Maryland Bullard Huggins (1870-1951)

From the South Carolina state legislative manual, 1943.

   A three-term member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, Maryland Bullard Huggins was a lifelong resident of the Palmetto State and prior to his legislative service served on the Timmonsville city council. Born in Florence County on June 23, 1870, Maryland B. Huggins was the son of James Henry Montgomery Huggins (1835-1900) and the former Louisa E.M Jones (1843-1879). Little is known of Huggins's formative years; by 1900, he had established roots in the ton of Timmonsville. Huggins married in South Carolina in December 1895 to Luella Lee Cox. The couple were married for over fifty years and had 11 children.

  In the years following his resettlement, Huggins became a civic leader in Timmonsville, serving terms on the city council, being a Florence County commissioner, and was a longstanding member of the Southern Methodist Church. He is also recorded as a farmer and livestock dealer in his region. In 1930 he announced his candidacy for the South Carolina House of Representatives and in September of that year detailed the tenets of his campaign in the Florence Morning News, noting:

"My principle platform, as I stated on the stump, is economy. I believe in good roads, good schools, but think that these should be put on an economical and business basis."

    In September 1930 Huggins was one of four Florence County legislative candidates to win in the Democratic primary, polling 4,365 votes. He went on to win the general election that November and would resign his seat on the Timmonsville Board of Aldermen. Taking his seat in January 1931, Huggins served until 1933 and was defeated for reelection in the Republican primary in September 1932. In May 1936 he announced his candidacy for a second term, and in a campaign notice promoting his previous service was remarked as having "fought during his legislative career for strict economy in state government."

From the Florence Morning News, May 24, 1936.

  Elected to a second term in November 1936, Huggins was named as a Lieutenant Colonel on the staff of Governor Olin Johnson early in 1938 and later proved "instrumental in passing the law furnishing free textbooks for students in the public schools of the state." In 1942 he won a third term in the legislature and during the 1943-44 session sat on the committees on Accounts, Agriculture, the Legislative Library, Police Regulations, and Social Security. He announced his candidacy for a fourth term in June 1944 but was defeated in that year's primary.

  Maryland Bullard Huggins continued residence in Timmonsville until his death at age 80 on March 17, 1951. His wife Louisa had died the year previously, and both were interred at the Byrd Cemetery in Timmonsville.

From the Columbia, South Carolina "State", March 18, 1951.

Desoto Shelton Hollowell (1870-1951)

Portrait courtesy of the Texas Legislative Reference Library. 

  One of a number of oddly named Texas state representatives to be profiled here on the site, Desoto Shelton Hollowell briefly represented Milam County in the state legislature, and prior to his election was affiliated with a Farm Labor Union in his region. Born in Mississippi on January 14, 1870 (or 1871, depending on the source), Desoto "D.S." Hollowell was the son of Henry Harrison and Sarah (Foust) Hollowell. Removing to Texas during his youth, Hollowell resided in Davilla and later settled in Salty in Milam County. Hollowell married there in 1894 to Alice Safronia Williams (1878-1955), who survived him upon his death. The couple had three daughters, Annie (1898-1957), Ruth (1902-1979), and Myrtle (1906-1979).

  After a period in Salty Hollowell and his family relocated to Rockdale, where "D.S." spent the remainder of his life. A longtime farmer in that region, Hollowell was active in forming the Farmer-Labor Union of Milam County in the 1920s. He was elected as the union's secretary in 1922, and was influential in the "building and operating of the Farmer's Union Warehouse."

  Elected from Rockdale to the Texas house of representatives in November 1924, Hollowell took his seat in January 1925 and was named to the committees on Agriculture, Examination of the Comptroller's and Treasurer's Accounts, Labor, and Livestock and Stock Raising. Hollowell served less than a year, having resigned in December 1925, and was later succeeded by Sam Hefley, in a special election to fill the vacancy.

  Hollowell continued to farm in Milam County until health concerns compelled him to retire. He died at his home in Rockdale on March 2, 1951, aged 81, and was survived by his wife and daughters. Hollowell was interred at the Salty Cemetery in Milam County.

Delsworth Mote Buckingham (1866-1951)

From the Wilmington News Journal, January 1, 1927.

  The Strangest Names In American Political History makes a rare stop in Delaware to profile Delsworth Mote Buckingham, a lifelong resident of Hockessin who represented his town for one term in the state assembly. Born in Hockessin on August 22, 1866, Delsworth Mote Buckingham was one of three children born to Richard Gilpin (1841-1939) and Sarah (Mote) Buckingham (1841-1882). Little is known of his early life, except notice of his being a painter and paperhanger by trade, and in September 1896 married his first wife Etta Stone. By 1900 he remarried to Minnie Ament (1866-1934) and following their separation married Adeline Klair (1865-1961), to who he was wed until his death. These marriages were childless.

   Active in several fraternal groups in New Castle County, Buckingham was elected assistant secretary of the Newark Lodge, No. 3, Independent Order of Good Templars in 1886, and was a member of the Independent Order of Red Men, the Odd Fellows, the Loyal Order of Moose, and the Armstrong Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons. A devout Presbyterian, Buckingham was a parishioner at the Red Clay Creek Presbyterian Church for three decades and was a Sunday school superintendent.

  Prior to his time in the legislature, Buckingham had never held political office and entered into the race for state representative from New Castle County in 1926. That November he was elected, besting Democratic nominee Lewis Dickey, 879 votes to 506. Taking his seat in January 1927, Buckingham chaired the committees on Charities and Public Health and was named to the committees on Education, Elections, the Judiciary, Public Highways, and Temperance. 

  Following his term, Buckingham continued residence in New Castle County, and in May 1934 was reelected Red Clay Creek Sunday school superintendent for the ninth consecutive year. His final years were marred by a heart condition, and on October 14, 1951, he died of a heart attack at his home. He was survived by his wife Adeline, and both were interred at the Red Clay Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery.

From the Wilmington News Journal, October 15, 1951.

Tellis Trimble Shaw (1868-1951)

Portrait from the Ohio State University Monthly, Volume VIII, 1917.

   For many years a prominent figure in the public life of Defiance, Ohio, Tellis Trimbull Shaw served that city as its solicitor and for six years held the post of Probate Judge for Defiance County. A lifelong native of the Buckeye State, Tellis T. Shaw's birth occurred in Fairfield County on January 18, 1868, being the son of John W. and Elizabeth Reese Shaw. A student in the public schools of Fairfield County, Tellis Shaw would attend the Ohio Wesleyan University and Ohio State University, being a standout baseball player at the latter school. He earned his law degree from Ohio State University in the class of 1892 and was admitted to the Ohio bar in that same year.

  On November 14, 1896, Tellis T. Shaw married Minnie Gertrude Sutphen (1872-1929), with whom he would have two daughters, Dorothy Shaw Squire (1903-1985) and Elizabeth Alice Shaw (1914-2012). 

   Following his admittance to the Ohio bar, Shaw's name was added to the Defiance-based firm of Harris, Cameron, and Shaw, which later shortened its name to Harris and Shaw in 1906. Their firm would be retained as counsel for several major clients, including the Defiance Machine Works; the State Bank of Defiance; the American Steel Packing Company; the Merchants National Bank of Defiance, and the First National Bank of Defiance.

   In 1903 Tellis Shaw made his first foray into elective office when he won election as Probate Judge for Defiance County. He would be reelected as Judge in 1905 and 1907 and after leaving office in 1909 was elected as City Solicitor of Defiance. He held that post for six years and throughout the remainder of his life was affiliated with a number of business concerns in his native city, including service as Director of the Defiance Home and Savings Loan Association and the Defiance Motor Truck Company. 

   In 1929 Minnie Gertrude Sutphen, Shaw's wife of over thirty years died at the age 57. He would survive his wife by sixteen years, dying at age 83 on August 24, 1951. Both Tellis and his wife were subsequently interred in a mausoleum at the Riverside Cemetery in Defiance.

Chelius Clifton Benefield (1867-1951)

From the Official and Statistical Register of Mississippi, 1912 edition.

   A successful businessman and political figure who made his home in both Tennessee and Mississippi, Chelius Clifton Benefield reached his highest degree of political prominence in 1911 when he won election as one of Pontotoc County's representatives to the Mississippi State Legislature. One of nine children born to William Hardy and Mary Hill Benefield, Chelius Clifton Benefield's birth occurred in the town of Trion, Georgia on October 17, 1867. He attended schools local to the area of his birth and later went on to study at the Terrell College in Texas.

   Both before and after his time at college Benefield spent time teaching school, being employed at various schools in Texas, Tennessee, and Georgia for a period of about ten years. He married in Tennessee on Independence Day 1894 to Ms. Belle Woodlee (1871-1953), to whom he was married for nearly sixty years. Their long marriage saw the birth of seven children, who are listed as follows: Myrtle May (born 1895), Bessie Bell (born 1896), Ralph Clinton (1899-1983), Glidden Ross (1902-1994), Tennie Alma (1905-1942), Chelius Clifton Jr. (1907-1921) and Mary Lucille Benefield DeBock (1909-1990).

   In the late 1890s, Benefield undertook a career change and began learning the art of surveying, subsequently becoming County Surveyor for the county of Warren in Tennessee, serving in this capacity from 1899-1903. Around this same time, Benefield began making his name known through various business endeavors in and around the Crossville, Tennessee area, including a stint as superintendent of the Tennessee Coal and Lumber Company. He was later instrumental in the founding of the Southern Land and Investment Company (serving as its General Manager) and occupied similar executive positions at the Monarch Coal Mining Company and the Crossville Lumber Company.

   Politics first beckoned to Chelius C. Benefield during his residency in Tennessee, and in 1896 received the nomination for the state senate from the county of Georgia. The Notable Men of Tennessee notes that he "declined the honor", and for the next decade and a half had little involvement in political affairs. He later left Tennessee and moved with his family to Mississippi, where in November 1911 he won election to the state House of Representatives from Pontotoc County. Taking office at the start of the 1912 legislative session, Benefield was named to the House Committee on Education, the Constitution, Engrossed Bills and also chaired the committee on Contingent Expenses.

                               From the Notable Men of Tennessee, Personal and Genealogical, Volume 1, 1905.

    Little is known of Chelius Benefield's life following the conclusion of his term in 1914. At some point between 1914 and 1921, he moved with his family to Tehama County, California, where he would reside for many years afterward. Chelius and Belle Benefield experienced personal tragedy in November 1921 with the death of their fourteen-year-old son Chelius Benefield Jr., who lost his life in a school bus-train collision near Proberta, California while on the way to the Red Bluff Union High School. Young Benefield was one of fourteen schoolchildren who lost their lives in the accident, which received significant coverage in the December 10, 1921 edition of the Sausalito News.

  Chelius Clifton Benefield died at the age of 83 in Butte, California on August 5, 1951, and was interred at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Red Bluff, California, where his son was laid to rest three decades earlier. Belle Benefield survived her husband by two years, and following her death in 1953 was interred at the same cemetery as her husband and son.

Upton Upton (1878-1951)

   Upton A. Upton was for many years a prominent figure within the Socialist Labor Party of the United States and was that party's candidate for high office in Oregon on several occasions throughout the 1920s and 30s. The above picture of him (featured in the Socialist Labor Party's official paper, The Weekly People) is rather blurry, but it stands as the only available portrait of the man that I could find.

  Upton Alma Upton was born in the village of Springerton, Illinois on September 6, 1878, and moved to Oregon with his family in 1886. For many years he was employed as a post office worker and first joined the Socialist Labor Party in 1905. Nothing could be found on Upton's personal life, although mention is given of his having at least one son, Keith Upton. Over the succeeding years, Upton worked his way up the hierarchy of the Socialist Labor Party, serving terms as Oregon State Secretary, and was a member of the SLP's National Executive Committee for two terms beginning in 1928.

  In 1920 Upton became the Industrial Labor candidate for Secretary of the State of Oregon. During that year's contest, he faced off against Republican candidate Samuel Kozer and Socialist candidate J.P. Sears. On election day Upton managed to poll 11,318 votes to Kozer's winning total of 178,722. A result from that contest appeared in the November 30, 1920 edition of the Morning Oregonian and is shown below.

  Undeterred by the lopsided electoral results, Upton A. Upton mounted a candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon in 1924, this time running on the Socialist Labor ticket. He received only 3,061 votes in this contest compared to the winning total of 72,910 for Republican incumbent Willis Chatman Hawley. Upton made three further attempts at a house seat, running in the elections of 1928, 1932, and 1940, but polled low numbers each time. 

  While unsuccessful at gaining political office, Upton was still considered a prominent figure within the Socialist Labor party ranks, and sources of the time denote that he was frequently sought after to lecture on problems plaguing the working class, as well as to tout the party platform to interested persons. Upton was also a regular contributor to The People, authoring columns on such topics as "Pacific Coast Strikes" and "Election Day Aftermath Exposes Shoddiness of Capitalist Reform". 

  Upton continued to be involved in Socialist Labor affairs until illness curbed his activity. He died in Portland shortly after his 73rd birthday on September 30, 1951, and was memorialized by The People in the following quotation: "Our comrade felt that he had a mission to perform in life, and like to think of himself as born into this world to fulfill this mission. He discovered in the Socialist Labor Party his field of activity. He often stated that when we come into contact with the true Socialist thought, a whole new world is opened to our vision."

From the November 17, 1951 Weekly People.

Ditzler Billoat Brown (1875-1951)

   A prominent resident in the city of McMinnville, Tennessee, Ditzler Billoat Brown found distinction in the fields of both publishing and politics during his life, being a founder of the Warren County, Tennessee Times as well as a five-term member of the Tennessee State House of Representatives. Listed by most sources as "Billoat Brown", little information could be found online in regards to his long public career, although a small obituary for him (published in the Southern Standard shortly after his death) came to my rescue in this respect!

  Ditzler Billoat Brown was born in Shiloh, Tennessee on May 26, 1875, the son of Absolom Duskin (1848-1889) and Betty Jane Dykes Brown (1856-1935). While his parents may have blessed him with a rather unusual name, Brown seems to have liked going by the name "Billoat Brown" instead of using his first name "Ditzler". Nearly all of the period sources that mention him list Brown as "Billoat Brown", which can make one wonder if he had some reservations about using his odd first name!

  The Brown family relocated from Shiloh to McMinnville when their son was six years of age,  and no information could be located on his education or schooling. Duskin Brown is listed as dying when his son was fourteen years old, and shortly after his father's passing Brown began work on the staff of the McMinnville Southern Standard. He remained in this employ until 1898 when he was elected to his first public office, that of Circuit Court clerk for Warren County. 

  Brown's tenure as clerk lasted until 1900, and three years later he returned to the field of publishing, helping to found the Warren County Times weekly newspaper with his younger brothers Aaron Burr and William Oatley Brown. This paper enjoyed wide circulation and was a success, with Billoat Brown continuing active involvement in its publication until 1945 when he retired due to health concerns. 

  On July 17, 1906, Ditzler Billoat Brown married in McMinnville to Rena Hughes (1886-1926) with whom he would have two children, Elizabeth W. (1909-1995) and Franklin H. (1921-1985). Ditzler and Rena were married for nearly twenty years until her death at age 39 in May 1926, and Brown never remarried after her untimely passing.

Brown as he looked during his first term in the Tennessee Assembly, circa 1926.

    While still engaged in the publishing of the Times, Brown made his first foray into public office, holding seats on the McMinnville City Board of Education as well as the Warren County Board of Election Commissioners. In 1925 he was elected to the first of five terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives and represented Warren County throughout his tenure. He was reelected in 1929 (serving until 1931), 1933-1935, 1935-1937, and for his final term in 1939 (serving until 1941). Brown's Southern Standard obituary also notes that he was a successful campaign manager in addition to his lengthy legislative service, helping guide Democrat Austin Peay (1876-1927) to victory during the Tennessee gubernatorial election of 1923.

   Ditzler Billoat Brown's final term in the legislature concluded in January 1941 and afterward, he returned to private life in McMinnville. He is mentioned in his obituary as being the "oldest member of the congregation of the First Methodist Church" and was also a past superintendent of that church's Sunday school. Brown died at his McMinnville home on August 15, 1951, one month after his 76th birthday. His death was noted in his Southern Standard obituary as being the result of a heart condition, and he was shortly thereafter interred at the Riverside Cemetery in McMinnville alongside his wife Rena. The three portraits of Brown contained in his profile here all come from a series of Tennessee Legislative composite portraits taken during his years in the legislature. These pictures can be viewed in their entirety on the Tennessee General Assembly website's House Archives subsection. 

  

                This portrait of Billoat Brown appeared on the Tennessee Legislative Composite photo of 1939-40.