 senate and did make numerous trips to Washington
as a representative of his tribe. He disposed of his Oil Springs home to Thomas Boyd9 in the spring of 1877 and the place became known thereafter as Boyd's Oil Springs. A suggestion of conditions which may have
provoked the old governor to make this sale is contained in the issue of the Star Vindicator of McAlester, I. T., of May 5, 1877, which states, "Gov. Winchester. Colbert, we learn, has moved to Atoka County, Choctaw
Nation, because of so much stealing and disturbance in the Chickasaw Nation." The disordered situation must have cleared up
because the governor and his wife Annica later returned to the Chickasaw Nation and thereafter made their home with their
son Humphrey Colbert upon his farm10 some two and one-half miles west of the present town of Frisco, Johnston County, Oklahoma where the governor passed away
in the fall of 1880 and where he rests in a family burying ground, his grave being rather crudely marked. After the death
of the governor, Annica Kemp his widow went to live in the home of Thomas Boyd at the old Oil Springs home where she was cared
for and where she passed away. She lies buried in the family graveyard at Boyd's Oil Springs where her grave is marked, "Annica,
wife of W. Colbert, died May 25, 1884."11
Governor Colbert was reared a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church but later joined the Methodist Church, South. Thanks
to the interest of Thomas L. McKenney, he had enjoyed educational advantages far beyond the average of his people at that
time. He understood, spoke and wrote both the English and Chickasaw languages. The atmosphere of the Civil War with its resultant
lawless conditions provoked a headache for the mild tempered
governor. When the hostilities were concluded, he hastened to the peace front but with no hatred nor hostility in his heart.
He was glad the war was over and with a cool philosophy accepted the altered status provoked by the war and omitted no effort
to adjust his people to the requirements of the Government. Governor Colbert was in no sense of a militant disposition.
An 88 year old nephew by marriage of the old governor offers this personal description of Governor Colbert. He was a one-half
blood Chickasaw Indian, of dark complexion, brown eyes, wore his hair at shoulder length and was very erect in carriage. He
was of medium height weighing around 160 pounds. In disposition, he was friendly, sympathetic and easy of approach. Although
he spoke English, he preferred the Chickasaw language.
Through the years preceding the Civil War, he had accumulated a modest fortune of which the numerous slaves which he held
constituted the major portion. The war with its consequent freedom of the slaves, practically depleted the old governor's
holdings. He passed peacefully on and into the twilight of life leaving an untarnished public record. Then came the "Callboy
of the Soul."12
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