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John Peter Altgeld (1847-1902) —
also known as John P. Altgeld —
of Andrew
County, Mo.; Chicago, Cook
County, Ill.
Born in Hesse, Germany,
December
30, 1847.
Served in the Union Army during the Civil War; lawyer; Andrew
County State's Attorney, 1875; candidate for U.S.
Representative from Illinois, 1884; superior court judge in
Illinois, 1886-91; Governor of
Illinois, 1893-97; Independent candidate for mayor of
Chicago, Ill., 1899.
German ancestry.
Pardoned the surviving protesters of the Haymarket incident in
Chicago, and refused to send troops against the Pullman railway
strikers. These actions were not popular at the time, and he never
won another election.
Died in Joliet, Will
County, Ill., March 12,
1902 (age 54 years, 72
days).
Interment at Graceland
Cemetery, Chicago, Ill.; statue at Lincoln
Park, Chicago, Ill.
|
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Harvey Sandburg Amerson (1875-1943) —
also known as Harvey S. Amerson —
of Elk Rapids, Antrim
County, Mich.; Detroit, Wayne
County, Mich.
Born in Illinois, November
29, 1875.
Son of William Amerson (1841-1922) and Matilda Harriet (Schaubel)
Amerson (1846-1906).
Republican. Merchant;
member of Michigan
state house of representatives from Antrim County, 1911-12.
German and English
ancestry. Member, Freemasons;
Knights
Templar; Shriners;
Odd
Fellows; Elks.
Died in 1943
(age about
67 years).
Interment at Maple
Grove Cemetery, Elk Rapids, Mich.
|
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William Augustus Ayres (1867-1952) —
also known as William A. Ayres —
of Wichita, Sedgwick
County, Kan.
Born in Elizabethtown, Hardin
County, Ill., April 19,
1867.
Son of William Warren Ayres and Katharine (Drumm) Ayres.
Democrat. Lawyer; Sedgwick
County Prosecuting Attorney, 1907-12; U.S.
Representative from Kansas, 1915-21, 1923-34 (8th District
1915-21, 1923-33, 5th District 1933-34); defeated, 1920; resigned
1934; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Kansas, 1924;
member, Federal Trade
Commission, 1934-52; died in office 1952; chair, Federal Trade
Commission, 1937, 1942, 1946.
Christian.
German ancestry. Member, American Bar
Association; Freemasons;
Shriners;
Elks; Knights
of Pythias; Odd
Fellows.
Died in Washington,
D.C., February
17, 1952 (age 84 years, 304
days).
Interment at Old
Mission Cemetery, Wichita, Kan.
|
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William Dee Becker (1876-1943) —
also known as William D. Becker —
of St.
Louis, Mo.
Born in East St. Louis, St. Clair
County, Ill., October
23, 1876.
Son of John Philip Becker and Anna A. (Cammann) Becker.
Republican. Lawyer; Judge, Missouri Court of
Appeals, 1916-40; mayor
of St. Louis, Mo., 1941-43; died in office 1943.
German ancestry. Member, American Bar
Association.
Was a passenger in an experimental Army glider, towed by an airplane;
the glider's wings suddenly fell off, and it crashed
at Lambert-St. Louis Airfield,
St. Louis
County, Mo., August 1,
1943 (age 66 years, 282
days).
Interment at Bellefontaine
Cemetery, St. Louis, Mo.
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Max Bedacht (1883-1972) —
of Manhattan, New York
County, N.Y.; San
Francisco, Calif.; Chicago, Cook
County, Ill.
Born in Munich (München), Germany,
October
13, 1883.
Communist. Barber; president,
Swiss National Barbers' Union, 1907; Workers candidate for U.S.
Senator from Illinois, 1928; candidate for U.S.
Representative from New York 19th District, 1930; candidate for
U.S.
Senator from New York, 1934.
German ancestry.
Expelled from the Communist Party in 1948 over factional differences.
Died July 4,
1972 (age 88 years, 265
days).
Burial
location unknown.
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Riley Alvin Bender (1890-1973) —
also known as Riley A. Bender —
of Chicago, Cook
County, Ill.
Born in Chicago, Cook
County, Ill., July 8,
1890.
Son of Edward Bender and Rachel Josephine 'Josie' (Davis) Bender.
Prize
fighter; hotel
manager; music
store manager; seed
wholesaler; candidate in Democratic primary for Illinois
state senate 11th District, 1938; candidate for Republican
nomination for President, 1944,
1948,
1952.
Church
of Christ. German and Welsh
ancestry.
Died, in Illinois Central Hospital,
Chicago, Cook
County, Ill., March 6,
1973 (age 82 years, 241
days).
Interment at Onarga
Cemetery, Onarga, Ill.
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Theodore J. Bluthardt (d. 1906) —
of Chicago, Cook
County, Ill.
Republican. Physician;
U.S. Consul in Barmen, 1904-06, died in office 1906.
German ancestry.
Died in Barmen (now part of Wuppertal), Germany,
January
14, 1906.
Burial
location unknown.
|
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John B. Bowman (1832-1885) —
of East St. Louis, St. Clair
County, Ill.
Born in Germany,
1832.
Republican. Civil
engineer; lawyer; real estate
business; mayor
of East St. Louis, Ill., 1865-66, 1868, 1872-74, 1877-78.
German ancestry.
Shot
and killed by
an unknown assailant, in front of his home, in East St. Louis, St. Clair
County, Ill., November
21, 1885 (age about 53
years). Two East St. Louis policemen were later charged with his
murder, but they were never tried.
Interment at Bellefontaine
Cemetery, St. Louis, Mo.
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Lorenzo Brentano (1813-1891) —
also known as Lorenz Brentano —
of Chicago, Cook
County, Ill.
Born in Germany,
November
4, 1813.
Republican. Member of Illinois
state house of representatives 61st District, 1863-65; delegate
to Republican National Convention from Illinois, 1864;
Presidential Elector for Illinois, 1868;
U.S. Consul in Dresden, 1872-76; U.S.
Representative from Illinois 3rd District, 1877-79.
German ancestry.
Sentenced
to life imprisonment
for his role in a German revolution
in 1849; escaped
to the United States.
Died in Chicago, Cook
County, Ill., September
18, 1891 (age 77 years, 318
days).
Interment at Graceland
Cemetery, Chicago, Ill.
|
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Fred A. Busse (1866-1914) —
of Chicago, Cook
County, Ill.
Born in Chicago, Cook
County, Ill., March 3,
1866.
Republican. Hardware
business; coal
dealer; member of Illinois
state house of representatives, 1895-98; member of Illinois
state senate, 1899-1900; Illinois
state treasurer, 1903-05; member of Illinois
Republican State Committee, 1905; postmaster;
mayor
of Chicago, Ill., 1907-11; delegate to Republican National
Convention from Illinois, 1908;
member of Illinois
Republican State Central Committee, 1910.
German ancestry. Member, Freemasons.
Died, from valvular heart
disease, in Chicago, Cook
County, Ill., July 9,
1914 (age 48 years, 128
days).
Interment at Graceland
Cemetery, Chicago, Ill.
|
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Theodore Canisius —
of Illinois.
Born in Westphalia, Germany.
Naturalized U.S. citizen; U.S. Consul in Bristol, 1875-81; Apia, 1884.
German ancestry.
Burial
location unknown.
|
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Charles Emil Dehner (1871-1945) —
also known as Charles E. Dehner —
of Lincoln, Logan
County, Ill.
Born in St.
Louis, Mo., October
27, 1871.
Republican. Delegate to Republican National Convention from Illinois,
1916.
Catholic.
German ancestry.
Died November
11, 1945 (age 74 years, 15
days).
Interment at St.
Mary's Cemetery, Lincoln, Ill.
|
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Charles Henry Dietrich (1853-1924) —
also known as Charles H. Dietrich —
of Hastings, Adams
County, Neb.
Born in Aurora, Kane
County, Ill., November
26, 1853.
Son of Leonard Dietrich and Wilhelmina Dietrich.
Republican. Banker; Governor of
Nebraska, 1901; U.S.
Senator from Nebraska, 1901-05.
German ancestry.
Died in Hastings, Adams
County, Neb., April 10,
1924 (age 70 years, 136
days).
Interment at Parkview
Cemetery, Hastings, Neb.
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Hubert Anton Casimir Dilger (1836-1911) —
also known as Hubert Dilger —
of Cincinnati, Hamilton
County, Ohio; Sangamon
County, Ill.; Philadelphia, Philadelphia
County, Pa.
Born in Sulgen, Germany,
March
5, 1836.
Son of Eduard Dilger and Emmeline (Duerr) Dilger.
Republican. Served in the Union Army during the Civil War; Adjutant
General of Illinois, 1869-73; appointed 1869.
German ancestry.
Received the Medal
of Honor in 1893 for action in the Battle of Chancellorsville,
May 2, 1863.
Died in Front Royal, Warren
County, Va., May 4,
1911 (age 75 years, 60
days).
Interment at Rock
Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
|
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Henry Bernhard Dirks (1884-1955) —
also known as Henry B. Dirks —
of East Lansing, Ingham
County, Mich.
Born in Chicago, Cook
County, Ill., June 21,
1884.
Son of Hermann Johannes Dirks (1850-1896) and Anna Elizabeth (Meyer)
Dirks (1852-1932).
College
professor; mayor
of East Lansing, Mich., 1928-29.
German ancestry.
Died September
18, 1955 (age 71 years, 89
days).
Interment at Pine
Hill Cemetery, Westfield, Mass.
|
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Ning S. Eley (1868-1943) —
also known as Ning Eley —
of Des Plaines, Cook
County, Ill.
Born in Newcastle Township, Fulton
County, Ind., May 13,
1868.
Son of Sampson Eley (1821-1889) and Hannah (Kemmer or Kemmerer) Eley
(1822-1904).
Democrat. Lawyer;
alternate delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois,
1932.
German ancestry.
Died in Cook
County, Ill., August 9,
1943 (age 75 years, 88
days).
Burial
location unknown.
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Harry LeRoy Heer (1873-1962) —
also known as Harry L. Heer —
of Galena, Jo Daviess
County, Ill.
Born in Galena, Jo Daviess
County, Ill., January
22, 1873.
Son of David H. Heer (1836-1908) and Martha (Evans) Heer (1838-1922).
Mining engineer;
lawyer;
circuit judge in Illinois 15th Circuit, 1925.
German and Welsh
ancestry.
Died in Hennepin
County, Minn., November
12, 1962 (age 89 years, 294
days).
Interment at Greenwood
Cemetery, Galena, Ill.
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Lawrence Kestenbaum (b. 1955) —
also known as Larry Kestenbaum —
of East Lansing, Ingham
County, Mich.; Ann Arbor, Washtenaw
County, Mich.
Born in Chicago, Cook
County, Ill., September
13, 1955.
Son of Justin Louis Kestenbaum (1925-1995) and Maryhelen (Dietrich)
Kestenbaum (1928-1985).
Democrat. Lawyer; Ingham
County Commissioner 8th District, 1983-88; candidate in primary
for Michigan
state house of representatives 52nd District, 1998; Washtenaw
County Commissioner 4th District, 2000-02; Washtenaw
County Clerk and Register of Deeds, 2005-.
Jewish.
Hungarian,
German, Polish,
and Norwegian
ancestry. Member, National
Trust for Historic Preservation; American Civil
Liberties Union; Grange; Sierra
Club; NAACP.
Creator of The Political Graveyard web site.
Still living as of 2010.
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John Linebaugh Knuppel (1923-1986) —
also known as John L. Knuppel —
of Petersburg, Menard
County, Ill.
Born in Easton, Mason
County, Ill., August
15, 1923.
Democrat. Served in the U.S. Army during World War II; delegate to
Illinois state constitutional convention, 1969-70; member of Illinois
state senate, 1971-81 (42nd District 1971-73, 48th District
1973-81); candidate for U.S.
Representative from Illinois 18th District, 1980.
Lutheran.
German ancestry. Member, Veterans of
Foreign Wars; American
Legion.
Jailed
for contempt
of court for refusing to
wear a tie.
Died, of heart
disease, in a hospital
at Springfield, Sangamon
County, Ill., November
15, 1986 (age 63 years, 92
days).
Interment somewhere
in Havana, Ill.
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August Koenig —
of Chicago, Cook
County, Ill.; Hardin
County, Iowa; Tyndall, Bon Homme
County, S.Dak.
Born in Mainz, Germany.
Democrat. Bricklayer;
farmer;
member of South
Dakota state house of representatives, 1891-94, 1903-04 (4th
District 1891-92, 7th District 1893-94, 1903-04).
German ancestry.
Burial
location unknown.
| |  |
Image source:
South Dakota Legislative Manual, 1903 |
|
| |
Christian Krueger (b. 1836) —
of Blue Island, Cook
County, Ill.
Born in Prussia,
April
24, 1836.
Carpenter;
contractor;
village
president of Blue Island, Illinois, 1880-83.
Lutheran.
German ancestry.
Burial
location unknown.
| | |
Relatives:
Married to Catharine Koch. |
|
| |
William F. Kruse (1894-1952) —
also known as Bill Kruse —
of Illinois.
Born in Hoboken, Hudson
County, N.J., 1894.
Socialist. Bookkeeper;
indicted
in Chicago, 1918, along with former U.S. Rep. Victor
L. Berger, and three others, for making speeches
that encouraged disloyalty
and obstructed military
recruitment; tried and
convicted;
sentenced
to twenty years in prison;
the conviction was later overturned; candidate for U.S.
Representative from Illinois 6th District, 1918, 1920; delegate
to Socialist National Convention from Illinois, 1920; candidate for
secretary
of state of Illinois, 1921.
German and Danish
ancestry.
Died in 1952
(age about
58 years).
Burial
location unknown.
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| |
Albert Davis Lasker (1880-1952) —
also known as Albert D. Lasker; "The Father of Modern
Advertising" —
of Lake Forest, Lake
County, Ill.; Manhattan, New York
County, N.Y.
Born, of American parents, in Freiburg (Freiburg im Breisgau), Germany,
May 1,
1880.
Son of Morris Lasker (died 1916) and Nettie (Davis) Lasker
(1856-1930).
Republican. Advertising
business; delegate to Republican National Convention from
Illinois, 1936,
1940;
University
of Illinois trustee, 1937-42.
Jewish.
German ancestry. Member, American
Jewish Committee.
As part owner of the Chicago Cubs baseball
team, devised "Lasker Plan" for reorganization of baseball, 1920.
Established the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation for promotion of
medical research.
Died, of cancer, in
the Harkness Pavilion of the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical
Center, Manhattan, New York
County, N.Y., May 30,
1952 (age 72 years, 29
days).
Entombed at Sleepy
Hollow Cemetery, Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.
|
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George Jacob Mecherle (b. 1877) —
also known as George J. Mecherle —
of Bloomington, McLean
County, Ill.
Born in Bloomington, McLean
County, Ill., June 7,
1877.
Son of John Christian Thomas Mecherle (1830-1910) and Susan Johnson
(Hull) Mecherle (1842-1915).
Republican. Farmer;
founder (1922), president (1922-37), and chairman, State Farm Mutual
Automobile
Insurance Company; delegate to Republican National Convention
from Illinois, 1944,
1948.
Presbyterian.
German ancestry. Member, Freemasons;
Shriners;
Rotary;
Moose;
Elks; Odd
Fellows; Union
League.
Burial
location unknown.
| | |
Relatives: Son
of John Christian Thomas Mecherle (1830-1910) and Susan Johnson
(Hull) Mecherle (1842-1915); married, November
6, 1901, to May Edith Perry (1881-1942); married, January
8, 1944, to Sylvia H. Caldwell. |
|
| |
Martin E. Rudolph (b. 1853) —
of Canton, Lincoln
County, S.Dak.
Born in Chicago, Cook
County, Ill., September
11, 1853.
Republican. School teacher
and principal; lawyer; Lincoln
County State's Attorney; member of South
Dakota state senate 5th District, 1903-04.
German ancestry.
Burial
location unknown.
| | |
Relatives:
Married 1884
to Claudia Shedd. |
| | | Image source: South Dakota Legislative
Manual, 1903 |
|
| |
Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr. (1915-2011) —
also known as R. Sargent Shriver, Jr.;
"Sarge" —
Born in Westminster, Carroll
County, Md., November
9, 1915.
Son of Robert Sargent Shriver (1880-1942) and Hilda (Shriver) Shriver
(1883-1977).
Democrat. Served in the U.S. Navy during World War II; lawyer; U.S.
Ambassador to France, 1968-70; candidate for Vice
President of the United States, 1972; candidate for Democratic
nomination for President, 1976.
Catholic.
German ancestry. Member, Delta
Kappa Epsilon.
Organized and directed the Peace Corps. Received the Presidential
Medal of Freedom in 1994. Sargent Shriver Elementary School, in
Silver Spring, Md., is named for
him.
Died, from Alzheimer's
disease, in Suburban Hospital,
Bethesda, Montgomery
County, Md., January
18, 2011 (age 95 years, 70
days).
Interment at St. Francis Xavier Cemetery, Centerville, Mass.
|
| |
John Henry Stelle (1891-1962) —
also known as John Stelle —
of McLeansboro, Hamilton
County, Ill.
Born in McLeansboro, Hamilton
County, Ill., August
10, 1891.
Democrat. Served in the U.S. Army during World War I; delegate to
Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 1928
(alternate), 1932
(alternate), 1940,
1944,
1948,
1952,
1956,
1960;
Illinois
state treasurer, 1935-37; Lieutenant
Governor of Illinois, 1937-40; Governor of
Illinois, 1940-41.
English,
Irish,
German, and French
ancestry. Member, American
Legion.
Died July 5,
1962 (age 70 years, 329
days).
Interment at City
Cemetery, McLeansboro, Ill.
|
| |
Wilhelm Carl August Thielepape (1814-1904) —
also known as W. C. A Thielepape —
of San Antonio, Bexar
County, Tex.; Chicago, Cook
County, Ill.
Born in Wabern, Hesse, Germany,
July
10, 1814.
Son of Werner Philipp Thielepape and Elisabeth (Thompson) Thielepape.
Engineer;
architect;
mayor
of San Antonio, Tex., 1867-72; lawyer.
German ancestry.
Died in Chicago, Cook
County, Ill., August 7,
1904 (age 90 years, 28
days).
Burial
location unknown.
|
| |
John A. Wieland (born c.1893) —
of Illinois.
Born in Illinois, about 1893.
Democrat. Served in the U.S. Army during World War I; Illinois
superintendent of public instruction, 1935-43.
German ancestry. Member, American
Legion; Phi
Delta Kappa; Kappa
Phi Kappa.
Burial
location unknown.
|
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