Sands Hunt Witherspoon (1859-1926)

From the Maine legislative composite photo of 1905.

  Continuing on our theme of unusually named Maine legislators, we journey to Knox County and Sands Hunt Witherspoon, an obscure resident of North Haven who served a term in the house of representatives early in the 20th century. The last of 10 children, Sands Hunt Witherspoon was born in Rockport on June 1, 1859, the son of  James (1807-1888) and Hannah Greenlaw Witherspoon (1817-1881). Early in his life, Witherspoon removed with his family to North Haven, and his early education was likely obtained there.

   There is a dearth of resources concerning Witherspoon's early life and employment, except notice of his being a fruit grower in Pulpit Harbor, Maine in the early 1890s. In 1904 he announced his candidacy for the Maine House of Representatives and won election that fall. Taking his seat at the start of the 1905-06 session, Witherspoon served a single term and sat on the County Estimates and Towns committees.

  Little else could be found on Witherspoon's life following his term. In 1908 he is recorded as the owner of a grocery and general store in Pulpit Harbor, as well as being a photographer. He died on November 10, 1926, in North Haven and was interred in the Witherspoon family plot at the Fuller Cemetery in that town.

Herbrand Langeberg Olson (1845-1926)

Portrait from the History of  Mitchell and Worth County, Iowa.

   Another in a long line of Norwegian natives profiled here, Herbrand Langeberg Olsen immigrated to the United States with his family at an early age, and first settled in Wisconsin. Following his relocation to Worth County, Iowa, he began a career in farming that extended through the remainder of his life. During his eighty years, Olson cultivated a reputation as a hardworking citizen and earned positions of public trust in his community, serving as township supervisor and school board treasurer. In 1903 he won election to the Iowa House of Representatives from Worth County, serving one term.

  The son of Ole and Gertie Olson (surname also spelled Oleson), Herbrand Langeberg Olson was born in Nes, Hallingdal, Norway on January 27, 1845. Left fatherless at an early age, Olson immigrated with his mother and family across the Atlantic and reached Quebec, Canada after a nine-week journey. The family then traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin before establishing roots in Rock County. Olson's formative years were spent there and in 1855 saw his mother remarry to Ole Peterson. The family removed to Worth County, Iowa the following year, where Olson worked at farming and was a student in the district school. 

  In 1862 Olson joined in the ongoing war effort, enlisting in Co. B., 32nd Iowa Infantry. His service extended several months and was honorably discharged in March 1863 in Tennessee due to health concerns. He returned to his family's farm upon the conclusion of his service, and in 1864 removed to the town of Brookfield, where he established his own farm. In April 1868 he married Ragnhild Olsdatter Mickelson (1843-1925), whose name is misspelled in the 1918 History of Mitchell and Worth Counties as "Maranda Mekkelson". The couple's marriage extended nearly sixty years and produced several children, Gertie, Augustina (1872-1897), Olena (1871-1909), Amelia, Ole, Amelia (1881-1961), and Carl (died in infancy).

  Following his marriage Olson continued farming in Brookfield, owning a "very productive tract of land" with "fields carefully and systematically cultivated". He would hold membership in the G.A.R. chapter and with his family attended the local Norwegian Lutheran Church. Before his service in state government, Olson held several local political offices, including county supervisor, town clerk, trustee, and for fourteen years was school treasurer for Brookfield. In the early 1900s, he served as president of the Farmer's Mutal Insurance Company of Worth County, his full dates of service being unknown at this time.

  In 1903 Olson made the jump into state politics, announcing his candidacy as an independent republican for the Iowa House of Representatives. In the weeks following his announcement Olson's character was highlighted in editions of the Forest City Summit and the Lake Mills Graphic, with the latter noting that he was "universally respected, and no lisp against his integrity was ever raised or ever will be, we believe."

From the Lake Mills Graphic, October 7, 1903.

  In November 1903 Olson defeated his opponent, Andrew Miller, by nearly 600 votes, and took his seat in January 1904. The 1904-06 session saw Olson appointed to the following committees: the Agricultural College and Farm, Agriculture, Claims, Congressional Districts, County and Township Organization, Labor, Military Affairs, Penitentiaries, and the Soldiers and Sailors Home.

  After leaving the statehouse Olson and his wife resided in Northwood, Iowa. In 1925 he traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota to take part in the Norse-American Centennial, and was selected as an honorary bodyguard to President Calvin Coolidge. Widowed in March 1925, Olson survived his wife by one year, dying after weeks of ill health on December 30, 1926. Both he and his wife were interred at the Elk Creek Lutheran Cemetery in Kennett, Iowa.

From the Northwood Anchor Index, December 30, 1926.

Mazzini Slusser (1853-1926)

   In keeping with the recent theme of oddly named Illinois judges, today's profile centers on Mazzini Slusser, yet another Ohio resident who became a prominent judicial figure in Illinois! Of the three judges profiled within the past few days, Mr. Slusser is arguably the most obscure, with only a few sources mentioning him at any great length. Born in Williams County, Ohio on October 3, 1853 (year also variously given as 1852 or 1854), Mazzini Slusser was the son of Jonas Peter and Mary Prettyman Slusser. It is unknown why Slusser was given the unusual first name of "Mazzini", but he was most likely named in honor of Italian activist, politician, and journalist Giuseppe Mazzini (1805-1872), one of the most prominent advocates for Italian unification during the 19th century.
    Slusser married in 1875 to Ms. Ina May Schaffer (a Williams County native) and five children were born to the couple: Carl (born 1880), Thomas Harry (born 1882) Jean Paul (born 1887), Horace Greeley (born 1889) and Herbert R. (date of birth uncertain). Shortly after his marriage, Slusser began law studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and graduated with his degree in 1876. He would return to his home in Ohio to establish his practice and in 1885 was elected as Fulton County Prosecuting attorney. 
   Mazzini Slusser's time as prosecuting attorney extended two terms, resigning in 1891. The Slusser family left Ohio during the early 1890s and established roots in Du Page County, Illinois. Within a few years of his resettlement, Slusser was named to the position of prosecuting attorney for Du Page County, serving in this position until 1904. Three years after the conclusion of his term as prosecuting attorney Slusser was appointed to a vacancy on the Illinois Circuit Court's 16th district, the vacancy being occasioned by the death of Judge Linus C. Ruth a few days previously. Slusser's tenure on the Illinois Circuit Court extended three terms, the last of which concluded in 1921. The following year Slusser was an unsuccessful candidate for a seat on the Illinois State Supreme Court.
   Little else could be found concerning the rest of Slusser's life, although it is known that he died in Eureka Springs, Arkansas in January 1926 at age 73, "having been in failing health for over a year". His remains were later returned to Illinois for burial in Downer's Grove, an exact cemetery name being unknown at this time.

Slusser's obituary from the Illinois True Republican, January 30, 1926.

Sophronius Stocking Landt (1842-1926)

From the Watertown, Wisconsin News, January 23, 1895.

   This curiously named man is Sophronius Stocking Landt, a soldier, teacher, and one-term member of the Wisconsin state assembly. He was born in the small village of Aztalan, Wisconsin on November 1, 1842, being the son of Frederick and Anna Edwards Landt. The Landt family would remove from Aztalan to Big Spring, Wisconsin when their son was seven, and Sophronius would reside in that town until the late 1870s.
   Sophronius received his education in the common schools of Adams County and later began attending the Brunson Institute in Point Bluff. Landt eventually left his studies at the aforementioned institute in 1861, signing on for military service in Company D of the Tenth Wisconsin Infantry. His service extended until November 1864, and the 1895 Wisconsin Blue Book notes that Landt participated in many major engagements during the course of the war, including Stone River, Lookout Mountain, Perryville, Chickamauga, and the siege of Atlanta in 1864. 
   Landt was mustered out of service in November 1864 and in September of the following year married Margaret "Maggie" Wilber (1843-1917), with whom he had five children. In the decades following his military service, Landt moved to the town of Friendship, where he engaged in farming and teaching. He held local political office as township clerk and later relocated to Packwaukee, where he partnered in a mercantile firm with B.E. Willer. In 1886 he was elected as the Treasurer of Adams County, serving in this post until 1892. In 1889 Landt was selected by then-Wisconsin Governor William D. Hoard as Wisconsin's delegate to the Farmer's National Congress that was to be held in Montgomery, Alabama.

                                                                        Sophronius S. Landt

   In November 1894 the citizens of Adams and Marquette county elected Sophronius S. Landt to the Wisconsin State Assembly, besting Democratic nominee William Risk by a vote of 2416 to that of 1139. During his term (which extended from 1895-97) Landt served on the committees on Agriculture and Labor & Manufacture. Following his time in state government Landt was named as Superintendent of Schools at Sparta, Wisconsin (holding that post for four years), and in 1897 was hit with allegations of stealing, extending from his time as Adams County Treasurer. In October of that year, Landt was arrested on charges of an "alleged shortage of $900 in accounts" by then Adams County sheriff Harry Barrett and was subsequently taken to Adams County.

  Following his arrest, Landt asked to be "relieved" of his position as superintendent, and explained that he had "receipts from the county in full for the settlement of all balances found against him." The Adams County board launched an investigation that extended through most of November, and by November 22 he had been found innocent of the charges leveled against him. In a Marinette Eagle column published November 22nd, the charges of malfeasance had been an attempt to injure Landt politically, and had been orchestrated by "his political enemies."

From the Wisconsin State Journal, Nov. 22, 1897.

  With the charges dismissed by the Adams County district attorney and county board, Landt returned to his duties as Sparta school superintendent, continuing in that post into April 1899. Following a stint as superintendent of the Waupun state prison farm, Landt and his wife removed to Herman, Minnesota in 1911, where he became manager of a creamery, according to his obituary published in the Waukesha Daily Freeman. He died in Herman on October 12, 1926, at the age of 83. He was preceded in death by his wife Maggie in 1917, and both were interred at the Big Spring Cemetery in Big Spring, Wisconsin. Interestingly, Landt kept a diary of his life that extended from his Civil War service until his death, and the results of this diary were published in book form under the title Your Country Calls, decades after his death. 

                       Landt's obituary from the Waukesha Freeman, published on Oct. 16. 1926.