A. Warren Phelps (August 11, 1829 – October 19, 1885) was an American businessman from

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

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 ...

, who served one term as a member of the

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 ...

from

, as well as serving on Milwaukee's Common Council and Board of School Directors.

Background

He was born August 11, 1829, in

Fort Covington, New York Fort Covington is a town in Franklin County, New York, United States. The population was 1,531 at the 2020 census. The name is derived from a War of 1812 fortification. The original name of the town was ''French Mills''. The town is on the co ...

, son of Daniel and Levica Phelps, both descendants of the Pilgrims; his mother was a cousin of

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the 14th and 19th United States Secretary of State, U.S. secretary o ...

and a descendant of Doctor and General

Joseph Warren Joseph Warren (June 11, 1741 – June 17, 1775), a Founding Father of the United States, was an American physician who was one of the most important figures in the Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot movement in Boston, Massachusetts, Bos ...

. The Phelps family moved in 1838 to Wisconsin, settling for about a year in Johnstown before removing to Milwaukee. Warren studied mostly under private tutors, and finished his schooling at Dr. Buck's private academy. After finishing school, he worked for his father, a tanner, and then for two years as a travelling salesman for a

patent medicine A patent medicine (sometimes called a proprietary medicine) is a non-prescription medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name, and claimed to be effective against minor disorders a ...

company. Disliking the sales business, he began to work as a bookkeeper for various local businesses, eventually becoming a partner in the

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

business of Benjamin Bagnall in 1857. He remained in this business until 1870, when he went into the

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

business instead, at first in partnership with S. L. Elmore as "Elmore and Phelps" and then from 1875 on his own.

Public office

Phelps served on the

Milwaukee Common Council The municipal government of the U.S. city of Milwaukee, located in the state of Wisconsin, consists of a mayor and common council. Traditionally supporting progressive politicians and movements, this community has consistently proved to be a stro ...

in 1871–1872, and was elected in 1873 to represent the 4th

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, containing about 1 ...

Assembly district (the Fourth

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of the City of Milwaukee) as a candidate of the Liberal Reform Party, a short-lived

coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

of Democrats,

reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, and

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formed in 1873 in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

, which secured the election for two years of

William Robert Taylor William Robert Taylor (July 10, 1820March 17, 1909) was an American politician and the 12th governor of Wisconsin from 1874 to 1876. Early life Taylor was born in Woodbury, Connecticut. He was orphaned at age 6 when his father's ship was lost a ...

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 ...

, as well as electing a number of state legislators. Phelps polled 706 votes to 602 for Republican L. A. Proctor; Democratic incumbent

Gottlob E. Weiss Gottlob E. Weiss (March 25, 1820 – April 19, 1900) was an American politician. Born in Saxony, Weiss moved to Wayne, Wisconsin Territory in 1847 and lived there until 1853; he moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1853. In 1854, Weiss moved to ...

, who had won the seat the year before by one vote, was not a candidate for re-election. He was assigned to, and chaired, the

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

internal improvements Internal improvements is the term used historically in the United States for public works from the end of the American Revolution through much of the 19th century, mainly for the creation of a transportation infrastructure: roads, turnpikes, can ...

. He sought re-election in 1874 as a Democrat, but came in third, behind Republican Stephen A. Harrison and independent Julius Wechselberg. In 1882, he was appointed to the Board of School Directors from the 4th Ward. At the time of his death, he was an active Democrat, and had been slated to be appointed

Postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

of Milwaukee, a hope later dashed.

Personal life and death

In 1855, Phelps married Delight Bartlett, with whom he had four children (two still living as of 1877), who died while the children were still young. In 1869 he married Carrie Sumner of

Southbridge, Massachusetts Southbridge is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,740 at the 2020 census. Although Southbridge has a city form of government, it is legally known as the Town of Southbridge. History The area was i ...

. In October 1885, Phelps died from injuries sustained in a runaway horse accident. The day before Phelps' funeral, Milwaukee Police Chief Ries issued an order to arrest the owners of all horses left unhitched. On December 24 of that same year, Carrie Phelps and their son A. W. Phelps Jr. were injured in another runaway horse incident, when a horse hitched to the same buggy which Warren Sr. had been driving at the time of his fatal accident panicked and careened down Grand Avenue, eventually overturning the buggy and throwing both of them from the carriage."A Day in the City: Injured by a Runaway: Mrs. A. Warren PHelps and Son Thrown Out of a Buggy" ''Milwaukee Sentinel'' December 25, 1885; p. 2, col. 2

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, A. Warren 1829 births 1885 deaths People from Fort Covington, New York Politicians from Milwaukee Businesspeople from Milwaukee Deaths by horse-riding accident in the United States Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Road incident deaths in Wisconsin Wisconsin city council members Wisconsin Reformers (19th century) School board members in Wisconsin 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature