In 1844 Burns was elected sheriff of Iowa County.[1] Elected in 1846,he served in the Wisconsin territorial House of Representatives in 1847–1848 and became Assembly Speaker.[1] He visited La Crosse in 1847.[2] Later,in 1849 he served in the Wisconsin State Assembly. In 1850,he moved to La Crosse,Wisconsin,and took a position on the State Board of Public Works. He was the chairman of the first La Crosse Town Board,chairman of the first La Crosse County Board and the first La Crosse county judge,while also engaging in the railroad industry.[3]
In 1851,he was elected as a Democrat and became the Wisconsin's third Lieutenant Governor under the State's second Governor,Leonard Farwell.[1]
Death and legacy
While visiting his brother-in-law in Lafayette County,Burns became ill of bilious fever but recovered enough to travel home,and died of a relapse in La Crosse on September 21,1853.[1] He is interred at Oak Grove Cemetery,La Crosse,Wisconsin.
Burns Park,in downtown La Crosse,and the town and community of Burns were named after him.[4]
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