George W. Conover papers, 1880-1949 (bulk 1880-1915).Conover, George W., 1848-engThe collection consists of journals, financial documents, account books, correspondence, photographs and maps that document the professional and personal life of George W. Conover. The bulk of the material dates from the turn of the twentieth century, a time when Oklahoma was transitioning to statehood and the town of Andarko was founded. Conover's interactions with Caddo, Wichita, Delaware, Kiowa, Comanche and Apache Indians are documented in his financial records and journals. The collection also documents the distribution of land when the town of Andarko was founded in 1901. Conover's journals record daily personal and business activity and reflections on the death of his first wife Tomasa. Three printed maps (in broadside storage) depict Indian Territory, the Kiowa, Comanche and Apache Reservation, and the Wichita ReservationGeorge W. Conover (1848-1936), a native of Philadelphia, was a merchant, rancher and Indian agent in southwestern Oklahoma. From 1870 to 1873 he worked at the Indian commissary at Fort Sill, after which he moved to the area of Andarko to become a rancher, merchant and farmer. He published an autobiography, Sixty years in Southwest Oklahoma (Anadarko, Oklahoma, N. T. Plummer book and job printer, 1927), in 1927. He was married twice; his first wife Tomasa died in 1900 and he married Laura (née Smith) in 1901.Materials in English.