Joseph Warren Furber (August 29, 1814 – July 10, 1884) was a Whig politician in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. He was born in

Farmington, New Hampshire Farmington is a town in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,722 at the 2020 census. Farmington is home to Blue Job State Forest, the Tebbetts Hill Reservation, and Baxter Lake. The town center, where 3,824 peop ...

. He helped with his family's farm and attended school (including

Foxcroft Academy Foxcroft Academy is a private preparatory high school located in Dover-Foxcroft, Piscataquis County, Maine. Foxcroft Academy is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and a member of the Independent School Associa ...

) before moving west in 1838. He lived in

Alton, Illinois Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend (Illinois), Riv ...

for two years, then worked in the lumber industry near St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin for another two years before settling in

Cottage Grove, Minnesota Cottage Grove is a city south of Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saint Paul in Washington County, Minnesota, Washington County in the U.S. state, state of Minnesota. It lies on the north bank of the Mississippi River, north of the confluence with the ...

. In 1846, Furber was elected to the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature as the representative, in the Wisconsin Territorial House of Representatives, for

Crawford County, Wisconsin Crawford County is a county in the southwest part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,113. Its county seat is Prairie du Chien. History Along with Brown County, Crawford County is one of Wisconsin ...

.'Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin 1877.' pg. 148 In 1849, he was elected to the first Minnesota Territorial Legislature and served as the first

Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives This is a list of speakers of the Minnesota House of Representatives. The speaker of the House is usually the leader of the majority party, and is the most powerful figure in the House. Territorial State {, class=wikitable style="text-al ...

. He was elected to the legislature again in 1856 and once again served as speaker. He was appointed

United States Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the United States federal judi ...

for Minnesota by President

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800 – March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853. He was the last president to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House, and the last to be neither a De ...

during the 1850s and also held positions with the state militia and as a member of the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

Board of Regents. Later in his life, he was elected to two more terms in the

Minnesota State House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, which is then subject to ap ...

in 1868 and 1875. He died at his home in Cottage Grove in 1884.

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* 1814 births 1884 deaths People from Farmington, New Hampshire People from Polk County, Wisconsin People from Cottage Grove, Minnesota Members of the Minnesota Territorial Legislature Members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Members of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature Minnesota Whigs 19th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature {{Wisconsin-politician-stub