List of people from Sedalia, Missouri

The following is a list of people who were born in, have lived in, or are otherwise associated with American city of Sedalia, Missouri; they are known as Sedalians. In addition to what follows, a list of more than fifty Sedalia "Old Timers", who had met at the Sedalia Courthouse on the previous evening, was published in the December 12, 1893, issue of the Sedalia Bazoo; the list indicated when they had arrived in Sedalia, and from whence they had come.

Arts

Acting

• Dorothy Dwan (1906–1981) – film actress
• Lucille McVey (1890–1925) – film screenwriter and silent film actress; married to Sidney Drew in 1914; often credited under married name of Mrs. Sidney Drew; through marriage, aunt to John, Lionel and Ethel Barrymore
• Jack Oakie, born Lewis Delaney Offield (1903–1978) – film, stage, radio, and television actor

Comedy

• Will Franken – comedian, satirist and actor

Literature

• Charles G. Finney – US Army veteran, novelist and author of The Circus of Dr. Lao among others, and copy editor of the Arizona Daily Star
• Joel Townsley Rogers (1896–1984) – short-story writer; mystery novelist (The Red Right Hand)
• June Rae Wood (born 1946) – children's and young adult's author

Music

• Scott Hayden (1882–1915) – composer of ragtime music
• Scott Joplin (1868–1917) – musician and composer of ragtime music
• L. Viola Kinney (c.1890 – 1945) – composer, pianist, and music educator
• Arthur Marshall (1881–1968) – composer and performer of ragtime music
• Etilmon Justus Stark (1868–1962) – ragtime composer and arranger
• John Stillwell Stark (1841–1927) – piano dealer; publisher of ragtime music; promoter of Scott Joplin
• Leroy Van Dyke (born 1929) – country music performer; wrote "The Auctioneer" and recorded "Walk on By"; recorded over 500 songs
• Gene Watts – trombonist and co-founder of Canadian Brass

Education

• Winona Cargile Alexander (1893–1984) – founder, Delta Sigma Theta sorority; high-school teacher; social worker

Science and engineering

• Daniel C. Jackling (1869–1956) – mining and metallurgical engineer; founder, Utah Copper Company; known as "the father of open-pit mining"
• Walter Rautenstrauch (1880–1951) – mechanical engineer; first chairman of Columbia University's Department of Industrial Engineering; adviser to the Mexican Government; co-founder of Committee on Technocracy (1932)

Historical figures

• Clay Allison (1840–1887) – gunfighter, American Old West

Journalism

• Raymond Peter Brandt (1896–1974) – Rhodes Scholar; O.I.C. Office of Finances, American Relief Administration, Vienna, Austria, 1920; District Supervisor, American Relief Administration, Vitebsk, Russia, (1922–1923); reporter, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1917–1919), and Washington, D.C. correspondent for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1923–1967)
• Elizabeth Williams Cosgrove (1878–1975), journalist; writer; poet
• Elizabeth Jane Dugan (?1848–1911) – also known as "Rosa Pearle"; poet; journalist (started with the Sedalia Bazoo; founder and editor of the Saturday-evening society weekly Rosa Pearle's Paper (1894–1911)
• Mary Frances "Murry" Engle (1930–2005) – journalist, Sedalia Democrat (1950–1966), Boeing News and Boeing Magazine (1967–1970); Honolulu Star-Bulletin (1970–1993)
• Charles Grandison Finney (1905–1984) – journalist; writer; part-time night club owner; author, The Circus of Dr. Lao, which adapted as the film 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)
• Hazel Norinne Lang (1903–1996) – journalist, reporter and feature writer with the Sedalia Democrat (1925–1970); poet; historian (author of Only Human; Poems of Everyday Life, Exposition Press, (New York), 1955, and the 1,112-page Life in Pettis County, 1815–1873, published in Sedalia, in 1975)
• Casper Salathiel Yost (1863–1941) – editor of St. Louis Globe-Democrat; founder of American Society of Newspaper Editors (1922)

Medicine

• Walter Edward Dandy (1886–1946) – scientist and neurosurgeon
• Willis P. King – president, Missouri State Medical Association (1881)
• Thomas J. Montgomery – vice-president, Missouri State Medical Association (1874)
• John W. Trader – president, Missouri State Medical Association (1876)

Military

United States Army

• Richard D. Dean (1929–2016) – United States Army brigadier general and deputy director of the Army National Guard
• Rufus Estes Longan (1879–1936) – brigadier general, United States Army
• John C. McLaughlin (1903–1967) – major general, United States Army, 35th Infantry Division
• John Henry Parker – brigadier general, United States Army; West Point Graduate; war hero; first to recognize the tactical advantages of machine guns to continuously support advancing infantry and protect artillery trains (carriages pulled by draft animals); awarded the Distinguished Service Cross four times, for valor displayed on four separate occasions, during 1918
• Edgar Frank Thelen (born 1906) – University of Missouri graduate; associate of Harry S. Truman in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (1930–1940); US Army officer (1942–1961); staff member, University of Missouri
• William S. Triplet (1900–1994) – colonel, United States Army; professional soldier; West Point graduate (1924); served in both World War I and World War II

United States Air Force

• James Phillip Fleming (born 1943) – United States Air Force pilot in the Vietnam War; awarded Medal of Honor for bravery
• Arthur G. Salisbury (1916–2005) – major general, USAF
• George Allison Whiteman – first USAF airman killed in World War II; killed when attempting to get his plane off the ground at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; in 1955, Sedalia Air Force Base was renamed Whiteman Air Force Base in his honor

Other

• William Gentry (1818–1890) – major in the 40th Enrolled Missouri Militia; livestock farmer; railroad executive; candidate for governor (1874)

Politics and government

Heads of state and heads of government

• Emmet Montgomery Reily (1866–1954) – journalist; politician; governor of Puerto Rico (1921–1923)
• Charles Emmett Yeater (1861–1943) – graduate of the University of Missouri; acting governor-general of the Philippines (March 5, 1921 – October 14, 1921)

Diplomats

• John Flournoy Montgomery (1878–1954) – United States ambassador to Hungary (1933–1941)

Politicians

• John Homer Bothwell (1849–1929) – lawyer; politician; member of the 35th and 38th General Assemblies of the Missouri legislature (1889 and 1895)
• John Morgan Evans (1863–1946) – U.S. congressman (1913–1921; 1923–1933)
• Thomas Jefferson Halsey (1863–1951) – teacher; businessman; U.S. congressman (1929–1931)
• Judith K. Moriarty (born 1942) – politician; Missouri secretary of state (1993–1994)
• John William Palmer (1866–1958) – physician; lawyer; U.S. congressman (1929–1931)
• John Berchmans Sullivan (1897–1951) – lawyer; politician; U.S. congressman (1941–1943; 1945–1947; 1949–1951)
• George Graham Vest (1830–1904) – orator; lawyer; politician; at his death, the last living Confederate States senator; known for his "Eulogy on the Dog"
• Xenophon Pierce Wilfley (1871–1931) – teacher; lawyer; U.S. senator (1918); president, Missouri Bar Association (1925)

Judiciary

• Walter Henry Bohling (1888–1968) – commissioner of the Supreme Court of Missouri (1934–1963)
• Henry Lamm (1846–1926) – lawyer; jurist; poet; associate and chief justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri (1905–1916)
• Hazel Palmer – first female assistant prosecuting attorney in Sedalia; first female county collector, and first female magistrate judge of Pettis County; unsuccessful Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in 1958; president of National Federation of Business and Professional Women (1956–1958)
• John Finis Philips (1834–1919) – lawyer; politician; colonel 7th Missouri Volunteer Cavalry; president of Missouri Press Association (1891); US congressman; federal judge
• Donald J. Stohr (1934–2015) – United States District Court judge; born in Sedalia

Mayors of Sedalia

On February 15, 1864, the Missouri General Assembly passed a bill granting Sedalia a city charter. The charter appointed the first city officers, who served until elections were held in April 1864. The term of office for mayor was one year from 1864 to 1886; was two-years from 1886 to 1938; and four-years from 1938 until present. City municipal elections are held in April.

The following have been mayors of Sedalia:

• 1864-1864 – George Rappeen Smith (R) (1804–1879) appointed
• 1864-1865 – James G. Tesch (R) (1831-1896)
• 1865-1865 – E. W. Washburn (R) (1814-1899) resigned
• 1865-1866 – F. L. Parker (R) (1834-1881)
• 1866-1867 – John Finis Philips (R) (1834–1919)
• 1867-1868 – Henry Suess (1837–1906)
• 1868-1869 – Bacon Montgomery (1840–1886)
• 1869-1870 – Albert Parker (1827-1895)
• 1870-1871 – William P. Jackson (1830-1891)
• 1871-1872 – Thomas J. Montgomery (D) (1812-1877)
• 1872-1873 – George W. Cummings (D) (1838-1922)
• 1873-1874 – R. T. Miller (D) (1831-1914)
• 1874-1875 – William H. H. Hill (D) (1840-1880)
• 1875-1876 – Norman Maltby](D) (1841–1876)
• 1876-1877 – David Blocher (D) (1838-1906)
• 1877-1878 – Logan Clark (D) (1820-1882)
• 1878–1880 – George L. Faulhaber (R) (1838–1926)
• 1880-1881 – E. C. Evans (D) (1828-1902)
• 1881-1882 – Frank Craycroft (D) (1841-1911)
• 1882–1884 – Charles E. Messerly (R) (1851-1938)
• 1884–1886 – John B. Rickman (D) (1840-1915)
• 1886–1888 – E. W. Stevens (D) (1846-1905)
• 1888–1890 – John D. Crawford(R) (1838-1908)
• 1890–1894 – E. W. Stevens (D) (1846-1905)
• 1894–1898 – Pleasant Dawson Hastain (R) (1853-1912)
• 1898–1900 – W. C. Overstreet (D) (1857-1916)
• 1900–1901 – Samuel K. Crawford (R) (1838-1901) died in office
• 1901–1906 – J. L. Babcock (R) (1861–1930)
• 1906–1908 – John A. Collins (I)(1834-1924)
• 1908–1910 – J. L. Babcock (R) (1861-1930)
• 1910–1912 – J. W. Mellor (D) (1860-1930)
• 1912–1914 – F. L. Ludemann (D) (1864-1941)
• 1914–1918 – J. L. Babcock (R) (1861-1930)
• 1918–1920 – A. L. Baumgartner (R) (1860-1933)
• 1920–1924 – Frank F. Hatton (D) (1866-1925)
• 1924–1928 – J. L. Babcock (R) (1861-1930)
• 1928–1930 – O. B. Poundstone (D) (1885-1971)
• 1930–1932 – Sidney B. Kennon (D) (1869-1938)
• 1932–1934 – Wilmer Steeples (R)(1891–1946)
• 1934–1935 – O. B. Poundstone (D) (1885-1971) resigned
• 1935–1942 – Julian H. Bagby (D) (1899–1990)
• 1942–1946 – Alonzo H. Wilks (R) (1876-1966)
• 1946–1950 – Julian H. Bagby (D) (1899–1990)
• 1950–1953 – Herbert E. Studer (R) (1918-1958) resigned
• 1954–1958 – Julian H. Bagby (D) 1899–1990)
• 1958–1962 – Abe Silverman (I) (1917-1999)
• 1962-1966 – L. L. Studer (R) (1888-1967)
• 1966-1970 – Ralph H. Walker (R) (1932-2009)
• 1970–1976 – Jerry N. Jones (R) (1937-2011) resigned
• 1976–1982 – Allen L. Hawkins (R)
• 1982–1988 – Larry G. Foster (R) resigned
• 1989–1991 – Steven J. Dust (NP) resigned
• 1991–2002 – Jane Gray (NP)
• 2002–2009 – Bob Wasson (NP) (1933–2009) died in office
• 2009–2014 – Elaine Horn (NP)
• 2014-2018 – Stephen Galliher (NP)
• 2018–present – John Kehde (NP)

Sport

Baseball

• Allen Conkwright (1896–1991) – fourth cousin of Oakland Raiders' coach Red Conkright; pitcher with the Detroit Tigers in the 1920 season
• Bill Drake (1895–1977) – pitcher in various Negro league baseball teams (1914–1927)
• Al Orth (1872–1948) – pitcher who won 200 games while playing for the Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Senators and New York Highlanders (1895-1909)
• John Tillman "Bud" Thomas (1929–2015) – baseball player; infielder for the St. Louis Browns for the 1951 season
• Clarence LeRoy "Roy" Vaughn (1911–1937) – baseball player; pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics for the 1934 season

Basketball

• Kim Anderson (born 1955) – basketball player and coach

Football

• Douglas Claydon Van Horn (born 1944) – football offensive lineman in the National Football League (1966–1979)

• Blake Grupe – kicker in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints

Wrestling

• Douglas A. "Ox" Baker (1934–2014) – professional wrestler

Miscellaneous

Physical culture

• Bernard Adolphus McFadden (later Macfadden) (1868–1955) – promoter of physical culture; advocate of fasting

Business

• E. Virgil Neal (1868–1949) – manufacturer, entrepreneur

See also

• List of people from Missouri

References

Further reading

• Christensen, L.O.(ed), Dictionary of Missouri Biography, University of Missouri Press, (Columbia), 1999.
• Ihrig, B.B. et al. (eds), The First One Hundred Years, A History of the City of Sedalia, Missouri, 1860–1960, Centennial History Committee, Sedalia, 1960.
• Imhauser, R.C., Images of America: Sedalia, Arcadia Publishing, (Charleston), 2007.
• Scotten, F.C., History of the Schools of Pettis County, Missouri, 1974; Prepared under the Direction of C. F. Scotten, C.F. Scotton, (Sedalia) 1974.
• Bird, Kenneth L. "Rail to The Osage" The story of the Sedalia Warsaw & Southern Railroad, Menwith Publications,(Lincoln, Mo), 2009.

External links

• Sedalia Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Sedalia Chamber of Commerce
• The Political Graveyard: A Database of Historic Cemeteries
• Sedalia Democrat, a daily newspaper