Surname Index
Updated: 07 Apr 2013

Daily Oklahoman, The 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 
January 17, 1932

Short Illness Is Fatal For Veteran at Home of Son in Norman

Funeral rites for J. J. Burke, 76,year-old Oklahoma City press pioneer who died early Saturday at his Norman home, will be conducted Sunday afternoon at 2 o'clock at the Jackson funeral home, Norman.

Burke, early day publisher of papers which later evolved into the present Oklahoma City Times, former publisher of the Norman Transcript, and for 12 years Norman postmaster, died after a two-day Illness from heart disease.

After Christian Science service at Norman Sunday afternoon,  the pioneer publisher's body will be taken to, Kansas City for cremation.

Burke, a native of Pennsylvania, came. west in the early, establishing the Colony Free Press at Colony. Kan. With the opening of Oklahoma in 1889, he came to Oklahoma City and took charge of the old Oklahoma City Journal under lease.

A year later, he and E. E. Brown, now president of the Times-Journal Publishing Co.. commercial printers. bought the Journal. In 1891, they consolidated the paper with the Times, making the Times-Journal. This paper. taken over by the Oklahoma Publishing Co.. became the present Oklahoma City Times.

Burke sold his interest in 1894 and became night editor of The Daily Oklahoman. He remained until 1899. when he became local editor of the Transcript, then IL weekly, at Norman.

Burke worked for Ed P. Ingle, then its publisher. for four years and in 1903 bought the Transcript. In 1912, the paper became a daily and he remained as editor and principal owner until 1920 when he retired from newspaper work, moving to San Diego, Calif.
During his time with the Norman paper. Burke served for 12 years from 1901 as Norman postmaster.

Burke returned from California three years ago to live with his son, Ed Burke, now assistant postmaster at Norman. Ed Burke 13 the only survivor in Burke's immediate family.
 

J. J. BURKE—PIONEER NEWSPAPER MAN

J. J. Burke was born at Ayr, Scotland, the birthplace of Robert Burns, in 1855. In early life he came to the United States, and about the year 1880 was married to Clara Jane Hiatt at Garnett, Kansas. At the beginning of the Eighties he moved to Colony, Kansas, and became the editor of the Colony Free Press. He continued in this work until 1889, when he came to Oklahoma City at the "opening." In the fall of that year he and Elmer E. Brown leased the Oklahoma City-Journal from A. C. and W. W. Scott and soon thereafter bought it. A little later they acquired the Oklahoma City Times from Hamlin W. Sawyer and thereby established the Oklahoma City Times-Journal. This association continued until 1895.

In the latter year Mr. Burke became night editor of the Daily Oklahoman, then owned and published by R. Q. Blakeney. In 1899 he moved to Norman and became editor of the Norman Transcript, published by Ed. P. Ingle. In 1903 he purchased this paper and was its editor and publisher until 1920, when he sold his Norman interests and moved to San Diego, California. He was postmaster at Norman for twelve years, from 1901 to 1913. He was a member of the Christian Science Church, of the Masonic fraternity, and of the Oklahoma Press Association, and was active in civic organizations.

He spent the last five years of his life with his son, Edmund H. Burke, and passed away there January 16, 1932. He is survived by his son; a sister, Mrs. Mary Johnson, of Kansas City, Missouri; and a granddaughter, Miss Agatha W. Burke.

(2) Chronicles of Oklahoma, J. J. Burke, Pioneer Newspaper Man by A. C. Scott, Vol 10., June 1932, p 290. http://digital.library.okstate.edu/Chronicles/v010/v010p290.html 07-28-2009

Sources:  good faith fair use of sources stated above

Compiled, transcribed and submitted by Marti Graham, Oklahoma County, OKGenWeb Coordinator, Jul 2009. Information posted for educational purposes for viewers and researchers. The contributor is not related to nor researching any of the above.

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