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Knights Templar
Politician members in Mississippi

  Theodore Gilmore Bilbo (1877-1947) — also known as Theodore G. Bilbo — of Poplarville, Pearl River County, Miss. Born near Poplarville, Pearl River County, Miss., October 13, 1877. Democrat. School teacher; lawyer; farmer; member of Mississippi state senate, 1908-12; Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi, 1912-16; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Mississippi, 1912 (alternate), 1916 (member, Committee on Permanent Organization), 1928, 1936, 1940, 1944; Governor of Mississippi, 1916-20, 1928-32; U.S. Senator from Mississippi, 1935-47; died in office 1947. Baptist. Scotch-Irish ancestry. Member, Freemasons; Knights Templar; Shriners; Elks; Odd Fellows; Ku Klux Klan. Author of the book Take Your Choice: Separation or Mongrelization, which advocated deportation of all Black Americans to Africa. During the 1946 campaign, in a radio address, he called on "every red-blooded Anglo-Saxon man in Mississippi to resort to any means to keep hundreds of Negroes from the polls in the July 2 primary. And if you don't know what that means, you are just not up to your persuasive measures." After he won re-election, the Senate, appalled at his racist views and tactics, refused to seat him, and started an investigation. Died, of mouth cancer, in a hospital at New Orleans, Orleans Parish, La., August 21, 1947 (age 69 years, 312 days). Interment at Juniper Grove Cemetery, Near Poplarville, Pearl River County, Miss.
  Relatives: Son of James Oliver Bilbo and Beedy (Wallace) Bilbo; married, May 25, 1898, to Lillian S. Herrington; married, January 27, 1903, to Linda R. Gaddy.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — National Governors Association biography — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier
  Charles Hillman Brough (1876-1935) — also known as Charles H. Brough — of Little Rock, Pulaski County, Ark. Born in Clinton, Hinds County, Miss., July 9, 1876. Democrat. College professor; Governor of Arkansas, 1917-21; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Arkansas, 1924. Baptist. Member, American Economic Association; American Political Science Association; Beta Theta Pi; Tau Kappa Alpha; Freemasons; Knights Templar; Shriners; Knights of Pythias; Elks; Woodmen of the World; Modern Woodmen of America; Columbian Woodmen; Ancient Order of United Workmen; Maccabees. Died, from a heart attack, December 26, 1935 (age 59 years, 170 days). Interment at Roselawn Memorial Park, Little Rock, Ark.
  Relatives: Son of Charles Milton Brough and Flora M. (Thompson) Brough; married, June 17, 1908, to Anne Wade Roark.
  See also National Governors Association biography — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Books about Charles Hillman Brough: Foy Lisenby, Charles Hillman Brough: A Biography
  Thomas Jefferson Busby (1884-1964) — also known as T. Jeff Busby — of Houston, Chickasaw County, Miss. Born near Short, Tishomingo County, Miss., July 26, 1884. Democrat. Lawyer; Chickasaw County Prosecuting Attorney, 1912-20; U.S. Representative from Mississippi 4th District, 1923-35. Methodist. Member, Freemasons; Knights Templar; Shriners. Died in Houston, Chickasaw County, Miss., October 18, 1964 (age 80 years, 84 days). Interment at Houston Cemetery, Houston, Miss.
  Presumably named for: Thomas Jefferson
  Relatives: Son of Reubin Winston Busby and Laura Ann (Bartlett) Busby; married, June 4, 1912, to Joanna Martin.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page
  George Waddel Currie (b. 1885) — also known as George W. Currie — of Hattiesburg, Forrest County, Miss. Born in Mt. Carmel, Covington County, Miss., October 18, 1885. Democrat. Lawyer; banker; chair of Forrest County Democratic Party, 1920-29. Presbyterian. Member, American Bar Association; Freemasons; Knights Templar; Shriners; Odd Fellows; Knights of Pythias; Woodmen of the World; Kiwanis. Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Son of Edward James Currie and Lucy (Westbrook) Currie; married, June 12, 1912, to Anita Gibon.
  Lester Glenn Fant (1875-1946) — also known as Lester G. Fant — of Holly Springs, Marshall County, Miss. Born in Holly Springs, Marshall County, Miss., October 29, 1875. Democrat. Lawyer; U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi, 1912-14, 1929-37; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Mississippi, 1920, 1924 (alternate). Methodist. Member, Delta Kappa Epsilon; Freemasons; Knights Templar. Died December 6, 1946 (age 71 years, 38 days). Interment at Hillcrest Cemetery, Holly Springs, Miss.
  Relatives: Son of Selden Fant and Nannie Bell (Williams) Fant; married, June 29, 1904, to Cordelia Leach.
  See also Find-A-Grave memorial
  Benjamin Whitfield Griffith (b. 1853) — of Jackson, Hinds County, Miss.; Vicksburg, Warren County, Miss. Born near Jackson, Hinds County, Miss., January 3, 1853. College professor; lawyer; banker; mayor of Vicksburg, Miss., 1905-09; Warren County Treasurer, 1912-16. Baptist. Member, Freemasons; Knights Templar. Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Son of Richard Griffith and Sallie (Whitfield) Griffith; married, May 7, 1879, to Cora Bertha Griffing.
  Albert Major Lea (1848-1901) — also known as Albert M. Lea — of Vicksburg, Warren County, Miss. Born in Grainger County, Tenn., December 10, 1848. Republican. Lawyer; U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, 1889-97, 1897-1901; died in office 1901; delegate to Republican National Convention from Mississippi, 1896 (member, Credentials Committee). Member, Freemasons; Knights Templar; Elks. Suffered a stroke of paralysis, and died, in the Edwards House hotel, Jackson, Hinds County, Miss., December 24, 1901 (age 53 years, 14 days). Interment at Cedar Hill Cemetery, Vicksburg, Miss.
  Relatives: Son of Luke Lea (1810-1898) and Mary Mayrant (Smith) Lea; married, December 21, 1875, to Lena Rees; nephew of Pryor Newton Lea; grandson of Major Lea; grandnephew of Luke Lea (1783-1851); first cousin once removed of John McCormick Lea; second cousin once removed of Luke Lea (1879-1945).
  Political family: Lea-Cocke family of Tennessee.
  See also Find-A-Grave memorial
  James Cullen Looney (1903-1977) — also known as J. C. Looney — of Edinburg, Hidalgo County, Tex. Born in Kossuth, Alcorn County, Miss., May 18, 1903. Democrat. Lawyer; director of many firms involved in activities such as banking, bus transit, concrete, lumber, radio broadcasting, automobile service, and operating a hotel; chair of Hidalgo County Democratic Party, 1932-40, 1954-68; Hidalgo County Judge, 1941-46; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968. Protestant. Member, Pi Kappa Alpha; American Bar Association; Kiwanis; Freemasons; Royal Arch Masons; Knights Templar; Royal and Select Masters; Shriners. Died in March, 1977 (age 73 years, 0 days). Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Son of James Owen Looney and Virginia (Dean) Looney; married, June 15, 1933, to Margaret Estelle Montgomery.
  Booth M. Malone (b. 1854) — of Beloit, Rock County, Wis.; Denver, Colo. Born in Benton County, Miss., August 9, 1854. Republican. Lawyer; mayor of Beloit, Wis., 1883-85; Rock County District Attorney, 1885-91; district judge in Colorado 2nd District, 1901-07. Member, American Bar Association; Freemasons; Knights Templar. Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Son of Richard Harwell Malone and Mary Cole (Cossitt) Malone; married, July 1, 1878, to Alma M. Bennett.
  Henry Floyd Samuels (1869-1948) — also known as H. F. Samuels — of Wallace, Shoshone County, Idaho. Born in Washington County, Miss., April 4, 1869. Lawyer; Shoshone County Attorney, 1898-1900; developed zinc, lead and silver mining in Idaho; built the Samuels Hotel in 1907; banker; candidate for Governor of Idaho, 1918 (Democratic), 1922 (Progressive), 1924 (Progressive); Progressive candidate for U.S. Senator from Idaho, 1926. Member, Freemasons; Scottish Rite Masons; Knights Templar; Shriners; Elks; Knights of Pythias. Died in 1948 (age about 79 years). Interment at Sequim View Cemetery, Near Sequim, Clallam County, Wash.
  Relatives: Son of Floyd Samuels and Isabelle (Jenkins) Samuels; married, December 25, 1892, to Iona Snyder; married, February 27, 1905, to Ada Marie Jenkins; grandson of Henry Jenkins.
  See also Wikipedia article
  Thomas Webber Wilson (1893-1948) — also known as T. Webber Wilson — of Laurel, Jones County, Miss. Born in Coldwater, Tate County, Miss., January 24, 1893. Democrat. Lawyer; U.S. Representative from Mississippi 6th District, 1923-29; U.S. District Judge for Virgin Islands, 1933-35. Presbyterian. Member, Kappa Alpha Order; Freemasons; Knights Templar; Odd Fellows; Elks; Woodmen. Died in 1948 (age about 55 years). Interment at Magnolia Cemetery, Coldwater, Miss.
  Relatives: Son of Joseph James Wilson and Lucy (Yancey) Wilson.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page
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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.
 
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