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WILLIAM H. MITCHELL
Vol. 5, p. 1762

One of the most important municipal positions of the city of Guthrie
is that of commissioner of public safety and chief of police, offices
which at this time are being capably filled by William H. MITCHELL.
He is one of the strong figures of the day who are boldly standing
for political reform, and none of the officials of Guthrie has a
better record or a more appreciative audience.  Mr. Mitchell was born
March 29, 1863, at Salem, Massachusetts, and is a son of Robert P.
and Margaret H. (COSTELLO) Mitchell.

Robert P. MITCHELL was born in Ireland, in 1831, and came to America
with his brother, James MITCHELL, in 1841, taking up his residence at
Salem, which continued to be his home until his death in 1913.  He
was a good business man and for many years carried on operations in
grain, and through honorable business methods and straightforward
transactions won a firmly established place in the esteem and
confidence of those among whom his fortunes were cast.  Mr. MITCHELL
was married in 1853 to Miss Margaret H. COSTELLO, a native of
England, born in 1831, who died in 1910.  They became the parents of
three daughters and four sons, namely:  Lizzie K, who is single and
resides at Salem; Charles H., who is deceased; William H.; Mrs.
Rachael PARK, who is deceased; Emma, who died unmarried, and George
M., who has also passed away.

William H. MITCHELL was reared in the City of Salem, where his
education was secured in the public schools.  After graduating from
the high school in 1876 he started to work for his father in the
grain business and continued to be so occupied until 1884, thus
gaining experience that was to prove invaluable to him in later
years.  In the year mentioned he went to Worcester, Massachusetts,
where he accepted a position as a traveling salesman and went on the
road as the representative of wholesale tea and coffee houses.  In
1887 he came to the West, locating in Kansas, and in the following
year engaged in the retail grocery business at Winfield, an
enterprise which he conducted for two years.  In 1889 he participated
in the original opening of Oklahoma, when he located at Guthrie, and
here engaged in the real estate business.  At the time of the opening
of the Sac and Fox reservations, in 1892, he secured a claim on Bear
Creek, in Logan county, a property which he still owns.  In 1893-4 he
served capably and energetically as deputy sheriff of Logan county,
and at the outbreak of the Spanish-American war he enlisted in Troop
K, First United States Volunteer Cavalry, the famous "Rough Riders"
under Col. Theodore ROOSEVELT.  He was with that regiment in all its
engagements and movements in Cuba, including the battle of San Juan
Hill, where he was in the thickest of the fight.  While he was never
seriously wounded, on one occasion he had a narrow escape, having the
heel of one of his boots shot off.  He was intensely loyal to his
regiment, his country and his comrades, was one of the most cheerful
and faithful members of his troop, and did a great deal of helpful
work in caring for the sick and wounded.  Mr. Mitchell was mustered
out of the United States service at Montauk Point, New York, from
whence he went to his boyhood home at Salem and there remained two
years with his parents.  In 1901-2 he was with Col. W.F. CODY
("Buffalo Bill") as sergeant of rough riders, touring the United
States, and in 1903 joined the police department of Guthrie.  In this
department his executive ability, his detective powers and his
fearless performance of every duty devolving upon him won him
constant promotion, and in 1906 he was finally made chief of the
police department, an office in which he capably served until 1912.
In 1915, under the commission form of government, he was elected
commissioner of public safety, the prerogatives of which office
include police, streets and alleys, public buildings and lighting of
streets.

As to the movements directly concerned with the civic reform of
Guthrie, he has been one of the city's most helpful men.  He has
always been an enthusiastic worker for good roads, and many
substantial improvements have made their appearance under his
administration, including the inauguration and installation of a
modern "white way" system.  He was the promoter of the plan also to
utilize the labor of the city prisoners in the improvement of the
streets, thus reducing taxes.  Elected on the reform platform, he has
faithfully fulfilled every promise made during his campaign.
commissioner MITCHELL is active in all Masonic bodies of Guthrie, is
a thirty-second degree Mason and a member of the finance committee of
the Masonic Temple of this city and holds membership also in the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.  Altogether he is a man who
touches and improves life on many sides.  As his thorough official
requirements have been reinforced by extensive travels, during which
he has been a thoughtful student of affairs, he has acquired a depth
as well as a breadth of view which is enjoyed by few men now before
the people.

Commissioner Mitchell was married at Worcester, Massachusetts,
September 20, 1905, to Miss Alice M. CHENEY, daughter of Wheelock A.
and Lovina (BROWNING) Cheney.  She was born at Salem, Massachusetts,
July 8, 1859, and learned the printer's trade there under her father,
who was a publisher of that city.  Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell have no
children.

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)