Azor Ruggles Mills (1827-1901)

From the Jefferson Bee, October 26, 1954.

  A prominent 19th-century resident of Greene County, Iowa, Azor Ruggles Mills was a transplant to that state from Wadsworth, Ohio, and in the early 1850s became the first person to teach in the recently organized school in Greene County. A Civil War veteran, Mills lost the use of his left arm due to wounds sustained at the Battle of Allatoona. In 1865 he was elected as Greene County's representative in the Iowa state legislature and later served as a county school superintendent. The son of Col. Henry Augustus "Harry A." (1795-1873) and Harriett (Ruggles) Mills (died 1844), Azor Ruggles Mills was born in Wadsworth on February 11, 1827. Bestowed the unusual name Azor Ruggles, Mills received this name in honor of his maternal grandfather (1768-1843), a native of Brookfield, Connecticut who later removed to Canfield, Ohio.

  During his youth Mills studied in schools local to his village and later attended the Twinsburg Academy for Boys. After attaining maturity Mills looked westward and moved to Wisconsin in the early 1850s. Following resettlement, he enrolled in the first class ever to register at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and taught school for a time. Around 1854-55 he moved to Iowa and settled in Jefferson in Greene County. Soon after his arrival, the local citizenry organized a subscription school, the first of its kind in the county. Mills was selected as the school's first teacher and also organized a debating society. The school comprised thirty-two students, and at the dawn of the Civil War, he began military drilling with his class, with all 33 (including Mills) enlisting for service in the Union Army.

  In 1862 Mills took rank among Co. E., 39th Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and on October 5, 1864, was grievously injured at the Battle of Allatoona Pass in Georgia. "With four bullets in his coat", Mills was spared a death blow by the ramrod of his rifle, which he was then pulling from his gun. Instead of being struck in the heart, the bullet passed through his left arm, subsequently wounding his fellow infantryman, James Smith. This injury caused Mills to lose the use of his left arm, but he continued to serve in the Army until his honorable discharge in July 1865. After his return to Iowa, Mills was a founding member of the George H. Thomas Post in Jefferson, with which he was affiliated until his death.

  On July 25, 1865, Azor Mills married Miranda Dyle Anderson (1844-1917), whom he had known before the war. The couple were wed until his death in 1901, and had nine daughters: Emma (died in infancy in 1866), Ada (1868-1953), Ella (born 1869), Grace Ruggles (1871-1952), Lilian Bird (1873-1933), Flora (1875-1876), Ethel Ray (1877-1903), Marcy Octavia (born 1879), and Vera Elizabeth (1884-1954).

   In the same year as his marriage, Azor Mills received the Republican nomination for state representative from the counties of Greene, Carroll, Audubon, and Calhoun. Following his election in late 1865, Mills took his seat in January 1866 and during that session was named to the committees on Banks and Engrossed Bills. This term saw Mills back legislation that approved $95,000 for the construction of a main building at the newly organized Iowa State College at Ames, where six of his daughters would attend school.

From the Jefferson Bee, March 14, 1901.

  After leaving state government Mills continued prominence in Greene County, being elected to two consecutive terms as county superintendent of schools where his "labors were practical and whose efforts were effective." Additionally, Mills was a charter member of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Jefferson, where he taught a bible class for forty-five years. He also farmed near the northern Jefferson city limits, and with Joseph Manning established a boot and shoe manufacturing business in town. 

  Due to physical disability, Mills later retired from his business pursuits but continued to reside in Jefferson until his death at home on March 12, 1901, at age 74. He was survived by his wife and daughters and was interred at the Jefferson Cemetery. Mills was subsequently memorialized by his fellow townsman and friend John Gray as having had:

"A rare mixture of aloofness and friendliness, aloofness inherited from eastern origins, friendliness bred in the new west. He willingly shared the burdens of humanity even to the risking of his own life, whether on the battlefield, or in the halls of legislation, his strength and voice were ever on the side of right."

Delazon Delimer Holdridge (1834-1919)

From the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, December 21, 1898.

  On a shortlist of political figures who've left their mark in two different states, Delazon Delimer Holdridge was a native of New York who found his business and political fortunes in Iowa and South Dakota. After settling in Iowa in the early 1860s Holdridge established a law practice in the city of Independence and was later elected as its mayor for two terms. Holdridge would be elected to one term in the Iowa House of Representatives from Buchanan County, and in 1881 removed to South Dakota. In the years following his settlement, he attained political prominence through his service as state's attorney for both Miner and Lake County, and in 1898 was elected to a term in the South Dakota House of Representatives.

  Born in Madison County, New York on September 4, 1834, Delazon Delimer Holdridge was the son of Merrill (1802-1841) and Perlina Baldwin (Harp) Holdridge (1808-1894).  Holdridge's first name has a variation in spelling, being given as Delazon and Dilazon. However, his headstone in South Dakota records the spelling as "Dilazon", a spelling that can be found in the 1870 U.S Census, the 1915 South Dakota state census, and the U.S. Veteran's Bureau pension card file. Holdridge's birth year is variously given as 1833 and 1834, with his headstone denoting the latter year. His full name is recorded as "Delazon Delimer Holdridge" in volume three of South Dakota, Sui Generis; published in 1931, and it is that spelling given here.

  Holdridge's early education was obtained in his county's public schools, and at a local academy. He went on to enroll at the Oneida Conference Seminary (later known as the Cazenovia College) and graduated in 1857. He decided to pursue a career in law, and after a period of study under future Madison County district attorney Delos W. Cameron, entered the Albany Law School. He graduated in 1860 and was shortly thereafter admitted to the New York bar. In March 1859 Holdridge married Louisa A. Loomis (1835-1929), to who he was wed for nearly sixty years. The couple had four children, including Mary Baldwin (1861-1941) and Herbert Harry (1871-1952).

  After being admitted to practice Holdridge elected to follow a teaching career, and for a brief period (1861) was head of the Union Schools of Cazenovia. In 1862 he and his family removed to Independence, Iowa, where he established a law practice. Within a year of his settlement Holdridge had gained a foothold in Buchanan County social circles, and in 1863 was put forward as a candidate for the Iowa House of Representatives. At the Union County Republican Convention in August of that year, Holdridge won the nomination, and that November was elected.

  Taking his seat in January 1864, he was named to the committees on Engrossed Bills and the Judiciary, and at the close of that year's session in April joined in the ongoing war effort, being named as Quartermaster of the 46th Reg., Iowa Volunteer Infantry. His service extended 100 days and was mustered out with the rank of first lieutenant. After returning to Iowa he continued with his law practice, and in August 1866 served as a delegate to the Republican Convention for Iowa's Ninth Judicial District. A later report on his life, published in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, details his service as city attorney for Independence for four years but fails to relate when he may have served.

  In 1874 Holdridge returned to politics when he sought the Republican nomination for U.S. Representative from Iowa's 3rd district. Though he failed to make it past that year's primary, he "at once aided his most fortunate competitor", Lucien L. Ainsworth, in the latter's successful campaign for Congress. Though his congressional aspirations came to naught, Holdridge received a measure of consolation in March 1875 when he was elected as Mayor of Independence. He would be reelected in 1876, and in March 1877 was narrowly defeated for a third term by Democrat Oliver Hazard Perry Roszell.

   The Holdridge family left Iowa for South Dakota in 1881, first settling in Howard, Miner County. His residence there extended a decade and quickly immersed himself in the county's political scene, being elected as president of the Howard school board. In March 1882 he was elected secretary of the Dakota Eighth Judicial District Republican Convention, and two years later won election as temporary chairman of the Territorial Republican Convention held in Pierre. His service at the convention brought him into contact with another curiously named figure, Visscher Vere Barnes (profiled earlier this month), who served as a convention secretary. 

  In the 1880s Holdridge entered into a four-year stint as district attorney for Miner County, and in 1891 removed with his family to Madison in Lake County. He operated a law practice with his son Herbert and again advanced to the front rank in local politics, being elected as police justice for Madison around 1892. In November 1898 he was elected as one of two Lake County representatives to the South Dakota state legislature and took his seat in January 1899. Prior to taking his seat Holdridge was mentioned as a potential candidate for speaker of the house but was ultimately passed over for that position. He was named to the committees on penal institutions and municipal corporations and chaired the committee on the judiciary. 

From the Madison Daily Leader, January 9, 1899.

  Holdridge's term concluded in 1901 and in 1906 was elected to a four-year term as state's attorney for Lake County, which was to begin in January 1907. In a curious twist, he succeeded his son Herbert, who had served a four-year term in that post beginning in 1903. Following his term, Holdridge continued with his practice in Madison and just hours before his death appeared in court in the city with a client. On the evening of February 27, 1919, Holdridge died at the home of son Herbert, while resting in a "large comfort chair". Death was attributed to a "sudden stroke of paralysis or violent heart trouble." He was survived by his wife and three children and was later interred at the Graceland Cemetery in Madison, South Dakota.

From the Madison Daily Leader, March 3, 1919.

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.

Amplias Hale Avery (1870-1950)

Portrait from the Iowa Red Book, 1931-32.

   Nine-term Iowa state representative Amplias Hale Avery rose to become a beloved figure in his adopted home city of Spencer, where he served as mayor and city school superintendent. Familiarly known as "Dad", Avery was a well-known civic leader in his community and attained further prominence in the Masonic fraternity, holding memberships in several lodges in his state. A native of Wisconsin, Amplias Hale Avery was born in Richwood, Richland County on May 20, 1870, the son of Alden Hale and Sarah (Otto) Avery. Unique in name, Avery is the first and only "Amplias" this author has located. Amplias (or its Latin counterpart, Ampliatus) is of biblical origin, recorded in Romans 16:8 as a Roman Christian greeted by the Apostle Paul.

   Avery resided on a farm during childhood, with his early education being obtained in the rural schools of his region. He was left parentless at the age of nine, with he and his six siblings being "parceled out" to various neighbors. It was Avery himself who was deposited in the hands of an "unfeeling old man", who proved a stern taskmaster. Avery was subjected to long hours of chores and verbal abuse for over a year before running away to seek his way in the world. Despite being just twelve years old, Avery traveled, lived, and worked upon several farms over the next few years, accumulating enough income to finally remove to Iowa. Locating at Osage, he enrolled at the Cedar Valley Seminary, and "worked his way through school" over four years, holding various jobs during his stay. 

   Shortly before graduating Avery saw a bright future for himself in South Dakota, and after settling in Aberdeen pursued a law degree. He supplemented his income by teaching in a country school and following the financial panic of 1893 elected to pursue a teaching career full time. After a year in Aberdeen, he removed to Ashton (residing here three years) and later removed to Woonsocket, where for seven years he was a school principal. Amplias Avery married in December 1888 to Grace Cornwall (1871-1915). The couple had one daughter, Theta Bell (1889-1965), and separated in the late 1890s. In 1899 he remarried to Grace Dunham (1878-1972), to who he was wed until his death. Their union produced three children, Margaret (1902-1931), Alden Dunham (1908-1994), and Barbara (1918-2011).

   In 1901 Amplias Avery was offered the post of principal of a high school in Spencer, Iowa, and after accepting relocated to the city that became his home for the next forty-nine years. He served as principal for one year, and following the resignation of the city school superintendent, succeeded to that post. He served thirteen years and during that time oversaw four schools in Spencer. His tenure was lauded in the 1909 History of Clay County, Iowa, noting that:

"During his incumbancy as superintendent he has introduced many substantial improvements in teaching and also in the branches taught. His labors are at all times practical and he inspires the teachers under him with much of his own his zeal and interest in the work."

  After stepping down as superintendent Avery undertook a career change and entered into the life insurance business. He advanced quickly and by the time of his entering politics had become the sales manager for "one of the largest life insurance companies operating in Iowa." Avery also owned three farms in the vicinity of Spencer, and engaged in Chautauqua work, organizing assemblies in Kossuth County. Avery also proved instrumental in the founding of the Spencer library, and sat on its board of trustees until his death. A longstanding Mason both before and after his settlement in Iowa, Avery had been a Worshipful Master of the Woonsocket Lodge #33 of Free and Accepted Masons, and in Iowa held memberships in the following:

• The Evening Shade Lodge #312 of Free and Accepted Masons
• Clay Chapter #112 Royal Arch Masons (served as High Priest)
• Temple Council #37 of Royal and Select Masters (past Illustrious Master)
• Asotus Commandry #65, Knights Templar (past Commander)
• Sioux City Consistory#5 Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite 
• A founder of the Spencer DeMolay Chapter in 1922.

From the Spencer Reporter, March 31, 1926.

   Amplias Hale Avery made his first foray into politics in 1924, announcing his candidacy for the Republican nomination for state senator from the 47th district. Acknowledged as "well known and time tried" by the Kossuth County Advance, Avery's opponent that year was William J. Breakenridge, president of the Kossuth County Farm Bureau. Breakinridge defeated Avery in the Republican primary and went on to win the general election, later serving two consecutive terms in the senate.

  Undeterred, Avery continued plotting his political future and in 1926 entered into the race for mayor of Spencer. In March he defeated incumbent William Ziegler Long by 55 votes and during his term was elected as president of the Iowa League of Municipalities for 1926-27. Avery was defeated for reelection in March 1928, placing third in a field of four candidates. 

  Two years following his term as mayor Avery set his sights on a seat in the state legislature, and in June 1930 won the Republican primary. In the general election, he defeated W.J. Heikens by a vote of 2,217 to 1,754 and took his seat in January 1931. Avery proved to be busy as a first-term legislator, being named to the Committees on Appropriations, Cities and Towns, Conservation and Resources, Dairy and Food, Fish and Game, Insurance, and Roads and Highways. As the first session of the legislature came to a close in April 1931, Avery's  work was profiled in the Spencer News-Herald, which noted:

"In political affiliations in the legislature, Mr. Avery maintained the position of an independent Republican, being affiliated with no group or faction. As a result he was enabled to meet with and cooperate with almost every faction of the house during the term and advance Clay County's cause through his connections with all blocs."

From the 1939-40 Iowa Red Book.

      In addition to his committee service, Avery supported seventeen of the twenty major pieces of legislation passed by the house during the 1931 session. Amongst these measures were the following:

• Supported the State Road bond constitutional amendment.
• Supported the inheritance tax increase.
• Supported oleomargarine tax increase.
• Supported a 5% tax cut by all levying bodies.
• Supported a twenty-five-year conservation program.
• Supported a state senate redistricting bill.
• Fought against the state purchase of interstate bridges.
• Fought against state control of telephone and telegraph lines.
• Fought against the appropriation of $50,000 for an Iowa exhibit at the 1933 World's Fair, "on the grounds that it was an excessive outlay of tax money."

   Avery reflected on the camaraderie of the house at the close of the session, noting that he was:

"Most impressed by the honest and sincerity of the majority of the members of the house to act and vote in accordance with their honest convictions of what was the best for the state of Iowa. Honest disposition of all matters seemed to be the first consideration on the part of the majority, no matter how determined the opposition."

  In the June 1932 Republican primary Avery was defeated for reelection but was not out of the political spotlight for long. Due to the resignation of fellow Clay County representative Frank Wenig, a special election was held in September 1933 to fill his seat. Avery entered the race and was elected that September, and two years later won a third term, defeating Democrat Roy S. LaBrant by a vote of 2,812 to 2,077. These terms saw Avery named to four new house committees, including the Judiciary, Military Affairs, Public Health, and Public Utilities, and in November 1936 lost his reelection bid to Democrat Thomas I. Kephart.

From the 1947-48 Iowa Red Book.

   Amplias Avery was returned to the legislature for a fourth term in November 1938, besting J. Russell Cook by a vote of 2,858 to 2,317. The 1939-41 term saw Avery chair the committee on Public Libraries and sat on two new committees, Old Age Assistance and Telegraphs and Express. He subsequently won reelection to five more terms in the house (1940, 1942, 1944, 1946, and 1948), and during the 1943-45 session served as speaker pro tem of the house. 

  Acknowledged as the dean of the house in his final years of service, Avery celebrated his 80th birthday in May 1950 and that July was named "Tops In Our Town" by the citizens of Spencer. In November 1950 he took ill and collapsed at his home in Spencer, and on December 7 died at the Spencer Municipal Hospital. He was survived by his wife Grace and two of his children and was interred at the Riverside Cemetery in Spencer.

Craton Cortice Colclo (1851-1941)

From Vol. I of the Biographies and Portraits of the Progressive Men of Iowa, 1899.

  Three-term Iowa state representative Craton Cortice Colclo lucked into receiving an amusing tongue twister-type name--Just try and say it three times fast! Aside from his intriguing name, Colclo was for over sixty years a man of wide repute in Carroll County, Iowa, being a postmaster, county school superintendent, newspaper publisher, and Democratic National Convention delegate in addition to his legislative service. A native of the Buckeye state, Craton Cortice Colclo was born in Findlay, Putnam County, Ohio on November 25, 1851, the son of James H. and Hannah (Cretsinger) Colclo. 

  The Colclo family resided in Ohio until 1854, when they relocated to Winterset, Iowa, and two years later made a permanent home in Carroll County. Young Craton attended the district schools of that area and graduated from Carroll High School. In 1873, Colclo sustained a work-related injury to his left arm that left it "terribly mangled", losing his left hand as a result. He engaged in farm work during his youth, taught school, and in the mid-1870s enrolled at the Iowa Agricultural College, graduating in the class of 1877. 

  Following his graduation, Colclo returned to teaching and served as assistant principal of the Carroll County schools in the late 1870s. In 1881 he won election as county school superintendent, holding that post from 1882-85 and again from 1890-91. Between those terms, Colclo was appointed U.S. Postmaster at Carroll by President Cleveland, serving from 1885-89.

   Craton C. Colclo married in Carroll in November 1889 to Sadie Eloise (Kail) Snyder (1863-1937), and the couple remained childless through the entirety of their marriage. In 1891 Colclo entered into newspaper publishing, purchasing a half interest in the Carroll Sentinel. Taking J.L. Powers as a partner, the two men ran the paper as a daily issue until its discontinuation around 1898, whereafter it was semi-weekly. Colclo would sell his interest in the paper upon his election to the legislature in 1902, but returned to the publishing business in 1906 when he purchased the Sentinel printing plant, and until 1911 served as the Sentinel's editor and publisher.

   A staunch Democrat, Colclo served as part of the Iowa delegation to the Democratic National Convention of 1896 in Chicago that saw William Jennings Bryan nominated for the presidency. In 1901 Colclo entered the race for Carroll County's representative to the Iowa legislature and won the election in November of that year. During the 1902-04 term, he sat on the committees on the Agricultural College and Farm; Appropriations; the College for the Blind; Fish and Game; Printing; Roads and Highways; and Telegraphs and Telephones.

Colclo during his time in the legislature.

   In November 1903 Colclo won a second term in the house and during the 1904-06 session was named to four new committees, those being Constitutional Amendments, Municipal Corporations, Schools and Text-books, and Senatorial Districts. Colclo was elected to a third term in November 1905 and from 1906-08 continued service on the Appropriations, Fish and Game, Printing, and Roads and Highways committees. After the completion of his term in January 1908, Colclo returned to editorial work and remained busy in the civic and fraternal life of Carroll County, being a member of the Signet Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, the Royal Arch Masons, and was a past president of the Citizens Commerical Club of Carroll.

   C.C. Colclo was called back to local politics in January 1912 when he accepted an appointment as Carroll County Treasurer, succeeding William Langenfeld, who had died in office. Acknowledging Colclo's past services in state government, the Carroll County Times and Sentinel lauded the appointment, stating:

"We believe that Mr. Colclo will be entirely capable and efficient. He is a man well conversant with uptodate business methods and is absolutely honest. While Mr. Colclo in years past has held several offices for the county, this is really the first one that is really worth while from every standpoint....He has proved a good man in every position he has held and we believe that his appointment will meet with the general approval of the citizens and tax payers of the county."

   After leaving the treasurer's office Colco succeeded to the post of state examiner for Carroll County accounts in 1913, a post under the auspice of the auditor of state. He continued in that post until his retirement in January 1925 and as he entered his seventh decade remained busy, accepting the post of secretary of the Carroll Commercial Club in 1926. Colco would attend the 55th anniversary of his college graduation in July 1932 and in May 1937 suffered the loss of his wife of nearly fifty years, Sadie. In the final years of his life, Colclo served as a custodian of rooms for the Carroll Chamber of Commerce, continuing in that role until retiring in December 1939. 

   Craton Colclo died on February 4, 1941, several months short of his 90th birthday. He had been a resident of the Evor Morgan home in Carroll at the time of his passing and following funeral services was interred alongside his wife at the Carroll City Cemetery.

Craton C. Colclo, from the Carroll Times and Sentinel, Jan. 11, 1912.

Staats Gouverneur Burnet (1827-1888)

Portrait courtesy of www.legis.iowa.gov.

  Today marks a return to Iowa and another one of that state's oddly named legislators, Staats Gouverneur Burnet of Benton County. Born into a prominent Cincinnati, Ohio family on January 27, 1827, Staats G. Burnet was one of several children born to Isaac Gouverneur (1784-1856) and Keturah "Kitty" Winne Gordon Burnet. A distinguished figure in his own right, Isaac G. Burnet was a former Mayor of Cincinnati (serving from 1819-1831) and could count among his brothers two other men of wide repute, Jacob Burnet (1770-1853), a former U.S. Senator from Ohio, state supreme court justice and the author of Ohio's first state constitution, and David Gouverneur Burnet (1786-1870), who served as President, Vice-President and Secretary of State for the Republic of Texas. Truly an impressive political family!

  Being born into a family with impressive ancestry, Staats G. Burnet attended the Woodward High School in Cincinnati, and following his graduation in 1844 began pursuing a career in law. He married on January 15, 1852, to Isabelle Adelia Bromwell (1834-1920), a native of Virginia. The couple would later have nine children, Edith (born 1853), William Bromwell (1854-1909), Arthur (1856-1927), Julia (1858-1930), Harry (1861-1909), Sarah Belle (1863-1865), Paul (born 1866), Margaret (1868-1960) and David Staats (1875-1882). Of these children, William Bromwell Burnet would follow his ancestors into public service, being U.S. District Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio from 1886-89. 

   Following his admittance to the Ohio bar, Burnet practiced law in Cincinnati and in 1867 removed with his family to Benton County, Iowa. After establishing roots in Blairstown, Burnet farmed and became active in the Producer's Grange, No. 49, and would serve as its Master in 1871. The 1878 History of Benton County relates that prior to his election to the legislature Burnet held several local offices in Blairstown, and in 1873 received the nomination for Benton County's representative as a candidate of the Anti-Monopoly party. 

   Burnet won the election for the legislature in November 1873 and after taking his seat in January 1874 was named to the committees on Railroads, the State University, Suppression of Intemperance,  and Ways and Means. Burnet's term concluded in January 1876 and some years later removed back to Cincinnati, where he would reside with his son William. He would retire from the practice of law and died at his son's home on December 17, 1888, the cause of death being attributed to kidney trouble. Burnett was survived by his wife and children and was interred at Cincinnati's famed Spring Grove Cemetery. The fourth-largest cemetery in the United States, Spring Grove is the resting place of many prominent Ohio political figures, including Salmon P. Chase, Alphonso Taft, Nicholas Longworth, George Hunt Pendleton, Henry Stanbery, John McLean, Stanley Mathews, and Joseph Benson Foraker.

From the Indianapolis Journal, December 18, 1888.

Montague Woolsey Ripley (1878-1943), Montague Tucker Moses (1850-1927), Montague Hakes (1858-1921), Montague Bryant Steadman (1868-1937)

From the 1931-32 Manual of the Michigan Legislature. 

   It isn't often that one stumbles across a political figure that shares his first name with the town in which he was born, but that is precisely the case with one-term Michigan legislator Montague Woolsey Ripley, who was born in the town of Montague, Michigan on September 28, 1878. The son of druggist Lafayette G. and May (Brackley) Ripley, Montague W. Ripley graduated from Montague High School in 1895 and continued his studies at Albion College, graduating in the class of 1899. He married in Calhoun, Michigan in August 1903 to Katharine W. Webster. The couple were wed for forty years and had five children, Arthur, Lucille, Florence, Mary, and Alice.

   Following his college graduation, Ripley entered into publishing, being the editor of the Whitehall Forum newspaper for a brief period. In the early 1900s, he followed his father into the druggist business, joining him at a pharmacy in Montague. In 1904 Ripley entered into public service for the first time, being named as Montague's postmaster, an office he would continue to hold until 1916. He'd later hold a seat on the Montague board of education and was a member of the Montague Progressive Club and the local Masonic chapter.

   In 1919 Ripley returned to the druggist trade, operating with his brother drug stores located in Montague and Whitehall, Michigan. Ripley continued along this route until 1931 when he became a Republican candidate for the Michigan House of Representatives. This special election had been occasioned by the death of Edward Skeels (1865-1931), a three-term representative from Muskegon County's 2nd district. After winning the Republican nomination in March, Ripley went on to defeat Democrat T. Thomas Thatcher in the April election and took his seat in the legislature soon after.

    Montague W. Ripley's brief time as a representative saw him sit on the committees on Apportionment, Conservation, the State Normal College, and the State Public School. Ripley's time in state government also saw him vote an emphatic "no" to Constitutional Amendment No. 3 (also referred to as the Michigan Plan), a piece of legislation offered up by Wayne County that would increase its representation in the house from 22 legislators to 39. Ripley and several other legislators cried foul, with Ripley noting that 

"Increasing Wayne's representation in the House from 22 to 39, will give Wayne County a negative control in all legislation, and a positive control in all matters that requires a two-thirds vote in either house."

   Ripley was a candidate for reelection in 1932 but in November lost out to the man he had defeated the previous year, T. Thomas Thatcher. Ripley would run another unsuccessful candidacy in 1934 and in 1936 moved to Lansing, where he accepted a position in the state library department. He would also return to operating a pharmacy and was acknowledged as one of the foremost historians on the history of the White Lake, Michigan area in the latter portion of his life. Ripley suffered a heart attack two weeks before his death and later had a stroke, dying at his home on August 30, 1943, at age 64. He was survived by his wife and children and was interred in Lansing.

Portrait from the History of the Bench and Bar of California, 1912.

   A resident of both Ohio and Washington, D.C., lawyer Montague Tucker Moses migrated west to California in the late 1870s, where he continued his practice. Moses earns a spot here on the site due to his 1902 candidacy for the California state senate, running as a Democrat. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio on April 11, 1850, Montague Tucker Moses was the son of Simpson and Lizzie (Tucker) Moses. Young Montague would later reside in Washington, D.C., and received his education in the district schools.

   In the late 1860s, Moses enrolled at George Washington University and graduated with his law degree in the class of 1872. He was admitted to the bar that same year and operated his practice in Washington until his removal to California in 1876. In the year following his resettlement, he joined fellow attorney James Crittenden in the firm of Crittenden and Moses, which extended until 1882. For the next three years Moses practiced alone, and in 1888 established a partnership with Charles A. Sumner, which would continue for sixteen years.

  Moses entered the political life of California in 1902 when he became the Democratic nominee for state senator from California's 22nd district. One of the three candidates running that year, Moses placed third in that contest, losing out to Republican nominee Hamilton Bauer by a vote of 2,883 to 818. Active in the Woodmen of the World fraternal organization. Moses served that group as a Head Consul and also served as the editor of the group's "Pacific Woodmen" publication beginning in 1907. 

  Little information is available on Moses' life after 1907, except notice of his practicing law in San Francisco. He died on August 20, 1927, at age 77, and had been married with three children, Preston, Lillian, and Montague Hudson.

Portrait from the Iowa Legislative database.

   Two-term Iowa state representative and congressional candidate Montague Hakes is another "Montague" who found success in politics. A lifelong Iowan, Hakes was one of several children born to Giles Julian and Phoebe (Randall) Hakes, his birth occurring in Jones County on February 24, 1858. He received a common school education and enrolled at the State Agricultural College in Ames in the late 1870s. Following his graduation from that school's science department in 1880 Hakes spent four years employed in railroad construction, work that would take him to Idaho, Colorado, and South Dakota.

   Montague Hakes married In December 1884 to Harriett "Hattie" Arnold (1861-1934). The couple were wed until Montague's death in 1921 and had four children, Byron Arnold (1886-1947), Karl Montague (1889-1951), Ledgard (Ledyard) (1894-1957), and Leland Paul (1897-1954). Shortly after his marriage, Hakes joined his father in Laurens, Iowa, and together established  G.J. Hakes and Son, a general store and poultry business. This firm continued on until 1890, when the elder Hakes sold off his interest in the business to another son, James, with the firm undergoing a name change to M. and J.R. Hakes. 

  Through the 1890s and early 1900s, the Hakes brothers saw their poultry business expand through numerous Iowa railway towns, and by 1900 the brothers had built along the Northwestern railroad a 

"Large establishment for the handling of eggs and the dressing of poultry and sheds that accommodate many thousands of live fowl." 

  The Hakes brother's success in poultry sales brought considerable revenue to Laurens, Iowa, and Pocahontas County, making it "one of the most important centers of the poultry trade in Iowa". With his operations having nearly $200,000 in "live and dressed" poultry, Montague Hakes entered into other areas of business, being a co-partner in a Laurens-based coal and lumber firm, and had a financial stake in a lumber company in Washington and a fruit ranch in Colorado. 
   Montague Hakes made his first foray into the political life of Pocahontas County in 1885 when he was named U.S. Postmaster at Laurens. He would serve in that capacity until 1889 and in the following year began a five-year stint on the Laurens city council. Hakes also made his first run for the Iowa House of Representatives during this time, being an unsuccessful candidate for the house in the 1891 election year. In 1903 he was again a candidate for the state legislature and was this time victorious, narrowly defeating Republican nominee F.C. Gilchrist by a vote of 1,591 to 1487. 
   Taking his seat at the start of the 1904-06 session, Hakes served on the committees on the Agricultural College, Ways and Means, Banks and Banking, Roads and Highways, Suppression of Intemperance, and Senatorial districts. In the 1905 election year Hakes won a second term and during the 1906-08 term was named the Committee on Claims. He was defeated for a third term in 1907 by James Stewart, 1,559 votes to 1,357.
   In 1908 Montague Hakes set his sights on a seat in Congress, announcing his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 10th district. One of four candidates running that year, Hakes placed second on election day, polling 17,256 votes to winning Republican Frank Plowman Wood's total of 29,608. Following his congressional loss, Hakes continued to reside in Laurens with his family and died in that city on July 5, 1921, at age 63.  His wife Hattie survived him by thirteen years and following her death in 1934 was interred alongside him at the Laurens Cemetery.
   Political service would continue in the Hakes family in Frances Gilchrist Hakes (1897-1988), Montague Hakes' daughter-in-law. Frances Helsell Gilchrist was the daughter of former U.S. Representative Francis Gilchrist and married in 1922 to Ledgard (Ledyard) B. Hakes, Montague Hakes' third-born son. The couple was wed until his death in 1957 and three years later Frances Hakes was elected to the first of two terms in the Iowa state legislature from Pocahontas County, serving in the sessions of 1961-63 and 1963-65.

Portrait from the 1903 California Blue Book.

   In an April 25, 2018 update to this article, another politically involved Montague has been discovered--Montague Bryant Steadman! Steadman is unique as he is the first native of New Zealand to be profiled here on the site, being born in Auckland on September 4th of either 1867 or 1868 (accounts vary). The son of Thomas and Ella Steadman, Steadman's education occurred in the country of his birth "in public schools and by private tuition."

  Steadman immigrated to California in 1889 and later became employed as a private secretary to David Jack (1822-1909), a millionaire land developer, businessman, and the man who popularized "Monterey Jack" cheese. In 1892 Steadman married Dolores "Dolly" Gregg (1873-1956), with whom he had two children, Montague Gregg (1897-1983) and Vera (1900-1966). The couple would later divorce and in February 1908 Steadman remarried to Frances  Josephine Chavoya (1874-1961), to whom he was wed until his death. One further son would be born to the couple, Montague Bryant Jr., who died aged 98 in 2007.

   Montague B. Steadman entered the political life of California in November 1902 when he won election to the California State Assembly from the 59th district. Serving in the session of 1903-05, he would be named to the committees on Agriculture, Military Affairs, Public Morals and would chair the committee on Dairies and Dairy Products.

  Little else is known of Steadman's life following his term in the legislature. In 1907 he is recorded as serving as a trustee for the city of Monterey and by 1920 had relocated to Santa Clara County. He died here on June 30, 1937, and was later interred at the Santa Clara Mission Cemetery.