Indian Pioneer Papers - Index
Indian Pioneer History
Project for Oklahoma
Date: June
21, 1937
Name: Lily
Ann Sexton, (nee Perry)
Post Office: Hodgen,
Oklahoma
Residence Address:
Date of Birth: November
13th, 1863
Place of Birth: Cedar
Creek, I.T.
Father:
Place of Birth:
Information on father:
Mother:
Place of birth:
Information on mother:
Field Worker: Gomer
Gower
The subject of this sketch
was born November 13th, 1863, on Cedar Creek, in what is now Pushmataha
County, and was truly a child of the forest, having been born while her
mother, an Eliza PERRY, the wife of Nail Perry, accompanied by other refugees,
was on her way to a concentration camp on Little River.
Her parents, on both sides, were
progressive to the extent as to almost merit the appellation of radicals;
carrying their progressiveness to the point that all conversation in the home
was conducted in the English language and the children were permitted to
attend English schools, only. From this it is evident that the Perry and
McCurtain families, her forebears, had fully realized; even at that early
period, it was useless to live any longer in accordance with the customs and
traditions of a bygone tribal existence and that their children should, by
example and precept, be taught along lines which would better fit them to
become a part of a more advanced civilization and culture. The high standard
of education and consequent culture attained by their children attests the
wisdom of that realization.
At the close of the Civil War, the
families which had been at the concentration camps and of which the mother of
Lily Ann was one of the number, returned to their homes in what is now LeFlore
County, and took up the broken threads of life which had been severed in
defense of the Confederacy.
On reaching a scholastic age, Lily Ann
attended an English school near her home and later was sent to school at
Hartford, Arkansas, for two years, after which she studied for four years at
the New Hope Female Academy, at Hood Spring, near Skullyville, under the
superintendence of a Mr. SHEPHEARD. At this academy due regard was given to
the development of the spiritual as well as the intellectual life of the
students. Religious services were held each Sabbath and prayer meetings were
conducted each Wednesday evening.
On September 12th, 1886, she was united in
marriage with George SEXTON, now deceased, and whose accomplishments have
already been recorded in the "history of the Indian Territory". They
began their married life on Conser Creek, not far distant from the home of her
father, Nail Perry, where her husband was engaged for some time in carrying
the mail, on horseback, between a small post office situated just across the
Arkansas State Line, and Summerfield, which was quite near their home.
The building of the Frisco
Railway through the then Sugar Loaf County in 1886 and 1887, brought with it a
brisk demand for timber in the form of Railroad ties and for country produce
for the sustenance of the workmen employed in its construction. Consequently,
an industrial activity was ushered in which formerly had not been dreamed of,
isolated as it was from any other railroads. A new era and a degree of
prosperity was enjoyed by the people. Vast quantities of suitable timber grew
on hill and dale and the axe of the woodsmen caused the welkin to ring with
its sharp, staccato notes. Added to this was the pleasant sound of the cluck-ity
cluck-cluck of the huge wagons while engaged in hauling the product of the
forest to the new railroad.
Milking pens which had been
built for the accommodation of two or three milchcows, enough to supply the
needs of the home table only, were enlarged so that other cows, which had been
permitted to roam the range with their calves at their sides, were brought in
and converted from wild undisciplined animals into tractable milch cows. The
difficulty and oft times humor encompanying (sic) this conversion can only be
fully appreciated by those who have been fortunate enough to witness it. A
kick by "Old Smoky" would sometimes send the milking pail and its
contents fair into the milker's face, from the effects of which the unhappy
milker would present an unsightly appearance, evoking mirth on the part of a
spectator but not on the part of the unfortunate milker.
On the open range it was the
custom, after the morning milking, to turn the cows out, leaving the calves in
the pen during the day. After the evening milking, the calves would be turned
out and the cows kept in the pen during the night. This afforded an
opportunity for both the cows and the calves to enjoy a period of grazing on
the lush grass which grew abundantly at that time. Snubbing posts were set at
convenient points in the milking pens, to which the calves would be tied after
they had "brought down the milk" and remain tied until the milking
of the cow was completed. It was sought to leave half the milk for the calf.
When more than half was taken, the act was designated as "knocking the
calf in the head with the churn dash". It was when it came time to
separate the cows from the calves when turning them out to grass that
aggravation entered into the proceeding, as the calves, quite naturally,
stayed close to their dam and would sometimes elude the watchfulness and
agility of the good wife, who usually did the milking, and escape with its dam
out into the open range, where the separation of the cow from the calf became
almost a matter of impossibility. Oftentimes requiring the assistance of the
husband and his good horse to drive the cow and the calf back into the pen,
where the effort to separate them would be renewed.
The musical k-ling k-long of the cowbells
which at that time could be heard in the vicinity of every isolated home and
which served the purpose of indicating the location of the cows when it was
desired to find and bring them in for milking, is now missed as one of the
pleasant memories of that time, but those who were familiar with and enjoyed
their enchanting notes, ranging in tone from a deep base to a high treble,
according to the size of the bell. The astounding ability of the owner of a
belled animal to recognize, unfailingly, the sound of his own particular bell
even when mingled with the sound of several other bells of similar tone, has
ever attracted attention and surprise on the part of those unlearned in that
art.
All this activity attendant upon the
construction of the new railroad through a locality which, prior to that time
was at a distance of some fifty-five miles from the nearest railroad point?
Fort Smith ? was but a prelude to a greater activity which followed when with
shipping facilities supplied and just a short time afterward another railroad,
the Kansas City Southern, constructed, together with an abundance of good
hardwood timber and an excellent quality of short leaf yellow pine adorning
this hitherto quiet and peaceful hills and valleys, ready to be cut down, the
exhilarating drone of the sawmills were soon heard on all sides and with it
all the hustle and bustle which inevitably accompanies live industry.
Shipping points on both the railroads were
easily accessible to all parts of the valley in which the Sextons lived.
Thus was a quiet community of people,
located far inland from railroads; living close to nature undisturbed; with
nothing but occasional visit of relatives and neighbors; periodic religious
services and camp meetings to cause a slight ripple on the sea of their quiet
lives, transformed into a hustling, thriving, and very prosperous group
launching out into a new era with well grounded confidence that the added
opportunities which the railroads had placed in their laps would bring with
them remunerating rewards and conveniences.
With this background, it is understandable
that this community, situated on the Poteau River an traversed by it and its
tributaries, Blackfork, Conser, and Fourche Maline creeks; with the Winding
Stair and Kiamichi mountains on the south, the Cavanal Mountain on the north;
the Poteau and the picturesque Sugar Loaf mountains on the northeast; with a
fertile valley extending between these limits, should and did become the home
of people who led in spiritual, educational and cultural development.
The McCurtains, the Perrys, who are the
forebears of the subject of this sketch, Lily Ann Sexton, the Sextons, Harris,
Folsoms, LeFlores, Bentens, and the Jeffersons, who formerly were called
Hontubbee. Each of these families contributed in a very large measure to the
promotion of all efforts to advance the civic and spiritual standard of their
community, and have provided the Indian Territory and later the State of
Oklahoma, with men whose names stand high on the roll of those who have
merited public esteem and confidence.
The spiritual life of these good people
was and still is, of that type in which the home training of the children is
made and adjunct of the Sunday School, and of this Mrs. Sexton relates that
the families attended religious services en masse and that all, from, the
youngest to the oldest, were required to observe the most rigid decorum. The
Methodists predominated and, consequently, in conformity with the custom of
that faith, camp meetings were frequently held. Adherents coming from a
distance would prepare to stay several days and a spiritual feast, as well as
a physical, would be enjoyed by all. It was at these meetings, only, that
loyalty to the language of their forebears would be indulged. On occasions the
services were conducted in the Choctaw language in deference to those who were
still unlearned in the English language; a condition, however, which has now
practically disappeared. Lily Ann Sexton, being a devout and consecrated
woman, has the ability to lead devotional exercises in both the Choctaw and
English language, having learned the Choctaw language after completion of her
studies in English. It is said of her that on occasions when both races would
be present at a meeting, the two languages would be used, thus; when the
prayer was begun in the English language, it would be closed in the Choctaw
language and vice versa.
She now makes her home with her daughter,
Mrs. Fine DAVIS. Aside from impaired sight, she is hale and hearty and still
reflects the mark of extreme refinement which is bestowed only upon those who,
through rigid training, have subordinated worldly allurements to a more noble
purpose in life.
This same tribute is due and is now paid
all the ladies of the families before mentioned and, without seeking in the
least manner to detract from the good qualities of the men, it must be said
that, without the assistance and cooperation of the good women in their homes
and in the churches, it is doubtful, indeed, that the task of winning a living
from a primeval forest and transforming a virgin territory into one of the
most beautiful; most prosperous and most enlightened communities in the state,
and, at the same time, being elevated to positions of trust honor in their
tribal and state councils, could have been so; successfully accomplished.
So that noble band of Choctaws, whose
names have already been mentioned, which laboriously and tragically made its
way from Mississippi to the Indian territory in the eighteen thirties and
settled in this beautiful valley, became the nucleus of a community than which
no better can be found. It bequeathed to its posterity all the priceless
elements which enter into an abundant life; the foremost of which bequests was
a true reverence for the name of our common Creator; and to that was added
that of industry and, above all, they were taught to love their neighbors as
themselves. With this array of noble attributes, it is small wonder that the
setting of this narrative is regarded as being the site of all that is
elevating and ennobling in LeFlore County. The principal character, Lily Ann
Sexton, was selected as being typical of the general standard of those who are
its products. Truly a high class of citizenry; descendants of a noble race,
established in a fruitful land; a combination in which there is so much good,
that good, alone, is reflected in the entire surrounding.
Submitted to OKGenWeb by Colin Kelley <CKELLEY@swpa.gov> January 2001.