All in the Family

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When it comes to collecting obsolete paper money, it is quite easy to acquire attractive notes from some states, like Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. Notes from other areas, particularly the West, are more difficult to acquire. Indian Territory scrip, for example, other than a couple of common issuers, is challenging if you are searching for a true obsolete bank note. Many collectors are content to acquire a “near note” (a check, warrant, or some other fiscal instrument) and call it a day.

Indian Territory

One series that is worth pursuing was issued around the turn of the 20th century in Eufaula, Indian Territory. Located in east-central Oklahoma, Eufaula was incorporated in 1898 and ultimately prevailed over nearby Checotah in the contest to become the county seat of McIntosh County, a distinction it secured in 1907-09. The rivalry was intense and even included a raid by heavily armed citizens from Checotah whose aim was to seize county records held in Eufaula. Eufaula’s civic-minded residents thwarted their efforts. The 1900 federal census counted 757 citizens living in Eufaula.

The story begins with the arrival of Cornelius.

Patterson-Foley Partnership

Emmet Foley in Eufaula in 1881, two years after the railroad arrived and spurred the small hamlet’s development. He became a partner in a mercantile business that operated under the banner of Patterson & Foley. Charles Henry Tully arrived in Eufaula in 1889 and taught school for two years before taking a job as a clerk for Foley in 1891. The Patterson-Foley partnership ended in 1891-92, and Tully became a partner in the newly named Foley & Tully mercantile store, according to ads that first appeared in the summer of 1892. Foley decided to dissolve the partnership in early 1898 so he could establish a private bank, known as the Foley Banking Company, which opened for business on February 28, 1898. Tully became the sole proprietor, initially operating simply as C.H. Tully before changing the name to the C.H. Tully Mercantile Company in January 1902. Finally, in 1907, Tully sold the business to pursue a career as a lawyer, practicing law until his death in 1933.

Mercantile Enterprise

Numismatically, this pioneering mercantile enterprise issued scrip that chronicled most of the transitions in ownership and company name. The notes issued by Foley & Tully and its successor C.H. Tully both feature a portrait of Katie Foley, who happened to be the sister of C.E. Foley, Tully’s partner. Katie Foley and Charles Tully were married on July 23, 1890, and Foley made his brother-in-law a partner in the business by 1892. Charles and Katie had a daughter, Naomi, who was born in October 1899. Tully exercised executive privilege and placed Naomi’s image on a new issue of scrip that appeared in 1903 when she was about 3 or 4 years old. Placing portraits of family members on obsolete paper money and scrip was a somewhat frequent occurrence, but in this case, things were certainly kept “all in the family!”  

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A version of this article appears in the September 2026 issue of The Numismatist (money.org)