Matthias Theisen (sometimes spelled Mathias, August 24, 1833 – March 23, 1923) 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 ...

farmer from Roxbury,

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 ...

, who served 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. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

in 1879. Additionally, he chaired the town board (similar to city council) and was Town Treasurer of

Roxbury, Wisconsin The Town of Roxbury is located in Dane County, Wisconsin, Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,871 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated communities of Alden Corners and Roxbury (community), Wisconsin, Roxbury are located i ...

. He was a

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Background

Theisen was born on August 24, 1833, in

Trimport Trimport is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to ...

, in the

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. ...

of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

. In August 1851, his parents Johann (John) Theisen (1805–1881) and Maria Anna (Mary A.) Theisen (1805–1883) emigrated to the United States, bringing Matthias and his brother Nicholas. The family settled on a farm in Section 16 of the Town of Roxbury. Matthias married Elizabeth Coch, also a native of Prussia. As of 1880, the Theisens and their families (including Matthias and Elizabeth's seven children) all still lived on the homestead, by that time 175 acres in extent.

Public office

Theisen had been town treasurer and chairman of the town board for a series of years when he was elected in 1878 from Dane County's 1st Assembly district to succeeded fellow Democrat John Lyle, who was not running for re-election. He received 1,690 votes against 1,217 for Republican John McKenzie, and 442 for Greenbacker L. P. Edwin. 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 ...

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. He did not seek re-election in 1879, and was succeeded by another Democrat, John H. Tierney.

Later years

Theisen was interviewed as part of a 1920 ''Wisconsin Magazine of History'' article, and is described as "wonderfully vigorous in mind and body for one of his years"; he was by then 86 years old, and living in

Sauk City Sauk City is a village in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States, located along the Wisconsin River. The population was 3,518 as of the 2020 census. The first incorporated village in the state, the community was founded by Agoston Haraszthy and h ...

.Barton, Albert O. "Napoleonic Soldiers in Wisconsin" ''Wisconsin Magazine of History'' Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1921; p. 353

References

External links

* City and town treasurers in the United States Politicians from Dane County, Wisconsin Prussian emigrants to the United States Wisconsin city council members 1833 births 1923 deaths Farmers from Wisconsin People from Bitburg-Prüm People from Sauk City, Wisconsin Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature {{Wisconsin-WIAssembly-Democratic-stub