Franklin Landers (March 22, 1825 – September 10, 1901) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. Born near the village of Landersdale in

Morgan County, Indiana Morgan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 71,780. The county seat (and only incorporated city) is Martinsville. Morgan County is between Indianapolis, in Marion C ...

, Landers attended local schools. At the age of twenty-one he engaged in teaching school. He was associated with his brother in mercantile pursuits at

Waverly, Indiana Waverly is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Harrison Township, Morgan County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. History Waverly had its start about 1837 by the building of the canal through that territory. At one tim ...

. Landers laid out the town of

Brooklyn, Indiana Brooklyn is a town in Clay and Brown townships, Morgan County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,511 at the 2020 census, up from 1,598 in 2010. History Brooklyn was laid out in 1854, at about the time the railroad was extended to t ...

, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits and stock raising. He served as a member of the State Senate from 1860-1864. He moved to Indianapolis in 1865 and engaged in the dry-goods business. In 1873, he became the head of a pork-packing house. Landers was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the Forty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877). A reporter described him as "a big-framed, big-boned man, stoop-shouldered and red-faced. he shambles in his walk and talks in a low, cooing tone of confidentiality. He chews his cigar distractedly, rarely consuming it with fire. His eyes are soft and insinuating. His face is placid and innocent. ... His grammar education was neglected. He is not 'high-toned.' He dresses as stylish as H. G. orace Greeleydid, and could give a better account of 'what I know about farming,' for he does know a potato patch from a field of buckwheat." Landers had been elected as a supporter of currency inflation and the representative of the agrarian wing of the Democratic party. "The man who don't like the smell of a hog is a leetle too nice to live," he told one interviewer. He detested and denounced the national banking system, and after the

Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "L ...

allegedly withdrew his name from all the deposits at the First National Bank in Indianapolis, putting them all in his wife's name instead. With support from the Greenbackers, Landers had a good shot at winning the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1876. At the convention, however, his forces deadlocked with those of Congressman

William S. Holman William Steele Holman (September 6, 1822 – April 22, 1897) was a lawyer, judge and politician from Dearborn County, Indiana. He was a member of the Democratic Party who served four different stints as a U.S. Representative from 1859 to ...

, and a compromise choice, J. D. "Blue-Jeans" Williams, was selected instead. Discouraged, Landers announced that he meant to quit politics. "I am not a candidate for anything henceforth," he declared. "I am only a private man whose only mission in politics will be to vote the democratic ticket....The dirty skunks! I spent my money to carry the district at the state election, and I pulled them through, and when I went home I found them organized against me. No, sir; your

Kerr Kerr may refer to: People *Kerr (surname) *Kerr (given name) Places ;United States *Kerr Township, Champaign County, Illinois *Kerr, Montana, A US census-designated place *Kerr, Ohio, an unincorporated community *Kerr County, Texas Kerr Co ...

s, McDonalds, and Hendrickses can run the machine. I am done." He was induced to change his mind, however, and much to the Greenbacker party's resentment, spurned their nomination for governor. So when he got into the congressional race against John Hanna, a prominent lawyer "of vocal volume," the Greenbackers put a candidate of their own into the race, ensuring his defeat.New York Herald, August 28, 1876. He engaged in the management of his farming lands. He died in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

on September 10, 1901. He was interred in

Crown Hill Cemetery Crown Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located at 700 West 38th Street in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana. The privately owned cemetery was established in 1863 at Strawberry Hill, whose summit was renamed "The Crown", a high poi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Landers, Franklin 1825 births 1901 deaths Burials at Crown Hill Cemetery Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana Democratic Party Indiana state senators People from Morgan County, Indiana Politicians from Indianapolis 19th-century Indiana politicians 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives