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The deadline to register to vote or update your voter registration for Oklahoma’s August 25 Runoff Primary election is Friday, July 31, State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax said today. Applicants can fill out an application using the OK Voter Portal’s voter registration “wizard.”

Front Row: Nick Jacob’s, Katlyn Flanagan and Hailey Ward, Cherekee Summers, Alex Proctor. Second Row: Jacob Gambler, Keeian Heneha, Kekoa White, Deondre Pigeon. Back Row: Austin Fife, Josh Harmon, Braydon Nguyen, Jayme Whitaker and Alec Proctor. Photo by Wanda Mankin

There were several outstanding Black men who served as Marshalls under federal Judge Isaac Parker at Fort Smith. Shortly after Judge Parker was sworn in as federal judge, blacks were recruited as Deputy U.S. Marshals working out of his court.

Rufus Cannon was commissioned on September 15, 1892 according to the Ft. Smith National Historic Site. He served directly out of Ft. Smith under Judge Parker. He was said to have been of African Cherokee origin and was familiar with many of the Cherokee native customs and the language.

Bass Reeves, was born in 1838 in Crawford County, Arkansas and died January 12, 1910 at Muskogee, Oklahoma. Reeves was one of the first deputy U.S. marshals of African descent in the American West.

Marguerite French in a photo on her 100 th birthday will be sitting for a new photo on her 104 th birth on August 18 th . Marguerite French, born August 18, 1916 in Clearview near her present home where she has lived her entire life.

Though working for Judge Isaac C. Parker, Bill Colbert worked mostly in Atoka, in the Choctaw Nation. He was primarily known to be quick to use his gun, and the Muskogee Phoenix did report two separate incidents where Colbert killed suspects who resisted being arrested by Colbert.

Often referred to as Neely Factor, this was a man of distinction in the Choctaw Nation. Factor was born in the Choctaw Nation, and was the son of Collin Factor and Mahala Factor.

This was one of the few black marshals who would later lose his life in this effort to bring order to Indian Territory. His career dates are not known, though it was believed to be short. It was further shortened when Garrett encountered the notorious Rufus Buck gang.

The son of a Black Chickasaw, and Black Creek, mother, Johnson was known to be a quiet reserved man who served as a Federal Marshall out of Ft. Smith for at least 14 years. He began working for Judge Parker about 1887, and received his last commission from Parker in 1896, the year of Parker’s death.