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

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

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 larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after ...

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, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

, he served as a

Union Navy The Union Navy was the United States Navy (USN) during the American Civil War, when it fought the Confederate States Navy (CSN). The term is sometimes used carelessly to include vessels of war used on the rivers of the interior while they were und ...

officer.

Biography

De Wayne Stebbins was born in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, in 1835, and came to the

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized 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. Belmont was ...

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

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...

. 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 (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) 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 Secretary of ...

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. 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 founded in 1808, by John Jacob Astor, a German immigrant to the United States. During the 18th century, furs had become a major commodity in Europe, and North America became a major supplier. Several British c ...

. In 1856, he moved to the town of Ahnapee in Kewaunee County, 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, 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 maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. After a few months, he became impatient waiting for a naval appointment, and volunteered for service in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

. 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. ...

, 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 Royal Navy, United States Navy and merchant services in both countries for a senior petty officer who assisted the master. Master's mates evolved into the modern rank of Sub-Lieutenant in ...

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

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diff ...

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

Vicksburg campaign The Vicksburg campaign was 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 R ...

and participated in the battles of Chickasaw Bayou, Grand Gulf, and Arkansas Post, 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 Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mi ...

, 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 Confederacy from trading. The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atlantic ...

of the south. He was acting executive officer for the USS ''Kickapoo'' from July through December 1864. He was then promoted to acting master 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 in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five la ...

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.

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. Representatives are elected for two-year terms ...

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 security b ...

–

Kewaunee Kewaunee is a city in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,837 at the 2020 census. Located on the northwestern shore of Lake Michigan, the city is the county seat of Kewaunee County. Its Menominee name is ''Kewāneh'', ...

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 The Twenty-Sixth Wisconsin Legislature convened from to in regular session. Senators representing odd-numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first year of a two-year term. Assembly members were elected to ...

. 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, 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 army and air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Wiscon ...

at the Republican state convention in 1900, but stepped aside in favor of Robert M. La Follette. While serving in the State Senate, he was a member of the Wisconsin battleship commission and traveled to

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for "Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, 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, of which it is the county seat. The city had a population of 66,816 in 2020, making it the ninth-largest city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the Town of Oshkosh. History Oshkosh was ...

, 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 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 legislators 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century Wisconsin politicians