Myron Plato Lindsley (September 18, 1825January 16, 1883) 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 ...

attorney and Democratic politician. He was the 10th Mayor of

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the head of Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the F ...

, and represented Green Bay for two 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 ...

Biography

Lindsley was born in

Rushville, New York Rushville is a village situated in both Ontario and Yates Counties in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2019 American Community Survey, the population was 655. The majority of the Village of Rushville lies within the Town of Potter in Yate ...

, and raised on his family's farm in Yates County. He graduated from

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

Schenectady, New York Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

, in 1849. He went on to study law at John W. Fowler's Law School at

Ballston Spa, New York Ballston Spa is a village and the county seat of Saratoga County, New York, United States, located southwest of Saratoga Springs. It is part of the Capital Region. The population of the village, named after Rev. Eliphalet Ball, a Congregational ...

, and graduated in 1850. He came to Wisconsin later that year and settled at Green Bay, where he established a legal practice. His practice soon grew to include real estate and collections. He became involved in local politics and was elected to his first two-year term as County Clerk of Brown County in 1854. He was subsequently elected again in 1860, and reelected in 1862, 1864, and 1866. In April 1865, concurrent with his time as Clerk, he was elected Mayor of Green Bay, serving one year. In 1871, he was elected on the Democratic Party ticket to represent Brown County in the

. The next year, in the 1872 election, he was the Democratic nominee for

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

Wisconsin's 6th congressional district Wisconsin's 6th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in eastern Wisconsin. It is based in the rural, suburban and exurban communities between Madison, Milwaukee, and Green Bay. It also ...

. He was defeated in that race by incumbent

Philetus Sawyer Philetus Sawyer (September 22, 1816March 29, 1900) was an American businessman, Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a United States Senator from Wisconsin for twelve years (1881–1893) and served ten years in the U.S. ...

Personal life and family

Lindsley married Frances A. Ingalls in 1854. Together they had two children, Thales and Lelia Elizabeth ("Lizzie"). Thales enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

for the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

and was stationed in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

. He remained in the

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for the rest of his life, working for the American administration there. Lizzie married Frank B. Desnoyers, who would also serve as mayor of Green Bay. Frank was the son of Francis X. Desnoyers, who was also a former mayor of Green Bay. He was active in the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

church and was superintendent of the Sunday school. He was also a prominent member of the

Independent Order of Odd Fellows The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is a non-political, non-sectarian international fraternal order of Odd Fellowship. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Wildey in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Evolving from the Odd Fellows, Order ...

—he was Grand Master of Wisconsin for two terms and Grand Representative to the Sovereign Grand Lodge. Lindlsey suffered from digestive issues for several years, and found his condition badly exacerbated during a trip to

Grand Forks Grand Forks is a city in and the county seat of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. The city's population was 59,166 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in the state, after Fargo and Bismarck. Grand For ...

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...

, where he was investigating a speculative land deal. On his way back to Green Bay, he stopped to rest in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, where he died at the home of fellow Odd Fellow L. B. Hills.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Senate (1871)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 3, 1871

U.S. House of Representatives (1872)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 5, 1872

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindsley, Myron Plato Mayors of Green Bay, Wisconsin Wisconsin state senators People from Yates County, New York 1825 births 1883 deaths 19th-century mayors of places in Wisconsin 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature