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Politicians in Trouble or Disgrace

Politicians in Trouble or Disgrace: Kansas


in chronological order

  Samuel Medary (1801-1864) — also known as "The Wheel Horse of Ohio Democracy" — of Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio. Born in Montgomery Square, Montgomery County, Pa., February 25, 1801. Democrat. Member of Ohio state house of representatives, 1834; member of Ohio state senate, 1836; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Ohio, 1844, 1856, 1864; Governor of Minnesota Territory, 1857-58; Governor of Kansas Territory, 1858-59, 1859-60, 1860, 1860; candidate for Governor of Kansas, 1859. Originated the slogan "Fifty-four forty or fight," calling for aggressive action on the Oregon boundary question. Indicted by a federal grand jury in 1864 for conspiracy against the government; arrested; released on bond; never tried. Medary, S.D., is named for him. Died in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, November 7, 1864 (age 63 years, 256 days). Interment at Green Lawn Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio.
  See also Wikipedia article
  James Henry Lane (1814-1866) — also known as James H. Lane; "Liberator of Kansas"; "Fighting Jim" — of Lawrenceburg, Dearborn County, Ind.; Lawrence, Douglas County, Kan. Born in Lawrenceburg, Dearborn County, Ind., June 22, 1814. Son of Amos Lane and Mary (Foote) Lane. Served in the U.S. Army during the Mexican War; Lieutenant Governor of Indiana, 1849-53; U.S. Representative from Indiana 4th District, 1853-55; delegate to Kansas state constitutional convention, 1855, 1857; Kansas Democratic state chair, 1855; U.S. Senator from Kansas, 1861-66; died in office 1866; general in the Union Army during the Civil War. Member, Freemasons. Deranged and charged with financial irregularities, he committed suicide by gunshot on July 1, 1866, and died ten days later, near Fort Leavenworth, Leavenworth County, Kan., July 11, 1866 (age 52 years, 19 days). Interment at Oak Hill Cemetery, Lawrence, Kan.
  Relatives: Son of Amos Lane and Mary (Foote) Lane; brother of George W. Lane; married 1842 to Mary E. Baldridge (granddaughter of Arthur St. Clair). See Lane family of Indiana.
  Lane County, Kan. is named for him.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier
  William Warren Rose (1864-1931) — also known as William W. Rose — of Kansas City, Wyandotte County, Kan. Born in Oyster Bay, Nassau County, Long Island, N.Y., March 12, 1864. Architect; mayor of Kansas City, Kan., 1905-06, 1906; defeated, 1897 (Fusion), 1907 (Democratic); delegate to Democratic National Convention from Kansas, 1908, 1920. Member, Freemasons. An ouster lawsuit was filed against him in 1905 over his refusal to enforce the state's liquor prohibition law; fined $1,000 for contempt by the Kansas Supreme Court in 1907 for trying to hold office as mayor. Died May 4, 1931 (age 67 years, 53 days). Interment at Woodlawn Cemetery, Kansas City, Kan.
  Rose Pastor Stokes — of Manhattan, New York County, N.Y. Communist. Indicted in 1918 for sedition over a speech she made in Kansas City, and released on bail; arrested in Stamford, Conn., in September, 1921, to prevent her from giving a speech there; candidate for borough president of Manhattan, New York, 1921. Female. Burial location unknown.
  Jonathan McMillan Davis (1871-1943) — also known as Jonathan M. Davis — of Bronson, Bourbon County, Kan. Born in Bronson, Bourbon County, Kan., April 27, 1871. Son of Jonathan McMillan Davis and Eve (Holeman) Davis. Farmer; member of Kansas state house of representatives, 1905-13; member of Kansas state senate, 1913-17; Governor of Kansas, 1923-25; defeated, 1920 (Democratic), 1926 (Democratic), 1936 (Democratic primary), 1938 (Independent); delegate to Democratic National Convention from Kansas, 1924; candidate for Democratic nomination for President, 1924; Democratic candidate for U.S. Senator from Kansas, 1930. Methodist. Member, Freemasons; Odd Fellows; Knights of Pythias; Eagles; Moose; Elks; Kiwanis. Arrested the day after his gubernatorial term expired; indicted twice for bribery; tried and acquitted both times. Died June 27, 1943 (age 72 years, 61 days). Interment at Bronson Cemetery, Bronson, Kan.
  Relatives: Son of Jonathan McMillan Davis and Eve (Holeman) Davis; married, September 26, 1894, to Mollie Purdom (died 1926); married, December 16, 1931, to Mary E. (Winston) Raymond.
  See also National Governors Association biography
  William Warring Gordon (1874-1963) — also known as William W. Gordon — of Kansas City, Wyandotte County, Kan. Born in Owen County, Ky., June 13, 1874. Member of Kansas state legislature; mayor of Kansas City, Kan., 1923-26; removed 1926. Member, Freemasons; Odd Fellows. Charged in September 1926 with 25 counts of official misconduct, and removed from office as mayor. Died May 26, 1963 (age 88 years, 347 days). Interment at Memorial Park Cemetery, Kansas City, Kan.
  Gerald Burton Winrod (1900-1957) — also known as Gerald B. Winrod — Born in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kan., March 7, 1900. Republican. One of the founders, in 1925, of the group Defenders of the Christian Faith; candidate in primary for U.S. Senator from Kansas, 1938; sympathized with the Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, and and blamed the Depression and World War II on Jews, Catholics, and Communists; indicted in July 1942, with others, for sedition over an alleged conspiracy to cause insubordination in the Armed Forces in wartime; a mistrial was declared and charges were dropped. Died in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kan., November 11, 1957 (age 57 years, 249 days). Interment at White Chapel Memorial Gardens, Wichita, Kan.
  Emanuel Haldeman-Julius (1889-1951) — also known as E. Haldeman-Julius; Emanuel Julius — of Girard, Crawford County, Kan. Born in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pa., July 30, 1889. Son of David Julius and Elizabeth (Zamost) Julius. Socialist. Author; editor of the Socialist newspaper Appeal to Reason; founder of Haldeman-Julius Publications, publisher of many five-cent paperback books, called "Little Blue Books"; candidate for U.S. Senator from Kansas, 1932; indicted by a federal grand jury in March, 1950 for income tax evasion; tried and convicted in April, 1951; sentenced to six months in prison, and fined $12,500; released pending appeal. Jewish; later Agnostic. Drowned in his swimming pool, in Girard, Crawford County, Kan., July 31, 1951 (age 62 years, 1 days); possible suicide, but the coroner ruled his death accidental. Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Son of David Julius and Elizabeth (Zamost) Julius; married, June 1, 1916, to Anna Marcet Haldeman (1887-1941; author, editor, playwright; granddaughter of John Huy Addams); married 1942 to Susan Haney. See Addams-Haldeman family of Pennsylvania.
  See also Wikipedia article
  Clark E. Tucker (1897-1971) — of Kansas City, Wyandotte County, Kan. Born December 1, 1897. Republican. Served in the U.S. Navy during World War I; lawyer; mayor of Kansas City, Kan., 1947-55; indicted in 1952, along with two city commissioners, on charges related to city procurement of asphalt. Died December 18, 1971 (age 74 years, 17 days). Interment at Highland Park Cemetery, Kansas City, Kan.
  Frederick Waldron Phelps (b. 1929) — also known as Fred Phelps — of Topeka, Shawnee County, Kan. Born in Meridian, Lauderdale County, Miss., November 13, 1929. Son of Frederick Wade Phelps (1893-1977) and Catherine Idalette (Johnson) Phelps (c.1907-1935). Democrat. Lawyer; disbarred by the state of Kansas in 1979 over harassment of a court reporter and perjury during the proceedings; in 1985, nine Federal judges filed a disciplinary complaint against him over alleged false accusations, which led to an agreement that he cease law practice in Federal court; pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church, which is widely reviled for its extreme hatred of homosexuals, and its tactics, such as picketing at military funerals; candidate in primary for Governor of Kansas, 1990, 1994, 1998; candidate in primary for U.S. Senator from Kansas, 1992; candidate for mayor of Topeka, Kan., 1993, 1997. Baptist. Still living as of 2011.
  Relatives: Son of Frederick Wade Phelps (1893-1977) and Catherine Idalette (Johnson) Phelps (c.1907-1935); step-son of Olive (Briggs) Phelps (1899-1985); married, May 15, 1952, to Margie Marie Simms.
  See also Wikipedia article — Internet Movie Database profile — OurCampaigns candidate detail

 

 


 
   
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