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Indian Pioneer Papers - Index

Indian Pioneer History Project for Oklahoma
Date: February 24, 1938
Name: Rodolphus Gardner
Post Office: Bennington, Oklahoma
Residence Address:
Date of Birth: May 16, 1854
Place of Birth: near Fort Towson
Father:
Information on Father:
Mother:
Information on Mother:
Field Worker: Lule Austin

I was born near Fort Towson, May 16, 1854, and attended my first school at Old Bennington Church. Our old home which was built in 1840 by Preacher COPELAND, a northern man, was used as a missionary stand for Presbyterians. The house is built of hewed logs with an upstairs. Father hauled lumber from across Boggy Creek and put weatherboard over the logs after he bought the place which was about 1844. I was about ten years old when the Civil War broke out. I remember we had plenty of meat to eat but very little bread. Father would go to a place in the vicinity of Lake West and bring home corn and my mother would beat it in a mortar.

The soldiers would come to our house and go into the kitchen and eat our food, but would never bother us or our stock.

Father owned eight slaves. After they were freed, he had them finish up the work and stand in line and he picked out two men and a woman (Dan, Ben, and Menervia) and told them he would hire them and the others would have to go out and make their own living and the five negroes left joining a colony of negroes who had settled near Bennington and seemed very glad to be free. Houses were ten miles apart and the Indians were off in a settlement to themselves.

The Honorable Wilburn W. HAMPTON, lawyer, had been asked by Coleman COLE, who was judge of the court of claims, to copy these claims and Mr. Hampton asked me to help him, so when I had finished I went to Atoka and asked for Cole. Mr. McBRIDE told me where he lived but said, "It is late and you had better stay all night with me as he can't accommodate you". I told him what was good enough for the Chief was good enough for me and that I could put up with anything that the Chief could. When I arrived at Mr. Cole's home, which was a one room log house with dirt floor, I asked for Cole and the man whom I addressed said, "Old Man, I am Principal Chief, hobble your horse, bell him and turn him loose and come in: we eat soon".

Submitted by Rusty Lange and transcribed by Geraldine King, December 2000.