Richard Dewhurst (May 26, 1826October 13, 1895) was an

English American English Americans (also known as Anglo-Americans) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. In the 2020 United States census, English Americans were the largest group in the United States with 46.6 million America ...

immigrant, lawyer, judge, businessman, and politician. He served 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 ...

for four non-consecutive terms over four different decades (from the 1850s to the 1880s) under four different

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

labels ( Republican, Union,

Liberal Reform Liberal Reform is an internal political group of members of the British Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrats. Membership of the group is open to any Liberal Democrat member, and is free of charge. It was launched on 13 February 2012, and de ...

and

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

); and was defeated twice when running for election on the ticket of a fifth party, the Democratic.

Background

Dewhurst was born near

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, on May 26, 1826; at the age of one year he came to the United States when his parents moved there, settling first in

Bristol County, Massachusetts Bristol County is a county in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 579,200. The shire town is Taunton. Some governmental functions are performed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, othe ...

, then moving to

Lorain County, Ohio Lorain County () is a county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio As of the 2020 census, the population was 312,964. Its county seat is Elyria, and its largest city is Lorain. The county was physically established in 1822, beco ...

, where they would spend the remainder of their lives, and where three more sons were born to them. Dewhurst spent a part of his boyhood and youth on his parents' farm, received 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 ...

and academic education in

Elyria, Ohio Elyria ( ) is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the forks of the Black River (Ohio), Black River in Northeast Ohio, southwest of Cleveland. The population was 52,656 at the 2020 United States cens ...

, subsequently

read the law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

in the

Oberlin, Ohio Oberlin () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. It is located about southwest of Cleveland within the Cleveland metropolitan area. The population was 8,555 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Oberlin is the home of Oberlin ...

, office of one P. Bliss. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

of Ohio, and in 1850 moved to

Jo Daviess County, Illinois Jo Daviess County () is the northwesternmost county (United States), county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 22,035. Its county seat is Galena, Illinois, Galena. Jo ...

, where for a while he worked in the

lead mines Lead () is a chemical element; it has symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, lead ...

. For a year or two, he taught school in

Scales Mound, Illinois Scales Mound is a village in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States. The population was 436 at the 2020 census. History The original town of Scales Mound was located at the base of an erosional remnant similar to Charles Mound, about a mil ...

, then moved about 1852 to Potosi in

Grant County, Wisconsin Grant County is the most southwestern county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,938. Its county seat is Lancaster and its largest city is Platteville. The county is named after the Grant River, in t ...

Public office and employment; first term in the Assembly; marriage and move; Civil War

By 1854, he was teaching school in Platteville, and in 1856, was admitted to the bar of Wisconsin at White Oak Springs, before moving on to

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * W ...

in May of that year. In 1856, he was elected Clark County's

county judge The term county judge is applied as a descriptor, sometimes as a title, for a person who presides over a county court. In most cases, such as in Northern Ireland and the Victorian County Courts, a county judge is a judicial officer with civi ...

, and

register of deeds Recorder of deeds or deeds registry is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights ove ...

. In 1858, he was first elected a member of the Assembly for a one-year term in the Legislature's 12th (1859) session as a member of the newly organized Republican Party, succeeding fellow Republican Lucius Cannon in the district encompassing Chippewa, Clark, Dunn and Pierce counties. He was succeeded by William P. Bartlett (also a Republican). On March 29, 1859, he married Maria S. Curtis, who had been born in Ohio on April 9, 1840 (her parents, both natives of Connecticut, were married in Ohio and had settled at Cottage Grove, Wisconsin). After marriage, the Dewhursts came to Neillsville, settling on the bank of the creek below the mill. The nearest markets were then at

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

and

La Crosse La Crosse ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 20 ...

, and the roads merely trails through the wilderness. They built a frame house, and there they began domestic life. Dewhurst engaged in logging, a widespread occupation in that region in those days. It was later remembered that there were still many American Indians in the area who often came to the Dewhurst home looking for handouts, and "were always given something." During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Dewhurst served in a Wisconsin regiment and served as a deputy U. S. assessor in 1863-4.

Second term in the Assembly

He was elected again in 1864 as a National Union candidate, to a district which now encompassed Clark and

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

counties, succeeding

Calvin R. Johnson Calvin R. Johnson (May 22, 1822 – January 30, 1897) was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Biography Johnson was born on May 22, 1822, in Foxborough, Massachusetts. In 1846, he moved to Black River Falls, Wisconsin. On February 5, 1852, ...

(also a National Union candidate), and 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 ...

s on

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

s and

banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

, and on school and university lands. His profession is described as

land agent Land agent may be used in at least three different contexts. Traditionally, a land agent was a managerial employee who conducted the business affairs of a large landed estate for a member of the nobility or landed gentry, supervising the farming ...

in the ''

Wisconsin Blue Book The ''Wisconsin Blue Book'' is a biennial publication of the Wisconsin's Legislative Reference Bureau. The ''Blue Book'' is an almanac containing information on the government, economics, demographics, geography and history of the state of Wisc ...

'' for that term He was succeeded by yet another Union candidate, Leandor Merrill.

After the second term; 1870s and beyond

He was elected again to the Assembly in 1874 as a candidate of the Liberal Reform Party (also called the Democratic Reform or simply 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, and Grangers formed in 1873. He was the Reform nominee both for the 32nd Senate District, losing 2,097 to 2,354 to Republican Robert C. Field; and for his old Assembly district (Clark and Jackson Counties), defeating Republican James Hewett 1210 to 1179. With the Reform coalition starting to break down (Reform

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 ...

William Robert Taylor William Robert Taylor (July 10, 1820March 17, 1909) was an American politician and the 12th governor of Wisconsin from 1874 to 1876. Early life Taylor was born in Woodbury, Connecticut. He was orphaned at age 6 when his father's ship was lost a ...

, the heart of the party, was defeated for re-election), Dewhurst was not a candidate for re-election in 1875, and was succeeded by Republican Hugh B. Mills. In 1875, he became county

school superintendent In the American education system, a superintendent or superintendent of schools is an administrator or manager in charge of a number of public schools or a school district, a local government body overseeing public schools. All school principal ...

; and upon the death of incumbent William Hutchinson he filled Hutchinson's unexpired term as 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 ...

. In 1877 he once again became county judge, serving until 1879. During this period he built a colonial home in Neillsville, and a block on the town's Main Street bearing his name. In 1874, Dewhurst travelled to

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and in the late 1870s toured

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, his native

and the French Exposition. He ran for the Assembly again in 1884 as a Democrat (Clark County now had its own Assembly district), losing to Republican James O'Neill (the younger) with 1,515 votes to O'Neill's 1,831. He was elected as a member of the assembly for the fourth and final time in 1886 as an independent candidate, receiving 1,601 votes, against 1,019 votes for Republican T. J. La Flesh and 200 for

Prohibitionist Prohibitionism is a legal philosophy and political theory often used in lobbying which holds that citizens will abstain from actions if the actions are typed as unlawful (i.e. prohibited) and the prohibitions are enforced by law enforcement.C Canty ...

George A. Austin (O'Neill was not a candidate). This time, he was assigned to the committee on

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 ...

and

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

organizations. He ran for re-election as a Democrat, and was defeated by Republican Merritt Clarke Ring.

Personal life

At the time of his death, Dewhurst was president of the Neillsville Bank and held a like position in the German American Bank of Marshfield. He was a

Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a worker who lays bricks to assist in brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cutti ...

and a member of the Universalist Church. He died of

apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...

on October 13, 1895, while visiting the

Cotton States and International Exposition Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

; He'd left Neillsville for Atlanta on September 30, intending to spend some days at the Exposition and then proceed to his winter home in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. The

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 ...

of Dewhurst, Wisconsin, was named after him in 1901.

References

External links

Town of Dewhurst, Wisconsin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dewhurst, Richard American bankers American loggers American miners Schoolteachers from Wisconsin American Universalists Businesspeople from Wisconsin County officials in Wisconsin English emigrants to the United States Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly People from Neillsville, Wisconsin People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War Wisconsin Democrats Wisconsin independents Wisconsin state court judges Wisconsin lawyers Wisconsin Reformers (19th century) Wisconsin Republicans 1826 births 1895 deaths 19th-century English people American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century Wisconsin state court judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American educators 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature