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Politicians in Trouble or Disgrace

Politicians in Trouble or Disgrace: Iowa

in chronological order

  George Wallace Jones (1804-1896) — also known as George W. Jones — of Dubuque, Dubuque County, Iowa. Born in Vincennes, Knox County, Ind., April 12, 1804. Democrat. Lawyer; served in the U.S. Army during the Black Hawk War; Delegate to U.S. Congress from Michigan Territory, 1835-36; Delegate to U.S. Congress from Wisconsin Territory, 1836-39; U.S. Surveyor-General for Iowa & Wisconsin, 1845; U.S. Senator from Iowa, 1848-59; U.S. Minister to New Grenada, 1859-61. Welsh ancestry. In 1861, was arrested in New York City by order of Secretary of State William H. Seward on a charge of disloyalty, based on correspondence with his friend Jefferson Davis; imprisoned for 64 days; released by order of President Abraham Lincoln. Slaveowner. Died in Dubuque, Dubuque County, Iowa, July 22, 1896 (age 92 years, 101 days). Interment at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Dubuque, Iowa.
  Relatives: Son of John Rice Jones (1759-1824); brother-in-law of John Scott and Andrew Scott; brother of Myers F. Jones and John Rice Jones (1792-1845); uncle of John Rice Homer Scott.
  Political family: Jones family of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri.
  Jones County, Iowa is named for him.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — U.S. State Dept career summary
  Dennis Aloysius Mahoney (1821-1879) — of Jackson County, Iowa; Dubuque, Dubuque County, Iowa. Born in Ross, County Cork, Ireland, January 20, 1821. Member of Iowa state house of representatives; elected 1848, 1858; candidate for U.S. Representative from Iowa, 1862, 1864. Catholic. Newspaper editor who criticized the Civil War; arrested in August 1862 and held until November at the Old Capitol Federal Prison in Washington, D.C. Died in Dubuque, Dubuque County, Iowa, November 5, 1879 (age 58 years, 289 days). Interment at St. Patrick Cemetery, Garryowen, Iowa.
  Lafayette Young (1848-1926) — of Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa. Born in Monroe County, Iowa, May 10, 1848. Republican. Newspaper editor and publisher; member of Iowa state legislature, 1890; delegate to Republican National Convention from Iowa, 1900, 1908; U.S. Senator from Iowa, 1910-11; in May 1915, while working as a war correspondent for a Des Moines newspaper, he was arrested in Innsbruck, Austria, on suspicion of espionage; released a few hours later. Died in Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa, November 15, 1926 (age 78 years, 189 days). Interment at Woodland Cemetery, Des Moines, Iowa.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  William Lloyd Harding (1877-1934) — also known as William L. Harding — of Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa. Born in Sibley, Osceola County, Iowa, October 3, 1877. Republican. Lawyer; member of Iowa state house of representatives, 1907-13; Lieutenant Governor of Iowa, 1913-17; Governor of Iowa, 1917-21. Methodist. Member, Freemasons. Censured by legislature over pardons scandal, and left office in disgrace in 1921. Died December 17, 1934 (age 57 years, 75 days). Entombed in mausoleum at Graceland Park Cemetery, Sioux City, Iowa.
  Relatives: Son of O. B. Harding and Emalyn (Moyer) Harding; married, January 7, 1907, to Carrie M. Lamoreux.
  See also National Governors Association biography
  Dale Ray Andre (1889-1950) — of Iowa. Born in 1889. Member of Iowa state house of representatives, 1917. Was indicted in 1931 for misusing investment funds; found not guilty, but his career was wrecked. Died in 1950 (age about 61 years). Interment at Aspen Grove Cemetery, Burlington, Iowa.
  Daniel W. West (b. 1909) — of Nashville, Davidson County, Tenn.; Detroit, Wayne County, Mich. Born in Algood, Putnam County, Tenn., September 5, 1909. Democrat. Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Michigan, 1960, 1964 (alternate); member of Michigan state house of representatives, 1963-65 (Wayne County 6th District 1963-64, 24th District 1965); defeated in primary, 1954 (Wayne County 6th District), 1956 (Wayne County 6th District), 1958 (Wayne County 6th District), 1960 (Wayne County 6th District), 1965 (24th District). Convicted of various crimes, including burglary, larceny, and forgery, in Minnesota, Iowa, and Washington, D.C., and was sentenced to prison in those places; came to Michigan and assumed the identity of a deceased New York attorney of the same name; indicted in late 1964 on state charges of voter registration fraud and federal charges of income tax fraud and forgery; in January 1965, his seat in the Michigan House was declared vacant. Burial location unknown.
  Steven Arnold King (b. 1949) — also known as Steve King — of Kiron, Crawford County, Iowa. Born in Storm Lake, Buena Vista County, Iowa, May 28, 1949. Republican. Member of Iowa state senate 6th District, 1996-2002; U.S. Representative from Iowa, 2003-21 (5th District 2003-13, 4th District 2013-21); defeated in primary, 2020; in January 2019, his comments during an interview were widely understood to express support for white supremacy; the House of Representatives voted almost unanimously to rebuke him. Methodist; later Catholic. Still living as of 2021.
  Relatives: Son of Emmett A. King and Mildred Lila (Culler) King.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Encyclopedia of American Loons
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