Indian Pioneer Papers - Index

Indian Pioneer History Project for Oklahoma
Date:  March 02, 1937
Name: Clifton P. West
Post Office:  Fort Gibson, Oklahoma
Residence Address:   
Date of Birth:  1878
Place of Birth:   Fort Gibson, Indian Territory
Father:   Morgan Junior West
Place of Birth:  
Information on father:
Mother:  Ellen Fain
Place of birth:   
Information on mother:
Field Worker: O. C. Davidson
Interview #

I was born five miles East and one mile South of Fort Gibson in the year of 1878. My grandfather Morgan West, a white man, and my grandmother Nancy West who was a Cherokee Indian, came here about 1857 or 1858, from Alabama bringing with them their four children: Jim, Roofus, Sarah and Morgan Junior, who was my father. They came by boat; landed at the old boat landing near where Hyde Park is now and settled the farm on which I now live. They had just gotten them a house built and a little land cleared and were just getting settled good when the Civil War started in 1861. 

My father was just a small boy at that time and none of his brothers were old enough to go to war. My grandfather secured a contract with the government to furnish meat for the soldiers at Fort Gibson. He raised lots of cattle and hogs himself and fought all he could and would butcher them and deliver the meat to the army post. Before the war was over an epidemic of cholera broke out and grandfather died.  F. H. Nash of Fort Gibson took over grandfather’s contract with the Government; also, took a lot of stock that grandfather had on hand when he died.

When my father Morgan West grew up he took over the farm and was married to Ellen Fain. To that union was born seven children: Roofus; May, who died when she was only a child, George, Charley, Henry, Morgan and myself. We had very simple farming implements with which to prepare our ground, and cultivate our crops. We did most of our plowing with a Georgia stock and bull tongue plow. The first cotton planter we had was made of a ten gallon keg with a row of holes bored in it all the way around the center. It was mounted on a frame with a wooden wheel in front and two harrow teeth behind to cover the seed. The machine was pulled by a horse and the keg revolved shaking the seed out through the holes.

We always raised some wheat for our bread. The only mill in the county to grind the wheat was at Tahlequah. It would take a full day to take a load of wheat to mill; but, people considered themselves neighbors who lived within one day’s ride of each other. I can remember when I used to go with father to Tahlequah to mill when it was getting near noon if we happened to pass a house they would always come to the door and invite us to stop and eat dinner.

There were no banks; but, if one man needed some money he would go to his neighbor, and, if he had it, he would lend it to him or if he didn’t have it himself, he would take you to someone else that might have it. The farmers hardly knew what a note or mortgage was. My father served as a member of the Cherokee Council at Tahlequah for a number of years; was a member of the Council when he died. I can’t recall the date of his death; but it was before statehood. My mother is still living. She lives on what is known as the Joe Cobb Farm southeast of Wagoner.

A great part of the lime that was used in the building of the old Fort was burned right here on this farm. The old lime keln was just south of the house.

I have never lived off of this farm myself; was married in 1897 to Mary Anderson and have been right here all my life. Of course, we have more modern machinery than we used to have, but the farm routine is pretty much the same.

Submitted to OKGenWeb by Marylee Jones Boyd, August 2001.