Albae Haywood Nelson (1897-1944)

 

 From the Blair Pilot-Tribune, May 18, 1944.

  The Strangest Names In American Political History make a rare stop in Nebraska to examine the life of Albae Haywood Nelson, who briefly served as Washington County Judge. A lifelong Nebraskan, Nelson was born in Washington County on May 3, 1897, the son of Charles (1868-1948) and Elizabeth Sutton Nelson. His schooling was obtained at Blair High School, and after deciding upon a career in law, enrolled at the University of Nebraska's Law School.

  Following graduation from the university in 1930, Nelson practiced law in Omaha for a number of years and married Jennie Joy Fellows (1909-2006) in the 1930s. The couple had two daughters, Audrey Lee, and Judy Ann. Nelson moved back to Blair in April 1942, having been appointed as Washington County judge, the appointment being occasioned by the enlistment of Judge John Carrigan in the Army Air Corps. Nelson was sworn in as judge and served in that capacity until his death in May 1944. 

  In his final months in office, Nelson entered into the race for district court judge from Nebraska's 4th judicial district, which comprised Burt, Douglass, and Washington counties. In that year's Republican primary Nelson emerged victorious, polling 575 votes to his opponent's 554, and his name went on the ballot for the general election in the fall. Despite his victory, Nelson's health began to fail due to a gallbladder ailment, and in May 1944 was transferred to Fremont for surgery. After his surgery on May 10, Nelson appeared to rally, only for gangrene to set in, and on May 17 died at that hospital, just two weeks after his 47th birthday. He was survived by his wife and children and following funeral arrangements was interred at the Blair Cemetery.

From the Arlington Review Herald, April 6, 1944.

Worl Worden Thompson (1897-1961)

From the Caldwell Journal, June 25, 1953.

   December begins a month-long stay in Ohio to profile a number of unusually named Buckeye State politicians. The first of these individuals to be profiled is Worl Worden Thompson, an auto dealer and popular business figure in Noble County for forty years. The founder of one of the oldest automotive dealerships in Noble County, Thompson attained additional prominence through public service, being a two-term state representative and one-term mayor of Caldwell. A native of West Virginia, Worl Worden Thompson was born in the village of Silver Hill on August 18, 1897.

  Following his birth, Thompson and his family removed to Pleasant Valley in Marion County, where he attended "small country schools." Early in his life, Thompson entered into automotive sales in Moundsville, West Virginia, and continued in business in Woodsfield, where he was employed at a Maxwell dealership. Worl Thompson married Madge O. Laudin (1898-1954) in the 1910s and had three daughters, Etta V. (1918-2000), June (1920-1952), and Mary (1921-1998).

  In 1921 Thompson and his family removed to Noble County, Ohio.  Settling in Caldwell, he established a Dodge dealership and several years later expanded his business with his purchase of the John Beckett building, a former livery stable and skating rink. By the mid-1920s, Thompson's dealership had added Studebaker products to its inventory, and in 1929 he was elected as president of the Caldwell Businessmen's Club for a one year term. 

  With his name firmly established in the Noble County business sector by 1930, Worl Thompson entered local politics with his election to the Caldwell city council. In January 1930 he was named to the council committee on streets, and continued to serve as a councilman into May 1933, when he was named as mayor of Caldwell. This appointment was occasioned by the illness and resignation of Mayor George Stanley "G.S." Ullman, and Thompson served as acting mayor "until after the fall election."

From the Newark Advocate, May 27, 1933.

   Following his brief tenure as mayor Thompson set his sights on higher office, and in 1938 announced his candidacy for the Ohio House of Representatives. In the August Republican primary Thompson emerged victorious, besting three term incumbent Samuel M. Frakes by a vote of 1,088 to 895. He would win the general election in November and took his seat at the start of the 1939-41 session. He won a second term in 1940, and during the 1941-43 term backed the creation of an Ohio Air Forest Patrol that would combat forest fires that had occurred in 18 eastern Ohio counties. In 1942 Thompson emerged as a candidate for member of the Ohio Republican State Central Committee, but withdrew his candidacy that June. 

  During World War II Thompson aided in the ongoing war effort by closing his garage and entering into defense department work. In 1942 he closed his garage and traveled to Dayton to begin work with the Pratt-Whitney engine department at the Patterson Dayton Airfield (now called Wright Patterson Air Force Base). He would later return to his automive business in Caldwell, and from 1945-46 served as president of the Noble County Chamber of Commerce.

  An active club man in his region, Thompson was a member of the Noble Lodge No. 459 of Free and Accepted Masons, the Olive Grange,  and the Noble County Fish and Game Association. He and his family were members of the Caldwell First Methodist Church, and in November 1951 he was honored with a belated 25-year plaque at the regional meeting of Dodge and Plymouth Dealers held in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

From the Caldwell Journal, November 29, 1961.

  In 1952 Worl Thompson was beset by tragedy, suffering the deaths of his wife Madge and daughter June. He continued with his business interests in Caldwell through the 1950s, and in 1959 again served on the Caldwell city council. Thompson's final months were marred by impaired health, and on March 19, 1961, died at his home in Caldwell, aged 63. He was survived by his daughters Etta and Mary and was interred in the Thompson family plot at the Olive Cemetery in Caldwell.

From the Caldwell Journal, March 20, 1961.

Memory King Tucker (1897-1985)

  This outstandingly named politician is Memory King Tucker, a Georgia resident who served three terms in his state's legislature. With a name like "Memory King" (which sort of brings to mind a trivia-related television show) Tucker's name is unique in the annals of politics and like most of the men who have preceded him here, obscurity again prevails. Aside from a small biographical blurb in the Georgia Official and Statistical Register, 1963-1964, little else could be found on this intriguingly named Georgian. 
  Memory King Tucker was born in Statham, Barrow County, Georgia on September 19, 1897, the son of Memory James and Eudora Lanier Tucker. Memory J. Tucker served as the first Mayor of Statham, Georgia, so it can certainly be said that politics and odd names ran in the Tucker family! Memory K. Tucker attended schools local to the Barrow County area and later removed to Burke County, where he married Mildred Hill in February 1916. The couple was married for over 40 years before divorcing in November 1956, and this union produced four children: Mamie (died aged one in 1919), Susie (born 1920), Margaret (born 1924), and Mary Elizabeth (born 1927).
  Tucker first became active in Georgia political affairs in 1935, when he was elected to the Waynesboro, Georgia City Council. He served in this post until 1936 and two years later was elected as the Mayor of Waynesboro. Tucker served four years in office and in the years following his mayoral term became active in civic affairs in Burke County. From 1944-1952 Tucker served as a member of the Burke County Board of Commissioners as well as the chairman of the Hospital and Housing Authorities. Further honors were accorded to him when was appointed as the president of the Bank of Waynesboro in the 1950s.
  Tucker's political profile received a significant boost in 1958 when he was elected to the first of three terms in the Georgia State House of Representatives, representing Burke County. Tucker was re-elected to the legislature in 1961 and 1963, and a roster from the 1964 session (bearing Tucker's full name) is posted below.

  Very little is known of Memory K. Tucker's life after his service in the state legislature. His wife Margaret died in 1984 at age 88 and Tucker himself died on February 27, 1985, at age 87. He was subsequently buried in the Magnolia Cemetery in Waynesboro, Georgia alongside his wife and infant daughter. The portrait of him featured above was discovered in the earlier mentioned Georgia Official and Statistical Register, published in 1964.