Shorter Clyde Hudgens (1892-1963)

From the Montgomery Advertiser, June 9, 1923.

   Although 2019 is nearly at an end, there are still several states that haven't been featured here in quite some time. One term Alabama state senator Shorter Clyde Hudgens is the only political figure from the "Heart of Dixie" to have been profiled this year, and in addition to his service in state government had earlier distinguished himself as a fraternal organizer and high school principal. The son of William Greene and Lousia (Ellison) Hudgens, Shorter Clyde Hudgens was born in Luverne, Crenshaw County, Alabama on December 18, 1892.

  A student in schools local to Crenshaw County, Hudgens graduated from the Luverne High School and would enroll at the Male College at Meridian, Mississippi in 1913. After two years of study, Hudgens went on the road as a "lecturer and organizer" for the Woodmen of the World fraternal organization. For a year he traversed Georgia extolling the benefits of "Woodcraft and fraternalism", with the Montgomery Advertiser remarking that: 

"He accomplished a great deal toward the upbuilding of a better feeling among fraternal orders and his aggressive work gave the Woodmen of the World a greater standing in Georgia than they have ever had before."

  After returning to Alabama Hudgens entered into the insurance business in Crenshaw County, and put his business interests on hold in March 1918 when he enlisted for service during the First World War. Following a period of training at Camp Gordon in Atlanta he was transferred to Camp McClellan at Anniston, Alabama, where he remained until his discharge in March 1919, never having seen combat.
  Following his return from service Hudgens returned to his earlier insurance business in Luverne and turned his efforts towards education. By 1921 he had become principal of the Vernledge Public School in Crenshaw County, and in 1922 announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for state senator from the 25th district. Hoping to represent the counties of Crenshaw, Coffee, and Pike in the senate, Hudgens won the Democratic primary that August, defeating two other candidates and that November won the general election, polling  2,690 votes.

From the Elba Clipper, April 13, 1922.

   Taking his seat at the start of the 1923-27 senate term, Hudgens would chair the committees on Immigration and Industrial Resources, and held seats on the committees on Agriculture, Printing, and Public Roads and Highways. This term also saw Hudgens introduce one of the "most drastic school measures to be introduced in any state legislature", a compulsory bill: 

"Requiring all children between the ages of 8 and 16 years to either attend public schools or to pass an examination in subjects which would be equivalent to an education received in the public schools during that period."

  During his term, Hudgens retired from the insurance business and in 1924 was Alabama state manager for the Loyal Order of Moose fraternal organization. On October 21, 1925, Hudgens married Elizabeth Dowdell "Bessie" Warthen (1895-1999), to who he was wed until his death. The couple would remain childless. Little is known of Hudgens' life after he left the senate in 1927, excepting notice of his death at a Montgomery, Alabama hospital on May 19, 1963, at age 70. He was survived by his wife Bessie, who lived to become a centenarian, dying two months short of her 104th birthday in July 1999. Both were interred at the Rutledge Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery in Rutledge, Alabama.

Boswell DeGraffenreid Waddell (1865-1937), Boswell Sommerfield Elliott (1855-1933)

Portrait from the "History of Alabama and Her People", Vol. III.

   Alabama has fielded a number of oddly named folks featured here in the past, and Boswell DeGraffenreid Waddell (a multi-term state representative and senator), is certainly one of the most uniquely named men to serve in some political capacity in the "Heart of Dixie."  I first located Waddell's name via a 1912 Alabama statistical register way back in 2009 and since that time he continually stymied me out of a photograph; that was until the discovery of the above portrait, featured in Volume III of Albert Burton Moore's History of Alabama and Her People, published in 1927.

   A native of Columbus, Georgia, Boswell DeGraffenreid Waddell was born in that city on August 25, 1865, being the eldest son of James Fleming Waddell and the former Adelaide Victoria DeGraffenreid. A distinguished figure in his own right, James F. Waddell (1828-1892) was a veteran of both the Mexican-American and Civil War and was later named U.S. Consul in Matamoras, Mexico. Waddell would also serve as a judge of probate for Russell County, Alabama (having settled there in 1857) and held that post from 1865-68. 

   Boswell DeG. Waddell attended the public schools of Russell County and also studied at a private school in Columbus, Georgia. After leaving school Waddell briefly worked as a civil engineer before deciding upon a career in law, beginning study in the law office of his father. He was admitted to the Alabama bar in 1887 and shortly thereafter began a practice in Seale that would extend over forty years. In the same year as his admission, Waddell took on the post of deputy solicitor for Russell County, an office he'd continue to hold well into the late 1920s.

  In 1889 Waddell was elected to the first of two terms as mayor of Seale, and in 1901 served as Russell County's delegate to the Alabama Constitutional Convention, being a member of the committees on local legislation and the militia during the convention proceedings. Waddell continued to advance politically in November 1902, when he won election to the Alabama House of Representatives. Serving during the 1903-07 session, Waddell was named to the committees on the Judiciary, Privileges and Elections, Local Legislation and Commerce, and Common Carriers. On May 12, 1909, Waddell married to Carrie B. Jennings, a music teacher. The couple were wed until Boswell's death and would remain childless.

  Waddell would win his second term in the house in 1910 and his sophomore term in the legislature (1911-15) saw him named to two new committees, those being Claims and Fees, and Game, Fish and Forestry Preservation (of which he was chairman). November 1918 saw Waddell win his third term in the state house and was a member of the committee on Enrolled Bills during the 1919-23 term.

   In November 1922 Waddell attained his highest degree of political prominence when he was elected to the first of two terms in the Alabama state senate. During those sessions (1923-27 and 1927-31) he was a member of the committees on Fish, Game, and Forestry; the Judiciary; Public Health; and Rules. In addition to public service Waddell was active in the Masons, the Odd Fellows, the Alabama Bar Association, and also owned a three hundred acre farm near Seale. He continued political prominence well into his twilight years, and in 1935 was serving as county solicitor for Russell County. 

  Boswell DeGraffenreid Waddell died at age 72 on November 22, 1937. His wife Carrie survived her husband by six years, and following her death in 1943 was interred alongside him in the Waddell family plot at the Seale United Methodist Church and Cemetery.

Portrait from the Mississippi Official and Statistical Register, 1920-24.

   Lifelong Mississippian Boswell Sommerfield Elliott represented his native county of Grenada in the Mississippi state legislature at the same time Boswell DeG. Waddell was serving his third term in the Alabama House of Representatives. The son of Alexander and Mary (Shumake) Elliott, Boswell S. Elliott was born in Carroll County, Mississippi on September 21, 1855. He attended the common schools of Mississippi and married in February 1877 to Rebecca Frances Woods (1854-1953), with whom he had five children, James, Nora (1891-1942), Willard Lee,  Johnnie (1894-1978), and Mary Lois. 

   For the good majority of his life, Boswell Elliott followed farming in Granada County. From 1900-03 he held the office of county treasurer, was a justice of the peace, and beginning in 1914 served as a statistician for the federal government, compiling cotton statistics for Granada County. Elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1919, Elliott served in the 1920-24 session and was a member of the committees on Agriculture; the Penitentiary; Pensions; and Roads, Ferries, and Bridges. 

   Little is known of Elliott's life after leaving the legislature. He had been a longstanding member of the local Methodist church and held memberships in the Masonic order and the Modern Woodmen of the World. Elliott died on March 23, 1933, aged 77, and was later buried at the Sparta Cemetery in Holcomb, Mississippi.

Verdo Wilson Elmore (1899-1969)

Verdo W. Elmore, from the April 25, 1954, Tuscaloosa News.

   The name would be Verdo Wilson Elmore--lawyer, soldier, collegiate and major league baseball player, state senator, judge...barbecue master? This oddly named man from Pickens County, Alabama is one of the most multifaceted folks you're ever going to read about and is certainly a man most deserving of an online biography. This lifelong resident of Pickens County served overseas during the First World War and in the 1920s played professional baseball with the St. Louis Browns. He would later turn his attention to law and served several months in the Alabama State Senate before being appointed as a Circuit Court Judge for Alabama's 24th district. And if  that weren't enough, Mr. Elmore gained local distinction as a true "master of the grill", garnering the moniker "the Barbecue King of Pickens County."

    Born near Gordo (located in Pickens County) on December 10, 1899, Verdo Wilson Elmore was the son of William Austin and Mary Ann Eads Elmore. A student in the Gordo public school system, Elmore enlisted for service in the First World War in February 1918 and served as a private with the 56th Coast Artillery. He would also serve with the American Expeditionary Forces and in July 1918 was transferred to the Western Front, serving in that area until the sign of the Armistice in November.

   At the conclusion of his service, Elmore returned to Alabama and turned his attention to law studies in the early 1920s. He enrolled at the University of Alabama and during his time there gained a reputation as a standout baseball player, accumulating a batting average of ".439 his freshman year." After graduating from the University of Alabama with his law degree in 1924 Elmore made his move into the big leagues, joining the St. Louis Browns as an outfielder. His time with the Browns would span nearly two weeks in September 1924 and following his time there returned to the minor leagues, playing with "Atlanta in the Southern Association" and dabbled in managing when he managed teams from Texarkana, Texas, and Anniston, Alabama.

                                                                                 Verdo Elmore takes a swing.

  Verdo W. Elmore married in June 1927 to Winnie Lois Davis (1902-1979) and the couple would become parents to three children: Verdo Jr. (1929-2004), Margaret Anne (birth-date unknown), and William Walter (1945-1997). Two years following his marriage Elmore suffered a broken leg which in turn caused him to "quit organized baseball." He had earlier begun a law practice in Gordo after leaving the University of Alabama and following his injury returned to that practice. Elmore first entered political life in February 1938 when he announced his candidacy for the Alabama State Senate's 14th district, winning election to that body in November of that year

   Elmore's tenure in the Senate proved to be short-lived. Just 10 months after his election he was appointed by Governor Frank Dixon as Judge for the 24th judicial circuit of Alabama. He would serve on the bench until 1953 and early in his tenure on the court presided over the trial of R. Murray Pate, a former Tuscaloosa deputy sheriff who was charged in the murder of Macon Oswalt in July 1939.

  In addition to his athletic and judicial activities, Verdo Elmore was an ardent hunter and a veritable "Barbecue King of Pickens County". The Tuscaloosa News reported on his mastery of the barbecue in its April  25, 1954 edition, noting that:

"As much as 250 pounds of barbecue has been served at one time and as many as 300 have attended feasts at the Elmore barbecue grounds at one time......He supervises the barbecuing for church organizations, civic clubs, fox hunting associations and other clubs."

  After many years of public service to Pickens County Verdo Wilson Elmore died at age 69 on August 5, 1969. He was survived by his wife and three children and was later buried at the Gordo City Cemetery in Gordo, Alabama. In an interesting addendum to this write-up, Elmore is the second oddly named baseball player-politician to be profiled here, the other being U.S. Representative from New York Pius Louis Schwert (1892-1941), who played with the New York Highlanders from 1914-1916.

Ariosto Appling Wiley (1848-1908)

   A four-term U.S. Representative from Alabama at the turn of the 20th century, the oddly named Ariosto Appling Wiley was a distinguished lawyer in that state prior to his time in Congress. Born in Clayton, Alabama on November 6, 1848, Ariosto A. Wiley was the son of James McCaleb (1806-1877) and Cornelia Appling Wiley (1816-1872). A prominent figure in his own right, James M. Wiley served as a circuit court judge in Alabama and would attain high rank in the Masonic fraternity, being Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons of Alabama from 1856-57. Ariosto Wiley removed with his family to Pike County while still a child and attended schools local to that area. He decided upon a career in law at an early age and in the late 1860s enrolled at the Emory and Henry College in Virginia. He would graduate from that school in the class of 1871  and soon after established his law practice in Clayton.
   Wiley removed from Clayton a short while afterward and settled in Alabama's capital city of Montgomery, where he would build up a law partnership with Samuel F. Rice, a former state supreme court justice. Wiley married in November 1877 to Mary "Mittie" Noble (died 1935), to whom he was wed for three decades. The couple would have one son, Noble James Wiley (1878-1957), later to serve as a Colonel in the U.S. Army.

Portrait from "Northern Alabama: Historical and Biographical", 1888.

    Having advanced "to the front rank of his profession" at the beginning of the 1880s,  Ariosto A. Wiley's sterling character eventually resulted in his being nominated for a seat in the Alabama House of Representatives in 1883. He would win that election and represented Montgomery County in that body in the session of 1884-88, serving on the committees on the Revision of Laws and Commerce and Common Carriers during that term. Further political honors had been accorded to him in 1880 and 1884 when he served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, in the latter year seeing Grover Cleveland win the Presidency.

  Reelected to the state house in 1887, Wiley would go on to serve in the sessions of 1888-90, and 1896-97. The years 1890-1893 saw him serving in the Alabama Senate, a body that he would be reelected to for the session of 1898-1899. In the last named year, Wiley was appointed by then-President William McKinley as a Lieutenant Colonel in the 5th Reg. U.S. Volunteer Infantry, an outfit that would soon be deployed to Cuba for the Spanish American War. Wiley would also be retained as an adviser to General Leonard Wood, with whom he would help establish a "civil government" in Cuba's Eastern province.

Courtesy of bioguide.congress.gov.

     Ariosto Wiley's political career reached its apex in 1900 when he was nominated for a seat in Congress from Alabama's 2nd congressional district. He would coast to an easy victory that November, defeating Populist candidate William Mulkey by a vote of 12, 496 to 124. Wiley's reelection win in 1902 saw him best his opponent by over 6,000 votes and during the 1902-04 session sat on the house committees on the Militia and Pensions. Wiley would win a third term in 1904 and fourth in 1906. During his last term in the house, Wiley was invited to speak before a group of Spanish-American War veterans in Washington, D.C., during which he spoke of his time in Cuba, noting:

" I see here....men from all sections of the Union who gallantly responded to the call of duty in 1898. I hold a commission in that war from William McKinley, the ideal President of a great country. I treasure that commission as one of my most beloved and personal possessions."

From the Evening Star, May 10, 1906.

  In 1908 Ariosto Wiley's health began to suffer a "physical breakdown" due to the effects of inflammatory rheumatism. In an effort to restore his health Wiley vacationed in Hot Springs, Virginia, dying at a hotel there on June 17, 1908 at age 60. His son Noble was at his side at the time of his death and he was later brought back to Alabama for burial at the Oakwood Cemetery in Montgomery. He was survived by his wife Mittie, who remarried following her husband's death and later died on Christmas Day 1935.

Wiley's obituary from the Evening Star, June 18, 1908.

Hurieosco Austill (1841-1912)

    A state senator, businessman and military figure from Alabama, Hurieosco Austill was born in Mobile on February 16, 1841, being the son of Colonel Jeremiah (1794-1881) and Margaret Eads Austill (1805-1890). Huriesoco attended the University of Alabama during his youth and after graduating from this institution in the class of 1861 enlisted in the Confederate Army's First Alabama Battery of Artillery. During his military service Austill rose from second lieutenant to Captain, and after receiving a minor injury in battle was captured at Fort Morgan. He was subsequently held as a prisoner of war until the close of the hostilities.
    After the war's conclusion Austill returned home to Mobile and recuperated before beginning the study of law. He was admitted to the bar in 1868 and shortly thereafter entered upon practice in Mobile, operating here until his death forty years later. Austill married in December 1873 to Aurora Roberta Ervin (1853-1928) and later became the father to three children, Margaret (born 1874), Robert Ervin (born 1878), Jennie Fee (born 1882), Hurieosco Jr. (born 1884), Aileen (born 1888) and Jere (born 1890).
   Beginning in 1874 Austill served a six year term as the Chancellor of the Southern Division of Alabama. In 1880 he made his first entry into politics, being elected as one of Mobile's representatives to the Alabama General Assembly. He served two years in the lower house of the legislature before being elected to the Alabama state Senate in 1882, again representing Mobile. His term in the senate concluded in 1886.
   Following the conclusion of his senate term in 1886 Austill spent the remainder of his life engaged in railroad work, being one of the founders of the Mobile and West Alabama Railroad. He would later serve as the president of the Mobile, Jackson and Kansas City Railroad for a time. Austill died on July 3, 1912 at age 71 and was subsequently interred at the Spring Hill Graveyard in Mobile, Alabama. The rare portrait of him shown above was taken at the Alabama Division of United Confederate Veterans meeting that was held in Macon, Georgia around 1910. 
   As with many of the individuals that will eventually be posted here,  it is unknown where Austill's unique first name originated from.