OK did ya know? Oklahoma's First Governor

Charles Nathaniel Haskell was Oklahoma's first governor from 1907 to 1911.

Charles Nathaniel Haskell.

Charles was born in Leipsic, Ohio and orphaned at the age of three. He was raised by a neighbor but never formally attended school. Nevertheless he passed the examination and was certified as a teacher in 1877, and began teaching school. While he taught, he read for the law. In 1880 he was admitted to the bar and began the practice of law in Ottawa, Ohio.

Haskell married Lucie Pomeroy of Ottawa in 1881. She died in 1888, leaving him with three young children. He married again the next year, this time to Lillian Gallup. Haskell would have three more children by his second wife. He moved his young family to the Indian Territory, and became the legal representative of the Creek Tribe.

Haskell was active in the territory’s unsuccessful attempt to become the State of Sequoyah in 1905. When the Indian Territory and the Oklahoma Territory held a combined Constitutional Convention in 1906, he was a prominent member. He was elected governor of the new state as a Democrat, and was sworn in on November 16, 1907, the same day that President Theodore Roosevelt signed the statehood bill. He served until 1911.

After his term as governor, he remained active in law and business. He made a considerable fortune in the eastern Oklahoma oilfields. Haskell suffered a stroke early in 1933, and died only months later of pneumonia which he suffered as a consequence. He died in the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City and is buried in the Greenhill Cemetery in Muskogee.

* Information from Wikipedia: Charles N. Haskell

Haskell county in east central Oklahoma was named after him.

Did ya know?
A Civil War naval battle occurred in Haskell county.

Battle of the J.R. Williams
Site of the civil war naval battle. Confederate Indian forces, led by Cherokee Brig. Gen. Stand Watie, forced aground and captured Union Steamboat J. R. Williams with cargo valued at $120,000 on June 15, 1864. Southern troops included Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks, and Seminoles.

More information about Charles N. Haskell can be found at the following:

• Oklahoma Governors Since Statehood
• Governor Charles N. Haskell - 100 Years of Oklahoma Governors
• Account of 1908 incident between Governor Haskell and President Theodore Roosevelt (pdf)
• Biographical Note Governor Charles Haskell (pdf)
• 1907 State of State Address (pdf)
• 1909 State of State Address (pdf)
• 1910 State of State Address (pdf)
• 1911 State of State Address (pdf)
• List of all Oklahoma Governors 1890 to present
• OKGenWeb: Short Biographical Sketches of the Governors of the Territory And State Of Oklahoma
• OKGenWeb: Charles Nathaniel Haskell
• Chronicles of Oklahoma: Address of Hon. Charles N. Haskell upon the occasion of Oklahoma's Silver Anniversary, November 16, 1932., Volume 10, No. 4, December, 1932
• Chronicles of Oklahoma: A Tribute to Oklahoma's First Governor by the Oklahoma State Senate. Volume 11, No. 3, September, 1933
• Chronicles of Oklahoma: Governor Haskell Tells Of Two Conventions, Volume 14, No. 2, June, 1936.
• The History of Oklahoma 1908: CHARLES NATHANIEL HASKELL
• Picture of Charles Nathaniel Haskell's Grave Site

Try these site for more information about Haskell County, Oklahoma:

• OKGenWeb: Haskell County
• Wikipedia: Haskell County, Oklahoma
• Wikipedia: Stigler, Oklahoma

Explore Haskell County's History:
BlogOklahoma.us Historical Places Database: Haskell County