Volume 15 , Issue 18

The Muskogee Cimeter (1901-19??)

Have you ever heard of The Muskogee Cimeter, The "Oldest Colored Paper In Oklahoma," Muskogee, Oklahoma? In 1913, "The Muskogee Cimeter" editor was W. H. Twine; collector & Assistant Manager, E. H. Twine; and the General Agent & Circulation Solicitor, F. W. Reed.

William Henry Twine (1864-1933) was a lawyer and crusading editor of the Muskogee Cimeter, and known as "The Black Tiger." His father was Thomas Jon Twine, part African American and part American Indian runaway slave from Virginia, who worked as a wheelwright and constructed wagons. Thomas's wife was Lizzie, described as being a straight born African, was also a renowned baker. She encouraged sales of her goods by cooking prizes in them, such as rings, for the customers to find.

On September 22, 1891, the Twines were among twenty thousand who made the Sac and Fox Land Run into Oklahoma Territory. Twine's 160 acre homestead was near Chandler, where he taught school. William Henry Twine was admitted to the Oklahoma Territory Bar on October 31, 1891, and organized the territory's first black law firm with partners G. W. F. Sawner and E. I. Saddler. In 1897 the family moved to Guthrie.   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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