Lucien B. Caswell

Lucien Bonaparte Caswell was born in Swanton, Vermont on November 27, 1827. When he was nine, he moved with his family to the frontier Wisconsin Territory and settled along the Rock River, just south of Lake Koshkonong. Caswell attended Milton Academy and took a course at Beloit College in Beloit. He began to study law in Beloit with the practice of future United States Senator Matthew H. Carpenter. Caswell was admitted to the bar in October 1851. He moved to Fort Atkinson later that year, where he opened a law practice.[1]

In 1854, Caswell was appointed the district attorney of Jefferson County. Caswell was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1863, 1872, and 1874. He founded the First National Bank of Fort Atkinson in 1863 and served as cashier for twenty-five years.[2] He was with Governor Louis P. Harvey on his fatal trip to visit Wisconsin troops in Tennessee. Caswell was selected as a delegate to the 1868 Republican National Convention and supported Ulysses S. Grant.[1]

Caswell served seven terms in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican. He was first elected in the 44th Congress representing Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district and was subsequently elected to the 45th, 46th and 47th Congresses serving from March 4, 1875 to March 3, 1883. In 1885, he founded the Citizens' State Bank of Fort Atkinson. He was once again elected to the 49th and subsequent congresses through to the 51st Congress however this time representing Wisconsin's 1st congressional district from March 4, 1885 to March 3, 1891. As a representative, he was active in establishing the Federal appeals court system and overseeing the construction of the Library of Congress.

• Lucien B. Caswell's Reminiscences An archival collection documenting the life of Lucien B. Caswell, digitized by the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center.

United States Congress. "CASWELL, Lucien Bonaparte (id: C000245)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.