Edward Woolsey Dwight (April 8, 1827 – March 6, 1904) was an American farmer and politician.

Background

Dwight was born in

Catskill, New York Catskill is a town in the southeastern section of Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 11,298 at the 2020 census, the largest town in the county. The western part of the town is in the Catskill Park. The town contains a v ...

on April 8, 1827. His father was Benjamin W. Dwight, a doctor (son of

Timothy Dwight IV Timothy Dwight (May 14, 1752January 11, 1817) was an American academic and educator, a Congregationalist minister, theologian, and author. He was the eighth president of Yale College (1795–1817). Early life Timothy Dwight was born May 14, 17 ...

, President of

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

and a member of the noted

Dwight family The Dwight family of New England had many members who were military leaders, educators, jurists, authors, businessmen and clergy. Around 1634, John Dwight came with his wife Hannah (1604-1656), daughter Hannah (1625-1714), and sons Timothy (1629 ...

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

) and later treasurer of

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, Clinton, New York. It was established as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and received its c ...

. His mother was Sophia (Strong) Dwight. He was the second youngest of six children: Benjamin, Sophia, Theodore, Mary, Edward, and Elizabeth. Edward Dwight left home at the age of 15, went to

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and signed up on the

whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

''Council'', which returned to Boston after sailing the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

for one year. He then went to

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 ...

, and worked on a farm there until 1847, when he left for 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 ...

(in May of that year he had married Elizabeth Foote of Clinton, daughter of John and Mary (Love) Foote). They traveled via 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 ...

to Racine, then got a ride on a

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). ...

wagon A wagon (or waggon) is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by Working animal#Draft animals, draft animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are i ...

to a place called "Walnut, Wisconsin" (some sources say Spring Prairie). This "Walnut" may or may not be identified with Walnut Springs, Wisconsin, a short-lived

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

which operated for a couple of decades in the Town of Adams in Green County on the road between Madison and Wiota.

Wisconsin and Iowa and Wisconsin again

He worked in Walnut by the month, saving up enough that he could buy 160 acres (one-quarter of a square

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a imperial unit, British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of Unit of length, le ...

) at $8 per acre. He made some

improvement Improvement is the process of a thing moving from one state to a state considered to be better, usually by a change or addition that improves. The concept of improvement is important to governments and businesses, as well as to individuals. Hi ...

s on the land, then sold it and bought a 40-acre tract nearby, sold that and bought more land. In 1855 he went to

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

by ox team; he became one of the pioneers of

Winneshiek County, Iowa Winneshiek County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,070. The county seat is Decorah. History A largely rural and agricultural county, Winneshiek County has a rich cultural history fr ...

, buying 360 acres from the U.S. government

land office The General Land Office (GLO) was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department ...

, 160 of which had already been improved. He stayed in Iowa only one year, then returned to "Walnut", where he stayed for a further year before he came to

Dane County, Wisconsin Dane County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin after Milwaukee County. Dane County is the fastest growing county in Wisconsin. ...

in or near

Oregon, Wisconsin Oregon is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 11,179 at the 2020 census. A suburb south of Madison, it is part of the Madison metropolitan area. The village is located mostly within the Town of Oregon. His ...

, and bought another tract of land, which he would farm for many years. There was a

log house A log house, or log building, is a structure built with horizontal logs interlocked at the corners by notching. Logs may be round, squared or hewn to other shapes, either handcrafted or milled. The term "log cabin" generally refers to a smal ...

on the land, where the family camped for a few years. He planted

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

and shade trees, and erected some frame buildings.

Politics

Dwight was active in the Republican Party, held various offices, and was elected to a single one-year term 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 ...

in 1860. Dane County had one less seat in the subsequent Assembly, and Dwight did not return. After 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 ...

, Dwight spent a great deal of time studying financial questions; as a result, in 1880 Dwight served as a United States

Presidential elector In the United States, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president in the presidential election. This process is described in ...

for the

Greenback Party The Greenback Party (known successively as the Independent Party, the National Independent Party and the Greenback Labor Party) was an Political parties in the United States, American political party with an Competition law, anti-monopoly ideolog ...

. He died in Oregon, Wisconsin on March 6, 1904.Butterfield, Consul Wilshire. "Biographical Sketch of Edward W. Dwight" ''History of Dane County, Wisconsin'' Chicago: Western Historical Company: 1880; pg. 1288

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dwight, Edward W 1827 births 1904 deaths People from Winneshiek County, Iowa People from Catskill, New York People from Oregon, Wisconsin Politicians from Dane County, Wisconsin Wisconsin Greenbacks Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Woolsey family 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature