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The Political Graveyard: A Database of American History
Scandinavian ancestry Politicians in New York
(Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish)

  Alex Abjornson (1924-2008) — of Queens, Queens County, N.Y.; Seargantsville, Hunterdon County, N.J.; Melbourne, Brevard County, Fla. Born in Brooklyn, Kings County, N.Y., July 21, 1924. Conservative. Candidate for New York state senate 10th District, 1966. Danish ancestry. Member, Veterans of Foreign Wars. Died June 15, 2008 (age 83 years, 330 days). Interment at Rosemont Cemetery, Rosemont, N.J.
  Relatives: Married to Celeste Montgomery.
  Gilbert Leonard Anderberg (1890-1978) — also known as Gilbert L. Anderberg — of Jamestown, Chautauqua County, N.Y. Born in Jamestown, Chautauqua County, N.Y., October 29, 1890. Communist. Candidate for mayor of Jamestown, N.Y., 1931; candidate for New York state assembly from Chautauqua County 1st District, 1936. Swedish ancestry. Died in July, 1978 (age 87 years, 0 days). Burial location unknown.
  Edward Phillip Anderson (1885-1977) — also known as Edward P. Anderson — of Hartford, Hartford County, Conn.; West Hartford, Hartford County, Conn. Born in Patterson, Putnam County, N.Y., December 9, 1885. Dentist; Prohibition candidate for Connecticut state house of representatives from Hartford, 1914, 1916; treasurer of Connecticut Prohibition Party, 1922-27. Swedish ancestry. Died May 10, 1977 (age 91 years, 152 days). Interment at Zion Hill Cemetery, Hartford, Conn.
  Relatives: Married to Florence Shepard.
  See also Find-A-Grave memorial
  Charles Ulrick Bay (1888-1955) — also known as Charles U. Bay — of Manhattan, New York County, N.Y. Born in Rensselaer, Rensselaer County, N.Y., September 5, 1888. Founder, Bay Company, manufacturer of medical supplies; partner, A. M. Kidder & Co., stockbrokers; founder, Bay Petroleum Corporation; stockholder and director, New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad; director, First National Bank and Trust Company of Bridgeport; also involved with the Connecticut Railway and Lighting Company; U.S. Ambassador to Norway, 1946-53. Episcopalian. Norwegian ancestry. Died, in the Harkness Pavilion of the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, Manhattan, New York County, N.Y., December 31, 1955 (age 67 years, 117 days). Interment at Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, N.Y.
  Relatives: Son of Jens Christopher Bay and Marie (Hauan) Bay; married 1942 to Josephine Holt Perfect.
  See also U.S. State Dept career summary
Sosthenes Behn Sosthenes Behn (1884-1957) — also known as Louis Richard Sosthenes Behn — of San Juan, San Juan Municipio, Puerto Rico; Manhattan, New York County, N.Y. Born in St. Thomas, Danish West Indies (now Virgin Islands), January 30, 1884. Republican. Naturalized U.S. citizen; sugar business; member of Republican National Committee from Puerto Rico, 1912; delegate to Republican National Convention from Puerto Rico, 1912; colonel in the U.S. Army during World War I; he and his brother Hernand bought a telephone company in Puerto Rico, and went on to establish International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT), which rapidly expanded worldwide. Danish, French, and Italian ancestry. Died, from a heart ailment, in St. Luke's Hospital, Manhattan, New York County, N.Y., January 6, 1957 (age 72 years, 342 days). Interment at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.
  Relatives: Son of William Behn and Louise (Monsanto) Behn; married to Margaret Dunlap.
  See also Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Image source: Eminent Americans (1954)
  Arthur T. Berge (b. 1907) — of Staten Island, Richmond County, N.Y. Born in Staten Island, Richmond County, N.Y., February 22, 1907. Republican. Served in the U.S. Army during World War II; member of New York state assembly from Richmond County 1st District, 1945-48; defeated, 1940. Norwegian ancestry. Member, American Legion; Elks. Burial location unknown.
  John Oscar Ceder (1874-1948) — of Brooklyn, Kings County, N.Y.; Burlington, Hartford County, Conn. Born in Finland, August 16, 1874. Republican. Naturalized U.S. citizen; farmer; member of Connecticut state house of representatives from Burlington, 1919-20. Finnish ancestry. Died in New York City (unknown county), N.Y., December 11, 1948 (age 74 years, 117 days). Interment at Center Cemetery, Burlington, Conn.
  Relatives: Married to Mabel Mercer.
  John Cruger (1678-1744) — of New York, New York County, N.Y. Born in Germany, 1678. Merchant; mayor of New York City, N.Y., 1739-44; died in office 1744. Dutch Reformed; later Anglican. Danish ancestry. Died in New York, New York County, N.Y., August 13, 1744 (age about 66 years). Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Married, March 5, 1703, to Maria Cuyler (sister of Johannes Cuyler); father of John Cruger Jr.; grandfather of Henry Cruger.
  Political family: Livingston-Schuyler family of New York (subset of the Four Thousand Related Politicians).
  See also Wikipedia article
  Clarence Douglas Dillon (1909-2003) — also known as C. Douglas Dillon; Clarence Douglass Dillon — of Far Hills, Somerset County, N.J. Born in Geneva, Switzerland, of American parents, August 21, 1909. Republican. Served in the U.S. Navy during World War II; financier; delegate to Republican National Convention from New Jersey, 1952 (alternate), 1968; U.S. Ambassador to France, 1953-57; U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, 1961-65. Scottish, French, Swedish, and Jewish ancestry. Member, Council on Foreign Relations; Society of Colonial Wars. Recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom on July 6, 1989. Died in New York, New York County, N.Y., January 10, 2003 (age 93 years, 142 days). Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Son of Anne McEldin (Douglass) Dillon and Clarence Dillon; married, March 10, 1931, to Phyllis Chess Ellsworth; married 1983 to Susan Sage.
  Dillon House (offices, built 1965), at Harvard University Business School, Boston, Massachusetts, is named for him.
  See also Wikipedia article — U.S. State Dept career summary — NNDB dossier — Internet Movie Database profile
  J. Louis Engdahl (1884-1932) — of Chicago, Cook County, Ill.; Manhattan, New York County, N.Y. Born in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minn., November 11, 1884. Writer and editor for Socialist and Communist newspapers; 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; Socialist candidate for U.S. Representative from Illinois 7th District, 1918; delegate to Socialist National Convention from Illinois, 1920; candidate for U.S. Senator from Illinois, 1924 (Workers), 1926 (Workers Communist); Communist candidate for Lieutenant Governor of New York, 1930; Communist candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 7th District, 1931. Swedish ancestry. Died, of pneumonia, in Moscow, Russia, November 21, 1932 (age 48 years, 10 days). Burial location unknown.
  See also Wikipedia article
  Erland Gjessing (1869-1954) — of New York. Born in Schleswig, Germany, March 16, 1869. Naturalized U.S. citizen; bookkeeper; stenographer; interpreter; U.S. Vice Consul in Copenhagen, 1918-38. Danish ancestry. Died in Glover, Orleans County, Vt., October 28, 1954 (age 85 years, 226 days). Interment at Westlook Cemetery, Glover, Vt.
  Relatives: Son of Jens George Gjessing and Freda (Laren) Gjessing.
  See also Find-A-Grave memorial
  Gus Hall (1910-2000) — also known as Arvo Kustaa Halberg — of Youngstown, Mahoning County, Ohio; Yonkers, Westchester County, N.Y. Born in Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn., October 8, 1910. Communist. Steelworker; union organizer and one of the leaders of the steelworkers' strike in 1937; candidate for mayor of Youngstown, Ohio, 1937; served in the U.S. Navy during World War II; indicted in 1948, and convicted in 1949, under the Smith Act, of conspiring to teach the violent overthrow of the U.S. government; fled to Mexico; arrested in 1951 and sent back; spent eight years in prison; candidate for President of the United States, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984. Finnish ancestry. Died, of complications from diabetes, in Lenox Hill Hospital, Manhattan, New York County, N.Y., October 13, 2000 (age 90 years, 5 days). Interment at Forest Home Cemetery, Forest Park, Ill.
  Relatives: Married 1935 to Elizabeth Turner.
  See also Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier
Eric Hass Eric Hass (1905-1980) — of Oregon; Manhattan, New York County, N.Y. Born in Lincoln, Lancaster County, Neb., 1905. Socialist. Advertising business; Socialist Labor candidate for U.S. Senator from Oregon, 1936; editor of The Weekly People, 1938-68; Industrial Government candidate for U.S. Senator from New York, 1944; candidate for mayor of New York City, N.Y., 1949 (Industrial Government), 1957 (Socialist Labor), 1961 (Socialist Labor), 1965 (Socialist Labor); candidate for Governor of New York, 1950 (Industrial Government), 1958 (Socialist Labor), 1962 (Socialist Labor); Socialist Labor candidate for President of the United States, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964; librarian. German and Danish ancestry. Resigned or expelled from the Socialist Labor Party, 1969. Died, from a heart attack, in Community Hospital, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, Calif., October 2, 1980 (age about 75 years). Burial location unknown.
  Image source: The Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.), April 14, 1948
  Steny Hamilton Hoyer (b. 1939) — also known as Steny H. Hoyer — of Berkshire, Prince George's County, Md.; Mechanicsville, St. Mary's County, Md. Born in New York, New York County, N.Y., June 14, 1939. Democrat. Lawyer; member of Maryland state senate District 4-C, 1967-78; candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, 1978; U.S. Representative from Maryland 5th District, 1981-; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Maryland, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 (speaker). Baptist. Danish ancestry. Still living as of 2019.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier
  Phyllis Kirk (1927-2006) — also known as Phyllis Kirkegaard — Born in Syracuse, Onondaga County, N.Y., September 18, 1927. Democrat. Actress; honored guest, Democratic National Convention, 1960. Female. Danish ancestry. Died, from a cerebral aneurysm, in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Calif., October 19, 2006 (age 79 years, 31 days). Cremated; ashes interred at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.
  Relatives: Married to Warren Vollman Bush.
  See also Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Internet Movie Database profile — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Kristen Kristensen (born c.1889) — of Yonkers, Westchester County, N.Y. Born in Denmark, about 1889. Republican. Insurance broker; mayor of Yonkers, N.Y., 1950-61; candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 27th District, 1958. Danish ancestry. Burial location unknown.
  Dutton S. Peterson (b. 1894) — of Enfield Center, Tompkins County, N.Y.; near Odessa, Schuyler County, N.Y. Born in Costello, Potter County, Pa., December 10, 1894. Republican. Served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War I; Methodist minister; Dry candidate for delegate to New York convention to ratify 21st amendment, 1933; member of New York state assembly from Schuyler County, 1937-42; member of New York state senate, 1953-64 (46th District 1953-54, 50th District 1955-64). Methodist. Norwegian ancestry. Member, Phi Beta Kappa; Delta Sigma Rho; American Legion; Disabled American Veterans; Marine Corps League; Sons of the American Revolution; Grange; Rotary; Freemasons. Burial location unknown.
  Pieter Van Brugh (1666-1740) — also known as Pieter Verbrugge — of Albany, Albany County, N.Y. Born in 1666. Mayor of Albany, N.Y., 1699-1700, 1721-23. Dutch and Norwegian ancestry. Died in 1740 (age about 74 years). Interment at Dutch Church Burial Ground, Albany, N.Y.
  Relatives: Son of Johannes Pieterse Van Brugh and Trijntje (Roeloffs) Van Brugh; married 1688 to Sarah Cuyler; grandfather of Robert Livingston, Peter Van Brugh Livingston, Philip Livingston and William Livingston; great-grandfather of Peter Robert Livingston (1737-1794), Walter Livingston, Philip Peter Livingston and Henry Brockholst Livingston; second great-grandfather of Stephen Van Rensselaer, Philip Schuyler Van Rensselaer, Henry Walter Livingston, Peter Augustus Jay (1776-1843), Rensselaer Westerlo, Edward Philip Livingston, William Alexander Duer, John Duer, William Jay and Charles Ludlow Livingston (1800-1873); third great-grandfather of Philip Schuyler, Peter Robert Livingston (1789-1859), Edward Livingston, William Duer, Henry Bell Van Rensselaer, Denning Duer, Henry Brockholst Ledyard and John Jay II; fourth great-grandfather of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, Nicholas Fish, Hamilton Fish Jr. (1849-1936), John Kean, Hamilton Fish Kean and Charles Ludlow Livingston (born 1870); fifth great-grandfather of Herbert Livingston Satterlee, Peter Augustus Jay (1877-1933), Bronson Murray Cutting, Robert Reginald Livingston, Hamilton Fish Jr. (1888-1991), Robert Winthrop Kean and Brockholst Livingston; sixth great-grandfather of John Eliot Thayer Jr., Hamilton Fish Jr. (1926-1996) and Thomas Howard Kean; seventh great-grandfather of Hamilton Fish, Alexa Fish Ward and Thomas Howard Kean Jr..
  Political family: Livingston-Schuyler family of New York (subset of the Four Thousand Related Politicians).
  See also Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
Reinald Werrenrath Reinald Werrenrath (1883-1953) — Born in Brooklyn, Kings County, N.Y., August 7, 1883. Republican. Opera singer; honored guest, Republican National Convention, 1936. Danish ancestry. Died, following a heart attack, in Physicians' Hospital, Plattsburgh, Clinton County, N.Y., September 12, 1953 (age 70 years, 36 days). Interment at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, N.Y.
  Relatives: Son of George Werrenrath; married 1909 to Ada Peterson; married 1928 to Verna True Nidig; married 1942 to Frances M. Aston.
  Epitaph: "Singer"
  See also Wikipedia article — Internet Movie Database profile — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Image source: Library of Congress
  John Westergaard (1931-2003) — of Manhattan, New York County, N.Y. Born July 2, 1931. Democrat. Candidate for New York state senate, 1960; campaign treasurer for Daniel Patrick Moynihan, 1965-94; delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1996. Norwegian ancestry. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil fraud charges against him in 2000; Paul J. Curran volunteered to serve as defense counsel pro bono; in 2001, the fraud charges were withdrawn, and the case was settled with no penalty. Died, of prostate cancer, at Calvary Hospice, Bronx, Bronx County, N.Y., January 31, 2003 (age 71 years, 213 days). Burial location unknown.
  Ebba M. Winslow (1865-1952) — also known as Ebba M. Loewenmark — of Brooklyn, Kings County, N.Y.; Rosedale, Queens, Queens County, N.Y. Born in Gothenberg (Göteborg), Sweden, November 5, 1865. Republican. Naturalized U.S. citizen; alternate delegate to Republican National Convention from New York, 1920, 1924, 1932; candidate for New York state assembly from Queens County 4th District, 1921; member of New York Republican State Committee, 1930-36. Female. Swedish ancestry. Died in Hempstead, Nassau County, Long Island, N.Y., May 5, 1952 (age 86 years, 182 days). Interment at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, N.Y.
  Relatives: Married, May 24, 1893, to Charles Howard Winslow.
  See also Find-A-Grave memorial
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