Green Berry Raum (1829-1909), Green Berry Swango (1846-1926), Green Berry Samuels (1806-1859), Green Berry Board (1815-1887), Green Berry Dillon (1865-1954), Green Berry Patterson (1862-1940)

From the Phrenological Journal and Science of Health, September 1890.

   One of many hundreds of notable Civil War figures interred at Arlington National Cemetery, Brigadier General Green Berry Raum also left a substantial mark in American politics, being a one-term U.S. Representative from Illinois, a Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, and a U.S. Commissioner of Pensions. In addition to military service and politics, Raum added the title of author to his resume, writing several works relating to the history of the Republican Party, the Civil War, and his home state of Illinois.

   Born on December 3, 1829, in Golconda, Illinois, Green Berry Raum was the son of John and Juliet Field Raum. A prominent figure in Pope County, Illinois, John Raum had been a member of the Illinois state senate and served as county clerk for 34 years. Receiving his unusual first and middle names in honor of his maternal grandfather Green Berry Field, Green Berry Raum attended schools local to Pope County and also underwent private tutoring. During his youth, he worked as a clerk in his father's law office as well as a general store. Deciding to follow in his father's stead, Raum began reading law in the early 1850s, studying under local Judge Wesley Sloan. After a period of study, Raum was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1853 and for a time resided in Kansas, a stay that proved to be short-lived.  

  Green B. Raum had married in Illinois in October 1851 to Maria Field (1831-1915). The couple's near sixty-year union would see the births of eight children, including Effie (1854-1938), Maud (1859-1928), Green Berry (1863-1914), Maria (1867-1951), and Frances (1871-1962).

  Following his return to Illinois Green B. Raum established his law practice at Harrisburg, and over the next few years saw his practice expand "into several counties". A Democrat before the Civil War, Raum was a booster for Gen. John A. Logan in the latter's first run for Congress and also chaired the nominating convention that year. Raum would accept the post of reading clerk for the Illinois House of Representatives, serving during the 1859 session. In the year following Raum was a delegate to the Illinois Democratic State Convention and in that year's presidential election was an alternate delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Baltimore that nominated Stephen Douglas for the presidency.

    At the dawn of the Civil War Raum had a change of political faith and took to the stump, speaking to a crowd in Metropolis, Illinois, where he urged steadfast support of the Union and newly elected President Lincoln. After several speaking appearances booming the Union war effort Raum aided in organizing the 46th Reg. Illinois Volunteer Infantry, in which he was commissioned as Major. Following his promotion to Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel, Raum participated in the siege and Battle of Corinth and also served under the command of Ulysses Grant during the capture of Vicksburg in July 1863. Raum continued service under General William Tecumseh Sherman in the Fifteenth Army Corps and at the Battle of Missionary Ridge in November 1863 was wounded in the left thigh.

   Following medical attention at a field hospital, Raum spent the next few months recuperating at his home in Illinois. By February 1864 his health had improved sufficiently to return to the battlefield, and Raum soon joined General Sherman on the latter's March to the Sea. Raum would be brevetted Brigadier General in 1864 and was present at the capture of Savannah. Late in his war service, Raum was stationed in the Shenandoah Valley, commanding an infantry division under Gen. Winfield S. Hancock. 

Green Berry Raum and his staff.

   Green Berry Raum resigned from service in May 1865 and returned to practicing law after his return home. Having switched political allegiance to the Republican Party, Raum launched a campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1866 and in November of that year defeated Democratic nominee William J. Allen by a vote of 13, 459 to 12, 890. 

   Serving during the 1867-69 congressional term, Raum sat on the House committees on Military Affairs and Mileage. In November 1868 he narrowly lost his reelection bid, being defeated by Republican John M. Crebs by only 500 votes. Raum would attempt two further runs for a congressional seat in 1872 and 1874 but was unsuccessful. Despite these losses, Raum continued to be a standout figure in Illinois Republican circles, serving as the President of the Illinois Republican Conventions of 1866 and 1880, and in 1876 was the convention's temporary chairman. He would also serve as part of the Illinois delegation to the Republican National Conventions of 1876 and 1880 and at the latter convention was one of 306 delegates who lobbied hard for a third term for ex-President Grant.

Portrait courtesy of the Library of Congress.

   In addition to prominence in Illinois politics, Raum's name gained further distinction in 1876 when President Grant (remembering Raum's service to him in the Civil War) put forth his name for U.S. Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Raum accepted the position, and during his seven years in office "collected $850,000,000 and disbursed $30,000,000 without loss." Raum's stewardship of the IRS also saw him utilize new methods of curbing fraud and securing fair tax collection,  and

"Brought into play his army experience, by inaugurating a system of inspection and reports by competent revenue agents as to the entire revenue force of the country. In regard to all officers having financial responsibility, he established a system of periodic evaluation and versification of their accounts. All possibility or partiality or collusion in these reports was avoided by the continuous rotation of the inspecting officers."

  Raum retired from the post of commissioner in 1883 and returned to practicing law. During his time away from politics he authored the "Existing Conflict Between the Republican Government and the Southern Oligarchy" in 1884 and was called to public service once again in 1889, accepting the appointment of the U.S. Commissioner of Pensions under President Benjamin Harrison. Raum's term in office continued through the duration of that administration, and he was remarked as being:

"Desirous of taking up and adjudicating at once pending claims found complete in order to place old claimants on the rolls, who, once there, will have something to keep the wolf from the door, and increases and new claims must take a back seat, and cannot outrank those in waiting for years."

   After leaving that post in 1893 Green B. Raum returned to Illinois and would reside in Chicago. His twilight years saw him author several articles featured in periodicals of the time, including a history of the Atlanta campaign featured in the Washington National Tribune. Raum would author one further book, the "History of Illinois Republicanism" published in 1900. His final months were marred by ill-health and on December 18, 1909, he died at his home in Chicago. Raum was survived by his wife of 56 years and his remains were later brought to Washington for interment at Arlington National Cemetery. Maria Field Raum was also interred here following her death in 1915.
   On May 9, 2017, I was able to photograph Green Berry Raum's gravesite at Arlington (along with several others), and those photos are featured below.

Portrait from the History of Illinois Republicanism, 1900.

From the History of Kentucky: From Its Earliest Discovery and Settlement, 1892.

   Kentucky's Green Berry Swango is another man endowed with the name "Green Berry". A former doorkeeper of the Kentucky House of Representatives, Swango was elected as County Judge of Wolfe County, Kentucky, and served two terms in office. He later was elected as a delegate to the Kentucky State Constitutional Convention of 1890 and in the year following began service as Register of the Land Office of Kentucky.

   Born on February 8, 1846, near Hazel Green, Kentucky, Green Berry Swango was the son of Stephen and Caroline (Trimble) Swango. His education occurred in schools local to the area of his birth and at age fifteen enlisted in the Confederate Army, serving amongst the ranks of the Fifth Kentucky Infantry. The year 1862 saw Swango serving with Co. E of the Tenth Kentucky Cavalry and saw action under Gen. John Hunt Morgan. In 1864 Swango was captured while escorting his captain's body home for burial but later made a daring escape on horseback, snatching a flag from a Union color bearer and dodging a hail of bullets from Federal troops.

   Soon after his escape Swango received a head wound at Cynthiana, Kentucky, but survived his injuries. He would rejoin his fellow soldiers in Virginia and served until the conclusion of the hostilities. Swango married in August 1869 to Eliza Jane Young (1846-1925). The couple's fifty-six-year union saw the births of three children, James Hugh (1870-1937), Charles Stephen (1871-1901), and John Morton.

    After the return from military service Swango followed farming and mercantile pursuits and in 1870 was elected to his first political office, that of school commissioner for Wolfe County. From 1877-78 he was the doorkeeper of the Kentucky House of Representatives and in 1882 won election to his first term as Judge of Wolfe County. Swango was returned to the bench for another four-year term in 1886 and in 1890 was one of Wolfe County's delegates to the Kentucky State Constitutional Convention. 

   In 1891 Green B. Swango became the Democratic candidate for state register of the Kentucky Land Office. He would win that election and in the mid-1890s won a second term. Swango died in Montgomery County, Kentucky on March 15, 1926, one month after his 80th birthday. His wife Eliza had predeceased him the year before his death and both were interred at the Machpelah Cemetery in Mount Sterling, Kentucky.

Portrait from the History of Shenandoah County, Virginia.

   Shenandoah County, Virginia resident Green Berry Samuels is another "Green Berry" to have served in Congress, representing Virginia's 16th district in the House of Representatives for one term. Born in Shenandoah County on February 1, 1806, Green Berry Samuels was the son of Isaac and Elizabeth (Pennybacker) Samuels. His "classical education" took place in schools local to his area and after deciding to pursue a career in law was admitted to practice in 1827. 

   Samuels later resided in Woodstock, Virginia where he established his practice. In April 1831 he married Maria Coffman, to whom he was wed until her death in 1844. The couple would have five children: Isaac (1833-1853), Anna Maria (1837-1923), Samuel Coffman (1841-1864), Margaret and Green Berry Jr. In 1838 Green Berry Samuels was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating Whig candidate David Steele by a vote of 1,826 to 1,201. During the 1839-41 session, he served on the committee on the Judiciary and wasn't a candidate for renomination. 

   Following his term, Samuels returned to his law practice and in 1850-51 was a member of the Virginia state constitutional convention. In 1850 he was elected to the Virginia circuit court and two years later advanced to the state court of appeals, where he would serve until his death in Richmond on January 5, 1859, a few weeks short of his 53rd birthday. Both Samuels and his wife were interred at the Old Lutheran graveyard in Woodstock, Virginia.

Green Berry Board.

  Three years following the publication of the above article another "Green Berry" has been discovered (Sept. 4, 2020) that entered politics, Green Berry Board of Roanoke, Virginia. Board was a former Roanoke County Judge and Sheriff who was elected to one term in the Virginia State House of Delegates. The son of Francis Harwood "Frank" and Annie (Greer/Grier) Board, Green Berry Board's birth occurred in Bedford County, Virginia on September 27, 1815.

  Little is known of Board's formative years, except that he resided in Bedford County until his removal to Roanoke County in 1854. Before his move, he had married Mary Duckwiler (1829-1858), who died aged 29 and was buried in Wabun, Virginia. Following her death Board remarried to Martha Garwood (1831-1893), who survived him. Both of these marriages would be childless.

  Following his removal to Roanoke Count Board farmed, worked in a mercantile store, and held the post of cashier in the Farmer's National Bank of Salem, of which he later served as president. Additionally, Board made headway into other areas of Roanoke County public life, serving as president of the Roanoke College Board of Trustees from 1885 until his death.

  Green Berry Board entered the political life of his county in 1860 when he was elected as sheriff of Roanoke County. He served in that capacity from 1861-65, and from 1873-77 he sat as Roanoke County Judge, succeeding another oddly named jurist, Flavius Josephus "F.J." Ribble (1829-1873). In 1881 he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates as a representative from Roanoke and Craig County, and during the 1881-83 session was a member of the committees on Banks, Currency, and Commerce; Finance; and House Expenses.

  Excepting notice of Board's presidency of the Roanoke County Board of Trustees from 1885-87, little is known of the remainder of his life. He died shortly before his 72nd birthday on September 15, 1887, and was survived by his wife Martha. A burial location for both is unknown at this time.

From the Nashville Banner, January 19, 1921.

   Another "Green Berry" discovered recently (November 4, 2020), Green Berry Dillon was long a distinguished resident of Benton County, Tennessee, where he was a farmer and county tax assessor. Described as a "shoutin' Methodist and a regular married man" who excelled at bailing hay with a pitchfork, Dillon served one term in the Tennessee state senate, being elected in 1920. The son of John and Nancy (Williams) Dillon, Green Berry Dillon was born in Benton County on September 22, 1865.

  Dillon's early life and education remain uncertain, and during his youth eyed the practice of medicine. After briefly studying medicine he elected to follow a career in farming, deciding "that soil was the life." He married in October 1883 to Cora Pafford (1866-1893), who predeceased him. The couple had at least one daughter, Mary Lou (1889-1917). In 1897 he remarried to Jennie Esther Rayburn, who died in 1946. Following his marriages, Dillon was a resident of Eva, Tennessee, where he owned over sixty acres of "tillable land." 

  Green B. Dillon was called to local politics in January 1912 when he was appointed as Benton County tax assessor. He was subsequently elected to a term of his own at the next election, serving a total of five years.  In 1920 he served as an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention, where Warren Harding was nominated for the presidency. 1920 proved to be a busy year for Dillon, and in addition to his service as a delegate announced his candidacy for the Tennessee state senate that year. Tragedy struck just one month before the general election when Dillon was injured while working on his farm. That October, he fell from a haystack and landed on a pitchfork, puncturing "his groin almost three inches deep". Despite doctors expressing "much apprehension" about his injuries, Dillon recovered, and in November won the election.

   Dillon's term extended from 1921-23, and in October of the last-named year was appointed as acting U.S. Postmaster at Eva. Dillon's later life saw him continue residence in Eva, where he was a member of the Methodist church. He died in that town on September 15, 1954, aged 89, and was interred at the Flatwoods Cemetery in Camden, Tennessee.

Portrait from Representative New Mexicans, Vol. I, 1912.

  A pre-1960s long-hair, Green Berry Patterson found his political fortunes in the New Mexico Territory, where he settled in 1907. A native of Texas, Patterson had been a stock raiser in that state before his resettlement and had also served as a justice of the peace. After a four-year residence in Oklahoma, he moved to Chaves County, New Mexico where he continued as an agricultural lecturer with the Farmer's Union. In 1910 he was elected to the New Mexico State Constitutional Convention from Chaves County and took part in deliberating the first constitution of the new state. He would later be an unsuccessful aspirant for Governor on the Progressive Party ticket.

  The son of William and Martha J. Patterson, Green Berry Patterson was born in Springtown, Texas on April 27, 1862. His education was obtained in the commons schools of that area and spent his formative years on a farm and ranch. This began a lifelong devotion to agriculture, and by 1879 had joined the Farmer Alliance organization. He farmed and raised livestock in Springtown until 1896, and from 1894-96 served as a justice of the peace. He married ca. 1880 to Florence Lee Rhinehart (1867-1948). The couple's lengthy union produced at least four children, James W. (1883-1962), Joseph Preston (1885-1972), Ida Hester (1888-1941), and Clyde Alonzo (1892-1973). 

  Patterson removed to Baylor County, Texas in 1896 where he continued farming and ranching, and from 1899-1900 was a tax collector and justice of the peace in that area. He later farmed at Cryer Creek, Texas before his relocation to Oklahoma in 1903. Taking up residence near Hobart, Patterson gained prominence as the Indiahoma Farmers Union's first business agent and took to the lecture circuit to explain the organization's purposes and goals. In November 1905 he returned from Arkansas, having negotiated a contract for "the entire output of a large coal mine and a large lumber mill." In an address following his return, Patterson remarked on the rapid expansion of the Union, noting:

"I find that the business agents office is going to be able to save the farmer's thousands of dollars annually.That is, it will save them money if they want to use the office to the best advantage. And now, since we have introduced nearly 125,000 farmers in Indiahoma to part with their dollar and with their few cents to carry on this well begun work, let us go further and reap the benefits that lie in education, organization and cooperation."

  By 1906 Green Berry Patterson had assumed the role of State Lecturer for the Indiahoma Farmers' Educational and Cooperative Organization of America, and had gained the title of the "Plowboy Orator" due to his oratorical prowess. In 1907 he relocated to Chaves County, New Mexico, where he resumed his activities with the Farmer's Union. In the following year, he was named to the County elections board for the 10th precinct, and in 1910 entered into the race for delegate to the New Mexican Constitutional Convention.

  As the "farmer's candidate", Patterson won the Democratic primary in August and that November was elected as one of four Chaves County delegates to the convention. All told, Patterson attended only a few sessions of the convention due to ill health, and when it came time to affix his signature to the first state constitution, signed, but then crossed out his name. 

  In the year following his service, Patterson was appointed as U.S. Postmaster at Ingleville, New Mexico, and in 1924 returned to politics when he was selected by the Progressive Party as their candidate for Governor of New Mexico. As one of three candidates that year, Patterson was defeated that November, polling just 2,926 votes to winning Democrat Arthur Hannet's total of 56,183. Following that loss, Patterson launched an unsuccessful bid for state commissioner of public lands in 1932 as a candidate of the Liberty Party. Little is known of the remainder of his life, excepting notice of his death in New Mexico on March 23, 1940, aged 77. He was survived by his wife Flora and his four children and was interred at the Fort Sumner Cemetery in De Baca County, New Mexico.