Purnell - Fred Sampson
Fred Sampson Purnell
Born in Veedersburg, Fred (son of Fred and Elizabeth Shoaf) entered the world on October 25th in 1882 and lived to the mere age of 56, missing his 57th birthday by just four days, passing away at Walter Reed Hospital (of pneumonis) in Washington DC. He graduated from IU Law school in 1904 and began his practice in Attica. He was city attorney for that city from 1910-14. In 1917, at yet a young age, he was elected as a Republican to the 65th Congress and continued to be elected until 1933. From there, he remained in Washington, serving as an attorney in the General Accounting Office there. His body was returned to Veedersburg, where he rests in Rockfield. His wife, Elizabeth Sina Shof was born the same year, and was a bit older (from May – Oct) but lived to be 98, passing away Oct 14, 1980 in Evanston, Illinois. (Wikipedia).
In an obituary on 24 Oct 1939 Indianapolis Star, Representative Forest Harness said he had known and admired Purnell for many years and that Fred, “needs to eulogy for his life and his record of distinguished attainments speak for themselves.” My favorite comment in that article was that “he had no enemies and there were no party lines in his friendships.” Ahhhh, if we could see that today. He also had a “genial, sunny nature, his down home qualities and his keen sense of humor made him the life of every party.”
That article went on to say that in his younger years, he was an accomplished amateur artist and from this became an accomplished speaker in the house and beyond. “At his Attica home, Hoosier Hospitality flourished at its best.” He particularly worked hard on the agriculture and steering committees. “He never got far away from the tang of soil,” the article said even though he had cut-out a wonderful career in law. “He was a deep student of agricultural problems,” and authored considerable numbers of agricultural legislation (including the Purnell Act, which heightened appropriations for agricultural experiments and others to permit more patenting of agricultural products). “Fred Sampson Purnell was widely known as a man without guile; a good citizen in every sense that meaningful term connotes; a true friend and a great American. He and wife had two sons, Fritz and Sam.
Note: Photo in the Lafayette Journal & Courier 23 Oct 1939 p 10