Givens, James M.

The following data is extracted from Muskogee And Northeastern Oklahoma.

     James M. Givens, attorney at law, who for almost three decades has been identified with the Muskogee bar, comes to this state from Kentucky where his birth occurred February 14, 1869, at the family home in Hopkins County, his parents being John W. and Margaret (Ross) Givens. His father was a planter, tobacco buyer and banker of Webster County, whence he removed with his family to Providence, Kentucky.
     James M. Givens supplemented his early education, acquired in the schools of Providence, by study in Center College at Danville, Kentucky, in which he completed a literary course with the class of 1889. He studied law under private direction and was admitted to practice at Madisonville, Kentucky, in 1891.
     The following year witnessed the arrival of Mr. Givens in Muskogee where he has appointed practice. He was appointed assistant United States attorney for the Indian Territory by President Cleveland in 1893 and occupied the position for four and a half years, serving during a period when the federal attorneys in Indian Territory had all the responsibilities that are now divided between a large number of local, state and federal officers. Since his retirement from that position Mr. Givens has devoted his attention to the private practice of law. He became a partner in the firm of Zevely, Givens & Stoutz, which soon won recognition as one of the strongest law firms of Muskogee. Mr. Givens has long enjoyed a most enviable reputation as a prominent, capable and resourceful lawyer who in the trial of cases gives evidence of his comprehensive knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence, with ability to accurately apply those principles to the points in litigation.
     Mr. Givens is a Mason who has attained the Knight Templar degree of the York Rite and has become a member of the Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and was the first district deputy of that order in Indian Territory.

Source: Muskogee And Northeastern Oklahoma

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