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A B C D E F G H I J K L M Mc N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Indian Pioneer History Project for Oklahoma
Date: August 23, 1937
Name:  Emma Price Richey
Post Office:  Lone Wolf, Oklahoma
Residence Address:  
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth:  
Father:   
Place of Birth:  
Information on father:
Mother:   
Place of birth:   
Information on mother:
Field Worker: Ethel B. Tackitt
Interview #:

My parents moved to Indian territory in 1890 and settled 12 miles northeast of the present town of Duncan. In Stephens County.

My father was very fortunate as he bought a lease from a Chickasaw Indian named Belton Colbert. Which was rather well improved. He also bought a lease from an Indian woman by the name of Leewright and at last a lease from an Indian named Hahan.

Leases could be purchased very cheaply from these Indians for the white people would would come in and take a ten year lease and stay as long as they wanted to or until they grew tired of the hardships of the country and then they would sell out for anything they could get. Some times they would sell out for a cow, horse, or wagon and then if they could not find a buyer for their claims they would simply move out and leave what improvements they had put on the land

If a person bought a lease he or she would finish out the remainder of the ten years of residence which were required. Father bought this hahen lease and it only had two years on it. The house was a good boxed two rooms in front with a shed room running the full length. We were proud of this house for it was the best in the country and had a shingle roof. Almost everybody else lived in a log house or in a dugout.

We then lived near Harrisburg about 12 miles southeast of Duncan. Harrisburg had a store and a post office. And the community built a little boxed school house.
The school was paid by subscription at the rate of a dollar and a half per month for each pupil. The term was usually two or three months and never more than four months. As a general thing, if it was grammar school it was a two months term and if it was taught in the winter, it was a three months term.

The first teacher I remember was Charley Davenport and later Will Metcalf taught us. A school teacher in those days did not have to have any certificate for teaching and reading, writing and spelling were about the only subjects taught unless the teacher wanted to teach arithmetic and geography too.

Later, there were camp meetings where the people would build brushn arbors at some convenient place and would come and bring their families. The people would put up tents or would put up smaller brush arbors and make themselves camps where all who came for miles around were welcome and these meeting would continue two, three and four weeks. The ministers would take turns at preaching and nobody thought of its costing anything for everybody brought vegetables, fruits, chickens, and meats or anything they had to eat and nobody thought of imposing on anybody else.

I remember one Summer when Father and Mother took our whole family to Sunset, in Montague County, Texas to attend a camp meeting held by the Hudson brothers.

I married Oscar Richey and when the Kiowa Country, opened up we moved to Lone Wolf community and have continued to farm and life on our claim. Here we have reared our family and have taken part in all the activities of the community. ??? enjoy the rural mail delivery, the telephone, the highways and consolidated school districts with the busses which take the children to school.

Contributed by Vance Hawkins, vhawkins@pacer.com August 2003, great nephew of Oscar Taylor Richey & Emma Price Richey