Eleazer Root (March 6, 1802July 25, 1887) was an American educator and

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

priest from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, who moved to

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 ...

as a young man and spent much of his career and adult life there. He served a term in the

Wisconsin 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 Pa ...

and was appointed as the first

Superintendent of Public Instruction A state education agency or state department of education is the state-level government organization within each U.S. state or U.S. territory, territory responsible for education, including providing information, resources, and technical assistan ...

. Because of his health, in his last years he moved to

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located 40 miles (64 km) south of downtown Jacksonville, the city is on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spani ...

, serving as rector of Trinity Parish from 1874 to 1884. Root is considered as one of the founding fathers of Wisconsin and was also instrumental in organizing 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 ...

as a member of the first board of regents.

Early life and education

Born in

Canaan, New York Canaan is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Columbia County, New York, Columbia County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 1,570 at the 2020 census,US Census Bureau, 2020 census, Canaan town, Columbia ...

, Root graduated from

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

. He was admitted to the New York bar. After moving briefly to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, Root moved to Waukesha,

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 ...

, where he helped found the present

Carroll University Carroll University is a private university in Waukesha, Wisconsin, United States. It was established in 1846 as Wisconsin's first four-year institution of higher learning. The university is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). History ...

. Root took Holy Orders in the Episcopal Church and was ordained to the priesthood. In 1847, Root served in the second Wisconsin Constitutional Convention and was responsible for authoring Article X of the present

Wisconsin Constitution The Constitution of the State of Wisconsin is the governing document of the U.S. State of Wisconsin. It establishes the structure and function of state government, describes the state boundaries, and declares the rights of state citizens. The ...

. Largely unchanged to this day, Article X provides for a uniform system of public schools, creates the elected office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to supervise public instruction in every school district, establishes a

state university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

at the seat of government, and prescribes

principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

and restricted uses to Wisconsin's school trust funds. From 1849 until 1852, Root was appointed and served as the first Superintendent of Public Instruction of Wisconsin. Root was a member of the Whig Party. In 1852, Root was elected and served a term in the Wisconsin State Assembly. He also served as superintendent of schools in

Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin Fond du Lac County () is a county (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 104,154. Its county seat is Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Fond du Lac. The county was creat ...

. He then moved to Texas and taught languages in

Guadalupe County, Texas Guadalupe County (''Local'' , ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 172,706. The county seat is Seguin. The county was founded in 1846 and is named after the Guadalupe River. Guadalup ...

, until he returned to Wisconsin after the start 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 ...

. For a time, Root lived 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 ...

. Because of his health, he moved to

, where he served as rector of Trinity Parish from 1874 to 1884. He died in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

Notes

External links

* People from Canaan, New York People from St. Augustine, Florida Clergy from St. Louis People from Guadalupe County, Texas People from Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin Politicians from Waukesha, Wisconsin Williams College alumni Carroll University faculty New York (state) lawyers Educators from Wisconsin American Episcopal priests Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 1802 births 1887 deaths Superintendents of public instruction of Wisconsin 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American Episcopalians 19th-century American clergy 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature {{Superintendents of Public Instruction of Wisconsin, state=collapsed