Submitted by
Loyd Bishop

CLEM SHAVER DEAD
Kay County’s Register of Deeds Died of Heart Failure Sunday Morning.

C.M. Shaver, register of deeds of this county, died at Newkirk, Sunday morning, of heart failure. Clem Shaver was one of the pioneers of Kay County, he having located on a claim just south of Round Grove on September 16th, 1893 coming to Oklahoma from Lincoln County, Kansas. He afterwards engaged in the newspaper business at Ponca City, where he edited and published the Tomahawk, a weekly newspaper.
When Captain Hammond was elected register of deeds in 1896, he appointed Clem Shaver his deputy. After the expiration of that term of office, Mr. Shaver embarked in the real estate and abstract business at Newkirk, in which business he remained until last fall, when, as a candidate upon the democratic ticket, he was elected to the office of register of deeds of this county by an overwhelming majority.
Although the fact is not generally known, Mr. Shaver possessed considerable talent as a writer, a large number of his poems having appeared in the leading magazines of this country.
Clem Shaver was a sociable, whole souled man, a good and efficient officer, and a kind and indulgent husband and father. He leaves a widow and two children to mourn his loss, and the sympathy of the entire community is extended to his widow and little children in their grief.

CLEM SHAVER DEAD

Word was received here Sunday that Cm M. Shaver, register of deeds of Kay county had committed suicide at his home in Newkirk. Another report was to the effect that he had died of heart failure, superinduced by alcoholic excess. The bare statement that he is dead is sad enough, but if either of the reports are true it is immeasurably sadder. Clem Shaver was one of the best equipped men in the county for the position he occupied; was a man of winning personality, had a business that must have made him handsome returns, a wife and two children, and everything that usually tends to make a man happy and contented, but he gave it all up for the feeding of an appetite that he could or would not conquer. They say he returned home from Oklahoma City Saturday evening after a protracted spree, only to find his drafts dishonored, his wife gone and himself a mental and physical wreck. Who can say whether he took his own life or whether the shock at his condition and remorse over his conduct, proved too much for the debilitated system and death from heart failure ensued. Let us believe that the latter theory is the correct one, and that he died an honorable death. The body was taken to Northern Kansas for interment, and there are thousands of people in Kay County who sincerely mourn the untimely death of their friend Clem Shaver, “Who after all was his own worst enemy.”