W. Tate Brady
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
January 20, 1870
Cherokee Nation (after 1895)
Wyatt Tate Brady | |
|---|---|
 Wyatt Tate Brady | |
| Born | Wyatt Tate Brady January 20, 1870 Forest City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | August 29, 1925 (aged 55) Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. |
Resting place | Oaklawn Cemetery, Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Citizenship | American Cherokee Nation (after 1895) |
| Occupations | Merchant, entrepreneur, politician |
| Known for | Founder of Tulsa, Member of Oklahoma Bar Association, Klansman, Chairman United Confederate Veterans 28th Annual Reunion |
Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Rachel Davis (m. 1895) |
| Children | 5 |
Wyatt Tate Brady (January 20, 1870 – August 29, 1925) was an American merchant, politician, former Ku Klux Klan member, and a founder of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Wyatt Tate Brady was born in Forrest City, Missouri on January 20, 1870. In 1890, he moved to Tulsa as a shoe salesman and opened the town's first mercantile store. On April 10, 1895, Brady married Rachel Davis, a member of a prominent Cherokee family. After the marriage, Brady became a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and became a strong advocate for their claims against the United States.[1]
Founding Tulsa
In 1896, Brady and other prominent businessmen signed the charter to officially incorporate Tulsa in Indian Territory. Following the 1901 discovery of the Red Fork oil field, Brady began construction on the Brady Hotel in 1902. The hotel opened in 1903, taking advantage of the oil boom by providing a hotel for oil executives.[1] The 1905 discovery of the Glenn Pool further boosted the hotel’s popularity.[2] It also served as a meeting ground for the Democratic Party.[1]
In March 1905, Brady traveled the country on a train with about 100 civic leaders, a band, and Will Rogers to promote the city of Tulsa.[2] After statehood, he was named to the Democratic National Committee in 1907.[1] He supported many early Governors such as Charles N. Haskell and Robert L. Williams.[3][1]
Tulsa Outrage
In the lead up to the Tulsa Outrage, Brady served as a member of the Tulsa Home Guard. On November 6, 1917, Brady physically assaulted the owner of the Hotel Fox, E. L. Fox, for renting to the Industrial Workers of the World. According to eyewitness accounts conducted by L.A. Brown of the National Civil Liberties Bureau, Brady led a Knights of Liberty attack against IWW members on November 9, 1917, and personally whipped them. The next day, the Tulsa Daily World announces that the "Modern Ku Klux Klan" had come into being.[3][2]
Tulsa race massacre of 1921
Brady served as a night watchman during the 1921 Tulsa race massacre. He reportedly witnessed "five dead negroes" with one being dragged behind an automobile, with a rope about his neck, throughout the business district. After the massacre, Brady was appointed to the Tulsa Real Estate Exchange Commission which was tasked with assessing the property damage from the massacre. The commission planned to expand railroads in the area to segregate white and black parts of town writing "We further believe that the two races being divided by an industrial section will draw more distinctive lines between them and thereby eliminate the intermingling of the lower elements of the two races." The commission's plans were halted by the Supreme Court of Oklahoma.[2]