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Fred Trump (politician)

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Fred Trump
Black-and-white portrait photograph of a suited, smiling man with a pencil mustache. His dark hair is slicked back in a pompadour, with no sideburns.
Trump in a 1956 political advertisement
Born(1913-12-21)December 21, 1913
St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
DiedFebruary 17, 1968(1968-02-17) (aged 54)
Ogden, Utah, U.S.
Occupations
Years activec. 1948–1968
Known for
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJulianne Schmahl[1]
Children4[2]
RelativesFamily of Donald Trump (alleged)[2]

Frederic John Trump (December 21, 1913 – February 17, 1968)[3][4] was a businessman and Republican candidate in the 1956 Arizona gubernatorial election. Between 1956 and 1960, he corresponded with then-vice president of the United States Richard Nixon. He was claimed to be a cousin of John G. Trump, brother of New York real-estate developer Fred Trump (the father of Donald Trump).

Biography

[edit]
Trump as a high-school senior (1932)

Trump was born on December 21, 1913,[5] in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to Frederic A. Trump and Myrtle VanBrunt Trump.[3][a] He graduated from Saint Paul Central High School in 1932.[6] He was married on February 11, 1937, in Los Angeles to Julianne Schmahl,[1][b] the daughter of Republican Julius A. Schmahl, who served 24 terms as secretary of state and state treasurer of Minnesota.[2][c] On Trump's 1938 California voter registration, his occupation was recorded as 'wholesaler'.[9] By 1940, he and his wife were living back in St. Paul.[10] In the 1940 census, he was recorded as owning and managing a cosmetics shop,[10] named Cosmetics Inc. according to his draft registration of that year.[11] He had three daughters, as well as a son named Fred Trump Jr. (July 17, 1956 – December 27, 2018).[2][12]

By 1950, Trump had worked as a cowboy, newspaper reporter, manufacturer, and sales consultant, helping reorganize several firms.[13][14][15] After prior government employment, Trump served as U.S. Government staff consultant to the Anglo-American Council on Productivity (AACP, fl. 1948–1952).[2][16][d] In the early 1950s, he visited Washington, D.C., to advocate for funds on behalf of the Grand Canyon's Shrine of the Ages Chapel, and was photographed with Vice President Richard Nixon.[18][19] By 1952, Trump had done national publicity work for the Republican chapter of New York City and moved his family to Tucson, where he was the head of a million-dollar firm that produced pharmaceuticals for infants.[13][15]

In 1953, an executive of Trump's companies brought a $37,500 lawsuit against him for his lawyer's failure to register $30,000 worth of stock before selling it to him,[20] as well as Trump's having allegedly used deceptive methods to force the sale.[21] Trump named his lawyer as third-party defendant, saying he should pay any charges brought against them.[21] Trump countersued for over $90,000, arguing that the executive had conspired with both of their lawyers to damage him.[20] By 1956, Trump was suing for $160,000, claiming the executive had illegally sold stock in the companies.[22]

Trump polled at 46% in his state district for the 1952 election to the Arizona House of Representatives,[4] ahead of any Republican, and in 1954, his nominating petition to run for U.S. senator was the largest ever filed by a member of his party in Pima County.[17] In a 1955 letter of support for the position of Arizona governor to a Republican State Committee official, Trump was cited as sharing many of the views of Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater.[17] In December 1955, Trump authored a newsletter to Arizona Republicans in promotion of his gubernatorial campaign; this included his photograph with Nixon from earlier in the decade to represent a visit from November.[23][24] Major General Charles A. Willoughby wrote a March 1956 newsletter to Arizona Republicans supporting Trump for governor.[25] The same month, Nixon wrote a note to Trump,[26] igniting a correspondence that would last beyond Trump's campaign.[27] In July 1956, Trump asked for Nixon to vouch for him if contacted by Texas Republican H. L. Hunt, to which he agreed.[28][29] An advertisement for Trump's campaign touts him as being a cousin of John G. Trump, brother of New York real-estate developer Fred Trump (the father of Donald Trump).[2] Trump garnered the least support of any major candidate in his gubernatorial campaign, receiving 13.92% of the vote. Three other Republicans had run, and the incumbent Democrat, Ernest McFarland, won the election.[30]

Trump later lived in Boulder, Colorado. He continued corresponding with Nixon, even advising him on the approach he should take in campaigning against John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election. He wrote, "Please refer to Sen. K, not by name, but as the 'Junior Senator from Massachusetts'!"[31] Nixon called his advice "most welcome".[27] Trump returned to Arizona, and in 1965 became the founding president of Scottsdale's chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution.[32][e] He also served on the vestry at the Episcopal church Saint Barnabas on the Desert. He worked for a while in Ogden, Utah, where he died at the age of 54 due to heart complications.[3] He was buried in Saint Paul.[4]

[edit]
  • Richard Nixon - Letter to Fred Trump (March 7, 1956)
    Richard Nixon - Letter to Fred Trump (March 7, 1956)
  • Richard Nixon - Letter to Fred Trump (August 7, 1956)
    Richard Nixon - Letter to Fred Trump (August 7, 1956)
  • Richard Nixon - Letter to Fred Trump (October 22, 1960)
    Richard Nixon - Letter to Fred Trump (October 22, 1960)

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ He also had a brother named Paul Van Brunt.[4]
  2. ^ Less strict spellings for Trump's wife's name include Julie, Julian, and Julieann.[2][3][4]
  3. ^ A political ad for Trump claims that his father-in-law was popularly known as "The Grand Old Man of the Grand Old Party",[2] a moniker later applied to Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater[7] and, retroactively, to 1930s governor of Kansas Alf Landon.[8]
  4. ^ In 1955, a Republican group of Trump supporters stated that[17]

    [he] is not new to government service. After acceptance by the F.B.I. he was retained as one of the U.S. Government's top rated consultants, Staff Consultant to the Anglo American Council.

    There is no known connection to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Rather, the United Kingdom's Federation of British Industries was connected to the AACP.[16]
  5. ^ The same year, Barry Goldwater became a charter member.[32]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "California, U.S., County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1849-1980". Ancestry.com. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Republican Fred Trump For Governor". The Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, AZ. September 9, 1956. p. 11. Retrieved July 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c d "Obituaries". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. February 19, 1968. p. 20. Retrieved July 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Obituaries". The Arizona Republic. Phoenix, AZ. February 19, 1968. p. 28. Retrieved July 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Candidate - Fred Trump". Our Campaigns. January 9, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  6. ^ "U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-1999 for Fred Trump". Ancestry.com. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  7. ^ "Opinion | The Honorable Senator From Arizona". The New York Times. May 30, 1998. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  8. ^ Allen, Ira R. (September 6, 1987). "President Reagan ended his summer vacation Sunday and flew..." UPI. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  9. ^ "California, U.S., Voter Registrations, 1900-1968". Ancestry.com. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Frederick J Trump in the 1940 Census". Ancestry.com. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  11. ^ "U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 for Frederic John Trump". Ancestry.com. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  12. ^ "Frederic John Trump Jr. Obituary (1956 - 2018) The Arizona Republic". The Arizona Republic. January 23, 2019. Retrieved March 9, 2022 – via Legacy.com.
  13. ^ a b "New Tucson Industry Produces Pharmaceuticals". The Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, AZ. July 13, 1952. p. 8. Retrieved July 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Climate Club Set For Drive". Tucson Citizen. Tucson, AZ. March 31, 1950. p. 6. Retrieved July 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ a b "Office Sought by F. J. Trump". The Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, AZ. June 29, 1952. p. 10. Retrieved July 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ a b "Guide to the Anglo-American Council on Productivity Pamphlets". Cornell University Library Rare and Manuscript Collections. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  17. ^ a b c Clinton, C. H.; Davis, Rose D.; Fowler, Lloyd G.; Sleight, Grayce K. (August 4, 1955). Letter to Col. James C. Wood of the Arizona Republican State Committee. Richard Nixon Presidential Library, Box 764.
  18. ^ "Shrine Boosters". The Arizona Republic. Phoenix, AZ. – via the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, Box 764.
  19. ^ "Shrine of the Ages and the Pioneer Cemetery - Grand Canyon National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  20. ^ a b "Counterclaim Filed in Suit On Securities". The Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, AZ. December 29, 1953. p. 19. Retrieved July 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ a b "Lawyer Here Defendant in $37,500 Suit". The Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, AZ. December 25, 1953. p. 13. Retrieved July 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Judge Takes Fraud Case Under Study". Tucson Citizen. Tucson, AZ. February 18, 1956. p. 4. Retrieved July 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ Trump, Fred (December 28, 1955). "The Trump Newsletter" – via the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, Box 764.
  24. ^ Trump, Fred (December 29, 1955). Letter to Richard Nixon – via the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, Box 764.
  25. ^ Willoughby, Charles A. (March 1956). "The Trump Newsletter" – via the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, Box 764.
  26. ^ Nixon, Richard (March 7, 1956). Note to Fred Trump.
  27. ^ a b Nixon, Richard (October 22, 1960). Letter to Fred Trump.
  28. ^ Trump, Fred (July 20, 1956). Letter to Richard Nixon – via the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, Box 764.
  29. ^ Nixon, Richard (August 7, 1956). Letter to Fred Trump.
  30. ^ "AZ Governor - R Primary Race - Sep 11, 1956". Our Campaigns. May 24, 2007. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  31. ^ Trump, Fred (September 30, 1960). Letter to Richard Nixon – via the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, Box 764.
  32. ^ a b Swanson, David A. (2018). "Early Days of the Arizona Society Sons of the American Revolution: Volume II" (PDF). Arizona Society Sons of the American Revolution. p. 142. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
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