By T.S. Akers
George W. Conover, c. 1875.
(Courtesy of the Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library.)
I have long been aware of my ancestors’ association with
Freemasonry in the Indian Territory, beginning with the establishment of the
first lodge at Tahlequah, Cherokee Nation, in 1848. Unfortunately, I know
nothing about my wife’s ancestry. Last November, when working to identify names
of prominent tribal citizens on lodge rolls, I came across a curious name on
the roster of Rush Springs Lodge No. 7. Conover, my wife’s maiden name, is an
uncommon name in Oklahoma and there on the roll was a George Washington
Conover. My wife’s father is an enrolled Comanche citizen and when I asked her
about this Conover, she said that must be the other Conovers, the non-Comanche
clan. The story she always relayed was that her Conover ancestor was adopted
into the Comanche Nation. When I began to dig further, it became clear that
George W. Conover married a woman who was originally a Comanche captive. And
thus began the Comanche line of the Conovers, my wife’s lineage.
The Conover family arrived in the New World in 1625 when Wolphert
Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven (1579-1662) of Amersfoort, Netherlands, immigrated to
New Amsterdam.[1]
In time, the surname was Americanized to Conover. The family later moved en
masse to New Jersey. George W. Conover was the second son of William H. Conover
(1810-1871) and Mary Ann V. McIntosh (1815-1889).[2] He was born on the 23rd of
April, 1848, whilst the family resided in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The elder
Conover was a cobbler and after two years moved the family back to Neshanic,
New Jersey. The American Civil War began as Conover became a teenager and at
the age of sixteen, he eagerly enlisted in Co. D of the 39th New Jersey
Infantry Regiment when it was formed in late September of 1864.[3] The regiment was first
attached to Benham’s Engineer Brigade in early October the same year and
temporarily assigned to work on the breastworks to the left of the Weldon
Railroad, a few miles south of Petersburg, Virginia. During the Siege of Petersburg, the
39th New Jersey captured Fort Mahone on the 2nd of April, 1865. The regiment
then engaged in the pursuit of Robert E. Lee, leading to the surrender of the
Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House on the 9th of April.[4]
The American Civil War concluded, George W. Conover was
mustered out of service as a private soldier at Alexendria, Virginia, in June
of 1865. Returning to New Jersey, he soon enlisted in the regular army on the
3rd of January, 1867. Following three weeks training at Governor’s Island, New
York, Conover was ordered to the 6th US Infantry Regiment, then headquartered
at Charleston, South Carolina. After his arrival in Charleston, Conover was
assigned to Co. E on Hilton Head Island. That June, companies B, H, E, and F of
the 6th US Infantry were dispatched to the Indian Territory. Conover’s Co. E
was to be posted to Fort Arbuckle, along with Co. F, whilst the other two
companies were bound for Fort Gibson. Traveling by rail to Memphis and then by
boat to Fort Smith, thus began Conover’s new odyssey on the frontier.[5]
In 1927 George W. Conover committed his life story to paper.
The volume titled Sixty Years in Southwest Oklahoma or the Autobiography of
George W. Conover provides interesting insights into life on the southern
Plains during the height of the Indian Wars. This scarce volume has frequently
been cited in scholarly articles on the subject printed in The Chronicles of
Oklahoma, published by the Oklahoma Historical Society. Conover dictated
the work to Frank W. Beach, his amanuensis, as Conover himself had lost his
eyesight in 1915, the result of the “wrong medicine” being employed during a procedure.[6]
Having arrived in the Indian Territory in the summer of
1867, the reality of the hardships frequently encountered on the frontier
quickly set in for George W. Conover. His detachment of the 6th US Infantry,
having crossed the Blue River en route to Fort Arbuckle in the Chickasaw
Nation, encamped along the Big Sandy Creek. Cholera quickly overtook the camp
with twenty-eight soldiers and one woman succumbing to the sickness. Wrapped in
army blankets, the dead were buried in shallow graves and left on the prairie.[7] Conover arrived at Fort
Arbuckle that July. The post, which was made of hewn logs, was the westernmost
active army installation in the Indian Territory at the time and was then
garrisoned by a few Troops of the 10th US Cavalry Regiment, the famed Buffalo
Soldiers. Upon his arrival, Conover was first detailed as a clerk to the post
adjutant and then, following the creation of a library, made post librarian. In
November of 1868, Conover’s Co. E, along with Troops D and L of the 10th US
Cavalry, were ordered further west to Fort Cobb.[8] That post had been
established in 1859 but was abandoned at the onset of the American Civil War.[9] The march to Fort Cobb
took Conover through Elm Springs, which became Erin Springs in 1875, a town
that would later become part of Conover’s life. The column located the ruins of
the fort west of present-day Anadarko and began construction of new quarters
and a stockade for defense.[10]
It was at Fort Arbuckle that George W. Conover first
encountered Comanches. The post-Civil War western boundary of the Chickasaw
Nation butted up against the Comancheria, or Comanche range. The Comanches had
long been practicing the taking of captives and frequently took white children
in Texas. For example, Quanah Parker’s own mother was a white captive.[11] During Conover’s time at
Fort Arbuckle, a Comanche band brought in two white captives, a boy and a girl.
It had been the practice of the federal government to offer payment in exchange
for captives, which made their taking good business for the Comanches. On the
march to Fort Cobb, another band of Comanches was encountered, who warned the
troops of a larger party of Indians in the area. That group, Conover estimated
to be between 1,500 and 2,000, and they objected to the army’s renewed
presence. He described them as being the “wild tribes in all their wild and
fantastic paraphernalia.”[12] This is likely a contrast
to the Five “Civilized” Tribes whose Nations comprised the Indian Territory
Conover had just come from. With the objections of this large party overcome,
the column did ultimately arrive at Fort Cobb. In addition to being engaged in
reconstructing that post, Conover also noted that he had his first experience
hunting buffalo at Fort Cobb. Of that he said, “…the chase was exciting and, in
some measure, dangerous and wild.”[13] Later in his volume,
Conover says the excitement elicited from hunting was among the best
features of the “old days.” He adds that deer, antelope, and turkey were
plentiful, along with thousands of buffalo. Conover even had four encounters
with mountain lions.[14]
The storehouses of the Kiowa-Comanche Agency at Fort Sill.
(From the Wilbur S. Nye Collection.)
In March of 1869, George W. Conover’s company of the 6th US
Infantry Regiment was sent to Medicine Creek, roughly forty miles south of Fort
Cobb.[15] The 10th US Cavalry
Regiment, under the command of Colonel Benjamin H. Grierson, was already there,
having established Camp Wichita.[16] That summer, construction
began on what would become Fort Sill. Some of the first buildings erected
included accommodations for the Indian Commissary. This compound consisted of
two large buildings that featured ample storage and a council room. The establishment
of Fort Sill marked the end of Conover’s military career. When his enlistment
expired on the 3rd of January, 1870, Conover left the army as a commissary
sergeant. He immediately entered government service in the Indian Commissary.[17] With the implementation
of President Grant’s “Peace Policy” towards Indians, the Quakers lobbied for
their members to be selected as Indian Agents. In July of 1869, Lawrie Tatum, a
Quaker, received the appointment as agent for the Kiowa and Comanche.[18] The Quakers also erected
buildings near the government compound to provide for the Indians, including
accommodations for a doctor and a school.[19]
George W. Conover’s primary role in the Indian Commissary
was as a government storekeeper.[20] In this capacity, he was
responsible for dispensing rations every two weeks, which included beef, bacon,
flour, sugar, coffee, soap and tobacco. Under the Treaty of Medicine Lodge of
1867, which placed the Kiowas and Comanches onto a reservation, the tribes also
received certain annuity goods each year. These goods included cloth, beads,
tinware, knives, kettles, etc.[21] Understanding the
importance of communication, Conover also sought to learn the Comanche
language, which he considered the “court language” of the various tribes in the
region. Conover’s language lessons were proffered by Joseph Chandler, a farmer
who had married a Comanche captive. This allowed Conover to also serve as a
translator when called upon.[22] Lawrie Tatum resigned as
Indian Agent at Fort Sill in March of 1873, at which time James Haworth was
appointed agent.[23]
Conover continued under Haworth briefly, leaving government service that
August.[24] Conover’s time with the
Indian Commissary not only brought him into regular contact with Fort Sill’s
commander Colonel Grierson, but he also had occasion to meet General William T.
Sherman.[25]
The Chandler-Conover Cattle Brand.
(From Tomasa: The Tie that Binds, published in 1993.)
After leaving government service, George W. Conover remained
near Fort Sill for a time, briefly working for the government cattle
contractor, a Mr. Buckley. This marked the beginning of Conover’s career as a
cattleman, for he soon left Fort Sill to take charge of the Widow Chandler’s
ranch; Joseph Chandler having passed in January of 1873.[26] Chandler left behind his
wife Tomasa and four children.[27] The ranch was located on
the Little Washita River, roughly twenty-three miles northeast of Fort Sill. It
was here that Conover’s younger brother Andrew joined him from New Brunswick,
New Jersey, in 1874.[28] In time, the cattle
operation grew to over 3,200 head.[29] Conover married Tomasa
Chandler in 1875, and her personal story is quite interesting itself.[30]
Tomasa and her first husband Joseph Chandler around 1860.
Tomasa Chandler Conover, who was born around 1844, was taken
captive in Mexico by Comanches. She was brought by her captors to the Brazos
Agency in Texas in exchange for payment, at which time she was returned to
Mexico. Unfortunately, her family could not be located, and she was placed with
another who treated her as a slave.[31] Stealing a horse one
night during a Fandango, Tomasa and a boy in a similar plight made their way
north back to Texas, in search of the Comanches. At some point, the horse died,
and the pair subsisted off it for a time. It is said that Tomasa had a dream of
a trail leading to the Comanche camp; emaciated, they located the trail and
found their way home.[32] As a girl, a Comanche man
claimed Tomasa as his wife, but she refused to go with him when the time came.
With her band now in the vicinity of Fort Cobb and the Wichita Agency, Joseph
Chandler observed the refusal and paid the Comanche man two dollars and a
chicken to leave Tomasa alone. Tomasa and Chandler married shortly thereafter
in 1859.[33] Chandler had been allowed
by the federal government to settle in the area and operate a farm, about
twenty-two miles south of Fort Cobb on Chandler Creek, to provide foodstuffs
for the agency.[34]
The Chandlers were later given 320 acres on the Little Washita River, which is
the ranch where Chandler died in 1873.[35] Tomasa’s marriage to
George W. Conover yielded three sons: Andrew, William, and John.[36]
An 1873 Federal Plat of Township 5 North, Range 8 West. The Chandler-Conover Ranch was located in Sections 33 and 34.
In the summer of 1876, George W. Conover took the degrees of
Freemasonry in Elm Springs Lodge No. 7. That lodge, located in what had become
known as the town of Erin Springs in the Chickasaw Nation, had received a
dispensation to operate on the 21st of February that year. When the lodge was
duly chartered on the 5th of September, Conover would be listed as a charter
member.[37] Conover had passed
through Erin Springs when he first arrived in the Indian Territory in 1867 and
today the town and lodge are known as Rush Springs. Conover seems to have taken
an active interest in Freemasonry and makes mention of the Fraternity several
times in his autobiography. He first describes John Coyle, a native of
Scotland, who was the charter Worshipful Master of Elm Springs Lodge and later
Grand Master of Masons for the Indian Territory from 1894 to 1896.[38] Adding to the myth of
Indian Freemasonry, Conover also claims he observed “chiefs” giving the grip of
a Master Mason to federal officials whilst on business in Washington, D.C. He
refers to these as “secret salutations” that certain tribes had always possessed.[39] Conover also mentions the
famed army scout Sampson E. “Jack” Stillwell and his becoming a Master Mason in
Elm Springs Lodge.[40] Conover served Elm
Springs Lodge as Junior Warden and Senior Warden in 1877 and 1878 respectively
but never advanced to Worshipful Master.[41] He and his wife Tomasa
also joined Ella Morris Chapter No. 29 of the Order of the Eastern Star at
Chickasha after she converted to the Methodist Church in 1893.[42] Among his other
memberships, Conover was also counted amongst the Companions of Rush Springs
Chapter No. 16, Royal Arch Masons and the Sir Knights of DeMolay Commandery No.
4, Knights Templar (I.T.) at Chickasha. He took the degrees of the Scottish
Rite in the Valley of Wichita, Orient of Kansas.[43] Conover proudly lists
these memberships, along with the Grand Army of the Republic, in the last
sentence of his book.[44]
George W. Conover’s time in the American Southwest makes him
a contemporary of several individuals whose names are well known in the region
today, and he had opinions on them as well. Today, much is said of the Chisholm
Trail. This cattle trail was named for Jesse Chisholm in 1870, who operated a
trading post along its course west of present-day Oklahoma City.[45] Conover declares in his
autobiography “that there is no such trail,” adding that Chisholm was not a
trail maker. If anything, Conover felt the trail should have been called the
Red Blanket Trail for the Delaware Indian he claims piloted the first herd of
cattle north along the route, which passed near the Chandler-Conover Ranch.[46] Conover also spoke of the
famed Quanah Parker, who favored leasing Indian land to Texas cattle ranchers.
Conover was opposed to this and even accompanied a party of Indian headmen to
Washington, D.C. who were also opposed to the leases.[47] According to Conover,
Texas cattlemen had long been grazing their cattle on Indian lands, providing
sustenance to the Indians in exchange for not molesting the herds, which made
Indians dependent and not inclined to farm and ranch themselves.[48] The famed Texan, and
Freemason, Charles Goodnight was one of the noted ranchers supplying Quanah
Parker’s band of Comanche with beef in exchange for grazing rights.[49]
George W. Conover and his wife Tomasa moved from the ranch
on the Little Washita River in 1880 to Anadarko.[50] This was fortuitous, as
in 1892 the Jerome Commission forced allotment upon the Comanche Nation, and it
was commonplace for Indian allotments not to be near one’s given homestead. The
result was that each Comanche head of household received an allotment of 320
acres and dependents received 160 acres.[51] As the husband of a
Comanche citizen, Conover also received Comanche citizenship himself, which he
notes as having been adopted into the tribe. He indicates that he received
two-quarter sections (320 acres) through the Jerome Commission’s allotment
proceedings.[52]
Federal land patents show that Conover received the south half of section 22 of
Township 7 North, Range 10 West.[53] Tomasa received an
adjoining 160 acres of the southwest quarter of section 23.[54] This allotment would have
been roughly two miles south of Anadarko and fifteen miles from the
Chandler-Conover Ranch. A portion of the original ranch, located in sections 33
and 34 of Township 5 North, Range 8 West, was allotted to William H. Conover,
the second son of George W. Conover.[55] On the 6th of December,
1900, Tomasa passed away at the age of 55.[56] She was laid to rest next
to her first husband Joseph on what had been their ranch.[57] Conover gave up ranching
in 1901 and at that time became partners with Phil Romick at Anadarko in the
mercantile business.[58] One of the various
hardships of ranching included dealing with cattle rustlers. On one such
occasion, Conover and his own posse apprehended a group of rustlers and
delivered them to the guard house at Fort Sill. The ensuing trial required
Conover to personally journey to Fort Smith for an extended period, as the case
went before the famed Judge Isaac Parker.[59]
At Anadarko, George W. Conover only remained in the
mercantile business for four years. During this time, he married again to Laura
Smith in December of 1901, and the couple had two boys.[60] As was previously noted,
Conover lost his eyesight in 1915 and lived out his remaining years in
Anadarko. He transferred his lodge membership to Anadarko Lodge No. 21 in 1920.[61] The following year he
crossed the sands of India Temple, Ancient and Arabic Order of the Nobles of
the Mystic Shrine, at Oklahoma City on the 1st of July.[62] Conover passed away on
the 19th of January, 1936, and was laid to rest in Anadarko.[63] Truly the best way to
describe his life on the frontier, is as an odyssey. Conover was fortunate to observe
the American Southwest as it was originally intended; a wild land filled with
game before Manifest Destiny swept across the region. It is incredible to have
so much detail available on the life of one of the Indian Territory’s early Sir
Knights, a proud member of DeMolay Commandery No. 4, Knights Templar.
A dues card belonging to George W. Conover, issued by India Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
(From the author's collection.)
[1] “Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven,” Descendants
of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven, accessed February 16, 2025, https://sites.rootsweb.com/~conover/connet/connet-o/p3.htm#i279
[2] “William H. Conover,” Descendants of
Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven, accessed February 16, 2025, https://sites.rootsweb.com/~conover/connet/connet-o/p4783.htm#i478288.
[3] Conover George W, Private, Co. D, 39 NJ
Infantry; United States Records, Veterans Affair Master Index 1917-1940, Prior
War File, Record Group 15: National Archives, Washington, D.C.
[4] "39th Regiment, New Jersey Infantry,"
National Park Service: Battle Unit Details, accessed February 16, 2025, https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=UNJ0039RI.
[5] George W. Conover, Sixty Years in
Southwest Oklahoma: or The Autobiography of George W. Conover (Anadarko,
OK: N.T. Plummer, 1927), 2-3.
[6] Conover, foreword to Sixty Years in
Southwest Oklahoma.
[7] Conover, Sixty Years in Southwest Oklahoma,
4-5.
[9] L. Davis Norris, “Fort Cobb,” The
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, accessed February 26, 2025, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=FO029.
[10] Laura Smith Conover, Interview, December 31,
1937, United States, Works Progress Administration, Indian Pioneer Histories,
Vol. 20: 131-140.
[11] “Quanah Parker,” National Park Service: Santa
Fe National Historic Trail, last modified January 14, 2020,
https://www.nps.gov/people/quanah-parker.htm.
[12] Conover, Sixty Years in Southwest Oklahoma,
9-10.
[15] Laura Smith Conover, Interview.
[16] Lance Janda, “Fort Sill,” The Encyclopedia
of Oklahoma History and Culture, accessed February 16, 2025, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=FO038.
[17] Conover, Sixty Years in Southwest Oklahoma,
17-18.
[18] Brandon R. Burnette and Sharon L. Morrison, “Tatum,
Lawrie (1822-1900),” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture,
accessed February 16, 2025, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=TA013.
[19] Conover, Sixty Years in Southwest Oklahoma,
18.
[23] W.S. Nye, Carbine & Lance: The Story
of Old Fort Sill (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1969), 165.
[24] Laura Smith Conover, Interview.
[25] Conover, Sixty Years in Southwest Oklahoma,
29.
[27] Lillian Gassaway, Interview, December 31,
1937, United States, Works Progress Administration, Indian Pioneer Histories,
Vol. 105: 373-378.
[28] Conover, Sixty Years in Southwest Oklahoma,
118.
[30] Laura Smith Conover, Interview.
[31] Lillian Gassaway, Interview.
[32] "Tomasso Conover," The Chickasha
Daily Express (Chickasha, Indian Terr.), Dec. 19, 1900.
[33] Lillian Gassaway, Interview.
[34] Nye, Carbine & Lance, 28-29.
[35] "Tomasso Conover," The Chickasha
Daily Express.
[36] Lillian Gassaway, Interview.
[37] “Conover, George Washington” (member profile,
Grand Lodge of the State of Oklahoma).
[38] Conover, Sixty Years in Southwest Oklahoma,
72.
[41] “Conover, George Washington” (member profile,
Grand Lodge of the State of Oklahoma).
[42] "Tomasso Conover," The Chickasha
Daily Express.
[43] “Conover, George Washington” (member profile,
India Temple AAONMS).
[44] Conover, Sixty Years in Southwest Oklahoma,
129.
[45] Steven D. Dortch, "Chisholm Trail,"
The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, accessed February 16,
2025, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=CH045.
[46] Conover, Sixty Years in Southwest Oklahoma,
103-104.
[49] H. Allen Anderson, “Goodnight, Charles
(1836-1929),” Texas State Historical Association, last modified January
17, 2019, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/goodnight-charles.
[50] Laura Smith Conover, Interview.
[51] Clara Sue Kidwell, "Allotment," The
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, accessed February 16, 2025, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=AL011.
[52] Conover, Sixty Years in Southwest Oklahoma,
123.
[53] George W. Conover, "Land Patent,"
Oklahoma Territory, U.S. Patent 200, August 25, 1901.
[54] Tomasa Conover, “Land Patent,” Oklahoma
Territory, U.S. Patent 201, August 25, 1901.
[55] William H. Conover, “Land Patent,” Oklahoma
Territory, U.S. Patent 2079, August 25, 1901.
[56] "Resolutions on the Death of Mrs. G.W.
Conover," The Chickasha Daily Express (Chickasha, Indian Terr.),
Dec. 17, 1900.
[57] Lillian Gassaway, Interview.
[58] Conover, Sixty Years in Southwest Oklahoma,
123.
[61] “Conover, George Washington” (member profile,
Grand Lodge of the State of Oklahoma).
[62] “Conover, George Washington” (member profile,
India Temple AAONMS).
[63] “Conover, George Washington” (member profile,
Grand Lodge of the State of Oklahoma).
