William W. Brown | |
---|---|
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Milwaukee 3rd district | |
In office June 5, 1848 –January 1, 1849 | |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Julius White |
Representative to the Legislative Assembly of the Wisconsin Territory from Milwaukee County | |
In office January 4,1847 –October 18,1847 ServingwithWilliam Shew and Andrew Sullivan | |
Preceded by | Samuel H. Barstow, John Crawford ,James Magone, Benjamin H. Mooers , Luther Parker ,and William H. Thomas (Milwaukee &Washington counties) |
Succeeded by | Isaac P. Walker , James Holliday ,and Asa Kinney |
Personal details | |
Born | Albany,New York,U.S. |
Died | Milwaukee,Wisconsin,U.S. | October 3,1871
Cause of death | Tuberculosis |
Political party | Whig |
Nickname | "Double-head" |
William Wells Brown or W. W. Brown (died October 3,1871) was an American merchant and pioneer settler of Milwaukee,Wisconsin. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly for the 1st Wisconsin Legislature (1848). [1] [2]
Brown came early to Milwaukee,a contemporary of George H. Walker,Byron Kilbourn,and Don A. J. Upham. [3] The first ship built in Milwaukee,the 30-ton sloop Wenona,was built for Brown by George Barber in 1835. By 1842,Brown also owned the 100-ton schooner Fur Trader,and was an active merchant in Milwaukee (his Wm. Brown and Company was one of the first businesses in Milwaukee). He was sometimes called "Double-Headed Brown" to distinguish him from another William Brown,with whom he was at one time in business partnership.
He served as a contractor building the mile-long canal in Milwaukee for Kilbourn and Increase Lapham's Rock River Canal Company,which was begun in April 1841 and ready for use by December 1842. [4] This was the only portion of the canal which would ever be built;the bed thereof later became Commerce Street in Milwaukee's Beerline B neighborhood. [5]
He served in the House of Representatives of the Wisconsin Territory for one term representing Milwaukee County in the first 1847 session. [6] After statehood,he was elected in 1848 to the 3rd Milwaukee County Assembly district (the 3rd Ward of the City of Milwaukee). He was not a candidate for re-election in the 1848 fall election,and was succeeded by fellow Whig Julius White. [7] Brown ran again for the Assembly in 1849 but was not successful,losing to Democrat Edward McGarry. [8] [9]
In 1851,he came in 7th out of 8 candidates for alderman in the Third Ward. [10] He was successful in 1852,coming in first out of four candidates. [11]
He was elected as a delegate to the 1852 Whig National Convention, [12] and in 1852 was the Whig candidate for Sheriff of Milwaukee County. [13]
In 1851,he was among the incorporators (along with Kilbourn,Upham and others) of the Milwaukee and Humboldt Plank Road Company. [14]
Milwaukee pioneer historian James Smith Buck described Brown's final years as follows:
Few men have ever lived in Milwaukee who were more widely known,or less thought of (when we take into consideration his ability,for he was a very smart man,) than William W. Brown. Had he devoted his talents to a proper use,his memory would have been respected;but he did not,and finally died,deserted and alone. I shall never forget the look of utter despair that sat upon his face as I met him for the last time,in October,1871... wending his weary way to the European Hotel,which he never left again alive;it said plainly enough,"This is the end of a misspent life."... He died a few days later,and I remember the difficulty his few remaining friends (and I could name them all,) had,to get help enough to get his body from his room to the hearse. [15]
At the time of his death (of "quick consumption"),he was described as "well known through the State as a great wag". [1]
Leonard James Farwell was an American politician and public administrator. He was the 2nd Governor of Wisconsin.
Harlow South Orton was an American lawyer and judge. He was the 8th Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court,and served on the court from 1878 until his death. He is chiefly remembered as the author of the Wisconsin Supreme Court opinion Vosburg v. Putney (1890),an important torts case in establishing the scope of liability from battery. Earlier in his career,he served three non-consecutive terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly,representing Madison and central Dane County.
Gysbert Van Steenwyk,Sr.,was a Dutch American immigrant,banker,and Republican politician from La Crosse,Wisconsin. He was the 4th Bank Comptroller of Wisconsin and served in the Wisconsin State Senate and State Assembly.
The 4th Senate district of Wisconsin is one of 33 districts in the Wisconsin State Senate. Located in southeast Wisconsin,the district is entirely contained within northern Milwaukee County. It comprises part of the city of Milwaukee's north side,as well as the village of Shorewood,the southern half of the city of Glendale,and part of northern Wauwatosa.
Joel Cook Squires was an American carpenter,miner,Wisconsin pioneer,and Democratic politician. He was elected as the 3rd Bank Comptroller of Wisconsin,and also served in the Wisconsin State Senate and Assembly,representing Grant County.
Duncan Cameron "Cam" Reed was an American steamship engineer and Democratic politician,and an early settler of Milwaukee,Wisconsin. He served two terms in the Wisconsin State Senate,representing the southern half of Milwaukee County,and was President pro tempore of the Senate for the 1851 and 1853 sessions. He also briefly served as a Union Army officer in the American Civil War.
Parker Warren was an American farmer from Beaver Dam,Wisconsin who served a one-year term in 1849 as a Free Soil Party member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from Dodge County.
Chauncey Abbott was an American lawyer and politician. He served as the 5th Village President of Madison,Wisconsin,and represented central Dane County in the Wisconsin State Assembly during the 3rd Wisconsin Legislature.
William H. Hull was an American lawyer,Democratic politician,and Wisconsin pioneer. He was the 9th speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly (1856) and represented Grant County.
Philo Dunning was an American merchant and druggist from Madison,Wisconsin,who held a number of local office,spent a single one-year term as a Reform Party member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from Dane County,and served on the state fisheries commission.
Lathrop Burgess was an American carpenter and farmer from Brighton,Wisconsin,who spent two one-year terms as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from Kenosha County;the first as a Freesoiler,the second as a Republican.
Joseph Kerr was an American farmer,Whig politician,and Wisconsin pioneer. He represented Columbia County in the Wisconsin State Assembly during the 1st and 2nd legislatures.
Austin Kellogg was a farmer in Concord,Wisconsin,who served three terms as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from Jefferson County.
The 1857 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 3,1857. Republican Party candidate Alexander Randall narrowly prevailed,defeating Democratic candidate James B. Cross by a margin of just 454 votes.
Alexander Lynn Collins was an American lawyer,judge,and politician. He was an important leader of the Whig Party in the early years of Wisconsin,serving as party chairman,nominee for United States Congress,for United States Senate,and for Governor of Wisconsin. He also served as a Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge and a member of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents. In historical documents,his middle name is sometimes spelled "Linn" and he is sometimes referred to as "A. L. Collins."
William H. Dick was a Brothertown Indian farmer,carpenter and politician who served two terms,20 years apart,in the Wisconsin State Assembly.
Robert Marshall Briggs was an American merchant,lawyer,judge and politician in Wisconsin and California. Briggs served as a Whig member of the 2nd and 4th Wisconsin Legislatures representing Grant County in the Wisconsin State Assembly;and in 1857 was elected to the California State Assembly from Amador County as a Know-Nothing. He also served as a district attorney and a judge.
Solon Johnson was a pioneer farmer from Port Washington,Wisconsin who spent two one-year terms as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from Washington County,Wisconsin and held various local offices,before moving on to become a prospector and miner in California and Montana.
William Shew was a farmer and businessman from Oak Creek,Wisconsin and Cordova,Illinois who served multiple terms in the Wisconsin Territory House of Representatives representing Milwaukee County,and was Speaker of the House of that body during the first (1847) session of the 5th Wisconsin Territorial Assembly,as well as holding various local government posts.
Valentin Johann Knœll [sometimes spelled Valentine;sometimes Knoell,Knoel or Knoll] was an American farmer from Franklin,Wisconsin who served three one-year terms as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly between the 1850s and the 1870s.