Ingoldsby Work Crawford (1786-1867), Ingoldsbee Work Trowbridge (1845-1919)

   A prominent 19th-century resident of Tolland County, Connecticut, Ingoldsby Work Crawford's political claim to fame rests on his serving multiple terms in both houses of the Connecticut legislature. There are at least three spelling variations of Crawford's unusual first name. Most sources give the spelling as "Ingoldsby", and other variations on his first name spell it as "Inglesby" and "Ingolsby". 
   Crawford was born in Union, Connecticut on August 7, 1786, the eighth child born to Deacon Samuel Crawford and his first wife, Sarah Work. Samuel would have a total of 13 children during his life (including three with his second wife Olivia Eddy) before he died in 1824 at age 75. His son Ingoldsby is recorded in the aforementioned History of Union, Connecticut as receiving "a fair education, mostly by his own study" and is also listed as being the owner of a farm given to him by his father.
  Crawford is recorded as marrying in May 1810 to Rhoda Taft, and this union eventually produced nine children over twenty-three years time. They are listed as follows: Calista (1811-1890), Daniel (1813-1867), Caroline (born 1816), Sarah Ann (1819-1838), Logan (1822-1910), Marcia (born 1824), Ossian (born 1827), Harriet (born 1831) and Alonzo (born 1834).
  Throughout his long life of over eighty years, Crawford earned a reputation as one of Union, Connecticut's most prominent citizens, and involved himself in various aspects of public life in his native town. He is listed as being a member of the local Universalist Church as well as a high-ranking Mason. Crawford was also affiliated with the Union school system and served as a member of the examining board that licensed teachers.
  In addition to the above activities, Ingoldsby Crawford was also elected to numerous political offices, both at the local and state levels. In the mid-1810s, he served as an Associate Justice on the Tolland County Court and in 1818 was a delegate to the Connecticut State Constitutional Convention.
  

           Crawford's name was featured in the above roster of Connecticut State Senators in 1826.

    In 1816 Ingoldsby W. Crawford was elected to the first of many terms in the Connecticut State House of Representatives. He represented Tolland County in the legislature from 1816 to 1820 and again in the years 1822, 1824, and 1825. In 1826 he was elected to his first term in the Connecticut State Senate (serving until 1827) and was subsequently reelected to that body in 1830 and 1848. During the 1830s Crawford was appointed to the position of Collector of the Port of New London under the administration of then-President Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) and is recorded as holding this post for eight years.

  Nearly a decade after his last Senate term, Crawford was named to the post of Union Town Clerk and Treasurer, serving in this position from 1857 to 1865. This was the last public office Crawford held, as he died two years afterward on November 24, 1867, at age 81. He was preceded in death by his wife Rhoda, who had died three years previously at age 74. Both were subsequently buried in the Rindge Cemetery in Union, Connecticut.

  In a recent political name discovery, another Connecticut politician has been located who also has the unusual first name "Ingoldsby", albeit with a slight variation in spelling. Read on to find out more!

  Following on the heels of the preceding Mr. Crawford is Ingoldsbee Work Trowbridge. While both men bear the same first and middle names, it is not believed that they are related, and like Mr. Crawford, Trowbridge's first name has variations in spelling, including "Ingoldsby" and "Ingoldsbee". The Modern History of Windham County (where the above portrait was located) lists his name as being spelled with a "bee", and it is that spelling that is listed here.

   Ingoldsbee Trowbridge was born in the town of Eastford, Connecticut on March 9, 1845, one of five children born to Philander and Harriett Durfee Trowbridge. He received his education in the schools of Eastford and also worked on the family farm when he was a child. The Trowbridge family eventually left the confines of Eastford and moved to the village of Pomfret, where Ingoldsbee took over the management of the family homestead after his father retired. 

  The Modern History of Windham County lists Trowbridge as an "energetic and progressive farmer, constantly looking for chances to improve his land, to enhance its productiveness and make his farm more valuable." Trowbridge's farm gained distinction as being the first in Windham County to have a silo built on its property, and this addition is listed as being constructed by Trowbridge himself. In 1879 he married in Pomfret to Caroline May Perrin (1848-1917) and they became the parents of two children, Lucia Perrin (born 1880) and John Work (born 1886).

  In the years after his marriage, Trowbridge continued to make improvements to his farm (referred to as Owaneco Farm) and is also remarked as being a major breeder of high-grade Guernsey cattle, "having a fine herd of these cows upon his place." While still an active farmer, Trowbridge also began treading the political waters in the mid-1890s, mounting an unsuccessful candidacy for the Connecticut State House of Representatives in 1894. Trowbridge ran as a Republican in that year's contest and received a meager 14 votes! The result of that election is posted below.

  Trowbridge ran again for the Connecticut legislature in November 1896 and was this time successful. He was reelected in the following year and served in the sessions of 1897-1898. His legislative service was remarked as being of "excellent record" by the Modern History of Windham County and after returning home to Pomfret continued to farm until turning over its management to his son John. 

  Ingoldsbee Trowbridge died at age 73 on July 13, 1919, in Putnam, Connecticut, and was preceded in death by his wife Sarah, who had died two years previously on June 18, 1917.

Carthalious J. Tucker (1876-1957)

   Out of the many political figures profiled by me over the past year, many of them have an interesting backstory as to how their biographical profiles came about. The following biography on obscure Crawford County, Indiana legislator Carthalious Tucker is one that I will remember writing for many years to come, as I received an incredible amount of help in developing it. In an earlier article on Zanesville, Ohio Mayor Epaminondas L. Grigsby I mentioned the phrase "historical detective work" and that particular phrase has resurfaced today in regard to the work of one very special person: Crawford County historian Roberta Toby. I am forever grateful to Roberta for the in-depth research she undertook to help me find more facts about Mr. Tucker's life and accomplishments. I would also like to give a big thank you to Carthalious Tucker's granddaughter Marie Tucker England, who graciously granted me permission to use the photographs of Mr. Tucker that are included in the article you are now reading! This profile would not exist without the help and research of these two ladies, and I'll now begin with a bit of background on how this particular biography came into being! 
   While doing research on Indiana Congressman Godlove Orth (1816-1882) a year or so ago I managed to stumble across an Indiana Legislative history website that proved to be a real boon to me in terms of research. This website (www.bowenprojects.com) contains a listing of every member of the Indiana state legislature from the mid-1810s up until the present day and also contained a small biographical passage on each legislator. Over a day I worked my way through this extensive website, and during this research managed to find over 30 new additions to the "Strangest Names In American Political History" book and blog. One of these many new additions was a state representative from Crawford and Harrison County, a man with the outstanding name of Carthalious J. Tucker!
  The Bowen Projects website gave the basic information on Mr. Tucker and his legislative service, and aside from listing his dates of birth/death and his farming pursuits, virtually nothing else could be found on this intriguingly named man. Further Google searches on Mr. Tucker yielded more of the same, and I chalked it up to the fact that I'd probably never find more information (let alone a portrait of) this obscure Crawford County resident.
   This remained the norm until a few days ago, when I e-mailed the Crawford County Historical and Genealogical Society, asking for their assistance in finding more information on this forgotten figure in Crawford County history. I was soon rewarded with many pieces of correspondence with County historian Roberta Toby, who in her diligence managed to locate many new pieces of information on Carthalious Tucker and his family. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that Roberta made contact with Carthalious's granddaughter, Marie Tucker England, who graciously allowed the use of many of her family's photos in the article here. Rarely have I been granted such access to the life and career of someone that I'm writing about, and that is why today's political biography is so special.

           A rare portrait of Jesse Tucker (father of Carthalious) provided by Marie Tucker England.

   Carthalious J. Tucker was born on March 7, 1876 in Patoka Township, Indiana, the son of Jesse and his second wife Irena E. Tucker. It is unknown at this time why Tucker's parents decided to bestow the unusual name "Carthalious" upon their son, and even the name's origin (which sounds vaguely Latin to me) remains a mystery. There are also some inconsistencies in regards to its spelling, with variations being "Carthalius", "Carthelius", Carthalous" and "Carthalouss". It has also been found that the small number of online sources that mention Tucker lists him by the initials "C.J.", and the middle initial "J" may, in fact, stand for his father's first name, Jesse. Tucker is listed as attending schools local to the Crawford County area and is also mentioned as attending "a normal college", although an exact college location and the name is unknown at the time of this writing.
   Carthalious married his first wife Mary Jane Kimmel in Orange County, Indiana on December 27, 1896. In the year following their marriage, Carthalious and Mary welcomed a son, Ira Ray (born on October 14, 1897, and is listed by most sources as Ray). Tucker and Kimmel are recorded as divorcing sometime after their son's birth and in 1941 he remarried to Leora Rhodes Rowland, a native of Veleene, Orange County, Indiana.  
  Leora Rowland Tucker is listed as dying in 1945 and in the following year, Carthalious married for a third time to Ms. Anna Elizabeth Glenn Free, who died of an undisclosed illness in 1953. Carthalious is also mentioned as raising two of his son Ray's daughters, Geneva Tucker Enlow (1918-2009) and Veneta Tucker Reason. 
   In an even more intriguing tidbit, it has been found that Tucker remarried his first wife Mary Jane Kimmel shortly after the death of Anna Elizabeth Free. After reading Tucker's obituary (which was graciously provided by Mrs. Toby and will be posted at the end of this article), I've found that Mary Jane Kimmel Tucker is listed as dying a few months before her husband on October 16, 1956.

               Another family portrait of Carthalious that is owned by Mrs. Marie Tucker England. 

   The brief passage on C.J. Tucker given by the earlier mentioned Bowen Projects website gives note that he was a farmer and cattle raiser for the majority of his life, and with Roberta Toby's helpful research, much has been found in regards to Tucker's involvement in Crawford County agricultural circles. He is listed as being a livestock breeder and is mentioned as owning a small number of cattle, while also being regarded as an "old-time veterinarian". Mrs. Toby also received a first-hand account from Mr. Clarence J. Kaiser, who resides near the Tucker residence, and gave note that although Carthalious lacked a cattle license, "Bud Tucker" was regarded as a local authority on livestock and that "people often called on him for assistance." In addition to this, Tucker was also secretary of the Crawford County Jersey Cattle Club for several years. 

This passage mentioning Tucker's service as Patoka Township Trustee was found on Google Books.

   While farming and agricultural pursuits were obviously a prominent theme throughout Tucker's life, he also made a name for himself in the realm of civic and public affairs. In 1908 he was elected to his first public office, that of trustee for Patoka Township. A passage mentioning his service in the latter office is shown above, and he served as a trustee until 1914. In that year he ran for and was elected to the office of Commissioner of Crawford County's second district. It is unknown how long Tucker served in this position, but he is recorded by the periodical Public Welfare in Indiana as still serving in this post in 1921. A roster from the 1918 Indiana State Legislative Manual lists his service as County Commissioner and has been provided below.

   In 1939, the citizens of Crawford County elected Carthalious J. Tucker to a seat in the Indiana State House of Representatives. He was reelected to this body in 1941 and during his two terms represented not only the county of Crawford but Harrison County as well. During his legislative service, Tucker is listed as being a member of the Democratic party, but no mention is given as to what committees he served on during his four-year stint in the Indiana legislature

  While still attentive to political and public affairs in Crawford County, Tucker also was a member of several local fraternal organizations, including being a 60-year member of the Eckerty, Indiana Masonic Lodge! He is also listed by the Bowen Projects legislative website as a past secretary of the Crawford County Farmers Mutual Insurance Company. 

   Carthalious J. Tucker died at age 81 in the town of English, Indiana on September 16, 1957. Funeral services for Tucker were held at the Taswell Methodist church two days after his death and he was subsequently buried in the Taswell Cemetery in Taswell, Indiana. He left behind an extended family, with his obituary listing a total of ten grandchildren and several great-grandchildren. In addition to these many descendants, Carthalious's son Ray is also listed as surviving his father, dying on October 27, 1969, shortly after his 72nd birthday.

  In addition to the extremely helpful research conducted by Roberta Toby and Marie Tucker England, I would also like to thank Crawford County librarian Rebecca Stetter for finding the following obituaries to include in Tucker's profile! The first of these obituaries were featured in the English, Indiana News-Messenger in the days following Tucker's death.

  

                                              Carthalious Tucker, from the 1941 Indiana Legislative composite.

Esreff Hill Banks (1821-1903)

From the History of York County, Maine, 188o.

   Following on the heels of  Maine politician Oramandal Smith, today's profile takes us to York County, Maine, and Esreff Hill Banks, long a prominent figure in politics in that state. Elected to multiple terms in the Maine State House of Representatives, Banks would also serve in the Maine Senate and was a one-term Mayor of Biddeford. Elected as Maine State Treasurer in 1877, Banks later held the post of Postmaster of Biddeford, being appointed to that office by President Chester Arthur.
   Born on May 26, 1821, in Buxton, Maine, Esreff Hill Banks was the second child of four born to James and Ruth Merrill Banks. Young Esreff received his schooling at the Parsonfield Academy and later went west at age seventeen. He returned to Maine in 1843 and soon entered into a clerkship at a mercantile store in the town of Saco. He continued his employment there until 1845 and in November 1847 married Lucinda Atkinson, a native of Hollis, Maine. One child was born to the couple, a daughter named Adeline, who died in December 1858. 
    Banks entered into business in Biddeford in the late 1840s, establishing a mercantile firm/dry goods store with E.H.C. Hooper, whom he later bought out. A city councilman in Biddeford early in its existence, Banks was elected as Biddeford's representative to the Maine legislature in 1856 and was reelected the following year.
  Esreff Banks political profile continued to rise in 1860, when he was elected as Mayor of Biddeford, succeeding Johnathan Tuck, who had died a few days previously. Following his term as Mayor Banks held the post of Draft Commissioner for York County in 1863 and in the following year was elected to the Maine State Senate for the first of two terms. He would serve as a Republican presidential elector for Maine in 1868 and in March 1869 journeyed to Washington to attend the inauguration of Ulysses Grant.
   Throughout the 1870s Banks pursued various business interests, being a trustee of the York County Savings Bank and a director of the First National Bank of Biddeford, holding the latter post for fourteen years. Banks returned to local politics in 1874 when he served as York County Treasurer for two years and in 1876 won election as State Treasurer of Maine, a post he would hold from 1877-79.

A rare portrait of Esreff Banks, ca. 1860, from the Maine State Archives.

   Following his tenure as state treasurer Banks continued to be active in Maine public life, being appointed as U.S. Postmaster at Biddeford in 1883. He served in that capacity until 1885 and eight years later was named as chairman of the Board of Police Commissioners. He also continued with his earlier business interests, serving as President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Biddeford and Saco Railway beginning in 1889. 
   Esreff Hill Banks died at age 82 on November 27, 1903, at the home of his niece. The cause of his demise was listed in his obituary (shown below) as heart disease, and he was preceded in death by his wife Lucinda, who is listed as dying a year before her husband. Both were interred at the Laurel Hill Cemetery in Saco, Maine.

                   Bank's obituary appeared in the November 28, 1903 edition of the Lowell Sun.

Oramandal Smith (1842-1915)

  Following yesterday's profile on Pennsylvania native Wooda N. Carr, we journey further north to Maine and Ormandal Smith. This oddly named figure served in several public offices in his native state, including stints as clerk of the House, state representative, state insurance commissioner, state treasurer, and Secretary of State. A surprising amount of information on Mr. Smith can be found in the right places online, but one inconsistency that has arisen out of this is the spelling of his first name. Most sources list it as being spelled "Oramandal", while others give more variations, including "Oramandel", "Ormandel" and "Ormandal".
   Smith was born on December 2, 1842, in Aroostook County, Maine, the son of Daniel and Lucy Williams Smith. He received his education in the public school of Masardis, Maine, and after the death of his mother moved with his father to the town of Litchfield. After settling here, Smith began attending the Litchfield Academy and later studied at the Waterville Classical Institute. 
  After completing his education Smith became a principal in the Litchfield and Richmond school systems from 1864-1877. During this time Smith also worked at farming, and in 1870 was elected to his first political office, that of a Representative in the Maine State Legislature. In 1874 he was named as assistant clerk of the Maine State House of Representatives and continued in this post until 1876 when he was elected clerk. Smith's tenure as clerk of the House extended from 1876-78 and again from 1880-85. Earlier in 1875, Smith married Ms. Jennie Smith and it is unknown at this time if any children were born to them.
  During his last term as clerk Smith was named as Maine State Insurance Commissioner, serving in this post from 1883-1885. In the latter year, he was elected as Secretary of the State of Maine and served a total of three terms in this office, from 1885 to 1891. After his last term as Secretary in 1891, Smith began a lengthy tenure on the Maine Governor's Council. During his service (which concluded in 1902) he served in the administrations of 3 successive Republican Governors: Edwin C. Burleigh (1889-93), Henry Bradstreet Cleaves (1893-97), and Llewellyn Powers (1897-1901).

                                      This roster of Maine Treasurers was published in 1913.

   In 1901 Smith was elected as the State Treasurer of Maine, and like his previous tenure as Secretary of State served three terms in office. In addition to his numerous political activities, Smith was active in the civic affairs of his native town of Litchfield, serving as the chairman of the executive committee of his alma mater (the Litchfield Academy) for over 25 years. He also was a trustee of the Maine School for the Feeble Minded for an indeterminate period. Ormandal Smith died in Maine on May 21, 1915, and was presumably buried in his hometown of Litchfield. In a newspaper write-up concerning his estate, Smith left the sum of $5,000 to Bates College, and substantial sums to several other institutions in the Litchfield vicinity. He was subsequently memorialized by the Kennebec Journal as a "walking encyclopedia of Maine affairs", and:

"He was ever available and approachable to those seeking information. He loved the State's business and held no earthly affair more sacred. His wisdom was only equalled by his integrity and loyalty."

                             From the History of Litchfield and the Account of its Centennial Celebrations, 1897.

From the Kennebec Journal, May 24, 1915.

Wooda Nicholas Carr (1871-1953)

    A one-term U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania, Wooda Nicholas Carr had earlier distinguished himself as a newspaper editor and attorney in the Fayette County, Pennsylvania vicinity. Carr was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania on February 6, 1871, the son of John and Amanda Cook Carr. As a child he attended schools local to the Fayette and Uniontown, PA areas and later studied at the Jefferson College, graduating from there in 1891. Soon after leaving college, he removed to nearby Uniontown where he began a stint as a newspaper editor for the Uniontown Standard and later, the Democrat.
   Carr began reading law in 1893 and was admitted to the Fayette County bar two years later. He maintained a law practice in that county for a number of years afterward, and in 1908 formed a partnership with his brother Walter Russell Carr. In 1903 Wooda Car married fellow Fayette County native Julia Kissinger and had one son, John Dickson Carr (1906-1977). John D. Carr would go on to fame in his own right, becoming a prolific author of detective stories and mysteries. Many of these works were published under various pen names, and Carr himself resided in England for many years after marrying an Englishwoman, Clarice Cleaves, in the 1930s.
   Wooda N. Carr began treading the political waters at the turn of the 19th century, announcing his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 24th district in 1900. On election day that year, Carr came up short in the vote count, losing by over 12,000 votes to three-term Republican incumbent Ernest Francis Acheson (1855-1917). In the same year as his congressional loss Wooda Carr served as a member of the Pennsylvania State Democratic Convention, and two years later was elected as Chairman of the Fayette County Central Committee. In 1911 Carr garnered the Democratic nomination for Fayette County District Attorney but failed to overcome that county's Republican majority base.

Wood N. Carr, from the Holt, Minnesota Northern Light, 1911.

                                
   The political tide turned in favor of Wooda N. Carr in November 1912 when he won election to the U.S. House of Representatives from the 23rd congressional district. He defeated incumbent Republican Thomas S. Crago by a vote of 12, 211 to 7,836 and officially took his seat in January 1913. During his one term in Congress Carr was a member of the Committee on Appropriations and was mentioned by The Book of Prominent Pennsylvanians as having:

"Always been a factor in the Democratic politics of his State and district, and possesses great influence with the party."

  Carr was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to Congress in 1914, losing to Republican nominee Robert F. Hopwood. Following his loss, Carr returned to the practice of law in Uniontown and in 1934 was appointed as that city's postmaster, serving in that capacity until his retirement in 1947. Carr died six years later on June 28, 1953, at age 82, and was buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery in Uniontown. His wife Julia survived him by over a decade, dying in 1966 at age 90. 

                                         Carr as he looked during his term in Congress, ca. 1914.

Liborius Kauphusman (1837-1881)

   This curiously named man is Liborius Kauphusman (pronounced Ka-foos-man), a Prussian immigrant who made his name (politically speaking) in 19th-century Minnesota. He has the distinction of being the first German national to be profiled here on the site, but he certainly won't be the last. I will also note that Kauphusman's first name is listed as being spelled in a variety of ways, including "Laborius", "Laborious" and "Liborious". Very little information is available online in regards to Kauphusman, but enough has been found to construct an adequate profile for him!

   Liborius Kauphusman was born in Prussia on August 9, 1837, the son of Christian and Maria Kauphusman. The Kauphusman family immigrated to the United States with their three children (Liborius, Heinrich, and Christopher) in December 1846. Upon disembarking at a port in New Orleans they relocated to St. Louis, Missouri where Liborius received his education. Three years after settling in Missouri they moved to Lee County, Iowa, and in 1856 settled in Minnesota.

  Kauphusman is recorded as marrying in 1860 to Ms. Katharina Maifleur and is listed by one genealogical website as having a total of 13 children. Within a few years of his marriage, Kauphusman was drafted into service but is mentioned as not having served in the Civil War due to his use of the commutation clause. Like Adoniram J. Patterson (who was profiled a few days ago), Kauphusman is recorded as paying $300 for a substitute to fight in his place. This clause was also used by future President Grover Cleveland, who in 1863 paid to have a Polish immigrant to serve in his place.

   

                   This legislative roster containing Kauphusman's name was produced in 1877.

   In the years following the Civil War, Kauphusman is mentioned as owning a farm in Hart Township in Minnesota, as well as serving as a Justice of the Peace. In November 1876 the citizens of Winona County elected Kauphusman to the Minnesota State House of Representatives for a term commencing in January 1877. He was reelected to the House in November 1878 for the 1879-80 term, and during his service sat on the Committees on Agriculture and Manufacture as well as the Committee on Printing. 

  Liborius Kauphusman died on October 9, 1881, at age 44 of an unspecified illness. His wife Katharina is listed as surviving him by forty years, dying in 1921 at age 80. A burial location for both Liborius and his wife is unknown at the time of this writing. The rare portrait of Mr. Kauphusman shown above was found in the extensive Minnesota Historical Society database, which has proven to be a great tool for researching long-forgotten Minnesota legislators.

Adoniram Judson Holmes (1842-1902), Adoniram Judson Warner (1834-1910), Adoniram Judson Billings (1826-1900), Adoniram Judson Patterson (1827-1909), Adoniram Judson Gibbs (1840 - ?), Adoniram Judson Joslyn (1818-1868), Adoniram Judson Batchelder (1824-1897), Adoniram Judson Underwood (1832-1885), Adoniram Judson Kneeland (1821-1885), Adoniram Judson Stone (1845-1899), Adoniram Judson Mathis (1844-1927), Adoniram Judson Pinkham (ca. 1837-1922), Adoniram Judson Sawyer (1841-1917)

From the Standard Stenographic Magazine, Volume 1, 1888.

  A mammoth posting for today, one that highlights the lives of several men named Adoniram Judson. All of these political figures were named in honor of the same man, Adoniram Judson (1788-1850), an American Baptist missionary who became notable for his religious work in Burma. Judson translated the first American-to-Burmese bible and in the years following his death, numerous children were named in his honor, including the twelve political figures profiled below.

  The first of these men is Adoniram Judson Holmes, one of two men named Adoniram who served in the U.S. House of Representatives. Holmes was an Ohioan by birth, being born in the town of Wooster on March 21, 1842. When he was 11 years old he and his family resettled in Palmyra, Wisconsin where he attended school. During the early 1860s, he began studying at Milton University but left after a few months to serve his country on the battlefield. Holmes joined Wisconsin's 24th Volunteer Infantry Regiment in 1862 and served with that unit until the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865.

  At the conclusion of his military service, Holmes returned to Milton College and completed his earlier studies. He later went on to study at the University of Michigan Law School, graduating from here in the late 1860s. In 1868 Holmes moved to Boone, Iowa, and here opened a law practice with another young lawyer named L.W. Reynolds. This firm enjoyed success and is listed in the Annual Proceedings of the Iowa Bar as having been "one of the strong firms of Central Iowa".

   Adoniram Holmes first entered Iowa political life in 1880 when he was elected as the Mayor of Boone, Iowa. In the following year, he won election to the Iowa State House of Representatives for the 1882-83 term, representing Boone County. Holmes later set his sights on a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 10th congressional district, and in November 1882 defeated Democrat John Cliggitt by a vote of 14,250 to 6,853. Holmes would subsequently be elected to two further terms in 1884 and 1886 and during his final term in the House (1887-89) held a seat on the Committee on Enrolled Bills and the Committee on Pacific Railroads.

   Holmes was unsuccessful in his bid for a fourth term in Congress during the 1888 election, losing the nomination to Jonathan Prentiss Dolliver (1858-1910.) After leaving Congress, Holmes was appointed as Sargent-At-Arms of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1890 and served throughout the session of the 51st Congress. After leaving this post in 1892 he returned to his native city of Boone, where in 1896 he was named as County Attorney. 

  The last two years of Holmes's life were marred by ill health, with the Cedar Rapids Gazette noting that for two years he had been an "inmate" at a hospital in Clarinda, Iowa. He died aged 59 on January 21, 1902, at that hospital and was buried in the Linwood Cemetery in Boone, Iowa. Holmes was memorialized by the Iowa General Assembly as "a brave soldier, a useful and public spirited citizen, a man of honor and a gentleman in every respect." 

    A U.S. Representative from Ohio, Adoniram Judson Warner also distinguished himself as a Colonel and Brigadier General during the Civil War. Warner was a New Yorker by birth, being born in the Erie County town of Wales on January 13, 1834. He and his family removed from New York in 1845 and resettled in Beloit, Wisconsin, where Warner attended school. Warner later returned to New York to attend the New York Central College in the town of McGrawville.

  After graduating from the latter institution, Warner spent the next few years as a teacher. He served as Principal of the Lewiston Academy in Pennsylvania and of the Mercer Union School and was later named Superintendent of the Mifflin County Public Schools. Warner married in 1856 to Sarah Elizabeth Butts, a native of Wayne County, New York. The couple eventually had 10 children over 21 years and are listed as follows: Elmer (died aged five in 1862), Julia Belle (born 1858), Carrie Ellis (born 1860), Annie Laurie (born 1864), Enid (born 1866), Flora Victoria (born 1868), Arthur Judson (born 1870), Horace Sidney (died aged nine in 1881), Laurence (listed as dying in infancy) and Frances Elizabeth (born 1878.)    Warner put his teaching career on hold in July 1861 when he was commissioned as a captain in the Tenth Pennsylvania Reserves. Warner's military service lasted throughout the Civil War and he was wounded at the Battle of Antietam in 1862. He earned promotions as lieutenant colonel and colonel in 1862 and 1863 and in March 1865 was brevetted as Brigadier General. Warner's 1910 obituary also denotes his service as a pallbearer at the funeral of Abraham Lincoln in 1865.

  After leaving the military, Warner was admitted to the bar and relocated to Marietta, Ohio in 1866. During his early Ohio residency, he became involved in a variety of businesses, mainly relating to railroad construction and the production of oil. Also during this time, he began a lifelong interest, one that would later be a prominent theme during his years in Congress: the advocation of free silver. Over the succeeding years, Warner would author several pamphlets and books relating to the unlimited coinage of silver, including The Appreciation of Money (1887) and Facts About Silver (1891). 

  Warner was elected to his first term in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1879, representing Ohio. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1881 but was successful in regaining his seat in 1883. He served in Congress until 1887, and during his tenure was mentioned by the National Cyclopedia of American Biography as an "able and convincing speaker, his views being held in high esteem by the advocates of free silver everywhere, and his advice in the councils of his party is always sought and generally followed." He was not a candidate for reelection in 1888 and in the following year became the President of the American Bi-Metallic Union.

  In his later years, Warner is recorded as having been involved in street railway improvements and construction in both Washington, D.C. and Ohio. He died in Marietta, Ohio on August 12, 1910,  his cause of death being attributed to "a complication of diseases."He was later buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery in Marietta.

   The third Adoniram to be profiled today is Maine state representative and senator Adoniram Judson Billings. Billings, like the two men who preceded him in this article, was also a distinguished Civil War veteran. He served as a surgeon in the 19th Maine Volunteer Militia and was involved in the practice of medicine in addition to his political activities. The portrait of Adoniram Billings shown at the top of his profile here was discovered in John Jay Smith's History of the Nineteenth Regiment of Maine Volunteer Infantry, 1862-1865, originally published in 1909. The majority of the information centering on Billings's military service was found in this work.

   Billings was born in the town of Newport, Maine on December 3, 1826, and received his education in the schools of Waterville, Maine. He went on to study medicine at the Albany Medical College and graduated from here in 1854. Soon afterward he established a medical practice in the town of Freedom and resided in this town for the remainder of his life.

   In 1862 Billings was elected to his first political office, representing Waldo County in the Maine State House of Representatives. Later that same year he was appointed as surgeon of the 19th Maine Volunteer Militia, commanded by future Maine Governor Selden Connor (1839-1917). Billings served as a surgeon in this unit until January 1864, when he was discharged for disability. His skill as a surgeon was attested to by many of his fellow servicemen, and author John Jay Smith gives special mention to Billings in his earlier-mentioned work. Smith makes note of a regiment reunion in 1874 when Lieutenant Colonel Spaulding gave the following tribute to Surgeon Billings: 

"I believe the regiment was more indebted than can ever be known or told, to the skill of the Surgeon with the large and patriotic heart who was continually pained and lashed almost beyond endurance by the duties he was called on to perform, and to the emergencies of that early winters camp. Justice has never been accorded to Dr. Billings; it can never be."

    After leaving the military Billings returned to his native town of Freedom and in 1866 was elected to the Maine State Senate from Waldo County. He was re-elected to this office the following year and in 1868 won a second term in the Maine State House of Representatives. Billings's public profile continued to rise throughout the succeeding years, and in 1873 was named by Maine Governor Sidney Perham as State Inspector of Prisons and Jails. Billings pulled double duty during this administration by also serving as the Surgeon General on Governor Perham's staff.

   Late in his life, Adoniram J. Billings was accorded further political honors when he was elected to a third term in the state senate, serving from 1897-1898. He died at age 74 on February 6, 1900, in Freedom, Maine, and was buried in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery next to his second wife Ann E. Clement, who predeceased him in 1892.

  The next Adoniram to be profiled is Adoniram Judson Patterson, a noted New Hampshire clergyman who served a term in his state's House of Representatives in the mid-1860s. Patterson was born in Crawford County, Pennsylvania on April 3, 1827, the son of James and Nancy Holt Patterson. Adoniram received his education under the private tutoring of his father and later received private theological training under several Crawford County clergymen. He was ordained as a minister in Harbor Creek, Pennsylvania, and held his first pastorate in the town of Girard in 1854. He retained this pastorate until 1855 when he relocated to Portsmouth, New Hampshire to accept the pastorate of that city's Universalist church.

   His pastorate in Portsmouth lasted 11 years, and during his service here delivered sermons throughout New Hampshire as well as Maine. At the dawn of the Civil War Patterson tried resigning his pastorate in order to enter the army but this was refused by his parish! Despite being unable to resign from the church, Patterson then used a clause of the 1863 Conscription Act to hire a substitute to serve in his place on the battlefield. While this may sound odd, other prominent men of the time opted to do the same, including future President Grover Cleveland!

   Despite not being able to fight, Patterson found another way to serve his country during the war effort. Beginning in 1864 he served as a chaplain at large, ministering to many soldiers on the battlefield and in hospitals in Virginia.  Patterson is also mentioned in the 1896 work Men of Progress as helping to distribute "in the trenches more than thirty tons of sanitary stores." The portrait of Patterson below was found in the earlier-mentioned book.

  After returning to New Hampshire, Patterson stumped for President Lincoln (who was then running for reelection) and in 1866 was elected to the New Hampshire State House of Representatives from Portsmouth. During his legislative service, he still maintained an active ministry, and "he did not fail to meet his congregation at any service of the church while the legislature was in session." The Men of Progress also gives notice that Patterson was strongly urged to run for Congress during this time, but felt compelled to continue in his church work instead. 

  Adoniram Patterson eventually left Portsmouth and resettled in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He arrived here in June 1866 and accepted a pastorate at that city's Universalist Church. In 1874 he was named as the President of the Massachusetts Convention of Universalists, serving in this post until 1879. 

  During his later years, Patterson authored two works centering on the histories of the Universalist Churches of Portsmouth and Roxbury and maintained his pastorate at the latter church until his retirement in 1888. During the 1890s and 1900s, Patterson continued his ministry in places throughout Massachusetts, Maine, and even Nebraska. He is also listed as being a major benefactor of Tufts College during this time, establishing new scholarships for students and had an honorary degree conferred upon him for his work.

  Adoniram Patterson died on November 3, 1909, at age 82 in Roxbury. He was survived by his wife of 58 years, Jane Lippitt Patterson, who died in 1919 at age 90.

  Adoniram number five is Michigan native Adoniram Judson Gibbs, whose life is shrouded in obscurity. Very few details could be found on this man's public career and political exploits, and I'm quite surprised that I was actually able to locate a picture of him!

  Gibbs was born in the town of Nelson, Ohio on January 18, 1840, and moved to Michigan with his father in 1854. He is listed by the Early History of Michigan as receiving an "academical education" and spent the majority of his younger years engaged in farming. He is also listed as being a justice of the peace in the town of Orange, Michigan, and was later a school superintendent.

  Gibbs was elected to the Michigan State House of Representatives in 188o from Ionia County and served in the session of 1881-1882. Nothing else could be found on this obscure man, including his date of death. If anyone out there has more information on this oddly named Michigan politician, please don't hesitate to contact me via the comment box below or the site's Facebook page!

   Next up is Adoniram Judson Joslyn, an Illinois native who served as a State Constitutional Convention delegate in 1862. He was originally born in McHenry County, Illinois in 1818 and eventually resettled in the city of Elgin. A temperance advocate, an opponent of slavery, and an early figure in the Illinois Republican party, Joslyn served as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Elgin for eleven years, 1844-1855.

   During his short life of 49 years, Joslyn became a pioneering figure in Kane County, Illinois, being active in both church work and community affairs. In 1855 he and several other prominent Elgin citizens established the Elgin Academy and he served on the board of trustees of this institution from 1855 until he died in 1868. In the year before his death, Joslyn is also recorded as aiding in the construction of the Elgin Insane Asylum. 

  Attention must also be given to Joslyn's career as a publisher and newspaper editor. During the 1850s he established the Western Christian, the first newspaper to be published in Elgin, and later founded the Weekly Gazette. Both of these newspapers were popular with Illinois abolitionists, and in 1862 Joslyn was named as a Kane County delegate to the Illinois State Constitutional Convention. In the year following President Lincoln named Joslyn as U.S. Postmaster at Elgin, an office he held until September 1866.

   Joslyn later served as pastor of the Union Park Church in Chicago, and he is mentioned in the History of Kane County, Illinois as being a prominent figure in the establishment of the Chicago University (later the University of Chicago.) Adoniram Joslyn died on October 9, 1868, in Elgin, Illinois, and his exact burial location is unknown at the time of this writing. The portrait of him shown above was found in A History of Elgin Academy of Northwestern University, published in 1906.

  Sporting some impressive whiskers is California State Assemblyman Adoniram Judson Batchelder, listed by most sources by the name "A.J. Batchelder". Born in Massachusetts on December 11, 1824, Batchelder journeyed to California during the gold rush years, eventually settling in Yuba County in the 1850s. He would reside here for the rest of his life, and during his early years in the Golden State engaged in mining and merchandising. Batchelder's obituary (which will be posted later) also relates that he was a lifelong bachelor. 

  In 1855 Batchelder was elected to his first term in the California State Assembly as a member of the Know-Nothing Party. He represented Yuba County for the 1855-56 session and after returning home became involved in a grocery business, while also working as a Wells Fargo Postmaster, mining camp, and essay office agent.

   Batchelder was returned to the state assembly in 1865 and 1868, and two years later was appointed as Deputy Census Marshal for California's Northern District. He continued in the grocery business after removing to the settlement of Marysville in the early 1870s and also maintained a membership in the Yuba Society of Pioneers and the Yuba Lodge of Free and Excepted Masons. Adoniram J. Batchelder died aged 72 on August 7, 1897, at his home in Marysville, California. The cause of death was listed by his obituary as "a lingering illness, gangrene poisoning" and was buried in the Marysville Cemetery in Yuba. The obituary for him below appeared in the August 8, 1897 edition of the San Francisco Call.

  Although little information could be found on him, Adoniram Judson Underwood has enough information available to write a small biography for him. No pictures of this oddly named politician are known to exist at this time, so if any reader out there knows where to locate one, please don't hesitate to contact me!

  Adoniram J. Underwood was originally born on May 26, 1832, in Chautauqua, New York in the small village of Clymer. Underwood relocated to Ohio with his family in 1835 and as an adolescent learned the trade of printing on the staff of the Western Reserve Chronicle. Underwood married in 1857 to Nancy Folsom and the couple had five children. Underwood (like many of the other men featured in this article) served his country on the battlefield during the Civil War, being a member of the First Minnesota Volunteers and later as a sharpshooter.

  After his military service, Underwood was elected to the Minnesota State House of Representatives, serving from 1871-1872, and is also listed as being the publisher of two newspapers. He died at age 53 on December 21, 1885, in the town of Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Underwood was later honored in 1912 by having the town of Underwood, Minnesota named after him.

   Equally as obscure as the man who preceded him here, Adoniram Judson Kneeland served a brief term in the New York State Assembly during the mid-1880s. This mysterious man was born in the town of Marcellus, New York on May 5, 1821, the son of Amasa and Charlotte Kneeland. Adoniram studied law in Albany, New York, and earned his law degree in 1848. In 1883 he was elected to the New York State Assembly from Cortland County, officially taking his seat in 1885. Kneeland's tenure in the Assembly was brief, as he died later that year on August 15 in the town of Homer, New York, and was (presumably) buried there.

   A resident of Washington County, Vermont, Adoniram Judson Stone was a distinguished figure in both military and public life in the Green Mountain State, even serving a short term in his state's house of representatives. Although a picture has been found of Mr. Stone (much to my great surprise), little else could be located on him!

   Adoniram J. Stone was born in the town of Cornish, New Hampshire on October 13, 1845, the son of Erastus and Lucy Burr Stone. He received his schooling in New Hampshire and is recorded as having relocated to Vermont in the early 1860s. Shortly after his resettlement Stone signed on for military service in Montpelier, joining Co. H of the 6th Vermont Volunteers in August 1861. He is listed by the Gazetteer of Washington County, VT as being mustered into service in October of that year and served his term of enlistment, leaving the service in March 1862. Stone later re-enlisted in Co. H's 13th Vermont Volunteers and served another term of duty until his discharge.

   After returning home Adoniram Stone married in the village of Bethel on March 8, 1865, to Mary Elizabeth Hardy, with whom he would have three children: Arthur Wilbur (born 1866), Fred Adoniram (born 1875), and Lucy (born 1881). The Gazetteer notes that Adoniram was a farmer, notary public, lister, and town auditor for Worcester and in 1882 won election as first selectman for that town. Sources of the time also recorded him as being a parishioner in the Unitarian church.

   In 1883 Stone was named as second selectman for Bethel, and his prominence in that town eventually culminated in his being elected to the Vermont State House of Representatives in November 1887. His term of service lasted from 1888-1890 and after this date, Stone's life is a complete mystery. None of the sources highlighting the history of the Washington County or Worcester area give note as to what Stone was up to during the last decade of his life, so it is presumed that he continued to be engaged in farming. Two different genealogical websites relating to the history of the Stone-Hardy families note that he died sometime in 1899. A burial location for Stone is also unknown at this time. The rare portrait of Adoniram J. Stone appeared in the Pictorial History of the Thirteenth Regiment Vermont Volunteers, originally published in 1910.

From the February 14, 1910 edition of the Utah Deseret News.

   In another new update (June 26, 2012) to an already lengthy article, yet another political figure with the name "Adoniram Judson" has been located--Adoniram Judson Mathis of Des Moines, Iowa. Despite attaining high office (he served as Mayor of Des Moines) little could be located on Mathis' life, except the following. 

  Adoniram J. Mathis was born on November 26, 1844, in Iowa, being the son of William and Elizabeth Duke Mathis, both former residents of Kentucky. The family resided on a farm during Adoniram's youth and later moved to another farm located in the county of Polk. A.J. Mathis is also recorded as marrying in Iowa to Amanda Carr (1841-1907). The couple would have two sons, Frank A. (1866-1938) and Whitney H. (1871-1921).

   Before his tenure as Mayor A.J. Mathis engaged in real estate transactions and served as judge of the police court in Des Moines. In 1908 was elected Mayor of that city. Mathis' term in office is notable for the establishment of the "Des Moines Plan" mentioned by experts and political scientists of the time as "the ideal form of city government". Des Moines was the first city outside of the state of Texas to adopt this "city-commission" form of government, and Mayor Mathis himself is quoted in the April 23, 1910 edition of the St. Paul Appeal as stating:  

"Of all the accomplishments coming as a direct result of the Des Moines Plan, the greatest is the constant public interest is in the work of the council. This is a tangible asset and the basis of all that has been done. This accomplishment should be attributed to the Des Moines Plan because it is essentially a system of government with the charm of novelty in its workings. There was previously no public interest save that inspired by property interests and politics. Next in importance is a changed press, which in an improved degree tells what is going on a city hall. The press and the public lean on each other, and the council is thus inspired. The Des Moines Plan is responsible."

  Despite being a prominent figure in the establishment of this landmark form of municipal government Mathis served only one term as Mayor, leaving office in 1910. Little else is known of his life after this point, except notice of his death in 1927 at age 83. He was later interred at the Woodland Cemetery in Des Moines. There are also some spelling discrepancies regarding Mathis' first name, with more than one source spelling it as "Adaniram". This is presumed to be a spelling error.

  Next up is the obscure Adoniram Judson Pinkham, recorded by most sources as "A.J. Pinkham." Mr. Pinkham's political claim to fame rests on his service as Idaho Secretary of State from 1891-1893 as well as being a signer of the Idaho State Constitution.

  From the minuscule amount of information that has been located on Pinkham, he looks to have been born in Illinois, his exact date of birth being around 1837 or thereabouts, as he is recorded as being 85 years of age at the time of his death. He later married a woman named Adah and served as a sergeant in Co. A of the 13th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War, later being promoted to Captain. Sometime after the war, Pinkham relocated to Idaho territory and in 1890 was elected as that state's inaugural Secretary of State, holding office from 1891-1893. Little else is known of Pinkham's life, except a Washington state death record denoting that he died on April 8, 1922, in the city of Walla Walla. A burial location for him is also unknown at this time.

From the History of the Second Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry, 1896.

  Hailing from New Hampshire, Adoniram Judson Sawyer gained distinction on the Civil War battlefield as well as through public service in the city of Exeter, where he served at various times as selectman, postmaster, and state representative. Born in Hopkinton, New Hampshire on February 16, 1841, Sawyer enlisted in Co. H., 2nd Regiment of the New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in 1861 and in May 1862 was wounded at the Battle of Williamsburg. In 1864 he became a sergeant and was later mustered into a New Hampshire heavy artillery regiment.

  Sawyer was mustered out of service in June 1865 and was later engaged as a boot and shoe retailer in Exeter, later dealing in insurance in the firm of  Sawyer and Heath. He served Exeter as a town moderator and selectman, and in 1886 was elected to the New Hampshire State House of Representatives, serving in the legislative session of 1887-89. Sawyer would later serve two terms as postmaster for Exeter and maintained memberships in the local Masonic and Odd Fellows lodges. He died in Exeter on June 26, 1917, at age 76, and was later interred at the Highland Cemetery in Newton, New Hampshire.

  

You Can Help!

  It's time once again for one of my famous "You Can Help" segments, and in the case of the following gentlemen, it is sorely needed!  I am currently in the process of trying to find more information on the lives of Adoniram J. Underwood and Adoniram J. Kneeland. If any readers, lurkers, amateur historians, or possible descendants have any time on their hands and want an interesting project to fill your time with, see what you can find in terms of information on these oddly named men! I'd appreciate anything and everything you might be able to dig up. As there is next to nothing on the internet mentioning these three men, maybe someone knows more about them than what is already mentioned in the preceding article!