Frank Hilton Greer was an American journalist, Sooner, and politician from the U.S. state of

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

who founded the ''Daily State Capitol'' newspaper and served in the

Oklahoma Territorial Legislature The Oklahoma Territorial Legislature was the legislative branch of the government of the Oklahoma Territory. It was organized as a bicameral legislature with a territorial council and a territorial house of representatives.Brown, Kenny L.Oklahoma ...

between 1892 and 1894.

Early life and move to Oklahoma

Frank Hilton Greer was born on July 21, 1862, to Samuel W. Greer and Clothilda Hilton. Samuel was the superintendent of schools for

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 37,351. It is located on the west bank of t ...

and served as the

Kansas Territory The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...

superintendent of public instruction. He died in 1880, leaving Clothilda to move with her children to

Winfield, Kansas Winfield is a city and county seat of Cowley County, Kansas, United States. It is situated along the Walnut River in South Central Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 11,777. It is home to Southwestern College. Hi ...

to stay with her oldest child who owned the ''Winfield Courier''. Frank wanted his own newspaper and planned to move to

Oklahoma Territory The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as th ...

. He learned from railroad executives the future location of towns and planned to open a newspaper in Guthrie. He married Blanche Byers and then left for Oklahoma hiding on a freight train to stake his claim in the Unassigned Lands the day before the Land Run of 1889, making him a Sooner.

Oklahoma

Territory

Greer founded the ''Daily State Capitol'' in

Guthrie, Oklahoma Guthrie is a city and county seat in Logan County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City Metroplex. The population was 10,191 at the 2010 census, a 2.7 percent increase from the figure of 9,925 in the 2000 census. First kno ...

in 1889. The first three issues of the paper were printed in

and shipped to Oklahoma. He alo published the ''Weekly State Capital'' and the ''Oklahoma Farmer'' His papers propagandized for Guthrie and the settlement of

and became a leading influence in the Oklahoma Republican Party. His printing company, the State Capital Company, bought the first Linotype machine to be brought to the territory and built the Co-operative Publishing Company Building. He was elected to the

in 1892 and helped found the Oklahoma Historical Society, serving on its board from 1896 to 1906. He was a founder of the Oklahoma Territorial Press Association and president from 1904 to 1905.

Statehood and later life

Greer designed the official Territorial Seal for

, which was later incorporated into the Oklahoma State Seal. His first wife died in 1906 and he moved to Tulsa in 1911 where he married Laura Leigh Hanson. He worked for the Fourth

Liberty Loan A liberty bond (or liberty loan) was a war bond that was sold in the United States to support the Allied cause in World War I. Subscribing to the bonds became a symbol of patriotic duty in the United States and introduced the idea of financi ...

Campaign in Tulsa during World War I and died on August 8, 1933. He was

Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...

Legacy

He was adopted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 1982. The Oklahoma Chapter of the

Society of Professional Journalists The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, letter ...

named their lifetime achievement award after Greer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greer, Frank Hilton 1862 births 1933 deaths Episcopalians from Oklahoma Journalists from Kansas Journalists from Oklahoma Members of the Oklahoma Territorial Legislature Oklahoma Republicans People from Leavenworth, Kansas People from Oklahoma Territory