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PETER B. FRANCE
Vol. 5, pg 1868
photo

Twenty years or more ago Peter B. France was driving over the
sparsely settled country of Eastern Oklahoma selling shoes to the
retail merchants. For many years prior to that he had been a
successful merchant and business man in Missouri. After a time he and
James C. MENIFEE established the second mercantile house in Sapulpa.

His many friends and business associates credit Mr. France with a
great deal of the constructive enterprise which has made Sapulpa one
of the leading towns of Eastern Oklahoma. It is said that he has
erected more buildings and owned more real estate than any other one
individual in the city, and in fact has always been a leader in
everything that affects the welfare of the community. Few men arrive
at the age of three score and ten with so much constructive
accomplishment to their credit as Mr. France.

He was born at Sodus in Wayne County, New York, April 5, 1844, a son
of John and Elizabeth (BAYZE) France. His father was born in
Yorkshire, England, and his mother in Lincolnshire, where both were
reared and married. His father was a mechanic in the cotton mills in
England until he came to the United States, and he also worked at his
trade in Wayne County, New York but finally bought a farm and
followed agriculture until he retired. After the death of his wife
and after some of his children had gone to Missouri he joined them
there, and died there at the age of fifty-nine. He was first a whig
and afterwards a republican, but was more interested in church
affairs than in politics, being a member of the Methodist
denomination. His wife died a Methodist. There were six children.
Thomas B., a Methodist minister, is now living retired at Long Beach,
California. John H., who died at Grant City, Missouri at the age of
forty-two, was a Union soldier in the One Hundred and Sixtieth New
York Volunteers, was wounded at Port Hudson and was an officer in the
Veteran Reserve until the close of the war. In 1866 he established
his business enterprise at Grant City, Missouri, was in the furniture
trade, and six months later was joined by his younger brother Peter,
and after a few years they established a partnership in the
merchandise business, and also in the buying and shipping of stock.
The third child in the family is Peter B. France. The daughter Mary,
who married Dr. J. H. HOUSSER, died at the age of thirty-two. Anna C.
married J. T. ROTHWELL, and she is now living at Long Beach,
California.

Peter B. France grew up on the old farm in Wayne County, New York,
and gained a public school education. In 1866, at the age of twenty-
two, he moved out to Grant City, Missouri, and joined his brother
John. Grant city at that time was sixty-five miles from the nearest
railroad point at St Joseph. For about two years he was associated
with a physician in the drug business and then opened a stock of
general merchandise. After about four years his brother John joined
him as a partner, and the latter exercised his energies in buying and
shipping live stock, while Peter France managed the store. In that
comparatively early day there were no banks and the patrons of their
store not only bought goods there but left all their surplus currency
for safe keeping. Both brothers were men of absolute integrity and
thorough business men in every respect. Consequently their enterprise
prospered and was expanded by the addition of four other stores, two
located in Iowa and three in Missouri. Mr. Peter France had active
supervision of all the stores, and the partners also bought and
shipped stock on an extensive scale. After the death of his brother
Peter France abandoned the live stock business and in 1888 sold out
his mercantile interest in Northwest Missouri realizing over $50,000.
He had loaned money extensively and had done much to build up that
section of the country.

In 1888 he moved to Southern Missouri and engaged in merchandising,
mining and the reduction of lead and zine, with headquarters at
Aurora. Closing out is business affairs in 1893, he went on the road
selling shoes in Missouri, Oklahoma and Indian Territory. It was then
that he drove so extensively over Oklahoma and became acquainted with
the country. He had a wagon and team and a driver, and sometimes they
camped out under the wagon at night. He was very successful as a
salesman, and finally established a permanent business at Claremore,
but a year later moved his stock to Sapulpa and formed the
partnership already mentioned with J. C. Menifee. They conducted this
second store for about three years. Mr France then bought ten acres
in what is now the residence part of Sapulpa, dissolved partnership
with Mr. Menifee, and began the development, buying and trading of
real estate. He has been the chief factor in building up the real
estate interest of Sapulpa, and at the present time is reputed to own
property worth fully $1000,000. He also build the France Hotel at
Sapulpa.

In 1872 Mr. France married Anna V. LUCAS, a daughter of Judge B. F.
Lucas, a prominent attorney of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where Mrs.
France was reared and educated and where she lived until her
marriage. Mrs. France was a woman of many domestic virtues and much
social talent, and founded the chapter of the Eastern Star at
Sapulpa, and was also active in church affairs. Her death occurred
December 2, 1912. There were three children: Bessie, Alberta and
Fannie. The daughter Bessie married V. R. BRYAN, and left four
children named Curtis, France, Hazel and Vaughn Jr. Alberta, who died
when about twenty-five years of age, as the wife of John GREGORY,
left one daughter Margaret. Fannie E. is the wife of W. J. BRISCOE, a
Sapulpa merchant, and has one son named Jackson France Briscoe.

Mr. France has always voted the republican ticket but has had no
aspirations for public office, though in his private capacity and as
a business man has done a great deal for the public welfare. While
living in Grant City, Missouri, he took his degrees in Odd Fellowship
and helped organize the lodge of Odd Fellows at Sapulpa. He is active
in the Methodist Episcopal church, as was his wife.

Typed for OKGenWeb by Lee Ann Collins, October 20, 2000.

SOURCE: Thoburn, Joseph B., A Standard History of Oklahoma, An
Authentic Narrative of its Development, 5 v. (Chicago, New York: The
American Historical Society, 1916).