Frederick J. Petersen (whose name may be found spelled Frederic or Frederich, and occasionally Peterson even in official documents) (February 24, 1874 – October 14, 1946) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

physiotherapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...

who served three terms as a Republican 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

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 ...

Background

Petersen was born in

Neenah, Wisconsin Neenah ( ) is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. It is situated on the banks of Lake Winnebago, Little Lake Butte des Morts, and the Fox River (Green Bay tributary), Fox River approximately northeast of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, O ...

, on February 24, 1874. He attended Neenah public schools and

Neenah High School Neenah High School is a public high school located in Neenah, Wisconsin. It is the only traditional high school of the Neenah Joint School District. As of fall 2008, approximately 2250 students were enrolled in grades 9 through 12, making it one ...

, and graduated as a doctor of physiotherapy from the Philadelphia Orthopaedic Institute of Physio-Therapy, after which he came to Wisconsin, taking charge of the therapeutic department at the

Northern State Hospital Northern State Hospital is a historic hospital campus in Sedro-Woolley, Washington. It was originally opened in 1912 and closed in 1973. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located 4 miles northeast from the city, a ...

at Oshkosh for eight years, then doing the same at a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

Kenosha Kenosha () is a city in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is the fourth-most populous city in Wisconsin, with a population of 99,986 at the 2020 census. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Ke ...

for three years, and another in

Lake Geneva Lake Geneva is a deep lake on the north side of the Alps, shared between Switzerland and France. It is one of the List of largest lakes of Europe, largest lakes in Western Europe and the largest on the course of the Rhône. Sixty percent () ...

for eight years. He then moved to Milwaukee and went into practice there.

Legislative service

Petersen's official biography of 1921 describes him as taking "a keen interest in municipal, state and national politics", but states falsely that he had "never sought or held a public office until elected to the assembly in 1920". In fact, in 1918 Petersen ran for the Assembly from the Sixth

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 ...

district (the 6th

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of the City of Milwaukee) to succeed Republican incumbent Charles Schiewitz (who was not a candidate for re-election). Petersen lost to

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

Henry Sievers' who drew 1,105 votes to Petersen's 778. Sievers was not a candidate for re-election in 1920, and was succeeded by Petersen, who won by 46 votes, with 1884 votes to 1838 for Socialist Eugene Cooney. He was assigned to 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 ...

s on

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

and

public welfare Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance p ...

. In 1922, Sievers again faced Cooney, this time widening the margin of victory to 76 votes (1489 to 1413). He remained on the elections committee, but was shifted to the committee on

manufactures Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

and

commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...

. In 1924, Petersen challenged Socialist Joseph Padway for the Sixth State Senate District, losing 7248 to 5384. He was succeeded in the Sixth Assembly seat by fellow Republican B. Z. Glass. Glass was not a candidate for re-election in 1926, and Petersen returned to his old Assembly seat, polling 943 votes to 861 for John Lewin and 140 for John B. Traynor (political affiliations unknown). He was assigned once more to the committee on manufactures and commerce. In 1928, Frederick W. Cords, Jr., the son of businessman and former Republican

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

of the

circuit court Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

Fred W. Cords, Sr., defeated Petersen in the Republican

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

Cords went on to win the general election. In 1930 Petersen was one of four challengers to Cords in a five-way primary, coming in third with 333 votes (Cords won a

plurality Plurality may refer to: Law and politics * Plurality decision, in a decision by a multi-member court, an opinion held by more judges than any other but not by an overall majority * Plurality (voting), when a candidate or proposition polls more ...

with 734, but was unseated in the general election by Socialist Ben Rubin. In 1932 Petersen was again one of Cords' competitors in another five-way primary over who would challenge Rubin, who was a candidate for re-election; this time Petersen came in fifth, with 165 votes (Cords again took the plurality with 685). In the general election, Cords again faced Rubin, Kaiser and another independent, as well as Petersen running as a nominal independent. This time Kaiser (with

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

at the top of the Democratic ticket) was the victor, with 2240 votes to Cords' 1412, Rubin's 2130, and another 129 for the two independents. Petersen was last in the general election, polling only 37 votes. In 1934, Petersen came out ahead in a three-way Republican primary, becoming the Republican nominee to take on Kaiser, Rubin, Progressive Fred G. Miller, and an independent. He came in fourth, behind Kaiser, Rubin and Miller.

Personal life

Petersen was a Grand Chancellor of the Wisconsin

Knights of Pythias The Knights of Pythias is a Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias was the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an Act of Co ...

, and helped preside in that capacity over the 1928 international convention of the Knights held in Milwaukee in August 1928. He died October 14, 1946, at his home in Milwaukee."F. J. Petersen Services Today" ''

Wisconsin State Journal The ''Wisconsin State Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by Lee Enterprises. The newspaper, the second largest in Wisconsin, is primarily distributed in a 19 county region in south-central Wisconsin. As of Septembe ...

'' October 16, 1946; p. 4, col. 1

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petersen, Frederick 1874 births 1946 deaths Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Politicians from Milwaukee Politicians from Neenah, Wisconsin American physiotherapists 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature