Last year, in the Sept. 3 issue of the Watonga Republican, I wrote about T.B. Ferguson as governor and labor in Oklahoma. This year, I write about Catherine “Kate” Barnard, who along with Elva Ferguson, is often mentioned as one of Oklahoma’s most important women (Remarkable Oklahoma Women by Deborah Bouziden). Further, Kate and the Fergusons worked in the same circles of Territorial and early Oklahoma statehood.
Kate, as she was known, was born 1875 of Irish Catholic parents in Nebraska. Her mother and brother died when Kate was a year and half old. Her father made the 1889 run into central Oklahoma and Kate, about 14, lived in the home near Newalla while her father worked in OKC. At 18, she joined him and completed schooling at St. Josephs’ Parochial School. Even without college, Kate was smart enough pass the teacher’s test and get a certificate from Oklahoma State Board of Education.
Kate’s ambition from an early age was to help the poor. The area where she and her father lived on West Reno was a redlight district, a dilapidated Oklahoma City slum. She desired to be a voice for “those who suffered in the gutter of Humanity.” Beyond teaching, she studied stenography and landed a job as a stenographer and clerk in Guthrie for the Republican minority in the territorial legislature (Ferguson was then governor).
She competed with 498 other participants to represent Oklahoma territorial in the world’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri in 1904 (the Fergusons worked to publicized Oklahoma and push toward statehood in this fair.) The 29-yearold spoke to exhibition leaders, did interviews and talked about Oklahoma to visitors. She attended meetings of humanitarian organization where she heard about reforms being made to help the poor. The Editor of The Daily Oklahoman assigned a reporter to Kate and the pair went to every slum in OKC. The Daily Oklahoman paid for her to attend Graham Taylor’s Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy.
In 1905, she took over and reorganized the United Provident Association which served over 2,000 families in need. She joined labor organizations and fought for higher wages. She pushed her ideas at the Constitutional convention including banning child labor, compulsory education and a plan to create an office of Commissioner of charities and corrections. All these were written into the state constitution.
Kate was elected Commissioner of Charities and Corrections. She oversaw 325 jails, poorhouses, orphanages, rescue homes and institutions for the care of children, the blind, deaf and insane on a local, city and statewide level. The OETA Back in Time and other documentaries Unsigned and OK Corrections discuss her efforts for Oklahoma prisoners in Kansas. She fought for the rights of orphaned native American children who sometimes suffered from unscrupulous “guardians” who stole money intended for the children.
Bill Murray launched a vicious campaign against her Indian rights movement. The legislature cut her constitutionally based department’s budget to two people. After seven years as commissioner, she resigned to care for her health. However, her legacy for labor, children, downtrodden and oppressed lives on.