On this date James Duane Doty, the second territorial Governor of Wisconsin, was born in Salem, New York. The son of Judge Chillus Doty and Sarah Martin, James Doty won an appointment as the first federal judge for the western Michigan Territory. He relocated several times in the late 1830s, to Green Bay, Menasha, and finally Fond du Lac County. He served as territorial governor from October 5, 1841, to September 16, 1844. Doty also served in Congress from 1848 to 1853. He was appointed the superintendent of Indian Affairs in 1861, by President Lincoln, and later became governor of the Utah Territory. James Duane Doty died on June 13, 1865, in Salt Lake City, Utah. [Source: First Ladies of Wisconsin-The Governors' Wives by Nancy G. Williams, p.252]
1850 - Ella Wheeler Wilcox Born
On this date Ella Wheeler Wilcox was born in the village of Johnstown in Rock County. A member of literary and social circles in Madison and Milwaukee, Wilcox was a prolific and published poet. Some of her more notable works include "Maurine" (1876), "Poems of Passion" (1883), and "Poems of Pleasure" (1888). Wheeler Wilcox wrote editorials and essays for the New York Journal and the Chicago American as well as contributing to Cosmopolitan and other magazines. She also wrote a syndicated advice column for the Hearst Newspapers. She died on October 30, 1919 in Short Beach, Connecticut. [Source: Milton House]
1862 - (Civil War) Engagement at Nashville, Tennessee
The 10th Wisconsin Light Artillery fought in an engagement at Nashville, Tennessee.
1905 - Vernon Wallace Thomson Born
On this date Vernon Wallace Thomson was born in Richland Center. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 1927 he taught at Viroqua High School until 1929. Thomson graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School and practiced law in Richland Center from 1932 to 1951. He served in numerous public posts in Richland County including, assistant district attorney, city attorney, and mayor of Richland Center. Thomson went on to become a member of the State Assembly from 1935 to 1951, State Attorney General from 1951 to 1957, and Governor of Wisconsin from January 7, 1957 to January 5, 1959. He was also a delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1936, 1940, 1952, and 1956 and was elected as a Republican to Congress, where he served from January 3, 1961 until his resignation December 31, 1974. He died in Washington, D.C. on April 2, 1988. [Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]
1912 - Women's Suffrage Referendum
On this date Wisconsin voters (all male) considered a proposal to allow women to vote. When the referendum was over, Wisconsin men voted women's suffrage down by a margin of 63 to 37 percent. The referendum's defeat could be traced to multiple causes, but the two most widely cited reasons were schisms within the women's movement itself and a perceived link between suffragists and temperance that antagonized many German American voters. Although women were granted the vote in 1920 by the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Wisconsin's own constitution continued to define voters as male until 1934. [Source: Turning Points in Wisconsin History]
An error has occurred. This application may no longer respond until reloaded.
Reload🗙
