Honor Daniel Hartzler (1912-1947)

From the Baltimore Evening Sun, October 28, 1946.

  With a new month comes a monthlong theme, and throughout May the Strangest Names In American Political History will profile several curiously named political figures from Maryland. The first of these articles takes us to Carroll County and Honor Daniel Hartzler, whose political star shone for a brief time in the late 1940s. A funeral home director in Union Bridge, Hartzler was active in the civic life of his community and in 1946 was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates. Just weeks after being sworn in, he died unexpectedly at age 34, curtailing a political career that was still in its infancy.

   The son of Daniel D. (1869-1941) and Fannie (Smucker) Hartzler (1871-1941), Honor Daniel "Jack" Hartzler was born on February 18, 1912, in Ohio. A student in the public schools, Hartzler was a graduate of the Martinsburg, West Virginia high school and also attended Bluffton University. Hartzler married in April 1932 to Kathryn Eline, to who he was wed until his death. The couple had one daughter, Patricia. 

  For three years Hartzler pursued law studies at LaSalle University Extension in Illinois, and in the late 1930s followed in his father's footsteps and earned a degree in embalming. Later, both he and his brother Byron joined their father's undertaking business, under the title D.D. Hartzler and Sons, and following Daniel Hartzler's death in 1941 continued with its operation. The business, then with locations in both Union Bridge and New Windsor, Maryland, still continues in the Hartzler family today. Additionally, "Jack" Hartzler was a partner in the Powell-Hartzler Funeral Home, located in Woodsboro and Libertytown, Maryland.

  Active in the civic and fraternal life of Carroll County, Honor Hartzler was a past president of the Union Bridge Lions Club, as well as chairman of Zone 3 of the Carroll and Frederick County Lions Clubs. He was a former president of the Union Bridge Parent Teacher Association, president of the Union Bridge Chamber of Commerce, and was chair of the local Red Cross chapter and historical society. A parishioner in the Union Bridge Methodist Church, Hartzler chaired the church choir and was a Sunday school teacher. 

From the Hanover Evening Sun, October 26, 1946.

  Honor Hartzler made his first foray into politics with his election to the Union Bridge town council, where he served for two terms, and was a notary public in the 1940s. In 1946 he announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for the state house of delegates, and that November was elected, polling 6,356 votes. One of four Carroll County delegates elected, Hartzler was sworn into office in January 1947 and was named to the Agricultural and Natural Resources committee. With a bright legislative future before him, Hartzler died just weeks later on February 16, 1947, two days shy of his thirty-fifth birthday. In his obituary published in the Hanover Evening Sun, Hartzler is noted as feeling ill the morning of his death, and while making a cup of coffee at his home was felled by a heart ailment. 

  The loss of the freshman legislator was widely noted in Maryland newspapers in the days following his death, and the house of delegates adjourned on February 18, 1947, out of respect for his memory. Several days after his passing, Hartzler was succeeded by Donald E. Six, who was appointed to fill out the remainder of his term. Honor Daniel Hartzler was survived by his wife and daughter and was interred at the Pipe Creek Church of the Brethren in Union Bridge.

From the Hanover Evening Sun, February 17, 1947.

From the Baltimore Sun.

Hardman Petrikin Harris (1864-1950)

Portrait from the Biographical Survey, Centre County, Pennsylvania.

   Another oddly named Pennsylvanian who made an impact through public service was Hardman Petrikin Harris, a lifelong resident of Centre County. A prominent figure in the business and political life of Bellefonte, Harris served as Burgess (mayor) of that town for two decades, retiring from that post in the year of his death. A lifelong Bellefonte resident, Hardman Petrikin Harris was born on March 22, 1864, the son of local undertaker Henry Petrikin Harris and the former Mary Tonner. 

  Young Hardman would be a student in the Mary Petrikin School in Bellefonte and during his youth began to learn the undertaking trade under his father. The two would operate that business as a partnership until Henry Harris' retirement in 1900, whereafter Hardman and his mother took over operations. He would continue in that business for a number of years and in addition to operating and owning the town's oldest funeral parlor is also accorded the curious distinction of "being the undertaker to bury three Pennsylvania governors", those men being Andrew Gregg Curtin, James A. Beaver, and Daniel H. Hastings.

   Throughout his life, Harris experienced further distinction in several additional business endeavors, including being a director of the White Rock Quarries of Pleasant Gap, director of the Sutton Engineering Co., and the owner of the Curtin Sand Co. of Curtin, Pennsylvania. Active in the civic life of Bellefonte, Harris was a longstanding member of the local Elks Lodge, chairman of the Bellefonte Red Cross Society, and a member of the Bellefonte Fire Co.  

  In addition to his business dealings, Harris held several local political offices in Bellefonte, including an eight-year stint on the borough council and nine years as a member of the town school board. In 1926 he began a twenty-four-year tenure as Burgess of Bellefonte, a tenure that saw him as a "very liberal mind in matters concerning the best interests of his city and community." Harris's final term as Burgess concluded in January 1950 and was succeeded by Hugh M. Quigley. A lifelong bachelor, Hardman Petrikin Harris died several months after leaving office on November 4, 1950, aged 86. He was later interred at the Union Cemetery in Bellefonte.

From the Altoona Mirror, November 6, 1950. 

Oyer Alton Saunders (1889-1983)

From the Colorado Transcript, October 20, 1938.

  Hailing from a state that has yielded only a handful of profiles here on the site, Colorado resident Oyer Alton "Sandy" Saunders served one term in the Colorado state senate and prior to his service had held the post of coroner for Jefferson County for over a decade. One of only four politicians profiled here who were morticians by trade, Oyer A. Saunders was a native of the Buckeye State, being born in Crown City, Gallia County, Ohio on June 21, 1889. The son of Joseph Walter and Sarah Jane (Dailey) Saunders, little information could be located on Saunder's life in Ohio, excepting notice of his being a teacher and school superintendent in Gallia County, holding the latter post from 1918-1919.

  Oyer Saunders married in Gallia County on December 16, 1911, to Minnie Belle Gothard (1887-1953), with whom he had one son, Rothbe Oyer Saunders (1914-1933). In 1920 Saunders and his family removed from Ohio to Colorado, and early in his residency in that state was head of the physics department at the Boulder High School. This was followed by a stint as a high school principal in Fort Lupton and, later, an eight-year tenure as superintendent of schools for the city of Steamboat Springs.

   In 1930 Saunders and his family settled in Golden, Jefferson County, Colorado, and in that same year, he first entered into the mortuary business, purchasing the Woods Mortuary, which had been established in 1913. Despite having had no previous experience as a mortician, Saunders and a partner, T.E. Cline, pooled resources to purchase the business, with Cline handling the "technical details of the business" and Saunders serving as manager. In the Colorado Transcript write-up concerning the purchase, details note that Saunders and his family lived  "above the mortuary" for a time and that both he and Cline planned to "remodel and refurbish the establishment." 

   Beginning in 1936, the Woods Mortuary began a "ten months program of modernization" that eventually culminated with the addition of "soft lighting effects, rich draperies, soft carpeting, appropriate interior decoration, new equipment and beautifully furnished rooms for those who have passed on." The mortuary would also boast a new chapel, and in 1937 Saunders would purchase the neighboring Taft building, thereby enlarging the mortuary storefront. By the mid-1940s the building also contained a casket display room, and, following renovations, the second floor of the building had been converted to apartment housing.

The Woods Mortuary as it appeared in the October 20, 1938 Colorado Transcript.

   By 1932 the name of O.A. Saunders had been established in the Jefferson County community, and in that year Saunders made his first run at elective office, announcing his candidacy for county coroner. In September 1932 he entered into the primary race and in the latter part of the year several newspapers in the county highlighted his candidacy, with the Colorado Transcript noting:

"O.A. Saunders is the successor of William Woods in the Woods mortuary at Golden and is also the Republican candidate for coroner. He is the logical man to serve the county as coroner and should be given the vote of the high citizenry at Tuesday's primary election. He is a lifelong Republican and was the high designee of his party at the recent county assembly."

  Following his primary win that September Saunders would go on to win the election for coroner in November. He would continue to win reelection to that office well into the 1940s and garnered a reputation as an official of "efficiency, economy, and fair-dealing." Saunders' first months as coroner were marred by the tragic death of his son Rothbe, who died aged 18 in January 1933, having undergone surgery for "sinus trouble" the previous December. This surgery was later compounded by flu and spinal meningitis, and following Rothbe's death on January 5th, O.A. Saunders presided over his son's funeral at the Woods Mortuary. The young man was later laid to rest at the Crown Hill Cemetery, his casket being escorted by a contingent of Colorado National Guardsmen, as well as a plane from the 120th observation squadron from the air service of the Colorado National Guard. 

From the Colorado Transcript, October 20, 1932.

From the Colorado Transcript, October 18, 1934.

   Through the 1930s and into the 1940s the name of Oyer Saunders continued prominence in Jefferson County, and in addition to his services as county coroner and mortuary director gained distinction in several other civic endeavors, including holding the presidency of the Golden Chamber of Commerce from 1941-42, the presidency of the local Kiwanis Club, serving as County Chairman of the Red Cross Drive during WWII, and was a member of the Golden City Lodge #1 of Free and Accepted Masons. In 1935 and 1936 Saunders served back to back terms as president of the Colorado Funeral Directors Association, and in November 1940 was appointed by Governor Ralph L. Carr as a member of the state board of embalming examiners for a four-year term.

   In 1945 Saunders and his wife Minne purchased T.E. Cline's entire interest in the Woods Mortuary and became that business's sole owners. Saunders would reach his highest degree of political prominence in August 1948 when he announced his candidacy for the Colorado state senate, and in that year his past business successes were touted in the August 20th edition of the Douglas County Record-Journal. In an article detailing his candidacy, Saunders acknowledged his wife Minnie as his "chief supporter and most helpful critic", and remarked:

"If I go to the Colorado Senate, I shall do my best to represent fairly the 8th Senatorial district as a whole. Its schools, educational and other institutions, business and professional interests, agriculture and civic improvements, shall have my cooperation--I think I have something to offer in the way of unbiased legislation."

  Saunders' opponent that year was Democratic nominee Ed Moder, a real estate dealer and later owner of the Jefferson Sentinel newspaper. In November 1948 it was Saunders who won out at the polls, besting Moder by a vote of 10,600 to 9,693. Taking his seat in January 1949, Saunders would serve one four year term and served on the following committees: Banking; Education and Educational Institutions; Fish, Forestry, and Game; Insurance and Interstate Cooperation; Medical Affairs; and Mining and Metal. He would also chair the committee on Veteran's and Military Affairs during the 1949-50 session and chaired the Industrial Affairs committee from 1951-52.

Saunders campaign notice, September 24, 1948.

   Following his term, Oyer A. Saunders wasn't a candidate for renomination in 1952 and in May 1957 suffered the death of his wife of over forty years, Minnie. Sometime after his wife's death, Saunders would remarry to Ruby Merle Mylar Topping (1900-1990), who would survive him upon his death in 1983. Saunders' later years saw him residing in Evergreen, Colorado, and in 1969 returned to his old home of Steamboat Springs to attend the 40th-anniversary reunion of the class of 1929. Oyer Alton Saunders died in Denver on January 13, 1983, at age 93. He was later interred alongside his wife Minnie and son Rothbe at the Crown Hill Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

From the Steamboat Pilot, September 4, 1969.

Olva Clayton Parker (1860-1922)

Portrait courtesy of Familysearch.com.

   Today's profile on Olva Clayton Parker (a two-term mayor of Tucson, Arizona) is important as it proves that there are still new discoveries to be made when it comes to oddly named mayors of major U.S. cities. Aside from having a first name that sounds like it could be part of the human anatomy, Olva C. Parker is also on a short list of odd-name political figures who were undertakers by profession--Ophir LeRoy Hering and Survellon Burr Holcombe now have some company!

   Born in Paris, Tennessee on January 28, 1860, Olva Clayton Parker was the son of Jessie and Elizabeth Parker. He moved with his family to Anna, Illinois during his childhood and here attended school. During his late teens, Parker took work as a clerk in the "money order department" of the local post office and in 1879 left Illinois for the West. taking a stagecoach from Kansas City to Las Vegas, New Mexico, reaching his destination in April of that year. 

   After establishing his roots in New Mexico Parker worked at cattle ranching for several years and also became caught up in the Lincoln County War, a series of ongoing skirmishes between merchants and cattlemen in the New Mexico Territory. Parker is also recorded in Ward Adams' History of Arizona as having "fought against the Indians at Silver City and participated in numerous drives against Indian outlaw bands." He married in 1894 to Honorene McDonald (1876-1972) and would have three daughters: Malvene (1895-1943), Grace (1897-1980) and Edith (1909-1985). 

   Olva Parker removed from New Mexico in 1896, resettling in Phoenix. He entered into the mortuary business during his time there and in 1898 relocated to Tucson, where he established the Parker Mortuary, a business which he continued to operate until his death in 1922. The succeeding years saw Parker's name become one of the most prominent in Tucson business circles, and in addition to his mortuary company was connected with a number of other interests in the city, including being a director of the Arizona National Bank of Tucson and the Cochise Copper Company.

  In 1916 Olva C. Parker was elected as Mayor of Tucson, officially taking office in 1917. He would serve two terms as Mayor and during his second term saw Tucson become home to the first municipally owned airport in the United States, the Tucson Municipal Flying Field, opened in November 1920.

  After leaving office in 1921 Parker took on the position of president of the Arizona Good Roads Association. In the last year of his life, he incurred a bout of blood poisoning as the result of a scratch on his foot, which weakened his health substantially. He died on August 13, 1922 at age 62, as the result of "diabetes and Bright's disease" and was survived by his wife and three daughters. Following her death at age 96 in 1972 Honorene Parker was interred alongside her husband at the Evergreen Memorial Park in Tucson. 

From the August 15, 1922 edition of the Tucson Daily Citizen,

Survellon Burr Holcomb (1871-1952)

Portrait courtesy of www.legis.state.pa.us.

    The proud possessor of a truly unusual first name, Survellon Burr Holcombe served twelve consecutive years as Sullivan County's representative in the Pennsylvania State Assembly. The son of Pierson Alonzo and Sophia Elizabeth Mott Holcombe, Survellon B. Holcombe's birth occurred in the town of LeRoy, Pennsylvania on March 16, 1871. Unfortunately, I have no interesting tidbits to share with you as to where the name "Survellon" originated from. Despite this, it looks as if Survellon himself preferred going by the abbreviated name 'Vell", as most of the period resources mentioning him record this name.

   Holcombe resided in the county of his birth until reaching age ten, whereafter he and his family relocated to Sullivan County. He attended school here for a period of three years, after which his family returned to LeRoy. A graduate of the Elmira School of Commerce, Vell Holcombe removed to Dushore, Pennsylvania in 1893, where he would take on the position as bookkeeper under Samuel Cole, a prominent local businessman. He remained in the employ of Cole until 1898, when he decided to go into business for himself. 

   In December 1898, he and Holcombe and Henry Obert partnered and purchased a furniture and undertaking business formerly owned by E.F. Taubach. Holcombe purchased his partner's interest the following year, and afterward the business would operate under the name Holcombe and Lauer. Vell Burr Holcombe married on November 29, 1900 in Dushore to Ms. Rosanna Jane "Jennie" Cook (1876-1969), to whom he was wed for over fifty years. The couple's lengthy union would see the births of five children, Pauline Cook (1903-1992), Alice Elizabeth (1905-1955), Pierson Joseph (1907-2002), Vell Carl (1913-1999), and Richard L. (1915-2014), who died just short of his 99th birthday. 

   Through the succeeding years, Holcombe built up a reputation as one of Dushore's most well-known businessmen. As a notable citizen in the town, Holcombe held several local offices, including stints as a member of the borough council, school board and board of health. In November 1920 he was elected to his first term in the Pennsylvania State House, garnering a total of 2,251 votes on election day. During the 1921-23 term, he served on several house committees, including Ways and Means, Mines and Mining, Education, Forestry, and Federal Relations. Sources relate that as an assemblyman Holcombe was an advocate of prohibition and favored "good roads for everybody" as well as "preserving the forests and game protection." 

   Vell Holcombe would continue to represent Sullivan County in the state assembly until 1933, having been an unsuccessful candidate for reelection the previous November. He continued to own and operate his furniture and undertaking business until 1947, when he retired and turned over the operation to his sons Richard and Vell Carl. Survellon Burr Holcombe died in Dushore in May 1952 at age 81 and was later interred at the St. Basil's Cemetery in that town. His widow Jennie survived him by nearly two decades, dying in 1969 at age 92.

Survellon and Roseanna Holcomb, courtesy of "Endless Mountains" on Rootsweb.

Wittich Chiles DuBose (1881-1929)

Portrait courtesy of "Mineola and its Mayors", published 1976.

    Several years after the conclusion of Mayor Garrone Stardi Northcutt's term, the city of Mineola, Texas elected another peculiarly named man as its mayor, one Wittich Chiles DuBose. The son of Methodist minister Charles Betts DuBose, Wittich Chiles "Witt" Dubose was born in Pensacola, Florida on August 20, 1881. Left fatherless at an early age due to his father's death in a yellow fever outbreak, Wittich DuBose spent a portion of his early life in Alabama, having been sent there by his father to lessen the chance of exposure to yellow fever. The young man would experience further tragedy with the death of his mother Eugenia and following her passing was sent to live with relatives in Mineola, Texas.

   DuBose would attend schools local to Mineola and later studied at Draughn's Business College, located in Dallas, Texas. He married in 1906 to Mamie Chappell and later had one son, Wittich "Witt" Chappell DuBose (1908-1993). After concluding his studies at the Draughn Business College DuBose became engaged in the used furniture business in Mineola, and would later partner with J.W. Cage. In addition to furniture sales, DuBose and Page added funeral supplies to their business, and DuBose himself would attend the Dallas School of Embalming and Funeral Directing. 

   Wittich DuBose continued to operate his furniture and undertaking business in Mineola well into the 1920s and also served as the vice president of the Texas Organization of Funeral Directors. The 1976 history of "Mineola and its Mayors" also relates that prior to 1918 DuBose's company transitioned to a motorized hearse, having previously used a horse-drawn coach for funerals.

  In addition to his business, DuBose also gained prominence as Mineola's fire chief, serving in that position for several years. In August 1924 he took office as Mayor of Mineola and during his two terms in office, a number of improvements were made to the city's infrastructure, including the renovation of the local sewerage disposal plant in 1926. In the following year, work began on a plan to supply Mineola with natural gas, and by late 1927 the city's homes had been supplied with gas lines, with service taking effect in November of that year.

Wittich C. DuBose during his time as mayor, from "Mineola and its Mayors".

   DuBose's second term concluded in 1928 and for the remainder of his life maintained activity in several fraternal organizations, including the Masons, the Knights of Pythias, and the Lions and Elks Clubs. In early November 1929, the former mayor was afflicted with appendicitis and was rushed to a Dallas sanitarium to undergo an operation. DuBose died shortly after the operation on November 9, 1929. Just forty-eight years of age at the time of his death, Dubose was returned to Mineola for burial at the Mineola City Cemetery. He was survived by his wife Mamie and son Witt, who died in 1973 and 1993 respectively.

Ophir LeRoy Haring (1878-1943)

   Once in a while a certain city, town, or village is discovered that has an oddly named individual listed amongst its roster of past mayors. The city of Three Rivers, Michigan is a special case, as it has had the good fortune to have two men serve as mayor (twenty years apart) with truly unusual names. The first of these men was Cadalzo Dockstader (profiled yesterday) who held the job from 1897-1899. Following in his stead was Ophir LeRoy Haring, who is profiled today. This man with the intriguing first name was a lifelong Michigan resident and is presumed to have inherited the name "Ophir" from the like-named region in the Bible, an area known for gold, mineral wealth, and other precious resources.

   Ophir L. Haring was born in a log cabin on February 15, 1878, in the township of North Shade in Gratiot County, Michigan, the last of five children born to Hiram (1844-1905)  and Susan Foltz Haring (1843-1925). He spent a good majority of his adolescence engaged in farm work and attended schools local to the village of Hubbardston. After the completion of his education, he went to serve as a school teacher in the village of Beebe, Michigan, and was employed here for only a few months. He left this employ and later went on to a short career as a general merchandiser in the store of William D. Iseman. Haring married in Ithaca, Michigan in November 1904 to Else Harriett Hill (1875-1932) with whom he would have two daughters, Madelon Elaine (1914-1992) and Donna Jean (1918-1976). Ophir and Elsie are also recorded as adopting a third child, Doris Eileen Van Aken (1914-1992) in 1915.

  Two years following his marriage Haring decided upon a career as an undertaker, enrolling at the Williams School of Embalming in Chicago. After completing the curriculum he worked as an undertaker and embalmer in Cassopolis, Michigan, and Elkhart, Indiana before relocating to the Three Rivers area. Once settled, Haring formed another undertaking business with Frederick W. Balch, a prominent local furniture dealer. This partnership lasted for over a decade, and Haring himself is noted as opening the first funeral parlor in Three Rivers in 1919.

   Ophir L. Haring's activities weren't limited to just operating a funeral home. A member of several local fraternal organizations, including the Salathiel Chapter No. 23 of the Royal Arch Masons, Haring also made his name known politically, becoming a member of the Three Rivers City Commission in 1921. Two years later he was elected as Mayor of Three Rivers, and after serving a term of one year returned to his earlier career as a funeral director and embalmer. In his later years, Haring held a seat on the St. Joseph County Welfare Commission and is recorded as resigning from this board for unknown reasons. He died on December 29, 1943, at age 65 and was later interred at the Riverside Cemetery in Three Rivers. Haring's wife Elsie predeceased him eleven years previously and was interred in the same cemetery as her husband. 

  The rare portrait of Ophir LeRoy Haring shown above was featured on a 1932 poster featuring all of the past Three Rivers mayors who had served from 1908-1932. The original poster is located in the collection of the Three Rivers Library archive and can be seen on the Library's Flickr page at the following link.