Reuben W Hershey (1872 - 1947)

Born 4 Feb 1872 in Lawrence Township, Stark County, Ohio, United States

Ancestors

Died 6 Aug 1947 at age 75 in Denver, Denver County, Colorado, United States

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Biography

Reuben was born in 1872. He passed away in 1947.

On March 27, 1924, the Express dropped a bomb on City Hall — the first installment of a week-long series entitled “Invisible Government.” The exposé peeked under the sheets and named names. Outed as Kluxers: Mayor Stapleton. Manager of Safety Hershey. City Attorney Means. Chief Candlish. Judge Morley. Police magistrates Albert Orahood and Henry Bray. Carl Milliken, Colorado’s Secretary of State. “At least” seven police sergeants and twenty-one patrol officers. And “nearly all, if not all, of the present county grand jury now in session.” ^[1]

Obituary

Reuben W. Hershey, former manager of safety, died yesterday in his home 3243 Raleigh st., after a five years' illness.

Born in Canton, Ohio, in 1872, Mr. Hershey came to Denver 57 years ago. His first job in Denver was as manager of a laundry. From 1921 to 1929 he was manager of safety under former Mayor Stapleton.

Mr. Hershey ran for mayor of Denver in 1932 and was defeated by George Begole. Soon afterward he served for a year as chief deputy in the sherriff's office. He then worked as warden of County Jail.

A Mason for 50 years, Mr. Hershey was past grand master, past grand high priest and past grand commander and was recorder for the Shrine from 1919 to 1921.

He was the husband of Anna M.; father of Earl W., Harold Hershey and Mrs. Dorothy Rayburn. He is also survived by four sisters, a brother, five grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

Funeral services will be conducted at 2:30 p. m. tomorrow in Highlands Masonic Temple by Mackay of Rose Croix No. 1. Burial will be in Crown Hill.

Freemasonry

He was elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Colorado in 1929.

Discussion

See the article, "The KKK ruled Denver a century ago. Here’s how the hate group’s legacy is still being felt in 2021", by the Denver Post.

In the sidebar of that article it says, "May 15, 1923: Klansman Ben Stapleton is elected mayor of Denver. He installs Klansmen at many levels of city government." From the obituary above, it seems that Reuben W. Hershey was a part of that group. Reuben Hershey is found on the membership ledgers of the Klu Klux Klan in Colorado. See in the Sources, below.

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.historycolorado.org/story/2023/03/17/fighting-invisible-empire

• "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8ST-V3P : 13 November 2020), Ruben W. Hershey in household of Amos J. Hershey, Stark, Ohio, United States; citing enumeration district ED 142, sheet 67C, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,255,067.

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/83230999/reuben-w-hershey: accessed 01 May 2023), memorial page for Reuben W Hershey (4 Feb 1872–6 Aug 1947), Find a Grave Memorial ID 83230999, citing Crown Hill Cemetery, Wheat Ridge, Jefferson County, Colorado, USA; Maintained by VDR (contributor 47292775).
  • Section 34
  • Photo of obituary.

• https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3Aa5f78e2a-bddf-4492-b0ea-682988b4510c#pageNum=19
  • Ku Klux Klan member in Colorado. Member #807.

See also:

• FamilySearch Person: MGD2-ND3