lawyer, newspaperman, soldier, politician, educator, b. Milton, Vt. In 1857 he moved to Janesville, read law, and was admitted to the bar. He soon moved to Monroe and set up a law practice. In 1860 he became part owner of the Monroe Sentinel, serving as co-editor until 1861. During the Civil War he served with the 3rd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry (1861-1864) and as lieutenant colonel of the 50th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry (1865-1866). In 1866 he returned to Monroe and in 1868 moved to Madison where he was personal secretary to Governor Lucius Fairchild (q.v.) from 1868 to 1871. He was adjutant general of Wisconsin (1868-1871, 1878-1881). A Democrat, he was a close friend of Senator William F. Vilas (q.v.) and was his law partner (1872-1883). He was state assemblyman (1878) and from 1885 to 1889 was U.S. assistant attorney general in Washington, D.C. In 1889 he was appointed dean of the Univ. of Wisconsin Law School and served in this capacity until a few months before his death. He was the author of several works on Wisconsin and national law, and from 1883 to 1890 was part owner and editor of the Madison Democrat. Madison Wis. State Journal, Aug. 11, 1903; J. R. Berryman, ed., Bench and Bar of Wis. (2 vols., Chicago, 1898); Wis. Reports, 122 (1904), pp. xxxi-xxxviii.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Edwin Eustace Bryant Papers for details.

View newspaper clippings at Wisconsin Local History and Biography Articles.

Learn More

Dictionary of Wisconsin History

Explore more than 1,600 people, places and events in Wisconsin history.

[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]