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The Political Graveyard: A Database of American History
Steel and Metal Industry Politicians in Illinois

  George Becker (1928-2007) — of Allison Park, Allegheny County, Pa.; West Deer, Allegheny County, Pa. Born in Madison, Madison County, Ill., October 20, 1928. Democrat. Served in the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict; steelworker; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1984 (alternate), 1996, 2000; president, United Steelworkers of America, 1993-2000. Member, United Steelworkers of America. Died, of prostate cancer, in West Deer, Allegheny County, Pa., February 3, 2007 (age 78 years, 106 days). Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Son of George Becker and Frances Becker; married 1950 to Jane Goforth.
  See also Wikipedia article
  Frank Buchanan (1862-1930) — of Chicago, Cook County, Ill. Born near Madison, Jefferson County, Ind., June 14, 1862. Democrat. Ironworker; U.S. Representative from Illinois 7th District, 1911-17; in 1915, when the U.S. was still neutral in World War I, he was president of "Labor's National Peace Council," which advocated a weapons embargo against the countries then at war; the organization secretly received funding from German agents; when a grand jury investigation was announced, he retaliated by introducing resolutions to impeach U.S. Attorney H. Snowden Marshall; indicted in December 1915, along with H. Robert Fowler, Frank S. Monnett, and others, for restraint of trade over the Peace Council's attempts to foment strikes in U.S. munitions plants; stood trial in May 1917, along with (ultimately) six co-defendants; the jury convicted three, but deadlocked over the other four, including Buchanan; he was not re-tried. Died, of heart disease, in Chicago, Cook County, Ill., April 18, 1930 (age 67 years, 308 days). Interment at Irving Park Boulevard Cemetery, Chicago, Ill.
  Relatives: Son of Joseph Buchanan and Emeline (Connor) Buchanan; married, March 17, 1898, to Minnie Murphy.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page
  Samuel Crawford Denson (1839-1917) — of Sacramento, Sacramento County, Calif.; Nevada; San Francisco, Calif.; Easton (now part of Burlingame), San Mateo County, Calif. Born in Ursa, Adams County, Ill., September 23, 1839. Republican. Lawyer; district judge in California 6th District, 1876-81; superior court judge in California, 1881-83; member of Nevada state house of representatives, 1885-86; Ormsby County District Attorney, 1886-88; director and general counsel, Pacific Coast Steel Company. Member, Freemasons; Union League. Died in Easton (now part of Burlingame), San Mateo County, Calif., July 26, 1917 (age 77 years, 306 days). Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Son of John Denson and Emily Ann (Crawford) Denson; married 1866 to Mary M. Beatty (sister of William Henry Beatty); married, June 3, 1891, to Laura Mae Ames; fourth cousin once removed of William Henry Denson and Nimrod Davis Denson.
  Political family: Denson family of Opelika, Alabama.
  John Arthur Gamon (1883-1967) — also known as John A. Gamon — of Glen Ellyn, DuPage County, Ill.; Berkeley, Alameda County, Calif. Born in Wheaton, DuPage County, Ill., February 9, 1883. Democrat. Civil engineer; worked for railroads, 1899-1903; salesman, Jones & Laughlin Steel Co., Chicago, 1905-14; U.S. Consul in Puerto Cortes, 1914-15; Corinto, 1915-16; Guaymas, 1917; Acapulco, 1917-21; Cobh, 1921-25; U.S. Consul General in London, 1925-28; Marseille, 1928-35. Died in 1967 (age about 84 years). Interment at Wheaton Cemetery, Wheaton, Ill.
  Relatives: Son of B. H. Gamon and Jennie T. (Daniels) Gamon; married, October 1, 1907, to Minnie Moulton.
  See also Find-A-Grave memorial
  Elbert Henry Gary (1846-1927) — of Wheaton, DuPage County, Ill.; Manhattan, New York County, N.Y. Born near Wheaton, DuPage County, Ill., October 8, 1846. Lawyer; banker; DuPage County Judge, 1882-90; mayor of Wheaton, Ill., 1890-92; founder (1901) and president (1901-11), U.S. Steel. Died, from chronic myocarditis, in Manhattan, New York County, N.Y., August 15, 1927 (age 80 years, 311 days). Entombed at Wheaton Cemetery, Wheaton, Ill.
  The city of Gary, Indiana, is named for him.
  See also Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
C. B. Goodspeed Charles Barnett Goodspeed (1885-1947) — also known as C. B. Goodspeed — of Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio; Chicago, Cook County, Ill. Born in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, February 8, 1885. Republican. Steel executive; Treasurer of Republican National Committee, 1936-41. Died, from bladder cancer and uremia, in the Castle Hot Springs Hotel, Castle Hot Springs, Yavapai County, Ariz., February 23, 1947 (age 62 years, 15 days). Interment at Green Lawn Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio.
  Relatives: Son of Wilbur Fisk Goodspeed and Harriet (Howe) Goodspeed; married, November 18, 1916, to Elizabeth B. Fuller.
  See also Find-A-Grave memorial
  Image source: Official Report of the 22nd Republican National Convention (1940)
  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
  Robert Stephen Ingersoll (1914-2010) — also known as Robert S. Ingersoll — of Chicago, Cook County, Ill.; Evanston, Cook County, Ill. Born in Galesburg, Knox County, Ill., January 28, 1914. Engineer; steel executive; U.S. Ambassador to Japan, 1972-73. Died in Evanston, Cook County, Ill., August 22, 2010 (age 96 years, 206 days). Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Son of Roy C. Ingersoll and Lulu May (Hinchliff) Ingersoll; married, September 17, 1938, to Coralyn Eleanor Reid; third cousin twice removed of John Nathaniel Ingersoll; fourth cousin once removed of Raymond Vail Ingersoll.
  Political family: Ingersoll family of New York.
  See also Wikipedia article — U.S. State Dept career summary — NNDB dossier
  Charles F. Johnson — of Illinois. Born in Sweden. Socialist. Iron molder; delegate to Socialist National Convention from Illinois, 1920; candidate for U.S. Representative from Illinois 12th District, 1920. Burial location unknown.
  Nick Keller (b. 1893) — Born in Waukegan, Lake County, Ill., September 29, 1893. Republican. Steelworker; served in the U.S. Navy during World War I; president, Waukegan local, Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel & Tin Workers of America (AFL); Waukegan Commissioner of Public Works, 1923-31; property manager; baseball talent scout; elected Illinois state house of representatives 8th District 1940. Member, American Legion. Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Married 1933 to Anna Onan.
John G. Oglesby John Gillett Oglesby (1878-1938) — also known as John G. Oglesby — of Elkhart, Logan County, Ill. Born in Decatur, Macon County, Ill., March 19, 1878. Republican. Served in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War; iron inspector, Republic Iron and Steel Company; farmer; member of Illinois state house of representatives 28th District, 1905-07; Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, 1909-13, 1917-21; defeated, 1912; delegate to Republican National Convention from Illinois, 1920 (member, Committee on Permanent Organization), 1924, 1928, 1932; candidate for Governor of Illinois, 1920; delegate to Illinois convention to ratify 21st amendment, 1933. Died near Elkhart, Logan County, Ill., May 27, 1938 (age 60 years, 69 days). Interment at Elkhart Cemetery, Elkhart, Ill.
  Relatives: Son of Richard James Oglesby.
  Political family: Oglesby family of Elkhart and Decatur, Illinois.
  Image source: Illinois Blue Book 1919
  William Barret Ridgely (1853-1920) — also known as William B. Ridgely — of Springfield, Sangamon County, Ill. Born in Springfield, Sangamon County, Ill., July 19, 1853. Republican. Vice-president, Springfield Iron Company; banker; postmaster at Springfield, Ill., 1897-99; U.S. Comptroller of the Currency, 1901-08; delegate to Republican National Convention from Illinois, 1908. Died in Washington, D.C., April 30, 1920 (age 66 years, 286 days). Interment at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Ill.
  Relatives: Son of Charles Ridgely and Jane Maria (Barret) Ridgely; married, October 24, 1882, to Eleanor M. 'Ella' Cullom (daughter of Shelby Moore Cullom); married, December 30, 1905, to Kate Deering; nephew of Redick McKee Ridgely; second great-grandnephew of Samuel Huntington; first cousin twice removed of Nathaniel Huntington, James Huntington and Elisha Mills Huntington; first cousin thrice removed of Samuel H. Huntington; first cousin five times removed of Benjamin Huntington; second cousin twice removed of Joseph Lyman Huntington; second cousin four times removed of Joshua Coit, Henry Huntington and Gurdon Huntington; third cousin of Edwin Reed Ridgely and Austin Eugene Lathrop; third cousin once removed of Collins Dwight Huntington, George Milo Huntington and Helen Huntington Hull; third cousin thrice removed of John Davenport, Ebenezer Huntington, James Davenport, Asahel Otis, Augustus Seymour Porter, Samuel Lathrop, Peter Buell Porter, Abel Huntington, Zina Hyde Jr. and Benjamin Nicoll Huntington; fourth cousin once removed of John Hall Brockway, Abial Lathrop and Hilliard Samuel Ridgely.
  Political family: Kellogg-Adams-Seymour-Chapin family of Connecticut and New York (subset of the Four Thousand Related Politicians).
  See also Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial — Comptrollers of the Currency
  Michael Rosenberg (b. 1886) — of Chicago, Cook County, Ill. Born in Chicago, Cook County, Ill., September 9, 1886. Democrat. Partner, Rosenberg Iron and Metal Company; delegate to Illinois state constitutional convention 19th District, 1920-22; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 1924, 1928. Jewish. Member, Freemasons; Elks; Knights of Pythias; Izaak Walton League. Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Son of Reuben Rosenberg and Fanny (Annenberg) Rosenberg; married, September 30, 1906, to Ethel Colitz.
  Michael Soriano — of Chicago, Cook County, Ill. Socialist. Steelworker; Workers World candidate for U.S. Senator from Illinois, 1980. Still living as of 1980.
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