The story of Tuttle cannot be told without the story of the Chickasaw women who weathered loss, adapted to change, raised families, and passed down traditions that still live on today.
The story of Tuttle cannot be told without the story of the Chickasaw women who weathered loss, adapted to change, raised families, and passed down traditions that still live on today.
Among the first landowners in the Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, near present-day Tuttle were remarkable women whose strength, perseverance, and leadership helped shape the community. Their stories represent the resilience of Chickasaw families who endured tremendous change while building lives for future generations.
One of the most prominent families in the early Tuttle area was that of Chickasaw Nation Speaker of the House Benson Pikey and his wife, Katie (Brown) Pikey. In 1867, Benson helped establish the town of Silver City, located just north of present-day Tuttle. Together, Benson and Katie raised seven children:
Photo Curtesy of Betty Smith
- Francis Pikey Fryrear Higgins
- Molly Pikey Dobbs
- Minerva Pikey Cochran
- Sophia Amanda Pikey Pettenridge
- Montford Johnson Pikey
- Stonewall Jackson Pikey
- Thomas Benson Pikey
All of the Pikey children were born in a cabin on the Canadian River, just west of today’s Highway 4 bridge. After Benson’s death in 1895, Katie continued operating the family ranch and the well-known low-water crossing known as Pikey’s Crossing.
Several years later, she married Thomas Waldon and had two more daughters:
- Katherine Waldon Bassinger Stephens Hoover
- Delilah Waldon Hogland
Another influential Chickasaw family in the area was that of Judge Joseph Wolf and his wife, Jennie, of Ardmore, Indian Territory. They raised two daughters, Arnaca and Rachel Wolf.
Arnaca Wolf married Alexander Cochran around 1873 in Indian Territory. Together they built a life in the Tuttle area and raised six children:
- Martin Cochran
- Jennie Jane Cochran McDaniel
- Turner Cochran
- Nellie Cochran Waldon
- Ruth Cochran Britton
- Lettie Cochran
Alexander’s sister, Rachel Cochran Yates, was also part of this well-known Chickasaw family.
The stories of these families became even more closely intertwined when Martin Cochran, son of Arnaca and Alexander, married Minerva Pikey, daughter of Benson and Katie Pikey.
Like many Chickasaw families, the Pikeys experienced tremendous change during the allotment era. According to Homestead Patent Records, members of the family received their Chickasaw land allotments on September 5, 1905. Prior to allotment, the Pikey family cared for thousands of acres east of Tuttle. Because the Chickasaw people traditionally did not own individual plots of land, allotment reduced their ranch to only a fraction of the land they had once worked and occupied.
Martin and Minerva Cochran became the parents of a daughter, Zenobia Cochran. When Martin abandoned the family, Minerva raised Zenobia with the support of her relatives. Although Minerva’s life ended tragically at only 37 years of age, her courage and determination left a lasting mark on the generations that followed.
Zenobia grew into a gifted painter and accomplished seamstress. As a third-grade student at the El Meta Bond School in Minco, she and several cousins escaped the school’s harsh conditions by climbing a tall fence during a winter blizzard. Throughout her life, Zenobia became known in the Tuttle community for her involvement in local women’s clubs, her dedication to the Baptist Church, and the joy she brought to family and friends. She especially loved entertaining her grandchildren with her playful spirit and adventurous nature.
Zenobia married George Elmer Miller of Tuttle, and together they raised three children:
- Kenneth Miller
- Alexander Miller
- Edna Jestine Miller Welch
Their children were born on the family’s Chickasaw allotment east of Tuttle. They attended Waldon Elementary School, with Edna and Kenneth later graduating from Tuttle High School and Alex attending Blanchard High School. They grew up in the same community their grandparents had helped establish decades earlier.
Edna’s nickname was given to her by her Uncle “Mun,” Montford Pikey, and it perfectly reflected her generous and caring nature. Family and friends remember her as a loving wife, devoted mother, and faithful Christian woman who found joy in caring for others. She maintained a large vegetable garden, preserved her harvest through canning, and prepared countless home-cooked meals for her family. Her many talents included sewing, quilting, crocheting, knitting, beading, and cultivating beautiful flower gardens. These skills had been passed down through generations of Chickasaw women before her.
In 1943, Edna married a handsome young man from Newcastle, William Junior Welch (1924-1994). Together they shared 43 years of marriage while raising four children. A devoted Christian, Edna was a faithful member of Southern Hills Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, where she sang in the choir and treasured her Sunday School friendships. She was also a proud citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and remained active in the Oklahoma City Chickasaw Community Council until declining health limited her participation.
Today, the lives of Katie Pikey, Minerva Pikey Cochran, Zenobia Cochran Miller, and Edna Miller Welch serve as lasting reminders of the strength of Chickasaw women whose determination, faith, and devotion to family helped build the foundation of the Tuttle community. Their stories are not simply family histories. They are part of the larger story of Tuttle itself, woven through the land, the people, and the generations who continue to call this place home.
Photographs from the collection of Zenobia Miller and family history were provided by Betty Welch-Smith daughter of Edna Miller Welch, great-great-granddaughter of Benson and Katie Pikey and third great-granddaughter of Joseph and Jennie Wolf. Betty is the fifth generation to reside on the family’s original allotment near Tuttle and represents the seventh generation of her family to live in Indian Territory and Oklahoma.
How absolutely beautiful!, but not surprising.