Kirtland Irving Perky (1867-1939)

Portrait courtesy of the Library of Congress.

  After nearly six years and over six hundred profiles, the Strangest Names In American Political History can point to Idaho as being a state with a very meager amount of representation here on the site. With just Burpee L. Steeves (a former Lieutenant Governor) and Trowbridge C. Egleston (a former Mayor of Caldwell) keeping the flame alive for the Gem State, Idaho gains another profile here due to the political service of Kirtland Irving Perky, who for several months represented that state in the U.S. Senate due to a vacancy.

   A lawyer based in Nebraska before his removal to Idaho, Perky briefly served as a state district court judge before his short stint in the U.S. Senate. A native of the Buckeye State, Kirtland Irving Perky was born in Smithville, Wayne County, Ohio on February 8, 1867, being the son of Dr. John Firestone and Esther Martin Perky. Young Kirtland's early education took place in the state of his birth and at age thirteen moved with his family to Nebraska. Despite their move, Perky continued his higher education in Ohio. graduating from Ohio Northern University in 1888 with his Bachelor of Science degree. He married in April 1891 to Ella Hunter (1870-1921), with whom he would have one daughter, Esther (1892-1980).

  Returning to Nebraska following his graduation, Perky took up the study of law in Lincoln, first with the law firm of Bryan and Talbot (the Bryan being William Jennings Bryan.) Perky continued to study with the firm of Cornish and Tibbetts and for one year studied law at the University of Iowa, being admitted to the bar in 1890. He established his first practice at Wahoo, Nebraska, where he remained until 1894. He shortly thereafter relocated to Albion, Idaho, and after several years in that location moved his practice to Mountain Home. It was in this city that Perky first entered politics, being appointed as a state district court judge in 1901, filling a vacancy. Perky would briefly serve in that post, declining to run for election in his own right.

   Around the same time as his service as judge, Kirtland Perky took on additional political duties when he was named as chairman of the Idaho democratic central committee, holding that office from 1900-1902. He would continue with his law practice for the next decade and in 1912 achieved national prominence when he was selected by then Governor James Hawley to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate. This vacancy had been occasioned by the death of two-term senator Weldon Brinton Heyburn, who had died shortly after collapsing on the floor of the U.S. Senate in October 1912. 

From the Boise Evening Capital News, November 17, 1912.

   Kirtland I. Perky officially took his seat in the U.S. Senate on November 18, 1912, and would serve in that capacity until the close of the Senate term in February 1913. On February 5, 1913, former Idaho Governor James Henry Brady was duly elected by the Idaho legislature as Heyburn's successor and Perky retired to Boise to resume the practice of law. Following his return, Perky became a senior member of the law firm of Perky and Brinck and in 1916 was part of the Idaho delegation to the Democratic National Convention held in St. Louis. 

  In 1923 Kirtland Perky removed to Los Angeles, California, where he continued to practice law. In 1932 he reemerged on the political scene on behalf of his friend Ralph W. Eckhardt, who was then running for the California state assembly. As both men had known one another from their time in Idaho, Perky took to the stump for his friend, describing him as a "man of staunch loyalty and a Democrat in the truest sense of the word."  

   Perky continued to reside in Los Angeles until his death on January 9, 1939, at age 71. He was preceded in death by his wife Ella, who died aged 51 in 1921 and was buried in Boise. Following his death, Perky was interred at the famed Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, the resting place of such luminaries as L. Frank Baum, Wallace Beery, Humphrey Bogart, Jean Harlow, Aimee Semple McPherson and Michael Jackson.

Perky during his time in the U.S. Senate, courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Verrazzani Carlyle Bratton Sr. (1860-1923)

Portrait courtesy of Find-A-Grave.

    Our first profile for May takes us to Searcy County, Arkansas, and Verrazzani Carlyle "V.C." Bratton Sr., certainly one of the oddest named men to be elected to public office in "the Natural State". As a former Sheriff, Judge, and county clerk for Searcy County, Bratton would go on to further distinction when he served as an Arkansas delegate to the  Democratic National Convention of 1916.

   The eldest of eight children born to James and Dicy Anah Hatchett Bratton, Verrazzani Carlyle Bratton's birth occurred in Wiley's Cove, Arkansas on July 19, 1860. While the origins of his outstandingly different first name remain unknown at the time of this writing, Bratton may have received his first name in honor of Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano (1485-1528), whose name is sometimes anglicized as John Verrazzani. Notable for being the first European explorer since the Vikings to explore the Atlantic coast of North America, Verrazzano may be familiar to most as being the namesake of Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which spans between Staten Island and Brooklyn.

   The 1894 Reminiscent History of the Ozark Region relates that "V.C." Bratton began his education in schools native to the area of his birth, while also "learning the details of farming." While still a youth Bratton learned the trade of bookkeeping and would eventually become a clerk in a general store in Marshall, Arkansas. His early years in Marshall saw him become "active and popular politically" in local Democratic party circles, and at age 26 was elected as the clerk of Searcy County, Arkansas, subsequently serving four years in office (1886-1890).

   V.C. Bratton married in November 1889 to Arnetta Jane Greenhaw (1870-1938), and this couple later became the parents to eight children, who are listed as follows in order of birth: York (died in infancy in 1890), Una Rose (1892-1985), Verrazzani Dinsmore (died in infancy in 1899), Mary Dicey (1903-1980), Helen Kathleen (1907-1980), Verrazzani Carlyle Jr. (1911-1984), James Berry (1914-1982) and an infant child who died in 1891.

    In the same year as his marriage V.C. Bratton opened a general store in the town of Marshall, Arkansas, and through "honorable business methods" managed to build up "a patronage eminently satisfactory in every way." While still engaged with his mercantile firm, Bratton reentered Searcy County politics in 1894 when he was elected as County Sheriff for a term of two years. A member of both the Masonic and Odd Fellows Lodges, Bratton also served as Searcy County's delegate to the Northern Arkansas Mineral Convention of 1901, which was held in Marion County. 

   In the 1905 election year, Verrazzani Bratton continued his rise through the ranks of local county politics, being elected as judge of Searcy County, Arkansas. He was re-elected as judge in 1907, 1909, and 1911, and while the incumbent was elected as vice president of the Marshall Bank, this occurring in 1908. Bratton had been one of the bank's founders and had also served on its official board since its incorporation. In addition to his involvement with the bank Bratton was also the builder of the "Bratton Hotel" in Marshall, which is mentioned by the 1911 Historical Review of Arkansas as having been made "the favorite resort for professional and commercial men who gravitate to the county seat."

From the Harrison County Times, February 28, 1914.

   In February 1914 "V.C." Bratton announced that he would be seeking the Democratic nomination for Congress from Arkansas' 3rd district, with the primary election taking place in April of that year. In his campaign announcement (published in the February 28th edition of the Harrison County Times), Bratton laid out an extensive list of what his congressional platform would consist of, including the following:

• Being "in favor of the government aiding the states in construction of good roads."
• Being "opposed to a large standing army in a time of peace."
• Being "in favor of liberal appropriations for the purpose of farm demonstration work, soil surveying, eradicating the cattle tick and in stamping out hog cholera."
• Being "in favor of the government and state, with the proper restrictions, to authorize individuals and corporations to construct dams across our streams for hydro electric power purposes, etc." 

  Touting his previous experience as Searcy County Judge, sheriff, and circuit court clerk, Bratton further related in his candidacy notice that:

"I mention this public service that you may, by referring to any reputable citizen of Searcy County, learn of my devotion to duty and loyalty to the people's interests, and enable you to judge my fitness for, and ability to, discharge the duties of this office."

  Despite carrying two decades worth of political experience with him, V.C. Bratton came up short in the vote count in April 1914. As one of six men vying for the nomination in that year's primary, Bratton placed fourth, the nomination instead going to former University of Arkansas President John Newton Tillman (1859-1929). Tillman would go on to win the national election that November and would serve a total of fourteen years in Congress, dying in office in 1929. 

An election result for V.C. Bratton, from the April 4, 1914 Harrison Times.

    Following his defeat for Congress Bratton returned to his duties as Searcy County judge, his term concluding in 1914. Two years after leaving the office of Judge V.C. Bratton served as part of the Arkansas delegation to the 1916 Democratic National Convention in St. Louis, where Charles Evans Hughes received the nomination for President. A roster from the Arkansas delegation (bearing Bratton's name) is shown below.

  Little could be found on Bratton's life following his service as a delegate, excepting notice of his death in Searcy County, Arkansas on July 16, 1923, three days short of his 63rd birthday. He was survived by his wife Nettie and five of his children, and both he, his wife, and two of their infant children are interred at the Marshall Cemetery in Searcy County.

Freeze Quick (1871-1946)

   The name would be Freeze Quick. Ponder that for a minute. Freeze Quick. While this intriguingly named Pennsylvanian may sound like he has a made-up name, he was, in fact, a real person, being a prominent resident in his native Columbia County. I first discovered this obscure figure via the politicalgraveyard website many years ago and in all that time Mr. Quick remained one of the most mysterious people I've stumbled across, having no available birth or death dates, parent's names, education or burial location!

   With this distinct lack of information on him, I was beginning to think that Mr. Quick would forever remain that obscure Pennsylvania Democratic National Convention delegate with the seemingly made-up name-- that was until I established some e-mail correspondence with the Columbia County Historical and Genealogical Society in early December of last year!  With these e-mail exchanges, Columbia County Historical Society director Bonnie Farver came to my rescue regarding Mr. Quick, and through our correspondence, a number of new details on Quick's life have come to light, including some background on his highly unusual name. Bonnie also sent the above picture of Mr. Quick as well as an obituary/internment record for him, which helped out significantly in terms of information!

   Freeze Quick's story begins with his birth on September 10, 1870, in Rupert, Pennsylvania, being the son of William McBride Quick (born 1841) and Mary Gosse Freeze. Quick's 1946 obituary in the Morning Press newspaper notes that he "was born and raised in Rupert" and most likely attended the public schools of this town. Quick remained a lifelong bachelor and was recorded as making his home with a Ms. Maud Derr in Bloomsburg. Little else could be found in regards to Quick's early life or education, so we jump forward now to 1899 when Quick was elected as Secretary of the Bloomsburg Town Council. Quick was one of three candidates for the office and was noted by the Bloomsburg Columbian as being elected on the second ballot.

                                             From the April 17, 1902 Bloomsburg Columbian.

   In the year following his service as secretary, Quick became employed as an assistant to then Columbia County prothonotary and clerk of courts C.M. Terwilinger. Quick was elected to the office of Columbia County prothonotary in his own right in 1908 and reelected in 1911 for another term of three years. Quick also held the post of clerk of the Court of Quarter Sessions and of the Orphan's Court during this time period and is listed as such in the article below.

  While Freeze Quick's service as Columbia County's prothonotary can be considered an elected public office, it is his service as a delegate to the 1912 and 1916 Democratic National Conventions that earns him a place here. The Democratic National Convention of 1912 was held in Baltimore that year and Quick traveled to Maryland to take part in the convention proceedings. The New York Herald notes that Quick stayed at the Belvidere Hotel in that city, and many of his fellow delegates and hotel guests were perplexed by his unique name, as evidenced by the article below!

From the June 1912 New York Herald.

   Quick's odd name and service as an alternate delegate to the 1916 Democratic National Convention in St. Louis. Missouri gained him plenty of attention in newspapers of the time. In one of those strange historical twists, there was another interestingly named delegate to this convention. His name? Icy W. Day of  Mississippi! This odd side story was picked up by the New York Sun, which published an editorial that stated: "If any newspaper reader, or newspaper owner, managing editor, telegraph editor, telegrapher, linotyper, proofreader, stereotyper or copyboy passes up these opening words lightly because of refusal to believe that there is a Mississippi delegate named Icy Day or a Pennsylvania alternate named Freeze Quick, he's making a consummate ass of himself, that's all."  After reading the below write-up on the convention, one can almost imagine these two oddly named characters palling around the St. Louis Convention Hall together!

From the June 1916 edition of the New York Sun.

   In the years that followed his service as a DNC delegate, Quick continued to be a prominent figure in Bloomsburg, maintaining memberships in a number of local fraternal organizations. His obituary in the Morning Press notes that he was a past governor of the Bloomsburg  Lodge #623 of the Royal Order of Moose on several occasions and was the lodge's representative to Great Britain at an international conference. Quick was also a past librarian for the Columbia County Fair Association, a member of the Washington Lodge #265 of Free and Accepted Masons, and a parishioner at the St. Paul's Episcopal Church. In addition to his various civic activities, Quick is mentioned as being an experienced hunter and fisherman.

  Freeze Quick died at age 75 on July 31, 1946, at the Bloomsburg Hospital. His obituary notes that he had been in a period of declining health for two years, and during his hospital stay his name was featured in a "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" newspaper cartoon. The Morning Press obituary below appeared on August 1, 1946, and was graciously sent to me by Bonnie Farver.

   A few days following his death, Freeze Quick was interred at the Old Rosemont Cemetery in Bloomsburg. Several Freeze's relatives and descendants are also buried in this cemetery, including his grandparents William Grier Quick (1815-1879) and Sarah MacBride Quick, who died in December 1887. In addition to the above obituary, Bonnie Farver was also kind enough to send me a print of Freeze Quick's internment record at Rosemont, a portion of which is shown below. This record also notes Quick's death was caused by "chronic myocarditis". 

  As stated in the lengthy introduction to Quick's profile here, this article would not have been possible without the generous help and research of Bonnie Farver and the Columbia County Historical Society. Because of their extensive input and fact-finding, Freeze Quick now has a face to place with his amazing name, and with all of the information that I was graciously supplied with by the above-mentioned folks, he now has at least one substantial biography online that details his life and exploits! A thousand thanks for all of your help!!

  The picture of Freeze Quick shown above was featured in a 1940 Bloomsburg newspaper print that was sent to me by Bonnie Farver. A full version of the above picture is shown below.

                                Freeze Quick is shown on the extreme right in the above portrait.