Born Today June 15: Daniel M. Ransdell

[source: United States Senate Historical Office]

1842-1912

Another historical figure that has an entry here due to their happenstance appearance in an early "actuality" by Edison & Co. Daniel M. Ransdell was born on this day, probably in or somewhere near Indianapolis, Indiana. He certainly grew up on a farm there; the son of a local Baptist minister who schooled his children so well from an early age, that by the time the younger Ransdell was a teen, he was teaching classes himself in a number of local schools. He later attended Franklin College, though his education there was abruptly ended by his insistence on joining the Union Army at the outbreak of the Civil War (his family was unusual in their general opposition to Lincoln and his decision to follow the path to conflict to end the secessionist impasse [owing to their geographical locality]--his father was apparently a staunch Democrat and fiercely disagreed with Lincoln's approach to the conflict and his Republican party). Ransdell lost an arm in the Union advance on Atlanta, and was lucky to come away with his life.  After the war he resumed both teaching and his education. This is when politics entered his life. He was a protege of Benjamin Harrison, who would become the 23rd President of the United States--and by this time, a member of Lincoln's Republican party. Harrison had a great use for Ransdell, who genuinely seemed to have affection for the rather "cold" Harrison. He was certainly able to gather people to Harrison's side; and it is a bit doubtful that without Ransdell, Harrison would have made it all the way to the White House (Ransdell was one of the persons present at Harrison's death bed--he had also served as best man at Harrison's second marriage ceremony).  Nonetheless, it was because of Harrison that Ransdell eventually made into the United States Senate as it's 14th Sergeant at Arms (read more about that here) in 1900. Ransdell was sworn in on the 1st of February. He served in that capacity until his death twelve years later in 1912. The one and only film ("actuality" as Edison and team had coined them--we call them short documentaries today) that Ransdell appeared in came in 1901: President McKinley Taking The Oath.  (This film has made an appearance here before under the entry on Chief Justice Melville Fuller, who is administering the oath to McKinley.) As mentioned, Ransdell died while still serving as Senate Sergeant at Arms at the age of 70 on the 28th of November. There is no information on his burial. 

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