The Victory of Greenwood by Carlos A Moreno

Author:Carlos A Moreno
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Spark Collaborative
Published: 2021-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

George Monroe. Photo courtesy of Don Thompson.

17

Jake Simmons, Jr.

In March of 1982, journalist Jonathan Greenburg was on assignment from his editors at Forbes magazine to help compile names of the most wealthy people in the United States. Forbes wanted to create a “Forbes 400” list to compete with the “Fortune 500,” Fortune magazine’s list of the largest United States corporations (measured by total revenue). Warren Buffett has made the list every year since its first publication in 1982. The first Forbes 400 list included 12 billionaires. Daniel Ludwig, the most wealthy, made his fortune in the shipbuilding business and had a net worth estimated at $2 billion.

Greenberg and his fellow journalists on the project had a daunting task in front of them; not all wealthy individuals were eager to disclose their worth. Many protected their wealth by spreading it out amongst philanthropic organizations, offshore accounts, investments in land and other assets such as art or luxury cars, and complex networks of holding companies. Greenberg’s investigation eventually brought him to Oklahoma, which began losing its oil prominence (1982 marked the first revenue failure in the state’s history) but was still home to several wealthy oil magnates. He would put together a set of “suspect cards” of wealthy people, which he would take to bankers, employees, peers, and attorneys to every place he traveled. He presented his stack of suspect cards to senior board chairman of Western National Bank of Oklahoma, William Howard Taft Welch, asking if the banker knew anyone on the list and could verify their net worth. The 75-year old Welch, sitting across from Greenberg at a mahogany desk the journalist described as “large enough to land a helicopter on,” said that of course, he knew all of them. “You’re missing Jake Simmons,” the banker added, spitting chewing tobacco into his spittoon. “The colored fella who put Phillips into Africa. He’s a born trader — worth more than any of the names you got.”

Simmons’ Freedman Roots

Joseph Jacob Simmons, Jr. was born on January 17, 1901, in Sawokla, Indian Territory, now the town of Haskell. His father, the son of Creek Freedman Cow Tom, understood that owning land meant freedom and power. Cow Tom was born a slave of Checartha Yargee in Alabama. He is listed in the Mvskoke Creek Census of 1860 and is listed as a chief on the 1870 Loyal Creek Abstract. Given his nickname because of his skill in tending the cattle for his owner, Cow Tom also proved himself indispensable to Yargee as an interpreter. Tom was leased to serve General Thomas Jessup during the Second Seminole War. He was later given the status of chief by Oktars-sars-har-jo, Principal Chief of the clan of Upper Creeks. With his friend and fellow interpreter, Harry Island, Tom traveled to Washington after the Civil War to ensure that Freedmen would retain the rights of citizens within the Creek Nation granted to them in the 1866 Reconstruction Treaty.

Checartha Yargee and Cow Tom relocated to Indian Territory. Tom insured the safety of several hundred Africans who moved with the Creeks during the removal.

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