Volume 5 , Issue 10

Oakie's NW Corner

With March here, is Spring far behind? We were traveling to OKC from Alva the other afternoon, March 3, Monday. Out in the countryside a few miles south of Alva and west of Carmen, Oklahoma a huge gaggle of geese were heading north. When we were getting near Oklahoma City and traveling along the NW highway, a few miles west of OKC, we spotted another, but smaller, gaggle of geese heading northward.

Are we going to have an early spring and short winter? It sure seems like it!

Besides the gaggle of geese, I now have in my possession a 108-110 year old family quilt that my great-grandmother (Isabelle Johnson McGill) had made for one of her sons, James. James Acel McGill carried it with him to the Oklahoma Territory around 1893 and the Cherokee Outlet Run. You should see the meticulous stitching, quilting in it. It is beautiful - fantastic quilting work. It measures 72"x80". The colors (Turkey red, Orange anemone, brown on an off-white linen-type background) are true, good condition, but the brown is worn in a few spots. It has always been in the McGill family. I had a chance to purchase it and keep it in the McGill family. So... I DID! Does anyone have any ideas how best to display this antique family quilt without hiding it away in a cedar chest or subjecting it to folded crease marks, dust, sunlight and other harmful things that plague antique quilts?

The 1906 Standard Atlas of Woods County... This thin book caught my eye this week when I was browsing for family pioneers that homesteaded land in NW Oklahoma. I did find some McGill's that owned land in the South half of Section 4-T26N-R14West Indian Meridian (WIM) - James & W. P. McGill - James was son of W. P. & Isabelle Johnson McGill). John R. Warwick (my great-grandfather, father of Constance Estella Warwick McGill) owned land in the NE quarter of Section 23-T26N-R14WIM, N half of Sec. 36-T26N-R14WIM, NE quarter of Section 35-T26N-R14WIM (north of railroad tracks at Phillips Station or Hopeton, Okla.). Wm. Warwick (possibly, John's father) owned the NE quarter of Section 35-T26N-R14WIM (south of railroad tracks at Phillips Station. SEE Twp. 26N-14WIM Map... Check out these maps to view other NW OK landowners of 1906.

For those of you interested in the Dacoma (Dakoma or Homer) area in Northwest Oklahoma, I scanned the 1906 Atlas map of Woods County, Twp. 25N-R13WIM that shows the listed owners of the land surrounding that area near Dacoma, Oklahoma, in northwest Oklahoma. That is where some of my PARIS ancestors settled, SW of the Dacoma area.

Waynoka Historical Society - Membership & Annual Fund Drive... We did our part this week when we made our donation to the Log Cabin & Depot Fund Drive to help out the Waynoka Historical Society. You can, too! They Need Your Help... to preserve their smalltown history!

As Sandie says in our Mailbag Corner this week, ".....Waynoka is a small town with a large history ... the society must rely on the help of friends who share their love of the town and its past, or those who have never heard of Waynoka before, but recognize and appreciate the value of preserving its great history. If you would like to be a part of this preservation, the Waynoka Historical Society -- Welcomes Your Donation of any amount. Their mailing address is PO Box 193, Waynoka OK 73860. President Sandie Olson's phone number is 580-824-5871; her email address is sandieo@pldi.net. If you would like to earmark your donation for the Log Cabin or Depot Fund, please note that on your check. Visit their web site at waynoka.org."

The Waynoka Historical Society has copies of a map of the Cherokee Strip Livestock Ass'n Ranches for Sale in the Museum Gift Shop. They're $3, plus 9% tax. They are 11"x17" - and frame nicely.

The weathermen have promised a decent Friday and Saturday this weekend, with a slight change in weather to hit around these parts on Sunday. This outdoor-type lady has plans to enjoy as much of the sunshine and outdoors as possible. Help us preserve our ancestor's pasts anyway you can! See you all next weekend!

~~ Linda "Okie" ~~

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