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A
B R I E F H I S T O R Y
O F T H E
C O O K M A N F A M I L Y
P A G E
E I G H T
DECENDANTS OF
M E L B U R N C
O O K M A N
Claget Cookman (s/o Melburn Cookman
and Olive Edmonds) b. Dec. 8, 1876, d. Aug 29, 1970, m. Oct. 16, 1898 to
Ruby Edna Dension, b. Jan. 11, 1882. (his photo,
and some further info) Claget was born on the
old homestead at Jesse's Run, Jane Lew, West Virginia, and came to MO with
the family in 1887 when he was eleven years old. He attended school
at the old Griffith School through the 4th grade, then farmed with his
father on the old Wolf place on Locust Creek, MO. He married Ruby in 1898
and lived on a farm near Asbury Church until moving to Oklahoma on March
17, 1902. (more on that here, and here.)
The move to Oklahoma started with Ruby's parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Dension,
who had gone there in 1900 and filed a claim in the Indian Territory.
They invited Ruby out for a visit in 1901, and she gushed about the country
so much that her husband Claget, his father Melburn, and two neighbors
went there for a vacation hunt (see Cookman text
3). While there, Claget made a claim on 160 acres then returned
in 1902 to "prove up" on it.
Sod houses were always started immediately on each claim, as a requirement
for "proving up" was occupancy on the land for a period of time.
The trip from Missouri was by train for the ladies--Ruby, Barbara Ann (2nd
wife of Melburn), and nine-year-old stepsister Vida (d/o Melburn and Barbara
Ann Cookman) travelled by coach--but Claget and his father rode a separate
train in "immigrant" [freight] cars with their livestock, furniture, wagons,
etc. The coaches reached Gage, OK two days before the freight cars,
and the ladies waited in the newly constructed, two-story Lovell Hotel.
Finally, after the men arrived, they loaded their belongings into
their wagons and buggies and began the long trek to their claims.
Claget and Ruby lived in a "soddy" house on their claim, although Ruby's
father built them a house near his own. Eventually Claget purchased
his father Melburn's claim, and moved into that larger house, where they
lived until moving to Follett TX in 1944. By the time Claget finally
sold his farm in 1962 he had built it to 800 acres.
Their farm was located near the old town of Ivanhoe, in Beaver Co, OK,
where he and a group of fellow pioneers organized the old Ivanhoe State
Bank in 1913, with Claget as President of the Board of Directors.
In 1917 the town was moved a few miles to be nearer the railroad, which
had been laid beside the new town of Follett, TX, no one apparently having
stopped to consider that Follett was in TX and Ivanhoe was in OK.
No authority was obtained by anyone to move the bank, either; they just
moved it. Needless to say, both states eventually demanded an explanation.
Claget retired in 1944 at the age of 68 to Follett, TX, where he continued
to serve as President of the Follett National Bank until his death in 1970,
one year after his and Ruby's 71st wedding anniversary. He had served
as president of the Ivanhoe/Follett bank a total of 57 years.
Children
of Claget Cookman and Ruby Edna Denison Cookman:
1:
Gilbert Cookman, (s/o Claget Cookman and Ruby Edna Denison) b.
Feb 13, 1900, d. Mar 13, 1901, buried Asbury Cemetery.
2:
Pearl Lucille Cookman (d/o Claget Cookman and Ruby Edna Denison)
b. Aug 24, 1904, m. 1925 Harold Mewes.
3:
Dell Leola Cookman, (d/o Claget Cookman and Ruby Edna Denison)
b. May 18, 1908, m. 1929 Gaylord Teter.
the
family of Melburn Cookman and Olive Edmonds,
cont'd
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-from A Brief History of the Melburn Cookman
Family in America, J. Howard Cheuvront, 1972
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