DAVID P. MARUM BiographyDAVID P. MARUM Biography
Judge Marum was born near Tuxedo, New York, in
1847; read law and was admitted to the bar in said state
residing at Brooklyn.
He was
descended from Dutch
ancestors that
settled in New York
when it was a
province
under the
jurisdiction of Holland. Coming west from Orange County,
New
York in the early 80's, at the opening of the Cherokee
Strip in 1893 he was
serving as
United States Commissioner
at Fort
Supply and also acting
as
commissary, clerk, Fort
Supply
then being a government post and an extensive
trade
being carried on from said
post with the Cheyenne, Arapaho
and Kiowa
Indians, it being the half-way point between
Fort Dodge
and Fort Reno. When the
fort was abandoned about 1895
Judge
Marum removed to Woodward and
engaged in the
practice of law. For a number
of years he was
associated
with the
late Temple
Houston in the practice of law under
the firm name of Houston, Marum &
Grant, which was a
leading law firm
in that part of the country. Having been
elected to
the Oklahoma
Territorial Senate (Council) he
introduced a
bill for
the establishment of what
is now
known as the Northwest Teachers College, which,
under his
leadership, was passed and
became a law.
Whilst not
being a
candidate for other
public
office he was ever
active as
a private citizen in
every movement for the
upbuilding of
that section of the
Territory and State of
Oklahoma,
practically devoting his life to the welfare of
the town
and city of
Woodward and Northwest Oklahoma. It
was mainly through his untiring efforts and
leadership
that many worth while
projects came to Woodward.
He was an active
supporter
of the movement to create
one state out of
Oklahoma
Territory
and
Indian Territory, having been an
active member of the "Razorbacks," an
organization founded
to promote said
statehood movement. When the statehood bill
was passed it
was signed by the
President with an eagle
quill furnished
by Judge
Marum and "dad" Nall,
another
Oklahoma northwest pioneer, the quill now being in
a
collection of the Oklahoma
Historical Society at Oklahoma City.
He was
especially active in
the
movement to
promote irrigation in the early days when
rain fall
was so small for
that section of the territory,
taking the
lead in
bringing about the holding
of the
Irrigation Congress in Woodward in 1909, which
wasp
looking toward the promotion of
an irrigation project for the panhandle
country.
In 1910 he was
manager of the
campaign of John J.
Gerlach for
Congress.
The Federal Building at
Woodward and the United
States Field
Station near there are monuments to his
untiring and consistent effort toward
the development of
that city and
country.
For the last nine
years of
his
life he was the
publisher and
editor of the Woodward
Democrat, being an
intensive thinker
and reader. Being an
unselfish man he gave the best years
of
his service and
thought without
financial reward, electing to serve his friends
and his
country rather than being
concerned as to material
things.
If he had
any living
relatives they were not
known. He was married at Tyler,
Texas, in
1897 and immediately brought his bride to
Woodward, who
lived only two years
and
is remembered as a gracious and
elegant woman. After her death he lived a life
of
reverence and devotion to her
memory. He died at the Main Avenue Hotel on
April 13th at
6:45 o'clock after a
brief illness, and is
buried at
Woodward,
Oklahoma.
The issue of the Woodward
Democrat of Friday May 31, 1929,
was
issued as a memorial to "David P. Marum, Western
Pioneer
and Outstanding
Citizen."
Source:
Chronicles of Oklahoma
Volume
8,
No.
3
September,
1930
Pages
352-353
Submitted by Linda
Craig
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