Melkeor Urdahl Shelldrup Kjorlaug/Melkeor United States Kjorlaug (1887-1967)

From the Minnesota Alumni Weekly, May 1930.

   Since beginning this site over two years ago I've managed to locate many new oddly named political figures through hours of sometimes tedious research, scouring old state books, registers and election results in the hope that a new name might pop up. A few days ago (while perusing a Harvard Law School catalog) I managed to stumble upon one of those names that left me scratching my head in bewilderment, and I think you'll agree that he possesses a truly fascinating name: Melkeor United States Kjorlaug (see addendum at the end of this article for more information on his name) 

  M.U.S. Kjorlaug parlayed a career as an attorney in Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Texas into a political career, being a three-time Republican aspirant for the U.S. House of Representatives. Despite aspiring to such a lofty office, Mr. Kjorlaug was unsuccessful on all three occasions, and one can wonder if it was his name (and not his politics) that may have scared away potential voters. A good majority of the sources mentioning him abbreviate his rather lengthy name as either "M.U.S. Kjorlaug" or "Melkeor U.S. Kjorlaug". 

  Melkeor U.S. Kjorlaug was born of Norwegian extraction in Boone County, Nebraska on the 8th of October 1887, one of several children born to Peder (1844-1924) and Metta (Fuhr) Kjorlaug (1843-1931). His education took place in the public schools of both Nebraska and Minnesota. Following the completion of high school he enrolled at the Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota and in March 1912 won the Minnesota state oratorical contest for Carleton with an oration entitled "Master or Slave". The Public Speaking Review of 1912 gives note of the enthusiastic reception of Kjorlaug's speech, noting that after the winning oration was announced: "the effect was instantaneous and for about fifteen minutes uproarious pandemonium reigned supreme."

   Following his graduation from Carleton in 1912 Kjorlaug studied at the Harvard Law School in Massachusetts. Following his graduation from the school in 1915, he was admitted to the Massachusetts bar and later settled in Boston. Following his resettlement, the Alumni Magazine of Carleton College notes that Kjorlaug was "connected with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. He is greatly interested in his work and finds excellent opportunity for social service in his new position."

  Kjorlaug later moved back to Minnesota and was admitted to the state bar in 1916. He opened a law practice in Minneapolis and married in the mid-1910s. He and his wife became parents to two children, Clark Riegel Kjorlaug (1917-2012) and Audrey Kjorlaug (1921-2015). During WWI he was connected to the U.S. War Department as a special agent "on training camp activities in community service." Following the war's conclusion, Kjorlaug became affiliated with the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis, where he served as an Instructor in Law for six years (1919-1925). His residency in Minneapolis saw Kjorlaug serve as attorney for the Minneapolis Legal Aid Society and in 1931 was named as Superintendent of the Minneapolis Department of Public Welfare. 

   Melkeor Kjorlaug first entered political life in 1925 when he was elected to the Minneapolis Board of Alderman, representing that city's 13th ward. He served six years on the board and late in his service announced his campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota's 5th Congressional district. His campaign ad in the 1930 Minneapolis Alumni Weekly touted his tenure as a Harvard graduate and former law instructor, noting that as a candidate Kjorlaug was "aggressive, fearless, and honorable." As one of four Republican candidates in that year's primary Kjorlaug came in last, polling only 4,895 votes to former Lieutenant Governor William Ignatius Nolan's winning total of 21,114. Nolan would go on to win election to Congress that November and served two terms, being defeated in 1933. The accompanying electoral result from that year's primary appeared in the 1931 Legislative Manual of Minnesota and is shown below.

From the Minneapolis Star, October 19, 1926.

   Following his congressional primary loss, Kjorlaug returned to his duties as a Minneapolis city councilman and also the practice of law. In 1936 he moved from Minnesota to Texas, settling in Houston where resided for the remainder of his life. Shortly after his resettlement, Kjorlaug established a law practice in that city. Despite being a resident of the Lone Star state for only a few years, Kjorlaug reentered the political arena in 1940, launching another campaign for Congress. In November of that year, he was the Republican candidate from Texas' 7th district, opposing one-term Democratic incumbent Albert Thomas (1898-1966). 

  When the votes were tallied on election day it was Thomas who emerged victorious, besting Kjorlaug by a vote of 89,796 to 4,925. Two years following his defeat, Kjorlaug was once again the Republican nominee against Thomas, and the vote count proved to be just as lopsided as the previous election, with Thomas coasting to victory, 31,038 votes to Kjorlaug's 622. Albert Thomas would go on to serve a total of 29 years in Congress, dying in office in 1966 at age 68. 

  Following those two candidacies, Kjorlaug continued practicing law in Houston, and for several years was a part-time faculty member at the South Texas College of Law. He would subsequently assume the post of assistant to the Dean in the 1950s, retiring from that office in 1958. In 1956 he joined the college as a "full-time faculty member." M.U.S. Kjorlaug died at his home in Houston of "coronary thrombosis" on January 15, 1967, at age 79, and was survived by his wife Ellen and two children. He was later interred at the Forest Park East Cemetery in Houston. Ellen Kjorlaug survived her husband by over a decade, dying in July 1978 at age 91, and was interred in the same cemetery as her husband.

M.U.S. Kjorlaug as he appeared in Volume 19 of the Texas Bar Journal, 1956.

From the Corpus Christi Times, January 16, 1967.

An Addendum

   A few hours after putting the above article online my "You Can Help" segment shown above received a reply from SNIAPH Facebook fan Chris Heffner, who related to me a very interesting discovery.....Melkeor U.S. Kjorlaug's middle name may not have been "United States", at least according to his Texas death certificate. Through Chris's findings, Mr. Kjorlaug's middle name was "Urdahl Shelldrup", and with that information in hand, I can honestly state that I am now thoroughly confused!

  While death certificates have been useful to me in the past (see Nephi U.S.C. Jensen's article for an example) I was unable to find one for Mr. Kjorlaug, that is until Chris related his findings to me. While I usually consider a death certificate or gravestone to be the final arbiter in name discrepancies, I can't quite wrap my head around why exactly a death certificate issued by Texas lists one set of middle names (Urdahl Shelldrup) while the Quinquennial Catalogue of the Law School of Harvard University lists them as "United States", not once but FOUR times throughout the book. If the "United States" listing was a mistake or error on the part of that book's compiler I have a difficult time believing that they'd do it four separate times in the same work. 

  Since being told of the "Urdahl Shelldrup" middle name I've looked to see if I could find any other references to it but have come up empty. The FamilySearch genealogical website (which houses several Texas death certificates) lists "Urdahl Shelldrup" but not "United States", and Ancestry.com lists Kjorlaug by his abbreviated name "M.U.S. Kjorlaug" and "Melkeor Kjorlaug". In light of this new information, I've decided to include both names in the title of Kjorlaug's article here. It is my sincere hope that a relative or descendant will stumble across this page and contribute whatever information they may have and hopefully, someday I'll be able to get a definitive answer as to whether Kjorlaug's middle name is "United States" or "Urdahl Shelldrup". Either way, the man's name is still truly unusual!!

  Aside from making me aware of the middle name situation, Chris also did me a great favor by locating the names of Kjorlaug's parents, siblings, and burial location.....all of which were unknown to me as of the time of this article's publishing late yesterday (August 22nd.) I'd like to offer a hearty thank you to Chris for his response to the "You Can Help" segment and the time he spent doing further research in regard to Mr. Kjorlaug's life. Your help is most appreciated!

Fenelon Frederick Hippee Pope (1844-1935), Fenelon Dobyns Hewitt (1883-1961), Fenelon Arnold (1817-1901)

  Discovered recently via the 1922 work Men of the South: A Work for the Newspaper Reference Library, the interestingly named Fenelon Frederick Hippee Pope has the sort of name that immediately jumps out at you when you see it, and I got quite the laugh when I stumbled across it in the aforementioned book's table of contents. Aside from his funny name, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Pope had fleeting involvement with politics during his life, being a candidate for Republican Presidential elector from Florida in 1920.

  A resident of Ohio for the majority of his life, Fenelon F. H. Pope was born in Delaware County on October 9, 1844, and went on to attend schools in the city of Wooster. He served as a First Sargent with Co. C of the 169th Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War and following his military service began the study of medicine at the Charity Hospital Medical College in Cleveland. After graduating from this school he "practiced medicine and pharmacy at Dalton, Ohio" for over forty years and was a longstanding member of both the Ohio State and American Medical Associations. Pope married in Ohio in October 1870 to Laura Eleanora Clippinger (1841-1927)  and would later have three children, Joseph (birth date unknown), Gertrude Alice (1871-1963), and Edna May (1879-1953).

  In the mid-1900s Pope relocated from Ohio to St. Cloud, Florida, where he would reside for over a decade. During his Florida residency, the Men of South notes that he became a candidate for Presidential Elector "on the Florida State Republican ticket of 1920" but was ultimately unsuccessful. This proved to be Pope's only foray into political affairs, but he made advancement in several other areas, including being the President of the People's Bank of St. Cloud and was a prominent advocate for the construction of the St. Cloud-Melbourne highway.

  In the early 1930s, Pope returned to Ohio and settled in the village of Kent in Portage County. He died there on April 16, 1935, at age 90 and was recorded as being the last Civil War veteran residing there at the time of his death. He was later buried in the Standing Rock Cemetery in the village of Kent.

From the 1917 Official and Statistical Register of Mississippi.

  A lifelong resident of Mississippi, Fenelon Dobyns Hewitt served as a member of the state legislature and late in life held the post of Judge of the Fourth Chancery District of Mississippi. While his name may be unusual, it also has one or two variations in its spelling floating around online. The Official Register of Mississippi records it as "Fenelon Dobyne Hewitt" and a second spelling (via the Find-A-Grave website) lists it as "Fenlon Dobbins Hewitt". However, despite these alternate spellings, several other pieces of period literature give the spelling as it is in the title of this article, and from my vantage point, that looks to be the correct one.

  Born in Amite County Mississippi on February 26, 1883, Fenelon Dobyns Hewitt was one of ten children born to Thomas Jefferson and Emily J. Loftin Hewitt. Fenelon attended the Mars Hill Public School in Amite and later graduated from Millsaps College in the class of 1905. He decided upon a career in law during his adolescence and continued his studies at the University of Mississippi at Oxford, earning his LL.B. degree there in 1907. Hewitt married in 1909 to Ada Virginia Jackson (1884-1973) and had three children, Fenelon Jr. (1910-1997), Billie, and Mary Ellen (1913-1996).

  With the completion of his schooling, Hewitt settled in Pike County and opened a law practice here. In 1909 he was named as a Judge of the Police Court in McComb City and served a total of six years on the bench. His tenure on the court was remarked by the Official Register of Mississippi as one of "sound common sense and excellent legal ability" and through personal popularity was nominated for the Mississippi State House of Representatives in 1915. He won the election that November and during his first term (1916-1920), held seats on the committees on Judiciary, Ways and Means, Railroads, Roads, Ferries and Bridges, and also chaired the committee on the Constitution. Two decades following this term he won a second term in the legislature, and from 1944-48 served on the committees on the Judiciary, Juvenile Delinquency and Child Welfare, Labor, and Registration and Elections.

   Following his two terms in the legislature, Hewitt continued in the practice of law and later served as District Attorney for Pike County in the mid-1920s. In 1952 he was appointed by Mississippi Governor Fielding Wright to a vacancy on Mississippi's Chancery Court. This vacancy occurred with the death of Judge Richard Wiltz Cutrer in July of that year and Hewitt filled out the remainder of Cutrer's term. Hewitt was eventually elected to a term in his own right and served on the bench until being felled by a stroke while conducting court in October 1961. He died one week later on October 29, 1961, at age 78 at a hospital in McComb and was buried at the Hollywood Cemetery in that town.

From the Laurel Leader Call, October 30, 1961.

                                              From the Greenville Delta Democrat Times, October 31, 1961.

Portrait from the "Men of Vermont", 1894.

    Another "Fenelon" that made his name known in politics was Fenelon Arnold of  Westminster, Vermont. A lifelong resident of that town, Arnold was born on January 25, 1817, the son of Ambrose and Priscilla Farnum Arnold. He attended local schools and as a young man purchased a farm along with his brother, and married in 1840 to Amanda Richards, with whom he would have two sons, Charles and George. Following Amanda's death in 1867, Arnold would remarry five years later to Emily Augusta Marsh (1837-1912) and had a third son, Seth Fenelon Arnold.

   A good majority of Fenelon Arnold's life was spent quietly in Westminster, where he worked at brass and silver plating for a time, being the co-owner of the firm of Arnold and Cook. He served in several local offices in his native town, including that of selectman for 13 years. Arnold served in the Vermont State Assembly from 1880-82 and 1884-86 and held a seat on the committees on Elections and Banks and Banking. 

  Fenelon Arnold died nearly two decades after his legislative service on December 4, 1901, at age 84 and was later buried at the Westminster New Cemetery in his native town.

Owington Gordon Delk Jr. (1911-1990)

From the Binghamton Press, September 7, 1955

   While many Americans have feelings of ill will towards that often maligned institution called the Internal Revenue Service, its 140-year history has seen the likes of George Sewall Boutwell and Columbus Delano (both former Congressmen and Cabinet members) serve as its Commissioner. In its long history, the IRS has also had two oddly named individuals serve as its head, Green Berry Raum (1876-1883) and the man profiled today, Mr. Owington Gordon Delk Jr. Despite being the acting head of the venerable IRS, little information could be found on Mr. Delk, whose terms in office came about due to resignations by prior IRS commissioners. 
   O. Gordon Delk (as most sources list him) was born in Virginia on December 28, 1911, a son of Owington Gordon (1881-1956) and Lena Frances Tulloss Delk (1891-1970). Little is known of Delk's early years, although notice is given as to his entering government service in 1928 "as a messenger in the general accounting office." He later went on to study accounting at George Washington University and graduated from the Southeastern University in Washington, D.C. with a Bachelor of Laws degree. Following his graduation Delk was involved in "banking and farming in and around Smithfield" and he later married Frances Channell (1915-2012), with whom he would have three children, son O. Gordon Delk III (1950-1972) and daughters Sarah and Emily.
  O. Gordon Delk Jr. was appointed as Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue on March 30, 1953, serving under Commissioner Thomas Coleman Andrews. On October 31, 1955, Andrews resigned from the post to return to his earlier position as an insurance company executive and Delk became acting commissioner. He served until December 4th of that year when Rhode Island native Russell C. Harrington took over as Commissioner.

From the Gastonia Gazette, November 1, 1955.

  Delk returned to his duties as deputy commissioner under Harrington until similar circumstances arose in September of 1958. Russell Harrington resigned as commissioner and Delk once again became acting head of the IRS. Despite serving as the top IRS official for a combined total of 68 days, his second term in the post saw a confrontation arise between the IRS and Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus (1910-1994). As the Tonawanda News related in its October 8, 1958 edition, an error in IRS accounting made it appear that Faubus "owed income taxes on $105,499.14." Governor Faubus, well known at the time for being outspoken on his views regarding segregation, publicly chastised the IRS, noting that the government was trying to punish him for his views and stance against school integration. Arkansas IRS District Commissioner Curtis R. Mathis proclaimed that "somebody goofed" in regards to the mistake, but acting commissioner Delk was quoted as taking a "less than apologetic attitude" to the situation,  noting that "Faubus' overall tax affairs are still under scrutiny."
   Following the conclusion of his second stint as acting IRS Commissioner, Delk resigned from the Internal Revenue Service and was awarded a civilian service medal by the U.S. Treasury Department in January 1959.  Little could be found on Delk's later years, although it is known that he resided in Punta Gorda, Florida for several years, and in 1977 was named to the Civic Advisory Council at the Medical Center Hospital in that city. A death notice for Delk (published in the February 10, 1990 edition of the Hampton Roads Daily Press) also notes that he was a past financial executive for the RCA Corporation, but fails to mention his length of service with that company. 
   O. Gordon Delk died at age 78 on February 8, 1990, in Punta Gorda, Florida and was later interred at the Saint Luke's Cemetery in Smithfield, Virginia. He was survived by both of his daughters and his wife Frances, who died in June 2012 at age 96. 

Andsworth Hardaway Chambers (1851-1934)

 From Volume I of the History of the Pacific Northwest, 1889.

    A distinguished resident of Thurston County, Washington, Andsworth Hardway Chambers was the son of Washington territorial pioneers and went on to prominence in both business and politics, serving as the Mayor of Olympia, Washington for three terms. He was later a one-term representative in the Washington State Legislature and was for many years the proprietor of a successful butchery and meat packing company. Chambers' first name is also recorded as being spelled as "Answorth" in addition to the spelling given here.

   Andsworth H. Chambers was born in Thurston County, Washington on June 25, 1851, being the son of David J. and Elizabeth Harrison Chambers, both former residents of Missouri. Chambers is recorded by Barton's Legislative Handbook and Manual of Washington as receiving his education in common schools and engaged in work on the family farm during his youth. He spent his formative years herding cattle and continued in this line of work until he decided upon a career as a butcher. He married in Olympia on May 20, 1878, to Ms. Mary A. Connelly (1856-1937) and the couple would later have three daughters, including Hope Chambers O'Leary (1890-1925).

   Chambers' first venture into the meat packing and butchering business came at age nineteen, joining with his father to establish an Olympia-based butchery. In 1881 the son bought out the father's interest in the business and in the succeeding years built it into the A.H. Chambers Meat Co., mentioned as being one of the most "extensive slaughtering and packing business in Olympia." In addition to this plant, he is mentioned in the 1905 work Olympia, the Capital City of Washington as operating a market, and "has an extensive jobbing trade in meats among the logging camps and towns of Southwestern Washington." This history of Olympia further notes that Chambers' plant "has a capacity of five cars of cattle per week". Chambers also held prominent positions in several other Olympia-based businesses, including being a director of the First National Bank and having a "controlling interest" in the Olympia Gas and Electric Light Works. 

   Having carved a prominent place for himself in Olympia business circles, Chambers turned his attention to city political affairs beginning in the 1880s. He served as a city council member for a time and in 1886 was elected to the first of three terms as Mayor of Olympia. His three years in office saw the building of the Chambers Block in Olympia, now one of the oldest remaining business blocks in the city. Chambers continued his political ascent after leaving the mayor's office, being nominated by the Democrats of Thurston County to be one of their representatives in the Washington State Legislature in 1890. He went on to win the election that November and during his one term (1891-1893) held a seat on the committees on the Hospital for the Insane, Indian Affairs, Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy, and Military Affairs. 

From an 1891 Washington State Legislature class portrait in the Washington State Archives.

  The remaining years of Chambers' life have proven to be difficult to research, with few sources mentioning what he may have been up to after his time in the legislature. It has been found that he served as a member of the Washington State Capital Commission from 1915 to 1921, and in 1925 suffered a personal loss with the death of his then 35-year-old daughter Hope C. O'Leary. Andsworth H. Chambers died shortly after his 83rd birthday on July 1, 1934, and was later interred at the Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Tumwater, Washington. Chambers' wife Mary survived him by three years and is interred at the same cemetery.

Cairo Alwin Trimble (1869-1952)

From the Republicans of Illinois, 1905.

   Prominent for many years in Illinois legal circles, Cairo Alwin Trimble served as a Presidential elector for Illinois and was later a delegate to the 1912 and 1936 Republican National Conventions. Besides having a first name that is also a city in Egypt, Trimble went on to further prominence later in life, serving as the President of the Illinois State Bar Association. He was born in Princeton, Illinois on March 15, 1869, a son of Harvey Marion and Margaret Sabin Dakin Trimble. His early education took place in schools local to Princeton and he later went on to graduate from Princeton High School. Trimble decided upon a career in law early in his life and in 1892 was admitted to the Illinois bar.

  Cairo Trimble married twice during his life, the first being to Ms. Alice McKey in 1894. Two children were born to the couple, Margaret Victoria Trimble Towne (1897-1974) and Cairo Dakin Trimble (1905-1931). Following Alice McKey Trimble's death in 1916, Trimble remarried in January 1919 to Nancy Creswell Kyle, who died in 1947.

   Trimble opened a law practice in Princeton and operated here for many years, and while a lawyer by trade, he gained additional repute through involvement in several other civic endeavors in Princeton. He was for many years a member (as well as President) of the Princeton High School Board of Education and was also a bank director. In addition to his work in Princeton, Trimble was later elected as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. He served on the board for eight years (1917-1925) and would continue to have involvement with the university for many years afterward.

  In addition to his law practice in Princeton, Trimble was named as a Republican Presidential Elector for Illinois in 1908, and four years later was a member of the Illinois delegation to the 1912 Republican National Convention being held in Chicago. Trimble would serve again as a delegate in 1936, journeying to Cleveland to take part in the Republican National Convention that nominated Alf Landon for the Presidency.

From the Alumni Quarterly and Fortnightly Notes of the University of Illinois, 1918.

  Trimble's lengthy career as one of Bureau County's most prominent practitioners of law culminated with his election as President of the Illinois State Bar Association in 1936. His tenure in this post (1936-1937) came at a time when President Franklin Roosevelt's "court packing" plan was largely derided by those in legal circles, and Cairo Trimble's viewpoint on the matter was no exception. He was mentioned by the February 1937 edition of the Telegraph Herald as stating that half of the Illinois State Bar Association's members had taken part in a statewide referendum, with 3,062 members voting against Roosevelt's plan while 377 voted for it.

  In his later years, Trimble maintained an active schedule, being a member of the local Masonic chapter, the Bureau Valley Country Club, the Hamilton Club of Chicago, and was a past member of the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association. Trimble is recorded as serving as the President of the Illinois State Board of Law Examiners, although his dates of service in this office are unknown at this time. Cairo Alwin Trimble died in his native city of Princeton on September 23, 1952, at age 83, having outlived two wives and one of his children. He was survived by his daughter Margaret and was later interred in the Trimble family plot at the Oakland Cemetery in Princeton.

  

Trimble as he looked during his later years, from a 1940 edition of the ABA Journal.

From the Dixon Evening Telegraph, September 24, 1952.

Baskin Eply Rhoads (1834-1895)

                         From the Biographical Sketches and Review of the Bench and Bar of Indiana, 1895.

   Endowed with an unusual first name that will immediately bring to mind the famed Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream parlor, Indiana legislator and judge Baskin Eply Rhoads was a truly learned man in his day, being well known as an amateur geologist and academic in addition to his service in state government. A Pennsylvanian by birth, Baskin E. Rhoads was born in the small settlement of Coatesville on May 1,1834 and removed to Indiana with his family at age two, first settling in Park County. The Rhoads family would later move to Montgomery County, where Baskin attended the Waveland Academy for a time. He became a tanner's apprentice under one David Mann around the same period and later went on to enroll at the Wabash College, graduating in the class of 1860.

   Both before and after his graduation Rhoads was a teacher in the Montgomery and Vermillion County school systems, serving as a principal in the latter county. Sometime in the early 1860s, he migrated to Clinton County, where he took on a teaching position at the Farmer's Institute for a few months. Around this same time, he began the study of law under Judge Samuel Maxwell of Park County, and while thus engaged also served as school superintendent for the Rockville, Indiana schools. 

  After being admitted to the state bar in 1862 Rhoads set up a law practice in Newport in Vermillion County. In November 1864 he was elected as that county's representative in the Indiana General Assembly, taking his seat in January 1865. During his term, he held a seat on the education committee and is remarked by Theophilus Wylie's history of Indiana University as helping to draft "the present School Law, which was passed, and was presented by himself to Governor Morton, who signed it in his presence. The law was passed with but little alteration from the original draft."

Baskin E. Rhodes, from the 1865 Indiana House of Representatives photo composite.

   Many sources of the time note Rhoads as a fervent proponent for public education in Indiana, and during his one term in the state legislature was instrumental in the creation and drafting of the bill that led to the establishment of the Indiana State Normal School (now known as Indiana State University). With the introduction (and eventual passing) of this bill, Rhoads is justly referred to as the "founding father" of the Indiana State Normal School. He remained connected to the school for many years afterward, and three years after leaving the legislature was elected as a University trustee. He served in this capacity until 1874, and earlier, in 1870, had been appointed as a Professor of Law. His professorship extended several years and in July 1874 he married Ida Moffatt (1850-1936) with whom he had two children, Sarah (1876-1918) and Daniel, who died aged 17 in March 1897.

Baskin E. Rhoads, from the archives of the Vigo County Historical Society.

   Rhoads continued to be involved in educational affairs for the remainder of his life, journeying to Europe in the late 1870s "where he studied Civil Law, modern languages and general literature." After returning to the United States, Rhoads became politically active once more, being named by Indiana Governor Albert G. Porter as a Judge for the Vigo County Court in 1881. He served on the bench until December 1882 and two years later became a member of the first board of trustees of the newly established Coates College of Women in Terre Haute.

   For the last decade of his life, Rhoads was engaged in the practice of law in Vigo County, being a member of the firm Rhoads and Williams with Terre Haute native Elmer Williams. The Biographical Sketches of the Bench and Bar of Indiana notes that Baskin E. Rhoads "was stricken with apoplexy" and died shortly thereafter at his home in Terre Haute on January 15, 1895. He was 60 years old and was survived by his wife Ida Moffatt Rhoads, who died forty-one years after her husband in July 1936. Both Baskin, Ida, and their children are interred in a family plot at the Highland Lawn Cemetery in Terre Haute, Indiana. In an interesting side note, several decades after his death, Baskin Rhoads received the honor of having Rhoads Hall (on the campus of Indiana State University) named after him in a 1965 dedication ceremony.

Death notice for Baskin E. Rhoads from the Logansport Reporter, January 15, 1895.

Barr Spangler (1822-1922)

From the Numismatist, Volume 35, 1922.

   A distinguished figure in the history of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Barr Spangler was noted as being the oldest active bank president in the United States at the time of his death at age 100 in 1922. The first oddly named centenarian political figure to warrant a profile here, Spangler was also a prominent figure in the Prohibition Party during the 1860s and 70s, being that party's candidate for Pennsylvania state auditor general on two occasions.

  Spangler was born in Marietta, Pennsylvania on January 13, 1822, a son of John and Anna Barr Spangler. He spent his entire life in Lancaster County and at age 14 began employment as a clerk in a dry goods store. He was given control of this business while still a young man and was later joined by his elder brother William, his son Charles, and a nephew, J. Barr Spangler. On February 2, 1847, Spangler married in Marietta to Mary Ann Sultzbach (1826-1921), and the couple later became the parents of five children, who are listed as follows in order of birth: Cuvler (1848-1906), Anna Bell (1850-1938), David (born 1854), William (born 1856) and Charles Sumner (born 1857).

  While still the proprietor of the B. and C.S. Spangler firm, Barr Spangler became a director of the First National Bank of Marietta and continued in this role for fifty-nine years, terminated only by his death in 1922. He made his first attempt at elective office in 1869, when he ran on the Prohibition or 'Temperance" Party ticket for Pennsylvania State Auditor General. He polled only 3,186 votes, compared to Republican David Stanton, who won the election with 284,097 votes. 

  In 1872 Barr Spangler made another attempt for state auditor, running once again on the prohibition platform. When the votes were tallied on election day he polled only 1,260 votes, placing a distant third in a field of three candidates. Republican candidate Harrison Allen (1835-1904) emerged as the victor with over 350,000 votes and went on to serve as state auditor from 1872 to 1875. In 1885 Spangler was the Prohibition candidate for State Treasurer of Pennsylvania but again came up short in the vote count, garnering only 627 votes to Matthew S. Quay's winning total of 5,338.

  Following his defeat, Spangler continued to be a prominent figure amongst the ranks of the Prohibition Party, even being selected as a delegate to the State Prohibition Convention in 1887. In addition to his numerous candidacies, Spangler served as the Treasurer of the Pennsylvania State Temperance Union for several years.

   Barr Spangler celebrated his 100th birthday on January 13, 1922, and was honored at a dinner celebrating his life, according to volume 35 of the Numismatist. He received a congratulatory telegram from then President Warren Harding and Pennsylvania Governor William C. Sproul, and was noted to be in excellent health at the time of his centennial and was remarked as being a "firm believer in fresh air and very little medicine." Spangler died on September 17, 1922, eight months after his 100th birthday. He willed $5000 to the Marietta First Methodist Episcopal Church and was interred at the Marietta Cemetery.

Sunday Cardall Anderson (1894-1987)

From the April 14, 1960 edition of the Salt Lake Tribune.

    Hailing from the county of Salt Lake in Utah, one-term state representative Sunday Cardall Anderson devoted several decades of her life to activity in the Democratic Party in Utah. Despite having 300-plus political figures profiled here on the site, only two of these have been female (the first being New Hampshire state senator Zatae Leola Longsdorff Straw). With the edition of the following biography on Mrs. Sunday Anderson, Zatae Straw now has some company, and seeing that a few new oddly named female politicians have been discovered, that number will continue to grow in the coming months. The following passages on her life have been piecemeal-ed together via newspaper articles I've managed to locate mentioning her service in the Utah legislature and in other aspects of public life. 

   Sunday Anderson was born Sunday Florence Cardall on March 3, 1894, in Salt Lake City, Utah, the daughter of Richard (1853-1914 and Anne Elisabeth Pedersen Cardall (1861-1908). Anderson married in Salt Lake City on July 22, 1914, to Virgil Erastus Anderson (1893-1975), and later became the mother to several children, who are listed as follows: Virginia Anderson Mollerup (1915-2009), John G.E. (1918-2000), Lyle Marie (1923-1924), Anna Mae (birth-date unknown), Nancy Anderson Shingleton (birth-date unknown) and Richard (birth-date unknown).

   During her adolescence, Sunday Anderson began a lifelong involvement in the affairs of the Utah Democratic party. Throughout the succeeding years, she would hold posts in the Salt Lake Council of Women, the Salt Lake County Democratic Ladies Study Club, the Women's State Legislative Council, and later served as the Utah state vice chairman of the Democratic Party. In November 1950 she was elected to the Utah State House of Representatives from Salt Lake County and here served one term, 1951-1952. In addition to her tenure in the legislature, Mrs. Anderson was an alternate delegate from Utah to the Democratic National Conventions of 1948 and 1952. 

Representative Sunday Anderson pictured in the January 2, 1952 edition of the Salt Lake Tribune.

   After leaving the legislature Anderson continued to be active in local civic affairs, serving as the director of craft work for the Young Women's Christian Association during the late 1950s. She would later go on to hold the post of President of the Salt Lake Women's Democratic Club and in 1966 was the chairperson of a 27-member delegation of Utah women who journeyed to Washington D.C. to visit the offices of U.S. Senator Frank Moss and Representative David King. The delegation attended a campaign conference and workshop during their stay, which had been initiated by the Democratic National Committee. In 1973 Anderson was honored with the Senior Citizens Award of the Year by the Utah Jaycees.

   In her later years, Anderson was a leading figure in the fight to build a senior center on the west side of Salt Lake City, and through her untiring efforts, one was eventually built in the mid-1970s. She was honored as the namesake of the center, now known as the Sunday Anderson Westside Senior Center. Anderson continued to represent the interests of Utah seniors well into her eighth decade, and in 1979 was named as a senior citizen intern for two weeks in the Washington, D.C. office of Representative David Daniel Marriott of Utah. The Deseret News profiled Mrs. Anderson's appointment in its April 12, 1979 edition and highlighted not only her legislative service but also her past leadership of the Utah Chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons. 

From the October 16, 1957 edition of the Salt Lake Tribune.

   A few weeks before her death Sunday C. Anderson was one of three recipients of the annual Susa Young Gates Award, made to honor women "who had given outstanding service" to the state of Utah as well as "demonstrating dedication to the cause of human rights." The 93-year-old Anderson is recorded by the Deseret News as attending an honorees dinner on March 6, 1987, and was noted as having "given service to the state of Utah for 74 years or more."  Just twenty-three days after receiving the award Sunday Anderson died in Salt Lake City on March 29, 1987. She was survived by five of her children and was laid to rest at the Salt Lake City Cemetery.

Wehrli Douglas Pack (1889-1975)

From the January 10, 1937, Salt Lake Tribune.

  Blessed with a truly unusual first name, businessman, Mormon leader, and political figure Wehrli Douglas Pack was for many years one of Holladay, Utah's most distinguished citizens. A one-term member of the Utah legislature, the exact meaning behind Pack's odd first name "Wehrli" is unknown at the time of this writing, as are several other details in regards to his early life. The son of Ward Eaton (1834-1907) and Selena Carpenter Pack (1864-1900), Wehrli D. Pack was born in Laie, Oahu, Hawaii on July 28, 1889. Ward Eaton Pack was the father of seventeen children and was a prominent figure in the early days of the LDS Church, being one of the first Mormon missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands during the 1850s. He served in the Utah territorial legislature in 1876 and 1880 and later made a second trip to the Islands during the 1880s.
  Wehrli D. Pack returned to Utah with his family at age two, according to a 1937 edition of the Salt Lake Tribune, and as an adolescent attended the Uintah Academy and the Summit Academy. He continued his education at Brigham Young University, though his exact graduation year remains undetermined at the time of this writing. Pack later spent time in Chicago and Portland, Oregon, and for the majority of his life was a prominent businessman in Salt Lake County, being the president of the "Pack-n-Save" market in the city of Holladay. This market (with its wonderful play on Pack's last name) had its grand opening in 1935, and in addition to serving in this capacity Pack was a "master mechanic, radio engineer, and farmer." He was the founder of the Utah Radio Products Company and in 1926 filed an application to patent a type of loudspeaker. Five years later he was issued a patent for his invention, and is recorded in his Salt Lake Tribune obituary as a "pioneer in radio."
  Pack married in Salt Lake City in 1917 to Lucile Adelia Hart (1890-1921) a native of Bloomington, Idaho. Their marriage proved to be short-lived, as Lucille died in July 1921 at age 30. In the year following her death, Pack remarried to Ruth Mildred Fisher (1902-1956), to whom he was wed for over thirty years. Wehrli Pack was the father of several children, including Douglas Hart (1918-2000), Ramon Hart (died in infancy in 1919), Lucile Bernice Pack Slack (1921-1999), Mildred Pack Jolley (1923-1999), Ward Elden (1925-1998), Wallace Dean (birth-date unknown), Lillia Pack Martindale (birth-date unknown), Annette Pack Frederickson (birth-date unknown), Melvin (birth-date unknown) and Donna Gail Pack Eggertson (1943-1999).

From the September 10, 1936 edition of the Salt Lake Tribune.

  Active in Holladay civic affairs in addition to his grocery business, Pack served as the President of the Holladay Civic League for several years and also was the finance committee chairman for the Mount Olympus Latter Day Saints ward. In 1936 Pack was elected as one of Salt Lake County's representatives to the Utah State Assembly, taking his seat in January of the new year. In a Salt Lake Tribune notice on his election in November 1936, Pack is quoted as describing himself as a "conservative progressive" and that he favored a "direct primary law and changes in the law enforcement setup with a view to eliminating waste and inefficiency". During his one term in the legislature, Pack took part in a study of "proposed laws affecting Utah grocers" as a member of the committee of the Utah Retail Grocer's Association. 

   In 1938 Wehrli Pack was named as a Bishop for the Mt. Olympus ward of the Latter Day Saints Church. He succeeded Charles E. Coxe, who had died some weeks prior. In December 1940 the Murray Eagle published an article denoting the creation of a new place of worship for the parishioners of the ward, with Pack and his counselors trying to "uphold the standards of the ward and continue the splendid work begun under the leadership of Bishop Coxe". Busy as both a legislator and church leader, sources of the time denote Pack's personal hobbies as "scientific experiments" and tinkering in a workshop in his home. The Salt Lake Tribune also notes him as being a skilled fisherman, mountain climber, and a member of the local Masonic fraternity and the Utah Sons of Pioneers.

  In 1956 Pack's wife of over thirty years died. Following Ruth Fisher Pack's death, Wehrli remarried for a third time in March 1957 to Louella Pederson (1904-1977), a native of Big Cottonwood, Utah. Little could be found on the later years of Pack's life, although it is known that he authored an extensive history of his family entitled "A Bit of Pack History" which was published in 1969. Wehrli Douglas Pack died at his home in Holladay on October 23, 1975, at age 86, and was later interred at the Salt Lake City Cemetery. He was survived by his third wife Louella, who died two years later at age 73. Lucile Hart Pack and Ruth Mildred Fisher Pack are interred at Salt Lake City Cemetery as well.

From the Murray Eagle, December 1940.

Wales Lines deBussy (1891-1942)

From the Meriden Daily Journal, October 11, 1933.

  Multifaceted Connecticut resident Wales Line Debussy made quite a name for himself in his short life of fifty years, being both a WWI Navy aviator and later a director of a successful construction firm. His public career reached its apex in 1925 when he was elected as Mayor of the city of Meriden, Connecticut for the first of three terms.

  Born in New Haven on February 3, 1891, Wales Lines deBussy was the son of Roger Baldwin (1863-1943) and Clara Lines deBussy (1867-1949). He inherited his first and middle names in honor of his grandfather, Henry Wales Lines (1838-1927) a former Meriden mayor and state representative who was the founder of the H. Wales Lines Company, a successful building construction company responsible for erecting many of Meriden's homes and public buildings.

  Wales L. deBussy attended public school in Winchester, Massachusetts, and is remarked by the Meriden Record as removing with his family to Mt. Vernon, New York, where he graduated high school. At age eighteen he joined his grandfather's business and remained in this employ until the onset of American involvement in World War I. He enlisted in April 1917 and spent the next few months in service. In February of the next year, he was detailed to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he began preparations for training as an aviator in the U.S. Navy. 

   After his aviation training, deBussy remained at MIT, serving as an instructor. He was commissioned as a navy ensign in June 1918 and left MIT in January 1919 for Florida, where he completed his training and officially qualified as a naval aviator. In May 1919 he was discharged from service and shortly thereafter returned to his earlier duties with the H. Wales Lines Company. In 1920 he was elected as the director and secretary of the aforementioned company, and during his stewardship took charge of building projects involving several Meriden businesses, including the Meriden Savings Bank, the Meriden Hospital, the Center Congregational Church, the Meriden Gas Light company and the Meriden Electric Light Company. In addition to these public buildings, the H. Wales Lines Company built many personal residences in Meriden, including the home of Charles H. Cuno (1888-1978) a Meriden civic leader, industrialist, and founder of the Cuno Engineering Company, prominent in the manufacture of automobile parts.

   In 1923 deBussy made his first move into politics, running as a Republican for Mayor of Meriden. He was defeated by Democrat Henry T. King (1867-1956). deBussy again ran for mayor in 1925 and was successful in his candidacy, taking office on January 4, 1926. He was interviewed by the Meriden Record shortly before his inauguration and was reported as stating "There is only one thing certain, and that is that only thoroughly competent persons will be appointed to the various city positions." 

Mayor deBussy, from the January 12, 1942 edition of the Meriden Record.

  deBussy was re-elected as Mayor in 1927 and 1928 and in the former year took over the Presidency of the H. Wales Lines Company, succeeding his grandfather, who had died at age 89. After his mayoral term concluded in January 1930, deBussy retired from political life, due to what the Meriden Record referred to as "business pressure". In 1933 he was induced by city Republicans to once again run for Mayor, but was unsuccessful in his attempt, losing in that year's primary to Democrat Joseph Dispersio by a vote of 914 to 1157.

  Following his term as mayor deBussy continued as President of the Lines Company until 1935, when he left that office to serve as a company vice president under new executive Charles S. Phelps. In December 1937 he married Ms. Anne Sullivan (1898-1991) and is recorded as having at least one daughter, Barbara. In addition to his business activities, deBussy was one of Meriden's prominent Masonic leaders, being a past master of the Meriden Lodge #77 and was a member of the Keystone Chapter No. 27 of the Royal Arch Masons, the Meriden Knights Templar Lodge, the Meriden Elks Club, and the American Legion. 

  Wales L. deBussy died of a "short illness" on January 11, 1942, just a few weeks short of his 51st birthday. He was shortly thereafter buried in the Walnut Grove Cemetery in Meriden. He was survived by both his parents, wife, daughter, and an elder sister, Beatrice. Anne Sullivan deBussy survived her husband by nearly fifty years, dying at age 93 on February 12, 1991, and following her death was interred alongside her husband in the Walnut Grove Cemetery.

From the front page of the Meriden Record, January 12, 1942.