James and Minnie Williams - Williams Store

James Madison Williams born 4/28/1855 in Madison County, Iowa and died 9/19/1928 and Minnie Emmazet (nee Besse) born 10/4/1866 in Appanoose County, Iowa and died 4/5/1931. Both died at DeNoya, Oklahoma and are buried in the Newkirk Cemetery, located 2 miles north of Newkirk, Oklahoma. They married and had most of their children in Appanoose County, Iowa. From there they moved to what is now South Coffeyville (not sure if it was KS or OK at that time) and had two more children on the banks of the Verdigris River. Then they moved to West Plains, Missouri with their family. That is when they moved again to the oil fields of Oklahoma and ran "company stores". Most of their family ended up working in some way for the oil companies, all except for my grandmother (Minnie & James' daughter) and grandfather. They ended up as farmers in Kansas.

 One of the stores James and Minnie ran was in Mervine, Oklahoma
Mervine, Oklahoma named for D. T. Mervine of the Wells Fargo Co. and Santa Fe Railroad was located southeast of Newkirk, about half-way between Newkirk and Uncas. Mervine was just one of the many small towns that exploded with growth when oil was discovered in the area.1

James and Minnie also ran a store at DeNoya, Oklahoma
DeNoya, Oklahoma named for Joseph F DeNoya, a prominent Osage Indian was located in Western Osage County, 3 miles southwest of Shidler. Locally known as Whizbang. Considered to be one of the “wildest” of the oilfield boom towns.2

Pictures

1 “North Central Oklahoma Rooted in the past Growing for the Future” North Central
Oklahoma Historical Association, Inc. Ponca City, Oklahoma 1995
2 “Osage County Profiles” Osage County Historical Society, Inc. 1964

Submitted By: Pat (Blair) LaCroix