Reading Manchester

Carl Charles Gordner: Civil Servant from Indiana to Arizona

by Sheryl Hamlin

German Roots

Carl Gordner was born in Boonville, Indiana in 1892 into a community with many German roots. In fact, Germans were the largest immigrant group to Indiana before World War I.

Carl's father Louis was born in Indiana, but Louis' father was born in Germany. Source: here

In 1910 Indiana had the twelfth largest population of residents with German ancestry. Many Germans taught their children the language of their ancestors and were ostracized during World War I. (Source: here) But there was no evidence of this ostracization in the Boonville Gordner family. Carl registered with the Army in 1917. The picture below of Carl in uniform was taken in early 1919.

Marriage and Family Pre-War

Before the war, Carl married Alma and two daughters were born: Jane and Lois. Jane graduated from the University of Arizona in 1941. Jane played the piano and Lois the violin. According to friends, Alma went to schooling beyond high school which was unique for young girls in the early 20th century. Alma played the piano beautifully.

Civil Service in Boonville

Upon return from active duty, Carl became interested in government and served as Assistant City Clerk in Boonville and then as County Treasurer. The image below is taken from Warrick County History. Note that Carl is then on the Republican ticket.

Moving West to Arizona

Carl felt the warm weather would be beneficial to his health, so he decided to move to Arizona. In those days, it was felt that sulphur fumes were beneficial to the body. The picture below shows the Gordner house in Warren Arizona and the car that might have been used to relocate the four Gordners to Arizona. Family pictures show trips to the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Mormon Lake and San Diego.

Cochise County Life

From the looks of these undated pictures, the Arizona lifestyle suited Carl Gordner just fine.

Various newspaper clippings and historical societies have written about Carl's work experience in Arizona. This one from the Arizona Legacy Project cited a job as a conductor on the Warren-Bisbee Railway. Another cited his work with Phelps-Dodge which perhaps meant that P-D owned or had an interest in the railway as this article explains.

Political Life

From a former version of the Cochise county website, the following is noted:

Mr. Gordner served as Chief Deputy Cochise County Treasurer for Treasurer Cox 1929-1930, Treasurer Kitchel 1931-1934 and Treasurer Lucas 1939-1942. He was first elected Treasurer in 1934, and again in 1942 serving two, two-year terms twice for a total of 8 years. He ran unsuccessfully for State Treasurer in 1938, finishing second in a five-man race.

In 1938, he ran for State Treasurer and came in second in the primary on the Democratic ticket.

In the picture below, County Treasurer-elect Gordner is pictured in the back row. This could have been taken prior to either of his two terms as County Treasurer.

State Banking Work in Phoenix

From a former version of the Cochise county website, the following is noted:

Carl Gordner ended his career in Phoenix working for the State Treasurer as an assistant bookkeeper and then as a deputy examiner for the State Banking Department retiring in 1964.

As a Bank Examiner, Carl traveled around the State of Arizona visiting banks and credit unions. This was a perfect fit for him because he could add a column of numers instantly and could read people. The August 1963 issue of the Thunderbird newsletter published by the Arizona Credit Union League, Inc. praised his service.

When his wife Alma died in 1963, the funeral was large and included as guests and pallbearers many of his capitol colleagues.

In the 1964 issue of the 1964 BPOE Memorial Service, Carl Gordner is listed as past Exaulted Ruler.

Banking and Insurance in Gordner Family

The Gordners married into the Siegel family of Boonville. Russell Siegel married Marjorie Siegel, daughter of Alma Gordner's sister Reba Lee, who was with the People's Bank for years. Another branch of this large family produced Edward A Siegel, also with the same bank. So the Gordner family and the Siegel family were related by marriage. Carl had saved an annual report from People's Bank in his files.

Also related to Carl Gordner was Leroy Gordner who owned The Gordner Insurance Agency. Rudolf Gordner, Leroy's father, Louis Gordner, Carl's father, and William Gordner were brothers. Leroy's agency thrived which allowed him to pursue the arts. Leroy was President of The Starlight Musical, a fundraiser held annually. Also in the files is a 33 1/3 recording of the 30th Anniversary of The Gordner Insurance Agency. Leroy was also associated with advertising media.

Another fascinating piece of Gordner history is Fritz Gordner whose lifelong passion of collecting political memorablia ended up at the Teddy Rossevelt Center. Read about that collection here. Fritz was Leroy's son who said he started collecting in Indiana as a child. Here is the obituary for his mother: Lois Elizabeth Tabbert Gordner who lived to be 95.

Gordner History Roots

From the middle19th century, when the Germans started to emigrate to the United States, two Gordners, Peter and Charles, arrived and started businesses and families. I have not attempted to sort out the genealogy of the two, but guessing from the name Carl Charles Gordner, he was from the latter tree. Read about the two here.

About the Author

Sheryl Hamlin is the grand daughter of Carl Charles Gordner who left Phoenix in 1980 for Silicon Valley and has returned after a 40 year hiatus to Arizona.