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Knights of Pythias
Politician members in California

  Albert Alonzo Ames (1842-1911) — also known as Albert A. Ames; "Doc" — of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minn.; California. Born in Garden Prairie, Boone County, Ill., January 18, 1842. Served in the Union Army during the Civil War; physician; member of Minnesota state house of representatives District 5, 1867; mayor of Minneapolis, Minn., 1876-77, 1882-84, 1886-89, 1901-02; resigned 1902; candidate for Governor of Minnesota, 1886 (Democratic), 1896 (Independent); delegate to Democratic National Convention from Minnesota, 1888; indicted in 1902 on bribery charges, over a scheme to induce county commissioners to appoint his secretary, Thomas R. Brown, Jr., as Sheriff. Member, Freemasons; Odd Fellows; Knights of Pythias. Died, in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minn., November 16, 1911 (age 69 years, 302 days). His body was reportedly donated to science. Cremated; ashes interred at Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis, Minn.
  Relatives: Son of Alfred Elisha Ames and Martha Asenath (Pratt) Ames; married, April 21, 1862, to Sarah S. Strout; fourth cousin once removed of Oakes Ames and Oliver Ames Jr..
  Political families: Kellogg-Adams-Seymour-Chapin family of Connecticut and New York; Ames family of North Easton, Massachusetts (subsets of the Four Thousand Related Politicians).
  See also Find-A-Grave memorial — Minnesota Legislator record
  Albert Douglass Ayres (1874-1944) — of Reno, Washoe County, Nev. Born in Fort Bidwell, Modoc County, Calif., June 25, 1874. Republican. Lawyer; member of Nevada state house of representatives, 1911-13. Presbyterian. Member, American Bar Association; Sons of the American Revolution; Freemasons; Knights of Pythias; Elks. Died October 3, 1944 (age 70 years, 100 days). Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Son of Irvin Ayres and Annie Laura (Poore) Ayres; married to Emma McCormick and Enola Sims.
  Campbell Eben Beaumont (1883-1954) — also known as Campbell E. Beaumont — of Fresno, Fresno County, Calif. Born in Mayfield, Graves County, Ky., August 27, 1883. Democrat. Lawyer; Fresno County District Attorney, 1918-21; superior court judge in California, 1921-39; U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of California, 1939-54; died in office 1954. Presbyterian. Member, Sigma Alpha Epsilon; Phi Alpha Delta; Freemasons; Knights of Pythias. Died November 19, 1954 (age 71 years, 84 days). Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Son of Edgar Samuel Beaumont and May Viola (Wortham) Beaumont; married, December 6, 1915, to Lucy Madden Hughes.
  Edward Clark Bellows (1856-1929) — also known as Edward C. Bellows — of New Hartford, Butler County, Iowa; Washington; Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Calif. Born in Janesville, Rock County, Wis., May 8, 1856. Republican. Banker; member of Washington state legislature, 1890; U.S. Consul General in Yokohama, as of 1900-05; California Corporation Commissioner, 1918-22. Member, Sons of the American Revolution; Knights of Pythias. Died in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Calif., December 27, 1929 (age 73 years, 233 days). Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Son of Charles Bristol Bellows and Eusebia (Dickinson) Bellows; married, August 28, 1883, to Ida Isabel Perry.
Benjamin F. Bledsoe Benjamin Franklin Bledsoe (1874-1938) — also known as Benjamin F. Bledsoe — of San Bernardino, San Bernardino County, Calif.; Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Calif. Born in San Bernardino, San Bernardino County, Calif., February 8, 1874. Democrat. Lawyer; superior court judge in California, 1900-14; U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of California, 1914-25; resigned 1925; candidate for mayor of Los Angeles, Calif., 1925. Congregationalist. Member, Freemasons; Knights Templar; Knights of Pythias; American Bar Association; Phi Beta Kappa; Delta Upsilon; Phi Delta Phi; Sons of the Revolution; Native Sons of the Golden West. Died in Crestline, San Bernardino County, Calif., October 30, 1938 (age 64 years, 264 days). Burial location unknown.
  Presumably named for: Benjamin Franklin
  Relatives: Son of Robert Emmett Bledsoe and Althea (Bottoms) Bledsoe; married, December 25, 1899, to Katharine Marvin Shepler.
  See also federal judicial profile
  Image source: History of the Bench and Bar of Southern California (1909)
  Dwight M. Britton (1886-1981) — of Sturgis, St. Joseph County, Mich. Born in Williamsburg, Clermont County, Ohio, August 7, 1886. Republican. Lawyer; St. Joseph County Prosecuting Attorney, 1920; candidate for Michigan state house of representatives, 1922 (St. Joseph County), 1948 (St. Joseph District); candidate in primary for circuit judge in Michigan 15th Circuit, 1953. Member, Freemasons; Knights Templar; Knights of Pythias; Moose; Phi Kappa Tau; Phi Sigma Kappa. Died in Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo County, Calif., November 4, 1981 (age 95 years, 89 days). Interment at Williamsburg Cemetery, Williamsburg, Ohio.
  Relatives: Son of William Britton and Luceta Ruth 'Ceta' (Beck) Britten; married, August 20, 1909, to Grace Forrey; married, July 22, 1950, to Mildred Lucille Bleke.
  See also Find-A-Grave memorial
  Jesse Washington Carter (1888-1959) — also known as Jesse W. Carter — of Redding, Shasta County, Calif.; San Anselmo, Marin County, Calif. Born in Carrville, Trinity County, Calif., December 19, 1888. Democrat. Lawyer; Shasta County District Attorney, 1919-27; delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1932; member of California state senate, 1939; justice of California state supreme court, 1939; appointed 1939. Member, American Bar Association; Phi Delta Phi; Freemasons; Knights of Pythias; Rotary. Died in 1959 (age about 70 years). Interment somewhere in Trinity County, Calif.
  Relatives: Son of Asa Manning Carter and Josephine Amanda (Sweet) Carter; married, August 7, 1910, to Tiny Elva Gish; married, February 9, 1941, to Thelma H. Williams.
  Edward Augustus Ducker (b. 1870) — also known as Edward A. Ducker — of Winnemucca, Humboldt County, Nev.; Carson City, Nev. Born in Visalia, Tulare County, Calif., February 26, 1870. Democrat. Lawyer; Humboldt County District Attorney, 1905-10; district judge in Nevada 6th District, 1911-18; justice of Nevada state supreme court, 1918-31; chief justice of Nevada state supreme court, 1929-31. Member, American Bar Association; Freemasons; Knights Templar; Royal Arch Masons; Order of the Eastern Star; Knights of Pythias; Eagles. Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Son of Benjamin Franklin Ducker and Augusta (Woodward) Ducker; married, March 30, 1903, to Dollie B. Guthrie.
  Harry Luther Gandy (1881-1957) — also known as Harry L. Gandy — of Wasta, Pennington County, S.Dak.; Rapid City, Pennington County, S.Dak. Born in Churubusco, Whitley County, Ind., August 13, 1881. Democrat. Newspaper editor and publisher; member of South Dakota state senate 40th District, 1911-12; U.S. Representative from South Dakota 3rd District, 1915-21; defeated, 1920. Member, Freemasons; Odd Fellows; Knights of Pythias. Died in Los Gatos, Santa Clara County, Calif., August 15, 1957 (age 76 years, 2 days). Interment at Mountain View Cemetery, Rapid City, S.Dak.
  Relatives: Married, October 30, 1909, to Frances Keiser.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Newton Whiting Gilbert (1862-1939) — also known as Newton W. Gilbert — of Fort Wayne, Allen County, Ind. Born in Worthington, Franklin County, Ohio, May 24, 1862. Republican. Member of Indiana state senate, 1897-99; served in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War; Lieutenant Governor of Indiana, 1901-05; U.S. Representative from Indiana 12th District, 1905-06; resigned 1906; Governor-General of the Philippine Islands, 1913; delegate to Republican National Convention from Philippine Islands, 1916. Episcopalian. Member, Freemasons; Odd Fellows; Knights of Pythias; Ancient Order of United Workmen; Phi Kappa Psi. Died in Santa Ana, Orange County, Calif., July 5, 1939 (age 77 years, 42 days). Interment at Circle Hill Cemetery, Angola, Ind.
  Relatives: Son of Theodore Gilbert and Ellen L. Gilbert; married to Della R. Gale.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (1865-1923) — also known as Warren G. Harding — of Marion, Marion County, Ohio. Born in Blooming Grove, Morrow County, Ohio, November 2, 1865. Republican. Newspaper publisher; member of Ohio state senate 13th District, 1901-03; Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, 1904-06; delegate to Republican National Convention from Ohio, 1904 (alternate), 1912, 1916 (Temporary Chair; Permanent Chair; speaker); candidate for Governor of Ohio, 1910; U.S. Senator from Ohio, 1915-21; President of the United States, 1921-23; died in office 1923. Baptist. English ancestry. Member, Freemasons; Knights Templar; Shriners; Elks; Moose; Knights of Pythias; Phi Alpha Delta. First president ever to have his voice broadcast on the radio, June 14, 1922. Died, probably from a heart attack, in a room at the Palace Hotel, San Francisco, Calif., August 2, 1923 (age 57 years, 273 days). The claim that he was poisoned by his wife is not accepted by historians. Originally entombed at Marion Cemetery, Marion, Ohio; reinterment in 1927 at Harding Memorial Park, Marion, Ohio; memorial monument (now gone) at Woodland Park, Seattle, Wash.
  Relatives: Son of Phoebe Elizabeth (Dickerson) Harding and George Tryon Harding; married, July 8, 1891, to Florence Harding.
  Harding County, N.M. is named for him.
  Harding High School, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, is named for him.  — Warren G. Harding High School, in Warren, Ohio, is named for him.  — Warren G. Harding Middle School, in Frankford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is named for him.  — The community of Harding Township, New Jersey (created 1922) is named for him.  — Warren Street, G Street, and Harding Street (now Boardwalk), in Ketchikan, Alaska, were all named for him.  — Harding Mountain, in Chelan County, Washington, is named for him.  — Mount Harding, in Skagway, Alaska, is named for him.
  Personal motto: "Remember there are two sides to every question. Get both."
  Campaign slogan (1920): "Back to normalcy with Harding."
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Internet Movie Database profile — Find-A-Grave memorial — OurCampaigns candidate detail
  Books about Warren G. Harding: Francis Russell, The Shadow of Blooming Grove : Warren G. Harding In His Times — Robert K. Murray, The Harding Era : Warren G. Harding and His Administration — Eugene P. Trani & David L. Wilson, The Presidency of Warren G. Harding — Harry M. Daugherty, Inside Story of the Harding Tragedy — Charles L. Mee, The Ohio Gang : The World of Warren G. Harding — John W. Dean, Warren G. Harding — Robert H. Ferrell, The Strange Deaths of President Harding — Russell Roberts, Warren G. Harding (for young readers)
  Critical books about Warren G. Harding: Nathan Miller, Star-Spangled Men : America's Ten Worst Presidents
  Image source: Library of Congress
  William Kettner (1864-1930) — of San Diego, San Diego County, Calif. Born in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Mich., November 20, 1864. Democrat. U.S. Representative from California 11th District, 1913-21; delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1916, 1924 (member, Committee on Permanent Organization; speaker), 1928 (alternate). Member, Odd Fellows; Elks; Knights of Pythias; Freemasons; Knights Templar. Died in San Diego, San Diego County, Calif., November 11, 1930 (age 65 years, 356 days). Interment at Greenwood Memorial Park, San Diego, Calif.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Goodwin Jess Knight (1896-1970) — also known as Goodwin J. Knight — of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Calif. Born in Provo, Utah County, Utah, December 9, 1896. Republican. Served in the U.S. Navy during World War I; lawyer; superior court judge in California, 1935-46; Lieutenant Governor of California, 1947-53; Governor of California, 1953-59; delegate to Republican National Convention from California, 1956 (speaker), 1960 (member, Committee on Permanent Organization); candidate for U.S. Senator from California, 1958; candidate for Presidential Elector for California. Protestant. Member, American Bar Association; Veterans of Foreign Wars; American Legion; Freemasons; Shriners; Knights of Pythias; Moose; Eagles; Elks; Odd Fellows; Order of Ahepa; Alpha Delta Phi; Phi Alpha Delta; Sigma Delta Chi; Delta Sigma Rho. Died in Inglewood, Los Angeles County, Calif., May 22, 1970 (age 73 years, 164 days). Originally entombed at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Calif.; re-entombed in 1971 in mausoleum at Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier, Calif.
  Relatives: Son of Jess Knight and Lillie J. (Milner) Knight; married 1925 to Arvilla Pearl Cooley; married, August 2, 1954, to Virginia (Piergue) Carlson.
  See also National Governors Association biography — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Internet Movie Database profile
George C. Pardee George Cooper Pardee (1857-1941) — also known as George C. Pardee — of Oakland, Alameda County, Calif. Born in San Francisco, Calif., July 25, 1857. Physician; mayor of Oakland, Calif., 1893-95; delegate to Republican National Convention from California, 1900, 1904, 1912, 1924; Governor of California, 1903-07; candidate for Presidential Elector for California; candidate for Presidential Elector for California. Member, Freemasons; Scottish Rite Masons; Knights Templar; Order of the Eastern Star; Shriners; Knights of Pythias; Kiwanis; Native Sons of the Golden West. Died in Oakland, Alameda County, Calif., September 1, 1941 (age 84 years, 38 days). Interment at Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, Calif.
  Relatives: Son of Enoch Homer Pardee and Mary Elizabeth (Pardee) Pardee; married, January 25, 1887, to Helen Newhall Penniman; grandnephew and second cousin twice removed of Aaron Pardee; first cousin once removed and third cousin once removed of Don Albert Pardee; third cousin twice removed of Jared Whitfield Pardee; fourth cousin once removed of Dwight Whitfield Pardee.
  Political family: Pardee family of New York.
  Pardee Dam (built 1929), and the Pardee Reservoir, on the Mokelumne River between Calaveras County and Amador County, California, are named for him.
  See also National Governors Association biography — Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Image source: American Monthly Review of Reviews, December 1902
  Meredith Pinxton Snyder (1859-1937) — also known as Meredith P. Snyder; Pinky Snyder — of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Calif. Born in Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, N.C., October 22, 1859. Democrat. Mayor of Los Angeles, Calif., 1896-98, 1900-04, 1919-21; defeated, 1898, 1904, 1917, 1921. Protestant. Member, Freemasons; Knights Templar; Shriners; Knights of Pythias; Elks. Died of bladder cancer, in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Calif., April 7, 1937 (age 77 years, 167 days). Interment at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Calif.
  Relatives: Son of Kehlin D. Snyder and Elizabeth (Hier) Snyder; married to May Ross (daughter of William Wallace Ross; niece of Edmund Gibson Ross); father of Capt. Ross Snyder.
  Political family: Ross family.
  See also Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  James Boyd Utt (1899-1970) — also known as James B. Utt — of Santa Ana, Orange County, Calif. Born in Tustin, Orange County, Calif., March 11, 1899. Republican. Appraiser; lawyer; member of California state assembly, 1933-36; U.S. Representative from California, 1953-70 (28th District 1953-63, 35th District 1963-70); died in office 1970; alternate delegate to Republican National Convention from California, 1956. Presbyterian. Member, Knights of Pythias; Elks; Izaak Walton League; Lions; Native Sons of the Golden West; Freemasons; Shriners. Suffered a heart attack during religious services at a church in Washington, D.C., and died soon after at Bethesda Naval Hospital, Bethesda, Montgomery County, Md., March 1, 1970 (age 70 years, 355 days). Interment at Santa Ana Cemetery, Santa Ana, Calif.
  Relatives: Son of Charles Edward Utt and Mary M. (Sheldon) Utt; married, May 7, 1921, to Charlene Elizabeth Drips.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
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The Political Graveyard

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