politician, reformer, b. Amsterdam, N.X. In 1843 he moved to Wisconsin with his family, settling in Mukwonago and later in Eagle. A Democrat, he served in the state senate (1853) where he introduced and was instrumental in passage of the Wisconsin law forbidding capital punishment. In 1859 he began a nationwide campaign against capital punishment. He lectured in numerous states over the next several years and purportedly was influential in securing more moderate legislation in New York, Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota. Following publication of his book, Christ and the Gallows, or Reasons for the Abolition of Capital Punishment (1870), his interests turned toward politics and the establishment of industrial schools for the young. He was a gifted orator and spoke frequently on behalf of Democratic candidates for office. M. H. Bovee, Christ and the GaIIows (New York, 1870); Wis. Mag. Hist., 42; Whitewater Register, May 10, 1888; Appleton's Cyclopaedia of Amer. Biog., 7 (1900); WPA MS.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Marvin Henry Bovee Papers for details.

View a related article at Wisconsin Magazine of History Archives.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]