Charles E. Burton (politician)

Charles E. Burton was an American politician from Arizona. He served a single term in the Arizona State Senate during the 5th Arizona State Legislature, holding one of the two seats from Yavapai County.[1]

Charles E. Burton
Member of the Arizona Senate
from the Yavapai County district
In office
January 1921  December 1922
Preceded byA. A. Johns
C. P. Hicks
Succeeded byCharles H. Rutherford
Howard Cornick
Personal details
NationalityAmerican
Political partyRepublican
ProfessionPolitician

Biography

Burton was born in Texas in 1883, and moved to Arizona Territory in 1903, settling in Ash Fork, where he opened the Northern Arizona Commercial Company.[2][3] He was a major sheep rancher in northern Arizona, centered in Ash Fork, with significant holdings.[4][5] Burton married Ada Brown of Prescott on May 3, 1909, in Phoenix. Ada was an accomplished musician, and had studied music in both Phoenix and Los Angeles.[6][7] In 1912, Burton sold many of his range interests north of Ash Fork, and extended his ranching activities to include cattle.[3][8][9]

In 1914, he ran for the Republican nomination for one of the seats from Yavapai County to the Arizona House of Representatives.[10] He was unopposed in the Republican primary, but all four Republican candidates lost to their Democrat opponents in the general election.[11][12] By 1915 he was one of the largest sheep ranchers in Arizona.[13] In February 1917 Ada Burton died in Phoenix after a short illness.[6][14] Later that same year, Burton was ill for several weeks with typhoid fever.[15]

In 1918, after his election, Governor Campbell appointed Burton as one of the three members of the state's Sheep Sanitary Board.[16] In 1920, Burton ran for the Republican nomination for the state senate from Yavapai County.[17] The two Democrat incumbents, A. A. Johns and C. P. Hicks were both soundly beaten by Burton and his Republican running partner, David Morgan.[18]

In addition to his sheep ranching activities, Burton was also co-owner of the Northern Arizona Commercial Company, a mercantile enterprise.[19] He also owned the Arizona Motor Company, a motor sales company handling several lines of trucks and cars in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico.[20] By 1921 his other business interests included being a director in the Phoenix National Life Insurance Company, part owner in the Imperial Live Stock and Mortgage Company, and the Sigler Oil Company, which operated oil fields in Texas. In addition he was a major stockholder of the Arizona Packing Company, and was one of the wealthiest men in Arizona.[3][21]

In May 1921 Burton married for a second time, to Mabel Frankforter of Phoenix, and member of a well-known Arizona pioneering family. The wedding took place in Los Angeles.[21] In 1922 the Burtons purchased a home on north Central Avenue in Phoenix.[22] They split their time between Phoenix and Williams.[23] Burton did not run for re-election in 1922.[24] At some point between 1927 and 1928, Burton and Mabel divorced, and Burton remarried for a third time, to Susan, a native of Helsinki, Finland. They remained married until her death in November 1948. The couple had two children, Robert and Linda.[25] Burton died on March 15, 1959, in Phoenix.[26]

References

  1. "History of the Arizona State Legislature 1912-1966". State of Arizona. p. 81. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  2. "Charles E. Burton". Arizona Republic. March 18, 1959. p. 59. Retrieved September 1, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Charles E. Burton". The Arizona Republican. January 23, 1921. p. 32. Retrieved September 1, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Here In Wickenburg". Weekly Journal-Miner. March 3, 1909. p. 7. Retrieved September 1, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Sheep Baron Busy". Weekly Journal-Miner. May 5, 1909. p. 7. Retrieved September 1, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "The Burial Of Mrs. Charles Burton". Weekly Journal-Miner. February 21, 1917. p. 1. Retrieved September 1, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Burton-Brown Nuptials In City of Phoenix Monday". Weekly Journal-Miner. May 12, 1909. p. 3. Retrieved September 1, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Burton Disposes Of His Range Interests". Weekly Journal-Miner. September 11, 1912. p. 2. Retrieved September 2, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Thousand Head Sent To California From Siding At Hillside". Weekly Journal-Miner. June 14, 1922. p. 3. Retrieved September 2, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Barriers Down Primary Race Now On". Weekly Journal-Miner. August 26, 1914. p. 5. Retrieved September 1, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Full List of the County Candidates". Weekly Journal-Miner. August 26, 1914. p. 4. Retrieved September 1, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Two Women One Republican In Legislature". The Copper Era and Morenci Leader. November 20, 1914. p. 4. Retrieved September 1, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Burton Closes Another Big Sheep Deal". Weekly Journal-Miner. June 30, 1915. p. 3. Retrieved September 1, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Mrs. Chas. E. Burton Passes Away Sunday". The Coconino Sun. February 23, 1917. p. 1. Retrieved September 1, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Recovers From Illness". Weekly Journal-Miner. December 12, 1917. p. 6. Retrieved September 1, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Campbell Is Engaged In Advance Work". Arizona Daily Star. December 31, 1918. p. 2. Retrieved September 1, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Little Life In Senate Race; Johns In". Weekly Journal-Miner. August 4, 1920. p. 5. Retrieved September 2, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Yavapai County Goes Republican". The Tucson Citizen. November 5, 1920. p. 11. Retrieved September 2, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  19. "Ash Fork Store Is Robbed By Thieves". Weekly Journal-Miner. November 24, 1920. p. 2. Retrieved September 2, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  20. "Arizona Motor Co. Acquires Gardner Motor Car Agency". The Arizona Republican. December 12, 1920. p. 19. Retrieved September 2, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  21. "Burton-Frankforter". Williams News. May 27, 1921. p. 1. Retrieved September 2, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  22. "Society". The Arizona Republican. November 26, 1922. p. 28. Retrieved September 2, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  23. "Winter Residents Are Visiting in Mile High City". The Arizona Republican. August 9, 1923. p. 3. Retrieved September 2, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  24. "Candidates For The Legislature In Both Parties". The Arizona Republican. September 28, 1922. p. 14. Retrieved September 2, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  25. "Susan H. Burton, Arizonian 20 Years, Dies; Rites Fixed". Arizona Republic. November 16, 1948. p. 7. Retrieved September 2, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  26. "Funeral Held For Charles E. Burton". Williams News. April 16, 1959. p. 5. Retrieved September 1, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.