It was a stroke of genius, when I realized I could just copy the pages about "Doc" Grisso from the biographical sketch in The Grisso Family book. Or so I thought.
Well, I guess I got the cart before the horse as the old cliché goes. The copy of these pages is rather difficult to read. For that I apologize. I will continue to include the copied page for those who might have a magnifying glass and the curiosity to read the actual document. Otherwise, I will summarize the parts I found interesting.
"Doc" Grisso attended teachers' college, taught for a few years, and then attended medical school. He was given a certificate to practice medicine around 1903.
After his medical school graduation, he was asked by neighbors, who were moving to Indian Territory, to drive a wagon for them. He decided to do so, and with three hundred dollars in his pocket (all of it borrowed) drove the wagon to Holdenville in Indian Territory.
He moved on to Tidmore and practiced medicine there. More often than not he would accept as payment for medical services most anything. He accepted cotton, corn, hay, cattle, pigs, etc.
He opened "The Seminole Drugstore" with Mr. John McGheehee.
The store carried general merchandise as well as drugs and medicines. Again, he found that most people could not pay cash for medical services or supplies. His barter system was such that his manner of transacting business gave him the reputation of being honest and fair. This was especially important for establishing a good relationship with the Indians who lived in the area.
The last paragraph is about his personal life. His first son, Walker Dixon Grisso, has the distinction of being the first white child born in Seminole, Oklahoma.
Never fear. There is more to come.
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