Wankard Pooser (1893-1978)

  I'm sure anyone who is reading this article got an immediate chuckle out of the strangeness of this man's name, but make no mistake, Florida politician Wankard Pooser was an actual person! One can wonder if this two-term Florida state legislator had to endure some teasing about his curious name. The rare portrait of him shown above was discovered via the Florida Memory historical website and is in all likelihood the only portrait of him to be found online.
  Wankard Pooser was born on September 27, 1893, in DeFuniak Springs, Florida, and little else could be found concerning his early life, the exception being a WWI draft registration card denoting that he'd attended "rural schools". Pooser married his wife Maude in the mid-1910s and became parents to a family of eleven children. Of these children, his son Wankard Lucius Pooser died aged 91 in 2008 and was an attorney for five decades, being a member of both the Florida and New York bar.

    A resident of Jackson County, Florida beginning in 1903, Pooser was a farmer and school teacher prior to his time in state government. Pooser abandoned teaching in 1937 and engaged in house moving, in addition to farming. He entered politics in 1935 with an unsuccessful run for state senator, and in 1944 Jackson County elected him to the first of two terms in the Florida House of Representatives, where he served from 1945-1949. The following Florida Humanities Council link denotes that Pooser was elected on a single campaign promise, which was to vote no on every single bill that passed before him. It is also mentioned that he broke this promise only once (it isn't elaborated on what bill he voted for) and that the "voters rejected him at the next election". Pooser's frequent "nay" votes were highlighted in the June 1, 1949 edition of the Miami Herald, which described him as red-faced, bespectacled, and "often irascible."

  During his two terms, Pooser was frequently at odds with veteran house members and government officials, referring to them as "those Tallahassee bureaucrats". The Herald detailed that Pooser's cantankerousness carried over into a lack of legislative accomplishment, having "failed with a couple of general bills to help the house moving business." Despite his record of little-to-no legislation, Pooser remained non-plussed, with the Herald remarking:

"Pooser's defense is that he is doing--and has been doing all along--precisely what he told his people he would do if elected."

   Pooser's two terms in the house weren't without controversy, however. In May 1945 Pooser began preparations to introduce a constitutional amendment that aimed to "abolish" the Florida legislature and turn its duties over to the Governor. Pooser noted that his bill would save "many thousands of dollars to the taxpayers of the state formally endowing the executive with the complete lawmaking powers he already is exercising and abolishing entirely the figurehead body now known as the legislature." 

From the May 11, 1945, Sarasota Herald.

From the Pensacola News, March 4, 1960.

    Later in May 1945, the Saint Petersburg Times reported on a remark Pooser had made during a debate in the house with fellow representative John Lambe. In this debate, Rep. Lambe had made known his objections to a bill Pooser had introduced that proposed "strict regulation" of the Jackson County Hospital, located in Pooser's hometown of Marianna. During the debate proceedings between them, Pooser made a remark about the death of one of Lambe's children two years previously. Lambe is recorded as becoming emotional and being unable to continue his debate with Pooser, who was later admonished by his fellow representatives for his remarks. The legislature then "immediately killed his bill by a loud voice vote."
  Pooser is later quoted in the same paper as excusing himself from further house proceedings, noting that "I'm withdrawing from politics, for which I feel myself totally unfitted anyway." As noted earlier, Pooser was elected to two terms in the house, which proved that he did not make good on his statement. During his second term, Pooser continued to be the "great dissenter" of the house, and sources of the time frequently picked up on his consistent voting pattern. In the Miami News edition of July 2, 1949, an editorial referred to Pooser as "out of tune" with the times, noting that:

" Representative Pooser went to great lengths during the legislative session to explain practically all of his votes. There is no telling how much it cost the state to have spread in the legislative journal, his lengthy explanations for saying either aye or nay, and yet, with all of his explanations, his service to the state was negligible."

  Pooser flirted with a state senate run in 1950 and 1952, being described as a man who "set was is believed to be a record for negative votes." In March 1960 he announced his campaign for his old House seat but failed to make his candidacy extend past that year's primary. After many years of being out of the political spotlight, Wankard Pooser died on February 22, 1978, at age 84, and was subsequently interred at the Pope Cemetery in Sneads, Jackson County, Florida. 

                                               Would you vote for a man named Wankard Pooser?

Brown Nurse (1804-1869)

  This humorously named gentleman is Brown Nurse, an influential resident of Troy, New Hampshire during the mid-19th century. Nurse was born in Harvard, Massachusetts on June 24, 1804, and was the son of Deacon David Nurse, a clergyman and captain during the Revolutionary War.
  Brown Nurse migrated from his native Massachusetts to New Hampshire in 1829, settling in the town of Troy. It was here that he embarked upon a teaching career, but then removed again to the city of Richmond, where he engaged in business. Nurse married on December 15, 1831, to Mary Wheeler (died October 1865), with whom he would have one daughter, Mary Jane Nurse, in August 1833. Two years following the birth of his daughter, Nurse returned to Troy and subsequently went into the trade business with the help of his father-in-law. Nurse also was named to the position of town postmaster, serving fourteen years in this office. He later was elected to multiple terms as Troy town clerk, serving in 1837, 1838, and 1845-48, and town treasurer from 1842-44.
  Throughout the succeeding years, Brown Nurse became regarded as one of Troy's most respectable citizens, so much so that in 1850 the town elected him to the New Hampshire State House of Representatives, serving here until 1851. At the conclusion of his legislative service Nurse returned to his native town and in 1859 was named to a committee that aided in writing and publishing a history of the town of Troy, stemming from its founding in 1764 until 1855. 
  Brown Nurse died while attending a church service in the village of Fitchburg on February 21, 1869, at age 64. The portrait of him shown at the top of this article was discovered via the Historical Sketch of the Town of Troy, New Hampshire, and Her Inhabitants, published in 1897. 

Azarie Zenobe Coutu (1872-1941)

  A one-term member of the Massachusetts State House of Representatives, Azarie Zenobe Coutu was born in Lanoraie, province of Quebec, Canada on April 29, 1876. Little could be found on his early life, except his attending Joliette University in his native Quebec.
 Coutu immigrated to the United States sometime after his college graduation and settled in Lowell, Massachusetts. It was here that he decided upon a career as a newspaper editor and was still engaged in this vocation when he was elected to the Massachusetts state legislature in 1927. He served a one-year term in the house (1927-28) and died at age 69 on October 7, 1941, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

You Can Help!

I am currently seeking more information on the life and career of Azarie Zenobe Coutu. If any readers/lurkers/amateur historians want an interesting project to fill their time with, see what you can dig up on this uniquely named Massachusetts representative!

Civilion Fones (1836-1907), Savilion Chapman (1816-1894), Savillion W. Longley (1841-1912), Sevellon Fowler Channell (1848-1923

  The first part of today's quartet of oddly named political figures centers on the curiously named Civilion Fones, a resident of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Fones was one of the most prominent men living in Connecticut in the later period of the 19th century, and although his main occupation was that of a dentist, it is his brief tenure as the Mayor of Bridgeport that earns him a place here.
   Civilion Fones's birth occurred in Belleville, Ontario, Canada on October 1, 1836, a son of Christopher and Sarah (Marigold) Fones. His parents were both natives of the United States who were residing in Canada at the time of their son's birth. Fones received his early education in Canada and later New York City, and during his adolescence studied to become an architect (his father's line of work) but abandoned it after a short time. On October 21, 1863, Fones married Phoebe Wright, with whom he would have three children, George (died in infancy), Grace, and Alfred Civilion.
  In 1858 the then twenty-two-year-old Civilion Fones relocated to Bridgeport, Connecticut and there embarked upon the study of dentistry, later attending the Baltimore College of Dental Surgeons. In 1873 he graduated from the Maryland College of Dentistry and over the succeeding years gained recognition as one of the leading dentists in New England, lecturing and publishing scholarly articles on teeth care. 
   In addition to his dental practice, Fones became active in Bridgeport politics, being elected as an alderman on the Bridgeport City Council in 1884. Two years later he was elected as Mayor of Bridgeport, and it is noted in 1886's The History of the Old Town of Stratford and the city of Bridgeport that Fones enjoyed "unusual support from both political parties" after taking office. His term in office is highlighted by the History of Bridgeport and Vicinity, Volume II as being a "businesslike and progressive administration that resulted in the inauguration of various needed reforms and improvements", including the erection of a new post office building in the city.

                                                                   Fones during his term as Mayor, ca. 1887.

   Fones served as Bridgeport's mayor for two terms (1886-1887) and after the conclusion of his second term served as the President of Connecticut's State Dental Association. Further honors were conferred upon him when he was appointed to the first Connecticut State Dental Commission in 1892. Fones died in his native Bridgeport on September 20, 1907, at age 70, and was later interred at the Mountain Grove Cemetery and Mausoleum in that city. In addition to Civilion Fones' impressive stature in Bridgeport, attention must also be given to Civilion's youngest son, Alfred Civilion Fones (1869-1936). Alfred C. Fones is often regarded as the "father of dental hygiene" and was the creator of the term "dental hygienist".  He also is notable for being the founder of the first school of dental hygiene in the United States.

  Next up is Mr. Savilion Chapman of Connecticut. Of the three individuals profiled within this article, Chapman is certainly the most obscure. Only one biographical resource could be found mentioning him at great length and is located in Duane Hamilton Hurd's History of New London County Connecticut, published in 1882. The information contained herein was found in the aforementioned book. 
  Savilion Chapman was born on September 12, 1816, in the village of East Lyme, the son of Moses and Polly Church Chapman.  The History of New London County notes that Chapman received "limited advantages for education" and soon after his father's death in 1837 began a career as a stone cutter in the town of Waterford. In addition to his stone-cutting profession, Chapman managed some success in dairy farming as well as the raising of Devonshire cattle. In 1840 Savilion married Ms. Mary Ann Smith, and two children were eventually born to the couple, Robert W. (1843-1913) and M. Anna (1848-1888).
   Research has shown that Chapman was quite the prominent figure in the Waterford community, and he was named as a town selectman on numerous occasions. In 1868 the town of Waterford honored Chapman by electing him to a seat in the Connecticut State House of Representatives, and he was reelected to this body the following year. After the conclusion of his term in the legislature in 1870, Chapman returned to his native town where he died in 1894 at age 78. He was subsequently buried in the Jordan Cemetery in the town of Waterford. His wife Mary survived him by three years, dying in 1897 at age 78.

  In an update to Savilion Chapman's article, some new information on him has come to light, courtesy of an incredibly helpful site fan named Vivian. As it turns out, I wasn't the only one who was researching Savilion's life and exploits! Because of Vivian's helpful research I now have a definitive death date for Chapman (December 15, 1894) and she also graciously provided me with the above photograph of his gravesite in the Jordan Cemetery. In an interesting side note, Vivian mentioned to me that Savilion lacked an actual gravestone for over 50 years until one was laid (by the widow of Chapman's son Robert), in 1945!

From the 1910 Souvenir of Massachusetts Legislators.

    The mustachioed man shown above is Mr. Savillion W. Longley of Shirley, Massachusetts. Even more obscure than the preceding gentlemen, Longley was born in the town of Leominster, Massachusetts on July 7, 1841, one of two sons born to James Parker and Lucy Chaplin Longley. He relocated with his family to the town of Shirley when still a child and later graduated from Shirley High School. His early life was spent as a traveling salesman and later as a railroad station agent in Shirley and Boston. 
   During the 1880s he became a bookkeeper and office manager for the Pepperell Manufacturing Company, serving in these positions for eight years. After returning to Shirley, Longley started his own insurance company and was still engaged in this profession when he was elected to the Massachusetts State House of Representatives in 1909, where he sat on the committee on towns. Prior to his election, Longley had occupied the offices of town assessor in Shirley as well as being chief engineer of the town fire department.
   His one term in the state legislature was Longley's only foray into the political arena, and during his service held a seat on the house committees on towns. Within a year of leaving the legislature the life of this oddly named Massachusetts political figure came to an end in rather unusual circumstances. The Turner's Spirit newspaper from January 6th of that year notes that three days previously Longley (having prepared himself for bed) got up to blow out a kerosene lamp in his room. A flame (which had made its way underneath the lamp's burner) subsequently caught his nightshirt on fire, and within moments the majority of his body (as well as his room) were afire. After smoke was discovered in the home, a downstairs neighbor and Savillion's brother Harriman (who lived in an adjacent room) sounded the alarm. The initial prognosis was not good, with Longley receiving severe burns over all his body, whilst also losing nearly all his hair to the flame.
   After surviving the initial fire Longley received prompt medical attention and was given morphine to ease his pain. The Turner's Public Spirit newspaper of Ayers, Massachusetts mentions that Longley lingered for a few hours before succumbing to his burns the following day (January 4, 1912) early in the morning. He is recorded as being a lifelong bachelor and was survived by his brother Harriman. Longley was later interred at the village cemetery in Shirley following his death.
  In an end note,  my biography of Longley was copied nearly verbatim and pasted on the "Eastern Americana" auction site, one of a few times my writings here have been pilfered without proper citation! 

           A portion of the original article from the "Turner's Public Spirit"  newspaper, January 6, 1912.

From the Corning, New York Evening Leader, March 22, 1923.

   Another public figure with this odd first name is Judge Sevellon Fowler Channell of Tioga County, Pennsylvania. A lifelong resident of the Keystone State, Channell served as President Judge of the Tioga County Court for several years and had earlier been a prosperous attorney in that county. His first name is a variation on the preceding gentlemen's names and is recorded as being spelled as "Sevelion" and "Sevellon", the second one being the name etched into his gravestone.

  The eldest of five children born to William and Sarah Wright Channell, Sevellon Fowler Channell was born in Bradford County, Pennsylvania on November 21, 1848. He attended schools local to his hometown of Canton and later went on to study at the Susquehanna Collegiate Institute in the city of Towanda, whilst also clerking in a general store to gain income to further his schooling.

  Channell studied law in Wellsboro beginning in 1877 and in 1879 graduated from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. In the following year, he was admitted to the state bar and began a practice in Tioga County, practicing alone for four years. Sometime later he formed a partnership with attorney Henry Foote, which dissolved in 1889. Channell married in September 1888 to Elizabeth Fairman and the couple later had one son, Malcolm (1891-1910). Following Elizabeth's death in 1920, Sevellon remarried the following year to Wellsboro widow Mary Young, who died in 1934.

   Channell continued to operate a law firm (both alone and with partners) until 1915 and in addition to practicing law was prominent in other areas of interest in Tioga County, being a member and president of the Wellsboro school board and was later elected as the Burgess of Wellsboro in 1897. In 1915 he won election as Tioga County judge and served in this capacity until his death at age 74, caused by "cancer of the liver", on March 22, 1923. He was later interred at the Wellsboro Cemetery in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania.

Hyrcanus Blackman (1847-1921)

    A prominent businessman, political figure, and lumber merchant active in the Washington Territory, Hyrcanus Blackman was born on January 4, 1847, in Bradley, Maine, one of six children born to Adam and Mary Howard Blackman. He received his education in the public schools of Maine and later went on to study at the Westbrook Seminary for a time. The Illustrated History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties notes that Blackman later graduated from the Charles Wells Business College in New Haven, Connecticut. Following his graduation, Blackman taught school for a short period but eventually joined his two older brothers Alanson and Elhanan in the manufacture of lumber. Hyrcanus married on May 17, 1870, in Maine to Ms. Ella Knapp, with whom he would have two children, Clifford (born 1884) and Eunice (born 1887).
   Born into a family long active in the Maine lumber industry, Hyrcanus and his two brothers migrated from their native Maine to the Washington Territory in 1872, eventually settling in the county of Snohomish. It was here that the three Blackman brothers soon began plotting their business future, and within a few years of their resettlement had built up a very lucrative lumber and logging business. This business eventually grew to include a large sawmill and a mercantile store, the latter being under the supervision of Hyrcanus. 
  

           From Volume II of The History of the Pacific Northwest: Oregon and Washington (1889).

   While the two older Blackman brothers were the prime movers in this burgeoning logging industry, it was Hyrcanus alone who became active in politics in the territory. In 1878 the county of Snohomish elected him to the Washington Territorial Legislature. In addition to his burgeoning political career, Hyrcanus also began to develop his own business interests in the county, building his own general store in the mid-1880s and later constructing the luxurious Penobscot Hotel in 1888.
   In 1890, Blackman's political star rose again when he was chosen as the first Mayor of the city of Snohomish (which had incorporated itself as a city that same year). Research on his term notes that he served until December 1890, when the new city elected Emory Ferguson. Although some sources list Blackman as the Snohomish's "inaugural" mayor, other sources record the aforementioned Ferguson as the first true holder of the office. 
  Throughout the remaining years of his life, Blackman continued with his earlier business interests in the Snohomish area. He briefly returned to political life in 1904 when he served as a delegate from Washington to the Democratic National Convention that nominated Alton B. Parker for the presidency. Hyrcanus Blackman died at his mansion in Snohomish on June 1, 1921, at age 74 and was survived by his wife Ella, two children, and brothers Alanson and Elhanan. He was later interred at the Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery in Snohomish. In addition to the above, Blackman's unusual first name stems from a long-forgotten King of Judea and a Jewish priest named Hyrcanus. As an emperor, Hyrcanus was condemned to death by Emperor Herod in 30 B.C.

Polycarpus Loring Cushman (1778-1855)

   This dour-looking gentleman is Polycarpus Loring Cushman, a uniquely named member of both houses of the Massachusetts state legislature. Born on September 21, 1778, in Bernardston, Massachusetts, Cushman was the second-born son of Dr. Polycarpus (1750-1797) and Rachel Field Cushman. Polycarpus Loring Cushman gained his distinctive first and middle names courtesy of his father, who named him in honor of a prominent Plympton, Massachusetts physician, and friend of the family named Polycarpus Loring (1700-1770). The name Polycarpus (Latin for Polycarp) extends from a 2nd century Christian bishop in Smyrna (located in modern-day Turkey).

  Young Cushman engaged in farming pursuits for the majority of his life, and it is mentioned that he was one of the first farmers to raise Merino sheep in New England. An 1851 work entitled The Rich Men of Massachusetts makes special note of Cushman's career in farming, stating that he "has done more to advance agricultural interest in this part of the state than any other individual." 
   Cushman married in October 1804 to Ms. Sally Wyles, with whom he had one son, Henry Wyles Cushman (1805-1863). Sally (one source also gives a variation on her name as "Sarah") died in Saratoga Springs, New York in 1845 at age 63. Polycarpus remarried one year later in July 1846 to Abigail Barnard Coleman (born 1786), a resident of Sterling, Vermont.  During a long life Cushman gained a reputation as one of Bernardston's prominent men of affairs, and throughout his life was entrusted to hold a variety of public offices. In 1810, 1816, and 1817 he held the posts of town assessor, selectman, Overseer of the Poor, and later, Justice of the Peace, serving in that capacity for fourteen years. Late in his life, he became a founding member of the Franklin County Agricultural Society, which came into being in 1850. 

   In 1816 Cushman was elected to his first term in the Massachusetts State House of Representatives, where he served one term. He was reelected to the legislature in 1840, and in 1844 was elected to a term in the State Senate from Franklin County. In an interesting coincidence, he served in the same Senate session as his only son, Henry Wyles Cushman (later a Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts), who was elected to a vacancy in the Senate caused by the death of William Whitaker. It is mentioned that father and son were of different political faith (Polycarpus was a Whig and his son a Democrat) but were said to have agreed in "everything else".

The home of Polycarpus L. Cushman, from the History of the Town of Bernardston, 1902.

  Following his term in the Senate, Polycarpus returned to Bernardston and thereafter engaged in his earlier agricultural interests, as well as being recorded as a "warm friend of the cause of education.". He died at age 76 on May 16, 1855, in his native town and was memorialized in the Rich Men of Massachusetts as being "high minded and honorable in all his dealings and intercourse with his fellow citizens, and is liberal, public spirited and charitable." In an aside note, the rare portrait of Cushman shown above was located via a book written and compiled by his son Henry, entitled The Historical and Biographical Genealogy of the Cushmans,  published in 1855, the year of his father's death. The book mentions that the portrait is based on a daguerreotype taken of him at age 75 at the studio of B.F. Popkins in Greenfield, Massachusetts. 

A death notice for P.L. Cushman, from  The New England Historical and Genealogical Register.

An update....Auxencico Maria Pena Venezuela Hildreth Dickeson (1842-1879)

 Since I discovered Auxencico "Oxie" Dickinson in 2009 in a New Jersey State Legislative Manual, I have wracked my brain trying to find out more information on his life, as well as a photograph of him. Dickeson was profiled here on the "SNIAPH" blog back in July 2011 and in one of my "You Can Help" sections pleaded for any prospective readers/historians to do some digging on Oxie and report back with their findings.
 On November 22, 2011, an incredibly helpful reader named Frank left a message stating that more information had come to light on Oxie and in a later message stated that a photograph of him adorned the wall of the Woodstown Masonic Lodge #138 in Woodstown, New Jersey.
 On January 5, 2011, Frank sent me the portrait of Oxie that now adorns the top of the article you are now reading. This picture of him will be also be added to his previous blog page from July of last year. In addition to this picture, Frank also sent me some previously unknown information on Oxie, including his Masonic lodge affiliations, his stint on the baseball team at Princeton University (his alma mater) and a reunion Oxie had with his old college fraternity.
 I cannot state how helpful Frank has been in researching this infinitely obscure man, and it is incredibly nice to know that there are historically minded people out there like Frank who manage to do some digging and really help out a total stranger with a very odd history-based project. 
 And in a humorous aside note..... I'm fairly certain that Oxie is probably grateful for all the attention he's receiving over 130 years after his untimely death!

Keightley Braxton Raulerson (1861-1913)

  I recently discovered Keightley Braxton Raulerson on a roster of former Florida State Representatives, and given the fact that the state of Florida has yielded very few strangely named politicians to post here, his discovery comes as a very pleasant find.
  Raulerson was born in Seville, Volusia County, Florida on September 19, 1861, the son of Wade and Katherine (Hart) Raulerson. He attended school in Geneva, Florida and his youth was spent engaged in farming and cattle raising. During the 1890s he served a few terms as Commissioner of Orange County, Florida, and in 1896 entered into the cattle raising. In 1903 he established the East Coast Cattle Company (later serving as its president.)
   In 1900, Raulerson was elected to the Florida State House of Representatives, where he served for one term. After his service in the House, Raulerson was elected to the St. Lucie County Board of Commissioners and was named as its Chairman shortly before his death. He died while on a trip to Atlanta, Georgia on November 10, 1913, at age 52. 
 The picture of Raulerson shown above was found in a 1909 book entitled Makers of America (Florida Edition) which centers on prominent men in the business and political circles in Florida.

Spurzheim Derby (1856-1930)

   This obscure individual is Spurzheim Derby, a farmer who served one term in the Kansas State House of Representatives. Nicknamed "Spud", Derby was born in Decatur County, Indiana on December 24, 1856, a son of phrenologist  Daniel Griswold and Mary Ann Whitford Derby. As the son of a phrenologist, Derby received his unusual first name in honor of prominent physician Johann Spurzheim (1776-1832), one of the main movers behind a peculiar pseudoscience called phrenology, the study of cranial bumps and brain mental faculties.
   Little could be found on "Spud" Derby's early life, except for his living in Moniteau County, Missouri during the 186os and 70s. It was here he married Mary Catherine "Mollie" Erickson (1861-1930) and they later migrated to Haskell County, Kansas, where he engaged in farming for the majority of his life. Spurzheim and Mary were the parents of several children, including George Combe (1881-1958), Nellie Ellen (1883-1919), Lillie (1887-1963), Daniel Charles (1889-1975), Mary Ann (1885-1959), Phoebe Olive (1888-1954), Fannie Sophronia (1891-1980), Jean H. (1893-1992) and Doris Mae (1906-1987). 
  In the years following his removal to Kansas Derby occupied several different public posts in his new home state, including that of a schoolteacher, town marshal, and postmaster of the town of Jean, occupying the latter office in the early 1900s.
  Derby's inclusion on the Strangest Names In American Political History is due to his short tenure in the Kansas State House of Representatives in 1915. He served one term in the legislature and in 1930 lost his life in a tragic accident. As the Dodge City Journal related in its August 14, 1930 edition, Derby and his wife were passengers in a vehicle being driven by their grandson when the wheels of the car locked in the soft gravel of route U.S. 54. This caused their vehicle to overturn three times. Derby never regained consciousness following the accident and died a short while later at a hospital in Dodge City. While she survived the initial crash, Mary Derby succumbed to her injuries several days later at St. Anthony's Hospital in Dodge City.

                      This portrait of Derby appeared on the 1915 composite of Kansas State Representatives.

From the Dodge City Journal, August 14, 1930.

Thetus Willrette Sims (1852-1939), Theatus Erven Wells (1855-1919)

Portrait courtesy of the Library of Congress.

    The first political figure to be profiled in this new year is Thetus Willrette Sims, a twelve-term member of Congress from Tennessee. A prominent figure in late 19th and early 20th century Tennessee, Sims' time in Congress extended through the presidencies of McKinley, Roosevelt, Taft, and Woodrow Wilson. Thetus W. Sims's birth occurred in Waynesboro, Tennessee on April 25, 1852, being the son of George and Sarah Jane Whitson Sims. Sims's early life was spent on a farm and he received his education at a private school in the village of Martins Mills, Tennessee. Sims would continue his education at the Savannah College and later entered the Cumberland School of Law, graduating in the class of 1876.
  Soon after his graduation Sims removed to Linden, Tennessee to begin his law practice. He would marry Maury County native Nancy "Nannie" Kittrell (1855-1946) on December 26, 1877. The couple were wed for over sixty years and had seven children born to their union: Edna Earl (1878-1960), Erskine Kent (1880-1964), Tom J. (1882-1969), Elizabeth (1884-1967), Paul O. (1894-1959), Elsie Marie (born 1896) and Enid Nancy (1899-1949).
  After establishing a law practice in Linden (located in Perry County, Tennessee), Sims was named as the Superintendent of Public Instruction for that county in 1882, serving two years in office. In the 1892 election year, he served as a Democratic Presidential elector on the "Cleveland and Stevenson ticket." In 1896 he became the Democratic nominee for Congress from Tennessee's 8th district and in November of that year defeated Republican incumbent John E. McCall by a vote of 16, 568 to 13, 219. Sims officially took his seat on March 4, 1897, beginning a congressional stint that would see him represent the same district for nearly 24 years.

Portrait from the Washington Times, May 21, 1920.

   During his two decade-plus tenure in Congress, Thetus W. Sims earned a reputation as a representative who was highly devoted to his district, as well as one who expressed "eternal hatred of the 'special interests.' He would chair the Committee on War Claims and later the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. His time on the War Claims committee saw Sims file "petitions for pension relief for Civil War veterans and their families." Further notice is given to Sims being:

"Largely responsible for the framing of the legislation for the Federal operation of railroads during the world war period."

 In 1920 Sims was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination and later returned to Tennessee,  where he returned to the practice of law.  The 78-year-old Sims retired from "active business pursuits" in 1930 and moved back to Washington, D.C., with his wife Nannie. He died in Washington on December 17, 1939, at age 87. His wife Nannie survived him by several years and following her death in 1944 was interred alongside him at the Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

Portrait from "Traffic World", 1915.

  On May 10, 2017, I was lucky enough to visit Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, and while visiting sought out Sims' gravesite. After receiving a map from the friendly office staff I began my hunt and shortly thereafter found the Brownlow-Sims plot, close to the cemetery roadway. Here are some photo's from the trip, and curiously, no mention is given on Sims' headstone as to his long tenure in Congress!

Portrait from the Centennial Atlas of Athens County, Ohio, 1905.

  Eight years following the publication of the above article on Thetus Willrette Sims another politician with this unusual first name has been discovered (September 26, 2020)--Theatus Erven Wells of Athens County, Ohio. Settling in that county in the early 1880s, Wells would become a leading newspaper publisher in his region, owning and editing the Nelsonville News/Buckeye News for over thirty years. On the political front, Wells aided his adopted hometown in another capacity, that of mayor, an office he would be elected to on three occasions.

  A native of West Virginia, Theatus Erven Wells was born in Wood County on January 9, 1855, the son of William and Melinda (Worley) Wells. His education was obtained in schools local to Wood County and at age thirteen entered the workforce as a printer's devil. At an early age, he decided to follow a career in publishing, and after removing to Nelsonville, Ohio in 1882, purchased the Nelsonville News. Established in 1879, the Nelsonville News was the only newspaper published in that town at the time of Wells's arrival. At the time of its purchase by Wells, the plant "was in dilapidated condition and scantily supplied with material". 

  Through Wells's efforts, the Nelsonville News was revived, and by 1892 had been reborn into the Buckeye News, a Democratic-leaning newspaper. He would be connected with its publishing for nearly three decades afterward, with the paper being printed on the second floor of the Wells-built Buckeye Block, a two-story brick structure. T. Erven Wells married in Ohio in April 1883 to Dennie A. Poston (1861-1931), to who he was wed until his death. The couple had three children, Bruce, Leona May (1885-1960), and "Mrs. W.H. Grady."

The Buckeye Block, from the Centennial Atlas of Athens County, 1905.

   In the years following his resettlement in Nelsonville Wells became active in Athens County Democratic circles, serving as a member of the County Democratic Central and Executive Committees. In 1899 he was the unsuccessful candidate for county treasurer, losing to Republican nominee Willis G. Hickman, 2,173 votes to 4,746. Wells was also elected as a delegate from Athens County to multiple state democratic conventions, and at the 1891 convention was a firm backer of the free silver resolution that was introduced during the convention proceedings.

  In 1908 T. Erven Wells was elected as mayor of Nelsonville and in 1910 won a second term, "winning in a three-cornered fight". Wells subsequently won a third term as mayor in November 1917, and served until his death on June 16, 1919, "after a long illness." He was survived by his wife and children and was interred at the Greenlawn Cemetery in Nelsonville.

From the Morrow County Republican, June 20, 1919.

Ithamar Conkey Sloan (1822-1898), Ithamar Martindale Howell (1866-1920), Ithamar Warren Beard (1814-1862), Ithamar Francis Conkey (1823-1875)

From a Wisconsin Bar Proceeding report, 1901.

   The first politician to be profiled in today's four-part article is Ithamar Conkey Sloan, a transplant from New York to Wisconsin. Following his resettlement, Sloan established a reputation as a prominent attorney in Janesville and was later elected to two terms in Congress. Born in Morristown, New York on May 9, 1822, Ithamar Conkey Sloan was the son of Henry Scott and Maud McKenney Sloan. He was bestowed his unusual first and middle names in honor of Ithamar Conkey (1788-1862), a distinguished political figure and judge in Pelham, Massachusetts.
   Young Ithamar attended the commons schools of Morristown and early in life began reading law under Timothy Jenkins. Admitted to the New York State bar in 1848, Sloan married in 1852 to Celestia Eliza Spears (born 1831) in the town of De Ruyter, New York. Two sons would be born to their union, Francis and Charles Ithamar (born in 1857). Six years after being admitted to practice law Sloan removed to Wisconsin and established roots in the then-burgeoning city of Janesville. 
   Within a few years of his relocation, Sloan's name became a prominent fixture throughout law circles in Wisconsin, and in 1860 he was elected to the first of two terms as Rock County District Attorney. Three years later he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin, defeating Democratic candidate Joshua J. Guppy (1820-1893). Sloan served two terms in Congress (1862-1866) and would serve on the House committees on Public Lands, and Expenses of the War Department.  
  After returning to Wisconsin in 1867, Sloan returned to his earlier career as an attorney and in 1875 became the Dean of the University of Wisconsin's Law Department. In that same year, he was tapped to serve as assistant attorney general of Wisconsin, serving in that capacity for an indeterminate period. His time in office saw him "prosecuting the granger laws on behalf of the state against the railroads violating the laws in Wisconsin, which resulted in a complete triumph for the state"

 Ithmar C. Sloan retired as law school dean in 1889 and spent the remainder of his life in Janesville, where he died on December 24, 1898, at age 76. Sloan was subsequently interred at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Janesville, Wisconsin. He was subsequently memorialized by the Benton Mining Times as a "profound thinker", and that:

"The career of Mr. Sloan while in Congress was alike honorable and useful and he came out of public life in Washington with a splendid record."

  Next up is Ithamar Martindale Howell, an Iowa resident who later became Secretary of the State of Washington. Howell was born in Waukon, Iowa on February 18, 1866, and immigrated to the Washington Territory with his family in 1877. Howell attended Monmouth College in Oregon as a young man and within a few years became an important figure in the burgeoning Puget Sound business community. During the 1890s he became Secretary of the World Printing Company, and during this time also developed an interest in mining. This interest eventually led Howell to become the Secretary and Treasurer of the Peco Free Milling and Mining Company.
   With his name firmly established in the Washington Territory, Howell began to dabble in politics in 1899, winning election as Pierce County Assessor. Ten years later he was named by then Washington Governor Marion Hay as the Secretary of the State of Washington and was twice reelected to that office. Howell served eleven years in this post, dying in office on July 13, 1920, at age 54.

   A prominent resident of Middlesex County, Massachusetts during the mid-19th century, Ithamar Warren Beard was born in the county above on September 3, 1814. Beard studied law in New Hampshire and eventually established a law practice in Pittsfield, New Hampshire in 1842.
  Beard moved back to Massachusetts during the mid-1840s and was nominated by the state Democratic party for a seat in the State Senate. He lost this election but eventually won the Senate seat in November 1851, with his term commencing at the start of the following year. After serving one term in the state senate Beard was named as the Assistant U.S. Treasurer at Boston. He served in this post for seven years, and in 1860 was named as cashier of the custom house of Boston. Beard's tenure in this office was cut short by ill health, and he died at age 48 on October 31, 1862.

   Hailing from the town of Amherst in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, Ithamar Francis Conkey was born in that town on March 23, 1823, the son of Judge Ithamar Conkey and his wife Elizabeth Clapp. He attended schools local to Amherst and went on to study at the Amherst College in 1843, but left before completing his studies. He eventually decided upon a career in law and after a period of study was admitted to the bar and launched his practice in Amherst in 1844. He married in that town on June 15, 1847, to Luthera Cutler (1826-1885), with whom he would have the following children: Jane Cutler (1848-1905), Edward (1850-1919), Lizzie (1853-1855) and Samuel (1856-1857).

   In the succeeding years, Conkey built up a successful law practice, and with it a reputation as one of Amherst's leading men of affairs. In the year of his marriage he was named as a justice of the peace and in 1852 was elected to the Massachusetts State House of Representatives from Hampshire County. He served in the legislative session of 1853-54 and in 1856 was elected as District Attorney for the Northern District of Massachusetts.

   In addition to his time in public office, Conkey was active in several civic organizations, such as the Hampshire Agricultural Society, was secretary of the Amherst Lyceum, the Masonic Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and was a vestryman in the Grace Church of Amherst. Ithamar F. Conkey died in Amherst on August 8, 1875, at age 52 and was survived by his wife Luthera, who died in 1885. Both were interred at the West Cemetery in Amherst. The above portrait of Ithamar F. Conkey appeared in volume one of the History of the Town of Amherst, Massachusetts, published in 1896.