Levi Withee (October 26, 1834February 2, 1910) 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 ...

lumberman Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks

, businessman, and

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 ...

pioneer. He served eight years in the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those o ...

, representing

La Crosse County La Crosse County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the county's population was 120,784. Its county seat is the city of La Crosse. La Crosse County is included in the La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Metropol ...

Biography

Withee was born on October 26, 1834, in

Somerset County, Maine Somerset County is a county in the U.S. state of Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 50,477. Its county seat is Skowhegan. History Somerset County was established on March 1, 1809from portions of Kennebec Coun ...

. He was raised on his father's farm and received a common school education. Upon reaching adulthood, he was tempted by the opportunities in the new western states and moved to

. He arrived in

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 202 ...

, in 1853 and went to work in the lumber industry. By 1859, he had enough earnings to begin his own business further north, in

Clark County, Wisconsin Clark County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population was 34,659. The county seat is Neillsville. History By the early 1800s, the land and streams that are now Clark County were the hunting grounds of ...

. He was an owner or shareholder in many lumber companies in western Wisconsin, but was principally involved in the company Bright & Withee. He was also invested in the Electric Light Plant, the Gas Light Company, and the La Crosse Farming Company. Withee was elected to the

on the Republican ticket in 1892 and was re-elected in 1896, serving from 1893 to 1901. He did not run for a third term in 1900, but was a delegate that year to the

1900 Republican National Convention The 1900 Republican National Convention was held June 19 to June 21 in the Exposition Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Exposition Auditorium was located south of the University of Pennsylvania, and the later Convention Hall was co ...

. He was a stalwart Republican, always opposed to

Robert La Follette Robert Marion La Follette Sr. (June 14, 1855June 18, 1925), nicknamed "Fighting Bob," was an American lawyer and politician. He represented Wisconsin in both chambers of Congress and served as the 20th governor of Wisconsin from 1901 to 1906. ...

Progressive Republican The Republican Party in the United States includes several factions, or wings. During the 19th century, Republican factions included the Half-Breeds, who supported civil service reform; the Radical Republicans, who advocated the immediate and t ...

s, and endorsed a primary challenge against La Follete in his 1902 gubernatorial re-election campaign. Withee died from a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in 1910.

Personal life and family

Levi Withee was a son of Zachariah Withee and his wife Polly (' Longley). Zachariah Withee was a veteran of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

and received land as a reward for his service. Levi Withee was the fifth of seven children. His older brother Niran Withee also worked as a lumberman in the La Crosse area and was a member of the

Wisconsin Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republ ...

. On June 3, 1868, he married Louisa H. Smith. They had one son, Abner, who was also active in the lumber business in Wisconsin and Florida, and was appointed to the

Bureau of Internal Revenue The Bureau of Internal Revenue'' ''(BIR; ) is a revenue service for the Philippine government, which is responsible for collecting more than half of the total tax revenues of the government. It is an agency of the Department of Finance and i ...

in Florida.

Electoral history

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 8, 1892 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 3, 1896

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Withee, Levi Businesspeople from Wisconsin American businesspeople in timber People from Somerset County, Maine Politicians from La Crosse, Wisconsin Republican Party Wisconsin state senators 1834 births 1910 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature