9th Wisconsin Legislature

9th Wisconsin Legislature
9th Wisconsin Legislature
	Wisconsin State Capitol, 1855
Overview
Legislative body	Wisconsin Legislature
Meeting place	Wisconsin State Capitol
Term	January 7, 1856 – January 5, 1857
Election	November 6, 1855
Senate
Members	25
Senate President	Arthur MacArthur Sr. (D)
President pro tempore	Louis P. Harvey (R)
Party control	Republican
Assembly
Members	82
Assembly Speaker	William Hull (D)
Party control	Democratic
Sessions
1st
1st	January 9, 1856 – March 31, 1856
2nd	September 3, 1856 – October 14, 1856

Last updated August 29, 2023

The Ninth Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 9, 1856, to March 31, 1856, in regular session, and re-convened from September 3, 1856, to October 14, 1856.

This was a pivotal legislative session in the fall of the Democratic Party in Wisconsin and the rise of the new Republican Party—the Republicans would dominate the state government for most of the next 100 years. The start of the session saw the dispute over the 1855 Wisconsin gubernatorial election, in which the Democratic incumbent governor, William A. Barstow, was forced to resign from office three months into this term after the Wisconsin Supreme Court threw out a number of apparently fraudulent votes.

Before he left office however, Barstow was involved in an extensive railroad bribery scandal, which ultimately also implicated his Republican challenger, Coles Bashford, and a huge portion of the members of the 9th Wisconsin Legislature. The scheme saw railroad promoters, led by Milwaukee mayor Byron Kilbourn, bribing legislators and other state officials with railroad company bonds and stock in exchange for securing land grants for the La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad route. An 1858 investigation found $900,000 worth of bribes had been paid (nearly $33,000,000 adjusted for inflation), averaging $10,000 per official. Although legislators from both parties received the corrupt bonds, Democrats ultimately took the bulk of the blame.^[1]^[2]

Senators representing even-numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first year of a two-year term. Assemblymembers were elected to a one-year term. Assemblymembers and even-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 6, 1855. Senators representing odd-numbered districts were serving the second year of their two-year term, having been elected in the general election held on November 7, 1854.^[3]

Major events

January 7, 1856: Resulting from a dispute over the 1855 gubernatorial election, both Coles Bashford and William A. Barstow were sworn in as Governor of Wisconsin in separate ceremonies.
January 15, 1856: Assemblymember William Brunquest, representing Oconto, Outagamie, and Waupaca counties, resigned his seat after it was demonstrated that he had actually lost his election to Louis Bostedo.
March 21, 1856: Barstow officially withdrew his claim to the Governorship, leaving Lieutenant Governor Arthur MacArthur Sr. as governor.
March 24, 1856: The Wisconsin Supreme Court issued its decision in the case Atty. Gen. ex rel. Bashford v. Barstow, ruling that Bashford had won the 1855 gubernatorial election.
March 25, 1856: Bashford was sworn in as the 5th Governor of Wisconsin. MacArthur returned to his previous office as Lieutenant Governor.
November 4, 1856: James Buchanan was elected 15th president of the United States.

Major legislation

March 20, 1856: Act to annex a part of the county of Dodge to the county of Jefferson, 1856 Act 27
March 22, 1856: Joint Resolution in relation to Islands in the Mississippi river, 1856 Joint Resolution 2
March 28, 1856: Act to define the boundaries of the county of Winnebago, 1856 Act 45
March 29, 1856: Act to divide the county of Portage and erect the county of Wood, 1856 Act 54
March 31, 1856: Joint Resolution of the Senate and Assembly of the State of Wisconsin to the United States, in relation to the removal of the Stockbridge Indians, 1856 Joint Resolution 4
March 31, 1856: Act to set apart and incorporate the county of Burnette, 1856 Act 94
September 16, 1856: Joint Resolution in relation to the Stockbridge and Munsee Indians, 1856 Joint Resolution 5
September 30, 1856: Act to apportion and district anew the Members of the Senate and Assembly of the State of Wisconsin, 1856 Act 109. Expanded the Wisconsin Senate to 30 members, and the Assembly to 97.
October 6, 1856: Act to organize the county of Eau Claire, 1856 Act 114
October 14, 1856: Act to regulate the boundaries of La Crosse, Jackson and Monroe Counties, 1856 Act 145

Party summary

Senate summary

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)			Total

	Democratic	Ind.	Republican		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	13	1	11	25	0

1st Session	12	0	13	25	0

Final voting share	48%	0%	52%

Beginning of the next Legislature	11	0	19	30	0

Assembly summary

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)			Total

	Democratic	Ind.	Republican		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	34	4	44	82	0

start of 1st Session	45	1	36	82	0
January 15	46	1	35	82	0

Final voting share	56.1%	1.22%	42.68%

Beginning of the next Legislature	34	0	63	97	0

Sessions

1st Regular session: January 9, 1856 – March 31, 1856
2nd Regular session: September 3, 1856 – October 14, 1856

Leaders

Senate leadership

President of the Senate: Arthur MacArthur Sr., Lieutenant Governor
President pro tempore: Louis P. Harvey

Assembly leadership

Speaker of the Assembly: William Hull

Members

Members of the Senate

Members of the Wisconsin Senate for the Ninth Wisconsin Legislature:

District	Counties	Senator	Party	Residence
01	Calumet, Manitowoc, Sheboygan	David Taylor	Rep.	Sheboygan
02	Brown, Door, Kewaunee, Marathon, Oconto, Outagamie, Portage, Waupaca	Perry H. Smith	Dem.	Appleton
03	Ozaukee	Bolivar G. Gill	Dem.	Grafton
04	Washington	Baruch S. Weil	Dem.	Schleisingerville
05	Milwaukee (Northern Half)	Jackson Hadley	Dem.	Milwaukee
06	Milwaukee (Southern Half)	Edward O'Neill	Dem.	Milwaukee
07	Racine	Charles Clement	Rep.	Racine
08	Kenosha	C. Latham Sholes	Rep.	Kenosha
09	Waukesha (Northern Half)	Denison Worthington	Rep.	Summit
10	Waukesha (Southern Half)	Edward Gernon	Dem.	Genesee
11	Dane	Hiram H. Giles	Rep.	Stoughton
12	Walworth	Jesse C. Mills	Rep.	Elkhorn
13	Lafayette	Charles Dunn	Dem.	Cottage Inn
14	Jefferson	S. W. Barnes	Dem.	Waterloo
15	Iowa & Richland	Amasa Cobb	Rep.	Mineral Point
16	Grant	J. Allen Barber	Rep.	Lancaster
17	Rock (Western Part)	James Sutherland	Rep.	Janesville
18	Rock (Eastern Part)	Louis P. Harvey	Rep.	Shopiere
19	Bad Ax, Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Crawford, Jackson, La Crosse , La Pointe , Pierce, Polk, St. Croix	William J. Gibson	Dem.	Black River Falls
20	Fond du Lac	Edward Pier	Rep.	Fond du Lac
21	Winnebago	John Fitzgerald	Dem.	Oshkosh
22	Dodge	S. L. Rose	Dem.	Beaver Dam
23	Adams, Marquette, Sauk, Waushara	Edwin B. Kelsey	Dem.	Montello
24	Green	George E. Dexter	Rep.	Monroe
25	Columbia	John Q. Adams	Rep.	Fall River

Members of the Assembly

Members of the Assembly for the Ninth Wisconsin Legislature:

Senate District	County	District	Representative	Party	Residence
23	Adams, Sauk		David K. Noyes	Rep.	Baraboo
19	Bad Ax, Crawford		Andrew Briggs	Dem.	Bad Ax
02	Brown, Door, & Kewaunee		John Day	Dem.	Green Bay
19	Buffalo, Chippewa, & La Crosse		Dugald D. Cameron	Rep.	La Crosse
01	Calumet		James Cramond	Dem.	Manchester
25	Columbia	1	Moses M. Davis	Rep.	Portage
25	Columbia	2	Oliver C. Howe	Rep.	Lowville
11	Dane	1	Charles R. Head	Rep.	Albion
		2	Augustus A. Huntington	Dem.	York
		3	William M. Colladay	Rep.	Dunn
		4	George P. Thompson	Dem.	Cross Plains
		5	Augustus A. Bird	Dem.	Madison
22	Dodge	1	Benjamin F. Barney	Dem.	Williamstown
		2	Daniel Fletcher	Dem.	Hustisford
		3	Lawrence Connor	Dem.	Emmet
		4	Fred H. Ehinger	Dem.	Clyman
		5	Charles Burchard	Rep.	Beaver Dam
		6	Henry Butterfield	Rep.	Waupun
20	Fond du Lac	1	George W. Parker	Rep.	Metomen
		2	Peter Johnson	Dem.	Ashford
		3	Isaac Brown	Dem.	Fond du Lac
		4	Joseph Wagner	Dem.	Marshfield
16	Grant	1	Allen Taylor	Rep.	Hazel Green
		2	William Hull	Dem.	Potosi
		3	James T. Brown	Rep.	Clifton
		4	Joseph T. Mills	Rep.	Lancaster
		5	Horace Catlin	Dem.	Cassville
24	Green		Martin Flood	Rep.	Brooklyn
15	Iowa	1	Ephraim Knowlton	Dem.	Highland
15	Iowa	2	Richard M. Smith	Dem.	Mineral Point
14	Jefferson	1	William Chappell	Dem.	Watertown
		2	Henry C. Drake	Rep.	Milford
		3	David L. Morrison	Dem.	Koskonong
		4	William W. Woodman	Dem.	Farmington
		5	Darius Reed	Rep.	Sullivan
08	Kenosha	1	Henry Johnson	Rep.	Kenosha
08	Kenosha	2	Franklin Newell	Rep.	Paris
13	Lafayette	1	Matthew Murphy	Dem.	Benton
		2	Hamilton H. Gray	Dem.	Shullsburg
		3	James H. Knowlton	Rep.	Darlington
19	La Pointe, Pierce, Polk, & St. Croix		Almon D. Gray	Dem.	Hudson
01	Manitowoc		Charles H. Walker	Dem.	Manitowoc
02	Marathon, Portage		Joseph Wood	Rep.	Grand Rapids
23	Marquette, Waushara	1	William F. Chipman	Rep.	Warren
23	Marquette, Waushara	2	Horatio S. Thomas	Dem.	Moundville
05	Milwaukee	1	Joshua Starks	Dem.	Milwaukee
05		2	Augustus Greulich	Dem.	Milwaukee
06		3	William A. Hawkins	Rep.	Milwaukee
		4	George Hahn	Dem.	Milwaukee
		5	John Mitchell	Dem.	Milwaukee
		6	Andrew McCormick	Dem.	Milwaukee
		7	Peter Lavies	Dem.	Greenfield
05		8	Henry Crawford	Dem.	Wauwatosa
05		9	John Tobin	Dem.	Granville
02	Oconto, Outagamie, Waupaca		William Brunquest(until Jan. 15)	Rep.	Waupaca
02	Oconto, Outagamie, Waupaca		Louis Bostedo (from Jan. 15)	Dem.	Weyauwega
03	Ozaukee	1	Charles Beger	Dem.	Port Washington
03	Ozaukee	2	William Vogenitz	Dem.	Cedarburg
07	Racine	1	Thomas Falvey	Dem.	Racine
		2	Eliphalet Cram	Dem.	Racine
		3	John T. Palmer	Dem.	Norway
		4	Patrick G. Cheves	Rep.	Waterford
15	Richland		Robert Aken	Ind.	Richland
18	Rock	1	Horatio J. Murray	Rep.	Turtle
18		2	John Child	Rep.	Lima
17		3	Levi Alden	Rep.	Janesville
17		4	John M. Evans	Rep.	Union
01	Sheboygan	1	William Whippermann	Dem.	Mosel
01	Sheboygan	2	Reed C. Brazelton	Rep.	Scott
12	Walworth	1	James Lauderdale	Rep.	La Grange
		2	Robert T. Seymour	Rep.	Lafayette
		3	John F. Potter	Rep.	East Troy
		4	Asa W. Farr	Dem.	Geneva
		5	Salmon Thomas	Rep.	Darien
		6	William D. Chapin	Rep.	Bloomfield
04	Washington	1	Thomas Hayes	Dem.	Richfield
04	Washington	2	John Sell	Dem.	Addison
09	Waukesha	1	Jeremiah Noon	Rep.	Merton
09		2	James Weaver	Dem.	Lisbon
10		3	John James	Dem.	Eagle
10		4	Charles S. Hawley	Rep.	Waukesha
21	Winnebago	1	Lucius B. Townsend	Rep.	Nepeuskun
21	Winnebago	2	John Anunson	Dem.	Winchester

Employees

Senate employees

Chief Clerk: Byron Paine
Sergeant-at-Arms: Joseph Baker

Assembly employees

Chief Clerk: James Armstrong
Sergeant-at-Arms: Egbert Moseley

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References

↑ "The Corruptionists–––Who are They!". Wisconsin State Journal . October 30, 1858. p. 2. Retrieved February 17, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Report of the Land Grant Investigation–Startling Disclosures–nearly the whole Legislature of 1856 bought up". Vernon County Cencsor. May 26, 1858. p. 2. Retrieved February 19, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Annals of the legislature". The Blue Book of the state of Wisconsin 1881 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 191–192.

External links

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[1] "The Corruptionists–––Who are They!". Wisconsin State Journal . October 30, 1858. p. 2. Retrieved February 17, 2023– via Newspapers.com.

[2] "Report of the Land Grant Investigation–Startling Disclosures–nearly the whole Legislature of 1856 bought up". Vernon County Cencsor. May 26, 1858. p. 2. Retrieved February 19, 2023– via Newspapers.com.

[3] "Annals of the legislature". The Blue Book of the state of Wisconsin 1881 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 191–192.

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