Evening star., 1937-02-21
Biographical Volume
Is Great Congress Task
Ansel Void, Clerk of Printing Committee
Approaches Second Compilation With
Prestige of Fine Work of Last Decade.

clerks and so on, all possible sources
of information, in intricate detail, con:
stitute a story in themselves"
TNASMUCH as the first volume COW
cred an earlier period of American
history, Void does not anticipate as
much difficulty in tracking down the
biographical facts about present-day :
legislators or those Of 10 years back
that he found so elusive in the flrss
instance. But even at that, ne de-
clares it is surprising how meager
and ineXact, in some instances, is lns
formation a family may offer with re-
spect to some distinguished member.
In many cases he found it necessary
to rectify errors in birth dates. dates
of marriage, graduation dates and
other data that had been supplied by a
family that had always supposed the
information with respect to men,
ber was exact.
Naturally. so exhaustive study
provided Void with much interesting
information in connection with his
torical personages that had hitherto
been unsuspected or enormously stated.
| and when these seemed to him signifl-
cant they were brought to the atten.
| ton of the proper authorities for the
| correction Of existing records, biog.
| raphies or histories.
| One of wold's prize disclosures COM
pletely skaters story that had been
going the rounds to the effect that
! Senator David Rice Atchison OF Mis-
souri, was President for day." serv-
( ing as President pro tempore Of the
/ Senate at a time when a new Presi.
| dent had not yet taken the oath Of.
Office and the Vice President had been
1 removed by death. The records, under
Wold's searching eyes, disclosed the
fact that Atchisor's term as President
pro tempore of the Senate had, as
matter of fact, expired with the term
of the outgoing President at II o'clock
noon. The facts as set forth by Void
are these:
David Rice Atchison Of Missouri.
was appointed and subsequently
elected in 1843 as Whig to the United
States Senate. to fill the vacancy
caused by the death of Lewis F. Linn.
elected president pro tempore OF the
Senate, August 8. 1886; January IL
and March 3, l847, February 2, June
l, June 26, July 29 and December rs,
1848. and March l and 2, l849: term
of Office as Senator expired on March
/ 3. l849; reelected in l649 for the term
commencing March 4, 1849. but this
day falling on Sunday he did not
qualify until Monday, March 5, 1849,
and was thereupon elected president
pro tempore of the Senate for the put-
pose of administering the oaths of
Office to the Senators-elect; again
elected president pro tempore of the
Senate on March Is. l849; May 2 and
and July 10, 1850; December 20,
1852, and again March 4, 1858, and
served throughout the session. served
as United States Senator from Octo-
ber IA, 1843. to March 8. 1855; re-
sumed the practice of law; died at
his home near Cover. Clinton County,
Mo-, January 26, 1896"
WOLD was born in Madelia, MINI.
on September II, 1881, and res
ceived a common-school education
there, clerking later in a country
general store under his father, until
l8 years of age.
Appointed from the second congress
sional district of Minnesota as clerk
in the Census Office, on June 10, 1900
by Gov William R. Merriam of Min
nesota, who was then the director Of
the census, upon recommendation o.
Senator Knute Nelson, Void came ID
Washington, working in the Census
Bureau until 1902, when he resigned
to accept a position as clerk in thu
document room of the Senate.
In May, 1902, he was transferred
to the Office of the Secretary Of the
Senate, where he remained unit
February, 1910, when he was appointed
printing clerk of the Senate, a posi1
ton he occupied until 1921, when hd
was unanimously elected by the COM
mittee, clerk to the Joint Committed
on Printing, to succeed George H
Carter-then appointed public printer.j
Besides his official duties, Wold will
continue to supervise the compilation
of the manuscript for the Biographi-
cal Directory of the American Congress,
and despite the fact that every ten
years will find him confronted with
the prodigious task anew, he is look
ing forward with all the enthusiasm
of the historian to the beginning of
the volume covering the past decade,
taking up the task where he left It
SO efficiently and perfectly done b
1877.