Robert McKee Bashford (December 31, 1845January 29, 1911) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 25th mayor of

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 ...

, and represented

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 ...

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 ...

from 1893 to 1897. He also served briefly as a justice of the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the state judicial system of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. In addition to hearing appeals of lower Wisconsin court decisions, the Wisconsin Supreme Court also ...

in 1908, after the death of Chief Justice John B. Cassoday.

Biography

Born in

Fayette, Wisconsin Fayette is a town in Lafayette County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 376 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated communities of Fayette and Yellowstone are located in the town. Geography Fayette is in northeastern Lafayette Coun ...

, Bashford graduated from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

in 1870 and from the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a Public university, public research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 1868, the school is guided by a ...

in 1871. He later received his master's degree from the university in 1874. In 1871, Bashford along with two others purchased the ''Madison Democrat'' newspaper, where Bashford was editor until 1876. He then practiced law in

, and served as city attorney from 1881 to 1886. In 1886, he moved to

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, where he continued to practice law. While his firm was successful, he did not care for the work and moved back to Madison. In 1890, Bashford became mayor of Madison, defeating Arthur Loomis Sanborn in the April election. During his tenure he assisted the state attorney general to prosecute former state treasurers of Wisconsin to get money they had collected from interest on the deposit of public funds. The state recovered nearly half a million dollars. From 1891 to 1895, he served in the

. He resumed his law practice, including arguing before the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

in the 1905 case of ''United States v. Stinson'', in which he successfully defended a land purchaser from the federal government's attempt to reclaim the land based on accusations of fraud. In 1908, Bashford was appointed to the

, but lost a special election for the position four months later. He resumed his law practice and was on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Personal life and family

Bashford was the son of Reverend Samuel Morris Bashford and his wife, Mary Ann (McKee) Parkinson Bashford. Bashford's father died when he was only five years old. His mother remarried to William Pearce Trousdale, who became Bashford's stepfather. Bashford's first wife was Florence E. Taylor, the second daughter of Wisconsin Governor

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 ...

. They had one daughter together before her death in 1886. Bashford remarried with Sarah Amelia Fuller, who survived him.

Bashford House

His former home, now known as the Robert M. Bashford House, is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Electoral history

Madison mayor (1890)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 1, 1890

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1908)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 7, 1908

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bashford, Robert Mackee People from Fayette, Wisconsin Lawyers from Madison, Wisconsin Politicians from Chicago University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni University of Wisconsin Law School alumni Mayors of Madison, Wisconsin Wisconsin state senators Justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court 1845 births 1911 deaths 19th-century Wisconsin state court judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century mayors of places in Wisconsin Burials at Forest Hill Cemetery (Madison, Wisconsin) 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature