Thomas Richard Hudd (October 1, 1835June 22, 1896) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician from northeast

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 ...

. He served three years in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

, representing

Wisconsin's 5th congressional district Wisconsin's 5th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in Wisconsin, covering most of Milwaukee's northern and western suburbs. It presently covers all of Washington County, Wisconsin, W ...

from 1886 to 1889. He previously served 10 years in the

Wisconsin 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 ...

and two years in the State Assembly, and served various local offices.

Background

Hudd was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, on October 1, 1835 ''Commemorative Biographical Record of the Fox River Valley Counties of Brown, Outagamie and Winnebago: Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens, and of Many of the Early Settled Families''. 1895. Chicago: J. H. Beers, pp. 109–110. to immigrants from England: his father Richard Hudd was a painter and decorator from

Lacock Lacock is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England, about 3 miles (5 km) south of the town of Chippenham, and about outside the Cotswolds area. The village is owned almost in its enti ...

, and his mother Mary née Harrison was from Barby. After the drowning death of his father in 1841, Hudd moved with his mother 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 ...

, in 1842 and to

Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton () is the county seat of Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States, with small portions extending into Calumet County, Wisconsin, Calumet and Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Winnebago counties. Located on the Fox River (Green Bay tributary ...

, in 1853. He attended the

common schools 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 secretary ...

and

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a Private college, private liberal arts college and Music school, conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second colle ...

in Appleton. He worked as a "printer boy" in the office of the '' Appleton Crescent'', studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

, 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 ...

in 1856, and went into practice in Appleton.

First public offices

He served as

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

Outagamie County Outagamie County ( ) is a county in the Fox Cities region of the U.S. state of Wisconsin, in the northeast of the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 190,705. Its county seat is Appleton. Outagamie County is part of the Appleton ...

in 1856 and 1857. He was first elected to 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 ...

in 1861 for a two-year term from the

Wisconsin Senate, District 22 The 22nd Senate district of Wisconsin is one of 33 districts in the Wisconsin Senate. Located in southeast Wisconsin, the district comprises parts of eastern Kenosha County, Wisconsin, Kenosha County and southeast Racine County, Wisconsin, Raci ...

(

Door A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide securit ...

, Oconto, Outagamie and Shawanaw '' ic' counties) 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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

(Democratic incumbent Benjamin Ferguson was not a candidate). He was defeated for re-election in 1863 by Joseph Harris, who was a Republican/ Union Party candidate. He was elected to 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 ...

's Outagamie County seat in 1867, succeeding fellow Democrat

W. H. P. Bogan W. may refer to: * SoHo (Australian TV channel) (previously W.), an Australian pay television channel * ''W.'' (film), a 2008 American biographical drama film based on the life of George W. Bush * "W.", the fifth track from Codeine's 1992 EP ''Bar ...

, but did not run for re-election, since he was leaving the county. The seat was taken by C. E. McIntosh, another Democrat.

Move to Green Bay

Hudd moved to

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 ...

, in 1868 and continued the practice of law there. He served as city attorney of Green Bay in 1873 and 1874, and in 1874 was elected to the Assembly's First Brown County district (the

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

of Green Bay, and the

Towns 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 ...

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. Bellevue or Belle Vue may refer to: Places Australia * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales Canada * Bellevue, Alberta * Bellevue, Newfoundlan ...

, Eaton, Green Bay,

Humboldt Humboldt may refer to: People * Alexander von Humboldt, German natural scientist, brother of Wilhelm von Humboldt * Wilhelm von Humboldt, German linguist, philosopher, and diplomat, brother of Alexander von Humboldt Fictional characters * Hu ...

, Preble and

Scott Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Sas ...

) as a "Democratic Reform" candidate (the Reform Party was 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 which secured the election of one

Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's Wisconsin Army National Guard, army and Wisconsin Air National Guard, air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the ...

and a number of state legislators). Incumbent Morgan L. Martin, a former

War Democrat War Democrats in American politics of the 1860s were members of the Democratic Party who supported the Union and rejected the policies of the Copperheads, or Peace Democrats. The War Democrats demanded a more aggressive policy toward the Co ...

turned

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 ...

who aligned himself with the Liberal Republicans in opposing the re-election of

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

), was not a candidate. Hudd won 1,160 votes to 1,075 for Republican Hosmer Kellog Cowles. He was elected once more to the Senate, this time to the Second District (Brown,

and Kewaunee counties) for the 1876-1877 term, as a "Democratic Reform" candidate, winning 4018 votes to 2036 for Republican George Grimmer. In 1877 he was re-elected as a Democrat (the Reform coalition having collapsed by then), with 1874 votes to 1593 for Republican State Representative William Fisk and 638 for Greenbacker B. F. Smith. He was not a candidate for re-election in 1879, and was succeeded by Republican

Speaker of the Assembly Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

David M. Kelly. Hudd served as a delegate to the

1880 Democratic National Convention The 1880 Democratic National Convention was held June 22 to 24, 1880, at the Music Hall in Cincinnati, Ohio, and nominated Winfield S. Hancock of Pennsylvania for president and William H. English of Indiana for vice president in the United St ...

, and was elected once more to the Senate in 1881, in a new Second District consisting solely of Brown County. Kelly was not a candidate, and Hudd took back the seat with 2152 votes to 1777 for Republican State Representative James Rasmussen. He was re-elected in 1884 for what was now a four-year term, with 3,585 votes to 3,087 for Republican Charles W. Day.

Congress and after

On February 23, 1886, Hudd was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-ninth Congress to fill the vacancy for

caused by the death of

Joseph Rankin Joseph Rankin (September 25, 1833January 24, 1886) was an Americans, American businessman and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician. He was elected to two terms as United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative for ...

; Charles Day succeeded him in the Senate seat they had contested. Hudd was reelected to the Fiftieth Congress and served from March 8, 1886, to March 3, 1889. He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Interior (Fiftieth Congress). He did not seek renomination in 1888, and resumed the practice of law. He died of a stroke in Green Bay on June 22, 1896, and was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery.Thomas Hudd, Wisconsin Historical Society
/ref>

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hudd, Thomas Richard 1835 births 1896 deaths Politicians from Buffalo, New York Politicians from Appleton, Wisconsin Politicians from Green Bay, Wisconsin Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Lawrence University alumni District attorneys in Wisconsin Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin Lawyers from Buffalo, New York 19th-century American lawyers Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Green Bay, Wisconsin) 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives