J. F. Sharp
James Fletcher Sharp (1865-1927) was a Justice of the Supreme Court of Oklahoma. He was born on a farm on March 2, 1865, in Adams County, Illinois to James and Permelia Jane (nee Bates) Sharp. He was the first of four boys in the family and one of two who survived to adulthood. Although he grew up on a farm, he got his primary education in public schools. Then he spent four years at Craddock College in Quincy, Illinois. He then enrolled in Missouri State University where he earned an LL.B. in 1889. He was promptly admitted to practice in Howard County, Missouri. Career in Oklahoma A week after graduation, Sharp traveled to Indian Territory, where he attended the first session of the newly created United States court at Muskogee. He then moved on to Purcell, where he settled and opened his own law office. His first major public act on behalf of the town was to deliver the welcoming address at the joint meeting to organize the Indian Territory and Oklahoma Press Association on April 30, 1899. According to Thoburn, Sharp was considered a lifelong member of the Democratic Party. He was very involved in organizing the party and