Du Brutz Cutlar Moore (1895-1965)

Portrait from the 1956 North Carolina State Manual.

   Following the lengthy write-up on  May 8th centering on Zanesville, Ohio Mayor Epaminondas L. Grigsby, we journey south to North Carolina for today's profile. The unusually named Du Brutz Cutlar Moore served five terms in the North Carolina State Senate and further distinguished himself in a variety of business endeavors in his home county of Robeson, North Carolina. Moore would gain additional distinction through his service as chairman of the State Board of Alcoholic Control, being named to that post by Governor Clyde Hoey.
  Du Brutz Cutlar Moore was born on August 6, 1895, in Pender County, North Carolina, the son of John Bailey and Serena Lee Moore. Moore attended the University of North Carolina from 1913-1914 and later was stationed in Europe during the First World War as a private with the Seventh Anti-Aircraft Battery. He married in June of 1922 to Ms. Ruth Robeson Norment, and three children were eventually born to the couple, Du Brutz Jr. (1923-2003), Ruth Moore Morgan (died 2004) and Mary Moore Warner.
   At the conclusion of his service in WWI, Moore returned to Lumberton, North Carolina, where he would be employed as a district manager for the Mutual Life Insurance Company. During the 1930s he became active in local politics and from 1934-36 held the post of secretary for the State Democratic Executive Committee. During the 1936 state gubernatorial election season Moore was affiliated with the campaign of Clyde Hoey, who, after winning the governorship, named Moore as the Chairman of the Alcohol Control Board of North Carolina in 1937. As the inaugural head of a board that was responsible for a "system of control of the sale of alcoholic beverages" in the state, Moore chaired this board until 1941, with his service later being lauded in the 1941 book North Carolina, the Old North State and the New, which stated:

"He is a man in the real sense of the word. His motto is 'Do the right thing under all circumstances.' He has proven the exception to the rule that a prophet is not without honor save for within his own country. Robeson County and Lumberton are proud of Cutlar Moore and his record, but if folks knew Cutlar's mother they would all understand why any trust committed to Cutlar Moore would be faithfully and conscienciously carried out."

   In addition to his involvement in the insurance business, Moore's 1965 obituary in The Robesonian newspaper also denotes his being a real estate developer and member of the North Carolina Association of Realtors. In 1952 Moore was elected to his first term in the North Carolina Senate from the 11th senatorial district and during the 1953-55 session was a member of the committees on Appropriation; Banks and Currency; Conservation and Development; Mental Institutions; Public Welfare; and Salaries and Fees. Moore was returned to the senate in the elections of 1954, 1956, 1958 and 1960, and in 1957 briefly held the post of state highway commissioner. His final senate term saw him named to several new committees, those being Agriculture; Banking; Education; Finance; Propositions and Grievances; Public Roads; and State Government. He would resign in 1961 to take on the post of U.S. Collector of Customs at Wilmington, North Carolina, where he would serve until his death. Moore is also recorded in his obituary as being the president of the Carolinas Broadcasting Company.
   While still attentive to state political affairs, Moore was also an active civic leader in Robeson County, being a deacon in the First Presbyterian Church and also was a member of the American Legion, Masons and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Named as Robeson County Man of the Year in 1956, Moore received further honors in the year prior to his death when he was bestowed the Liberty Bell Award from the Mecklenburg County Bar in recognition of his "service to the community and the law." Du Brutz Cutlar Moore died at the Duke Hospital in Durham, North Carolina at age 69 on March 27, 1965, after having been admitted for surgery a few days prior. He was survived by his wife and children and later was interred at the Meadowbrook Cemetery in Lumberton. 

 From the March 29, 1965 edition of the Lumberton Robesonian.

Epaminondas Ludwell Grigsby (1815-1893)

                          This portrait of Epaminondas Ludwell Grigsby was e-mailed to me on May 8, 2012, 

                       and is located in the collection of the Pioneer and Historical Society of Muskingum County.

   Today's profile will be a very special one, as this author received some invaluable help in putting it together! The following biography on Zanesville, Ohio Mayor Epaminondas L. Grigsby is a perfect example of what "historical detective work" is about, and I am forever grateful to Jim Geyer, Mitch Taylor, and the Pioneer and Historical Society of Muskingum County for their help in finding more information on this wonderfully named man. The rare portrait of Grigsby shown at the top of this article was found by Mr. Taylor in the Muskingum Historical Society's collection and was e-mailed to me earlier today by Mr. Geyer. As mentioned before, this political profile would not exist without the help and research of these gentlemen and the Pioneer and Historical Society of Muskingum County!

   I'll begin with a bit of background on how exactly this particular article came about. Late last month I managed to stumble across a book entitled William's Ohio Register and Business Mirror for 1857, located on Google Books. While perusing this work I found a section that gave a list of then-incumbent Mayors of various Ohio cities and towns who'd been elected within the last year. Many of these names were abbreviated by their initials, which made research on them a bit more difficult. When I came to the Zanesville section I noticed the name of the mayor,  "E.L. Grigsby" and seeing that the book neglected to mention his full name, I quickly set about doing a Google search on him.

  You can probably imagine my surprise when I found a Find-a-Grave page for a man named Epaminondas Ludwell "E.L." Grigsby, who was listed by said website as being elected as Zanesville's mayor in 1857! After doing some jubilant shouting over this great new name discovery I began a furtive search for more information on him (as well as a possible portrait). After an hour or so, I came to the conclusion that finding further information/pictures of this man would be totally futile, and a search for the Arc of the Covenant would probably yield better results! 

  A day or two after becoming aware of Mr. Grigsby's existence I made it a point to fire off an e-mail to the Pioneer and Historical Society of Muskingum County, asking for assistance in finding more information on this unusually named politician. Soon after sending this e-mail, I developed some correspondence with the Director of Museums Jim Geyer, who in further e-mails graciously provided me with some previously unknown facts about Grigsby's life.

  I now fast forward to earlier today, when I was pleasantly surprised to find a new e-mail Jim sent me, this one containing the portrait of Epaminondas Grigsby shown above! I was beginning to think that I'd never see a portrait of this mysterious Ohio figure, and I also want to give thanks to curator Mitch Taylor, who located the portrait of Grigsby in one of the museum collections. This rare portrait was donated to the historical society by a certain Ludwell Larzalere, a man who I presume was a descendant of E.L. Grigsby. 

  Epaminondas Ludwell Grigsby was originally born in Loudon County, Virginia on January 17, 1815, the son of Lewis and Hannah Bradfield Grigsby. One can surmise that Lewis Grigsby bestowed the unusual name "Epaminondas" upon his son in honor of the famed Greek general and statesman Epaminondas (418 BC- 362 BC), who was killed at the Battle of Mantinea. It is unknown what inspired the elder Grigsby to give his son this amazing first name, but one's imagination can run wild just thinking of the possibilities!

  It is presumed that Epaminondas received his education in schools local to the Loudon County area and is known to have married Nancy Cummings on May 4, 1840, in Waterford, Virginia. Three children were born to the couple, and two of their children didn't survive past infancy. Robert W. Grigsby (1843-1902) was the firstborn, followed by Mary Grigsby (born 1847), who died at age one in April 1849 and Florence Grigsby (born in March 1852) died aged nine months on December 31, 1852. A small notice on the Ancestry.com website mentions that Grigsby and his wife resettled in Zanesville (located in Muskingum County, Ohio) in either 1840 or 1841 and resided here for the remainder of their lives.

   Little could be found about Grigsby and his early years in Zanesville. One interesting piece of information centering on his early Zanesville residency was brought to my attention by Jim Geyer in one of the earlier mentioned e-mails. In 1852 Grigsby was named as the Treasurer of the newly formed Star Hose Company, one of a few volunteer fire stations that existed in Zanesville during the mid 19th century. The passage below mentioning Grigsby was found in the History of Muskingum County, Ohio, published in 1882.

  In the year that he was named treasurer of the aforementioned fire company (1852), Grigsby was named to his first political office, that of city councilman for Zanesville. He was one of ten new councilmen elected that year and The History of Muskingum County lists him as such but somehow manages to misspell his last name as Grisby.

   On April 6, 1857, Epaminondas L. Grigsby was elected as Mayor of Zanesville and served one two-year term. A passage mentioning Grigsby's tenure as mayor is located in the History of Muskingum County and has been posted below. If one looks closely at the following passage, you'll see the name of Lewis Grigsby listed in the Assessors section. This may be Epaminondas' father, who died in Zanesville in August 1862 at age 79. 

  Little else could be found on Grigsby's life following his stint as mayor. He is recorded as a founding member (and later treasurer) of the Howard Encampment, No. 79 of the local Odd Fellows lodge in 1858, and is mentioned as a cigar manufacturer. Little is known of Grigsby's cigar business, though a 2002 Zanesville Times Recorder notice details he was still active in their manufacture in 1875, with production totaling 270,300. In 1868 he represented Muskingum County at the Firemen's State Convention held in Columbus and was named vice president by the committee of Permanent Organization.

  Epaminondas Ludwell Grigsby died shortly before his 78th birthday on January 11, 1893, in Zanesville. He was subsequently buried in the Greenwood Cemetery in Zanesville next to his wife Nancy, who predeceased him in 1888 at age 68. Also interred in this cemetery are Epaminondas's son Robert, two infant daughters, father, and brother James Nathaniel (1817-1906). Epaminondas's mother Hannah (who died in 1825 and was Lewis Grigsby's first wife) is believed to be buried in Virginia, as no record exists of her being interred in the Greenwood Cemetery.

Dependent Merry (ca.1808-1889)

  I'm sure if you've stumbled across today's profile you probably got a bit of a chuckle out of this politician's humorous name! Dependent Merry (yes, that is his name!) served as Lincoln County's representative in the Maine state legislature in the mid-1860s and sadly that's the extent of what I've been able to find on this mysterious Maine native!
  I first became aware of this oddly named man courtesy of an 1868 work entitled The Resolves of the State of Maine, which highlighted various resolutions and acts passed by the Maine legislature during the years 1866-1868. Also featured here was a roster of then-current Maine state senators and representatives, including Dependent Merry. 

  From what I've been able to find, Dependent Merry was first elected to the Maine State House of Representatives in 1865, representing the town of Edgecomb in the county of Lincoln. He was reelected to the House in 1867 and nothing could be found on him after this date. The portrait of him above was discovered via the Maine Memory Network website and was originally featured on an 1865 Maine Legislature group portrait.
  In an interesting twist to this article, research on the Rootsweb genealogical website has shown me that on May 2, 1808, a man named Dependence Merry was born in the town of Edgecomb, Maine, the son of Jonathan and Mary Merry. With this intriguing new tidbit, I'm fairly certain that this is the same man who served in the legislature during the 1860s, except for some minor spelling variations in his first name. A death notice for Depdent Merry (shown below) was listed in the August 17, 1889 edition of the Portland Daily Express, and denotes his being a former resident of Edgecomb.

                                                                 YOU CAN HELP!

   It's time for one of my famous "You Can Help" segments, and in the case of Dependent (or Dependence) Merry, it is sorely needed!  I am currently in the process of trying to find more information on the life of  Dependent Merry. If any readers, lurkers, or amateur historians have any time on their hands and want an interesting project to fill your time with, see what you can find in terms of information on this man! I'd appreciate anything you might be able to dig up on this uniquely named Maine resident. As there is next to nothing on the internet about this wonderfully named man, maybe someone knows more about him than what is already mentioned in his article here!

Luzon Burritt Morris (1827-1895)

   A prominent Connecticut lawyer and legislator, Luzon Burritt Morris etched his name in the annals of history in 1892 when he was elected as the 52nd Governor of Connecticut. This oddly named Governor remained "faceless" for many years because this author failed to locate an actual portrait of him. In 2002 a portrait of a statue of him was located, and that
remained the only actual picture that I found until the discovery of the above print in the 1891 work Representative Men of the State of Connecticut. Since that portrait's discovery a few months ago I've managed to locate three additional pictures of him (courtesy of Google Books) and I'm proud to relate that because of this following profile, there will now be at least a few new pictures of him available online.
   Luzon B. Morris was born on April 16, 1827, in Newtown, Connecticut, the son of Eli Gould and Lydia Bennett Morris. Luzon attended schools local to the Newport area and during his teenage years was employed as a toolmaker and blacksmith. Morris eventually accumulated enough savings to put himself through school and in 1848 enrolled in the Connecticut Literary Institute. After graduating from here he moved on to Yale University, where he received his law degree. While still pursuing his education, Morris began to test the political waters, being elected to the Connecticut General Assembly in 1855 and 1856 and in the latter year was admitted to the state bar. Also in 1856, Morris married Eugenia Tuttle, with whom he had three sons and three daughters.

From the Illustrated Popular History of Connecticut, 1891.

   In addition to his law practice and early legislative service, Luzon B. Morris also served as Probate Judge for the district of New Haven from 1857 to 1863. Over the next few decades, he earned a reputation as one of the most distinguished members of the Connecticut Bar and was reelected to the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1870, 1876, 1880, and 1881. In 1874 Morris was elected to the State Senate, and during his term served as the chairman of the senate judiciary committee. He is also recorded as serving as President Pro tem of the senate during his one term.
   While Morris continued honing his political and judicial career, he is also mentioned as having a keen interest in the financial affairs of his home state. The Representative Men of Connecticut notes that Morris served as the Vice President (and later President) of the Connecticut Savings Bank of New Haven for over two decades. He was later named to the New Haven Board of Education and eventually served as its president.
  During his time in the legislature and afterward, Luzon Morris put his law expertise to use by serving on several committees that aided in the revising of probate laws in Connecticut. His work in these areas eventually caught the eye of Connecticut Democratic party leaders, who in 1888 urged him to run for Governor. In that year's gubernatorial election, Morris faced off against Republican nominee Morgan Gardner Bulkeley (1837-1922). 
   When the results were tallied in November 1888, Morris had accumulated more votes than his opponent but neither candidate had the required 50% to claim an election victory. Following a then-existing state law, the decision was left in the hands of the Connecticut General Assembly. Seeing that the Assembly had a large Republican majority, Morgan Bulkeley was declared the victor. Similar election chicanery occurred when Morris ran again in 1890 (this time losing the Democratic nomination to Samuel Merwin) but it is reported by the 1905 work Governors of Connecticut that even in the face of skewed election results and political bickering, Morris remained "perfectly conservative and very dignified."
  

           This portrait of Morris appeared in the "Governors of Connecticut", originally published in 1905.

    Luzon Burritt Morris eventually won the Connecticut governorship in 1892, defeating Republican candidate Samuel Merwin by a vote of 82,878 to 76,745. He officially took office in January 1893 and during his two-year term pressed for improvements in existing Connecticut state election laws. During the second year of his term, Morris was named as the director of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad Company and continued serving in this post after his term as Governor concluded. Also during his tenure, Morris had to contend with the financial panic of 1893-94, and it is mentioned that his overall popularity with voters suffered immensely because of this. Morris did not seek reelection in 1895, and on August 22nd of that year was felled by a stroke in his law office. He was subsequently taken to a local hospital, where he died sometime later. Following his death, he was interred at the Evergreen Cemetery in New Haven. Morris's obituary below appeared in an August 23, 1895 edition of the Glens Falls Morning Star.

Publius Virgilius Lawson Jr. (1853-1920), Publius Virgilius Monroe (1814-1861), Publius Rutilius Rufus Pray (ca. 1793/1795-1839/1840)

Portrait from the Wisconsin Archaeologist, Vol. 20, 1921.

   Today's triple profile highlights the lives and political careers of three men with the unusual first name Publius. The first of these men is Publius Virgilius Lawson, a resident of Menasha, Wisconsin who gained further prominence as a manufacturer, author, lawyer, and historian in addition to his political career. Lawson received his unusual name from his father (also named Publius Virgilius) and both father and son were named in honor of the Roman poet and Aeneid author Publius Virgilius Maro (better known as Virgil).
   Publius V. Lawson was born in Corning, Steuben County, New York on November 1, 1853, being the son of Publius Virgilius Lawson Sr and the former Elizabeth Fleming. At a young age, Publius moved with his family to Menasha, Wisconsin, and was a student in the public school system of that city. In 1873 he entered the University of Wisconsin at Madison and later studied at its school of law beginning in 1876. Lawson graduated from this institution in 1878 with his Bachelor of Laws degree.
    P.V. Lawson began a law practice in the year of his graduation and in this same year was elected as a Winnebago County supervisor. On August 5, 1884, he married Florence Josephine Wright (1860-1945) in Neenah, Wisconsin, with whom he had eight children: Percy Vilas (1887-1939), Lillian Edith (1889-1942), Marion Florence (1891-1949), Kenneth Finney (1894-1968), Harold Kimberly (1895-1943), Helen Elizabeth (1896-1977), and James Wright (died in infancy in 1899). 
   Lawson continued in the practice of law until 1888 when he ventured into the manufacturing field. Soon after leaving his profession, Lawson set about developing an improved wood split pulley that could be used in power transmission. After obtaining a patent for his work, Lawson founded the Menasha Wood Split Pulley Company, and throughout the succeeding years, the company achieved substantial business, shipping its stock throughout North America and the world. In addition to his manufacturing business, Lawson was also the owner of a large flour mill located in nearby Clintonville, Wisconsin.
   As Lawson's business and family life continued to grow throughout the 1880s and 90s, his political career followed suit. In 1882-83 he served as a Menasha city alderman and in 1886 was elected as the Mayor of Menasha. In all, Lawson would serve a total of six terms as mayor (1886-1889, 1893, 1896) and in 1890 launched an unsuccessful campaign for a seat in the Wisconsin State Senate. Prior to his election as mayor Lawson served as a circuit court commissioner for Wisconsin's 6th circuit, holding office from 1880-1888. 
   The Who was Who in America, 1897-1942 edition relates that Lawson was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1918, where he served for one term. A Wisconsin legislative website also mentions this term but gives his year of service as 1927 (this is obviously incorrect, as he would have already been dead nearly a decade.)

                    This portrait of Publius V. Lawson appeared in a Wisconsin State Atlas in 1881.

  While Lawson had already ventured into several different vocations, his career as an author didn't begin until later in his life. Throughout the 1890s and early 1900s, Lawson authored several scholarly articles, many of which were published in newspapers, magazines, and journals of the time. In 1904 and 1906 he authored the respective works Bravest of the Brave and Rocks and Minerals of Wisconsin. Lawson's most prominent work would eventually be published in 1908, the two-volume History of Winnebago County. He would also go on to author a family genealogy centering on several notable Wisconsin families, including his own. 
  In addition to his already prolific life, Lawson was a well-known civic leader in Menasha, and the following list is but a brief snippet of some of the positions Lawson held at one point: Director of the Menasha Public Library Board (1895-1903), Menasha Park Commissioner (1895-1903), President of the Menasha Museum History and Art Association (1895-1903), Vice President of the Wisconsin State Archaeological Society, and President of the Wisconsin State Library Association, 1901-1903.
  Publius Virgilius Lawson remained active in the affairs of Menasha until shortly before his death, which occurred on December 1, 1920, at age 67. He was survived by his wife and seven children and was interred at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Neenah, Wisconsin. He was subsequently memorialized in the February 1921 edition of the Wisconsin Archeologist as:

"A man among men, a friend of truest type, whose kind acts and worthy deeds will live long in the memory of those who have been proud to know P.V. Lawson as a friend and fellow citizen. In the home a void has been left in which human power cannot fill."

From the 1898 Semi-centennial souvenir of the Menasha Press.

A Wisconsin legislative roster from 1851.

    Another Wisconsin "Publius" that ventured into politics is the obscure Publius Virgilius Monroe (1814-1861) of Waukesha County. A one-term member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from that county in the session of 1852, little is known of Monroe's life. A native of New York, Monroe was born in Chenango County on April 16, 1814, a son of William and Rebecca Monroe. 

  Migrating to Wisconsin in 1837, Monroe settled in New Berlin township and during his early residency aided in the laying of roadways. He would become a prominent figure in the early history of this township and was elected as its first town clerk, as well as donating land for the establishment of the town cemetery. In 1849 he went west to California, and after two years out west returned to New Berlin, where he resided until his death on November 5, 1861, at age 47. He had been preceded in death by his wife Cordelia in 1855 and was survived by two sons, Joseph and Alonzo. Monroe was later interred at the New Berlin Cemetery.

  Publius Rutilius Rufus Pray was a New Englander by birth, being born in Maine in either 1793 or 1795. Pray's obscure life has one or two inconsistencies, mainly centering on his dates of birth and death. Many sources list his birth year as 1793 but others give 1795 as the correct year. Even his year of death is of some confusion, occurring on January 11 in either 1839 or 1840. Pray is listed as marrying his cousin (Maria Learned) in 1820 in Maine. At some point in his short life, he moved from Maine to Mississippi, and in 1828 he was elected to the state legislature. Four years following his service in the legislature Pray was named as the President of the Convention that adopted a newly revised edition of the Mississippi State Constitution. 
  P.R.R. Pray's public profile continued to rise throughout the 1830s, and in 1837 was appointed to the Mississippi State Court of Appeals and Errors. He served on this court until his death, which occurred on January 11, 1840 (or is it 1839?) He was subsequently interred at the Belle Isle Cemetery in Pearlington, Mississippi.

You Can Help!

  I'm currently trying to locate more information (as well as a possible picture) of Publius R.R. Pray. As there is next to nothing available online about this wonderfully named man, maybe someone out there knows more than what is already stated in his article. If any reader, amateur historian, or possible descendant stumbles across his article here, please don't hesitate to comment below!

Erbin Cone Wattles (1825-1909)

    Today's profile is a return to a local oddly named politician from Chautauqua County, New York--Erbin Cone Wattles. This interestingly named man with impressive facial hair served as Township Supervisor for the town of Ripley during the mid-1870s. Although his political career didn't extend past the confines of his hometown, Wattles was nevertheless a prominent figure in Ripley, New York for many years.
   Erbin Cone Wattles was born in Ripley on February 21, 1825, the son of Gurdon Huntington and Lucretia Phelps Wattles. Erbin's father Gurdon was also a prominent Ripley resident and served as Township Supervisor in 1835 and 1836. Erbin received his education in Ripley and in 1845 married a woman who also had an unusual name--Wealthy Ann Tennant. The couple was married for nearly sixty years until he died in 1909. Four children were eventually born to the couple and are listed as follows: Gurdon Moses, Sarah, Burt, and lastly, Jay B.
   The few sources that mention Wattles show that he purchased a large farm in Ripley in 1859 and resided here with his family for many years. His obituary in the Buffalo Express also notes that Wattles was a school teacher and music teacher during his life, and makes light of his service as Ripley Town Supervisor. Wattles was elected to this office in 1873 and served two more terms in 1874 and 1875. A roster of past Ripley supervisors has been posted below, with Wattles's name highlighted in yellow.

 In addition to his tenure as town supervisor, Wattles was also a devoutly religious man and was a prominent member of the Ripley Baptist Church. At some point during the late 1870s, Wattles and his family resettled in Buffalo, New York and he resided there until his death on April 17, 1909. He was subsequently buried in the Quincy Rural Cemetery in Ripley and was survived by his wife Wealthy, who died in 1916. 

                         Wattles's obituary in the April 21, 1909 edition of the Buffalo Express.

   On April 27, 2012, this author and two "blog friends" made a visit to the Quincy Rural Cemetery to photograph Erbin C. Wattles's gravesite. The Quincy Cemetery houses quite a few interesting graves, including those of NY State Assemblyman Jeremiah Mann (1800-1868), New York State Senator Joseph A. McGinnies (1861-1945), and U.S. Congressman Charles Mann Hamilton (1872-1941). Interestingly, two of these men are buried near the Wattles plot. I had made an earlier visit to this cemetery in March 2012 to photograph the grave of Charles M. Hamilton but was unable to find it at the time. That being said, it certainly pays to have two extra pairs of eyes with you when seeking out gravesites!

  The above picture is of the Wattles plot, which houses both Erbin, his wife, and their children. To the left in the background of this picture, you'll notice a large white obelisk, and this happens to be the gravestone of the earlier mentioned Jeremiah Mann, who represented Chautauqua County in the NY State Assembly in 1845.

                                           The gravemarker of Erbin C. Wattles, 1825-1909.

Francello George Jillson (1841-1912)

From the Representative Men and Families of Rhode Island, Volume III.

   This oddly named public servant is Francello George Jillson, a man long prominent in 19th-century Rhode Island politics. Over the course of his life, Jillson served in a number of public posts, including three terms as Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, and was later named a municipal judge for the city of Providence. In addition to his political and judicial activities, Jillson also distinguished himself on the battlefield during the Civil War, serving under the command of Ambrose E. Burnside.
   Francello G. Jillson was born on September 22, 1841, in Woonsocket, the son of Allen Bennett and Abby Hunt Jillson. He attended schools local to the Woonsocket area and later studied at the New London Literary and Scientific Institution.  During his studies, Jillson began a teaching career in New London, Connecticut, and continued in this vocation until the outbreak of the Civil War.  Soon after the firing on Fort Sumter, Jillson enlisted as a Corporal in the First Rhode Island Detached Militia. He served in this unit until August of 1861 and in the following year was made a First Lieutenant in Company G of the newly formed Ninth Rhode Island Regiment. 
  Jillson's service in the military concluded in September 1862 and soon after returning to Woonsocket resumed his teaching career, serving schools in both Blackstone and Woonsocket. He would serve as superintendent of schools in the town of Cumberland, and in 1864 he began pursuing a career in law. Over that year, he studied in law offices located in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, including one under the tutelage of future U.S. Senator George Frisby Hoar. In February 1865 Jillson passed the bar exam and shortly thereafter became clerk of the Woonsocket Court of Magistrates. Jillson later was named as town clerk of Woonsocket, serving in this position until the mid 187os. In 1868 Jillson married Emma Potter, a Burrillville, Rhode Island resident, and one son was born to the couple, Francello Albert Jillson (1869-1896).
   While still serving as town clerk Jillson was elected to the Rhode Island State Senate, serving from 1870-1871. After his Senate term, he returned to his earlier law practice and in 1876 was elected to a one-year term as the President of the Woonsocket Town Council. As his political career continued to rise, Jillson's name also became prominent in Woonsocket civic affairs. During the 1870s and 80s, he served as a trustee of the Harris Institute and was later secretary of the Woonsocket Hospital for several years.
   Francello Jillson reemerged on the Rhode Island political scene in 1880 when he was named as President of the Republican State Convention. The following year he was elected to the first of several terms in the Rhode Island House of Representatives and would serve as its Speaker in the years 1883, 1884 and 1885. 

    Following the conclusion of his last term in the house,  Jillson returned to active involvement in the civic affairs of Woonsocket, being a founding member of the city's Water Works Company (including drafting the company charter) as well as serving on the Board of State Charities and Corrections. Long an active Mason in Woonsocket, Jillson was honored as a past grand high priest of the M.E. Grand Chapter of Rhode Island. 

   In 1910 Jillson resumed political office when he was appointed to the judgeship of the Municipal Court of Providence, holding his seat until his death on November 6, 1912. Jillson had earlier been stricken with pneumonia in October 1912 while still on the bench, and later succumbed to blood poisoning following the initial onset of pneumonia. Jillson was survived by his wife Emma and was subsequently buried in Woonsocket, although an exact cemetery name couldn't be found at the time of this writing. The portrait of Jillson shown above was featured in his obituary, originally published in the Providence Evening News on November 7, 1912. A portion of that obituary has been provided below.

                                                                       From the Providence Evening News.

Orindatus Simon Bolivar Wall (1825-1891)

    Today's profile centers on a very new political name discovery--the intriguingly named Orindatus Simon Bolivar Wall. Wall has the distinction of being the first African-American profiled here on the site, and this unjustly forgotten man forged a distinguished political and military career for himself in a time when it was difficult for any black person to receive even the most basic rights, let alone hold public office. The rare engraving of him shown above was originally featured in Joseph Thomas Wilson's The Black Phalanx: A History of the Negro Soldiers of the United States, published in 1890 (a year before Wall's death) and this book can be found in its entirety on the website www.archive.org.
  Orindatus (or "OSB", as most sources list him) was born in Richmond County, North Carolina on August 17, 1825, the son of a white plantation owner named Stephen Wall. OSB's mother was one of Stephen's slaves, whose given name was Priscilla. Orindatus's unusual first and middle names are historically based, "Datus" being a Latin deviation from the word "given" and "Simon Bolivar" having come from the famed Venezuelan military and political leader Simon Bolivar (1783-1830).
   OSB Wall was granted his freedom by his father at a young age, and in 1838 was sent by him to Harveysburg, Ohio. An excellent up on Wall's life and family, Daniel Sharfstein's The Invisible Line, notes that he was raised and educated in Harveysburg by a family of Quakers. During the 1840s Wall began learning the shoemaking trade and plied his craft in Harveysburg for several years before moving to nearby Oberlin, Ohio in the early 1850s. 
  The town of Oberlin was then regarded as a haven for the abolitionist movement, and within months of his arrival, Wall had reestablished his profession as a cobbler. Also during this time, Wall became prominent in the anti-slavery movement in Oberlin and married here in October 1854 to Amanda Thomas, a free woman. Born in Virginia, Amanda was later a classmate of OSB's sister Caroline at Oberlin College. Just seventeen at the time of her marriage to Wall, their union produced eight children. Amanda Wall would forge an important career for herself following the Civil War, teaching newly freed slaves reading and writing skills, and was an advocate for women's suffrage.
   As a prominent cobbler in Oberlin, Wall was afforded an opportunity few blacks had at the time: to make a name for themselves in the realm of business and public affairs. While Wall's stature in Oberlin is of some note, his role as an early civil rights activist is an integral part of his overall life story. In 1858 he became a pivotal player in the Wellington-Fugitive slave rescue. In this case, a group of Oberlin citizens (including Wall) forcibly rescued John Price, a runaway slave from Kentucky who had been captured by slave catchers. After retrieving Price, Wall and the other rescuers (37 people in total) returned with him to Oberlin and within a few days Price was spirited away to Canada, thus earning his freedom.
  Despite their heroic actions in John Price's rescue, Wall and the other rescuers were indicted for aiding him under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Nearly all of the rescuers (Wall included) were soon released from custody, and a daguerreotype of these heroic men was taken in front of the Cuyahoga County jail. The aforementioned portrait (originally published in the 1943 work A History of Oberlin College) has been posted below. In this rare photo, OSB Wall stands second from left and can be identified by his top hat.

   In the years following his actions in Oberlin, Wall became an attorney and during the Civil War served as a recruiter for the famed Massachusetts 54th Volunteer Infantry. In March 1865 Wall gained lasting distinction when he was commissioned as a Captain in the Union Army, one of the first African Americans to be so honored. In that same year, he was named as a Quartermaster for the newly organized Bureau of Freedman, Refugees, and Abandoned Lands, located in Charleston, South Carolina.

  In the 1860s the Wall family relocated to Washington, D.C., where OSB found employment as a police magistrate. He also became active in politics around this time, and in 1872 was elected to the Washington, D.C. Territorial House of Delegates. Wall was re-elected to the legislature the following year, and it is noted in the earlier mentioned The Invisible Line that during his two terms, Wall represented a district that had a white majority! A roster from the legislative sessions in which he served has been posted below.

   In addition to his terms in the legislature, Wall served in Washington as a notary public, justice of the peace, and president of the Howard Hill Aid Society. He also continued with the practice of law, and was praised in an 1890 edition of the Washington Post as "one of the best-known colored lawyers in the city". This same newspaper also mentions that in April of 1890, Wall suffered a paralytic stroke while engaged in work at the police court in Washington. He never fully regained his health and died at age 65 on April 26, 1891, at his home. He was subsequently buried in the Graceland Cemetery in Washington but was exhumed four years after his death and was reburied at the Arlington National Cemetery. His wife Amanda was interred alongside him following her death in 1902.

A Visit With O.S.B. Wall

  On May 8, 2o17 I was lucky enough to track down and photograph Orindatus Wall's gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery. One of over a dozen gravesites photographed during my near month-long stay in the nation's capital, other figures photographed on this day were former U.S. Representative and Commissioner of Pensions Green Berry Raum, Assistant U.S. Treasury Secretary Alvred Bayard Nettleton, and former Minnesota Governor and U.S. Senator Cushman Kellogg Davis. And now a photo of the trip!

Alvarus Eleazer Gilbert (1825-1891)

From the History of Waukesha County, 1880.

   The life of obscure Wisconsin political figure Alvarus Eleazer Gilbert is profiled today, and the following article will be one of the more somber ones you'll read here. Mr. Gilbert served two terms in the State Assembly during the late 1870s and was considered a figure of distinction in the county of Waukesha both before and after his election. Gilbert's life ended under tragic circumstances in August 1891 when he committed suicide by hanging, in what was described by the Waukesha Freeman newspaper as a "fit of insanity". 

   Alvarus Eleazer Gilbert was born in the small town of Alexander, New York on August 17, 1825, one of the ten children born to Daniel and Catherine Showerman Gilbert. The Gilbert family resided in Alexander until August of 1839 when they relocated to Milwaukee. Their stay here was short-lived, and after a few weeks resettled in the town of New Berlin. The History of Waukesha County ( published in 1885), notes that the Gilbert family resided in a single-room log house with the ten-member Hiram Hollister family for a short period, and this author is amazed that one log cabin could support twenty-two people! It should also be noted that Daniel Gilbert later erected a cabin of his own, and also had numerous acres to go along with it.

   Alvarus Gilbert attended schools local to the New Berlin area and was engaged in farming for most of his adolescence. In October 1849 he married Harriet Hollister (daughter of the aforementioned Hiram Hollister) and eventually became the father to six children: Minnie, Willis, Florence, Herbert, Ernest, and Willie. Alvarus and his family removed to Illinois in the early 1850s and following his settlement engaged in railroad work, being the head of a construction crew. During their Illinois residency, two of Gilbert's young sons (Willie and Ernest) died and in 1861 the family returned to the New Berlin-Prospect, Wisconsin area. Shortly afterward Alvarus purchased a 190-acre farm where he would reside for the remainder of his life. 

  Gilbert first became active in public office during the 1860s when he was elected as New Berlin town clerk. He would go on to serve in other local offices, including stints as town treasurer, town supervisor, and as a member of the Waukesha County Board of supervisors. In 1877 he was elected to the Wisconsin State House of Representatives, representing Waukesha County in the session of 1878. In the following year, Gilbert eked out a narrow reelection victory (1476 votes to 1326) over his Democratic opponent, William E. Hennessey. A passage with those election results was featured in the 1879 Wisconsin Blue Book and has been posted in its entirety below. The Blue Book also notes that during his second legislative term, Gilbert held a seat on the committee on Incorporations.

  Gilbert returned to his farm at Prospect Hill, Wisconsin following his term and is mentioned as being involved with the "town insurance society". Little else could be found on his later years with the exception being his death. An archived version of the August 27, 1891 edition of the Waukesha Freeman, details the circumstances of his death. The accompanying information and snippets were located in the aforementioned newspaper.

  

   As the Freeman related in its coverage of the incident, Gilbert had been in impaired health for at least a few months before his suicide and notes that he had never been confined to his home because of it. Curiously, the Waukesha Freeman gives no mention as to what his illness may have been but does note that he was "known to be in a serious condition. His family and friends were especially concerned over the deep melancholy  in which he was constantly brooding." This seems to imply that Gilbert suffered from a deep depression for at least several weeks before his death.

   In the above passage, we can read that Gilbert's "mind had become obviously affected, and so melancholy and dejected did he become that his family feared suicide, especially as he was wont to discuss the question of self destruction in a manner that left no doubt as to his wishes." Gilbert's disturbed state of mind worried his family to such an extent that they began keeping a "strict watch" on his behavior, but all to no avail.

   The Waukesha Freeman notes that in the early hours of August 20, 1891, Alvarus E. Gilbert dressed, took his hat and cane, and made his way to a barn located on his property. It was here that he hanged himself from a barn timber, using "a rope halter used in tying stock". His body was discovered by a family member a few hours later and a certain Dr. Ingersoll concluded that Gilbert's death was caused "by his own hand while in a state of insanity was rendered."

   One can only wonder what underlying mental illness Gilbert may have had, and one could also venture a guess that monetary or business problems could have been a contributing factor in his taking his own life. The newspaper mentions "illness" numerous times but gives no clue as to whether or not he was ill with cancer or some other malady. 

Ippie Purvis Graham (1889-1962)

From the 1949 South Carolina Manual of the legislature.

   Following on the heels of the April 18th article on Fleetus Lee Gobble, today's write-up highlights the life and accomplishments of another North Carolina State Representative--Ippie Purvis Graham. This interestingly named man served alongside Fleetus Gobble in the North Carolina legislature for several years, and one can wonder if these two funny-named politicians ever went palling around the state capitol together. I can almost imagine someone falling over with laughter when they were introduced to representatives "Ippie" and "Fleetus"!

   All humor aside, Ippie P. Graham's curious name didn't keep him from pursuing a lengthy career in public service. His story begins on February 3, 1889, when he was born in Proctorville, North Carolina, the son of Charles William and Mary Jane Hedgpeth Graham. Graham received the unusual first name "Ippie" in honor of his uncle, a North Carolina Baptist minister named Ippie Purvis Hedgpeth, and the only available biographical source on Graham is a brief write-up in the North Carolina Manual published during his service in the legislature. His birth year is variously given as either 1889 or 1890, although a good majority of the sources mentioning him give 1889 as the correct year.

  Graham received his education at the Stinson Institute and later studied at the King's Business College from 1911-1912. The majority of Graham's life was centered around farming pursuits in his native town, and he is listed by the North Carolina Manual as being the proprietor of a cotton gin. In addition to his being a farmer, the Manual mentions Graham as being a cashier at the Bank of Proctorville and also as a Sunday school superintendent for the Proctorville Baptist Church. Graham later married Ms. Athesia Powell (1895-1974), with whom he had three children, Hal, Paul, and daughter Stennett Graham McLeod (1927-2016).

                                          Ippie P. Graham, from the May 31, 1942 edition of the Robesonian.

   Ippie Graham's first candidacy for public office came during the First World War when he was elected as Mayor of Proctorville, serving from 1917-1919. Graham's obituary in the 1962 Robesonian newspaper also gives note that he served as judge of the Fairmont Recorder Court for six years, 1933-1939. In Graham's last year of service on that court, the citizens of Robeson County elected him to the first of four terms in the North Carolina State House of Representatives, and he began his first term in January 1939. His service in the legislature lasted nearly a decade (except the 1941-43 session) and during his tenure held seats on several committees, including the following: Agriculture; Appropriations; Banks and Banking; Congressional Districts; Counties, Cities, and Towns; Court and Judicial Districts; Drainage; Education; the Journal; Military Affairs; and Printing.

Ippie Graham receiving the Adrian B. McRae Award for Robeson County Man of the Year, in 1961.

   At the conclusion of his legislative service in 1949, Graham returned to his home in Proctorville and later held a seat on the Proctorville Board of Education from 1949 until he retired from public life in 1961. He served as the chairman of this board from 1950 until the fall of 1960. The Robesonian also notes that Graham was honored by his fellow citizens as Robeson County Man of the Year for 1961. In addition to this accolade, Graham was a longstanding member in the Masonic Lodge of Proctorville.

  Ippie Purvis Graham died at a hospital in Lumberton, North Carolina on February 10, 1962, at age 73 and was later interred at the Proctorville Cemetery in Fairmont, North Carolina. The obituary below for Graham marks the second picture that I've located of the man, and I'm extremely happy to have located it (via the website newspaperarchive.com!)

Graham's obituary as it appeared in the Robesonian on January 12, 1962.