| PART 4. MISSOURI 4.2 & PART 5. INDIAN TERRITORY |
| 4.2 Mountain View, Howell County, Missouri, February 22, 1881 Nicholas had been sick when Mary Ann died the previous September, and had remained so ever since. In January he was visited at his home by Dr. J. W. Paine, who later described his condition as follows: “Soldier was at that time afflicted with general dropsy. The legs and bowels especially being much swollen and the skin hanging in blobs of water that accumulated under it. There was also a large amount of fluid in the chest with heart trouble (pericarditis). He complained of pain in the chest and left side and in fact was a badly broken man and did not last long, dying something like a month after. I have no of the date (of death) but probably from the 15th to 25th of February, 1881. I had some record talk with soldier as to his cause of trouble of heart and canciquent (?) dropsy, but my mind is not clear, but I think he thought it was from the injuries while in the Army.” Nicholas Booker a broken and desperate man. Life had been hard for him since the war, and he was very poor. He had evidently used the last of his assets in the move to Missouri. He was far from any of his brothers and sisters who might have helped in this situation. On this day, with no long time friends or family near, in poor financial condition and with a large family dependent on him, Nicholas Booker died. The eight children were left in a desperate situation. They had only a temporary home, little or no money and no long time friends or family to turn to for help. Ashly Nanie, their nearest neighbor, took the children to his home after Nicholas’ death until homes could be arranged for them. The available evidence suggests that Will, age 20, George, age 17 and Sarah Almeda J., age 21 probably stayed together on their own. The younger children were distributed among sympathetic neighbors to be raised. No further records were found for Sarah Almeda, the oldest of the children, after this period. Nicholas was attended in death by Dr. *James Henderson Moffitt, of Willow Springs. Seeing the plight of the Booker children, he gathered all of the children together to talk to them. He told them he would take the youngest, Sherman, home with him to take care of him. He told them that, if they got to a better situation and wanted him, they had only to come for him. They never did. On November 28, 1892, in probate court, Shannon County, MO. Dr. Moffitt deposited a $300 bond to assume the legal guardianship of Sherman Booker. Sherman was raised with Dr. Moffitt’s son and daughter, and was treated as though he were Dr. Moffitt’s son. He worked in Dr. Moffitt’s drugstore in Willow Springs while he was growing up. It would be 36 years before Sherman would rejoin the Booker family. |
| PART 5. INDIAN TERRITORY |
| 5.1 Indian Territory, about 1884 William T. Booker, his brother George and their cousin Julian Hickel arrived in Salisaw, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory. They were driving teams pulling a horse-powered carnival. Will was about 23, George 20 and Julian 24 years old. They had driven the teams hard, probably southward from Howell County, Missouri through the hill country of northern Arkansas, to the Arkansas River Valley, then up the valley, through Fort Smith. The details of what caused their sudden departure from Missouri are missing. The stories told by Will and remembered by Ray L. Booker, Geneva Booker and D. Ray Booker tell part of the story. Three young men had become involved in a fight with what Will later described as carpetbaggers. He never told the details of the fight, but Ray L.’s recollection is that some sort of gun play was involved. In any case, one result of the fight was that they somehow “confiscated” a horse powered carnival. They had made a hasty departure from Missouri with their carnival and outran the law to the Indian Territory. A search of Howell County court records, did not revel any mention of the carpetbagger fight. The three young men sold the carnival at Salisaw. They used the proceeds to buy some cattle. They would continue their partnership in the cattle business for several years. They ran their cattle on open leased Indian northwest of Wagoner. Will got a job at the new cotton gin at Wagoner. Each of the young men shared their time between jobs and taking care of their cattle. Will was able to use the cotton seed from the gin for feed for their cattle. For a time, Will worked as an agent for a wealthy Cherokee somewhere near the Arkansas River south of Telequah. He ran the Indian’s ranch. One night in 1886, Will was standing on the front porch of a house just south of the present day bridge at Briartown. He was one of a large crowd at a party. A buggy with a couple drove up to the front of the house. As Sam Starr stepped out of the buggy, he was shot and killed. Bell Starr grabbed a gun and a fierce gunfight broke out. The battle raged through the night. By morning, there were several dead people around the house and barn. Ray L. Booker remembers that Will and another old timer were remembering territory days one day when the other man told about a gunfight that broke out when some men stepped off a train at Salisaw. After listening patiently, Will remarked, “That’s just about how I remember it”. Will had been standing on the depot landing when the shooting start Will was apparently an eyewitness to much of the violent history of the Indian Territory. He told many, many colorful stories of those days, but they were not recorded, and are now forgotten and gone forever. At some point during this period, Will left George and Julian and went to Indiana. The reasons for going there and the location in Indiana are unknown. Apparently that stay was about a year in length. About 1887, Will took a job riding shotgun on a stage line between Muskogee and Fort Smith. His main duty was guarding the money belonging to the Indians, which was shipped by stagecoach. He later said it was not a very dangerous job. Even though the Territory was overrun with thieves and crooks, he said it would take a pure fool to steal money belonging to the Indians. |
 |
|
|
|
|
| HOME BACK GRAPHICS E-MAIL NEXT |