An interview in Maysville OK, Oct 26, 1937 with Andrew J. Shirley  by Maruice R. Anderson...

I was born in 1861 in  Arkansas. I came to Indian Territory in 1886 and settled at a place called Postoak in the Chickasaw Nation.

I leased fifty acres of land and hauled the lumber from Denison Texas and built me a house and began farming. There was a gin and gist mill at Postoak, but there was no market for cotton at Postoak. I had to haul my cotton to Denison Texas. That was also where I had to get what few things I had to buy.  I did not have to buy many things. I raised everything we ate except meat.

Thee was plenty of deer, turkey, squirrel and rabbits and  the woods was full of quail, but in that time a quail was too small a thing to waste a shell on.

In 1887 Postoak was changed to the name of Emmitt. I hauled the first load of lumber from Denison Texas to build a store at Emmitt. Later, I do not remember what year, Emmitt was again changed to Milburn.

When I settled at Postaoak the Chickasaw Indians held their court at Tishomingo, the capital of the Chickasaw

There were no railroads in that part of the country then, there were stage lines. there was a stage line from Caddo to Tishoming and on north and west to Fort Sill. There was also one from Caddo to Denison Texas.

I believe the Sate Fe Railroad built north from Texas through the Chickasaw Nation in 1886.It was built north from Red River to Ardmore and on into where the Oklahoma City is now.

The stage line stopped from Caddo to Fort Sill in 1887. I farmed at Emmitt until 1894. At that time I moved to old Ada in the northeast part of the Chickasaw Nation and leased a farm there.

At that time Jeff Reed had a general merchandise store and was the postmaster; the post office was in this store. He told me he established the post office in 1890 and Ada was named for his daughter, Ada Reed.

I haven ever gone to any of the Indian Stomp dances, but I have been to their ballgames.

In that day and time, our main fun came once each year on the 4th of July. At that time there would be a big picnic given, sometimes it would start a day or two before the 4th and last three or four days after. The Indians would have a ball game each day and the white people would have a dance platform, and there would be dancing all day and night. There would be merry-go-round, pulled by a mule. It cost ten cents to ride the merry-go-round, and by the time they got it stopped it would be loaded down again. It took two men to stop it and the mule had to be well-trained, for if he happened to stumble and fall, it would be too bad. I saw one mule killed. The music on this swing was furnished by a man who played the fiddle. He would play for his rides and when he got tired there was always some else to take his place.

The Indians in their ball games would only wear breech-cloths and go without hats, right in the hot sun. There would be a bunch of Indians from one county playing another bunch from another county. At that time the Chickasaw Nation was divided into four counties. The used to throw the ball with a stick and were not allowed to touch the ball with their hands. There would be a pole in the center of the ground and when one would throw the ball with the stick and hit the pole, that counted one point for his side. I have seen them hit each other over the head with these sticks and someone would have to carry the injured person out.

When Ada started to build, I helped build the first building. New Ada was started in the middle of a large cotton field in 1900.There was a gin there and the man who had bought this gin had failed to pay for it, and the company the gin closed down. Jeff Reed came to me and wanted me to buy the gin, said the farmers owed him for gat owned it had it closed down. That left the farmers in a bad condition with plenty of cotton to be ginned and troceries and he could not get his money until their cotton was ginned. I told him I did not have enough money to buy a horse, let alone a gin. He said I did not need any money. He went on my note and I started in the gin business with about fifty dollars in money, but at the end of that fall, after the cotton was all ginned, I had paid for the gin and also bough a saw mill and sawed all the heavy timber that was used in building New Ada.

I ran the gin and sawmill a few years, sold out and went into the grocery business at New Ada. I stayed in the grocery business until 1909; at that time sold out and moved to Mayville and bought a gin there. I have lived a Mayville, Oklahoma since 1909.

Robert Shirley was a farmer and a Baptist minister. He established the New Bethel Church in Pontotoc Co. OK. The church and cemetery were north of Ada. OK. There is a "Shirley Cemetery" 2 1/2 miles  northeast of Sulpher, Murray Co. OK. "out in a pasture" in which a son of Robert and Safrona Shirley was buried.

Doctor Aaron and "Cansy" Bolin Shirley settled in Seminole Co. OK.

Andrew Jackson Shirley and family settled in 1886 at Postoak. the name Postoak changed to Emet in 1887. In 1900 Andrew  helped build Ada OK...ran a cotton gin and a sawmill, then a grocery store business at Ada. In 1909 he went to Maysville, Garvin Co. OK and bought a cotton gin. He was living in Maysville in 1937.

George Washington Shirley and his family went to Indian Territory. 

It is believed that Robert Shirley who was born about 1775 SC was the father of Aaron Shirley. In the 1850 census of Tuscaloosa Co. Alabama, Robert is living in the household of Aaron and Anna Cleveland Shirley.

Aaron Shirley applied for a land patent on 80 acres of government land in Big Creek Valley south of Mt. Judea in Newton Co. AR. The Land Office was at Fayetteville. He paid $100 fee with gold coin.

He acquired another 40 acres in 1859. These pieces of land adjoined.

In 1860 census they are still in Newton Co. AR. They were about 5 miles south of Mt. Judea.

In 1870 census of Newton Co. AR we find Anna (Cleveland), widow of Aaron Shirley and the four youngest children. Nearby are sons George Washington Shirley with his wife, Sultana and their five oldest children, Robert and Safrona Sshirley and their two children.  Mary A. Shirley Holt with a small daughter is living in her brother's household.

In 1880 Pope Co. AR (adjoins Newton Co), we find Robert and Safrona Ross Shirley and six children. Next door is Doctor Aaron Shirley with wife Arkansas "Cansy" and their  two children.  George Washington Shirley and his family were in Polk Co. AR.

Around 1886, Robert and Safrona and family, Doctor Aaron Shirley and family, and youngest brother Andrew Jackson Shirley and family went to Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory.

Robert Shirley was a farmer and a Baptist minister. He established the New Bethel Church in Pontotoc Co. OK. The church and cemetery were north of Ada. OK. There is a "Shirley Cemetery" 2 1/2 miles  northeast of Sulpher, Murray Co. OK. "out in a pasture" in which a son of Robert and Safrona Shirley was buried.

Doctor Aaron and "Cansy" Bolin Shirley settled in Seminole Co. OK.

Andrew Jackson Shirley and family settled in 1886 at Postoak. the name Postoak changed to Emet in 1887. In 1900 Andrew  helped build Ada OK...ran a cotton gin and a sawmill, then a grocery store business at Ada. In 1909 he went to Maysville, Garvin Co. OK and bought a cotton gin. He was living in Maysville in 1937.

George Washington Shirley and his family went to Indian Territory. They were living in Sequoyah Co. near Vian, in the Cherokee Nation in 1900. 

Name: John Worth Ellison
Birth: abt 1847 GA ?
Death: 2 May 1908 AR, Montgomery Co. Age: 61
Father: Elijah L. Ellison (1815-1883)
Mother: Julia Salethia Hamilton
Marriage: 1 Jun 1873

Spouse: Anna Shirley
Birth: abt 1851 of AR

Notes for Anna Shirley
Father: Aaron SHIRLEY b: Abt 1810 in Abbeville Co, SC
Mother: Anna CLEVELAND b: Abt 1816 in GA
Children and below information from from Shirley Assoc
http://www.shirleyassociation.com/NewShirleySite/association_welcome.html

8. Anna 1851 AL m. ___Ellison from Shirley Assoc
Aaron Shirley Haplogroup E3b b. ca1810. Lived South Carolina and Mississippi, Brother of Lewis Shirley branch #43 Aaron Shirley 1810 SC d. during the Civil War, buried in Holly Springs, Marshall Co. Mississippi. He married Anna Cleveland June 6, 1832 Tuscaloosa Co. Alabama. She was born in Georgia about 1816 and died about 1884 in Pope or Newton Co. AR. It is believed that Robert Shirley who was born about 1775 SC was the father of Aaron Shirley. In the 1850 census of Tuscaloosa Co. Alabama, Robert is living in the household of Aaron and Anna Cleveland Shirley. Aaron Shirley applied for a land patent on 80 acres of government land in Big Creek Valley south of Mt. Judea in Newton Co. AR. The Land Office was at Fayetteville. He paid $100 fee with gold coin. He acquired another 40 acres in 1859. These pieces of land adjoined. In 1860 census they are still in Newton Co. AR. They were about 5 miles south of Mt. Judea. In 1870 census of Newton Co. AR we find Anna (Cleveland), widow of Aaron Shirley and the four youngest children. Nearby are sons George Washington Shirley with his wife, Sultana and their five oldest children, Robert and Safrona Sshirley and their two children. Mary A. Shirley Holt with a small daughter is living in her brother's household.

Last Modified: 21 Oct 2008
Created: 21 Oct 2008

Tex & Linda Dix or Dick
305 Avalee Dr.
Brooks, GA 30205
texdix@gmail.com
http://www.dixhistory.com