Philo Dunning (March 23, 1819 – September 10, 1900) was an American merchant and

druggist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in order to dispense them safely to the pu ...

from

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

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 held a number of local office, spent a single one-year term as a Reform Party 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 ...

from

Dane County Dane County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin after Milwaukee County, Wiscon ...

, and served on the state fisheries commission.

Background

Dunning was born in

Webster, New York Webster is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in the northeastern corner of Monroe County, New York, United States. The town is named after orator and statesman Daniel Webster. The population was 45,327 at the 2020 census, up from ...

, on March 23, 1819. He had a

common school A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretar ...

education, and became a merchant and druggist by trade. He arrived in

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 1840, and settled in Dane County, first in Blooming Grove, where he farmed, and later moved into downtown Madison, reportedly because "the railroad built its tracks across their front yard." His original home in Blooming Grove is still standing. He was a delegate from Dane County to the May 1841 territorial Democratic Party meeting. In 1851 he was a member of both the Wisconsin Agricultural Society and the Dane County Agricultural Society. For some years prior to 1877, he operated a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

on Clyde Creek in the nearby

Town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Burke Burke (; ) is a Normans in Ireland, Norman-Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (''circa'' 1160–1206) had the surname'' de B ...

, which he either bought or built in 1841 (accounts differ). As of 1858, he was a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

of Madison's downtown

Congregational Church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

. With his long-time partner Edwin Sumner, "Dunning and Sumner" on Pinckney Street in downtown Madison were retail and wholesale druggists, grocers, and sellers of products including "paints, oils, brushes, toilet articles, spectacles, etc." from 1868 or earlier until at least as late as 1892.

Public office

In 1852, Dunning was elected to the board of supervisors (city council) of the Town of Madison and served as its chairman and thus ''ex officio'' as a member of Dane County's

County Board A county board is a common form of county legislature, particular of counties in the United States. Related forms of county government include: * Board of Supervisors — a form of county legislature in some U.S. states * County commission, ...

. He was elected County

Treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

of Dane county in 1854. When in 1856 the City of Madison was chartered as a separate entity, he was elected to its first Board of Supervisors. In 1873 he was appointed to the state's visiting committee on

charitable Charity is the voluntary provision of assistance to those in need. It serves as a humanitarian act, and is unmotivated by self-interest. Various philosophies about charity exist, with frequent associations with religion. Etymology The word ...

and

penal Penal is a town in south Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago. It lies south of San Fernando, Princes Town, and Debe, and north of Moruga, Morne Diablo and Siparia. Penal is noted as a heartland of Hindu and Indo-Trinidadian culture. History Up ...

institutions by Gov. Cadwallader C. Washburn. In that same year he was elected to the Assembly's 2nd Dane County district (the Towns of Blooming Grove, Burke, Dunn and

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

, and the City of Madison) as the candidate of the Reform Party (a short-lived

coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

of Democrats,

reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

and Liberal

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, and Grangers which elected one

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

and a number of state legislators) with 1,388 votes, against 995 for former

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Clement Warner Clement Edson Warner (February 23, 1836May 20, 1916) was an American farmer, Republican politician, and Union Army officer in the American Civil War. He served with the 36th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment and commanded the regiment near the end ...

, a Republican (the incumbent, Levi Baker Vilas, was not a candidate for re-election). He was assigned to the joint committee on charitable and penal institutions. He was not a candidate for re-election in 1874, and was succeeded by Democrat Silas U. Pinney. He served again on the Dane County Board of Supervisors for the 1878–1879 term from the 2nd

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of Madison. From 1879 to 1893 he was a member of the Wisconsin Fish Commission; from 1887 to 1893 he served as president of that body. In the spring of 1889 he was elected to the

executive 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 ...

of the

American Fisheries Society The American Fisheries Society (established 1870 in New York City), is the "world’s oldest and largest organization dedicated to strengthening the fisheries profession, advancing fisheries science, and conserving fisheries resources." It is a mem ...

. In May 1893 it was announced that he had retired from business "to take life easy". He died on September 10, 1900, after suffering from paralysis for a year, and he is buried in Madison's Forest Hill Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunning, Philo 1819 births 1900 deaths 19th-century American merchants 19th-century American pharmacists Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Politicians from Madison, Wisconsin People from Webster, New York Wisconsin city council members Wisconsin Reformers (19th century) County officials in Wisconsin County supervisors in Wisconsin Businesspeople from Madison, Wisconsin People from Blooming Grove, Wisconsin 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature