7th Wisconsin Legislature

The Seventh Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 11, 1854, to April 3, 1854, in regular session.

7th Wisconsin Legislature
6th 8th
Overview
Legislative bodyWisconsin Legislature
Meeting placeWisconsin State Capitol
TermJanuary 11, 1854 January 10, 1855
ElectionNovember 8, 1853
Senate
Members25
Senate PresidentJames T. Lewis (W)
President pro temporeBenjamin Allen (D)
Party controlDemocratic
Assembly
Members82
Assembly SpeakerFrederick W. Horn (D)
Party controlDemocratic
Sessions
1stJanuary 11, 1854 April 3, 1854

Senators representing even-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 8, 1853. Senators representing odd-numbered districts were serving the second year of their two-year term, having been elected in the general election held on November 2, 1852.[1]

Major events

Major legislation

  • January 30, 1854: Act to organize the County of Trempe a l'eau, 1854 Act 2
  • February 9, 1854: Act to organize the County of Dunn, 1854 Act 7
  • February 11, 1854: Act to divide La Pointe county and create the county of Douglass, 1854 Act 10
  • March 6, 1854: Act to divide the sixth Judicial Circuit and organize an eighth Judicial Circuit, and to fix the time for holding the Circuit Courts in the Counties of the respective circuits, 1854 Act 13
  • March 24, 1854: Act to divide the county of La Crosse and organize the county of Monroe, 1854 Act 35
  • March 30, 1854: Act concerning the terms of office of Judges of the several courts of this State, 1854 Act 41. Standardized state judicial terms as starting the first Monday of the year following the election of that judge.
  • March 31, 1854: Act to provide for the appointment of an Assistant Secretary of State and Assistant State Treasurer, and to prescribe their duties, 1854 Act 65
  • April 24, 1854: Act to divide the second and third Judicial Circuits and organize the ninth Judicial Circuit, and to fix the time of holding the Circuit Courts in the Counties of said respective Circuits, 1854 Act 75
  • April 25, 1854: Act to amend Article Four of the Constitution, 1854 Act 89. Created a referendum to modify the lengths of State Senate terms from two years to four years, and for the Assembly from one year to two years, and to change the Legislative sessions from one year to two years. The referendum was rejected by voters in November.

Party summary

Senate

Senate Partisan composition
  Democratic: 22 seats
  Whig: 3 seats
Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
Total
Democratic Free Soil Whig Ind. Republican Vacant
End of previous Legislature 18 0 7 0 0 25 0
Start of 1st Session 22 0 3 0 0 25 0
Final voting share 88.00% 0.0% 12.00% 0.0% 0.0%
Beginning of the next Legislature 13 0 0 1 11 25 0

Assembly

Assembly Partisan composition
  Democratic: 51 seats
  Free Soil: 4 seats
  Whig: 27 seats
Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
Total
Democratic Free Soil Whig Ind. Republican Vacant
End of previous Legislature 55 7 20 0 0 82 0
1st Session 51 4 27 0 0 82 0
Final voting share 62.20% 4.88% 32.92% 0.0% 0.0%
Beginning of the next Legislature 34 0 2 2 44 82 0

Sessions

  • 1st Regular session: January 11, 1854 April 3, 1854

Leaders

Senate

Assembly

Members

Senate

Members of the Wisconsin Senate for the Seventh Wisconsin Legislature:

District Counties Senator Party
1 Calumet, Manitowoc, Sheboygan Horatio N. Smith Democrat
2 Brown, Door, Kewaunee, Marathon, Oconto, Outagamie, Portage, Waupaca Joseph F. Loy Democrat
3 Ozaukee Andrew M. Blair Democrat
4 Washington Baltus Mantz Democrat
5 Northern Milwaukee Edward M. Hunter Democrat
6 Southern Milwaukee Edward McGarry Democrat
7 Racine John W. Cary Democrat
8 Kenosha Levi Grant Democrat
9 Northern Waukesha George R. McLane Democrat
10 Southern Waukesha James DeNoon Reymert Democrat
11 Dane Thomas T. Whittlesey Democrat
12 Walworth Eleazer Wakeley Democrat
13 Lafayette Charles Dunn Democrat
14 Jefferson Daniel Howell Democrat
15 Iowa, Richland Levi Sterling Whig
16 Grant Nelson Dewey Democrat
17 Western Rock Ezra Miller Democrat
18 Eastern Rock Louis P. Harvey Whig
19 Bad Ax, Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Crawford, Jackson, La Crosse, La Pointe, Pierce, Polk, St. Croix Benjamin Allen Democrat
20 Fond du Lac Charles A. Eldredge Democrat
21 Winnebago Coles Bashford Whig
22 Dodge Ezra A. Bowen Democrat
23 Adams, Marquette, Sauk, Waushara David S. Vittum Democrat
24 Green Francis H. West Democrat
25 Columbia John Q. Adams Democrat

Assembly

Members of the Assembly for the Seventh Wisconsin Legislature:

Counties Representative Party
Adams, Sauk Cyrus C. Remington Democrat
Bad Ax, Crawford William F. Terhune Democrat
Brown, Door, Kewaunee Francis X. Desnoyers Democrat
Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Jackson, La Crosse William J. Gibson Democrat
Calumet Alexander H. Hart Democrat
Columbia 1 Alfred Topliff Whig
2 Asa C. Ketchum Democrat
Dane 1 Charles R. Head Whig
2 Samuel H. Baker Democrat
3 Peter W. Matts Whig
4 Harry Barnes Democrat
5 Harlow S. Orton Whig
Dodge 1 Benjamin F. Barney Democrat
2 George Fox Democrat
3 Francis McCormick Democrat
4 Ruel Parker Democrat
5 John W. Davis Democrat
6 Allen Hiram Atwater Whig
Fond du Lac 1 Nicholas M. Donaldson Whig
2 Edward Boener Democrat
3 Isaac S. Tallmadge Democrat
4 Major J. Thomas Democrat
Grant 1 Lewis Rood Whig
2 William Hull Democrat
3 Edward Estabrook Whig
4 William Jeffrey Democrat
5 Milas K. Young Whig
Green Abner Mitchell Whig
Iowa 1 Lemuel W. Joiner Whig
2 John Toay Whig
Jefferson 1 Charles J. Bell Whig
2 David L. Morrison Democrat
3 Darius Reed Whig
4 William Eustis Whig
5 Theodore Bernhardt Democrat
Kenosha 1 Samuel Hale, Jr. Free Soil
2 Jesse Hooker Whig
Lafayette 1 James H. Knowlton Democrat
2 James Earnest Democrat
3 Peter Parkinson, Jr. Democrat
La Pointe, Pierce, Polk, St. Croix William M. Torbert Democrat
Manitowoc James L. Kyle Whig
Marathon, Portage Walter D. McIndoe Whig
Marquette, Waushara 1 Archibald Nichols Whig
2 Samuel McCracken Democrat
Milwaukee 1 John Crawford Democrat
2 Jackson Hadley Democrat
3 Peter Lavis Democrat
4 Henry Beecroft Democrat
5 Timothy Hagerty Democrat
6 Edward O'Neill Democrat
7 John Tobin Democrat
8 William Reinhardt Democrat
9 William E. Webster Democrat
Oconto, Outagamie, Waupaca David Scott Democrat
Ozaukee 1 Frederick W. Horn Democrat
2 Miles M. Whedon Whig
Racine 1 Charles S. Wright Democrat
2 John Smith Democrat
3 Thomas West Democrat
4 Nelson R. Norton Democrat
Richland Nathaniel Wheeler Democrat
Rock 1 John L. V. Thomas Democrat
2 David Noggle Democrat
3 Samuel G. Colley Free Soil
4 Joseph Spaulding Free Soil
Sheboygan 1 Adolph Rosenthal Democrat
2 John Mathes Democrat
Walworth 1 Anderson Whiting Whig
2 Perry G. Harrington Democrat
3 Oscar F. Bartlett Free Soil
4 Simeon W. Spafard Democrat
5 William P. Allen Whig
6 Phipps W. Lake Whig
Washington 1 Adam Schantz Democrat
2 Phillip Zimmerman Democrat
Waukesha 1 Denison Worthington Whig
2 Chauncey H. Purple Whig
3 Edward Lees Democrat
4 Jesse Smith Whig
Winnebago 1 Corydon L. Rich Democrat
2 George Gary Whig

Employees

Senate

  • Chief Clerk: Samuel G. Bugh
  • Sergeant-at-Arms: J. M. Sherwood

Assembly

References

  1. "Annals of the legislature". The Blue Book of the state of Wisconsin 1881 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 187–188.
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