26th Wisconsin Legislature

26th Wisconsin Legislature
← 25th 27th →
Wisconsin State Capitol, 1863
Overview
Legislative body	Wisconsin Legislature
Meeting place	Wisconsin State Capitol
Term	January 6, 1873 – January 5, 1874
Election	November 5, 1872
Senate
Members	33
Senate President	Milton Pettit (R)
President pro tempore	Henry L. Eaton (R)
Party control	Republican
Assembly
Members	100
Assembly Speaker	Henry D. Barron (R)
Party control	Republican
Sessions
1st January 8, 1873 – March 20, 1873

The Twenty-Sixth Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 8, 1873, to March 20, 1873, in regular session.

Senators representing odd-numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first year of a two-year term. Assembly members were elected to a one-year term. Assembly members and odd-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 5, 1872. Senators representing even-numbered districts were serving the second year of their two-year term, having been elected in the general election held on November 7, 1871. ^[1]

Major events

• February 11, 1873: King Amadeo I of Spain was deposed and the First Spanish Republic was proclaimed.
• March 4, 1873: Second inauguration of President Ulysses S. Grant.
• March 23, 1873: Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Milton Pettit died in office.
• May 7, 1873: Salmon P. Chase, Chief Justice of the United States, died of a stroke at New York City.
• September 18, 1873: The New York stock market crashed, leading to the Panic of 1873 and the Long Depression.
• September 24, 1873: Wisconsin Democrats convened in Milwaukee with Grangers and Liberal Republicans to form the short-lived Reform Party, and nominated William Robert Taylor as their candidate for Governor.
• November 5, 1873: William Robert Taylor elected Governor of Wisconsin.
• December 23, 1873: The Woman's Christian Temperance Union was founded at Hillsboro, Ohio.

Major legislation

• March 14, 1873: An Act to provide for finishing the state capitol, protecting the same against fire, for the improvement of the capitol park, and appropriating money to pay for the same, 1873 Act 168.
• March 17, 1873: An Act to provide for the collection of certain statistics with a view of more fully equalizing the state taxes, 1873 Act 210.
• March 17, 1873: An Act to prevent the careless use of firearms, 1873 Act 212.
• March 18, 1873: An Act to provide for annexing and excluding territory to and from cities, towns and villages, and to unite cities, towns and villages, 1873 Act 234.
• March 18, 1873: Joint Resolution ratifying proposed constitutional amendment prohibiting counties, towns, villages, etc., from becoming indebted for any purpose to an amount exceeding five percent of the value of taxable property, 1873 Joint Resolution 4.

Party summary

Senate summary

Senate partisan composition

  Democratic: 10 seats

  Lib. Rep.: 2 seats

  Republican: 21 seats

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)				Total
	Dem.	Ref.	Lib.R.	Rep.		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	10	0	0	23	33	0
1st Session	10	0	2	21	33	0
Final voting share	30.3%		69.7%
Beginning of the next Legislature	12	2	2	17	33	0

Assembly summary

Assembly partisan composition

  Democratic: 32 seats

  Lib. Rep.: 7 seats

  Republican: 61 seats

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)					Total
	Dem.	Ref.	Ind.	Lib.R.	Rep.		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	41	0	0	0	60	100	0
1st Session	32	0	0	7	61	100	0
Final voting share	32%	0%	0%	7%	61%
Beginning of the next Legislature	29	15	3	12	41	100	0

Sessions

• 1st Regular session: January 8, 1873 –March 20, 1873

Leaders

Senate leadership

• President of the Senate: Milton Pettit (R)
• President pro tempore: Henry L. Eaton (R)

Assembly leadership

• Speaker of the Assembly: Henry D. Barron (R)

Members

Members of the Senate

Members of the Senate for the Twenty-Sixth Wisconsin Legislature: ^[2]

Senate partisan representation

  Democratic: 10 seats

  Lib. Rep.: 2 seats

  Republican: 21 seats

Dist.	Counties	Senator	Residence	Party
01	Sheboygan	Patrick H. O'Rourk	Cascade	Dem.
02	Brown, Door, Kewaunee	Myron P. Lindsley	Green Bay	Dem.
03	Milwaukee (Northern Part)	Frederick W. Cotzhausen	Milwaukee	Dem.
04	Monroe & Vernon	William Nelson	Viroqua	Rep.
05	Racine	Robert H. Baker	Racine	Rep.
06	Milwaukee (Southern Half)	John L. Mitchell	Milwaukee	Dem.
07	Dane (Eastern Part)	John A. Johnson	Madison	Rep.
08	Kenosha & Walworth	Samuel Pratt	Spring Prairie	Rep.
09	Iowa	Francis Little	Mineral Point	Rep.
10	Waukesha	William Blair	Waukesha	Rep.
11	Lafayette	Francis Campbell	Gratiot	Rep.
12	Green	Orrin Bacon	Monticello	Rep.
13	Dodge	Samuel D. Burchard	Beaver Dam	Dem.
14	Sauk	John B. Quimby	Sauk City	Rep.
15	Manitowoc	Carl H. Schmidt	Manitowoc	Dem.
16	Grant	John C. Holloway	Lancaster	Rep.
17	Rock	Horatio N. Davis	Beloit	Rep.
18	Fond du Lac (Western Part)	William Hiner	Fond du Lac	Rep.
19	Winnebago	Robert McCurdy	Oshkosh	Rep.
20	Fond du Lac (Eastern Part)	Joseph Wagner	Marshfield	Dem.
21	Marathon, Oconto, Shawano, Waupaca, & Northern Outagamie	Myron H. McCord	Shawano	Rep.
22	Calumet & Southern Outagamie	George Kreiss	Appleton	Dem.
23	Jefferson	Walter S. Greene	Milford	Dem.
24	Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Pierce, Polk, & St. Croix	Joseph E. Irish	Hudson	Rep.
25	Green Lake, Marquette, & Waushara	Robert L. D. Potter	Wautoma	Rep.
26	Dane (Western Part)	Romanzo E. Davis	Middleton	Lib. R.
27	Columbia	Evan O. Jones	Courtland	Rep.
28	Crawford & Richland	Henry L. Eaton	Lone Rock	Rep.
29	Adams, Juneau, Portage, & Wood	Thomas B. Scott	Grand Rapids	Rep.
30	Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire , & Pepin	Joseph G. Thorp	Eau Claire	Rep.
31	La Crosse	Gideon Hixon	La Crosse	Rep.
32	Buffalo, Clark, Jackson, & Trempealeau	Orlando Brown	Modena	Lib. R.
33	Ozaukee & Washington	Adam Schantz	Addison	Dem.

Members of the Assembly

Members of the Assembly for the Twenty-Sixth Wisconsin Legislature: ^[2]

Assembly partisan representation

  Democratic: 32 seats

  Lib. Rep.: 7 seats

  Republican: 61 seats

Senate District	County	Dist.	Representative	Party	Residence
29	Adams & Wood		Charles A. Cady	Rep.	Dell Prairie
24	Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Polk		Henry D. Barron	Rep.	St. Croix Falls
02	Brown & Southern Kewaunee	1	Joseph S. Curtis	Rep.	Green Bay
		2	William H. Bartran	Rep.	Suamico
		3	Dennis Dewane	Dem.	New Denmark
32	Buffalo		Robert Lees	Dem.	Gilmantown
22	Calumet		Thomas Lynch	Dem.	Chilton
30	Chippewa		Albert Pound	Rep.	Chippewa Falls
32	Clark & Jackson		Edward E. Merritt	Rep.	Neillsville
27	Columbia	1	Samuel S. Brannan	Rep.	Portage
		2	Henry C. Brace	Rep.	Fountain Prairie
		3	John L. Porter	Rep.	Pacific
28	Crawford		Peter Doyle	Dem.	Prairie du Chien
07	Dane	1	Oliver W. Thornton	Rep.	Medina
		2	Levi B. Vilas	Dem.	Madison
26		3	Otto Kerl	Dem.	Berry
		4	Hiram Cornwell	Rep.	Verona
13	Dodge	1	John W. Davis	Dem.	Fox Lake
		2	John Runkel	Dem.	Lowell
		3	Wilfred C. Fuller	Dem.	Chester
		4	Dennis Short	Dem.	Lomira
		5	Satterlee Clark	Dem.	Horicon
		6	Ferdinand Gnewuch	Dem.	Lebanon
02	Door & Northern Kewaunee		De Wayne Stebbins	Rep.	Ahnapee
30	Dunn & Pepin		Horace E. Houghton	Rep.	Durand
	Eau Claire		William P. Bartlett	Rep.	Eau Claire
18	Fond du Lac	1	Alonzo A. Loper	Rep.	Ripon
		2	Rensselaer M. Lewis	Lib. R.	Fond du Lac
20		3	Truman M. Fay	Dem.	Byron
16	Grant	1	Thomas G. Stephens	Lib. R.	Hazel Green
		2	William H. Clise	Rep.	Lancaster
		3	John Monteith	Rep.	Fennimore
		4	Christopher Hutchinson	Rep.	Beetown
12	Green		John Luchsinger	Rep.	New Glarus
25	Green Lake		Appollos D. Foote	Rep.	Berlin
09	Iowa	1	William E. Rowe	Lib. R.	Arena
		2	William Robinson	Rep.	Moscow
23	Jefferson	1	Patrick Devy	Dem.	Watertown
		2	Casper Steinfort	Lib. R.	Lake Mills
		3	James W. Ostrander	Rep.	Jefferson
29	Juneau		Henry F. C. Nichols	Rep.	New Lisbon
08	Kenosha		Asahel Farr	Rep.	Kenosha
31	La Crosse		Alex McMillan	Rep.	La Crosse
11	Lafayette		William H. Armstrong	Rep.	Darlington
15	Manitowoc	1	Charles R. Zorn	Dem.	Schleswig
		2	Orsamus S. Davis	Rep.	Cato
		3	Joseph Rankin	Dem.	Manitowoc
21	Marathon		Daniel L. Plumer	Ref.	Wausau
25	Marquette		Charles S. Kelsey	Rep.	Montello
03	Milwaukee	1	Isaac W. Van Schaick	Dem.	Milwaukee
		2	Jacob Sander	Lib. R.	Milwaukee
06		3	James McGrath	Dem.	Milwaukee
		4	Gottlob E. Weiss	Dem.	Milwaukee
		5	John A. Becher	Rep.	Milwaukee
03		6	Casper Sanger	Rep.	Milwaukee
06		7	Henry L. Palmer	Dem.	Milwaukee
		8	Galen Seaman	Rep.	Milwaukee
03		9	Moritz Becker	Dem.	Milwaukee
		10	Thomas Tobin	Dem.	Wauwatosa
06		11	John B. Stemper	Dem.	Oak Creek
04	Monroe	1	James H. Allen	Rep.	Sparta
		2	Adelbert Bleekman	Rep.	Tomah
21	Oconto		Richard W. Hubbell	Rep.	Oconto
22	Outagamie, Shawano , & Waupaca	1	John A. Roemer	Dem.	Appleton
21		2	Corydon L. Rich	Dem.	Bovina
		3	Columbus Caldwell	Rep.	Lind
33	Ozaukee	1	Charles E. Chamberlin	Dem.	Ozaukee
		2	Adolphus Zimmermann	Dem.	Mequon
24	Pierce		James H. Persons	Rep.	Union
29	Portage		David R. Clements	Rep.	Stevens Point
05	Racine	1	John Elkins	Rep.	Racine
		2	Richard Richards	Rep.	Mount Pleasant
28	Richland	1	Norman L. James	Rep.	Richland Center
		2	George W. Putnam	Rep.	Marshall
17	Rock	1	John M. Evans	Rep.	Union
		2	David F. Sayre	Rep.	Porter
		3	Dustin G. Cheever	Rep.	Clinton
		4	Eugene K. Felt	Rep.	Newark
		5	Henry A. Patterson	Rep.	Janesville
14	Sauk	1	John Young	Rep.	Honey Creek
		2	John Kellogg	Rep.	Reedsburg
01	Sheboygan	1	Julius Bodenstab	Lib. R.	Herman
		2	Otto Puhlman	Dem.	Plymouth
		3	Peter Daane	Rep.	Holland
24	St. Croix		David C. Fulton	Lib. R.	Hudson
32	Trempealeau		Seth W. Button	Rep.	Trempealeau
04	Vernon	1	Peter Jerman	Rep.	Sterling
		2	J. Henry Tate	Rep.	Viroqua
08	Walworth	1	Carlos L. Douglass	Rep.	Walworth
		2	Frank Leland	Rep.	Elkhorn
		3	Charles R. Gibbs	Rep.	Whitewater
33	Washington	1	Hiram W. Sawyer	Dem.	Hartford
		2	Baruch S. Weil	Dem.	Schleisingerville
10	Waukesha	1	Francis G. Parks	Rep.	Eagle
		2	David Rhoda	Rep.	Oconomowoc
25	Waushara		Sherman Bardwell	Rep.	Plainfield
19	Winnebago	1	Thomas Wall	Dem.	Oshkosh
		2	Thomas McConnell	Rep.	Winneconne
		3	Carlton Foster	Rep.	Oshkosh
		4	Alson Wood	Rep.	Rushford

Employees

Senate employees

• Chief Clerk: J. H. Waggoner ^[2]
  • Assistant Clerk: Sid. A. Foster
    • Bookkeeper: T. S. Ansley
  • Engrossing Clerk: Charles A. Booth
  • Enrolling Clerk: Frank Abbott
  • Transcribing Clerk: S. H. Vedder
• Sergeant-at-Arms: A. Emonson
  • Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Stephen Coburn
• Postmaster: P. H. Parsons
  • Assistant Postmaster: W. D. Harshaw
• Doorkeeper: Hugh Longstaff
  • Assistant Doorkeeper: Walter Cook
  • Assistant Doorkeeper: W. F. Bingham
  • Assistant Doorkeeper: W. F. Hals
  • Assistant Doorkeeper: John Z. Rittman
  • Gallery Doorkeeper: G. Jones
  • Gallery Doorkeeper: S. S. Miller
  • Night Watch: Frank J. Wood
• Governor's Attendant: Ossian M. Pettit
• Clerk's Messenger: Charles A. Irish
• Messengers:
  • Adolph Hastreiter
  • Arthur Johnson
  • Freddie Richards
  • Willie Bintliff
  • Eddie McCurdy
  • Johnnie Veeder
  • Charlie Fellows
  • Frank Bolting
  • Freddie Davis

Assembly employees

• Chief Clerk: Ephraim W. Young ^[2]
  • Assistant Clerk: Fred A. Dennett
    • Bookkeeper: Roger C. Spooner
  • Engrossing Clerk: Mrs. R. A. Vilas
  • Enrolling Clerk: Amos Hitchcock
  • Transcribing Clerk: Faunie Russell
• Sergeant-at-Arms: O. C. Bissell
  • 1st Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: W. H. Bell
  • 2nd Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Richard Pritchard
• Postmaster: M. Herrick
  • 1st Assistant Postmaster: W. W. Baker
  • 2nd Assistant Postmaster: Charles Volner
• Doorkeepers:
  • John Gale
  • George W. Baker
  • S. G. Parkhurst
  • W. W. Phelps
• Night Watch: Fred Bright
• Firemen:
  • Charles Sellers
  • Z. B. Russell
• Gallery Attendants:
  • John Bowen
  • H. J. Stordock
• Committee Room Attendants:
  • George W. Williams
  • M. S. Bowler
  • Ethan Griffith
  • George Slingsby
  • Eugene J. Cole
• Washroom Attendant: O. M. Oleson
• Porter: H. O. Hermonson
• Speaker's Messenger: Willie Holmes
• Chief Clerk's Messenger: Frank R. Norton
• Sergeant-at-Arms' Messenger: Eddie B. Weeks
• Messengers:
  • Charles Murphy
  • Frank Porter
  • Henry Cutler
  • Ed. Hubbell
  • Edwin Roweliff
  • Cassius Paine
  • John Lannan
  • Willie Rudd
  • Charles Wootton
  • Julian French
  • Charles Rothe
  • Mike Comford
  • John Oleson
  • Fred Hawley

References

1. Heg, J. E., ed. (1882). "Annals of the Legislature" (PDF). The Blue Book of the state of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 229–231. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
2. Turner, A. J., ed. (1873). "Official Directory" (PDF). The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 433–466. Retrieved December 11, 2021.

External links

• 1873: Related Documents from Wisconsin Legislature