Walter Frederick Bossert (27 April 1885 – 14 January 1946) was
Grand Dragon
Ku Klux Klan (KKK) nomenclature has evolved over the order's nearly 160 years of existence. The titles and designations were first laid out in the original Klan's prescripts of 1867 and 1868, then revamped with William J. Simmons's '' Kloran'' of ...
of the
Ku Klux Klan for
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
and 17 other states, from 1924 to 1926.
Biography
Bossert was born and attended school in
Brookville, Indiana
Brookville is a town in Brookville Township, Franklin County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,596 at the 2010 census. The town is the county seat of and the largest community entirely within Franklin County.
History
Brookville was ...
, then obtained his law degree at
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universi ...
in 1907. After several years as a prosecutor and private practice lawyer in Brookville and
Terre Haute, Indiana, he settled in
Liberty, Indiana
Liberty is a town in Center Township, Union County, Indiana, United States of America. The population was 2,000 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Union County.
History
The Liberty post office has been in operation since 1824.
The L ...
. There he established a private practice, and later served as attorney for both Liberty and
Union County, Indiana
Union County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 7,087. The county seat is Liberty.
Since 2018, Union County has been included in the Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan S ...
. With his attorney brother
Elmer F. Bossert, he was the senior partner in the firm Bossert and Bossert. From 1922 to 1926 he also maintained a law office in
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...
. The law firm that he founded in Liberty became Toney & Douglass until it closed in 2017.
In 1913 he wed Healen Margaret Roach and they remained married until his death.
Bossert was chairman of the Union County Republican Committee from 1910 to 1914, and was Sixth District chairman from 1916 to 1922. He served on the Republican state committee. Bossert assisted national
Republican Party chairman
Will H. Hays
William Harrison Hays Sr. (; November 5, 1879 – March 7, 1954) was an American Republican politician.
As chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1918–1921, Hays managed the successful 1920 presidential campaign of Warren G. Ha ...
and often traveled with Hayes around the U.S.
When Ku Klux Klan powerbroker
D. C. Stephenson
David Curtis "Steve" Stephenson (August 21, 1891 – June 28, 1966) was an American Ku Klux Klan (KKK) leader, convicted rapist and murderer. In 1923 he was appointed Grand Dragon of the Indiana Klan and head of Klan recruiting for seven other s ...
was ousted from his position as Grand Dragon after committing murder, Bossert replaced him. After Stephenson was convicted in 1925 of murder resulting from his violent rape of a female associate, the Klan quickly lost favor with the public and its considerable political clout in Indiana declined. After resigning as Grand Dragon in 1926, Bossert devoted himself to his legal practice and Republican Party politics. He made unsuccessful attempts to secure the Republican nomination for United States senator in 1938 and 1940. In 1943 he was named board chairman of the Indiana
Old Age Pension Fund.
Bossert died at his Liberty home, and he was buried at West Point Cemetery on the outskirts of the town.
Notes
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bossert, William F.
People from Liberty, Indiana
People from Brookville, Indiana
Indiana University alumni
Indiana Republicans
Methodists from Indiana
Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragons
1946 deaths
1885 births