William Pitt Lynde

William Pitt Lynde (December 16, 1817  December 18, 1885) was an American lawyer and politician from Wisconsin who served in the United States House of Representatives and as Mayor of Milwaukee.[1][2]

William P. Lynde
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 4th district
In office
March 4, 1875  March 3, 1879
Preceded byAlexander Mitchell
Succeeded byPeter V. Deuster
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 1st district
In office
June 5, 1848  March 3, 1849
Preceded byDistrict Established
Succeeded byCharles Durkee
12th Mayor of Milwaukee
In office
April 1860  April 1861
Preceded byHerman L. Page
Succeeded byJames S. Brown
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 5th district
In office
January 1, 1869  January 1, 1871
Preceded byHenry L. Palmer
Succeeded byFrancis Huebschmann
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the Milwaukee 2nd district
In office
January 1, 1866  January 1, 1867
Preceded byDavid Knab
Succeeded byHarrison Carroll Hobart
United States Attorney for the Wisconsin Territory
In office
July 14, 1845  June 6, 1848
PresidentJames K. Polk
Preceded byThomas W. Sutherland
Succeeded byThomas W. Sutherland
4th Attorney General of the Wisconsin Territory
In office
1844  July 14, 1845
GovernorNathaniel P. Tallmadge
Preceded byMortimer M. Jackson
Succeeded byMortimer M. Jackson
Personal details
Born
William Pitt Lynde

December 16, 1817
Sherburne, New York
DiedDecember 18, 1885(1885-12-18) (aged 68)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Resting placeForest Home Cemetery
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Mary Blanchard Lynde
Alma materYale College, Harvard Law School
OccupationAttorney

Biography

Lynde was born in Sherburne, New York. He graduated from Yale College, in 1838, and Harvard Law School, in 1841, and was admitted to the bar in New York. He moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin Territory, shortly thereafter, accompanied by his new wife, Mary.[3]

In 1842 he founded the law firm, Finch & Lynde, with his partner Asahel Finch, Jr. Finch & Lynde survives today as Foley & Lardner, one of the oldest and largest law firms in the country.

Lynde became Attorney General of the Wisconsin Territory in 1844 and United States Attorney for Wisconsin in 1845.[4] He also served as president of the board of trustees of the Village of Milwaukee.

When Wisconsin was admitted as a state in 1848, Lynde was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives, one of Wisconsin's first two representatives. He joined part of the 30th United States Congress from June 5, 1848, till March 3, 1849, representing Wisconsin's 1st congressional district. He lost his reelection bid for the 31st Congress. He was also unsuccessful in the 1849 election for associate justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Gravesite in Forest Home Cemetery

Lynde served as Mayor of Milwaukee in 1860. His Wisconsin political career also led him to the state legislature; he served in the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1866 and the State Senate in 1869 and 1870. He returned to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1875, where he served two full terms this time representing Wisconsin's 4th congressional district as part of the 44th and 45th Congresses from March 4, 1875, till March 3, 1879.

Lynde died in 1885 in Milwaukee at age 68. He is interred in Milwaukee's Forest Home Cemetery.[5] His wife died in 1897 and was also interred there.

Electoral history

U.S. House (1848)

Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District Special Election, 1848[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Special Election, May 8, 1848
Democratic William Pitt Lynde 9,834 54.89%
Whig Edward V. Whiton 7,387 41.23%
Liberty Ichabod Cotting 696 3.88%
Plurality 2,447 13.66%
Total votes 17,917 100.0%
Democratic win (new seat)
Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District Election, 1848[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 7, 1848
Free Soil Charles Durkee 5,038 38.49%
Democratic William Pitt Lynde (incumbent) 4,436 33.89% -21.00%
Whig Asahel Finch, Jr. 3,615 27.62%
Plurality 602 4.60%
Total votes 13,089 100.0% -26.95%
Whig gain from Democratic

Milwaukee Mayor (1860)

Milwaukee Mayoral Election, 1860[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, April 3, 1860
Democratic William Pitt Lynde 4,532 55.90%
Democratic Otis H. Waldo 3,552 43.81%
Scattering 24 0.30%
Plurality 980 12.09%
Total votes 8,108 100.0%
Democratic hold

U.S. House (1874, 1876)

Wisconsin's 4th Congressional District Election, 1874[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 3, 1874
Democratic William Pitt Lynde 12,046 55.79% -9.31%
Republican Harrison Ludington 9,545 44.21%
Plurality 2,501 11.58%
Total votes 21,591 100.0% +5.83%
Democratic hold
Wisconsin's 4th Congressional District Election, 1876[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 7, 1876
Democratic William Pitt Lynde (incumbent) 17,653 59.63% +3.84%
Republican William E. Smith 11,952 40.37%
Plurality 5,701 19.26% +7.67%
Total votes 29,605 100.0% +37.12%
Democratic hold

References

  1. William Pitt Lynde, Wisconsin Historical Society
  2. 'Proceedings of State Bar Association of Wisconsin,' Wisconsin State Bar Association: 1901, Biographical Sketch of William Lynde Pitt, vol. 3, pg. 313
  3. Langill, Ellen D. (2003). "Speaking with an Equal Voice: The Reform Efforts of Milwaukee's Mary Blanchard Lynde". The Wisconsin Magazine of History. 87 (1): 18–29. JSTOR 4637060.
  4. Obituary Record of the Graduates of Yale College Deceased during the Academical Year ending on June 3, 1856, (PDF). 1856. p. 306.
  5. "Historical People". Forest Home Cemetery. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  6. Wisconsin U.S. House Elections, 1848-2008 (PDF). Humphrey School of Public Affairs (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 5, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2020 via Wayback Machine.
  7. "Official Vote in the City". The Daily Milwaukee News. April 8, 1860. Retrieved May 24, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
Wisconsin State Senate
Preceded by
Henry L. Palmer
Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 5th district
1869  1871
Succeeded by
Francis Huebschmann
U.S. House of Representatives
New district Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 1st congressional district

June 5, 1848 March 3, 1849
Succeeded by
Charles Durkee
Preceded by
Alexander Mitchell
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 4th congressional district

March 4, 1875 March 3, 1879
Succeeded by
Peter V. Deuster
Political offices
Preceded by
Herman L. Page
Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1860  1861
Succeeded by
James S. Brown
Legal offices
Preceded by
Mortimer M. Jackson
Attorney General of the Wisconsin Territory
1844  1845
Succeeded by
Mortimer M. Jackson
Preceded by
Thomas W. Sutherland
United States Attorney for the Wisconsin Territory
1845  1848
Succeeded by
Thomas W. Sutherland
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