De Wayne Stebbins (April 5, 1835June 12, 1901) was an American newspaper publisher, banker, politician, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

pioneer. He was a member of the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those o ...

for the last seven years of his life, representing the northeast corner of the state. He also served one term in the

State Assembly State Assembly is the name given to various legislatures, especially lower houses or full legislatures in states in federal systems of government. Channel Islands States Assembly is the name of the legislature of the Bailiwick of Jersey. The Baili ...

. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, he served as a Union Navy officer.

Biography

De Wayne Stebbins was born in

Clinton, Oneida County, New York Clinton (or ''Ka-dah-wis-dag'', "white field" in Seneca language) is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 1,942 at the 2010 census, declining to 1,683 in the 2020 ...

, in 1835, and came to the

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized and incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belm ...

with his parents in the fall of that same year, settling in what is now

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River (Wisconsin), Root River, south of Milwaukee and north of Chicago. It is the List ...

. He was educated there in the common schools and resided there until 1852, when he went east to attend the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

. He left the school in 1855 without graduating and returned to Wisconsin to accept a job with the

American Fur Company The American Fur Company (AFC) was a prominent American company that sold furs, skins, and buffalo robes. It was founded in 1808 by John Jacob Astor, a German Americans, German immigrant to the United States. During its heyday in the early 19th c ...

. In 1856, he moved to the town of Ahnapee in

Kewaunee County Kewaunee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,563. Its county seat is Kewaunee. The county was created in 1852 and organized in 1859. Its Menominee name is ''Kewāneh'', an ar ...

, in the region that later became the city of Algoma. In the late 1850s, he decided to go west to participate in the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

, but returned in March 1861 with little to show for it.

Civil War service

After the outbreak of the

, he applied for service with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. After a few months, he became impatient waiting for a naval appointment, and volunteered for service in the Union Army. He was enrolled as a corporal in Company K of the

21st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment The 21st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. They were assigned for their entire war service to XIV Corps, operating in the western theater of the war. S ...

, but before the regiment could be fully organized, he received his naval appointment as an acting

master's mate Master's mate is an obsolete rating which was used by the British Royal Navy, Royal Navy, United States Navy and merchant services in both countries for a senior petty officer who assisted the sailing master, master. Master's mates evolved into th ...

. He was initially assigned to the USS ''Clara Dolsen'', but after two months transferred to the USS ''Cincinnati'' and was promoted to acting

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

. After two more months, he was transferred to the USS ''Mound City''. He served aboard the ''Mound City'' during the

Vicksburg campaign The Vicksburg campaigns were a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi ...

and participated in the battles of

Chickasaw Bayou Chickasaw Bayou is a stream in the U.S. state of Mississippi. It is a tributary to the Yazoo River. Chickasaw Bayou derives its name from the Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, United States. T ...

, Grand Gulf, and

Arkansas Post The Arkansas Post (; ), officially the Arkansas Post National Memorial, was the first European colonization of the Americas, European settlement located along the Mississippi River, in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, and in the present-day U. ...

, was part of the naval squadron at the

Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed th ...

, and then served in various posts on the

Union blockade The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederate States of America, Confederacy from trading. The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required ...

of the south. He was acting executive officer for the USS ''Kickapoo'' from July through December 1864. He was then promoted to acting

master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

and served two months aboard the USS ''Fearnot'', and then transferred to USS ''Portsmouth'' through the end of the war. At the close of the war, he was transferred to the USS ''Michigan'' in the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

and was honorably discharged in November 1865. One notable anecdote from the Vicksburg campaign had Stebbins as officer of the watch one night when they were approached by men in a small skiff. Stebbins initially ordered his men to fire on the skiff, believing them to be spies or saboteurs, but held off, realizing the skiff carried General

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

Business and political career

After being discharged from the Navy, Stebbins returned to Algoma. He worked in the forwarding and commission business for nearly 15 years in partnership with C. G. Boalt, under the firm name Boalt & Stebbins. During these years, he became active in local politics, he served 27 years on the Kewaunee County board of supervisors, and also served as town treasurer and member of the school board. He made his first attempt for state office in 1870, running as the Republican Party candidate for

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

in the

Door A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide securit ...

– Kewaunee district. He was defeated in the general election by Democrat Joseph McCormick, but returned for another attempt two years later and won election to the 26th Wisconsin Legislature. He did not run for re-election in 1873. After his term in the Assembly, he became publisher of the ''Ahnapee Record'' newspaper and continued to publish the paper until his death, by which time it was known as the ''Algoma Record''. In 1881, he joined the Bank of Ahnapee as

cashier A retail cashier or simply a cashier is a person who handles the cash register at various locations such as the point of sale in a retail store. The most common use of the title is in the retail industry, but this job title is also used in the c ...

, and would remain involved with the bank until his death. He returned to the Legislature in 1895, winning election to the

in the 1st State Senate district. At the time, his district comprised all of Door, Kewaunee, and Marinette counties. He was re-elected in 1898. Stebbins was well liked by his fellow legislators, and treated as an elder statesman. At the close of the 1901 session of the Legislature, his colleagues presented him with a gold-headed ebony cane. He was a candidate for

Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's Wisconsin Army National Guard, army and Wisconsin Air National Guard, air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the ...

at the Republican state convention in 1900, but stepped aside in favor of

Robert M. La Follette Robert Marion La Follette Sr. (June 14, 1855June 18, 1925), nicknamed "Fighting Bob," was an American lawyer and politician. He represented Wisconsin in both chambers of Congress and served as the 20th governor of Wisconsin from 1901 to 1906. ...

. While serving in the State Senate, he was a member of the Wisconsin battleship commission and traveled to

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, for the launch of the USS ''Wisconsin''. He was severely fatigued after his trip, and died a few months later at his home in Algoma.

Personal life and legacy

De Wayne Stebbins was one of at least seven children born to Amaziah Stebbins and his wife Amanda (' Anderson). Stebbins married the widow Frances Newell (' Elliott) at

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the western shore of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 66,816 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List o ...

, in 1862. They had no children. Hotelier Frank Slaby of Algoma in 1905 changed the name of his establishment to Hotel Stebbins, honoring his late friend. Hotel Stebbins is still operating today as a hotel and event space.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1870)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 8, 1870

Wisconsin Assembly (1872)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 5, 1872

Wisconsin Senate (1894, 1898)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 6, 1894 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 8, 1898

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stebbins, De Wayne 1835 births 1901 deaths People from Clinton, Oneida County, New York Politicians from Oneida County, New York People from Racine, Wisconsin People from Algoma, Wisconsin United States Naval Academy alumni People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War Union Navy officers Businesspeople from Wisconsin Editors of Wisconsin newspapers School board members in Wisconsin County supervisors in Wisconsin Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Republican Party Wisconsin state senators 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature