My great Grandpa. Several papers spell his name Oakey but most have it Okey.

5th great-grandson of Godfrey I and Mary Ragsdale

Newspaper article [sorry, don't know which one] "OAKEY AND CALLIE RAGSDALE. On April 22, 1889, a young man of nineteen raced across the Kansas border with hundreds of other homeseekers to stake out a claim in the Oklahoma Territory. He was Oakey Ragsdale, who was of Scotch-Irish and Welsh descent. His parents, James M. and Susan Wiley Ragsdale, had come from Kentucky following the close of the Civil War, and had settled in Kansas, where Oakey was born on November 9, 1870. Oakey made a second 'Run' when the Cherokee Outlet was opened in 1893. He did not keep his claims, however, and in 1894 we find him in Lawton."

Married Alice Calista Tousley July 29, 1893; they were the proud parents of eleven children.

Grandma's daddy heard that oil had been discovered in Tampico, Old Mexico, so in 1903 with five small children they boarded a train and headed south; they were back in Oklahoma in 1905 living near Foss. In 1910 Grace was born in a sod house at Foss. The family lived in Custer County about seven years. It was during this time that they became acquainted with many of the Indians. Roman Nose was a particular friend. The Indians often stopped by and helped themselves to Grandma's light bread. Once they traded her two dogs for two geese; she cringed but let the geese go rather than offend them.

By 1914 Grandpa & Grandma (with nine children) settled in Woodward County. They raised most of their food; having milk, cream, butter, cottage cheese, mince meat, sauerkraut, and fried sausage put up in two-quart jars. They also made their own peanut butter. Grandpa raised and butchered his own hogs and cured the meat; tanned leather, half-soled the worn-out shoes, and did his own black-smithing. Grandma made her own soap, called lye soap; washing clothes in a galvanized tub on a washboard. The children attended school at Webster and later at South Persimmon; and they walked, yes, a distance of two and one-half miles.

Grandpa is no longer looking for that perfect spot ... The Lord called, and he answered.