8th Wisconsin Legislature

8th Wisconsin Legislature
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Wisconsin State Capitol, 1855
Overview
Legislative body	Wisconsin Legislature
Meeting place	Wisconsin State Capitol
Term	January 1, 1855 – January 7, 1856
Election	November 7, 1854
Senate
Members	25
Senate President	James T. Lewis (R)
President pro tempore	Eleazer Wakeley (D)
Party control	Democratic
Assembly
Members	82
Assembly Speaker	Charles C. Sholes (R)
Party control	Republican
Sessions
1st January 10, 1855 – April 2, 1855

The Eighth Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 10, 1855, to April 2, 1855, in regular session.

This was the first Wisconsin legislature seated after the establishment of the Republican Party of Wisconsin.

Senators representing odd-numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first year of a two-year term. Assemblymembers were elected to a one-year term. Assemblymembers and odd-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 7, 1854. 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 8, 1853.^[1]

Major events[]

• February 1, 1855: Charles Durkee elected United States Senator by the Wisconsin Legislature in Joint Session.^[2]
• November 6, 1855: In the 1855 Wisconsin gubernatorial election, incumbent William A. Barstow was initially declared the winner. The election results were contested and eventually Coles Bashford, the Republican candidate, prevailed and became the next Governor of Wisconsin.

Major legislation[]

• March 8, 1855: Act to provide for the division of the County of Adams, and to submit the question to a Vote of the people, 1855 Act 28. The referendum passed and resulted in the creation of Juneau County from the western half of Adams County.
• March 23, 1855: Act relative to the rights of married women, 1855 Act 49. Granted married women the rights to own property and conduct business in circumstances where the husband had been negligent or otherwise irresponsible.

Party summary[]

Senate summary[]

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)					Total
	Dem.	F.S.	Whig	Ind.	Rep.		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	22	0	3	0	0	25	0
1st Session	13	0	0	1	11	25	0
Final voting share	52%	0%	0%	4%	44%
Beginning of the next Legislature	12	0	0	0	13	25	0

Assembly summary[]

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)					Total
	Dem.	F.S.	Whig	Ind.	Rep.		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	51	4	27	0	0	82	0
1st Session	34	0	0	4	44	82	0
Final voting share	41.46%	0.0%	0.0%	4.88%	53.66%
Beginning of the next Legislature	46	0	0	1	35	82	0

Sessions[]

• 1st Regular session: January 10, 1855 – April 2, 1855

Leaders[]

Senate leadership[]

• President of the Senate: James T. Lewis, Lieutenant Governor
• President pro tempore: Eleazer Wakeley

Assembly leadership[]

• Speaker of the Assembly: Charles C. Sholes

Members[]

Members of the Senate[]

Members of the Wisconsin Senate for the Eighth Wisconsin Legislature (25):

District	Counties	Senator	Party	Residence
01	Calumet, Manitowoc, Sheboygan	David Taylor	Rep.	Sheboygan
02	Brown, Door, Kewaunee, Marathon, Oconto, Outagamie, Portage, Waupaca	Joseph F. Loy	Dem.	Green Bay
03	Ozaukee	Bolivar G. Gill	Dem.	Grafton
04	Washington	James Rolfe	Ind.	Jackson
05	Milwaukee (Northern Half)	Jackson Hadley	Dem.	Milwaukee
06	Milwaukee (Southern Half)	Edward McGarry	Dem.	Milwaukee
07	Racine	Charles Clement	Rep.	Racine
08	Kenosha	Francis Paddock	Rep.	Salem
09	Waukesha (Northern Half)	Denison Worthington	Rep.	Summit
10	Waukesha (Southern Half)	James DeNoon Reymert	Dem.	Denoon
11	Dane	Hiram H. Giles	Rep.	Stoughton
12	Walworth	Eleazer Wakeley	Dem.	Whitewater
13	Lafayette	Charles Dunn	Dem.	Cottage Inn
14	Jefferson	Daniel Howell	Dem.	Jefferson
15	Iowa, Richland	Amasa Cobb	Rep.	Mineral Point
16	Grant	Nelson Dewey	Dem.	Lancaster
17	Rock (Western Half)	James Sutherland	Rep.	Janesville
18	Rock (Eastern Half)	Louis P. Harvey	Rep.	Shopiere
19	Bad Ax, Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Crawford, Jackson, La Crosse, La Pointe, Pierce, Polk, St. Croix	William J. Gibson	Dem.	Black River Falls
20	Fond du Lac	Charles A. Eldredge	Dem.	Fond du Lac
21	Winnebago	Coles Bashford	Rep.	Oshkosh
22	Dodge	Ezra A. Bowen	Dem.	Mayville
23	Adams, Marquette, Sauk, Waushara	Edwin B. Kelsey	Dem.	Montello
24	Green	Francis H. West	Rep.	Monroe
25	Columbia	John Q. Adams	Rep.	Fall River

Members of the Assembly[]

Members of the Assembly for the Eighth Wisconsin Legislature (82):

Senate District	County	District	Representative	Party	Residence
23	Adams & Sauk		Richard H. Davis	Rep.	Baraboo
19	Bad Ax & Crawford		James Fisher	Dem.	Prairie du Chien
02	Brown, Door, Kewaunee		Morgan L. Martin	Ind.	Green Bay
19	Buffalo, Chippewa, La Crosse		Chase A. Stevens	Dem.	La Crosse
01	Calumet		Almond Merrill	Rep.	Charlestown
25	Columbia	1	William T. Whirry	Dem.	Randolph
		2	Alfred Topliff	Rep.	Columbus
11	Dane	1	Jonathan Mosher	Rep.	Stoughton
		2	William R. Taylor	Dem.	Cottage Grove
		3	Samuel G. Abbott	Rep.	Verona
		4	George P. Thompson	Dem.	Cross Plains
		5	Levi Baker Vilas	Dem.	Madison
22	Dodge	1	Narcisse M. Juneau	Dem.	Theresa
		2	John B. Ribble	Dem.	Horicon
		3	Fred F. Schwefel	Ind.	Lebanon
		4	John D. Griffin	Dem.	Shields
		5	Solomon L. Rose	Dem.	Beaver Dam
		6	John M. Sherman	Rep.	Burnett
20	Fond du Lac	1	George W. Parker	Rep.	Metomen
		2	Benjamin R. Harrington	Rep.	Byron
		3	William H. Ebbets	Dem.	Fond du Lac
		4	John Boyd	Dem.	Calumet
16	Grant	1	Allen Taylor	Rep.	Hazel Green
		2	William Hull	Dem.	Potosi
		3	William W. Field	Rep.	Platteville
		4	William Cole	Rep.	Fennimore
		5	Noah H. Virgin	Rep.	Beetown
24	Green		Amos D. Kirkpatrick	Rep.	Dayton
15	Iowa	1	Stephen P. Hollenbeck	Rep.	Highland
		2	John Love	Rep.	Mineral Point
14	Jefferson	1	Patrick Rogan	Dem.	Watertown
		2	John G. Merriam	Rep.	Lake Mills
		3	A. H. Van Norstrand	Dem.	Jefferson
		4	John Gibb	Dem.	Ixonia
		5	Willard Grant	Rep.	Hebron
08	Kenosha	1	Charles C. Sholes	Rep.	Kenosha
		2	Philander Judson	Rep.	Bristol
13	Lafayette	1	James Earnest	Dem.	New Diggings
		2	A. A. Townsend	Rep.	Shullsburg
		3	Joseph White	Dem.	Cottage Inn
19	La Pointe, Pierce, Polk, & St. Croix		Smith R. Gunn	Rep.	Prescott
01	Manitowoc		James Bennett	Rep.	Manitowoc
02	Marathon & Portage		Walter D. McIndoe	Rep.	Wausau
23	Marquette & Waushara	1	Harvey Grant	Rep.	Tichora
		2	Samuel R. Rood	Dem.	Packwaukee
05	Milwaukee[3]	1	James B. Cross	Dem.	Milwaukee
		2	Jasper Vliet	Dem.	Milwaukee
06		3	Edward O'Neill	Dem.	Milwaukee
		4	I. E. Goodall	Rep.	Milwaukee
		5	Edwin De Wolf	Ind.	Milwaukee
		6	John Ruan	Dem.	Oak Creek
		7	Peter Lavies	Dem.	Greenfield
05		8	Reuben Chase	Rep.	Wauwatosa
		9	Frederick Moskowitt	Dem.	Milwaukee
02	Oconto, Outagamie, & Waupaca		David Scott	Dem.	Appleton
03	Ozaukee	1	William H. Ramsey	Dem.	Ozaukee
		2	Henry Blazer	Dem.	Mequon River
07	Racine	1	Thomas Falvey	Dem.	Racine
		2	Alanson Filer	Rep.	Racine
		3	Ebenezer Adams	Rep.	Yorkville
		4	Caleb P. Barns	Dem.	Burlington
15	Richland		Daniel L. Downs	Dem.	Richmond
18	Rock	1	Samuel G. Colley	Rep.	Beloit
		2	Joseph Goodrich	Rep.	Milton
17		3	George H. Williston	Rep.	Janesville
		4	Nathan B. Howard	Rep.	Magnolia
01	Sheboygan	1	Joseph Schrage	Rep.	Sheboygan
		2	Luther H. Cary	Rep.	Greenbush
12	Walworth	1	Solmous Wakeley	Rep.	Whitewater
		2	Daniel Hooper	Rep.	Troy
		3	Samuel Pratt	Rep.	Spring Prairie
		4	Levi Lee	Rep.	Elkhorn
		5	Willard W. Isham	Rep.	Delavan
		6	George Allen	Rep.	Linn
04	Washington	1	Byron Smith	Dem.	Erin
		2	Mitchell L. Delaney	Rep.	Barton
09	Waukesha[4]	1	Benjamin F. Goss	Dem.	Pewaukee
		2	Stephen Warren	Rep.	Delafield
10		3	Joseph Bond	Dem.	Mukwonago
		4	Alexander W. Randall	Ind.[5]	Waukesha
21	Winnebago	1	George Gary	Rep.	Oshkosh
		2	Ebenezer S. Welch	Rep.	Neenah

Employees[]

Senate employees[]

• Chief Clerk: Samuel G. Bugh
• Sergeant-at-Arms: William H. Gleason

Assembly employees[]

• Chief Clerk: David Atwood
• Sergeant-at-Arms: William Blake

References[]

External links[]