Is Your Neighbor a Kluxer? (KKK, 1923)

A complete exposure of the Chicago Ku Klux Klan,
with Official Documents of that Order and the Names of All Ku Kluxers

The American Unity League was an anti-Klan organization founded in 1922 in Chicago. In contrast to the KKK, the AUL celebrated both immigrants and the multicultural history of the United States, opposing bigotry of all types, including racism, xenophobia, antisemitism, and anti-Catholicism. Their most notable contribution to "smashing the Invisible Empire" was infiltrating Klan organizations, copying their membership rolls, and then publishing the members' names in their newspaper, called Tolerance. They hoped that revealing Klan members' identities would put pressure on members to leave the Klan and would also discourage potential members from joining.

The AUL published this edition of the pamphlet Is Your Neighbor a Kluxer in 1923; it lists the names of Chicago Klan members and intersperses them with essays and other information about the Klan. (They also published similar pamphlets for other cities.)

Some of the essays found in the Chicago edition are reproduced below, as well as a few of the names from their list. (Our editorial additions are in italics.) Cameron T. Mills (HC 2022) transcribed the essays. The information provided with the names comes from research by Hanover students in His312 "Doing Genealogy as a Historian" (Fall 2019 and Winter 2022) and in His234 "Studies in American Cultural History: The Middle Class" (Winter 2021), all taught by Sarah McNair Vosmeier. For more information on the American Unity League, see David J. Goldberg, "Unmasking the Ku Klux Klan: The Northern Movement against the KKK, 1920-1925," Journal of American Ethnic History 15, no. 4 (Summer, 1996), 32-48.

This is the question most frequently asked of TOLERANCE. It refers to the names of Ku Kluxers which are published weekly.

The answer is that TOLERANCE gets them from the official records of the Ku Klux Klan.

When some individual has passed all of the preliminary investigations made by the Klan and has been found to be a "white, Gentile, native-born Protestant," he is favored with a questionnaire, a facsimile of which has been printed in TOLERANCE.

If he answers this questionnaire satisfactorily, he is solicited for $10 as a preliminary fee to admission to the Invisible Empire. If he turns over the $10, he is given a receipt which acts as his pass to the "klonklave" which has been selected for his "naturalization." He presents this receipt, takes the infamous Ku Klux oath, and becomes a subject of Imperial Emperor William Joseph Simmons. Then his name is inscribed on the official role of the Klan.

TOLERANCE prints only names which are on this official roll. It is prepared at any time, if the situation warrants the expense and trouble involved, to produce the original questionnaire and receipt. It has done this in a number of instances, and will do it in any others when it is necessary.

There is one thing, however, on which readers of TOLERANCE and all for which it stands may rely. This is that when any person is listed as a member of the Ku Klux Klan he is so listed on the official records of that organization.

The American Unity League

THE American Unity League is a non-sectarian, non-partisan organization of American citizens devoted to the preservation of religious, racial, and social liberty.

Its directorate and membership is composed of freedom-loving citizens from all races and from all religious affiliations. It is not owned or controlled by any sect or organization, and it is not going to be.

TOLERANCE is the official publication of the American Unity League. What TOLERANCE stands for, the American Unity League stands for. Briefly, these principles are:

TOLERANCE regards the preservation of these principles as the only means by which the United States can be saved from the growing spirit of intolerance which has manifested itself in such organizations as the Ku Klux Klan.

It is directing its fight against the Ku Klux Klan at present because, from the Ku Klux Klan, comes the greatest present threat against religious, racial, and social liberty. But it will continue long after the Ku Klux Klan has been sent back to the oblivion from which it was resurrected, to continue its battle against all organizations which strike at the right of American citizens to worship, to speak, to write, to work, and to vote as they please.

The adjoining chart of a "Klavern" or Ku Klux headquarters is from the Kloran, the "sacred" book of the Ku Klux Klan, and was drawn by no less a hand than that of the re-discoverer of the order, William Joseph Simmons, now "Imperial Emperor" for life. It is supposed not to be seen by "alien" eyes, but here it is anyhow.

TOLERANCE herewith reprints names of all Ku Kluxers in Chicago and the surrounding district which it published during the year 1922.

In a few cases where TOLERANCE has ascertained that persons have joined the "Empire" without realizing its true nature, have taken no active part in its program of persecution, and have sent in bona-fide resignations, the notation "Resigned" is made.

***

[The following is a sampling of names from Is Your Neighbor a Kluxer with additional information from research in the 1920 United States Census, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, digital images, Ancestry.com.]

FREDERICK BRUCE AYRES, was listed on the 1922 KKK membership rolls as living at 6208 University Place, but we could not locate him in the 1920 census because there was more than one person in Chicago named Frederick Ayres.

CHARLES H. BADDELY was listed on the 1922 KKK membership rolls as living at 5522 South Park Ave.
    Charles Baddeley appears in the 1920 census as renting a home at 4308 Langly Ave. He had a wife and three children, and he worked as a "traffic manager" at a publishing company. We can place him in the working class according to the assigned category of homeownership, but it's hard to know how to assign him by occupation.

CASTON S. BAKER was in the 1922 KKK rolls as Kladd of the Woodlawn Klan (an officer responsible for prospective members and the Klan's property); he was living at 6200 S. Park Ave.
    A "Coston Baker" appears in the 1920 census on Indiana Ave, which according to the ward map is near Indiana Ave. He was married to Blanche Baker. He rented his home, which would make him working class. The census lists his occupation as auto trimmer (in a body shop), which would be a working-class job.

JOHN BAIRD was in the 1922 KKK rolls as living in 1018 N. Crawford Ave.
    He appears in the 1920 census at the same address. He was born in Wisconsin. He worked as a mechanic, which would be a relatively high paying working-class job that would have required some skills. He owned his own house, which would assign him to middle class status. He lived with his wife Bertha Baird, who was 32 years old, and his son John Baird, who was 2 years old. He would have been middle class or upper working class.

HARRY H. BALDWIN was listed on the 1922 KKK membership rolls as living at 4838 Warner Ave.
    The 1920 census shows him living at the same address, in a house he owned. At 47 years old, he was living with his wife and mother-in-law, and the family also had two lodgers. (His mother-in-law was an immigrant from France.) He was an office manager at a telephone company. Based on his homeownership and occupation, we place him in the middle class.

ALLEN V. BALLANTINE was listed on the 1922 KKK rolls as living at 5311 Prairie Ave., but we were unable to locate him in the 1920 census.

RALPH W. BALLARD was listed on the 1922 KKK membership rolls as living at 4527 Oakenwald Ave.
    In 1920, he was 20 years old, living at the same address (along with his parents, two adult brothers, and his niece). His mother was from New York and his father was from Indiana. His brothers and niece were all from Vermont, and he was from Illinois. Also, his brothers had the last name of Lewis, so they must be half-siblings. His parents rented their home. His father, his brother, and he worked in the railroad industry as wage earners. He was an electrician, his father a commissary man, and his brother a mail handler. Based on the family's occupations and home ownership status, they appear to be working class.

HENRY F. BALTERMAN was listed on the 1922 KKK membership rolls as living at 4734 London Ave, and we were unable to locate him on the 1920 census.

CLARENCE J. BERKSHIRE was listed on the1922 KKK membership rolls as living at 756 Bowen Avenue.
    In 1920, a "Clarence Berkschire" was 29 years old, and he was living with his parents, wife, and children at a house on Woodlawn Avenue. His wife, Alma immigrated from Sweden to the United States in 1912, and his parents immigrated from England. Clarence worked as a clerk in the stockyard and earned a wage, the same as his father. Clarence seems to be a member of the middle class based on his occupation, but his living in a rented home suggests that he could be a member of the working class.

JOSEPH BERMING was listed on the1922 KKK membership rolls as living at 5041 Sunnyside Ave., but we were unable to locate him on the 1920 census.

ARTHUR A. BERNAHL was listed on the 1922 KKK membership rolls as living at 5314 Winthrop Ave.
    He appears in the 1920 census living several miles away at 3344 Marshfield Ave, a home that he rented. Aged 25 years old, he was a wage earner, working as a book clerk. He was not listed as having a wife or children. His father was an immigrant from Germany. We classify him as middle class based on the assigned category of occupation, because his work used his knowledge rather than labor.

HAROLD BERRY was listed on the 1922 KKK membership rolls as living at 11347 Calumet Avenue.
    A Harold Berry appears in the 1920 census on Calumet Avenue, where he rented his house, though the census record has no indication of the house number. He was a yard master employed at a railroad company. He was 27 years old and had been born in New York around 1893. He had a wife named Grace Berry. According to the assigned categories of occupation and homeownership, he can be considered part of the working class.

CHESTER H. BIGELOW was listed on the 1922 KKK membership rolls as living at 155 N. Laramie Ave.
    Two years earlier, the census listed him at the same address, where he owned his home (with a mortgage). He had a job as a foreman in a rubber company, supporting a wife and daughter and providing a home to his aunt. He was 26 years old and had been born in Illinois, with both of his parents having been born in Iowa. His class status isn't clear – his occupation was working class, but his income was probably higher than other factory workers, and he was a homeowner.

RICHARD S. BLAISDELL was listed on the 1922 KKK membership rolls as living at 5619 Prairie Ave.
    A "Richard Blaisdell" appears on the 1920 census as living at 1605 Center Ave, Chicago Heights, a suburb of Chicago. We are assuming that this is the same man who was later a KKK member in Chicago. He is listed as the head of the household, which consisted of himself, his wife, Elma, and their four children – two sons and two daughters. He was a wage worker and is listed on the census as an "all-around man" and laborer. At the time of the census, he was 35 years old. He rented his home. Based on this information, we classify Richard Blaisdell as a member of the working class, based on the assigned categories of home ownership and occupation.

ALBERT P. BLAKESLEE was listed on the 1922 KKK membership rolls as living at 5946 Indiana Avenue.
    He appears in the 1920 census at the same address, where he owned his house. He was a broker working at the Board of Trade. He was 58 years old and had been born in New York. He had a wife name Nellie Blakeslee, and two stepsons and a daughter, Arthur and Sarah A Noble. Judging by the assigned categories of occupation and homeownership, he can be considered middle class.

RUDOLPH V. BOBB was listed on the 1922 KKK membership rolls as the proprietor of Bobb's Market House that was at 1360 East 47th St.
    A Rudolph Bobb listed in the 1920 census was the "owner" of a grocery store, so he must be the same person. He was not a young man – forty-five at the time of the census. He had a wife and three children, two boys and one girl. They seem to be a middle-class family as he owned his home.

FRED J. BOLAND was listed on the 1922 KKK membership rolls as living at 4038 Adams St.
    In the 1920 census, a Fred J Boland lives on Kilbourne Ave., and his occupation is "service man" in the car industry. He was 29 and had a wife and two sons. (Another Fred Boland lived at 3848 Fillmore St., and he was a thirty-five-year-old blacksmith with a wife and four children.)

GEORGE FLOYD BRITTIAN was listed on the 1922 KKK membership rolls as living in 201 N. Karlov Ave.
    In the 1920 census, he was living at 210 North Keeler Avenue, which was just south of his residence in the 1922 rolls. He was born in Tennessee in 1886. His wife, Annie, was also born in Tennessee in 1887. They rented a house and had two daughters, named Ann E. and Juanita and both born in Illinois. George worked as an engineer and rented his house. He seems to be part of the working-class based on his occupation and not being a homeowner.

WILLIAM BROCKHOFF was in the 1922 KKK rolls as living on Irving Park Blvd., but we were unable to locate him in the 1920 census. We found a Willmer Brockhoff, but he was not living near his 1922 address, so we have no way of knowing whether it was the same person.

JOHN BRONSON was listed on the 1922 KKK membership rolls as living at 2507 N. Mozart St.
    He shows up in the 1920 census at the same address, where he owned his home. He worked as a merchant. He was 46 years old and was born in Michigan. He had a wife and 2 daughters. Based on his occupation and homeownership, he seems to be middle class or even upper class.

ROYAL S. BROWN was listed on the 1922 KKK membership rolls as living at 4133 N. Kedvale Ave.
    He shows up in the 1920 census at the same address, where he rented his home. He worked as a mechanic. He was 24 years old and was born in Illinois. He had a wife and two sons. Based on the assigned categories of homeownership and occupation, he seems to be working class.

LINDSEY CARR was listed in the 1922 KKK membership rolls as living at 5215 Kimbark Ave.
    He appears in the 1920 census at the same address, living with his mother, who rented the house. He was 27 years old and single; he was born in Illinois, but his mother's parents were born in Ireland. He was a record clerk for the railroad, and his brother was a stenographer, also for the railroad. His class status is hard to identify. His occupation suggests that he and his brother were middle class, though probably not well paid, but his mother's renting their home fits working-class assigned categories.

PETER E. CAVINESS was listed on the 1922 KKK membership rolls as living at 756 Bowen Avenue.
    The 1920 census shows him living at the same address, in the home that he rented, with his wife, mother-in-law, and father-in-law. In 1920 Peter was 27 years old, and he worked as a fireman for the railroad industry, where he worked for a wage. Peter's father-in-law worked as a conductor at the railroad, while his wife and mother-in-law were unemployed. Based on his job and status as a renter, we place him as part of the working class.

EDWARD C. ESAU was listed on the 1922 KKK membership rolls as living at 2401 Belmont Ave. and working at a soft drink parlor at same address.
    In 1920, he had been living one block over on Barry Street. At 26, he and three adult brothers were still living with their parents in a rented home. He and his brothers were all born in Illinois, but their parents were from Germany. He was a wage earner then, working in a candy factory, but two of his brothers were unemployed, and his father was a contractor doing "job work." He seems to be working class, judging by the assigned categories of homeownership and occupation. The information about his father and brothers suggests the household income may have been low as well.

OREN FLUETTE was listed on the 1922 KKK membership rolls as living at 358 E. 57th St.
    He appears in the 1920 census at the same address, where he rented his home. He was a wage earner, working as a mail carrier. He was 35 years old and had been born in Michigan, with both of his parents having also been born in Michigan. He had a wife and a twelve-year-old son, whom he named Lincoln. He seems to be working class, judging by the assigned categories of homeownership and occupation.