Ellis County Oklahoma Trails To The Past

	1907

Help Wanted
Oklahoma Trails has several counties and projects up for adoption. If you would be interested in adopting a county or project look at the Oklahoma Trails. If you find one that you would like to adopt e-mail the State Administrator or Assistant State Administrator. [ Being a County or State Administrator is fun and rewarding. If you have an interest in the history of Oklahoma and the genealogy of it's residents please consider it. If you think "there is no way I can do this" there are many people ready, willing and able to help you. It's not near as difficult as you might think. ]
History
In August 1820 an expedition led by Maj. Stephen H. Long passed through Ellis County, exploring the length of the Canadian River eastward to Fort Smith. In May 1858 a force of Texas Rangers and Indians under Capt. John S. "Rip" Ford crossed into the Indian Territory in pursuit of affiliated Indian bands accused of raiding in Texas. The Rangers attacked a Comanche village at the mouth of Little Robe Creek, in present Ellis County. Known as the Battle of the Antelope Hills or of Little Robe Creek, the encounter is notable because the Texans' illegal incursion into the Indian Territory resulted in the killing of Comanche leader Iron Jacket. Settlement by non-Indians transpired in the late 1800s as the region developed as a transportation corridor. From the mid-1870s to the 1890s the Fort Supply (Indian Territory) to Fort Elliott (Texas) military road crossed the area, passing near present Fargo and present Gage, southward toward present Arnett, and southwestward into the Texas Panhandle. Serving troops and supply wagons, the route also had civilian stage stops, most notably at the crossing of Wolf Creek near Fargo and near Gage. In the 1880s the Western (cattle) Trail from Texas to Kansas intersected the military road a few miles northeast of Fargo. In 1886-87 the Southern Kansas Railway, later owned by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway system, constructed a line southwest from Kiowa, Kansas, through the future county, and along the tracks emerged Fargo, Gage, and Shattuck. A large settlement of Germans from Russia around Shattuck in 1901-1902 gave Ellis County's history an ethnic aspect. By 1910 Ellis County's population of 15,375 included 526 ethnic Germans born in Russia and several thousand American-born family members. Ellis County's organization in 1907 involved dissolving an existing county and rearranging another. The northern part of present Ellis County had formed the southwestern corner of the Cherokee Outlet from 1835. This area had been included in Woodward County after the Outlet opening in September 1893. The southern part of present Ellis County, between the Cherokee Outlet and the Canadian River, had originally been part of the Creek lands but from 1856 to 1866 was Seminole land. After the Seminole ceded it to the U.S. government, the area was part of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Reservation. Those lands were opened by run in April 1892. Afterward, this part had been organized into Day County, which also included northern Roger Mills County. Day County's seat of government was established first at Ioland and then at Grand. At 1907 statehood Day County was eliminated, Roger Mills County was extended northward to the Canadian River, and Woodward County was subdivided into several counties. It gave up its southwestern corner, which was combined with the remainder of Day County as Ellis County. Named for Albert H. Ellis, a vice president of the 1906 Constitutional Convention.
Links
Free Records Search at Familysearch Org
Ellis County Cemetery Listings
Ellis County Cemetery Listings on Interment Net
Ellis County Cemetery Listings on Find A Grave
Northwest Oklahoma Genealogical Society
Oklahoma Birth Certificates Search for Oklahoma Birth Cetificates and how to order from the Vital Records Office.
State of Oklahoma Genealogy Records Guide Search for death certificates and how to order them from The Vital Records Office
Oklahoma State Archives Dept. of Libraries Third Floor 200 NE 18th St. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105 Phone: (405) 522-3579 The Oklahoma State Archives provides an excellent library of genealogy records including: Commissioner of Confederate Pensions Applications, 1915-33, Commissioner of Confederate Pensions Pension Files, 1915-49, U.S. District Land Office Homestead Registers, 1889-1908, Oklahoma Supreme Court Applications to the Bar, 1907-42, Oklahoma Board of Medical Examiners Deceased Files, 1907-86, Oklahoma Board of Pharmacy Deceased Pharmacist Files, 1907-75, and Oklahoma Board of Chiropractic Examiners Inactive License Files, 1921-84.
Oklahoma Genealogical Society Library and Archives 2100 N. Lincoln Blvd. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105-4997 Phone: (405) 522-5225 The Oklahoma Genealogical Society maintains a library and archives that the public is allowed to visit. The Library and Archives contains over 62,000 volumes with emphasis on Oklahoma, Native American, and western history. In addition to these materials -- many of which are rare and out-of-print -- the library also houses a number of special collections.
County Clerk 100 South Washington St. Arnett, OK 73832 Phone (580)885-7301	Court Clerk 100 South Washington St. Arnett, OK 73832 Phone (580)885-7255
Email Lists and Query Boards
Ellis County Mail List on Rootsweb
Ellis County Message Board on Rootsweb
Ellis County Message Board on Genforum
Adjacent Counties

Harper County \| Woodward County \| Dewey County \|Roger Mills County \| Beaver County Hemphill County, Texas \| Lipscomb County, Texas

1907

Help Wanted

Oklahoma Trails has several counties and projects up for adoption. If you would be interested in adopting a county or project look at the Oklahoma Trails. If you find one that you would like to adopt e-mail the State Administrator or Assistant State Administrator.

[ Being a County or State Administrator is fun and rewarding. If you have an interest in the history of Oklahoma and the genealogy of it's residents please consider it. If you think "there is no way I can do this" there are many people ready, willing and able to help you. It's not near as difficult as you might think. ]

History

    In August 1820 an expedition led by Maj. Stephen H. Long passed through Ellis County, exploring the length of the Canadian River eastward to Fort Smith. In May 1858 a force of Texas Rangers and Indians under Capt. John S. "Rip" Ford crossed into the Indian Territory in pursuit of affiliated Indian bands accused of raiding in Texas. The Rangers attacked a Comanche village at the mouth of Little Robe Creek, in present Ellis County. Known as the Battle of the Antelope Hills or of Little Robe Creek, the encounter is notable because the Texans' illegal incursion into the Indian Territory resulted in the killing of Comanche leader Iron Jacket.
    Settlement by non-Indians transpired in the late 1800s as the region developed as a transportation corridor. From the mid-1870s to the 1890s the Fort Supply (Indian Territory) to Fort Elliott (Texas) military road crossed the area, passing near present Fargo and present Gage, southward toward present Arnett, and southwestward into the Texas Panhandle. Serving troops and supply wagons, the route also had civilian stage stops, most notably at the crossing of Wolf Creek near Fargo and near Gage. In the 1880s the Western (cattle) Trail from Texas to Kansas intersected the military road a few miles northeast of Fargo. In 1886-87 the Southern Kansas Railway, later owned by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway system, constructed a line southwest from Kiowa, Kansas, through the future county, and along the tracks emerged Fargo, Gage, and Shattuck. A large settlement of Germans from Russia around Shattuck in 1901-1902 gave Ellis County's history an ethnic aspect. By 1910 Ellis County's population of 15,375 included 526 ethnic Germans born in Russia and several thousand American-born family members.
    Ellis County's organization in 1907 involved dissolving an existing county and rearranging another. The northern part of present Ellis County had formed the southwestern corner of the Cherokee Outlet from 1835. This area had been included in Woodward County after the Outlet opening in September 1893. The southern part of present Ellis County, between the Cherokee Outlet and the Canadian River, had originally been part of the Creek lands but from 1856 to 1866 was Seminole land. After the Seminole ceded it to the U.S. government, the area was part of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Reservation. Those lands were opened by run in April 1892. Afterward, this part had been organized into Day County, which also included northern Roger Mills County. Day County's seat of government was established first at Ioland and then at Grand. At 1907 statehood Day County was eliminated, Roger Mills County was extended northward to the Canadian River, and Woodward County was subdivided into several counties. It gave up its southwestern corner, which was combined with the remainder of Day County as Ellis County.
    Named for Albert H. Ellis, a vice president of the 1906 Constitutional Convention.

Links

Free Records Search at Familysearch Org

Ellis County Cemetery Listings

Ellis County Cemetery Listings on Interment Net

Ellis County Cemetery Listings on Find A Grave

Northwest Oklahoma Genealogical Society

Oklahoma Birth Certificates

Search for Oklahoma Birth Cetificates and how to order from the Vital Records Office.

State of Oklahoma Genealogy Records Guide

Search for death certificates and how to order them from The Vital Records Office

Oklahoma State Archives

Dept. of Libraries
Third Floor
200 NE 18th St.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105
Phone: (405) 522-3579
The Oklahoma State Archives provides an excellent library of genealogy records including: Commissioner of Confederate Pensions Applications, 1915-33, Commissioner of Confederate Pensions Pension Files, 1915-49, U.S. District Land Office Homestead Registers, 1889-1908, Oklahoma Supreme Court Applications to the Bar, 1907-42, Oklahoma Board of Medical Examiners Deceased Files, 1907-86, Oklahoma Board of Pharmacy Deceased Pharmacist Files, 1907-75, and Oklahoma Board of Chiropractic Examiners Inactive License Files, 1921-84.

Oklahoma Genealogical Society Library and Archives

2100 N. Lincoln Blvd.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105-4997
Phone: (405) 522-5225
The Oklahoma Genealogical Society maintains a library and archives that the public is allowed to visit. The Library and Archives contains over 62,000 volumes with emphasis on Oklahoma, Native American, and western history. In addition to these materials -- many of which are rare and out-of-print -- the library also houses a number of special collections.

County Clerk
100 South Washington St.
Arnett, OK 73832
Phone (580)885-7301

Court Clerk
100 South Washington St.
Arnett, OK 73832
Phone (580)885-7255

Email Lists and Query Boards

Ellis County Mail List on Rootsweb

Ellis County Message Board on Rootsweb

Ellis County Message Board on Genforum

Adjacent Counties

Harper County | Woodward County | Dewey County |Roger Mills County | Beaver County
Hemphill County, Texas | Lipscomb County, Texas

Last Updated,

This site may be freely linked, but not duplicated without consent.
All rights reserved. Commercial use of material within this site is prohibited.
The copyright (s) on this page must appear on all copied and/or printed material.
© by Ellis County Administrator

Ellis County