1st Wisconsin Legislature

The First Wisconsin Legislature convened from June 5, 1848, to August 21, 1848, in regular session. Members of the Assembly and Senate were elected after an election on February 1, 1848, that ratified the proposed state constitution.

1st Wisconsin Legislature
← Territorial Legislature 2nd →
Wisconsin State Capitol, 1855
Overview
Legislative body	Wisconsin Legislature
Meeting place	Wisconsin State Capitol
Term	June 5, 1848 – January 1, 1849
Election	February 1, 1848
Senate
Members	19
Senate President	John Edwin Holmes
Party control	Democratic
Assembly
Members	66
Assembly Speaker	Ninian E. Whiteside
Party control	Democratic
Sessions
1st June 5, 1848 – August 21, 1848

Wisconsin's first governor, Democrat Nelson Dewey, of Grant County, was sworn in on the 3rd day of this legislative term. He was the only governor of Wisconsin during this legislative term.

Major events

• May 8, 1848: Nelson Dewey elected Governor of Wisconsin.
• May 29, 1848: Wisconsin was admitted to the Union as the 30th State.
• June 7, 1848: Inauguration of Nelson Dewey as the first Governor of Wisconsin.
• June 8, 1848: The Wisconsin Legislature, in joint session, elected Henry Dodge and Isaac P. Walker as United States Senators.^[1]
• November 7, 1848: Zachary Taylor elected President of the United States. Wisconsin's electoral votes went to his opponent, Lewis Cass.

Major legislation

• June 21, 1848: Joint resolution relative to free territory, 1848 Joint Resolutions p.285
• June 21, 1848: Act concerning the Attorney General, 1848 Acts pp.10-11
• June 29, 1848: Act to prescribe the duties of the State Treasurer, 1848 Acts pp.13-15
• June 29, 1848: Act to divide the State of Wisconsin into Congressional Districts, 1848 Acts pp.15-16
• June 29, 1848: Act to provide for the election of Judges and for the classification and organization of the Judiciary of the State of Wisconsin, 1848 Acts pp.19-24
• July 26, 1848: Act to establish the University of Wisconsin, 1848 Acts pp.37-40
• July 29, 1848: Act to Exempt a Homestead from forced sale, 1848 Acts pp.40-41
• August 8, 1848: Act to incorporate the City of Racine in the county of Racine, 1848 Acts pp.80-100
• August 12, 1848: Act prescribing the powers and duties of the Secretary of State, 1848 Acts pp.115-120
• August 16, 1848: Act to provide for the Election and define the duties of State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1848 Acts pp.127-129
• August 21, 1848: Act to provide for holding general and special Elections, the time when, the manner of holding the same, and the qualifications, disabilities, and privileges of electors, 1848 Acts pp.191-207
• August 21, 1848: Act in relation to Public Schools, 1848 Acts pp.226-247

Party summary

Senate summary

Senate partisan composition

  Democratic: 16 seats

  Whig: 3 seats

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)			Total
	Democratic	Free Soil	Whig		Vacant
1st Session	16	0	3	19	0
Final voting share	84%	0%	16%
Beginning of the next Legislature	14	1	4	19	0

Assembly summary

Assembly partisan composition

  Democratic: 49 seats

  Whig: 17 seats

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)			Total
	Democratic	Free Soil	Whig		Vacant
1st Session	49	0	17	66	0
Final voting share	74%	0%	26%
Beginning of the next Legislature	35	14	17	66	0

Sessions

• 1st Regular session: June 4, 1848 – August 21, 1848

Leaders

Senate leadership

• President of the Senate: John E. Holmes, Lieutenant Governor

Assembly leadership

• Speaker of the Assembly: Ninian E. Whiteside

Members

Members of the Senate

Members of the Wisconsin Senate for the First Wisconsin Legislature (19):^[2][3]

Senate partisan representation

  Democratic: 16 seats

  Whig: 3 seats

District	Counties	Senator	Party	Residence
01	Brown, Calumet, Manitowoc, Sheboygan	Harrison C. Hobart	Dem.	Sheboygan
02	Columbia, Marquette, Portage, Sauk	Henry Merrill	Whig	Fort Winnebago
03	Crawford, Chippewa, St. Croix, La Pointe	Daniel G. Fenton	Dem.	Prairie du Chien
04	Fond du Lac, Winnebago	Warren Chase	Dem.	Ceresco
05	Iowa, Richland	Henry M. Billings	Dem.	Highland
06	Grant	George W. Lakin	Whig	Platteville
07	Lafayette	Thomas K. Gibson	Dem.	Benton
08	Green	Elisha T. Gardner	Dem.	Monroe
09	Dane	Simeon Mills	Dem.	Madison
10	Dodge	William M. Dennis	Dem.	Watertown
11	Washington	Frederick W. Horn	Dem.	Cedarburg
12	Jefferson	Myron B. Williams	Dem.	Watertown
13	Waukesha	Joseph Turner	Dem.	Prairieville
14	Walworth	John W. Boyd	Dem.	Geneva
15	Rock	Otis W. Norton	Whig	Milton
16	Racine (Southern half)	C. Latham Sholes	Dem.	Racine
17	Racine (Northern half)	Philo White	Dem.	Racine
18	Milwaukee (Southern half)	Asa Kinney	Dem.	Milwaukee
19	Milwaukee (Northern half)	Riley N. Messenger	Dem.	Milwaukee

Members of the Assembly

Members of the Assembly for the First Wisconsin Legislature (66):^[2][3]

Assembly partisan representation

  Democratic: 49 seats

  Whig: 17 seats

Senate District	Counties		Representative	Party	Residence
01	Brown		David Agry	Dem.	Green Bay
	Calumet		Lemuel Goodell	Dem.	Stockbridge
02	Columbia		Joseph Kerr	Whig	Randolph
03	Crawford & Chippewa		William T. Sterling	Dem.	Mount Sterling
09	Dane	1	Henry M. Warner	Dem.	Cottage Grove
		2	Ebenezer Brigham	Whig	Blue Mounds
		3	Samuel H. Roys	Dem.	Stoughton
10	Dodge	1	Lorenzo Merrill	Dem.	Beaver Dam
		2	Charles Billinghurst	Dem.	Juneau
		3	Benjamin Randall	Dem.	Lebanon
		4	Monroe Thompson	Whig	Fox Lake
		5	Stephen Jones	Whig	Lowell
04	Fond du Lac	1	Charles Doty	Whig	Fond du Lac
		2	Jonathan Daugherty	Whig	Rosendale
06	Grant	1	James Gilmore	Whig	Jamestown
		2	Noah Virgin	Whig	Platteville
		3	Armisted C. Brown	Whig	Potosi
		4	Arthur W. Worth	Dem.	Lancaster
08	Green		Henry Adams	Dem.	Monticello
05	Iowa & Richland	1	Thomas Jenkins	Dem.	Dodgeville
		2	Abner Nichols	Dem.	Mineral Point
12	Jefferson	1	Wales Emmons	Dem.	Watertown
		2	Peter H. Turner	Dem.	Palmyra
		3	Davenport Rood	Dem.	Jefferson
03	La Pointe & St Croix		William R. Marshall (until June 6, 1848)	Dem.	St. Croix Falls
			Joseph Bowron (from June 13, 1848)	Dem.	St. Croix Falls
07	Lafayette	1	Ninian E. Whiteside	Dem.	Belmont
		2	Elias Slothower	Dem.	Gratiot
01	Manitowoc		Ezra Durgin	Dem.	Manitowoc
02	Marquette		Archibald Nichols	Dem.	Markesan
19	Milwaukee	1	Edward Wunderly	Dem.	Milwaukee
		2	Augustus Greulich	Dem.	Milwaukee
18		3	William W. Brown	Whig	Milwaukee
		4	Leonard P. Crary	Dem.	Milwaukee
		5	Andrew Sullivan	Dem.	Milwaukee
		6	Horace Chase	Dem.	Milwaukee
19		7	Perley J. Shumway	Dem.	Wauwatosa
02	Portage		James M. Campbell	Dem.	Stevens Point
17	Racine	1	David McDonald	Dem.	Racine
		2	Henry B. Roberts	Dem.	Caledonia
		3	Samuel E. Chapman	Whig	Rochester
16		4	Julius L. Gilbert	Dem.	Racine
		5	Elias Woodworth Jr.	Dem.	Bristol
15	Rock	1	G. F. A. Atherton	Dem.	Emerald Grove
		2	Alanson B. Vaughan	Whig	Union
		3	Albert P. Blakeslee	Dem.	Johnstown
		4	Robert T. Carey	Whig	Beloit
		5	Nathaniel Strong	Dem.	Beloit
02	Sauk		Delando Pratt	Dem.	Baraboo
01	Sheboygan	1	Charles E. Morris	Dem.	Sheboygan
		2	Jedediah Brown	Dem.	Sheboygan Falls
14	Walworth	1	Gaylord Graves	Dem.	East Troy
		2	Prosper Cravath	Whig	Whitewater
		3	Erasmus D. Richardson	Dem.	Geneva
		4	Hugh Long	Dem.	Darien
		5	Milo Kelsey	Whig	Delavan
11	Washington	1	Henry Allen	Dem.	Port Washington
		2	Benjamin H. Mooers	Dem.	Grafton
		3	Adolphus Zimmermann	Dem.	Mequon
		4	Densmore Maxon	Dem.	Cedar Creek
		5	William Caldwell	Whig	Barton
13	Waukesha	1	Joseph W. Brackett	Dem.	Brookfield
		2	Dewey K. Warren	Dem.	Delafield
		3	Chauncey G. Heath	Dem.	Pewaukee
		4	George M. Humphrey	Dem.	New Berlin
		5	Joseph Bond	Dem.	Mukwonago
04	Winnebago		Erasmus D. Hall	Whig	Waukau

Employees

• Enrolling Clerk: Aaron V. Fryer^[4]

Senate employees

• Chief Clerk: Henry G. Abbey
• Writer: R. L. Ream
• Writer: Henry Lines
• Writer: E. P. Lockhart
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Lyman H. Seaver
• Chaplain: H. W. Reed

Assembly employees

• Chief Clerk: Daniel Noble Johnson
• Chief Clerk pro tem: L. F. Kellogg
• Assistant Clerk: T. A. B. Boyd
• Writer: Ira W. Bird
• Writer: James Murdock
• Messenger: Henry Starks
• Doorkeeper: Samuel Parkhurst
• Sergeant-at-Arms: John Mullanphy
• Chaplain: John Penman
• Chaplain: Charles Lord