Peter Turck often misspelled Turek (c. 1798 - ?) was an American farmer from Mequon, Wisconsin who served a single one-year term as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Background

When Turck joined the Assembly in January 1849, he was reported to be 50 years old, from New York state, and to have been in Wisconsin for eleven years.

Public affairs

On June 15, 1841, Turck was designated as a delegate from Washington County to the upcoming Whig territorial convention. In March 1842, Turck was appointed by James Duane Doty, Whig governor of Wisconsin Territory, as a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Washington County (which at that time included a larger territory, including what is now

Ozaukee County Ozaukee County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,503. Its county seat is Port Washington, making it one of three Wisconsin counties on Lake Michigan not to have a county seat with the same ...

. Turck was elected in 1848 to represent the 3rd Washington County Assembly district (the

Towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of Mequon and Germantown) as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, succeeding fellow Democrat

Adolphus Zimmermann Adolphus (or Adolph) Zimmermann (February 23, 1812 – July 15, 1891) was an American brewer and politician from Mequon, Wisconsin. Born in the village of Noschkowitz outside Ostrau in the Kingdom of Saxony, Zimmermann emigrated to the Unit ...

, for the 1849 term (

2nd Wisconsin Legislature The Second Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 10, 1849, to April 2, 1849, in regular session. Senators representing odd numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first year of a two-year term. Senators ...

). He would not be elected in 1850, but all the Assemblymen from Washington County in 1850 were Democrats.

Later life

There was a Peter Turck who was politically active in nearby Milwaukee in the 1850s, but there is no evidence whether this was the same person; nor whether he was the same Peter Turck whose insanity embroiled him in a lawsuit in Milwaukee in February 1868."Circuit Court Record" ''Daily Milwaukee News'' February 19, 1868; p. 5, col. 4; and "Circuit Court Record" ''Daily Milwaukee News'' February 20, 1868; p. 5, col. 5

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turek, Peter 1790s births Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly People from Mequon, Wisconsin People from New York (state) Farmers from Wisconsin Wisconsin Whigs Year of death missing