J. J. McAlester

James Jackson McAlester (October 1, 1842 – September 21, 1920) was an American Confederate Army soldier and merchant. McAlester was the founder of McAlester, Oklahoma, as well as a primary developer of the coal mining industry in eastern Oklahoma. He served as the United States Marshal for Indian Territory (1893–1897), one of three members of the first Oklahoma Corporation Commission (1907–1911) and the second lieutenant governor of Oklahoma from 1911 to 1915.[1]

James Jackson McAlester
2nd Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma
In office
January 9, 1911  January 11, 1915
GovernorLee Cruce
Preceded byGeorge W. Bellamy
Succeeded byMartin E. Trapp
Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner
In office
1907  January 9, 1911
GovernorCharles N. Haskell
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byGeorge A. Henshaw
United States Marshal for Indian Territory
In office
1893–1897
Personal details
Born(1842-10-01)October 1, 1842
Sebastian County, Arkansas
DiedSeptember 21, 1920(1920-09-21) (aged 77)
McAlester, Oklahoma
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseRebecca Burney
ProfessionConfederate States Army captain, politician, coal mine owner, banker, merchant, United States Marshal and rancher

Biography

McAlester was born in Sebastian County, Arkansas, on October 1, 1842. He grew up in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. After the defeat of the Confederacy he returned to Ft. Smith where he met engineer Oliver Weldon who gave him details of the location of coal deposits in the Cross Roads area of Indian Territory (now the McAlester area of Oklahoma). In 1866 he went to the Choctaw Nation and worked as a trader to the Indians.[1]

On August 22, 1872, he married Rebecca Burney (born 1841 in Mississippi - died May 5, 1919, in Oklahoma) a member of the Chickasaw Nation. This made it possible for him to gain citizenship in and the right to own property in both the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations. Using the knowledge he had gotten from Weldon, he was able to make many lucrative coal claims in the area and to establish what eventually became McAlester Coal Mining Co. His trading company, J. J. McAlester Mercantile Company, was the company store for the miners since much of their pay was issued in the form of scrip redeemable only at J. J. McAlester Mercantile.[1]

McAlester House, J. J. McAlester's home in McAlester is on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma.[2]

As a member of the Democratic Party he was elected as Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma with 118,544 votes (49.3%), winning a relatively narrow election against Republican Gilbert Dukes with 94,621 votes (39.4%), as the Socialist candidate John G. Wills had reached nearly 10%. Thereby he continued to establish a long line of Democratic office holders, which lasted until 1995. During his tenure McAlester had the occasion to serve as "acting governor of Oklahoma, during the absence of Governor Lee Cruce from the state, as evidenced by a pardon he issued in 1915 in the case of Sibenaler v. State (1915 OK CR 45).[3]

He died on September 21, 1920, in McAlester.[1] Rebecca Burney predeceased him. They had four children, including a set of twin girls, all born in Indian Territory.[4]

Legacy

J. J. McAlester's store served as the basis for the store visited by U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn in the 1968 novel True Grit by Charles Portis (and the subsequent 1969 and 2010 feature film versions).[5]

Electoral history

1907 Oklahoma Corporation Commission elections[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic J.J. McAlester 132,373 54.7 New
Republican Patrick J. Dore 99,547 41.2 New
Socialist A.T. Reeves 9,639 3.9 New
Democratic gain from Swing N/A
Oklahoma lieutenant gubernatorial Democratic primary (August 2, 1910)[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic J.J. McAlester 33,064 30.2%
Democratic Frank P. Davis 24,104 22.0%
Democratic J. M. Postelle 14,747 13.4%
Democratic P. P. Duffy. 13,388 12.2%
Democratic P.J. Yeager 10,524 9.6%
Democratic Albert H. Ellis 9,699 8.8%
Democratic Robert L. Notson 3,870 3.5%
Turnout 109,396  
1910 Oklahoma lieutenant gubernatorial election[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic J.J. McAlester 118,544 49.3% -5.4%
Republican Gilbert W. Dukes 94,621 39.3% -2.0%
Socialist John G. Wills 23,974 9.9% +6.0%
Prohibition I.A. Briggs 3,136 1.3% New
Democratic hold Swing

References

  1. "McAlester, James Jackson (1842-1920),".Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, Oklahoma Historical Society, Accessed September 2, 2015.
  2. State Historic Preservation Office listing for McAlester House Archived 2010-06-22 at the Wayback Machine. - Oklahoma Center for Geospatial Information (OCGI) at Oklahoma State University.
  3. Sibenaler v State (1915 OK CR 45). - The Oklahoma Supreme Court Network. - 15 May 1915.
  4. Genealogy of Rebecca Burney
  5. Hoefling, Larry J. (2008). - "Pittsburg County". - Images of America. - Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. - pp.17-21. - ISBN 978-0-7385-5182-1.
  6. "1907-1912 Results" (PDF). oklahoma.gov. Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
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