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. 

Submarinus Girard Norcross (1834-1888)

From the Conway Daily Sun, August 26, 2011.

  New Year's Eve is upon us, and, as per the custom first established in 2013, the year's final posting is dedicated to an especially odd-named political figure. With six previous installments of '" Strangest Name of the Year" to reflect on, this year's honoree, with his rather nautical-sounding first name, is more than worthy of that title: Submarinus Girard Norcross of Conway, New Hampshire! A native of Maine, Norcross was a clergyman who held pastorates in several states and for the last sixteen years of his life resided in Conway, New Hampshire, where he had a considerable impact through religious work and education. Despite not being a political office seeker, Norcross earns a place here on the site due to his service as a delegate from New Hampshire to the Republican National Convention of 1880.

   The eighth of nine children born to Leonard and Deborah (Nelson) Norcross, Submarinus Girard Norcross's birth occurred in Dixfield, Maine on January 21, 1834. When compared to other unusual 19th-century names featured here, the name Submarinus rests as a true U.F.O., and this bizarre first name may leave you with several questions, including "Why a first name that sounds like submarine?", "what possessed his parents to give him this name?", and "what did Norcross himself think of it?" 

  The answer behind Norcross's unwieldy first name can be found in his 1888 Poultney, Vermont Journal obituary. The father of our subject, Leonard Norcross (1798-1864), was a church deacon and inventor who in June 1834 received a patent for what would later be acknowledged as "the first fully enclosed diving suit." This inventive diving apparatus pioneered the use of elastic Indian rubber and was successfully tested without injury or fatality on the Webb River in Maine earlier in 1834. So proud was Leonard Norcross of his invention that he bestowed the name Submarinus upon his most recent child, with the Journal later relating that:

"He received his deep sounding name from the submarine dress which his father had patented the year of his son's birth."

   History doesn't record Norcross's own feelings in regards to his name, except note of his preferring to write his name as "S. Girard". The name's spelling is recorded as ending in both "-nus" and "-nas". Of these spellings, the former looks to be the correct one, as Norcross is recorded under that name by multiple sources, including the 1850 census, the 1889 General Conference of the Congregational Churches in Maine, and his 1888 Poultney Journal obituary.

  S. Girard Norcross obtained his early education at various academies in his native Maine, studying at Farmington, Bloomfield and Lewiston Falls. He briefly followed a teaching career at the last two academies and was called to the ministry in 1854 at age 20. After a two-year period of attending lectures at Harvard, Norcross returned to Maine and was licensed to preach in July 1858. Following graduation from the Bangor Theological Seminary in 1859, Norcross was ordained as a "colleague pastor" in South Bridgeton, where he remained until May 1861. On August 25, 1861, Norcross married Turner, Maine native Clara Elizabeth Cary (1836-1889), to whom he was wed until his death. The couple would remain childless. 

  After leaving his pastorate at South Bridgeton Norcross briefly resided in Florence, Alabama, where he held a pastorate in late 1861-62, and later returned to teaching, and from 1862-63 taught in Saxonville, Massachusetts. This was followed by a five year (1863-68) stint teaching at academies in Sewickley and Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, and in 1869 returned to the ministry when he accepted a pastorate in Caledonia County, Vermont.

  Norcross and his wife resided and worked in McIndoes Falls, Vermont until 1872, and in June of that year removed to Conway, New Hampshire, where he accepted the pastorate of that town's Congregationalist Church. He would hold the pastorate until his death and beginning in June 1873 held an additional pastorate in North Conway. Norcross's long pastorate saw him oversee multiple additions to the church at Conway, and through his "urgent recommendation", a second church was constructed and completed for Conway in 1886, the Second Congregational Church. Norcross and his wife also proved influential in local education, and in addition to his time as supervisor of schools for Conway taught school at both the Conway Academy and a school under their own supervision.

  In 1880 Norcross made his lone foray into politics when he was elected as an alternate delegate from Conway to that year's Republican National Convention that was to be held in Chicago. One of twenty members of the New Hampshire delegation, Norcross saw congressman James Garfield and Chester A. Arthur of New York nominated as the party standard-bearers.

From the 1880 Republican Convention proceedings.

  Following his service as a delegate, Norcross returned to his pastorate in Conway and in 1886 was a delegate from New Hampshire's Stafford Conference to the National Council of the Congregational Churches of the United States held in Chicago. In 1887 he took ill and in February of that year retired from the pastorate of the Second Congregational Church in Conway. Through 1887-88 Norcross's health failed to improve and on September 16, 1888, he died of consumption in North Conway, aged 54. Clara Norcross survived her husband by less than a year, dying on June 16, 1889. Both were interred at the North Conway Cemetery under a headstone denoting both's devotion to "the cause of education in Conway."

From the Poultney, Vermont Journal, October 5, 1888.

  

Orizaba Manasco (1882-1919)

From the 1905 Birmingham Medical College composite portrait.

  Following December 24th's profile on Alabama state senator Shorter Clyde Hudgens, another oddly named Alabaman squeaks in under the wire before the end of the year--Orizaba Manasco of Walker County. Although he lacked length of years (he died aged 37 in 1919) Manasco carved a notable career for himself in his native county as a physician and state representative, dying in office before the completion of his term. The son of John (1852-1923) and Sarah Jane (Grace) Manasco, Orizaba Manasco was born in Townley, Alabama on January 28, 1882.

  Born into a leading Townley family, Manasco's grandfather was Gen. John Manasco (1800-1895), a fourteen term Alabama state representative who had earlier been commissioned a Brigadier General by President James Knox Polk. Manasco was also a delegate to the Alabama Constitutional Convention of 1875, and by the time of his death at age 95 had achieved near-legendary status in his county. Bestowed the unusual name "Orizaba" upon his birth, Manasco shares his first name with the like-named city in the Mexican state of Veracruz, an area that gained importance during the Mexican-American War. Sadly no source mentioning Orizaba Manasco (or his family) denotes why he gained the name of a Mexican city as his given name.

  A student in schools local to the Walker County area, Manasco decided upon a medical career at an early age, and following study at Howard University enrolled at the Birmingham Medical College. Graduating with his medical degree in 1905, Manasco established his practice in Townley in 1906 and married in April of that year to Elzodie Demaris "Hodie" Boshell (1885-1964). The couple were wed until Orizaba's death in 1919 and had five children, Fred Sinclair (1906-1975), Charles Mayo (1910-1983), Gilmore Kurley (1912-2005), John (birthdate unknown) and Sarah (1918-1921).

  In addition to practicing medicine in Townley Manasco became a leading figure in the civic and fraternal life of his community, holding memberships in the Masonic order, the Shriners, Knights Templar, and was a member of the Missionary Baptist Church. He began his political career in 1913 when he took office as a member of the Townley Board of Aldermen (serving until 1918) and in that year was elected as Walker County's representative in the Alabama state legislature "by a flattering majority."

From the 1903 Birmingham Medical College composite portrait.

  Manasco's tenure in the legislature saw him chair the house committee on temperance and held seats on the committees on Corporations, Education, Penitentiary and Criminal Administrations, and Public Health. Manasco's time as a state representative, although brief, was favorably reviewed in his 1919 obituary:

"Although a new, inexperienced member, Dr. Manasco soon became one of the leading figures in the legislature and fathered important legislation in reference to vocational education, temperance and health laws."

  In early 1919 Manasco developed severe health problems, later to be noted in his obituary as the effects of "emenia" (anemia/lead) poisoning. These health concerns led him to seek treatment at Hot Springs, Arkansas, and later at the St. Luke's Hospital in Little Rock. He failed to recover and died at that hospital, aged 37, on April 9, 1919. The loss of the popular legislator and physician was felt significantly in Townley, with his obituary noting an attendance of nearly 3,000 people for Manasco's funeral services. He was survived by his wife and children and was interred at the Manasco family cemetery in Townley.

Manasco's obituary from the Daily Mountain Eagle, April 12, 1919.

Shorter Clyde Hudgens (1892-1963)

From the Montgomery Advertiser, June 9, 1923.

   Although 2019 is nearly at an end, there are still several states that haven't been featured here in quite some time. One term Alabama state senator Shorter Clyde Hudgens is the only political figure from the "Heart of Dixie" to have been profiled this year, and in addition to his service in state government had earlier distinguished himself as a fraternal organizer and high school principal. The son of William Greene and Lousia (Ellison) Hudgens, Shorter Clyde Hudgens was born in Luverne, Crenshaw County, Alabama on December 18, 1892.

  A student in schools local to Crenshaw County, Hudgens graduated from the Luverne High School and would enroll at the Male College at Meridian, Mississippi in 1913. After two years of study, Hudgens went on the road as a "lecturer and organizer" for the Woodmen of the World fraternal organization. For a year he traversed Georgia extolling the benefits of "Woodcraft and fraternalism", with the Montgomery Advertiser remarking that: 

"He accomplished a great deal toward the upbuilding of a better feeling among fraternal orders and his aggressive work gave the Woodmen of the World a greater standing in Georgia than they have ever had before."

  After returning to Alabama Hudgens entered into the insurance business in Crenshaw County, and put his business interests on hold in March 1918 when he enlisted for service during the First World War. Following a period of training at Camp Gordon in Atlanta he was transferred to Camp McClellan at Anniston, Alabama, where he remained until his discharge in March 1919, never having seen combat.
  Following his return from service Hudgens returned to his earlier insurance business in Luverne and turned his efforts towards education. By 1921 he had become principal of the Vernledge Public School in Crenshaw County, and in 1922 announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for state senator from the 25th district. Hoping to represent the counties of Crenshaw, Coffee, and Pike in the senate, Hudgens won the Democratic primary that August, defeating two other candidates and that November won the general election, polling  2,690 votes.

From the Elba Clipper, April 13, 1922.

   Taking his seat at the start of the 1923-27 senate term, Hudgens would chair the committees on Immigration and Industrial Resources, and held seats on the committees on Agriculture, Printing, and Public Roads and Highways. This term also saw Hudgens introduce one of the "most drastic school measures to be introduced in any state legislature", a compulsory bill: 

"Requiring all children between the ages of 8 and 16 years to either attend public schools or to pass an examination in subjects which would be equivalent to an education received in the public schools during that period."

  During his term, Hudgens retired from the insurance business and in 1924 was Alabama state manager for the Loyal Order of Moose fraternal organization. On October 21, 1925, Hudgens married Elizabeth Dowdell "Bessie" Warthen (1895-1999), to who he was wed until his death. The couple would remain childless. Little is known of Hudgens' life after he left the senate in 1927, excepting notice of his death at a Montgomery, Alabama hospital on May 19, 1963, at age 70. He was survived by his wife Bessie, who lived to become a centenarian, dying two months short of her 104th birthday in July 1999. Both were interred at the Rutledge Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery in Rutledge, Alabama.

Amable Oli Moreaux (1874-1942)

From the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, June 27, 1942.

  Just a few days following the write up on Nebraska newspaper publisher Mentor Alsworth Brown, another oddly named newspaperman is featured here, Amable Oli Moreaux of Minnesota. Like Brown, Moreaux headed his newspaper for the better part of forty years and also had fleeting involvement in politics in his state, being a delegate to the Republican National Convention of 1924. While still actively engaged as a publisher, Moreaux lost his life in a collision with a gas tanker truck near Luverne, Minnesota. A lifelong Minnesotan, Amable Oli Moreaux was born in Jackson County on June 28, 1874, one of seven children born to Isadore and Anna (Tweeton) Moreaux.

  In early childhood, Moreaux had brief residencies with his family in Winnebago City and Mankato, Minnesota before settling in Rock County in 1878. In the latter portion of that year, the Moreaux family established a home in Luverne, where young Amable worked the farm in the summer months and attended school during the winter. 

  Amable O. Moreaux first entered into the publishing field in October 1892 when he joined the staff of the Rock County Herald as a printer's apprentice, working under owner Herbert Miller (a future Minnesota state senator.) After several years of learning the trade and working his way through the paper's hierarchy Moreaux advanced to the post of foreman, and later took on the role of city editor. Upon the retirement of Herbert Miller in 1907 Moreaux succeeded to the ownership of the paper, and would eventually purchase it in 1909 upon Miller's death.

  Moreaux's stewardship of the Herald continued until his death in 1942, and the paper subsequently earned the reputation as "one of the leading country journals of Minnesota." Moreaux's editorial work would see him elected as president of the Second Congressional district's editorial association in 1910 and in 1918 was elected as president of the Minnesota Newspaper Association for a one year term. He married Nellie M. Brown (1889-1950) in November 1919 and later had three children, Amable (died in infancy in 1921), Charles Mabe (died in infancy in 1927) and Charles Mabe Moreaux (1929-1987).

   The 1920s would see Moreaux become heavily invested in the development of a proposed seaway to be constructed on the St. Lawrence River. This proposal later led to the establishment of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Tidewater Association, which comprised twenty-one states. Moreaux joined the association in 1920 and later served as its chairman for a number of years, and in 1936 was one of several delegates from the group to confer with President Roosevelt on the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Moreaux's long connection to this project also saw him hold the presidency of the Minnesota Tidewater Association and the directorship of the Great Lakes Waterways Association.

  Long active in Rock County Republican circles, Moreaux served as part of the Minnesota delegation to the 1924 Republican National Convention in Cleveland where Calvin Coolidge was nominated for the presidency, and in 1926 was a member of the Minnesota State Republican Committee for the 2nd district.

  Amable O. Moreaux continued prominence in Minnesota civic affairs until his death in an automobile accident in June 1942. On June 26th of that year the car in which Moreaux was sole occupant collided with a gas truck near Luverne, and he succumbed to his injuries the following day. The driver of the truck, Albert Ericson of Willmar, Minnesota, was uninjured. Following funeral arrangements, Moreaux was returned to Luverne for burial at the Maplewood Cemetery.

This photo of the Moreaux accident appeared in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, June 27, 1942.

From the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.