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Indian Pioneer Papers - Index

Indian Pioneer History Project for Oklahoma
Date: September 22, 1937
Name: Lucy Hutton
Post Office: Elk City, Oklahoma
Residence Address: 615 W. 8th
Date of Birth: June 9, 1874
Place of Birth:
Father: Willis R. Knight
Place of Birth:
Information on father:
Mother: Mary Ann Bell
Place of birth:
Information on mother:
Field Worker:
 
A friend of mine asked me to write a story of my life and Oklahoma.

My grandparents on my fathers side were from England, my mothers parents were Penn Dutch, they owned a farm near Grand Rapids, Mich. My father Willis R. Knight and my mother Mary Ann BELL, daughter of Bill and Melinda Bell were married in IL in 1873. I was borned June the 9th 1874. My mother was with me three yrs. and then the sorrow of my life began at three years old for my father left mother at Mountainhome, MO., telling her he would rent a place then come and get her. I will never forget that night - he came about 9 o' clock at night without mother and I began to cry. My half brother came and told me not to cry, but I could not keep from crying, and woke the baby girl, my only little sister that died a year later and was buried in the Choctaw nation in the year 1877.

We had moved to the Choctaw Nation 7 mi from the John BUNGNER Store that was the closest white neighbor we had, near the Standing Rock in the South Canadian River. While I lived in the Indian Nation there were no schools or church to go to. There were 3 brothers and 2 sisters older than me. My oldest brother had went to school in ILL, and was not satisfied there with no school to go to, so when my father and 2 younger brothers were gone down to the Huit Perrie to put up hay for winter, the oldest boy- he had left with 3 little girls 5 yr 7 yr and 9 yr old-ran a way and left us. We never seen him again. We stayed there from Monday morning till the next Sun noon before our brothers came home. 7 mi from the nearest white neighbor, it was always my lot to start a fire out of Pine Nuts and burry the coals to keep fire for morning, but the Panthers came so close that I had to burry the fire before it had burned enough so when I got up the next morning my fire was out and we had no matches. So we did not have a bite cooked from Monday morning till Sunday Noon. The 2 older girls ate raw Irish Potatoes with salt they made very well, but I was only 5 yrs old they would make me sick. So I had everything from squash to Roasting corn, but found nothing I could keep down but cucumbers. So I lived on them till Sunday noon.

Father then moved to the Osage Nation, about Feb. 1, 1882 The Osages had as there Chief Wah-hoopiesinkie. They said he was right at 100 yrs old. He stayed at our house one night. We had roasting ears for Breakfast, he ate 12 Roasting ears for Breakfast, and went away well satisfied. The Osage Indians were not well civilized like the other Tribes were. So in the fall of 1882 we hired a old Indian about 75 yrs old named Charley. So when he quit work, I was cutting cane with a hatchet and cut my foot to the bone. So father put me to the house to cook for 6 of us. I had just got my bread on when in come in old Charley he sat down and as soon as I got close enough he grabbed me and said he would put mesican on my feet cut my hair off and make me his Indian girl. I told him I could not go and tryed to get loose but he grip me so tight that I knew I could not get loose. So I told him I was hungry he said did I have anything to eat. I told him I had Bread in the stove, so he let me look in the oven at the bread I made for the Door telling him I would get some wood. I ran toward the field a quarter mi around the bend of the North Caney River where they were working but just before I got in sight he was so close on me I began to Hollow as loud as I could. My Oldest Brother heard me, and came in sight. I never was so glad to see him as the Indian fled as soon as he saw him. I was the 8 yrs old. My father said he would get us a place in Kansas where we could go to school. We moved to Jonesburg Kans. stayed 1 yr. My first School year began at 9 yrs. My father bought 80 acres of land near Peru, Kans. I went to school from 9 to 16 yrs old and then I had to quit school and help my father feed 56 head of cattle and several head of horses all winter. We fed those cattle and did not get to go to school one day but I could spell nearly every word in the McGuffeys speller and figure anything in the ----- rithmetic. So I got a fair Education.

I was married to James E. HUTTON Aug 9, 1891 at Hale Kans. We lived there 7 yrs and on Nov the 2 day we started for Cordell Okla. We had bought a New Wagon. So we tied the new buggy behind this wagon and I drove the mules and husband drove the Horseteam and had a cultivator tied on to his wagon. We made the trip all OK till we got to Elreno and some one directed to the Old Powder face crossing the White Sands were blowing so we could not see very far. As I was raised on these Sand Streams and new about the quick Sands Streams I took the lead team and husband fallered with the mules team. We came acrossed a ----- lone Perrie till we got to Wetherford. It was mostly a tent town then. We had a little boy 5 yrs old and a baby boy 11 months old. Husband got sick on the road. I did not know what to do only to pull ahead.

We got to my Bros. A.H. KNIGHT 2 mile South West of Cordell as the Sun was going down, the little 5 yr old boy driving his fathers team and I and the baby in the other Wagon. As we got to my Brothers house I felt some what relieved. We help my husband in the house he was bad sick for 3 weeks on Jan. 1st we moved 5 ½ miles South West of Cordell dug a dug out the South of a bank of a Creek put the wagon sheet over it and moved in to our new home till we could get filling on it. They went to Wetherford the next day to get lumber to make us a house. I and the 2 children went to bed with a carpet at the front for a door and long about 2 o' clock in the night - 2 men were coming from Wetherford there team being tired and some corn being piled on the ground they turned in and in getting back drove rite acrossed the dug out. There was a crass and the chimney came falling down.

20 years after that Edd DEDMAN was telling us about him running over a dug out in a certain place and I was in that dug out, but no harm was done. But to get out and build my chimney next morning.

So the dug out days our gone. We are change with the Changing Seasons Life fast fading away, but the God that stood by me in those trying day is still with me. I now have a little home in Elk City that I expect to spend my remaining days in. Trying to live a life that when the Lord calls for me I shall be ready to meet him and see the Blessed Savior some Day.

Resp Lucy Hutton

[Submitter's comments:
Lucy (Knight) Hutton, DOB June 9, 1874 Clarkville, IN; DOD Feb 24, 1943 Elk City, OK
Husband James E. Hutton; DOM Aug 9, 1891
Father Willis Russel Simon Knight; DOB 1841 Ohio; DOD Feb 20, 1896 Carney, OK
Mother Mary Ann Bell; DOB 1857; DOD 1877; Race Indian]

Submitted to OKGenWeb by Rod Hutton (Great Grandson) <HUTTAHUTTA@aol.com> 02-2000.