Oklahoma DRIGGS Family pages

Oklahoma DRIGGS Family
Land Run of 1891

OKLAHOMA - Land of the Red Earth

CLICK on all Thumbnails images below to see larger images

Eastern Redbud - Oklahoma's state tree

My father's DRIGGS family of Coon Rapids, Iowa, was among those who participated in one of the Historic and famous Oklahoma Land Runs. The first Run was in 1889, at Guthrie, OK., which became the first State Capitol. There were three more land runs in 1891, 1892 and 1893. My DRIGGS family made the Run of 1891, which commenced at Ingalls, Oklahoma along the northern boundaries of the Cimarron River. At the firing of the gun, participants on horses, in wagons or buggies, and even on foot ran to grab land and make their claim under the Provision of the Homestead Act. Particularly conspicuous, as recorded by newspaper journalists, was the number of women who participated in these Land Runs, who walked, rode a horse or drove a spring-board wagon without the help of a man. Many toted guns and rifles, aimed at keeping their claim, no matter the cost. Pressured by special interest groups & the problems of lawlessness in the Indian Territory, millions of acres of former Indian Reservation Lands were given away to white settlers as a means of quickly settling "the Government's affairs" with the Indian tribes in Oklahoma Indian Territory. It is seen as one of the greatest events in the 19th century, and was photographed & recorded by journalists from all over the globe. My Great-Great-Grandfather & mother, JOHN HAMILTON & LUCINDA JOSEPHINE GOULD-DRIGGS and two of their sons, Walter and William Albert "Bert" Driggs, who were old enough to participated in Run. The claim had to be registered back in Ingalls after the Race. Some people camped out in secret along the Cimarron river or at the home of nearby Ripley residents, to get a jump on the gun. The gun was set to be fired at a specific time and when the time had arrived, these "Sooners" as they were called, took off to claim the piece of land that they had scouted out before the race. It was quite a surprise for those participants, who after leaving Ingalls & managing to get ahead of others, to come upon folks sitting in front of their tents, their camps set up and even a campfire going with food cooking, their rifles resting upon their laps, a warning for any who might challenge their claim to the land they had staked out.

My Great-Grandfather, "Bert" Driggs, and his father and brother struck out across the rugged terrain from Ingalls and headed towards the Cimarron river, crossing the Cimarron on horseback at place where the Duncan Bridge was many years later built and the new one is today. There were no section lines and roads in those days to indicate where boundaries were. The land had been surveyed and marked with stakes. You had to find the markers, I would suppose, and then take it back to Ingalls to resister the land you claimed. Walter Driggs, took the land from where they crossed over to the East side of the river and from there south for his 160 acres; their father, J. H. Driggs, claimed the land south of Walter's claim, and Bert claimed the land further south. Somehow, Bert and his father both claimed the same quarter section, so they had to split it or forfeit that land. They split it so that was why they only had 80 acres.

My Great-Grandmother, MATILDA A. NIMROD-DRIGGS, known as "Till" or "Tillie", wife of WILLIAM ALBERT DRIGGS, wrote a brief story about her experiences on the trip south from Burden, Kansas, to their new homestead on the plains of Oklahoma Territory, as a newly wed couple. She wrote about their life those first years, chopping out a life in the Prairie sod, living in a "dug out" home and existing only on corn & sweet potatoes the first 3 years, to near starvation. The prairies had been set on fire before the 1892 Run, the following year, to drive out any who attempted to sneak in before the start of the race. There are many stories about these grass fires on the plains that filled the air with thick clouds of choking smoke and burned for weeks. She relates of her first experience with a "Cyclone" when they were camped out on the Cimarron Strip in their covered wagon enroute to Cushing.

Four children were born to them on their little homestead, one of which was my Grandfather, WILLIAM WALTER "Willy" DRIGGS. Although brief, through her precious German-Pioneer dialect & her sincere attempt to reclaim the events of those earlier times, we can gain new appreciation & respect for them in all that they did accomplish in the face of tremendous hardship and deprivation of those early years in Oklahoma Territory.

NOTE:
This web site is dedicated to my Driggs ancestry, but most especially to my father. It will include stories, journals & photos of the Early Settlement Years around Cushing, Oklahoma, and how that played into the History of OKLAHOMA, "Land of the Red Earth". Pedigree charts & family group records of my Oklahoma Pioneer Families, as well as many other ancestors & relatives can be seen at:
Annie's Webs, my Searchable Surname Database posted with RootsWeb's WorldConnect. Files are also DOWNLOADABLE.

Our ORIGINS: The DRIGGS Family of America

Our Dutch Beginnings: DRIGGS / DRAKE Family Pages

Representing a Heritage from Holland, France, Belgium, & England

Also BROUWER, MARTIN, STRICKLAND, HOWE, HALL, and many other ancestral families.

My Sources for DRIGGS / BAILEY / NIMROD / GOULD Records: (Partial List):

Cemetery markers & records,

Census Records from related locations;

Military Records & Veteran Archives;

Oklahoma Historical Records;

Land records;

Letters of Correspondence;

Family Records of Cynthia GOULD

Personal Family Letters;

Newspaper Obituaries from related areas;

DRIGGS Publications- (1971) "Driggs in America";

DRAKE Family Association Records;

LDS Family History Records, IGI;

Handwritten family memoirs and stories from interviews with living relatives, including my Grandfather & Father, Aunts and Cousins.

Special acknowledgements for individual contributions will be cited.

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Oklahoma Moth

Oklahoma Scissortail-Flycatcher

Map shows
Indian Lands in Oklahoma Territories

Indian Blanket Flower ~ OKLA State Wildflower

LINKS

Payne County
Oklahoma- part of OKGenWeb & USGenWeb

Pleased to announce that we are now linked with the Payne County Genealogy Web Site.

RED RIVER VALLEY
" From this valley they say you are going. We will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile, for they say you are taking the sunshine, that has brightened our lives for awhile.
Refrain: Come and sit by my side if you love me. Do not hasten to bid me adieu. Just remember that Red River Valley...and the cowboy who loved you so true."

I know this song isn't about the old Cimarron river, but it is what I think of whenever I hear it.

THE WISDOM OF WILL ROGERS - "The Cherokee Kid"

Will Rogers is probably the most famous "Okie" ever known. He is said to have offered these "words of wisdom" while twirling his "lasso" (lariat) :

Don't squat with your spurs on.

Never slap a man who's chewing tobacco.

Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.

There are two theories to arguing with a woman. Neither one works.

Never miss a good chance to shut up.

Always drink upstream from the herd.

If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.

The quickest way to double your money is to fold it and put it back in Your pocket.

There are three kinds of men. The ones that learn by reading. The few Who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

If you're riding' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and Then to make sure it's still there.

Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier'n puttin' it back.

After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him...
The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut!

To learn More about Will Rogers http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG00/3on1/cowboy/will.html

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Click on activated photos

The Sons of John Hamilton Driggs

Oklahoma's Wildflower - Indian Blanket Flower

"Story of Our Oklahoma Life: Pappa and I storry of our trip to Oklahoma."
by Matilda Artnesie NIMROD-DRIGGS
~About "Bert" & "Till" Driggs~

"...The corn is as high as an elephants eye...
and it looks like its climbing clear up to the sky! "

My Grampa Driggs could grow corn ten feet tall!

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NEW!!!
to be added soon!
The NIMROD Family Click on photo to enlarge
Photo taken in 1886 is of Thomas Aaron Nimrod & Nancy Crawn-Nimrod,
of, Burden, Cowley County, Kansas . Thomas Nimrod fought in the Civil War.
He was a member of the G. A. R. ("Grand Army of the Republic", as the Union Army was actually called then) at Burden, Cowley County, Kansas.

Stories of Origins ~ Civil War Military Records ~ and various records and stories about
...their children:
1. Daniel Albert Nimrod,
2. Catherine Elizabeth "Cass" Nimrod-Franklin,
3. Matilda Artnecie "Till" Nimrod-Driggs - My paternal Great-Grandmother,
4. Eli Nimrod,
5. Perry Putnam Nimrod

(Records include some Family Photos )

New Information just in! Will be posting new stuff soon!

BURDEN CEMETERY - Created April 9th, 2003

RELATED SURNAMES include: CRAWN, DRIGGS, DYER, FRANKLIN, HIGGENBOTTOM, TUCKER

Found: January 12th, 2002

Daniel NIMROD & Ada M. (TUCKER) NIMROD burials: Momma & I went "Cemetery Hopping" yesterday afternoon. It was sunny, but boy was it cold! But we found the gravesite of Daniel NIMROD (brother of my Great-grandmother, Matilda Nimrod-Driggs), and his wife, Ada. Also, many of the TUCKER family relatives are buried there as well.

Going back to get photos of their headstones and the Cemetery from the highway and will post this & the DATA we found, ASAP.

Uploaded: March 18, 2003 The Glencoe Union Cemetery, Pawnee County, Okla.

located north of GLENCOE, Payne County, Oklahoma

NIMROD & TUCKER Burials

SPECIAL

The Oklahoma Odyssey

April 2003 - Newly updated!

"Why My Parents Left Kansas for Oklahoma"
by Beulah May FRANKLIN-GREIDER (1908-2000), dau. of Benjamin & Catherine "Cass" Elizabeth Nimrod-Franklin - Read Aunt Beulah's wonderful personal recollections of her early years in Kansas & the Oklahoma Territory, and the years they lived in Glencoe, in Payne county, Okla. before once again moving on.
("We were like Gypsies...")

This Web page now includes Descendants of Mathew FRANKLIN

A Special Memorial to Aunt Beulah :

I received this story from my cousin & friend, Susan Phillips, a Grandniece of Beulah Franklin, but sad to say I didn't get this page built in time for "Aunt Beulah" to see it published. She passed away on July 6th, 2000, in Wichita, Kansas, at the age of 92.

William & Jenny Franklin's Soddie home in Beaver county, Okla., on the Cherokee Strip

All the luxuries of a Victorian home!

FRANKLIN - NIMROD Family

NEW!!! Special LINKS to BURDEN, COWLEY CO., KANSAS Historical Web Site
INCLUDES Nostalgic Photos of old downtown Burden, Kansas <- Click to go there now.

Plus! LINKS to Photos and Family Histories of the NIMROD-FRANKLIN and related families:

Benjamin & Catherine (nee NIMROD) FRANKLIN Family 1912

Annie's Album

Franklin Family

NOTE: The Sunflower is the Kansas State flower & the Honeybee is the State Insect.
Interestingly, the Sunflower is also the symbol of Spiritualism]

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William Walter & Ida (Bailey) Driggs
Statehood 1907

BAILEY - While there, you can go read the story about the BAILEY Brother's Black Bear Hunt when they lived in Wisconsin.

Newly Updated information
The MILLER Family is yet to be added.

Oklahoma.midi

Oklahoma
Written by Oscar Hammerstein II
Music by Richard Rodgers
Brand new state! Brand new state, gonna treat you great!
Gonna give you barley, carrots and pertaters,
Pasture fer the cattle, Spinach and Temayters!
Flowers on the prairie where the June bugs zoom,
Plen'y of air and plen'y of room,
Plen'y of room to swing a rope!
Plen'y of heart and plen'y of hope.

Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain,
And the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet
When the wind comes right behind the rain.
Oklahoma, ev'ry night my honey lamb and I
Sit alone and talk and watch a hawk makin' lazy circles in the sky.
We know we belong to the land
And the land we belong to is grand!
And when we say--Yeeow! A-yip-i-o-ee ay!
We're only sayin' You're doin' fine, Oklahoma! Oklahoma--O.K.

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Oklahoma Oil

Driggs records and stories

Letters
1887- Gould/Driggs letter
1913 - Gould/Driggs/London

Cemetery stories & photos & Inscriptions

Union (or old Driggs) Cemetery - Union Twp., Cushing, Payne county, Okla.
NEW! Union Cemetery Burial LIST

Burden Cemetery - Burden, Cowley county, Kansas

Union Cemetery, Glencoe, north of Glencoe on hwy 108, Payne co., Okla.

Glencoe Cem., hwy 108 south of Glencoe, & 1/2 mile west on Yost Rd., Payne co., Okla.

Oakridge (or Hatchville) Cemetery, Spring Lake Twp., Pierce Co., Wisc.

Brookville Cemetery, Eau Galle, St. Croix co., Wisc.

St. Michael's Cemetery, Spring Valley, St. Croix co., Wisc.

New Harmon Cemetery, Leedey, Dewey co., Okla.

Fairlawn Cemetery, Stillwater, Payne co., Okla.

Fairlawn Cemetery, Cushing, Payne co., Okla.

Church of the Brethren Cemetery, Union Twp., Payne co., Okla.

Stories about Territorial Oklahoma & the Famous Land Runs

Photos of Homeplaces in Oklahoma & elsewhere

Stories from Kansas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Alabama, Missouri, Indiana, & Ohio