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Indian Pioneer History Project for Oklahoma
Date: not given
Name: J. C. (Coleman) Ritter - white
Post Office: Atwood, Oklahoma
Residence address:
Date of Birth: March 2, 1873
Place of Birth: Lee County, Mississippi
Father: Everett Bayless Ritter
Information on Father:
Mother: Mary C. Ritter
Information on Mother:
Field Worker:

My parents came to Oklahoma "about the first of November 1887." They came by rail from Amory, Mississippi, to Fort Smith, Arkansas, thence by wagon to Cameron, or rather to Kully Chaha, as that was before Cameron.

I moved from what is now LeFlore County and came to Hughes County in 1904.

Some of our most interesting episodes were when some settler refused to pay his permit and was ejected from the Territory.

The family of Uncle JOE TUCKER was very interesting at the time we came to the Territory. Uncle Joe is dead now and the boys are scattered. His daughter, Mrs. J. H. ADAMS, lives at Atwood. Mrs. Katie HILL (widow of Bud Hill) lives at Cameron and is also a daughter of Uncle Joe Tucker. Bud Hill was killed while serving as a deputy U.S. Marshall before statehood. Hill was a mighty fine man and I thought it would have been impossible to have killed a man that our community would have missed as much as he was, he was killed by a Mr. SIMPSON, whose boy he and BOLEY GRADY were trying to arrest, near Jenson Arkansas. They were at a meeting just across the line from Jenson and the boy had been disturbing the meeting, so Hill and Boley Grady were asked to be there and arrest him, and Grady had gone under the arbor and had the boy down and he called for his father, who came to his rescue and killed Hill and Grady both. (Or rather killed Grady and Hill both, as he killed Mr. Grady first.)

Submitted to OKGenWeb by Vicci Flatt vicciflatt@prodigy.net  August 2000.