On this date Ormsby Brunson Thomas was born in Sandgate, Vermont and moved with his parents to Wisconsin in 1836. Thomas graduated from the National Law School in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. in 1856. He commenced legal practice in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin and served as district attorney of Crawford County. Thomas was captain of Company D, Thirty-first Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War and went on to serve as a member of the State assembly in 1862, 1865, and 1867, and a member in the State senate in 1880 and 1881. Thomas then went on to be elected as a Republican to the Forty-ninth through Fifty-first Congresses (March 4, 1885-March 3, 1891). After an unsuccessful bid for reelection in 1890, Thomas resumed his legal practice in Prairie du Chien and died there October 24, 1904. [Source: Biographical Dictionary of the United States Congress]
1863 - (Civil War) Skirmishes in Georgia
Two skirmishes occured in Georgia on this day. The 1st Wisconsin Cavalry participated in an action at Dry Valley, and the 1st, 10th and 21st Wisconsin Infantry regiments fought in a skirmish at Rossville Gap.
1904 - Emaline Macy Tobey Ludington Died
On this date Emaline Macy Tobey Ludington, wife of Governor Harrison Ludington, died in Chicago. Born on March 21, 1821 in New York to Isaiah Macy and Lydia Babcock, Emaline was raised with the advantages of wealth, education, and social prominence. After her first husband Captain Rudolphus H. Tobey died, she moved to Milwaukee with her three daughters in early 1875. On June 7, 1875, she married Harrison Ludington who was then mayor of Milwaukee. Emaline Ludington served as first lady of Wisconsin from 1876 to 1878. [Source: First Ladies of Wisconsin-The Governors' Wives by Nancy G. Williams, p.78]
1962 - Janesville's Oldest Mill Closes
On this date Janesville's oldest manufacturer, Rock River Woolen Mills, ceased operation after 113 years. The company moved to Texas. Started in 1849 as Monterey Water Power Mill, the mills initially produced fine yarns, flannels and cashmere. [Source: Janesville Gazette]
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