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Submitted: 11/11/08 • Approved: 12/25/10 • Last Updated: 7/30/12 • R99487-G99485-S3
US Army Air Corps
March 13, 1927 – June 17, 1998
Author - Historian - Archivist
Virgil Elmo Talbot was born in Los Angeles, California. Soon after his birth he was adopted by James Albert and Bertha Cole Talbot. Two years later, Jim and Bertha divorced and Jim and Virgil moved to Oklahoma, Jim’s original home. They settled on Jim’s home place in Talbot Hollow, Delaware County. Virgil attended school at Flint, where so many of the Talbot descendants had attended before him. Later, he attended junior and senior high school at Colcord. He was class valedictorian, student council president, business manager of the school newspaper and the yearbook. Graduating in 1945, Virgil entered the U.S. Army Air Corps and became a teletype operator. He spent most of his service time in Virginia and Washington, D. C. Returning home to Oklahoma, he worked on the farm and did some factory work, and also worked for the U.S. Postal Service. He also returned to the writing, recording and publishing of history, which had always been of interest to him. On February 10, 1961 he married Avis West Kirk. At the time they both worked for the U.S. Postal Service in Fayetteville, Arkansas. During the late 1970’s, Virgil and Avis retired to the Talbot home place near Flint Creek, Delaware County, Oklahoma. Virgil constructed a building near their home to house the books and other artifacts he had accumulated. This was the beginning of the Talbot Library and Museum, which he named in honor of his father. Through the donations by many others, the collection grew to such size that Virgil and Avis knew something had to be done. With the help and interest of the Colcord Area Chamber of Commerce, and numerous citizens, the Talbot Library and Museum made its way to its present location in Colcord, Oklahoma. The facility was dedicated on June 2, 1990. Virgil took pride in the fact that the museum’s two-acre site, the main library and museum, and outbuildings were all made possible by donations and built by volunteers. Virgil felt that he had given something back to the area from which he had gained so much, and in his words “broadened the horizon for another young person.” His motto in all of his writings was “preserving a bit of history,” and indeed he did. He was an authority on local history, genealogy and early Cherokee Territory. The Talbot Library and Museum continues today, operated by a Board of Trustees, dedicated to managing this valuable resource in a professional manner and to further Virgil’s desire to preserve history. Virgil held memberships to fifteen historical societies, including the Cherokee National Historical Society. His appointment by the Cherokee Nation to the Board of the Cherokee National Historical Society stands as a signal honor for one who was not a Native American. He was founder and editor in 1982 of the quarterly publication, Goingsnake Messenger, and in 1992, T. L. & M. Genealogy Magazine. These quarterlies are still published today. He was a long time member of the Oklahoma Historical Society and was posthumously named to the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame in 2005 by the Oklahoma Historical Society. He wrote genealogical and historical articles for many newspapers, and received numerous awards for his writing. He also wrote book reviews for the Arkansas Gazette, Tulsa World and Southwest American newspapers. In addition Virgil authored numerous books, among them a book of poetry, In the Shadow of the Hills. Other works of significance included: A Bit of History; Goingsnake Marriages; Index to History of Row/Colcord;10 Year Index to Goingsnake Messenger; The Talbots, Centuries of Service; From the Yadkin River to the West Branch; Index to the History of Cincinnati, Arkansas; and, Sayings. Virgil lost his beloved Avis on August 1, 1996, to a heart attack, a shock from which he never seemed to recover. Virgil died from numerous health complications and is buried beside his wife.
Information and photo provided by the Virgil Talbot Library and Museum, at Colcord, Delware County, Oklahoma. Compiled by Donna Clark.
Contributed on 11/11/08
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Record #: 99487