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Revision as of 00:19, 2 October 2005 by Dr U (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Udall is the family name of a U.S. political family.
Members
- David King Udall was the founder of the Udall political dynasty, which currently spans over 100 years and 4 generations. He led pioneer settlers into Arizona, and served a term as a Representitive to the Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1899.
Four of David King Udall's sons held political offices:
- John Hunt Udall was the Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona from 1936-38.
- Don Taylor Udall was a Representaive to the Arizona State Legislature from 1941-42.
- Levi Stewart Udall was the Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court 1951-53 and 1957-59.
- Jesse Addison Udall was the Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court 1960-72.
Three of David King Udall's grandsons held political offices:
- Stewart Udall served as a Democratic U.S. Representative from Arizona (1955 - 1961) and also as Secretary of the Interior (1961 - 1969).
- Mo Udall, Stewart's brother, also served as a Democratic U.S. Representative from Arizona (1961 - 1991) and ran for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in 1976.
- J. Nicholas "Nick" Udall was the Mayor of Phoenix Arizona from 1948-52.
Three of David King Udall's great-grandsons currently hold political offices:
- Mark Udall, Morris' son, is a Democratic U.S. Representative from Colorado (since 1999).
- Tom Udall, Stewart's son, is a Democratic U.S. Representative from New Mexico (since 1999).
- Gordon Smith is a Republican U.S. Senator from Oregon (since 1997). His mother was a Udall and he is a second cousin to both Mark and Tom Udall.
Pedigree
Trivia
Gordon Smith is not just a second cousin to Mark and Tom Udall, they are actually double second cousins. Two Udall brothers married two Lee sisters. Gordon Smith is the grandchild of one of those unions, while Mark and Tom Udall are grandchildren of the other.
David King Udall was a Mormon polygamist, and he had children through two different wives. The descendants of his first wife, Eliza, who have held significant political office, have all been Democrats. The descendants of his second wife, Ida, who have held significant political office, have all been Republicans.
Point Udall, the easternmost place in the United States, is named for Stewart Udall. Udall Point, the westernmost place in the U.S. is named for his brother, Mo Udall.
Ancedotes
In his autobiography Too Funny To Be President, Mo Udall describes the efforts of himself and his brother Stewart to get a dam built on the Colorado River below the Grand Canyon (a position they later opposed). A citizen who lived in Saint Johns, Arizona as a boy, dictated the following letter and mailed it to a number of politicians:
Dear Sirs: I am an old man and I know a lot about...this Udall outfit. My father had a ranch on the Little Colorado River when I was a boy. We had cattle, sheep and goats and horses. In the bottom land we raised our corn and beans and chile and we were contented and happy. Then David K. Udall moved down to Saint Johns...and he and some other men like him put in a dam accross the Little Colorado. We objected because it was a dangerous place to put in a dirt dam but they went right ahead and put it in anyway.
When it broke, it ruined our land and drowned our cattle and goats and...I have been poor ever since. They never paid us a cent for the damages. I confess I do not like the Udalls and this is one reason.
Another reason is that you cannot trust any of them. The whole tribe were Republicans and David K. Udall and his brother Joe Udall tried for years to get the Mexicans, who were then all Republicans to give them a public office. But Don Lorenzo Hubbell, who was a great leader, saw through this scheme and never would let them get on the Republican ticket. And the Mormons, who were nearly all Democrats, would have none of them. But when Franklin Roosevelt came in, some of the Mexicans switched to him and the Udalls went along, or most of them did.
However David K. Udall, the big shot, had a second wife hid out down the river at a place called Hunt and this wife had some boys who stayed Republican and one of them got to be mayor of Phoenix. In this way the Udall family can now work both sides of the street. I want you to check up on this because I am an old man and want to be sure of my facts. But my granddaughter tells me this Stewart Udall is trying to steal the water from the Colorado and I can believe it. Because this is the way it happened fifty and sixty years ago. The Udalls have been at this business a long time.
Respectfully yours,
Jose (Joe) Chavez
(commentary deleted)
Quotes
"I wouldn't call it a dynasty...we're all pretty individualistic." -Stewart Udall
External links
Works Cited
Udall, Morris King. Too Funny To Be President; New York, New York. Henry Holt and Company, 1988.
"In Arizona, you have a choice: Vote for Udall, or for Udall" Robert Gehrke, Associated Press, November 9, 2001.
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