James Jackson McAlester
| James Jackson McAlester | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 2nd Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma | |
|
In office January 9, 1911 – January 11, 1915 |
|
| Governor | Lee Cruce |
| Preceded by | George W. Bellamy |
| Succeeded by | Martin E. Trapp |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 1, 1842 Sebastian County, Arkansas |
| Died | September 21, 1920 (aged 77) McAlester, Oklahoma |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Rebecca Burney |
| Profession | Confederate States Army captain, politician, coal mine owner, banker, merchant, United States Marshal and rancher |
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 (1911–1915).
He 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.
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.
McAlester House, J. J. McAlester's home in McAlester is on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma.
...
Wikipedia