Ex Post Facto Laws

Retroactive Law and Legal Definition. Retroactive refers to extending the scope or effect to matters that have occurred in the past. In other words it is the application of a given rule to events that took place before the law was in effect. For example, retroactive tax.

Ex post facto laws are expressly forbidden by the United States Constitution in Article 1, Section 9, Clause 3 (with respect to federal laws) and Article 1, Section 10 (with respect to state laws).

FB Post:

When I post items about Reparations for Slavery or Elizabeth Warren's new proposal such as the Tax Refund Equality act, a Bill that would allow same-sex couples to amend past tax returns and receive refunds from the IRS, you will see me post a little Smiley at the end of that post. I am sure some of you think I am just being flippant or political. I am not. Here is why:

Ex Post Facto Law

Retroactive Law and Legal Definition. Retroactive refers to extending the scope or effect to matters that have occurred in the past. In other words it is the application of a given rule to events that took place before the law was in effect. For example, retroactive tax.

Ex post facto laws are expressly forbidden by the United States Constitution in Article 1, Section 9, Clause 3 (with respect to federal laws) and Article 1, Section 10 (with respect to state laws).

As I often state, the first rule of setting goals is to set goals only that are achievable. Not one of these proposals being trotted out there by these presidential hopefuls is even achievable. They know that. That is impertinent. What is pertinent, and they know this too, is that it sounds "purty" to the unwashed.

Now you know :-)

p.s. We are a Federal Republic with each State being guaranteed a Republican form of government, in the Constitution. Always keep that in mind. These are just some of the plethora of reasons the New Democratic Party hates the Constitution--it disallows their playing of grab-A$$ on the playground.

Seminole Indian Territory Installment XII

I began this quest for my family story in 1986. I am by no means an accredited genealogist. My genealogy credentials are simply a thorough study, having read volumes of materials, in the trenches grunt work. Part of those studies included the study of ancient maps of the old world from the beginning of written history by the Sumerians and related cultures. I have ancient places/ place names plotted on maps in my Google Desktop Maps program.

My Y-DNA and mtDNA has been tested and along with it, my DNA is a part of the Family Finder Test at Family Tree DNA. It is also a part of the National Geographic DNA Project and has been for several years. My research, along with all of the above took me to Wales a very long time ago and even more importantly, to East Anatolia to a spot just below the Lake of the Van, in what is now Turkey. That is just north of what is termed “The Cradle of Civilization”, where it all began; NOT Africa. DNA has begun to dispel the Fables, Nursery Rhymes and Voodoo Science what was previously passed down to us by some very creative practitioners of doo doo but NOT science. DNA is science.
I was also contracted with to help splice the Ancient Mathew [Madawg aka Madoc aka Madog] family with that on the other side of “The Big Pond”, the USA Mathews, Matthews, Mathis, Matthewes, Mateus, Mathias, Mattice etc. families. That was a few years ago as well. That was a massive project and too large a subject for discussion here. See https://www.facebook.com/Gwaithfoed
Wales was originally settled by the ancient Khumry of 13 tribes, all coming from that area around Lake of the Van. This history is well known and was in fact reiterated by Kings Edward, the second and third, in tax collections for the “Crown”. Those nasty taxes can sometimes be very useful in the study of ancient histories. My line was referred to in that document as the Tal y Van Tribe. Lake of the Van is still well-known and you can google it today. On ancient maps, it was referred to as the Nairi Sea. Tushpa, the capital of Urartu, was located near the shores of Lake Van, on the site of what became medieval Van's castle, west of present-day Van city. The ruins of the medieval city of Van are still visible below the southern slopes of the rock on which Van Castle is located. Please note that place name—Tushpa for later discussion in this paper.
The many place names in and around Urartu will also be found quite liberally in South Wales. It will also interest you to know that these place names are found quite liberally in the USA, especially in Pennsylvania and the South, including here in our little slice of the South. We have maps of migratory patterns from these ancient locations to various other parts of the world—China, Russia, and points east, as well as to the southwest into Africa—not vice versa as the voodoo scientists would have us to believe. You will have maps that showed migrations from this area up Ukraine, Lithuania, etc. to what is now Scandanavia and points south and west. You will also have maps that show the migration of my line from that area west and across the Aegean and Mediterranean into Greece, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, while my line continued to the Pyrenees where France and Spain meet and points north, ending up in Brittany [Formally Briton], Cornwall and S. Wales. There are very good migratory maps of the Tribes of Israel and their various Diaspora over time. None of these migrations and migratory patterns are fables but are now supported with our DNA which has really exploded of late.
China, Russia, E. Europe, W. Europe, Scandinavia, Britain etc. remain comprised of tribes; make no mistake about that. They still don’t like each other. Some of this tribal stuff extended to the settling of the New World, Australia, Indonesia, etc. Many of these tribes have been at war with one another for millennia.
Now to the point of all this… If you will now refer to that website created by Marsha Mills Frank and yours truly, you will find maps, photos of some tribes and a wee bit of narrative on the subject. In our study of Seminole IT Ghost Towns, school names, cemetery names, church names, etc. we have been driving to these places and are becoming quite familiar with these places, now plotted on Google Desktop Maps. You are going to see place names on these maps such as Arbeka aka Arveka, Tushka aka Tuchka, Econtuchka, Heliswa, Mahaka aka e Mahaka, etc. These locations were of Creek/ Seminole origin. They are also place names in Russia, E. Europe, Scandinavia, Spain, etc. and were as a result of the various migrations taken by the ancient tribes. This is neither coincidence nor by accident. These migrating tribes brought these place names with them and plopped them down, right here in Seminole County, and other parts of Oklahoma.
Just this morning, in reading The Daily Oklahoman, I read where Tushka HS won in a Class A baseball game. This high school just happens to be in Atoka, known more for the Chickasaw or Choctaw Tribe than Creek or Seminole. You will see all of these place names all over especially eastern Oklahoma, formerly Indian Territory. In Seminole County, there was formerly a Tushka School in what was formerly known as Econtuchka Township, a rather substantial land area in northwestern Seminole IT. Arbeka is in the Red Mound Township IT in northeastern Seminole County. Marsha and I have been all over this area in our travels and travails.

We also posted some photos of some tribes, now and for time immemorial, in Tuchka, on the island of Sakhalin, once a disputed territory of Japan and Russia, finally settling in Russia. Take a good look at the photos of these tribal members. Also, take a good look at the different perspectives of this island in 4 different frames in relation to the Aleutian Islands and the Bering Strait, formerly land bridges to Alaska. It is more than just a wild guess that peoples/ tribes came to what is now, N America across these land bridges. Other tribes came from S. America to the American Southwest. The final point being, that there are NO INDIGENOUS TRIBES IN THE USA. The Creator didn’t just plop a few down here like turnips in a garden. EVERYONE who is here now is an immigrant from somewhere. It just depends upon when they arrived and from which direction. To think otherwise is just delusional; a fairy tale to fit a present-day narrative but still just a big lie. All maps and photos are to be seen at:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/SeminoleITGhostTownsandHistory/
Having said all that, neither did Columbus discover America--he never set foot in America. Fully documented ancient histories have a Khumric [Welsh] expedition that landed and explored here in about 560 AD. There are other documented expeditions from the Irish and Scandinavians, although there have been many attempts to hide these histories. I will not even go into all of that here—it would take a book or two. In fact, it is all in a book. You can find excerpts/ an outline at facebook.com/Gwaithfoed if you have interest in that sort of thing.
I, for one, do not celebrate anything on Columbus Day other than thanking the Creator for Spanish olives. Silly me…
I think you will get the drift. You see, when the Romans made the attempt to wipe out all of the histories in Britain [Briton] in books, poetry, official records, they failed miserably, as they almost always do. Their attempted incursions in S. Wales were a disaster—they got their arse sufficiently kicked time after time. They were unfamiliar with the Welsh expertise with the yew bow and arrow and that cost them thousands of their legions. They were unfamiliar with the Welsh terrain as well, which can be treacherous and where the Welsh warriors knew to take a stand from time to time. They were also unfamiliar with the Khumric practice of Gavelkind and the requirement that every Khumric family head was to know at least 9 generations preceding him, their history, titles, lands, etc. and that of their wives aka concubines-- it was passed down from generation to generation mnemonically.
Most importantly of all is that they did not know the ancient Khumric language and still do not today. That is also true of the N. Welsh tribes. They too are wholly unfamiliar with the Khumric ancient language, firstly carved on sticks, including their tribal names. The poor l’il buggers got hoodwinked. The histories are still there and known today. They kind of look down their noses at the rest of us due to our general ignorance on such matters and deservedly so. We simply don’t know the language and we certainly do not know the art of wordsmithing, any more than we know the art of the yew bow. It is all there though, even today.

Seminole Indian Territory Installment XI

This is to give you a general idea what I am talking about; it is clearly a remote area with remote access and worthy of exploration. In fact, I would like to do it on horseback, as far east as NS 352, west to NS 350, from EW 111 to I-40. Marsha however, suggested a burro instead. I think she sought a photo-op, with my country ass in a sombrero and serape. When I return, if that bridge below I-40 on NS 351 is still impassable, I will approach, northbound, on NS 352, then west on EW 112 where it ends, for all practical purposes, at NS 351.

It is also important to note that NS 350 is the boundary line of Pott/ Seminole Co. Boundary surveys back when were not exact, so that has likely been a moving target prior to the final official survey following statehood. I have dealt with this issue many times in my family/ genealogy research on the borders of KY/ TN, TN/ NC, TN/ AL, GA & SC; also, VA/ NC, NC/ SC, etc. You get the picture. There were border wars over these moving lines—taxes of course. What else?

There are even more issues here with Indian Territory borders, Seminole IT being a “Johnny Come Lately”, formerly being part of Creek IT. I won’t even begin to get into that here—that will come later.

At one point, we took a GPS reading: N 35.37180 / W 96.84263. I had it that, looking south and west from this point, Econtuchka would have been here, approximately. However, that is not certain because we were driving around in circles, due to the fact section line roads just stopped dead; thus, we had to retrace and find another way through. We were at times in Pott Co., Seminole Co., Okfuskee Co. and somehow, we found ourselves in Lincoln Co. I have no clue how we did that! My navigator was apparently lacking a properly calibrated gyroscope.

On the north and east of that GPS reading lay South River Ranch and South River Farms. Corn, wheat, beans, etc. as far as the eye could see. Charolaise, Longhorns, Brahmas, Angus, etc. that were show cattle, to a beefsteak. These were large herds, not itty-bitty ones. The corn and wheat were immaculate. Never seen anything like this, ANYWHERE! The irrigation systems, surveillance and fencing were par none. I would not doubt if the fencing had voltage. They did not want anyone wandering about onto the property—warnings posted everywhere. I considered peeing on the fence to see—Marsha nixed that idea. The farming equipment was aplenty and high $$$. We are talking not in $Millions. There may be a $B or 2 in there. There were OK Dept. of Wildlife hunting areas posted in places, sprinkled about. I would kill to take a 12 gauge and Pointer in there!

The active production, mostly that of New Dominion, was everywhere. Again, the units, tank farms, etc. were fairly new and huge! This was not “Stripper” production either—it was large and top $. Marsha and I were astounded! As some of you know, Marsha knows her way around the industry so we are not neophytes in that department. Unfortunately, most of my minerals are in the Greater Seminole Field, south of Seminole.

The other 3 IT Ghost Towns that were on the agenda were:
ARBEKA
In extreme northeastern corner of Seminole County. A post office from September 10, 1883, to December 14, 1907. Taken from Abi' h' ka, meaning 'peace town' or 'a place where justice was received.'
HANEY
Ten miles northeast of Seminole. A post office from February 17, 1908, to November 30, 1916. Named for Reverend Willie Haney, prominent Seminole.
IRENE
Six miles south of Boley, A post office from October 31, 1903 to November 28, 1907. Named for Irene Davis, the late Mrs. W. S. Key of Oklahoma City, daughter of Chief Alice Brown Davis, Seminole leader. On December 19, 1907 a post office named Schoolton was established at approximately this same site.
These locations are noted on the second map.

I tried to pinpoint, approximately, a fifth location--TBD:
HELISWA
Five miles northwest of Seminole. A post office from January 10, 1891 to November 27, 1895. The name is from the Creek word heleswv, meaning medicine.

In trying to pinpoint these locations, I have spoken with several Seminole IT historians, etc. I have spoken with the Director of the Seminole Museum in Wewoka, for instance. Several names have been suggested. I have talked to some and others are on my list. I have determined this to be a massive project, but I am further determined to get it done. Marsha and I were having a blast. We will both tell you this—you have no idea the beauty of this county, its resources, and the largely unknown farming, ranching and oil / gas production operations. Our suggestion would be to get out of town and see this beautiful land. It is truly amazing!
Once again, I will post here the Seminole IT Ghost Towns. If anyone can help us pinpoint these locations, definitively, please let me know. I want to pinpoint the exact GPS coordinates when all is said and done. There is a method to my madness which will be known at a later date. This list is not exhaustive, as I have learned. There are many more ghost towns, stretching back to the Trail of Tears. The history here is beyond your imagination, or, at least it is beyond mine.

Marsha and I took another drive in "the sticks" today. We went up to Chimney Rock. The road my Mobile Google Maps took me on a different approach than I recall back in the 60s. It was just not right--I recall driving north and the access to the chimney was on my left [West]. I am going to get my Topo maps out and find the approach from the east, not west. Thus, I did not actually get out and walk to the chimney. However, when we came back through Seminole, after looking for a turnout/ lookout that I recall, from Hwy 9, looking north, we got my minerals map and headed to my leases, one of which still gets me checks from Sunoco [Communities #2]. We found it, on Mathews Land Co. properties--no relation. Then we headed from there to Hwy 59 W to one I have just on the west edge of Bowlegs. What a surprise. We had been to Wildcat Hollow a few days ago. I did not walk to it, due to its being on private lands. Guess what; Wildcat Hollow is on my mineral lease lands!!! Blew my mind. Here's a tip--take Ideal St. as far as it goes to the south. That's where Wildcat "Holler" is! Not kidding! Thus, we visited Wildcat Holler twice in one week, unknowingly. We came back up north on Ideal St. to Strothers, headed west, passing Phelps Farm. We headed to what ended up passing PG School on our right and went up what I think is Good Hope Road, passing the Ironhead Bar. I've been there a few times and found it to be quite nice. It's been a while though. Marsha and I did not go in but I wanted to make sure it was where I thought it was. BTW--I am still getting my bearings. I plan to drive every darn back road in the county--part of my bucket list. You have no idea how pretty the drive was today. Beautiful! We got Homeland Fried Chicken and had a picnic on the drive; washed it down with Lone Star w/ limes. It was a blast!!! Also btw, NS 355 is Ideal St. We got some good pics too.

One of Seminole's Favorite Sons and formerly, Principal Chief, Enoch Kelly Haney with a personal anecdote. I gave a speech in Oklahoma City in about 1985, to HEACO, an organization of higher educators in the state of Oklahoma. Kelly spoke at the same and was on the dais with me. In my remarks, I spoke about my immigrant family hitting the shores of Colonial America. Just as I was completing that story, then Senator Haney chimed in, "...and my people met your people at the boat". You know, he was right.

Continuing on EW 1330, westbound, you come to a fork, whereby 1330 ends for all practical purposes, it dips south on NS 3610 and becomes EW 1340. This road meanders due to the configuration of those Oklahoma Hills but finally straightens out at NS 3580, moving due west. When you reach NS 3570, you are now in Snomac, Seminole IT Ghost Town, on the north side of EW 1340. Approximately 1/2 mile west of NS 3570, you will stumble upon Spring Creek Cemetery. We found it quite by accident, locating a sign in a very obscure location, just off the road, covered by a very woodsy stand of trees and brush. I will offer a guess that former Snomac residents utilized this cemetery. That would take a venture into the woods to confirm by checking markers. Approximately 1/2 mile west of that, lies Wolf Cemetery. According to my map, the entire southern section was Snomac and the northern section was Wolf. It is now Wolf in its entirety. The western border of this section is Old Hwy 99. The northern boundary of this section is EW 1330. To give you some perspective, If you drove north to Seminole, NS 3570 is Harvey Rd, although good luck on that, since this road meanders all over the place and you cannot drive this road all the way to Snomac/ Wolf unless you have really good maps.

To be continued…

Marbury vs Madison

In Landmark Supreme Court Ruling (Marbury vs Madison) the Court Ruled "All Laws Repugnant to the Constitution are Null and Void" The US Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land and any statute to be valid must be in agreement.

Madison went on to say that laws can enhance but not diminish that which is in the Constitution [Madison’s Notes].

Final Ruling of Justice Marshall:

The Constitution declares that "no bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed."

If, however, such a bill should be passed and a person should be prosecuted under it, must the Court condemn to death those victims whom the Constitution endeavours to preserve?

"No person," says the Constitution, "shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court."

Here. the language of the Constitution is addressed especially to the Courts. It prescribes, directly for them, a rule of evidence not to be departed from. If the Legislature should change that rule, and declare one witness, or a confession out of court, sufficient for conviction, must the constitutional principle yield to the legislative act?

From these and many other selections which might be made, it is apparent that the framers of the Constitution contemplated that instrument as a rule for the government of courts, as well as of the Legislature.

Why otherwise does it direct the judges to take an oath to support it? This oath certainly applies in an especial manner to their conduct in their official character. How immoral to impose it on them if they were to be used as the instruments, and the knowing instruments, for violating what they swear to support!

The oath of office, too, imposed by the Legislature, is completely demonstrative of the legislative opinion on this subject. It is in these words:

I do solemnly swear that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich; and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge all the duties incumbent on me as according to the best of my abilities and understanding, agreeably to the Constitution and laws of the United States.

Why does a judge swear to discharge his duties agreeably to the Constitution of the United States if that Constitution forms no rule for his government? if it is closed upon him and cannot be inspected by him?

If such be the real state of things, this is worse than solemn mockery. To prescribe or to take this oath becomes equally a crime.

It is also not entirely unworthy of observation that, in declaring what shall be the supreme law of the land, the Constitution itself is first mentioned, and not the laws of the United States generally, but those only which shall be made in pursuance of the Constitution, have that rank.

Thus, the particular phraseology of the Constitution of the United States confirms and strengthens the principle, supposed to be essential to all written Constitutions, that a law repugnant to the Constitution is void, and that courts, as well as other departments, are bound by that instrument.

Full Text of the Ruling:

https://www.owleyes.org/text/marbury-v-madison/read/opinion-of-the-court#root-362

Fascinating stuff! This is a testament to the time when we adhered to and were bound to the Constitution, as the Framers intended. “Case Law” was not even a consideration. It was simply the Constitution vs the law in conflict. Period!

Detinue:  a legal claim to recover wrongfully detained goods or possessions.

Mandamus:  Mandamus is a judicial remedy in the form of an order from a court to any government, subordinate court, corporation, or public authority, to do some specific act which that body is obliged under law to do, and which is in the nature of public duty, and in certain cases one of a statutory duty.

Seminole Cook Book 1933

Ladies and Germs:
I am providing your Birthday and early Christmas present. The Seminole Cook Book 1933. It was republished in 1996 by the Seminole Historical Society. My mother gave it to me for Christmas that year. It is a treasure and I refer to it quite often. It is also historical. You will notice old Ads, going back to the beginning. The 2 digit phone numbers are of course the beginning of business/ commercial interests. Then, at some point, they had to go to 3 digit, followed my 4 digits. My home number went from 291 to 2911. The other more modern numbers are of course provided by those businesses who sponsored the 1996 reprint.
At the beginning of the publication, just following the Fly Page, there is an interesting piece on just what businesses were extant in 1933, in total. Try to imagine what it was like at that time, the heyday of Seminole. Read the old Ads. They are noteworthy. I hesitated including Page 2 of the book, knowing some of y'all are quite capable of doing just that. If we find a Gerald Jones pork roast at some point, we will know where she got the idea. I suppose that could make me a co-conspirator and that gives me pause. The Rod Shoppe on Page 4 is the location of one of my grandfather's grocery stores. On Page 6 is an ad for H&M Food Market. That was also one of my grandfather's grocery stores. That one was in a partnership with Jim Hendren. The "M" of course is Matthews. That location is now Seminole Wine & Spirits at 104 E Broadway, phone #1077.
I remember so many of these old places. I have pictures of many at my Seminole IT FB website. On pages 52-53 are some Helpful Hints, many of which are a blast. The Table of Weights & Measures is quite interesting, as is the Table for Baking Meats. The Index, P. 54-59 is quite helpful.
I hope you get a kick out of it half as much as I have over the past many years.
NOTE: If this does not work for you, please let me know. I may have to Zip the Folder. Here is the link to the folder:Seminole Cook Book 1933

Seminole Indian Territory Installment X

George Birdwell and his gang robbed the Merchants Bank in Boley on November 23, 1932. Birdwell was known to many as the "chief lieutenant" of Pretty Boy Floyd. Floyd forewarned Birdwell against robbing the bank in Boley. The Boley bank robbery followed bank robberies in Earlsboro, Maud, Mill Creek, Roff and Henryetta. Pretty Boy's warning came a little like this: "Go anywhere else, but do not rob Boley. The people there need their money and they do not have much of it in their bank." The warning was couched by a reference that Birdwell and his gang would look quite unusual in an "all-black" town. Birdwell was Irish, although with a mix of Cherokee and Choctaw. In other words, he just ain't gonna fit in there. To make matters even worse, the day they chose was the first day of bird-hunting season--need I say more. The entire town was armed to the teeth! The gang was decimated, to say the least. As a personal aside, the Mayor of Boley is Joan Matthews...who knows? Henrietta Hicks is the Municipal Judge and Fran Shelton is the President of the Chamber of Commerce. Marsha and I will be dropping by in our travels, commencing again soon, in the many Seminole IT Ghost Towns. It may just be that Joan and I can determine whether we are related. I will just tell you, that in learning my family history, it is as likely as not we are blood cousins. Charles Sims, I hope this brings you up to date. BTW--this article appeared in The Seminole Producer, June 12, 2016. Jaime Birdwell-Branson is a darned good writer--in my humble opinion. This Land Press: http://thislandpress.com/

Wallace C. Moore, Seminole Co., OK, native, Butner graduate, Cromwell, OK, 1964. How many of you know that name? You should. The 1866 Treaty Memorial Event, marking the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipated Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes, as outlined in the ratified Treaties of 1866, began in OKC on June 24, 2016. Wallace C. Moore was a keynote speaker. His presentation depicts an account of the signing of the Treaty and the role of a man called Mikko "Cow Tom", played in concluding the treaty. Wallace has many talents as a historian, re-enactor, poet, etc. History and contributions made by black men and women, Freedmen, in the settling of the Old West is just one of those talents. Subjects covered are a history of “Negro” Lawmen and Outlaws in Indian Territory, “Negro” Scouts of the West, Black Cowboys, Buffalo Soldiers, etc. After the Civil War, Freedmen, former slaves of the Tribes, were emancipated by treaties signed in 1866 between the USA and Tribal Nations. These treaties guaranteed that the Freedmen and their descendants would have rights as native citizens, including rights to land and national funds. These treaties have been the subject of debate, even to this day. If you ever have the chance to see Wallace perform, do it. As an aside, the subject of Black Cowboys is one of the most fascinating aspects of Old West History but, unfortunately, largely unknown. Ever heard of Bill Pickett, Stagecoach Mary, Bass Reeves [I've written a lot about him on my websites], Crawford Goldsby aka Cherokee Bill, Nat Love? How about a modern-day black cowboy like Jason Griffin, who is a four-time world champion bareback bucking horse rider? You're fixin' to.

Some Fun and Not So Fun Factoids:
LIMA – Known as one of Oklahoma's thirteen remaining historically All-Black towns, Lima is located south of U.S. Highway 270 on County Road N3600 between Seminole and Wewoka. At the turn of the twentieth century Seminoles and Seminole Freedmen occupied the area. The community known as Lima, named for the local limestone quarries, existed at least by 1904. In 1926 the discovery and development of the Greater Seminole Oil Field brought prosperity and white settlers to the town. The newcomers started a separate village east of Lima, which became known as New Lima. This community never incorporated but built its own school, post office, and businesses. The combined population numbered 239 in 1930 and 271 in 1940. With the decline in the oil boom, the population dropped to 99 in 1950 and 90 in 1960. In 1957, with the end of segregation, the Lima and New Lima schools merged. The population of the two communities climbed to 256 in 1980, but slowly fell to 74 in 2000.

MAUD – Rockabilly singer Wanda Jackson was born here in 1937
• "Pretty Boy" Floyd robbed the bank here in 1931.
• On January 8, 1898, MS. Julia Leard was murdered by a “half-breed” Negro. When a mob of white men captured Lincoln McGelsky, who they suspected had killed Mrs. Leard, they strung him up repeatedly in an attempt to make him confess. It was later reported that two other men were burned at the stake for the murder.

SEMINOLE – Outlaw George Birdwell was buried here in the Maple Grove Cemetery. On November 24, 1932. He was a partner and friend of Oklahoma outlaw Pretty Boy Floyd. He was killed while robbing the bank in the African-American community of Boley, Oklahoma in November, 1932.

WEWOKA – Wewoka was the capital of the Seminole Nation in 1888.

1889- Oklahoma Territory- the first Oklahoma Land Run takes place. With the shot of a pistol at high noon the Oklahoma Land Rush began as 10,000 prospective land-grabbers rushed forward to get their 160-acre claim for a $15 filing fee. The U.S. Federal government had purchased almost two million acres of land in Central Oklahoma from the Creek and Seminole Indians. Some folks snuck in earlier and are known as “Sooners”, those that followed the rules were known as “Boomers”. (In case you ever wondered where the tern “Boomer Sooner” in college football came from.)

SEMINOLE –

85 Years Ago, The Seminole Producer, Text reads: "April 11, 1931--The last chapter in what has aptly been called the 'most brutal murder of 1931' was written in District Court when a local 31-year-old black murderer was sentenced by Judge George Crump to spend the remainder of his life at hard labor in the state penitentiary. He pleaded to clubbing to death Joseph M. White, 73-year-old storekeeper at Elmwood, a small community eight miles southwest of Seminole. The brutal murder occurred on February 8". Question is, where the heck was Elmwood? Maud is 8 miles SW of Seminole. Was it a "suburb" of Maud, which reached an estimated population of 10,000 at the height of the oil boom?

Search for Econtuchka

We left our house on Cherokee St at approximately 10:45 am and arrived back at approximately 6:00 pm. I had mapped, on Google Desktop Maps, 4 former Seminole IT Ghost Towns that had a Post Office, Churches, etc., well before statehood. We spent the entire time however, looking for a way to access the location for the first one—Econtuchka. Here is the book on Econtuchka: “ECONTUCHKA
Extreme northwestern part of Seminole county is a post office from September 15, 1881 to November 30, 1907. On October 19, 1899, the post office was established slightly to the west at a new site in the Pottawatomie Nation. This is the Seminole/Creek word meaning a “surveyed line.

We meandered all over these section lines in order to arrive at an approximate location where I thought the center of this Ghost Town and PO would be. You will note that the PO moved west into Pott County. It is also important to note that NS 349 aka 3490 is aka Econtuchka Road and that is in Pott Co, the first quadrant of sections west of the Pott/ Seminole Co. boundary. Thus, Econtuchka, Seminole IT Ghost Town and PO is the farthest NW quadrant of sections east of that boundary. The approximate boundaries of that area are EW 111, just below the N Canadian River on the north, NS 350 on the west, approximately EW 112 on the south and approximately NS 351 on the east; all just north of I-40. The reason I say, “approximately”, in some cases is that EW 112 stops dead at NS 350—there is no way through to NS 351. The same can be said for EW 111—it stops dead at NS 350, although, there is an obscure line on Google Desktop Maps [GDM], where it appears there is a roadbed where it was once traveled. I am going to try to find that and see just what that looks like at ground level.

To be continued…

What is the Democratic Party vs the Grand Old Party

The platforms of the parties were developed at very different times in the history of this Republic. When Jefferson developed the basis of the Democrat-Republican party, we had just begun to practice what the Founders had set in concrete, the Constitution of the United States. At that time, the opposition party was the Federalist Party. Some referred to it as the Tory Party and so it began.

Jefferson’s approach was comprehensive, as it was his world view, having served in ambassadorial functions before he served as president. If one reads the three documents referenced here, one will see that the parties evolved in each case. The Federalist Party simply disappeared and fragmented into other political parties, serving more narrow interests.

When Andrew Jackson entered the scene, it was largely due to his prominence as a Major General in the War of 1812. The Democrat-Republican party split due to Jackson. Adherents to the Jacksonian party considered themselves Jacksonian Democrats but the others remained true to Jefferson’s Democrat-Republican party philosophy and principles. Jackson was a little rough around the edges, raised in the area around old Rowan County, NC, on dirt floors. His education was sporadic. He did study law, under the old tutorial system and ended up practicing law in Tennessee. He was considered a scalawag and scoundrel by his detractors but a war hero to others. He was self-described as a Democrat for the common man. I ran across Jackson in my study of my own family history. He and my 3^rd G-Grandfather were born 7 years apart in what became Statesville, Iredell County, NC, carved from the original Rowan County, NC. At that time, there were only about 100 families, largely a Presbyterian settlement. It would have been impossible for the two to be unfamiliar with one another, all things consider. I have a map of the settlement, showing the relationship of the families. They were the creators of the Fourth Creek Presbyterian Church. My 4^th G-Grandfather is buried there as his brother, Mussendine Matthews. It appears we all headed to Tennessee in c. 1800 +/-. Jackson served as the first Representative of Tennessee in the US Congress.

I registered as a Democrat in 1970. I was a self-described Jeffersonian Democrat and it can be said that I remain just that. However, on September 24^th, 2018, I split from that party and registered otherwise. In short, that was due to the fact that Jefferson no longer has a place in today’s Democratic Party. Thus, it can be said, and accurately so, that I no longer have a place in that party.

When I look to the parties now, I still look to the original platforms of the parties to determine my place. I also look to the Constitution for my place in each. I am a strong adherent to one statement by Thomas Jefferson:  “On every question of construction carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed”. To do otherwise is a mockery to those Founders. These Democrats of today look to spurious Case Law. Most law schools, especially on the east coast, do not even study Constitutional Law. They study Case Law. Cave Dwellers they are. This Democratic Party are enemies of the Principles of Jefferson. Thus, they are enemies of mine. In fact, there is no Democratic Party. It disappeared, just as did the Federalist Party.

I go where Jefferson goes, wherever that might be. In my opinion, Jefferson now resides in the wing of the GOP which was the old Democrat-Republican party. I will precede a description of the original parties with this synopsis, in my own opinion.

Republican Platform of 1856

This Convention of Delegates, assembled in pursuance of a call addressed to the people of the United States, without regard to past political differences or divisions, who are opposed to the repeal of the Missouri Compromise; to the policy of the present Administration; to the extension Slavery into Free Territory; in favor of the admission of Kansas as a Free State; of restoring the action of the Federal Government to the principles of Washington and Jefferson; and for the purpose of presenting candidates for the offices of President and Vice-President, do

Resolved: That the maintenance of the principles promulgated in the Declaration of Independence, and embodied in the Federal Constitution are essential to the preservation of our Republican institutions, and that the Federal Constitution, the rights of the States, and the union of the States, must and shall be preserved.

Resolved: That, with our Republican fathers, we hold it to be a self-evident truth, that all men are endowed with the inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that the primary object and ulterior design of our Federal Government were to secure these rights to all persons under its exclusive jurisdiction; that, as our Republican fathers, when they had abolished Slavery in all our National Territory, ordained that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, it becomes our duty to maintain this provision of the Constitution against all attempts to violate it for the purpose of establishing Slavery in the Territories of the United States by positive legislation, prohibiting its existence or extension therein. That we deny the authority of Congress, of a Territorial Legislation, of any individual, or association of individuals, to give legal existence to Slavery in any Territory of the United States, while the present Constitution shall be maintained.

Resolved: That the Constitution confers upon Congress sovereign powers over the Territories of the United States for their government; and that in the exercise of this power, it is both the right and the imperative duty of Congress to prohibit in the Territories those twin relics of barbarism — Polygamy, and Slavery.

Resolved: That while the Constitution of the United States was ordained and established by the people, in order to "form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty," and contain ample provision for the protection of the life, liberty, and property of every citizen, the dearest Constitutional rights of the people of Kansas have been fraudulently and violently taken from them.

Their Territory has been invaded by an armed force;

Spurious and pretended legislative, judicial, and executive officers have been set over them, by whose usurped authority, sustained by the military power of the government, tyrannical and unconstitutional laws have been enacted and enforced;

The right of the people to keep and bear arms has been infringed.

Test oaths of an extraordinary and entangling nature have been imposed as a condition of exercising the right of suffrage and holding office.

The right of an accused person to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury has been denied;

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, has been violated;

They have been deprived of life, liberty, and property without due process of law;

That the freedom of speech and of the press has been abridged;

The right to choose their representatives has been made of no effect;

Murders, robberies, and arsons have been instigated and encouraged, and the offenders have been allowed to go unpunished;

That all these things have been done with the knowledge, sanction, and procurement of the present National Administration; and that for this high crime against the Constitution, the Union, and humanity, we arraign that Administration, the President, his advisers, agents, supporters, apologists, and accessories, either before or after the fact, before the country and before the world; and that it is our fixed purpose to bring the actual perpetrators of these atrocious outrages and their accomplices to a sure and condign punishment thereafter.

Resolved, That Kansas should be immediately admitted as a state of this Union, with her present Free Constitution, as at once the most effectual way of securing to her citizens the enjoyment of the rights and privileges to which they are entitled, and of ending the civil strife now raging in her territory.

Resolved, That the highwayman's plea, that might makes right," embodied in the Ostend Circular, was in every respect unworthy of American diplomacy, and would bring shame and dishonor upon any Government or people that gave it their sanction.

Resolved, That a railroad to the Pacific Ocean by the most central and practicable route is imperatively demanded by the interests of the whole country, and that the Federal Government ought to render immediate and efficient aid in its construction, and as an auxiliary thereto, to the immediate construction of an emigrant road on the line of the railroad.

Resolved, That appropriations by Congress for the improvement of rivers and harbors, of a national character, required for the accommodation and security of our existing commerce, are authorized by the Constitution, and justified by the obligation of the Government to protect the lives and property of its citizens.

Resolved, That we invite the affiliation and cooperation of the men of all parties, however differing from us in other respects, in support of the principles herein declared; and believing that the spirit of our institutions as well as the Constitution of our country, guarantees liberty of conscience and equality of rights among citizens, we oppose all legislation impairing their security.

Federalist Party

The Federalist Party originated in opposition to the Democratic-Republican Party in America during President George Washington’s first administration. Known for their support of a strong national government, the Federalists emphasized commercial and diplomatic harmony with Britain following the signing of the 1794 Jay Treaty. The party split over negotiations with France during President John Adams’s administration, though it remained a political force until its members passed into the Democratic and the Whig parties in the 1820s. Despite its dissolution, the party made a lasting impact by laying the foundations of a national economy, creating a national judicial system and formulating principles of foreign policy.

History of The Federalist Party

The Federalist Party was one of the first two political parties in the United States, and thus in the world. It originated, as did its opposition, the Democratic-Republican Party, within the executive and congressional branches of government during George Washington’s first administration (1789-1793), and it dominated the government until the defeat of President John Adams for reelection in 1800. Thereafter, the party unsuccessfully contested the presidency through 1816 and remained a political force in some states until the 1820s. Its members then passed into both the Democratic and the Whig parties.

Who Supported The Federalist Party?

Although Washington disdained factions and disclaimed party adherence, he is generally taken to have been, by policy and inclination, a Federalist, and thus its greatest figure. Influential public leaders who accepted the Federalist label included John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Rufus King, John Marshall, Timothy Pickering and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. All had agitated for a new and more effective constitution in 1787. Yet, because many members of the Democratic-Republican Party of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison had also championed the Constitution, the Federalist Party cannot be considered the lineal descendant of the pro-Constitution, or ‘federalist,’ grouping of the 1780s. Instead, like its opposition, the party emerged in the 1790s under new conditions and around new issues.

The party drew its early support from those who—for ideological and other reasons—wished to strengthen national instead of state power. Until its defeat in the presidential election of 1800, its style was elitist, and its leaders scorned democracy, widespread suffrage, and open elections. Its backing centered in the commercial Northeast, whose economy and public order had been threatened by the failings of the Confederation government before 1788. Although the party enjoyed considerable influence in Virginia, North Carolina and the area around Charleston, South Carolina, it failed to attract plantation owners and yeoman farmers in the South and West. Its inability to broaden its geographic and social appeal eventually did it in.

Alexander Hamilton And The Bank of the United States

Originally a coalition of like-minded men, the party became publicly well defined only in 1795. After Washington’s inauguration in 1789, Congress and members of the president’s cabinet debated proposals of Alexander Hamilton, first secretary of the treasury, that the national government assume the debts of the states, repay the national debt at par rather than at its depressed market value, and charter a national bank, the Bank of the United States. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and Congressman James Madison rallied opposition to Hamilton’s plan. Yet not until Congress debated the ratification and implementation of the Jay Treaty with Great Britain did two political parties clearly emerge, with the Federalists under Hamilton’s leadership. Federalist policies thenceforth emphasized commercial and diplomatic harmony with Britain, domestic order and stability and a strong national government under powerful executive and judicial branches. Washington’s Farewell Address of 1796, prepared with Hamilton’s assistance, can be read as a classic text of partisan Federalism as well as a great state paper.

John Adams

John Adams, Washington’s vice president, succeeded the first president as an avowed Federalist, thus becoming the first person to attain the chief magistracy under partisan colors. Inaugurated in 1797, Adams tried to maintain his predecessor’s cabinet and policies. He engaged the nation in an undeclared naval war with France and after the Federalists gained control of both houses of Congress in the 1798 election, backed the infamous and Federalist-inspired Alien and Sedition Acts.

In addition to a widespread public outcry against those laws, which restricted freedom of speech, Adams met with mounting attacks, especially from the Hamiltonian faction of his own party, against his military priorities. When Adams, as much to deflect mounting Democratic-Republican opposition as to end a war, opened diplomatic negotiations with France in 1799 and reorganized the cabinet under his own control, the Hamiltonians broke with him. Although his actions strengthened the Federalist position in the presidential election of 1800, they were not enough to gain his reelection. His party irreparably split. Adams, on his way to retirement, was nevertheless able to conclude peace with France and to secure the appointment of moderate Federalist John Marshall as chief justice. Long after the Federalist Party was dead, Marshall enshrined its principles in constitutional law.

Decline of the Federalist Party

In the minority, Federalists at last accepted the necessity of creating a system of organized, disciplined state party organizations and adopting democratic electoral tactics. Because their greatest strength lay in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Delaware, the Federalists also assumed the aspects of a sectional minority. Ignoring ideological consistency and a traditional commitment to strong national power, they opposed Jefferson’s popular Louisiana Purchase of 1803 as too costly and threatening to northern influence in government. Largely as a result, the party continued to lose power at the national level. It carried only Connecticut, Delaware and part of Maryland against Jefferson in 1804.

That defeat, the party’s increasing regional isolation and Hamilton’s untimely death at the hands of Aaron Burr that same year threatened the party’s very existence. Yet strong, widespread opposition to Jefferson’s ill-conceived Embargo of 1807 revived it. In the 1808 presidential election against Madison, the Federalist candidate, Charles C. Pinckney, carried Delaware, parts of Maryland and North Carolina, and all of New England except Vermont. The declaration of war against Great Britain in 1812 brought New York, New Jersey, and more of Maryland into the Federalist fold, although these states were not enough to gain the party the presidency.

But Federalist obstruction of the war effort seriously undercut its newfound popularity, and the Hartford Convention of 1814 won for it, however unjustly, the stigma of secession and treason. The party under Rufus King carried only Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Delaware in the election of 1816.

Although it lingered on in these states, the party never regained its national following, and by the end of the War of 1812, it was dead. Its inability to accommodate early enough a rising, popular democratic spirit, often strongest in towns and cities, was its undoing. Its emphasis upon banking, commerce and national institutions, although fitting for the young nation, nevertheless made it unpopular among the majority of Americans who, as people of the soil, remained wary of state influence. Yet its contributions to the nation were extensive. Its principles gave form to the new government. Its leaders laid the foundations of a national economy, created and staffed a national judicial system and enunciated enduring principles of American foreign policy.

Jefferson's Platform for His Democrat-Republican Candidacy and Presidency

Political parties in the 1790s did not issue official platforms, but our co-founder Thomas Jefferson issued a major statement in January 1799 that was widely reprinted and circulated. It became the basis of his party's philosophy and is no longer the basis of the platform of the Jefferson Democrat-Republican Party today:

…In confutation of these and all future calumnies, by way of anticipation, I shall make to you a profession of my political faith; in confidence that you will consider every future imputation on me of a contrary complexion, as bearing on its front the mark of falsehood and calumny.

I do then, with sincere zeal, wish an inviolable preservation of our present federal constitution, according to the true sense in which it was adopted by the States, that in which it was advocated by its friends, and not that which its enemies apprehended, who therefore became its enemies; and I am opposed to the monarchising its features by the forms of its administration, with a view to conciliate a first transition to a President and Senate for life, and from that to a hereditary tenure of these offices, and thus to worm out the elective principle. I am for preserving to the States the powers not yielded by them to the Union and to the legislature of the Union its constitutional share in the division of powers.

And I am not for transferring all the powers of the States to the general government, nor all those of that government to the Executive branch. I am for a government rigorously frugal and simple, applying all the possible savings of the public revenue to the discharge of the national debt; and not for a multiplication of officers and salaries merely to make partisans, and for increasing, by every device, the public debt, on the principle of it's being a public blessing.

I am for relying, for internal defence, on our militia solely, till actual invasion, and for such a naval force only as may protect our coasts and harbors from such depredations as we have experienced; and not for a standing army in time of peace, which may overawe the public sentiment; nor for a navy, which, by its own expenses and the eternal wars in which it will implicate us, grind us with public burthens, and sink us under them. I am for free commerce with all nations, political connection with none, and little or no diplomatic establishment.

And I am not for linking ourselves by new treaties with the quarrels of Europe; entering that field of slaughter to preserve their balance, or joining in the confederacy of kings to war against the principles of liberty. I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendancy of one sect over another: for freedom of the press, and against all violations of the constitution to silence by force and not by reason the complaints or criticisms, just or unjust, of our citizens against the conduct of their agents.

And I am for encouraging the progress of science in all its branches and not for raising a hue and cry against the sacred name of philosophy. For awing the human mind by stories of raw-head & bloody bones to a distrust of its own vision, & to repose implicitly on that of others, to go backwards instead of forwards to look for improvement, to believe that government, religion, morality, and every other science were in the highest perfection in ages of the darkest ignorance, and that nothing can ever be devised more perfect than what was established by our forefathers.

To these I will add, that I was a sincere well-wisher to the success of the French revolution, and still wish it may end in the establishment of a free and well-ordered republic. But I have not been insensible under the atrocious depredations they have committed on our commerce.

-Thomas Jefferson

http://jeffersonrepublican.blogspot.com/2007/04/jeffersons-platform.html