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Tall Tales & True Stories 

The Tale of Grandad's Horse:  The Kennedy & Hawkins families in the OK Land Run

 

 

Photo and story from John Deward Pruitt, great-grandson of Jesse Merritt Spalding and Penelope Melton Spalding.


They had to make the Run which was on April 22, 1889 (I think) at 12 noon. But under law you are not the OWNER until you have occupied your claim for at least five years unless you are a War Veteran. . . . I have the final papers in front of me right now--Elijah C. Hawkins/December 4, 1894, cert. #12445 land description is Northwest corner of Section 30 township 18 Range 1 East. 160 Acres. That would have been five years (and a few months) before he had Title. So they did come on the run of '89, that is an undisputed fact. Who will ever know if they were Sooners or not.


I was told that James Kennedy and his son Roy got their claim off a Sooner. Granddad Kennedy (as I called him) told me that when they were going to stake their claim they noticed a marker and were going to ride out fast to find another, when a man came out of the bushes and told James Kennedy that he was going back east as soon as he could trade his claim for a good horse as his had up and died on him. Then he looked over Roy's horse and said: "That mare your little boy's riding looks like a fine horse, would you trade it?" James said: "You're a Sooner for sure and I can prove it! Your mount has been dead for more than a day and you look like you're starving. I believe I could take your claim without giving you my son's horse and still win title." The man replied: "It would take time and if you take it now before someone else rides up, it will be over and legal seeing how you got here first officially. If I had money, I would even pay for the mare." So he took Roy's mare and they never seen him again. Granddad told me: " I was only about 7 or so, and I thought I was going to cry when he took my horse, but I didn't, he took my saddle, too. But Dad got the land he wanted, so I knew that was more important than a kid's horse, but I was none too happy about it."

P.S. The land that Jesse (Spalding) bought and Elijah ran on is fact. No guessing or tales handed down, except my tale of Roy's horse, I will just accept it as the truth. That he made the run and had title is a fact. I have the papers. It is so much fun to have both.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

J.T. Kennedy in picture of "Survivors of the Run."