32nd Wisconsin Legislature

The Thirty-Second Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 8, 1879, to March 5, 1879, in regular session.

32nd Wisconsin Legislature
← 31st 33rd →
Wisconsin State Capitol, 1863
Overview
Legislative body	Wisconsin Legislature
Meeting place	Wisconsin State Capitol
Term	January 6, 1879 – January 5, 1880
Election	November 5, 1878
Senate
Members	33
Senate President	James M. Bingham (R)
President pro tempore	William T. Price (R)
Party control	Republican
Assembly
Members	100
Assembly Speaker	David M. Kelly (R)
Party control	Republican
Sessions
1st January 8, 1879 – March 5, 1879

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 5, 1878. 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 6, 1877.^[1]

The governor of Wisconsin during this entire term was Republican William E. Smith, of Milwaukee County, serving the second year of a two-year term, having won election in the 1877 Wisconsin gubernatorial election.

Major events

• January 22, 1879: Matthew H. Carpenter elected United States Senator by the Wisconsin Legislature in Joint Session.
• November 4, 1879: William E. Smith re-elected as Governor of Wisconsin.

Major legislation

• February 28, 1879: An Act to secure to children the benefits of an elementary education, 1879 Act 121. Created a legal requirement for parents and legal guardians to send their children to school for at least one semester per year between the ages of 7 and 15.

Party summary

Senate summary

Senate partisan composition

  Democratic: 9 seats

  Republican: 24 seats

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)			Total
	Dem.	Lib.R.	Rep.		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	10	2	21	33	0
start of 1st Session[note 1]	9	0	23	32	1
from Jan. 27[note 2]			24	33	9
Final voting share	27.27%		72.73%
Beginning of the next Legislature	8	0	25	33	0

Assembly summary

Assembly partisan composition

  Democratic: 25 seats

  Greenback: 9 seats

  Republican: 66 seats

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)				Total
	Dem.	Soc.	Gbk.	Rep.		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	41	1	13	45	100	0
1st Session	25	0	9	66	100	0
Final voting share	34%			66%
Beginning of the next Legislature	28	0	2	70	100	0

Sessions

• 1st Regular session: January 8, 1879 – March 5, 1879

Leaders

Senate leadership

• President of the Senate: James M. Bingham (R)
• President pro tempore: William T. Price (R)

Assembly leadership

• Speaker of the Assembly: David M. Kelly (R)

Members

Members of the Senate

Members of the Senate for the Thirty-Second Wisconsin Legislature:^[2]

Senate partisan representation

  Democratic: 9 seats

  Republican: 24 seats

Dist.	Counties	Senator	Residence	Party
01	Door, Kewaunee, Oconto, & Shawano	George Grimmer	Kewaunee	Rep.
02	Brown	Thomas R. Hudd	Green Bay	Dem.
03	Racine	William E. Chipman	Burlington	Rep.
04	Crawford & Vernon	George W. Swain	Chaseburg	Rep.
05	Milwaukee (Northern Part)	Isaac W. Van Schaick	Milwaukee	Rep.
06	Milwaukee (Southern Part)	George H. Paul	Milwaukee	Dem.
07	Milwaukee (Central Part)	Edwin Hyde	Milwaukee	Rep.
08	Kenosha & Walworth	Benoni Reynolds	Geneva	Rep.
09	Green Lake, Marquette, & Waushara	Hobart S. Sacket	Berlin	Rep.
10	Waukesha	John A. Rice	Merton	Dem.
11	Chippewa, Clark, Lincoln, Taylor, & Wood	Thomas B. Scott	Grand Rapids	Rep.
12	Green & Lafayette	Joseph B. Treat	Monroe	Rep.
13	Dodge	Edward C. McFetridge	Beaver Dam	Rep.
14	Juneau & Sauk	David E. Welch	Baraboo	Rep.
15	Manitowoc	Joseph Rankin	Manitowoc	Dem.
16	Grant	Oscar C. Hathaway	Beetown	Rep.
17	Rock	Hamilton Richardson	Janesville	Rep.
18	Fond du Lac (Western Part)	Alonzo A. Loper	Ripon	Rep.
19	Winnebago	Andrew Haben	Oshkosh	Dem.
20	Sheboygan & Eastern Fond du Lac	Louis Wolf	Sheboygan Falls	Dem.
21	Marathon, Portage, & Waupaca	John A. Kellogg	Wausau	Rep.
22	Calumet & Outagamie	George N. Richmond	Appleton	Dem.
23	Jefferson	Charles H. Phillips (died Jan. 1, 1879)	Lake Mills	Rep.
		Joseph B. Bennett (from Jan. 27, 1879)	Watertown	Rep.
24	Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Polk, & St. Croix	Dana Reed Bailey	Baldwin	Rep.
25	Dane (Eastern Part)	George B. Burrows	Madison	Rep.
26	Dane (Western Part)	Matthew Anderson	Cross Plains	Dem.
27	Adams & Columbia	Charles L. Dering	Columbus	Rep.
28	Iowa & Richland	Archibald Campbell	Middlebury	Rep.
29	Buffalo, Pepin, & Trempealeau	Horace E. Houghton	Durand	Rep.
30	Dunn, Eau Claire, & Pierce	Abraham D. Andrews	River Falls	Rep.
31	La Crosse	Gysbert Van Steenwyk	La Crosse	Rep.
32	Jackson & Monroe	William T. Price	Black River Falls	Rep.
33	Ozaukee & Washington	Lyman Morgan	Port Washington	Dem.

Members of the Assembly

Members of the Assembly for the Thirty-Second Wisconsin Legislature:^[2]

Assembly partisan composition

  Democratic: 25 seats

  Greenback: 9 seats

  Republican: 66 seats

Senate District	County	Dist.	Representative	Party	Residence
27	Adams		Charles A. Cady	Rep.	Dell Prairie
24	Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, & Polk		William J. Vincent	Rep.	St. Croix Falls
02	Brown	1	David M. Kelly	Rep.	Green Bay
		2	Albert L. Gray	Gbk.	Fort Howard
		3	John O'Flaherty	Dem.	Morrison
29	Buffalo & Pepin	1	John W. DeGroff	Rep.	Alma
		2	James Barry	Rep.	Pepin
22	Calumet		Joseph B. Reynolds	Gbk.	Chilton
11	Chippewa		Hector McRae	Rep.	Chippewa Falls
	Clark, Lincoln, Taylor & Wood		Niran Withee	Rep.	Neillsville
27	Columbia	1	Charles R. Gallett	Rep.	Portage
		2	John Sanderson	Rep.	Randolph
04	Crawford		Atley Peterson	Rep.	Soldiers Grove
26	Dane	1	Matthias Theisen	Dem.	Roxbury
25		2	Buel Hutchinson	Rep.	Madison
		3	Charles G. Lewis	Rep.	Sun Prairie
13	Dodge	1	William Fleming	Dem.	Emmet
		2	Henry Spiering	Dem.	Mayville
		3	James Davison	Dem.	Chester
		4	William Geise	Dem.	Portland
01	Door		Charles A. Masse	Rep.	Sturgeon Bay
30	Dunn		Henry Ausman	Rep.	Elk Mound
	Eau Claire		Julius Ingram	Rep.	Eau Claire
18	Fond du Lac	1	Henry C. Bottum	Rep.	West Rosendale
		2	Philip Greening	Dem.	Lamartine
		3	Thomas W. Spence	Rep.	Fond du Lac
20		4	Michael Thelen	Dem.	Ashford
16	Grant	1	William E. Carter	Rep.	Platteville
		2	Joseph T. Mills	Rep.	Lancaster
		3	John Brindley	Rep.	Boscobel
12	Green	1	Fordyce R. Melvin	Rep.	Brooklyn
		2	Franklin Mitchell	Rep.	Spring Grove
09	Green Lake		Samuel Barter	Rep.	Markesan
28	Iowa	1	George L. Frost	Gbk.	Dodgeville
		2	George G. Cox	Rep.	Mineral Point
32	Jackson		Frederick Condit	Gbk.	Merrillan
23	Jefferson	1	Hezekiah Flinn	Dem.	Watertown
		2	John D. Bullock	Rep.	Johnson Creek
		3	James W. Ostrander	Rep.	Jefferson
14	Juneau	1	James Mullowney	Dem.	Kildare
		2	Henry F. C. Nichols	Rep.	New Lisbon
08	Kenosha		Joseph V. Quarles	Rep.	Kenosha
01	Kewaunee		John Carel	Dem.	Kewaunee
31	La Crosse		John Bradley	Rep.	Bangor
11	Lafayette	1	Nelson La Due	Rep.	Spafford
		2	John W. Blackstone	Rep.	Shullsburg
15	Manitowoc	1	John Carey	Dem.	Osman
		2	William Zander	Dem.	Larrabee
		3	William H. Hemschemeyer	Rep.	Manitowoc
21	Marathon		John Ringle	Dem.	Wausau
09	Marquette		James W. Murphy	Dem.	Briggsville
05	Milwaukee	1	Edward C. Wall	Dem.	Milwaukee
07		2	Christian Widule	Rep.	Milwaukee
		3	Edward Keogh	Dem.	Milwaukee
		4	Edward B. Simpson	Rep.	Milwaukee
06		5	John Bentley	Dem.	Milwaukee
05		6	Christopher Raesser	Rep.	Milwaukee
07		7	Anson Allen	Rep.	Milwaukee
06		8	Henry P. Fischer	Rep.	Milwaukee
05		9	Christian Sarnow	Rep.	Milwaukee
		10	Judson G. Hart	Rep.	Wauwatosa
06		11	William W. Johnson	Rep.	Greenfield
32	Monroe	1	James D. Condit	Dem.	Sparta
		2	George R. Vincent	Gbk.	Tomah
01	Oconto & Shawano		Daniel H. Pulcifer	Rep.	Shawano
22	Outagamie	1	John C. Petersen	Gbk.	Appleton
		2	Francis Steffen	Dem.	Hortonville
33	Ozaukee		William H. Fitzgerald	Ind.D.	Cedarburg
30	Pierce		Nils P. Haugen	Rep.	River Falls
21	Portage		Thomas McDill	Rep.	McDill
03	Racine	1	Norton J. Field	Rep.	Racine
		2	Knud Adland	Rep.	North Cape
28	Richland	1	Joseph M. Thomas	Rep.	Lone Rock
		2	Elihu Bailey	Rep.	Mill Creek
17	Rock	1	Richard Burdge	Rep.	Beloit
		2	Allen P. Lovejoy	Rep.	Janesville
		3	William Gardiner	Rep.	Emerald Grove
14	Sauk	1	Ulrich Hemmi	Rep.	Troy
		2	Alexander P. Ellinwood	Rep.	Reedsburg
20	Sheboygan	1	Wilbur M. Root	Dem.	Sheboygan
		2	La Fayette Eastman	Rep.	Plymouth
		3	James Allan Jr.	Rep.	Adell
24	St. Croix		James Hill	Rep.	Warren
29	Trempealeau		George H. Markham	Rep.	Independence
04	Vernon	1	Jacob Eckhardt	Rep.	De Soto
		2	Roger Williams	Rep.	Hillsboro
08	Walworth	1	Ely Bruce Dewing	Rep.	Elkhorn
		2	Albert L. Mason	Rep.	Elton
		3	Edwin D. Coe	Rep.	Whitewater
33	Washington	1	Jacob H. Muckerheide	Dem.	Kewaskum
		2	John G. Frank	Dem.	Jackson
10	Waukesha	1	Alvarus E. Gilbert	Rep.	New Berlin
		2	William H. Washburn	Rep.	Pewaukee
21	Waupaca	1	Lorenzo L. Post	Dem.	Weyauwega
		2	John Scanlon	Gbk.	Union
09	Waushara		Samuel R. Clark	Rep.	Bloomfield
19	Winnebago	1	William Wall	Rep.	Oshkosh
		2	John Potter Jr.	Gbk.	Menasha
		3	Hiram W. Webster	Rep.	Omro
		4	Milan Ford	Gbk.	Nekimi

Employees

Senate employees

• Chief Clerk: Charles E. Bross^[2]
  • Assistant Clerk: W. S. Reynolds
  • Bookkeeper: T. S. Ansley
  • Engrossing Clerk: John P. Mitchell
  • Enrolling Clerk: A. J. Smith
  • Transcribing Clerk: Fred. Richards
  • Proofreader: Thomas A. Dyson
  • Clerk for the Judiciary Committee: H. M. Pierce
  • Clerk for the Committee on Claims: L. F. Nickey
  • Clerk for the Committee on Enrolled Bills: Walter L. Houser
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Chalmers Ingersoll
  • Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: William A. Adamson
• Postmaster: O. N. Russell
  • Assistant Postmaster: A. C. Martin
• Gallery Attendant: O. A. Kluetz
  • Doc. Room Attendant: William Graham
• Doorkeepers:
  • E. T. Songstad
  • M. Simon
  • A. Knudson
  • John Halls
• Porter: John Redman
• Night Watch: Eugene A. Steer
• Chief Clerk's Messenger: J. G. Hyland
• President's Messenger: John Barrows
• Messengers:
  • Jos. Campbell
  • Jas. H. Welch
  • Harry M. Hathaway
  • Thos. Farness
  • Geo. Roe
  • Jos. J. Gunkel
  • Lono Loper
• Janitor: Ole Stevenson

Assembly employees

• Chief Clerk: John E. Eldred^[2]
  • 1st Assistant Clerk: William M. Fogo
    • 2nd Assistant Clerk: S. L. Perrine
  • Bookkeeper: O. A. Southmayd
  • Engrossing Clerk: T. J. Vaughn
  • Enrolling Clerk: Franklin S. Lawrence
  • Transcribing Clerk: F. W. Rogers
  • Proof Reader: H. O. Fifield
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Miletus Knight
  • Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: William Seamonson
• Postmaster: J. J. Gibbs
  • Assistant Postmaster: William Stanton
• Doorkeepers:
  • J. J. Burnard
  • C. E. Webster
  • George B. McMillen
  • Fred Oelhafer
• Gallery Attendants:
  • R. Worts
  • J. L. Johnson
• Porter: C. Schneider
• Night Watch: N. V. Chandler
• Wash Room Attendant: J. W. Kildow
• Speaker's Messenger: E. H. Potter
• Clerk's Messenger: Arthur Truax
• Messengers:
  • William Post
  • John F. Sanderson
  • Richard Kempter
  • S. G. Bottum
  • Harvey Barlow
  • Candy Nicodemus
  • William Renkema
  • Eddie Kavenaugh
  • Julius Leison
  • B. F. Oakley
  • Bertie Carter
  • Freddie Wittl
  • Jake Gill

Notes

1. Republican Charles H. Phillips (District 23) died January 1, 1879.
2. Republican Joseph B. Bennett (District 23) replaced Charles H. Phillips.