Asahel Farr

Asahel Farr (October 10, 1820  June 13, 1887) was an American surgeon and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and the Wisconsin State Senate, and was Mayor of Kenosha, Wisconsin, for seven years between 1859 and 1879.

Asahel Farr
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 8th district
In office
January 1, 1876  January 1, 1878
Preceded byThompson Weeks
Succeeded byBenoni Reynolds
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the Kenosha district
In office
January 1, 1873  January 1, 1874
Preceded byFrederick Robinson
Succeeded byRobert S. Houston
6th, 10th, 17th, and 21st Mayor of Kenosha, Wisconsin
In office
April 1877  April 1879
Preceded byJoseph V. Quarles
Succeeded byFrederick Robinson
In office
April 1871  April 1874
Preceded byMilton Pettit
Succeeded byIsaac W. Webster
In office
April 1864  April 1865
Preceded byFrederick Robinson
Succeeded byMilton Pettit
In office
April 1859  April 1860
Preceded byGeorge Howard Paul
Succeeded byIsaac W. Webster
President of the Kenosha School Board
In office
April 1871  April 1874
Preceded byE. P. Lewis
Succeeded byVolney French
Personal details
Born
Asahel Farr

(1820-10-10)October 10, 1820
Waterford, Vermont
DiedJune 13, 1887(1887-06-13) (aged 66)
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Political party
Spouse(s)
  • Martha Jackson Wheeler
  • (m. c.1847; died 1878)
  • Emma Marr Durfee
Children
  • Dr. Albert L. Farr
  • (b. 1849; died 1920)
  • Dr. William Mattocks Farr
  • (b. 1853; died 1922)
  • Martha Wheeler (Nutting)
  • (b. 1862)
MotherSybil Farr
FatherAlpheus Farr
Alma materDartmouth College
Professionsurgeon

Biography

Farr was born on October 10, 1820, in Waterford, Vermont.[1] He attended the common schools and then taught school to raise money to enter Dartmouth College. He graduated from the medical department of Dartmouth College in 1846 and commenced practice as a doctor and surgeon in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. He moved to Peacham, Vermont, in 1847, where he married Martha Jackson Wheeler and where his father died in 1852. He then moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 1854, with his wife and son.[1][2]

In addition to his work in medicine, he served on the Kenosha school board and was president of the school board from 1871 to 1874. He was elected to his first one-year term as Mayor in 1859, then again in 1864, 1871, 1872, 1873, 1877, and 1878. Farr was a member of the Assembly in 1873 and represented the 8th district of the Senate (at the time Kenosha and Walworth counties) from 1876 to 1877.[1] Politically, he was a Democrat until the outbreak of the American Civil War. At that time, he became a Republican and remained with that party for the rest of his life.[2]

Personal life and family

Farr married Martha Jackson Wheeler of Vermont and together they had three children. Albert and William both became doctors like their father, and Martha married Colonel James R. Nutting. His wife died in 1878 and he remarried to Emma Marr Durfee of Waukegan, Illinois.[2]

Farr's parents, Alpheus and Sybil Farr, appear to be cousins, both descended from George Farr, a shipbuilder who came to the colonies from England.[2]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1872)

Wisconsin Assembly, Kenosha District Election, 1872[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 5, 1872
Republican Asahel Farr 1,390 52.67%
Democratic Frederick Robinson (incumbent) 1,249 47.33%
Total votes '2,639' '100.0%'
Republican gain from Democratic

Wisconsin Senate (1875)

Wisconsin Senate, 8th District Election, 1875[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 2, 1875
Republican Asahel Farr 4,152 65.70%
Reform U. S. Hollister 2,168 34.30%
Total votes '6,320' '100.0%'
Republican hold

References

  1. Bashford, R. M., ed. (1877). "Official directory". The legislative manual of the state of Wisconsin (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 448–449. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  2. Aikens, Andrew J.; Proctor, Lewis A. (1897). Men of progress, Wisconsin. Milwaukee: The Evening Wisconsin Company. p. 307. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  3. Turner, A. J., ed. (1873). "Official directory". The legislative manual of the state of Wisconsin (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. p. 446. Retrieved December 26, 2019.

See also

Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by
Frederick Robinson
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Kenosha district
January 1, 1873  January 1, 1874
Succeeded by
Robert S. Houston
Wisconsin State Senate
Preceded by
Thompson Weeks
Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 8th district
January 1, 1876  January 1, 1878
Succeeded by
Benoni Reynolds
Political offices
Preceded by
George Howard Paul
Mayor of Kenosha, Wisconsin
1859  1860
Succeeded by
Isaac W. Webster
Preceded by
Frederick Robinson
Mayor of Kenosha, Wisconsin
1864  1865
Succeeded by
Milton Pettit
Preceded by
Milton Pettit
Mayor of Kenosha, Wisconsin
1871  1874
Succeeded by
Isaac W. Webster
Preceded by
Joseph V. Quarles
Mayor of Kenosha, Wisconsin
1877  1879
Succeeded by
Frederick Robinson
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