Flint DeCosta Copeland (1871-1940)

From the Tennessee legislative composite of 1929-31.

  Tennessee yields a new, unusual name in Flint DeCosta Copeland of Polk County, who represented that area in the Tennessee General Assembly for one term beginning in 1929. A lifelong Tennessee resident, Flint DeCosta Copeland was born in November 1871 in Polk County,  the son of Dr. Warren Jones and Ona "Onie" (McClary) Copeland. It can safely be said that odd names and public service ran in the Copeland family, as Copeland's older brother, Return Meigs Copeland, was named in honor of famed Ohio politician Return Jonathan Meigs Jr. Return Meigs Copeland would himself venture into politics, being a one-term state representative from Polk County from 1899-1901.

  Flint Copeland's early life largely remains obscure, excepting note of his residing in the town of Ocoee with his family. He married in Tennessee to Margaret Malinda Fetzer (1875-1946) in the early 1890s and had several children, including Chass (1893-1969), Warren Jones (1898-1943), Frank G. (birthdate unknown), Flint DeCosta (1910-1973), and infant twins who died in 1912. 

  A farmer and merchant in the Polk County area, Copeland entered local politics in the early 20th century, serving as a Polk County trustee (tax collector) from 1912-16, and for a time held the post of secretary of the County Republican Executive Committee. Elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in November 1928, Copeland's service during the 1929-31 session saw him named to the following committees: Agriculture, Claims, Insurance and Loans, Internal Improvements, Immigration, Motor Vehicles, the Penitentiary, Public Grounds and Buildings, and Social Welfare. 

  Little else is known of Copeland's life following his term in state government. He continued to reside in Ocoee in Polk County and beginning in 1936 took up residence in the town of Copperhill. He died in that town on October 16, 1940, "following an illness of several weeks." He was survived by his wife and children and was interred at the Cookson Creek Cemetery in Polk County. One should also note that Copeland's middle name has a variation in spelling, being given as both "DeCosta" and "DaCosta".

Odd Eide (1883-1952)

Portrait from the 1931 Minnesota State Legislative Manual.

    Polk County, Minnesota was featured recently in the write-up on Thrond Torsteinsen Morken, who represented that county in the legislature from 1913 to 1917. That Minnesota county again takes center stage with another odd-named state legislator---Odd Eide! If that name immediately conjures up images of a cross-eyed man à la Ben Turpin or Marty Feldman, you are not alone! I'll admit that when I first stumbled across Mr. Eide's name I got quite the laugh out of it, and while his name is certainly interesting, Eide was also a distinguished public figure in Polk County, Minnesota for many years, serving as that county's representative in the state legislature on three consecutive occasions.

   Like several other oddly named Midwestern political figures who've been featured here, Odd Eide's story begins "across the pond" in Voss, Norway, where he was born on February 16, 1883. He would attend the Middel-Skolen (high school) in Voss and following his graduation in 1899 relocated to the United States. In 1901 he settled in Fertile, Polk County, Minnesota, where in that year he took work as a clerk in the general store/druggist shop of his uncle, Andrew Opheim. Following his uncle's death in 1915 Eide took over the day-to-day management of Opheim's business and also acted as the administrator of his estate. Eide also attended college shortly after arriving in Minnesota, graduating from the Park Region Luther College (located in Fergus Falls) in the class of 1902.

   Odd Eide married on November 30, 1910, to Clara Nelson (1884-1965), with whom he would have eight children: Knute Arne (born 1913), Anna Bessie (birth-date unknown), Anders Opheim (birth-date unknown), Clara Alfhild (1918-2001), Odd Arvid (1920-2009), Alf Rognald (1922-2012), Roald (1924-1976) and Agnes (1926-2009). Following his marriage, Eide continued with his business pursuits in Fertile and became active in the civic and political life of that town, serving at various times as a member of the village council, clerk of the Fertile school district, and was a member of the Board of Directors of the National Bank of Fertile. In November 1928 the citizens of Polk County elected Odd Eide as their representative to the Minnesota State Legislature, garnering 6,787 votes.

   Taking his seat in January of the new year, Eide served on the house committees on the Board of Control and State Institutions; Commerce, Manufacture and Retail Trade, Drainage, Markets and Marketing, Municipal Affairs, and State and County Fairs during the 1929-31 session. He was re-elected as representative in November 1930 and in the 1931-33 session served on two new committees, those being Appropriations and Banks and Banking. Eide won his third term in the house in November 1932 and retired from politics at the end of the 1933-35 session.

    In the latter period of his life, Odd Eide continued to be an active citizen in Fertile, being a parishioner at the Concordia Lutheran Church, of which he served as president. Acknowledged as a "good mixer" with a penchant for gardening and stamp collecting, Eide also earned a reputation as a man who:

"Stood for his convictions and treated everyone equal. A staunch supporter was Mr. Eide, and he was untiring in his efforts to improve the village. He was a Republican with great force and sound judgement."

   On July 21, 1952, Odd Eide died in Fertile at age 69. His wife Clara survived him by over a decade, and after her death in 1965 was interred alongside her husband at the Concordia Cemetery in Fertile. 

Thrond Torsteinsen Morken (1852-1932)

Portrait courtesy of the Minnesota Digital Library.

   Two-term Minnesota state representative Thrond Torsteinsen Morken joins a shortlist of oddly named Norwegian natives who've had a profile posted here, the last of whom, Marthinus F. Hegge, being featured back in December. A probate judge before his legislative service, Morken had previously served as County Commissioner for Polk County, Minnesota in the early 1900s. The son of Torsten and Carrie Lunde Morken, Thrond T. Morken was born in Norway on July 8, 1852. One should note that Morken's middle name has two variations in spelling in addition to the one given here, including Torstensson and Torstenson.

    Little is known of his early life in his native country, except that he was "educated in the common schools" of Norway. In 1874 Morken immigrated to the United States, settling in Goodhue County, Minnesota, where he would engage in farming. He would also farm in Nelson County, North Dakota for a period of about ten years and in 1883 married Bertha Karene Strandsness (1859-1947), later having one son, Thorsten (1888-1971).

   Morken continued to reside and farm in North Dakota until 1892, when he moved back to Minnesota, settling in Polk County. Eight years after his resettlement Morken was elected as a member of the Polk County Board of Commissioners, subsequently holding that post from 1901-1905. Two years after leaving that office he was appointed as Judge of Probate for Polk County, and would later be elected to a term of his own, serving a total of seven years on the bench (1906-1913). Towards the end of his term as probate judge, Morken was elected as one of Polk County's representatives to the Minnesota state legislature in November 1912, taking his seat at the beginning of the January 1913 term.

   Morken's first term as a state representative saw him serve on the committees on Claims, Labor and Labor Legislation, State Hospitals, Telephone and Telegraph, Temperance Legislation, Workmen's Compensation and was chairman of the committee on Logs and Lumber. As a candidate for reelection in 1914, Morken faced off against John Clementsen, and on election day triumphed in the vote count, garnering 2,597 votes to his opponent's 2,096. During the 1915-17 term Morken held seats on the house committees on Claims, Elections, Forestry, Labor and Labor Legislation, Reapportionment, State Normal Schools, and Workmen's Compensation, and is also recorded as having supported the " county option and all temperance laws, equal suffrage, repeal of the Elwell law and semi-monthly pay day."

   Little else could be found on Morken's life after leaving the legislature. He died a week after his 80th birthday on July 15, 1932, at his home in Crookston and was later buried at the Oakdale Cemetery in that town. Morken's wife Bertha was also interred here following her death in 1947. 

Morken's legislative portrait from 1915-16.

Lieutellus Cunningham (1877-1950), Loutellus Meigs Stout Jr. (1924-2012)

    A special "Leap Year" profile for today centers on Mr. Lieutellus Cunningham, a resident of Polk County, Missouri who was named as a delegate to the Missouri State Constitutional Convention of 1922-1923. In addition to this public service, Cunningham was also a prominent attorney in Polk County for many years. A fair amount of research was done to find pertinent facts on Cunningham's public stature, and one work, in particular, came to my rescue in this regard--the Official Manual of the State of Missouri, 1923-1924. This highly informative book provided the majority of the facts here and also furnished the portrait of Cunningham that begins this article.
  Lieutellus Cunningham was born in Bolivar, Missouri on October 4, 1877, the son of James and Elizabeth Bickel Cunningham. Young Lieutellus attended the Ash Grove Academy and later graduated from the University of Missouri. He began the practice of law shortly after attaining his degree and in 1903 was elected as the prosecuting attorney of Polk County. Cunningham was subsequently reelected to this office in 1907, and in the latter year married Ms. Maud Metier. Two sons were born to the couple, Lieutellus Jr (born 1909) and William James (born 1913). Lieutellus Cunningham Jr grew to be a highly regarded attorney in his own right, serving as the prosecuting attorney for Camden County before his untimely death at age 40 in 1949.
  In addition to his law practice, Lieutellus Sr. was quite active in civic affairs in his native county, serving as the chairman of the Polk County chapter of the American Red Cross. He was also a member of both the Missouri and American Bar Associations and in 1922 was elected as a delegate to the Missouri State Constitutional Convention being held that year. An electoral result from that contest is posted below.

  In the years following his convention service, Cunningham continued with his earlier law practice and in 1927 was named as the Assistant Attorney General of Missouri, serving under Stratton Shartel. Cunningham held this post until September 1930, when he resigned to accept a position as a legal adviser in conjunction with the building of the massive Bagnell Dam on the Osage River. Lieutellus Cunningham died at age 72 on July 22, 1950, and was buried in the Greenwood Cemetery in Bolivar, Missouri. 

 From the West Virginia Blue Book, 1958.

   Prominent in West Virginia political affairs for many years, Loutellus Meigs "Lou" Stout was also blessed with a truly intriguing name. Born in Clarksburg, West Virginia on January 28, 1924, Stout was the son of Loutellus Meigs Stout Sr. (1871-1953) and Anne Van Diver Stout (1888-1974). His early life was centered in the New Milton, Doddridge County area and he is remarked as being a sheep and cattle raiser both before and after his time in politics.

  Stout was elected in November 1956 to represent Doddridge County in the West Virginia House of Delegates and was reelected to a second term in 1958. Following his time in the legislature, he served as Chairman of the Republican Executive Committee of Doddridge County from 1961-1963 and during the 1970s served as Executive Secretary of the West Virginia Farm Bureau. Stout also held the presidency of the West Virginia Wool Marketing Association and was secretary of the Independent Oil and Gas Association for a time.

   Loutellus M. Stout continued to be an active public servant well into his eighth decade, serving in the clerk's office of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals until his retirement in 2007 at age 83. After many years of service to his state, Stout died at age 88 on May 20, 2012, in Charleston, and was survived by his wife and two children. He was later laid to rest at the Cunningham Memorial Park in St. Albans, West Virginia.