Vaudois Edward Handley (1864-1914)

From the San Diego Union and Daily Bee, July 12, 1912.

 Recently discovered via the 1907 edition of the California State Blue Book, Vaudois Edward Handley was a physician and farmer in Escondido who in the early 20th century ran two unsuccessful candidacies for the California state assembly. While his first name is certainly curious, Handley is also on a shortlist of unusually named political figures who've met their end in a, shall we say, strange way; in Handley's case being kicked in the face by a mule and dying a few days later! While his name and manner of death are certainly unusual, the spelling of Handley's first name is under scrutiny, being given as both Vaudois and Vandois in census records and modern genealogical webpages.

  Born in Corydon, Kentucky on July 23, 1864, Vaudois Edward Handley was the son of John Thomas (1839-1920) and Eliza Ann (Baldwin) Handley (1845-1881). While little is known of his early life or education, Handley is listed as marrying in Union County on November 15, 1886, to Emily "Emma" Wallace. The couple would have two sons, Wallace (1887-1891) and Owen Berry "Berry" (born 1888). Handley later remarried in 1895 to Anna J. Winston, who survived him upon his death in 1914. This marriage would see the births of three further children, Louise Winston, John Edward, and Eloise.

  Deciding to pursue a career in medicine, Handley enrolled at the Kentucky School of Medicine in Louisville, where he would graduate in the class of 1889. Following graduation he established himself in Sturgis in Union County and by the turn of the 19th century was still a resident of that town. In May 1901 he was elected as president of the Union County Medical Society, and by November of that year had made the decision to relocate to California. 

  Settling near Escondido, Handley later retired from the practice of medicine and engaged in farming. In 1906 he emerged on the political stage by announcing his candidacy for assemblyman from California's 80th assembly district. Running as a Democrat, Handley lost the general election to Republican Percy A. Johnson, 990 votes to 1,625. In the 1912 election year, Handley announced his second bid for the assembly, this time running as a Republican on an "extreme progressivism" platform. In a July 1912 write-up concerning his candidacy, Handley related that:

"I am a progressive on all issues--the initiative, the referendum and the recall...I believe in the election of United States senators by popular vote and would even favor election of senators in this manner."

  In that year's Republican primary he was dealt a second loss, losing to Fred Judson by a vote of 758 to 1,483. Little is known of the remainder of Handley's life, excepting the manner of his death. By September 1914, Handley had removed to San Diego and soon after his resettlement visited the ranch of his son Berry, located near that city. While visiting this ranch Handley was kicked in the face by a mule, inflicting injuries that necessitated a hospital stay. While under care at the Agnew Hospital in San Diego, Handley developed lockjaw (tetanus) and died several days following the initial accident on October 7, 1914, aged 50. He was survived by his wife, children, and father and was interred at the Greenview Cemetery in San Diego. 

Handley's name was misspelled in this notice from the American Medical Association.