Leco Perch Strain (1887-1976)

From the 1962 Colorado State Yearbook.

  Multiterm Colorado state senator Leco Perch Strain received brief mention in the previous article on his elder brother Cora Ransom Strain, who served three terms in his state's house of representatives. Like his brother, Leco Strain achieved prominence in business and civic affairs, albeit in a different area of Colorado. Unfortunately, information on this younger Strain brother remains difficult to come by, unusual when one considers his lengthy career in state politics! The son of George Ransom and Luzena Strain, Leco Perch "Lee" Strain was born in Bloomington, Indiana on May 28, 1887.

  Lee Strain's early education was obtained in the state of his birth and in 1907 removed to Colorado, where two of his brothers (Cora and Charles Raymond) had resettled some years previously. After settling in the town of Lamar, Strain joined with his brothers in their ice and coal business until electing to go into business for himself. In 1910 he relocated to La Junta in Otero County and established the La Junta Ice and Storage Company, which also sold feed, grain, and coal. His long affiliation with that business led it to become one of La Junta's "substantial and lucrative enterprises", and in May 1912 married in Colorado to Coy Beavers (1890-1982).  The couple's sixty-three-year union saw the births of three children, George L. (1916-2010), Dean (1920-1945), and Anna Mae (1925-2019). 

   Strain's decades of prominence in the ice and refrigeration industry saw him serve as a member of the nominating committee for the Mountain States Ice Manufacturer Association in 1922 and was a longstanding member of the Rotary Club in his region. Strain first entered the political forum in 1940 when he was elected as a delegate to that year's Republican National Convention, and in June of that year, he and other members of the Colorado delegation journeyed to Philadelphia where Wendell Wilkie was nominated for the presidency. 

From the Rotarian, September 1942.

  Through the 1940s Lee Strain continued with his ice, refrigeration, and storage interests and in 1950 was elected to fill a vacancy in the Colorado state senate, this vacancy occurring due to the death of senator James Barnes Ryan (1872-1949) in July of the previous year. In that contest, Strain bested Democratic candidate Henry Klein, 4,707 votes to 4,213. Taking his seat at the start of the 1951-53 session, this term saw Strain chair the committee on Mining, and also held seats on the committees on Industrial Affairs; the Judiciary; Local Government; State Institutions and Public Buildings; Transporation; and Water and Water Resources.

  Lee Strain would win a second senate term in November 1952, defeating curiously named Democrat Nasby Webster "N.W." Bolling by over 2,000 votes. From 1953-55 he chaired the Local Government Committee and served on the committees on Finance, Interstate Cooperation, State Affairs, and Transportation. Strain would prove successful in his three further senate reelection bids in 1954, 1958, and 1960, and in his final term (1961-65) chaired the committee on State and Public Buildings and sat on the Agriculture, Business Affairs and Finance committees.

  After the conclusion of his time in the senate, Lee Strain retired to private life in La Junta. Little could be found on his life after 1964, except notice of his "long service in community and church organizations". He died in La Junta on May 13, 1976, two weeks shy of his 89th birthday. Strain was survived by his wife and two children and was interred at the Fairview Cemetery in La Junta. Public service would continue in the Strain family with Lee Strain's eldest son George (1917-2010), who, following time as a special agent for the FBI began his own career in government, serving as District Attorney for the counties of Bent, Crowley, and Otero. In 1976 he was named as County Judge for Otero County, serving on the bench until his retirement in 1988.

From the 1953 Colorado Yearbook

Cora Ransom Strain (1871-1960)

From the Colorado State Yearbook, 1945.

  Three-term Colorado state representative Cora Ransom Strain received passing mention in the previous article on Hackett D. Smartt, a fellow Lamar, Colorado native who defeated him for reelection to the state house of representatives in November 1948. As one can see, Strain is a male political figure who was unfortunately saddled with a female first name, a fact that left even the compilers of the Colorado legislative database confused--some even thinking that he was of the opposite gender! All humor aside, Cora Ransom Strain was long a power player in Lamar, Colorado, having a hand in several business concerns in that city. A former member of the city council and president of the Lamar Chamber of Commerce, Strain served three consecutive terms in the Colorado House of Representatives beginning in 1943.

  The son of George Ransom and Euzena Strain, Cora Ransom Strain's birth occurred in Paynetown, Indiana on August 15, 1871. In addition to the man profiled today, the Strain family could also boast of another unusually named figure who attained political and business prominence, Leco Perch "Lee" Strain (1887-1976). The younger brother of Cora Ransom, " Lee" Strain served over a decade in the Colorado state senate and was an important business leader in the town of La Junta.

  A student in the public schools of Indiana, Cora R. Strain was employed in a quarry and in railroad construction prior to his resettlement in Colorado in 1895. Prior to his removal, Strain married in Indiana to May Phoebe Parnell in the early 1890s and later had one son, Francis Elwin "Frank" Strain (1893-1948). Strain later remarried in Kansas in 1899 to Vella M. Carnahan (1879-1961), to who he was wed until his death. The couple's lengthy union saw the births of nine children, those being: Marion Evans (1900-1984), McKinley (1901-), Mildred (1905-1990), Clair Ransom, Pat, Earl Edwin (1918-1945), Carl Warren (born 1920), and two other children that died in infancy. Of these children, Marion Evans Strain followed his father into politics, preceding him as a state representative from Prowers County, an office that he held from 1935-41.

  After establishing roots in the town of Lamar, Cora R. Strain joined with his uncle Morton in the latter's seed, grain, and coal business. Their operation, known as Strain and Strain, underwent a name change in 1901 when another brother, Charles Raymond, joined the firm. Cora and Charles later branched out into the ice and storage business, taking ownership of the Union Ice and Cold Storage Co. in 1908, and in the following year, both helped to open the first public swimming pool in Lamar.

Cora R. Strain as he looked prior to his legislative service.

  Cora Strain would further add to his business resume through the 1900s and 1910s, operating a farm and being a founding organizer and director of the Lamar Gas and Electric Company in 1908; a director of the Lamar Savings and Loan Association beginning in 1913; a member of the Lamar Alf Milling Company, and in 1920 took office as vice president and director of the newly chartered Valley State Bank. Strain and his brother Charles also made headway into the soft drink industry in 1930, when they established a Coca-Cola bottling facility in Lamar, which they continued to operate well into the 1940s. 

  A former president of the Lamar Chamber of Commerce from 1931-32, Strain was also a school board member for nearly two decades and began his political career at the local level with his service on the Lamar city council. He would serve six years on the council, and in 1942 announced his candidacy for the Colorado House of Representatives from Prowers County. After winning the Republican nomination, Strain faced off against Democratic nominee Edward O. Russell. That November Strain eked out a narrow win over Russell, 1,672 to 1,666, and took his seat in the legislature in January 1943.

  The 1943-45 term saw Strain chair the committee on Mercantile and Manufacturing Interests, and also sat as a member of the committees on Banking, Corporations, Indian and Military Affairs, Insurance, and Labor. He would win reelection in 1944 and 1946, and during his final term (1947-49) was named to four new committees, those being Finance, Ways and Means; Printing; Railroads; and Rules. He would be defeated in his bid for a fourth term in November 1948, losing out to Hackett Davidson Smartt. 

  Following his final term in state government, Cora Strain continued residence in Lamar and in 1951 saw his younger brother Leco begin a thirteen-year stint as a state senator from Crowley and Otero County. A Mason and longstanding member of the B.P.O. Elks Lodge, Cora Ransom Strain died in Lamar on April 8, 1960, aged 88. His wife Vella survived him by one year, and following her death in September 1961 was interred alongside him at the Fairmount Cemetery in Lamar. 

Hackett Davidson Smartt (1892-1991)

From the Colorado State Yearbook, 1951.

   Another oddly named Colorado state representative discovered recently, Hackett Davidson Smartt served three consecutive terms in his state's house of representatives and lived to age 98, but despite prominence in state government and a near century-long lifespan, his life largely remains obscure. A native of Tennessee, Hackett Davidson Smartt was born in the settlement of Smartt Station (located in Warren County) on August 18, 1892, the son of Frank George and Anna Belle Smartt. 

  No information could be located in regards to Smartt's early life in Tennessee or the extent of his education, and by 1915 is recorded as a resident of Prowers County, Colorado. He married in that county in April of the following year to Lela Mae Richmond (1889-1978), and the couple's sixty-two-year marriage saw the births of four children, Edward Richmond (1917-1980), Frank Hackett (1918-2008), Jack William (1922-2005) and Bettie Ann (born 1928).

  Following his resettlement in Prowers County, Hackett Smartt became a leader in agricultural circles in his region, operating a farm near the town of Lamar. The first local agent for the Farm Automobile Insurance Company in Lamar, Smartt would serve a decade long tenure as president of the Prowers County Farm Bureau and was elected as vice president of the Colorado State Farm Bureau in 1935. He would be reelected as vice president in 1937, and later was named secretary of the Arkansas River Compact administration, comprising Colorado and Kansas, in the 1950s.

  In 1948 Hackett Smartt won the Democratic primary for state representative from Prowers County and that November won the general election, polling 3,105 votes and defeating another oddly named man, Cora Ransom Strain (1871-1960), who had first been elected to the legislature in 1942. Smartt's first term in the house (1949-51) saw him named to the following committees: Appropriations and Expenditures; Corporations; Counties and County Lines; Irrigation and Water Resources; Livestock; and Public Lands and Forest Reserves. 

  Smartt would win reelection to two further terms in the legislature in 1950 and 1952, and in his last term sat as a member of the committees on Appropriations and Highways. Smartt's life after the conclusion of his legislative largely remains a mystery--unusual when one considers that he lived to be nearly 100 years old! Widowed in 1978, Smartt continued residence in Prowers County and in 1982 celebrated his 90th birthday. He died in Colorado on April 2, 1991, five months short of his 99th birthday. He was survived by three of his children and was interred alongside his wife Lela at the Fairmount Cemetery in Lamar.

Hallett Colwell Gallup (1882-1939)

From the Pueblo Indicator, November 2, 1912.

  The recent discovery of dozens of archived editions of the Colorado State Yearbook has fielded several new odd name discoveries from the "Centennial State", one of whom is profiled today. Hallett Colwell Gallup, a son of one of Pueblo's pioneer business figures, was himself a standout figure in that area's business and political life, being the publisher and owner of the Rio Grande Employe's Publishing Company, as well as a one-term state representative. Born in Colorado on July 26, 1882, Hallett Colwell Gallup was the son of Samuel and Judith (Browne) Gallup. A prominent business figure in the early days of Pueblo County, Samuel C. Gallup earned the title "The man who put Pueblo on the manufacturing map", as he was the founder and owner of the S.C. Gallup Saddlery Company. His stewardship of that business extended until his death in 1904, after which operations passed to his wife and sons Hallett and Boone.

   A student at the Centennial High School in Pueblo, Hallett Gallup furthered his studies at the University of Colorado's law school. Upon his father's death in 1904 he took on a larger role in his family's saddlery company, with which he remained affiliated until his mother sold it to area businessman James Wimmer. Although the company passed into different hands, Hallett and Boone Gallup continued in the saddlery business for a time, operating the Gallup Brothers Saddlery from 1912-17. 

  In addition to his saddlery interests, Hallett C. Gallup gained further distinction through publishing, being the founder, president, and general manager of the Rio Grande Employe's Publishing Company. This business would first publish the Rio Grande Employe's Magazine in 1910, a monthly periodical devoted to the interests of Denver and Rio Grande Southern railroad employees. Gallup himself would serve as the magazine's editor, a position through which he espoused "support and work for labor measures".  

  Gallup's pro-labor stances and "work on behalf of railroad bills" eventually led to calls for him to run for public office, and in 1912 he entered into the Democratic primary race for state representative from Pueblo County. With his business successes touted in the Pueblo Indicator shortly after announcing his candidacy, Gallup was further highlighted as one of the city's rising young Democrats, with the Indicator noting:

"Mr. Gallup is a Pueblo young man full of energy and go, and is rapidly making a business name for himself. He is a good pusher for the town, always ready to help it along, and can be relied upon at all times to be on the side of enterprise and advancement. All classes of people know him and he has the confidence of all because of his well known honesty and openhearted helpfulness."

From the Pueblo Indicator, September 7, 1912.

   Following his Democratic primary win, Gallup hit the campaign trail, and through the remainder of the year notched up several endorsements, including the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, the Order of Railway Conductors, and the Order of Railway Employees. In November 1912 Gallup won the general election, polling 8,176 votes. One of four Pueblo County representatives elected, Gallup's one term in the legislature extended from 1913-15, during which time he sat on the following committees: Elections and Appointments, House Expenses, Printing, State Institutions, and Stock. He would also chair the Committee on Railroads.

  In September 1914 Gallup won the Democratic primary for reelection but lost out in the November general election, victory going to Perry C. Dunlap (Democrat), Alfred S. Andrew (Republican), F.E Wallace (Republican) and F.M Stokes (Republican). Following his defeat for reelection Gallup resided in Washington, D.C. for a time, and by the early 1920s had returned to Colorado, where he would be affiliated with a Pueblo casket company.

  By 1925 Hallett Gallup had again left Colorado, this time settling in California. After his relocation, he married in Orange County on September 10, 1925, to Jessie Emma Bernett. The couple were wed until Hallett's death in 1939 and had one son, George Boone (1926-1973). The 1930 census records Gallup and his family as residents of Oakland, California, and on August 28, 1939, while staying at a Dodge City, Kansas hotel room, Hallett Gallup died unexpectedly of a heart attack. He was later returned to Pueblo, Colorado for burial in the Gallup family plot at the Roselawn Cemetery. 

Milns Thoburn Puckett (1909-2006)

From the Tennessee State Assembly composite portrait, 1965-66.

  The name would be Milns Thoburn Puckett. A curious name at that, and during a long life that extended nearly a century, this oddly named Tennessean wore many hats, including restaurateur, building contractor, church trustee, civic leader, and politician. A three-term member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Puckett represented the 17th Floterial district during his service. A lifelong Tennesseean, Milns Thoburn "M.T." Puckett was born on January 20, 1909, one of twelve children born to DeKalb County residents Henry (1861-1911) and Etta Puckett (1865-1930)

   Little is known of Puckett's early years in DeKalb County, excepting notice of his marrying in March 1933 to Alvilda Shanks (1912-1991). The couple's near six-decade marriage saw the births of two children, Dr. Jerry Puckett (1935-1992) and Linda Puckett Carlen (1943-2017). Following his marriage, Puckett's name grew to be a familiar one in the civic life of DeKalb County, with his being the founder of "Puckett's Camp", a restaurant, lodging, and camping facility on Center Hill Lake. He would be a founding organizer of the Citizen's Bank of Smithville, an organizer of the Middle Tennessee Natural Gas Utility District, and for three decades was a trustee of the First United Methodist Church in Smithville.

   A building contractor in DeKalb County for many years, Puckett owned the M.T. Puckett Construction Company, and in 1970 etched his name into local history when he and his company finished construction of the DeKalb County Courthouse, which is still in use today. Puckett began his political career with his election to the Tennessee House of Representatives in November 1954 and was named to the following committees for the 1955-57 term: Conservation; Correctional Institutions; Insurance and Banking; and Military and Veterans Affairs.

   M.T. Puckett won a second term in the state legislature in 1962, and during the 1963-65 term sat on three new committees, those being Education; Public and Mental Health; and Welfare and Employment Security. In November 1964 he was elected to his third and final term in the house, and from 1965-67 served as vice-chairman of the Committee on Conservation. His terms in state government saw his name connected to the Tennessee Water and Safety Act, of which he was the primary sponsor.

   Following his leaving the legislature Puckett continued residence in Smithville and in 1991 suffered the death of his wife Alvilda. In the year following her passing, he suffered the additional loss of his son Jerry, and in January 1999 celebrated his 90th birthday. Milns Thoburn Puckett died in Tennessee on May 30, 2006, aged 97. He was later interred alongside his wife at the DeKalb Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Smithville. 

From the 1955-56 Tennessee legislative composite portrait.

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".

Verdie Lafayette Pitman (1892-1980)

                                                               From the Texas Bar Journal, February 1981.     

   Longtime Texas attorney Verdie Lafayette Pitman was featured on the Strangest Names In American Political History Facebook page back on January 12, 2017, and nearly three years after first highlighting his name, he becomes the most recent addition to the site. A former County Attorney for Anderson County, Texas in the mid-1940s, Pitman was born in Texas on August 10, 1892, the son of Henry Thomas and Sarah Anne (Vawter) Pitman. 
  Pitman attended schools local to the Cushing, Texas area and would later enroll at the Lon Morris College. Further studies were obtained at the Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, and in April 1919 married to Margurite Vickers (1900-1983), to who he was wed for over sixty years. The couple would have two children, Charles Lafayette (1921-1975) and Billie Sue. Of these children, Charles Lafayette Pitman followed in his father's stead and became a lawyer, serving as city attorney for LaPorte, Texas.
  During the period following WWI Pitman followed a teaching career in Sabine County, Texas before turning his attention to law studies. He earned a law degree from the University of Texas in 1932 and shortly thereafter established his practice in the city of Palestine. In 1944 Pitman was appointed as County Attorney for Anderson County, Texas in the wake of the resignation of Franklin C. Williams, who had joined the U.S. Navy. He would serve in this capacity until 1945 and later returned to private practice in Palestine.
  Pitman continued in his law practice until his retirement in 1972 and had earlier been elected as president of the Anderson County Bar Association in May 1962. An active Mason and lay minister in the local Methodist Church, Pitman died in Palestine, aged 87, on July 7, 1980. He was survived by his wife Margurite and both were later interred at the Palestine City Cemetery.

Vendie Hudson Hooks (1896-1971)

From the Atlanta Constitution, February 7, 1941.

  Vendie Hudson Hooks of Emanuel County, Georgia is another example of a curiously named clergyman gaining prominence through political service, in his case being a three-term Georgia state representative and one-term state senator. A Baptist minister for nearly fifty years, Hooks was a veteran of World War I and served as president of the Emanuel County chapter of the United Georgia Farmers. Born on November 27, 1896 in Swainsboro, Georgia, Vendie Hudson "V.H." Hooks was the son of John and Calcie America (Strange) Hooks.

  A student in the common schools of Emanuel County, Hooks would go on to attend the Georgia Normal College and Business Institute (graduating in 1915) and later pursued a teaching career, teaching at the Oak Park School. He would be affiliated with the Youmans/Yeomans Brothers Supply and Naval Store in Lexsy, Georgia, and would serve during WWI, his dates of service and area of deployment being unknown at this time. Hooks married in August 1919 to Fleetie Frances Yeomans (1900-1990) and later had six children, who are listed as follows in order of birth: Vendie Hudson Jr. (1921-2007), Frances Celeste (1923-2018), Gerald Delano (1926-2017), Sarah Marcile (born 1929), Donald Jordan (1935-2013) and Betty June (birthdate unknown).

  In the early 1920s Hooks turned his attention to religious studies, and after being licensed to preach in the Primitive Baptist Church, he took pastorates throughout Georgia, including a 39-year tenure at the Mt. Zion church, an 18-year stint at the Rosemary Church, and the Avera and New Hope churches in the town of Lexsy. In addition to active ministerial work, Hooks gained further prominence in the civic life of Emanuel County, being a member of the county board of health, the American Legion, a trustee of the Wesley, Georgia school board, a past president of the Swainsboro Production Credit Association, and was a member of the Ogeechee Production Credit Association.

  A longtime farmer in his region, Hooks' made substantial headway in Georgia agricultural circles, "farming several hundred acres of farmland and timber" in the Emanuel County area, and operated a cotton gin, sawmill, and fertilizer plant in that town. He would serve as the first president of the United Georgia Farmers and was also president of the Emanuel Chapter of the United Georgia Farmers. 

From the Atlanta Constitution.

   In 1940 Vendie H. Hooks announced his candidacy for the Georgia House of Representatives and that November won the general election. Taking his seat at the start of the 1941-43 session, he noted his primary aim was to see "better schools and a more efficient educational system in the state", as well as the "general welfare of agriculture." This term saw him named to the committees on Auditing, Counties and County Matters, Education No. 1, Enrollment (chairman), General Agriculture No. 2, Legislative and Congressional Re-Apportionment, Motor Vehicles, Privileges of the Floor, Public Highways No. 2, and Ways and Means. 

  Hooks was re-elected to the legislature in 1942 and 1944, and during the 1945-47 session was named to seven new committees, those being Amendments to the Constitution No. 1; Excuse of Members Absent Without Leave; the Georgia School for the Deaf; Hygiene and Sanitation; Invalid Pensions and the Soldiers Home; Public Welfare; and the University System of Georgia.

Hooks during his time as president of the Emanuel chapter of the United Georgia Farmers.

  In the 1946 election year, Hooks set his sights on a seat in the Georgia state senate, and that November was successful in his candidacy. The 1947-49 senate session saw Hooks serving on the committees on Agriculture, Appropriations, Conservation, Education and Public Schools, Highways and Public Roads, Insurance, Penal Institutions, and Public Welfare, and after leaving office in 1949 returned to ministerial work.  He continued in the ministry until his death at an Atlanta hospital on February 17, 1971, aged 74. He was survived by his wife and children and later was interred at the New Hope Church Cemetery in Nunez, Georgia. Curiously, Hooks' obituary denotes him as having served four terms in the Georgia House of Representatives, which is incorrect, as the Georgia State Register records him as serving three terms (1941-47) and one term in the state senate (1947-49).

From the Atlanta Constitution, February 19, 1971.

Kiah Bailey Glidden (1819-1891)

Portrait courtesy of Find-a-Grave.

  Sporting a pair of substantial push broom sidewhiskers, Kiah Bailey Glidden was, like our 2019 Strange Name of the Year Submarinus Girard Norcross, a New England based Congregationalist minister who had fleeting involvement in state politics. Interestingly, both of these men were born in Maine and graduated from Maine's Bangor Theological Seminary in the same class (1859). After being ordained, Glidden held pastorates in New Hampshire and Connecticut, and in 1883 was elected to one term in the Connecticut House of Representatives from Mansfield. The son of William and Lydia (Hatch) Glidden, Kiah Bailey Glidden was born in Newcastle, Maine on April 21, 1819.

  Receiving his name in honor of the Rev. Kiah Bailey (1770-1857), a Newcastle based clergyman, Glidden studied at the Lincoln Academy in his native town and briefly worked in a local pharmacy. He married in December 1841 to Damariscotta, Maine native Caroline Hitchcock (1826-1911), with who he had two daughters, Miriam (1846-1933) and Carolyn (1862-1925)

   Following graduation from the Bangor Theological Seminary, Glidden was licensed to preach and from 1859-60 was an assistant pastor at churches in North Belfast and Union, Maine. He was subsequently ordained in Westmoreland, New Hampshire and after a three-year residency in that town accepted a pastorate at the First Congregational Church of Enfield, Connecticut, where he ministered from 1863-66. This was followed by a three-year pastorate in Redding, Connecticut, and in 1869 removed to Mansfield in Tolland County.

  After being installed as pastor at the Congregation Church in Mansfield Glidden settled into a two-decade pastorate, one that later saw him acknowledged as one of the "veteran Congregational clergymen of the state." Glidden would author a history of his adopted hometown and in July 1876 delivered and published an address celebrating Mansfield's centennial. He would be active in the temperance movement in Mansfield and for a time held the post of acting school visitor for the town.

  Kiah B. Glidden made his lone foray into Nutmeg State politics in 1883 when he was elected as a Republican to the Connecticut House of Representatives from Tolland County. His one term (1884-85) saw him named to the committee on Humane Institutions, and during the opening session of the legislature introduced a resolution "that instruction may be given in the public schools on the effects of using alcoholic liquors."

  Glidden wasn't a candidate for renomination in 1885 and returned to his pastorate in Mansfield, where he remained until retiring in 1890. In that year he and his wife purchased a home in Enfield, and a week prior to his death was taken violently ill on a return train trip from the town of Bolton. He would die of "heart trouble" at his Enfield home on October 15, 1891, aged 72, and was survived by his wife and children. Memorialized as a "quiet, amiable gentleman...respected by all denominations", Glidden was later interred at the Enfield Street Cemetery in Hartford County, Connecticut.

From the Stafford Springs Press, October 22, 1891.

Euclid Beauclerc Rogers (1852-1931)

Portrait from the 1923-24 Illinois Blue Book. 

  2020 is upon us and the inaugural posting for the new year takes us to Illinois and Euclid Beauclerc Rogers, a longtime minister of the Central Baptist Church of Springfield. Sharing his first name with the famed Greek mathematician and "father of geometry" Euclid, Rogers first entered the political field at age 70 when he won election to the Illinois House of Representatives from Sangamon County. A native of New York, Euclid Beauclerc Rogers was born in Norwich, Chenango County on March 1, 1852, the son of Decalvus (1822-1898) and Diana (Aldrich) Rogers (1825-1854).  

  Rogers' early education was obtained at the Norwich Academy and from 1868-69 was a student at Colgate University. After leaving that institution he focused his attention on law studies, and in the early 1870s read law in Binghamton in the offices of Chapman and Martin. From 1872-74 Rogers briefly pursued a career in publishing, editing the Norwich Sentinel, before being admitted to the state bar in 1876. Euclid B. Rogers married in Norwich on Christmas Eve 1874 to Sarah Jane Bateman, who he later divorced in the early 1890s. Later newspaper reports denote Bateman as being just fourteen years old at the time of her marriage, a fact alluded to when charges of impropriety were leveled at Rogers in 1889.

   For five years (1877-82) Rogers operated a law practice in his native Norwich before being called to the ministry, and after a period of study was licensed to preach in March 1883. Following his ordination in October of that year, he briefly held a pastorate in Norwich before removing to Owasco, Cayuga County, New York, where he ministered from 1883-84. From 1884-85 Rogers studied at the Hamilton Theological Seminary, and after completing the curriculum accepted a pastorate in Weedsport, New York. After a two year residency there he again moved, this time to Franklin, Venango County, Pennsylvania, where he was affiliated with the local Baptist Church.

  Late in Rogers' two-year pastorate in Franklin (which extended from 1887-89), he was hit with divorce proceedings by his wife Sarah, who instigated them after reports surfaced of Rogers' inappropriate relationship with his private secretary, Jennie Ross. In a Rome New York Sentinel write-up concerning his alleged impropriety, Rogers' behavior towards Ross was described as "unbecoming" and behavior towards his wife, "not edifying". However, as weeks progressed, other newspapers picked up on the story, and after further reporting, it was found that after turning his attention to Ms. Ross and neglecting his wife, Rogers himself had been the one to first bring up a consent to divorce. With the aid of an attorney Rogers brought forward evidence that showed that for a period of two years his wife had carried on a romantic correspondence with a butcher that she had met while the couple had resided in Weedsport. This evidence consisted of thirty-two letters written by Sarah Rogers, which contained mention of future romantic trists and "endearing terms." These allegations by Rogers were later confirmed by Sarah Rogers herself, who "acknowledged her husband's charges" in a write-up in the Utica Free Press edition of September 24, 1889.

  In a September 1889 writeup in the New York Press (shown below), it was revealed that Sarah Rogers "so influenced the elders of the church that they threatened to discharge Mr. Rogers if he should bring a suit for divorce", and that Rogers left his pastorate in Franklin to relocate to the midwest. Actual divorce proceedings were later started by mutual agreement between both parties, and that Rogers himself consented to separation "only on his wife signing a paper acknowledging her unfaithfulness and his innocence."

From the New York Press, September 21, 1889.

  Following his resignation from his pastorate in Franklin Rogers removed to Burlington, Iowa, where he ministered at the First Baptist Church from 1890-92. His time here saw the previous allegations that dogged him resurface, which caused division among the parishioners in his congregation. These old allegations were addressed at a meeting by a number of church elders and members on December 13, 1890, and after a two-hour deliberation the congregation's vote saw Rogers "fully and entirely vindicated". With his later ministry in Springfield, his future prominence as an orator on the lecture circuit, and his election to the Illinois legislature in 1922, Rogers appears to have largely weathered the charges of wrongdoing laid against him by his ex-wife and others. 

  Euclid B. Rogers left Burlington in 1892 to accept a pastorate at the Central Baptist Church of Springfield, Illinois. His ministry in Springfield extended seventeen years, and through the late 19th and early 20th century gained further distinction on the lecture circuit, where he received high praise as an "orator in the truest sense." Rogers proved to be a substantial voice in that era's Lyceum and Chautauqua social movements, visiting areas not only in Illinois but also in Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana, South Dakota, and Vermont. Speaking on topics covering religion, the educational system, politics, current events, and social welfare, Rogers gained press as a captivating speaker, and following a lecture to the Iowa State Conference of Charities and Corrections, was favorably reviewed by Des Moines newspaper publisher John Hamilton, who stated:

"Dr. Rogers is a born orator, with a personality strongly resembling that of the noted lecturers of the greatest days of the rostrum. His deep moral earnestness; his genuine sympathy with the masses; his love of truth and his hatred of shams, all combined with a keen wit and hearty humor, make him a power on the platform rarely equaled. He ranks with Hillis, Gunsaulus,  and the real princes of the present day forum."

From the Audubon County Journal, July 30, 1914.

  While still an active pastor in Springfield, Rogers made headway into city civic and fraternal life, holding memberships in the local rotary club, Odd Fellows Lodge, the Masonic order, Knights Templar, and the Ansar Temple of Shriners. From 1909-11 he held a pastorate at the First Baptist Church in Champaign, Illinois, and by 1911 was again residing and ministering in Springfield. 

  In the twilight of his life, Rogers entered the political forum for the first time, winning the Republican primary for state representative from Sangamon County in April 1922. Seventy years old at the time of his victory, Rogers went on to win the general election that November, garnering 34,386 votes on election day. He would serve in the session of 1923-25 and was named to the committees on Appropriations, Charities and Corrections, Education, Roads and Bridges, and the committee to Visit Educational Institutions. 

   Following his one term in state government, Rogers continued residence in Springfield and in December 1925 took part in the Illinois Conference on International Good Will, being the chairman of the Springfield World Court Committee. He died at his home in Springfield on July 30, 1931, aged 79 and was later interred at Oak Ridge Cemetery, the same resting place as that other famous Springfield native, Abraham Lincoln.

Rogers' death notice from the Weedsport Cayuga Chief, August 1931.