Victor Mauro Willard (1813December 10, 1869) was an American farmer and

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 ...

pioneer. He served as a delegate to Wisconsin's first constitutional convention and was a member of 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 1849 and 1850, representing Racine County.

Biography

Born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, Willard moved to the town of

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

in the

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 1837. He was elected as a delegate of Racine County to Wisconsin's first constitutional convention in 1846. At the convention, he worked on the committee to draft an act of congress which would ratify the admission of the state. However, the constitution created by the 1st convention was ultimately rejected by the voters of Wisconsin. In 1848, Willard was elected to the

on the

Free Soil Party The Free Soil Party, also called the Free Democratic Party or the Free Democracy, was a political party in the United States from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. The party was focused o ...

ticket for the

1849 Events January–March * January 1 – France begins issue of the Ceres series (France), Ceres series, the nation's first postage stamps. * January 5 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848: The Austrian army, led by Alfred I, Prince of Windisc ...

and

1850 Events January–March * January 29 – Henry Clay introduces the Compromise of 1850 to the United States Congress. * January 31 – The University of Rochester is founded in Rochester, New York. * January – Sacramento, Ca ...

sessions. He represented the 17th State Senate district which at that time comprised the territory making up present-day Racine County —in 1849, this was only the northern half of Racine County. Kenosha County was created from the southern half of Racine County in 1850. Willard died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

on December 10, 1869.

References

1813 births 1869 deaths Farmers from Wisconsin Wisconsin state senators People from Waterford, Wisconsin Wisconsin Free Soilers People from Wisconsin Territory 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature {{Wisconsin-WISenate-stub