Winfield Smith: Difference between revisions
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| successor1 = [[Henry L. Palmer]] |
| successor1 = [[Henry L. Palmer]] |
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|birth_date = {{Birth date|1827|8|16}} |
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1827|8|16}} |
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|birth_place = [[Fort Howard, Wisconsin]] |
|birth_place = [[Fort Howard, Wisconsin|Fort Howard]], {{nowrap|[[Michigan Territory]]}} |
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|death_date = {{Death date and age|1899|11|8|1827|8|16}} |
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1899|11|8|1827|8|16}} |
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|death_place = [[London]], [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|UK]] |
|death_place = [[London]], [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|UK]] |
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|death_cause = [[Angina|Angina pectoris]] |
|death_cause = [[Angina|Angina pectoris]] |
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|restingplace = |
|restingplace = [[Mayflower Cemetery]], {{nowrap|[[Duxbury, Massachusetts]]}} |
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|party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] |
|party = {{unbulleted list |
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| [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] |
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| [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] (before 1854) |
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|spouse = |
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}} |
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|spouse = Sarah Melinda Fellows (died 1913) |
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|children = {{unbulleted list |
|children = {{unbulleted list |
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| |
| Anna Elvina (Emerson) |
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| {{sup|(b. 1866; died 1903)}} |
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⚫ | |||
| {{sup|(b. 1866; died 1943)}} |
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⚫ | |||
| {{sup|(died 1894)}} |
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| Grace Smith |
| Grace Smith |
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| Harry Smith |
| Harry Smith |
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⚫ | |||
| Mrs. (Adsit) |
| Mrs. (Adsit) |
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⚫ | |||
| ''1 other daughter'' |
| ''1 other daughter'' |
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}} |
}} |
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|website = |
|website = |
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}} |
}} |
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'''Winfield Smith''' (August 16, 1827{{spaced ndash}}November 8, 1899) was an American lawyer, [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] politician, and [[Wisconsin]] pioneer. He was the 8th [[Attorney General of Wisconsin]] and served one term in the [[Wisconsin State Assembly]]. |
'''Winfield Scott Smith''' (August 16, 1827{{spaced ndash}}November 8, 1899) was an American lawyer, [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] politician, and [[Wisconsin]] pioneer. He was the 8th [[Attorney General of Wisconsin]] and served one term in the [[Wisconsin State Assembly]], representing part of the city of [[Milwaukee]] during the [[25th Wisconsin Legislature|1872 session]]. |
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==Early life and career== |
==Early life and career== |
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His father was Captain Henry Smith of the [[United States Army]] [[6th Infantry Regiment (United States)|6th Infantry Regiment]]. Captain Smith was born in [[New York (state)|New York]], and came west with the army. In 1833, when Winfield Smith was six, the family relocated to [[Monroe, Michigan]]. His father fought in the [[Black Hawk War]] in Illinois in the 1830s, but afterward went to work on harbor improvements on [[Lake Erie]] and served two terms in the [[Michigan Legislature]].<ref name="bench"/> |
His father was Captain Henry Smith of the [[United States Army]] [[6th Infantry Regiment (United States)|6th Infantry Regiment]]. Captain Smith was born in [[New York (state)|New York]], and came west with the army. In 1833, when Winfield Smith was six, the family relocated to [[Monroe, Michigan]]. His father fought in the [[Black Hawk War]] in Illinois in the 1830s, but afterward went to work on harbor improvements on [[Lake Erie]] and served two terms in the [[Michigan Legislature]].<ref name="bench"/> |
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As a newly established state, there were few schools or formal education opportunities for Winfield. Thus he was mostly educated by his parents until age 17, when he was able to attend the [[University of Michigan]], where he graduated in 1846. He returned to Monroe and ran a school for a year, before becoming a private tutor. He was intent on becoming educated in the law, and, in 1848, began study in the offices of [[Isaac P. Christiancy]], who would later serve as a justice of the [[Michigan Supreme Court]] and a [[United States |
As a newly established state, there were few schools or formal education opportunities for Winfield. Thus he was mostly educated by his parents until age 17, when he was able to attend the [[University of Michigan]], where he graduated in 1846. He returned to Monroe and ran a school for a year, before becoming a private tutor. He was intent on becoming educated in the law, and, in 1848, began study in the offices of [[Isaac P. Christiancy]], who would later serve as a justice of the [[Michigan Supreme Court]] and a [[United States senator]].<ref name="bench"/> |
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In 1847, at the outbreak of the [[Mexican–American War]], his father returned to the Army as a quartermaster. He died of [[Yellow fever]] while on campaign in [[Mexico]], July 24, 1847.<ref name="bench"/> |
In 1847, at the outbreak of the [[Mexican–American War]], his father returned to the Army as a quartermaster. He died of [[Yellow fever]] while on campaign in [[Mexico]], July 24, 1847.<ref name="bench"/> |
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The [[American Civil War]] also loomed over his term as Attorney General, as he had to defend the constitutionality of the [[Conscription|draft]], and the Governor's powers to enforce it. There had been [[Opposition to the American Civil War|draft riots]] in Milwaukee and Ozaukee counties, and Smith successfully argued to the [[Wisconsin Supreme Court]] in favor of Governor Salomon's acts to imprison these dissenters at a military camp in [[Madison, Wisconsin]].<ref name="bench"/> |
The [[American Civil War]] also loomed over his term as Attorney General, as he had to defend the constitutionality of the [[Conscription|draft]], and the Governor's powers to enforce it. There had been [[Opposition to the American Civil War|draft riots]] in Milwaukee and Ozaukee counties, and Smith successfully argued to the [[Wisconsin Supreme Court]] in favor of Governor Salomon's acts to imprison these dissenters at a military camp in [[Madison, Wisconsin]].<ref name="bench"/> |
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He returned to private practice after 1866, and, in 1869, formed a partnership with Joshua Stark, known as Smith & Stark. In 1871, he was elected to the [[Wisconsin State Assembly]] from [[Milwaukee County, Wisconsin|Milwaukee County]]'s 7th district on the Republican ticket,<ref>{{cite report|chapter-url= http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk2007| title= State of Wisconsin 2007-2008 Blue Book |editor-first=Lawrence S. |editor-last= Barish|year= 2007|location= [[Madison, Wisconsin]] |publisher = State of Wisconsin |chapter = Feature article: Those who served: Wisconsin legislators, 1848-2007 |page=177}}</ref> though he did not actively pursue the office. In the 1872 session, he was chairman of the committee on the judiciary.<ref name=" |
He returned to private practice after 1866, and, in 1869, formed a partnership with Joshua Stark, known as Smith & Stark. In 1871, he was elected to the [[Wisconsin State Assembly]] from [[Milwaukee County, Wisconsin|Milwaukee County]]'s 7th district on the Republican ticket,<ref>{{cite report|chapter-url= http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk2007| title= State of Wisconsin 2007-2008 Blue Book |editor-first=Lawrence S. |editor-last= Barish|year= 2007|location= [[Madison, Wisconsin]] |publisher = State of Wisconsin |chapter = Feature article: Those who served: Wisconsin legislators, 1848-2007 |page=177}}</ref> though he did not actively pursue the office. In the 1872 session, he was chairman of the committee on the judiciary.<ref name="1872bio">{{cite report|url= https://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/3PZNSAQ7F7WRA85 |title= The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin |year= 1872 |editor-last= Turner|editor-first= A. J. |publisher= State of Wisconsin |chapter= Official Directory |page= [https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/A3PZNSAQ7F7WRA85/full/AGMGVUVHJR67VE8X 452] |accessdate= August 19, 2022 }}</ref> His chief legislative accomplishment was the passage of a law which enabled the state school trust fund to loan money to the city of Milwaukee for the construction of water works, thus putting money to use that was otherwise sitting idle in state accounts, and enabling an important public improvement in the city. He was also a supporter of an increased appropriation to the [[University of Wisconsin]], and an act which enabled soldiers serving outside the state to cast votes in state elections.<ref name="bench"/> |
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==Later years== |
==Later years== |
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==Family== |
==Family== |
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Smith was married and had six children. He was survived by his wife |
Smith was married and had at least six children. He was survived by his wife and five of his children.<ref name="obit"/> |
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* His daughter Anna married Dr. Nathaniel W. Emerson of Boston |
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* Grace Smith also lived in Boston |
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* another daughter moved to London |
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* Harry Smith lived in Edgewater, Chicago |
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* Winfield Robert Smith moved to Seattle |
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His daughter Evelyn died before him, in 1894.<ref>{{Cite news|url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107905140/evelyn-foster-stafford-obit/ |title= Evelyn Foster Stafford Dead |newspaper= Emmons County Record |date= September 14, 1894 |page= 2 |accessdate= August 19, 2022 }}</ref> She was a stage performer who married the actor William Stafford, and used the stage name Evelyn Foster Stafford.<ref name="obit"/> They had a Shakespearean theater company known as the Stafford-Foster Company.<ref>{{Cite news|url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107904628/william-stafford-obit/ |title= Week's Death Record |newspaper= The Weekly Wisconsin |date= January 16, 1897 |page= 5 |accessdate= August 19, 2022 |via= [[Newspapers.com]] }}</ref> |
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==Electoral history== |
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===Wisconsin Attorney General (1863)=== |
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{{Election box begin | title=Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1863<ref name="1863elex">{{cite news|url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107910711/1863-general-election/ |title= Tabular Statement of Votes Polled |newspaper= [[Wisconsin State Journal]] |date= December 23, 1863 |page= 2 |accessdate= August 19, 2022 |via= [[Newspapers.com]] }}</ref>}} |
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| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| '''General Election, November 3, 1863''' |
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{{Election box winning candidate with party link| |
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|party = Republican Party (United States) |
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|candidate = Winfield Smith (incumbent) |
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|votes = 72,794 |
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|percentage = 59.70% |
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|change = +3.83% |
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}} |
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{{Election box candidate with party link| |
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|party = Democratic Party (United States) |
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|candidate = [[Eleazer Wakeley]] |
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|votes = 49,117 |
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|percentage = 40.28% |
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|change = -3.76% |
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}} |
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{{Election box candidate with party link| |
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|party = |
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|candidate = ''Scattering'' |
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|votes = 31 |
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|percentage = 0.03% |
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|change = |
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}} |
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{{Election box plurality |
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|votes = 23,677 |
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|percentage = 19.42% |
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|change = +7.59% |
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}} |
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{{Election box total |
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|votes = 121,942 |
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|percentage = 100.0% |
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|change = +23.04% |
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}} |
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{{Election box hold with party link no swing | |
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|winner = Republican Party (United States) |
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}} |
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{{Election box end}} |
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===Wisconsin Assembly (1871)=== |
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{{Election box begin | title=Wisconsin Assembly, Milwaukee 7th District Election, 1871<ref name="1872bio"/>}} |
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| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| '''General Election, November 7, 1871''' |
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{{Election box winning candidate with party link| |
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|party = Republican Party (United States) |
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|candidate = Winfield Smith |
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|votes = 485 |
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|percentage = 53.71% |
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|change = +14.92% |
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}} |
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{{Election box candidate with party link| |
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|party = Democratic Party (United States) |
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|candidate = Anthony Dahlmann |
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|votes = 418 |
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|percentage = 46.29% |
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|change = |
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}} |
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{{Election box plurality |
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|votes = 67 |
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|percentage = 7.42% |
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|change = -14.99% |
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}} |
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{{Election box total |
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|votes = 903 |
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|percentage = 100.0% |
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|change = -13.51% |
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}} |
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{{Election box gain with party link no swing | |
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|winner = Republican Party (United States) |
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|loser = Democratic Party (United States) |
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}} |
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{{Election box end}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{s-par|us-wi-hs}} |
{{s-par|us-wi-hs}} |
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{{s-bef|before = [[Matthew Keenan]]}} |
{{s-bef|before = [[Matthew Keenan]]}} |
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{{s-ttl|title = Member of the [[Wisconsin State Assembly]] {{ |
{{s-ttl|title = Member of the [[Wisconsin State Assembly]] {{nowrap|from the [[Milwaukee County, Wisconsin|Milwaukee]] 7th district}}|years=January 1, 1872{{spaced ndash}}January 1, 1873 }} |
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{{s-aft|after = [[Henry L. Palmer]]}} |
{{s-aft|after = [[Henry L. Palmer]]}} |
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{{s-legal}} |
{{s-legal}} |
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[[Category:Politicians from Milwaukee]] |
[[Category:Politicians from Milwaukee]] |
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[[Category:Wisconsin Attorneys General]] |
[[Category:Wisconsin Attorneys General]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly]] |
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⚫ | |||
[[Category:University of Michigan alumni]] |
[[Category:University of Michigan alumni]] |
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[[Category:1827 births]] |
[[Category:1827 births]] |
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[[Category:1899 deaths]] |
[[Category:1899 deaths]] |
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[[Category:19th-century American |
[[Category:19th-century American legislators]] |
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⚫ |
Latest revision as of 02:49, 20 February 2024
Winfield Smith | |
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8th Attorney General of Wisconsin | |
In office October 7, 1862 – January 1, 1866 | |
Appointed by | Edward Salomon |
Governor | Edward Salomon James T. Lewis |
Preceded by | James Henry Howe |
Succeeded by | Charles R. Gill |
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Milwaukee 7th district | |
In office January 1, 1872 – January 1, 1873 | |
Preceded by | Matthew Keenan |
Succeeded by | Henry L. Palmer |
Personal details | |
Born | Fort Howard, Michigan Territory | August 16, 1827
Died | November 8, 1899 London, UK | (aged 72)
Cause of death | Angina pectoris |
Resting place | Mayflower Cemetery, Duxbury, Massachusetts |
Political party |
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Spouse | Sarah Melinda Fellows (died 1913) |
Children |
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Parents |
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Alma mater | University of Michigan |
Winfield Scott Smith (August 16, 1827 – November 8, 1899) was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was the 8th Attorney General of Wisconsin and served one term in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing part of the city of Milwaukee during the 1872 session.
Early life and career[edit]
Smith was born on August 16, 1827, at Fort Howard, near Green Bay, where his father was stationed. The area was then part of the Michigan Territory. He was named in honor of U.S. Army General Winfield Scott, who his father had served under.[1]
His father was Captain Henry Smith of the United States Army 6th Infantry Regiment. Captain Smith was born in New York, and came west with the army. In 1833, when Winfield Smith was six, the family relocated to Monroe, Michigan. His father fought in the Black Hawk War in Illinois in the 1830s, but afterward went to work on harbor improvements on Lake Erie and served two terms in the Michigan Legislature.[1]
As a newly established state, there were few schools or formal education opportunities for Winfield. Thus he was mostly educated by his parents until age 17, when he was able to attend the University of Michigan, where he graduated in 1846. He returned to Monroe and ran a school for a year, before becoming a private tutor. He was intent on becoming educated in the law, and, in 1848, began study in the offices of Isaac P. Christiancy, who would later serve as a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court and a United States senator.[1]
In 1847, at the outbreak of the Mexican–American War, his father returned to the Army as a quartermaster. He died of Yellow fever while on campaign in Mexico, July 24, 1847.[1]
In 1849, Winfield moved west to Milwaukee, and was employed in the office of Emmons & Van Dyke, where he continued to study law. In February 1850, he was admitted to the State Bar of Wisconsin in the presence of Judge Edward V. Whiton. He maintained a private law office for the next five years, before forming a partnership with Edward Salomon, who would later become Governor of Wisconsin. He remained associated with Salomon for fifteen years, before and after their time in public office, until Salomon's departure to New York.[1]
Shortly after his admission to the bar, he was appointed by United States District Judge Andrew G. Miller as a court commissioner and master of chancery in Milwaukee. In 1859, he was offered the Republican Party nomination for Wisconsin State Senate, but declined.[1]
Public office[edit]
In 1862, when James Henry Howe resigned his office to volunteer with the Union Army, Smith's former law partner, Governor Edward Salomon, appointed him to fill the vacancy as Attorney General of Wisconsin. Smith was elected to remain in office for a full term in 1863, and left office in January 1866.[1]
As Attorney General, Smith settled the decade old case of the Milwaukee and Rock River Canal Company's claims against the state, which arose from an abandoned canal plan on lands granted from the United States to the Wisconsin Territory. It involved extensive research and litigation, and was culminated in a negotiated agreement at Washington, D.C.[1]
The American Civil War also loomed over his term as Attorney General, as he had to defend the constitutionality of the draft, and the Governor's powers to enforce it. There had been draft riots in Milwaukee and Ozaukee counties, and Smith successfully argued to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in favor of Governor Salomon's acts to imprison these dissenters at a military camp in Madison, Wisconsin.[1]
He returned to private practice after 1866, and, in 1869, formed a partnership with Joshua Stark, known as Smith & Stark. In 1871, he was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly from Milwaukee County's 7th district on the Republican ticket,[2] though he did not actively pursue the office. In the 1872 session, he was chairman of the committee on the judiciary.[3] His chief legislative accomplishment was the passage of a law which enabled the state school trust fund to loan money to the city of Milwaukee for the construction of water works, thus putting money to use that was otherwise sitting idle in state accounts, and enabling an important public improvement in the city. He was also a supporter of an increased appropriation to the University of Wisconsin, and an act which enabled soldiers serving outside the state to cast votes in state elections.[1]
Later years[edit]
After leaving the Assembly, Smith determined to remain in private practice and refused several opportunities for further public office. He declined the United States District Court judgeship in the Eastern District of Wisconsin in 1872, on the retirement of Judge Andrew G. Miller, and again in 1875, on the resignation of Judge James Henry Howe. In 1876, he was offered appointment as United States Attorney in Wisconsin, to succeed Judge Levi Hubbell, but declined. He was urged to seek election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court on the death of Chief Justice Edward George Ryan, in 1880, but again declined.[1]
In business, Smith was a successful investor. He had a large stake in the Cream City Street Railroad and was president of the company for a number of years. In 1890, the company sold its assets and Smith returned a large profit, which he further invested into the Menominee Falls Quarry and the Milwaukee & Superior Railway Company, of which he also became president.
In his later years, he made several trips to Europe with his family. On one such trip to London with his daughter, he was struck by angina pectoris and died.[4]
Family[edit]
Smith was married and had at least six children. He was survived by his wife and five of his children.[4]
- His daughter Anna married Dr. Nathaniel W. Emerson of Boston
- Grace Smith also lived in Boston
- another daughter moved to London
- Harry Smith lived in Edgewater, Chicago
- Winfield Robert Smith moved to Seattle
His daughter Evelyn died before him, in 1894.[5] She was a stage performer who married the actor William Stafford, and used the stage name Evelyn Foster Stafford.[4] They had a Shakespearean theater company known as the Stafford-Foster Company.[6]
Electoral history[edit]
Wisconsin Attorney General (1863)[edit]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
General Election, November 3, 1863 | |||||
Republican | Winfield Smith (incumbent) | 72,794 | 59.70% | +3.83% | |
Democratic | Eleazer Wakeley | 49,117 | 40.28% | -3.76% | |
Scattering | 31 | 0.03% | |||
Plurality | 23,677 | 19.42% | +7.59% | ||
Total votes | 121,942 | 100.0% | +23.04% | ||
Republican hold |
Wisconsin Assembly (1871)[edit]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
General Election, November 7, 1871 | |||||
Republican | Winfield Smith | 485 | 53.71% | +14.92% | |
Democratic | Anthony Dahlmann | 418 | 46.29% | ||
Plurality | 67 | 7.42% | -14.99% | ||
Total votes | 903 | 100.0% | -13.51% | ||
Republican gain from Democratic |
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Berryman, John R., ed. (1898). History of the Bench and Bar of Wisconsin. Vol. 1. Chicago: H. C. Cooper, Jr. pp. 550-566.
- ^ Barish, Lawrence S., ed. (2007). "Feature article: Those who served: Wisconsin legislators, 1848-2007". State of Wisconsin 2007-2008 Blue Book (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. p. 177.
- ^ a b Turner, A. J., ed. (1872). "Official Directory". The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 452. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Died in London". The Weekly Wisconsin. November 11, 1899. p. 4. Retrieved April 29, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Evelyn Foster Stafford Dead". Emmons County Record. September 14, 1894. p. 2. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
- ^ "Week's Death Record". The Weekly Wisconsin. January 16, 1897. p. 5. Retrieved August 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Tabular Statement of Votes Polled". Wisconsin State Journal. December 23, 1863. p. 2. Retrieved August 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.