Edwin Ellis Woodman (June 1, 1838August 29, 1912) was an American engineer and Republican politician. 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 ...

, representing

Juneau Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the capital of Alaska in 1906, when the government of wha ...

and Sauk counties in the

1880 Events January *January 27 – Thomas Edison is granted a patent for the incandescent light bulb. Edison filed for a US patent for an electric lamp using "a carbon filament or strip coiled and connected ... to platina contact wires." gr ...

and

1881 Events January * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The Chilean army ...

sessions.

Biography

Edwin Woodman was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, on June 1, 1838. He was raised and educated in St. Louis until the death of his father in 1853. He and his mother then moved to

Monroe, Wisconsin Monroe is a city in Green County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 10,661 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered by the town of Monroe to the north and the town of Clarno to the south. It is nicknamed the "C ...

, where he completed his education and began his interest in engineering, studying under Joseph Thompson Dodge. He briefly attended the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

to improve his understanding of higher mathematics, but could not afford to continue his studies. He took up teaching in order to finance his further education, but his work was interrupted by the outbreak of 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 helped raised a company of volunteers for service in the Union Army and was elected their captain. His company was enrolled as Company B in the 13th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. He served a full three year enlistment, but for much of the time he was detailed as an engineering aide on the staff of Brigadier General Robert S. Granger and later Major General

Lovell Rousseau Lovell Harrison Rousseau (August 4, 1818 – January 7, 1869) was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, as well as a lawyer and politician in Kentucky and Indiana. Rousseau was a member of the Whig Party early in his politi ...

. After leaving federal service, he returned to Monroe, where he was employed as principal of the high school. He was soon hired as an engineer on railroad projects, but the work mostly dried up in the

Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "L ...

. At that time, he went to work as an editor for a weekly newspaper—the Baraboo ''Republic''. He was publisher of the paper for six years, during which time he was granted an honorary engineering degree from the University of Wisconsin. In 1879, he was elected to the

, running on the Republican Party ticket. He represented the 14th State Senate district, which then comprised

and Sauk counties. At the end of his two year term, he returned to the railroad industry, working on the Chicago & North Western Railway Company. In 1884, he was elected secretary of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway. He worked in that role until he was compelled to retire in 1907 due to poor health. His health never fully recovered and he died at his summer home in

Shell Lake, Wisconsin Shell Lake is a city in Washburn County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,371 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Washburn County. History A post office called Shell Lake has been in operation since 1880. The city took i ...

, in August 1912. Near the end of his life, he published a narrative called ''Damien and Dutton'' which focused on the story of

Joseph Dutton Joseph Dutton (April 27, 1843 – March 26, 1931) was an American Civil War veteran and Union Army lieutenant,who converted to Catholicism and later worked as a missionary with Father Damien. He was a member of the Third Order of Saint Francis. ...

, who had served with Woodman in the 13th Wisconsin Infantry and spent the rest of his life working as a Catholic missionary with

Father Damien Damien De Veuster , popularly known as Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai ( or '; born Jozef De Veuster; 3 January 1840 – 15 April 1889), was a Catholic Church in Belgium, Belgian Catholic priest in the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts ...

in Hawaii, ministering to the leper colony on

Molokai Molokai or Molokai ( or ; Molokaʻi dialect: Morotaʻi ) is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its g ...

Electoral history

Wisconsin Senate (1879)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 4, 1879

Published works

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodman, Edwin Politicians from St. Louis Politicians from Janesville, Wisconsin People from Monroe, Wisconsin Politicians from Baraboo, Wisconsin Politicians from Sauk County, Wisconsin Republican Party Wisconsin state senators People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War Union army officers 1838 births 1912 deaths People from Shell Lake, Wisconsin 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature