United States Congress 
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his portion of our Sanders family History section is devoted to Sanders - Saunders and descendants who have been elected to federal, state and local offices and those who have served notably in government positions.This site is sponsored by the Sanders Family Association, a national, non-profit family club devoted to gathering and preserving family history of all Sanders-Saunders families.
If you have information and records on any Sanders relative who has been elected to any public office or served in government in any capacity, please send us this info to preserve in the Sanders Family National Library.
Sanders - Saunders and their descendants who have served in the United States Congress
Sanders - Saunders and descendants who have served in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress and the Continental Congress.
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rchie Dovell Sanders was born in Stafford, Genessee County, NY 17 Jun 1857 and died in Rochester, NY 15 Jul 1941. Archie attended public schools, Le Roy Academy and Buffalo Central High School. In 1873, he became a partner with his father in the produce business at Stafford. In 1894, he was elected highway commissioner of Stafford and in 1895, was elected supervisor. He was elected as a Representative to the New York State Assembly in 1895 and again in 1896. He also served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1896 and 1924.In 1898, Archie was appointed by President McKinley as collector of internal revenue for the 28th District of New York and served until 1913. He served on the Republican State Committee for the 30th Congressional District in 1900 and 1901. He was elected to the New York Senate in 1914 and 1915.
Archie was elected as a Representative to the 65th US Congress and was re-elected to seven more terms after that. He served in the House from 4 Mar 1917 to 3 Mar 1933. While in the House, he served as Chairman of the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads (71st Congress). He did not become a candidate for re-election in 1932, the year the Democrats swept the nation under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
He returned to Stafford and was serving as chairman of the Genesee County Republican Committee at the time of his death in 1941. He was buried in Stafford Rural Cemetery.
B
ernard Sanders was born in Brooklyn, NY 8 Sep 1941. He graduated from Madison High School there and received a BS degree from the University of Chicago. In 1964, he served on the faculty of Harvard University and in 1989 on the faculty of Hamilton College, Clinton, NY. He has also worked as a journalist.In 1972 and 1973, he was an unsuccessful independent candidate for the US Senate from Vermont. In 1972, 1976 and 1986, he also was an unsuccessful independent candidate for governor of Vermont. He was elected Mayor of Burlington, Vt. and served from 1981 to 1989. In 1988, he was unsuccessful in a bid for the US House of Representatives. In 1990, he was finally successful and won a set in the House as an independent candidate and began his service on 3 Jan 1991 and has been re-elected to five terms since then.
E
dward Watts Saunders was born 20 Oct 1860 near Rocky Mount, Franklin County, Virginia. He was a son of Peter Saunders Sr. and Elizabeth Dabney. Peter was a Delegate to the Virginia Convention which voted to secede from the union in 1861 and to join the Confederate States of America. Edward was a grandson of Fleming Saunders Sr. and Sarah Watts.Edward received private education from tutors and later graduated from the University of Virginia in 1882. He then studied law and was admitted to the bar. He began practice of law at Charlottesville, Va. In 1883, he was elected to the Virginia state legislature's House of Delegates and served from 1887 to 1901. He served as Speaker in 1899. In 1901, he served as Judge of the 4th Circuit Court and Judge of the 7th Circuit Court in 1904.
In 1904, Edward was elected as a Democrat to fill the vacancy in the US Congress when Rep. C. A. Swanson resigned. He was reelected to seven terms of office and served from 6 Nov 1906 to 29 Feb 1920, when he resigned after his election as Judge of the Virginia State Supreme Court of Appeals. He serve on the Court until his death.
Edward died at Rocky Mount 16 Dec 1921. He was buried at High Street Cemetery.
J
ames Everett (Everett) Sanders was born near Coalmont, Clay County, Indiana 8 Mar 1882. He attended public schools and Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute. He graduated from the Indiana University Law Department at Bloomington in 1907. He was admitted to the bar the next year and practiced law in Terre Haute.Everett was elected to Congress in 1916 as a Republican from Indiana to the 65th US Congress and to three succeeding Congresses. He served from 4 Mar 1917 to 3 Mar 1925 when he retired.
In 1924, Everett became director of the speakers' bureau of the Republican National Committee. On 4 Mar 1925, he was appointed secretary to President Calvin Coolidge and served until 4 Mar 1929. He served as National Chairman of the Republican Party from 1932 to 1934, when he resumed his pracice of law in Washington, DC.
He died in Washington 12 May 1950. He is buried in Highland Lawn Cemetery, Terre Haute.
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ared Young Sanders was born 29 Jan 1869 near Morgan City, St. Mary Parish, La. He attended St. Charles Jesuit College and Tulane University Law School. He served as a Representative in the Louisiana State Legislature and became the Speaker of the House. Hewas later elected Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana. He was elected Governor of Louisiana in 1908. Jared was a member of the Democratic Party.
Jared was the first governor elected under the primary law passed under Governor Blanchard. This established primaries for the major parties to select the party candidate. Jared became a reforming governor and pushed for regulation of gambling and liquor. He also won passage of child labor laws.
He also fought to get paved highways for the state and continued promoting improved transportation facilities after he left office. He helped develop a master plan for the Louisiana highway system and served as the first attorney for the Louisiana Highway Department. During his term as governor, the state legislature passed a State Conservation Commission Act, an amendment which authorized use of property taxes for a special highway fund and a tax on corporations using state resources. He also served as a member of the 1921 Constitutional Convention.
Jared married Ada V. Shaw. Their son Jared Young Sanders Jr. (IV), was also elected to the US Congress as a Representative.
Jared died 23 Mar 1944 in Baton Rouge and is bured in Franklin, La.
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ared Young Sanders Jr. was born 20 Apr 1892 in Franklin, St. Mary Parish, La. into a family with a tradition of public service. He was a son of Jared Young Sanders Sr. (III), who served as Lt. Governor and Governor of Louisiana and later in US House of Representatives.Jared Jr. attended Dixon Academy at Covington, La. and Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va. He graduated from Louisiana State University in 1912 and from the Tulane University Law Department in 1914. He was admitted to the bar the same year and began practice in Baton Rouge, La.
Jared Jr. served in the US Army during World War I from May 1917 to Apr 1919. He was a Captain in the 346th Infantry Regiment, 87th Division.
Jared was elected to the Louisiana State House of Representatives as a Democrat and served from 1928 to 1932. He was elected to the State Senate in 1932 and served until he was elected to Congress to fill a vacancy created by the death of Rep. B. E. Kemp in the 73rd Congress. He was reelected to the 74th Congress and served from 1 May 1934 to 3 Jan 1937. He failed in his attempt for reelection in 1936 and resumed his practice of law.
He was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1940 and 1944 and in 1940, was elected to Congress again, serving from 3 Jan 1941 to 3 Jan 1943. His bid for reelection failed in 1942 and he resumed law practice.
He and his wife had one daughter, Mary Elizabeth, born 1912.
Jared died 29 Nov 1960 in Baton Rouge and is buried in Roselawn Memorial Park.
M
organ Gurley Sanders was born 14 Jul 1878 near Ben Wheeler, Van Zandt County, Texas. He was the son of Levi Lindsey Sanders and Sarah Frances ("Fannie") Smith. Levi was born in 1837 in Jackson Co., AL., son of Benjamin L. Sanders Jr., a native of Randolph Co., NC. and Elaine Sugg.Morgan attended public schools and graduated from Alamo Institute. He taught school for three years and then acquired a weekly newspaper. He later studied law at the University of Texas in Austin and was admitted to the bar in 1901. He commenced practice in Canton, Tx.
He was elected to the Texas House of Representatives and served from 1902 to 1906. He served as Prosecuting Attorney of Van Zandt County from 1910 to 1914 and District Attorney of the 17th Judicial Districe in 1915 and 1916. He was a delegate to several Texas State Democratic Conventions.
Morgan was elected as a Democrat to the 77th US Congress and reelected to eight more terms. He served from 4 Mar 1921 to 3 Jan 1939. He was unsuccessful in his reelection bid in 1938 and resumed his law practice in Canton.
He died 7 Jan 1956 in Corsicana, Tx. and is buried in Hillcrest Cemetery at Canton.
R
omulus Mitchell Saunders was born 3 Mar 1791 in that part of Orange Co. that later became part of Martin Co., North Carolina. He was a son of William Saunders Jr. and his first wife ??? Mitchell.Romulus was a nephew of Colonel James Saunders, who represented Orange County in the North Carolina Provincial Congress in 1776. After the death of his father William Jr., Romulus was adopted and raised by his uncle James and they moved to Tennessee. He later returned to North Carolina and attended the University of North Carolina. He studied law. He was elected to the NC House of Commons from Caswell County from 1815 to 1820. He served as Speaker of the House in 1819 and 1820.
In 1821, Romulus was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives and served until 1827. In 1828, he was named Attorney General of North Carolina. In 1833, he was appointed by President Andrew Jackson as one of the board of commissioners to decide and allot the amount that was due American citizens for injuries by France by a treaty in 1831.
In 1835, he was elected by the Legislature as Judge of the Superior Courts and held this post until 1840 when he resigned to become a Democratic candidate for governor. He was defeated by John Moorehead. In 1844, he was again elected to Congress and in the Democratic Convention that year, he introduced the celebrated two-third rule, by which a candidate required two-thirds of all the votes to become nominated. The adoption of this rule resulted in the defeat of Martin VanBuren for the nomination and selection of James Knox Polk as the Democratic nominee for president. Romulus continued in Congress until 1845, when he was appointed by President Polk to be Minister (ambassador) to Spain. During his term as Minister to Spain, Romulus was directed by Polk to negotiate with Spain for the purchase of Cuba by the United States for $100 million. The purchase attempt failed.
Romulus returned home in Oct 1849 and was elected to the North Carolina House of Commons from Wake County in 1850. He worked to secure construction of the North Carolina Railroad and other improvements in the state. He was elected Judge of the Superior Courts in 1851 and served until 1865, when he was dismissed by Governor William W. Holden. Romulus was one of the commissioners named to revise and codify the laws of the state while he served as judge.
Romulus married Rebecca Pine Carter 1 Nov 1812 in Caswell Co., NC. They had the following children: James, Franklin, Camillus, Ann Pine and Rebecca Saunders. Rebecca died about 1825 and he married Mrs. Anna Johnson Hayes. Their children were William Johnson ("Spanish Bill"), Margaret Madeline, Jane Claudia and Julia A. Saunders.
He died 21 Apr 1867 in Raleigh, NC and is buried there in the Old City Cemetery.
Sanders - Saunders and descendants who have served in the Senate of the United States Congress and the Continental Congress.
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lvin Saunders was born 12 Jul 1817 in Fleming County, Kentucky, son of Gunnell Saunders Jr. (a native of Loudoun Co., Va.) and Mary Mauzy. He was a grandson of Gunnell Sanders Sr. and Eleanor Robinson.Alvin's father moved to Kentucky as a young man and settled in Fleming Co. in 1801. The family moved to Illinois in 1829. In 1836, Alvin moved to that part of Wisconson Territory that is now Iowa. He became a postmaster at Mount Pleasant, Ia. for seven years. He studied law and then engaged in business as a merchant and banker.
He was a member of the convention that framed a state constitution for Iowa in 1846. He was later elected as a State Senator, serving for 8 years. Alvin was elected to the Iowa State Senate and served from 1854 to 1856 and again from 1858 to 1860. He was a delegate to the first Iowa Republican Party convention in 1860 and again in 1868. He served as a commissioner to organize the Union Pacific Railroad Co. In 1861, he was named Governor of Nebraska Territory and served in that office until Nebraska was admitted to the union as a state in 1867.
While he was governor of Nebraska Territory, he raised 3,000 troops for the yankee army during the War for Southern Independence (1861-65).
Alvin was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate from Nebraska and served from 1877 to 1883. He secured more than 600,000 acres of land for Nebraska by getting the northern boundary straightened out. He served as Chairman of the Committee on Territories in the 47th Congress.
Saunders County, Nebraska was named for him. In addition to operating a store, he also served as President of the State National Bank of Omaha. He served as the vice president of the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition, a large exposition held in Omaha from 1 Jun to 31 Oct 1898. He was a member of the Church of Christ. He died 1 Nov 1899 and was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Omaha.
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ewell Sanders was born 12 Jul 1850 at Bloomington, Owen Co., Indiana. He attended rural schools and graduated from Indiana University in 1873.He owned and operated a book store in Bloomington from 1973 to 1977, when he moved to Chattanooga, Tn., where he began the manufacture of agricultural implements. He was president of the Chattanooga Plow Co. from 1882 to 1901. He also served on the board of directors of the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway.
Newell was elected an Alderman of Chattanooga and served from 1882 to 1886. Newell was a Republican. Upon the death of Senator R. L. Taylor, Newell was appointed to fill the vacancy and served in the US Senate from 11 Apr 1912 to 24 Jan 1913. While in the Senate, he served as Chairman of the Committee on National Banks in the 62nd Congress. He declined to seek reelection.
He retired from public life in 1927. He died at his home on Lookout Mountain overlooking Chattanooga. He was buried at Forest Hills Cemetery in Chattanooga.
W
ilbur Fiske Sanders was born 2 May 1834 in Leon, Cattaraugus County, NY. He attended public schools. He later taught school in New York. He moved to Ohio in 1854 and continued teaching. He later studied law in Akron, Oh. and was admitted to the bar in 1856.He served in the yankee army during the War for Southern Independence and recruited a company of infantry and a battery of artillery in the summer of 1861. He was commissioned a lieutenant of the 64th Regiment, Ohio Infantry. He was later appointed adjutant.
After the war, he moved to that part of Montana which became Idaho, where he practiced law and was involved in mining and stock raising. He was an unsuccessful Republican candidate as a Delegate to Congress in 1864, 1867, 1880 and 1886. He was elected to the Montana Territorial House of Representatives and served from 1873 to 1879.
When Montana became a state, Newell was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate and served from 1 jan 1890 to 3 Mar 1893. He was defeated in his bid for reelection. While in office, he served as Chairman of the Committee on Enrolled Bills of the 52nd Congress.
He died in Helena, Montana on 7 Jul 1905. He was buried in Forestvale Cemetery.
W
illiam Henry Harrison was a grandson of US Senator Alvin Saunders. He was also a ggg grandson of President Benjamin Harrison and gg grandson of President William Henry Harrison. William was born 10 Aug 1896 in Terre Haute, In. and died in St. Petersburg, Fl. 8 Oct 1990. He attended sidwell Friends School, Washington, DC and the University of Nebraska College of Agriculture. He served in the US Army during WW I. He was admitted to the Indiana bar in 1937 and practiced law in Sheridan, Wyoming. He served in the Wyoming State House of Representatives from 1945 to 1950. He was elected as a Republican to the US House of Representatives in the 82 Congress. He served from 1951 to 1955 and did not seek reelection but became an unsuccessful candidate for the Senate that year. He was reelected to the House in 1957 to 1958 and again served from 1961 to 1965, when he lost a bid for reelection in 1964. He was reelected in 1967 and served until 1969. He was defeated for reelection in 1968.
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