Garvin County County Seat - Pauls Valley
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Mr. & Mrs. Samuel J. Garvin More on Garvin

Samuel J. Garvin

Samuel J. Garvin was born Jan. 28, 1844 (?) In Kentucky, the son of John and Mary (Stithe) Garvin.
At the outbreak of the Civil War he migrated to Colorado. He joined a freighting caravan headed for the Southwest. There were seven wagons loaded with merchandise and each pulled by five or six teams of oxen. They were owned by Henry Myers. Experience gained on this trip from Colorado east down the Santa Fe Trail fitted him for his years as a freighter in the Indian Territory.  
At Fort Arbuckle, he met and married an Indian girl, Susan Muncrief, and by so doing became an adopted member of the Chickasaw tribe. He gained control of large blocs of land, which were later relinquished when allotment by severalty was enacted.
He moved to Pauls Valley and operated a mercantile business. One of his employees was Walter J. Harris, who provides some clear impressions of the character of the namesake of Garvin County.   Mr. Harris regards Samuel Garvin as one of the best judges of character he has ever known - a man who could size up a customer's honesty, credit rating and future potentials with a glance. In the many years he worked for Garvin in his store and banks he does not recall this judgment ever causing his boss a loss.
Hard life as a freighter had been a good teacher,   Mr. Garvin became widely identified with the banking institutions of the area. With Calvin J. Grant, he first organized a private bank which was followed by the First National Bank of Pauls Valley, of which he was president at the time of his death on July 20, 1908. He was also president of the First National Bank of Maysville and a director and vice president of the State Bank of Elmore City. He was president of the Pauls Valley Mill and Elevator Company also, and retained extensive ranching interests.
He married Susan Muncrief in 1870. Their children were Lizzie, Robert, John, Birdie and Vivian. Samuel Garvin was a Mason, 32nd degree, Scottish Rite, Odd Fellow and a member of the Knights of Pythias.

(Taken from the Garvin County History book dated 1957.)

Mrs. Susan Garvin

Mrs. Susan Garvin, wife of Samuel Garvin and daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Muncrief, was born at Fort Arbuckle but established a residence at Pauls Valley after her marriage in 1870 to Mr. Garvin.
She platted and dedicated ‘Garvin Addition to Pauls Valley'.   She remembered as a child her parents defending their homestead against attacking Kiowa Indians who succeeded in burning a portion of their property and driving off their livestock.
Mrs. Garvin was a true pioneer and her influence in Pauls Valley was wholesome and progressive. She stood on the high red bluff at Purcell, Okla., and witnessed the opening of old Oklahoma and the run from that point on April 22, 1889. She gained state-wide publicity and prominence after the first World War for encouraging aviation and as often as she could, she made airplane rides with Earl Witten, son of Cody Witten, a lifelong friend of Mr. and Mrs. Garvin.

(Taken from the Garvin County History book dated 1957.)

Submitted by  Susie Williams

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