Tom Hamilton. Colbert is a town with a permanent population. The floating element is practically unknown here. It is a place of substantial and well kept homes, and one where the curious and doubting may witness the onward march of the civilization of the American Indian. Tom Hamilton is by blood and birth one-half Chickasaw. In the best sense of the word he is a progressive American citizen, indeed, the real American. He stands out as one of the leading citizens of the Colbert community. He is banker and postmaster in Colbert, and one of the most prominent men in the town. A business man to the core, he does not depend wholly upon the business world for his interest. He is a many sided man, well developed and fit for leadership in any field.

Tom Hamilton was born in Panola County, Chickasaw Nation, near the present Town of Yarnaby, on June 11, 1887. He is a son of John C. Hamilton, a white man of Missouri birth, and his mother was Manda (Benton) Hamilton, a woman of full Chickasaw blood. They were married in 1884, and when their son Tom was still a very young child they died. The father of John C. Hamilton was Andrew Hamilton, a native Missourian.

The schools of Colbert afforded Tom Hamilton his early education, and he later attended the Chickasaw Rock Academy and the Earthman Business College of Whitewright, Texas. When he had completed his business training Mr. Hamilton secured a position as bookkeeper in the Durant National Bank. He remained there until the organization of the Colbert Bank, when he accepted a position as bookkeeper with the new concern. He held that post for a year, when he was made cashier, the promotion coming in recognition of the unusual talent he displayed in matters of finance. For the past nine years Mr. Hamilton has held the position of cashier of the First National Bank. In 1914 he was appointed to the office of postmaster of Colbert. In this he employs a competent assistant, and overlooks the affairs of the office, though giving his time mainly to his duties as cashier of the bank.

Mr. Hamilton is a democrat, staunch and firm, and he has given splendid service to the party thus far. His fraternal relations are confined to the Masons, the Odd Fellows and the Elks.

In 1906 Mr. Hamilton was married to Miss Cecil Bell of Colbert. They have four children. Tom, Jr., eight years old, is in school in Colbert. The others are Hazel, Gwendolyn and Alice, aged six, four and two years, respectively.

The Hamilton family is prominent in social circles in Colbert, and enjoys the confidence and friendship of the best people in the community.