Bartholomew Ringle (born Johann Bartholomaus Ringle; – ) was a

German American German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...

immigrant, lawyer, 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 instrumental in organizing many of the towns of Marathon County, Wisconsin. He was the fifth mayor of

Wausau, Wisconsin Wausau ( ) is a city in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Wisconsin River and had a population of 39,994 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the core city of the Wausau ...

, represented Marathon County for five terms in 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 ...

, and served nearly 18 years as county judge. His son and grandson also served in the

Wisconsin Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republ ...

Biography

Ringle was born on October 16, 1814, in the region of

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; ; , ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach (Blies), Schwarzbach River. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; older forms of the name include Middl ...

in what is today southwest

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. At the time of his birth, this was part of the Rhine region which had just been transferred to the dominion of the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

, after having been briefly under the rule of Napoleon's French Empire.His biographies always describe his home region as "Rhein-Bairen", which is likely a poor Anglicization of "Rhine-Bayern" or "Bavarian Rhine". As a resident of Bavaria, he received a common school education and became an attorney. He emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1846, coming directly 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 ...

and settling in Germantown, in Washington County. He lived there for two years before moving to the town of Herman, in Dodge County. In Herman, Ringle became a prominent member of the community and a member of the

Democratic Party of Wisconsin The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is currently headed by chair Ben Wikler. Important issues for the state party include support for workers and unions, strong public edu ...

. He was appointed to serve as postmaster for six years, and was elected justice of the peace, town clerk, and chairman of the town board. He moved to

, in Marathon County in 1859. Wausau was incorporated as a village in 1861; Ringle was elected the 2nd village president in 1862 and was re-elected in 1863. In 1863, he was also elected to the

, running on the Democratic Party ticket. He represented all of Marathon and Wood counties. In the 1863 election, he was also elected county judge, and would continue to hold that office until his death. In 1864, he was also elected to serve as county clerk—that office he held for three two-year terms. He did not run for re-election to the Assembly in 1864, but returned to the Assembly with the election of 1871, and then served three more terms in

1875 Events January * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the year (Third C ...

1876 Events January * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. *January 27 – The Northampton Bank robbery occurs in Massachusetts. February * Febr ...

, and

1877 Events January * January 1 – Queen Victoria is proclaimed Empress of India by the Royal Titles Act 1876, introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . * January 8 – Great Sioux War of 1876: Batt ...

. While serving in the Assembly, he was instrumental in the act to incorporate Wausau as a city. He was elected the fifth mayor of Wausau in 1876. Ringle continued to work as an attorney and county judge until his death. He died of heart disease while working at his desk in Wausau, on October 27, 1881. He was buried at Wausau's Pine Grove Cemetery. Reports stated that Wausau "never saw a larger funeral."

Personal life and family

Bartholomew Ringle married Magdalena Amalia Pick in June 1834, while they were both living in the Kingdom of Bavaria. They had twelve children together, though two died in infancy, and two others died in childhood. Several of their children grew to prominence in Wisconsin. Charles (Carl) Ringle was a successful merchant in Herman, Dodge County, Wisconsin, and served as town chairman, town treasurer, town clerk, postmaster, and justice of the peace. Valentine Ringle served as a member of the city council in Wausau and city treasurer and postmaster. He was also a publisher of two newspapers, the English-language ''Wisconsin River Pilot'' and the German-language Wausau ''Wochenblatt''.

John Ringle John Ringle (born Johann Ringle; October 2, 1848March 15, 1923) was an American businessman and Democratic politician from Wausau, Wisconsin. He was the 10th and 27th mayor of Wausau, and represented Marathon County for five years in the Wiscon ...

was a successful merchant in Wausau and also served as postmaster there. He served three terms as county clerk, three terms as a member of the State Assembly, and two years in the State Senate. His son, Oscar Ringle, also served in the State Assembly.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1871)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 7, 1871

Wisconsin Assembly (1874, 1875, 1876)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 3, 1874 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 2, 1875 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 7, 1876

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ringle, Bartholomew 1814 births 1881 deaths Wisconsin postmasters Bavarian emigrants to the United States American justices of the peace People from Germantown, Wisconsin People from Herman, Dodge County, Wisconsin Mayors of Wausau, Wisconsin Wisconsin state court judges County supervisors in Wisconsin Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Wisconsin pioneers 19th-century Wisconsin state court judges 19th-century mayors of places in Wisconsin 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature