Hanmer Robbins (December 11, 1815 – July 9, 1890) was a teacher from Platteville,

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 ...

who served several times as a 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. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

. He was born in

Deerfield, New York Deerfield is a town in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 4,273 at the 2010 census. The Town of Deerfield is on the eastern border of the county and northeast of the City of Utica. History Deerfield was formed from t ...

. He moved to Platteville, Wisconsin in May 1837 and began teaching the village school. Besides teaching, he also was a farmer and miner. On June 1, 1847, he married Annette L. Goodell. They had seven children.

Career

Robbins opened a school in a log house with 60 students in attendance. He taught for a few years in that structure until additional schools were developed. Robbins was town superintendent of schools from 1854 to 1860. He was a member of the State Board of Regents for Normal Schools for ten years and made significant contributions towards the creation of multiple normal schools across the state. Robbins was a member of the Assembly on four occasions: from 1857 to 1858, in 1861, in 1864, and from 1867 to 1868. Later, Robbins was an unsuccessful candidate for the Assembly, losing to

Thomas G. Stephens Thomas G. Stephens (April 6, 1818 –?) was an American lead smelter from Hazel Green, Wisconsin who served one term as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from Grant County as part of the "Liberal Reform" or "People's Reform" Party in 1 ...

. He was a Republican. He contributed to the development of the railroad through Platteville by gathering funds. The track, finished within three years, ran through Platteville in 1870. His greatest contribution was his dedication to public education in Platteville. Fifteen years after his death, the Hanmer Robbins school was built in 1905. It was Platteville's first official high school. In 1981, the building was repurposed as part of the Rollo Jamison museum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robbins, Hanmer People from Deerfield, New York People from Platteville, Wisconsin Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 1815 births 1890 deaths Educators from Wisconsin Farmers from Wisconsin Educators from New York (state) 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American educators