2nd Wisconsin Legislature

2nd Wisconsin Legislature
2nd Wisconsin Legislature
	Wisconsin State Capitol, 1855
Overview
Legislative body	Wisconsin Legislature
Meeting place	Wisconsin State Capitol
Term	January 1, 1849 – January 7, 1850
Election	November 7, 1848
Senate
Members	19
Senate President	John Edwin Holmes
Party control	Democratic
Assembly
Members	66
Assembly Speaker	Harrison Carroll Hobart
Party control	Democratic
Sessions
1st
1st	January 10, 1849 – April 2, 1849

Last updated October 22, 2023

The Second Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 10, 1849, to April 2, 1849, 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. Senators representing even numbered districts were serving the second year of their two-year term.^[1]

Major events

March 4, 1849: Inauguration of Zachary Taylor as the 12th President of the United States.
November 6, 1849: Nelson Dewey re-elected Governor of Wisconsin.

Major legislation

February 8, 1849: Joint resolution related to Slavery and the Slave trade, 1849 Joint Resolution 2
March 6, 1849: Act to extend the boundaries of the county of Marquette, 1849 Act 73
March 8, 1849: Act in relation to the boundaries of the counties of Columbia, Adams, Sauk, Chippewa, La Pointe, and St. Croix, 1849 Act 77
March 8, 1849: Act to extend the boundaries of Winnebago county, 1849 Act 79
March 10, 1849: Joint resolution relative to a proposed amendment to the constitution of the United States, concerning the election of Senators in congress, 1849 Joint Resolution 5
March 22, 1849: Act submitting the question of the extension of the right of suffrage to a vote of the People, 1849 Act 137. Setting a referendum for the 1849 general election which would grant voting rights to African Americans living in Wisconsin. The referendum passed, but the legality was challenged. The Wisconsin Supreme Court finally upheld the result of the 1849 referendum in the 1866 case of Gillespie v Palmer and others.^[2]
March 31, 1849: Joint resolution instructing the Hon. Isaac P. Walker to resign his seat as United States Senator, 1849 Joint Resolution 9.
March 31, 1849: An Act in relation to homicide. Created Wisconsin's first law criminalizing abortion.

Party summary

Senate summary

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)			Total

	Dem.	F.S.	Whig		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	16	0	3	19	0

1st Session	14	1	4	19	0

Final voting share	74%	5%	21%

Beginning of the next Legislature	13	2	4	19	0

Assembly summary

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)			Total

	Dem.	F.S.	Whig		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	49	0	17	66	0

1st Session	36	14	16	66	0

Final voting share	55%	21%	24%

Beginning of the next Legislature	43	8	15	66	0

Sessions

1st Regular session: January 10, 1849 –April 2, 1849^[1]

Leaders

Senate leadership

President of the Senate: John E. Holmes, Lieutenant Governor^[1]

Assembly leadership

Speaker of the Assembly: Harrison Carroll Hobart ^[1]

Members

Members of the Senate

Members of the Wisconsin Senate for the Second Wisconsin Legislature (19):^[1]

District	Counties	Senator	Party	Residence
01	Brown, Calumet, Manitowoc, Sheboygan	Lemuel Goodell	Dem.	Stockbridge
02	Columbia, Marquette, Portage, Sauk	Henry Merrill	Whig	Fort Winnebago
03	Crawford, Chippewa, St. Croix , La Pointe	James Fisher	Dem.	Eastman
04	Fond du Lac, Winnebago	Warren Chase	Dem.	Ceresco
05	Iowa, Richland	Montgomery M. Cothren	Dem.	Mineral Point
06	Grant	George W. Lakin	Whig	Platteville
07	Lafayette	Dennis Murphy	Dem.	Shullsburg
08	Green	Elisha T. Gardner	Dem.	Monroe
09	Dane	Alexander Botkin	Whig	Madison
10	Dodge	William M. Dennis	Dem.	Watertown
11	Washington	Frederick W. Horn	Dem.	Cedarburg
12	Jefferson	Myron B. Williams	Dem.	Watertown
13	Waukesha	Frederick Sprague	Dem.	Eagleville
14	Walworth	John W. Boyd	Dem.	Geneva
15	Rock	Otis W. Norton	Whig	Milton
16	Racine (Southern half)	C. Latham Sholes	Dem.	Kenosha
17	Racine (Northern half)	Victor Willard	Free Soil	Waterford
18	Milwaukee (Southern half)	Asa Kinney	Dem.	Milwaukee
19	Milwaukee (Northern half)	John B. Smith	Dem.	Milwaukee

Members of the Assembly

Members of the Assembly for the Second Wisconsin Legislature (66):^[1]^[3]^[4]

Senate District	Counties		Representative	Party	Residence
01	Brown		John F. Meade	Dem.	Green Bay
01	Calumet		Alonzo D. Dick	Whig	Manchester
02	Columbia		Joseph Kerr	Whig	Columbia
03	Crawford & Chippewa		James O'Neill	Dem.	Black River
09	Dane	1	Charles Rickerson	Dem.	Medina
		2	Ira W. Bird	Whig	Madison
		3	Samuel H. Roys	Dem.	Dunkirk
10	Dodge	1	Paul Juneau	Dem.	Theresa
		2	Hiram Barber	Dem.	Fairfield (now Oak Grove)
		3	George G. King	Dem.	Shields
		4	Jedediah Kimball	Dem.	Portland
		5	Parker Warren	Free Soil	Beaver Dam
04	Fond du Lac	1	Morgan L. Noble	Free Soil	Fond du Lac
04	Fond du Lac	2	Jonathan Daugherty	Whig	Rosendale
06	Grant	1	Robert R. Young	Whig	Hazel Green
		2	Davis Gillilan	Dem.	Potosi
		3	Robert M. Briggs	Whig	Beetown
		4	James Russell Vineyard	Dem.	Platteville
08	Green		John C. Crawford	Whig	Monroe
05	Iowa & Richland	1	Jabez Peirce	Dem.	Mineral Point
05	Iowa & Richland	2	Timothy Burns	Dem.	Franklin
12	Jefferson	1	Benjamin Nute	Dem.	Milford
		2	Jarvis K. Pike	Whig	Cold Spring
		3	William H. Johnson	Dem.	Fort Atkinson
03	La Pointe & St Croix		Joseph Bowron	Dem.	St. Croix Falls
07	Lafayette	1	Daniel Morgan Parkinson	Dem.	Fayette
07	Lafayette	2	William Hill	Dem.	New Diggings
01	Manitowoc		Charles Kuehn	Dem.	Two Rivers
02	Marquette		Satterlee Clark Jr.	Dem.	Green Lake
19	Milwaukee ^[5]	1	James B. Cross	Dem.	Milwaukee
19		2	Zelotus A. Cotton	Dem.	Milwaukee
18		3	Julius White	Whig	Milwaukee
		4	Stoddard H. Martin	Free Soil	Milwaukee
		5	John Flynn Jr.	Dem.	Oak Creek
		6	Enoch Chase	Dem.	Lake
19		7	Robert Wason Jr.	Dem.	Granville
02	Portage		John Delany	Dem.	Plover
17	Racine	1	Marshall Strong	Free Soil	Racine
		2	James DeNoon Reymert	Free Soil	Norway
		3	Maurice L. Ayers	Free Soil	Burlington
16		4	Otis Colwell	Free Soil	Southport
16		5	Herman S. Thorp	Free Soil	Bristol
15	Rock	1	Anson W. Pope	Whig	Janesville
		2	Samuel G. Colley	Free Soil	Beloit
		3	Lucius H. Page	Whig	Fulton
		4	Paul Crandall	Whig	Lima
		5	Josiah F. Willard	Free Soil	Rock
02	Sauk		Cyrus Leland	Dem.	Prairie du Sac
01	Sheboygan	1	Harrison Carroll Hobart	Dem.	Sheboygan
01	Sheboygan	2	Jedediah Brown	Dem.	Sheboygan Falls
14	Walworth	1	Samuel Pratt	Free Soil	Spring Prairie
		2	Enos Hazard	Whig	La Grange
		3	Samuel D. Hastings	Free Soil	Geneva
		4	George H. Lown	Free Soil	Walworth
		5	Milo Kelsey	Whig	Delavan
11	Washington	1	Solon Johnson	Dem.	Port Washington
		2	James Fagan	Dem.	Jackson
		3	Peter Turck	Dem.	Mequon
		4	Patrick Toland	Dem.	Erin
		5	Chauncey M. Phelps	Dem.	Addison
13	Waukesha ^[3]	1	William H. Thomas	Dem.	Lisbon
		2	D. Henry Rockwell	Dem.	Oconomowoc
		3	Albert Alden	Dem.	Delafield
		4	John M. Wells	Free Soil	Prairieville
		5	Thomas Sugden	Whig	Eagle
04	Winnebago		Thomas J. Townsend	Whig	Winnebago

Employees

Senate employees

Chief Clerk: William Rudolph Smith
Assistant Clerk: P. N. Bovee
Enrolling Clerk: G. W. Boardman
Engrossing Clerk: Henry B. Welsh
Transcribing Clerk: William Dutcher
Messenger: Moritz Morgenstine
Doorkeeper: J. S. Delno
Fireman: S. B. Sibley
Sergeant-at-Arms: W. Shellmer

Assembly employees

Chief Clerk: Robert L. Ream
Chief Clerk pro tem: Daniel Noble Johnson
Assistant Clerk: William Hull
Assistant Clerk pro tem: Alexander T. Gray
Enrolling Clerk: Aaron V. Fryer
Engrossing Clerk: J. J. Driggs
Transcribing Clerk: Lyman Cowderey
Messenger: Marshall Ten Eyk
Doorkeeper: C. W. White
Fireman: Samuel Noyes
Sergeant-at-Arms: Felix McLinden

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 Heg, J. E., ed. (1882). "Annals of the Legislature" (PDF). The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 179–180.
↑ "Ezekiel Gillespie, Lost and Found". Wisconsin magazine of history. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
1 2 "In Assembly". Wisconsin Express. January 16, 1849. p. 1. Retrieved August 8, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "List of Members of the Assembly of the State of Wisconsin", Wisconsin Express January 30, 1849; p. 4; via Newspapers.com
↑ "Members of the Legislature Elect". The Weekly Wisconsin. November 15, 1848. p. 2. Retrieved August 19, 2021– via Newspapers.com.

External links

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[annals-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Heg, J. E., ed. (1882). "Annals of the Legislature" (PDF). The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 179–180.

[2] "Ezekiel Gillespie, Lost and Found". Wisconsin magazine of history. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved May 13, 2019.

[districts-3] 1 2 "In Assembly". Wisconsin Express. January 16, 1849. p. 1. Retrieved August 8, 2021– via Newspapers.com.

[4] "List of Members of the Assembly of the State of Wisconsin", Wisconsin Express January 30, 1849; p. 4; via Newspapers.com

[5] "Members of the Legislature Elect". The Weekly Wisconsin. November 15, 1848. p. 2. Retrieved August 19, 2021– via Newspapers.com.

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