28th Wisconsin Legislature

28th Wisconsin Legislature
28th Wisconsin Legislature
	Wisconsin State Capitol, 1863
Overview
Legislative body	Wisconsin Legislature
Meeting place	Wisconsin State Capitol
Term	January 4, 1875 – January 3, 1876
Election	November 3, 1874
Senate
Members	33
Senate President	Charles D. Parker (D)
President pro tempore	Henry D. Barron (R)
Party control	Republican
Assembly
Members	100
Assembly Speaker	Frederick W. Horn (IR)
Party control	Republican
Sessions
1st
1st	January 13, 1875 – March 6, 1875

Last updated June 24, 2025

The Twenty-Eighth Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 13, 1875, to March 6, 1875, 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 3, 1874. 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 4, 1873.^[1]

The governor of Wisconsin during this entire term was Democrat William Robert Taylor, of Dane County, serving the second year of a two-year term, having won election in the 1873 Wisconsin gubernatorial election.

Major events

February 8, 1875: Angus Cameron was elected United States Senator by the Wisconsin Legislature in joint session.
March 1, 1875: President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Civil Rights Act of 1875 into law.
May 20, 1875: The Metre Convention was signed in Paris, establishing the International Bureau of Weights and Measures.
November 2, 1875: Harrison Ludington elected Governor of Wisconsin.

Major legislation

February 17, 1875: An Act to require the several railroad companies in this state to provide for the safety of passengers, 1875 Act 24.
February 20, 1875: An Act to amend chapter 273, of the laws of 1874, entitled "An act relating to railroad, express and telegraph companies in the state of Wisconsin," 1875 Act 39. Replaced the three-person railroad commission with a single railroad commissioner.
February 24, 1875: An Act to more fully define and punish the crime of bribery, committed at or before elections, 1875 Act 56. Criminalized the buying or selling of votes.
February 27, 1875: An Act to prevent the ensnaring or trapping of deer, 1875 Act 85.
March 2, 1875: An Act to render women eligible to local school offices, 1875 Act 120.
March 2, 1875: An Act to encourage the invention and successful use of steam or other mechanical agents on highways, 1875 Act 134. Created a $10,000 bounty for invention of a steam-powered substitute for horses for transportation or farm labor.
March 3, 1875: An Act to prevent and punish cruelty to animals, 1875 Act 150.

Party summary

Senate summary

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)				Total

	Dem.	Ref.	Lib.R.	Rep.		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	12	2	2	17	33	0

1st Session	9	5	2	17	33	0

Final voting share	48.48%			51.52%

Beginning of the next Legislature	6	4	2	21	33	0

Assembly summary

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)					Total

	Dem.	Ref.	Ind.	Lib.R.	Rep.		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	29	15	3	12	41	100	0

1st Session	19	13	0	4	64	100	0

Final voting share	36%				64%

Beginning of the next Legislature	35	12	1	1	51	100	0

Sessions

1st Regular session: January 13, 1875 –March 6, 1875

Leaders

Senate leadership

President of the Senate: Charles D. Parker (D)
President pro tempore: Henry D. Barron (R)

Assembly leadership

Speaker of the Assembly: Frederick W. Horn (IR)

Members

Members of the Senate

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

Dist.	Counties	Senator	Residence	Party
01	Sheboygan	Enos Eastman	Plymouth	Dem.
02	Brown, Door, & Kewaunee	John M. Read	Kewaunee	Dem.
03	Milwaukee (Northern Part)	William H. Jacobs	Milwaukee	Ref.
04	Monroe & Vernon	Adelbert Bleekman	Tomah	Rep.
05	Racine	Robert Hall Baker	Racine	Rep.
06	Milwaukee (Southern Half)	John Black	Milwaukee	Dem.
07	Dane (Eastern Part)	George E. Bryant	Madison	Rep.
08	Kenosha & Walworth	Thompson Weeks	Whitewater	Rep.
09	Iowa	David McFarland	Highland	Ref.
10	Waukesha	John A. Rice	Merton	Dem.
11	Lafayette	Francis Campbell	Gratiot	Rep.
12	Green	Harvey T. Moore	Brodhead	Ref.
13	Dodge	John A. Barney	Mayville	Dem.
14	Sauk	John B. Quimby	Sauk City	Rep.
15	Manitowoc	John Schuette	Manitowoc	Rep.
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	William P. Rounds	Menasha	Rep.
20	Fond du Lac (Eastern Part)	Joseph Wagner	Marshfield	Dem.
21	Marathon, Oconto, Shawano, Waupaca, & Northern Outagamie	Willis C. Silverthorn	Wausau	Ref.
22	Calumet & Southern Outagamie	Reinhard Schlichting	Chilton	Ref.
23	Jefferson	William W. Reed	Jefferson	Lib.R.
24	Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Pierce, Polk, & St. Croix	Henry D. Barron	St. Croix Falls	Rep.
25	Green Lake, Marquette, & Waushara	Robert L. D. Potter	Wautoma	Rep.
26	Dane (Western Part)	Romanzo E. Davis	Middleton	Lib.R.
27	Columbia	Levi W. Barden	Portage	Rep.
28	Crawford & Richland	George Krouskop	Richland Center	Dem.
29	Adams, Juneau, Portage, & Wood	Thomas B. Scott	Grand Rapids	Rep.
30	Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire , & Pepin	Hiram P. Graham	Eau Claire	Dem.
31	La Crosse	Sylvester Nevins	La Crosse	Rep.
32	Buffalo, Clark, Jackson, & Trempealeau	Robert C. Field	Sumner	Rep.
33	Ozaukee & Washington	Gilead J. Wilmot	West Bend	Dem.

Members of the Assembly

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

Senate District	County	Dist.	Representative	Party	Residence
29	Adams & Wood		G. M. Marshall	Rep.	Big Spring
24	Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Polk		Sam Fifield	Rep.	Ashland
02	Brown & Southern Kewaunee	1	Thomas R. Hudd	Ref.	Green Bay
		2	William J. Fisk	Rep.	Fort Howard
		3	Patrick Hobbins	Dem.	Morrison
32	Buffalo		Edward Lees	Dem.	Fountain City
22	Calumet		John Harsh	Rep.	Stockbridge
30	Chippewa		Thomas L. Halbert	Rep.	Chippewa Falls
32	Clark & Jackson		Richard Dewhurst	Ref.	Neillsville
27	Columbia	1	Marcus Barden	Rep.	Pardeeville
		2	John R. Rowlands	Rep.	Cambria
		3	John B. Dwinnell	Rep.	Lodi
28	Crawford		Zenas Beach	Rep.	Eastman
07	Dane	1	Isaac Adams	Rep.	Door Creek
07		2	Silas U. Pinney	Dem.	Madison
26		3	David Ford	Dem.	Waunakee
26		4	Michael Johnson	Ref.	Springdale
13	Dodge	1	Owen R. Jones	Rep.	Beaver Dam
		2	David M. Coleman	Rep.	Lowell
		3	John Lloyd	Rep.	Clyman
		4	Max Bachhuber	Ref.	Farmersville
		5	William M. Morse	Dem.	Rubicon
		6	Harman Grube	Ref.	Watertown
02	Door & Northern Kewaunee		Charles Scofield	Rep.	Red River
30	Dunn & Pepin		Rockwell J. Flint	Rep.	Menomonie
30	Eau Claire		Jonathan G. Callahan	Rep.	Eau Claire
18	Fond du Lac	1	William Plocker	Rep.	Fairwater
18		2	George Hunter	Rep.	Fond du Lac
20		3	Michael Serwe	Dem.	Ashford
16	Grant	1	James Jeffery	Rep.	Georgetown
		2	Lafayette Caskey	Rep.	Potosi
		3	Benjamin M. Coates	Rep.	Boscobel
		4	Delos Abrams	Rep.	Bloomington
12	Green		Charles R. Deniston	Rep.	Cadiz
25	Green Lake		William H. Dakin	Rep.	Dartford
09	Iowa	1	Owen King	Ref.	Helena
09	Iowa	2	Kearton Coates	Rep.	Linden
23	Jefferson	1	Christian Mayer	Ref.	Watertown
		2	Austin Kellogg	Dem.	Concord
		3	James W. Ostrander	Rep.	Jefferson
29	Juneau		Job Grant	Lib.R.	Union Center
08	Kenosha		Rouse Simmons	Rep.	Kenosha
31	La Crosse		John Bradley	Rep.	Bangor
11	Lafayette		John Anderson	Rep.	Monticello
15	Manitowoc	1	Fred Schmitz	Ref.	Northeim
		2	Bryan S. Lorigan	Dem.	Maple Grove
		3	Reuben D. Smart	Rep.	Manitowoc
21	Marathon		Bartholomew Ringle	Dem.	Wausau
25	Marquette		Robert Mitchell	Rep.	Douglas
03	Milwaukee	1	Isaac W. Van Schaick	Rep.	Milwaukee
03		2	Peter Fagg	Ref.	Milwaukee
06		3	William J. Kershaw	Ind.R.	Milwaukee
		4	Stephen A. Harrison	Rep.	Milwaukee
		5	Charles H. Larkin	Dem.	Milwaukee
03		6	Daniel H. Richards	Dem.	Milwaukee
06		7	Lemuel Ellsworth	Rep.	Milwaukee
06		8	Bernard Schlichting	Rep.	Milwaukee
03		9	Frederick Zetteler	Dem.	Milwaukee
03		10	Frederick Moskowitt	Lib.R.	Milwaukee
06		11	Thomas O'Neill	Rep.	Greenfield
04	Monroe	1	Eli Waste	Rep.	Sparta
04	Monroe	2	William W. Jackson	Rep.	Tomah
21	Oconto		John Leigh	Rep.	Oconto
22	Outagamie, Shawano , & Waupaca	1	George N. Richmond	Dem.	Appleton
21		2	Herman Naber	Ref.	Shawano
21		3	George H. Calkins	Rep.	Waupaca
33	Ozaukee	1	Gustav Gotze	Rep.	Ozaukee
33	Ozaukee	2	Frederick W. Horn	Ind.R.	Cedarburg
24	Pierce		Thomas L. Nelson	Rep.	Prescott
29	Portage		George H. Guernsey	Rep.	Almond
05	Racine	1	Charles F. Bliss	Dem.	Racine
05	Racine	2	Elias White	Ref.	Burlington
28	Richland	1	Norman L. James	Rep.	Richland Center
28	Richland	2	Benjamin F. Washburn	Rep.	Excelsior
17	Rock	1	Marvin Osborne	Rep.	Magnolia
		2	Zebulon P. Burdick	Rep.	Janesville
		3	Andrew Barlass	Rep.	Harmony
		4	George H. Crosby	Rep.	Beloit
		5	Hiram Merrill	Rep.	Janesville
14	Sauk	1	Thomas Baker	Rep.	Prairie du Sac
14	Sauk	2	David E. Welch	Rep.	Baraboo
01	Sheboygan	1	Joseph Wedig	Ref.	Howard's Grove
		2	Patrick Geraghty	Ref.	Elkhart Lake
		3	Nathaniel Farnsworth	Rep.	Sheboygan Falls
24	St. Croix		Philo Boyden	Lib.	Hudson
32	Trempealeau		Noah D. Comstock	Rep.	Arcadia
04	Vernon	1	Ole Anderson	Rep.	Esofea
04	Vernon	2	James E. Newell	Rep.	Viroqua
08	Walworth	1	Elijah M. Sharp	Rep.	Delavan
		2	Charles Dunlap	Rep.	Elkhorn
		3	Nathaniel M. Bunker	Rep.	Troy Center
33	Washington	1	Andrew Martin	Dem.	Reisville
33	Washington	2	Philip Schneider	Dem.	Barton
10	Waukesha	1	Silas Barber	Dem.	Waukesha
10	Waukesha	2	Manville S. Hodgson	Rep.	Waukesha
25	Waushara		John H. Thomas	Rep.	Berlin
19	Winnebago	1	Asa Rogers	Dem.	Oshkosh
		2	Nathaniel S. Robinson	Rep.	Neenah
		3	Leroy S. Chase	Rep.	Omro
		4	Frank A. Leach	Rep.	Utica

Employees

Senate employees

Chief Clerk: Fred A. Dennett ^[2]
- Assistant Clerk: Thomas B. Reid
  - Bookkeeper: Thomas St. George
- Engrossing Clerk: Wilbur Dodge
- Enrolling Clerk: James F. Spencer
- Transcribing Clerk: Fred Heineman
- Clerk for the Committee on Engrossed Bills: T. K. Dunn
- Clerk for the Committee on Enrolled Bills: E. J. Cole
- Clerk for the Committee on Claims: Thomas A. Dyson
- Clerk for the Committee on Railroads: J. F. Johnston
- Clerk for the Committee on Judiciary: A. P. Carman
Sergeant-at-Arms: O. U. Akin
- Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Charles G. Fay
Postmaster: Amaziah Strang
- Assistant Postmaster: John L. Quimby
Doorkeeper: William R. Kent
- Assistant Doorkeeper: William F. Bingman
- Assistant Doorkeeper: H. H. Field
- Gallery Doorkeeper: Charles Early
- Gallery Doorkeeper: T. H. Hansen
- Committee Room Attendant: Charles Scott
- Night Watch: H. H. Grace
- Porter: Michael Lynch
Messengers:
- Glennie C. Richarson
- Waldo B. Stone
- W. W. Paine
- Harry R. Clise
- Harry Cuttler
- Arthur A. Hills
- G. Herbert Campbell
- William Kleinpell
- Nelson C. Brownell

Assembly employees

Chief Clerk: Rollin M. Strong ^[2]
- Assistant Clerk: C. D. Long
  - Bookkeeper: R. A. Gillett
- Engrossing Clerk: Mrs. Fannie Vilas
- Enrolling Clerk: Julius Lasche
- Transcribing Clerk: W. M. Fogo
- Clerk for the Committee on Engrossed Bills: C. H. Boynton
- Clerk for the Committee on Enrolled Bills: Jonathan C. Sherwin Jr.
- Clerk for the Committee on Judiciary: J. B. Stocking
Sergeant-at-Arms: John W. Brackett
- Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Miles Burnham
Postmaster: P. J. Clawson
- Assistant Postmaster: George H. Osgood
Doorkeepers:
- J. F. Tinker
- N. F. Pierce
- C. A. Sellers
- Joseph Goss
Night Watch: A. L. Lund
Fireman: J. A. Nevill
Committee Room Attendants:
- W. H. Bell
- J. W. Grange
- L. Woodward
Gallery Attendants:
- W. L. Morrison
- George L. Cain
Porter: F. O. Byrne
Speaker's Messenger: L. E. Knox
Chief Clerk's Messenger: Rufus Jenkins
Sergeant-at-Arms' Messenger: W. Kanouse
Messengers:
- Willie Horn
- Ben C. Baker
- Charles Keogh
- Willie Devine
- Willie Storm
- Charles Rothe
- Lucius Cannon
- John Bruce
- William Gallagher
- Joseph Parrish
- Theodore Kupper
- Marcus Moody

References

↑ Heg, J. E., ed. (1882). "Annals of the Legislature" (PDF). The Blue Book of the state of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 234–236. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
1 2 3 4 Bashford, R. M., ed. (1875). "Official Directory" (PDF). The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 310–348. Retrieved January 7, 2022.

External links

1875: Related Documents from Wisconsin Legislature

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[1] Heg, J. E., ed. (1882). "Annals of the Legislature" (PDF). The Blue Book of the state of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 234–236. Retrieved January 7, 2022.

[bb1875-2] 1 2 3 4 Bashford, R. M., ed. (1875). "Official Directory" (PDF). The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 310–348. Retrieved January 7, 2022.

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[2]

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