12th Wisconsin Legislature

12th Wisconsin Legislature
← 11th 13th →
Overview
Legislative body	Wisconsin Legislature
Meeting place	Wisconsin State Capitol
Term	January 3, 1859 – January 2, 1860
Election	November 2, 1858
Senate
Members	30
Senate President	Erasmus D. Campbell (D)
President pro tempore	Denison Worthington (R)
Party control	Democratic
Assembly
Members	97
Assembly Speaker	William P. Lyon (R)
Party control	Republican
Sessions
1st January 12, 1859 – March 21, 1859

The Twelfth Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 12, 1859, to March 21, 1859, 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 even-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 2, 1858. 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 3, 1857.^[1]

Major events

• March 7, 1859: The United States Supreme Court ruled on the case of Ableman v. Booth, vacating the Wisconsin Supreme Court decision which had attempted to nullify enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 in Wisconsin.
• April 12, 1859: Edward V. Whiton, Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, died in office.
• April 19, 1859: Luther S. Dixon was appointed Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
• November 8, 1859: Alexander Randall was re-elected as Governor of Wisconsin.

Major legislation

Party summary

Senate summary

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)			Total
	Democratic	Ind.	Republican		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	12	0	18	30	0
1st Session	14	0	16	30	0
From Oct. 1[note 1]	13			29	1
Final voting share	47%	0%	53%
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	44	0	53	97	0
Start of 1st Session	41	1	54	96	1
after January 17	40		55
after January 20	41			97	0
Final voting share	43%	0%	57%
Beginning of the next Legislature	37	1	59	97	0

Sessions

• 1st Regular session: January 12, 1859 – March 21, 1859

Leaders

Senate leadership

• President of the Senate: Erasmus D. Campbell, Lieutenant Governor
• President pro tempore: Denison Worthington

Assembly leadership

• Speaker of the Assembly: William P. Lyon

Members

Members of the Senate

Members of the Wisconsin Senate for the Twelfth Wisconsin Legislature (30):

Senate Partisan representation

  Democratic: 14 seats

  Republican: 16 seats

District	Counties	Senator	Party	Residence
01	Sheboygan	Robert H. Hotchkiss	Dem.	Plymouth
02	Brown, Door, Kewaunee, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawanaw	Morgan Lewis Martin	Dem.	Green Bay
03	Ozaukee	Lion Silverman	Dem.	Ozaukee
04	Washington	Densmore W. Maxon	Dem.	Cedar Creek
05	Milwaukee (Northern Half)	Cicero Comstock	Rep.	Milwaukee
06	Milwaukee (Southern Half)	Patrick Walsh	Dem.	Milwaukee
07	Racine	Nicholas D. Fratt	Dem.	Racine
08	Kenosha	Samuel R. McClellan	Rep.	Wilmot
09	Adams, Juneau, Sauk	H. W. Curtis	Rep.	Delton
10	Waukesha	Denison Worthington	Rep.	Summit
11	Dane (Eastern Part)	William Robert Taylor	Dem.	Cottage Grove
12	Walworth	John W. Boyd	Rep.	Geneva
13	Lafayette	Philemon B. Simpson	Dem.	Shullsburg
14	Jefferson (Northern Part) and Dodge (Southern Part)	William Chappell	Dem.	Watertown
15	Iowa, Richland	Charles Rodolf	Dem.	Orion
16	Grant	Noah H. Virgin	Rep.	Platteville
17	Rock (Western Part)	Zebulon P. Burdick	Rep.	Janesville
18	Rock (Eastern Part)	Alden I. Bennett	Rep.	Beloit
19	Manitowoc, Calumet	Samuel H. Thurber	Dem.	Manitowoc
20	Fond du Lac	Edward Pier	Rep.	Fond du Lac
21	Winnebago	Ganem W. Washburn	Rep.	Oshkosh
22	Dodge (Northern Part)	William E. Smith	Rep.	Fox Lake
23	Jefferson (Southern Part)	Enias D. Masters	Rep.	Jefferson
24	Green	John H. Warren	Rep.	Albany
25	Columbia	Moses M. Davis	Rep.	Portage
26	Dane (Western Part)	Andrew Proudfit	Dem.	Madison
27	Marathon, Portage, Waupaca, Waushara, Wood	Luther Hanchett	Rep.	Stanton
28	Burnett, Chippewa, Clark, Douglas, Dunn, Eau Claire, La Pointe, Pierce, Polk, St. Croix	Daniel Mears	Dem.	Osceola Mills
29	Marquette	M. W. Seely	Rep.	Marquette
30	Bad Ax, Buffalo, Crawford, Jackson, La Crosse, Monroe, Tremealeau	William H. Tucker	Dem.	La Crosse

Members of the Assembly

Members of the Assembly for the Twelfth Wisconsin Legislature:

Assembly partisan representation

  Democratic: 41 seats

  Independent: 1 seat

  Republican: 55 seats

Senate District	County	District	Representative	Party	Residence
09	Adams & Juneau		John Turner	Rep.	Mauston
28	Ashland, Burnett, Douglas, La Pointe, Polk, & St. Croix		Moses S. Gibson (Until Jan. 17)	Dem.	Hudson
			Marcus W. McCracken (From Jan. 17)	Rep.	Superior
30	Bad Ax & Crawford		Thomas R. Tower	Rep.	Towerville
02	Brown		William Field Jr.	Dem.	De Pere
30	Buffalo, Jackson, Trempealeau		Jesse Bennett	Rep.	Fountain City
19	Calumet		Harrison C. Hobart	Dem.	Chilton
28	Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, & Pierce		Richard Dewhurst	Rep.	Neillsville
25	Columbia[2]	1	Gysbert Van Steenwyk	Rep.	Kilbourn City
		2	William M. Griswold	Rep.	Columbus
		3	John O. Jones	Rep.	Cambria
11	Dane[2]	1	William W. Blackman	Rep.	Stoughton
		2	Adam Smith	Dem.	Burke
		3	John Keenan	Dem.	Fitchburg
26		4	Chester N. Waterbury	Dem.	Roxbury
		5	Harlow S. Orton	Dem.	Madison
		6	George B. Smith	Dem.	Madison
22	Dodge[2]	1	Thomas Palmer	Dem.	Mayville
		2	John C. Bishop	Dem.	LeRoy
		3	Waldo Lyon	Rep.	Hustisford
		4	Cyrus S. Kneeland	Rep.	Waupun
		5	Lorenzo Merrill	Rep.	Burnett
		6	John Lowth	Dem.	Lowell
02	Door, Kewaunee, Oconto, Shawano		Matthias Simon	Dem.	Ahnapee
20	Fond du Lac[2]	1	Alvan E. Bovay	Rep.	Ripon
		2	Warren Whiting	Rep.	Ladoga
		3	John C. Lewis	Rep.	Fond du Lac
		4	--Vacant-- (until Jan. 21)[note 2]
			O. Hugo Petters (from Jan. 21)	Dem.	Murone
		5	Silas C. Matteson	Rep.	Waucousta
16	Grant[2]	1	George Broderick	Dem.	Hazel Green
		2	James W. Seaton	Dem.	Potosi
		3	Jesse Waldorf	Rep.	Platteville
		4	Hugh A. W. McNair	Rep.	Fennimore
		5	Luther Basford	Rep.	Glen Haven
24	Green[2]	1	Albert H. Pierce	Rep.	Monticello
		2	Edmund A. West	Rep.	Monroe
15	Iowa[2]	1	Gardner C. Meigs	Dem.	Arena
		2	John Toay	Rep.	Mineral Point
23	Jefferson[2]	1	Alexander J. Craig	Rep.	Palmyra
		2	George C. Smith	Rep.	Oakland
14		3	Luther A. Cole	Rep.	Watertown
		4	Ferdinand Wagner	Dem.	Watertown
		5	Sylvester J. Conklin	Rep.	Waterloo
08	Kenosha[2]	1	George Bennett	Rep.	Kenosha
		2	James C. McKisson	Rep.	Wheatland
30	La Crosse & Monroe		Charles W. Marshall	Rep.	La Crosse
13	Lafayette[2]	1	James S. Murphy	Dem.	Benton
		2	William M. McGranahan	Dem.	Fayette
		3	David W. Kyle	Dem.	Shullsburg
19	Manitowoc[2]	1	William Aldrich	Rep.	Two Rivers
		2	James B. Dunn	Dem.	Manitowoc
27	Marathon, Portage, & Wood		James S. Young	Dem.	Stevens Point
29	Marquette & Green Lake[2]	1	Jesse Thomas	Rep.	Green Lake
		2	James B. Ormsby	Rep.	Oxford
05	Milwaukee[2]	1	Edwin Palmer	Rep.	Milwaukee
		2	Charles J. Kern	Dem.	Milwaukee
06		3	Thomas H. Eviston	Ind.	Milwaukee
		4	James A. Swain	Rep.	Milwaukee
		5	William S. Cross	Rep.	Milwaukee
05		6	Joseph Walter	Dem.	Milwaukee
		7	Frederick Moskowitt	Dem.	Milwaukee
06		8	Jacob Beck	Dem.	Milwaukee
		9	Edward Hasse	Dem.	Milwaukee
02	Outagamie		Perry H. Smith	Dem.	Appleton
03	Ozaukee[2]	1	John R. Bohan	Dem.	Ozaukee
		2	Frederick W. Horn	Dem.	Cedarburg
07	Racine[4]	1	William P. Lyon	Rep.	Racine
		2	Leonard S. Van Vliet	Rep.	Caledonia
		3	William Ballach	Rep.	Yorkville
		4	Franklin E. Hoyt	Dem.	Rochester
15	Richland		William Dixon	Rep.	Lone Rock
18	Rock[2]	1	William E. Wheeler	Rep.	Beloit
		2	Edward Vincent	Rep.	Milton
17		3	John P. Dickson	Rep.	Janesville
		4	Joseph K. P. Porter	Rep.	Cooksville
		5	Elisha L. Carpenter	Rep.	Beloit
09	Sauk[2]	1	Nelson Wheeler	Rep.	Humboldt
		2	Eli Otis Rudd	Rep.	Reedsburg
01	Sheboygan[2]	1	William N. Shafter	Rep.	Sheboygan
		2	James Little	Dem.	Sheboygan Falls
		3	Stephen D. Littlefield	Dem.	Sheboygan Falls
12	Walworth[2]	1	Reuben Rockwell	Rep.	Springfield
		2	Edward P. Cornick	Rep.	Delavan
		3	Newton S. Murphy	Rep.	Whitewater
		4	Daniel Hooper	Rep.	Troy
04	Washington[2]	1	Gustave Streckewald	Dem.	Hartford
		2	James Vollmar	Dem.	West Bend
		3	Phillip Zimmerman	Dem.	Staatsville
10	Waukesha[2]	1	Parker Sawyer	Rep.	Summit
		2	William P. King	Dem.	Merton
		3	Andrew E. Elmore	Dem.	Mukwonago
		4	Charles T. Deissner	Dem.	Waukesha
		5	Ira Blood	Rep.	Mukwonago
27	Waupaca		Warner C. Carr	Dem.	Crystal Lake
	Waushara		Charles White	Rep.	Coloma
21	Winnebago[2]	1	Richard P. Eighme	Dem.	Oshkosh
		2	John D. Rush	Dem.	Winneconne
		3	George W. Beckwith	Rep.	Omro

Employees

Senate employees

• Chief Clerk: Hiram Bowen
  • Assistant Clerk: C. M. Cook
  • Engrossing Clerk: A. M. Thomson
  • Enrolling Clerk: C. T. Overton
  • Transcribing Clerk: G. M. O'Brien
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Asa Kinney
  • Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Jacob Low
• Postmaster: E. G. Garner
  • Post Messenger: Garrit Mahony
• Doorkeeper: D. C. Shelden
• Messengers:
  • William W. Worthington
  • Dwight Allen

Assembly employees

• Chief Clerk: L. H. D. Crane
  • Assistant Clerk: John S. Dean
  • Engrossing Clerk: George Burnside
  • Enrolling Clerk: George W. Stoner
  • Transcribing Clerk: Oliver Gibbs, Jr.
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Emanuel Munk
  • Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Joseph Gates
• Postmaster: Sewall W. Smith
  • Assistant Postmaster: Cyrus Fertig
• Doorkeeper: G. W. Munderloh
  • Assistant Doorkeeper: William Adams
• Firemen:
  • F. Brown
  • N. L. Andrews
• Messengers:
  • Cyrus Lanyon
  • John Ford
  • W. Howard Aldrich (12-year-old son of Assembly member William Aldrich)
  • Edward Livingston
  • Samuel Fernandez

References

1. "Annals of the legislature". The Blue Book of the state of Wisconsin 1881 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 197–198.
2. Crane, L. H. D., ed. (1859). "List of Assembly Districts, with Names of Members since the last apportionment" (PDF). A Manual of Customs, Precedents, and Forms in use in the Assembly of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 58–64. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
3. "Thursday, January 20–10 o'clock, A.M." Journal of the Assembly of Wisconsin. State of Wisconsin: 88. 1859. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
4. "Republican Nominations". Racine Daily News. October 26, 1858. p. 2. Retrieved September 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

Notes

1. Democrat Lion Silverman (District 3) resigned October 1, 1859, to run for State Treasurer.
2. S. K. Barnes was elected to this seat in the November 1858 general election, but died before inauguration. O. Hugo Petters was chosen in a special election held January 13, 1859.^[3]

External links