Manuel Herrick
Manuel Herrick | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromOklahoma's8thdistrict | |
| In office March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1923 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Swindall |
| Succeeded by | Milton C. Garber |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 20, 1876 Perry Township, Tuscarawas County, Ohio |
| Died | January 11, 1952(aged 75) Quincy, California |
| Political party | Republican |
| Profession | Farmer |
Manuel Herrick,nicknamed the"Okie Jesus Congressman"(September 20, 1876 – January 11, 1952) was aUnited States RepresentativefromOklahomafor one term, from March 4, 1921 to March 3, 1923.
Early life
[edit]Born Immanuel Herrick inPerry Township,Tuscarawas County, Ohioon September 20, 1876, he moved with his parents, John Emanuel Herrick and Belinda Kale Herrick, toGreenwood County, Kansasin 1877. Herrick’s mother came to believe her son wasJesus Christreincarnated, leading Herrick himself to believe this as well.[1]Herrick was self-educated and engaged in agricultural pursuits. Later, he settled in theCherokee StripinOklahoma Territory.In 1893, Herrick was deemed insane after attempting to rob a train and was sent to a mental institution.[2]Afterwards, Herrick moved toPerryand became interested in agriculture and stock raising.
Congressional career
[edit]At the age of forty-two, Herrick was elected as aRepublicanto theSixty-seventh Congress.Herrick won the Republican nomination after the popular incumbent Republican congressman,Dick T. Morgan,died unexpectedly on the last day of filing, allowing Herrick to take the nomination unopposed. Herrick was elected in November 1920 based on the strength ofWarren G. Harding's showing in his district. Herrick served from March 4, 1921 to March 3, 1923. He unsuccessfully ran for reelection in 1922, losing in the Republican primary. As a Congressman, Herrick was one of the more colorful members of that body. During his one-and-only term, Herrick scandalized his fellow legislators by soliciting marriage proposals from beauty queens, only to claim that he was gathering information for intended legislation banningbeauty pageants.Herrick took a similar approach to his 1925 arrest formoonshining,claiming to be an undercover agent for theInternal Revenue Service.Herrick was also notable for his prowess as a barnstorming aviator,[citation needed]and for his Jesus reincarnation claims, leading him to be nicknamed the “Okie Jesus Congressman”. His mental health was often in question and his eccentricities and lack of knowledge of the governmental process overshadowed his diligence for constituents.
Later life and death
[edit]After leaving Congress, Herrick moved toCaliforniain 1933. He would settle inPlumas County, Californiain 1937 and ran unsuccessfully for Congress several times while in California. Herrick mysteriously disappeared during a Sierrablizzardon January 11, 1952, while on a trip to his mining claim eight miles northeast ofQuincy, California.A month later, Herrick was found dead in a snowbank two miles from his cabin on February 29, 1952. His remains were cremated and the ashes interred in Quincy Cemetery in Quincy.
Bibliography
[edit]- Aldrich, Gene. Okie Jesus Congressman (The Life of Manuel Herrick). Oklahoma City: Times-Journal Publishing Co., 1974.
References
[edit]- ^"Herrick, Manuel | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture".Oklahoma Historical Society | OHS.Retrieved2024-03-15.
- ^"Herrick, Manuel | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture".Oklahoma Historical Society | OHS.Retrieved2024-03-15.
- United States Congress."Manuel Herrick (id: H000540)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- A Hundred Years of Oklahoma and the Congress: World War I and the Roaring Twenties
External links
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