Joseph H. Woodnorth

Woodnorth was born on December 17, 1845 in New York City.[2] He moved to Waupaca, Wisconsin in 1857.

In 1863, at age 18, Woodnorth enlisted in the Union Army, joining the 21st Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment as a private. Woodnorth served with the regiment through the Atlanta Campaign. He was commissioned a First Lieutenant in September, 1864, and assigned Chief Clerk for the Brigade Inspector General. He was then attached to the staff of Major General George Henry Thomas. He was brevetted to captain by Thomas for his actions during the Battle of Franklin.

After the war, he returned to Waupaca and worked on his father's farm. In 1867 he was elected City Marshal and served for three years. In 1871, he was hired by Henry Mumbrue to manage the Gill's Landing Warehouse on the Wolf River. A year later, he opened a drug store with Mumbrue as a partner, and in 1877 assumed full ownership of the store.

Over the next decade, Woodnorth held a number of public service roles, including City Superintendent of Schools (1878-1886), member of the Waupaca County board (1882-1883), and register of deeds (1880-1885). In 1888 he was appointed Register of the U.S. Land Office at Menasha by President Grover Cleveland.

Woodnorth assisted in the founding of the Wisconsin Veterans Home in King, Wisconsin and served on its board of trustees until his death. He also served as president of the Waupaca Starch and Potato Company, director of the National Bank of Waupaca, and vice president of the State Park Association of Milwaukee.

In 1890 he was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate as a Democrat. He died in office in 1894.[3] Shortly before his death, President Cleveland appointed him U.S. Pension Agent for the Milwaukee district.

Woodnorth married Irene E. Vaughan on December 26, 1871, they had one child.