County of Pontotoc. At the same time his court was held in a small box house at Center and later in a storeroom that was owned by the late ex- Governor BYRD of the Chickasaw Nation. Judge Winn was married at Duncan, Oklahoma, to Miss Minnie L. GIBBS. They have three children: Ulysses G., Jr., who is a student in the East Central State Normal School at Ada; William L. and Ruby Thelma, both of whom are in the Ada High School. Judge Winn is a member of the Christian Church, is a past chancellor of the Knights of Pythias Lodge and also affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a member of the Pontotoc County and Oklahoma State Bar associations and of the Ada Commercial Club. In 1909 he served a s deputy clerk of the United States Court at Muskogee. Both in territorial and statehood times he has been one of the leading figures in the republican party. For ten years he has been a member of the State Republican Central Committee, and in 1910 was tendered the party nomination for Congress from the Fourth Oklahoma District, but declined to accept. He still has farm and live stock interests and owns considerable property in Ada. Judge Winn organized the Union Oil & Gas Company of Ada with a capital stock of $30,000, and is still a stockholder in the organization, and was also one of the organizers of the Ada Building Investment Company, capitalized at $25,000, and for several years was a stockholder. Having been a pioneer factor in the development of the community, Judge Winn is still an enthusiastic apostle of its welfare. Typed for OKGenWeb by Lee Ann Collins, September 11, 1999.