Harriet Johnston
Our grandmother Harriet Johnston was born 9 November 1905 in probably Haileyville (Indian Territory), Oklahoma. She was the first of two daughters to parents Ernest W. and Hattie (Fleeman) Johnston. Her sister, Sula, was born approximately ten years later, so Harriet had her parents’ full attention! Harriet grew up in Chelsea, OK. Ernest was a proprietor of a clothing store there, likely taking advantage of the economic boom Chelsea was experiencing at the time due to the establishment of the first oil well, Chelsea-Alluwe field, situated southwest of Chelsea. Oil production boomed during the early 1900s and peaked circa 1916.
The first oil well in Oklahoma:
In 1884 the Cherokee Nation had passed a law that authorized the creation of a company “for the purpose of finding petroleum, or rock oil, and thus increasing the revenue of the Cherokee Nation”.In 1889, Edward Byrd, a “wildcatter (a wildcatter is a person who drills “wildcat” wells, which are essentially exploration oil wells drilled in new areas) obtained a lease to search for oil from the Cherokee Nation and drilled his first well near Chelsea in 1890. He was lucky and struck oil at a depth of only 36 feet. The well produced half a barrel a day, and became the Chelsea-Alluwe oil field, which would eventually transform the economy of Chelsea and, more broadly, Oklahoma. After this great oil discovery, Byrd formed the U.S. Oil and Gas Company.
Excerpt from theroute66.com article about Chelsea
Orthus Knighton Lewis
Our grandfather Orthus Knighton Lewis was born 23 February 1904 in Oklahoma (probably in Creek Nation, Indian Territory) to parents Alonzo “Lon” Lewis and Daisy Oleva “Leva” (Thompson) Lewis. Orthus grew up in the area with his siblings: older brother Phocion, older sister Velma, and younger sisters Mary and Nell. In 1919, Orthus graduated from Broken Arrow high school along with a tiny class of 18 other kids, including his sister Velma.
Marriage
Between 1919 and 1939 (can you please provide date and location?), Orthus married Harriet. Together Orthus and Harriet had the following children:
- Mary (x-x)
- ?
Orthus and Harriet frequently moved around the southwestern United States for Orthus’ work as a business manager for Burroughs Corporation. In 1939, the family was living in Oklahoma City. In 1948, they lived in Amarillo, TX and then in 1951, the family was living in Little Rock, AR.
Orthus died in Tarrant County, Texas on 10 January 1961. Harriet passed away in Bexar City (San Antonio), Texas on 16 June 1977 and was buried at Porter Loring Mortuary.
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