James Yancy Callahan (December 19, 1852 – May 3, 1935) was an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, and a

Delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (Unit ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from 1897 to 1899, representing the

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 was a member of the

Free Silver Free silver was a major economic policy issue in the United States in the late 19th-century. Its advocates were in favor of an expansionary monetary policy featuring the unlimited coinage of silver into money on-demand, as opposed to strict adhe ...

party, and is the only

third party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a Veh ...

politician to represent

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 ...

at the

federal level Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

Biography

Callahan was born near Salem, Dent County,

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, on December 19, 1852. He was reared on the farm where he was born, educated in the

common school A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretary o ...

s, and worked on a farm. He married Margaret Asbreen Mitchell on February 19, 1872, and they had eleven children, Agnes Elmer, Mary Magadelene, Rufus Omar, Anna Ida, Florence Palestine, Alvin Kenneth, Lillie Effie, Orville Palmer, Lacey Edith, Eunice Minnie, and Eris Carleton.

Career

Entering the

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

in the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1880, Callahan continued to engage in

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

pursuits,

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

ing, and

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

. In 1885 he moved to

Stanton County, Kansas Stanton County (standard abbreviation: ST) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the county population was 2,084. Its county seat is Johnson City, Kansas, Johns ...

, where he lived until 1892. In 1886, a year after he moved to Kansas, he was elected register of deeds for Stanton County. He was reelected in 1888 and served until December 1889, when he resigned and returned to Dent County, Missouri. In 1892 he moved to

Kingfisher County, Oklahoma Kingfisher County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 15,034. Its county seat is Kingfisher. The county was formed in 1890 and named Kingfisher by a vote of residents. The land was give ...

, settling near the town of

Kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

. He engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1896, Callahan was nominated for Congressional delegate from

, and was elected by a plurality of less than fifteen hundred, running on the

ticket to the

55th United States Congress The 55th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1897, to M ...

. He served from March 4, 1897 to March 3, 1899, but was not a candidate for re-nomination in

1898 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, B ...

. After leaving politics, Callahan relocated to Enid, Garfield County,

, where he published the ''Jacksonian'' until January 1, 1913. He retired from active business pursuits in 1913. He claimed to be healed of a chronic ulcer in 1923 after receiving prayer from Rev. P. C. Nelson, an Assemblies of God educator.

Death

Callahan resided in

Enid, Oklahoma Enid ( ) is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,308. Enid was founded during the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in the Land Run of 1893, a ...

until his death there on May 3, 1935 (age 82 years, 135 days). He is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

at Enid Cemetery.

References

External links

* A History of Oklahoma, by Joseph B. Throburn and Isaac M. Holcomb, Doub and Company San Francisco 1908 * Ex-Congressman Healed and Filled with Spirit, by P. C. Nelson. Enid, OK: Southwestern Press, 1932. *
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Callahan, James
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Callahan, James Yancy 1852 births 1935 deaths People from Dent County, Missouri People from Stanton County, Kansas People from Kingfisher County, Oklahoma Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma Territory Politicians from Enid, Oklahoma Silver Party politicians Oklahoma Silverites