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Logan Autran Wilhite
Vol. 3 Page 1921

     A practical and experienced newspaper man and an expert follower of the old and
honored trade of printing, Logan Autran Wilhite, foreman of the printing plant of the
Daily Pioneer, at Alva, Oklahoma, has passed his entire life in this calling.  He has
followed his occupation in various places, and on several occasions has been the
proprietor of newspapers, but since 1898 has made his home at Alva and is well known
among newspaper men of Woods County.

     Mr. Wilhite is a Missourian by nativity, born at Slater, Saline County, Missouri,
September 30, 1875, a son of Daniel C. and Mary F. (Maupin) Wilhite.  His father was
born in that county, November 20, 1844, and was a mere lad when the Civil war came on,
but enlisted in the Seventh Missouri Cavalry, and served therewith for 3 ½ years.  He
took part in numerous battles and had many escapes from death, on one occasion having
his horse shot from under him, while later he was seriously wounded in the right leg.  His
military career finished, he returned to Saline County, Missouri, where he gradually
drifted into building and contracting, vocations which he continued to follow throughout
the remainder of his life.  Mr. Wilhite prosecuted his activities at Slater until 1886, in
which year he removed with his family to Wichita, Kansas, which city was then
experiencing an e3xtensive boom, and where he had his full share of the many building
contracts that were being left.  A number of the structures erected by him still stand as
monuments to his skill and honest workmanship.  In 1900, Mr. Wilhite removed to Alva,
Oklahoma, where he purchased city property, and here continued to make his home until
his death, which occurred July 6, 1906.  Soon after coming to Alva, Mr. Wilhite became
recognized as a progressive citizen, who stood for the strict enforcement of the law and
took a keen interest in the town's advancement, and in 1903 and 1904 was elected police
judge, a position in which he fully vindicated the trust and confidence reposed in him.
He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, as well as of the Grand
Army of the Republic, and never lost interest in the welfare of his old army comrades.
Throughout his life he remained true to the teachings of the Christian Church.  Mr.
Wilhite was married in 1864 to Mary F. Maupin, who was born October 20, 1843, in
Virginia, and died at Alva, Oklahoma, December 25, 1908.  She was an active worker in
the movements of the Christian Church, was a woman of many excellencies of mind and
heart, and her memory is still revered by those who knew her.  Four daughters and three
sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Wilhite, namely: Fannie L., Paschal E., Ollie B., Hubert
R., Logan A., Lilla M. and Bertha C.

     Logan A. Wilhite was eight years of age when the family moved to Wichita, Kansas,
and there, in the public schools, he completed his education.  He was fifteen years of age
at the time he began to learn the trade of printer, starting in the lowly position of "devil"
in the office of the Hazelton Express, at Hazelton, Kansas, his brother-in-law, w. F.
Hatfield, being the publisher of that newspaper.  Since that time Mr. Wilhite has
continued to devote his attention unreservedly to the same line of business, although in
various localities.  In 1895 he came to Oklahoma, locating at Taloga, Dewey County,
where he became editor and owner of the Advocate, but after one year disposed of his
interests therein and went to Higgins, Texas, where he became editor and owner of the
Higgins News, which he published for two years.  During one year of this time he also
served in the capacity of postmaster of Higgins.  Returning to Oklahoma in 1898, Mr.
Wilhite located at Alva, where he again associated himself with his brother-in-law, Mr.
Hatfield, who was publishing the Pioneer, Mr. Wilhite being made foreman of the plant
and remaining as such until March 16, 1911, when he began the publication of the
Morning Times, the first morning newspaper to be published at Alva.  This is conducted
by the firm of Eubank & Wilhite until 1914, when Mr. Wilhite disposed of his interests in
it and returned to the Daily Pioneer, as foreman of the plant, this publication now being
owned and edited by W. D. Wilkinson.  Mr. Wilhite has had broad and varied experience
in his work, and is considered a thorough master of the art of printing.  He is a republican
in his political views, but has never sought public office, with the exception of his year as
postmaster in Texas, under the administration of the late President McKinley.

     Mr. Wilhite was married April 22, 1897, to Miss Edna M. Elder, who was born June
16, 1878, at Slater, Missouri, daughter of A. J. and Elizabeth (McMahan) Elder, of that
city.  Mr. and Mrs. Wilhite have three children:  Logan Errol, born July 6, 1898; Gerald
A., born June 24, 1903; and Daniel Calvin, born June 4, 1908.

     Mr. Wilhite is an active member of the Christian Church and graduated with a class of
nine in Standard Bible work in 1916.

Transcribed for OKGenWeb by Norma Capehart March 6, 2003.

SOURCE: Thoburn, Joseph B., A Standard History of Oklahoma, An
Authentic Narrative of its Development, 5 v. (Chicago, New York: The
American Historical Society, 1916).