Papers of the Alexander Mike family re Oklahoma oil leases, the Creek Colored Orphans Home [manuscript] 1902-1989

Muskogee, OK and elsewhere 1902-1989

Approximately 80 items ; 0.4 linear feet in one box

This is a PRELIMINARY RECORD. It may contain incorrect information. Please email catalog@folger.edu for assistance.

United States -- Oklahoma -- Muskogee, -- production place.

272945

From dealer's description: "Sale 2663 - Lot 235 (FAMILY PAPERS.) Papers of the Alexander Mike family re Oklahoma oil leases, the Creek Colored Orphans Home, and more. Approximately 80 items (0.4 linear feet) in one box; condition varies. Muskogee, OK and elsewhere, 1902-1989 Additional Details Alexander Hamilton Mike (1875-1976) lived in Muskogee, Indian Territory (later Oklahoma). Some sources give his birth year as 1864, but his 1898 Muskogee enrollment, 1906 marriage certificate, and most early census records show him as born circa 1875. In the 1900 census he is described as "Black," and in 1910 as one quarter Creek Indian and three quarters Negro. He was a cotton farmer in addition to serving as an educator. These family papers cover his property disputes with oil companies, his leadership of an orphan's home, and more. The collection includes two extensive documents relating to Mike's contested land claims: a 23-page printed Oklahoma Supreme Court legal brief for a case with Mike as plaintiff circa 1916; and a 72-page typescript abstract of his land title dated 1923. The legal case involved a forced sale due to debt in 1908, an exemption as a Freedman citizen of the Creek nation, and a highly irregular sheriff's sale that somehow did not involve the sheriff. The title abstract traces the history of Mike's land from the 1901 Muskogee allotment, through a 1904 contract with the Territorial Oil and Gas Company, the controversial 1914 sheriff's deed, a 1913 lease to the Pearl Oil Company, a 1920 lease to the Edna Petroleum Company, and much more. The recent book and film "Killers of the Flower Moon" depicted predators on the hunt for oil on Indian land in 1920s Oklahoma; these two documents seem to tell a similar narrative. Mike was the superintendent of the Creek Colored Orphans Home. His extensive ledger for the home, 1902-1906, is included in this lot. It is 11½ x 7 inches and runs to 86 manuscript pages, plus additional pages used later as a school notebook by his son Preston Mike (1910-1979); several leaves are completely or partially torn out. The entries list in detail the purchases for the school: food, cleaning supplies, clothing, hardware, and more, most of it from a handful of suppliers in Muscogee. On the second page is a list of four students headed "List of days of work done by boys." Some 1902 entries for lumber and hardware apparently relate to the construction of a new building. Several entries list payments to the home's small staff: a matron, a teacher, a cook, and a laborer are named on page 16. The food supply looks more palatable than you might expect for a 1902 orphanage: chickens, turkeys, sausage, fresh fruit, spices, even candy. An entry for shoes on page 31 names which student received each pair. The purchase of several books is enumerated on page 32, consisting entirely of the works of Shakespeare; "The Souls of Black Folks" by W.E.B. Du Bois; 7 books by Paul Laurence Dunbar; and "Up From Slavery" by Booker T. Washington. A book of check stubs from early 1904 also relates to the home. The collection includes other papers from Mike and several of his sons who emigrated to California, particularly William H. Mike (1912-2000). Highlights include: Two-page oral history report from 1973 titled "Alexander Hamilton Mike: A Century of History." It is accompanied by photocopies of documents from his life, including a Creek township map and his 1897-1905 teaching certificates. A worn family photo album with approximately 30 leaves, compiled circa the 1940s, including a 1945 V-Mail letter written by Sergeant Joe D. Mike from Belgium. 12 loose family photographs, circa 1900-1989, including two worn group shots presumably taken at the orphanage (one of them illustrated); and a composite photo titled "Manual Training High School Class of 1927" showing the principal and 50 students including two members of the Mike family, torn in half and quite worn. 10 V-Mails and a letter to A.H. Mike from his sons Joe, Jack, Alonzo, and Tony while serving in World War Two, including letters from the New Hebrides and Guam." Ordered from Swann Auction Galleries, D9720, 2024-03-21, Printed & Manuscript African Americana Mar 21, 2024 - Sale 2663, Lot. 235

272945