Joseph Charles Casaver Sr (1864 - 1938)

Born 1 Aug 1864 in Ohio, United States

Husband of Lucinda Alice (Roundtree) Casaver — married 18 Nov 1890 (to 19 Jun 1897) in Muscogee Creek Nation, Indian Territory, United States

Husband of Sarah Elizabeth (Barber) Casaver — married 30 Dec 1899 in Muscogee Creek Nation, Indian Territory, United States

Died 5 Dec 1938 at age 74 in Wagoner, Wagoner, Oklahoma, United States

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History of the Western District Court

Biography

Joseph Casaver Sr was born in Ohio.

Joseph Casaver Sr was an early settler in Oklahoma.

Joseph "Joe' Charles Casaver Sr was born on August 1, 1864 in Ohio. His father moved to Ohio from Michigan sometime before his birth, and settled in Toledo, Ohio. Where at a young age of 15 he worked as a laborer.^[1]

Joe came to Creek Nation, Indian Territory in 1888, when the Missouri Pacific Railroad laid tracks from Fort Smith, Arkansas to Coffeyville, Kansas. He was construction foreman for the Western Union telegraph lines. As they passed through an area that would later become Wagoner, Joe, having been sick, began to improve his health while recuperating there, and decided to stay and make this his permanent home. He was then made inspector of the telegraph lines between Fort Smith and Coffeyville. A position he would hold for the next ten years.^[2]

After settling in Indian Territory, he assisted with the establishment of the first post office and naming the town of Wagoner. A friend of his William Teague had put up a little frame building on the present site of the First National Bank of Wagoner and was operating a general merchandise store. Together, they decided it would be more convenient to have a post office there, rather than having to make the long trip to Fort Gibson for their mail. Joe wrote Senator Foraker, of Ohio, whom he had known during his early life, and asked Teague to be appointed post master. With the senator's assurance for help, he and Teague huddled together to come up with a name for the town. He remembered a foreman in charge of the railroad's track laying gang who was a jolly fellow, and made friends easily. He was called "Bigfoot Wagoner". They decided on the name "Wagoner" for the town. In 1890, Teague was appointed post master, and the town of Wagoner was formed in the Creek Nation, Indian Territory.^[2] That same year Joe married his first wife Lucinda Alice Roundtree on November 18, 1890 in Muscogee, Creek Nation, Indian Terrority.^[3]

Joe was commissioned as United States Deputy Marshal for the Western District Court of Arkansas in Fort Smith on August 17, 1892. He served under Marshal Jacob Yoes and worked in the Northern District of the Indian Territory for the Muscogee Court.^[4]

One of the stories Joe told from his years as a deputy marshal was how he stopped the Dalton Gang from robbing a train with no gun. He had known the Daltons for years before they became outlaws. One day while traveling on the Missouri Pacific Railroad as a passenger between Wagoner and Fort Gibson. The Dalton Gang boarded the train at the Coreta Switch with the intent to rob the train. Joe immediately recognized them, left his seat and approached them, where Bob Dalton asked him "What are you doing here, Joe?". Joe replied, "I am the United States deputy marshal of this district, and you can't hold up this train unless you kill me first." Silence reigned for a minute before Emmett Dalton said "All right, Joe, we quit." At the next stop, the Dalton Gang left the train without robbing anyone. The Dalton Gang never attempted to rob a train or bank robbery in the Wagoner district while Joe was the deputy marshal.^[2]

While stopping the Dalton Gang with no gun was a story to be proud of, there was also a story about an embarrassing train robbery. On October 20, 1894, he was again a passenger on the Missouri Pacific Railroad, when again a gang boarded the train to rob it. That Saturday, the Cook Gang threw the switch at Correcta just as the train arrived, directing the train into some parked cars on the side track. The gang began firing and rushed the cars and shot railroad agent Jack Mahara and Walter Barnes of Van Buren, Arkansas. Special Officers Helmic and Dickson, of the Missouri Pacific, and Deputy Marshals Heck Thomas, Hick Bruner, and Joe Casaver, who were on the train, were surrounded by bandits before they could react. The gang looted the safe, and robbed the passengers, while the marshals were helpless to stop them. They stole Joe Casaver's watch and six shooter. The train was a total wreck, the engine car badly damaged, and all the windows shot out in the passenger cars. This is one story, the officers probably didn't want told.^[5]

He was the first to arrest Henry Starr, an outlaw who later became one of the notorious figures in the wild west. He caught Henry stealing a hog. Henry was still a teenager, and his mother, Mrs. Starr, cried and took on so that he felt sorry for her. He persuaded Judge Parker to release him, being it was his first offense. Judge Parker agreed he might have learned his lesson and turned his life around, but as things turned out, they were both wrong.^[2]

Joe's first wife Lucinda died in 1897. During their marriage, he had three children, but they all died at a young age.^[6] He married Sarah "Bettie" Elizabeth Barber on December 30, 1899 in Musokogee, Creek Nation, Indian Territory.^[7] After his second marriage, he began farming to earn a living. He owned his farm and continued to live on Clinton Place in Wagoner, Creek Nation, Indian Territory.^[8]

Joe became the first Mayor of Wagoner, he established the first telephone wires into the city, he established the first electric light plant and the first ice plant in the Indian Territory. While mayor, he organized the first white public school in the Indian Territory.^[2] He opened the Wagoner Drug Store, which he later sold to the Santee Brothers on November 8, 1900.^[9]

In 1910, he opened his own real estate office.^[10]

In 1920, he lived in Blue Mount Township, Wagoner County, Oklahoma. He owned his farm with a mortgage and farmed to earn a living.^[11]

Later, he moved back to Wagoner and lived on Cherokee Street. He rented his home for $40 a month.^[12]

Joe died unexpectedly a few minutes after having breakfast on December 5, 1938, in Wagoner, Wagoner County, Oklahoma.^[13] He was buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Wagoner, Wagoner County, Oklahoma.^[14]

TimeLine

Birth 1864

Joseph Charles Casaver Sr was born on August 1, 1864 in Ohio.^[1]

Residence 1880

Joseph Charles Casaver Sr lived at 419 Grand Street in Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio.^[1]

Residence 1888

Joseph Charles Casaver Sr lived in Creek Nation, Indian Territory.^[2]

Marriage 1890

Joseph Charles Casaver Sr married his first wife Lucinda Alice Roundtree on November 18, 1890 in Muscogee, Creek Nation, Indian Terrority.^[3]

Death of Wife

Joseph Charles Casaver Sr wife Lucinda Alice Casaver (Roundtree) died on June 19, 1897 in Wagoner, Creek Nation, Indian Territory.^[6]

Marriage 1899

Joseph Charles Casaver Sr married Sarah "Bettie" Elizabeth Barber on December 30, 1899 in Musokogee, Creek Nation, Indian Territory.^[7]

Residence 1900

Joseph Charles Casaver Sr lived on Clinton Place in Wagoner, Creek Nation, Indian Territory.^[8]

Residence 1910

Joseph Charles Casaver Sr lived in Wagoner, Wagoner County, Oklahoma.^[10]

Residence 1920

Joseph Charles Casaver Sr lived in Blue Mount Township, Wagoner County, Oklahoma.^[11]

Residence 1930

Joseph Charles Casaver Sr lived on Cherokee Street in Wagoner, Wagoner County, Oklahoma.^[12]

Death 1938

Joseph Charles Casaver Sr died on December 5, 1938 in Wagoner, Wagoner County, Oklahoma.^[13]

Burial

Joseph Charles Casaver Sr was buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Wagoner, Wagoner County, Oklahoma.^[14]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} 1880 United States Federal Census: Year: 1880; Census Place: Toledo, Lucas, Ohio; Roll: 1043; Page: 355A; Enumeration District: 042 Ancestry Record 6742 #26202716
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5} Newspaper Clipping, The Davis News, Davis, Oklahoma, Thursday, September 12, 1935, Page 10. "Casaver Stopped the Daltons without a Gun." Accessed 12 Sep 2022
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Oklahoma, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1890-1995: Ancestry.com. Oklahoma, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1890-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data: Marriage Records. Oklahoma Marriages. Various Oklahoma County marriage collections. Ancestry Record 61379 #63460943
4. ↑ King, Robert E.. The Marshal's Force: Biographies of Oklahoma & Indian Territory Marshals & Deputies. United States: Robert E. King, (n.d.).
5. ↑ Newspaper Clipping, Enid Wave-Democrat, Enid, Oklahoma, Saturday 27 Oct 1894, Page 9. "Work Boldly Done - Details of the Latest Exploits of the Cook Bandits - Five Officers Surprised." Accessed 12 Sep 2022
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Burial: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35548290/lucinda-alice-casaver: accessed 12 September 2022), memorial page for Lucinda Alice Roundtree Casaver (9 Apr 1872–19 Jun 1897), Find A Grave: Memorial #35548290, citing Elmwood Cemetery, Wagoner, Wagoner County, Oklahoma, USA; Maintained by Robin Rountree-Key (contributor 49798724) .
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Oklahoma, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1890-1995: Ancestry.com. Oklahoma, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1890-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data: Marriage Records. Oklahoma Marriages. Various Oklahoma County marriage collections. Ancestry Record 61379 #63750276
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} 1900 United States Federal Census: Year: 1900; Census Place: Wagoner, Creek Nation, Indian Territory; Roll: 1853; Page: 1; Enumeration District: 0050; FHL microfilm: 1241853 Ancestry Record 7602 #75116636
9. ↑ Newspaper Clipping, The Record-Democrat, Wagoner, Oklahoma, Thursday 8 Nov. 1900, Page 5. "Casaver Sells Wagoner Drug Store." Accessed 12 Sep 2022
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} 1910 United States Federal Census: Year: 1910; Census Place: Wagoner Ward 3, Wagoner, Oklahoma; Roll: T624_1277; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 0250; FHL microfilm: 1375290 Ancestry Record 7884 #23216134
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} 1920 United States Federal Census: Year: 1920; Census Place: Blue Mound, Wagoner, Oklahoma; Roll: T625_1483; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 170 Ancestry Record 6061 #99102348
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} 1930 United States Federal Census: Year: 1930; Census Place: Wagoner, Wagoner, Oklahoma; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 0024; FHL microfilm: 2341671 Ancestry Record 6224 #95418802
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1} Newspaper Clipping, The Wagoner Tribune, Wagoner, Oklahoma. Tuesday, Dec. 6, 1938, Page 1. "Joseph Charles Wagoner Sr Obituary." Accessed 12 Sep 2022
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} Burial: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35548232/joseph-c-casaver: accessed 12 September 2022), memorial page for Joseph C. Casaver Sr. (1864–5 Dec 1938), Find A Grave: Memorial #35548232, citing Elmwood Cemetery, Wagoner, Wagoner County, Oklahoma, USA; Maintained by Joyce Hoffman (contributor 47096755) .