Alexander Pancoast Riddle (born
Harlansburgh,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, August 16, 1846; died near
Salina,
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
, May 13, 1909) was an American newspaperman and
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
politician of
Ottawa County, Kansas
Ottawa County (standard abbreviation: OT) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 5,735. The largest city and county seat is Minneapolis.
History
Early history
For many millennia, ...
; he served as the 11th
lieutenant governor of Kansas from 1885 to 1889.
Life
While his father, Dr. John W. Riddle (1820-1909), was serving as an army surgeon in the Civil War, young Riddle obtained work at the
Franklin
Franklin may refer to:
People
* Franklin (given name)
* Franklin (surname)
* Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class
Places Australia
* Franklin, Tasmania, a township
* Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...
, Pennsylvania ''Spectator'' newspaper and became a journeyman printer. He arrived in Kansas after the war and in 1873 was able to purchase a half-interest in the ''Girard Press''. In 1885 he moved to
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
, Kansas and purchased the ''Minneapolis Messenger'' newspaper there.
A member of the Republican party, Riddle came into politics by serving as the journal clerk of the state senate from 1876 to 1880. From 1881 to 1884 he served as a state senator, representing
Crawford
Crawford may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crawford Bay Airport, British Columbia
* Crawford Lake Conservation Area, Ontario
United Kingdom
* Crawford, Lancashire, a small village near Rainford, Merseyside, England
* Crawford, South Lanarkshire, a ...
and
Bourbon Bourbon may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash
* Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels
* Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit
* A beer produced by Bras ...
counties. He served as president pro tem of the senate in an emergency session in 1884 occasioned by an outbreak of hoof and mouth disease. In 1884 he was elected lieutenant governor on the Republican ticket, serving with governor
John A. Martin. Martin and Riddle were re-elected in 1886. Riddle was appointed as a state insurance commissioner in 1896 and served a two-year term.
Riddle was active in the affairs of several fraternal organizations, holding high office in the
Knights of Pythias,
Improved Order of Red Men
The Improved Order of Red Men is a fraternal organization established in North America in 1834. Their rituals and regalia are modeled after those assumed by men of the era to be used by Native Americans. Despite the name, the order was formed ...
, and
International Order of Odd Fellows
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is a non-political and non-sectarian international fraternal order of Odd Fellowship. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Wildey in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Evolving from the Order of Odd ...
. He published monthly newspapers for the Knights of Pythias (the ''Sprig of Myrtle'') and Ancient Order of United Workmen (the ''Kansas Workman'').
Riddle was killed in an automobile accident near Salina, Kansas when a car hit an embankment and the persons in the back seat, including Riddle, were thrown out of the car. He is buried in the Girard Cemetery in
Girard, Kansas.
Family
Riddle married Ada Fuller in 1878 and the couple had four children, Estelle Riddle Dodge (1879–1964), Mary (1882–3), Genevieve Louise (1884–1967), and Arthur Fuller (1886–1967). Estelle was a journalist and newspaper editor; she was active in the sorority
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Alpha Theta (), also known simply as Theta, is an international women’s fraternity founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established for women. The main arc ...
for much of her life and wrote a memoir and history entitled ''Sixty Years in Kappa Alpha Theta: 1870-1929'' (1930). Arthur Fuller Riddle took over as editor of the ''Minneapolis Messenger'' after his father's death;
[''The Scroll of Phi Delta Theta'', Volume 34, 1909-1910, p. 201] he was later the editor of the
Idaho Statesman
The ''Idaho Statesman'' is the daily newspaper of Boise, Idaho, in the western United States. It is owned by The McClatchy Company.
History
The paper was first published as the ''Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman'' on July 26, 1864, by James S. Reynolds ...
from 1929 to 1950.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riddle, Alexander P.
Kansas Republicans
Lieutenant Governors of Kansas
19th-century American newspaper publishers (people)
People from Lawrence County, Pennsylvania
People from Franklin, Pennsylvania
People from Minneapolis, Kansas
1846 births
1909 deaths