Beautifully engraved certificate from the Continental Asphalt and Petroleum Company issued in 1921. This historic document has an ornate border around it with a vignette of a womans face. This item is hand signed by the Company's President and its Treasurer (Houston Benge Tehee ) and is over 96 years old.
Certificate Vignette Houston Benge Tehee Houston Benge Tehee was born on October 14, 1874, in Sequoyah District, Cherokee Nation, the son of Stephen and Rhoda Benge Tehee. He attended Cherokee common schools and the Male Seminary and went one term to Fort Worth University. Tehee served as clerk of Tahlequah District for ten years and in 1906 became cashier of a bank. Meanwhile, he studied law, specializing in oil and gas matters. In 1910, he served as mayor of Tahlequah and was elected to the Oklahoma state legislature in 1910 and 1912. From 1914 to 1919 he served as Register of the United States Treasury, and in 1926-27 as Assistant Attorney General. He was vice-president, treasurer, and general manager of Continental Asphalt and Petroleum Company of Oklahoma City. Tehee died on November 19, 1953. Houston Benge Teehee was a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. He was from Tahlequah, OK, which was the Cherokee Nation capital. Houston worked his way through local government, eventually to find work in Washington. This was a particularly noteworthy feat given that at the time, native americans were not granted legal citizenship. He was appointed to the post of Register of the Treasury during Woodrow Wilson's administration. He later went on to become Vice-President, Treasurer and General Manager of the Continental Asphalt and Petroleum Company. Register of the Treasury from 03/24/1915 through 11/20/1919 Below is one example of many of U. S. currency which displays Houston Benge Tehee's signature: