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⇱ The Political Graveyard: Ku Klux Klan, politicians


PoliticalGraveyard.com
👁 The Political Graveyard: A Database of American History

Ku Klux Klan Politicians

Very incomplete list!

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Homer Martin Adkins (1890-1964) — also known as Homer M. Adkins — of Little Rock, Pulaski County, Ark. Born in Jacksonville, Pulaski County, Ark., October 15, 1890. Democrat. Pharmacist; served in the U.S. Army during World War I; Pulaski County Sheriff, 1923-26; insurance business; U.S. Collector of Internal Revenue at Little Rock, Arkansas, 1933-40; Governor of Arkansas, 1941-45; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Arkansas, 1944, 1956; candidate for U.S. Senator from Arkansas, 1944. Methodist. Member, Woodmen of the World; American Legion; Freemasons; Elks; Ku Klux Klan. Died, from a heart ailment, in a hospital at Malvern, Hot Spring County, Ark., February 26, 1964 (age 73 years, 134 days). Interment at Roselawn Memorial Park, Little Rock, Ark.
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Relatives: Son of Ulysses Adkins and Lorena (Wood) Adkins; married, December 18, 1921, to Estelle Elise Smith.
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See also National Governors Association biography — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Find-A-Grave memorial — OurCampaigns candidate detail
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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.
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Relatives: Son of James Oliver Bilbo and Obedience 'Beedy' (Wallis) Bilbo; married, May 25, 1898, to Lillian Seleta Herrington; married, January 27, 1903, to Linda Ruth Gaddy.
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Epitaph: "Governor - Senator - Statesman - Author."
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See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — National Governors Association biography — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Find-A-Grave memorial
👁 Hugo L. Black
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Hugo Lafayette Black (1886-1971) — also known as Hugo L. Black — of Birmingham, Jefferson County, Ala.; Alexandria, Va. Born in Harlan, Clay County, Ala., February 27, 1886. Democrat. Lawyer; police court judge in Alabama, 1910-11; Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney, 1915-17; served in the U.S. Army during World War I; U.S. Senator from Alabama, 1927-37; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Alabama, 1936; Associate Justice of U.S. Supreme Court, 1937-71; took senior status 1971. Baptist. Member, Freemasons; Knights of Pythias; Odd Fellows; Ku Klux Klan. Died, in Bethesda Naval Hospital, Bethesda, Montgomery County, Md., September 25, 1971 (age 85 years, 210 days). Interment at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.
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Relatives: Son of William La Fayette Black and Martha Ardella (Toland) Black; married, February 23, 1921, to Josephine Patterson Foster; married, September 11, 1957, to Elizabeth Seay DeMeritte.
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The Hugo L. Black U.S. Courthouse, in Birmingham, Alabama, is named for him.
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Epitaph: "Here lies a good man."
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See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — federal judicial profile — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Find-A-Grave memorial — Arlington National Cemetery unofficial website
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Books about Hugo L. Black: Roger K. Newman, Hugo Black : A Biography — Howard Ball, Hugo L. Black : Cold Steel Warrior — James F Simon, The antagonists: Hugo Black, Felix Frankfurter and civil liberties in modern America — Howard Ball & Phillip J. Cooper, Of Power and Right: Hugo Black, William O. Douglas, and America's Constitutional Revolution
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Image source: Library of Congress
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Wyatt Tate Brady (1870-1925) — also known as W. Tate Brady — of Tulsa, Tulsa County, Okla. Born in Forest City, Holt County, Mo., January 20, 1870. Democrat. Hotelier; member of Democratic National Committee from Oklahoma, 1907. Member, Ku Klux Klan; Sons of Confederate Veterans. Died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, in Tulsa, Tulsa County, Okla., August 29, 1925 (age 55 years, 221 days). Interment at Oaklawn Cemetery, Tulsa, Okla.
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Relatives: Son of Henry Harrison Brady and Minerva Anne (Snyder) Brady; married 1895 to Rachel Cassandra Davis.
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Brady Street (now Reconciliation Way), in Tulsa Oklahoma, was named for him.
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See also Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
👁 Robert C. Byrd
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Robert Carlyle Byrd (1917-2010) — also known as Robert C. Byrd; Cornelius Calvin Sale Jr.; "The King of Pork" — of Sophia, Raleigh County, W.Va. Born in North Wilkesboro, Wilkes County, N.C., November 20, 1917. Democrat. Grocer; lawyer; member of West Virginia state house of delegates from Raleigh County, 1947-50; member of West Virginia state senate 9th District, 1951-52; U.S. Representative from West Virginia 6th District, 1953-59; U.S. Senator from West Virginia, 1959-; delegate to Democratic National Convention from West Virginia, 1960, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008; speaker, 1988. Baptist. Member, Freemasons; Knights of Pythias; Odd Fellows; Elks; Moose; Eagles; Lions; Farm Bureau; Tau Kappa Epsilon; Ku Klux Klan. Died in Fairfax, Va., June 28, 2010 (age 92 years, 220 days). Interment at Columbia Gardens Cemetery, Arlington, Va.
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Relatives: Adoptive son of Titus Dalton Byrd and Vlurma (Sale) Byrd; married, May 29, 1936, to Erma Ora James.
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Cross-reference: Nick Joe Rahall II — M. Blane Michael
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See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Internet Movie Database profile — Find-A-Grave memorial — West Virginia Encyclopedia
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Books by Robert C. Byrd: Losing America: Confronting a Reckless and Arrogant Presidency (2004) — We Stand Passively Mute (2004) — Senate of the Roman Republic: Addresses on the History of Roman Constitutionalism (1995) — Robert C. Byrd: Child Of The Appalachian Coalfields (2005)
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Critical books about Robert C. Byrd: Bernard Goldberg, 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America (And Al Franken Is #37)
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Image source: West Virginia Blue Book 1951
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David Ernest Duke (b. 1950) — also known as David Duke — of Louisiana. Born in Tulsa, Tulsa County, Okla., July 1, 1950. Candidate for Democratic nomination for President, 1988; Populist candidate for President of the United States, 1988; member of Louisiana state house of representatives 81st District, 1989-92; Republican candidate for U.S. Senator from Louisiana, 1990, 1996; candidate for Republican nomination for President, 1992. Member, Ku Klux Klan. Still living as of 2018.
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See also Wikipedia article — Internet Movie Database profile — Encyclopedia of American Loons
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Books by David Duke: My Awakening: A Path to Racial Understanding (1998)
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Books about David Duke: John Maginnis, Cross to Bear
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Critical books about David Duke: Bernard Goldberg, 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America (And Al Franken Is #37)
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Nathan Bedford Forrest (1821-1877) — also known as "Wizard of the Saddle" — of Memphis, Shelby County, Tenn. Born near Chapel Hill, Bedford County (now Marshall County), Tenn., July 13, 1821. Democrat. Cotton planter; slave trader; general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War; in April 1864, after the Battle of Fort Pillow, Tennessee, Confederate troops under his command massacred African-American Union soldiers, not accepting them as prisoners, since the Confederacy refused to recognize ex-slaves as legitimate combatants; this event, seen as a war crime, sparked outrage across the North, and a congressional inquiry; in 1867, he became involved in the Ku Klux Klan and was elected Grand Wizard; the organization used violent tactics to intimidate Black voters and suppress their votes; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Tennessee, 1868; in 1869, he had a change of heart, and issued a letter ordering that the Klan be dissolved and its costumes destroyed; he went on to denounce the group and its crimes; in 1875, he gave a "friendly speech" to a meeting of an African-American organization in Memphis, calling for peace, harmony, and economic advancement of former slaves; for this speech, he was vehemently denounced in the Southern press as a race traitor. English ancestry. Member, Ku Klux Klan. After his death, he became a folk hero among white racists, particularly during the imposition of Jim Crow segregation laws in the early 20th century, and later, in reaction to the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Slaveowner. Died, from complications of diabetes, in Memphis, Shelby County, Tenn., October 29, 1877 (age 56 years, 108 days). Original interment at Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, Tenn.; subsequent interment in 1904 at Health Sciences Park, Memphis, Tenn.; reinterment in 2021 at National Confederate Museum at Elm Springs, Columbia, Tenn.
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Relatives: Son of William B. Forrest and Miriam (Beck) Forrest; married 1845 to Mary Ann Montgomery.
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Forrest County, Miss. is named for him.
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The city of Forrest City, Arkansas, is named for him.  — The World War II Liberty ship SS Nathan B. Forrest (built 1943 at Panama City, Florida; scrapped 1973) was named for him.
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See also Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
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Mrs. Kaja Lindland — of Muskegon Heights, Muskegon County, Mich. Candidate for mayor of Muskegon Heights, Mich., 1926. Female. Member, Ku Klux Klan. Burial location unknown.
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Earle Bradford Mayfield (1881-1964) — also known as Earle B. Mayfield — of Meridian, Bosque County, Tex. Born in Overton, Rusk County, Tex., April 12, 1881. Democrat. Lawyer; member of Texas state senate, 1907-13; Texas railroad commissioner, 1913-22; U.S. Senator from Texas, 1923-29; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 1924. Methodist. Member, Ku Klux Klan; Kappa Sigma; Freemasons. Died in Tyler, Smith County, Tex., June 23, 1964 (age 83 years, 72 days). Interment at Oakwood Cemetery, Tyler, Tex.
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Relatives: Son of John Blythe Mayfield and Mary (DeGeurin) Mayfield; married, June 10, 1902, to Ora Lumpkin.
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See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — NNDB dossier
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Rice William Means (1877-1949) — also known as Rice W. Means; "Puffed Rice" — of Denver, Colo. Born in St. Joseph, Buchanan County, Mo., November 16, 1877. Republican. Served in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War; lawyer; Adams County Judge, 1902-04; colonel in the U.S. Army during World War I; U.S. Senator from Colorado, 1924-27. Methodist. Member, Veterans of Foreign Wars; United Spanish War Veterans; American Legion; Ku Klux Klan. Died in Denver, Colo., January 30, 1949 (age 71 years, 75 days). Interment at Fairmount Cemetery, Denver, Colo.
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Relatives: Married 1902 to C. Frances Dickinson.
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See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
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Tom Metzger — of California; Warsaw, Kosciusko County, Ind. Democratic candidate for U.S. Representative from California 43rd District, 1980; candidate in Democratic primary for U.S. Senator from California, 1982; convicted in 1991 of burning a cross (as a form of hate speech or intimidation) and sentenced to prison; in 1992, he was arrested in Canada for violating immigration laws. Member, John Birch Society; Ku Klux Klan. Still living as of 2012.
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See also Wikipedia article
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Frazier Glenn Miller Jr. (b. 1940) — also known as Glenn Miller; "Frazier Glenn Cross"; "Rounder" — of North Carolina; Aurora, Lawrence County, Mo. Born in Springfield, Greene County, Mo., 1940. Served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam war; candidate in Democratic primary for Governor of North Carolina, 1984; candidate in Republican primary for North Carolina state senate, 1986; convicted on federal contempt of court charges in 1986; sentenced to one year in prison, but disappeared while out on bond; later captured in Missouri, along with four other Klansmen and a cache of weapons; indicted in 1987 for plotting robberies and an assassination; in a deal with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty to a weapons charge and to making threats through the mail; served three years in prison; candidate for U.S. Representative from Missouri 7th District, 2006; candidate for U.S. Senator from Missouri, 2010; on April 13, 2014, in an apparent hate crime he shot and killed three people at a Jewish community center and retirement complex in Overland Park, Kansas. Member, Ku Klux Klan. Still living as of 2014.
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Josiah Love Pearcy (1843-1909) — also known as Josiah L. Pearcy — Born in Tennessee, 1843. Served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War; U.S. Consul in Aspinwall, as of 1897; secretary to U.S. Senator Robert L. Taylor of Tennessee. Member, Ku Klux Klan. Died, from Bright's disease, in Washington, D.C., June 18, 1909 (age about 65 years). Interment at Glenwood Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
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See also Find-A-Grave memorial
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Edmund Winston Pettus (1821-1907) — also known as Edmund W. Pettus — of Selma, Dallas County, Ala. Born in Limestone County, Ala., July 6, 1821. Democrat. Lawyer; served in the U.S. Army during the Mexican War; went to California for the 1849 Gold Rush; circuit judge in Alabama, 1855-58; general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Alabama, 1876, 1880, 1884, 1888, 1892 (speaker); U.S. Senator from Alabama, 1897-1907; died in office 1907. Member, Ku Klux Klan. Slaveowner. Died in Hot Springs, Madison County, N.C., July 27, 1907 (age 86 years, 21 days). Interment at Live Oak Cemetery, Selma, Ala.
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Relatives: Brother of John Jones Pettus; married, June 27, 1844, to Mary S. Chapman.
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The Edmund Pettus Bridge (opened 1940), which takes U.S. Route 80 Business over the Alabama River at Selma, Alabama, is named for him.
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See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
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Benjamin F. Stapleton (b. 1873) — of Denver, Colo. Born in Paintsville, Johnson County, Ky., November 12, 1873. Democrat. Colonel in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War; lawyer; postmaster at Denver, Colo., 1915-21; oil business; mayor of Denver, Colo., 1923-31, 1935-47; Colorado state auditor, 1933-35; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Colorado, 1940. Member, Freemasons; Ku Klux Klan. Burial location unknown.
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Relatives: Married 1917 to Mabel Freeland.
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Joseph R. Waldrop (1825-1872) — of Alabama. Born in Mississippi, 1825. Served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War; member of Alabama state house of representatives, 1869. Methodist. Member, Ku Klux Klan. Shot and killed while getting off his horse in front of a boarding house in Escatawpa, Washington County, Ala., 1872 (age about 47 years). Interment at Old Escatawpa Cemetery, Escatawpa, Ala.
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Clifford Mitchell Walker (1877-1954) — also known as Clifford M. Walker — of Monroe, Walton County, Ga.; Atlanta, Fulton County, Ga. Born in Monroe, Walton County, Ga., July 4, 1877. Democrat. Mayor, Monroe, Ga., 1902-04; board chairman, Bank of Monroe; Georgia state attorney general, 1915-20; Governor of Georgia, 1923-27; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Georgia, 1928. Baptist. Member, American Bar Association; Knights of Pythias; Freemasons; Ku Klux Klan; Phi Beta Kappa. Died in Monroe, Walton County, Ga., November 9, 1954 (age 77 years, 128 days). Interment at Old Baptist Cemetery, Near Monroe, Walton County, Ga.
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Relatives: Son of Billington Sanders Walker and Alice (Mitchell) Walker; married, April 29, 1902, to Rosa Mathewson.
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See also National Governors Association biography — NNDB dossier
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William Blackburn Wilson Jr. (1850-1920) — of Rock Hill, York County, S.C. Born in York, York County, S.C., January 12, 1850. Lawyer; fled to Texas in 1871-73 to avoid federal prosecution over his Klan activities; member of South Carolina state house of representatives from York County, 1884-88; member of South Carolina state senate from York County, 1888-92; delegate to South Carolina state constitutional convention from York County, 1895. Episcopalian. Member, Ku Klux Klan; Knights of Pythias; Freemasons. Died in Rock Hill, York County, S.C., April 30, 1920 (age 70 years, 109 days). Interment at Rose Hill Cemetery, York, S.C.
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Relatives: Son of William Blackburn Wilson and Arrah Minerva (Lowry) Wilson; brother of John Stanyarne Wilson; married, December 29, 1875, to Isabella Hinton Miller.
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Political family: Hazard-Wilson family of York, South Carolina (subset of the Four Thousand Related Politicians).
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See also Find-A-Grave memorial
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Fred William Yoos (1879-1940) — also known as Fred W. Yoos — of Akron, Summit County, Ohio. Born in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, January 20, 1879. Served in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War; railroad flagman; police officer; rubber tire worker; after serving as an organizer for the Ku Klux Klan, he resigned, or was expelled, and announced in January 1923 that he would expose corruption and "un-American prejudice" in the local Klan organization; on January 18, police received an anonymous "tip off" that Yoos was illegally carrying a concealed weapon; he was searched, and no weapon was found on his person, but a companion had a gun, and Yoos was arrested and held in jail for days until released; he continued to express opposition to the Ku Klux Klan, but did not make the disclosures he promised; Independent candidate for mayor of Akron, Ohio, 1923. German ancestry. Member, Ku Klux Klan; Freemasons. Died in Akron, Summit County, Ohio, May 31, 1940 (age 61 years, 132 days). Interment at Rose Hill Burial Park, Fairlawn, Ohio.
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Relatives: Son of Fred B. Yoos and Katie (Hurst) Yoos; married, October 24, 1900, to Hedwig 'Hattie' Wojahn.

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