Milo Cornelius Bushnell (May 2, 1824December 11, 1897) was an American farmer, Republican politician, 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 two terms in 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 ...

, representing Winnebago County during the

1867 There were only 354 days this year in the newly purchased territory of Alaska. When the territory transferred from the Russian Empire to the United States, the calendric transition from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar was made with only 1 ...

and

1868 Events January * January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala, Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. * January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsu ...

terms. He was among the earliest American settlers at

Omro, Wisconsin Omro is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,652 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is located along the Fox River (Green Bay tributary), Fox River, approximately 10 miles west of Oshkos ...

, and served as chairman of the Winnebago County board of supervisors during 1872 and 1873. His name was often abbreviated as

Wisconsin pioneer

Milo C. Bushnell was born May 2, 1824, in the town of

Waitsfield, Vermont Waitsfield is a New England town, town in Washington County, Vermont, Washington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,844 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It was created by a Vermont charter on February 25, 1782, ...

. He was raised and educated there, working on his father's farm until about age 20. At that age, he went to work on another farm for pay; after accumulating $75 in savings, he went west to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. After teaching school there for $11 per month over the winter, he went north into the

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized and incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belm ...

in 1846, and settled in the town of

. He became the first person to purchase land in the town of Omro, buying 120 acres at $1.25 per acre from the government. The land had a significant prairie stretch and did not require much clearing of trees; within a year, Bushnell had 43 acres of fenced land and 15 acres of wheat. In 1849, he built a house on the land—it was the second frame house erected in Omro, and the first to receive a coat of paint. After eight years of improvements, he sold his farm for a profit in 1854, and moved to a new farm. There, he built a new house, and resided until 1866, when he sold again. After selling his second farm, he bought a 3-acre property in the village of Omro, where he raised apples and cultivated a

plant nursery A nursery is a place where plants are plant propagation, propagated and grown to a desired size. Mostly the plants concerned are for gardening, forestry, or conservation biology, rather than agriculture. They include retail nurseries, which se ...

. His apples and apple trees became the primary source of his income for much of the rest of his life.

Political career

Bushnell identified with the Whig Party when he first came to Wisconsin, but quickly became a staunch Republican when that party was established in 1854. As a Whig, he was elected assessor of Omro township in 1848, and was elected chairman of the town board in 1849, serving as an ''ex officio'' member of the county board. During the presidency of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

, he was appointed U.S. assessor of internal revenue for the western half of Winnebago County, and continued holding the office under president

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...

, serving seven years. In 1866, he was elected to the

in what was then Winnebago County's 3rd Assembly district. The district at that time comprised roughly the southwest quarter of Winnebago County. During his first term in the Assembly, he simultaneously held the offices of state representative, federal revenue assessor, and town chairman. After winning his second term in the Assembly, he resigned as federal revenue assessor, but was also elected to the local school board. He ultimately served fifteen years on the county board, and was elected chairman of the county board in May 1872, serving until November 1873. He served 27 years on the school board, resigning in the mid-1890s, when he largely retired from public life.

Personal life and family

Milo Bushnell was the second of five children born to Jedidiah Bushnell and his wife Abigail (' Taylor). When he was first getting established in Wisconsin, Bushnell was still unmarried. His widowed sister Cornelia came to live with him in the late 1840s, to take care of his housekeeping, and ultimately recommended he get married. He returned to Vermont in 1851, where he met Marcy Goss Taylor. They married on September 18 of that year. They returned to Omro, but Marcy died just six months later, in April 1852. In 1853, Bushnell married for a second time, this time to Mary Saloma Bidwell, of St. Lawrence County, New York. Together they had five children, but two died in infancy and one other died in childhood. Mary died in 1866, after 13 years of marriage. Bushnell married for a third and final time in 1867, to Mrs. Mary Jane Shafer (' Bradish). He had no further children with his third wife, but became a step-father to her daughter, Josephine. Milo C. Bushnell died at his home in Omro on December 11, 1897, after a brief illness. Only one of his biological children survived him, his daughter Linnie.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bushnell, Milo C. 1824 births 1897 deaths People from Waitsfield, Vermont People from Omro, Wisconsin County supervisors in Wisconsin Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Farmers from Wisconsin Wisconsin pioneers 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature