Doc Grisso "Land Dealer"

Several sections in the biographical sketch of Doc Grisso illustrate his interests.  Land Dealer, Road Builder, Rancher and Conservationist are included in The Grisso Family book.  I am writing this directly from the book.

     During the years, 1913 to 1926 Doc became more of a land dealer than a doctor or merchant.  He no longer practiced because another doctor had come to town and there were not enough patients for both of them.  In 1913 he had sold out his interest in the drugstore.  From that time on, Doc dealt solely in the buying and selling of land, leases, and livestock.

     As regards land, he had a theory that was a guidepost for him the rest of his life.  He regarded land as the basis of all wealth, and this viewpoint influenced his behavior in almost every endeavor in which he was involved.  It was during these years that he began to amass holding of land.  One of the principle ways he acquired land was to buy up any land that the Indians could legally sell.  There were certain legal requirements concerning the sale of Indian lands, and Doc became an expert on the subject.  At that time an Indian could not sell land that was a homestead; however, if the land was inherited, he could sell it.  Doc knew this fact and kept a close watch over any Indian lands that could be sold.  He was honest and fair with the Indians in a time when all white men were not.

     He had six interpreters who worked for him for many years, and they aided Doc greatly in his dealing with the Indians.  They knew he would not do anything illegal to the Indians.  A familiar sight to many of the residents of the Seminole area was Doc Grisso in his buggy, being driven by one  of his interpreters on his way out to check some land in what is now Seminole County.

     He was always studying maps and charts and land surveys, and in this manner he came to know more about the area than any other person.  He worked up a book constituting  a complete land survey of the county, which showed the detailed thoroughness of his methods.

     He also amassed a considerable amount of debts during this time.  He would borrow whatever was needed to increase his land holdings.  His home farm was a money maker, but much of what he made there went back into more land.  In 1926 there were rumors that Doc was going broke.  Indeed his debts had accumulated to $120,000. His sons, Horton, Bill, and Wayne were going to school on borrowed money.  It looked as if the world was about to cave in on Doc Grisso, and it was then that the oil gushers of 1926 began to come in, many of which were on his land.

     Seminole became know as the "Miracle City" and the "Oil Capital of the World"  Needless to say, the resourceful Doc Grisso did not go broke; quite to the contrary, it is estimated that he made three to four million dollars from the oil that was discovered on his land. 

W.E. Grisso (Part 2)

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.

William Edward "Doc" Grisso

I hope my readers are not tired of reading about "Doc" Grisso.  I have covered our trip to see the mansion in Seminole, Oklahoma in the following posts. Click on any blue title to catch-up or re-read.

Crossroads
Seminole, Oklahoma
Grisso Mansion
The tour goes on...
A Few More Pictures of the Grisso Mansion



The next few posts will be about Mr. Grisso himself.  This information is taken from The Grisso Family book. It was written in 1970 by Susan Garland, a granddaughter of W.E. Grisso, while a student at East Central State College.

Summary

She discusses the heritage of pioneers who impacted Oklahoma.

State Senator Allen G. Nichols says, "Doc was the best all-around citizen I have ever known.  He was a great individual and a very special friend."

Doc was interested in and a promoter of good roads, effective land conservation, cattle ranching, the improvement of pecan trees, the field of medicine, the oil business, the field of education, local and state government.

He was born in Vidette, Arkansas, on January 8, 1874. His father, Jacob, died when he was nine.

Even though the family was a poor farming family, three of five children became teachers, including Doc.

to be continued.......











         

 

A few more pictures of Grisso Mansion

My favorite room, of course



Main living room being set up for a reception. Maybe we should have a Grisso Reunion here.

I

Grand Staircase



Imported Tile

Minstrel Balconies

Another view of party room

Beautiful Carpet

 

Touring this house was definitely something to check off the bucket list.

Tour interruption

Today, I want to take a short break from the ongoing tour of the Grisso Mansion in Seminole, Oklahoma to wish my grandmother, Nina Lorene Smith Grisso, a happy 115 birthday.  Last year I wrote about her on her birthday.  See that post here... Happy Birthday Lorene Smith Grisso (1901-1984) I am also going to place another writing about her in the featured post section of this blog.

As I have been writing about this Oklahoma Oil Millionaire ( Doc Grisso), I have wondered if Grandpa Bert and Grandma Nina knew him or at least of him.  I assumed so since Bert and "Doc" were from the same county in Arkansas. There were four generations of  Grissos everywhere in Fulton, County, Arkansas.

One of my favorite treasures is a letter from Grandma Nina to her mother, Estella Smith.  The reason I like it so much is that it is signed "Mrs. Bert Grisso".  How excited she must have been to be married to Bert. The letter is postmarked from Baggs, Oklahoma.  I had been told that Bert and Nina went there on their honeymoon. I have started to wonder if they went there looking for work in a distant relatives oil fields.  However, when reading more about "Doc" Grisso, it appears that he may have been just about bankrupt when Bert and Nina made that trip.

While looking for one specific letter, I stopped to read a couple more I found.  This is the card Grandma Nina wrote to her parents on her wedding night.

 

                                         Des Moines, Ia

                                     Jan. 31, 1920

Dear Folks,
     We left Jefferson at 5:50 on the Milwaukee road and arrived here[Des Moines] about (9:00 p.m.  We will stay here till 7:30 a.m. tomorrow, and arrive in Kansas City about 3:00 o'clock and leave for West Plains about 5:00.
     We will make better connections by staying here tonight.

We didn't get a bit cold coming to Jefferson. Are alittle tired and sleep now tho!  We are staying at the Hotel Ivern tonight it is near the depot. and is a swell place.  I had my first ride on a elevator this evening. Ha.  Will write when we get to Moody.
 With love,
 Nina L. Grisso

And the tour goes on.....

The newspaper article which I consulted said...The Grisso mansion was completed in 1928 when Seminole City was still a boom town.  It was planned as the dream home of Grisso's wife, Margaret. 

The newspaper article was written in 1977 when Margaret was age 90 and still lived in the house.

We heard from our guide that Margaret, Maggie, was Doc Grisso's third wife. His first wife died as did his second.  Maggie had actually been attracted to Doc when they were kids back in Vidette, Arkansas. When he left that area, Maggie was only fourteen and unsuited (according to her parents) for marriage because of her age.  Years later when she was older, she traveled to Seminole and went to work at the post office. 

She came to Seminole to find him.  It looks like it worked. I also enjoyed the stories about the gas stoves.  She had carried all the wood she wanted. The contrast between growing up in the hills of the Ozarks and living in such a mansion in their life time is almost too hard to contemplate.

Back to the house. Let's go upstairs.

Four full bathrooms and three half-baths adjoin second floor bedrooms, with the master bedroom having its own sitting room, bath and dressing room.

Master Bedroom sitting area



Looking carefully at the pink wall behind the door, one can see the design of the bedroom walls. The backside of the door matches this pink design. The wood side or outside of the door matches the hallway. All the doors are like this.  They match the wall when closed.

The next post will continue with pictures of the mansion.  The beginning of this article which I have been referencing began as follows.

W.E. "Doc" Grisso , who made millions from Greater Seminole Oil Field productions in the 1920's put his money where his faith was, the future of Oklahoma.

His money and energy went into land - "the only real wealth," in his view - road building, education and some $750,000 into the home still known as the Grisso mansion.



 

The Grisso Mansion

I wonder why we are enamored with famous or wealthy relatives. I imagine we have as many horse thieves or convicts as we do rich and famous. Horse thieves might be fun to discover when they are from a hundred years ago, but recent day felons are not a topic for a genealogy blog. So, we stick with the rich and famous.

We learned many interesting tidbits while touring the mansion with the general manager. She told us she had dreamed of working in this house since she was a young girl. The Grisso Mansion was the talk and envy of several generations of Seminole citizens.

The backside of the mansion with the greenhouse on the right side of the photo.

The front side of this Italian designed mansion.

After returning home, I checked the pages of The Grisso Family book and found an article written in 1977 by someone named Mayme Moore. I do not know from which newspaper this was taken.  I will be using information (that in italics) from this article to describe this elegant 26 room house which was placed on the National Register of Historic Sites by the Department of the Interior in 1976.

Its 26 rooms, built around a courtyard-solarium, include 11,000 square feet of floor space.  Downstairs rooms include the entry hall with its cathedral ceiling, minstrel balconies and a grand staircase; living room, music room, a dining room 30 feet long and 20  feet wide, a breakfast room twice as large as an average kitchen, utility and storage.

One of our favorite stories told by the guide was about breakfast with the Grisso family.  The two youngest children were still at home when the family moved into the mansion.  At breakfast, the children were expected to be seated at the table by 7:00 a.m., completely groomed for the day, and ready to discuss the information in the daily newspaper which they would have already been expected to read.

Such details as marble window sills-except for those of ceramic tile in the bathrooms and kitchen- elaborate plumbing fixtures, an early type shower and heated towel rods give an idea of the quality of plannings.

Furnishings were personally chosen in New York City by Mrs. Grisso with guidance from her decorator.  Woods are dark and polished, the general style massive and elaborate, fabrics exquisite.  The living room carpet was hand-loomed in England.

This house tour is far from over.  We will continue in the next post.  Our guide told us that over the years, they are able to hear great stories from locals who have come to tour the home since it opened to the public. One fellow said he had worked for the Grisso's as one of the many groundskeepers for 20 years, yet he had never been in the house.