29th Wisconsin Legislature

The Twenty-Ninth Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 12, 1876, to March 14, 1876, in regular session.

29th Wisconsin Legislature
← 28th 30th →
Wisconsin State Capitol, 1863
Overview
Legislative body	Wisconsin Legislature
Meeting place	Wisconsin State Capitol
Term	January 3, 1876 – January 1, 1877
Election	November 2, 1875
Senate
Members	33
Senate President	Charles D. Parker (D)
President pro tempore	Robert L. D. Potter (R)
Party control	Republican
Assembly
Members	100
Assembly Speaker	Sam S. Fifield (R)
Party control	Republican
Sessions
1st January 12, 1876 – March 14, 1876

Senators representing even-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, 1875. Senators representing odd-numbered districts were serving the second year of their two-year term, having been elected in the general election held on November 3, 1874.^[1]

The governor of Wisconsin during this entire term was Republican Harrison Ludington, of Milwaukee County, serving the first year of a two-year term, having won election in the 1875 Wisconsin gubernatorial election.

Major events

• January 3, 1876: Inauguration of Harrison Ludington as the 13th Governor of Wisconsin.
• February 2, 1876: The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs was founded at a meeting in Chicago.
• March 7, 1876: Alexander Graham Bell was granted a United States patent for the telephone.
• March 27, 1876: The United States Supreme Court decided the case United States v. Reese, narrowing the scope of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and enabling the creation of new laws to limit the voting rights of African Americans. On the same day, the court also decided the case United States v. Cruikshank, significantly limiting the power of the federal government to enforce civil rights protections.
• June 25 – June 26, 1876: 300 men of the 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment were killed by a force of Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
• July 4, 1876: United States Centennial.
• November 7, 1876: The 1876 United States presidential election was held. Rutherford B. Hayes was the apparent winner of the electoral college votes, but the results were bitterly disputed due to various fraud schemes in southern states, and the fact that Samuel J. Tilden was the apparent winner of the popular vote.

Major legislation

• March 13, 1876: An Act to apportion the state into senate and assembly districts, 1876 Act 343.

Party summary

Senate summary

Senate partisan composition

  Democratic: 6 seats

  Reform: 4 seats

  Liberal Republican: 2 seats

  Republican: 21 seats

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)				Total
	Dem.	Ref.	Lib.R.	Rep.		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	9	5	2	17	33	0
1st Session	6	4	2	21	33	0
Final voting share	36.36%			63.64%
Beginning of the next Legislature	8	0	3	22	33	0

Assembly summary

Assembly partisan composition

  Democratic: 35 seats

  Reform: 11 seats

  Independent: 1 seat

  Liberal Republican: 1 seat

  Republican: 52 seats

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)					Total
	Dem.	Ref.	Ind.	Lib.R.	Rep.		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	19	13	0	4	64	100	0
Start of 1st Session	35	12	1	1	51	100	0
From Feb. 17		11			52	100	0
Final voting share	48%				52%
Beginning of the next Legislature	33	5	0	1	61	100	0

Sessions

• 1st Regular session: January 12, 1876 – March 14, 1876

Leaders

Senate leadership

• President of the Senate: Charles D. Parker (D)
• President pro tempore: Robert L. D. Potter (R)

Assembly leadership

• Speaker of the Assembly: Sam S. Fifield (R)

Members

Members of the Senate

Members of the Senate for the Twenty-Ninth Wisconsin Legislature:^[2]

Senate partisan representation

  Democratic: 6 seats

  Reform: 4 seats

  Lib. Rep.: 2 seats

  Republican: 21 seats

Dist.	Counties	Senator	Residence	Party
01	Sheboygan	Enos Eastman	Plymouth	Dem.
02	Brown, Door, & Kewaunee	Thomas R. Hudd	Green Bay	Ref.
03	Milwaukee (Northern Part)	William H. Jacobs	Milwaukee	Ref.
04	Monroe & Vernon	J. Henry Tate	Viroqua	Rep.
05	Racine	Robert Hall Baker	Racine	Rep.
06	Milwaukee (Southern Half)	John L. Mitchell	Milwaukee	Dem.
07	Dane (Eastern Part)	George E. Bryant	Madison	Rep.
08	Kenosha & Walworth	Asahel Farr	Kenosha	Rep.
09	Iowa	David McFarland	Highland	Ref.
10	Waukesha	William Blair	Waukesha	Rep.
11	Lafayette	Francis Campbell	Gratiot	Rep.
12	Green	Joseph B. Treat	Monroe	Rep.
13	Dodge	John A. Barney	Mayville	Dem.
14	Sauk	David E. Welch	Baraboo	Rep.
15	Manitowoc	John Schuette	Manitowoc	Rep.
16	Grant	Oscar C. Hathaway	Beetown	Rep.
17	Rock	Horatio N. Davis	Beloit	Rep.
18	Fond du Lac (Western Part)	William Hiner	Fond du Lac	Rep.
19	Winnebago	William P. Rounds	Menasha	Rep.
20	Fond du Lac (Eastern Part)	Daniel Cavanagh	Osceola	Dem.
21	Marathon, Oconto, Shawano, Waupaca, & Northern Outagamie	Willis C. Silverthorn	Wausau	Ref.
22	Calumet & Southern Outagamie	James Ryan	Appleton	Dem.
23	Jefferson	William W. Reed	Jefferson	Lib.R.
24	Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Pierce, Polk, & St. Croix	Henry D. Barron	St. Croix Falls	Rep.
25	Green Lake, Marquette, & Waushara	Robert L. D. Potter	Wautoma	Rep.
26	Dane (Western Part)	Romanzo E. Davis	Middleton	Lib.R.
27	Columbia	Levi W. Barden	Portage	Rep.
28	Crawford & Richland	Daniel Downs	Richland Center	Rep.
29	Adams, Juneau, Portage, & Wood	Thomas B. Scott	Grand Rapids	Rep.
30	Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin, & Taylor	Rockwell J. Flint	Eau Claire	Rep.
31	La Crosse	Sylvester Nevins	La Crosse	Rep.
32	Buffalo, Clark, Jackson, & Trempealeau	Mark Douglas	Melrose	Rep.
33	Ozaukee & Washington	Gilead J. Wilmot	West Bend	Dem.

Members of the Assembly

Members of the Assembly for the Twenty-Ninth Wisconsin Legislature:^[2]

Assembly partisan composition

  Democratic: 35 seats

  Reform: 11 seats

  Independent: 1 seat

  Liberal Republican: 1 seat

  Republican: 52 seats

Senate District	County	Dist.	Representative	Party	Residence
29	Adams & Wood		G. M. Marshall	Rep.	Big Spring
24	Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Polk		Sam Fifield	Rep.	Ashland
02	Brown & Southern Kewaunee	1	Mitchell Resch	Dem.	Green Bay
		2	William J. Fisk	Rep.	Fort Howard
		3	Dennis Dewane	Dem.	New Denmark
32	Buffalo		Edward Lees	Dem.	Fountain City
22	Calumet		Henry Horst	Dem.	Hayton
30	Chippewa & Taylor		Cadwallader J. Wiltse	Dem.	Chippewa Falls
32	Clark & Jackson		Hugh Mills	Rep.	Millston
27	Columbia	1	Michael Griffin	Rep.	Kilbourn City
		2	John G. Griffin	Rep.	Randolph
		3	Augustus O. Dole	Rep.	Poynette
28	Crawford		Fergus Mills	Dem.	Seneca
07	Dane	1	William Seamonson	Rep.	Stoughton
		2	William Charlton	Lib.R.	Madison
26		3	Peter Zander	Dem.	Cross Plains
		4	Michael Johnson	Ref.	Springdale
13	Dodge	1	Patrick Griffin	Dem.	Portland
		2	Columbus Germain	Dem.	Beaver Dam
		3	George H. Lawrence	Rep.	Burnett
		4	Charles E. Kite	Dem.	Mayville
		5	George Schott	Dem.	Herman
		6	James Higgins	Ref.	Shields
02	Door & Northern Kewaunee		Leroy M. Washburn	Ref.	Sturgeon Bay
30	Dunn & Pepin		Menzus R. Bump	Rep.	Rock Falls
	Eau Claire		Hobart Stocking	Rep.	Eau Claire
18	Fond du Lac	1	James K. Scribner	Rep.	Eldorado Mills
		2	Edson A. Putnam	Rep.	Oakfield
20		3	Lambert Brost	Dem.	Calumet
16	Grant	1	William D. Jones	Rep.	Hazel Green
		2	Joseph Bock	Rep.	Lancaster
		3	George Brown	Rep.	Woodman
		4	William J. McCoy	Dem.	Beetown
12	Green		John Luchsinger	Rep.	New Glarus
25	Green Lake		Waldo Flint	Rep.	Princeton
09	Iowa	1	Ansley Gray (until Feb. 17)	Ref.	Avoca
			Joseph Bennett (from Feb. 17)	Rep.	Dodgeville
		2	Kearton Coates	Rep.	Linden
23	Jefferson	1	Thomas Shinnick	Dem.	Watertown
		2	Charles H. Phillips	Rep.	Lake Mills
		3	David W. Curtis	Rep.	Fort Atkinson
29	Juneau		Charles E. Booth	Rep.	Elroy
08	Kenosha		Frederick Robinson	Dem.	Kenosha
31	La Crosse		John Bradley	Rep.	Bangor
11	Lafayette		Danverse Neff	Rep.	Calamine
15	Manitowoc	1	Charles R. Zorn	Dem.	Keil
		2	Thomas Mohr	Ref.	Kossuth
		3	William F. Tisch	Dem.	Mishicott
21	Marathon		Bartholomew Ringle	Dem.	Wausau
25	Marquette		B. Frank Goodell	Dem.	Montello
03	Milwaukee	1	Patrick Drew	Dem.	Milwaukee
		2	Peter Fagg	Ind.D.	Milwaukee
06		3	Edward Keogh	Ind.D.	Milwaukee
		4	Bernard F. Cooke	Dem.	Milwaukee
		5	David Vance	Rep.	Milwaukee
03		6	Charles Kraatz	Dem.	Milwaukee
06		7	Lemuel Ellsworth	Rep.	Milwaukee
		8	Henry Fink	Ind.	Milwaukee
03		9	George H. Walther	Ref.	Milwaukee
		10	F. A. Zautcke	Rep.	Granville
06		11	Hubert Lavies	Ref.	Greenfield
04	Monroe	1	Albert T. Colburn	Rep.	Little Falls
		2	Charles D. Wells	Dem.	Tomah
21	Oconto		Louis P. Pahl	Ref.	Oconto
22	Outagamie, Shawano, & Waupaca	1	David Hammel	Dem.	Appleton
21		2	John J. Knowlton	Ind.D.	Seymour
		3	Henry Mumbrue	Ind.R.	Waupaca
33	Ozaukee	1	Gustav Gotze	Ref.	Port Washington
		2	William Carbys	Ind.R.	Mequon
24	Pierce		Christopher L. Taylor	Dem.	Maiden Rock
29	Portage		Thomas W. Anderson	Rep.	Stevens Point
05	Racine	1	Norton J. Field	Rep.	Racine
		2	Elias White	Ref.	Burlington
28	Richland	1	J. L. R. McCollum	Dem.	Sextonville
		2	Henry H. Hoyt	Rep.	West Branch
17	Rock	1	Lloyd T. Pullen	Rep.	Evansville
		2	George Gleason	Rep.	Lima
		3	Andrew Barlass	Rep.	Harmony
		4	Sereno Merrill	Rep.	Beloit
		5	Jere A. Blount	Dem.	Janesville
14	Sauk	1	David B. Hulburt	Rep.	Loganville
		2	Silas J. Seymour	Rep.	Dellona
01	Sheboygan	1	Joseph Wedig	Ref.	Sheboygan
		2	William Noll	Rep.	Cascade
		3	Louis Wolf	Dem.	Sheboygan Falls
24	St. Croix		Philo Boyden	Ref.	Hudson
32	Trempealeau		Noah D. Comstock	Rep.	Arcadia
04	Vernon	1	John Stevenson	Rep.	Harmony
		2	Timothy S. Jordan	Rep.	Union
08	Walworth	1	Charles S. Teeple	Rep.	Darien
		2	Benoni Reynolds	Rep.	Geneva
		3	D. Manfield Stearns	Rep.	Sugar Creek
33	Washington	1	Andrew Martin	Dem.	Jackson
		2	Philip Schneider	Dem.	Farmington
10	Waukesha	1	William H. Hardy	Dem.	Genesee
		2	James S. Dent	Rep.	Menomonee Falls
25	Waushara		Jabez K. Walker	Rep.	East Oasis
19	Winnebago	1	Thomas Wall	Dem.	Oshkosh
		2	Eric McArthur	Rep.	Winneconne
		3	Leroy S. Chase	Rep.	Omro
		4	Sidney Shufelt	Rep.	Poygan

Employees

Senate employees

• Chief Clerk: Andrew Jackson Turner^[2]
  • Assistant Clerk: J. F. A. Williams
  • Bookkeeper: J. T. Huntington
  • Engrossing Clerk: Ms. Georgie Clise
  • Enrolling Clerk: J. T. Jacobson
  • Transcribing Clerk: Ed. Borcherdt
• Sergeant-at-Arms: R. T. Gardner
  • Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: George Hawley
• Postmaster: D. McBride
  • Assistant Postmaster: C. A. Carter
• Gallery Attendant: R. B. Winsor
  • Assistant Attendant: A. T. Conger
  • Committee Room Attendants:
    • H. A. Head
    • Alfred Newgent
    • C. H. Newton
• Doorkeepers:
  • M. Lynch
  • T. Torkelson
  • S. F. Leavitt
  • Hohn Hallahan
• Porter: T. H. Hanson
• Janitor: P. Gilluly
• Messengers:
  • Arthur A. Hills
  • Sherman G. Potter
  • Daniel Trainer
  • Herbert Rinder
  • Eugene Abbott
  • Fred Richards
  • George Gewicke
  • Lucien Pickarts
  • Willie Scampton

Assembly employees

• Chief Clerk: Rollin M. Strong^[2]
  • Assistant Clerk: Chester Deming Long
  • Bookkeeper: William M. Fogo
  • Engrossing Clerk: Mrs. Fannie Vilas
  • Enrolling Clerk: R. A. Gillett
  • Transcribing Clerk: J. P. Cooper
  • Clerk for the Committee on Judiciary: Frank O. Wisner
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Elisha Starr
  • Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: George H. Osgood
• Postmaster: John H. Manschot
  • Assistant Postmaster: Fred M. Griswold
• Doorkeepers:
  • Henry Matthews
  • William F. Shallock
  • T. E. Abbott
  • E. S. Chase
• Committee Room Attendants:
  • John Hannon
  • W. H. Bell
  • W. R. Kent
  • Richard Prichard
• Gallery Attendants:
  • W. Alten
  • Frank Burgess
• Porter: W. F. Bingman
• Night Watch: C. F. Ainsworth
• Fireman: Thomas Nelson
• Speaker's Messenger: Charles Weight
• Chief Clerk's Messenger: Theo. Thorson
• Sergeant-at-Arms' Messenger: M. L. Parker
• Messengers:
  • Willie Betts
  • Walter Holt
  • Joseph Ready
  • Mark Baker
  • Harry Meeker
  • B. B. Jones
  • Lyman Curtis
  • James DeBauker
  • Willie Plumb
  • Julius Voltz
  • Lucius Cannon
  • Freddie D. Fagg
  • Henry Delaney