From the 1935 North Carolina Senate composite photograph.
The name Simon Bolivar stands as one of prominence in Latin American history, and during a short life (he died aged 47 in 1830), this Venezuelan military leader led the fight to free the modern-day states of Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Venezuela from Spanish rule. From 1819-30 Bolivar would serve as the first president of Gran Columbia (comprising what would become Columbia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela), the first union of independent nations in Latin American history. In the years following his death, numerous areas throughout the world were named in his honor, and it may come as some surprise that several American political figures were as well!
The first of these men, Bolivar Steadman Hurley, was a Montgomery County, North Carolina attorney who represented that county in both houses of the North Carolina legislature. A lifelong North Carolinian, Bolivar S. Hurley was born in the town of Troy on May 16, 1888, the son of Wilburn and Elizabeth Delina (Hines) Hurley. His early education was obtained at the Trinity Park School from 1904-07 and in September 1907 enrolled at the Trinty College, where he remained for three years.
Deciding to pursue a law degree, Hurley studied at both the Trinity College Law School and took a summer course at the Wake Forest Law School. After obtaining his degree, Hurley commenced practice in his hometown, and in 1912 entered into his first political office, that of mayor of Troy. Just 23 years old at the time of his election, Hurley served until 1914, and in November 1916 was elected to his first term in the North Carolina House of Representatives. Taking his seat at the start of the 1917-18 session, Hurley was named to the committees on Appropriations, Insurance, Justices of the Peace, Mines and Mining, Printing, and Public Roads and Turnpikes. This term also saw Hurley serve as part of a special house delegation to "inspect roads in Western North Carolina under construction by prisoners."
Bolivar Hurley's first house term proved to be short, as he resigned in 1917 to join in the ongoing war effort. Enlisting in the U.S. Army, Hurley would undergo training at Camp Jackson in South Carolina, Camp Oglethorpe in Georgia, and Camp Perry, Ohio. He would attain the rank of First Lieutenant of Infantry and served overseas, returning to the United States in the summer of 1919.
After his return to North Carolina, Hurley recommenced practicing law and in 1924 won a second term in the legislature. The 1925-27 session saw him serve on the committees on Claims, Constitutional Amendments, Election Laws, Finance, Immigration, Judiciary No. 1, Military Affairs, Privileges and Elections, and Public Welfare. In 1934 Hurley advanced to a seat in the state senate, winning election to that body in November of that year. During the 1935-37 session, Hurley was one of two senators representing the 18th senatorial district and would serve on the following committees: Banks and Currency; the Caswell Training School; Consolidated Statutes; Corporations; Counties, Cities and Towns; Enrolled Bills; Judiciary No. 1; Penal Institutions; Pensions and the Soldiers Home; Propositions and Grievances; Public Roads; and Public Utilities.
Hurley's life after the conclusion of his senate service largely remains obscure, excepting notice of his 1941 disbarment from practicing law. The details surrounding Hurley's disbarment remain murky, though it has been found that the Council of the North Carolina Bar Association ordered the suspension of Hurley's law license in January of that year. A lifelong bachelor, Hurley later died on March 28, 1947, in Troy, and was interred at the Southside Cemetery in that town.
Portrait courtesy of Findagrave.
During a long life that extended ninety years, Missouri native Bolivar Starke Head attained distinction through education and law, first being a professor of mathematics and astronomy at the University of Missouri. Following his tenure in that post, he turned his attention to local political office, serving at various times as school commissioner, justice of the peace, and probate court clerk prior to his election as probate judge of Randolph County in 1890. A native of Virginia, Bolivar Starke Head was born in Hanover County on October 16, 1826, the son of John (1800-83) and Adaline Starke Head (1806-75).
Removing to Missouri with his family in 1831, Head's early education was obtained in that state and during his youth resided on a farm. In the late 1840s, he enrolled at the University of Missouri and in 1849 graduated first in his class. After briefly pursuing law studies in Fayette, Missouri, Head decided against a career in law and instead accepted the appointment of professor of mathematics and astronomy at his alma mater in 1851. Head's tenure at the university extended until 1860, and this post also saw him serving in the additional role of university librarian from 1853-60. As librarian, Head would compile the first catalog of the university's library and was talked of as a potential candidate for president of the university in 1859.
Bolivar S. Head married to Amanda Margaret Snell (1837-1901) on July 13, 1858. The couple's 43-year marriage produced ten children, Ashby Snell (born 1859), George Lasley (born 1863), James Landon (1865-1940), Ovid Calhoun (born 1871), Emma Adaline (1875-1890); and five other children that died in infancy.
Turning to local politics in the 1870s, Head served as school commissioner for Randolph County from 1875-77, and from 1880-84 was a justice of the peace. Beginning in 1887 Head held the post of Randolph County probate court clerk, and in 1890 won election as County Judge of Probate. He was reelected in 1894 and served another four-year term. Following his leaving office Head resided in Moberly, Missouri, where he was that city's first engineer. Sources also denote Head's prior residence in the town of Rolla, where he practiced law for an indeterminate period.
Widowed in 1901, Head survived his wife Amanda by fifteen years and celebrated his 90th birthday in October 1916. He died twelve days later on October 28, 1916, and at his death was acknowledged as the oldest member of the Randolph County bar. Both Head and his wife were interred at the Oakland Cemetery in Moberly.
From the 1876 Randolph County Atlas.
Portrait courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Arguably the most notable of the men featured in this article, Bolivar Edwards Kemp was a lifelong Louisianan who represented his state's 6th congressional district in the U.S House of Representatives for eight years, dying in office in 1933. The son of William Breed Kemp and the former Elizabeth Nesom, Bolivar Edwards Kemp was born in Amite, Louisiana on December 28, 1871. He received his name in honor of Bolivar Edwards, long a prominent figure in Tangipahoa Parish. Edwards (1837-1903), was a leading lawyer in his region, being a two-time district attorney and in 1872 was elected to one term in the Louisiana House of Representatives.
Kemp's early education saw him attend schools local to Amite and also had private tutoring. He would enroll at Tulane University in the 1890s where he read law, and following graduation was admitted to the state bar in 1897. He would partner with his father and brother Duncan Stuart Kemp, and after the death of his father in 1900 was a member of the firms of Kemp and Spiller, and Kemp and Buck. In 1903 he married Esther Edwards "Lallie" Conner (died 1943), to who he was wed until his death. The couple would have two children, Bolivar Edwards Jr. (1904-1965) and Eleanor Ogden Kemp Ellis (1910-2003).
In addition to his law practice, Kemp was a booster for "agricultural and trucking industries" in his area, and in 1910 was appointed as a member of the Louisiana State University Board of Supervisors, where he served into the mid-1920s. In 1924 Kemp announced his bid for the U.S. House of Representatives, and in November of that year won the election, polling 10,216 votes.
Kemp's first term saw him sit on the committees on Coinage, Weights, and Measures; Expenditures in the Interior Department; and Roads. He would be reelected to seven more terms in Congress, the last of which occurred in November 1932. Kemp died in office of a heart attack on June 19, 1933, aged 61. Following his death, a special election was to be held to fill his vacant seat, with Governor Oscar K. Allen designating Kemp's widow Lallie to be the Democratic nominee. This action did not sit well with the constituents of the 6th congressional district, who wanted to nominate their own congressman. Lallie Kemp would win this special election but on December 27, 1933, the citizenry held their own election, voting in former state representative Jared Young Sanders Jr. (1892-1960).
With an electoral quagmire now in full effect, the U.S. House of Representatives threw out the results of both elections and called for a new election to be held in April 1934. Lallie Kemp declined to be a candidate in that election, with victory going to Jared Y. Sanders. Following their respective deaths, Bolivar Kemp and his wife were interred at the Amite Cemetery in Tangipahoa County.
From the Abbeville Meridional, January 3, 1948.
Political service continued in the Kemp family with Bolivar Edwards Kemp Jr., who served as Louisiana State Attorney General from 1948-52. Born in Amite on September 23, 1904, Kemp attended Tulane University and earned his law degree from George Washington University in the 1920s. Kemp continued post-graduate work at the Lousiana State University, and in 1932 married Menette Wilson (1905-1981).
After graduating law school Kemp took office as assistant district attorney for Louisiana at New Orleans. Following his father's death in 1933 Kemp went on to serve the 24th judicial district as its District Attorney for eleven years. (1937-48.) He entered into the race for state attorney general in 1948 and after garnering the Republican nomination went on to defeat incumbent attorney general Frederick S. LeBlanc in November of that year. He served until 1952, being defeated by Fred LeBlanc, and later died in Louisiana on October 27, 1965. He was survived by his wife and was later interred in the Kemp family plot in Amite.
Bolivar Lovell, 1826-1893.
Cheshire County, New Hampshire native Bolivar Lovell held several political offices of note in that county, and reached his highest degree of political prominence with his service on the Governor's Council of New Hampshire, serving under Person Colby Cheney. The son of former county solicitor Aldis Lovell and the former Martha Willard, Bolivar Lovell was born in New Hampshire on August 30, 1826.
A student in schools local to the Walpole, New Hampshire area, Lovell left that state at age sixteen to take employment at a general store in Providence, Rhode Island. After a three year residency, he removed back to New Hampshire to study law under the tutelage of his father, but his studies were put on hold when he received the appointment of deputy sheriff of Cheshire County at the youthful age of 21. He would serve in that capacity until 1855 when he was appointed county sheriff, a post he'd continue in for the next decade.
Seven years after his appointment as sheriff, Lovell was named U.S. Assessor of Internal Revenue for New Hampshire's 3rd district. He left that post in 1870, and in the preceding year had been admitted to the state bar. He established his practice in the town of Alstead and returned to politics in 1873 when he was elected to the New Hampshire Executive Council. Also known as the Governor's Council, this body still exists today and comprises five councilors that function as an advisory board to the governor. In addition to that role, the council has veto power over gubernatorial pardons, serves as a watchdog of the treasury, and also contributes to judicial nominations and cabinet offices in the state.
Lovell would serve on the council from 1873-74 under Governor Person Colby Cheney, who was profiled here in July 2011. Following that office, Lovell was a member of the state Board of Equalization and Taxes from 1879-80, and in the last-named year resettled in Drewsville, where he built a large home. He resided there until his death on June 10, 1893. Lovell was survived by his wife Sarah (1829-1904), who he had married in 1848. Both were interred at the Drewsville Cemetery.
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