In the Shadows of Seminole County
33:36 Share

Mr. Harjo watched as his wife did the best she could do to nurse their child's fever. The cold air seeped in from the cracks of their cabin. His wife shivered while she held their daughter, and Mr. Harjo found another blanket and wrapped both of them with it. The Seminole man then moved towards the door and braced himself for the biting wind that would meet him on the other side. The journey into town was treacherous, especially in the middle of winter.

He had a horse but was forced to sell it in the fall to cover the taxes he owed on his property. Mr. Harjo pulled his coat tight and began the trek, one foot in front of the other. The air burned his lungs, but he knew that his daughter needed medicine. The plants and remedies he knew were no use in the strange land he found himself in. The journey made him think of his grandmother,

She had told him stories of his people walking barefoot in the snow while the United States government held rifles to their back. Once the Seminoles arrived in Indian territory, they were supposed to find peace and a new home, but all that waited on them was more broken promises. Mr. Harjo could see the buildings of the recently established town of Seminole on the horizon. The town was named after his tribe, but Seminole people weren't often welcomed there.

He continued on until he was just outside the door of the only drugstore in town. He pushed the door open and a brass bell rang out above his head. The wood stove inside called out to Mr. Harjo and he rushed to it, warming his old bones beside the fire. A skinny man walked out from a room in the back. Mr. Harjo recognized him as Doc Grisso. He polished his glasses with a piece of cloth before returning them to his head.

"Good morning," he said. "How can I help you?" "Elizwa," Mr. Harjo told him. "Oh dear, my translator is out at the moment. Let's see what we can do here." Doc Grisa went to the shelves and pulled several dark brown bottles down. "Tocnawa? Monks?" Mr. Harjo replied as he shook his head.

Well, if you don't have money, we can make arrangements. Doc Grisso put all of the bottles into a paper bag and handed it to Mr. Harjo. Come here, please. Mr. Harjo followed Doc Grisso to the counter, where he produced a piece of paper. Just sign right here, or make your mark. Doc Grisso pointed to a large X at the bottom of the document. Mr. Harjo looked at him with a furrowed brow. Uh, what is it? Chaho Jeevkadee?

Mr. Harjo nodded as he took the pen from Doc Grisso and scribbled on the paper. "And here," Doc Grisso pointed to another ex. "There you go. We're all set. Mundo!" Mr. Harjo said to the doctor as he left with the medicine in hand. Doc Grisso offered a wave in response and put the freshly signed documents in a drawer with the others. It was the third time this week he had given out medicine on credit.

The doctor went back to his office and packed a bowl of tobacco into his pipe. He lit it and leaned back in his chair, thinking about all the plans he had for the small community. The story of Mr. Harjo and Doc Grisso in this instance is fictional, but it is a scene that could have played out. Doc Grisso did exist, and in just a few years, he would become one of the wealthiest men in the United States.

The story of how he obtained his massive fortune is shrouded deep in mystery and pointed ethical questions. Was he a businessman ahead of his time or a con artist taking advantage of the people he claimed to serve? Rumors of a secret marriage, murder, land grabs, a haunted mansion, and the oil boom all take center stage in this dark chapter in Oklahoma's history.

The Seminole people found themselves in Indian territory, what would later become Oklahoma, after being forced from their homeland in Florida. The Seminoles were renowned warriors and known as the unconquered people because they never formally signed a peace treaty with the United States. The Seminoles fought in a series of three recorded conflicts. However, a Seminole person would tell you it was one long struggle that continues to this day.

The Second Seminole War was the longest and most expensive conflict the government ever had with a Native American tribe. The Seminole chief, Osceola, was captured under a false flag of truce during the war and died while in custody. Many historians believe that if Osceola had not died, the Seminole would have been successful in their continued resistance of removal.

However, after the Third Seminole War, the Seminole people were forced to relocate. The federal government sent them to Indian Territory where land was set aside for all tribes east of the Mississippi River. The Seminoles' journey to Indian Territory was one fraught with hardship, challenges, and cultural adjustments. The reality of settling in a new place away from their ancestral home and environment proved to be difficult beyond what they had imagined.

In Indian territory, the Seminoles found themselves surrounded by other tribes, each with their own traditions, histories, and grievances against the US government. There was a semblance of unity given their shared experiences of forced relocations, but their intertribal politics and land disputes sometimes brought tension. Amidst the efforts to rebuild and adapt the idea of land ownership brought outsiders like a moth to a flame.

settlers, businessmen, and land speculators saw the fertile plains of the Indian Territory as an opportunity for profit. The discovery of oil in the early 20th century would only heighten these interests, leading to even more pressures on tribal lands. The growth of towns spurred by economic prospects and increasing settler populations attracted all kinds of entrepreneurs. It was in this backdrop that individuals like Doc Grisso emerged.

William Edward Grisso, would become known as Doc Grisso. By all accounts, the young man was very well educated and determined to make his mark on the world. At only 14, his father died and as the eldest son, his mother told him he would be responsible for providing for the family. Grisso worked and went to school. Later, he would work as a teacher while also attending university.

He traveled to Indian Territory around 1904 to become the doctor at the Seminole Indian Mission. Grisso attended medical school at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The aspiring doctor only had two years of training, but due to high demand on the western frontier, he was allowed to take the position. Grisso was Red Letter certified and became a pharmacist without receiving a degree.

Doc Grisso originally lived in a small town called Tidmore. Around 1907, Indian Territory joined the Union as Oklahoma. At the same time, a railroad was established and most of the residents of Tidmore moved to a new plot of land that would become Seminole. Once he was in Seminole, Doc Grisso's ability as a trader started to become apparent. His education served him well in the community.

Most of the residents at the time didn't use money to secure goods and services, preferring to barter. Doc Grissa would accept cattle, swine, fowl, or other livestock as payment. Once he had a sufficient supply built up, he would ship the animals to Oklahoma City and be paid in cash. He seemed to be the only person in the small town that knew how to transport goods on a large scale, and this knowledge helped him to open the doors at the Seminole Drugstore.

Dr. Grisso also allowed the people of Seminole to receive goods or his medical services by taking out a line of credit with him. He would then go on to collect on those debts later. The early days of Dr. Grisso's career helped him to set the foundation for a comfortable life, but it would pale in comparison to the wealth he would accumulate later.

This episode is brought to you by Acorns. Imagine if every purchase you made could help build your financial future effortlessly. Thanks to Acorns, this is possible. Acorns makes it easy to start automatically saving and investing for you, your kids, and your retirement. You don't need a lot of money or expertise to invest with Acorns.

In fact, you can get started with just your spare change. Acorns recommends an expert-built portfolio that fits you and your money goals, then automatically invests your money for you. And now, Acorns is putting their money into your future.

Open an Acorns Later IRA and get up to a 3% match on new contributions. That's extra money for your retirement. It's easy, stress-free, and in my honest opinion, a smart move. Start small, dream big.

and let Acorns guide your financial future. Head to acorns.com slash crimehub or download the Acorns app to start saving and investing for your future today. Paid non-client endorsement. Compensation provides incentive to positively promote Acorns. Investing involves risk. Acorns Advisors LLC and SEC Registered Investment Advisor. View important disclosures at acorns.com slash crimehub.

Know exactly what's in stock.

and connect with customers inline and online with marketing tools that work seamlessly with TikTok, Instagram and more. Need hardware? Shopify has you covered. Accept payments on your smartphone, transform your tablet into a sleek POS system, or go mobile with Shopify's POS Go, designed for durability and speed.

Transcription by CastingWords

The story told in the Grisso family is that Doc was engaged prior to moving to Indian Territory.

Once he was established, he sent for his first love, Ollie Dixon. The two were married and were hopeful of their future together. It is said that their first child, Walker Dixon Grisso, was the first non-native child born in Seminole. However, Ollie Dixon died while giving birth to their second baby. Doc Grisso named the young girl after her mother, but she died as well some months later.

The political and social climate around Seminole is important to understand for context. In 1896, just 60 years after being forced to new lands, the Seminole people found themselves in the crosshairs of the federal government once again. Just before Oklahoma achieved statehood, the Curtis Act was passed. The Curtis Act aimed to remove and weaken the tribal governments that were operating within Indian territory.

Under the Act, tribal governments could no longer enforce their laws, and only legislation directly approved by the president could be upheld. One of the biggest blows to the tribal nations was allowing towns to be surveyed and incorporated within tribal boundaries. Before the passage of the Curtis Act, each tribal nation determined who was a citizen and what the citizenship requirements were.

Once the Curtis Act was passed, a senator by the name of Henry L. Dawes led a commission that would determine tribal citizenship. Dawes took on the complicated task of completing a census for all of the tribal nations within Indian territory. The census would be used to enroll individual members of a tribe and the information gathered would direct the Indian allotment policy. The Seminoles did not consent to any of the actions taken during the Curtis Act.

The Indian allotment policy was a product of the Curtis Act and Dawes Commission. The main goals were to encourage Native Americans to adopt Western agricultural practices and assimilate into American society, while simultaneously opening the surplus lands not allocated to Native Americans for settlement and development. Prior to the Dawes Act, tribal land was held in common, meaning that it belonged to everyone.

The Seminole Nation, like many tribes, were collectivistic, and the concept of land ownership was foreign to them. In simple terms, the United States government forced each citizen to register with the Dawes Commission. The Dawes Commission conducted a census that aimed to record every citizen of a tribal nation. Each citizen then received an allotted piece of land, and then all the land that didn't get assigned was opened up for the land run.

the government felt that additional protections needed to be put into place to keep tribal landowners safe. In order to prevent fraud or shady backdoor dealings, the lands were generally held in trust for 25 years. This was known as the Trust Period, and while land was in trust, it could not be sold. However, if an alati died before the Trust Period ended, the land would be inherited.

Once inherited, the land was clear of the trust period and could then be sold or leased. For people like Doc Grisso, these changes presented opportunities. As an individual actively engaged in trade and rooted in the community, it was important for him to understand the shifting land dynamics.

The winds of change were blowing, and Doc Grisso would not be left behind. A visit to the post office in the nearby town of Tecumseh would result in Doc's second and final marriage. Margaret "Maggie" Rooker would take the Grisso name in January of 1909. The two of them would go on to be one of the most influential couples in the state. 1910 is when Doc Grisso really started to dabble in the trade of land.

It was around this time that many Seminole people started to receive the deeds to their allotted land. The project taken on by the Dawes Commission was so demanding that it took years to complete. In 1923, an oil well was discovered in Seminole County that produced obscene amounts of oil. By this time, Doc Grisso owned a sizable portion of the county.

More heavy producing wells were discovered and seemingly overnight, the quiet town of Seminole grew from a population of 900 to a boom town of 30,000. Seminole was deemed the oil capital of the world and accounted for almost 3% of all the world's oil supply. By 1928, Doc Grisso was a multimillionaire. He took his fortune and built a home for his bride inspired by the Italian Renaissance.

He even sent Maggie to Italy, where she picked out furniture and decorations of the highest quality. The mansion was unlike anything the town had ever seen. The years went by, and with them came more wealth and influence for Doc Grisso. He served as the chairman of the Oklahoma Highway Commission and ensured Seminole stayed well within trade routes. He entertained senators and governors in his home. For a brief period, he was the wealthiest man in America.

Doc Grisso died Halloween night in 1955. He was 81 years old. The story of his life seemed to come straight from the script of the American dream, a real rags to riches affair. By all accounts, he was a respected and well-liked man. However, in the years since his death, many started to question the events that surrounded his meteoric rise in wealth and status.

The Seminole people tell a different story when asked about Doc Grisso. A story that is much darker. Whispers and hushed voices tell the tale of Suda Fixico, Doc Grisso's bride that he kept a secret. The rumor always went the same way. Doc Grisso married Suda while she was only 15. The Fixico allotment she controlled was some of the best land in the county, and he wanted it for his own.

However, Suda met an untimely end, and just months after she and Grisso were married. As the only doctor in town, Doc Grisso also served as the medical examiner. Suda's death was attributed to natural causes. The Seminole people felt that she was poisoned and pointed to Doc Grisso's pharmaceutical knowledge as the reason her life was cut short. But are any of those accusations actually true?

The Seminole people hold a deep resentment for the doctor that is alive and well, and even to this day, a Seminole citizen and reverend named Kelly Tiger Jr. summed it up best. In an interview, he said, That subject of the Grisso mansion has always been uneasy with our people, because the wealth that he gained was through murder and deception. My dad always said that money had a curse on it.

If you visit Seminole now, the remnants of Doc Grisso and his legacy are not hard to find. The Grisso Mansion still stands on a hill above the community. Lavish gardens and a vineyard sprawl out behind the home where Doc Grisso and Maggie once resided. In a peculiar turn of fate, the Seminole Nation now owns the mansion.

The cost of upkeep is too much for the tribe though, and it is currently for sale. In the past, tours of the palace on the prairie were offered to the public. Guests have claimed to see a woman standing in one of the upstairs windows. Some say it is Maggie, looking out on her home from beyond the grave. Others claim it is Suda, desperate to make herself known so that the world can hear her story.

In the years since the Seminole Nation purchased the home, those that work there have had their own experiences. In a video posted to YouTube, the Grisso Mansion Development Coordinator, Janet Johnson, states that several guests of the mansion have encountered a little boy in the ballroom named Miko. The name was, and still is, very common for young Seminole boys.

During the holiday season around 2012, a local family rented the ballroom of the mansion for their Christmas celebration. One of the children was instructed to take a picture with the cell phone but accidentally hit the record button. In the ensuing video, a shadowy figure can be seen lurking in the corner just behind the family. Janet Johnson said that she got her chills the first time she saw the figure in the video.

She went on to explain that her daughter would often talk to someone in the ballroom when she would come to work with her. When they would leave, her daughter would say, "Bye-bye Honka." Honka is the name given to a monster in the Seminole language. A lot of speculation has gone into who Miko might be. From all the accounts collected, he mostly shows himself to children and appears as a young boy.

Tribal members have made claims that during construction of the mansion, a child's body was found buried in the spot that would eventually become the ballroom. Others say Miko was the child of Doc Grisso and Suda. It seems Miko's identity will remain a secret. In one of the studies in the home, Doc Grisso's favorite lamp will often turn on by itself. Employees of the Seminole Nation, as well as the previous owners, have witnessed the lamp turn on.

The lamp sits next to a chair that Dr. Grisa would often sit and read in. On one evening in 2013, Janet received a call from the alarm company that one of the alarms in the mansion had been triggered. She called the police as all the employees had gone home for the day. When the police responded, they asked which door had triggered the alarm. Janet reached back out to the security company and they told her the alert originated from an internal motion sensor

no doors were found unlocked. Janet Johnson was asked directly if she thought the mansion was haunted. "There's too many unexplained things that go on here," she said. "The mysteries around Sudafixico and Mico are compelling, but what story do the historical documents tell?"

Suda Fixico Wesley was born on April 1st, 1908 and died July 11th, 1913, according to her death certificate. The cause of death was typhoid fever and Doc Rissa was not mentioned as the medical examiner or attending physician anywhere on the document. She was only five years old when she died. Suda's father was Johnson Fixico.

Her mother was only known as Mary. According to the Oklahoma Historical Society, the census cards that were included with the Dawes' rolls were all completed in the year 1902. That means that the ages we see on the Dawes' roll reflect the age of the individual in 1902. When Mary's information is pulled from the database, it shows that in 1902, she was only four years old.

If Suda was indeed born in 1908, that means Mary would have given birth when she was only 10 years old. But the questions don't stop there. Johnson Fixico died July 5th, 1910. He was 24 years old. Just days before his death, he completed a last will and testament. In the will, he left his allotted land to Suda.

Because the Dawes Commission took so long to get deeds out, Johnson died without ever actually receiving his land. Johnson's will contained another important detail. Doc Grissa was named a beneficiary on the document for a doctor's bill for the year 1910. The amount owed was not listed. Suda's grandmother and grandfather died just months after their son Johnson. The two of them died before they received their land as well.

Interestingly, Doc Grisso was listed on both of their wills as a beneficiary. At this point, Suda was a minor. Though her mother was living, she was put in the care of a court appointed guardian by the name of John Cordell. John Cordell filed several lawsuits on her behalf and began litigation against Doc Grisso. At stake was a combined 400 acres of some of the most premium land in the county.

John Cordell was an attorney and district agent of the Indian service that had an office out of the nearby town of Holdenville. He practiced with Hunter Johnson, and the two of them ran the law offices of Johnson & Cordell. He also owned the Wewoka Trading Company. In the court proceedings, John Cordell stated that Doc Grisso, being listed as a beneficiary, was the result of coercion and undue influence.

John Cordell also expressed the desire to have an impartial judge moved to the case. However, the matter was settled out of court and Doc Grisso received 80 acres while Suda received 320. John Cordell also received $100 for the use and benefit of Suda Fixaco from Doc Grisso, which is equivalent to roughly $2,700 today.

Doc Risseau did eventually end up with the entirety of the Fixaco allotment, and that is where he built his precious mansion. After Suda died, her mother Mary inherited the remaining land. Almost immediately, she sold the land to two prominent businessmen in Seminole.

The buyers were J.A. Patterson and G.T. Bruner. The amount the land was sold for could not be located, but the sale happened in 1913, almost as soon as the deeds were made available by the Dawes Commission. J.A. Patterson and G.T. Bruner, much like John Cordell, were both attorneys that were often court-appointed guardians and involved heavily in land sales.

J.A. Patterson was known to have connections with the Interior Department, which managed Indian affairs at the time. Less than a year after making the purchase, Bruner purchased a portion of Patterson's land for a sum equal to about $25,000 today. In February of 1918, a man by the name of J.H. Killingsworth purchased the entirety of the land Bruner owned.

Before the ink could dry, Killingsworth turned around and sold the land to Doc Grisso on the very same day for the amount he purchased it for, a sum equal to a whopping $50,000 in our current economy. J.H. Killingsworth ran the largest general store in the area. His business ads dominated the pages of the Seminole County News and the WeWoka Democrat. The store owner's relationship with Doc Grisso was more than just passing.

The two had been associated since at least 1910, where they both held pivotal roles in the Seminole retailer's market. Killingsworth served as the president, while Doc Risseau managed credits and held the secretary's desk.

The two were also on the Seminole City Organization together and would later become board members of the First National Bank in Seminole. In 1919, J.A. Patterson sold the remaining portion of his land to Doc Grisso for an amount equal to $63,000 today. With that, all the sales would be complete and Doc would hold the entirety of the Fixaco allotment. The death of the entire Fixaco family is important here.

As mentioned earlier, according to law allotted land could not be sold or leased for 25 years while it was in the Trust Period. The only way it could leave the Trust Period sooner was if it was inherited. With the death of the entire Fixaco line, Suda inherited the land. She died soon after, and it was made available to sell. With all of that being said, it's clear the allegations brought against Doc Grisa were false.

He unequivocally did not marry Suda, nor did he have her killed. He was not her attending physician or the medical examiner. But what if the rumors surrounding Doc Rissa were just a symptom of the larger disease plaguing Seminole County? A disease that festered deep within the arteries of the community. A disease in which government officials, business owners, and citizens relished in keeping alive because it filled their pockets.

Suda's story and the downfall of the Fixico family is a sad affair, a stain on the history of a community growing too fast for its own good. But it was not an isolated incident. The WeWoka Democrat was the most prominent newspaper during the time of Doc Grisso and Suda. In the 1913 May 22nd issue, there is a listing by John Cordell. It is "A Notice of Sale of Real Estate by Guardian."

John Cordell posted this notice as the executor of Suda's estate. The petition asks for any relatives to come forward if they have just cause to make a claim to the land. Suda's mother must have seen this notice, as she did obtain the property. Next to the notice regarding Suda is another, and another. All told in this singular issue of the WeWoka Democrat, there are 11 notices of real estate and land sale.

Every single petition involves a person of Seminole descent. Of the 11 in the issue mentioned, two individuals are deceased. Just a month later in the June issue of 1913, John Cordell is listed as appearing as a guardian for five Seminole tribal citizens. A number of them were of legal age but deemed incompetent. Another five tracts of Seminole land were listed for sale. Again, the land was sold under the direction of the court-appointed guardians.

two more Seminole tribal members were listed as deceased, leaving behind minor children. It is impossible to view an issue of the newspaper without finding the death of a Seminole tribal member or a notice of land sale. A 1918 report lists nine Seminole people deceased and in the very same column lists their land as now for sale. The same issue lists seven Seminole tribal members as being close to forfeiting their land due to back taxes.

If the taxes were not paid, their land would be sold at public auction. It is widely debated if the Seminole people at this time that retained their traditional language and cultural practices were even aware they were landowners, much less knew they were required to pay taxes. The Seminole County News was a smaller paper of the period, but a 1910 issue shares a story strikingly similar to that of Souda's. The entirety of the Factor family was deceased,

The family was composed of young, healthy individuals. No cause of death was listed. The issue includes a notice to creditors to make claims against the individuals. A 1919 issue of the WeWoka Democrat lists the entire Harjo family as deceased. It is unclear when the children died, but all three of them were of healthy ages. Jimka Harjo was the patriarch of the family.

and his body was found decomposing just north of Wiwoka. The numbers of deaths, guardians appointed, and land sales that can be found in the newspapers vary issue to issue, but it is never zero. The cycle repeated itself enough times to make one question: Was there a deliberate agenda against the Seminole community? And if so, who was behind it?

Just before the Curtis Act and the Dawes Commission, the Seminole people owned 100% of Seminole County. According to tribal leadership, that number is only 2% today. How did they lose all their land in such a short period of time? The answers to all those questions can be found in the Seminole County Courthouse.

Probate records, land deeds, and a forgery case involving Doc Grisso give voice to a people long forgotten in their own home.