Richmond C. Hathorn

Richmond Conrad Hathorn, Sr., known as R. C. Hathorn or as Richmond C. Hathorn (November 25, 1893 – June 22, 1941),[1] was a Democrat who represented his native Rapides Parish, Louisiana, from 1936 to 1940 in the Louisiana House of Representatives during the administrations of Governors Richard Leche and Earl Kemp Long, respectively. He served alongside W. T. Bradford and Jesse F. Lucas, who were in their second and last terms in the House.[2]

Richmond Conrad "R. C." Hathorn, Sr.
Louisiana State Representative for Rapides Parish
In office 1936–1940
Preceded by	Three at-large members: W. T. Bradford George W. Lee Jesse F. Lucas
Succeeded by	Three at-large members: T. C. Brister Neil Haven Klock W. H. Smith
Personal details
Born	(1893-11-25)November 25, 1893 Rapides Parish, Louisiana
Died	June 22, 1941(1941-06-22) (aged 47)
Resting place	Greenwood Memorial Park in Pineville, Louisiana
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Mary Ella Richey Hathorn (married 1919-1941, his death)
Children	Louise Hathorn Slocum Janet "Jinks" Hathorn Sauve Hilda J. Hathorn Fuglaar Robert J. "Jack" Hathorn Richmond C. Hathorn, Jr. Irma Hathorn Davis Lou Ann Hathorn Beard Thompson
Parents	Richmond Yancey Hathorn Josephine Antoinette "Cennie" Borland Hathorn
Residence	Lecompte in Rapides Parish
Occupation	State employee
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army Infantry
Battles/wars	World War I

Family background

Hathorn was a son of Richmond Yancey Hathorn (1858-1921) and the former Josephine Antoinette "Cennie" Borland. He served in the United States Army infantry in World War I.[1] In 1919, he wed the former Mary Ella Richey (1897-2001), who was born in rural Rhinehart in Catahoula Parish. After his death, she was a widow for sixty years.[3] The Hathorns had seven children, four from Alexandria: Louise Hathorn Slocum (1920-2013),[4] Janet "Jinks" Hathorn Sauve (1922-2007), Richmond Conrad "Sonny" Hathorn, Jr. (1929-2009), and Irma Hathorn Davis. The surviving children are Robert J. "Jack" Hathorn (born October 1932) of the Poland Community in Rapides Parish and Lou Ann Hathorn Beard Thompson (born October 1933) of Vidalia in Concordaia Parish.[1][4][5]

Another daughter, Hilda J. Hathorn Fuglaar (1924-2001), the widow of Harvey Casper Fulgaar (1922-1975), died in Little Rock, Arkansas, at the age of seventy-six. Her husband's uncle was another Louisiana state representative, Lawrence T. Fuglaar of Pineville.[6][7]

One of Hathorn's sons-in-law, Jerry Washington Slocum, Jr. (1914-2008), husband of Louise Slocum, was a board member of the Red River, Atchafalaya, and Bayou Bouef Levee District. His Slocum Construction Company, founded in 1949, sponsored many successful slow-pitch softball teams in Alexandria.[8]

Political life

In November 1939, near the end of his House tenure, Hathorn was one of nineteen persons named in sixty-six indictments by a Rapides Parish grand jury. Along with Mayor Rollo C. Lawrence of Pineville, Hathorn was cited for dual office holding and being a "deadhead" on the state payroll, a term which refers to one who does little if any work for which there is a need. Parish Sheriff U. T. Downs and three of his deputies, W. C. Nash, N. G. Aymond, and Roy Yerby, were charged with malfeasance in office. Alexandria Mayor V. V. Lamkin, an Earl Long supporter, was indicted for both bribery and malfeasance in office.[9] Others faced embezzlement and income tax violations. Indictments were issued against George C. Gray, the former Alexandria chief of police and a candidate to succeed Downs as sheriff, as well as Alexandria police officers Allen E. Zachary and Joseph T. Ohman.[10]

Sheriff Downs's son, C. H. "Sammy" Downs, an Alexandria lawyer, later served in both houses of the Louisiana Legislature as a floor leader for Earl Long and a future aide to Governor John McKeithen.

Hathorn was living in Ward 2 (Lecompte) in south Rapides Parish in the 1940 census.[5] He died a year after he left the legislature. Hathorn and other family members are interred at Greenwood Memorial Park in Pineville, Louisiana.[1]

References

1. "Richmond Conrad Hathorn". findagrave.com. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
2. "Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2016: Rapides Parish" (PDF). house.Louisiana.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
3. "vii - Mary Ella Richey". familytreemaker.genealogy.com. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
4. "Louise Hathorn Slocum", Alexandria Town Talk, April 14, 2013
5. "R. C. Hathorn". ancestry.com. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
6. "Hilda J. Hathorn Fuglaar". findagrave.com. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
7. "Lawrence Tyler Fuglaar, Sr". fuglaar.webs.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
8. "Jerry Washington Slocum, Jr., Alexandria Town Talk, April 18, 2008
9. "High Officials of Louisiana Are Indicted". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Lubbock, Texas. December 2, 1939. p. 6. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
10. "Many Public Officials in List of Nineteen Indicted". Biloxi, Mississippi: Biloxi Daily Herald. December 1, 1939. p. 1. Retrieved October 1, 2014.

Preceded by Three at-large members: W. T. Bradford George W. Lee Jesse F. Lucas	Louisiana State Representative for Rapides Parish Richmond Conrad "R. C." Hathorn, Sr. 1936–1940	Succeeded by Three at-large members: T. C. Brister Neil Haven Klock W. H. Smith