PoliticalGraveyard.com
The Political Graveyard: A Database of American History
Politicians in Railroading in Iowa

  Frank Edward Agan (1906-2001) — also known as Frank E. Agan — of Ely, White Pine County, Nev.; East Ely, White Pine County, Nev.; Greeley, Weld County, Colo. Born in Glenwood, Mills County, Iowa, March 4, 1906. Republican. Accountant for Nevada Northern Railway; member of Nevada Republican State Executive Committee, 1948; alternate delegate to Republican National Convention from Nevada, 1948; chair of White Pine County Republican Party, 1948. Methodist. Member, Lions; Freemasons; Scottish Rite Masons; Royal Arch Masons; Knights Templar; Order of the Eastern Star; Shriners. Died May 5, 2001 (age 95 years, 62 days). Cremated; ashes interred at Serenity Falls Columbarium, Morgan County, Colo.
  Relatives: Son of Benjamin T. Agan and Etta M. (Hittle) Agan; married, July 20, 1935, to Evelyn B. Henderson.
  See also Find-A-Grave memorial
  Alexander Stanley Bloedel (b. 1876) — also known as A. S. Bloedel — of Tabor, Fremont County, Iowa. Born in Papillion, Sarpy County, Neb., May 8, 1876. Republican. Hardware business; president, Tabor and Northern Railroad; bank director; member of Iowa state house of representatives from Fremont County, 1951. Congregationalist. Member, Freemasons; Knights of Pythias. Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Son of Andrew Bloedel and Caroline Bloedel; married 1904 to Sarah Weatherhead.
  Dwight Ezra Campbell (1887-1964) — also known as Dwight Campbell — of Aberdeen, Brown County, S.Dak. Born in Orange City, Sioux County, Iowa, November 5, 1887. Republican. Lawyer; represented railroads in the Dakotas; member of South Dakota state senate 35th District, 1923-24; judge of South Dakota state supreme court 5th District, 1925-37. Protestant. Member, American Bar Association; American Judicature Society; Alpha Sigma Phi; Phi Beta Kappa; Freemasons; Shriners; Elks; Lions. Died June 15, 1964 (age 76 years, 223 days). Interment somewhere in Groton, S.Dak.
  Relatives: Son of Frank Ezra Campbell and Cornelia (Bell) Campbell; married, November 5, 1912, to Adelaide Pauline Caywood.
  William Leighton Carss (1865-1931) — also known as William L. Carss — of Proctor, St. Louis County, Minn. Born in Pella, Marion County, Iowa, February 15, 1865. Locomotive engineer; U.S. Representative from Minnesota 8th District, 1919-21, 1925-29; defeated, 1920 (Democratic), 1922 (Democratic), 1928 (Farmer-Labor), 1930 (Farmer-Labor). Member, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. Died in Duluth, St. Louis County, Minn., May 31, 1931 (age 66 years, 105 days). Interment at Oneota Cemetery, Duluth, Minn.
  Relatives: Son of James Carss and Annie (Parks) Carss; married, December 21, 1898, to Lillian Burnside.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page
Edgar E. Clark Edgar Erastus Clark (1856-1930) — also known as Edgar E. Clark — of Cedar Rapids, Linn County, Iowa. Born in Lima, Livingston County, N.Y., February 18, 1856. Republican. Train conductor; Grand Senior Conductor (1889), and Grand Chief Conductor (1890-1906), of the Order of Railway Conductors of America; delegate to Republican National Convention from Iowa, 1904; member, Interstate Commerce Commission, 1906-21; chair, Interstate Commerce Commission, 1913-14, 1918-21. Member, Order of Railway Conductors; Freemasons; Elks. Died in Monrovia, Los Angeles County, Calif., December 1, 1930 (age 74 years, 286 days). Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Son of Henry Dean Clark and Nancy Elizabeth (Jones) Clark; married, September 1, 1880, to Lovenia Jenkins; married, June 28, 1911, to Agnes English Barnes.
  See also Wikipedia article
  Image source: Library of Congress
  James S. Clarkson (1842-1918) — of Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa; New York, New York County, N.Y.; Tarrytown, Westchester County, N.Y. Born in Brookville, Franklin County, Ind., May 17, 1842. Republican. Newspaper editor; railroad builder; Iowa Republican state chair, 1869-71; postmaster at Des Moines, Iowa, 1871-79; delegate to Republican National Convention from Iowa, 1876, 1880, 1884, 1888, 1892, 1896; member of Republican National Committee from Iowa, 1880-96; Chairman of Republican National Committee, 1891-92; First Assistant U.S. Postmaster General, 1889-90; U.S. Surveyor of Customs, 1902-10. Assisted more than 500 escaping slaves en route to Canada via the "underground railroad," 1856-62. Died in Newark, Essex County, N.J., May 31, 1918 (age 76 years, 14 days). Interment somewhere in Des Moines, Iowa.
  Relatives: Son of Elizabeth (Goudie) Clarkson and Coker Fifield Clarkson; married, December 26, 1867, to Anna Howell.
  See also Wikipedia article
  Coe Isaac Crawford (1858-1944) — also known as Coe I. Crawford — of Pierre, Hughes County, S.Dak.; Huron, Beadle County, S.Dak. Born near Volney, Allamakee County, Iowa, January 14, 1858. Republican. Lawyer; Hughes County State's Attorney, 1886-88; member Dakota territorial council, 1889; member of South Dakota state senate 24th District, 1889-90; South Dakota state attorney general, 1893-97; candidate for U.S. Representative from South Dakota at-large, 1896; attorney for Chicago & North Western Railroad, 1897-1905; Governor of South Dakota, 1907-09; delegate to Republican National Convention from South Dakota, 1908; U.S. Senator from South Dakota, 1909-15. Presbyterian. Member, American Bar Association. Died in Yankton, Yankton County, S.Dak., April 25, 1944 (age 86 years, 102 days). Interment at Municipal Cemetery, Iowa City, Iowa.
  Relatives: Son of Robert Crawford and Sarah (Shannon) Crawford; married, October 4, 1884, to May Robinson; married, November 26, 1896, to Lavinia Robinson.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — National Governors Association biography
  Daniel L. Cushing (b. 1836) — of Poweshiek County, Iowa; Quechee, Hartford, Windsor County, Vt. Born in Hartford, Windsor County, Vt., August 4, 1836. Republican. Civil engineer; worked on the Erie Canal and railroad projects; farmer; member of Vermont state house of representatives from Hartford, 1882-83; member of Vermont state senate from Windsor County, 1886. Congregationalist. Burial location unknown.
  Peter Anthony Dey (1825-1911) — also known as Peter A. Dey — of Iowa City, Johnson County, Iowa. Born in Romulus, Seneca County, N.Y., 1825. Democrat. Chief engineer of the Union Pacific Railroad, 1864; founder of the First National Bank of Iowa City; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Iowa, 1876; member of Iowa railroad commission, 1878-95. Died in 1911 (age about 86 years). Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Great-grandson of Theunis Dey.
  Grenville Mellen Dodge (1831-1916) — also known as Grenville M. Dodge — of Iowa. Born in Danvers, Essex County, Mass., April 12, 1831. Republican. General in the Union Army during the Civil War; U.S. Representative from Iowa 5th District, 1867-69; delegate to Republican National Convention from Iowa, 1868 (member, Resolutions Committee); member of Republican National Committee from Iowa, 1872-74. Member, Loyal Legion. Chief engineer of the Union Pacific Railroad. Died in Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, January 3, 1916 (age 84 years, 266 days). Entombed at Walnut Hill Cemetery, Council Bluffs, Iowa.
  The World War II Liberty ship SS Grenville M. Dodge (built 1943 at Richmond, California; scrapped 1974) was named for him.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Edward Albert Dow (b. 1879) — also known as Edward A. Dow — of Omaha, Douglas County, Neb. Born in Fort Dodge, Webster County, Iowa, April 20, 1879. Railway timekeeper; real estate and insurance business; U.S. Consul in St. Stephen, 1915-17; Fort William, 1917; Port Arthur, 1917; Ciudad Juarez, 1917-20; Algiers, 1920-24; Rotterdam, 1924-28; Frankfort, 1928-30; U.S. Consul General in St. John's, 1930-33; Santiago, 1933-38. Catholic. Member, Rotary. Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Son of Charles Noble Dow and Nora Gertrude Dow; married, October 6, 1909, to Rose C. Rush.
  William Greene Dows (1864-1926) — also known as William G. Dows — of Cedar Rapids, Linn County, Iowa. Born in Clayton County, Iowa, August 12, 1864. Republican. President, Iowa Railway and Light Company, Cedar Rapids & Iowa City Railway; Iowa Electric Company; Central States Electric Company; member of Iowa state house of representatives, 1897-99; colonel in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War; delegate to Republican National Convention from Iowa, 1912. Presbyterian. Scottish ancestry. Member, Freemasons; Scottish Rite Masons; Royal Arch Masons; Knights Templar; Shriners; Odd Fellows; Elks; United Spanish War Veterans; Loyal Legion. Died, in University Hospital, Iowa City, Johnson County, Iowa, November 25, 1926 (age 62 years, 105 days). Interment at Oak Hill Cemetery, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
  Relatives: Son of Stephen Leland Dows and Henrietta Weddell (Safley) Dows; married, October 9, 1890, to Margaret B. Cook; third cousin twice removed of Jabez Upham, George Baxter Upham, Nathaniel Upham and Charles Wentworth Upham; third cousin thrice removed of Nathan Read; fourth cousin once removed of Nathaniel Gookin Upham and James Phineas Upham.
  Political families: Upham family; Bell-Upham family of New Hampshire; Kellogg-Adams-Seymour-Chapin family of Connecticut and New York (subsets of the Four Thousand Related Politicians).
  See also Find-A-Grave memorial
  Francis Marion Drake (1830-1903) — of Centerville, Appanoose County, Iowa. Born in Rushville, Schuyler County, Ill., December 30, 1830. Republican. General in the Union Army during the Civil War; lawyer; railroad builder; philanthropist; delegate to Republican National Convention from Iowa, 1888; Governor of Iowa, 1896-98. Disciples of Christ. Member, Grand Army of the Republic; Loyal Legion; Freemasons; Odd Fellows. Died, of diabetes, in Centerville, Appanoose County, Iowa, November 20, 1903 (age 72 years, 325 days). Interment at Oakland Cemetery, Centerville, Iowa.
  Presumably named for: Francis Marion
  Relatives: Son of John Adams Drake and Harriet Jane (O'Neal) Drake; married, December 24, 1855, to Mary Jane Lord.
  Drake University, in Des Moines, Iowa, is named for him.
  See also National Governors Association biography
  James Grant (1812-1891) — of Davenport, Scott County, Iowa. Born near Enfield, Halifax County, N.C., December 12, 1812. Lawyer; member of Iowa territorial House of Representatives, 1842-43; delegate to Iowa state constitutional convention from Scott County, 1844; delegate to Iowa state constitutional convention from Scott County, 1846; member of Iowa state house of representatives, 1852-53; Speaker of the Iowa State House of Representatives, 1852-53; mayor of Davenport, Iowa, 1854-55; president, Chicago and Rock Island Railroad. Died in Oakland, Alameda County, Calif., March 14, 1891 (age 78 years, 92 days). Interment at Oakdale Memorial Gardens, Davenport, Iowa.
  Relatives: Uncle of James Benton Grant.
  Josiah Bushnell Grinnell (1821-1891) — also known as Josiah B. Grinnell — of Grinnell, Poweshiek County, Iowa. Born in New Haven, Addison County, Vt., December 22, 1821. Republican. Pastor; abolitionist; member of Iowa state senate, 1856-60; lawyer; delegate to Republican National Convention from Iowa, 1860; U.S. Representative from Iowa 4th District, 1863-67; director, Rock Island Railroad; receiver, Iowa Central Railroad; president, First National Bank of Grinnell. Congregationalist. He claimed to be the original recipient of Horace Greeley's famous advice to "Go West, young man.". Died, from a throat ailment and asthma, in Grinnell, Poweshiek County, Iowa, March 31, 1891 (age 69 years, 99 days). Interment at Hazelwood Cemetery, Grinnell, Iowa.
  Relatives: Married to Julia Ann Chapin.
  Cross-reference: Lovell H. Rousseau
  The city of Grinnell, Iowa, (which he founded), is named for him.  — Grinnell College (originally Iowa College), Grinnell, Iowa, is named for him.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial — OurCampaigns candidate detail
  Samuel Austin Kendall (1859-1933) — also known as Samuel A. Kendall — of Jefferson, Greene County, Iowa; Myersdale, Somerset County, Pa. Born in Greenville Township, Somerset County, Pa., November 1, 1859. Republican. School teacher; superintendent of schools; officer in lumber manufacturing companies; president of two small railroads; vice-president of Citizens National Bank of Myersdale, Pa.; member of Pennsylvania state house of representatives from Somerset County, 1899-1902; alternate delegate to Republican National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1904, 1908, 1912; U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania, 1919-33 (23rd District 1919-23, 24th District 1923-33); died in office 1933. Member, Freemasons; Knights Templar; Shriners. Died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, in the House Office Building, Washington, D.C., January 8, 1933 (age 73 years, 68 days). Interment at Hochstetler Cemetery, Greenville Township, Somerset County, Pa.
  Relatives: Married, September 22, 1883, to Minnie Edith Wiley.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — NNDB dossier
  Howard L. Kern (c.1886-1947) — of West Orange, Essex County, N.J. Born in Charles City, Floyd County, Iowa, about 1886. Democrat. Lawyer; Puerto Rico attorney general, 1915-19; alternate delegate to Democratic National Convention from Puerto Rico, 1920; assistant general attorney for International Telephone and Telegraph, 1928-41; general counsel, Central Railroad of New Jersey, 1941-47. Died in West Orange, Essex County, N.J., May 12, 1947 (age about 61 years). Burial location unknown.
  Oscar Lawler (b. 1875) — of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Calif. Born in Marshalltown, Marshall County, Iowa, April 2, 1875. Republican. Lawyer; U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, 1905-09; director, Farmers and Merchants National Bank, Los Angeles; director, San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railway. Member, Freemasons; American Bar Association; American Society for International Law. Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Son of William Thomas Lawler and Margaret (O'Connor) Lawler; married, June 17, 1901, to Hilda Brode.
  Frederick William Lehmann (1853-1931) — also known as Frederick W. Lehmann — of Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa; St. Louis, Mo. Born in Prussia, February 28, 1853. Democrat. Lawyer; attorney for Wabash Railroad; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Iowa, 1888 (member, Resolutions Committee; speaker); U.S. Solicitor General, 1910-12. German ancestry. Member, American Bar Association. Died September 12, 1931 (age 78 years, 196 days). Interment at Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis, Mo.; cenotaph at Woodland Cemetery, Des Moines, Iowa.
  Relatives: Son of Friedrich Wilhelm Lehmann and Sophia Lehman; married, December 23, 1879, to Nora Stark.
  Personal motto: "The United States wins its point whenever justice is done its citizens in the courts."
  See also Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Marion Sumner MacCarthy (b. 1874) — also known as Marion S. MacCarthy — Born in Ames, Story County, Iowa, April 2, 1874. Chemist; railway superintendent; mining examiner; U.S. Consular Agent in Alamos, 1908-11. Burial location unknown.
  Robert Enlow O'Brian (1895-1977) — also known as Robert E. O'Brian — of Grand Forks, Grand Forks County, N.Dak.; Sioux City, Woodbury County, Iowa; South Laguna, Laguna Beach, Orange County, Calif. Born in Bryant, Fulton County, Ill., July 22, 1895. Democrat. Locomotive fireman; automobile mechanic; served in the U.S. Army during World War I; pastor; president, Morningside College, 1931-36; Dry candidate for delegate to Iowa convention to ratify 21st amendment, 1933; secretary of state of Iowa, 1937-39; appointed 1937; defeated, 1938; president, REO Foods, Inc. (operator of a meat packing plant), 1944-59; candidate for U.S. Representative from Iowa 5th District, 1958. Methodist. Member, American Legion; Phi Beta Kappa; Delta Sigma Rho; Phi Delta Kappa; Alpha Pi Zeta; Freemasons; Rotary. Killed when he was hit by a car on the Pacific Coast Highway, Laguna Beach, Orange County, Calif., October 25, 1977 (age 82 years, 95 days). Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Son of William O'Brian and Mary Catherine (Laemle) O'Brian; married 1920 to Mabel Day.
  James Bradley Orman (1849-1919) — also known as James B. Orman — of Pueblo, Pueblo County, Colo. Born in Muscatine, Muscatine County, Iowa, November 4, 1849. Democrat. Railroad builder; mining business; member of Colorado state legislature, 1880-84; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Colorado, 1892; mayor of Pueblo, Colo., 1897; Governor of Colorado, 1901-03. Member, Freemasons. Died July 21, 1919 (age 69 years, 259 days). Interment at Roselawn Cemetery, Pueblo, Colo.
  Relatives: Son of John Orman and Sarah Josephine (Bradley) Orman; married, September 27, 1877, to Nellie Martin.
  See also National Governors Association biography — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Aloys Peter Primising (b. 1895) — also known as A. P. Primising — of Wahpeton, Richland County, N.Dak.; Lidgerwood, Richland County, N.Dak. Born in Dubuque, Dubuque County, Iowa, July 27, 1895. Democrat. Railway station agent; delegate to Democratic National Convention from North Dakota, 1940, 1944 (alternate); member of North Dakota Democratic State Central Committee, 1940. Catholic. Member, Lions; Knights of Columbus; Elks; Jaycees. Burial location unknown.
  Bertil Mathias Rasmusen (b. 1862) — also known as Bertil M. Rasmusen — Born in Roland, Story County, Iowa, November 20, 1862. Employed in the railway mail service, 1889-99; later in the postal services of Cuba and the Philippines; U.S. Consular Agent in Stavanger, 1903-05; U.S. Consul in Stavanger, 1905-10; Bergen, 1910-14; Gothenberg, as of 1916-17; Moncton, as of 1919-27. Burial location unknown.
  John Washington Rath (1872-1951) — also known as John W. Rath — of Waterloo, Black Hawk County, Iowa. Born in Ackley, Hardin County, Iowa, February 26, 1872. Republican. Meatpacking executive; president, First National Bank of Waterloo; director, Illinois Central Railroad; delegate to Republican National Convention from Iowa, 1944. Presbyterian. German ancestry. Member, Rotary; Newcomen Society; Union League; Elks; Freemasons; Knights Templar. Died, from cerebral thrombosis, in Waterloo, Black Hawk County, Iowa, December 22, 1951 (age 79 years, 299 days). Interment at Fairview Cemetery, Waterloo, Iowa.
  Relatives: Son of John Rath and Elizabeth (Moser) Rath; brother of William Tecumseh Sherman Rath; married, August 21, 1895, to Maud Harbin.
  See also Find-A-Grave memorial
  Warren Stanford Stone (1860-1925) — also known as Warren S. Stone — of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Born in Ainsworth, Washington County, Iowa, February 1, 1860. Progressive. Locomotive engineer; Grand Chief, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, 1903-25; candidate for Presidential Elector for Ohio. Died, of Bright's disease, in a hospital at Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, June 12, 1925 (age 65 years, 131 days). Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Married 1884 to Carrie E. Newell.
  Robert John Thompson (b. 1865) — also known as Robert J. Thompson — Born in La Porte City, Black Hawk County, Iowa, October 15, 1865. School teacher; railway mail clerk; newspaper editor; president and manager, National Recording Safe Company; U.S. Consul in Hanover, 1906-11; Aix-la-Chapelle, as of 1914. Died, of a heart attack, in Montreux, Switzerland. Interment at Village Cemetery, Vevey, Switzerland.
  Samuel H. West (1872-1938) — of Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio. Born in Waubeek, Linn County, Iowa, July 17, 1872. Lawyer; served in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War; Logan County Prosecuting Attorney, 1899-1903; member of Ohio state senate, 1903-08; counsel to New York Central Railroad; U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Ohio, 1928-38; died in office 1938. Died October 5, 1938 (age 66 years, 80 days). Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Nephew of William H. West.
"Enjoy the hospitable entertainment of a political graveyard."
Henry L. Clinton, Apollo Hall, New York City, February 3, 1872
The Political Graveyard

The Political Graveyard is a web site about U.S. political history and cemeteries. Founded in 1996, it is the Internet's most comprehensive free source for American political biography, listing 320,919 politicians, living and dead.
 
  The coverage of this site includes (1) the President, Vice President, members of Congress, elected state and territorial officeholders in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories; and the chief elected official, typically the mayor, of qualifying municipalities; (2) candidates at election, including primaries, for any of the above; (3) all federal judges and all state appellate judges; (4) certain federal officials, including the federal cabinet, diplomatic chiefs of mission, consuls, U.S. district attorneys, collectors of customs and internal revenue, members of major federal commissions; and political appointee (pre-1969) postmasters of qualifying communities; (5) state and national political party officials, including delegates, alternate delegates, and other participants in national party nominating conventions; (6) Americans who served as "honorary" consuls for other nations before 1950. Note: municipalities or communities "qualify", for Political Graveyard purposes, if they have at least half a million person-years of history, inclusive of predecessor, successor, and merged entities.  
  The listings are incomplete; development of the database is a continually ongoing project.  
  Information on this page — and on all other pages of this site — is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed. Users are advised to check with other sources before relying on any information here.  
  The official URL for this page is: https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IA/railroading.html.  
  Links to this or any other Political Graveyard page are welcome, but specific page addresses may sometimes change as the site develops.  
  If you are searching for a specific named individual, try the alphabetical index of politicians.  
Copyright notices: (1) Facts are not subject to copyright; see Feist v. Rural Telephone. (2) Politician portraits displayed on this site are 70-pixel-wide monochrome thumbnail images, which I believe to constitute fair use under applicable copyright law. Where possible, each image is linked to its online source. However, requests from owners of copyrighted images to delete them from this site are honored. (3) Original material, programming, selection and arrangement are © 1996-2023 Lawrence Kestenbaum. (4) This work is also licensed for free non-commercial re-use, with attribution, under a Creative Commons License.
Site information: The Political Graveyard is created and maintained by Lawrence Kestenbaum, who is solely responsible for its structure and content. — The mailing address is The Political Graveyard, P.O. Box 2563, Ann Arbor MI 48106. — This site is hosted by HDL. — The Political Graveyard opened on July 1, 1996; the last full revision was done on March 8, 2023.

Creative 
Commons License Follow polgraveyard on Twitter [Amazon.com]