24th Wisconsin Legislature

The Twenty-Fourth Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 11, 1871, to March 25, 1871, in regular session.

24th Wisconsin Legislature
← 23rd 25th →
Wisconsin State Capitol, 1863
Overview
Legislative body	Wisconsin Legislature
Meeting place	Wisconsin State Capitol
Term	January 2, 1871 – January 1, 1872
Election	November 8, 1870
Senate
Members	33
Senate President	Thaddeus C. Pound (R)
President pro tempore	Charles G. Williams (R)
Party control	Republican
Assembly
Members	100
Assembly Speaker	William E. Smith (R)
Party control	Republican
Sessions
1st January 11, 1871 – March 25, 1871

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 odd-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 8, 1870. 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 2, 1869.^[1]

The governor of Wisconsin during this entire term was Republican Lucius Fairchild, of Dane County, serving the second year of his third two-year term, having won re-election in the 1869 Wisconsin gubernatorial election.

Major events

• January 18, 1871: Proclamation of the German Empire formalized the creation of the German Empire from the North German Confederation and their south German allies.
• April 20, 1871: U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Civil Rights Act of 1871, commonly known as the "Ku Klux Klan Act".
• May 4, 1871: The first Major League Baseball game was played.
• May 10, 1871: Treaty of Frankfurt ended the Franco-Prussian War and transferred the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine from France to the Germany.
• October 8, 1871: The Peshtigo fire burned about 1.2 million acres in northeast Wisconsin and resulted in more than 1,500 deaths. The Great Chicago Fire occurred on the same day, killing approximately 300 and destroying 17,500 buildings.
• November 7, 1871: Cadwallader C. Washburn elected Governor of Wisconsin.

Major legislation

• March 24, 1871: An Act to apportion the state into senate and assembly districts.^[2]

Party summary

Senate summary

Senate partisan composition

  Democratic: 14 seats

  Republican: 19 seats

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total
	Democratic	Republican		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	14	19	33	0
1st Session	14	19	33	0
Final voting share	42.42%	57.58%
Beginning of the next Legislature	10	23	33	0

Assembly summary

Assembly partisan composition

  Democratic: 40 seats

  Independent: 3 seats

  Republican: 57 seats

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)			Total
	Democratic	Ind.	Republican		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	39	1	60	100	0
1st Session	40	3	57	100	0
Final voting share	40%	3%	57%
Beginning of the next Legislature	40	0	60	100	0

Sessions

• 1st Regular session: January 11, 1871 – March 25, 1871

Leaders

Senate leadership

• President of the Senate: Thaddeus C. Pound (R)
• President pro tempore: Charles G. Williams (R)

Assembly leadership

• Speaker of the Assembly: William E. Smith (R)

Members

Members of the Senate

Members of the Senate for the Twenty-Fourth Wisconsin Legislature:^[3]

Senate partisan representation

  Democratic: 14 seats

  Republican: 19 seats

Dist.	Counties	Senator	Residence	Party
01	Sheboygan	John H. Jones	Sheboygan	Rep.
02	Brown, Door, Kewaunee	Lyman Walker	Ahnapee	Dem.
03	Ozaukee	Lyman Morgan	Ozaukee	Dem.
04	Washington	Adam Schantz	Addison	Dem.
05	Milwaukee (Northern Half)	Francis Huebschmann	Milwaukee	Dem.
06	Milwaukee (Southern Half)	Peter V. Deuster	Milwaukee	Dem.
07	Racine	Philo Belden	Rochester	Rep.
08	Kenosha	Milton Pettit	Kenosha	Rep.
09	Adams, Juneau, Monroe	Eliphalet S. Miner	Necedah	Rep.
10	Waukesha	John A. Rice	Merton	Dem.
11	Dane (Eastern Part)	William M. Colladay	Stoughton	Rep.
12	Walworth	Samuel Pratt	Spring Prairie	Rep.
13	Lafayette	Henry S. Magoon	Darlington	Rep.
14	Sauk	Bennett Strong	Spring Green	Rep.
15	Iowa	Francis Little	Linden	Rep.
16	Grant	George C. Hazelton	Boscobel	Rep.
17	Rock	Charles G. Williams	Janesville	Rep.
18	Dodge (Western Part)	Samuel D. Burchard	Beaver Dam	Dem.
19	Manitowoc	Carl H. Schmidt	Manitowoc	Dem.
20	Fond du Lac	Hiram S. Town	Ripon	Rep.
21	Winnebago	James H. Foster	Koro	Rep.
22	Calumet, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawano	George Baldwin	Chilton	Dem.
23	Jefferson	William W. Woodman	Farmington	Dem.
24	Green	John C. Hall	Monroe	Rep.
25	Columbia	William M. Griswold	Columbus	Rep.
26	Dane (Western Part)	Romanzo E. Davis	Middleton	Rep.
27	Marathon, Portage, Waupaca, Wood	Myron Reed	Waupaca	Dem.
28	Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Pierce, Polk, St. Croix	Edward H. Ives	Trimbelle	Dem.
29	Green Lake, Marquette, Waushara	Waldo Flint	Princeton	Rep.
30	Crawford, Richland	George Krouskop	Richland Center	Dem.
31	La Crosse & Vernon	Angus Cameron	La Crosse	Rep.
32	Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Eau Claire, Jackson, Pepin, Trempealeau	William T. Price	Black River Falls	Rep.
33	Dodge (Eastern Part)	Satterlee Clark	Horicon	Dem.

Members of the Assembly

Members of the Assembly for the Twenty-Fourth Wisconsin Legislature:^[3]

Assembly partisan representation

  Democratic: 40 seats

  Independent: 3 seats

  Republican: 57 seats

Senate District	County	Dist.	Representative	Party	Residence
09	Adams		Anson Rood	Rep.	Dell Prairie
28	Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Polk		Samuel S. Vaughn	Rep.	Bayfield
02	Brown	1	Joseph S. Curtis	Rep.	Green Bay
		2	David Cooper Ayres	Rep.	Fort Howard
32	Buffalo		Ahaz F. Allen	Rep.	Gilmantown
22	Calumet		William H. Dick	Dem.	Brothertown
32	Chippewa & Dunn		James A. Bate	Rep.	Chippewa Falls
	Clark & Jackson		George W. King	Rep.	Humbird
25	Columbia	1	Stillman E. Dana	Rep.	Portage
		2	Thomas Sanderson	Rep.	Leeds
		3	George G. Marvin	Rep.	Randolph
30	Crawford		Darius W. Briggs	Rep.	Utica
11	Dane	1	Lemuel O. Humphrey	Rep.	Albion
		2	Knudt O. Heimdal	Dem.	Deerfield
26		3	Matthew Anderson	Dem.	Cross Plains
		4	Ole Torgerson	Rep.	Perry
		5	Harlow S. Orton	Ind.	Madison
18	Dodge	1	William E. Smith	Rep.	Fox Lake
		2	Allen H. Atwater	Rep.	Oak Grove
33		3	William Rusch	Dem.	Herman
		4	Marcus Trumer	Dem.	Rubicon
02	Door & Kewaunee		Joseph McCormick	Dem.	Ahnapee
32	Eau Claire & Pepin		Henry Cousins	Rep.	Eau Claire
20	Fond du Lac	1	Jehdeiah Bowen	Rep.	Ripon
		2	John A. Baker	Rep.	Waupun
		3	Gerrit T. Thorn	Dem.	Fond du Lac
		4	Uriah D. Mihills	Rep.	Fond du Lac
		5	Michael Lonergan	Dem.	Byron
		6	Joseph Wagner	Dem.	Marshfield
16	Grant	1	Joseph Harris	Rep.	Hazel Green
		2	Henry B. Coons	Dem.	Potosi
		3	John C. Holloway	Rep.	Lancaster
		4	William W. Field	Rep.	Boscobel
		5	George H. Chambers	Rep.	Bloomington
24	Green	1	Orrin Bacon	Rep.	Montello
		2	Marshal H. Pengra	Rep.	Sylvester
29	Green Lake		Archibald Nichols	Rep.	Berlin
15	Iowa	1	Henry C. Barnard	Dem.	Avoca
		2	John J. Davis	Rep.	Linden
23	Jefferson	1	Daniel Hall	Rep.	Watertown
		2	William L. Hoskins	Dem.	Lake Mills
		3	Nelson Fryer	Dem.	Cold Spring
		4	Hiram J. Ball	Dem.	Palmyra
09	Juneau		Perry R. Briggs	Rep.	Mauston
08	Kenosha		Jonas W. Rhodes	Ind.	Somers
31	La Crosse	1	Gideon Hixon	Rep.	La Crosse
		2	Powers Moulton	Rep.	Onalaska
13	Lafayette	1	Patrick Galagan	Dem.	Elk Grove
		2	Henry W. Barnes	Dem.	Wiota
19	Manitowoc	1	Svend Samuelson	Rep.	Liberty
		2	Michael Fitzgerald	Dem.	Maple Grove
		3	Joseph Rankin	Dem.	Manitowoc
27	Marathon & Wood		Rufus P. Manson	Dem.	Wausau
29	Marquette		Spencer A. Pease	Dem.	Montello
05	Milwaukee	1	James S. White	Dem.	Milwaukee
		2	August Richter	Dem.	Milwaukee
06		3	James Hoye	Dem.	Milwaukee
		4	Charles M. Hoyt	Dem.	Milwaukee
		5	Charles F. Freeman	Dem.	Milwaukee
05		6	Daniel H. Richards	Dem.	Milwaukee
		7	Matthew Keenan	Dem.	Milwaukee
		8	John L. Semmann	Dem.	Milwaukee
06		9	Valentin Knœll	Dem.	Franklin
		10	James Watts	Dem.	Milwaukee
09	Monroe		David D. Cheney	Rep.	Sparta
22	Oconto & Shawano		Parlan Semple	Rep.	Waukechon
	Outagamie		Charles E. McIntosh	Dem.	Appleton
03	Ozaukee		Charles G. Meyer	Dem.	Fredonia
28	Pierce		Oliver S. Powell	Rep.	River Falls
27	Portage		Thomas McDill	Rep.	Plover
07	Racine	1	Lucius S. Blake	Rep.	Racine
		2	George Bremner	Ind.	Dover
30	Richland		Elihu Bailey	Rep.	Marshall
17	Rock	1	Halvor H. Peterson	Rep.	Spring Valley
		2	Townshend Powell	Rep.	Fulton
		3	Adelmorn Sherman	Rep.	Janesville
		4	John Hammond	Rep.	Turtle
		5	Willard Merrill	Rep.	Janesville
14	Sauk	1	Carl C. Kuntz	Rep.	Troy
		2	George G. Swain	Rep.	New Buffalo
01	Sheboygan	1	Charles Œtling	Dem.	Herman
		2	Enos Eastman	Dem.	Plymouth
		3	Hiram N. Smith	Rep.	Sheboygan Falls
28	St. Croix		Revel K. Fay	Rep.	Star Prairie
32	Trempealeau		Alexander A. Arnold	Rep.	Galesville
31	Vernon	1	Joseph W. Hoyt	Rep.	Chaseburg
		2	Henry A. Chase	Rep.	Viroqua
12	Walworth	1	John Jeffers	Rep.	Darien
		2	Amzy Merriam	Rep.	Linn
		3	Samuel A. White	Dem.	Whitewater
04	Washington	1	Baruch S. Weil	Dem.	Schleisingerville
		2	Densmore W. Maxon	Dem.	Cedar Creek
10	Waukesha	1	Leonard D. Hinkley	Dem.	Eagle
		2	John D. McDonald	Dem.	Summit
		3	William Ockler	Dem.	Muskego
27	Waupaca		George E. More	Rep.	Royalton
29	Waushara		Edwin Montgomery	Rep.	Hancock
21	Winnebago	1	Russell J. Judd	Rep.	Algoma
		2	William P. Rounds	Rep.	Menasha
		3	Frederic A. Morgan	Rep.	Black Wolf

Employees

Senate employees

• Chief Clerk: O. R. Smith^[3]
  • Assistant Clerk: J. H. Waggoner
    • Bookkeeper: Sid A. Foster
  • Engrossing Clerk: A. J. High
  • Enrolling Clerk: H. L. Hyde
  • Transcribing Clerk: Richard Perry
• Sergeant-at-Arms: W. W. Baker
  • Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: W. W. Dantz
• Postmaster: C. E. Weeks
  • Assistant Postmaster: Hiram Seffens
• Doorkeeper: W. G. Hyde
• Doorkeeper: H. E. Seaver
  • Assistant Doorkeeper: J. Dixon
  • Assistant Doorkeeper: C. W. Watrous
  • Assistant Doorkeeper: H. A. Wilcox
  • Gallery Doorkeeper: A. A. Petty
  • Night Watch: John Grant Jr.
• Governor's Attendant: C. H. Stone
• Porter: F. H. Bates
• General Messenger: Willie Hadley
• Clerk's Messenger: Willie Bowen
• Messengers:
  • Willie Dennison
  • Frank Roe
  • Charles Young
  • Charles H. Newton
  • Patrick Tierney

Assembly employees

• Chief Clerk: Ephraim W. Young^[3]
  • Assistant Clerk: William M. Newcomb
    • Bookkeeper: Fred A. Dennett
  • Engrossing Clerk: C. D. Purple
  • Enrolling Clerk: Jacob Fuss
  • Transcribing Clerk: Linda Harris
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Sam Fifield
  • 1st Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: O. C. Bissell
  • 2nd Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: D. L. Quaw
• Postmaster: Myron DeWolf
  • 1st Assistant Postmaster: J. F. Cleghorn
  • 2nd Assistant Postmaster: Albert Emonson
• Doorkeepers:
  • E. S. Blake
  • Thomas Watson
  • John Stansmore
  • O. R. Jones
• Night Watch: W. A. Fay
• Firemen:
  • D. B. Crandall
  • Richard Prichard
• Gallery Attendants:
  • Peter Williams
  • A. J. Sutherland
• Committee Room Attendants:
  • J. W. Brackett
  • L. N. Taylor
  • William W. Maxwell
  • George Slingsby
• Washroom Attendant: S. D. Hanchett
• Porter: R. S. Warner
• Speaker's Messenger: Willie Holmes
• Chief Clerk's Messenger: Frank R. Norton
• Sergeant-at-Arms' Messenger: Willie Potter
• Messengers:
  • Frank Beyler
  • Daniel Fitzpatrick
  • George E. McDill
  • George Sherman
  • Freddie Blake
  • Ballard P. Barnett
  • Eugene Kuntz
  • S. G. Huntington
  • Charles F. Dana
  • Adolph Hastreiter
  • Emeal Hammer